Thinking ahead

Although it is only the first week of June, I am learning to think ahead. According to my books, (and all I do is read reference books these days, and I am not complaining, I love it) July is the time to start thinking about planting cool weather plants that will be ready in early Fall and even linger into November with a cold frame over it. So if July is the time to start doing that then June is the time to start thinking about it. Since gardening is at this point is a constant learning process for me, I am trying to make myself familiar with the proper season for each vegetable so that I don’t miss out on preserving them. Green beans are around the corner and  just are not going well here, seems my little chipmunk pals have their cheeks stuffed with tender green bean shoots, so I will be going to an organic u-pick farm for these. So far my freezer has, from this season, bags of morel mushrooms, rhubarb and asparagus. The vacuum sealer will make these vegetables still taste freshly frozen till next season’s fruits and vegetables are available.

It will soon be time to look into a chest freezer, for upcoming meat processing, in addition to the loads of fruits and vegetables! This idea that came to life last November is really incrementally falling into place, and next year we will be even closer to achieving the goal of providing for ourselves. This newbie is loving every step and looking forward to learning more every day.

An awkward loaf…

I have been making the same bread recipe for months now, several times a week. So I got used to the bread looking much like this…

although admittedly this was the prettiest loaf I’ve made. The other day though, I made the bread as usual, and when I came back all those hours later (18 hours for this recipe) I knew it was not right at all! I still can’t figure out what happened but it was a small brick of a loaf. Since the neighbors were over the other night for a campfire and their little girl helps me bake all the time, I asked her to come inside with me to take the bread out of the oven. When I looked at it, I said to her…”you know what my bread usually looks like, right?” She replied, “yes it’s verrrry pretty!” I told her to look in the pot and tell me what she thought of this loaf, and she studied it carefully she said… “awkward?” After I stopped rolling with laughter, I decided that it would have to become croutons and I would be making another loaf. You can always count on a four year old to call it like it is!

The Honor System

We had a wonderful outdoor pizza and campfire gathering at our place with the neighbors a couple of nights ago. Their son had his last day of school and so it was a summer kick off celebration with homemade apple pie, (younger sister said Rhubarb pie was too sour), and a salad that was 5 minutes out of the garden. They brought over yummy additions to the salad from their farm which included beautiful edible flowers and garlic scapes! Of course there were s’mores to finish out the night:)

The garden is beautiful, or it is to me anyhow! For a first real attempt I am most pleased. So far we are eating Collards, Kale, a variety of salad greens, radishes, chives, and herbs. It’s so nice to reduce the amount of produce purchased at the store. It’s also incredibly less expensive seeing that I was buying organic produce, which adds up quickly! Yesterday I spent the day whittling down my list of to do’s. I got the main garden, the herb garden by the kitchen and the “viney” garden up the hill all heavily mulched. My buckets that are growing potatoes are growing like crazy, and in order to keep “hilling” them, I had to make extensions to the buckets so they can continue to grow upwards, and still have room to “hill” them with mulch. I’ve wrapped the top of the buckets in chicken wire to achieve this. I’ve had some issues with critters eating my tender young things, and so I’ve got some things covered with row cover material. It won’t keep them out, but it is less inviting!

I also got the pig yard cleaned up as well as the paddock for the Cattle. This process of raising animals for food is an awesome responsibility that will, for me, always go beyond bare needs and adequate care. To me, when raising animals for food or profit, your actions will define how they will live their lives before they give theirs for you. I want to give the best care and thoughtful attention to the quality of their lives, that I am able to achieve. I can’t make the flies go away, by cleaning their yard, but I want to do whatever I can to reduce their numbers. It’s the right thing to do. It saddens me to pass farms and see animals surrounded by excrement. When they are penned in areas in high numbers it’s because people selected for them to live that way, the animals just don’t get much say in the deal. To me, caring for livestock is part of the honor system, really. The Honor system is defined as “…by which one or both parties in an interaction are expected to honor trust granted to them by the other”.

I feel a lot of trust has been granted to us with the 18 mouths we feed…

I’ve officially recovered from the sad canning incident of ’86

I canned with my friend in ’86 and I don’t know what we did but after we painstakingly prepared are foods and jarred them, the bottoms of the glass jars fell out during the canning process, our fault I’m sure but it scarred me. I kept envisioning the tomatoes and glass boiling in the large canner when we opened it up. So sad! I never felt brave enough to can again, yea I scare easily, and yea, I had done it before but I still was afraid. Well, the same friend came over and we pickled asparagus and they worked. Then I was on a roll, and I canned pickled rhubarb and rhubarb chutney. All worked and I am officially over the canning curse or PTSD, whichever you want to call it! I remembered that canning is fun! Can’t wait to do more and more! They are beautiful on the shelf!

Long johns and shorts laundry season…

This has been the longest of what we call “long johns and shorts laundry season” ever. One day you are layered with long johns (it got down to 42 the other night) and then the next day it’s shorts weather and so the laundry straddles two seasons. Not unlike the period of time for Maple Syrup-ing which is measured more by temperature then laundry, with above freezing during the day and below freezing during the night. Today was a warm day, and the next two days promise to be very warm, followed by (surprise) some days in the 60′s and nights in the 40′s.

It has turned out to be a good morel mushroom year after a bit of a not so strong start. We have eaten some and cooked the rougher looking ones to freeze, while keeping some of the in between ones for drying. Last night we had mashed potatoes with Morel Gravy, and well, it was beyond good. It was well paired with pork chops with Rhubarb Chutney (filled with onions, raisins, brown sugar apple cider vinegar and spices) that I made yesterday with some loads of fresh rhubarb from next door. All part of my childcare for produce barter program:) Currently, I have a large credit with them, and so more rhubarb and another big load of Asparagus are coming my way! The credit will also cover the lion’s share of my bulk produce for the cold cellar in the early fall.

Here are some of the dried morel mushrooms that will be great this winter when hydrated in white wine or even water and then added to dishes.

In other news we staked the grape vines, which are relatively new still, and hubby got the new electrical fencing up for the piglets, so we have achieved rotational grazing! I really can’t call them piglets much longer, soon they will be qualified as “growers”, not piglets. Hubby got a new pasture for the mini herd. They have been a bit grumpy about their pastures. First cutting of grass that can be baled is coming as soon as the rain stops (like in a week they say) then we can satisfy them a bit more while their pastures grow a bit. The chicks are growing like crazy too, already flapping their little wings albeit uselessly but it’s cute anyway. I found them a little mini perch to practice perching on, it likely was intended to be a CD rack, but for a dollar at St. Vinnie’s it’s perfect chick practice perch!

Last bit of news is the Garlic is growing well, and so soon we will have our annual discussion, how much to keep and how much to replant. It’s such good garlic I don’t like parting with any to replant but without it would be a sad garlic-less next year!

While we worked on the grapes, our faithful guard dog (anyone who knows her is laughing now), watched over the farm. It’s a favorite thing of hers, we call it her “Princess of the Farm” pose.

Chicken Little gets Chickens little or… these are my peeps

Most people who know me well know that birds aren’t my thing. I have no problem with them in trees, or in the air as they should be, however, a bird flying in the house or handling birds was NOT in my repertoire! Hubby was floored when I said I wanted to get Chickens. There was definitely some laughter involved here on his part, but I am determined to feed us, so Chickens for eggs and for meat became my agenda. So having finished the pig book I was on to “Raising Chickens” which I spent a great deal of time studying over the winter. (Not sure when I will ever read fiction again, and I really don’t miss it!) Now I was cramming for the test… their arrival.

We brought home this small box from the Hatchery. They went peep, peep, peep all the way home!

I ordered 12 birds. I am hoping for many males out of this straight run (unsexed birds). There are 4 Australorps, 4 Buff Orpingtons, and 4 Silver Wyandottes. I picked them as I said in an earlier entry for their cold hardiness, their more gentle nature, the fact that they will become broody and care for young, and because lastly they will forage and look for food, which some birds actually don’t do much of at all anymore. These are also slower growing birds, which is more natural.

…and here they are in their little make shift brooder in the garage. They have already grown a bit bigger and are now in an old watering tank. They are sweet little balls of fluff. They are also pooping machines! Because I got them late in the year they will be able to go outside sooner then they would have otherwise, thankfully, they will then poop outdoors or in a much more easily swept out coop. The lid to the waterer they are in now is awkward and too heavy, I will rummage for some screening material that will be more light weight for ease of use. They are funny little creatures. I was told they are the closest living animal to the dinosaur!!

Hunting!

Armed with a sharp, small knife and lots of enthusiasm I joined in on the annual Morel Mushroom hunt! I have only done this a bit because my job was processing or cooking them, Hubby was the hunter. We decided to divide and conquer because the area that needed to be covered could not be covered before dark any other way. I was completely thrilled when I found this mushroom! Then I found 5 more!! I excitedly sent this picture to Hubby who was in a different area of the woods hunting and ….

then he sent back this photo…

Of course it’s not a competition, right?

The evening was beautiful and it was a great hunt through the woods even if I only came up with six mushrooms myself!