2011: A year in (photo) review

  I was going back through older posts of mine, and came across my very first one from December of 2010. In it, I had listed some of the things we had accomplished in our farm lives to date, and also goals for 2011. So I decided to compile a little photo review of last year and see what all had been done. Here was my goal list for 2011, "Add on to the orchard, plant/not kill a garden, add a beehive and rabbits, brew beer, make an aged cheese, and slaughter more chickens!".


1. I did indeed add on to the orchard. We now have peaches, figs, apples, plums, pears, blueberries, blackberries, and kiwis. Phew. 2011 was, however, the last year I will be planting anymore fruit trees here, as we hope to move to a "real" farm someday soon.

 2. Planted/didn't kill three gardens actually! The first was a large raised bed for cool weather crops like lettuce, kale, beets, turnips, carrots, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, and fennel. The second, a perennial herb garden containing rosemary, lavender, sage, thyme, and oregano. And lastly, Chad tilled a large portion of the front yard into a summer patch for corn, squash, zucchini, watermelon, green beans, peanuts, and sunflowers. All in all, everything was pretty successful, save for the Watermelon Massacre of '11 (which is what got me to thinking about putting chickens in the freezer), and the squash/zucchini. Squash bugs are vile creatures.

3. Added ducks and rabbits. I still very much want bees, but I unexpectedly acquired ducks last Spring instead. A weekly outing to the feed store for seeds resulted in me caving for 2 tiny ducklings that were all alone in a giant brooder pen. Seriously, how was I supposed to resist that? Turns out Pekin ducks are a fantastic heritage breed that consistently lay huge decadent eggs. Not to mention they are just damn entertaining. We also finally added meat rabbits to our menagerie. I was lucky enough to purchase 2 very rare American Blue Rabbits from Broad River Pastures. They will be my breeders for future rabbit dinners and fur blankets.

4. Brew beer and age cheese I did not. Ok, I slacked off here. I did not brew any beer, and have yet to age a cheese at my own home. I did manage to make several fresh cheeses like mozzarella and ricotta, and cure quite a few meats like pancetta, bacon, and duck prosciutto. Beer and aged cheese this year, I swear!

5. I butchered more poultry. Ok, I admit I didn't do this one in 2011. It was actually early 2012. But it still kind of counts, right?

So what's in store for 2012? Beer brewing, cheese aging, turkey chicks, sewing, and composting!

Ta Da! I give you... Rabbits!

  I promised new additions, and here they are! Meet the rare and endangered American Blue Rabbit. Two of them to be exact. And procuring them was no easy task! I had been on a waiting list since last summer for these guys, and Saturday was finally the day to go fetch them. I was picking them up from a lovely lady named Cathy who, along with her husband, own a farm in Elberton, Georgia called Broad River Pastures.       
  Now I am usually one for keeping abreast on the weather, but this particular day I was rushing around and failed to check. I admit it was a good thing I didn't, for had I known what was in store for me, I would have parked myself squarely on the sofa for the remainder of the day. As soon as tires hit interstate, I was met with a wall of darkness. After muttering aloud "This is going to suck.", I entered what I am pretty sure was a tropical hurricane of epic proportions gone ashore in the middle of Georgia.
  What should have been a pleasant 5 hour jaunt through the country side turned into an 8 hour hydroplaning crawl through hell. Luckily, when I finally pulled up to the farm, the rain relented just long enough for a quick peek of a beautiful rabbitry (sorry for the lack of pictures, I forget these things at 6am) and greetings from a couple of working dogs and some ducks. If you find yourself in need of  heritage breeds such as Khaki Campbell ducks or Silver Fox or American rabbits, I suggest you give Cathy a call. They really have a wonderful operation going.
  Just as I had loaded my two new bunnies into the truck, the rain came down again and stopped the tour short. And once again, I had a long haul through tornado watches and warnings and floods and every manner of bad weather. No doubt there were a few wicked witches and winged monkeys flying around out there. Ironically, the new creatures that were contently lazing around in my backseat were the exact color of all of those storm clouds I was barreling through. Though I already had great names picked out for them, I reassigned them new ones in honor of the journey. Introducing... Dark & Stormy.



Sitting still is not their strong suit




  A Brief Overview of the American Rabbit:

  The American Rabbit, which comes in white or the beautiful slate blue shown above, was developed in California in the early 1900's. During the 20's it was extremely popular as both a meat and fur rabbit. Its mandolin shaped body dressed out nicely, and the soft fur was prized by furriers. But by the 50's, interest was focused on new commercial breeds, and the rabbits came close to extinction. The American is a unique and friendly rabbit that is now the rarest rabbit breed in America. They are listed at critical status by the American Livestock Breed Conservancy, and are featured on the Slow Food Ark of Taste. They deserve a second look as a farm rabbit, as they grow out to 10-12 pounds quickly, possess wonderful fur, and are very docile and hardy. Saving breeds like these preserves genetic diversity as well a piece of our American history.