Here's to Risks

This evening Laura and I had a somber and somewhat soggy toast with dinner. "Here's to Risks". We were honoring little Risk-the-Runt who didn't beat the 50/50 odds the books gave him. We were also celebrating risk-taking. Not the kind of risk that invites danger. We don't think we caused the little guy acute suffering and we were not trying to be heroic. It just looked like he had a shot at living on even though he failed to thrive amongst his 6 siblings. We are glad we invested in him. Amazed at how quickly heart strings entangle. Heartened by the interest others took in the little guy. And rekindled in our appreciation for life and its fragility.

Scotch the kitten reminds us it is worthwhile to take risks and gain new perspective.

Thanks to the Turkeys

People warned us that turkeys are mean and unpleasant, but ours have been a joy. In fact, they are some of the lowest maintenance animals on our farm. They do love to eat, but mostly they wait patiently for their turn, though they do mob you for food some days. And they didn't even complain when their shelter was inundated with water the day we got 4 inches of rain in just a few hours. (Thanks to star visitors, we got that shelter moved in a flash.) Their happiness is quite evident when we move them to a new pasture. They gobble up the fresh grasses and make happy turkey noises.

We have enjoyed their displays and various chirps, barks and gobbles, but their time on our farm has come to an end. No turkeys will be pardoned, but we do take a moment to thank them for the joy and nutrition they will bring to many this holiday season.

Risk, the Runt

Risk seemed like an appropriate name for our littlest, runty piglet as we took him away from his six rambunctious siblings and Fife this morning. Risk is 1/3 the size of the others, if that, and now that Fife's other 6 piglets are scampering about, wrestling and chewing on each other, the runt was getting roughed up and abused. This morning, the humane choices were to euthanize the runt or see it we could nurse him.

We made the decision to pull him out, try bottle feeding him with some goat's milk and see if he could get a bit stronger. This is generally against our better judgment -- figuring they are better off with their kind and available milk 24/7. Which is what we had been deciding for the past few days. He was strong and tenacious enough to make it through some cold nights and negotiating 6 sibling piglets and a 500 pound Mama - maybe he'll make it.

"God, I can't believe we are doing this," Mari said several times today. We are bottle feeding a 5 day old piglet. At just 2 pounds, he is very precarious. I am glad to report he is taking the bottle, but only time will tell. And how we are to fit in 16 feedings a day, we are not so sure. Nor do we know how much a 2 lb piglet should be drinking. I am sure many farmers would think we are crazy and wasting our time. But clearly, we have a soft spot for the underdogs and decided to give him a chance.

Fife and Her Piglets Bring Joy

It is amazing how quickly the piglets grow. Don't get me wrong, they are still very small, but it is amazing that in less than 5 days we can really see a difference. They seem less fragile now, which lets us farmers sleep a little easier on a 20 degree night and they are very cute. Already, they are coming out of their shelter to dig around in the dirt, putting those noses to work at a young age. Fife is doing a great job in her new role as a mama pig and we have 6 strong piglets (4 boys & 2 girls) and 1 runt that seems tough, but she does worry us.

We have already been asked about names for the piglets -- yes, they need names. It is still 2009 so we need game names - do feel free to send your nominations. Hopefully we need a lot, because Madison, Fife's sister, is due next week. Words don't really due justice to the piglets, so I'll stop here and just add some images. (Check out the slide show to the right for additional photos!)

Mis en Place*

Fife, just 24 hours into motherhood, grunted to urge back the wandering piglet. Simultaneously she used her snout to toss some straw into the corner of her farrowing hut, where the pile of straw combined with heat lamps keep the squiggly bunch of eight piglets warm. We farmers worry if it is warm enough but otherwise are thrilled. We’ll sleep well tonight with all this in place. Fife seems to be doing a great job figuring it all out. Without immunity and with the 2 to 500 pound ratio not in the piglets' favor uncertainty lingers. And we are sobered since the ninth piglet didn’t make it. Luckily the compost pile reached the optimal 140 degrees F earlier in the week, the temperature required to ensure a clean outcome. So the ninth piglet too is covered and warm, in its place.

As November advances winter readiness projects proceed at a snappy pace. Mark has used patience, 2x4s, trigonometry and scrap wood to finesse snug sides for the second hut. Collin, Forrest and Mari assembled 100 cedar posts and associated lumber to install a new fence around the winter loafing areas. Laura and Liva sorted and topped copious crates of lovely carrots and turnips. These will be stored with other delicious storage veggies in Kati’s root cellar.

Our friend MJ introduced us to the concept of Mis en place. MJ, taking some days off from her work at the Food Network to prepare for Greek exams (she does Classics on the side), generously coached us on our home catering exploits and cooked turnip champ. We learned a ton and ate well.

Mising en placing seems endless to Mari and Laura! It seems inevitable that snow and cold will seize in place some tools and plants that haven’t gotten prioritized on our mega-spreadsheet of projects! Soon after that we’ll be able to see less and less that is out of place, if we are lucky enough to get a blanket of snow anything like the last two winters! Snow or no snow we know we’ve landed in a wonderful place for us right now. It is because of all of you and your tomato pies, blog feedback, hands-on-help and overall encouragement. Thanks.

*Mise en place (pronounced [miz ɑ̃ plas]) is a French phrase defined as "everything in place", as in set up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place

Marbles..goat or is he Tigger?

Marbles, our 5 week old kid goat, makes me think of Winnie the Pooh's friend Tigger so very often. I even get the Tigger song in my head, "They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy fun, fun, fun, fun, fun. But the most wonderful things about Tiggers, is I'm the only one."

Marbles bounces and jumps, on whatever is around. On his mother, Martha, on the wall, me, hay bales. He has a zest for life. Most of our animals have a great zest for life, but Marbles tops them at the moment. You can't help but laugh as you watch him. He even has a habit of hurdling over Martha when they are outside. I think just because he can. Why not? It is good to embrace what we can do when we can do it, right? I don't think he'll be able to bounce that high forever. But if he can, we'll think about a circus act.

Snow...on Oct 13th?!

Now, we love snow...just not in early or even mid-October. The forecast said it was coming, but it was still a shock to awake to 3 inches of snow on the ground and it still coming down. Makes a farmer think they are way behind, then you remember that it is only early October. We should have some warm fall days for growing and getting ready for winter.

Fortunately, for most of our fall crops the snow is much easier to handle than hail. And the animals have gotten over it...for the most part. Pigs don't mind, but the chickens had a very quiet morning, trying to avoid stepping in the snow at all costs. The rest of us are looking forward to some sunny fall days and THEN a very snowy winter.