Flurries ...

Today was the first hint of snow in on Crooked Gap Farm. In this case it was just flurries, but as I drove around delivery parts and then doing chores in the evening they were a constant reminder of what is coming. I will say though that I have voted for only a small amount of snow this winter! We have been pretty hard the past couple of years on the farm and I could go for a little less winter trouble .... It would be nice not to get trucks and tractors stuck ... It would be nice to ease up on the cold and wind ... It would be nice to not make huge piles of snow ... It would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath

On my lunch break today I headed to pick up 2 tons of pig feed. It's great that there is a feed store willing to grind and mix the ration that we want without any animal byproducts or antibiotics, but it sure is getting difficult to hand over the money. Todays bill was about $7.21 per bag! That is almost $2 a bag higher than in the early summer and it causes me to pause a bit every time I feed the pigs. Picking up the feed means hooking up the stock trailer and loading in the feed bag by bag ... then back at the farm I have to unload it. Tonight I just backed the trailer into the shed I'll unload it into the bulk feeder when I have more time.

In the evening (in the dark) I had the usual chores. I fed and watered the pigs. I watered and checked on the sheep and cattle, and then after I had the tractor plugged in for a couple hours I took a big round bale of hay in for them. I have to say that the hay is getting eaten up faster than I had hoped. Thankfully I have 44 more bales coming later this week and next. It will be a chore to unload, but it will be great to have!

As I drive around I have a lot of time to think and listen to podcasts. I'm making my way through all the Nature's Harmony Farm podcasts again and looking for other things that interest me (6 hours in minivan can wear on you). And, as I mentioned, I've been thinking. Today it was about trucks (probably because I had to pull the trailer to get feed). I'm getting closer and closer to the point where I think I want to ditch the SUV and get a truck. There are so many times when it would come on handy ... I can't even count them there are so many!

Until next time ...

Crooked Gap Farm Becomes Fashionable

As you may know (if you read the sparse postings on this blog lately) I'm looking at taking some big steps trying to expand both the size and marketing of the farm. So many of you were very supportive and threw out a lot of ideas on how to expand and raise a little capital going forward for the expansion, and I'm making my way through those e-mails now! One suggestion (and something I've wanted to do for awhile) was some Crooked Gap Farm t-shirts. This is a way for our customers (thank you all so much!!!) to show their Crooked Gap pride and for those of you who aren't close enough to be a customer it is an opportunity to support the farm ... and add a cool t-shirt to your wardrobe if I do say so myself ;)

Right now there will be two t-shirt options available. The first choice is the "Pioneer Farming" t-shirt. This shirt is "smoke" in color and has the phrase "Pioneer Farming" on the front with the pronunciation and a definition stating :: "See Crooked Gap Farm". "Pioneer Farming" is a fun little phrase that I started to use when describing the farm because of the way this farm was started from scratch ... plus it's a good conversation starter.

The second shirt available is the Crooked Gap Farm "Where a Pig is a Pig" shirt. This t-shirt comes in a color called "Caribbean Blue" and has the state of Iowa with the farm location along with the phrase "Where a Pig is a Pig". This fun shirt states the plain fact ... on this farm a pig is allowed to be a pig in the pasture, in the mud, and all around!

Both shirts will cost $20 each plus shipping and handling. I will be ordering them soon and keeping them "in stock" as it were, but I would love to have an idea of interest and a general amount of sizes I should order. If you would like to place an order just send me an
e-mail with the shirt(s) you would like and the sizes.

**FYI :: The dotted lines are not part of the shirt, just part of the design site ... And, you can click on the pictures for a larger image of the design.**