Prairie Fire Farm

2012-01-08T19:01:00.007-06:00

oooo, we're so excited! Remember I told you about the neighbor whose cow had a little British White Park calf? I been thinking about that a lot, and hearing myself telling him to let me know if he ever decided to sell her. I like the easy keeping and moderate frame of the breed..... and plus, they are very cute. Maybe I shouldn't let that influence my purchasing decisions, but being proud and pleased with your herd goes along way toward making chores a pleasure....

Well, yesterday afternoon he called me up and asked me if I wanted she and her mama! I went straight over there and looked at them. We struck a deal, and today they brought them over. I wish I could have gotten better/closer pictures, but little Noel and her mama are still a little unsure and won't let us get too close before they move away. These are the best we could get today, but I'm sure they'll both settle in real soon.
And COMON!! JUST LOOK AT HER! Her name is Noel because she was born on Christmas.
That's her Mama on the right -pure black. The White Park bull that was in with the herd must have been very pre-potent, or in other words, he stamps his genes on every calf very clearly.
All my other cows came out of the same herd, though supposedly the White Park bull was replaced by a red angus bull before my cows where bred. Well, if my brown cow is close to calving, maybe she was bred by that same bull? I dunno. But it seems likely we'll have some calves that have different sires, so that's a nice thing to start out with in a small herd. Here are more shots of the girls all getting to know each other today:

.....

And to all a good night!!

A New Year Begins Warmly

2012-01-06T15:11:00.006-06:00

Happy New Year to everyone! Hope 2012 is good to us all :)

I bred Icy and Ridgett three weeks ago. In the hopes of having a more simplified, streamlined work flow around here in 2012, we wanted to breed them together so that they will both farrow at the same time,andwe will be able to consolidate the movements, pens, feeds, hauling, etc. of both litters at once. Last year we found that having too many groups of pigs to move around, plus their furniture that goes with them, and keeping dates and records straight got to be a pretty exhausting order while we both work full time at other jobs as well. Actually, we did try to synchronize both big girls last year, but only Icy settled on the first try. It took me two more cycles to settle Ridgett. I've heard that's not a bad record for a rank amateur, but I've improved my ability and knwoledge of swine AI since then. And it looks like I got them both 'in pig' on the first try this time, so we will be having baby pigs in April! Lots and lots of them! Here's the big girls today, telling me they wished I would shower them with cakes and candies every day. And don't forget the pumpkins.

Our brown cow hasn't shown any signs of being any closer to calving. It's just wait and see. She had me a bit worried there the other day. She had tears just streaming from her eyes. Not goopy, just wet,watery tears. She'd been 'crying' so much, it had actually formed an icicle on one side of her face! We finally figured out that because we'd had a big wind storm the night before,the tears were simply from her eyes being irritated and dry. The other two cows have much thicker coats and more furry protection around their eyes, so weren't affected.

The big pig feeder is working out pretty well. But there is one problem now with my supplier. They have been putting me off for delivery now for over a week. I checked everything out with them to make sure my plan would work before I even finished the pig feeder. Oh, sure, they can deliver a custom grain mix in bulk in the auger truck, drive up and fill my bin for me. Just call a day ahead. Great. Worked on that feeder for hours getting it finished. Risked life and limb getting it hoisted in place inside the hog pen.
Called them up for delivery, and I been getting nothing but excuses since then, from a guy who is sick, to a truck went into the ditch, etc. I don't doubt all these issues, and I understand that stuff happens... but man, I'm now stuck with a huge empty feeder in my pen, and I am filling it with a few 50 lb. bags at a time. That is no fun at all, since the opening of the feeder is 6 feet off the ground, and hoisting 50 lbs that high is no picnic. But it does work great for feeding. If the mill doesn't get here soon with that load of feed, my pigs will be too big to finish it all before they go to freezer camp.

I've had the last few days off of work, and it's been nice to have time to focus on farm stuff. When I asked for this time off long ago, I anticipated the weather being the usual harsh January stuff, snow, cold, wind. Perfect for sitting inside and working on books, records, taxes, catching up on reading, organizing, etc. BUT, the weather has been way too nice outside! It feels like October or March, not January.
We don't have a lick of snow on the ground. The grass is still even a bit green in most places. Temps have frequently topped out in the mid 40's. Today, it is 48 degrees outside!! Insanity! To paraphrase Dorothy, "I have a feeling we're not in Wisconsin anymore, Toto" I haven't had to plow my driveway or shovel my walk even one time yet! I took this picture to the right just today. When I hear people doubting the truth in global warming/climate change, I just say "Look outside" And that's where you'll find me these last few days -outside! It's too nice to sit inside behind a computer! I've put up new shelves in the new barn, put up electric fencing for the cows, fixed a door on the stone barn the big pigs busted, scoped out places for trees to be planted next year, deep cleaned the big girls' pen, moved big bales around, turned compost, spread gravel, put the chains on the tractor (wishful thinking), gone to the mill, the cold storage warehouse, the filling station, the hardware store, Menards, etc. Now honestly I have spent at least 4 hours or more doing some book work, and I know I have to do more before I go back to work Monday. But dang. Mother Nature has been making me an offer I won't refuse.

2011-12-28T21:28:00.006-06:00

Happy Holidays to everyone!
There's been a whole lot going on around Prairie Fire Farm.

A few weeks ago we finally got some bred beef cows, yay! They're not all the same color but they are pretty just the same. Our neighbor Ahren was buying half a herd from a guy, and brought these three home for us. We were told they are bred to a red angus bull, due for Spring calving. But the other day, I noticed one of the cows looks like she's 'bagging up', or her udder is getting bigger. A sign that birth is getting close. Hm. Maybe I was just imagining things. Then Ahren called me and said one of the heifers he bought from the same guy had just calved! And she had a beautiful little White Parks calf! They look like this:
So... I'm wondering if my cow is close to calving, she might have been bred by the same White Park bull...and that wouldn't make me sad!

A while back, Karen and I picked up a big old round outdoor hog feeder at an auction. These feeders are common in the more traditional hog production area, but scarce as hens' teeth here in dairy country. They are great in that they can be filled with feed and hold up to the weather and whatever pigs can do to them. I have been looking forward to being free from having to carry bags every day, and once the pigs get over 100 lbs., it can be a real fun experience being swarmed by them while re-filling our smaller feeders. Karen hates how my pants get coated with whatever thepigs had in their mouth and ontheir lips. They just gotta mess with ya.
These big feeders go for over a thousand dollars new! That's nuts! So we picked upthis old one, but likealla these big old feeders, the bottom had rusted out. I'm notmuch of ametal worker. Better make that not. A metal worker. But, I have a friend who is . She offered to make new panels and help me put them on. In fact,though she had just had shoulder surgery, she came over twice and brought help along, too! Can't beat that with a stick.
I learned how to use a grinder and a pop riveter, handy things. got thebottom pieces all on now, got it caulked up and just need to put a couple skid boards on the bottom to make it easier to move, and I'll be in business!
All those pumpkins are gone, been fed to the pigs. They were fun to feed, and they lasted agood while, but once the night time temps got below about 25, they started to freeze and then get mushy. The ratio of pumpkins to weather worked out pretty well.

Bred Ridgett and Icy two weeks ago, we'll find out if it worked this New Years' weekend.
Sold some of the finisher pigs from litter 3.
The weather is really weird. It's nearly New Years, and I haven't needed to plow the driveway once yet this year. There is NO snow on the ground. I remember years when we'd have a warm spell around Christmas, or of course the January thaw, but I don't remember many years, if any when we haven't had any apppreciable snowfall at all before January. It's great for working outside or driving, but not so great for plants who need the blanket of snow to protect them from the deep cold.

Butcher Shop 101

2011-12-09T18:41:00.012-06:00

does that look like white meat to you?

Ever wonder how they do it? How they actually cut up a hog/beef/sheep? What exactly does it look like back there? How do I know it's my meat? How do they track that?

I recently had the opportunity to come to our butcher's on the day they cut up our hogs, and I really learned a lot. I thought I'd share.
First, after the humane slaughter, the pig is bled out and then gutted. The carcass is placed into a large drum containing very hot water to be scalded, and large paddles rotate around the carcass to remove the hair. Any extra hair is singed off when it comes out of the drum. The carcass is then hung and each carcass has the customer's cutting order card pinned to it.
You can see the cards associated with each side as they rest on a cart (right) waiting to be cut up. This card stays with the carcass all the way through. The meat cutter takes the primals off the cart, looks at the card, and makes the cuts according to instructions. Here is a shot of a ham shank on the cutting table. We had a customer ask for the shank, and we worked with our butcher to get their meat cut exactly as desired. Reminds me of the iconic pictures of hams hanging in the windows of old world butcher shops... by the way, there are two 5 lb. ham roasts sitting behind it, just for reference.
Then the meat is packaged (either vacuum sealed or paper wrapped; customers' preference), labeled, and placed
into a box with the customers' name on it. Then it is rolled back into the freezer until pick up day.

I'd like to thank all the nice folks at Lake Geneva Country Meats for giving me that opportunity! I learned a lot more than what I've posted here, mostly about where each cut of meat comes from, and many of the various ways each section can be cut to produce different products. Those folks are true professionals who are skilled at what they do and take pride in their work. We take great care and pride in the way we raise our animals, and it feels good to entrust them to Lake Geneva to turn them into beautiful end products for our family and our customers.

2011-11-13T08:04:00.007-06:00

I've been enjoying the weather and light this Fall. Then I remembered that last Fall, we were consumed with the stress and pressure of dealing with different contractors for getting our hoop barn put up. Sometimes it was a real battle, not fun at all, but when we finally got things sorted out and got the right team on board, things finally went much better. Those obstacles and hitches meant my barn wasn't completed until until January when I had originally anticipated October. So no wonder it seems like this is the first Fall I've been able to look out and notice things like the colors and the light. It really is beautiful.
Having our own field of corn has really added to my sense of time and seasons and color, and made me appreciate Fall even more I think. Like canning tomatoes in late Summer or stacking wood in Fall, it just feels right to see the golden grains get harvested, to participate inthe big annual event going on all around us. In many real ways, it is a community-based enterprise. We are all in this boat together, and our collective fortunes rise and fall together.
In addition to a part of our pigs' feed, a years' supply of bedding was also produced.
Couple weeks ago the neighbor Dave chopped some of our corn stalks and baled them into large round bales. He is a real blessing to us. He's got all the equipment to get the field work done, lots of knowledge,and a really nice guy to boot.

Then I go out on the field with my tractor and bring each bale, weighing around 8-900 lbs. back into the barnyard area. We got 27 bales, which I felt was adequate for our needs, and left the remainder of the chopped stalks on the field to build organic matter in the soil.

Next episode: Something Not So Good

Hey Punkin

2011-11-12T07:38:00.002-06:00

Last Spring we decided it would be a great idea to plant a large field with pumpkins to supply the pigs with something fresh and yummy during the winter months. I spent quite a few hours manually hoeing, planting, and hoeing. And hoeing. But the weeds got the best of my punkin patch and after they disappeared under a jungle of grass and weeds, we just let the stocker cows in and they finished them off. We did manage to harvest a couple dozen from other spots like the garden and other random spots they sprouted up as volunteers.
Still wanting to get a pile of pumpkins, I put out the word to local farmers who had raised fields of them for halloween. I got a call back, and a few days later we had a truck load of huge pumpkins!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2011-10-30T20:05:00.006-05:00

Happy Halloween to everyone! We've been doing the traditional Halloween things- carving pumpkins, preparing costumes, the candy bowl, etc. One of my favorite traditions is to roast the seeds and lots of the 'guts' of the punkins. Just put some butter and salt on them, roast low and slow till crispy. mmmmm.
Tomorrow night is trick-or-treating. I'm glad our little town does it right, in the evening. The town where I grew up seemed to think we needed to do it in the middle of the afternoon. SO lame. Since we live out in farm land, we go into town and go trick-or-treating with friends. We always have a fun time, something I really look forward to.
It's also time in our neighborhood for the artists' tour. This is an annual event where many of our local artists put on an open house, and people drive from all over to see their wares. One of our closest friends and neighbor is on the tour. She is a renowned felt artist, raising her own sheep and making her own yarn and felt. We like to support her during her open house, when she has little time to cook or even eat. This year Karen made her a lunch out of some fresh home grown ingredients from our farm.

Fresh squash soup garnished with apple bits sauteed in bacon, shaved fresh ham, apple slices, and flaky biscuits topped with rosemary from the garden. Yum.

2011-10-29T10:11:00.003-05:00

It's mid Fall here on our part of the planet. The weather has been quite pleasant, with highs in the 50's to 60's and lows in the 30's. We're starting to get frost at night pretty consistently now. The trees are still putting on a show, at least the later ones which still have their leaves. So that makes it Get Busy Like A Squirrel time on the farm. The above picture is our summer crop of alfalfa hay put up in the hay mow (actually, that is about 1/3 of the total. The rest is on the other side of the barn, and rolled up into large round bales which are stored outside.) Been doing lots of other Fall chores, putting away hoses, water tanks, planting more daffodils, trimming branches, pecking away at the garden, weather-proofing barns and windows, cleaning out gutters, checking tank heaters, etc. ec.
It feels a lot less rushed and crunched than last year, when we had our big barn building project- replete with it's many problems and stumbling blocks. Even so, I am sure the night before the first real snow forecast, we'll be rushing to do last minute things. Like put away the hammock ;) Always kinda sad to say goodbye to hammock days.

Mid October

2011-10-18T15:39:00.005-05:00

The leaves have mostly turned here in southern Wisconsin and many have fallen already, though there are still a lot left on the trees. The forests and copses of trees here are at that "thinning" stage.... kind of like my aunt Margie's hair.

There was a touch of frost on the grass as I walked to the barn this morning. Red ripe apples on the ground, the smell of damp leaves and I could hear a bluebird singing somewhere along the fence line. I have to savor moments like these, because they are so few and fleeting. I think Fall days like this are perhaps our shortest-lived season. We seem to go from late Summer, which lingers for several weeks, to late Fall where all the leaves are gone,the ground is starting to freeze up, the cold winds are blowing but we don't have snow on the ground yet. As someone who has to contend with keeping animals comfortable, water liquid, and driveways and access lanes cleared, I will not vote for what's next as my most favorite time of year. Best to enjoy this as long as it lasts!

Full Circle

2011-10-05T17:13:00.003-05:00

Today was another milestone for us here. We took another load of pigs in to the butcher today, but this time it was the pigs we had farrowed here ourselves. This was our first home-raised litter. We'd been through a lot with these girls. It really feels like quite an accomplishment to have reached this point. In fact, it was almost exactly one year ago that we brought our two gilts home to our farm. It's really something to think about how far we've come in the last twelve months! Wow, have we ever learned a lot, too! Now with our third litter on the ground we almost feel like we know what to expect, heh.

Just a note: we still have a side or two left that can be purchased whole. This is the last opportunity to get pasture-raised Berkshire pork cut to your specs this Fall. If interested in a side, contact us at Prairiefirefarmwi@gmail.com ASAP! Of course,we will always have retail cuts and bundles available any time.

We will have more pastured Berk available in December!

Thank you to all of our customers. We wouldn't do it without you!

And Now, Pictures of Pigs

2011-10-01T10:07:00.005-05:00

2011-10-01T10:02:00.001-05:00

It's Done!

2010-11-22T15:02:00.009-06:00

What I Did For Indian Summer

2010-10-06T21:11:00.007-05:00

Sunny and warm, 72
Seems like the amount of rain we got during the year has been matched lately by a string of dry weather. It's getting downright dusty around here, but that's not altogether a bad thing. It's allowing the corn and soybeans to dry well and farmers are not having to rush and try to squeeze harvest in between bad weather. Better for the soil, too.
I'm enjoying this perfect Indian Summer weather, it certainly isn't responsible for holding me back from getting things done. I can only blame myself for that!
Over the past few days, I or we have put the bottom ring back on the grain bin and moved it over behind the pump house, moved the grain drill out of the pasture, but need to replace one tire on it. Flipped the pig hut back over so I can fix it backup and make it ready for habitation. Picked up a bunch of fence posts and mowed some of the pasture. Went to the feed mill and to Farm N Fleet, what farm break is complete without a trip there? We've been harvesting most of the garden, including all of our pumpkins, yay! We also harvested the bird house gourds, and some real big beans that have wild, splashy colors.
I went to town and got about two yards of mulch. Our friend Jason came over and helped put a lot of the mulch on the perennial garden, and we also did a lot of end-of-year weeding and trimming in our borders, then put lots of mulch on them as well.
I've also been spending a good bit of time working in the stone barn, building new quarters for the Berk gilts that will be here at the end of this week. I've pulled out wall coverings, swept, scraped, dug, pulled out stanchions, removed wheelbarrow loads of gunk, and have tuck pointed the walls, set posts, and poured about 3 yards of concrete in there, and I'm not even half way through in there. Plenty more work ahead in there. Coming up- putting up a hoop barn!

I wish the weather was always like this!

2010-10-01T10:05:00.005-05:00

Mostly sunny, 68 degrees
More beautiful weather here on the farm.
Had the last few days off. Been working on getting the yard into shape for Fall -picking up walnuts, walnuts, walnuts!!! Mowing ,weeding. Went and got a big load of free mulch from the local municipal yard to go on the borders, flowerbeds, and the perennial garden.
Smoked up a pork shoulder on the Weber Smoky Mountain (WSM) yesterday for a delicious pulled pork. I served it with a thick, slightly sweet and spicy St. Louis style sauce on the side. Wow, soo good! Karen made a batch of scalloped potatoes from our own home grown yukon gold potatoes, kale from the garden, and an apple crisp for dessert.

That shoulder came from one of our crossbred feeder hogs. It developed a nice 'bark'in the WSM and also a nice smoke ring, which is that pink ring around the outer layer, caused by slow smoking. It's the mark of meat smoked just right.
We sure do eat well!

2010-09-24T17:08:00.008-05:00

Cloudy, Very Windy, 68
Decided I'd try to post an image from the vantage point of our living room window every few days to show the progression of Fall here. This picture and the one from the last blog look pretty similar. That won't last too long, unfortunately. Watch the seasons change with us!

Been making some progress on cleaning out the side of the barn that will house our breeding pair of gilts. Karen says I have been obsessed with pigs lately. It's true I have been studying all about proper feeding and breeding techniques, farrowing, choosing sires, etc. Anyway, I have been dreaming about pigs, and find myself thinking I might like becoming a pig hoarder(!) LOL. Good timing on getting some breeding stock I guess.

Finished up the corral, at least got it done to the point that it will function as needed to load the cows out. They were watching me string up the electric portion, and started mooing to me that they wanted me to let them in the new place. So as soon as I finished up, or so I thought, I opened the gate. I had assumed

they would very slowly and carefully enter the new walkway that leads to the corral. No. It was windy today, and they were feeling extra spunky. they raced past me, kicking and bucking, right.toward.the.open barn. Oops!!! I forgot to close the barn door first! I managed to scoot past them and close it before any bull-in-china-shop incidents.
All of them but one seemed to really enjoy the new digs. This guy just stood on the hill and mooed. He just didn't trust it.
the others snacked on hay and corn we put in there for them, and Karen came out and even tried to feed them out of her hand.
Placed an ad to sell them today, so their days here are drawing to an end.

Mid-September

2010-09-17T20:28:00.005-05:00

Sunny, 74 degrees
We've been blessed with more nice weather. Very little rain, which is just fine. The leaves are just beginning to turn, some have begun to fall from the trees. When I sit next to the west living room window, I can hear the occassional thud of giant black walnuts hitting the ground. It sounds like far off gunshots.
The other night, we were in the house after dark watching tv (!), but I heard something outside. So we turned off the sound, and heard lots of gunfire. I quickly realized it was fireworks! So Karen and I walked to the top of our hill, leaned against the tractor, and had a great thrill watching the surprise show practically in our own back yard! We remembered that one of the local bars had a big shindig that night to commemorate September 11th, I guess. The fireworks themselves were fantastic. Cool!

Been working on cleaning up the barn and hanging gates. Got the gates on, just need to finish up with the rest of the enclosure for the corral area. As far as cleaning up the inside of the barn goes ('before' picture was posted last week), we've made some good progress there. Got most of the big 'stuff' moved out, several loads of straw taken out, and I managed to remove most of the stanchions. We are going to leave the mangers intact, to see if we can utilize them in feeding sows. Once sows are up to their full size/weight, they need to be monitored and fed individually according to whether they need more or less feed, to keep them in the best condition. But those mangers need some real cleaning out, they've had decades of neglect and crap thrown in them.

This morning after chores I got the pigs moved outside to the piggie palace. Getting them from point A to point B can be accomplished one of two ways: either put them in the trailer and drop them off at the new pen, or build a makeshift chute and run them out there. I opted for option A as more of a sure thing. We have had our fair share of piggies going right under/over/through what we thought was a pretty sturdy makeshift chute. It took me a couple hours to get the pen ready. Needed to go through and pull all the grass and weeds that had grown against the electric wire, put down fresh straw in the hoop house, rearrange and secure the tarp, go get the water barrel and fill it, get the trailer hitched, then set up gates from their pen to the trailer. THEN, get the piggies to get ON the trailer! This took quite a while, even after Karen came out to help with chocolate cake as an enticement. These pigs sure aren't as easy as Berks!

Got the hoop barn ordered this week, it should arrive in about 4 weeks! Woo hoo, it'll be just in time for the change in seasons! Also been getting lumber lists and quotes from neighbors, etc. on the foundation work. It's both exciting and scary. I'm nervous that of course there will be last minute changes or details that I haven't thoguht of, and it will hold up or even mess up the progress of getting the new barn up. Well, I tell myself that no matter what, having a new barn up, even if it isn't perfect in every way, will be a huge improvement over the facilities I am trying to work with now! So I'll just do what I can and hope for the best!

Finally Some Beautiful Weather

2010-09-11T08:14:00.006-05:00

Light Rain, 64 degrees

Early Fall has arrived and we have welcomed it with open arms. The constant heat was finally replaced with much more moderate and bearable temps about a week ago. At the same time, we finally got some dry weather which meant better for working outside, weeding the garden, mowing the lawn, the corn and beans in the fields are drying down nicely, etc.

Karen reminded me the other day that when we first met,it was on one of these types of days I told her "these kinds of days make people think it would be great to be a farmer." I keep forgetting I said that. The inverse, of course, is also true. When the weather is harsh I guess people either feel sorry for us or they think we are crazy.

The leaves around us are mostly still green and on the trees, but the black walnut trees in our front yard have been dropping their bumper crop of tennnis ball sized bombs all over our lawn and driveway. Birk and I have gone out and picked them up a few times, but looking up yesterday I realized we will have many more hours of walnut picking ahead. We haven't gotten around to actually using them for anything, I wind up throwing them in our campfire circle.

Yesterday was a pretty productive day for me. It was a gorgeous day-sunny, breezy, mid to upper 70's. Just so nice, a beautiful day to get to spend outside getting things done. My morning chores consist of cleaning out the pig pen (the newer pigs we got are in the barn until we get them vaccinated for piggy viruses, then they can go outside), and setting up a new paddock and moving the cows.

After that, I drove to the feed mill and chatted up the old guy that makes the deliveries in my area. Came home with 500lbs. of feed for the pigs, and 200lbs. cracked corn for the cows (putting a little bit of fill on them now as we are getting ready to sell them). After I unloaded that into the barn, I went back to work on the corral.

The corral is essentially going to be a fenced in area between our three out buildings that will be a secure holding area for cattle (or pigs). I'm pretty sure that there was something similar here many years ago, but any remnants of a fence there are gone now. It is another infrastructure project that needs doing now.

Other big projects that are on the to-do list include cleaning out the "chicken" side of the stone barn and making it pig worthy. This will be apretty big project, actually. Need to remove old cow stanchions, put up wall coverings and insulate, insulate, insulate.
This also means probable decisions and more work on the coop in the polebarn. One thing leads to another!

The big hoop barn project has taken it's first real steps, and I've been getting quotes from guys for the labor on the project, which will include trenching water and electriclines, and excavating and levelling thesite, pouring a concrete pad, and then setting posts, building the wall it will sit on, and then finally putting up the rafters and stretching the canvas over it. I'm hoping to be able to move in in about 4 weeks from now. This will give us lots more options for pigs here. And some covered equipment storage!

Spent a few hours mowing the lawn. Ran over and chopped up one of the garden hoses :(
Spent some time working on the proposed location for the corners of the hoop barn. After a delicious dinner ofburgers on the grill, Karen joined me in the barn for the tag-team event of vaccinating hundred pound feeder pigs! It was afun way forusto round out a weekend evening. Not as fun for the pigs. And they didn't get a sucker, either, but they did get a bowl of kale. Next time you have to take your kid in for their shots and they start crying, you could point out that at least they are not getting kale for a reward. A good lesson in the rule of relativity.

Rest In Peace

2010-08-30T20:25:00.004-05:00

They say every livestock farmer eventually has a loss or losses. I've been very lucky so far, having never lost anything bigger than a chicken. Even losing Frances the hen was pretty hard on our family.
But the school of hard knocks has been in session around here lately, replete with what must be a nun bearing a yardstick. Let me explain.
About a month ago, I noticed one of my beloved Berk piggies started limping. They were outside in the piggie palace, and they liked to sleep in a big pile so I figured maybe she got stepped on by another pig, or twisted something during one of their frequent racing matches. The next day, another one was limping a bit, too. Well, that was strange. The next day, a third was limping. This sent me to the internet, the phone, and email, wondering what on earth was going on.
Long story short, I got lots of different opinions, lots of differing thoughts on what to do. The vet said here, try this. I gave the three pigs a dose of medicine, but it didn't seem to make much difference. Things seemed to level off, and though a few of them continued to have a bit of a gimp, they otherwise seemed totally normal. Then about a week ago, my favorite pig Tiny just went down. Her hind legs stopped working. We brought her bowls of milk mixed with probiotics, mineral and vitamin supplements, and aspirin for any pain and inflammation. She drank it down readily. We kept this up for days, and she seemed otherwise totally normal, with a very good appetite, normal pee and poop, and she had no temperature. Another call to the vet. We tried a couple different antibiotics on her which made no change.

She was in a group of pigs that are just days away from their date with the butcher. I knew if she was down like this, they wouldn't accept her at the butcher (nor would I even think of trying to force an animal in this kind of condition off of a trailer and into a slaughter facility). I knew if she didn't have some kind of miraculous recovery, I would have to put her down myself. I dreaded it. I've shot animals for humane reasons before, even a big boar once. But this was my little Tiny One, she was special to me. As the littlest in the group of Berk weaners we got last Spring, Tiny stood apart from the rest. She had a very broad white splash on her face, and her ears were especially large, giving her a cute, clownish appearance. Her personality was totally endearing. Being the smallest, she knew she couldn't win any push and shove battles, so she would occupy herself doing other things while her mates were squabbling over anything (food, water, the best spot, you name it, pigs are very competitive). When the rush was over, she would quietly yet confidently walk up and get her share. But perhaps the best thing about Tiny was how she knew me and recognized me at a distance. Every day as I approached their pen or paddock, Tiny was always the first to see me coming off in the distance, and she would literally come flying toward me, giant ears flapping, smile on her face. I would call out to her, and once inside with them, Tiny would insist on a good rub. She would press her side against my legs and grunt happily. She loved a good scratching and rub behind the ears, but rubbing her belly literally made her go weak in the knees. As I rubbed her tummy, she would collapse onto her side, usually on top of my feet, grunting her approval, encouraging me to rub more and more. I could hear her saying "Oh, yeah, that's it right there...." She would have liked it if I never stopped. This, I'm sure is the reason for her very gleeful greetings.

Tiny also had a way of spinning and tossing her head under a water shower that made me sing Tina Turners' song Tiny Dancer to her when I was hosing the pigs down. She won a space in all our hearts. Karen often asked if we could keep her as a pet.
So the thought of having to shoot my little Tiny Dancer made me sick, and I kept putting the thought out of my mind. I did know, though, that I would have to do it at some point.

The bigger problem of course, was that I have been vexed by what this strange lameness thing really was. Was it a bug, a feed deficiency, something on our farm? Most importantly, what can I do to prevent this from ever happening to another pig (if indeed, it's possible). So I had decided that I would have a necropsy (animal autopsy) done on Tiny in order to get some answers.

Yesterday, after doing chores with the new smaller pigs, I went to the Berk's pens with a bowl of treats from the garden. I saw Tiny lying up against the fence. When I called to her, she didn't move. I knew she was gone. Dear, sweet Tiny had spared me having to kill her. So it's been a mixture of sadness at her loss, and gratitude that I didn't have to do the deed.

Tonight the vet came out, looked over the pigs, and did the necropsy on Tiny. Though we won't have the results of the samples for while, the vet is pretty certain this was something called mycoplasma arthritis. Having read up on this as one of the possibilities, and talking with the vet about it, I was reassured a bit, and of course a bit concerned, too. Good news is this not something that affects meat quality at all, it doesn't exist in the environment so it won't necessarily be a problem for us forever. He said pigs get it from direct contact with pigs that already carry it. I won't necessarily ever see it again. If a sow has had it and recovered, she can pass immunity on to her offspring, though there is no vaccine for it at this point. Symptomatic pigs can be treated with antibiotics that target the joints. We don't just give antibiotics lightly here, but neither will I withold medicine from an animal that needs it for health and humane reasons. Our ultimate goal is to avoid the need for them in the first place.

The other good news is that everything else on Tiny looked very good. Her liver was perfect with no blemishes, and no signs of any parasites.
So tonight as I head to bed, I am very sad to have lost a sweet pig, but I'm also very grateful that at the same time she helped me figure this dilemma out.

Thank you, Tiny. I will always remember you.

2010-08-17T13:16:00.003-05:00

Partly sunny, 79
Moved the cows and pigs last night, into adjacent paddocks. I've been surprised to note that though I planted the Dwarf Essex Rape mostly for the pigs, they have mostly ignored it. Instead, the cows have gone crazy for it. In fact, at first after I got the cows, they went straight for the stuff and I had a hard time keeping them off of it before it was tall enough to graze. Now I am letting them have at it, and they love it.

The garden is really producing lots right now, especially melons (all at once, of course!) and tomatoes. Karen has been busy as a beaver working in the kitchen and garden, trying to get stuff put up. with all the rain, some of our melons are bursting while they are still on the vine. Sad for us, great for the pigs!

2010-08-15T11:00:00.006-05:00

79 Degrees, breezy
The weather today is such a welcome relief. All creatures on Prairie Fire Farm appreciate a warm, not hot and breezy day.

I wanted to mention another issue happening here on the farm. Our bats seem to be dying in large numbers, and we have no idea what is the cause. We haven't sprayed anything, nor changed anything except put up some hay in the barn. Like every good old structure, we have had a resident population of bats here. We welcome them for the bug eating service they perform!

But this year, starting back in about June, we started running across dead bats on the ground. The first bat or two, we didn't think too much of it. Then we started noticing that we were finding as many as 3 or 4 in a week. One near the garage, several under an ash tree, one in the barn, more just in different places on the lawn. Many of these dead bats were really dried out, which seemed odd. Dessicated like they had been dead a long time, but we are pretty sure we found them within 24-48 hours since we regularly walk by, etc.

We have made calls to our local bat conserve folks and the DNR, but haven't heard much back that is at all helpful. DNR suggested in a letter it may be heat related, but I am a little skeptical of that. It always gets hot in Wisconsin in summer, and if it were the heat, wouldn't everyone be seeing these bats dying everywhere? I am very in touch with local bat calls, so I have a very good idea about whether this is going on in other places. I know of one other place - a house in Madison - that is seeing extraordianary die-off. Karen has been corresponding with the DNR, and we would love to help out with becoming part of a monitoring program.

The world's bats perform such a very vital function on our planet. Imagine the devastation caused by a million-fold increase in the number of insect pests. More pesticide use, which poisons more insect-eating animals causing a horrible destructive spiral is one very ominous and obvious result. Here is a link to a short article outlining a crisis in bat health across the country:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/60482932.html

This issue has us very concerned. This is real, and it is a wake-up call that the scales of nature are getting really unbalanced.

Here is a link to a local bat conservation group, they have LOTS of great info on their website about how to set up bat houses, what to do with bats in the house, identification of bats, etc.

www.batcow.org

Dog Days of Summer

2010-08-14T20:30:00.010-05:00

Hot, Humid, 90 degrees 68% humidity.

The weather and mosquitoes are taking top billing at any place a few locals are chatting. We have been enduring a very long, very warm spell. Looking back, I see it's been quite hot around here since at least June. Many years when we get real lots of heat, we are also dry, but not this year. In step with the last several years, this year has been much wetter than normal. Beginning to wonder if 'normal' will ever happen again. I have noticed many days lately that we are hotter than San Antonio. We have been getting hit with monsoon-like rains. Between severe rains, we get less severe rains, but almost every single week this Summer, it has rained at least twice. As of about three weeks ago, we were 7 inches above normal for the year, and we have gotten plenty more since then. So all this moisture means we are inundated with mosquitoes as well. They are crazy thick this year. Karen and I have actually had to retreat back into the house on several occasions, despite mosquito blocker clothing and full on DEET. I don't remember ever hoping for an early frost so much! It also means the lawn is acting like it's on steroids. I simply can not keep up with the growth of the lawn this Summer. Seriously, it could use a cutting at least three times a week. Even if I had the time to mow three times a week, we are lucky to find one afternoon when the grass dries adequately to be cut. I'm telling you my grass is growing at a rate of at least a half inch a day!! Insanity.

There is a silver lining to this, however. This great grass growing weather also is great for growing pasture! Honestly, I need more cattle to keep up. The 8 calves and the pigs I have should have been about right for a normal year. But in these conditions, I believe I could stock at least double that amount right now and be just fine. Of course, the trick is being able to predict the future. Since I have no idea when or if the water works might shut down, it's hard to justify getting more cattle at this point in the year. We have maybe two more months of growing left, not enough time to put enough weight on a stocker calf to make it worth it.

We took the biggest three Berks to the processor a couple of weeks ago, so now we are down to 5. We had brought them back up to Piggie Palace for when we were on vacation (much simpler and more secure for non-swineherding farm sitters!)and then we let them enjoy the shade there for the worst of the heat. We did move them back out on to pasture last week. They are managing the heat just fine out there. Of course we provide them with plenty of water both for drinking and wallowing. There have been a few days when I have spied their armor of wet mud, and I tell you, it does look almost invitingly cool and mosquito proof! Four of the remaining 5 have an appointment to be finished in September. This time, we are keeping one back for breeding! We've been planning on taking the big leap from buying our feeder pigs to farrowing/raising our own litters. We will start with 2 or 3 gilts (females that have not yet had a litter). A female pig can have two litters a year. It takes approximately 6 months from birth to finish a feeder pig @ 250 lbs. You never know how many piglets your gilt will have, but we are hoping for an average of 8 weaned per litter.

SO....doing the math.....that means that if we get three gilts bred in October, they will farrow in three months, three weeks, and three days (February). If we get 8 from each litter, that's 24 piglets. Common advice says we may lose a few along the way. So we hope to have maybe 20(?) pigs to finish exactly one year from now. of course, our numbers may be way off, one never knows how many live pigs they will have. I spoke to my Berk guy today and even though he is more experienced than I will ever be, he had a sow have 10 pigs last night, but only 5 were born alive. Stuff happens. I know that sort of thing is going to be pretty hard for both Karen and I, and frankly it's been a deterrent to taking the breeding leap. But our pork business is growing, we'd like to have more control of our genetics, and it really is time. So we'll just have to learn to be good midwives. Good thing Karen is one of the best there is ;)

We planned to buy all the gilts at once from the Berk man. But one of this current batch of pigs is just a really nice looking gilt. Big Girl, as her name implies, has shown herself to be made of great swine stock. To my untrained eye, she looked pretty good - long, rectangular, good shoulders and hams, good underline. Then we had a swine consultant come out to help us figure out how to expand our pork business, and she really liked these Berks, and confirmed my opinion of Big Girl. Now, our pig farmer has a couple litter mates to Big Girl saved, as well as some other nice gilts from other litters to choose from in September. So it feels good that I'm going to be using one gilt that I raised myself, and it will be neat to see how she looks compared to her sisters. I've arranged to go down with the trailer in September and pick out the basis of our breeding stock, and bring them home to give them a chance to all get to work out pecking order, etc. before they get bred.

Our consultant recommended that we get a boar simply because it is easier to get the girls bred. But we feel like it doesn't quite make financial sense to buy, keep and feed a boar for only 2 or 3 gilts. So we are going to try our hand at AI. Stay tuned!

In the meantime before our future piglets are ready, we will be short on pigs! Our Berk guy doesn't have any feeder pigs available now, so we will be getting a batch of crossbred pigs from our original pig man. He happened to call just as we were wondering where we were going to get more piggies. We know his pigs are healthy and good growers. These pigs should finish around the first part of December.

I don't know if I've mentioned this in here before, but a long-term goal of ours has been to put up a hoop barn for the pigs. A hoop barn can be deep-bedded, Swedish style for comfort and well-being of the pigs year-round. I don't know if we'll need it year round, but we definitely will love it during Spring, Winter, and Fall... I'm also hoping to be able to use one end of it for parking my tractor out of the snow. We are hoping to get this project underway soon, and we hope to have a hoop barn up before the snow flies. I have done as much reading up on these types of barns as a person can do, I needed to talk to some real folks who have used them. In the last two days, I have talked to three different farmers in my county with them, and it was very encouraging. They all love their hoops, and would build another. All of their hoops have stood for over ten years, and have held under our 100" snowfall years recently, so I'm convinced they are a good investment.
To the right is an example of a hoop barn.

2010-06-23T22:08:00.003-05:00

Hot and Muggy, 83 degrees
Things continue to move at warp speed around here. So much going on, it's hard to find the time to sitdown and write about it. Seems like I barely get to come in the door at 9:30 pm after doing chores and projects and it's time to go to bed so I can get up and do more the next day!
Last weekend,for Solstice, Birk got to visit with her aunt Shoshana while Karen and I got a little grownup time in with dear friends at their place up north. The weather cooperated, the pontoon boats did NOT break down(!) and Coach and I won at Freestyle Bocci Ball. 'Nuff said about that! Dottie enjoyed swimming in the lake where Mich taught her to swim! Here she is retrieving a swimming 'noodle' Thanks to our farmhand and friend Jason for watching over the place so we could get away for a weekend.

The pigs are doing very well. They did as they were told, and they rooted up the sparse, dry southeast corner of our pasture really well. I moved them off of there, and then I planted forage turnips, or rape. Planted it last Thursday, and it was coming up just great by Monday. Looks like that old Deere drill I got will do the trick pretty okay. Though I do need to adjust it better to try and get it down to only 10 lbs per acre, it dropped about twice that in the space I planted. I'll need to tinker with it more, but honestly, I'm pretty proud of taking a 50 year old piece of fairly complicated machinery (lots of gears, grease fittings, springs, coils, and cups, etc) and making it work. I could easily have spent ten times what I spent on this grain drill. So a few extra seeds in the ground are an acceptable margin for experimentation. Besides, these turnips are going to be grazed by livestock, not harvested by machine or anything. Their mere presence on my sandy hillside is good for the soil. I disced the hill to smooth it out after the pigs and to incorporate their manure, then planted.
However, they continue to really root up some very nice, beautiful soils and pasture. It's not very cost effective or rational to allow them to continue to turn lush alfalfa and clover into mud. There are two alternatives: take them off the pasture, or put rings in their noses. I think the rings are inhumane, I know the pigs don't like them. It makes it painful for the pig to root with it's snout. There is nothing more natural and instinctive to a pig than to root, and to turn that in to a source of pain for the animal seems very cruel to me. I have a very nice alternative for them, the piggie palace, so that is where they are headed during the next pasture rotation. Eventually, we will build a hoop barn for them.
And now, for the big farm news of the week! First though, I'll give a bit of background. In a previous post,I mentioned how we had over 300 bales of hay made from our pasture. Those are now safely stored in the mow of the barn. I don't have any cattle yet to eat the hay, and I'm thinking this hay will be for pigs and possibly one or two larger cows if we get some later in they ear. But the rain hasbeen generous to us this Summer,and my pasture is now again nearly waist high in most places. I'd rather get some feeder cattle in here to graze the alfalfa down, accomplishing two things - avoiding making hay(and the expense of that),and adding value to the standing alfalfa by turing it into beef on the hoof. If I buy cattle now, and graze them on all that hay,they should gain nicely andI'll have heavier calves to sell in the Fall.
I still may decide to make hay out of some of the pasture, but this way I have alternatives. So, that being said, I'm very delighted to say that I am back in the cattle business! I found some calves on Craigslist, and they were dropped off the day we got back from vacation. They are nice, healthy looking calves, most are about6months old. They are a mix of dairy breeds, mostly steers. Dairy breeds are plentiful in Wisconsin, that's for sure, and they sure make for a colorful herd, don't they? That little Jersey steer is simply precious. Almost makes ya wanna bring him in the house and make a pet out of him!

Ain't they cute???
I can't tell you how sweet it was to hear a little 'moo' and smell cows in my field again. It's just so good. And already they've provided us with a little 'entertainment'! Last night(their first night here) we had a big thunderstorm, including of course lots of thunder and lightning. I went out this morning to check on them, and couldn't see them. Not anywhere. Knowing from past experience that even large cows have an amazing knackfor "disappearing' in plain sight,such as in a very slight valley, etc., I didn't panic as I walked through our pasture. But finally, I had to concede that though I had checked nearly every where in our little pasture, they were GONE. I went in to the house to ask Karen to come out and help me look inside our fences one last time before I started to actually freak out. In my everyday job, the times I get called out to help locate or corral loose livestock is always under two circumstances:either they just got moved,or a bad storm panicked them and they stampeeded. And I had both happen at once. Oh, boy. We went toward the one corner I hadn't thoroughly inspected, and sure enough, as we approached, we saw some ears twitching behind the brush pile. There they were! Wheew! I now know that if last night didn'trun them off, they are here to stay. That makes me sleep good at night.

Pigs Can Be Rotated

2010-06-12T20:27:00.004-05:00

Overcast, 85 and muggy
Finally have a few minutes to write again. I wish I had pictures to go with these last few posts, but the danged digital is broke again. Sigh.
Last weekend I got the pigs moved to the next spot in the pasture. It is essentially about an acre away from where they were, down in the southeast corner. I wanted to move them there next, since that is our most sparse ground at the moment. Since it's not growing much forage, I want to try planting some forage turnips there. This is a big deal for me, as this will actually be the very first time I've ever actually tilled ground or planted anything - like a real farmer! LOL The turnips are a good choice for pigs. They grow very well during the slump in summer growth of other pasture grasses and clovers, and they are an excellent source of nutrition, next to alfalfa. The pigs will be allowed to graze the tops of the turnips, which will grow back if allowed a break from being grazed. Cattle can eat them as well.
So the pigs are out there now, helping to prepare the soil. And I must say,they are doing a fine job of it. Eating the weeds: I watched them tonight as they were really seeking out a common pasture 'weed', White Campion. They carefully sought out each stem of the plant, then they dug below it with their snouts and pulled out the taproots and munched them up. I'm guessing there are some good minerals or carbs in those roots. Or both. I am also really pleased with the distribution of manure in this paddock. Pigs tend to designate a bathroom area,and are known to often concentrate their dunging in a specific area. But they are not doing that on this paddock,the manure is pretty well evenly distributed out there. I think this is because I have moved their furniture three times now (shelter, feeder,and waterer) within the week. This keeps their rooting at a shallow level, and distributed in different spots (again,to bring up rocks,loosen the soil in preparation for planting). This ill make it easier on the tractor when I am ready to work the soil with the disc and then plant.
I have been told that it is hard to move pigs compared to cattle. Pigs like their home base, and want to go back to it. Plus,they dont like to cross a line where there had been electric. They can't see well,but they remember, and are hesitant to test it.
Since this is my first time actually trying to rotate pigs on pasture, I came up with my own ideas and thought I'd try them even if other guys said it didn't work very well.
First, I created their shelter and waterer as one unit,and made it mobile. I bought a heavy duty flat wagon, which is big enough to serve as their shelter and shade. It is more than adequate for the warm months. I put a 500 gallon water tank on top of it. This will be the resevoir I fill their drinker from. All I have to do to move them is to hook the tractor up to the wagon, put their feeder in the tractor bucket, and go.
So last week was my first trial run, and I knew it would be agood test. I was not just moving the whole herd of pigs to an adjacent area, I wanted to take them half way across our pasture,i nto a whole new world as far as they were concerned!
I got everything ready to move, and I removed the existing electric fence netting that had been holding them in. Note: turn fence offf irst!
The next thing was to simply start out fort he next paddock (which I had already put up, ofcourse, except for the section I wouldd rive in through. Like I said, pigs don't want to cross electric lines. Neither do cows or farmers,for that matter.) Making sure there were no pigs in the path of the tractor or the wagon wheels,I creeped outof there in low gear, calling the pigs. I slowly ventured out into the big open space of the Back Four, still calling them. Next Note: this is where it really, really pays to have tame, handled pigs! The pigs thought this was one of the best things ever! They followed right along behind the wagon,which remember,is their shelter. So me and 6 little black and white piggies slowly made our way throught he clover field. Two pigs stayed back for a while, worried about crossing the line. But finally, even they mustered upt he courage and came running to catch up with their herd. I steered into their new paddock, and set up the wagon, unhitching it from the tractor. The pigs had taken a bit of a detour and were sampling forages along the way. No bigdeal, I expected that. It gave me time to get everything set up in their new space for them. I drove the tractor out,and then I pulled out the treats - a whole case of organic milk and buttermilk from the co-op! I filled their treat bowls, called them once, and they came stampeding in. While they sipped their delicious dairy treat, I simply closed off the open gate, and the pigs were now moved into a whole new paddock. It took less than 20 minutes. Like I said, since they have been in this particualr paddock,I have moved the wagon within it 3 times,to get them used to being moved,and to keep their digging shallow and distributed vs. deep and in one place. So far so good.
I've been working on the half-century-old grain drill I got about a month ago. Cleaning it, greasing it,replacing feed tubes, fixing it up in anticipation of using it to plant the turnip seeds. I hope it does what it's supposed to. As I was scraping away a ton of grime and trying to locating grease fittings, I remembered the other peice of old John Deere machinery I owned at one time. It was a manure spreader,bought at auction. That thing was a consternation, always breaking down, and I hoped this drill would not also bring me frustration. Oh well, I didn't pay more for it than the scrap price,so if it's a bust I can always drag it to the scrap yard.
The hayfield is growing back really well as we've been getting rain and sunshine both. Our barn mow is pretty full, so I want to get some cattle to put out there and harvest the forage before it gets out of hand. It will be easier to let some cows eat the grass,and add value to the grass through them, then sell them in the fall when the pasture is done, and hopefully make a few bucks at it. Plus they will fertilize while they eat. A lot easier and more entertaining than filling the barn with hay!
Someday we'll have a proper beef herd, but for now, I need some ruminant mouths, and I'm not going to be too picky. Stay tuned!

Hay and Air Lock

2010-06-06T21:21:00.003-05:00

Rainy and cool, 72
To update on the first cutting of hay, it did get rained on the next day. We didn't get as much rain as some neighbors, though. In all, we got three big bale wagons full of hay off of our 5 acres, over 300 bales. Karen, Jason and I had the job of unloading all those bales and stacking them in the barn mow. It took us two evenings, but now the barn is so full of hay I need to add some supports under the joists! Some of them have started cracking under the weight.

We sure have been busy these days. It's hard to remember everything that has gone on. A few days ago I finally got around to fixing a little problem on my tractor, and wound up with a much bigger problem. The gasket on one of my fuel filters was a little twisted, so a small fuel leak had developed there. So I finally got around to fixing that. Took it off, set the gasket, replaced the filter, and the tractor refused to run. Somehow I had managed to introduce air into the fuel line. Must not have bled the vent properly when I was done. I monkeyed around with the tractor several times over days. I cracked the injector lines open while I cranked the engine, no change. I removed the fuel supply line to check for crud in the line, it poured out in a stong stream, mostly on my boot. I dropped not one, but two tools into the bucket full of spent fuel I had below the filters to catch draining fuel,and had to fish them out. I spent a lot of time covered in diesel. Diesel is oily and slippery. I dropped one of the glass sediment bowls and cracked it. My last gasp effort was to finally try replacing both fuel filters with new ones, and of course replace the broken sediment bowl. If that didn't work, I'd have to call in reinforcements. I finally got to replace the filters the other night as the sun went down. It was quite dark when I finished, so I re-opened the fuel line from the gas tank, and let her fill up. I let it sit at least 24 hours to ensure maximum fuel re-fill. And that did the trick! I sure was happy today when I got her to start up and run smooth for a good 5 minutes. Success!

First Hay Cutting

2010-05-24T15:26:00.003-05:00

Hot and humid, 90 degrees

Summer arrived yesterday. We went from highs in the 70's to 87-90 in one day.
My first concern in weather like this when the heat index is approaching 100 degrees, is for my livestock. No cows yet, so I only have to worry about the pigs. They have two sources of shade and fresh water available at all times. Pigs also need mud. They can't sweat like we do to cool off. Mud helps keep them cool, and it also helps protect them from biting insects. The mosquitos are not quite out yet, but we all know they are an inevitible scourge. Anyway, I've been going out to the pasture a few times a day to spray the pigs with the hose, which they love!! Tiny, in particular, loves to do the twirling pig dance under the sprinkler. They are doing fine.

The bigger news is that we finally got our first crop of hay cut! We got the name of a nearby guy that does custom hay from some neighbors. This guy came pretty well-recommended. We got a little rain on Thursday and Friday, so the plan was to cut on Saturday, as there was a good 3 day window of clear warm weather ahead. After a little juggling back and forth about whether he was or wasn't going to come Saturday after all, he said he'd send his hired man over around 3pm. At 4 pm, I started to wonder. At 5pm, I was really getting anxious since making hay requires not only cooperative weather, but good timing and lots of luck. I called the farmer, and he said he'd sent the guy my way quite a while back,and he should have been here 45 minutes ago. Hmm. Farmer drove up and said he went looking for the guy on his tractor, and didnt see him anywhere. He said he'd have to go find him, maybe he got lost! An hour later I got a phone call from the farmer saying he located the guy, guess he thought he'd stop home and cut his own place first. But then the haybine broke. Skidplate hit something and bent backward on it. Can't get parts until Monday. Farmer told me he'd call me on Monday and we'd talk about the forecast, etc. and go from there.

But today (Monday) as these folks are fond of doing, he just showed up with his 14 foot discbine! I had two thoughts: Yay, and I hope it doesn't rain in the next three days!

I watched how he mowed the field. That big ol mower/conditioner sure made short work of what had been 30 inch-high alfalfa and clover. It cuts it off at the base,then pulls the plant through two rollers that crimp or squeeze it, opening the stems up. This allows the hay to dry much faster and improves the chances of getting it baled before the next rain. So now we wait a couple days, and he'll come back to rake Wed. morning and then bale it Wed. afternoon. If the weather cooperates, of course. Keep your fingers crossed!

Pigs Got Out!!

2010-05-18T21:31:00.005-05:00

You bet they did, and they are loving being pastured piggies!

I had a 4 day weekend, which gave me the time I needed to get a bunch of chores and projects done so we could finally get our little Berks out onto lush lush pasture! I had to trench out a lead wire from their pen to the pasture. In the process, I accidentally cut through the dogs' Invisible Fence wire :( ugh. Something else to fix!

Once I had that wire in place, I layed out a combination of electric netting and two strand poly wire to create a square area inside the pasture. The alfalfa/orchardgrass in that section is mostly up to my knees, so I mowed a perimeter strip for the electro-netting and so the pigs could get an easy visual of where the hot wire is. Since this is their first pasture paddock, I wanted to make it easy for them to understand and prevent accidental escapes, etc. One thing I have learned over the years is it is worth it to do it right and stop problems before they happen. Which, I guess, comes after learning the things that can and will go wrong. From watching them go....wrong. After many frustrating hours of trying to chase errant animals back IN through an electric fence, etc., which I can tell you is about as easy and fun as unwinding a hairball, I don't want to go there again. Guess that's what they mean by older and wiser! A week or two ago, I got a flat rack from a nearby farmer. This is basically a large flat wagon on a big set of axles (running gear). This will be my platform for my portable water tank for the pasture moves, and it will serve as shade and shelter for the pigs as we move from spot to spot within the pasture. Then I built another hoop hut as additional shelter for them.

Once I had the layout of the perimeter of their first paddock set up, I built a temporary chute, or alleyway between their pen and the new pasture so they could go out there without wandering all over the yard. We did the same thing with our other batches of pigs when we moved them to the garden. These Berks moved out very nicely. I've always read that pigs will not want to cross a line where an electric wire was because they don't have great eyesight. But these guys did great coming over with just a bit of coaxing from Karen and I. Pretty soon, they were all racing around in the pasture!

Well, all except one, who suddenly appeared having copious foam coming from his nose and mouth! We didn't see him eat anything weird, but he certainly had all the symptoms of a pig that just licked a poisonous toad or something similar! I offered him some water,but he didn't want it. It cleared up in about 30 minutes, but that was weird. He's totally fine now, and we have no idea what it was he ate.

Have you ever seen a pig eat grass? I mean, really eat a LOT of grass?? It was quite amazing to me to watch these pigs simply go crazy munching away on the tall grass. I know now that pigs can and will eat grass, but I had never seen them fully graze like that! For such little pigs, it seemed like they must be stuffing their stomachs full!
Now, pigs are not ruminants, they have a single stomach like us. They can digest grass, but not as well as cows or sheep can. An adult pig can get as much as half her diet from pasture alone. But smaller pigs don't have as fully developed digestive tracts, and so cannot utilize grass as much as bigger pigs can. Plus, growing pigs need a good amount of protein, which is low in forage, and they need lysine, an amino acid they cannot manufacture, so we continue to offer them their regular feed while on pasture. the pasture,however, is particularly full of beta-carotenes and sugars especially this time of year. I'm sure the sugars in the grass is what's got them eating it like candy. this is the sweetest time of year, literally, if you are a grass eater. the brix, or sugar levels are highest on the lush forages while the days are warm and the nights are cool, and it is receiving plenty of moisture. Once the daytime temps go over 80 degrees, grass stops growing very much, and it lignifies. Which in plain English means it gets kinda starchy and bitter tasting.
My pasture are getting ahead of me, and I need to get some cows out there to eat it down, or it will go to seed and quit growing altogether.

Moving the pigs out is not all we got done. If you want to know what we do on our days off, or for those of our friends who think our life is just like vacation all the time, here is an incomplete list:
Fixed car door, pumped up low tire, took the truck and trailer to Farm & Fleet and picked up some gates and fence panels, put up 125 post insulators (still need about 225 more to go), planted three birch trees, weeded, watered and planted the vegetable garden, picked up the yard, mowed the lawn, scraped the rust off of a galvanized stock tank and repainted it, removed the bottom from the grain hopper to clean the rust off that, ordered a hog feeder, fixed the Invisible Fence, cleaned the house, smoked a ham, had family over for a nice day on Saturday. My brother helped me cut down a tree, and as I was hauling brush away, my mom joined us and even she pitched in and started hauling brush! That felt good, it was sweet to be working side by side like that again. Even Dad was there for supervision! We also had a little family time and got to play some badminton and had two nice campfires.

Next on the list is to build a corral for receiving cattle....!

2010-05-05T21:01:00.005-05:00

The wind continues to be the wildest I've ever known it. So many days these past two months have had winds in the 20-30 mph range, and I'm talking about sustained winds, not just gusts. It's pretty unusual for this part of the world. I sure hope things go back to normal soon. My pig hut remains on it's roof, I can't really even think about turning it back upright in winds like these. I saw a semi-trailer today that was flipped and twisted off the freeway. It's also been drier than normal, we're about 2.5 inches below our normal totals at this point in the year. We do get rain occassionally, and we're not in a drought yet, but I do wonder about what this pattern of dry wind will turn into.

Been slowly but steadily getting bits and pieces of stringing barbed wire along the bottom of the fence done, to prevent pigs from rooting under. I've had many of my "weekend" hours taken up by other stuff these past few weeks and I haven't had too many good solid days to just get stuff done. And when I have, well you know that's when it rains!

Billie has so far hatched 4 baby chicks! They are so cute, I'll try to post pictures soon. We have been letting the chicks dry off and get their feet while under Billie, then pull them out and put them in a brooder with food and water. (Speaking of their feet - each one has tiny little feathers on their tiny little feet - eeee!) Normally, the chicks will all hatch within a few hours of eachother, and when they are done, mama will leave the nest with them and lead them around the barnyard, clucking to them and showing them how to scratch and peck and generally hunt for food, etc. Unfortunately, I didn't know that Billie had started setting when she did. I think Karen knew, but she didn't mention it. Other hens were laying additional eggs under her, which meant that the hatch dates would be all stretched out over about a week. Now we are just doing it this way, and hoping that when all the eggs have hatched, we can re-unite the babies with their mama and she will still want to mother them. If not, it won't be too big a deal to raise them in the brooder.

We've been working on our flyer and other materials, took a soil sample in for the pasture, been working on long-term plans. Loaded, hauled and unloaded 60 bales of straw last week, it's good to have on hand. We use it for animal bedding and mulching the garden. Using my new Weber Smokey Mountain to smoke chickens for my first tries, it's been coming out super great!

Karen has been hard at work in the garden. We seem to have settled into a division of labor that suits us both, she doing most of the gardening and me doing most of the yard and livestock stuff. I am still waiting for the cold nights to pass though so I can plant this years' sweet corn!

This weekend I will use what time I have to work on getting the pasture ready for the little piggies. Well, the pasture is ready, the fences are not yet. Need to get it set up, and get the hog hut fixed up and back on it's feet! And then it'll be pastured pigs!

2010-04-29T22:39:00.000-05:00

Gee, but it's been a very long time since I've posted anything here. So much has happened, it's hard to remember it all or to know where to start.

My eye has healed almost completely, so no worries there. I was lucky.

The weather has turned nicer, and the pigs are outside now in the piggie palace. They LOVE being outside, and immediately started eating grass. The Palace is constructed with hog panels as walls, with a hot wire along the perimeter inside, to train them to electric so that they can be put out onto pastures eventually with just electric wires holding them in their temporary paddocks. That electric wire is HOT. Just ask my sister.

Got the barn cleaned out. There is a long, deep channel of missing concrete in the floor, that I want to try and get filled with concrete again before I put anything else in the barn. I had it pretty well cleaned out, but of course the chickens got into the barn and scratched up all the straw I had piled neatly, and had kicked it all mostly right into the crack again. One of our hens, Billie, is setting on a clutch of eggs. This is the first batch of eggs we've tried to hatch, so we don't know how things will come out, regarding the fertility of the roosters, or the mothering ability of Billie, etc. I sure do hope it works, there is something so sweet and cute about seeing a newly hatched clutch of fluffy peeps scurrying around a clucking mama, and seeing all the neat color combinations you get in a mixed flock like ours.

We went to an auction and I picked up an older hog feeder for a good price. It needs some work, but I think it's worth it because new ones are very hard to find unless you are willing to pay crazy too much money for them.

Now that the fence is finished and the alfalfa is growing, it sure is tempting to start cow shopping. I still need a few other pieces of equipment for cows, like a bale feeder, a water tank, wagon, etc., but I've been keeping my eye out for them.

We are still planning on building a hoop barn this year, but we may have had a change of mind as to where exactly to place it. Still mulling over the options. I did talk to a neighbor who has a quarry and he gave us a nice quote on the crushed limerock we'll need for the base. He also dropped off a load of the stuff for Karen to use in her perennial garden for the pathways. Our farmhand Jason has really been invaluable in helping us with projects like these. He did nearly all the work of digging out the base of the paths and then moving all the screenings into the garden. Last year we planted asparagus and rhubarb, herbs, strawberries and lots of pretty flowers in this garden, and it is really starting to come in nicely.

We planted a redbud and a magnolia tree in the front yard, a fig tree next to the potting shed, a climibng rose and a clematis next to the trellis at the perennial garden...Karen also planted a currant bush and lots of other stuff; I dont even know where she put them all!

Last weekend was spent in Chicago for some friends of Karens' wedding. Heather and Jay are really nice folks, and they have purchased pork from us in the past. They hired a very cool caterer for their reception dinner, and asked him to feature our pork! Karen made a special delivery to Chicago with 4 whole shoulders (that is about 88 lbs. of pork) so he could do his magic with them. The pork was lovely, and it sure felt good to have our pork appreciated like that. I felt a very personal attachment to this pork, since this was from our Berks, and I had literally spent hours with these pigs taking care of them and rubbing and petting them and making sure they had everything they needed. It mattered a lot to me that this was a fitting tribute to their quality.

Don't worry Mom, I can still see.

2010-04-11T15:26:00.003-05:00

Last evening we were getting ready for a nice weekend evening outside. I was preparing the bonfire area for a nice evening fire, and was about to get the coals going for a barbecue of home grown chicken on the grill.

One of the dried up old branches I wanted to put on the fire pile was too long, so I whacked it against a stump to break it up. Honestly, since Kate was standing just behind me, I actually said "Watch your eyes" and then gave her (the branch, not Kate)a good whack. In that same instant I got belted right in the eye - HARD by a chunk of stick that shot right back at me. There was a long weird moment of silence as I bent over, holding my eye in my hand. Kate didn't ask if I was okay, cuz she was still standing there with her eyes squeezed shut!!

Blood was coming out, it felt like there might be a piece of wood in there, so I decided it was best to go to the emergency room. It was a very reluctant decision as I knew it would ruin our fun evening plans, and I didn't want to do that. Oh, well.
Long story short, I got it checked out and luckily I just suffered a very bad scratch (or many, actually) on my eyeball. It actually looks worse today than in that picture because it has swollen shut. It hurts a lot, but I'll live. I was told the eye heals quicker than any other part of the body.
Glad I have insurance.

Post One Hundred!

2010-04-11T14:29:00.004-05:00

Sunny, Warm, 68 degrees
Woo hoo, a hundred posts!
The weather has turned nicer with milder temps and less wind..... Although, when my bff Kate arrived for a weekend visit, she brought snow with her as she always does. Last time, she made it snow in May, and once, she made it snow in September. Since she has moved to California, she always says she misses snow and hopes to see some when she is back visiting, And then it snows. I have to find a way to stop her from this madness.
The big project this weekend with an extra set of hands on deck was to get the hog hut flipped back over on it's base. After much contemplation, ideas involving pulleys, levers, coolers, hay bales and support posts were all bandied about. In the end, my idea to just lift and flip it with the tractor loader is what we went with, and it worked pretty well, considering all the things that could have gone wrong.

It survived it's flip and roll pretty well, actually. I built it to withstand hogs rubbing and chewing on it so I overbuilt it and used braces, screws and glue all over the place. I do need to replace th big 2X6 that goes across the front, and I'll need to either bend those brackets back or replace them. A few other patches here and there, and it'll be ready for hogs again!

She huffed, puffed, and blew my house over

2010-04-03T20:39:00.010-05:00

Sunny, windy, 56

Yesterday as mentioned, my sister Connie came out and helped with the wood. My sis and I have spent many many hours cutting wood ever since we were girls. We spent a good portion of our summers helping our dad and sometimes our brother cut wood for the fireplace. Our summer cottage had no heat, and no electricity until I was 7. We got "running water" inside when my grandpa installed a pitcher-pump on the kitchen sink when I was a kid. This was our father's house when he was a boy. His mother, our grandmother, was born in a logging camp. We still have the miniature cant hook the blacksmith made her as a gift. It is a precious momento. Cutting wood is simply part of our heritage.

Yesterday I was out in the field running the chainsaw, cutting up more of the wood that had to come down for the fence. Connie walked up, pulled her gloves on, and started grabbing branches and tossing them in the back of the truck. We immediately fell into a familiar rhythm, not needing to talk or even really look at eachother, concentrating on the work at hand and knowing what the other would do before she did it.

When the truck was full, I cut off the saw and we drove over to unload at the huge brush pile. The wind was so high, all we had to do was lift the biggest branches straight up into the air, and the wind would loft them onto the top of the pile. We remarked on how high the wind gusts were, must have been some 50-60 mph. While we were there, I heard a scratchy, metallic noise, which caught my attention. It sounded out of place. I looked around, and much to my horror, I saw my great big pig hut lying upside down on top of my brand new fence!! The screechy noise was the metal roof scratching against the fence wire as it rocked and pitched in the wind. No Way!

It had flipped up and over, right onto the one day old fence! The posts held fast, but the weight of the hut crushed down the woven wire.
I brought up the tractor and tried lifting it by the 2X6 cross brace. Once lifted, I backed up hoping to drag the house off the wire. Unkown to me, the wire was actually hooked around a screw in the metal roof. As I pulled back, the fence held onto the house, and the result was a snapping sound as my main cross member broke in half. Sigh. This is what it looked like.

After about an hour or more of Connie and I crawling under the house and trying to remove two sheet metal screws in a 6 inch space, encased in very tight wire squares while having dirt constantly blown into our eyes, we got the screws out, and we were actually able to simply lift the house up and slide it off using spare fence posts as rollers under it. There it sits right now. It's still too windy to even attempt to right it. Besides that, I am not at all sure how to get her back up again without destroying it. All I can do is come up with a plan, and hope for the best.

Today I straightened and re-attached that section of fence as best as I could. I think it will do to hold pigs and cows in. Went around the perimeter of the pasture and picked up some old junk in one corner. Put up two bluebird houses, cleaned the barn, changed the flat tire on the trailer, mounted the hitch wiring harness on the truck, took the tractor chains up to the barn mow and cleaned up the garage, and took Dottie for a walk up to the top of the hill. It was a beautiful spring day! We had a nice showwer all night last night, and the grass suddenly turned bright green over night. It really glowed against the bright blue sky.

2010-04-02T10:28:00.005-05:00

Partly sunny, warm, 79 degrees
The weather has been beautiful yesterday and today. Very warm, though breezy. Yesterday while the guys continued working on the fence, which is making great progress, Karen and I rented a rototiller and tilled the garden. Their is a cold front coming, and it's supposed to rain tonight or tomorrow, so we're hoping to get the peas and beans and onion sets in the ground before that comes.

I have been running back and forth a lot between here and Janesville & Stoughton getting supplies for the fence work. This morning I left early and made what I hope to be my last run for this project! Most of the wire has been stretched and stapled at this point. Just a few more lines of that to run, then put on the gates, and it's done. Well, their work is done, I still need to run a strand of barb wire at the bottom all the way around, otherwise pigs will simply dig under the fence. I don't know how well received the news that we are going to be putting pigs out there is by the neighbors. This is an area where even most dairies have gone to confinement for the cattle in the barns. We will be the only pastured hog raisers in our area that I am aware of.

Haven't had as much opportunity to cut up the wood in the pasture as I had planned, but I am about to get to that after I finish writing this. My sis is coming out for the day to help around the place.

Yesterday I noticed a flat on the trailer, need to deal with that one of these days before I really need it. But it reminded me of how far we've come in the last year. Whenever I have needed to haul stuff, and that has been plenty! lately, I am able to jump in my truck, and back her right up to the trailer or the stock trailer and get it done. A year ago, we didn't have a truck, or a trailer, and it made these little trips and projects much, much more difficult if not impossible. It sure is nice to have stuff. Like the ramps we got to unload the wood stove out of the back of the pickup. They were indispensible in loading and unloading the rototiller as well. Yep, it's good to have stuff.

This warm weather is welcome by the baby pigs as much as by us. I've been able to turn their heat lamp off, and they are really growing! They are really good at eating hay - here is a picture of one little guy half buried in a pile of it, looking for oats, wheat heads, and whatever else it is a pig can find to munch on.

More fence progress pictures

2010-03-31T07:44:00.005-05:00

Sunny, windy, 69 degrees

Here is a portion of the materials used for the fence.

The curvy line on the west side of the fence, next to the garden, partially done.

This is a far-off shot of the first half, or third, of the brush pile we made from the trees that had been growing on the fence line. Still quite a lot more to add to this! This is going to be burned when conditions are right.

Another sunny but windy day here, the guys are due back any minute. The posts are all in, now the work of putting in the brace posts and tensioning the corner posts. Then stretch the wire fencing and staple it on, then hang the gates.

The glory of hocks

2010-03-28T20:45:00.002-05:00

I like to keep smoked bits of pork (bacon trim, smoked shoulder leftovers, knuckle bones from hams) in the freezer. When I’m making a pot of beans, I’ll pull these out and toss em in to flavor the beans.

After today I have a new favorite strategy- I roasted hocks, and then used one in the large soup I was making to share with our neighbors who are building fences for us, and put the remaining ones in my freezer to make the next round of soupmaking even more convenient. It was my first time opening the packages that have accumulated labeled “hocks.” When we started putting our cutting orders together- for our own family use and for retail, we always ask for the hocks, neck bones, and lard back. We render the lard ourselves and I’ve never had pie crusts turn out as fabulously as they have since I’ve been using the lard. But while I’ve been using parts of a pig that I’ve not had the opportunity to see before let alone cook with, the hocks were both the most exciting and where I experienced the most resistance. I thought enthusiastically about the collagen and nutrients and minerals that Sally Fallon got me excited about but I worried about seeing the feet. Funny thing- I was afraid of pigs’ feet. Maybe the hooves would feel ‘dirty’- how do they get them clean? Or maybe it was the stigma of seeing and cooking with something that was somehow a more intimate reminder of a hog I cared for and whose belly I scratched. But I can’t tell you my relief when I opened up the package and did not see the cloven hooves, but neat rounds of the foreleg, with considerable meat, circling mineral laden bones, and ensconced with the fat and rind that I knew would pop and crackle and carmelize in high heat. So please, get the hocks back- face your fears…. The meaty chunks were mouthwateringly tender and flavorful. The stock was rich and creamy and all we needed for our meal after a long day working in the field cutting and stacking wood, unloading lumber, and digging in the garden was a small bowl of beans with a neat round of this pork topping it off. We have run out of garlic and used store bought but for this late March meal, we had our own onions, lemon thyme, and of course, the pork hocks. For cold and tired farmers getting re-acclimated to all this physical work that comes with springtime, it was perfect.

White bean soup with lemon thyme and kale
1 lb great northern or other bean, soaked overnight after having been brought to a boil briefly. Change the water before cooking.
4 cups water or stock ( the soup gets rich enough with if you just have water but is even better with stock).
2 Tb. Olive oil
One medium onion
One leek
6 medium carrots, diced
One bunch kale, chopped
1-2 T. lemon thyme (dried in this case)
One – two roasted hock sections (I trimmed the fat on one of them)
4 cloves garlic
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Saute the onions, leeks, until fragrant and translucent. Add the carrots, and pour in the beans with 4 cups fresh water or stock. Add the roasted hocks, thyme, pepper and later, the garlic and kale. Cook on a simmer (don’t do a boil) for about 2.5 hours or until beans are tender, adding more stock or water. To serve, remove the hocks and discard the fat and bones, leaving the medallions of meat. Put one medallion in each bowl, grind more fresh pepper over, fresh herb sprigs, and a dollop of thick or sour cream.

*To roast the hocks
Rub hocks with salt and pepper and rosemary or herbs as desired.
Roast at 425 until deeply browned, about 30- 45 minutes.

I smell like creosote and gasoline

2010-03-28T18:45:00.007-05:00

Cloudy, windy, 50

The fence project is coming right along. The above is a "before" picture. Posts are now sprouting up in a neat line along the edges of our pasture, giving definition and a surprising sense of security. Karen and I both remarked how just walking around out in our "back four" last night felt different now that the posts were up. It felt good and promising.

I have to say, even though this fence is not at all cheap, I am so glad we hired this out. First of all, the guys we hired are doing an excellent job. They have been working without breaks in a wicked cold wind for the last two days. And they know what they are doing. This fence will be tight and strong, the kind that will let us sleep soundly at night.

Second, it would have easily taken us a month or more to accomplish all this work. And it would not have come out looking half as nice, I'm sure. Plus, there's the physical wear and tear on us old girls that is not as easily rubbed out and forgotten a day or two later. So even if it costs me a month's wages, it's a month that I am mostly spending doing other productive things and not tearing out my hair. Or my rotater cuff.

As it is, I am dog tired tonight. Yesterday was spent doing chores, and go-fering. I noticed an ad on Craigslist as I drank my morning coffee for a one ton bulk feed bin, just what we need here. For perspective, this is a small grain bin, a hard to find size. So I emailed right away and they said I was the first one, and that they would take callers in order. So after cleaning the barn, I drove down to Janesville and picked up a BUNCH of fence posts. The truck and trailer's tires were looking a little flat and I rode pretty low all the way home, but I made it. As soon as I unloaded all that stuff, I headed for the town where the grain bin waited, about 65 miles away. We loaded it up on the trailer, and I towed that baby home. Karen and I unloaded it from the trailer. I laid it on our side hill next to the barn, so I can get inside it and hit it with a wire brush and get to a little hole in the bottom. That reminds me, I need to pick up some JB Weld. That stuff works.

Today I did chores first thing again and met with the fencing guys to discuss layout, etc. Then I jumped back in the truck and went back to town for the rest of the 6" x 9' posts, another roll of fence wire, and some moer 4x4x10 brace posts. Unloaded all that and then Karen had lunch waiting for all of us, including the fencing guys. They are nice guys, we like them.

After lunch I grabbed my chainsaw and headed out to the pasture to cut up the three trees that the guys had to bring down. I was joined by our neighbor Larry with his chainsaw, and our new farm helper Jason. The three of us slashed and cut and hauled wood for a couple of hours. Jason and I made a huge brush pile in the middle of the pasture which I will burn when the conditions are right. I was even able to cut some nice pretty little log rounds for my dad to turn into wooden bowls on his lathe. That man lives to turn wood!

We still have a few tree-lengths to buck up out there, and at least one more tree has to come down. I stacked the logs into a makeshift pile waiting to be split some day. Karen and Jason spent a little more time in her perennial garden digging out pathways.

After putting truck, trailer, and tools away and heading to the barn for evening chores, I began to realize how tired I was. Long day, but lots sure did get done.

2010-03-26T13:40:00.004-05:00

Sunny, windy, 45 degrees
It's been nice but chilly outside. It's strange to think 45 degrees would feel so cold just after winter, maybe it's because we got spoiled by that week of 50's and 6o's.

Things are getting busier here on the farm. We are finally moving forward with our big fencing project, hooray! We've been gathering materials and waiting for a neighbor to have the time to get to it. Finally, after several months of waiting, we felt we had put in the due neighborly patience and gave up and we placed an ad on Craigslist for fencing help. We got a couple of local ex-farmers with the type of equipment and know-how, plus the ability to show up and get started right away - exactly what we were looking for. We are getting started tomorrow morning. I'll try to take plenty of pictures to document progress. After all, a good fence is something one only hopes to do once in a lifetime!

We will be putting up woven wire, or field fence as it's called around here, around the outside perimeter of most of our owned land, at least that which is currently hay and crop ground. It totals about 4 acres. This is where the pigs will be pastured this summer!

The last of the snow melted last Sunday. The grass is slowly greening up, and the songbirds are returning in droves. The cranes have been back for a while now, and they add their strange rising, guttural trumpeting to the geese honking and the pheasants squawking across the fields. It can sure get loud out here at times, especially at dawn.

I pulled the hog hut out of it's winter resting spot in the garden, so we can be ready to till the garden soon. The ground is just about dry enough now. If it weren't for fencing, I'd say we would get to it this weekend.

The garlic is coming up now, and I've pulled the layer of straw mulch away from the green tips poking up out of the ground. I had to put up a quick little wire fence around it though, because the chickens were always going in there and scratching up the straw and picking at the tops of the garlic! Hopefully they were getting bugs and weed seeds, too!

The new pigs have settled in nicely to their digs. It's still too cold to put the babies outside and they still even have a heat lamp on in the barn. I think as they grow and the weather warms a bit it won't be long before they are ready to go outside. They are very fun to watch frolic and play like puppies. One night I was checking on them, and one of them threw up. Now I have never actually seen a pig throw up and didn't know if this was serious or not. I took the little guy's temp (normal)and watched him for a good while. He ate, pushed his brothers around, drank, and acted totally normal. So I guess baby pigs can be like puppies and human babies - just ralph for no apparent reason, then go right on like nothing happened! I think, for that reason, I will name that guy Ralph.

2010-03-20T21:09:00.005-05:00

Partly Sunny, 41
Woke up to a blanket of fresh, wet snow to herald in the first day of Spring. Not only did we not really need it, but we personally really didn't need it on this particular day. Today Karen and I split up and we both got to bring home the bacon. While she headed to Lake Geneva to pick up the fresh pork ordered by our charcuterie guy (more on that later), I headed to our Berkshire breeder for more piggies!

Nick the charcuterie guy wanted more finished hogs in a month, so in addition to the 8 little weaner pigs, I picked up 3 more heavy gilts. These are actually littermates to the three boys we just had. Those were just awesome pigs, I have to say. A perfect combination of wonderful type, and a very docile disposition. Very tractable and cute as anything to top it off. So I didn't hesitate to say yes to these gilts.

But the little piggies are of course even more adorable and fun to play with. They are just weaned, about 35 lbs., and they are used to a faily warm barn. I was concerned about putting them into a cold trailer for the ride home, and naturally as I mentioned, it had to snow last night and be cold and wet today. But they seemed to make th ride home just fine, tough they were shivering a bit when we got home. Poor babies, I went right inside and rigged up a heat lamp for them. They are currently snuggled in a deep pile of straw beneath the heat lamp. I think they have already forgotten the chilly ride home.

Actually, during planning for their arrival this past week, I had been planning on putting them into the outside pen in the Piggie Palace. It wasn't until a day or two ago that I decided to put them in the barn because of the weather forecast. I'm sure glad I went that route, it would have been a disaster if I'd tried to put them out there. They're just too little to handle that kind of weather at this point.
As soon as their size and the weather converge into a perfect porcine symmetry, they will go outdoors, where they will live the rest of their lives nosing through roots and shoots and eating grass and alfalfa.

Karen had an equally productive day. She delivered two whole fresh hogs to Nick, who will be turning them into tasso hams, proscuitto, mortadella, and sausages and the like for his store on the north side of Madison. They spoke about furthering our business partnership, and all the ways we could work together. We may explore the possibility of him crafting some hams and sausage for our label. Karen said he would also love to buy fresh herbs from us, which he would use in the sausages. He told her he would also be interested in getting duck and chicken from us, which really has Karen thinking! Uh oh! There's a lot of opportunity knocking there, for sure.

Luck o' the Irish

2010-03-17T20:07:00.002-05:00

Sunny and 65

Today I feel I accomplished a bit of a milestone of success on the farm. I managed to get three 300 lb. pigs loaded onto a trailer by myself, then take them to the butcher and get them unloaded also alone, without even breaking a sweat. I think I may have worked out a system that works pretty well.

Essentially, I backed the trailer up to the barn three days ago, and then I covered the ground/floor/alleyway leading up to the trailer with a thick layer of straw and hay. That way, the pigs only saw a smooth, soft incline toward the trailer which is about a foot off the ground. Pigs dont like changes in their footing. After I secured the alley way with gates, and the boys were very curiously standing at their pen gate wondering what was going on, I opened up their pen and let them in the alley. How long did it take for them to try getting on the trailer? Less than 2 minutes! Of course, this was a practice run, and part of my overall plan. I wanted them to get used to coming and going off the trailer with no stress. I just didn't think it would be THAT easy! I guess the time it takes a pig to get on a trailer is directly inverse to how badly you need it to get on! After letting them frolic onto and off the trailer a few times, and root and discover the nest of fresh chicken eggs some enterprising hen had left in there, I put them back in the barn. They were gonna WANT to get back on the trailer the next time!

So last evening, as the sun was setting, I once again opened up their gate to the trailer. I stood quietly and gazed at them as they sauntered past me, and right back up onto the trailer, after only a few sniffs and nudges at various points along the way. I closed the door behind them, and they were on the trailer! Woo Hoo.
I fed and watered them in there, and they spent the night snuggled in the thick layer of hay. Normally Karen helps out with loading and unloading, but she was called away at the last minute for a family emergency, so it was all up to me to take them to town alone. At first I was pretty anxious about unloading alone, but my anxiety waned as things progressed.

At the butcher shop, I opened up the back of the trailer and called to them. Because they had been on the trailer now for about 16 hours, I think they were anxious to get out. Another element of my plan. I also brought along a bucket of their favorite treat, large crabapples from one of our trees. I simply stood outside and called them off, and off they came, and quietly munched their way onto the scale. Wow! Success!! I think I have found a method that can really work to eliminate any need for extra hands, gates, bruised knees, being flipped into the air, etc! Of course, these three barrows were also the easiest handling, most laid back pigs I've ever had, so it could simply have been them. We will see, as I am going back on Saturday to pick up more Berks from the same breeder. He also raises other breeds and crosses, but I did notice that the Berks were the first ones to come up to the gate to check me out and say hi, and they all did so in a very calm, sweet sort of way, not an aggressive, gate rattling, challenging kind of way. Have I mentioned lately how much I like these pigs?

It's been beautiful Spring weather here for the last week or so. A gentle warm up from the low 40's last week to the 60's the last two days! These are the days that make Cheeseheads wear shorts and sandals. I saw two women sunbathing today while enjoying a beer in front of a tavern. Happy St. Patrick's Day! I do believe global climate change is very real, and I'm very concerned about the overall consequences, but every cloud has it's silver lining, and if it means balmy days in March, I'm not going to complain about that. However, this is just a tease, as we will be reminded that we do live in a northern state after all. The forecast is for a cold front to come rolling back in, and dump several inches of snow on us this weekend. Ugh. And just when I'll be unloading new pigs, too!

Last week I was laid low, very low, by a nauseating stomach virus all week. It's been going around my office, and it's a bad one. Too bad they didn't take any precautions with this virus like they did H1N1. This one really makes you suffer. But today I am finally all better, and got a lot done. I took about 5 wheel barrow loads out to the compost pile, pruned all the 'eye pokers' in the piggie palace, worked on the tarp for the hut, and brought a few more wheel barrow loads of fresh clean straw out from the hay mow and threw it in the hut. I'm getting it ready for new little piggies this weekend. I wish we were going to have better weather for their first few days, I like to have mild weather, especially for little ones to minimize any stress on them due to the move, but I can't do much about the weather. I guess that's another reason why farrowing our own pigs would be a plus. We are getting to the point in the number of pigs we are finishing per year that it may make sense for us to keep sows and have our own litters. Stay tuned!

More conferences!

2010-03-01T21:18:00.004-06:00

Sunny, 36 degrees

The first day of March, can't believe it's finally here! March is a good month, in no small part because it is not February, which has to rank as the worst in my mind. Instead of seemingly endless dreary cold days, the snow on the sides of the roads blackened with soot and pollution, March brings us the first good look at the bare ground again. And that is itself a welcome sight. Many birds return, and we know for sure even though we may still get the occassional snow storm, Spring is truly on it's way.

This past weekend we attended the 21st annual Organic Farming Conference in LaCrosse, WI. This particular conference focuses on organic and sustainable farming practices of all types, from small grains to vegetables to livestock, grazing, etc. So this was a much bigger gathering than the grazing conference I went to last week, probably 6X as many attendees. People from all walks of rural life came from all over the country to hear the latest on research and practice, see the vendors and speak with pioneers in the field and newbies just dreaming of an agrarian lifestyle. Presenters were both university researchers and farmers themselves, and everyone had something interesting to say.

Karen and Birk and I all had a great time. There is a wonderful childcare center there, and during meals and other times when we did have Birk with us, she couldn't wait to get back to the other kids.

I attended workshops such as Three Years of Raising Hogs In An Organic Apple Orchard, USDA Conservation Programs for Organic and Transitioning Farmers, Multi Species Pasture Stacking, Alternative Hog Production, Parasite control in Organic Livestock, and Dairy Young Stock Disease Prevention. I learned something in all of them. There was also a great book store there, with a selection to make a small sustainable farmer want to break the piggy bank! I know we bought at least two books. One big book I got was on soil science. I have known for a long time that I need to learn more about soils and what's going on down there. It's not that I haven't been interested, it's just that I know it's a very big topic and it won't be easy to stop once I scratch the surface so I've been purposely focusing on the critters and relationships I can see above ground. But the time is right, now. Soil science is one of those things I wish I could learn in a classroom, at least parts of it. It's so vast, and complex, and important I just think it would be great to be able to focus several weeks on it at a time, as well as interact with an instructor who has lots of answers. Maybe some day I will be able to take just such a class at a local community college. Maybe after I take that course on welding I've always wanted to take... so many topics, so little time.

I've always enjoyed training conferences, whatever the topic, if they were put on even half decently. These last two weeks have got me really excited again about our future plans for Prairie Fire Farm. I'm so glad that Karen came to this last one, too (actually, she'll tell you that I kind of balked at going to this one, and thought I'd only go to the grazing conference, but that is another story). It was a great way for us to share the excitement, and it really has helped us talk through some planning roadblocks we've been experiencing. (Mostly due to my overly cautious nature) So Karen and I are making headway together and that feels great. I'm sure the other families we saw there also enjoyed a similar boost in morale and energy. Now we have to wade through, READ, and put away all the information packets, flyers, brochures and newsletters we picked up!

Snout to tail is the route chefs are taking with the whole pig these days - The Boston Globe

2010-02-24T10:55:00.002-06:00

Thanks to friend Dawn for making me aware of this article. Foodies and charcuter's (is that a real word?)should really enjoy reading this. I believe we are witnessing a veritible renaissance for the pig. What a happy thing, both for the welfare of pigs whose lives are sure to be improved by the attention to more humane and pig-friendly husbandry practices, and the farmers who take the time and make the effort to raise their hogs sustainably and humanely. It is much harder work to raise pigs this way vs. in a confinement barn, but the results are worth it. Farmers who raise their animals in a way that is respectful of the animals and our envinronment should be paid for their efforts. When this happens, it encourages more such responsible and eco-friendly enterprises. It is my sincere hope that this little revolution in the countryside will challenge the polluting corporate farms for both market share and acreage share. It is at least nice to think about small green family farms springing up faster than huge mega confined animal factory farms...

Snout to tail is the route chefs are taking with the whole pig these days - The Boston Globe

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Farm Conference Season

2010-02-20T19:11:00.003-06:00

I just got back from a two day conference held by Grassworks, in Wisconsin Rapids. I feel energized and inspired! It felt so good to mingle and simply be amongst others who are working small farms. Many are direct marketing their meats and other products as we do, and all are part of the agricultural revolution that is quietly taking place out here in the country.

This one focuses on grazing animals on grass/forages as an alternative to a livestock system in which animals are fed on grain mixes that are brought to the animals, which are often confined to a building or small concrete lot. (aka conventional)

I went to workshops on outwintering livestock, beef genetics for grazing farms, sheep and goats on pasture, product pricing and marketing. At least as valuable to me were the networking opportunities and connecting with lots of wonderful people. The folks at these conferences are really down to earth, smart, interesting people. For folks who have never been to a farming conference, you might imagine the rooms filled with stereotyped caricatures of your imaginary farmer, but let me clear that up. This is a very diverse group of folks. I would say it was almost equally divided between male and female, and also between younger (20's)folks, those in their 30's and 40's, and quite a lot of the wise older folks with gray or white hair and beards. Some were very conservativly dressed, others had a bit of renegade written on them. Some were hip, some were totally square. The thing we all had in common is that we share a passion for farming, and we are all open to hearing about ways to farm that preserve the land, air, and water, while producing healthy food for people. It's really very heartwarming. I actually got choked up a couple of times, thinking about how grateful I was to be there, and participating in this. I had three wonderful meals, based on meats and dairy products that were provided by members in the room. Now that's walking the walk. At every meal, I had very engaging and interesting conversations with different people.

One thing that was really of personal interest to me, was the conincidence that I happened to sit next to two seperate, different people who dabble in charcuterie! I'm sure that if we surveyed all 300 people in the room maybe 10% (if that) would even know what the word means. BUT, I predict that more and more people will become familiar with charcuterie in the next five years. And I intend to serve that market!

2010-02-07T16:41:00.002-06:00

Overcast, snow showers, 18 degrees

Well, here we are starting the second week of February already. Though time flies when looking at the calendar, I am ready to see some signs of Spring. From the sounds of the forecast, which is calling for several inches of snow this week, I will have to be patient.

While I just devoted a whole post about our new Berkshire pigs, there is other stuff going on so I thought I'd put it in another post altogether.

Karen is in the kitchen as I write this, furiously baking. She has made breads, muffins, and now is baking a pie using our own lard for the crust. Can't wait to see how that turns out! She is making a peach pie, from the peaches she canned this summer. MM.

Birk is enjoying a rare day of cartoons until we turn on the Big Game. When the Packers aren't in it, I don't often care too much who wins, but this year I am rooting for the underdog Saints. Yes, it's their first time, and that is always fun to watch, plus ya gotta pull for a team that didn't even have a place to play a few years ago, and managed to overcome so much local devastation. But the biggest reason I am a big Saints fan today is that they went ahead and knocked the stuffing out of Old Brent, whom we will never forget here in Packerland. It is the only way to beat him, and beat him they did. I tip my green and gold hat to them.

I mentioned the peaches and the lard - we are still actually eating from our garden and fruit trees. We still have a good dozen or more garlic bulbs left, as well as some onions and quite a lot of potatoes. The onions are holding up well, particularly my favorite, Red Zeppelin. We have gone through the garlic pretty quickly with all the cooking that goes on here, and we are down to the skinny bulbs, but they are there nevertheless. The potatoes are holding up very nicely, and we may have enough to plant with again the Spring, which is an added and welcome bonus. Most everything else that we are still using was canned or frozen. Today Karen opened up one of the last jars of our own sweet cherries, to be put into muffins for Birk's class.

The sausage making results came out very well. The apple brats were very tasty and just the right amount of sweet. Pork pairs so well with so many different types of flavors. The sweet italian variety came out pretty good, too. I used the recipe from Charcuterie, though I would cut back a bit on the salt next time. We are going to be eating these sausages as SuperBowl watching food. With our own red onions atop, of course!

I got a Weber Smoky Mountain smoker a few weeks back, and am just itching to try it out, but it's been a bit too cold out yet, which would interfere with the meats' ability to cook properly at this point. I picked up a book called Low and Slow from the library, which is essentially a tutorial on how to become a master of the WSM. It's a very good book and one I think I'll add to my personal library. Lots of very good recipes in there.

Well, the sun is going down and it's time to put the chickens and pigs to bed, and get the sausage going before the big game. GO SAINTS!

SuperBerk Sunday

2010-02-07T15:54:00.006-06:00

We have pigs again! Today I finally got some Berkshire pigs. I’ve been interested in Berkshires and wanting to get some for…wow, actually over ten years! Berkshires are a heritage breed, and they are fairly rare, so it wasn’t easy to find anyone raising them. I finally did locate a few pig guys that had them about an hour from here. I toured three farms, and one stood out above the others in regards to his animals. So a few weeks later, I have three Berk barrows, ready to finish. Here they are in the trailer, snoring away. Looks like they enjoyed the ride.

I backed the trailer up to the barn door, and Karen helped me set up the doors, gates, and makeshift alley way into their new digs. We went slow and quiet, and they eventually walked off the trailer and sauntered into our barn.

I’ve only had these pigs a few hours at this point, but I am even more happy with them than I thought I’d be. I think I can easily say these are the nicest pigs I’ve ever owned. They are very fit and healthy, have sound legs and lungs. Physically, as the old timers would say when paying a big compliment, “There’s nothing wrong with them” They are solid and meaty, with lots of length for bacon and nice loins for chops. In addition, I am really impressed with their dispositions. These guys are calm, mellow, and docile. They are being friendly and inquisitive without any hint of aggression or destructiveness. Of course it’s still a bit soon to be giving them a final grade, but as I said I am pleased with these pigs. They are going to make some premium pork.
I had to pay a bit more for these guys, but I don’t balk at paying a farmer a premium for producing exceptional animals. It makes all the difference to us in our business further down the road. He and I chatted over the bed of my pickup truck today about working together in the future. I think we are both hoping things work out well. I am giving him an alternative market for his pigs that don’t become show pigs, and he is providing me with good looking, good doing, premium pork producing pigs.
If Karen and I decide down the road that we want to purchase breeding stock, I know where we will go. But for now this really gives us some flexibility in our production schedule, and it’s nice to know someone who really knows what he’s doing is getting the piglets up and ready to go out on pasture and make exceptional, heritage, artisanal pork!

I am so crazy about my pigs, just to give you a hint, I am actually sitting next to them in the barn typing this, listening to them snore. It is 18 degrees in here right now, but they are cozy in their mound of hay. I am a little chilly, but I can’t stop looking at them. I can’t believe I finally have Berkshires. I love them. It doesn’t hurt that they are really cute! They are black, with white socks, and white on their faces and tails. Their noses are slightly dished, and they have upright ears. Yep. That’s exactly the right kind of pig for me. I own Berkshires now. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.

Here they are just after arriving, checking out the chickens.

Aren't they cute?

Look at those shoulders. Nice pigs.

2010-02-01T16:59:00.004-06:00

Overcast, 23 degrees

Been cold again. Funny how a week of 33+ temps. makes us feel the cold so fully again. Kind of a drag, since we know it isn't going to warm up much for a good while. I await Sun Prairie Jimmy's prognostication tomorrow!

Last night we made a new batch of sausages. We made sweet italian sausage, and some apple brats. Lake Geneva makes totally delicious cherry and apple brats, which inspired me to try a sweet fruit flavor. We will consume them for dinner tonight, and I do look forward to it!

The sausage making process itself did not go as smoothly as I would have liked. First, I believe I'm coming down with a new version of a cold or something, so my energy level was low. And I have to say, though the meat grinder we bought from Northern Tool got high marks and reviews on the nets, I have found it to be a confusing and vexing, indeed frustrating and angering little appliance. The issues stem mainly from the very, very poorly written instructions included with the unit. This thing is clearly made somewhere far away, and their english writing skills are sorely lacking. Normally I am fairly adept at interpretation, but I have to say this particular little machine does not lend itself to intuitive or logical assembly, resulting in multiple episodes of jaw-gritting force jamming meat in one end and getting a disgusting mush out the other end, unfit for consumption. And when you have taken the time to raise this meat yourself, this is more than disappointing. After many re-tries involving taking it apart again, pulling mushy gooey pork out, cleaning it, and picking up any of the attachment parts, holding it up to the machine, looking again at the pictures, trying to read the ridiculous instructions, "Wait, try this one this way", "No, that can't be right, it looks backwards", "No, no...wait...like this? No. this one? No...."
And then, finally, it seems we figured it out by turning the blade backwards, or what appeared to be backwards, and voila, we got nicely ground pork coming out the other end! Finally!
By the way, we were grinding "pork trim", as it was labeled from the butcher. I highly recommend anyone who has the interest or ability to make your own sausage, etc. to ask for your pork trim back. It makes very nice sausage grindings. If you have your pork processed into sausage at the butcher, they will use this to make your sausage for you. We kept the pork very cold through the whole process, almost freezing, by stashing it in the freezer whenever we were working on other things for a few minutes, and by setting the bowl in another bowl of ice while we were grinding. This keeps the pork from getting too pasty a consistency.

After grinding, we added spices and other flavorings, and mixed it up using the kitchenaid paddle mixer. Then, after chilled again, stuffed into natural casings. Supper is going to be served in a short while, I'll let you know how it came out!

Today I also met with a pig farmer as a potential source for our future stock, but I was able to determine pretty quickly determine this was not where we would be getting our pigs from. His pigs were a little rough looking, not very uniform, I saw quite a few hernias which can impede growth. I thanked him for his time and left. I met with a couple other pig farmers a couple of weeks ago, and I really liked the stock from one of them. Very strong, healthy, growthy pigs. And he raises Berkshires, the breed Karen and have been keen on getting and trying. Berkshires are said to produce the most flavorful, marbeled pork of any pig, and they are highly sought ofter in Japan, called Kurobuta there, "black pig". Berkshires are an old, heritage breed, and as such may not grow quite as fast as many of the more modern commercial breeds which produce the dry, white pork common in the supermarkets of the United States. So Berks have fallen out of favor with commercial pork farmers, and that means that Berkshires have become a bit of a rarity, and hard to find. However, foodies and gourmets and anyone else who really enjoys a juicy, tender, flavorful pork roast or chop are asking for Berkshire meat.
Here is an article that sums it up nicely. We'll be taking orders soon.

Thinking 2010?

2010-01-29T21:51:00.007-06:00

a post from Karen.... I'm getting a lot of flack for not posting. It's winter, and I know that things are as quiet as they will ever get so I am trying to make time to reflect on the year ahead and set some goals and put some plans in place (and I should make the time to put a post on to track said reflections). We are approaching some big decisions about our land that we own and the land we are slotted to start leasing next year. When we looked for farms we had a 35 acre plus wish list, wanting to graze, looked at places with good pasture potential. It was a huge struggle to find a place with good soil and topography, fencing, good outbuildings and a livable home. That we could afford that is. When we saw this place, we were smitten, but it was less acreage than we imagined and we had lots of questions... "Are we just going to have a rural home and be happy?" or do we need to make it working farm. How will it feel to make our farm dream on mostly leased land and what if it disappears from us? We won't have any control in saving our farm or saving farmland if someone with deep pockets wants to buy it for a mcmansion. We had a lot to think about when we decided on this place, but it felt right and we are so grateful that we have some good soil, good outbuildings, a cosy home, and a great community. Fencing, well, that is taking a while. But it will happen!

I think as we go into our 2nd full season, we know how tired we can get trying to maintain our careers and invest our time into the farm and our family and ourselves. I feel it's important somehow to make the farm productive and to reclaim farmland in sustainable practices. We have learned that we don't have unlimited time and energy and have to be intentional in the projects we take on and the choices we make for the farm. I'm trying to get to the root of my 'impulses' knowing that I can be impulsive (compared to my ever planning and researching mate) and wanting to be clear in what I want the farm to be and what kind of farmer I want to be. For instance, I really liked our turkeys and really am driven to have heirloom turkeys again. Red is quite opposed. Her strong feelings became solidified on a certain afternoon when the hens and tom had pooped all over her radio, pecked at the oil marker we used for marking hogs, knocked down the insulating layer that we used for the broilers brooder, and had to be chased for the umpteenth time from the waiting jaws of our birding spaniel who had claimed far more turkeys than I would like to talk about. We ran up direct costs that were something around $80 per bird. We gave the other surviving (at least until slaughter) ones to friends and family and enjoyed on our own Thanksgiving the one that had lost a wing in the processing facility. I appreciate that at first glance, it was not a successful venture. But the poop that frustrated Red so much, and the foraging and roaming right into prime spaniel territory, is exactly why I want turkeys again. I like that they forage, and find food out of green things, and crawling things and flying things that would otherwise be pests in my garden. I like how nutrient rich their manure is and how on pasture, it's put right where you need it. And I LIKE that heirloom turkeys will take longer to finish, even if it means hanging out longer to wreck havoc at Prairie Fire Farm. I like the idea of cultivating systems that work together to make slow food. I love seeing how curious and active and funny turkeys are and feel a duty to make sure I put some out on fresh pasture and offer some alternatives to factory-raised meat. I appreciate that folks might care enough to pay folks like us enough to make it worth the trouble they might cause! And I also know we can't make this work if they really do cost us $80 a piece. Trying to see how we can keep costs down, contain them enough to keep them safe, and find a model that is sustainable is my challenge. It has to be a good enough plan that I can convince my partner that it will work. And I have to be brave and creative enough to give it a go and find the time in my schedule to make it go well.

We are planning our next herd of pigs and excited to get setup with improvements every time. We're organizing our garden plans and will soon be ordering seeds. We are thinking about where we want to be in 5 years, 10 years - so not a lot of answers but lots of good questions. We're not just sitting back in our 'rural home' but are making it productive, no matter how many acres we end up with.

We're going to MOSA in FEbruary to help along our dreaming and planning and 'figuring' to see if we can make the farm vision work for the long run, to recommit to the possibility of a working family farm, and to network and find others trying to make it happen too. Should be a good start to the 2010 season. And this year, we have a tractor, some hog houses, lots of great folks who like what we're doing and are enjoying the end result of our labors, and a few lessons under our belt.
And I've got a bookmark filled with heirloom turkey poult sources. And shhh... I'm wondering about ducks. I hear they can be great weeders in the garden.;)

Pork better for sex than Viagra?

2010-01-29T11:54:00.004-06:00

This is awesome. Found this article on the 'net, and just had to share.

– Eating pork is at least as effective as popping a Viagra pill to spice up your sex life, according to … .Thu Jan 28, 12:45 pm ET
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina's president recommended pork as an alternative to Viagra Wednesday, saying she spent a satisfying weekend with her husband after eating barbecued pork.

"I've just been told something I didn't know; that eating pork improves your sex life ... I'd say it's a lot nicer to eat a bit of grilled pork than take Viagra," President Cristina Fernandez said to leaders of the pig farming industry.

She said she recently ate pork and "things went very well that weekend, so it could well be true."

Argentines are the world's biggest per capita consumers of beef, but the government has sought to promote pork as an alternative in recent years due to rising steak prices and as a way to diversify the meat industry.

"Trying it doesn't cost anything, so let's give it a go," Fernandez said in the televised speech.

(Reporting by Karina Grazina; Writing by Helen Popper)

Is that not a great article? When I showed it to Karen, she asked, "Why can't we have a president like that?" Indeed. Who wouldn't take such advice from President Fernandez? She looks very authoritative on the subject, doesn't she? Our pork sales are going very well, but with this type of endorsement, I may need to double my herd size! Thank you, Madame Presidente!

A New Year

2010-01-17T20:19:00.008-06:00

A happy new year to all!

We here have been keeping busy with visiting friends,working, playing relaxing and planning.

On New Years' Eve, Karen and I travelled northward to visit with a group of dear friends to ring in the new year. Our hostesses supplied the gang with some wonderful paper lanterns. We each lit a piece of cardboard below the open lantern, which filled the lantern with hot air, much like a miniature version of a hot air balloon. Out on the ice of a north Wisconsin lake, we lit our lanterns, and filled them with mental hopes and wishes, and let them soar skyward. We couldn't believe how far up they went! The lanterns themselves don't come down until they have completely finished burning. So I guess that means they don't really come down! They were really very cool.

It's been snowy and cold. Before this last week, temps averaged around 10 degrees for highs, lows a few degrees below zero. But we have had a reprieve the last week, with highs in the low to mid 30's, bringing us our much enjoyed January Thaw. We never had one of those last year.

The other day I rendered our own lard from the fat from our last pig. It was very easy. The butcher ground up the fat for us, and we got it back in large bags, about the size of a basketball. I haven't weighed them, but we got 5 or 6 bags like this from one whole hog. Our butcher doesn't have the ability to render the lard. I thought this might be a big messy process, but it's really very easy. Just put the entire contents from one bag into the crock pot
and set it on low overnight. Next morning, it was all cooked down. I poured the liquid off into mason jars through a cheesecloth to catch the solids (which are called cracklins. Remember Laura Ingalls Wilder and her sister being so excited about getting the cracklins after Ma and Pa butchered the hog?)

The end result was pure, white, beautiful lard. This will make the very best pie crust possible. This picture is just after I poured in the warm lard - once it solidified it turned white. I got two full mason jars plus a little bit more, maybe a cup's worth. This will keep for a very long time just in jars in a cool, dark place. It can also be frozen if desired.

As far as the cracklins, we did not want to eat them like Laura and her sister, but we didn't want them to go to waste, either. So I gave most of them to our chickens, doled out in reasonable portions. They sure did love the mid-winter snack of fat and protein. I also used some leftovers in my wild bird suet feeder. They loved it too, and it brings the prettiest woodpeckers right up next to our kitchen window.

Otherwise we have been busy poring over seed catalogs and workshop schedules. We plan on attending at least a couple good farming and grazing workshops before this winter is over. Additionally, we are hoping to be able to put up a barn this year, if possible. We need better storage for the tractor and other equipment, and we also want a place to house pigs during bad weather to get them off the fields to prevent soil damage. It isn't easy to design one building that meets such different needs.

2009-12-27T17:51:00.002-06:00

Cloudy, 8 degrees

We weathered the second big storm of the year just fine, though it threatened holiday travel across the midwest with freezing rain, the most treacherous of weather. It rained here for about two days straight it seemed, but I'm happy that we escaped the 20 inches of snow a couple hundred miles to our west.

Once the rain stopped, the temps dropped, turning the rain and slush into a nice hard glaze. Our driveway now has an underlayment of ice under a coating of thin, dry snow. Still, it could have been worse, so I'm not complaining.

That is a picture of a robins' nest above. It reminded me that last week I heard and saw a robin in the top of my black walnut tree at the end of the driveway! Now that is one procrastinating bird! I tend to allow myself to forego filling my bird feeders in the lush months, but I am compelled to do it during this type of weather. I know studies have shown that wild birds do not become dependent on feeders, but I fugure it can't hurt to offer them some extra protein and carbs when it is so cold and windy out, with not much to eat out there, at least for some species. Besides, it does provide us with an interesting and flashy show outside. We get lots of woodpeckers, like downy, hairy, flickers and nuthatches. I'm waiting to see a red-headed woodpecker here. Of course we also get the sparrows and finches, cardinals, doves, blue jays, etc. We'd probably get more if I put out some water for them, but I can't justify adding to our already high electric bill. Add to that that Dottie would surely find it a great place to stalk birds. And well, you know, maybe some day if I get my compost pile heater going, I can place a water dish on top for the wild birds. This reminds me - I forgot to ask for a bluebird house for Chirstmas. I hope to get some of those up early this Spring. I've heard bluebirds around the farm, and I just love seeing them and listening to their beautiful song. I don't know for sure, but I think they are making a pretty good comeback, another success story of humans waking up and learning what we should and shouldn't do if we want to preserve nature's most beautiful gems.
I hope to get a permanent pasture going on our land this year, and that attracts grassland birds such as meadowlarks and bluebirds, etc. This is a group of birds that has been hit very hard by development and modern agriculture practices, so we graziers try to encourage and provide nesting havitat for these important insectivores.

It's also satisfying to provide our backyard birds with suet and lard from our own animals.
Speaking of lard, we got ours back with our butchered hog this year, it comes in a big bag in chunks. We will render it by putting it in a crockpot and letting it melt down and drawing off pure, white lard with which I hope to encourage Karen to make delicate pie crusts ;) I bet that won't take much!

One of these days I will explain the benefits of good fat vs. that of bad fat, and why our animals are full of the good stuff. I think many people are catching on to this, still I know it's been so ingrained in our society for so long, to avoid animal fats because they are unhealthy, that it's still common to run into people who don't believe us. Like trying to convince people that pork really doesn't need to be cooked until it's well-done! It doesn't, and you'll be glad you didn't!

Happpy Solstice!

2009-12-22T12:07:00.004-06:00

Cloudy, 28 degrees, snowing
We've made it to the darkest part of the year. The sun only shines here for about 9 hours per day (when it isn't obscured by clouds, of course). It's a good time to take stock, think back on accomplishments, look forward to goals, and generally get our houses in order while we have indoor time. When the sun has begun her swing closer to us and her warming rays stir growth again, there is no such time for winnowing through piles of old magazines and re-arranging kitchen drawer contents. That is the time for creating these piles in the first place while we head back out the door toward the field or barn or garden.

Last night we marked the long darkness by eating our dinner by candle light. Karen told her traditional story about the two sisters who visit Old Mother Winter, and we talked about what we hope to do in the next year, before the next long dark falls again. Then we made popcorn balls for Birk's school holiday party the next day ;-)

Tonight we will celebrate the return of the light by going to a friends' house for a Solstice celebration in town. There will be a fire, and I've been appointed Fire Marshall. What that means, basically, is that I have firewood and am willing to bring it, lol. It seems like a fun thing to look forward to, and I'm sure all the kids will be having fun.

We do have another nasty storm looming, and it threatens to snarl up thousands, if not millions of people's Christmas travel plans. The Midwest is bracing for a snow/rain/ice event that is due to go for at least 48 hours and straddling both sides of Christmas Eve, so just about everyone I know is nervously watching the ever-changing forecast to see if they can make it a Merry Christmas with loved ones. Oy.

We are getting snow right now, but nothing major. They forecast an inch, I'd say we're easily over 2.5 at the moment, and it's still coming down. Light fluffy stuff. I've got the tractor plugged in so I can clear this out, and I'll try to keep the driveway cleared as best I can over the upcoming few days. It doesn't sound like it's gonna be pretty. Well, maybe it WILL be pretty, but you know what I mean.

The other day I was walking past my big compost pile made of what's left of last years' bedding from pigs in the barn, and this years' broilers. I noticed how the snow was all melted from the top. Of course, I've always known compost piles heat up. But I was in the process of getting the chickens some un-frozen water, and I suddenly (finally??) went "HEY! There's HEAT in there! FREE, untapped heat! And not only that, but all I had to do to generate that heat was to pile a bunch of sh$t up in a mound!" and my mind started spinning like a teenager on a school parking lot. So my latest Big Thought is how can I use compost pile heat to keep my water lines unfrozen in the dead of winter? Could I use it to make hot water? Could I use it to heat a barn? If I could heat a barn with it, what about being able to heat the house with it?? I've just started doing a little research on the topic, luckily there are folks out there who have had this thought too, and they are smarter than me, and they've been experimenting. There are some really cool ideas out there.

A lot of folks in town simply might not have access to the amounts of materials necessary for a large enough compost pile, but I do. Now that's got me thinking more about deep-bedded over-wintering systems inside barns for livestock such as pigs and cattle.
I wonder if someday, small farms could accept yard waste from suburban neighbors and sell them back electricity made from methane made from thecompost heaps? And then when the compost heap is done, the end result is the best fertilizer there is, and goes right back into the soil and actually helps grow more food and build the soil, rather than depleting anything. Pretty Cool, hey? It's so perfect - it makes me look over my shoulder to watch out for Big Oil coming down on it. You watch. I bet they lobby for control of these types of things. Can't have folks making their own energy at home in a closed-loop system, can we? Bad for profits.
Anyway, here's a link to a cool site that includes all sorts of renewable fuel types and sources: http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/BioFuel/biofuels.htm

Happy Solstice to everyone from us at Prairie Fire Farm!

2009-12-16T19:41:00.003-06:00

Clear and Cold, 3 degrees

Got the chains on the other night. Came home from work, and I knew the forecast was calling for a real plunge in temps. Since I needed to move and drive the tractor to get the chains on, I wanted to get them on before the big chill got here and brought more snow with it. I didn't want to have to be trying to start a diesel and put chains on in below-zero temps. Looks like we are stuck with these frigid temps for a good while, so I needed to get this done.

So after work I got the grill and the pre-heater going, and decided to keep myself busy while waiting for her to warm up by installing a light timer over the chickens. Well, I got interrupted by a UPS guy who was lost, a timer that was broken, and a partner shouting from the door of the house that I needed to come in and take the bread out of the oven and feed the baby as she was on her way to yoga.

Once Birk was fed and the bread was baked, I could turn my attention back to tractor maintenence. I took the tarp off and climbed up into the seat. I was so very pleased when she turned right over and fired up on the first crank :) The only people who will understand the happiness at such a moment are others who rely on tractor power to plow, lift, drag, whatever has got to get done, and if the tractor don't start, it ain't getting done.

I lined up the first chain on the ground next to the open garage door, as it was now well after dark, and I needed the light from the garage to see what I was doing. I did one side at a time. Laid out the chain, backed over it half way, then got off and basically pulled up each side. This wasn't too easy, since the chain was so heavy and it was already pretty tight, so I basically had to inch it up over each lug on the tire. When I got them hooked on, I put bungees on the sides, across the tire hub like a criss-cross to keep them tightened. I drove a bit with the chains on, letting them settle in and then got off again and tightened them up about another inch or so. I was able to easily plow areas that were giving me fits the other day, so the chains are working and were obviously a good investment.

These will stay on the tractor until Spring. If I need to deal with mud, they will help them as well. I'm glad I have them - now I'm ready if we get another really big snow.

The next night we put up the christmas tree. It was so sweet pulling out the ornaments and talking about each one, listening to Birk saying this is her most favorite thing of all. It was a very sweet family moment. Aw.

Of Chains And Cheese Spread

2009-12-13T21:37:00.003-06:00

This is Karen way up in the tractor bucket a couple weeks ago, putting up the lights farm style.

Cloudy, 30 degrees
Busy weekend. I did manage to find some chains for the tractor. Let me just point out that chains are shockingly expensive, especially for something so low-tech and simple. First, of course, you have to find th right size for your tires. When I googled some sites looking for a set for my tractor, I had to take a breath when I saw that they retailed for anywhere from $300 to $800!! Yes, Eight Hundred Dollars. For CHAINS! And then shipping is another 60 bucks! Wow! I simply could not accept this reality, and my penchant for research and dialing kicked in. I must have called 6 different places, mostly local, hoping to at least save something on shipping. Karen likes to make fun of my research-y-ness. Well, guess what? On about the 5th call to a tractor store (i.e. farm implement retailer and service center), I talked to a guy named Ron. He said he needed to check in the back. After about an hour, he called me back and said he found a used set of chains the exact size for my lil' red tractor, and they were $195 for the set! Wahoo, I just saved at least $150 bucks!
I drove up and it turned out Ron was one of the owners. We went out back to a distant shed in the back, and these chains were in a pile way in the back. I don't even know how he knew they were there! And oh my lord, but they are HEAVY! No wonder shipping is so high on these things. They must weigh 70 lbs. a piece. When I got back inside to pay for them, Ron came back in, asked if I liked calendars or cheese...I shrugged, and said of course. Not thinking I had heard him quite right, I wrote out my check. It is of course calendar season, and don't you just love those free ones you get from dealers? I have lots of shed walls and other spaces to hang feed mill/tractor/vet clinic calendars. Then Ron came back to the counter with a Case/IH Calendar and a tub of nice cheese spread :) Said Happy Holidays. I love Wisconsin.

2009-12-09T15:35:00.005-06:00

Winter storm. 28 degrees, wind and snow.

Winter slammed into us last night and today. A huge low pressure system brought lots of wet snow and high winds. We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland out there. It's pretty, and we've only lost a few tree limbs. Our sweet cherry tree was bent to the ground. Birk and I both had a snow day today, so we've been annoying Karen all day ;)

This would be the first real test of the tractor for winter use. I was very apprehensive about just getting it started. This is my first diesel, and I know they are notoriously fussy about getting cold. Much to my disappointment, I could not get the tractor into the garage. It is just a little too tall, a little too wide. I thought about cutting down the exhaust stack, but then I thought about what the inside of our garage would smell like and look like after starting up a belching diesel tractor in there a dozen times. So I fell back on tarping the tractor real good, and hoping that plugging the pre-heater in would be enough. Someday, maybe we'll actually build a barn that can fit everything in it.

Knowing the storm was coming in, I plugged in that pre-heater last night. Today, I took my shallow electric grill and placed it under the chassis for about an hour as well. I went back to shoveling the backbreaking snow, eyeballing my tarped, snow- covered tractor and bit my lip. Finally I decided it was time, and I had to work quite a bit to get the tarp off since there was over a foot of heavy wet snow on top of it. Once I got that cleared off, it only took a few tries, each time the engine seemed to turn a little easier as the fuel & air warmed. And then she chugged alive, and my spirit lifted and I did a little victory dance in my head.

Plowing the snow was a bit of an adventure. Our driveway is mostly on a hill. I did manage to clear off the lower part, and a spot across from the garage. We must have gotten 15 inches of snow, and it drifted in spots. I had to make several trips across the road to dump it in the ditch. I did manage to get bogged down and stuck on an incline between the big barn and the pump house. Wound up chewing up the driveway a bit, and there is still a lot of snow up there, but after a while, the snow got so slick my wheels were just spinning and I couldn't safely maneuver between vehicles and buildings, etc. I definitely need chains! We still have some spots that could use a more thorough plowing, so we called Curt and asked him to come and do a cleanup for us. Overall however I am very pleased with what I was able to get done considering this is a crazy amount of wet, slippery snow to deal with. I'll try to find some chains for the rear tires, and I'll continue my search for a rear blade, which will be a little easier to push snow with. Ideally, I'd love a big snowblower on the 3 point hitch, but those are all over a thousand dollars that I've seen! I wish I were more adept and skilled at mechanics and fabrication, because I'd also love to get a rotovator for th 3 pt. Though I realize they are two different tools, and they do different jobs, have different blades, etc., they are very similar in design, and I bet some enterprising individuals out there have figured out a way to make an implement that can be switched from one to the other, for less than the cost of both.

While I was busy plowing and shovelling, Karen and Birk made a snow fort in the back yard as the dogs helped. Dottie somehow managed to instantly collect the hugest snowballs on her fur I have ever seen on a dog! The size of softballs! They leave big puddles on the floor when she comes in the house.

Look What I brought Home

2009-12-04T09:11:00.003-06:00

Well, this little guy was found running down the road next to a golf course. Being the resident pig expert, I was tapped to take him home a foster him until it could be determined he was heatlhy, eating, drinking, etc., and ready for adoption. He is adorable and tiny - weighs all of 6 pounds. He is a baby pot bellied pig I've nicknamed Grunt. I'll let Karen tell more about little Grunt, as she has lots of adorable pictures to share. But I will tell this one tidbit- he does need to be kept warm, and he shivers if he gets chilly. Karen actually did in fact say "Maybe we should let him sleep in the bed tonight"

To which I replied "It has hooves! I draw the line at hoofstock in the bed!"

snow and ice

2009-12-04T08:42:00.004-06:00

Cloudy, 32 degrees, 2 inches snow

Well, we enjoyed a long Fall. Though it snowed twice in october, it didn't snow at all in November, making deer hunters grumpy, but farmers and holiday travelers happy. Probably just about everyone else, too. It was a good thing we had a mild and fairly dry november for the farmers who had corn or soybeans to harvest. There was still a lot of corn standing in the fields a week or two ago. It's that time of year when we need to be extra cautious on the roads - not only are the deer out, but our roads are frequented by huge tractors, combines, and grain bins being rolled and bounced along at a 15 mph clip. Sometimes people get impatient and cause accidents.

It looks like most of the harvest is in, just in time for the first snowfall. Yesterday when I left for work it was dry and mild out. During the day the snow started coming down, and by evening commute time we had about two inches, snarling traffic on all roads and causing wipeouts, crashes, and slide-offs everywhere. Even Wisconsin drivers forget how to drive in snow. It took an extra hour and a half to get home last night. In a short while, this kind of snow event will barely cause anyone to notice. Can't wait for that to happen!

We picked up our pork at the butcher shop last week! Always a satisfying feeling, the culmination of a big project and lots of work and passion on our part. And it's tasty! Karen and I had a big day going all over hill and dale, to Lake Geneva and back to Stoughton to make a drop off at the store selling our meat, then on to Madison to the cold storage warehouse. We needed extra storage space for some pork that needs to be shipped to the east coast as well as for our own pork - we simply don't have the room-we have a full upright and a chest freezer filled with our own meats (50 chickens take up a lot of room!). Then we made a stop at a dry ice place, and then on to the UPS store to drop off some pork going to Iowa. Temps. and arrival dates were more forgiving to IA, so that order could go right out. (I have gotten feedack and it has arrived safe and frozen solid). I took some pictures of the loading up process to give an idea of the size of boxes, etc. The product in the white cooler is one side of pork all cut into retail cuts for a store. This does not include a lot of raosts and whole hams, so you can see how easily a whole side can be stored when it's processed this way. BTW, that is a big cooler, about 120 qt, I believe, and it was only about half full.

Noe the dry ice thing is an interesting issue. Last year, I spoke to a UPS Store owner in Lake Geneva, where we were shipping our meats from at that time. She said no way, no how, no dry ice, EVER. She underlined it by saying if I put any dry ice in a package, and it was discovered, she would be fined $15,000. Okay, then.

This year, I called and spoke to a guy who owned such a store closer to the place where we are storing the frozen meat until the weather gets colder. He said "Oh, yah, sure, you can use lots of dry ice. Up to 5 lbs. per pkg, no problem" Wow...... okay. To add confusion, I wound up sending the Iowa parcel from a third UPS Store, and they said "You can use dry ice, but only up to 2 lbs."

I have a saying, "It all depends on who you get", and it certainly applies here, doesn't it?

Chore list

2009-11-23T14:15:00.003-06:00

foggy and cool, 45 degrees

Got some stuff done this last Saturday, not everything I had wanted to.

What did I get done?

Finally built a shelf that I've been needing in the garage

Stowed away the new, big coolers I bought the other day

Moved some big rocks from the melon patch to the perennial garden

Cleaned up the flower bed in front of the garage in preparation for winter

Tidied up around the compost bins, added more plant material

Talked to a neighbor who stopped by to talk about a holiday sale down the road

Smoked up a bunch of ribs on the cold smoker

Cleaned out the broiler pen in the barn, consisting of about 12 wheelbarrow loads of broiler litter

Turned the compost pile with the tractor loader

Changed the oil in the car

Did some laundry

Picked up the garden area

Organized some old magazines and periodicals

What didn't I do??

I didn't get to the paperwork I wanted to do, bills, etc. Why? Because I'd rather shovel manure than do paperwork.

I didn't clean the house like I wanted to. Why? Because I'd rather change the oil on a car than clean the house.

I didn't post a blog. Why? because I ran out of time.

I didn't completely clean out the big barn. Why? See the above.

I didn't even begin to clean the pole barn. Why? See above.

I didn't change the oil on the tractor. Why? Not enough time.

I didn't put the door back up on the basement cellar stairs. Ran out of time.

I didn't vacuum, or put away laundry, or mulch the garlic, or really a hundred other things that it even takes too much time to think of!

I always wonder what non-rural types do with their time off. What did you do this weekend?

Keeping Hogs Healthy

2009-11-14T19:35:00.004-06:00

I just ran across an interesting article in my newspaper. This paper is aimed at farmers, and is called AGRI-VIEW. You will not get these kinds of news articles in your metro daily. This article appeared in the november 12, 2009 issue, and addressed concerns conventional pork producers have regarding keeping their pigs and employees healthy, particularly during influenza outbreaks.

"Swine workers should adhere to the following practices:

Wear protective clothing, preferably disposable outer garments or coveralls that are laundered at work after each use...
Wear rubber or polyurethane boots that can be cleaned and disinfected or disposable protective shoe covers.
Wear disposable gloves made of light-weight nitrile or vinyl or heavy duty rubber work gloves that can be disinfected.... Change gloves if they are torn or otherwise damaged. Remove gloves promptly after use, before touching non-contaminated items or environmental surfaces. Take off disposable gloves by turning them inside out over the hand and placed in the trash after use...
Wear safety goggles to protect the mucous membranes of the eyes. Wear disposable NIOSH-certified filtering facepiece respirators ...that are the minimun level of respiratory protection. This level or higher respitatory protection might already be in use in swime operations due to other hazards that exist in the environment...
Wear disposable, lightwieght head or hair covers to prevent contamination of hair if shower-out facilities are not avalivable.
Discard disposable PPE properly, as well as clean and disinfect non-disposable PPE as specified in state government, industry, or USDA outbreak response guidelines."

AGRI-VIEW, november, 12, 2009 by Sarah Young

The article does not end there, but I think that's enough. This really illustrates the types of environments that our food supply is coming from. Pigs are so crowded, so stressed, and lack of ventilation causes situations that are ripe for rampant spread of viruses and other diseases. Workers need to wear rubber gloves, boots, and respirators.

We wondered after reading the above article about the untold mountains of un-recyclable biohazard waste that must come from the thousands of confinement pork farms in this country alone.

Since pigs' anatomy is so similar to ours that we use them as organ donors for humans (except of course, they have a much more sensitive sense of smell than we do), what does that do to the pigs' eyes, lungs, and sense of .... I don't know how to put this.... fear? Lack of contentment? Desperation, maybe? We know that pigs from confinement buildings have to have their tails cut off or they will chew them off of eachother out of 'boredom'. This is what we are told. Maybe it's more than boredom. Maybe they are so stressed by being raised in dark building in cages over lagoons of their own excrement they savage eachother in unnatural ways. Maybe this causes them to go a bit mad. One thing I have learned in all my years working with animals is that we are more alike than we are different. I know conditions like that do cause just about every species of animal to exhibit abnormal behaviors and to suffer ill health effects. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or a zoologist to understand this. It's just common sense, and it's obvious.

I'm so glad I don't have to eat meat that is raised under those circumstances any more. We raise our pigs with access to the outdoors, they root in the dirt and get vital minerals.

They sleep outside, feel breezes on their skin, run and play, and eat healthy fresh food. No need for rubber gloves and respirators here. If you don't want to drink from that fetid stream, find a local farmer who raises their animals humanely and buy your food from them. You'll be doing the world a favor.

2009-11-14T19:05:00.002-06:00

Last year karen went to an auction in her very early days as a new farmer. She brought home three old, wooden chicken crates for a good price. These crates are slatted, about 3 ft. by 4 ft., and can fit about ten chickens in them. Since monday morning is the time for us to take in the broilers and turkeys, I went over these crates today, patching and shoring them up so they will hold up to the weight of at least 60 lbs. of live chooks. We have one plastic crate, and Karen went to Nasco today and picked up one more, which should be enough to carry all of the birds. We are down to 4 turkeys, and they should fit easily into one large dog crate.

Finished planting (more) garlic today. After last weeks' planting, I stood back and looked at the garlic plot and thought 'we need more garlic than this!' so I went back to the garden center and picked up a few pounds more. The turkeys accompanied me in the garden. They 'helped' by pulling up my markers, carrying off my bags of garlic, and then lying down in the rows and scratching up as much dirt as possible onto themselves. Did I mention how much I'll be glad when they are gone?!

Cleaned up the garage a bit as well; moved some lumber out from projects, swept the sawdust off the floor, burned some sawdust and feed bags cluttering up the barn. Picked up the yard. Added more straw to the broiler pen, tended to them, and it was time to come in and do some cleaning and Fall preparation. Finished caulking & sealing all the house windows to keep out the chilly drafts. Some day, we will have all new windows! And insulation!

To market, to market

2009-11-13T10:51:00.004-06:00

Well it's mighty quiet around the place today. The pigs were successfully delivered to the butcher. For the uninitiated, here's how it went, in a nutshell:

We had ten pigs to go to town, one trailer. The butcher shop allows them to be brought in either Wed. afternoons, or Thursday mornings before 9 am. Since pig loading is almost never a sure thing, we decided to try to get them all loaded and delivered on Wednesday. That way, if we needed extra time or ran into any difficulties, we still had the Thursday am window. Always good to have a backup plan when it comes to pigs, or any livestock for that matter!

I backed the trailer up and opened it up for the pigs the day before, to let them get used to it. Some went on, most were uninterested. We had decided to cut them off from their sleeping quarters, to encourage them to use the trailer for sleeping. but they had other plans, and went right through the wire to their old house. Hmph.

Karen and I started out several hours before we needed to leave on Wednesday. We encouraged the piggies with treats on the trailer. We were having a good deal of success, most of them would get right on the trailer, but not all of them, of course. I did succeed in closing off 3/4 of the rest of the pen by bringing up our poultry netting and stringing that across the pen, giving us a smaller space to work in.

As fortune would have it, an eager, strapping teenage boy who lives next door and is itching to help us with farm chores showed up on his riding lawnmower at just the right time! After a brief wait while he ran home to get his "rancher coat" and hat, he returned ready to work in the pig pen with us. We advised him that perhaps a full-length leather coat was not really advisable inside a pig pen. He quickly agreed and took it off, and grabbed the other end of a heavy 5 foot long gate. As Karen petted, rubbed, and scratched our piggies, and we enticed them with donuts, Jared and I slowly crowded the remaining 3 or 4 piggies from behind with the gate. Soon they had nowhere to go but on the trailer. Two of them hopped right on, but there were two (the biggest 2, wouldn't ya know) who simply did not want to get in the trailer! The big red barrow turned toward the gate we held. I stood on the bottom rung of the gate to hold it down. Big Red Barrow put his nose in the gate, and I was then airborne! Lofted straight up a foot in the air! No harm was done to me, Jared, or the gate, but it was startling, and honestly just a little fun to defy gravity like that, if even momentarily. Hey, ya gotta enjoy the little things.

At that point, Karen and I agreed it was time to close the trailer up, and go with the 8 pigs we had on. We'd have to make two trips.

We drove to Lake Geneva and off-loaded the 8 pigs, then came back home. We decided to try and get the last two pigs on the trailer right away, as we still had daylight left, and I wanted to take advantage of that. We opened up the trailer door for them, and with just a few spinach leaves as enticement, they, magically, quietly walked right on! Guess their issue was they didn't want to go into a crowded trailer! Maybe they didn't like that it smelled like pigs (and goats) in there. I don't know. But we gave them more treats, and let them sleep in there.

Next morning, soon as Birk was on the bus, we started back to Lake Geneva with our two big boys. Unloading at the shop was just as quiet and easy with them. I'm thinking it might simply be easier in smaller groups. Good food for thought for future loads.

While we were at the loading dock, we helped a guy which had pulled in ahead of us, who was trying to unload 8 pigs by himself. Turned out he was unloading Berkshires, which is the breed we are wanting to get into for the next phase. It was good to talk to him, and we got his number.

Now when I come home, I still sometimes hear a pig grunt or a feeder lid bang, and I quickly remind myself they are gone. I've been hearing what I want to hear, what I am used to hearing. Karen says she is experiencing the same thing. People often ask us isn't it hard, getting attached to something and then taking it in to be slaughtered? My answer is usually yes, it is. And it should be, at least a little bit, don't you think?

2009-11-08T19:23:00.003-06:00

Wow, what a beautiful weekend. Warm, sunny, and breezy. Highs in the high 60's, warm enough for short shirt sleeves. We don't often get weather like this in November, so it was very much relished and taken advantage of.

Yesterday I picked up the trailer (borrowed from a friend) that we will haul the pigs to "freezer camp" in, and then we can use it to load up the broilers and turkeys and take them also to their respective final destination. The pigs should go in on Wednesday afternoon, and the birds have their date the following Monday. I've wondered what it will be like that week, after the pigs have left but we still have birds to take care of. And of course, I think about what it will be like after all of our 'agricultural products' have left the place. I will miss the rhythm and responsibility of caring for them, and I will surely miss the entertainment of watching them run and play. It will be quiet around here. I hope it gets really cold soon, because if it stays this nice, and I want to work outside, it will be too weird without the grunts and cackles and squeals and squawks and the constant mental notes of checking on water and feed and fences.

Couple of days ago, I stopped in the local garden center looking for garlic. We just hadn't gotten it together to purchase any replacement garlic yet. Garlic needs to be planted in the fall in these parts, and is harvested in July. Karen especially was feeling anxious about our lack of garlic in the ground, but I kept telling her we still had time. As long as the ground isn't frozen solid, you can plant garlic. And our soil is still nice and fine, especially with all this warm weather just now. So I walked in to that garden store thinking I was probably too late, and they'd be all out of garlic. I asked, and they said they had just gotten a fresh shipment in! Score! I bought about 3 pounds of the stuff. Varieties called Siberian, Italian Late, Musik, and Northern White. got it all planted yesterday afternoon. Once it was all in the ground, I realized that this paltry amount would be a nice moment in garlic time for us, but if we wanted to really grow most of our own garlic, we needed a LOT more! So I'll go back this week and hope other procrastinators haven't cleaned them out before I get there.

Last night the neighbors had their annual bonfire, which is always fun. This year they strung out some party lights, which added a nice effect. Got to chat with another new neighbor, so that was nice, too. I love going to events where my trip consists of going to the backyard, grabbing a chair and walking next door. Nice.

This morning I started some pork spare ribs with a rub containing mainly brown sugar, mustard, seasoned salt, paprika, pepper and onion powder. Left them in the fridge for a couple of hours, then I lit a fire in my smoker and put them on to smoke around noon. I smoked them for about three hours. The wind from the south today was my ally, as it made for a perfect draft and I never even had to poke my fire even once. Plenty of time to keep working on other stuff. After three hours of smoke, I brought them in and roasted them in the oven. I poured my "slather" over them, consisting of a bottle of flat dark beer, brown sugar, yellow mustard, white pepper, some salt, maybe a few other things I can't think of right now. About 1.5 hours in the oven, and OHMYGOD, they were gooooooooooood!! An added benefit is that our house smelled like a traditional smoke house. mmmm. That's a good thing, in my book.

Today I moved surplus sheets of plywood from the garage to the barn mow, making room in the garage for more storage for winter. My goal is to be able to get the tractor in there for the cold weather. I cleaned the barn, cleaned up the yard, greased up the trailer and hooked it up to the truck, turned the compost piles and combined them into one with the tractor loader. Went through the old pig pen and cleared the hot wire of dirt and debris, preparing for the next round while the ground is still workable. Fixed a leaky faucet in the kitchen and then cleared a clog in the bathroom. Besides putting the grill away and doing a load or two of laundry and moving hoses and shaking down all the remaining apples from the apple tree and general picking up all over, I don't know where the day went, but I do know I was almost constantly moving today. It did feel good, I have to say.

When the days get short like this, but we get a warm southerly breeze, we tend to go nuts with running around outside, like the squirrels do. We know there are so many things to do, and we do get the necessities done before the snow flies, but if we have extra time, we find so much more to do! I could still have used more time to get to that dirt pile next to the berry patch, and to prune them, and work on the perennial garden, etc., etc., Guess that might happen if we get more mild weather, hey?

How long until bt doesn't work any more?

2009-11-06T11:31:00.002-06:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/business/06corn.html?_r=1&ref=science

The article linked above discusses another looming biological disaster. Rules and procedures that farmers who have planted bt corn designed by Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta, et. al are supposed to follow are being disregarded. If the guidelines are not followed, insect resistance to bt will develop.

The bt defense is one long used by organic growers and they loudly protested the injection of bt right into the corn by these companies years ago. The reason is because of this very issue. Any type of insect or fungus or other disease control is much more effective if done judiciously and applied appropriately at the right time and for the right reason, not just broadly spewed over half a continent.

What is infuriating is that our federal government looks the other way as long as the food and environment offender is a gigantic corporation. But when it comes to small, locally producing family farmers or even people just trying to feed themselves out of their own backyard, they are tightening restrictions, monitoring every move, and taxing and burying and choking these little guys with paperwork, permits, records and identification numbers and tags. While Cargill refuses to test it's ground meat for e.coli and gets away with it resulting in the deaths of many Americans every year and the sickening of untold numbers more, the government is hellbent on making sure every chicken in a backyard chicken pen has an id chip in it. For what? For traceability!

When I first started farming over 10 years ago, things were bad, but not this bad. Our government is getting worse and worse and even worser in terms of the ways it treats independant family farmers and consumers who simply want to buy healthy, wholesome food that was raised simply by folks they know. This is not just an issue for farmers, it is a major problem for anyone who eats.

Catch-Up

2009-11-04T20:56:00.004-06:00

I's been such a long time since I've blogged, it just feels wrong and sad. I have several reasons for not doing it in the last few weeks including not having a functioning computer, having lost the digital camera which causes me to hesitate to post any un-illustrated stories, having too much to do and of course, too little time to do it in much less to then sit down and write all about all the things I just did and didnt have time for, y'know?

So in no particular order, I have these things to say:

The broiler chickens are doing very well. I am impressed with their health and vigor. We only lost two at the very beginning, which I think were squashed by their bretheren. Karen, on the other hand, is unfamiliar with these types of chickens. She has a very different take on them and wants to arrange to raise the next batch totally differently. We have begun what will surely become a long process of discussion and compromise over the winter. Let me just say - I have been there, and done it that way, and I don't want to go back. That's all I'm saying about that right now!

While the broilers are a quite labor intensive agricultural product to raise, turkeys are in a class of their own. I have only raised them once before, and I found them to be messy, difficult to contain and keep track of, dificult to get them to do what you wanted and not what you didn't want, and then difficult to transport and store in a frozen state. This time around, I have found them to be even messier. They insist on getting up in the window sills of the barn at night and apparently a turkey poops an average of 20 to 30 timjes per night, per bird. And this ain't pigeon droppings either, my friends. These droppings rival those of our lab mix. So I guess you can ascertain where I'd put them in terms of doing what I dont want them to do!
Also, they have a habit of jumping into the broiler pen and eating all their food, etc., when they have the whole farm to roam. Though Dottie has already reduced our turkey flock herd by half, the biggest Tom has lately seemed to become keen on hurling himself toward her as she quivers on her side of the driveway, expectantly waiting a turkey dinner delivered fresh and hot. We have actually had to run, hollering at the turkey to get back as he runs headlong toward a certain mauling two weeks before Thanksgiving. It's like keeping a three year old child from the edge of a highway. You know that's where they are set on going. I was curious to try turkeys again and see if they really were as exasperating as I remembered. Oh. Yes. Next year, I'll be happy to support some other local farmer who went to the trouble with turkeys.

Now the pigs! The piggies are and have been a pleasure. They have grown so fast, you can practically watch them doing it. The hoop house in the piggie palace really did work very well. We got a very very wet October. They did finally end up playing with the tarp on their hoop house, and I did make some modifications to it, but I knew it was temporary anyway.
After we finished harvesting the garden in the middle or end of September, I started working on setting that area up as the next place to put the pigs. I enclosed it again with electric fence, and made a makeshift alley way between the palace on top of the hill, and the garden area below. They soon caught on to the routine of going back and forth, and now they readily go through the gates between the two. This is part of the big plan, as I hope that it will help when it comes to moving day, when we need to load them onto the trailer. I will back the trailer up to the same gate area well ahead of the time they need to go, and just let them explore it. Hopefully they will become accustomed to going onto the trailer, and I will be able to simply close the door behind them on the appointed day. That's a plan I have used before with pigs, and it worked beautifully. No stress for them or us!

I also had another big project that took me a few weeks to complete which was the new pig hut. This one is designed as more of a winter shelter, as I made it with plywood sides and a metal roof. I built it on the lawn, and pulled it on to the garden with the tractor just before bringing the pigs in there. They took to it right away, and it has served them well. We may be able to use this as an outdoor farrowing hut in the future as well.

The tractor is home now, and I am getting over my grudge against her. I changed her fuel filters the other day, and I held my breath a bit as I turned the engine afterwards, having heard all kinds of horror stories about diesels and dry lines, etc. But she fired right up and purrs like a kitten. The more I get to work on her and do chores with her, the more she feels like mine. I need to take a bit off the top of my exhaust pipe to be able to get her into the garage this winter. All the cars will have to park outside!

The garden was really quite a success. We have been eating from it pretty much continuously since we started in about May or June, I guess. Not exclusively, but virtually every day we eat from our garden. Last night we had some of our frozen corn, and it is still the most delicious and sweet variety I have ever had. We were all commenting on how much we love this corn, and we will definitely use the same variety again. We got it from Johnny's Seeds. Next year, though, I want to plant a different variety of pumpkin. The fancy french cinderella pumpkins may have been okay for pie making I guess, but they sucked for seeds or carving. I want the kind of punkins I used to pull lots of seeds out of as a kid! One of my favorite autumn treats is roasted pumpkin seeds.

We did have a really fun time taking Birk into town for Trick or Treating. Lots of friends there, great costumes, great decorated houses, and just really nice people. It was a perfect night for it, too, with a clear, cold, crisp night and a full moon!

So those are some of my random thoughts on this and that. I have been researching laptops/netbooks, and I am sure once I get a machine I can call my own again, I will be better at posting more regularly. Oh, and maybe we will find the lost camera and I can post pics of the new pig hut.

Autumn #2 at PFF

2009-10-25T21:26:00.004-05:00

The last post refers to a dry spell that in October has certainly been broken. Since that post we've had lots of rain, making for some challenges in our pig palace, and yes, they liked to play and rip up their tarp (another contradiction from the last post). Today, Red heroically moved her beautifully constructed new pig hut into the 'garden pasture' to give them a more solid place to stay toasty warm and dry. While she was rigging this small outbuilding up to her tractor and driving it to it's new destination, I got some much needed grown up time . My friend and I did some Earth, Wood, and Fire studio touring. I feel so grateful for these new friends- amazing artists just down the road who have been so welcoming to us. I like this place.

We have all had a great day- the sun was so warm today- and we all got to finish the day doing fall chores together, rubbing piggy bellies while they lounged in their new surrounds, and having a final hammock swing before putting it away for the year. (It's maybe the most time we grownups have had in said hammock, but last year when the hammock was unceremoniously put away without a certain kid being informed, it caused some 'big feelings'. ) This year, the big feelings were being grateful that pigs are moved, the sun was shining, the leaves and fields so many beautiful shades of gold it hurts, the successes of the season, and mostly, being together.

We're especially looking forward to getting the broilers to the processor. The weather has been so wet and cold that pasturing them didn't happen the way I had hoped. They're just for us- and of course they were raised well and fed organically, but I really wanted to optimize foraging and get them out. It could have been a perfect time of year to do them but this year it wasn't. I can't believe how much they are eating and of course the feed isn't cheap. I knew that when I saw a $30 chicken at the co-op last year that it really could cost that to raise an organic broiler. They are eating about a pound of feed a day each now. We have been slow to realize it and every other day- have a panic moment of getting to the feed store and hoping they have enough organic grower feed. We buy 2 bags and start all over again within 48 hours. Of course if we could figure out ways of growing our own grain or at least getting a gravity box to get better pricing and the convenience..... we'll see what we can figure out next time. Our turkeys are growing slowly and risk their lives daily by heading at a trot right for Dottie. It seems when you try to herd them they lose all their senses and run opposite of your guidance. Still, I like having them and we'll hope that the broilers slow down a bit while the turkeys catch up so we can bring them in together.

The hens are finally hens and we're getting those beautiful blue-green eggs again. The roosters- well- they are finally roosters and we get to hear the crowing again now. Our other hens are molting so our egg production is not yet booming (actually very slow and lots of days no eggs at all) but I think each of our 7 young hens should be on board now. B is thrilled to see those auracana eggs again.

There has of course been a lot of fall activity- getting compost on the asparagus/strawberries, lots of cleanup, mulching. The care of the animals always gets more intensive as they grow. We've had leaking chicken waterers plaguing us for weeks. Red was finally able to fix them as well as many other little things. Still waiting for a neighbor busy finishing his own long fall to -do list to get our fences up . But Red has her tractor, and we're chugging along. We see the slowdown ahead- more time to relax. And another season to plan.

One bit of news- we have a logo. Much gratitude to the design pals who helped us arrive at this. I can't seem to get it posted here- but we'll go figure that out!

Late Summer

2009-09-06T08:40:00.002-05:00

Sunny, 70

Summer is telling us to prepare for her departure. While we are still enjoying delightfully warm and sunny days, the nights are cooling down to the 40's, blanketing the dark in thick mists and fog characteristic of this time of year. The first few black walnut leaves have started to turn yellow and drift to the lawn, and our field is hosting larger and more raucous flocks of Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese these days.

The pigs are doing wonderfully. They clearly are having a ball in their 'Piggy Palace'. Between their frequent naps, they get up to eat, drink, forage, root, and race around playing with anything that seems amusing to a pig. That includes us, the dogs, tree branches, and even a rubber feed tub. Yesterday I watched as one of the shoats took an interest in the large rubber tub we use to give them liquid treats such as milk and yogurt, etc. Due to previous piggy activity, the tub was lying upside down. It is soft and collapsible when pushed on. He was nuzzling and nibbling the edge of the tub. Next thing I know, he is posessed by the same internal buzzer that makes puppies attack socks and kittens race up curtains, and he has managed to throw himself onto the tub, causing the tub to roll. Piggie did a full rollover off the tub, with the tub following right behind and rolling over the top of him. All the while, he had a sort of grin on his face, and seemed to think it was as funny as I did. I think he really did mean to do that! He seemed disappointed to look up and find that none of his mates had noticed his great stunt. Now you know why I don't need to watch much tv.

The hoop house we built for them is working out great, even better than I had hoped. First, I was concerned about how hard they might be on it, chewing it, rubbing on it, and generally beating it up, but they have so far respected it. Perhaps they have better things to do. They actually have used it when they need it, such as when it rains. But we have had a string of very dry weather, and even though it is getting down in the 40's at night, they prefer to sleep under their favorite tree. Pigs are much like puppies in the way they all pile together when they sleep. I'm curious to watch them and see at what temps they will finally begin to use the nest under cover we have provided for them.

The pumpkins are growing, and we have enjoyed our first honeydew melon, which was an absolute delight. We only got one this year, I am sure it was due to crowding from other squash plants and too much weed competition. Next year, we will have more melons! The watermelons have faired slightly better, and hearing that rind just pop open when touched by a knife makes my mouth water.

We have pulled up all the garlic and onions, and harvested most of the carrots. Dry beans are out, and mostly shelled. They are a project that can be put aside, and gotten to in little bits as time allows. It's one of those nice things to do on the porch in nice weather such as this, and it is fun for our guests to participate in and pop those pearly little white beans out of the husk and drop them satisfyingly into the big bowl. We often talk about bean and ham soup during this activity :-)

I also have a charcuterie update. Last weekend I smoked two more slabs of bacon. The first was a remake of my first effort in home made bacon, a maple cured recipie. The last one came out okay, but needed improvement in my opinion. So this time I rinsed the salt cure off longer (the first was too salty for my tastes), and I smoked it for a shorter time. By golly, I think I got it right. Wow. That was the best tasting bacon I've ever had! We have some sliced and saved up in the freezer.

The next day, I smoked a bacon that I had flavored and cured in a very different mix - this one was imbued with garlic and cracked pepper in addition to the salt. This one also came out very, very good! This more savory flavor is perfect for eating on BLT's, in salads, or just all by itself. This one is Karen's favorite. Good thing we can produce our own bacon, since we will soon run out. Maybe that just means I need to focus on making sausage and smoking hams!

Farmfoody.org

2009-09-06T08:27:00.003-05:00

Farmfoody.org

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This is a site we have found that helps foodys and locavores find a farm close to them. Check it out.

Official Food, Inc. Movie Site - Hungry For Change?

2009-08-24T22:01:00.001-05:00

Official Food, Inc. Movie Site - Hungry For Change?

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Turkeys!

2009-08-20T19:06:00.005-05:00

Our Thanksgiving dinner arrived yesterday morning, with 7 of her friends. Well, perhaps that sounds a big too crass when the emotions of looking into a cardboard box containing 8 little baby turkey poults have labels such as "oooooooooooh How Cute!" and "Wow, look - it ate a spider!"

Turkey poults are different than baby chicks. More active, more confident, way more 'are you my mommy?' They also need a very much higher protein diet than their smaller cousins.

As I drove by cornfields green and tasseling, soybeans still dark green and growing, windows down to feel the cooling breeze, I reflected on the moment. Here it was the height of Summer, cicadas buzzing, me in shorts and t-shirts night and day. The kind of day-the season in fact- we like to daydream about during a snowstorm. And I was driving into town to go pick up what will be my holiday dinner centerpiece. I believe this is what they mean by 'slow food'.

Our 8 poults have settled in nicely. You may not know this, but it is nearly impossible to find turkey starter (the feed formulated with the 28% protein that baby turkeys need) that does not contain drugs. I have had success in the past (the one time I raised turkeys) with non-medicated feed, so we are going to try it again. Most all the books say to give them medication to get them off to a healthy start. Since I couldn't find any feed in bags that fit our bill, I decided to mix my own from the grain mix I had on hand and added more soybeans to up the protein level. This involved grinding the whole roasted soybeans in our Kitchenaid grain mill and adding it to the grain mix, then putting it all in a cement mixer to ensure adequate mixing. I also am adding a poultry vitamin and electrolyte mix to their water. As of day 2 all is well.

Pig farming round 2

2009-08-15T22:32:00.005-05:00

The pigs came today- or rather, we retrieved them. Last year the guy we got them from brought them here and this time we got to load them, with his help, and unload them into their new home. I got to perfect my subcutaneous injections on swine (somehow, very different than newborn babes) and even with that additional insult the piggies were really mellow and hugely curious and rompy almost immediately. Having been farrowed in a barn, in a crate- this was the first day their hooves hit grass and dirt and the first time out in the glorious summer sunshine. They are quite pleased. They spent more time rooting, grazing, and chewing on the logs and fencing in their palace than finding where their grain was. Likewise, it took a while for them to find the nipple waterer but to cool them off and help them drink we put out a rubber tub filled with the hose and they launched and lurched their little bodies into it, limbs hanging off the sides while they splashed about. It is really cool (all over again) to see how pigs just like to be pigs- no matter how many generations have been raised in concrete slabs- they know what to do with dirt and pasture, know how to rummage out it's nutrients, cool themselves in it, play in it.

Every day seems to have it's successes and I've been finding ways to relish them amidst my 'constructive criticism' of what we'll do differently next year. Today- it was the pig arrival- not only celebrating our launching of another season, our second herd, but also hearing so many exuberant and encouraging responses from our friends who became our first customers last year. One family who had our pork and signed up for another hog this year came to visit and see the pigs today. Everyone is really excited and is sharing their appreciation of how great the pork was. It reminds me of one aspect of why I love this so much- it's like having all these friends for supper and knowing they enjoyed the meal! We will likely need to use another butcher and I'm hoping it will be as good or better than last time.

Another success - a funny one actually- is my first successful compost. I have been too busy to turn it much- and today- after cleaning out the chicken coop and adding the manure to our new pile- saw that both the new and old pile are that dark rich hummusy crumbly stuff that I've only READ about. I've been using compost bins in some form now for about 7 years, in my urban yards, and both because of frequent moving and the limitations in size, scope and content, my composting has always felt like a bit of a failure. I always cheer folks on- and tell them it's not complicated- but now I've really done it well!

A few days ago I was digging out hip-high weeds in my perenial garden and finally looked up to miraculously catch that view of the chartreuse dill weaving above the echinacea and the asters and the bobbing sunflowers and then surveying the alpine strawberries started from seed and the 6 strawberry transplants that now spread over the bed into a real PATCH and suddenly the 'What a disaster' summation of the garden turned to 'it's brambly and taking form into something really really beautiful'. Given that all of this work gives ya time to think, it's a great exercise in turning towards optimism- seeing what emerges and trusting that the world will grow and mend itself, that pigs will play in mud and runners throw out shoots to make strawberries, that rich fertilizer will emerge from what was dead and discarded.

2009-08-12T21:48:00.004-05:00

A few minutes before bed left.

Tonight after work we went to check out our next batch of feeder pigs. Way cute! They are the same three-way breed cross as the first batch, but they are mostly red and white, no black ones in this bunch. There is at least one 'calico' in the bunch. I wonder at my potential to make a true pig farmer due to my weakness for cute colors in a pig. Not the best way to pick out a good sound animal, but it certainly pleases me.

Been working hard on a new outdoor pig enclosure for these guys. This will be a large permanent pen set up in a grove of scrub trees, providing lots of shade, grass, leaves, fresh air, and general piggy heaven. There are still a few final touches that need doing, but the major work is done, and it feels good to know we'll soon have little grunting porkers pushing their noses through the soil.

When we have not been building pig pens and moving the new chicken fence, we have been
preserving as much as we possibly can from the garden. The limitation here is time. Our garden is providing us with a great bounty of everything. The peas are finally about done, and I am glad to not have to shuck them for a while, though I love fresh peas for sure. The beans are on their way to finished. The garlic is mostly out of the ground and drying in the barn, and the onions are soon to follow. We are waiting for the potatoes to season in the ground before we dig them for storage. We have been eating some fresh fingerling potatoes - yum! The biggest, best garden arrival in my opinion is the sweet corn! The corn is at it's peak right now, and I have to say, this is an excellent crop in all regards. Big, beautiful ears of snapping sweet kernels. Besides eating it right in the garden, and slightly cooked at dinner, we have been freezing most of it. This weekend I'm sure we'll be canning more corn. I think we'll have to go get more jars, as the tomatoes are right behind the corn.

My birthday present arrived today - it's the book titled Charcuterie, the Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing. This book is very much hailed in the meat foodie world, and a quick perusal tonight has me excited. I've got some pork ribs thawing in the fridge awaiting a magical transformation.

Who Owns Organic

2009-07-24T16:05:00.002-05:00

Who Owns Organic
This is a link to a very interesting chart. It is very eye-opening. There is a link on the page below it to view it as a full sized pdf, if you want.
The Corportization and loss of diversity and choice for both consumers and producers is not solely a problem for standard, commercially produced foodstuffs. No indeed, the Big Boys have eyed the success of the organic trade, and they have begun to move their attention toward many brands amiliar to those of us who think we are buying responsibly.

Be aware, be willing to buy small, local, and farmer friendly.

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USDA Admits GMO Contamination is Inevitable

2009-07-24T15:06:00.002-05:00

USDA Admits GMO Contamination is Inevitable
Well, this is great news. Though Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the EU have studied the issue of Genetically Modified Foods and determined that the unknown health risks are too great to allow, the United States of Corporations has of course been told we will accept these products, and accept them we have.

If anyone really wanted to stay away from these genetically modified foods, it is now assured that will be virtually impossible. These genes are like gazillions of tiny genies which have been invisibly popping out of their bottles across the land for the last decade now. I read an article by a prominent organic seedsman that basically admitted that even organic seeds are now heavily affected by GMO genes. In other words, they have escaped and are inserting themselves into plants all over the place. Only the very most isolated crops of corn, soybeans, cotton, etc. may be unaffected. For how long they can hold out is anyone's guess. My guess? Not too long.

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And Now For Something Completely Political

2009-07-24T08:18:00.004-05:00

Sunny, 80

It's a Saturday morning (for me), the sun is shining, the birds are singing. The garden and wild berry harvest are in full swing. We finally did get the much-needed rain over the last few days, so the lawn needs mowing again. Everything seems to be as it should be.

But there are unseen forces at work behind the scenes and beneath the radar that will surely have very serious long-term implications for every one of us in this country and even on this planet. I remember back in the late 60's and 70's, when I was a kid, the birth of the ecology movement. I remember public service commercials meant to wake citizens up to the shameful practice of throwing garbage out along roadsides or in other inappropriate areas. There was a commercial with a Native American man in full ceremonial dress (I guess so we could tell he was an Indian), with a tear streaming down his cheek at the wanton destruction of his precious Mother Nature. I remember there was a movement amongst the people sporting t-shirts and flying flags with the green 'e' symbol on them, meant to indicate support for a green revolution.

Fast forward 40 years. Yes, we've made some progress in some areas. Our understanding and application of organic agricultural practices has grown considerably. We now have words such as sustainability, free-range and permaculture in our lexicon. But at the same time, dark, evil forces have turned out nation into a Corporacracy. (Corporacracy, btw, is the term I use for a government by the corporations, for the corporations. We certainly are there, folks.) The Corporacracy has been growing like a giant blob monster in a b movie laboratory, feeding itself on the knowledge that people will make decisions based on emotion and not on fact. The monster has learned to become our master by manipulating our emotions via the advertising industry (one of it's most vital corporate tentacles) and the media spin industry. It has quietly and cleverly positioned it's minions inside political and legal processes, and inside government itself. In so doing, it has ensured for itself a smooth road to control of our food, our land, our bodies, and next, even our water.

This monster does have a name and a face. Monsanto, Cargill, DuPont, Siemens, Nestle.... it's actually (and tellingly) a rather short list. Taking advantage of loopholes in anti-trust laws and armies of it's own lawyers, these few companies went on a feeding frenzy in the 90's, gobbling up smaller companies that supplied essential goods to local communities and the world. Local packing plants, slaughterhouses, farms, feed stores, grain mills, auction barns, seed companies, chemical plants, food processors and suppliers, grocery stores and pharmacies, all bought up and rapidly shut down in the process of eliminating any possibility of competition (a principle on which our free market was founded, remember?) and diversity. Untold numbers of self-sustaining small towns across rural America have become ghost towns. No more jobs, no more customers, no more stores.

At the same time, the corporate megaliths have been planting their representatives in very key and crucial positions to ensure their own future health and, obviously, profit.

We had hope (yes, we did) with the election of Obama that things would finally be turned back toward justice and policies and decisions that would benefit the public and not the corporations. But despite a very loud and organized plea from citizens and small farmers across our country to appoint as the new Secretary of Agriculture someone who was not in the back pocket of Big Agribiz, someone who would guide us toward a more healthful and sustainable method of growing and harvesting our food, he appointed Iowa's former Governor Vilsack, a guy who is Big Corn, and who believes the Ethanol Myth. And now, this. Appointing a Monsanto Man to head the Food and Drug Administration. In most countries, this would cause civil unrest, but here we are too lulled by the circuses of media that tell us this is a good idea.

Apparently President Obama forgot that the only way we can avert total ecological, economic, and cultural disaster is to break the chains the monster has slipped around us all. It will take representatives in Washington who are actually willing to listen to the people instead of their corporate sponsors, and vote accordingly. Thus far, that has been impossible. The stranglehold this monster has on us is so strong that not only will our elected politicians not stand up against them, but if anyone does, most Americans believe the monsters' media campaigns, and actually fight against their own best interests, attacking any calls for reform and calling them "radical", "nutty", or (gasp!) "liberal".

If we continue at this pace, our entire food supply will be GMO, whether we want it to be or not, our small farms will be taxed and and regulated out of business (this could literally mean no more roadside stands for you all to buy fresh, local veggies, for instance), big business will succeed in literally choking off free water supplies to people and farms , food you buy in the stores will not have to carry labels informing you that they may contain chemicals you wish to avoid, every animal on even the smallest homestead will have to be implanted with a radio frequency chip, our soils, air, water, fish and wildlife will continue to be contaminated with hormones, pcb's and other chemicals with no government watchdogs to control or stop it.

As we were all told that we were standing on an economic precipice last Fall, we understood that we had to allow for drastic action in order to avoid falling over that cliff as a society, which would be a very bad thing. We are at an even higher precipice right now, that of being on the tipping point of the point of no return for our environment and the very means by which we obtain our food, and thus our future health and safety.

If the current economic disaster has been an eye-opener into how inter-connected and centralized our financial system is regarding who the powerful elite are and how much of our economic system they actually control, wait until you figure out who is in charge of our food, fiber, soils, seeds, and drugs.

If we don't wake up NOW and demand the turnabout of past good ol' boy practices and the investigation into facts surrounding these abominable for-profit companies stopping short of absolutely NOTHING to capture and control our food, water, and soil, we are going to experience a crisis far worse than something caused (and solved) by simple, silly money. There is no Central Farm to simply crank out more food or water when worldwide shortages hit. And like the greedy bankers selling off bad loans and investments that they knew would fail, causing our arrival at the monetary and credit cliff, these guys are busily manipulating markets and rules and governments in order to squeeze every penny of profit they can as fast as they can, never mind the crash course we are all headed on.

Growing Fruits and Pains

2009-07-21T08:41:00.005-05:00

Partly cloudy, 78

We were supposed to get some rain last night, but it never materialized. Like, it seems, every other rain forecast in the last month. We are getting our typical mid-Summer dry spell. While the hayfield stops growing, and we have to keep watering the garden, it also means I need to mow the lawn a lot less, freeing up some time.

The garden is growing like gangbusters, and harvest is underway. In addition to the aforementioned peas and beans and potatoes, we have been harvesting carrots and salad makings as we go, and the summer squash is coming on strong and ready. Karen has made some truly remarkable meals from the squash blossoms themselves! She has filled them with cheese, battered them and fried them - well, what's not to love? We should put them on a stick and sell them at the Iowa State Fair!

We've been harvesting black raspberries for the last two weeks, and it looks like they are winding down. I baked a blackberry crisp, and we have turned them into jam, and frozen them as well. They are my favorite berry.

Last weekend I made my very first batch of home made sausage! It took a bit of trial and effort to get the sausage maker/grinder to work properly, no thanks to very inadequate proto-Chinese instructions included in the box. But once I got the right combination of attachments on the thing, it was pretty fun! It actually looked a lot like the italian sausage in the butcher shop, and it tasted at least as good, if not better! I grilled some up for supper the next night, and we vacuum sealed and froze the rest for future use. I am proud.

We are making progress toward stocking the types of tools we need as well. We got in the campstove for canning that I mentioned in the last post, and we also recieved some electric poultry netting, that will allow us to move the chickens around the farm, yet keep them out of spaces we don't want them, such as in the tomatoes or other parts of the garden that are vulnerable to chicken pecking and scratching. We want to put them on grassy, weedy areas, let them eat bugs and grass, etc. We can also double the use of this netting by using it on pasture for pigs, too, or so I've read from other pastured pig producers.

The tractor is still down at the neighbors'. The diesel injection guy recc. re-building the pump, since it was time, and though it will be very tough to come up with the money, I felt we might as well have it taken care of now rather than have it go in the middle of winter when I have two feet of snow in my driveway. And this does not address the issue of metal in the crankcase, which is not a good sign. Every time I think of my tractor, I get a kind of a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I literally see those little dollars with wings symbols on them. The purchase of this particular tractor may have been a very expensive bad move on my part. It certainly has been a learning experience for me. I know more about what can go wrong on a diesel now than I wish I knew. I only hope that this learning lesson in the school of hard knocks will be over once I get her back and running again, and we have a long and happy future ahead of us. I do keep telling myself that this is a machine, and it can be fixed and restored. I am thinking of trying to locate a basic diesel mechanics class at a local community college so that I can understand and maintain her better once I do have her back here.

Starting to harvest

2009-07-18T23:23:00.002-05:00

A few days ago we canned up some dilly beans. These are basically pickled green beans, with some garlic and fresh dill. In some jars, we tossed in some jalapeno peppers. These are excellent in bloody mary’s, or just as a snack during football games, etc., which is mostly how we eat them.

Yesterday, I took one of my furlough days and made it a farm and family day. A beautiful warm, sunny day, high around 78 and breezy.

After cleaning up the kitchen, I spent about an hour in the garden picking green and wax beans. Got about 2 lbs., I’d say.

Came in and processed them by pressure canning. Beans do not have enough acid, so have to be pressure canned vs. boiling water bath like tomatoes or jams, etc. The result was 6 pints of beans stored up for winter. It feels good to think of those long cold winter evenings, and sitting down to a meal from our own garden. So our canning total so far is 6 pints dilly beans, 6 pints canned beans. This doesn’t count all the beans, peas, and black raspberries Karen has put in the freezer, too!

The whole process yesterday actually took about 4 hours, due to Curt stopping by in the middle to discuss progress on the tractor, and the frustratingly slow cooktop electric stove we have. Have I mentioned Karen and I hate that thing?

I have actually ordered a two burner propane stove, with legs and a wind baffle from Northern Tool (they don’t carry it in-store). It’s sold as a camping accessory. It should arrive this week. I can’t wait to get that and set it up outside for canning. This should help a lot, even if it doesn’t heat up the pots of water any faster (but I believe it will), it will keep the heat out of the kitchen during canning. I also want to find a used sink from the Habitat Re-Store and fashion up a sink and counter space area and create an outdoor kitchen. My hope is to make canning faster, closer to the source, less mess in the house, and of course, cooler, in both senses of the term.

Last week I dug some of our fingerling potatoes for the first time. These are yellow potatoes that grow to about three to four inches, max, and are designed to be eaten little. Oh my lord, they are so delicious. You can never know what a really fresh, tasty potato eating experience is like by getting them at the store, people. This Dairyland girl didn’t even want any butter on them!

And now we have a whole 20 ft. row of the things and they are ready now. I will start digging them today, and letting them dry a bit. I’m thinking about canning some of them. Karen is dubious. We will have lots and lots of storage potatoes in the basement, so I thought canning would be a good compliment. Might even can up some peas with some of them.

I mentioned the tractor. Sigh. It is now at Curt’s place. We drove it down there this last week. It did not, thankfully, do the screeching thing. But it did seem to be leaking fuel into the crankcase, indicating a seal, or o-ring, is bad on the fuel injection pump. He has a friend who works at a diesel injection place, and he has come by and taken the numbers off the pump so he can get the appropriate seal for it. He is due to come back on Saturday to work on it. Keep your fingers crossed. I miss my tractor, and I just want it to be healthy and happy. I got a wood stove free from a friend, but I can’t get it out of the back of my truck until the tractor is back home and running. So until my tractor is working, my truck is out of commission, parked in the garage protecting the woodstove…. Lol. Sometimes ya just gotta shake your head and laugh. Else you’ll get an ulcer.

2009-07-09T07:23:00.002-05:00

Well, as Karen mentioned, the big day finally arrived. Sure enough, we have tractor power. Red tractor power! DIESEL fired, 4 cylinders of International Harvester 674 loader tractor wheelin and dealin.

I found it on Craigslist, went and saw it, and knew it was just what I’ve been looking for. I was prepared to get a tractor of any color, but in my heart of hearts, I longed for another red tractor. (To the unitiated, un-tractored out there, this means basically that I am talking about an International or Farmall tractor, and not one that is green, or blue, orange, yellow, or any of the other tractor colors. Tractor companies paint all their machines the same color, and the practiced eye can tell the make of a tractor from a very long distance simply by it’s color). My very first tractor was a red and white Farmall, a very beautiful tractor, and I loved her. You know the rest of the girl meets tractor story. I am a loyal sort.

So I arranged with the neighbor Curt to haul it home. Curt is one of those best-you-could-ever-ask-for neighbors. He knows stuff, he’s got stuff, and he does stuff. He can pretty much do anything. He’s a master of machine and animals and crops, and he’s a genuinely nice guy to boot, and always answers his phone. So Curt got to the place, and he told me he looked the tractor over pretty good, and he wasn’t about to let me spend this kind of money if the tractor didn’t live up to it. But it got Curt’s okay, and he got it on his trailer and brought her home to me. That evening, while waiting for it to arrive, I was like an anxious mother waiting for her children to come home from a trip in a bad storm.

It finally arrived. There it was! A big red tractor! It was so cool! Just the right size! Wow, now I could DO some shit around here! My very own precious diesel tractor. A loader, with a bale spear. We can move dirt, manure, compost, big round bales, logs, snow, plow, chop, cultivate, elevate, pull, push, lift, drag, you name it! This 674 is a very capable all-around machine. I looked high and low and far and wide, and waited patiently for the right tractor to come along.

It was a little low in fuel, so Curt suggested I drive it down to his place and fill it up. It took almost 20 minutes to get near to his house. Before I got there, he came by in his truck, and said he had to leave to go look at some posts (some for our fence-to-be), so I turned around and headed back home.

I was tooling back home with a happy grin on my face. It sure felt good to be atop a tractor again. I loved this tractor. Yay.

Alla sudden, I noticed the oil pressure gauge dropping fast. What the…?? I looked below and behind the tractor for a trail of oil, nothing looked abnormal at all. Just as I was starting to wonder if the gauges weren’t working right (a common thing with older tractors), a terrible screeching noise and a puff of smoke came out of the front end! NO! I jerked the wheel to the right, and cut the engine as fast as I could.

I couldn’t call Curt, cuz he was on his way half way to Appleton. But another neighbor, Ron, came out and he got on his Farmall and pulled me home. Thanks, Ron.

I checked the oil level, and it was not only full, it was way over full. No leaks or anything.

I waited until the tractor cooled down, and we had a little talk. I patted her, and spoke encouragingly to her while I went about her with a rag, cleaning up various grease smudges. I won’t say exactly what was said, because that is a religious protection. However, I believe she liked what I told her. I will admit I made some promises.

I crossed my fingers, and tried to turn the engine over again. And she started right up, and purred like a kitten. No bad noises, no bad smells, all belts and hoses working just fine, and I had oil pressure….

Fast forward to today, and I have talked to all kinds of guys about this. I have gone from my stomach being in knots over this, thinking I need a new engine, to maybe I only need a new oil pump, to thinking maybe I don’t need anything except to change the oil and I dodged a bullet. Please, please, please.

I keep trying to think on the bright side. Like, it’s not 20 below zero, and the driveway isn’t filled with three feet of snow. I don’t have a crop of hay cut and needing baling now. But it’s hard, having a big new baby in the yard, and only being able to approach her with fret and concern. Sometimes I am filled with cautious optimism, sometimes with an unreal sinking feeling.

Curt is going to talk to the Olson boys tomorrow, after they finish milking. They run Internationals and they like to work on them as well. I will wait to hear what they think.

Now grit your teeth and clench your fists with me, and repeat, “Please, please, please”

There's a lot going on in a day on the farm

2009-07-07T20:50:00.005-05:00

It's interesting to me that in the silence and sometimes, alone ness in a day on this place, there is so very much happening. I think the blog makes me take stock of that. Yesterday, the tractor arrived and Red will tell the tale, I'm sure, of how kind words to tractors really might make all the difference in the world. Today, I shelled the first peas to freeze, eating a good deal of them right there. We've been enjoying the snap peas for several days but I've realized you really have to look in all the leafy spots- things are ready to harvest and you don't even know it. The english peas almost got missed. The black caps are just covering our back corner but I have to get a bug suit before I can really commit to harvesting them. I picked a small bowl full today and have the welts to prove it but not, however, the berries. Dottie seems to have helped herself, ever so grateful that I braved the brush to pick them for her. Grandma Betty has one of those bug suits at the cottage and I am so sold on all things meshy that keep out the bugs. I want a head to toe one really. And a harvesting basket that keeps out Welshies. Back to the garden and it's happenings.

The corn - has the beginnings of reproductive parts. The squash has so many blossoms on a single stalk it looks like a bouquet. The tomatoes are pushing out more green shapes - some long and pointy romas and some wrinkly bulging orbs every day. The northern and jacobs cattle have all emerged with long pods filling out. The melons and pumpkins are forming their blossoms. Onions are pushing out of the ground and I pulled a few out to cure. The carrots are really ready to dig en masse- I'm sick of losing half a carrot as I try to pull them one at a time as we need em. The garlic is starting to go dormant and thanks to Holly who visited this weekend and helped out- I got in the rows of carrots and more beans for a late harvest. Red and Holly took down some trees- and then we all piled them up in between weeding the gardens and drinking watermelon cucumber gin & tonics. It was a nice weekend.

I had another personal invitation today to offer our pork at our local coop and I want to go for it. I love our folks at Yahara- I felt like they were my first friends here and so welcoming. I'm thinking about potatoes too while they are the leafy green blossoming successes that they appear right now and I'm both forgetting how there appears to be no back saving mechanics when you're placing potatoes into foot deep trenches and I'm naive to all the pesty things that can go wrong. But I keep dreaming of selling our pastured pork with french fingerling and all the other varieties I want to try. Somehow finding a way to put all these pieces together to make some kind of working farm. To pay for getting the cows someday, to maybe make it work to get the rest of the land. Or just to make it all work the way it is.

Chicken stories- I planned to share a post on how I almost rashly decided to slaughter a rooster- we have too many and have been deciding which to keep for the farm and which will end up in a pot- and I've heard many tales and met a few mean roos. So we've been noting how they treat the hens, watching their manners, and observing signs for general macho silliness to help us make our decision. I went into the pen this morning and immediately a roo rushed me and pecked at my feet. Oh no you don't. My eyes flashed to figure out which one and to communicate that that move was one big strike against the beast. Then I noticed one of my dear hens also fast approaching my feet. I had painted my toe nails and, wearing flip flops (my 'farm flops' not my 'going on the town flops'..... my toes looked like the cherries I've been bringing for treats. So all is forgiven and the scoreboard is level once again. Seems like the boys are pretty well mannered so far. The meanest in the flock is the cuckoo maran (or barred rock.... still not entirely sure) hen. She is not the least bit pleasant.

But sadly, the chicken tale number two- is that one of the baby roos, the americana with the gold flecks, is doing the wheezing thing that Frances had done. The rest of the flock look great but he is weak, and I held him for a long time- feeling his crop. Its not the crop- it was pretty empty and we noted that his color is pale and feet cold. I was going to seperate him for the night- we were going to take some video to share on backyard poultry to try to get some insight into what this is- and when I came back from getting a waterer for him, he was not gasping and was pecking. I lifted him back to the flock, he pecked furiously and then as the night fell he weakly stumbled (and I mean stumbled) onto the nesting boxes where they sleep. Who knows! I am remembering all we did for Frances and I don't know what she had and I don't know if this is the same. I know the olive oil thing was just for the blocked crop- and I really think we can rule that out in our goldieroo. Rats. So we put him to bed with the rest (seems no point in isolating him) and we'll see what happens. Here I'm talking about doing roos in and then saving one- complex this chicken raising thing. I'm sure no chicken will break our heart like Frances did. But ya sure do bond with something when it's cradled in the crook of your arm and you are trying to nurse it back to wellnesss. This little roo was really snuggled in tonight.

I have to go to finish getting the peas in the freezer and get another lecture together. I had a chance to give a talk last night to a group of women that gather here monthly- starting to be a group of friends for sure. This weekend I'm teaching and again the week after. I'm really in a nice place with my business and my professional work but the numbers are looking so very very terrible. Damn this economy. Nice to think about the gratification of a pot of shelled peas and push it all out of my mind for the night. A farmer has to sleep ya know.

2009-07-03T10:49:00.004-05:00

Partly sunny, 80

Good morning.

Nice day we're having here. Can't complain, especially after several days of unseasonably cold and cloudy weather, when the highs were only in the low 60's.

Gonna have a little get-together back yard barbecue tomorrow for the 4th. Just a few friends coming over.

Karen's been digging a new spot in the garden to plant a second crop of green beans and some carrots. The potatoes are doing great - very few colorado potato beetles so far, we've been squashing the ones we find. Actually, the whole garden looks to be coming along nicely. The garlic should be ready to harvest soon, and we may try to dig some baby potatoes too. Can't wait for those! Yum!

I'm going to meet a guy this afternoon and look at this .

Edited to add: Yep. I liked it.

Not so hot

2009-06-27T21:48:00.002-05:00

Summary of a day:

Work schedule is shifting again, so today is my only day off in the week.

Got up, and it was blessedly cooler - we have been having a week of scorcing temps and high humidity resulting in heat indexes in the 100+ range. Which means no work outside of any length, especially not in the direct sun for this reddie! Or else - timberrrrr! But today was nicer, thank Maude.

Karen and I had plans to finish up mulching around the house and all the beds in front of the garage, the perennial garden, etc. Since we got the ton of mulch a couple of weeks ago, we've been pecking away at it here and there, but the trailer was still half full, and the truck was still totally loaded. So we wanted to get that all unloaded so we could use the truck for getting a new screen door. Well, started mulching, and the phone rang. The water heater went out at the duplex. Of course it's a Saturday.

I have recently acquired what I hope to be my "guy". You know, when somebody needs someting major done around a house, like a roofing job, or replacing a toilet, deck, or water heater, they ask you if you know a guy. Or if you have a guy. Anyone who has ever tried to deal with handymen and contractors know that a good guy is as good as gold. Long story short, I thought after not hearing from my guy that I would have to spend over $2,000 to get the heater replaced by a plumbing outfit, but then my guy called me and he was on his way over.
I was taking and making phone calls while pitcing a mountain of mulch. Got that finally done, took a shower, jumped in the truck, drove into town, wrote my guy a check (and offered to bring him a sandwich, but he declined),went to the Homo Depot and checked out doors, then to Menards to compare, definitely want the ones at the Depot, much better quality. Karen got a few potted plants to make her feel better. We bought 24 stakes for the tomato plants.

Got home, the weather was looking like rain was coming, so I started mowing to get as much done as I could while Karen made us supper. We had fresh greens and carrots! from the garden with bleu cheese, home made bread with an olive tapanade spread, hard boiled eggs, and she even made potatoe pancakes! I love these kinds of healty light dinners when it's hot out.

Then after dinner we went over to the neighbors to check on and put her broiler chickens in for the night. I spied an old Farmall 460 in the barn. Same as my old tractor. Awww, red tractors are the best!!

Noticed that the house that is for sale against part of our side yard had their (and our) boundaries surveyed. I am pleased to see that I'll be able to fence in about another ten foot -wide strip along the side yard/hayfield :-) When one is feeding ungry mouths, every square foot counts!

Did a little internet research, look up iris rot, because my iris bed in front is not doing very well. It is, I have learned, overgrown, and suffering from root rot and possibly iris borer. Tough I love irises, I'm thinking I may replace them with something a little less high maintenence. I've got enough things that need attention. I need to focus my limited time on things that feed us, I've decided.

Now it's time for bed. Got to go back to work tomorrow.

Here's what's growing!

2009-06-25T21:29:00.003-05:00

How many babies can fit in one nesting box?

Oh my- farmin keeps ya busy

2009-06-21T22:06:00.005-05:00

I can't believe it's been since May that we last posted. And I still am surprised that folks NOTICE (thank you dear friends who actually do read the blog. I'm always so thankful and honored.) So much work has been accomplished if not so much blogging. We can't believe all that is growing and all that always remains needing to be done. We have some half assed projects laying dormant- like the strawberry garden is now fenced in with chicken wire but only a small portion is buried and there is no gate. So Dottie gets into the garden and then has to tromp on everything 3 times before circling out the arbor. But we FINALLY got our truckload of mulch last week and I'm happy to say it's down and doing it's job. There are still a few areas that can use the wood chips and then there's the unloading of the balance of it in some good spot. But it was a huge thing that was delayed and delayed and just when we felt hopeless, Red got a better contact number than I had and the city of Madison dumped load after load into our pickup bed and trailer. A big thank you to the guy with the front loader.

The hay finally was cut (unfortunately just before a huge storm) last week and today the round bales were loaded into the mow. It seems dry enough. It will be waiting for the big critters that we'll hope to have by fall.

The garden is amazing. I'm curious about the tomatoes, that seem to be all in blossom and we even see some green tomatoes but look just sad. They are not too tall (just about 2- 2.5 feet at best)and the leaves look wilty (no spots, no bugs to speak of just droopy.) But our potatoes are so lush and the blossoms are coming in the fingerlings and the beets (why did I plant so few?) are ready.
The peas and beans are in blossom- we need to plant more rows of carrots and more beets! and beans but it's hard to imagine we'll eat all the beans that are already well underway. The wax beans and snap beans, northern and jacobs cattle are all looking great. The pole beans just got trellised late as they were crawling all over each other. It was very satisfying to disentangle them, methodically tying each piece of twine and giving them the support they need. My second patch of lettuce is ready and we harvested some of the tender baby carrots. A couple of months ago we bought a bag of those carrots that are lathed to be 'babies' and they were inedible woody things. So amazing to compare! The broccoli di rapa is bolting and I tried to freeze as much of it as I could but given I'm the only one eating em in this house.... I will grow them again but plan more company to come enjoy them. I wish I was feeding more of my friends, nudge nudge please visit!

The cherries - I've been harvesting them for the last several days and sadly, there are more with the little worms than not. I've developed a float test that works fairly well (the wormy ones float to the top) and then a painstaking picking through. It's discouraging to read the poor prognosis for organic cherries- but I'm interested in trying a more comprehensive strategy next year. It would be fine if the pests get a few but still leave us a harvest. It seems like it doesn't really go that way (and our apples seem to be pretty much completely lost to damage.) Hmmm. I hear we can sew up nets .... I do love to be crafty.

Wormy cherries aside (they are still CHERRIES and the ones that escaped are yummy!) This is such a great start on this farmin' thing. I feel so grateful for all that we've been able to do but also for the plants that keep growing, ready to give us this amazing food. I have been reflecting a lot on my anxiety about failing - why I have been so vulnerable to my ego being all wrapped up in outcome. I'm choosing to be amazed and impressed and see that my tending this thing is a small contribution.

The last two days have been exceptionally and abruptly HOT. Heat index near (or over? 100) and the chickens are constantly panting and holding their wings out to stay cool. What can ya do? Maybe bringing them into our one air conditioned bedroom but that might make us seem really crazy. We have shade and a fan for them. I've still maintained some good hours of weeding and working on various projects but have to do them first thing and in the evening. I'm enjoying cold showers to wash off the mud and I'm forgoing my concerns about water use to enjoy a few a day if I want (they only last a few minutes!) Today, I was weeding between the rows of beans and the soil is still moist from the heavy rains last weekend. To save my back, I was kind of crawling along and the cool(relatively cool...it was still steamy) ground felt great. I am so used to being a dirt streaked mess (in between those cold showers) and having clothes that just never come clean. Red was concerned that neighbors might have seen me rollin in our weeds. :) I try to look more composed than that- ya can see us from the road. (I thought through that one while wearing my sundress weeding.) But it's just that fun! I'm glad to have all this work. I'm currently sans baby as she is with her other mom and I'm finding my way through it all. I'm glad to be tending this bigger than me thing and appreciating what it gives back.

New baby chicks!

2009-05-19T11:36:00.002-05:00

2009-05-18T19:33:00.005-05:00

65, cloudy and windy

Things have been so busy lately, there has been no time at the end of the day to write, or even to blog, which isn't actual writing, is it? There has only been time to sink into the sofa, muscles sore, hair dirty, face and arms glowing from the sun and wind.
The exhaustion that comes at the end of these days may seem terrible to the soft city folks who might be following along, but it is not at all terrible. In fact, quite the opposite- it has the effect of feeling really alive. Knowing what got accomplished today, and it is substantial. Getting soil turned. Seeds into the ground. Recalling how open and wet with dew the lawn looked when I first arrived this morning, and how when I finally quit there was a new chicken coop sprouted up. Or how it feels to keep plugging away at the major parts of a long-term task, things we've been planning and working on since winter, such as the started indoor tomatoes, or the cold smoker. It is a great feeling of deep satisfaction and accomplishment to work toward a part of a big goal.

Today, I finally realized my funny, cool, quirky and genius goal of building my own cold smoker on the cheap. After several months of planning and thinking and scoping and scrounging, I finally had the parts and the time, and I dug out my trench smoker. I did it with a grin on my face, since I knew I had a few pounds of fresh side pork curing in the fridge with maple syrup and salt, waiting to be smoked into bacon. As soon as my smoker was ready and the first trial fire burned, I put that slab of sweet and salty pork into my smoker, and fueled it with apple wood. The culmination of many hours spent tending the pigs, and dark cold winter nights researching and dreaming about home made bacon and other smoked meats was everything I had hoped it would be.

So it is anything but a terrible feeling when I sink into the couch, and maybe enjoy a cold beverage before I hit the shower to wash off the soil. I think humans are meant to work, as the feeling of satisfaction that comes from knowing we put in a good day at it ranks way up there. Of course, the work we do needs to be meaningful to us, not simply random in order to have this effect.
There is no other work I would rather be doing, than to be creating and building our own food and shelter systems. It just makes me happy. The fact that I get to do it outside while listening to the wind and the birds and the distant sound of neighbors tilling and plowing and planting just makes me feel connected and alive. If I only have one life to live, I am lucky that I am able to work so hard in this way, able to create and see and feel and eat the fruits of my labors.
I will post pictures when I can access them!

Mistakes and happiness

2009-05-12T21:24:00.004-05:00

So today I worked on thinning out seedlings. The rows of carrot seedlings are emerging along with the grass and weeds- and the picking out of things all less than an inch or two high was not the kind of task I was in the mood for. The crooked rows and the sod clumps left behind felt chaotic. I didn't mark the rows so I'm not sure where things ended intentionally ( I left room in each row to plant successively) and where my seeds just failed to emerge. It was a sudden jolt into reviewing and assessing. It made me mighty mighty cranky for a beautiful May day.

I have been making new beds, tilling up soil and shoving things into the ground (including fence posts) non-stop for the last 2 weeks. We've put in beans (4 kinds but still many left to get in), peas (snap and early), broccoli di rape and romanesco, beets, radishes, lettuces (how many kinds?), raspberries and strawberries, the pears and the hazelnuts, thyme, oregano, basil, mint, dill, cilantro, thunbergia, delphinium, sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias, catanache, nasturtiums, hollyhocks, columbine, artemisia, sedum, and 50 lilies. The lilies I ordered from blooming bulb - which offers things in a minimum of 25 but the prices are great and they actually do have a guarantee that they will grow. I have dug up 4 new flower bed areas in addition to the asparagus garden that has lots of room for flowers. It's been a keep-on-moving kind of pace and it's felt good and I can feel the progress we are making.

But this morning- the seedlings were both a success and another moment of self-doubt. I thinned- which is not easy to do- yanking out the beginning of something that just did this tremendous job of pushing out from the soil. I couldn't connect that the jumbled mess would look like a row of carrots worth eating. I wished I had mounded the rows- pulled out more sod clumps- made more space between the rows so I didn't tromp the babies when I tried to straddle my work.

I realize it may seem a little silly to have been (and still can be) anxious about this gardening thing. With money tight- it's felt like a big investment and I can't keep the details so straight. All my great planning beforehand (more detail than I like) and then I look up and realize I've poked several seed packets into the ground and I'm not exactly sure where or what. Today I planted some glads and a dahlia and after putting the last one in began to worry that they were closer to 6" deep rather than 4. I started to dig them back out- but then didn't find them all and now I'm a bit worried that I stirred them up under the soil- maybe turning them upside down... and now none of them will grow. And the flowers especially- are a big splurge. I'll confess that we have 2 rows of fingerling potatoes- one of which is emerging fairly consistently and the 2nd row isn't. I dug at it today to see if I had planted the entire row too deeply and now they were all rotting in the ground. Maybe I could nudge them up a bit higher and it wouldn't be too late. Instead, of course, I merely lopped off the shoot that had been trying to push through. It feels like there isn't much correcting here. I feel in some ways that I'm working out some things about 'doing my best' and letting go. And I see Birkleigh leaping along beside me, while I teach her to focus and finish and do your best... and I realise gardening is going to keep on being a lot like parenting. So here we go- our first season. And my crooked carrot rows and my curvy bean rows and maybe just maybe my dug too deep dahlias will amaze me.

As the day ended, I smelled the sweet lilacs, and my eyes kept scanning over the hill into the orchard with the blooming apple and cherry trees and the linden and the redbud and the sun setting on the barn. I looked up and saw my lovely mate coming from saying her goodnights to B. If I can look up from the mistakes, I can see that this place is what happiness looks like.

Karen

I smell hazelnut encrusted pork in our future.....

2009-05-02T21:46:00.003-05:00

Had to work today, but I've got the next 5 days off. I knew back in March or so that I would need this time to get things ready for the Spring rush. Baby chicks are coming next week, the garden needs planting, yard needs attending, we want to put in rain barrels, etc. There are just a million projects and little jobs that need doing. I look forward to the time, but I know it will end too fast and I will be disappointed in how much I did not manage to cross off the list.
Nevertheless, after work today we all planted the two hazelnut trees, worked in the yard some, watered the new plants, and I mowed the lawn for the first time this year while Karen planted the rhubarb crown we got. We had chicken on the grill, made with the two barbecue sauces I tried on the ribs earlier. Delicious!
And oh, yeah! I started my first try at home made bacon today. took a hunk of fresh side pork as it's called in these parts, and rubbed it with half a cup of salt and half a cup of maple syrup. Popped it into the fridge to let it marinate. This should take a few days. I may need to check it in a few days to change the salt for fresh, etc. This process draws out much of the moisture, so that it keeps longer in addition ot flavoring it. When it has been salted enough, I will rinse it and dry it off, then I will attempt my first real smoke. I'm very excited to try it. It is a deliciously, beautifully slow process. Stay tuned!

If You have A Stuck Bolt, Give Me A Call

2009-05-02T21:01:00.002-05:00

Friday, May 1, 2009
Sunny, breezy, 67

Today our order from Jung's came. We ordered 3 black raspberry plants (Jewell Black), 2 Filbert or Hazelnut trees, and some Valentine Rhubarb! We got the raspberries put into the ground right away. They came as sprouted shoots. The others we got earlier are canes which look dead and are supposed to sprout new canes from the roots. Karen is certain they are dead as door nails. I remain optimistic.
One of the pear trees we planted is blooming! Yay! the other still looks like it may or may not wake up. Karen also thinks this one is dead. I don't think so.

I mulched the onions and raked some more of the garden.

After work, I decided to tackle the trailer hitch. I ordered the hitch for the truck, as well as the necessary wiring needed to hook up a trailer. It had come in the mail a few days earlier. I had made a few attempts to start by trying to remove some bolts from the frame of the truck. As I had anticipated, they were rusted solid under there. I used my trusty can of PB Blaster (that stuff works!), and swore a million times getting under and back up from my truck. looking for the right size socket, etc. Though I actually own no less than 3 socket and ratchet sets, somehow I seem to be lacking a 3/4 inch socket. Guess which size my offending nuts were? Go ahead, make the offending nuts joke.

In the following days, I chewed on my lunch plotting and scheming against those bad nuts. They were obviously in cahoots with a couple of real undesirable bolts. I plotted my revenge, and headed to Sears.

A few minutes later, I left Sears with a renewed sense of confidence, a lilt in my step. I had a new toy. I'd always thought my air compressor was lonely without a real air impact ratchet. Well, she'd need to pine no longer! Heh heh. That bolt was coming off. And in a hurry. With no smashed knuckles. Not hardly any effort on my part. And bonus - it would be with a satisfying vornado! of garage sound!

Now, don't worry I'm sure I will be able to find plenty of other applications for my air impact wrench. Farms are full of rusty bolts and stuff. And I got it on sale! I did pick up some necessary accoutrement's; goggles (cuz shit FLIES when you use one of these things, whee!), air tool oil, and some impact sockets. All I need.

Honestly, I wish I could have made it last longer. Those bolts unbolted in a speedy fashion once they had the business end of my air impact wrench ordering them to spin. They backed out in a satisfying cloud of flying rust and vvvvv vvvvvvv! I was wishing I had more rusty old bolts to unhinge. I started to think maybe I'll learn to do my own brake jobs. How hard can that be?

Not as hard as putting a 60 lb. trailer hitch on the back of a pickup truck! Now, basically, all I had to do was lift this hitch into place, line up the three holes on each side, and bolt it on. The hard part was getting it up there and holding it steady while putting a bolt in. I tried using two jacks and a crank, but it wasn't working. So I had to ask Karen to come and give me an extra set of hands.

She emerged from the house in a purple lounge suit, covered in a plaid quilted jacket. At least I got her a towel to kneel on. After lots of jockeying and excited talk between us, we got the first two bolts in, and the rest was all downhill. She went back inside to put Birk to bed, and I finished wrenching under my truck, listening to blues on the radio. Life can be good. Got the wiring harness all hooked up properly, and voila! We are in business and ready to haul!

I will admit, however, that I may have developed a slight hitch in my giddyup from all the rolling and thrashing on a cement floor, punctuated by a zillion repetitive stress movements of crawling back out from under the truck for parts and instructions, and from trying to bench press 60 pound with my arms and alternately my legs while gingerly applying a cross bolt. Man, I woke up the next morning feeling like a Bears quarterbck after a game at Lambeau. What is the name of their quarterback? Does anyone know who their qb is this week?

One More Time

2009-04-26T09:00:00.006-05:00

Rain/thunderstorms, 43 degrees

I had spent a good hour writing a blog about all the work Karen and I put in the yad and garden the other day, and it has disappeared into the ether despite our making sure to save it. So here is my abbreviated redact:

Friday (April 24) was the only day of the week it seemed we'd have decent weather for working in the garden. It had been relatively sunny, and the forecast was for highs around 82(!) and windy. I took a half day off work and was out the door by 8 am with my gloves on.

First I tackled a long awaited and on-going project, filling in and seeding the trench area in the backyard. After the water and electrical lines were dug and laid last Fall, it was backfilled with dirt and packed down. But we needed to wait and see how much it would sink after the frost went out this Spring. Thankfully it didn't sink too far in too many places, but I still had some backfilling to do before I could lay grass seed down. I'd been bringing a few wagon loads of dirt over from behind the pump house as time after work allowed, but the weather didn't cooperate and much of the time my dirt pile was a pile of mud. Finally, Friday morning I was able to load the last of the necessary fill into the area behind the house and start tamping. Then I put up a fence to keep the dogs off of it. This is a long trench, and cuts all the way across the backyard, so I have to do this in sections so the dogs can still access the rest of the yard. I raked it smooth, put down my seed and mulched.

Then I headed up toward the asparagus bed and started digging post holes while Karen hit the big lower garden (formerly the old garden, pig pen, and lawn)and started planting onion sets. These are basically baby onion plants and give us a jump on the growing season. We planted three varieties, a white, a yellow, and a red onion named Red Zeppelin! Hellyeah!

The post hole digging was going very slowly in our heavy soil. Karen asked for my help in the big garden which I was more than happy to provide. We dug, raked, pulled sod clods, smoothed, marked, planted and identified two 30 ft. rows of onions, carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, and potatoes!

Speaking of potatoes, I have a bit to say about our spuds this year. First, we ordered a few varieties from an outfit back in Maine called Pinetree Garden Seeds. I've dealt with them in the past, and always had good service and results from the seeds I ordered from them. I particularly liked that they sold smaller sized packets than most other places, because who really needs a thousand beet seeds?? I had never ordered potato sets from them, but I didn't think anything of it. We did get all the seed packets we ordered in a very timely fashion, to be put into the laundry room awaiting their time for planting. The spuds hadn't arrived, but we weren't concerned since planting time was many weeks off. However, as of two weeks ago, we still hadn't gotten our potatoes from Pinetree. Karen called and called, finally getting a hold of a live person, and was told
"Oh, you wanted those now?"
Ummm.... were you thinking we wanted them for the fourth of July? In doing some searching, Karen discovered quite a few complaints about Pinetree's customer service and shipping delays. Hmph. The phone call happened two weeks ago, and we still don't have our potatoes from Pinetree! You can bet we won't be ordering any more non-seed items from them. Maybe even not seeds. There are lots of alternatives.

We had picked up one bag of fingerling potatoes locally at Jung's since Pinetree didn't offer that variety. I picked it up several weeks back knowing it may be out of stock if I waited too long. The risk with this was that my storage conditions are less than perfect, and our seed potatoes started sprouting. A little sprouting isn't such a bad thing, but ours sprouted a LOT. Many of the new shoots broke off in trying to prise them out of their net bag. For those who don't know, when planting potatoes, one cuts a spud into sections containing two or three eyes, so you can harvest more from one potato. Also for those who didn't know, and this included me, potato seedlings and sprouts are tasty to Welsh Springer Spaniels. I went into the house to fetch the camera, and by the time I walked back out onto the porch, I caught Dottie munching some of my spuds up. Sigh.

But at least we had this batch, so we dug up long trenches and put them in. It was exhausting work in the heat. Though I'm never a very heat-tolerant variety of human, I especially don't do well on the first 80 degree day of the year after a long cool winter. I need hardening off just like my tomato plants. Luckily for me by this time, it was time for me to get ready to go in to work, so I got to hit the shower.

Karen being the trooper that she is continued working in the garden. Then she went to town and did the shopping, cleaned the house, made dinner and a batch of homemade sourdough bread. By the time I got back home after work, she was back outside finishing up. She's a keeper.

Farm Truck

2009-04-25T10:34:00.003-05:00

Finally found a truck we can call ours this week.
Never owned a Dodge before, but this one had the right features at the right price. Got an extended cab for the baby, V-8 for haulin lumber and piggies, 4-wheel for getting in and out of the driveway. It didn't have a trailer hitch, which I took as a good sign. I'd rather put my own hitch on than wonder whether the transmission was abused in the past. So I ordered the hitch and a wiring kit which should arrive next week. Then we can stop hauling with the minivan!

This is Karen posing with the new Dakota. She laughed at me for buying rubber floor mats for the truck. I know what the floors of a farm truck can get to looking like. Think I should ban her from driving it if she's gonna laugh at my detailing choices?

pics of early spring

2009-04-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

2009-04-18T21:00:00.004-05:00

April 18, 2009
74, cloudy, slight drizzle

Things are moving along around here. After last weeks' tilling up of sod, we let it rest a few days in order to let the exposed grass roots dry out and (hopefully!) die. Today we rented a tiller again in order to go over it all one last time. Now that the root layer of the sod is broken up and beginning to decompose, we can go through and reach deeper. This worked pretty well in most spots, however we did discover a fairly wide swath in our future veggie patch that contained a trove of treasures. Birkleigh has now opened up her own museum from the artifacts we have dug up. Her display includes two forks and a spoon, can lids, pot shards, and other flotsam. We also unearthed half a mile of chain and wire, all previous dog anchors. This place used to be a dog farm. Well, not quite so nice a place as a dog farm, really. it was a place dogs lived on chains, under cars and an old bus. I was actually here once, in a professional capacity.

But that was then, this is the hereafter. Our little piece of the world is now only occupied by very happy and very well trained dogs that choose to ignore their good training on a regular basis. Because we are so gentle and generous, we only laugh merrily at their adorable antics such as jumping up on old people and excavating out all the bulbs I planted 6 months ago just as they are about to bloom.

Back to the garden! We have pried out long lengths of chain, pieces of glass, two basketball sized boulders, enough wire to start a Radio Shack franchise, and the remnants of an old fire pit. It brings up a mixture of surprise, adventure, mystery, and a re-working of our garden layout. Probably not a good idea to put the potatoes where there seems to be an old brickyard 6 inches below the surface, etc., etc. Maybe we should put them closer to the compost pile this year, and put the corn over there. Potatoes can be grown in containers, but we are wanting to grow a whole lot of potatoes. We'd never have enough containers.

Anywho. This was the third tiller we've used in a week, and I can't say I liked any one of them enough to say I'd buy one. After the Italian job, we used a Snapper. That was easy to maneuver and the controls didn't wear one's hands out, but it didn't have the weight to power through thick grass roots without lurching forward. The one today was enormous. Not in the width of the tines, they were maybe 24 inches wide, but it was built heavy It had a huge front end. While the extra weight did help hold the tines in the ground when it came to churning through those sod roots, it made for a very exhausting excursion around the beds. It was tooo heavy to want to have as a member of the Prairie Fire Farm stable.

At the end of the day, the beds were as tilled as they were gonna get, we loaded the tiller back up onto the trailer for the return to town tomorrow. That's a good feeling. The rain is going to start tonight. The next two days, in fact, it's going to rain. I wish we could get at least one more sunny day to rake the beds smooth and get some more planting done.

We did manage to get a raspberry patch started up near the hay field. Took some before and after shots.

Spring is really quite underway. The grass is greening up very nicely, the birds are singing their little heads off, the first flowers are blooming, the buds are just beginning to swell on the apple trees. We've had a few very nice warm and sunny days, and then we slide back down into chilly cold days. Looking forward to going through our first Spring here on the farm!

Sod Bustin

2009-04-13T15:46:00.004-05:00

Oy, my hands are sore. Arms and shoulders, too, for that matter. And my elbows...don't even bring them up. These are times when I miss having a bathtub as much as my Piscean partner does. A good long hot soak would sure do me good right now. You see my friends, this weekend was sod busting weekend. When we bought these 8 acres, the area around the house and outbuildings was all grass. I'd guess we had about an acre and a half to two acres of lawn all together. It took me about two hours of solid mowing on a 20 hp 46" cut Cub Cadet, consuming about 2 gallons of gas to cut my grass every week last Summer. I don't mind cutting the grass, really, it gives me some of that zen time I like to think about stuff. And I can't help myself, I really get a great deal of satisfaction in a beautifully mown lawn. To me, it really pops out as a great look. The neighbors all appreciate nicely kept homesteads (as do I).

But I know that lawns are also a waste of good soil sometimes, and they require lots of petro inputs, etc., etc. You won't find me on the short list of people who want to abolish lawns, no way. I love a good lawn. But I approach my lawnphilia with a common sense approach, I hope. One that allows for plenty of weeds. Heck, some years, in some places, if it weren't for the weeds my whole yard would have gone brown from drought. At least it still looked green from the street! Ha.

But this is not really a post about my lawn. It is actually a post about killing my lawn. I have gone and chopped it up into little bits, but it is all for a higher purpose! Karen and I have been merrily plotting and scheming and graphing and collecting bits in order to put in our first 'real' garden this year. So, much of the lawn has been sacrificed. We did manage to hastily dig up a bit of a patch immediately after moving in here this Summer, and we did get a decent crop of lettuce, radishes, beans, carrots, cucumbers and squash. But that little patch needed to be expanded by oh, I don't know, a million-fold or so. Why not?! We've got the land, we've got the willingness, we've got the seeds! We just didn't have a rototiller.

But have not fear, friend Lindsey who is a young farmer into digging veggies and working at the local co-op said she'd loan us her awesome walk-behind machine. Lindsey delivered the blue beast on Saturday. She showed us all of it's amazing features. I noted it was made in Italy. Hmm. The Italians are known to me as being fine cooks, vintners and artists. They can make some world class espresso machines and of course, some really nice slippers. But machinery? Yeah. Well I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so off she went, and off we roared to the bed in the backyard. 32X32 sq. feet for asparagus, strawberries, onions, and flowers and I don't know what all. Got about two rows done when there started a terrible grinding noise from the gear box. Karen and I banged, pushed, yanked, tightened, oiled guessed and cursed...but the dang thing just got worser and worser. After several hours of physically fighting with this thing we were exhausted and frustrated. Sore muscles, bruised hands, and frustrated. I put the Italian Job in the garage.

Then today we rented a tiller from the local hardware store. Smaller in width, but at least the tin was painted a respectable red color. However, as alluded to in an earlier post, those of us who work in concert with the good earth must deal with her changes. No turning up the heat or flipping on the lights out here. You just get what you get. And of course what I finally wound up with on the last day I had off was a wicked soup of clouds, wild easterly winds, and plummeting temperatures. I pulled the engine to life and threw her into gear, and the red tiller and I attacked my previous lawn with a gnawing, churning vengeance. Sometimes it would hit a dry spot and lurch forward at 50 mph, yanking my shoulders and yes, my elbows out of their sockets. Despite this, it was a kinder, gentler machine to commandeer over my sod. After a couple of hours, I had managed to go over all 3,000 square feet of our future garden patch twice. It had started to drizzle a bit, but that wasn't hitting the ground since the wind was blowing it sideways. When the dirt would periodically clear from my eyes I'd look up and make sure I was traveling in a relatively straight line. This was not always as easy as it may sound, since we had pigs on part of this ground last Fall. Though they were good at tilling up a lot of the grass, they were also very good at building ditches, swales, berms, and gullies. So the tiller and I pitched and rolled along, churning up the dirt into a rough loose soil.

After I finished the 3,000 sq. ft. bed, it was time to move up the hill and break ground on the future melon patch. This one was only 11X25 or so, I don't remember anymore. Why a separate melon patch? Why because we ran out of room in the first patch, that's why. Where else are you going to put all that sweet corn?! And I refuse to go without a fresh melon, besides. Just as I finished up tilling that patch on the hillside, the drizzle turned white and chunky. They had forecast a high of 56 today, and a chance of rain. This was not one of their proudest moments.

Be that as it is, by god, I got the whole damn thing tilled. At least the first round!

In the end, we will have created a win-win: more food for us to eat from our own efforts, and less lawn to mow. More of what we harvest will be powered by human hands, and less will be clipped by me on my Cub Cadet.

I just hope I can get all that thinking done on my smaller lawn.

2009-04-08T21:19:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I've been able to bring myself to sit down and post, I guess losing Frances sort of put a damper on things. Like Karen said, she really was the best chicken I've ever had. I realize that folks who have never owned chickens will really have no idea how in the world a chicken can be entertaining or endearing, but people who have raised chickens understand. They really are not simply silly, clucking, feather-covered automatrons that lay an egg a day and are otherwise regarded about as friendly or useful as a housefly. They can be real cool. As Birkleigh is discovering, chickens can be as engaging and entertaining as kittens. And I have yet to meet a kitten that would leave me anything I wanted to eat.

We've been staying busy here. I did pick up some cukoo marans chicks at the swap. I was so sruprised to see them there. A rare breed, they are prized for their super dark chocolate eggs. I figured mixing in some dark chocolate eggs with our light brown, white, and olive green eggs would make for some very colorful egg cartons. The marans chicks are doing well and growing fast. We needed to keep a heat lamp on them the first few weeks at night due to the cold temps, but now they have all their feathers and they don't need the extra heat. And yay! says our electric bill! I'm still looking at them with a squint eye and trying to determine if I have 4 hens and one rooster, or 3 hens and two roosters... hm. Either way, it'll be fine.

Our Spring chicks will be arriving in a month! Birkleigh is very excited about baby chicks again.

And we started our tomato and peppers in the house a couple weeks ago. Karen did most all the selection of varities, and she chose some old heirloom tomatoes that sound pretty cool. Some will be for fresh table eating, and some are a bit drier and more suited for canning and making into tomato paste, etc.

We're still in stocking-up and getting equipped mode on this new place. In the last month, we got our meat grinder/sausage stuffer so we can process more of our own meats into sausage. I'm still on the hunt for the right materials to make a good smoker out of. Speaking of smoking...I made some truly fab ribs a few weeks ago, and I had plans to post about it. I took pictures all through the process, so that'll be another post unto itself.

Karen also finally got the grain mill she's been wanting. It attaches onto her Kitchenaid mixer, and it grinds the hard red wheat we get from a neighbor, who grows it organically. It's kind of fun to watch the wheat get turned into flour. And then Karen really goes to work, setting the kitchen apoof with flour and pans and baking stones. She's made some great breads and the best bagels ever! And let me tell you...slathered in the butter we made from the whole milk we get from these same neighbors is heavenly. The cows are grass fed, and you can taste the difference.

Other recent projects include me making Karen an arbor out of an old woooden ladder for her birthday, planing down some barn doors, raking and cleaning up the yard, protecting the bulbs from the dogs' paws, going to auctions, and oh yeah, those taxes.

It's been too wet to till the lawn up into what will be the garden yet, and this situation has made Karen beside herself with anticipation and frustration. She knows it is going to be a great big garden, and take lots of work, and she is as eager as a spaniel at an open pheasant field to get going on this! But the damage that can be done to the soil if it is worked too soon is substantial, and will affect your crops for the rest of the year, so it must be avoided. It's been a mixture of empathy and amusement for me to watch her experience her first real taste of how tied we are to the weather and whims of Mother Nature. We can till when She lets us, and only then. It will be on Her schedule, and not ours. And the right moment will most certainly come at a time when it is impossible for us to comply, such as the middle of a work week, particularly if we will be out of town. Unless of course, it comes on a weekend, which usually means we will be suddenly laid up with a bad back or the car is in the shop and we can't get to the tiller rental center. When we can get there, everyone else will have gotten there first, and the tillers will all be rented out until the next rainy day. I believe this is keeping Karen tossing and turning at night. I, with all my wise and sage farmer experience, instead decide to worry about things I can control, such as the world economy and whether it even makes sense to buy a tractor with an internal combustion engine if we face the end of oil in the next thirty years. We make a great pair!

Letting go

2009-03-24T09:38:00.002-05:00

Yesterday just after posting I went to check on Frances. Red called to go over our checklist of supplies as she was getting ready to leave work and come back from town. "Go check on her"- I didn't want to. As I suspected she was dead. I tried to call my ex in Michigan to ask to speak with Birkleigh to tell her. She's there for spring break. When she asked Birk, whose feeling yucky with a cold, Birk's response was that "I don't want to talk to Mama- she's going to tell me Frances is dead." I suggested they could tell her I could just read a story to her and not discuss chickens. We're so honest about stuff but I guess in this moment, my kiddo is telling me she needs me to protect her a bit. She'll know soon enough.

We have some feathers saved and enough blue eggs to dye for easter.

We're going to miss her.
Karen

Frances

2009-03-21T20:52:00.004-05:00

So just after that last post, Frances, the strutting golden hen in the pic, became one sick chicken. (Although we realise some symptoms may have been seen a week before that). We've been trying everything- thought it could be gapeworm. (gross). and then we thought it could be pneumonia. But the rest of the flock, including the new babies, are totally fine. It started with me noticing wheezing and if I think back- the day a certain naughty spaniel broke the fence and chased her she was breathing real heavily even an hour later and doing this honking thing. I thought at the time that she was still real pissed off about the whole thing. But when I really knew she was not right, the wheezing was audible and unmistakable and by the next day- it had become gasping. She opens her beak widely- throws her head into the air and whistles and gasps for air. This was Tuesday and after a preliminary round of research and thinking it was this gapeworm thing, I was in a barn cleaning frenzy. We finished a real thorough cleaning this past weekend since we got it well underway and it was time anyhow- but on that Tuesday it gave Birkleigh and I something to do and especially for my big girl farmer- she was really proud. My kid was wielding a pitchfork and (in a modified way) pitching straw bales. She was very focussed on doing all she could to help her chicken. On Friday after a number of remedies showed no improvement, I for some reason was feeling around and felt a huge rock that turned out to be her crop. I ran into the house, did 5 minutes of internet research to conclude that it must be impacted and ran back out to the barn to massage her. Instantly, pulling the crop downward, and massaging it while pushing it's contents (I hoped anyway) down and out- for the first time in days she was suddenly -and I mean suddenly - breathing. It felt wonderful- we were going to save her. A few hours later I checked on her- and it was the same *?x(#@ thing. Gasping. I massaged again. Breathing normally (but all poofy and obviously not feeling so great.) And one more time- but then Saturday morning, I did the massage and it didn't help. We've been putting olive oil down her to help soften up that crap in the crop- and then I started to wonder if I got it down her airway. I barely understand chicken anatomy (although I know ALOT more now.... including what a chicken tongue looks like when it's distended.) I'm so incredibly sad and feel so helpless. I know that we will deal with lots of losing critters on this farm. It's been many close calls- right? But Frances- is our favorite and even Red says she's the best chicken she ever had. We are contemplating home surgery- and I didn't tell Red this but today I called the vet just to see how much it would be- (they are closed today so didn't find out) of course we can't afford to pay hundreds of dollars to extend her life- and morally I'm not sure it's the right thing to do- I mean- the great thing about living with animals is this wisdom in letting life and death happen as it should. Being reminded that we can't control it. I remember my favorite dog's death leading me to contemplate even further the absurdity of extending life with crazy heroic measures even though losing him was so hard.

But this is really challenging somehow. We don't want her to suffer- but it doesn't seem right to kill her - it feels like she might pull through but then she's obviously not comfortable - and so finding a way to treat her is about taking the misery away.... I don't know- there seem to be no easy answers and we are taking it one day at a time.

That was written mostly this past weekend. I called a neighbor known to raise show chickens and asked everyone we've been in contact with - hoping that someone would say 'yes, I've cleaned out crops before- let me come on over and show you'. But no dice. Maybe I can feel proud that I know about several nasty things that can happen to poultry that old farmers have never even heard of- but I know they are thinking we're goofy for putting so much into futzing with a chicken we should just cull.

Today, Monday, it's obvious that we need to open her crop or do something. So I knew farm life may involve unaesthetised cutting into animals- but we're banking on all that we've read assuring us that somehow it doesn't seem to stress them out. It should be quick and easy. Maybe gross. You dab on some iodine or betadine, make an incision from 1/2 inch (some say) to 1 1/2 inches- clean out the crop from it's offending gunk that's blocking it, and sew her back up. So right now I'm going to check to see if she's still alive before we collect supplies to do the deed. Wish us luck!