Friday morning

I haven’t had much to say lately, so here’s a little update.

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We lost virtually our entire flock of chickens to predators, which I believe to be a pack of coyotes. They raided the henhouse twice, the first time killing 14, the second time killing just 2. They have left us one rooster and one hen. There will be no egg business this year.

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One of our goats, an Alpine, gave birth the day before yesterday – several weeks in advance of when we thought she was due. Normally we put Angel, our Great Pyrenees, on a leash at kidding time since she has proven to be fond of newborn goat meat. Needless to say, Angel had goat for breakfast, and the mother has been in a state of shock. Until this morning, her udder still hadn’t dropped and she had barely produced any milk, but Amy just informed me that she’s finally starting to fill up!

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Speaking of goat meat, we processed six goats in January, and now have a freezer full of “cabrito” or “chevon”, depending upon whether your inner European is Spanish or French. We’ll let you have some for $6.00 lb.

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Chico hosts a farmer’s market on Saturday morning. My wife has taken the kids three times now to play their bluegrass music for the benefit of local food pantries. For an hour and a half of fun, they have consistently raked in over $100 each time. The crowds are substantial. I think people these days are hungry for live, acoustic, wholesome, homegrown foot-tapping music.

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Matt’s American Drive-about: Things I see, hear, and think about while visiting non-suburban cultures in the U.S. This looks like an interesting blog.

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Zippy Catholic has provoked some lively discussions over at What’s Wrong With the World. My favorite, on a topic dear to my heart, is Against a Universal Franchise.

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Thinking of moving to the country and starting a farm? Think good and hard. Nothing ties you down like a small farm, as The Yeoman Farmer explains in his latest post.

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Rod Dreher explores Monks and Catholic Agrarianism with a story about the Benedictines of Clear Creek, Oklahoma.