Category Archives: Farm

May 23, 2012 · 10:50

How’s Come The Shieling?

  When we bought our property  5 years ago we  wanted to name it something.  It kinda has that  “name me”  kind of feel to it.  If you can imagine all  the crazy names that got tossed around.  The best one was that our mother’s wanted us to name it Kenjo.  Short for both of their first names.   Of course.  They worked really hard for that one.  While we thought it was a lovely idea it,  we didn’t feel it quite fit the personality of the property.  We gave the canyon the honored name of Kenjo.  Kenjo Canyon.  It stuck and it is lovely.

My husband and I have a love for St. Francis of Assisi.  ( a lot of female bloggers refer to their spouse by “the” something.  The farmer, the husband, the man, etc.  Last time I looked my husband had  hot blood running through.  Not an “it” for sure.   To preserve his anonymity, yeah right,   I will call him Pops which is what his kids call him.  They are my kids too. )  St. Francis had a love for  nature and animals,  as do we.   We went around and around trying to come up with a name that had a connection to him but couldn’t  see  San Rufino or Fioretti or any of the other Italian references fitting in with our Southern Indiana landscape??  Not to mention that Pops is anything BUT Italian and I am Irish.  Not sure the natives in these parts could come to grips with that.  It takes much of what they have to get used to us suburbanites embarking on their territory.   Let alone us bringing our  elite language with us!  So we have a special Beech tree we use for a stop in our hike for prayer as did St. Francis.

So the battle began.  Pops wanted Double  G Bar Ranch.  OR is it the Double Bar G Ranch?   I don’t even know what that means!   OOOOKAY…….    I don’t think we  moved to Wyoming.. but maybe we did and I am still sleeping. 

I wanted the Shieling.  Pops wasn’t buying it.  At all.  Why?  My father grew up on a farm named the Shieling and my maiden name is enfolded in the word: Shieling.  My husband  wanted to be original which I totally ( well sorta) understood.  So, I needed to figure out how to  sell this.  I thought my dad’s family  made up the name.  After doing a little research I discovered  the “shieling”  had a definition and it fit our property to a T.   Women in Scottland and Ireland (I am Irish. )  grazed their flocks of sheep or goats in lower pastures.  (We have lower pastures.)  When the flocks and summer tired the pastures below, they ran the flocks to upper pastures. (We have upper pastures.)  The women would live in what is called a shieling up in the higher pasture while the flock grazed. (Our house is on the upper pasture.)  Thus The Shieling!

Not exactly what our house looks like, but an example of an original shieling.

I called Pops at work and he said, “YES!  Go for it!”  He is so kind and I am blessed to have a man who sees it my way occasionally , well,  probably way more than occasionally.   My brother’s family owns the original Shieling sign that my dad had growing up and he made a replica from that original for me to use here on the farm.  Isn’t is great when we can carry on even a small part of our family tradition?  I am so glad that he had the forethought to keep that sign among many other items important to our family’s heritage.  A relative of mine knowing I was starting a farm gave me a copper milk jug used by my dad to milk the cows when he was little.  I wouldn’t have known it existed if I hadn’t embarked on this journey.   Life is good.

Pops gets to brand his cattle with the Double G thing.  He is a happy man.

God bless,

Karen

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May 14, 2012 · 11:49

Let’s Turn to the Milk Makers

Lilly and Mo. Both pregnant does.

If you read my “About” you learned that I can’t tolerate cow milk.  (Also, you read  that I was not a swell English student.  Always, always, always remember that. )   Good thing we are not going to try to milk those Angus things in the down stairs pasture.  The fact is we started this whole venture so that I could somehow figure out how to eat ice cream.   Miss it like you wouldn’t believe.  Once I get the milk thing down, I will then need to figure out how to make it not using sugar either.  I WILL get it figured out.  My motto is and always has been: If there is a will there is a way.  Unless,  of course, God’s will comes along and shoots me off course. And I will gladly oblige.   Anyhoo… (my sister always says that)…Many people who cannot tolerate cow dairy do very well on goat dairy.  We will make our own butter, milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, etc.  ALL from these two tiny little goats.  We are going to give it a shot anyway.

So cute little Lilly and Mo have been pregnant in our estimation for about 8 months.  When the gestation for a goat is 150 days or 5 months.   They were supposed to have been bred before we got them .  So along they come and we looked forward to a January/February delivery.  Never happened.  We don’t even know what to look for.  I kinda heard that there is no real physical signs from the outside.  We just stare around at them.  Looking at their hind ends.  I think I expect to see something just spill out.

I dont see anything. Do you see anything?

The cute little does at this point are saying, “Just GO away.  And come back when you have some idea what you are doing.”

But really.  We REALLY think…I mean, I REALLY think they are pregnant now.  That udder bag thing that is hanging down between her hind legs was not there a few months ago.  And,  yes, we have a buck that could get the job done.    Meet Buster Brown..

JUST KIDDING!!!

There he is! Very young but very virile!

He is a stud, man.   He kinda reminds me of my youngest son when he was that age  just boppin’  along havin’ a good ol’ time minding his own business.

I am a little nervous about the day they decide to give birth.  And the fact that the girls don’t like me touching them AT ALL,  I am concerned about the milking process.   I go into the barn every morning half expecting to see a bloody gory mess.  So far, so good.

They are funny little creatures and we are enjoying getting to know them.

Have yerself a super day!

God bless,

Karen

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May 11, 2012 · 12:17

The Land of Wingin’ and Nod

BRING…….

…IT….

…ON!

Everything we do here is a first.   We spend our days wingin’ it.  The only thing for sure is the “nod” part when we lay our heads on our pillow at night dawg tired.

Until five years ago, I hated steak.  I could not figure out what the lure was as, to me, it tasted like watery bland tough something or other.  I don’t even have a word to describe it. The only reason I liked hamburgers is for all the yummies on top.  But I found myself at a local restaurant and, I dont know what induced me, but I ordered a rib eye.  I almost fell off my chair.   Really.  I did one of those total slump, face plants onto the bench seat next to me.   Knowing we were going to be coming to farming land in a few years, I wanted to investigate the wildly intoxicating flavor.  Local farmer.  I was on the email trail the very next day.  He shared with me his “secret”.  He said,  “I don’t mind sharing my “secrets” because all of it is old knowledge that the beef industry has gotten away from as it grew into a commercial corporate enterprise.”  In a word, (or two)– Old Tradition.  

Why beef? Now? When we are supposed to be cutting down or out red meat?  Red meat raised correctly, which means naturally without steroids, antibiotics, or hormones, is very healthy for us.  Raised outside of feedlots without pesticide and herbicide laden feed.  In nonindustrialized  societies, red meat is the  2nd preferred source of  animal protein (chicken being the 1st).  These societies rarely suffer from cancer or heart disease.

Red meat is an excellent source of minerals,  Vitamin B12, important for nervous system and blood, and carnitine which is necessary for a healthy heart. Huh?  Beef fat also has a cholesterol-lowering effect.  Beef and lamb fat contain fat soluble vitamins which allow us  to utilize minerals in our foods.   THE FAT IS GOOD FOR US!!  Yeah!  I  personally love it and will never have a butcher trim the fat.  It flavors the meat!  And it protects each and every cell in my body.  Bonus!

Why are we willing to accept this noise about red meat being bad for us from the very SAME  people who condone feedlots, pesticides, herbicides, steroids, hormones, antibiotics.  Doesn’t that sound nuts?  WHAT??   I am SOO thankful that we are in a time where real effort is being put forth in this “green” movement to right our wrongs where our food is concerned.  Aren’t you?

Get yerself a real steak and see if you don’t start sliding down the vinyl into cow heaven.

Sally Fallon, writer of Nourishing Traditions, and many other related books, is a hero leader in awakening this culture about traditional nourishment.  I will quote her many times over because she knows her stuff.  She says, ” We have almost forgotten that our natural state is one of balance, wholeness and vitality.”  Oh my goodness.  We have.  We have forgotten.  God made us good and healthy.   When I eat the way He designed me to eat, I am good and healthy.  When I eat the way we designed, I am not good and healthy. Simple.  It only took me 45 years to figure that out.  It is a miracle to feel this good after so many years of suffering.

So, back to the beef.  Where is the beef?  It is in my backyard.  Right where T-Bone and Ribeye belong.   If I can’t  have it in my backyard, I am going to look for it in some other thoughtful person’s backyard.

They are stunning creatures, aren’t they?

Thanks for tuning in.  Again, I welcome you!

God Bless,

Karen

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