I told Winne "Someday, when you are big, you will be able to pull the strings off the bales all by yourself." No! Me do it! Help! I did it!
Author: Ryan Kraeger
"I only remember the very first part of the book where he described the man of steel and velvet and I remember the deep chord that phrase struck. I remember the image I had of a hand of living steel wearing a velvet glove, a hand that could crush or caress, strike a killing blow or wipe away tears, lift mountains or cradle an infant. The rest of the book was an afterthought."
From an essay about Aubrey Andelin's "Man of Steel and Velvet".
Last of the Pumpkins
We pulled the last of the pumpkins and winter squash off the garden on Monday of this week. First we tried to liven up the ducks a little. Since we put them in the garden area on Saturday they have been huddling along the fence on the east side of the garden, mostly hiding under… Continue reading Last of the Pumpkins
What the farm is for: Learning to Drive a Wheelbarrow
The science is clear. A child under the age of, let's say 10, will learn far more from a stick than he or she ever will from the fanciest pants screen device ever invented. (This is only slightly hyperbole. Many studies do confirm the critical role that concrete manipulation of three dimensional objects in space… Continue reading What the farm is for: Learning to Drive a Wheelbarrow
Processing Ducks and Turkeys
Saturday was a busy day on the farm. We set it aside as the day that the ducks and turkeys would meet their fate. Daddy and the three oldest kids went to the farm to help Uncle, while Mommy and Winnie stayed home to write out school schedules and do some baking. By the way,… Continue reading Processing Ducks and Turkeys
Brussel Sprouts!
We had a beautiful family day on Thursday, for once putting our Thursday to its proper use. One of the highlights of the day was harvesting and pickling some brussels sprouts. At first, Seppi didn't want to go to the farm, but once we had wrangled his "tool pants" on him, and told him we… Continue reading Brussel Sprouts!
Hand Plane Interlude
As sometimes happens, Tuesday afternoon we had a short stretch of down time, about twenty minutes, between doing chores and starting supper. 20 minutes is a lot of time, enough to get a quick job knocked out if you're all set up, or read a story book, but not really enough to get much progress… Continue reading Hand Plane Interlude
Odds and Ends
Time to go visit our Turkey Birds! They are very majestic and noisy, well worth visiting. Repairing our outdoor Advent Wreath! You might think we would be tired of apples by now, but... Not when they are dried apples! Everyone loves dried apples. We could preserve a barrel full this way, and it still wouldn't… Continue reading Odds and Ends
Quick Job: Check valve on water line
This is why I like having all the tools for each particular type of job (e.g. fencing, plumbing, electrical, etc.) whenever possible, in some kind of consolidated kit, or at a minimum in a consolidated location. Seppi and I were able to grab the tools and get this job knocked out in about 10 minutes.… Continue reading Quick Job: Check valve on water line
Preserving Squash
Saturday, after the Ciderfest, I took a walk out to the garden to check on the winter squash. It has been cold and rainy for several weeks and we want to make sure we are salvaging the squash before it starts to go bad. The Georgia candy roasters are the most susceptible of the winter… Continue reading Preserving Squash
Ciderfest 2024
Well, folks, our second annual Ciderfest was a great success. And now that we have done a second one, I think we can actually call it annual. It takes two data to create a vector, don't you know? "Here you go, Daddy!" Dixie cups for tasting the fresh squeeze. Let me tell you, there is… Continue reading Ciderfest 2024
Little Farm in the Big City 