Tyler's Tales - 5.18.21

Tales of happenings on the farm as written by our farm hand Tyler…

Today Steven and Tyler prepared a field for a fence by taking down its fencing. The fencing the brackets and staples that held the four strands of high-tension wire to the posts that have been there over 20 years buried three and a half feet in the ground, the dropper posts having been there only, comparatively, of recently, though long enough that they were taken to the burn pile after the wire that held the high-tension wire to them was removed and those posts freed. Those posts were not in any depth in the ground and stood free by wire tension and tensioning until today properly freed.

Steven removed the staples, 1.5 inch staples, from the post with a tool for the purpose, Tyler using a philips-headed screw gun to remove the screws holding to the mainstay posts the plastic brackets, which held the wire as staples but with no need for intermediate insulation of extra plastic as the metal staples did. Both Steven and Tyler put the hardware removed in small buckets attached to a belt loop by carabiners of which creation was Steven's and on down into the past. And both removed the wire holding wire to the drop posts, the drop posts they stacked in the bed of the side-by-side after the two and half hour's work was done.

Tomorrow the high-tension wire will be wound to be re-used in time. But for now, the field is as free as the drop posts let drop. As free as the field will ever be, perhaps, if past and presence hold the future as like a concave mirror. And but then the day after tomorrow or in the days after that will come the new woven wire fencing, then the sheep moved from the adjacent pasture across the cow lane to this. And then, we imagine, the field will enjoy the use as much as the Giving Tree [Shel Silverstein] enjoyed being necessary, as the sheep enjoy the new old growth of pasture long ago sowed clover and grass and now this Spring coming again to being beginning again, shooting up leaves of grass and down roots of the same. That was today and that will be tomorrow. But now? Now is rest.

Tyler's Tales - 5.17.21

Tales of happenings on the farm as written by our farm hand Tyler…

The zinnias and marigold seeds are in. Saturday evening Ralph hoed a line for them while Sheila planted and covered them in the freshly-tilled garden. Kyle was there, a farm hand stopped by, the weather was that brilliant warmth with cool of Spring and Autumn, the sun casting its light of shadows.

The zinnias and marigolds, the young apple and peach trees, the peas and onions and all the other been-planted, with more to come. Across the lawn the chicken coop is lively with the hens filled with their afternoon feed and whatever thoughts go on in their chicken heads that make them talk as much as squawk as sing. The calves low contentedly after their dinner of milk and the dairy cows are munching the green fields of clover.

What this all is is so much and very simple, complex and easy as breathing: dare to let it steal your breath and build the muscles of your spiritual diaphragm. Canal Junction Farm is rhythm of wind and music of sunshine. The animals are tended and happy here, as is the land, as are the people lucky enough to be parts of its God-given whole.

That's not to say there isn't hardship. Muscles don't build from uselessness, but from will, necessity, and The Same who gives as well as takes with grace. Engines and hammers sing as groan and cold is as much of the soul as heat. It could be said that the equilibrium, the balance is in the moment and that the moments strung together are the physics of love. Love is what you'll find at this farm and is as much of death as life, the fulcrum appreciation.

The animals are well in the fields that glow as the sun sets to rise again tomorrow, Lord willing. The necessary rains and sunshine come, the marigolds are planted, rest is rebirth we find amazed at on rising. And the zinnias and marigolds welcome as much as the song of the blue bird. Come visit and blessings!

Tyler's Tales...a beginning

Tales of happenings on the farm as written by our farm hand Tyler…

Hello, Canal Junction Farm friends! Spring has sprung, and though the work is never done, it's picking up speed now. Even now, so much has already happened. The milking herd has calved. The sheep have lambed. The first batch of broiler chickens are picking over the grass in the field in the moveable, free-grazing pens. The meat herd is moving from barn to field and we're all glad for the warming weather and blue skies.

In the coming months we hope to keep you informed of the comings and goings of things here at Canal Junction so you can keep in the know of our historical and never-ending story. Stop by for a visit any time. Sheila and Ralph offer friendly perspective on everything they've known for so long. Kyle hits the nail on the head, so anything you're interested in here he can help you understand. Apprentice Steven Machamer is a conversationalist extraordinaire and knowledgeable about his craft. And the taciturn farm hand Tyler Eckel will show you the ropes, if not bend your ear or let you bend his.

Be well, take good care, and keep in touch!

Canal Junction Farm sits its rolling lawns and graded fields near the Defiance-Paulding counties' border. There are a number of ways to get there, each a beautiful drive as you'll find in Northwest Ohio. The farm grows beef, poultry, eggs, lamb, along with its 60-cow dairy herd that provides milk and from which Ralph makes some fine cheese. The farm has been in the Schlatter family since [1850?] and Ralph and Sheila along with their son Kyle and a number of helpers have taken care of the day-to-day for [number of years?]. Stop by for a visit any day Monday through Saturday and someone here will be happy to show your where good food comes from. Cheers!

What's in a name?

If you’ve been following the farm for a while you may have noticed that we have changed our name from “C/J Natural Meats“ to “Canal Junction Farm“ on things like our logo and this new website. Having been in this sector of the food economy since 1993, we have seen words like “natural,“ and even “organic“ lose some of their meaning over the years as they are adopted by big ag in an effort to retain their near-full market share. This co-option of language has made it difficult for small farmers like us, who were innovators and early adopters in the movement, to keep our messaging and businesses relevant. Additionally, as you probably know, we not only sell grass-fed meats, but also milk, specialty cheeses and bulk- and dry-goods.

Really, the change in name is more about simplifying our “brand,“ getting back to the basics. The “C/J” has always stood for Canal Junction, paying homage to the history and geography of our location. Our eastern property line is the middle of the old “Miami-Erie Canal“ that intersected the “Wabash-Erie“ about a mile North of the farm in the little hamlet of Junction; hence "Canal Junction.” These canals were built as a way to improve interstate commerce shortly before our family originally homesteaded the farm in the 1850’s; parts of them remain as visible landmarks throughout the region. Unlike the canals, which were abandoned after railroads and floods each did their part to damage the viability of a canal system, our farm has stood the test of time as each generation has sought to help it thrive and grow into something more.

Part of that growth that you will be seeing in the coming months is continued re-branding from “C/J Natural Meats“ to “Canal Junction Farm.“ We have new cheese labels that will be showing up on our raw milk cheeses that we make on farm. New signs will be going up on the roads to the farm. We’re prototyping some new products that we hope to release in the near future. And we’ll continue to haggle with Facebook to allow us to change our page name (seriously, if any of you have an inside connection, we really would love to get past their automated block). So, what is in a name? Plenty.