I am finally back in the land of the internet. I have spent the last 11 weeks on maternity leave and in the land of evil dial-up connection. Dial-up is so medival! It already took forever to use dial-up, but now with all the fancy "flash" websites, it's damn near impossible to get anything done! Alas, salvation is nigh! I am at work and on a cable connection. Whoohoo!
So, what has happened in the last 3 months you say? Well, first of all, I had a baby. She's a good little baby and we're pretty happy with her. She likes to eat and sleep (as I am told is the norm for babies). She also likes to go for walks in her stroller and in her baby pack ("infant carrier" is the official term).
Baby and me have been doing chores together for a few weeks now. The baby is much more happy with the whole "chores" idea now that she can see better. Before, she would cry because she didn't like being ignored while I milked the goats and she couldn't see well enough to be entertained one bit. But now, I can point her stroller towards the chickens and she is happily occupied by staring at their pretty colors and irratic movements. She also likes it when the goats peer over the top of the gate at her. She's a very alert baby and really likes looking around at everything that is going on.
I started work this week. It's back to the mouse production facility for me. In a way it is like I have been gone forever, and in a way it is like I never left. The baby is going to daycare. She seems to like it so far, except she won't take a nap there. She stays awake from the moment I drop her off until the moment I pick her up. I think there is so much to see and get used to that she just can't let herself go to sleep for fear she might miss something. Luckily she can be totally exhausted and not be very grumpy.
I like having a baby (I hesitate to say that I am a "parent" or "mom" because I still haven't gotten used to those titles). I was worried when I was pregnant that I was too selfish with my "me" time and that I would have a hard time with the baby because I wouldn't have any more "me" time. It's funny, I don't have that problem at all. That isn't to say that I have any "me" time, because I surely don't, but the thing is that I don't care. I now see everything I do as something that the baby might want to do with me. I have a hard time doing something by myself because I think that she would like to be with me and would enjoy all my activities. It's a funny thing.
Well, back to the grind. I should be reporting more often, so stay tuned!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
New Farm Help
My new farm help arrived after 37 weeks. She's only 5 lbs, 14 oz and 20" long right now, so it will be a while before she pulls her own in the goat barn. For now I will start her on the slow program for getting ready to do chores.
Friday, May 21, 2010
More Goats
Sometimes I know better but can't help myself. This week I got a goat back that I had sold in the fall. She was a good goat from a great breeding and I am not sure why I sold her in the first place. When I found out she was going to be sold, I jumped on the chance to have her back. Now I have Cookie, a Nubian. She is a year old and from my Nubian doe. I put her in with the baby boys to live for now because I figured she would a) want company, b) not get beat up by the little boys, and c) not beat up the little boys. So far they are all getting along. Welcome back Cookie!
Here's my dog, Billy. I couldn't resist posting this cute picture!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Farm Updates
I can't think of much to write about so I will just write about what is going on around the farm this week.
The two baby boy goats are growing like weeds! They are 5 weeks old now and doing really well. Both are eating lots of grain and hay, while still loving their 2 bottles of milk a day. On Saturday I cut a hole in their pen in the barn to make a door to the outside. On the outside of the barn I used my two old chicken pen panels that I had made 4 years ago to make a small kid goat pen. Now the boys can go in and out as they wish. The outdoor pen is only 8' X 8' but it's enough for them to get some fresh air. This outside pen should come in handy, no matter what animals use it.
The adult goats are doing well. I cleaned the barn on Sunday to get ready for Pepper Ann (the Nubian) to kid. She is due on the 15th. She will be the last goat to kid for the year. I am kind of enjoying having the kiddings spaced out by two months this year. It gives me enough time to truly enjoy the first set of kids, before the next set comes. Last year I had three kiddings in the same weekend and that was a little intense. I am not sure how I will space it next year. I will have to wait and see what breeding season brings and how I feel.
Pepper Ann will most likely go to a foster home for the summer. A friend of mine is interested in getting into milking goats. She has some Nigerian Dwarf goats lined up to buy this summer but none of them will be in milk. I offered Pepper to her for the summer since Pepper will be in milk, is a good goat to hand milk, and her absence will help me out with my busy summer. My friend has the option to purchase Pepper if she decides she wants to keep her. Pepper is a great goat and I wouldn't let her go to just anyone, but I feel confident that my friend would be a great home for her.
Speaking of Pepper, I am getting her daughter from last year back. I sold her to a neighbor and now he can't keep her. I am excited to have the opportunity to get her back because I have been kicking myself for selling both her and her sister. She comes from a great breeding of Pepper and a buck from an unrelated line. The buck was gorgeous and was a show Nubian, so I am not sure why exactly I sold both does and didn't keep one for myself. Another plus to getting this doe back is that she is a tricolor - black, white, caramel - and that will satisfy my new found hunger for a black goat in the herd.
This weekend I was visited by the "Loon Lake Chicken Caper" and now have 1/4 less hens than I did. Something spent most of Saturday night hauling off hens, one by one. It was my fault because I blanked on the fact that the chickens were loose and didn't put them away for the night. I can only assume that the caper came in the evening before all of the chickens had gone in for the night. I have 6 Polish chickens (which are mostly blind from their crested hats on their heads) and not a single one of them went missing. They usually go in very early for the night, so they must have gone in the barn before the caper came. Oh well... I am happy that most of my other hens are alive. Now I have room in the chicken house to do a hatch of eggs that I have been waiting to do.
Other than that, not much is going on around the farm. The blackflies hatched this weekend so I won't be spending near as much time outside doing farm projects.
The two baby boy goats are growing like weeds! They are 5 weeks old now and doing really well. Both are eating lots of grain and hay, while still loving their 2 bottles of milk a day. On Saturday I cut a hole in their pen in the barn to make a door to the outside. On the outside of the barn I used my two old chicken pen panels that I had made 4 years ago to make a small kid goat pen. Now the boys can go in and out as they wish. The outdoor pen is only 8' X 8' but it's enough for them to get some fresh air. This outside pen should come in handy, no matter what animals use it.
The adult goats are doing well. I cleaned the barn on Sunday to get ready for Pepper Ann (the Nubian) to kid. She is due on the 15th. She will be the last goat to kid for the year. I am kind of enjoying having the kiddings spaced out by two months this year. It gives me enough time to truly enjoy the first set of kids, before the next set comes. Last year I had three kiddings in the same weekend and that was a little intense. I am not sure how I will space it next year. I will have to wait and see what breeding season brings and how I feel.
Pepper Ann will most likely go to a foster home for the summer. A friend of mine is interested in getting into milking goats. She has some Nigerian Dwarf goats lined up to buy this summer but none of them will be in milk. I offered Pepper to her for the summer since Pepper will be in milk, is a good goat to hand milk, and her absence will help me out with my busy summer. My friend has the option to purchase Pepper if she decides she wants to keep her. Pepper is a great goat and I wouldn't let her go to just anyone, but I feel confident that my friend would be a great home for her.
Speaking of Pepper, I am getting her daughter from last year back. I sold her to a neighbor and now he can't keep her. I am excited to have the opportunity to get her back because I have been kicking myself for selling both her and her sister. She comes from a great breeding of Pepper and a buck from an unrelated line. The buck was gorgeous and was a show Nubian, so I am not sure why exactly I sold both does and didn't keep one for myself. Another plus to getting this doe back is that she is a tricolor - black, white, caramel - and that will satisfy my new found hunger for a black goat in the herd.
This weekend I was visited by the "Loon Lake Chicken Caper" and now have 1/4 less hens than I did. Something spent most of Saturday night hauling off hens, one by one. It was my fault because I blanked on the fact that the chickens were loose and didn't put them away for the night. I can only assume that the caper came in the evening before all of the chickens had gone in for the night. I have 6 Polish chickens (which are mostly blind from their crested hats on their heads) and not a single one of them went missing. They usually go in very early for the night, so they must have gone in the barn before the caper came. Oh well... I am happy that most of my other hens are alive. Now I have room in the chicken house to do a hatch of eggs that I have been waiting to do.
Other than that, not much is going on around the farm. The blackflies hatched this weekend so I won't be spending near as much time outside doing farm projects.
Friday, April 9, 2010
"Organic, Free-Range, Grass-Fed, All Natural, Baloney!"
I am here to clear up a few of the definitions of the terms you see floating around the supermarket nowadays.
1. All Natural -- This term is the loosest defined of all the terms you can find today. It means nothing more than that this product might have originated from a plant, animal, or mineral. Anything can be labeled "all natural". High fructose corn syrup is technically "all natural" because it somewhere along the conveyor belt met a kernel of corn. Even though HFCS is a chemically altered and broken down semblance of it's former corn-based self, it can be labeled "all natural" because it originated from something that once grew out of the ground.
2. Grass Fed -- Here's a shining example of advertising bait-and-switch. This term means that at some point in its life, a meat animal was given the chance to eat some form of grass. This form can be actual grass in a pasture, or dried hay from a field, or haylage (a fermented hay product). The time limit as to when the animal is given the chance to meet grass is not defined. The animal could have been on grassy pasture all its life, or it could have been on grass for the first 2 months of its life (which by the way, doesn't mean it ate any of that grass seeing as most meat animals are not capable of fully digesting grass until they are 3 months old at the least). Also, the way in which the animal was exposed to the grass is not defined. The animal might have lived its life roaming the free range to eat grass as it felt necessary, or the animal might have lived its life in a 5'X8' stall with no fresh air, no sunlight, and wallowing it its own filth, only to meet it "grass fed" requirement in the form of a haylage mush that was thrown on the floor in front of it once a week. Or it lived in a feedlot at a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) with 10,000 other meat animals crammed into a muddy, fly-infested dry lot with its only exposure to grass when for the last two weeks of its life it was handed a flake or two of moldy hay a day that it didn't recognize and refused to eat. "Grass Fed" is not a statement on the well-being of the animal.
3. Pastured-Raised -- Again, another extremely loosely defined term with no specifications and no time limit. This can mean either the animal was on pasture all its life, or that it had access to pasture all its life, or that it had access to pasture for 3 days of its life. Some animals are raised out in the open with a shed to get out of the elements. These animals are free to roam around the pasture and eat what they feel like, as they choose. Some animals are raised primarily in barns but let out to pasture on occasion when the weather permits. Some animals are raised solely in barns with no windows or sunlight and are "pasture-raised" because a little door to a 5'X4' outside enclosure is opened for the last 2 weeks of their lives. They usually never venture outside because they don't know what the door is for and they are afraid to use it. Again, this term is not a statement on the animal's well-being or quality of life.
4. Cage Free -- This one always makes me laugh. "Cage free" is definitely not a statement on quality of life. It means that instead of being raised all its life in a 3'X3' cage with 6 other animals, this animal was raised in a 300'X300' warehouse with 60,000 other animals! There's still no access to fresh air, sunlight, grass, clean conditions. There's still no less antibiotics, medications, or hormones being used on these animals. There's still no lack of crowded conditions. It just simply means that these animals weren't raised in a cage.
5. Organic -- Ahh, the only term with any sort of weight behind it. This term is regulated by the FDA and USDA. It means that no artificial chemicals, medicines, hormones, or toxins where used on the plants and animals that are labeled "organic". The plants where grown using natural fertilizers and organic pesticides. The animals where raised using organic feed and no chemicals. Unfortunately, this term is also not a statement on the quality of life for the animals. An "organic" meat animal can still be raised in a CAFO, can still be treated poorly, and can still be allowed to wallow in their own feces --- just as long as they are fed organic grain, they are still "organic". "Organic" vegetables are grown in large monocultures, just like their conventional counter-parts. There's not a huge difference in terms of ecosystem impact between WalMart brand regular lettuce and Whole Foods brand organic lettuce. Also, organic food is still shipped the same distances as conventional food, sometimes even further due to the lack of organic farms. You aren't exactly saving the planet by buying organic.
My recommendation for anyone that wants to spend their money on meat, eggs, milk, and plants that are actually "all natural, grass fed, pasture-raised, cage free" and beneficial to the environment, they should find a local farmer, create a relationship with them, and meet what they are eating. Meet your meat! See where it lives, find out its name, see what it eats. Maybe even volunteer to feed it and care for it for a few days while the farmer is away. Or, even better -- get your own farm! Raise your own meat cows, milk your own goats, make cheese, garden! This way you can actually be fully assured about the quality of life of your food.
Get involved with your food!!!
1. All Natural -- This term is the loosest defined of all the terms you can find today. It means nothing more than that this product might have originated from a plant, animal, or mineral. Anything can be labeled "all natural". High fructose corn syrup is technically "all natural" because it somewhere along the conveyor belt met a kernel of corn. Even though HFCS is a chemically altered and broken down semblance of it's former corn-based self, it can be labeled "all natural" because it originated from something that once grew out of the ground.
2. Grass Fed -- Here's a shining example of advertising bait-and-switch. This term means that at some point in its life, a meat animal was given the chance to eat some form of grass. This form can be actual grass in a pasture, or dried hay from a field, or haylage (a fermented hay product). The time limit as to when the animal is given the chance to meet grass is not defined. The animal could have been on grassy pasture all its life, or it could have been on grass for the first 2 months of its life (which by the way, doesn't mean it ate any of that grass seeing as most meat animals are not capable of fully digesting grass until they are 3 months old at the least). Also, the way in which the animal was exposed to the grass is not defined. The animal might have lived its life roaming the free range to eat grass as it felt necessary, or the animal might have lived its life in a 5'X8' stall with no fresh air, no sunlight, and wallowing it its own filth, only to meet it "grass fed" requirement in the form of a haylage mush that was thrown on the floor in front of it once a week. Or it lived in a feedlot at a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) with 10,000 other meat animals crammed into a muddy, fly-infested dry lot with its only exposure to grass when for the last two weeks of its life it was handed a flake or two of moldy hay a day that it didn't recognize and refused to eat. "Grass Fed" is not a statement on the well-being of the animal.
3. Pastured-Raised -- Again, another extremely loosely defined term with no specifications and no time limit. This can mean either the animal was on pasture all its life, or that it had access to pasture all its life, or that it had access to pasture for 3 days of its life. Some animals are raised out in the open with a shed to get out of the elements. These animals are free to roam around the pasture and eat what they feel like, as they choose. Some animals are raised primarily in barns but let out to pasture on occasion when the weather permits. Some animals are raised solely in barns with no windows or sunlight and are "pasture-raised" because a little door to a 5'X4' outside enclosure is opened for the last 2 weeks of their lives. They usually never venture outside because they don't know what the door is for and they are afraid to use it. Again, this term is not a statement on the animal's well-being or quality of life.
4. Cage Free -- This one always makes me laugh. "Cage free" is definitely not a statement on quality of life. It means that instead of being raised all its life in a 3'X3' cage with 6 other animals, this animal was raised in a 300'X300' warehouse with 60,000 other animals! There's still no access to fresh air, sunlight, grass, clean conditions. There's still no less antibiotics, medications, or hormones being used on these animals. There's still no lack of crowded conditions. It just simply means that these animals weren't raised in a cage.
5. Organic -- Ahh, the only term with any sort of weight behind it. This term is regulated by the FDA and USDA. It means that no artificial chemicals, medicines, hormones, or toxins where used on the plants and animals that are labeled "organic". The plants where grown using natural fertilizers and organic pesticides. The animals where raised using organic feed and no chemicals. Unfortunately, this term is also not a statement on the quality of life for the animals. An "organic" meat animal can still be raised in a CAFO, can still be treated poorly, and can still be allowed to wallow in their own feces --- just as long as they are fed organic grain, they are still "organic". "Organic" vegetables are grown in large monocultures, just like their conventional counter-parts. There's not a huge difference in terms of ecosystem impact between WalMart brand regular lettuce and Whole Foods brand organic lettuce. Also, organic food is still shipped the same distances as conventional food, sometimes even further due to the lack of organic farms. You aren't exactly saving the planet by buying organic.
My recommendation for anyone that wants to spend their money on meat, eggs, milk, and plants that are actually "all natural, grass fed, pasture-raised, cage free" and beneficial to the environment, they should find a local farmer, create a relationship with them, and meet what they are eating. Meet your meat! See where it lives, find out its name, see what it eats. Maybe even volunteer to feed it and care for it for a few days while the farmer is away. Or, even better -- get your own farm! Raise your own meat cows, milk your own goats, make cheese, garden! This way you can actually be fully assured about the quality of life of your food.
Get involved with your food!!!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Contest Results!
The winning name of the baby goat is :
ARNI!
This name is thanks to my brother, Tom, via Facebook. It is also the name of my family's favorite pizza place in Indiana -- Arni's.
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