Country Woman

54 COUNTRY WOMAN COUNTRYWOMANMAGAZINE.COMEDITOR IN THE COUNTRYwind turbine and solar panels thatprovide nearly 90 percent of thefarm’s power needs.Morning chores continue asJanet and I round up the friskyPygmy goats and take them out tograze. Favorites with farm visitors,the agile little goats keep busyleaping up on wooden crates andscurrying across a plank bridge tonibble on the grass roof of a smallshed near their pen.In the hen house, I cautiouslyreach under the Araucana hens inthe roosting boxes and am thrilledto find warm pale blue eggs!“You’re just like our campers,”Janet says, chuckling. “Once thekids get over being scared of thehens, they love gathering eggs.”We feed the chickens, then tearup stale bread to toss near thepond for the guinea hens, ducksand geese that roam freely. When agoose defending its turf threatensto peck me, Janet gently scolds andscoops it up in her arms. She turnsit on its back and lets me pet itsdowny belly. There’s no questionabout who rules the roost!``````Green habitsWe stop at the 1912 farmhouse tofetch baskets of laundry. Restoredand expanded, the building has alarge gathering room for meetingsand is home to four sisters—Janet,Mary Ann Weyker, Kathleen Bohnand Rose Marie Dischler—andKate Kirbie, Janet’s assistant.“When our campers go onscavenger hunts, they’re usuallystumped when we ask them tofind our wind- and solar-poweredclothes dryer,” Janet says with asmile as we pin damp garments tothe old-fashioned clothesline.Kate helps us load flats ofvegetable seedlings, raised in thefarm’s greenhouse, into a golfcart. We head for the quarter-acre garden, about half planted atthis point. They make their owncompost and use organic methods.``````We hoe weeds, hill rows, digholes for tomato plants, placetomato towers and spread strawbetween the rows to discourageweeds. Then we put in eggplantand bury bean seeds at the baseof a trellis. Six community gardenplots here are rented to city folks.``````Around noon, we break for alunch of fresh garden salad, veggiestir-fry with rice and strawberry-rhubarb dessert. “We eat fresh andhealthy from our garden, and canand freeze fruits and vegetables,”Janet says. Any extra produce isdonated to a local food pantry.An Eagle Scout remodeled a pigbarn into the farm’s honey house;Janet has trimmed it with brightlypainted wood flowers and bees.Suited up in long-sleeve shirts, beehats and gloves, we stoke the smokerand check hives. “We lost a few hivesover the winter and have addedsome new colonies,” Janet says.I puff calming smoke at theriled-up bees as Janet opens the1321. Hen house. Ann collects fresh eggsfrom Araucana chickens resting intheir roosting boxes.2. Row by row. Janet lays straw downbetween crops in the garden.3. Busy bees. While Janet checks thebeehives for eggs, Ann calms theirbuzzing residents with smoke.4. Dirty work. On a sunny spring day,Ann and the crew at the Eco-JusticeCenter dig holes to plant new crops inthe farm’s quarter-acre garden.