Twenty-One Percent of an Orchard

Yesterday Phil and I managed to plant six trees in the afternoon after he ran errands all morning. He and Ara finished processing the pig last night, and the total tally of usable meat was significantly less than anticipated: 265 pounds, which includes all lard, chops, sausage meat, and better cuts. The tenderloin for the two animals was less than three pounds! Our total bacon weight ended up around 25 pounds; I plan to start curing the first 13 pounds tomorrow. This makes our meat price per pound, just for production, an incredible $4.53. Ouch.

But, as Phil reminds me, that was tuition on Pig Raising 101. We found that we mostly enjoyed pigs, but need a variety that thrives better on forages, rather than expensive purchased feed. We learned basic pig care (thankfully, pretty easy), and successfully brought them from small weaned pigs to sows. Besides the basic knowledge, we got more than a ton of manure out of the pigs, they plowed up our field so we don't have to, and we get to eat the end result.

After a very slight rain in the night, we prepared for a solid day of digging holes. The extra moisture was just enough to make the soil easy to work with—by yesterday it had become quite caked, so we were thankful.

Incredibly, we got the next 18 trees planted. In one day! We're getting faster and better, and we're now 21 percent done.

Besides that, Phil also burned our huge pile of roots during the lunch break. (In the photo below, you can see my garlic sprouts in the foreground.)



And he gave the boys sticks to whittle, and brought them a box of Band-Aids, just in case.



And this morning he drove over some hay we'd used to mulch our field. The mower chopped the hay and flung it wide. The residues should break down more readily, and the soil has a more thorough layer of mulch.

(Speaking of mulch: I didn't know what it was a couple of years ago. Basically, no soil in nature is naked. Either grass or fallen leaves or weeds cover the soil, protecting it from erosion. Farmers and gardeners, to imitate nature, also cover their soil, with mulch, to protect it. Mulch can be anything: grass clippings, wood chips, hay or straw. Some city folk even use rocks or plastic.)

After the 18 trees were in the ground, I went to make dinner (pork chops from our own pigs! Phil thinks we have 64 of them—well, now 60 of them). While cooking, the forecast rain began to sprinkle. It has fallen steadily all evening, and the forecast says it will rain until Monday. That seems a very long time from now.

As for the pork chops, I have never been a big fan. Like T-bone steaks, meat with bones requires a lot of effort for not a lot of meat. I actually don't remember ever purchasing or eating pork chops in all my married life.

But the Sage Pork Chops I prepared turned out amazingly well. Phil said, "This is the best pork chop I've ever had." I'm not even sad to have 60 more to cook. What a wonderful surprise!

I include the photo below as a salute to Hans Holbein the Younger, who painted The Ambassadors with a mysterious smear in the front, that turns out to be a fantastic foreshortened skull. My photo also has a mysterious object in the front, but mine turn out to be only two pig heads, complete with snouts and brains.



It's not everyone who gets to have such interesting frontyard decor!