Taking my girls out for birthday shopping kept being delayed because of farm activities. I said I would take them last Saturday, but I got pulled into setting up a tent at Rodale’s Spring Market event.

Even a unique situation on the farm last night caused me to detour as we started to drive away.

A fight.

Two cows were pushing and head butting each other in the pasture as we drove by.

Curious about why two large females were acting this way, I stopped to send a picture and video to Farmer Reuben—just in case we needed to worry.

When the bull got involved and started mounting one of them, I realized it was probably a cow “in heat” causing all the angst.

Keep the Angst in the Pasture

It was a stressful week for some of the cows. A couple of our favorite mature calves were moved to a different pasture, and their former companions “missed them.”
Luscious green grass to eat isn’t enough to distract from the stresses of mating and of separating cows from growing steers.

It’s just better when the males and females are separate.

Especially when it comes to birthday shopping.

Our “girls-only” shopping trip was successful. We enjoyed new summer shoes, choosing fabric for a sewing project, and a sweet treat.

Remembering our flavorful, not too sweet, not too large gelatos while we were in Rome, my daughter commented on how large our portions were. “I’m glad I got the small!” We can’t wait for Daddy Farmer to figure out a way to create farm made gelato for our farm stores – and our family!

Accomplishing our goals together, reminiscing and letting our personalities mesh was fun.

My teens are so capable and independent that it is hard to find the right way to spend time with them.

Actually, it’s hard to know the right way to spend time with any teenager.

I told them to remind me next time how much we all enjoyed it and tell me not to stress about my schedule.

Cultivating Calm is Necessary for a Sustainable Life

It seems that every week is packed with activities and obligations, especially at the end of the school year.

Are you feeling it, too?

We have a high school senior graduation next week—congrats to Blaise!

To increase the intensity, Farmer Reuben just told me that he’ll be making hay next week.

A break from the wonderful spring rains we’ve had means that the lush hay and alfalfa fields are ready to be cut and baled .

That’s intense, time-sensitive work for Reuben, Andres, and Blaise.

I can’t wait until the kids are finished with their school year studies so I can focus on my summer projects.

Are you looking forward to summer too?

With Memorial Day, graduations, and end-of-school-year activities just around the corner, it feels like you just have to get through a couple more intense weeks.

Am I right?

What are you looking forward to this summer?

More time with kids or grandkids?

Quiet mornings working in your garden?

Grilling outside or trying new recipes?

I am learning to cultivate calm in my life.

If I want to do any of those things, I have to set boundaries and make sure that stressful obligations don’t crowd out time with family or a few moments of peaceful time for myself.

What peaceful moments do you enjoy?

Tessa’s Moment #1: Today I weeded my asparagus patch for fifteen minutes.

Often when I’m working in my little kitchen garden next to the house, the kids won’t interrupt me.

Only one raised bed is a small gardening commitment, and I love asparagus, so it’s manageable and rewarding.

Tessa’s Moment #2: Making dinner after working on homeschooling or farm computer projects is enjoyable too.

Sending the kids out of the house and closing my computer so I can put together a meal with the food we’ve raised is cathartic.

Tessa’s Moment #3: Walking out to the field to enjoy the excitement of new pigs arriving also keeps me grounded in reality. It’s important that I  share those moments with you so you can be connected to your food.

Reuben and Andres are timing these exciting moments with you in mind. Reuben gave me a head’s up at breakfast and Andres called me 5 minutes before he arrived at the farm with the piglets.

The children on the farm get to be part of these moments too.

Stop now to invite a child to view this farm video with you. You’ll help them learn where their food comes from.

What Does Pastured Pork Taste Like?

“The best I have ever had. No comparison to the stuff in the store. It is tender, lean, juicy, flavorful. I put some in my box every week, and my kids beg for more.” – Suzanne

Cindy told me today that the pastured pork is “Lovely. We love it. Delicious. Flavorful.”

Should you try pastured pork?

If you seek nutrient dense food then you should consider these points.

Pastured pork: pigs raised on open pastures with space to roam and forage

• Benefits:
  • Improved animal welfare: access to fresh air, sunlight, and natural behaviors
  • Environmental sustainability: promotes soil health, reduces water pollution, supports biodiversity
  • Nutritional superiority: higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins

Conventional pork: raised in confinement with a diet of grains and soy

• Drawbacks:
  • Compromised animal welfare: limited space, lack of natural light, social isolation
  • Environmental impacts: pollution from antibiotics and manure, contamination of waterways
  • Nutritional inferiority: lower levels of nutrients, higher levels of saturated fat compared to pastured pork

Grilled Pork Chops & Asparagus with Sesame Glaze

Amp up the start of summer grilling with one of my favorite recipes.

You’ll want to review my blog post from last week about how to avoid triggering asparagus haters.

Make special note of the tips in the recipe to avoid overcooking your pastured pork.

Download Recipe! 

[fusion_button link=”https://test.willowhavenfarmpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Grilled-Pork-Chops-with-Asparagus-Recipe.pdf” class=”join-btn” stretch=”no”]Download Grilled Pork Chops & Asparagus with Sesame Glaze [/fusion_button]

Considering Bulk Pork Purchase?

The pigs we raised this winter will be ready for your freezer in a few weeks.

We will sell Pork Bundles and Half Pigs. Either way, you can reserve yours by making a downpayment today.

As Always…

We support your desire to have a good, healthy way of life and food on your table that supports that goal.

We’ll keep farming for you!

Reuben and Tessa DeMaster
Willow Haven Farm

P.S. The Farm store is open on Saturday to help you stock up on eggs, milk, cheese, vegetables, natural cleaners, home remedies and more.

Open this weekend!

Market Hours: Saturday: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Visiting the kitties on Grandma’s doorstep is a highlight of her day – multiples times. She knows when new ones are born and who the momma cats are.

No one knew how the kitten’s eye got hurt but our little farm girl gave it extra care and reported to her grandma all about it.

But eventually, that little kitten died. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was that kitten’s turn to go.

It’s Okay

All our farm kids experience moments that teach them that when animals die, they don’t come back… but it’s ok. And it’s okay to be sad. That’s an important thing to know.

But they also know that new animals are born – quite often, in fact. And that is so exciting. It’s fun to visit the baby animals and see how they grow so quickly. Their antics are entertaining as they jump and run and push each other around.

It’s Real so Pay Attention

Life and death are realities. On a farm you have to pay attention to those realities daily and sometimes hourly.

Are there tender seedlings in the greenhouse? Let’s make sure the greenhouse won’t freeze overnight.

Is it bright and sunny? Let’s make sure the greenhouse doors are open and the fans are on so it doesn’t get too hot and bake the plants.

Oh, and those seedlings have to be watered 2 – 4 x per day depending on the weather.

Is it cold, snowy and below freezing? Let’s make sure the pigs and cows have water to drink. Liquid water. They can’t drink ice.

Farmer Reuben is doing all the chores by himself this week and he just told me about a problem with the pig waterer that I wanted to check out.  I wasn’t sure if the pigs would come near me to try the snack I brought them.

Life is Full of Hope

But let’s talk about new life.

Planting seeds for a garden is an act of faith and hope. You don’t control what happens exactly but you rely on providing the right conditions for those seeds to sprout under the damp, warm potting soil until the first curled stem emerges filled with the bright green chlorophyl it needs to grow more leaves.

Ω Newborn calves are expected this spring because only momma cows give milk. They give milk so generously that they can feed a calf for months and still give extra to the farmer.

⊥ New blades of grass emerging from the cold, brown earth are a signal the farmer anxiously awaits so that the cows can begin grazing on nutrient rich, fresh grass and stop feeding dry hay. That’s when the cow’s milk increases in quantity and is full of yellow butter fat.

⊗ We’ll hear the cows mooing in the barnyard as they smell the new tender grass in the pasture but the farmer can’t let them graze until that grass is several inches high. So the cows and farmer will wait. And wait. Waiting for the sun, the rain and the earth to do their work.

Θ Piglets are born to sows and wiggle through the first weeks of life until they start exploring. Soon they’ll need to be contained by fences so they don’t devour the newly planted lettuce and kale in the vegetable fields.

ℑ And those farm cats always have their litters of kittens in Grandpa’s shed or on Grandma’s stoop on Mother’s Day weekend.

All this excitement of new life happens under our noses here on the farm.

It’s Your Turn to Pay Attention to Life

But what about you? What will you see?

If you pay attention you’ll see new buds on the trees in your yard and along the road. Your lawn beginning to turn green. Your garden seedlings in the window sill growing taller. Your crocus and daffodils putting up the their green leaves.

But what if you could be a farmer for a day or a week and take care of new baby animal?

Wouldn’t that make you feel connected to spring and to life in a whole new way?

Take an egg out of the refrigerator and hold it. What’s inside?

In our chicken coop, the eggs we collect are full of potential. Most of the time they are meant to be collected everyday, put in a carton and used to make delicious omelettes, scrambles, quiches, creamy pies and fluffly cakes.

But given the right conditions, that egg will hatch into a chick.

Every spring though, we order newly hatched chicks from a hatchery farm to increase our aging flock of hens. The hatchery is in charge of getting the genetics and hatching conditions just right for the healthiest chickens to send to farms all over the region.

I can’t imagine being in a hatchery. Can you imagine a place where baby chickens, ducklings, goslings, guinea keats, turkey poults, peafowl are hatching every day, all day long? If you view this short hatchery tour video, you’ll see that it looks more like a warehouse than a farm.

We are one of the farms that receives our chicks through the mail from the post office. We usually get two boxes of one hundred loudly peeping chicks and then it’s our turn to make sure they are well taken care of.

Life is a Great Teacher

Or it’s your turn! Did you know you can help us raise our day old chicks for a couple weeks?

As soon as our chicks arrive there will be about one hundred local families that line up to pick out their special pair to take home.

They’ll learn that they have to pay attention to the details to keep their chicks warm, watered and well fed.

• Don’t let them get too warm.
• Don’t let them get too cold.
• Don’t let them spill their water and get too thirsty.

But don’t worry. Just like all babies, they will cry loudly to let you know something is wrong.

That’s what the loud peeping is meant to do. To remind you to check on the baby farm friends that you are fostering for Farmer Reuben.

Winter is Waiting for Spring

Peep! Peep!  Baby farm animals don’t care if there is snow on the ground or flowers budding on the trees.

When they are hatched or born they just need to be fed and kept warm.

While we are getting ready for the seedlings and baby animals that will be arriving in the coming weeks, you can get ready for fostering chicks with your family, classroom, community group or senior home.

You can find out about the Foster a Chick Experience and get on our waiting list HERE. 

As Always…

We support your desire to have a good, healthy way of life and food on your table that supports that goal.

We’ll keep farming for you!
Reuben and Tessa DeMaster