Birthday Boy

Here he is... on the left. Festus is two years old today! As we speak, he's waiting for the poor unsuspecting cat to walk down the stairs so that he can try once again to kill her. Black Cat has gotten quicker as she's gotten older.... That kind of luck can't last forever.

Late Summer Kitchen

I suppose only one word describes this time of the year...'canning', or if you'd rather...'freezing'. For me, it's mostly canning... since the freezers are pretty full of pork, chicken and Icelandic cod when I can find a deal.
 The paste tomatoes are just getting into high gear, and deep inside I'm wishing for rain... or at least a cool spell, to justify spending a day in the kitchen hovering over a pot of simmering water. Until that day comes, it's tomato sandwiches with homemade mayo for breakfast... and lunch... but seriously, who's complaining?? Once I start canning tomatoes, I'm going to have to bring the pickles and peaches down to the root cellar... and right now, I've got another dinner to make! Here's hoping that everybodys problems are as life altering as mine...

Summer... no time for vacations

Another year has come and gone and I find myself doing the same things over and over again. I suppose if I expected different results,,, well, that be be the clinical definition of insanity. But alas, I've been cutting firewood, raising and butchering meat chickens, and working on the old homestead. I suppose if we're lucky we'll get another winter like last year... but luck is a fickle mistress, and I've got a feeling she's pissed off right about now. I'm not sure how older folks are going to deal with the ever increasing costs of heating fuels and electricity. While they've got my compassion, that generation is also the beneficiary of the best this economy and planet had to offer... we're left with the scraps... and to fend for ourselves. Enough complaining though, what did YOU do on your summer 'vacation' of 2012?

 

 

We had a terrific blueberry season. With seven of these cultivated bb bushes we managed to eat plenty and freeze even more!

 

 

 

 

This year I moved the meat bird operation to another area in need of 'fertilizer'. With the addition of quality bird netting and a fine job of fencing, I managed to ward off all of the red fox and red tailed hawk poaching that has troubled me in the past. I never really had a big loss... but the fox population has exploded this year and in hindsight, I'm glad I made the investment.

 

 

 

 

Most of the 60 Cornish Roasters came in dressed at 6 1/2 - 9lbs. It sure is nice to know the freezers are full.

 

 

 

 

The gardens and peach tree got off to a good start, but the early March hot spell and subsequent April hard freeze were enough to dispel any hopes of a good pear and apple harvest around these parts.

 

 

 

 

 

I've got lots of peaches canned and headed to the root cellar for Winter reminders of a long past Summer.

 

 

 

Festus took his job of protecting the peach tree very seriously this year. The little guy will be a whopping two years old on August 31st!

While it's been really dry here this summer, lots of watering... and having a pond across the road helps... has kept us growing and now canning up a storm, along with the dehydrator and a fair amount of freezing veggies, thing look pretty good even if mother nature deals us a bad hand this winter. With 7 cord of wood covered and ready... hell, I'm ready for whatever the old girl dishes out. And so is my back-up generator! 

 

Jack & Festus are already practicing their winter hibernation...

 

 

 

 

Summer takes hold

Finally, the constant rains that dominated most of May and June... with an occasional nice day thrown in just to get our hopes up... have moved North, allowing heat to build in New England.

The new batch of chickens are happy to have left the ark and walk on the dry land of Mt. Monadnock. Do you remember the smell of the inside of the school bus on rainy mornings? Well, add 75 chickens, who treat the world like their own personal toilet bowl, and maybe you can imagine what things were like around here... and I won't even mention the pigs!

Rain or not, the garden went in on Memorial Day weekend... and is really started to take off now. If we can avoid the late blight of a few years ago, we're in for a great season.

More fruit trees were planted this spring, Northern Spy Apples to be exact. The peaches, plums and pears are starting to mature, giving us larger crops every summer.

Garlic should be ready for harvest in a few days... now THAT should change the smell of things

around here!

missing time

It's been far too busy for blogging around here... planting gardens, raising meat chickens & pigs, cutting firewood... all that stuff. Our famous Narragansett Turkeys became proud parents last month. It was a very exciting time around here... (this is what passes for entertainment 'round these parts)...


It takes a long while for the little birds to work their way out of the shell...

Jack the dog was absolutely amazed that a living creature could pop out of something he enjoys eating so much... he was literally shaking during the entire process!

These two turkeys are already running around the yard, and mamma turkey laid a second clutch of eggs. Three of those hatched last week and the little chicks are in the small brooder growing like crazy.

That's a quick update... I'll post more when time allows. Until then, keep smilin'!

Live And Let Die

During these difficult economic times, we New Hampshire folks have to come together and help each other out. This Summer, when the 'out of staters' come back to their vacation houses here in the Great White North... it's going to be important that we show a little compassion. Some folks will be having trouble paying for the necessities of life... you know, the kid's riding lessons,the wife's tennis pro, the country club fees, the live-in nanny, the maids and butlers... I mean, do you know what it costs to tune up a Bentley!!

So, this Summer... whether it's at the gas station or the recycling center or the local sushi establishment... you may just bump into one of these poor folks... and this year it's far more likely they may actually speak with you... ya know, "morning"... or "how'z it going?" This is really a cry for help! You know damned well, under normal circumstances these folks would never give you the time of day... so lets all show them what New Hampshire is all about. Please consider making an anonymous donation of a million or two to help keep Buffy & Little Regis out of the soup kitchen this year.

We'll all sleep better knowing that when Summer is finally over, these poor slobs can still make it to Tahoe for the Christmas season. Thank you.

Sticky Fingers

Well, it's been a long while waiting for Spring to rear her elusive head, and nothing says SPRING in New Hampshire like the smell of boiling maple syrup. We only have a few sugar maples here on the farm... far more oak and red maple. My neighbors down the road at Delrossi's, our local high quality Italian trattoria & purveyor of acoustic guitars, banjos & fiddles, are good enough to let me tap some of their generations old trees. I boil sap the 'old fashioned' way... in a century old cast iron cauldron, with a wood fire.

It takes on average, about 40 gallons of sap to get 1 gallon of good syrup... but these old trees must give a higher sugar quality sap, because I always seem to get an extra pint or more from that same 40 gallons.

Jack has been through this before, and knows this is going to be a long day. Today, we started our fire at 7AM, hoping to get a jump on things.

Here we've got a good boil going....

The boys & I pose for a photo as afternoon passes... we ended with about 4 gallons of reduced sap by about 7:30. The next day we finished it off slowly on the big wood stove in the barn. This time around, I started with about 48 gallons of sap and ended up with a gallon and a half of dark amber syrup. The weather has been perfect lately, 20's at night and 40's during the day. Perfect temps for a good sap run. If all goes well, I'll get in 2 0r 3 more boils like this one. That should keep us in syrup for more than a year, with some extra for X-mas gifts!

Not everything around the farm is as exciting as boiling sap... but get your rest now, Jack...next month the piglets will be here!

A Ruckus On The Farm!

I haven't had a lot of time for posting lately, too busy keeping everyone warm around here... and cooking. I love to cook in the Winter!

The economic depression is finally creeping into New Hampshire. Usually, we're pretty well insulated (excuse the pun) from economic waves, as the hardcore yankee values common in these parts tend to curb excesses one way or another. Extreme poverty and perverse avarice don't sell well around here.

But like I said, some hardship is rearing its ugly head in my area. Why, just the other day some unemployed fella tried stealing one of my prize turkeys. The jerk will never try THAT again!

I'm not sure who those other folks were lurking in the yard... but we all had one hell of a laugh together!

Faces...

on a cold Winter's day...

Hey, at least the sun is shining!

One more day closer to Spring!

Dog Days of Winter

Baby, It's cold outside! It kinda makes you want to move your activities indoors. I wonder what other folks do to keep from going crazy this time of the year ... bears sleep... fish dodge trucks falling through the ice... a lot of us plan next Summer's garden with our bounty of seed catalogs. But when that's done, after taking the meat out out of the freezer and before starting to cook dinner...?



For me, the choice is easy... I've got a friend that is always there for me. Someone that never second guesses, and always wants to do what I want to do. Oh, and I don't mean my best friend, Jack the dog...

That's my secret love... my Gibson J-160e... isn't she beautiful?! And you ought to hear her sing! Actually, she sings a lot better than I do.... but at least she's in MY CONTROL! You other guys better find your own girl!


The audience that I play for is a bit critical, though. It helps to keep you on your toes. When they're not impressed... they just stare at me...

One things for sure, though... music does tend to sooth the savage beast!

What do YOU do to keep from going crazy this Winter??

January Thaw?

Here we are in the middle of January, and about half way through the wood pile. Every year it's the same thing. Mid January and half of my wood supply gone, a controlled panic starts to gnaw at me. But upon reflection, we always have enough wood to last until Spring. Figure... we start the basement stove in late September, and it runs steadily through March and sometimes a lot of April as well. So it makes sense that half of our seven and a half cords are gone. By the time the snow is gone and the stove cools down I'll be firing up the chain saws and wood splitter, just to start the whole cycle over again.

Heating with oil would be easier, but I can't grow my own... so this is the next best thing. Besides, have you ever tried cooking dinner on top of an oil burner?

Now I know what you're thinking... 'what a lucky guy, cooking potato pancakes on the wood cook stove, I sure wish I could be doing that!', but I've got to tell you all, It really isn't as easy as you might think. There are a lot of obstacles to cooking on a stove like this... things you might not think of at first glance. Let me explain,

For starters, you've really got to watch your step. A hot stove tends to attract the attention of various loiterers that you have to learn to work around. The good news is, if you drop any food on the floor... don't worry about having to bend over to pick it up!








The temperature is starting to moderated here on the side of Mt. Monadnock. It's up to +12F.


Thursday morning we had a reading of -15F and it got up to a whopping +5F for a high. Needless to say the chickens have been spending all of their time in the coop lately. The heat lamp in the ceiling points down on their waterer, keeping it thawed out, and with the additional light I'm still getting excellent egg production from my ladies. I've read various opinions about artificial light in the chicken coop... but the girls wouldn't appreciate life without the heat lamp... Winters are too long around here for that. I'd rather have happy chickens that lay well for a couple of years than miserable frozen birds that produce seasonally for 4+ years. I add 8 or 10 new birds to the flock every year to make up for the occasional fatality or untimely demise. That helps keep the egg supply steady too, as my neighbors have come to expect.








Even with all of these frigid nights, Mr. Tweedle, the tom turkey has yet to change his evening ritual. At sundown he flies onto the coop roof, and come morning he's still up there... only coming down when I show up with food... crazy bird.

Well, I guess that's just about it from our little farm for today... time to stoke the stove and pull out the guitar.
Next time I write, we'll have a new President! Something tells me we're all going to still be in the same freaking mess, though. Mary says that I should give Obama a chance, but as far as I can see... he's hired all of the same clowns that created our financial crisis... to try and get us out of it!? It doesn't make any sense to me... but then again... neither do 'securitized debt obligations' or 'credit default swaps'!

Oh well, see you at the waterin' hole....

Happy Birthday Pop Pop

100 Years

That used to sound like a heck of a long time... I'm not so sure anymore.

My Grandfather saw a lot in his life. Born to a BIG family, I'm pretty sure he was the baby. Like a lot of people back then, work was an important part of life. He served in the National Guard, and then the U.S. Navy.

When the United States joined in the Second Great War, Freddie reenlisted... known as 'Pops' to the younger volunteers. His vessel took part in the invasions of Sicily & North Africa. My Grandmother followed every move the Florence Nightingale and the U.S. Navy made as that war raged. Her journals, and every letter Freddie sent her are right here in her hope chest, a part of my home now. I joined the family in 1960. Pop Pop had purchased a small hardware store in our home town in Massachusetts. I've got many fond memories of that old store... they don't make them like that anymore. Wooden shelves, weighing nails on the old brass scales that now live here with me.

I think everyone out there has a favorite grandparent, the one that made the biggest impression on them. For me, It's always been a toss up between Freddie & his wife Rena. My Grandfather is the one that visits me most often in my dreams, so that must count for something.

Happy Birthday Pop Pop

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Edna's Farm

I hope I don't curse myself, but Mary & I are hoping we can find a way to make this OUR farm.

We drove up to central Vermont the other day and and met Edna. She'll be heading for a warmer climate later this winter and hopes to leave her homestead dream in good hands.

Having a barn like this would allow me to take my farming up a notch. There are lots of different areas for a variety of critters. Edna has three horses and a bunch of goats living here right now, but they'll be moving south too.

The land up there is beautiful. The forest streches for miles and miles. A year round creek bisects the property, and there's even a swimming hole!

Here's Jack, hard at work already. "Horses are in the corral... what's next... better go check on the chickens!"

A born farm dog.

My Favorite Christmas gifts

I hope everyone got something they wanted for X-mas this year. With the ice storm, and then a couple of feet of snow, the holiday seemed to arrive at light speed. Mary & I vowed to keep things simple this time around, but it didn't seem to diminish our spirits one bit. I am afraid, however, that the Chinese are not very happy with our decision!
I am happy to say that my favorite gifts this year were from local sources. The first is a beautiful blanket given to us by our next door neighbors, Larry & Jeanne Foley. Larry told me it took Jeanne more than four months to make, and I believe it. I can't imagine ever having the patience to create something this.

I just love the detail she put into her work. We've got to keep the dogs away from this treasure
...Right now it lives on the back of mary's chair. Perfect for those winter evenings reading in the living room.

Here are Larry & Jeanne, the nicest neighbors anyone could ask for. They put up with all of the roosters this summer, and the turkeys jumping up on their car.

After the ice storm I spent the next seven days moving my generator back and forth between my house, the little cottage across our property that we rent out, and Larry & Jeanne's place. I'd run my freezers for a few hours, and then run the heat at the cottage for a while. Then I'd wheel the generator over to the Foley's and run their boiler and water pump. Another retired couple was camping out with them, as we were the only houses in the neighborhood with heat & water. We all had clean kitchens and warm beds, who could ask for more?

My next favorite gift is a little book titled 'A Book Of Country Things'. It is a collection of Walter Needham's reminiscences about his Grandpa L.L. Bond, born in 1833. Aside from his service in the Civil War, he spent his entire life in the Southeastern corner of Vermont. Published in Brattleboro, Vermont in 1965, this book is a window into life and the way things were done on the farm in the 1800's. From sugaring and planting, to haying and dealing with the local indians, this is a fun read... and the way things are going, I may be using this as a valuable reference to aid in our survival... or at least our future comfort. Heck, I'm already making my syrup in the same type of old cast iron cauldron that Grandpa describes using!
Well, that's it for now from the side of Mount Monadnock. Here's to a prosperous new year, or at least a good run of sap in the spring! I'll leave off with one more shot from the ice storm. Now where did I put those seed catalogs?

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Bread Day

The hardest part of bread baking has got to be the milling of the wheat berries. We purchased a very nice grain mill a few years ago and originally had it bolted down to a butcher block. After about an hour of on and off cranking by hand.... you could start the bread baking process. There had to be an easier way, and after a handful of different designs had been tried I came up with this system. I found the exercise bike at the recycling center. The trickiest part was getting the gear reduction just right. Now I pedal for about 4-5 minutes to get my 6 cups of whole wheat flour.

The hopper is just the right size... 1 fill up gives me that 6 cups of flour. And when I'm done, I put on a home fabricated copper lid to keep the vermin out of my grain hopper.

I usually bake bread just once a week-2 loaves. I put one in the freezer till the first is gone. This week, since we'll be home for the holiday, I made one a cinnamon & sugar loaf. You just can't get bread like this at the grocery store. Pop a slice of this in the toaster and lay on some Cabot butter and....WOW!

89 Days Till Spring!

It's a little sad... second day into Winter and I'm running out of places to put the snow! Our little house looks good in the snow, but this is a picture I should be taking in February.

This is our little rooster, Midge. He was a "free rare chick" that we were sent from the hatchery this past spring. I'm pretty sure he's a Hamburg of some kind. Since he has always been smaller than the Rhode Island Reds, he was the only rooster humble enough to escape my wrath in the fall slaughter. I'm not sure if it's the breed, or maybe being the whipping boy to a henhouse full of big hens, but poor Midge is wound up tighter than a banjo string. He's finally grown enough of a spine to venture into the heated henhouse at night, but come morning, when all of the egg laying ruckus starts, he's back in the bush. Poor Midge.

After some time shoveling, and a little hay getting thrown around, it's safe to venture down and mingle with the rest of the critters.

The girls are too smart to fall for that sunshine thing... it's still warmer in the old henhouse. They've got a brain the size of a peanut, so why is it that I'm the one outside freezing... and the girls... oh, nevermind!

Jack and old Charlie definately have the right idea. As soon as I bring in another few armloads of wood, I'll be joining them in front of the cookstove. I made so much eggplant parmigiana yesterday that I don't have to worry about cooking today, but tomorrow it's bread day!