Friday, October 23, 2015

It's all about France

Cabbage seedlings that I planted about 3 weeks ago.
One of the first books I read about gardening was Elliot Coleman's book, "Four Season's Harvest," and that was about 15 years ago.  Since then, the one thing that keeps coming back to me is what Elliot said about his garden and France.  

Here are two excerpts from his book: 

Page 2, "Four Season's Harvest"
Just a map.
Page 3, "Four Season's Harvest"

When we lived in Illinois, I was so excited to hear this because no one ever talked about growing a garden in the winter.  And now that we're in Missouri, I think we have even more potential!

It's quiet interesting that in just about everything that I read and listen to, France seems to be mentioned almost 95% of the time.  

Oh, and the things that we hear from people that we meet!  

For example.

A few weeks ago, when Barrett and I went to buy some electric fencing, the couple that stayed late to help us with our order, spent almost 45 minutes telling us about their trip to France that they took some years ago.  They had been to a lot of other places, but without any prompting from us, they mainly just talked about France.  

And just today, as I was planting the seedlings, I was listening to my iPhone and once again, France was mentioned, more than once.

France, France, France!!  They must be doing some things right over there otherwise I'm sure people wouldn't be talking about them so much!  Oh, if I could just jump in my car and drive over to France, I would do it in a heart beat! 

If I wait until I have all of the "right" things I need to plant anything, then I'll never get anywhere.  So today (I couldn't put it off anymore), I needed to plant my seedlings and I didn't have what I thought I needed.  So after trying to think outside of the box, I thought I could build a tray to "re-pot" my seedlings. 

"..............necessity is indeed the mother of invention."
   --Jo March, "Little Women"

So, I went about looking for what we had laying around and sure enough, I found some scrap wood to make a few boxes.  So Cooper and I set out to do that.  Oh, how I love to build things.  It's been a while since I've used a hammer and it felt really good.  

I have more boxes to build tomorrow and more seedlings to plant but I'll be on my own because the boys will not be home, so hopefully, I can get it done.

I have so much to learn about gardening, and that's alright because I'm not afraid to try.  I guess I'm a little afraid to admit it when I do something wrong, but I shouldn't be, but that's human nature. 

While I was working today, I was listening to some podcasts and one of the things that I heard was that if you don't make mistakes, you don't learn.  And I know that!  It's just hard to put yourself out there for people to see what is really going on.  Unfortunately, pictures can tell a story that isn't reality, but I would like to get to the point where I can be as transparent in a blog as I am in person, so I'll work on that.  Smiles! 

  So here I am, trying to learn.  I have the drive and the desire and--
Someday, I'm going to visit France.

In this little section of seeds there was about 225 little cabbages.

It doesn't really look like there are almost 225 seedlings in here.
Cooper and I built two more boxes for more seedlings.
One my way out to the creek to get some sand for the potting mix, I passed these Jersey ladies just relaxing in the pasture.  We bought them from a friend up north and they came to live here with us a few months ago.  The little guy, BoJo, is about 3 weeks old:  our first calf born here on the farm.  His mom is the light one in the middle.
Tanner's peacock came to visit me while I was planting the seedlings.
Two more boxes that we built.  The "soil" on the right was soaked to prepare for the seedlings.  Those lines on the one box are just water that ran down the side, although it looks like blood.  Ew!

Our turkey came to visit me also.  We're not eating him because we would like him to help us get baby turkey's next spring.
As soon as I started moving my soil "parts" around to prepare my mix; peat moss, sand, and vermiculite,  the birds thought I was going to feed them.  In the picture are some Peking ducks, a female turkey in the center, two guineas and some Muskovy ducks.
Here I am trying to finish the last tray, in the dark.
Elizabeth came out to hold a light for me so I could finish.  Three trays done.


October 2015
Sandy

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

October Babies

We just received and opened our package of our new baby chicks!  Aren't they cute? 
How do you count 50 playful chicks chirping and moving around?  You take a picture and then count 'em!

Earlier this year, there was a bird flu that killed thousands of turkeys in the Midwest.  So hopes of ordering any last spring to raise for Thanksgiving and Christmas was not going to happen.  The hatchery's were all sold out for the year.  

Now that Thanksgiving is just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about what I'm going to serve for the holidays, right?  Well, not really.  I should have planned this months ago.   

 Unfortunately, because I waited too long to place my order for turkeys in the spring, (although I didn't know what was going on) we won't be eating turkey on Thanksgiving and Christmas!

 This is sad!!  

"Tom", the "star" of our Thanksgiving Dinner, 2014, growing up on fresh pasture.

So now what am I going to do?

Hm................chicken!!  The next best thing, right?

 After growing our own turkey, it's hard to go back to buying one from the store so we'll have to wait until next spring to start growing some more.

Last year was our first Thanksgiving that we celebrated here on our farm.  And, last year was the first time, I ever prepared and roasted a turkey (and I'm old)!   Smiles!

It was a real treat to be able to raise our own turkey.  We've done quite a lot of chicken processing in the past so processing a turkey, we thought, should be pretty much the same, other then the size of the bird.  And even though "Tom" was was quiet a bit larger than a chicken, everything went smooth.

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Ever since we've been married, we've been able to see both side of our families for all the holidays.  We lived fairly close to each of them so it was easy for us to split up the day; one family earlier in the day and the next in the evening.  So because of that, I've never had the opportunity to host a holiday at our home other than a few Christmas Eve's--which I loved doing.

But that's okay!!  I'm not complaining, because I sooooo enjoyed going to see our families and spending the holiday's at their homes.  And I knew that someday, I would get the chance to be the hostess, so I just needed to be patient.

Now here I am. 

At my age, you would think that I would be over wishing that my mom and grandma were still here to prepare our holiday meals for us, but I don't think I'll ever be over it.  I really miss those days now that they're gone, but I'm so very thankful for the memories that I have.  They always made those times very special and their homes were always so very warm and inviting, and now I have the opportunity to follow in their foot steps.

 Do you think it's too late to start our own family traditions?

I don't think it's ever to late for us, or anyone else for that matter.

It's just that the transition might be a little difficult in the beginning.

Oh, I can only wish that I could go back and really thank them for all that they did to make our holidays a special one, but I can't.  So, it's time to look to the future and start making some new memories here on the farm.

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We processed young "Tom" about a week before Thanksgiving last year,
and let him sit on ice until the "big day". 

Wow!!

I have never tasted a turkey like this before!  

It was kind of funny too, because, we had Grandpa Mickey, Uncle Mark, Aunt Karen, and the girls for the Thanksgiving weekend.  Of course, I was nervous to have them share in our meal with us for my "first Thanksgiving".  Especially since they're "suburbanites" and the star of the Thanksgiving meal was a turkey that we had raised.

Even though my husband and I were born and raised in the suburbs, we've always longed for the country and did many things that suburbanites don't usually do. So Uncle Mark and his family knew who they were dealing with here.

And because of that, I'm sure Uncle Mark and Aunt Karen were a little nervous about our turkey too, but they would never have told us.  Smile. 

When the time came for us to sit and enjoy our meal together, I think we were all surprised at how amazing the turkey was!

 We didn't do anything to this turkey to make it taste the way it did except give it a place to roam free under the sun, drink clean fresh water, and eat as many bugs and creepy crawling things that it could. 

Tender, juicy, and Oh!  So tasty! 

Now, how am I ever going to break it to them-- and my family--that we were not going to be having turkey again this year?  I don't know?!?  Especially since Esther just told me that Uncle Mark said that he and his family were not going to come back again this year if we did not raise our own bird!   

"What!"  I thought. 

Do you believe he just said that?

Well, I haven't told anyone this yet, but this year, it's going to be chicken and all the trimmings for the coming holidays!  And a chicken is a bird, right?  

Anyway, everything will be just fine--right?

Yes.

 It will.

 I will be, because Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what God has given us.  And, if it's not going to be turkey, then................

We'll be thankful--for chicken! 

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(If all goes as planned, our little chicks will be in the freezer in about 8 to 10 weeks.)

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This is a photo of a confinement turkey house in Australia.


This is a picture of how these birds live.  I wanted to link to the website, but I can not.  No human being should see the way these animals are treated.  Everything that we can touch and hear and see and smell and taste is a gift from God and we should treat it that way. 

This type of farming is also done in the United States of America.  In these houses, the birds never see the light of day and you have to wear a mask to even enter the building.

October 2015
Sandy


Thursday, October 15, 2015

For the Love of the "Garden"


We're getting our second garden site ready for next spring although this is a dangerous job.  
Notice the boys in their hazmat suits!!  
We must protect them from all those nasty chemicals, you know, like, old rotten hay bales.

My plan is a 'no-till' garden so we're spreading some old hay on the new site for next year.   
The hay should decompose over the winter and help build the soil.   

I just finished reading, "The Plowman's Folly" by Edward H. Faulkner.  Wow, what a book!!  I'm looking forward to reading it again and his second book, "A Second Look", once I get it in the mail.

Even though the work was hard, we did have a few laughs here and there.

Resting?  The guys tell me this is hard work.

 
I thought this video was funny because that's Elizabeth driving the car on our road.

Our busy road, one logger truck today.
No, Esther didn't jump, Barrett pushed her off!
Ready and waiting for those young strapping boys.


October 2015
Sandy



Thursday, October 1, 2015

My Friend and those "Nasty Crabapples"!!



Crabapple jelly and juice.


When I was first married we lived in a condo on the second floor.  Our unit was on the end and had windows on two sides (a blessing in disguise); while the inside units only had windows on one wall.

I loved making our new place a home.

Just outside our kitchen window was a crabapple tree.  In the spring, it would bloom with almost- intoxicating, amazingly sweet smelling blossoms!  As the years went by, the tree grew taller and wider as the branches began to reach over our rail and out onto our deck as if trying to get as close to our window as possible.

Then, the crabapples would follow--and oh, what a mess they would make!  

Next to the tree, off of the parking lot, was the walkway with three long risers that led to the door and then into our building.  Sometime early in the Fall, our side entryway was almost always covered with the crabapples that had fallen from the tree.

Then, the bees would come.

I remember asking people questions about the crabapples and what I could do with them--if anything.  Everyone I talked to said that they were good for nothing and all they do is make a mess.  "Aw", I thought, "Really?"    

After we moved out of our condo, I longed for my crabapple tree!!  Oh, how I missed the spring and the smell of those blossoms!

I tucked the memory of my tree very deep down inside of me and forgot about it.  Until now..................almost twenty-seven years later!

When we were on our trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Rancher's Wife and her husband, took my girls to their friend's house to pick crabapples because they were going to make jelly.

Crabapple jelly?!?

"You can't make jelly with those nasty things", I thought when I heard what they were going to do!

While I was away, they juiced the apples and then let them sit overnight so they could get as much juice out of them as possible.

A few days later, after I came home, the girls and I went over to start canning the jelly.

When the jelly was finished, I would have to say that I was a little reluctant to try some since all I've ever heard was how crabapples were good for nothing.

My first taste was not what I had expected.  I didn't really like it.  Even though we put a lot of sugar into it, I still found it to be too tart.

Then, I had my next bite.

Then, I tried it again.

Then, we had it on some warm, fried bread that the Rancher's Wife had made us for lunch.

Now I was hooked! 

This jelly was soooooo good!!  It tasted so clean and fresh!

 I'm really surprised that I liked the jelly because I'm not really a "jelly" person.  I rarely--if ever--eat jelly at all.

I didn't grow up in a canning family, but I can remember when I was very young, my mom canning some mint jelly, which she covered with wax; and when I was first married, I canned some salsa.  But that was the extent of my experience.

It's too bad that I had to move over 400 miles away from where I grew up to learn how to can and taste farm fresh food.  And we've only just begun!
I can see a lot more canning in our future!

When we brought the jelly home for the boys, I couldn't believe how much they liked it too!!

Oh!  If I could only go back and gather all of those crabapples from outside my kitchen window; I would make crush them.  And squeeze them.  And drain them.  And then,

make them into jelly!!

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That day we canned eleven pints of jelly and a gallon and one-half of juice.  When we run out, we'll be able to make more with the extra juice.

I have learned so much from my friend--the Rancher's Wife.  She and her husband have been an incredible blessing to me and my family.  I wish that all of my friends had someone like that in their life.  Maybe you do and I just don't know about it.  But if you don't, please find someone like that;  your life will be so much richer for it.  They have so much to teach us younger ones! 

When I grow up, I want to be just like my friend, the Rancher's Wife.



September 2015
Sandy