When you look across each of my favorite platforms, (Instagram, Substack and here on the Blog) you will see how each of the platforms show TODAY on the farm. They are like old fashioned telegrams delivered to you as fast as possible.
Many bloggers stack their posts days and sometimes weeks ahead. Here I publish a blog post the morning after I take the photographs.
We are in late autumn out here on the farm in Central Illinois so each of the images that you see are late autumn right now, right here. I’m not setting things up weeks ahead or writing stuff then post-dating it to publish in a week or a month. Your posts are totally relevant and absolutely current. Each one of the images I create for you are from yesterday.
Each one of the stories is NOW.
This is my promise.
You are on the farm with me, right now.
🍁You see what I see.
And what is lovely is that you also see the colors change through the seasons, the land shows her changing colors. I capture them for you. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. No matter how hard I try to stray, each of my accounts comes back to; you and I going through the seasons on the farm together. I always come back to this.
And today though there is still some lush green; the bright oranges have begun to fade to beige. We are drifting inexorably into winter.
Instagram shows this instantly.
And the 10 minute SoundScapes on SubStack are a beautiful extension of the kitchens garden blog. In the same vein but video. A natural and totally relevant segue. And all current. You will watch the landscape change with the seasons.
I make the 10 minute videos two days ahead. Now you can see 10 minutes a day of what is going on right here on the farm in moving pictures with sound. This works beautifully with the blog and Instagram where I publish my reels and favorite pictures.
I hope you can join us on SubStack. Subscribe here. (Last night was WaiWai making his bed). Tonight is the last free night this month. It is magic!
If you don’t believe in magic – you will never find it. Roald Dahl (paraphrased)
Where should I place the camera today for our Friday 10 minutes.
The White Chickens
The White Chickens are getting quite fat. They have 10 days to go and I don’t want them to get too fat (or they will not be healthy) so I am feeding them twice a day now. Not three times a day. And, starting yesterday; in the daytime I will open their fences right up so they can get out to the grass.
The free range chickens are REALLY free range now – filling up on even more greens.
It goes without saying that Tima is locked in her field at the moment. Just for another week, I tell her. Or she will have all these chickens scattered to the winds as she eats their food. Not happening. I let her out in the evening after I’ve shut the chickens back in. But she is ‘ not amused’.
FreeBee has a cold
I am fairly sure it is only from the change in the seasons. We have had no visitors (pigs can catch human bugs). But he is a bit sniffly and sneezy. No temp though.
He will have aspirin a couple of times a day and I covered him with straw the last few nights for warmth. I make my pig sounds “ hooney hooney” as I enter in the dark so he does not get up and once he has answered I cover him deep so he stays warm.
Also I have placed the spare door against the outside of their sleeping pen to stop any draft from the big doors.
The nights are cold the days are quite lovely so I hate to close the big barn doors up yet because then they miss the sun. Closing everything up will come though.
These old barn doors are huge and very heavy.
The calves
Today I am bringing the calves in from the big fields to their smaller winter field.
This is where John had his field garden with the corn and tomatoes. The garden is gone now but there is be a lot of good eating in here yet.
So, lots to do!
How about you?
What post shall I put my phone camera on today? What would you like to watch and listen to for 10 minutes this evening.
Have a lovely day.
Celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
16 responses to “Posts like Telegrams”
Poor FreeBee – at least he has the best farm nurse available!
I always like watching the pigs, Nanny Boo and Quacker 😉
I set up a great shot for this evening and you are going to laugh out loud when you see it.
Jude IS SO BAD!!!
Ha ha – I’m looking forward to it!
Wai was so methodical on the video last night in his bed making as he blazed a trail all around and stacked up the middle! I laughed at the idea of watching the Bobby’s again given the mischief #2 was up to last time. That could be very interesting to see what he manages with a chance to get his nose into things again 🙂
Maybe we should call them Mischief 1 and Mischief 2 – except they are not supposed to have names!
That’s what I love about your blog. It’s in real time!
I do too. Scheduling posts would do my head in!
Are you processing the white chickens yourselves? They look like they will be excellent eating; I only have a small garden area but we keep a few layers and once in a while we’ll let a broody hen raise chicks–and we eat any cockerels. They always taste amazing, but I still dread the Last Day.
Good for you though – harvesting the cockerels. I was raised on a beach so I do not know how. And I am not brave enough. Plus There are too many.
There is a tiny local poultry processing place close to here. Family owned – by the women in the family. I will take them down there next Monday.
I’m a city girl myself 🙂 It does require a certain gritting of teeth and I’m allowed to cry if I need to. I had two extra drakes one year: they were the worst jerk birds I’ve ever met: aggressive to us, to each other, and to our poor overmated ducks. Unlike the cockerels (who get a bad rap in my opinion) it was somewhat satisfying to give them the chop, and need I mention how delicious they were?
Ha ha!!! I understand totally that satisfaction! I had a mean drake once years ago and trapped him and took him to live in a really huge pond at a friend’s place. I was happy to see the last of him. He was even chasing after my chickens. Horrible bird.
I do agree about the importance of writing and posting in the here-and-now! However far apart we are in distance and local times it leads to a feeling we are having that cup of tea together! That is probably the reason Instagram is such a favourite with me. Daresay if one posts recipes on a purely food blog there is less importance, but . . . Love the size your meat chickens have reached but wonder about their final cost – initial purchase and the end stage to be paid for . . .
They cost 3 dollars to buy as chicks and 4 dollars to dress. And I grow the majority of their feed (grains from the fields) so not too bad. But – who wants a cheap chook anyway!
*laughter* Am not suggesting you do . . . the cost is slightly lower than I thought . . . the main thing naturally being their healthy meat . . .
Yes!! 🛵🤭
I agree that if you are writing about a way of life, you should relate the stories of that life as they happen. I’m not much of a one for preparing stuff ahead either; occasionally I’ll do a ScrapHappy post in advance because they *must* come out on a certain day, but mostly I write and post on the same day a thing happens. I think it’s important for retaining the authentic voice – which we certainly get in your posts – and for staying in touch with actual events and progress on the Farmy. I think you’re wise to send your meat birds out for processing; it’s a messy, tedious business doing multiple birds unless you’re set up for it with the cones, scalder and plucker.