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.
Earlier this year we put plant protectors around a bunch of our orchard shrubs and pasture trees. This was in order to facilitate letting the sheep and cows pulse through the orchard to mow the grass down for us, without letting them browse all the leaves off the figs, mulberries and currants (I'm looking at… Continue reading Protecting the Orchard Plants… more.
Halloween fell on a Friday this year, and Daddy had the day off work. Since we were planning on going up to Enumclaw around lunch time, Daddy decided to get to the farm early and get in a few hours of work before that. So after feeding the animals, I got right to work in… Continue reading Subdividing the South Pasture: One more Fence Anchor
Our first batch of hard cider has been bubbling merrily away in the closet since Oct 27. Monday, Nov 3, (one week later) I pulled the jug out to have a look at it. The scummy froth on top has dispersed, and the movements of the air lock had slowed considerably. It is now bobbing… Continue reading Hard Cider Update
The last time we made sauerkraut, we kept some of it in the kimchi fridge after it had fermented, because I didn't want to have two jars of sauerkraut in the regular fridge, where space is at a premium. Unfortunately, since it has been in the fridge for several weeks now, when we took it… Continue reading Sauerkraut fail and new batch
Meishans are a very interesting species of pig. We haven't completely figured out their behavior yet. Most of the time you can run them through the pasture and they may root a little here and there, but overall they will leave it alone. At most you'll have a spot or two where you have to… Continue reading Pasture Rehab
Recently we bought Seppi a new book called "Everyday Woodworking" by Youtube woodworker Rex Krueger. This is because he has been showing more and more interest in building stuff with wood. For example, last week when we got to the farm and started school, Daddy was too busy to help Seppi with his schoolwork for… Continue reading Tool Tote
What do you do when life hands you 100 gallons of cider? You make hard cider, of course. When I told the kids I was making hard cider they asked how you harden cider. So the process is now known as "hardening." The first step is cleaning and sterilizing our equipment. If we have learned… Continue reading Hardening the Cider
Lots of people (myself included) watch homesteaders on Youtube, and that show about early Victorian farms, and read John Seymour's "Self-Sufficient Life" and get all fired up about living the more simple life. Some even buy or rent or borrow some land and make a start at homesteading. But there is a dark side of… Continue reading Subdividing the South Pasture: First two Fence Anchors
Here in the good ol' Pacific Northwest, getting ready for winter is more about getting things ready for rain than it is prepping for snow or ice. This means cleaning out the gutters (before and after the leaves fall). We had gutter guards, but found that we grew too much moss under them and the… Continue reading Winter is Coming
Dun Dun Duunnnnn!!!! You have to clean up from it. That's what we have been up to, mostly, since last Saturday. Or, actually, Saturday before that. Time flies! All the tubs and bins and pots and pans had to be washed and dried. Anything small enough went through the dishwasher, but some of it had… Continue reading The Dark Side of Cider Fest…
Little Farm in the Big City 