Where in The World Are Rock & Gem?

?

If it's Saturday morning, they're at the Ashland City Open Air Market at the corner of Highway 12 and Washington Street in Ashland City, of course!

Rock & Gem live at Mule Shoe Farm most days, but Saturday mornings they get in the back seat of Ms.Anne's car at about 8:15am and ride to market. By 9am, they are munching away on the grass graciously provided at the Open Air Market, waiting for their many fans to come and visit.

By Noon, Ms.Anne has finished delivering shares to shareholders, and Rock & Gem are ready to go back home to rejoin their friends and playmates: Anabelle, Rock Lee, & Java. Sometimes, they even get to hang out with the herd queen, Duchess.

Rock and Gem are LaMancha goats with the distinctive "elf" ears of that breed. They were bottle-fed as babies which means they enjoy human contact and are not at all afraid of children petting them. The twin brothers are almost 6 months old and when they are big enough Ms.Anne will train them to pull a cart and carry packs. Right now, they enjoy greeting the public and answering questions. Come find them every Saturday morning until the end of October at the Open Air Market in Ashland City.

A Long Slow Spring

What a lovely spring we are having this year! The cool weather has been wonderful and it has helped our early spring crops grow - but not too fast. I cannot believe how beautiful it has been with everything slowly coming to life. You can really appreciate the various flowers and leaves of spring without fear of missing something when you blink.

This week I was hoping to have enough lettuce and other odds and ends to have shares for pickup. The cool nights this week, have challenged the lettuce considerably. It is smaller than would be expected at this time. We'll take a wait and see attitude here. Next week looks quite promising.

Here is what I expect to have in the shares next week - April 26: Collards, lettuce, chives, eggs, lemon verbena for your tea and yarrow for a sweet scent. Check out What's in the Basket for more complete descriptions later this week. Just a reminder: shareholders on a payment plan have payments due this Saturday, the 19th.

Things have been quite adventuresome in the last couple weeks. Duchess was mauled by a young coyote. Two dogs found new homes. Plants emerged from the ground. The chickens got a new home. Various wildflowers have been blooming and putting on quite a show. I see more this year than ever before. A consistent challenge has been to photograph everything going on here.

Everyone is invited to visit us on Saturdays at the Ashland City Open Air Market at the corner of Washington & Main Streets in Ashland City. Many farmers and craftspeople have booths for you to visit. Don't miss the "Pie Lady" or many of the other wonderful vendors there.

Signs of Spring

The forsythia bushes at the corner

After Anabelle and Rock Lee were born, I really started to notice Spring around here. The weather also started to warm up a bit and I was more motivated to get outside.

The forsythia started to pop and periwinkles began to bloom. We are still early for daffodils, but I can see the buds beginning to swell. I expect to see a green haze in the woods very soon. If you live in Nashville and your stuff bloomed last week, don't worry, Mule Shoe Farm is right on schedule. The cool weather stays here a little longer in our cove. Our temperatures are less extreme and the changes more gradual. That's effect of the Cumberland River on our little piece of paradise.


My To Do list just exploded along with the change in season.

• file taxes
• build milking stanchion
• build new compost piles
• build goat shelter
• clear weeds from raised beds
• add compost to raised beds
• plant raised beds
• get out floating row covers
• cover raised beds
• wash down chicken house and feeders
• move chicken furniture to new pen
• put up garden fence
• order chickens
• build brooder boxes
• declutter last year's market supplies
• order business cards
• make banner for market

And the list could go on, but at this point it gets a bit overwhelming.


So we start with the most pressing issues - like milking the goat and getting spring plants in. Oh yeah and &*()#% taxes.


I built a large part of the stanchion on a Friday afternoon with my son's help. There is still a head holder and hobble to be installed. Before you start wondering why I would want such things, remember that goats, like toddlers, don't like to be confined for any reason. They just KNOW something better is just over there. Great survival instinct. Bad milking time. Duchess is still a bit people adverse and has displayed a distinct dislike to having her udder touched by humans. But never fear. I got her number. The milking stanchion also gets a feed bucket and I can feed her grain ration while milking. Pretty soon she'll be loving it.

I also finished the new compost bins and have started to fill them.




A large portion of compost needs to be moved, but we are on our way.



It feels good to get outside and I sleep a lot more soundly after all that fresh air.


One more thing to mention. Shakers and Daisy need new parents. We simply have too many dogs and we want these two to go to good people.


Shakers is about 6 months old and a small dog with great intelligence. She is a cross between a rat terrier and Carolina cur. She would make a great house dog.


Daisy has been a house dog who is also comfortable outside. She will always be glad to see you and would be best in a yard with active older kids, say 9 or 10 and up. Free to good homes.

The Ashland City Open Air Market opens on April 12th provided the weather cooperates. Mule Shoe Farm will have shares ready the following week on April 19th.