By the Numbers
By the Numbers
-July, 2021 –
Happy 4th of July. Now it really feels like summer, but before we talk about summer, we need to finish talking about spring. This spring we found ourselves with only 4 chickens. The winter was rough on the girls and boy. After a sharp-shinned hawk got us down to those 4 lucky chickens, I decided another rooster was in order. Craigslist rarely fails when it comes to chickens and Liberace (our name for him) was awaiting a new home. We have not lost a chicken since his arrival. In fact, we gained quite a few. We have chickens in 3 stages now – old ladies or as this old lady likes to call them, “seasoned veterans,” adolescence (aka dumb teenagers), and cute little puffs. Total number of chickens = 30!
Liberace - our fancy and faithful rooster
More bird talk
Speaking of birds, we have officially identified 83 species of birds on the farm. I was hoping to have over 100 species of birds documented by now, but it seems like a slow birding year to me. Kim has 43 species “up the hill” about ½ mile from the farm. Thing is, there are some on her list that just aren’t down here, which fascinates me because, although she has better fields – hence her bobolinks – we share the same habitat. Although I have not met my bird list goal, it is lots of fun to sit on the porch and watch the goings on. We have a pair of Baltimore orioles that are particularly cranky if I don’t get the orange out by 6:30 each morning. We have song sparrows nesting in our flower garden that are just about ready to fledge. And, same as last year, we are home to most of Massachusetts nesting robins.
The male bobolink that lives “up the hill” but will not visit the farm.
Oh, the places our maple goes!
Several months ago, one of the maple producers we follow on Instagram posted that they had sent syrup to Alaska. We looked at each other and shrugged thinking, “who knew that was a thing?” Thanks to our collective network of friends, we ship to Alaska a few times a month. We also ship to Hawaii regularly. We have shipped to Guam, American Samoa and Puerto Rico. So far, we have shipped to 43 states thanks to all your support. Many of the Great Plains states elude us. Thank you Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. The other 7 states need to discover maple. If you are from there and received our products, please let us know because we want to let the world know when we ship all 50 states + 3! Next goal - Australia.
As always, thank you for your support. We have been having a blast at the Farmer’s Markets, which are largely back to normal. There is food and music at both Great Barrington and Amherst markets and we love watching people’s reaction when they taste our maple cream for the first time. A young woman declared, “that’s manipulation” before buying a jar. It may be manipulation, but it is delicious manipulation. Happy summer everyone – be safe and enjoy!
We are back at the Amherst and Great Barrington Farmers Markets for the season and attending various in-person festivals. We are also at the East Longmeadow Farmers Market. On third Sunday of the month we are at Springfield's Fruit and Bread of life Market. And the list goes on. Check out our website for where to find us. We're looking forward to seeing you!