Hello and welcome to the November newsletter for Laughing Duck Farm. I am so happy to see that we have new subscribers! Whether you are here to find out more about our farm and store, take advantage of bulk ordering your groceries, or just laugh at the idea of a crazy lady trying to farm in Wisconsin, I am so glad to have you.

As October ends and November begins I have to say that I am pretty happy with this autumn. We’ve had a couple of frosts but not an early winter. The days are getting noticeably shorter and cooler, but we have yet to turn on the heater because our wood stove has been enough. All of the excitement of spring and summer are gone, but honestly I am looking forward to more resting. As much as I love the chaos, business and beauty of the warmer months, I also have learned to appreciate the slowness, restfulness and reflection time of the colder months. It is not time to go full speed. It is not time to make big plans. It is just time to rest and be. It is time to rediscover deeper thoughts. It is time to repair and strengthen our hearts. It is time to appreciate all we have accomplished without the stress of needing to improve or do better. I hope you are able to find time in your life right now for rest, comfort, and contentment. This is the month of gratitude, indulgences, and self care. Planning, hard work, and guilt can come another day. This month, just take care of yourself, body, mind and soul.

AROUND THE FARM

Right now around the farm things are pretty quiet. Most of the animals are in their winter areas. The goats are doing a little clean up work around some fence lines, but that is about it. The puppies are growing and will be available to new owners at the end of the month (contact me if you are in need of a giant fluffy beast). Our cow, Honey, is on baby watch. She was due on November 1st but that is not looking likely. She is very obviously tired of being pregnant though, so I imagine it will be soon. This month’s goal is to get my garden mulched and ready for bed before the ground freezes. If you haven’t heard yet, I am a terrible gardener. Actually, that’s not true. I am a terrible weeder. I am actually very good at growing things, I’m just really bad at killing things. This means that by July my garden has usually been taken over by 7 foot tall weeds. Mulching helps a lot so I am hoping to finish that project before it gets too cold out to do it.

IN THE STORE

The freezers are filled with pork and poultry! Right now we are rich in bacon! We also have plenty of ham steaks, pork chops, brats, sausage (breakfast and Italian), and even lard. If you want to make fantastic pie crusts and cookies this holiday season, I would highly recommend picking up some lard. It is super easy to render in the crockpot and gives a really nice texture to baked goods. We also have all of the cuts of chicken as well as a few half turkeys left.

Speaking of lard and baked goods, you will soon find a couple of related items in the store that weren’t there before. This month we are adding organic cane sugar, powdered sugar, and pastry flour. If you are looking to dive even deeper into baking, check our our whole grains that you can grind yourself. Freshly ground grains give an even more fantastic flavor. We have wheat (red and white), rye, einkorn, emmer, spelt and quinoa. We also have a new spice section in the store (okay, I’ll be honest, it’s just one shelf for now) and will hopefully be getting meat rubs in by the end of the month. If you follow us on facebook you will also be informed of classes and events both here on the farm and in other places.

BULK ORDERS

This month’s bulk food orders are due November 8th by 7pm and will be available for pickup on November 14th after 4:30pm. Pickup is here on the farm 2482 170th ave Emerald, WI. Your next opportunity for a bulk order will be on December 12 with orders due on December 6th.

Placing an order may seem overwhelming, but it’s actually pretty simple. The list is long but is organized alphabetically. Just think about what your family uses a lot of and then look for it on the list. If you need help you can always text me, message me on facebook or email me. Calling me is fine too but I sometimes don’t answer because farming can make your hands gross. I have time to help you figure this out right now so I would love to help you work through it.

Make a list of the things you would like to order. This list can be as short or long as you would like. This list should include the item number, item description, and price. Next email this list to northhaus@gmail.com . When I put your order in the cart I will email you back to let you know I got it. If you don’t hear from me by Saturday night (the 8th) check in. Last month one order went into my junk mail and I unfortunately didn’t see it. Then, on November 14th after 4:30 pm you can come out to the farm (2482 170th ave, Emerald WI) and pick up your order. I will say that one thing I hear from people driving out to the farm for the first time is how surprised they are that it is not actually as far away as they thought it was and what a beautiful drive it is.

If you are looking for a place to start with bulk ordering, a lot of people like to start with butter. The Alcam butter (item number 198110) is the most popular with the higher butterfat Minerva butter (198201) being a close second. The Minerva butter is less of a commitment as you are getting six two pound rolls instead of 36 pounds of sticks with the Alcam. If you like your butter in sticks but don’t need 36 pounds, I would highly recommend dropping the extra boxes off at your local food shelf. When you are in need and money is tight, butter is a real luxury. Food shelves are in great need right now and your donation could be something very special to someone.

One thing that I ordered last month to make my winter easier is a case of cream of mushroom soup (311202). Is this a super healthy product? No. Will it be nice for my family to occasionally have comforting casseroles and even nicer for me to have an ingredient in my pantry that is super versatile? 100%.

CALL TO ACTION

I mentioned food shelves earlier and would like to make a request of you. Years ago my husband was seriously injured at work. I was a pregnant stay at home mom which makes if very difficult to start a new job so we were suddenly thrust into a situation where we had to rely on things like food stamps and food shelves. Life was stressful. The situation felt shameful and embarrassing which only added to the stress. I had a healing husband and two small children as well and an unborn child to feed so I was very thankful for the things we could get. I would like to ask you to do someone similar in your area a huge favor and purchase a bulk item this month to donate to your local food shelf. It could be something huge like meat, dairy, or frozen food. It could also be something smaller like jam or canned vegetables. Anything would be highly appreciated by a family in your area. The only thing I would warn you to look out for is the packaging of the item. A five gallon bucket of vegetable oil is difficult for the food shelf to distribute, but smaller packages make things easy. I’ve put together a small list here to get you started, most of the things I have listed here are right around the $20 range, some are highly needed items that are more expensive, but the possibilities are huge. Get creative. Think about what you would appreciate. Thank you so much for considering this!

311464 fruit cocktail

311402 tomato sauce

311432 green beans

311463 pears

358311 peanut butter

311204 chicken noodle soup

742301 rice 6 5lb bags

720202 hot cocoa mix

787611 wild rice soup mix

754871 All purpose flour 8 5lb bags

756120 white sugar 10 4lb bags

312151 tuna pouches

391377 15 dozen eggs

Thanks again, and I hope you find this next moth to be healing and restorative. I also hope to see you soon!

Kathy