tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85826758481592817052024-11-01T07:00:53.743-04:00Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-39997507848484703862011-06-16T20:07:00.000-04:002011-06-16T20:07:17.738-04:00

As you know, we had a great time a Grits and Groceries last month as being the featured pork and beef dish during their Farm to Fork Dinner.  Heidi, the owner, gave our name to Morgan who contacted us about a pig for Memorial Day for his pig picking.   After many hours of me trying to catch a pig and looking like a fool-much like the first time that I went to pick up a pig, David

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-13994448688799019062011-05-30T11:38:00.000-04:002011-05-30T11:38:21.790-04:00

We had the pleasure of being asked by Heidi and Joe Trull from Grits and Groceries to provide the beef and pork portion of the meal for their monthly supper club.  We were truly honored. If you haven't been to this cute little restaurant at Saylors Crossroads, then be sure to stop by for some great food.   David and Sarah Katherine in front of their big chicken They

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-82910391588759131692011-05-26T09:00:00.003-04:002011-05-26T09:00:07.777-04:00

When cattle get out and you get a phone call in the middle of the night that you have several cows in the road-- it's aggravating. When it's snowing and you are on a tractor riding down the road with images of "Dumb and Dumber" with snot frozen to their face to feed hay-- it's miserable.  I am so glad I don't live up North! But, in the Spring when you ride out to check cows and you see a

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-554497649448956802011-05-25T08:01:00.000-04:002011-05-25T08:01:10.472-04:00

Our goal here at Clear Creek Farm is to support agriculture in the area. We do this by producing a healthy product for the local community and also supporting local groups. One group that is near and dear to our hearts is our local 4-H.  Jenny Mountford, the local 4-H organizer,  puts in a lot of time and effort to make sure that our kids have the opportunities to be educated in

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-80467249392085964402011-04-25T17:40:00.000-04:002011-04-25T17:40:20.317-04:00

When people think of spring break they think of beaches, mountains, lakes, pools, or a theme park. My husband thinks of working--in the way of processing chickens! I am such a lucky girl let me tell you.  To give him credit, it is about the only time that the two of us are off of work where we can work together to get things done.   So, our plan was to knock out the processing of the

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-91894676602394728562011-04-18T19:06:00.000-04:002011-04-18T19:06:46.467-04:00

I thought that I would use something that we had plenty of so I could try and try again until it was perfect---so I used EGGS since we have SO many of them.  The first part is the most boring part-boiling eggs! If you have never boiled an egg then here is a quick tip: Bring the eggs to a boil. When there is a rolling boil, shut off the heat and let them sit for 10 minutes.  Oh, also,

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-69580553800007747672011-03-15T11:10:00.000-04:002011-03-15T11:10:10.476-04:00

So these cute little babies arrived to the farm a couple of weeks ago, three to be exact. Aren't they adorable. They are definitely the cutest at this stage. Even Sarah Katherine couldn't stop picking them up. So after two to three times a day feedings, filling up waterers, and also adding shavings every couple of days to their bedding, it was time for them to be moved outside.  With all

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-33451069458716144302011-03-06T23:47:00.000-05:002011-03-06T23:47:30.269-05:00

Sarah Katherine and I decided to do some landscaping a couple of weeks ago when we had that beautiful weather.  We opened all the windows to freshen up the house and we headed outside. It was a vicious cycle of us laying down the mulch and then the chickens scratching it all out into the yard.  By the time we finished putting down all of the mulch, it looked like a tornado had come

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-11187932074333830452011-02-23T10:06:00.000-05:002011-02-23T10:06:06.488-05:00

It is a long story, but needless to say the mother and veterinarian in me took over and I bottle raised two of the piglets from Hamlet's first litter.  Sarah Katherine took the liberty of naming them "Shaggy and Scooby". (She watches a lot of classic cartoons with her daddy) Well, Shaggy doesn't know that she is a pig!  She follows us around where ever we go on the farm. If we are

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-2500303676239879492011-02-10T16:54:00.000-05:002011-02-10T16:54:42.531-05:00

We had battled hawks that were eating our chickens.  Then, the "blizzard of 2011" slowed our egg production down to a couple of eggs a day.....we now have 13 dozen eggs every 6 days!  These are some working girls! We wash the eggs daily and package them into recycled containers. If you would like some eggs then Click Here It is so great to go out to our eggmobile and see

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-178237878391043332011-01-29T07:39:00.000-05:002011-01-29T07:39:52.268-05:00

A lot of leeway is given to the definition of free-range and pastured poultry.  One interpretation is that if a bird has access to the outdoors they can be labeled as free-range, or pastured.  Even though the outdoors may be a fenced enclosure on concrete.  Here is a link to the article: Organic advocates ask USDA to make egg farmers give hens more time in pastures. This is still

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-56589723237619409202011-01-27T07:24:00.000-05:002011-01-27T07:24:51.604-05:00

It was time to expand our chicken flock, and we found a great deal on craigslist for organic egg laying chickens.  The Spring is coming and we really want to hit a lot of the Farmer's Markets in the area so we wanted to make sure we had plenty of eggs for them and our CSA members.  The problem was that the eggs were in Moreland, Georgia.  No, I had never heard of it either but I

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-91679099601530004802011-01-25T10:38:00.000-05:002011-01-25T10:38:22.204-05:00

We finally found our chicken processing pictures!  It was one of the things we were the least enthused about doing with our pastured poultry operation.  We did not know what to expect and we used this past Fall to perform our test run before we built our area to process.  Both of us work off of the farm so we know we will never be processing thousands of birds like Polyface or

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-27175611282736422912011-01-09T23:31:00.002-05:002011-01-11T08:27:42.337-05:00

Egg production has really slowed this winter.  We are all excited about the changes in the season and the chill in the air that winter brings, but the chickens are another story.  As the days shorten and the temperatures drop, egg production decreases drastically.  On commercial farms all of the birds are in climate controlled environments with one square foot each and where the

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-39517870298125670872011-01-09T23:31:00.000-05:002011-01-09T23:31:21.546-05:00

It is the time of the year when most of the grass at the house has played out and it is time to move the cows to new pasture.  Luckily, that pasture is about 1 mile down the road.  I had some great help from our neighbor's son to get the cows loaded on the trailer and over to the rented pasture.  We started at about 3:30 on afternoon and moved 6 trailer loads by dark!  By the

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-56232635852714955832011-01-09T23:30:00.000-05:002011-01-09T23:30:51.426-05:00

We love it when it snows!   The cows were starving when it came time to feed hay that afternoon.  They ran across the creek and swarmed around the hay David was putting out.  Good quality hay is a necessity during these winter months as our pastures start to slow down their growth.  We will feed hay for about another week and then move the entire herd to their winter

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-48311801061830335122011-01-09T22:21:00.003-05:002011-01-11T19:01:30.879-05:00

Our Heritage Spot pigs are one of our favorite animals on the farm.  Yes, their breed is really called Spots because....well, they have spots!  Lots of folks that have toured the farm think we are pulling their leg when we tell them that.  After our eventful experience bringing them to the farm (read "This Little Piggy Went to...Clear Creek Farm) we have learned a lot about pigs

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-9183947562846048652010-12-16T10:37:00.002-05:002011-01-02T08:43:39.824-05:00

 Each Christmas I set aside one day to bake.  This is a day that I can focus on something that I love to do and put aside all of the aggravations of every day life.   It also guarantees that I will not be covered in poop like other days on the farm.  I promise I changed these clothes before I started baking.  (Notice the subtle cow manure pinstripe on this outfit.)

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-16534533354145979762010-11-13T13:52:00.000-05:002010-11-13T13:52:53.413-05:00

There is nothing better on a cold night then sitting in front of the fire and having a good drink to warm you up.  We have a wood stove that we use to warm our house instead of the central heat.  In order to do this, we have to put up a lot of wood, and I mean A LOT of wood! I have to say that I don't help much with cutting wood, but I can sure burn through it pretty quickly.  My

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-13163284387538293422010-09-14T14:06:00.000-04:002010-09-14T14:06:57.712-04:00

I love my daughter.  After thirty minutes of fencing this morning she decided she wanted to go look for tigers and bears?!?  I have no idea.  Actually,  I wasn't doing a very good job of watching her and as I heard a horrible scream I ran around the corner of the barn to see her screaming her head off as she chased a chicken who did not want to be held. Anyway, this search

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-56056029343484810602010-09-14T14:05:00.000-04:002010-09-14T14:05:46.854-04:00

Our first grass fed beef finally ended up at the processing facility!  She almost loaded herself on the trailer.  Every time until now this has been to move her to new pasture.  Danielle helped me back it up to the loading dock while Sarah Katherine snoozed in the truck. This was the long alleyway that lead to the are where the animals go to be processed.  I couldn't

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-28117561355377846632010-09-03T12:25:00.000-04:002010-09-03T12:26:54.153-04:00

What a trip!  I bought my first 80 acres when I was 22 years old and 3 days out of college.  After being turned down by dozens of banks I contacted the Farm Service Agency.  The agent was great and very understanding.  After I had built a farm plan, and done the necessary paperwork I had my first farm.  I still remember my hand shaking when I signed the papers! &

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-74272905079999647202010-08-22T21:15:00.001-04:002010-09-03T12:26:54.158-04:00

One of the first questions that everyone asks is "Why are you doing a CSA?"  We have operated a profitable beef operation for several years and with our careers our time is very limited.  So why would we want to start a production system that stands to be less profitable and more labor intensive.  The answer is very simple... our daughter.   We have both been involved in

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-89587428409426674512010-08-22T07:51:00.001-04:002010-09-03T12:26:54.163-04:00

I almost rolled out of my chair laughing at supper as my wife told of her swine odyssey!  I have read part one of her story and unless your computer has an odor feature that would have allowed you to smell how bad she stunk then i think it is tough to get a solid idea of how bad it was.  After several minutes of laughing I realized that she was not laughing with me and I stopped and

Clear Creek Farmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04358322456625446495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582675848159281705.post-74549240098678190592010-08-21T17:16:00.001-04:002010-09-03T12:26:54.167-04:00

So, as I was trying to do the "Sunday Shuffle" of making breakfast, feeding animals, bathing Sarah Katherine, and get everyone's clothes ready for church, I walked out to witness this . . . . Do you see what a wonderful guard dog Josie is? Let me show you a closer look She just laid there and let that cow belly up to the buffet! She wasn't alarmed at this enormous creature eating all of the

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