They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
Evie wants to take a sheep to fair next year, so she has started working with one of this year's lambs. She chose "Friendly" (so named because she didn't run away as fast as her sister when the kids tried to pet her as a baby) because Snow is too small and doesn't have good… Continue reading Making Friendly Friendly
These are the moments I live for on the farm. Projects are fun. Projects for the kids are good. Projects with the kids, are as close to heaven on earth as I have found outside the Mass. https://videopress.com/v/zDf3z1qT?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&posterUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.files.wordpress.com%2FzDf3z1qT%2Fimg_2812_mp4_std.original.jpg&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true
First and second major canning of tomatoes, Kathleen has been canning diced and whole tomatoes, as well as tomato juice. Daddy and Seppi have been drying tomatoes. Seppi likes to add leaves from his pet basil plant to the tray when we start it. (His pet basil plant's name is "Basil.") It's amazing how five… Continue reading Tomatoes, Pears and Wine
We have gone through another batch of sauerkraut in the last few weeks. We have shared some with friends. The verdict is in. The lactofermentation in the silicone burp lids goes faster and makes a more harsh, strong flavor. We tried two different methods, one filling the jar with brine, the other with water only… Continue reading Sauerkraut Comparison
Gertrude has recovered amazingly from her ordeal last week, and the piglets are almost double in size. In a week or two we will need to introduce creep feed and water for them. This might be a good opportunity to introduce hog drinking nipples as well. Then in about 8 weeks, try to sell six… Continue reading Healthy Pigs
Got my Antique Stanley Number 8 tuned up and running. In ten minutes I got these two boards edged and jointed. So cool!
At the farm there is a really big rock. It has been there since we bought the farm, just kind of sitting beside the barn. I rolled it a couple of times a few years ago, just to get it out of the way, so I could back the trailer up, but it has more… Continue reading Rolling Stones
The rainy season is almost upon us. We got three days of rain this week, so on Monday we prepared for it by making some much needed repairs to some roofs. The irony of living in the PNW is that about 1/4 of the year, you don't actually need a roof at all. A medium… Continue reading Repairs
Monday the 31st was our first big tomato harvest, and our last big bean harvest. Winnie helps pick beans, and conversates the whole time. "Daddy, why are you so tall?" "Because I started growing before you." "Daddy, what number are you old?" "I am 41." "Daddy, you are going to die." Pauses thoughtfully. "You are… Continue reading First Big Tomato Harvest
Another bumper harvest of Elderberries last Friday morning (Aug 28). It took about 90 minutes to strip them all from the stems, yielding about 9 Lbs of berries. We steam juiced these on Saturday. There was enough berry to make two batches of elderberry "Port" wine. The steam juicer is a very handy way to… Continue reading Elderberry “Port” and Elderberry Wine
