Of animals

We have now hit 3 deers with 3 different cars in less than 5 years. I should call our fleet of cars deer magnets. I hit a buck on Route 1 just north of Camden on Monday. The grill and right headline are gone. The radiator is bent and was knocked back into the serpentine belt. Fortunately (and miraculously) the radiator did not leak. I had a piece of wire in the truck and tied the radiator back to the front of the engine compartment. And it made it home okay. Don't have comprehensive on the '87 truck, so I am on my own. I figure a new radiator isn't that hard to install and I can pick up a grill at a junk yard.

I would have put the buck in the back of the pick up and brought it home (I did kill it) but I had a 200lb pig (another story) in the back of the truck and had no room.

***********************

Goats were born last year on number 2 daughters birthday; our cow calved on my birthday this year; our roving gamecock hen hatched 5 bitties on number 3 daughter's birthday this October. I guess this isn't so coincidental considering how much livestock we have around here, but it is interesting.

**********

Today it is official, I now have 3 teenage boys in the house. God is good.

Oremus pro invicem!

We have a gilt from our July 23rd litter which we were keeping for our own freezer-but boy she looks too good to eat. I have never seen a pig at this age have so much definition. Her growth is good also. She would make a fine addition to someone's herd. I'll try to remember to post a picture of 'Blackie" (some people around here think she should be named "Inkie", however being bound, at present, for the freezer, it doesn't seem to matter much.)

**********

I am being interviewed on the Catholic Radio station here in SC today, around 2:30. Every year they broadcast live from the State Fair which opened yesterday. They re-broadcast the interviews during their radio-thon. I will be talking about Requiem Press and hopefully in particular pushing John Meehan's Two Towers-the de-Christianization of America and a plan for renewal.

*************

Our cow is Irish-Catholic although she was raised Baptist. I know because when milking her she is most quiet during my singing (and I have not a good voice) of Danny Boy, Praise My Soul the King of Heaven, and Haily Holy Queen.

Oremus pro invicem!

Life on the Homestead

So last evening I rushed home from my weekly gig in the city so I could milk and feed the animals with oldest son while the rest of the family road up to St. Catherine's for a Holy Hour and Benediction.

As I am cutting some greens to feed the pigs, I notice that our latest sow is practically climbing over her fencing, in this case a log barricade. I go over to give her some greens and see that her farrowing area is empty ... no piglets! None!

I look in the adjoining pens, all but one of which has members of the herd. No piglets! Did they get out and get eaten by the older hogs? I am calling for my son "Where are the piglets?" I am just imagining another disaster.

Ah, but God was with us. As I continue to call, all 15 come running out of the woods on the other side of the pens. A few make their way through the empty pen and squeeze through a hole they've managed to make back into their own pen. Momentarily their momma sow calls them, and they all return.

We feed the pigs. Son patches the hole while I milk Mabel. Whew!

****************

Notice that I mentioned feeding greens to the pigs in the story above. That's right. Just a few good rains (it is raining again today-which reminds me, we need to finish the milking barn, including finishing the roof!) and my fall garden is coming alive. This morning half the pigs' rations were made up of kale, Swiss chard, turnip greens, collard greens, and radishes.

If my 40 white leghorns and Comets would just start laying, we could practically eliminate most of the commercial grain. Milk, boiled table scraps, greens, eggs, hay and nuts make a pretty well-rounded diet.

Oremus pro invicem!

Can't believe I had never heard of the Foxfire anthology books. Mrs. Curley picked up a couple at our local library (Vol. 1 & 6) and I am enjoying them. I thought it would be the instructional articles (the fine art of moon-shining?) that would be most interesting-but it is the interviews with some of the old timers from Appalachia. (Once more I hear the refrain, "We never had money, but we had plenty to eat.")

**************************

We took a road trip yesterday to the Isle of Palms outside of Charleston. We hadn't been to the beach in over 2 years and felt it was time. We got the animals fed and watered early and took off.

Even though it was warm (high 70's on the beach) we figured it would be pretty empty-the way we like it. Unfortunately, it wasn't. But we had fun anyway.

On the way home, one of our tires de-treadded. It was practically new. It's the 2nd tire that has failed us since we got the tires in July of this year (the first failed, but it could have hit something. This time, however, the tread actually peeled off the tire and wrapped around the axle; it didn't go flat. They weren't new, but were practically new 'used' tires-full of tread. Apparently they weren't so good.

The tire failed going 70 mph with an 18-wheeler climbing our tail. We were lucky (blessed that is) to escape safely.

The 'adventure' of a day at the beach didn't quite end there. I got what looked to be a mild sunburn on my legs, but this morning when I awoke, I couldn't walk. My legs were swollen and ached. The sunburn still looked mild, but boy was I hurt'n. After a course of Ibuprofen, I am doing a little better-getting around with a cane.

All's well that end's well.

Oremus pro invicem!

Rain!!!!

Thanks be to God!

Oremus pro invicem!

Peanuts!

Yesterday we harvested our 1/4 - 1/2 acre or so of peanuts. (Sorry we forgot to take pictures). The land was loaned to us. We planted, cultivated, weeded, and harvested. It was a total family effort.

Traditionally, after the peanuts are harvested, the whole plant is hung on poles with the peanuts hidden by the foliage for several weeks to dry. The nuts need to be sheltered from the sunlight or they will turn brown. We are hanging the peanut plants from the rafters in my shop and the small barn. This makes almost everything in there most inaccessible.

It took all day to pull, bundle and hang.

In the South, boiled peanuts are popular. You boil peanuts in salt water from some 9 hours. However, if you have green peanuts (those just harvested) it only takes about 4 hours.

I'm not crazy about boiled peanuts, but some of the boys are, so we may try our hand at some.

The lack of rain really cut the yield of nuts-probably by about 50%. But we still have a lot. The back of my pickup was overflowing with the bundles.

And the hay from the peanuts is almost as valuable as the nuts. The hay is especially nutritious for cows or hogs.

Oremus pro invicem!

Here's some fairly recent pictures of life here in Bethune. First up is a few pigs from our litter in July as they have grown a bit.

And then one of the pigs (now hogs) from our very first litter in April.

One more hog picture. This is one large hog. You can't see it, but we dug a hole so the head of this hog wouldn't hit the ground, so my feet are about 1 foot higher than the hog's head.

Now for some chickens .... The first (left) is our flock which is laying now. Some Rhode Island Reds, a Comet or two, a Black Sex-Link, and a couple Americaunas.

The second is part the flock of the future (the near future I hope). These are Comets and White Leghorns. They should start laying in earnest any day now. (We are getting a white egg here and there.)

Okay, now a one more pig picture to wind things up. The "reds" are doing quite well. The larger one will enter our breeding herd come December. The other will enter our freezer around the same time.

Next time, may be I will have a picture of our Turkeys. They are quite big now-almost ready for harvest. Speaking of harvest, our field of peanuts should be ready for harvest this week.

Oremus pro invicem!

Our newest litter

Our newest litter nursing - 3 days old.

************

Today is the feast of the Archangels-one of whom is the patron of our homeschool.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. Rebuke him, O God, we humbly beseech Thee. And do thou, o prince of the Heavenly host, drive into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who wander through the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Oremus pro invicem!

15!

15 piglets, all black or black with white rind (like their Hampshire daddy) born live on Saturday. Spent part of the afternoon watching. I have a short film and a couple pics, but don't have time to post them today. Other things are taking care of themselves (with God's help.) Thanks for prayers and concerns!

Oremus pro invicem!

Stitches last night (or actually all day yesterday. You wouldn't believe the number of flu cases in our emergency room-and they took every one of them before even looking at my wound); dead battery on one car this morning; malfunctioning window on the other car; need hay desperately for the milk cow; gate down to our holding area; and little spot overdue on her litter (due yesterday).

Now you ask why I am not posting much? (No complaints here.)

Oremus pro invicem!

We have a litter of pigs due Wednesday or Thursday this week-although yesterday she seemed to be bagging up and was making a nest, (but not panting) such that I wouldn't have been surprised if there had been piglets on arriving home from Mass. But nothing was happening.

Have been a little disappointed and confused as some sections of our fall garden have not sprouted. Was talking to our 90+ year old farmer neighbor a few days ago .... he told me had already planted his turnips twice and they hadn't sprouted ... lack of rain. So we go at it again.

My wedding ring broke or cracked this past week. The ring almost looks like a rope, if you will. I had it sized about 15 years ago when my weight was rapidly making it too small. It broke near the point where material was added. I was leery of wearing it, as I thought it could break in two pieces and I might lose it. However, I decided to try soldering the crack. It seems to have worked, holding together so far.

It's funny, I really never thought much of the wedding ring until it cracked. Then I got worried over whether it was symbolic of something deeper. (My kids used to think-with a little encouragement from me-that whoever was wearing my wedding ring was married to their mother. They would panic if they saw me taking it off or playing with it. )

Oremus pro invicem!

Finally some rain ... but just a little. May be some more today ... "red in the morning".

Have done a bunch of fall planting, with mixed results. Swiss chard is coming in well, but the rest is spotty. Maybe due to the lack of rain. I have tried to water, but there is no substitute for rain.

I tilled up the old goat pen and planted half, the other half this week.

We have another litter of pigs due next week. We have been selling pigs of late. Keeps the lights on.

Today is the feast of Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian. Connor (Conor) is the Irish version of Cornelius, so today is a name saint day here. We will pray the liturgy of the hours (MP) together and have some dessert later.

Jersey is still giving milk and lots and lots of cream. More than we can make butter with. Muscadine harvest is almost over. Mrs. Curley has made some jam and has another batch to go.

For me, lots of work to get done, including some catch up on the boys school work.

Oremus pro invicem!

What's up with this?

I checked out some of our books available on Amazon recently and found Russell Shaw's Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church available USED from $46 to $235! (Regularly price is $14.95.)

See proof of my claim here.

Do they know something I don't know? I wouldn't doubt it.

Oremus pro invicem!

Continuing saga ....

on food prices and small farmers vs. big Ag. This is actually where I started several weeks ago, and here it is again. I read the following at Front Porch Republic :

Organic farming, Conkin notes, exists only because of the financial backing of affluent consumers. Morever, the advocates of organic farming are often unaware of their dependence on technological improvements and scientific advances, many subsidized by governments. No small farmer of his youth could have been met the certification requirements for organic farming. Even today, for those who go organic, they cannot be profitable selling free-range chickens or organic tomatoes except that there is a bobo marketplace where people will buy these products well above market prices.

At the same time, a small farm cannot be profitable because the public wants to spend their money on other things than food, and thus settles for subpar food. (And I am not an all-organic guy. I think there is a middle ground.)

Oremus pro invicem!

The end of an era ... beginning of a new era

We sold our last goats on Saturday. In some senses we were sorry to see them go, but it is for the best. We didn't have pasture or enough forage for them, and they weren't providing much to us either.

And the new? Mrs. Curley distributed her first batch of homemade soap around to the washing areas of the house last night.

Oremus pro invicem!

"With justice your right hand is filled"

When I read these words this morning, I thought that this may be a good title for a Western. "Fill your hand" is a common phrase in Max Brand and Louis L'Amour books (maybe Zane Grey too.)

But this phrase didn't come from a Western ... but from Psalm 48: 11 (D-R Ps 47: 11 "thy right hand is full of justice" -maybe even better version as a Western title.)

********

Got lots of work done the past couple days-getting a good start on planting the fall garden. But we've had no rain. We even had a thunderstorm that knocked out power a couple weeks ago-but no rain came with it.

Today I wake up feeling like a truck hit me. I've taken a bit ill. Maybe I will get caught up on some office work today-and if I get bored with that, maybe post some more about goings-on here.

**********

Mrs. Curley and I were discussing the past, present and future yesterday. It is clear I am no businessman-perhaps that's not so bad as having poor timing. We get into the book business just as print media (in all its forms) is struggling to stay afloat; we decide to reprint old books, most of which now you can now download virtually free from the Internet. Then we get into the pig business as pork prices plummet due to economy and the H1N1 scare (don't dare call it 'swine flu' around here).

I am not complaining in the least. We've struggled, suffered and had a blast-and keep going-laughing a lot at ourselves and God's sense of humor.

Oremus pro invicem!

Update on a few items .... In my August 4th post (should food be cheap?) I asked the question:

Let's put it this way, if man used to spend most of his waking hours securing food through labor, should he now do the same through his paycheck?

Time Magazine this week (not my usual reading fare) has a cover article entitled "The Real Cost of Cheap Food". Here's a couple stats from the article:

Since 1935, consolidation and industrialization have seen the number of US farms decline from 6.8 million to fewer than 2 million-with the average farmer now feeding 129 Americans, compared with 19 people in 1940.

Food production was very local-subsistence farming with a little surplus for some cash. And

According to the USDA, Americans spend less than 10% of their income on food, down from 18% in 1966.

The article goes on to dispute whether this cheap food-when considering the subsidies, routine antibiotic use, environmental hazards, and health hazards (due both to antibiotic use and corn as a mainstay of feed)-is really all that cheaper.

We use more grain and corn on our livestock than I would like to, but as we develop our land, our goal is to use less and less grain and feed more and more greens (perhaps pasture if we ever can obtain more land). We don't use antibiotics as a regular course, but I am not opposed to antibiotics for a sick animal.

This year for instance, our meat birds ate mostly from our grass, supplemented by feed. Our hogs get milk, eggs, and some of the garden yield (more in the fall and winter as our greens grow very well during the cooler and rainier months), and this year will also get some of our peanut crop.

More later .... Oremus pro invicem!

I picked up a 2nd hand book last winter and have found it invaluable: Practical Farming for the South by B.F. Bullock (1946). In this book Mr. Bullock urges small farmers to diversify and not put everything into one cash crop which's success can be destroyed by drought or flood. Doing a little research on the net on this title, I found it listed as one of the books written mid-20th century by a black author, but without 'Black themes". I would have never known.

Anyhow, I used it to plan my spring garden, and now my fall garden. One thing Mr. Bullock suggests is planting Swiss Chard: highly drought resistant, but will last into the winter.

I wanted to plant a lot of Swiss Chard this spring, but couldn't find it anywhere locally . I finally got a small packet of 2007 vintage. I planted some as an experiment. It was great! I don't have many plants, but the ones I have are truly drought resistant and taste great.

It is sort of like spinach, but milder, and you have to cook it.

I finally convinced my local feed store owner to order some Swiss Chard for me. (He said he never had anyone ask for it before.) He got it in yesterday-I'll pick it up tomorrow. I am pretty excited.

I have been tilling the finished gardens and spreading manure. First planting for the fall (sugar snap peas, collards, Swiss chard, turnips, spinach, radishes) will come end of this week and beginning of next. Still eating a few butter beans, eggplant, and hoping a new zucchini crop starts fruiting this week.

Oremus pro invicem!

I was going to post on this ...

but someone else did it better and sooner. The point in question is "Cash for Clunkers". I will let him speak:

Auto salvage yards are often used by handy car owners who cannot afford the parts and labor of a professional mechanic. With a drop in the supply of parts, the prices will rise... and what was once affordable may no longer be so. And once again, low income Americans get unintentionally shafted.

Read the whole entry here.

The Clunkers are crushed and shredded; thus parts can't be resold. Of course this isn't my only problem with the program, but it is one that has a direct effect on what we do around here when the car breaks.

Oremus pro invicem!

Hoppin' John

From Rodale's Naturally Great Foods Cookbook (1977):

It is traditional to serve Hopping John on New Year's Day throughout the Carolinas. Eaten then, this dish is believed to bring good luck and plenty of everything the rest of the year.

Hoppin' John is a brown rice and black-eyed pea dish made usually with bacon and often cooked in a crock pot; but Mrs. Curley made it last night with pig's feet--delicious!

It wasn't New Year's Day, but it seems to me that yesterday (or thereabouts) did mark our 5th anniversary on the homestead at Bethany. Of course if you eat Hoppin' John with collard greens, it is supposed to ensure the following year brings wealth. We forgot the collards ... Oh well what do we need wealth for, we have everything!

Oremus pro invicem!