Category: Thoughts & Ideas

I am so sorry, I realize I have been seriously lacking in the blog posts. I came home on Wednesday from an EXHAUSTING read more

Just wanted to write a little post about our time spent for Thanksgiving in PA. I would like to start this post with a gigantic THANK YOU to both Linda of Tale of Tails and our neighbors JB & Randy for taking care of our animals while we were away. Came home to things just as they should be, and I am very grateful for that.

We left GA last Saturday around 8pm, arrived in PA Sunday morning around 9am.  Justus drove most of the way, and we made good time for hitting an accident in WV and sitting for about 45 minutes. The dogs traveled really well, which I was also pleased about. Sunday we relaxed, hung out, and got everything ready to start hunting on Monday morning.

We hunted pheasants Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, with Tuesday being a preserve hunt at Hopewell Pheasantry in Felton, PA, and Monday/Wednesday being public land hunts. Saw birds every day, and on Tuesday we managed to bring home 7 birds. Turned them into tacos which were delicious.

We duck hunted Wednesday (I slept in), Thursday, and Friday. In years past, the waterfowl hunting has been iffy, however this year it seemed to have actually picked up. Wednesday, Justus and my Pap killed 3 hen buffleheads. Thursday we didn’t bag anything, however if we wouldn’t have been interrupted, we could have shot a good number of geese. Friday we should have killed more, but came home with a nice drake mallard. Waterfowling is chilly, but I always enjoy it, especially when birds are flying and guns are going off.

When we weren’t hunting, we spent lots of time with family. We helped my dad build his new coop from the Urban Coop Company, colored with my grandma, partook in a cookie decorating contest with mom, and ate LOTS of great homemade food. All in all, it was a great vacation, minus the cold.

We have a lot going on right now, hence my lack of blog posts.

We have had our first 2 kindles of the 2018-2019 breeding season. One litter of 5 blues from Dallan x Queenie, and another litter of 4 blacks & 1 blue from Pirate x Sookie, total kit count is 10 so far for the season, which I am happy about. Our first show is this weekend, I will not be in attendance but my fabulous mate Linda from Tale of Tails will be taking Pirate, Dallan, Maggie, & DF02 my remaining Dallan x Faith jr doe. Looking forward to seeing how they do. We have another show 10/13 in Perry that I will hopefully be able to take 5 or 6 of my rabbits to.

Other news, the meat chickens have grown EXPONENTIALLY, they’ll be butchered 11/4. Hogs go to the processor 11/5, so November will be a busy month for us. I’m quite looking forward to it.

Haven’t killed any deer yet, I haven’t even been hunting. Shame on me.

I can’t believe it’s October already. The days are just flying by. I am enjoying the slightly cooler weather though.

Enjoy this picture of our new mouser Georgie. 🙂

People constantly assume that death, for those who farm or keep livestock, is just another part of our daily lives. While this is true, especially for those animals who are destined to be food, I would like folks to understand that just because we planned on slaughtering some of our animals does not make their death some sort of light, easily handled endeavor.

Animals die. People die. Everything dies. That’s life. There can be NO life without death. Fact. Today’s society finds death particularly morbid and revolting, and therefore, talking about it can be taboo or uncomfortable. People like to think that because I kill my own animals for consumption, that this somehow makes me immune to the pain and sadness that surrounds death. This is simply not the case, nor should it ever be for any human being, regardless of being a farmer or not. Of course it saddens me to take a chicken from its pen, or a rabbit from its cage, knowing it won’t return. It saddens me knowing that I have nourished and cared for and loved these animals, often times from day one. Of course we go into it all knowing what end they will meet, but that doesn’t make it any easier. I feel the utmost respect and gratefulness for these animals, and it helps me knowing that they led a good, humane, healthful life. In their death, they provide sustenance for our family, and that too makes everything worth it.

There is other death too, however, on the homestead. The unexpected kind. Again, many people like to assume that we handle this kind of death like we would on slaughter day. This is simply not true. We (at least I) grieve. We may not grieve outwardly, but inwardly we reconsider everything that led up to the unexpected passing. What could I have done differently? Was there a way to save them? What signs did I miss? This sort of death, for me, is the most difficult. Slaughter animals, you know they will ultimately die, but an animal that is taken off by a predator, or worse, that I have to put down, is about the hardest thing I deal with.

We lost our rooster Merle this weekend. He and Pepper (head rooster) got into some sort of altercation, and we found him bloodied and limping on Saturday morning. I isolated him, cleaned his wounds, and gave him some scrambled eggs. He continued to rest. Unfortunately, while I did dress his wounds with SWAT, he succumbed to flies around his vent, and we had to put him down. It hurts me, thinking that I could and should have done something more for him. It hurt me, to take him from his cage, hold him, talk to him sweetly, and then take his life. We buried him, he has a headstone, and most importantly, he is no longer suffering.

I have dealt with many unplanned deaths, especially since I began homesteading. There was the pet rabbit ‘Creature,’ while I was still in SC, who ate English Ivy and I had to put out of her misery (bawled all night). There was Shirley Temple, one of my original 4 hens, who was badly attacked by my roommate’s dog. Blueberry, my first homebred Silver Fox who succumbed to heat stroke. Django our old rooster and his fly strike. The night that the possum killed all of our ducks. Death happens. Being a farmer doesn’t make it any easier.

The most important thing you can have to help you cope with death of any type is someone who supports you. Someone who can help you dig the hole, who will stand by you as you cry, and who will grieve along side of you. Death is not an easy encounter, it is best to have someone to lean on through the grief.

It is also important to remember that with death comes life. One cannot dwell on an unexpected death. Take time to grieve, and then move forward. There is no sense in regressing into a state of sadness for long periods, especially over something that can’t be changed.

I just wanted to write up a quick blog post about my favorite piece of farm clothing, my farm dresses. Generally, these are dresses that have holes or stains or are just not acceptable to wear anywhere else besides at home. I love every one of my farm dresses.

Why? Why wear a dress? It’s not the 19th century any longer, pants are acceptable. I just prefer a dress. They’re much more flowy and breathable, which is especially important during summers in the south. They make using the bathroom (sometimes in the front yard) a breeze! Plus, a dress is simply one piece of fabric, no need to match shorts with a shirt.

The winter is much less conducive to dress wearing, so you’ll see me in them a lot less when the weather cools off. As far as warm weather farming goes, I’m always in a dress. I wear them to butcher, to feed animals, to do chores, to chop wood and clear brush, the list goes on. The only mistake I have found while wearing a dress during farming: don’t groom rabbits in a black dress.

I know I’ve been terrible about blogging lately. I’ve had a lot going on and have been traveling again for work. I’m finally in town for about two weeks, and am very excited about that.

What’s new? Not much. Got three more geese (Toulouse) to be friends with Talbot (Chinese). I’m afraid there must be a language barrier between them because Talbot has not yet taken to them. We will see if he gets better. He was a big boy and walked the whole way down & back to the creek today. He loves swimming in the creek. I can’t wait until he’s big enough to free range the farm all day (and still unsure if he’s actually a ‘he’).

FINALLY weaned my last 2017-2018 breeding season litter: Dallan x Faith. There’s six of them, three blues and three blacks. Hoping for some promising kits. My other set of grow outs are nearing the 12 week mark, and I’ll be culling those who aren’t up to par. I’m hoping I get at least one nice doe out of that whole group.

Pigs are doing well. Eating everything. Same with the chickens. I guess Elsa and Francis must not feel like going broody this year, as they’re usually sitting by now. Oh well. We have 11 Polish eggs in the incubator right now, due 7/31. Me and my auction buys, sheesh.

I guess that’s about all for now. I’ll pick back up in my series this week when I’ve got some time to write.

The next ‘overview’ point that I want to discuss: “Conventional agriculture is carnivorous,” stated Lierre Keith in her book “The Vegetarian Myth,” regardless of what specifically each farm is producing. I wholeheartedly agree.

Vegetarians and vegans would have you believe that a meat-free diet is a sustainable venture; one without fault or death. This simply is not the case. Agriculture, when performed on the conventional, industrial scale, is carnivorous. It quite absolutely requires death and destruction. It has the power to consume any and all portions of an ecosystem. CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) are not the only inhumane portion of industrial agriculture; monocropping can be argued to be just as detrimental to an existing ecosystem.

In order to grow the vast amounts of corn, wheat, and soy that make up around 75-90% of a vegetarian’s diet, the land must first be made suitable for agriculture. If you recall in my first post, there are only a very few locations across the globe that can truly, sustainably support large scale agriculture; most areas where conventional ag is performed are not within these specific locations. Farmers who produce such large amounts of cash crops often have no regard for the potential sustainability of their operation, clearing out trees and piping in water to support their crops. They also pour on the fertilizer, often provided by CAFOs, which eventually runs off into surface water systems such as lakes, creeks, and rivers. Instead of working to build and sustain healthy topsoil with beneficial microorganisms, the topsoil is degraded, even further by pesticides, herbicides, and erosion.

Once the land is cleared, planted, and fertilized, and the crops begin to grow, the cycle of death is not yet complete. The act of harvesting these crops kills many animals, insects, and native plants. Small animals and insects who have been able to tough out a life among the crops while they grew are now displaced, crushed, or eviscerated by the harvesting equipment. Even larger animals such as hogs, deer, and coyotes have been known to be casualties of crop harvesting. Most vegetarians do not consider the inadvertent death which is a part of their “sustainable” lifestyle.

CAFOs are the other form of carnivorous conventional agriculture. This one is a bit more obvious, animals are raised and slaughtered for their flesh. Most CAFOs display a complete disregard for their quarry’s natural lifestyle, and instead opt for the most economical and least time consuming options. Animals, whether poultry, pigs, or cattle, are crammed into tight quarters, far exceeding what their housing can comfortably accommodate. They are fed, surprise, conventionally farmed feeds typically made up of corn, wheat, and soy, coupled with “waste parts” from other CAFOs (chicken parts, pig parts, cow parts, etc.). Cows were designed to consume grass, not feed, leading to ulcers and other digestive issues. Pigs were made for rooting, foraging, and scavenging. Because they are not afforded a typical lifestyle with natural behaviors, cannibalism between pigs often occurs under CAFO conditions. Chickens are packed so tightly and grow so fast, they often are unable to stand and succumb to their own weight. Disease runs rampant under these conditions, as well as injury and death prior to slaughter.

In order to create a sustainable agricultural system, we need to go beyond conventional industrial ag. We need to begin respecting the land and the animals. We need to begin creating ecosystems, partnering animals with crops in a rotational system that benefits those involved. Joel Salatin’s system on his Polyface Farms in Virginia is one of the best and most sustainable systems for agriculture in today’s day in age. He achieves high production rates while respecting and even improving the land that he farms. He makes use of cattle and chickens to fertilize his pastures. He raises rabbits on pasture and pigs in a fashion that allows them to root and also aerate the soil. He also does not succumb to conventional practices and does not monocrop or raise today’s corn, wheat, and soy crops. In doing so, he has created a healthy and sustainable system of agriculture on his farm that is improving his soil and producing food to feed others. It is easy to say that Joel’s form of ag is far more sustainable, and far less carnivorous than other types of industrial ag: he is working with his ecosystems to build and sustain them.

If we are to end this carniverious cycle, or at least decrease the destruction, one of the biggest steps we can take is to avoid monoculture crops and CAFO meats. If we turned in our corn, wheat, and soy products in favor of farmers market veggies and atypical grasses and grains (barley, sorghum, buckwheat), we are taking a step in the right direction. I am not saying that vegetarianism is wrong, however their ideas are seriously misconstrued. They believe that a no-meat system is the only system of dieting that prevents death. This is incorrect. Besides the plants that are killed, the natural ecosystems of the areas that are farmed also suffer. I would whole heartedly support a vegetarian who only buys their produce from a local farmer or through farmers markets, however I fear this is not what most vegetarians are willing to do. Unless one is gung-ho about canning, dehydrating, and other forms of food preservation, the winters often under-produce the necessary nutrients required for survival. This is why meat, which offers required protein amongst other vitamins and minerals, is beneficial in winter and less productive times.

Regardless of your diet, please continue to deeply consider what you are eating. I realize it is irrational to believe that everyone can consume a diet of local, non-industrial ag; even I myself do not currently eat that way. It is possible, however, for everyone to take an interest in what I’m saying: teach yourself, ask questions, and truly consider what you’re putting into your body and where it came from. If I can motivate even just one person to switch from store bought to farm fresh, local eggs or meat or produce, then I can say I have been successful in my endeavors.

Thanks for reading, I’m looking forward to putting together part 3!