Garlic Harvest
20 Friday Jul 2012
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in20 Friday Jul 2012
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in19 Thursday Jul 2012
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inWe have an awesome crew around here. We truly couldn’t do what we do without them. I’d love to tell you about them someday. Maybe someday when I don’t have high tech communication systems to write about.
Here is a board for communication between staff:
You probably didn’t want to know about emptying the outhouse—it’s a little personal I know. But this is the day I HAD to take a picture because who can resist a joke about acid wash jeans (hehehe)
And about the outhouse. It’s a composting one (cool right?!) So we do have to empty the well bedded , quite dry at this point, matter somewhere far away from all things (good thing our farm is so big) for oh, about a million years! And it never gets used on the farm, just so you know. It just returns to earth…….
Here is part of the communication board between staff and CSA members:
Very Official.
It makes me smile every time I see it!
Go forth and communicate!
~ this farm wife
19 Thursday Jul 2012
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inWe like to keep our pigs on pasture and rotate them. It really is the best way to raise them. They are happy and healthy, we rotate them through the vegetables as we are done with them and the meat is super good! (I love the word super by the way, and souper too!)
Last summer our pigs got out. It was bad. A stranger passing through stopped by at the house at 6 am to tell us our pigs were down at the corner by the church. YIKES! So of course we had to do a pig rodeo roundup. We finally got them in and by the end my husband was telling me that tomorrow was pig slaughter day (turned out it wasn’t. Imagine that.) Well later that day we got a call from our neighbor…the one in the other direction. Our pigs had dug up a few spots in his wife’s amazing, beautiful, work of art, pristine yard. My farmer and I ran over to survey the damage. Thankfully it was mostly sod and not flowers. Whew! We fixed it.
Well we recently found out that those same neighbors are having their daughter swedding this weekend in their amazing, beautiful, work of art, pristine yard. And our pigs hadn’t got out once this year. So my farmer and I joked that this would be the week.
Well last night as I was setting the table for dinner, out of the corner of my eye….was a pig running down the road! Exactly 4 days before the big wedding!!! So the whole family went out for a little pig rodeo.
The problem is, once an animal gets out, it has learned something. It has learned that going through the electric fence wasn’t “that” bad.
As you can see, this pig is NOT in the electric fence. In fact, this pig is in our freshly seeded fall carrots. Thanks Pig.
This is my farmer, showing his pig rodeo prowess. I promise I really did help. I just happened to be too far away at this exact point, and well, I happened to have my camera 😉
There. The pigs are closed in their hut for the night. Now we won’t have wedding nightmares. We will dream up a way to better train pigs on electric fence. These farmkids can really rock a rodeo. Notice their states of evening routine-“ Ready for bed”, “Just out of the bath” and “Haven’t started yet”
Whew! Done!
Goodnight
~this farm wife
18 Wednesday Jul 2012
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in17 Tuesday Jul 2012
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inEating well is a lot like having faith.
Someone once told me faith has a short shelf life. Meaning if you don’t practice it every day it’s easy to let it slip, particularly the passion or fire in your belly. I was driving the other day and I realized that eating well is similar. We have a diversified organic farm and we direct market everything we grow. So I spend quite a bit of time mulling over people’s eating habits, value, price, nutritional value, ease of getting (and keeping) quality local food etc… Really, as you can see I spend a lot of time thinking about this stuff.
So back to my mind during my drive. I was thinking about how when you are pumped spiritually, particularly because you have had a spiritual experience whether it be an event (church, sermon or maybe a yoga retreat….whatever your thing is) or when you’ve just met or talked with someone who inspires you or when you’ve read something that really touches your heart, or maybe you just had a little internal awakening, you know, a still small voice or feeling of comfort. You are just so pumped and you are in wonder and awe of this spiritual gift you have just experienced ( do you know what I’ m taking about or am I really a weird as I have always felt?)
Well I don’t want to belittle spirituality (as you can see I spend plenty of time thinking of those things too!) but I was thinking the other day about local food the same way. I know so so many people who will say they are “into” or value local food. And how important local farms are etc. And I don’t doubt for a minute that they truly believe that. Heck I truly believe that. Really. Truly. And so we buy local food “when we can/ in-season” or that’s what I do anyway. And it really is such a good thing. But here’s what I was thinking…..we are farmers, honest to goodness full time farmers working our hardest to feed those in our community. We do it every day and sometimes it’s gratifying, some days it’s amazing and some days it kinda sucks. But as I was driving I had a moment (not unlike a spiritual one!) where I realized, I mean I really realized, how ABSOLUTELY COOL it is that we grow food! And people eat it! That we produce this food from the earth and nourish ourselves and our community and I was just amazed. I was so proud of my husband and just thought WOW !!!! There are really few things in our lives as important as eating! And growing food is not easy! And I just thought how many times do we, myself included get hit with the importance, and gratitude and awesomeness of those who grow our food! (maybe it’s even ourselves!) Since I’m getting a little preachy here, can I get an AMEN!!!
So I know we are all busy and we all eat every day, but every once in a while when you bite into some nourishing food. Particularly if it is local and you know the farmer who grew that lettuce or pork chop enjoy the wonder of it! Imagine if there were no farmers! Imagine all the steps that get that food to you, from the seed, earth, plant, sun, water, animal, processing, transport, sale it goes on and on. And imagine all the obstacles that could have got in the way…..weeds, weather, pollution, exhaustion……then just for one minute. Be in awe of the food before you. And the farmer who made it happen.
Okay that’s my sermon for the day. I hope you’ve had a “spiritual” experience about your food!
Eat local!
XO this farm wife
*This post is linked to Sunday School at Butter Believer
22 Thursday Dec 2011
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inBecause we live on a farm we have a lot of food. Well in the winter we are little light on the fresh greens although the root cellar is pretty nicely stocked.
Well three things we are not short on, even during these winter months are milk, eggs and maple syrup.
The kids and I had a hankering for a holiday treat today so we came up with this fabulous eggnog recipe. It is amazing! and so simple! With all the eggs and milk around here I think we could drink it everyday! Ok, bad idea my waistline tells me but at least make a few batches during the holidays!
Simple Farmhouse Eggnog
2 Cups whole milk (we used our farm fresh Jersey and Devon milk, and I highly encourage you to find a local farmer near you and try raw milk, but I guess it’s okay if you use store-bought ;))
1/2 Cup heavy cream
3 farm fresh eggs ( this part I actually do think is important if you are going to have raw egg product)
1.5-2 tablespoons of Pure Maple Syrup ( Vermont is best of course!)
Blend together until frothy, I used my trusty Kitchen Aid, but a blender, beaters whatever works….
Chill
Serve
Plain is great, but it is fantastic with a little freshly grated nutmeg on top!
And I have to say I always get an extra little thrill when I make something “entirely” of ingredients that we have grown or made on our farm! It’s a farm wife thing.
and the little warning: use raw egg at your own risk and please, use your common sense, clean fresh eggs only.
18 Sunday Dec 2011
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inThings I love in no particular order:
1. Wood heat.—I love that my farmer can cut our wood, I love our fireplace that we use so often in the winter. I also love the yummy warm heat you get from a nice woodstove, ahhhh. I love campfires in the backyard in the summer, I just love wood heat.
2. A good movie on a winter night.
Notice a trend here? You aren’t seeing kiteflying or canoeing on this list. Maybe that because it’s because it’s 5 degrees out there. Maybe my title should have been, Do you curl up in front of the fireplace with a movie when it’s 5 degrees out too?
3. Girlfriends. Love them.
4. Late night shopping trips to the store with girlfriends when this 30 year old mother of three married for 8 years woman gets to act like a silly teenager at the local Grocery.
5. A good book, and a good bookstore, and a good bookstore proprietor, you get the ponit. Just love ’em.
6. The way my cat always seems to find a box to sleep in but 90% of the time, he;s sleeping in a clementine box.
That’s all. Just a few loves. Stay Warm!
15 Thursday Dec 2011
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inFinished up that pork….it was a long and productive day. As the night wore on and I was finishing up flavoring and wrapping sausages, Sam, my just turned three year old was right by my side. He helps me cut and wrap and ” organize” as he kept saying. Then he helped me fill the freezer, well let’s just say as many know that three year olds are “very helpful.” Finally I was able to put him to bed.
Me: Are you ready for bed?
Sam: Wu put me to bed I’m tired?
Me: Yep what book should we read?
Sam: The one about the strawberry that gots lost.
Me: Hmmm. I don’t know about that book?
Sam: Yes wu do!
Me: I don’t think so tell me about it?
Sam: Ok mom it goes like this. Ready? Plunk, plunk plunk
Me: Ohhh! Are we going to read Blueberries for Sal?!
Sam: Nods and smiles!
And we did, and sometimes that kid is just too darn cute!
14 Wednesday Dec 2011
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inToday is the day we cut up our pig for the freezer and yes I am so excited! Rob slaughtered and skinned them yesterday and hung them in the cold room to cool. As I write this I become more aware how different this farm life is and how normal these routines have become to us. And I’m grateful, that we eat so well and that we are connected to the process. It doesn’t scare us, not even the kids. A few weeks ago my husband was slaughtering the majority of the pigs for custom meat and I had to run to the neighbors with my 2 year old. The girls were playing in the barnyard and it was time for Rob to shoot the next one. Well my four year old daughter hopped up on the tractor and he had her run the bucket to lift up the pig while he straightened it and made sure the pig stayed on. When I came home I admit even I surprised, but she loved feeling so important and helpful.
I am excited to be filling the freezer with our delicious milk and organic vegetable fed pork. We slaughtered our pigs for sale weeks ago but those go to a custom butcher and now it is time to our own and yes, the farmer and I actually prefer to do it ourselves. We save money, we do it exactly the way we like it and we hang out in the shop together as a family cutting, grinding, wrapping etc.
My very favorite part however is the end because tonight is when we will bring the ground pork into the house to make our own sausage and render our fat to make lard and cracklins. There is something so satisfying about the process, shall we make italian sausage? or breakfast sausage? a little more fennel? more garlic! then we put all the pieces of fat into a dutch oven to melt down and near the end you get the cracklins and bits. They are so good and you take them out set them on a paper towel sprinkle with salt and oh my word!!! They are the best!. The rest of the lard gets cooled and put into tupperware for the freezer. It’s a long day but so satisfying all winter to reap the fruits of your labor.
But first my husband has to finish chores, then load 200 bales of hay onto a truck and I have got to get some homeschool done and then get my daughter to piano lessons before the real fun (or work) begins.
Today is gonna be a busy one, I don’t even want to think about the condition of the house by the end of it!
12 Monday Dec 2011
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inI love Christmas. I especially love Christmas trees. Every year since we’ve been here at the farm my tree has had even more meaning.
About four years ago when we found our farm I called my Mom to tell her all about it. How gorgeous it was etc, etc and of course what town our new home and farm would be in. Well our farm is in a very small town in Vermont and to be honest it is so small, (The ONLY store is a gas station kind of small. Oh and now a farmstand!) that I often just say oh, a little town in the Northeast Kingdom. Well Mom wanted to know “what” town specifically so I told her.
Well of course that week Mom got together with her girls(The Aunties, more on that some other post) for spa night (in Alaska, of course), Mom and the Aunties are ALWAYS getting together for spa night (those Alaska girls know how to do it right I tell ya!), sounds great doesn’t it? I could go for a spa night! Anyway, as they are gabbing along with their feet in the wax she tells the Aunties that I am moving to this tiny town in Vermont. Well one of the Aunties says “My sister lives in there!” Hmmmm, really?
The next day Mom calls “One of the Aunties sisters lives in your new new town you’ve got to look them up! ”
“Mom, I’m sure mistaken, you must have heard wrong, it is a tiny town of 600 people!”
Well no, it turns out they, Tune and Greg do live in here, on a Christmas tree farm, just down the road from us and they are sooo cool! Our first Christmas in our new town we went to go get our tree and Tune wouldn’t take any money, she insisted it was a welcome to our community gift. My husband and I were so touched. So the next year we went again but we ended up bartering three of our amazing Pasture Raised Chickens for a Christmas Tree, and it has been that way ever since. And I love it. They have become good friends and customers of ours and I just have to say, I love neighbors,I love bartering and I love small towns.
So we went to get our Christmas tree today and as I was heading out of the barnyard I quickly stopped at the Tool Barn to grab a couple of chickens out of one of the freezers. No matter what the price, it’s always three chickens for a tree. It makes me smile every time I look at that tree.