Happy Chanukkah!

We wish everyone a Joyous and fulfilling Chanukkah (or holiday that you celebrate).

Our Daughter, April, coined the phrase "Happy ChanuKwanzaChristmaKah" That pretty much sums it up!

Whatever Holiday you Celebrate, we hope it is joyful for you!

Happy ChanuKwanzaChristmaKah From Shekinah Farm!

Schmitta Year

This year is a land rest year (Schmitta Year, see references below). It is commanded for us to keep in the Land of Israel, however, we do practice it here on Shekinah Farm. This means that the coming year we will not be planting produce.

We will have plenty to sell in the area of fiber fleeces and roving. We are hoping to have more finished objects to sell that are knitted, crocheted and woven as well as yarn and craft items. We will also be selling some lambs and calves come summer/fall that are born here this spring.  We will be setting up a store front on Etsy as well under BerrysHomestead. We look forward to serving you with high quality products and service!

We are also updating our website! Good stuff going on at the farm!

From Wiki~

A Sabbath (Shmitah) year is mentioned several times in the Bible by name or by its pattern of six years of activity and one of rest:

• Book of Exodus: "You may plant your land for six years and gather its crops. But during the seventh year, you must leave it alone and withdraw from it. The needy among you will then be able to eat just as you do, and whatever is left over can be eaten by wild animals. This also applies to your vineyard and your olive grove." (Exodus 23:10–11)
• Book of Leviticus: "God spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, telling him to speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you come to the land that I am giving you, the land must be given a rest period, a sabbath to God. For six years you may plant your fields, prune your vineyards, and harvest your crops, but the seventh year is a sabbath of sabbaths for the land. It is God's sabbath during which you may not plant your fields, nor prune your vineyards. Do not harvest crops that grow on their own and do not gather the grapes on your unpruned vines, since it is a year of rest for the land. [What grows while] the land is resting may be eaten by you, by your male and female slaves, and by the employees and resident hands who live with you. All the crops shall be eaten by the domestic and wild animals that are in your land." (Leviticus 25:1–7)
  "And if ye shall say: 'What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we may not sow, nor gather in our increase'; then I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth produce for the three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat of the produce, the old store; until the ninth year, until her produce come in, ye shall eat the old store." (Leviticus 25:20–22)
• Book of Deuteronomy: "At the end of every seven years, you shall celebrate the remission year. The idea of the remission year is that every creditor shall remit any debt owed by his neighbor and brother when God's remission year comes around. You may collect from the alien, but if you have any claim against your brother for a debt, you must relinquish it. ..." (Deuteronomy 15:1–6)
  "Moses then gave them the following commandment: 'At the end of each seven years, at a fixed time on the festival of Sukkoth, after the year of release, when all Israel comes to present themselves before God your Lord, in the place that He will choose, you must read this Torah before all Israel, so that they will be able to hear it. 'You must gather together the people, the men, women, children and proselytes from your settlements, and let them hear it. They will thus learn to be in awe of God your Lord, carefully keeping all the words of this Torah. Their children, who do not know, will listen and learn to be in awe of God your Lord, as long as you live in the land which you are crossing the Jordan to occupy'." (Deuteronomy 31:10–13)
• Book of Jeremiah: Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying: "At the end of seven years ye shall let go every man his brother that is a Hebrew, that hath been sold unto thee, and hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee"; but your fathers hearkened not unto Me, neither inclined their ear." (Jeremiah 34:13–14)
• Book of Nehemiah: "and if the peoples of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy of them on the sabbath, or on a holy day; and that we would forego the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt." (Nehemiah 10:31)
• Books of Chronicles: "... And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia; to fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had been paid her sabbaths; for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. (2 Chronicles 36:20–21)
• Books of Kings: (Isaiah speaking) "... And this is the sign for you: This year you eat what grows of itself, and the next year what springs from that, and in the third year, sow and reap and plant vineyards and eat their fruit. And the survivors of the House of Judah that have escaped shall regenerate its stock below and produce boughs above." (2 Kings 19:20–30).

Happy Thanksgiving! I want to share my thankfulness for my parents and give them honor. 

One of the Ten Commandments is to Honor your Father and your Mother. How do you 'honor' them? In Judaism, it is recommended that a person do the following to show honor to their parents.

Some forms of honor mentioned in halacha (Jewish law):
- Not sitting in a parent's seat (don't take their seat when they get up, don't sit in their 'usual' seat.)
- Not to negate a parent's words, especially in public. (If this is absolutely necessary, one should still do so in a respectful way, and certainly avoid embarrassing the parent.)
- To stand when they enter the room (I haven't seen this practically, except in families of Rabbis and tzaddikim (righteous men). A parent is allowed to forgo this honor.)
- To provide financially for a parent in need
- Not to refer to a parent by name, but rather by "Father," "Dad," "Mother," "Mom" or similar
- To tend to a parent's needs before oneself or other relatives
- To honor a grandparent before one's own parent, since the parent is also obligated to honor their parents

These are a few of the ways we honor our parents. Try putting these into practice in your family. Give thanks this Thanksgiving for your parents!

Hey, Y'all! We have been out of town for the past few weeks and will be heading out again as we are on our quest for a new (hopefully larger) farm in Tennessee!

However, with this search (and hopefully, subsequent move) we need to downsize our 'herd'.

So, from the smallest to the largest we have several animal friends that need homes, some for free, some for sale. Here are the candidates for a new home:

Zippy, a 5 yo Cockatiel that needs love. He comes with the cage, the cage is for sale and he is free! Cage, bird, food and toys, $30 (the cage is worth $40).

Ziva, a 6 yo mix doggy. We believe she is a mix of mastif and bull dog, but we are not sure. She was dumped on the side of the road with her brother and sister as little pups and we brought her home. She had knee surgery at about 1 yo and has arthritis in that knee. She has a flea allergy and currently has no hair on her lower back, but she is doing well.  She is very sweet and loving (an affection thief), good with children and is a good watch dog. She is free to a good home.

Angel, a 2 yo mix doggy. She is a retriever, lab, ? mix. Angel is the puppy that has a foot missing. She lost it in an accident on the farm at 6 months old. She does fine without it, but limps a bit. She is very sweet, good with children, a great watch dog, and needs some attention for teaching not to jump up. She has learned to fetch, but still won't bring it back! She is free to a good home.

We have sheep!

Herd starter: RomneyxCotswald
Includes - Moshe, the dark brown Romney Ram. Esther and Hadassah, twins, 1 white 1 dark brown, RomneyxCotswald. Posey Baby, RomneyxCotswald. Their fleeces are very shiny, medium grade, and long. Great for new spinners and large enough for putting some meat in the fridge (if you can part with them.) Great multi-purpose breeds. Asking $1000.

We have other sheep for sale for food or fleece, please ask.

Kahra is a spotted Jersey heifer calf born in January 2014.  She is starting to warm up to people, but needs some handling if she is to be used as a family milk cow. She is not halter broke. Asking $1000 or $1200 if you want us to halter break and work with her in the stanchion. This will take about a month or so.

Thirty-one is a Spotted Jersey milk cow. She only has 3 good quarters, but she still produces 3 gals a day at peak production. She is bred back and dried off. She will calve in the spring. She needs an experienced milker (or machine) or to be used as a nurse mom for other calves. Her milk is very rich and creamy! She has a sweet disposition. She is our herd mama (translate, she thinks she is in charge.) Asking $1000.

Dixie, an 19 yo registered quarter horse mare, that needs a forever home. She is black with a blaze. She does not like to run and is a great beginner horse, works best with children. She is on a special diet (oats and hay only, kudzu root herb) to manage a cushings event we experienced shortly after purchasing her. She does fine but needs her kudzu root herb daily and no sweets (like a diabetic). She is not on medication. Asking $300 for her.

Please contact me about any of the animals above if you have questions or want to meet them.

Buster-isms

Our interns have began recording wise words from Grandpa Buster. He has little sayings that he repeats often and we would like to share them with you!

"He who is in a rush gets no place in a hurry."

"Blind in one eye and can't see outa the other."

"Me, I don't pay no attention." (Usually mentioned regarding someone acting silly.)

"Don't kiss by the garden gate, love is blind but the neighbors ain't."

"Work, that's a bad 4 letter word!"

"Haste makes waste."

"In the Army, thinking is dangerous!"

"That'll get you drunk." (Referring to any alcoholic beverage.)

"Each burp makes room for more."

"It's hard doin' nothin'." (Referring to not being able to work.)

"Why cry over spilt milk? It won't do no dogon good."

"Bed just goes too dogon fast!" (Referring to sleep.)

"I may be walkin' funny, but at least I'm walkin'." (Unfortunately, he is wheelchair bound again.)

"There's a reason for everything."

"Life is weird."

I hope you enjoy these words of wisdom from Richard 'Buster' Berry (Satch's Dad).

Simon’s Limon Pie

Here is the recipe I followed. I remember using only the yolks in the
filling though, which makes for a better recipe because you get to use
the whites in the meringue, but you'd have to add milk or something to the filling.


Tarte au citron meringuée

Dough : pâte sablée
250g wheat flour
125g butter
1 egg
40g sugar

Let the butter sit until it is at room temperature. Mix it into the
flour and the sugar with the tip of your fingers until you get sand-like
powder. Add the egg, and mix it with your hands until you get a uniform
dough. Form a ball, spread it, and put it into the pie tin. Punch some
holes in it with a fork, and bake it for 15 minutes at 430°F or until
well cooked.
Alternatives : egg yolk only, and 40mL water, no sugar, makes for a good
pie dough.


Filling :
4 lemons (juice)
orange zest (optional)
4 eggs
150g sugar

Heat the lemon juice up on low heat. Add the eggs after whipping them
into omelette. Add the sugar. Stir until thickening, and stop at first
signs of boiling. Pour it into the already cooked pie dough.


Meringue :
4 egg whites
1 pinch of salt
80g sugar

Beat the whites (and the salt) until there are stiff peaks. Gently mix
the sugar into the whites, so as not to break them. Spread the meringue
on the pie and bake it one final time at 320°F until golden brown.

So, as it turns out, the calf is a girl (has been the whole time!) DH said he just looked from a distance yesterday and saw the umbilical cord and thought it was something else. ???? Oh well, I'm just doing the happy dance that we have a healthy calf and mama.

Her name is Kahra... Cold in English, because it was a cold night that she was born.