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.
Well, folks. It came, it went. It was a whirlwind of pressing, canning, laughing, talking, joking, eating, drinking, and all the other things that go along with CiderFest. We outdid last year's count, with a grand total of 129 gallons (6 fermenting for hard cider, the rest canned) divvied out between almost 20 households. Started… Continue reading CiderFest 2026
Last Tuesday (Michaelmas) we noticed there was a windfall quince under our smaller of the two quince trees. It had a big rotten spot on the bottom, so it would not keep but rather than waste it we incorporated it into supper. Did a light sear on a rack of bone-in lamb loin, then braised… Continue reading Lamb and Quince
Leg 1: Starting weight 76 ounces, current weight 54 ounces, down 29%. Leg 2: Starting weight 74 ounces, Current weight 53 ounces. Down 28%. Leg three, Starting weight 86 ounces, current weight 66 ounces. Down 23%
Got to the farm for chores about 5 AM on Monday, and a little surprise was waiting. Eunice had her lambs! That's right lambs. Twins. There is a little black ewe lamb and a little white ewe lamb. And Eunice is being a great mom, nuzzling and licking and feeding and herding them here and… Continue reading Eunice’s Twins
The weather is not cooperating with our hopes and dreams, these days. We had originally been planning on butchering our big Meishan barrow ("Bacon") this coming weekend, but the weather is going to be over 40 degrees all night, several nights in a row. In fact, last weekend was likely our last night below 40… Continue reading Salt Cured Lamb, Continued
It's getting that time of year again! Time to plant the garden. We planted a dozen or so rutabaga last week, and this week we are starting the peas. On the crop rotation plan (yes, there is one) they are going to be in row four this year, so the first task was: Cleanup on… Continue reading Cleanup on Row Four
The lamb legs that were set down in salt last Saturday and the Saturday before (that is, February 21 and 28) were supposed to be rinsed and either hung or re-salted on March 7, but, alas, the National Guard continues to ruin everything. It was a drill weekend. So we didn't get to that project… Continue reading Salt Cured Lamb, continued.
Last week during lamb butchering I did something a little different. I harvested both kidneys with their fat caps. Not sure why, other than everything was going so smoothly, it seemed a pity to waste anything. (Don't worry, we still haven't attempted making haggis). But then, as often happens around here, we found ourselves with… Continue reading Steak and Kidney Pie
The last lamb we slaughtered was a difficult and frustrating process. The kill was quick and humane, but a single slip of the knife early in the dressing process resulted in slicing the achilles tendon and dropping the carcass, then a difficult skinning, which in turn delayed evisceration, resulting in the stomach falling and rupturing.… Continue reading Lamb slaughter and butchering, take 2
