© 2010 Fritz Nordengren. All rights reserved.
This is a ghost story of sorts…. perfect for All Souls Day. You may know, some times the mail order hatcheries send along an extra chick with your order. It’s a bit of good will: in the event one or … Continue reading
© 2010 Fritz Nordengren. All rights reserved.
Over the last four weeks, I’ve been sending this year’s crop of chickens to freezer camp. I’ve written about saying Grace and the importance of the chickens to the way of life here at Two Mile Ranch. This is not … Continue reading
© 2010 Fritz Nordengren. All rights reserved.
It seems neither of my digital cameras has working batteries — they seem to hold a charge or a few frames, and then shut down. So for now, cell phone images are the order of the day. A buyer of … Continue reading
Today was a big day for the 8 week old ducks: they went to the pond. They moved into the duck pen from the brooding room in the barn earlier in the week after this morning, before I began reviewing … Continue reading
© 2010 Fritz Nordengren. All rights reserved.
The scene was bucolic, pastoral, and very much small farm. I have written about building poultry pens in the 1940′s barn, converting what was left of stalls into poultry wire enclosed pens for the meat chickens, the turkeys, and a … Continue reading
© 2010 Fritz Nordengren. All rights reserved.
I’ve been working since early spring on the barn. The barn, built in the late ’30s or early ’40s has not been used for livestock for at least 20 years, maybe longer. And before that, I don’t think it was … Continue reading
© 2010 Fritz Nordengren. All rights reserved.
This is the fifth batch of pheasants raised here at Two Mile and they arrived today by US Postal service at the post office. I stopped by yesterday and told the postmaster they were coming, and this morning, I got … Continue reading
© 2010 Fritz Nordengren. All rights reserved.
There are two laws of nature on Two Mile Ranch:
1. I share life here, I don’t own any of it. Dog, land, chickens, trees. All are shared, none belong to me.
2. In a battle of graduate degree vs nature, nature always wins.
Continue reading
© 2010 Fritz Nordengren. All rights reserved.
Heritage turkeys are experiencing a renaissance on the small farm, buoyed by interest in local food, and media articles like this Thanksgiving New York Times article: “It’s a hot item,” said Bill Niman, a prominent advocate for sustainable agriculture who … Continue reading
© 2010 Fritz Nordengren. All rights reserved.
My Sunday mornings include listening to Lynne Rossetto Kasper and The Splendid Table®. Sunday’s episode included a discussion of “french chickens” sometimes called “Freedom Rangers” or “Colored Range” chickens – the chicken breed I grew this year. Continue reading
© 2009 Fritz Nordengren. All rights reserved.
Fresh snow is perfect for making snow angels. And by tradition, Christmas is the best time to be visited by ghosts from the past. Last year about this time, King Louie, Scout and Ace were still hanging around Two Mile … Continue reading
© 2009 Fritz Nordengren. All rights reserved.
The tradition of saying Grace – a prayer or expression of thanksgiving prior to a meal has personal meaning this week. As I gathered each of the first 14 meat chickens I raised, I held each one, talked to it, … Continue reading