Blogs are a great writing challenge for anyone needing motivation to keep the wheels turning. The sheer frequency of having something to articulate is discipline enough. With the New Year charging out of the gates like a mad bull in January, I have only now come up for air. Turns out the air is thick with the cloying smell of turkey poo. A long month of doing a minimum outside to get by led to a super gross pile up in the turkey pen. Even then, through my watering eyes I could still see the beauty of natural fertilizer to add to the compost. However, vital lessons have been learned. As I am only now inching my way through a complex month of socials, school, work, major life events, crisis, and illness, I have been assessing the practicality of keeping a backyard farm in the midst of an urban life. I still hold it is feasible. Even with life coming at you. However, I am knocking turkeys off of the list of animals that can be farmed year round. They are large. They eat a lot, require big space, and a very efficient system for handling waste product. I sort of view turkey as a specialty. I will likely continue to raise my own between August and November for Thanksgiving, maybe even until December for Christmas mole, but beyond that- no more. They other thing about turkeys is that they provide food for a feast. Cooking a bird means having a plan to eat the bird with a large group.

All said and done. I liked the turkeys. They are amazing hardy animals. Ducks are next on the list. Much smaller, easier to contain and their housing can be interwoven with the landscape design.