“…and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?” ~Vincent van Gogh
Life on the farm
Livestock
We raise all of our animals as organically as possible, and with their best interest in mind. Our heritage piglets come from local farmers, and enjoy a very nice life here on the farm eating lots of table scraps, garden waste and local apples. They in turn fertilize our gardens, and feed our family and our friends all winter.
Organic gardens
We love knowing where our food comes from, and how it is grown and processed. We also love the peace and solitude of the garden and the things that live there (not so much the mosquitoes and groundhogs) and we try to spend as much time outside as possible. Our gardens are fertilized with our animal waste, and our chickens keep the pests at bay. Nothing tastes as good as something you have grown yourself!
Fresh eggs
Our chickens were the first animals on the farm (besides our loving old pup, Otis) and they have always been the most entertaining! We’ve raised our own chicks for years, and have had the pleasure of watching one of our Buff Orpingtons, Chickaletta, raise a few clutches for us. Each experience has been amazing and humbling. Watching our chickens foraging for ticks and other unwanted bugs in the garden, and knowing they’re turning them into eggs is a great feeling!
Meet our flock!
Our Shetland sheep have been with us for many years now, and are a huge part of our daily lives. We picked up our original two Shetlands (Coffee and Tim) in Vermont eight years ago, and they have given us lovely lambs every year! We decided two years ago, however that we have reached peak flock capacity for our hay storage and are sticking with the five we have now for the next few years. We’ve sent a few sets of twins and our sweet old ram, Tim, off to Aroostook county to help further other flocks and while we do miss having Tim around we are enjoying all of our new free time not spent repairing the things he enjoyed destroying showing off for the ladies.
Coffee and her son Earl Grey give us excellent black wool, Mocha provides us with a lovely fawn-light brown wool, and Latte and Chamomile give us super soft creamy white wool that loves to be dyed bright colors.
Welcome to Birch Branch Farm!
-Farm photo dump-
