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.
Monday we tried to get stuff done. Honestly we did. And some things got done, like school, bread baking, feeding the hooligans, etc. These are all good things, but they are not satisfying in the way that building infrastructure is. If you feed the hooligans today, you have nothing to show for it except a… Continue reading Odd Jobs
After a big weekend, nothing gets done. After three big weekends in a row, even less gets done. That's why we have not been blogging for the last week or so. Daddy had to work the day after CiderFest. However, Mommy made some pies while Daddy was at work. She is very worried lest he… Continue reading Recovery
Cider Fest is now two weeks out, or at least it was when these apples were collected. By the time you read this it will be barely one week out. It's time to collect the apples. For us, since we don't have a large, mature orchard, this means going on Facebook and asking around to… Continue reading More Apple Picking
Late August, the garden is gathering for its final burst of activity before the dark period. This is the most massive and vigorous stand of buckwheat we have ever grown. And the bees seem to be doing their job. I just hope we can get it ripened and harvested before the rains comes on hard… Continue reading Buckwheat, Triangles and Homeschool
This many banana slugs this large on the farm in August. There shouldn't be this much cordial and liqueur aging in the kitchen fridge at one time. It had to be moved to the shop to continue aging, out of the way of our daily food. There shouldn't be a band-aid case from the Pierce… Continue reading There shouldn’t be…
Monday, August 17th. Dear Diary... The day after fair is hard. Breakfast was leftovers. Leftover blackberry/rhubarb crumble. Leftover vanilla pudding. You know. Leftovers. After breakfast, Dad took us all to the farm and we had to pick beans and elderberries. (we've already written about the elderberries). This is a picture of me picking beans. Seppi… Continue reading Back to School, sort of.
Today we Took the second batch of blackberry wine and mead from primary to secondary fermentation. Both had a richer and more mellow flavor than our first batch. And took the first batch from secondary fermentation to bottling. It was drier, and the mead was a bit bland. And we had a homeschool science class.… Continue reading Blackberry Wine and Mead: A.k.a. homeschool science.
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
Last week was Swiss Kids Kamp. This was Ellie's first year going, and Evie's second year. Ellie was not at all sure she wanted to go, because she heard that they serve soup for lunch. Like, every day. That sounds like a fate worse than death! However, she braved through it, took her "no-thank-you" bites… Continue reading Swiss Kids Kamp 2026
Everything is homeschool. Even a muddy former driveway that the pigs rooted through for a couple of months. This becomes a vehicle for talking about healthy and unhealthy soil with the kids. Think of it as a "before" picture. The "after" picture won't be for a couple of years, but ideally that same former driveway… Continue reading Spring Buds
