On my walk-about this morning I came across a visitor education activity about snapping turtles at the Pond House. The snappers were frolicking around in the warm sunshine and putting on a really great show. Look at that face!

Many species of turtles are currently nesting (or will be nesting soon) at Drumlin Farm, among them painted turtles and snapping turtles. When wildlife care staff stumble across a female turtle laying eggs, they place a wire tent over the nest once she has returned to the water to provide some additional protection from any lurking predators.

Curious turtle facts:
• Most turtle species are 8-10 years old before they are mature enough to lay eggs.
• The female turtle digs her nest with her hind legs, usually far away from the water source.
• The gender of a baby turtle is determined by the temperature of the nest. It varies by species of turtle, but generally a nest that is above 55 degrees farenheit will produce female babies and a nest that is below 55 degrees farenheit will produce male babies.

Happy turtle watching!

Invasive Garlic Mustard
On my walk, I also came across a group of children with a teacher naturalist who were helping to rid trails of invasive garlic mustard. As they excitedly pulled the garlic mustard up by its roots and shoved it into a bag, they shared with me the importance of reducing the presence of invasive species to ensure the survival of natural plant communities.

And a reminder:

Join us for Water Water Everywhere, Saturday, May 19 from 10 am-5 pm.

Enjoy this beautiful weekend!

-Sarah

The piglets have arrived! Come visit! And that’s not the only excitement at the farm. Just yesterday we had our first fresh veggies for sale at the farmstand- arugula. It was delicious. The crops team has been hard at work in the fields. Below they are transplanting onions.

And here’s a shot of what will become tender, sweet, peas!

Underneath the row cover are some of the leafy green crops. The row cover protects them from pests.

While it was a bit cool and a bit grey all week the birds certainly seemed happy. The fields and woods were loud with the sounds of bird calls and songs. This northern mockingbird was singing its heart out!

In my search for the perfect spring green I spotted the moss on this tree. Looks like there’s a pretty fierce vine of poison ivy growing up this tree.

And for those of you wondering, the new barn will be open soon. The fence is up and we’re putting the final touches on the interior and exterior. The grass also needs to grow to at least five inches before we can let the animals graze!

Happy weekend to all!

The warm and dry late winter and spring has allowed us to plow our fields early. Normally, wet and cool conditions in the spring mean muddy fields. It’s best not to drive on such fields because they compact more readily than when dry. It’s also often difficult to pull the plow through heavy soils. This spring, even perennially wet and heavy areas of the fields are dry and light. As a result, we were able to start seeding crops directly into the field in the third week of March–a week ahead of schedule. We began with peas, fava beans, spinach, arugula and turnips. Two weeks later, we continued seeding ahead of schedule planting carrots, beets, chard and parsley. We’ve had very little rain to help these seeds germinate, but so far it’s been enough, and you can see the peas, favas and spinach growing vigorously in the dusty fields.

This past week we began transplanting greenhouse-raised seedlings to the field. Before doing so, we move the plants from the greenhouse to the cold-frame so that they can acclimate to outdoor conditions, a process known as “hardening-off.” During those first days when the plants move from indoors to outdoors, we cover them with row-cover during the day to prevent sunburn on the leaves, and with plastic sheeting at night to moderate low temperatures. After a few days, the leaves toughen up and the plants are ready to go into the ground. So far we’ve transplanted only frost-tolerant crops such as lettuce, beets, leeks and shallots.

Our strawberries arrived on Tuesday from Nourse Farms in Whatley, MA. By the end of the day yesterday, thanks to the hard work of volunteers and the returning crew of Abby, Signe and Calyb,  we had all 4,000 plants in the ground and watered-in. We also planted 50 new rhubarb plants. We are looking forward to some rain this weekend to help other seeds germinate and to wash in some organic fertilizers that we use on our garlic and strawberry crops.

Matt, Crops Manager

First, a bit of Friday cuteness…

And now, a quick plug for an upcoming fantastic program & a special day of service.

Next Friday, April 27, for the first time ever at Drumlin Farm an evening of chocolate! What could be tastier than to end your week with chocolate? We’ll throw a little learning in too, but it will be fun. You’ll get to taste a cacao pod and a variety of artisan chocolate bars from around the world. Call the registrar at 781-259-2206 to get tickets.

The following day, Saturday, April 28 is Mass Audubon’s Statewide Volunteer Day. There are service projects statewide, and they are appropriate for kids and adults. Visit the Statewide Volunteer Day website to see what we’re planning for Drumlin Farm and the other sites.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend (hopefully with a little rain for our gardens - pretty please!!!).

The short answer is everything! And isn’t it nice how still those blossoms stay while you photograph them? It’s a great time of year to play with your camera and explore all of its settings. Which means it’s also a great time of year to take lots of photos and enter the third annual Mass Audubon photo contest!

There are a variety of categories in which you can enter. And we are always happy to see photos taken at Mass Audubon sanctuaries. The contest is open to kids and adults, so encourage those budding photographers you know to enter (get it? budding, spring blooms?!!!)

While I choose to take my photos at Drumlin Farm (talk about a variety of habitats!), the photos can be taken anywhere in Massachusetts, or at Wildwood, our overnight camp in Rindge, NH.

And in wrapping up I can’t help plug a walk at the farm this weekend. It’s just spectacular this time of year. And for those of you with kids on vacation next week the farm is OPEN on Monday.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Don’t miss it, our annual celebration of sheep, Woolapalooza. The festival is this Saturday, from 10 am to 4 pm. Event details are available on the website. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

WOW!!! What a week! With highs in the 70s and 80s the farm has been a destination for thousands this week. And though the calendar may say it’s only March 23, it sure doesn’t look like it.

Everything is budding and blooming.

This is the preschoolers bulb garden in its full spring glory.

And look at how fully in bloom this is. Last year we were marking full blooms on April 29!

And of course the farm is full of babies. At this point we have 17 lambs, plus a gaggle of kids! This little one seems to be learning from mom how to graze.

If you love the sheep, then a visit to the farm next weekend for Woolapalooza is a must! This annual event (a staff and visitor favorite) features all things sheep! You can watch the sheep being sheared, learn how wool on the animal is turned into wool in your sweater, and enjoy watching shepherding demonstrations. If you’d like to buy tickets in advance and avoid the crowd, call 781-259-2218. There will also be tickets available at the door. The event runs from 10 am to 4 pm, on Saturday, March 31.

Also starting Saturday, March 31 is the annual Audubon Shop optics sale. If you’re thinking of getting something new this year you really should check out this sale.

Guest post by teacher-naturalist Tia P., who just returned from co-leading a birding trip to South Texas.

Fourteen enthusiastic and enterprising participants along with trip leaders Strickland Wheelock, Kathy Seymour and myself (Tia), recently explored the variety of habitats and birds in one corner of the vast state of Texas. Starting and ending in Corpus Christi, we saw everything from Whooping Cranes, the tallest birds in North America, to Buff-bellied hummingbirds and hundreds of others in between. South Texas is a birders’ paradise as the variety of habitats and the confluence of major flyways produces a large variety of potential species to see, many of which are found nowhere else in North America. While it was snowing in MA it was sunny and in the 80′s along the Rio Grande River. Whooping Cranes catching and eating blue crabs, the beauty of the Rio Grande at dawn,  hundreds of Green Parakeets coming to roost together in the evening, alligators and tiny Least Grebes floating side by side through the water, raptors of all kinds soaring in the sky – South Texas is an amazing place.

Apologies for the photo quality but here are a few shots from the iPhone.

This is a common pauraque. Can you spot it? He’s sleeping on the ground.

After a pretty fantastic February vacation week it’s a bit gloomy today. But why think about the cold when you can think about summer veggies? Fresh lettuce, juicy tomatoes, and sweet strawberries all straight from Drumlin Farm can be yours with a share of our Summer CSA. Right now there are still shares available. If you are interested, learn more on our CSA page. The shares are first come, first served so sent in your enrollment form soon if you are interested.

Here’s a little sneak peek of what you’ll get this summer…

Hang out in the woods right about now and that drip, drip, drip may just be the sound of New England’s first spring crop, maple syrup! To be precise it’s just the sap you hear, but sugar shacks all over the region are already busy boiling it down to sweet, sticky “makes everything taste better” maple syrup.

Here at Drumlin we’ve just tapped the trees, and we’ve tapped a few less this year than we normally do. This is to protect the health of our trees so that they can continue to produce for years to come. For more on the process of sugaring look here or here.

For those of you who want to know more, you can stop by the evaporator on Sunday afternoons (February 26, March 4, March 11) from 1:30-3:30 pm. We also offer programs about sugaring (and how you can do it on your own). And don’t forget, the Audubon Shop sells all the supplies you need! And how could I forget our very popular Sap to Syrup Farmer’s Breakfast? Sign up soon by calling 781-259-2218- tickets go fast!