New Piglets, Cousin Camp
Another load of cows and pigs to the processor Monday morning which meant a Sunday afternoon cattle drive, sorting cows, sorting hogs, and getting hogs loaded on the trailer. I got back to the farm in time to help get Amy’s coolers packed and loaded for her monthly delivery to Knoxville that afternoon. Making the farm rounds then back out with the truck and trailer to bring 40 pigs back to the valley. Checking calves and moving a group of cows as the sun was sinking Monday evening.
I took the Jeep to the shop with an oil leak Tuesday morning. Amy picked me up on her way back from Knoxville, leaving the 4 eldest kids with her brother’s family for a few days of “Cousin Camp” in Tennessee. That afternoon we emptied 6 chicken shelters and crated over 360 chickens for Wednesday’s on-farm harvest. Then filled those shelters back up with over 400 chicks from the brooder.
A couple years ago we processed over 400 chickens in a day for a neighboring farm, but this Wednesday was the biggest batch of ORVF chickens we’ve ever processed. We put 362 in the freezer, cutting up about 120 of them for parts. It was a long day, but we got it done. Though without Hallie and Hasten and a few of our regulars, we had a couple new faces with on the processing floor from Wise County who came to help and learn more in hopes of expanding their own meat bird production. It’s exciting for us to see more and more people wanting to grow their own food for their families and community. Glad to share what little we know with those who have similar aspirations.
I know I talk often about how good our processing crew is, but they really are. Not just good at processing, they’re good people. And they certainly don’t have to give up their Wednesday’s through the summer to come work on the farm processing chickens. They often leave the farm as worn out as we are. I can’t speak for all and realize some may come for differing reasons, but they all come because they value good food, and they understand the relationship between healthy food that sustains us and the work that it takes to produce it. And they want to be a part of that relationship. Not just a relationship with food, but but a relationship with each other. They believe in community and helping people within it. It’s satisfying to end the day with a bunch of pasture raised chickens in the freezer but even more satisfying getting to do it alongside this crew.
We have a couple week break from processing chickens which is a good thing because our freezers are as full as they’ve ever been. Amy and I have our work cut out for us getting everything sorted and organized in the days ahead. Visit our website or come see us at the Abingdon Farmers Market to help us make room in our freezers.
Amy has been keeping ORVF chicken broth and beef broth simmering in the on-farm kitchen all week, but with two eyes not working on the stovetop, she’s down to one pot going at a time. Time for a new stove I guess.
Thankful for about an inch of rain yesterday. Also thankful for all those who picked up meat from us yesterday in either Bristol or Kingsport. We know many of you are going out of your way to get it.
Baby Leon joined us on our date night after deliveries. It had been a couple months since our last date night, and it was certainly nice to go out to eat and get a break from cooking and dishes, but I’ll be honest, I’d rather have our farm raised meats, farmer’s market veggies, and Amy’s cooking any day of the week. Date nights are nice for an occasional change of pace and scenery, but it’s hard to beat the scenery of family dinners around our own table.
After dinner, it was down to Knoxville to pick up the kids from Cousin Camp, making it a late night 1:00 a.m. arrival back to the valley. A lot of freezer work in store for today getting herd shares, orders, and extras ready for Marion and Abingdon Farmers Market tomorrow. Come see us.
On the road, I listened to THE EVERLASTING MAN by G.K. Chesterton. Here’s one quote that stood out:
“It is one among many stories, only it happens to be a true story. It is one among many philosophies, only it happens to be the truth. We accept it, and the ground is solid under our feet, and the road is open before us. It does not imprison us in a dream of destiny or a consciousness of the universal delusion. It opens to us not only incredible heavens, but what seems to some an equally incredible earth and makes it credible. This is the sort of truth that is hard to explain because it is a fact. But it is a fact to which we can call witnesses. We are christians and catholics not because we worship a key but because we have passed a door and felt the wind that is the trumpet of liberty blow over the land of the living.”
Have a good week.
Will