STRAWBERRY ADDENDUM II..... A BIT OF A SETBACK!!!

Those poor little berries just can't catch a break! The lightening and the thunder, not to mention bits of hail and the rain on our metal roof, got our attention. As we sat up in bed and pondered the outcome in the morning, we felt pretty sure that what was falling on the roof, was falling on the strawberry field and we were in for another little setback in the strawberry production. Lots of reservations were called in for Saturday picking. Be forewarned!!! The big, ripe berry selection will be meager. The mushed and mangled berry selection will be plentiful. We will be contacting those that left contact information to announce that their reservations will be honored the following week, as many of the red, ripe begging to be picked berries, took a battering in the storm. The not so ripe, still developing, greenish white ones, weathered the storm just fine, thankfully, there are lots and lots of them. We will be postponing the picking to the following Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 25, 26, 27, from noon until 4:00 PM. If you are totally confused by all of the changes, just call or contact us for clarification. Hopefully we will be able to announce open picking no reservation required,  after Saturday, April 27. Then again, this whole rigamarole may change again! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

                                                                                                                                                                        Again, No Berries Until Thurs of next week !!!!!!!

STRAWBERRY ADDENDUM!!!

Lots and Lots of calls for berry picking! As the berries are just starting to produce, after the spring freeze, we are going to allow a limited amount of pickers to come to the farm to start the season. Nothing worse than traveling a distance for zippo! As this Saturday is pretty well full up, do not despair. There will be bigger and better Saturdays to come. At the beginning of next week, the picking days for that week will be posted. As soon as there is open picking, we will make the big announcement. For now we will continue with reservations. There have been several requests to come pick in the mornings, so to whom this may concern......... we start our chores and milking at about 5:30 in the morning. After several hours of work, we finish.....for the morning We welcome pickers, but would have to start chores at about 3:00 AM to accommodate morning pickers. Sorry, no can do! We finish picking at 4:00 PM in time to start the chores for the evening. After a bite of supper, a little shut eye, we start all over again!  From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

STRAWBERRY SCOOP!!!

The dismal remnants of the hard freeze that blasted through here last month are quickly being overshadowed by new blossoms and red, ripe strawberries. We are preparing to welcome visitors to the farm to share the lush fruit that the hearty plants are putting forth. Our u-pick season will open this weekend as the berries are becoming more abundant each day. To assure that there will be plenty of berries for those that make the trek, we will have appointment picking, as we kick start the season. Here are some of the guidelines and basic information for those that will be coming to the farm for berry picking:* We welcome families to come pick, but we require 1 adult for each child under 8 years of age, and ask that all children be supervised at all times. We are a working farm and have electric fences, beehives, farm equipment, animals, this is to make sure that your visit is safe and enjoyable   * Wear appropriate clothing. Jackets, closed toed shoes, as we are in the sand, hats, etc. * Leave Fifi and Fido at home, we do not allow pets on the farm. * We do not spray our berries with chemicals, but there is constant blowing wind with sand. Do not attempt to eat the berries before they are washed, you will be spitting out grit for hours. * Pick only the berries that are deep red all of the way around, they are ripe and sweet. * Do not walk on the plastic beds where the berries reside. Underneath are the irrigation lines and they are difficult to repair when torn, as is the plastic.* We provide the boxes for picking. The berries are priced at $3.00 lb. There is a minimum for each family of 1 box . The box will hold about 6-7 lbs. level full.* We accept cash or check in the form of payment * Picked berries may be available in the market.  *Restroom facilities are available.* We do not have a picnic area, but nearby Lake Ray Roberts has picnic facilities. * We are not able to give tours during picking hours, so we offer an invitation to our fall festival, where tours will be given to all areas of the farm. Appointments for picking can be made by leaving a message on the answer machine, 903-429-2319 or by e-mail info@randcdairy.com. Just provide your name, the number of persons in your party, and a contact number or e-mail address. We will contact you to confirm your request. The first day of picking will be Thursday, April 18. The picking hours will be 12:00 Noon until 4:00 PM. We will also be open the following Friday and Saturday, the same hours. We are closed on Sundays and do not pick in the rain.  Additional picking days and hours for the weeks to come will be posted here and announced on the answer machine. We look forward to seeing everyone this year! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support !!!

CAUTION: DELICATE SUBJECT MATTER, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

The Farmer finally took matters into hand, as the prospects of goat milk seemed like wishful thinking. The swelling tummies and pooching udders had not produced anything resembling babies or milk. Time to go to the source of the situation. We had analyzed every scenario that could possibly exhist.... the courtship, the weather, the alignment of the stars, hormones, bad kharma. Why in the world did we not have any kids on the ground? The Farmer "smelled a skunk in the woodpile."  The most logical next step would be biology, and that if something does not seem to be working properly, figure out why and how to fix it. Since dairy goats are not as numerous as dogs, cats, horses and cows in veterenary circles, we were hard pressed to find a vet that would take on our situation. After a few referrals, we hit paydirt. As it was much easier to load 2 bucks in a trailer than 40 does, the fellows were soon taking a road trip to Van Alstyn. After a few pokes and prods, and a little electricity ( just let your imagination soar) the results were conclusive. Now, just let me say this. In the world of guns and marksmen, shooting blanks has its place. In the world of dairy goat breeders, shooting blanks is a travesty. Our newly acquired,  pedigreed, high dollar Stud Muffin did not have a tadpole anywhere near him. Who would have thought?  He had sired many offspring, or so we were told, so we certainly were not expecting this outcome. In our defense, the Vet said that this was very rare. Naturally, it would happen to us! Oh, and our good ol' boy Don Juan, who we thought was not up to the task this season, and lost his position as the number one Bad Boy, was so loaded with little swimmers, the vet cautioned the female tech to stand back for fear of exposure! In a nutshell, a goat dairy, with few prospects of milking does is a bit of a dilema. Not to worry! We may be down, but certainly not out. The Farmer had the forethought to introduce Don Juan back to the doe herd a couple of months ago, just to catch any misses ( if he only knew). And this is where the story takes a quirky turn. The farm that we got Mr. Fancy Pants from just happened to have a dire situation that needed our help. It seems that the little buckling that we swapped said Buck for, in order to switch bloodlines up a bit, happened to jump the fence one night and got into small herd of does, a fine group of girls that were going to be sold, therefore not bred this past year, due to an impending surgery of the owner. It seems that our little buckling had quite a time, as the goats are now kidding and it seems most all will be mothers. How much more bizarre can life get? It just so happens that some of these does will very soon be ours, the first to arrive in a couple of days..... and full of goat milk to boot! We appreciate everyones patience, we apologize for our ignorance. The appearance of fat bellies and swollen bags was brought on by very well fed goats . The supply of goat milk will be gradual to start, then should increase in the next few weeks as the new goats arrive. In the meantime we bid farewell, to the new and useless and welcome back to the old and invaluable. By the way, we should have a wave of babies in the fall,thanks to efforts of an old, reliable friend, who we refer to as the Clean Up Man, and that means winter milk! Yippee!!! The MARKET HOURS: Friday and Saturday from noon until 4:00 PM. Information on strawberry picking will be posted this weekend, as we are hoping to start u-pick next weekend. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

E-MAIL GLITCH!!!

Our farm e-mail has a glitch, not sure what it is, all messages have been returned as it states our box is full. The technical department, which consists of anyone here on the farm that knows beans about computors, and anyone who doesn't, like yours truly, and whoever else we know that might have a clue. Hopefully we will be up and running again soon. Meanwhile, pick up the phone, as I have paid the bill for this month and it still is working and call us at 903-429-2319 UPDATE::::::::: THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN SOLVED!!!! Thanks to an intelligent yakity parrot who squawks every morning "Take out the trash, take out the trash". Who needs a geek squad when we have Nicky. She was right, our trash folder was full of forms and files that were downloaded. It has since been emptied and the mail box is ready for mail! Also, thanks to Pam, our site sponsor.

A NICE SURPRISE!!!

Too wet to plant, to wet to plow, but not to wet to pick! The Farmers Son went to the new asparagus patch after the rain and WOW! Since it is mulched in bark chips, no mud, so he was able to take his special asparagus cutting tool, direct from jolly old England, and go to town. And what is even better than that is in a couple of days, he will be able to pick another bundle, and another, and another. This is definately an up in the farming roller coaster. Even though the rain has set us back a bit, we welcome every drop of it. It should be a shoe in for a great blackberry crop, not to mention the peaches.The row crops are off to a great start.  Have not yet been out to check on goat baby arrival this morning, I am not going to hold my breath. The MARKET HOURS have changed to Friday and Saturday from noon until 4:00. Theoretically, we should be picking strawberries in the mornings. Not holding my breath for that either. Thankfully there are new blooms replacing the frostbitten ones, so strawberry season will probably overlap blackberry season this year. The chickens do not care if it is day or night, summer or winter, they are going to do just what suits them, as they lay when they feel like it, so we just try to keep them happy. The cows are still supplying lots of good creamy milk, grateful for the rain that entices the green grass to grow. We are still accepting applications for the pick up at the farm CSA, check the website for more information. Will post updates on strawberry picking when we get a little closer to opening week..... crossing our fingers there will be sufficient berries in a couple of weeks . From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

APRIL SHOWERS....A LITTLE EARLY!!!

With the much needed rain, we don't mind the fact that the every day chores involve wet animals, mud, soggy clothes and rubber boots. As we are well into the Easter weekend, there is a sense of fresh and new on the farm, with the trees all leafing out, the bees emerging daily from their hives, the spring grasses and wildflowers poking up from the dormant soil in the pastures. The girls make a beeline for the open gate at first light, hungry for a tender salad for breakfast, walking past the large rolls of dry hay in the hay rings, not even giving them a passing glance. As we patiently await the first of the goat babies,( yes, our vigil is ongoing) we are grateful that the weather has warmed somewhat and we can say with confidence that it is certain that none of the newborns will freeze to death. We are also playing the waiting game with seed planting. Next week it will be time to plant the warm weather crops. Watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers, summer squash, black eyed peas, etc. Our first assessment of the strawberry field after the hard freeze last week was overly optomistic. A good share of the little green strawberries that were doing so well, suffered as the frost and cold creeped in during the early morning hours. It is a sure thing that the little black nubs on the edge of the stems are goners. Not to worry, there are lots of new blossoms that should replace what was lost, and just like everything else this year, the season will be a little later than expected,  although maybe not as abundant as it could have been. If nothing else, the Farming profession is never ever boring and predictable, with more ups and downs than a Six Flags roller coaster,  and this is one of  the reasons we are Farmers..... this is our walk on the wild side! Our thanks to our Father in Heaven for sending His Son, our Brother, to make a huge payment for our sins and misbehaviors. May we walk this Earth with a consious effort to try and make it a much better place to live for all of those whose lives we touch. I just want to make sure He feels that the sacrifice was worth it.  From our farmstead to your table thank you for all of your support!!!