Flying J Farm Journal -
Vol 10 (11) Chicken Soup
appy
Started Friday, April 11, 2008 – Streaming to Friends in 15 countries
It's been a quiet week on the Flying J Farm, my home, on the edge of glacial flow that left rolling hills to the east and flat prairie to the west. We got .17” of rain last night and .25” for the week. Before this week we got .7” so since last report we’ve had nearly an inch of rain. It had started to dry so this was good for the pastures. Looking outside this morning, it’s still a bit cloudy but the daffodils that someone brought out (was it you Pam?) and helped plant down by the creek are showing a full yellow bloom. They are beautiful!
Jensen Blows it on the Creek
Last year when I had the four-
It turns out that the willows that remained on this side of the creek were pushing the water channel across to the other side, causing the erosion. So, this week, I went out to see what I could do. Pete suggested trying to get a tractor in there with a front loader. I thought of hiring a back hoe to dig it out. I looked it over and got a shovel to see if I could dig it out. As I started, it looked like an insurmountable task to do by hand. I dug for a while with the shovel and then got that big tool, can’t remember the name, the one with an axe on one side and a hoe on the other, you know the one that people used to use in building railroad tracks. Anyway, the first time I tried it, it bounced back at me a lot more than I would expect from willows, dirt, or rocks. I hit it again and it bounced back even higher. I got the shovel out to see what I was dealing with and it turned out to be a big tire. That gave me some hope even though it was buried deep. I shoveled some more and managed to get a chain under it and with help from Big Massey pulled the tire out. That left a big gapping hole. It was obvious that this is what was causing the creek to channel to the other side.
So, I dug and hoed, and dug and hoed, and dug and hoed until I could dig and hoe
no more. After a while, I managed to get a small tricked of the creek to flow my
way and that gave me some encouragement. I dug and hoed some more and got more of
the creek to flow. I dug it out deeper and got more to flow my way. Then I got the
skid loader and moved the tire around to the other side where I wanted to block the
water from flowing. I dropped the tire in just the right spot, a lucky toss of a
300-
Bridge
Another matter about the creek has been the need for a bridge across so we would
not need to drive or walk along the fence to get to the beautiful nature paths in
the little woods next to the horse pasture. On Saturday I had a wonderful group of
14 people come out to help including Ted and his brother and kids, Pete and Shirley,
two CSA families, (Keith and Jackie’s family) and Lizzy a volunteer student from
Denison. While the CSA folks help Elizabeth plant in the garden (thank you guys very
much), Ted and his crew worked to clean up brush and cut fire wood in the woods.
Pete, Shirley, Ted and I worked on setting the posts for the steel beams from the
bridge and go it up. Then Pete, Shirley and I went out to the woods and cut down
an 18 inch ash tree to make lumber for the bridge deck. We cut it into 4-
The plan is to build a covered walking and ATV bridge about 8 feet wide. The daffodils and other flowers will grace the side of the creek near the bridge and a shredded tire walkway lined with herbs will direct the eyes and the body to the bridge. I’m hoping it will make it impossible for anyone not to go for a walk on the trails through those beautiful woods where will be the stage and amphitheater and where I have been transplanting wild flowers from around the farm.
And then there were three
On Tuesday this week, Jen was here helping Elizabeth transplant in the garden (Thank you Jen) and while they did so the chickens were getting hot and “panting” so they let them out for the first time. At the same time, we were trying to teach Jewel not to chase the chickens. She has been fascinated by the chickens since we brought them home. She would move toward the chickens and if they ran she would give chase but come back when we scolded her. It all seemed good sport and the chickens did not seem stressed over it either. Well, the ladies became occupied with planting while the chickens and Jewel roamed. I was out spreading manure so I did not see it but I was told that Jen found a dead chicken in the yard and Jewel was looking guilty. Elizabeth came to me and said “what are we going to do about the dead chicken?” I did not want to be bothered and did not know what to do anyway so I said let’s just bury it. She went away for a minute and then came back saying, “It would a waste not to do something about the chicken”. So, I said, ok, we’ll do something. She went to the house to boil water and get the Joel Salitin book “Pastured Poultry” while I cut it’s head off and strung it up to drain the blood. There was no more blood.
Elizabeth read that the proper temperature for the water is 140 degrees so she measured
it with a thermometer and pronounced it ready. I carried it out to the Garden Barn
and dunked the dead bird, feathers and all into the hot water. She was reading the
book as I did this and said that I was supposed to raise and lower the chicken in
the hot water for one minute, so I did that. After about a minute, I layed the chicken
on a cooler and started to pull out the feathers. Surprisingly, they came out extremely
easily. We pulled them out until there were no more and then prepared a place to
dissect the bird in the Garden Barn sink. As Elizabeth read the book, I worked the
knife. First, you turn the chicken right-
Elizabeth then took the bird inside and put it in a pot on the stove and boiled it for about 24 hours. She then added some veggies to it and later strained the result to make chicken stock. I believe that she saved the rest as well to be used for something else. Looking forward to chicken soup here at the farm.
Price of oil up to $112
This week the price of a barrel of crude oil hit a new record, $112 and the average price for gasoline hit a new record $3.35 per gallon in the US. Diesel fuel is well over $4.00 per gallon. Truckers went through Washington DC basting horns in protest. Food riots hit Haiti this week and our Government is into giving away money to the folks who borrowed to buy houses they could not afford. Three more airlines bit the dust this week. When will our government stop building and repairing roads and start building railroads?
CSA This year
Our CSA is now full for this year. We look forward to a great season in the garden and hope to form a community with our members. Some have already come out to help, thank you.
In the Greenhouse
The greenhouse has a lot more room in it now as most of the cold weather plants are in the garden. Elizabeth has started various herbs and flowers as well as many warm weather plants. All are doing very well under her direction.
In the Chicken Coop
As I said we are now down to three chickens but they continue to produce eggs. It almost makes one feel guilty considering all that they give to you, expecting so little in return. The new chicks that I ordered will be delayed until around the first of May but we are getting ready to start them in the basement with sawdust from the sawmill. Our new procedure is to put Jewel in her cage when we let the chickens out.
In the Pasture
We are now up to 11 healthy calves this year. Yesterday, I was feeling stressed over not capturing the latest calves for castration and ear tags. I brought in a new bale of hay (that I bought from organic farmer, David Rouse) and in doing so, managed to get most of the calves into the barn and confined in a smaller pen. Then, one by one, a captured them by slowly moving toward one of them and grabbing it by the hind leg and wrestling it to the ground. They had all grown quite a lot and were a handful to wrestle to the ground but I got three bulls and one heifer from that exercise. I later saw the last bull calve sleeping in the pasture near his mother and sneaked up to it and dived on it and got him taken care of. So, I’m caught up there too.
In the Garden
This week we (Elizabeth, CSAers, Jen and Lizzy) transplanted a lot of stuff including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussell sprouts, kale, arugula, bibb lettuce, romaine lettuce, and more that I can’t think of here. They also planted the peas (snow, sugar snap, and shelling) and radishes. We also got out the irrigation equipment and set it to work.
In the Woods
We felled one tree for making the bridge. It was so bid that we may have enough for the chicken coup as well.
In the Field
I managed to get the Cow barn cleaned out and the manure spread on the corn field. As I did so, on each trip it seemed that the grass had grown taller and I started to worry that I would have to mow it before I could plow it. So, I hooked up the offset disk to Big Massey and tried to plow. I got through a part of the field but ran into areas that were still to wet, so I gave it up. I still have to clean the horse barn anyway.
Mushroom Hunt
The next event here at the farm is the mushroom hunt. I believe we will have it on Saturday afternoon, May 3. Plan on seeing the woods in there best look with wild flowers everywhere. Bring a dish made with mushrooms as one ingredient. Children are encouraged, pets are not.
Grass-
I am now out of ground beef again but the next cow goes in Sunday so we should have
it after that. Here are my prices for organic, grass-
Filet (tenderloin) $18.00
New York Strip $11.00
Porterhouse Steak $14.00
Ribeye Steak $12.00
T-
Top Loin (Club steak) $8.00
Sirloin Steak $8.00
Flank Steak $8.00 (Sold out for now)
Skirt Steak $8.00
Round Steak $6.00
Rump Roast $7.00
Chuck Roast $6.00
Stew Beef (boneless) $6.00 (sold out but you can use round steak)
Short ribs $5.00
Shank $4.50
Ground beef $4.50 (Sold out)
Patties $4.75 (Sold out)
Beef for boiling $3.00
Liver $4.00 (sold out for now)
Soup Bones $2.00
Heart, tail, kidneys $2.00
Other products of the farm
Flour (From which you can make powder milk biscuits that give shy persons the courage to get up and do what needs to be done). We are offering at whole wheat flour ($1.00 per pound), whole wheat bread flour ($1.25 per pound), and spelt flour ($1.50 per pound) milled while you wait.
Maple Syrup
We now have some great maple syrup. Pints are $8, Quarts, $15, and half-
Until next week:
May your life be crowded with unexpected joys. May the Lord smile at you today. Be with someone who will make you laugh a little this week.
Dick, NBF, not a slave to fashion, the clock, or technology, saying, If you care for the Creator, care for His creation.
The Flying J Farm Motto: “Restoring the land, the buildings, and the people.”
Flying J Farm Website: www.flyingjfarm.com
"Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food."
Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine
"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame and diet, and the causes of disease." Thomas Edison
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom.” Isaiah 28:29
Love doesn’t make the world go ‘round, Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.
From Gail in South Africa:
Mr. Common Sense
> >
> > Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common
Sense, who
> > has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was,
>
> since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He
> > will
be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
> > Knowing when to come
in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the
> > worm; Life isn't always fair;
and maybe it was my fault.
> >
> > Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies
(don't spend more
> > than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children,
are in
> > charge).
> >
> > His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-
> > overbearing r egulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-
> >
charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended
> > from school
for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for
> > reprimanding an unruly
student, only worsened his condition.
> >
> > Common Sense lost ground when parents
attacked teachers for doing the
> > job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining
their unruly
> > children.
> >
> > It declined even further when schools were required
to get parental
> > consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but
>
> could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to
> > have an
abortion.
> >
> > Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses;
>
> and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
> > Common Sense took
a beating when you
> > couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and
the burglar
> > could sue you for assault.
> >
> > Common Sense finally gave up the
will to live, after a woman failed to
> > realize that a steaming cup of coffee was
hot. She spilled a little in
> > her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
>
>
> > Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his
> > wife,
Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He
> > is survived
by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now,
> > Someone Else Is To Blame,
and I'm A Victim.
> >
> > Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he
was gone. If
> > you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and
do
> > nothing.'
Also from Gail:
Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died,
my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed
Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven,
God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these
words:
Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with
you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog
even though she got sick.
I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls
and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her. You will know that
she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith.
We put the letter in an envelope
with a picture of Abbey and Meredith, and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our
return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope
because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven.
That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at thepost office. A few days later,
she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.
Yesterday,
there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, "To Meredith"
...in an unfamiliar hand writing. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers
called, "When a Pet Dies". Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had
written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey
& Meredith and this note:
Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven.
Having the
picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.
Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her
spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog.
Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture
in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something
to remember Abbey by.
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for
helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked
her especially for you.
I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you
very much.
By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.
Love,
God