A Long, Hot Summer at Willow & Branch | Life on the Homestead

It’s been a while since I’ve sat down and written an update here. My last journal post was at the end of June, and somehow we blinked and made it all the way to September.

It has been a busy few months around Willow & Branch, although not necessarily in the ways we had planned.

This summer was hot and dry. Really hot and really dry.

Between trying to keep the garden alive, keeping everyone watered and cool, raising young chickens, harvesting herbs, starting new projects and just keeping up with everyday life, the journal got pushed to the side for a bit.

So, here’s a little catch-up on what has actually been happening around the homestead.

The Garden Made It Through Another Texas Summer

By the end of summer, the garden was tired — and so was I.

Weeks of heat and very little rain eventually took their toll. Watering became a constant chore, and there comes a point when you realize you’re working awfully hard to convince a tomato plant that it still wants to live.

Eventually, we called it.

Most of the old summer plants have now been pulled, the beds have been cleaned up, and we’re starting fresh for fall.

Honestly, I love this part.

There’s something satisfying about clearing everything out and seeing open soil again. It gives you a chance to look at the garden differently, figure out what worked (and what absolutely did not), and start planning all over again.

It isn’t completely bare, though.

The peppers are still growing, along with quite a few of our herbs, and we’ve planted another round of cucumbers and zucchini. The rest of our fall seeds are tucked into the soil, and now comes the part where I walk outside every day and stare at dirt waiting for something green to appear.

Surely I’m not the only gardener who does that.

After the summer we’ve had, I’m more than ready for fall gardening — cooler mornings, new seedlings and hopefully a little more cooperation from Mother Nature.

We’ll continue growing the way we always do, without artificial fertilizers or pesticides, and sharing the garden with the pollinators, birds and all the other little creatures that live here.

Although some of the insects could stand to learn a little more about sharing.

The Heat Was Hard on the Flock, Too

Unfortunately, the garden wasn’t the only thing affected by the heat this summer.

The extreme temperatures were hard on our chickens as well.

Despite doing everything we could to keep everyone cool and comfortable, we unexpectedly lost two of our birds during the worst of the heat. We also had another suffer from heat stress, but thankfully, that one was able to recover.

That was hard.

When you raise them from chicks, learn all their personalities and see them every single day, they’re not just another chicken in the yard. You know which one is going to come running first, which one is going to complain the loudest and which one is probably somewhere doing something she isn’t supposed to be doing.

Losing one is difficult. Losing two unexpectedly was a pretty awful reminder of just how quickly extreme heat can become dangerous for a flock.

After that, we added even more fans and additional misters around the chicken areas to help bring the temperature down and keep air moving. We kept plenty of fresh water available and watched everyone much more closely during the hottest parts of the day.

If nothing else, this summer taught us that when it comes to Texas heat, there probably isn’t such a thing as too much airflow around the coop and runs.

And, of course, the chickens quickly figured out exactly where the coolest spots were.

Our Flock Is Growing — In More Ways Than One

Even with the difficult parts of summer, there has also been a lot of excitement happening with the chickens.

What began as a colorful backyard flock for our own eating eggs has slowly turned into something I never really expected — a growing interest in breeding, genetics and especially egg color.

And once you start learning chicken genetics, apparently there is no going back.

I’ve become fascinated with how different genetics influence egg color and what can happen over several generations of carefully planned breeding.

We now have several birds growing out for future breeding projects, with the goal of producing beautiful shades of blue, green, olive and chocolate.

Some of our foundation birds came from hatching eggs from Henhouse Hues in Eldorado. From those and other birds in our flock, we’re working with Welsummers, Silverudd’s Blue genetics, multi-generational Olive Eggers, chocolate-layer projects and several crosses that I’m really excited to watch develop.

Right now, though, there is a whole lot of waiting involved.

Raise them.

Watch them grow.

Watch personalities develop.

Evaluate them.

Wait some more.

And then wait for that very first egg.

Anyone who has ever raised a pullet specifically because they want to see what color egg she lays understands just how ridiculously long that wait can feel.

But eventually, those first eggs will start appearing in the nesting boxes, and we’ll have a much better idea of where each breeding project goes next.

And Then There’s Our Backyard Egg Flock

Not everyone here needs a breeding project or a fancy pedigree.

We still have our mixed backyard flock that gives us the beautiful assortment of eggs we eat, cook with, bake with and share locally.

And yes, they are spoiled.

Our flock is fed Kalmbach feeds, including Henhouse Reserve, layer crumbles and Love Bug, with Chickhouse Reserve for our younger birds. They also get plenty of extras from around the homestead — herbs, garden greens and vegetables, fruit, nuts and, of course, whatever bugs they manage to find.

Garden cleanup is particularly exciting if you’re a chicken.

Pulling old plants apparently translates to:

THE HUMANS HAVE OPENED THE BUFFET.

They waste very little time investigating.

As our hens continue laying, we also plan to have more of our farm-fresh eating eggs available for local pickup.

The Herbs Have Been Busy Too

While parts of the vegetable garden struggled with the heat, many of the herbs kept right on growing.

And that has meant plenty of experimenting in the apothecary.

Throughout the season, herbs have been harvested, dried and infused for future Willow & Branch products and for things we use here at home.

Calendula and lavender have been infusing in extra virgin olive oil. Tulsi, lemon balm, oregano and other herbs have been harvested and preserved. There are jars tucked away in various stages of becoming something else, which is probably one of my favorite parts of all of this.

There is something different about making something with an herb you’ve actually grown.

You remember planting the seed.

You watched it grow.

You harvested it.

And then, weeks or months later, you’re holding an oil, tincture, balm or soap made from that same plant.

That’s the direction I want to keep moving Willow & Branch.

I don’t want the apothecary side to simply be about buying ingredients and making products. Whenever possible, I want there to be a connection back to what we’re growing here.

We obviously can’t grow everything we use, but every year I want to grow a little more, learn a little more and become a little better at using what this little piece of East Texas can give us.

Now We Wait for Fall

Right now, the homestead is in that funny in-between stage.

The old summer garden has been cleared away, but the fall garden hasn’t filled in yet.

The peppers and herbs are still growing. Cucumbers and zucchini have been planted. Fall seeds are underground doing whatever seeds do while impatient gardeners repeatedly check on them.

The chickens are growing.

The young birds are getting closer to laying.

Herbs are drying and infusing.

New ideas are being scribbled down faster than I can actually get to them.

And after months of heat, we’re all waiting for that first morning when we walk outside and realize that fall is finally on its way.

A Real Homestead Is Rarely Picture Perfect

I think this summer has also been a good reminder of what I want this journal to be.

It would be easy to only share pretty baskets of vegetables, colorful eggs, blooming herbs and finished products.

And there will certainly be plenty of those.

But that isn’t the whole story.

Sometimes the garden does beautifully, and sometimes you finally pull the plants because the Texas heat won.

Sometimes you hatch a chick you’ve been waiting months for.

Sometimes you lose a bird you weren’t prepared to lose.

Sometimes something you’ve planted grows better than you ever expected, and sometimes you stand over an empty patch of dirt wondering why nothing is coming up.

That’s homesteading.

There is always something to learn, something to change and something that humbles you just about the time you think you’ve figured it out.

Willow & Branch is growing the same way.

Slowly.

We’re learning what works for us, growing more of what we use, building our flock, expanding the garden, experimenting with herbs and traditional preparations, and figuring things out as we go.

So while the journal may have been quiet for a couple of months, life here certainly hasn’t been.

There is a lot coming this fall, and this time I’m going to try not to wait until December to tell you about it.

Although I’m making no promises.

— Willow & Branch
Farm & Apothecary | Gilmer, Texas