About a year ago Daddy and Seppi and Winnie were out in the north pasture near the beehives. The small ones have grown a lot in the last year. They are become less small... More mighty. We have to revamp our tree protection system this year, for a couple of reasons. For one, I didn't… Continue reading Willow/Witch Hazel/Orchard update
Category: Gardening and Homesteading
Winter Roots
Before the latest cold struck we were planning on hosting Lord's Day dinner last Saturday. So we went to our garden and harvested some winter veggies. Winter beets. We put these in back on 8/21, but they didn't really amount to much. They sprouted, but only three were bigger than my finger. We'll leave the… Continue reading Winter Roots
Lamb Prosciutto part II
Bit of a late update, last Thursday, Jan 9, we took the lamb prosciutto out of the refrigerator. They didn't smell rotten, so that's nice. They actually smelled nice and spicy, so that's even nicer. Although not all of us appreciated the smell of the spices. Evie thought the spices smelled "too spicy." First we… Continue reading Lamb Prosciutto part II
Lamb Stock
We had a good pile of bones from the lamb after all the butchering last week. We froze them temporarily, just to keep them from spoiling until we got around to dealing with them. Last Monday, the 6th, we roasted them in the oven, and then put them in the roaster. This has become our… Continue reading Lamb Stock
Sick Days
We had a little virus bug blow through the house on Friday. It wasn't even that bad, but it was enough to give Miss Ellie a fever, so Daddy had to take a few hours of sick time while Mommy took Evie to homeschool co-op. Ellie Belle was wrapped up in a blanket on the… Continue reading Sick Days
Manure: It’s kind of like Money
Pardon me for using that dirty word on a blog that is supposed to be PG. We don't usually talk about it, but it is, unfortunately, a necessary part of life, one that we all have to deal with, alas, until the Kingdom comes. I am speaking, of course, of unrighteous mammon. A.k.a. money. Manure… Continue reading Manure: It’s kind of like Money
Kraut!
We've been meaning to get to this one for weeks, ever since the first frost. We had 6 big cabbages in the garden, and Daddy wanted to make sauerkraut. Unfortunately, that was November. It is now January. One thing and another has conspire to keep us out of the garden for the last two months… Continue reading Kraut!
Duckmobile
This is a project that has been in the works for the last 6 weeks, having been interrupted by nearly everything else for most of that time. As with so many other projects, it starts with a frame built from 2x4's. I know 2x2's are lighter, and more than adequate for housing ducks, but still,… Continue reading Duckmobile
Butcher and Packing the Sheep
Tuesday, December 31, we cut up the sheep. This is our first attempt at butchering an animal larger than poultry, so we don't know what we are doing. We have a book. The sheep were chilled in a <40 degree shop overnight, wrapped in cheesecloth to slow water loss. First step, remove the neck. Next… Continue reading Butcher and Packing the Sheep