Thursday, August 20, 2015

this week in august

still waiting on new baby lambs.  due anytime.  we are due for multiples this time.  the big bad ram got sent to the pen.  he was very bad this week and put me on the ground again, and literally butted everyone on the property.  so he can wait out fatherhood from behind the fence.
 
we had great help this week and the aguaponics are completely installed and the plants from the greenhouse moved into the grow beds.  we have two grow beds and a nice raft system in place.  i had some plants in the garden struggling with the unusual heat we are having so i pulled them and relocated them to the grow bed and by noon they looked like totally different plants.  the small fry fish are growing fast and many have been moved to the fingerling tank.  tomorrow we will probably move the rest of the tiny minnows to their first big tank instead of the aquarium.  and so it begins.

i caught a very large bird in the pond a couple days ago.  i startled it and it took off.  I'm pretty sure it was a great heron.  haven't seen it since but we are watching out for it.  i think it was fishing.

we have had a guest here from New Zealand for a couple weeks.  his help has been fantastic.  we are so far ahead of schedule with the fish system we might actually get the garden planted for the fall and winter crops on time.  our guest is heading off to a road trip,  his last before heading home.  we have a new guest coming the first of September to help with the garden prepping and planting.  we also have some good friends that live down the road and they just got back from Iowa, visiting family for a couple months.  we had several people here this week to visit.  it was wonderful.

goodnight. deb


Sunday, August 9, 2015

aguaponic

yeah new building is up and roofed and ready to be plumbed.  finally all those baby tilopia will have a place to call home.  we have hundreds and so many more we are still trying to catch in the pond... very busy fish summer and new babies every day.  will expect new minnows until weather cools down.  i have been reading some articles about large fish farming and the poor containment and feeding of tilopia for general  consumption to the public. i even read a post on my facebook site.  i didn't like the way the articles imply that all tilopia are raised the same.  they absolutely are not all raised the same.. i recommend that you buy your fish from a farm that you have the option of inspecting.  know what they are fed, look at the breeding tanks. ask about the crazy hormones that turn all the fish to larger males.  do your research and know your grower.  in the meantime we will get ours ready for the markets and do it the right way.  done with my rant for the day.  happy fishing.

ps sheep are ready to deliver babies this week.  i cant wait.  nothing cuter that baby sheep learning about their new world and how to survive in it.  and lets face it nothing is cuter than babies running and playing on unsteady legs.  we should have multiples this time around and that will be fun,  as long as we don't have to bottle feed them.  they all have good mamas  so i'm hoping for the best.