Beautiful, beautiful Fall

I thought this picture was particularly beautiful of sunset on Sunday. Every day I wake up to an even more beautiful morning and the evening skies are breathtaking with their dark red and purple hues.

On a personal note, our son James is graduating from boot camp in Columbia, South Carolina on Thursday. Our beautiful daughter-in-law Melissa flew back there with our new grandbaby Carter James last night. She will get to see her groom of 6 years tomorrow at family day and he will get to meet his new son. Although I was supposed to go also, I stayed home with their 22 month old Landon. He has been fighting a cold and it was decided that it would be best for him to remain here and let Daddy spend some bonding time with Carter. James will be home in a couple of weeks for Christmas and he will have plenty of time to spend with Landon. I know that Landon will have a wonderful time with Nana and Grandpa on the farm. It also gives Great Grandma Fran and Great Poppy Howard time with him while I take care of "business things" for the farm.

I hope everyone has a great day and be sure to enjoy these fall days - they will be gone soon and we will have to wait another year to enjoy them.

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
Author unknown

Frick & Frack Update

If you've been following this, you know that Frick and Frack are two male Heritage Turkeys that we raised last year. These silly guys are inseparable, following each other around and preening all the time (I just report - I don't judge). When it came time to butcher turkeys for Christmas, we gave them a pardon.

Marvin called me work today and said that one of them was missing. You need to understand that these fellows weight about 45 pounds apiece. There are others that are smaller that are still in residence. He called back and said that he found him clear down the hill by the front fence. There was a large bald eagle circling around him. It's hard to believe that the eagle could have carried him down there, but I also don't believe he wandered away from his buddy (besides there were feathers missing from him). The only other thought is that a fox might have climbed the fence and tried hauling him off. I don't suppose we will ever know, but the important thing is that he is safe and sound and back with his best friend.

All is well in the HZ Harvest Farm world.

Maybe this is why the eagle was flying over him..............

“I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharking and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy. The turkey is a much more respectable.”
Benjamin Franklin quotes

These are our two new Navajo-Churro lambs. I blogged about them in a previous posting. We are very happy to have them as this breed was almost extinct at one time. There is another type of sheep I would like to get. They are the Jacob sheep that I talked about in an earlier blog also. They are white with black spots. Although others might be born with spots, they loose them as they age. The Jacob sheep don't. They maintain the beautiful coats which are sold as pelts.

The bull is a new resident also. He is very manly but doesn't have a name yet. Let me know if you have any suggestions. You can email me at HZHarvest12@yahoo.com.

It was very cold yesterday, but we still needed to go up to the "Back 300" (acres) to check on the cows and calves. We have been ear tagging the calves as they come along. These are little plastic tags with numbers on them. They basically get their ear pierced (even the boys). Yesterday we found 2 more that aren't tagged. We now have 15 calves. They are all so darned cute. I can't help but get excited every time a new one is born. I think that we are done for the year.

While we were up there, we were treated to a serenade by the meadow larks. These birds have the most beautiful, sweetest song of any (in my opinion). We are truly blessed to have so many around us. The dove are really thick also. I bet we have about 100 of them right now. Although our ducklings grew up and flew away, we have a couple of new ducks that have flown in to enjoy the pond.

It was scheduled to rain today, but it is beautiful right now. The sky is the prettiest color of blue with fluffy clouds floating by. I think the storm may pass us by (hopefully). Although we love rain, it can come another day that isn't a holiday.

We had a visitor on Tuesday. Ralph Barrett came over to see us with his care giver. He is a joyous 91 years old this week. His cousin used to own this property in the early 1900's. Ralph is sharp as a tack and full of information. When we first moved out here, he shared his concern that this farm wouldn't support any crops. He has definately changed his mind and in fact was surprised to find that we have very rich soils. Although we do have sandy areas, the majority of the land is actually rich, loamy ground. He was very impressed with all that has been done. This is so nice to have an "old timer" who has so much experience tell us that we are doing a good job. He is such a wealth of information. I can listen to him for hours talking about the locals and the history and the events. I always want to preserve these treasures.

Hearing the meadowlarks reminded me of this:
"The child whispered, 'God, speak to me'
And a meadow lark sang.
The child did not hear.

So the child yelled, 'God, speak to me!'
And the thunder rolled across the sky
But the child did not listen.

The child looked around and said,
'God let me see you' and a star shone brightly
But the child did not notice.

And the child shouted,
'God show me a miracle!'
And a life was born but the child did not know.

So the child cried out in despair,
'Touch me God, and let me know you are here!'

Whereupon God reached down
And touched the child.
But the child brushed the butterfly away
And walked away unknowingly."

Unknown

The fall has been so busy that I really haven't had much time to catch up with you all.

Our 11 replacements heifers that we bought at the Fair in July have all calved except 2. We have also had 4 calves born from last year's fair cows.

Our "rare" sheep have had 1 lamb - should be having another one soon.

We finally were able to get all of the chickens out of the barnyard and up to their "chicken tractors" in the field. That was a big relief. They completely ruined my lawn and all the flowers I had planted around the house. A few chickens are great. A few hundred are a nightmare!

We've adopted an orphaned filly that we named Sugar. She is very beautiful and growing fast. We also adopted an orphaned calf that was pretty much dead when he was brought to the house. He was extremely dehydrated and blind. Two months later he is growing like a weed, seeing just fine and bossy. The two of them are in a pen together and curl up in a single ball at night. We let them out and they run and run around the property and then put themselves back in the pen.

The goats and the sheep are thriving. We penned up the neutered males and fed them lots of yummy things. They are now for sale. The females and their "boyfriends" are preparing for spring births.

The fields are getting ready for planting and the roads are based so we can get around this winter.

The new barn is just about done and the new trees are all growing well.

We are looking forward to some light rains this week and next which should make the grass come up to protect the land from the heavier rains to follow.

Our back 300 acres is now fully fenced and the cows are enjoying the new pasture land.

Life is good.

Mangalitsa Pigs (more info)

I forgot to mention that we purchased these great pigs from Heath Putman of Wooly Pigs (actually some of the text was verbatim from his website). He has a great site with lots more info and pictures. Take a moment and log onto woolypigs.com. They are truly interesting. Happy Friday!

Mangalitsa Pigs & (Human) Baby

We are Grandparents for the second time! Carter James Blackburn was born on November 10th (his Aunt Meghan's birthday) at 5:11 pm. Carter joins his older brother, Landon who will be 2 in January. He is a big guy - 8 lbs 13oz and 21 1/2" long. Whew! Our daughter-in-law, Melissa, was a real trooper. We had a "girls day" with a really great bunch of coaches since Daddy is at Army boot camp.

This is a really clear picture of one of our new Mangalitsa pigs. These pigs are very interesting.

Mangalitsa (MON-go-leet-sa) was created in 1833 by the Hungarian Royal Archduke Jozsef. It is a name for three breeds of pig grown especially in Hungary and the Balkans known also as a curly-hair hog. The Mangalitsa pig is unusual as it grows a hairy 'fleece', akin to that of a sheep.

Unlike all popular breeds of hogs, which are meat-type, the Mangalitsa is an extreme lard-type breed. Meat-type breeds efficiently produce lean meat. Lard-type breeds produce high-quality fat and very marbled, juicy and flavorful meat.

Raised properly the Mangalitsa's genes allow it to produce some of the world's best meat and fat. Mangalitsa fat is more unsaturated than normal pig fat, so it tastes much "lighter", "cleaner" and melts at a lower temperature. The fat is also healthier and keeps longer, due to higher levels of oleic acid.

Mangalitsa meat has stronger flavor and more than double the marbling of average pork. The special qualities of Mangalitsa fat allow it to be whipped like cream. The fat can be cured and served in thin slices.

The exceptional meat and fat quality of Mangalitsa set it apart and explain why professionals use it in ways they'd never use other pork.

The Mangalitsa is and has always been an extreme lard-type hog. In contrast, popular "heritage breeds" like the Berkshire, once famous for excellent meat quality, are leaner and less tasty than ever. We have tasted this meat and it is unlike anything you have ever tasted.

We now have 4 gilts (young female pigs) and one boar that we bought from Heath Putman Farms. Their website is Woolypigs.com and has some great information. We are hoping to have our first litter in April.

Take a day and come out to see our new special pigs.

Here is a great "pig poem"

I've heard it said that pigs will fly
and someday soon they'll rule the sky.
That may sound strange but, if it's right,
I don't suppose they'll fly a kite.
I'll bet, instead, they'll have to train
so they can learn to fly a plane,
or join the Navy where they'll get
to learn to fly a fighter jet.

Or maybe they'll grow piggy wings,
or put on shoes with giant springs,
or fly in huge hot-air balloons,
or seaplanes with those big pontoons,
or biplanes like a flying ace,
or shuttles into outer space,
or rocket ships for trips to Mars,
or flying saucers to the stars.

However pigs decide to fly,
as long as they are way up high
and busy buzzing all around
instead of grunting on the ground,
I think it's safe to say I'll love
to see them soaring up above.
I'm sure I won't be shocked or shaken.
Still, I'll prob'ly miss the bacon.
--Kenn Nesbitt

Ben - king of skunks

I have decided that Ben has a personal vendetta against skunks. Don't get me wrong - they are not wanted at the farm - they eat eggs and chickens and can spread rabies. However, I surely wish that Ben (our Great Pyrenees) would learn to dispatch of them without getting sprayed straight on. We couldn't find Ben last night (at about midnight) so we went looking for him in the Kabota. He was so accommodating that he ran up to us and jumped in the front. Unfortunately he had just had his latest run in with a black and white beauty. Needless to say, we had a late night shower and scrub down before going to bed.

This little calf was born last week. If you look closely you can see that there is a fence between the calf and its mom. It had rolled under the fence and was inside the water tank area and couldn't get back to the right side. Marvin and I found it there and it was a little dehydrated and hungry. He helped it back under the fence and to its feet. The next picture shows several other heifers running up to it to make sure all was well. It is amazing to me to see how they all take care of each other. We can learn a lot from cattle.

“Sometimes when you get in a fight with a skunk, you can't tell who started it.”
Lloyd Doggett

Navajo-Churro Sheep

The Farm is changing every day. Now that we are getting into "fall weather" finally, the trees are starting to turn so many different pretty colors. I really love the bounty of summer with all the yummy veggies and the trees covered with leaves. After a while though, it becomes monotonous and I look forward to the changing of the seasons. It seemed that this year that change came very late. Now we will concentrate on cold weather chores: Cleaning up the crops that have run their course, getting the animals ready for the colder weather, preparing the ground for our forage crop, planting the winter vegetables and waiting for the fruit trees to go dormant so they can be pruned for next year. I forget that there are so many things that must be done to get ready for winter.

We had a little white faced calf this week. It is really pretty and its mother is Maybelline. She is my favorite cow since she was bottle fed by a little (then) 9 year old boy. We bought her last year at the California Mid State Fair for this little 4H member. He was so concerned tat she would get lost and was relieved to hear this year that we still have her. This is the second calf she has given us.

We also had a baby lamb from one of our two Navajo Churro Sheep. History of the Navajo Churro: Over 400 years ago, Spanish explorers and settlers brought their native sheep, the Churra, to this country. In the 1500's, the Dine' (Navajo people) acquired a few sheep which they nurtured and raised. The sheep name had also been changed to Churros. In the 1930's the Dine' had over 574,821 sheep on their reservations but then our government decided to reduce their flocks by 30%. The government also introduced a program to "improve" the Churros by crossing them with other types of sheep. By the 1970's only around 500 head remained of the original Churros. A Cal Poly professor went to the reservations and rounded up many of the "old type" Churro sheep and brought them back to San Luis Obispo, CA for a breeding/research program. He returned many animals back to the Dine' for continued nurturing and development. In the 1980's, a registry and association were formed called the Navajo-Churro Sheep Association. Today there are over 5000 sheep registered across the US but they are still considered threatened by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. The Navajo-Churro breed rams can have two, four, six, or more horns. This is because they possess the polycerate gene, which is also found in old heritage breeds like the Jacob Sheep. They also have the ability to have fused horns. Ewes (females) also can have horns, or nubs called scurrs. The color can be black, white, or striped. The growth of rams’ horns is slow. A full rack takes at least four to five years to grow out. A ewe's horns can also grow large, but not to the extent of the rams.

Quote for the day:You don't stop laughing because you grow old, You grow old because you stop laughing.

Jacobs Sheep

Fall is fabulous! The days have been perfect and the trees are starting to turn color.

Our new Mangalitsa pigs are doing very well. They are social and very soft with their wooly coats. We bought some of the meat and tried it. Fantastic flavor and texture. The fat is smooth and actually can be eaten straight. Found in very exclusive restaurants, Mangalitsa (MON-go-leet-sa) pigs are a classified “lard-type” breed. However, Mangalitsa pigs actually have more unsaturated fat (versus high levels of saturated fat) than conventionally bred pigs (classified as “meat-type pigs”). When cooked, Mangalitsa pork is exceptionally, juicy, tender, and marbled. Chefs rave about the meat and lard’s versatility—the lard can be whipped, and chefs don’t need to dress up the meat’s flavor with excess salt or spices. It tastes much “lighter”, “cleaner” and melts at a lower temperature. The fat is also healthier and keeps longer, due to higher levels of oleic acid. When cured, Mangalitsa meat makes unsurpassed hams, charcuterie, and salamis, due to the high monounsaturated fat content (versus high polyunsaturated fat in traditional pork).

We still have many crops in the field. I believe we are expecting a cold snap this week so we will probably lose much of them. We have prepped the fields for winter crops and will be planting soon.

The cute little fellow above is called a Jacob's. Wikipedia says: The Jacob sheep is a rare breed of small, piebald (colored with white spots), polycerate (multi-horned) sheep. Jacobs may have from two to six horns, but most commonly have four. The most common color is black and white, but they may also be blue and white or lilac and white in coloring. Jacobs are usually raised for their wool, meat, and hides. They are also kept as pets and ornamental animals, and have been used as guard animals to protect farm property from theft or vandalism and defend other livestock against predators.

Generally referred to as an unimproved or heirloom breed (one that has survived with little human selection), the Jacob is descended from an ancient Old World breed of sheep, although its exact origins remain unclear. Spotted polycerate sheep were documented in England by the mid–17th century, and were widespread a century later. Unlike most other old world breeds, the Jacobs of North America have not undergone extensive cross-breeding and selective breeding; their body habitus resembles that of a goat. Relative to their American counterparts, British Jacobs tend to be larger and heavier, and have lost many of their original characteristics through artificial selection.

“Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”