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"Black Eyed Pea" - Mechelle's Halloween costume
Transferring hand rolled bales of hay up into our hayloft in early summer of 2011. A rope and pulley system raise the "hooked" bale where the loft person pulls it onto the loft floor and unhooks it. A wagon load of 3 bales can, with little effort, Be hoisted aloft and stacked in less than four minutes!
West end view of the winter "Screen House." Because the roof and upper south-facing wall are covered in a strong black screen material, the inside temperature fluctuates much less than a traditionally covered "greenhouse-type structure." This innovative design is a big advantage as current climate changes that exacerbate wide temperature swings become the normal.

South-facing wall of the "Screen-House." The east and west ends are built of glass, while the north wall is built from cedar siding and recycled aluminum framed storm windows. The roof and upper, south-facing wall are covered with black fiberglass screening. The screen roof easily lets in both sunlight and rainwater while moderating the large temperature swings that a greenhouse would normally experience.
A flock of our farm-raised hens eagerly follow farmer leaf as he pulls a small disc through rich bottom soil prior to planting the 2011 Blue Clarage corn crop.
Our hives are wearing ventilated top covers with extended roof to protect the entrance from rainfall..

The custom-built pump house at the upper end of Cedar Creek Pond. This ir the pump-storage reservoir for watering all of our upland fields. During times of drought, the pond can be recharged in a few hours from water pumped from the nearby Tennessee River.
Intern Mechelle using our pump-irrigation hose to water a stand of organically-grown heirloom corn.
Years of selective breeding and natural (hen) incubation, combined with learning chicken-ways from their "mother hens" have resulted in a healthy, strong flock having low grain consumption requirements without sacrifing long seasonal productivity.

Grass pasture raised beef steer "Chuck" looking buff on revived pasture after tropical storm Lee, Sept. 2011
A (recyled PVC) framed chicken tilling device. Park it over the planting bed, add a few hungry (when are they not?) chickens and by day's end, the soil is nearly plantable. The frame is covered in 2 X 4 poultry wire, flat-clamp fastened to the ring frame.
Ida Rose, our Jersey-Holstein mix milk cow and her adopted calf "Chocolate, a 7 wk old steer. (Sept.2011)

Seed & feed corn being solar dried after being picked before fully field cured. Early picking was required after tropical storm Lee (Sept. 2011) dropped 8.15 inches of rain on the semi-dried crop. September set a new record for total monthly rainfall, but our losses were held under 5%. by utilizing this salvage technique. (corn harvest Sept. 2011)
Cedar Creek Pond with the island, 2011
Our traditionally painted red and white barn shelters hay munching liverstock from the biting wind. (Winter- 2011)

Our pony and calf romping as they play "snow rodeo" in fresh snow-covered pasture. (Winter 2011)
An old hen "chillin" on a rain barrel cover, is surrounded by mid-growth young pullets from the spring-born peeps. (Fall 2011)
Our livestock barn (foreground) and equipment shed in late afternoon sunlight on a fall day in 2010

"Blackie," our pony, shares a pasture with the chickens who readily scratch and spread around her manure droppings while looking for bugs.
Farmer Leaf leads our new fast-stepping pony "Blackie," as son Hawk guides the plow in the east garden. (Spring-2010)