Farming, truly a way of life

Tony and the guys are still harvesting.  We have been harvesting for a month now and it just keeps going and going.  Late planting, weather and the breakdown of equipment has caused what would be a normally long harvest to be even longer (at least that is what the other farm wives tell me).  Tony is working on week 4 of 12 - 16 hour days.  He leaves by 8 am and isn't home before 9, 6 days a week.  The boys don't farm on Sundays, thank goodness.  It is God's day, family day and a day of rest.

So, I love the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummand (http://thepioneerwoman.com/) .  I watched her show on Food Network weekly and I thought when I moved to the farm, my life would be just like hers.  Yeah, not so much.  First of all, I don't live on a ranch in Oklahoma.  I live in a small town in southern Indiana.  I have a tiny kitchen and three picky eaters who would rather have chicken nuggets or pizza instead of lasagna or a yummy chicken dish.  There are days that I feel like I live in the middle of nowhere, like she says, but I don't have leisure time to frolic around my kitchen and house creating amazing dishes.  I work hard, from sun up to sun down.  I am not really sure what all I do but it goes something like this:  wrangling children, helping with homework, changing diapers, running Em to her activities, and sometimes cooking and cleaning.  On paper, my life seems busy and full but one thing that I am learning is just how lonely it can be as a farmer's wife.

I remember reading a blog before we moved from a fellow farmer's wife. The one thing she said was that it was important to have a hobby or activity that you can focus on and keep busy with during the farming season.  From April through November, you become a farming widow, left with hours upon hours to yourself and you will literally go crazy if you don't have something to focus on daily.  I thought she was crazy, I mean how busy could one farmer be.  I expected the long days but what I wasn't prepared for was losing my best friend for many months out of the year.

Tony works so hard 12 hours a day.  The man is bone tired when he gets home.  The last thing he wants to do is sit down and have idle chit chat.  Of course, that is exactly what I want to do.  I haven't had an adult conversation all day and I am just bursting to speak with someone about what the kids did or didn't do, what our plans are for the weekend, or just sharing how my day was.  I am learning to adjust  my expectations and find different outlets to fulfill my social needs.  I recharge my batteries by being with people so being home all the time with kids, day in and day out, can be a struggle.  I love the gift of being able to stay home but I do miss being with other adults.  Thankfully, I have joined a few groups here that allow me to socialize with other moms.  I am learning from my fellow farm wives that farming is a way of life and you adjust and get used to it.  Your life is put on hold to take care of your man and the farm.  The true challenge lies in finding ways to take care of yourself and your kids without losing your mind.

A woman said to me, "we farm wives, well we are a breed of our own.  We live a life with much uncertainty yet we are expected to keep the home front going no matter what is going on around us.  Life goes on and our families are counting on us.  Farm life is hard.  But there is no better life to live because you are working God's land."  So true, so true.  So many lessons I continue to learn on a daily basis.  The quote below is one of my favorites and is how I choose to tackle each day.

The Good - the laughter from children

The Bad - Harrison and Mac screaming at breakfast and throwing food because they didn't want pancakes, they wanted cereal 

The Beautiful - watching Tony help Em with the piano

The Ugly - Harrison's biting Mac in the store, Mac biting him back and the woman in line asking me to control my children

The Not-So-Glamorous - potato soup on the front of my shirt and side of my cheek that had to have been there for awhile and I didn't even notice it (ran several errands like that).

 

Apple Obsession

Pure apple beauty!  Apples ready to go to market.

My heart is full at the number of friends and family supporting local farmers. I love hearing stories from you all about visiting your local farmers markets or stopping at a road side stand to purchase local goods.  Keep it up.  There is nothing better than fresh, local fare and supporting those who work so hard day in and day out.  I know that I have struggled with this in the past.  I would have to plan to go to the farmers market and hope that they have what I needed to make a specific dish or dishes over the following week.  Prices were sometimes higher or I would get there and not really like what I saw because it didn't "match" what the veggie or fruit looked like in the store.  Oh such the city girl I was.  Wait, who am I kidding?!  I am still that same city girl but I am wiser, now that I have gone country.  I now let my trip to the market decide what I make, not determine it ahead of time.  Imperfect looking veggies and fruit are truly perfect because they have literally come off the farm that day or day before.

Right now apples are in season, so I am planning dishes using them.  I am kind of obsessed with apples and wish I was baking and using them more (picky eaters and a husband who isn't home makes it hard to experiment with lots of apple dishes but I am trying).  I was blessed to go on a field trip with Emily's class to our local orchard, Apple Hill (http://applehillorchard.webs.com/).  There were apples everywhere and such a variety.  We picked, we cored and pealed them and then we ate.  Not only did we eat apples, but we ate donuts, specifically apple spice donuts that make my heart melt.  When we walked into the store, all I could think about was, "when I die and go to heaven, this is what my heaven will smell like with maybe a hint of bacon on top."  The warmth from the apples baking in apple pies and turnovers hugged me as I walked in the door and my nose was filled with the smell of yeast, cinnamon and yes, more apples, coming from the homemade donuts.  Aaah, just awesome!

We are so blessed to have Apple Hill orchard just down the road from us and I will be so sad when apple season is over.  Just trying to embrace it as much as I can right now.  Oh and one baked good you will probably not see coming from my home is an apple pie.  My niece, Hannah, makes THE BEST apple pie ever and I am not about to even attempt to make one because it will never compare to her apple pie greatness.

Demonstrating apple picking.  The basket is so cool because you just drop the cloth
that covers the bottom to let the apples out.

Washing and sorting through the apples.  The apples that are bruised or that might
have a small bad spot are taken out and chopped up to be used in pies, applesauce and cider.

My little apple picker.

Grassfed Beef, It's What's for Dinner

I realized that it has been awhile since I have blogged.  The Hinkle house was out of commission for about 3 weeks with 3 sick kids.  Add that to harvest beginning and me running and completing my 4th half marathon and well, you can see why I haven't really had a chance to blog.  Oh, and I have been consumed with researching my new passion, grassfed beef.

Why Grassfed?

Why not?  My brother-in-law Troy has been raising grassfed beef for over 3 years for our family and close friends.  It is really hard to describe the taste and just how different it is from grainfed beef.  You have to taste it to truly experience the difference.  I have spent hours researching grassfed beef, what makes it so much better for our bodies, the environment and the animals and I have to share just some differences and facts that caught my attention.

• Lower in total fat and has fewer calories per ounce than grainfed beef.  It actually has about the same amount fat as skinless chicken, deer or elk.  Because of how lean the meat is, it can actually lower your LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol).
• Higher in Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E.  According to the book The Omega Diet, grassfed beef can give you two to six times more Omega-3 fatty acids.  Several studies even suggest that diets that are higher in Omega 3s and Vitamin E can reduce your overall risk of getting cancer and lower your risk of heart disease.
• Grassfed animals are healthier and have less stress because they are free to roam pastures and are not given antibiotics or growth hormones (or fed corn and other grains that are difficult for their bodies to digest).  They eat what God has intended for them to feed on and grow at a natural pace.
• Raising grassfed beef is far less polluting because waste is distributed over pastures and not in one confined space (the waste can then be used as a natural fertilizer for land).  Grainfed cattle are contained in a small area, actually confined, so waste builds up leading to not only land but water pollution. 

I gathered the information above from two great websites which I encourage you to visit if you would like more information on grassfed beef and other livestock as well information on poultry. 

Eat Wild  www.eatwild.com 

American Grassfed  http://www.americangrassfed.org/. 

So why this sudden interest?

Hinkle Heritage Farms will be raising and selling grassfed beef to local consumers.  I am beyond excited to provide grassfed beef to our community and those who live within 300 miles of our farm.  Our goal is to provide premium grassfed beef from our farm to your home.  We raise, process and then deliver the beef right to your door or you can pick the meat up from us.  More details to come. 

If you would like more information on how you can purchase grassfed beef, please let me know.  I never in a million years thought I would get excited about cows.  But, I am very passionate about health and ensuring that my quality of life as well as those around me is the best that it can be so I shouldn't be surprised that this is becoming my new crusade.