I arrived in Austin Monday night and I've been staying with one of our panelists, Judith McGeary. When I woke up yesterday, I was greeted by this little guy:
Turkey, an hour old
This diary is full of pics of Judith's farm - which she's told you about in her diary a few days ago about how the developers forced her to sell this farm and move to a new one - and about prep for the party we're having Saturday night.
I'm posting regular updates on La Vida Locavore.
Mike, Judith's husband, told me that this little turkey and his siblings were abandoned by their mother. The mama turkey was sitting on her eggs until she got a surprise... a week before they hatched, one of the eggs in her nest hatched a chicken. Apparently a hen had got in there a few weeks before and she laid an egg. The turkey didn't see the humor in it, and she abandoned her own eggs. Mike carefully placed them all in an incubator, and the turkeys started hatching yesterday (and today, a guinea hatched too!).
During breakfast, I met two other new additions to the farm:
Judith and kitten
These little ones just showed up a few days ago. They have taken up residence in the garage, along with another cat who might be their mom. The mama cat has a collar so Judith called the number on there to see if they have a family.
Also in the garage:
I guess if you're a chicken, a laundry basket looks like a great spot for a nest.
Today, we went to buy food for our party at Boggy Creek. So far, we're planning to serve pecans, melon, cucumber, bell peppers, chevre cheese, smoke-dried tomatoes, and make-your-own omelets with Judith's eggs plus onions, jalepenos, and bell peppers. To drink, I got some ginger peach oolong tea from a local tea company. But that's just the start - we've still got more food to pick up. I'm thinking sticky toffee pudding, a keg of local beer, and some goodies from Whole Foods among other things.
Welcome to Boggy Creek Farm
Before you head into the market, you can see the fields where everything grows
Pecans, the state nut. We'll be eating some of these.
The bane of my existence: arugula
Judith catches up with Carol Ann on all the latest news on Boggy Creek.
Another view of the market. Inside you'll find fridges with chickens, eggs, cheeses, and ice cream.
Jeffrey, showing off his fabulous teas. We'll enjoy his ginger peach oolong at our party. Hopefully Jeffrey will be able to join us so you can meet him.
A visitor decides to come shop the market.
My full bag - $101.40 of food