Hello beautiful peeps,
Hope you are all doing well. We are well. Scott is cleaning up, chopping and storing all of our onions. We originally had them drying on the floor of the commercial kitchen under construction. I left them there a little too long and they were starting to deteriorate quickly.
Onions need to be stored in a cool and dry place. We have the dry part covered, but not the cool part. In the end, I chop them and then freeze them for use throughout the year. I don’t know about you, but I’m not fond of chopping onions. Chopping them all at once and getting it done all at one time is a fine way to handle it. One day of discomfort and the rest of the year, I just reach into the freezer, pull out a bag, grab a handful of onions, and toss them into whatever dish I’m making.
INDEPENDENCE MARKET CHANGES: I’ll be in a different spot on the other side of the row. Look for my red Subaru. My will be right next to it. Make sure to visit the row of people next to the courthouse as well. We have lots of really unique vendors. Again, please bear with us through this cycle of growth.
Sheep
The sheep are having a great time out in the pasture. They are secure from the coyotes and stray dogs. There is a coyote still wandering around out there, but Mack is keeping him away from the sheep. I mentioned in the last newsletter that we saw coyotes on the game camera. We captured yet another shot of a single coyote out there. I am very comfortable that the sheep are safe at this point.
Cows
Newton is just about three months old now. He is doing so well. Violet and Butter are still providing lots and lots of milk for all of us. They are such great cows. The rest of the bovine group are contentedly grazing out in the front fields. Sometime this month or the next we will get preg checks done on all of our girls. Can’t want for that event. Confirmation of success is always a good thing!
Quail
I’ve order three dozen quail eggs. No word yet that they have been shipped. I’m hoping this happens soon. If not, we may be delayed in hatching new genetic stock until the spring. The young ones in the penthouse are doing very well. They were four weeks old this past Sunday. As far as size, they are just about as big as the full grown birds. I’m so impressed with these guys. They grow so fast.
Creamery and Scott’s Other Stuff
Nothing has happened recently on the creamery. Scott has been busy doing clean up around the farm. Lots of bush hogging of fields. He is also doing lots of gardening and food storage tasks. Work here is never ending and we love it.
Scott has the small cheese cave under control. It was quite a bit of work, but he revamped his method of aging the cheeses so taking care of them is much easier.
Garden
I have bagged up lots of tomatoes and put them in the freezer. There is a bucket of pepperoncini peppers in one of the refrigerators. I’ll be making another batch of pepperoncini soon. I think there are about 10 quart freezer bags of green peppers in the freezer. A lot of those are going to be used in salsa and a pickled pepper recipe. I’ll be getting to those yummy tomatoes soon. I’m gearing up for several batches of salsa. I may need a few jalapeno peppers to make that happen. It just so happens that I know a couple of farmer’s markets where I can purchase some really good ones.
That’s it for farm news. Now on to the farmer’s market update.
Independence and Wytheville Farmer’s Markets
I will be at the Independence Farmer’s Market on Friday 9 – 1 and at the Wytheville Farmer’s Market on Saturday 8 – 12.
I have apple pie filling, peach pie filling and blueberry pie filling. A deep dish pie requires 48 oz of filling. I’ve got you covered. Two 24 oz jars or a quart and pint jar.
I’ll have the pickled pepperoncinis in pint jars.
I’ll have blueberry and blackberry jam at both markets as well as mild pepper jam. STRAWBERRY JAM is back. And you just have to try my apple pie jam.
I’m running low on quail eggs but may have a couple of dozen available and definitely will have quail meat in 1 lb packages.
We have ground goat (approx 1 lb), grass-fed ground beef (approx 1 lb) and ground lamb (approx 1 lb). I also have a very limited amount of lamb cuts. Loin chops, rib chops, stew/kabob meat and two lovely petit legs.
Herd Shares
Herd Share Peeps, the Independence market location has temporarily changed. Due to construction on the new covered facility, we are relocating to the parking lots east of the Court House.
I’ll see you in my usual location at the Wytheville Farmers’ Market.
Add on as you desire. Yogurt, milk and all cheeses and butter are at your service. Looking forward to seeing you on Friday, Saturday and/or Tuesday.
You can pickup at the Independence Market on Fridays between 9 am and 1pm, the Wytheville Market on Saturdays between 8:00 am and 12:00 noon, at the farm Saturdays 3 pm to 5 pm or Tuesdays 10:00 am to noon. Email me to let me know if you want anything extra this time.
I still have new raw milk cheese shares and a couple of milk shares available. Contact me via email (melanie@peacefulheartfarm.com) or phone (276-694-4369).
Please go HERE to learn all about Herd Shares.
As always, we love meeting you in person. You can find us at the Wytheville Farmers Market on Saturday from 8:00 am to Noon. We are at Independence Farmers’ Market on Fridays from 9:00 am to 1 pm.
As always, you may visit us at our dairy farm in Claudville, Virginia Tuesdays from 10 am to 12 noon and Saturday afternoons from 3 pm to 5 pm. Find out how we raise our animals and why you will love the taste of tradition that is inherent in all of our products. Herd share holders will be able to see up close how their cows are cared for and the cheese operation and where it is stored.
Peaceful Heart FarmCast
In this week’s podcast, “Why We Drink Milk” is the topic. It’s a replay of a podcast I did a couple of years ago. The consumption of dairy products has been a mainstay for as long as mankind has been able to capture and milk animals of all kinds. Sheep, goats, cows, bison, water buffalo, donkeys and horses. All are still milked to this day. There may be others. These are the ones of which I am aware. I talk about this tradition that has helped our species thrive and develop over the centuries and millennia.
Free Downloads
I want to follow up on my previous FarmCast, The Taste of Cheese where I talked about developing your expertise with using descriptive words. The FREE downloads of Classifying Cheese by Type and Category and Expand Your Cheese Vocabulary are still available at our website. Please stop by and get your FREE resources.
You can LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE. Or, if you have an Alexa device, just say: “Alexa, play podcast Peaceful Heart FarmCast.”
And don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to the Peaceful Heart Farm podcast on Apple Podcasts, Android, TuneIn, Stitcher or Spotify
