tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38256876239454779292024-02-08T03:34:26.478-08:00Happy Happy FarmA journal of our family's attempt to grow, gather and produce our own food.Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-52608264851056060602014-02-18T09:30:00.000-08:002014-02-18T09:30:33.461-08:00The Soul's DemandsWhew, too long. No excuses, simple laziness. It is (finally) raining long and hard in the Pacific Northwest after a mild panic in our house about possible drought this summer. We have a rather shallow well with a pump that does not always keep up with summertime watering schedules and laundry. Lots of drizzle is a comfort; more than three days in a row without a good rain leaves me itchy and anxious.<br />
<br /><br />
Last summer, its embarrassing to say, I neglected the garden, as in blackberries growing in the rose bushes kind of neglect. I had no idea I could be so apathetic. Growing another person in my uterus had me alternating between vomiting and napping, which leaves little room for pruning, mulching, or harvesting. All those summer fruits worth waiting for -- cherries, raspberries, blackberries, apricots -- caused immediate upheaval in my digestive tract; the joy of summer was lost. It was nothing but mashed potatoes and cheese sandwiches. Not even watermelon would stay down.<br />
<br /><br />
But now, the end is near or actually the end should be now but its not yet and the next life should be here imminently outside of my swollen torso. Down the road, little lambs are being born and are running around butting their heads into their mothers and teasing each other. Even in the rain, robins and blue jays and little brown and white stripy birds are flitting back and forth between the apple and plum trees. The first crocus came up (which was then trampled by the good-intentioned but intellectually deficient golden retriever). One chicken started laying again. I am hopeful for spring. Each year February does this -- I start getting seed catalogs and imagine bouquets of peonies and roses and wild flowers not seen west of Sissinghurst. I create vegetable garden plans on the computer with detailed crop rotations and interval plantings. I plan a pantry filled with pickled everything, 20 kinds of jams and tomato sauce. Then March comes with another freeze, everything shrivels inside of itself , we hole up and watch too much bad tv (but wait -- the next season of <em>House of Cards</em> AND <em>Game of Thrones</em> are out) and I go to Costco for tomato sauce and pickles. Which brings me to the title. In <u>Ravelstein</u>, by Saul Bellows, Ravelstein posits this question "With what, in this modern democracy, will you meet the demands of your soul?" I don't know if I have an answer to this question, or maybe too many incomplete and incoherent answers. Costco (God bless it) and <em>Game of Thrones</em> don't do much for my soul but the promise of Spring . . .Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-51232188630955663612013-07-22T20:46:00.001-07:002013-07-23T07:53:07.507-07:00Summer lovingMy deepest apologizes for the failure to keep writing and updating this blog. The truth is the daily grind of maintaining two and half acres takes its toll on my creative writing juices (believe me, being this cheeky takes a lot of effort). Interesting content comes at a premium these long, glorious summer days unless you enjoy reading minutia. Would you really care to know that I took out the fava beans and planted broccoli this weekend? Probably not unless I added that I had the fava beans with some human liver and a nice chianti.<br />
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It is a rare for this part of the country to have a sun-filled consistently warm summer. Our winter was relatively mild without much rain so the vegetable garden got an early rototilling which did wonders for our potato crop. These Yukon Gold potatoes was planted April 20th and without irrigation the plants started dying necessitating harvest. The problem with the fruit of your labor is all of the vegetables that you have to process. Might be time to brew some vodka.<br />
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The summer has been filled with trellising cucumbers and peas; planting acorn, butternut and summer squash, cutting garlic scapes; caging tomatoes; watering fennel; culling leeks, thinning lettuce; sowing kale; harvesting strawberries and eating raspberries.<br />
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All of the yard waste goes into the newly constructed compost center which was made from cast-off lumber from the old garden fence. The rub is that if you take down an old garden fence you have to put one up in its place lest you concede all of your hard work to the deer and chickens.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cwseYVuOUKY/Ue31FX2r9_I/AAAAAAAAAgE/KE-x2f5JodM/s1600/20130722_193759%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cwseYVuOUKY/Ue31FX2r9_I/AAAAAAAAAgE/KE-x2f5JodM/s320/20130722_193759%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serious composting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Not all of the summer botany has been wasted. What was formerly consigned to the compost pile or the chickens now gets fed to the pigs. This year, we got five tiny piglets at the end of May. The pigs were advertised as Berkshire/Duroc mixes but judging by some of the coloration there must also be some Hampshire too. Incidentally, whenever you buy piglets, try to get the biggest and smartest ones possible. <br />
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Our pigs were barely weaned and so small that they easily escaped through the hog panel. Lola, our Golden Retriever, did a decent job of corralling them before we could entice them back into the pen. This happened many times and we were glad that two of the piglets belonged to our neighbor who bore the brunt of piglet roundups.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Escape artists.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In years past, the pigs were purchased in the late winter and slaughtered by June. This year, we hope to do the slaughter ourselves which necessitates either a walk-in freezer or cold enough temperatures to hang an animal in the garage. Round these parts, late October or early November is slaughter time.<br />
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The advantage to having pigs in the summer and fall is being able to feed them garden excess and scraps. Pigs love watermelon, peas vines, egg shells, apples, raw potatoes, grass clipping and rose hips. Pretty remarkable living composter.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rose hips.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This years' pigs are from the same litter but they are of disparate sizes and dispositions. The largest pig is almost twice as big as the runtiest. The runt is a small female piebald-colored sweetheart. She has the cutest eyelashes and is very patient at the tough which may explain why she is the smallest. Her older brothers are predominantly black with some white markings. They can be brutish and not very bright. Just this evening one of the pigs got his snout caught in the fencing and then proceeded to scream like he had just been stuck. See for yourself.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Einstein the pig.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-58769794520472778702013-01-14T20:47:00.003-08:002013-01-17T08:54:04.302-08:00Fingerlicking good<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is judgment day for some of our chickens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over a hundred days have passed since we
picked up forty little chicks from the local feed store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within a week, we lost half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some were lost to gross negligence (one chick
was crushed by the mobile pen) while others were killed by marauding raccoons
who pulled chicks through the wire and gnawed their heads off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other chicks were taken by hawks and one
chicken was mauled by Lola, our nine-month old Golden Retriever. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A more accurate way of putting it would be that
all of the chicks were lost due to negligence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The failure to fence the chicks well enough, shoot the raccoons or
hobble Lola all falls on us, the newbie farmers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not even sure we can be called newbies now that we are in our third year
of hobby farming but we going to ride that excuse till the cows come home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qIT_iCZnOgo/UPTXhoQTN9E/AAAAAAAAAc0/wHMfyq2wrV0/s1600/20130114" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qIT_iCZnOgo/UPTXhoQTN9E/AAAAAAAAAc0/wHMfyq2wrV0/s320/20130114" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sexy home grown birds.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Regrets and laments aside, we eventually worked out a
routine for the little cluckers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually we integrated them into the main
coop with our full grown laying hens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
had close to twenty-eight birds at one point eating upwards of fifty pounds of
feed a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the birds were not busy
shitting everywhere they were out devouring every last bit of living vegetation
in our garden save the late planted fava beans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The feathered locusts managed to put on weight albeit at a snail’s pace
thanks to their vigorous exercise routine practiced in the vegetable garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most meat birds are ready at eighty
days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be fair, those birds also
develop problems due to their rapid growth so we opted out of the overbred
frankenbirds.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">While we lost all possible over-wintering vegetables we
gained freedom from having to rototill and weed the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In addition, we were going to get some good eats from those filthy
beasts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Farming, from a macro-perspective,
represents life’s zero sum game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Slaughter and butchering animals gets easier the more you do
it (but it still is horrible says the wife).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Chickens have a very particular odor that can be tough to take.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Combine that with pulling their guts out and
cutting their anuses out and you got the impetus for vegetarianism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once you get over the initial miasma it gets
pretty rote.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is an overview.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Step one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Choose your
victim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We go first for the roosters as
they mature the quickest and are the biggest and most obnoxious birds
around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When they start to crow at five
in the morning you will promptly make plans for their slaughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_xXWfIO1w_8/UPTZh46v1dI/AAAAAAAAAdk/3j-nQw7Q1PM/s1600/IMG_2998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_xXWfIO1w_8/UPTZh46v1dI/AAAAAAAAAdk/3j-nQw7Q1PM/s320/IMG_2998.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Step two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Capture
your victim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chickens are not the wiliest
of creatures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We use a net and keep the
gate of their run closed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grab the
chicken by its feet and hang it upside down and it will remain remarkable calm
completely unaware of what lies in its future.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Step three.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Break its
neck and slit its throat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Granted this
is the morose part but who said that slaughter was supposed to be fun?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We use a long iron bar to pin the chicken’s
head against the ground with its eyes on top. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A foot on the bar will hold the bird
down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few nice words are said thanking the bird
for its life and then its feet are pulled over the bar breaking its neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you pull hard enough you will pull the
body away from its body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We try to avoid
this because the contents of its croup spill out all over the place depending
on where the separation occurs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead,
slits its throat promptly to bleed it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The bird will flap its wings involuntary and may jerk around
in a disconcerting way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually this
will stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If done properly, there is
very little movement but it can still be difficult to witness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZoNFnH3S7p0/UPTYqEGAwzI/AAAAAAAAAdU/9Y3pX7yI1tQ/s1600/20121117_152623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZoNFnH3S7p0/UPTYqEGAwzI/AAAAAAAAAdU/9Y3pX7yI1tQ/s320/20121117_152623.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ouch. That's gonna leave a mark.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Step four.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blanch and
pluck. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set a big pot of water to boil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We do this outside as plucking can be very
messy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately, we own a 155000 BTU
propane burner that is used to make beer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After several highly scientific
tests, we found that the best temperature to pluck is between 155 and 165
degrees. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Scald the bird in the water for a minute or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember,
there is a fine line between blanching the bird and cooking it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The feathers will come out quickly and
cleanly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your water is too cool then
you will have trouble removing the pin feathers in the tail and the primary
flight feathers on its wings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It should
take about five minutes a bird depending on how fastidious you want to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">There will be stray hairs and feather remnants in the skin. Use a blow torch and flame away these bits.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6vgBn9twitM/UPTYdJES-sI/AAAAAAAAAdE/Q0-mUn9EiHE/s1600/20121117_152918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6vgBn9twitM/UPTYdJES-sI/AAAAAAAAAdE/Q0-mUn9EiHE/s320/20121117_152918.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blanch(e Dubois). "Deliberate cruelty is not forgiveable."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Step five.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the diceyest part of the whole
process because you are dealing with crap, real live crap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Start by cutting into the chest cavity being
careful not the puncture the croup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
croup is the bulge at the base of the neck where the bird collects its
food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you can, sever the croup and
toss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any spillage will be eaten by the other
birds which is kind of nasty (the other chickens are not
actually eating any part of the recently deceased, just spilled grain) but
those birds will likely get their croup grains eaten by other birds thus
fulfilling the circle of life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Queue
the song from the Lion King). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cut around the anus which incidentally is the same orifice
used by the chickens to lay their eggs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>See Louie C.K.’s bit about duck vaginas and you'll get the idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep cutting until you have separated the
digestive track from all on the connecting tissue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have done it right, you will be able
to reach into the cavity and yank all of the guts out without getting any poop
on yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be forewarned that putting
your hand into a bird’s cavity is not for the faint hearted because it will be
very visceral and still warm.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You might save the liver for pate and maybe even the heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rinse the cavity and the entire bird and thoroughly clean
everything before going on to the next bird. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Step six.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hang or
package your chicken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is up to you
what you want to do with the carcass at this point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can refrigerate it, freeze it, hang it or cook
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bear in mind that chicken can go bad
pretty quick so you will want to manage it accordingly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past, we have cooked the birds right
away but their bodies always seem so rigid like they are still in shock from being slaughtered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Gg8eHj6hxY/UPTLFb3DSAI/AAAAAAAAAcI/dHzdtOoANPY/s1600/IMG_2999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Gg8eHj6hxY/UPTLFb3DSAI/AAAAAAAAAcI/dHzdtOoANPY/s320/IMG_2999.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free bird!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This time, we hung the chickens in the garage overnight
because the temperatures were below freezing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Letting the bird hang a day or two mellows out the flesh. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Congratulations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
have slaughtered and processed your first chicken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now repeat nineteen more times for the remaining
birds. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AofrD3pdeuE/UPTMKRgunuI/AAAAAAAAAcc/K1VCIsIlII4/s1600/20121117_180050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AofrD3pdeuE/UPTMKRgunuI/AAAAAAAAAcc/K1VCIsIlII4/s320/20121117_180050.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the body language of the chickens. They are saying, "Holy shit, they cut our heads off and roasted our asses."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The final verdict:
The birds are delicious. Tougher than store bought and more gamey too but
brimming with chicken goodness. The schmaltz was a lovely yellow which is how
it should be.</span></span></div>
</div>
Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-39719345306914943402012-09-11T06:53:00.000-07:002012-09-11T16:22:39.543-07:00Cucumber Kimchee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GnRMH6ERt-o/UE6yIzOeCdI/AAAAAAAAALw/x_CAnpkLl8o/s1600/IMG_2935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GnRMH6ERt-o/UE6yIzOeCdI/AAAAAAAAALw/x_CAnpkLl8o/s320/IMG_2935.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The garden has been providing lots and lots of cucumbers lately. We planted two varieties. One was a pickling cuke and the other was a traditional elongated white fleshed variety. Pickling cukes have a green center and they have black spines on them. They are short and stubby, knobby and thick.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZjKYQZxh-s/UE6xuKo5YlI/AAAAAAAAALY/aKHDzZWAnxk/s1600/IMG_2926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZjKYQZxh-s/UE6xuKo5YlI/AAAAAAAAALY/aKHDzZWAnxk/s320/IMG_2926.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not the length but the girth that matters.</td></tr>
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We made pickles earlier in the season but I thought I would try my hand at making some kimchee. I have been really interested in fermentation the past two years. First I started with pizza dough, then beer and hard cider, followed by the soppresseta disaster, then kefir and now fermented vegetables. </div>
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I draw inspiration from great meals that I have had in restaurants. There is a noveau Korean-styled restaurant in Fremont called Revel that had awfully good food. As with most Korean food, I really enjoyed the side dishes almost as much as the main courses. I also steal the good ideas of others and modify their recipes to what I have on hand.</div>
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So if you have an accommodating spouse or friends who have lost their sense of smell, try your hand at making some seriously spicy vegetables. There is something not altogether right about kimchee. It could be that it is decomposing or it could be that it reeks of foot and ass.<br />
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I tried making two varieties of kimchee. Honestly, I doubt they will taste much different but variety is the spice of life. In this recipe there is not too much variety but lots of spice. <br />
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Wash your cukes and chop into good sized pieces. Bear in the mind that they will shrink during the process. The other cukes were quartered but not quite through. The quartered cukes were put into a water bath with a generous amount of brine. The bite sized bits were simply salted.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QiOwlmP7zjA/UE6yZZUAIsI/AAAAAAAAAMM/6IlKWzbfZ1c/s1600/IMG_2932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QiOwlmP7zjA/UE6yZZUAIsI/AAAAAAAAAMM/6IlKWzbfZ1c/s320/IMG_2932.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You spice up my life.</td></tr>
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Let the cukes rest for a day. They will release a lot of their water and feel more firm. To the bite sized bits, add garlic chives, minced garlic, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar and some Korean ground chili powder. I am not sure I got the right kind of chili powder but it looked right. Mix thoroughly then put in some glass jars and refrigerate. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H9gh5LiN2o4/UE6yUtcZBbI/AAAAAAAAAME/-e4HmEjlYns/s1600/IMG_2933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H9gh5LiN2o4/UE6yUtcZBbI/AAAAAAAAAME/-e4HmEjlYns/s320/IMG_2933.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add just the right amount of fish sauce to get the proper fetidness.</td></tr>
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I did not have enough confidence to put the jars in the basement or in the ground. Keeping the kimchee in the refrigerator seemed like a safer bet.</div>
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A chili paste was made with water, minced garlic and garlic chives for the quartered cukes. The quarter cukes were put into a plastic container which I suspect will get thrown out once the kimchee is eaten. Let's hope that the kimchee does not corrode the plastic like the blood of Alien did to the hull of the <em>Nostromo.</em> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LWLTWbbaDD0/UE6yBnmFVVI/AAAAAAAAALo/t5rY9LUGm3E/s1600/IMG_2936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LWLTWbbaDD0/UE6yBnmFVVI/AAAAAAAAALo/t5rY9LUGm3E/s320/IMG_2936.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Micro changes in air density, my ass." - Ripley to Ash</td></tr>
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Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-67190534151348884252012-09-09T19:48:00.000-07:002012-09-11T16:22:53.008-07:00Plum Job<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mguzds1eDfc/UE1TwtOTejI/AAAAAAAAAK4/QL6KqwNnGow/s1600/IMG_2920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mguzds1eDfc/UE1TwtOTejI/AAAAAAAAAK4/QL6KqwNnGow/s320/IMG_2920.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"This jam is made by groovy people and fruit that agreed to be in the jam in the first place." -Eddie Izzard</td></tr>
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<br />
There is a fine line between purposeful procrastination, as in waiting for the Italian prunes to ripen and swell, and foolish laziness.<br />
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<br />
It has been a full year since we last picked plums from our three trees. Last year, many bags were gathered and some fruit was made into terrific jam by our friend Ruth. Lots of fruit wound up in the compost bin. This year, I eyed the trees to gauge the ripeness of the fruit. Wait too long and the plums start to soften and ferment but still yield a full mouthful of sweet pulp. Wait too long and the raccoons will clean you out of the choicest fruit.<br />
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<br />
We wound up with a bushel of plums. Our daughter chowed them like candy but still there was a surplus. The excess plums were pitted. Riper ones are easier to pit with amber flesh whereas the firmer fruit had tart flavor with green flesh. The plums were cooked with a little water to not quite a simmer. Eventually the skins slough off giving the stewed fruit a deep purple color. <br />
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An equal volume of sugar (plus a pinch of pectin and a dash of almond extract) was added and the mixture was brought to a rapid boil for ten minutes to reach a "setting point." The jam doubled in volume during the boil so it was a good thing we used a large stock pot. The hot jam was put into sanitized jars, lids added and voila, plum jam. Plum jam goodness.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_a9uiSJiJ0Y/UE1UJjNBj1I/AAAAAAAAALI/r_EMDpHM85A/s1600/IMG_2919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_a9uiSJiJ0Y/UE1UJjNBj1I/AAAAAAAAALI/r_EMDpHM85A/s320/IMG_2919.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_a9uiSJiJ0Y/UE1UJjNBj1I/AAAAAAAAALI/r_EMDpHM85A/s1600/IMG_2919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-3312430018475117092012-08-31T15:04:00.000-07:002012-09-11T16:28:42.236-07:00Chicken LittlesWe have had the worst luck with chicks lately. Our current batch of hens we got two years ago as chicks. The chicks were raised in our garage initially requiring a heat lamp. Brooding chicks is not hard but very filthy work. The chicks fouled (pun intended) their water and food supply just as quickly as their supply was replenished.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F5QTKrn930k/UEEwZ1jjhBI/AAAAAAAAAJo/NnSeQONqkdY/s1600/IMG_2575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F5QTKrn930k/UEEwZ1jjhBI/AAAAAAAAAJo/NnSeQONqkdY/s320/IMG_2575.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't count your chickens before they hatch.</td></tr>
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The chicks grew fast. The rapid growth of the chicks led to overcrowding and more filth which prompted many weekends working in the cold of January to build the coop. Our exuberance and anticipation of fresh farm eggs outpaced our planning for and construction of proper chicken quarters. Once the chicken mansion was completed, the juvenile birds were moved in and thereafter the birds required very little. We slaughtered all of the cockerels save one who we kept with the idea of breeding our own birds.<br />
<br />
After the messy experience of raising the chicks by hand, we believed that it would be best if we let mother nature handle the details. This spring two hens went broody. A broody hen remains on the nest and rarely leaves the clutch of eggs behind. We left sixteen eggs in a nest. Two hens sat together keeping the eggs warm while kibbitzing about the latest gossip. The hens soon became infested with mites due to their refusal to leave the eggs and take dust baths. <br />
<br />
Chicken mites are incredibly prolific and will literally suck the life out of your flock. The mites will bite humans too as our son learned. Aside from constant coop cleaning, we found diatomaceous earth to be the best remedy. For much of the wet spring and early summer, we suffered the mites, members of the arachnid family. The mites finally went away when it got warm and dry. <br />
<br />
After twenty days, we moved the hens to a smaller enclosure because we did not want any hatched chicks to live with the other hens and the rooster for fear that they would be pecked to death. The nursery did not have enough room for both hens in the nest so one hen sat in the box while the other did not. The excluded hen would steal eggs from the box and sit on them but in the process she broke an egg which was a dud. It stank just like when Templeton took the goose egg in Charlotte's Web.<br />
<br />
The second hen was soon ousted. She was most displeased and clucked sadly refusing to be reintegrated with the main flock. We broke her broodiness by locking her in a dog crate alone just like they did to Andy Dufrense (Tim Robbins) in Shawshank Redemption.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MRcP9OR8jCE/UEE0oRvDdyI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/GtyDB7dMb1Q/s1600/IMG_2578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MRcP9OR8jCE/UEE0oRvDdyI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/GtyDB7dMb1Q/s320/IMG_2578.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obtusely optimistic.</td></tr>
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We waited eagerly for our eggs to hatch expecting to have at least a dozen little chicks. After a day, we heard cheeping from the nest and spied a lone baby chick. Success! Over the course of the next few days, we found a fully developed dead chick with a small hole in its shell. It was either smothered or could not manage the energy to free itself. Beside the stillborn chick there was no other action. Chicks usually hatch after 21 days so any time after that the hen is forced to make a Sophie's Choice of abandoning the unhatched eggs or caring for the hatched chicks. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fbwb8C_DWHw/UEEwCZV9jwI/AAAAAAAAAJM/DG7sfDlaOCk/s1600/IMG_2576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fbwb8C_DWHw/UEEwCZV9jwI/AAAAAAAAAJM/DG7sfDlaOCk/s320/IMG_2576.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Balut anyone?</td></tr>
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The remedy, or so we thought, was to hatch the remaining eggs in our incubator and hope that the hen would accept them as her own if we could surreptitiously sneak them into the nest. After consulting the Internet, we floated the eggs in water and found what we thought were duds. Of course we had to test a dud and when the egg was cracked there was a fully formed chick inside. Our son shouted, "The Internet killed the chick!" Who knew that the Internet could be loaded with false information? Makes us wonder if we will ever get our cut from that Nigerian Prince who so desperately needed our help.<br />
<br />
In the end we hatched another two chicks in the incubator. They were adopted by mama hen and are doing well. Later, we tried to hatch another clutch of eggs in the incubator. Of the dozen, only two hatched and one died within a day. The other chick lived for a week before it was picked off by something. In the end, we had twenty-eight eggs of which we managed three live chicks.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DJZCX3iYo_g/UEEwN9qWBII/AAAAAAAAAJU/EooQVAA-OUE/s1600/IMG_2616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DJZCX3iYo_g/UEEwN9qWBII/AAAAAAAAAJU/EooQVAA-OUE/s320/IMG_2616.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Survivors.</td></tr>
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Two weeks ago, we ordered twenty-six chicks from a farm in Pennsylvania dutch country. We were looking to raise some meat birds in our pasture since we did not get lambs this year. The breed of chicken were known as "Freedom Rangers" which supposedly were better at foraging than their hyper-inbreed Rock Cross Cornish birds. There are stories of Cornish Crosses dying from heat and dehydration because they could not figure out to move into the shade where water was awaiting them. The Cornish Crosses also grow so fast that they can develop leg problems. Apparently, the legs cannot keep pace with their gigantic breasts. <br />
<br />
The Post Office called early this morning to tell us that our chicks had arrived. Our son insisted on going into town to get the chicks. When he opened the box, all but two of the chicks were dead. Nothing cuter than a box full of dead fluffy chicks. The farm in Pennsylvania was nice enough to refund us the entire amount.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9z6K6ya9cAI/UEEu9Rp3stI/AAAAAAAAAJE/4PZKCIFNVm0/s1600/IMG_2900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9z6K6ya9cAI/UEEu9Rp3stI/AAAAAAAAAJE/4PZKCIFNVm0/s320/IMG_2900.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sky has fallen.</td></tr>
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Final tally is twenty-eight eggs unhatched or prematurely dashed eggs, twenty-six hatched but dead chicks and five live birds. That's some good animal husbandry.<br />
<br />
Undeterred, we ordered forty broilers from our local farm store. Based on our prior track record, we fully expect to be ordering our fried chicken from KFC.Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-79348777582227518892012-06-10T09:12:00.000-07:002012-06-10T09:12:03.836-07:00PigonomicsApologies for the lack of postings lately but the truth is we have been very busy raising the hogs; putting in a new vegetable patch; old house repairs; and working full-time jobs to support our farming habit. New and interesting content can be hard to come by because the reality of farming is that nothing happens quickly. For example, our three little pigs took over five months to rear, another two weeks to orchestrate the slaughter and another month for the butcher to slice, dice and smoke the meats.<br />
<br />
We toiled through a wet Spring putting in new vegetable plot and finishing the greenhouse. More about the vegetable patch and the preceding winter of discontent later but first let's do the numbers...<br />
<br />$240 Total purchase price of the three pigs<br />
$581 2420 pounds of grain<br />
$85 15 bushels of corn on the cob<br />
$11 Dewormer<br />
<br />
$917 Total cost<br />
$604 Butcher and slaughter<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FBNFGG2gYtY/T9TBafjUHaI/AAAAAAAAAIg/WENyZ6Q0a2M/s1600/IMG_2574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FBNFGG2gYtY/T9TBafjUHaI/AAAAAAAAAIg/WENyZ6Q0a2M/s400/IMG_2574.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Porkacopia</td></tr>
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Bear in mind that these costs do not include fuel, labor or time which are not insignificant particularly when your dialy routine involves hauling twenty pounds of grain twice a day and watering the pigs at least three to four times a day. The pigs loved to flip the water bucket to either make a wallow or to irritate their owners.<br />
<br />There is a formula to estimate the live weights of pigs which involves measuring the heart girth and length from ears to tail. Hanging weight is roughly 70% of live weight. Measuring a pig is not as easy as you might think. If you have ever been in a pen with pigs you quickly realize why they say you should never trust a man who raises pigs. The pigs are curious and interactive in the same vein that a diner eyes a lobster in a restaurant tank. One misstep and you are going out Deadwood style. Ironic.<br />
<br />Our best guess for live weight was 276 pound for Petunia, the largest animal. She was 48" in diameter and 48" long. Turned out that the estimate was close albeit high. The hanging weights of Petunia, Piggy and Marigold were 196, 192 and 170 respectively. By way of comparison, Lenny and Squiggy weighed out at 150 and 130. To be fair, last years pigs were kept only three and half months versus five months for this year's batch.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Vqg-l4avpY/T9TB9Pawl7I/AAAAAAAAAIs/85TIFVb4PAY/s1600/IMG_2501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Vqg-l4avpY/T9TB9Pawl7I/AAAAAAAAAIs/85TIFVb4PAY/s400/IMG_2501.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three not so little pigs.</td></tr>
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The lowest pig on the totem pole invariably weights quite a bit less than the top dogs. It is always better to raise pigs together as the competition fosters faster growth. It can be harsh to watch the smaller pig squeezed out of the food action when the bigger pigs box out for a position of dominion over the food. A good practice would be to have separate feeding areas or to have feed always available.<br />
<br />Petunia and Marigold were sold to friends at $3.49 per pound hanging weight. This means that we recouped our out of pocket expenses and earned 194 pounds of Piggy, who incidentally is delicious.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QO9ELws9LcM/T9TCUI9XBfI/AAAAAAAAAI0/TEleMjNgcOI/s1600/IMG_2493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QO9ELws9LcM/T9TCUI9XBfI/AAAAAAAAAI0/TEleMjNgcOI/s400/IMG_2493.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petunia Pig versus Lola Puppy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-72431543853791689612012-01-28T07:17:00.000-08:002012-09-11T16:21:46.899-07:00Pig ParableIt has been a real slog lately. All of the snow and subsequent rain left the pig pen a quagmire. The porkers pushed all of the straw to the side of the pleasure dome collapsing the roof. Filthy little beasts. The original hog panel enclosure was sufficient for two animals but the third really multiples how quickly an area is reduced to muck and deep mud.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TFlbu6B_lWY/TyQK-qYLXOI/AAAAAAAAAH4/Mp32aNfErk0/s1600/IMG_2362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TFlbu6B_lWY/TyQK-qYLXOI/AAAAAAAAAH4/Mp32aNfErk0/s320/IMG_2362.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mud raking</td></tr>
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Petunia, Marigold and Piggy seemed unfazed by their filthy hovel and the general malaise brought about by winter. They are growing at a good clip albeit at different rates. Both girls are thriving and gaining girth around their bellies and sides. Piggy is lower to the ground and at times seems a step slower but is certainly within striking distance of his kin.<br />
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The pen area has been doubled merely by adding two panels. The panels incidentally can be a real challenge to transport because they are sixteen feet long and four feet high. It is a good thing that they are flexible as I was able to bend them into the pack of the pickup truck I had rented.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x2LDPR_wnaY/TyQKrzV3zeI/AAAAAAAAAHo/3GFGyy7UpOc/s1600/IMG_2360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x2LDPR_wnaY/TyQKrzV3zeI/AAAAAAAAAHo/3GFGyy7UpOc/s320/IMG_2360.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Set boundaries</td></tr>
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Moving the pen is to higher ground is not overly difficult but one can get mired in the muck. The pigs were thrilled to be on solid sod again. They squealed and oinked as they moved onto greener pasture. The chickens also benefit by pecking around the trenches of unearthed sod looking for leftover bugs.<br />
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After the pen was moved, the three little pigs were given a healthy ration of grain and fed kitchen scraps consisting of some leeks, eggs shells and an aborted pizza. <br />
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The pizza was a spectacular failure a few days nights before. If you have ever made pizza you know that there is a moment of truth when you have your pie loaded on your peel and try to slide it onto the pizza stone. In our case, the peel was short of flour or corn meal because when I tried to shimmy the pizza off, it sputtered and a couple shreds of cheese flew off but that was it. I tried again and the pizza did a NBA-esque step fake where all of the sauce and cheese went in one direction and the dough remained fixed to the peel. The dough was dumped unceremoniously on top of the gooey mess with the hope that the whole fiasco could be salvaged into a calzone of sorts. Talk about putting lipstick on a pig.<br />
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In the end, the pizza turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. It looked like baby Voldemort at the beginning of the heaven-like Kings Cross station scene with Harry Potter and Dumbledore. Rather than waste it, the pizza that must not be named was given to the pigs and a riot ensued.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lGJcywUadKI/TyQKnhXhl6I/AAAAAAAAAHg/6jEcFUeqeE4/s1600/IMG_2357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lGJcywUadKI/TyQKnhXhl6I/AAAAAAAAAHg/6jEcFUeqeE4/s320/IMG_2357.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hog wild</td></tr>
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Out of the gates, Petunia tried to monopolize the pizza fetus by boxing out the other pigs and standing in the trough. She seemed to be the clear front runner. Marigold would not stand for this and put her snout underneath Petunia's hind legs and upended Petunia on her head. At this point, the girls started to scrap and nudge for better position. During the ensuing melee, Piggy who had been waiting in the wings, snuck in and grabbed the pizza abomination and ran off with it but not before Thomas the Cock pecked out a juicy strand of cheesy goodness.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZlbFeoPmzkE/TyQKZRF_RLI/AAAAAAAAAHY/XSuF9lsEg6o/s1600/IMG_2363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZlbFeoPmzkE/TyQKZRF_RLI/AAAAAAAAAHY/XSuF9lsEg6o/s320/IMG_2363.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He who remains above the fray gets the last laugh.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In the end, Piggy made out like the bandit that he is. The two other pigs were overly cocky with their large reserves of fat and muscle to notice the pig of lessor stature steal away with the prize amid all of the mud flinging. </span></div>
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Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-16266190504361652172012-01-09T21:21:00.000-08:002012-09-11T16:19:46.665-07:00Meet the Porkers<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qABZcFvYGiQ/TwvGKxrnfHI/AAAAAAAAAG0/-unwRLjhPOA/s1600/Meet+the+Porkers+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qABZcFvYGiQ/TwvGKxrnfHI/AAAAAAAAAG0/-unwRLjhPOA/s320/Meet+the+Porkers+006.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bye bye fence.</td></tr>
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There has been a lot of action on the farm lately. The garden lies in repose but we cannot afford to remain idle. There are fences to be demolished and ironically, mended and installed. The chicken coop has been moved which is more of a feat than it sounds. The coop probably weights at least five hundred pounds. In hindsight, it should have been built with lighter materials and wheels. Skids were added under the coop. My neighbor graciously let us borrow his tractor to haul it fifty feet to its new site which is closer to water and electricity. Moving the coop gave me serious tractor envy.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Od7imUkClI/TwvF_PmMxsI/AAAAAAAAAGs/KEHtCDlbngM/s1600/Meet+the+Porkers+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Od7imUkClI/TwvF_PmMxsI/AAAAAAAAAGs/KEHtCDlbngM/s320/Meet+the+Porkers+005.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello greenhouse hoops.</td></tr>
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Speaking of toys, our farm could really use a full-sized pickup truck. A week and half ago we brought home three little pigs from Bruce King <a href="http://ebeyfarm.blogspot.com/">http://ebeyfarm.blogspot.com/</a>. In addition to the pigs, the car was loaded to the gills with five by five by eight foot long juniper timbers and a full keg. The timbers will be the base of a greenhouse and the keg is for all-grain beer brewing. The juniper smells like cedar while the pigs smelled like pigs. In fact, to this day the car still smells piggy.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yLCXqPMiuU4/TwvF0jluX8I/AAAAAAAAAGk/biotlhwvVHA/s1600/Meet+the+Porkers+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yLCXqPMiuU4/TwvF0jluX8I/AAAAAAAAAGk/biotlhwvVHA/s320/Meet+the+Porkers+004.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marigold, Piggy and Petunia eating out of a handcrafted trough.</td></tr>
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The pigs are predominantly Berkshire, hence the black markings. Berkshire pigs are a heritage variety known for higher marbling and darker flesh. My father-in-law, who has raised his share of animals and pigs, says that they have more of a “dish face”. Not sure what that means but they do have a more upturned snout than our previous pigs. Their backs appear more humped too. They are much calmer than the two Durocs that we got last year. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xpAsKAw6gds/TwvJ-WbC4MI/AAAAAAAAAHM/kLznUY-gA5g/s1600/Meet+the+Porkers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xpAsKAw6gds/TwvJ-WbC4MI/AAAAAAAAAHM/kLznUY-gA5g/s320/Meet+the+Porkers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmmm, brussell sprouts or an old gingerbread house?</td></tr>
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The two little ones are siblings. They were in a paddock with about fifty other pink pigs. They were the only ones of their type and Piggy had scars on his flank. Not sure why the other pigs would have beat-up on him but I have noticed discrimination amongst the different chicken breeds that we keep. It is true that “birds of a feather flock together.” </div>
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The third pig, Petunia, was still in a farrowing pen with her mother and siblings. Her red coloration mostly likely indicates that she is part Duroc though I am no pig expert. She was by far the largest of the litter. She likes to ham it up by running laps around the pig dome and standing on top of Piggy. Poor Piggy. All he can do is squeal mercy until something else catches Petunia’s whim. She has broader shoulders and more condensed hams but still manages to prance. Petunia is without a doubt queen of the roost and will probably outweigh the other animals by twenty pounds.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-98MWoFBeRcI/TwvFcotCdwI/AAAAAAAAAGM/s6k5THtKj4w/s1600/Meet+the+Porkers+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-98MWoFBeRcI/TwvFcotCdwI/AAAAAAAAAGM/s6k5THtKj4w/s320/Meet+the+Porkers+001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pig plows and the stately pleasure dome.</td></tr>
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We opted to get the pigs earlier this year than last because we intend to develop a new vegetable patch on the side of the old fenced yard. The new vegetable plot will have a greenhouse. We wanted the pigs to break up the sod prior to the greenhouse being built. In one week the pigs rooted and manured their pen which is sixteen feet by sixteen feet. The pen was moved recently and within an hour the pigs had torn up the sod which would have taken at least 15 minutes with a tractor or a day by hand.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vcx1A5N9uiQ/TwvFQ75B4xI/AAAAAAAAAGE/8VmJxG3Y92I/s1600/Meet+the+Porkers+009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vcx1A5N9uiQ/TwvFQ75B4xI/AAAAAAAAAGE/8VmJxG3Y92I/s320/Meet+the+Porkers+009.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I'm worth only a few bags of grain." -Lucinda Williams</td></tr>
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Tonight, I bought 1360 pounds of pig feed. Feed prices are really high right now which will no doubt equal higher food costs for everyone. Buying in bulk brings down the price to roughly $.22 per pound versus $.34 per pound if purchased in single bags, like we did last year. You may think that ten cents is minor but over the course of raising three pigs it can add up quickly. There is a razor thin margin of profit when it comes to hobby farming which is why most people hold a full-time job to support their farming habit.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Xanadu</td></tr>
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The low profit margin per animal gave rise to factory farming where volume equates to profit. After reading descriptions of industrial pig farming, we are all the more happy knowing that our pigs will have a pretty decent run even if it would be cheaper and easier to buy pork from the supermarket.</div>
Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-56635158570280843602011-11-05T09:29:00.000-07:002011-11-05T09:29:41.553-07:00Food FollyThe news these days can be downright depressing with the Wall Street protests, middling economic growth, reports of higher food costs and the birth of the seven billionth baby. In this season of discontent, we sought refugee by traveling to eastern Washington to fish Lake Roosevelt. The terrain differs so greatly east of the Cascades that it felt like Arizona more than the Pacific Northwest.<br />
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Lake Roosevelt is big. It was created by the Grand Coulee dam and stretches 150 miles practically to the Canadian border. The Columbia River is no joke either. No wonder the federal government is spending billions of dollars trying to reform the Hanford Nuclear reservation given the enormous value of the river to so many. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rTc8roZLeRs/TrVda-W9ZUI/AAAAAAAAAEg/sjR3FmLUrRs/s1600/Late+fall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rTc8roZLeRs/TrVda-W9ZUI/AAAAAAAAAEg/sjR3FmLUrRs/s320/Late+fall.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Occupy Lake Roosevelt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Fishing Lake Roosevelt is not for the faint of heart or the cash poor. We used a 24 foot aluminum hulled boat with a gigantic inboard motor. There was a separate engine for trolling along with a downrigger and sonar. Despite all of technology, we managed to land a solitary rainbow trout, which is probably the most expensive fish ever. Chalk it up to experience and quality family time. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sw547oFF2y4/TrVdfyiXywI/AAAAAAAAAEo/bNkpOWvQfXk/s1600/Late+fall+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sw547oFF2y4/TrVdfyiXywI/AAAAAAAAAEo/bNkpOWvQfXk/s320/Late+fall+001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet my catch, Spruce Goose.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Upon our return home, we resumed the final harvest which included quince and squash.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ibv5os608XY/TrVdjX8jquI/AAAAAAAAAEw/WZVKNCC0xuY/s1600/Late+fall+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ibv5os608XY/TrVdjX8jquI/AAAAAAAAAEw/WZVKNCC0xuY/s320/Late+fall+002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quintessential goodness.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sAOVORgIY78/TrVdtlrkRfI/AAAAAAAAAE4/KeFzEdgp7uA/s1600/Late+fall+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sAOVORgIY78/TrVdtlrkRfI/AAAAAAAAAE4/KeFzEdgp7uA/s320/Late+fall+003.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Our neighborhood apparently was once an apple orchard. Vestiges of the orchard remain in heirloom varietals scattered over our neighbors' lots. We were invited to a cider crush where two of our neighbors combined the harvest from roughly five trees. The total output was close to 25 gallons of the best cider ever. The juice was not quite as sweet or rich as store bought but the price was right. More importantly, we were able to add to our locavore karma after the fossil fueled fishing trip.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5IASXPPE5kw/TrVd0qFJOPI/AAAAAAAAAFA/fwXjJj_4IJY/s1600/Late+fall+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5IASXPPE5kw/TrVd0qFJOPI/AAAAAAAAAFA/fwXjJj_4IJY/s320/Late+fall+004.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P0vXIEb4BNo/TrVd507v5bI/AAAAAAAAAFI/OsB4MEGYLJg/s1600/Late+fall+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P0vXIEb4BNo/TrVd507v5bI/AAAAAAAAAFI/OsB4MEGYLJg/s320/Late+fall+005.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cider crush rules</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jNT6dCsp7FA/TrVeBZm5y4I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/P3FivmX0yFA/s1600/Late+fall+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jNT6dCsp7FA/TrVeBZm5y4I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/P3FivmX0yFA/s320/Late+fall+006.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monster (apple) mash</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MaSWfJt_YZw/TrVeGkR4qDI/AAAAAAAAAFY/e3eNWBdlzfs/s1600/Late+fall+007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MaSWfJt_YZw/TrVeGkR4qDI/AAAAAAAAAFY/e3eNWBdlzfs/s320/Late+fall+007.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next stop, hard cider or a lot of vinegar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-79710213352086370912011-10-16T08:15:00.000-07:002012-09-11T16:18:14.136-07:00Silence of the Lambs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GFltxTOg-BQ/TpruldR0xvI/AAAAAAAAADY/uX-N3--TcjA/s1600/IMG_1953%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GFltxTOg-BQ/TpruldR0xvI/AAAAAAAAADY/uX-N3--TcjA/s320/IMG_1953%255B1%255D" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V-Vxh5EsbMk/TprugKwB2jI/AAAAAAAAADQ/ZiOeZIP9Vf4/s1600/IMG_1917%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V-Vxh5EsbMk/TprugKwB2jI/AAAAAAAAADQ/ZiOeZIP9Vf4/s320/IMG_1917%255B1%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hoptober</td></tr>
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Autumn has arrived in its full glory. Harvest has been in full swing. We have been harvesting hops, tomatoes, cucumbers, Asian pears and squash. Last weekend we collected over five pounds of chanterelles. Firewood collection has been going full tilt with the daytime temperatures in the sixties and overnight temperatures dropping to the low forties.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bk53aaSr2Kg/TprtMIN_vRI/AAAAAAAAACo/8bgf_2vmFco/s1600/IMG_2007%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bk53aaSr2Kg/TprtMIN_vRI/AAAAAAAAACo/8bgf_2vmFco/s320/IMG_2007%255B1%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burn baby burn.</td></tr>
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The change in season has given impetus for meat curing and meat harvesting. Two weeks ago, we made sopresseta which is curing in the basement. When visitors come to the farm, I always offer to show them my sausage downstairs and then my wood outside. Husbands are usually shocked by my audacity but soon fall into jealous envy of my well-hung meat and turgid wood pile.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hj-QPLDPaYw/TpruEkBDCOI/AAAAAAAAAC4/nc3LIzijVAg/s1600/IMG_2011%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hj-QPLDPaYw/TpruEkBDCOI/AAAAAAAAAC4/nc3LIzijVAg/s320/IMG_2011%255B1%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dirk Diggler has nothing on me.</td></tr>
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Yesterday, we slaughtered the lambs. Gary and Ginger had become great additions to the place. We lost Lovey to coyotes at the beginning of August. We found poor Lovey eviscerated and missing her leg. Damn coyotes could even bother to eat the choice ribs cuts or loin. After that we made sure the lambs were penned in at night. Farming teaches you that hubris or inattentiveness leads to loss. Some events can be arbitrary and uncontrollable (like summer happening late) but by in large you have to be in constant motion if you want to even attempt to keep up with all that nature throws at you.<br />
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The lambs were Katahdin, a hair sheep, bred to survive the tough climate of Maine. Our lambs, once they got over their scours did a great job in the pasture that had a variety of grasses, brushes, alders, nettles and of course blackberries. Amazingly the sheep stripped the blackberries of their leaves and ate ivy. Their palette was not as diverse as goats but we were impressive nonetheless with their overall hardiness and temperament. In the afternoons they would frolic while eating fallen apples and plums. They refused to eat Asian pears probably because they were racist.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i6uMwI8snI4/Tprt_gIrb6I/AAAAAAAAACw/3UdgEFqipBE/s1600/IMG_2012%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i6uMwI8snI4/Tprt_gIrb6I/AAAAAAAAACw/3UdgEFqipBE/s320/IMG_2012%255B1%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tools of the (skinning) trade</td></tr>
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We lost two chickens a few days ago to either raccoons or coyotes signaling increasing predator activity. The slaughter has been planned for sometime but it is nice not having to worry about the lambs or rushing home before dark to be able to find the lambs. On more than one occasion the lambs were stuck in a bramble or in the rain and would not go to their shed easily.<br />
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This time, the slaughter was done by us. Our goal was to drop both lambs at the same time with a head shot. Ginger went right down but Gary was tougher. My shot must have been off because he seemed to be still breathing albeit labored. We drug him out and I cut his throat and he was still moving. I shot him again and after one great death throe he finally passed. The scene reminded me of Good Fellas when Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) brutally beats Billy Batts (Frank Vincent) and stuffs him in his trunk. After a leisurely dinner with Tommy's mother, Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy learn that Billy is in fact not dead and are forced to finish him with swift brutality. My mob analogy continues with the bodies hanging in the garage with plastic sheeting on the ground.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-67RU1BEtoLk/TpruI665gnI/AAAAAAAAADA/hlx1t3IHeMA/s1600/IMG_1978%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-67RU1BEtoLk/TpruI665gnI/AAAAAAAAADA/hlx1t3IHeMA/s320/IMG_1978%255B1%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slaughter, not funny like a clown or meant to amuse you.</td></tr>
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We might have the lamb livers tonight with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. Oops, I am mixing my movie metaphors.Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-24794715308167014152011-08-22T20:50:00.000-07:002012-09-11T16:23:58.987-07:00Apple of My Eye<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OmAjfpJnY9c/TlMfModvCWI/AAAAAAAAACQ/oSaSTRiLKYk/s1600/IMG_1875%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OmAjfpJnY9c/TlMfModvCWI/AAAAAAAAACQ/oSaSTRiLKYk/s320/IMG_1875%255B1%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pure joy in the garden of eating.</td></tr>
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We have been harvesting the ancient craggy apple tree that we inherited with the property. Funny, we had no idea what and if it would fruit but I spent the better part of three weekends this winter pruning. The reward was a bounty of apples that our neighbor calls "Golden Transparent".<br />
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The apples range in size from golf balls to softballs covered with a thin yellow skin. There was no water core but on the larger apples the cores can be hollow and cavernous. The flesh bruises easily and has a texture of a golden delicious. The flavor on the greener apples is tart but sweet, like a granny smith only more intense. Overripe apples can be mushy but still edible in the same way you can devour all of a perfectly ripe pear until only its seeds and stem remain.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ewohZKXhGLc/TlMfq2uypjI/AAAAAAAAACc/MfhsxRoIqqs/s1600/IMG_1895%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ewohZKXhGLc/TlMfq2uypjI/AAAAAAAAACc/MfhsxRoIqqs/s320/IMG_1895%255B1%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How do you like them apples?</td></tr>
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All in all, we were happily surprised that our magnificent tree produced such good produce. The tree produced about five large shopping bags of fruit with a lot of fruit still left on the tree, out of reach of our climbing and ladder efforts. <br />
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Being "food industrious" can be oppressive. You feel as if you must process every piece of fruit even if after peeling and coring some of the smaller apples all you have is a bite. We gave a couple of bags away not wanting to have guilt of wasting food on our souls. It is better to spread the oppression of being food misers. <br />
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We ate as many ripe apples as we could manage in order to capitalize on our good fortune. After that we set out trying to preserve and store the apples. The apples represent storage of the sun's energy just as all food does. Animals are energy batteries in that they convert their feed into flesh. For farmers, being able to preserve or extend the energy saved in plants, fruits or livestock resulted in great inventions such as beer, jam and bacon. (Yum, that sounds like the start of a good meal.)<br />
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The old-timers must have taken great satisfaction staving off starvation through the bleakness of winter with calories that they had grown and processed the summer before. So when life gives you apples, then make apple sauce (among other goodies).<br />
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We added some ripe rose hips to coarsely chopped apples and boiled the essence out of them. Rose hips incidentally are pretty delicious fresh picked too, almost plum like.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bHpYMKDjSNw/TlMe6wEh5qI/AAAAAAAAACM/px9G1Q-Pdw8/s1600/IMG_1899%255B6%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bHpYMKDjSNw/TlMe6wEh5qI/AAAAAAAAACM/px9G1Q-Pdw8/s320/IMG_1899%255B6%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Life through rose hip glasses. Isn't it grand?</td></tr>
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After several hours, the remaining mash was taken off the heat and added to a cheese cloth lined colander where it dripped drop by drop overnight. Add some sugar and the result was about seven small jars of apple rose hip jelly which tasted like floral honey.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fFWD3-2DVZU/TlMfhHNnLRI/AAAAAAAAACY/YU-hyq5q428/s1600/IMG_1897%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fFWD3-2DVZU/TlMfhHNnLRI/AAAAAAAAACY/YU-hyq5q428/s320/IMG_1897%255B1%255D" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trade for two tickets to Jerry band?</td></tr>
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Some of the apples were chopped and frozen for future fruit pies, more was made into apple sauce and canned. The remainder was processed into slices and run through the food dehydrator. We ran several loads and we got three quart baggies. The kids love them and are chowing them constantly. If we were in the olden days, we would have starved two weeks after autumn began. We will have to plant at least ten more apple trees if we are to produce enough for a full year. Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-42953558859811303662011-07-30T08:53:00.000-07:002011-08-02T13:42:44.454-07:00Return of the Prodigal Pigs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6FrAf73xYd8/TjQiuTgS6rI/AAAAAAAAACE/7-5R58ZHAFw/s1600/IMG_1776%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I8NeKHTgoSc/TjQiLxluC1I/AAAAAAAAAB4/4235w2BNDHI/s1600/IMG_1564%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I8NeKHTgoSc/TjQiLxluC1I/AAAAAAAAAB4/4235w2BNDHI/s320/IMG_1564%255B1%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bringing home the bacon.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LDsfWPxw6G0/TjQiltKo6KI/AAAAAAAAACA/SelU6-nPgYw/s1600/IMG_1765%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LDsfWPxw6G0/TjQiltKo6KI/AAAAAAAAACA/SelU6-nPgYw/s320/IMG_1765%255B1%255D" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fat and unctuous meat, just like yo mamma (would have wanted it).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The pigs are back, albeit in the deep chest freezer. We sold Lenny to two families who decided to have Farmer George process the belly and hams for them at an additional cost. The bacon made by the butcher turned out great but the curing and smoking took an extra two weeks. We opted to keep our belly and hams unadulterated.<br />
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Lenny and Squiggy's hanging weights were 178 and 158 respectively. Not bad considering they started at 25 lbs and we had them four months. That is a lot of pig meat but surprising not as much as you would think especially if you give away a bunch. We wanted to engender good will with those who helped or tolerated our swine raising. A pound of flesh, when not given in the Biblical sense, goes a long way with neighbors and friends.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IStnATDVsXs/TjQiyarhWgI/AAAAAAAAACI/cl-AW95Ik94/s1600/IMG_1770%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IStnATDVsXs/TjQiyarhWgI/AAAAAAAAACI/cl-AW95Ik94/s320/IMG_1770%255B1%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slow and steady, that's what she said.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The meat has been incredibly tender and flavorful. By far, the best cuts involve some fat. We had some of the jowls which were tender and almost nutty when cooked in a red sauce.<br />
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The belly and hocks were cured for a week in the refrigerator in kosher salt, pink salt and brown sugar. After rinsing the meat, it sat in the fridge another two days to form pellicle, then it was cold smoked for five hours.<br />
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Stay tuned as the other slab of belly is made into pancetta. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6FrAf73xYd8/TjQiuTgS6rI/AAAAAAAAACE/7-5R58ZHAFw/s1600/IMG_1776%255B1%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6FrAf73xYd8/TjQiuTgS6rI/AAAAAAAAACE/7-5R58ZHAFw/s320/IMG_1776%255B1%255D" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bacon slabs and smoked hocks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-28584311627227665372011-07-12T09:05:00.000-07:002011-07-12T09:05:12.772-07:00Peas and DeerIt is July -- the beginning of summer abundance, say all the homesteading and garden books (John Seymour, you lied). With no spring this year the peas, spinach and other early spring crops are just now starting to produce, or in the case of the spinach reach a mature growth of 1.5 cm and then bolt -- irritating -- resulting in a grand total of half a salad per spinach seed pack, just slightly more expensive than buying fully formed spinach from the grocery store if you don't count the cost of land, water, and labor. <br />
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<a href="webkit-fake-url://6DDFCA01-29D7-48DF-B8B0-E1A3661CC3DF/imgres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="imgres.jpg" border="0" height="143" src="webkit-fake-url://6DDFCA01-29D7-48DF-B8B0-E1A3661CC3DF/imgres.jpg" width="200" /></a>The peas, however, were doing great. One little 4 x 4 plot of ground where I felt good about our vegetables. They were tall and vigorous and the children were eating handfuls of peas a day straight off the vines. These peas are supposed to be allowed to mature and then shelled for the delicious green peas soaked in butter that is a favorite health food (much like fresh green beans cooked in bacon -- another favorite health food). Then we went on a family road/camping trip for a week. When I returned, I found the peas suspiciously gone and the top foot of the pea plants shorn off. Deer! Thinking I'm smarter than a deer, I wrapped the plot in netting and stuck all the pretty little pea tendrils inside the wrap. The next day . . . the deer had opened a hole in the netting and eaten another 8 inches off the tops of the peas. I need a fence, a tall, 8 foot, sturdy, deer proof fence, preferably with razor wire on the top and spring loaded shotgun attached to trip wire on the peas, much like the below delightful garden structure.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="webkit-fake-url://05CFC29A-0B5F-465C-A586-9313778087BF/imgres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="imgres.jpg" border="0" height="120" src="webkit-fake-url://05CFC29A-0B5F-465C-A586-9313778087BF/imgres.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div>Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-19439616038721726822011-06-15T15:24:00.000-07:002011-06-16T15:40:32.248-07:00Fire and SteelA couple of days ago we had our propane fireplace insert replaced with a wood burning insert. It was somewhat cher but we hope we can recoup the costs by heating our house primarily with wood this winter. Our old house is heated with oil. The rising cost of diesel combined with the need to refill our propane tank every six weeks made our decision to switch easy. The guys at Custom Hearth in Poulsbo did a bang-up job. Thanks fellas.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HXzQsA7r_sw/Tfktb49bJsI/AAAAAAAAABs/263bamuIX_g/s1600/IMG_1512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HXzQsA7r_sw/Tfktb49bJsI/AAAAAAAAABs/263bamuIX_g/s320/IMG_1512.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does this forty-foot ladder make my ass look big?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The new insert will hold a log up to 24" in length, which is good because that means less chainsawing. We chose the flush insert over the type that juts out into the room for aesthetic reasons. The disadvantage to having a flush insert is the loss of some heat that is transmitted through convection. Fortunately, there is a good blower on this unit that should force the heat into the house. Who says that style can't have substance? Judge for yourself.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9spDM14Z8CA/TfkvIwJNd0I/AAAAAAAAABw/j9d2ZBCel2Q/s1600/IMG_1516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9spDM14Z8CA/TfkvIwJNd0I/AAAAAAAAABw/j9d2ZBCel2Q/s320/IMG_1516.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jotul Rockland, pride of Norway by way of Maine.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>By coincidence, our new massive grill arrived the same day. The grill is a massive chunk of iron that will be well suited for smoking and grilling when the pigs return. It remains to be seen if the grill will function as a cold smoker without making any modifications.<br />
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Vulcan himself would be proud of the fire-burning appliances that we recently added to the farm.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nCjtcXeJCqo/TfksPVqJyxI/AAAAAAAAABo/x2KUrviocpk/s1600/IMG_1514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nCjtcXeJCqo/TfksPVqJyxI/AAAAAAAAABo/x2KUrviocpk/s320/IMG_1514.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brinkmann Limited Edition Trailmaster, not intended for children.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-66393427130619905772011-06-15T14:56:00.000-07:002011-06-15T15:34:19.853-07:00Fabergé eggAfter many, many months of waiting, we finally got an egg from our hens. Every morning for the past month we checked our egg boxes on the outside of the coup only to be sadly disappointed. Why would the hens mature so much later than the roosters? Afterall, Thomas has had no problems cockadoodling and raping the hens for the past six-weeks all the while the hens remained ambivalent in exercising their biological imperatives.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zNgA_RMb1CA/TfkzJezAFoI/AAAAAAAAAB0/NaE7yXSwAcQ/s1600/IMG_1510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zNgA_RMb1CA/TfkzJezAFoI/AAAAAAAAAB0/NaE7yXSwAcQ/s320/IMG_1510.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bupkis brought to you by feckless hens.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>All that changed yesterday when we discovered the first tiny brown egg buried in straw in the corner of the laying box. Hurray! Our first free-range, organic egg. Now, if we could only sell the egg for $1000.00 to recoup our costs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-73408569521169062762011-06-14T19:43:00.000-07:002011-06-14T19:43:45.468-07:00"Post Mortem Laments" LamentI am forced to disagree with the lamentation below. We did not harm Lenny and Squiggy by hiring professional butchers to kill and slaughter them (if you don't count killing them as harm . . .) -- quite the opposite. Their deaths were instantaneous and so far as is discernible to the human senses they felt no fear, no pain and no stress. They did not squeal; they were not hauled offsite to be slaughtered some other place. <br />
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If we would have tried to kill and butcher them, we could easily have missed the mark and the deaths may not have been as quick. As for the butchering, I'm pretty sure that if Lenny and Squiggy had a voice they would have been worried about how death comes knocking and not so worried about whether the funeral is open casket or cremation. Plus we didn't have to buy all the stuff that you need to butcher an animal. All in all, I think a very successful first attempt at pig raising.Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-44732151266094885152011-06-14T16:24:00.000-07:002011-06-14T16:26:00.191-07:00Post-Mortem LamentsThe pigs have been gone a week now. Their squeals and their presence are missed. Their empty pen remains unchanged like a child's room after she has left for college (only filled with more dung). The pen looks forlorn now.<br />
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It is easier now with just the chickens and the lambs but the pigs were the animals that gave us farm-cred. Everyone has chickens but two fat pigs? Not where we live. Everyone who knew of our pig pursuit found it amusing that we would choose to raise an animal that was so visceral. We received our share of pessimist comments like, "Oh you will grow to love those pigs so much that you will never be able to kill them".<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh Squiggy, we hardly knew thee.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It is true that we grew to love them. But our love was not just for their industriousness and their personalities but also because they represented an earnest attempt to raise our own food and by extension an attempt to connect with our most base requirements of existence. Indeed, when our four-year old witnessed the pigs slaughter he wanted to know why the men were taking the pigs away after they were skinned and gutted. (Answer: the butchering was done at their shop after at least a day of hanging in a refrigerator).<br />
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The men were able to kill, skin, gut and saw in half the two pigs in under an hour. It was numbing the speed at which the men were able to process Lenny and Squiggy. All the while, I watched and felt like a useless voyeur. After all, these were the same little pigs that we personally selected and raised over four months with nothing but the finest kitchen scraps.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fiqR9Fs-bTU/TffsDjlwJ5I/AAAAAAAAABg/q3Oa9qBtcXM/s1600/IMG_1496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fiqR9Fs-bTU/TffsDjlwJ5I/AAAAAAAAABg/q3Oa9qBtcXM/s320/IMG_1496.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's just a flesh wound.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We owed it to them, no to ourselves, to take the time and love to kill and butcher them. Nothing says love like a .22 to the head. The industrial speed of the slaughter raises the question of whether raising pigs in this manner was only a small step removed from buying flesh at Costco. The point to raising our own food was not simply to enjoy the fruit of our labor but also to learn and benefit from the process itself.<br />
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Going completely off the gird is no mean feat but that was never our goal. There must be limits to hobby farming lest we start making plans to breed pigs and build a castration shed to barrow our hogs. It is tough to balance true diy farming with working a job full-time. Next year, the pigs will get slaughtered by hand and with much love.Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-17459168548119718742011-06-05T10:06:00.000-07:002011-06-05T11:07:14.843-07:00Dead Pigs Waddling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The pigs are going to be slaughtered in two days. After much internal vigorous debate (I was called Pol Pot at one point), we decided to have a butcher do the deed for us. One option that we considered was to hire a local farmer/butcher to come and teach us how to slaughter and process the pigs. Advantages to this route included a hands-on experience and scalded pig skin . I know, pig skin. I bet your mouth is watering just envisioning all of that lovely chicharrón.<br />
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I wanted the skin on so I could try my hand at prosciutto.<br />
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Doing the slaughter ourselves would have given a reason to outfit our farm with the tools necessary for the task. At a minimum, you need a .22 rifle, gambrel, butcher saw and good sharp knives. If you want to scald your pigs, then some type of water container like an old tub, 55 gallon drum or trough and someway to heat the water.<br />
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But why be a minimalist? Good tools make a big difference. You might as well treat yourself and get a chain mail apron, two handed cleaver and face paint à la Braveheart.<br />
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In the end, it was easier to have Farmer George come out with his mobile slaughter unit. We wanted the pigs killed on site to avoid unnecessary stress on them. Poor pigs. Poor juicy delicious pigs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"You can take our hams but you can't take our dignity."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-56549685093476800022011-05-30T08:04:00.000-07:002011-06-05T22:02:25.931-07:00Summer loving (Not)Will any son of Adam or daughter of Eve please kill the White Witch already? We are almost into June and we have had only one day over 70 degrees. Yesterday, we spied a formation of geese who I am sure were headed south for the winter. Our garden is looking pretty sorry notwithstanding the pig manure, weekend spent rototiller and the futile efforts to start seedlings in our basement beginning in February.<br />
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The lettuce that we sowed directly into the ground appear to be a bonsai variety. Will we be able to develop a niche market of miniature and stunted vegetables? If you like baby vegetables, you'll love our line of The Emperor's New Vegetables.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AUQ5cXjPQCc/TeOvAmrAejI/AAAAAAAAABE/WIJQpM-42gA/s1600/IMG_1474.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AUQ5cXjPQCc/TeOvAmrAejI/AAAAAAAAABE/WIJQpM-42gA/s320/IMG_1474.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lame lettuce over two months old</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Our pasture appears to be doing well. Our three lambs, Lovey, Ginger and Gary, are enjoying the spring grass but it alone is too rich for them. They have had serious diarrhea which we cured by feeding them alfalfa. At $15 a bale, raising sheep has not turned out as inexpensive as we had hoped. The sheep were supposed to eat our grass so we did not have to mow it. Turns out, the sheep are only interested in certain sections of the pasture. The pasture looks uneven with patches of flowering grass in some spots and other areas that are closely cropped. If the sheep do not do a better job of subsisting solely on grass and grounds keeping, we will be forced to eat them in the fall.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All lambs surveyed preferred to eat store bought alfalfa over free grass.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freeloaders</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-33644941227945921002011-05-28T07:46:00.000-07:002011-05-28T07:46:38.729-07:00Chicken Chivalry is DeadI'm struggling with (not) imposing human morality on the chickens. I do not like our rooster; he has no sense of chivalry. Thomas is all of the male characters in Thelma & Louise, absent Harvey Keitel. But boys will be boys; I must forgive him his Henry VIII ways. Of course, the other boys we beheaded (perhaps from Tudor inspiration?) and ate for dinner.<br />
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Then came the attack. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6vHUgc7Hx88/TeB2q07oP0I/AAAAAAAAAA0/cSEEeQJs9qE/s1600/New+Image.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6vHUgc7Hx88/TeB2q07oP0I/AAAAAAAAAA0/cSEEeQJs9qE/s320/New+Image.PNG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas can be a real cock.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Four of our hens are a few weeks younger than the rest. As Sleeping Beauty was endowed by the good fairies with grace, charm, intelligence, beauty and kindness, so have these hens been endowed. They are lovely of face and feather, kind to one another, never peck or belittle another bird and, in sum, are the essence of sweet, modest, maidenly chicken-ness. While all the hens are delightful, these four in particular have a certain grace rare among even their chicken sisters. Last Friday, Thomas, sidled up to one of these Evangelinas. I could just see him offering her some candy, asking if she wanted to look at a puppy in his van. Then when I turn my head, I hear a shrieking mmmmkwaaaak! I spin my head to see Thomas running her down, she yelling "no, no, no" the whole time (or so I interpreted) Thomas flew up on top of her, pinned her down by the head and took advantage. This was a completely nonconsensual act! While normally opposed to capital punishment, it may be in order for Thomas. At a minimum, I'm Martin Luthering Antioch's rules for appropriate dating behavior on the coop door. <a href="http://www.mit.edu/activities/safe/data/other/antioch-code">Antioch's Sexual Offense Policy</a><br />
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By the way, still no eggs.Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-18776669953356978672011-05-28T07:14:00.000-07:002012-09-11T16:22:20.548-07:00"Pigs, they tend to wiggle while they walk." -PavementIt was a snowy day in February when we acquired our two little piggies. We drove all the way to the Key Peninsula to retrieve them. The family that bred them had the parents on site along with several other piglets and sows from the previous year. The boar must have been 700 pounds and the mama sow not far behind that. They were the size of a Volkswagen Beetle.<br />
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The piglets were kept apart from the adult pigs. There were three red and two pinks. The lady who bred the pigs got into the pen with her son in order to try to catch the pigs. The pen was filled with muck and the smell of poop was powerful. I thought to myself, "How could these people have such a dirty and dung filled pen? It might be alright for other people's pigs to live that way but not mine." Boy was I wrong about that.<br />
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The mother and son cornered a piglet but it escaped. At one point, the son dove for the pig linebacker style, landing violently in the mud. Eventually, the pigs were caught and dropped into a dog carrier where they proceed to squeal bloody murder the entire hour ride home. By the time we released them into their pen, they had crapped themselves big time and laying in their filth.<br />
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This was our introduction to pig rearing.<br />
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Eventually, we grew to love Lenny and Squiggy. We fed them all of our kitchen scraps including chicken bones and rancid coconut milk. We rotated their pen every week or so and the pigs rooted up our vegetable patch and manured it. They saved us a lot of work breaking up the sod. Not only that, the plants grown in the former pen areas are markedly bigger than those grown in non-pigged areas.<br />
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It has been amazing to see how these beasts have grown. They were twenty-five pounds when we got them and by the time they are slaughtered, they should be well over two-hundred. Lenny is longer and the boss pig but Squiggy is wider and stockier. I know that you shouldn't have a favorite pig but Squiggy is by far the better pig. He has a kind disposition that is quite charming. It's not that I have serious animus towards Lenny, it's just that Lenny, has on occasion tried to mount Squiggy, who happens to be his brother. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lenny, would be pig f-er. </td></tr>
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Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-79771413562153396602011-05-24T12:55:00.000-07:002011-05-28T07:18:30.257-07:00SchleppingI once spent a summer in Berkeley, California landscaping and doing menial construction work. The man who owned the properties had various piles of detritus that requirred relocation. At one point, I recall that we moved the same pile from spot A to spot B than later back to spot A. At the time, I was chafted at his lack of poor organization. Now I find to my chagrin doing the same on our farm.<br />
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Owning a small farm means lots of schlepping. Schlepping of animals and their feed and water; schlepping of bedding and moving of waste into compost. When you think about it - most of our day to day activities involve schleping whether it is farm related or otherwise. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Firewood, it doesn't grow on trees.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Speaking of schlepping, today, I moved a pile of hemlock branches that was sitting on the edge of the garden. I will buck this pile (and the other two piles located randomly about) into useable pieces when I can find a moment.<br />
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Schlepping carries a negative connotation. I truly enjoy working on the farm it so maybe I should rephrase. Sometimes life is about the journey itself, indeed, it is always worth stopping to smell the roses.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note: Tractor is life-size. These are jurassic roses over 50' tall.</td></tr>
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My next posting will be comprised entirely of trite and overwrought cliches.Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825687623945477929.post-64771807738542553762011-05-23T08:48:00.000-07:002011-05-28T07:56:19.115-07:00Welcome to our blog.We are a family of four who recently moved to our dream property. The house was built in 1937. It has its faults, such as a lack of insulation, knob and tube wiring, galvanized plumbing and really poor well water. Despite these warts, what drew us was the fact that the house is the two and half open acres abutting a nature reserve, which is a rarity in my humble opinion. More importantly, we get full sunlight during the three days the sun is out a year in the Pacific Northwest.<br />
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Our goal in moving was to produce as much of our own food as possible. I admit it's pretty trendy these days, kinda like blogging. The new ethos of the suburban middle class is trending toward self-sufficiency with young couples trying their hand at farming influenced by the horrors associated with factory meat raising, rising food costs and a desire to feed our children with naturally raised food. It all sounds pretty groovy but we are not proselytizing. For our family, smallholding is a welcome distraction from the rigors of our jobs and provides us with a source of ingredients for our other passion of eating well.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Odrd1sG3H6c/TdqA-aM1FOI/AAAAAAAAAAY/LXSPrmVY06w/s1600/IMG_1445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Odrd1sG3H6c/TdqA-aM1FOI/AAAAAAAAAAY/LXSPrmVY06w/s320/IMG_1445.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cukKv2QtIk4/TdqBI081qJI/AAAAAAAAAAc/tnVrbwwW61o/s1600/IMG_1444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cukKv2QtIk4/TdqBI081qJI/AAAAAAAAAAc/tnVrbwwW61o/s320/IMG_1444.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--3O_lqE3pSI/TdqBTRukNTI/AAAAAAAAAAg/47rxjzq0PdE/s1600/IMG_1446.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--3O_lqE3pSI/TdqBTRukNTI/AAAAAAAAAAg/47rxjzq0PdE/s320/IMG_1446.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This blog serves as our diary for all of the adventures and misadventures in super-small time farming. There will be at least two contributors, one of us an excellent writer the other not so much.Newbie Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06797522370360733967noreply@blogger.com0