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The Egg Business – Progress Report

Jan 31, 2012
3 min

The Egg Business – Progress Report

Our 7-year-old son runs the egg business on our farm. We paid the startup costs – buying the chicks, converting an emu hut to a coop, and buying feed and supplies. Once the first group started laying, he took over the rest. He now buys the food, cares for the chickens and eggs, markets the eggs, and keeps records of his production, income, and expenses. Small-scale farming is not a big money maker, and as we’ve put together our 5-year plan, we can see that we’ll have to ge

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Another Rock in the Wall

Nov 18, 2011
2 min

Another Rock in the Wall

With the unseasonably warm days we had in the beginning of November, we put some of our other work (including some of the kids’ studies) aside and got to work improving our rear pasture. The rear pasture is about 1.25 acres and “rough” to say the least. Based on the size of the poisonous pin cherries throughout the pasture, we figure the pasture has been let go for a good 5-10 years. We’d previously cleared about a quarter to third of it, and then broadcast spread winter ry

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David’s Eggs

Nov 6, 2011
1 min

David’s Eggs

Our son is responsible for the egg business, and just started selling them. It’s wonderful to see him so excited to do the work, keep the records, and care for the chickens and eggs. The text below is from the flyer that he puts into each carton (you can click here to see his webpage). Hi, I’m David, and I run the egg business at the Flying T Ranch! I feed the chickens and water them, and I take care of them. Every morning, I check the chickens to see how much food and wat

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Trail Ride Poems by Another Guest Blogger/Poet

Nov 5, 2011
1 min

Trail Ride Poems by Another Guest Blogger/Poet

Our 11yo daughter was encouraged by the response to her older sister’s blog posts, and asked that we post these poems, written about a trail ride from last month. —– BEAR BROOK STATE PARK We’re going to Bear Brook Park today On the trails, Jasper will lead the way. He’s prancing, snorting, and kicking up his heels Happy, excited, and hyper he feels! For lunch we stopped at a little clearing overlooking a lake. This is what happened: At Bear Brook State Park Jasper really lef

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October Snowstorm

Oct 30, 2011
1 min

October Snowstorm

The snow hit hard on Oct 29th. We measured over 18″ of the white stuff. From the balcony "Yeah, it's snow. Now get down here and feed me!" Winterberries Mocha checking out the snow. OK, this was staged. We should get a couple more later on today. Snow curling off the barn's roof Jasper running in the pasture. Kids making snowmen Walking on the trail from the back pasture. The last of the fall colors? Red maple and Red oak leaves in the snow One of the kids' snowmen and the b

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Pictures of our First Snow

Oct 28, 2011
1 min

Pictures of our First Snow

Pics taken by our daughters of our first snow of the year: Zip in his blanket. Jasper loves the cold. Zip (foreground) and Jasper. Hugs and Kisses Jessie thought the snow tasted great. View out the back balcony. #newhampshire #Horses #newengland #photography #HorsesinSnow #Snow #smallfarm

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On Firewood, Fuel Oil, and BTUs

Oct 17, 2011
3 min

On Firewood, Fuel Oil, and BTUs

We went to a funeral this weekend for our neighbor’s Dad. He was an amazing, godly man who grew up in the Northeast in the 1920s. His bedroom was an outdoor covered porch, shared with his siblings. His story isn’t unusual for that time. 1920s New England Homestead. Image by nps.gov These days (call it being soft if you will) we enjoy a bit more shelter during the winters, and our house at the Flying T has quite the mish-mash of fuel types to help give that shelter some h

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Can Handshakes and the Internet Make Better Food?

Oct 16, 2011
4 min

Can Handshakes and the Internet Make Better Food?

Earlier, I explained that while I believe Organic certification has benefits for certain consumers and producers, it also has some inherent flaws and weaknesses. I believe there is a better solution for many of us. Like many of the practices we’re finding to help us make healthy and ethical choices in the ways we produce, market, acquire, and consume food, this solution is an old one with a bit of assistance from newer technologies. The old part of the solution is the hands

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Fall Trail Ride, Bear Brook State Park

Oct 8, 2011
2 min

Fall Trail Ride, Bear Brook State Park

Just a bit south, the trees aren’t nearly as far along. Some pics from this weekend: One of the few trees that was well along in Autumn glory! In somewhat of a last minute whim, we decided to go for a trail ride down the road a bit at Bear Brook State Park, the largest State Park in New Hampshire. The trailering went very smoothly, with Jasper loading up without any fuss whatsoever. If you’ve read some of our posts on trailering (here, here, and here), you know that’s an a

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Orchardgrass

Oct 4, 2011
2 min

Orchardgrass

Though the most common grass used for hay in New England might be Timothy, another very common component of baled forage around here is Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata). Orchardgrass (photo by Missouri Extension) Unlike Timothy, which takes a bit of care to get established, Orchardgrass often finds its own way into pastures and hayfields. Propogating both by seeds and by tillers that spread from its dense, clumped bases, Orchardgrass competes well with other grasses and wee

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Tri-Dye Jam

Oct 1, 2011
1 min

Tri-Dye Jam

Tri-Dye Jam God blessed us with some amazing fruit this year, both on our trees and in the bushes around the Flying T. We picked berries through the summer. Wild strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries were superb on the farm and in the neighborhood. Our blueberries were a bust, but two friend’s blueberry groves were absolutely amazing. We also did a couple trips to pick-your-own places to fill up on strawberries. As berry season was coming to a close, our peaches arr

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Adventures in Long Distance Horse Trailering, Part 1

Sep 29, 2011
5 min

Adventures in Long Distance Horse Trailering, Part 1

In the last post on trailering, I explained that though our Quarterhorse (Zip) was very compliant with getting into the trailer, we had some… ahem… “challenges” loading and trailering our Haflinger cross (Jasper). Under the tutelage of our faithful trainer, Rachel, we put together a plan to teach him to load well. Rachel (our trainer and mentor) working Jasper on the longe line It was a very good plan, in part because the schedule included a two-month stint where I would lea

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Forages: Timothy Grass

Sep 26, 2011
3 min

Forages: Timothy Grass

This is the first installment in the Forage Managment section of our blog. For more information on why I’m doing this, click here. Timothy grass (Phleum pratense, or Herd’s Grass) is most likely the base of hay you buy in New England – it’s the predominant species for most well-cared-for and cultivated hayfields around here. This is precisely why there isn’t much of it here at the Flying T, though since I have found a few specimens here and there around the property, I susp

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Legumes and Grasses and Weeds, Oh My!

Sep 26, 2011
3 min

Legumes and Grasses and Weeds, Oh My!

One of the fringe benefits of my new job is the ability to take courses at UNH. At first, I considered working towards another Masters, or even a PhD. I started looking through the catalog at the course titles, but “Fun with Complex and Imaginary Numbers,” “Astrophysics For English Majors,” and “Advanced Intermediate Navel-Gazing” just didn’t inspire me. Then I happened upon the Thompson School of Agriculture courses. Now we were talking. I considered “AGRI101: Using Farm

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First Day of Fall

Sep 23, 2011
1 min

First Day of Fall

A few pics from our first day of Fall here at the Flying T Ranch. First Day of Fall at the Flying T - Leaves are Just Starting to Turn Only a little longer before the hammock gets packed up for the season The colors are just starting to show The path to the back pasture is still green But the ferns in our back pasture are starting to yellow We've got our wood stacked and drying, though I've got a few more windfalls from Irene left to cut and split The York Rake will get a lot

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On bonfires, boy scouts, and tractors…

Sep 17, 2011
1 min

On bonfires, boy scouts, and tractors…

When I was a Boy Scout, like many of my comrades, I liked to poke around the fire. In survival school, we called the fire the “Survival Television” – throw a branch in or rearrange the logs, and you’ve changed the channel. My wife said today that a bonfire on a crisp Fall day is one of life’s true pleasures, and I agree with her. So today we got a burn permit from the Fire Department and spent a bit of time burning a pile of pin cherries (we’ve been slowly clearing them out

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Why Boer Goats?

Sep 16, 2011
2 min

Why Boer Goats?

Gracie (left) and Jessie (right) The most recent additions to our farm were our Boer Goats, Gracie and Jessie. They are both full-blood Boer doelings, and our hope is to use them as the foundation of our herd. Boers are relatively new to the US (introduced in the mid-90s), and meat goats in general aren’t nearly as common in New England as are those raised for milk and fiber. So, why did we decide to go with them? Well, the first answer is they just haven’t invented a 5-day

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Repurposing Wooden Pallets

Sep 12, 2011
2 min

Repurposing Wooden Pallets

I’ve found a reliable source for used wooden pallets (as well as heavy-duty plastic ones from time-to-time). There’s always a use for them – whether it’s stacking firewood, scavenging the wood for another project, or using them intact (or mostly so) for one thing or another. Here are my latest two pallet-projects: Muscovy Nesting Boxes The muscovy nesting boxes started life as a 4×4 pallet. I cut it into four sections – one with three flat boards across (for the base), the

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Chickens, Lions, and Beavers… Oh My!

Sep 10, 2011
3 min

Chickens, Lions, and Beavers… Oh My!

Our family has a weakness for free-range eggs. You may be thinking, “what’s the big deal? Eggs are eggs,” or “Can you really tell the difference?” If so, you haven’t had a truly fresh, free-range egg. I’ll have to save that discussion for a later blog post, but if you’re skeptical, just humor me through the rest of this story. Anyhow, our weakness for free-range eggs, as well as a desire to be a little closer to our food is what led us to think about bringing chickens to

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What Does Free Range Mean?

Sep 9, 2011
3 min

What Does Free Range Mean?

You can do an Internet search of “cage-free” and “free-range” eggs or chickens and see that there really aren’t a whole lot of legal requirements to claim those titles. "Free Range" Chickens at a Factory Farm “Free range” at the Flying T means that as soon as our chicks and ducklings are safely able to live in the outdoors, we let them roam the farm. Rhode Island Red Free-Ranging at the Flying T Most of the chickens return to the coop at night to roost, and the ducks to the b

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Mar 22, 2021
2 min

Double or Nothing

Two years ago, Chili birthed her first set of quads, four gorgeous red bucklings I like to refer to affectionately as The Spice Boys....

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Mar 23, 2020
1 min

We've Moved!

With all this free time we've found during the shutdown, we at the Flying T at last had the chance to update our website and blog! Rather...

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