Oink Oink... Pastured Pork~

 This year we decided to raise our own pigs...

(See previous Pig Posts here and here...)

Why? Because we decided years ago to be more conscious of where our food comes from.

So... here we are! On our dream farm, with piggies scampering about in our pastures.

We are selling pork shares this year, but since it is our first year, we have limited numbers.

If you are interested in reserving a half or whole pig, please email us at peculiarambitions@gmail.com.

I will then email you a detailed information price sheet.

Berkshire Piglets

We only have Berkshire pigs left, and will be getting more Berkshire the end of May.

Berkshires are a heritage breed pigs, renowned for their ability to raise well on pasture and for their yummy, marbled meats. 

Berkshire Links~

Wikipedia on Berkshire Pigs

The History of the Berkshire Breed

Heritage Pork

Our pigs are raised on our no-spray pasture and we feed them soy free/organic grains from Magill Ranch in Oregon. They are kept in a mobile fence that gets moved around our pasture and orchard areas.  

E-i-e-i-oooooo

They are spoiled rotten.... and get plenty of fresh air, clean water, unlimited green grass, sunshine (when it's out), rainbows and happiness! 

We are really enjoying them, they are very happy pigs. 

Lotsa napping and basking too!

 zzzzzzzzzzz

You are welcome to come and visit our pigs, to see how they are being raised and what they are fed, etc. Just drop us an email to set a time.

Here are some helpful links I have found while doing my research...

On Buying a Pig... by Former Chef ~ This post shows a really helpful breakdown of what they got from a whole pig... 

Going Whole (or half) Hog: Buying Pork Directly from the Farmer

How Much Meat from a Pig? .. by LoveLiveGrow.com

Our Dreams are Here, NOW~

There are several blogs that I follow...

They inspire me and give me plenty of food for thought.

One of my favorites blogs is by Melody Ross, of The Brave Girls Club.

Her post this morning talked about the bad habit of waiting for the shoe to drop.

Living in fear of bad things happening...

I am SO guilty of this... I know I am happy and that we are in the midst of such a fantastic, blessed time in our lives, but there is always that voice in my head saying "enjoy it, it may not last". 

That voice comes from years of lean and hard, stressful times. It was a coping mechanism that I needed at the time, admitting there are things I have no control over and just hanging on by a thread.

But those times are years in the past. Life is amazing now, and I am learning how to expect them to stay amazing.  I now know how strong we are, and what we learned from our struggles. 

So really, no matter what the future brings, we will be OK.

I have learned to appreciate the NOW, because NOW is all we really have. 

The past is gone, and the future? It's not guaranteed and definitely not here yet.

I REALLY loved to this part of her post...

"I love this home, and the trees and the water and the peace and the way it seems like it has been waiting for us for all of it’s life. I started thinking about how something could happen and we might not be able to stay….and how I better not get my heart set on it…….better not fall too deeply in love….

But see, it’s too late for that. I am smitten. I am so deeply in love, committed……it’s too late to not fall in love. When the sun came up…..and the pink sky with the big golden light ball started to reflect off of all of it…..my heart broke again thinking about how this water was going to not be here forever.

Suddenly…….my whole soul shook and I felt the words loud and clear…

“MELODY, the water IS here NOW..enjoy it.”

Smack.

WOW. I know better than this…..and I was falling into an ugly old outdated expired trick. I realized I was thinking more about how to protect myself from the heartbreak of not being here, not having this water……..this whole place……than just ENJOYING IT TODAY."

We feel the same way about our farm! 

Like it has been waiting for us it's whole life. 

Now we are here and have magical things planned for it. 

Even after a year and a half, we are still in the "pinch me" phase.

Sitting in a very grateful and thankful place right now.

Life is good.

Cross posted with Reenie's personal blog, ReenieHanlin.com~

Barn Update~

During our gratitude walk this morning,

I took some shots of the new workshop we built on the back of the barn~

This shot came out really blue, my camera's white settings were on fluorescent.

I think it looks dreamy so I kept it.

 Same shot in natural light~

The roof is on, there is still work to be done on the interior walls.

The ends need completed too, but not bad for 10 days!

Cross posted with ReenieHanlin.com~

Sun!!! bbs

I am so behind with my blog posts... and will catch up soon, I promise.

But for now?

The SUN IS OUT (read that as shouting)... and it is to be 80 degrees today. and tomorrow.

I will be outside making a mess of some sort. 

With dirt. or paint. Or dirt AND paint.

I leave you with some of my recent instagram photos (one of my new favorite things)~
My instagram user name is reeniehanlin. Come follow me.

Be back soon. 

xo Reenie

Cross posted with ReenieHanlin.com

Go Big or Go Home...

I call Paul "Go Big or Go Home Hanlin".

Not just because he is a tall, handsome drink of water, it's because if he is feeling passionate about something he goes WHOLE HOG.

Get it?

So now we have SIX pigs.

Three new weaners...  Berkshires. A heritage breed.

Here is a super short video clip of them squealing 

as they were being taken from the car to the hoop house.

Wee wee wee all the way home!

For now I am calling them Stink, Stank and Stunk.

Stick & Brick are very excited. (Straw not shown)

Group photo!

LIFE=ART

This morning I read a really fantastic blog post by Todd Henry, author of The Accidental Creative.
I have his book on the "To Read" pile, but in the meantime have been following his blog.

The post was called "The Urgency of Treating Life as Art".

This post TOTALLY ties in with our Mission Statement for the farm!

Please, please take a few minutes and go read it.

My favorite part of the post....

"I have determined that this year – the year in which I’m writing my 2nd book, growing two businesses, living in airports, and working to be the father, friend, and husband I must be – I will be treating my life more like the work of art it is.

Here are a few ways I’ll be doing that:

1. Slow down. I am not a pinball, bouncing from thing to thing. Life is not mine for consumption, it’s mine for experience. Experiences are only real if they are internalized through reflection. I will slow down this year, even in the midst of my busyness.
2. Synthesize. Great artists are synthesizers. They notice. They take in their environment and weave things together to make them more beautiful. I want to traffic in beauty this year, not pragmatics. I want to take the time to be thematic.
3. Energize. I aspire to bring more energy into every event, meeting, and encounter than I take away. I want others to feel energized by my presence, not drained. Even when I see my own energy level diminishing, I aspire to pour whatever I have into that moment.
4. Immerse. I want to be present – deeply, truly present – in my work, with my family, in my thoughts. My writing. My relationships. My serving. I want to be…here…now. Always.

Art is not perfect. It is not ideal. It is not comfortable. It challenges, provokes, stands for itself. There isn’t always a rationalization for its ineffable value. Yet, it stands."

This is exactly what our goal is, helping people find more time to savor life.  Soon we will be holding events and workshops to provide the inspiration to make big (or small) changes in your lifestyle. A place to share and grow.

Mr. Henry ends his post with this...

"Friends, treat your life as art. Spend yourself wisely. Whatever path you are on, walk it well. Live, make, love with conviction."

I couldn't have said it better myself!

Welcome Straw, Stick & Brick

We did it-- the pigs are here.

They are equally cute and nasty.

Stinky, slurpy, grunty, fuzzy babies.

For now they are living in the garden area, with the hoop house for shelter and an electric fence to traipse around in. Once they are bigger they are moving up to the woods where Paul is clearing several acres for planned apple orchard. There they can forage around and pigerate the ground up for us.

So here is a special welcome to Straw, Stick and Brick.

get it?