Hello and welcome to the June, 2026 newsletter for Laughing Duck Farm. May seems to have sped by at the speed of light and I am, as usual, behind schedule. Now before you feel bad for me, please understand that I do this to myself. My plans are way too big for just one person and I absolutley hate asking for help. Somewhere back in my childhood someone told me “You can do anything!”. Unfortunately, I heard this as “You should do everything!”. I’m working on that. Another part of the problem is that I do all of my planning in the winter when things are slow and easy. The thought of adding “one more thing” seems totally reasonable in the winter.

Then May comes.

Suddenly I feel like I’m drowning. And then I have a bunch of baby animals to keep alive.

Last week I felt like I had hit my limit. There was so much that needed to be done and as hard as I tried I could only seem to be in one place at a time. Our pigs were born late so they weren’t here yet, that was causing me stress. The goats weren’t on pasture yet so I was feeding them hay every day. The first batch of chickens was very healthy and growing faster than normal so I was worried that they were going to be huge by butcher time…

It was a lot.

Then yesterday, as I was preparing to set up goat fencing on the pasture, our hay guy showed up and mowed our entire pasture! To be clear, this was always the plan, just not the entire pasture. Usually the goats are on the pasture and he mows around them, leaving a bit for them to go on while the rest of it grows back.

I lost my marbles.

There was crying.

And then I realized something.

Almost every single thing I was all upset about was something I cannot control or was actually to my benifit. That extra hay is going to be so nice this winter. Also, I still have a ton of last year’s hay from our own pastures that the goat will be quite content to eat in the meantime. I can’t control when piglets are born or the genetics of the chickens. I should actually be happy that everyone is so happy and healthy. The problem is that I have never been in recovery (okay, that part isn’t a problem) so I’ve never learned the lesson about accepting the things I cannot control and the wisdom to know the difference.

All of that to say that I am trying something that is very new for me. I’m going to try to “go with the flow”. It will be a challenge. I will need to remind myself daily. But I feel that if I can do this, those lovely little creases in my forehead might calm down a little. It will be a very good thing.

On the Farm

Well, you’ve just read a lot about what is going on with the farm. Chaos. Overwhelming chaos. But also increadible beauty. If you get a chance to stop out and visit you will see lots of beautiful things. If you’d like to stop out and lift heavy things, pull weeds, set up electric netting, or clean up baby chicken poop, we can for sure arrange a time for that! You can also watch our facebook page for classes and PLEASE plan to come to the customer apprecaition party on August 1st! It is always a good time and the whole thing is free to you!

In the Store

It has been so much fun to meet neighbors and peole from all over the place in our store! We have customers from very far away who stop in once a year, and we also have people who are “regulars”. It’s all so enjoyable. It is also interesting to see food popularity chage. Right now I am selling a lot of beet powder, chia seeds, and blackberry jam. I have also started selling pizza crust mix (both with and without gluten), semolina flour for pasta makers, and I am just getting ready to jar up lion’s mane mushroom powder which will be brand new! It is a great suppliment for brain function and before you ask, yes. I do plan on taking it. I hope to see you here in the store or at one of our farmer’s markets!

Bulk Food Ordering

Our next bulk food delivery will be on Friday, June 12, with orders due on Saturday, June 6 by 7pm. The process is simple,

Step one: browse the attached list and look for items you and your family use a lot of. You’ll be surprised how many you will find. I have done my best to alphabetize everything, but sometimes things are classified weirdly. Please do NOT print this list out. It is very long and changes every month.

Step two: send me an email to northhaus@gmail.com with your list by 7pm on Saturday, June 6. Include the item number, a short description, and the price. Those three things help me to avoid ordering the wrong thing and also makes ordering go very quickly for me. If you are ordering frozen things and want to be texted the minute your order is ready, please include your phone number with instructions to text you. I have a little freezer space, but not a ton and I know some of you can get here fairly quickly. If you have not received a confirmation from me by Sunday, June 7 please reach out! I try to be very careful but sometimes things get sent to spam or missed.

Step three: Come out to the farm on June 12 after 4:30pm to pay and pick up your items. Our address is 2482 170th ave, Emerald, WI. It is an especially nice drive from the twin cities this time of year. You can pay with cash or check and shop, walk around the farm, or even bring a picnic if you’d like. If you need to come later than 8pm please let me know so that I don’t worry about you.

That is it. It is actually that easy. If you are looking for some hints as to what to order, I can tell you that Grain Millers oats (always tested for glyphosates and rejected if they test positive) are on sale, as well as raisins and Dutch Delights chocolates (those lovely french mints we sell in the store).

Well, it is back to work for me. I hope your spring hasn’t flown by too fast and that you are making some time to stop and smell the flowers. I also hope that you have long ago figured out how to let go of the things you can’t control and things are flowing well for you.

Peace and blessings to you and your family,

Kathy