Part of Life's Eternal Rhyme.......

“You have been my friend," replied Charlotte. "That in itself is a tremendous thing...after all, what's a life anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die...By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that.” ― E.B. White,Charlotte's Web

 

Death feels like it comes too often on a farm.  We raise our children here because we value the life lesson of give and take, of birth and death, of watching the seasons bring and take away.  But I find some days that the lesson of life feels too much of a burden to bear. 

 We lost our livestock guardian dog, Bailey yesterday.  With the gift of unwavering loyalty and unconditional love comes a price.  Each time I lose one of my animals, they take a piece of my heart with them.  Reminds me of a quote I once read:

“It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them, and every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are.”

I want to tell you the story of his life that will make you understand how important he was...how interregnal he was.  I want to tell you about the first time I met him as a puppy amongst a herd of sheep and goats, as he was just beginning his life’s career.  I want to tell you about the “shift” changes he took with his fellow livestock guardian dog, Moose.  Or the mornings I awoke after a storm to see him curled up in the snow on top of the pasture, keeping watch.  Or tell you about his gentle nature with our children even though he towered over them.  Or the rare occasion when he would escape the barnyard and I would find him on our porch, in the middle of the night, licking a peanut butter jar from the recycling bin. But I just can’t tell you a story that would encompass him or the loss I feel.  So, I will leave you with the statement that he served our farm well as the working dog he was bred to be and so very much more.

I couldn’t give him much yesterday.  The best I could give him was the most experienced white coats I could find to tell me that a sudden stroke left his body useless.  When I arrived in the ER and spoke to him, he could only move his eyes.  So I attempted to return all the unconditional love he had shown to me by holding his massive head in my lap and letting my tears drop onto his thick white coat while he slipped away.

The barnyard seemed strangely quite last night.  Life goes on all around where he was.  But, much like me, each of the animals are less whole without him.  As I walk back to the house from the barn, I hear one single livestock dog bark echoing over the frozen winter pasture where I once heard two.  My heart aches for its missing part, but my heart knows that spring will arrive from outside of this frozen winter and life will continue on our farm.  The moment reminded me of one of my favorite songs I enjoy singing to my children .

How very special are we, for just a moment, to be part of life’s eternal rhyme…….

(click on picture below for audio)

 

 

 

 

Goodbye, Old Friend

Gifts come in unexpected packages and in unexplainable ways.....

One evening, some six years ago, Rick and I were returning home when we noticed a dog wondering aimlessly along Opossum Hollow Road about a quarter mile from our house. We stopped and called to the dog but he was extremely skittish and avoided our attempt to approach him, leaving us no choice but to continue on our way home.

The next morning my husband chuckled as he looked out our bedroom window. I asked him what was so amusing and he replied that the stray dog had chosen us. I peeked outside the bedroom window and saw the large blond dog from the previous day curled up sleeping in our flowerbed.

The dog was extremely shy, not allowing Rick or I to touch him. His coat was severely matted around his neck where a chain had been cutting into his neck. His thin body was peppered with what appeared to be buckshot pellets. Though he would not allow us to touch him he seemed to be set on staying.

His age and breed we will surely never know....but he resembled a Golden Retriever and his purple tongue gave me a clue that his genetic makeup included Chow. I was reluctant to turn him over to a shelter since he didn't appear to be highly adoptable. He had three strikes against him: his age, shyness, and Chow breeding. These traits would surely mean that he would be destined for the gas chamber. So he stayed....

As his time with us passed we quickly realized that he had a soft spot for children. He was quick to approach visiting children which surprised me due to his shyness...he appeared to actually enjoy their load playful behavior. He continued to resist interactions with adults. Even to the current time, large men in dark colored clothing are terrifying to him. Over several weeks he finally allowed human touch again and so the trust began to grow between us and the dog which was then known as "Gus."

Rick was content with him staying as long as he was an outside dog.....of course I had other plans :) It has always been important to me, that if I had a dog it was "part" of the family, which meant that it could socialize with every family member and be able to come into the house. So, while my husband was out of town I took Gus to the vet and had him neutered and brought him inside for crate training. He was house-broken within a few days. Who said old dogs can't learn new tricks! Everything about Gus seemed easy. It was as though he knew he had to "fit in" in order to stay....and he did.

Several years after arriving at our farm, our family grew with the arrival of Raven Emmaline. Gus was nothing more than a perfect introduction to dogs for Raven. His kind, patient behavior towards my daughter will never be forgotten. What a wonderful gift for a child to grow up with.

As the years passed, Gus's age started to show. He now spent his days lazily snoozing and occasionally barking at cars as they passed. His eye sight grew dimmer. We would often chuckle at "our old man" barking at the trash cans that were set out at the end of the street every Monday morning. His eyes were not the only body parts that were failing him...his back legs became progressively weaker over the years causing him incontinence. Though the inconvenience of cleaning up after Gus was difficult at times, I realized that having a good friend meant taking the good with the bad. Cleaning up after him and spending money on vet bills and arthritis medications was a small price to pay for what he offered us in friendship and companionship.

In the last week his behavior became more unpredictable and strange. I found him doing things that only an owner would know wasn't quite right....like sleeping in places that he never slept in. He was also having increasing trouble in getting up after his long naps and had now lost his bladder control. On August 18th I came home to find him in the exact location he was when I left for work. I attempted to help him stand to no avail. Rick and I talked and we decided to have Rick take him to the vet the next morning.

I awoke the next day, hoping to find that Gus had made the decision on his own to pass....I glanced out onto the porch to find Gus's bright eyes sparkling back at me. His body useless....I said my goodbyes to him that morning , patting him on the head and giving him a "cookie." With a heavy heart I went to work hoping that perhaps Rick would call me to tell me that the vet had better news than what I predicted.

The vet confirmed what I had feared, his body had given out before his beautiful spirit had. So Rick decided to give Gus the best gift he could give a friend, a peaceful passing. With Rick at his side, Gus slipped into a peaceful sleep and left this world.

Gus never asked anything of us, but kindness and in return he was able to learn to trust again. We believed that we were giving him a gift of a "retirement" home, but indeed he gave us the gift of unconditional love and companionship.

Though, I will never know where he came from or where he was going on his journey, I am so pleased that he chose us to spend his "retirement" years with. He will forever be remembered.

And so I got up this morning, like I do every morning to get ready for work....I paused and I stepped onto the porch and glanced at where Gus would great me....the porch was empty...such a strange, empty feeling.....Goodbye, old friend.....

THE DOGS WHO HAVE SHARED OUR LIVES

The dogs who've shared our lives.

In subtle ways they let us know

their spirit still survives.

Old habits still make us think

we hear a barking at the door.

Or step back when we drop

a tasty morsel on the floor.

Our feet still go around the place

the food dish used to be,

And, sometime, coming home at night,

we miss them terribly.

And although time may bring new friends

and a new food dish to fill,

That one place in our hearts

belongs to them....

and always will.

-Linda Barnes-

Sandy Rock Acres Farm Tour and Workshop

Sandy Rock Acres in partnership with Ohio Environmental Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) is hosting a farm tour and workshop this Sunday, July 18 from one to five p.m. The workshop is part of OEFFA's 2010 Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series. More information about OEFFA and additional farm tours can be found at http://www.oeffa.org/

Sandy Rock Acres is a 50 acre farm located in the heart of Hocking Hills. My husband, Rick Perkins, daughter, Raven Emmaline, and myself raise pastured meat goats and free range/pasture raised chickens for meat and eggs. We have worked closely with Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and Hocking Soil and Water Conservation to obtain a number of cost sharing grants in order to develop a spring, install a cistern and water lines for a livestock watering system and high tensil pasture fencing to increase rotational grazing.

Join us for a tour of our farm follwed by discussion, demonstration, and hands on practice constructing high tensil fencing. Represenatives from Hocking Soil and Water Conservation are scheduled to attend to answer questions regarding grant availabilities and projects.

Space is limited. Preregistration is required by calling OEFFA at (614) 421-2022. There is a $10 registration fee for the workshop. Appropriate farm attire is recommended and hilly terrain should be expected. Please bring your own work gloves and hammer for participating int he fence building workshop. Parking is limited so car pooling is appreciated and 4 wheel drive is recommended.

The Stork Has Arrived at Sandy Rock Acres

You could tell that kidding season was upon us without even glancing at the large red "X" marked on the calendar. During feeding time in the barn the double-wide does shuffled to the feed trough to gobble their daily quota of grain and hay only to return to their slumber spots in the barn. The goats are pretty quite during the final weeks before kidding. The only sound you hear in the barn at night is the groans of does attempting to shift their body weight to breath easier under the weight of their baby filled bellies.

This time of year is always the most exciting and tiring on the farm. With 16 does expecting, we expect approximately 30 kids on the ground by the end of the month of March. First time mothers will usually have singles or twins and the “professional” will typically have twins or triplets and some singles.

It is such a miracle to watch life enter the world on the farm. I can't begin to understand how anyone could think it was gross. My only guess is that they have never witnessed birth. In fact, I love that my daughter gets to witness this miracle of life.




To see a creature transform from a curled up, immobile, water loving fetus to a beautiful, air breathing, 4-legged, crying, walking kid within minutes is nothing less than a miracle. To me, watching them take their first breath is the best gift my does have ever given me.....truly a remarkable thing.




Our animal husbandry technique during birthing season is summed up by phrase "nature knows best." For the vast majority of births on our farm, the does have no problem birthing the kids and the kids are born strong and healthy. My husband and I are a strong supporters of natural childbirth. Our beautiful daughter, Miss Raven greeted us in this world 2 weeks late and after 29 1/2 hours of natural labor.

This strong belief in a hands-off approach carries over in our animals husbandry techniques. In over 100 goat births on our farm, we have only had to intervene once during labor. This kid ended up having a genetic defect that caused it's vertebrae not to fuse and hence made birth difficult for the doe.

If problems are going to arise with the kids it is typically after the kids are successfully born. We do practice what is refereed to in the sheep and goat industry as "snip, dip, and strip" technique. This refers to snipping the umbilical cord if is longer than 2 inches and then dipping it in 7% iodine. This process greatly reduced the possibility of infection caused by bacteria entering the umbilical cord site (known as Navel Ill). In addition, we "strip" the teat of the doe by milking each teat out to insure that the waxy plug is removed and adequate colostrum is present for the newborn kids.

Like other mammals, it is imperative that newborns receive colostrum from their dam within hours of being born. The colostrum provides vital energy and antibodies for the kids. The quantity of live antibodies disappears from the doe's colostrum within a day or so. The kid's nursing instinct or reflex is strong after birth (evident by how they try to nurse your pant legs, fingers, and everything else in the way) and they should learn to nurse quickly.

We have had several farm visitors during the kidding season. Here our close friends, Sharon and Robert who playfully showed up on our farm "dressed" for a weekend of playing goat midwife....yes, they did get to see kids being born....in fact, they have two namesakes...meet the kids Robert and Sharon below.




Here are a few answers to some of the most commonly asked kidding questions:

1. Do you know if the does are going to have singles or twins? No...your guess is as good as mine. Typically I can expect one to two kids the doe's first year and twins or more the following years. You never really now. I have been surprised more than once with a very small looking doe giving birth to twins or a huge doe giving birth to one giant kid.


2. How do you know when the does are due? We place a certain buck in with a group of does for a little over a month (two heat cycles for the does). This insures that all does are bred by the time we remove the buck. I then mark on the calendar 5 months from the date. Typically the goats give birth within 2 to 3 weeks of "d' day.


3. How long does it take for them to birth the kids? Unlike, humans, goats typically give birth pretty quickly and have a "hard labor" period of 10 to 45 minutes. If a doe is in "hard labor" for over 45 minutes I begin to worry about the position of the kids in the birth canal.


4. How long before the kids are walking? Most of our kids are up trying to stand within minutes. Within half an hour the kids should be standing. Like all ungulates (hoofed animals), they are prey animals by nature and have "eat me" stamped on their forehead. Hence, if antelope, deer, or other hoofed animal babies aren't up running right away they become a predator's meal......biology and natural selection at its best.

5. When do the kids begin to eat? The kids should be getting their first drink of colostrum within the first hour after birth. They will nurse until we wean them at approximately 3 months of age for the males and sometimes up to 5 months for the females. The kids begin eating some grass hay within a week or so after birth. This helps develop their rumen bacteria.


6. Do you milk your goats? No, we raise goats that a primarily meat goat breeds (Kiko and Boer). Though you can milk these meat breeds, the quantity and quality of milk would not be that of a dairy goat breed such as a Nubian. It would be like milking a Black Angus verses a Holstein Cow.

7. What do you do with all those goats? We raise several "grades" of goats. Typically I will choose several replacement does from the kid crop to retain in the herd. Many of the goats will be sold as breeding stock (both buck and does) to other farms. We have both percentage breeds (hybrids) and purebred registrable (Kiko and Boer) stock. Some of the whethers (fixed males) and doelings will be sold as 4-H projects. The remainder of what does not fall into these categories will go to the local ethnic markets for meat at the end of the season.

8. Do you bottle feed your goats? No, not unless we have to. It is not cost or time effective to bottle feed meat goats. You end up spending more in milk or milk replacer than the kid is worth and it is extremely time intensive, with having to feed newborn kids every couple of hours during the first week. That being said, there are times when the doe is unable to care for the kids for some reason and we do not allow kids to simply die on our farm due to this. When this occurs we bottle feed...case in point, meet Thimble ....


Thimble's mother did not have enough milk for her twins for whatever reason. In addition, Thimble was extremely small at birth weighing approximately 2 lbs (typical Boers weigh between 7 and 9 lbs at birth). Though we hesitated to take Thimble from her mother, we watched as the kid grew weaker and weaker by the day. We made the decision when Thimble was less than a week old that if she was going to have a chance to survive we would have to pull her and attempt to bottle feed. At first she was too weak and had to be tube fed (yes, you have to stick a rubber tube down the throat) for several days, but eventually she gained strength and became more interested in the bottle. Now, several months old she happily devours her bottle during her 2 feedings a day.

It is now the third week of May and all but one of our does that was bred late have birthed. The grand total to-date from 16 does is 32 live kids, and one still born. I am quite proud of such a birth statistic which reflects a very low loss rate for a livestock farm. Not to speak too soon, because a lot can happen between birth and weaning (keeping my fingers crossed).....

Inspire and be Inspired

My husband and I made some changes this year. We had been members of Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) for several years running. As time passed, I began to realize that the OFBF seemed to split further and further away from my beliefs and ideas on agricultural practices. Perhaps they never really split, I just became more and more aware of their true stances on issues. I contemplated leaving the organization but I I had never been one to "jump ship" when things didn't go my way. Perhaps I thought I should stick with them and try to make a difference in the organization so that my ideals were reflected in their stances. You know....talk some since into them :). But as the last year progressed, I began to realize that I was just "feeding the beast" with my membership fees. I really had little time to make a difference and do more than participate from the fringes of such an organization.

OFBF's support of Issue 2 (Ohio Livestock Care Board) was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. My membership fees were helping drive a campaign that simply did not benefit small farmers and certainly did not benefit the animals we so love and respect in life and death. And so I began seeking those groups like myself that apposed the situation and came upon the organization Ohio Environmental Food and Farm Association (OEFFA). I was astonished as I read information on their website. What was this....a group that supported farming but believed that the animals and the land shouldn't suffer needlessly in the process! Eureka! I was sold and quickly became a member of this organization.

And so the campaign went on, Issue 2 passed. OEFFA was defeated in their campaign by the passing of Issue 2, but they fought the good fight and stood up for what they believed was right.... and they continue to do the same today. They won my support.

On this chilly Valentine's day weekend my husband and I attended the 31st annual OEFFA conference in Granville, Ohio. Apparently I am not the only one who found OEFFA this year, perhaps because of Issue 2 or maybe the growing movement towards sustainability. The conference quickly sold out and had 800 plus attendees.

As we attended the conference it became clear that I was now home. The energy that surrounded me was contagious. And yes the conference served as a channel for educating and allowing networking, but more important was how folks were inspiring one another. It was like a pep rally for sustainability!

The highlight of the conference was the locally grown and prepared meals. These were no skimpy cafeteria meals...these meals were awesome! For example, Saturday lunch consisted of the following options: meat and vegetarian lasagnas made by Mustard Seed Market and Cafe (featuring ground beef from Marshy Meadows Farm, Ferm's cheese and eggs from Green Field Farms, Butter from Hartzler Family Farms, Mik from Snowville Creamery), Garlic Bread (featuring, bread from Lucky Cat Bakery, garlic from Bluebird Farm, Butter made from Snowville Creamery cream), Green Salad (featuring greens from LocalCrop.com and Whole Foods Market (Dublin), Toppings from While Foods Market (Dublin), cheese curds from Blue Jacket Dairy, Dressing by Casa Nuewva), Cookies and Pastries (provided by Crumbs Bakery), Whole fruit (provided by Mustard Seed Market and Cafe), Milk (provided by Snowville Creamery), Soymolk (provided by Eden foods), and Herbal Iced Tea (provided by Bad Dog Acres).

As I happily filled my tummy on locally grown produce and meat, I realized how I no longer felt like an outsider or the minority. I don't eat meat from factory farm operations where the animals are mistreated and the meat is tainted with chemicals. For over a year now, I have struggled to find meal choices that did not contain meat when out with friends. For this reason I was often labeled a vegetarian and I excepted this label because it was just easier than trying to explain my food choices.

Sitting there at the conference I felt normal again. Like I had entered a new paradigm where you didn't have to feel guilty about eating meat and everyone was on the same playing field. And what struck me as humorous was this room was filed with fellow consumers and farmers, many of who apposed Issue 2, who were happily enjoying their lunches laden with sustainable meat. One of my least favorite parts of the campaign for Issue 2 was the myth that those that did not want issue 2 to pass were those that wanted meat farming to cease in Ohio. Hmmmmmm.....interesting.

The speakers were amazing. Rick and I picked through the difficult workshop decisions. Some of the highlights included several talks by Joel Salatan of Polyface farm. He has been featured in Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma and the anti-factory farming movie Food inc. If you haven't heard anything about him I urge you to take the time to peruse his website at http://www.polyfacefarms.com/ or better yet grab one of his many books to find out why everything he wants to do is illegal.

Joel's common sense comments concerning America's food system and regulations really began to bring the message home. His farm focuses on pasture production of turkeys, chickens, rabbits, eggs, and cows on a grand scale, serving more than 1,500 families, 10 retail outlets and 30 restaurants. His methods has defiantly influenced our farm management practices and so it was a great honor to see him speak in person......... OK, so how can I explain the magnitude of this experience.....You can equate that to a music groupie getting to talk to his favorite singer back stage....calm down.....I did not throw my undergarments at anyone...I do have some self control.

Another keynote speaker included Chef Ann Cooper. This fiery chef has been on the war path to get something done about the poor quality lunch foods offered to our children in public school. Her efforts have focused on getting big company contracts for highly processed food out of our schools and getting locally grown, organic, healthy alternatives in. How sad it is to think that our children don't know how to use knifes and forks anymore because everything is junk finger food. They think chicken comes in the shape of breaded dinosaurs and star shaped tidbits. Yes, meat does have bones regardless of what you might believe by viewing Farside cartoons.

Chef Cooper seems optimistic that with the First Ladies proposal to support a healthy change in our children's school lunches we are heading in the right direction. However, as she pointed out, the plan is lacking adequate federal funding per meal in order get the job done. She needs your help to make this a reality..... Please check out her website at http://www.thelunchbox.org/ to find a "virtual toolbox" including recipes, informative facts and literature, and to find out how you can help her efforts by a click of your mouse (emailing representatives).

Probably one of the most profound speakers I encountered at the conference was not one who has found national recognition, but an individual found right here at home in our neck of the Southeast Ohio woods. JB King, owner and operator of Kings Family Farm gave a short presentation on niche pork production. The information he presented concerning the pig livestock husbandry was useful and informative, but for me it was not what made his presentation so profound and unforgettable. This man had passion and love in his eyes for what he does.

For so long, I have read about the practices of factory farming, especially pertaining to pork production. And for so long, I have shared this information in the hope of shedding some light on the unknown and unseen horrors of this factory farming business. And every once in a while I would run into an individual that would tell me that I was simply being "brain washed" by "PETA propaganda". I knew in my heart that what I had read over and over could not be untrue...but like most people, doubts creep into our minds...what if I was wrong?....what if it was propaganda souly to attempt to spoil the carnivorous endeavors of our culture?

In JB's presentation, he carefully explained his farms animal husbandry choices including the choice to not use gestation stalls. He also explained his past employment as a production manager of a pork producing confined animal feed lot operation and the practices that led him to leave this position such as the use of gestation stalls, and intentional aborting piglets to synchronized births. I was deeply moved by this mans obvious love for his animals and his farm. He had been there and opted out of this system. He has seen and confirmed what I read and suspected. My heart immediately connected with his compassion for the animals he raises and how proud he was of his family and farm. KUDOS TO YOU, JB! You can find out more about where to find JB's farm products at http://www.kingfamilyfarm.com/

As we drove back from Granville Sunday evening, my mind was reeling with the experiences of the conference. My mission in life, has always been to inspire and be inspired. The conference certainly fit the bill in this category. It is all about "growing with integrity and eating with intention". Now, to figure out how to maintain this momentum of inspiration.......

*Disclaimer - the contents of this blog are not meant to express the opinions of any individual mentioned within. They merely express the writers opinion on specific subject matter. The contents have not been approved nor condemned by any individual mentioned within. The following sites are credited for the use of their photos/logos:
www.oeffa.org
www.thelunchbox.com

Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore art thou Romeo?

Ever since I have worked at the Cincinnati Zoo I have dreamed about owning Peafowl. I was so enchanted with the Victorian vision of Peacocks displaying their iridescent feathers around our farm. However, I just couldn't sell Rick on the idea of a large Vilociraptor-like bird that screams when frightened (day or night) and has a habit of roosting in exactly the places you wish they wouldn't (like the roof of your house).

Over the last several years I have tried to warm Rick up to the idea of Peafowl and thought perhaps a few Guineafowl would be a good introduction to Peafowl ownership. After all, they were somewhat of a smaller version of Peafowl. And so, our farm became home to half a dozen beautifully speckled little Guineas. In the end, I found that they screamed at everything (including Rick and I) and roosted exactly where you didn't want them to (in the tree tops in the middle of a snow storm or in the neighbors apple tree).

These birds had fifty acres to call home and a warm comfy food-filled coop to keep them safe at night. Instead, each morning I would open their coop and they would fall into rank, marching one by one, following the driveway down to the road and take a right. Their determination to leave my farm would have been humorous if I hadn't been so worried for their safety. Rick would retrieve them like a Shepard gathering his flock; rounding them up with a large stick and driving them back down our hill each evening. For this reason, I began keeping them locked up which left both them and I miserable. I gave up the illusion of being a Guineafowl owner and found them a new home where they could runaway on someone else's watch.

After this experience, the mere mention of Peacock ownership would bring back memories of the Guineafowl debacle. Rick was all too happy to bring up my failure in this animal husbandry department. Still yearning for additional fowl to fill my barnyard niche, I began pondering geese. The more I read about geese, the more I found them to be personable creatures and perhaps a good alternative to Peafowl.

My only experience with geese was CQ, the quirky goose owned by my mother-in-law.
When I met CQ, he was an ancient goose in terms of goose age, pushing probably 13 years of age. I would visit Rick's mother's house and would watch the goose run around the stalls with the sheep and goats as though it was one of them. In fact, the goose was known to "adopt" one of the sheep and proudly ride around on the sheep's back. Over time, the sheep would pass on and the CQ would pick another lucky sheep victim to use as transportation around the barn yard. What were the chances that I would end up with such a quirky goose?

And so, I settled on a pair of geese. After I researched the different varieties, I settled upon the beautiful African goose, known for their docile temperaments. I placed my order for one male and one female African goose and eagerly awaited their delivery. Late that spring, the chirping brown box filled with fluff arrived at the local post office. Upon opening the box at the post office, I found myself puzzled by the contents of one light brown gosling and one all yellow gosling staring back at me. They were different varieties ....... I would later find out that the hatchery mailed me a white Chinese male and a female African by accident (as a side note, the Chinese goose is known for its aggressive guard-dog-like behavior). And so, I named them Romeo and Juliet, two lovers from different rival families.

I gathered the box up and brought them to work to begin bonding with the 2 day old goslings. They spent the day in a cardboard box next to my desk and quickly became accustomed to my voice, squawking every time they heard me. The only way to quite them was to allow them to sleep in my lap, and so, that is where they spend their first day.

I had read about the difficulties of geese ownership. The biggest problems seem to be routed in aggressive behavior and the aggressive behavior was generally attributed to lack of bonding at a young age. And so, they lived in our house the first month and took daily walks with me, and enjoyed baths in Raven's baby pool.

A year later, Romeo and Juliet proudly call our barnyard their home. Romeo lives up to all the characteristic of his variety.....he is loud......he is mean......and he doesn't like people in his barnyard (including Rick). I believe that even Juliet gets tired of his boisterous behavior. She squeezes under the gate and spends the day in the yard, free of Romeo's overbearing behavior. But each night she returns to him to lay her egg.

And with having geese, comes some of their quirky behavior. Rick and I have both tried relentlessly to introduce them to the farm pond, but the moment they realize that their feet don't touch the bottom they exist the pond with feathers flying. Perhaps this is residual behavior from the days spent in our bathtub and in Raven's baby pool. To them, the next best thing to Raven's baby pool has been our spring-fed watering trough. Now we must come up with a screen to keep the pesky geese out. That is one thing about farm animals, they are always trying to make new projects to keep you busy.

And do they remember their "mother"?........ Of course. I am not sure if they love me or hate me, but they greet me with a different behavior than anyone else. Especially Romeo who insist on climbing onto my back to groom my hair when I collect eggs. Yes, I video tapped this embarrassing interaction for your entertainment below. Who needs peacocks anyways.....

The Memoir of a Vegetarian Meat Farmer

I don’t pretend to be perfect. I eat fast food, I occasionally forget my reusable shopping bags and bring home my groceries in plastic Kroger bags, I don’t own a hybrid vehicle, and my home isn’t off the grid. Oh yeah and I own a small meat farm too. I do my best. I don’t drive an SUV (who can afford to anymore), I switched all my lights to compact fluorescent, and I don’t buy or eat meat from confined animal feedlots.

Yup, the meat issue. I have struggled with that issue for a while. The labels and categories seem endless: vegan, vegetarian, locavore, etc. The reasons for the eating decisions are just as lengthy as the labels.

My belief has always been rooted in a very simple life principle, respect. Respect all those around you, including animals. Respect the land and the gifts it provides. Allow the animals that are consumed by people to live a healthy life with respect and dignity. I don‘t separate us from the food chain. I see humans as interwoven into the web-of-life just as a bird of prey is while hunting a rabbit. They don’t raise their food in small lots and pump them full of antibiotics and hormones!

Perhaps my need for raising my own meat isn’t as much as a search for healthy source of food as it is reminiscing of a life style, having grown up on a farm.

Over the years I became more and more aware of the short falls in our current US meat industry. I had all the knowledge, but kept making the wrong choices. Finally, I made the promise last year to stop eating all meat unless I knew that it was both raised and slaughtered in a humane and sustainable manner... in other words…..it was treated with respect. And so, to this day I have kept that promise. I know that my single choice to boycott confined animal feedlots, mistreatment of animals and poor quality food won't change anything within itself. However, I have been able to say for the last year that I played no part in a system that causes suffering of farm animals, environmental degradation, and toxic foods. And so I continue to hope for change and until then focus on the quote from Dr. Seuss’ Lorax , “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not.”

I have become accustomed to eating out with family and friends and being labeled as a vegetarian since I won’t eat the meat. Eyebrows are always raised as people try to figure out why a farmer who raises goats, chickens, and hogs doesn’t eat meat. Hence, why I began calling myself the vegetarian meat farmer. This is always followed by a lengthy explanation of my eating practices that boils down to “I only eat animals I know".

Though for some it seems unthinkable to eat the very animal that you knew, fed, and raised. But to me it is the ultimate gift I can give to all livestock. I do morn the loss of each one of our animals, and the day I don't morn their loss anymore is the day I will stop slaughtering our animals. In sacrificing their lives, I put away my uncomfortable feelings and attachments to the animals and treat them with respect verses buying an animal off of the grocery meat market shelf that was in all practices tortured in both life and death. I refuse to be the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand pretending not to know the injustices that these animals go through and the lies that have been literally “fed” to the American public. If only factory farms and slaughter houses had glass walls perhaps things would change.

And so, we raise our own meat in the manner that is agreeable to our family. As part of our farm, we raise two hogs a year on pasture. They are not kept in muddy pens and forced to wallow in their own feces. The hogs are free to roam the pasture and are supplemented with kitchen and garden scraps and some grain as they grow. They are given no antibiotics or growth hormones nor do we remove their teeth or cut of their tails (all common practices in confined feed lots). They enjoy their days on the farm and even receive baths with the garden hoses on hot summer days.

I will be honest; I never set out to raise hogs. In fact, the only reason they reside on my farm is because I love bacon that much. My husband is the one with the affinity for piggies. The story goes like this…a couple of years ago I received a phone call from Rick while I was at work. He asked me what I thought about buying a couple of feeder pigs. Before I could answer, I heard the squealing in the background and quickly realized that the decision had already been made.

I arrived home that night to see a small black and white Tamworth/Hamshire cross piglet staring back at me from the stall. Rick explained that one of the piglets had gotten out and was running feral in our pasture. He had tried in vain to capture the little guy. Though I have never been a hog farmer, I knew from growing up on a farm that grain is the equalizer to all animal/human disagreements. I grabbed a bucket of grain and sat out in the field. Soon the piglet was in my lap chowing down. And so began our exploration in hog raising………

This year has been no exception. We purchased two feeder piglets in the spring and in November we butchered both of them. One is transported to the local butcher shop less than two miles away where it is butchered and processed by hand and the other hog is butchered by Rick and a handful of friends in our barn.

Below are some pictures of our hog slaughter that took place in our barn in November. I hope these photos don’t offend anyone. Please remember that this animal was treated with respect and dignity from life to death. We thank our animals for giving their lives to provide healthy and nurturing food for my friends and family.