Sidekicks

This is what we see from our kitchen window every morning:

These two turkeys of ours have become my sidekicks. They wait for me to come outside every day and follow me around while I work.  They sing their sweet little songs and are highly entertaining! Turkeys are definitely birds that we love having around.

We’re fairly sure that we ended up with two hens, so I’ll be looking for a tom with hopes of having a breeding trio next year.  Or maybe one of them will go broody and I can put some fertile eggs under her. I’d love to end up with a small flock of Wishard Bronze turkeys that can raise their own young each year. This is one of the best parts of having a little bit of land, experimenting with new birds has been a lot of fun!

If had space for lots of animals what would you have on your farm?

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Relearning the Old Ways

Atavism [at–uh-viz-uhm] noun – the reappearance in an individual of characteristics of some remote ancestor that have been absent in intervening generations.

found while reading The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens

Yesterday we spent the day butchering our pigs. They were slaughtered last Saturday and hung on our back porch during the week. Neil came back yesterday and we cut, ground, salted, and packaged up the meat. We got them almost 100% processed. The only thing I have left is one type of ham brine to mix/boil. That’s quite a feat, last year I spent an entire week working on this process.

As we worked I thought about all the older people I have met recently that have told me about how they remember slaughtering hogs when they were kids. My grandfather’s wife was one of those people. She spent a long time telling me about how they used to raise 5-6 hogs each year to feed the family (she had a lot of brothers & sisters).  Back then they grew food because they had to, now we do it because we want to.

Have you experienced talking to people from previous generations about their memories of growing/raising their own food? 

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Chilly Chores

Now that winter has set in and the pigs are gone the electric net fences need to come out. Last year we got an ice storm and I wasn’t able to remove them before the snow fell in mass quantities. As a result our poor fences took a little bit of a beating. Luckily, they’re very sturdy and I only ended up with a few bent posts.

I put it off one day because it was raining, the next day it was snowing. After waiting as long as I could I headed out into the snow to work. These fences are a huge pain to put up and take down. They are fantastic for keeping animals contained, but the process of taking them down, rolling them up, and storing them is really annoying. Luckily, the snow stopped and the sun started to peek out. By the time I was finished I could see a little bit of blue sky.

My fingers were super frosty by the time I finished but that’s quite fine with me. I don’t mind doing chores like this because I can be outside, even on cold days it’s quite a treat to be able to get outside!

Do you enjoy chores in less than perfect weather?

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Friday Favorite: Graeter’s Ice Cream

Yesterday a cooler from Graeter’s Ice Cream arrived. Since our UPS driver leaves our packaged in a little shed down by the road, Mr Chiots picked it up when he got home from work.  He assumed it was a gift from me to him – it wasn’t. The reason this was his first thought was because of the history we have with this place. You see, many moons ago (over 18 years to be exact) we met in Cincinnati, OH  – the home of Graeter’s Ice Cream. We spent many dates during those first years enjoying their ice cream and we always go back when we’re in town.

When I opened the box there was a greeting from one of my corporate clients thanking me for the work I do for them.  I know my client doesn’t know the history Mr Chiots and I have with Graeter’s, I’ll definitely be telling them when I thank them.

What a great surprise to find this wonderful gift on our porch last night. It’s really nice to feel appreciated for the hard work you do.  It is a fantastic gift, really, who doesn’t love ice cream? I’m a big believer that gifts that are eaten or used up are among the best kinds of gifts, since the receiver is never left with the guilt of giving something to Goodwill when they no longer want/need it. I’m guessing this won’t last very long around here!

Have you received any great food gifts this year?

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Flower Sprouts

This past Friday I got some Flower Sprouts at the local farmers market. These are new to me, I’ve heard of them and seen them in seed catalogs but I’ve never seen them before. They are a cross between brussels sprouts and kale and that’s exactly what they look and taste like.

I settled on making them just like I make broccoli salad. Warm bacon, red onions, mustard, walnuts, dried cranberries red wine vinegar, yogurt, olive oil, and splash of maple syrup and they were perfect for dinner!

I hope these are at the market all winter because they were great. They won’t appear in my garden, I don’t usually have much luck with brussels sprouts or the longer season brassicas. I’m happy to simply buy them from a local farm. If you’re interested in adding them to your garden next year you can buy seeds from Johnny’s Seeds.

Have you had any new vegetables lately?

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