Improvisational Farmer....making it up as we grow!
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Musings from one Improvisational Farmer (Julie Cowie)
So this isn't going to be a blog because I don't have time to add anything DAILY to my life, but I can offer a bit of news on occasion.
This has been the season of kittens. We had a litter wandering around the farm late last summer, and the girls tried their hardest to catch them but mother cat was too savvy. There was one regal kitten who emerged solo in late Fall, however--Cindy, the glamour girl kitten with the big eyes there on the left.
She seems quite self-sufficient and has only been out to the house twice (to & from the vet for important medical details). Other than than, she walks up to any human, purring louder than any cat I've ever met. She must like us. And we like her. She is a bit underfoot but a pretty good mouser and now enjoys the barn, new roof and all.
We dispatched her to orient an even younger kitten, Blake, to the farm environs. Will found Blake in the hay barn the Sunday before Thanksgiving 2008; Blake's eyes were barely open and he weighed less than 8 ounces. We nursed him to health. He wintered with us at the house, then transitioned to farm "day camp," and now he's on his own (well, running around with Cindy).
I promise, not all musings will be about cute animals.
I feel obligated to mention we have NO PIGS on the farm this year. I suppose that's a good thing. Here's one good view of one of last year's pigs. They get big and stinky. They were the highlight of last year's Family Farm Fest tour (during Lakeshore Harvest Country's festival day the last Saturday in July).
This has been the season of kittens. We had a litter wandering around the farm late last summer, and the girls tried their hardest to catch them but mother cat was too savvy. There was one regal kitten who emerged solo in late Fall, however--Cindy, the glamour girl kitten with the big eyes there on the left.
She seems quite self-sufficient and has only been out to the house twice (to & from the vet for important medical details). Other than than, she walks up to any human, purring louder than any cat I've ever met. She must like us. And we like her. She is a bit underfoot but a pretty good mouser and now enjoys the barn, new roof and all.
We dispatched her to orient an even younger kitten, Blake, to the farm environs. Will found Blake in the hay barn the Sunday before Thanksgiving 2008; Blake's eyes were barely open and he weighed less than 8 ounces. We nursed him to health. He wintered with us at the house, then transitioned to farm "day camp," and now he's on his own (well, running around with Cindy).
I promise, not all musings will be about cute animals.
I feel obligated to mention we have NO PIGS on the farm this year. I suppose that's a good thing. Here's one good view of one of last year's pigs. They get big and stinky. They were the highlight of last year's Family Farm Fest tour (during Lakeshore Harvest Country's festival day the last Saturday in July).
Marina won't be happy that I'm using this old picture of her but it reminds me of what is best about our harvest. One of our tastiest items is "Thelma Saunders Squash"--it's a long wait, squash won't be ready until late July, but it is hands down the best squash I've ever had. It's there in the tractor bucket, the whiter ones on the left.
It makes a great soup and I also learned to make a good gnocchi dish with a Thelma Saunders cream sauce--what's not to like about that?
And it's also one of those items that inspired us to launch our "fresh prep" food kit--because I'm guessing lots of people don't know what to do with squash. So we'll try to help you with that & the other odd items growing this year.
