Berkshire County – Olsen Farm

We have been looking for the perfect farm pup for nearly a year, finding a dog who meets our criteria proved to be more challenging that we had first thought. With chickens to protect, cats to share a home with and acres of farm and forest to manage we need a dog who can be both a working pup, and a house companion- with appitude to be trained and low prey drive.

In 2016 our chickens were attacked by a neighborhood dog and our rooster was badly injured- he pulled through!- fighting off the curious dog. Last year our flock was attacked by a fox, we lost two hens and a rooster in the fray. Living in the forest means there are predators a plenty- fox, coyote, bobcat, fisher, raccoon, bear, skunk, owl, hawk, mountain lion, weasel, dog- we have had them all in the yard.

After visiting every local shelter, talking with rescue groups and breeders we still had no luck. Would we ever find the right pup for the job?

Our answer came last weekend after a trip to Tractor Supply and a look at their classifieds bulletin board. Meet Aspen! Aspen is an 8 week old Australian Shepherd, she learned her name in just a day and has already picked up a few commands in the short week she has been with us. She met the chickens on her third day here and was the perfect guest in the coop.

This little pup works hard, plays hard and sleeps even harder! Her first night with us she escaped from the kitchen by squeezing under a book shelf and we found her snuggled on the couch.

Finding the right farm dog can certainly take time, but it was worth the wait. Aspen is just what we were searching for- and we are so glad to have her join us at Olsen Farm. The cats don’t quite agree (Yet)

Our Mom, Susan, had a real gift for gardening. She loved birds, butterflies and beneficial insects and planted acres of beautiful gardens around the property at Olsen Farm.

We are very lucky to still have detailed plans and photos of her gardens through the years, so we can look back and see the incredible growth and spread her green thumb has had over the past three decades.

Dad, (Tommy) getting new beds dug and laid out in 1993. Those tiny spruce trees in the center are taller than the house now!

The first flowers were thoughtfully planted with stone paths between. We are still working to reclaim these stone paths from the hearty perennials that have happily spread over the years.

Olsen Farm farmer, Chris, showing off Mom’s new garden bed layout (and his Little League pride!) in 1993

The farm house in the back was built in the 1790’s and is where our great grandparents lived back in the 1930’s when they immigrated from Norway and founded Olsen Farm

Stunning close-up of rudbeckia and cone flowers- some of Susan’s (and our) favorites!

Full bloom, Summer at Olsen Farm 1996

Olsen Farm holds so much history for our family. Susan’s amazing gardens are a very important piece of what makes this land such a special place. We have been working to uncover some of the overgrown gardens and bring them back to their glory.

The impact of a well thought out pollinator garden is so much greater than can be expressed through words and photos. Susan really had a gift for color, planting bright flowers to bloom in each season. We know our honey bees (and native pollinators) are thoroughly enjoying all the delicious flowers Susan planted!

We recently registered Susan’s Gardens on the National Pollinator Garden Network, a part of the Million Pollinator Garden challenge. Please check out their project and register your gardens: http://millionpollinatorgardens.org

At Olsen Farm we believe all chickens are special, but there is something especially magical about the silkie breed. Over a year ago we were gifted a few silkie eggs to incubate and once those tiny fluff balls hatched we fell instantly in love.

So, what is it that makes these mini fluffy muppets so special? Here are some unique traits of these sweet little birds:

Silkie hens lay three to four eggs a week. Their eggs are about half the size of a standard chicken egg- but equally as delicious!

Silkies are fibro melanistic, which means they have black skin, black meat and black bones. They were originally bred in Asia and some believe eating their black meat will cure what ails you. While silkies are bred to be both show birds and meat birds, we have yet to eat a silkie because they are just so damned cute!

Three day old silkie chicks- seriously the cutest thing you will ever see.

Silkies have feathered feet, and their feet have five toes- rather than the usual three of standard chickens.

Their feathers remain light and fluffy into adulthood, because of this trait they can become sick or die if they get wet during cold weather. Be sure to keep your silkies dry and warm- they LOVE baths and getting their feathers blow dried! These little fluffs do amazingly well at staying warm during cold weather if their feathers remain dry, they are a winter-hearty breed.

Silkie feathers come in many color variations including black, white, buff (brown/tan), splash (light grey/ black and white mix), blue (dark grey) and partridge (brown mix)

Teen ‘blue’ silkies- this is the awkward phase where their adult plumage is growing in.

Silkie roosters, like most roosters, have larger combs and wattles than hens. They develop these later than standard breeds, and it can be difficult to distinguish a hen from a rooster by looks until they are over six months old and start either laying or crowing. Meet Twister, our ‘splash’ silkie roo

Silkies have a wonderfully gentle temperament and are great for first time chicken keepers. They are calm, tame and very fun to observe. Silkies are also great mothers and will hatch and raise ducks, turkeys, standard chickens- you name it!Even silkie roosters are gentle and calm- they still stand their ground with other roos, but don’t mind being carried around!

We have been bringing Maple (below) our sweetest silkie hen, to the local farmer’s market for a few months. Our original thought was that children would love to pet a cute chicken, and it would be a great educational experience for them. What we did not expect was the intense joy and peace meeting a silkie had on the adults at the market. Many residents came to visit Maple each week, bringing her treats, taking photos and snuggling her. Maple became a therapy chicken simply by being her adorable fluffy magicical self. We are so glad to have been able to share our sweet birds with people who needed a little nature medicine.

Silkies are magical birds. They make wonderful pets, are great mama hens and are cute as hell. Plus, they can cure what ails you.

If you are ever having a down day, pet a silkie- they really are the best medicine.

It has been a difficult year at Olsen Farm.

In January we lost our father unexpectedly after a short illness. Since then our world has been turned upside down. Trying to manage the sudden death of a loved one is an impossible task. On top of that tremendous loss we are faced with large debts against the land and are at risk of losing our farm and family home. With such urgency focussed on these critical financial pieces there has not been time to properly grieve.

One piece that has kept us moving forward during this struggle is the kindness of strangers.

Please- don’t get me wrong- we have an incredibly supportive group of family and friends who have been wrapping us in kindness every step of the way. We are thankful to have this base of support, and know that we could not continue fighting for our farm without friends and family there beside us.

But the kindness and generosity of complete strangers is something powerful and provides great hope.

In April we started a ‘GoFundMe’ campaign to try and offset the large amount of money we need in order to save the farm (https://www.gofundme.com/please-help-save-olsen-farm?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=body_photo&utm_campaign=upd_n)

It has not been easy to share our story, and it certainly has not been easy to ask for help- particularly because it involves money. But we had to put it out there. Since we made that leap we have made so many amazing connections by sharing what we are going through. By taking the risk and putting our vulnerability out there we have been able to connect with people all over the country who are going through, or have been through similar circumstances. We have met people who grew up eating eggs from Olsen Farm years ago, and heard amazing stories about what the farm was like then. We have heard memories about our father from his childhood- these pieces have more value than can be put in words.

-Two sisters shared memories of visiting Olsen Farm as children, riding the tractor and feeding the animals with Great Grandpa Olsen.

-A former Berkshire County resident who recently returned to the area found us on Facebook and reached out via email- making a generous donation and becoming one of our best egg customers and Olsen Farm cheerleaders!

-Tradespeople, including a plumber, two electricians and many skilled carpenters have reached out with offers to help repair the farmhouse pro bono after hearing our story.

-An old friend of our father’s shared that there was a tree he and our dad had carved their names in years ago and we were able to hike to that exact spot and find ‘Tommy Wheeler’ carved there in memoriam.

-A young woman beginning to study archeology and her father introduced themselves and generously offered to survey the property, searching for burried history- and treasures.

-Someone made the purchase of a silver spoon from our first yard sale and came to return it after doing some research that night and finding it was a valuable family heirloom. She polished the spoon, wrapped it up and brought it back to us sharing that she thought we should keep it on the farm.

-A gentleman told us his parallel story that he is currently working through similar circumstances while trying to revive his family store after the death of grand parents.

-A couple from Florida, vacationing in the Berkshires, came to the farm this weekend after seeing us in the newspaper and made a generous donation.

Please take a look at the Berkshire Eagle article here: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/lanesborough-couple-on-mission-to-save-family-farm,515057

These moments and stories are what give us strength to push forward with our seemingly impossible task. Once these strangers made the effort to step in to our lives they became part of the Olsen Farm family.

Please, be kind to a stranger. The impact is powerful and lasting. And please, keep reaching out and sharing your stories with us. Your stories give us hope.

Orioles are beautiful birds with an amazing song and bright, sunny plumage. These stunning birds LOVE sweet blossoms and fruit, particularly oranges.

To attract these beauties to your yard you could simply stick orange slices out on posts in the yard, or you can make a decorative treat with sliced oranges with these simple steps.

What you will need:

fresh oranges

sharp knife

2-3 inch twigs

string or twine, cut in 12-15 inch lengths

a skewer or knitting needle (I used a knitting needle)

1. Slice oranges in half

2. Cut a few 2-3 inch twig bits

I used willow twigs because they are plentiful in our yard and are flexible

3. Use a sharp knife to cut a small nick in the center of each twig, as shown below

4. Wrap string or twine around nick in center of each twig and tie securely

5. Use skewer or knitting needle to poke a hole through the center of each orange slice

6. Push twine or string through hole in orange from bottom to top, so that twig sits and base of orange

This step is very juicy and sticky, don’t be afraid to get good and messy for the sake of the birds!

7. Hang your finished bird treats in a tree where you can watch the orioles enjoy them!

Orioles love the sweet blossoms of apple trees so I decided to hang some orange slices here for an added attraction.

Orioles build incredible hanging basket-like nests. You can cut some lengths of string or twine and lay them on garden fences or branches for these amazing builders to collect for their nests. Enjoy your bird watching!

photo credit: Andy McKeever iBerkshires staff

Olsen Farm, and our story were recently featured in an amazing article on iBerkshires.com. The parallels between our struggle to save the farm now and our great grandparent’s struggles over 80 years ago are striking. Olsen Farm has been here before, and because of our blood ties to this land we will persevere- like our great grandparents did facing the same odds so many years ago.

The community support and outreach generated by this publicity has been incredible. So many people have contacted us with suggestions, resources, offers to help fix up the farm- people have been recognizing us from the article and coming to talk with us about Olsen Farm’s story. This kindness and generosity, from friends and strangers alike, has helped us feel like the overwhelming tasks we are wrapped up in are not so unreachable.

Being part of an incredible community is what us makes small, local farms a success. Thank you, thank you!! to everyone who has reached out with resources and donations. Each small piece goes toward preserving our family farm, and through your donations and support you all have become part of Olsen Farm’s legacy as well.

Please check out the article if you have not already had a chance:

http://www.iberkshires.com/story/54452/Lanesborough-Couple-Fighting-to-Save-Historic-Family-Farm.html

We were so excited to find this old sign with great grandpa’s name while cleaning out the basement and are planning to re-create a new ‘Olsen Farm’ sign in the same style

photo credit: Rachel Payne

Olsen Farm

Tag: Berkshire County

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