The rain gauge is reading 2.5 inches, and the clouds over Pescadero are thick and gray. Our new strawberry plants are enjoying the moisture – we planted close to 6,000 plants over the last month, thanks in part to some of you, our community member volunteers. This year we decided to plant all the same variety of berry; Seascape is a great producer of sweet fruit and thrives along our coast. Stay tuned for the announcement of the 2009 berry season in spring.

In other farm news, 150 day-old chicks are arriving in the mail tomorrow. If you come for the Craft Day and Barn Dance on Saturday, you’ll have the opportunity to peek into our little nursery coop (brooder) and maybe even hold one of the little cuties. Like our older flocks, this new batch is a mix of breeds, which will produce a variety of colored eggs, such as white, brown, blue and green. Our newest flock will replace the oldest layers, who are phasing out of production. We lost a bunch of the older hens to a persistent bobcat this fall. We’ve made improvements to our security system and have even half-joked about getting a llama or guard dog. The newest flock will stay in the brooder for the first month or two before graduating to the big coop. The hens will start laying at around 5 months of age, and will provide eggs for our Community Supported Eggriculture members, for sale at the farm stand, and of course for pies.

In addition to increasing our flock of chickens, Pie Ranch is expanding in other ways. We are planning to acquire a Jersey heifer this spring, to provide milk to make into butter for pies. A cow will increase our educational programming capacity by making the connection for students between this quintessential farm animal and the delicious food that they help create and enjoy at Pie Ranch. Not only will students get to mill their own flour for pie crust, with the new cow, they will be able to make their own butter and drink milk they procured themselves.

Between getting a cow and growing our herd of goats, who are currently visiting with a neighboring buck, managing the burgeoning dairy will take some doing. Luckily, our farm apprentice Dede is staying on for a second season and will be taking on more animal husbandry duties (we call her the Animal Husband).

I will be staying on for another season as well, and am excited to help start a small vegetable and flower operation at Pie Ranch. The students who visit Pie Ranch will be able to help grow and harvest their vegetables, in addition to cooking and eating them. This new endeavor will give me the opportunity to try managing my own farm project with the support and expertise of veteran farmers Jered and Nancy – like farming with training wheels.

We are sad to see the third apprentice, Caleb, move on next year, but are proud of him for starting his own egg production project at our neighbor farm Green Oaks Creek Farm. Caleb is an enthusiastic and dedicated young farmer, and we know his new projects will be a success.

Like the coming solstice and new year, endings merge into beginnings, and goodbyes offer opportunities for greetings. We are excited to welcome Lauren Bonn as the third apprentice for the 2009 season. Lauren was an apprentice this past year at Camp Joy Gardens in Boulder Creek, and she and Dede have worked together on farms in New Zealand. Lauren’s energy and positive attitude will be a great addition to the Pie Ranch team.

Winter is a great opportunity for farm planning and day-dreaming. With a team of such creative and motivated visionaries, it’s easy for us to get carried away. In addition to taking on vegetables, a cow, and twice as many berries, there’s chatter on the farm of turkeys, pigs, puppies, and sheep. One step at a time, though, and I need to go do some farm math – calculate acreage and develop a crop plan. I hope to see you on Saturday for crafts, garlic planting, and of course, dancing.

- Sky DeMuro, Farm Apprentice