Unity Farm Journal - Third Week of November 2016

This week we had the Supermoon - the largest/brightest moon since 1948 

The pigs enjoyed basking in the moonlight while rooting and hunting for grubs/worms.   Here’s a picture of hazel in the moonlight

Pigs are hedonists and there are three things that make them happy

1. Food
2. Warmth
3. Belly rubs

Here are a few pictures

Tofu enjoying a fall sugar pumpkin
Hazel stealing a piece of Tofu’s pumpkin
Hazel in the winter pig palace warming her posterior in the mid morning sun

A television film crew dropped by the farm this week to get closeups of the alpaca.  Here’s what it looked like.   The alpaca are demanding royalties.

We’ve racked our last cider of the season, and now all our fermented beverages begin their overwinter malolactic (secondary) fermentation until we bottle them in the spring.   We’ll continue to brew honey lager over the winter and we’re studying how best to scale up our capacity to produce 5 kegs a week to meet growing demand.

At this time of year we’ve harvesting lettuce, spinach, and carrots for ourselves and the animals.   We’re selling eggs, honey, and mushrooms.   We’re preparing the farm for winter, keeping every animal area clean, dry, and filled with warm bedding.   Our weekend work begins to shift indoors where we repair equipment, build new infrastructure, and catch up on paperwork.    We're also making Unity Farm soaps and lip balms from honey, wax, and organic herbs.

Our sanctuary plan remains on track and we’ll double the size of the farm on December 15.   We’re already beginning to plan events for the sanctuary - artists retreats, educational offerings, and infrastructure upgrades.    Five years ago we were living in a small cape home in Wellesley and tending a small community garden.   Who would have thought that we’ve been running 30 acres of agricultural production, caring for 150 animals, and producing organic fruits/vegetables/mushrooms while educating the public about sustainable agriculture.    Truly, the journey in life, and not the destination, is the reward.