Monday, Dec 30 the stars aligned. The weather was forecast to be 40 degrees during the day, and almost freezing overnight, and below 40 into Tuesday as well. Not only that but Ryan and Adam both had the day off. The time was right. The sheep must die. To recap, They were a pair of… Continue reading Slaughter day: Sheep.
Category: Gardening and Homesteading
Gutters
We have learned a few important lessons these past few weeks. One is that Christmas time is really busy for everyone, so very little gets done on the farm. The other is that the project of installing gutters on the chicken houses is long overdue. We recently picked up a trio of sapphire gem hens… Continue reading Gutters
Geese and Ducks off the Garden
This post is out of date, by almost a week. Geese have grazed the wheat down to about 3 inches on average. Supposedly this is a good thing, and is supposed to encourage new root and tiller production and a thicker stand, as well as provide nitrogen for initial spring growth. We shall see. However,… Continue reading Geese and Ducks off the Garden
Potato Experiment
Fun fact about our potatoes this year. The best yield we got were from volunteers, plants that sprouted from potatoes left in the ground from last year. Not sure why. Possibly Yukons are just more prolific than Butterballs; perhaps the fact that they were in the ground over the winter, cool but not frozen, damp… Continue reading Potato Experiment
Roast Duck
We skipped the turkey for Thanksgiving this year. Instead we roasted two of the ducks that we harvested last weekend. Kathleen stuffed them with apple and onion slices, and rubbed them with salt and pepper. She set them in the turkey roaster and filled the bottom with half an inch of apple cider to steam… Continue reading Roast Duck
Ducks in the Garden
Tuesday we spent the whole day at the farm. It was a light school day, and we had people coming over to pick up their turkeys for Thanksgiving, so it made sense to make if a farm day. Rocking the cool farmer look. We checked on our ducks in the garden. They were still hiding… Continue reading Ducks in the Garden
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
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!
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