THANK YOU WEED 'Em and REAP website for the inspiration of a class of goat crossfit. While we are NOT going to try this at GlennArt Farm, the Garfield Alliance and GlennArt will be hosting GOAT YOGA at the Garfield Conservatory. Stay tuned for more information in May!
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Many thanks to the CCA Alternative Academy on Pulaski and Roosevelt. Students are receiving urban agriculture related skill sets. This photo is of Dimitris Williams and other students at CCA who came to help set up the pasture at the Garfield Conservatory. We could not do it without the crew.
Dimitris is our designated agricultural assistant until June of this year. He comes with a lot of skills. His goal is to enter the trades. H also works with his grandfather's contracting company. Together we worked on enlarging the garage indoor pen. Recently we have begun the replacement of the fences at the Waller Pasture. A hard worker, Dimitris without complaint works on clearing manure from the garage/barn as well as well as composting. As you can see Esther is HUGE! She is due today April 22. These three girls, Esther, Gracie and Martha are due in these days. I check in with them about every hour. They look dreamy, lie around, eat, yawn, poop, eat, and wait. Martha and her twins, Patsy and Destiny, enjoy the best apple peels form Happy Apple Pie Shop in Oak Park. Thank you Happy Apple for your contribution to our goat happiness. It was a BEE intense weekend. My cohort in honey, Tari Delici, and I attended a two hour session to think through how to install our bees in high winds and variable weather patterns. Last year I lost two queens setting them in hives with high winds in April. We also moved the hive locations to receive better sunlight during winter months. After four hours of work to set up our new hives, we finished relocating our four boxes in the pasture. Tari and I mowed, sawed wood splints, lovingly opened our bee packages, and the installation was complete. We were rewarded by thousands of bees circling the air, as they established their territory. This pasture in Chicago became alive with potential. With the spring, we opened the compost pile to use the dirt for the garden. The hens have been requested to help out. They had a lovely time spreading dirt, loosening the soil, and taking a bath at the same time. We hid the garlic and onions from them in the main garden while they happily looked for grubs and worms.
Our egg production has been brisk. |
Carolyn Ioder
Seeker, Wife. Mother, English Language tutor, goat farmer, friend Archives
February 2023
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GOAT NOTES(Carolyn's dates & thoughts)
February
2/4/17 Girls come home! 2/4/2017 applied for Funding WWOOFUSA 2/11/ 2017 Root Riot Meeting at Glennart. Planning garden changes. 2/18/2017 > Urban Livestock EXPO Cheese Document plan EXCEL Program 2/27/2016 > FIRST GGG Gathering March 3/9/2017 Plant: Spinach, lettuce indoors 3/21/2017 First day of SPRING!!!! 3/22/2017 Plant carrots with garlic April 4/1/2016 Plan/repair pasture fencing 4/5/2017 set up potato beds 4/12/2017 Kidding Season begins > Plant potatoes 4/21/17 Milking season begins 4/25/2016 Set up fencing May > Kidding season continues 5/20/17 Spring Gathering 5/25/16 plant Sweet potato in beds watermelon. squash 5/10/16 Cheese making begins 5/15-7/2/16 Last two does duePatsy and Destiny June July Sale of bucklings August > Sale of bucklings > Weaning begins September > Cheese making continues October > Sale of doelings > Cheese making continues November > Dry out the does December > Does to Wisconsin for breeding |