Spring springs Eternally... in the Desert.

Well, maybe not eternally. We have this thing called summer that lasts from June to September and it discourages anyone and anything from being out doors between the hours of 7 am to 11:59 pm and 12 am to 5 am.

"My kid brother looked like a tick about to pop."

I'm sure you folks in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota think you're really clever when you say how cushy our winters are in Arizona... but just you remember the next time you put on your three sweaters and two pairs of wool socks that we can't put on or take enough off to get through *our* in-climate weather comfortably, smartiepantses!

Anyway.

Spring has officially arrived here in South Western Arizona. The ducks are at it like ducks (which is 3 notches above "at it like rabbits" and 1 above "at it like rock stars and politicians")
I'm loving all my eggs and finally starting to look at maybe getting into a market now that I'm at the point I can't possibly use all of my eggs and not all of my birds are mature enough to lay yet.

"uhm... call me crazy but I'm pretty sure none of my drakes look like that..."

We will not be *trying* to hatch any, but true to most famous last acts of doom I've decided to leave just a couple of eggs every day in one of the nest boxes to "just see what happens" and if any of my hens will go broody.


Since raising ducks last year went so well,  hubster talked me into geese, so we ordered 10 "hatchery choice" straight run geese from Ideal as they not only had a special running but they had the first hatch  out on feb 1st. While it is all well and good to get birds in July, Jan. and Feb mark the beginning of our spring season and gives our fowl the best shot at growing up in spring and summer and our freezer the best shot at being filled with excess male roasting geese in time for the holiday season.
They're all adorable right now, but I'm sure the time will come when they start to get extra moody and Camp Kenmore will look pretty appealing come November.

We also decided to give raising holiday turkeys a whirl, and added 10 BBW poults to the chick nursury with plans to order our first box of cornish cross chicks when the turkeys are feathered and outdoors so I think we're well on our way to the self sufficient safe meat goal.

The garden is in the ground, the heifer is having her conjugal visit in less than a week, and d'you know? all in all spring is a great time of year :)

What's in a name?

What's in a name? Would a pile of compost by any other name smell less malodorous? Many would have you think so, but I make is a personal policy not to discuss politics on the blog overmuch.
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Now this is some pork barrel spending I can live with!

Perhaps I never really discussed it on the Blog, but "Silvermoon Farm" is based on the name of the horse ranch my parents owned when I was a little tyke. I loved everything that land gave us-- the orchard, the perennial garden, the grassy meadows, the woods, the trees, the berry bushes and "the crick" of course.

"Silvermoon Farm" is a metaphor to me of recreating that ideal family farm environment for my own children, and speaks do my deep wish of finding another fertile and temperate corner of the world to make my own.

In the waking world however, my current farm isn't exactly blessed by a silvery moon.

We may be blessed with a distinct lack of a little something called "winter" down here in old Arizona, but there are a lot of other components to my American dream missing too-- like forests, green meadows, running water, and the occasional rain storm.
I love my rural life, and I love many things about the town I live, but our little leased 10 acre lot with a wall-less pole barn, in ground swimming pool and big garden is not quite a "Silvermoon Farm" all by itself.

It is a place deserving of it's own name, because it has represented something different. Our home here has seen us through what feels like it's seen us to our final adulthood. Many lifes' lessons and healing have been learned here, and it's also been a blessing to be the first place in our adult lives where we had the space to begin to scratch the surface of our dream. Last Christmas, I dreamed of keeping ducks. This year I had my first duck egg laid by Christmas. This Christmas I wished for my own dairy cow, and last week, Missy Moo, a belmont heifer joined the farm.
As the months go by, "10 acres with a barn and a pool" becomes more and more of an entry level homestead, between our ducks, our goslings, our cow, the horses, the garden and the farm dogs.

To that end, I would like to open a "name the desert farm" contest. I need to put some type of label on my duck eggs after all!

Winner will receive a "care package" from the farm with their choice of handmade "farm critter" stone earrings, or a bundle of fun fat quarters in addition to other surprise goodies.

Disclaimer: Do I need to say all entries become the property of this blog's proprietor upon submission? By participating in this contest you agree to waive rights to any kind of royalties.

Unless you want some duck eggs! I'm happy to share!

To enter, simply post a comment on this blog post with your suggestion!