April 2011

Wow! Where to start this month? Several changes to share and lots of excitement on the farm. As I start this edition, Kurt and I are on our way home from a delivery run to Olathe. On the way, we also made stops in Pratt, Kingman, Wichita, and Cassoday. I enjoy making this deliveries. They often have a covert feeling to them when we make a "drop" in a parking lot (that's my inner 007 coming out). My favorite parking lots are McDonald's - it feels like such subterfuge! I only wish we had more time to stop and visit with our customers but we're often on a tight schedule. I gotta say yesterday went off like a charm - well, mostly. Somehow, I gave away one order to the wrong customer - in my defense, we hauled 15 orders and over 200 pounds of meat. My brother-in-law came to my rescue with his freezer beef. Always looking for ways to keep myself humble.

Baby calves are starting to show up on a daily basis. It's so nice to calve in the spring! The girls named the first calf Stormy because it was so windy the day he was born. Chicks showed up last week, too. One hundred meat birds and 115 layers. We took 3 layers in for Natalie's show-and-tell. Somehow, they escaped being mauled to death by very excited and very curious kindergartners. I was so proud of Natalie - she held a chick all by herself - a first! Since we were already at the school, we headed to the 4th grade classroom to share the chicks with Allison's class. The 4th graders were much more reserved but still very interested.

Other new arrivals include our two sows that are due to farrow around the 4th of July - with my luck, they will deliver a week early while Kurt is at football camp. The sows are settling in finally but apparently they were not as used to a hot wire as we thought they were. Those first few days were a bit stressful while they kept testing the hot wire. Somehow, these girls can sense when the wire isn't hot. One sow took the opportunity to explore more of the farm one afternoon while Kurt was making adjustments to the fence and had turned it off. Pig rodeo!

Four goats are scheduled to arrive this week - two 4-H goats for Allison and 1 goat each for Natalie and Anna, just because their parents are suckers. Anna is the only one who has named hers - Goat Goat. (Update: Anna stuck with her name for her goat. Natalie went with Rocky for her goat's name and Allison chose Star and Slap for her goats. The goats managed to escape once in their first four hours. Hope today is less eventful.)

I can't remember if I mentioned last month but our black lab/shepherd mix puppy is coming this week. The girls absolutely could NOT decide on a name. Allison started campaigning early for her choice but Natalie wasn't thrilled about it and added her suggestion which Kurt and I kind of liked - I think it drove A nuts that her name wasn't the front runner. Little Miss Anna was not giving up her name either. So. . . Katie Zoey Puppy is coming home this week. We're likely to refer to her as K.Z. but I'm pretty sure Anna will stick with Puppy. (Side note: I think there are still 1-2 puppies from this litter looking for homes)

You're always welcome to stop by and check out the excitement at the farm, just give us a heads up to make sure someone will be around. I'd love to get to the point where we can give farm tours or have students come visit and learn more about how food can be raised.

As always, we could desperately use a rain - one of the constant concerns of living in an area that averages only about 20 inches of rain a year. While not as desperate as in 2006 (the year we moved to the farm), I think Kurt's about ready to do a rain dance. Should that occur, I'll see about selling tickets to make up for the loss in revenue 'cause the grass isn't growing! (Update: no dancing for Kurt. We got thirty-five hundredths in the gauge and the possibility of more is in the forecast).

Our beef quarters, halves and wholes are sold out for the spring. If you know you're interested in bulk beef for the fall, you might let me know so we can put you on "the list." It will help us plan better for this summer and fall. We want to carry over enough animals to meet demand but we don't want to winter too many. However, we do still have beef, pork and chicken by the cut.

We'd also like some feedback on summer sausage. We plan to have some made this fall for the holidays but we're not sure how much to order. Let me know if you'd be interested and we'll keep in touch. We're also looking at trying to put together some type of gift basket. Summer sausage, along with jerky and beef snack sticks, are products we'd be happy to ship since they don't have to be refrigerated.

There are just a few days left to take advantage of our April special: buy 1 cut up chicken and get a pack of pork chops to try - they are so juicy and tender. Not the pork chops I grew up on! In May, we'll run a poultry special. Buy 1 package of "chicken with a handle" (drumsticks) and get a dozen pastured eggs.

Fast forward a few days. . . .I've been under the weather a bit and never finished the newsletter.

Katie Zoey arrived and Allison is in love. They spend hours together this weekend. Anna tolerates K.Z. and Natalie prefers to observe the puppy from the 4-wheeler or the tree house. She has assured me that it's just going to take some time for her to get used to K.Z.

We are starting to take orders for our 2011 chickens. Chickens will be available on or around: June 2nd, 16th and 30th, July 14th, September 22nd, and October 6th. Reserve yours today.

Please check our price page for some changes in our beef prices, especially ground beef, steaks and the samplers and bundles that have these products in them. We are always striving to find a balance between offering a quality, affordable product, covering our increased expenses (most notably transportation) and staying profitable - a key piece of sustainability.

Please also be aware of changes in our delivery fees. Kurt and I spent several Monday morning meetings trying to find a viable solution. Again, we spent time trying to find balance. As a business, we need to make sure we cover our fuel expenses and wear and tear on our 11-year old, paid for suburban. We also want to make sure our delivery expenses are not prohibitive for food budgets. Here is what we came up with: For each order delivered, there will be a $.15/pound handling fee to pull the order and pack it. There will also be a small delivery fee. For distance less than 60 miles (i.e. Pratt, Dodge), it will be $5. Sixty to one hundred twenty miles (the Wichita area), it will be $10. Any place further than that will be $15.

Example: Someone in Wichita orders a 50# beef bundle. the handling fee is 50# x $.15# = $7.50 plus the $10 delivery fee for a total of $17.50. Questions, please let me know.

We're gearing up for the start of the Comanche County Farmers' Market and I'm making plans for making our booth more attractive and easier to peruse. I'm planning on putting together an album of our popular cuts so people can see how nice our cuts look. It's hard to see them through that butcher paper! I'm also planning to have homemade soap available. I better get busy!

I tried hard to find a roll on the floor funny story this month. I'm sure they've happened but nothing is jumping out at me. Instead, you'll have to be okay with some ho-hum family updates.

Kurt is already dreaming of football camp in June. he and the head coach are plotting and planning and drooling over a transfer student - he's 6'4" and 240 (and a sophomore). Apparently, these are desirable traits in football players.

The girls have spent so much time outside this spring! There are probably days that I let the TV stay on too long but they are happiest and seem to play the nicest when they are outside. Even though there are times they wish were just a little closer to town and friends, they seem to be able to make their own fun - often involving bubbles, squirt bottles or bicycles.

As Allison finishes out the 4th grade, her days have gotten pretty full. The next few weeks will find her spending some serious time with the puppy and her goats. I've been amazed at how confident she's been with all the animals on the farm - much braver than I was at 10, maybe even at 38!

Natalie is almost a 1st grader and starting to become a reader and writer. As I've watched Natalie this year, it always amazes me how different my kids are. Even though they value many of the same things, they most definitely have different talents and gifts. If only there were a book I could order off of Amazon that would give me a fool-proof way to encourage and challenge them each in meaningful ways.

Anna continues to walk the fine line between wanting to be a big kid (it's so hard when her sisters get to do something she's too little for) and wanting to be my baby girl - there are days I'm torn too! I'm finding one of Anna's gifts is taking things apart to see how it's made. Usually, she can put it back together. . . usually. Maybe she'll be mechanically minded like her grandpa and daddy.

The garden isn't coming together quite like I'd hoped - I've been thwarted by weather and busyness. However, I am looking forward to good help this summer.

I'm also working on improving my soapmaking techniques - one small batch at a time. I made my first unscented batch of soap using some of our lard and so far I'm very pleased with it - hope to try it out in a week or so. Still working on a name for it - Kurt likes "Lard Bar" but I'm not sure that's quite the name I'm looking for - any ideas?

One more question for you - any suggestions for some summer reading? I enjoy a variety of good fiction and books on homesteading, farming, etc. Allison is also looking for some good book ideas - she's loved the Harry Potter books and The 39 Clues series.

Hoping you get the April showers needed for May flowers,

Andi