PEACHES -

Sold in 2# bags, $5.50

Also available by the peck and half bushel for freezing, baking, and canning.

PF Flaming Fury. I was first introduced to Paul Friday's Flaming Fury line about 10 years ago and I love them. Paul Friday is a famous Michigan peach grower who spent his life trying to improve the quality of peaches. Today, he has over 30 patents on peaches ideal for our climate. The Flaming Fury works for the grower with better yields and disease resistance, and it's great for the consumer with improved flavor, size, and texture. These are excellent peaches.

WATERMELONS - 'Tis the Season

Red Seedless Watermelon - mediums and XLs

Crimson Sweet Seeded - (pictured with me)

Jubilee Seeded - oblong, sweet red flesh, Large

Jadestar Seeded - dark skin, red flesh, excellent flavor

You can't go wrong with any of them.

Nectarines - probably last week

We've had a great season for them this year.

Honeycrisp - first of the season

I was just about to hit send with Matt from Eshlemans called and said they just brought in a few crates of Honeycrisp out of the orchard.

"You want the first ones?" His truck is full, so I have him riding with the first few crates in the front seat! Supply is limited this week, but they are starting.

Hot Dogs, Grassfed Beef and Pork (1#) - Reg $8.5 Sale $7.50

Smoked Kielbasa (1.25#) - Reg $11.25. Sale $10.65

Grassfed Beef Burgers (1.25#) Reg $14.50. Sale $13.15

Mild Italian Chicken Patties (1.3#) - Reg $13.00 Sale $11.90

Turkey Burgers (1.3#) - Reg $12.25 Sale $11.50

Cheddar Jalapeno Brat Burgers (1.25#) - Reg $9.25. Sale $8.50

Italian Links (1.25#) Reg $10.20. Sale $9.30

Green Onion Brats (1.25#) Reg $10.65  Sale $9.25

Smoked Market Garden Krispi IPA Beer Brats (1.25#) Reg $14.55  Sale $11.25

Caramelized Onion Apple Bacon Turkey Brats (1.25#) Reg $12.85  Sale $11.50

Feta and Spinach Chicken Brats (1.25#) Reg $12.8 Sale $11.50

Chips and Salsa Sale - 1 bag corn tortilla chips, 1 pint mild salsa - SALE $8.50

I can't make up what happens on the farm. It's surreal sometimes.

On Monday, I haul beef and pork for slaughter every week. There are a network of guys who raise for us, either calves for others to fatten or stockers for cuttering and grinding.

Kyle is a young cattleman who breeds cows and "backgrounds" calves. Essentially he helps get them grouped up into uniform sizes then sells them to other farmers who finish them.

Kyle called me over the weekend to see if I could use a bull for burger. "Sure. How old and how big?" 'Oh, he's under 3 years old. Maybe 1,800#.'

Sounds like a perfectly good bull to me. "Why are you getting rid of him?"

'Oh, broken pecker. Can't work no more.'

What, how does that happen?

It's technically called a Penile Hematoma. Burst blood vessels under the skin that cause swelling and sometimes it gets stuck in a "prolapse" position, leading to infection and further damage.

This actually isn't that uncommon on young bulls. After further research, about 10% of all cull bulls nationally are due to such injuries. A majority of those are young bulls.

Apparently what happens is the bull mistimes his "launch" and misses. He's big and strong - nearly 2,000# - and slams...you know what...first into the pelvic bones of the cow. Bam. Injury occurs.

The injury usually happens on range where it's hard to detect quickly. And even if detected, what are you going to do? If it were a really high dollar bull, you might consider locking him up and attempting "hydrotherapy" - or essentially hosing it down similar to a cold compress to reduce swelling. Other options include surgery, which then leads to other post-surgery care challenges.

The best option is often to harvest him for ground meat, which in this case was the choice we made.

Homemade pizza is a fun family activity. This pizza dough yields a thin, crispy crust. A few basics are essential:

1) The dough needs to thaw and rise. Remove it from the frozen bag and place in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to double in size in a warm location, like above the vent on the stove.

2) Preheat your oven and pizza stone. 450 degrees is a good starting point.

3) Cook the crust some without sauce before adding sauce.

Here is our complete pizza guide to help: https://freshforkmarket.com/pizza-guide

Like the weather, subject to change.