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Tonight finds me doing chores again, prepping a Sunday School lesson, and maybe going on a date with hubby! I burned the midnight oil getting a grant application submitted. WSU Kitsap Extension is working to find money to do some research on raising chickens on pasture. Before I leave I think β ooohh. This morning went something like this:. If we were milking a cow we would go to the fridge, open the milk jar and scoop off a dollop of the heavy cream of the top. Milking goes smoothly, give the extra milk to the happy hogs this morning as the fridge is full of milk and a gallon! In the past, if one was out or something was wrong the other cow would usually bawl and fret so I was concerned that we had a breach of security or similar. Prepare for some slow downs on Saturday mornings by leaving a bit early! It came off last night when I was mowing the lawn to feed clippings to the cows. Fed the pigs, watered the chickens and removed the feeders from the broiler pens. I need to go to town today but I am not ready so I will have to make another trip! Time to go grocery shopping as we are out of frozen veggies from last year and the garden is late this year. Grab some nice fresh Greek-style yogurt topped with strawberry jam for breakfast. There are also a plethora of blogs out there chronicling life on the farm β if you look off to the right side of the page you can see our blogroll and check out what we read! Far be it from me to suggest that Mr. The kids will eat it for breakfast tomorrow β if it lasts that long. Bread, eggs, half-and-half, sugar, cinnamon. Need to bring up more jam from the downstairs canning pantry now! It is a favorite of mine because the 6th graders come up to the high school and participate in a mass band. TV in BC was grim back in the day.{/INSERTKEYS}{/PARAGRAPH} So thick it folds into leathery pleats as the spoon skims the top, this cream is the food of the gods. Wake up the kiddos. Kids out the door. Dad would head out to check the cattle and we would all pile in the truck with plastic buckets and pruning shears. Mow the lawn and feed clippings to the cows. Farm life is busy, eventful, interesting and always entertaining. On hot days they drink A LOT! They have a small pasture but it never has enough grass to keep them happy. Our novice, Beth, will catch on quickly enough and it will be done in no time. They are beautiful birds with soft, tawny feathers and distinctive feathering around the eyes. It is nice having a teenager driving at times like this! Tweet This Post. Then, run errands in town, get a few more bulb onions to finish the row, run to the church to photocopy something for tomorrow. Have to stop and get propane. It was hot and murderously scratchy work β and our nightly reward was a bowl of berries with a bit of sugar. Italian meat gravy with a couple leftover pork chops, some bacon lacking pancetta , a bunch of hot Italian sausage and the left-over pesto from dinner the other night. We would chop our way into the thicket of brambles along the pasture and pick for an hour or so. Before we start the Farm Diary a bit of explanation about tomorrow. Looks like we also need propane to run the scalder. Start getting things ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow is the end of year concert. We have a small farm with chickens, hogs and a couple of cows. Seven weeks from hatch to fry pan. I am sure it will be fine as experienced helpers Donna and Cindy are coming to help Shannon and I. One day I could hear the cows bawling and wondered what was the matter. Take the sad, collapsed loaves of bread from the other day and cut them up and make bread pudding. I have decided to give it a shot as well because then when people ask I can just sent them to Farm to Fork! They train at the local lake and bike on Holly Road most weekends beginning now. Spaghetti or polenta with meat gravy. Quick story here β we always give grass clippings to the cattle. Seems a silly thing to feed and milk a cow twice daily for two tablespoons of heavy cream on a bowl of blackberries a couple times a year but you do what you have to do! Salatin may be making as much on his books as he does on his farm, but chicken tractors make it easy to raise chickens. So much for doubling up to save gas! He seems to think that fence posts are for scratching on so rather than staying inside the electric fence he requires something a bit sturdier. Fill waterers for the chickens and move the tractors. Ours are smaller than his β 4x8x2 feet tall with a hinged cover on one end. He is president of the Kitsap Poultry Growers Cooperativ e and they raise turkeys and broiler chickens and sell eggs at the Poulsbo Farmers Market. Investigate a bit and find a sort spot on the end of one teat. Tuesday is P-day for the chickens β as in processing day! {PARAGRAPH}{INSERTKEYS}There are many reasons that I own a Jersey milk cow, and this right here is one of them. Yes, the tank probably needs to be replaced but please fill it anyhow. I needed to take care of the bread about nowβ¦. Farm and Ranch Living Magazine invites a farm family to keep a diary every month so you can get a taste of farm life through their experiences. We can use the help, she knows what she is doing and she will bring her knives! Visit with Alice and Lori about raising chickens, the price of feed, protein content of broiler feed, chicken tractors, butchering chickens, 4-H projects, and trying to share the road with the Kitsap Tri-Babes during the summer! Kiddo 3 has an early dental appointment this morning so I need to be up early and get chores done. They typically house about 40 three-week old chicks or 15 mature broilers, have a hanging feeder and water and are moved daily. Cindy comes for hay, visit for a minute, she offers to come and help butcher chickens on Tuesday! Reassured to hear our resident barn owl hooting in the trees I get back to chores. Think a gallon will be enough? Leftover pesto chicken and pasta with green salad and deflated bread. I guess I would kick a bit too! Alexis the Princess Cow is in heat again. We probably will anyhow! Hubby is already outside fixing the pull cord on the mower. Arnold had started on breakfast but went out to load hay so I finished making it. We got to the final round last year β perhaps we will make it all the way this year so think happy chicken thoughts. I had to laugh. Clean up β send crew off with another hay delivery and kiddos off to band practice. Head into the barn and have a surprise β there is a dead barn owl on the floor. Gather up a couple of hoses, set up the tables and locate extra 5 gallon buckets for the inedible bits. Memo to self β pick rocks more carefully! If they are full of feed while we are processing them it increases the chance of contaminating the carcasses. As a kid we picked gallons of blackberries. Mom made jam and froze the whole berries for winter. Mow for half an hour in the orchard and around the berries to make them happy. Stop at Home Depot and buy some tie-down straps. See you on Tuesday for a recap of the chicken processing and more of the Farm Diary! Sit down to blog about the day. The end of the school year is bittersweet as we wrap up activities and get ready for summer fun. Hay customer was here early, thinking that we started at rather than We are early risers but there is lots to do before opening the doors! I looked out and there was nothing the matter β they were just standing at the corner of the pasture looking expectant. Probably came in the load of hay that arrived last night but it is still sad. This is very good news! Who knew that such simple ingredients would yield such a yummy dish. Feed the chickens, stick my head inside and holler at the kiddos to wake up again. We want the birds to have a chance to digest all of the feed before morning.