Spring Promise

written by

Drausin Wulsin

posted on

March 12, 2021

IMG_2209.jpg

This sun was stuck behind the ridge for a few days, until we released it with two large spud-bars.

And in so doing, we have begun to feel the change of seasons. With the advent of spring, comes growth of grass, our manna and yours. Migrating livestock follow soon thereafter, so we are preparing facilities to launch them and pastures to receive them.

The chicken brooder is complete enough to have received 500 chicks on Monday. Mike has several heating devices rigged up, so they may find refuge in 90 degree temperatures. They arrive through the Post Office, and we had to take one of our larger vehicles to pick them up. They grow quickly and will go out on grass in about 10 days. We have new chicken-tractors designed to handle 250 birds in each, which will be under final construction very soon. During the first week of May this batch will be sent to harvest, so we will have plenty of chicken for you then. We are currently out of chicken parts and have a few whole birds left. So, timing is about right. 






We are carving out of former dairy pastures an area of grass dedicated to broilers. It will be 1200 feet long by 100 feet wide. It will be long enough to reduce the number of turns with chicken-tractors, yet wide enough to accommodate them when necessary. The area also has to be wide enough for equipment to manoeuver when loading birds the night before harvest.

In like manner, we are reorienting fencing in the former dairy platform. Grazing dairy cows move in a pattern similar to a wagon wheel, with the milking parlor being at the center from and to which cows travel twice a day. This creates the need for gravel laneways with fences on both sides. Whereas beef cows move differently, in an arc, not travelling to the same central point every day. We are accordingly taking out fencing along one side of the laneways and installing gates in strategic locations, so beef cows can always move in a forward direction. This also calls for installing more watering points or activating long hoses that are heavy and difficult to move. 

The hog facility is also coming along. The hard part has been accomplished, which is measuring and installing all of the posts. Oak siding goes on next. Geotextile cloth is going down and will be covered in gravel to prevent rooting and wallowing in this constricted area. The hogs will be able to express that instinct out in the woods.
 



At long last, we are developing a CSA option for our meats. This is an option we encourage you to consider. It entails you and we making a business commitment to each other for three to six months, with payment up front and discount received. This will help us considerably with the  ever-present challenge of cash-flow. It is confronting at this time of year to absorb the reality of low spontaneous sales at farmers markets, while weekly costs march on. The relationship developed between customer and farmer through CSA's addresses that issue and helps considerably with planning and logistics. Chris has been very helpful at thinking through the logistics of this way of doing business. We will have more specifics for you in the next newsletter. 




Jacob's crew has recently been planting more black willows, silky dogwoods, arrow stems, and button bush along the shaved creek banks to stabilize them. They cut one-foot-long stakes from nearby live branches and gently pound them into the bank. The cuttings sprout roots and leaves within weeks. These species are particularly adaptable and responsive to this technique.




This is spaghetti and meatballs, sprinkled with parmesan cheese. I am always pleasantly surprised at how good the meatballs are. Susan sautees or roasts them before adding to spaghetti sauce. They are also great on their own. This meal was delicious. If interested in a very satisfying, old-fashion flavor, Roma Meatballs fill that bill perfectly. 




Just to keep your mouth watering, we recently made tacos, with Aztec Taco meat or they are also great with Beef Barbacoa. On the right is Mekong Pho and Mekong Meatballs from last night's delectable fare. Plus, those eggs; look how yellow the yolks are! These are all great foods that can be prepared in half an hour or less, for your convenience. 

May the promise of Spring bring sun from behind the ridge, grass into our lives, and connection between you and us evermore.

More from the blog

Sacred Place

It is a privilege to know a sacred place, as I feel I do. In some ways, it seems sacred places are supposed to be scarce and remote, like Stonehenge, Chartres Cathedral, the Taj Mahal, or abandoned Pueblo dwellings. Large landscapes, like the desert, ocean, or mountain ranges feel imbued with the divine. Alaska, the Amazon, and the Serengeti invite a sense of awe. One travels to such places, in pilgrimage. And sometimes such places reorganize the pilgrim's sense of order, inviting disorder or change, that can be both painful and uplifting.

Big Muddy

Here is the Lower Mississippi River, 45 feet below normal pool. Over Thanksgiving, Susan and I shoehorned ourselves onto a cruise ship to learn about the lower Mississippi and its bayou. We started in Memphis and ended up in New Orleans, with stops along the way to explore river towns. This river is the third longest on the planet, providing drainage to 40% of North America. It has historically deposited silt yearly in its floodplains, producing topsoil 120 feet deep, making these soils some of the richest in the world. Vast wetland forests grew beside its banks, of cypress, oaks, and sycamores, populated by a rich array of black bears, deer, bobcats, alligators, and aquatic life. This was the legendary bayou.

Streams & Souls

Streams and souls seem to share character. They are life-giving, they are coveted, they can be impeded, they can be channelized, they can be overwhelmed, they flood, they dry up, they flow downhill, they are a force of both change and constancy, they lie at the center of a community, they will not be denied, and because of this great complexity, they attract periodic resistance. So, it seems that streams may serve as a metaphor for the journey of the soul.