Double Up Farm

Many years ago, a friend and I decided to make butter. Because we are the way we are, I wanted raw milk, you know, the way nature kind of intended it to be. At the time, we lived in South Carolina where raw milk is legal. And while I was not militant, I became a supporter and fan of raw milk for a lot of reasons, including the fact that my lactose intolerant daughter could consume raw milk without an issue. Once we moved to North Carolina, however, things were different.

For a crusty old curmudgeon, I sure enjoy having people out to the farm!! March brings Shearing Day, and November brings Farm Day. I pressure my best friends and family into volunteering their time and expertise, and we open the farm to the public. This year we made doughnuts over an open fire (thank you Gena!!!!), gave pony rides to one and all (thank you Trish!!), let everyone play with the dogs (Kathy - Zoe and Charlie love you so much), did a soapmaking demo, and a woo

Hurricane Florence - so far, so good!! For us, just a lot of rain. Lots of rain here means a couple of things: the low areas are going to flood, the creek is going to flood, the power is going to go out, and I am going to be wet and smelly. We have only lost power once, for a short period. We have locked the sheep into the upper pasture so they cannot accidentally get swept away by the creek, and that means I have to clean the sheep shed every other day. I don't keep my

I call them Farm Tours, but they are really a chance to have friends over for a visit (sometimes friends I don't even know yet). If you know me, you know I am some kind of coffee fiend. So this year, when a young family took over the coffee business at the Farmer's Market, I wasted no time in cozying up to make my new best friends! Today, they came out to the Farm, and what a wonderful time we had. Lots of walking, and talking and busying about, banana bread, pony rides, s

I always have the best of intentions to be a more active blogger, but it turns out I am too busy living my life to always find the time to talk about it on social media. It has been hectic here at the Double Up. I had the opportunity to travel to Banff in Alberta, Canada with two of my very best friends. And my daughter zipped up for a few days to visit also. It was definitely one of the best trips I have ever taken. Aside from the overwhelming beauty of the area, and the

~~The gentleman farmer works for pleasure rather than financial gain~~ A gentleman farmer ... farms mainly for pleasure rather than for profit or sustenance. His acreage may produce any number of types of grains, poultry or other livestock. His income from other sources permits him to farm for pleasure rather than for basic income. I just KNEW there had to be a phrase that described what I am, and what I do. This is not really a hobby farm, and by no stretch of the imaginat

Oh sometimes I am so clever I kill myself - that little title rhyme....hehehe. Shearing Day is next Saturday. For the first time, I am doing an Open House at the same time, and I am trying to figure out why. I think it is because I am so in love with the sheep, and the fiber, and the whole process - I just want the whole world to know about it. It's kind of that same phenomenon where once you get married you want everyone else to be married too. I am struggling to keep fro

I am not a big fan of roosters, but Lieutenant Dan has been pretty nice. He is very good to the ladies, he ignores me, and he is extremely attractive. So I have been happy to keep him in the flock. One of the new hens this year turned out to be a rooster. Now, I have 25 hens, so I should be able to accommodate two roosters, so I have let Emeril Lagrasse stay. Today was the day he decided he was a man, and he got busy with Wendy. Lieutenant Dan was not happy with this, and

If somehow you have missed my going on and on and on about the new sheep: I got some new sheep! My friend Lee started with the sheep and the spinning at the same time I did, and in fact, we bought our first sheep together. Her life has gotten more and more hectic, so she asked me if I wanted her sheep. Yes Please!! So last week, she brought them down to the Double Up. I have no pictures of the offloading because I was way too excited to bother with a camera. Joining the

I know I have posted about this before, but today was such an outstanding visit to our local dairy, I am compelled to go on and on and on about it again. First and foremost - make the time and drive out here - it is kind of a long trip, but so very worth it http://www.browncreekcreamery.com/ If you would like to come by the farm just give us a call, also tours are welcome. 704-695-6904. Swing by on Saturday mornings 10:00 till 3:00 and the farm store will be open Second - bec

If you care enough to buy cage free eggs, care enough to do the right thing. If you care, ASK the person selling you eggs. I appreciate that chicken farmers are just trying to make a living like everyone else. But stop trying to fool the public. Unless you are buying your eggs from a farmer, you are probably not making the statement you are trying to make. This is what free range chickens look like - they roam freely during the day and come home to a secure coop at night:

~~~~Mornings are better when you have an entourage (and a copilot)~~~~ I admire efficiency. Like tidiness, it just makes me happy and content. This morning felt like a well oiled machine. 5:30 a.m. – cuddle with the dogs 6:00 a.m. – go through bills and mail from yesterday; check email; order medicine for Dave’s feet and new collars for the dogs (have a protein shake while working). 7:00 a.m. – Set up new needlefelting projects 7:30 a.m. morning chores!!! Chick proof the b

We are entering my favorite food time of the year. Sure, I love Autumn harvest stuff, and Christmas goodies, and there's always room for turkey. But we are starting the season of eating from the garden, and it makes me so very, very happy. Tonight's dinner came in two parts. Last night, I made a batch of egg and maple custard. While it was warm and liquidy, I poured it over strawberries. It is very sweet, so the balance of slightly tart berries was just luscious. Tonight

The Mother's Day weekend has brought a whole lot of mother love into the Double Up realm. First, Ethel's chicks began hatching, and there is nothing more adorable than new chicks. Nothing!! Then, my friend Sydney brought her 5 week old son and his older sisters by the Farmer's Market for a visit. 10 minutes of cuddling that baby (which may have included a creepy amount of head sniffing) set all things right with the world! And THEN, I was the special guest midwife when my

First things first - these rolls are perhaps the best bread product I have ever had in my life. Stage one - Sponge (leaven) Water – 1 ½ c Yeast – 2 ½ t Flour – 1 c Mix this up about an hour before you want to get started, this gets the yeast working. Leave it covered somewhere warm. Stage two - Main Dough Flour – 4 ½ c Salt – 1 ½ T Sugar – ¾ c Milk – ¾ c Egg – 1 egg Water – ¼ c Butter – ¾ c (diced up) Add all the dry ingredients and mix together in a large bowl, then add i

Since 2009, I have been looking at greenhouses. After a few years, I cleared an area which we called "the future site of the greenhouse". And I continued looking. Finally, this year, I took the plunge, because I am oddly obsessed with the idea of growing ginger, and turmeric, and orchids. It has been a long, slow, process - but today, the greenhouse was officially declared ready for occupancy. Just in time to put the shade cover on..... In the interest of full disclosure

So much work, so little time to write fascinating blog entries. I left my iPod in the car when it went into the shop. This means that I had a LOT of time to think big thoughts while I was driving or spinning or what have you. If you know me at all, you recognize I am a bit to one side of normal. And a friend pointed out to me that my attitude towards animals may just be flat out freaky. See, I genuinely believe an animal life is worth as much as a human life, and I am cha

Such a lovely day today, and they have been such wonderful sheep, I decided the flock could go on walkabout. Mr. DoubleUp was not in favor of this decision, but was overruled by a vote of 5 to 1. So the gate was opened and I scooted up to the porch. They made a beeline for the front yard. Farm to Table takes on a whole new meaning when the livestock are actually coming up to the table.... I just can't imagine why they keep roaming, but they circled the house Then they heade

I've been working on this fire pit for a couple of years now, or to be more precise, my friend Jared has been doing the work on my fire pit for a couple of years. Today while I was at the Farmer's Market, he and Mr. Double Up and our friend Nate put the finishing touches on it. Of course, I had to light it up almost as soon as I got home. There were some challenges. After congratulating myself on what great fire starter the dried leaves made, my fire scooted out between th

The Union County Master Gardeners came to the farm for a field trip. I was not sure what to expect exactly, but it sounded like fun when Kathy suggested it to me. So at 11:00 today, 18 of the most delightful women I have ever met showed up at my house. I made a salad buffet (smoked turkey salad, egg salad, kale salad, green salad, fruit salad), all from my farm or friends' farms. Well, except for the fruit, that came from Costco. Anyway, we walked around the farm, and pet