Winter Deliveries - Starting This weekend!

The Sexton Family - November 2009

Hello everyone!

First, thank you to all that helped contribute to another great market season! October 31st was our last Farmers Market for 2009 and it was fun fun fun... Our entire family made it, and it's always a great experience for not only the kids (who are learning to count change correctly and help you with your orders - thanks so much for your patience...) but for my husband Dick, who is great at seeing things with a new perspective and giving suggestions on how we can 'be better'!

Now that the markets are over and we have had a two week 'market break' - it's time for our Winter deliveries...

Here is the Schedule: Third Weekend of the Month - Boise is Sat., Eastern Oregon is Sunday


November:
Saturday November 21st - Boise - 1pm - Location: State & 17th by Albertson's recycling area

Sunday November 22nd - Baker - 10 am - Behind Barley Browns
La Grande 11:30 am - Parking Lot next to Mamacita's off Jefferson
Pendleton - 1pm - Parking Lot across from Chamber.

December:
Saturday, December 19th, Boise
Sunday, December 20th, Eastern Oregon

January:
Saturday, January 16th, Boise
Sunday: January 17th, Eastern Oregon

February:
Saturday, February 20th - Boise
Sunday, February 21st, Eastern Oregon

March and April to be posted at a later date:)


Note: I will be bringing pre-orders so please get your orders to me if you would like a delivery. If there is room I will also bring ice-chests full of extras, but, only if there is room!

Thanks for everything and hope to see you.. again!

First Snow and Last Market!!!

First Snow
Apple Tree

First Snow
Birch Tree still with fall leaves!

************

Well friends. It snowed here yesterday! It snowed all day, but only about an inch remains. This morning is icy and it should all melt off later today. Fingers crossed!

Tomorrow is our very last market of the season. The entire Sexton Family will be going to the Boise market, and it should be a great day. I don't think the kids have really figured out that we will be working on Halloween and will get back just in time to unload, dress and go trick or treat! It will be hectic.

The weather in Boise is predicted to have a low of 40 and high of 60! Yeah!

Sunday's plans are to cut firewood. We have already gone through our first 'load'!

Hope to see all of our Boise friends this weekend!

And Thank You for a great season!!!

Sami's Bunnies - Another Use for Pasture Poultry Pens!

Oops! I snuck some Ducks In!
These are Sami's Ducks - Puddle Ducks!
They are now laying Duck Eggs (the 5 females, that is)

We had one of the Arracana Chickens sitting on Duck Eggs and 3 hatched
earlier this week.
Sami was charting the progress.
Unfortunately, none of them lived.
It's kind of weird to see a little critter with webbed feet follow
a mommy that doesn't have webbed feet!

Bunnies Born in a Cage

Here are some Bunnies!
They are so so darn cute!
And yes, they do grow very fast!
Oh my gosh. They all line up with their little ears in the air
and it is adorable to see them!

This is one of the females that is now in a Pasture Poultry Pen

And here is her nest!
There are actually baby bunnies under that fir!
About 5.
According to Sami, who checks on them.

The Pasture 'Bunny' Nursery!

Last Christmas Sami asked for 'rabbits' for her gift. Well, that lucky girl got two female Bunnies and one Male - along with all the equipment to house them, feed them and care for them.

Sami is our 'young' entrepreneur. She has visions of selling goats, rabbits, ducks and puppies. And, yes, she has all these things.

She's actually been selling puppies for three straight years now. Which means, she started her enterprises at the age of 8!

We all knew the day would come when it was 'time to make bunnies'. As with the dogs and goats, she pairs them up, and puts the dates on the calendar - and projects when babies are due, based on the species gestation.

It's a learning process.

Guess What?

We now have two batches of bunnies.

Moving Electric Fence - The Ranch Wife's Way!

Hmm... A Frosty Seat Greeting Me For my Morning Commute!

My Ride - In it's full glory
I'm thinking those tires are a little bald
(which, had they had more tread, maybe I could have gotten
out of my predicament easier - the one you will see later)

A Stretch Gate
Any of you have experience with this evil invention?
You need the strength of 10 men.
I can get it undone well enough.
It's putting it back up that's a pain.
As a matter of fact, last year, on 'Talk Like a Pirate Day'
I blogged about "Curse Like a Sailor Day' - because of one
of these fences.
It's on my personal blog. If you desire to read the episode,
email me or leave a comment.
AARRRRR

Here's a Pleasant Site!
Cow Manure. On various parts of the Quad.
See that clump right up there near the doomahickey?
It manages to sneak up on you in the darnedest of places!

oSee The quad there on the left of this nice peaceful looking ditch?
Well, the quad and I became one with the ditch before this photo was taken.
As in SLAM!!!
I was just riding along, minding my own biz, as in peacefully enjoying my morning adventure, when WHAM!
We stopped. Dead stop.
And I could not get unstuck.
Until I saw that 4WD option in the previous photo.

Another View of the 'Damn' Ditch
I still hurt! Ouch!
Anyway, there are about a bazillion of these ditches in the pasture.
But I thought if I followed Dick's map arrows, that he was
taking me around the ditches.
Dolt.
I came up on 5 more, but I was 'smarter' those times:)

The Supposed Low Spot in the Fence
I really should scan the map that Dick gave me.
Perhaps all of you would understand my adventures -
as in, are they actually sabotaged?
Anyway, the pasture is sectioned off with all sorts of funky hotwire fence lines.
Dick had an arrow for this spot called 'low spot in fence'
The hot wire is 1' off the ground and this is the 'crossing'.
You know, drive over hot wire.
Exciting!

OK.. Here are the critters wondering what the heck
is taking me so long to take down the fence!

They get moved daily.
And they are trained to come over, and run to the new grass.
You can see the quad way over at the other end.
And the snowy mountain tops!
A beauty of a day!
(This is why it takes me so darn long - I'm enjoying the sights!!)
Plus I have to document these things so people believe me!

The Wire Spool
So, the object is to take this sucker off the hot fence (I already took the leads off)
and start winding it up, holding it tight (so the cattle don't run into the fence and take it with them all the way to Mexico, or the next County, or wherever they go when they get spooked)
and keep reeling all the way to the end, and pick up all the fence posts along the way.
I only have 2 hands, so, I left the fenceposts for a return trip.
Besides, the spool gave me troubles, and both hands were busy.
As in, the wire kept getting wound around the handle, and I had to
keep unwinding it!

The Fruits of My Labor!
Our Apple Trees are Bustin'!
While I did the morning chores (feed chickens, kittens, rabbits, ducks, and break ice)
I collected a 5 gallon bucket of apples.
And, that was the bright spot of my day:)

*****************

Yesterday, was a Tuesday... A cold, chilly October Tuesday morning and Dick and I got up at 3:30 am.

Why you ask? After all, I get up at 3:00 am on Boise Market Days and paid my dues for the week, right? Guess not! I could have stayed in bed, but I'm one of those people that wakes when an alarm goes off..

Well, Tuesdays are our Meat Run Days (the day for taking animals to the processor and/or picking up processed meat). And, this was the day that 3 beef and 17 lambs were to take their journey to Nampa Idaho, where they had to be (2 hours away - with a time zone change) by 8:00 am!! Holy Toledo!

So, we both got up. After breakfast (or a midnight snack, whatever you want to call it) Dick went in the dark to load the critters... I could see him from my cozy house... Well, I could see the trailer lights!

Since I wasn't the one driving the trailer, I got to 'move electric fence' instead.

And, as most of you know, any time Dick leaves me with his chores, I always have an adventure, and always take my camera for proof!

Today.. A day later, my 'insides' still hurt from slamming the quad into a ditch... A ditch he forgot to tell me about while I was blissfully driving out in the pasture, and taking in the glorious fall snappy morning...

And that my friends, is my adventure as a ranch wife.

The rest of the day included dealing with cut and wrap orders, preparing taxes for our meeting with the CPA tomorrow, and also dealing with two kids who have been home from school for 2 days with a cold (they were bouncing off the walls) ... NOT A FUN DAY!!!

Can I have a do-over???

Some Summer Shares - And Sausage Is In The House!

Thunderstorms
My commute back and forth to the ranch
Yeah, life is just rough when your commute looks like this!

Jake And Sami - Playing or Working
I love their summer duds!
Especially the sundress with mud boots.
Always a fashion statement

One of our summer faves
Balsamic Vinegar, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella and of course, fresh tomatoes!

Sami with her first fish of 2009!
Sami kicked some fishin' 'you know what' last week!
She and her Dad went fishing while Jake and I did the Chicken Run.
Their secret place is Van Patten Lake
(the same lake where I managed to hook my finger in 2007)...

Anyway, she got a 10 inch Rainbow!!!!
She scored the biggest fish.
All the others were brook strout.
Rainbow trout rocks.
And dinner was awesome!!!
Thanks Sami!
(Her red eyes are courtesy of a very very long day!)

Another One of My Commutes
(click on photo to enlarge)

I came home to see sheep evidence on the highway, down by the headquarters (our ranch is 1,170 acres, and our headquarters is 3 miles down the highway from our home - this photo is just north of our home, and we are looking south.)
Anyway, as I kept driving toward home, I saw the kids walking far back, away from the herd.
One lamb was having trouble, so they were 'behind' trying to get the lamb to move.
Dick was coming back on the quad.
All the sheep were trailing by themselves ahead,
just walking north!
Dick loaded the lamb, and I loaded the kids.
I gave the kids a ride farther up so they could 'push the sheep' farther.
I got ahead of everyone, and the gate were the sheep were to turn
and took this photo.

*******************

Hello everyone!

Some days it feels like our summer is ending (like, when we got 1.5 inches of rain, or when we woke to 38 degrees!) and others like it is just beginning - today is to be close to 100 degrees...

Now that things are slowing down a bit, we are trying to squeeze in some summer playtime before school starts (August 31st)... There is so much to do, and so little time!
The story of our lives, here on the ranch...

Summer never lasts long enough... Today, the kids and Dick 'ditched me' to run off and go fishing... which they so deserve!

Our big adventure will be a ski weekend (water ski) at McCall, Idaho. If any of you have tips, hints, suggestions, please let us know! We have never been there, and the kids have never water skied!


OK.. Ranch News:

I am happy to announce that our Lamb Sausage is back! Yep.. All your faves:

Garlic & Rosemary
Sweet Italian
Sun Dried Tomato and Sweet Italian
Apple
Merguez


We also have lots of whole fryers, and eggs!

Yippee!

AND, I took 20 lambs to the processor just this Tuesday...

Looking forward to having full ice-chests again!!

Hope to See you soon!

Chicken Run Tuesdays! A Share!

One of the Egg Hens - Via Sami's Lense!
Tuesday Mornings we get up extra early to do
'Chicken Run' Tuesdays
Sami got up early and was our photographer
(and she went on the road with me!)
By the way, there is an A&W Root beer on our Route
and after our delivery, we had Root Beer Floats!!!!!!!
A mom has to do, what a mom has to do...
YUM!

Early Morning Scene
I love this photo.
All the species in one shot!
Each group is separated with electric fence
They all have their own portion of the field
So..
Chickens
Sheep and Llama
Cattle

The Chickens at 8 Weeks
Eight Weeks is the age of our Harvest
They get moved into the crates you see on the back
of the Quad.
From there to the back of the Truck
Which I drive to New Plymouth
And, I bring back last weeks birds - frozen

Dick taking the top off One of the Pasture Poultry Pens
Don't you love those boots?
Makes me think of the Three Musketeers
Everytime he wears his Irrigation Boots Like this!

Morning Scene

Just thought I would share with all of you our Tuesday morning routine.

My favorite part of the day is catching the sunrise and seeing it on the Blue Mountains, and the peaceful drive through the valley...with my first cup of Joe.. Need that!

The mornings are so gorgeous when you get to experience the first light!!!

Happy Day to all of you!

Jack's Simon's Whole Grilled Chicken

Jack's Bird and Bird Dog!

Whole Chicken On The Grill
(I do believe we have the same Weber!)

Below is an email I got from one of our friends/customers! Jack said I could share this with all of you..

Thanks Jack!

Howdy!

Well, we finally ‘bit the bullet’ — JUST JOKING — and tried one of your “wild” chickens on the barbecue. DELICIOUS!!! I’ve been barbecuing whole fryer chickens for three years now and have yet to burn down the house so consider myself an “expert”. I was really curious if there would be any difference in flavor between your free range birds and the birds I’ve been buying from Safeway and Albertson’s. Guess what? Your birds win hands-down, Andi! In fact, the best complement regarding flavor came from my wife when I asked her, “How is the flavor?” and she said, “I keep looking for buckshot!” No kidding.

Now before you throw a bottle of ketchup at me, let me explain. Sharon has eaten many a pheasant over the years from my little escapades into the brush so she knows what “wild birds” taste like. And your free range chickens have a flavor that approaches wild meat, obviously from their diet in the pasture. It’s not quite to the level of rooster pheasant, more like the mildness of quail. And tender? Don’t you guys ever exercise these birds? These chickens must be watching TV after their morning meal because there isn’t a tough muscle on them. Send Sami and Jake out to the pasture every day to run those birds around a little.

Without a doubt, this was the best whole chicken fryer I’ve eaten to date, Andi. We’ll be buying more the next time you are in town. This is the bird to serve to guests…a little white wine, veggies cooked on the grill. Well, you get the picture.

Speaking of pictures, I’ve attached a few pics of the festive occasion. Note the “cook’s assistant” checking out the meat on the platter…

A real no-brainer to cook one of these babies on the grill. NOTE: My bird weighed exactly 4 pounds so a heavier bird would take a tad longer cooking time. Here’s what I do:

I use a Weber three-burner propane gas grill. Cook the meat at 325 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the juice runs clear when the skin is cut between the leg and the body. Don’t use all three burners or you will catch something on fire (notably the chicken, possibly your house!). Turn the middle burner OFF and use what is called “indirect medium heat” to cook the bird.

Prior to putting the bird on the grill,

1) wash the bird and apply a light coat of olive oil;

2) salt and pepper to taste;

3) quarter a medium onion or apple and put half the onion or apple in the bird’s body cavity;

4) add to the body cavity a sprig of fresh sage from the garden (about 6 leaves) or you can use Thyme;

Adjust the grill temperature to 325 degrees and put the bird on the grill. Pour a glass of wine and enjoy the smell of free range chicken wafting through the air — yummy! Serve with rice or baked beans and fresh veggies. (Be sure to leave a little something for the cook’s assistant...).

Thanks to you, Dick and the kids for a great meal and see you the next time you are in town.

Happy Trails,

Jack & Sharon