Feeding the calf, et al

Today was a magical day. By far the best I've had on the farm to date.

Usually I pick up our food on Fridays, but this week was different. This week I went to Tara Firma Farms on Saturday. And as luck would have it, I got there just as a tour was starting, which I joined immediately. These farm tours are awesome and it's never the same thing twice. Today we hung a right after the chicken brooder to see the 1 week old calf that had been abandoned by her mother after birth. In groups of 2-3, we came into her little pen and said hi.


I pet her and she tried to nurse my fingers! This animal was amazing to me. Only 7 or 8 days old and she was already the size of a great dane.

photo from http://www.seattleweekly.com/

Sometimes the brown love resembled a large deer, with her large ears and big brown eyes. Other times she very clearly looked like a mini cow. Either way, it was hard to believe that this huge animal, complete with teeth, was merely one week old.


The tour moved on to the piglets, who were now running and bunting with their mama elsewhere. These nearly 50 pound animals had been little jelly beans on our first trip to the farm back in April. Today we got in the pen with them and they approached us and smelled our hands. To recap: I've pet a calf and had it try to (gently) eat my hand, and now have pet the pigs. Awesome.


Next we walk by the gardens and back to the farm store, where I get my meat, veg, fruit and eggs. Just then, Tara says "we've got the feed the calf." Without thinking twice, Olivia (the 11 year old volunteer farmhand) and I volunteer for the job. "Great!" says Tara. "This is what you do..." Excellent! We grab a quart-sized bottle with a nipple the size of a hot dog, fill it with powered milk for calves and top it off with water. Next, Olivia and I set off for the calf. Tara showed us how to feed her and she drank the whole bottle, plus two more bottles full of water. After we finished feeding her, Olivia turned to me grabbed my hand and said quite matter-of-factly "Now we'll feed the pigs the cracked eggs." OK!

We each grabbed one dozen of the best eggs in the world and climbed into the pig pen with the largest of the young pigs. When we got there they were ALL sleeping. Then suddenly, Olivia made a sound and they ALL sprang to life! All 50 of them. All 50 of the 250lb pigs were awake and mighty interested in eating my shoes. And my ankle tattoo. They didn't do more than tickle, though. We threw the eggs on the ground and the pigs made quick work of the orange-yolked beauties. One pig walked between my legs, and then another followed suit. The second one, being ever so slightly larger than the first, nearly knocked me over into the pig pile! Olivia and I couldn't stop laughing!


After all of our eggs had been devoured in a mass of snorting and grunting, we went back to the farm store to wash up, tidy the veg and grab some wilted mustard greens for the chicks and goats. The chicks were very excited about the greens. The goats, who were out of their pen and had just been on a tour with Tara, were less thrilled with the wilted greens and far more enamored with the rose bushes and weeds and grass and trees. Try as we might to get the pet goats back into their pen with the mustard green "carrot" trick, these three gals wanted no part. They'd rather scale the trees for low branches and leaves. Finally, with the help of four children under 10 years and a very kind man and his dog's leash, Olivia was able to get all three back in their pen.


Needless to say, I went home smelling like a barnyard. The calf and the piglets and the calf again and then down and dirty with the pigs and the chicks and finally the goat herding left me with a smell unlike any other. My shower has never been as welcoming as it was today. What a truly magical day.

Where does your food come from?

Do you know where your food comes from? McDonalds? Kraft? The Chinese restaurant around the corner? Vending machine? AM/PM? Walmart? Safeway? Whole Foods? Your local, independent grocery store? Farmers Markets and Farm Stands? CSA's? Your own garden?

Today Eric, Megan, and I got up close and down and dirty at Tara Firma Farms, our local CSA. We held chicks, fed and pet goats and pigs, and talked with cows.

Full disclosure: I frickin love this place. Tara Firma, to me, is heaven on Earth. It is a model for food production and needs to be both recognized and celebrated as an economically viable, sustainable, healthy and delicious choice.

The Tara Firma list of amazing never gets tired. These farmers love animals and food, and it shows. For me, it was love at first bite.

Today we took the 25-30 minute drive up 101 just past the Novato Narrows and barely into Southern Petaluma. Megan had been saying how she wanted to come up with us, so the three of us strapped on our trainers and prepared for a muddy Monday Farmday.

It's always an adventure when we go to the farm. The animals are rotated from paddock to paddock to mimic herd movement and maximize grass productivity. This tends to make for a wonderful game of "where are the chickens and cows today?"

We got close to the cows today. And they were very interested in us, too. This herd is all black with the exception of "White Face" and the few dark brown calves that I lovingly refer to as "Veal". Megan and I got our moo's going, and the cows responded in three part harmony.

After the cows, we walked the path past the farm store, biodynamic gardens, the massive compost pile, and all those ladybugs to see the PIGLETS! Three pens were set up with four litters of piglets, the cutest little animals you've ever seen.

The oldest litter was up and running, chasing each other around in circles and diving under their lean-to huts. Oh my god. They looked like spotted puppies with curly tails. Precious! The younger piglets were entangled in sleeping, twitching pig piles. Piglets might be some of the cutest animals EVER.

Next came more pigs. These older guys were hysterical. Eric had a great running commentary for them, very "Walk on the Wild Side." With the aide of his voice overs, the pigs enjoyed rooting and snorting and digging and instigating and eating potatoes from my hand and being the noisiest eaters ever (save one or two people I know) and scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching...

Seriously, we could have stayed here all day. But it was starting to rain, and we still needed to buy some bacon.

Our day at the farm was wonderful. There's something magical and very fulfilling about knowing where your food comes from. The food simply tastes better, too. But don't take my word for it. Please, come and find out for yourself.