WINTER AT STRATFORD

There have been many times when the temperature has been in the low teens this month at Stratford Ecological Center on Liberty Road. Fortunately, the farm animals are in good shape and spirits. They are housed in the barn but have access to the pasture. They stay out for some time, unless the wind gets up, and then they head home to warmer quarters.

Grazing helps us reduce the amount of hay we feed. Despite having 21 round bales on hand, there are only two left. Due to the drought, we were forced to start feeding a lot earlier than anticipated. We still have square bales in the loft. Farmer Jeff reckons we have sufficient, and we should squeeze by until the new grass comes in. However, he is checking the market and will buy immediately if necessary.

One cow has been corralled in her own pen, as she is showing signs of calving. It will be our first calf since six cows calved between January and March last year.

Farmer Jeff took two bull calves less than twelve months old to Heffelfinger Meats in Jeromesville on January 7. One weighed 500 pounds and the other 700 pounds. We sold them young as we wanted to avoid their breeding with our cows. We are looking to buy a mature bull in order to widen the genetics in our herd. The snow cover increased as Farmer Jeff drove north, and he abandoned the idea of bringing back a heavy load of feed soybeans on possibly slippery roads.

Prior to Christmas we moved the chickens from the orchard coop to the Paw Paw coop. The flock is now 25 after we culled 25 on January 13. Egg laying is down to 5 a day but creeping up! We do miss nutritious eggs. With no pigs, and only 25 chickens to feed, there is no urgency to grind feed, as we have a six-week supply on hand. Our intent was to buy in young chicks, but bird flu has raised its ugly head, and we will postpone that purchase.

It is good to share that the vernal pool is now full. The maple trees have also benefited from the rain soaking to a deeper level, at a time when they are not losing water through transpiration. This bodes well for the maple sugar season. Our present firewood supplies will last through two seasons, which is a relief for farmhands looking ahead to future years. Farmhand Mike created fifteen dozen fire starters from egg cartons, by filling the cups with wood shavings and melted candle wax or paraffin wax. The farmhands plan to tap the trees and hang the buckets on the last Tuesday in January.

The temperature has not been low enough to damage the variety of winter greens pushing up their new leaves in the greenhouse. They would suffer if snow on the plastic roof blocked the light for too long, but this has not been the case so far. The plants still need water, and this became a problem when the underground pipe on the east side of the greenhouse froze. Two days later, and after a lot of digging, it was fixed! Now we are facing another problem, this time standing water on the east side of the front lawn. It is certainly not an area we want to start digging up!

Some very welcome news is that Spectrum Fiberoptic Internet is now available in the Education building, some outdoor areas, and the farmhouse. Lines were laid from Liberty Road, on the north side of the driveway lane, in some places through the woods, and into the Big Room. Farmhand Jim then performed his magic to ensure everything was where it should be to get us on-line. It is such a relief for the staff, who have had to endure frequent lengthy downtime with our old system.

The winter calendar is on our website and sign up is now available where necessary. A second Frigid 5K Run/Walk is scheduled for January 25 organized by the Columbus Running Company. Tom, a Garden Gang member who turned 65 recently, excitedly shared that he had the best time of any runner aged 50-69 in the first extremely cold event on January 4 and plans to compete again this month!

Maple sugaring is our next big undertaking. Anyone interested in being a part of this worthwhile, fun learning experience is welcome to attend training on Saturday, February 1 and Wednesday, February 5. Public tours will be offered on Saturdays, February 8 and 15, culminating with more tours during our annual Maple Sugar Festival on February 22. Further details can be found on our web site. We hope you can join us.

Pauline Scott is a farm and nature guide at Stratford Ecological Center, 3083 Liberty Road, Delaware. She can be reached on 740-363-2548. Stratford’s web site is www.stratfordecologicalcenter.org