It begins! Help Apifera bring in the hay and more!

 UPDATE: We have raised just over $5,000 of our $20000 goal so we are 1/4 of the way there! Thank you!

So...I was going to wait until Sept to start fundraising but have decided to start now and will be attempting some new efforts to do that. I want to raise hay money which is double this year, and more to cover the costs we incurred over the summer. So a minimum of $20,000.

 

I normally put a fundraiser up on FB, but I can't add offline payments. I'm doing posts on Facebook and Instagram asking for money as we go along. I'm not sure if followers have a preference, but thought I'd try it that way for the first month. Of course, if you read the blog you can donate here too on the blog.

 

-Also, if all 2700 followers gave $10...imagine that

- if 100 people raised $100 on FB imagine that

 

I plan to do art giveaways, photo giveaways...calendar gifts too and will treat each post I do to raise money as a new pitch.

 

For starters, everyone who donates today or in coming posts, will have their name put in a bucket and Pickles will be in charge of it. This is a bit risky but she understands the importance of her role. Puddles is banned from being near the bucket. 

 

The first give away you might get for donating is this art print below retailing for $195 [©Mrs. Dunn]. [Somehow Pancakes is in charge of picking the winner which won't happen until late fall]

 

Here are recent cost incurred: vet costs from summer $4,000; Lumber for Bigg's winter mini barn $2,000; each ton of Canadian hay we are bringing in is $525, and we are bringing in 17 tons [$9,000]. But I just found out it is going up a $1 a bale so that is $700 more]. We buy about $300 a feed a week. That doesn't include cat food/supplies which are 75% donated.

 

I hope to make the give aways enticing. And if you can do a matching donation, message me!

 

 

Hay Update - halfway there!

We are halfway there to recouping our out of pocket expense to buy the hay that will feed The Misfits through late spring of 2019. We upped our number of bales by 100 in case we have as cold a winter as last year, and feel we will have enough. The barns are filled to the seams!

I want to thank so many of you that give everywhere from $5 and on up to triple digits. It takes a village of Misfits to feed a village of Misfits, so thanks to all you Misfit Lovers out there!

There are many ways to donate, here on the blog, at the Go Fund Hay site, or by check [let me know it's coming]. I also have posts up on FB, and anytime anyone donates ANYWHERE it is being added to the total on the GoFund site. I do this because everyone has their preferred method and location of payment.

Also, as promised, someone will take home the print "The Seeds Percolating Underground During Winter", if you donate at least $20 this week [I'm including anyone who donated all this month to the hay fund], a Misfit might pull your name out of the bucket and you can take this archive print home.

I'm happy, they are happy, we are happy

The Hay Greeting Committee

It is always a momentous day when 550 bales of hay are delivered. Any animal that lives in the hay barn area knows its hay day, and they all come up to watch, and of course, test the hay. This year the hay was really exceptional I must say. So exceptional that Boone grabbed a bale or two while we were unloading and stuffed himself silly.

Last year I thought 400+ bales would get us through, but this year I played it safer and got 550 bales. If we have a severe winter, that will make me feel better. Now that the new barn is up-no walls yet, I was able to put some bales in there. We have the main barn stuffed with hay, and all is well. Anyone will tell you that having a barn full of hay for your animals, well before winter sets in, is a good feeling.

I prefer to get all my hay at once. I've done it a variety of ways over the years, but here in Maine, it's crucial for a place like ours to get the hay in. There just are not a lot of growers here, and if you run out in winter, good luck, although our hay guy is pretty well stocked. It's that running out in April that can get you, and I ran out mid May so my timing was pretty good.

Birdie put on a show for the hay guys. Every bale that came in she thoroughly examined it with eyes and nose. All the animals were stuffed in one of the side stalls, watching the event fold. And hay deliveries of this much hay are an event. Young guys most under twenty show up with two leaders and start leaping on bales and tossing them up over their heads. I can't do that anymore...or won't. I bucked enough hay in my years out West, and with my shoulder issues, nope, won't do it.

It is much more pleasant to sit on a bale and watch them all toss them up and down, and sweat. I stayed cool and dry!

We are raising money for the hay to replenish the Apifera coffers. The hay should get us through until May of next year, and hay is probably the most crucial feed for the animals. Our hay guy is really great, and his family are just a delight to work with- all the kids are super polite, and good buckers and stackers. Nothing worse than loose stacked hay.

So Boone is so full right now he is napping and the broken bales will leave everyone feeling over stuffed for awhile, but that is okay.

And the smell of fresh hay filling the barn? Nothing better.

Knowing the hay is in, its just a good way to end a long, hard week.

{Please consider a donation to the hay fund. Thank you!}

Annual hay drive

It's easiest to do this on Go Fund so please consider help-if you can!

I bought 450 bales last year but with the harsh winter we needed another 150 in February and were lucky our hay guy had it. So this year I'm getting 550 bales.

Bales were $5.50 last year, hoping they are the same this year.  Poco the Poet has agreed to partake and send poems out, he is pondering the essence of hay, something he will relish writing about, I think.

There is also a reward level for a print.

If you prefer to send a check, that is fine. Make checks to Apifera Farm, 315 Waldoboro RD, Bremen, ME, 04551 and mark "Hay Fund". I will add your donation tot he online total. Your donation is tax deductible.

Visit the hay funding page >

This is about 1/4 of our annual hay

Paco does a squishy poop and writes a poem

"I told you, I saw the bag," said Paco, the resident worrier. "Oh no, I feel it coming...I can't hold it in," he continued, worried.

"Paco! Not again, stand away, he is going to blow!" said Pino.

And with that, Paco had the runny poops. Happens every time the people with the bags come.

"I told you, she has the needles," Paco lamented.

"It's never as bad as you imagine, Paco, just repeat one of your poems, that will make you less worried," consoled Lucia.

"There once was doctor without shots,

Who came to me in my dream lots,

Instead of sharp tips,

She kissed my lips,

And we flew off to eat cookies."

"Not your best poem, but that's okay, Paco," said Boone. "Be a man, little chap, I'll go first."

And with that, a new vet came to give the donkeys and equines, and the llama, rabies shots. We never had to give them in Oregon, except to the dogs. I liked this vet, she is young but she answered my questions and was also understanding with me about not 'over vetting' which I won't tolerate in any vet. She also helped me with the elder Matilda-who I have been diligently applying Swat to each day, twice a day, to keep the biting flies at bay. But the flies are winning and her leg swelled up a little. So we shaved her legs and cleaned them more thoroughly and applied new treatment, and gave her antibiotics. I learned about a new topical treatment too that is very helpful.

Carrying for these creatures is a wonderful part of my life. I hope to do it until..well, I can't. I do know that here in Maine, I might have to adjust the quantity of creatures I take on. This is not a sad thing, it is a practical thing. The hay here is much less reliable, more expensive, and harder to find; there are fewer vets for sheep and goats and pigs; the climate will mean more food is required for the elders. Many people say they will help with finances, they mean well, but I can't rely on that anymore and never really did. In fact, if anyone out there thinks I ever broke even on donations in and food/vet costs out, think again. I am not complaining, but I have to be realistic, financially.

I am thinking of taking on elderly wool sheep that can't be bred and still have viable wool. It's hard for farmers to keep elder sheep, they have to separate them often from the working flock/ram, and many don't have the space for this. It is not that they don't care. I am so happy that I could take Calla and Assumpta. They are wonderful old girls and have beautiful fiber to give the world. I just like that as elders, they still have something to give.

I think the number of goats I'm caring for is a realistic head count-that would be seven mouths to feed and 28 feet to keep healthy. I would like some ducks, and an old goose, again. I miss them. I hope some come to me, somehow, but I have not officially sent this request out to the universe until we get through a winter. Who knows, we might all move to Spain after this. After all, all the animals are microchipped-required for international travel.

Just another piece of Apifera that is evolving...into what it needs to be and wants to be at this stage in our existence.

{Hay Fund is still open to donations. Thanks to all who have given!}