Hello and welcome to the December newsletter. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and found all kinds of things to be thankful for. I was blessed to spend the day with family, including four of my five children. As they get older and start their own families and follow their own destinies, it is more and more unusual to have my whole family together, so this has become a great joy for me. And while I do terribly miss the one that couldn’t be present, I am so very proud of him for taking big steps and making sacrifices to move forward in his plan.
On the Farm
We do not keep certain animals over the winter. In the spring I will buy new baby pigs and hundreds of new baby meat chickens, but things are just a bit quieter for now. This is a nice break for me. Morning chores take less than an hour and I’ll just have to poke my head into the barn a couple of times during the day to check on things. Of the animals that we do keep over the winter, only the egg chickens don’t prefer the cooler temperatures. The goats, cows, rabbits and livestock guardian dogs all seem to prefer the cold.
Speaking of dogs, Tuesday’s puppies are almost ready for their new homes already! We do have a couple that are not spoken for yet. If you know of anyone looking for a fluffy giant to work or to be a companion, have them get in touch with me.
The next couple of months are a quiet rest time for me. It will be a time of sleeping like a normal person, seed catalogs and dreaming of next spring. It is also the time of year where I actually have the chance to get to know people, so feel free to head out to our store. We are fully stocked in pork, goat and rabbit and any day now we expect to have beef again! Whole chickens are pretty much gone, but we do still have plenty of legs, thighs, breasts and wings.
Walnut Creek Order
The next bulk food order will be delivered on December 12 with orders due on Friday December 6th by 7pm . Your order should be ready after 4:30 pm pm the 12th, but as we learned with the last delivery, I am not in control of the timing. I would really like to thank everyone who came out to last month’s pickup. It was late, it was chaotic, but everyone pitched in and was patient so it was not the nightmare I always imagined it would be if the truck was late.
For your order, you can browse the price list below, or better yet look up items you usually use at Walnutcreekfoods.com . This month I know the price of butter has gone down. The Walnut Creek brand of cheeses are on sale. The Stoltzfus brand of yogurt, sunflower seeds (both raw and salted), Riceland rice products, and coconut oil are frequently ordered products that are also on sale this time. If you are looking for Christmas gifts, lots of the flavored caramel corns, gummy products, and even cellophane bags for wrapping are on sale.
To place your order, please EMAIL me your list to northhaus@gmail.com no later than 7pm on Friday December 6th. Include the item number, a brief description, and the price so I can double check and make sure I am ordering the item you want. Then, on December 12th, you can take a lovely drive out to the farm at 2482 170th Ave, Emerald WI 54013. If somebody else is picking up your order for you, you can mail your check to that same address. Otherwise, you can bring cash or a check to the pickup.
Please note that this is the final order for 2024. The next opportunity for a bulk food order will be January 9th with orders due on January 3rd.
I look forward to seeing you all at sometime during the holidays, and if I don’t, I hope this month is filled with wonder and joy for you and your family.
Have a merry Christmas and a blessed new year!
Kathy
Laughing Duck Farm 