Turkeys and Herbs

Allen got his first turkey of the season on Tuesday- a 16 pound jake. He was very excited and proud as was Evan and the neighbors- David and Austin. I don't share Allen's enthusiasm for hunting. I don't get it - that doesn't mean I don't want to see it done. My husband has a great love and appreciation for the land. He respects nature and does what he does because he loves animals. I eat meat. I like meat. I don't like what I read about the state of meat and meat production in the US. It is disgusting what can happen to animals in our current food chain. I believe maybe hunting can supplement our corn-fed meat consumption which in turn lowers our carbon footprint.
I must admit it was very satisfying to gather the herbs for Allen'a wild turkey breast (he gave most of the bird to some very appreciative neighbors). I used rosemary, thyme and some of my multiplier onions. The meat was very tasty and the kids loved it.
All of the veggies the Friday Farmhands helped plant about 2 weeks ago are sprouting. I also have asparagus sprouting - I will not be able to harvest it this year, it is a perennial crop and takes a few years to get established.
This week Allen picked up my 50 blueberry starts from Helen. I am going to pot them this weekend and plant them in the ground next spring. I am going to plant a cover crop this year so they will have a good start next spring.
You could call this year,for me anyway , The Year of the Soil. Cover crops, green manure, biomass these are my words- my mantra if you will. I will be reading, planting, researching and composting these words. I will try to keep posted my mistakes and successes- in spite of my dial-up capabilities.

Signs of Spring

Jared cracking pecans by the koi pond.

Jared sporting my new sunhat.

Ahh! Blueberries blooming!!!




The tulips are blooming, clothes are hanging on the line, blueberries are blooming and Jared is shoeless. I love spring and all the newness it brings into our lives. I will be attending the Georgia Organics Conference Friday and Saturday. I will actually be spending the night with my friend Maggie. There is lots to do before I go so this post is short, but I think the pictures make up for my briefness.

Friday Farmhands

It was a very busy day on the farm yesterday. My Friday Farmhands were here. The farmhands are Helen (www.groovykidstuff.blogspot.com )and her children Ray, Dashiell and Hazel, and Jane and her children Sean, Leah and Ryan. I am lucky to have such good help. We got a lot planted-cabbage, lettuce, parsley, onions, brussel sprouts, sugar snap peas, beets, spinach, potatoes and cilantro. We also gave the plants a good start with Neptune's Harvest seaweed fertilizer. Now we wait, water and weed.
Next Friday I will be attending the Georgia Organics Conference in Decatur GA. I am really excited. I hope to learn a lot and meet other farmers and people who share my love of dirt and want to heal the earth with organic methods of farming.

A Look Back at the First Week in March

Let me start by saying it was a long week. It all started on Sunday March 1 with snow and lots of it at least 3-5 inches of the white stuff. It was beautiful and the kids thought it was just magical. The power went off at about 6pm, but it was worth it to have a good snow. We made snow cream and hot chocolate, we had snowball fights, we had to pull Rusty's truck out of the snow/mud, Allen and Evan got real muddy riding 4-wheelers with the neighbors, we made snow forts, Jared made lots of yellow snow and we all laughed alot. The power finally came back on Monday night just in time for a warm bath, a hot meal and some screen time before bed.
On Tuesday I went to the library and Kroger with the boys. This was a mistake and I will leave it at that.
On Wednesday we had playgroup at the park and Logan spent the night at his friend Jesse's. Logan had been looking forward to this since the last time he spent the night there. My mom called me after we got home to let me know my Uncle Lamar had passed away. He had been battling liver disease for years. He was married to my Mom's oldest sister, Carrie, for 47 years.
On Thursday we just hung out at home. Allen got home early so he could see Logan at his last gymnastics practice. We drove separately so I could go shopping after gymnastics. I needed a light sweater to wear over my dress for my Uncle's funeral and some shoes. I didn't find any shoes and my poor feet did suffer a little but, I did find a cute white sweater that went with my spring dress.
On Friday I dusted, mopped and cleared clutter, I also took my kids out shopping for the pig feast. The shopping trip was not as bad as Tuesdays. That night was the viewing for my Uncle, it was also the night Allen planned on killing the pig we had been feeding for a few weeks. The pig was a wild pig, she was I think about 8 months old. The man that gave it to Allen had raised it since it was piglet. Allen was not home from work when I left for the viewing so the boys went to my neighbor, Keisha's. I got home from the viewing around 8:30pm and went by Keisha's to pick up the boys. Keisha and her boys came to the house with us, her husband David was here to help Allen and Tommy with the pig processing. The pig was going to cook all night outside over a fire. Allen and I retired about 2am with the alarm set for 4am. Allen got up at 4,6 and finally at about 8.
Saturday was non-stop all day. I made cole slaw and helped get set up for the day. Allen, Tommy and David were making brunswick stew. The funeral was at 2pm. I met my Mom, my brother Ellis and my Mom's husband Jeff at the church. My Uncle owned the tractor shop in Mansfield and had lived in this small community all his life. The night before at the viewing there had been over 800 people who signed the guest book. It took 2 trucks to move the flowers from the funeral home to the grave site. My uncles coffin was taken by tractor to the grave. After the service we went back to my Aunts house. My Mom didn't come to the pig feast, she has had pneumonia and the flu, she also gets fever blisters from fresh pork. The feast was already under way when I got home. Everybody was raving about the brunswick stew I couldn't bring myself to try it until Sunday. We were up again until about 2am, even Jared didn't give it up until about 1am.
Sunday was a good lazy day. We cleaned up the yard but the house will wait. The boys and our neighbor friends Star and Christian played outside in the pond while I planted 10 pounds of Red pontiac potatoes which I guess isn't that lazy but digging in the earth is my idea of relaxation. I have a lot of planting to do this week and a lot of cleaning, I'm looking forward to every minute of it.

Rain, Rain , Waiting on Snow

On Friday February 27, 2009 the first meeting of the Friday farmhands took place. We were planning on getting some work done but the weather had other ideas. This gave us some time for planning. We have a list of things we want to plant now- early spring. We also have a list of spring tasks that need to be done at our next Friday meeting. I plan on trying to post the lists on the blog but because of my limited Internet capabilities due to my slow dial-up connection it might be next week before I can get to it.
On Saturday there was more rain Allen, the boys and myself piled into the new truck with its new dent (more on that later) and headed to the feed store in Jackson. I bought radish seed, broccoli seed, 10# of red potatoes, 7.86# of yellow potatoes and a bottle of Neptune's harvest. Allen also bought 5# of a mix of clover for his food plot.
Today we are waiting on snow. It has rained most of the morning and according to the local weather snow is indeed on the way. I really hope a little bit sticks not only would the boys have a blast but I made a bet with the neighbor, Rusty, last night at his house while playing pool. If it snows and sticks Rusty has to make dinner for our families if it doesn't I have to make dinner for all. Any suggestions on what to fix for 9 people.