We butchered our pigs a few weeks ago, and I thought I was done rendering lard. I guess I've never been too excited about touching greasy things, because it's so hard to get off my hands afterwards. Well, we discovered a few packages of fat from the pig we butchered back in December of 2006, and I thought I'd better take care of that as well. At first I was just going to throw it away, but our son Jonathan has decided we are going to make soap, so we will use it for that purpose.
We were planning on watching the Republican debate tonight via the internet, so I decided a popcorn supper was appropriate. I also had the big idea I would make donuts, so at the same time I was rendering lard I was making and frying donuts! That was a bit too greasy for me. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how light and nongreasy the donuts were. They were quite delicious. I thought since lard tends to be absorbed in the donuts as they are being fried they would be fairly greasy and leave an aftertaste, but they were great! Maybe there is something to this animal fat thing! I've been planning to read a book entitled, Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig, and another book they wrote, Eat Fat Lose Fat. Guess now is the time to do just that.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Another Cold Day
We had another very cold day today, so everyone stayed indoors as much as possible. Jonathan needed to head to his vacuuming job yesterday but the car wouldn't start, so we really needed to get it running today to get him to work. Someone found an inconvenient place to store our portable heater thing for under the car, so instead Jim used a small space heater to place under there. After doing that for an hour or so, the car finally started. It was a very good thing, because friends called to ask Jim if he would go down to town to help their daughter get her car started. Someone passed along one of those "forwards" that has been altered to make it appropriate to our state:
If parking your car for the night involves an extension cord,
You might live in North Dakota.
If you're proud that your state makes the national
news primarily because it houses the coldest spot in the nation,
You might live in North Dakota.
If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March,
You might live in North Dakota.
If you know how to correctly pronounce Minot ,
Bottineau, Ypsilanti , or Glen Ullin,
You might live in North Dakota.
If you measure distance in hours,
You might live in North Dakota.
If you see people wearing hunting clothes at social events, You might live in North Dakota.
If you carry jumper cables in your car and your daughter knows how to use them,
You might live in North Dakota.
If there are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at the grocery store at any given time,
You might live in North Dakota.
If your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your cottonwood,
You might live in North Dakota.
If you find 0 degrees 'a little
chilly,'
You might live in North Dakota.
If parking your car for the night involves an extension cord,
You might live in North Dakota.
If you're proud that your state makes the national
news primarily because it houses the coldest spot in the nation,
You might live in North Dakota.
If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March,
You might live in North Dakota.
If you know how to correctly pronounce Minot ,
Bottineau, Ypsilanti , or Glen Ullin,
You might live in North Dakota.
If you measure distance in hours,
You might live in North Dakota.
If you see people wearing hunting clothes at social events, You might live in North Dakota.
If you carry jumper cables in your car and your daughter knows how to use them,
You might live in North Dakota.
If there are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at the grocery store at any given time,
You might live in North Dakota.
If your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your cottonwood,
You might live in North Dakota.
If you find 0 degrees 'a little
chilly,'
You might live in North Dakota.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
We are Still Here
Just to let you know, we haven't frozen over yet! Here is the weather for today (hopefully I can get a post in soon):
.WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST /5 AM MST/
WEDNESDAY.
A WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST /5 AM MST/
WEDNESDAY.
EXPECT WIND CHILLS OF 40 TO 50 BELOW TODAY.
A WIND CHILL WARNING MEANS THE COMBINATION OF VERY COLD AIR AND
STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES. THIS
WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE & LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA OR DEATH IF
PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
National Geographic Does Great Advertising
Our family was amused with an article recently published by the National Geographic. The article is entitled, The Emptied Prairie.
According to this very depressing article, North Dakota is a terrible place to live. If that's the case, why does our family love it so much?
Neither Jim or I were raised here, yet when we felt led to move to the country, the first state we really investigated was North Dakota. I hope to start up again with the account of our move to the Turtle Mountains, and hopefully you will see that it truly isn't as bad of a state as National Geographic paints it to be.
According to this very depressing article, North Dakota is a terrible place to live. If that's the case, why does our family love it so much?
Neither Jim or I were raised here, yet when we felt led to move to the country, the first state we really investigated was North Dakota. I hope to start up again with the account of our move to the Turtle Mountains, and hopefully you will see that it truly isn't as bad of a state as National Geographic paints it to be.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Thoughts on 2007/2008
I can hardly believe that 2008 has begun, and we've already been living up here for over 3 years. So much has happened, and it's been a lot of things that I could have never expected.
December ended with a flurry of activity; not in Christmas activities, but in preparation for the state's homeschool convention and then in helping another ministry prepare for their yearly fund raiser. Our annual newsletter is yet to be written, thank you's sent, pigs butchered, and more. Jim and the boys are over at a friend's for the afternoon/evening, sliding and visiting with others. I asked if I could stay home, as I feel quite worn out from everything that has been going on. I've had a tendency most of my life of filling my days with many things, then all of a sudden feeling the need to pull back and rest -- not only physically, but spiritually and mentally as well. Those times of rest are few and far in between, especially after marrying and having 4 boys. And those time are even fewer now, since it seems our life this past year has been exceptionally busy.
Farm life has the potential to really wear a person out, and I am learning that I need to pace myself and not try to do everything that I want to accomplish in one day. I have read Northern Farmer's blog,
where he states matter of factly that farm work never ends, and what you don't accomplish one day will be waiting for you the next. My personality tends to be more like Martha, when I need to be more like Mary. My desire for 2008 is to learn to be more like Mary, learning to sit at the feet of Jesus to receive direction instead of rushing to and fro, trying to do everything and yet getting nothing done. (At least it seems that way!)
Looking back to our first few months living in the Turtle Mountains, I am amazed at how much we have learned about homesteading and farm operations. I had been agreeable and then anxious to move to the country, but had way too many romantic notions about what it would actually be like. Don't subscribe to magazines like Country Woman if you want to homestead! We moved to land that had no improvements (other than a tractor path to get into the property), and yet I was constantly upset at how hard it was to clean filthy clothes and keep the dirt out of the basement we later moved into after it was barely inhabitable. I must admit my attitude at times -- more than I want to remember, actually -- was terrible, but through the grace of God I made it, and certainly hope I will never have to go around that mountain again.
I have a feeling that 2008 will be another year of challenges and blessings, and it's my desire to travel through this year with the Lord's bigger picture in mind for me and also our family.
December ended with a flurry of activity; not in Christmas activities, but in preparation for the state's homeschool convention and then in helping another ministry prepare for their yearly fund raiser. Our annual newsletter is yet to be written, thank you's sent, pigs butchered, and more. Jim and the boys are over at a friend's for the afternoon/evening, sliding and visiting with others. I asked if I could stay home, as I feel quite worn out from everything that has been going on. I've had a tendency most of my life of filling my days with many things, then all of a sudden feeling the need to pull back and rest -- not only physically, but spiritually and mentally as well. Those times of rest are few and far in between, especially after marrying and having 4 boys. And those time are even fewer now, since it seems our life this past year has been exceptionally busy.
Farm life has the potential to really wear a person out, and I am learning that I need to pace myself and not try to do everything that I want to accomplish in one day. I have read Northern Farmer's blog,
where he states matter of factly that farm work never ends, and what you don't accomplish one day will be waiting for you the next. My personality tends to be more like Martha, when I need to be more like Mary. My desire for 2008 is to learn to be more like Mary, learning to sit at the feet of Jesus to receive direction instead of rushing to and fro, trying to do everything and yet getting nothing done. (At least it seems that way!)
Looking back to our first few months living in the Turtle Mountains, I am amazed at how much we have learned about homesteading and farm operations. I had been agreeable and then anxious to move to the country, but had way too many romantic notions about what it would actually be like. Don't subscribe to magazines like Country Woman if you want to homestead! We moved to land that had no improvements (other than a tractor path to get into the property), and yet I was constantly upset at how hard it was to clean filthy clothes and keep the dirt out of the basement we later moved into after it was barely inhabitable. I must admit my attitude at times -- more than I want to remember, actually -- was terrible, but through the grace of God I made it, and certainly hope I will never have to go around that mountain again.
I have a feeling that 2008 will be another year of challenges and blessings, and it's my desire to travel through this year with the Lord's bigger picture in mind for me and also our family.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Recapping the Week
This time of year is busier than I want it to be; I'd much rather be snowed in and working on all the projects that have accumulated during the spring/summer/fall. We've been busy doing good things, but it sure makes me tired! We have enough snow to be snowed in, but the township plow has been in here and are able get in and out once again.
Last Sat. we traveled to a city a little over an hour from here at a pastor friend's invitation so the boys could play at their church's special services. It was a very small church, but we certainly enjoyed all the fellowship with fellow homeschooling families. The visiting pastor is traveling around the country with a home base in Indiana, and it turns out he pastored a bit in the small town there where I had lived back in the 70's. I reminisced with him about what the town used to be like, as back then it was a hotbed for Klu Klux Klan activity. We finally stumbled into our house about 1 the next morning, but the fellowship had been worth the lack of sleep. Jim drove home in the middle of a snowstorm.
This past week was very busy for me, as we are trying to process the homeschool association's convention booklet. My unofficial title is "Office Support," so I am doing all the production, with a little help from the boys. Our goal is to get them to the post office by Monday, so everything else has been placed on the shelf until I am done. I am hoping no one shows up and sees the condition of the house!
Thursday night Jim and the boys played for the county employees Christmas party at a very nice restaurant on Lake Metigoshe. It was a very cold night, and the car almost didn't make it up there for setting up the equipment. The car has been acting up since we traveled through Minnesota in October for my niece's wedding, but Jim couldn't pinpoint the problem. Well, we now think we know what it is, so hopefully the car will be repaired on Wed. That's a relief for me, as without a cell phone (there's poor reception up here, anyway) and sparse population I was more than a bit hesitant to drive.
This particular invitation to play was a very interesting one for us, since the man doing the asking was the County Superintendent of Schools -- and we homeschool! Jim has had dealings with him off and on since moving up here, as he also has his fingers in other things around here: he is the local auctioneer and also owns and operates the drive in restaurant at Lake Metigoshe. He also sells fireworks around Independence Day. This was my first time meeting him, and I found it interesting that he was walking around the night of the party with a can of Skoal in his back pocket. Wonder if he chews on the job!
The boys did very well in their playing. I am thankful that up this way they are still allowed to play what they want to, and most of what they did was gospel bluegrass. We had to wait until the party was over to tear down the equipment, and they were called back to play one more song at the end. Jim chose "House of Gold," which is evangelistic in nature. No one complained.
Last Sat. we traveled to a city a little over an hour from here at a pastor friend's invitation so the boys could play at their church's special services. It was a very small church, but we certainly enjoyed all the fellowship with fellow homeschooling families. The visiting pastor is traveling around the country with a home base in Indiana, and it turns out he pastored a bit in the small town there where I had lived back in the 70's. I reminisced with him about what the town used to be like, as back then it was a hotbed for Klu Klux Klan activity. We finally stumbled into our house about 1 the next morning, but the fellowship had been worth the lack of sleep. Jim drove home in the middle of a snowstorm.
This past week was very busy for me, as we are trying to process the homeschool association's convention booklet. My unofficial title is "Office Support," so I am doing all the production, with a little help from the boys. Our goal is to get them to the post office by Monday, so everything else has been placed on the shelf until I am done. I am hoping no one shows up and sees the condition of the house!
Thursday night Jim and the boys played for the county employees Christmas party at a very nice restaurant on Lake Metigoshe. It was a very cold night, and the car almost didn't make it up there for setting up the equipment. The car has been acting up since we traveled through Minnesota in October for my niece's wedding, but Jim couldn't pinpoint the problem. Well, we now think we know what it is, so hopefully the car will be repaired on Wed. That's a relief for me, as without a cell phone (there's poor reception up here, anyway) and sparse population I was more than a bit hesitant to drive.
This particular invitation to play was a very interesting one for us, since the man doing the asking was the County Superintendent of Schools -- and we homeschool! Jim has had dealings with him off and on since moving up here, as he also has his fingers in other things around here: he is the local auctioneer and also owns and operates the drive in restaurant at Lake Metigoshe. He also sells fireworks around Independence Day. This was my first time meeting him, and I found it interesting that he was walking around the night of the party with a can of Skoal in his back pocket. Wonder if he chews on the job!
The boys did very well in their playing. I am thankful that up this way they are still allowed to play what they want to, and most of what they did was gospel bluegrass. We had to wait until the party was over to tear down the equipment, and they were called back to play one more song at the end. Jim chose "House of Gold," which is evangelistic in nature. No one complained.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Back to Butchering
I am going to be a bit sad when our pigs Ham and Bacon are butchered, because they seem more like pets. I forgot to mention in my last blog entry about our friend Lori Kenney's encounter with our pigs.
Jim took Lori and I back from where the Kenneys were staying so we could make supper. Jim parked the station wagon right by the door to the basement, and as we got out, we were greeted by our pigs, Ham and Bacon! They were so happy to see us, and one of them promptly ran up to Lori and planted her very muddy snout on the front of Lori's denim skirt. Lori didn't even flinch, but starting patting the pig on the head! The pigs love our dog, and it looked so funny to see the three of them running to greet us. Jim used a bucket of food to entice them back to their pen, and they happily followed him down the hill.
I thought we would have a nice quiet afternoon, but Jonathan decided it would be a good day to butcher our 4 remaining Bourbon Red turkeys. They were a year old last May, and we didn't think we could keep them over another winter since they didn't have the greatest pen for our cold conditions. The first fall they were around I thought they were pretty neat, since they would come up to me while I was hanging clothes outside and watched everything I did. Well, last winter they were a lot of trouble, since the males liked to show me who was boss and bullied me every time I wore my purple winter jacket. I guess they must not be color blind, but hated the color purple! They even followed me down the quarter mile to the mailbox, trying to dominate me. I finally had enough and chased them away. This spring one of the females had 17 babies (as you can tell, I can't remember the proper names for the turkeys), and it was fun to watch them follow their mama. Unfortunately, the next day they had all disappeared. So much for trying to raise more turkeys!
The guys set up shop between the house and the hoop house, and got to work.
Peter did a good job of gutting the turkeys! I was amazed at how much bigger the 2 males were compared to the 2 females.
Jim did a good job of keeping the fire burning under the garbage can that was used to scald the turkeys.
And here is the finished product! I have one turkey roasting in my big roaster, and another cooking on the stove. We are running short of freezer space, so the less bones to store the better.
We used the workbenches that Jim built for the basement and garage of our house in the city to create counter tops in our temporary living quarters in our basement. I used sticky Contact Paper to cover the chipboard surfaces. We have had to change it once so far in the 3 years we have lived this way. The shelf below the counter contains Rubbermaid containers to store my kitchen equipment.
Jim took Lori and I back from where the Kenneys were staying so we could make supper. Jim parked the station wagon right by the door to the basement, and as we got out, we were greeted by our pigs, Ham and Bacon! They were so happy to see us, and one of them promptly ran up to Lori and planted her very muddy snout on the front of Lori's denim skirt. Lori didn't even flinch, but starting patting the pig on the head! The pigs love our dog, and it looked so funny to see the three of them running to greet us. Jim used a bucket of food to entice them back to their pen, and they happily followed him down the hill.
I thought we would have a nice quiet afternoon, but Jonathan decided it would be a good day to butcher our 4 remaining Bourbon Red turkeys. They were a year old last May, and we didn't think we could keep them over another winter since they didn't have the greatest pen for our cold conditions. The first fall they were around I thought they were pretty neat, since they would come up to me while I was hanging clothes outside and watched everything I did. Well, last winter they were a lot of trouble, since the males liked to show me who was boss and bullied me every time I wore my purple winter jacket. I guess they must not be color blind, but hated the color purple! They even followed me down the quarter mile to the mailbox, trying to dominate me. I finally had enough and chased them away. This spring one of the females had 17 babies (as you can tell, I can't remember the proper names for the turkeys), and it was fun to watch them follow their mama. Unfortunately, the next day they had all disappeared. So much for trying to raise more turkeys!
The guys set up shop between the house and the hoop house, and got to work.
Peter did a good job of gutting the turkeys! I was amazed at how much bigger the 2 males were compared to the 2 females.
Jim did a good job of keeping the fire burning under the garbage can that was used to scald the turkeys.
And here is the finished product! I have one turkey roasting in my big roaster, and another cooking on the stove. We are running short of freezer space, so the less bones to store the better.We used the workbenches that Jim built for the basement and garage of our house in the city to create counter tops in our temporary living quarters in our basement. I used sticky Contact Paper to cover the chipboard surfaces. We have had to change it once so far in the 3 years we have lived this way. The shelf below the counter contains Rubbermaid containers to store my kitchen equipment.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Check Out Peter's Blog
Thought you might be interested in seeing/hearing Peter's new way of making music! Check out his video.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
More of the Week's Activities
Last Sunday the former Turtle Mountain Boys (we have to change the name since we discovered there is another group by that name in the area) played at Bottineau's nursing home. They did a very good job of mingling with the crowd, and enjoyed talking with a lady that spoke Norwegian, a man from whom we purchased canning jars, and others.
David (8) was our resident photographer and sat on the nursing home's piano bench, so we had kind of a side view of the concert. We are still trying to convince David to join the band, but he would rather be a groupie with me. Our time of doing nothing during concerts will soon come to an end, as our small sound system should arrive in time for the revival meeting they were asked to play for next weekend.
The Kenneys arrived the next day, and the fun began! The garden tractor and trailer was given to Andrew, and he has been able to fix it up enough to use it. However, at this point the thing died and had to be towed back to the yard.
Grandpa Bartlett's potato cannon was a big hit with the Kenney kids, and it was now time to show the dads how well it worked. Those potatoes sure could fly!
No matter what was going on, Samson (our dog) was never far behind.
Lori Kenney and I had time to sample some great coffee at Metigoshe Ministries. This is where their family stayed while visiting, and where we stayed for a couple of months when we were working on our basement.
We miss you, Kenneys! Thanks for blessing us with your presence! We had wonderful fellowship in the Lord. Hopefully the next time you come our way we'll have room for you to stay with us!
David (8) was our resident photographer and sat on the nursing home's piano bench, so we had kind of a side view of the concert. We are still trying to convince David to join the band, but he would rather be a groupie with me. Our time of doing nothing during concerts will soon come to an end, as our small sound system should arrive in time for the revival meeting they were asked to play for next weekend.
The Kenneys arrived the next day, and the fun began! The garden tractor and trailer was given to Andrew, and he has been able to fix it up enough to use it. However, at this point the thing died and had to be towed back to the yard.
Grandpa Bartlett's potato cannon was a big hit with the Kenney kids, and it was now time to show the dads how well it worked. Those potatoes sure could fly!
No matter what was going on, Samson (our dog) was never far behind.
Lori Kenney and I had time to sample some great coffee at Metigoshe Ministries. This is where their family stayed while visiting, and where we stayed for a couple of months when we were working on our basement.
We miss you, Kenneys! Thanks for blessing us with your presence! We had wonderful fellowship in the Lord. Hopefully the next time you come our way we'll have room for you to stay with us!
Activities of the Past Week
It's been another busy week, full of lots of interesting things. Deer hunting season was upon us, and Jonathan managed to shoot a good sized doe as well as a four by four buck within two days of each other! We were all so proud of him, and very thankful for all the meat we were about to process. I don't think my brothers ever went deer hunting, so this was all new to me when we moved up to the north country.
Jonathan made sure the buck was hoisted a bit higher than the doe was. We tied our German Shepherd at night to make sure he left the deer alone, but in the morning in between going to the barn to "help" Peter with milking and the rest of the chores he managed to chew the nose off from the doe!
There certainly was a lot of venison to process. A couple of years ago my parents gave us an electric meat grinder as a Christmas present, and it sure came in handy! If we hadn't had it we'd still be grinding by hand. (Yes, we are still in the basement, and this is our temporary kitchen.)
Our family was preparing for the arrival of our friends the Kenneys, and I was a bit frustrated at trying to organize things in the bedroom area. I mentioned to Andrew (11) that he should make a bunk for his brother David, since we were using a trundle bed for him to sleep on. We no longer could store the trundle under Andrew's daybed since it was now full of my 2007 canned produce, and it was in the middle of the walking area. Andrew went right to work, and created this wonderful bed for his brother. He also framed in his daybed, and it looks great!
Now we have 2 sets of bunkbeds! We are using the mattress from the trundle bed for David, and stored the actual trundle frame upstairs in our yet to be finished main floor.
Here is our house last Sunday, on a very snowy day. The flakes actually looked like snowballs! The main and 2nd floors are unfinished and eaves still open to the elements, but Jim is working diligently to install the electrical wiring. After it's inspected we will do some insulation and block the eaves. We moved quite a bit of our belongings into the 2nd floor from the semi trailer we were using. Jim hopes to turn the semi trailer into a wood shop when the main floor is ready for occupancy.
Jonathan made sure the buck was hoisted a bit higher than the doe was. We tied our German Shepherd at night to make sure he left the deer alone, but in the morning in between going to the barn to "help" Peter with milking and the rest of the chores he managed to chew the nose off from the doe!
There certainly was a lot of venison to process. A couple of years ago my parents gave us an electric meat grinder as a Christmas present, and it sure came in handy! If we hadn't had it we'd still be grinding by hand. (Yes, we are still in the basement, and this is our temporary kitchen.)
Our family was preparing for the arrival of our friends the Kenneys, and I was a bit frustrated at trying to organize things in the bedroom area. I mentioned to Andrew (11) that he should make a bunk for his brother David, since we were using a trundle bed for him to sleep on. We no longer could store the trundle under Andrew's daybed since it was now full of my 2007 canned produce, and it was in the middle of the walking area. Andrew went right to work, and created this wonderful bed for his brother. He also framed in his daybed, and it looks great! 
Now we have 2 sets of bunkbeds! We are using the mattress from the trundle bed for David, and stored the actual trundle frame upstairs in our yet to be finished main floor.
Here is our house last Sunday, on a very snowy day. The flakes actually looked like snowballs! The main and 2nd floors are unfinished and eaves still open to the elements, but Jim is working diligently to install the electrical wiring. After it's inspected we will do some insulation and block the eaves. We moved quite a bit of our belongings into the 2nd floor from the semi trailer we were using. Jim hopes to turn the semi trailer into a wood shop when the main floor is ready for occupancy.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Winter Has Arrived
Wind Advisory in effect until 6 PM CST this afternoon... | |
 | Rest of Today Cloudy with isolated snow showers. Windy... colder. Highs in the lower 30s. Near steady temperature in the lower 30s. Northwest winds 25 to 40 mph. Chance of snow 20 percent. |
 | Tonight Mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower 20s. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph. We have blizzard like conditions today, and the boys sure are happy about it! Jonathan got his deer the day before yesterday, and we will spend the day processing the meat. Photos will follow after the troops are done with chores. |
Friday, November 09, 2007
It's Cooling Down
Andrew took some photos for me to share with you. Last spring we were given some ducks and geese when we bought goats, and they have been roaming freely all summer. In this photo, they are walking on the ice that formed on the lake in the past couple of days. They did manage to make a hole in the ice, and still have their own place to get wet.
We had a dilemma when the chicken coop area in half the goat barn was too small for all of our chickens. All of the chickens the boys purchased this spring are capable of laying eggs for us, so we hated to butcher the extras that were still living in a portable chicken pen. The boys decided to utilize our hoop house for a temporary shelter for them for the winter. We purchased a very durable tarp, and Jonathan and Peter devised a chicken coop with one half of the hoop house.
The area is lined with straw bales, and the ground is also covered with straw.
The chickens seem nice and toasty warm in there.
The little building to the right has become our garden shed; it was originally the outhouse that Grandpa Bartlett built for me when they were visiting the first fall we lived up here. In the next photo in the background you will see what our house looks like for the winter. Hopefully next year we will be able to get some siding on that house wrap. The windows are temporary ones that were given to us, and provide us with light so we can see what we are doing in there! Jim is working on the wiring, but the only electricity we have up there is through the use of extension cords.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
A Day to Catch Up (Or At Least Try)
Today was a good day to catch up on a few things, such as baking bread. With 4 boys, there's always a need to fill in at meal times, so we go through a lot of bread. I managed to make 8 loaves and 2 large batches of whole wheat buns. That should help get us through to later in the week. Jim went upstairs to check on the state of our potatoes and carrots, and discovered they were rotting.
Early in the growing season we were talking about constructing a root cellar of one sort or another, but never got it going. The boys had all they could do to hand dig out our goat shed, which is located on the side of the hill, and we just didn't have time to dig out a cellar for storing our produce. Jim thought he would try building an insulated box above the wood stove, and cut a hole through the floor to allow a bit of heat to keep the box from freezing. It seemed to be working. However, last night they discovered the box was hovering at close to 60 degrees, which meant there was too much heat for the vegetables. Unfortunately, we lost all of the carrots stored up there, and some of the potatoes. Jim had the boys peel potatoes that still had good parts to them, and we made a big pot of mashed potatoes. Guess I better find a lot of recipes that call for potatoes! We want to use them up before anything else happens. All the remaining potatoes are now in the basement with us instead of up where they were.
Yesterday our neighbors stopped by to see if we would be interested in trading hay for beef. You bet! This neighbor was the one who initially did all the haying, and we still had extra bales after we were given our share. They raised this steer over at their farm, so we know how it was taken care of. What a blessing to have beef in our freezer! And to think deer season is just around the corner as well!
Jonathan has been getting ready for trapping, and this morning came home with his first raccoon. I was proud of how well he did on the skinning. Hopefully he will make money this year from the sale of his pelts.
Later in the day, Jim and the boys headed over to help some friends with their TV antenna. Apparently there was a channel that would not come in, so they needed someone to change the direction of the antenna. I was glad I wasn't over there watching, since the antenna is located at the top of what used to be a windmill -- and a very large one. I can't remember how tall the boys said it was, but I saw the photos they took and Jim and Jonathan were quite a ways up in the air. You can see a couple of photos at Peter's blog. We are supposed to be hit tomorrow with a blast of arctic air, and with winds going over 45 mph, I'm sure glad the deed was done today. While over there the boys were thrilled to see a bald eagle and 2 moose.
I just finished with getting our honey squared away. While the boys and I were on our trip to Minnesota, Jim used his homemade extractor to take the honey from our hives. He placed the honey in large containers, so today I softened it and separated it into smaller jars. We probably got about 3 gallons from 2 hives. I don't know if that is very good or not, but since it was our first year of working with the bees, we count any amount a real blessing. The bread items I baked today were made with our goat milk and honey, and that is quite an accomplishment, considering just a little over 3 years ago we moved up to this land that had nothing on it but a lake, trees, fields, and hills, and little knowledge (but a lot of enthusiasm!) in how to get started.
Early in the growing season we were talking about constructing a root cellar of one sort or another, but never got it going. The boys had all they could do to hand dig out our goat shed, which is located on the side of the hill, and we just didn't have time to dig out a cellar for storing our produce. Jim thought he would try building an insulated box above the wood stove, and cut a hole through the floor to allow a bit of heat to keep the box from freezing. It seemed to be working. However, last night they discovered the box was hovering at close to 60 degrees, which meant there was too much heat for the vegetables. Unfortunately, we lost all of the carrots stored up there, and some of the potatoes. Jim had the boys peel potatoes that still had good parts to them, and we made a big pot of mashed potatoes. Guess I better find a lot of recipes that call for potatoes! We want to use them up before anything else happens. All the remaining potatoes are now in the basement with us instead of up where they were.
Yesterday our neighbors stopped by to see if we would be interested in trading hay for beef. You bet! This neighbor was the one who initially did all the haying, and we still had extra bales after we were given our share. They raised this steer over at their farm, so we know how it was taken care of. What a blessing to have beef in our freezer! And to think deer season is just around the corner as well!
Jonathan has been getting ready for trapping, and this morning came home with his first raccoon. I was proud of how well he did on the skinning. Hopefully he will make money this year from the sale of his pelts.
Later in the day, Jim and the boys headed over to help some friends with their TV antenna. Apparently there was a channel that would not come in, so they needed someone to change the direction of the antenna. I was glad I wasn't over there watching, since the antenna is located at the top of what used to be a windmill -- and a very large one. I can't remember how tall the boys said it was, but I saw the photos they took and Jim and Jonathan were quite a ways up in the air. You can see a couple of photos at Peter's blog. We are supposed to be hit tomorrow with a blast of arctic air, and with winds going over 45 mph, I'm sure glad the deed was done today. While over there the boys were thrilled to see a bald eagle and 2 moose.
I just finished with getting our honey squared away. While the boys and I were on our trip to Minnesota, Jim used his homemade extractor to take the honey from our hives. He placed the honey in large containers, so today I softened it and separated it into smaller jars. We probably got about 3 gallons from 2 hives. I don't know if that is very good or not, but since it was our first year of working with the bees, we count any amount a real blessing. The bread items I baked today were made with our goat milk and honey, and that is quite an accomplishment, considering just a little over 3 years ago we moved up to this land that had nothing on it but a lake, trees, fields, and hills, and little knowledge (but a lot of enthusiasm!) in how to get started.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
I Think Winter is Coming
Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow showers. Breezy. Lows in the lower 30s.
Monday
Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of snow. Breezy. Highs in the lower 30s.
Monday Night
Mostly clear. Lows 15 to 20.
Tuesday and Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy. Highs in the lower 30s. Lows 15 to 20.
Wednesday
Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 30s.
Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 20s.
Just in time for deer hunting season!
Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow showers. Breezy. Lows in the lower 30s.
Monday
Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of snow. Breezy. Highs in the lower 30s.
Monday Night
Mostly clear. Lows 15 to 20.
Tuesday and Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy. Highs in the lower 30s. Lows 15 to 20.
Wednesday
Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 30s.
Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 20s.
Just in time for deer hunting season!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Around the Farm
The boys showed me how easy it is to upload photos from our digital camera; now I need to try it out for myself!
David decided it would be fun to get Samson to sleep with him in Peter's bottom bunk.
I took this photo through the bedroom window, so the boys didn't know it was taken. Friends gave Andrew the three wheeler, and he was busy trying to change one of its tires. He has quite a mind for vehicle repairs. I guess we can truly consider ourselves homesteaders, since Sunday another family brought us our first tractor! Too bad it doesn't work. The guys were out today, trying to get it to start.
The goats were all brought into our barn area for the fall/winter. It took a while for them to decide who was head honcho; finally things have settled down and they all tolerate each other.
David decided it would be fun to get Samson to sleep with him in Peter's bottom bunk.I took this photo through the bedroom window, so the boys didn't know it was taken. Friends gave Andrew the three wheeler, and he was busy trying to change one of its tires. He has quite a mind for vehicle repairs. I guess we can truly consider ourselves homesteaders, since Sunday another family brought us our first tractor! Too bad it doesn't work. The guys were out today, trying to get it to start. The goats were all brought into our barn area for the fall/winter. It took a while for them to decide who was head honcho; finally things have settled down and they all tolerate each other.Back to Business
It has been a very beautiful day today. Can't believe it's in the 60's and sunny -- and almost the end of October! The younger boys are upstairs doing what our friend Steve calls the "bean dance," which is jumping on the dried bean pods to harvest our navy, kidney and great northern beans. Peter went to town with Jim to mail the homeschool association newsletters I processed this morning, and I just came back from a trip to the mailbox to check for mail. I was kind of forced outside, since our wood stove decided to back up again for the nth time. I have a feeling we should give up on using it until Jim decides what he is going to do with it. The pipe outside is not reaching above the roof line, so we've had a lot of backdrafting. At least we have floor heat to fall back on until we make some decisions and do what we have to do to use wood heat again.
About 2 weeks ago we managed to butcher close to a third of our chickens. Jonathan was determined this time to keep the skin on them, so they devised a cauldron type thing to scald the chickens. They used an old pressure canner and suspended it with chain over a fire, utilizing a thermocouple to check the temperature of the water. It worked slick, and I had no complaints when the plucked and gutted (or should I say "eviscerated") chickens made their way into the house. I need to review the Mesko family's DVD on chicken butchering and Herrick Kimball's tutorial on chicken butchering because I did a terrible job of cutting up the chickens to place in the freezer. I finally got so tired of trying to find joints to separate the parts that I made quite a few knives dull by just cutting through the bone!
The boys and I returned last Thurs. from our big trip to my folks' place near Duluth, MN, and attended my niece's wedding. We had lots of car trouble, but thankfully limped successfully to Mom and Dad's house. I parked the car, and scheduled it to go into the shop the following Monday morning. Unfortunately, by that time the car quit acting up! We had a very special time with family. Uncle Mike and Uncle Mark made sure the boys has a great time, and Grandpa W. taught them how to make box joints. They even came back with a jig for making them. I'm looking forward to lots of boxes for storage. Uncle Mike sent back a trailer full of different types of wood for them to build their creations.
I'm not mentioning any names (!!), but when visiting I stepped down on carpeting and thought I had landed on a needle. Trying to be nonchalant, I took a peek, and it wasn't a needle -- it was a porcupine quill! One of them was doing quill work, and accidentally dropped a quill. Needless to say, I found it for her. I had stepped fairly hard on the quill, so it required pliers to pull it out. Ouch! Now I can empathize with our dog when he had to have quills pulled from his nose and mouth area. I did benefit, though, as for my birthday I received a beautiful pair of quill earrings.
We were gone a total of 8 days, and it was very hard for me to leave my folks. Hopefully the Lord will make a way for us to visit everyone at least a couple of times every year. I am very thankful for emails and the ability to make long distance phone calls.
Jim was busy when we were gone as well. Since I took the family car he was pretty much stuck here, but had plenty to keep him busy. We have 2 bee hives, and he managed to extract a couple of gallons of honey. I am glad I wasn't here when he did it! He also had to deal with one of our tomcats that decided to kill 2 of our laying hens (caught him red handed in the chicken coop with a newly killed chicken), and a dog that had 6 puppies. Jim was our official goat milker and goat chaser when they decided to get out of the fence, and very capably took care of all the daily chores. He also teaches 2 live online Algebra courses on Mondays and Thursdays, so he was unable to go on the road with us. We were very thankful that he was a good sport and took care of everything for us.
I celebrated my birthday while we were gone, and Jim and the boys bought "me" a digital camera. I must say I need to learn how to use it, but the boys have already mastered all the bells and whistles. Hopefully we will now be able to post more photos on our blogs.
About 2 weeks ago we managed to butcher close to a third of our chickens. Jonathan was determined this time to keep the skin on them, so they devised a cauldron type thing to scald the chickens. They used an old pressure canner and suspended it with chain over a fire, utilizing a thermocouple to check the temperature of the water. It worked slick, and I had no complaints when the plucked and gutted (or should I say "eviscerated") chickens made their way into the house. I need to review the Mesko family's DVD on chicken butchering and Herrick Kimball's tutorial on chicken butchering because I did a terrible job of cutting up the chickens to place in the freezer. I finally got so tired of trying to find joints to separate the parts that I made quite a few knives dull by just cutting through the bone!
The boys and I returned last Thurs. from our big trip to my folks' place near Duluth, MN, and attended my niece's wedding. We had lots of car trouble, but thankfully limped successfully to Mom and Dad's house. I parked the car, and scheduled it to go into the shop the following Monday morning. Unfortunately, by that time the car quit acting up! We had a very special time with family. Uncle Mike and Uncle Mark made sure the boys has a great time, and Grandpa W. taught them how to make box joints. They even came back with a jig for making them. I'm looking forward to lots of boxes for storage. Uncle Mike sent back a trailer full of different types of wood for them to build their creations.
I'm not mentioning any names (!!), but when visiting I stepped down on carpeting and thought I had landed on a needle. Trying to be nonchalant, I took a peek, and it wasn't a needle -- it was a porcupine quill! One of them was doing quill work, and accidentally dropped a quill. Needless to say, I found it for her. I had stepped fairly hard on the quill, so it required pliers to pull it out. Ouch! Now I can empathize with our dog when he had to have quills pulled from his nose and mouth area. I did benefit, though, as for my birthday I received a beautiful pair of quill earrings.
We were gone a total of 8 days, and it was very hard for me to leave my folks. Hopefully the Lord will make a way for us to visit everyone at least a couple of times every year. I am very thankful for emails and the ability to make long distance phone calls.
Jim was busy when we were gone as well. Since I took the family car he was pretty much stuck here, but had plenty to keep him busy. We have 2 bee hives, and he managed to extract a couple of gallons of honey. I am glad I wasn't here when he did it! He also had to deal with one of our tomcats that decided to kill 2 of our laying hens (caught him red handed in the chicken coop with a newly killed chicken), and a dog that had 6 puppies. Jim was our official goat milker and goat chaser when they decided to get out of the fence, and very capably took care of all the daily chores. He also teaches 2 live online Algebra courses on Mondays and Thursdays, so he was unable to go on the road with us. We were very thankful that he was a good sport and took care of everything for us.
I celebrated my birthday while we were gone, and Jim and the boys bought "me" a digital camera. I must say I need to learn how to use it, but the boys have already mastered all the bells and whistles. Hopefully we will now be able to post more photos on our blogs.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Indian Summer
We had a beautiful day today, definitely our Indian Summer. Good thing, because we have a lot to do before winter hits.
A lot has transpired since my last post almost a month ago. Jim made his trip to Albuquerque, NM for a HSLDA leadership conference, and two days later his folks arrived for a visit from New Hampshire. It was a later in the year visit than normal, and the temps were a lot cooler than they were used to. We hadn't had any rain to speak of since July -- and then it rained the last 3 days they were visiting. We all enjoyed having Grammy and Grandpa here, and the time went much too quickly. I'm sure we'll be posting some photos in the future. I think the highlight for the boys was making a potato cannon with Grandpa. That thing could really shoot! Amazing what you can do with hairspray.
We have also been working feverishly on our "to do" lists. The boys cleaned out the garden areas, insulated the goat barn, installed protection for our fruit trees (in broad daylight a few days ago Jim spotted a deer in the garden, calmly eating raspberry leaves), hauled haybales closer to the barn, constructed a shelter for the pigs, and I forget what else. Jim has completed the floor that will separate the 2 floors of our house. He also built a box for the potatoes that were dug yesterday. They will be kept from freezing by heat from the woodstove which will come through a hole in the floor to the basement just above the woodstove. Hopefully it will work.
I still have tomatoes and apples to process, but that will have to be placed on the shelf until later. Tomorrow we will butcher 25-30 chickens. Not my favorite job, but a necessary one. Instead of just taking off the chickens' skin with the feathers they opted to try to scald the carcasses and then pluck the feathers ... Guess we need a Whizbang Chicken Plucker , but that will have to wait for another year.
Later this week the boys and I will travel 900 miles to help celebrate my niece's wedding and visit my family. What a blessing that by the end of the month the boys will have spent special time with both sets of grandparents. The visits are too few and far in between, and hopefully some day we can make more trips to visit both families. Jim will stay behind with all the animals. I have a very large "to do" list for him, and we'll see how much he can get done! Our dog may have her puppies while we are gone, and we'll see what kind of a midwife Jim turns out to be.
A lot has transpired since my last post almost a month ago. Jim made his trip to Albuquerque, NM for a HSLDA leadership conference, and two days later his folks arrived for a visit from New Hampshire. It was a later in the year visit than normal, and the temps were a lot cooler than they were used to. We hadn't had any rain to speak of since July -- and then it rained the last 3 days they were visiting. We all enjoyed having Grammy and Grandpa here, and the time went much too quickly. I'm sure we'll be posting some photos in the future. I think the highlight for the boys was making a potato cannon with Grandpa. That thing could really shoot! Amazing what you can do with hairspray.
We have also been working feverishly on our "to do" lists. The boys cleaned out the garden areas, insulated the goat barn, installed protection for our fruit trees (in broad daylight a few days ago Jim spotted a deer in the garden, calmly eating raspberry leaves), hauled haybales closer to the barn, constructed a shelter for the pigs, and I forget what else. Jim has completed the floor that will separate the 2 floors of our house. He also built a box for the potatoes that were dug yesterday. They will be kept from freezing by heat from the woodstove which will come through a hole in the floor to the basement just above the woodstove. Hopefully it will work.
I still have tomatoes and apples to process, but that will have to be placed on the shelf until later. Tomorrow we will butcher 25-30 chickens. Not my favorite job, but a necessary one. Instead of just taking off the chickens' skin with the feathers they opted to try to scald the carcasses and then pluck the feathers ... Guess we need a Whizbang Chicken Plucker , but that will have to wait for another year.
Later this week the boys and I will travel 900 miles to help celebrate my niece's wedding and visit my family. What a blessing that by the end of the month the boys will have spent special time with both sets of grandparents. The visits are too few and far in between, and hopefully some day we can make more trips to visit both families. Jim will stay behind with all the animals. I have a very large "to do" list for him, and we'll see how much he can get done! Our dog may have her puppies while we are gone, and we'll see what kind of a midwife Jim turns out to be.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Lots to Do
It's one of those days when I'm trying to decide what to do first: Tomatoes to be canned, already canned ones to box up and find somewhere to put them, herbs on the table ready to be dried, bread to bake ... The weather is windy, cloudy and a bit rainy, and not at all enticing me to go outside. The boys are out doing their chores before breakfast. So much to do before winter sets in. Jim and the boys will help out some friends later today with taking down a shed, so I better get organized and get busy.
Thankfully yesterday was one of those Indian summer days, and I was able to get clothes dried on the clotheslines. However, when I walked over there with a load of towels I couldn't figure out why I was hearing a lot of buzzing going on. I soon discovered that Jim had hung his bee suit on the lines -- and the bees found it. Guess he must have spilled some honey on the suit. I didn't dare get too close, as they looked pretty crabby. We have 2 hives and it's time to extract. Out of necessity Jim created a honey extractor out of a large plastic barrel, but the day wasn't warm enough to keep the honey running and so they will wait. I'm beginning to wonder if we will actually have a warm enough day yet to get the honey to the point where he can extract it. I'm hoping he doesn't decide to bring the frames into the house!
I am very thankful to be done for the time being at the retreat center where I filled in for a week. I think I had a touch of the emotions a mom would have that works out of the home; come to think of it, I probably felt what a dad would also feel when there is the yearning just to be home with his family. It was hard when Jim would stop by with the boys to say hi on their way somewhere -- I just wanted to go with them. I guess I didn't realize how good I had it until I didn't. The extra income will be helpful, but I wondered sometimes if it was worth it. I would come home at night totally exhausted, and had nothing to give the boys either emotionally or physically.
Time to get busy. This Saturday will be our last farmer's market of the season, and the town is having something called Oktoberfest (in Sept. yet!). Jim and the boys were also asked to play their bluegrass for an hour somewhere in the festivities. Jim's folks will be heading our way for a week in early October, and then shortly after that we will head to the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" to visit my folks and attend my niece's wedding. Sure is a lot going on.
Thankfully yesterday was one of those Indian summer days, and I was able to get clothes dried on the clotheslines. However, when I walked over there with a load of towels I couldn't figure out why I was hearing a lot of buzzing going on. I soon discovered that Jim had hung his bee suit on the lines -- and the bees found it. Guess he must have spilled some honey on the suit. I didn't dare get too close, as they looked pretty crabby. We have 2 hives and it's time to extract. Out of necessity Jim created a honey extractor out of a large plastic barrel, but the day wasn't warm enough to keep the honey running and so they will wait. I'm beginning to wonder if we will actually have a warm enough day yet to get the honey to the point where he can extract it. I'm hoping he doesn't decide to bring the frames into the house!
I am very thankful to be done for the time being at the retreat center where I filled in for a week. I think I had a touch of the emotions a mom would have that works out of the home; come to think of it, I probably felt what a dad would also feel when there is the yearning just to be home with his family. It was hard when Jim would stop by with the boys to say hi on their way somewhere -- I just wanted to go with them. I guess I didn't realize how good I had it until I didn't. The extra income will be helpful, but I wondered sometimes if it was worth it. I would come home at night totally exhausted, and had nothing to give the boys either emotionally or physically.
Time to get busy. This Saturday will be our last farmer's market of the season, and the town is having something called Oktoberfest (in Sept. yet!). Jim and the boys were also asked to play their bluegrass for an hour somewhere in the festivities. Jim's folks will be heading our way for a week in early October, and then shortly after that we will head to the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" to visit my folks and attend my niece's wedding. Sure is a lot going on.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Lots of Preparations to Do
This is why (we had a very heavy frost last Sunday night, and most of our tomato and pepper plants died):
Tonight
Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 40s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Wednesday
Partly sunny. Slight chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 60s. South winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain showers in the evening...then chance of rain showers and snow showers after midnight. Windy. Lows around 40. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph increasing to 20 to 30 mph. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of rain showers. Highs in the upper 40s. Northwest winds 15 to 25 mph increasing to 25 to 35 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain showers and snow showers in the evening...then partly cloudy after midnight. Widespread frost after midnight. Lows around 30. Northwest winds 15 to 25 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph after midnight.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 50s.
Tonight
Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 40s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Wednesday
Partly sunny. Slight chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 60s. South winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain showers in the evening...then chance of rain showers and snow showers after midnight. Windy. Lows around 40. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph increasing to 20 to 30 mph. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of rain showers. Highs in the upper 40s. Northwest winds 15 to 25 mph increasing to 25 to 35 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain showers and snow showers in the evening...then partly cloudy after midnight. Widespread frost after midnight. Lows around 30. Northwest winds 15 to 25 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph after midnight.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 50s.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
A Note to Check In
Tonight I heard something that we've all been waiting for ... David came running in and informed me, "Mom, the corn's ready!" Whew, we were afraid it would not be ripe before we had a heavy frost. We've already had a few light frosts, but more in the valley and not up where the gardens are situated. We have so much left to do before winter, and I hope we can get it all done.
Tomorrow is my big day for baking bread, buns, muffins, etc. for the Saturday farmer's market in town. The boys sell garden produce, and I have gotten into the act by selling baked goods. I still can hardly believe that people no longer do their own baking, but are willing to buy it from me. Homemade bread is old hat to our family, but apparently it's quite a novelty for others. I've also been selling strawberry and raspberry jam, wild plum and chokecherry syrup, and may try selling hawthorne jelly. I didn't realize how much pectin is found naturally in hawthorne berries, so it may be a bit thick. We'll have to try out a jar of it in the morning and decide if I should sell it or not.
I also agreed to help out the local retreat center by filling in as cook until they hire a new one. I will start on Sunday, and hope all goes well. Hopefully they will hire someone soon, because I have lots of canning left to do. Our tomatoes are close to being ripe, and I have only canned 7 quarts of them so far.
Jim and the boys have been working on the main floor of our house. They may have the floor between the main and 2nd floor done soon, and we'll see how far we can get before it's too cold to work in there. It sure is nice to at least have storage up there.
I guess David (8) had a little bit of excitement today. When David is around, there's always excitement! Part of his chores is to feed our two pigs. The older boys put together a new pen for them with newly purchased hog panels, and David was trying to get the feed over to the pig's feeding bucket and promptly fell in head first! I am very leery of pigs, since I've heard how mean they can be. The boys quickly informed me that these two pigs love being scratched and are very friendly. Guess I haven't been down there to check them out for a while. All I know is every time I walk to the clotheslines to hang up wet clothes they think my laundry basket is their slop bucket and start squealing!
I would love to show you some photos of all the activity around here, but our digital camera is currently not working.
Tomorrow is my big day for baking bread, buns, muffins, etc. for the Saturday farmer's market in town. The boys sell garden produce, and I have gotten into the act by selling baked goods. I still can hardly believe that people no longer do their own baking, but are willing to buy it from me. Homemade bread is old hat to our family, but apparently it's quite a novelty for others. I've also been selling strawberry and raspberry jam, wild plum and chokecherry syrup, and may try selling hawthorne jelly. I didn't realize how much pectin is found naturally in hawthorne berries, so it may be a bit thick. We'll have to try out a jar of it in the morning and decide if I should sell it or not.
I also agreed to help out the local retreat center by filling in as cook until they hire a new one. I will start on Sunday, and hope all goes well. Hopefully they will hire someone soon, because I have lots of canning left to do. Our tomatoes are close to being ripe, and I have only canned 7 quarts of them so far.
Jim and the boys have been working on the main floor of our house. They may have the floor between the main and 2nd floor done soon, and we'll see how far we can get before it's too cold to work in there. It sure is nice to at least have storage up there.
I guess David (8) had a little bit of excitement today. When David is around, there's always excitement! Part of his chores is to feed our two pigs. The older boys put together a new pen for them with newly purchased hog panels, and David was trying to get the feed over to the pig's feeding bucket and promptly fell in head first! I am very leery of pigs, since I've heard how mean they can be. The boys quickly informed me that these two pigs love being scratched and are very friendly. Guess I haven't been down there to check them out for a while. All I know is every time I walk to the clotheslines to hang up wet clothes they think my laundry basket is their slop bucket and start squealing!
I would love to show you some photos of all the activity around here, but our digital camera is currently not working.
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