Family Traditions

Do you ever wonder how traditions get started? Why do we do the things we do and when we do them. Maybe you're not a nerd like me? I'll admit...I do have a motive behind my questioning. We just happen to have several large turkeys left from the fall harvest. I wondered to myself "Self, do people eat turkey for Easter?" The answer is, not traditionally.

This led me to even deeper thinking, luckily for me I had already had plenty of coffee and could muster deeper thoughts, BUT WHY? It made me think of the story about pot roast. Maybe you know the story? The one where the woman is fixing pot roast and slices off the ends and her friends asks why she is slicing off the ends and she says "that's the way my mother did it and she taught me to cook" and so she asks her mom "why do we cut the ends off the pot roast?" and her mother says "that's the way my mother did it and she taught me to cook" so then the mother asks her mother "why did you cut the ends off the pot roast?" and she says "because it wouldn't fit in the pan I had"! 🙄

So, do you know why we traditionally eat ham for easter? I'll say, my suspicion was correct. Back in the days before mechanical refrigeration hogs were harvested in the fall when the weather was getting colder so the meat wouldn't spoil while it was being cut into those precious chops, bacon and sausage. Think refrigerator temperatures. Turns out those hams that were set to cure in the fall just happened to be ready about the time of easter! It was convenience food!

So aren't we lucky to be living in the days of deep freezers? We can think outside the proverbial "small pan" and eat turkey for Easter if we want to! So, if you're like me and didn't get enough turkey at Thanksgiving you're in luck! Eating a turkey for easter will be just as convenient as ham. AND to further entice you to break with tradition we are offering these turkeys ON SALE!  Regularly  $4.50 per pound now $3.50 per pound. These turkeys are in the 19lb range so that will be about $20 off regular price!  A great deal even if you just want to stock up on delicious, non-gmo, pastured poultry

How About Out With the COLD!

I really hate to complain, I really do. We have had such a mild winter so I really feel bad whining about the cold now. But, I'm going to whine anyway. That's whats farmer's do I guess. The weather is never just right for us it's either too hot or cold, wet or dry, Windy or humid. Why, you'd think we're hard to please or something! We had April weather in February and now it seems we're having February weather in March. I shudder to think what April and May will bring. We really aren't that hard to please at all. What's good for us is good for the planet...no extremes.

In spite of the cold the farming must go on and we are gearing up for our busiest year yet! We have over a hundred little chicks in the barn waiting for the weather to break so they can go out into the chicken tractors and start gobbling up that green grass that we know is hiding under this (hopefully) last blast of winter. In an effort to be more safety and energy conscious we purchased a new brooding system. Rather than the scary, energy-sucking heat lamps we purchased heat plates for the chicks. We have dubbed them the "Big Black Hens" because they emulate a mother hen. The chicks run underneath and touch the plates and warm themselves that way, just like they would with a hen. So far so good... the chicks seem content with their surrogate moms and we aren't worried about a bulb exploding and burning our barn down. Win-win!

You'd never guess there are 125 chicks hiding under the Big Black Hens!

In other farm news we are thrilled to announce that we have been accepted, once again, to the Canal Market District Farmer's Market in downtown Newark . It's quite the beautiful setting and perfect for vendor's and shopper's alike. With it's covered shopping area and large ceiling fans, no matter the weather, it's perfect for perusing the market and picking up your groceries for the week. While you're there you can enjoy live music and food trucks! It's the perfect Friday night date!  We will be there every Friday   evening from 4-7pm beginning May 5th until the end of October. We hope you'll come out to support not only Cherokee Valley but all the local farmers. We will have bison available opening night so, put it on your calendar! That's all the time I have for today...gotta get back to stoking the fire and dreaming about spring! :)