I've renamed the turkeys. They are no longer Thanksgiving and Christmas. Their new names are Super Bowl Sunday and Easter. The current plan is to smoke one of these guys for Super Bowl Sunday. Bob's having a huge party and we are going to have sandwiches and the whole neighborhood is coming.
The neighbor who lives directly across the street from us and next to Bob keeps saying to me, "Uh, your turkeys are still alive."
They live pretty close to his bedroom window and they are loud. I can hear them gobbling all the way in my driveway. I have zero doubt he'll be thrilled to have a sandwich. Bob just has not had time to do it. Bob's life has become completely unraveled since Jerry died. He can't keep up on it. Jerry was like having a personal assistant, who managed every aspect of Bob's life.
Bob was telling me the other day that he didn't even miss his own mother, when she died, as much as he misses Jerry, and I believe him. I miss him too. I spent yesterday taking wheelbarrows of chicken poop from Bob's backyard to our backyard because I've been composting it and turning it into the most amazing dirt. Normally Jerry would have seen me doing that and then he would have been all in my business and driving me crazy and now I live a solitary life all day, where nobody besides my husband is driving me insane.
Have you ever flown to Las Vegas and looked out the window and noticed that the ground appears almost white or light tan? You can not believe the effort it takes to make dirt in this barren wasteland.
I've got the most beautiful rich dark dirt going on here. And our chickens are laying like champions right now. I'm getting 7-8 eggs a day!!!!!!!! And that was before I discovered one of my chickens went rogue and was laying in the shed on a bale of straw.
I found these yesterday, which means she was laying in there for about 2 weeks and we didn't know. I closed the little door we forgot was open so she can't get back in there.
Although Bob has zero time for anything anymore, he ordered 35 meat chickens from Murray McMurray Hatchery in Iowa, and they are arriving via mail on March, 6th. The most we've ever raised at one time is 25, so this should be "interesting". We haven't had babies for a year and it will be exciting for the kids to have chicks again.
So that's what's going on around the urban farm. I also want to share this video with you. Although this is something I've written on this blog, innumerable times, the way this lady delivers the speech and puts all the information in a concise message, makes for a powerful presentation. If you are raising children in America, I implore you to watch this video. It's 18 minutes long, but it could possibly be the most important 18 minutes you ever watch.
At the end of the video, she asks us to do "just one thing". Well, I do way more than "one thing", but my one thing today is to share this video with you.
UPDATED TO ADD: Just because of one of you, doing your "one thing" today, I was informed this lady has a book. Thanks for the info!!! I'm going to read it! If anyone else is interested, here it is:
Waiting for comments. I am 18 minute commitment phobic, especially if I have no idea what the topic is.
ReplyDeleteDo your neighbors ever complain about the chickens or turkeys? I would hate to live next door to a house that has an animal making noise 24/7. How do they sleep?
ReplyDeleteI used to have a dog that barked a lot and we were unaware how bad it was, because he only did it while we were gone. Finally my neighbor told me and I felt horrible. We got the dog training and all was good. I can't imagine having an animal I couldn't train. You have much more patience than I ever will!
The chickens and turkeys sleep all night, so they don't start making noise until they see the sun. Which is pretty darn early for the neighbor. Unlike your dogs, though, they have a limited life span and won't be bothering anyone after Easter. :)
ReplyDeleteAnon- watch. the. video, or I will smote you!!! Ha!
ReplyDeleteThat video was a real eye-opener! Thanks for sharing it. I sent it on to everyone in my address book, with a note to the "keepers of the home" attached. (I have a next door neighbor who follows these guide lines, I think--healthy kids, skinny parents who were once at least 80 lbs heavier)
ReplyDeleteIt is truly awful what our government is doing to our food supply!!
Great video! My one thing will be reading her books from the library.
ReplyDeleteEC, I didn't know she has books, so your "one thing" just affected me because now I'm going to go read one!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Robyn Obrien! I got to attend one of her mini conferences sponsored by Stoneyfield Farms when she came to Austin a couple of years ago. I also got her book. She is SO nice and seriously (seriously!) cares about our families/kids! She's one smart/tough cookie. Gluten Free cookie!!!!
ReplyDelete-Shannon in Texas
PS: This is what really sold me. She said she cannot control all of the food her family takes in. She said she uses the 70/30 rule. She can control about 70% of what her kids take in simply bc she buys the groceries. The other 30% are for being a kid. There's those red dye 40 cupcakes and Halloween candy and snacks you just can't control.
ReplyDelete-Shannon in Texas
Shannon- that is awesome! I'd never heard of her before until yesterday and that's pretty much how I live my life. We just do the best we can. I make breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and they eat snacks at home, but they live in the real world and the real world has gross food. And that's okay! Because at least 70 percent of the time, they aren't eating it.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter thanked me the other day, a 14 year old thanked her mother! Why? Because I fix healthy meals with real food. She said when she goes to friends houses that is where she eats junk. She can't believe that they eat the way they do all the time. She finds processed foods to taste horrible. She even can't stand the smell. I can always stiff out the chemicals myself too. (at work there is a stylist that buys packaged meals for lunch, when he heats them in the microwave my stomach just turns at the smell, yuck!). One of the best "gifts" I have given my kids is to teach them to eat healthy with as much fresh fruits & veggies as they can get in their diet.
ReplyDeleteGreat video. I'll be reading her books as well. I try to feed my family as healthy as possible. I cook almost all meals at home from scratch and buy as much organic as I can. I'm not at 100% with organic but probably about 60-70%. When kids get used to home cooked, healthy meals the other stuff tastes gross to them.
ReplyDeleteI definitely see a change in my kids behavior if we eat crappy for a while (like during the holidays!)
Charlie was bugging me since school started to try the hot lunch. I let him try the pizza one day. He said it was so gross, he never wants to eat the school lunch again.
Her journey is much like my own. It started with food allergies in one of my trio. The 3 books that most impacted me were Fast Food Nation, Master Your Metabolism and Animal Vegetable Miracle. Those changed everything for me. It was still a slow process bc we can't do everything at once. I mine the 80/20 rule bc at their age they are still mostly home with me. I will have to check out her books. I love reading about this stuff. We all choose our battles. Some women keep immaculate homes, homeschool their kids, look like celebrities, pick your focus. this is the battle I have chosen. Food for my family.
ReplyDeleteThis is another book I've been meaning to buy and read. Not likely to be at my local library. She lives close to where we lived in Atlanta. http://peachtreecorners.patch.com/articles/food-for-my-daughters
ReplyDelete