September 2009

I’m about out of time if I want to label this Cattle Rattle the September edition. I’m not quite sure where the month has gone. The days have flown by – not any big happenings, just day-to-day busyness, I think.
Life continues to chug along on the farm as we transition from summer to fall – my favorite season. Cattle continue to graze, the last of our broilers are getting fat, fieldwork is getting finished up and the turkeys continue to wreck havoc. Several of you know we are experimenting with turkeys this fall. Currently, we have a flock of 13. They have been amazing foragers and are growing nicely. We plan to have them ready for Thanksgiving. However, the turkeys are a bit stubborn and refuse to roost in the lovely shelter Kurt prepared for them. I think last month we were still trying to herd them into the “Turkey Trap.” Well, we’ve given up and the turkeys try every night to roost on one of the porches. If we’re home at dusk, it’s no big deal, we shoo them off and they find a cozy spot in the yard. However, on the nights we are gone. . . . . oh my! Once the turkeys have really settled in, they hate to move and turkeys seem to possess the unique talent of being able to poop while they sleep and the bigger they get, the bigger the mess. This requires Kurt to spray the porch down thoroughly in the morning much to his chagrin. Needless to say, there will be no love lost between the turkeys and the Dales come Thanksgiving. Next year, we will find a better way to corral the turkeys.
One more word to the wise if you should be possessed with the urge to raise your own poultry – don’t leave any doors on your vehicles open while you run in to the house to get that one thing you forgot. Take the time to shut the doors. Really. It’s worth the few moments. Last month, it was a chicken. This month it was a turkey – twice!! I’ll let you fill in the blanks from here.
Speaking of turkeys, we’re hoping to have a few available for the holiday season. Because we’ve had predator issues on the farm and we’re new at this, we hesitate to guarantee turkeys this year. However, I’ve started a list of those who are interested in a pastured turkey and I’ll contact you a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving if we still have some. Because the turkeys will be processed on the farm, they’ll have to be picked up on the farm.
I had the privilege of participating in another Tips and Tastes party last weekend. A friend of a friend hosted and I had the opportunity to visit with several people who are very interested in how their food is raised. As we get closer to the holidays, I think we’re done hosting parties this fall but if you’re interested, we are starting to schedule events in the spring.
Our pullets (young hens) are just about ready to start laying. We hope to start finding smaller pullet eggs any day now. Our older hens are also starting to go through their first molt. In about a month, we should have a few stewing hens available for $2.00/lb. They should make amazing chicken and noodles – let me know if you’re interested.
If you get a chance, check out our website (www.dalefamilyfarms.com). We’ve added a few things over the last month or so.
Our broilers (chickens) are just about sold out for the season (many predators helped us there) but we do still have beef available. We almost always have cuts on hand and we still have some quarters, halves or wholes available this fall. Call or email for more information.
I’m starting to learn that if I have a need, it helps to put it out there and see what happens – off-hand, I can think of our suburban and a food processor that have been a result of this. As we deliver orders that are a little larger or process more chickens at a time, we are in need of ice chests/coolers like you’d take to the lake. If you have a spare around gathering dust or happen to see one at a garage sale, let me know and I’m sure we can work something out.
Real quick personal updates:
Kurt and I: We just celebrated our 12th anniversary. To let you know what kind of goofs we’ve become, Kurt and I bought the same anniversary card for each other. It’s a small town – not lots of shopping options but still . . . . We also ended up wearing almost identical shirts to church on our anniversary – maybe we’ve been working too closely together!
Kurt: Football season is almost half over and Kurt has had his ups and downs but still loving (almost) every minute of it. He’s also trying to squeeze a little farm work around practices and games.
Andi: I’ve spent too much time in the kitchen this month. So far, I’ve put up 45 quarts of applesauce and 70 pints of salsa. For the record, 1½ bushels of apples is TOO much to do in an afternoon.
Allison: She continues to fly through third grade. I can’t believe we’re almost ¼ of the way through the year. She’s also been enjoying piano lessons and 4-H.
Natalie: Princess Natalie continues to keep us in stitches. I never know what she’ll come up with next or what face she’s going to look at us with. And oh my goodness – the questions – why? How? When?
Anna: Anna is no longer a baby – she’s moved to a big girl mattress. Not a bed yet – she kept falling out. She’s on a mattress on the floor because she was dangerously close to taking a dive out of the crib. In fact, she was devising plans for climbing out with a stool. After 2 weeks, she’s finally able to stay in her room and we’re all sleeping though the night again which greatly improves my disposition in the mornings.
Take care!