American Meat

It was a great night for a community film. It was a great night to meet local farmers and consumers.

It was a nice night to sit under the stars and see how the food system is in crisis and how we can help.

We shared desserts, popcorn, coffee and cocoa. We visited and discussed and learned a lot about each other.

Kids played and had fun and made new friends.

By the time the sun set and the film started, we had over 100 folks here to watch and partake.

I know any who left inspired to learn more about grass based farming and Joel Salatin.

By Sunday I was wiped out from the very busy weekend and had to take an afternoon nap. Ditto with Monday.

Today I am refreshed and ready to get my farming plans down on paper so we can be prepared for spring pigs, chickens, lambs and calves.

If you missed it, you can buy a DVD copy of the film American Meat here. If you need a great resource book, just order anything by Joel Salatin, especially "You Can Farm."

If you ask me about hosting another community night next year, I will say, "YES!"

It was wonderful to host this event and I will happily do it again!

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who came out and to everyone who brought a dessert or snack to share! It wouldn't have been a success without you all and your contributions and participation.

Ready, Set, GO!

Fall has arrived!...at least until it gets super hot again for a spell. This week, though, has been very nice with low humidity and lower temps. Today it will hover around 80 with a low in the 50's.

It's time to get fall chores done. This means the bees need a grease patty and the pool deck needs to be cleaned up. Shrubs need to be trimmed and the front porch needs to be swept. The sand box in the back yard is begging for fresh sand so we will also need to clean it up a bit and load some fresh sand up to its brim. Fall weather is the best for sand playing!

Most importantly, however, are the two movie nights coming up! This weekend we are showing an outdoor movie for fun but the NEXT weekend is when we will host the community screening of American Meat.

The next two weeks I will be posting some facts from the documentary on Facebook.... facts such as each year the average American eats 48 pounds of pork, 60 pounds of beef, and 82 pounds of chicken. This is over 59 billion pounds of meat total in America!

While we prepare for what we anticipate to be a nice and large turnout, I wanted to share some pictures of a few happenings here.

My hens are now spending all of their time on the front pasture thanks to electric poultry fencing. An occasional bird escapes, but they stay close. I keep the roosters out of the fence so that they can focus on finding their own food (eating bugs and foraging) and leaving the laying ration for the hens.
We still have not built an egg mobile, but we plan to work on one in October when Devin gets a stretch off from work.
In the meantime, they are using my pasture chicken tractors. I move them every 2 days and they are happier than I have ever seen them. This field is full of grasshoppers!
The plan is to start moving salad bar cattle this spring and having the hens follow. As you can see, we are blessed with many acres and lots of grass!

Lucy is dried up! Okay, she is full of milk but we are not milking her. She is due to calve in early December. I always give her a longer than 2 month break from milking because she is an old mama cow. We also love having some free mornings without milking chores!

Baby Ivy is getting big and sassy! She is being haltered trained by Indiana and that is going very well. She is a sweet cow and will someday be a super milking cow. My plans are to keep her as my next milking cow, after Lucy retires.

Ivy has a favorite scratching spot under her neck. She loves to be scratched there. Look at that beautiful face!!! (She even drools when she gets scratched!)

The lambs have been separated from their ewes so that the ewes and my ram can breed. The babies sure miss the other sheep and Tiger Creek here follows me around every where! He looks good with his haircut! All the sheep were sheared two weeks ago and I think they appreciated the trim! I went ahead and sheared off their dreadlocks in front because they were so mucky and tangled. They should grow back quickly.

Now I want to talk about my ducks. I love my ducks! The kids love the ducks! We have mallard, khacki campbells , and runner ducks.
Now, most folks despise ducks because they poop. A. Lot.  That's all you hear from many is how they just eat and make messes.
Well, my ducks happen to be fantastic egg layers! We get large white eggs every day which are fabulous for baking.

They are also great at tearing up cow patties, as you can tell by this picture! I know this is kind of gross but cow patties are part of having cows and ducks (and chickens) are the master of spreading out those patties!

Old MacDonald had it figured correctly when he kept a diverse grouping of animals on his farm.

Hope you have a great week! If you are in the area, consider joining us for the American Meat film! It's all about sustainable farming and that's a good thing! Email me if you need more info!
mybarefootfarm@catt.com

Mega Family Memorial Day

Well, we pulled it off!
Several months of planning, and my sister and I managed to execute a surprise birthday party for our mother on Monday.
She was surprised!

                                *Fletcher didn't like everyone singing "Happy Birthday!"

The last several weeks I have been painfully busy trying to not only get regular farm chores and garden chores done...but also cleaning up the yard and house for guests.
I admit that the combination of 7 kids and many, many farm critters can lead to a less than beautiful home and yard. It looked like the Clampits had moved in, judging by some certain nooks and crannies.

Mom had family in from as far away as Canada for the celebration!



My kids had a blast with cousins here and we even found time to chill on Sunday with a cookout and some swimming.

           * The boys were more than needing baths by the end of the day*

Journee took the younger kids on horse rides. Athena has been lavished on immensely these last several days with a thorough grooming and open turn out. She enjoys the grazing very much.

               * Rose got to go a little faster on the horse and loved it!*

Zeb was entertaining by showing off his bantam rooster baby named "Teeny-Tiny."

                                                         * Zeb and Teeny-Tiny*

Now, we are planning the movie night kick off this Friday. We have the outdoor movie screen up and are planning to open with The Hobbit. We look forward to summer movie nights so much.

Who said large families and farmers can't have a blast in the summer? We might not be headed to the beaches of Florida, but we are enjoying all that summer has to offer. We are enjoying the land and the awesome warm nights.

We sometimes even get to go out and visit one of the most beautiful cities around.

* The Walnut Street Bridge. The large boat in the background is The Delta Queen*

Chattanooga is just down the road and we like to eat out and walk the bridge across he Tennessee River.
Rumor has it that Willow wants to visit the Tennessee Aquarium for her birthday in June and that a family pass is being purchased. I bet we have a great family day next month in Chattanooga!

Now that summer is here, what plans do you have for family fun?

Dr. Sears and Dr. Fuhrman

I wasn't going to voice my opinion, but I just can't help myself:-)
Who was shocked by the recent TIME magazine cover? I was shocked, and I practice attachment parenting and extended breastfeeding. I have yet to decide if TIME magazine used that photo as a shock factor or to divide mothers and women.
At any rate, Dr. Sears has always been a person who offers great insight into the practice of attachment parenting. I know some of you will roll your eyes at the mere thought of having a baby hanging on you and sleeping in your bed past a few weeks. (So why did you you have kids, anyway?)
After having seven "attached" kids, I can promise you that it is worth it! Looking back I can also say that it was time well spent and truly a short length of time when compared to mine and my child's entire life span.

                       *Indiana, 2 years old*

I have noticed too as the children grow that they mimic many of my actions and behaviors, for better or worse. I think at some point all of my children "nursed" a doll or stuffed animal. How wonderful that they are learning  a natural way to care and nourish "babies."

     * Me and Indiana (15 months)

Children who are raised with attachment parenting grow up have lots of self confidence, and it also instills compassion and nurturing skills within them.

    *Quinn (4 yrs), Devin, Me with a sleeping Indiana (2), and Journee (6) .

If you are still carrying your baby around in the car seat then I must absolutely exclaim that not only are you creating more work for yourself, but your child is missing out on tons of stimulation and learning and comforting! Do yourself and your baby a favor and invest in a sling! There are many on the market, and although it might take a little time to adjust, it's well worth it! Also, don't believe the lie that babies past 6 months old are too big for attachment carriers, as most will hold toddlers up to 25 pounds!

All of this is to say that Dr. Sears wrote a statement about the TIME piece and I thought someone might like to read it. Hey, he's fabulous and he's has done so much for attachment parents like myself.

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Now let's move on to Dr. Joel Fuhrman.
In case you need an introduction, Dr. Fuhrman is a doctor and author and his books are fantastic. The two books I have and really like are "Eat To Live" and "Disease Proof Your Child."

His main focus is on a  healthy, raw based diet that has very little meat or dairy. He's a health freak and that's cool. I have always liked him because what he preaches is very true and he has patients who can verify that his methods work and make people healthy.

Here's where I get slightly peeved. There has been a ban in New York City of trans fats and salt. You can't get them when you eat out, but now the Mayor is banning large sugary drinks. When will it stop? Where is the line drawn?
Sadly, Dr. Fuhrman is all for the sugary drink ban and has the audacity to suggest maybe a dairy drink ban (such as milkshakes or coffee that contains lots of cream)!

As an American I find this "nanny state" type of attitude condescending and insulting. Last I checked it was still a free country and what I choose to put in my body is my choice. I know Fuhrman has an issue with milk, but has he considered that raw milk is much healthier? Why not use his energy to help combat the heavy FDA and Big Ag regulations so that local farmers and producers can provide healthy, local foods to their neighbors. Perhaps he could help Big Brother lift the ridiculous ban on selling raw milk, oh wait! Big Gov doesn't think we can make those types of food decisions on our own, hence the nanny state.

Dr. Fuhrman loves to brag that he has never consumed an entire soda! I say "big whoop!"

I wish he and all of the other totalitarian freaks in New York and elsewhere would crack open a history book and consider all of the sacrifices made so that we have the freedoms to choose to live in pursuit of happiness. Eventually, people must also take responsibility for their own actions. It is not the role of government to decide what we eat and do not eat.

Needless to say, Dr. Fuhrman dropped to the bottom of my list of people I think are worth listening to for dietary advice. His job is to present the advice and encourage others to make a decision on their own, not to force his beliefs on others.

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Tonight is movie night here at My Barefoot Farm.
I let the teenagers pick the movie, so we will sprawl out in lawn chairs and watch "Batman Begins."

I will happily pop some popcorn (New York wants to ban the sizes of popcorn containers at movies too), make some lemonade and sit back and enjoy the summer evening with family and friends.
The teens love these movie nights and we love to provide a fun and safe environment for them to hang out and socialize.

Speaking of teens.....
I am still hanging on to the number 2 spot on Circle of Moms Top Mom of Teens contest. Will you please jump over there and give me a vote?
While you are there, give vote for Baker's Dozen. She is in the top spot and I would like to see her stay there. I have been following her for a few years and hands down she is a great mom.
In fact, if your teens like the Hunger Games books you should read about the Hunger Game Party her teens threw! Looks like it was a fun time.

Monday I will blog with no ranting! :-)
Have a great weekend!

   * My oldest, Journee (16) and my youngest, Fletcher (21 months)....both raised attached, both happy, both confident and both are loving siblings!