Let me introduce myself. I live and work at Red Gate Farm, where I feed and care for our 9 Cheviot sheep. 6 goats, 5 ducks and 26 chickens. I also teach classes about the farm and the surrounding woods and fields. This journal is my way of bringing you to the farm, or the farm to you, over the Internet through stories and picture. I hope you enjoy it! 

                     -- Annie 

2004 Journal

Ode to our ducks
10:30 AM. 33 degrees, windy, light snow

It is a bit colder today, after a short warm spell that thawed out our icy driveway. The sky is gray and heavy, and it is emptying a light but steady snowfall. Whiteness is collecting in a small layer on the bare driveway and other surfaces. The animals are all in their indoor facilities, except for our 5 yellow and white Indian Runner ducks. They are out in their yard braving the cold, and quaking at little upsets such as people coming and going. Or maybe a jet flying above or some other distraction. They are very sensitive to commotion and disturbance, and are quite petrified of people even when we come baring gifts of food. But as for hardiness, they win first place over our chickens. Because ducks are water birds, they are well insulated with down feathers and more resistant to cold and wet. Our ducks spend much of a winter day out in the poultry yard, rather than inside with the hens. I often see them resting with their heads tucked into their back feathers, or standing on one foot. They look one-legged, like seagulls I've observed standing on one leg at the beech. They are actually curling one of their orange legs up to their bellies to limit heat loss, as heat is lost readily through exposed legs. It is these outdoor behaviors that make me most appreciate our ducks and their presence on the farm. They exhibit survival adaptations and behavior just like their wild brethren, and so they provide a connection between the wild and domestic. They are so crazed around people, but who can blame them. Their instincts of panic may have been their evolutionary saving grace. 

Winter birds

8 AM. about 20 degrees. sunny and crisp. 

This was a bird morning. The past few mornings I've heard the high pitched, metallic squeal of starlings, and then looked up to see them up on our electric line. Starlings are insect eaters, and usually insect eating birds migrate south. Starlings, however, are also versatile and creative eaters. They take advantage of bird feeders and over-wintering insect larvae. Starlings form large roosting flocks in all seasons, and disperse to smaller feeding groups during the day. Starlings defend nesting territories during the winter, and I wonder if that is what the morning calling is about. They will begin courtship in late February or so, and they will be especially noisy at that time. Starlings are not the most loved of song birds; they were introduced from Europe in 1890, and have since become overpopulated and noisy birds who frequently steal nesting holes form native bird species. With all of that against them, starlings are still impressive to watch and listen to. The sounds that come out of them can be alarmingly odd and high pitched. In the fall and winter their plumage is speckled in silvery spots. At breeding time they will return to a plain brown plumage. Keep your ears and eyes open for these intriguing black birds.

As I looked up for the starlings, I also heard a bird call from further up in the sky. It was a long "kreeee" sound that I identified as a red tailed hawk. I didn't see the bird. I imagine it was gliding and searching for a morning meal. Red tailed hawks are common hawks that feed on small mammals and reptiles. These raptors, or birds of prey, show their red tail as they glide and the upper side of the tail is visable to us below. This is worth keeping a look out for! 

Animal snapshots

Friday, Dec 19 morning chores.

8 AM. 27 degrees, slight wind, bright and sunny.

Abby, our intern from the Student Conservation Association, brought her digital camera to chores this morning. We fed the goats and sheep outdoor, though if it had been windier we may have fed them indoors. We let the sheep out first because they are less aggressive than the goats and we like to give them a head start on hay. Competition is high, and animals are feisty because the cold weather makes them hungry and needy. The hay we feed them is real fuel, and it keeps their body temperatures up during cold days and colder nights.

Winter is upon us all at Red Gate Farm.

The snows are now here, and here to stay. We have six fresh inches this morning, and the forecast is for another day and a night of snow. The entire past week, which culminated in this Saturday snow storm, had an increasingly wintry feel to it. We had a few inches of snow at the beginning of the week and an introduction to the cold. How do the farm and its inhabitants react to this change?

In the world of wildlife, food is becoming more and more scarce. Birds and mammals must face this fact of winter. Green plants are no longer available for plant eaters, and insects are deep in the soil or tree bark. Seeds and nuts are around, but not particularly easy to find. Predators of birds and mammals are challenged because much of their food supply hibernates or migrates for the winter.

We humans feel incredible appreciation of our wood stove and warm food. We become very simple in our needs; there is a hierarchy of what is important and our bodies are screaming for survival. All of this when we have heated homes and electric stove tops! The other animals around here, both wild and domesticated,  are also focused on survival. The survival instinct has led to some interesting occurrences:

The other day we observed one wild scene right beside the fence of our chicken’s outdoor quarters. A hawk was busily bent over a meal of some sort. The blue-gray back and russet colored breast identified the hunter as a Cooper’s Hawk. The Coopers Hawk is an accipiter, or forest dwelling hawk, that preys on small mammals and birds. This hawk was eating a bluejay, and a few blue feathers were left behind to be buried in the snow. On the other side of the fence, our hens and roosters prefer to stay indoors during fresh snows and especially when the wind blows. This means that the birds are fed in troughs rather than out in their yard, and competition around the troughs can get hairy. The pecking order keeps chickens from being good sharers, and this social structure is apparent when the birds have a little less room in which to eat.

In our goat barn, tensions are also high in reaction to cold and hungry days. Each morning and evening the goats get a few bales of hay- such a coveted item now that there are no fresh greens available. The feeding times are a frenzy of competition for ownership over the perfect pile of hay. There is a class system of dominant and less dominant goats. Those who are less dominant seem to know where they are not wanted and are usually able to feed in peace. Our twin young Angoras, however, are not having such an easy time. They are small and, if I can anthropomorphisize, naïve, and are prime targets for attack during feeding times. One morning this week, we found young Milton with his head stuck in a feeder trough. He, brother Morris and mother Clover all had some blood on their faces and appeared to be a terrible mess. After closer inspection and cleaning up, the mess was minor with no real injuries. What happened is a mystery, but we suspect the event may have been part of the winter time abuse that goes on between our goats. 

One amazing link between our farm and our woodlands, and one valuable lesson that can be extracted from time on a farm, is that the instincts for survival and competition in our wild neighbors is also very alive in humans and domesticated animals. Not one living thing on the farm is much different from those who dwell in the woods. We humans are craving more fatty foods than we were a few weeks ago, and we are working hard to organize our firewood. The farm animals are living under a code of hierarchy when it comes to eating precious meals. The squirrels in our office wall stole every single walnut that we had out to dry by the wood stove, and they will eat these walnuts heartily all winter. And “out there” in our woods, birds and mammals must use their finest instincts for resourcefulness if they are to survive the winter which is now truly upon us all. Living on a farm strengthens ones’ connection to the land at any time of the year. The winter time, however, makes it especially evident how similar we all are in basic needs- whether wild or domesticated.

Do you have any questions about farm animals, gardening or wildlife? Or your own stories or comments to share with me? please email me at annie@redgatefarm.org.

'Tis the season, on any farm, to have winter on the mind. Actually, the experience is not really so relaxed as to allow a grace period for mental and physical preparation. Instead the cold winds blow away the Indian summer and it's winter just like that. You don't have time to acclimate to the new season, you must jump to tasks. Move the chickens indoors, begin heating the animals' water supply, stack and cover the fire wood, harvest some of the fall greens, pull in the hoses and the tools. Luckily all that running around keeps you from freezing along with the water. That's where we are at Red Gate these Days. This time of year has great pleasures as well. Our mountain is no longer speckled in fall colors but wears its winter plumage. Naked brown trunks interspersed with full evergreens and bright white paper birch painting graceful lines. Presently the sky is white and snow is falling. The snow makes gentle sounds as it hits the ground and begins to collect. Who knows if and how much will stick to the green grass,  and how this little world will look tomorrow. 

We supply water heaters to the goats and sheep and the chickens are in their indoor winter quarters. The cats laze close to the wood stove in our office. But what about the wilder critters who call the Red Gate Farm property their home? Many insect eating birds have already left for the south where they will find food. Other birds, such as chickadees, bluejays, woodpeckers, nuthatches, some hawks and owls, are still here and will stay the winter because they can find the food they need. Some mammals, such as squirrels and chipmunks, are caching up nuts and seeds so that they may eat the winter away. Others are eating as much as possible so that they can slow down into a winter torpor and live off their body fat. Others still are true hibernators, and they will pass the winter with a drastically lowered metabolism and body temperature. Hibernating animals do not need to eat or burn accumulated fat to survive because their metabolic rate is so low. It's a physiological trick that only hibernating animals can do! Some bats, mice and ground hogs are true hibernators. Bears do not truly hibernate, but burn their fat while passing the winter in a torpor. This torpor can easily be broken by a warm weather spell or a distraction. So as difficult as it may sound for us to prepare for winter on the farm, we have it quite easy. We have heat and food to make it through without drastic physiological feats! 

Another fact of life at Red Gate Farm in November is the shorter days and longer nights that will continue to lengthen  until the winter solstice on Dec 21st. Now the four o'clock animal feeding time overlaps with 5 o'clock dusk and the animals are ready for bed with their dinner. The goats and sheep get hay every morning and night to replace summer pasture greens. The chickens have lights on a timer so that their day length is artificially extended. Tricking them into thinking it's summer should encourage our hens to lay through the winter. That way our hens can continue to provide us with the wholesome eggs that help us- the human animal- make it through this winter to come. The winter I can already see looking out the office window.