Applegarth Farm

A Country Kitchen

2012-01-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

My vision of a country farm kitchen... It's an old settled place where smoke curls from the chimney and natural, honest materials have been used, wood and stone, brick and tile.  Walking up the stone path with perennial flowers flanked on both sides, you step onto the large covered porch and your eyes take it all in, geraniums and flowers in pots and cans of every shape and size, foxglove blooming under the window, and clematis climbing up the sides of the porch.  Delphiniums shine in the bright morning sun, and a comfy old swing are all there, along with friendly dogs that greet you, and cats that sit up yawning, everyone comes to say hi and welcome you. As you open the wood screen door and step inside you enter another world and all your senses come alive, a richly complicated smell greets you, of wood smoke and baking bread, herbs and garlic, frying onions and bacon, soups and stews, hot jams and vanilla, yeast and dishwater, somehow all melded together over the years. In one corner there's a porcelain sink so large you could bathe a child on either side, and in the middle of the kitchen is a wood fired range with it's moods and eccentricities that must be faithfully served to bake bread and boil water.

The stone floor in the kitchen has been smoothed and polished over the years by the passing of countless feet, and rag rugs in various sizes and colors are scattered throughout.  At the center of it all is the handmade thick slab wood table, scoured and worn over the years by daily use, it has been made strong and stable to last for decades, meals are eaten here, plans are made here, and laughter and good cheer happen here. The woodstove glows warm overlooking the garden below and comfy cushioned chairs sit on either side, as the sourdough rises nearby.

There is a certain squirrelling impulse in every country cook to store good things away into pots, jars, and baskets, things like chutneys and blackberry cordials, dried fruit, and herbs. The baskets are filled with apples and cherries, pears and plums, all waiting to transform into glimmering jeweled jars of jams and preserves, herb vinegars and oils. It's a place filled with milk cultures and a variety of cheeses, there are vegetables in baskets and grain in bins, and in another corner on a stack of bricks is a keg of homebrew and rootbeer with mugs nearby.   From the ceiling hang racks that hold baskets and large copper pots, bundles of herbs and strings of dried fruit.

There is an alcove off to the side which is the pantry where all the overflow goes, jars, jams and preserves line the shelves, canned vegetables and juices, sausages and salami all hanging to dry, aging cheese wheels and new wine on racks. There are crocks filled with pickles and sauerkraut, crackers in tins and canned soups and stews, although a small pantry it's filled to the brim from floor to ceiling with every good thing.

Parsley and chives grow on the sunny windowsill and billowy curtains blow in the breeze on warm summer mornings. The floors are well swept and the rugs are all shook, the laundry is drying in the sun by the garden, and the sounds of goats and chickens in the distance all add to the feeling of a world within a world, where it could all begin and end right here. For within is a refuge of comfort and safety where family and friends are generously fed, warmed, and cherished.

PS. I thought about this vision while sitting in front of my woodstove and began daydreaming of a long ago farm kitchen on a warm sunny day, so I pulled out my handwritten journal and began to write, some of this dream is already in place in my home, much of it I'm still working towards. I wanted to find a photograph of a kitchen like this and I couldn't find one, so I pulled together a few items in my kitchen that were close by. Milk from last nights milking, eggs from the chickens, garlic I grew and braided, hazelnuts I gathered in the fall, and a loaf of bread I made, winter vegetables from the garden, and a few sprigs of sage. I am a romantic when it comes to the old fashioned ways, and I hope my children and future grandchildren will derive this sense of well being in our own country kitchen.

testing our self sufficiency skills

2012-01-22T11:32:00.000-08:00

This last week has had it's share of highs and lows for us, we lost our power, phone, and running water for 3 days, and the snow came down hard for 5 days straight. Needless to say we got to test our skills. In my last post we were still in the fun part of the snowstorm, we had cozy showers and running water, laundry and a phone line, hot water and power. Before the lights even began to flicker we had already begun to gather water in vessels and lay out the candles on the table, just in case. Wednesday around noon the power went out, and the snow continued to fall hard. It was kind of fun the first day and night with no power, then morning came and another day, and another day, and the snow continued to fall. We had the phone line for the first day, and then that went dead for 2 days. We chained up the truck to get into town, and all through town it was compact snow and ice, our school district was closed all week, and the kids had fun playing and reading. I stayed busy with the animals, and cooking and cleaning, and continued to milk Zolena through it all. We had 4 kettles on the wood stove to heat water for washing and cooking with, some had melted snow and some water was pulled up from the hand dug well.

If you saw the weather for Seattle we're very similar only we're about 50 miles NE in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, our temperatures are often 10 or 15 degrees colder because we're 20 miles inland from the Puget Sound, and the Pacific Ocean. Just down the coast where my Mom and Dad live in Coos Bay, Oregon, they're so near the ocean it rarely freezes or snows and the snow almost never sticks to the ground, it melts right away. Here now a week later and we still have snow on the ground, it has warmed up, but the driving is still slippery. I don't like to drive in icy snow, so I've been happily home-bound all week, we've had plenty of good food and so have the animals. Plus I've been getting alot of great exercise hauling warm water heated on the stove to everyone.

There is a whole new appreciation for a wood burning stove when it's you're sole heat source (which ours always has been) and your main source to cook on, and heat water with for washing dishes. It also becomes the central focus in the evenings with candles around for light when there's no power. Even with a well the water doesn't flow from the sink without the electric pump, the toilet doesn't flush unless it's refilled in the back, and the shower doesn't work at all. Luckily for me, I took a shower right before the power went out for those 3 days.

I had a whole list of what I was going to do everyday this last week, and I pretty much had to put it on hold and just go into survival mode, tend the animals, chop wood, carry water, make meals, and clean. The beauty of the snow in mid January is nice, then we had too much snow, almost 2 feet, and then freezing rain, and then the cover to my chicken aviary was near collapsing and the pen for Stormy and Cowboy needed to have the snow removed daily. I was outside getting snow off areas that could collapse, the snow became hard to walk in, and we all got a little cabin fever. I also had the duty of shaking off all our edibles and ornamentals around the garden and yard, making sure branches stayed intact. When the rain finally came and it began to warm up, we all cheered, now today it's still melting and the wind is gusting with some high winds around 50 miles per hour, our winter weather is finally here.

Nearing the end of the 3 days we had some renewed discussions on independence from the power company and have a real desire to see our windmill operational, we've had one for years, and just need a high tower, a real high tower to get above the tree line. We talked about ways to build the tower and the batteries we'll need to store the power, along with many of the nuts and bolts of actually making it a reality. Back in the late 70's, my husband lived out here for 10 years with no power, phone or running water, that was back in the day when many back to landers started out just the same way.

Still today you could start out and buy or rent land, build a small cabin or modular home, put in a wood stove and small kitchen and live. It's amazing how simple people lived for thousands of years and how far we've come in such a short time. How many of us could survive without power for a month, or two, or more? I'm sure we all could if we had to, but wouldn't it be a little nicer with heat and a way to cook, and a piece of land to grow food. Our whole electrical grid is so fragile, the possibility of it going out for awhile is very real.

fun in the snow

2012-01-17T18:46:00.000-08:00

Kaley having fun sledding on our first "Snow Day" of the year!

It snowed most of the day today and they say more is on the way,

it looks like there will be no school for the rest of the week... and all the kids say... Yay!!!

Golden Retrievers are like kids, they love to play in the snow.

Tessa heading down the hill!

Tessa with the male puppy Fatolini (aka, Bubs), well he has several names depending on who's talking to him.

Summer wants to sled too! She loves getting in on the action.

Jason with Josie, she is such a sweetheart.

"Snow Kisses" from Sierra

in the kitchen

2012-01-17T18:45:00.000-08:00

I've been having fun cooking in the kitchen on these snowy days. Over the last several weeks I've been practicing a new method of making whole wheat sourdough bread. The method uses a wild yeast biga and a soaker, whole wheat needs to be brought alive by starting the bread the day before, and allow the flour the and wild yeasts to ferment. Everyone in our family loves good whole wheat bread. I'll write more about this method and post more pictures of this process the next time I make it. I also made a big batch of chicken, barley, rice and vegetable soup, and baked a butternut squash to eat as dessert (with butter and brown sugar) plus I'll have enough left over to add some to the soup tomorrow. I love to make good smells in the kitchen on a snowy winter day.

snow storm

2012-01-14T19:49:00.000-08:00

We awoke this morning to a dusting of fresh snow, just as predicted. As the day wore on it began to get dark and windy and the snow really started to come down. Just like a snowglobe, the snow went every direction as the wind blew.  Stepping out my back door, this is the view of the woods behind the garden, big Douglas fir and Hemlock trees. The trees surrounding our property are giant, and they always look extra big with snow on them.  The puppies had fun playing in it today, and the goats stayed inside their snug little barn. I fed everyone undercover, and gave extra helpings of alfalfa and grain.  They're saying more snow is on the way.

I like to cook when I'm cooped up inside, so I made a sweet potato pie, the smell filled the house with the sweet spicy aromas of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg.  It turned out delicious and we just finished eating a piece with whip cream, sitting by the fire all snug and cozy. We had glasses of goats milk to wash it down, Yum!

We've been feeding both of the fires, cleaning, and playing outside most of the day. I waited until the snow stopped around 4pm to go milk, I do have a covered area, but the snow going sideways still made everything wet on our milk stand. In early December I switched from milking twice per day to once a day during these darkest of days. I plan to pick back up again with 2 milkings per day in mid March as the days are getting longer and warmer.

I decided back in the Fall not to breed Zolena this year and just milk her through the winter until Jersey freshens in the summer and I can begin milking her. I'll have several months where they'll overlap, and the cheese making will really begin to happen. It takes a lot of milk to make cheese.  I'll also have Joon's milk and nigerians have the highest butterfat milk, it has loads of cream. It's so fresh and thick it whips up into cream in seconds, plus it's wonderful for cheese making and soap making.

Naptime in their new bed that Dad made for them over the holidays. We have two beds he made just for the dogs to give them their own cozy spot. Summer's in the one on the other side of the porch, it's kind of like a dog living room now. They see me with the camera and open their eyes to say hi, still tired from playing in the snow.

Jersey's date last night

2012-01-13T16:44:00.000-08:00

Jersey is almost 2 years old, which is pretty old as far as goats go for never having been bred.  I've been wanting to get her bred all through the Fall and somehow couldn't time her heat cycle where I knew she was ready, or I was at work and couldn't get her there. I talked with the the breeder Kim and she helped me pick out a gorgeous buck named Excaliber to be the sire, I looked at him through pictures on her website.  It happens to be the same farm Jersey was born at, called My Enchanted Acres Nubian's, she has about 40 goats, all Nubian's and has been raising them for over 20 years. They're one of the most well respected Nubian breeders in the Northwest, and I am thrilled to have her bloodlines.

Kim told me what to look for in heat cycles and that they can last for 2 to 3 days, and happen every 21 days. I watched and watched and finally noticed her going into heat on Christmas Eve of all days, she was in full blown heat on Christmas day.  I knew I'd have to wait another 18-21 days for her to go into heat again, there was no way I could get her there on Christmas day. There are definitely benefits to owning a buck, if I had one, we could have just put her in his pen on Christmas day and it would be no big deal.

I knew we were getting to the end of rutting season, and Nubian's are seasonal breeders, meaning the bucks go into rut from about mid August to mid January, and the does go into heat during this time as well.  The little Nigerians can breed year round, that is one of their special benefits. I was getting worried we may have to just wait until next Fall, which I didn't want to do because I wanted to start milking her this summer along with Joon.

Yesterday I called Kim in the morning and excitedly told her Jersey was wagging her tail, bellowing , and mooning over little Cowboy (the Nigerian buck we have). I said "I think she's ready, can we come over today". We agreed on a time, got the pen together in the back of the truck and drove the 30 minutes over to their farm.  While we were driving her there, Jersey had her head to the wind taking in all the new smells. As we unloaded her, she looked around at the familiar farm where she was born. I'm sure she remembers the first year of her life. I bought Jersey through another lady who only had her for a couple months, she got her from this farm. It was fun to meet Jersey's mom and grandma and see all the many variations of color and beauty in her goats. At one point while we were waiting for them to get the buck, my husband called me over and said you gotta come see this. I had been looking at the yearlings, and when I went over and peaked over the wall, there were 22 cute and curious goats looking at me, they were the older does, munching away on their hay. I so wish I had brought my camera, but the lighting wasn't the greatest and it was getting dark.

As Excaliber came up to us, I noticed how big he was, his coloring is a creamy color and he is so handsome, as far as Nubian bucks go. Plus we quickly realized he was also a total gentleman, Jersey didn't seem too scared, but leaned into me for courage I think. Before I knew it, it was over, and they said, there's one. As the four of us stood there talking along with many little goat eyes curiously watching us, he bred her 4 times in about 15 minutes. Then as they led him away, I said "So that's it, she's pregnant now". They said " Yes, that's all there is to it." Well how bout that. Jersey seemed calm and happy, and we loaded her up, gave them the breeding fee, and then got to have a peek at her new 3 day old Nubian kids. She had 4 kids already born this year, and has more to come all through the early winter and spring, they were so cute, I can hardly wait!

I was so relieved to know that I got the timing right, and that we'd gotten Jersey bred this year. Plus we're happy for her that she'll get to be a mom, and that we'll get to have another milk goat. This year Joon should have kids around May 10, and now Jersey around June 12th.  It worked out perfect to have the kids spread out, so the first month of their life they can be in the nursery with a heat lamp. Such simple things like getting a goat bred make me happy today.  We also have snow predicted for this weekend, only our second time since November. I love the snow in January and February, it just feels right, it's winter after all :)

plans for this year

2012-01-07T13:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes in the middle of the night when all is quiet and I look out on the stars, I say thank you because I'm so grateful. I know that I'm living the life imagined by me for so many years, it's the one my husband and I have created and we love it.  I also know that it all came from within first and began as a thought, then it was talked about, then it was written down, and then it was accomplished through time and labor. Some goals and thoughts are quick to accomplish, like saying you're going to get up at an hour earlier, but most often there is time and work invested to bring our dreams into reality.

A gift from my daughter for Christmas was a new journal. I like to start a new journal every year, in it I write down my overall goals, then break them down into the steps I need to take to bring each one into reality. I will then invest time each day or week to work on the goal. I have many different areas of interests and some take more or less time and some are seasonal.  Most of my goals take money and it needs to first be earned, and then invested into materials. This year I want to be better organized with my time.

One of my biggest goals this year is to set up an art studio and begin painting again after many years. When I was young I remember whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'd say, "an artist" meaning I wanted to paint pictures, I used to love to draw people and animals. I need to set aside 2 or 3 hours a couple days per week, and schedule the time in, so I actually sit down and do it. I have an upper loft in my bedroom that is going to be just for my paints, paper and artwork. It has plenty of light and will be perfect. I want to paint pictures of our farm life and capture these moments on canvas.

Another big goal is to set up a "creamery" in my kitchen for a while, and just learn everything I can about cheese making, I have visions of wheels of cheese aging in a root cellar. I want to make as much of my own butter, yogurt, and ice cream as I can this year too. Speaking of root cellars, we began digging into a North-east hill side by our house when we had a back hoe here last year. We moved some big rocks over to begin a staircase, someday this will be a stone entrance with an arched thick door, and will be an authentic root cellar. For now I have a large basement that is our storage area, and will cure aging cheese just fine.

Grafting and propagating fruit trees and edibles for Applegarth Nursery is going to be a big priority along with potting up native species for sale, and planting more rootstock.  This year I want to get licensed through the state to be able to sell my nursery stock and farm products, like goats milk soap, and lotion. I also want to go to the Seattle fruit tree society scionwood sale in February and get more varieties of fruit trees and root stock to plant.

Soap making is going to be fun this year with goats milk. I still need to buy more supplies and also want to try my hand at making lotions. There are new essential oils I want to try as well as making some naturally scented bars. Plans are to turn the kitchen in the barn into my designated soap making area. I hope to be selling Applegarth soap and lotion on Etsy, and to be linked through this blog by next Fall.

Something I want to see happen this year is a farm sign at our front gate. I know I'll have to paint it myself to be happy with it, I'd love to carve it out of wood and then paint it. I want it to be oval shaped, and have some artwork depicting our farm, like a goat, an apple tree, and a rabbit perhaps. I need to play around with a design on paper first.

For years I've been wanting to learn how to make my own artisan beer. I've checked out every book our library has on it and read them all. I've talked to brewers and got catalogs from them of where they get their supplies. In the old days every good housewife knew how to make hard cider and homebrew, as well as how to make cheese, soap, sew, and cook. In our orchard we have apple trees planted that are specifically for hard cider and someday we'll have fall cider pressing. For this year though I just want to learn to make good artisan beer and bottle it. Not that we drink a lot of beer, it would just be fun to learn. Once you get into making your own good foods, I think good drinks are simply the next fun thing to try.

We are planning to build the goats their own goat barn this year, at least phase one of it. This will take the most time and money of all our projects.  We'll hopefully begin this spring or early summer by pouring the foundation and beginning the framework and roof. It will have to be done when the days are longer for my husband to work on it after work. This will also be the year our perimeter fence will finally be finished, currently it's two thirds of the way around our 10 acres and we just got most of the remaining wire needed to complete it. For the last few years we have invested much time and labor into this fence. It will be so nice to have this huge goal accomplished. I am going to love being able to close our main gate and know all the animals and plants are safe and protected from the deer and predators.  The chickens will have daily freedom and our goats will have plenty of room to run and have rotational pasture.

Each one of the children has goals they are working towards as well. Tessa is learning the guitar and we've been taking her to lessons once a week. She'll be doing Track in the Spring and Soccer in the Fall (both seasonal school sports), plus she'll begin high school. She has her goals of going to the University of Washington after two years of community college, and is talking about a career as an editor or publisher of books. Kaley is our runner, we are planning to enter her in various local running races as this is dream of hers.  She has hopes of going to college on a running scholarship. Jason is getting a car soon and will be getting his first job this Spring. He's a Junior and is also enrolled in a technical school learning automotive repair. My daughters living on their own Christina and Heather, both have good jobs as barista's and goals they're working towards just as ambitiously. We like to help all our children plan and think about their futures by talking about college and what classes they need to take and talking about different careers with them.

In our big house this years goals are to finish the walls, taping, texturing and painting them. We are also planning to put down the tubing and pour the floor in the kitchen so when we lay our stone tile it's heated. I also want to put finish on all the interior wood.

I have plans for this blog, like having a section for the books I'm reading and the ones we have in our library. I want to take more pictures of the meals I make and the recipes and methods I use. Plus I'd like to connect and network with more local women that are interested in learning from each other.  I want to be faithful to write regular posts and articles that are interesting and inspire you to learn and grow.

The vegetable garden will have some new things like jerusalem artichokes and globe artichokes, and I'm hoping for my greenhouse to get set up too, but may have to be happy with just a small hoop house to get starts going this year.  The flower beds are getting an addition of trees and plants that we've been planting over the last couple months, and continue to plant even now. New beds are being dug and we're landscaping around our big house. We've been getting trees and shrubs through the nursery where I work and I'll share more about this whole landscape project in another post.

It sounds like a lot when I read it all. This year I'm going to continue learning all about gardening, goats, chickens, rabbits and honeybees. It will be the year our farm gets licensed to sell products and we'll go through our gate and see an Applegarth Farm sign hanging. It will be the year of the artist and a creamery and a brewery in the making, these are some of the good things in life to me.

Most of all I want this to be a year that I honor God in all that I do, and to daily thank Him and count my blessings. I hope this is a year full of health and prosperity for our family and yours!

writing out the dream

2012-01-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

This is a post I wrote on December 14, 2010, with a few minor changes. I wanted to share it again for those of you new to this blog. I'm planning to write out my 2012 goals and will write a post detailing them.

One of my favorite things to do when I have a quiet moment is to dream of what I really want in life, what I should be doing that is meaningful, not just for me, but for my family, my friends and the community where I live. This is new to me in recent years, I haven't always been in a position to even be able to think about what I wanted to do. My thoughts have primarily focused on raising my children and creating memories with them, cooking, cleaning, organizing, and tending to everyones needs have been a huge job over the last 20 years! In the midst of raising children I also worked for 12 years as a realtor and had to be disciplined to make money. Personal ambitions since I have been an adult have been very limited, if you're a mother with young children you will understand.

Four years ago, I really began to ask the question in my quiet hours, what am I here to do on this earth (besides raising children)? What do you want me to do... my creator? I would ask Him who knew me before I was born, and created me, gave me my family, my Mom and Dad, my twin sister, and my brothers, and gave me the gift of 5 beautiful children, and my husband, whom I adore.

Writing it out.. this is what I heard when I asked 4 years ago what it is I'm put here on earth to do? My answer was simple and clear, but also included some of my childhood dreams of painting and animals. You are called to teach others about what you're learning about self sufficient living through writing and photographing your journey. Get prepared to be out of debt, create your own food and power, work from home as much as possible, and teach all that you are learning, and have learned over the years. The cashflow is to come through having a small fruit tree and edible nursery, and Jarin's new business building cabins and bungalows.

5 years ago I started gardening more intensely, and studying like a student in school, getting as many books as I could. 4 years ago, I studied beekeeping, and got 2 honeybee hives, plus that was the year I bought fruit trees, put in an orchard and learned all I could about pruning and tending to my new orchard and hives. Jarin deer fenced the large vegetable garden, so we could really begin to produce our own food, and it has grown by one large bed every year.

The next year I got rabbits, and more fruit trees, and Jarin continued to build fencing to enclose the whole ten acres in deer proof fencing. We want to plant the land in fruit trees and edibles, without having them destroyed by the deer. The next year we got chickens, and began to build the coop and the chicken run to make it predator proof... this was a huge job!

We are learning as a family where our food comes from, how much work it is to create rich soil to grow your own food. How to create fencing that lasts and keeps deer out of the vegetables and fruit trees. We have learned to greatly value the chickens, rabbits, and honeybees for their contribution to the farm's permaculture plan.

In the next few years we hope to get off grid totally with the help of a windmill and solar power. These are dreams that will become a reality I know. Further down the road, I hope to hold self sufficiency classes and retreats here at Applegarth Farm.

2011 farm highlights

2011-12-31T08:18:00.000-08:00

I'm ready to end the year and start over fresh and new in 2012. The week before New Year's I mentally review the past year, all the highs and lows, and new experiences. I try to remember the valuable lessons I learned along the way as well.

2011 ~ Year in Review

Applegarth Farm Blog ~ For the last year I've been taking pictures and writing about our life here at Applegarth Farm. It's been good for me to have my goals staring me in the face and write about them, somehow writing and reading my goals regularly helps them to come true. Over the last year I've had fun discovering and reading other blogs, mostly women who work on and write about their farms and gardens, and cooking and family.  There are some really incredible people that have taught me things I didn't know, and inspired me to learn new things I'd never thought of before.  The blogs I enjoy have women writing about their lives and sharing from their hearts and I look forward to what they write about, and a little glimpse into their life.

Work ~ In early April I got a great new job working in a plant nursery on weekends. I wasn't even looking for a job but agreed to try it. I have met more wonderful new people and enjoyed working and learning in a field I love.  You know the old saying do what you love and the money will follow, it really is the best advice. Thankfully I also get to go back to work again this April.

Moving from the barn to the big house ~ This added it's own element of work that I haven't talked about a lot, but it was definitely a highlight of 2011. We moved over a bare minimum of stuff to be comfortable in the beginning of May, so we could still work on the house. I've slowly been bringing stuff over as we need it, but I have a lot to go through still in the barn this coming year. In the midst of all we're doing it has been hard to devote the time needed to work on it. This will be a big goal in 2012, to continue finishing the house we're living in, not ideal, but it works and I'm happier!

Goats ~ I began talking about goats here over the winter, and began looking at them in Spring. Come early June when I still didn't have one, I went to the feed store and bought a bag of goat food by faith. By the end of June we had 2 goats, Joon and Stormy, both Nigerians and a Nigerian doeling on reserve. I wanted my own fresh goats milk, and realized it would be a year or more before I would be getting any. We looked some more and found a Lamancha in milk along with a young Nubian, they were a package deal.   Then the baby Snowdrop was born and we had to wait several months for her to come home. In the Fall I couldn't get Joon bred so brought home a buck. Now we have 6 goats to start 2012 with. We haven't had to buy any milk since bringing home our Lamancha "Zolena", she has provided enough for our family. They were all big highlights and have added tons of fun and work to our lives.

Soap ~ I had been wanting to make soap for a long time and really had fun learning all about this last year. I spent time studying and reading after my failed attempts. I learned to render suet in tallow, and to make many different varieties. We just used up the last of the soap I made, and now I'm ready to learn to make goats milk soap this coming year.

Goldens ~ This was a year to learn all about breeding Golden Retrievers. We bred Summer in August to a gorgeous male named Ace, and she had 4 puppies on October 10th. We still have Josie and Fatolini, (aka. Jesu) and plan to keep them both. Yes 4 puppies and we keep half the litter :) We found great homes for both little Ace and Sunny, and will get to see them as they grow up, especially Sunny because she went to family friends.

Garden ~ When I say my garden, it usually refers to my vegetable garden, which is where much time and labor are spent. I had some good successes and not so good, and this really does need it's own post, so that will be coming next month. Right now I'm going over seed catalogs that come in the mail this time of year, and beginning to plan for spring planting.

Rabbits ~ It has been a year of change in the rabbitry. We still have 3 of the mini rex does, but in addition I got a breeding pair of Champagne d' Argents and American Chinchilla's. They are both meat and fur rabbits, and I'll be selling their offspring as pedigreed breeding stock for backyard farmers. This is an exciting new change for me, that of breeder.

Chickens ~ Our chickens multiplied this last year, we had 4 setting hens, 2 in the spring and 2 in the Fall, and we added about 12 new hens to the harem. By this February we should have 24 laying hens and will finally have eggs to sell after 3 years of building up to this point. We also raised our first batch ever of meat chickens and processed 30 of them, they are delicious and we have a freezer full.

Bees ~ I started out the year with one incredibly strong hive, unfortunately it swarmed when I was at work one day in early June. I thought some of it had come back, but in the end it never fully recovered, so I had bees all year, but not many. It has been a sad year for me with my bees, I was so disappointed I didn't want to write about it. This spring more bees will be arriving in the apiary, and we'll start over, these things can happen. The lesson learned, check the bees regularly in Spring and early summer and add supers before they need them. My plan this winter is to get all my frames rewired and new wax put in them. This deserves it's own post in Jan/Feb. I'll talk about getting ready for bees and what I'm doing.

That's a quick review of the farm highlights for the year. Goals and plans for the coming year are brewing  inside me and waiting to be written. Some things I didn't get to last year that I plan to this year are cheese-making, more soap-making with goat's milk, candle-making and learning to propagate different trees and shrubs that I don't know how to do already. We'll also have our first goat kids arriving in early May, and will be building our goat barn and working on more fencing.

Happy New Year!

Tis the Season

2011-12-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to reflect on the magic of the holidays, it's the time to be with family and good friends, and to be a little extra indulgent... like spicing up the coffee with a dash of Bailey's Irish Cream. With the nights longer, we like to sit by the fire more than ever (dogs and puppies included). There is a richness in just slowing down, eating good food, and being close together by the warmth of a wood stove.

Tis the season to celebrate with our traditions, each of us in our own way. We put up a tree, give a few gifts to each other, and the children get stockings filled with goodies and small gifts on Christmas morning. Our tree is cut from home or we go to a tree farm, this year we have a Blue Spruce tree, and the needles bring the smell of Christmas to our home. I like colored lights on our tree, and decorations made from the kids at school over the years, we also have glass balls, candy canes, and wooden ornaments.

Tis the season for good food, on Christmas morning our tradition is to have a breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls, fruit, juice and coffee. Then we have an early dinner with honey cured ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, homemade rolls, fresh vegetables, and for dessert I'm making a pumpkin and pecan pie.

Tis the season to gather greens from around our property to bring inside and decorate with. Just being outside gives me time to reflect on the true reason for the season... Celebrating the birth of our saviour, Jesus Christ. I've been thanking Him extra this year for His many blessings. He has taught us about walking in faith, sometimes not knowing how our needs would be met, but somehow He always provided a way, and gave us the strength and health to work hard. For this reason I reflect upon Him more than ever over the holiday season, and say thank you. I hope Christmas is special for you and your family and that your wishes come true... Tis the season for miracles, only believe!

the lucky one ~ meet Romeo

2011-12-08T13:12:00.000-08:00

When all was said and done with our chicken harvest, Romeo the rooster got to stay. His exquisite tapestry of feathers and sweet personality won my heart. I justified that we needed two roosters because we have 24 hens, they say one rooster for every 12-16 hens. Our closest neighbors we give eggs to, and we're giving them one of our home-grown chickens for a holiday dinner. They have endured our crowing roosters with good humor thankfully.

Half of the hens are young, 4 of them have just started laying pullet eggs, and we are back to plenty of eggs after our fall shortage because of moulting hens and hens too young to lay. Come the end of February we should have an abundance of eggs, and I'll finally have some extra eggs to sell to help pay for their feed. Remember that self sufficiency with the animals is our ultimate goal. I figured last year that I'd need around 25-30 laying hens to accomplish feeding our family and selling enough eggs for them to pay for their feed.

I feed the chickens layer crumbles, corn, dry cob, and allow them out to forage for greens and grubs. If you don't let chickens out to forage a couple times a week, it's a good idea to give them some type of protein, ie. black sunflower seeds (they love these), or feed meat scraps once per week. I usually feed extra corn in the winter because it helps to produce warmth in the chickens and better winter laying, plus we give them fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen and garden.

Mornings around here are feeding time, and the ground is usually covered in thick frost this time of year. The sun warms the chicken run first thing, and after they all get their fill of food and water, everyone will sit in the sun and groom themselves. They all have different areas they congregate in at different times of the day. Each group of chickens that were raised from babies together have their own group. Romeo has his allotted 4 hens that are his, should he stray and try to mate one of Rodney's girls, oh boy all comes undone. Rodney let's him have it, and tells him to leave his 12 girls alone. He's learned now to stay clear of them. I'm not sure who the youngest 8 hens will chose. In the coop there is definitely a pecking order, and the new young one from the batch of meat chickens is the lowest girl on the totem pole, it will take her a while to be totally accepted by everyone. I need to take a picture of her so you can see if anyone can guess what kind of chicken she is, I'm still not sure.

8 weeks old

2011-12-06T11:43:00.000-08:00

Sunny, Ace, Fatolini, and Josie

Early in the morning and still sleepy on their 8 week old birthday, the puppies are growing up fast, we have absolutely fallen in love with them all, and it will be hard to say goodbye, we are keeping Josie. In the picture below the kitten Cinnamon was purring and rubbing against the puppies.

Josie running to me when I call her name. I have her come and sit down for a good pet.

Sunny

Ace, Josie, and Sunny

Joon's Cowboy

2011-12-05T12:14:00.000-08:00

This morning I went out to take a few pictures of Joon with her new man. Over the weekend we brought home a Nigerian Dwarf Buck, his name is "Cowboy". The owner is the same farm where I got Snowdrop from, and she agreed to let him come here for a month trial. We're doing a trial mostly for my husband who hasn't wanted a buck on our farm, so we can see if he can endure the smell and their ways. If Cowboy has good buck behavior he may just get to stay... cross my fingers. I put Joon in with him yesterday and she didn't want to leave she was enjoying his attention and crooning in her ear. That was after watching him wear himself out chasing her, and her running and head butting him. I got to learn first-hand about courting goats. She should be in full heat today or tomorrow.

I thought for sure Joon must have had enough after a half hour, but no, she wouldn't come out, I tried several times, and in the end let them stay until this morning, they were both having so much fun. I put her back in with her buddies for several hours and will try again this afternoon. What we're looking for here is a standing heat, then she'll stand still for him to breed her. When new to this whole thing it's a bit of a mystery at first and running back and forth with a doe to a bucks farm is frustrating. Joon is also the kind of doe who wants to know who the buck is first, and she wants him to court her properly. Our last attempt at breeding, she couldn't get away from the buck fast enough. With Cowboy she's in love!

Cowboy is about 7 months old, and is from Poppy Patch Farm, he has Rosharon, Algedi, Twin Creeks, and Ponders End in his blood lines. Joon also has good bloodlines, her official name is Sugarcreek Joon, and she has Sugarcreek, Spring Run, Enchanted Hill and Velvet Acres. One good thing if I keep Cowboy is that I could breed him to Snowdrop in the Spring when she's old enough.

The bright winter sun shines right on the goats, chickens and rabbits in the morning and early afternoon , we situated their housing to take advantage of the morning sun in the winter when we all need it the most. I enjoy feeding and milking in sunshine when it's out.

Everyone was happy to welcome Cowboy to Applegarth Farm.

harvesting the meat chickens

2011-12-03T21:46:00.000-08:00

We processed our meat chickens this last week, the jumbo Cornish Cross meat birds are ready to harvest around 8-10 weeks old, and ours were about 9 weeks old. If you don't harvest them soon enough their quality of life deteriorates rapidly. All of our birds still looked healthy, but we knew they were at that point of being ready. This was our first time ever doing anything like this, it was kind of a dreaded thing and we procrastinated until the end. Somehow sweeping my floors and cleaning the house became more important than anything, I found myself for two days worried about it and knowing we had to do it.

Setting up our work station was step 1, Jarin set up a wonderful work area for us. He equipped it with a cone, a hanging rack, a large kettle to scald in, work surfaces, a large bucket for rinsing and cooling, and lots of knives, chisels, bags and buckets. We also wanted to have good music to listen to while we worked.

Being new to this whole thing we were probably slow compared to the old pros. It took us about a half hour or a little more per bird from start to finish, so 8 birds took us roughly 4 1/2 hours. The first day it rained sideways the entire time, it was cold and wet work, with the temperatures hovering around freezing. It almost felt appropriate, as we mumbled words like barbaric, should we become vegetarian if this is what we will do for meat. In the end we described it as humbling, and felt it was honorable work to feed our family. However in the midst of it as we prayed over each bird and thanked it for it's life, we felt our own mortality, and also felt primal. We talked about how this was normal for thousands of years, people knew where their food came from, and experienced life and death.

Once we got over the heartsick feeling of taking a life, and the actual processing of working the chickens started, I did better. We turned up the music and worked steadily... scalding, plucking feathers, eviscerating (removing the innards), rinsing, drying and bagging. The plucking took the longest and I didn't want any pin feathers so I tried to be meticulous. We equally shared jobs, except the first part when they were put in the cone. The time from them being in their pen to crossing the rainbow bridge into chicken heaven took only seconds. We made sure the whole station was hidden from all the animals view, and that it was swift.

I think the best way to learn to eviscerate a chicken is to just get in there and do it, you'll figure it out trust me. Just make it look like a store bought chicken and get all the innards out, I saved the necks and livers to add to home-made dog food. One of the most important things in the whole process is cold running water, we were washing down everything continually. We were dressed in total rain gear from the beginning because of the rain and cold, we soon realized this was appropriate attire even when it wasn't raining.

A home-made cone, fashioned from a metal funnel we had. It probably should have been bigger, but it worked, a sharp chisel and mallet were used. Why did we do it that way? Well my husband being a wood-worker simply thought the cleanest, swiftest way was a sharp blade hit hard with a mallet.

In the end we have 30 chickens in the freezer, well 28, because 2 are in the refrigerator for a family meal on Monday night. 27 were the Cornish Cross, and 3 were young roosters hatched out in the early summer. The young roosters were harder for me to do than all the meat birds, simply because I had watched and admired them and their beautiful plumage and they were part of the chicken family. They were very different, more lean and muscular, tougher skin and yet they felt very good quality. Not that the meat birds didn't look healthy, they were big and plump, and the breasts were large, they were more soft. We are cooking a young rooster and meat chicken on Monday, and will taste test the difference. I also wanted to cook a couple that had never been frozen first.

It's a good feeling to have done it, and have it behind us, and know that we're going into winter with a freezer full of wonderful home-grown chicken meat. We decided we could do this twice a year, even though it was hard, we like knowing where our food comes from, and that they had a nice quality of life while alive. They got to lay in the sun, and eat bugs and grubs, dig in the dirt and eat grass and weeds. They were given love and care in the end, and our family is richer because of them. I still haven't weighed any of the birds, and am planning to, I'll include the average weight here when I do. Also we planned to keep track of feed and costs, however between both my husband and I buying feed, me keeping receipts and him throwing his away, there's was no way to get an accurate cost. Next Spring we plan to keep meticulous records so we can know the cost of raising them.

First Snow

2011-11-22T13:16:00.000-08:00

We had our first snow a few days ago, it was about half an inch, and the goats and puppies sure had fun playing in it. Frozen water buckets and rabbit bottles were extra work, along with hauling hot water out to the goats and chickens and thawing frozen hoses. Fortunately the snow didn't affect the roads into town. You can see in the picture above that we have our herd of 5 goats going into winter. Snowdrop is the newest goat we have, she's a little 4 month old white Nigerian Dwarf doeling, she came here about a month ago. The goats have added both fun and work into our lives, along with milk, and lots of wonderful compost material. We are working on fencing and I spent the day cleaning out their goat barn and filled it with fresh dry straw. I've also spent time everyday studying the goats and watching for signs of being in heat. I have a record for both Zolena and Joon and their last dates in heat, and am waiting for Jersey to come back into heat, somehow I must have missed her last one. We've already tried to have Joon bred once, but I think our timing was off by a day.

The puppies are growing so fast, they're 6 weeks old now. This morning they all followed me out to milk right along with their Mom. Summer loves the routine with all the farm animals, and goes with me whenever I head out to the barn, now I can tell the puppies will love going out with us too. They were fascinated to watch the chickens and goats, Zolena just carefully stepped around them and jumped onto the milking stand. Goats and dogs once they get to know each other, get along quite well.

This is Rhododendron Ridge Sparkling "Snowdrop", her father is Pecan Hollow Bronze Snapdragon, and mom is Calico Creek Meadow Bluebell. Her mom Bluebell has a gorgeous udder, and her father has good udder genetics as well. Snowdrop was the first goat I put money down on over the summer, she wasn't even born, and I went to see her mother, and put a deposit on a doeling, not even knowing if she'd have one. We had to wait for her to be born, then wait 3 months until she was old enough to come here to Applegarth. We have all just fallen in love with her, and her sweet personality, and so have the goats.

Exploring and playing, Josie happy and smiling.

Stormy, Jersey, and Snowdrop all munching on some douglas fir greens. We took down several trees last week for the fence line and the goats love to eat the tips of them. The goats are interesting to watch all the things they eat, moss on trees, various ferns, dried leaves (chips), bark, and of course any edible berry bush. They are more deer like and will leave the grass as a last resort.

flying South

2011-11-04T16:12:00.000-07:00

On my way home from work last weekend I had my camera with me and stopped to take a picture of the gorgeous sunset I was witnessing. As I looked up to take the picture there was a flock of geese in formation flying South for the winter. Everyday we can see them flying overhead, going South to warmer weather. I got back in my car and headed up our hill, and halfway up I had to take another picture so you could see the mountains silhouetted in the sunset.

Cornish Cross and a chicken tractor

2011-11-04T15:44:00.000-07:00

The Cornish Cross meat birds are all feathered out at 4 weeks old, and gaining weight rapidly. They eat heartily, and are drinking loads of water. I feed and water them several times per day, and plan to keep track of the costs since this is our first time raising meat birds. Because it's cold (in the 30's) we keep a light on at all times for warmth. Temporarily we put up a two sided tarp for wind protection, until we get the 3 sided lightweight shelter built.

We've been wanting a chicken/rabbit tractor for a long time, and like every project began by gathering the materials. It is designed with 12 foot gate panels, so it's big, 12ft by 12 ft, it has reinforced rabbit wire around the sides. The top we are still gathering the rest of the metal for the roof. It will also have a 3 sided simple shelter with a roost and a couple of nesting boxes so we can let the layers be in it too, or if the rabbits are in it they have shelter from wind and rain. We are planning to build one more so we'll have two that can go all over the upper pasture. The heavy duty wheels are in the middle on either side, and easily raise up to move it around. This chicken tractor is an exciting development for our farm to really implement pasture raised animals, that are protected from predators.

3 1/2 weeks old

2011-11-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

From left to right, Josie (the one we're keeping :), Sunny (going to a good friend and her family), and Fatolini (a favorite, with a couple of families who are thinking they may want him)

Summer and her puppies in their new whelping box. The puppies are so playful now, they wrestle and try to run, then they like to crawl all over each other and their mom. She is still nursing them, and we began a few days ago feeding one meal a day, and now we're up to 3 meals per day of meat and rice. Their little teeth are all coming in sharp, I'll need to provide chew toys to help them as they teeth.

I love to sit by the fire and hold the puppies as they snuggle up and make there little grunts and groans that little babies make. The kids all hold them everyday and love to watch them play, it is such a good and positive experience for our family, and I think Summer is having fun too.

"Little Ace" is so cute! He's the stud dog owners pick of the litter, and looks just like his father "big Ace".

fall garden

2011-11-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

Looking out my bedroom window towards the South, and over-looking my garden. The vegetables in the garden are winding down rapidly for the year, the low temperatures have been around 38 degrees. We haven't had a hard killing frost yet, but it will be here soon. I still have some potatoes, carrots and beets to dig. We just got a couple bales of straw today, so now I can line a deep hole with straw, cover it with dirt, and plastic for a winter root storage. In the photo above you can see all my concrete columns for fence posts, hopefully in the next year, in the plans are wooden gates to the garden, there will be four in all, along with a wooden arbor along the left side. I have hardy kiwi's planted and ready to climb the arbor next year.

Remember the picture of my warm season crops of squash and pickles, well the warm and sunny month and a half we had was exactly what it all needed to grow. Not a huge crop of delicata, but enough to enjoy for a dozen meals over the winter.

Over the summer we had the crane over by the garden and set these stones in a circle for a new fire pit. We have enjoyed grilling right over the open wood fire, the flavor imparted to our just picked meals is delicious. I love the fact that it's just outside my kitchen and deck for outdoor dining and entertaining.

I just harvested all of my zucchini, and sunburst patty pan squash, we've been enjoying lots of sauteed vegetables and steamed kale as side dishes in our Fall meals.

tomatillos love our climate, I never plant them, they just come up yearly on their own (like many things do in my garden). We get a couple large harvests per year and I make salsa verde`.

One of my favorites "Delicata Squash"

Harvesting plums and apples

2011-10-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago I went around the orchard and took a few pictures of the fruit we're harvesting. The 4 plum trees are loaded, in the photo above this is about the number of plums from each tree. Not all have ripened, I watch and pick only those that easily come from the stem and are turning purple or are dark purple. I will harvest them all over the next week, and hope the rain doesn't crack too many.

Don't you love having the dilemma of an abundant harvest, it allows for creativity and chances to try new things. So what am I doing with all these plums. I'm on my second batch in the dehydrator, I remove the pit and dry them whole, they're delicious. Some will be jam and preserves, some plum juice, and I'm planning to make a plum kuchen this weekend, plus we've been giving them away to family and friends.

The plum trees are on the left, it's hard to tell in the picture that every branch is heavy laden with plums. The Katsura's are on the right.

The apples below are called Akane, they are some of my ealiest ripening apples, the catalog said they ripened in late August to Early September, this year it's the middle of October. They're delicious with a nice, crisp, sweet and tart flavor.

I planted all of these apple trees in 2007, when I made several purchases from Raintree Nursery and Burnt Ridge Nursery. I also bought seedling nut trees that I planted at the same time. The apple trees are just beginning to produce, so we didn't have a large harvest. One must have patience and a vision when raising fruit and nut trees. Every year I get excited even for 6 or 7 apples, simply the fact that they're growing and will produce more and more every year.

Above is a Honey Crisp apple, they like our climate and taste so good. All my apples looked great for being organic, I didn't spray anything, just added dry grass clippings as mulch. I do plan to add aged manure and compost this year. Fruit trees need nutrition in the form of compost, aged manure, and mulch in the summer.

A dark red Williams Pride apple, it has a wonderfully crisp and spicy flavor. It's also an early apple, and cross pollinates with Akane. Having two different apple trees that bloom at the same time, and will produce their fruit around the same time, this is a keys to success with fruit production. Having early, mid, and late apples, plums and pears is a good idea to spread the harvest out. Plus it gives us the opportunity to process them and a reasonable pace. Late apples are important because they're the best winter keepers, I'm planning to buy more late season apple trees to plant this year.

Above is one of three large buckets of apples that I picked from a tree at my work. The tree was big and went out over a creek, the apples were perfectly ripe and taste great. I'm making dried apples, and canning applesauce and apple butter, I'm also freezing some for apple pies and crisps.

We have 5 older Asian pear trees. 4 are the same and produce heavily every other year, but we have the one above that produces faithfully every year. I think it's my favorite fruit tree on our property, I love the flavor, and texture of this particular Asian pear. I like to eat them sliced with cheese, in salads, and just picked and eaten right off the tree. This winter I'm planning to get 3 or 4 more varieties of Asian pear trees, they do so well here and are such a favorite with everyone. Asian pears are also very good keepers when kept cool and can last all through the winter.

12 days old

2011-10-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Summer is a great Mom, we're all so proud of her. Look how big and healthy her 4 puppies are at 12 days old. The 2 males are in the middle, one is blond like his father, and one is dark red like Summer. On either side are the females, one is a little lighter than the other. Their eyes are all just beginning to open.

We like to sit on the floor by the fire with them and snuggle and love them. They are so cute and the little noises they make are adorable. They are just beginning to get up on their legs and practise walking instead of scooting, so being contained is becoming essential. We're all having so much fun with them and are enjoying watching them as they grow up.

You can see how light the blond male is, he's going to be beautiful like his Father. I just love the dark goldens too like Summer, her coat is a dark reddish golden and shines in the sun.

Puppies!

2011-10-11T10:39:00.000-07:00

Summer went into labor yesterday on Columbus Day. Thankfully I was home and the kids were all home, so we all got to be with her as she gave birth, the timing was perfect. When I went out to get fire wood from the wood shed around noon, there she was in the corner where she sleeps, she had been hanging out in here, (her bedroom), for the last few days. It's a nice dry stall-like area right by the house, and doubles as a wood shed. I went up to her and she whimpered, I looked down and saw she had just given birth to her first puppy, a little boy. Quickly I gathered clean dry towels, a blanket, and told the kids. We got her all clean and settled and began the 4 hours of labor and delivery.

Having babies is exhausting.

4 puppies in all. We waited until overnight, still has 4, so I think she's done.

2 boys and 2 girls.

Glowing with happiness as a new mother. Summer is such a good mom, she fusses over her babies continuously, and keeps them clean, warm, and well fed. I have been her nurse, bringing her meat, cheese, eggs and milk, and of course her dry kibble and water. I bring it right to her, she still hasn't gotten up. More baby pictures soon, I want to keep one!

Early Fall

2011-10-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

Everyone is off to work and school and I'm home all day, Yeah! I love being home!

Fall is here in the Northwest, and the rain has begun again. I'm sitting here writing and procrastinating on the morning milking, waiting for a little reprieve from the downpour. The milk stand is under the eaves of the goat and chicken barn and we all get wet during rain. A priority before the heavy Fall rains will be a cover for my milking area. Early this morning I fed everyone, so now we're all just sitting under cover watching it come down.

The rain also gets me to thinking about my pickling cucumbers in the garden, I need to harvest them and will make crock pickles with the large ones, and jars of pickles in vinegar and herbs with the smaller ones. The basil is not liking this rain either, I need to go pick it right away, and make pesto. *Note to self, pick basil before the end of September next year.

There are apples, plums, and asian pears hanging on the trees, we've been eating from them everyday, and will be harvesting them over the next couple of weeks. This year our bumper crop will be plums, we have 4 mature blue gage trees that have hundreds of plums per tree, about every 3 or 4 years these trees decide to give a haul. I'll be making plum preserves, dried plums. and plum juice.

In the garden I still have potatoes, carrots and beets to dig, and am hoping the delicata squash will ripen before the first frost, I'll leave them on until the end of the month. I also have tomatillos to harvest, we've never had to plant them, they just come up year after year, and we make the most delicious salsa verde with them.

Fall brings the sounds of the Douglas Squirrels dropping fir cones everywhere, these industrious little guys scurry up and down the trunks of the large Douglas Fir trees in the forests, you can hear the cones drop and watch them race through the tree tops. Watch out if you walk under a tree where they are, they have a good aim, and must have fun with their cone bombs trying to hit us. Fall is also the smell of the Katsura trees, the smell is undescribable, cotton candy-like, it comes when the leaves turn yellow and fall. Vine maples are beginning to turn red, orange, and yellow, and the sedum autumn joy and purple cone flowers are still blooming.

This morning I got a fresh batch of sourdough started, my old batch I had left too long and it went bad, this can happen if you don't watch it close enough. Possibly it failed because I didn't have it stored in the refrigerator, which helps slow it down and last longer. I decided to experiment this time and try the yogurt maker to start it in. The consistent warmth might help speed up the process of making a good strong sourdough in less time than the typical 2 weeks, which is about how long I have found it takes to get a really good flavor. You can begin to use a starter after 3 days, but it's much better to let it work a little longer. I'm hoping this will speed up that time. The main thing I'll do is check on it regularly, and feed it when it get's thin or too sour.

To make the sourdough, I use fresh dark rye flour (Bob's Red Mill), mix a little warm water into it and make it a little thicker than cake batter. I start with about 3/4 of a cup of flour, it needs warmth to get going, so usually I just set it in a jar by the wood stove, and add flour every day or two. You know it needs to be fed (flour added) because it will bubble and then fizzle out, then you need to feed it with flour, if it gets too full you will need to take some out, also allow half the room in the jar for expansion. I only use the rye flour to get it going and feed it for a couple days, then I switch to whole wheat flour. This Fall I'm looking forward to baking with my sourdough, we love pancakes, bread, and muffins made from it.

On the stove I have pheasant stock going. How in the world did I get a pheasant? Well, A couple days ago J came and told how a pheasant had flown under his truck while on the way home, it was on our hill so not a lot of traffic. He knew the tires didn't run over it, but when he looked back it was dying. He felt really bad and went back to look, it was almost dead and must have tried to fly up as it went under the truck. A lady went by in a car and said "Oh how sad for that beautiful bird" he felt the same, picked it up by the feet to bring home, and as he was walking back to the truck another car came by, this time with a guy, he gave the thumbs up sign and said "Good for you!"

While we all felt bad about this most beautiful bird dying, we gave it honor by saving some of it's gorgeous feathers for craft projects, we had a wonderful meal, and now I'm making soup. The girls and I had never eaten pheasant before, and let me tell you, it was so good! I stuffed it with cooked rice, fresh sage and garlic. I baked it and as a side dish we had steamed kale from the garden. Yum, here's to Fall, the harvest and good eating, and thanks for the many small blessings that come our way. Well the rain has slowed, I'm off to go milk.

Sauerkraut

2011-10-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

A yearly ritual for me is the making of sauerkraut in the Fall. It uses up all the remainder of the gardens green cabbages, is easy to make, will last all through the winter, and even has the added health benefits of lacto fermenting.

Here's how I make it; First sanitize everything with hot scalding water, especially the container you're using. I boil water and pour it around the crock, wash the counter and knife real good, and make sure the cabbage is clean. Slice the cabbages as thin as you can, make a layer of cabbage in your container, then sprinkle with salt, continue to layer in your container. I use kosher salt, I'm sure you can use pickling salt, I have also used sea salt and it worked just fine, you just don't want to use table salt with iodine. The containers I have used are buckets or crocks, and for the last several years I have used this large 15 gallon crock. It settles down to about half, so I have room to put a gallon glass jar filled with water to weight it all down. As it's curing it needs to be covered with liquid, the liquid will come from the cabbage as the salt helps release it.

I don't measure the salt, just sprinkle it on the layers, I make the layers about an inch thick and sprinkle like I'm salting a food dish then I add a little extra. If you're salt sensitive try using less salt. I have played around with less salt and more salt, and have found a nice balance is good. If you don't add enough salt the sauerkraut isn't as crisp.

Once I add all the layers of cabbage and salt, I punch it down, I use my fists (clean and sanitize first) to literally punch and punch it all down. I spend 5 to 7 minutes doing this for my big batch, a smaller batch wouldn't take as long. There are probably many ways to tamp down, I've even used a clean two by four in a plastic bag as a tamper, just so it's tamped down to help release the liquid. I then place a cover like a large plate over it. I have also placed a towel over top before the plate, but this has to be kept very clean, rinsed regularly in hot water. Push down so liquid covers the plate, and set your weight on the plate, then I cover with a wooden lid. Make sure the plate is sanitized along with the weight and the lid, the plate should be large enough to cover the surface of the cabbage.

You will need to check it daily, and skim off any scum or foam. The time it takes to cure depends mostly on the temperature. In warmer temps, like 75 degrees, it may only take 10-14 days, in cooler temperature like I have, around the low 60's it will take several weeks, I've let it cure anywhere from 3-6 weeks. I then jar it up and refrigerate what I want to use in the next 3 months, and can the rest for late winter and early spring. We eat this all through the winter months.

A few notes; The cabbage can take a day or two to release it's liquid fully, in the event you don't have enough liquid after 2 days to cover the cabbage when pushed down by the plate, you will need to make a salty brine. I just mix water in a quart jar add a couple teaspoons of salt and pour over it. If cabbage is fresh it will usually have enough moisture.

I have found that the best way for me to keep a good eye on the fermenting sauerkraut is to keep it in my kitchen where I'll remember it, I've tried to place it farther away and have forgotten to regularly check it. You will also want to check the flavor and taste starting when it's about a week old, once it reaches a taste and flavor you like, jar it up in pint or quart jars and refrigerate or can. We begin eating it as soon as it's done, I like to serve sauerkraut as a side dish for lunch or dinner depending on what I'm serving. Happy Fall!

having fun with the goats

2011-09-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

Zolena (aka Zoie) loves to clown around, here she is asking for grain. Goats are all about fun and good food, they keep us all smiling with their charm and humor.

Jersey is a total sweetheart, she will always be the one hanging around the most for attention. Jarin calls her glamour girl because she is such a beautiful, girly goat.

Stormy flying through the air, he loves to climb the rocks and does the most amazing leaps off of them,

the higher they are the better the ariel stunt.

Running and leaping and off to play in the meadow.

6am call

2011-09-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning a little before 6am and started a fire. As soon as I was done the phone rang, it was the Post Office saying my package of chicks had come in. I said, "I'll be right there!" I got the kids up, made a quick cup of tea to go, and jumped in the car. It takes me a little less than 20 minutes to get down our hill, through the valley, and into town. I made it back in time for us to have a peek inside the box, then I ran the older kids to the bus stop.

10 days ago, I ordered 25 jumbo Cornish cross chicks from McMurray hatchery. We've never ordered chicks through the mail, so this was a fun new experience. In my order they also included an extra freebie, "a special rare chicken". We'll let it grow and feather out, then it will join the laying flock, and wait to see what kind of surprise chicken we got. They also included 3 extra chicks, possibly in case a few died in transport. Well, I'm happy to say they're all alive and thriving.

Kaley is the next to wake up, I take her to the bus stop an hour later at 8am. Here she is holding one of the babies as we all sit by the warm fire. We know these are meat birds, I told her that they're really only bred to grow and get big for a certain amount of time, like 8-10 weeks. This will be our first batch of chickens that we are specifically raising for meat, 28 chickens will be ready right around Thanksgiving time. I will raise them with the best life I can give them, and as we sustain them now, they will sustain us. I am going to love going into winter with a freezer full of the best homegrown chicken.

You can see my surprise chicken is the only black one in the bunch.

A curious thing

2011-09-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Joon our black nigerian dwarf goat is getting white spots all over! She's 2 and a half years old, and I think she's always been solid black, until now, you can see a few spots in this picture, but up close, she's getting them all over. I'm not sure what's causing it, but we're kind of watching her new look unfold as more and more appear.

She seems healthy and is eating alfalfa hay, some grass hay, and lots of salmon berry greens. I give her dry cob at feedings, with a sprinkling of black sunflower seeds, along with a handful of alfalfa pellets. All the goats have loose minerals to eat any time they want to. I'm milking her once a day and have been for the last couple months, she seems happy and frisky. We're planning to have her bred the first part of October for kids to be due next March. It will be interesting to see if her spots stay or disappear.

meet the new rabbits

2011-09-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

Meet our newest Champagne d' argent buck, his name is Filbert (in light of a Filbert tree I planted in front of the rabbit cages several years ago). Can you tell how curious he is? I had no idea that a rabbit could be so friendly and funny, he runs to the entrance when I open his cage, and says hi, he loves to be pet and talked to, he likes fresh sticks to chew, and loves alfalfa and dry cob (corn, oats and barley). He is 13 weeks old, pedigreed, and will be a fine breeding buck here at Applegarth. In the picture below you can see he still hasn't gotten all his silvering that comes with maturity. When Champagne d' argents are born, they're all black, they turn silver as they age.

Pictured below is our newest rabbit, an 11 week old American Chinchilla doe. She's roomed next door to Filbert and they seem to like each other.

Here's a little history on the breed.

The American Chinchilla rabbit was created in the 1920s using Standard Chinchilla rabbits and breeding them for larger size. This was to create a rabbit with a larger pelt and bigger body for meat. It was one of the more highly paid for pelts at the height of the fur industry.

Originally, it was known as the American Heavyweight Chinchilla, it is one of the few rabbits that is truly unique to the United States. Now it is one of the Rare Breed Rabbits, seriously threatened with extinction. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy has listed this breeds' condition as Critical, and they are encouraging more people to raise this fine breed of rabbit as a heritage animal.

This is my first American Chinchilla rabbit, she is unbelievably soft, her fur is exquisite, plus she's a real sweetheart, and loves attention. These are the two breeds I'm going to focus on, the Chamgagne d' argents and the American Chinchilla's.

Fall bounty ~ Gathering Hazelnuts and Filberts

2011-09-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

Hazelnut trees can be found all over our Northwest woodlands and the hedgerows of older farms, they are our native species of nut. Through the centuries these nuts have supplied so much more than just food for settlers and natives. They have long been associated with wisdom, even magic, and everything from witches' wands, to royal sceptres and water dowsing rods were made from their precious and pliable wood.

The common wild hazel grows in abundance all over the Northwest, and seeking out its nuts is one of the easiest foraging jobs, (alongside blackberrying, which you can often do at the same time). Fresh, green hazelnuts are crisp, and slightly sweet, an utter delight when compared to the dried store bought ones.

Right now is the time to harvest as the nuts are falling from the trees, you will have to be quick to beat the squirrels. When you know what a hazelnut tree looks like, you will see them everywhere. Last week I went hazelnut and filbert picking next to where I work, these are the pictures of the trees I picked from and the nuts once I shelled them.

I don't know how old these trees are, but they're probably around 50 years old, they bear loads of nuts that were dropping everywhere as I picked them off the ground. When you stand below an old hazelnut tree, you feel small as they tower overhead, cathedral-like in their magnificence.

Below is a picture of what the nuts look like growing on a branch.

Pictured are both filberts, the longer pecan looking ones,

and hazelnuts the traditional round cobby ones.

If you don't have time to gather your own hazelnuts at this time of year, you will find them in farmers' markets where they sell commercially cultivated nuts. They're bigger than wild hazelnuts, but just as delicious when very fresh, check the frilly casing that it's not too dried out.

Along with hazelnuts, there are also filberts, the difference between the two is that hazelnuts are round with short, frilly husks that expose the end of the nut, while filberts are longer, thinner and covered by their husks – their name comes from St Philbert's Day on August 22nd, the date when hazelnuts are supposed to start ripening. .

Once you've eaten your fill of fresh hazelnuts, dry any you have left over. Store in a dry, airy room or shed in shallow layers in slatted boxes, or hang them up in mesh bags. Turn them regularly, or give the bag a shake, to ensure they're drying evenly and, once dry, remove the husks and store in a cool, dry place. And then you'll have hazelnuts!

Dried hazelnuts and filberts are a great addition to all kinds of dishes – toasting brings out their yummy flavours. Whole or chopped, they add crunch to autumn salads and stuffing's; ground, they're very good in biscuits and cakes, particularly when paired with chocolate. I definitely have squirrel-like tendencies this time of year as I harvest and stash in preparation for winter's cold.

back into a good routine

2011-09-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

Finally I feel like nesting and cooking and cleaning, it's not that I haven't been cooking or cleaning, it's just that now I have more time to devote to it. This whole last month has been beautiful and sunny, and I've been outside both working at the nursery on weekends, and working on our growing farm. Now that the kids are back in school as of last Thursday, and husband is leaving for work early, I have some much needed time to work on things. I have missed looking at other blogs and writing in mine.  The tiny bit of computer time that I've had, has been spent checking my email in the evening and that's about it.

If you've been following this blog, I just wanted to say hello, and let you know I didn't intend to be gone so long, guess I just needed a break and didn't realize it. I'm feeling inspired, and have even spent some time catching up on other blogs I follow. I should know by now that Fall is always the time of year I begin to feel more creative.

Many things need my attention right now, especially my house. I have painting to do before the weather turns cold and wet, and cleaning and organizing that need to been done, kind of like Spring cleaning, only in the Fall. I'm harvesting crops today as tonight is a harvest moon, picking the rest of my green cabbages for sauerkraut and kimchee. And this morning I picked a giant zucchini, that grew out of control over our hot weekend, I'll make a couple of zucchini breads. There are black berries and filberts to harvest and greens to continue to sow.  The garden has taken off with all the gorgeous weather, we are still picking strawberries, aronia berries, carrots, beets, onions, broccoli, kale, lettuce, potatoes and turnips. The pickling cucumbers are almost ready to harvest, and the delicata squash is growing like crazy. The vegetable garden is the best this time of year, in September it shines.

In the rabbitry I have a new 9 week old American Chinchilla coming tomorrow. I decided to go with American Chinchilla's instead of Silver Fox's after seeing them at the fair this year. About a week ago we sold Peppermint our Angora rabbit, a real nice lady came all the way from the San Juan Islands to buy her, she is going to be bred and will use their fiber. Several weeks ago I also rescued 2 rabbits from a house near my work, some people moved and left them. The 2 rabbits looked awful and I've been watching them come back to health with good food and care. Pictures will be coming soon. I am planning to just stick with the 2 breeds for now, the Champagne d'Argents and the American Chinchilla's, both are meat and fur breeds in the 9-12lb range.

The goats are doing great, I'm still milking both Joon and Zolena, and get about a gallon a day, between the 2. We've been drinking it, baking with it, and making yogurt. I've also been in contact with our Nubian's breeder to discuss a good buck to breed Jersey to, as we're getting close to that time. Our newest baby goat Snowdrop is still too young to leave her mother, but we're looking forward to her coming here around early October.   Fencing is my next big expense, as I want to increase their paddock size considerably. About a week ago, we laid out the corner posts for the new goat barn... patience!

I'm still working weekends, but that will wind down around the end of October, and then won't start up again until the first of April, the nursery business is seasonal around here. So all through the dark and cold winter you'll probably find me here writing more. I'm planning to make soap in a couple weeks, and will use the goat's milk. I'm also planning to make a variety of cheeses, and breads, and will write about both. Jarin has resumed building the cabin, so some new pictures will be coming of the progress there too.

Here at Applegarth farm, we have been working at getting more self sufficient than ever these last 10 years, starting with gardens, then bees, fruit trees, rabbits, chickens, and now goats.  I can finally tell you, our land and animals are sustaining us, as well as we are sustaining them. It is one of the best feelings I've ever felt, to eat everyday the freshest food, that we've grown, planted, harvested, and milked.  To start a fire and heat and cook with wood we've cut, chopped and stacked. With small steps you can look back in time and see how far you come over the years.   Day by day the choices we make determine our future.

late summer; kids, gardens, the fair, and goats

2011-08-27T06:03:00.000-07:00

We've been having the most incredibly beautiful, warm, sunny, summertime, weather.  I've been outside as much as I can soaking it all up.  Can you believe I even ate a ripe tomato off of one of my plants that I started by seed, a big deal for me, since it's the first one in 2 years. Last year none of my tomatoes ripened it was so cold. Every few days I've been watering, and my squashes will be ready to begin picking any day, I have Sunburst patty pan, Zuccini, Rhonde de nice, and Delicata squashes I planted, the pickles are ripening and the basil is growing.

Today I was outside picking the last of the black currents and gooseberries, I've been freezing most of the berries I pick, and when the kids go back to school, I'll make the preserves and jams. I also harvested 5 large cabbages today and will make the first batch of sauerkraut, I still have many more to harvest, and will turn most of it into sauerkraut and kimchee. I like fresh cabbage this time of year to make coleslaw, and to put in soups and salads, and we've been eating lots of broccoli, kohlrabi and kale.  This is our most abundant time of year,  we have been eating from the garden almost everyday for most of the summer, but now more than ever, plus we'll have many things that will go all the way to late October.

It's that time of year again, that we've been school shopping for the kids and getting them all ready to go back to school. They've been having fun this summer just hanging out being kids, and now it's almost time to get back into the school routine.  We're planning to go to the river a couple times in the next week to swim and pick blackberries, by the end of August the river slows down and is safe for the kids to swim and play in it. This time of year they're all wondering who their teachers will be and who will be in their classes.

We went to the Evergreen State Fair on Thursday, which lucky for us is right in our own town. This is truly a country fair, with lots of horse events, logging, rides, and local judging of jams, baking, produce, artisan brews, quilts, paintings, photos and lots more. It was fun to walk around and see all the animals, crafts and booths that were set up, the local granges set up the most amazing displays of garden produce and canning that you can imagine. Of course I had to go look at the goats, and rabbits, and I thought our goats were more beautiful than any I saw there, not that I'm prejudice or anything. We also watched a couple of the 4h goat shows. Then Tessa and Jarin watched the bubble gum blowing contest while Kaley and I ran around looking at the baked goods on display and some of the booths. We found her a beautiful aquamarine ring that fit her little finger, it will be a nice ring for her to remember summer and the fair, as she looks at it during school hours.

The goats have a happy routine they seem to like. Milking is going well and we have settled into a comfortable rhythm. I love that every time I go out to visit the goats or chickens, I'm bringing back armloads of the freshest milk and eggs. I have been drinking more milk than ever, I think we all have, it's that good! The yogurt is also delicious, it's light, tart and tangy, and with a little honey is just right. The goats have won over the hearts of everyone, they are so lovable and call out for attention. We also try to give them one or two walks with us everyday, and they run as fast as they can and leap and play. It puts a smile on my face to watch their exuberance and happiness.

We've been discussing plans for the new goat barn, what it will need, a milking room with power and hot water, a feed room to store hay and grain, and 4 stalls... might as well put the dream out there. We are planning to go look at a couple goat farms that have had goats for 20 to 30 years, and we'll see how they're set up after living with goats for so many years. They are the farms where Jersey and Zolena came from, both are farms with many years of raising goats.

The chickens are all thriving, we have Henrietta and the Cuckoo Maran sitting broody again, this will be their Fall chicks, they began sitting about 10 days ago. The older pullets are getting big and looking like small chickens, I still can't tell which will turn into roosters yet. The smalls chicks are growing and their mom is back on the perch and is letting her chicks sleep by Henrietta since she's sitting broody, she even lets them come sit near her at night.  In rabbit news, I also picked up my Champagne d' argent buck last week, he's only 8 weeks old, and is so cute an cuddly, he has one ear that flops to the side that gives him some personality.

Anyway that's the current update for what's going on around here. Hope everyone is safe on the East coast with the hurricane beginning to touch down there, I was glad to read the winds have slowed a little.   Good luck, stay safe!

Golden Retrievers ~ Breeding Notes

2011-08-19T00:52:00.000-07:00

Timing and patience were required for our first amateur breeding of two young Golden Retrievers. We were both new, the stud owner and myself, and the dogs were new to all this fun courting stuff. And court they did, Summer was flagging and doing all the things that a brazen flirt would do to attract a males attention. We spent the first week watching and nothing happened but the courting routine. We wondered what was wrong. Ace's owner contacted her breeder and got an encouraging email, he told the method he used, mainly patience and timing. Later in the heat cycle is better, getting them together with the male from the 12th through 20th day, the last week of their heat cycle. We persisted, and in the end, they tied on the 14th day of her heat cycle after 6 days together.

We met the owners of the stud we chose Ace about 8 months ago, and in our conversation we talked about our dogs, and found out that she had a gorgeous male golden. We all went, along with Summer to meet Ace a couple months ago. We also looked seriously at one other male in our area, and I talked with 5 or 6 breeders in the Seattle area. In the end we chose him, Ace is a 4 year old blond Golden, the breeder didn't fix Ace because he was too nice of a dog, and he is. He's handsome and smart, calm and easy going, plus he's well put together and a real gentlemen. He adored Summer and enjoyed every minute of their 6 days together.

Dogs are pregnant for 63 days, so the day they bred was last Tuesday August 16th, her due date (if she is pregnant) will be October 18th. The owners of Ace will get to have pick of the litter for the stud fee, and their neighbor wants to buy one. We may keep a blond female, but will see when the time comes.

As a young girl we had beautiful English Springer Spaniels, my parents had our female bred twice, it was so much fun to help out with the puppies and watch them grow. That is my only experience with having new born puppies, so it will be a fun learning experience for all of us this Fall. Puppies are ready at 8 weeks old, so they'll be ready for new homes around the middle of December, we'll have Christmas puppies!! I am going to love taking some fun holiday pictures with them and our family this year.

Thanks Ace!

vegetable garden

2011-08-05T23:39:00.000-07:00

I start my day walking out the door, over the stepping stone rocks, and looking at the entrance to my vegetable garden, on sunny mornings, the sun shines as early as 6am on the garden, and it's a wonderful time to work or walk around looking at all the new growth of each plant. The garden is fenced with concrete pillars for posts, to add a natural touch of art, there are drilled holes in rocks and placed onto the posts that have a bolt coming out the top. We have rocks incorporated into many projects, and it's a theme in our architecture. There are still wooden gates and arbors to be built in the garden, but for now it's safe from the deer, and for that I am grateful.

Once I enter the garden, this is the center path, with strawberries and flowers on the left, the concrete bed is on the right. Straight ahead on the right are the young fruit tree rootstocks, on the left is the rhubarb, more strawberries, a grape arbor, with 3 grape vines, raspberries, wildflowers, herbs and asparagus.

This is taking a right in the garden after you go around the concrete bed. There are turnips, raspberries a large elderberry tree and more strawberries. I've also got some carrots, onions, potatoes and elephant garlic planted.

Kale, garlic, and lettuce

We'll have plenty of cabbage for fresh eating, both the purple and green variety,

and lots of danish ballhead cabbage for sauerkraut.

Broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and kohlrabi, all of these love our cool rainy weather.

Purple Kohlrabi is delicious, and does well here.

This is my warm season crops, like cucumber, basil, lichi tomatoes, zuccini, sunburst pattypan squash, and delicata squash. They are so late this year, I wonder if I'll even get a crop, the warm season stuff goes quite late around here often in October. More motivation to get my greenhouse set up before next Spring.

My garden is a work in progress, each year I've spent making one big bed, by composting a small mountain right in the middle, and spreading it all over. I bring in wheelbarrow loads of rabbit and chicken manure from cleanings, also weeds, kitchen scraps, wood ashes, straw, leaves, and coffee grounds. Compost can just be made that easily, be sure to watch your brown and green ratio, and let sun, rain, and time do the rest.

Once the big beds were made, I then create a small path down the middle, and have square or rectangular beds, that are set up permanently so they are never walked on, and can be reached to maintain.

Currently the first of August, I've just planted more greens, and will also plant more carrots, radishes, and kale. Weeding is always a job that needs to be done, and some paths still need shade cloth and wood chips spread on them, I need to spread compost on more of the beds, and harvest some root crops, then there's successive sowing of greens and radishes, I always have a long to do list for the garden during the growing season. Then there comes a point, usually in the early Fall, when everything seems perfect and the harvest is at it's peak, I will take a break working on the outside, and really go into high gear putting food away for the winter through canning, freezing and drying.

We're in the middle of our summer, and this last week was our first solid week of sun we've had almost all season. We've had so much rain and cool weather, the sun felt so good to all of us. I hope you're enjoying your summer as much as we are.

milking goats

2011-08-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

Kaley loves to help me with the goats, she milks Joon our little Nigerian Dwarf, and I milk Zolena our Lamancha. New routines have been established since the goats arrived, feeding, milking and tending to them takes time in the morning and evening. Sometimes it means milking a little earlier or later than my ideal 7am, and 7pm milking times. Goats like routine, with regular feeding and milking schedules, it takes me 45 minutes to an hour in the morning and evening to milk and feed everyone.

I am so thankful for the goats, and am happy every time I get to milk them, it has been a dream of mine for many years to have dairy goats. Finally, I'm at a stage in my life where I can truly appreciate all the home made dairy products and their value and nutrition for our family. Now, in the early mornings and evenings as I walk across our field toward their barn and paddock area and hear them calling to me, it takes me back in time, to a farm wife, and a part time dairy maid, where there were few cares in the world other than the closest people and animals of home. I feel like I'm right where I'm supposed to be in life.

Zolena is our main milker, she's a Lamancha dairy goat and she gives almost a gallon of milk per day. Plus she's super sweet, and lucky for me the milk stand and all her milk supplies came with her.

The first day my Lamancha doe came here, I christened her new name to be Zolena, she was called Ace. I didn't want to call her Ace, so named her from a character in the Jean Auel Mother Earth Series, the head Zelandonii's name was Zolena, she represented the Earth Mother. So in the end after much thinking about different names, the original name Zolena it is.

I have 3 stainless steel buckets and a strainer I carry out to the milking, along with a towel and tupperware full of hot sanitary water. The biggest bucket has ice water in the bottom third, the second smaller bucket sits inside the biggest bucket, and the strainer sits on top. I milk into the smallest bucket and pour 5 or 6 times throughout milking in through the strainer and into the chilled bucket. By the time I carry it into the house a half hour later, the milk is cold, I then pour it through another filter one more time and pour into jars to put in the freezer for a couple hours, once it's real chilled, I refrigerate it. It is so fresh and delicious, I never used to drink as much milk from the store because I knew it wasn't so good for me, now we're all drinking a glass everyday.

All the goats like to watch the milking ritual, and see if there are any goodies in it for them.

The reason we do it all, fresh goats milk...the best!

berries in the garden

2011-08-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

The red currents are ready to harvest in my garden, I'll make jelly with both the red and black currents.

A yearly ritual on our farm is to make some black current juice at harvest time, it's a delicacy that only happens once a year, and is a highly nutritious energy drink.

We are in our abundant time of harvest, so many berries are ripening and need to be picked and processed.

Hinnomaki Red gooseberry bush, ready to harvest, I have 3 varieties of gooseberry, and love the taste of them all. The skin is tart and the inside sweet. We're still getting a smallish harvest and may just eat out of hand this year. They are delicious cut up in salads too.

Above is an Autumn Brilliance service berry, there won't be enough berries this year to do very much with, so I'll most likely use them in a small pint of juice.

I have 2 different types of strawberry bushes, Benton is a June bearing strawberry, that starts getting ripe around mid July. With Benton, we have have 3 to 4 weeks of strawberry abundance, not a day goes by that we're not out there picking. The other variety I have is Tri-Star, an everberring type, that will go on after the July harvest, and then produce the rest of the way through summer and Fall and to the first frost.

We have many bushes of raspberries that I've been spreading throughout the garden over the years. They are finally getting big enough for a great harvest. The blueberries won't be ripe until the end of the month, we're higher up than the valley, so most things ripen two or three weeks later. We usually have blueberries in late August, September and October. We have 15 blueberry bushes, 9 of the bushes are very old, that I have spent 5 years bringing back into good production. Some are early, mid and late blueberries, so we have them all the way to the first frost.

I'm also growing a few other berries, Aronia, Pinapple strawberry, and several more varieties of gooseberries and service berry bushes. I took cuttings in the Spring, and will multiply the berry bushes through propagation, that way we'll have more plants to get a good harvest from each berry variety.

Berry bushes take a couple years to get into great production, but they will still produce a little even the first year, more the second year, and the third year on you will have a good harvest. They should be one of the first fruits planted on a new homestead. Be sure to add some compost every year, and protect them from the deer, and you will have years of fresh organic fruit to eat, can and freeze.

Is this really all for us?

2011-07-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

Long before the goats ever came here, we were getting ready for them, the fencing was a big job. Here are the goats looking out over their new pasture. They are more deer-like in what they eat, and are browsers more than grazers, they love to eat salmon berry and blackberry bushes. The pasture is meadow and forest with salmon berry and blackberry bushes edging almost the entire pasture.

Jersey has won over everyone's heart,

she will just come and stand beside us to be loved, scratched and petted

Looking the other direction of the pasture.

My new Lucky Star Lamancha saying "thanks Mom"

She is sweet and beautiful, and produces a gallon of the most delicious milk a day,

I never thought I'd own a Lamancha,

now I'm so glad I do. Her little ears are called elf ears.

Joon bug is such a sweetheart,

she stands perfectly still on the milk stand, and let's little Kaley milk her twice a day.

She likes having new friends to share her pasture with.

Bluebelles's baby Snowdrop

2011-07-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

Bluebelle and baby Snowdrop

Sister's and best friends

These are one week old nigerian doelings, aren't they the cutest ever? About a month ago I put a reserve on a doeling out of Bluebelle from Rhodie Ridge Nigerians. She was pregnant, and we weren't sure if she'd even have a doeling, but she did, not one but two. Tuesday Kaley and I went to go pick out which one we wanted, we picked Snowdrop. She will be Kaley's 4-H goat to raise and show. She has good bloodlines, her dam is out Poppy Patch and her sire is a Pecan Hollow buck.

Jessica the owner is local, and her children are also in 4-H too, so it's nice to have a new friend in town. She has chickens, rabbits (I'm also getting a Champagne d'argent buck from her the end of August) and she raises Nigerians. I have met the nicest people in the goat world, and am having a lot of fun.

Snowdrop will be ready to come home in about two and a half months, when she's weaned and old enough. I didn't know when I put reserve on her that I would also be getting the Nubian and Lamancha. Now she'll have a whole goat family to come home to. Goats like to be in herd of 5 or 6 or more, just having two seemed kind of lonely for Stormy and Joon, they seem happier with more friends.

settling in

2011-07-26T00:04:00.000-07:00

We picked up our 2 new goats and supplies this morning around 10:30. Jarin built a goat pen in the back of the truck to haul them in, and Tessa and Kaley came for the adventure. We loaded supplies, went over instructions, got the goats to go up the ramp (not an easy task) and into the truck cage. Once loaded they quietly waited, while the milking stand was loaded, buckets, mineral salt containers, a hay rack, grain, and alfalfa pellets, all were loaded.

Once we got home we carefully got them down the ramp and into the paddock. I had separated Joon and Stormy so they could watch and sniff behind wire to acquaint themselves slowly. It only took a couple hours and I let them out together and watched everyone, there were only a couple minor skirmishes in the beginning, and then everyone seemed happy and got along. Stormy of course wins over everyones heart he's so friendly and funny. We all went for a walk around the property and over to the pasture, where they ran around and ate salmon berry greens.

I introduced them to the dogs, who were all over themselves in their curiosity of our newest members of the family. Of course Joon acted as the greeting leader, and even let Sierra sniff her as if to tell the new girls that she's ok, especially because she was tied. We never let the dogs loose, as I didn't want to scare them on their first day. They were calm, quiet and curious all day as I spent the day showing them all around their new home. The first day you get goats, you just spend it with them, helping them to be comfortable, so they know where their food will always be, where they can lay down out of the rain, and how the new milking routine will be.

The Lamancha's official name is Lucky Star's Acceptance, they called her Ace. I may change the Ace part and call her something a little more exotic, as she has that look about her, and she is also the leader, even here she challenged Joon, as Joon looked at her size, she backed down. This evening I milked her and got 2 full quarts. Can you even believe one goat can produce a gallon a day? The milking went well, we bonded some more and she learned to stand still, because moving and kicking would do nothing to stop me from milking her. Then she settled down, and I just kept milking and milking her.

Tonight I made yogurt with our first 2 quarts The reason I made yogurt is because I didn't do as the seller recommended and take out the milking pail with filter sitting inside, within A larger pail filled with ice water. Because it takes some time to milk, getting the milk to chill faster is the whole idea behind great tasting milk. Tomorrow I will milk for us to have for drinking milk. We are all excited at the prospect of not having to buy milk from the store again. Hopefully I'll always be able to stagger the breeding's to have one of the girls always in milk.

The Nubian doe's official name is My Enchanted Acres "Jersey" Girl. We are keeping her name Jersey, because someday she will be like my own small jersey cow. Nubian's have one of the highest butterfat of any goats, but I think the Nigerians might even have a little more butterfat. I plan to use the Nigerian milk for butter, ice cream, yogurt and cream.

Tonight as I tucked all the goats in, we sat and talked softly, they nickered quietly as I told them this was home and that they'd be safe here, and that we'd always take good care of them and love them. It was a good day for settling in.

Thank you Beverly and family for blessing us with these wonderful goats and almost everything under the sun that we could need for raising them.

big goat news

2011-07-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

The Nigerian Dwarf goats we have Stormy and Joon are both doing well, and have settled into their normal routines. I have continued to milk Joon twice a day since I got her and she is producing more and more milk at every milking, we're now up to about a quarter pint per milking or a half a pint per day. We have all drank her delicious, creamy milk and I have a couple pints that I'll be using to make yogurt this evening for the first time with Joon's milk. Yogurt just takes a starter and about 8-10 hours and is super easy to make. I'll do a separate post on it later. The problem I've been having is that to make all the dairy products I want, I need milk, not just a little, but a lot.

Friday I was trolling Craiglist like I always do looking in the farm and garden section, and I came across this ad that jumped out at me, not once but twice within a week. The ad stated they were looking to find homes for their 2 goats one a Lamancha doe milking a gallon of milk a day, and one a Nubian from a local farm that I have followed for years, there were no pictures, but I had a gut feeling about them. They also said they had supplies and a milk stand. Well this girl jumped on it quickly and emailed the very nice lady. Come to find out she lives in the same town and I scooted over there Saturday morning on my way to work, and of course fell in love with these 2 girls.

I gave 3 bars of home-made soap as a deposit, and made a deal to buy them and the supplies. I am so excited and plan to keep both of these goats long term as part of my foundation breeding stock. I also just found out from a local Nigerian breeder that I have a new doeling that was just born that I put a reserve on about a month ago, she will be ready to come here in the Fall. So we'll go into winter with 5 goats, a perfect little herd for this family.

Now I will finally get some milk to make all the dairy products I have been dreaming of making. Here is a sneek peak of our newest additions, we're going to pick them up tomorrow.

A beautiful one year old Nubian doe, ready for Fall breeding.

Excuse the photo of her back end, I'm just trying to show the size of her udder. This is a one year old Lamancha doe, and she was milked shortly before I took this photo, still look at the size of that udder. This is a "Milk Goat"

harvesting winter warmth

2011-07-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

Kaley learning to chop wood like her big brother. The kids help every year to bring in the firewood, they chop and stack as a team. We've had a solid week of gathering and harvesting our firewood for this coming winter. This is a yearly ritual that is never missed, it takes us a week to bring in a years supply of firewood

A burn pile to clean up the limbs. After the tree is felled, the next step is to remove all the limbs, any big limbs will become firewood, the smaller ones are all burned. Notice the foxglove in the background, it borders most of our 10 acres of forest, wherever there's enough sunlight.

J with the chainsaw hard at work. He fells the trees, removes the limbs,

then cuts the logs into sections the right length to fit in the wood stove.

About half the wood was harvested the end of May and put in piles and the rest we are getting in late. Ideally all firewood should be cut, chopped and stacked in May, so it can dry and cure throughout the summer, then it will be dry wood for the winter. Well, better late than never, some of it is already dry because it's called standing dead. We harvest smaller Douglas Fir, (if we ever harvest the big stuff it's used in beams and building materials) and larger Alder, simply because that is what we have in our wood lot, Alder is like a weed in the Northwest, it grows everywhere, but when it's dry it's considered a hard wood.

farmer boy

2011-07-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took this candid shot of my son Jason, he's 16 years old and is truly a farmer boy, he enjoys the country, the animals, hunting and nature, a son after my own heart. You'd be surprised how much he knows about survival and self sufficiency, I hope when he's older he pursues his dreams of living from the land.

One of my favorite all time books is also called Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. If you've never read it, you will enjoy it. It was my favorite of all her books, and is about her husband Almonzo's childhood.

letting go and soaring

2011-07-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

Soaring denotes flying with one's arms outstretched covering a lot of ground with very little energy expended. It also means there's wind under your wings to give you that energy. Sometimes we have to let go of things to truly soar. You have to get higher than earthly thoughts and behaviors to catch the wind of Wisdom, that voice that speaks of truth, patience, kindness, forgiveness, love, and then gives you a dream to believe in.

I've been learning so many life lessons about letting go, over the last several years. I've learned sometimes you have to let go of other peoples doubts and unbelief...dream thieves I call them. They're usually people close to you, listen patiently, set boundaries and limit exposure. If anyone ever tells you, you should let go of your dreams, learn to be careful what you say around them. I am talking to myself, as I have just had another issue with facebook and family this morning. I solved it, by simply letting it go, I cancelled it... and That's that! This was an important step for me to let go and ask God to be the wind under our wings to soar forward with His plan.

One thing I know, is that I believe the still small voice that gives voice to your dreams is a pearl, and to those naysayers...don't ever give them room to trample your pearl, and plant negative seeds. Write out all your dreams, because it's a funny thing, somehow as you speak them and write them, they become your reality. The other's...those who have never learned to dream, let them go, perhaps someday they will learn, pray for them to believe that dreams can come true. And be sure that your own words and works are salt and light to others, be the biggest cheerleader to those who are trying to live their dream, give them some wind.

If you're on a similar path as we are here at Applegarth Farm, know that I'll be here writing to you, and cheering you on. Hopefully by giving a voice and words to my dreams, they can unfold through God's grace and His mercy.

Country Mouse

2011-07-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

The chicken coop has new birth with a new mom. One of our Americana hens went broody 3 weeks ago, and now the eggs are beginning to hatch, last night we were up to 5 little ones. New birth is a miracle, and a special time of bonding for the baby chicks and the new mother hens. We also have 9 chicks running around that are about 6 weeks old. The moms have recently decided that the're old enough to snuggle together, and have resumed perching up high with all the other hens and rooster at night. It won't be long and all the chicks will begin to move upwards too. I am happy to report this year, now that the chicks are in the upper part, we finally have a totally predator proof coop. It can take years and many losses to get to the point where you realize, every wild animal wants to eat a baby chick, or small chicken.

We've had to learn the hard way to keep predators at bay. Last spring it must have been a weasel or small rat that got more than half our baby chicks. This took place in the bottom of the chicken coop that has a dirt floor. I dug down and put the smallest hole stock wire to keep out all rodents, somehow they still got in. We have literally had to create Fort Knox to keep the chickens safe. If they are let loose outside, there is chance for a hawk to fly overhead and snag a baby chick. They are vulnerable, and we don't let them run loose unless we are right their with them. As the chicks get older and don't peep quite so much, they don't seem to be as vulnerable.

Rats can reek havoc on your farm. I always wondered why old farmer Al used rat poison and not traps. Now I know, it's the most effective way to get rid of them. We've set traps, we've lived with them, we're finally resolved to have a rat control program in effect. Particularly during the warmer months of summer, when their numbers seem to swell. I buy the peanut butter flavored rat poison and put it out at night, by morning it's all gone. You have to keep doing this for 7-10 nights until they don't take it anymore. I can tell when we have rats because of the holes in the chicken run. When I do put it out, I make sure none of our pets can get into it, or the chickens in the morning. This is the time to be double checking.

Why do I have a rat problem? Well, probably because I feed corn and grains in the chicken run, the coop is also where I have all my feed stored. It's stored tightly in bins behind strong doors but inevitably some of it drops out of the bag, goat food, rabbit food, and chicken feed when I'm filling feed bowls. The rats and wild birds stick around where there's food. I don't like setting traps for mice or rats, but set them I have.

A house in the country will also be a welcome place for the country mouse. They like to be dry and well fed too, just like we do. Indoors we use mouse traps, and sometimes will catch several mice in a night. We set traps every month or two, and go in spurts until we know they're all gone. You don't want to put out mouse poison inside, because they may go crawl in somewhere and die, then you will have the most horrible smell ever and will have to find it to get rid of it.

The farm cat is very useful in rodent control, but they need to live in the barn to be the best control, our cats are at the houses, so they are not effective in keeping the chicken coop and run rodent free.
Rats are a serious issue that you should look at as the primary killers of baby chicks. I am on night four this evening for being the exterminator. Today I will buy more rat poison, if I'd been thinking I would have bought the bucket, rather than the package that is small and cheap. So I say all this to myself to keep it up, and our farm and animals will be glad for it.

flowers of early summer

2011-07-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

Peonies are one of my favorite all time flowers.

Salsify blooms in the vegetable garden

Lizianthus is a wonderfully easy perennial.

Oriental poppies are a bright splash of color

Bearded iris is tropical looking.

Poppies, poppies everywhere, they are like a weed in my garden.

I love them and let them grow in many places.

I have loads of comfrey, and the bumblebees love them.

I've had all my peonies since I was in my early 20's.

Lavender smells divine, and the bees love it.

Coral bells are small and dainty pink.

Siberian iris's are exquisite.

Foxglove is a wildflower here in the NW, I don't plant it, it just comes up everywhere. I have literally hundreds of them this time of year that are growing all over the property.

I took all or these pictures one day at the end of June, and have been wanting to share them. I have some new flowers blooming out in the garden now, roses, delphiniums, nasturtiums and more. I'll take more pic's as soon as the sun comes out, we've been having rainy cool days this week. Many flowers like the rain and cool weather, and when the sun gets too hot many of them can't take it and wilt. As the season progresses I will have more flowers blooming with the warm red and yellow colors. The early season I have more pink and purple blooms.

Homesteading ~ Self Sufficiency

2011-07-09T22:42:00.000-07:00

I had no idea when I started this blog, that the homesteading movement would begin as a small wave that would turn into a very large one like it is now. More and more people are jumping on board and realizing the need to be more in control of their world by growing food and getting more self sufficient. There was the back to land movement back in the seventies, but I was too little to know much about it. Many people now want some control of their food, not just fruits and vegetables, but their meat and dairy too... I'm one.

We're tired of buying food we don't know where it came from, and how inhumane the animals were treated. We're willing to learn what our ancestors knew for thousands of years. Meat is special, not for everyday, but for occasions that we can share it, and know where it comes from. There is a need to learn the ways of old, and to be keepers of the home.

Butchering a fatted young rooster was for a Sunday meal. Breadmaking was done one day for the week. Seasonal eating was the norm, and asparagus was a spring treat, just like strawberries and cherries were summer sweets. Honey was extra special, and herbs were for healing. Homemakers knew how to make cheese, butter, yogurt and ice cream. Cheese was often made in the spring when the grass began to grow lush and long, and the cows had rich milk.

There was no boxed cereals, or packaged foods. We used to know the source from where all our food came from. Life and death on the farm was normal, and the kids participated in all aspects of it. They knew the pig was going to be butchered in the fall, and good ham and bacon would be on the menu. Everything was fresh, dried, fermented or canned. Even refrigerators and freezers are new to this era.

We need to go back and learn, I'm speaking to myself, my squeamish self, that has never butchered an animal, letting my son do the deed. I want to get meat chickens and raise them for our family to be ready for Fall butchering. You see I'm learning too, how easy it is to buy meat in cellophane and not think about the animal that used to be alive, where did it live, in what kind of conditions...I want to know.

If you've ever read Michael Pollen's "Omnivore's Dilemma" you'll get a glimpse of what grocery store food is like. Corn is the base of many products, way more than you'd ever imagine, even the animals we eat are fed corn. In reality the best thing for most animals to eat is grass, fresh greens, things that are alive and full of vitamins and minerals. The ability to be free and live without stress in a small farm with love is what I want to achieve for my animals. I'm willing to learn, right along with a whole generation who have forgotten how it's done.

My dream is to be more self sufficient, we're still a ways off, but are on the right track. I appreciate talking and learning from others and see what small steps they're taking. Some of you are raising cattle, pigs, and sheep, I'm not there yet, but we are raising animals on a small scale, like chickens, rabbits, and goats for milk. These can be raised even in most cities now, as more people want grow their own food.

How can you start? By doing a little every year, perhaps you could start by growing a garden, planting fruit trees, and learning to make bread. If you're in an apartment you can grow sprouts, possibly even get rabbits. Shop at farmers markets, source local raw honey and fruits and vegetables. Know where you're food comes from, meet the farmers and growers. This could set you on a path to moving to the country and starting your own homestead, or a whole new lifestyle change for the better. It's exciting to sit down to a meal and know much of it came from your own land. That is richness to me. I'd love to hear what you're growing, raising and doing to be more self sufficient?

The goats have arrived!

2011-06-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

We bought out first Nigerian dwarf doe, her name is Sugarcreek "Joon", she's all black and ironically had a birthday and turned 2 on the day we brought her home, June 28th. I am so surprised how sweet and lovable she is, she will follow me everywhere I go. She's freshened twice, and had a doe the first time and two bucklings the second time. I met her daughter, who just freshened with quadruplets. They were all sold but one buckling. On our way to pick up Joon we stopped by some nice people's farm and picked up "Stormy" our little two and a half month old wether to be her buddy, we found him on Craigslist.

"Stormy" climbing the rocks in the pasture like a real mountain goat! He is so adorable and will crawl right into your lap and sit down for some love and attention. He is as cute as they come, we're so glad we got him.

We've been busily preparing their stall and paddock area, they easily fit underneath the timberframe chicken coop, and we are quickly creating their paddock which we worked on all day yesterday, and will the second half of today, hopefully they'll have it ready by this evening. Of course they also have the acre and a half pasture I take them out to for a few hours each day, and we let them run around while we're working, plus we take them on walks all over the property. I can tell we will be working on lots more fencing, and the goat barn will be higher on the priority list. I'll need it ready to a certain degree for kidding season next Spring.

I also have a reserve on a doeling not yet born. There is a nice doe right here in our town that is pregnant and due the middle to the end of July. I'm hoping she has at least one doe, then she will be our's. I'd like to go into the winter with a small herd of about 4 goats.

I'm thinking I will need a buck for breeding Joon this November, so will be keeping an eye out for one. Goats like any other farm animals take some time to get all set up and the breeding started. My plan is to eventually have 6 or7 does (the nicest show quality ones I can get) and breed them for Spring and Summer babies, that I will sell or keep the best ones.

My decision to buy Joon was mostly based on her age, her excellent dairy type, and a gut feeling that she was suppose to come here to Applegarth. Also the fact that she was being sold "in milk" which I am valiantly trying to bring her back into. When I saw her Friday, her udder was full, Tuesday it was not. I didn't realize that her bucklings had not been nursing for a couple weeks. So my learning curve started right away, trying to bring a doe back into milk. How am I doing this, by milking her out several times a day. She kicked some at first, but I persisted and now she is so good about me milking her, she will touch her head to mine, and stand very still till I'm done.

I'm sure the move here isn't helping with getting the milk to come back. We'll see what happens in a couple weeks with faithful consistent milking I may bring her back in producing a quart/day. That's about the average for this small dairy goat breed. That's almost 2 gallons/week, so it's worth my efforts to try.

The herd where she's from is Rising Echo's Nigerians, I have more pictures to share from our trip there. Melissa the owner has some really beautiful goats, and it's evident she pours her heart into them.

In this picture the does and kids at Rising Echo's Farm are all going to visit the bucks,
they love to walk together in a herd. I'm sure Joon misses the herd and her family.

girls and horses

2011-06-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

Do all girls love horses? I remember being 10 and 11, and wanting a horse more than anything. My parents sent my sister and I to a horse camp in Alabama, where we got to have our own horse for a week. It was so much fun, I remember the happiness of riding and being with my horse I had for a week. My daughter Kaley loved the horses where we went to get our Nigerian doe. You can tell the horses loved the attention she gave them too.

a gardener

2011-06-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

I was once asked the question from someone I didn't know that well, "If you could describe yourself with one word, what would it be?" hmmm... well I barely pondered it at all and blurted out "a gardener".

What a loaded question, how could I possibly describe myself with one word. I have thought this over many times, why would I ever allow myself one word, I am so much more than just a gardener. Then I would think, well I do like to nurture things and help them grow, feeding good food to children and animals or good soil to the plants I grow. Am I not first and foremost a "Mother" well that is one of my many variegated sides, but "a gardener" does feel quite noble too I must say.

A friend once said if he could come back as anything, he would come back as a peasant farmer, that sounds good to me. I just want to live a quiet peaceful life in a place of my own, and a garden to grow flowers and good food. I want farm animals for milk, eggs, butter, and meat, and the richness they add to our lives.

I don't need to travel to faraway places to find happiness, I find them right here at home being a gardener,

a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, and a friend.

family

2011-06-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

In honor of Father's day yesterday, I want to to say how lucky I am to have my Dad as a Father, he worked hard all through the years. He was an officer in the Coast Guard, so we moved every few years throughout my childhood. He has always been a good provider for our family, and made sure we had our needs met, he loves my mom and all of us, how lucky we are. He has 4 children and 12 grandchildren and has been a Godly man all through the years, he's given us a christian heritage to be proud of. We're so blessed to have him as a Father and Grandfather.

For Father's Day, we had a delicious dinner made by my daughter Heather, she made steak, baked potatoes, a broccoli salad, french bread, and I made a green salad, my mom (Grandma) made a strawberry rhubarb pie, plus we had ice cream and whip cream.

My 4 daughters and Mom, (Me, Tessa, Heather, my Mom, Christina, and Kaley)

buttercups thrive in the country

2011-06-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

This is the season for buttercups in the northwest, you don't see many when you drive through town, where yards are manicured and kept just so. But head out of town into the countryside, and here you'll be blessed to witness a delight to be found in the brightest yellow buttercup. There are millions everywhere, they line the country roads, and fill the meadows, bumblebees drink of their nectar and my vision is filled with their golden glow.

I can't help but smile, these are pictures from my garden, the top one is in my vegetable garden, an edge of a path. They are in many areas that I allow until their bloom fades,their season is short, like the dandelion I adore so much. I allow them to bloom, or should I say I've learned if you can't beat em, at least enjoy them, the bumble bees sure do.

My flower bed that got neglected this spring has been filled with buttercups, I'm allowing them to bloom at this point and will then reclaim the bed by weeding it thoroughly. My love for the buttercup is at it's greatest when they're in bloom, once it fades, I pull them out, or use the weedeater to level the paths.

Rhubarb Pie

2011-06-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

Rhubarb, also called "the pie plant" holds the special honor of being the first fruit to ripen in the garden for pie making. It does well in the Pacific Northwest, with our wet and mild climate. My rhubarb plants will produce big, beautiful, bright red stalks all summer long and into the fall. If I keep them well watered, they'll continue to produce, that's the real secret to keeping your rhubarb going, is water, and sun for nice red stalks. I've grown rhubarb every year for many years, and have given or traded starts every year too.

Rhubarb pie is easy to make, just like all fruit pies. Master and memorize the crust recipe, then all you have to do is cut up and measure fruit and sweetener and bake.

To make rhubarb pie;

Cut up your rhubarb into 1 inch pieces, the mixture should consist of approx;
4 cups rhubarb
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1/4 c flour
I usually err on the side of less sweetener, but rhubarb definitely needs some sweetener. You could also use honey if you have it, use about half the amount. Let the fruit meld with the sugar while you're making the pie crust. I usually make about 12-16 cups of cut up rhubarb and eyeball the amount I'll need. You want your fruit mounding a little in the pie plate, not a lot mind you, or you'll have juice spill over the sides. It's always a good idea to put a cookie sheet under a fruit pie too, just for catching spills in the oven.

Pastry for Crust:
2 cups flour (I make mine with whole wheat pastry flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cold butter
6 to 7 tablespoons cold water
I use a small cuisinart to make my pastry, it is so easy and turns out good every time. I then make a ball of the dough put it into a plastic bag, flatten it a little with my hand and refrigerate for 10 minutes, after it's chilled, flour your surface, roll it out and place it in the pie plate, fill with fruit and bake in a 375 to 400 degree oven. Cover the side crusts with foil for the first approx 50 minutes, then remove and bake an additional 30 minutes, check regularly the last 15 to 20 minutes, pull it out when the crust is golden brown.

I like to make a little extra dough, just to make sure I have a nice full crust, and if I have any left over I let the kids make tarts or butter and cinnamon sugar baked treats. Because my pie plate is a double size, I double the recipe.

my husband took this picture of me heading into the house with an armload of rhubarb for pie making, actually I stopped outside before going in, and cut off the big beautiful leaves. Wishing I was set up and had time to make some concrete leaves. That's a project I do later in the year when weeding, digging and planting the seeds are over, usually around late Aug/early Sept. This time of year rhubarb is for pies, jams and sauces. For some reason I have found that when I freeze rhubarb I rarely use it. I will use the rhubarb jam regularly throughout the year on yogurt, toast, and muffins. So this year my plan is to make lots of rhubarb jam, and not freeze any. I also gave some rhubarb to my Mom, and she made a strawberry-rhubarb pie for a family get together, and it was delicious.

Bee Keeping ~ is not for the faint of heart!

2011-06-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

Bee keeping is both humbling and exalting, their are thrills to be had in swarms, and adrenaline running through your body as you are capturing a swarm, the energy of thousands of bees all around you. During these moments, I lose sense of time, as I'm totally focused on working with my bees. I am in awe of them, the more I learn about them, how they are so in harmony with one another, the hive, the scouts, the workers and queen. They dance and communicate, they work tirelessly for the good of the hive. They protect with their life, and feed and tend their young with faithfulness.

They are vulnerable in the Northwest however, and need a nurturing hand to watch over them, a good beekeeper to guard them, helping them to stay warm and well fed, and adding additions at the right moment. They will reward us with honey, wax, pollen, propolis, and pollination. Possibly by keeping them and watching them, we can be lucky enough to learn some of their noble ways.

The cold days of late winter and early spring, I regularly peeked in and added sugar syrup if they needed it. I fussed over them all Spring, and now that it's getting warmer it makes working alongside my busy little garden partners all that much sweeter. I try to organize when I work with the bees at times when I'm not rushed. I like to be relaxed, as I check hives with my suit on, I lift out frames, holding them into the light, looking for tiny eggs that look like a grain of rice. If I see those nice and uniform, I know a queen is alive and laying eggs. Are they uniform, how are the workers capping them, are they bullet like drone cells or are they nice worker cells? Do you clean the frames as you work them, I do with my scraper. Look for queen cells, peanut like, they hide them, so look carefully, I usually cut them out, and give the bees more room.

Honeybees in the Northwest need to be fed a lot in June, it's hard to believe because June seems like it should be summer. If you don't feed them, they could starve to death within a very short time. If you ever see dead bees on the front of the hive in June, check to be sure there is still sugar syrup left on. The reason I know about this so well is that several years ago both my hives starved to death almost totally in June. I caught it in time to salvage some, but not until almost all the bees had died in mass over a 2 day period. I had no idea what was happening, due to a lack of knowledge.

They can also swarm in June, this year mine swarmed on June 2nd. I had never experienced a swarm happening before the beginning of July, so was unprepared, and wasn't checking the hive thoroughly every week. I got a call at work from my husband who watched the huge swarm come out of the hive and swarm away, he valiantly tried to capture it, but it was 50 ft up in a douglas fir tree. We both felt sad, as a swarm takes away half the workers or more along with the old queen. You are left with a huge loss of workers for gathering honey, and a new queen that won't hatch out any babies for several weeks. So you lose workers and valuable time getting a new queen established.

I had a very strong hive this spring, and had been feeding them since late February. Next year I will know to check early, and put supers on by early to mid May just to be sure they have plenty of room to grow and make comb. The new young bees like to make comb and the queen was laying perhaps hundreds of eggs per day, exponentially this translates into an army of bees that needs way more room faster and earlier than I, in my inexperience (only 5 years) got to learn another valuable lesson the hard way. Which happens more often than I like to admit.

Serendipitously, on June 7th my swarm of bees, or possibly someone else's came back. I thought my bees were swarming again, and knew I didn't have enough left to create the black cloud of bees circling the front of the hives. As I came near the roar of bees was everywhere, they were on the ground, on the bushes, on
the hives, landing on me, several swarms were forming. Thankfully I was home and not at work, and had the time to gather 2 more hives to put together, very hard to do when you don't have that many frames with wax in them (I'll address having the proper equipment ready in another post)

I was running back and forth to the barn in my suit with bees all over me, sweating and panting, and gathering everything I need, then realizing I needed my nuc hive, which is the smaller one on the left. I managed to patch together enough hives, gather the swarms in a box, then dumped the box into the hive, set the box in front of the hive to let the rest go in. This all took a couple hours of running around and then gathering them all before the evening cooled down. I was strung hard in the right hand, and it was swollen for 2 days. I've made sugar syrup twice already, and they're all doing ok. On the next nice sunny day, I'll be checking them thoroughly, and possibly combining a couple. All three of these hives are almost full of bees, and the small nuc on the left is half full. I feel so blessed for a second chance at a good honey harvest for this year, and will be diligent in checking them regularly.

Indian Summer of Applegarth

2011-06-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

I took this picture of Summer last night, she was happy to be playing and jumping on the trampoline with the kids, and running around the yard, she has a big happy smile on her face. Last week I finally got her all registered with the AKC, she's a dark golden retriever, and is almost 2 years old, and there are even some champions in her bloodlines. She's kind of a tomboy though, and loves the water and hunting, so would probably do better in field trials than shows, but we still may show her at the fair this year.
Her officially registered name is "Indian Summer of Applegarth".

hardy spring chicks

2011-06-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

Henrietta with her 9 chicks in tow

Cuckoo Maran hen with her four chicks

Under the rabbit hutch hunting for grubs, even these tiny chicks are extraordinary little hunters. They learn from their mom about who to stay away from in the hen house, how the pecking order works, and she helps them integrate into the flock. They learn fast, and within 2 days are out running around living life with all the other chickens, learning as they grow from their mom.

She protects them, helps them to find food and water, and warms them under her wings whenever they start cheeping that they're too cold. She is faithful and yet encourages them to be independent as well. Little chicks raised without a mom are like little orphans, last year when I raised the group of babies from day old chicks, and watched Henrietta raise her brood. I knew this was the best way and easiest way to increase your flock.

There is one exception, meat birds, when raising them they will need to be raised in the 100 gallon stock tank with a light as chicks, and then moved into a chicken tractor once old enough. We're hoping to raise a couple dozen for a Fall harvest.

We ended up with 13 chicks out of 2 hens. Several chicks died during hatching, and one got outside the chicken run and died last week (I filled the hole when I found it). It was sad when the Cuckoo Maran hen left 10 of her eggs, and took the 4 alive chicks outside the coop, she couldn't figure out how to get the baby chicks back up the ramp to get back in to lay on the remaining 10 eggs, by the time I got home from work it was too late, they had set cold for too long. I was really bummed, but in the end, just happy we have 13, healthy strong chicks, remembering back to when I said I'd be happy if I got 7 or 8 live chicks from each one.

Champagne d'Argent doe

2011-06-13T23:56:00.000-07:00

Our newest addition to Applegarth Farm is this beautiful Champagne d'Argent doe, she's almost 3 months old, and already weighs about 5 pounds. She'll top out at around 9-11 pounds at full adult weight. We picked her up today from a breeder I met on craigslist several months ago when I began my research of this heritage breed. I have also reserved a non related buck that will be due in a month.

This doe represents some big changes in our rabbitry, we will be selling most of our mini rex herd of 3 does and 1 buck, along with the 9 babies. I talked with the feed store today, and they said they'd take all 9 babies, but no adults. I also showed them our newest rabbit and shared with them my rabbitry changes. I wanted to talk to them because we had been supplying the feed store with several litters of baby mini rex bunnies every summer for the last few years.

This purebred doe is registered with the ARBA - American Rabbit Breeders Association, and has an ear tatoo, B-21, and official pedigree. The seller said she hadn't been handled much, but she sure was good all day since we picked her up, I think she likes her new room mates and the view of the upper meadow from the rabbit hutch. One thing we all noticed about her is that her fur is exquisite, it's soft and smooth, darker underneath, and almost white on the tips, it's just gorgeous, and is hard to tell how nice it truly is through just a picture.

Today was a rabbit day for me, when we got home and I set her all up in her new cage, gave her fresh food and water, and let her settle down. Moving day is stressful whether animal or human.

I spent time grooming the other 5 rabbits we have, clipping toenails, and brushing our Angora Peppermint. Her fur is getting so long, I brushed her for a long time, she just loved all the attention. It's important when you have rabbits to feed them quality food, fresh greens, and fresh water daily. One thing you also need to do is trim toenails every couple months.

Why am I changing my rabbitry from pet rabbits to meat and fur rabbits? In times of prosperity rabbits are for pets, in times of economic challenges rabbits are for meat. This is historically speaking of course, but my plan is to get 3 does and 1 buck, and breed them like I have been with the Mini Rex's and will eventually be sellling breeding pairs, a buck and doe will sell for $90/pair. With the Mini Rex's the most we were making was $10/rabbit. These are bigger rabbits so they produce bigger litters. I'm planning for them to get mature enough, and will breed them the end of next Jan for babies next March, I surely don't want one of my rabbits having babies in the middle of winter, that would not be a good idea.

Champagne d'Argents are meat and fur rabbits. I do plan to have some rabbit on our menu several times per year, not in the near future, but when I have so many rabbits and want to sell and keep the best, then there will be some.

planting seeds and nesting

2011-06-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

The chickens have been nesting and so have I. It's pouring down rain outside, and my plans in the garden are on hold until it stops and dries out a little. I read through my garden journals the other day, and realized that almost every May and June it rains a lot. Here in the Northwest, our nice warm weather sometimes doesn't arrive until July!  It's hard to believe that Fairbanks is having 70 and 80 degree weather, on my blogs I like to read Emily of Wild Roots Homestead lives there and posted about their beautiful weather.   We typically have our nicest weather in July, August, and September, and often times we have an indian summer in the fall. October can be absolutely beautiful here.

Yesterday after the rain tapered off a bit, I quickly went out to the garden beds the girls and I had prepared over Memorial Day, and planted carrots, radishes, onions (I forgot I bought them a month ago, and they were starting to sprout) parsnips, and beets. I wanted to get some root crops in the ground before the moon began to wax again today. This is what happens when you garden by the moon cycles, sometimes I wait until the last day before the moon changes, and like a deadline that I've procrastinated on until the end, I get the seeds in the ground. This is probably why this method works so well for me, it gives me a definite timeframe to get the seeds planted. It also helps with successive sowing of greens, carrots, radishes and beets.

Have I told you how much I love beets, chiogga, golden, bulls blood, and detroit are the ones I plant. Why do I like them so much?  They are a dual purpose vegetable, both the greens and the tubers are edible and delicious, they do great in our climate, and no pests seem to bother them. The dark red leaves of bulls blood beets really make a salad look great. We have been eating salads for the last week and a half or so, and won't have to buy greens for many months, probably into early November. I haven't even started to set out any warm season crops, it's just been too wet and cold.

This afternoon I'll be at my daughter Tessa's district track meet, she made it in the top 3 for her division in the hurdles and 4x100 relay. It's really fun for me to watch her, and many of the kids I've know since they were little, I'm hoping the rain will taper off this afternoon.

Inside I've been cleaning and going through stuff (uggh) where did it all come from? I told my husband that many of these things are my tools, just like he has tools (lots of tools). Mine look a little different, they are for canning, a pressure canner, hot water bath canner, jars, lots of jars, bee keeping supplies, soap making supplies, books on gardening and all my hobbies, sewing stuff, knitting stuff, baking and cooking supplies, like special pans and bowls, a yogurt maker, ice cream maker, dehydrator, pasta machine etc, etc.

There are office supplies, Christmas and holiday decorations, kids school papers, coats, shoes, snow pants, snow boots, pictures and scrapbooking supplies.  When you see it all staring at you, it looks a little overwhelming, maybe you can relate. Or maybe you have it all organized far better than me, I'm sure you do, this is not my strongest area. Probably my biggest challenge as a mother has been trying to keep some organization in the home and things in order. I definitely got my pack rat tendencies passed onto me from my parents (my mom does work on keeping it under control and in order), maybe it's inherited, my grandfather had a barn full of treasures, I remember it well as a little girl, being in awe of all the cool stuff he had in there. I guess we are hunters and gatherers of valuable stuff like our books, that are a part of who we are, and have helped form us.

My goal is to get rid of anything I don't use, and store in tupperware containers the keepsakes that I don't want to display. I will be moving all my shelves into our basement (it's dry), and put stuff not regularly used in there. I want to try and keep the house more sparse, and easier to clean.  Several years ago we bought these nice metal shelves from Costco, and I bought clear plastic containers. I spent time and worked hard at getting everything organized. Clear plastic helps to see what I have stored in each container. We live in the country and have mice, so the plastic containers also work much better than cardboard to keep things clean. We have to regularly set mouse traps to keep them at bay during certain seasons, like when it's starting to get cold in the late Fall.

As I've been yakking away, I looked outside and noticed the downpour has stopped. I'm off to finish mopping my floors, and attempting to put in order some of my treasures.

PS. Somehow in our move I've misplaced my camera charger, I need to find it.  Henrietta's chicks all hatched out a couple of days ago, and she now is the proud mother to 10 chicks. She was sitting on 12, one was a dud, and one died while trying to get out of it's shell. We are lucky to have 10 that are alive and healthy, she even had them out in the pasture yesterday showing them all the good things to eat. Once you have a hen raise chicks, you'll never go back to raising them yourself. The other sitting hen should hatch out tomorrow, I thought she was sitting on a dozen, but when I looked under her yesterday I counted 16 eggs!

spring in the garden

2011-05-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

fireside chat

2011-05-29T23:57:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to write and catch you up on all that's been going on around here. We've had some big changes, and I even have a new place to be on the computer, right by the fire. I took this picture before sitting down this evening. After the coals died down a bit, Kaley roasted me a couple of marshmallows, she's good at getting them just right. We're all adjusting to going to sleep in new rooms, and waking up to new routines. Moves are both exciting and nerve wracking.

This last week has been a whirlwind of activity getting moved from the barn to the big house. It's all for the good, but is still a ton of work. I can't believe how much stuff I had gathered and stashed away, just like a pack rat. Well, now I'm going through it all, and either keeping and storing it, giving it away, or throwing it away. I only want to move in just what we need to be cozy and comfortable.

J has been getting the sink all set up and running, so I don't have to wash dishes in the bath tub anymore. We still have a hose coming through the window, but the sink drains. The new stove still needs a psi regulator, whatever that is, so I haven't been making bread... I know I said not long ago that I wanted to make all our own bread, well now I'm letting the move take over for a few weeks until all settles back down, and I can get back into a good cooking routine. Then I'll resume making bread again, there needs to be a certain peace in the home for bread baking.

We needed to make a reason to get the big house finished, and by moving in, it created the motivation to begin at a faster pace getting it all up and running. Patience is a good thing, then when you've been patient long enough, bold action seems to do the trick. We have been gathering supplies to finish it , as items were found, or there was extra money to buy them, we did.

We have the stone tiles to lay the floor, and the metal tubing to lay under the stone tiles, the floor will be heated. We have a new Wolff range that has 2 ovens. I am working on bringing the salvage sink back from years of a rusty leaking faucet that stained the enamel, bought at a salvage yard in Seattle. Yesterday J spent an entire day sanding down and cleaning a butcher block table that I'm using as a center island, it was black and now looks like new, he also spent a long time scrubbing the metal base and drawers. We have gathered wood for laying the wood floors, and granite counters for someday finishing the tops of the counters and cabinets.

For now I'm just happy everyday to see the sun and even on cloudy days the light coming through the windows, I can look out on my garden from the minute I wake in the morning. There are big plans to finish taping the walls, and to get ready for painting. I bought a couple gallons of paint, a butternut color, then got it home, and found it was too dark, I went back down to Lowes and bought a gallon of white paint to lighten it some.

In the farm news, Henrietta should be hatching out her clutch of baby chicks, there are twelve eggs, I put all of one days eggs under her, so hopefully they all hatch out in one day. I sat near her today listening, and could hear the baby chicks peeping, still in their shells under her, pecking their way out. I'll take some pics tomorrow if they begin to hatch. Then 4 days later the cuckoo maran should hatch out, she has a dozen eggs under her too. What will we do with that many chickens? We'll raise the young roosters up until they're butcher weight, or if their nice enough looking we will try to find a good home for them with somebody who wants a nice rooster. The hens will be for next years layers, as they lay the best in their first 2 years of life, so replenishing some every year is wise to do.

Regarding the goats, I spoke with Kristi the owner of the goats I've been planning to get mine from, we talked about a month ago. Her first planned breeding's didn't take, she was disappointed, and said she'd have a couple that may be kidding the beginning of May. I still haven't heard from her, and will email tomorrow. I wonder if any of her breeding's worked, she said something about re breeding. I have been looking for nigerian dwarfs on Craigslist now, and also have the names and numbers of several known breeders in our area.

The 2 pregnant mini rex rabbit does kindled several weeks ago, and the babies are already running all over with their eyes open. I plan to sell them all when the babies are old enough at 9 or 10 weeks old. The future plans are to change breeds to Silver Fox, and Champagne D'argents.

In the garden, I've been working on weeding, and getting beds ready for planting. The cold frame J made several weeks ago has been wonderful for protecting plants. This coming week is the time for me to get most of the garden seeds in the ground and planted. Warm season stuff will stay in the cold frame for several more weeks, until the weather warms enough. We've been having a spring like last year, very cold and things much later than normal. The moon is still waning, so tomorrow I'll be planting root crops, carrots, beets, radishes, parsnips, and onions.

I spent time today looking at my garden designs over the last few years. Just double checking my notes, to see how to rotate crops and take advantage of rotational planting. I have 6 large garden plots, 4 are for rotational crops, and I have each bed labeled A, B, C, D. The other 2 beds are for perennial vegetable, grapes, strawberries, herbs and flowers. There's another big new bed, I'm working on, it's where I'm currently building my mountain of compost. Weeds, chicken/ rabbit manure, old straw, grass clippings, and leaves make up a large part of my compost. I will be planting the new big bed with corn, pumpkins, sunflowers and green beens.

I hope you're enjoying this spring, and getting outside.

Happy Gardening to you! Jewel

a sad farewell to the kittens

2011-05-29T23:25:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was the day I took the kittens in to Purrfect Pals, a non-profit cat organization that was having a shortage of kittens for this time of year. They have adoptive families waiting for kittens, willing to pay $150. I figure if someone is willing to pay that much, they will take good care of their new baby. It was hard giving them up, we loved watching their playful antics, wrestling matches, races and especially their sweetness towards their mothers and us. They have been a delight to have around.

We kept the kittens until they were 11 weeks old, so they had plenty of time to play in the woods and learn from their mothers. We found homes for 4 of the kittens, and took the other 7 in to be adopted. In exchange for bringing them the kittens, they spayed both of my mother cats, and the little one we're keeping. So we won't be having kittens in our life for many years. This was a fun experience we will all remember with fond memories of them, and the miracle of their birth, the mothers faithfulness in raising them, and the tenderness we witnessed, watching them with their babies.

The little one we ended up keeping below turned out to be a girl, we are still narrowing down our name choices for her. She is sweet and friendly, and is lucky to stay here, and have both mom's to nurse from and be with.

finally home

2011-05-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

Last week we spontaneously moved into our big house that has been unfinished for years, we are building it slowly with cash and the time to work on it. If you read my post called waterlogged and sun starved, you'll understand why I finally made the decision to just do it. I really have been sun starved and living in the barn, and the cabin we had most of our comfort and functional needs met, but the biggest drawback was the dark, windows were up high, and rooms were dark.

So now our plan is to work on the big house while we live in it. It's finished to the sheet rock stage, however, we do have a finished bathroom, a laundry room, electricity and just installed a wood stove. There are windows that look out over my garden, and from our upstairs bedroom it's like a lighthouse looking over the entire property, North, South, East and West. We've moved most of the furniture, and all the beds, and have set up home. This week we'll be working on getting the sink and counters put in, and the stove all hooked up. The other day I spent hours cleaning an old porcelain salvage sink that is deep on both sides, it must have been set up in a commercial kitchen, but it is cleaning up beautifully. A good sink is very important, and is of utmost priority, the last couple of days I've been doing the dishes in the bathtub.

I've been having fun nesting in my new home. We'll be painting, laying stone and wood floors, finishing the wood trim around windows, taping, texturing and painting the walls, and mostly getting it all functional to start with. At the same time I'm also going through everything we've had stashed away in the barn, and cleaning and organizing all the stuff that gets accumulated over years of raising children and having a business. There will be many trips to get rid of stuff at Goodwill, and maybe save some stuff for a barn sale this summer. In any event, it's a new chapter in our lives, one that will be filled with many happy work filled days.

harvesting dandelion pollen

2011-05-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

One of my worker honey bees gathering the dandelion harvest of pollen. There are thousands of bees gathering pollen this time of year, dandelion pollen is a favorite. They feed it to their young to help them grow from babies to adults. Can you see the pollen she's gathered on her sides, she's getting full and will then carry it back to the hive to unload and go out again. Honeybees are tireless workers when the weather's nice, they are wonderful to have and watch through the different seasons.

broody hens

2011-05-16T15:28:00.000-07:00

One of last years Cuckoo Maran chicks we raised is now a young hen, she just started sitting on eggs for the first time 2 days ago, I placed all of that day's eggs under her. She made a huge ruckus when I did, sitting hens don't like you to lift them even a little, they are moody and broody.

Henrietta went broody twice last year in the Spring and Fall, she is a wonderful mother to her chicks, it is valuable to have a good mother hen. The other hen last year that had chicks was an Americana hen, she just kind of quite taking care of her chicks when they were very young, she wasn't a very good mother. I hope the young Cuckoo Maran hen is a better mother. I only have one brooder/chick area, and will have to set up another one in the chicken coop soon.

Henrietta is below, she's been sitting on a dozen eggs for 6 days now. It takes 21 days of a hen sitting on the eggs for them to hatch out. So she will hatch in around 15 days, or May 30th. cuckoo maranwill hatch out around June 3rd, she's also sitting on around a dozen eggs. The hens will get up off the eggs at least once a day for 10 or 15 minutes to go to the bathroom, eat, drink water, and stretch their legs, then they hurry back to the nest to resume sitting and patiently waiting.

I know this sounds like a lot of chicks, but they don't usually all hatch, and some may not make it. I'll be happy if I get 7 or 8 chicks from each hen. Then when they're day old, if I want to add any other chicks I pick up from the feed store, similar in age and size of the new chicks you can put them under the hen at night, and by morning she will accept and raise the new ones right along with hers. I want to add a couple banties and a couple more Silver laced wyandottes, and my husband wants another white silkie. We had a banty named Olga and a white silkie named Starbird, and we lost both of them, they were favorites of ours. I want to put them under Henrietta to raise.

sunshine and dandelions

2011-05-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

The sun finally came out for 3 days in a row, we all got out and followed it just like the dandelions. I worked in the garden and let the chickens loose to enjoy the warmth of the sun.

Sierra, our great pyrenees is on her zip line doing chicken duty, she's on one side, and Summer, our golden retriever is on the other side of the meadow tied out. Several days a week they work at guarding for 2 or 3 hours. We like to let the chickens out to graze, for their overall health and the best quality eggs. I notice a big difference in the color of the yolks when they are back on healthy pasture, rich golden orange yolks when on pasture, and the whites are a breeze to whip up. I always whip the egg whites for omelette's, waffles and pancakes.

Rodney and the girls grazing, eating good bugs under the logs, they always find where the pickins are the tastiest. The sunny weather makes me want to let the chickens and rabbits out to play in the sun too. I learned valuable lessons my first years of letting animals loose, it draws in coyotes, neighbor dogs, and hawks. The dogs have been our best defense, and of course a predator proof chicken coop and run.

The dandelions in all their glory! Looking from the entrance of the chicken coop toward the big house. This is a living meadow that has never had one ounce of chemicals put on it. We mow several times per year, and have 3 meadows, we try to let the dandelions go as long as possible for the honeybees, and yet not too long they all go to seed. Factor in a couple dry days to mow, either before the bees are out in the morning or mow after they have gone to bed. During the height of the dandelion season, I can go to the beehives and watch the honeybees bringing in loads of dandelion pollen, and when you walk through the meadows, you see worker bees everywhere gathering nectar and pollen. I watch many different types of insects go to the dandelion for food as well. The rabbits and chickens also adore dandelion greens this time of year. I enjoy them for their beauty and health giving qualities, how lucky we are to be so abundantly blessed!

waterlogged and sun-starved

2011-05-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

Last evening as I walked through the garden, I couldn't help but notice how saturated the ground was. Not just a little water, this latest round of rain yesterday will need sun and dry day's to make the soil workable again. Have you tried to pull weeds in soil that is too wet, with roots clinging to the soil, impossible to shake off? The reality is we are sun starved here in the NW, we've had 4 and a half days of blue sky in the last 2 months. I know because I've been counting them, 3 of those days happened to fall on the weekend when I was at work, which was nice because I work outdoors, but I also longed to be in my garden in the sun.

This is the second spring in a row being this wet and cold, the spring of 2009 I remember was beautiful. The temperature now is around 42 degrees at night and warms up to around 51 during the day, this has gone on for months with grey clouds and rain. I know I shouldn't complain, we don't have tornadoes, we haven't gone through an earthquake, and we're not experiencing a flood or a drought. I am thankful for many things about the Northwest, and know our best months July, Aug, Sept, and Oct are coming up. I am using this blog as kind of a garden journal, so I wanted to make notes to myself for future years, not to get too excited about planting anything too early. Most things need to wait until mid May to plant, or they'll just sit and linger.

On a positive note, last week we were given a nice big frame for a greenhouse from the owner of the nursery where I work. It came with the property when she bought it 12 years ago, and has just been sitting, because it's so huge and takes someone who knows how to set it all up. Well my husband happens to know how to figure these kinds of dilemmas out, he'll just pour a concrete form and set the steel in place, frame up the ends and we'll get plastic to cover it, voila', a greenhouse. I'm exaggerating, it's not quite that simple. I am so excited to get it all set up for this winter. Not sure what the measurements are but he said it was huge. I will be able to garden year round, can you imagine that?

After gardening here in the Northwest for 21 years, a greenhouse is what every gardener dreams of. I am going to set it up with a patio and a table and chairs, so we can enjoy the warmth it will bring during cool Springs. This will also enable me to grow the warmer season crops like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. We're all looking forward to a Meyer lemon tree planted at one end too, and will fill the rest throughout the winter months with fresh greens, broccoli, carrots, beets, etc. Who knows it may also double as a place to raise chicks in the early spring too.

Yesterday I went to the 3rd track meet of the season for my daughter Tessa, every single one has been cold and rainy. We're due for some sun!! I heard the weather this morning and they're calling for sun mixed with rain today, and they say "SUN" for Friday and Saturday. If it's out today or tomorrow, I'm going to take at least an hour and just go lay on the trampoline and soak up some vitamin D.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's day to all the mother's out there, who mother children, animals, and all who are in your care. There is a mothering spirit that is stronger than anything else in this world, it is the heartbeat of a true mother. She wants to create a loving home, full of memories with her children, she wants to make good food to nourish them, give them Love and understanding to grow, make forgiveness and acceptance a priority throughout their lives. Most importantly she wants to impart a Godly Spirit, and the knowledge of how to hear the voice of Wisdom, to help them make good choices in their lives.

I am so thankful God gave me the Mother He did, I have been blessed my entire life to have a Mother that has loved me and my children unconditionally through all the mistakes, she still believed in me. She gave me a foundation of Faith that has carried over into her grandchildren, and will carry over through the generations to come I believe. My Mom has always given me a hug and a smile, and good conversation.

My parents will be up here soon, they live on the Oregon Coast, and like to come stay at their home away from home, that is not too far away from us. We'll hopefully have a month or two with them in town. We like to go to garage sales, and run around, we cook and eat together and generally get to spend time enjoying each other. I wish I could be with my Mom today on Mother's Day, but we'll have a special Mother's Day lunch when she gets here.

To all the mother's out there, enjoy your day today with your children and family. For all that you give and do, you deserve to give yourself a special treat, buy yourself something nice, or do something nice just your yourself, today or this coming week :) I'll let you know later this week what I did nice for myself.

the rabbitry

2011-05-06T23:44:00.000-07:00

Future plans for the rabbitry are to phase out of Mini Rex's and buy a breeding pair of Silver Fox rabbits, and a breeding pair of Champagne D'argent rabbits. I've been in contact with a breeder close by, and also placed a wanted ad for both breeds on Craigslist. I'll be waiting to sell my 2 pregnant Mini Rex does until their babies are 8 or 9 weeks old. Currently I have a 1 year old doe and 2 year old buck for sale.

Silver Fox rabbits weigh around 9-12 lbs. Their fur is unique as it's longer and courser than other rabbits, they're named after the silver fox because of the similarity in their coats. This is a breed that was near extinction not too long ago, and are still on the road to recovery as a heritage breed.

This is a Champagne D'argent rabbit, a breed that is over 400 years old,

they're from the Champagne region of France.

It's been a lot of fun raising Mini Rex rabbits, however with changing times and the economy come more practicality. The old saying, When time's are good rabbits are for pets, when times are lean rabbits are for meat. Thus my decision to totally change my breed of rabbit from a pet breed to a meat breed. Silver Fox and Champagne D'argent's are meat and fur rabbits. My plan is to raise them not only for our own meat, but to also focus on selling breeding pairs. A good quality purebred breeding pair is approximately $80, or $40 each for bucks or does. I will hopefully be going to look at a Silver Fox buck this week to check out more about this breed.

I've researched many of the meat breeds of rabbits, and have looked into California's, New Zealand's, American's, Dutch and Florida rabbits. I keep coming back to these old breeds of rabbits. I like the idea of raising heritage breeds too. My thinking is that more people may be buying meat rabbits in the days ahead rather than pet rabbits. The kids have been in charge of the rabbitry over the last 4 years yet I have been taking care of them more as they've gotten older and are more involved with friends and sports. The Mini Rex's were great for all those years, and kept the kids in spending money throughout the late Spring and Summer months. For any parents with small kids that want sweet small rabbits, I would highly recommend Mini Rex's.

We also have an Angora rabbit named Peppermint, who we just clipped a couple of days ago, we will be selling her as well, when her fur grows back thick in a couple months. The main reason for selling her is cage space. Then I'll have access to 4 large cages to house the other 2 breeds. We're also planning to make a chicken/rabbit tractor, that I will rotate with each other on different days so they can all have access to fresh grass and greens.

A note about feeding rabbits. This is what I feed: rabbit pellets, alfalfa, corn or scratch grains ( a small amount of whatever I'm giving the chickens) alfalfa every other day, grass, clover and dandelion greens are the most important part everyday. It only takes a few minutes to gather for them and they love it. They will always eat this before anything else, otherwise if I don't add fresh greens the next priority they'll eat are the corn. I also make sure I always have a salt and mineral lick for them. They get kitchen and garden treats like apple and carrot peelings, lettuce, and other vegetable ends. I like to give them a variety of things and usually rotate days with corn and alfalfa. The rabbit pellets form the base and everything else fills in the nutritional needs. Fresh water everyday is critical, and needs to be checked twice a day.

I feed all the animals in the morning, so the rabbits are in the feeding routine, they like it and can count on me seeing them and feeding them every morning. You know I'm really looking forward to a change in our rabbitry, and will have fun getting it all set up and running. I'd like to double my cage space, and create a pasture area surrounding the bunny barn, so they can have a yard to run around in.

Part of the plan for our farm is to make sure every animal has a purpose and can pay for their own feed. While this is not possible in the beginning stages of getting set up with your breeding stock, there comes a point where you want each group of animals to be self sustaining. I want to keep a ledger and better track of all my farm receipts, to know how much it costs for the chickens, rabbits and honey bees, and soon to be goats.

Do you have a favorite breed of rabbit or know of another meat breed of rabbit that I haven't mentioned? What do you feed your rabbits?.

sourdough french bread

2011-04-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

All you really need for great tasting bread is flour, water and salt. Sourdough starter is made out of flour and water and captures the wild yeast, it gives rise and flavor to the best breads in the world. The bread I'm making is getting better and better with all the practise I've been getting. I think my favorite everyday bread so far is sourdough french bread, the added flavor of the sourdough brings out tangy notes, and makes all the difference in a bland bread or a flavorful one. To make french bread crust taste authentic, brush cold water on just before putting in the oven, also add a pan of boiling water on the bottom rack for the first 10 minutes, then remove. When the loaves come out of the oven brush them again with cold water. This is what gives a good french bread crust the texture we all love.

I actually love kneading bread, and pour spirit, soul and song into my loaves as I knead them, I believe this makes all the difference in the heart and soul of good home-made bread... the love it's made with.

Sourdough has it's particulars, like not using metal, stainless steel is said to be fine, but I still use only wooden spoons, and ceramic bowls for all my sourdough. I also store it in glass quart jars, and keep everything very clean and sanitary with hot water. You learn to be clean and sanitary when making all ferments, like sauerkraut, kimchee, kombucha, yogurt, and sourdough. All vessels and spoons should be washed and rinsed in hot water before use. Most ferments like warmth to get going, and then you can slow down the growth with cool refrigerator temperatures.

In my bread making adventures, I've learned how valuable quick breads like cornbread, muffins, biscuits, scones, and coffee cake can be, they fill the need for bread in a hurry. You can even use sourdough to make all of these quick breads using the sourdough's natural leavening action, rather than the usual baking soda and baking powder. All you need for sourdough to work with quick breads is a half hour rise time. So while it takes an extra half hour, the final quick bread has a much better flavor.

Bread making is something of a ritual, it doesn't take a lot of time, just steps that need to be followed. The first rule with sourdough is to get a sponge going the night before, then it likes warmth, 85 degrees to rise the dough is very important. I was rising the bread by the fire, but had to fiddle with the fire so much to keep it at an even temperature, so now I let it rise in the oven, and just warm it lightly every half hour. I keep the door closed, and check on it frequently. I do this because we heat solely with a wood stove, so temperatures on my kitchen counters have been too cold for sourdough, and the woodstove is fickle. I still love the woodstove though, and use it for rising bread, rolls, and setting the sourdough by it at night.

I haven't let my sourdough starter go in to the refrigerator for weeks now, I simply use it almost everyday. Yesterday morning we had the most delicious sourdough waffles, melt in your mouth, made with eggs still warm from the hens, separated and whipped the egg whites effortlessly because of the freshness.

Sometimes sourdough bread is variable in the results for different people because of chlorine in water, iodine in salt, sourdough breads should be made with sea salt, or another non iodized salt, you need the freshest flour. If sourdough starter is not going strong enough, the dough will not rise, if the temperature is too cold, bread will not rise, and on and on. It can be finicky, but when you learn the idiosyncrasies of sourdough, and what it needs to be happy, and you use is regularly. You will be sold, and never look back.

Did you know sourdough is made from the wild yeasts in the air, made from your environment, from the very air you breath, and the environment of your home? I believe it makes a biodynamic bread, that is one of the best suited carbohydrate foods to feed our bodies. Especially with grains milled right before use, I have a grain mill that is manual, and I need to use it more than I do. The ultimate in healthy bread, is using just milled grains, I may look into an electric mill to use while we have power, and the manual as a back up.
My favorite sourdough french bread recipe to be coming soon.

a cozy bunch

2011-04-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

The kittens are now 6 weeks old, and are being raised by their 2 mom's, Tigger and Zora, sisters who gave birth 12 hours apart in the same big nest. The kitten below is the one that we will probably keep, this will be the first kitten ever born at Applegarth. Plus the mom's would be devastated if we didn't keep at least one of their babies, I doubt we'll need another cat now for 10 years or more.

The kittens have their home inside the 100 gallon stock tank, it's kind of like a big play pen. We put it in the back corner of the shop, to give them safety and privacy. The nest box is like a big cave, they like to climb to the top of the box and nap during the day, and at night they go inside to sleep. They are still nursing, and will be ready in a couple weeks for their new homes, we have 4 homes waiting for them to get old enough. They are at such a cute and playful age and we've all been having so much fun watching them and playing with them, it's been a delightful experience to come up and say hi to 11 little kittens, give them a pet and talk to them sweetly while they're all snuggled together.

Tigger surrounded by her babies.

April days in the garden ~ sun, rain, snow and hail

2011-04-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

A picture of a rhododendron at the nursery where I work on the weekends, the rhododendron is the Washington state flower, we have them wild all over the coast of Washington, mostly the lavender ones.

The weather has been cold and springlike, it was 35 degrees and snowing this morning, and the last couple mornings have been 36 degrees, then warm up to around 50 degrees during the day. We've had weather all over the place this last week, from sun and rain to hail and snow.  I remember over the years we've had hail on Easter during our egg hunts, so this is somewhat typical weather. I think it may be a little colder than normal, as the dandelions are just beginning to bloom. Speaking of dandelions, the bees are covering every one they find open, collecting loads of pollen to bring back to the hive. The fruit trees have yet to bloom, and the sap is slowly beginning to flow in most of the trees. The cherry buds are getting larger by the day, and will be spectacular when in bloom.

My muscles are getting a work out again on a daily basis,  pulling weeds, digging beds, pitch forking and maneuvering a heavy wheelbarrow. Muscles that lay dormant through much of the winter are happily felt once again.  Now is the time I'm moving and planting, flowers, shrubs and trees. I have seedlings started on a warm radiator by the Southern windows. They look out on the cold and are happy to have their roots all toasty and warm.

Over the last few days I've been working on the perennial and vegetable beds, weeding and amending everywhere. In the spring most of the things I do in the garden requires muscle and strength. I know my muscles are getting a good work out by how they feel, by how much I groan when moving, and how soundly I sleep.

I don't know if I've shared my philosophy for my garden before, but in a nutshell it's an organic test garden. I call it a test garden because I experiment and test things and see what works. This is why sometimes I plant things earlier than normal to test and see when the ideal time is to start things in my ecosystem. I also test propagating with cuttings and creating rootstock. Over the last couple days I've worked on the grafted fruit tree rootstocks I started 2 years ago, I labeled and identified them, cut back the rootstocks, weeded, and still need to amend and mulch the bed. I also took 130 cuttings from 7 different berry bushes I have, 3 different types of gooseberry (Jahn's prairie, hinnomaki red and poorman), 2 types of serviceberry (autumn brilliance and smoky serviceberry), an aronia berry, and a high bush cranberry. My cuttings don't always take, but my success has been pretty good. I'm a little late in taking them, March is probably better, but we'll test and see. Last year I started a few new bushes of each berry plant, and almost every cutting worked.

I'm happy to report I have nicely rooted kiwi plants 6 of them from last year that I started. They are all hardy kiwis. I have both hardy kiwis and one fuzzy kiwi, the kind you buy in the grocery store. The hardy kiwis are the ones I'm counting on for a harvest. They are small for a kiwi, they are the size of an extra large grape, with a sweet taste of kiwi. The varieties I have are Kolomitka kiwi and Ananasnaya "Anna" Kiwi, I have a male and female of each variety, if you want fruit you have to have both a male and female. They are planted along the back of my garden, with plans for a large arbor this summer. I planted them about 3 years ago, so this will be the year they really take off. I am looking forward to having an abundance of hardy kiwis. I've read they are good for storing through much of the winter, so this is a real plus.

I am a big fan of berry bushes, and think they should be one of the first things you get started in your garden, strawberries are the most faithful fruit I have they will produce fruit the first year, and every year more and more, consistently giving you quality fruit. Raspberry and blueberry bushes can be fit in most backyards and produce some fruit the first year and much more the second year.   On a new homestead, you will want to get your fruit trees planted right away, they will take from 3-5 years to begin to really produce. If you plan to stay in a place, plant nut trees, they say when you plant nut trees, you plant them for your grandchildren. I planted seedlings of 5 chestnut trees , 5 black walnut trees and 4 filbert trees (3 filberts died the first winter). I planted the trees 2 springs ago, this will be their 3rd spring year here. I also have an almond tree, but I'm not sure if we're warm enough for it to produce fruit, we'll see it's still growing. Plus I planted a heartnut tree to pollinate the butternut tree that is about 12 years old.

I hope you're having fun this spring and are getting outside. A nice yearly spring ritual is planting a tree, make it an edible tree, shrub or berry bush. Do you have a favorite edible berry bush or fruit tree?

does coming in June

2011-04-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

We will be getting 2 or 3 Nigerian Dwarf does from the Boyd's Farm in mid to late June, I'm not sure which one of these we're getting yet, but don't they all have beautiful markings. This last week the Boyd's and I touched base about when kidding will take place, because she knows I want to be there shortly afterwards to see the mom's and babies and take some pictures. I am so excited and can hardly wait till I can bring them home. We are getting their area all ready, and still need to prepare their paddock, and build a goat milking stand. I have been wanting goats to milk for years, ever since I had a Nubian for about 9 months that I milked. We all loved the taste and flavor of the milk, and she gave about a gallon a day.

With the milk, in addition to drinking I am planning to make goats milk soap, and as many dairy products as I can, cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream, cottage cheese, sour cream etc. Nigerian Dwarfs are smaller than Nubians, and I'm not sure exactly how much milk they produce, but I thought 3 does in milk would be perfect to start this year. In the late Fall, we'll breed them for next Springs kids, Nigerian Dwarfs typically have twins or triplets.

Home Made Laundry Soap ~ A Big Savings!

2011-04-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

The most exciting thing I've discovered this last week is home made laundry soap. How easy it is to make and how incredibly clean and bright our clothes are. I haven't done the calculations on the savings myself but have read others say that it is pennies per load for the cost. My cost is kept real low because I make all my own bars of soap now.

This is a very simple recipe for home made laundry soap, all you need is; Borax, washing soda, A bar of soap (any bar will probably do, however if I had to buy soap I'd use Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap, I've also read in other home recipes they call for Fels Naptha, or Sunrise soap), and water. You can find all of these ingredients in the laundry isle of most grocery stores.
Here's the recipe for the smaller size batch, for the extra large family size batch look at recipe below this one.

Home made laundry soap recipe;

You will need a large pot to mix everything on the stove. First put 4 quarts of water on to boil, then grate 1/3 to 1/2 bar of soap, pour into the water to melt. Heat on medium until the soap is fully dissolved. Then add 1/2 cup each of washing soda and borax and stir until those are dissolved. Turn off the heat and add 2 more quart jars of water. Stir real good, your pot should be quite full. You still need to add 2 more quarts for a total of 8 quarts (32 cups) of water. This makes enough to do 64 loads of laundry using 1/2 cup per load. It will thicken up as it cools and you will have a gel like soap that dissolves nicely when you do your laundry, even on the cold cycle. If you have old laundry detergent bottles these would be great to reuse, or any easily pourable plastic container would work great for you to store your laundry detergent in.

Large Recipe (makes enough for 160 loads of laundry)

You will need an extra large pot to mix the ingredients on the stove. First put 10 quarts of water on to boil, then grate 1 1/2 bars of soap, pour into water to melt. Heat on medium until the soap is fully dissolved. I then add 1 1/4 cup each of washing soda and borax and stir until those are dissolved. Turn off heat and add 5 more quart jars of water. Stir real good, your pot should be quite full. You will then add 5 more quarts of water (I did the last 2 steps in a bucket, because my pot wasn't big enough) for a total of 20 quarts (80 cups), I actually made mine a little more concentrated and didn't add the last 5 quarts of water. This makes enough to do 160 loads of laundry using 1/2 cup per load. It will thicken up as it cools, and is a gel like soap that dissolves nicely when doing laundry.

I just made this extra large batch of home made laundry soap and am thrilled with the results. I am so excited because of the full realization since I began making soap, of just how much money I can save our family overall with making bars of soap, dishwashing soap, and now laundry soap. Just think how important soap is in our day to day lives, we bathe with it, wash dishes, do laundry, clean our houses, along with many other things. Now imagine you can make it all, simply and inexpensively.

Next on my desire to learn list is making shampoo's, lotions and lip balms. One thing leads to another you know. I also need things to do indoors on the cold wet days, which I hope will be getting warmer and sunnier. Do you make any of your own home products that add up to big savings? I'd love to hear about them.

April showers bring May flowers

2011-04-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

I keep telling myself this as we've had so much rain over the last month and a half, and today it rained most of the day. We actually had a couple of nice dry days yesterday, and the day before was our first nice sunny day in over a month. I worked outside in the garden both days, weeding and pruning, Spring is a busy time I have so much to do. I truly enjoy the time outdoors working hard, and the instant gratification of seeing the beds look good as soon as I'm done. This is one of my perennial beds around the cabin, I took the picture above around the middle of June last year. The picture below I took this morning, what a difference a couple of months makes.

the coop ~ new stairs and the chicken run

2011-04-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

This picture is the back side of the coop, already finished, except for the windows, notice it's 2 story, the chickens go through the bottom door when we let them out to pasture. The picture of the stairs below is the front of the coop still unfinished.

We are still working on our chicken coop, it has been a work in progress, to see the process go here. Back in February over several nice weekends J built the simple rectangular forms and poured the concrete stairs. We let them cure for a couple weeks then assembled each stair with drilled rocks in between (just for looks) we also put special smaller rocks embedded into the ends of each stair. If you wondering why we do so much concrete, ie decks, fence posts, stairs, etc, it's because we live in the rainy NW and wood rots quickly here. This way the stairs won't get slippery and will last for years with no maintenance, concrete is an easy medium to work with, and lasts for a lifetime. He also found a rooster mold at Goodwill and cast that into one of the posts for fun.

The chicken run is the safe zone for the chickens, this is their yard that we built to give them some freedom, but still keep them safe. We dug down almost a foot to lay the wire and prevent dig ins, and then filled in with gravel. All the posts are metal t-posts, and the corners are several posts forming strong corners. We put wood around the top to staple the top chicken wire onto. The top is fenced with chicken wire that I sewed together 4 long pieces of the wire and is held in place with several long cables pulled tight and metal posts pushing the middle up (kind of like a circus tent). It's rugged and doesn't look the prettiest, but it works. Someday I envision climbing roses and plantings around it to add some beauty. For now I'm just happy that no racoons can climb in to get them, and no owls or hawks can make air raids. One thing if I had to do the chicken run over would be not putting gravel on the inside around the base, only big rocks they can't move with their scratching. I have been raking small rocks and gravel that they spread everywhere with their scratching, looking for bugs. I am slowly gathering big rocks from around the property and putting them around the inside and outside of the base of the chicken coop. We also made sure to situate the run to have morning sun, and to be able to drain off excess water, it is on a slight hill, with all the rain we've had so far this spring, we could have ended up with giant mud puddles. They're all running along beside me in this picture asking to come out and play, so they can run around.

news from the farm

2011-04-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

The biggest news I have since I last wrote in here is that I got a part time job at a plant nursery, I'll be working on Saturdays and some Sundays from 10 to 5pm as a salesperson, helping people decide on how to landscape their yards and pick out plants. I worked last weekend and today, and am having so much fun learning and apprenticing under the very knowledgeable owner Sharon. The nursery specializes in Northwest Japanese style landscaping, with all different types of Maples, Evergreens, Rhodedendrons, Azaleas, Hydrangeas, and many different plants, shrubs, and bamboo. It has 25 acres of landscaping stock, with 32 full greenhouses. I am in heaven actually and can't believe I got this great opportunity to make some extra money, and learn at the same time. I didn't even go looking for this job, a friend told me her friend who owns the nursery was looking for help on Saturdays, I called her and got the job.

One of my passions throughout my life has been gardening and plants. To be able to help people beautify their yards and homes is a worthy job that makes me happy. I will also be doing a few hours during the week at home on the computer for her, and will trade those hours for plants! Can you imagine getting paid in plants for something I already enjoy doing taking pictures and writing?

Weather news for early April, we had about an inch of snow Wednesday night, and it stuck around all day Thursday. That night we had a freeze, because it was clear Thursday night, so we had sun for part of the day Friday, I just wanted to put my face up to the sun and soak up the rays. The fruit trees are all near blooming, and I'm hoping it will warm up, I did hear this next week they're predicting snow one more time. It has been so wet here day after day it rains, someone today said we've had around 42 days since we had a nice sunny day.

The kittens are growing, and starting to get to a real cute playful age. We cleaned and moved the 100 gallon stock tank in to the shop to move their home into it, so they could run around in clean shavings in a controlled area for the mom's peace of mind. The 7 baby rabbits were ready for me to take in to our local farm store, they buy them from me for $10 a piece, so I had some money to buy more rabbit and chicken feed. The farm store was happy to have me show up again for the 3rd season with cute babies. I spent time trimming and filing all their nails, and gave them the final hugs and looked into their eyes and told them I hope they find a nice home and can be a good pet. I may create a tri-fold brochure about rabbits and their care, along with the name and number of my rabbitry in case they can't keep them or a child loses interest. I worry about my baby rabbits getting good homes. As far as the mom's go, I let them loose with the buck in a portion of the chicken run so they could all be together and run and play for a couple days. I just put them all out together yesterday. So in another 30 days we should have 2 more litters of new baby rabbits.

We're getting around 8 or 9 eggs per day, and have been enjoying them all different ways. I've still kept my commitment to making all our own bread. It has been a challenge at times, like this morning I needed some bread quick, I made cinnamon apple scones, they cook in 15 to 20 minutes, we loved them, they were delicious. I have an everyday sourdough bread I've been making that everyone likes, and I also make different grain loaves with oatmeal, sunflowers, corn, rye, etc. This last week I made home made pizza, dinner rolls, muffins and still need to try bagels and crackers. One of my favorite quick breads is corn bread, I love it hot out of the oven with a generous dollop of butter. When you make all your own bread, quick breads are a good standby.

This last week was Spring Break for my kids, we had family in town visiting for part of the time, and I took a spring break from the Internet. This month some of my goals are to keep working on the vegetable garden, build compost, weed and ammend with compost all the vegetable and flower beds, work on the goat pasture getting it fenced and their area all ready, and I plan to continue making soap. By the way, the soap is exquisite, I love using the lemon grass bar in the shower, and make excuses to wash my hands at the sink with the lavender soap. The bars are not all the way cured and need a couple more weeks, but since I'm the soapmaker I decided to try them early. I am planning to have a drawing in a few weeks for some of my home made soap when it's cured.

There's never a dull moment around here. I hope Spring has sprung where you live, and that you're enjoying the longer days. I've been wishing for the warmth of the sun to return so it can bring forth new life and fruit, we're all ready for warm sunny days again.

back to the basics

2011-03-30T23:48:00.000-07:00

I spent about 10 minutes this morning kneading my bread dough thinking about what I had just said to my husband. It all started with me idealizing about making all of our own bread all the time, so when I declared to him this morning, "Don't buy any more bread, I'm going to make all of our own bread from now on."" if you're at the store just buy Bob's Red Mill, whole wheat flour, rye flour, and unbleached white flour, please." He looked at me sideways and said, "Are you sure?" He knows I have good intentions, but lately I've turned my routine upside down, learning to make soap, reading, studying, and practising making it. I haven't made bread in several weeks, we've been buying Dave's bread, which is very good, but expensive.

I am making a commitment to bake bread consistently, not sometimes when I feel like it, but everyday until I get 10 loaves in the freezer. Then I'll just make it 2 or 3 times per week and make 4 loaves at a time. I decided as a homesteading wife I wanted to make this a priority. Plus this next month I want to learn to make crackers and bagels, which I've always wanted to try and never have. The biggest thing with making bread is to get into a routine. I always make sourdough bread, and have gotten my starter back going strong again over the last few days. Last night I added about 4 cups of flour and enough warm water to make a good dough, and added my cup of sourdough starter, by this morning it was bubbling away.

This morning I removed a cup of the starter, and created another batch for tomorrows baking. To the 3 1/2 cups of starter I added, 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1/4 cup of sweetener (preferably honey, and molasses)I also use sugar sometimes, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2 1/2 to 3 cups of flour added in slowly(I use whole wheat, and some rye) I add these all together, knead for 10 minutes and then put in greased bread pans, let them rise for 2 or 3 hours, then bake. Sometimes I make the loaves free form, they're just longer and flatter.

It feels good to have my day started with bread and rolls rising, chicken stock simmering on the woodstove, animals all fed, and tucked inside to wait out the rain and wind we're having today. The dishes are done, the laundry is going, and I'm taking a few minutes to write, before I start my next batch of soap.

Fast forward now to dinner; chicken vegetable soup with lentils and rice, fresh bread, and a seasonal cabbage and root vegetable salad. Homemade honey mustard dressing, with salt and cayenne for spicing the soup. The good news, we will have enough soup for tomorrows lunch and an after school meal.

One of my goals is to get back to the basics of being a homemaker, and keeping our homestead humming with good smells from the kitchen, homemade bread, soups, stews, pasta's and salads. To have a Spring cleaned home, filled with cleanliness, harmony, organization and peace.   To have the animals, clean, dry and well fed. And to have my gardens growing to their maximum for food production. I'm planning to plant more root crops before April 3rd, then the moon begins to wax or grow again, and it's time to plant above ground crops. You can see how this whole planting by the moon rhythm works. It reminds you to get the crops in regularly, and your successive planting just happens effortlessly.

I have also been wanting to talk more about the herbs in my life. I grow mint, both peppermint and spearmint, the spearmint is usually the one I dry for making tea throughout the year. I grow and dry thyme, parsley, sage, rosemary, oregano, tarragon, basil, and lemon balm. I also freeze the herbs in pesto sauces. In addition to these I have a good collection of dried herbs I can't grow, ones I've gathered from here and there, mostly PCC, our local Co Op. Various herbs for health and healing. I have gone through phases of regularly using herbs, mostly in herb teas, I just brew the loose leaf herbs in pint and quart jars just like loose leaf tea, then strain into a teacup.  Remember the scripture in the bible where He says' I give you the leaves for the healing of the Nations. Well I believe there is healing in the herbs.

I am going back to the basics of regularly making herbal teas, they are both delicious and nutritious. We all had some herb tea tonight after dinner, even the kids love herb tea. Tonight I made mint, licorice, nettle, ginger, lemon and honey. Jason has a minor cold, so I added golden seal and wild cherry bark to his, both are to aid his body in healing.

Here are a few of my herbs lined up on a shelf in the kitchen. I have these small jars to store them, and then a larger container that is kept cool and dark for longer term storage, I then just refill the smaller jars when they need filling. The many health benefits of herbs is something I've found interesting, and studied for years.

of birds and bees

2011-03-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

I've been out in the garden working this last week, right along with the honeybees. Everything is growing, and all the perennials are coming up, the fruit trees are budding, and the vegetable seeds are just starting to come up. Spring has sprung here in the Northwest. The song of the Robin fills the air in the mornings and evenings. Their song is my favorite of all the birds we have here. The melody and harmony, and the solo's they sing... I love waking to their song and working alongside them in the garden. Spring is their time of year, they mate in March and have their young in mid/late spring. We have watched nests of babies grow and fly away, most likely to be back next year. The frogs have also begun their evening chorus, we have Spring music from nature to enjoy.

The weeding of the flower and vegetable beds is a tedious job, done better by me than anyone else. I can identify seedlings and young plants that no one else in our family could identify, so I gladly do it. The peonies I bought about 20 years ago, and have moved with me everywhere I've gone. They are meaningful to me and one of my favorites. I had 10 large peony plants and divided all of them last year, and I gave them their own rows to multiply in (in the vegetable garden so I can take good care of them). So the entrance to my garden has beautiful flowers in one large bed, along with flowers and edibles along the perimeter of the garden.

Past the big rock where the contemplative monkey sits, and through the path, my gardens are on the left. It has concrete posts, and is having a wooden entry gate being built. We (my husband) are also planning to build several wooden trellises, along with some gates and benches to be built over time. Each project takes time, and function often comes before beauty. In the garden our first order of events was to deer proof it with good strong, tall fencing. Once this was accomplished I had a palate to design with vegetable, herbs, fruits and berries.

the scent of soap

2011-03-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

This is what my kitchen table looks like. 3 of the batches of soap I made this last week, in addition to the lavender batch. I made lemon grass soap and poured a few in a floral pattern, along with some big family sized bars. I also poured a batch of mint, and the brown soap is cinnamon oatmeal. This one I may save for early Fall. I made it simply because I had cinnamon essential oil, I also played around with a little swirling to see how it looked. I like the lemon grass and lavender for this time of year.

My whole house smells like a soap factory, it is one of the wonderful benefits of making soap, the house smells so good, not overpowering just delicious, we're all enjoying it. I took these pictures and now have to clear off the table so we can eat dinner tonight.

baby kittens and bunnies

2011-03-28T11:52:00.000-07:00