Every Monday, Shelly's sister Samantha makes the 45 minute drive from Mentor to Kent to look after Rheinhart while we work out at Lucky Penny Farm. But yesterday, since Abbe and Anderson had a personal matter to tend to, we mish-mashed a day's worth of farm-related activities together. Here's how it all played out:
9:00 am. We drove across town to Gwen Volkert's home and farm, where we got the chance to try milking her goats again. Not much improvement there.
But no matter. Gwen is a generous host and teacher, and she told us the story of her beautiful property (pictured above--nice iPhone shot, Shelly!), most of which used to be a celery farm, and she gave us a sort of "year-in-the-life of" a part-time farmer as she showed us around.
As I mentioned in the previous entry, Gwen has more than just goats. She has 4 sheep, 2 pigs, 30+ hens/pullets, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and an attack rooster named Giorgio (seriously: he attacked one of the contractors who stopped by to discuss plans for a new barn!). She gives all of these creatures plenty of space to roam (upwards of 16 acres), fresh grass and choice grains, lots of love, and lots of attention. And all these animals give her and her family much in return: their milk (and, of course, cheese), their eggs, their fur and hide, and--alas--their meat. Petunia the pig (below), for instance, will be sent to slaughter at the end of the season, and her meat will feed a family of four throughout the winter.
Does this make you cringe? Maybe a little? Okay, maybe a lot? In truth, I find it a bit unsettling too. But (just a few more seconds on the soap box, please) it is a healthy example of sustainable living. More and more people are returning to this kind of centuries-old subsistence, and as they grow their farms like Gwen is, eventually they're farming more food than they can eat themselves. As a result, the rest of us are getting a better choice of fresh, local foods at green markets and groceries stores. So I guess I'll get used to the idea that friendly pigs and cute goat kids wind up on the table sometimes...
12:00 pm. What's all the fuss about this store called Tractor Supply? It's like the Wal-Mart for farmers, right? Well, we thought we'd find out for ourselves, so we drove to Ravenna to check it out. If you're looking for a vast selection of wrangler shirts, muck boots, overalls, straw hats, tractor wheels, electric fencing, wood-fired stoves, shovels, or--in our case--goat feed--
--you'll find it all at Tractor Supply. Check it out if you can. No, seriously.
1:00 pm. Lunch at Franklin Square Deli in downtown Kent. Franklin Square has always been a reliable place to get a tasty sandwich or gyro, unlike many of Kent's restaurants (to my memory, at least). But I'm happy to report that the dining culture in Kent is showing signs of improvement. Could it have something to do with local food producers like Lucky Penny?...
1:30 pm. We drove the short distance to the creamery for "disaster clean-up." A 250 lb. batch of chevre didn't turn out quite right the night before, and in the scramble, a mound of dishes, cheeses molds, bus tubs, buckets, etc. were left piled up and waiting for us to save them from their milky, curdy filth. It took about 2 hours to take care of the whole mess. Good times.
3:30 pm. Off to Macy's to purchase a suit for a wedding at the end of the month, then to the grocery store to pick up a few ingredients for dinner. Does this have anything to do with farming? No. But for those of you have a kid/kids (the human kind), you know how hard it can be to do stuff like this with one or more in tow--especially if yours, like ours, is two years old...
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This morning Rheinhart & I finished parent-toddler swim class at the Roosevelt High swimming pool! Shelly, meanwhile, is at the creamery, packing cheese and helping prepare for farmers markets. More later this week on Book IV of the Georgics and a third try at milking...
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