It was during Holy Week six years ago that I discerned what I thought was a call to start Requiem Press. As we begin Holy Week six years hence, I announce that Requiem Press will be closing its doors over the next few months. It was a good run and I learned a lot and met some fantastic people.

We will be selling out inventory (if possible). The website is still up, but things will be changing as we go through this process.

You know, I thought my books would help change the world-bringing people back to Christ-perhaps a few did, but I learned (once again) that I need to be more like the potter's clay, letting Christ make the model and just be His tool-not trying to do it all by myself.

I hope we can still sell some books, cause there are bills to pay.

More on this later.

I have a couple other good stories up my sleeve, but they will have to wait until we get past this holy season.

Oremus pro invicem!

Last week I returned to my old Men's Prayer Group at my former parish after some 5 years absence. We pray the Liturgy of the Hours, discuss something (scripture, the sacraments, etc.) and then go to Mass. I think I'll try to make it from now on when I am in the city. It is very valuable for men to pray together. I have missed it unknowingly.

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We finally made some peanut butter from our fall harvest. I also made some 'diabetic' peanut butter. Both seem to be hits. We have a bunch more to make. We haven't decided whether to plant peanuts again - it may depend on whether the land made available to us again. The peanut hay proved very valuable as a supplement for our cows (still getting almost 4 gallons a day from Mabel). In truth, besides some peanut brittle at Christmas, we haven't really used the peanuts as much as the hay. But this is changing.

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Our litter of 13 piglets is coming along very nicely. I will start weaning them in another week or so. I think we are going to hold a few of these back to sell as bbq pigs around July 4th. But we'll see.

In the meantime, we have litters due April 15th, April 18th, and May 17th. We have a gamecock hen setting on a clutch of eggs in one of our farrowing houses. Fortunately, those eggs should hatch a few days before I need to move a sow into the farrowing house.

I mentioned we are raising some Cornish/Rock broilers .... but in the meantime, we had eaten one of the gamecocks hatched in October. Boy, now that was a delicious chicken-maybe the best I've ever had. Methinks that I won't do C/R broilers again. We are going to build our gamecock flock.

I looked yesterday and some radishes, swiss chard, and peas are poking their heads out of the ground. I spread some more manure yesterday and tilled some more garden plot.

Oremus pro invicem!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Instead of writing a new post, I will post a link to my best previous post on St. Patrick's Day: 2007 St. Patrick's Day post

In the mail today came a request from the Mary Mother of God Mission Society -Reviving the Catholic Church in Eastern Russia. I have scanned it and reproduced it below. I have met one of the priest (an American) who has served in Vladivostok since 1991 and can recommend him and his work without question.

Unfortunately, I don't have the money to add my support to this worthy mission at this time-so I bring it to your attention. (http://www.vladmission.org/ )

Oremus pro invicem!

So, we planted peas, Kohl Rabi, Swiss chard, broccoli, lettuce, strawberries, radishes, beets, carrots, and onions this week. A good start, but we have more peas and Swiss chard to put in. Most of these will be done in May/early June, so we can plant some other stuff then. And of course we have other garden areas to plant, which won't be ready til April.

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Went to the Kershaw County Friends of the Library sale today. It always happens when we're broke, but we manage to scrape together what ever we need. Mrs. Curley found a Sheed & Ward book circa 1955 enticingly titled: Catholicism Protestantism and Capitalism by Anmintore Fanfani. Here's the blurb from the jacket (I am too lazy to retype it, but please do read it):

I also picked up The Lore of the Land by John Seymour with original illustrations by Sally Seymour. Finally, I picked up a book: Producing Your Own Power. This has two chapters on generating power from bio mass (Methane gas from manure.) This is of great interest. Our dairy cow and her heifer generate many pounds of manure each day. This winter you could see the heat coming off the manure piles. We need to harness this somehow. I'll keep you all up to date on my research.

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And we unexpectedly had time and caught the noon Mass in Camden. We really weren't dressed for it, but I figured it was better to go to Mass dressed down for a change, than not to go at all.

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We have Cornish-Rock broilers in our brooder. They came last week a day late and we lost 3/4 of them (the hatchery will replace our loss). Six weeks from now we should have chickens to sell (and some for our own freezer.)

Piglets are 5 weeks old this weekend. We have 2 litters due in mid-April and one in mid-May.

Tomorrow we will all be here for a change (the older boys have been in great demand as workers around the town), and if the weather holds up, we need to get some pens made, till some ground, build a new chicken house, and much much more.

We've moved our Lady of Fatima shrine and the girls will be planting flowers. I am looking for a site for an Infant of Prague shrine at the back of the property.

Lots of work, lots of joy.

Oremus pro invicem!

Over the years we have met, corresponded with, read about, etc people who yearn for a Catholic community of 'like-minded' folks. You would hope that being Catholic and 'like-minded' were synonymous and that a local parish community would fit the bill. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The Catholic Church in America (and very likely other places as well) has seen great upheaval in these past decades, with theological and philosophical factions, scandals, and the like. We can lay blame at numerous doorsteps, but I don't have time (and possibly not the knowledge) to cover them all.

Thus many (and this is particularly desired among agrarian-leaning Catholics, but not limited to this group) want to find/form/join a community of "like-minded" folks. However, the definition of 'like-minded' itself is often the downfall of such planned communities. Philosophical attitudes often arise from the culture one is raised in. And thus when you put together Northeasterners, Southerners, people of Anglo descent, Eastern European descent, Mediterranean descent, 1st generation Americans, 5th generation Americans, ...., middle-class descent, children of poverty, etc. (you get the picture) AND then you add in (even among faithful Catholics) Vatican II, Latin, Novus Ordo, etc. you have a cauldron ready to boil.

(Not to be nostalgic but) In past times more people were born, raised, married, raised a family and died in the same parish surrounded by family and extended family. The importance of this stability can not be ignored. (Of course the industrial revolution and centralization of power has helped destroy the overwhelmingly agrarian culture.) These folks shared faith, family and culture. All three have been damaged. Let's leave aside faith for a moment.

The melting of ethnic cultures over several generations produces no culture. What has taken the place of traditional culture is the Protestant/now secular culture that is America. This has been facilitated by wealth, but even more so by mobility-which may in part be because of the seeking of wealth, or the American dream.

It is funny that many today (and I speak specifically of those seeking 'community') want natural foods, but seek an unnatural community. For true community is based on the family and then the extended family, created by the intermarriage of local families who share faith and geographic and ethnic culture who remain in the community to make it grow.

If I want a Catholic community in Bethune, SC of like-minded folks, it will happen if my children stay in (or return to) Bethune with their families and bring their talents to bear in this community-and their children do the same.

Rural communities have suffered because the younger generation has left. But you can still see the remnants of community in most rural areas stronger than other places because few people move into dying rural towns-thus the people left have roots there.

And who am I to preach stability? My wife and I left the communities of our youth to seek a better job-the American dream. Now being wiser (but poorer) we can only hope that our children see the folly of mobility. (This is not to say that we are unhappy where we are; this is a wonderful area, just lacking a nearby Catholic Church. But we also realize that more geographic stability would benefit our country. See the web magazine Front Porch Republic for more on this topic.)

That is not to say everyone must follow the same cookie cutter. However, the majority would do better staying local. When we send our children off to college (a whole other can of worms), it should be so that they come back to our community with new knowledge and skills.

Oremus pro invicem!

Snapped a few pics today. First is the new litter 3.5 weeks old, trying to steal mom's food.

Next is Tarzan (our boar) and Cordelia, a Hampshire gilt we hope will be bred soon.

Finally is Big Red, a Duroc/Tamworth gilt. She is bred and due end of May.

Off to the Stations of the Cross.

Oremus pro invicem!

From the Small Holding ...

From Practical Farming for the South by B.F. Bullock 1946, from the introduction to the section on Field Crops, in which Professor Bullock argues against the common practice then (and even today) of planting and specializing in only a few "cash crops":

The southern farmer must be convinced that his farm is a better place on which to live than it is on which to make a living. ... American farms were once made to produce almost all the basic needs for a happy and prosperous life, and they must be made to do so again if the true spirit of American freedom is to survive.

We've been doing much planning for our current year of planting. Last year we put in our peas and onions by this time. But it has been colder than usual. We did till some garden areas this weekend, but with snow on the menu for Wednesday morning, I think we have a few more weeks.

We moved our heifer calf last week and will be planting our early crops (peas and onions) on her old pen. We will be planting on the pen we raised turkeys on last year and are extending the garden in the front. (I think and aerial plot is called for. I will work on it for the next post.)

In our main garden area, we are planting entirely in corn. We are going to let some hogs harvest it, one section at a time, moving the fencing. I hope this works out. As each section is hogged down, we will come back immediately with greens. We are pretty excited with all the extended garden area.

Big Spot still has 13 piglets thriving at 3 weeks old. They just started to steal their mom's food. I need to cut the males this week. I will wean in another 4-5 weeks. We have 2 more litters due in mid April, one towards the end of May, and hopefully one in June/July-but the last is too early to predict yet.

Mrs. Curley and the girls are making a new area/grotto for Our Lady of Fatima 'shrine'. They got quite a lot done on Saturday. Now they just have to plant the flowers.

I am looking for a good spot to create a shrine for the Infant of Prague image we have. I owe it to Him.

Sorry for the long absence, but get used to it as the busy arrives. (Oh yes, we have 100 day-old chicks coming this week-Cornish/rock broilers.)

Oremus pro invicem!

This Sunday, Father suggested we look at our life and see what we are doing that gets us closer to God what doesn't. Although Father didn't mention it, it is a good preparation for Lent.

And, I read in CWR the following by Annie Calovich:

My sister, Celine, had been insistent that our mom not go into a nursing home, and she had prepared her daily for death, saying the rosary and other prayers with her at set times of the day, keeping holy images in front of her eyes and the TV out of her room. ....

Since we should always be preparing for death (St. Paul says that our day of salvation (or not-JC) is closer than it has ever been) perhaps we should heed the same practices.

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Something to feast your eyes on before the meatless days which are soon to come before us. (Part of the hind quarter during the butchering of Bucky.)

Finally, a clip from the recent snows. (Aside, my boys have worked recently for a local horse trainer: exchanging their work putting a roof on his barn for a horse. Horse was delivered a week or so ago. They are still working for a saddle and tack.) Here is Number 2 Son taking a ride in early morning after the snow this past week. (The background sound is undoubtably Big Spot calling her litter to nurse.)

Oremus pro invicem!

Beef is back on the menu!

Finished butchering today after the 6 inches of snow had let up and melted some. We had rib-eye steaks for dinner tonight-our first homegrown Jersey beef .... delicious. Geeta Dardick (author of the BEST book on the subject: Home Butchering and Meat Preservation) warned that we should have low expectations as our beef isn't grown in a feed-lot. May be they were low, but were greatly exceeded.

Time and taste will tell whether we do this again soon, but thumbs up for now. Groovy man!

Oremus pro invicem!

Snow! and the end of Bucky

It is snowing as I write-coming down pretty hard. Accumulation is expected to be 3 inches overnight. We haven't had snow yet this year.

We slaughtered our first cow yesterday. Boy, what a job. It takes a bit more than a hog. I will wait to see how it tastes before commenting on whether we shall do it again.

Pictures here show the breast bone being split and a c0-conspirator working on salvaging the cheek meat and tongue.

I wish I had a picture of us splitting the carcass with an old axe we were given. When I brought the axehead down to our local hardware store to get it fitted for a new handle, the owner was excited: the head was old and she asked if she could weigh it ... 6.5 pounds. They told me to take good care of it. I figure if I use it as a working tool, it is more likely to last.

We were pretty much done except quartering and moving the carcass into the barn in 3 hours. Not bad. Of course Bucky was probably only 650 pounds (a Jersey).

We are making much of it ground beef, but are hanging part of the carcass for a couple days as weather permits and drying aging some of the cuts in the fridge.

I'll report on the taste in a day or two.

Oremus pro invicem!

16!

In the wee hours between the 6th and 7th of February, Big Spot had her 2nd litter of 16 piglets for us. No pictures yet as the digital camera is on the blink. 1/2 are black/black&white and 1/2 are "blue butts": white with dark area on the butt and a few spots area around the head.

We've been loading up the farrowing area with lots of straw to keep these piggies warm.

Oremus pro invicem!

From Rod Dreher via Front Porch Republic:

"Schooling," [the priest] told me, "has not changed the people for the better. This is the pain in my heart. Those educated want nothing to do with their animals. They just want to leave. Education should not be a reason to go away. It's an obligation to come back."

While the setting for the quote is Africa, it is also true here. It struck me and reminded me of my 91 year-old neighbor telling me that the family farm has died because his generation's children wanted things.

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My car radio only works when it rains. This is a good thing on my weekly commute to the city as it gives me time to pray and think. It is also good because the radio often upsets me, as it did yesterday when it rained and the two top stories on NPR were how the Obama Administration was set on making 'family planning' a key aspect of all foreign aid - and it seems the Republican party (at least those quoted) were not too upset by this. And secondly, news on the whole 'don't ask, don't tell' thing. Of course having female soldiers (writing 'female soldiers' truly seems to offend nature) on or close to the front lines in close quarters with male soldiers has some of the same ramifications, doesn't it? Not the way to start the day!

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"Big Spot" hasn't farrowed yet and is not likely to do so tonight. I am hoping she farrows before the rain coming on later in the week.

On a lighter note, here's Number 2 son with a turkey we had tonight. Very tasty!

Oremus pro invicem!

Wow, what a week. It is cold again and icy. We haven't lost a tree yet, but I am sure we will by tomorrow. It's in the 20's and been raining/icing since late last night. It is almost stopped now, but supposed to go down to 17 F overnight.

I know this is nothing like New England where I grew up, but having been away for 15+ years, it is hard to get used to.

Big Spot (pictured here a few weeks ago) is due to farrow this week. She isn't due for a few days, but am anxious that the cold and ice may stress her into an early delivery. She had a litter of 16 in July. She's even bigger this time and looks to be starting to bag up.

Broke down about 1 mile from home last night in the G30 van. I forgot to take the cell phone and Mrs. Curley was busy with dinner so didn't notice my tardiness. The van just quit. Instead of pushing it off the road, I decided to try my hand at pushing it home. There is one (up) hill on the way, but it follows a steep downgrade, so I figured I had chance, especially if Mrs. Curley showed up with the strong backs of my boys. Turns out my neighbor showed up first with a car dolly-but after I pushed for some 1/2 mile. It took a while to get the van loaded, but it's home now, just ready to be worked on. (Not a battery or a belt, so we'll look at the fuel pump and distributor cap.)

More later. Oremus pro invicem!

Sorry for the absence; been getting work done. We finished the new farrowing area and hut for Big Spot (Duroc/York/Hamp sow), due 4 February. Mrs. Curley painted the hut and did some painting on some other hog shelters.

We got Big Red (Duroc/Tamworth cross gilt) bred this weekend, and finally bred back our Jersey milk cow. She will be due in October. I would have rathered early September, thus having her dried off in the hottest months of July and August, but this will do.

I can't believe it is almost February. I think I did my first planting in mid-February last year. Boy, I am not ready yet.

Yesterday Mrs. Curley and I walked around the property and figured out our plans for this year-where we will keep the turkeys, meat birds, rabbits (yes, we will try them again-and to boot, rabbits are not regulated.) etc. I think we have a good plan. Now to get it working.

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Am working today also to make sure Requiem Press book Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church by Russell Shaw gets back into print. We sold the last copy of the 2nd printing this past fall. We hope to have it back for sale by mid-February.

And we have at least one other book targeted for early 2010. More on this later.

Oremus pro invicem!

pigtures to share

Appropriately on the weekend enclosing the feast of St. Anthony the Great (patron of swine-herders), we slaughtered and butchered two hogs. Of course we had some help and some beer (which also helped.)

Here is number three son with one of the skinned hogs, just before evisceration. Not to brag (well, okay maybe to brag) but, the hog I helped to skinn, we took the skin off in one piece with the head; so it looked like a pigskin rug. The picture is too blurry to include, but take my word for it-it's a work of art.

The deep freeze was too much for some of my greens. With two weeks of deep freeze (not to mention us being under the weather for one of those weeks) some things have gotten behind. We need to move some pigs, build some fence, and resurrect a farrowing area (due in Feb) in addition to playing catch up on other maintenance. Lots to do.

Oremus pro invicem!

Just one demonstration that we are doing much better: Number 4 Son decided to do some sliding on the ice this morning (instead of tending his chickens) and wound up falling and having his front teeth go completely through his lower lip. His comment? "I hope the blood stains don't come out of my pants and gloves."

So, thankfully we are almost back to normal. A few coughs linger.

It is still cold, but we are supposed to get a break today. One thing about homesteading in SC, you don't just bundle up in the cabin and wait till spring. You can grow year-round. Although I think this recent deep freeze probably ended at least some of the greens.

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Changing gears, reading this piece at Inside Catholic on booing in Church reminded me of something I read in Monti's life of Thomas More (albeit the subject is different). Erasmus writes of More's children:

And if the priest has babbled something foolish, something impious, or something otherwise improper for a preacher-which we see happening frequently nowadays-they know whether to laugh or to ignore it or to express their indignation. Now that's the way to hear a sermon! -Eramus letter dated 1521

It would seem from context that the "indignation" is openly expressed. I have read (although can't place my hands on where) of other saints standing up during a homily and correcting a priest for uttering heresy during a sermon. I believe the situation in the link may have been somewhat different, but touches on the point of what is appropriate during Mass. Do we keep quiet in respect for the Eucharist even if the preacher is disrespectful in preaching heresy? Is this the proper "English" thing to do? Fortunately I haven't faced this situation in years.

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Speaking of Thomas More, a few years ago Requiem Press was going to come out with a new (never before published in the states-but reprinted from an English work) biography of my favorite saint. We are hoping this is the year this effort comes to fruition. Stay tuned.

Oremus pro invicem!

So, the kids have been sick (low fever, high cough) for a week or more now. Mrs. Curley and I have undertaken all the livestock chores during that time. We've had fun working together alone. We've been working hard, and our tired old bodies are feeling a little sore. (It is good for us to do all the work occasionally. It lets us see how much work the kids do, and what improvements shoudl be made to the system.)

With the cold weather, we've been breaking up ice and lugging water to the pigs and chickens 2-3 more times per day than is usual. And we've been constantly refreshing the straw bedding in the livestock housing to keep all the animals warm during this cold snap. (Our hay supplier had extra straw and has delivered several round bales to us for free this past week.)

Last night snow (flurries) were predicted, but we got barely a sprinkle. For the first time in a week, the water troughs were not frozen this morning.

We hope the kids are on the mend, cause Mrs. Curley and I are fading quickly with our own coughs (no fevers yet.)

Oremus pro invicem!

Coooooooooooold!

At least for SC. And it is supposed to get colder-down to 10 overnight on Sunday. (A neighbor claims it was 8F early this morning-but not here.)

Now that the 12 days are over, I may start posting a bit again. In the cold weather, keeping the livestock's water from freezing-even during the day has been a challenge. We don't have heated waterers...afterall, it is SC.

We still have not mailed Christmas cards, but I figure we have til February 2nd to do so. Our tree will be up until then at least.

To work! Oremus pro invicem!

Merry Christmas!

Now Playing ....

Am doing my annual wrapping presents today .... as every year accompanied by playing selections from my 78 rpm collection. I will keep and updated run of the records every so often.

First up: Don't Tell Me Your Worries - The Carlisle Brothers (King Records)

Now: Al Jolsen: Sonny Boy/Rainbow on my Shoulder

Earlier: Cliff Carlisle Trio: A Stretch of 28 Years (Bluebird)