Fritz Todt

"In places where this beauty has already disappeared, we will reconstruct it." - Fritz Todt

Junkyard

Over the years we have collected a lot of “junk”. This includes lumber, metal, PVC, motors, barrels, and much, much more. Basically anything we think we might one day need, we keep. Lots of people would object to this kind of hoarding, but it has been invaluable to us time and time again. Every time we make a prototype of some invention, contraption or doo-hicky, we rummage through our junk-pile and find the things we need, at least to test a theory. It saves us having to go to the city before we even know whether or not an idea will work. Spare parts are saved, just in case we need something and can’t make it to a store.

The junkyard was located to one side of our driveway. However, now that we have a workshop that houses all our tools and other materials, we decided to consolidate. We have now moved everything useful around the shop. We still lack a few bits and pieces, but the vast majority is done, and more or less organized. It is also mostly hidden from view, unless you are walking towards the shop.

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Junkyard

Georg Trakl

"I drank the silence of God from a spring in the woods." - Georg Trakl

Roy Bean

"And Fall, with her yeller harvest moon and the hills growin' brown and golden under a sinkin' sun." - Roy Bean

Roast Muscovy

The other day, Abe butchered one of the young Muscovy drakes.

He made himself a poultry kill-cone, to make the nasty part as quick and easy as possible (for both the animals’s and his sakes). It worked really well, and definitely minimized any trauma. He then skinned it, which he said was pretty tricky. Next time, we’ll try plucking it, to be able to compare the two methods.

For our first recipe attempt, we decided to do a traditional roast. We wanted to keep it fairly simple, so that we could really taste the meat and decide what would go well with it. It was very akin to roast beef in both flavor and texture. Leo ate about four helpings!

So far we are extremely impressed with the meat. We have a long learning curve ahead of us, on both the butchering and cooking front, but our experiments promise to be very enjoyable. We have plans for smoking, disco, fruit glazes (especially with prickly pear syrup), and many more.

The one thing we noticed about our drake that differed from our expectations is that he didn't have much fat. Muscovies are supposed to have a layer of fat, similar to pork. However, our ducks love to fly, and they also walk back and forth to the pond at the bottom of the property. Maybe the added exercise has affected the meat, as they certainly eat plenty of food, of all kinds (from grain to weeds to viscera), and usually have some left over.

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Roast Muscovy

Margaret Mead

"We won't have a society if we destroy the environment." - Margaret Mead

Isaac Bashevis Singer

"What nature delivers to us is never stale. Because what nature creates has eternity in it." - Isaac Bashevis Singer