A Traditional Farm Life - Ham and Asparagus

A Traditional Farm Life

By Shasta Hamilton

Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends!  The emerging sense of a life-long dream being fulfilled is heady stuff.  Realizing you are but a step or two away from a goal, that has hereto now always seemed just out of reach, gives you light for one step more.

The lamp of sustainable living has been burning for my husband and I for more than seventeen years now—as long as we have been married, in fact, and perhaps even longer.  Sometimes it burns bright, sometimes the lamp is trimmed and only a soft glow fills the room, but it has remained burning nonetheless.  The circumstances of our life together have ebbed and flowed, precipitating frequent moves even though the desire to “settle down” has always been there. 

And now we find ourselves owners of 11 acres on the edge of a quiet rural Kansas town, and current circumstances seem to be indicating our desire to put down roots is at long last being fulfilled.

For us, sustainable living means knowing how to provide—with God’s help—for our daily needs of food, clothing, and shelter.  We may never be completely independent of the local grocery store, but our goal is to provide as much of our “daily bread” as possible—fruit, vegetable, herb, meat, dairy, grain, etc.—and know how to preserve the bounty for future consumption.

Throughout the years of our marriage, we have managed to put different pieces of the sustainability puzzle together, but unfortunately, not necessarily at the same time. We’ve learned many useful rural life skills, but until now there has always been a corner of the barn our lamp of sustainability has never filled with light—the draft horse stall.

My husband grew up around horses on the farm, but they were not used out in the field.  Since he was a child he has dreamed of farming with draft horses, and has passed this dream down to his sons. 

The boys recently finished their round pen for horse training.  Their desire for working with horses grows with each new fence they install, as the horses graze down the tall grass and reveal the possibilities of what our property can become as scrub trees are cleared and pasture reclaimed.  The lamp burns brightly now.

It is heartening to see some of the pieces of sustainable living with draft horses slowly start falling into place, and in typical Hamilton fashion, we put the cart before the horse--literally. 

Our boys went to an auction last Saturday, drawn by the dream of a team of Percheron draft horses.  The team brought more than they were prepared to spend, but a “people hauler,” manure spreader, and horse tack were very much within their price range. 

The “people hauler” is a long wagon with benches along each side, designed for the specific purpose of giving folks horse-drawn rides.  Barring a coat of fresh paint, it will need few improvements.  The only piece missing was the draft horse to pull it.

Though disappointed to return home without draft horses Saturday, Monday morning found the boys in a pickup with horse trailer heading towards Holton to consider an older Belgian draft horse mare. 

Our sons purchased a “Jewel.”  Their gentle giant is quite literally twice the size and weight of our buggy horse Jack.  Her feet are the size of dinner plates—better watch your toes!  This week the horseshoe farrier measured the circumference of one trimmed hoof at a whopping 19 inches!

Once shod she will be able to pull the aforementioned people hauler to give rides on Friday nights at the Enterprise Farmer’s Market.  In the meantime, she has other roles to fill.

We were at a point in our attempt to clean up our property in which we knew some horsepower was necessary, whether it be the type with rubber tires or iron shoes.  Michael and the boys spent some time with Jewel in our garden one evening this week, using a horse-drawn cultivator on an unplanted weedy patch. 

Out of the garden, both older boys practiced “ground driving” Jewel, walking behind her without an implement, holding the lines and giving appropriate commands to be used in future farming scenarios. 

This, dear friends, is the dream:  to see our boys farming successfully with horses.  Our lamp is full of oil; the flame burns bright.  Its light reflects back upon us from a Jewel, and we bask in its warm glow.

While waiting for the boys to return home with Jewel from Holton, my eight-year-old daughter took the reins and cooked our “ladies‘ lunch” while I cut out a nightgown for our four-year-old.  The asparagus spears sautéed in bacon grease and ham drippings were simply sublime.

  

Ham and Asparagus Skillet Dinner

bacon grease

ham slices

asparagus spears

salt and pepper

Melt enough bacon grease to cover the bottom of your skillet.  Fry ham slices to desired doneness, turning once.  When ham is fried, add more bacon grease if necessary and sauté asparagus spears until crisp-tender, sprinkling with salt and pepper and turning occasionally until lightly browned.

Copyright © 2015 by Shasta Hamilton

Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing in Enterprise, Kansas.  She and her husband own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six home-schooled children.  You can reach The Buggy Stop by calling (785) 200-6385 or visit them on the web at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com.

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