In my last post, I forgot to relate (or brag on) the Curley family exploits at the annual Bethune Chicken Strut Rodeo a few weeks ago. First up: Number 2 son tried his hand at bull-riding again. On the first ride, the bull got caught up in the gate, so he was granted another ride. Same thing happened. He could have asked for another ride, but was a little shaken up and (wisely) opted to quit the bull for the night.

Then came the women's calf chase: The idea is that the participants chase a calf around trying to claim the greased ribbon tied to the calf's tail. Number 2 daughter was off to the races. She caught the calf and was hanging onto the tail when the ribbon slipped off and someone else claimed it. It was quite a sight to see the usually demur Number 2 daughter push her way through the throng to catch the calf. Maybe next time she'll come home with the prize. (Personally, I thought if Mrs. Curley had entered the arena with her, they could have teamed up and shut out the competition. But Mrs. Curley didn't want to create an unfair advantage to the rest of the field!)

Finally, Numbers 1, 2 & 3 sons participated in the wild horse saddling challenge. Here there are 2 teams of 3 men trying to catch, saddle and ride (briefly) one of two wild horses, each sporting a 20-foot lead line, roaming the arena. No team had successfully caught a horse the previous night. The Curley boys showed better. At first it appeared the horse would win again. But in the final minute, Number 3 son caught the lead line and actually brought the horse to its knees (inadvertently), allowing Number 1 son to grab the halter. Number 2 son, limping from his bull-riding earlier in the night, hobbled the length of the arena to get the saddle, scrambled back, saddled the horse and mounted on the second try-but alas, 3 seconds after the buzzer.

A valiant effort by all the Curley's that night even if no prizes were brought home. Quite a night with many good stories to remember and to tell-better than prize money any day!

Oremus pro invicem!

Just a quick update on our progress ....

On the 4 acres: We have about 1/2 our peanuts in, with at least 1/2 of that already up. Our field corn is up, as is our Swiss Chard. We still have a small area to plow, but will wait til the plowed area is planted.

In the home garden, our sweet corn looks great (planted on an old hog pen), our okra is up (planted in a former cow pen), brocolli has been (and still is, but winding down) great, early peas have been more than plentiful (I figure we have a week or two left of the early peas). Romaine lettuce has come and gone, as have the radishes. Chinese cabbage, Swiss Chard are in full swing. Zuccinni, yellow squash, (some) beans, peas, tomatoes, cantaloupe, and cucumbers are in and up. We still have peppers, more peas, and green beans to put in. I planted some eggplant from seed this year, but it didn't come up. I will try again before buying some plants.

Big Spot farrowed in mid-April (12 survive of 16), Dixie in early May (12 survive of 14). Harry is due to farrow any day now.

Big Treat: Our former paster, Fr. John O'Holohan SJ visited the homestead last week. He came over from Ireland to give a series of talks on the Divine Mercy devotion in the Orlando area and decided to visit his parish in SC. It was great to see and hear him again!

We have a fox in the area which has been feasting on some of our free-ranging game hens. We haven't figured a way to catch up with him yet, but plans are in the works to interupt his dead-of-night raids.

We finally had a successful litter of rabbits (5) and two clutches of Muscovy ducks (9 & 5) hatch this past week.

Things are really hopping around here these days. God is blessing us greatly.

Oremus pro invicem!

Progress

We haven't finished plowing the 4 acres yet, but both the horse and the driver(s) has made progress. True to my speculation, number one son is better at handling the horse and plow than I, but I still take my turns now and then.

We made some adjustments which seem to work well. We lifted the plow a bit so as not to plow so deeply. We also set it off to one side so that when the wheel is in the previous furrow, the plow is right on course for the next furrow. Before the furrows were slightly spaced apart.

We are taking Old Man out 3x a day now for about 45 minutes each session. By the time the field is plowed he will be in good enough shape that we could have had it done in 3-4 days.

We got out there as a family on Monday afternoon and planted 1/8 acre in field corn. We plan to do another 1/8 acre Friday, and continue to stagger this till we have about 1/2 - 3/4 acres planted.

So on our 4 acres of leased land, we will have about 1/8 acre in Swiss Chard (which is good in salad or cooked like spinach, or Mrs. Curley likes to make pasta out of it), 1/2 to 3/4 acres in field corn, and the rest in peanuts.

After we finish the field (probably on Saturday) we will level it with the spike harrow attachment. This will go much quicker. Old Man should be able to do the whole field in a day or two with the spike harrow.

It's been quite a learning experience and enjoyable. My digital camera is seemingly dead, but there is a great picture I took of Number One Son plowing with the rest of the children walking along. Every time we plow, any of the children available walk along.

Big Spot is due to farrow on Saturday. We sold off Mij's litter this week. Two sows are due in May, one in June, and one in early August.

Our homestead has never been so beautiful or productive. God is good!

I am still behind in my promise to build an outdoor shrine to the Infant of Prague who has provided for and protected us so much this past year. We have cleared a place under one of the cedar trees so there a space but still shaded. Soon I will get to work on building the structure and landscaping the area.

Back to work ...

Oremus pro invicem!

New Things

No, I am not moving to Maine, especially with 4 odd acres of land next door to get ready for planting.

About 1/8 acre, where we have planted peanuts in the past, has been manured and tilled with a walk-behind rear tine tiller. We will be planting an heirloom variety Swiss Chard in this area.

But now to the 4 odd acres left ... we are plowing with the boys' horse! Yes, we bought a forecart, harness, etc. with turn plow and spike harrow attachments a week or so ago.

Saturday we hooked up Old Man (the boys' Quarter Horse) and tried him out pulling just the forecart. He seem a natural-possibly he'd done this before?

Monday afternoon, we hooked up the turn plow and brought him to the field. Son number one walked beside Old Man while I drove the cart. Okay, there was a bit of zig-zagging at first, and I haven't got the hang of keeping him right next to the furrow, but for a first time, it went well. We only did six lengths on this first day, but that was enough for both of us. Once we build his strength and stamina up, we should be able to plow about one acre a day.

We took Old Man out again this morning and did a couple more turns on the field. We had to get his pony pen mate to walk along side for motivation.

I have a feeling that Number One son will be better at this than I-so I plan to let him take the reins the next time out.

We had access to a tractor, but I think this investment will be more valuable. It certainly it quieter than a diesel engine. You get a workout (even in the cart). And I think it will be more attractive work for young men (and an old man), certainly more exciting.

Hopefully we will have pictures soon.

Oremus pro invicem!

Maybe I should move to Maine?

From http://reason.com/blog/2011/03/22/food-nullification:

"With a unanimous vote in a town meeting, Sedgwick, Maine, has approved a "food sovereignty" ordinance. David Gumpert reports:

Citing America's Declaration of Independence and the Maine Constitution, the ordinance proposed that "Sedgwick citizens possess the right to produce, process, sell, purchase, and consume local foods of their choosing." These would include raw milk and other dairy products and locally slaughtered meats, among other items.This isn't just a declaration of preference. The proposed warrant added, "It shall be unlawful for any law or regulation adopted by the state or federal government to interfere with the rights recognized by this Ordinance." In other words, no state licensing requirements prohibiting certain farms from selling dairy products or producing their own chickens for sale to other citizens in the town.What about potential legal liability and state or federal inspections? It's all up to the seller and buyer to negotiate. "Patrons purchasing food for home consumption may enter into private agreements with those producers or processors of local foods to waive any liability for the consumption of that food. Producers or processors of local foods shall be exempt from licensure and inspection requirements for that food as long as those agreements are in effect."

Elsewhere in Maine, similar laws were adopted in Penobscot and narrowly rejected in Brooksville."

Oremus pro invicem!

P.S. - It seems I can't comment on my own blog or others recently. To answer the comment below, The Family That Overtook Christ is published by the Daughters of St. Paul. You should also be able to get it on Amazon.

My 12 year old daughter handed me a book the other day and told me to read a certain (short) passage. It was so intriguing that I read on, and then went to the beginning of the book. An hour later Mrs. Curley urged me to return the book to my daughter before bedtime. The book: The Family That Overtook Christ -the amazing story of the family of Bernard of Clairvaux by M. Raymond, OCSO.

I don't know how I missed this one. The copy my mother had as a child was in our house growing up, but I never read it, even though it got rave reviews from my sisters.

Even for an adult it is a powerful book about following Christ in your vocation. Sure Bernard and his brothers and sisters all became religious-but it is about his parents too and how they lived their vocations.

Not just a biography, it has plenty of spiritual weight as it is often written almost as a novel with conversations dramatizing the spiritual life and struggles of this heroic family.

A great Lenten read to be sure.

Oremus pro invicem!

Truth

I read the following quote (and it struck me deeply) in the context of an article by Dr. Christopher Tollefsen on Speaking the Truth (read the article here) I give the Dr. Tollefsen's intro to the quote, but it is the quote which stays with me:

Those .... would do well to read the work of those brave individuals who struggled against the lies of totalitarian societies precisely by means of radical honesty: Vaclav Havel in Czechoslovakia, Adam Michnik in Poland, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in the Soviet Union. Michnik’s words can stand in summary for the three:

Start doing the things you think should be done, and . . . start being what you think society should become. Do you believe in freedom of speech? Then speak freely. Do you love the truth? Then tell it. Do you believe in an open society? Then act in the open. Do you believe in a decent and humane society? Then behave decently and humanely.

Oremus pro invicem!

homestead, books, and family vocation

Sold off the Hampshire X Tamworth litter this weekend. We kept a gilt to be a companion to the sole litter survivor of our Christmas Eve litter. Our Hamp X Berk litter will be ready in about 5 weeks. We have a litter due in April and 2 litters due mid-May.

We have our broccoli, Romaine lettuce, and some onions in. We have planted quite a few rows of early peas along with kohlrabi and Swiss Chard. With the heavy rains last night, I am hoping the seeds weren't washed away.

The brussel sprouts planted in the fall are looking good now. We planted too late for a fall crop of brussel sprouts. They survived the winter and hopefully will provide a spring crop.

We've also replanted 3 empty pig pens with various greens; one more to go.

Good news! It looks like a neighbor will lease us 4 acres of his 28 acre field. I plan to plant most of it in peanuts so we can start growing most of our feed for the pigs and chickens. Four acres should yield us about 4 months of hog feed and several bales of peanut hay for our cows. This is a conservative estimate as I plan on another drought year. Planting, and even more so, harvesting, by hand will be a challenge on 4 acres. We are contemplating trying to get the boys' horse to help till the field.

We are actively trying to sell our Guernsey/Jersey Heifer born about 20 months ago and ready to breed. Also on the market is an Ossabaw Island hog breeding pair.

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I received an inquiry the other day about Requiem Press' first publication Daily Prayers for the Church Suffering. After 6,000 copies either sold or given away (a copy was given with every order placed with Requiem Press), we are out of copies, except our personal ones. It is the one booklet we published which I would reprint if I had the funds. The spiritual need is great to pray for the holy souls in purgatory. However, funds just are not available. We have tremendous deals on our remaining inventory (If you want quantity, the deals get even better. We sunk much of our savings and all of my retirement into Requiem Press to start. We still have some outstanding obligations we would like to clean up). If there is one book I would continue after all inventory is cleared, it would be the "Daily Prayers" booklet. But God's will be done!

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

We started a (hopefully ongoing) family discussion the other night about our family vocation. Of course all of us as individuals have a particular vocation, but we as a family have one also. How could we be a better family? a better domestic church? What apostolates or what works of mercy can we or should we be doing more of-considering our talents, abilities and state (geography, finances, resources, etc.)? Going into Lent, I think it is particularly appropriate that we discern in this area. Sometimes we get off-track. With all our responsibilities on the homestead, sometimes we let some of the reasons we are here slip by. (How many times have we missed the Angelus-even though we moved here in part so we could have "Angelus time" together?) Already some good ideas (some new, some resurrected) have been voiced.

Oremus pro invicem!

As amazing as it may seem, here in South Carolina, we are not too far from planting our onions, kale, lettuce, broccoli, kohlrabi, etc. I spent a few days last week spreading old cow manure.

In getting ready for planting, I again consulted Practical Farming for the South by B.F. Bullock 1946. This is a great book. Not confined to planing, but also to livestock and philosophical about the importance of rural society to the survival of our nation.

Last night I read this opening ode aloud to Mrs. Curley and my oldest sons. All were moved by the truth it portrayed.

Oremus pro invicem!

Scalding, Scraping and other things

Got some pics to share below, but before that let us welcome our newest litter of piglets born to first-time mother, Mij, our Berkshire yesterday morning.

First up is a snow picture. I think this was from our December snow (only 4-5 inches). You can see both Mabel (our Jersey) on the left and Dolly (our Brown Swiss) on the right, along with our still roofless barn.
Next is a series of pictures with us scalding and scraping a hog. In the past we have mostly skinned our hogs, but with the right technique (demonstrated here) scalding and scraping is actually easier, albeit the prep time-that is heating 40 gallons of water to 145 F takes some time. Leaving the skin on is more esthetically pleasing, helps with flavor, and preserves the fat. And it is more classical.

Unfortunately the pictures don't show the "before" hog. In the first picture, the hog has already been 95% scraped. This hog was primarily black, but all hogs are white under the surface pigment. The pigment comes off with the hair. So what is shown in the pictures is our re-dipping the hog in 145 F water for 3-6 minutes to get some loose ends which didn't loosen on the first dip.

And just so you know, this is hard work, but it is wonderful work. I think we all look forward to pig slaughter days, and are tired and happy when they are over also. For the first time, number 1 son stunned the hog, and did an excellent job-better than my first time. We work well together.

Note that the head is off the hog. We didn't throw it out. We dipped it and scraped it separately. Then I boiled the meat and fat off. Layered it, rolled it up and refrigerated it. Sliced, dipped in egg and flour and then fried, it is delicious with scrambled eggs. Credit CT for the recipe.

Oremus pro invicem!

Prayer For The Canonization of Servant of God Dorothy Day

Merciful God, you called your servant Dorothy Day to show us the face of Jesus in the poor and forsaken. By constant practiceof the works of mercy, she embraced poverty and witnessed steadfastly to justice and peace. Count her among your saints and lead us all to become friends ofthe poor ones of the earth, and to recognize you in them. We ask this through your Son Jesus Christ, bringer of good news to the poor. Amen

Snow, Pigs, and Milk

9 inches of snow Sunday night through Monday noon or so! The most we've every had in the 16 years we've been down here. Couple that with 4 inches on Christmas night, we are having some kind of winter. The snow is beautiful, but it sure makes for a mess as it melts-which hasn't started doing yet. We had ice last night and the roads are dangerous still.

We did find a hill on our neighbors property and used the tops off some plastic 55-gallon drums as coasters and did some sledding yesterday. With the ice-over, it should be even more fun today.

Tammy, our Tamworth gilt had her first litter on Saturday night-8 healthy piglets, still hanging in there despite the cold, snow and ice.

Over the past few years we've had constant requests to sell raw milk. I have strangers approach me at the gas station asking if I will sell them milk. This weekend we sold the last of a 10 week-old litter of pigs and both parties who came by for the piglets also asked for milk. Of course unless we have a Grade A-Government inspected dairy, it is illegal for us to sell our milk. In keeping with the principal of subsidiarity, I read a comment on a homesteading forum recently which sums up what the government's role should be: we need the government to inspect a dairy when the consumer can't. If you are buying milk on the farm and can see the conditions for yourself, then you don't need the government to do it for you. However, if buy in a store, and can't inspect the dairy, then you may want some assurances of cleanliness, etc.

Oremus pro invicem!

Think you need more land?

I always do. With more land I could really make a go of it... but this story by Leo Tolstoy got me thinking again. Isn't that grass always greener?

Oremus pro invicem!

P.S. Merry Christmas! We're still celebrating, I hope you are too!

Peter Maurin on Usury

Peter Maurin (of the Catholic Worker Movement) wrote an easy essay on the usury:

Legalized Usury

Because John Calvin legalized
money lending at interest
the State has legalized
money-lending at interest.
Because the State has legalized
money-lending at interest
home-owners have mortgaged their homes.
Because the State has legalized
money-lending at interest,
farmers have mortgaged their farms.
Because the State has legalized
money-lending at interest,
institutions have mortgaged their buildings.
Because the State has legalized
money-lending at interst,
Congregations have mortgaged their churches.
Because the State has legalized
money-lending at interest,
cities, counties, States,
and the Federal Government
have mortgaged themselves
in all kinds of financial difficulties
because the State has legalized
money-lending at interest.

Advice (paraphrased) given to my son from a brother of the Missionaries of the Poor during my son's mission trip to Jamaica:

You have plenty of time in this life to do lots of things. But, you don’t have enough time in life to serve the Lord!

Oremus pro invicem!

I have one!

I was reading the chapter entitled The Family by Rev. Vincent McNabb OP, STM in Flee to the Fields (IHS Press). Here Fr. McNabb is quoting a report from the Sub-committee of the Inter-Departmental Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Board of Education, 1928 (England):

They (women) are in a position to be either a drag on, or a spur to agricultural development.

Attention may be drawn to the women's part in the rural exodus.... There is no doubt that a most potent factor in driving the men city-wards has been the discontent of women. .....

Smallholders ... are largely dependent on the assistance of wives and daughters for the working of the holding as well as of the house.

So, what do I have? A good woman who is a "spur to the agricultural development" on our small holding. My woman lives a hard live without all the comforts we could have, but she sees the fruits and appreciates them like many women would not.

God bless her! And praise God for the gift He has given me and our children!

Oremus pro invicem!

A chance encounter

Saturday I happened to run into Reid Buckley at the feed store. We had met only once before, more than a year previous at the same feed store, but he remembered me. I greeted him with the standard “How are you?”. He responded with the more provocative and much more meaningful: “Have you done anything good today?” Caught off guard, (and not known to be quick on my feet) I offered some kind of lame response.

In our short discussion, Mr. Buckley mentioned his new book (due out today on amazon) The Idiocy of Assent and a recent interview he had given about the book. I checked it out and clip these comments of his, which are very much of my own heart. (Bold is my emphasis of what I believe is the most important statement in the interview.)

We have to find out some way to reduce the size of the government without actually attacking any of its agencies. I think the way to do that is to emphasize the policy of subsidiarity. That no public agency should do what a private agency could do better, and that no larger public agency should do what a smaller public agency could do better. That’s the principle of federalism and that’s what, I think, we have to get to.

If we want to have a Department of Energy, this should be through the states, not through the federal government.

The way to do it is to start from the premise that the indispensable social unit in any republic has to be the family and that the family has to be made responsible for its members. In other words, sons and daughters should be responsible for their aging parents. Their parents should be responsible for their sons and daughters.

If any member of that family becomes ill, the other members of that family should be the first people to respond, not the federal government, not even the state.

If someone happens to be so unfortunate as to be completely alone, then we should rely on the church, the community hall, the county, and then — only then — move onto the state in cases of total neglect.

And later …

People who are raised in urban circumstances have very little appreciation of natural beauty. Their aesthetic sense is largely blunted by their upbringing.

There was an example of children raised in New York city, many of whom didn’t know where milk came from and had never seen a live chicken. I think these were serious problems.

Read more: here

Oremus pro invicem!

This morning we dressed out our Thanksgiving turkey. The boys are betting it's over 40 lbs (dressed), and I concur. One thing you should know if you do your own poultry, and that is to refrigerate them for at least two days before freezing or cooking. It ages/tenderizes the meat.

Mrs. Curley and the kids have been making ice cream this week. Boy the homemade stuff is good. Last night it was mint chocolate chip. A few days ago it was French Vanilla.

Oremus pro invicem!

Monday, Harry had her 3rd litter, this time 13 piglets. Although she has a lot of Yorkshire in her, all her piglets look like their Hampshire daddy. Harry is known to hop fences (in fact she hopped one on Saturday in front of guests). Her piglets have always been escape artists also. I'll never forget the time I arrived home and went to check on her 2-week old litter and found them all gone. After some frantic calling, they emerged from the woods, and one by one ran across the road, through another dry lot and into their own pen.

We had our first fall square dance on Saturday just past. A wonderful gathering with 1/2 hog on the grill and families from our current parish and old parishes. A few people stayed to sing around the bonfire in the evening. Mrs. Curley and I danced the Virginia Reel, and it was a wonderful time.

Since coming 'back to the land', I have read many books about practical skills and livestock. In the years preceding our move, I read some more philisophical books on the Catholic back-to-the-land movement: Flee to the Fields (IHS press) and The Rural Solution (Traditionalist Press, Ireland) to name two.

It is good to revisit these books now; at least one, to see if the reasons given have proven valid for our family. If I can carve out the time, I may review these books, or parts thereof, and add my own two cents based on our experiences.

Oremus pro invicem!

So, what’s going on? Fall has finally hit. We were very late in planting the fall/winter garden, but because of the continued heat, maybe we didn’t lose much. Turnips are up and the broccoli is in the ground. The Swiss chard, of which we planted and replanted, has not yet made an appearance. We have almost finished separating the peanuts from the hay. Last year the peanut hay itself was more valuable than the peanut crop. This year we harvested late and much of the hay dried in the field. I am not sure it will be as valuable this year.

I love the change in weather, late as it came this year. As my neighbor commented to me, “It’s time to slaughter a hog.” Indeed it is. We’ve already done two this fall, another slated for this week, and a bunch more come December and January.

Feed prices have been going up and up. For the pigs, I can pass this increased cost onto buyers. However, this doesn’t help us with the chicken and cow feed.

We have a litter of pigs ready to wean in a few weeks. Most are looking good. One was injured in his first week and while he still lives and is active, his growth is very stunted. He wasn’t a runt when born, but is now. We will probably keep him on the sow for a bit longer than the pigs we are selling.

Our sow Harry (short for Harry) is due this coming Friday.

I have been desperate to find a Jersey bull to breed back my Jersey, breed my Jersey heifer and soon to breed my Brown Swiss. We had the Jersey AI’d twice, but it didn’t take, thus the need to find a bull. She has been a trooper, still giving 3 gallons a day even 18 months after freshening. But all this good milk will end. Monday evening I went West to look at a Jersey bull. He looked good, but a bit younger than I wanted…. But the price was right. He arrives before week’s end.

For the first time in many, many years we celebrated All Saints Day alone. We went to Mass in Camden (not our regular parish) as they had noon Mass which fit our schedule better. After coming home, we all got costumed and told the stories of our chosen saints. I portrayed John Kemble (possibly remembered more for the expression of “having a Kemble smoke/pipe” – the last pipe of a sitting, and for him, his last before execution, than for he being the oldest of the English and Welsh martyrs). We also had a Margaret Ward, and others.

Now, the commercial interruption: We have some great deals at Requiem Press. Traffic at the new website is practically nil, but remember us when looking for gifts in the next couple months. Thank-you.

I usually never miss posting on All Soul’s Day, but computer time, especially ‘recreation computer time’ has been hard to come by (not necessarily a bad thing). However, as a reminder, go to a cemetery and pray for the Holy Souls. You can earn a plenary indulgence (under the usual conditions) for a suffering soul on the 2nd and during the 8 thereafter.

Today we prayed the Office of the Dead as this is the 11th anniversary of my father’s passing-may his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

Oremus pro invicem!