August Ramos Up

The harvest is beginning. Forget whatever you've heard about "Fall harvest". The harvest is here. That means busy time for farmers and families alike.  And Croteau's Corner is no different. At the same time we are getting ready for back to school and all the preparation that entails, we are canning and preserving the fruits of the earth. Just this week we put up green beans, carrots, beets, and pickles. And I tried my hand at canning a vegetable soup with chicken broth made from the unfortunate rooster that walked up the driveway last weekend. 

Which said rooster and the positive experience we had at Wilcox Poultry Provessing in Brown City has inspired us to keep some meat birds for the last quarter of the year and put up some chickens of our own for the winter. I can't wait for the experience. And I am still anticipating the arrival of the goats in the spring. 

But this week I have grandkids Matthew and Jacob here, and they are learning some of the tricks and skills of home food preserving alongside me. I had them out in the garden pulling the beets, they helped snap beans, and watched the pressure gauge on the canner while we canned the food. They watched as the bags of raw food on the counter dwindled, and the stack of filled canning jars grew. They ate the homemade chicken soup and pronounced it "great." They begged for more homemade treats. It was a wonderful experience for me to expand their horizons. 

With all the foods available I am trying new recipes and new opportunities to preserve food. Tomorrow I am making zucchini bread (nothing new) but I am also looking at preserving some hamburger in cans, and taking some of the pressure off the freezer. Out here (as well as in the city) the freezer is, of course, dependent upon the vagaries of the electrical grid. If the grid fails, we have about 36 hours to use the gas stove to can up the meat in the freezer. So rather than wait for that to happen, I'm going to try pressure canning the meat we have now. Many people have inspired me to try, and I guess it's time. 

So there's much to do and much to learn. As I was talking with my cousin Debbie this afternoon, I mentioned how I was forging new territory that my mother never tried. I learned to can tomatoes, peaches, pears, and chili at her knee. We had a summer kitchen in the basement so we could can in more comfort. But she was afraid of the pressure canner, and stuck only with the kinds of foods she could safely water-bath can. I hope she would be proud of me for stretching my wings even now, and continuing to learn and try new things. I hope she would appreciate the ways I am preserving the harvest and the traditions of the farm with my grandkids. I hope she is looking down with approval this August and nodding her head and smiling and understanding that all I do I rooted in what she taught me. 

So the harvest rolls on. 

Dog Days

Mark says these are the dog days.  No more enthusiasm for the chores and responsibilities of summer.  No enthusiasm for preparations for the coming winter (and you know it's coming). No energy for keeping up the farm, the gardens, the interior, the exterior.  Just the lethargy that long hot days brings.  

I look today out at the farm and I see so much that didn't get done that is now too late.  Seeds that did not make it into the ground.  Earth that did not get worked.  Weeds that are taking over the fields.  Work that still needs to be done.  Harvest that is still burgeoning and preparing to ripen to fruition in the coming weeks.  This is the push now, the downhill days to the fall preparations for the cold.  Tomatoes that will be made into sauces, beets and cukes to pickle, beans and carrots to preserve.  Corn to pray for, eat, and save.  Fruit trees to buy and plant to prepare for next spring.  Always looking forward, looking to what went awry this year, and plans for fixing it for next year.  

Still need to put the gutters on the house.  Have to buy the pipes for the two new wood burning stoves.  Footings must be dug and poured for the chimney for the house, block laid, stones placed.  Stoves must be installed and wood procured (from our woods or purchased).   The goat house must be planned for early in the spring, the chicken house must be insulated and heated for this winter.  Plans, plans, and no energy.  

These are the days for planning, and waiting, and poising on the brink, alert for the first crisp breeze, the first cool rain, the changing of the leaves that signals the need for action, the moment when these plans must be implemented, the move made in order to be prepared.  The signal that says, now.  The dog days are over, and now is the time for action.  The hot, sultry summer is waning and the need to act is now.  

And so we wait.....

Summer's here - 9 June

Finally!  A day off.  I have been working two jobs since November and while that has paid off in terms of building the farm, it is not conducive to actually working on the farm.  So today I finally had some down time and a chance to work on spring (summer?) planting.  We put in peas, but I am not hopeful for them.   We will also try again in September for a late crop.  Mark put in tomatoes a couple weeks ago, and they look good.  I also put in some cucumbers and planted onion starts, beets, and broccoli then.  Today I got in quite a bit.  We have corn, potatoes, beans and cabbage, The sunflowers are up against the far fence and I will get the pumpkins started, too.
These are hot, sultry days.  The humidity is high and we have had several rainy days.  Today was sunny and cloudy and warm.  Thank goodness, or I would never have gotten anything done.  I am looking forward to plenty more time to plant in the next couple of days because school has ended and I only have one job for the next ten weeks.  Since I am only available afternoons and evenings, I will have all my days to work on the farm!
I have some flower gardening to do as well, and will post up pics when I am done.  I am putting Lily of the Valley up by the house, and peonies down where Mark panted the lilac bush.  I bought the big elephant ear hostas and will put those down around the trees in the back.  I want to put a patio down back this summer, too, so we can spend some cool summer evenings down there.  At least we can look out on the yard instead of the driveway!
And a pool.  Jacob and Zach worked pretty hard today to get the planting done, and mentioned that they would like a pool.  And while I can't get a big pool, a small cooling-off wader would be nice.
More to come in the next few weeks.

Lurching through Winter

It is January again, and a blessing compared to the January of last year.  We have had no polar vortices, compared to at least three last year, and little snow.  Today as the east Coast is being hammered by FEET of snow, I am looking out a cold, sunny landscape, devoid of a blizzard, warmed by thoughts of spring. 
And we are preparing for spring at the Corner. 
Today I ordered 27 new girls, laying hens that should be laying eggs by July.  We can't fill our egg orders now, and we will have to wait for the new girls to grow.  We will pick them up on 10 February, and I am looking forward to a day trip out to Zeeland to get them. We are truly blessed to have a hatchery like Townline in Michigan that has chicks so early so we can get a good start on the 2015 season.
Anni's Heirloom Seeds has been sending out info on the new planting season, offering enticements to order seeds now.  The Northern homesteader garden has 35 varieties of seeds and is only 87.50, but this week they are offering a 10% discount to order early. 
 
Started this in January.  I still like the image of lurching through the winter.  Only thing is, I didn't realize what was still ahead for February.  Polar vortices, and fiveof them this year, all climaxing in a -30 temperature reading on my truck thermometer.  So now if feels more like shambling through winter...

Well.  Glad we're through that.  I did get the seeds, and we are getting ready to start the cooler weather varieties.  We got the chicks in February, too, and Mark already built the enclose for them in the basement.  Between how fast they're growing, and how many I bought (27), we're going to need an early  thaw to get them outside soon.  

I haven't been as dedicated to the running as I should have, but I didn't quit entirely.  As a matter of fact, it is 32 degrees outside and that is warm enough to run, or at least walk fast, so I will be heading out as soon as I finish this to get some exercise.  The sun was shining brightly this morning, but I think clouds have moved in, but it felt good to have a small ray of hope that this winter is gasping for its last breaths.  So off I go, and will begin writing more as there is more to communicate in the spring.  Until then, stay warm, and keep hope.  Warmer days are coming.