Hello and welcome to the May newsletter for Laughing Duck Farm. May is on its way and I have to confess, I’m a little excited for April to be over. In the last newsletter I told you about how much I love spring and all of its potential. This is true. Spring is my favorite month and a big part of it has to do with how much I love potential. Every year, though, I forget all that comes along with April. It seems like, ever since I reached adulthood, something traumatic happens in April, or within days of it. I don’t like superstitions, so I kind of forget about this every year. Sometimes it is something as relatively minor as an emergency appendectomy. Other years is has been something as major as my own death from Lyme’s disease (obviously not permanent) or even worse the death of our daughter. Every year I forget that the anniversary of those things is arriving. Then something happens and everything seems to come to a head. This year it was a bunch of minor things adding up. You may have noticed it if you were out here on bulk pick up day. I was not doing well that day. My mother, who lives in Hawaii, fell and shattered her femur. She has no one there, other than a couple of elderly lady friends, to help her out. Then, shortly after the surgery, she developed a blood clot. It was pretty scary. My sister is dealing with her own major health issues (those were her children helping me out that day) so she cannot travel to help out and if I go likely everything on this farm will die. I was dealing with all of that on April 4th as well as a bunch of little things that all seem to like to pile up when we are down.

Now whenever something difficult like this happens, I always like to look back later when I have a little distance and clarity so I can think about what I learned. What I learned last month is a lesson that has repeated itself many times, both in my life and the lives of those around me. It is interesting that I am writing about this lesson on Good Friday because that is sort of what the lesson is about. I have noticed that right before breakthrough, right before something unbelievably amazing happens, you are hit with a cluster of days where it seems like everything is against you.

When I was a child, I had the privilege to see Tony Campolo speak on his book It’s Friday, but Sunday’s Coming. I am so thankful that I was able to hear him and have this seed planted in my life. It has helped me to get through some really tough times and it helped me to get through that first week in April, and do you know what? Good things did start that very Sunday! Oh, and in case you are concerned, we are flying my daughter out to help my mother, so nothing bad will happen here on the farm. The whole thing has a happy ending and I truly believe that next year April will be a breeze!

On the Farm

The grass is starting to green up which is so exciting! As soon as it gets some length and lushness to it you will start to see the animals back out in their fences. Pasture raising our animals is important to us for many reasons. The first reason is that it keeps them out of their own feces. This is so much better for the animal for so many reasons. It prevents parasites and spread of diseases, it is great for their lung health, and it also improves the health of the soil that we are raising these animals on. Another reason is that they are out in the sunshine. So much of the meat available these days doesn’t have access to the sunshine and fresh air and you can really taste the difference. Joel Salatin is a famous farmer who has been raising meat on pasture for decades. he writes about the benefits, but one of the most interesting to me is how it changes the animal on a chemical level. He talks about how when you write out the chemical formula for protein found in meat at your typical grocery store, it takes up maybe a line on a sheet of paper. When he had his pasture raised animals tested, the chemical formula for their protein took up sheets and sheets of paper! This means that you are getting far more nutrients for your body to use and heal with.

Green pastures make me excited!

In the Store

Our new official store hours have been such a success. We are meeting lots of new people and developing new relationships. New relationships bring all sorts of excitement and I am enjoying it all. Another interesting note, Circle H greenhouse is just a little over a mile west of us. They have lush beautiful plants and flowers for you and will be opening this season on April 25th. You can stop in here for food to nourish your body and stop there for beauty to nourish your soul. What a nice day that would be!

Bulk Food Order

This month’s bulk food order is due on Saturday April 26th at 7pm for pick up on Friday May 2nd after 4:30 pm. Your next opportunity for a bulk food order will be Friday June 13th. This month Alcam butter is still very inexpensive! Yoder’s NSGSA jams are also on sale. NGSA stands for no granular sugar added. These are sweetened with fruit juice and are the ones we carry in the store. the item numbers for these are 359500 through 359511 and 359600-359611. There are lots of great flavors! I will be trying the Honeybar granola bars this month. They are gluten free and made with whole nuts, grains and fruits and sweetened and held together with honey. These are item numbers 389601-389605.

If the list below is overwhelming for you, just let me know. I can help you figure out your order and make it easier for the future. I have made a sort of a cheat sheet for a few people so they can know the numbers of the things they like, and not get overwhelmed by the thousands of other things.

To place an order, just send and email to me at northhaus@gmail.com . In this email, include a list of the item numbers, brief item description, and the price you expect to pay. Get this list to me by Saturday, April 26th at 7pm. Then, on Friday, May 2, come out to the farm between 4:30pm and 8pm to pick up your order. This will also be a great time to shop in the store for smaller items, meat, or just a snack for the ride home. The farm address is 2482 170th Ave, Emerald WI. You can pay with cash or check. Feel free to share this opportunity with a friend or two and make a group outing of it!

Pigs

We do still have some whole and half hogs available. These will be raised here all summer and brought to the butcher for you in late September. The cost is $300 for a half and $600 for a whole, you pay your own processing. Please note that your pig is not reserved until I receive payment. Your choices for butchers are Kessler’s or Ross in Glenwood City or Sailers in Elmwood WI. Kessler’s is starting to fill up so I would recommend letting me know soon if that is where you want to go.

Also, we donate a hog to a family in need every year. If you have a family you would like to nominate to receive this blessing, or you would like to help out with paying some of the processing for this pig, please shoot me an email and let me know.

Recipe

This month’s recipe is for tzatziki! Tzatziki is a yogurt sauce used in middle eastern cooking. During the Vietnam War, my father was stationed in Greece with the Air Force. While there he deciphered messages, played a lot of basketball, and ate a lot of great food. He was well aware that it was a very lucky assignment. He also met his very close friend Gus Paris (whose last name is Greek and much longer) who ended up moving back to America and running Greek restaurants in Madison WI. This meant that I got to grow up also eating lots of fantastic Greek food One of my comfort foods is gyros with lots of tzatziki sauce on it. Homemade tzatziki sauce is so much better than anything you will buy in the store, and it’s super easy to make as well!

You will need:

1 clove raw garlic

One half cucumber, shredded

One cup of plain yogurt (I prefer whole milk Greek but you can do non dairy as well)

Juice of 1/2 lemon (about a tablespoon)

quick drizzle of olive oil

1/2 tsp Evaporated Sea Water

sprig of fresh dill

A couple of mint leaves

Start by smashing the garlic. Then throw everything in the blender and spin it for a couple of seconds. That’s it. You’re done! I like to let it sit in the fridge to let the flavors mix for a while but seriously, nothing is easier! If you want a thicker sauce, you can start by sprinkling the salt over the cucumbers and letting them sit for a bit before squeezing all of the juice out. This might be helpful if you are doing this non dairy. Also, double check and make sure you didn’t accidentally grab vanilla yogurt. Ask me how I know!

Well, that is it for this month. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Easter. I hope that if you are struggling you can find hope in the fact that something great is just on the other side. And I hope that I get to see your smiling face soon!

Kathy

Laughing Duck Farm Meat List

Bagged Items