Chris got up early today and I’m not sure if it was our son Henry who woke him up or if it was the anticipation of two hundred warm, yellow fuzz balls scheduled to arrive today.  The phone rang at around 6:30 am, it was the post office calling to let us know that the chicks had arrived.  Chris hurriedly dressed, grabbed the keys and headed out the door.

Chris came back with three chirping boxes and gently carried them to the new brooder.  The chicks were immediately happy to put their feet onto the soft shavings and to soak up the heat from the hot heat lamp. They all looked surprisingly alert despite their long travels!  When we go to feed and and water the chicks they run under the hood like a big fluffy, yellow wave.  They slowly start to peek their heads out, realizing that we are not predators but bearers of food!

Farming can be hard work dependent on Mother Nature, the economy and so many other factors but I would not give up this life for the world.  I’ll take cleaning chicken poop out of nesting boxes any day over sitting at a desk inside away from nature and the system that feeds my family and I.  Being in touch with this system is so important; now more than ever.  We are seeing people go “back to the land” in droves and if you were to call a hatchery to order chicks for this Spring or Summer, they will tell you that demand is up, way up.  The local food movement is strong and for good reason, we are losing control of our food system.  Many Americans can’t tell you that a carrot grows under the ground or that cows eat grass.  We are so disconnected from our food system, the very system that keeps us alive, that we are sick and confused.

There was a time not that long ago when people raised food for themselves, made their clothing from yarn spun from wool from their own sheep, made soap to clean themselves and candles to see  by.  If they could not raise it or make it themselves, they bought or bartered for it from a friend or neighbor.  People used to make things, now much of our lives revolve around consumption.  A good book to read is Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture by Shannon Hayes (www.radicalhomemakers.com). Some say that we are much more advanced and educated than we were then but is it really advancement if we can’t even take care of ourselves at a basic level?  People today are unhappy, always striving to keep up while sacrificing precious family time.  Civic duties go unfilled because we are too busy taking the kids from here to there so that they too will have to rely on someone, maybe thousands of miles away, to produce the food and goods that they need.

We need to slow down.  We need to get to know our neighbors and take time when we go into to town to chat with the woman behind the counter at the grocery store, the librarian, or the postmaster.  We need strong communities that have the ability to pull together in times of need and in it citizens who are committed to supporting each other.  If we cared how someone else were doing, maybe we would do better ourselves.

At an alarming rate we are seeing local businesses close their doors because they are not patronized as faithfully as the new box stores.  Shopping locally is important.  I was so saddened last week to hear that one of our own great local businesses will be shutting its doors in the near future.  Sam’s will be sorely missed and the hole that will be left in the heart of Bellows Falls will be a constant reminder to me as to why it is so important to support local businesses. We never know what we have until it is gone.

So even though we may save two dollars by driving that extra half hour to get a product that we could get here from a local business, the environmental and social impact of that choice is so much greater that the two dollar savings.  I hope that we are headed back to a time when we produce what we need locally.  I hope that more people start to garden, raise animals and learn to feed themselves.  I hope that we as a population start to realize that people and community are more important than what money can buy.  I try to think about what life was like a hundred years ago and how people’s lives really did revolve around the seasons and food production.  I try to envision what my life would be like if I could not just run out and buy what I want at a moment’s notice.  This thinking helps me to realize the difference between wants and needs and helps me to fill up my time with activities based on family time and not consumer time.

Being a part of this local business has brought to me a heightened awareness of spending money locally, our broken food system, and the awful treatment of animals in factory farms.  I am learning everyday.  I feel confident that the lifestyle changes that we have made here and the type of farming that we are doing will help to change the world…Even if only a little!

Caitlin

A few weeks ago I was in the barn giving water to the cows when out of the corner of my eye I could have sworn that I saw a belly move.  No, not just a twitch or a gas bubble, no this was a large movement.  A movement that could only have come from one thing…A calf! I thought to myself “no this can’t be, she can’t be due yet” so I dismissed the undulation as just my early morning imagination running wild.

That afternoon we had our weekly farm meeting with all three families and the subject of calves came up.  We were trying to figure out just how many calves to expect this year and when the heifers would be due.  I believe that the consensus was not yet.  I kept my my mouth shut but  filed away at the very back of my mind, what I thought I had seen earlier that day.

I didn’t give much more thought to the cows as the week began.  I checked in on them when I went up to collect eggs but nothing was any different than it normally is, just a group of hungry cows munching on sweet smelling hay.  Wednesday rolled around and I was back in the routine of the week (except for the corned beef that Chris and I had cooking on the stove for St. Patty’s day) when lo and behold, a bull calf was born!  Everyone was so surprised and what a lucky day to be born on, St. Patrick’s Day!  Jackie ran a little name contest on her Facebook page for the inn and the winning name was “Lucky”…Fitting.

So those undulations were the real deal, I wasn’t seeing things after all!  What a cute calf and a happy mama.  So now that Spring is almost upon us we will be seeing so much more new life.  What a great time to be born!  These calves sure will be happy to be out on pasture in a few weeks, everything so fresh and new.

A few days later on the 20th another calf was born, this time a heifer followed by another on the 24th and another on the 27th!  I wasn’t expecting this last one either.  I went up to feed and water the cows on Saturday morning and I noticed that there were four mama cows penned up together with the three calves.  I noticed something moving in the corner of the pen and realized that another calf had been born, still wet and wobbly-legged.  I fed the nursing moms some extra hay and made sure that their water trough was extra full and excitedly sprinted through the field and into the kitchen.  I asked Chris how that other mother got into the pen and he told me that he thought that she was ready to calf so he put her in there to have her baby.  Well he was right and what a beautiful dark brown coat on this little one!

Caitlin

Walpole is a town known for its farms and rural beauty and now those farms are going to be showcased every Friday afternoon at a farmer’s market on the town common! Now we are still in the planning stages, but this past Thursday night Bruce Bickford of Abenaki Springs Farm(www.abenakispringsfarm.com) met with the select board here in town and they granted us the use of the common for the weekly market.

We are lucky in this area to have a few really wonderful farmer’s markets.  Keene holds a market on Tuesdays and Saturdays, Bellows Falls has their market on Friday evenings, and Brattleboro has a Wednesday and Saturday market.  Most of these markets offer anything you would need to stock your fridge for the week and are great places to meet friends and neighbors for a bite to eat, a chat or some great local music.

In the initial planning stages we attempted to avoid holding our market on the same day as any other markets in the area.  When we polled the town at our annual town meeting, the majority of people polled voted for a Friday market.  Bellows Falls holds their market on Friday as well so we had to think about the implications there.  After much discussion, we decided that Friday would still be best for Walpole.

Our aim is not to compete with the Bellows Falls Market but simply to coexist and support each other.  Unfortunately some of our Walpole vendors, including us, cannot sell all of our products across state lines. This makes it difficult for New Hampshire farms to take part in a Vermont market. 

We want to encourage the people of Walpole to shop locally….Very locally, and that is why we have decided to have the market showcase primarily Walpole farms in addition to farms in some of the surrounding towns.  You’ll be able to find local vegetables, eggs, fruits, pastured and grass-fed meats, honey, cut flowers, maple products, crafts and hopefully much more at the market.  We hope that in the future every town can strive to have their own farmer’s market, and the sooner this happens the sooner local foods will be available to more people.

Our effort to bring fresh, truly local foods to Walpole is coming to fruition and we are all so excited about it!  Jill Robinson has been an integral part in getting all of us organized, thanks Jill!  As the coordinators, Holly Gowdy of Brookfield Farm (find them at www.eatwild.com), Erin Bickford of Abenaki Springs farm, and myself will be working out all of the kinks of  the market’s rules and regulations, advertising, etc. in the coming weeks.  We hope to start the market in May and run it every Friday through the month of October from 3-6 pm on the common.  We hope that folks will continue on to the Bellows Falls market for some great Friday night local music.  See you at the market!

Caitlin

This morning while I was in the barn I climbed the ladder up into the hay mow to throw down a bale of hay.  While searching for the best looking bale, I looked up and took in the amazing, simple beauty of the barn.  It is easy to overlook the craftsmanship that went into many of the barns and homes here in New England because of the simplicity, but the work is amazing and long lasting.

One of the barns on our property is over one-hundred years old and I love to think about the people that once worked and lived here and the people who helped in its construction.  I wonder if the barn was built in the old-fashioned barn raising tradition, if the builders had a party to celebrate its completion.  What I do know is that it is beautiful and it is well built.

Here in Walpole we are lucky to have one of the best timber framers  around living and working among us;  Ted Benson.  Mr. Benson and his wife Christine started Bensonwood Homes (www.bensonwood.com) in the early 1970’s and have watched it blossom into a thriving, socially responsible business.   Ted became infatuated with the expertly crafted barns and homes of New England and set out to learn the craft.  He has written The Timber- Frame Home, Timberframe, and Building the Timber Frame House: The Revival of a Forgotten Craft. Obviously his work has payed off as he is now one of the most well-respected timber framers in the country.

Timber framing uses mortise and tenon joinery which is a way of joining two pieces of wood together without the use of nails.  The two pieces of wood, one the mortise, the other the tenon fit together like a hand and glove.  The angle (usually 90 degrees) helps to hold the pieces together.

The folks who make the joints for Bensonwood are the Northcott family who own and operate Northcott Woodturning (www.pegs.us).  This is also an amazing local business that we have here in Walpole and oh how convenient for Bensonwood.  I feel so happy to be living in an area so rich with people that have traditional skills!

If you have not had the opportunity to visit the interior of some of the amazing old barns here in New England, make a point to do so.  You will be awe inspired by the simple beauty and craftsmanship exhibited in these gorgeous, functional structures.  I am so glad that Ted and his family are continuing the tradition of timber framing here in our area and I love to keep up on the latest timber framing news.

Because so many people are becoming more interested in farming and getting back to the land, we have had requests by folks looking to be married or hold special functions in our barn.  We held our first small wedding in the barn last fall and I must say that it was one of the most gorgeous and intimate wedding locales that I have seen.  If you would like more information about hosting your next wedding or special party on the farm or in the barn please visit www.innatvalleyfarms.com for more information.

Keep up the good work Bensonwood!

Caitlin

I love to do the morning chores.   There is something so satisfying about being the first person the animals see in the morning.  As I trudge through the crusty snow to open the greenhouse door, I can’t wait to greet the chickens and to feel them pecking at the snow still clinging to my rubber boots (my favorite: www.lacrossefootwear.com).  The water is sometimes frozen, occasionally I get soaked trying to fill the water buckets, there is often poop to clean out of the nesting boxes, but the work is honest and I feel so connected to the earth and to my food.

I take an egg with me for the cat and get my daily dose of cute as I watch him lap the golden yolk.  I head into the barn to fill the water trough for the cows and to check on the goats.  I hook up the hose to the pump and listen as the water begins to fill the hose.  Sometimes I sweep while the trough is filling up and other times I just watch the animals.  I watch the steam rising from their backs, their breath slowly puffing out like smoke, and their black marble eyes watching me watching them.   The trough is full and I disconnect the hose.  I pull the end out of the trough and hold  it high above my head, rhythmically walking hand over hand toward the other end, draining the water so it won’t freeze.  I breathe in the fragrant aroma of fermenting hay and I say thank you to the cows on my way out of the barn.

I breathe deeply and enjoy being outside for the few minutes a day that I have alone without the kids.  I walk slowly and carefully through the barnyard and down the hill back to the greenhouse.  I wonder how many eggs the hens have laid?

Caitlin

Welcome to our farm blog! 

Just a few introductions before we get going.  Chris and I (Caitlin) live on a beautiful 100 acre farm with a  B&B in historic Walpole, New Hampshire.  We share this amazing piece of heaven with Chris’s parents Bonnie and Charlie, Chris’s sister Jackie, her husband Tim and their kids Elaina, Julia, Zac, and Taylor.  Chris and I have two very busy boys Sam and Henry.

On the farm we raise 100% grass-fed and finished beef, pastured turkeys, chickens, eggs, pigs and coming soon…ducks.  Jackie raises lots of amazing organic vegetables for the inn and the family and we use the greenhouse to raise beautiful tomatoes and other crops that like it steamy.

This blog will be a diary of the happenings here on the farm, the good, the bad, the trials, the errors.  We hope to educate and inform about the food system and hope to feel connected with those of you who are interested in raising healthy, wholesome, delicious food!

Chris and Caitlin