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I’ve been participating at a great community blog site, Farm Chit Chat, for several months now and we’re holding a giveaway to welcome friends to Farm Chit Chat. Joining together in a community blog allows us to bring together a great diversity of information, writing styles, and photographs of farm related topics.
For this giveaway, we have two different prize packs (don’t forget to scroll down to see the second one) and a total of 10 unique prizes to giveaway:
1) The first one consists of twelve hatching eggs from Tiffany (at The Egg Basket) for one lucky winner. She and her [...]
Continue reading Farm Chit Chat Blog Giveaway!
 The four Bramblestone Farm Nigerian Dwarf does (Hot Tea, Tinker Bell, Bit ‘O’ Honey, and Jewel Box) all kidded over the past week, and everyone is doing well. Our sister (Julie) is a highly skilled veterinary technician who stayed with us and helped during kidding – we learned a lot from her and the process was easier for the does because Julie proactively helped each (as necessary). I think a couple of the does would have been quite exhausted (if not worse), and a couple of the kids may not have made it without her assistance. I’ll be posting pictures and sale information for each [...]
Continue reading 2013 Kidding Success – A Baker’s Dozen!
 After finally finding Local Hens™ egg cartons (see Finding Egg Cartons) to help promote our egg sales, I took advantage of their offer to create a farm page for Bramblestone Farm. It was free, easy to use, and for a short time – we’re the “Featured Farmer” at Local Hens.
The Local Hens website promotes small farms, homesteads, and backyard chicken keepers trying to bring fresh and wholesome eggs to consumers. Local Hens products offer small-scale producers (like us) professional grade packaging, and provide resources like the Local Hens website to help farmers and consumers connect.
The small farm and local foods movement [...]
Continue reading We’re the “Featured Farmer” on Local Hens!
 We recently had the opportunity to visit Italy (part pleasure, part business); but wouldn’t have been able to go without the help of friends – who did a great job farm sitting while we were gone. When we just had cats and chickens, it wasn’t so much work; but now that we have goats too, it’s a morning and evening commitment of significant time every day. With everyone’s’ busy schedule, that can be hard to do, but we sure appreciate the help. This magnificent glass horse in Venice was the closest thing to livestock we saw the entire vacation.
If you’re interested in getting farm animals, [...]
Continue reading Farm Sitters
 2012 was again a good year on the farm, sometimes I forget all the great things that happened, so it’s nice to pause and look back.
Kauai, Hawaii – The year started off with a two-week vacation in late January to Kauai. We celebrated our 30th anniversary, rented/shared a gorgeous home on the ocean with family, and went swimming, snorkeling, golfing, horseback riding, and ziplining. While there, we also toured a small dairy goat farm that produces local cheese and honey for the island - it was very farm inspirational. And, of course, we enjoyed all the wild chickens!
Goats – Springtime brought [...]
Continue reading 2012 – A Very Good Farm Year!
 I’m thankful for my husband, family, friends, job, and all that makes up Bramblestone Farm; but, the farm has made me appreciate some simple things that we sometimes don’t even recognize as the blessings they are.
Now that we’ve been harvesting, butchering, milking, and making so much of our own food; I have a much greater appreciation for where our food is coming from and how much work really goes into it. On a small farm, it takes a lot of time and work to milk animals, tend the fields, raise chickens, tend bees; and then to turn the raw materials into food.
So, this [...]
Continue reading Thanksgiving – Counting Simple Blessings
 Bramblestone Farm has a new Facebook page – please “Like” it here if you’re a Facebook fan!
I thought it would be better late than never to get going on Facebook. But, then I read this:
So, we’ll just see what happens………………
 I’ve been admiring the Nigerian Dwarf bucks and does from Old Mountain Farm for quite a while, and was plotting how I’d eventually add one to the herd when I learned that the doe OMF Hot Tea was available. So, I immediately indicated my interest; and when she tested negative for Brucellosis, CAE, CL, Johnes, and Tuberculosis – brought her home. I’m so excited to have her at Bramblestone Farm!
She’s a very mellow, friendly doe – just a joy to have around. And, although my clipping job is still pretty rough in the picture, she’s so long, level, and dairy – just beautiful. Along with [...]
Continue reading New Addition – 3*M Old Mountain Farm Hot Tea 3*D AR
 Well, our first Nigerian Dwarf kidding season has ended; and the girls had one doeling and seven bucklings collectively. Seven is a few more bucklings than I’d ever imagined having in our first season, and the five latest to arrive need homes. They come from very good bloodlines and would make good herd sires or, they can be wethered and would make wonderful pets or 4H projects.
Their parents are all ADGA/AGS registered, and come from herds that have been tested to ensure that they’re disease free. The five bucklings still for sale all have the same sire, he’s Old Mountain Farm Palindrome, and he’s [...]
Continue reading Bucklings Need New Homes
 We were fortunate to visit the beautiful island of Kauai over the past several weeks; and it was just gorgeous - it truly feels like you’re in paradise. We did a lot of relaxing things while there – snorkeling, hiking, horseback riding, and whale watching to name a few; but we also visited several farms (mostly organic) to see if we could learn new techniques or ideas that would apply here.
One farm in particular was very exciting for us, Kauai Kunana Dairy. They’ve worked at it for quite a few years (originally started in 1979) and now produce artisan goat cheese, goat milk products (soap & hair/skin care products), certified organic produce, [...]
Continue reading Farm Inspiration
 Now that we have a Bramblestone Farm logo (see Farm Logo), we want to make labels for sale items; but, labels are expensive (unless you’re going to buy about a million of them). So, I decided we should standardize as much as possible on one label (for quantity buying) and that for jams/jellies/pickles, etc. it should be a round label that fits the top of standard canning jars.
The logic for using a top label (rather than side) is that it shouldn’t be necessary to change the label size when jar sizes change, labels won’t have to be soaked off re-usable canning jars, canning jar lids can’t be reused anyway, and we [...]
Continue reading Product Labeling Decisions
 Our niece, Tanya, created this terrific looking logo for Bramblestone Farm and farm product labeling. She’s very talented, and the logo turned out fantastic – really better than what we’d envisioned. She has her own blog too, Innovative Creations, where more of her beautiful work is posted. I was easily able to incorporate the logo into a label for raspberry jam; and can envision many labels and uses for the new logo. I’m excited to have a farm logo – what do you think of it?
 I’ve been working for awhile trying to get a website up for the farm, and it’s finally complete enough to at least say that it’s out there (I thought it would be finished over winter – hah!). It’s at www.bramblestonefarm.com; and it’s meant to be a website for the farm rather than a blog like Better Hens and Gardens. Someday, I hope to advertise that we have goats, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, honey, and who knows what else for sale; but today it’s just eggs.
The plan is to consolidate some of the blog posts from this site there [...]
Continue reading New Farm Website!
 In the US today, we’re being offered more and more choices in food quality; and it’s because many of us are demanding locally grown foods that are antibiotic, hormone, and pesticide free. In terms of eggs quality, it’s not clear sometimes what the choices mean – here’s a rundown on the different types of eggs:
Commercial or “Factory Farmed” Eggs
These are the standard grocery store eggs; and unfortunately, the “farms” that produce these eggs are typically poultry houses where the hens are housed indoors in tiny metal cages. They’re routinely debeaked (part of their beaks are cut [...]
Continue reading Choices in Egg Quality
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