tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85644583317832036342024-02-06T20:39:03.987-08:00High Mill HappeningsHigh Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-42906664658883823172023-04-03T02:02:00.004-07:002023-04-03T02:05:26.330-07:00Zero chicken policy<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgSDaYcRWkkP-y6kblMVsF0mG7RoIQH3hT_TWQVao5bbBtOgH2yEBGAL9ByLEJvwH1d-Qgko4CXeXJIf22ioArzt0KKmEN-i1SS1UXRc62y0l8hxTfOIvwCRTUsUziR0J9jcbxJfZ3HkVQQ-p7HxdxwsIgs7qCtpbZVzC6PxEvDJkTCUwP4eDiRzsTw/s4032/A351E32D-F252-4F84-8A4D-A19E9CCB7225.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgSDaYcRWkkP-y6kblMVsF0mG7RoIQH3hT_TWQVao5bbBtOgH2yEBGAL9ByLEJvwH1d-Qgko4CXeXJIf22ioArzt0KKmEN-i1SS1UXRc62y0l8hxTfOIvwCRTUsUziR0J9jcbxJfZ3HkVQQ-p7HxdxwsIgs7qCtpbZVzC6PxEvDJkTCUwP4eDiRzsTw/s320/A351E32D-F252-4F84-8A4D-A19E9CCB7225.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I love spring. This post was supposed to be about new life and the excitement of this time of year. But then I completely derailed and now I’m kinda just in shock again, not sure how to move. <div><br /></div><div>It’s been a few years since I posted, been a few years since we were at the farmers market or the butcher or hosted a plant sale or seed swap. There’s only been a few volleyball games the past few years. Things have been quiet. </div><div><br /></div><div>I moved to Massillon, within city limits onto an affordable piece of land and the two kids aren’t babies anymore but awesome little rambunctious kids. We got some chickens that my kids love and all was well until I was just informed that I need to stop keeping fowl on less than 5 acres within city limits. Massillon city says no chickens. Like zero chicken policy. </div><div><br /></div><div>I can’t believe it. What an odd law. And I’m kinda mad. Because … what an odd law. In ww2, it was our patriotic duty to keep chickens. In 93% of all cities, there’s some way for people to house chickens. Heck, in nyc, they can even keep chickens. But not Massillon? </div><div><br /></div><div>It’s the wildest and most backwards thing I can think of. What an odd argument to fight with over your residents too. Chickens are weird, fluffy, feathery pets that also give you food and entertainment. A quick search found that other residents in years past have had chickens and been told they cannot have chickens due to being in city limits. Even on 2 acre pieces of land. Zero chicken policy. </div><div>Buying a house is huge- what to afford, how many beds, garage or no garage, and location. I remember checking school districts and city ordinances. </div><div><br /></div><div>I do not think I would have bought a house in Massillon if I knew the city would tell me I can’t have chickens. And honestly, getting a letter saying that I couldn’t have chickens made me start house shopping again. This isn’t community building. This isn’t a place that I feel comfortable with sharing my ideals. How the hell can there be a zero chicken policy? My kid is in school, likes his teacher, neighborhood parks are nice, we like a lot of things here. but hearing about the no chicken policy, my kid also started asking “does canton have a no chicken policy?” </div><div><br /></div><div>I’m frustrated and upset over something that seems minor but it’s not. I’m going to get rid of the chicken, but my yard is going to miss their liveliness, companionship, them scratching at scraps and dust bathing as the squirrels try to steal their scratch grains. It’s not going to be the same. Nor is my view of this city. My Massillon pride is gone. I’m going to seek a change, either through petitioning to change the law or if that doesn’t work, I am going to move to a more supportive community. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cause zero chicken policy? That’s ridiculous. </div><div><p><br /></p></div>High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com1Massillon, OH, USA40.7967244 -81.5215092999999919.2775919842325614 -116.67775929999999 72.315856815767447 -46.365259299999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-13947789727828928052017-07-14T12:06:00.000-07:002017-07-14T12:07:01.282-07:00Growing differently<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The rain this morning revived that fresh muddy and green scent that has been perfectly balanced so far this year. It wasn't much needed, but it also wasn't on the heels of another flood. It feels just like the rest of 2017 so far, where the winter was mild, the spring was pleasant, and the rain comes once a week when it's needed the most.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canton Farmer's Market Saturday mornings</td></tr>
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We are growing a bit differently this year. With no CSA, our vegetable production has gone toward just the things that we love to eat like platinum cucumbers that we like to pickle and plenty of berries for eating fresh or canning, if we have too much of a flush.<br />
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We also have amped up our flower production this year for customer order and to take to the farmers markets. We have years of perennials that have caught our eye and this year I ordered a bunch of cut flower annuals too.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbmJ_JeAq197HqfMai3PkWGHwkgYdJoudS7rjGL5dp1RwsROMpIXzLsq9X6ZyHwsTQF1g7oKJSaz8NdOa8afYNy4svNWZgtSaogciSULo9Z6yd0VOK5v_9GciR5aYL_Q-0ik9XqJ8mSsCM/s1600/flowers1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbmJ_JeAq197HqfMai3PkWGHwkgYdJoudS7rjGL5dp1RwsROMpIXzLsq9X6ZyHwsTQF1g7oKJSaz8NdOa8afYNy4svNWZgtSaogciSULo9Z6yd0VOK5v_9GciR5aYL_Q-0ik9XqJ8mSsCM/s400/flowers1.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A custom bunch for a baby shower</td></tr>
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The fun of planting is that I have started a lot of these blooms the first of January. Our flats were tended for so long and carefully moved outside during the early spring warm days and then moved back inside on the cooler nights.<br />
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Now they are almost all in the ground and the blooms are just starting to show. Some of these are true surprises as some seeds take off and others don't work out.<br />
This year, I finally got black poppies and they are beautiful! Next year they will be bigger and better, which is the great thing about perennials!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black poppy first year blooming</td></tr>
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High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-85872676161219708012016-08-11T18:28:00.001-07:002016-08-11T18:28:22.549-07:00This year has been potatoes. I'm not saying it's like meat and potatoes, more like growing potatoes:<br />
You plant them in deep trenches and wait as they unfurl unassuming leaves followed by dainty flowers and then you cover up some of the leaves in hopes that they keep growing. You don't really know what's happening under the soil, just kinda keep going in hopes that the tubers are forming.<br />
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It's kinda a whistle and a prayer, but for slightly impatient gardeners such as myself, once the flowers form, you can reach under the soil and feel around for new potatoes. That's when you start seeing the fruit of your labor.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDPHEnJg9bhorpDiELaOU7WgBRpx09lLwU24uVo_I66FzAW1pW4hZXeOX1qgm_YLoYLitg5cCypc2aqkX0PENBa4pkGxV8y_132qj1fdSv5rRHGCKZtD5X3ShnwlXzPPkrvgra5_qal9T/s1600/IMG_20160608_203158297.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDPHEnJg9bhorpDiELaOU7WgBRpx09lLwU24uVo_I66FzAW1pW4hZXeOX1qgm_YLoYLitg5cCypc2aqkX0PENBa4pkGxV8y_132qj1fdSv5rRHGCKZtD5X3ShnwlXzPPkrvgra5_qal9T/s400/IMG_20160608_203158297.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
I had high hopes that all the trenching, mulching, planting, and hard work would pay off. I hoped the big greenhouse would pay off, the soil amendments to the garden would sprout great crops, and that our raised bed projects would be very productive.<br />
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But so far... potatoes.<br />
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I have no idea what's simmering under the surface of the soil. As the season creeps on, I'm still wondering what will happen this year.<br />
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Anyway, the flowers are coming on in waves of beautiful colors, shapes, and textures. I plant a lot of flowers based on scent alone, so now that my English rose is doing so well, I'm delighted by the fragrance. The nigella have seeded everywhere and some of the annuals came back after the mild winter.<br />
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In the greenhouse, my second crop of strawberries is coming on. I need to plant more in there. If I could extend the strawberry harvest, that would be a great crop to have around in the early winter and early spring. I planted a raspberry in there as well, but I think I lost it.<br />
The tomatoes and peppers are just starting to come on, but then the well broke and during the heat of the summer, we were without running water for almost a week.<br />
While I may have been proud of my sister for bathing in the creek and flushing with buckets, the garden and greenhouse did not share my optimistic sentiment. The tomatoes, addicted to irrigation in the heat of this dry spell, cracked open just before harvest.<br />
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I stood at my mother's sink, slicing up the first of the tomatoes of the season, super excited to taste the fruits of my labor, albeit, cutting around the split in the skin like a seam that popped. While still warm from the sun, I went to take my first bite but something smelled terrible and all the pressure from this rough year hit all at once and I cried. I couldn't fathom why a tomato could smell like dirty dishwater or where I went wrong so I ran outside with the slice that was in my hand and tears running down my face. And it was outside, in the stifling August air that I realized it wasn't the tomato that smelled, but probably the bucket of dirty dishwater that was in the sink that I was smelling. Hmm. Funny how sensitive we get at times.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJtP20WYdAErhw-ACfc5P1JAFOUyeMhw-BqY-kVbPQgKO7ZhKlqRrll4LEMnn-CUUbkaLyV2g-7IQ4f3JLHU2_xmG-9-zU6ghs3Uw0AzRd4IUEeC3_O5ALX4iDD_av2etGR6UsYHx0JPw/s1600/IMG_20160716_151149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJtP20WYdAErhw-ACfc5P1JAFOUyeMhw-BqY-kVbPQgKO7ZhKlqRrll4LEMnn-CUUbkaLyV2g-7IQ4f3JLHU2_xmG-9-zU6ghs3Uw0AzRd4IUEeC3_O5ALX4iDD_av2etGR6UsYHx0JPw/s320/IMG_20160716_151149.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Sometimes when everything seems to bear down on me, things I cannot prevent or see like drought or sickness, I like to do something that I used to think was hard. <br />
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So I went out with a pair of scissors in hand and sheared the sheep. She needed it. And it's something that is physically very difficult to do, but the more practice you get, the quicker and better you get and the more comfortable the animal is with you wielding a couple of blades very close to their skin. <br />
I used to be terrible at this. I bought the expensive shears, tried the old school manual ones that look like two knives welded together. Neither did much for me. <br />
The cheap pair of scissors was able to cut through the course, Icelandic sheep wool well without giving me blisters. So I would gear up with 5 pairs and run out to the fields to strip down the sheep once a year. <br />
I got my holds down, ewe on the ground with a knee rested securely on her shoulder to keep her calm while I worked my blades from the belly up over the ribs to the backbone before grabbing a hoof and flipping her over to shear the other side. <br />
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What I completely forgot was how many muscles are used in such a simple task. Wow. But the sense of accomplishment in getting it done, getting something done that I used to be terrible at with a sense of satisfaction that's almost unparalleled. <br />
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So then I checked on my potatoes. Still just leaves. Brown, slightly crinkled and whining leaves. But I hope with enough care, time and learning as I go, I hope the harvest really pays off soon. <br />
<br />High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-36220569157817154532016-02-23T19:30:00.000-08:002016-04-25T09:22:05.416-07:00Spring stillness<div abp="125">
The house smells like lemon butter cookies. This is the newest batch of soap curing. I hope it suds up as well as is smells.</div>
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I found a use for that lard in the freezer from our pigs. Traditional soap making is such a fun endeavor. Albeit, a bit frightening when you have to don safety gear, I love following the process from start to finish, one part chemistry, one part following directions, two parts waiting and a pinch of creativity brings some excellent results. And so useful!</div>
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Bill came out to see grass for the first time. It's februrary and I'm not freezig cold. The grass was tall at the end of the year and I didn't mind. It's almost hay-like now, but our new little lamb still sampled it all the same. Murray, his mother on the other hand just followed me around on a shakedown for some grain. </div>
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Soon there will be so much to do, but for now I will be happy with what little sunlight and warmth these early spring days yield as I plan with precarious patience at the growing season to come. </div>
High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-47066951039816303192016-02-02T18:25:00.001-08:002016-02-02T18:29:38.049-08:00Groundhog DayI love Groundhog Day. Not just the movie, but the holiday as well. A giant ground squirrel is indeed the perfect harbinger of spring. And a shadow is such a telling predictor. It's beautiful.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rP-9QWevvudRgynfWSoUzAc3o-POXMS8eAZBISYrQ6vLb4GW5DDXA_-RDVoYiOKZK_HY6-PTzfojqhqOv3Yv69uKE7dwu5gRZgoGotBrB14gMcmlo0wt9ZOilIisQvuTOfRVJmGfbljl/s1600/IMG_0172%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rP-9QWevvudRgynfWSoUzAc3o-POXMS8eAZBISYrQ6vLb4GW5DDXA_-RDVoYiOKZK_HY6-PTzfojqhqOv3Yv69uKE7dwu5gRZgoGotBrB14gMcmlo0wt9ZOilIisQvuTOfRVJmGfbljl/s320/IMG_0172%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a>This is the time of year when winter starts to feel like that bit of sleep in between true sleep and trying to be asleep. Just when you think you might be asleep, you realize you aren't and that frightens you into complete awareness. <br />
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Just when you settle into the frigid Ohio cold rituals of scraping your car, putting on woolen socks, scarf, coat, hat, gloves tucked into sleeves and high boots to fight the snow, somehow the weather hints that winter might be just a dream. With eyes half closed, you walk out and the wave of realization falls upon you that it's not cold enough for 2 pairs of long johns. Maybe you were just dreaming. <br />
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This is the time when baby goats and lambs appear. <br />
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There's nothing quite like the promise of adorable little screaming creatures that make you want to get up early and put your boots on and brave the cold. <br />
I can't tell you how many mornings I've gotten up early just to stare at ewe sheep, fat bellies sticking out uncomfortably underneath winter wool coats, chewing hay as they stare right back at me like they got up early just to see how I was doing that morning as well. They have that blank look like, what? <br />
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<strong>Exhibit A:</strong><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD33U3Vjse5I34taB0vTQ4YYwCFUD8rITBwEVG_GlR6x9hIAzm_Y0Hm1vQhZkug6Bsvp6pPo6xdOfXnebT2YZ-fZpsdyIK10SvVAjFbTIeNF09X9285vhexMl1jAlMeZs0pWOALFanlPwb/s1600/IMG_0115%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD33U3Vjse5I34taB0vTQ4YYwCFUD8rITBwEVG_GlR6x9hIAzm_Y0Hm1vQhZkug6Bsvp6pPo6xdOfXnebT2YZ-fZpsdyIK10SvVAjFbTIeNF09X9285vhexMl1jAlMeZs0pWOALFanlPwb/s640/IMG_0115%255B1%255D.JPG" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What? How are you doing? You look a bit pudgy with that giant coat on too.<br />
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This winter has been spring. I'm not sure when the leapfrog of seasons happened, or if we even had a winter but perhaps that's why I enjoy getting my weather predictions from a marmot. I've been doing winter cleanup in a light sweater, which I quickly lose when I really get moving.<br />
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He explains, you don't garden all seasons. You just figure out how to harvest all seasons. Growing happens when the sunlight allows for it. After that, you just protect your food until you are ready to eat it. Ahh. I see.<br />
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So now we are in this odd limbo of weirdly warm weather, but not enough light to do anything with it. Pepper and I have enjoyed it though as Frisbees still fly, even when daylight is less than 10 hours a day. And as for getting on the boots to bundle up and check on the sheep, I guess when it's nice out and I'm out all the time, the lambs just happen. </div>
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And when they happen on Groundhog Day, you can't help but name the new little one Bill Murray. </div>
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High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-20339946596389636082015-10-07T15:36:00.001-07:002015-10-07T15:41:19.590-07:00Storing up for the winter<div abp="632">
The wind shifted direction. The dark is creeping in slowly and I don't have much time after I get off work to go outside and get some things done. The summer time in Ohio is great for both weather and the stretching of the daylight.</div>
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So like the slowing squirrels scavenging in the lawns, I am trying to put back enough to keep me fed and busy for the winter.</div>
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The first thing is, I got out the dehydrator. </div>
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The joy and burden of gardening in season, is the bounty all at once during the growing season, and then the months and months of freezing cold when nothing is growing.</div>
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So after CSA finished up, I started packing the dehydrator with everything that came from the gardens. I've been focusing a lot on herbs for tea, salad dressings, soup mixes, and spice blends. I have kale rough chopped and in there too. Jason worked up the best paprika ever by dehydrating a bunch of red peppers and then grinding them up really fine. I had no idea how many peppers it took to make a pinch of paprika!</div>
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While I like almost anything that we are drying, I'm most excited when the whole house smells like tea herbs.</div>
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<a abp="649" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkb3mD6h5sM4x_ubLFw07qix1t_AJdp9jwnyxMX6P7iMp0acq1qUpLXd8G9teMizFV9A0zxXdKgF1qWvs240PCyOEEjEHcC8XWaZ566d-dtZdOMzdixprIcRacNZUZ4PB1dtSmO5hFhGl/s1600/IMG_9639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img abp="650" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkb3mD6h5sM4x_ubLFw07qix1t_AJdp9jwnyxMX6P7iMp0acq1qUpLXd8G9teMizFV9A0zxXdKgF1qWvs240PCyOEEjEHcC8XWaZ566d-dtZdOMzdixprIcRacNZUZ4PB1dtSmO5hFhGl/s320/IMG_9639.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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While I love freezing, fresh veggies full of water take up a lot of space and use energy. Dehydrating maintains their vitamins while making them easier to store. And bonus when soup season comes around as the flavor punch that dried herbs and veggies adds is a whole new dimension to your favorite recipes. </div>
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So out from the dehydrator come these great ingredients straight from the garden. I have been putting them in deli containers and labeling them so I know what ingredients I have from our gardens for our spice and tea blends. </div>
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While I love it for cooking, stripping thyme off the stems is incredibly time consuming. Perhaps that's where it gets it's name?</div>
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My mountain of deli containers is growing and spreading into mason jars, gallon freezer bags, and whatever else I can store things in and label. </div>
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Once the garden is put to bed, the greenhouse should be coming into production with our cool weather crops so I will have fresh things to try all throughout winter.</div>
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And certainly nothing warms up a dark winter evening quite like friends, a cuddly dog or cat, and a hot cup of homegrown tea. </div>
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The pineapple sage and lemongrass is ready to come out of the dehydrator and stored. Back to the garden for another round. Next up, harvesting oregano to combine with dried meyer lemons, garlic, and shallots for a nice greek salad dressing. Can't wait for recipe perfecting on that so I can share it with all of you!</div>
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High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-77459717297270157812015-08-21T04:42:00.001-07:002015-08-21T04:42:41.412-07:00Modern Barnraising this sunday!<div abp="126">
Modern barnraising party this Sunday!</div>
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It's finally here. The plastic is ready to be stretched on our 30x72' greenhouse and we need more hands to help! Come by at 1pm this Sunday as we stretch out and stretch on two layers of plastic to extend our growing season to almost year round. </div>
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We started last fall with the initial marking of the corners. You need to make sure that your house will be straight or else nothing will work. </div>
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Then in December, as the snow started to fly, we realized that this might be another rough Ohio winter. We tried to make sure our hardware didn't all freeze to the ground, but once the blanket of snow came in, everything was covered for weeks. </div>
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<tr abp="486"><td abp="487"><a abp="488" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimhwCCwnoLerszDv21L9WjdAhB7g_y9EZBQBAPzQ8e2NW5iBMlHeFZDWClD4MjZTUXUzxlVFUHqo8ZC9mOIdLd8d27UJphyJazVE-72332GeBKBQo3lKOD4toUrzzx9nSRYTB2RKUPB9Bv/s1600/IMG_7333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img abp="489" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimhwCCwnoLerszDv21L9WjdAhB7g_y9EZBQBAPzQ8e2NW5iBMlHeFZDWClD4MjZTUXUzxlVFUHqo8ZC9mOIdLd8d27UJphyJazVE-72332GeBKBQo3lKOD4toUrzzx9nSRYTB2RKUPB9Bv/s400/IMG_7333.JPG" tabindex="-1" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr abp="490"><td abp="491" class="tr-caption">Corina drives the posts in with the carrot canoe in the foreground</td></tr>
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Jason finishes up the other side</div>
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Then we started laying out the bows for the top. No idea what we were doing so it was a bit of a puzzle, but fun.</div>
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The ducks checked our work often on the way to the creek</div>
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Grandma also checked our work.</div>
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She needed to make sure Jason wasn't doing it wrong. </div>
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Then once the growing season hit, we rushed to fill the gardens, get the hops trellis up, put vegetable oil on the apple trees to keep down the bugs, and make sure that all the animals were on fresh grass and well fed. </div>
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Now is the time to finish up this project as we start preparing for another Ohio winter. Hopefully this one might be a bit brighter, warmer, and greener. Stretching plastic at 1 (wind permitting) and potluck at 3pm. Volleyball will inevitably follow....</div>
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Hope to see you there!</div>
High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-58956250039577111252015-06-11T13:34:00.000-07:002015-06-11T13:36:36.137-07:00Toby the foster dog love strawberries... a flipbook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Toby says, more please!</div>
<br />High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-45445045193593864062015-05-16T11:30:00.000-07:002015-06-11T13:09:45.123-07:00Plant sale may 17th 2015It's the day before the plant sale. There are mountains of things to do on my list. And here we are hiding out in the fish barn next to the mushroom logs, watching the rain.<br />
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But that's ok. This is ohio. We relish the rain when it comes as I ponder if the morels will sprout after this cool refreshing rain. I wonder if the rain will soak down through or new strawberry towers. And if it will be on and off tomorrow.<br />
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My new foster dog paces. He finds some goose poop and does a taste test, which is gross but means he is taking care of this ragtag flock. He sniffs in the woods and then circles back. And I wonder if his yellow lab face hides some deeper Anatolian shepherd blood. No chickens killed. No goats agitated. Just nose to the ground and protection mode activated. We will see.<br />
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So mowing is out today. We are going to run from the fish barn shelter to the pavilion for a minute and then to the greenhouse to label our little seedlings for tomorrow. We will see what the weather does. We will be out tomorrow, but if the weather doesn't cooperate, there's always next week.High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-87344665797143136882015-04-25T05:01:00.000-07:002015-04-25T05:03:34.329-07:00Sketches of spring I got a new sketchbook. It's a small investment for the world of possibilities it holds. The first few pages are quickly getting filled with line drawings of bunnies and different logo letterings. I'm working on a label for the goat milk lotion my sister has been perfecting. And I like drawing bunnies as they are an expressive yet playful subject matter. I try to draw my dog, but if it's even slightly off it looks terribly wrong as my companions face is so familiar to me that anything else seems bizzare.<br />
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Today I am going shopping with my friend B. She's picking me up for what will surely be a very girlie day driving through Amish country to buy dirt and pots and veggie baskets and oil for lotions. My list today is a bit long, but I'm excited to work through it and work you enjoy never really seems like a chore. </div>
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I would like to put another Csa bed in today. The early season always starts out slow so I try to get as much in the ground as possible in hopes of filling the baskets with deliciousness early. The late season tomatoes and squash always fill the baskets easily but the early greens and roots always seem to start so slow. So today should put more onions in the ground and some broccoli romanesco as I'm always trying to get those beautiful fractals to grow. </div>
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I also have some carrots in the ground from last year in a rainbow of colors. While I don't imagine they are still tender enough to eat, I am going to process them to put their nutritional value to use in a lotion by shredding, dehydrating, and infusing them into an oil. Waste not want not. </div>
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And the mushroom logs we cut last week are ready to be innoculated, all 100 of them, which is not an easy or quick task. </div>
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So perhaps my list might be a little long, but I figure if I start with the carrots, I'll at least cross one thing off my list that shouldn't take too long. (Oh how I love the food processor!)</div>
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The marginal night weather has the florecent lights back on their timer with the tender tomatoes in the house again. But they are looking very good from their short time in the seed starting greenhouse and we should have quite a nice selection for the plant sale this year. </div>
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Alright, enough if my lounging around. It's Saturday and spring. Time to get something done! </div>
High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-67384219077014161512014-12-17T11:30:00.002-08:002014-12-17T11:30:49.162-08:00The cold cuts straight to the boneThe smell of fresh garlic fills the house as my dad whips up some eggs straight out of the chicken house. The size and shapes of all the different eggs reminds me of smooth gemstones before they are cut and polished.<br />
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Today is a sick day. The rain outside has covered the peacock and his iridescent feathers turn the blue to a different angle so he looks green, like he might be having a sick day too. Rain in December is a mixed blessing. While it's nice that it's not super cold, there's nothing that really chills down to the bone and cuts straight through my immune system like a bitter cold rain.<br />
And I have been out in it every chance I can get with my latest project. <br /><br />I guess rewind a few months to pictures like this....<br />
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The gardens were full, tomatoes were plentiful, love lies bleeding was doing what it does best among the cosmos and everything was growing. First frost hits and knocks some things out. And then slowly us Ohio gardeners have to watch as each week the bitter cold nights knocks out the tender ones as it marches on towards eventually the demise of the winter stubborn kale.</div>
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So I started researching and thought about indoor gardening in unheated greenhouses and ended up with some tomatoes in the seed starting greenhouse for about a month after the outside ones had long gone.</div>
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These tomatoes held on for quite awhile after their outside counterparts had long since gave up. The tomato fruits were large and green and we brought them inside to finish ripening in the windows.<br />
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The other greenhouse held the hopes of little lettuce starts and salvaged plants from the garden we were hoping to hold on for a bit longer, but the single layer of plastic was not very effective at staving off the cold.<br />
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In my trips to other farms, I focused on their season extending cold frames and greenhouses, seeing what other people were doing to supplement their outdoor growing season. Seems like cold frames are the way to go. With just a small investment, you can cover quite a bit of ground and with passive solar heat and protection from the wind, you could do quite a bit<br />
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In other news, RIP our High Mill sign. That last terrible wind storm ripped the 4x4s in half. But this picture was taken just a few weeks ago when the hollyhock decided it was their time to bloom in spite of terrible weather.</div>
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So Pepper is inside watching the Browns bumble around and we are happy to feed the sheep some great long grass on the hill that we only mowed one time this past year. The chickens have eaten the fall pumpkins and all the sunflower heads have been consumed already (got to save more next year) and the goats have put on their fuzzy winter coats. </div>
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It's not seed ordering time yet, but we are optimistically battening down the hatches for another Ohio winter.</div>
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High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-61387411577883356112014-07-20T07:14:00.002-07:002014-07-20T07:14:29.242-07:00cucumber trellis and hopsyard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The garden hose is set in the middle of a freshly weeded bed of Thai basil and purple kohlrabi as the arc of the water creates a small rainbow with veggies as the pot of gold. As I plucked the few rogue weeds from around the base of the plants, a fledgling came to a confused rest beside me, contemplating if she should hop on one leg or two as she stretched her wings, feeling out the new freedom that she didn't have before. The summer sun is high but the temperature is not. And my dog found something dead to roll in again...<br />
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There are quite a few projects in the works. Here's what's going on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corina in the cucumber arbor with nasturtium</td></tr>
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First, the cucumber arbor is taking off.<br />
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Did you know that in order for cucumbers to actually climb instead of bush out, you need to prune them. Shocking for me as well, but Corina and I gathered 'round the Youtube and watched as a Johnny's Seeds employee showed the growing pattern of a cucumber with it's flowers, nodes, and leaves and showed which ones to pinch off as she got hers to grow up single pieces of twine in a high tunnel greenhouse.<br />
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Armed with this knowledge, we headed out to the cucumber arbor and started pinching, while scoping out what squash bugs lie under the leaves as well.<br />
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When properly pruned, cucumbers can and will indeed climb a trellis, and much to our satisfaction, underneath the pruned layer of leaves, we are harvesting tons of Suyo long cucumbers and miniature whites. The nasturtiums offer more in beauty than they do protection against the bests that bother the cucumber, but their peppery additions to our salads make them well worth the time in the greenhouse.<br />
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Another fun project we have been working on has been the hops.<br />
Jason and I went to a hops growing workshop during the winter workshop season and found out that hops can grow up 25 foot trellises. Hopsyards are usually many of these expensive telephone poles put together into a checkerboard pattern with wires between them. Hops are planted at the bottom and thick twine are run up to the wires 25 foot up. <br />
The initial cost for 1/2 acre of the trellis materials alone would be over $10,000<br />
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I do not have $10,000 but I do want to grow hops.<br />
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So armed with my new knowledge, I stopped by High Mill on the way back from Wooster and as my dad and I walked the grounds, we found old light posts from days gone by that have outlived their original use. We also found an old trampoline frame that hadn't been loved in years. <br />
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So we put the two together, planting the hops around the base of the circular trampoline frame. We then staked the hops up to the trampoline and then tied twine from the frame up to the top of the telephone pole, labeling the hops varieties as we went. To add to the trellis, we put sunflowers at the base of the hops to provide something additional for them to climb and to restrict the free nutrients to the hungry hops. <br />
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It works! Most of the hops made the initial planting shock, preferring the sunflower stalks to the artificial stakes. The sunflowers are now tied to the trampoline frame and the hops are clamoring up the twine. <br />
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There's quite a few more project in the works, but I've got to get back out there and start before the heat of the July day kicks in. We are debating what farmer's market to go to as we have more in the ground than we have in a long time. Where would you like to see us?High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-39812480754035757162014-03-12T12:10:00.002-07:002014-03-12T12:12:53.374-07:00As the snow fliesIt's the early part of March and Ohio has that beautiful tendency to promise spring and then rip the hope away all within 24 hours.<br />
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The chicken house has a few fat American style hens in it now and one very flamboyant rooster with a now frozen comb. I saw the weasel bounding around the electric fencing on the perimeter and he must have found a hole as I no longer get a 3 eggs a day, which is most disappointing. I sent my faithful hound after it, but she was a bit confused and put the ducks back into the creek instead. She sniffed around for the weasel's home after it got away and I emphatically tried to get her on the right trail. A herding dog she is, but a scent hound she is not, in spite of her best efforts. My foster pit bull seemed happy to sniff around in the wake of the foul creature but to no avail either.<br />
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My sister has moved into the house at High Mill in order to try to finish the renovations I started almost a decade ago. The goats are tethered outside clearing brush around the strawberry patch that will be replanted this year, although perhaps with something new and we will rotate the strawberries somewhere else. They are much more productive when you treat them like an annual crop you replant every couple of years. The brutal winter cold will show with a shudder through the perennial fruit crops this year as I got lucky for quite a few years growing marginal crops but this will be the test of my cultural practices. I plant them. I tend them. I hope for the best and when the weather throws things at me, I just have to smile and see how it goes.<br />
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My mother's house has turned into a tea testing laboratory. I got a lot better at saving and drying the herbs from the garden last year and so the mason jars and coffee cans are filled with different dried green leaves along with quite a few bulk herbs and tea leaves I found online.<br />
We put them all on the table and start mixing, starting with a base of black, green or herbal and building a flavor that we are going for from there. Cup after cup has hot water poured over the leaves for a taste test and then a slight modification until the desired effect is reached.<br />
I have developed a deeper appreciation for a well blended tea. I am digging into books about the benefits of herbs to make infusions that are delicious and beneficial for different ailments. And the seed ordering process reflects the blends we are putting together.<br />
In fact, the seed ordering process this year directly reflects the activities of the kitchen in the winter months. It's almost a formula based on how many onions, sauce tomatoes, and broccoli romanesco go into one dish as to how many plants I would need in the garden to supply me with this meal this time next year. Granted, the pasta and cheese needed to complete the dish do not have a spot in the garden, but it's something nice to strive for.<br />
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My tiny apartment is a fermentation workshop, with hard cider mead bubbling in the corner, a finished rye I.P.A that just got bottled, edamame and flour on it's slow fermenting journey to soy sauce, and authentic lactic fermenting cabbage burping it's way into different flavors of kraut on my table. The dehydrator is filled to the gills with meyer lemons with some keylimes waiting in the wings for the next round and both of them will hopefully find their way into teas next summer when the herbs are green and full.<br />
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So this year is filled with hope, in spite of the snowy slap in the face. This year is going to start in a fury of apple blossoms, giant rhubarb leaves unfurling, grass flushing green for the goats to graze, seeds fighting out of their hard shells into tiny whisps of green, and the epic battle between weasel and hen and guard dog will wage on. Hopefully through all this I will come out wiser and we all will be well fed and happy.High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-84646319677111814522013-06-24T11:54:00.000-07:002013-06-24T11:54:08.034-07:00First Week of CSA!Sunlight bathes the green, lush grass as the trees sway in the warm summer breeze. I collect water for the baby turkeys from the creek, which is warm and crystal clear, flowing over thousands of smoothed over pebbles with tiny snails affixed to them. I snap on the lid on and walk to the turkeys and dump the box of birds into the new turkey tractor as they dizzily adjust their eyes to the sunlight and the green grass. <br />
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The garden is getting soaked today. It's looking amazing and we have staggered the plantings with the experience of quite a few CSA seasons. The radishes are heaving, the kale is lush, and Pepper flushed out that rabbit that likes to hang out in my herb patch and eat all my lettuce. She looks very happy and accomplished for the day and will indeed be rewarded with many frisbee throws and a couple self induced swims in the creek.<br />
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The heat of the day has sufficiently absorbed into the ground and now I'm off to pull some weeds in the zinnias and put some cucumber seedlings in the ground.<br />
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First CSA pickup is tomorrow and I'm excited to see everyone back! Email me if you have any questions or just stop out and chat. It's going to be a beautiful season. I can just feel it. High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-31735729074166794902013-06-09T17:12:00.000-07:002013-06-09T17:12:13.888-07:00A good day for dingo dog.Walking around the park today just gives me a minute to sigh, fall back and regroup. That last frost really disoriented me and threw me off my super planting trajectory and reminded me that I am actually indeed not in control. I just adapt to what is thrown at me and hope for the best.<br />
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So today after a killer week at work, I enjoyed re-centering myself with my new companion, my new foster puppy dog.<br />
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He came with the name "Dingo," which I'm not keen on, but if I rename him, I might want to keep him. I say might because we had an awesome day together and I already kinda might want to keep him. He's awesome.</div>
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He watched me get supplies for setting up these little guys in the old chicken house. Any guess as to what type of deliciousness (and mild annoyingness) these little guys are?</div>
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Then we checked on the small fruits. Looks like the grapes are in blossom and didn't get hit by that end of the month frost like the ones at my work vineyard did.<br />
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Here's a couple currants that are coming on for the first time ever. Not sure what CSA members will do with a couple currants per basket, but hey, they grew. Wohoo!</div>
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My dad was trimming around the gooseberries, which each have about 2 berries per plant but I am going to net them this year. Darn birds won't get my two berries! I've actually never tasted a gooseberry despite attempting to grow them pretty much since I heard about them. One thing I do know, they make excellent goat feed. Darn goats.<br />
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We checked out Corina and Travis's beautiful garden and weeded the onions. One of us might have peed all around the perimeter of the fence to keep the groundhogs out, which also counts as helping.<br />
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Then while fixing the sheep fence my hat finally lost the rest of it's stuffing. Oh Marcs. How I love you and your ability to trick me into thinking a paper hat actually can function as a real hat.<br />
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After finding a real light bulb for a source of heat, the birds were set up and Dingo made it his job to keep going in there to make sure they are ok. He'd check on the turkeys then check on my car to make sure I hadn't left him and then sweep back to my dad mowing and then the sheep then back to my car. It's like he knows that somewhere in his bloodlines he was made for work like this and he was happy to invent new jobs for himself.<br />
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The mowing then progressed into my slightly overgrown part of my garden while my mom weeded the planted part. We are trying to plant in weed fabric and mulch everything early. So far so good.</div>
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My mom's pomeranian sneaks into my herb patch and nestles down in the lemon balm. That should make him smell slightly better than normal.<br />
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With the bunny on the corner working through the thistles, my mom spreads the grass clippings around the potatoes while my dad's pomeranian suns himself in my beet patch.<br />
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While walking up the hill, I might have been texting, head down and got thwaped in the head with a branch covered in mulberries. I really should put the phone away when I'm outside. I am continually amazed at the little things that I miss while I'm focused on something else.<br />
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The hops climbing up the barn are in flower, which look like little space ships or burrs. The green leaves are brilliantly colored against the old barn wood.<br />
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So I'd say Dingo had a pretty good day. He's curled up around my feet taking a nap with one eye open. Must be an odd feeling to go from jail to this. I sure hope he finds a home soon or else I just might keep him. He's pretty and sweet. </div>
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CSA planting is well underway and we are excited about another great season. We've got a couple turkeys for thanksgiving meals. The lambs are growing like weeds. The weeds are growing like weeds. I am working through the large catalog of seeds that were purchased in the cold dead of winter as each of them finds a spot in the garden and gets loving encouragement to flourish. </div>
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High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-20558944219777184642012-11-23T08:42:00.002-08:002012-11-23T08:42:20.540-08:00ThankfulSettling down for a post Thanksgiving lazing around and I'm trying to think of how to use up all the cranberry pear chutney I made. Whole cinnamon sticks are waaaay better than ground cinnamon. I am now thinking about how to bake an apple pie with whole cinnamon sticks. Maybe I could put a little trap door opening in the top where I could extract the cinnamon sticks post baking. Or maybe I could just make some cinnamon extract. The powder stuff just seems too bitter for my taste.<br />
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Anyway, my sister and I have been crafting like crazy. We sewed our own tea bags out of coffee filters and mixed up our own tea blends with lavender, black tea, oolong, green, chamomile... the works. We got three different flavors together and put color coded strings and handmade tags in each of them. With all the hand labor that went into each tea bag, we ended up putting enough in each bag that they can be reused about 3 times. Or maybe I should just say that one bag makes a quart mason jar full of tea. Either way, they're pretty delicious.<br />
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This week we worked on handmade evergreen wreaths. We pilfered evergreens from friend's houses with only a few purchased pieces to really stand out. With just some wire, wreath forms, time, and some pricked fingers, we made 7 pretty darn good looking wreaths. They were really fun to put together. I think I might put them up at the vineyard to see if they sell. They are very unique and just as pretty, if not moreso, than the ones that are at every home improvement store now.<br />
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Next up, I'm not sure. Soap? Slippers made from the sheepskins? Winter is much less boring when there's something to do. This weather sure does help too. :)High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-57217303991708746722012-10-29T13:20:00.003-07:002012-10-29T13:20:47.692-07:00bare naked treesThe rain trickles down the windows as the wind whips through the stand of now naked trees. They sway and bend but don't break. My favorite is the corkscrew willow that flows in the wind like hair being gently tossed. But that one is always the first to break and it's getting dangerously large and growing very close to my mom's house.<br />
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I fired up the wood stove for the first time yesterday to keep my nieces warm yesterday. Temps are dropping down to the 40s at night, but frost has already knocked out all my low lying gardens. <br />
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I now have the abundance of time that only the end of a growing season can bring. I try not to look over my shoulder about what I shoulda done, namely harvested and dried or froze more herbs. Overall, the growing season was fine. Weird, but fine.<br />
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Now I walk to the far field where the grass is still green and stare at my cows as they chew their cud and stare back. I went with shorthorns this year and they've filled out beautifully on grass. I have a couple beef shares left and a couple of lambs not sold.<br />
I did for the first time ever, cook up some beef heart. Oddly very delicious! It's hard to get over the mental block of what I was eating, but the flavor and texture of quick cooked, very lean beef was amazing. It took awhile to break it down into manageable slices, but I'd say it was worth it. Next up, the tongue. And yes, I'm cleaning out my freezer for this year's lamb and beef crop. How did you know?<br />
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Anyway, it's reflection and planning time. And reassessing. And time to head out to the flock and pick the next herd sire, the ram lamb that shows all the qualities that I'd like to keep for the next breeding season. I have a beautiful icelandic little guy that looks perfectly fit for the bill. And I'm wondering if it's too late to shear. I might lock up some of the better fleeced ladies for some beauty shop time with a nice brush out and haircut followed by a nice winter coat to keep them warm after removing theirs so late in the season. <br />
It seems like time keeps slipping away from me so quickly. Oh winter, why are you back already?!High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-44051220374670419392012-09-28T07:06:00.002-07:002012-09-28T07:06:59.073-07:00Frost is lingering in the air like an angry coworker peering through the cubicle at you. It's going to strike sometime soon, but all you feel right now is the chill in the air as your hairs stand on end.<br />
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I feel bad but I think I might be shearing the sheep now. I was soooo busy up until this point and now with CSA just wrapping up, I have more time. I think they'll make it. I guess there are blankets that I could fashion as sheep coats....<br />
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The pasture is loving that recent rain that we just got and has greened up again, almost comparable to the lush green grass of spring. The gardens are starting to slow down a bit, the tomatoes are kinda tumbling down their split frames and sparse foliage. The winter squash are peering out from their giant leaves as squash bugs slowly march along their stems, sucking the life right out of them.<br />
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I did get 17 more hens right about to lay which means EGGS! SWEET! I'll let you all know when. ;)High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-41836402005913283102012-04-12T08:36:00.000-07:002012-04-12T08:36:21.068-07:00spring blossoms, lamb chops, and pink slimeThe blossoms on all the spring trees have burst in a beautiful array of spring temperatures this year, which resulted in a very pleasant and successful lambing season. It's great to wake up and look out my window to see a ewe caring for her newborn that's barely coherent and trying to stand up. Within a few hours, they're dry and fluffy and nursing or running around.<br />
It's amazing how they are born with their eyes open and the first thing they do after being catapulted into a new, very bright world, is to stretch out their legs and stand up.<br />
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Anyway, in the start to finish fashion of this place, I'm going to switch over the the finishing part of the life cycle at High Mill. Today I head to the butcher and pick up three lambs for a grill out taste test. This will determine what direction to go in order to keep the most delicious stock for future lambs.<br />
To me, this step is incredibly important. Instead of breeding only for the giant-est, fast growing lambs that need a lot of antibiotics and a sterile environment to survive, I'm selecting the hardiest sheep that are able to survive minimal intervention with lambing or pasturing and without chemicals such as wormers or antibiotics. Then out of that stock, I now am selecting out the ones that give me the finest finished product. It's kinda like painting a portrait of my perfect sheep, only it's in slow motion over a period of many years, but with quite a few nice scarves and excellent dinners in the meantime.<br />
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I like sheep because they are small and easy to handle. They are very interested in watching me as much as I am interested in watching them. And I love replacing my very loud, gas powered lawnmower with these woolen lawnmowers who reduce my carbon footprint and replace my cable tv.<br />
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I also really like my butcher. I think the recent development of pink slime in meat really has reinforced this. I'm sure some young biologist was looking on paper and thought of an ingenious way to use all of those little bits that usually are scrapped for dog food and put them back into a low fat filler... plus a little ammonium hydroxide to keep it "safe."<br />
I doubt that my butcher puts my trimmings in a centrifuge, but I like knowing that I could look him in the eye and ask.<br />
<br />
This last trip the the butcher, I tried my hand once again at tanning hydes. This time, I was a bit more successful and it looks like I'm only 6 steps away from having some nice rugs.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I've been so wrapped up in counting lambs that I haven't paid much attention to my beef cows that are starting to eat up this lush grass that's growing. I have also been reading about exactly why grass fed cows are healthier for you, and it's not just the leaner beef. There's been a lot of press around the good fats, Omega 3s. Whenever grass or a diverse diet replaces a grain fed diet, Omega 3s increase. CLA is another cancer fighting fat that increases with pasture raised animals.<br />
I should have a few beef that are ready in early winter. Now I'm off to check for more lambs. We're up to 13 already!High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-91467075695922332032012-01-16T09:13:00.001-08:002012-01-24T12:23:36.806-08:00raise. shop. eat?I like when winter slows me down enough that I can catch up on the world around me. Sometimes during the growing season, my hands are in the dirt, eyes are to the ground, and I'm tripping over a million things to do. It's good to refocus and figure out what's going on in the broad view of the world so I can remember why I put so much work into what I do.<br />
<br />
Here are a few of my focuses right now:<br />
<br />
<b>Meat - To Raise or Not To Raise</b><br />
The question haunts me after the dizzying whirlwind of getting the animals to the butcher and matching orders up with how much meat I end up with in the end and getting schedules all coordinated and making sure that my cost doesn't outweigh the price but that my price is still inkeeping with market prices, which are artificially deflated and don't match the actual cost. Will I do this again? Winter is the perfect time to work through this.<br />
Here's what I know: I don't eat that much meat. When I do eat meat, I eat chicken. I failed miserably at raising chickens last year. I didn't eat any of them, except the one I found at the bottom of my freezer that wasn't marked, but I think it was a chicken? I finally got my chicken plucker. It works wonderfully, if I can actually get chickens to that size. Chicken feed prices went up as did baby chicken prices. Chicken mortality rates also went up. I need to charge more than $10 / whole chicken, but grocery stores sell rotisserie chickens for $5. That kinda grosses me out a bit. So I'm probably not going to raise meat chickens this year.<br />
I love to eat my pork. Pigs scare me though. One bad pig really can ruin the whole bunch and Jason and I both are still terrified of pigs, including that cute pig on the Geiko commercials. Babe is now ahorror movie. But out of everything that was in my freezer, I enjoyed my pork the most and I miss it the most. So I'm not going to rule out pigs, I might just throw the offer for pork out there and see how many people want it and we'll go from there.<br />
My beef is amazing. I had beef ribs slow roasted to the most meatie bliss I've ever experienced. My ground beef makes the perfect hamburgers, not too greasy but with a delicious flavor that just says 'I'm grass fed!' I'm quite proud of my beef. I also learned a very valuable lesson after picking up my beef sides from the processor - cows aren't as big as you think they are. I now know why farmer's price their beef based on hanging weight. Appropriately noted and now pressing on. I have 10 calves on pasture now. They won't be ready this year, but maybe the year after that. I'm working on getting some steers to put on pasture this year that will be ready in the fall. Mmm, beef.<br />
I will raise lambs again. I don't eat lamb that often, but there is something inherently therapeutic about raising sheep and for that reason, I'll continue to do it. I'm excited for lambing season this year and I'm passing the tie making wool pillows... but that's another thought entirely.<br />
Turkeys are for sure. Delicious. Easy... except when they decide to roam across Fulton Drive. But worth it.<br />
<br />
So that's my plan for meats as of right now. I also should put in an order for more egg laying chickens and put my old hens in the soup pot... but I'm kinda a sentimental farmer, so I'll probably only go through with the first half of that statement.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>What to buy - When did grocery shopping get so difficult?</b><br />
I have a new routine when I go grocery shopping. I pick up a food and read it. Constantly. I no longer just grab whatever is on my shopping list. I pick up everything and look at it.<br />
I'm not a proponent of eating pesticides. If it's meant to kill an insect or fungus, I don't really want to eat it. The US does have testing to make sure that our chemical pesticides aren't too terrible and yes, they do degrade over time or can be washed off. Organic pesticides aren't always the best option either as a neurotoxin made from a plant is still a neurotoxin. In general though, I purchase domestic grown foods as often as possible.<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Health and safety issues arising in trade are not always easily resolved at either the domestic or international levels. Domestic regulations that prohibit the sale of, for example, a </span><a href="http://www.eoearth.org/article/Chlorinated_pesticides" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0249cb; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Chlorinated pesticides">toxic pesticide</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">, do not apply internationally. “Goods that are restricted in domestic </span><a href="http://www.eoearth.org/article/Market" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0249cb; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Market">markets</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">, on the grounds that they present a danger to human, animal or plant life or health, or to the environment, may often be legally exported. This may cause a problem for the importing country, where information is lacking on whether and why the product is banned: exporters may make false declarations, customs authorities (particularly in developing countries) may lack adequate product testing facilities.” from </span><a href="http://www.eoearth.org/article/Trade_and_the_environment">http://www.eoearth.org/article/Trade_and_the_environment</a><br />
I also am amazed at concentrated juice in the frozen food aisle. Look at them some time - contains juice from at least three contries. Wow. Our food web is so oddly interconnected.<br />
<br />
I try not to purchase processed foods. I'm not sure how I feel about 'chemically separated' or 'modified' anything. And I'm alright with eating lard over crisco. <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/lard-the-new-health-food">http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/lard-the-new-health-food</a> It feels like a whole animal fat is way better than<br />
<br />
The more I look into food additives, the less I really want those oreos. I am even having trouble finding a soup base that doesn't have MSG or some chemically modified something. <a href="http://www.rense.com/general84/foods.htm">http://www.rense.com/general84/foods.htm</a> and bouillon cubes no longer appeal to me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Cooking Soup</b><br />
So right now I've got a pork bone in the stew pot with the onions I've been saving from last growing season and some dried beans. I know the ingredients so far: pork bone, dried beans, onions, bay leaf, garlic, salt & pepper. I guess I'm not going to get those short cuts of bouillon cubes anymore, but the from scratch smell that's emanating from my kitchen is satisfaction enough and will keep me and my family fed for quite a few days.<br />
I'm finishing off my delicious beans and broth by adding frozen spinach towards the end of the boil and then sauteing up more onions along with a ham steak cut into spoon sized cubes along with some french filet cut frozen green beans saute'ed in butter. Non-homogenized, of course. :)<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_er_Pkf7Fdk&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_er_Pkf7Fdk&feature=related</a>High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-47306472962029671492011-11-15T08:41:00.000-08:002011-11-15T08:41:23.252-08:00It smells more like spring.The creek is high again.<br />
This year has washed away the sides of the creek bank more than any other year. The rains come all at once and I'm happy to have the dam upstream hold up against this torrent of water. Our little bridge by the chicken house that's been there since I was about 6 has eroded away from below. The high waters came up and chipped away at the earth around it until there was just a crust on top that turned into a sinkhole when my dog stepped on it. I'm surprised I didn't lose her! She also has noticed that places in the creek she used to be able to walk across are now a swimming endeavor.<br />
I'm on my second cup of tea, my fourteenth tissue, and still in my pajama pants debating where this day is going to go. My dad has the fedco tree catalog and keeps milling about thinking over the descriptions of the trees both with interest and incredulous disbelief. They actually tout the amazing properties of the locust tree! They describe how to turn acorns edible, and they sell unsexed ginkgo trees for city plantings. Ha! Nothing like some stinky fruit to give your city a very interesting nickname. I guess it could be a conversation piece.<br />
I am contemplating ordering more kiwi vines. We've been planting them for the past few years with no fruit yet. I guess that's how my cranberries are too. And the blueberries, plum trees, cherry tree, aronia bush, serviceberries, gooseberries, and baby apple trees i've been nestling all over this little spot of ground i have. The pear tree that marks the grave of my sister's late great cat produced this year (the Jasper pear, as we'll call it) and the peach trees tried to produce baby peaches which were delicious, albeit rather tiny. Our strawberry patch went crazy this year. A week ago, my sister was back in there breaking up garlic bulbs and planting them among the mat of junebearing and the sporadic everbearing that still have little flowers and tiny fruit coming on.<br />
<br />
Bronchitis has slowed me down a bit today and I'm back to curling up and watching the cooking channel, planning winter soups and trying to use up all the winter squash that I've squirreled away. Jason made winter squash enchiladas, which were amazing. He boiled the winter squash until tender then cubed it along with some summer squash, carrots, and made a sauce with garlic, cilantro and onions and some chili spices and butter. He mixed that all together and stuffed a soft shell tortilla. He topped it with sauteed garlic, onions, butter, and rooster sauce put in the blender and baked it. A little sour cream on top and I really didn't miss the meat at all! It was slightly sweet but still spicy and completely delicious!!!!<br />
<br />
<br />
Now my task for the day is to figure out a winter vegetable storage plan. I have my root cellar (aka a corner of my basemet) cleared out and now I've just got to figure out the best way to store the surplus of winter squash that I've collected along with some apples, onions, beets, and other random veggies. <br />
I know that apples must be stored completely separate because they give off something that accelerates the rotting of other fruits and veggies, which is why they shouldn't be placed in a functional fruit bowl.<br />
<br />
So now is a good time to share a tip that I've learned about storing fruits and veggies - there are two requirements to consider when cellaring fruits and veggies ::: temperature and humidity. Think of the difference between moist loving veggies like turnips or cabbage vs onions and winter squash. Your turnips would turn into dry little shrivels if they were stored dry and your cabbage would split without high humidity. Meanwhile, your onions would get that annoying mold under the skin at high humidity and your winter squash would get squishy.<br />
So here's a list from <i>Root Cellaring</i> that gives a basic outline of what fruits and veggies should be stored at.<br />
Cold & Very Moist:<br />
Carrots, beets, parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, celery, chinese cabbage, cereriac, salsify, scorzonera, winter radishes, kohlrabi, leeks, collards, broccoli (short term), brussel sprouts (short term), horseradish, sunchokes<br />
<br />
Cool and Moist: potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower (short term) apples, grapes (yeah right, not for very long), citrus, pears, endive, cucumbers, sweet peppers (45-55) cantalope, melons, eggplant, ripe tomato<br />
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Cool and Dry: garlic, onions, green podded soybeans<br />
<br />
Moderately warm and dry: dry hot peppers, pumpkins, winter squash, sweet potatoes, green tomatoes<br />
<br />
So now I've got to get my winter squash out of the basement and into the living room by the fire and my potatoes are going to the basement and I'm suddenly really hungry for brussel sprouts and apple pie. I'm going to put the goats in the garden to try to mow down the weeds that have all gone to seed as I shake my head and hope that next year works out better as I shovel dirt into the holes in the eroded bridge while enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. I love the smell of mud, but I fear my brain is getting tricked into skipping winter entirely and thinking it's spring already. I know my lilac is tricked into leafing out already. Oops. I'm sure we'll see the snow fly by next week and all will be back to normal... well, as normal as Ohio weather ever is.High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-65534583156163197092011-09-07T14:28:00.000-07:002011-09-07T14:28:40.106-07:00sick slipping into fallOh man. I feel funny.<br />
<br />
I think I need to find a really good book to dive into. I think I've been running for so long that the cool air that hit me this morning really knocked me back and hit me really hard. The wet rain is lingering on the leaves a little longer and the dark cool nights are creeping in. I have that twinge of -where did the time go- feeling in the back of my mind. I'm not ready for winter.<br />
<br />
I think these feelings are compounded by the knot in my throat. I think I'm getting sick. And when my head gets cold with these cool nights, I have more bad dreams. It's too early to start sleeping with a hat on!<br />
<br />
Anyway, I had a wonderful time down in North Carolina. I like learning and having someone so amazingly knowledgeable and fun to follow around, I really feel rejuvenated and excited about making wine from start to finish.<br />
I like working constantly, eating really good food, chatting with other wine people, and meeting some great new friends too.<br />
My mentor down there is terminally ill. It makes me really try to capture and freeze every minute that I can. I'm super happy to have met him, but also painfully sad at the same time. I came back with this feeling of -wow, what a great trip- mixed with a twinge of regret for not staying longer, not helping more. I'm already planning my next trip.<br />
<br />
So in this Ohio chill, I'm looking at my ewes this year and quite excited for next years lambs already. I can't wait to get a good ram! Oh crap, I should probably email that lady back and confirm that I'd love to get one of her excellent ram lambs.<br />
I'm very excited about this year's rugs and lamb chops. Anyone know about tanning? I guess I'd better learn soon.High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-70483753411685683612011-07-26T12:39:00.000-07:002011-07-26T12:40:41.666-07:00cathartic cleaningIt's a little late for spring cleaning. But that's what I feel like doing now. Cleaning. Donating clothes and stuff I've accumulated over the years with that "maybe I'll use this one day" mentality. If I haven't used it, it's going. One garbage bag full of donations already.<br />
<br />
It always amazes me how much can collect in one house. I only use 1/10th of it in a year. Old art supplies, movies I watched and hated, records with no record player....<br />
<br />
I think I'll feel better once I get rid of most of my stuff. Kinda like how happy I was without a backseat to collect junk when I moved from a car to a truck. No backseat equals no carrying around 10 extra shirts and 5 extra pairs of shoes and boots where I would lose one of them (I swear my dog hides all my left shoes so I can't leave her) or other books and magazines I collected with the lofty dream of having enough time to one day having a minute to sit down and actually read them.<br />
<br />
Each donations bag is cathartic. I like the question -what do I need? Like trimming the fat off a pork chop. Not that I live an extravagant lifestyle or am tied to a lot of things. Just thinking about spring cleaning. <br />
<br />
Also cleaning out the barn of the sheep that don't obey the fence. Anyone want lamb, just let me know.High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-86921920441957715982011-07-12T17:02:00.000-07:002011-07-12T17:02:45.902-07:00I think my eyeballs are sweatingOh July, you are cruel sometimes.<br />
I know it's only been a few weeks of 90 degree heat, but I'm already considering moving more up north. I'm not sure where, just a little more north. Somewhere colder. Somewhere cloudier.<br />
I guess I should just remind myself that this is sweet corn, tomato, and melon growing weather. I'm pretty sure my eyeballs are sweating though.<br />
<br />
I'm at an odd spot in the gardens. The early crops have kicked off and now I'm just waiting for the "45 days" the backs of the seed packets promised me for the next wave of harvest. Come on little veggies. You can do it! Grow grow grow!<br />
<br />
I think the heat might have taken the wind out of my sails, or I'm just a bit exhausted, but my brain is in slow motion now. I'm just going to call it a heat haze. My dog is asleep, my sheep are being baaaad, my goats are constantly complaining, and as soon as I get out of the water, I want to jump back in and go swimming again.<br />
<br />
This is the point in the season, middle of planting, where I just need to re-focus and get back on track. Concentrate. I still need to plant shelling beans, second round of lettuce, kale, beets, broccoli, kohlrabi, onions, get all the rest of the tomatoes in the ground and peppers and herbs... and here's where I lose focus again. It must be the heat. Concentrate, janeé.<br />
Ah, concentrate. Good thinking. I'm finishing up my last round of meat birds and probably going to stop doing them. I need to focus and I can't charge people what it actually costs to raise them... especially with my losses to predators this year. Dang dog found out she's rather sleep inside than guard the birds, and I can't blame her for that. So no more meat birds.<br />
I also lost an insane amount of baby turkeys this year. I hope to have just enough for my returning orders and my family, but it's been a rough year. Boo raccoons.<br />
I have to admit though, I loved the burgers I just cooked up from my beef. The roasts are amazing and I think that might be the one meat that I'm going to keep on the menu. I'm still toying with the idea of pigs, but not this year. Chickens are too much work. Turkeys think dying is a sport. Sheep are a pain to fence. But man, grass fed beef is delicious.<br />
My sister took some down to my aunt, who bought the biggest hand made buns from the bakery ever. So my sister, not knowing the fat content of my beef, made massive pattys... but the actual fat content was so low that they didn't shrink at all, but were massive, medium well, and delicious. I just had Monday night taco night and holy cow, that was good.<br />
<br />
So, CSA, beef, and maybe turkeys. And maybe a new -not so lazy- dog. Sorry Pepper. You're retiring at the ripe old age of.... 3?<br />
<br />
Oh, and CSA members, I'm starting to post the newsletter and recipe on the CSA blog if you happen to miss it or if it rains to the point of non-readability. Email recipe ideas or anything that you'd like to plant for this year still. There's still time, I've just got to get out there and keep planting!High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8564458331783203634.post-49138982359466149302011-06-28T07:23:00.000-07:002011-06-28T07:25:05.246-07:00beautiful TuesdayAlright. I'm doing deep breathing and meditation this morning (oddly enough, combined with lots of coffee) in order to prepare myself for the daunting, daring, and dangerous task of....... raspberry picking.<br />
I should keep a bee keeping suit around just for the raspberry season. I put on flip flops and I don't think that's going to cut it unless I really want to take my chances at the new poison ivy remedy pills I just got as I trounce around in the woods.<br />
<br />
Ok, some Regina Spektor on the radio is increasing my meditation for CSA pickup week 2. Feels oddly like the hymns I grew up with, piano in the back and a nice vocal melody on top. I'm ready for anything today.<br />
<br />
So I've been weighing out and looking up glyphosate, the chemical that kills weeds in products such as Roundup. I see people spraying their driveways with this stuff, which makes me kinda giggle because I can't bring myself to care that much about a perfect driveway. If that energy was only spent growing potatoes instead of spraying their gravel... but anyway, back to glyphosate.<br />
Europe is having their bouts of love and hate with this chemical. They've banned imports of Roundup Ready genetically modified corn and soybeans from the US. We're in love with genetically modifying things to take the weed killer Roundup because it does make commodity growing easier. The rest of the world isn't as sold on it as we are.<br />
Here's a nice fact sheet which seems to give the pros and cons of glyphosate. And I like that they put in that bit about the endangered toads. I love toads.<br />
<a href="http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Actives/glyphosa.htm">http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Actives/glyphosa.htm</a><br />
I have a feeling there's going to be quite a few heated battles behind closed doors about this product. It's less toxic than weed killers in the past, but it's like -well, drinking bleach isn't that bad, we used to drink battery acid back in the day, bleach is waaaay better-. And it's odd that trees in hedgerows are dying on the edges of Roundup fields. Makes you wonder what's really happening to the microbial community that we can't see but rely so heavily upon.<br />
<br />
The wind is picking up. It seems like excellent weather to lay out in the grass and stare up at the sky... well, after checking the grass for sheep poop.<br />
I'm picking up my beef on Wednesday and splitting it Wed. night for the 8 families 1 cow program. I can't wait. I love making burgers with cream cheese or chevre worked into the patties with some fresh herbs. It's like a cheeseburger with cheese in the burger. Gormet right there. Heh.<br />
<br />
Ok, berry picking time!High Mill Parkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02361191702802899823noreply@blogger.com0