tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42128170622073096162024-03-13T14:04:46.935-05:00The Midlife FarmwifeDonna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.comBlogger956125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-22913910735124636212015-05-18T20:04:00.003-05:002015-05-18T20:04:51.746-05:00Walk this Way...To My New BlogSo, this is goodbye to my old friend The Midlife Farmwife. I've had this blog over 5 years and she has been berry berry good to me but the times they are a changin' , oh bla dee oh blah da...(what next a "blowing in the wind" reference?!?!) I'll get to the point.<br />
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We've moved. We don't live here anymore. I'm not The Midlife Farmwife anymore, yes I'm still happily married and we still farm but it's all very different and I haven't figured out my new CB handle yet. We live on The Poor Farm now and I of course am blogging all about it. Follow me won't you? The Kool Aide is very sweet and cold over here. The drinking water though is still lukewarm. See you on the other side.<br />
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<a href="http://tpfarm.blogspot.com/">The Poor Farm</a><br />
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Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com150tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-6149427297524795622015-04-25T00:18:00.000-05:002015-04-25T00:18:13.775-05:0048 Hour Countdown to the Poor Farm<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last piece of farm equipment for sale. </td></tr>
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With just 48 hrs to go before we have to up and out I have no business blogging but if I pack one more thing tonight (it's nearly midnight) I will hurl. There is no way we have only lived in this farmhouse only 20 years because we have removed at least a century's worth of crap in the last week. I blame...everyone else. The kids who made such adorable pottery items (which I saved, which none of them wanted when I suggested THEY take them home last week, which is why they are all in the dumpster now, the handmade vases not the kids) the auctions Keith and I frequented and the wicked auctioneers who made me buy Wizard of Oz plates (for <em>what ?!? </em>serving cookies to scarecrow next time he drops by?) the garage sales I stalked in order to buy yet another Evening in Paris bottle or compact, (because my mother wore that perfume and she's dead and I miss her that's why) and well, that's enough blame for tonight.<br />
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Tomorrow my grand group of sisters and my lovely daughter will be here to help me clean this wasteland, I mean lovely four square farm abode; so new owner lady can arrive Monday and realize windows were never actually blacked out per se, they just hadn't been washed since 1963. <br />
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Although we are very excited about our new life just right there on the horizon we know the adjustment will be huge. Going from a 2000 square foot home with basement, barns, machine shed, and farm store to a small camper for the summer (think tiny and cramped and tiny) property with no barns yet, no electric fence yet and that other minor thing...no utilities will be a real shock to our spoiled butts. That's is correct, no electricity, no water, no internet, nada, nothing.<br />
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We are so nuts.<br />
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The electric should come soon, power company says another 1-10 days, the water will be later as our new well needed some repair first and the internet; I need for school primarily, will be another week as well. In the meantime we'll be camping, cooking over outdoor fires, and going to bed early if we don't get power soon. Fortunately the new owners are very flexible about our keeping the few animals we are taking with us, here, until we are ready for them up there. <br />
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More soon. Gotta get a couple hours sleep before those sisters arrive. When it comes to cleaning those three mean business. Wait till they see what I left for them under the beds, and the couches, and the rugs, and the chairs...I'm all about the giving.Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com95tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-56746234668293819832015-04-22T08:31:00.001-05:002015-04-22T08:31:41.610-05:00SOLD!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9aKmpKSNb9axie-39cYZ9VGEf-d7v-wH55BFceBOt4Sy6-v9ZOgxOQfzIGx4RdVWhFKKRQPbE2YH_VsZ0tHgCfL7TU_i_Pk96h6-qfKLmWYY72VstqCebmS2BC5JsTgwPJfqD0bq7xw/s1600/SOLD+sign.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9aKmpKSNb9axie-39cYZ9VGEf-d7v-wH55BFceBOt4Sy6-v9ZOgxOQfzIGx4RdVWhFKKRQPbE2YH_VsZ0tHgCfL7TU_i_Pk96h6-qfKLmWYY72VstqCebmS2BC5JsTgwPJfqD0bq7xw/s1600/SOLD+sign.png" height="320" width="283" /></a></div>
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Well, you've heard it here first. Unless you are a Facebook friend , or listened to the rumors in town or talked to our mail lady or saw the notice in our farm store; other than all that, you are first to know.<br />
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We've sold the farm!<br />
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Yes, after four years of listings, showings, near sales, planning, plan ditching, planning again it is really happening this time. New owners are moving in on Monday. JUST 5 DAYS FROM NOW! Life is manic crazy with packing, school, selling equipment, school, selling livestock, school, pitching decades of crap, school, and oh yeah, I am still in school full time at UIUC. <br />
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Although we have wanted this for a very long time, now that it is here...we are even more desirous to be living our new tiny life which is taking BIG efforts to make happen. I am scant on time to share details but I will very soon. Stay tuned as we make the move to The Poor Farm. Finally.Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-14324855589278284122015-03-26T13:16:00.001-05:002015-03-26T13:16:29.360-05:00Kissing Organic Certification Goodby<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1MCX9_OQeDiCVOFxar0rhturvQr5oAAqqJXaI78FpY6uXafVMZGv6BUEI9w3LpffP9ospHHcAxhTXjppj3scGvnGxRw7MaLedYlG5DPT-7e5pHnV2TnqV_ctJwHYi8N_UjXOhFW4S5nw/s1600/100_2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1MCX9_OQeDiCVOFxar0rhturvQr5oAAqqJXaI78FpY6uXafVMZGv6BUEI9w3LpffP9ospHHcAxhTXjppj3scGvnGxRw7MaLedYlG5DPT-7e5pHnV2TnqV_ctJwHYi8N_UjXOhFW4S5nw/s1600/100_2012.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Really? Almost two months since I last posted? What a sloth. Life has consumed me but for a brief moment (spring break at UIUC) I have been spit out long enough to catch up with that handful of blog followers who might yet remain. <br />
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In 2009 we completed our first organic certification inspection. We had literally been preparing for it for years as fields must be chemical free for three years before you can be certified. Transition is not easy as the farmer must pay for certified organic feed/seed prior to the point that they can label their products organic and thus receive fair pay, but; we believed in the concept and the practice and so we moved forward. <br />
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From 2009-2015 we have proudly labeled our dairy herd, pork and beef as "certified organic", completing the annual inspection paperwork, maintaining the everyday record keeping, following the hundreds of standards, and paying the fees that came to thousands of dollars over the last 6 years. We did all that because the practice, the label, the animals meant that much to us.<br />
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But over the last two years we have noticed a trend that is both disheartening and damaging, the lying trend. Practiced by both farmers who want all the glory (aka money) of organic without doing any of the work as well as the USDA themselves who increasingly look the other way when the factory farms they have certified as organic, care for their animals, well like a factory. Sadly both practices are increasing. A walk around an average farmers market will reveal signage stating "Organically Raised Beef" and yet the owner cannot tell you the minimum standard for cattle to be on pasture each year, (the answer is 120 days) and a neighbor of that farmer who supplies grain for those cattle tells us quite openly his grain is your standard GMO corn. <br />
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We've also been well aware of the large industrial farms that have sought and gained organic certification for their thousands of animals yet still keep a large portion uncertified. This allows them to treat one of their organic animals with unapproved antibiotics and merely shift them into the uncertified group for sale. Sadly this is legal but clearly points out that the philosophy of organic, holistic, natural treatment of animals is by far NOT the priority of these so called "farmers."<br />
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To clarify, we have felt for many years that organic methods are good, decent, logical manner in which to raise livestock and we sought the label, followed the rules because we believed in what we were doing. Which is why our chickens are truly free range (not just able to roam free within a 20 x 20 pen) why our hogs have closer to 200 days on pasture (even though no such requirement by USDA's organic program as "organic hogs" can be kept on a concrete lot as long as they are fed organic) and why our dairy herd is often seen in the winter months resting quite happily on snow covered fields in between feedings of certified organic 100% grass hay. We didn't just preach organic animal care, we lived it.<br />
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But, we no longer can ignore the corruption of the organic industry and we no longer want to be associated with it. What might have been a pure intent years ago has become, just like anything else that involves large amounts of money, grossly tainted. During those years when we sold large amounts of packaged meat to natural food stores in Bloomington and Chicago, our non-farm-visiting customers relied on the label to ensure them of a decent product. Now though, all our customers come here to our farm and actually SEE our animals, our practices. Thus, we are choosing to continue everything as we have done it before: feeding only certified organic feed, never using antibiotics except in the event to save an animals life, keeping animals on pasture throughout late spring, summer and fall, etc...etc...etc...but we will discontinue the biased governmental process of organic certification.<br />
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Instead, our only surveyors will be our customers. Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-15415523067785834252015-01-30T09:51:00.002-06:002015-01-30T09:51:30.789-06:00Big Fat Belly Dancers<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvURLa7U1zluqtdPcC06QlUUcD_waVJY5F2yTUUNwgtQie6Efw0TluxkvR5ajiVlMj6kY6lBrRK5gmPofPJx4qK1QzzxVu4Dy2q2ZxfntS-LEWITHeyLJPfu3E5rTfphIZniZ38-u7eK0/s1600/Red+Wattle+Pregnant+belly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvURLa7U1zluqtdPcC06QlUUcD_waVJY5F2yTUUNwgtQie6Efw0TluxkvR5ajiVlMj6kY6lBrRK5gmPofPJx4qK1QzzxVu4Dy2q2ZxfntS-LEWITHeyLJPfu3E5rTfphIZniZ38-u7eK0/s1600/Red+Wattle+Pregnant+belly.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Fat Belly Dancer from Summer 2014</td></tr>
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Last winter here was horrific. I love using that term because it drives my oldest son nuts, thinks it's a bit overdramatic. But when you lose 20 piglets and 4 calves due to cold weather alone, when you have never lost livestock in those numbers due to frigid weather in the 2 decades you've been farming; I think "horrific" is justified. <br />
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Besides, I'm the mom and I say so.<br />
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When you're a small farm that type of loss recovery does not happen overnight. In 2014 we raised and sold half the number of hogs we did the year before. Now, a year later things are looking up as pig bellies are going down. It's been a bit of a rocky ride as when one of our two big Red Wattle Boars, Mad Max, self retired and proving less than productive with our sows; was made into brats (for Keith) and dog food for our Great Pyrenees and German Shepard. All of them, except maybe Mad Max, are very happy with the results.<br />
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But, this put our breeding schedule behind. To add more challenges, our remaining boar Wally, always a fine virile fellow just a tad younger than Mad Max who was 5, decided that HE was getting bored with his boar duties. We put all our sows in with him thinking, silly us, what a hoot of a time he would have. Yet, the girls were just not getting bigger and bellies were remaining too slim. Some visits to the vet for ultrasound pregnancy checks end of December showed only 2 of 7 were pregnant.<br />
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At the advice of our vet we put Wally in seclusion. Seems boars, if life is made too easy for them, i.e. easy access to a harem, will get lazy. It all just becomes too familiar to them, too easy, not unlike those unemployed in our society who have all their benefits just automatically deposited into their banks, never seeing the need to seek work. Hmmmm. I sense a new short story; A Boar Speaks out on Public Aide. Anyway...a couple weeks alone and reintroduction of females should cause Wally, theoretically, to be put back "on alert." Much of this hoopla has worked in our favor as we told ourselves last winter we would never breed sows to have litters in the dead of winter again. Seems they took care of that themselves. <br />
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Last week more sows went back for preg testing and the results were so much better. Five of seven have dancing bellies! This validated Wally as new king, apparently he was getting the job done after all. The other two un bred females have been moved back to Wally in his new bachelor digs and man did he get busy, obviously forgetting he had shared a home with these two in the past. So, in the end, we'll have litters in the next two weeks, and throughout March, April, and May . This is excellent news since we have four customers waiting for feeder pigs as more folk have tired of the bad meat quality in stores and our ready to raise their own bacon, chops and hams.<br />
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In addition, we have selected a fine young boar, now 6 months old, as Max's replacement and soon, after new babies arrive we'll be back to our routine of moving sows back and forth between two boars thus giving credence to that old saying, "Familiarity <strong><em>breeds </em></strong>contempt." <br />
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Grow, mama sows, grow!Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-45376932514855871482015-01-23T09:17:00.001-06:002015-01-23T09:26:21.624-06:00The Prodical Student Returns...Again.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soda.head.com</td></tr>
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I started my second semester at UIUC on Tuesday (it's actually my third semester at UIUC if you count those weeks I attended back in the Triassic period of 1976 and my 11th semester of college overall if you count my pre-nursing and nursing days of upper learning) and STILL I find myself unable to sleep well the night before classes because, you know, I might be late.<br />
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You would think after over 50 years in school systems I would learn that being late for class does not mean immediate line up for a firing squad. I of course, because it is just plain fun, I blame the nuns; specifically I fault Sister Mary Gerard with the Unibrow.<br />
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Yes, that was her confirmed Pope approved name, Sister Mary Gerard Unibrow. <br />
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Once, when I was just a tiny, vulnerable 7 year old in first grade, I was told by an upperclassman: I believe he was a worldy third grader, that the cafeteria had a fire and there would be no classes after lunch. Since we lived in the apartment house next door to my school, Our Lady Of Mispent Youth, and I always went home for lunch, this information seemed plausible.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Innocent and trusting Donna Marie<br />
in kindergarten, just one year before her faith <br />
in humanity was crushed.</td></tr>
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My mother may have been suspicious since there were no fire trucks at the school that morning, but straddled with 4 children under the age of 7, I am sure it was just easier to believe me than it was to fact check; besides she needed more milk at the store and I was the only one <em>old enough</em> to cross four lanes of Ashland Avenue traffic to get it. <br />
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Thrilled to be out of school on that sunny May day, (I have no idea what the weather was that day but being a creative writer I am allowed to embellish; in fact it is required) I was skipping past the school towards the corner grocery when from the third floor above me I heard Sister Mary Gerard Unibrow beckon to me.<br />
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"DONNA MARIE O'SHAUGHNESSY WHY AREN"T YOU IN SCHOOL?!?!" Now seriously, how did those black capped women manage to memorize every single child's middle name?<br />
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I responded the only way I knew how...I ran like the wind to my mother. Her immediate and empathetic response was to get my little can back to school. Apparently I had been a victim of the all too well known <em>The Cafeteria Has Burned Up Scheme. </em>Humiliated, I returned to class and after being chastised in front of everybody about not believing everything I was told; unless of course it was told to me by a nun or priest or talking statue saint, I vowed never again to believe anyone who told me class was cancelled.<br />
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Consequently, I find myself at times sitting in empty class rooms because I did not believe the weatherman, the school emails, the large saw horse barriers or the big signs on the door that state class has been cancelled. There is no room for the phrase "better late than never" in my life. <br />
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I'll show YOU Sister Mary Gerard Unibrow.<br />
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<br />Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-43389874989692996322015-01-14T14:38:00.001-06:002015-01-14T14:38:17.095-06:00Lets Give it Up For...Hoary Frost!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zoOgwm7mkFmkWsjJSzU8XBdlu0SkZVir2vdOTluowdaNM6DbAJYzQif6oYHYKUINmYb4UqjsvEq9kKkLPKkN3cq0wbGhEYfCP6w_z6ajEEGcgfAGwZD_lqJkJyuOsD_ldt-q1KfHR7w/s1600/Hoary+frost+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zoOgwm7mkFmkWsjJSzU8XBdlu0SkZVir2vdOTluowdaNM6DbAJYzQif6oYHYKUINmYb4UqjsvEq9kKkLPKkN3cq0wbGhEYfCP6w_z6ajEEGcgfAGwZD_lqJkJyuOsD_ldt-q1KfHR7w/s1600/Hoary+frost+1.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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How can you not LOVE that name? Hoary Frost. I mean, I can't even say it silently in my head without smiling. When I finally get around to chucking this lets-do-chores-in-the-middle-of-hell-freezing-over lifestyle and return to my first love of Vaudeville; I am so going to make that my stage name. I might even add something to it like Mademoiselle Hoary Frost. So many options, so few costumes.<br />
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Our Illinois weather continues to be winter like which makes sense since it is mid-January. Variety has ruled. Some 40 degree days two weeks ago with lots of mud to trudge through , then last week below zero cold snap with wind chills of -30, then an ice storm and some snow and last night Miss Hoary Frost visited.<br />
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Some folks mistake her for actual snow fall but they are just, you know, wrong. Others refer to it as plain old Hoar Frost but we south of I-80 folk prefer the Hoary Frost term. It's just more fun. Technically it is just one type of frost that includes crystal formations created from the deposition of water vapor from air of low humidity. You didn't know I was a Rocket Scientist did you?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjgeVKV5AYyn1d9I7DZokv1-aEo1ENCwBV48hRRT_LIOWRdorV4JW_WY7-vOYe1NWk1IwRzrHriH0eK1PgSffJJ0hyq5E57QpyUYLULKHMJsprsJJNvGKb0StxJE2RbUyPN6eQOT68RA/s1600/Hoary+frsot+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjgeVKV5AYyn1d9I7DZokv1-aEo1ENCwBV48hRRT_LIOWRdorV4JW_WY7-vOYe1NWk1IwRzrHriH0eK1PgSffJJ0hyq5E57QpyUYLULKHMJsprsJJNvGKb0StxJE2RbUyPN6eQOT68RA/s1600/Hoary+frsot+3.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuhQjuyLccFyAHYycC0MRAoF51UapaBZNuS8oToDdntWeLZwLa4_uGVQjvPAPsEogG66oQaKPiHgAQbzvPV58p8c3xPi6Q470Y8XDX-bXSB4CzPaLynsbszNUkjyCAnNFlG3ykfZ2-jcY/s1600/hoary+frost+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuhQjuyLccFyAHYycC0MRAoF51UapaBZNuS8oToDdntWeLZwLa4_uGVQjvPAPsEogG66oQaKPiHgAQbzvPV58p8c3xPi6Q470Y8XDX-bXSB4CzPaLynsbszNUkjyCAnNFlG3ykfZ2-jcY/s1600/hoary+frost+10.jpg" height="220" width="320" /></a><br />
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Non-technically it's a beautiful coating of shimmering white, transforming ordinary items into something spectacular. Hmmmm. Perhaps I'll sleep outside tonight.<br />
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<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Oliver2005_1-1"></sup><br />
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Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com128tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-88475764816060768392015-01-07T20:55:00.000-06:002015-01-07T20:55:40.557-06:00Teat Freezing Cold<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
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It is so cold outside...<br />
How cold is it?<br />
It is so cold outside that I just fell in love with my husband of 21 years all over again when he volunteered to do all the outside chores in this -6 degrees F weather; THAT is how cold it is. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Ennis making us look bad </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">as she actually enjoys the brisk turn of events</span>.</td></tr>
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Of course the drastic temperature drop came just as we got our first real snow fall of the season. It in itself was not to bad, 4-6 inches in most areas, but now that winds are picking up we will indeed see some drifting. But even with the cold and the snow we had a good turnout at the farm store today most likely due to the new batch of beef we picked up at Bittners Eureka Locker on Monday. <br />
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Chuck, arm and rolled rump roasts beckoned to those wanting hot stews and other comfort foods to get through these days. This am I thawed one of our chickens for a chicken chili. Yes, it was a chicken in my freezer not just a cold bird in the coop. Sheeesh, give me a little credit would you? I might actually cook up a frozen solid bird found in our chicken coop but I would never blog about it. <br />
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Anyway, made the chicken chili and fresh cornbread from our own cornmeal freshly ground from our corn this past summer and then...here's the best part...shared it all with our friends Emma and Kiyoshi from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LuckyDuckFarm">Lucky Duck Farm.</a> These two work so hard to grow such fantastic food and we had not seen them in TOO long, so it was great to break (corn)bread and share farm stories with each other. <br />
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And just in case you don't know about Kiyoshi, in addition to his farming skills he has an amazing needle felting skill. You will not believe the detail in his small creatures! <br />
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<img alt="Needle Felted Bird - Cedar Waxwing" height="640" src="https://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/6323379/il_570xN.304373945.jpg" width="480" /><br />
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Fabulous gifts for those who have everything or better yet for those who don't have everything and need something special. Check out more of his work <a href="http://www.kiyoshimino.com/">Here</a><br />
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Now where was I ? Oh yeah it's cold outside, but when friends are able to make it up your drive for a meal and a visit life feels warmer. Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-78018820126855370692015-01-04T16:31:00.000-06:002015-01-04T16:31:32.275-06:00Post Number 1000 !<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Me and my father in Iowa</span> <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">1960</span></td></tr>
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It snuck up on me, my 1000th post and I thought <em>really ? 1000? Did I say anything profound in any way? </em><br />
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I suppose only time will tell. Centuries from now when some alien creature digs up all our old files out of the ground or more likely pulls them out of the nebulous "Cloud" storing so much digital data, will they find anything we bloggers write of any historical value? Perhaps.<br />
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I've been conducting my own archeological dig of late in the form of old photos. Over the years I have been blessed with the title of family historian which is just a nice way of saying, "Here, YOU hold onto all this stuff and then when there is a big fire and its all lost we'll know who to blame." <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-LTCkXstjNFA816wV9vSFldKQPMA72YHXYLHNq46xHrj6057jr6pCh02h2I6bmWGGkdm4UTCSIVDkqWQflKcGNnbwFqYvfZIrQ0tn7Wk6QGqOJp0R6e4CA9_-KzUB2fB8jW-TPgJjgg/s1600/Don+OShaughnessy+floor+Teresa+OShaughnessy+crib+circa+1928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-LTCkXstjNFA816wV9vSFldKQPMA72YHXYLHNq46xHrj6057jr6pCh02h2I6bmWGGkdm4UTCSIVDkqWQflKcGNnbwFqYvfZIrQ0tn7Wk6QGqOJp0R6e4CA9_-KzUB2fB8jW-TPgJjgg/s1600/Don+OShaughnessy+floor+Teresa+OShaughnessy+crib+circa+1928.jpg" height="400" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">My father on floor 1929, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">his sister Teresa in crib</span></td></tr>
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Not true. No one said that to me; its just that nasty voice in my head spewing garbage. Instead of ignoring it as I can do (like I've never dealt with voices in my cranium before) I am tackling them head on. The photos have been pulled from all their hiding places: boxes, closets, cupboards, envelopes shoved between books, between the pages of books etc... I have collected them, sorted them and given all the duplicates away. I have cried over a few of them, laughed over most of them and felt so blessed to have so many memories literally at my fingertips.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1DOqzny4-53lbpy9xWoaptWe_YBuWepZHvDlVVh-H8RR9YhSsztqLRliaDH4u9pCsuY2Hq0FtISdrCLOK1zAZCCWq33g-j9FcrWqiKABQJOgeKJUta9fjxXAIaISx26WT5zxJP0ZVKw/s1600/Don+and+Thelma+OShaughnessy+Wedding+1956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1DOqzny4-53lbpy9xWoaptWe_YBuWepZHvDlVVh-H8RR9YhSsztqLRliaDH4u9pCsuY2Hq0FtISdrCLOK1zAZCCWq33g-j9FcrWqiKABQJOgeKJUta9fjxXAIaISx26WT5zxJP0ZVKw/s1600/Don+and+Thelma+OShaughnessy+Wedding+1956.jpg" height="278" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">My parents at their wedding, 1956 with </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">my grandparents and my Aunt Teresa</span></td></tr>
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Which you are not supposed to do you know, finger your photos. I learned that in 6th grade health class I think. Something about body oils hurting the image. Let me tell you these images were damaged by a whole lots more than minute body oil secretions over the years. When I think of the smoke, the alcohol, the paints (my father the artist) the basement humidity, the attic deserts, the travel from state to state and house to house over decades and decades, it is a miracle that any of them survived at all.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQa8pq7CIg9Y62NsUZiUHuquR9JzFWODy79uy5A06VKESo10zhD5b3dTYBF1MacSzj6luz19lKsD2ktAQkcbLiPG1T-jOMDkK24KJaMPLkqxz3dMqmpNUHSNAWKw-bVqAQt44mKIr7JuQ/s1600/Bernadette+teresa+and+Josephine+OShaughnessy+Chicago+circa+1940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQa8pq7CIg9Y62NsUZiUHuquR9JzFWODy79uy5A06VKESo10zhD5b3dTYBF1MacSzj6luz19lKsD2ktAQkcbLiPG1T-jOMDkK24KJaMPLkqxz3dMqmpNUHSNAWKw-bVqAQt44mKIr7JuQ/s1600/Bernadette+teresa+and+Josephine+OShaughnessy+Chicago+circa+1940.jpg" height="400" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">My two aunts and my grandmother</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Teresa, Bernadette and Josephine O'Shaughnessy</span></td></tr>
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Now, due to the constant pestering of our oldest son, I am finally scanning them all into my computer, labeling them and resorting them for inclusion into an archival, acid free, PVC free, photo album. After years of horrific abuse these photos will likely go into some sort of irreversible shock when their faces touch such holiness. But, it is time. Life is rushing by me and organization beckons. This next generation is entitled to a (somewhat) intact past. <br />
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Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-13178871645282484602015-01-03T09:56:00.002-06:002015-01-03T10:12:36.550-06:00Pigs of a Different Color<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Variety is the spice of life </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">and the chops and the hams...and especially the sausage.</span></td></tr>
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We are all about the variety here on South Pork Ranch, just stand me next to Keith and you'll understand. Livestock wise we follow the same practice. Our cows are all cross breds, the ducks have been totally visited by some odd but beautiful genetic form that brings out browns, blacks and greys in a previously all white collection and the peacocks have a touch of flamingo in them I swear.<br />
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It is only in our Red Wattle herd where we exhibit some control, we believe in the "purity" of the breed keeping in mind that when the herd was thought to be lost but was rediscovered in Texas in the early 70's, some Durocs were used to get the breed back up in numbers. After that it was necessary to allow some Red Wattle inbreeding but over the last 5 decades the breed has evolved into something beautiful, well tempered and tasty! Oh so tasty.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Red Wattle Meat is NOT </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">the "other white meat</span>"</td></tr>
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We run both registered and unregistered stock together keeping the breeding stock separate from the feeder pig stock. Because our breeding herd is small (one registered boar with 5 registered sows and two unregistered sows) we are able to keep track easily of who can be registered and who cannot both by ear tags and by looks. One of our unregistered sows is an obvious crossbred ( half Dalmation I believe) named Dot who we have had for several years. She has no RW in her lineage but she is always bred to an RW. She has big litters and is a great mama and her babies make the best meat hogs. <br />
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Look at this group of feeder hogs again. All about the same age (6-7 months) from two different litters. Dots are the spotted ones; the ones we call our "Spotted Wattles." They will be heading to the locker in 4 weeks and will have hanging weights of over 200 pounds. They are longer like their mama.<br />
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Now look at the Red Wattle group and note the variety in color. This litter was originally 10 who came from a registered RW boar and a registered RW sow. Of those ten, half met the strict registration guidelines set by the Red Wattle Association. Of those five "best of the best" we sold four to other breeders, keeping one nice boar (front left) for ourselves. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX01pwXlzswE-z5JT1as1x7ST-W_KlfKrK1dEaKnM_FSwzD66ALvFzja5obRQGSSpfzoneQ4FFvcuA_xB0bGA4hP4FL2CqIY7mOD4EZc-_TG3hyphenhyphenxvwhfsN82VlOFVOSya5UNdxGubS7_c/s1600/keith+and+piglet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX01pwXlzswE-z5JT1as1x7ST-W_KlfKrK1dEaKnM_FSwzD66ALvFzja5obRQGSSpfzoneQ4FFvcuA_xB0bGA4hP4FL2CqIY7mOD4EZc-_TG3hyphenhyphenxvwhfsN82VlOFVOSya5UNdxGubS7_c/s1600/keith+and+piglet.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Nice ears: check</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;">Well shaped wattles: check</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;">Willingness to be cuddled: check</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">These boots are made for stalking...heat cycles.</span></td></tr>
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The remaining hogs of that litter did not make the grade. Either their wattles were not of uniform size or placement, or their ears were not well shaped or perhaps their legs were not well aligned with the rest of their body. So genetically this group stops sharing it's traits the day they go to the locker. Instead they will grace us and our customers with amazing chops, roasts, hams, bacon and fat for lard making. It's our motto...<br />
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Breed the best and make Italian sausage for pizza night with the rest.Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-4099254520552679442015-01-01T09:24:00.000-06:002015-01-01T09:24:26.431-06:00New Years NON Resolutions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There is such a relief with getting older, it's like if it hasn't happened by now it probably won't or if it does I'll just enjoy it because planning... pen and paper planning is such a crap shoot isn't it?<br />
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Oh sure I'll still plan my UIUC classes (Russian dance beckons to me) and I'll do some farm planning, that stuff won't just take care of itself and obviously I'll plan to pick up the GK's and care for them when needed...I'll still plan my funeral because that's just pure fun: the music (lots of Pink Floyd please) the food, the DRINK, the guest list, (you think I would let just anyone come?) the games...but once again I regress. <br />
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Anyway, back to resolutions. There will be only anti-resolutions in 2015 as in;<br />
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I resolve not to talk about my weight. Who cares? The GK's like my warmth factor. And being <br />
round keeps this mutton from dressing like lamb.<br />
I resolve not to get organized. I am just going to back the truck up to a house window<br />
and shovel in the junk. I don't care what order it goes into the dumpster.<br />
I resolve not to cook better meals. We have good food here on the farm. Milk, meat and veg. <br />
As long as I cook it and never ever go grocery shopping again, we'll be eating better meals. <br />
I resolve not to dress better. I learned in college last year that as long as your arse is covered <br />
(and even that is optional) no one cares what grandma is wearing to school. Bring on the<br />
orthopedic shoes, plastic rain caps and cuddle duds.<br />
I resolve not to exercise more. If the pigs are farther out in the field I will walk farther. If the GK<br />
is about to fall out of a tree I'll jog over, if a ladder is falling I might even duck, if my car won't <br />
start I will meander to the trunk for jumping cables but none of those exertions will be planned.<br />
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So that about covers my non-resolutions. What are you NOT resolving to do in 2015?Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-84744871153864796302014-12-29T08:30:00.004-06:002014-12-29T12:37:11.161-06:00O'Shaughnessy Kid Pyramid<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes, that's me smack dab in the middle of things as usual; I am the dark haired child with glasses bottom center, holding up my whole world. I was the oldest of six and in my opinion in charge of all things. Still, I lean in that direction. From the top down is youngest sister Teresa, then brother Tom and sister Peg, then next to me in white is my sister Mary. The other girl with the impish grin is family friend Patty Dawson who ironically was about the same age as my sibling Bernie Jo who could not be in the picture as she was busy being institutionalized. <br />
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Bernie Jo had been born with a couple of birth defects and then at just a few weeks old was accidently dropped down the stairs by a neighbor boy and suffered serious head trauma. My parents tried to care for her at home but it proved too much for them as back in the early 60's there was virtually no support for parents with that burden. She managed to survive for 11 years after that finally succumbing to pneumonia while living in Dixon State Home in Dixon, Illinois. <br />
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I still feel her loss as being the oldest I was often the one who accompanied my parents most when they visited her. I was 15 when she died. All of us O'Shaughnessy kids were approximately two years apart, Bernie Jo came after Mary and before Tom. So after she passed there was this four year gap between Mary and Tom, thus forever after my parents referred to Mary and I as the older kids and Tom, Peg and Teri as the younger kids. <br />
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There does not exist a single picture of all 6 of us kids together and as far as I know this picture above is the only one with the five of us healthy kids all in one spot. Film was expensive then, as least for my lower middle class parents, and generally pictures were only taken at Christmas. I was gifted this particular photo a few months ago for my 55th birthday by my friend Gene Ruet who I grew up with in Chicago. <br />
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Gene's mother, Doris (who was living in Arizona) had died last winter and after going through some of her things he found this photo. It seems at some point my mother must have sent his mother this shot and his mother had held onto it through several moves of their own, for over 45 years. Then, when it was rediscovered Gene took the time and trouble to return it to me. Such a thoughtful gift. I love how we all look in this photo taken in the living room of our first home on Ray Street in Warrenville, Illinois circa 1971.<br />
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We were happy.<br />
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We had no idea how little money we had, how our parents struggled to feed and clothe us, how their burden of their other sick child weighed on their hearts. We knew little of world troubles like the Vietnam War. All we knew was that we had been given permission to act like some tumbling team and it made us happy. </div>
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Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-69992995746843817582014-12-26T13:14:00.000-06:002014-12-26T13:14:21.632-06:00A Year in Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">County Road 750 that runs in front of our farm in Livingston County, Illinois.</td></tr>
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Well, it has indeed been a long road this past year and yet, we're still here, upright and taking nourishment. Looking back though it is amazing we are in one piece, the changes have been dramatic; and although the events were not the ones we had planned, I believe they all served a purpose. So class...lets review.</div>
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RAW MILK: We are still in the raw milk business; with a herd of 12 crossbred cows, despite the antics of IDPH. We've had good success rallying the troops and in a public hearing in Springfield, back in November, IDPH had to face many angry raw milk producers and consumers. The proposed rules have had many setbacks (yeah!) and will eventually make their way to JCAR (Joint Commission on Administrative Rules) It is expected they will balk at the nonsensical approach IDPH has taken to create a problem where none exists and throw them back at IDPH for revision if they don't refuse them completely. <br />
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In the meantime we continue to sell raw milk to amazing customers who drive long distances to be able to purchase and consume a healthy product from healthy cows, all done WITHOUT the public health department's unnecessary interference. <br />
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THE POOR FARM: Purchased in September 2012 our 7 acre spread waits for us as our current farm, up for sale since June 2011, continues to support us. We visit the Poor Farm often, we don't want the outhouse to feel lonely, and we continue to plan for "one day" when we will indeed live there making our lives on a smaller farm with less animals, a lesser house, less income and far less stress. Yes, our new American Dream calls for less. Just call us backwards, you wouldn't be the first. We've shown South Pork Ranch to several couples but sadly financing continues to be an issue for all prospective buyers. In January we will list the house and 10 acres separately and then if that sells we will sell stock and inventory piece by piece. It is pathetically sad that is the US massive amounts of funding exists for new and used farmers who will follow the corn and soybean standards while virtually no assistance exists for the independently thinking entrepreneur.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pasture raised, organically fed but not certified organic Chicken <br />
produced by Ryan Steffen and Bailey Beyers of Two Mile Farm, Fairbury, Il</td></tr>
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THE FARM STORE: We were recently inspected with no deficiencies. Still selling eggs and chicken from other farmers there plus our own beef and pork and soap; it is the source of income for us. All raw milk is sold direct from the tank, customers serve themselves. (I just put that in there for our officials who like to read my blog. Makes it easier if I put everything in order then they don't have to use the "search" button on my blog. I'm all about efficiency for those we pay with our hard earned tax money.)</div>
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We have an amazing group of customers, about 100 each month coming and going and serving themselves. The most honest group of folk we have ever known. We are open everyday except Sunday. Farm store income is the number one source of revenue on our farm, followed by: raw milk sales then pork carcasses, beef carcasses, Red wattle feeders, Red wattle breeders in that order. We are part of the 1% of all US farmers who mange their farm without any other outside non-farm related income <em><strong>but without our committed customers, it would not be possible</strong>. </em></div>
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ORGANIC CERTIFICATION: Two weeks ago we had our fifth organic inspection. Again no deficiencies which I take seriously because it is hard work to remain certified organic. This past year was especially hard due to my being so busy with school so I must give the majority of credit to my husband who kept up with the paperwork required by NOP (national Organic Program) while I gallivanted around with other co-eds. The NOP has gotten some very bad press lately about huge farms that were certified organic while not meeting the standards but I will address that in a future post. For us, and our small farm,we take the standards seriously. </div>
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THE RED WATTLES: Are alive and well on South Pork Ranch, even though we did say goodbye ( and good eating) to our boar Mad Max. He was one cool pig, friendly and easy going and a joy to be around but when he failed this past summer to get our RW girls pregnant we knew it was time to cull him. Large amounts of meat now available for our dogs and if the taint smell is not too strong...for us as well. </div>
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His progeny will continue on, as over the years we have sold several of his offspring as breeding stock continuing the trend of "The Gentle Giant" in Red Wattle circles. In his place our boar Wally will carry on with the 7 sows we have. Due to the great taste of this raw milk fed, pasture raised meat all our feeder pigs are sold up until April 2015. I'll be taking orders for that pork after Jan 2. Email us at <a href="mailto:opies99@gmail.com">opies99@gmail.com</a> if interested.</div>
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SCHOOL: I completed my first semester at UIUC (the University of Illinois, Champaign) without falling down any of the English Building stairs. As the oldest undergraduate on campus I consider this a great accomplishment. I certainly struggled to keep up with the technology requirements and discovered a few of my writing implements to be outdated.</div>
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I honestly had a riot hanging out with so many, brilliant students who tolerated all my "in my day" stories. I taught them about wall phones, 8 track players and black and white TV's while they showed me how to put a Pusheen Sticker on my text messages and make movies on my PC. </div>
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I completed one poetry class, one narrative writing class, one course in American Novels prior to 1914 and one writing analysis course. All I did for hours and hours each week was read and write and read and write. I rediscovered my love of poetry, to read it, to write it, to eat it for dinner. I also spent a large amount of time on the road, 2.5 hours commuting each day. Lets hear it for Audio Books!! All in all the semester was intensely satisfying and exhausting and I can not wait to start classes again Jan 20. </div>
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Three more semesters to go for my BA in Creative Writing and just a few more years after that for my MFA. Oh well, going to be old and dead one day anyway; might as well be old, dead, and well read. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view up our barn alley</td></tr>
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So, we have no idea where 2015 will lead us but we are sure of absolutely one thing...we will never, ever be bored.Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-74543137858673495262014-12-18T09:00:00.003-06:002014-12-18T09:20:52.518-06:00Outhouse Out TakesLife is funny isn't it? One minute you're minding your own business (literally we own our own business and it takes a fair amount of <em>minding</em>) and the next minute the department of public health is threatening you with a $1000 fine.<br />
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Nope. It has nothing to do with raw milk, sales are going great and still no ridiculous rules passed,YEAH!, this piece of paper was related to a gift we received last Christmas from our oldest son. Some of you might recall this awesome outhouse...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKBmNsS5T6o2UEiTg2fxVmkByTR-BXmPqZKEpejlhFOvbLqPNRSXIt5X-EmOtO5LSb1jC-h_NwfNS1uHMIfGXWCZO7tj9b2WrR4CfJXkam_9zlRP3JCUVnkNJpieW3WIgZhSIaVdcQUc/s1600/outhouse+new+location.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKBmNsS5T6o2UEiTg2fxVmkByTR-BXmPqZKEpejlhFOvbLqPNRSXIt5X-EmOtO5LSb1jC-h_NwfNS1uHMIfGXWCZO7tj9b2WrR4CfJXkam_9zlRP3JCUVnkNJpieW3WIgZhSIaVdcQUc/s1600/outhouse+new+location.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Built by hand- a real work of art; he even wrapped it in Christmas paper. A stunning gift and we were thrilled. Perfect for our new simpler life we are still striving towards. Then this past May all three of my strong sons and my hubby dug a nice deep hole for it. I was so proud. So proud that I, you guessed it, blogged about it. You can see that original post <a href="http://midlifefarmwife.blogspot.com/2014/02/outhouse-of-my-dreams.html">HERE.</a> Silly me thinking Freedom of Speech was alive and well in the US.<br />
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What I did not know though, although I had suspected it; our government officials, rather than doing the self important work in their job descriptions, were spending a good amount of their paid-by-our-taxes-salaried time, reading my blog. Since they still have no basis to give us any trouble regarding raw milk sales, they instead went after a defenseless rectangular box.<br />
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Their claim? We didn't follow section 905.130 surrounding the building of a simple, single seater outhouse; excuse me, I mean "Private Sewage Disposal System." Attached to this letter was a five page permit application, requiring a $100 Permit Fee and three pages of "Administrative Code" regarding human waste disposal which had to be met. You might be thinking, big deal, pay the $100 and use your outhouse. Sadly, not so simple. <br />
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One of the requirements states that's the bottom of the privy hole must be at least four feet above the water level. One of the ISCA Certified Professional Soil Classifiers we contacted said that is virtually impossible to do in our county as our water level is very high and thus the only way we could meet the standards would be to purchase a septic tank, pay to have it properly installed and then place the outhouse over THAT!<br />
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Now here's where it gets funny. Wasn't that the whole reason for installing an outhouse? In order to avoid all that? So faced with the choices of spending thousands of dollars to continue "simplifying" our lives for the privilege of using our outhouse on our property say 3-4 times a month (since we still don't live there) or leaving it as is, paying the $1000 fine and probably many more fines to come, we decided to fill in the stupid hole because God knows how our little bit of "sewage" would certainly threaten an entire counties water supply. Never mind the tons of chemicals being dumped on the fields that surround this property on four sides, the massive amounts of runoff with each rain into the ditches and onto our non-contaminated farm, the drift of hazardous chemicals that float and drop down from above us by planes spraying additional herbicides and fungicides, because that you see...is legal.<br />
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So IDPH, here you go. Proof that our outhouse is no longer a dangerous threat to our friends, neighbors and families of Livingston County, Illinois: a filled-in hole. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Previous outhouse hole to right of outhouse.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View through outhouse seat onto grass, no hole.</td></tr>
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And no, we will not be inviting you on our property to "prove" the hole is filled in. Since you managed to cite us for non-compliance by merely reading my blog you can certainly un-cite us using your same in-depth investigative methods. Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-77366140799998857832014-11-26T10:30:00.000-06:002014-11-26T10:58:23.679-06:00Organic Certification Hoop Jumping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Once again it's time to prepare for our annual organic certification inspection. This will be our 6th year and as always...I'm working like a fiend to get the paperwork in order. Although the standards are extensive, at last count 222, each year we do a better job of tracking what needs to be tracked. The problem is of course remembering how exactly we tracked it.</div>
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Was it on the computer? Via hard copy records? Those little pieces of paper stuck on the bulletin board? The torn off pieces of brown cow towels scattered on Keith's barn desk? Post-its littered on the fridge? Inked notes on the back on GK's hands? Each year when I find myself sorting through masses of ephemera I think of Jessica Lange in "Country" as she frantically sorts through her stack of papers to find that one receipt for sheep feed the bank needs. She eventually finds it but the bank STILL takes their farm. Bat rastards. </div>
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I should think more positive thoughts during this process shouldn't I?</div>
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Each year we discuss if we shall continue this process. In the early years we felt it was important as we sold meat to grocery stores to customers who never saw our farm. Although no certification is a guarantee of anything it was at least visual "proof" that the meat they were buying was antibiotic and chemical free. But since we stopped selling to middle men/women almost two years ago and now sell only direct to the consumer via our on site retail farm store, to customers who can visualize our farm methods up close, we did consider not going through the process again. We would still feed certified organic feed, keep all our fields organic we just wouldn't go through the paperwork, the expense (about $1500/year) for the actual certification through the National Organic Program. </div>
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But, with a prospective buyer on the horizon last summer who at the time wanted to continue with the organic certification we decided to go through the process so the certification could transfer to them with ownership of the farm. Oh well, best laid plans and all that. So since the fees are paid for this year we go forward. Step by step. Neither of us walk backwards that well anymore anyway. </div>
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And if you are one of those geeks who just love to read government rules and/or are considering organic certification yourself here is the link for you to read. hint: they are much more entertaining to peruse if you have a nice bottle of Merlot in your mitts. Enjoy. </div>
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Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-73433830200611472632014-11-22T19:34:00.000-06:002014-11-22T19:34:01.295-06:00No One Gets Out Of This Alive...Not Even Mad Max<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mad Max as a fine young fellow on the right.</td></tr>
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For my long time followers you might remember our very first Red Wattle Boar...Mad Max. Well, get the tissue box out cause he's heading for the locker in about a weeks time. His crime? Shooting blanks or perhaps not shooting at all. <br />
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We purchased Max several years ago, along with his little girlfriend Casey, they were our very first Red Wattle breeding pair on the farm. We even had the two of them on our farm T-shirts for a few years. Dang he was cute. Just 8 weeks old and super sweet. He never has lost that sweet nature, always willing to be petted, have his ears scratched and has even served as a great place for Keith to prop his feet.<br />
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He has never shown any aggression towards us and why would he? His life has been a good one. well fed, lots of space to roam free, to root, to chase girls; its' been a pigs life. But this past spring we noticed...not enough activity to make us or his woman folk happy. Sows left with him were not getting pregnant and sows in heat he just walked on by. I understand. You get to a certain point in life and Netflix reruns and a big bowl of sour milk is just as tempting as that 1 year old Golden Red Gilt but here, on the farm; it's behavior we can't afford to encourage.<br />
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An unproductive pig, be it male or female, has to go. So soon Max, all 1000 pounds or so of him, will be turned into fabulous sausage and brats. Now because he is indeed a male we run the risk of the meat smelling of taint due to his hormone status (if he has any left that is) but we've followed some other farmers advice, removed all females from his immediate area and kept him in his own pasture the last three months.<br />
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Hopefully this will tame down the boar smell a bit. (I've never noticed a difference in the taste I just can't get past the boar smell to eat it myself) But if the isolation chamber doesn't work to decrease the taint it's no worry as Keith has no sense of smell and plans to make good use of Max via some brats. The biggest majority of him will go to the dogs as we have 2 large ones to feed: a German Shepard named Ashland, and a Great Pyrenees, Fannie.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Guard Dog Fannie and Grandson Wes.</span> </td></tr>
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Our younger boar Wally will be the only boar up at the plate hitting those home runs until one of Mad Max's sons, Little Max, is ready to take his dads place. He'll be big enough to get the job done in about 8 more months. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Boar number two Wally. soon to be Boar number one</span></td></tr>
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Yes, I feel sad, he was a great boar, literally has fathered hundreds of piglets, the foundation of our farm,his piglets have supplied us with meat for our store and fat for my soaps and he will be missed, but we are not a zoo, or a wildlife preserve. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Lard Soap</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">One of Max's piglets sold as registered boar named after me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Of all the things I dreamed would be named after me...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">this was not one of them.</span></td></tr>
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We are a family farm which stays afloat by keeping the best and culling the rest. I love watching my kids squirm every time I say that at family events. Might have something to do with why none of the four took up farming as a profession.Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-6628884074828980712014-11-14T23:09:00.001-06:002014-11-14T23:09:11.912-06:00Head Count or How Many Steers Does it Take to Make Everyone Happy?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last winter you might recall we lost a few calves due to the extremely cold winter, the worst winter for us since we started out own farm 22 years ago. It's taken all spring and summer for those animals to recover. Animals stressed to stay warm do not gain much extra weight and thus even those steers we had (and dairy calves raised for beef) took longer to get to longer weight. Customers expecting beef last spring had to wait until summer. Summer customers had to wait until fall, etc....Finally two year olds are being taken to market and folks are getting their beef. But it went fast, all our future beef carcasses sold out until June 2015. <br />
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Now we are facing winter again and Keith is working hard to get the farm ready for winter. With me in school 4 full days a week the brunt of the work has been on his shoulders. Snow fell today, not much, but tomorrow night we are to get a few inches. Overall reports for winter are calling for more snow here in the Midwest than last year. Hoses can't be used any more for water, instead we'll be back to hauling around buckets instead. The barn must be shored up and more bedding added to stalls and outdoor sheds. As pastures die off, the silage bag is opened and oatlage must be shoveled by hand into the tractor and taken to cow feeders. And the list goes on.<br />
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But...with every winter comes another spring. So until then fasten your seat belts...we think it's going to be one cold and snowy ride. <br />
Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-9858444543084315172014-10-31T11:01:00.003-05:002014-10-31T11:01:54.536-05:00Crap...It's Winter<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">One last glimpse of the beauty of Fall</span></td></tr>
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My GK'S were asking me the other day about good words and bad words. The writer in me wanted to explain that words are neither good or bad as they have no ability to act immorally but I knew they were not interested in <em>that </em>definition; they basically wanted to know what words, if spewed aloud, might lose them computer time. Basics. Always get down to the basics.<br />
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So without an exhaustive list I mentioned a few non acceptable words. Then the 7 year old grandson asked me about the word "crap." For his purposes I decided no. There would be no crap utterances on my watch. But if they are smart, and they are, they will learn like the millions before them; that barn lofts are meant for uttering disallowed words. Cats, chickens and peacocks don't give a crap about your language. <br />
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Now, as a farmer..<em>Crap!...</em>is a most personal favorite of mine, as evidenced this am when I stepped outside to do pig chores. <em>Crap!</em> It was really cold outside and <em>Crap!</em> that's snow coming down isn't it ? And <em>Crap!</em> I'm going to have to go back inside and get a hat and gloves.<br />
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<em>Crap!</em> Fall is over and winter is barking up its backside. Sure we will have a few more warm days, a tease, but we all know wha'ts coming here in the Midwest and we best get ready. In the past I would make "Winter Prep" lists but in the midst of a what we thought was a possible farm sale, going back to school, etc...the list was not made. Therefore there is nothing to do to prepare for the ice and wind and snow, correct?<br />
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Oh, so wrong mon Cherie. There are hoses to drain and hang which means buckets will be used to carry water to those critters without automatic waterers. Oh joy. Then we have to board up the spots in the barn where snow may drift, secure the open areas on outdoor hutches left open for summer breezes but not helpful when breezes become gales of pure frigidity. Bedding must be packed into hutches to help animals keep warm and fences fixed. Storm windows must return and for those upstairs windows without storms good old plastic must be applied as an additional insulating layer. <br />
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The list goes on and on and later this am Keith and I will have our farm meeting and talk seriously...about what we can put off until, or say, the winter of 2017.Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-37360309898597339222014-10-27T19:11:00.001-05:002014-10-27T19:11:36.537-05:00Little Poor Farm on the Prairie<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New;">What's one more year among friends?</span></td></tr>
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Welllll....as Samantha Stephens used to say to Darin in the 1960's TV show when she was about to admit something that might not bode well for her, wellll.....it appears as once again, financing is just not going to happen for the last couple we've been working with. This obviously means no move to The Poor Farm anytime soon. When we purchased the 7 acres last fall we were sure we'd be living there in a months time. Now don't get me wrong, we are definitely into miracles and if one makes its face known we can pack up and ship out in no time flat, but realistically it looks like Prince Farming and his way past Midlife Farmwife are here on South Pork Ranch for the time being.<br />
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Now here's the good news. It's been a fabulous summer here. After last winters frigid air and snow dumps our livestock blossomed with the summers lower temps, frequent rains and thick pastures. In years past like in the drought we had two summers ago, we were feeding hay in early July. This year the pastures even now on October 27, look like spring. The growth is so lush we still must watch animals closely for bloat when turned into new areas, something we normally only need to vigilant about in spring.<br />
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The Red Wattles have caught up with their breeding schedules and litters born have been large and healthy. All of our pork that will be market age this fall is sold out with none additional available for sale until February. All the beef that grew little or none when the cold was at its worst have bounced back and after months of not having any beef even for ourselves, our freezers are filling up again. Milk production has been so good we were able to take some folks off our raw milk waiting list and actually put them on the raw milk GETTING list! Nothing like great pastures to make great milk. In addition, our very loyal customers remained even more loyal. <br />
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And so we sit back (just for a minute) to lick some wounds and then grill up some steaks and lick our fingers. We have plenty of food for ourselves, lots leftover for our customers and the ability physically and mentally to keep doing the work we are doing. Don't cry for us Argentina...instead check out some recent pics of The Poor Farm which has waited this long for new residents, it can wait a little longer. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The 100 year old barn being picked apart piece by piece. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Treasures have been found.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Nature reclaims that once abandoned</span></td></tr>
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Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-79737212716962398922014-10-07T07:35:00.000-05:002014-10-07T07:35:22.119-05:00To save them you must eat them...and broil them and bake them and fry them.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The irony of our life is stuff for poems. I should know, I just wrote a pig poem the other day.<br />
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It's not very good.<br />
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But I am good at castrating piglets which is what we did yesterday afternoon after I got home for school. Buehlers life was dull compared to mine. We had another lovely group of pure Red Wattle piglets born last week and it was time to separate the boys from the men.<br />
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Except none of them will be "men" this group, none of them as perfect for registration as we would like so will all be sausage, bacon, chops etc...in about 6 months time. As more folks learn to appreciate the taste of this NOT the other white meat, then more ask for it and thus more farmers want to raise them. Supply-demand-bacon!<br />
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The process is good for the economy, good for small farmers and good for the consumer. Organic pasture raised meat is amazing. Yes, we feel it is even good for the pig as they have a super life, able to roam over large areas, able to play in mud puddles, cuddle up with brothers and sisters and bask in the warm sun whenever they like. <br />
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It is amazing even to us how fast this breed will grow. Of course all that extra raw milk does wonders. Just look at how I, I mean they, have grown. The group below is on the way to Eureka locker as I type. No worries, Keith will take them through the scenic country. It's a wonderful morning for a drive.<br />
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Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-11830052782192504292014-10-03T09:39:00.002-05:002014-10-03T09:39:44.169-05:00Helloooooooooo! Anybody home?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yeah I hear you. Where has she gotten off to <em>this </em>time? Is she not aware anther month, another ridiculous<em><strong> season</strong></em>, has passed since she last posted? If this continues we'll just move on to better and bigger farmwife pastures.<br />
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I would not blame you. I might even tag along.<br />
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But you are here now so you might as well stay. Lets recap. No, the farm is not yet sold, yes I have made it though the first 5 weeks of school, no, we have not started building on the Poor Farm, yes, we believe this blog is constantly being monitored by IDPH because they have nothing better to do, no, I still cannot speak Italian well and yes, we will have more bacon in the farm store in just a few days. <br />
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Farm sale. Still pending. It is not easy in our section of the woods for young (or not) beginning farmers to get loans for farm businesses that are not...dare I say it?...of course I will... created from the almighty corn and soybean mindset. It appears many loans in our county and our state have been nicely floated to those who follow the rules, who remain conventional, who refuse to step outside the box. But if you dare to try something new like manage an organic farm, one that raises a variety of livestock not just the same overused , overbred robostock that no longer even sees real grass, you can expect very little help from local banks and farm agencies. But the young couple we are still working with have a strong entrepreneur strength and we continue to have high hopes that this farm will become <em>their farm.</em> <br />
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Good things come to those who wait, who work, who pray, who perservere despite prejudicial treatment.<br />
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In the mean time, Keith has been logging longer farm hours as his wife gallivants within the academic world; a world that I will admit, has made me giddy with happiness! Oh sure, it's no cake walk, although it is but a brief walk from the English building to my new favorite restaurant on campus <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RedHerringVegetarianRestaurant">The Red Herring.</a> It's so fun and old- age- new- age there. Great Indie-Rock folk music I can dig, (from Dylan to Sarah Jarosz) groovy atmosphere for study (they serve "old-hippie" tea in real mugs) and farm fresh food. FARM FRESH from small local farms I tell ya. Sure, its vegetarian but they let me in anyway. Shhhhh, please don't tell them I also eat pork, beef, eggs, chicken, milk and the occasional lamb. I'm kinda a big deal there and don't want to lose my seat under the 8 foot long live plant that drapes itself over my favorite table.<br />
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Nearly at the midterm point at <a href="http://creativewriting.english.illinois.edu/">UIUC,</a> this semi-senior is getting such a kick of being referred to as a Junior which means I'll graduate with my BA in Fine Arts, Creative Writing in May 2016. I have four intense reading and writing classes plus one kick butt Italian class. Truly I cannot remember caca for that class. (See ? I just used the Spanish word for excrement instead of the Italian word. Geez! The word I want is puah. Now repeat after me..Puu-wah, Benissimo!) Every week I am reading massive amounts of short stories/poetry/essays and then writing about them. I either support them, analyze them, annotate them or argue against them--yeah I LOVE that. Oh that crazy Poe, I adore him so. I returned school to improve my writing and man, am I writing. What I am not doing is getting much sleep in between homework, class time and travel time since I commute 2.5 hours each day. But since lack of sleep causes wrinkles and I am already in that deep boat I fret not. I am also not making soap, not cleaning house, not cooking, not calling friends, not returning calls to friends, and OK I'll admit it, I am not keeping my eyebrows plucked. Why bother? When they are overgrown and bushy disappearing into my untrimmed bangs, my fellow students don't see me raise them as they make totally off the wall unsupported left-winged propagandist statements. <br />
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I do represent the establishment you know :)<br />
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And THEY do an excellent job of not scoffing out loud when I say something deeply meaningful, insightful and oh so wisdom-- based like "Hey! Who stuck their disgusting gum to the underside of my desk ?!?!" Truth be told I have met some amazingly brilliant young folk on campus and I am learning from them every single day. Every single day. And because of their enthusiasm and desire to excel they have motivated me to push my own envelope. For example I only use the rail to go up and down the stairs about half the time. The other half I risk all and brave the steps, now get this, <em>unassisted. </em><br />
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The farm itself is motoring along nicely. Our livestock did a great job of procreating this summer and we've had many extra piglets to sell as feeders, breeders and eaters. Our waiting list for all those continues to grow. It's exciting to see more and more small farmers wanting to raise the Red Wattle hog. In fact we had another fine litter of these beauties just the other day and as soon as the rain lets up I'll be snapping some photos. All our carcass meat is spoken for through February and soon I'll be taking names for these new feeder pigs. No, I don't want you to name them, I will be putting your names on a list to eat them. <br />
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Clarity in sentence structure. <br />
Just one of the many weaknesses I offer.<br />
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One of our hogs was featured at <a href="http://spencefarmfoundation.org/author/sffdirector/">Spence Farm's Harvest Feast</a> a couple of weeks ago and that is always a big thrill for us when amazing chefs get their hands on one of our piggies. So, I'll leave you now with a raw milk update and take a few moments to catch up on all your blogs. I really have missed you guys.<br />
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RAW MILK UPDATE<br />
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When last we spoke raw milk issues were kicking up speed here in Illinois. That train is still rushing full speed ahead and I really do not know where it will end up. We are encouraging everyone and anyone who cares about the right to consume and produce and sell and give away the raw milk from your farm animals to contact JCAR (Joint Commision of Administrative Rules) These big guns will be making the decision on whether or bot these rules will stand. We have just another week or so to get our opinions in writing to them. (email or snail mail) Please go <a href="http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/news_wp/?p=16205#action3">HERE</a> for that contact information. Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-60312091334325438792014-09-18T17:02:00.000-05:002014-09-18T17:02:55.810-05:00Around the World in 80 Blogs and a Raw Milk Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.farmtoconsumer.net/Trendy-RawMilkSuperPowers.asp">https://www.farmtoconsumer.net/Trendy-RawMilkSuperPowers.asp</a><br />
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Geez. I'm so embarrassed. One of my bestest blog buddies, Lorna Sixsmith of Carlow, Ireland just did this wonderful post about yours fooly and it very nicely refers back to my blog (you hyperlink my back and I'll hyperlink yours) but then I follow my own link, some days its the only way I find my way home, and I realize I have not posted in 12 days!<br />
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Yeah, I'm quite the blogger all right. When the Nobel Prize extends it's reach into the blogosphere I'll be right up there...in the top 10,000 or so. Enough excuses, time to get to work but before I do; thanks again Lorna, you and your blog <a href="http://irishfarmerette.com/2014/09/17/meet-donna-midlife-farmwife-illinois/">Irish Farmerette</a> really rock !!<br />
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So what have I been up to? <br />
A large amount of reading and writing and over-reaching government fighting, that's what. I've been back in school full time at UIUC for 4 weeks now and let me tell you this, I am totally scr**ed if I don't learn how to read about 10 times faster!<br />
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But I'll come back to that another day. We need to talk raw milk.<br />
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On September 5th, as threatened, the Illinois Department of Public Health posted their pages and pages and pages of proposed rules for raw milk production, sales and consumption in the Illinois Federal Register. We now have 45 days to comment. We had until today September 18 to request a hearing. After the 45 days the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules better known as JCAR will review these rules in the second 45 day comment period. They then have the power to reject them. <br />
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As I have talked for over two years now, these rules are unnecessary, illogical, based on myth, punitive in nature and unaffordable when it comes to enforcing being as Illinois can't manage their money now and could never afford to hire the inspectors required to ensure compliance. They also will likely prove unconstitutional because they reach across so many rights of the private citizen. Example #1 the raw milk farmer will be required to submit names addresses and phone numbers of customers to IDPH whenever asked for them. <br />
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Fortunately we've had great support from organizations like The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund who published an amazing Call to Action today which well outlines the issue and gives clear direction on steps each of us can take to stop these ridiculous rules. You can read that Call to Action <a href="http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/aa/aa-16September2014.htm">Right Here</a><br />
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There has also been decent media coverage. The Chicago Tribune( and WBEZ radio) put in their two cents, interviewing both sides of the debate <a href="http://www.wbez.org/news/culture/illinois-regulators-put-squeeze-raw-milk-rules-110769?post_id=522653571_10153171558263572#_=_">Here</a> and The Pantagraph, a Bloomington, Illinois Newspaper, tracked me down while I was in class to get my side as well. Yes, I waited until the lecture on Gothic Imagery in Poe's Novel <em>Arthur Gordon Pym</em> was complete. If you'd like you can read that article <a href="http://www.pantagraph.com/business/farming/state-targeting-raw-milk-sales/article_d3c249f0-830b-56c6-b51b-1ca06271fe6b.html">Here</a><br />
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So as the Irish might say if this issue was happening in Lorna's land, The Shite has Hit the Fan. Through the power of social media as well as perhaps a few of my more recent anti-social comments to reporters; "Really, now they want to make it illegal to sell raw milk of your farm is located closer than 1.5 miles to a municipality? How NUTS are these people!?!" I do believe we have gotten the message out to those in our state who still believe that we the people have the right to eat and drink what we chose.<br />
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So now we keep writing letters to JCAR, we keep spreading the news, we keep sharing posts on Facebook and blogs and I personally will keep drinking raw milk ( and serving it to my family and friends) until they pry it out of my cold dead hand. Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-22937372344660471492014-09-06T14:58:00.000-05:002014-09-06T21:21:40.452-05:00A Cow Does Not A Pet Make<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How now guard cow?</td></tr>
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In our 20 plus years of farming together (and he did it for 10 years before he met me) Keith and I have run across all kinds as they have run across us. We have met the coolest Jane and John Does who have the deepest and most sincere desire to run a simple (they hope) and somewhat sustainable small farm. We often have young and not so young folk who come to us for advice (we have lots of that ) or wisdom (this supply runs short) or just to chew the Red Wattle fat about farm life in general.<br />
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We learn from them they learn from us and sometimes in appreciation we get cool stuff from our followees like poetry books by Wendell Barry! Thanks again Ben. I did love the one in "The Mad Farmer" titled <em>Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.</em><br />
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Enough off topic verbals, back to the cow.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another cow</td></tr>
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If there was one piece of advice I would give new homesteaders it would be this. Do not make a pet of your cow. Do not think of her as a pet. Do not treat her as a pet. Do not take her with you to school on Bring Your Pet to School Days.<br />
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Cows are not pets.<br />
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I understand it is easy to make that mistake especially if you come by them when they are calves. Calves are quite stunning with their doe eyes, quivering ears and graceful necks. Once you begin to bottle feed them they will indeed follow you to the ends of the earth and quite possible up the stairs into your master suite. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Milk on tractor wheel. Not your ideal storage place<br />
just a photo op.</td></tr>
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But they are not pets, they are...get ready as this next word may be hard to take...livestock. They were made for two key purposes; to produce milk and to produce more bovines. And when they get to that point when they can no longer successfully do either of those tasks they have one last purpose, to produce several hundred pounds of yummy ground beef. <br />
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What we have seen happen too often is folks mistake their cow or maybe their two cows for dogs. It's easy to make that mistake. They both have four legs, they both speak no English (Italian, French or Gaelic for that matter) they both enjoy defecating wherever they please, they both enjoy scratches behind the ear but when an intruder pins you against your barn wall demanding all your raw milk be poured out on the ground for a trumped up rule breakage which "pet" will most likely buy that bad guy/gal in the leg?<br />
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That's right, it will be Fido, whereas Betsy will merely walk away in search of the proverbial greener pasture. Seriously though, making a pet of your cow can be dangerous to you directly as well. My husband warned me in the earlier years about not rubbing a cows head to hard or for too long. The occasional rub behind the ears and nice pat on the flanks for a milking job well done is one thing but over doing your physical demonstrations can lead a cow into thinking you are her equal and you might very well find yourself on the wrong end of a strong head but, the kind that can land you on your back. <br />
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Cows with attitude problems are the cheap ones often up for sale. Women especially love to buy cows based on their looks, their carmel coloring, their big expressive eyes. But after they get then home they realize the animal won't stand to be milked, kicks off her milker or worse yet kicks at YOU or your child.<br />
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Folks have tendency to make this pet/livestock mistake with their horses as well. Letting them into your space without your permission, allowing them to be aggressive at feeding time, rubbing hard against you to get a bridle off. These are not friendly gestures and allowing them can cause you harm.<br />
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Other potential issues with Miss Bossy relate to diet and health care. Too often we see folks not taking the time to do real research when they buy their first cow. What is the best diet ? (we think grass and no grain but that's just us) How will you get feed? How will you know the feed is good quality? How will you store all this feed? And remember grass is not grass is not grass. Different types of grasses, hays have different nutritional values.<br />
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Have you considered the equipment needed? Too often people have this very romantic idea that they will milk their cow by hand. This takes a long time. If you do get a milking set up do you know how to use it? To trouble shoot it when it fails to work? Do you know how to thoroughly clean it? <br />
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Think about vet care. Do you have a vet? Does he/she know cows or just dogs and cats? Fewer and fewer vets want to troubled with actual livestock care especially on those farms with very few animals. Will your vet come to you or will he expect you to bring the animal to him? Some do. Yes, even if it is a 1000 pound cow. Will they come out in the middle of the night if your cow now has milk fever after calving? Do you know how to treat milk fever if he/she won't or can't? What about mastitis? What about bloat? What about hardware disease? <br />
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Yeah, cows will eat nails and screws accidentally. Mechanical accidents happen.<br />
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Finally there is the milk itself. Cows produce a LOT of milk, anywhere from 3-6 gallons a day depending on breed and feed. That could add up to over 40 gallons of milk a week! Will you sell the extra? Give it away? Feed pigs with it like we do? Do you know how to strain the milk of any impurities, how to cool it, how to store it? <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keith and our youngest GK, Wesley</td></tr>
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I am not saying all small homesteaders who want to produce their own milk for cheese, yogurt, long milk baths, etc...must be experts in care of bovines, even Keith and I are still after many decades learning new ways to care for our animals, but PLEASE I am begging you, do your homework!! Learn from someone whose been doing it for many years. Volunteer to help a dairy farmer with his chores in exchange for picking his brain or watching him milk. Purchase the books you need. The Internet is full of them. Mother Earth News is a great place to start. Read all you can, learn all you can first before you buy the cow and get into real trouble. Have a good conversation with your vet. Farm calls can range from $100 and up. Volunteer to go with your vet on a day he is treating cows. Help a friend who has a cow by taking are of it for an entire week (dairy farmers rarely get vacations.) Eat, sleep and be the cow.<br />
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In other words do the work BEFORE you get your four legged dream ice cream machine.<br />
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Just another public service announcement from your local Midlife Farmwife. You may now resume regular programming. Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-24807164908614788452014-09-02T23:22:00.002-05:002014-09-03T07:15:19.017-05:00Skool is Hard<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Quad at UIUC</td></tr>
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I apologize for not blogging recently but you see...my dog ate it. <br />
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Not really, he's not that into computers, he'd rather chase piglets and sniff his friend's back end, but I'm working on my excuses for not completing my homework. And boy, do I have homework. <br />
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It's funny, not really, how when I first made the decision to go back to college for my degree in creative writing I had this magical mystery tour sort of image in my chunky head. I would be sitting in class (the WISE one they would call me, giving validity to my waist long grey hair and crumbled up face) and I would be just absorbing through osmosis alone, all the knowledge I would need to rewrite my one routinely rejected novel and create thousands more.<br />
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I would hang out in smoke filled ultra hipster cool coffee houses where live music played in the alcoves-no dead music please-while I curled up into a decades old leather chair soaking up the creative genius ( and a small amount of residual body oils) left behind by the now famous authors who sat there in the last century.<br />
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I would learn and grow and improve as a writer merely though the art of BEING.<br />
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HA! <br />
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It has come to my attention that even though many things have changed since I last plodded along the Quad 38 years ago at UIUC, formally U of I, formally nicknamed U of High, one thing has not changed...the professors expect you to work, as in homework, as in lots of homework.<br />
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The biggest challenge for my atrophied brain is finding all the digital and non-digital places where homework assignments may or may not lurk. I have five classes. Creative Composition, Narrative Writing, Intro to Poetry Writing, The American Novel prior to 1914 and then Italian for Remedial Eejits. Italian for Brain Dead Eejits was the prerequisite. This is not a mocking of the course content but a reality check for the quinquagenarian who enrolled in it.<br />
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Each of these instructors share their homework assignments differently. Three use an online site called Compass 2g. One uses the universities Illinois.edu site and one sort of goes by her syllabus only. Of those 5 folk, one puts all her assignments online and meticulously checks and grades all of them, one puts them all online but doesn't get to all the reading she assigned so class time is quite the gamble, one lists assignments online and then adds more in class and then removes some from the online list after you have already completed it, one only gives you assignments in class (works for me!) and the last one assigns online homework that has to be completed by midnight on Sunday.<br />
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Midnight. Sunday. Whatever happened to being able to stay up all night if you wanted and then just turn in your homework the next morning? No wonder the No-Doz company is reporting decreased sales.<br />
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I have in the last 10 days of school I've changed my method of tracking my homework at least 5 times. It might has been 6 but I recorded that method online and now cannot find it. I have tried writing out all the assignments in long hand, short hand, on the back of my hand and while watching <em>Cool Hand Luke.</em> I have set timers in the house to go off every 10 minutes so I can check what an instructor may have added or subtracted from her internet site of choice. <br />
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I have written them in notebooks, assignment books and address books. I have listed them on flash cards, greeting cards and now defunct library cards. But still I managed to turn in one assignment over 10 hours late, (she wrote "noon" and I read "midnight" because the other instructor said midnight that's why) and another incomplete when I accidently hit the "submit" button as I feel asleep my head crashing into the keyboard. Overall though it's a bit improved this week. Instead of lounging up in the trees swinging from a hammock like so many of my non-gray haired peers, I am doing my homework as it is assigned. Or trying to. I am staying later at school studying in the awesome --I can say awesome now, I'm a college student--library where the International Sciences Section on third floor has a very quiet and secluded group of tables. Last week I was rushing home so I could catch up with farm work. This week my farm work will have to wait until the weekend, when my husband will certainly need a break as he has been picking up all my farm chore slack.<br />
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So enough. It's time to summarize because I learned how to do that earlier today in CW 243<br />
Homework is hard and so am I.<br />
<br />Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4212817062207309616.post-66312480214037433652014-08-24T00:22:00.000-05:002014-08-24T00:22:24.462-05:00Thanks for Everything Aaron!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqm4mCmSzO8DxnK7mJJRh7kzvuIngtCZDeWU6gkYVNKVJU3-Qwc9fx_bf4ikNXa-_PwUhRkiOOeJAyQJLATiCD1B8Yaf6fsAtUiDqDVVkNOoRwLVL4Ekfv2SVdOTfVc0AHTG-v0xm5ek/s1600/sam_4976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqm4mCmSzO8DxnK7mJJRh7kzvuIngtCZDeWU6gkYVNKVJU3-Qwc9fx_bf4ikNXa-_PwUhRkiOOeJAyQJLATiCD1B8Yaf6fsAtUiDqDVVkNOoRwLVL4Ekfv2SVdOTfVc0AHTG-v0xm5ek/s1600/sam_4976.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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We lost Aaron the other day. No nothing tragic. Our part time hired hand just grew up and flew the nest. That's him in the picture above bringing in our cows for the last time. Bummer.<br />
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We hired him several years ago at the ripe young age of 13. At least I think it was 13 or was it 12? Maybe 14? Well, I know for certain he was a lot shorter then and not as strong but he was always willing. <br />
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Willing. Not a common descriptive word for many teenagers. He was indeed willing, and each day he came to work for us he was more and more able. Because our farm is small and for the last 5 years our only source of income, we could never afford to hire Aaron (or anyone else) full time.<br />
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Heck, we can't even afford us. <br />
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Aaron started with just a few hours once a week and by last summer he had the skills and once again <em>the willingness</em> to manage our entire farm for 7 whole days while we took our very first large family vacation together up in Michigan. Oh he had some help from his also very willing mom, she's another one of those get-dirty-work-hard-farm-types, but the main responsibility was on Aaron's shoulders and he--excuse me for this--shouldered it well. What a treat that was to not only get off the farm but to get out of the state! With the exception of a couple overnight trips it had been seven years since Keith had experienced a real vacation. <br />
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We so looked forward to Tuesdays when Aaron worked. While he milked cows and fed pigs I could catch up on the mundane paperwork part of this gig. Keith also had a helper for bigger projects, like fence building and hog relocations. It always seemed that on Tuesdays even though we were just 33% more in the way of help we got at least twice as much done as on the other days of the week.<br />
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But, time stands still for no (hired)man...and Aaron moved on to the greener pastures of something even wilder than our farm. He left for <a href="http://cbarnmission.org/mwsb/">Montana Wilderness School of The Bible</a>. He'll be gone a year and with us hopefully vacating these premises ourselves in a few short weeks, the timing really could not have been better. But still we are going to miss our hired help.<br />
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Even more than that...we are going to miss Aaron.Donna OShaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.com13