Weekend Reading

"Farm City - The Education of an Urban Farmer" by Novella Capenter was EXACTLY what I needed to read.

If you've been reading this space for a while, you may have noticed that I have taken a significant break from posting my once-traditional Friday "Weekend Reading" posts.  I love to read.  I try  to read novels.  Sometimes I succeed. Mostly I don't.  Well-meaning friends pass along these "wonderful" books for me to read, and I start them, and enjoy them for a chapter or 3, then I put them down ... and down they stay.  Unless it's a novel I can learn something from.  I don't mean history or geography.  I like geography.  History is a bit meh for me as I prefer to live in the present and not-so-distant-future.

So this book was so perfect for me. Right now.  Basically, this apartment-dweller decides to squat on some land next to her rented space and first construct a garden, very quickly adding poultry that will eventually be consumed.  (Unfortunately, not all are consumed by the author.  I'll spare you the details - you'll just have to read it.)  Then she decides to raise a couple of hogs and this, for me, is where it got interesting.  

I was reading this book when I was knee-deep in the middle of raising our 2 pigs, by very similar methods as the author.  I laughed at her follies (which were not so different from my own) and gave a nod to her observations and comments about raising her pigs in the manner she chose.  Finally!  I felt like there was someone out there doing what I was doing.

Now, I'm sure there are LOTS of people doing what I'm doing.  I just don't know any of them, and they definitely don't run in my social circles.  Most unfortunate, this, as my frustrations and exhausted ramblings about the amount of food pigs can consume, and how much decent food people will throw into the garbage mostly fell on sympathetic ears who really had no idea how commited we were to raising our pigs.

If you choose to read "Farm City", I'm sure you'll enjoy it, even if you never raise hogs or know anyone who does.  It's an eye-opener, let me tell ya.

Harvesting, Defined

To Harvest (v): To glean or collect or gather, usually pertaining to fruits, vegetables, grains.

We were told late last year of an abandoned apple orchard in our neighborhood, so this year we decided to harvest some apples for ourselves.  The children thoroughly enjoyed running in the overgrown space, admiring the trees with shoots sticking out every-which-way, with kid-sized apples at their height.

And they happen to be MacIntoshes, my personal favourite.

We gathered a full bag or 2, some to eat, some to process into applesauce, and some to give to some very generous friends ...

Hmmm.  Process.  Applesauce.  Two words that bring me to the second part of this post.

Applesauce goes very well with pork.  If you remember, we raised two pigs this summer.  (I certainly will not forget anytime soon, if EVER.).  The friends who recieved our gift of apples gave us a generous gift as well -- their time and knowledge and skills -- to process our pigs.

It strikes me the various words we use to describe this: Harvest. Process.  Dispatch. Slaughter. Kill.

Really.  It's murder.  There was nothing wrong with the pigs -- they were perfectly healthy -- perfectly happy.  And we ended their lives so we could eat healthy meat.  Although this is why we raised them, and we fed them as well as we were set up to do, kept them healthy, comfortable -- it still does not make me rest easy that we ultimately murdered these animals.  Granted, they are by far  my least favourite critter I have EVER raised, I still do not take their death lightly.  It was over so quickly, so cleanly, so humanely, however, I'm not sure we will ever do this again. I was witness to the entire process.  I felt that I owed them that much. They deserved respect, in life and in death, whether I enjoyed their piggishness or not.

Thank you to our friends.  And Thanks to the pigs.

And that was Summer

Really.  September already.  I feel like this, the Summer of 2013, has gone by in a blur.   Gorgeous weather for sure, and lots to do... So Much to Do.  Too Much.

My poor garden is so overgrown and crazy-wild, I'm slightly embarrassed by it.  I've totally neglected it for most -- if not all -- summer.  Other than watering it on occassion.  If it weren't for all the volunteer plants this year, I'm not sure I'd have much in there to speak of.  Half the potato plants and ALL the tomatoes grew all by themselves, with no help from me.  The chard and New Zealand spinach are out of control.  My lettuces are bolting all over the place.  Thankfully, some things like the carrots and beets don't really care if I pay any attention to them.  They are almost happier if I don't.  I did manage to harvest the garlic at the end of July, but it's still sitting, drying, with old dirt caking the huge bulbs waiting for a good scrubbing and to be put in the basement.

Thankfully the fruit trees don't need much attention.

Really, the only saving grace of it all is that nothing is really going to go to waste.  Sure, I'm not going to be harvesting or preserving as much for us as I would like, but the pigs and chickens will get several good feasts from everything I pull out of there.

So why did everything get so crazy??  I have 2 answers for that: pigs and unexpected chickens.  The pigs we have managed to feed almost for free if you don't count the time and money spent on gas gathering everything for them: greens and other produce from a local grocery store (a lot of it organic), expired bread and milk from a bakery and another grocery store.  Then we cook almost all their food, other than soft fruits and melon-y things.  Three HUGE meals a day.   They are getting big, but not fat, so I think it's a good thing.  The proof, I guess, will be in the... um... "pudding" ... so to speak.

And the chickens?  Yikes.  I was so proud of myself, having planned the 2 hatches of buff orpingtons, marans, and ameraucanas so precisely so as to have the hens laying by September at the latest.  And then came the gift of Salmon Faverolles and Mille Fleur D'uccles.  Two breeds I personally DID NOT plan on having this year -- or any time in the near future for that matter.  But, they were a gift for my bird-loving daughter from a very generous lady.  They hatched in mid-July and won't lay anything till at least January.  I did sell a couple Mille Fleurs and 6 Faverolles, but still.  I'm STILL raising chicks.  And one of the little "millies" has a severe cross-beak, so requires extra attention.  I can pass a lot of that extra care on to the Daughter, since they were given to her.  And the Fav's -- we ended up with 3 pullets and 1cockerel so that's nice, if we choose to breed them.  At this point, I would just like to concentrate on the marans and ameraucanas.  

Sigh.  Lots to do still.

I'm taking notes already for next year, mostly of what NOT to do.  Like no hatching birds after May, for starters.

Chicken Spa Day

Daughter has wanted to give a chicken a bath for AGES, and this time she had a really good excuse:

LICE.

Gross, right?

Not sure how it got into my coop, but there it was, plain as day, clusters of eggs or "nits" glued to the base of the feather shafts on most of my birds.  And then noticing the little ugly things scurrying all over the back-ends of the birds.   Ugh.  I think probably, when our "Old Lady" bird was slowing down and spending most of her days resting in the coop, she came in contact with something that carries it (not sure what, could be any little birdie thing) and the lice had a party on her as her health was deteriorating and we all know how parasites love the sick.

Of course, then it quickly spreads and before we know it, we have a full-out issue.

OK, so first we get a little mad and disappointed that we are not as good chicken farmers as we thought, and then we get down to business.

We soaked them first in a sea salt and pennyroyal oil bath.

Then again in the bubbles:

This drowns most of the lice and provides instant relief from the biting and itchy the little buggers cause.  And it's quite amazing how much the chickens relax and enjoy the bath!  They just sink down into it.  We had to hold them up to make sure their heads stayed above the water!

Then, a blow dry, and let them loose down in the yard to primp and preen and put all their feathers back in order.

Lady Eggadaya (an Easter Egger hatched on our property last year) thoroughly enjoyed her bath. She was the first to have a spa treatment as she was the first to let us know of the problem in the first place.  She jumped up on my lap while I was sitting in the chicken yard and squawked at me as if to say - "HEY.  I'm itchy.  DO SOMETHING about it!"

I'm sure Lady Eggadaya said "Thank You" when we were done.  

Further treatment included 3 treatments of DE dusting, 7 days apart, with more DE sprinkled in their favourite nests and dust-bath areas.

Today was the 3rd (and hopefully final) DE dusting, and checking everyone over, they all look great!  Yay!

Putting By

I love that phrase: "Putting by."  I love doing it.  I try to time it for a cooler morning, as standing over a hot stove in the middle of a heat wave makes me grumpy.  (I'd rather be at the beach, knitting, and watching children splash in the waves.)  We had a day like that this week.  So now we have some more jam (apricot and blueberry) put by for the cooler weather to come.   My jam is pretty basic.  I sometimes like to jazz it up, but with kids it's best not to risk it sometimes.  (They can be Picky!)  I think the jam is more versatile if it's more basic anyway.  Really taste the flavor of the fruit and nothing else.  Really, nothing else, as I don't add sugar -- I use the Bernardin pectin that just uses apple juice and NO SUGAR.

Can't wait for the blackberries to really start going crazy!  Nothing better than home-made jam in the middle of a snow storm.

Yummmm...

Overwhelmed

I am sure, at this time of the year, a lot of people are saying that.  Especially those with large-ish gardens and more than your run of the mill 1 dog household.

New Salmon Faverolle and Mille Fleur D'uccle chicks!

We live in the beautiful, sunny, HOT Okanagan Valley, and as such, as a community, makes for a swell of visitors in the summertime.  Not just us -- "everybody" it seems is hosting friends or family (or both), and taking little stay-cations (as opposed to VaCations) of their own which makes for A Lot of traffic.

So with our large-ish garden, many (too many) animals, visitors and the heat, I'm feeling Totally Overwhelmed.  Thank goodness our visitors are the kind that pitch in and offer a helping hand, an ear,  or a hug (sometimes all 3) when needed.  Not to mention a story or a cuddle for the kids as well.

But really.  It's all coming down to the pigs.

Seriously.  I had no idea these two creatures would up the ante so much on our daily routines!  They are pretty much the opposite to all the other critters on our little homestead:
-The pigs are penned, and thus totally dependant on us for their food (since they completely leveled their yard in less than 2 weeks flat).  The other animals run about, taking over the entire place, hunting, pecking, scratching, foraging and basically taking care of themselves, other than food in the evening before bed, and water.
- They are NOT child-friendly.  One tasted my leg the other day!!  All other critters are friendly or they are given away or processed and put into the freezer.  The kids are not - under any circumstances - allowed in the pigs' pen.
- Although we are doing a VERY good job of collecting free food for the pigs (not putting a price on our time or the gas it takes to get from place to place), these animals need an amazing amount of food, grow amazingly fast, and need to be fed three times a day.

And?

They are starting to smell.

I don't know if they will see September as originally planned.

And I didn't even mention the raspberries, peas, turkey babies and more eggs, ducks, new chicks, all the chickens at various stages of growth....

The Ultimate Babysitter

Waldo or "Wally" is the best turkey daddy ever.

He is protective without being overbearing, gentle without being a push-over.

He accepts everyone without question and patiently stands guard over everyone, alerting them to any potential danger, be it real or imagined.

We added a couple of Blue Slate cross poults to our turkey family a few weeks ago, with the idea of growing a hen or 2 into being breeder mamas for next year.  Their offspring, because they will be really mixed up crosses, will hopefully be larger than the Royal Palms, and will be market turkeys for Christmas 2014.

Wally watches over these three "adopted" babies as if they were his own.

What an awesome dad he is :)