Update

Hello reader. Well not a lot has been happening on the farm. This weekend we were away for a few days for a friends wedding. It wall went well and Cooper and the chickens were fine for 2 days. I took a little time to start insulating the chicken coop. I think it is going to be a bigger job than I thought. I need to finish the electric this week as well. The chickens have been laying eggs like crazy. There were 20 eggs in the coop when we got back Saturday afternoon !
Jess decided to bake a bit this afternoon. She made some squash dip and baked some buns. We had them with my friends apricot-habanero jam. I am currently filtering the peaches and vodka mix we made earlier this summer. It takes along time to filter with coffee filters but it looks crystal clear. I think I need to rack my dandelion wine and look into starting a batch of rhubarb wine. I had to harvest 5 lb's of rhubarb that was damaged by the wind while we were away.
Thats it for tonight I think.

Update

Well I got the garlic planted this weekend. I planted the following varities in 2 rows each starting closest to the house. German extra hardy, Broadleaf Czech,Music,Chrysalis Purple,Shevelisi,Persian Star. I still have alot of garlic left to plant but the raised bed that I had built wasn't large enough. I still need to put straw over it as a mulch till next summer.
I also built a trellis around the raspberries. I used steel posts and wire. I need to add twine to hold the canes. The Chickens are doing well. They are growing well and providing us with lots of eggs. We have eaten hardboiled eggs, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, and have made other egg dishes as well. We also bought an ice cream maker. Jess made vanilla and chocolate ice cream already. We can also use the machine to make sorbet and gelato. I look forward to making raspberry or rhubarb sorbet. Maybe even cherry or plum. It will be a great way to preserve next years harvest.

Rick

eggs eggs and more eggs

Well we have a ton of eggs on hand now. I have been getting around 6 a day the last few days.
I guess I have to sell a few soon. We used a few this evening for lunch though. Jess and I got a spaetzel maker and had spaetzel and left over coq au vin from last night. If you have the means I highly recommend it.
Rick

Update

Hey all,
Sorry it has been so long since my last update. Alot has gone on. Last weekend was the Autumn Brew Review. We always have a great time with this one. The weather was rainy but cleared up in the afternoon. The beers were great. I particularly like some of the berry brews by Fitgers Ale House. I realized that I could brew a thin ale and then add raspberries next fall to make a sort of Framboise. I really like that idea.
Lots of things have been happening around the home as well. Jess and I have decided to try and eat nothing but home raised foods next October. We are planning on making exceptions for things we won't be able to raise like tropicals. ( Coffee, Chocolate, Pepper) and stables that we don't have the capability to produce, (Salt,Flour,Olive Oil, Dairy,Sugar,Malt). I look on this as an experiment in micro-farming and also in just what work would be required to feed us year round.
As for the garden we still have peppers and leafy greens (habaneros ready for freezing above). The twig method of trellising peas hasn't worked out well. I built a cedar and plastic raised bed and am filling it with soil to plant up the garlic.
3 eggs this morning.

Take care.

Eggs

Well I installed 2 nest boxes into the coop tonight. Hopefully the chickens will take to them and I can stop having to hunt for eggs in the bedding. I ate 2 small eggs this evening. I decided that hard boiling them would feel safer. I worry about doing something wrong but so far the eggs are OK. I noticed that one seemed larger than the others so I am hoping for more like that. Also 2 roosters will meet their fate this Wednesday I think.

Goodnight.

Eggs!

Well I guess I was wrong about how long it might be before we got eggs from the hens. I found these while cleaning out the coop this evening. I finished up the cleaning and started to build the chickens some nest boxes. I got 2 boxes finished I plan to build a few more this weekend.

Pumkin seeds and hot hot sauce

Yesterday evening I made a batch of 4-8 hot sauce. It was the hot sauce recipe from the bell blue book. I modified it by cutting the sugar in half and using 4 Habaneros and 8 Thai dragon peppers.
To say it is hot is like saying Minnesota winters can be cold. I now just have to figure out what to do with so much of it.
I also roasted a pie pumpkin and froze the pulp for latter use in pies. I was planning on saving some of the seeds and roasting the rest. However there seems to be something wrong with the seeds, they seem to have curled up and punched out of the seed shells. I don't know what it means except that I will neither plant them nor eat them.

A quick note on dinner

Jess made chili for dinner. She made it from venison, onions, bell peppers and hot peppers we provided for ourselves. There really is alot of satisfaction in making a meal out of your own hard work. I guess I will have to grow kidney beans for next years chili.

PS I read I found this today and it reminded me of someone.

Rick

I am not dead.

Well it has been a while since I updated this page. I had to write if for no other reason to let my loyal reader know that I am not dead. I don't have a lot to tell you about today. Last weekend Jess and i made some rhubarb and raspberry jam. It was alot easier than I thought it would be. I will have to pick up some more pectin and make another batch of rhubarb jam yet this fall. I think I would need to reduce the sugar a bit however as I like a little more tartness in my food than most people.
I also got an opportunity to get out and do some small game hunting this season already. A friend of mine and I went out and shot a tiny squirrel. Not exactly a safari for wildebeest but we had a good time.
In micro-farming news, we lost a chicken last weekend to what I am assuming was a area cat. Also the tomato plants are done fro the season. I got a large shipment of garlic in for fall planting and need to build up a bed quickly.

I guess that is all for now.
Rick

Another Update

Well alot has happened since my last posting. Jess and I tried our hand at making a a batch of canned pickles. I think they look good. The weather has turned cold lately. The weather guy behind me is talking frost. I covered my peppers and lettuces this afternoon and put some hay in the chicken coop as well so I think we are ready. Still I hope we have some time yet before winter. I still have so much to do this fall. It just feels like we are in for an early and cold winter. Ah well.
Jess and I went to an event out at the Cedar Summit Farm last weekend. It was a fund raiser for Slow Food Minnesota. The food was great. I spoke a bit with a guy who runs a beer business in the cities. He reminded me that I really am lucky to have the place we do. I guess some times it takes a comment like ,"..Of course you do, You live in shangra-friggin-la!" to remind you how lucky you are. I sometimes get a bit overwhelmed by all the work that needs doing here but hearing things like that really helps.

Well keep warm.
Rick