Jumping lamb

Lambs going crazy in the warm weather. Boys are getting creative in our snow impaired winter up in the Great North.

Boys create Ice dams instead of snow forts

Upgrade from feeding with 5 gallon buckets. If only you could have seen how they got this pig feeder off of the dump trailer. Oh the excitement.

New pig feeder, yay!

Last but certainly not least, our Pete boy. A Black mouth Cur who originates from VA. These boys do all our herding, protecting and general scally-wagging.  Jack who is always going, going wasn’t available for this photo shoot.

Isn't Pete a handsome boy?

Well, all for now!

We have had an amazing year. Too much to try and share all at once, so this shall be a two-parter. This year started out busy, got busier and is now, blessedly, quite quiet.

pigs out feeding in the snow

Winter has been exceptionally mild. While trading tips on feeding pigs with a wizened farmer he remarks, ‘haven’t seen a winter like this since ’78!’  So many times we laugh at the shortness in history of weather and ourselves and yet the wisest of farmers will know what it will do with a sniff of the air. Ice is clinging to everything up here as we have traded our deep snow for treacherous surfaces. Ice walkers are great for humans but not as handy for our four footed friends, they slip and slide to eat, drink and mingle and we watch, hoping for warmer weather to melt the ice and relieve the tension.

We are finishing this years paperwork and are, quite frankly, surprised! I had guessed that sales had gone down, that from the economy, from more farms and ranches offering good foods, etc, etc that we had shrunk ever so slightly.  John ( The Shepherd) mentioned that whenever we focus on our passion, what we love, not on ‘making money’ you will have been living a full life. We have had a very full year last year, totally blessed by you, our CSA members and we are ready to tackle some ideas we have had shelved for what seems like forever! We are planning on doing grains, whole, milled grains that at first will be used for our chickens and pigs and then for ourselves and you. Maybe even baked goods some day?

Grasse River B goats grazing in early morning

The chickens *should* be done at the end of this month, we have plenty of sheds this year and will be able to position them in the correct pastures for winter. Sheep will be able to lamb quietly and with plenty of room this winter without being prodded and poke by curious cows and pigs. The cows and pigs will share quarters as they seem to enjoy each others company! Sheep shearing before breeding will be done in early September and the final push to clean and close up shop will start. Thankfully we are SO much farther ahead than ever before. It has got us to thinking of fun things we would love to do at some point.

One of them has been a ranch and farm tour, we would love to show you where all the lovely Huntley beef is, our ranch with it variety of critters, Jesse & Krista’s place with there show stopping goats ( seen above) and cheese and top the day off with a cook out. Something in the Fall, when we have time to relax and enjoy ourselves! It seems to be a way of fighting back against the tide of Ag-gag laws trying to be passed in a variety of states. These gag laws would make it illegal to take pictures or footage of barns, animals, etc. This is CRAZY! It use to be a source of great pride, the animals and fields that made a farmer or rancher who he was. So, dreaming, thinking, planning. Let me know if you have any great ideas!

It has been a long but very worthwhile road to get here. We are very happy to announce Jesse & Krista have cheese available for sale starting May 28th! You can pre-order your raw Grasse Plain goats milk cheese. You can call them at 315-322-4769 or email; grasseriverb@gmail.com to place an order or ask questions! They will be offering just a plain white 60+ day aged white cheese and will be adding flavors soon.

• Grasse Plaine – A white, distinct flavor that changes with the seasons and grasses.
• Plaine, Chive & Garlic flavors available.

Pick up of orders by appointment only.

Flexibility is great, a must in fact. Our CSA season deadline ends today and while we would love to have many more we decided to pull back on the days we ship ( from 2 down to 1) and the number of shares. Heat plays a huge part, everything and everyone is more stressed during heat. Our walk-in loves to run, run, run to stay cold. Cows, sheep and pigs all are looking for cool places and just enough food to keep them going – not really ideal for the best of meat. So, we have cut back and what is amazing is our lovely customers are great at being flexible too! You have ordered more during the winter and spring, taken your shares in one lump and overall just planned on helping us to go with the seasons not against them. For many reasons this helps us to keep our costs low, quality and service high ( cause now we have time to do other stuff!) like chickens. Which we plan on doing a lot of….that is if the weather will cooperate!

our chickens from last year!

So, don’t forget to sign up for the CSA today, or wait and we will have the order form for chickens ready soon!

cute little lambs

Joy! Cows don’t stay in the fence, orders don’t come on time and kids decide to play in mud puddles right before church. While I might start steaming up and ready to boil, I’ve found it does absolutely no good. Really, even in venting it only makes me feel guilty.  Its finding joy in each and every one of these circumstances that has been the challenge of late. Crazy!? you say, I know. However, it has been amazing the small things you can become thankful for and the joy that is shared with those around you and it comes back to me. The cows getting out? They were quickly gotten back in, no injuries, they thought it was a fun bit of naughtiness. Orders not coming through….gave us some time to plan and prepare for when it did come. They say for every minute you plan you can save 12! Kids in muddy clothing before church? Well, lets just say this is an ongoing challenge

Today I received a call from a guy who was trying to sell us customized plastic bags….not really sure why a ranch selling meat would need these? The guy who introduced me sounded like he was either having a rough day or it was just one of many days that stretched innumerably into the future. Make call, introduce product, hope to make a sale and all for what? A paycheck to be sure, perhaps a promotion down the road however it just did not seem as though this guys heart was into selling me his plastic bags. What I regret is ending the call with  ”we don’t really use plastic bags” and instead ask him,  ”how is your day? do you enjoy your work? if not, why not go and realize you dream,” whatever one he might have and go for it.  A phone call like that brings me to my knees in thankfulness of what we are doing, me personally, my husband, our kids. We are living our dream.

So, if you ever hear me griping, remind me of this.

A loaded sled

This is partly what has been keeping us busy over the past few months. It provides us warmth, cooking and entertainment. Yes, people pay for the snap, crackle and pop of a good wood fire at a romantic winter retreat on a ranch. But then… there is the non-stop fun of putting out embers jumping out at the couple, giving them many moments of an adrenaline rush, after which they can treat the 2nd degree burns incurred by at least one party. However, the most entertaining fire keeper/starter is my dear, dear brother-in-law who has set his brothers pants and mustache on fire, singed his own eyebrows off and has at times used a propane lighter to start chainsaw gas.

The joy of warmth is enjoyed and cherished perhaps more than most as a great deal of our time is spent cold and sometimes wet. When we do finally make it in, we really, really want the home to be warm.