September 1, 2011

Finally, there may be a break in the heat. While today and tomorrow are forecasted to be well over 100, this Labor Day weekend should be much cooler. Don't know how to handle highs in the 80's - Anna will probably get out her winter coat. Now, if it will just come in and rain for 2-3 days (or weeks)!

Yesterday was a difficult day on the farm. Kurt loaded out two truckloads of cows and sent them to the sale barn. While we still have about 50 cows (the best of the herd), 20-30 butcher beeves and this year's calves, it was hard to see over half our breeding livestock go to town. We know this was the right decision to preserve our feed supply for the winter and pastures for future grazing seasons but that didn't make it an easy decision. We continue to pray for soaking rains and trust in a God who is faithful.

On a lighter note, we are still planning on celebrating in October - hopefully, in the mud! Make sure you've marked your calendar for October 8th. We'll be hosting a Customer Appreciation Dinner here at the farm. Kurt and his brothers are breaking out the smoker again and this year we'll share a wide sampling of farm products. Watch in the next few weeks for a formal (ok, we don't really do formal here on the farm but you know what I mean) invitation with all the details.

We have a couple specials going through the end of September to clear out the freezer for the fall harvest.

*Buy 4 pounds of hot dogs and we'll give you a pound for free to share with a friend.

*Buy 4 whole chickens and get a pork roast for free. Sidenote: I was never a huge fan of pork roast growing up but these are amazing! Great as a centerpiece dish or shred it for BBQ pork.

Several of you have reserved your quarters, halves and whole beeves for this fall. I will be contacting you by the end of the month to confirm and keep you up-to-date. We still have a few quarters left. Holler if you're interested.

We are currently out of bacon (insert sad face), steak (sad face with tears) and only have a few roasts left. This should be remedied soon. I expect to have bacon (and a lot of sausage) in the freezer by the end of September. We're also excited to bring home two varieties of summer sausage - an all beef mild sausage and a beef/pork jalapeno cheddar sausage. We will have these in stock for the holiday season and will be able to ship them along with our beef sticks and jerky.

Steaks and roasts will be restocked by the end of October.

A couple other product updates:

*Our last date for chickens is October 6th. We will have fresh chickens at the Customer Appreciation Dinner if you want to pick up yours then. After the 8th, chicken will go up from $3.00/pound to $3.50/pound to cover our storage expenses.

*We will have a few turkeys available this weekend and next. If you'd like one, email me. Otherwise, I think we'll smoke several and enjoy them ourselves through the fall for lunches.

* Reserve your turkey for Thanksgiving as soon as you know you'd like one. We have limited numbers and would hate for you to miss out.

*For the planners out there, we will have hogs available around December. Let me know if you'd like to reserve a 1/2 or whole hog.

In about three weeks, we will be processing several Freedom Ranger chickens. We ordered these chicks a few months ago when our Cornish Crosses, our current meat bird breed, were struggling with the heat. We did our research and came across this breed. They are more vigorous (these guys forage ALL day long) and hardy (the extreme temps haven't affected them as much). We are considering changing breeds for next year but would like some customer feedback. If you'd like to try a Freedom Ranger, our compliments, and would be willing to provide honest feedback, let me know. Because we are not selling these birds, they do not need to be picked up on the farm.

Our puppy, K.Z., is struggling to learn appropriate behavior on the farm. You know, that rule where you can't eat the other animals running around in the yard with you. In the last 10 days, K.Z. has killed that many free-ranging turkeys. Currently, she is on a 15-foot leash with plenty of water and shade. She gets to play when we are in the yard which Allison does faithfully 2-3 times a day. See, K.Z. has really become Allison's puppy and A can't bear the thought of finding K.Z. a new, turkey-free, home. We will try this last attempt at remediation, at least until the turkeys can hold their own.

Since our last update, school has started here and that's a big deal.

Allison is now a 5th grader and is really coming into her own. This year, kids get to start band and guess what Allison chose to play? Clarinet! The same instrument her momma played all through high school and college and still pulls out and plays occasionally. Other important clarinetists in Allison's life: her Grandma Billie, my Aunt Gayle, her great-grandma, her Grandpa Bill, and Aunt Cynthia. Hmmmm . . . nature or nurture? It has to be a confidence builder to have your youngest sister dance and clap when you play the same note over and over and over. . . . this is the same little girl who tells me I look beautiful in every swimsuit I try on so she's not the most objective critic.

Natalie is loving 1st grade and can't decide which is more fun; riding the big bus with some of her friends (our route has grown from a suburban to a real bus) or playing at recess. Gymnastics started again and I saw Nat do several front-walkovers with a roly mat to help. How does she do that?! To someone as nonathletic as I am, it always amazes me to watch her strength and grace.

Anna started preschool a few weeks ago and we both survived! There are no babies at my house any more. Anna likes to be with her family (and we like having her around) and she can be uncomfortable in a new situation without her sisters there. Silly me for worrying. Miss DeAnn and Miss Christy, her teachers, are pros and Anna has had nothing but smiles when I pick her up.

Between farm work, football and picking up my slack, Kurt is burning the candle at both ends and sometimes even in the middle. I'm hoping with the cooler weather, he won't be quite so wiped out in the evenings. To relax, Kurt has been testing out his new smoker, a birthday present from the girls and me. He's been waffling between building one or buying one for awhile. We made the decision for him. He's come a long way from the first meal he ever smoked for me years ago. Kurt was so proud of that brisket he had smoked on a small silo smoker I gave him one Christmas. I tried soooo hard to enjoy it but all I could taste was smoke. I thought I might have been chewing on a charred piece of wood from the smoker!

And me? This month, I've mostly made sure everyone was clean, well-fed, clothed appropriately (no long sleeves yet, Anna) and showed up at the right place at the right time as well as getting a few deliveries together and out the door. No small feat and some days, I'm more successful than others. (My chuckle for the morning - I was reading this edition to Kurt and Anna piped in with "I've got small feet!" Oh my!)

Looking forward to fall, football and the state fair.