Hello and welcome to the Laughing Duck Farm January newsletter. I hope this finds you well and that as you look back at 2024 your memories are filled with joy. I am looking forward to many things in 2025 but I am especially excited about June as we will be having a brand new grandchild that month! I can’t wait to see what other exciting adventures 2025 will give us.
On The Farm
There is a lot more going on this winter than usual. We still have a couple of livestock guardian puppies looking for homes. These sweet babies are super sweet and the one female we have left is so super cuddly. I am really praying she finds a nice pet home with lots of snuggling.
As if the puppies aren’t keeping me busy enough I decided to buy a new cow. Her name is Dani and she is due with a calf in just a few weeks! I would normally never attempt to have a calf born in January, but both of my other cows are dry (not producing milk) and we are really missing the fresh raw dairy. I typically make most of our dairy products from milk from our own cows and store bought milk is just not the same. Dani will have to have her calf in the barn and I will need to be at the ready with a blow dryer and towels. Once the baby is completely dry it should be fine. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and it won’t be too frigid out.
January has also always been a time for dreaming here on the farm. The last few days I have been looking out over the pastures covered in beautiful winter fog and thinking about garden plans, buying new electric netting, and how many meat chickens I need to buy this spring. It does not appear that the three hundred we bought last year will be enough!
In the Store
Right now we are fully stocked in almost all of the meat we carry. We are out of turkey (this was expected and frankly, we wouldn’t have room for too many turkeys anyway) and getting low on chicken. We do have plenty of pork, beef and goat meat available. We had the beef processed at a different place than last year so the steaks are much more realistic looking (no more three inch thick ribeyes!) and the beef wieners contain natural ingredients. We tried them the other day and they were pretty good.
In January I will be running a special where if you buy two or more pounds of beans, you will get a free package of smoked pork hocks. One of my favorite ways to prepare beans is to put soaked beans in the crock pot with some water and pork hocks and cook all day on low. It makes a very filling, tasty, and low cost meal! For this special you can mix and match types of beans and lentils. It is only available on the beans that we carry in the store and not for a Walnut Creek bulk order of beans.
Walnut Creek Orders
If you would like to order food in bulk, you can do so here and pick up on the farm! You can order literally anything other than fresh fruits and vegetables. I would highly recommend that everyone keep at least a supply of your most used items on hand in case of an emergency. Loss of an income or a weather disaster can come suddenly and unexpectedly and I can tell you from experience that it is really helpful to not have to worry about grocery shopping for a while during stressful times. Buying your most used items in bulk can also save you a lot of money as well as time.
This month Walnut Creek has a couple of items on sale that I know a few of you like. Snavley’s pastry flour (item number 754320 and 754321) is on sale as well as their fine whole wheat flour (754322). This is the flour that the professional bakers who buy from us tend to buy. Also, quite a few people buy New York Bagel Crisps (718101-718107) and those are on sale. Also, Old Orchard frozen juice concentrate and lemonades (649101-649114) are all on sale. I like their juices because they are 100% juice. Obviously their lemonades are not. Orange juice has been extremely expensive lately and I am always craving citrus this time of year. I will be ordering the orange juice and also the pineapple orange juice for my family. The pineapple orange juice is a little less expensive so if you want citrus and want to save money that might be the way to go!
To place a Walnut Creek order, make a list of the items you want with their item numbers and the price and send it to me at northhaus@gmail.com . This order will be due by 7pm on Friday January 3rd. If you haven’t heard back from me by 8pm on January 3rd please reach out to me again. Every once in a while I miss something and I’d hate to miss you! You will be able to pick up your order after 4:30 on Thursday January 9th. I will try to reach out to you if the truck is early. You will pick it up here at 2482 170th ave, Emerald, WI 54013. Please try to have your order picked up before 8pm that night. I don’t really have a good place to store all of those items. If you are having someone else pick up your order, you can mail me a check asap to that same address. If something doesn’t come in, I will send change back with your order.
Your next opportunity to pick up a bulk order will be Thursday, February 6th with orders due on January 31.
I want to thank all of you for being our customers this past year. Whether it was stopping in at the store for ground beef, placing a Walnut Creek order, sending your kids in the store for their chocolate fix, or spending time with us at the pig roast, I have enjoyed meeting everyone and hope to build better, deeper relationships over the next year.
Peace and joy to you and your family,
Kathy
Laughing Duck Farm 