| Lighthouse Farm |
Seeds Worth SavingSaving seeds was considered the norm in days past. My grandparents and great grandparents and generations prior to them considered that a normal part of their summer. They selected for seeds that thrived on their farms. All of the seeds grown back then were open-pollinated. Of course, seed-saving won't work quite well with the hybrid seeds of today, but is a dream with open-pollinated varieties.We are in the process of saving the open-pollinated varieties of plants that are thriving on our farm. Ones worth saving for our northern climate were the Northern Pickling Cucumbers which gave and gave all summer long and Green Hubbard Squash which thrived without being watered all summer long. It was located next to the sweet corn at the top of a hill and did very well in our drought. The squash is huge and beautiful and we are looking forward to making pie from it. The sweet corn, however, was in a sad state. In a time-saving crunch, we purchased hybrid corn from a local store which did not do well in our drought at all. We were able to salvage some ears of corn for some meals and put away a few quarts from our knee-to-waist-high hybrids. We are currently in the process of searching for a good open-pollinated variety of sweet corn for next year. We were quite pleased with our beneficial flowers as well and are in the process of saving seed from those. Zinnias and Mexican Sunflowers have to be the favorite. These flowers have bloomed all summer long. Not only were they a beautiful addition to our garden, they attracted quite an array of beneficial insects as well as Humming Birds. Selecting and saving seeds will not only keep the seed bill down from year to year, but it is such a wise way of selecting for those plants that thrive on each property. It keeps heritage alive within a family - what I wouldn't do to have some of my grandparents seeds now. I would plant them with such a sense of honor to my heritage and eat the produce while reminiscing about my wise agrarian ancestors. Also, it is a wonderful way to teach observational skills to our children as they learn to detect and discern what characteristics to look for in a seed worth saving. A wonderful book which we refer to often is entitled, "Seed to Seed" by Suzanne Ashworth. It provides excellent instruction on seed saving. As we build our seed inventory, we purchase our seeds from "Seeds of Change", "Bountiful Gardens" and "Seed Savers Exchange", all of which are open-pollinated varieties. We are eagerly awaiting our seed catalogues in order to begin planning for next year. The Farmer's Wife 10:13 - 2006-Sep-6 - comments {2} - post commentSweet cartoonPassing up junk food to partake of the garden produce??? Go to this link if you would like to see a sweet cartoon portraying a little girl who does just that! http:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMd53OOaah4I am sorry I cannot insert the connecting link - can't seem to figure out why I can't do that. Anyway, this was sent to us and we thought it was a great start to get the message across that what man makes cannot compare to what the Lord makes. With messages bombarding our culture advertising pop and candy with all of its glitz, this was a refreshing change. Maybe some of you creative types can expand on this - including the beauty of family working together to produce food???? Enjoy, Lisa 09:11 - 2006-Aug-25 - comments {3} - post commentCommercial rice supply has been contaminatedAccording According to the FDA and USDA our rice has been contaminated recently by biotech rice. I can't seem to find out whether or not this is the variety that has the human gene in it. Here is the report www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A7_0_1OB?contententidonly=ture&contentid=2006/08/0307.xmlInteresting that this has not been approved for human consumption, yet the FDA is not concerned about it at all. The company had not sought regulation for it, but the FDA is not at all concerned. Now, try being a farmer and try selling raw milk from your farm. Try selling meat from your farm without having an inspected facility. Try selling prepared food from your farm without a huge investment in a commercial kitchen which must be inspected regularly and see if the FDA considers it no biggie. We want to do what civilization has done forever and we have such restrictions placed on us and yet this biotech company messes up our rice supply jepherdizing our food supply and messing up the purity of our rice supply and rice seeds and possibly our health and it is no big deal... Have mercy on us, The Farmer's Wife 01:05 - 2006-Aug-23 - comments {3} - post commentSpermicidal CornIn my last entry I wrote about the not-so-sci-fi agricultural flicks that are currently happening in our culture. Someone asked about a link to the spermicidal corn. Here it is www.organicconsumers.org/patent/pharming012802.cfmThey are touting it as a population control measure that they say is much needed. When they presented it years ago to the company employees of which my husband was a part, they touted it as population control in third world countries. As my husband sat in on the meeting with the president of the company excitingly announcing the wonderful things GMO could do to help the world from inserting vaccines into corn to inserting human anitbodies into corn to inserting spermicides into corn, he couldn't believe it. The ethical boundary lines had been crossed. He looked around the room to see what others thought of it. No reaction. He was the only one to quit as a result of this and they were informed of the reason why. Before he quit he asked the group of phd corn breeders if the GMO corn can be contained. No, they answered. No. This stuff drifts and contaminates other field. Other farmer's crops are contaminated. What happens if vaccinated corn gets out? What happens if our fields are contaminated with spermicidal corn (which is being grown in Indiana now)? Currently some farmers are being sued and fined for having GMO's in their crops even though they did not plant them. Monsanto is pursuing those who have saved seeds in order to develop their own crops. Remember the parable of the ten virgins with the oil lamps? Five were foolish and five were prudent. The foolish ones took no oil with them for their lamp and tried to bum some oil from the gals who were prepared. The prudent ones did not share for there was not enough oil to share. In the end the prepared virgins were able to be with the bridegroom while the foolish ones were treated as strangers by the bridegroom. Preparedness is exalted. We are preparing. The girls are excited learning about saving seed. "Seed savers exchange" is a wonderful place to learn about this lost craft. The Famer's Wife 12:03 - 2006-Aug-19 - comments {2} - post commentAgricultural Science Fiction Horror Flick or Truth?Stuff of science fiction thrillers within the agricultural realm, including cannabalism and deformed hogs:1. Pigs are given hormones which deform their bodies such that one has to question whether or not this is a real pig. Their hams are grotesquely out of proportion to the rest of their body resembling plastic implants. They are extremely lean to the point that little to no lard is able to be detected with the naked eye. They are bred to have snouts half the length of a normal pig for the head is just wasted meat in this sci-fi- hog. There is no need for this hog to root as it was created to do. Truth or fiction? One hundred percent truth. Seeing is believing and it is an awful sight to behold. The pigs we saw had bulging blood-shot eyes. Scientists thought this is what the consumer needed in a hog and therefore it is found in nearly all pork you eat from the supermarket according to my agricultural economist husband. No one knows the long-term effects this hormone will have on people. Could the hormone have the same effect on people it has on hogs?? Abnormally large hams, eyes bulging and bloodshot... I'll let you determine that for yourself. 2. Cannabalism forced onto consumers without their knowledge. Truth or fiction? It depends on your definition of cannabalism. The definition is being debated currently and smells of the "when is a baby a baby" from the abortion debate. Currently human genes are being inserted into rice crops in California and in other parts of the world. They say it's for our health. It is a well-known fact that these crops CANNOT be contained. The pollen drifts and contaminates other crops. Soylent Green was a sci-fi- movie staring Charleton Heston many years ago. It turns out it wasn't too far from reality. See www.futurepundit.com/archives/002736.html www.organicconsumers.org/2006/artcile_1196.cfm for further info. 3. GMO companies are inserting spermacides into crops to help with population control in thrid world countries. Truth or fiction? Truth. My husband sat in on a meeting at Dow AgroSciences where this was discussed and was at the trial stage years ago. He quit and now we are farming starting literally from the grassroots to impact the world for Christ. Time for chores now. I can't go into GMO and Monsanto due to time. It would be beneficial and informative for folks to view "The Future of Food" which is a very informative documentary. The Farmer's Wife 04:39 - 2006-Aug-18 - comments {2} - post commentSImple EntertainmentWe don't go to movies. We don't hang out at the mall. We don't watch TV. We don't go to sports stadiums. We aren't bored either. In fact, there is sooo much to learn and do that we will never be bored. And boy, do we have a good time!Take our barnyard animals, for instance. We have half a mind to move a couch out to the barnyard. Each species has characteristics that are unique to its kind and are fascinating to observe. We learn by observation what their strengths are and discuss how we can utilize them to help us on our farm. We are also thoroughly entertained by their antics. It is hilarious to watch the sheep RUN to Farmer John when he starts up the chain saw. They know his voice, but they RUN to his chain saw (for they know he is cutting down trees in the barn yard and the tree leaves must be like candy to them.) Yes, it is quite fascinating to watch God's creatures. The other day our daughters were folding laundry and laughing when the oldest exclaimed, "Who needs a stadium!?" While they were folding laundry, they watched the puppy and the cat out the back door through the screen. The cat was trying to non-challantly walk away from the puppy. The puppy saw her every move and was motivated to terrorize her whether she was moving, lying, sitting, spitting, batting her claws or lashing her tail impatiently. The girls were laughing hysterically. Very simple entertainment. In our state, some stadiums are going to be built which our children and children's children will more than likely be paying for. The chances are slim of us ever putting a foot in them, but we are forced to pay nonetheless. We choose simple entertainment and simple living, but are forced to pay millionaires for facilities, well, I had better stop right there... Farmer John took all of us to the sale barn. The same one he used to attend with his father when he was youner. The same one we heard so many stories about. We heard how he sat ALL day long at the auction and how his dad would sneak in bids without neighbors knowing who was bidding. We heard how absolutely crowded the place used to be. We walked into this auction which was sparcely populated and almost over before it began. Times have changed. Farmer John did explain much to us while we were there. We enjoyed watching the way the men bid for animals. Actually, it was a hoot. One gentlemen did not want the man sitting beside him to know he was bidding. So, he took the hand that was next to his friend, put it on his opposite shoulder and bid by lifting one finger. We also got a kick out of watching the bull scratch intimidatingly at the ground while eying the gentleman in the ring with him. At that point, I had a "thought" pop into my mind that would add some more spice to the old place and cause the tongues to wag and I leaned over and told my dearest husband my "thought" as this bull was being auctioned off. I told him I have half a mind to beller out a question about the bull to the rambling auctioneer in my thickest southern drall, "Excuuuse me! How much did ya'll say ya'll wanted for this here fine-lookin' milkin' cow?!" He laughed and his face turned red as he looked me in the eye to see if I was indeed serious, then in case I was, he shared, "If you said that, they would run you out of town so fast!" Of course, I would tell them proudly I was Mrs. John Mesko! Baling hay is another form of entertainment for us. With there being a drought, we were only able to get one cutting off of it. And yes, it was a lot of work, but what satisfaction there is to put hay away for your animals for the winter. The girls rode on top of the hay bales as we stacked them from the baler. They helped with scooting some bales and learned how to stack them on the wagon by watching us. What beautiful weather we had when we baled. The weather wasn't too hot, the breeze was perfect, the sky was turquoise with beautiful white clouds. I couldn't help but sing out praises to our King of kings as we baled! How exciting it is to take hikes through the woods and track for animals. What a blessing it is to walk through our pastures and plan and dream. Simple things provide simple pleasures in life. Man could never improve on the entertainment and pleasures God provides in His creation. The Farmer's Wife 08:31 - 2006-Aug-15 - comments {2} - post comment"Gardening is like a treasure hunt!"Exclaimed our six year old as we strolled through our garden discovering the many delights! How true her statement is. Our gardens are full of treasures to fill our tables, pantries and freezers with healthy, wholesome foods to provide sustainance throughout the winter until next year.And what a treasure hunt it is! What fun it is to look through the cucumber patch to try to locate the ripened cucumber hidden underneath the leaves. What a joy it is to search for the camaflouged snow pea hanging on the vine. What a pleasure it is to seek through the bushes for the ripened green beans. Who needs "I Spy" to build visual discrimination skills when God provides it naturally and multi-dimensionally in a garden? To watch the flowers grow and bud and then finally bloom and burst forth into color is such a delight. We so enjoy watching the beneficial butterflies and bugs we welcome to our garden when we plant flowers to attract them. What anticipation builds as we wait and watch those green tomatoes begin to turn red until they are ripened to a beautiful, rich red color. This is probably the most anticipated vegetable from the garden. We refuse to buy those pale. rubbery, red counterfiets they call tomatoes from the grocery store. We can enough salsa and tomato sauce to last us a year and only eat fresh tomatoes during the summer from our own garden. No, we wait all year for the real thing. We just picked a year's supply of onions, dried some of them in the dehydrator for soups this winter and tied up a majority in panty hose to keep them fresh. We harvested and cured a year's worth of gourmet garlic. And are beginning to harvest our tomatoes. In our drought conditions, our year's supply of sweet corn did not make it. However, we did get a good start on green beans and potatoes and beets to last atleast through the fall. We also managed to finely chop and freeze a significant amount of beet greens and swiss chard to last us a good part of the winter. We add this to soups and omelets. We love the challenge of trying to raise our own food. We also love the taste and decreased grocery bill as well. We didn't make our challenge of raising everything this year. We've been here four months and have so much to tear down and build and settle, but we've made a decent start. We know the soil conditions better now that we've worked with it and are planning the location of the expansion of our garden for next year. This time next year I pray there will be little to no time to blog due to even more treasure hunting! Time to harvest more cucumbers with my daughters, The Farmer's Wife 10:46 - 2006-Aug-11 - comments {3} - post commentPigs don't stinkThis may come as a surprise to some of you, but pigs don't stink. They do chew loudly and sloppily and slurp when they drink, but they do not stink. That is, if they are raised well. If they are forced to lie in their own excrement in an enclosed area, well, the smell is unavoidable as well as sickness and the meat is just not as good.When we have the industrial mindset when it comes to raising animals, we do not take into consideration the amount of space each animal needs and we cram as much as we can into the space we have. Then the pasture and/or pen becomes barren and picked over and loaded with manure, minerals are depleted and parasites become a problem. When we raise the animals the way they were created to be raised, we allow them to live the way they were intended to live and eat what they were intended to eat which contributes to their health and they don't smell. Our pigs are outdoors with access to sunshine, grass, dirt/mud and fresh water. They have a good-sized lot to root through and do what they were created to do. The little pigs are allowed to go outside of their boundary as they fit easily under the electric fence. They pesture the goats, chickens, cows and sheep. They root through their manure. They root through dirt piles, wood chips, venture out to pasture, clean up decayed hay. Soon we plan on fencing them into the lot we are planning on planting to an orchard next year. They can clean up the tree roots and prepare the soil for us. We feed them kitchen scraps, give them access to organic Thorvin kelp (which we feed to all our animals and like it so much we are now selling it). The kelp provides a natural source of minerals and vitamins contributing to their overall health. We also give the pigs extra milk from our goats. Their little hams are growing by the day. We have selected gilts we plan on breeding early this winter. They are the ones who are absolutely thriving on pasture in that they are growing quickly, are hardy and forage well. We've already sold our extra piglets without even trying to market them and are looking forward to expanding our pastured hog operation. More and more folks are realizing the taste and health benefits coming from animals raised the way they were created to be raised just can't be beat. Gotta go slop the hogs, The Farmer's Wife 09:22 - 2006-Aug-4 - comments {2} - post commentSeeds Worth SavingSaving seeds was considered the norm in days past. My grandparents and great grandparents and generations prior to them considered that a normal part of their summer. They selected for seeds that thrived on their farms. All of the seeds grown back then were open-pollinated. Of course, seed-saving won't work quite well with the hybrid seeds of today, but is a dream with open-pollinated varieties.We are in the process of saving the open-pollinated varieties of plants that are thriving on our farm. Ones worth saving for our northern climate were the Northern Pickling Cucumbers which gave and gave all summer long and Green Hubbard Squash which thrived without being watered all summer long. It was located next to the sweet corn at the top of a hill and did very well in our drought. The squash is huge and beautiful and we are looking forward to making pie from it. The sweet corn, however, was in a sad state. In a time-saving crunch, we purchased hybrid corn from a local store which did not do well in our drought at all. We were able to salvage some ears of corn for some meals and put away a few quarts from our knee-to-waist-high hybrids. We are currently in the process of searching for a good open-pollinated variety of sweet corn for next year. We were quite pleased with our beneficial flowers as well and are in the process of saving seed from those. Zinnias and Mexican Sunflowers have to be the favorite. These flowers have bloomed all summer long. Not only were they a beautiful addition to our garden, they attracted quite an array of beneficial insects as well as Humming Birds. Selecting and saving seeds will not only keep the seed bill down from year to year, but it is such a wise way of selecting for those plants that thrive on each property. It keeps heritage alive within a family - what I wouldn't do to have some of my grandparents seeds now. I would plant them with such a sense of honor to my heritage and eat the produce while reminiscing about my wise agrarian ancestors. Also, it is a wonderful way to teach observational skills to our children as they learn to detect and discern what characteristics to look for in a seed worth saving. A wonderful book which we refer to often is entitled, "Seed to Seed" by Suzanne Ashworth. It provides excellent instruction on seed saving. As we build our seed inventory, we purchase our seeds from "Seeds of Change", "Bountiful Gardens" and "Seed Savers Exchange", all of which are open-pollinated varieties. We are eagerly awaiting our seed catalogues in order to begin planning for next year. The Farmer's Wife 10:13 - 2006-Sep-6 - post comment
Sweet cartoonPassing up junk food to partake of the garden produce??? Go to this link if you would like to see a sweet cartoon portraying a little girl who does just that! http:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMd53OOaah4I am sorry I cannot insert the connecting link - can't seem to figure out why I can't do that. Anyway, this was sent to us and we thought it was a great start to get the message across that what man makes cannot compare to what the Lord makes. With messages bombarding our culture advertising pop and candy with all of its glitz, this was a refreshing change. Maybe some of you creative types can expand on this - including the beauty of family working together to produce food???? Enjoy, Lisa 09:11 - 2006-Aug-25 - post comment
Commercial rice supply has been contaminatedAccording According to the FDA and USDA our rice has been contaminated recently by biotech rice. I can't seem to find out whether or not this is the variety that has the human gene in it. Here is the report www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A7_0_1OB?contententidonly=ture&contentid=2006/08/0307.xmlInteresting that this has not been approved for human consumption, yet the FDA is not concerned about it at all. The company had not sought regulation for it, but the FDA is not at all concerned. Now, try being a farmer and try selling raw milk from your farm. Try selling meat from your farm without having an inspected facility. Try selling prepared food from your farm without a huge investment in a commercial kitchen which must be inspected regularly and see if the FDA considers it no biggie. We want to do what civilization has done forever and we have such restrictions placed on us and yet this biotech company messes up our rice supply jepherdizing our food supply and messing up the purity of our rice supply and rice seeds and possibly our health and it is no big deal... Have mercy on us, The Farmer's Wife 01:05 - 2006-Aug-23 - post comment
Spermicidal CornIn my last entry I wrote about the not-so-sci-fi agricultural flicks that are currently happening in our culture. Someone asked about a link to the spermicidal corn. Here it is www.organicconsumers.org/patent/pharming012802.cfmThey are touting it as a population control measure that they say is much needed. When they presented it years ago to the company employees of which my husband was a part, they touted it as population control in third world countries. As my husband sat in on the meeting with the president of the company excitingly announcing the wonderful things GMO could do to help the world from inserting vaccines into corn to inserting human anitbodies into corn to inserting spermicides into corn, he couldn't believe it. The ethical boundary lines had been crossed. He looked around the room to see what others thought of it. No reaction. He was the only one to quit as a result of this and they were informed of the reason why. Before he quit he asked the group of phd corn breeders if the GMO corn can be contained. No, they answered. No. This stuff drifts and contaminates other field. Other farmer's crops are contaminated. What happens if vaccinated corn gets out? What happens if our fields are contaminated with spermicidal corn (which is being grown in Indiana now)? Currently some farmers are being sued and fined for having GMO's in their crops even though they did not plant them. Monsanto is pursuing those who have saved seeds in order to develop their own crops. Remember the parable of the ten virgins with the oil lamps? Five were foolish and five were prudent. The foolish ones took no oil with them for their lamp and tried to bum some oil from the gals who were prepared. The prudent ones did not share for there was not enough oil to share. In the end the prepared virgins were able to be with the bridegroom while the foolish ones were treated as strangers by the bridegroom. Preparedness is exalted. We are preparing. The girls are excited learning about saving seed. "Seed savers exchange" is a wonderful place to learn about this lost craft. The Famer's Wife 12:03 - 2006-Aug-19 - post comment
Agricultural Science Fiction Horror Flick or Truth?Stuff of science fiction thrillers within the agricultural realm, including cannabalism and deformed hogs:1. Pigs are given hormones which deform their bodies such that one has to question whether or not this is a real pig. Their hams are grotesquely out of proportion to the rest of their body resembling plastic implants. They are extremely lean to the point that little to no lard is able to be detected with the naked eye. They are bred to have snouts half the length of a normal pig for the head is just wasted meat in this sci-fi- hog. There is no need for this hog to root as it was created to do. Truth or fiction? One hundred percent truth. Seeing is believing and it is an awful sight to behold. The pigs we saw had bulging blood-shot eyes. Scientists thought this is what the consumer needed in a hog and therefore it is found in nearly all pork you eat from the supermarket according to my agricultural economist husband. No one knows the long-term effects this hormone will have on people. Could the hormone have the same effect on people it has on hogs?? Abnormally large hams, eyes bulging and bloodshot... I'll let you determine that for yourself. 2. Cannabalism forced onto consumers without their knowledge. Truth or fiction? It depends on your definition of cannabalism. The definition is being debated currently and smells of the "when is a baby a baby" from the abortion debate. Currently human genes are being inserted into rice crops in California and in other parts of the world. They say it's for our health. It is a well-known fact that these crops CANNOT be contained. The pollen drifts and contaminates other crops. Soylent Green was a sci-fi- movie staring Charleton Heston many years ago. It turns out it wasn't too far from reality. See www.futurepundit.com/archives/002736.html www.organicconsumers.org/2006/artcile_1196.cfm for further info. 3. GMO companies are inserting spermacides into crops to help with population control in thrid world countries. Truth or fiction? Truth. My husband sat in on a meeting at Dow AgroSciences where this was discussed and was at the trial stage years ago. He quit and now we are farming starting literally from the grassroots to impact the world for Christ. Time for chores now. I can't go into GMO and Monsanto due to time. It would be beneficial and informative for folks to view "The Future of Food" which is a very informative documentary. The Farmer's Wife 04:39 - 2006-Aug-18 - post comment
SImple EntertainmentWe don't go to movies. We don't hang out at the mall. We don't watch TV. We don't go to sports stadiums. We aren't bored either. In fact, there is sooo much to learn and do that we will never be bored. And boy, do we have a good time!Take our barnyard animals, for instance. We have half a mind to move a couch out to the barnyard. Each species has characteristics that are unique to its kind and are fascinating to observe. We learn by observation what their strengths are and discuss how we can utilize them to help us on our farm. We are also thoroughly entertained by their antics. It is hilarious to watch the sheep RUN to Farmer John when he starts up the chain saw. They know his voice, but they RUN to his chain saw (for they know he is cutting down trees in the barn yard and the tree leaves must be like candy to them.) Yes, it is quite fascinating to watch God's creatures. The other day our daughters were folding laundry and laughing when the oldest exclaimed, "Who needs a stadium!?" While they were folding laundry, they watched the puppy and the cat out the back door through the screen. The cat was trying to non-challantly walk away from the puppy. The puppy saw her every move and was motivated to terrorize her whether she was moving, lying, sitting, spitting, batting her claws or lashing her tail impatiently. The girls were laughing hysterically. Very simple entertainment. In our state, some stadiums are going to be built which our children and children's children will more than likely be paying for. The chances are slim of us ever putting a foot in them, but we are forced to pay nonetheless. We choose simple entertainment and simple living, but are forced to pay millionaires for facilities, well, I had better stop right there... Farmer John took all of us to the sale barn. The same one he used to attend with his father when he was youner. The same one we heard so many stories about. We heard how he sat ALL day long at the auction and how his dad would sneak in bids without neighbors knowing who was bidding. We heard how absolutely crowded the place used to be. We walked into this auction which was sparcely populated and almost over before it began. Times have changed. Farmer John did explain much to us while we were there. We enjoyed watching the way the men bid for animals. Actually, it was a hoot. One gentlemen did not want the man sitting beside him to know he was bidding. So, he took the hand that was next to his friend, put it on his opposite shoulder and bid by lifting one finger. We also got a kick out of watching the bull scratch intimidatingly at the ground while eying the gentleman in the ring with him. At that point, I had a "thought" pop into my mind that would add some more spice to the old place and cause the tongues to wag and I leaned over and told my dearest husband my "thought" as this bull was being auctioned off. I told him I have half a mind to beller out a question about the bull to the rambling auctioneer in my thickest southern drall, "Excuuuse me! How much did ya'll say ya'll wanted for this here fine-lookin' milkin' cow?!" He laughed and his face turned red as he looked me in the eye to see if I was indeed serious, then in case I was, he shared, "If you said that, they would run you out of town so fast!" Of course, I would tell them proudly I was Mrs. John Mesko! Baling hay is another form of entertainment for us. With there being a drought, we were only able to get one cutting off of it. And yes, it was a lot of work, but what satisfaction there is to put hay away for your animals for the winter. The girls rode on top of the hay bales as we stacked them from the baler. They helped with scooting some bales and learned how to stack them on the wagon by watching us. What beautiful weather we had when we baled. The weather wasn't too hot, the breeze was perfect, the sky was turquoise with beautiful white clouds. I couldn't help but sing out praises to our King of kings as we baled! How exciting it is to take hikes through the woods and track for animals. What a blessing it is to walk through our pastures and plan and dream. Simple things provide simple pleasures in life. Man could never improve on the entertainment and pleasures God provides in His creation. The Farmer's Wife 08:31 - 2006-Aug-15 - post comment
"Gardening is like a treasure hunt!"Exclaimed our six year old as we strolled through our garden discovering the many delights! How true her statement is. Our gardens are full of treasures to fill our tables, pantries and freezers with healthy, wholesome foods to provide sustainance throughout the winter until next year.And what a treasure hunt it is! What fun it is to look through the cucumber patch to try to locate the ripened cucumber hidden underneath the leaves. What a joy it is to search for the camaflouged snow pea hanging on the vine. What a pleasure it is to seek through the bushes for the ripened green beans. Who needs "I Spy" to build visual discrimination skills when God provides it naturally and multi-dimensionally in a garden? To watch the flowers grow and bud and then finally bloom and burst forth into color is such a delight. We so enjoy watching the beneficial butterflies and bugs we welcome to our garden when we plant flowers to attract them. What anticipation builds as we wait and watch those green tomatoes begin to turn red until they are ripened to a beautiful, rich red color. This is probably the most anticipated vegetable from the garden. We refuse to buy those pale. rubbery, red counterfiets they call tomatoes from the grocery store. We can enough salsa and tomato sauce to last us a year and only eat fresh tomatoes during the summer from our own garden. No, we wait all year for the real thing. We just picked a year's supply of onions, dried some of them in the dehydrator for soups this winter and tied up a majority in panty hose to keep them fresh. We harvested and cured a year's worth of gourmet garlic. And are beginning to harvest our tomatoes. In our drought conditions, our year's supply of sweet corn did not make it. However, we did get a good start on green beans and potatoes and beets to last atleast through the fall. We also managed to finely chop and freeze a significant amount of beet greens and swiss chard to last us a good part of the winter. We add this to soups and omelets. We love the challenge of trying to raise our own food. We also love the taste and decreased grocery bill as well. We didn't make our challenge of raising everything this year. We've been here four months and have so much to tear down and build and settle, but we've made a decent start. We know the soil conditions better now that we've worked with it and are planning the location of the expansion of our garden for next year. This time next year I pray there will be little to no time to blog due to even more treasure hunting! Time to harvest more cucumbers with my daughters, The Farmer's Wife 10:46 - 2006-Aug-11 - post comment
Pigs don't stinkThis may come as a surprise to some of you, but pigs don't stink. They do chew loudly and sloppily and slurp when they drink, but they do not stink. That is, if they are raised well. If they are forced to lie in their own excrement in an enclosed area, well, the smell is unavoidable as well as sickness and the meat is just not as good.When we have the industrial mindset when it comes to raising animals, we do not take into consideration the amount of space each animal needs and we cram as much as we can into the space we have. Then the pasture and/or pen becomes barren and picked over and loaded with manure, minerals are depleted and parasites become a problem. When we raise the animals the way they were created to be raised, we allow them to live the way they were intended to live and eat what they were intended to eat which contributes to their health and they don't smell. Our pigs are outdoors with access to sunshine, grass, dirt/mud and fresh water. They have a good-sized lot to root through and do what they were created to do. The little pigs are allowed to go outside of their boundary as they fit easily under the electric fence. They pesture the goats, chickens, cows and sheep. They root through their manure. They root through dirt piles, wood chips, venture out to pasture, clean up decayed hay. Soon we plan on fencing them into the lot we are planning on planting to an orchard next year. They can clean up the tree roots and prepare the soil for us. We feed them kitchen scraps, give them access to organic Thorvin kelp (which we feed to all our animals and like it so much we are now selling it). The kelp provides a natural source of minerals and vitamins contributing to their overall health. We also give the pigs extra milk from our goats. Their little hams are growing by the day. We have selected gilts we plan on breeding early this winter. They are the ones who are absolutely thriving on pasture in that they are growing quickly, are hardy and forage well. We've already sold our extra piglets without even trying to market them and are looking forward to expanding our pastured hog operation. More and more folks are realizing the taste and health benefits coming from animals raised the way they were created to be raised just can't be beat. Gotta go slop the hogs, The Farmer's Wife 09:22 - 2006-Aug-4 - post comment
|
Description Sharing our thoughts, events, ups and downs, as we restore a once profitable farm to its former greatness as a Christian agrarian family. Home User Profile Archives Friends Lighthouse Farm Our DVD's for homesteader's Homestead Series e-books Lighthouse Farm Podcasts No NAIS Recent Entries - Pig-headed or chicken-hearted???? - Health care - the way it used to be - The Egg Hog - Back in blogdom after chasing sheep - Ode to Winter 2007 - Chicken and Hog DVD's are now finished!! - Video clip of the birth of a piglet - News about Haitian friends!!!!! - Authentic AgricultureTM - Welcome! - A Peaceful Night in the Pasture - Big Sale at The Old Schoolhouse!! - Rendering Lard - Hog Butchering Time - John Ray - Founder of Biology - A Breath-taking Field Trip - Fat and Sassy - Real Men Eat Quiche - Green Tomato Recipes - Harvest - Two Cents Worth on Pinching Pennies... - Cockle burrs and stinging nettle a blessing? - Gourmet Meals At The Farm Table - Seeds Worth Saving - Sweet cartoon - Commercial rice supply has been contaminated - Spermicidal Corn - Agricultural Science Fiction Horror Flick or Truth? - SImple Entertainment - "Gardening is like a treasure hunt!" - Pigs don't stink - Diggin' For Gold!! - Rain - a Blessing or a Curse? - My Sheep Know My Voice - er - Chain Saw... - The Old Farm Dog - An Alarming Nightime Visitor - Farming Magazine - A Pig's Nest - Meager chicken harvest - Bacon + Garlic = Piglets? - A Rare July 4th Tribute to Farmers - Fencing in more pasture - Three months on our new place.... - Blood suckers in Minnesota :( - Miss Bacon and Rocky Mountain Oysters - Sheep without a shepherd - Haying with my man! - Mink solutions, anyone? - Goat meets pig... - I Smell a Skunk... - URGENT!! Please forward!!!! - Did Adam Smell Like That? - Minnesota!!!!! - Problem solved - God is good - The Rat Trap and One Happy Girl - New Podcast - Farm Restoration - The Beginning - An Honorable Gentleman Has Died - Why teach our children about agriculture? - Cheap, Safe Food??? - New NAIS links worth reading - Old Tractors Never Die - A Lawyer comments on Constitutional Rights and NAIS - Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks - Big Bellies and Big Bags - Hosting Haitians on the Homestead - Minnesota, Here We Come (after we sell our house) and "the Chip" - And God saw that it was good - Greetings |