A week ago we received our chicks from the hatchery. 500 little balls of yellow fluff that we raise for meat. This year we are trying out a new system, one that we have yet to hear of anyone doing:…
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Parenting styles on the Farm
Posted in Blog, The Chautauqua Tagged with: animals, chickens, family, parenthood, pigs, relationships
What’s in a name?
Last year Vance decided that we couldn’t name any of our animals that we would be butchering. Any mothers and fathers could be named but if someone was going to be eating the animal in the near future – if…
A Spicy Surprise
It’s amazing how life arranges for us the lessons that we are still not sure how to take. While I have been playing with and learning about fermentation over the last 6months – the question that has lingered the longest…
Salt and Sauerkraut
I’ve talked a lot about the what and why of fermentation – my case made for the importance of and fun within fermentation, so I am going to shift gears to the how with the common fermentation practice of making…
I’m Cheap & Like to Play with Food
As I mentioned in my last article – fermenting has become my obsession. It started with making wine and beer (although I didn’t think of that as fermentation in the same light) and then I moved on to ‘pickling’ vegetables…
It’s an Obsession
I have a confession to make: we eat a lot of processed food. About one third of our vegetable intake is processed and almost all of our beverages and I foresee our future including a lot more! It feels like…
2012: A year of domestication
While reflecting back on the past year, the thought “I’ve been domesticated” popped into my head. It made me uneasy because as a liberal, educated woman – I’ve been biased against the idea of domestication as it often implies being…
It’s all Relative
The following piece is part of a regular column in the local newspaper that Brenda writes, often inspired by our farm journey and adventures. It first appeared in The Chautauqua in 2012. **************** A friend of mine commented that these…
When I grow up…
The following piece is part of a regular column in the local newspaper that Brenda writes, often inspired by our farm journey and adventures. It first appeared in The Chautauqua in 2012. **************** It’s grade nine and I’m lying on…
Appreciating Animals
The following piece is part of a regular column in the local newspaper that Brenda writes, often inspired by our farm journey and adventures. It first appeared in The Chautauqua in 2012. **************** “Animal appreciate, machines depreciate” I may have…