Lone Tree Farm
P.O. Box 425
Boonville, CA 95415
email: pibroch@mcn.org
or phone Gwendolen "Wendy" Rowe at (707) 376-8331

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|| 2000 News || 2001 News || 2002 News and 2003 News ||Current News and Calendar of Events||


June 2000 News from the Farm

June is a very busy month here at Lone Tree Farm. We're working long days in the garden, digging, planting, and harvesting. Keeping everything watered has been a challenge in the recent 100 degree heat wave. The heat has been hard on plants, people, and livestock--such an abrupt change from frost and rain in early June!

The garden is looking especially gorgeous this year, thanks to all the help from our WWOOFers. Willing Workers On Organic Farms is a wonderful organization, maintaining a list of host farms around the world which provide room and board, and an educational farm experience in exchange for help with the farm work. We are really enjoying the opportunity to meet new people and share with them this beautiful corner of the world that we call home, and pass on information about organic farming techniques.


Thank you to all who've visited the farm and helped us so far this season; Lydia, Tamara, Janneke, Austin, Emily, and especially Kate, who spent almost 3 months working here!
 

All the additional help this year has made it possible for us to sell at more Farmer's Markets than we've ever done before. You can find us and our produce at the Mendocino Market on Fridays, Noon-2 P.M., Boonville on Saturdays, 9:45A.M.-Noon, and Gualala on most Saturdays, 3-5P.M.  Currently we're harvesting potatoes, peas, carrots, onions, chinese cabbage, lettuce, radishes, kale, and raspberries.

Our handmade herbal soaps and salves continue to be very popular at the Farmer's Markets. You can also order them from us by mail--call or email for current prices and availability.

In our few spare moments we're squeezing in some time with the horses. Three of our pony mares, Ladybug, Morag, and Skye, have been bred to Quartz. Quartz is progressing well with driving training, and we continue to be amazed by his wonderful disposition. He is the calmest, sweetest horse we've ever owned--not exactly typical for a 4 year old stallion! We are starting 3 year old Ceilidh in harness as well, and we think she'll make a super driving pony.

July/August/September 2000 News from the Farm

July found us frantically busy with Farmer's Markets and struggling with a dwindling water supply. The unusual heat in June and early July left us with a smaller than normal water flow from the spring, but with careful planning we were able to keep everything we had planted adequately watered until harvest. However, not knowing what the water situation would be like by fall, we decided not to risk planting additional market crops for later harvest.

So early August was the end of our Farmer's Market season for this year. We are still selling our herbal soaps and salves by mail order and will have U-pick walnuts available in late October. We're not too disappointed by the water induced reprieve from the market garden, as three markets per week was more than we had attempted in past years, and the schedule was hectic to say the least.

Now that we've finally had some time available, August and September have been devoted primarily to horse training.
Ceilidh is making good progress; ground driving nicely and dragging a tire around in the arena. She should soon be ready to start working with the cart. She has filled out quite a bit in the past two months and I have now started working with her under saddle. 
She has accepted this calmly and cheerfully, and since she already understands steering, whoa, and backing up from ground driving, she is very responsive to cues from a rider. However, because she is not a large pony, and not fully mature, carrying a rider is physically an effort for her at this stage. Therefore we're limiting her ridden work to very short sessions of gentle walking and occaisional trotting. Cantering with a rider will have to wait until she's a bit stronger.
 

Skye has had a lot of ground work time in the last two months.


She now is started under saddle and making phenomenal progress. We were already aware of Skye's exceptional intelligence, and that she doesn't like being bored.  She has been needing a job to keep her challenged and interested. Now that we are riding her she just can't wait for her daily lesson and tries her heart out.  In spite of being green she is a joy to ride.  Her gaits are smooth and balanced and she is very responsive.

Quartz has been enjoying the easy life out in the pasture while we've been focusing on training Skye and Ceilidh.  Ladybug, our Haflinger cross mare is looking quite pregnant now. Her foal will be the first one due next spring, in early March. It seems like such a long time to wait!
 

 

|| 2000 News || 2001 News || 2002 News and 2003 News ||Current News and Calendar of Events||




Home || About Lone Tree Farm || About Scottish Highland Ponies || Highland Stallion at Stud || Ponies For Sale
Harness, Tack, and Equipment for Sale || Highland Bagpipes
Links to Interesting Websites|| Fine Art and Illustration || 
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