Our Blog
Any Hour now!
Last night, checking on Gertrude, was able to get a drop of milk from one of her nipples, and she seemed pretty restless. My guess is we should have piglets today or tonight at the latest. 
Back to School, sort of.
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.
A Very Pregnant Pig
Our Meishan sow, Gertrude, is very pregnant. We think (actually we know for pretty sure) she was bred on or around May 8th, which means she should farrow sometime between August 29 and August 31. So right around the corner. She has been having trouble getting into the tall feed trough recently, so I moved… Continue reading A Very Pregnant Pig
Elderberry syrup… Again.
Once again we have been several days without a blog. I have a stack of pictures and will try to get caught up. This was on Monday, August 10th. Mommy was at the fair, getting the nutrition and food preservation building decorated, and taking in all the entries that people brought in to drop off.… Continue reading Elderberry syrup… Again.
Blackberry Wine and Mead: A.k.a. homeschool science.
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.
Elderberry… Syrup?, Crabapple-Rhubarb.
After the superb elderberry harvest and juicing last Tuesday... No, not that last Tuesday. The last Tuesday before that last Tuesday... We had a whole bunch of elderberry juice, and nowhere to put it. But first, dark and early Wednesday morning (Aug 12) planted out another tray of cabbages. They each have their own cozy… Continue reading Elderberry… Syrup?, Crabapple-Rhubarb.
Pierce Co Fair, 2026
Well, Fair Week is over for the year. Mommy was exhausted. She is superintendent for Food Preservation and Nutrition, and so she has been doing prep work regularly for months. Then she was busy the whole week leading up to it decorating and accepting entry turn-in. Then she was busy the whole week managing the… Continue reading Pierce Co Fair, 2026
Elderberries, beans, crabapples
Tuesday: the last full day before Pierce Co Fair starts. It was also a Monday, because on Monday we were too busy to Monday, due to baking for fair, and taking stuff to fair grounds for turn in, and decorating at the fair grounds. But Monday is the sort of thing that cannot be indefinitely… Continue reading Elderberries, beans, crabapples
Elderberries, Basil, Baking and Brewing.
Last week was the first elderberry picking of the year. I did a second picking Monday morning, early. The dried elderberries from last weekend are done, so we transfer them into a bowl and put the next batch in. The previous batch yielded almost a quart after drying. We found that if the clusters are… Continue reading Elderberries, Basil, Baking and Brewing.
Little Farm in the Big City 