Thursday, October 24, 2013

Missing the Farm…

Originally posted October 11th on Bangor Daily News from a hotel room in Boston…

(Red Rangers, a new type of meat bird Maine Man raised this fall. In the past we have always grown Cornish Rocks.  MM and the kids processed 40 of them yesterday.)

Finally I take time to update my much neglected blog!  A few of my friends and family have harassed me lately so seeing I have a bunch of time on my hands, here goes….

I am far from home in the big city of Boston.  Not for pleasure but on a medical trip for one of my family members.  By the time I return home it will be about a week….the longest I have EVER been away from home!  Thankfully a piece of my home will join me tomorrow, my sweet girl.  I CAN’T wait!

I was also blessed to have my best friend join me for a couple days.  Something I will be forever grateful for!

(My boy and his pup.  How I miss the smell of his hair after he has been outside all day, hearing about his exciting hunting adventures and oh so much more.  Love that boy!)

It has been an interesting experience to say the least.  I don’t think I will EVER visit this city again for pleasure.  We’ve only been here a couple times for pleasure doing the aquarium/Quincy market thing.  This is my third trip in a month for medical reasons and we probably have at least 2 more trips down here….YUK.  You could not pay me enough to live in this madness!

(Beefallo…. but a lady that drives by my house calls him Carl.  She writes to me on my Achorn Farm Facebook page and says she has even brought out of state relatives on drive-bys to see just who “Carl” is…lol.  Thankfully he will be sticking around until next fall!  Bubba however will be processed shortly.  MM is talking about doing that himself.  A big task but he is rather ambitious and surely capable.)

The only plus to this trip is Massachusetts General Hospital!  The facility is impressive and the care has been phenomenal!   Heck the nurses have even taught me to be street smart: limiting my eye contact, walking with confidence, and putting my bitch face on.  We had some good laughs as she demonstrated her “don’t f#$% with me face”.

(Elderberries we found on our land.  I did nothing with them this year but but next year we may try and make wine or juice out of them.  MM has been a wine making machine this summer!)

These trips have given me a greater appreciation for so many things I so easily take for granted.  Grass, plants, fresh air, drinkable water, smiling folks without ear buds in their ears, stores that aren’t atrociously priced and crowded, crossing the street without chancing your life, drivers who are patient and courteous, home cooked food, my bed, my family.  What I wouldn’t give to be back in Maine!

Despite the given situation I can say I am comfortable in my new little room I moved into today.  Not as close to the hospital but still a walkable distance  at  1/4th of the price I paid for the first few nights here thanks to the suggestion from the hospital social workers.  I now even have a little kitchenette so I can prepare some meals rather then take-out…wooo hooo!

Monday, October 21, 2013

Red Rangers

(Originally posted 8/30 on my blog at Bangor Daily News…little behind on getting it here…sorry)

I will make no excuses for my absence here except to say it has been a crazy busy summer and I am so looking forward to fall!  My FAVORITE time of year!

This summer Maine Man decided to raise a different type of meat bird, red rangers.  For the last several years we have raised cornish rocks.  The red rangers are definitely slower growing but they actually forage some of their own food.  Something the cornish rocks never seemed to do much of.  We have also been able to let them free range now that they are older.  They are much more enjoyable to watch grow then the cornish rocks, that seem to only care about eating large amounts,  followed by lots of poo, and sleeping.  Not to mention they stay a lot cleaner because they are much more mobile.

I am will try and do a follow-up post about the after parts of their life on the farm such as how the butchering goes and their taste in comparison.  Maybe I could even talk MM into doing a post!  He did build a pig cooker this summer, maybe he would blog about that too.