The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball (21 August)

7/15

Prolog

• working planted radishes
• farm is large/cows/pigs/snow melting
• use no tractors
• no herbicides
• provides food for the year (pay 2-3 thousand per year)
• farming transforms you
• deprived from the pleasure of denial

Part one

• people like organic food
  • slaughter a pig…had never done that before
    • saw it shot
    • worked on carcus
• Author lost life as a vegetarian
• food was like one night stand  (author)
• dirt +water +plant=food
• farmers eat like princess
• farmers are salt of the earth
• farmers don’t have a TV
• you need to get away from the market
• give things away  back and forth/ everything is good with that/
• Mark wanted to build a new house
• filled backseat with butter and veggies
• unpacking food from Mark and interacting with another dog owner.
• wants sheets on a stringer
• Marks farm made her feel very calm
• lifestyle choices…healthiest person….honest work
• She worked on the farm, and the food that was from Marks farm
• She was holding a gun, Mark took it from her and killed a deer.
• Healthy food tells you to eat and desire to eat
• Mark did not fit in New York
• talk of culture differences (11%) page 31  7/16
• Mark asked the author to give up what she had developed
• He sort of proposed to her, pin ball machine game
• Looked with a farm with Mark
• Her Mom liked food well packaged (not the chicken in a bag)
• Mark made a magical thanksgiving dinner for the authors family
• Does she need a long engagement?
• Mark did not want to use electrics  (used candles)
• even plumbing
• create a chicken coop and a bee hive
• even had a chicken slaughter
• “The  magic circle”  good things are to come!
• Mark was offered land  (from his magic circle) to lease.
• From Essex  she learned about neighbors helping out neighbors
• these two inspected the farm
  • they were both sort of  sad
  • then, he found good soil

Part 2

• The farm got better in their imagination
• building a farm from scratch
• free everything for a year
• Had $18,000 dollars between the two
• CSA-community supported agriculture developed in the 1980s
• by shares in the farm
• cuts out middleman
• he liked grains and flowers
• it was a logistic nightmare
• choose hand milking over a machine milking
• needed to clean up, check out cash flow, pastures, and gardening
• Mark did not like tractors…(thus draft horses)
• They started shopping for a cow (different types)  (22% page 62)
• interested in milk rich in fat and solids
• This cow produced about 5 gallons per day
• used a milking stool
• took about a month to break into the process
• Did not have filter or other necessary equipment needed
• supersizing stuff for farming
• farming might be  losing proposition
• A dog (3) attacks a cow, even cut off their ears.   They ended up shooting the dogs.
• Everyone know them and their farm, the towns.
• Put in a wood stall in an office building
• A carpenter (Thomas) had gout and was no supposed to be drinking
• It’s OK to not talk at all
• No one was interested in organic food
• Talk about being needy…it’s all about satisfaction
• Mark traveled from NJ to Seattle, and stayed with many farmers on the way, he also did work for them too.
• Keep this simple and small, feed yourself and your neighbors  (29%  7/18)
• There was much work to do inside…it was also very cold inside
• They were working for work horses  for farming
• breeders produce horses that will sell
• marketing for mares to buy
• even shot a calf behind the barn took place
• Bought Belgium  geldings who are built to work
• they were 18 hands tall!
• Mark brought home ice fish (ice fishing) who created a nice fish dinner
• The author became nervous about getting married  😦
• The cow is the great converter.  Farmers need cows to survive!
• Raw milk from a Jersey cow…it’s a great drink.  Now chemicals and pasteurization.   It’s warm and sweet.  It kills all bacteria
• Milk from a cow is probably from a Holstein.
• taste of milk is directly related to what the cow eat
• TMR:  Total Mix Ration
• Got wrapped up in marriage plans and farming chores
• talked about walking back from the farm in a blizzard
• The two developed tools they need for the horses to pull
• They scouted old tools from neighbors who used their old tools as decoration
• They found an Amish sell-out of a farm.  There was no rally good deals!  (36% 7/20)
• 7/21
• Delia was recovering from the dog fight.
• They bought 5 piglets
• They scrambled over the Honda they used for transportation
• Pigs are great eaters
• “I don’t want to tell you what to do”    BUT……
• The  author lost control of the 5 pigs
• the devil has the same cloving feet as a pig
• what is brilliant?  hardware, or even a good ass-kicking!
• Nima was a friend of the Author who came out to see her and Mark.
• Talk about wedding plans?
  • chairs
  • bartender
  • caterer
  • wedding size
  • and Mark hated waste
• They discussed having the wedding clean
• Mark  did not leave a note on a departure to a high school play
• had to much milk and they were getting more cows
• added another stall
• Delia’s ear was starting to stink
• bought some beef cattle, at  a good price
• The seeds for the farm came in a lightweight box (42%) p.119
• was planning on building a green house
• Long work with all the animals on the farm
• cash flow was a one way stream
• it doesn’t have to be beautiful it needs to be functional
• Their whole farm was full of rats.  Rats even chewed through the phone line
• they even got cats to stop the rates. (45%)   p. 124  Part 3
• 7/22
• Romance was put together with the other person, common goal of the two put gem
• Thought of bathing was lost
• Her new life was very personally dating.
• Ended up butchering a cow that got gored
• They needed a sled or a “jumper”  (50%) p. 142
• 7/23
• making a sugar maple…the history…the creation
• creation of maple sap
• evaporator needed to make syrup p. 144
• The author became a morning person.
• making a sweetness from a native source
• Kristian ended up eating a pigeon p.148
• a cow was in heat p. 151
• moving herds is pastures p.153
• Show no doubt or fear when moving cattle p. 153
• turkey babies p. 153
• can live with dirt
• not eating their own  food
• wanted  some social life  (seeing movies) entertainment
• the farm can get to you p.155
• rule:  cook 1 meal from the farm
• Last thrill to leave her was shopping!
• Had nothing to fall  back on
• Kristian was in love with the work p. 157
• Then farming is a form of expression p.159
• Mark did not want to get overworked. p. 159
• shifting to marketing
• could they offer consistency?
• drug dealing marketing  p. 162  (58%)
• 7/24
• recruiting people to work the farm
• had direction with people who were members
• members were happy even though the process wasn’t legal
• local news of farming  p. 166
• the veggies started to come (in spring)
• first year of farming, there was much generosity  p. 169
• you need to plow before you plant seed p. 169
• discussion  about right/left direction while plowing
• focus was on the land, not returning phone calls  p. 175
• grew no nonsense crops  p. 176
• Delia was going to give a calf P. 177
• extra testosterones is rough on a farm   p. 179
• the afterbirth or cleaning came out after birth (about 15lbs)  65% p. 181
• 7/26
• Admiring clean “new” calf
• June was the month when the most work on the farm
• dairy cows can get milk fever P. 183
• Being a farmer, you are  actually married to the farm p.186
• mark was still courting Kristina
• Eating nettles and lab quarters p. 188
• gave recipe for Scrapple p. 188
• Cut potatoes 10 inches apart p.  190
• planting potatoes in the dark

Part 4 Summer

• The hot day and flies came
• chicken fap their way to death
• thickness of skin or density of skull represents how they fall in slaughter
• Kristina wanted to be composted when she dies
• At first they would eat ANYTHING,  like liver, hearts, brains, or testicles. p.  197
• Even writes about the color p. 198
• Talk about every piece of pig p. 199 (71%   p. 200)
• pickup from the farm was on Friday p.200
• She wanted to assassinate weeds  P. 200
• organic cost more because of weeds p. 200
• best was a two horse cultivator for weed removal p.202
• she got to know her weed enemies.
• vine weed  is super evil.   needed to be cleared by hand.
• needed 5,000 bails of hay for a year P. 204
• made lists while inspecting germination p. 207
• healing a horse’s huff
• “you could hear the plants grow” p. 208
• do you reap what you sow?? p. 211
• frost would kill the weeds in August
• Mark did not like the flow of food from the dirt to the table
• What is your ethic?? p. 215
• world responds to generosity
• talk about castration of a young bull
• people might be expecting glory at the wedding for the bride having an ivy league education
• p. 220 (78%)
• house problems in prep of wedding
• did not keep house in shape during the first year p. 221
• they did not mow their own yard.  The only on  is Essex.
• This was a black mark towards the neighbors
• grass is for grazing…the beef herd mowed the yard. p. 223
• neighbors nodded in approval of the yard.
• demo derby at the county fair p. 229

Part 5

• Picking time was in September (pulling carrots and beets)
• compost spreader.   P. 234
• fear of a horse, running away from fear.  p. 236 (83%)
• 7/29  horse was running to the road, pulling the spreader, then parallel to the road
• mark using bike to chase horses
• worried about the horses, but then they were caught by Mark, and slowed down, and Mark stayed ahead of horses.   They were save for the terrain of going into town.
• Freezing tomatoes, canning, fermenting vegetables in crocks
• harvest day came and was hoping people would come to the sale p. 240
• after pulling out potatoes, about 30 people had come to harvest
• Worried about squash before freezing
• Talk of changing their names after marriage
• No advanced planning for the wedding. 244
• Then all guest came p. 245
• Made rehearsal p. 247
• dinner with their own food p. 247
• the event show THE ACT OF LOVING KINDNESS
• MARRIED IN THE BARN
• Mark showed the farms to the guests p. 250
• Then  Kristina was going to Hawaii for a gig p.252
• She missed the dirt and the work.  p. 254
• ilogueShe then helped another CSA farmer in Hawaii p. 255
• This Hawaiian garden was weeded by hand. p. 255
• Rules of harvesting learned from Mark….it was Faasst!!!
• She was running from her own imperfect self.

Epilouge

• [91%] P.260
• looking for harmony not conflict p. 260
• Every year the membership increases along with worker
• Customers were about  100
• gave birth in own barn
• Death of the horse (silver)
• 1st Christmas Kristin got a puppy
• not as perfect as you want
• Kristin loved the farm.
• worked on a new bull that was born next to an electric fence
• Kristin has rest for tired bones, cook things and eat with other people..
• Kristin stared look at birds p. 270
• farming is like the other side of life p. 272
• potatoes leek soup recipe p. 276

Overall Review:

Two Smiley Faces out or five

It was a good read,  though it didn’t make me really happy (as of our clubs mission).  Reason, it was a good story of a Harvard Educated person, where love and adventure led her to pursue a farming career.   That was enjoyable reading, I’m sure others in the club took a likening to the text, but I was hoping to read some “facts” or processes that I could use that would help me and others in gardening.  I know the club has read books that appealed to me/but not to others.  So yes, it was a good read (notice notes above), but maybe a little lacking on process.  Though the book was concluded with some vegetable recipes..

Other buds;

#1.   This months memoir was interesting and well-written, but it really had nothing to do with gardening, plants, or nature.  When I read an M-Buds book, I prefer to learn something about one of these topics either from the book itself or the discussion it sparks.  This one falls short.

#2.   Scan_20180821 (2)

#3.  First met and he ordered broccoli, and she still like hum

• slaughtered a pig
• she’s a vegetarian
• took a couple of day for her to interview him
• he is quite bossy
• willing to gamble on what he believes in
• using horses for plows and weeding by hand
• they both worked toward the same goal of a organic diet so complete they would not have to go to a grocery store

I give it  5 smiley faces….truly enjoyable!