We are sorry we have not posted in a bit, but we have been very
busy. This hard winter has left scars on our farm and we have a lot of
work to do to get things back in order. Our larger, older hoop house
collapsed under the weight of snow and freezing rain, and although we
are harvesting collards in there now, we are cleaning up the small hoop
house, removing all of the good stuff that was on or in the big hoop
house, and getting ready to use the saws-all... RIP Clearspan whatever
number you were assigned.
We have had a happy and
successful kidding season this year and we have been blessed with seven
happy and healthy little kids. Our does have had a single buck, a pair
of bucks, a pair of does and a twin buck and doe. We have one mature
doe to kid, someday?! Now, we have to start on the pig side, and we
have five pregnant sows. If we have any luck at all, we will have about
forty little pigs on the ground any day now. Probably this will happen
in pretty quick succession. One sow is ready to go any time now, the
other four have a week or so longer. We have safe shelter for the other
four, but when we have those babies, we will be struggling both to keep
up with the feed and to keep the fences up for all of these little
ones!
All of these babies assure us of income for the
coming season, and assure you of a supply of safe and carefully raised
meat. We continue to send pigs in to our retail partner,
Three Rivers Market in Knoxville, and to supply the
Boone Street Market, and
restaurant partners
Wellington's, the
Blackthorne Grille,
OliBea's,
Good Golly Tamale.
In the absence of much of a farmers'
market, we have embarked on two new projects: for those of you in the
Knoxville and surrounding area, we are doing informal cooking
demonstrations with samples, at the
Saw Works Brewery. We are combining
beer in recipes that include farm products in interesting and simple,
home style ways. Plan an interesting and relaxing afternoon at the Saw
Works, and of course we will bring the big farm truck so that you will
have an opportunity to buy things you might be missing in your freezer.
We have also embarked on the quest to produce a good, genuine local hot
dog, as well as bratwurst and sweet Italian sausage. Next week, we
will drive two large pigs to Kentucky to come back with a large quantity
of sausages made from our own pigs. Our first enterprise will be to
bring them to folks at the spring races in Bristol. We are taking the
big farm truck to
Shadrack's Watersports parking lot. If you are a race
fan, come see us there. We will continue to have sausages and hot dogs
made to supply summer farmers' markets and to keep our retailers
supplied. Make plans to pick up some of this great product for your
summer grilling!
Again, John and I apologize for having been out of touch a bit. As you can see, we have not been too quiet, just busy! We
always have time to talk to the folks who support us, so if you need
something from us, or you want to ask a question please call, e-mail or
send us a message on
facebook. We would love to hear from you!
Elizabeth, John and Emma
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