Building Buildings

Brandon has not been idle in the past weeks while I've been away for work.  He's been building.  With a work space for making art, and a need for painting storage in mind, he made an addition to the shed barn where we store most of the farm tools and hay.  Working alone, he's managed to nearly complete the "studio," which has a plywood floor, metal roof, and even a nice window, that was given to us by some good friends when it was left over from their home renovation.  Since he texted me the photo above, he's framed in the front wall, so all that's needed to keep the chickens and dogs out is a big door.  He has plans for chicken wire additions to the neighboring bay, which will allow us to store finished art works in the dry, without fear of farm animal contamination.    

When I would get home from work, it's always fun to see his progress.  In this photo, you can see how the new addition is attached to the old shed.  Some of our artist friends have such nice studios.  Immaculate spaces with display rooms and white walls, even.  Brandon assures me that the way he works, he would destroy those clean spaces, and that working at home with the doors thrown open, near his wood shop and barn suits him just fine.  He also has a nice studio at the university, that's temperature controlled, and has a giant skylight.  

Stormy skies over the new building.

Not only has the studio and painting storage project made significant progress, we are nearly pig capable!  Jamie and Brandon were able to sink wooden posts in our back field, to create a small pig pasture.  Most of the posts were harvested cedar trees from our friends farm, and a few have been re-purposed from places around our farm.  

The wooden gate that used to be on the old shed has been relocated to the pig fence.  It hasn't been hung yet, and the fence hasn't been stretched, but we're closing in on it!

To create a shelter for our future bacon pigs, four posts were sunk in the dirt, then framed in with two by threes, and the whole thing has been clad in sheets of old metal roofing.

The long metal pieces for the roof were purchased from Craiglist, but the siding was recycled from our shed.  We added it up, and this is an eighty dollar pig house.  Not bad!

I like the different colors on the old metal sheets.  It's seems rustic, and appropriate for a pig shed.  We located the shed along the back of the fence, as far from the garden and house as possible, and placed it so it gets shade in the evening from the adjacent tree line.  Our hope is that it will provide shelter from the sun and the rain for at least four pigs at a time.  We don't plan to keep pigs through the winter, so hopefully it won't matter if it's a bit drafty.   I hope they like it! 

Brandon's Birthday Turkey

Last Saturday was Brandon's fortieth birthday, and when Jamie arrived at the farm to help us get started with a celebration, he asked when we got a giant turkey.  We have a turkey?! 

We do!  Sure enough, when we went outside to make sure Jamie could tell the difference between a chicken and turkey, we found this guy strutting his stuff for the chickens.  Good eye, Jamie, that's definitely not a chicken.  The turkey has white feathers with black stripes, a long black patch of feathery hair dangling from his chest, a light blue face, and loose wrinkly skin on his neck and head that changes color from white to red depending on his mood.    

A birthday surprise, right?  He stayed all day, greeting guests as they arrived, and impressed us all by puffing his feathers and spreading his tail.  He gobbles when someone laughs, which makes us laugh, which makes him gobble.  He's fun that way.  

The turkey spends the day hanging near the chickens and sleeps at night on a table near the barn.  The turkey belongs to the same neighbors that frequently lend us their pigs.  Apparently, if you call your little plot of land a farm, animals just appear to populate it!  Who knew.  We now have: 

1 dog

3 cats

4 guineas

1 turkey

2 pigs (day time custody only)

32 chickens

Our neighbor must have realized his turkey was at our place, because he stopped by to discuss the situation with Brandon today.  He used to own two turkeys, but a predator got one of them while it was caged up.  Brandon called me at work to tell me that he's pretty sure this turkey now belongs to me, unless I specifically tell the neighbor to come and get it.  Thank you neighbor.  I think...

I worry that the turkey will fall prey to a raccoon or coyote, but the neighbor thinks that if he's free to roost where he will, then he can fend for himself.  I guess I'll find out, unless I can figure out how to make a turkey coop and convince the turkey to use it.   

We lost one of the guineas to a predator, most likely a hawk.  It was the guinea with a hurt foot, so it probably couldn't escape as fast as the others.  Now we have two pairs, which is good since guineas pick a mate and stick with them.  Each night they come back to the coop to roost, so I knew they aren't sitting on a nest of eggs yet.  Even the guineas stay out of the turkey's way.  I have to spread the breakfast grains in a broad area so the chickens can get some even though the turkey is trying to keep it all for himself.  He pulls a beak full of feathers from any bird that doesn't respect his presence during meal time.  

Enjoy this short clip of the turkey trying to keep the chickens from eating their dinner. 

In other poultry news - I found a tiny egg in the chicken coop from one of the baby chickens!  Which goes to show that they are not babies any more.  We're making plans to thin the flock of extra roosters and make a nest box for the hens.  I can't wait to have too many eggs.  

My New Pig Wallow

Miss Piggy and Bugger come for a visit nearly every day.  They munch on grass and lay in the sun and when Bugger gets feeling frisky he half halfheartedly chases roosters.  The pigs took advantage of the wet spot I make when I dump the dirty chicken water every morning and made a small mud hole that they wallow in near the chicken coop.  I have my very own pig wallow!  

Bugger enjoys being scratched.  He loves it so much he flops on his side and stretches out so I can give him a belly rub. Unfortunately, his hair is so wiry and caked with crunchy mud pieces that petting him isn't a very appealing tactile experience.  His nose is cold and wet and he usually has some greenish foam on his lips too, so I'm not sure I should encourage so much familiarity.  I wonder if I could brush him?  With a brush on a long pole...

Aren't his little feet cute though? 

They love the wallow, but maybe offering a mud hole to my piggy guests isn't the best idea.  He's so dirty!  I have to make sure to hang clothes on the line to dry at least pig high so he doesn't walk under them and paint the bottoms of the clothes with his dirty back.  

I caught him scratching his wet mud caked back on the bumper of my car!  My car is never clean, really, but this is the first time I've ever had muddy bumpers from a dirty pig. 

More Movies - Follow the Rooster, Cute Newt, and Mirror Dog

I've been entertaining myself by making short videos of the animals, and using the video editor app on my phone.  The app has about 25 free "songs" that I can pick from for background music, and there are several special effects I can select too.  The chickens and pigs are pretty good sports, and don't let me and my video making interfere with their business.  

Watching the flock eat is one of my favorite things.  It's fun to try to focus on an individual bird and see how long I can keep up with it before I get distracted by silly guineas, cute dogs, or when a pig runs and falls in a hole - ha!  Enjoy!

Newt is hard to capture in action because as soon as she realizes she's the star of the show, she can't resist playing up for the camera.  

What a flirt!

Puck gets a little camera shy when he's the focus of my attention.  Luckily, he's a natural star!

Things got a little weird with this one.  

Pig and Guinea Movies

I found out that my new piggy friends are named Miss Piggy (I guessed it!) and Bugger.  Bugger is not a very pretty name, but Bugger is not a classically pretty pig either, so it suits him.  He looks a little like a troll or a warthog around his eyes and nose, his lips stick out a bit from what I assume are tusks, and he drools when he eats.  Miss Piggy thinks he's swell.  

The neighbors have returned from their vacation, and came to collect their pigs who spent all day Sunday lounging around our place and eating lots of grass.  Having a few pigs around adds to the Green Acres ambiance of our place, so I'm going to miss them.  The neighbor offered to let me keep them permanently, since his kids have lost interest in them, but I told him I liked sharing them with him.  He can feed them and house them and I'll just take their pictures when they come over.  It's an equitable custody arrangement, right?  

My friend and her family came for a visit on Sunday to collect some of the young hens for their backyard flock, and I was worried that the pigs would wander off before her kids got to see them.  No worries though, the kids chased the pigs all around the yard and they never decided to leave.  I broke my own rule about not feeding the pigs and offered them some apple slices.  

You can see from this short video how much they appreciated my generosity.  These pigs are spoiled!   

Yesterday was another really windy day.  Puck and I took a walk down the driveway to get a good look at the hills of green pasture dotted with cows across the road.   

We had an entourage for our walk!  I've been cracking myself up by adding background music to my videos.  This one makes me giggle.  

Guineas are so weird.  I like that about them.  They like to be together, even when they take a bath!

The Pigs Come for a Visit

Look who came by for a visit!  I was sure that our neighbors pigs, who they released while they were on vacation, would make the short trip to our house while they had free reign.  I worried about it all week, really, expecting to come home to massive porkers chowing down on chicken food or rooting up the yard, or wondering what would happen if I stumbled upon a pig in the dark.    

I was in the kitchen when I noticed the cat staring intently at something through the window.  When I peaked to see what she was so interested in, I was excited to see it was the pigs!  I shouted at Puck "the pigs are here!" and hurried to grab my camera and pull on my boots.  Puck wasn't sure what I was so excited about, but he immediately started barking and dancing.  What happens when an excited corgi meets two little pigs?  

They love each other, that's what happens!  The pigs were a little stand-offish with me, but I wasn't sure I wouldn't have to chase them away so I didn't get too friendly.  Puck had no fear.  His little tail nub was wagging and he was happy sniffing piggy tails.  The pigs were snorting and wagging their little tails like mad.  Do pigs wag their tails when they are happy?  It seems like they do. 

Puck isn't a big dog, but he was bigger than the little pig.  Actually, now that I see Puck standing with pigs, I realize how many similarities they have!  The pigs were so small that I can't believe I was worried about what would happen if they came.  

Pigs grunting in the wind. 

They seemed mostly interested in chewing on the little pieces a cedar plank that were left in the yard after we used it for grilling salmon.  Otherwise, they just roamed around bumping into each other and grunting.  The little pig was favoring one of his back legs, but I couldn't see an injury.  When the cold wind would blow they would both shiver in the breeze.  Their hair was thin, so it didn't provide much warmth.  What they need are sweaters.  Adorable piggy sweaters!  

Wouldn't Miss Piggy look pretty in a sweater?  It would really bring out her long eyelashes.  I didn't tell her that Brandon said she looked like a giant gerbil.  

Tending a Pot of Pig Fat

Brandon tells me he's always amazed that I can continue to find unique distractions from making progress on our farm house, and that each distraction is weirder than the last!  He told me this last weekend, when instead of helpfully nailing up ceiling boards in the kitchen, which was our selected chore, I spent nearly the entire work day tending a giant pot of melting pig fat.  Is that really so weird? 

You may recall the giant cast iron pot and stand that I bought in January, at the farm auction. Well, I've been waiting for the perfect time to break it out of storage and put it to use.  That time came when I had to squeeze an entire frozen pig into my freezer, which meant I had no room for the nearly fifty pounds of frozen pig fat I had stashed away from the past two pigs.  I don't really think of myself as a pig fat hoarder, but when faced with mass quantities of frozen pig fat needing a home, I had to reassess my hoarder status.  Brandon may have a point.  

Since the giant pot had some rusty and sticky crud in the bottom, I put in some of my oldest fat from my freezer collection in it to melt and sort of clean and season the pot.  By the time I got the fat good and melty, and sort of scrubbed it around in the pot cleaning off the crud, the fire underneath was roaring and I had chopped up some of the partially frozen fat that I wanted to melt and keep. I used a dipper to scoop the melted cruddy fat and unmelted bits from the pot, and poured it on the wood underneath, which really got a good blaze going.  This also created a pungent burnt pork rind smell which began to permeate my clothes and hair as I worked around the fire.     

Puck, by the way, thought this was the best thing ever, and spent the entire day guarding the pot of fat and snatching up any bits I dropped.  At first, I thought it would be best to melt my fat in small batches.  I also thought I could leave the fat unattended while I went in the house to work on the ceiling.  After seriously scorching the first batch, as you can see in the photo above, I realized that not only do I have to continually tend the fire and stir the fat as it melts, to keep it from burning, I also need to put lots of fat in at once so it doesn't get so hot.  This job was turning from play to actual work.  

I ladled the scorched lard and burnt briskets of pork into the only container I could find that wouldn't melt - our drywall spackle holder, which is sitting on the ground in the photo above, and dumped my next batch of chopped up fat in the pot.  I immediately realized that the residual burnt black bits in the pot were going to contaminate my next batch, meaning I would never be able to produce the pretty white lard of my dreams.  Oh well, the giant pot is too heavy to lift and to hot to touch, so washing it was not really an option.  Now I know.  

After the burnt fat cooled, I poured it into an empty plastic salad container.  Brandon and I were amazed at the black oil that I made.  It looks just like oil!  Considering pig fat is probably very similar to human fat, it sort of weirds me out to think that a significant percentage of me is made of oil.  

Since I wasn't planning to eat this oil, but instead decided to mix it with bird seed to make winter bird feeders for the wild birds and the chickens, I used the black oil even though it was burned.  Maybe the birds won't mind so much.  

The rest of the fat melted at a much slower rate, and I didn't leave it unattended for long, so I think if I hadn't burned the first batch the oil might have been clear, which would cool to the white color of good lard.  

As you can see in the photo above, it's much better than the first batch.  I hope the stupid birds appreciate all my work!

By the time it was dark, I still had plenty of unmelted fat, but decided six giant bird feeders was enough, and I was exhausted.  The dog looked like he was going to explode from eating so many dropped bits of fat and bird seed, and Brandon made me promise repeatedly that I would shower as soon as we got home and put my clothes directly in the wash, since the crispy pork rind smell was particularly potent in the close confines of the car on the way home.  

I'm glad I had this practice round with the pig fat.  Not only did I get my cast iron pot seasoned, use up my freezer fat, make lots of bird feed, practice making mass quantities of lard, and get out of hanging ceiling boards, I also learned it's way easier to use the crock pot or do it on the stove top!  

How to Order a Butchered Pig From a Farmer

I'm not sure I would have ever been brave enough to order an entire pig from a farmer if Brandon's dad hadn't helped us years ago.  But even then the situation was different, because he raised the pig and coordinated with the butcher, so all we had to do was pick up the boxes of meat.  Brandon remembers always having pork to eat from pigs his dad raised when he was growing up, and has some funny stories about trying to hold a pig still while his dad gave it a shot and of helping cart off pig intestines in a wheelbarrow when his dad butchered a pig in the barn.  As soon as Brandon and I had a house and room for a freezer, he offered to raise enough pork for us too.  

Before he raised a pig for us, I didn't even eat sausage, much less cook cuts of meat more exotic than ground beef or boneless pork chops and chicken breasts.  I was never a big meat eater anyway, and I heard too many horrible stories of meat packaging facilities to trust meat that was ground up and seasoned like sausage.  Who knows what's in there, right?  But, finding myself with a freezer full of sausage, roasts, hocks, bacon, and jowl meat that was processed by a butcher my father in law trusted, I opened my mind and my taste buds, and immediately realized what a good thing we had.   

It wasn't long before Brandon's dad was raising a beef cow for us too, and even a meat goat. I started to learn to cook cuts of meat that I had never even eaten before.  Because all we were paying for was part of the food costs and butcher bill, we were getting to eat steaks and tenderloin on an income that was only hot dog and ground chuck worthy.  We were spoiled!

After Brandon's dad died and no one was left in our family with the ability to raise animals, I had to adjust to grocery store prices for meat again, after years of getting to skip the meat counter.  Talk about sticker shock!  Not only was the meat expensive, but it didn't taste as good.  It was time to find a farmer.  Remember those pretty pigs I was feeding pears a couple of weeks ago?  

Last week, Farmer Joe delivered eight boxes of pork!  But, before the pigs were delivered to the butcher, I had to fill out the "cut sheet", which is instructions for the butcher about how I like my meat.  Maybe you can see the cut sheet in the photo above if you click on it an zoom in.  

The cut sheet gives options for each type of meat; shoulder, loin, side, ham, trim, and variety meats.  I wasn't really sure how I liked many of these things, but I took my best guess and had many conversations around the water cooler at work with my two work friends who also ordered a pig from Joe.  I selected breakfast sausage for my trim, smoke seasoning on my bacon, bones in my chops, and a lot of other options.  I recommend always ordering bulk meat at the same time as coworkers, since the office buzz focused on spare ribs and pork liver for weeks prior to the actual delivery, and now we get to compare recipes as we each try the different cuts.  It's a real team building exercise.  

Since Brandon and I split our pig with my parents and Byron and Shanna, we got to bundle up in the chilly garage and sort through all the meat before we took them their share.  It was like all my birthdays and Christmas's came at the same time!  Each box was opened with ooos and ahhhs - "bacon!  chops! yummy sausage! pig heart...?"  Since all the cuts don't come in even numbers, we had to make some decisions about who gets what, which to anyone listening would have sounded something like this "bacon for me, liver for them, bacon for me, neck bones for them, bacon for me, caul fat for them, bacon for me, pig feet for them..." I'm kidding.  Brandon wouldn't let me cheat (he will regret that when I serve him that pig heart, I'm sure).   

If you are curious about how much food comes in a pig, check out the photo of the package list above.  We got forty two pounds of sausage from a three hundred and fifty pound porker!  

Brandon, accustomed to the frugal pig rearing practices of his father, and the prices you only get when it's your dad that is charging you, was having a little sticker shock at the cost for this pig.  At $3.75 per pound for the hanging wait, Joe was giving us a good deal, and a price that is in line with or slightly less than other local pig farmers who raise their pigs on organic pasture, feeding locally grown non-GMO feed, and are antibiotic free.  In the end, we got one hundred and sixty-five pounds of pork for $861.00, which works out to $5.21 a pound.  Just for a comparison, I looked on-line at the prices listed on a Kentucky farm that sells cuts of naturally raised pork from their farm, and did some quick math to see how much it would cost to buy the cuts of meat individually from them.  Not counting some of the odd bits, like liver and fat, which they didn't have listed, but just to buy the chops, sausage, hams, and other more normal cuts in this quantity would have cost $270.00 more than we paid.  Buying in bulk really does save money, it's just hard to come up with all that cash in one go.  

Once all the meat was sorted and stored and we scrambled up a quick dinner of tortilla's stuffed with peppers, onions, and some of the best sausage we've even eaten, we forgot all about the cost and the hassle of sorting and storing meat.  I really hope Joe gets more pigs next year!

Pigs Love Pears!

Pigs love pears so much, that just observing them enjoy pears makes everyone watching want to eat a pear too.  They snort and snuffle with satisfaction as they crunch with their teeth and smack with their lips.  I am sure I've never enjoyed any food as much as these pigs enjoyed spotty pears!

Yesterday, as Brandon was installing insulation in the kitchen wall of the tiny farm house and I was doing the same upstairs, I took a break to fill a couple of buckets with pears from the giant pear tree in the front yard.  The pears are still hard, but I can tell they are ready to for harvest because all I have to do is change their angle on the branch and they pop off into my hand.  This means that a stiff breeze causes a cascade of pears, so sitting under the pear tree is dangerous.  And even though we've never been stung, walking through the fallen pears seems dangerous as there are wasps, bees, and yellow jackets feasting on the rotting fruit.  

Every time I see all the pears on the ground, I think that it is a shame I don't have a pig to feed.  Then, as I was filling my buckets with pears from the tree, I remembered that Farmer Joe has pigs, but isn't it a shame that he can't bring his pigs over to eat all these pears?  Wait a minute, I can take the pears to the pigs!  Doh!  Sometimes I amaze myself at the rapidity of my thought process.  

As the setting sun was reflecting off the clouds in the eastern sky, Brandon and I filled three giant buckets with spotty pears.  The sun set was fantastic on our short drive to visit the pigs, and when we arrived at Joe's farm, Ashley was out taking a stroll with the baby and her good camera so she could photograph the brilliant colors in the clouds.  

Since Joe was still using the last of daylight to do work in the pastures, he directed us to find the pigs down by the old silo.  Brandon and I carried our buckets and stopped near the fence where we could see dark lumpy shapes sleeping under a shed roof.  We called all the appropriate piggy calls, "Suewee!  Heeeere piiigg, pig, pig!  Oink oink!  Sueweeee! Piggy, pig, piggy!" and the dark lumps didn't even move.  Apparently, Joe hasn't taught his pigs to speak proper pig language, or they don't respond to strangers, which is rude.  

Finally, tired of being ignored, Brandon chucked a pear into the shed where it bounced around on the pavement and caused a chorus of grunts and piggy snorts as the dark shapes roused and began to take on the shape of pigs, curly tails and all.  The pigs quickly forgave the rude awakening when they realized we were pitching tasty pears and we weren't just jerks they could ignore, and they came out of the shed so I could coax them to the fence.  

There are four pigs, and they have big pastures to graze, partitioned by electric fence so Joe can rotate their grazing.  The area near the shed and the old silo, where they were sleeping and where they have access to water, doesn't have a lot of grass, but it wasn't filled with giant holes and wallows like some people are afraid will happen if pigs aren't kept on pavement.  And, it didn't stink!  I was most curious about the smell, as I like to have accurate olfactory information for my own pig ownership day dreams.  Not that there wasn't a nice dirt and organic farmy aroma, but it was nothing like the super stink that comes from the confinement pig buildings I have had the pleasure to visit when working on other farms.  

Soon, it was too dark to see the pig's pear eating joy, but before we left we discussed which of the pigs looks the tastiest, since Brandon and I have committed to buying one of the pigs once they are butchered.  Brandon thought one of the black pigs had the hammiest looking rump, but I was partial to the pig with the smaller spots.  I'm not sure how spots affect the taste of bacon, but I feel like they may be the key ingredient to the perfect BLT!