Things to do on the Island
There are a number of fine tour operators, restaurants shops and services that
can enhance your visit to our little corner of the world. See our
Activities web page
for more information
Ranch News Blog
| Ducks are here |
| We have been been getting so many requested for Duck Eggs that we thought we would add some to our mix. Steve and his family over near Mount Vernon sold us a buch of Khaki Campbell ducklings. They are pretty darn funny, clocking around, quacking like crazy. Poepl tell us that duck eggs are really good, sow e aree looking forward to trying some duck egg dishes and duck egg pasta at the pasta company. |
| Our First Hay |
| After many years of buying hay from our neighbors, this year we had the folks at Black Family Enterprises come and cut, rake and bale part of our acreage. In years past the horses would eat the grass, leaving nothing to bale. Since our horse population is now zero, we loaded about 240 bales into the barn in July of all natural chemical-free hay for our sheep and alpacas to enjoy this winter and spring. |
| Big Produce Garden this year |
| This year the Garden got off to a great start, and lettuce, spinach, and all of our kitchen herbs are doing fine. With a new automated watering system we are saving water and energy and reduce weed growth. Our fresh produce is available at the store, the Farmers Market, and at select restaurants around the island. |
| Baby Pigs arrive at States Inn |
We have been raising pigs in the winter for several years. This year
we are trying something new, raising pigs during the summer when we
have the best forage and the best
breakfast leftovers for our pigs to enjoy. We are also experimenting
with pasture raising our pigs, we'll be trying that later this summer.
Here is a picture of the little guys
sleeping in the back of the truck waiting for the ferry.
|
| Farewell to the Plumb Pond Equine Sanctuary |
|
For almost 20 years the Lally family has leased part of States Inn & Ranch
to work with rescue horses and teach islanders of all ages about natural
horsemanship and holistic horse care. For the past few years the group
has spent the
summers down the road at Plumb Pond, and recently became an official
non-profit organization, the Plumb
Pond Equine Sanctuary. This spring they decided to move to Plumb Pond on a permanent basis. We wish them well, and know the horses and the students, family and teachers will grow in those beautiful surroundings. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we are busy planning to utilize the horse pasture for livestock, pasture recovery crops, and additional farming opportunities. |
| Our Cottage is no longer available |
|
Many families and groups have enjoyed staying in out cottage for the past several years. We hate to disappoint our guests, but
we have decided to remove the cottage from our Inn listings. The reason is that we have decided to increase
our agricultural operations and need more staff. Housing is very hard to find on the island, so our cottage
will be the residence of our onsite farm manager and their family. our Southwestern Suite is still available for families and groups. |
| Mar 3, 9 lambs to far |
| They are all doing well, and the older ones are running their little legs off out in the pasture with the big sheep. 2 week old lambs are FAST! A couple of the moms (ewes) and their babies (lambs) are on the lambCam |
| Quickening Moon, a little late! |
| February 28th. The Quickening Moon is when dormant plants and fertile animals feel the quickening of life. But we’ve had 4 lambs in the past 24 hours, so I guess they moved pretty darn quick! |
| Sheep don’t Read |
| February 18th. Today one of the sheep out in the field gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Normally we put them in the paddock to keep an eye on them when it gets to be near their lambing time. But she did not look big enough, while two ewes that are HUGE still have not lambed. Obviously they have not been reading the same sheep management books that we use to find out when to expect lambs. |
| Valentine’s Day Lamb |
| When I came down to make breakfast for our guests there were 3 sheep in the paddock. When I came out to get fresh chives, 3 sheep and a lamb, a brand new baby boy. Mother and son are doing well, we will have them on Lamb Cam very soon. |
| February 11th First Lamb |
| Avocado, our 4-H lamb raised by our neighbors up the road has a brand new baby boy. Mother and son are doing well, Now on Lamb Cam. |
| February 4th No lambs yet |
| We have 5 ewes (lady sheep) that look like they're in a family way. We have the four biggest ones in our lambing pasture. In the next couple of days we will get the webcam switched over to become the 2010 LambCam! |
| Fall, 2009 -- The Bountiful Harvest |
We have been reaping the bounty of the garden this year, much to the delight of our guests and our San Juan Pasta Company customers.
We've sauced over 400 pounds of tomatoes for pasta sauce and lasagna, and will harvest about 40 pounds of basil for pesto and sauces.  |
Beautiful Gardens this year
|
Beautiful Basil this year
|
| July 2009 -- Natural Horsemanship Demonstration |
| On July 25th, the staff & students of Plumb
Pond Equine Sanctuary will hold a Natural Horsemanship Demonstration
here at States Inn and Ranch. There will be a brief introductory talk of what Natural Horsemanship is, and then horses and riders will demonstrate the partnership that is possible between humans and equines. The exhibition will last for approximately one hour and end with a question & answer session with the riders. Other students will be on hand to answer questions during the performance. The Plum Pond Videos were taken here at States Ranch, down the road at Plum Pond, and at the country fair. They demonstrate the amazing skills developed by the students. Our guests are welcome to visit with the horses, the students and the trainers while staying at the ranch. |
| Welcome Ermangarde Eaglebane |
For the first time in 5 years Eagles have taken a few of our laying hens. Other farmers around the islands have
reported similar problems that are new this year. So we Angel created our new staff person, Ermangarde Eaglebane,
to stay with the chickens during the day to ensure no harm comes to them.
Here is a picture of Ermangarde outstanding in her field. |
| May 1 -- 10 lambs |
| Our newest lamb is about 3 weeks old, and she is doing very well. That should be it for the year. Shearing is the next project, for the sheep and the alpacas. A local islander shears our sheep for us every year. We keep stockpiling the wool and the alpaca fleece. One of these years we'll get around to working with the fibers. |
| April - Ranch on Culinary Tours Program |
| We are excited to be part of the new farm tours hosted by Island Culinary Tours that allows Island Visitors to experience local foods and products here on the island. States Inn & Ranch is the only ranch on the tour, so visitors will have a chance to see our operation, meet our livestock, and sample some of the culinary treats we make from things we grow right here on the ranch. |
| March 7 - 9 lambs so far |
| We have 9 healthy lambs bouncing around the ranch, and that looks like it for the year. We had 10, but lost one. Sometimes that happens no matter what you do. We are bottle feeding one baby (her name is Dots). The mothers are doing a good job with the rest of them. |
| January 31 - First Lamb of the year |
| Angel started breakfast on Saturday the 31st and heard a wee bah from the sheep paddock - sure enough, our first lamb (a little girl) was doing very nicely. We have 3 more ewes that should give birth any the next few days. |
| December 28th -- Snow is melting... |
| My goodness, what snow we had. And a couple of broken pipes too. The lambs, chickens and sheep have been quite hungry, and we had to
put tank heaters in the water troughs so they could have water.
Lynne brought her horse, R2 over from her place so he could come in the barn at night. He is out with the sheep,
and they are getting along just fine. We have been busy painting some of the rooms, and fixing up the place a bit, so it should look real
nice when next year comes around. Today is our 11th anniversary, and our seventh year of being B& owners. We met a lot of very nice people, and this year cooked over 3,000 breakfasts! We’ve been busy working on some new recipes, so hopefully our returning guests will enjoy some new dishes. The new chickens have gone out to the big chicken tractors, soon they will start laying eggs. We will be moving the webcam to another spot so our site visitors can seen part of this beautiful place. Happy New Year to all, and we are looking forward to next year. |
| November 25th -- Happy Holidays to all -- Holiday Closures... |
| We have been having a wonderful year, seeing guests return, meeting a lot of new people, and continuing to provide the best local food we can find for our guests and those that visit our store. This year we are closing the Inn for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays/ We will be spending time with our friends and family, and of course working on our never-ending list of projects. Angel, Richard, Lynne and all of the staff hope your holidays are filled with life, laughter and love. |
| September 5th -- New Chicks Arrived... |
| The phone call from the Post Office came during a busy breakfast. "We have a Peeping Box," they said, so Angel went to get the new day-old chicks, and we turned on the heat lamps in the brood house and got water and feed ready. About 70 little black and gold fuzzballs were running around within minutes, drinking, eating and exploring. You can see pictures of previous chick deliveries further down this page. The webcam is now a chickCam. click on San Juan Island Ranch ChickenCam! |
| August 3th -- Blue Ribbons at the Fair... |
| Well, the team here at the ranch can be proud of their cooking. This year we entered five items in the San Juan County Fair, and the judges awarded us FIVE blue ribbons (First Place). The San Juan Sourdough Bread was awarded Best of Class AND Best of Show. We will have pictures up soon. |
| July 5th -- Fresh Berries, New Breads... |
In the last couple of weeks we have been getting farm fresh strawberries from the farms in Skagit Valley. We go every week to the farm,
near the dairy where we get our milk. The blueberries were late this year, so our traditional red white and blue
strawberry shortcake (with the shortcakes shape like stars) did not have the blue berries.
This picture is from a prior year when the weather cooperated.
We also debuted our newest bread, San Juan Sourdough, at the farmer’s market today. It was very popular, as were the Dutch Apple Pies, Lavash Crackers and our bread & butter pickles, and meat pies, of course. |
| June 8 -- Another Lamb! |
| Evidently the fence the keeps our Ram out from the ewes was not enough to do the job earlier this spring. Today while feeding the chickens we heard that unmistakable tiny "bah bah" of a newborn lamb. Sure enough, one more baby girl, bringing the total to 20 -- 5 boys, 15 girls! |
| May, 2008 -- Gardening Frenzy |
| Finally the weather is warming, the greenhouse is full of tender
shoots ready to go outside, the ground is tilled, and the chemical-free
horse manure is composted, and applied to the gardens for a little
extra treat for those new plants. We've been making pickles from west coast cukes, but will be happy to see our own start to rise form the ground to put into our bread and butter and sour dills in the fall. the fresh herbs have been adorning the breakfast table all winter, but the new shoots are producing lovely mints, oregano and fennel for a flavor burst. Yumm! |
| April 28, 2008 -- 2 new lambs |
| We sheared our sheep last week, and noticed that one of our smaller ewes was looking very round. Sure enough about 7 days later she gave birth to two healthy boys, for a total of 19 lambs. |
| April 11, 2008 -- 17 lambs and holding |
| We’re done lambing for the year, and ended up with 17 lambs, all healthy and growing like weeds. We hope we are done lambing. Duncan, the Ram jumped the fence the other night and got in with the ewes, so we may have company at the end of August! All the lambs are now out in the fields with the rest of the sheep, so we've moved the LambCam (now the sheepCam). All the seeds came in the mail this week from our heritage and organic seed providers, so it is time to start planting the summer and fall gardens. This year we focusing on fall crops, pumpkins, cucumbers and squash as we do not have enough time in the summer for summer crops. Will will of course have tomatoes so we can make more green tomatoes chutney for the breakfast table, and herbs and things for the table and for our meat and veggie pies for the store. |
| March 29, 2008 -- 17 lambs! |
| As of today there are 17 lambs frolicking around here at States Inn. It is very exciting. They are fast! 5 boys, 12 girls. Two of our adult guests watched as our last pregnant ewe (we think) delivered (after prolonged labor) her first lamb with Richard’s assistance, then she delivered the second one on her own. As of 12:30 am, the babies are doing well, so Angel and I are going to sleep as we have to get up and make breakfast for our guests. |
| March 23, 2008 -- Happy Easter, Full Moon and Equinox |
| As of today there are 15 lambs frolicking around here at States Inn. Two of our young guests got to watch as Dora gave birth on Saturday to a healthy baby lamb. That was a pleasant surprise for them because when they were here in January, our first two lambs of the year were born about 2 hours after they left. We made Hot Cross Buns for Easter Breakfast. They were a big hit with the guests. |
| March, 2008 -- What Books do sheep read? (or...Too many lambs?) |
| Tonight while going out to the fields to pick up the evening
eggs from out pastured hens, Angel and I were counting Lambs - the
four older ones are having a ball bouncing around the pastures, running
and playing. But tonight there were too many lambs!
Sure enough, Avocado, our 4-H ewe gave birth to a nice strong healthy
baby girl. Not an early birth, just a simple, healthy lamb. Now our sheep books, and the WSU Livestock Advisor Training we took were pretty clear about the signs that let you know that a ewe (female sheep) is going to give birth soon. Evidently Avocado did not read the same books we did, because it looked like we had a few weeks before there was going to be a new lamb from her efforts. Avocado came to us through the 4-H Auction during the San Juan County Fair. Maybe the reading list in 4-H are different than in the Livestock Advisors Course. |
| March, 2008 -- Lambing - The Adventure Continues... |
| As of March 9, we have 10 lambs, and at least 2 more expectant ewes.
We got up this morning and found that Bella had two beautiful baby girls. Bella is a lamb that Angel and Lynne bottle-fed in 2006. You can see her picture below in August 2006. |
| As of March 7, we have 6 lambs, and at least 4 more expectant ewes.
We have four boys and two girls. Today the four oldest and their mothers went back into the pasture with the rest of the flock, so are no longer in view on LambCam. But the lambs are having a great time meeting other sheep, having more room to run and hills to climb. What Fun! The two newest lambs are inside for a couple of days to make sure everything goes well. You can see the maternity room here, and it should have new lambs very soon - tonight, or in a couple of days. At about 3:00 pm on Wednesday we had to assist the newest mother of twins with the birth of her second boy. The first one was fine, but Junior got one foot out before his nose and that's not really the way we are supposed to do it. So with a little gentle togging, Junior came into the world. He has needed a bit of extra feeding and attention, but so far, so good. |
| Feb, 2008 -- Lambing Has Started |
| As of February 29th, we have 5 lambs, and at least 3 more expectant ewes.
three boys, two girls. We are keeping two of them inside for a couple of days to make sure everything goes well. You can see pictures of the lambs out playing here At about 9:00 pm on Monday, Feb 18th our first lambs were born. One boy, and one girl. They are doing fine, eating well and momma has plenty of milk. We are keeping them inside for a couple of days to make sure everything goes well, and while we get some fencing installed so they can avoid getting too far from momma. You can see pictures of the newborn lambs |
| Jan 2008 -- Natural Horsemanship Videos on YouTube |
| The Plum Pond Videos were taken here at States Ranch, down the road at Plum Pond,
and at the country fair. They demonstrate the amazing skills developed by the students. Our guests are welcome to visit with the horses, the students and the trainers while staying at the ranch. |
| Jan 2008 -- Here comes the new year |
| So far we've had a pretty calm new year, the weather has been
mild, which has made the sheep happy. We've not broken a pipe so far
with the cold snap. That makes people happy. It is fun to see the frost on the back of the
lambs and alpacas. Our new chickens are getting bigger but they're too cold to go outside, so they say in under the hover where it is warm. And who says chickens are dumb! We've been working on new recipes, experimenting with new kinds of bread, and taking o breads, eggs, pies and the like to the farmers market over the winter. The store is open and our neighbors and other island visitors are stopping by and calling to order pies, breads and other goodies. |
| December/2007 -- An Egret comes to visit |
Here is a picture of an egret visiting our stream. He was out
in the field with the Alpacas, who were kind of interested, but
eventually ignored the bird, which has been around for a few days.
We’ve also had a number of Trumpeter Swans, Buffleheads and other ducks
hanging around.
|
| November/2007 -- Next Season’s Egg Layers |
| Here are this year’s new baby chicks at 4 days old. They arrived in November,
when this picture was taken. There are California/Leghorn Crosses, that lay white eggs,
and Auracanas, that lay green/blue eggs.
They'll join our other rare and heritage breed chickens in
the pastures as they get older. Pasture raised poultry make the best eggs, which helps make our breakfasts so special. Our eggs taste better and are lower in cholesterol, higher in Omega-3 and several vitamins than commercially produced eggs. (References available on request) 
|
| October Store Hours |
| The Ranch Store will be closed on Monday and Tuesday starting October 1, 2007.
The new hours will be 11:00 am to 6:00 PM, Wednesday through Sunday. Now taking orders for scratch pumpkin pies for the holidays, made from our own sugar pumpkins. More Holiday treats to come. |
| October 2007 -- The Pumpkin Harvest |
Angel & Lynne looking over the Sugar Pumpkins harvested from our gardens to be made into Pumpkins Pies.
|
| September 2007 -- New Sheep and ready for Fall |
| We have received 5 new Suffolk ewes and a Ram named Duncan. Suffolks are Black-faced sheep, with very mellow dispositions. Duncan has already created quite a stir among the ladies (ewes) in the flock, so we hope to have pictures of new lambs on the site in the Spring. |
| August 2007 -- Blue Ribbons at the Fair |
| This year States Inn & Ranch picked up two Blue Ribbons (First Place) and one 3rd place for the three items we entered. A Blue Ribbon in French Bread came home for our French Bread, and a Blue Ribbon for one of our more popular cookies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip came home as well. Our White Ribbon, 3rd place was for our strawberries. Since it was the first year we have entered them, we were pleased to get that far. Next year the plants will be stronger and we should have a better chance. |
| August 2007 -- Natural Horsemanship Demonstration |
| On August 4th and 11th, the students of Plumb
Pond Barn Cooperative will hold a Natural Horsemanship Demonstration
here at States Inn and Ranch. There will be a brief introductory talk of what Natural Horsemanship is, and then horses and riders will demonstrate the partnership that is possible between humans and equines. The exhibition will last for approximately one hour and end with a question & answer session with the riders. Other students will be on hand to answer questions during the performance. 
|
| July 2007 -- Lambo - with his summer haircut |
Here is Lambo, about 3 weeks after being sheared. Still cute as a button!
|
| July 2007 -- The berries are wonderful this year |
| Last year the strawberry crop was damaged by early rains - this year the weather is perfect - and the berries have been great. We go directly to the local farms and get our berries from the growers. This year our new 500 strawberry plants are just starting to produce, so we will have strawberry shortcake all summer long. And the blackberry plants are flowering like made - will be a great year for blackberry cobbler at the breakfast table. |
| June 2007 -- Angel and Lambo out for a walk |
| If you saw the pictures of Lambo last year on YouTube Guest Video of Lambo on YouTube.com , you'll notice that he has really grown. He is still really cute (for a sheep), and he is not spoiled at all. 
|
| May 2007 -- New Gardens are filling up |
These are some of our 500 new strawberry plants,
we'll be serving our own strawberries this year in addition to
the ones we buy from nearby farms. The small green roofed building in the back is the brood house where
we raise new chickens the first few weeks of their life.
|
| April/2007 -- A beautiful cake |
We make special occasion cakes for special occasions. The decorator on staff
has such a way with flowers 
|
| January/2007 -- Chicks First View of the outside |
Here are the new baby chicks (see how they've grown?) seeing the
outside for the first time. Notice the electric mesh fence to keep
the raccoons and foxes away. Recently they have moved to a larger
area where they will stay until their new chicken tractor is ready
in a
few weeks. 
|
| January/2007 -- Next Season’s Egg Layers |
| Here are the new baby chicks at 3 days old. They arrived in November,
when this picture was taken. They are Black Stars, good brown egg
layers. They'll join our other rare and heritage breed chickens in
the pastures as they get older. Pasture raised poultry make the best eggs, which helps make our breakfasts so special. Our eggs taste better and are lower in cholesterol, higher in Omega-3 and several vitamins than commercially produced eggs. (References available on request) 
|
January/2007 -- Wintry and busy! |
We had some cold, snowy weather, freezing the pipes and the livestock
water troughs, but when the early morning is this pretty, who can
complain?
|
| 12/2006 -- Merry Christmas to all |
Merry christmas to one and all, and we hope the new year finds
everyone healthy and joyous. We are closed on Christmas Eve and New
Years Eve  |
| August, 2006 County Fair Prizes awarded |
| We entered 6 items in the San Juan County Fair and came home with
5 ribbons. Angel received a Blue Ribbon and Best In Class for her
Cheese Scones, and a Second Place for her Chocolate Hazelnut Scones.
Richard got a Second Place for Hazelnut Brittle, our Cucumbers got
a Blue Ribbon (First Prize) for best cukes (thanks to Lynne, our
Ranch and Garden Manager). Talia, one of our summer staff got a
Second
Place for her Lemon Lavender Hazelnut Cookies. The only thing that did not place was our squash. It is wonderful, but was a little too big, we think. All in All, a good year. |
| August, 2006 Late Lambs born |
We had twins lambs, born late in the year but healthy and happy.
Here they are with mom at just a few hours old. 
|
| Natural Horsemanship Demonstrations |
| On July 29th, August 5th and 12th at 10am, the students of Plumb
Pond Barn Cooperative will hold a Natural Horsemanship Demonstration
here at States Inn and Ranch. There will be a brief introductory talk of what Natural Horsemanship is, and then eight horses and riders will demonstrate the partnership that is possible between humans and equines. The exhibition will last for approximately one hour and end with a question & answer session with the riders. Other students will be on hand to answer questions during the performance. 
|
| New Fawn seen on July 3rd |
We think this is the first time Mom has had the baby out for a walk. |
| The Bees are working overtime |
The bees are really busy with the summer flowers. We should have
fresh honey in a few weeks. Nothing like fresh honey on homemade scones!
Yum!
|
| Lambo has grown |
Our orphan lamb (named Lambo) is growing and growing. He should,
as he eats all the roses, worse than the deer. He is starting to learn
that he can't come in the house anymore but it will be a while until
he is big enough to stay on the other side of the fences. Until then
he is fun to pet and watch bounce around the ranch. Some people say
he is spoiled but it is not true ;) Here is a picture of Lambo taken
by one of our guests. Notice the bare, over-pruned rose bush. |
|
Here is the link to the 'famous' Lambo Video |
| Remodeled 2 Bedroom Cottage with Kitchen now available |
| Adjacent to our barn is a two bedroom Cottage that makes a great
place for a family or group to enjoy the ranch and their privacy.
This unit has two bedrooms, living room, full bath, washer/dryer,
and a fully stocked kitchen. Please see our new furniture and everything at the Cottage Page |
| April, 2006 -- New lambs! |
We have had several new lambs. We are hand raising
one as his mother did not take good care of him. He is really cute.
Here the alpacas are coming to say hello! They’re like good uncles to him. 
This is why the lamb is in a small pen: This tree is just above the lambing pen 
|
| April, 2006 -- The chick are growing! |
The chicks are several weeks old now. They have
grown quite a lot.  |
| March, 2006 -- 87 New baby Chickens! |
| Early on Monday the post office called and said our baby chickens
were in. We turned up the heater in the van and drove into town, sure
enough, there was a big box just peeping away. Our new chicks are just a couple of days old and were shipped in from a hatchery in Minnesota. 
We got a few rare breeds, Red Star and Araucanas (they lay green and blue eggs) and a dozen or so of different varieties.Here is one of the Red Stars 
They are doing well, adjusting to their new home eating and drinking and getting to know their way around. 
|
| March, 2006 4 new alpacas join the herd |
The nice folks at Honey
Lane Farms needed a new home for some of their alpacas, so four
alpacas joined our 2 to make a herd of 6. Two white, two black, and
two light fawn colored. Here you can see them getting to know each
other. They had the best time talking and jumping and meeting new
friends.
The white alpacas are from a very famous herdsire, "Legacy" that used to live here on the island and is now at Crescent Moon Ranch in Oregon. We will be having some nice alpaca fiber available in the store this summer. |
| February, 2006 "I DO I DO" runs through February |
Angel Michaels, Innkeeper here at States Inn is starring in the
local theater production of this acclaimed Broadway play. "I
DO I DO" chronicles 50 years of marriage in story and song. Angel,
a singer and voice teacher as well as being an innkeeper plays Agnes
in this delightful musical comedy written by the team that did the
Fantasticks. We can reserve seats for you for any performance (we
recommend the Gala night as part of our valentine's
day special, or you can reserve tickets online at San
Juan Community Theatre  larger
size |
| January, 2006 First lamb of the year |
Richard had a pleasant surprise as he went out to feed the sheep.
A little lamb, just a few hours old was tagging along behind her mother.
In the picture you can see Tony, a rather muddy Alpaca checking out
the little ewe lamb. The baby and mom are doing fine, and we'll have
more lambs in April. She is our first black lamb. Isn’t she
just the cutest?
Here is another one. She has the softest little "bah..bah.." 
|
| 12/2005 -- Merry Christmas to all |
| Merry christmas to one and all, and we hope the new year finds
everyone healthy and joyous. We will be closed from the 23rd of December
through January 2nd. We are all settled in for the winter, the heat tape is on so the horses can have fresh water all winter. The boarding horses also have a brand new loafing area that will keep their feet dry all winter and help preserve the water quality of our streams and marshes. The chickens are happy with the new organic feed they are getting, and the warmth from the heat lamps keeps the henhouse nice and cozy. Rambo, our loaner ram has been visiting with our ewes for the past couple of months so we will have lovely lambs in the springtime. |
| 11/2005 -- Migratory Birds |
| Our wetlands and fields look pretty inviting to the swans, geese, eagles, ducks and waterfowl that pass through the islands on their way south. Our guests enjoy sitting out at the edge of the wetlands in the bushes and watching all of the activity. |
| 10/2005 -- Red Trees |
| This year the maples have been gorgeous. Years ago States Inn & Ranch was a part of Blazing Tree Ranch. They must have named the place in the fall. Makes you want to call the Fire Department and tell them not to worry. |
| 9/2005 -- Blue Chickens |
| Yes, we now have 10 Blue Chickens - they are Blue Cochins, They have very fluffy feet. We'll have pictures soon. |
| 7/2005 -- New Chicks in the henhouse |
| 21 days ago two our our Brown Sex-Linked hens flock decided they were ready to have little chickens about. So they started setting, and first we had 4, and now we have 7 little chicks. Mothers and babies are in our maternity ward in the henhouse and doing fine. That brings our population up to 54 chickens. |
| 7/2005 -- A great berry season |
| About two weeks ago the local berries started coming in from Mount Vernon. Angel went off island to Schuh Farms and picked up raspberries right off the field truck. We made jam the next day. As well as raspberry syrup for our scratch sourdough pancakes. You just can't beat fresh berries. Soon we'll get Island berries and they are real special. Then our blackberries will come in and it will be time for cobbler. |
| 7/2005 -- Honey Bees are doing well |
| The bees are doing well. One colony is much stronger than the older, we're not quite sure why, but they are working hard. The bees have been covered with so much pollen they almost flop down on the landing strip in front of the hive. Should have some good honey for next year. |
| 7/2005 -- Stretch turned two, likes to play in water |
| Stretch turned two, and we found out he likes to get sprayed with the hose on hot days. He also likes the carrots that the guests feed them. |
| 4/2005 -- Two Honey Bee Colonies now at the Ranch |
| Safely away from the Inn we have two new beehives, each with a new colony of honey bees. They are busy as bees decorating their new homes with honeycomb, finding their way around, and helping the queens get down to business making more bees. It takes lots of bees and lots of flowers to make enough honey to share with our guests, but this fall and next summer guests will be able to enjoy our honey on top of fresh biscuits and scones. |
| 4/2005 -- Stretch, Tony and the Sheep get sheared |
| Stretch, the newest Alpaca at the ranch turned 18 months old in January. He is getting along fine with Tony, the other Alpaca. They've been spending time with the sheep while their pasture recovers from all the chomping. We sheared in April, and have Alpaca fleece and Suffolk wool available. We'd have pictures but we're too busy to take ’em! |
| 3/2005 Eggs for sale, new Chickens home to roost |
| Our friends at LaCrover Farm crated up new layers for us for the spring season. These organically raised chickens are now supplying lots of eggs for the store and soon for our guests. We feed them organic laying feed, fresh table scraps and let them free range near the barn. They come in at night to avoid the foxes, raccoons and other critters that think chickens are tasty. Eggs are $3.50 per dozen, self-service in the fridge in the office. Thanks for supporting your local farmers. |
| 2/2005 Spring seems early this year |
| Spring certainly seems early this year. The pussy willows are out, the days are getting longer, and the flowers and shrubs are thinking hard about blooming. The animals are happy because longer days means more food value in the pasture, so their tummies are happy. It also means good news as as local suppliers are getting ready to provide produce, and the chickens are revving up their egg production, so that is good news for guests too! |
| 1/2005 Stretch turns 18 months old |
| Stretch, the newest Alpaca at the ranch turned 18 months old in January. He is getting along fine with Tony, the other alpaca. With his beautiful dark wool and dark eyes he is a handsome fellah. Be sure and ask to feed him when you come to stay. He likes people. |