The waiting game..

The title says it all!
We continue to enjoy watching our blueberries grow, but at the moment the work is minimal. We will be looking into our 100% organic aphid removal service shortly (lady-bugs!) since we are starting to see some here and there. The lady-bugs are lean mean aphid killing machines, and are just what the blueberry bushes need to stay bug-free.
Katie did a stint at work this past week, and the household got a taste for what the summer could be like, in terms of child-care. Never mind hiring pickers, harvesting blueberries, getting the farm work done, and doing the regular chores, who's going to watch these crazy children of ours??
Heather, Liz and Katie's sister and her friend, have decided they can think of nothing better to do with their summer than to watch a bunch of hyper-active children all day long. With some help, the two girls are ready to tackle entertaining 7 children. One has to wonder, will they come back next year? ;)
Another exciting bit of news is that we received our first batch of pepperoni and breakfast sausage! The  pepperoni is AMAZING. Hands down, some of the best we've ever tried. We enjoyed some of the breakfast sausage Father's Day morning, and were not disappointed either. We are starting to like this whole home-grown side of things, as opposed to 'who-knows-where-this-meat-came-from'.
Lastly, we are excited to welcome two new horse boarders onto our farm. Liz's patience for the right people paid off, and our newest members of the farm will be moving in August 1st.
I imagine once the season really takes off, there will be lots to write about, so hold on until then!

Pigs!

They are here!

And you have to admit, slightly cute. Piggy squeals and all, we unloaded them from the truck this afternoon, and let them run free in their piggy enclosure. They've already napped, and are back out in the long grass, snorting and snuffling around! They are still fairly people shy, but very curious. If you sit in one spot for long enough they will come up to you and sniff around. Marc showed them where their food and water was, and it wasn't long before the shuffling and pushing to get at it ensued!

Name at your own risk...

We have four in total, and we will have them until about October. Then it will be time to assess if we think we should get more or not! According to Marc, they grow faaaast. I will post more shots of them in a week or so, and you will be able to see for yourself how much they've grown!

Jon and Marc also spent some time this morning digging up and re-locating some of our 'home-grown' manure for our garden. It's very handy having such a bountiful supply of good soil. Once you dig past the stuff that was added yesterday...hehe.

Summer is here!

Sometimes, it feels a bit like the calm before the storm.

The blueberries are growing ever bigger, and the crop is looking promising. The bees continue buzzing around, doing what they do best, and we wait patiently for the fruits of their labor. Literally!

Meanwhile, since there isn’t a while lot to do in the fields these days, Marc has been busying himself with mowing, weed-wacking, and working on his newest project, the pig area! That’s correct, Meadowbrook Farm is getting some pigs!

Marc did his research, and brought it to the business meeting several weeks ago, and we all voted to do a trial run. We’re starting small, just 4 piglets to start off with, but they’re due to arrive on the fourth, and we won’t lie, we’re a little excited. Marc and Katie designed and built a shelter for them, and after some red paint, you would think it was there all along. They will be hanging out near the cows, in a lush green pasture just waiting for those cute little noses to start exploring.

With the cooler weather, the house-hold has been mostly inside, entertaining children and tackling some of the housework that may have been ignored when the weather was so beautiful. When the weather was nicer, Marc spent a couple days cleaning and filling our pool! It’s going to be a life-saver once the weather turns hot for longer periods.  Pool party anyone?

Unfortunately it's still a little chilly! We obtained some solar panels, thanks to Liz and Katie's dad Mike, and we hope to set those up soon. 

Liz has been working on a fun project recently, which is running around the property and the house with a video camera! She hopes to put together enough footage of entertaining farm and farmily goings-on that she can make a mock reality show episode or two. Watch for a preview here, and maybe a video tour of our farm!

Coming to Life.

Meadowbrook is buzzing.
Literally.
Our bees arrived last week, and they have set the fields humming with their wonderful pollinating skills. Blueberries, here we come!

The bees aren't the only things roaming around our little farm. Liz spotted some baby geese paddling along the pond the other day, and at times the birds and frogs can be deafening. Spring has certainly sprung!
Marc has been hard at work around the farm as well. The grass, although not high on the priorities list when blueberry bushes are concerned, still needs mowing, and now that the bulk of the work (for now) is done in the fields, he has moved on to other projects around the place. A big job he recently tackled, with the help of Jon when he could, was to clear away some of the brush from along the edges of the fields. These bushes can hide berry stealing birds, so it was important to try and clear away as much as we could. And who knew there was a fence hiding under there?

The Farmily has taken full advantage of the nice weather as well. Last Friday, Katie, Laura and Liz packed up the kids and headed to Island View beach for some much needed vitamin D. We couldn't have asked for better weather - the water was calm, and it wasn't too hot. The kids immediately grabbed their buckets after wolfing down their lunch, and went to hunt some crabs. Here are some shots from their adventures on the rocky shore!

Can't...eat...fast....enough!

Yogurt? What yogurt? I'm done.

Charlotte relaxes in her carseat.

Elijah, the maharajah, takes a cat-nap in the shade.

Evelyn, the goof, just finished eating her lunch!

Jeremiah: "Come on!" Ethan: "Ewwww." (He's been stopped by some offending seaweed.)

The offending seaweed. Apparently a beach deal-breaker. At least for a while...

Evelyn and Elijah, having some cousin bonding time under the umbrella.

Gabriel, looking slightly worried. Maybe his crabs escaped?

There they are!

Unfortunately, our beach trip ended on a sour note, with Elijah scaring everyone to death by not breathing for several seconds, and then was later admitted to the hospital when it happened again after dinner. Some antibiotics, and 5 days in the hospital under observation, and he's right as rain. Thank the Lord!

Elijah and Liz got home just in time for 'chicken Tuesday'. Marc drove up with our hefty chickens at 7 in the morning, and arrived back home with...the chicken. We knew we were in trouble when we opened the first box and weighed the first chicken in at....10.08lbs. Liz reminded everyone that she wasn't kidding when she said we should have advertised them as turkeys! Most people were quite forgiving. Thankfully, the chicken leftovers make excellent soup!!

Josh Upton's Entry

Well, here we are!  This is Josh's blog entry for our Meadowbrook blog.  I have been here almost 4 months now with my wonderful family (Liz and Eli) and my wonderful family (the Godbeer's and McIlveens).  I was surprised at how normal it all seemed so quickly.  At the same time, I am still learning so much about how to work a farm and how to get along in a house of 13 people.

What specific stories to tell?  Or, should I stick to the general?  General first, I suppose.  Bryan and Lynn have been incredible mentors.  Not only do they give us all kinds of information, they help out, AND they loan and give us all kinds of things we need as new tasks come up.  Pretty awesome!  Life in the house runs pretty well.  We husbands definitely leave more than half of the housework to the ladies, in stereotypical fashion.  They do so much for us, and we try to be grateful (when we notice...).  We, in turn, try to do what we can.  It seems like enough, most of the time.  I know for myself, it's difficult to balance job work, house/family work, and farm work.  There's a lot to be done!  

One thing that I DID get done was a set of gravel steps leading from the outer property up to one of the blueberry field entrances.  It was a slippery muddy slope all winter and ever since I first saw it, I wanted to put steps there.  Being good friends with Aaron, Bryan and Lynn's son, who used to live on the farm is valuable for more than just having his companionship.  Once I mentioned the steps he confided that people slipped going down that slope often.  I hadn't done that yet and I planned not to!  It took me around 2 months of near-constant trying and I finally got the gravel on site for the project.  The next day, my friend Dave helped me put in six BEAUTIFUL steps.  This was one of those rare times when what I imagined came out pretty darn close to what became reality (as opposed to when I try to draw (I have Liz for that anyways.  Why would I need to draw?)).  Yes, I savor this small victory.  And yes, it is sweet!

Speaking of sweet, I am really looking forward to blueberry season!  Probably because I don't understand yet how much work it is going to be.  In September I'll think "Ah, poor naive Josh of May 5^th.  How young and free and unawares he was."  I think it's okay to be condescending, as long as it's only to myself.  I do plan to eat as many blueberries as I can handle, though.  I wonder if it's possible to get a blueberry gut.  I aim to find out!

It has been such a great ride so far.  I still find myself driving home and thinking "Hey!  I own a farm!"  I correct myself "I own part of a farm" (Yes, I'm not just critical of others speech.  I give myself a hard time too.)  Still, even dwelling in the realization that I own part of a farm is a pretty joyful place to be.  God has been so good to us to this point.  I can't wait to see what He has waiting around the corner.    

Jon Godbeer's Entry:

Has it really been three months? It seems like longer...in a good way.

So much has happened since that snowy week back in January. We have grown as a Farmily, learning how to communicate our differences. Frustrations come and go, as they always will, but we are stronger for it. There were many times when we all had a day where we thought “How can I do this another month, let alone 5-10 more years?”. We were referring to life as a group, of course. There were many people who thought we were crazy and we would not get along. I see them still perched upon their soapboxes waiting to say they told me so. This is for you.

We have and will continue to do this thing we call Farmily Life. We are learning to let others step in and help, even when we are too proud to ask. We are learning to pick up that dirty sock, even though the name on it says it is not ours. We are doing what needs to be done not because someone else will not do it, but because we could save someone else from having to. Community is at the heart of everything we do. Most days. We have our selfish moments where we step into a world that is just our immediate blood relations. Slowly the lines of blood and family begin to blur as we are realizing we need to treat each other like we are family, casting genetics, bloodlines, and legal documents aside. Community and family are becoming one. We give. We take. We must because we love each other.

We work hard. Everyone shoulders the load in a different ways. Some of us are better organizing and running things in the background, while others are the front line grunt, doing the labour. It all equals out. We give. We take. Before we started, each took on a role within the business. We felt our areas fit our strengths. We did not take on something we could not handle due to work. It all evened out. Even when we moved in to the house, we realized that there was house areas that needed someone to focus on them. Josh continued the theme of maintenance. I took on garbage and recycling. Marc looked after heating fuel and needs. The women worked out their systems for meal planning and groceries. What a well oiled machine we are…most days.

We have done a lot of things on the farm in the past few months. The daunting task of preparing for Blueberry season having never been very handy or green-thumbed was overwhelming at times. Victory through sheer volume. We conquered in force through our combined skills and ability to cover the work as a team. Marc works hard day after day whittling away at the main farm items. Liz, Laura, and Katie manage to get out in the fields, sometimes with kids in tow! Josh and I hit the ground running on the weekends to plow through bigger projects or make that last push to spring time. We have accomplished so much.

God is good.

We are so blessed to not only be able to do the things we are doing, but to be able to do it in the company of such fine people as our friends and family. The support of this community we are creating does not rest upon the six people living in this house. There are many hands helping make the load light (and I’m not just talking about work parties). We sing praise for the glory of God that shows around us in his land that we have been gifted as stewards.

We are crazy. We are crazy about God and about doing his works. So I guess if you naysayers wanted me to say it, there it is. We are crazy. But, we are crazy as a community. Crazy Farmily.

Gettin' er done.

As spring marches on, we continue to have more to do around our busy little farm! Our newest batch of chickens are doing well, and Marc decided it would be beneficial to make use of the large silo nearby, instead of separate bags for their feed. The one downside? The silo hadn't been used in quite some time. So, being braver than most of us, he geared up, and climbed inside armed with a scraper and the power-washer. It wasn't a fast job, nor particularly pleasant, but he was successful in the end, and we will soon be filling the silo with fresh chicken feed for our hungry, ever larger birds.
Another addition to our livestock is another calf! This past weekend brought 'January', a young female calf to join our other two out in the pasture. The event went smoothly - beyond a little chasing and mooing. How else can you get to know your new roommate?
We have all been very impressed with what a little elbow grease around here can do to spiff the place up. We have a 5th horse stall that hasn't been used in some time, and Liz recently went down to assess what it would take to get it up and going. Surprisingly, all it needed was a little TLC, and it looks as good as new! Only a few boards actually needed replacing, and Marc and Liz made good use of the pressure washer on the wood and floor of the stall, making it look surprisingly new. A little paint, and it'll be all ready for a brand new horse to live here on Meadowbrook! If you know of anyone looking to board a horse...talk to Liz!
The girls have also been hard at work in the front yard, weeding, and generally making the place look nice and spiffy for when we will have more customers arriving. The boys had a blast playing with shovels, and filling cups with worms, wood-bugs, snails, beetles and slugs. Isn't that what being a kid is all about around a farm? It won't be long before we'll be blessed with presentations of snakes, lizards and mice, I imagine!! A picnic on the lawn was just what the doctor ordered as well. After being stuck inside for a lot of the winter months, you could tell some sun and fresh air did wonders for their mood. Jeremiah, Ethan and Gabriel were a dynamic trio of bug hunters, getting along famously. The only issue cropped up at lunch time, when they were clearly hungry, and it was a matter of shoving the food into your face before the guy next to you ate yours as well! It's a boy eat sandwich world out there, and you better eat yours fast, or someone else will for you!
Here are some photos of some of the events I mentioned.

Marc, posing for the "Farmer's Calendar" with the pressure washer.

Coming up for air. It wasn't super pleasant in there to begin with!

January! Named for the month she was born in.

The boys grubbing around for....grubs.

"Here, have this worm!"

Jeremiah and Gabriel.

A nice shot of the front of our house. 

Even the cat was trying to get in on lunch!

Keep reading, everyone! I will be posting soon some 'journal' entries from all of us around here, about how life on the farm has been for each of us. Coming soon!