The Life and Times of the Plume

Good morning to you all from our beautiful little farm on the wild and winding Snake River in the sagebrush sea of Idaho. It’s a good day to be alive! The sun is rising and the sky is electric pink as far as I can see to the East. Behind me, out our big bowed window in the kitchen, I can see the canyon rim lit by daybreak and the night rolling back into the West.

The farm is awake. The pigs are squeaking for breakfast. The turkeys are turbo charged. The hens are rooting through the compost pile at the far end of the garden while the roosters strut about. The horses are in slack-hipped repose, waiting on the warmth of morning to hit them and chase away the chill of night. In the pine trees, the owls are hooting, full of the mice and voles they hunted in the hayfield all night. All is well here! All is well.

Our farm grew a little last month when we acquired a few kunekune pigs — a sow, a boar and a piglet. They are Pumpernickel, Rye Bread and Jeffrey and have added so much life and comedy to our place. It’s a joy to have them. These pigs will be pasture raised and we will be raising a couple piglets a year to eat and to render lard from which I am really looking forward to. The piglet surplus will be sold off to friends, local 4H kids and anyone else who needs a piggy! It’s so special to know these animals before they become our food — some of you will be able to understand that and some of you won’t, and that’s ok with me. I just want to say that it is possible to be friends with our food. These things are not mutually exclusive.

Pumpernickel and Rye Bread will be our kunekune breeding pair for years to come and Pumper is currently pregnant with her next batch of little squeakers, they will be due mid-May. I witnessed the piglet making a few weeks ago with my own two eyes which was both gross and delightful as these things tend to be…

What I really love about having these pigs (and all the livestock we keep here) is they aren’t just future food. I have come to know that this is such a narrow view of what farm animals are (and I’m not talking about industrial farming right now, I’m talking about small farming). While they are alive and being tended to and cared for they all seem to serve great and small purposes. The chickens spread manure when they are eating larvae and flies in the summertime. The turkey tasks are similar to the chicken tasks except they have a bigger footprint, they cover more territory. The horses create FOOD (manure) for my garden soil! The pigs will help turn my garden spaces for me in the spring and fall, they are masterful at cleaning orchard-fall which we have a lot of here, and I am happy to tell you we currently have ZERO food waste in our household thanks to these piggies. Not a single scrap goes to the landfill here. Livestock eats the things people cannot eat and they turn those bugs, weeds, grubs, rotten fruit, grass, hay into muscle, bone and fat. It’s pretty brilliant. It’s pretty cosmic. It’s pretty simple.

While I have always known what the terms “biodynamic” and “regenerative” mean, it is fun to be slowly implementing the concepts on our own little farm. The future of food, farming and ranching in this country will be found in small, biodynamic, regenerative and diversified farms. It’s pretty fun to be one of many, many young families in this country joining this movement. I never want to tell you guys how to eat, I always ask you to simply do your best. But it’s more important than ever that we see the value in quality, locally grown foods. Please get to know your farmers and ranchers, do a work/food trade, show up at farmers markets, take up CSA shares, buy local meats (and look beyond steak and chicken breasts), keep your money in your community. Eat well. Be well.

In other news, Hawk and Resero are as wonderful as ever. I’ve had my nose to the grindstone working hard to prepare for this show in Jackson and have been utterly remiss with regards to horsemanship practices here. I look forward to squandering more of my time on my beauties in March, being out in the wind and sage, pressing up against the sky, sweat and leather.

We’re starting to make our springtime plans for the farm and gardens. I’m hoping to plant more forsythia, flowering quince, horse chestnut, catalpa, roses, poplar, and perhaps some locust around here. But I’m especially looking forward to planting some tobacco flower in the garden which I have heard is one of the most beautiful flowers of all. We are under contract to grow a few hundred pounds of our heirloom garlic for a small, fermented garlic company in Ketchum this year. By and by the days lengthen and the growing season approaches. All my green fingers have started twitching in my sleep. It’s almost time to plant! It’s nearly time to grow.

Lastly, all the pups and meows are doing wonderfully. Penelope was recently snatched by an eagle which is a story I will share with you in full in the next few weeks. Don’t fret. It all turned out ok. Tater Tot has taken up his position as King in Farley’s absence (we miss the old boy every day). Ernest is phenomenal. We haven’t lost a single critter since he began his guardianship in late summer. His talents and gifts are one of the things I am most thankful for at this time in my life. What a dog, and what an honor to be able to give him a job and the life he deserves. We’re starting a new pointer this spring! I can’t wait to share him with you!

The sun is up now and I must begin my day. I hope all is well with you.

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