You Might Have to Be a Farmer to Understand

 You might have to be a farmer to understand the dread that comes on a frigid morning when there are new babies on the farm. You've given them straw, and provided heat lamps. You've done everything you know how to do to keep those fragile little ones warm.

Though you try your best, sometimes when the temperatures have plummeted into the teens or lower, you go out in the morning to find your best wasn't good enough. Then you get to spend the day with a pit in your stomach wondering what you could have/ should have done differently to help that little one make it through the bitter night.

You might have to be a farmer to understand the overwhelming sense of relief when your morning goes differently. You've dreaded going out, afraid of what you might find. You've approached the buildings where the brand new babies reside, and hesitated at the door. You've cautiously approached the pen, and glanced quickly to see if you spot any babies that have fallen overnight. Relieved, you take a closer look. You might even start counting to double check that everyone is accounted for, and then there is an audible sigh of relief as you realize that they all made it through the night.

This morning was such a morning. *sigh*

The Farm Project of the Day

I think one thing that you may never expect about farm life is that there really is no such thing as a boring routine. Just when you think you know what you're doing the farm shakes things up. Maybe the chicks you're expecting in the mail don't come on the day you plan. Maybe you get an unseasonal bitter cold snap. Maybe the sow you knew would farrow soon, but hoped would wait a day or two for better weather, will farrow on the most bitter night in weeks. Likely, all of these things and more will happen together in the same 24 - 48 hours.

That has been the last couple of days here. It has been bitter. The lows have plummeted into the teens with the highs in the upper twenties. We lost a lamb, likely due to the cold. Tim was home yesterday, and we spent the day working on projects, some of which didn't go as planned and didn't get finished. Lydia, Kellen and I spent most of the morning getting the brooder pen ready for chicks. Since we were expecting the chicks yesterday, that project really should have been completed, but that is how it goes sometimes. We were working under the buzzer, expecting the Post Office to call any minute to let us know the chicks needed to be picked up. We got the project done, and spent the afternoon hanging close to the phone waiting for it to ring. It never did. 

The call got me out of bed this morning. I grabbed a bagel and a cup of coffee from the pot Tim made before he left for work. Then I woke Kellen up just enough to let him know where I was going, and off I went. I got the chicks, got them settled and did my morning chores. 

Then it was time to motivate the children to get their morning chores complete, and to start on school. After I finally got them back on task, I sat down to Facebook and to contemplate what I wanted to get done today. There are lots of projects that need worked on, and I knew I would want to be able to check frequently on the chicks. I was concerned about them staying warm enough in this weather. As I was considering the options for the day, Kellen burst in the front door with a piglet all wrapped up in his hat. 

He had found it in the outside part of the sows' pens. There was some confusion about whose piglet this was, and how it got there. Turns out the sow who we thought would farrow any day, and hoped would wait for better weather, farrowed last night. This piglet, and one who was not so fortunate, somehow made their way into the wrong pen. Well, as often is the case, the farm determined my plan for today. Today's project had become newborn pig care. 

This piglet had me worried. She was very weak and cold. We wrapped her up, held her close, and still could not get her stop shivering. She had almost no sucking reflex, and we ended up giving her Kick Start with an eye dropper. Lydia held her almost all through school, and named her Charlotte. We kept her wrapped up and laid her near a sunny window. She slept for a couple of hours then still shivering off and on. 

When she woke up the change was remarkable. She got up and walked around, and nosed at things like any healthy piglet will do. 

Then she started the grunt that means, "I want food." She went after the bottle with vigor, and then promptly fell back asleep. I am not saying she is home free, but I am very pleased with her progress. Now, the hard part will be getting Lydia to let me put the pig back with its mom.

Ah, farm life, it keeps you hopping, and makes life interesting.

Because Underwear Really Isn't That Important

Once upon what seems like another lifetime, I had the laundry in my home under control. I faithfully would gather all the laundry in the house, and have it washed, dried, folded, and put away in a matter of a day, or sometimes two if we had a lot going on. Somewhere along the years of adding children, animals, and activities, I have lost all control over the piles of dirty laundry.

Loads of laundry are still washed, dried, folded, and mostly put away, but on a more sporadic basis. No longer is laundry gathered religiously for laundry day. The motivation for starting laundry is no longer the day of the week. It more often is the pleading of a family member claiming that they have no clean pants, shirts, or sometimes even underwear. The rule has now become if you need clean clothes, and are over the age of ten, wash it yourself. If you're under the age of ten, get your laundry to the laundry room for mom to wash if you have any hope of ever having clean clothes.

The other day Vivian (4) says to me, "Mom, I don't have any clean underwear." With I sigh, I realized this means I must do some laundry even though I had other plans for the day. I went to the laundry room to sort out the laundry that was already there, and sent her to gather laundry in her room. I found a few articles to fill her need in the laundry I sorted, and added some other items and started a load.

She brought me the laundry from the hamper she shares with her sister. I was not surprised to find relatively few items of her clothing in the basket, and not a single pair of her underwear. Strange as this may seem, there is a perfectly logical explanation for the phenomenon. Lydia actually puts her dirty clothes into the hamper. Vivian drops the dirty clothes wherever she happens to change. The true mystery here is how any of Vivian's clothes actually ended up in the hamper.

I thanked her for bringing the laundry, and then explained the situation, "You'll have to pick up your laundry from the floor if you want me to wash any of it." She seemed to understand what I was saying, and we both went along with our day.

Later, when the first load was done and I was ready to put in another load containing her needed items, she had yet to pick her laundry up from the floor and bring it to me. When I again explained to her that she needed to pick up her laundry from the floor before I could wash her underwear, she said to me, "Ah, I really don't need underwear that much."

I think it is a sad statement of the state of our household when my four year old would rather go without underwear than put forth the effort to pick up her dirty clothes.

The Creative Writing of a 12 Year Old Boy

I awaken in a small dark room, my brothers, squished up against me. They have not yet awoken. I hear a loud THUD, THUD, it goes. Then very suddenly I am bathed in a shower of light. I am rudely handled by strange beings. I am being moved. I see a small red box, covered in blood with a hole just big enough to fit my head into. Then I am thrust towards the hole. As I am inside the hole, I hear the great WHRRRRR of motors spinning blades. My head is being whittled into a point that exposes my spine. I pass out from the pain. I get jerked awake by the movement of someone pulling me. I feel my head and my spine is whittled into a sharp point. I see a white sheet, and I am thrust towards that sheet. My spine is pressed up on the sheet and rubbed back and forth in a seemingly random pattern. After what seems like hours, I am put back in the box with my brothers. Resigned, I rest for tomorrow, and the continuing of my life as a pencil.

Spoon Rolls

Winter time around here means there a lot of soups and stews on the menu. They are warm, easy, satisfying and nutritious. The perfect compliment to a steaming pot of homemade soup is warm homemade bread. What is chili without homemade cornbread? Beef stew must have homemade biscuits or dumplings, and sometimes yeast rolls are what my mouth is craving. Unfortunately, that craving often comes after it is too late to get yeast rolls done for dinner. Luckily, we have a reasonable alternative, spoon rolls.

My sister-in-law gave me a recipe for Harrow Road Spoon Rolls years ago. If I remember correctly, this is a recipe from a restaurant in Tennessee where her family is from.  They have more flavor than a biscuit, and a lighter texture than cornbread. Spoon rolls aren't exactly a yeast roll. They are perfect though when you're short time, but want a delicious homemade bread to go with dinner.

Harrow Road Spoon Rolls
1 TB yeast
2 1/4 C. lukewarm water
1 egg, beaten
1/4 C. sugar
2/3 C. melted butter
4 C. self rising flour (1 C self rising flour = 1 C flour + 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder + 1/8 tsp. salt)
2 TB cornmeal

Add yeast to lukewarm water and stir. Mix together egg, sugar, and butter. Add yeast mixture. Add flour and cornmeal. Mix by hand with a wire whisk until well blended. Do not use an electric mixer. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool in pans about 5 minutes before removing from pan. Dough can be kept covered with foil in refrigerator. It gets better with age. (or so I've been told I always bake it all right away.)

Thanks!

We have incredible people around us. Often times I get caught up in the responsibilities and plans of the farm, and take for granted those that support us. I want to take a moment to say thank you.

We have incredible neighbors who have been instrumental in getting this farm going from the beginning. In the last six months, they have done even more. There are a lot of things that wouldn't have gotten done around here without their help and advice. We are so blessed to have moved next to them.

I am blown away by the support of friends and customers. Not only do these people buy our products, they also   tell their friends about our farm as much as we do! We've been connected to people through mutual friends more times than I can count. We are so grateful.

It is a wonderful feeling to be supported by our community. Thank you!

The Secret

We've had a whole lot of winter this year, too much. This picture was taken Wednesday. Last night we got another three inches. We are covered in snow.

Winter weather came early this year, and it has stayed. Snow in the winter is normal here. It sticking around is not. I haven't kept an official count, but I bet the number of days without snow on the ground since December could be counted on two hands.

Thankfully this time around it isn't horribly cold. In fact, it is great winter play weather. Just cold enough to keep the snow, but not so cold that you have to bundle up like an Eskimo to go out. 

Unfortunately, the kids have also had enough of winter. They've sledded. They built snowmen. There have been forts and snowballs, but the thrill is gone. Even though the weather is great (for winter,) they have no desire to go out and play. Unless there is a video camera involved.

I'm not sure what the attraction is, but apparently middle school students love to video themselves. My nephew Miles has a bunch of short videos of himself doing silly things posted on YouTube, and Kellen loves to help him make them. Those two are quite a pair.

Today, Miles had a snow day and is here with us. When I informed all the kids that after lunch they were all going out to play, I was met with groans and sighs and complaining. They didn't care when I promised that the snow was great for packing, and the temperature was perfect for sledding. No, they didn't get excited until Miles and Kellen realized that they could go outside and make videos in the snow.

Out they went after lunch. They made a plan for what they wanted to video. They rehearsed, and then they got the camera. They made videos of an "Epic Sword Fight." There was one of Miles wrestling with the dogs, and then this one of Miles talking about how wonderful winter is. Hmmm funny he didn't think that before the video camera. 

They made videos until the camera ran out of charge. 

Who knew the secret to getting them to go out and play would be a camera? It isn't exactly what I had in mind for them to do this afternoon, but quite frankly I don't care. It got them out and active, and it got me a little quiet. What else can you ask for?

A Walk Down Memory Lane - Romance

Tim posted this picture on Facebook today, and asked if we should make it a date for Valentines Day. He is so romantic (as I roll my eyes.) So, today, as I was looking through old posts, I thought this one from February 2006 was very appropriate. I love this man! 

If you read Tim's blog you know he said that we aren't very romantic because we don't do anything for Valentines Day. Actually, we don't really celebrate any of the occasions in the typical way. We don't do cards, flowers, or candy. If you do, and enjoy it good for you! Keep doing it. It isn't that I don't like those things, but I tend to be very practical (maybe too much so) and those things really aren't. We do (for some occasions) do small gifts or dinner out (sometimes).

I do think Tim is romantic though. I guess to me "romantic" just means letting me know he loves me. Which he does everyday, not just on Valentines, birthdays, anniversaries or other "special days" Romantic to me is . . .

-Last night he let me take a nap while he made dinner, fed the kids and cleaned up.

-Working his normal week, trying to keep up with endless projects around here and picking up the house too b/c I can't keep up and never complaining!

- After a day of the trying to clean the house with the whole family he says in frustration, "I will always work out of the house, don't ever think we will switch places again. It isn't going to happen!" It made me laugh! Translation - trying to do anything with these kids is hard work. I so appreciate what you do! For those of you who don't know, when Kellen was 2 I worked full time and he stayed home with Kellen and the foster kids we worked with. We switched after Lydia was born. On my most frustrating days I threaten that I am ready to go back to work and he can stay home again.

-He brags about me even when I am not around! (Actually I prefer to not be around for that!)

I could go on but these are just a few examples that popped into my head from the last couple of weeks. So some may look at us and say, "Boring" and some women may be disappointed by the lack of gifts, but I think our life is anything but boring and I am not disappointed. I love my husband and our idea of romance!

Sunday Morning on the Farm

Wake at the crack of dawn to the sound of a goat wanting milked.
Fall back asleep.
Wake again to the sound of children bickering underscored by the cries of a goat wanting milked.
Drag self out of bed in search of coffee.
Husband goes out to feed animals.
Bundle up to go out and shut that goat up.
See brand new lamb.
Smile.
Milk goat.
See lamb is not nursing well.
Milk sheep.
Attempt to bottle feed lamb.
Worry about lamb.
Ask husband and daughter to check on lamb frequently today.
Help get family ready and out the door for church.
Take a deep breath, and enjoy the quiet.
Ingest caffeine and vitamin C in preparation for the day ahead.
Try and convince self to get off the computer and go get ready for work.

(Obviously still working on that last one.)

Pigs are Amazing.

That room looks like a pig sty. He eats like a hog. Fat Hog. Pearls Before Swine. Lipstick on a Pig.....

Poor piggies, they get a bad rap. Now, those sayings are rooted in the truth, but our colloquial sayings have somehow missed pigs really are quite amazing animals. Though they do wallow in the mud, it is simply a way to cool off because pigs do not sweat. They really are quite clean, and will potty train themselves. They are smart and trainable. But the most amazing thing about pigs is that they breed like rabbits.

Sows can be bred twice a year. Their gestation is about 3 and half months. They give birth to relatively tiny piglets each weighing about three pounds. The photo below is of a larger than average litter of 24 hour old pigs. It is normal to lose a piglet or two in the first couple days, but on average a sow will raise up eight piglets in each litter.

And piglets eat like pigs from day one. They grow quickly, and in addition to momma sow's milk, will nose around in the feed in the first couple days. The piglet below is two weeks old.

We normally wean at about 8 weeks or so depending on the time of year and our breeding schedule. The piglets continue to put away the food, and grow seemingly before your eyes. In a mere six months they have gone from piglet of a few pounds to tipping the scales at around 250 pounds.

At this point they are ready for the freezer, and momma sow has either had another litter or will soon.  That is a whole lot of pork production. . . delicious ham, bacon, chops, sausage....oh excuse me I think I just got lost in dreams of pork fat.

And before you tell me how fatty and bad pork is for you, please know that pork raised here, pork that is pastured is a lot leaner and contains a lot less of the bad fat than pork that has been raised indoors and exclusively on feed. It seems that the studies on this are just beginning, but you can tell when you cook it that is much leaner than the store bought pork you're used to.

So say what you might about pigs. Here, we are living high on the hog.

Our Family Christmas

It has become tradition for the Miller's to be untraditional for Christmas. I can't remember when exactly it started, but I do believe it was before we moved to West Virginia, that the Miller's do not get together for Christmas. We get together after Christmas. When we started celebrating later we kidded that we were only following tradition by celebrating Amish Christmas, but since then our celebration has moved even further away from the traditional date to Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

Waiting until later has its advantages. The primary one is that all the other Christmas gatherings are done. Families don't have to pick and choose who they are going to visit with, or run around from one place to the other on Christmas day. The kids who are in public school have Monday and sometimes Friday off which makes for a nice long weekend for the family gathering.

This year we were missing some family. Their absence was felt, and made our celebration feel a little off at times. But with nine kids in the house there really wasn't much time (or quiet) to reflect on the absences.

The cousins played and played and played. Nolan and Jude are especially close, and it was hard to find them apart. Saturday was our big celebration day. We had a big breakfast of pancakes with strawberry topping and sausage. Then we opened presents, and got everyone cleaned up quick to head to the movie theater. Since someone looked at the movie times wrong....we had a bit of time to kill. We shopped at a local bookstore that had tons of books marked down to $1. I brought a bag of books home with me. Then we saw Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

After the movie it was time for the best part of our gathering. Not holding much to traditional holiday foods, we have Seafood Stew every Christmas along with homemade rolls, and cheesecake. Eating great food is better than presents any day in my book! The kids may not agree.

Below are a few pictures from our morning. And yes, that is my real Christmas tree still up. I'd like to say that I carefully preserved it in order to have it up for our celebration. Truth is I just never took the time to take it down. It is starting to look pretty sorry.

A Trip Down Memory Lane - Life Language Live

I plan to take a trip down memory lane every so often to revisit some my favorite stories or important events here on the farm. This story was originally shared in February 2006. I have since changed my mind about Nolan being a doer. He did help me in this case, but I now think that was a responder responding to please me. Of course, Vivian was not yet born. She is the true doer. Anyway, it is a still a story that makes me smile.




I realize some of you don't know what Life Languages are. I think you will still enjoy this story, just think of it as the difference in kids instead of Life Languages. I am just telling it to you this way because it is exactly what I thought of as it happened.


Just for a quick intro though, Life Languages is about our communication style. It is like a personality test only much more in depth and accurate. The test is helpful, but the workshop was where it really clicked. Tim & I attended a workshop almost three years ago. I can't tell you how much it helped us understand each other. (And we had been married for about 8 years at that point) Here is the website if you would like an overview of the languages.


The cast
Kellen age 7 Influencer - Lydia age 4 Resposnder - Nolan age 1 1/2 Doer - Me Doer/Shaper - Tim Influencer/Responder The kids haven't actually taken the test. This is just what we think they are!


Yesterday (before Tim came home) I left the three kids in the kitchen with snacks and drinks. (big mistake!) I was in the next room on the computer. I was gone maybe two minutes when Kellen comes running full speed out of the kitchen yelling, "I have to get out of there, AAAH, I can't be in there!" He ran all the way to the other side of the house.


Now most moms probably would have gone running into the kitchen to see what happened expecting something horrible. What would you expect? Barf, blood, poop, maybe Nolan eating his snot? Well, I know my son and the Influencer's flair for drama and I didn't move from the computer. I sat thinking, "Oh now what!" Then I told him (ok I was probably yelling) to walk back in here and tell me what happened. He walks back still saying, "I can't go in there!" and we go into the kitchen together.


What was going on in my kitchen? What horrible thing could cause such a reaction from a seven year old? It was spilt milk. Yes, one glass of milk spilt on the table and dripping off both sides. Oh the horror!


What, you may wonder, were the other two children doing? Miss Responder, who was still sitting at the table eating her chips, looks at me sweetly and says, "I am sorry mommy. I knocked my cup reaching for more chips." (note: she didn't get up to DO anything about the problem) My little Doer is pointing at the mess like "Look what happened" Ok, he didn't do anything (yet) either but he is 1 1/2!


So, I am explaining (yes I think I was still yelling at this point) to Kellen for 1000th time that his reaction would be appropriate for maybe a cut off finger, someone throwing up or Nolan pooping on the floor (it has happened!) It was not an appropriate reaction to milk being spilled. As I am explaining this, I have gotten several rags out of the cupboard and am wiping up some of the milk. I continue to say (as Lydia munches on chips) that next time they should either grab a rag and start cleaning or calmly tell me what has happened so I can start cleaning.


Then, I look at the other side of the table and there is my little Nolan. He has grabbed one the rags and is wiping up the milk on the floor. Oh, finally a child I can relate to!

Lydia's Birthday

Lydia turned nine on Wednesday. To celebrate we asked friend to join us at The Pottery Place. The girls had a great time painting their pieces, chatting, and giggling.

The boys had fun too, but they spent less time painting and more time eating! 

Adventures in Rendering Lard

A few trips ago to the butcher with pigs, the butcher asked me if we would like to save the lard from our hog. The word lard brought to my mind the neat little tubs of lard that they sell in the predominantly Amish area in which I grew up. This thought was closely followed by the memory of flaky pie crusts made with lard, and  my mouth began to water. Do I want the lard? Oh yes, I do.

You may imagine my surprise when we went to pick up the meat and there were no neat little tubs of lard waiting for me. No, my lard was in the form of big slabs of fat, like the one pictured below. In fact, there was a whole bag of these frozen fat slabs awaiting me. My mother informed me that I had to render the lard to create my own neat little tubs of the stuff. It sounded like work to me.

So, the bag of fat slabs went home with me, and went directly in the freezer. I Googled rendering lard, and browsed a few instructions, and put render lard on my mental, "I'll get to it someday" list.  That bag sat in the freezer, and at the bottom of my to do list, for quite some time, about a year I think.

Then a few months ago suddenly there were posts everywhere about people rendering their lard, and I re-discovered that bag of fat slabs in the depths of my freezer, and the kids were out of town with their grandparents for the week. I decided it was meant to be. All these things happening at the same time could only be a sign that it was time to add a little lard to our lives.

To the interwebs I went searching for best way to get the lard that I was seeking. There are 100's of pages out there about rendering lard. You can render it in a large pot on the stove, in a crock pot, in the oven, or in a kettle over a fire. In fact, I think every single page of instructions I read was a little different, but they all involved cutting the slabs of fat into little pieces and applying heat.

So, I cut up some slabs and filled the crockpot. I cut some more and filled a 9x13 baking dish. I cut the rest and filled a pan for the stove, and then I turned on the stove, oven and crockpot to low settings. The heat melts away the fat which eventually boils the bits of meat that are left; the cracklings.

Rendering lard seems to be one of those things you can only eyeball to know when it is done. It is one of those skills that when learning, it would really be nice to have someone next to you who has done it before. I was on my own, and it was a guessing game.

One thing that I somehow missed in all the instructions that I read was how long it takes. It took a long time, much longer than I expected. I started the lard in the afternoon, and by night it still wasn't done. I didn't want to leave the stove and oven on over night. So, I poured off all the melted fat and combined the rest of the fat pieces in the crockpot to cook overnight.

Other people warn of the horrible smell. I didn't really think it was all that bad, until the middle of the night. Maybe it was because I had been in the smell for too long. Maybe it was because a body is not supposed to smell melted pork fat at three AM, but that smell kept me awake that night half nauseous.

By morning I was done with the rendering lard process. The lard really wasn't done rendering, but that is beside the point. As a result, my cracklings were not exactly cracking. The crispy  pieces were quite delicious with a bit of salt, but the majority of them were not crispy. Although I found those soft pieces rather revolting, the chickens did not share my opinion. We let them enjoy them. I did later wonder if the premature pour off of the lard contributed to the under cooking of my cracklings. Something to consider on the next lard adventure I guess.

But even with my missteps, five and a half quarts of lard were rendered from my bag of fat slabs. You can see it below in various stages of solidifying.

No mouth watering pie crusts have been made yet, but we've been enjoying our lard in other ways. Instead of frying our eggs and potatoes in butter, we've been using the lard. It makes those things taste delicious, and we've found that a little lard goes a long way. We've also enjoyed making cornbread with it.

It took me awhile to finally tackle those big slabs of fat, but I am glad that I did. Next time though, I will start earlier in the day. I will cook it outside on the camp stove in one pot, and not remove any of the fat until the cracklings are done. The process wasn't perfect, but the results were good. That is all part of the adventure of learning new things.

Little Hams

Six day old piglets. Aren't they cute? They'll be even tastier in six months.

We're Molting

The weather is nasty. The sun is hiding, and we hens are  in a state. It is so stressful on a girl.  I'm quite embarrassed at our bedraggled appearance, but this just happens every now and then. It is part of being a hen.

Our apologies to all our fresh egg customers out there, but we just can't produce when we are like this. We are getting a little extra light, and some extra yummy treats with our feed. We're trying to pull ourselves back together, and get back to producing. Thank you for your patience.

Cooking a Skinned Bird

If you keep chickens, at some point you will have to decide what to do with the hens that are no longer laying. There really are three choices. You can keep them as pets. You can give them to someone else. Or you can use them for meat.

You've already invested a significant amount of time and money in these birds. The most frugal choice is to butcher them to get a little more out of your investment.

And if you've made that choice, the next choice you face is how to process the birds. You could choose the traditional way of plucking the bird, or you can skin the bird and avoid the plucking process. We've tried it both ways. We like skinning best.

Skinning the birds takes a little skill, and a little practice, but once you have it down, it is a very quick process. The end result is cleaner looking, and we don't eat the skin anyway. So, for us skinning the birds just makes sense.

From a cooking perspective though, it is a little different. We are all used to getting whole birds, or really any chicken with the bones, with the skin on. How do you cook a whole chicken with out the skin?

If you are cooking an older hen, the best way to cook it, with or without the skin, is to stew it. Simmer it in a big pot of liquid and spices for a couple hours, let the carcass cool, debone the meat and use it with the broth for dumplings or soup. Or the meat can be used for creamed chicken sandwiches, in casseroles, or chicken salad, and the broth can be reserved for later use (even frozen.) The same result can be achieved in a crock pot using less liquid. Older hens (or roosters) are too tough to be cooked any other way.

We normally skin our younger roosters and our meat birds also. They can be cooked the same as above. The majority of the time I cook them in the crockpot. Adding liquid is not necessary with a younger bird. I just season them, and let them cook. The skinned birds come out of the crockpot tender and moist.

To get the most from your whole chicken, debone it and use it to make many meals. I once challenged myself to see how many meals I could get out of one chicken. This was before we had many chickens. So, the challenge was taken using a store bought bird, but that bird was about the same size as the meat birds we raise now. I stretched that chicken for five meals. See a Stretched Chicken to see what all I made.

Honestly though, I rarely try to stretch a chicken like that anymore. I still like to make the chicken in the crockpot, but now we carve off the meat for a meal. Any remaining meat is picked off and that with the broth are used for soup, or the like, later in the week.

A skinned chicken can also be cooked in the oven. I like to brush it with olive oil, and then add spices depending on my mood. Ginger is one of my favorites, but often I use rosemary, curry, or other spices. Really, a skinned bird can be prepared just as you would a skin on bird for roasting except a skinned bird needs to be covered while it cooks. The end result will look a little different, but the taste is excellent.

To skin or pluck? Both have advantages and disadvantages. Skinning birds is our preferred method of processing. Cooking a skinned whole chicken (or duck) only takes a slight adjustment in your cooking method. The crockpot is my favorite way to produce a tender, moist and tasty bird. The oven works well also if you have a young bird. Sinned birds need to be cooked a little differently, but they produce delicious results.

And now we are farmers - Part Five

I'm sharing the story of how we came to live on our homestead. This is the final installment. If you missed the beginning, And now we are farmers - Part One, Part Two, Part Three,and Part Four.


And now we are farmers....or are we? Or perhaps we are homesteaders? Maybe just crazy people living in the woods with animals?

When we moved here we really didn't have much of a plan for what the farm would be, or really what we wanted it to be. We had dreams. We had ideas. We wanted animals, and gardens. We wanted to build homes; timber frame for mom and dad, earth bermed for us. We wanted to enjoy the land, the quiet, and a more simple life.

Yes, we had dreams, but we didn't have a plan to follow toward the goal. We came here with one rabbit. We added a dog that fall, and soon we were adding animals left and right. Now we have cows, horses, donkeys, ducks, goats, sheep, cats, dogs, and pigs.

Many of our animals were added because people gave them to us. People gave us chickens, a sheep, and ducks. Some of our animals were purchased at the spur of the moment because we found a really good deal on them. In most cases, the animals came first, and then we figured out fencing and buildings for them.

My dad was a tinkerer. The buildings he designed and built are wonderful. We have a rain collection system tied in to a self water for the chickens. The system also can provide water for other livestock and the garden. The pig house is designed for easy farrowing for the sows, and easy loading at harvest time. He always had wonderful, and big ideas. He also couldn't pass on a good deal. As a result, there were always several projects going at once with pieces and parts of several more waiting in the wings.

I think when we moved here I saw us as providing for ourselves. I really never expected to become farmers selling our goods to the public. We quickly learned though that raising animals is expensive. We  like to keep our own breeding stock rather than buying young animals to raise for our use. (I think that desire comes from wanting to be more self sufficient.) For some animals, like pigs, keeping breeding stock automatically results in more meat than we can use.

Over time my thought process about raising animals has changed. I still want to produce enough for us. In a lot of areas we are doing that. We produce all our own meat. In the summer we produce  all our vegetables.  We are still working on getting a larger variety of vegetables preserved for winter, and adding fruit to our gardens, but we could survive on only what we grow here if we had too.

I realize now, though, that we really do need to sell some of our meat and produce to make it economical to raise our own food. Generally, I'd say that is where we are now. What we raise is mostly done with providing for ourselves in mind. What we sell is the surplus.

Putting our homestead/farm together has been a lot of shoot then aim. It has been a lot of figuring it out as you go. There has been a lot of learning the hard way.

I think now we are at a cross roads in many ways. We are still trying to figure out how to make what we have here work with out my dad. He was the main farmer, and none of us could replace the skills and labor that he put into this place. We have downsized quite a bit, but still have a hard time keeping up with everything.

At the same time, interest in locally grown food is on the rise. We've established a nice customer base, and I think that we could make a transition into raising more specifically for other people, while still providing for us, and perhaps making a little profit. We probably need to focus on a smaller variety of animals.We may need to change some of our garden crops. We might need to rethink how we get our products to the public. We definitely need some goals with a workable plan.

We certainly are crazy people living in the woods with animals. I wouldn't have it any other way. We are homesteaders who started with nothing but the land a mere five years ago, and have made it a place to live and provide for our family. And yes, now we are farmers selling our goods to the public, and contemplating where to go with that.

What will happen in the next five years? I really have no idea.I don't think we will be building houses. I do think we will continue to enjoy the land and the hard work that comes with raising food here. I do think we will still be selling to the public. I guess the big questions are what, where, and how much.

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Thank you for joining me in my trip down memory lane, and my bit of reflection on the past five years. This weekend a friend of ours reminded me that there are some very good stories in the archives of this blog. Stories that he still shares with other people. That got me to thinking that maybe some of those stories need to be shared again. I plan to pull out some of my favorites to share with you. I'll be posting my Trip Down Memory Lane every so often. For starters, here are some pictures:

Christmas Ready or Not!

Here I sit Christmas Eve morning and I can hardly believe that it is already here. In fact, I can hardly believe that it is December. Where has all time gone?

I clearly remember a beautiful summer night. The family was relaxing together with a group of friends. We pulled chairs out onto our host's driveway to watch the fireworks display. It was a wonderful evening.

A few short days later and our lives changed forever. Everything since then is a blur. Since that day there have been a lot of tears. There have been a lot of changes. There has been a lot of work.

It has not all been difficult. There have been moments of fun, of joy, and of laughter. There have been celebrations, and there has been a lot of love. It has just all happened at warp speed. So fast, that it can hardly make an impression on my brain.

Now, here we are on the verge of Christmas, whether I am ready or not, and by many standards I am not. We virtually did no baking this year. Goody trays were not made up, nor sent to their usual places. Fewer gifts were mailed, and those that were sent were of purchased items instead of our traditional homemade things. No cards were mailed. No Christmas projects were completed. It isn't that I didn't want to do those things, it just didn't get done. On many counts, I am not ready for Christmas.

In other ways, though, I am completely ready for Christmas. We chose many years ago to forgo the running around on Christmas Day. We visit with extended family on other days through the season, but Christmas is spent at home. Today and tomorrow will be very quiet days. We will attend a Christmas Eve service tonight, and tomorrow the kids will open their presents, and we will spend a quiet (as it gets) and restful day together. That my friends is something I am very ready for.

May you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!

On a Winter's Day

This winter has come early and hard. Winter care for animals involves a lot more work than the milder months. The very cold temperatures this early in the season caught us unprepared which has caused even more work in the form of frozen and broken water pipes.

Even so, I must say winter is beautiful in its own way. The kids enjoy the snow, and some of the animals seem to thrive in these cold temperatures. Here are a few pictures I grabbed while doing chores this morning.

And now we are farmers - Part Four

I'm sharing the story of how we came to live on our homestead. If you missed the beginning, And now we are farmers - Part One, Part Two, and Part Three. 



We had to be out of our house in Akron. That week there was a lot of rain which delayed things on the other end. Not only did our new house need to be moved, the hope was to get the house moved and up so the electric company would finish the lines and connect us. The rain made the house site too muddy to work with on the scheduled day. It did finally dry out enough to get the house there, but not at all on the original time line.

So, the day the moving truck left Akron our house was on the property. It was not entirely put together. There was no electric, no water, and no septic. The truck had to go back so all of our stuff was unloaded into the living room. The only thing to do was to stay with my parents until we could get the house in living condition. Tim and I, three kids seven and under, with my parents, in a single wide trailer, in a trailer park. Good times. Good times.

That didn't last long. After a week or so, we were all getting on each others nerves. The double wide was put together though we still had no utilities. We decided we'd make do. So we moved out to the property, and essentially camped in our house for about two weeks. We cooked with camp stoves and grills. Anything cold had to be kept in coolers, and we bought a lot of ice. Water was hauled in with camping jugs. Really, and truly it wasn't bad. It felt good to be out on the property, and if it wasn't for all the unpacking and organizing, it would have felt like a mini vacation.

Then the electric came. We still didn't have water lines, but instead bought a 2100 gallon water tank, and had water hauled in. Wells are not common on this ridge, and county water is a relatively new thing also. Before the county lines were put in many people used cisterns and water tanks for their water. A man nearby hauled in water for us, and still hauls it for some houses that have not hooked into the county lines.

My parents' trailer was moved later that fall, but the water situation remained the same through the winter and into the spring. Our first Thanksgiving here, the water lines froze. The guys rented a ditch witch to get the lines buried better. The first of many working family holidays.

The first winter here was a fairly quiet one. We did get our first animal, a dog. I'd always wanted the kids to have a dog, and finally we were in a place for one. Pac was a crazy half grown puppy when we got him. My dad couldn't stand him, and threatened several times to do him in. Pac was a chewer, and he loved to steal Dad's tools that he'd lay on the ground while he was working. Tim's dad suggested we put a muzzle on Pac for awhile to break his bad habits. We did and it worked wonderfully. Pac turned into a wonderful companion and pet for the kids, and it is hard to imagine the farm with out him now.

But Pac (and a rabbit we'd brought with us) were the only animals. I was very pregnant, and we didn't know anyone. I remember feeling extremely isolated that first winter, and almost bored. Hard to imagine now considering how crazy our schedules have become. Sometimes, I long for those quiet times from the first winter again.

In February of 2006, I started this blog. I named it "Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood" and that is exactly what we've had in the last five years. Later, when Dad needed a legal name for the farm, he called it Mil-Ton Farms. Mil for Miller and Ton for Appleton. There is also a town near us called Milton.

This series of posts brings you up to the time I started this blog. The blog contains many of our stories and adventures. Some of them are fun, some of them are painful, and many of them are stories of lessons learned the hard way. I plan to write one more post in this series. Thanks for following along.

Because He is So Shy

If you know Nolan, or if  you've read this blog for very long, several words may come to mind when you read his name. Words like sweet, loving, ornery, active, and cute are the first  that come to my mind. Maybe you think of multiple trips to the ER, or perhaps his charming smile. But does the word shy come to anyone's mind? Anyone?

Recently, a family from our homeschool band came to help work on the farm. There are four teenage girls.,They've come before to help with chicken butchering and other farm tasks. This particular day they were helping Tim do some winterizing under the houses. At lunch we were all sitting around chatting, and for some reason, Nolan was standing behind a chair, and when I asked what he was doing he  says, "I am shy." I do believe that I actually snorted. The girls laughed too, but you could tell by their laugh that there was more the story than I knew. They shared a story from their previous visit about Nolan.

Their last visit, again at lunch time, Tim and I were outside finishing something up while the girls were in the house with the kids.  Vivian and Nolan were doing their show off for company bit. Vivian was giving a fashion show to the girls with her princess' dresses. Part of the show included her flashing her belly as she went.

Nolan, the king of modesty (um yeah,) decided that he would step in and correct his sister's  immodest ways. As you may imagine this began an argument. As they are bickering Nolan blurts out to the girls, "I fight better naked."  He proceeds to begin the process of unclothing himself for the fight.

Nolan shy? You've got to be kidding me.