I sincerely mean this. This past 36 hours has been an emotional roller coaster for me. I made my first post to Facebook ever Friday afternoon. As I started writing this at 4:45am (why am I awake?!, you might be wondering… I”ll get to that) almost 1,000 people have reached out in someway to respond to that original post. That’s staggering to me. I’ve tried to figure out the best way to say thank you so that you truly can understand how much joy your messages of encouragement have brought me. This being Maple Leaf weekend may have been what made this so special. I’ve seen so many of you in person after you sent me the private messages or commented on my post. Love is what I’ve felt from each of you and its hard to not cry now as I type this. I truly mean THANK YOU.
Now the emotional roller coaster part. After the parade yesterday, we took our first batch of birds out of the brooder and put them on pasture. I have pictures and videos to share with you, and I will. I’m just drinking from a fire hose at the moment as I try to learn social media and farming at the same time! It was a really exciting moment for us. It was 70 degrees and perfect. ( you know whats coming next…) The forecast was for a freeze during the night. That’s a dangerous recipe for birds that are new to being out of the brooder. I’ve tried to plan ahead, by putting heat lamps in the chicken tractor just to make sure I could regulate the temperature and keep them from freezing. That sounds so simple and easy…. These birds are out in a field on the FARM, not just in a backyard. That’s a lot of ground to cover when you are looking for an outlet to plug into. (are you shaking your head at me yet?) –Side note- I loved the movie Top Gun as a kid, and it still stops me in my tracks if I catch it on TV as I’m coming through the living room. But there is a line in the movie when Maverick and Merlin are engaged with the Russians and Mav tells him he’s going to bring them in closer and then hit the breaks and they’ll fly right by… His reaction is what I picture Sarah says to me each time I come up with one of these crazy ideas of mine…. You’re gonna do what!? (Oh that shrieking panicked voice still makes me laugh. Not Sarah, the actor..) Sarah never seems to laugh at these ideas either… Back to the roller coaster ride.– I have daisy chained electrical cords out of the barn and out into the fields to hang lamps on. At 9:30 last night, birds were doing well. At 3:15am what I was worried about happening was in full effect. Birds start to pile on top of each other when they get frightened or COLD. So this morning at 3:30am I’m on my hands and knees spreading birds out to keep them from suffocating each other. I have positioned more lights (which means more electrical cords across the pasture) in better spacing. The birds act like they are doing well. Before church I’ll check again..
Oh by the way. Did I mention that pigs are being delivered in 7 hours…… Here comes another loop-d-loop on the roller coaster…
These posts will get shorter, I promise…..
Thank you again for all of the support. I am so encouraged and loved.
As I was leaving the field at 4:30 this morning I couldn’t help but think of Tom Bodetts’ line…. “We’ll leave the light on for you.”
Love you,
Spence
The Red Fern Farm