http://agrari.us Aspiring to the Agrarian Life Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:23:18 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It's been funny weather today. First, hot and sunny, then a heavy downpour. After milking this morning I launched into a project I've been itching to do, but haven't had the time, inclination or the equipment. That all changed with the temporary loan of a GPS system. It took me most ... http://agrari.us/2010/09/09/apples-aplenty/ Meet Maple, Claddagh Farm's latest addition. Maple is a newly born Guernsey, dairy bull calf. His mother, Hazel, has been with us since just after we moved to the farm in late March. Of course, we had been hoping for a nice heifer calf, to help us keep our ... http://agrari.us/2010/07/23/meat-maple/ Well...perhaps not start, after all I didn't breed ducks to lay the eggs which were hatched to get these ducklings, but you get the drift. On the morning of a mad September day I hatched out a scheme to raise a flock of ducks with the express purpose of getting ... http://agrari.us/2010/01/07/duck-from-start-to-finish/ Whew! I'm finally feeling like I have a little chance to breath. Last week I slaughtered our annual pig and this weekend I butchered and processed it. Right now I am in a tiny window of rest before the remaining 7 pigs I have been raising are slaughtered here on ... http://agrari.us/2009/11/02/of-pigs-ducks-far-off-things/ I'm not quite sure how this happened. I seem to get myself stuck in the middle of things quite often. Perhaps I am too good natured. Perhaps I am too game for fun & a lark. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. All I know is I find myself raising ducklings this ... http://agrari.us/2009/09/23/duckfest-2010-name-that-duckling/ As a small-scale, artisanal pork producer I work hard to raise a quality product for my customers. From start to finish it takes almost a year for me to raise pork to the quality I like to offer. This often means coaxing piglets through February frosts, seeing to their comfort ... http://agrari.us/2009/08/19/a-meaty-problem/ Perhaps I live in a bubble. Perhaps I have just been incredibly lucky in many ways. Farmers Markets have, in one way or another, been a part of my life. And no, before you go thinking that I was some sort of market stall brat at the hems of ... http://agrari.us/2009/04/28/to-market-to-market-to-see-a-fat-prig/ Imagine if shoe manufacturers only made their styles in a few sizes. You might have difficulty finding a pair which fit your feet at different stages of your life. The one-size-fits-all approach would certainly be cost effective for the shoe industry, and because every one needs footwear, the customer ... http://agrari.us/2009/04/13/tough-shoes-to-fill/ In an excellent article on the New World Order Capitalist Powergrab, the point is made that the ensuing class struggle may well lead to a sort of neo-Feudalism. There will be the Haves in their gated communities and Have Nots, or Serfs, outside, poor, exploited, and powerless. A glance ... http://agrari.us/2009/04/09/the-new-order-serfdom/ In a discussion that erupted on Twitter today, I think I may have come across as some sort of neolithic agrarian rube. It is certainly hard to maintain clarity or explain rationales in 140 characters or less. While I do tend towards being a Luddite, I am actually in favor ... http://agrari.us/2009/03/30/what-is-agriculture-without-technology/