Good crop of dog, photo by Victoria Cox
| TURKANA FARMS, LLCGreen E-Market Bulletin August 23, 2019 WHAT'S NEW THIS WEEK:Fish Peppers (hot) and Cubanelles (medium-sweet), 2 for $1.00 Lots of Basil ($3/huge bag) and Tomatoes ($3/lb) Lamb shanks available for your labor day cookout! $10/lb Sorry, haricots verts are sold out. Hi Hopes Hey all, it’s Victoria again.If you caught Mark’s most recent missive, you know we’ve been thinking a lot about fecundity on our farm, how to grow and develop our labor pool-- perhaps by growing our family. We’ve taken his encouragement seriously in spirit, if not in word, and went and got ourselves a dog. Her name is Esperanza, and if I’ve already gushed to you in person about her noble character and heroic origin story, I have no apologies. You’re going to hear it all again.If it were solely at my discretion, our farm would appear somewhere between Hotel for Dogs and the final shot of 101 Dalmatians. As it stands, neither Troy nor Mark are what one might call “dog people,” and I had settled for quietly stashing rabbits and low-profile barn cats in and around the property while biding my time. But if you’ve been here and seen it, you know the score. Our farm is the place that your parents told you about when your old dog went away, a big old farm in the country with lots of room to explore, with a pond and sunshine and lots of friends to play with. And ours exists!Almost as soon as I arrived, I reached out to some local rescues with casual inquiries, but I had a long list of requirements. Visitors are constantly dropping in and out at Turkana, and we’ve got tons of creatures around that aren’t prepared to be chased or eaten, so our dog would have to be polite to everyone. Troy has never had a dog before and spends all his waking time with herbivores, so we’d need a peaceful, thoughtful friend with good table manners to put him at ease. Plus, are there any dogs who know the value of kilims? There were plenty that I was ready to take home immediately, but knew I had to hold out for the perfect fit for our farm.Fortunately for us, our closest local rescue is used to going above and beyond. I found the Sato Project on Petfinder, put in an application, and talked to a few volunteers about our place and our dream dog. I got an email back right away: “I have the perfect dog for you!” The only catch? She’s in Puerto Rico. I hesitated. Then her photo came though, and it was all over. I would have walked to Puerto Rico on the strength of her headshot alone.After I got all the details, the pieces started falling into place. The Sato Project focuses their efforts on a spit of land called Dead Dog Beach in Yabucoa, where they rescue abandoned animals, give them vet care, and then charter rescue flights into New York to connect with local shelters and foster homes. We got her flight number, the date of her arrival, and the number of a volunteer in town who we could talk to with questions. When we showed up at the airport I felt a bit like I was going on a first date, or maybe attending a job interview. Would she look like her photo? Would I impress her? My concerns were quickly dispersed. I’m the sort of person who will sometimes pull up dog reunion videos on Youtube just to have a nice refreshing cry, and our time between pulling up to the hangar and driving home with Esper in tow was essentially a supercut from the best of those. I was carried on a wave of smiling families, wet faces, endlessly wagging tails, and deposited at home to start life with my new baby.There are a lot of different ways to be a farm dog. Plenty of people have working dogs for herding or as livestock guardians, but our Karakuls have been raised without dogs and would likely be offended if we tried to impose one on their self-directed lifestyle. Other people keep terriers to kill small critters on the farm, but Mapquest formally requested that we don’t bring home a dog with a strong prey drive, and we all concurred. Truly, one of the things that’s so perfect about Esper is that she excels at not working. She’s an expert at resting, and constantly encourages us to join her. She loves to wake up early, enjoys a good roll in the grass, and can get reasonably excited about cheese, but her priorities are to keep us close, and to catch up on a lifetime of comfortable lounging.I asked to be matched with an older dog, and Esperanza is probably about eight years old. She’s clearly had a long and complicated life so far, with the marks to show for it, but has also visibly known a lot of love. She has a blood disease from tick exposure, but takes her medicine like a champion. Her eyes light up when we call her “baby”, she knows how to open doors, and if you sit down next to her, she’ll sometimes drape her paw gently over your leg.At this point in the season, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by everything that’s left to do before summer is gone. The garden is producing faster than we can keep up, and it’s already time to start planting for fall. We finally have a plan and a build date for the barn, but the reality of construction looms large in the future. Still, right here around the turn of the season, it’s not hard to be optimistic for the future. It’s cool enough that we put the quilts back on the beds, and sometimes I’ll come upstairs and find Esper sleeping on one like we made it for her. Troy’s family is coming up for the long weekend, and we might be able to catch up on weeding and preserving our bumper crops. I’ve been waiting my whole life for this dog, and now she’s here, and it might just be possible after all.If you’d like to find out more about the Sato Project or donate to their mission, you can find them here.WHAT'S AVAILABLE THIS WEEKFish Peppers or Cubanelles, 2 for $1.00Wild Water Peppers, $2/bunch Tomatoes, full force, $3/lb. Sun Gold tomatoes $4/pint Lots of Rainbow Chard - $3/bunch Cucumbers, $2/lb Mugwort, $1/bunch for infusions or tea Beets, $3/bunch (mixed bunches Chiogga, Detroit Red, Golden, or tell us your preference), Scallions, $2/bunch Kale $3/bunch two different varieties, deep blue green straight leaf and curly leaf Collards, $3/bunch SORREL, $2/BAG MINT: $.75 a bunch Greek globe basil, $3/bag Genovese Basil, $3/bag SHISO LEAVES green or red, $1.00 FOR 10 Turkish pole beans, $3/lb (limited) Okra, $3/lb (limited)EGGS: $5/doz MEATS: We keep some on hand, but it helps to order ahead in case we need to retrieve from our stash in the big commercial freezer GEESE: One remaining, about 8.5 lbs. $10/lb.TURKEYS: A few small ones left over and frozen $11/lb .GUINEA FOWL, We are sold out!ROASTING CHICKENS - We are sold out til Fall LAMB: shoulder roasts at $10/lb, riblets $8/lb, small and larger leg roasts $14/lb, lamb stew $7/lb, shanks, $10/lbPORK: Loin pork chops, $12/lb (2 to a pack, btwn 1 and 1.5 lbs), Jowl (roughly 2 to 3 lbs each), $12/lb, Spare ribs and country ribs $7/lb baby back ribs $8/lb fresh ham roasts (2 to 3 lbs), $12/lb picnic or Boston butt roasts (roughly 2 lbs) SOLD OUT smoked bacon, $12/lb Kielbasa $8/lbDUCKS: SOLD OUT FARM PICKUPS:Email us your order at [email protected], and let us know when you'd like to pick up your order. It will be put out for you on the side screened porch of the farmhouse (110 Lasher Ave., Germantown) in a bag. You can leave cash or a check in the now famous pineapple on the porch table. Regular pickup times are Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., other days by arrangement. If you have questions, don't hesitate to call at 518-537-3815 or email. |
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