Of pigs and pork

Warning:  Today's post is about butchering day on our farm, if this would upset you, do not read any further)

I have gone over wether or not to share this with you all and I have done my best to spare you but the truth is that we eat meat in our family.  We raise it and give it the very best life possible but many of our animals are not pets and we want to own the responsibility of where our food comes from.  From beginning to end.  After lots of thought, it feels wrong to share our farming experience without including the final phase for some of it.  If you choose not to read this blog then please come back another day to see what else we are up to :)

Saturday, during a very rainy day, friends came over to help us butcher our first pig.  Normally we send large animals to the butcher but I feel that knowing how to do it for oneself is part and parcel of raising ones own food and becoming self sufficient.

Our friends Nate and Charlei are smart.  They are way smarter than I was at their age and I am lucky to know them.  Fun times are to be had when we are all together and my children think they are cool.  Though they are in the middle of their own life changing project they took the time to come and share their knowledge of butchering with us.  Of course, fate would have it that the day we picked turned out to be quite a rainy day but even the rain could not hamper our resolve to get this job done.

There are some of our children who preferred not to participate and they kept busy with other activities but for the most part we all took part in butchering day.  As the rain fell, we worked under the cover of the barn roof with fans blowing and tunes playing, sharing some wonderful homebrewed Chocolate Porter, didn't I tell you my friends were cool?

We laughed and talked and many lessons were learned by my children which I am so grateful for.  Every hand available had a job and the little ones where so interested in the process much to my amazement since I thought they would not want to stick around.

It is no secret that some of our animals are raised as food.  Our children understand this fact since very little and it is just part of our life.  I definitely do not want my children to be disconnected from the reality of food and so far they have embraced our role as stewards of this farm and its inhabitants with pride and joy.

Of course it feels bad to take an animals life and it should.  We are grateful to our animals for feeding our bodies.  Charlei told us of a saying that native Americans would say.  It went something like:  Thank you for feeding our kind, when we die we will grow the grass to feed your kind.

Our friends also brought us a sweet surprise from their urban farm, Gnarly Farms (cool blog too) and it is as delicious as it is beautiful!  Have you ever seen raw honey that was this color?  It is almost red and has a slight tang to it...absolutely wonderful.

 It was a long day, starting in the afternoon, ending around 1 AM when we put the last packages of home raised pork in the freezer and said goodbye to our friends.  I was pretty exhausted on Sunday and everyone pretty much kept busy with quiet projects and lots of naps!  Tomorrow I will be rendering down the fat into lard.  Not going to lie...that is probably my favorite part of raising a pig.  Lard is something of magic to me and I will share the process with you.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

Our littlest secret

                        

I have been keeping a precious secret from here.  A secret that we have all been keeping in our hearts and in our prayers since the day we heard of it.  Our little secret though is getting bigger everyday and so it is time that I should share it.  I know what you are thinking but remember I just had a baby...well 9 months ago, I had a baby.  It is not that I am having a baby but one of my babies, well....

I case you are not a regular around here, way back in October of last year, our oldest daughter was married on this wonderful day.  On that day, she and her husband began a new adventure and now they are starting the biggest adventure of all.  In September, actually on the same day that I was due to have baby Matthew, she is also due to have a baby.  A new baby for our family and it is not coming from me but from one of ours.

Of course, you know what this means.  For me it means that somehow I am old enough to be a, well you know.  I tell myself that I have friends my age having their first or second babies and that I just had her very young.  I remind myself that I am still in the season of life of having babies also but still that word hangs over me.  Did my Grandmother want me to call her that?  It's pretty funny that Matthew and our grandchild will be exactly one year apart and I never would have imagined that a year ago but a new baby is coming and we couldn't be happier or more expectant.

I am working on baby knits for two babies now, one bigger and one teeny but both big in my heart.  It will be fun but I am sure very different.

And my beautiful baby Alexandra, for I truly feel as though just yesterday I was holding her in my arms and staring with amazement at her every move, she will be an amazing momma and I will be right there to help in any way that I can.  Just don't call me...well you know.


If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

Ripping and writing - a new knitting pattern

I haven't yarned along with Ginny for a long time but lately, I have been knitting and reading, every night and every quiet chance I get.  I think I have finally gotten into more of a normal routine with Matthew. Really all that means is that I have learned to live on very little sleep...very little.

I have been working on a new cardigan for Matthew.  After many many start overs and frogging episodes, I think I am done and working up the last version with not so expensive yarn.  After working it up it seems a bit girlier than I imagined, though I do love it so, but probably not for Matthew. We will see.

I have been reading another Joel Salatin book,  Folks, this ain't normal.  Seriously, as a farmer, I love everything Joel has ever written!  His books are the perfect mix of comedy and common plus not so common sense.  I read the chapter on what children used to get accomplished in comparison to what little they are "able" or allowed to do now to the kids and their ears were glued to my reading.  Great stuff, really!

Today, there is much to do in the garden.  We are turning beds over and getting all the watermelon and  sweet potatoes seedlings in the ground.  Lots of weeding to accomplish and herbs to process.  See you tomorrow!  I have a secret to share which is very exciting!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

These Days...My Weekly Journal

 For an explanation on each picture, scroll down to the bottom of this post.

This week we are so very grateful:

: :  Home raised, home made raw butter

: :  Cows that think they are pets

: :  Sisters that give baby brothers faux hawks during bath time

: :  knitting with sleepy babies

: :  children who love learning so much that they go the extra mile to give me lots and lots of information on their zoo reports including puppet shows and slide show presentations

: :  wild baby bunnies rescued helped and relocated so they don't eat our garden

: :  watching Christopher harvest his first potatoes and then finding him back at the potato patch every couple of hours digging for more

: :  homegrown food to feed and nurture our bodies

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

During the storm

 

Yesterday started very early for me...about 3 AM to be exact.  I awoke to the first outer bands of tropical storm Andrea.  I spent the next hours of darkness, pacing the house, checking on animals through windows and praying for the best.  As the rain pummeled our roof, the knot in my stomach grew.

I prayed and sat in bed reminding myself that all the animals were safe, and so were we.  As the sun began to rise I watched the storm radar online and put together a plan to get all the necessary farm chores done and most importantly milk Matilda, a job which must be done about the same time everyday.  There would be a about an hour lull where we might be able to get in and out before the thousand of thunder strikes expected would come ashore.  As luck would have it, right around 9 in the morning, we got our chance.  Exactly the time we usually milk Tillie and feed everyone.  We brought her in the barn into the milking stand sopping wet.  By the time we were done milking her, she had a full belly and a nice brushing.

The rest of the day was spent with all of us playing board games, lots of chess matches on our family's heirloom chess set, naps and of course some knitting.

Alexandra and Lewis came over for dinner and the weather subsided, leaving a calm quiet night for everyone to rest and recover from the storm.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)