Creakey Acres Farm

08/23/2023

Nice breeze outside, not even 80 yet. Hot day task: drying sage and oregano from the garden. Available with egg delivery. Fresh cilantro also ready.

08/23/2023

8am 66 degrees, 77% humidity. How do I prepare for a high heat index like today?
1. Chore early to get the animals around early so they can be comfy for the day.
2. Feed and water flowing. Today that meant moving 15 gal water and 100 # feed.
3. Fans on turkey poults. Adjust throughout the day to equalize temps. Air flow is vital to avoid respiratory issues. Also, the barn has a thermostat controlled peak fan.
4. Move mobile fence to heavy shade for sheep. Though shorn, they already have 1/4 in fleece on.
5. Monitor weather for thunderstorms to avoid the sheep getting soaked.
6. Irrigation is running early to not scald plants.

Stay inside the rest of the day and get caught up on inside work.

08/21/2023

Due to unexpected farm complications and an appt. on Friday in FW, egg delivery to FW will be on Friday this week., subject to last minute cancelation because of farm duty.

08/18/2023

Columbia City TSC National Farmer's Market Day event tomorrow! I will be there with chicken and duck eggs, featuring small duck and chicken eggs along with standard. Get a dozen green pullet eggs from my new Starlight Green Eggers! I will have some produce. The TOP 10 Goat Girl Soaps will be for sale. 9am-3pm. Looking forward to seeing many CC friends.

08/14/2023

The new ducks are free to roam! They are adjusting well and already some are laying small eggs! At first they hung with the old flock, but now they are exploring on their own.

08/10/2023

Columbia City friends! Big announcement! I will be at TSC's National Farmer's Market Day event on August 19th from 9am- 3pm. If you haven't had farm fresh eggs in a while, chicken and duck, you can get some then! I may have limited produce, but the weather and deer this year have stunted the garden. Also I'll be taking reservations for Thanksgiving turkeys coming direct from the farm. I will also try to have a limited offering of Goat Girl Soaps as she has an event elsewhere that day as well. Looking forward to reconnecting with WCFM customers.

08/07/2023

It's a new week and new offerings for Thursday delivery! Zucchini are fresh, $3/ea. The new ducks are laying, and the maiden eggs are small. I am filling cartons, your choice, 1dz sm duck OR 1/2 sm duck, 1/2 dz chicken, $5/ dz. Great way to try duck eggs. New hens are laying, pullet egg cartons (small eggs) $3/dz. Bonus: the new chickens are primarily Starlight green eggers so those cartons will have lots of green shade eggs. Please order by Wednesday so I can lay our my route. As always, thank you for supporting smallholdings farmers.

08/05/2023

At Avilla Farmer's market at the park til noon today with eggs, soap, and hotpads.

08/03/2023

Turkey poults! So different from chickens, poults come rushing to climb on you when you go in the pen.

08/03/2023

Delivery route full today. Also, expecting turkey poults today. New ducks have started to lay, I will be offering small duck eggs at a discount. New chickens are starting to lay, and the Starlight Green Eggers are giving me some beautiful new shades of green. Look for them in your cartons soon.

07/29/2023

We have returned from vacation to find the garden catching up. I will be able to offer larger zucchini with egg delivery this week. $2/3/4 ea depending on size. The larger ones are perfect for zucchini bread. It can be frozen or the bread can be made and frozen, so stock up now! I have a chocolate zucchini bread recipe I would be happy to include with every zucchini purchase. Egg delivery day is Thursday and there is no shortage after a week away. Also, we had ducks processed before vacation and I can offer them, whole, frozen, for $6/ #. Average size 3-4 #. Please message me by Wednesday pm to be included in this week's delivery

07/20/2023

So much for the Indian corn in the main garden. 15 minutes into the storm. Took out the fence as well. 45 minutes later the sun is out.

07/17/2023

All egg customers: to FW especially. This Thursday will be my last delivery until August as I am going on vacation. Please contact me ASAP to get on the delivery schedule. No limit in eggs or # of deliveries this week. To CC, I will be in tomorrow and Thursday, possibly Wednesday as well.

07/09/2023

Another customer note!

07/06/2023

Have not been able to retrieve emails for 4 days now. Also having sporadic internet failures. Please be patient if you have contacted us and have had no response.

06/30/2023

The cooler temperatures, particularly at night, and the heavy cloud/smoke cover is negatively affecting the garden. The only plants showing significant growth are tomatoes. The peppers' growth is nearly nil. Projecting that we will be harvesting much later in the season. So be patient and understanding with your local providers and market vendors. Without consistent sunlight, poultry egg production drops. We have also had to work harder to keep the weeds from taking over as the plants are growing slowly. More irrigation has been needed with the near drought conditions. Remember, farmers are the backbone of this nation, and food must be produced no matter how much extra work has to be done.

06/27/2023

Just had a very unpleasant half hour doing chores. Hauling 30 gallons of water, 50 # of feed. All while breathing smoke soup. Across the road I can see the smoke blowing. We have a campground nearby and in 12 years it has never been this smoky. My chest hurts. I smell like smoke. I will keep the sheep in for their respiratory health and to hopefully keep smoke smell out of their wool as I am to start shearing in a few days.

06/26/2023

2 views of same damage. Higher branch broke onto lower bent one. As you can see, it came down on the mobile fence (sheep NOT in there during storm. So, limited choices for pasturing them til it gets cleaned up. This mulberry tree is close to the gourd tunnel, so we were so relieved it missed it. We really need to totally remove this tree, bit it will be hard to drop safely.

06/21/2023

Gooseberries will be ready in the next 2 weeks, comment below of you are interested. $4/ #. 3 to 3 1/2 cups will make a pie.

06/21/2023

There are a few spots available for deliveries tomorrow, along 33 Merriam to FW, North FW.

06/17/2023

We are in the beautiful Kimmel House Bed and Breakfast today til 5. My potholders and Goay Girl Soaps. The food here is great!

06/16/2023

It's Tartarian cherry time! After 10 years, finally a crop of cherries worth mentioning! About 3 quarts from the first picking of 2 trees!

06/15/2023

All egg delivery slots filled for today. Thank you, new and existing customers.

06/09/2023

Sunblock, head covering, Gatorade, overalls, tools. Ready for a marathon planting session. Hoping to get a lot in ahead of the weekend rains, so they get a good start. Running irrigation daily to counteract the drought.

06/03/2023

Avilla Farmer's Market. Have you been missing my Egg Bread?

06/03/2023

At Avilla Farmer's,Market til 1pm.

05/24/2023

New season, New Sloggers! Thanks Sarah! .

05/19/2023

I was asked to repost about the Fort Wayne deliveries of eggs. Chicken eggs are $4/dz, duck eggs are $7/dz. I am in FW every Thursday afternoon, and my delivery area is hwy33 from Albion to FW, or hwy3 Albion to FW, depending on orders. Trying to stay in the 46805/Lakeside Park area, with a few exceptions. Can also meet on Penn Ave. and the parking lot of Elevation 138 Salon on Lima Rd. if you are outside the area. Individual deliveries every other week or monthly, 2 dz minimum, please. I also will be selling eggs in Avilla at their market 2x/month., and eggs are available for pickup at the farm. The ladies are in high production right now.

05/15/2023

Welcome new followers. I am willing to deliver eggs in the Albion/Wolf Lake area as well.

05/15/2023

Fort Wayne egg delivery will be Friday this week as I have a previously scheduled appointment that day. Apologies for any inconvenience. I still have open delivery spaces for this week.

05/14/2023

Finally created my first gourd birdhouses with woodburning tool and gourd ink dye. Not too bad for a first make. And they have already been sold as Mother's Day gifts!

05/13/2023

Many plants found new homes at the Freel Family Farm event, (thank you for having me). However, I do have a lot of extra tomato ($4/ea) and okra plants ($3/ea) ready for planting. Offering them with the Thursday FW egg delivery. Text or message me for what you are looking for in a tomato, I'll let you know what I have.

05/12/2023

Last weekend I was able to move the oldest ducklings into the turkey pen. Protected around by hot wire. Just over 8 wks old, the dark ducks and runners are already close to adult size. I was able to s*x them by voice, happy to determine 66% are female. On a cloudy day like this, you cannot see the incredible green and blue-purple iridescence of the black Cayuga. I hope to catch it in the future.

05/08/2023

There are a few slots left for Thursday afternoon egg delivery.

05/07/2023

After working outside the last 2 days I realize my recovery is not as far along as I thought. And with Scott's work schedule, I doubt I will be able to pull chicken tractors this year. So no broilers for sale any more in 2023.

05/05/2023

Bittersweet, but all the lambs are sold! 2 if the triplets went to their new home Tuesday, and the twins and boy triplet will soon be in New digs in Southetn Indiana!

05/05/2023

I will be at Freel Family Farm next Saturday, 13th. The farm is in Wolf Lake, near Creakey Acres. Local folks should come out and network to find great local products!

Dandelions! This curiously controversial plant is a powerhouse for vitamins! It was once a cultivated plant in Europe. The entire plant is edible and great for your immunity, your mood and so much more! Our favorite use for dandelions is jam! Dandelion jam is also known as ”Poor Man’s Honey” and it’s DELICIOUS! We will have dandelion jam available at the plant sale along with some homemade sourdough!

05/04/2023

I think I am going to enjoy having a delivery route. Today was fun. There are 4 slots open for next Thursday. I realize that I could deliver to folks who live close to 33 between Albion and FW.

05/03/2023

My delivery slots for tomorrow are filled. Still have room for customers in future weeks. Duck egg production is very good now if anyone wants to try them. I am offering 1/2 dz. sample carton for $3.50. If you do baking, they are better than chicken eggs.

04/30/2023

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR FORT WAYNE CUSTOMERS! I am going to take FW deliveries in a different direction by creating a Thursday afternoon home delivery schedule. Customers can choose biweekly or monthly delivery of chicken/duck eggs. 2 dz minimum, 4-6 dz maximum depending on inventory, order deadline is Wednesday before delivery day. I am willing to do 5 homes a week in the 46805/St. Jude parish area. Cooler out w/payment a must. Contact me via FB or text my personal cell 260-255-9453 to set up/ ask ?s and more details. I will contact recent chicken (meat) customers who placed orders. Other items will be available through this service as available: chicken, produce, and Goat Girl Soap. Hope to hear from you soon, looking forward to this new endeavor.