Blind Hog and Acorn

Season 2, Episode #30~ Not Today, Heat Stroke… Not Today…

Starting to sort through and “work” goats at 10 am was about 3 hrs too late… Blind Hog and Acorn both had to have a sit down before the task was completed. It was the high, high humidity that was the killer culprit. Nonetheless, the intrepid farmers soldiered on and goats got worked. Ten adult goats went on the trailer the next day and the herd production average is thus improved. Twenty-one kids are now finishing out- on their own field and will receive sweet feed to keep them growing.

Cabbages cut, kraut fermentation in the process. Three half-gallon jars will be repacked into several 12 oz. tall jelly jars- the perfect size for us. No further processing, will keep it in the fridge and keep the microbes alive.

Blondies. With English walnuts and craisins. Doubled the ACV (apple cider vinegar). Just like eating chess pie or buttermilk pie in little bites. Here is the recipe.

Full buck moon, with wildfire smoke haze

Blind Hog and Acorn forgot to mention the chanterelle mushroom bonanza, as well as the great news about the bee hives.. Going to have to wait till next week for that!

Season 2, Episode #29~ Not Complaining About the Summer Rains!

Blind Hog and Acorn got the wall sculpture delivered and installed. A bit of unusual farm work to say the least! Good news is that Glen and Becky are happy and the piece looks great in its new home. Now Acorn just needs to figure out the next chapter for the Great Farm Plan...

Rains continue to surprise, and the garden and fields are taking full advantage. I know there are at least 3 watermelons in the patch. Blackberries are ripening, tiny zucchini appearing- watch the zucchini go from tiny to huge in just a day!

Eating well on the farm- lots of veggies and it is hard to beat a tart with patisserie cream and rhubarb compote, with homemade honey vanilla ice cream of course…

Season 2, Episode #28~ The Doctor Will See You Now…

Blind Hog saw an ortho dude and it is all good news- torn calf muscle and he is already doing “all the right rehab things.” Tincture of Time , as my old MD boss would say. In the meantime, he does what he can, puts his leg up, wears one of my stylish hiking compression socks and is his usual happy-go-lucky self. Listen to the podcast which drops Sunday morning, July 11th.

Grass is taking off after the rain last week, fields looking good. Garden will need to be watered soon. Blackberries are beginning to ripen! Yay! Cows and goats have all been moved about to new paddocks.

Not hard to see where the chicks have been…

The piggie chickies (Cornish cross broilers) are growing like weeds- between 2.25 and 2.5 lbs now.. Letting them out and about supposedly will slow their growth down, and they also do not get chicken feed at night. They are a bit behind their growth chart, but as long as they don’t fall over from heart attacks (common) then that is good.

Delivering the wall sculpture tomorrow! Very excited!

Season 2, Episode #27~ Mr. Dillon! Mr. Dillon!

Blind Hog seems intent on injuring himself, this week it was a torn calf muscle. Oh well, “we see this…” Good news is that he is able to move about the cabin freely, albeit a bit slower than his usual. Swelling has gone down and he can bear weight on the injured leg. Tincture of Time now for it to heal on up.

Acorn has sold goats and has two heifers under contract- a very productive week.

Broiler chick experiment continues- the little hybrids are growing exponentially. Almost a bit scary… Garden is producing and a break in hot weather is upon us.

July is here!

Season 2, Episode #26~ Whatta Saturday!

Blind Hog and Acorn capped off a fun-filled week by getting up early today to milk goats, pick 4 gallons of blueberries at a nearby berry farm, and then sort-load-drive a dozen goats to today’s livestock sale about 16 miles away.

On top of that- the high heat, humidity and intermittent rain showers made for a lovely work environment.

Good news is the broiler chicks are outside– they love their pen and can run around and flap their pudgy wings. Blind Hog has a pan of brownies calling his name and Acorn does not want to say how many of the blueberry muffins she baked are already “missing…”

Check out the pictures for Acorn’s goat butter process. Is it somewhat messy but the results are delicious!

Season 2, Episode #25~ Working Calves and Kids…

Triple digit heat indices, Blind Hog and Acorn have been sweatin’ fools.

Calves got “worked”, goat kids separated from their mommas. Garden is string trimmed, wild black raspberries picked. Elderflowers have been plucked and stuffed into gallon jars to make “St. Germaine” cordial- recipe on the new farm website!

Broiler chicks are something new- ready to process in just 10 weeks? That is crazy! Call us unbelievers, but we will see. The sooner we get the little buggers outside, the better. Give them room to grow grow grow!

Blind Hog’s wall sculpture is 99% finished. Date set in July to deliver and install. Yay!

Season 2, Episode #24~ Sneaky Snakes

Weather has gone from “light jackets” to “turn on the a/c” in a matter of days…

Acorn has had some run-ins with local snakes, one of which had got the goose off her nest and was in the process of eating an egg- all when they might be starting to hatch! (well, if there are any that will hatch that is…) The snake was released in the woods, with Acorn bitching all the way…

A goatling had got herself trapped under the garden fence and died, Sam nabbed a groundhog and deposited it by the porch. Blind Hog has been on “body removal” duty.

Farm website is undergoing a major platform shift and resulting webpage upgrade. Acorn gets to complain complain complain.

However, chores are now done, time to have a sit down and relax.

Season 2, Episode #23~ Mannish Water

Busy week on the farm PLUS a Farm Guest! Dr. Frank Pinkerton, nigh on 93 yrs old, drove himself to Missouri to visit a goat farm in the making, speak at a conference/show/sale in Sedalia, as well as spend a few “leisurely days” here at the farm, and yes- he did make it back home safe and sound! Podcast will be live Sunday morning.

Listening to his chat with us you will learn all sorts of things you may and may not want to think about. Apparently “Mannish Water” is the Jamaican version of Viagra… Frank will discuss the ingredients… Acorn did not put the recipe on the website…

Had a great time with him this week and hope he will be back soon- he generally averages two or three visits to the farm a year and last year’s Covid lock down put a big hurt on his traveling.

After his visit, Blind Hog and Acorn got back to chores- all the usual farmy things plus they sold 5 of the 6 goslings. Ethel is due to hatch her clutch this time next week, IF she has any that will hatch that is. Pilgrims are not the most efficient reproducers of the goose world.

Season 2, Episode #22~ Clipping the Pastures

Blind Hog has spent the last week on the Massey Ferguson, clipping seed heads off the fescue. Acorn has been in the garden, putting in the last of the vegetables and then went all crazy using the string trimmer. Such fun!

She’s also been working on her PowerPoint presentation for the goat talk in Sedalia in a few days. You know, definitely not putting it off to the last minute or anything…

Grass is growing, goslings are packing it on, and all is well on the farm. Acorn got a bit sidetracked playing along today- but what else is new?

Will see if a guest will be joining the podcast next week!

Season 2, Episode #21~ The Goosie Hut is Built!

Blind Hog and Acorn have been busy- the goslings are growing too damn fast and they needed their own pen. It took a couple days, but as we speak, they are enjoying green grass and fresh air, and no competition with the nine chicken peeps! Listen in Sunday morning and find out all the news.