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.
Tuesday: the last full day before Pierce Co Fair starts. It was also a Monday, because on Monday we were too busy to Monday, due to baking for fair, and taking stuff to fair grounds for turn in, and decorating at the fair grounds. But Monday is the sort of thing that cannot be indefinitely… Continue reading Elderberries, beans, crabapples
Last week was the first elderberry picking of the year. I did a second picking Monday morning, early. The dried elderberries from last weekend are done, so we transfer them into a bowl and put the next batch in. The previous batch yielded almost a quart after drying. We found that if the clusters are… Continue reading Elderberries, Basil, Baking and Brewing.
Oh, and also some buckwheat. This buckwheat was planted back at the beginning of July. It has been watered regularly and is now 3-4 feet tall. A decision has to be made at this point. Once the flowers are formed, the protein content in the stalks and leaves is at its maximum level. If cut… Continue reading Blackberry Wine, Mead, and Liqueur
"Look Daddy! I'm a stwirrel!" "Tan I help you took?" When was the last time you had a squirrel cook you potato-water griddle cakes for breakfast? Tuesday morning we got over to the farm for another picking of blackberries. The big thornless blackberries are a little the worse for wear at the moment. We are… Continue reading Blackberries, First Elderberries, and Drought problems.
The Summer harvest is just beginning! On Monday we did another picking of raspberries (pretty slim pickings, at this point) and we did our first picking of beans. Ellie bet Uncle that he would not find any beans on the west side of the beans. She bet him one scone for each bean that he… Continue reading Summer Harvest
It was a clinic weekend, so busy, but... Our new hens, the ones we started in February are laying! Egg production is starting to come back up again. And at least one of them prefers finding her own nest rather than using the ones we so lovingly built for her. 10 eggs in the stack… Continue reading Clinic Weekend
When life hands you blackberries... Make booze. Or at least try. With the puree from last week, Mommy made a couple of pints of blackberry vinegar, but there was still a ton leftover. So we made a batch of mead with blackberry (known as melomel). And a batch of blackberry wine. I didn't have quite… Continue reading Blackberry Mead and Blackberry Wine
Rosary Ruck on Saturday morning. It was good to get out and moving again. 5 miles, slow, but still rehabbing my right heel from Captain's Career Course. After the ruck I swung by the farm to do chores and pick up my wine making supplies. Uncle Adam had already done the chores, and was splitting… Continue reading Splitting the Log
Last Tuesday (July 28th) The three older kids were all at VBS, so it was just Daddy and Winnie for a few hours. We picked blackberries. Winnie loves being the only child. She chatters away, all the thoughts that come into her little head. Every other sentence is, "Daddy, I really love you!" She is… Continue reading Blackberries
None of our cabbage is ready yet. We were super busy in the late winter and early spring, and the long varieties of cabbage probably still have a few months to go before they fully head out. We did get some very nice cabbage heads from Dude, though. She planted cabbage for the first time… Continue reading First batch of Sauerkraut
Little Farm in the Big City 