What's New at The Blue Heron Farm

What's new at BHF 2003 - 2006

What's new in 2005

Sunny climes We were again fortunate to be able to visit our friend John Bogert on Nirvana, his 35 ft. sailboat. This year we joined John to sail to Trinidad and Tobago for Carnival (a Powerpoint slide show of the Trindad Carnival 2005 is available). Carnival is justifiably billed as the "worlds biggest block party". The local folks spend a huge amount of time (and money) building their "costumes". Calling them costumes is an understatement, since some of them at 20 feet tall and even wider. The creativity displayed by Trinidadians of all ages is amazing. Trinidad is a rather well off country since they have significant oil reserves, but there are some issues of safety for visitors.

Sugaring Season

After a rather snowy winter, we headed into sugaring set up with a lot of snow on the ground. Sugaring started right about on time, but sap flows were never really outstanding. Once again, we produced an average crop of syrup, most of which was of the lighter color grades. For the first time in our memory, the season ended before we produced any of the darker grades (Grade B, cooking grade). Our syrup sales business experienced significant growth in 2005 after one of the chains we deliver to (DiGeronimo Victory Supermarkets) was sold to the Hannaford Bros. Chain (Portland, Maine). When we first learned of the impending sale, we were a bit anxious as to whether the new owners would still allow us to continue with direct store delivery (DSD). We were pleased to meet the category manager for maple syrup in Portland who assured us that Hannaford wanted to maintain local suppliers and did allow DSD. Based on this, we were able to keep all our farmer Victory stores, and to add several others in more eastern Mass.

Farmhouse renovations 

After many years of renovating and maintaining the various vacation rentals, we were finally able to do some long-awaited renovations to our own home. The "el" part of the farmhouse dates to sometime in the 1800's, and it had been allowed to go down hill over the years. In particular, renovations in the 1950's were done in such a way that squirrels could get into the walls and ceilings. In addition to driving our cats (and us) crazy, the little darlings also ruined all the insulation so that our kitchen and laundry room were always really cold. This year, faced with a huge increase in the cost of heating fuel, we decide that enough was enough, and ripped off the old wall sheathing, replaced a 12 foot section of rotten sill, and thoroughly insulated the entire wall.  With the onset of winter, the best we could do was to install new wall sheathing, and staple up Tyvec. Our plan is to clapboard and stain the new wall in 2006.

Barn roof maintenance

As visitors to the farm will note, all the buildings are roofed with slate. Slate roofs are wonderful in the way they resist wind and shed snow. However, on the barns in particular (dating from the mid 1800's), the old, tapered nails used have gotten pretty rusty over time, so that they tend to pull out and allow slates to fall with heavy winds or as the snow slides. Of course, as a slate pulls out, it allows the roof to leak on all the hay and equipment stored inside. After many years of getting up on the roof using ladders, this year I decided that I was getting far too old for that much risk, and rented a great self-leveling bucket lift. In just one weekend, I was able to pull and re-nail, or replace many, many slates with a much higher level of safety than ever before. Presto, no leaks.

Jubal comes back to the farm

After many years of living and working on his own, including several years in California, our son Jubal is back living and working part time on the farm. His main job is on another local farm, where he milks the cows (getting up at 4:00 AM to do so), helps with corn chopping, etc. His Mom and I are thrilled to have him back home and working with us.

What's new in 2004

Visit to Nirvana
A long time and dear friend John Bogert started living his post retirement dream last May, with the purchase and outfitting of a "serious boat". Departing in May of 2003 from Marblehead, Mass., John took the boat, named Nirvana by the previous owner, across the Atlantic, down the coast of Europe to Cape Verde, and then back across on the Trade Winds to the Caribbean. We were able to join him in Grenada for a wonderful 2 week sail to the country called St. Vincent and the Grenadines. How can you hate 85 degree crystal clear aquamarine water, great fishing, nice cold beers and other "boat drinks" and spiny lobsters on the grill? This trip was especially enjoyable given Norma's injuries/illness in 2003 and because we were even able to watch the Patriots win the Superbowl!

Sugaring Season

Every once in a while we get a really good sugaring season, and 2004 was one of those. We produced a record crop for us of over 800 gallons of syrup, most of which was of the lighter color grades (USDA Grade A Light Amber and Grade A Medium Amber).

Barnyard improvement project

Utilizing cost sharing funds through the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), we modified the paddock area to the north of our barns to eliminate water run off that could carry manure off the farm. The project involved quite a bit of grading and the erection of a large block retaining wall to move water away from the paddock and out into a nearby hayfield. Any water coming off the concrete slabs behind the barn is now routed through a grassy "filter strip" that is designed to capture any solids before they can move off site.

Ilsa loses her foals

Another bit of bad luck visited us in July, when our beautiful mare BHF Ilsa foaled with twins. Twinning in equines is very rare, and most often they do not survive, as was the case here. Both foals were fully formed, but were stillborn. When she was ultrasounded 11 months previous, we saw no signs of twins, probably because one was hidden by the other. Fortunately, Ilsa responded well to treatments and she survived the ordeal.

The Bungalow

After many years of watchful waiting, in October, we were fortunate to be able to purchase back the last remaining part of the farm that had been sold by previous owners. With this purchase, the farm has been returned to its boundaries going back to at least 1797, the first mention in the deeds of "a 130 acre farm".

The parcel is about .8 acre, and is the site of a small summer camp built in 1952 by the Murray family. For many years, the camp was owned by Mr. Malcolm Greve a retired school custodian from New Jersey. Unfortunately, just 2 weeks after the closing, Mr. Greve passed away rather suddenly. We were truly saddened by his passing since we had wanted him to see the renovations we planned for his camp.

Renovations to the camp (now known as "The Bungalow") required a complete overhaul and included all new wiring and plumbing, complete insulation top to bottom, lots of sheet rock, new Pella windows and doors, new hardwood floors, a new kitchen and bathroom, a new heating system, and addition of a large exterior deck. All renovations were carried out to meet the Massachusetts Building Code by local contractors, including Jerry Ferguson Electrician, Country Oil and Plumbing, Osterman Gas, Friends of the Sun, King House Painting and Wallcovering, Doug Johnson Window and Door Installation, and particularly David Hazlett and his son Jason. 

For a more detailed look at the work on the Bungalow, a PowerPoint slide show of the work is available online. 

Outdoor driving/riding ring

In the fall, we started earthmoving to create a 70' by 160' sand-surfaced ring for riding and driving. Our previous ring was much smaller (50' x 90'), and not suitable for driving work. The grading work on the ring was finished in 2005 and a nice sand surface put down. We have purchased a 2 rail vinyl fence with gates that will be installed in spring of 2006.

New "Spinner" cart

We decide to upgrade our horse drawn vehicles this year by purchasing an Amish Made "Spinner" cart. The Spinner is much lighter than our previous Meadowbrook cart, and has several nice feature, including being an "easy entry" type, and having hydraulic disk brakes. Unfortunately, we as of January 2006, we are still waiting for the seller (Running Brook Carriages in Woodstock Vermont), to send us the toe rail and touch up paint we ordered when we first bought it, but in all other ways, we are very happy with the cart. 

What's New in 2003

Norma's injuries/illness

The year started out on a bad note when Norma was injured during sugaring. She had been out in the woods on a sunny February day tapping trees and had just taken off her sunglasses since the sun was going down. Amazingly, when setting the last tap of the day, a small piece of the plastic spout chipped off and flew into her eye, causing a serious corneal abrasion. Scratches such as these are very painful, so we took her to the ER where they gave her meds to kill the pain. Fortunately, there was no permanent injury, and she healed just fine.

Later that year, on June 16, she was not so "lucky". She had been in the sugarhouse packaging syrup with our water jacket packager. The very next day we were expecting delivery of a new, larger packager, and the old one had been disconnected from its electrical source in preparation for trading it in. As she had done hundreds of times before, when done packaging, she rinsed out the inner tank with clean water, and tipped the packager forward slightly to drain out the water. Unfortunately, with the wiring disconnected, the whole packager, still filled with VERY HOT water, came over on her, seriously scalding her right arm and right leg. The worst injury (deep 3rd degree burns) occurred to her right ankle when the hot water got down inside her insulated lace-up boots. Before she could get the boot off, the water effectively cooked her upper foot and ankle.

Not surprisingly, we rushed her to the ER again. She had a very long and difficult recovery period, being confined to bed rest and use of a wheelchair for over a month and then on crutches for another month and a half. She describes the worst part of the healing as the water-bath therapy that was needed to reduce scarring. This was about as painful as the original burns. She also couldn't go near any of the animals for fear of contracting an infection that Doctors told us could cost her her foot. Fortunately in addition to being very tough when it comes to pain, she also has great healing powers, and she eventually got back to 100%. Although she had some scarring on her arm and ankle, she did not need skin grafts, a process that would have extended this difficult time in her life. We are thankful that we had just hired a great young man named Eric Colbeck who was essential to helping me (Bill) manage the farm and my UMass job while Norma was laid up. We also can't give enough thanks to our dear friend Pam Hazlett who helped above and beyond the call by turning over the vacation rentals until Norma could get back on her feet.

As if the burn accident wasn't bad enough, just before Christmas, she was kept up one night with severe abdominal pain. As tough as she is, she didn't want to go to the hospital, thinking that things would get better. However, I insisted, and we were told that she had an infected gall bladder. Unfortunately, she had to spend Christmas week in the hospital on antibiotics before they could do the laproscopic removal of her gall bladder. The good news on this is that she healed very well, and we were able to go on vacation only 2 weeks later. (See 2004) As you can imagine, we were VERY HAPPY to see the end of 2003.

Sugaring season

This was quite a year to be out in the woods tapping trees. Among others, there was an incredible snow storm on President's Day that buried Western Mass. Even on snowshoes, you would sink in to your knees, and breaking trail was a lot of work. The season turned out to be pretty good in spite of (or maybe because of) all the snow.

Farmland Viability program

We were pleased to be selected in 2002 to participate in the Farmland Viability Program (FVP) of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR). Participants in this program agree to put a ten-year Conservation Restriction (CR) on their property. The CR is a legal covenant that states that we will not develop any portion of the farm for 10 years. In exchange, participants receive help with creating/updating a business plan for the farm, and up to $40,000 to carry out priority elements of that business plan.

In our case, in 2003 we used the FVP funds and some of our own resources to upgrade our maple sugaring operation (adding new stainless steel pans, a new syrup packaging unit and a Reverse Osmosis machine), and to purchase newer used equipment to improve our haying operations (4-wheel drive John Deere 2355 tractor, JD disk mower, hay wagons). We also were able to buy a variable angle snow plow that mounts of the front of the new tractor so that we can plow out our properties on our schedule rather than on that of an outside contractor.

One foal was born

We were blessed with a fine stud colt out of Gita. His name is Conner and he was sold as a yearling to Ruth Price of Eastern Mass. Ruth has decided to keep him on the farm for us to train him over the next 3-4 years. Conner was shown by Kiley Turner and took Youngstock Champion at the 2004 Woodstock Fjord Show.

Round Pen

To help with training and conditioning horses, we set up a 50 foot round pen next to the farmhouse. This pen enables us to work horses in a controlled environment to get them in good physical shape, improve their balance, trot and canter readily in both directions, and teach them to bend on the move. Unfortunately, we have had to more or less constantly repair the round pen which is prone to wash outs during heavy rains.