Buster gets company at 5:30 AM

For Rhys

Three Ponies

Arthur Guiterman

Three little ponies who didn't like their hay

Said to each other "Let's run away!"

Said the first "I will canter!"

Said the second "I will trot!"

Said the third "I will run if it's not too hot!"

And they all started off

With their tails in the air.

But they couldn't jump the fence

So they're all still there.

Except this time they made it - from the farm across the valley all the way to our house.

P.S. They liked our hay just fine.

Waiting

for Santa and a bit of snow ...

You've got to be kidding me...

Today I tried to plant the small apple tree you see in the background. Its trunk has the diameter of my index finger and the root ball is not very large either. It needed a modest hole and I couldn't believe it when I started digging - check out the mountain of rocks that came out of that small hole ! Somebody ought to invent a rock radar - like the radar on a boat that shows what's under the water - so you know where not to dig.

Other than that it was a beautiful day here in the country .

Spring !

Today is a perfect March day; there is a strong wind, it's not cold, there are dramatic bursts of sunshine alternating with equally dramatic clouds, which makes for totally dramatic shadows on the landscape.

The grass is visibly getting a bit greener every day and everywhere green shoots are pushing out of the ground.

Each day there is something new to discover; if you don't pay attention , you'll miss the latest happening.

You have to look under the bushes to find the snowdrops - in Germany they are called Schneegloeckchen - Snow Bells - a rather apt name.I haven't heard them ring, but last night we heard a sure sign of spring for the first time this year. Peepers !

Inside there is a burst of creativity as well. A secret project for the next birthday this month. Don't peek if it's yours !

A basket full of leftover yarn turned into something useful and was a lot of fun to make.

Stashbuster spiral socks for a little grandson. How cute are these ?

What creative things are you engaged in to celebrate the beginning of spring ?

Something is afoot...

Goodbye chickens - hello coq au vin !

Even though I'm trying to be matter of fact about the demise of the chickens, I obviously wasn't as cool and calm as I thought - look how shaky the last chicken picture is.

They are being "processed" as I write and will be ready for the table in just a few hours.Thank goodness we don't have to do it ourselves ; in the nick of time we found a farm which will kill, pluck, eviscerate and bag the chickens,i.e. " process"them. Chicken barbeque anyone ?

Maybe the chickens should have engaged this artist to escape their fate ?

We're making cider...sort of

Here's the newly built cider press. It has a 1.5 ton jack which pushes down on a plate inside the tube to squash the apples and squeeze out the juice.



Here we go - cutting up apples and grinding them in the food processor. The ground apples are then placed in a cloth and made into a sort of bag, which is put into the hole in the tube. The jack then descends and exerts pressure.



Hurray, we have juice and it tastes pretty good !



Uh oh !!!! Too much pressure is bowing the metal grate under the tube ! There are ominous cracklings and poppings. Stop the press !



The mechanical crew ( composed of T ) has gone to the barn to figure out how to fix our problem. Here is the cider we have made so far.

Weekend Update

The chickens are definitely progressing from cute to dinner !






In a week to 10 days, the only survivor will be the little black chicken - our " free, exotic chick "which is included in every order of chicks from Murray McMurray, our favorite chicken seller.

Chicken Update

Several of you have been wondering how the baby chickens are doing. I have managed to persuade a few to take time out from their busy schedule for a few photographs.

Here's a head shot

Full profile

Did you say you wanted to see some feathers ?

And now we really have to get back to our regularly scheduled program : eating and drinking, interspersed by short naps.

End of summer

Eating locally is just too easy right now for those of us living in the country with a big vegetable garden. Every day I bring in baskets and buckets full of vegetables and fruit - the problem is using it all up fast enough before it becomes overripe. The kitchen is humming along at top speed : there is tomato sauce bubbling on the stove to be canned later, peppers are being chopped for freezing, apples need to be pared for apple sauce, and someone needs to help cut up those green beans, but woven through all that activity is a bittersweet good-bye to summer and all its bounty.

These early fall days make the gardener very aware that soon all harvest will cease with the first frost. Today I picked the last cucumbers for this year. Funny, how I suddenly value the odd fruit or two now and how much I appreciate it . Just a few weeks ago there was such an abundance of cucumbers , that I picked only the youngest and slimmest and the rest went to the chickens. Hmmm, seems like there is a moral here somewhere....

The Eat Local Challenge is about to ratchet up a notch, however. Tomorrow morning we start on a 10 day trip through New England with the Easy Houseguests and the big question is how we will be able to keep eating locally on the road. I've done my homework and found out a few restaurants in Maine, where local food is served, thanks to Liz at Pocket Farm, but what and where will we eat the rest of the time ? Stay tuned for road trip adventures.

And so to bed.

One week later...

Look who's getting feathers !

!

And drinking like grown-up chickens !

We're very proud of our acomplishments here at the farm !

Labor Day Weekend

We really did labor this weekend mowing the pastures, clearing the garden of spent plants, mulching and composting ,getting ready for fall and winter.




T put together a new composting machine ( Finished Compost in A Mere SIX Days !!! ) It's fun to fill up the compartments to see whether it really will turn into compost that fast. The idea is to turn the drums every day - there's a handle on the right , aerating the contents and thus speeding up the decomposing process.

I was going to show pictures of all the lovely meals I had cooked for the Eat Local Challenge, but they all disappeared as soon as they hit the table. I'm beginning to wonder if the Eat Local Challenge is turning into a Butternut Squash Challenge here at chez RFD. We have a wheelbarrow full of squashes and have eaten them for every meal for days !
First I roasted cubes of peeled butternut with some butter and finished with a sprinkle of brown sugar - elegant with a roasted chicken and a green bean salad with sweet SunSugar cherry tomatoes, garlic and basil.

Next, I sauteed slices of squash in olive oil, garlic and a splash of white wine, why not ? I also cooked slices in butter and oil with garlic and then removed the squash from the pan and deglazed the pan with red wine vinegar and a little brown sugar until the latter had caramelized and poured this over the squash - divine ! This squash is terrific hot, warm or cold, even straight out of the refrigerator if you want a little snack.

I am beginning to wonder if we are sufferingfrom a vitamin A deficiency ( butternut is high in A ) or if we are simply eating seasonally as well as locally.

Blackberries - now picking

The sign said " Blackberries - now picking " and we couldn't resist. T and I drove in the lane of a lovely little farm complete with pond, cows, hayfield and a field full of berry bushes.

And what tremendous berries they were ! I had never seen such huge blackberries. In no time at all we had picked two pans full, plus a bonus pot of raspberries .

We took the berries to be weighed under an apple tree and learned from the old farmer that the blackberries are called Triple Crown , which grow particularly well in our area.

What a wonderful way to spend a few hours in the late afternoon sun, storing up the summer sights and sounds, to be remembered when the snow is blowing around the house and we are making a pot of tea to go with our toast and blackberry jam.