Growing Wheat

Our wheat is ready to be harvested.  We were beginning to wonder...it seemed to be taking a long time to ripen.

The difference just two months makes:

We sacrificed some of it when we planted the mandarin trees, and were worried there wouldn't be enough remaining to justify the work of harvesting.

But there's plenty...

Just waiting to be harvested...

If I had little girls, I would dress them in calico sundresses and sweet little bonnets and take pictures of them running through the golden wheat.  But I have boys.  You'll have to settle for this guy.

Chicks are Here!

The first batch of chicks has arrived.

Matthew was anxious to get them out of the boxes. This boy never gets bored with helping Mama or Daddy with chores; definitely a future farmer!

As I unpacked the chicks, I dipped each one's beak in the water to make sure it got a drink. It got a little tedious, but I really wanted to make sure that they all got water right away. The chicks ship immediately upon hatching, so by the time they arrive they've gone at least a day or two with no food or water.

The chicks were perky and active. They started chowing down as soon as they noticed the feeders. A large spider was crawling across one of the brooders and several chicks ran over to it and eyed it suspiciously; a few of them pecked at it half-heartedly. Chickens just know how to be chickens!

Each brooder has one hundred chicks.

The chicks have been here for couple days now. They are active and well, and growing fast! After three weeks in the brooders, the chicks will graduate to three pens that will be moved daily to fresh ground.