The temperatures are still high, but the promises of the cool crisp days of fall are around the corner. Here on the farm we are busy harvesting from the garden and doing some preemptive fall clean up. School starts in days and the kids and I are ready for the regularity and orderliness that comes with a schedule. Summer seems to have gone by in a blur, but it always seems that way this time of year!
Soon we will be hosting our second farm to table dinner with live music, local wines and brews, and a delicious menu inspired from what we grow here on the farm. The event will be taking place on Saturday, September 22nd at 6:30 pm. If you are interested in attending the dinner please visit our events and classes page for more information. Want a ticket? Click on the button below!

Kidding Season started a bit earlier than expected this year! With snow on the ground and freezing temperatures, Heidi Lou decided that it was the perfect time to deliver three beautiful kids. Luckily, Bang waited a bit longer and delivered two nice looking bucks in the beginning of April. Lilly had three gorgeous 6th generation bucks!

6th generation bucklings. Sweet and beautiful these little boys will be great bucks. More individual pictures available upon request. Asking $475 each. They will be ready to leave July 3rd. They are debudded, tattooed and vaccinated.  They will be registered with MDGA. Two of these little boys have been sold to Susan from Mt. Hood, Washington. Thank you!
​One boy left! 

5th generation buckling. Black Acre's Blue Truman- buckling with a great face and awesome long ears! Bottle baby, so super tame. He is our favorite around here and will be a hard one to part with. He follows us around as we do our chores and loves to be scratched. We are keeping Truman as a wether! The kids feel in love with him...so now he is a pet.

​

Sold! Thank you Jeanette from Pendleton, Oregon.
Meet Carlos and Klaus. These two wethers are super sweet! Born on April 13th (Friday the 13th!)They are 4th Generation and would be great 4-H projects or pets. Asking $100 obo.
Dam: W4's Independence Day's Bang- 3rd Generation
Sire: Mini Nubian Arnold Blue- 5th Generation

Black Acre's Suri- doeling with striking blue eyes! 5th Generation. Asking $425 obo.
SOLD! Thank you Patti from Leavenworth, Washington.

Black Acre's Hazel Lou- doeling with lots of personality and love. She thinks she is human and wants to be on our laps more than in the goat pen. 5th Generation. Asking $425 obo.
SOLD!  Thank you Tina from Imbler, Oregon.

The triplet's lineage:
5th generation Mini-Nubians
Date of Birth: February 19th , 2018
Sire: Black Acre's Blue Karl (4th Gen. American)
Dam: W4's Honey Heidi Lou (4th Gen. American)
Dam's Sire: Crooked H Black Magic
Dam's Dam: Caldwell Creek's Honeysuckle
​Sire's Sire: Backyard Mini Nubian Arnold Blue "Arnie" (5th Gen. American)
Sire's Dam: W4's Independence Day's Bang (3rd Gen. American)

The preparations for spring begin early on the farm. As soon as the Christmas tree comes down I start planning and plotting my garden. I spend the dark days of January exploring seed catalogs, on-line wholesale plant sites and craigslist for new farm tools. The best part of January is the unreality of the upcoming reality of spring. In January I can imagine a massive garden where everything grows, there are no pests, the heat doesn't shrivel everything green to dust.  What a fun and magical time to be a farmer! 
Then...slowly the days grow longer, the  air doesn't have quite the same bite and the reality of the work that is set before me comes knocking. All my grand plans take a great amount of preparation and work. By February the seeds need to be ordered, the supplies purchased and the growing house needs cleaned.  However, in the reality of what is to come I love to remember a quote that I read some years ago: 
"To watch the corn grow, or the blossoms set; to draw hard breath over the plough or spade; to read, to think, to love to pray, are things that make (women) men happy" - John Ruskin

Looking back over the last year there has been so much growth on our farm. After reviewing my goals from a year ago, I am pleased that I accomplished two out of three...not too bad! The high tunnels are up! (6 months late...but whose counting). We were able to offer more events, including an awesome Farm to Table dinner this last fall. However, I am still falling short when it comes to keeping track of expenses and revenue. There is hope for me yet...I think. One budgeting tool that I am exploring is Farmbrite's accounting function, which seems simple enough even for me. I am also excited to attend this year's Small Farms Conference, where they are offering a session on keeping records and licenses legit on the farm. Creating goals for 2018 means continuing the work from last year's resolutions and adding a few more to the mix!
2018 Black Acre Farm goals:
1) Actually...truly... manage the farm accounts correctly.
2) Start the process of organic certification.
3) Build more community relationships for educational outreach opportunities.
Here's to another year of learning, growing and creating at Black Acre!