Hausbarn

     In the 17th and 18th centuries, Hausbarns were a common sight  throughout  Germany- but especially in the Northern  areas of Ostfriesland (East Freeland) where my great grandfather Heinrich hails from.

     The hausbarn was a blend of personal living quarters and areas for livestock, feed and farm equipment.- hold that thought.

          Early December  the water started freezing in the chicken coop.  Now that is a problem because it costs about a dollar a day to run the water heater and we only have  four chicken- one rooster (The Colonial) and three hens- Joy, Lori and, and Emily  )   We’re only getting 2 to 3 eggs a day which  makes for some very expensive eggs. 

      Well there is a room under our front porch with a door that goes directly  into our basement.  When I was down there last month I was struck by how warm it was - the passive heat of the sun coming through a 3ft sq window made the room quite comfy.

      hummm, I thought to myself..this would make a great place to keep the chickens. 

 It’s not really part of our basement….

Hausbarns are a part of my heritage…

if I could just convince my wife………

Wife getting her first peek @ our new boarders…

The thermometer outside the morning of 12/9/2009

Picture of the apple crate/ turned egg nest

_____________________________________________________

Update 1/1/-2010  3 weeks later.

      Well, my wife reluctantly agreed to go along with the idea on two conditions- smell and safety-  as long as she didn’t smell anything and there was no danger to something igniting.

       I have to believe we are enjoying some of the freshest, most convenient  farm eggs of anyone I know.  This morning the thermometer registered 15 below zero F. which is – 26 C.  The chicken waterer was froze this morning even in their solar heated quarters.  I’m thinking I might need to let the chickens come up stairs and hang out in the kitchen today…..if I could only convince my wife

How to: Butcher a free range pig

      I lost my urge to kill for sport when I was 18.  Calvin, Steve and myself were squirrel hunting in the timber across the road from our home when it happened. 

      I said I lost my urge to kill for sport, but not the desire for meat.  If I ever found myself in the position where I needed  to hunt  to put food on the table, I could.

        I debated whether or not to write about  the hog butchering that took place last Saturday because of the subject matter.   Here’s the deal- 90% of Americans  probably have no clue as to where their food really comes from- they’ll inhale a tenderloin or baby back ribs without a second thought- I suppose they think they’re made by little elves in a hollow tree. 

      The reality is, if you like bacon, ham, tenderloin, barbeque ribs or pickled pigs feet, that piece of meat was once a living breathing pig and you’re living in a fairy tale if you think otherwise. 

      Last Summer,  I was doing some  carpentry work for a hog farmer.  He offered to give me the runts when it was time to wean.  Normally, the runts are destroyed because they    are just not cost-effective to raise.    I jumped at the chance, my thought was,  I’d put them in the pasture behind the barn, allow them to free range   and when the weather got cold (like now) we would butcher them  just like my grandpa did in the 1920’s. I put the word out locally, to see who would be interested in some “free range” pork- pork that was grown without chemical, a very lean piece of pork. I got over 20 takers. 

         Pigs are foragers and LOVE to root for their food. Even farmers today who grow free range pigs will often still put a ring in their nose to keep them from rooting.  So  I’m convinced these 6 runts were some of the luckiest pigs that have lived in Iowa in years, but now it was time to butcher….

Due to the explicit nature of  the remainder of this article- I’ve divided this post into two parts.  Don’t read any further if this sort of thing bothers you.  And by the way- please don’t leave any negative comments on this post- I will just delete them. thanks. DM

__________________________________________________________

part 2

       I decided we would butcher 2 pigs this first go round. 

Step 1-  The night before, I cut back on the feed.

Step 2 .  I penned up the two pigs we were going to kill separate from rest. 

Step 3- I let Phil do the actual shooting- with a pig you want to shoot them in the forehead- right between the eyes.  The pig dropped to the ground, and thrashed for about a minute.

Step 4- We hung the pig up by the back legs, slitting the neck open (front to back) in order to get it to drain-  I’ve never been deer hunting, but I suspect you could talk with any deer hunter who knows how to field dress a deer  and he could explain how to do this step.

Step 5   We skinned the pig (rather than dipping it in boiling water)  being careful not to cut into the guts starting at the back legs and working down to the head- it took two of us  about 20 minutes just to skin one pig.

Step 6 - Removing the internal organs. Again we started at the top (rear end) carefully cut open the carcass without cutting into the intestines, etc. and put everything into a garbage bag-  As you get down to the rib cage, we had to  cut that open with sawzall, I guess some type of hack saw would have also worked.  You have to cut through the front of the rib cage.

Step 7.  I brought the carcass into the garage- it was pretty much done bleeding at this point- and let it hang overnight.   Depending on what you read, you can let it hang (if it’s cold) for up to a week skinned-  that time would have been shorter if we’d dipped it in boiling water) then they recommend 24 to 48 hours only)

 

step 8.  The next day,  while it was still hanging in the garage, I split the carcass from top to bottom with a sterilized sawzall blade.

Step 9- watch this 5 minute video:  It did an excellent job of showing the initial cuts:

step 10  I put butcher paper on our kitchen table and cut up the pig according to the suggestions on the video.  

 I  put the pieces of meat on some cookie sheets to let them chill for an hour in the freezer before vacuum sealing individual packages:

   Before vacuum sealing individual packages:

Couple of final thoughts.- You can’t be too careful in terms of sterilization and cleanliness.  And secondly I could feel the pressure of  political correctness attempting to cast its shadow over me even as I wrote this- 

     It’s one thing to be squeamish because you don’t like gross stuff- that  I understand.

     If on the other hand, you are a meat eater  and still  have a bad attitude about this post- you may be in need of professional help.    

What Would You Do With Two Cows?

    Ever wonder where you really fit politically?    Take this quiz and you will know . DM

DEMOCRAT You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You push for higher taxes so the government can provide cows for everyone.

 REPUBLICAN You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So?

SOCIALIST You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

COMMUNIST You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk. You wait in line for hours to get it. It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE You have two cows. Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION You have two cows. You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one.. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses. Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows. You go to lunch and drink wine. Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains. Most are at the top of their class at cow school.

GERMAN CORPORATION You have two cows. You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.

 ITALIAN CORPORATION You have two cows but you don’t know where they are. You break for lunch. Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION You have two cows. You have some vodka. You count them and learn you have five cows. You have some more vodka. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.

TALIBAN CORPORATION You have all the cows in Afghanistan , which are two. You don’t milk them because you cannot touch any creature’s private parts. You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.

IRAQI CORPORATION You have two cows. They go into hiding. They send radio tapes of their mooing.

 BELGIAN CORPORATION You have one cow. The cow is schizophrenic. Sometimes the cow thinks he’s French, other times he’s Flemish. The Flemish cow won’t share with the French cow. The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow’s milk. The cow asks permission to be cut in half. The cow dies happy.

FLORIDA CORPORATION You have a black cow and a brown cow. Everyone votes for the best looking one. Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can’t figure out how to vote at all. Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best looking cow.

CALIFORNIA CORPORATION You have millions of cows. They make real California cheese. Only five speak English. Most are illegal. Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.

Thin Air

      

     Have you ever eaten farm fresh eggs?  I mean really fresh eggs- less than 24 hour old? 

    The yolk is firm – not runny like the ones you buy in the store, which typically are at least a week or two old by the time you get them.  Fresh yolks are a bright orange.   Fresh eggs are  one of the simple pleasures and perks of living in the country….so imagine my frustration when my eggs started disappearing a month ago.  We only have three laying hens.   I would see an egg in the nest when I went outside to do the chores, go back a couple of hours later to check  if there were any more and the original egg would be missing.   

     On a good day, I should find three eggs- Golden Comet chickens  are  a dual purpose bird- great layers and good eating.    At first I thought maybe because the days were getting shorter,  they’d stopped laying for the season, but then I’d find one or two. 

        to be continued….

  

______________________________________________________

Creeper- Low

     I remember my  dad picking ear corn when we first moved to the farm in 1967 with  a two-row John Deere picker.  The picker was  mounted on a John Deere model  70 tractor.   Our farm was relatively flat, although there were a few hill sides you had to be careful on.  Once in a while, the corn would  go down before  he was done harvesting  and it would become a tangled mass of stalks.    You  just couldn’t pick at the same pace,  The engine couldn’t handle it.  Fortunately, John Deere had designed the transmission in these tractors  with a super low gear called “creeper low”  The tractor would continue to move ahead for you  but at a snails pace.   

      Tonight I found myself shifting gears mentally into  creeper low. I do that on occasion. 

    Sometimes life feels like a tangled mass of downed corn.  There are still ears on the stalks- responsibilities that won’t go away.  I’m not able to handle everything in my life  at the same pace I normally do.  My engine starts to overheat, my clutch starts slipping, unless I downshift,  I run the risk of an engine fire or things just cease up and coming  to a grinding halt.  There’s no shame in shifting gears.

 

Stocking Up For Winter

      Tuesday my wife was putting laundry away and came across a pair of underwear- (I won’t tell you whose they were)   filled with small seeds.   “It’s a mouse“  I said- “Looks like you’ve found his   stash.”      The little bugger had been running back and forth from the kitchen counter to the laundry room carrying seeds.  I thought to myself-

A.-  That took a lot of trips and

B.- That took a lot of self control carrying all those seeds  in  his cheeks- I would have eaten  most of them doing the work.

     Here’s a picture I took of that mouse trying to get some of my Swiss cheese:

       There must be a little mouse in me because I’ve been having this urge to store up for Winter as well.

  On Monday, Denny said  he was taking 2 beef to the locker  and wanted to know if I’d be interested in a 1/2 a beef-  at $2.00 a pound.    I asked my wife if that was a good deal- she said  “When 93% hamburger sells for $1.98 that’s a good price….So we spoke for a  quarter of  beef.

(side note- Renee, when you read this- I decided I just couldn’t swap you Winston for 1/2 of a beef)

      We have 6 free range pigs currently plus our resident hog  Winston.   They go through a lot of food in a week, I’m having to buy corn   because they’ve  rooted up most of the pasture-  So as I stood there Tuesday night  giving the pigs pieces of pumpkins we grew this year, I wondered  if the pumpkin patch South of town has any extra pumpkins they’d give away- Halloween is over and maybe , just maybe  they’re just going to throw them away.   So I stopped  Wednesday  night, talked briefly with Virgil….he wasn’t sure- you never know.  Thursday morning our phone rang-  It was the pumpkin farmer-  ”Was I the guy who stopped and asked about the pumpkins?”  Well, he’d thought about it and said there was a shed full of pumpkins he was going to have to throw away and it would help him out, if I came and got them.   Friday afternoon I hauled home almost 2 pick up loads of pumpkin. 

    We still have  about 40 bushels of Super Chief, Sun Crisp and Liberty apples for sale from this years apple harvest.

    There’s a fine line between having faith  the Almighty will provide and  personal responsibility.  I’m taking my que from the mouse-  if they think it’s a good idea to stock up for winter then I do too.

Free Range Pork in Eastern Iowa

       Picture of me holding our first free range piglet in May of 2008. 

      Imagine a pig raised on apples, mulberries, clover, shelled corn and pasture, without a bunch of chemicals…. That would make  a tasty pig

        Pigs are foragers by nature.  They love to  turn up the soil with their snouts   digging for roots,  and grubs.  It’s called  the ‘free range” approach to pork production.  Nobody does it for lots of reasons- they take forever to get to market weight, it takes a lot more space per pig and even then, they will tear up a field unless you put rings in their noses, which prevents them from digging.

       I was working on a hog confinement set up this past June.  The farmer offered to give me  all of his runt pigs  for nothing.   He raises 5000 head a year and his buyers aren’t interested in the runts-  because they won’t grow as fast.  

      In my mind, a free pig is a free pig, plus we have an acre of pasture behind our barn just sitting there so   I sent an e-mail out to several  people asking if they’d be interested in me raising  a free range pig for them.   I told them right up front, they might only get to 120 to 150 pounds by the time  we needed to butcher.   I still had 20 people tell me “Yes! Count me in!!!!” 

         It’s four months later and time for an update.    We’re closing in our the time to butcher.    Our local newspaper is putting together  their  annual “pork”  edition and e-mailed me this week to see if I’d sit down with them and talk about  our free range pigs.  I had to laugh because  in my mind the jury is still out on the economic viability of this approach.

         Here’s some of what I told the reporter- 

      The whole things is  an experiment -I did grow up on a farm, we did raise pigs  but never like  this.

      The next time (if there is a next time)  here’s what I would do different: 

      #1  I would start out with healthy, normal baby  pigs instead of “free” runts.  The runts just do not convert their feed to body mass as quickly and you end up dumping more feed in them as a result.

      #2  I would give them more supplemental  feed each week.    I was trying to do this  without sticking a bunch of $ in them, but in the end, they just weren’t growing so I did start supplementing their  diet with shelled corn and now they have finally started putting on some size.

      #3  I would need to charge a lot more $ to make this financially worth my while.

      # 4 Instead of trying to raise 7 pigs on an acre of  pasture I would only do 4.  It didn’t take long for these 7  pigs to dig up that  acre of ground.

      #5  I would ask for more money up front from whomever was interested.  I ended up having to purchase a watering tank ($150)  2 sections of electric woven fence (another $ 200) and  $250 worth of corn. and it’s not over yet.

      I would say, if you stumble across this blog post, and you’re serious about getting some free range pork in 2010 drop me an e-mail. I’ll probably do 3 of them.   A  150 pound pig (live weight) will run you about $300- $400 depending on  the cost of feed.  Thoughts, comments, questions?

Footnote- for those of you that are regulars..no I am not planning to eat Winston.

    Photo of our 400 pound free range gilt- nothing tiny about her is there

A Step Back In Time….

      Here’s a picture of me all decked out in my new green lederhosen  visiting Oma and Opa on the farm. 

        I remember riding in the  wooden  corn wagon, hanging on  for dear life .

        Here’s a clip off  utube that will give you a little idea:

      Aunt Annie  came for a visit from Germany.  She  wanted  a picture of  Doggie  (me)  in the wagon.  I felt important that  the old lady with the strange accent and big camera  had taken an interest in me.   Her past was shrouded in mystery. -   There’s definitely a skeleton in the family  closet on this one but since I have no idea whose going to end up reading this, I’m going to leave well enough alone.

    There’s a saying in these parts, “You can take the boy off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy.” 

    Growing up on a real farm is a  precious gift.    I didn’t appreciate it  until years later when I had children of my own.  We were living  on the corner of 6th and Gill, across from Carpenter School, our oldest was 15th.  It was getting harder to keep tabs on everyone…finally our 2nd oldest ran away for a couple of days. (We knew where she was)       It was @ this point my wife looked at me and said “I want to find a farm house- even if we have to rent.”  and the rest is history…

    We found an old acreage that needed some TLC- they’re still to be had if you keep your ears open- I know of one that’s coming up for sale  you could probably pick up for under $50,000.00- it needs a new well and septic.  My brother has a beautiful 5 acre place for sale for around $175,000.00- that includes  several out buildings, a 2 story farm house, a commercial asparagus patch, and peace and quiet.  I’m so glad  Iowa is often times stereotyped as backwards, flat and boring.  I”ll let you in on a little secret…it’s a myth the locals like to perpetuate.  If you’d like to know what it’s really like around here ..read this

   Well, it’s way past my bed time, so I’m going to wrap this up. As always, thanks for reading my stuff- g-nite- DM

A Pirate Story

     ” When my friend  and his wife were sailing in the Mediterranean , they  found themselves  being circled by 3 pirate boats- the pirates  didn’t know who they were messing with.  He had served in Viet Nam so when he   outfitted his yacht, he had installed enough firepower to defend against this very thing…..he didn’t have to fire a shot- the pirates would not have had a chance….”   excerpt of a conversation at our Bed and Breakfast

     The Summer of 2008 we had 3 different couples  make reservations to stay with us over the same weekend-  one couple ran their own B and B- the other two were related.    The older couple was from   from Florida but spent most of their time on a  yacht.   I’ll call the older man Al.

     I sensed they were pretty well to do.  The next morning at breakfast, all three couples were sitting around our long harvest table sharing stories as my wife and I served breakfast.  Al  had never stayed in a B and B before-he   could not wrap his mind around the idea of allowing complete strangers come into your home and spending the night- “Aren’t you afraid someone will steal something?” he said to all of us.

      “Why? asked one of the other guests- “Do we need to keep an eye on you?      That brought a big chuckle. 

     Al told us yachting stories-  My favorite was one about his buddy who  had been bushwacked by pirates-    the thing was, the story left me hanging-  How much fire power would you have to have to singlehandedly defend against 3 pirate boats????

        If you’re reading this and you think you might know the answer to that question- leave a comment OK?   Al mentioned his buddy had written a book about his adventures sailing the 7 seas,  I would love to get a copy of the book- if only I knew the name of it 

      The word “Hospitality” literally means “lover of strangers”-  Both my wife and I love to entertain and meet new people, so having a small B and B is a perfect fit for the two of us @ this season in our lives-  plus we get to experience  the world literally coming to our door-  We’ve had people visit from as far away as New Zealand, England,  India ,Washington State, New York State, North Carolina, California, Arizona, Texas, New Jersey, Utah, Colorado, Kansas…etc.   

     If you  ever come for a visit, make sure you bring your cook book and some stories to share-  As always, thanks for reading my stuff. DM

Albert and Alice: An Old-Fashioned Ballad

 

Albert and Alice

An Old-fashioned Ballad

Albert was a hired man

The moon was dark and new.

He hurried through chores that night

While snowy flurries flew.

 

Albert milked the cows by hand

He fed them grist and hay.

He shut tight the big barn-door

To keep the storm at bay.

 

He was musing of Alice’s dancing-

Her eyes were bright and blue.

He fussed and dressed in his Sunday best,

His shirt was white and new.

 

He put on boots and overcoat.

And snapped his earlaps down;

And started off across the lake

To see his girl in town.

 

The lake was wide and white and flat.

But he didn’t know

There was a hot spring in the lake,

Hidden by the snow.

 

Melodious waltzes amused the crowd

As Alice watched the door

For Albert’s arrival at the ball,

his steps upon the floor

 

She feared that he’d forgotten her;

Her youthful hopes were dimmed.

The blizzard screamed

across the lake

The spring hole boiled and brimmed.

 

It’s water roiled up from the deep

It teamed with frightened fishes

Who gasped and gulped the winter air-

A thousand useless wishes.

 

Yet Alice waited for her beau;

She held him in her heart.

The violin started the terminal waltz,

She watched her friends depart.

 

While the women wound

their scarves and wraps,

the lads sang Good-night Ladies

A cold hand reached

and shook poor Alice

She cried, The spring from Hades!

And Alice lived a long time more

Although she never had,

When snowstorms howled

across the lake,

The comfort from her lad.

 

Now it’s said that each year brings

A pair of swan who raise

Among the reeds a nest of cygnet

Who swim within the haze.

 

Pink in the summery dawn,

Such delight their being brings

That when they rise from the lake

The world waltzes and sings.

_____________________________________________________________

      We have had guests stay in our Bed and Breakfast from literally  all around the world.   Last week, we hosted two retired college professors.   We had a delightful time.  One of them sent us a book of his poems after  they left.   This poem   comes from that  collection.    He said our place  reminded him of his grandparent’s farm house when he grew up.

      As we were serving  breakfast on  the second morning of their stay, Bill, the   other guest, told us about his time in England staying in a B and B.  He said  B and B’s are  run completely different in England.  The host would stand at attention quietly  behind the guest and wait on them  “There is definitely a class distinction  between the guest and the host.”  Bill said.

      (At this point I  just happened to be in the kitchen in my bare feet getting a cup of coffee)…I quipped, “Well, we don’t have any class around here.”  We all laughed.   Anyway, that’s  a little peek into what you might expect if you ever decide to visit.  I’ve been known to let the guests cook us a meal if  I can get away with it   (think Tom Sawyer) 

     Here is a photo of one of our recent  B and B guests cooking us  a vegan supper:

 As always, thanks for reading my stuff! DM

The Colonel may be coming to town

Photo of our rooster….. ”The Colonel“ 

     It was l dark as I  loaded  the back of my truck  with the  40 pound  crates of apples this morning . I kept thinking to myself…”Why am I doing this again? ???

It  can’t be for the money.    If that was the case, I would be way ahead to work a half a day on my regular job. 

      But as I took off for town, through the patchy fog,  I had this deep sense of satisfaction.   Not everybody gets to sell their wares and  have a booth at a farmers market.   

     Mid morning  a couple stopped to check out our Royal Court’s: (a strain of cortlands)

We started to talk about the Farmers Market in Dubuque.  I’ve never been there but have heard rave reviews on more than one occasion, so I asked the wife..”So tell me, what makes the Farmers Market in Dubuque so special? What’s the draw?”

     She said they close off some of the down town area, it’s like a carnival atmosphere.  Vendors selling fresh brewed coffee, (smell)  kids playing violins on the corners  with their music cases in front of them for tipping. (music)   Bumping into people  having spur of the moment conversations (social), not to mention, lots of fresh produce and baked goods (taste). 

        I came away from the conversation thinking to myself, I could see a small coffee shack- especially as it gets into Fall. 

     I did take our CD player with us this morning.  We  had  Alison Kraus as background music @ our booth which added to my enjoyment this morning.

      My wife, Judy (another vendor) and I carried a table to the other end of the  market this morning to help Joyce (another vendor)  get reset up.  Somebody said something about feeling like we were in a parade.  I suggested we needed to get some fruit and vegetable costumes :

-have someone parade up and down in front of the farmers market   Can’t hurt right?    So it was with these sort of random ideas  rolling around in my head that I had this thought….

Our chickens are starting to lay:

 My daughter has more farm fresh eggs than she knows what to do with.

Why not try and sell eggs at our booth for the next few weeks? 

      I told my wife, I would really like to take the Colonel (our family rooster) to the farmers market. 

Put him in a cage with a sign that says “Do not touch”

.  If you come to our booth next Saturday you may get to meet  the Colonel.

 Maybe he’ll even crow.