Hello Friends,
It has been a while since I have been able to sit down and write a newsletter. The month of April started with a bang and seem to explode all the way through. Now that May is here, I just might have a little more time to touch base with our customers and share some of what has been going on here at the farm.
Garden’s in …. Hogs Out!!
With the month of May finally upon us, comes the long awaited cool season vegetables finding their way to our supper table. We have been enjoying fresh spinach and radishes in our salads, and are excited to see all the pretty blossoms on the pea plants. Our broccoli and corn are up, and the carrots, potatoes, beans, and cucumbers, have all been planted. My Mom & Dad picked up our heirloom tomato plants when they went to the Valley this past week, so they will be planted this week. Our strawberries are almost ready and I noticed yesterday our very first peaches and cherries! It looks like we will be gathering bounty from our orchard this year. Even our grape vines are covered with little grapes ready to grow and ripen. I can just taste all those jellies and Jams on our fresh, home baked bread! YUMMY!!! With the fresh start of this years garden “chapter”, comes the close of another chapter in the “Life on Drury Lane Farm”. Jeff’s happy, healthy hogs will be taken to the processors on May 18th. Our yummy pork should be ready by the end of this month. We can hardly wait!!
It’s Broiler Season!
Our first 200 broilers came in by mail on April 28th, and our new batch of 200 arrived early this morning. We are now busy moving “Broiler Buggies” every morning, building more floor-less shelters, and keeping the brooder house cleaned and ready for each batch of babies that are shipped. It is getting busier by the day! Our “bachelor pad”, consisting of all the “laying hens” that turned out to be “Roosters”, started getting mean and ugly with the fighting, picking, and just plain old “Roosterish” behavior! It was time to make some “Rooster Soup”. This past Saturday we set up the processing equipment and processed all but one heritage rooster, plus an old heritage breed laying hen that had broken her leg. We kept the one Rooster that had the best “wake-up call” crow. He has a major set of lungs on him!!
We are experimenting with the idea of offering a line of broilers consisting of old fashioned, heritage, dual purpose chickens. These chickens are just like the ones your great-grandmother had running around her yard, and when they needed a chicken for supper, out they went and pluck one straight from the yard. Well, yesterday I cooked up two of the roosters and one hen that we processed this past Saturday just to see if the “dual purpose” breed would be good enough to sell to our customers. They were DELICIOUS! Tender, moist, and the best chicken flavor I have ever tasted!! The breast meat wasn’t a large chunk of meat like the Jumbo Cornish Cross, but my goodness, it was so flavorful! I cooked these birds at a very low temperature for a long time … about 225 degrees for 5 hours, and they were done to perfection. Wow …. maybe offering another type of broiler called “Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Roasting Chicken” might be the next project for Drury Lane Farm! We will let you know.
April Fools Day!
I am sure most of you remember the story of our Jersey Milk Cow, “Clover”, how she was suppose to deliver her calf LAST fall no later than November of 2010. Well, December past, then January, February, March…. we couldn’t figure it out. She was HUGE, her bag started filling up, but the previous owner said they sold their Jersey Bull way back in February of 2010, and there is no way she could be pregnant. So we decided to just relax and watch knowing that the good Lord designed these animals to know what to do in normal situations. The first day of April came with an emergency out-patient surgery scheduled for our oldest son. (he is doing just fine now) When we got back from the hospital late in the afternoon, we noticed Clover acting funny. We watched, and waited….. watched some more…. and around 9:00 pm she dropped a beautiful little “dark chocolate colored” bull calf. I think she must have visited the previous owners angus beef herd right before we went to pick her up! How about that for an April Fools Day Surprise!!!
It’s the final summer for Jon’s Texas Longhorn Steers!
Jon’s experimental Longhorn Steers are growing to a nice size, heading into their final summer before processing. They are getting big and lean, and the horns are becoming quite impressive to look at. Many of our customers have told us they are “waiting for the beef”. With only two steers, the meat will not last long but what we will have available will be delicious. Here is a little information about Texas Longhorn Cattle.
***** The Texas Longhorn almost became extinct in the 1800′s because the Longhorn breed did not produce the much desired fatty meat. Longhorns were created to live and produce a high quality, low fat meat by just grazing on fresh grass alone. Because fattier meat weighed more and brought in more money for the ranchers, a hybrid cattle breed was designed that would live off of grain, in confined areas, and grow fast. Grain fed meat is slightly fattier and has a different flavor. Ask any Veterinarian about bovine behavior, and they will tell you that ruminants with four stomachs like cattle, were never designed to eat grain. Pastured Texas Longhorn Cattle provide us with 95% lean red meat that is lower in cholesterol than chicken, and lower in calories per serving. Pastured Texas Longhorn Beef, raised completely on grass, is just what the doctor ordered! *****
Would You Like Some GLUE with that meat?
Yes …. you read it correctly…. GLUE in meat that you buy in the grocery store and at the restaurants you frequent. For your health and the health of your family, you need to watch this video!
***** We don’t ever use glue with any of our meats! *****
What Products Are Available.
Last week we sold out of all our Whole Chickens! We have a few Chicken Packages left for purchase. Eggs are coming in by the bucket-full !! Feel free to order as many eggs as you want now, and pass the word to all your friends and family. We have plenty!! By the end of May, we should have more Whole Chickens available along with some Breast Packages and Whole Cut-up Chickens. Our Heritage Pork will also be available around the end of this month. We need to wait till after the hogs are processed until we are able to provide a cuts list and prices. Hopefully those lists will be ready sometime after May 18th.
May’s Delivery Schedule
We are now back on our regular delivery schedule. Mark your Calendars!! The Drop-Off dates and times are as follows:
Tuesday May 10th – Williamsburg ~ James City County Library Drop-Off - 4:00 pm
Tuesday May 17th - West Point Drop-Off – 4:00 pm
Tuesday May 24th – Williamsburg ~ Rt. 5 Bloom’s Drop-Off – 4:00 pm
Blessings to each one of you.
The Nice’s
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