Happy Fall

Tom the Turkey struttin' his stuff.

We're down to one turkey. Big White is in the freezer. We tried a different butchering technique this year, including a stump and an axe, and we much prefer last year's method. For now, our remaining Tom is perfectly content to roam with the chickens. He's really a pleasure to have around, with his friendly gobbles. We're not looking forward to butchering time, but he's on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner with friends.

Just an update on the SponCon project: Here is a photo of from the auction program, which features some great professional photos of the projects, including Bill's pine and granite table, that will go up for sale this Friday. See Bill's post on SponCon below.

The Pressure's On: August Updates

After two years of water bath canning, we dug in and bought a pressure canner today. Nothing against all the vinegary sweets we've created via water bath...pickled beets and dilly beans are still on our 2012 agenda. We were just ready to start putting away more of our garden. And with only 8 cubic feet of storage in our solar powered freezer, canning is the obvious way to go. Right now I'm babysitting a batch of stew that's merrily steaming along in the canner. It makes this really nice, steamy metronome sound as the weight rocks on top, and it's peaceful just to sit by and listen. So, as that cooks, here are some updates:

Straw Potatoes

 The garden went nuts this year. We've had a long growing season, and frost is not in the forecast for the next couple of weeks. A couple people asked about straw potatoes, so here is a more in depth look at the process. Our ground, as mentioned in prior posts, is hard, rocky, and low in organic content. A friend told me about growing tubers in straw. This is my second year, with good results so far. Also, this year, I can really see the straw composting and adding to our garden soil. Here's how:

1. Put potatoes on ground and cover in 12-14" of straw.

2. Water

3. Watch them grow.

4. Harvest by pulling back the straw.

The Pig Debate: Grain vs. Grass

Our hogs went to slaughter last week. Hanging, they weighed 150, 159 and 159. We were pleased, and are looked forward to the maple-brined, smoked hams and bacon. Buying grain, however, is something we didn't enjoy...especially with the price hike this year. Bill and I have been looking into options of grazing, and might be branching out into heirloom varieties of pigs who can sustain themselves on grass. Large Blacks or Red Wattlers are the ones we're particularly interested in....so next year, look for pastured pork in place of pink Yorkshires on Blue Cloud. The grazers won't put on 200 lbs in 3 months like our pinkies did...but we won't be buying grain every week either.

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!
	We added a new addition to the farm. Our rooster, a gift from a neighbor up the road, is scrawny and his crow is giggle-worthy, but he is successfully fertilizing eggs! (And, he doesn't crow until about 9 AM!) We'll see if broody Blondie (at it again, and determined as ever) can hatch any chicks in about 20 days.

The Gobblers It's about that time of year again. The turkeys are getting big and about ready to be put into the freezer. Bill really improved his gobble this year and has become quite the turkey farmer. See it for yourself. (video coming soon)

Pesky Sheep

A recent speed-bump in our progress came when our neighbor's twenty head of sheep escaped their pasture....and roamed on our land for several days. Our orchard and windbreak got munched on, and, though the damage could have been worse, seeing those nibbled-down, broken, leafless branches, I was immediately deflated...and then enraged. I debated putting lamb chops into our freezer. But Bill, as always, calmed me down. And we put up an electric fence. And crossed our fingers that our neighbors will take care of their pesky roaming fluff-balls.

Turkey Harvest

Earlier this year, I came home from Murdoch's, the local ranch supply store, with 10 baby chicks and high hopes for self-sufficiency, at least in the egg department. However, to Bill's chagrin, as if the chicks weren't enough, I also got suckered into picking up three baby turkeys as well. I thought, what the hell, why not?

We'd come to enjoy the soon-to-be giant gobblers, who, when allowed to roam, basically followed us around like they were our pets. Whitey, the only female, really had a thing for me, while the two Toms basically flirted with whatever walked by.

So, this morning, Bill and I both awoke with a certain feeling of dread in the pits of our stomachs, as today, at 23 weeks old, our turkeys were facing harvest day. None the less, we were resolved to having three birds in the freezer by nightfall. Getting the damn things out of our crafty turkey/chicken arena proved to be one of the most difficult, as we didn't build a gate into the 6 foot high fence that made up the bird corral, and by now, two of the three turkeys were too big to fit back through the chicken door into the coop, which we had access to.

We managed to wrangle a ladder over the fence, and somehow were able to lift the big birds up and over without falling and breaking our own necks. We both sustained a few flaps to the face in the process.

Thanks to a tutorial on turkey processing (kudos to Howling Duck Ranch), we managed to proceed with our own turkeys fairly efficiently. The dunking tank, to prep the birds for de-feathering, is a drum that we hope to eventually turn into the stove to heat a wood-fired sauna.

The dogs stuck close all day long, and were rewarded eventually with some cooked up gizzards.

Here's our final product! All dressed out, the big ones came in at about 32 lbs each, and the small one at 18.