Beauty is not tidy

Long days ago I wrote about beauty.  Fainting, wisping, fleeting.  I long to touch it, experience it and be enveloped in it.... 

And as I go meticulously through the blueberries, seeking the deep sweet blue, I am struck with a thought.  In the midst of the wild choking and creeping morning glory entangling my blue beauties, the thought slowly enters my mind.  Beauty is not tidy.  Beauty is not necessarily clean.  Beauty is not found only in clean rows, bountiful harvests and sweet honey.  Beauty is not skin deep.  Beauty is a reflection of joy.  Beauty is found in peace, contentment, and love. The pure white blooms of my dreaded weed do indeed reflect joy.  They rejoice in fulfilling their mission.  They are beautiful....

Today's Journey Joy - discovering joy among the weeds

Beauty

When January 1st, 2011 rolled aorund, I, like many other well meaning and hopeful people, chose a special word for the year.  A dream and desire that would encapsulate and embed the year.  A word that would illustrate and focus the events and characters of our lives. 

I knew "my word" right away.... I didn't have to think hard or struggle to discern the perfect one.

Beauty. 

Beauty would be my word for 2011.  Beauty would be my prayer, my desire, my hope, my journey.  Beauty would typify my decisions, my thoughts and my actions.  Beauty found in the home, the farm, the animals.  In my vocation, in ministry, in music.  Beauty in marriage; beauty in mothering.  Beauty found in speech, beauty found in motion, beauty found within.

June is almost done.  The longest daylight has passed.

And I am no closer to beauty than the north pole is to the south.

Today's Journey Joy - The quest is yet unfinished....

A bunch of Turkeys live here

Benjamin Franklin once wrote to his daughter, "....For the truth, the Turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a bird of courage...."

I think I am enamored of the turkey.  Bourbon Red Turkeys to be exact.  A heritage breed.  They are indeed quite silly, chirp or peep in loud musical tones, and have enormous eyes for their tiny little head.

In March we received our day old poults and 10 cuckoo maran chicks (chocolate colored egg layers).


Day old turkey poults and cuckoo maran chicks (they're the dark ones).

After a couple of weeks the poults and chicks were transferred to the garage since they had outgrown their cardboard box and frankly, were not the sweetest smelling creatures for our basement.  Four weeks later the chicks were sent "to the big house", that is, the chicken coop to join 40+ black astrolorps, Rhode island reds, and americaunas.  Unfortunately adult turkeys and chickens should not cohabitate and so we needed to build another coop - a turkey coop.  The idea would be a shelter from adverse weather which would be enclosed by an electric netting for ranging.  The coop need only serve to overwinter 4-5 turkeys each year.  The rest would become meat for our (and our friend's) freezers.  In the spring the birds would hopefully produce fertilized turkey eggs which we will incubate and start poults again.  If all goes well we could have about 100 poults for the following year.  Heritage Bourbon Red Turkeys are scrumptious.

At least that's the dream.

First the coop had to be made.  But what to make it out of?  Ah.... what do we have plenty of around the farm?  Pallets.  So begins the saga of creating a turkey coop out of old pallets, leftover metal siding and one inch cage wire.
 

Farmer Husband Gary fixing the base pallet



One inch cage wire and sides going up



Farmer Chris stapling cage wire to base



Sides up and Farmer Husband Gary figuring out roof rafters



Farmer Husband Gary screwing on the metal roof.



Ah.... forgot the green treated skids.  Better late than never.



The door works!



Screwing on the metal siding.  It's a little dirty but nothing that a little soap and water can't help.



Farmer Chris and the Gator moving the the coop to its final destination.



The electric netting was inserted with some additional metal T-post for strength & the turkeys were let out. 
Not sure what to make of this green stuff underfoot.....

 

So this is what you were working on..... 
"Thanks Farmer Chris and Farmer Husband Gary...it's perfect....gobble, gobble."

By mid October or early November the turkeys should be a good weight.  Yet I already know that it will be difficult taking these guys and gals to the processors.  They are so funny.  They follow me around the yard and stop and listen to me when I speak.  So adorable.  Stay tuned for the adventures of the turkeys.....

Still going...

93+ degrees today with impending storms tonight.  Still weeding the blueberries.....  But I have a new technique which I hope will help speed things up a bit.  I weed around the the blueberry bush about 1-2 feet in all directions and then proceed to the next plant.  Then after I've done about 15-20 plants I take the Stihl handheld sickle bar and mow the weeds between the plants.  Seems to be working.  Perhaps in a week to 10 days I'll be done.  150 plants done, 1050 to go.... Hmmmm... Three weeks until blueberry picking! Yum!

Update on Farming

Green string, purple burgundyy, Italian romano, four different types of dry beans, red lettuce, radishes, kohlrabi, sweet corn, muskmelon, cucumbers, zinnias, four different kinds of potatoes and three varieties of onions, sunflowers, marigolds, summer and autumn squash, pumpkins (>2000 seeds with various sizes), broccoli, cauliflower, peppers of all kinds, 75 tomato plants of all sorts, and did I mention sweet corn (about an acre and a half)?  Also transplanted black raspberries across the road.  And weeding the blueberries.... seems like a never ending task.... discouraging.  I had hoped the weeds would be fewer this year after we sprayed with a preemergent.  Seems to have made no difference.  So in 95+ degrees I'm out pulling weeds, determined to make a dent into the field.  I won't be able to spray the grass killer until after harvest and that won't be for 6-7 weeks.  So I must get ahead of the grass and weeds and take back the blueberries once again.

We have 17 red bourbon heritage turkeys this year and also 10 chocolate colored egg layers to add to our assortment of egg colors.  The turkeys are still cooped up until I have the right fence.  I put up an electric mesh fence but the holes were too big and they escaped (yes, we caught them).  So I've ordered a smaller opening fence and hopefully I will be able to put that up this week.

Back to the field....