Amazing & Awkward: VII

Amazing • We sold out of our Summer 2013 Pastured Pork Pig Shares in less than a week! We know we are offering a superior choice for family's who want to feed themselves healthy meat, but, wow! A week? That's exciting. We will begin taking orders for our Winter 2013 Pastured Pork Pig Shares sometime in July. If you'd like to be put on the waiting list, please eMail us at eathappy(at)olyfarmstead.org.

• Babies! It's the year of the girl! We have been taken over by sweet little lambs and kids (of the goat variety). So proud of both Turkish and Cleo too, who have been doing their part to protect the wee little ones.

• Savannah, one of our Tamworth sows, had a very easy and beautiful delivery of 14 piglets! She gave birth right in the field (we set up an l-shaped pallet structure for her to build her nest, but with no movement restrictions). It's a wonderful wonderful thing to watch an animal do exactly what 100s of years of instinct are telling them to do. We're proud that we continue to make strides in the field of pastured pork.

• Mahidabelle has finally! learned how to be a good milker. I honestly never thought it would come. From the WILD goat that I had to force on the milk stand to the now well behaved goat who jumps up on the milk stand and lets herself be milked with no questions asked. The whole process took about a month but boy was it worth it. Her milk is so rich and creamy...and the ice cream that comes from it. DIVINE.

Awkward

• The other day we were inside our home when Nick came around the corner and yelled out, "What?!" I was kneeling on the floor working on my latest sign looking at him like he was crazy. "I didn't say anything," I said. "Oh, I thought you were yelling for me," he said. "Nope," I said. But then I heard it. The chickens outside, squawking away. We both looked at each other, him sheepishly, and me indignant...apparently I sound like a very loud chicken to him.

• Gumball's piglets have taken over the farm. They have no respect for the hotwire fences and, because we have a VERY secure perimeter fence, we don't think much about it. This means that regardless of where you are on the farm you are more likely than not to stumble across a group of red piggies up to no good. They get especially bossy around feeding time. The other night our friends came over for a BBQ. We were just sitting around the campfire talking story when all of a sudden the red pigs emerged from the forest, like little zombies. Our friend said it best: Put it in slow mo, add some creepy music, and you have yourself the start of a horror movie. We like to keep our visitors guessing here at The Farmstead.

• Annie (Mahidabelle's wild baby) is still nursing. She's gigantic and should have been weaned months ago. She literally lifts her up when she nurses. I keep trying to separate them but Annie just sneaks back in to the other pasture with the milkers. It's as though a 16 year old is nursing...no judgment of course...And normally I don't mind sharing but let's be serious...this Mama-to-be needs ice cream :)