Circle M Farm

Wow! We woke up this morning to an absolutely gorgeous sunny day – that was 29 degrees! The fields and gardens are blanketed with a lovely frost, the white flag of surrender for the summer crops. I, frankly, am quite glad to see them go. We’ve been running around for the past few days frantically gathering up tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and everything else tender we hoped to save. I do regret not pulling in the last of the beans, because we did have a lot out there. But I’m truly glad to be done with the rest. Now we can sit back and enjoy the spectacular show put on by the winter and root crops. continued »

July is the time of year when gardening becomes more work than play. The crops are all in, except those planted in succession the entire season, and now the challenge is keeping them safe from strangling weeds, marauding bugs and ill-timed dry spells. continued »

You can tell the insane workload of spring has lifted slightly, because here at Circle M we’re finally getting around to some of those tasks that are important, but not urgent – like shearing Howie! continued »

We bid a somewhat reluctant farewell to Piggy Lou, our friendly and gigantic sow, this morning when she went away with the butcher. We were only somewhat sad to see her go, for as endearing as she sometimes was, her size and strength had made her a bit of a danger in our fenced gardens. continued »

Like so many of you offering moral support this past week, a lovely friend recently posted a message of sympathy for our flood trials and closed with a surprisingly shocking admonition: “Remember to breathe.” Wow. And so I am, today. Thanks to a heroic outpouring of effort from both neighbors and our dedicated crew of WorkShare farm members this weekend, Plan B is now planted and the gardens are off and growing for the second time this season. continued »

Thank God for the songs of Johnny Cash to give voice to our sufferings. We’re living “Three Feet High and Rising” here at Circle M where the fierce storms of the weekend, and our bucolic location at the junction of a creek and river, have conspired to give us lakefront property. Too bad the lake had to be on one of our gardens. continued »

Just seven poults left of 15. Those that remain, though, are really feathering out and starting to think about getting loose! Unlike chicks, they do a lot of running back and forth in their stock-tank brooder. They are a riot to watch and have great big expressive eyes. Whenever I come near the cage, they turn their heads sideways and up to fix their gaze on me with one liquid eye. They better live. continued »

My first experience with pigs was as a child in Pennsylvania. I’d toured an Amish farm in Lancaster County with my family, and we’d been invited to squat by the pigpen and stick our fingers through the fence so the fat pink piglets could come up and suck on our fingers. Which they did, enthusiastically, while my brother and I squealed in delight. In retrospect, I’ve got some serious questions about that visit. continued »

A customer recently sent us a link to a really cool site, The Madison 100 Mile Diet Map, a resource created by four UW-Madison cartography students who wanted to provide an easy way for area residents to find locally produced foods. And Circle M is on the map! continued »

It is odd how ecstasy has no x. Anyway –
The barely-started month of May continues to have its extreme ups and downs here at Circle M. continued »