Oh, has November in northern Michigan ever been nice. My Canadian aunt has been listing the things she’s still enjoying fresh from her garden. Our own garden has been producing little bits yet. I’ve gotta cook up some pumpkins and squash that got a bit too cold last night, though. Sam stuck a frost ball down his brother’s back this morning, proof of a frosty November night.
Mark’s let the broiler birds out to wander in the sun. They camp out in the sun and the cold wind doesn’t bother them at all. There isn’t any grass to eat, but they get alfalfa in their food and sun on their backs and think life’s good. We’ve been processing some very nice birds, so the system seems to be working well. Last night, in fact, we had a fresh 6# bird for dinner. I roasted it with unrefined sea salt, tyme, garlic, rosemary, and savory rubbed inside it. I thought a 6 pound chicken would leave enough leftovers for chicken salad as today’s lunch. I thought wrong. There’s enough meat and broth left for one or two bowls of soup if I add plenty of veggies.
The little pigs are enjoying the sun, too. They actually sleep out all night. They line up like sardines in a can and don’t stir until the sun steams the frost off them in the morning. They’ll eat the last of the truck load of pumpkins today. I think Keith has the apples under the tree almost cleaned up and fed, too. Potatoes and turnips are the next filler feeds.
With the advent of deer season, our foraging days are on hold, even though the weather would still allow it. We ended up with plenty for finishing the few wooly pigs for this year. Keith was able to “bathe” in some of them–until the others started raining acorns on him.