About Our Blog

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Our blog is to inform and entertain you as we pursue our goal of starting a farm. Here we plan on recording thoughts, projects, farm additions and other note-worthy happenings. You may even see us on a magazine or two. If you would like to comment on our blog or just say "Hi" feel free to do so on our CBOX to the left.  Just enter your name and a message, then click the 'GO' button.  If you want to comment on a blog, please do so.  Just 'click' on the "Leave a comment" below each blog entry. Yahoo users: feel free to contact us...our profile is mn_nice_couple.  Just because we don't appear online, doesn't mean we're not.  When you send us an IM, please identify yourselves... and let us know why you're contacting us. Put yourself on the map! CLICK HERE to show us where you are in the world.

Sherman - A Turkey Raised On Coyote Ridge Farms.

The Blog   

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Some days I blog w/o checking for errors - you'll know it when you read it

Nov 30, 2008
- The new economy of homesteaders

It was quite a bit cooler today, but not cold... I suppose temps were in the mid 20's.  In addition to the usual things we do, I cleaned the box of the pickup... it was long over due.  I wanted to get the truck ready for the trip to Jordon MN, where Carol and I are planning to recover some farm animals. 

The economy is tough for many homesteaders.  Those who can, should help when called upon to do so.  We ran across an ad, stating the owner of some farm animals could no longer afford to feed her critters.  Saddened to hear of the situation, we answered the ad and explained who we are and what we're about.  It turns out, we're the perfect farm for her animals.  We exchanged several more emails and are planning to pick up the animals tomorrow.  These animals should fit in w/o any problems to our set-up as we have the same sorts of critters (rabbits, chickens, 2 sheep and a pig). 

Although the new hog is quite a bit larger than our Ham, I think she'll appreciate the company... she's been alone since we separated her from our 2 pot-bellied pigs.  The little pigs get pot-belly pig feed. Ham gets a corn-based feed & hay, before that - she was on pasture only.  The new pig will get the same.  At this point in time, we have feed in reserve and plenty of hay.  We feel if we can provide a safe, happy home for animals and help out a fellow homesteader, we're doing our best to promote the homesteading lifestyle.  Help thy neighbor, regardless how far away they are.

LEFTOVER TURKEY NEWS:  The leftovers have not gone away.  Lunch was turkey noodle soup, leftover from yesterday.  From the remaining turkey stock, Carol pressured canned 7 quarts of broth.  Supper, tonight, consisted of homemade barbequed turkey pizza.  It was pretty good.  So, now, if we want anything turkey, it will have to be thawed.  All of our T-Day leftovers are eaten or preserved.  It was a good holiday to say good bye to.

Tonight we are watched the Vikings host Da Bears.  GO VIKES!  It was a good game... if you were cheering for Minnesota.

 

Nov 29, 2008
- More egg sales

Today, the first thing I did, after breakfast, was to walk the fence line.  I like to do this at least once a week.  For the most part, I have to do it, if we have no spark in the fence, but today, I did it because I could.  While out in one of the farm's small pastures, I walked past our small fold of Scottish Highlanders.  They looked so comfortable laying in the grass, chewing their cud.  I wish I had the recourses to fence more pasture for them.

After lunch, Ellie (our dog) and I headed north of the creek to mark the boundaries of the land we have in CRP.  According to the USDA, we are required to perform a burn on the ground every few years.  This kills many unwanted weed seeds and stimulates the growth of the desirable vegetation.

This summer, I had an agent of USDA flag the boarders of the 2 CRP areas.  Being a think'in man, I figured that those flags would be burnt up with the burning of the grass... then I would have to rehire this guy at a later date.  To prevent this from happening, I decide to replace the plastic flags with steel posts.  It didn't take long to them in place, as the frost was only a couple inches deep.  After I had all the post in the ground, I spent a little time with Ellie.  Since she's ½ Black Lab, I thought she'd enjoy a long walk through the grass with her master.  She bounced to and fro through the grass like a puppy.  She was certainly in her element.  As I walked in a straight line, she criss-crossed in front of me... you'd almost think she was a real hunting dog.

While Ellie and I were spending a little quality time together, Carol sold another 3 dozen eggs, he even brought egg cartons for us.  So far, our farm has sold nearly a dozen eggs a day, since we put the "EGGS" sign out for the world to see.  It's not much, but we think it's pretty cool.  We're pretty sure we'll get the repeat sales, as farm fresh eggs look and taste so much better than any store bought eggs one can get.

For our evening meal, Carol made a big pot of turkey noodle soup.  It's amazing what a little sage & thyme can do.  The soup smelled like stuffing.  I, personally, don't eat stuffing, but the soup sure was good.  I'm sure the recipe will be in the holiday cookbook Carol is putting together.

On another creative note, Carol is crocheting Madison a winter hat for this year's school Xmas program.  She was nearly finished when she realized it wouldn't fit Madison's head, so... she pulled it apart.  Carol did this sort of thing when her and I first got married and it would drive me crazy.  Back then, she made afghans... she had hours upon hours into these things.  On more than one occasion, Carol would notice a tiny flaw, prior to putting on the finishing touches.  Instead of just completing the darn thing, she would tear it up.  Again... it would drive me nuts.  I thought those days had past.

 

Nov 28, 2008
- Farm fresh turkey

What can I say about yesterday's farm fresh thanksgiving Day turkey?  How about this... it was the best tasting turkey we've ever tasted.  We will be raising more next year.  We're not the only family that loved our farm's turkeys.  As you know, we sold a couple of our turkeys to others.  They loved their turkey.

Even before yesterday had past, we received an email from one of this year's turkey customers.  They said, "The turkey was FABULOUS!  We received rave reviews, it was moist and tender... it truly made our Thanksgiving dinner a feast."  WOW!  Thanks for the great email.

We love getting emails like that.  It makes what we're doing here all worth while.

 

Nov 27, 2008
- Thanksgiving Day

While Carol was preparing the Thanksgiving meal, Madison and I did the chores.  Austin had to work at his Wal-Mart job, but should be back in time for a late dinner.

With just a few things cooking, the house is already filled with the smells of the meal.  We are, of course, going to be eating one of the turkeys we raise, here on the farm.  He's too big for our family, but leftovers will still be eaten with thanks.

As Carol relaxed with a little down time, she chatted with my sister Regina (in California), on Yahoo Messenger.  I'm not sure what the talked about, but I'm sure it was [mostly] none of my business.  Yesterday, sister Amber and I exchanged an email or 2.  Amber wanted to let be know that getting beat-up (at least reading about it on this blog) was funny.  The blog IS suppose to be entertaining, I guess.  With that said, it's always fun to catch-up.

Since we really don't know when we're going to eat, Carol is coming up with little goodies to keep Madison and I quiet.  The first thing served was what she called Sunshine Cider.  It's got Sunnyside Orchards apple cider, orange juice, red hot candies, honey and a little allspice.  It tastes really good - like sunshine infused hot cider.  I'm sure Carol will post the recipe soon, so you all can have it before Christmas.  Make sure you check our her recipe page for new additions.

 

Nov 26, 2008
- The day before Thanksgiving Day

How do folks on the farm get ready for Thanksgiving?  For us, we took an extra close look at the animals, making sure everyone was as healthy as they should be.  As the girls were doing their health checks, I cleaned pens. 

Most days, I clean a different small section of the goat/llama pen, but today, I just kept going.  With temps in the 40's, it seemed to go so well, I just couldn't stop.  After that, I decided to clean the pig pen.  Like most hogs, ours enjoys a clean pen.  Ham, our pig, moves her waste through the cattle panels and into the larger goat pen, so there wasn't really that much to clean.

Since the temps were so warm, Carol and I decide to let Ham out of her pen for the day.  She was so excited when we did so - jumping and running around - back and forth from the pasture lane to the barn.  Eventually, she joined the goats and llamas in the east pasture.  It was fun to see her acting so crazy.

After lunch, I decide to bottle some of my American Concord wine.  I had about 5 gallons ready - it smelled so good, I really miss messing with my wine, but on the farm, space and time are equally limited. 

The reason I picked today to bottle was that I promised friends Farmer Mike & Karen some wine for their themed Thanksgiving dinner.  Their goal, this year, was to put together a healthy, locally produced meal.  Our farm is honored to be part of their celebration.  We were lucky enough to be able to supply the fresh turkey (not frozen), the all natural tators and of course the wine... and depending on what Karen is baking for goodies - farm fresh eggs.  She wanted 2 dozen chicken eggs and 1 dozen baking eggs (duck eggs).

Carol has reminded me that I have yet to mention our goat, Mary.  A few days ago, we noticed Mary had removed herself from the rest of the herd.  In the barn, she would stand by herself, in the corner.  After a quick exam, Carol and Madison determined Mary needed some quick attention.  Antibiotics and a molasses-based dredge was administered. Upon further exam, we could see she was a little anemic.  The next morning she had perked up and was eating hay aggressively with the others.  Today, with her daily treatments, she looks so much better and is back to her old self.  Tomorrow is her last day of receiving medication.  We're thankful for that.

On Carol's blog, she made a very good point.  To effectively keep your goats healthy, one needs to know their goats.  In our experience, these animals seem to be in perfect health one day, then the next they are suffering.  If you don't know the normal behavior of your livestock, you are likely to lose them. 

Many goat ranchers have told us that if you don't catch a goat's illness right away you will likely need a vet's intervention or worse yet, the animal will die.  We try do all the treatments ourselves, but we rely on our local vet much of the time for advice, we have a very good relationship with her.  Without her, we could not do what we do.  We also realize that a veterinarian is trained for conventional medicine... we have found, not all conventional treatments are as good as the could be.  Before giving your critters any meds, do a little research, there are alternatives to everything - some good, some not so good.

 

Nov 25, 2008
- Organic food

Farmer Mike and I went to an Organic Valley coop dairy meeting.  Although our farm is not a member of the Coop (nor are we dairy), I was made to feel welcome and was invited to learn more.  I was surprised as to how successful this network was at supplying the nation with healthy, great tasting foods (they had a few samples).  They have a great coupon page.  If you've never tried their products, I'd recommend it.  The orange juice I tried, tasted more like oranges than any other juices I've ever tasted.

Later in the eve, Madison had a 4-H meeting she had to go to, which we try to attend as a family.  There weren't many family there as the KMS school pep fest for their football team, going to State.  I really wish, this particular club had monthly meeting, instead of the every-other schedule they have.  With 6 or fewer meeting a year, a family that misses 1 or 2, misses ⅓ of them.  My question is, can the children really be considered "active" members? 

I understand folks have things to do and places to go, but that's why this club (the club I was in when I was a kid) should discuss the advantages of more frequent meetings.  Don't get me started on Parliamentary Procedure.

 

Nov 24, 2008
- Thanksgiving turkey

Shortly after chores, Carol and I started processing two fresh thanksgiving turkeys that were going to be leaving the farm today.  The first turkey we butchered was a Kentucky Bourbon (a heritage breed).  This particular bird was purchased by a teacher living in the Willmar area.  The live weight of this bird was 17lbs. and dressed out at 11lbs.  This turkey is going to be the center piece of a meal serving 10-11 people. 

We try to match the correct bird for the amount of ppl that will be served... and still leave plenty of leftovers.  One of the birds in the photo below is the gobbler who was invited to this year's holiday dinner.  The Kentucky Bourbons are such a nice looking turkey.

Kentucky Bourbons (aka Bourbon Reds)

The second turkey we processed today, was the last of our Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys.  The turkey was a big boy, weighing in at a hefty 39lbs (live).  The dressed-out weight came in at 30lbs, with little excess fat. 

The worst part of processing birds this large of bird is dealing with its power.  When I first picked this turkey up to bring him to "The Killing Tree", he flew up, over my shoulder (with me still hanging on) and preceded to smack me in the back of the head.  Blam, blam, blam!  The bird's massive wing was pounding me in the cranium.  In addition to the first three sucker punches, I received another 20+ well placed hits to the back of the head, seeing stars with every hit.

In a matter of seconds, I had one HECK of a blasting headache.  If I had any doubts of whether or not this turkey was going to die today, I had them no longer.  Sure, this turkey was strong enough and quick enough to thump me good, but I, in fact, had a long, shiny knife with a sharp, serrated edge. 

The whole thing kind of played-out like a bad action movie.  You know the kind... where a skilled karate dude threatens the good guy with a couple of quick, Kung-Fu moves... then the good guy takes out the gun and shoots the other guy.  Yeah... that was me and the turkey... if we were in a movie, I would have been the one with the gun.

With that said, neither I nor Carol had any other incident of note.  The plucking of Mr Big Turkey went fairly smooth.  The scalding of the bird took longer than the first, only because of the shear size of the animal.  He was so big, we had to dunk one end of the bird in the hot water, pluck it, then scald the other end, so we could pluck it as well.  There is yet another subplot to this tail, but that is between us and THAT individual, who arrived 45 minutes late... LOL. 

 

Nov 23, 2008
- A knock at the door

We were sitting in the house, watching the Vikings get lucky with their first 2 scores.  We kept hearing knocks at the door.  When we looked, we didn't see anything.  Then the knock started again.  We looked - still nothing.  OK, it must be one of the farm cats.  The we heard some more knocks as well as some footsteps on the roof.  When we looked, for the final time, we saw turkeys outside our door and one flying off of the roof.  This is what we saw outside our door.

our friendly door knocker

Right around 1:30PM, shortly after Carol and Madison ran to town to pick-up some medicine for our newly ill'd goat, Mary, I heard our dog Ellie barking.  That usually means somebody is driving up into the yard.  Sure enough... it was a young couple looking for a pet rabbit.

After a quick call to Carol, I found which rabbits were for sale.  I told the couple what I knew about our rabbits and I let them know that if they ever had a question about their new rabbit, to give us a call or email... AND, should they ever decide that their new bunny isn't working out for them, we will take it back - NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

 

 Nov 22, 2008
- An ax to grind

I'm happy to report, we had no frozen water today at the house.  I guess, with lows being in the teens, wasn't enough to solidify the water.  I was relieved.  Even the unheated water pans were still open this morning.

I forgot to mention, Carol bought me a new ax from the local farm store.  She was going to buy just a new handle, but the price of both the ax head and handle together, wasn't much more than the handle alone.  A few days ago, I started chopping wood, in order to help save on furnace fuel. Well, the first ax I found in my dad's old garage lasted all of 15 minutes before the end of the handle broke off from what looked to be dry rot.  The second ax I found, cracked almost immediately - a few more chops and the head broke clean off.

This brings us to the new ax.  I chopped a few chucks of wood last night, then again this morning.  It's sharp and easy to swing.  I wish I knew more about chopping wood, as I often seem to make poor choices as to what chops easily and what chops with difficulty.  So far, I have found that the loggettes thinner than 6" split w/o too much effort.  Anything bigger and I have to work at it... and the greener the chuck - the easier it splits.  My question is that normal?

This afternoon, we sold another couple dozen eggs to gentleman and his wife.  They said the were from Benson.  He gave us some pointers on geese raising, should we ever decide to try raising them.  He suggested staying with ducks, as they taste just as good, but are not nearly as fatty as their larger cousins.

Having visitors/customers stopping in from time to time, sure makes farm living fun and interesting.  The overall support we have received this year has been amazing.  I'm starting to believe what others are saying.  What we've been told is simple... "keep doing what we're doing."  It seems folks really appreciate having a place to purchase healthy, naturally raised, farm fresh foods.

Speaking of healthy, naturally raised, farm fresh foods - we have another request for supplying a family with a fresh Thanksgiving turkey.  That will be 3 turkeys processed for the holiday.  Considering we were only going to butcher one, for ourselves, I think that the other Coyote Ridge Farm's turkeys will easily be the center piece of a couple of very memorable meals.  We just couldn't say no to the families who asked us for a Thanksgiving day turkey.  We are also supplying the potatoes for one of the family's dinner... we're glad to do so.

 

Nov 21, 2008
- Is this an omen?

It was cold this morning... the coldest it has been so far this heating season.  It was clearly in the single digits.  One of our thermometers read 0º-3ºF.  Here's the bad news.  The first [real] cold day of the winter, we had frozen water at the house.

All the water worked in the bathroom - cold and hot... but the kitchen was another story.  For some reason, the cold water wasn't flowing.  Hot, yes.  Hoping for the best, I ignored it  for the time being.

Carol and I did the chores.  She did most of them as I filled the cattle's water tank and retrieved a round bale for the cattle feeder.  As it was so cold, I needed to pull the choke on the tractor to get it started... and the knob broke off.  "OH great!"  I grabbed a pliers, got the tractor started and warmed up.  After grabbing a round bale, I pointed the tractor towards the feeder, that's then I realized I had forgotten the hydrant on.  CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!  It was overflowing.

Anyway, after shutting the water down and putting the bale in place, I fed the goats and llamas.  They have been eating more hey each day... a sure sign that the season for grazing is truly over and winter is here.  Although, the Highlander cattle have been leaving the yard in the mornings to take advantage of the snow-free grasses still open to them.  The Scottish Highlanders are truly a joy to care for.  And yes... we're still waiting for Caitlin (our first Highland cow) to have her calf.  Other than her huge belly, she isn't showing the classic signs of the impending birth... yet.

- Evening chores

The weather is cold, but not bad.  We added a heated bowl for Puga & Wilbert (the farm's potbellied pigs), as tonight was the first night we found their water pan frozen.  Tomorrow, if the weather isn't much warmer, we'll do the same for our Hampshire gilt, Ham.

As we were doing chores, snow started to fall.  At first, sleet came down, but quickly turned to real snow.  I haven't seen the forecast, but I'm curious to find out if we will have frozen pipes in the morning or not.  It's safe to say, winter will be here whether we're ready for it or not.

 

Nov 20, 2008
- Rabbit pelts.

For the most part, it was just another day - staying warm, doing chores, Carol baking bread... you know... the day-to-day workings of any small farm/homestead.  But...

Carol and I decided to have a go at working the rabbit pelts we have in the first stages of tanning.  The tanning "recipe" we use, states that after a week (minimum) it is time to flesh the pelts.  In other words, we need to remove certain tissues and fat from the skin.  Well, it didn't stuff we need to come off, didn't do so easily.  Granted, we really don't know what we're doing, but we do think the problem is simple.  Either the pelts are not quite prime yet... or we are removing more than we need to. 

Carol did some research about processing pelts and I'm sure she'll do a little more before we try fleshing the pelts tomorrow.

 

Nov 19, 2008
- A moment.

Today, would have been my dad's 69th birthday... if he were still alive.  He died several years ago in a car accident.  It seems he passed out at the wheel, due to his cancer, which he had been battling for several years prior.  But with that end a new beginning arose.  His once abandoned farm breathed new life, with a new generation of family being able to experience both the positives and negatives of raising animals on a small family farm.  We are here, doing our best to rebuild the family homestead.

I worked a bit more on the fireplace surround.  It is looking more like a piece of the house with every addition.  The enclosure is large enough to support a TV, which frees more floor space for living.

 

Nov 18, 2008
- We're back online.

Good news folks, Carol and I have internet access once again.  As you can see, we have continued to blog in absence of a NET connection.  I'll keep this entry short as there is much to catch-up on. 

I do want to mention, that within 20 hrs of placing our "eggs for sale" sign at the end of the drive, we got our first customer.  He was a very nice gentleman from the Norway Lake area (NW Kandiyohi County).  We had a very nice chat with him.  Later in the afternoon, he stopped back-in to check-out our Scottish Highland cattle.  I think the main reason for him stopping in again, was to let us know that there are quite a few folks looking for the really small farm to help provide them with healthy, home grown food.  Hopefully, we see more of him, he was a joy to get to know.

 

Nov 17, 2008
- Busy day.

While making a quick run to the elevator for layer feed, I gave Farmer Mike a quick call.  It seems that today is the day that marks the anniversary of his birth.  Happy Birthday Mike.

Carol did some more baking this morning, some kind of a lemon poppy seed bunt cake thing..  Between fussing over the oven, Carol and I painted an 'EGGS' sign for the driveway.  We're selling our Omega-3 eggs for a low $1.25/doz.  Customers will have the choice of all white eggs, brown eggs or a rainbow dozen (brown, white & blue).  So... if you drive by and see the sign, for heaven's sake... turn around.  Feel free to stop in.  Our chicken eggs taste the best, you know!  And if you want a great tasting baking egg, ask Carol about picking up a ½ dozen duck eggs for the holiday cakes.

 

Nov 16, 2008
- Nephew Ki's birthday.

A shout-out goes to the Upper Westside.  Nephew Ki, son of my sister Tiff, has a birthday today.  When I say "the Upper Westside" I mean the Northern part of the West Coast, as in NW Washington State.  On this special day, I'm sure Ki will be "represent'in."  And his B-day party Homies will be "hold'in it down."

This morning, after finishing the AM chores, I decided to move our make-shift hay feeder.  Where I had it, wasn't working out.  It was too close to the water tank and kept dropping hay into the water, whenever the wind blew through the barn.  So, I shifted the feeder about 10ft north, away from the water tank.

Madison and Carol started making their holiday treats.  Madison was in charge of the 'puppy chow' or 'muddy buddies'.  And Carol made a pie, as she did some major house cleaning.  Our living arrangements are somewhat confined, so it seems as if every wall is used for storage.  Our internet is scheduled to be installed on Tues. and they [strongly] urge that everything be cleared and ready for the installer.

After the pie making, Carol worked on picking the pin feathers from the T-Day turkey (a Broad Breasted Bronze) we butchered a few days ago.  After it's aged, it either needs to be cooked or frozen.  Carol wants the black little feathers gone before it goes into the chest freezer.  Then Madison took her turn at picking, than I did it... just to take our turns again... Carol, me then Madison.  My second turn was cut short as Madison wanted her turn.  She was complaining so much, I feared my ears would start bleeding if I had to listen to her for even 1 minute longer.

Talking about Thanksgiving turkeys, we just sold one of our pastured Heritage Tom turkeys (a Kentucky Red Bourbon), to a gal in the Willmar, MN area.  She requested it be fresh (non-frozen), but understands if we need to butcher it before-hand, as the weather is not always conducive to the task of farm processing.  We told her we would do our best to get her a fresh bird. 

When we told her the price, she told us our prices were "more than fair."  Our goal is to provide our customers with a great, natural product at the fair price.  I think we hit the mark with our pastured chickens and turkeys.  Our objective will be to provide the same value and consideration to detail to our Pastured Scottish Highland Beef, in 2009.

For evening eats, Carol made a fun looking entree.  She called it a Bacon-cheeseburger loaf. 

 

Nov 15, 2008
- Plumbing for dummies... I is he.

It was cool this morning, the first in a few days.  We woke up to a temp of around 20ºF.  And like the last few mornings, our oldest wether, Jack, was caught in a cattle panel, in the barn.  It seems to be becoming a routine for him.  It sure would be nice if we could get him sold.

Mid-morning had us doing more improvements on Casa del Coyote'.  I believe, even before we moved into the trailer in the beginning of June, we bought a new countertop for the sink area, as the counter that was/is there is partially rotted.  If it gets too cold, I won't feel like crawling under the trailer to shut the water off, which I need to do, to replace the sink and counter, so I better do it when the weather is somewhat nice. 

For the most part, the new counter is in, with the new [to us] sink setting in place.  The sink is a stainless steel, deep basin style - big enough for Carol's canning and stewing pots to fit under the faucet.  She bought the sink at an auction a few months back.  It's got a few dents, but for the most part, it is well worth the $5 she paid for it. 

Of course I didn't have all the parts to finish the project, so... after supper, Carol and I made a quick run to town - more precisely, Menards.  I needed to get the proper parts to get the plumbing completed.  Without them, we can't have the water turned on, and we have too many individuals that are stinking up the place... yours truly included.

I continued to work on the sink project after we returned.  I finally completed it at 11:45PM.  I thought I would need to make another run to Willmar for more parts, but I'm fairly handy with sweating pipes, so I got things to work.  Most folks don't know that most compression fittings can also be soldered.  The plumbing under the sink was a combination of PEX, flare fittings, compression fittings and to complicate things further, I had to deal with older, thick walled copper lines as well as the new thinner stuff.  I also had to redo some of the drain pipes and add a new PVC P-trap onto the ABS, as Menards didn't have the ABS fittings I needed. 

Just incase I ever need to work on the kitchen faucet again, I installed valves for both the hot and cold lines, under the sink.  That way I won't have to shut the water off in the whole house just to do a little work under the counter.

I guess that's enough Plumbing 101 for this year, sorry I rambled on about it, but when you deal with it... you simply do just that... you deal with it!  If you non-plumbers need any help or have a question, feel free to email me.  If I'm nearby, tempt me with a beer, and I'll be over as soon as I can.

 

Nov 14, 2008
- More winterizing.

While Carol was grocery shopping, I decide to make more low/no cost improvements to our humble trailer villa.  For some time, we have had a fireplace in the living room, but I have never found the opportunity to finish the installation... today I had time.  I found some scrap 2x4's and used them to frame in the fireplace.  It didn't take long to do.  I wish I had started this project long ago.  Even w/o sheetrock, it looks so much better.  I still have quite a few 2x4's left... maybe I should keep this project going, by making a few additions to what I already have built - maybe a log/wood storage box to the right and a sideboard/bookshelf sort of thing to left.

Over the last week or so, we have had some of our younger chicks die.  These are the chicks in the brooder house/truck box.  We have a homemade brooder heater in there and originally, we thought maybe the chicks were getting too warm and crowding into the corners of the heater.  We then stapled cardboard in the corners to round them out, but that didn't really seem to help.  Although the our brooder wasn't real dirty, Carol removed the small amount of chicken manure, but we still found 1 or 2 dead chicks... but none today.  Whatever is causing these adolescent chicks to expire, sure has us for a loss.

 

Nov 13, 2008
- First farm raised Thanksgiving day turkey.

This morning, I got a call from the neighbor who was going to butcher our two wethered goats.  He mentioned that he scheduled his son's goats for slaughter and wasn't sure he would be able to get to ours.  He did tell be that he was going to direct an acquaintance of his, to our farm.  The guy buys live goats and butchers right on the spot, for friends and family.  We'll see if we get a call.

After Carol returned home from bringing daughter Chastiti' to therapy, then to her work training program, we butchered one of our Broad Breasted Bronze tom turkeys.  He was having problems walking, due to his out-turned legs.  We tried using the newly acquired chicken plucker, but had less than great results.  Since we don't have a cooking vessel large enough for a turkey, we chose to dry-pluck the bird.  From now-on, we'll figure out a way to scald the turkey before plucking. 

We did weigh the bird before processing, then after.  The turkey had grown to a nice sized 28 lbs or so... and dressed out at approx. 20lbs.

 

Nov 12, 2008
- More bake sale baking.

Well, Carol's at it again.  In addition to what she baked yesterday for the church bake-sale/soup-supper, she is going full force today.  Already, she has baked a pan of homemade buns and is now in the middle of her Lemon Blossom mini muffin recipe.  I think she said they are simply lemon cupcakes with a sweet, lemon glaze.  After that, she wants to bake a pie (apple maybe).  And then, if she has any time left, she mentioned wanted to bake some sort of Sweet Portuguese Bread... don't ask me what that is - I don't know.

The bake sale is tonight and came up fast, she didn't get the Sweet Bread done.  The pie turned out perfectly... no drips, no runs, no errors.

 

Nov 11, 2008
- Just another day.

Is it really the same-old same-old?  It depends.  This is our 1st full day w/o Internet and it seems like we're cut-off from the world - no emails, no MSNBC news, no online weather and for some me, no market prices whenever I think I NEED to know what they are.

I guess, for the most part, it is just another day.  With the goats and the cattle, preferring to say close to home, we have been feeding more hay... which, I suppose, helps to reinforce their behavior of staying nearby and not heading to the pastures to graze.  Whatever the reason, it's nice to be able to keep a closer eye on the condition of the animals.  When they were out and about, it was a hit and miss type of monitoring, but we could always depend on Madison, our little veterinarian in training.  She spent so much time with "her" critters, I think she may have known if things were out of sorts before the animals did.

Here's something that is a little out of our normal routine - Carol has been baking for tomorrow's church bake sale, in Raymond.  She has already baked a large pan of pumpkin bars and a loaf of bread.  Tomorrow, she said she'll be baking more things.  She has way too many things on her list. 

It seems she really enjoys the simpler style of making the foods that she has been making, since our move to the farm.  Don't get me wrong, although she hates the limiting qualities of her farm kitchen, she still makes some fancy stuff.  It's just that our house in town had a large, well equipped kitchen, with an expensive down-draft, gas, cook top in the center island and a duel fuel range/oven just across from that... both of which I only thought wealthy people would own - not folks like us.  If she wanted to try a complicated recipe, she would tackle the task, with confidence.  Out here on the farm, she is restricted by her lack of kitchen and small appliances.  Because of that, Carol has been adapting some of her old, favorite 'town' recipes to fit the farm.  If you ask me (a basic meat-n-tators kind of guy) I like the new-found, more basic style of cooking.

- Next year's chicken processing is off to a good start.

Last night, sister Shelly, brought a chicken plucker back from work with her.  It is a home-made model, with steel drum and legs.  It's kind of a table-top type, but on it's own stand.

It was owned by a guy my sister works with and had been used a part of his family for decades.  The gentlemen's wife, her sisters and an uncle used to process hundreds of chickens together.  When the wife's family no longer joined "the fun" she tried doing it alone.  Even with her husband's family hand-me-down chicken plucker, found that the processing was less than great, w/o family.  With that, they no longer had use for the plucker.  And Sister, knew we processed chicken (since she has some of our birds in her freezer).  And now we have a plucker to try next season, hopefully, making our butchering easier.

How about the weather?  It's starting to move in.  The sleet and snow is coming from the south and reaching west-central MN.  At 7:30 am, it feels relatively warm, compared to yesterday.  Without Internet, it's tough to get the weather forecasts we have become accustomed to.  Now it feels like "sit-and wait", weather reports, when waiting for mention of the weather on the TV or radio.  Incase you're wondering, AllTel disconnected our NET services sometime last night, while we were sleeping.

 

Nov 10, 2008
- Internet News.

Good news... with regards to us getting WildBlue Satellite Internet.  I called the satellite installation company for a date conformation.  I also explained that we had a handicap daughter at home and that the nurses use email (we don't have a fax or a landline) to transfer documents and doctor's orders from our home to the RN's office.  The gal on the phone said that since we use internet for medical purposes, they could 'bump' us up to an earlier date for installation.  So, it looks like we will have internet again on the 18th of this month.  That is a whole lot better than the Dec. 04 date they gave us previously.

While we still have internet, I thought I'd post a pic of our newest Scottish Highlander, LaVerne.  She, like our other red cows, is 5 yrs old... and red in color.  We are hoping she is already bred as she has been with a bull since May.  So, the earliest she can calf is Feb., 2009.

We have had a few folks wondering if Caitlin has had her calf yet.  The disappointing answer is, "Not yet."  We thought maybe she would have calved this weekend, since it looked as if Caitlin's girth had changed shape... as if the baby had maneuvered into the birth canal.  Unfortunately, nothing is going on.

The first round bale we put out last Monday is nearly gone.  With the cows continuing to access the pastures, the hay bale was able to last a week.  Hopefully the others will last as long.  If so, we will have been blessed with more than enough winter hay.

After giving the hay to the cattle and winter just around the corner, I thought it might be time to put the chains on the loader.  I discovered, last year, that a snow storm is less than an ideal situation, in which to put chains on the tractor tires.  I feel confident, that with the chains and the wheel weights on the tractor AND the old comforter installed, snow handling will be easier this winter.

Throughout the day, Carol cooked apples for some Carmel Apple Butter.  She used her slow cooker for stress-free cooking.  I think she's going to finish it tomorrow by adding the flavor, consisting of caramel chunks, ginger, cinnamon and a few cloves... then it will be canned.

Towards evening, it was feeling a little cool in the house, so I started a fire in the fireplace to take the chill out of the air.  The mixed aromas, of a newly started smoky fire and apples cooking, filled the inside of our dumpy little trailer house - it had a heart warming effect on all of us.  To fill the house with even more good smells, Carol finished a loaf of homemade bread.  Since she developed her own bread machine recipe, we have been lucky enough to enjoy homemade bread nearly everyday.  If we lived in town, this is something that probably would not have happened.

 

Nov 09, 2008
- It's still cold here.

With the new day, we had our coldest temps yet.  The stock tanks all had ice this morning, but not thick enough to keep the critter from getting their fill.  After chores, I re-checked the fences.  I still found nothing.  I decided to check it again later.

I sorta felt sorry for the ducks.  As soon as the barn door was opened, they headed to one of their favorite puddles.  They must have felt they were trapped in the barn for too long.  I say that because they pretty much ran to the puddle.  And when the got to it they did some comical slipping and sliding.  Then they just stood there, as if to question one another about what was wrong with the water, seemingly trying to figure out why they could stand on something they were swimming in yesterday.  Maybe it was one of those moments where you had to see it to appreciate it.

Around noon, Madison and Carol ran errands in town.  I guess Madison needed to get some new warm outer wear.  At home here, I figured today was as good as any to bolt-on a set of wheel weights to the loader tractor.  Without too much trouble, that task was done.  As I was putting the finishing touches on the wheel weights, I spotted what looked like a tractor comforter.  It was in the woods, but with the leaves gone from the trees... there it was.

The comforter looked somewhat melted and a little rotted where it was in the dirt, but I thought it was better than nothing.  Not all of the braces fit to the tractor, but a few pieces of wire and some twine string, I got it looking pretty good.  Now, I just have to put the chains on the tires of the loader and we'll be set for the tasks of the winter season.

When the girls returned home, I walked the fences again... then, in a small unused pen, a wire had come off its insulator and was touching a steel post.  After I corrected the problem, I tested the fence and had a nice hot spark.  My world was righted once again.  Hopefully, I won't have too many electric fence problems this winter.

 

Nov 08, 2008
- LaVerne.

We drove to the Faribault area to pick up our last Scottish Highlander fold member, from our friends, Lance & Theresa, of Fox Lake Farms (aka The Redneck Zoo).  Her name is LaVerne.  Like our other 2 registered cows, LaVerne is a 5 yr old, red colored cow, with some good size to her.  But unlike the other 2 red cows, this one loaded easily... she walked right into the trailer.

We bartered Fox Lake Farms' LaVerne for a MediaTrendsX, LLC website.

Madison bought herself a 4H llama from Fox Lake Farms, which she has named Bingo.  This last fall, Theresa's daughter Ashley showed the llama and got a blue ribbon with her.  The llamas we have here at the farm are not tame enough for showing and Madison really wants to show llamas, especially after taking the llama training course this spring.  The program was sponsored by a neighboring county.  The llama cost her less than what they were asking, since Madison brought two of her show rabbits with, which they bought.  Madison has two less rabbits and one more llama and they have one less llama and two more rabbits... good deal all around.

Before heading out to get LaVerne, we had some snow and ice on the roads and seriously considered turning the pickup and trailer around.  Thank goodness I'm a slow learner, because after 40 minutes of slipping and sliding all over the roads, we hit good roads... it was smooth sailing after that.  On our trip, we saw gas at $1.96/gal.  That's less than half it was just a few months ago.  We got gas for $1.99.

Once home, Madison led Bingo out of the trailer and into our goat yard.  Bingo led very well, even with the cattle making a fuss over her, as the 2 walked through the cow's pen.  Before Madison could get the lead/tether off of Bingo, Gandhi & Dolly (our other llamas) greeted her.  To make a long story short - we are now expecting Bingo to have Gandhi's love-child next fall... and who said romance was dead?  LOL

While Carol and Madison were taking care of the new llama, I was helping Laverne out of the trailer.  She unloaded as easily as she loaded.  Once out of the trailer, she freaked out a little.  The other cows in the fold were jumping and bucking... even Caitlin was excited.  Like a typical Highlander, LaVerne quickly checked the perimeter of the fence.  Then it hit me.. it was dark out and we have cows running... not a good combo!  When I didn't see hide-nor-hair of them, Madison told me they went running towards the pasture by the creek.  CRAP, CRAP, CRAP!

I ran up to the house to bundle myself in some warmer clothes, grabbed a working flashlight and headed north through the pastures to check on the cows, hoping they were still contained by the fences.  There they were, eating snow covered grass.  They were about 5-10 yards from the furthermost fence... whew!  Good-enough.  Time to walk back home and check the fence while doing it.

Even though I didn't see anything wrong with the fence, I was not getting the spark I wanted back at the barn.  It was too dark and too cold do more with the fence, for tomorrow is another day.

Carol made the perfect comfort food for this type of day.  She made venison stew.  Taking the leftover gravy she had frozen from the last time she made beef stew, she added cut-up venison roast, some veggies and then let it simmer.  She started it right after we unloaded the cow and the llama... it was ready when we came in for the evening.  Boy was it good.

 

Nov 07, 2008
- Our first snow.

The snow came as predicted.  Here's a few pics from this morning.

A shot of the neighbors

A Kentucky Red Bourbon hen

Carol's ducks

Sammy & calf Lilly, sharing a mineral block

 

Nov 06, 2008
- Winter is really coming... this time.

Over the last few weeks, we have had unseasonably nice weather as well as brushes with winter.  This time, I feel as though winter is truly knocking on our door.  We have been watching this system move across the US.  Yesterday we had rain, but the Dakotas had Blizzards.  Western SoDak had up to a foot of snow and 50+ MPH winds.

The forecasters report the rain today will turn into flurries tomorrow.  It will be exciting to be on the farm again, during the winter.  The question is:  Will it feel the same as when I was a kid?

Continuing our quest to conserve energy, I put plastic over a few more windows of the trailer.  These old trailers are so drafty, that every little bit will help.  We have a few interior storm windows for the trailer, but plastic does a better job keeping the drafts at bay.

Oh gosh!  I almost forgot.  Carol and I start to process our rabbit hides.  A few days ago, we finished butchering our meat rabbits and decided along the way, we would keep the pelts, with hopes of tanning the hides someday.  Well, today was the day.  Carol washed the pelts, as some of them had a little blood around the neck area.  I mixed the home tanning solution and that afternoon we started the process.  We have a total of 13 pelts.

After about a week, we will need to "flesh" the skins, then put the pelts back into the tanning solution for another week (up to a year), before breaking the leather.  We're excited to see how the skins turn out.  Maybe I'll get a fur cap out of it.

 

Nov 05, 2008
- The day after the election.

I hope you all have had your fill of how historic this election is (or was).  I have yet to hear how historic it WILL be.  Winston Churchill once said, "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, after they've tried everything else."  I guess we need to ask ourselves - did we do the right thing by electing Obama or are we again, as a nation, simply trying something else?  It will remain to be seen, as time unravels the future and puts it into the past.

Onto a subject I can do something about - I continued to ready the farm for winter weather.  The first thing on the day's "must do" list, was to fix the south barn door.  Last year the wind whipped through the barn pretty bad.  The door had a damaged corner and some of the steel was missing.  I simple cut out the damaged would that was left and then cut an old 2x6 to fit.  Once together, I found some old corrugated tin and slapped it over that.  We now have a nice looking, structurally sound, working door.  It should keep the draft to a minimum.

I, also, did more garage cleaning and was able to pack one stall of it with the mowers, post hole power augers, weed-whips and misc. hand tools... I even got the farm's Allis-Chalmers B inside.  I may need the little tractor again before winter, but I wanted to get it under roof so I could pat myself on the back.  The other side of the garage will, hopefully, be reserved for the loader tractor, but more straightening must occur before I can get that to happen. 

I also discovered our pig, Ham, has a taste for chicken.  As I was cleaning the garage - hauling stuff here and there, I would frequently pass the barn.  Most of the time, I would see Ham doing whatever she does during the day.  During one of my many treks past the barn, I noticed Ham eating something... and this something had feathers.  When I got to pen, I could see the chicken was still alive.  I grabbed the bird and put it on the other side if the cattle panel.  That's when I noticed it had no chance of survival.  One leg was missing and so was most of its guts.

If you've never seen a pig that has developed a blood thirst, it's pretty scary.  Hogs get into a frenzied state of mind... kind of like sharks.  My advice... stay clear of a hog eating fresh meat.  Anyway, we're not sure how to prevent this from happening again.  Once a pig gets the taste of blood, they never forget it.  We're going to try feeding the chickens every time we feed Ham.  At this point in time, it's assumed that the chickens are trying to eat the feed of the pig and the pig sees the poultry as a threat... and the chicken dies because of it.

 

Nov 04, 2008
- Election day.

We voted.  Did you?

I was so disappointed today when I was listening to the radio.  The announcer stated that this election is truly historic.  Why?  Not because it would redefine America, the people or its values... not even because of the president elect will have to face.  So what would make it soooo historic?  The announcer's claim for an election being of historic proportions was simply this:  we would either have the first black president or the first female vice-president.  I was almost pissed at the remark.  If this guy and/or others have nothing more to focus on than race or gender, he and others should not be given the opportunity to vote.  I feel that if this is the focus, these people would not or cannot make an informed decision about something that is so important to us AND potentially, the rest of the world.

I forgot to mention - yesterday, our Hampshire guilt was feeling a little ill.  The previous eve, we fed her food scraps (as we have always done).  I guess the old-timers would have called it slopping the hogs.  Anyway, yesterday, she just laid around.  She did not act like herself, then later last night she threw-up.  I guess she had an upset stomach.  Today, she was up and around like , making her usual pig noises and eating well.  We were relieved.

Today was another beautiful day - a day to get things done before winter.  I spent some time cleaning the garage.  As we do not have a machinery shed, anything and everything we want to keep out of the elements has to go into garage.  It's only a 2-stall, so we will need to be choosy. 

Later, I did some last minute vineyard work.  We had some replacement vines on hand, so I was busy planting those where some of last year's vines had died.  We have rain in the forecast for the next few days... it should be helpful.

- 11:00PM.

As some of you have already heard, Obama is going to be our next president of The United States of America. 

When I was growing up, I was told that if something sounds to good to be true, it probably is.  This is how I feel about this president-elect.  Hopefully, I'm wrong.  Whether you voted for him our not, makes no difference now.  Our job as citizens of this great nation is to support our new president when he takes office.

 

Nov 03, 2008
- Nov. temps at 77ºF.

It was 77º today... at least that's what the weather folks are saying.  We were in unseasonably cool clothes today... it was way too warm to wear fall clothing.  There forecasting 70's for tomorrow too.

Even though the days are getting shorter, it seems as though we are getting so much done - these last days of what feels to be summer.  Carol and I (mostly Carol) finished the rabbit butchering for the season.  The final step is to process the pelts.  We're going to try to tan the hides.  I think Carol has a project or two she wants to try making... mainly fur-lined slippers for her and Madison.  After all, it was their meat rabbits we butchered.

I'm curious as to how well the tanning works.  If it tans the pelts satisfactorily, we should be able to home tan other hides.  I'll forego the rabbit wear if I can have a goat skin coat and hat to match.  Throw me into a Laura Ingalls Wilder book and call me Mr. Edwards.

Today, we fed our first full sized round bale to the cattle.  They didn't seem to anxious to forage in the pasture, perhaps it was to warm weather, or maybe it's because there isn't much green grass left, since the killing frosts.  Whatever the case, they seems more than willing to dive into the bale of Reed Canary Grass.  We marked today's date on the calendar as the day we fed the hay.  We're curious as to how many days a bale will feed the cattle.  I'm hoping for 8 days, but figured on 6.

Since the cattle were near the yard, before we fed them, Madison and decide to brush Caitlin, the farm's Kyloe cow.

Caitlin:  Our very pregnant 14 yr. old Scottish Highland cow.

In the photo above, you can really see how short she is.  At less than 48", Caitlin qualifies to be registered as a mid-sized Mini-Highland.  A full mini is shorter than 42".  Full or mid-sized... short is still short.

Yesterday, Carol made a delicious beef roast and today she made pumpkin pancakes and a homemade apple cider syrup.  Check out the new recipes on Carol's recipe page.

 

Nov 02, 2008
- More fall tasks.

We tend to say that there is no sure way to keep goats in a pen if they don't want to be there.  True or not, it doesn't mean I can't try to make a pen that might keep them in.  As we ready ourselves for winter, I decided to add another strand of barbed wire to the old cow yard, where the goats and llamas will be when everything is snow covered.

The cow yard area now has 6 strands of barbed wire and 2 strands of electric.  We knew the fencing was lacking in at least one area.  Cooper, our Katahdin sheep, keeps leaving the sheep pen, to join the goats.  As most sheep owners know, sheep cannot have copper, which is found in goat mineral blocks.  Maybe our goal is not to the keep goats penned in, perhaps we just want to keep Cooper out.

After my short fencing chore, Carol and Madison went to a fellow rabbit breeder and friend's farm, who raises Dwarf Hotot (ho-tote) rabbits.  Madison wants to show in another rabbit class at the fair next year.  She has done such a good job with her mini-lop rabbits the last few years, we thought she deserved the opportunity to do so.  Hotot rabbits are little white rabbits with black around the eyes.  It looks like they are wearing eye-liner.  Unlike most rabbits, these little guys all look the same.  The girls also picked-up 2 lop bucks from the same breeder.  Carol said both are nice show rabbits and should help improve their present bloodline.

When the girls got home and the new rabbits got situated, Carol and I processed a few more of our meat rabbits.  It was late in the day when we started so we were only able to get 3 more of them done.  I'm assigned the killing part and Carol does the processing.  We are keeping the pelts and after we butcher the remaining meat rabbits, we will start tanning the pelts.  There seems to be 3 home tanning methods (battery acid, brain & using an egg solution).  Since we don't want to put animal brains in our blender and the egg tanning seems more of a trial and error type of tanning process, we're opting for the battery acid recipe.  It looks simple and seems quite reliable, with regards to the outcome.  From what we've read online, sewing rabbit hide is nearly as easy as sewing cloth or fabric.  I'm hoping Carol will find it in her heart to make me a warm hat.

As Carol was processing the rabbits, I went into the the east pasture and removed a pair of wheel weights from a junked-out C Farmall.  Last winter, I learned I had little to no traction with our loader tractor when moving snow.  The tire chains helped, but I need more weight in back.  I'm hoping to get the chains and weights on the tractor before snow fall.

 

Nov 01, 2008
- Food for winter... and some for us.

By 1PM, I finished bringing the round bales of hay to the place.  With everything said and done, I hauled 34 bales from the NE field.  This field is on the other side of the creek, so it was 2 mile round trip for each bale.  For the most part it was boring, but every once in awhile, I would be fortunate enough to see our pair of Bald Eagles soaring over head.  Other instances, I would see 2 or 3 deer running across the fields, into the neighbors cornfield. But what I saw most, was pheasants... lots of them... dozens and dozens.  We're blessed to have so much beautiful wildlife outside our door.

With the butchering season coming to an end and the forecast in our favor, we thought today would be a good to start processing our meat rabbits.  Since Carol can't find the strength to terminate a fluffy bunny, I get that job.  To kill the rabbits, I use the same 22 single shot rifle I bought when I was 14 yrs old, my very first gun.  We were able to butcher 4 meat rabbits today.  It's a nice start.

After I shot the rabbit, Carol took over.  As she did her thing, I cleaned the brush and some old equipment out of the large cattle pen that is being used by the Highlander cattle.  When winter hits, we will also use the area for feeding them hay... it's close to the gate entrance, so we can keep an eye on their winter feed rations.  Another advantage of have the cattle close is this... we can keep an eye on them.  If they need some special care, we will be able to recognize the need early.

The farm's first Scottish Highlander, Caitlin, is getting bigger each day.  We can hardly wait for her to have her calf.  It sure would be nice if she had it during this nice weather we're having.  Many breeders have told us, that Highlander calves don't chill... even when born in the dead of winter.  But still, cold is cold and we worry about the critters we care for.  Wish us luck with Caitlin.

 

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CHICKENS FOR SALE -  Only $2/lb ** We are now selling  processed birds by the pound. ** (as outlined by the Dairy and Food Inspection Division of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture) Carol has 50+ (all orders are filled) Cornish Cross Broiler Chickens on hand and growing well (this batch of chickens is the 2nd of what she is growing this year).  If you would like to buy some hormone free/antibiotic free chickens in Oct, make sure you contact us immediately. These chickens dress out at approx. 6-9 lbs.  We also can sell a live bird if you want to process them yourself... but if you want us to process them for you, make sure you tell us.  Cornish game hens (1½- 3 lbs) sell for $2.50. The Cornish Game hens are  SOLD OUT! Already, we have a few folks reserving their birds.  We will call you a week before it's time to get your birds and again the day of.  Please contact us for details.   All 2008 chicken - SOLD OUT! We sell all our birds skinless and frozen.  If you want skin-on, quartered or cut-up chicken, please let us know ahead of time.  Do we eat what we raise?  You betcha!  We will be raising approx. 70 chickens for our family alone.  Why so many?  Simple... we like knowing we are eating a healthy chicken, raised with care in healthy conditions and we love the way they taste. We also have some beautiful Heritage Turkeys (Red Bourbon).  Turkeys should be ready in Nov - early Dec.   SOLD OUT! for 2008  CALL CAROL TODAY:  320-220-3235

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