OEFFA conference

So this Valentines Day weekend was really special this year. I guess last year going to see the Pretenders in Akron was kinda cool, but this year was waaaay better. Jason and I traveled down to Granville to the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Associations conference - Growing with Integrity, Eating with Intention. It was AWESOME.

I guess sometimes I feel like a little satellite just kinda orbiting around, not really aware that there might be other people like me doing the same things I'm doing. Not true. There were people from all over Ohio who came to hear about sustainable beekeeping, worm composting, apple tree grafting, niche pork raising, and a ton of other seminars. My head is fully saturated with new information about soil types, crop rotation, small fruit ecosystems, birthing goat tips, and pride in locally grown food.
Jason and I volunteered in order to get a massive discount and actually afford to go. We worked in the kitchen for both lunches and I really got this odd sense of accomplishment from working with the nicest catering company and serving local, organic veggies, meats, and cheeses.... and taste testing them along the way as well. Granted, I was a bit annoyed at the vegans who snubbed the piece of artisan cheese on their salad (more for me!) but overall everyone was super nice and I got to work up a sweat while doing dishes before sitting down for 5 more hours of seminars.

While the organic greens salad has long been digested, I'm still rolling around a few classes trying to wrap my head around some research that's just come out. I guess the next thing for me to do is go out in the fields and test it for myself.
I can't wait!

Headsup everybody

Hey,

Take a look at the supreme court hearing of a Monsanto case here. This is happening now so keep an eye on it. What this company has been doing for years should be illegal, but the cats in the USDA for the most part have ties to Monsanto. I can't tell you how many letters I've written to DC on this issue. Is this sustainable? Is this good for us?

Not that I particularly like going on polical rampages, but it really upsets me that we've screwed with the building blocks of nature just so we can spray more chemicals. How does this make sense?

How will I know that the hay I buy from up the street isn't genetically modified? How will this effect the animals that eat it? How will this effect the plants that cross pollinate with it? How could we let this happen?

I'm so frustrated right now....

Project Files - West Wall (1)

With wintertime upon us and my (painfully) open schedule, I decided to tackle a project that my mom has been requesting for years. We have this west wall that was as drafty as an open window with a fake rock facade and a fireplace that made the whole house cold when you lit it up.

Here's a picture from a few years ago with my brother and Spike, the Christmas chicken in front of the wall in question. He was wearing long sleeves because of the draft coming off that wall.

Anyway, we replaced the windows thinking that single pain glass was the problem, but in doing so, we found that the wall had no insulation. So energy star windows installed in an open wall was kinda pointless. The fireplace was another issue and after being in a tshirt at my boss's house in the dead of winter and admiring his big, beautiful woodstove, I had hopes we could rip out the oddly constructed brick fireplace and inefficient insert.

With crowbar in hand and asbestos protective masks on just in case, we tackled the wall, carefully saving the stones for grandma in case the need ever arose to have fake stone again.


With the wall down and the (crappy pine) mantel off, the fireplace seemed even more puzzling. An efficient fireplace is open to the room and shallow. This one was constructed to jut out into the room and be very deep and narrow. It made no sense and I swore they were hiding their family treasures in the mortar... but we moved on to the insulation as we debated keeping the fireplace.


Then with a few shims and a lot of great stuff, the drywall went up.


And with a lot of discussion, a couple of crowbars and a jack, the fireplace came down.



While I was mudding the drywall with Pepper's help, dad found an old wood stove he had stored the basement for years and hauled it up to see if it would fit. With two cook top surfaces and the promise to kick out a lot of heat, we decided to refinish it and give it a new home in the living room.


Next up, we had to remake the fireplace to surround the new woodstove. We got some reflective foam insulation and starting building a rock fireplace from rocks we found around the park. It was like tetris, only really heavy and painful for pinched fingers


I really like playing with mud... even it it is mortar. And lifting rocks really helped exercise away the winter blues a bit and exfoliated my hands. Ow.

Next on the list, an electric paint choice inspired by our peacock and the beauty of woodworking cherry from the park.... check back for pictures on our progress.

sheep are snow mountains

The snow has hit. The sheep walk around with piles of it on their backs, pushing away the snow on the ground to nibble at the grass. It is coming down in little whisps and today we are finishing off the last of the meat birds, which means....

If anyone wants fresh, pasture raised, no GMO fed roaster chickens, just email me. $10 a piece, pickup tomorrow or they are going in the freezer and let me know if you'd like them later.

I am staring at a wood burner we just installed with a new fireplace made out of stone we found on the property. The next step is the cherry trim that was milled from when a tornado hit and took down a nice tree. My uncle saw the potential in the fallen trees and sent it off along with some nice black walnuts that also fell in the storm to be milled into plank boards. He died before he could really help me install it, but some of the walnut is now my beautiful bathroom floor and this cherry is going up as trim at my parents house on a brilliant blue wall, inspired by Max, the peacock. Every time I work this wood or go out to his old woodshop, there is a hollow echo of his laughter like a phantom limb that is no longer there, but you still can feel all the same.

Well, anyways, now I'm doing the normal winter thing... er, well I guess it's normal for me: scouting high and low for more sheep, modifying the garen plans, reworking the CSA, scouring seed catalogs for what people really want, pulling excellent meals out of the freezer and filling the whole house with the smell of roasting chicken, pinto beans, dried herbs rehydrating, tomato chunks, and sweet corn. Well, that's today. Last night it was pork chops, onions, rice (not mine), and broccoli.
I don't think that i've ever thought - man, I wish I wouldn't have frozen so much food. I am so happy this year that we still have peppers and sweet corn to pull from. And the pig this year was great.

Oh, and winter is when I get a bunch of crazy ideas and throw them out there to see if anyone is interested.
My new idea this year is to offer pork, lamb, and beef not by the whole or half, but more like the CSA. Anyone who wants delicious meat can join our Meat Share program, where for a flat rate, you get a portion of our pork, lamb or goat, roaster chickens, and new this year - beef. You can have a say as to how it's raised and butchered.


Well, I guess it's back to chicken plucking for me. Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!

Snow

The snow is falling in dreamy whisps this morning, just floating down aimlessly as my boots crunch on the newly frozen crust on the ground. The ducks and geese hang out right in front of my door, noisily yelling at me while keeping their bills tucked under their wings in the soft down.

I have been keeping busy with small winter projects and rationing out my money with meticulous care. We have collected bags of leaves for help with feeding the goats and sheep this winter. They also eat old corn stalks, branches, brambles, and non-treated cut christmas trees (any of which if you have, we will happily come and pick up, gratefully.)
I'm trying to post some of mom's jewelry online... if I could only spell bracelet right. Agh! Oh well.

The countdown to Dec 21st continues as the daylight keeps slipping. This year doesn't seem too bad so far as the weather has been fairly mild. The past two days have been a little slap in the face... or a little hint of what's to come. The days have been flying by at a crazy pace so far.

life lessons of sorts.

First off ---Daisy found a home! They are happy together and I'm glad. She's an amazing dog.

Secondly, the CSA season is winding down and I'm getting that nostalgic-season feeling where I'm reflecting on everything I did and did not do and wishing I did more and thinking about next year and what to do differently and what not to grow and what to switch up. I think for right now, I should try to just focus on the question - what did I learn this year?

Hmm, with the hard task of clearing out my brain from the frenzy of harvest time and putting food back for the winter, amazingly enough, it's hard to concentrate. But anyways, here goes.

What I learned in 2009.

by Janee Houston

Pigs love to hang out in the road.

Sheep can't swim.

Radishes love to reseed themselves, especially if you don't like radishes.

If you want rain, it won't rain but if you don't want rain on a Tuesday... it pours.

Cats can't stop traffic like pigs can.

Not all apple trees are created equal.

Yes, there can be "too much of a good thing." Example, a very succesful zucchini season.

You can never plant enough garlic.

...or potatoes.

....... or asparagus.

............. or sweet corn.

Carrots hate me.

Onions hate me too. note to self, try a new technique - winter seed sowing in greenhouse?

For every one pint or black raspberries picked, expect 25 briar scratches.

Kale in partial shade is no match for kale in full sun.

All kale is still delicious, except after no rain for 3 weeks.

More dogs equals more fun.

Alpacas make crazy noises like cats fighting.

"Free" cow means something you feed, but you can't eat. (still trying to figure that one out too)

Real fencing works far better than electric and is totally worth the money to not have to chase sheep and goats and pigs all around, though I do miss the daily jog and anger management just isn't the same.

Do not count your melons before they grow as they will grow slower and less prolific than math equations and seed packets may want you to believe.

Forcing grapes to be seedless cuts down on their diversity.
Goats love to destroy anything you spent time on - especially if it's time spent planting.

Hmm... I'm sure there's more life lessons to be had, but after a long CSA day of fighting rain again, I'm ready for bed. Members - one more pickup before we close up shop for the season. It's time to stock up. See you Tuesday night!

scattered showers

It rained a little bit yesterday. Not much at all. By "scattered showers" I think the weather prediction meant -one spitting little shower- because it was just enough to get your windshield wet. I guess this is the odd end to a weird season, a little 3 week drought ought to confuse the plants even more. I have a apple tree in bloom now. The dirt is just powder. Even the established trees are looking a little stressed.

The grape harvest is coming up fast and the last week of the CSA is impending. I'm feeling the end of the season blues pretty bad. Even football can't cheer me up this year as my team is more disappointing than ever this season. (I think you know which one I'm talking about...) I'm placing an order for blue berries and cranberries to plant along the creek bed. The pigs are all but one gone, and she is the most lonely looking pig ever.

I guess I'll just keep my eye on the winter plantings of garlic, kale, and turnips that we'll hopefully be pulling up all the way through the dark winter days. I guess no matter what the weather is, things are still growing.