Magazine junkie

I love magazines! I'm a magazine junkie. When I get a new magazine I read it cover to cover. I get all kinds of magazines- Cookie, Mary Janes Farm, Woman's Day, Real Simple, All For One, Southern Living, Self....I'm sure there are a few more too! I also trade magazines with a lady from work so I get to read Better Homes and Garden & Martha Stewart's Living.

I have noticed in a lot of my magazines lately they are pushing organic in a big way. I do purchase several "organic" things for my family. Yes there is an increase cost but one comment I recently read was you can spend the money on organic now or give it to the doctor later. My biggest expense is organic milk- I pay $5.99 a gallon for milk and I buy 2 gallons a week (at least).

I just wanted to share some of the things that I have been reading and hope that you will think about your eating habits and where your food is coming from. My big push is to support your local farmer. I know there are people like me & Lee everywhere. You can always call me or email me and I will help you find a farmer who raises all natural, no hormones, no antibiotics pork, beef, & chicken. Ask the farmers question. They should have nothing to hide. One thing I am asked a lot is if we have "happy animals." We do! We are actually certified by the AWI (Animal Welfare Institute). We have 3 baby bull calves that we are bottle feeding right now. I love walking to barn in the evening with their bottles and they all run to me. I love to see Rosty call out "Turkey Train" and all the turkeys line up behind him and follow him to their food. So I think I can say we have "happy animals."


So do me a favor and go visit your local farmers market or try www.localharvest.org

Here are 12 fruit/vegetables you should buy organic- nectarines, celery, pears, peaches, apples, cherries, strawberries, imported grapes, spinach, potatoes, bell pepper & red raspberries.

Week-end Adventures

I could almost call this post Pigs, Puke & Privet minus the Privet. Where to start, where to start.... Well, on Thursday night Charlie came and climbed in the bed with us and about 30 minutes later he started throwing up. He did this about every 2 hours. We went through 2 sets of sheets and every clean towel in the bathroom. He finally quit but had a fever that I kept feeding Motrin. Then he had these mysterious red bumps. I was concerned about chicken pox. I took him to the doctor and he wasn't quite sure what they were (how reassuring). He thinks some type of bug bite.

Both boys are recovered now. The sad part was that Friday we were suppose to go to Day Out with Thomas. We have gone every year starting in 2005 but Charlie was sick and it was raining.....

Saturday started another day. We were suppose to go to both Markets but it was raining in Salisbury so Lee decided he and Rosty would go to Davidson and me and Charlie could have the day off. We ended up taking Lee more bacon & sausage so we went to Davidson anyway. It was a pretty slow day. Our goal was to just sell all the eggs and then leave. We like eggs but I don't think we could have 264 in a weeks time! While at the Market me and Rosty stepped in an ant bed. Poor Rosty they were crawling all over him. We had to strip him down to his underwear because the ants were in his clothes and shoes. Luckily, mommy had some spare clothes in the van.

Once we finally got home and ate our lunch (grilled cheese & chicken noodle soup). It was nap time. Let me back up for a minute and talk chicken noodle soup. I'm not against store brand items but some things you just can't buy the store brand. I have discovered that the Harris Teeter brand chicken noodle soup does NOT taste like Campbell's. Spend a few extra cents and get the good stuff.

I digress.....while my family napped I finally got to watch Juno. It was good as movies about teenage pregnancy go. Then me & Rosty watched Little Mermaid.

Me & Lee are involved in the Young Farmer's and Ranchers group in Rowan County. We were suppose to go bowling with the group on Saturday night. It started out good. We went to feed. I'll spare all the details but the pigs got out and went into the pasture where the cows graze. After we finally get the pigs caught then one of the cows gets in with the pigs. We got them all sorted eventually but by this time we were hot, sweaty and muddy...no bowling for us! I ordered foot-long hot dogs from Gary's and we ate supper with our kids at 9 pm Saturday night. The life of a farmer!

Saturday night was a rough one for Charlie. He is having night terrors and generally not sleeping. So mommy and daddy are not sleeping either. After getting up at 6 AM with Charlie we slept until 9 AM. This never happens at our house.

Sunday was pretty painless. Lee worked on the shower. He is tiling our shower and then we are going to paint, replace the vanity and the sink. I'll definitely post pics when it is complete.

We ended the day by going out to eat with Lee's family.

And by the way, today is our 7th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary Lee! I love you!

Wild Turkey Farms Newsletter

Good afternoon all.

Many of you have contacted me about prices so here is our price list and our schedule for through the end of October.

We will be at the
Salisbury Farmers Market Saturday Sept 27, Oct 11, and Oct 25 from 8-noon
Davidson Farmers Market each Saturday through Oct 25 from 8- noon

We are working on our winter plans and hope to have a schedule by mid October.

As always you are welcome to pick products up from the farm so you can see exactly where your product is coming from and how it was produced.

Since we work off farm jobs, farm visits are by appointment only so that we can ensure a quality visit for you.

This Saturday's features are Fresh Whole Chickens, fresh eggs, and some delicious pork and beef. Also many of you wil be stocking up on peas and greens from other vendors so don't forget to stop by and get some smoked hocks, country ham pieces, or some fatback to add some wonderful flavor to those dishes.

Our Prices- as of 9/24/08

Whole Fresh chickens- $4/lb (avg 3.75-4lbs)
Fresh ungraded eggs- $3.50/dz

Meats- all prices are per lb

Berkshire Pork- Pasture raised w/o antibiotics or steroids
Fresh bone in Chops- $7.00
Smoked bone in Chops $7.50
Tenderloin- $12.00- sorry we're temporarily out
Hickory Smoked Bacon and Country ham- $8.50
Fresh shoulder steaks or ham steaks- $5.50
Smoked Ham Steaks- $6.00
Ribs- $5.50- sorry we're temporarilly out
Bratwurst - $5.50 sorry we're temporarilly out
Italian Sausage- $5.50
Maple Breakfast Links $5.50
Hot or Mild Breakfast Sausage- $4.75
Boston Butt Roast- $4.75
Smoked Shanks, hocks, or country ham pieces- $3.50
Fatback- Salted, Smoked, or Fresh- $2.00
Feet, Ears, or Tails- $1.50

Beef- All naturally lean grass finished beef- No antibiotics or added hormones

Steaks- Ribeyes and Fillets $16.00
Steaks- T-Bones and Sirloins $14.00
Roast- Chuck, Sirloin Tip, Brisket $6.00
Ground Beef, Cube Steak- $5.00
Short Ribs- $4.00
Liver $2.00
Dog Bones- $1.50-2.50/pack


Thanks & have a great week

Wild Turkey Farms
China Grove, NC

The Wild Turkey Way

We were very fortunate to have the Salisbury Post come out and do an article on the farm. Check it out.

http://www.salisburypost.com/Lifestyle/092108-Wild-Turkey-Farms

Pigs, Puke & Privet

As always we had another fun-filled week-end at the Menius household. I actually got to have Saturday off from the Farmer's Market but I did plenty don't worry. Rosty decided that he wanted to go to the Market with his daddy so it was just me & Charlie. The day started with laundry and dishes then we headed to the grocery store for triple coupons. Along the way we stopped at a Yard Sale, where else can you get a Bob the Builder umbrella for $1 and a Hi-Ho Cheerio game for $2. When we got back I started the thing I dread every season.... going through the boys clothes. I have saved every stitch of clothing that Rosty ever had so Charlie is the King of Hand-me-downs. I packed up the summer clothes and got the fall clothes.

When Lee & Rosty got back we ate lunch and then went to load pigs. We take our pigs to be processed in Pinetown, NC, which if you drove one more hour you would be in the Outer Banks. It's a long trip!!

One good thing about farmers is that they do tend to help each other out. Another pig farmer was taking a load to Pinetown and had room for a few more. We loaded up 4 of our own and then headed to Rimer Town to load up 3 more pigs. Those pigs were quite troublesome. They got loose when the guys finally got them corralled again they were very hateful but we got them loaded. We head to Hillsborough to drop off all of our pigs.

We took the boys with us and they napped the first part of the trip but the last hour was a little rough. We were gone about 5 hours. I wouldn't want to sit in a car seat and a booster seat for that long either.

We finally make it home!! I get out of the truck. I open Rosty's door. He starts talking to me and mid-sentence he pukes everywhere. This was the beginning of a rough night for Lee. Rosty wanted his daddy NOT ME! He told me that he didn't need me to go be with Charlie. I told him that he did need me but I would go lay down with Charlie.

Now let's fast forward to Sunday afternoon. Lee was napping, the kids were playing so I decided to trim those Privet bushes...which I absolutely despise!!!!!!! I got 4 of them done when Lee came outside and we decided lets just pull them out. We have been wanting to do this for sometime but today was the day. Lee hooked the log chain around the Privet and I drove the truck. I think there were 8 total and now they are all gone!!!

Go Diego Go!

If you know me at all you know I'm a planner....at least I have good intentions. Last year for Rosty's birthday we had a Halloween party (his birthday is October 30th). I bought a lot of things (on clearance) because I figured this would be a theme we could use for several years. As I prepared for Charlie's Curious George party Rosty told me that this year he wanted a Diego party. For those of you who aren't familiar with Diego he is Dora the Explorer's older cousin. He helps animals in the rain forest that are in danger. He has a faithful companion Baby Jaguar and a camera, Click, that helps locate the animals in danger & his Rescue Pack (backpack) which can turn into about anything. The Bobo Brothers are 2 troublesome spider monkeys that don't mean to cause trouble but are usually do.

If you are impressed with my Diego knowledge you would really be impressed with my Thomas the Tank Engine knowledge.

Yesterday started my preparing for Rosty's birthday party. I won't say that I go all out for their parties but I try to make it a fun event and I do put a lot of time into planning the food, cake, invitations, treat bags and games BUT I do it on a shoe-string budget.

First stop- Big Lots.

They have the birthday essentials like plates, napkins, table clothes, etc. I prefer to get solid colored plates and then get napkins that go with our theme. I got orange plates, yellow napkins and yellow plastic table clothes. A pack of 20 dinner sized plates was 90 cents.

Second stop- The Dollar Tree

I was looking for some items for the treat bags. Not much luck there.

I did find a pack of 51 yellow utensils (17 of each spoon, fork, knives) & a Happy Birthday banner that had jungle animals on it. And yes I did look through about 75 banners and this was the only jungle animal banner!!

I do have a website that I get a lot of the boys gifts and birthday supplies from it is allaboardtoys.com.

I haven't done it yet but I'll order some Diego beverage napkins, the cupcake picks, the treat bags and whatever else I think I might need and not be able to find around here.

I usually do the invitations myself so I always try to come up with something cute. I think I'm going to say something like:

The Bobo Brothers have stolen Rosty's birthday candle.

Please help Rosty find the candle

and join us for pizza & cupcakes.

It's still a work in progress but let me know if you have any ideas.

So this is the beginning of planning for Rosty's birthday. I'll keep updating my progress and the countdown for the party!

Judy Wicks Lecture

Last night I had the opportunity to go with Lee to a Sustainable Agriculture Lecture. It was entitled "Local Living Economies: Green, Fair & Fun." It was in Raleigh at the NC Museum of History and Judy Wicks was the speaker. I personally had never heard of Judy Wicks but she founded the White Dog Cafe (in Philadelphia) in 1983 & is also the co-founder of BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Econmies).

I guess what made the White Dog Cafe so special & unique when it was founded was that Ms. Wicks got all her produce and meats from local farms. She adheres to the principles of fair trade on products such as coffee. All of her employees earn a living wage, have health insurance, and a retirement fund. The Cafe gets 100% of its electricity from wind.

She told a little about starting the White Dog Cafe. It started out as a coffee & muffin shop on the first floor of her brownstone. Her family lived on the second floor. They used a charcoal grill enclosed in plastic to cook on outside and had a sink in the corner of the dining room. They had tables and chairs set up inside and lawn furniture outside. The bathroom was the family bathroom on the second floor of the house. The safe- where the nightly deposits were placed- was under her bed pillow. She stills lives at the same house but the Cafe has expanded to 4 buildings and a fifth is the Black Cat Gift Shop.

She has been recognized for numerous awards also.

Me & Lee were invited to attend the reception which was held before her lecture. The food was delicious. It was provided by local farmers and prepared by Irregardless Cafe. The spring rolls were my favorite! Burt's Bees was the presenting sponsor and all those who attended the reception received a nice bag full of samples of their products.

Me & Lee have become "one of those people." Since we had to drive back home to Salisbury we decided we need a cup of coffee. We had to find a Starbucks...... If there is one thing we like it is good coffee. Someone gave me a Starbucks giftcard. I had never been to a Starbucks until last week and I've already been twice this week.

Another busy week-end

Most people (including a lot of our friends) have no idea exactly what me and Lee do at the farm. It originally started out as a hobby but it is so much more than that now! I have been trying to keep everyone updated but sometimes I run out of time.... I thought I would give you the run-down from Friday and Saturday of this week. Me & Lee met at the farm at 3 o'clock (this means taking time off from our full-time jobs) because the Salisbury Post was coming out to do a story and take pictures. We are very interested in knowing the angle that Katie (Scarvey) is going to take with the story. She was there for over 2 hours and we talked about everything from where the farm name came from to pasture-raised animals to plucking chickens when I was 8-months pregnant. And yes, Lee did mention to her that he had a good wife!! After the interview and pictures were over we had to feed and water all the animals and water the plants in the greenhouse. Today was also chicken killing day. Lee actually had the whole day off and he and Robbie killed and processed 25 chickens to sale at the Markets on Saturday.

Once we were at home we had to clean eggs. We wash, dry and cart all the eggs which is normally about 350 give or take a few. Lee seems to break several in the process.

Since we had chickens we needed to pack them in the vacuum seal bags. And of course we did not have enough bags so Lee had to head out to the dreaded Wal-Mart at 10 o'clock at night. We were in bed by midnight. This is normal for a Market Eve though. Luckily, we didn't have any vegetables to wash and get together. Since it was late we decide to leave the freezer loading until Saturday morning.

The alarm goes off at 5:30 AM and neither of us wanted to get up and get going. I shower, get the coffee going and then we get to load our freezers. Me & Robbie go to the Davidson Market and Lee goes to the Salisbury Market. We load our freezers according to what we think we are going to sell. We take 2 small chest freezers to Davidson and Lee takes 1 large chest freezer to Salisbury. We divide the eggs and chickens between us. Lee used to load all the freezers and then I never knew what was in there so I now load my freezers. I like to be organized-beef in one and pork in the other. I write down exactly how many of each item and sort by boxes. We have to get our "Market boxes" complete with paper towels, hand sanitizer, table clothes, scales, bags, farm banners, price board & cash box. Lee usually does samples so he has a few extra things with him.

Robbie usually gets to the house about 7 o'clock and then we head off to our Markets. We are at the Market from 8:00 AM until noon. We usually meet back at our house and unload the freezers back into the garage. By the way, we have 4 large chest freezers and 2 small chest freezers to house all of our meat. We have a quick meeting what sold good, what didn't, any comments, any notable sells, etc.

After this we usually try to get the boys to take a nap because we are ready for one after our long morning. The we have to feed again that evening. Plus, I have to get some housework and laundry done at some point.

So now when I don't return a phone call or an email you know why!

One more pic

Domisty & Lee at the beach!

Oak Island Vacation

Here are a few of our beach pictures from vacation. We were at Oak Island, NC, during Labor Day week. We did have to leave one day early due to Tropical Storm Hanna but we still had a good trip. We got there on Saturday (8/30) late that evening. The boys were so excited we had to go out to the water even though it was dark.

On Sunday, I got to see my long-lost friend Foy. We had not seen each other since we were 13 years old and reconnected on Facebook. We had a great afternoon catching up with each other and we promised not to let 20 more years go by.

Our neighbors Andy & Megan made the third annual Oak Island trip with us again but they could only stay through Wednesday afternoon. The boys spent Sunday night and most of Monday with my parents so me and Megan went shopping in Southport on Monday. It was a fun girls day! The find of the day was at a Thrift Store- I got Rosty a Monopoly Junior game for $1. We played it at least once everyday while we were at the beach.

My parents came down to get the boys and visit with us on Sunday, Monday and again on Thursday.

Lee's parents, his brother and his sister and her family came down on Tuesday and stayed through Friday.

So as you can tell we had quite a busy week. The guys did get to go fishing and we had some delicious flounder on Thursday

night!

Rosty & Charlie looking at the waves

Rosty & Charlie

Rosty & Charlie

Rosty & Charlie playing in the sand

The sand pigs that Lee made

Lee & Charlie enjoying crab legs

Charlie....on our way home

Rosty....on our way home