Beaverdam Creek Farm

Pictures of My Sheep

2011-12-08T21:12:00.000-08:00

I finally got a new computer. Yay! I promised a couple people pictures of my new sheep and now I can finally post them.

This is Puff

And this is Taffy (Jacob named all of them on the way home from picking them up).

They are Romneys and have very nice wool. I can't wait to have some yarn from my own sheep's fleeces!

And here I am with Mo, the little ewe lamb. She is absolutely adorable!

I'll post pictures of Esmerelda and the ram when I can get some good ones. They don't pose very well.

A Great Farming Blog

2011-09-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all! I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I've been having computer issues and I haven't made it to the Apple store yet. :/

In the meantime, I thought I'd post a link to one of our favorite farming blogs: Hearth to Harvest

The author of Hearth to Harvest is a friend who is an experienced farmer, and she has a wealth of information to share. She and her family run River Cottage Farm. They are committed to producing healthy, local food. So, check it out. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

-Tricia Ann

Dare To Be Different!

2011-08-19T19:48:00.006-07:00

Spreading The Word - Scotland

2011-07-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

You should know your local farmer...even in the U.K.! My friend sent these to me after recently visiting England and Scotland. Thank you!

Stirling Bridge in Scotland

Westminster Abbey in London, England.

So, where has your "Who's Your Farmer?" shirt been?

-Tricia Ann

Spreading The Word - Hopedale, Illinois

2011-07-18T04:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the E. family for sending me this picture. This little guy is spreading the local food message too!

-Tricia Ann

Spreading The Word - The Gulf of Mexico

2011-07-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

Spreading the local food message across the globe! Photo credit goes to Olivia.

-Tricia Ann

Into the Light

2011-07-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

I was flipping through the latest issue of Organic Gardening Magazine one day last week, when I happened upon an article about garden photography. It suggested shooting into the sunlight early in the morning. I had never thought of this, and couldn't wait to try it. So yesterday morning while I was picking lettuce and green onions, I kept an eye on the sun, waiting for just the right time. Just as I saw it peeking over the trees, I grabbed my camera and started shooting. I discovered pretty quickly that I needed to switch to manual mode because the photos were under-exposed. The result? Some of the best garden shots I've ever taken! Here are just a few. I may post more later, if I have time.

I'm so happy that my sunflowers are finally blooming!

And lest I bore you with garden photographs, here are some people.

Jacob is saying, "If I were at a Mexican concert, I'd yell, 'Pollo Para No Dinero!'"

Speaking a little Spanish is sometimes worse than speaking none. Can any of y'all guess what he meant? :D

It was so funny that we laughed about it all morning.

Okay, so I need to work on self-portraiture now. ;)

-Tricia Ann

Drought and Recent Photos

2011-06-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

As y'all can see by our lack of posts, we've been swamped with garden work lately. In addition to all the harvesting, weeding, fertilizing, and making deliveries, it has been bone dry around here, so the garden has needed lots of irrigation. The problem is that our well has gone from 11 gallons-per-minute to 1 gallon-per-minute. So, we haven't had enough water to irrigate. All the plants have been getting very wilty, and we haven't been able to plant anything. Dad has been working out a solution. He got a pump and everything we need to get water from the creek up the hill to the garden. He and Jacob began putting it all together yesterday, but it's not done yet. In the meantime, we've been fervently praying for rain, and this morning the Lord is pouring the rain down on us! We're so thankful.

Here are some pictures I've taken recently. Hopefully, I can get some more up soon.

The cherry tomatoes are starting to come in! This is a mix of Sungold and Lemon Drop. All you CSA members should be getting these pretty soon.

Red trucks just make awesome pictures. I think so anyway. Jacob has listed MJ on Craigslist. :( I'll be so sad when he sells her.

We dug up a few potatoes to see how they were coming along. I love growing these...they're so pretty. We have Sangre (red), Purple Viking, and Nicola (white) in this picture.

And lastly, Jacob bought me a pair of white aviator shades. :)

Our New Farm Intern Program

2011-06-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

Meet Rambo and Pedro.

Okay, so maybe the heat's been a little too much for us today. ;)

The Storm Rolls In...

2011-05-16T05:10:00.000-07:00

King Corn

2011-05-13T20:28:00.001-07:00

Jacob has posted a review of the movie King Corn on his blog, Music City Moo Dude. He also posted some photos from his Alabama trip. Check it out... Jacob's a very entertaining writer.

Hoss-Training and CSA

2011-05-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hoss is really sweet, and I don't think he would ever hurt a chicken on purpose, but he plays roughly, and might injure one accidentally. So, Jacob and I have been trying to train him to be very gentle with them. I'm not sure he gets it completely, but he's improving steadily. Mom took some pictures of one of our training sessions.

Our CSA begins tomorrow! It rained all morning, so we had to harvest all the veggies this afternoon. Here's what this week's basket looks like:

'Rudolf' radishes

-Tricia Ann

Farm News

2011-05-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

With all the rain we've been getting, the garden is growing by leaps and bounds. We've been planting like crazy around here - tomatoes, watermelons, squash, cucumbers, and lots of other good stuff, including a gazillion heads of lettuce. For those of you wondering how many "a gazillion" is, it is approximately 2000. Yeah, that sounds like a lot, even to me!

We are 10 days and counting from the beginning of our CSA. Here's a picture of part of the garden.

Can you guess what Jacob did on Saturday?

Yep. He played paintball with some of his buddies. They were very nice to let me take some pictures.

In other news, we got all the siding on our house! A big thank you to all the people who helped us finish up this project.

As you can see, the house is a nice monotone gray now.

Jacob is heading down to Alabama to help with clean-up from the tornadoes. He and two of his friends are leaving at 4:00 tomorrow morning. I'm sure he'd appreciate your prayers for safe travel and that he would be a blessing to the families he is going to be helping.

-Tricia Ann

Deluge 2011

2011-04-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it's time for the annual flood post! It all started on Monday when it began to rain. It rained, and rained, and rained; through Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday night, it was still raining, and the National Weather Service issued several tornado warnings for Hickman County. So, we and our next-door neighbors (who don't have a basement) headed for shelter in the basement of our house. Since the house isn't finished yet, the basement serves as a lumber storage area. So, when you go down there, you have a great variety of seating choices - 2x4's, 2x6's, 2x8's, or 2x12's. Thankfully our stay in the basement was uneventful, and when the storm was over, we all went to bed.

Thursday morning, I awoke to the sound of water running. It wasn't raining, but it sounded like we had a nearby waterfall. When Jacob came in from doing his chores, he said that there was water running over the driveway and that Beaverdam Creek was rising. Needless to say, we began preparing for flooding immediately. With the help of some friends, we moved the cows across the road and made sure that everything that would float was on high ground. By that time, it was raining again. Two of Jacob's friends stuck around to help him pull up some temporary fencing. It was made of t-posts and polywire, and it was running right through a low spot in our pasture where the creek-overflow was gushing through. They had to wade through the water, which was about 3 feet deep, to roll up the polywire. I just stood in the rain and watched, wishing I had my camera.

After making sure all the neighbors were prepared for high water, we came in and dried off. We were praying that the Lord would protect Jacob's fence from damage. It rained awhile longer, then finally stopped. The water never got very high, and soon began subsiding. Jacob checked the fence this morning, and there was NO damage! All the water is gone, except for a smallish lake close to the creek. The power didn't even go out. It was a very small flood, compared to the ones of the past two years. The Lord protected us and our property, and we are very thankful.

Here we are in the basement with the neighbors at 11:00 p.m.

This is the water rushing across the driveway.

There was enough water for Jacob to turn photographer. He's shooting with my old camera that he inherited.

Gimli went through the water once, but he refused to come back. He jumped on the four-wheeler as if he was saying, "Take me back across, Jacob!"

This is looking down Sulphur Creek Road, close to our barn.

Jacob, playing in the road

Hoss had the time of his life. He likes floods.

Yesterday evening, I jumped up from the computer, where I was writing an essay. I ran to get my camera, and took this picture. The sky looked very strange and the setting sun was lighting up those trees at the edge of the pasture.

Now we're praying for some dry days so that the ground will dry out so we can get some much-needed planting done.

You can read about last year's flood post here. And the flood from the year before that here.

-Tricia Ann

Springtime!

2011-04-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

It's getting really green around here, and I'm so glad! It's been dismally gray all winter long. Being from Georgia, where there are plenty of evergreen pines, I'm not accustomed to the bleak Tennessee winter landscape.

I love dogwoods!

I had the prettiest stand of crimson clover, and I couldn't wait until it bloomed. I was so disappointed when I realized that we would have to till it under before the flowers appeared, that Daddy left a little patch for me. Isn't he nice? They started to bloom this week.

Jacob's baby chicks

We've planted almost an acre already.

Here are some lettuce and kale transplants.

We're finally able to harvest our asparagus this year. It's beautiful and delicious.

The plants in the garden are all doing well and growing steadily.

-Tricia Ann

This and That

2011-04-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

I just can't get this blog to look the way I want it to. I designed a nice new theme in Photoshop that was brown and blue. One Friday night, I decided to change out the header and the background really quick. Well, my "really quick" turned into 2 hours of wrestling with it. I finally just left it and went to bed because I had to get up early the next morning to go to the farmer's market. One afternoon last week, I tried again. After working on it two more hours, I got the header right, but still couldn't get the background up correctly. So, I gave up. I'm beginning to despise Blogger for causing so much frustration. Who knows, though...It might've just been too much airspace between the ears of this blonde user. ;) Anyway, I'm going to leave it like this for awhile.

I finally have pictures of the completed timber-frame building. I took these last Saturday when we began staining it. We've almost finished staining now, and it looks really nice.

Jacob always gets elected to perform the high-up tasks.

We've also started putting siding on the house. I think it's almost halfway done. Hopefully, we'll get the rest up in the next couple weeks. The guys are doing a fantastic job. The house is looking more "homey" now, as Mom says.

Some of our wonderful friends have come to help. It really moves faster with a three-man crew - one cutting and two nailing.

-Tricia Ann

Planting Spuds, etc.

2011-04-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

Now that it's getting warmer, we're in the full swing of planting. It's been pretty wet and rainy lately, so we've had to hustle on the dry days to get everything planted. Last week, we planted 375 pounds of potatoes! We planted them on top of the hill this year, since the whole of last year's crop was washed away in the flood.

We have a new tractor implement this year that digs the trenches and covers them up again, which makes the process so much easier and faster. We used to use rakes to do it all by hand. Even with the aid of the tractor, it still took all day and almost half an acre. The weather was nice, and we had fun working together as a family.

Planting potatoes is fairly simple. You cut up your potatoes into pieces that have at least one eye each. Then you plant them, cut side down, in a trench and cover them up with about 6-8 inches of dirt.

We space the pieces 12" apart, using the precise method of "eyeballing". ;)

Jacob is a very talented farmer. He can talk on the phone and plant at the same time.

I'm so thankful that the Lord has given me such a pretty place to live!

We've also been setting out lots of lettuce, kale, and bok choy transplants.

I spent almost all day on Saturday planting all kinds of seeds - spinach, radish, turnip, beet, Swiss chard, carrot, etc. I'm trying an experiment with carrots, so I'll post about that soon.

CSA season begins in a month! I can't believe it.

-Tricia Ann

Sunrise...

2011-03-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Timber Frame Raising - Faces, etc.

2011-03-25T17:33:00.000-07:00

Here are the last of the timber-framing pictures I'm going to post. I took over 400, but that's a few too many to share. ;)

We had plenty of lovely photographers on site, all sporting their Nikons.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole day. Daniel is such a good sport, always ready to give me a funny pose.

I still haven't taken a picture of the building that is the result of all this hard work. I never think of it at the right time. We are planning to use this building as a pavilion, as soon as we put a roof on it.

Praise the Lord for a fun and successful community project, for a new building, and that no one had any major injuries!

-Tricia Ann

Timber Frame Raising - Part 2

2011-03-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

Here's the second bent, assembled and ready to go up.

There were lots of spectators.

By this time, the number of workers had diminished significantly. So, they used a bobcat plus manpower to get the 2nd bent halfway up. At that point, the bobcat wouldn't go up any further, so the guys braced it and stopped to evaluate the situation.

They decided to just go on and push it the rest of the way. Being the rugged and mighty guys that they were, they gave it a shove, and it went right up.

Okay, so that's not how it really went. ;)

It was getting rather dangerous, and Granddaddy insisted that they call a crane.

Even with the crane, there was still a lot of work to do. In fact, I don't think they could've finished it all in one day without the crane to speed things up some.

Emma re-stained some pegs.

The whole building is held together with pegs - there are no nails.

The 3rd and final bent.

Sunset.

It was dark by the time they were done, so I don't have a picture of the final result yet, but I'll try to get one soon.

Stay tuned for the final timber-framing post.

-Tricia Ann

Timber Frame Raising - Bent #1

2011-03-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

Last March, Jacob went to a timber-framing workshop with some friends. Before they went, they cut down a bunch of oak trees from our property and used the sawmill to make the timbers. They loaded the beams on trailers and hauled them to NC where the workshop was. While they were there, they cut two out of the three bents. When they got back home, they planned to finish cutting the timbers and assemble the structure, but the flood happened shortly thereafter. To make a long story short, we didn't have time to finish and erect the building until now.

Yesterday we had a big Timber Frame raising here at our farm. Here's the first installment of pictures.

Sunrise

They built this brace-wall to hold the bent in place, once they got it up.

Raising the first bent, which weighed about 2000 pounds.

-Tricia Ann

Shamrocks and Greensand

2011-03-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day, y'all!

Here's Gimli sitting in a patch of crimson clover. He likes to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, even though he's Scottish.

I thought today would be a good day to write about greensand, a soil amendment that we use. Greensand is a rock powder. It's green color is caused by the high levels of glauconite it contains. It is a good source of potassium and trace minerals for plants. We use it in our soil mix for growing transplants. We've also spread it in the garden before.

Greensand is hard to find. Fertrell is one of the only companies that offers it, and there just aren't many Fertrell dealers around. Nourishing Harvest Farm recently started carrying it, so we got our last bag from them.

Here's what it looks like - Green. Sand.

-Tricia Ann

Oats don't die easily...

2011-03-09T17:01:00.000-08:00

It finally dried out enough between rains to do some much-needed tilling. Back in October, we seeded plot B with oats and clover as a cover crop. From some reading I'd done, I thought that the oats would die in the winter, leaving the plot ready for early planting. However, despite all the unusually cold weather, the oats survived beautifully with hardly a dead blade and had begun to re-grow vigorously by the middle of February. We learn a lot by the trial-and-error method. :) So, we tilled in our green manure as soon as possible. The oats were so tall that Jacob had to bush-hog before he tilled. Hopefully, we can begin planting out there in a couple of weeks.

Some clover in the oats

Dirt.

No comments from the IL peanut gallery. :)

-Tricia Ann

Microgreens

2011-03-05T18:52:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy! We harvested our first microgreens of the season, and they are gorgeous. We sold every last bag of them at the farmer's market today. These are not "microwave greens" as one customer surmised. :) They're called "micro" because they are tiny. Our microgreens are a mixture of baby plants such as kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, radishes, beets, onions, etc. They only take 2-3 weeks to grow in the greenhouse, but they can be a little finicky sometimes. Maybe I'll do a "how to grow microgreens" blog post one of these days.

Want to try some of our delicious, nutrient-dense microgreens? Stop by our booth at the Franklin Farmer's Market on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon.

-Tricia Ann

Funny Faces ;)

2011-03-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

Family Photos

2011-02-28T07:40:00.000-08:00

So, we needed a new family photo for our 2011 CSA brochure. The most recent one we had was from Christmas 2009, in which we were all wearing colors that completely clashed with my brown and green brochure design.

We asked Camille to take some portraits for us, and she did an awesome job!

We donned our BCF shirts, all except Dad, who for some reason doesn't have one yet. Not sure how that happened...

Dad and Jacob kept us in stitches by making lame jokes.

Gotta love Jacob's grin...

And of course, MJ had to be in the picture too.

Voila! We got the brochures back from the printer, and they look great!

We need to post the new brochure on our website, hopefully that will happen in the next couple of days. Then y'all can see the whole thing.

-Tricia Ann

Emilie

2011-02-17T15:14:00.000-08:00

Family photo shoot post in progress...

-TA

Lots and Lots of Seeds!

2011-02-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

I just placed our big seed order for the season. I think every seed company in the world has found out that we are farmers, so we get all of their catalogs in the mail. We have gigantic stacks of them piling up everywhere. I have three favorites - Johnny's Select Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange, and High Mowing Organic Seeds.

It's my job to look through them and decide what we'll be growing. So, I spend lots of time reading descriptions of various vegetable varieties, looking at pictures, and comparing types. I choose varieties based on flavor - the best tasting, size, disease resistance, and the number of days to maturity. I also try to pick ones that will thrive in our region. And sometimes I pick ones just because I think they'd be cool to try, like golden beets or red okra.

It's fun, and sometimes I get carried away. I went through four catalogs, circling tomato varieties that I wanted to grow. But when I counted them, there were something like 35 varieties! Obviously, I had to narrow it down. I think I ended up with about 13 varieties.

A few of the new things we're trying this year are (click on the links to see pictures):

Sanguine Ameliore lettuce - a bright green butterhead with red speckles

Orangeglo watermelon - a large melon with bright orange flesh, considered by many to be the best tasting watermelon ever

Lemon Drop tomato - a light yellow cherry that won the Seed Saver's Exchange 2010 taste-test

Purple Viking potatoes - a white-fleshed potato with bright purple skin

And lots more...

We'll be growing around 150 varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers!

My three favorites

Seed order, page two of four

Mickey wondered why on earth I would take pictures of papers when I had such a cute kitty to take pictures of.

Up next will be a few shots from our family photo shoot. Stay tuned!

-Tricia Ann

Leeks

2011-02-08T16:26:00.000-08:00

Here are the leeks I planted in the greenhouse a couple weeks ago. I was a little worried about them, since it took so long for them to germinate, but they came up beautifully. I've been really excited about growing leeks since I read about Eliot Coleman's method of growing them. They'll grow in the greenhouse until they're 1/4 to 1/2 an inch in diameter, hopefully sometime in late April. Then they'll be planted outside. So, check back then to see Mr. Coleman's leek transplanting method.

I planted two varieties of leeks - King Richard and Megaton. "King Richard" just sounds like an awesome leek (That's why I ordered it...or one of the reasons, anyway). "Megaton"; however, is not prepossessing at all. Who came up with that name? It sounds like something from Power Rangers. Did they think that someone would see the name "Megaton" in the seed catalog and say, "I HAVE to grow that one!" ?

If all goes well, you CSA members will have leeks in your baskets in July or so.

-Tricia Ann

There are about 37,000 seeds in this 1/4 lb packet.

Christmas Pictures

2011-02-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from Christmas.

-Tricia Ann

Christmas Eve eve at The Brick, Jacob's favorite restaurant.

He ALWAYS gets...

Getting ready for Christmas Eve dinner

Ahhhh! A balmy Georgia Christmas :)

Washin' all that TN mud off

I love this mirror. It's so much fun.

I made creme brulee, and Jacob torched it for me. It took awhile to get the hang of it. There's a definite art to it.

Voila!

The Un-Cookies were especially good this year.

Cousins reading Luke 2 before opening presents

Eggnog clean-up ;)

Back at home, we had a surprise on Christmas morning. We didn't have a Christmas tree, so Daddy drew one, complete with the red stand that we've had ever since I can remember.

Gimli LOVES to open presents, even if they're someone else's and have already been opened.

Since we don't have much room around here to celebrate, we went with our grandparents to Buca di Beppo, an Italian restaurant in Franklin. The food was awesome! Go there if you get a chance. Here's mom with a huge, delicious pizza.

After lunch, we went to see Tangled at the theater. I really liked it. :)

House Raising T-Shirts

2011-01-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

After much ado, trying to find an honest printer, dealing with vector software incompatibility, etc. - here are the house-raising shirts I designed. I had lots of helpful suggestions, and Caleb designed the beaver holding the hammer which adorns the front. Thank y'all!

-Tricia Ann

Our Trip to the North Pole...

2011-01-27T10:48:00.000-08:00

...I mean, Illinois.

Last week, we took a road trip to Illinois for a wedding. On the way, we stopped in Indiana to visit our dear friends at Stonewall Farm. We had a great time at their house. We talked about farming, theology, movies, and all kinds of stuff. They fed us plenty of wonderful homegrown food. We were only able to stay for one day, and we were sorry to leave.

On Friday morning, we headed on to Illinois. We took a couple short-cuts, so it took longer than we were expecting.

It snowed a lot, but the roads were pretty clear.

Daddy drove.

Jacob intently played a game, and acted as DJ.

I took some pictures and looked out the window at the scrolling cornfield scenery :)

And guess what...I saw a tree!

Mom read to us and tried to keep her feet from freezing.

Huh.

Yep. It says 5 degrees. And this is at NOON! Brrrrrrrrrrrr!

We arrived at our destination without accident. When we piled out of the truck, our host came out on the front porch and greeted us with, "Welcome to the Himalayas!"

Everyone likes to hear Aunt Trish read.

The wedding was scheduled for 10:00 Saturday morning. We got there really early to help out, but the folks from the church already had most everything under control.

Laura played with Jonas so his mom could do other things.

I didn't take any pictures during the ceremony...I just wanted to watch and enjoy it. Besides there were plenty of photographers.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen ;)

There was an abundance of wonderful brunch food at the reception, and lots of pretty ladies to serve it. Here are Melinda and Grace.

Colton and Raquel

"Clean shirt, new shoes; and I don't know where I'm goin' to..."

Someone was kind enough to remember their brethren visiting from the other side of the Mason-Dixon.

Grace the lovely bridesmaid with Laura her lovely friend.

Sam and the other groomsmen decorated Colton's get-away car. ;)

We departed for home on the Lord's Day after worship. It was a wonderful trip.

-Tricia Ann

Planting Time - Already!

2011-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? Last week, we cleaned out the greenhouse. We washed everything off, repaired benches, buttoned up holes, etc. And today I planted the first seeds of the year. In the beds under the benches I planted a whole bunch of leek and onion seeds.

Gimli likes to help me in the greenhouse. :)

Snow!

2011-01-14T18:45:00.001-08:00

We got about 4 inches of snow this week. It was so pretty. I recently got a new camera - a Nikon D90, and I LOVE it! I had fun taking pictures in the snow. The pictures I took with my old camera usually needed tweaking...these required none. We did go sledding, but I didn't take my camera with me.

I don't know if y'all have met Hoss yet. He's our Pyrenees puppy. Yep, a great big puppy. Don't let that innocent look fool ya.

Here's our house now. Notice all the doors and windows! The front porch is finished too.

Here's a view out one of the front doors.

~Tricia Ann

House-Raising

2010-12-23T11:38:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've been able to post, but I hope to make it up to y'all. Several people have asked me to publish pictures from our house-raising. Until now, I haven't had the time or the internet.
The house-raising was early in November, just after our church's annual Reformation Day celebration. It lasted three days. We were expecting a few people to help, but more came than we ever imagined. I counted 30 people that Monday. Not only did we have builders, but we had garden helpers too. And still others brought lots of good food for all the workers. It's amazing what we accomplished. We're so thankful for the wonderful Christian community that came to help us with a huge project.

We had a lot of fun those three days. We ended them with a cookout on Wednesday night. We ate hamburgers and hotdogs and drank IBC root beer. Afterwards, we sat around a fire, toasting marshmallows, while Claire and Kyle played and sang some bluegrass for us.

Thanks to everyone! We'll never be able to repay you. May God reward you for your selfless service.

And now the pictures. Drumroll, please...

Mr. M. and his sons did an excellent job digging our basement and pouring the concrete for the foundation.

The M. boys know exactly what to do, even when their dad isn't around. They poured the footings mostly by themselves.

Here's the basement. Notice that black-ish tar stuff. That's the waterproofing. Daddy did that part himself. It was a difficult, nasty job. The tar was super-thick and had to be smeared on with a trowel.

The framing begins.

Ben and Jacob look a lot alike from a distance. People get them mixed up sometimes. ;)

This prelimenary framing was done the week before the actual house-raising.

Mom had a full time job feeding the guys.

The House-Raising begins:

First wall on the first floor

John had his work cut out for him. He had to keep over 20 guys busy at all times, and oversee all the work they were doing. He did a great job. We could have never, ever done it without him.

John has trouble remembering people's real names, so he makes up nicknames for everyone. He's quite creative, and most of them are hilarious.

Ben is "Hot Shot"
Here's a view from the front. You can see the shop on the left.

Here's Caleb. (He doesn't like his assigned nickname, so I might be in trouble if I blog it :)

We had no less than three Calebs on site. We also had a couple Jacobs.

Olivia took some beautiful pictures for us. Maybe I can upload some of hers later.

John's patented Advantek elevator.

One floor down; one to go

"Pocket Hercules" :P
This Caleb came all the way from Indiana to help us. I understand he has a few nicknames; "Boom Boom" and "McLain" being the most popular. :)
Some farmer friends of ours sent their interns to help.

Jacob likes giving orders...

I wonder who he learned it from. :)

Josiah is from Illinois and Henry from Indiana. They both made special trips to be here.

Sam and Chris cutting up

It's beginning to look like a house! Kyle headed up the deck project, and did an awesome job.

Synchronized hammering? *insert Blue Danube Waltz*

I love the porches! Hoss does too.

Here's one I took a few days ago when it snowed.

Look out, Nashville!

2010-07-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

Our very talented neighbors, the Howard family assembled a group of friends to create this country music video in hopes of cheering Jacob up while he was sick. We can safely say that it truly did the trick! Olivia is responsible for the artsy videography and design. We have the eloquent Bruce the Bard to thank for the clever lyrics and the....ummmm..."singing" ;0) The rest of the gang just went along for the ride. Obviously, they all had a blast! And they managed to keep it all a secret, too! What a hoot! I reckon' we're the only farm around with our own music video. Eat your heart out, Josh Turner!

A Wee Highland Lassie

2010-07-22T23:17:00.000-07:00

Jacob's cow Thistle had a calf this week! She's tiny and adorable. He hasn't named her yet, so you'll have to wait until later for that. We discussed names briefly yesterday. If you want to read the story Mom wrote about how we found her, sign up for our newsletter. Thistle is very tolerant, and doesn't mind if we pet her baby. She doesn't like Hoss getting close to her, though.

She's so cute that I imagine you'll be seeing lots of pictures of her in future.

Here she is with her mama.

-Tricia Ann

Have you ever seen an artichoke plant?

2010-07-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

I never had until I grew a few this year. Funny looking, aren't they?!?

Maybe we'll have artichokes in our 2011 CSA baskets!

-Tricia Ann

Farmer's Market Booth Re-design

2010-07-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

We have a corner space at the Farmer's Market this year, so our set-up had to be changed. Plus, we needed to make our booth look really nice, so we'd sell more veggies. We now have two "pop-up" tents to shade our produce (the phrase "pop up" is deceiving, but that's another story :). The front is for our display of veggies for sale, while the side/back is our CSA pick-up area. So far it's worked out really nicely. We also made new matching price tags, which we laminated so we can write the prices with dry-erase markers, in case we have changes. I designed three banners so our farm can be easily identified. After they were printed, I sewed velcro onto them, so we could just stick them to the sides of the tents.

All in all, I think it looks very nice and much improved.

We're still under the pavillion this summer...yay! It feels about 10 degrees cooler under there than out in the parking lot.

Microgreens have been a big hit this season.

Here's our CSA pick-up spot

"Hit him on the head!"

"More broccoli?"

-Tricia Ann

Clean-up and Fencing

2010-07-15T12:20:00.000-07:00

As I said in the last post, during the flood, we lost all our perimeter fencing in our main pasture. We anticipated that it would take a lot of time to put it all back up...a lot of time that we didn't have because of all the garden work that had to be done. Our CSA season was just beginning. We even thought we might have to sell the cows because we didn't have a place to put them.

But, as always, the Lord provided. We had people come from Illinois, Alabama, and all over Tennessee to help us! Some of them we'd known a long time, and others we'd never met! They cleared all the brush and debris out of the fence-line and helped Jacob put up a whole new barbed wire fence! There were also ladies who prepared meals for us and all the workers; and people who helped in the garden while Jacob and Daddy worked on the fencing. It was a lot of work, but I think everybody had fun. I know I did.

Thank you to all the folks who helped us out...we'll never be able to thank you enough! May the Lord bless you for serving Him through serving us. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends.

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

-Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

I don't have pictures of everyone that helped, but here are the ones I do have:

Per advice from local farmers, Jacob decided to attach the barbed wire to the trees this time. Hopefully that will hold up better in floods than fence posts have.

The guys rigged up a clever barbed wire reel.

Here's a section of knocked down fence with mangled high-tensile wire.

We used a lot of staples.

We also used a lot of red cups. :)

-Tricia Ann

Flood 2010

2010-07-10T15:08:00.001-07:00

Apologies to all our readers for keeping you so long in the dark. We are just fine, but very busy with farming. Also, our internet has been pretty haywire lately. For now, we'll bring you up to speed with a few posts about the happenings of the past couple of months.

On May 2nd, there was an epic flood, not only here, but in a lot of middle Tennessee. Beaverdam Creek, which is the border of our big pasture, rose and covered the entire pasture. Water flowed through like a river. It knocked down all Jacob's high-tensile fencing again, took out our whole potato crop, washed up all sorts of debris, and dumped large amounts of sand and gravel in our lower garden spot. Thankfully, we got all the animals, and equipment up to higher ground, out of the reach of the water. We were very blessed to make it through with so little damage. Many people around us lost their cows, farm equipment, cars, and their houses.

The power was out for about 5 days, but we were able to use our generator to keep our freezers going and to pump water from our well.

Dad and Jacob walking across the road

Here's our lake...I mean, pasture.

It was a perfect time for Superman to show up. He's standing in a hole that the water made in our driveway.

Here's the fence by the entrance to our driveway.

During and after the flood, we got to meet a lot of our neighbors. Everybody was making sure everybody else was okay. It was really neat to see the community coming together to help each other. Also, lots of people came to help us clean up and repair damage. Stay tuned to see pictures of our clean-up and fencing crews.

-Tricia Ann

Isn't it pretty?

2010-04-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

Look at our new tool rack! Isn't it clever?!?

The inspiration came from a picture in Eliot Coleman's new book, The Winter Harvest Handbook. It's made out of cedar boards, which Daddy milled. Jacob and Pop pop put it together. I just love it. Now all our tools are dry, organized, and easy to put away.

You can see the whole thing here. The other side is full of tools too.

-Tricia Ann

New CSA Delivery Location!

2010-03-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

We're excited to add a new delivery location
for folks on the north side of Nashville.

Windy Acres Farm - Saturdays from 3:00 - 4:00 pm
5376 East Robertson Rd. Orlinda, TN 37141
615-654-FARM (3276)

At Windy Acres, our shareholders will also be able to purchase many other products including pastured chicken, grass-fed beef and lamb, cage-free eggs, raw milk cheeses, cultured vegetables, and sourdough cultures at the Windy Acres Farm Shop. Windy Acres even offers a Cow Boarding Program for those who want access to farm fresh raw milk!

~Trish

The Meatrix

2010-03-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a really neat video about the rise of factory-farming and the downfall of the family farm.

Produced by Sustainable Table and Free Range Studios, the animated movie The Meatrix spoofs The Matrix while illustrating the problems with industrial agriculture and today’s meat supply. The Meatrix uses pop culture and entertainment to educate viewers about the food they eat and where it comes from. The film features three superhero farm animals including Leo, the young pig who wonders if he is “the One,” Chickity, the feathered family farm defender, and Moopheus, the trench-coat-clad cow with a passion for green pastures. Join the group as they delve into the reality of animal cruelty, antibiotic overuse, massive pollution and destroyed communities.

Check out The Meatrix website to learn more.

Maple Sugaring (or Syrup-ing)

2010-03-20T06:38:00.000-07:00

Tapping maple trees for maple syrup has been a big project of late. Dad, Jacob, and some of our neighbors have spent many hours boiling down sap. It takes 5 gallons of sap to make one pint syrup! But it's definitely worth it...It's the most delicious syrup EVER!!!

First, you drill a hole in the tree. Then you hammer some 1/2 inch conduit into the hole. You drill a hole in the top of the bucket, slide the bucket onto the conduit, and hang the handle over a nail to secure the bucket.

After collecting the sap, you pour it into pots and boil it over a fire for a long time. When it has boiled down to a certain point, you transfer it to a pot on the stove and continue boiling it until it reaches about 218 degrees. Then it is ready to be put into jars.

Finally, you make pancakes and enjoy the fruit of your labor.

-Tricia Ann

Greenhouse Pictures

2010-03-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

Milking Shed

2010-03-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

Yes. We are still alive, in case any of you were wondering. However, from the lack of comments, I'm beginning to question whether we have any readers. Our wireless router died, and I have heretofore been unable to pry the cord away from the other internet users in the family. :)

Since our milk cow (Daphne or Blackie or whatever you want to call her) is due to calve soon, Jacob has been anxious to build a shed for milking her. He and Dad began construction on Friday. Dad had to go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday, so some of Jacob's buddies came over to help him. They got as far as they could with the materials they had, then ran to Lowe's to get some more boards. They were done in no time at all. Great job, guys!

Gotta love the expression.

This one too

-Tricia Ann

Snow Again!

2010-02-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

And this time, A LOT!

I think we got about 6 inches, which is rare here in the Sweet Sunny South. The first day it was very dry and powdery, but the second day it iced over some...perfect for sledding!

Redneck Four-Wheeler

"Snow. I dig it!"

Uhhh...not sure what this one's about

Tally Ho!

Gimli refuses to ride on the sleds; instead, he chases them.

Mary Jane at a distance

Me with a funny expression in front of the yaks.

Sledding down the hill was apparently too slow for these two.

Nice shades.

"Put your feet on the knots, lean back, and hang on!"

Whooooo-Hooooo!

This is what sledding all day will do to you. :)

-Tricia Ann

More Wild Highlanders

2010-01-28T15:30:00.000-08:00

We got two more Highlands yesterday. They are due to calve in the spring. So we'll have little fuzzy cows all over the place. These were already named when I got them, so don't blame me if you don't like their names. :)

We've had a couple people ask if we are keeping yaks. They do look a little like yaks, and we think it's funny. So, Jacob's been making up yak jokes for the past day or two. Sometimes they are funny and sometimes they are not:

What is a Nepalese bovine's favorite martial artist? Yak-ie Chan

What does a Nepalese bovine use to play tennis? A tennis Yak-it (okay, so Jacob didn't make this one up. Mom found it on the internet while looking for Gimli Report material.)

What is a Nepalese bovine's favorite Country singer? Alan Yak-son

...Anyway, you see what I mean. ;)

-Tricia Ann

This is Ellie.

I wonder if she's named after the Wooly Mammoth from Ice Age... :)

And this is Tartan.

Here is a better picture of Fluffy (what I'm calling her until Jacob decides to name her).

Wood Heater

2010-01-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

Dad, with help from Jacob and a friend, installed a wood heater in the shop. I'm too tired to write much, but here's a picture. I spent all day helping Jacob work on his corral. I'll post pictures of it as soon as I can remember to take some.

-Tricia Ann

Highland Coos

2010-01-16T16:58:00.000-08:00

Readers...moo cows. Moo cows...readers. Guess that takes care of the intros.

Highland cow with a turkey in the background...no wait, it's a mink. *Shrieeek* it's a bat!...oh...it's just a t-post. Phew!

The brown cow is the white fluffy spitfire's momma. To stick with the current naming theme, possibilities include Hilda, Olga, Rowena. jk

12 Stones Ingrid...er...eating out of a bucket.(I know. Profound, right?)

-Jacob

Snow!

2010-01-09T07:50:00.000-08:00

It's been snowing a little bit for the past couple days, and surprisingly, there's still quite a bit of snow on the ground. Not enough to go sledding or build a snowman, though. The temperature hasn't been above freezing in over a week, except on Wednesday when it got up to 34 degrees...just long enough to pull back the row cover and pick some lettuce, carrots and turnips for the farmer's market.

Gimli loves snow, so I've been taking him out to play some. I think he'd spend all day out there if I'd let him. I took him with me when I went on a walk to take pictures. Here are some the ones I took.

-Tricia Ann

Here are some cedar logs waiting for Daddy to mill them into boards.

Pipsqueak doesn't look like he cares much for snow.

This is the top of our barn.

I tried everything I could think of, but couldn't get Gimli to look at the camera. I called his name, asked him questions, made funny noises, and I don't know what all; but he still wouldn't look towards me. I finally decided to try cat food.

He likes to play catch with cat food, so I showed him a piece and asked, "Are you ready?"

It worked:

In other news, Jacob and I got a ClearPlay DVD player for Christmas. :)

He's so goofy!

The Shop Is Almost Finished!

2009-12-31T17:51:00.000-08:00

Christmas Pictures

2009-12-29T17:05:00.000-08:00

We drove 6 hours down to Georgia, and 6 hours back. To amuse myself, I played with my camera.

After much coaxing, I finally convinced everyone to let me take their picture.

We had a great time with Dad's parents and my uncle. We all cooked breakfast together one morning. We had fun, and the food was delicious!

We also went to Mom's parents' house for Christmas Eve. I always enjoy seeing our extended family.

Dinner Prep

We always read the Christmas Story from Luke 2 before we open presents. Jacob and I used to read, then Ansley and Sierra read it when they learned to read. Now Ford does a wonderful job reading to us.

I almost didn't recognize Sierra this year. She's getting really tall.

Ford always keeps us laughing. He is constantly saying something witty, and he LOVES to open presents. :)

Sierra and Ansley smiling for the camera

Happy 19th Birthday, Jacob!

2009-12-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

Veggie of the Week: Hakurei Turnips

2009-11-27T18:22:00.000-08:00

These turnips were so much fun to harvest. Their uniformly round roots poke up out of the dirt so it's easy to tell which ones are ready to pull. The slightest tug pops them up from the soil and a quick rinse reveals their lovely snow white skin. The roots are crisp and mildly-flavored making them a perfect addition to a raw garden salad. The greens can be mixed into salads, too. Of course they also can be cooked the traditional Southern style and served with cornbread. Want to try some? Come by our farm on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays or visit our booth at the Franklin Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until noon.

Buy Beaverdam Creek Veggies A La Carte

2009-11-18T14:26:00.000-08:00

BUY LOCAL! Stop by Beaverdam Creek Farm for Your Fresh Fall Veggies!

Dear Friends and Neighbors of Beaverdam Creek Farm,

Our autumn garden is beautiful and thriving! We’d love for you to have some delicious Certified Naturally Grown vegetables for your family meal table!

Here’s your opportunity to buy Beaverdam Creek Farm Veggies ala carte! Below is a list of what’s currently available along with prices. We’ll be open for sales on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. (Closed Wed. Nov. 25^th – Fri. Nov. 27^thfor Thanksgiving Holiday) Just give us a quick call at 931-623-3732 or send us an email to arrange a time to stop by so that we can harvest what you need and have it ready for you. That way, your produce will be absolutely fresh and delicious!

What’s Available?

Red Russian Kale – This beautiful purple-veined kale is more tender than the curly-leafed variety so it requires less cooking time. Our favorite way to prepare kale is simply to saute it in olive oil with fresh garlic, salt and pepper. ($3/bunch)

Beets – Our beets are sweet and tender. They're scrumptious raw in salads or cooked as a side dish. Have you ever tried cooking beet greens? They taste exactly like spinach and they're super good for you! ($3/bunch)

Galisse Lettuce - This beautiful bright green ruffled lettuce has been popular for more than 150 years because of its tender texture and mild flavor. ($2/head)

Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce – A delicate, light-tasting head lettuce. This is a best-seller at the market! ($2/head)

Encore Lettuce Mix – A delicious mix of colors, shapes, and textures adds up to the perfect salad combination. Varieties include Blackhawk, Firecracker, Red Saladbowl, Tango, Parris Island, Deer Tongue and Rouge D’Hiver. Just rinse, spin and add your favorite salad dressing. This mix is so much tastier than the bagged store-bought kind! Once you’ve tried ours, you’ll never want to go back to factory-farmed salads! ($6/half pound)

Arugula – is a spicy little salad green with a rather pungent mustardy/peppery flavor. It has been popular in Italy for centuries but wasn’t well-known in the U.S. until the 1990’s when its popularity soared making it what some now say is “our national salad green.” It’s also known as Italian rocket, garden rocket, Roman rocket (rocket being a corruption of “roquette”), Italian cress, rugola or rucola. The internet is loaded with recipes for this trendy Mediterranean veggie. ($3/bunch)

D’Avignon Radishes – Another of our most popular farmers market sellers. Also known as French Breakfast Radishes, this elegant veggie is milder the traditional round radish. If you can resist eating them long enough to cook with them, try them sautéed in olive oil. Then toss them with the cooked pasta of your choice and top the dish off with freshly ground parmesan cheese. ($2/bunch)

Bright Lights Swiss Chard – I think this is one of the most beautiful veggies we grow! The neon-colored stems give it an almost surreal appearance. But alas! It fades upon cooking. So, be sure to show this veggie off to your Thanksgiving guests before you cook it. Better yet, let them pitch in and help with the preparations. It’s so much more fun preparing for a feast when friends and family work together in the kitchen! Check out this delectable-looking Swiss Chard Gratin recipe from SmittenKitchen.com. What a unique and satisfying side dish for your Thanksgiving Feast! ($3/bunch)

Butternut Squash – This little veggie may look plain on the outside, but open it up and you’re in for a big surprise! Its bright orange flesh is sweet, nutritious, and super delicious! And it’s so very easy to prepare. We prepare it the same way as our Honey Bear Acorn Squash (see above).($2/pound)

Mesclun – (pronounced mes cloon) This is French for “mix”. It’s a tasty blend of baby garden greens such as kale, mazuna, bok choi, and tat soi. Mesclun is quite a bit more nutritious than standard salad mix because baby greens have more concentrated amounts of vitamins and minerals than plain lettuces do. ($6/half pound)

Mustard Greens – I like the way the Whole Foods website describes mustard greens - “spunky and soulful!” They’re a peppery-tasting green that add a certain spicy kick to any Southern menu. We love to boil them in a pot of water along with some bacon grease and a tad of crushed red pepper. They’re fantastic with fried chicken, creamed potatoes and cornbread. They’re great with turkey and dressing, too! ($2/bunch)

Spaghetti Squash – A low carb alternative to pasta, this squash has a rich, buttery flavor. Serve with your favorite Italian red or white sauce or simply toss with butter, salt, and pepper for a simple side dish. ($2/pound)

Decorative Gourds – Fascinating is the word that comes to mind. These little gourds will make your jaw drop with wonder. Their bright colored patterns look as if they’re painted on! At the market, children and adults alike stop to marvel at these wonder-veggies! Of course, they’re not edible but they make an absolutely marvelous centerpiece when placed in a basket or arranged on a tiered dessert plate. ($1 each)

Try Out Our CSA or Extend Your Share!

2009-11-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

Have you been wondering what it might be like to join our CSA? Well, now's your opportunity to try us out for a week or two. We have extra produce in the garden! So for the next two weeks, we're offering an extension of our regular CSA season.

Who can participate? Anyone! You don't have to be a regular CSA customer to take advantage of this opportunity. Maybe you're wondering what it would be like to be a part of our CSA program. Maybe you're a regular customer and you'd like to continue to have your basket of Certified Naturally Grown farm fresh veggies delivered right up until Thanksgiving week so that you don't have to resort to canned or frozen factory farm food for your special feast.

Here's What We Think Will be in Each Extension Basket (Lord wlling, of course):
Week of Nov. 9 - 14: Mesclun Mix, Black-Seeded Simpson Lettuce, Butternut Squash, Broccoli Raab Greens, D'Avignon Radishes
Week of Nov. 16 - 21: Kale, Carrots, Swiss Chard, Galisse Lettuce, Sweet Potatoes, Winter Squash

Prices:
Half Share Basket $17.50
Full Share Basket $30.00

If you'd like to participate, simply email us at trish@beaverdamcreekfarm.com.

Reformation Day 2009

2009-11-10T15:23:00.001-08:00

Here are the pictures I took on Reformation Day. I was struggling to come up with captions, and most of the ones I typed out were boring, to say the least. Jacob to the rescue! I hope you'll laugh as hard as I did.

-Tricia Ann

One of my favorite pictures of the day

"I know you...shot with you in high school?"

"You know...after you grin all the way through a 2 hr. turkey shoot...your cheeks get sore."

Queen of Reformation Trivia

Nice sweatshirt! "and it starts at my toes, makes me crinkle my nose"

They call me...MISTER BoomBoom.

Jake the excellent marksman (most of the time) ;)

"Wait...I got a four?!?!? Yessssss....."

Turkey-shoot spectators having a good time "It's not fair! They've got the guns! All we've got are these rocks!"

TJ tied for 1st place! I'll bet that Mountain Dew had something to do with it. :)

"Hi, Mom!!!!!"

Sacrebleu! Hoh-hoh!

Walking by Faith

The Diet of Worms line-up. Ages 8 and under only.

Loads of fun.

Or maybe not.

I think Allen enjoyed himself.

Ummmm...I think you're a little too old for this.

The parents had more fun with the marshmallow shooters than the kids did. ;)

Drumroll, please...

the Praise Your Wife Competition

"My precious"

"Let me tell ya about my wife..."

"You can clearly see that I have the fairest wife in the land!"

"Wait..what?"

BoomBoom airs his head whilst Andy asks, "Are you ready for some footballlll??!?!?!"

Seems like somebody should be tackling somebody...

"It's a jolly good day to watch the boys hit each other, wouldn't you say?"

"Oh! Yes! I'm so glad you could come, Millie!"

Gardening since 1996

2009-08-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

...or maybe before. :)

Shop Construction

2009-08-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

We began building our shop a couple weeks ago. It's all framed up, and we're in the process of putting on the roof. We've had a lot of good help, and have been moving along pretty quickly. I don't know much about building; I just take the pictures. :)

-Tricia Ann

Framing up the 2nd wall

All 4 walls up

Beginning the rafters

The guys on the roof were getting the rafters up faster than Daddy could cut them.

"Bubble-wrap" and purlins

Daniel and Jacob hanging out on the roof

Ground Crew

Cable

The Foreman

John

I thought this picture came out really well, if I do say so myself.

Here's how it looked before they started putting up the sheet metal. I'll post an updated picture soon.

Rainbow

2009-08-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

And God said, "This is the sign of the Covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh."

-Genesis 8:12-15

3rd Place!

2009-08-12T12:05:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago, the Franklin Farmer's Market had a booth-decorating competition. We thought it would be fun to decorate our booth, but we just didn't have time to do it. In fact, we were so busy on the day of the competition, that we completely forgot about it. The next Saturday, the market manager came around, and handing Mom a ribbon and an envelope, she said, "Congratulations! Y'all won third place!" I thought to myself, "That's awesome! Wait...Third place?...Third place in what?" Well it turned out that we had won third place in the booth-decorating competition that we hadn't even decorated for. And we were awarded $25 to boot!

-Tricia Ann

We hung our ribbon on our handy-dandy chalkboard that Jacob and I made (I"ll have to post a picture of it soon).

Two of our numerous BCF shirt models

Here's mom explaining the difference between regular cucumbers and our Mini Whites.

And here's our display of vegetables. It changes from week to week, depending on what we have to sell.

A July CSA Basket

2009-07-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

Here's last week's basket. It included
a bag of Rattlesnake green beans, a bag of okra, yellow crookneck squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, Sungold cherry tomatoes, a head of Nevada lettuce, and an aromatic bunch of basil.
We are currently sold out of shares, but we do have a waiting list.
If our harvest continues to increase, we may be able to add a few more shares
as the season progresses.
If you'd like to be added to our waiting list, email us at trish@beaverdamcreekfarm.com
and let us know.
~Trish

Garden Pictures

2009-07-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was out taking pictures of Gimli for the newsletter. He doesn't like to sit still, so I have to take about 100 to get a couple good ones. Since I had my camera out, I decided to take some pictures of the garden and the farm in general. I thought I'd post them here so y'all can see what the farm looks like this year.

Summer Crisp Lettuce (Hopefully, in next week's CSA basket!)

and Bright Lights Chard

Pretty little Sungold Tomatoes

I'm growing lots of Benary's Giant Zinnias. All the colors are pretty, but the red ones are my favorite.

Ever wonder why Jack climbed a beanstalk into the sky?

Cantaloupes coming soon...

I love to take pictures of Gimli; he's so photogenic. Isn't he cute?

Long shot of only part of the garden

Hope to See You Tommorrow...

2009-06-26T05:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 27

at Hopewell Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church

located at 3886 Hopewell Rd. Culleoka, TN 37451
from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
for a viewing of the Nourishing Traditional Diets DVD
by Sally Fallon, author of the best-selling cookbook
Nourishing Traditions.
Bring a nutrient-dense dish to share at the potluck lunch along with a drink for yourself.
This will be a life-changing event and well worth your time!

No need to RSVP, just come! There's plenty of seating at the church.

~Trish

Please Come - Free Weston A. Price Foundation Event

2009-06-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

Join me in attending a life-changing, educational day watching the 3-part DVD of Sally Fallon's seminar, "Nourishing Traditional Diets". This is basically Nutrition and Physical Degeneration (Dr. Weston A. Price's landmark book) in a nutshell, along with proper food prep methods as discussed in Fallon's Nourishing Traditions Cookbook. More information about this 5.5 hour long DVD may be found at this site.

Date: Saturday, June 27
Location: Farm of Mrs. Nancy Webster (15 minutes west of Lynnville, TN) or, if the crowd is too large, at a church in the southern Columbia, TN area. I'll post the location when I find out for sure.
Cost: FREE
Bring: a nutrient-dense, unprocessed dish for a potluck lunch & your own chair.

Note: Due to the length of the event and the limited space, only nursing babes-in-arms are welcomed.

RSVP (ASAP!) to Nancy Webster, Chapter Leader for the Southern Middle Tennessee Chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation at creativemess10@yahoo.com

~Trish

First creek trip of the season

2009-06-08T05:16:00.000-07:00

It's just now getting hot enough to go swimming in the creek again. Even when it's warm outside, Beaverdam Creek can be icy cold. One afternoon, after working hard in the garden, we went swimming for a little while with some friends. The swimming hole is completely different than it was last year. Some places that were deep are now shallow; and some places that were shallow are now deep. You can't jump off the rope swing anymore because you'd hit the bottom! It's the strangest thing. I guess the flood is responsible.

The pictures are worth more than the words, so here they are.

-Tricia Ann

They look like they're up to something.

LOL!

Me and my little buddy, who's not so little anymore

Happy Customers

2009-06-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to K.B. for the pictures!

How many guys does it take to fix a broken hose?

2009-06-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

Three or more, apparently.

"I've almost got it!"

"What's taking so long, Goose?"

Our T-shirts Are Here!

2009-05-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

We're really pleased with the way they turned out. Want one? We'll have them for sale starting today at the Franklin Farmers Market as we kick off the new summer season with
Farmapalooza!
Check out www.franklinfarmersmarket.org to find out all about
the day's special events.

Strawberries Available for Delivery or On-Farm Pickup

2009-05-26T08:10:00.001-07:00

We have extra strawberries this week! These berries are Certified Naturally Grown. We never spray our strawberries with harmful pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. And we don't use chemical fertilizers. These are the smaller, more flavorful gourmet varieties. So, they don't have that large pithy hole that most conventionally-grown berries have. They are at their peak this week and will be in decline soon. So enjoy them while they last.

Prices: $2.50 per pint ($2.00 for on-farm purchases), $32.00 per flat (16 pints) Call us at 931.623.3732 or email us at trish@BeaverdamCreekFarm.com to place your order.

Delivery: We can deliver them to our Riverwalk and Grassmere locations as well as to the Leiper's Fork and Franklin Farmers Markets. Or if you're in the mood for an outing, you can drive out to our farm and pick them up!

Freezing Instructions: Strawberries are easy to freeze. Simply wash, dry, and remove stems. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze overnight. Then put them in Ziploc baggies, date them, and store them in your freezer. You can take them out at your convenience and use them for smoothies, strawberry shortcake, ice-cream topping, strawberry daiquiris, pies, cobblers, muffins, etc. How about dipping some in chocolate?

Mmmmmm....

Get 'er Done!

2009-05-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

Lots of work began piling up after the flood. It kept raining every few days and wouldn't dry out enough to till and plant. So last week when it finally dried out, we had our work cut out for us. The to-do list was daunting, and we weren't sure where to begin. Some of our friends volunteered to help, and I'm glad they did! We never could have gotten it all done without them!

In one day, we planted about 3000 transplants, laid irrigation lines, installed deer fencing, made saw-horses for the greenhouse, mowed the grass, and I don't know what all. It's amazing how much can be accomplished by 14 hard-working teenagers!

Enough typing...on to the pictures. Thanks again y'all! You were a huge blessing to us.

-Tricia Ann

2009-05-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

These guys are t-r-o-u-b-l-e.

Awwww!

Ummm...Bad Bob Beltman threatens local farmgirl with fish emulsion solution. Yuck!

2009-05-20T06:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some strawberry-picking picures. This is a different day than the last set of pics.

"This one looks perfect...I guess I'll have to eat it!"

Smile, Jacob!"

"I'd like to buy a hamburger!"

"Trish-A ANN" :P

Two.

Lovely Miss M, whose finger was still intact when this picture was taken.

Cable from Coble with patented hat staple

2009-05-20T05:11:00.000-07:00

Soil

Chief soil block maker extraordinaire

Greenhouse Update

2009-05-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

The greenhouse has been working out wonderfully! It stayed warm nicely during the cold weather, but on the warmer days, it began to get too hot in there. So, we put some shade-cloth over it, and started rolling up the plastic on the back, and now the temperature is staying in the proper range. This is how it looks this week...pretty full!

-Tricia Ann

Our New Logo

2009-05-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

It sure took a while, but we finally decided on this logo for our farm. We like the earthy colors and the fact that the design can be stenciled. We hope to paint it on our market crates and on our veggie-hauling trailer. We're also having a farm banner made for our booth at the farmer's market.

Stay tuned for a sneak-peek at the T-shirt that Tricia Ann is designing featuring our new logo. The shirts should be really cool! Everyone will want one!

~Trish

It's CSA Basket Time!

2009-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars because it's time to start receiving your basket of fresh veggies! Here are the dates and times:

Beaverdam Creek Farm Pickup: Mondays, starting on May 11, 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

Leiper's Fork Farmers Market Delivery: Wednesdays, starting May 13, 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Asurion Delivery: Wednesdays, starting May 13, 4:00 p.m.

Riverwalk Delivery: Wednesdays, starting May 13, 5:00 until 6:30 p.m.

Franklin Farmers Market Delivery: Saturdays, starting May 16, 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

CSA Shares Sold Out: Get on Our Waiting List!

2009-05-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

Don't you wish you could have one of these every week this summer?
You can't get this quality at a corporate chain store.
And it's all Certified Naturally Grown!

Well, all our CSA shares are currently sold. However, we are hoping to have enough produce in a few weeks to fill some more shares. In that case, we will contact the people on our waiting list, and the price will be pro-rated depending on the time of registration.

If you would like to be added to our waiting list, please email us at trish@beaverdamcreekfarm.com.

Flood

2009-05-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

On Friday night, meteorologists forecasted heavy rain during the night, and warned of possible flash floods in our area. As predicted, it stormed all night. But somehow, the words "flash flood" don't seem sufficient to describe the deluge we met the next morning. It was amazing! If I hadn't seen it, I would've never believed how high the water could get!

This is the view across the road from our barn. You can't usually see the creek from here.

This is the edge of our pasture...uhhhh...lake. Somewhere under all that water is the fence Jacob has been working so hard on. The current through our pasture took out a few posts and mangled some wire.

With the help of some wonderful neighbors, we managed to get the sheep and the cow to higher ground before the water overtook them. This picture was taken pretty early on...the water rose much higher before the day was over.I just realized that we hadn't posted a picture of Jacob's cow, yet. Here she is. She is a Red Devon heifer named Ingrid (No, she was already named when he bought her...but it sounds like a name he'd come up with :).

Well, we don't usually have a river in the middle of the driveway, but it does add a classic touch to the out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere atmosphere.

Believe it or not, this is the road. It was somewhere between four and six feet deep in the middle. A boat would definitely be better than a car in this instance. Thankfully, our driveway was not covered like this.

Since our garden is on top of the hill, it was spared. The worst of it was that a few lettuce seeds may have washed away in the downpour. We are very thankful that it was no worse.

Water is very powerful. Two days worth of rain produced an enormous amount of excess water and plenty of destruction. Just imagine the rain pouring down for forty days and nights, as it did in Noah's day! This flood was a good reminder of God's covenant with Noah:

And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set my rainbow in the cloud and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. It shall be be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh."

Genesis 9:12-15

-Tricia Ann

Peek-A-Boo!

2009-04-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

Start a New Spring Habit: Buy Local!

2009-03-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Beaverdam Creek is excited to be a part of the new Leiper's Fork Farmers Market. The market, located on the grounds of Neena's Primitive Antiques (4158 Old Hillsboro Road), will be open on Wednesdays from 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. beginning next week, April 1st. You will find organically grown produce, farm fresh eggs, natural and organic meats, raw honey, cheeses, herbs, freshly ground cornmeal, baked goods, preserves, jams, jellies and salsas.

Leiper's Fork is a charming town with a number of unique shops including the famous Puckett's Grocery. You will be able to browse while walking on the cool green lawn shaded by the beautiful historic oak trees surrounding Neena's. And there's plenty of convenient parking around back. So, start a new habit this spring that will not only be good for your health and good for your spirit, but will also be good for your local economy. Mark your calendar and do your mid-week shopping at Leiper's Fork Farmers Market.

~Beaverdam Creek Farm: Fresh. Natural. Local

Now Delivering...

2009-03-24T15:54:00.000-07:00

our weekly CSA baskets of fresh veggies, culinary herbs, and flowers to the following locations beginning in May!

Franklin Farmers Market, Saturdays 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
Leiper's Fork Farmers Market, Wednesdays, 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Or, you can pick up here at our Farm, Mondays, 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Would you like to buy a share into our farm and receive a weekly basket? Email us at info@beaverdamcreekfarm.com for details.

Feile Franklin

2009-03-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, we set up a booth at Feile (pronounced Fay-La) Franklin, a local Celtic festival. It overlapped the Farmer's Market a little bit, so Jacob and I ran the booth at the festival while Mom and Dad worked the one at the Farmer's Market. It was rainy and so cold that we almost froze. A lot of the vendors bailed out due to the inclement weather, and there weren't a whole lot of people there. We did hand out quite a few CSA flyers, which was the reason we were there in the first place. We were across the street from the dance stage, so we were able to watch the Celtic dancers. Much to Jacob's delight, they performed the Highland Fling. We also got to talk to the man who sold wooden swords, axes, spears, and shields. He is a jousting knight at Renaissance festival tournaments, with his own squire and everything! I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few.

-Tricia Ann

I love these draught horses!

Jacob was wearing his kilt, but he got so cold that he changed back into his jeans. :)

Snow Pictures

2009-03-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, Gimli bounced me out of bed on the Lord's Day morning, just as he does every morning. I looked out my window and was surprised to see that there was about an inch of snow on the ground. Since everyone else wanted to stay in their cozy beds, Gimli and I went out to play all by ourselves. We were joined by Daisy and a lone rooster. Daisy didn't like the snow at all, but Gimli LOVED it! It was so funny watching him bounce around and bite the snow.

-Tricia Ann

LOL! Isn't he cute?!? Gimli, I mean...not the rooster

What We Did Today...

2009-03-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

Some of our friends/neighbors came over today and helped us with some farm work. We moved the compost pile and spread 4 tons of limestone, 700 pounds of greensand, and 700 pounds of rock phosphate! We covered almost an acre, then Jacob tilled it with our brand-new six-foot tiller. Needless to say, it was much faster than tilling with our old faithful walk-behind tiller.

Thanks for your help, y'all! Here are the pictures Mom took.

-Tricia Ann

These guys moved the compost pile across the pasture with pitchforks and a mule. No easy task, considering that the pile was about 6' x 70'!

Our Rock-Phosphate-spreading lady.

Looks like someone green-sanded Jacob :)

(I'm not sure why this looks like a hyperlink, Blogger apparently has some issues)

I spread lots of greensand...a mineral supplement derived from the ocean.

Taking a break, drinking sweet tea

Inspired to Weed the Strawberries

2009-03-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

Mawmaw got busy weeding our strawberry patch on her last visit which prompted us all to pitch in and get the whole bed taken care of. We tilled between the rows, and we pulled up the grass and weeds around the plants. Then we mulched the bed with straw. We'll be purchasing some row covers soon so that when the plants put on their delicate blooms they'll have some protection from late frosts. Lord willing, our CSA customers will have some delicious all-natural, chemical-free strawberries in their baskets come June.

Visit Us at the Franklin Farmer's Market

2009-02-27T18:59:00.000-08:00

Did you know that there's a winter farmer's market in Franklin, TN? It's every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. So, grab your jacket and head on over to visit us there. We'll have fresh turnips along with easy-to-make recipes for you to try. We'll also have Beaverdam Creek Homemade Soap and Tricia Ann's adorable and trendy aprons for sale. We'll be taking reservations for our 2009 CSA, too!

~Trish

Greenhouse Construction

2009-02-14T16:09:00.001-08:00

We've been taking advantage of the warmer weather to work on some of our outdoor projects. The most urgent project right now is the greenhouse. Jacob keeps reminding me that it is not technically a "greenhouse" because it will not be heated. It is actually a "hoop-house". But, since I will be growing my transplants in it, I'm going to call it a greenhouse anyway. We might have other hoop-houses out in the field later for season extension. And besides, "greenhouse" just sounds better.

Jacob has done most of the work by himself and has done a great job, I might add. He learned all about building hoop-houses at the SSAWG conference in Chattanooga. So far, he has gotten all the hoops up and has framed in one side. When it is finished, it will have a double layer of plastic on top.

Hopefully, we will get it completed in time for me to start planting transplants in about 2 weeks.

Tricia Ann

Looks Like Daddy's Been Squirrel Huntin' Again

2009-02-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

or In Which Daddy Learns that Jacob Has a Very Hard Head

The Seeds are Coming!

2009-02-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

Our seeds are starting to come in! I got the first of several shipments yesterday. The box weighed 16 pounds! I've never seen so many seeds in my life! I can't wait till the greenhouse is finished so I can begin planting.

During the last month or two, I've spent a lot of time looking at seed catalogues (I have at least 10 different ones), and deciding what to grow for our upcoming CSA season. Johnny's Select Seeds is my new favorite catalogue, so I ordered most of my seeds from it. Take a look. It contains lots of helpful information, and is geared toward small-scale commercial growers.

I went kind of crazy and ended up with about 130 varieties to grow. I selected them according to their flavor, appearance, and adaptability to our region; not according to their long shelf-life, durability during shipping, etc. I decided to grow some tried and true varieties, as well as some new and specialty ones. Here are just a few:

Super Sugar Snap Peas
Honey Bear Acorn Squash: delicious mini squash, *All America Selections winner
Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
Encore Lettuce Mix: great all-organic baby lettuce mix
Specialty potatoes such as Cranberry Red, Butte, Russian Banana Fingerling, and Caribe
Wrangler Cantaloupe
Specialty Greens such as Tatsoi, Bok Choi, Arugula, etc.

Lord willing, we'll have lots of delicious vegetables at harvest time!

-Tricia Ann

Top 10 Excuses

2009-02-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

I know...It's been a really, really, really, really, really long time since we've posted. We hope our faithful readers will forgive our negligence, as we've been exceptionally busy and have had a series of technical difficulties. Here are our top 10 excuses for not blogging. "For the sake of consistency, we will start with the 2nd one first."

2. Our whole family got sick with the flu the first week in January. Nobody felt like blogging. :(
10. Thanksgiving, Jacob's birthday, and Christmas came in quick succession at the end of 2008. So we were out of town a lot, and besides, we were too busy celebrating to blog. ;)
9. I got a paper cut on my left index finger.
8. The camera cord disappeared. :/
7. Due to an office remodeling project, the Mac had to be temporarily unplugged and relocated, making it almost impossible to upload pictures (even though the camera cord had been found).
6. Jacob started wondering if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about.
5. We went to a farming conference in Chattanooga. (Stay tuned for a post about it)
4. Mr. Bimbo had writer's-block. ;)
3. Lately, the computers have been in great demand for farm planning and research.
1. Mom forgot her purse.

I also haven't taken very many pictures, but here are a few from the past couple of months.

More posts coming soon!
Tricia Ann (with various helpful insertions from Jacob)

2009-02-03T18:04:00.000-08:00

Daddy carving the Thanksgiving turkey

The whole family helped cook Thanksgiving dinner.

Looking at Scotland in the Atlas

Smile, Jacob! ;)

Christmas with my not-so-little-anymore cousins

Happy Birthday Tricia Ann!

2008-11-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today is Tricia Ann's birthday! She is now half-way to 40, though we prefer to think of it as just plain 20. Tricia Ann is the best sister there is bar none. She cooks, cleans, sews, gardens, and I don't know what all, with a smile on her face all the time. She is truly a blessing to the us.

Reformation Day 2008

2008-11-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

Our church recently had its annual Reformation Day celebration. It began on Friday night with a barn dance. I couldn't get many good pictures of it because it was so dark, and it's not very easy to take pictures while you're dancing. :)

We spent Saturday afternoon enjoying each other's fellowship. We sat around on the porch for a while. The guys played a football game. Then we had a skeet-shooting competition. There were about 14 contestants - boys, girls, and some of the dads. Since our theme for this year was the German Reformation, we ate bratwurst, sauerkraut, and German potato salad for supper. When it got dark, we sat around a fire roasting marshmallows and listening to our Pastor give a biographical sketch of Martin Luther.

Without further ado, here are the pictures I took. I hope you enjoy them.

Tricia Ann

All ready to dance

Hey, look! I'm taller than everyone else! ;)

Havin' a good time on the front porch

2008-11-13T16:56:00.000-08:00

Shootin' Match

Mmmmmm! IBC root beer

pretty spectators

2008-11-13T16:12:00.000-08:00

LOL!

the birthday dude ;)

Chris, 2nd place skeet-shooter

2008-11-13T16:10:00.000-08:00

*drumroll*

The winner of the competition was...Caleb!

Jacob and Chris did not compete, but they had fun watching.

Gotta love the expression!

2008-11-13T15:23:00.000-08:00

Jacob, Caleb, and Chris grilled the bratwursts to perfection. Jacob apparently was making sure they were edible. ;)

The Birthday Girl

Hannah and Allen are too cute! They make the best pictures.

Lexi was the only person to wear a German outfit. Her beautiful dress came from Germany. She has a beautiful smile to match!

Are they done yet?

Make sure you don't drop them!