Today is also market day. On Wednesdays and Saturdays kate and I head to our local farmers market in carrboro about 40 minutes away. We have the coolest market vehicle, for sure.
Moving Pigs
Today we had to move some young pigs who escaped previous attempts to our spring/summer stock pen. These are couple month old pigs who will become market pigs later in the year. After weaning, these pigs live together in a big pen as they approach 250-275 pounds. At that point we start catching them a few at a time to bring to slaughter. We move them with this badass tractor.
Iphones
Every year I inherit my mom’s old iPhone. This year I got the sweet 3GS for about two weeks until Kate put it in the washing machine…thus I was faced with the decision to buy a new one or go old school flip phone. Since much of my communication to the world outside snow camp, NC happens through this blog and phone calls and I’m addicted to words with friends and chess, I caved. Good news is I can now snap more photos for the blog more easily and i’ve got this front facing camera too!
Guest Blog: Spearfishing
Spearfishing is pretty fun. Unlike this insanity, when I go out, it is more like glorified snorkeling. The snorkeling is actually the best part of it. I’ve only been spearfishing a dozen or two times, mostly in Rhode Island, some in Northern California, and even less in Central America. Only once did I head into the water with anyone that had more experience than me (that time was fun, my buddy Stephan took me to an offshore island/reef in his family’s boat). That’s not to say that I’m any good. I just had to figure it out myself.
look at that physique!
Spearfishing can be much more fun than fishing for those of us who weren’t lucky enough to have a mentor show us how/when/where to catch fish with a rod (shout-out to Clifton!). Of course getting hammered with your buddies is fun whether you catch a fish or not, but scoring fish from underwater will actually get you closer to a better physique (it is exercise, after all).
The New England water has less waves than in Northern California, which is probably the main reason the water is clearer. Light offshore wind for a few days, or maybe none at all, is also good for water clarity. Water clarity prediction is one of those elusive sciences, defintely more of an ‘art’. That’s your first barrier. But once you find clear conditions and maybe a wetsuit too, you’re set on your way to explore the coastline and reefs. Kelp forests and thick non-stinging jellyfish swarms were some of my most memorable underwater settings.
The closest I ever got to deep blue spearfishing like in the video above was out in a calm bay in NW Costa Rica. My buddy Karl and I took quads in search of the rumored bay, which was a trip in and of itself. After burning a hilarious amount of time trying to get my knife UNstuck from a coconut, 30 ft up in the air, we took turns with the mini-speargun & snorkel/fins in the glassy waters. While edible fish of decent size were rare on that trip (we came out empty-handed), I did see a moray eel, and a GIANT FREAKING TUNA that swam past my goggles. My brain auto-piloted to “SHARK!” One second later, I had to decide whether to take a shot with my inadequate equipment (and, uh, skill). I chose wisely and the fish swam on, without me in tow.
In the next month I’ll be moving to Oahu, the same island that the video footage is from. Stay tuned for the next update…
I’m a Farmer?
Kate and I are entering our fourth week as North Carolinian farmers (Cane Creek Farm) and I’m finding new things to learn every day. I must have foolishly thought farming wouldn’t be that hard to wrap my head around, but it’s the most complex thing I’ve ever been a part of. This is due largely to the fact that our farm is extremely diverse and ecologically aware. While making high quality food we are also maintaining high quality for both the land and the animals we shepherd. This is particularly difficult considering our scale. We have 13 species of animals: several hundred cows, several hundred pigs, 4 donkeys, 30 goats, 30 sheep, 200 turkeys, 100 ducks, 400 chickens, 30 guinea hens, 8 geese, 3 dogs, a dozen or so cats and 5 permanent humans (several transient). In addition to the multitude, we have each animal in all stages of life, from day-old turkey polts and piglets to a 13-year old goat named Mary. Each animal has specific food, water and shelter needs as well as unique personality traits that make them easier or harder to provide for.
The healthy animals are all relatively straightforward once I understand their needs, which they try to communicate with quacks and grunts and chirps. But we don’t only look after the healthy, we also try to care for the runts, the sick and the weak. Last monday we had a day-old pig, a three-week old chicken, an adult rabbit and two week-old turkeys in our ‘infirmary’ living room. They were all in distress (an extremely unusual day to have so many hurt animals) and all got the attention they needed. That day the pig stood out, however.
Van Gogh, the day-old pig, was born into a thunder storm with his siblings in the middle of the night. Born outside a hut and in a rainstorm, all his siblings died from the elements and from two black vultures who sometimes attack small live animals in distress. Van Gogh survived, unbelievably, after losing his ear and a the skin on his hind leg. He is one week old as of yesterday and doing better every day. He’s not out of the woods, but after surviving his first night, subsequent fly-eggs and infection, he’s finally starting to put on weight and act like a little piglet. He sleeps near us in a box with a heating pad and drinks goat milk I collect from our very own Rosie. Her kids didn’t survive but her milk still gets put to direct inter-species use.
One day a new employee or guest might go feed the pigs out in the pasture and realize one large male that seems oddly friendly compared to his cohorts. Like me she will understand the importance of love and compassion on this farm when that earless pig nuzzles her leg and and stands next to her while the others keep their distance. I meet animals like that amongst our hundreds on a daily basis and they increase the feeling of completeness I sensed from day one.
