Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm

4:33

A Flock of One’s Own

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/09/24

I try not to take it personally but I’m starting to notice just how many of my friends have left me recently. Our chantarelles were the first to go. As soon as the heat of the summer started to fade, the meandering patch of apricot scented mushrooms vanished without a trace. I know the subterranean mycorrhizal network is still there, but it’ll stay hidden until the next prolonged heatwave soaks into the ground and wakes them up again. I’m forever hopeful though, and every time I walk by the sleeping

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1:38

God Forbid!

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/09/18

Years ago, after my dad died, I accompanied my mom to the bank. The manager suggested that she add another name to her checking account, “in the event that, God forbid, you should become incapacitated or die.” My mom chuckled and I shot her the look that she used to give me - the look that pleaded “Please don’t say whatever it is you are about to say.” And she, with all the defiance she had clearly learned from me, told him “We are all going to die - in fact that’s part of his plan. God requires

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4:10

Outrunning the Storm

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/09/05

A massive hurricane in September 1938 blasted its way through our farm, and left scars still visible today. Most of the trees on our ridge were snapped off at ground level. The oak trees, though, quickly resprouted, as oaks are prone to do. Now, almost 90 years later, some have grown into enormous trees again, but this time with multiple trunks. When we built our house, we wound our driveway between several such trees, as we didn’t have the heart to take them down. They greet me as I return home

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3:28

A Million and One Penguins

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/07/22

Two of our grandchildren stayed with us last week, and even though they are definitely the sweetest, best-behaved children on the planet, they completely wore us out. And for me anyway, the more tired I got, the less patient I became - especially when it came to the youngest one’s fairly predictable melt downs. I realize she is only 5, and I totally understand the allure of a well-executed crying jag, but I grew weary, and by week’s end, I was a wee bit testy. On Friday, in the midst of an epic fuss

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2:13

Precisely What We Need

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/07/16

Maybe it’s because I’m an “Adult Child of an Engineer” that I am constantly contemplating how to redesign things that work okay - but could be better. The human body is one of those things that I often think falls way short of perfection. (And the older I get, the shorter it falls.)For instance, I’ve often wondered why my arms couldn’t be just a little bit longer, so I could reach and scratch the middle of my back. I suspect that evolution determined long ago that people who sought the company of

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4:04

I Love Hard Work

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/07/09

Anytime I’m near a honeybee hive, I linger. I can’t seem to help it. Even though my “to do” list is as long as any honeybee’s, I just stand there and gawk. Perhaps it’s the 40 years I’ve spent managing construction sites that has me so enamored. There is no one in charge of the hive, but everything gets done. There are no bees leaning on shovels, drinking coffee, or chatting on their cell phones. The vast majority of the bees in the hive will only live a few weeks - they quite literally work

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2:25

Stacking Hay

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/07/03

I was thinking, that if I was ever told I only had one hour to live, but I could spend it doing anything I wanted, I’d choose stacking 400 bales of hay in our hay loft, on a 97-degree day – because that hour would last an eternity.Normally we wait until the weather turns cooler to get the hay in, but we were worried that the price is going to skyrocket again this year, so we went ahead and ordered it. It was delivered, of course, on what turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year.When the

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2:34

The Gift of Clover

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/06/26

When our sheep first started grazing at Hill-Stead, the pasture consisted of multiflora rose, a few saplings and poison ivy. The brambles were so dense the sheep’s wool would frequently get hopelessly tangled up in the thorns and they’d be completely unable to extricate themselves. I’d rescue them by cutting one thorny branch at a time until they were finally able to yank themselves free – inevitably trailing a branch of thorns which would shred my fingers as they bolted away. Despite its heavenly

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2:33

How a Dragon Flies

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/06/19

Early one morning, I found a Green Darner Dragonfly in our pasture. She had beads of dew still visible on her enormous gray eyes. I was completely mesmerized. We stared at each other, and I imagined that each of her 28,000 individual lenses were focused on me. I wondered what she was thinking. Was she as smitten with me as I was with her? Was she contemplating if I was a threat, or just considering if I would be better paired with red wine or would a dry white work just as well?Though completely

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4:15

Busy as a Bird

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/06/11

It’s probably best, this time of year, to refrain from complaining about how busy you are to any livestock farmer you might meet – unless of course, you yourself are a livestock farmer – or a bird trying to raise a brood here in New England.I too, try not to whine, at least not out loud, as I rush about my day, trying to get everything done that needs to get done to keep our brand new chicks, lambs, and piglets alive and out of trouble. At first it’s easy - so long as they are warm, fed and safe

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2:56

The Woodcock's Dance

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/06/04

Yesterday, I found a woodcock roosting in the brushy edge of our sheep pasture. It’s been years since I’ve seen one there. We used to hear them every spring as kids, but they lost their favorite field several years ago, and they’ve been slow to return. They are quite particular about where they choose to spend the summer, so I am very pleased we made the grade. They need brushy pastures for roosting, young forests for nesting, moist woodlands for feeding and fields for courtship.In late spring,

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1:59

Weaning Time

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/05/28

We have been weaning our bottle-fed lambs, which is a long, loud, and annoying process. We have them in the pasture closest to our house so we can keep an eye on them and make sure they are making the transition okay. The lambs happily go about their independent lives until they hear our voices, or see us walking by, then the bellowing and the hoof stamping begins. They clearly have no intention of being weaned.Watching their histrionics, we could easily be convinced that they were on the verge of

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1:18

Hope Springs Eternal

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/05/21

The poem begins “Hope springs eternal in the human breast”- but really, it’s springtime where hope truly dwells.· A pregnant ewe heading to the barn, looking for a quiet place to lamb.· A handful of seeds scattered in the wind - searching for fertile ground.· A honeybee coming out of our empty hive, perhaps scouting it out before a swarm.· A broody hen sitting on her nest, threatening me whenever I dare walk by.· The serenading of lovesick frogs, desperately looking for a mate.· A clutch of eggs in

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4:21

A Nice Place to Live

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/05/14

Despite my very best efforts to get out of it, last week I found myself talking to a large group of third graders about “Sustainable Farming.” I was pleasantly surprised by how well it went, but then again, my expectations had been rock bottom.When I asked the kids what sustainable meant to them, one boy said, “It’s having a nice place to live.” I agreed and said “Yes, in a way it is. I think that planet Earth is a very nice place to live. In fact, I feel lucky to live on such a nice planet and I’d

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2:58

Lessons Learned (or not)

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/05/06

Everything I know about fashion I learned from my mom. She wasn’t a stickler for rules, and she was really good at letting us find our own way, but I can still hear her voice gently guiding me, “the seams go on the inside, and the tags belong in the back.” To this day I do my best to heed her advice, but I’m a farmer, I wake up before dawn and when I get dressed in the dark, I figure I have a 50/50 chance of having the tag where it’s supposed to be - the seams though pretty much do what they want

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1:56

Good Friends

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/04/30

This past week has felt like a reunion of long-lost friends.Our bluebirds moved back into the nesting box outside our dining room window, and yesterday, I watched as they defended their nest from a starling. My first impulse was to go help them, but as much as they may look like helpless eye-candy, they both very aggressively and successfully defended their nest. I cheered as the starling left, and now I know they clearly don’t need any help from me!The robin is making a halfhearted attempt to build

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4:47

Ready For The Swarm!

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/04/23

Our local honeybee population is gearing up for the summer, and we are ready for them! We cleaned out our swarm boxes - evicting all the ants, spiders and mice that had moved in over the winter, and we rubbed the inside of each box with various attractants in hopes of catching a swarm.A healthy honeybee colony, with a summertime population of 50,000 bees, will winter over with only 15,000 workers and the queen. A third of that wintertime population won’t make it through to spring. As the weather

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2:00

Between The Brook and The Cedars

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/04/15

When my mom was a child, there were cows and pigs on our property and chicken coops, and barns to explore. But by the time she and my dad built their house “in the cow pasture between the brook and the cedars” - and filled it with five kids, the cows were long gone. I think with all of us in tow, my dad figured that he had more than enough livestock to care for, and there was no need to add to the chaos.The cows never returned, and the field stopped being grazed. Where he mowed twice a year, it

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2:42

Stay Awhile

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/04/09

Life to me is like a dinner party that I don’t ever want to end. Everyone I have ever cared about is seated at the table next to me. I am surrounded with friendship and immersed in love. The food is phenomenal (all grown locally and sustainably of course.) The beeswax candle on the table flickers, and smells divine, but it never melts. A gentle fire crackles in the fireplace nearby. A nostalgic playlist sets the mood and reminds us of all the good times we’ve had together. Toasts are being made and

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3:42

Welcome Shiitakes, Lambs, and Spring!

Story Time at Clatter Ridge Farm ·

2026/04/03

We had several lambs born this week. Most of them are very healthy and full of beans, but as always, we have a couple whose commitment to staying alive is dubious at best. I had a vet tell me once, “sheep are born looking for a way to die.” At the time I thought he was terribly cynical, but sometimes I think he might be right. As wonderful as newborn lambs are – there is an inordinate amount of stress for the first few days of their lives.On the other hand, as if not to be outdone by the lambs once

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