Turkey Tribute

This is the tough day, the day we take the  turkeys to be harvested.

We got up at 6 a.m. this morning to  gather the birds from the coop while they were still groggy. We put them in great-dane-sized kennels, 3 or 4 to a kennel, hoisted them into the back of the pickup, and drove them to West Concord to be processed.

The  first year that Cadence wanted to raise turkeys I was  hesitant --I envisioned they would be  messy and mean.  Well, they are a bit messy in the coop, but  they groom themselves meticulously and they are so good-natured.  They are curious birds,  exploring the car if you leave a door open and interested in everything inside the grocery sack if you set it on the ground. Because we are the source of all things tasty, they all come running to meet us in their funny lock-kneed gait whenever they see us. Now I can't imagine a summer without a cast of turkey characters.

Our turkeys are probably a bit bigger than ideal this year, but we wanted them around for the Cow Puja. The children were delighted by the gentle giants. The turkeys seemed to revel in the attention, too.

This, our fourth year raising turkeys, was the first time I didn't burst into tears delivering them to the processor. Well, my eyes did well up a bit, but I know these birds had the most idyllic life imaginable for a turkey and I am proud to know they will make nine families a spectacular and delicious Thanksgiving feast. 

The Great Puja Post

Yesterday was the  2nd Annual Cow Puja and Farm Fair, and it was a rip-roaring success! This will be a pictorial post, with photographs taken mostly by daughter, Cadence.

Bethany and Brendan, last summer's intrepid interns, arrived Friday night to help with the event. Saturday morning, we gave them SBF Puja t-shirts and sent them to the Farmers Market to see their old market friends and spread the word about the puja. They didn't mind this task!

My dear parents also came to help!  My mom has a wonderful eye for display, so she helped me spruce up the farm store merchandising. My dad gave all of the outdoor tables and chairs a fresh coat of paint.

The morning of the Cow Puja and Farm Fair, the first order of business was to paint the cows. I attempted to do this while they were busy eating breakfast. Lindy, mellow fellow, didn't mind being a canvas at all.

Jitterbug cooperated quite well, too. Her mom, Lariat was more of a challenge. She would not stand still and had to be painted in many fast, sneaky swipes.

LaFonda was a calm canvas, but more of a design challenge with her spotted pattern. I opted for polka dots and hearts, using livestock markers. They are nontoxic,  and brighter and longer-lasting than the face paints I used last year.

My mom  folded and sorted by size the t-shirts for sale.

Bethany and Brendan decorated the big molasses Cow Puja cookies they had baked Saturday afternoon. The cookies were offered at the Puja in exchange for a suggested donation to Heifer International.

We rolled the Willys truck out of the barn, Rog power washed it, and we filled it with snake gourds and pumpkins.

The artists and atisans  arrived and set up their wares in the yard- a view from the upstairs window.

So many fun and creative things! Little felted songbirds...

Beaded and Maille jewelry...

Karuna's unusual plants...

Handpoured, scented candles...

Handcrafted, fair trade items from India, Bali, Indonesia and other exotic locations, discovered by Kim Hammer during her travels...

recycled art, photography, hats, paintings, encaustic art, silhouette art, antiques...and much more.

Paul and Ann kicked off the music.

The Nodding Wild Onions played some awesome original cow songs. (Sorry, I don't have a photo with the entire group.)

The Volunteer Tomatoes did not disappoint - not a single tomato was thrown.

Children met the farm critters - they especially loved the huge gentle turkeys.

The focus of the afternoon was the Blessing of the Cows. Sister Joy, who hand-milked 5 cows every day before school when she was a young girl, led a Franciscan blessing.  She got a little assistance preparing from two helpers.

The  crowd  joined in a bit of singing and sprinkling water on the cows with a blessing from the Sisters.

Our cows were doubly blessed! After the Franciscan blessing, Rahul Kashyap described and conducted a traditional Hindu Puja. Here he is pointing out the "jaggery," a molasses-y sweet made from cane sugar that is given to the cows during a puja. Rahul explained that actually, we are the ones being blessed by the cows, not that we are blessing them.

Rahul's  colleagues prepared the incense and the jaggery.

All of the cows eagerly approached Rahul for the ceremony.  Our cows may be the only herd that has received both a Franciscan blessing and a Hindu puja on the same afternoon!

Happy bovines.

Bethany had prepared a beautiful tray of favorite treats for the cows - marigolds, molasses cookies, apples, corn, and greens. Everyone was invited to offer the cows a treat.

All in all, it was a marvelous day. The weather could not have been more perfect.  We are so grateful for  the wonderful turnout of  guests, the talented musicians and artists, and all of the help we received. We could not have  done this without help from our friends and neighbors who  so kindly volunteered.

Rog and I want to express heartfelt thanks to neighbors Nancy and Katrina, for selling the t-shirts and snacks...

and Betsy and Hannah, for behind the scenes work making everything go more smoothly and with more fun,

and to my Mom and friends Anne and Maureen for operating the farm store...

and to Bethany and Brendan, for cleaning the coop, baking cow cookies,  and so much more...

and to still others for who we don't have a good photo (that means you, Judy, Virginia, Don, Jim and Carla),

and most especially to my Mom and Dad for their  unwavering support and to our hardworking, talented daughter Cadence.

I don't know if it really is because of the cows, but we are truly blessed.

Puja Preparations!

The Cow Puja and Farm Fair is this coming weekend! We have been working like crazy to get ready for it.  Our talented friend, Rene Lafflam, adapted our puja design for festive t-shirts, which are at the printer now and will be ready by Friday. (They will be $12 each, in case anyone out there wants a shirt who can't  come to the Puja.)

Rog spent the past two weekends clearing out the  north wing of the barn so that we have a covered area for our artisan vendors if the weather does not cooperate.  You have no idea from this photo what a Herculean task this was!  Happily, the  current forecast is for perfect sunny weather with  0% chance of rain, so this  cleaning may have been for nothing other than insurance protection.

Our friend Laurel and her sweetie Darin offered a Saturday afternoon to work on farm projects.  Darin and Rog tackled some brickwork in my long-awaited perennial garden. This garden will be the view out the dining room window and will contain lots of bee-and butterfly-attracting plants.

The circular brick border is just tall enough on the downhill side to sit on. The fence won't be constructed by the puja, and the new plants won't be very spectacular this fall, but by next summer this garden will be lovely. The artisan vendors will be set up along this garden at the Farm Fair.

In the meanwhile, Laurel and Darin's daughter Ella primed the blue flower cart for repainting.

The new color scheme will be green and yellow.  We will decorate the flower cart for the puja and sell t-shirts, beverages and treats from it.

Cadence tackled the high tunnel greenhouse.  It should have been planted weeks ago with the winter crops, but we could not bear to pull out the tomatoes, which were still loaded with fruit.

Finally we  opted to pull out 2/3 of the tomatoes and plant everything else.  When we pul out the remaining tomatoes in a couple weeks we plan to transplant some of the chard and kale from the garden into its corner.  Cadence herded the obliging turkeys inside to clean up the  tomato leavings.

She added compost, laid out the  beds and planted the winter crops.

This is how it looks now, but we expect sprouts in a few days.  There are beds of spinach, kale, bionda di lyon chard, beets, carrots, leeks, scallions, claytonia and lettuce.

Cadence and I just hung a banner by the intersection for the Farm Fair and Puja so people will think about it every time they drive by.
If you are in the vicinity, we hope  you will join us for a fun day! Turn left when you see this banner, and you are here.  Find all the event details and directions at the Squash Blossom Farm website

Pearl of the Lake

Time for a little- off-farm adventure!  Last night we had a dinner cruise on Lake Pepin with the fine folks from Rog's work. The boat was The Pearl of the Lake, a river boat that is authentically powered by by the paddle wheels.

Boarding the boat.

While we  loaded, the First Mate cast for fish --a perk of the  job. He told me last week he caught an enormous northern pike.

We take off, cruising around the lake.

I took a turn at the  helm (is that the right word?)  I am a pretty good pilot, if I do say so myself.

Andy  and his dad Bob on the deck. Andy also piloted the riverboat.

From the top deck looking down.

We had a leisurely dinner and arrived  back at the dock at dusk.  What a pretty  evening on the water.

But the temperature was dropping fast, forecast to get as low as 29 degrees overnight.  While we were out boating Cadence had covered the tender veggies in the garden.   Our huge wall of morning glories is covered in buds but has yet to bloom. I didn't want them to freeze  before our big event next weekend, so Rog and I wrapped them in tablecloths, blankets and fabric. I hauled in all the  pots of annuals and tropicals - about 15 big patio plants. Rog covered  my new plantings in the new perennial garden and closed up the greenhouse.

It did frost hard,  so I am glad we went to all that effort to protect things.  After the Cow Puja and Farm Fair  next weekend we will give in to autumn.