West River Farm

West River Farm updated their address.

West River Farm updated their address.

We had a new one this week- Right now we just have 11 laying hens, but we got 11 eggs on Sunday, 12 eggs on Monday, and 11 eggs on Tuesday. How is that even possible? They are very happy chickens!

"Eating is an agricultural act." -Wendell Berry

It's snowing again, but the garden work has already begun! We will be preparing the beds between now and May, beginning to plant early May and getting the pigs mid-May. As always, the chickens love company! Come and see us any time- feed some chickens, pull some weeds or just go for a walk. We love visitors and are always open!

West River Farm Products did well at the Walworth County Fair this year! 1st place brown eggs, beeswax and maple syrup along with fourth place white extracted honey!

We just found a small stash of syrup from April. Our last few bottles are for sale, first come first served!

9/5/2015: *Workshop* Foraging | Farmshed

Everyone should sign up for this- I promise it will be at least a little bit fun! http://www.farmshed.org/events/952015-workshop-foraging/

farmshed.org 9/5/2015: *Workshop* Foraging Posted on September 5, 2015July 29, 2015 by Farmshed Loading Map.... Central Rivers Farmshed1220 Briggs Court - Stevens PointDetails 44.5247068 -89.58075730000002 Date/Time Date(s) - 09/05/20153:00 pm - 5:00 pm LocationCentral Rivers Farmshed Categories Farmshed at the…

Just got back from the Mother Earth News Fair. So awesome. So many things to try!

Garden update: I've been a little embarrassed with the garden so far. With my day job I'm gone an awful lot at exactly the wrong times of year, and I have had more of a jungle than a garden. Add to that our latest frost on June 3 and 4 other frosts since May 10 things have not turned out well so far, but it's starting to look better! The best looking thing? Amazingly, it's sweet potatoes so far. The sunflowers are looking good, but have a long way to go to catch up to what they were last year. Come over a pick a few weeds whenever you want!

Micah's new favorite activity...

Fermented Nettle Pesto

http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/fermented-nettle-pesto-zbcz1505.aspx I may have to try this with the nettles that take over this time of year. I'm sure I'm not the only Wisconsinite that gets a little upset when someone writes "I've attempted and failed a few times at seeding my own patch of nettles."

motherearthnews.com Here's how to ferment wild nettles and turn them into a delicious pesto.

The bees are bzzzzzy! Loving the warm weather. Our pear trees are humming.

If food isn't fun, you're doing it wrong.

Time to plant stuff!

Titus enjoyed chasing the chickens and collecting sap a few weeks ago. Especially the ATV ride out to the sugar bush.

It was a busy day for the West River Farm families. We put three brand new packages of bees in their hives and bottled almost 8 gallons maple syrup!

"Do we really want to colonize Mars before we figure out how to colonize the earth properly?" - Joel Salatin

Cooking syrup tomorrow! Anybody want to come?

Does Raising Backyard Chickens Save You Money? | Backyard Poultry Magazine

backyardpoultrymag.com A helpful breakdown of the actual cost of raising backyard chickens for eggs, including everything from raising chicks to housing and feed.

Collected almost enough sap for one gallon of syrup so far! It's just starting to flow, and the weather forecast looks good!

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We have begun the sugaring season hear at West River Farm!!! Most of the tree tapping was accomplished today! Thanks to Michael and Kevin for your help!

It's -5 right now, but things are finally going to warm up. Tapping trees this weekend! Anybody who wants to be a part of the syrup process, just let us know and you can come out anytime!

Pulled out what I thought was a frosted over package of applesauce from the freezer. It's not applesauce. Lunch for me instead of for Micah. Yes, that says "cooked heart." We eat everything around here.

CHRISTIANITY AND THE SURVIVAL OF CREATION

Here's an interesting article I'd love to hear thoughts on, if anyone wants to read it. http://www.crosscurrents.org/berry.htm

crosscurrents.org CHRISTIANITY AND THE SURVIVAL OF CREATION By Wendell Berry, an article in Cross Currents, the journal of the Association for Religion and Intellectual Life.

A reminder that when we do finally start tapping trees and have syrup available, we took Grand Champion in the Farm Products division at the Walworth County Fair in 2014. A great tasting, quality West River Farm product!

Some years we are tapping maple trees right now. This year, we're not even close.

How To Make Kombucha Tea at Home — Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn

Wanting to try this- Anybody have a spare scoby floating around? http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-173858

thekitchn.com I've been addicted to kombucha from first sip. It wasn't really the probiotics or other health promises that did it for me — although I'll take those, too! It was the way it tasted: like tart green apple mixed with sour stone fruits, but with an underlying sweetness that keeps it all together. And f…

Hannah Coulter

Just had a conference call this morning that included this book-
A must read for everyone, especially aspiring farmers like us!

amazon.com "Ignorant boys, killing each other," is just about all Nathan Coulter would tell his wife, friends, and family about the Battle of Okinawa in the spring of 1945. Life carried on for the community of Port William, Kentucky, as some boys returned from the war and the lives of others were mourned. I...

Thanks to Central River Farmshed for organizing the local food fair last night! www.farmshed.org

We all like getting outside this time of year.

West River Farm's cover photo

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