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".
A corporal work of mercy
Now that we have Thursdays as a “family day” I would like to be able to claim that we spend every Thursday doing cool things and charitable works together as a family. In fact, this is not the case. At best, Thursday is now the day when we can go get groceries, catch up on… Continue reading A corporal work of mercy
Preparations are Under Way
Clock is ticking! Saturday morning we go live with our Second Annual CiderFest! First step is getting the propane stove in the shop... fired up! It gets cold sometimes, when you are cutting up apples and grinding and smashing them all day, and the ability to warm your little fingers from time to time makes… Continue reading Preparations are Under Way
No Grown-ups Allowed!
This post is a bit of a break from our usual fare, for a couple of reasons. One is that it has nothing to do with our farm. The other is that it is really more of a meditation or insight that arose out of the event. While on vacation two weeks ago in Tennessee,… Continue reading No Grown-ups Allowed!
Buckwheat processing, year 2.
Despite being a little under the weather yesterday, we processed this year's buckwheat, mostly. I would say 90% solution. I also have to say, this year it has been night and day, less labor intensive and more efficient than last year. This year we hand harvested into a garbage pail so we had much less… Continue reading Buckwheat processing, year 2.
Paddocks
Monday was an horrendously busy day (yes, that's right, I used the British "an" before a word starting with "h". How classy is that?!) As I said, horrendously busy, as is to be expected following a drill weekend coming right on the heels of family vacation, complicated by everyone being sick, one after another. Monday… Continue reading Paddocks
A Daddy and Winnie day
We have been slow getting back into the swing of things since coming back from vacation. The day after we go back Daddy was working, then we had an abbreviated Thursday with a lot of things to get caught up on. We only had two hours to work on the farm, before moving right into… Continue reading A Daddy and Winnie day
Catching Up
It has been a while since our last post here. We have been on vacation for the last week, visiting Ryan's family in Tennessee. We did some sight seeing, and helped out with some projects on the homesteads there, had some family meals and game nights. All in all a good vacation, but it did… Continue reading Catching Up
CiderFest 2024
Save the date!
It Works!
So far behind on posting, likely won't catch up because it's a National Guard Weekend coming up. But here's a quick update. https://youtube.com/shorts/lhwnyNE1_-A?feature=share Thanks to our good friend, the electrical pump for the rainwater collection system is hooked up and running. It is even now providing water for the animals on pasture.
Little Farm in the Big City 