Parham Farms

05/21/2022

The Threshing Floor Bake Co.

Have you seen? Julie’s baking her gluten-free goodies for local folks now. And since she knows the challenges of finding gluten-free, dairy-free treats (Jed gets an upset stomach when his mama enjoys dairy), she’s also working in some dairy-free recipes by special request. My favorites are her cookies. Her snickerdoodles and Browned Butter Chocolate Chip cookies are amazing! You’d never know they are gluten-free, and I say that as someone who can’t stand the texture or taste of most gluten-free baked goods. I’m hoping she’ll invent a recipe for some of this Mamaw’s favorite - oatmeal pecan-chocolate chip - soon!!

We offer a variety of gluten-free baked goods in the Selmer, TN area. Visit our website to order!

03/13/2022

This little guy is starting out like I did, learning every skill he can from his parents and grandparents by working alongside them. Jed and I were loosening where the ground wires for the electric fence were attached to the t-posts so they could be re-tensioned. He’s a great little farm hand. My dad would be so tickled to see a 4th generation raised taking care of this place.

02/19/2022

Sorry we haven’t updated the page in a bit. We have been busy enjoying the first few months of Jed Fields life here on the farm. He’s been going out with his mom and dad to feed all of his animals on nice days. He absolutely loves being outdoors. Here he is with Jazz.

02/03/2022

Tennessee Handmade Goat Milk Soap, Lotions from Parham Farms in West Tennessee

Cracklin Birch is back in stock. www.parhamfarms.com

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12/20/2021

🤣 A Parham Farms twist on an old favorite, sub Chick-fil-A sauce for most of the mayo in your deviled eggs to make ‘em Blessed!

11/24/2021

Restocked! Our charcoal and clay bars are back in stock! available at www.parhamfarms.com
or tennesseegoatmilksoap.com

11/23/2021

All orders received through 12/21 have been shipped. We are trying to ship all soap orders within 24 hours, lotion may take 48 hours. Our local post office has a sign telling us to ship all packages by 12/7 for holiday delivery, but so far we are not seeing any slow downs. This past week our shipments local and to the pacific northwest were are seeing deliveries in 3-7 days. But just in case, don’t wait too long to order your Holiday Gifts 🎁.

10/03/2021

Homesteader How To:
use your excess eggs and milk - aka Mamaw’s homemade Banana Pudding (with gluten-free option for vanilla wafers)

Ingredients
* 1 12oz pkg vanilla wafers Notes: Kinnikinnick brand are gluten, nut, soy, peanut and dairy free. Jacksons brand get soft quick, Nilla brand stay crunchier a little longer than the other brands.
* 3-4 medium size, sliced bananas
* 1/2 stick butter
* 1-1/2 teasp vanilla extract
* 3 cup milk
* 4-5 med/large egg yolks for custard
* 2.5 tablespoons cornstarch
* 4-5 egg whites for meringue
* 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar for meringue
* 1 cup divided granulated sugar (3/4 for custard and 1/4 for meringue)
Directions
1.) Divide eggs into whites and yolks
mix 1tbsp cornstarch into yolks.

2.) Mix together 3/4 cup sugar and remaining cornstarch and slowly add milk while stirring.
This is ideally cooked in the top of a double boiler, but I cook it over low to medium heat in a thick-bottom pot, stirring constantly until it thickens–do not leave it unattended. I use a digital thermometer and cook the milk mixture until it reaches 140-150 degrees, hold at that temperature for 3 minutes.

3.) Slightly beat the egg yolks and then temper with 1cup of the hot milk mixture by slowly drizzling the hot milk into the beaten eggs as you whisk constantly; mix it well well. It doesn’t hurt to add more milk. Immediately add the tempered egg mixture back into the custard pot with the hot milk, whisking constantly as you add it in. Cook 2 more minutes or until thick - this often takes me more like 4 minutes. The time depends on the size of your pot and how much heat is applied. Intend to use low/med heat and a thick bottom stock pot.

4.) When the custard is good and thick, Remove from heat and add the vanilla and butter. Continue to stir as it releases steam and cools to remove excess moisture so that it doesn’t settle back in the custard and thin it.

5.) After the custard has cooled enough to handle the pot - make your Banana Pudding - In a 9 by 9-inch ovenproof baking dish, alternate custard, bananas, and wafers, beginning with custard and ending with custard. Add topping, if desired.

For the meringue topping, if using:
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar until stiff peaks form, then spread onto top of pudding mixture. Bake until golden brown.

Some people like whipped cream topping and others like it with no topping. In our family Julie likes whipped cream or no topping - but she can’t have gluten so she gets a gluten-free one. Seth and I prefer a baked meringue, and Seth prefers the Jacksons cookies. Ken will eat it all of the ways 😂. So I generally make a gluten free one for Julie to top with whipped cream; a Jackson’s Cookie version with meringue for Seth, if he is home; and a Nilla Wafer version for Ken and myself. Sounds like a lot, but we have tons of milk and eggs to find uses for and Banana Puddin doesn't last long around here..

09/24/2021

Wet Charcoal Soap P**n -- Just poured. I had intended on making a batch of my Essential Balance Bars which contain 50% dark patchouli, 50% Bulgarian Lavender, but I didn't realize I was running dangerously low on patchouli and didn't have enough to make the two batches I wanted to make, much less ONE! So I improvised with other skin healing and soothing oils. This batch contains patchouli, lavender helichrysum, lemongrass, himalayan cedarwood, bergamot, blood orange and pink grapefruit essential oils along with white kaolin clay and bamboo charcoal. These should be ready to ship in about 4 weeks - it's really weather dependent, as we need dry air to help dry and cure the soap. Humidity is our enemy. There will be about 25 bars available from this batch. I'll have to make an essential oil order before I can make more.

09/21/2021

Did you know that goat milk soap
works as a Gentle Exfoliator? Goat milk contains natural Alpha hydroxy acids (AHA), that gently remove dead skin cells from the body to make your skin smooth, supple, and younger looking. It also contains naturally formed glycerine which helps your skin maintain a natural moisture balance. All natural, goat milk soap is perfect for acne-prone skin because it is gentle and does not contain harsh chemical fillers which can cause reactions in sensitive skin.
We have a wide assortment of goat milk soaps available in our online store, www.parhamfarms.com. Shop online and I’ll ship it to you. Here are a few of our new fragrances.

08/29/2021

We might have gotten a cat with the wrong specs. 🤣 He seems to be an insect hunter more than a rodent hunter. At least he grasps the concept that he should earn his keep. Look at the dandy presents he left on the milkroom porch for us today. He earned himself a canned supper for all of that. Question to experienced cat parents: do I take the gifts or leave them? I don’t wish to be disrespectful nor a theif.

08/12/2021

Parham Farms: Big Summer Sky

07/17/2021

Julie has been bartering for eggs from the chickens using watermelon lately. They sure love it, there will be nothing left of this quarter melon except a paper thin bit of skin by this evening.

07/10/2021

Just wanted to share the beauty of a
summer’s evening on the farm with you.

07/06/2021

Wish you were here with us, enjoying this beautiful day.

07/04/2021

Hanging out in the front yard with these beauties waiting on a buyer. Enjoying my last bit of quality time with them.

06/29/2021

MILKROOM MONSTERS:
See that little wire rack holding the box of gloves?? It might be a monster. It’s new there. I previously just had the gloves balanced above the vacuum gauge and wedged behind that roll of paper towels, inches away. Only the wire rack is new, as is the location (by inches) on the existing 2x4 pivot arm. That new “It might be a monster thing” in the milkroom caused this doe (Trix) to evaluate, contemplate and reevaluate the safety of the milkstand for a solid 5 minutes tonight before she was willing to step up there and enjoy her dinner while being milked. I had to “pet” the gloves and tell her they were nice 🤦🏼‍♀️ several times. Goats sure are characters!! I’m always amazed at the attention to detail that they have with regard to their surroundings.

06/25/2021

Parham Farms requires a LOT of teamwork. I’m so grateful for our team. I’m having an autoimmune flare that is kicking my behind lately, but I have to give Mr. Parham some serious credit. He’s not only putting up with my grumpy demeanor (pain makes me more wicked than usual). He is truly doing his best to pick up all the slack so that my days are easier. Lately he has been spoiling me by assembling my milking apparatus and getting everything ready for me to just walk into the milkroom and start milking right after I’ve finished giving baby Piper her bottle. That means filling the feed bucket on the milkstand, assembling and bringing out the milking rig from the sink in Julie’s mudroom and setting it up with all of the valves in the right direction so that it pulls 13psi at the gauge (12-12.5 at the inflations), making sure I have wipes and chlorhexadine to clean udders before milking, and full teat dip dispensers for after. I’m only milking 2 does this year, but goodness I appreciate the help - he does all of this in addition to keeping the hay feeders full, keeping the does loafing shed swept, looking after our bucks, and the livestock guardian dogs. This man is worth his weight in gold - and if you know him, you know he’s no lightweight.

Then there’s Sam 🐈‍⬛ - he’s the milkroom guardian. He keeps us all entertained and keeps watch at the porch of the milkroom until the goats are done and waits for me to call him in for some tummy scratches and a treat. I don’t know why it took us so long to get a farm cat, but I am glad we have Sam. Today Julie watched him go full ninja 🥷 trying to catch a horsefly. He is such a joy.

06/23/2021

Time flies!! It’s already that time of year again! The blackberries vines are heavy, the Rudbeckia(Black-eyed Susan) is filling the unused garden spaces, and our blueberries are almost ready. I wasn’t finished enjoying spring yet, but apparently it is done anyway.

06/10/2021

We have a habit of raising goats so rotten that after milking time, they’ll turn around ready to exit the milkstand and wait for a cookie/reward. If we don’t deliver they’ll stand and beg for it until they get it. Except for Jazz, she’s an oddball that doesn’t like cookies or treats, but she expects a hug and scratches 😂. Pictured is Trix tonight begging for her cookie. She literally mouths for it until she gets it 🤣.

06/09/2021

This year we enjoyed the pleasure of watching a pair of red shouldered hawks raise a pair of chicks about 50' up in a white oak tree in the back yard, about 50' off of our deck. They grow so quickly! Now they are fledging and hardly distinguishable from their parents (except for the near constant high pitched squealing). Here are a handful of the best photos we captured whille they were young and still. Now they are really difficult to capture a good photo of . They really are majestic birds.

Red shouldered hawks feed on all kinds of things, but our adult chickens are too large for them. A mole or vole is just about the largest thing that an adult can manage to carry. We've seen them takling frogs back to the nest. They also feast on small snakes, insects, small ground mammals like mice, chipmunks, or baby squirrels. We've never raised chicks out in the open due to the local red shouldered hawk population. If we have a hen hatching a clutch, we'll place her in a protected enclosure with a roof until her chicks are heavy enough not to be a target.

05/22/2021

Suppertime on the milkroom porch. *sigh*

05/21/2021

Piper is 1 week old tonight. She weighs 11.7 lbs now. I couldn’t capture a still image because she is so busy jumping and twisting around, so I took a quick video for you to get an idea of how big she is already.

05/15/2021

Now I’m not a small woman. I wear a size 14. And this day and a half old baby is taking up ALL of my lap. She’s just huge ya’ll!!

05/14/2021

and her name is: Piper!

2am feeding and Piper took almost 8 ounces!! She was hongry!! and I am grateful because that kind of stomach capacity means she will probably sleep 6 hours or so at a time. There’s a reason God gives newborn babies to young people. I don’t think I’m cut out for feeding every 2-3 hours anymore. I was up several times last night checking on her mom. Looking forward to finally getting some shut eye!!

Oh and I did check for the 8th time to be sure she is still a girl (it’s a goat breeder thing). It’s real! She’s a doe kid.

…and if you’re wondering why she is in the house and I am feeding her, we have elected to bottle raise Piper for several reasons. One because our bottle kids are always so loving and friendly. Also because she is the only kid we have this year, and I just don’t know that I trust leaving her out there with a 45 degree low tonight and her not being steady on her feet yet to be able to get somewhere warm to snuggle up with a brand new mom who is hurting pretty good from a rough birth. Also, Piper was a bit folded up in there and has contracted tendons on her front legs that I have splinted and wrapped to correct. I can’t leave her with her dam and trust that Trix won’t chew off her wraps and injure her in the process (goats are notorious for removing bandages) or step on or lay on baby Piper because Trix is a new mom and unaware that baby Piper can’t get out of momma’s way just yet. And lastly, I am already milking Jazz twice a day. It will be so easy to put Trix on the same schedule. Thankfully Ken Parham has no qualms about having a baby goat in the house.

05/13/2021

05/13/2021

Well I’ve put fresh bedding down in her stall and she’s backed her birthing-end into a corner… seems like they always like to do that 🤣. And now we just wait, impatiently. I can’t leave the stall without her squalling, which sets the livestock guardian dogs to howling… so I’ll just sit here with her, in my comfy chair and maybe try to take a little afternoon nap.

05/13/2021

Today is the day! Trix is in early labor, and we’re waiting it out together in her stall while she licks me to death 😂
I’m praying for healthy kid(s) and a natural mothering instinct towards them. Now to think about names….
The sire is Mint Ice Cream “MIC” and the dam is Aviatrix “Trix”. I like to mix a little of the dad’s name up in with the mom’s theme (aviation). This one might be a challenge. Please comment with your ideas! Thanks! If I select your name, I’ll send you a free soap and healing hands handcream from Parham Farms!

05/13/2021

It’s a beautiful evening to be mowing the pasture.

05/11/2021

We’re officially on Baby Watch with Trix. We’re inducing late tonight, expecting kids on Thursday. Trix has been showing some signs of toxemia. We’ve kept it at bay with careful monitoring of her ketones, some OTC meds and most importantly, a prescription for a product designed to treat ulcers. Thanks to Here Be Goats, Kelley Hines, sharing her knowledge and experience with toxemia - and to our vet Dr. William Bishop for trusting in Kelley and another vet’s expertise, Trix began eating again, and we’ve made it to day 142 of her pregnancy. She is still throwing small ketones and her back feet show some swelling, so we’re inducing for her safety.

05/07/2021

Strawberry Pie Filling and Jam day at Parham Farms, because Mrs. Fields said that Baby F wants all things strawberry.

05/06/2021

It's finally that time of year!

Tennessee farms will quickly have fields turning red with juicy and sweet strawberries. If you are looking for the freshest berries, head straight to the farm.

Farms are reporting that even with rapid weather changes, there should be ample berries across the Volunteer State. “We expect to have plenty of strawberries this year,” John Myers of Myers Brothers Farm in Sevier County said. “Luckily, the freeze didn’t slow us down.”

Support your local economy and buy fresh strawberries from your local farmer. Use the free Pick Tennessee mobile app or go to www.PickTNProducts.org to find a farm near you.
https://www.tn.gov/agriculture/news/2021/5/3/tennessee-strawberry-season-is-here.html
Woodall's Strawberries

04/29/2021

Parham Farms original Herd Queen has been laid to rest. Agape Oaks FC Cookie Doe *M, was 15 years old, a minimancha, she was the one who started it all. I could never have guessed I’d prefer the little earred goats to the long-earred ones, but Cookie trained me in the ways of the Lamancha. She may have been a mini, but she was a BOSS. She trained our first livestock guardian, an Akbash/Anatolian Shepherd, Jacob. She made sure he understood that he was not to play with the kids or other goats but to watch, let them climb and crawl all over him, and snuggle up against him on cold nights. Jacob was just a puppy when he came under Cookie’s supervision, but even when he was more than twice her size, he respected her like she was his own mom.
I can’t even begin to describe how much her humans will miss her. This feels like the end of an era.

04/13/2021

About a month ago (March 16), I noticed a female red shouldered hawk screaming at me from a nest in a nearby tree when I went out onto my deck. She finally seemed to get used to us. Later I learned that females are very vocal just prior to incubating their eggs. Incubation takes 28-33 days, so we’ve started watching more closely. I captured 3 great photos today. That nest is magnificent. It took 4-5 weeks to construct.

04/13/2021

Part of maintaining our mental health is experiencing and embracing joy as an antidote for life’s stressors. Finding my joy is easy on the farm in springtime - even amongst malfunctioning equipment, stormy weather and other issues. For me, it’s always been the little things, the wild violas are blooming this year in white and purple. I’ve spotted dozens of four leaf clovers. The chickens are so personable and are laying the most beautiful blue, green, pink & brown eggs. The clematis vines I planted years ago for my mom, have burst forth with blooms. The first rose bud of the year. The dogwood blooms glowing at sunset. A simple tree swing. A new barn cat. Anticipating the baby goats coming in a few weeks.... It’s the little things that, if you let them, can give you a respite from the day to day pressure and stress. I encourage you to find and embrace the little things that bring you joy - every day.

04/13/2021

Fingers crossed that they live!!
Julie and Seth are reworking the long neglected flowerbeds at their house. Seth removed 3 scraggily, flowering camellia bushes that we had planted in 2004. I trimmed off the dead branches and have transplanted them alongside our north facing, exposed basement wall. Fingers crossed that these former beauties live through the relocation - I tried to orient them facing the same direction they had before. I expect them to look pretty rough this first year as I begin to trim and shape them. I love camellia and these begin flowering in late October - right when everything else is dying back ❤️.

04/07/2021

The grands came from Kansas a couple of weeks ago, so Ken and Seth hung a tree swing for them. Ha!! It was a scam. The grands a long gone and now Mamaw is loving this swing. Enjoy a sunset swing with me after a farm days work.

03/24/2021

We grow these Kieffer and Ayers Pears in addition to Peaches, Blueberries and Blackberries. There’s a special kind of joy I feel every year as the blossoms of each emerge. Even on this gray and rainy day, these blossoms serve to remind me of the promise of a sweet future to come if I tend them properly.