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pale-eyed boy

July 26, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

Feeling no pulse, I nooded to Howie and he helped me hoist Chop number 28 over the electric fencing and away from the surviving lambs. Scanning the last three for anything out of the ordinary, I strode out of the pasture unenlightened. The Veterinary Book for Sheep Farmers weighed jeeringly in my hands; should have read it more thoroughly. I scanned possible causes of death – white muscle disease, parasite load, swayback, and on and on. Symptoms can exhibit themselves, or, as I read on, the lamb/sheep could just drop dead with little outward sign.

What am I to do, I asked myself. Get them autopsied as they die and learn the long and expensive way? It seemed my only recourse. After following a veterinary clinic’s prescribed worming schedule, and clearning the four little guys of hoof rot, I knew I had navigated basic preliminary obstacles. A quick call to several clinics gave me options with regard to necropsies, and we scheduled a dropoff later in the day.

The day was young; Howie and his fencing crew began the work they’d initially come to build. Two crewmembers walked me over to their van, where two calves waited to be unloaded into our pasture. Sensing common values or perhaps desiring a great piece of meat, Howie had introduced us to an Amish acquaintance several weeks back. A dairyman, he had no use for twin bull calves and we said ‘Sure!’, we’ll give it a whirl. Detesting mowing has turned Michael and I into truly irrational people. Animals-as-grass-eating machines has yet to prove itself in our current arrangement.

Anyway, at roughly 70 pounds apiece, the three of use easily walked the guys into our south pasture. Conferring with yet another vet friend, Michael emerged from the house to announce that we should stall them for the intial period of changing their dietary intake. Weaned from milk about a month ago, the calves’ stomachs continue to develop, requiring a mixture of quality dry hay, some fresh grass, as well as calf starter feed (which appears to contain corn, oats and a molasses coating amongst other things – available at our local feed store).

Back into the two-acre pasture I went. Buckie allowed himself to be caught easily. Brown in the manner of a deer, with white face flash, his lower teeth (only teeth – the upper side consists of a hard palate) show slightly, earning him his name immediately. Lucky (so called because his testes never dropped, thus removing him from the call of castration) proved flighty.

Flighty in the manner of a quarter mile sprinter. After ducking the single poorly fenced part, he bolted behind the old barn, crossing into and out of the electrified chicken yard with ease, hooves flying him right on through the north pasture (also a couple of acres), until he met solid gate and fence at the complete opposite end of the farm.

All two-leggers trudged after, taking in signs of passage with growing alarm. Had he fled down into the woods? Out onto the busy road? Howie’s son Oliver pointed to the field’s end. Dark brown on grass green. Pursued and pursuers stopped for the moment, Howie and crew decided on the next most logical plan of capture: Build their fence job of the day to contain Lucky. A couple hours later, we were able to hustle mr. fleet foot into an exterior stall. The humor of Howie returned with his future dinner thus secured.

Turn for the worse – Chop number 26, the runt and cutest of the lot, took a turn for the worse during the afternoon. Ears flopped down, and remarkable lethargy showed me from across the way that all was not right. Upon a closer look, I noticed that all color had gone from his nose and inner eyelids. Knowing he had little chance, but wanting to prevent harm to the remaining two if possible, we called the vet clinic. Continued under “Super bugs”.

Filed Under Featured, Resources Tagged With calf feed, de-worming, Jersey cattle, lambs, necropsy, parasites, worms

have you been tested?

July 4, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

My garden has worked so far . . . famous last words I know. True, some hard rains swept away several lettuce starts, and I believe little green worms have all but conquered the broccoli. But, hell. It all grew!!! For this miracle I am truly grateful. Now, onto a bit of planning and foresight for next season. Which happens to be this fall in the case of fruit trees, berries, garlic and several other items. All the leftover horse manure from this land’s previous owners will not last forever, and some plants actually want some different goodies.

Our good friend Pat brought over some soil tests he procured through Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. In digging up some samples, our goal was to identify the current status of the soil. After drying the bunches out overnight, I measured out about a cup from each of our larger testing sites and mailed it off to the lab. Results came back after two weeks.

For the area I plan to dig up for more veggies next summer, Calcitic Limestone in large amounts was recommended (currently the area is so acidic from the horse manure, high in Nitrogen, that I need to ‘lime’ it to lower the pH, which will help in actual fruit/veggie production for most veggie crops). Phosphate was also recommended. For the area I’ll plant with fruit trees, Gypsum came up as a recommendation.

Charts accompanied the results, as well as directions on when and how to apply to some extent. I’ll give this all a shot, as well as some of my own hare-brained ideas. My goal is to be able to meet the soil-replenishing nutritional needs of this land and my production demands from it with materials/extra vegetation and compost items that we make and assemble here. I’m shooting for as soon as possible . . .

In the meantime, I’m mulching my asparagus and melons, zucchini and cucumbers (a bit late), to help retain moisture as we head into the heat of the summer. I weeded first. And I’m hoping against hope that this straw is pretty weed free . . .

Filed Under Featured, Resources Tagged With extension office, garden lime, mulching, Pennsylvania State College of Agricultural Sciences, soil tests, straw

winter greens, already?

June 25, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

Indeed. Apparently not enough neighbors want to help me eat all the chard bursting forth around here. In sucked the Food Saver, and then open went the chest freezer. Waste not, want not, right? Chard, like spinach, works well when defrosted during the non-productive months, and implemented in dishes calling for cooked greens. All those good vitamins stick around for the most part, and voila! No more kale from California to green up my middle of January omlettes (if the hens are laying, that is).

Michael and I splurged on a new contraption for vacuum-sealing; our old one entered a finicky state not unlike that of a donkey who refuses to move, but due to its age, the company no longer carried replacement parts. Herein lies the quandary – machines that out-date themselves, as well as add to the cost of homegrown food with the plastic packaging required for all storage. Not sure how I feel about this. We’ll bust out the Mason Jars come fruit juice canning time, etc., but I don’t yet have a sufficient root cellar. Time, money? Which is it folks?

And at right, a shot of some flax that sprouted from un-eaten flax seed left sprayed about by the chickens. Don’t think I’m up to weaving this into anything this fall yet, but I’ve heard that Landis Valley Museum displays the equipment historically used to do just that.

Filed Under Featured, Resources Tagged With chard, flax, food saver, food storage, Landis Valley Museum, Mason Jar, winter greens

gone hoof dunking

June 24, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

Kneeling for daily clover prayer struck me as rather odd, but I still delayed several days before sweeping Chop #37 over into my lap to take a look at his hooves. Sure enough, the abundant rainy days and resultant wet field conditions have contributed to the development of some hoof rot; the two bacteria required to bring this about got plenty busy, now requiring me to step up my care level.

Admittedly a bit of a self diagnosis, my nightly reading of The Veterinary Book for Sheep Farmers, by David Henderson, helped confirm the diagnosis. As did a quick trip to a local vet, and with that money out of my pocket, I immediately checked the other lambs’ hooves and moved into control tactics. Unfortunately I don’t have the means to separate the two with hoof rot signs from the other two, but what I lack in logistics I can try to assuage with intense grooming.

Thus, daily foot baths! These guys will never appreciate the love and time this takes. Most larger sheep operations will group large amounts of sheep into a foot bath area in order to soak they tootsies and get at all that bacteria. Me, Michael and some Betadine cut in half with water can do the trick around here. Neighbor Steve further helped the cause, perhaps with visions of lambchops sitting atop his dinner plate, by demonstrating much better hoof trimming. My first attempts were apparently too cautious. Steve showed me how to see the ‘baby’ hoof and the mature hoof growing down to replace it, as well as interpret how to shape the whole thing so as to not encourage poor hoof growth patterns and odd balance stuff for the sheep.

After 5 days of this routine, and a break in the 9-day rain stint, I note a marked improvement – decreasing amounts of sore pad areas, and much less of the odd smell associated with this stuff.

Filed Under Featured, Resources Tagged With foot baths, hoof rot, hoof trimming, sheep, veterinary book for sheep farmers

Steel yourself

June 16, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer 1 Comment

I can’t keep my eyes off a set of brawny arms tossing hot foodstuffs about at those sit-and-watch counters in restaurants. So sure a shake, rough clattering notwithstanding, and the pans turn out perfectly browned item after perfectly reduced sauce. I wanted the arms and the delectables. Fante’s Kitchen Wares Shop in the Philly Italian Market finally provided the pan.

Out with the silly non-stick junk and in with the de Buyer steel fry pan. I’ve used it almost exclusively since first hoisting it home. Granted, I chose one a bit big for my current arm strength; I’d recommend an eight-inch version instead of my 12-inch. Nonetheless, I’m hooked. Here are some tips for using such a pan. With no worries about toxic stuff rubbing off into my food and guaranteed great cooking chemistry, this is a kitchen mainstay.

Season your new steel pan first: The process of seasoning fills the porous cooking surface with carbonized oil. The seasoning forms a protective barrier against oxidation (which would otherwise cause pitting and/or rust), and it helps to keep food from sticking to the surface. Read more here for how to do this, as well as clean your pan. I tried the french fry method and have found it suitable. I always wipe out the hot pan following cooking with a towel following use. Being warm, it will dry quickly. I never ‘wash’ it in the traditional sense.

To cook in my steel pan, I heat it at a high heat until I see it smoking. Generally, a couple minutes over a high heat will get the pan to the ideal setting. Recent dishes have included omelettes, mango curry, sauteed beet greens, broiled steak, hot pepper reduction sauce, pancakes, scrapple, etc.

Filed Under Featured, Resources Tagged With de Buyer, Fante's Kitchen Wares Shop, pan seasoning, Philadelphia Italian Market, steel fry pan

ring around the paddock

June 8, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

“His ears are kinda droopy, and he stands away from the group, even sits down more often, . . . ” I recounted to Martha Pisano of Highland Farm last week. Being a newcomer to sheep shepherding, physical signs are somewhat mysterious. But knowing the woman who sold the lambies to me is an incredible card to hold in one’s back pocket, especially if she is as willing as Martha to coddle me through nervous uncertainty.

“Why don’t you just bring him back here so we can all take a look?” she assessed. My sigh of relief swept Lamb #26 directly into a fleece blanket (ha), onto Michael’s lap and back into our livestock transport vehicle of choice, the Prius. Once in Martha’s kitchen, Chop 26 set about dirtying her floor with various bowel movements. Husband Jerry gathered some up to swirl with distilled water before setting a drop underneath a microscope. We all zoomed in on what appeared to be worm eggs . . .

Parasites are likely to accompany livestock. And after a round of de-worming it becomes necessary to move the critters away from the area of their defecation, so as not to mire them in their own problems. I syringed them some de-wormer a day or so ago, and accounting for the 72 hours or so that such stuff takes to pass through the system, today I moved the electric fencing. In a relatively quick 20 minutes, the lamb chops were relocated to a new part of the field; next I’ll move them daily, pivoting around the solar charger and grounding rod. Moving just the fence takes me five minutes.

Long term plans include building (finding?) a chicken tractor to follow the lambs. Putting the chickens on the land portion dis-occupied by the lambs give the birds a chance to eat all the bugs, thus reducing the parasite load on the field. A much better option in my mind than ‘killing’ the field with chemicals.

Filed Under Featured, Resources Tagged With chicken tractor, de-worming, electric fence, Highland Farm, lambs, parasites, rotational grazing

making hay

June 1, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer 1 Comment

The lamb chops are fattening up nicely. Number 26 pulls at my heart a bit; the smallest of the bunch, he likes a good ear rub. But chops and more they are. Period. Electric fencing suitable for sheep came in from Premier One, and I assembled it in our paddock within a half-hour. I needed a cooper pipe, small ladder and mallet to complete the job (prior to installing the fence, I let the solar battery/shocker charge for a couple days of sunshine). The lambs currently enjoy eating all the time, even while laying down.

Michael and I plan to slaughter them in November. The grass is growing ferociously, consistently, so I’ve gotten out the scythe to attempt putting up our own hay. Folks not too far removed from their parents’ days of doing such a thing out of necessity have given me some tips: get it dry before putting it in the barn; make sure it is ventilated well (so as to avoid both mildew and potential heat/fire problems), and we’ve talked tools. I need a hay rake. First things first, a day of ‘mowing.’ My aluminum scythe is nice and lightweight for me, but the heft of a wooden one would actually cut better as a result of simple physics and force behind that swing. Regardless, I bring along a file and give a couple sharpening strokes every 10 minutes or so. I’ll wait a day or two before beginning to gather the cut hay . . . enough time for me to figure out where to put it.

Filed Under Featured, Resources Tagged With electric fencing, lambs, mowing hay, premier one fencing, scythe

Shad-alicious

May 11, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

One-hundred-and-eighteen years have not changed the Delaware River’s knack for flooding now and again. Thus, the Lewis Fishery located just up the bank from Lambertville, NJ’s main drag, continues to re-construct a wooden bridge access to the family owned island and outpost of shad history. Steve Meserve, the latest in a line of Lewis family men (and a couple women!) doesn’t let the extra carpentry work get to him though; with over a century of shad fishing in his bones, there’s just one thing to be done every spring: fish.

The difference in a century’s experience of the Lewis Fishery can be summed up in a simple statistic: year 1891, 10,000 caught, year 2006, 500 caught. So sure, none of us can cross the river on the backs of this type of herring like in our ancestor’s tales. But considering shad just about disappeared during the first half of the twentieth century, Meserve and his steady crew feel a certain awe alongside repsonsibility to these yearly visitors.

Michael and I hooked up with Meserve and crew for a couple of netting sessions this past weekend. Disliked in the restaurant and fast home cuisine world for its dual bone system, shad has few proponents going to work for it in fish markets. Easier options from around the world are available to many at any time. But we happen to enjoy shad’s flavor, and aren’t hampered by a couple of bones to nibble around. Plus, what better way to know where your food comes from than pull it from the water yourself?

The crew begins by repairing the 200-yard net used to corral the shad. Holes are tied up and sticks removed. Like a mellow afternooon cast, accompanied by the comradery of old friends and the relaxation of a ritualistic harvest, the net is piled into the boat. When it’s as good as it’s gonna get for the day’s haul, Meserve’s wife Sue climbs in. The terrier at her heels shoreside dissengages himself to take lead lookout position on the bow. Might be husband, brother-in-law, friend from the ’80s, who knows, who grab an attached rope to pull the lady and her vessel upstream about 400 yards.

At this point, Sue leaps to shore and backtracks to the original point of departure. Men who have no need for gym weightrooms clambor in to take hold of the two-by-four paddles and set straight out, attempting to keep the boat somewhat perpendicular to the current. A landsman remains behind, with the job of following behind the boat’s progress downstream, keeping his end of the net close to shore. Boat folks arc out, net dropping along the way, and then swing back into shore, curving the net so as to capture those who found themselves in the noosed waters.

Once the boat end and the landsman finish closing the circle, loud splashing ensues. Someone takes notes as others call out the catch: Striper! Shad! Catfish! The Lewis Fishery folks may only keep shad, as this is their only licensed take. Curious passersby have gathered to watch the noisy affair, and someone might even purchase a fish. At which point Sue takes the catch basket up to the fishing hut and does several things. First she’ll take a weight, and sex the fish. Then a scrape of scales, which indicate how many times the fish has been up the Delaware, and what the nutrition and general health conditions of it were for each of those years. Then, the knife.

New Jersey Fish and Game depends on the Lewis Fishery for these samples, and as a result, the information gathered regarding the fish’s health. There’s a reason the shad came back post 1970: the Clean Water Act. It is truly amazing what nature will do when given half a chance; with pollution regulated and reduced along the Delaware, these fish found there way back en route to spawning. It’s a good thing too, as they are just far enough along in their life cycle when they hit the Delaware to have lost a bit of their oily taste, but not yet starved themselves in the quest to reproduce.

The Delaware’s ecology offers Meserve greater perspective on his “commercial” fishing operation. Whereas days of old may have brought some amount of profit to the family, modern times have shown him the precarious balance of elements that simply allow shad to return to the river. Helpful friends and family and continued ownership of the fishery license are just the beginning of seeing the fish through another season. Other fish will continue to alter the below-surface life situation, as will whatever we humans add to the mix in the form of pollution, species addition and much more.

Meserve hopes to bring continued awareness to the Delaware through shad. He’s not asking for everybody to fry it up for dinner tonight, but rather to hear this particular fish’s story of what it takes to live. Our planet’s waters are plentiful, yet our interaction with them remains precarious.

For more on Shad, please visit WooFish.

Filed Under Featured, Resources Tagged With Clean Water Act, Delaware River, herring, Lambertville New Jersey, Lewis Fishery, Shad

in the slow row

April 21, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

Who knew one’s excitement to plant gardens can lead to a life in the fast lane? Eyes opening of every morning give way to breakfast, and onward bound in a short commute to the barn to pick up tools. Away I roll into the fields with only dogs and chickens to swerve around. I’m calling it the new home/landowner speed trip; so excited I am to get a veggie garden in, and arrest the development of more invasive plants, I seem to have forgotten indoor life.

Just as others rush daily to fit in actual paid work, children’s schedules, errands and god forbid a doctor’s appointment, I’m recognizing the pace setting rhythm of working with the land to live with and from it. Which is exactly what landed me on the couch a couple nights ago, returnable-beer bottle in one hand, and Carlo Petrini’s Slow Food Nation text in the other. Thus another intriguing chapter in pondering about good life.

As the title indicates, Petrini describes an approach with life wherein people look around them with greater interest, and are receptive to the details and flavors of the world (pg. 183). “The contrast should not be between slowness and speed – slow versus fast,” he writes, “but rather between attention and distraction; slowness in fact, is not so much a question of duration as of an ability to distinguish and evaluate, with the propensity to cultivate pleasure, knowledge, and quality.”

I’m almost two generations shy from interacting with family members who held a knowledge of the land gleaned from extensive home gardening. Now, as my life path continues to branch into broader awareness of land usage and food production, I feel an urgency to do work on my own land in order to retrieve and cultivate the knowledge of generations. Knowledge which many of us are separated from. Here are some more words from Petrini to ponder. I enjoy sharing these writings as a window into how I am learning as I shovel along:

“Reappropriating the senses is the first step toward imagining a different system capable of respecting man as a worker of the land, as a producer, as a consumer of food and resources, and as a political and moral entity. To reappropriate one’s senses is to reappropriate one’s own life and to cooperate with others in creating a better world, where everyone has the right to pleasure and knowledge.” (pg. 99)

So today I’ll be cultivating my senses with some cracker baking and onion planting; I know I’m learning because the soil has begun to show it’s character to me, and the mysteries of yeast and wheat flour continue to reveal themselves in the kitchen.

Filed Under Featured, Resources Tagged With carlo petrini, living from the land, Slow Food, slow life

nestling in

March 26, 2009 By Lynea Newcomer Leave a Comment

Unwrapping one’s art work packed eight months ago feels like Christmas; our chickens must have experienced similar such joy upon their first trot around the new digs. I know that in their preliminary unwrapping of new pads of soil, shriveled red potatoes from previous growers’ garden forays have surfaced. And just as we consider the various weed control options for a particularly steeply sloped hill, these scratchers-o-dirt appear to have begun the process for us already.

The ladies have found a temporary home in the old barn’s corn crib. Soon we’ll insulate and close in a stall in the barn’s bottom floor, as well as cut out a hinged door for them. We continue to discuss the various attributes of sheep and goats with anyone who has a liking for these hoof stock; one or the other will likely be responsible for grazing one paddock . . . and then feeding us some winter meals.

Michael and I continue to explore the open agricultural and preserved spaces beyond our 7-acre border; multi-flora proves a worthy opponent in woodsy underbrush as well as meadow (see photo). And with two fields beckoning to my shovel and knees (back, eyes, thighs, you name it), I’ve sketched a garden plan that I’ll try in each. Not sure yet where exactly the sun and shady spots will fall, so I figure this first year of food growing is a good one to do trials.

For those interested in backyard gardening, I recommend the New York Times article on the food garden being put into the White House’s south lawn. The first family and area school children are involved already in it’s creation, and I assume tending. Certainly they’ll be eating from it! But for plant ideas and a general schematic, this is a good basic starting point.

Finally, for those who will be starting seeds inside, you’ll need a germinating mix of soil. So far I have mixed several bags of Organic Mechanics potting soil (a soil making product made within 15 miles of me, which is high in coconut fiber, not exactly a regional source of water-retaining substance, but better than peat until I can come up with a soil from this property), a 1/2 bag of leaf compost, 1 cup of crushed eggshells, and 1 or 2 cups of equal parts greensand, and kelp, plus 2 parts rock phosphate.

Filed Under Coyote Howls, Featured, Resources Tagged With chickens, garden plan, seed germination, soil nutrients, white house garden