It’s been a hectic, but very good day so far. If I’m honest, it didn’t start out tremendously well. Upon being woke up by Frank the puppy’s insistent cries that he needed to go outside, I scooped him out of the crate and took him right out the front door, only to realize too late that he was coated in poo. Oh goody! Explosive Dog Diarrhea! His crate had to be cleaned, he had to be bathed, and I had to clean myself up, which took up a considerable part of my morning. We started him on a deworming medication today, and so we are hoping to get his gut cleared up and happy again soon. Poor little guy.
Once I had the puppy squared away, and I quickly got ready myself, we packed up 30 dozen eggs and headed out to our local food co-op’s monthly delivery. There, we met the lovely Melody Nye, of Melo Farms, who delivered a 50 lb. freezer pack of the grass-pastured, humanely raised Berkshire pork to us, and introduced herself to the other members of our co-op, who also were able to purchase some extras she brought. I can’t wait for dinner tonight, I’ve been drooling over the stuff all day so far! We are really happy to know other farmers who want to revolt against the industrial system and raise truly nourishing foods for themselves and others.
The Berkshire pig is a heritage breed, meaning it is an old breed that has not been “meddled with” to make it more conducive to feedlot life. They are large black hogs that originated in England, and are known as that country’s oldest pig breed. Very active and hardy foragers, their meat is quite popular in Japan, where it is marketed as “Black Pork” and sold for a premium. Berkshire meat is prized for being juicy, flavorful, and tender. I can’t wait to try out the chops I’ve got defrosting for dinner tonight!
We stopped at Tractor Supply on the way back home to pick up the pup’s deworming meds, and discovered that the ducklings they had in stock for Chick Days are Indian Runners. This is one of the breeds I also wanted to get in addition to the Khaki Campbells we already ordered, but I couldn’t coordinate the shipping dates to have them arrive together. So, it should come as no shock, there are now eight Indian Runner ducklings in residence here, courtesy of some generous folks who contributed toward our farming efforts. Thank you! 🙂 I’ll take some photos of those little cuties and post them up later.
All of the extra activity this morning meant that the coop and barn didn’t get opened up until almost 11:00, so there are some animals anxious for more attention. Our five pregnant goat does have all dropped some impressive looking udders, and I’m adding that to the list of photos to take and post soon, too. Yesterday, Heidi got tired of me taking photos, though, and tugged on my shirt to let me know just that. After that, she leaned into me and asked to be petted, a request which I naturally fulfilled without hesitation. 🙂
This weekend, we need to get over to the farm where we get hay and straw for the goats, start some of our seeds here indoors, and figure out what we are going to do in terms of coop construction for our second flock shelter. Of course, after this morning’s early start, what I really want to do is snuggle up and nap! But there’s much to do, and the day flies by so quickly.
Here’s hoping you all have a fantastic weekend! 🙂
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