Squished pig organs in a paste.

Scrapple, that is what folks call squished pig stuff in a paste.
You take all the remnant meat from the pig, the heart, kidneys, livers, bones, and pretty much anything people wont eat by itself. Sounds pretty appetizing so far doesn't it? You put it in a large pan filled with water and boil to make a stock. Once the stock is good and cloudy you pull out all the meat, pick the bones clean and discard them, then grind everything else up together and put it back into the stock. Finally you add some buckwheat flower and spices, put it in a bread pan and wait till it be comes a gelatin mass. Really it sounds quite nasty, but its really good cut thin, fried up, and smothered with maple syrup.
And that is what we ate for breakfast on our first Saturday morning on the farm. Scrapple a great way to start you day yes? Squishy, crunchy, sweet spicy goodness.

Lambskin and woodstove, I'd sleep too.

The rest of the day we cleared dead fall, pulled vines, dug up invasive little trees, cut falling limbs, just all around cleared up their over run back yard. Once you have all those sticks what do you do with them?! The quick way, and what you do with the invasive species and vines is burn them. This insures that little bits of them don't creep around come spring and pop up new growth. Burning though makes it so that the carbon is released into the air, and all your left with is ash which does no help on the farm. You could make biochar, a type of charcoal that you mix in with your flower beds to help release carbon into the topsoil to help with the growth of plants. We have yet to try making biochar so I am unsure of how hard it is to create. A third and my favorite way is by creating a hugelkultur. A hugelkultur is stacked wood covered with compost, and dirt, then you plant things on top, and vola a raised flower bed! It requires no tilling, and over time the wood decomposes and breaks down putting carbon into the soil.
A lot of small farmers or homesteaders are interested in a sustainable way to work their farm, so everything you do should have a positive outcome that contributes to the farm and the environment, otherwise known as permaculture. A great pioneer of permaculture is Sepp Holzer, some of his work is amazing.

(A 5 min video about what Sepp does)

We'll get more into permaculture, bio-char, and hugelkulturs on another post

Later that week MrMan made a new suspended chicken roost, moved the feeder, and added a light to the chicken house. It's funny how that seems like such a small amount of work when you write it down, but when actually DOING the work it takes HOURS. 

(Insert diagram of roost here)

It took 5 cut pieces of 2x4's and 4 chains to suspend the roost, then 2 more chains to suspend the feed and the calcium/rock feeders. Now the roost swings! Haha, we found that the chickens don't really like the swaying motion so we ended up stabilizing the roost with four 4 feet fiberglass poles. 

On Wednesday we went to the whole foods store, Nitya has worked out an agreement with the local whole food store, she gets all their left over, or scrap produce. Anything that they can't sell any more she takes off their hands to feed her chickens with. A whole lot better than throwing it away! We sorted it between what they will and wont eat. Bugga helped!

Fuzzy the fluffy cat.

Unfortunately on Thursday MrMan stepped on a nail! NO GOOD! So work on mulching the garden got pushed back. Friday he went to the VA to get antibiotics while I helped Nitya shovel fermented barley, chickens LOVE it, and she has worked out a deal with a local brewery, if she can get it she can have it! I've seemed to noticed that, at least at this farm, the community helps each other out. 

Tuesday and wed the next week I wrapped Henry up and we took up 3 hog fences stretching 50ft each! it took cutting zip ties, pulling wire, separating wire from chicken wire, and wrapping it all up. Again it seems that doing takes a lot more work than what you see on paper.

Cemetery we went to on our day off. Graves from 1772!

That along with daily chicken duty and stuffing envelopes was our week! 

First farm; First day; Woodsong Hollow

Woodsong Hollow

Nitya and Jeff

          Pennsylvania south of Allentown, and west of Philadelphia, a dirt road off a couple back roads off route 100 we found Woodsong Hollow. Right next to the road sits a large barn, a few small buildings and a house. It appears to be something out of an old black and white movie, which is close to true being as it was built before 1900! Large trees dominate the area along with a sprinkling of rock pile walls give a picturesque quality to the landscape.
           As we approach the house a large one eyed husky greeted us with a wagging tail and a playful bounce behind a wooden fence. Quicker than MrMan the fluffy white dog darts through the gate as it is opened and runs down the gravel drive. Nitya appears from inside the house with a smiling face, laughing she lets us know that it happens all the time, that Lance likes to play chase with new wwoofers.

        After wrangling Lance we exchange quick introductions with a hand shake and are quickly set on a tour of the house and grounds. My favorite place in the house is in front of the big black wood burning stove in the kitchen, a perfect place to sit and have a cup of tea on a cold day. Some thing that I well and truly want in our house on our eventual farm is a wood burning stove, it keeps a small house comfortably warm in the daily living area.

        Nitya is a very welcoming middle aged lady, with a lovely Australian accent. She is a ideal host to us, and I'm quite glad we came to her farm as our first wwoofing place. Henry seems to enjoy being around her, and completely out of character he warms right up to her with coy smiles and a game of peek-a-boo. Full of new ideas, she is the lead in the hands on side of the operation.
        Through the walk around the grounds Nitya points out all the little places she wants work on. Burn piles here, cleaning brush there and there. She takes us down to the name sake of their property a small hollow, or valley set off on the back of their property. To me it appears to be nothing but a swampy patch of land, but I'm sure it has more meaning then face value.
       That evening Jeff comes home from work, he helps protect rural areas from development. A covenant is placed on the land that says that even if sold it cannot be developed into commercial or industrial land. Jeff is a quiet thoughtful middle aged man who seems to say less than what is actually on his mind. Just as accommodating at Nitya, again a perfect host for our first farm.

     And that my friends was our first night.

Chickens, easier to care for than write about.

 Chickens

           At night there are a few things you need to take care of chicken wise; Refilling the water and the feed are the first things, here they use a mix of grain and corn. Next you go on an egg hunt, usually the chickens will lay their eggs in the nest boxes but sometimes you get a spare egg floating around. Then you have to check the bedding, if it smells like ammonia or is thick and clumpy when you kick it they need a whole new layer of wood chippings. The bedding keeps the chickens clean, which in turn keeps the eggs clean. Also you want a good mix of chicken poo and wood chippings as it later gets used as compost. Finally you tuck the hens in for the night, latch the gate and your done until morning.

           In the morning there are chicken tasks as well; You need to check the water to make sure its not frozen, and refill if necessary. Give them fresh produce, they like anything green but will also eat pretty much everything! They don't really like citrus fruits or root vegetables raw, though if you cook them they may eat them. But even if they don't eat everything their bedding will be used as compost later on. Another egg hunt before you leave the chickens for the day, keeping the windows open as they like most creatures enjoy sunlight.

        Some other chicken information: Chickens are night blind, they roost and then stay put once it gets dark. They like to roost up high because it keeps them away from predators; you also want to keep their feed high to keep vermin like mice and rats out of their food. Most laying hens will lay every other day, with older chickens laying less often. Their eggs are usually dirty and you need to wipe them clean, but the cleaner you keep their bedding the cleaner the eggs will be.

(will add more the more I learn)