Irene Visits...An Update

Hurricane Irene made it up to the Northeast corner of the country yesterday.  As predicted by the forecasters, we woke up to some relatively substantial winds and rain coming from the North.  This meant that we, as opposed to Boston, got the front side of her (or what was left of her at that point).  The power went out at the farm around 7:30 in the morning.   The village center where the church is still had power when we arrived for service at 10, and one of the congregants was actually making sloppy joes for coffee hour to use up some meat.  In the middle of the second hymn, the lights dimmed, and we knew power failure was in the near future.  A few moments later, the organ stopped playing and we were left singing a Capella for a couple stanzas before a volunteer moved to the piano in time for the next verse.  Bud went to grab some of the candles normally reserved for Christmas and Easter, and we went through the rest of the service in candlelight.

Back on the farm, I spent much of the afternoon playing board games with Bud, reading, and spinning wool.  We do have a generator, and plugged the fridge in for a few hours.   I wasn't worried about the freezers, as they tend to maintain a cool enough temperature a few days as long as they aren't opened.

There was some substantial flooding in our basement which we pumped out sporadically with the generator throughout the day.  There's also a spot near the chimney that leaks when there is a hard rain.  It's right where Belle, the mutt, normally sleeps, so she wasn't so keen on being displaced (better than being rained on, I suppose).  We also had leaking on our first floor on the North side.  This was highly unusual, as the water has to make it down an entire floor inside our walls.  We concluded that the attic vents on that side were getting pummeled by the rain blowing in sideways all day and the water was getting in that way.  The ceiling is wood, not plaster, which makes us a little less concerned than we would be otherwise.  

After dinner, my darling husband and went up to the sheep pasture to repair some of the netting that had fallen down with the wind (the sheep were not very motivated to go anywhere). 

We all went to bed around 9pm, and woke up to no power and no phone (and no cell service).  We also had a very warm refrigerator (the only thing we ended up tossing were left over burgers, which the pigs enjoyed). While I went on my morning run, I was able to survey some of the damage.  Several large trees had come down (one on top of a neighbor's home), and there was no power anywhere (except for the filthy rich weekenders down the road who apparently have a whole home generator and had all sorts of lights on!!!).

The power did come back on shortly after I returned from the run.  We would have been okay for a few more days, but it would have been irritating.   However, just after midnight on Tuesday morning, the hardwired smoke detectors started beeping, indicating that the power was out...again.  It was quite a rude awakening, as I had only fallen asleep an hour earlier.   Also, I wasn't exactly sure how to turn them off, since they were hardwired, and my brain was not fully functioning.  First I had to find some light, but had stowed all of the flashlights and lanterns away during the day assuming that the power was on for good (I know, when you assume, you only make an ass out of "u" and "me").  Anyway, I blindly felt my way down to the basement steps where I had hung the (battery-powered) Coleman lantern.  I wandered back upstairs in the fluorescent glow of the lantern, woke up Bud with the harsh light (who was very dismayed to hear that the power was out, but even more annoyed by the beeping of the smoke detector) and proceeded to tear out the wires from the back of the smoke detector (don't worry Mr. Code-Man, I didn't break or cut any wires, and we'll put everything back together when the power comes back on). Really, the most worrisome aspect would be  of this second outage is keeping the fences charged.  The pigs, particularly, are curious critters and wouldn't have minded won't mind going exploring. Our two solar chargers may or may not be recharging their batteries effectively at this point.  NYSEG is not giving any estimates about when the power will come back on, but they are warning it could be next week.  Bud mentioned that it was like going back in time and being "old-school" (this is his new favorite phrase) and he was quite content not to have to bathe.  I, however, am taking full advantage of being back on a college campus and showering at the gym here.

In closing, here is a lovely picture of the storm descending on the North Carolina coast.  A FB friend posted the picture.  I don't know the photographer myself, but I think he should definitely enter this one in a photo contest!

Photo by David Hutzenbiler

 

Getting Ready for Winter with some Freezing

It's now officially "late summer", but we've been working like crazy to get all of our food up for the winter.  Nature works on her time, not ours, and we have to remain flexible even if we were caught off guard this year with the incredibly early apple season.  The apples are truly amazing.  If you're in the Northeast, perhaps you're noticed the bounty and size of apples on trees that have not been tended by humans for years.  We found a tree around the corner that has some early type of green apple that rivals any apple at a farmers' market in size, looks and flavor. After asking permission from the landowners, we grabbed our apple picker and ladder and picked 10 gallons of apples in about 15 minutes.  The lack of a late frost, and a relatively warm, dry (but not drought) summer has led to the best apple season in a dozen years. 

This onslaught of apples means that cider pressing season is under way--a full 6 weeks early (we haven't even gotten the dried beans on the drying screen yet!). My darling husband  pressed the first two batches last night.  Due to the flies, the warm weather, and the lack of freezer space, we heated it up to pasteurize it and then will just drink it in the next week or so.  I have plenty of apples to make pies, crumbles and applesauce with as well.  And then at some point, I'll have to dehydrate a dozen or so quarts.   

The tomatoes are also in, which means we're prepping those for winter storage as well.  To keep things simple, we simmer down a bunch of roma (paste) tomatoes (cut in half but skins still on) with a handful of fresh basil and oregano. Then we just blend them and store them in the freezer in quart containers or baggies.  When we want to make sauce we'll take a container out, add more herbs and some sugar and let it cook down.   If you don't have your own garden, I would highly recommend that you purchase your tomatoes from a local farmers' market.  You'll get a great deal if you buy in bulk (I paid $15 for about 20lbs of tomatoes which is 75% off the $3/lb price) and if you have the freezer space it is well worth it.   If you don't have a large freezer, there is a great book out there,  Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning, which highlights old world techniques.

A new technique I just learned for preserving corn is to simply to blanch the cob and then freeze the whole darn thing.  I've always cut the kernels off the cob after blanching, but this way allows you to obviously have corn on the cob in the middle of January.  I guess it depends on how much room you have in that freezer.   

You'll find celery at the markets as well right now.  This would be the easiest vegetable to preserve, as you just dice it and freeze.  No blanching, boiling, etc.  required.  I keep the leaves as well for tossing in stocks, soups etc. and also because it works as a great substitute for parsley.

Finally, peppers are coming in. My own pepper plants did not fare too well (as usual), but I have been buying them for $0.75 a piece at the market. I dice them up, saute them with a little olive oil for just a few minutes and then freeze.  Throughout the winter, I can pull them out and add to fajitas, soups, stews, steak, etc.  I've also stuffed a few of the peppers with a sausage/cheese/rice/veggie medley.  I wrap those babies in foil and, guess what, freeze them.   It makes supper SO simple, especially on a busy day.  You can prepare stuffed zucchini in the same fashion as well. 

So the freezer at this point, is pretty full.  I also have bags and bags of peas, beans, corn, blueberries, and strawberries in our small upright freezer.   The only other thing i have to put in there (aside from tomatoes) will be any onions that are not of good storage quality.  I'll saute those up and then freeze in small quantities, as onions are not supposed to be refrozen once thawed.  Then we'll be good to go fruit and vegetable wise for the freezer.  Root vegetables will be stored in the cellar, and the kale, brussel sprouts and leeks will be wintering over in the garden for as long as possible. 

Fireside Chats with Bud

I apologize for not posting earlier.  It seems that my 5 year old laptop has sadly fizzled out.  It wants me to attempt to reload Windows, but I have to dig up the CD.  Talk about planned obsolescence.  Computers should last more than five years. 

But onto the subject of this week's post.  One of our favorite activities in the summer is to sit around our fire pit as the sun sets and the stars come out.  Now, as we enter the middle of August, we don't have to wait until 9:30 for the sun to set, which is a good thing.  Usually, after dinner, one of us will go and build up the fire.  I prefer using the environmentally friendly method of building a tent out of some dry tinder, and gradually adding larger pieces of tinder.  I learned this method from the physical education teacher at school when I chaperoned the eighth grade camping trip.  Sadly, due to budget cuts, the adventure program is being downsized, the camping trip will be cut and students won't have the opportunity to learn how to build a fire without using white gas (which is my darling husband's favorite way to fuel the flames).  Sometimes, we'll make s'mores by the campfire (once the gasoline burns off), but other times we'll just sit quietly and listen to the wild sounds of the evening, trying to identify all the chirps, snorts (those usually, but not always, belong to the pigs), whistles and chatters.  The dogs and cats will come join us, the latter jumping up on any spare lounge chairs to curl up.   

This setting apparently is an ideal place and time for a nine year old to muse over the great wonders of our world and our society.  The quiet, and probably the darkness, aid in allowing a child to really talk about subjects that may not be "cool" to discuss during the busy-ness of the day.  Topics have ranged from the mundane to the profound.  We have had discussions about stars and planets, tourism, old houses, farms and the sources of food, baseball, the ocean, God and gods, football, music, professions, art, World War II, friendships, honesty, and most recently, Star Wars.  This last I found quite amusing, since Bud made the comparison that the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry can be compared to the entire Star Wars saga.  He had picked out which player would be which character.  I can't remember them all, and I'm sure I'll be corrected, but here's a bit of the list:

Ortiz:  Luke Skywalker
A. Gonzalez:  Hans Solo
Youkalis:  Chewbacca
D. Pedroia:  Would have been Princess Leia except for the fact that he would never ever say "Would someone get this walking carpet out of my way?" to Youkalis.
Ellsbury:  Lando

A. Rod:  The Emperor
Jeter:  Darth Vader (because in the end, he's really not all that bad)

We'll take any suggestions you may have to round out the roster.

By 10pm, Bud is all talked out or thought out, and we return to the house to retire for the evening, allowing our bodies and minds to renew themselves for another day of adventure.  



 

Introducing Rebecca

A busy week this past week, with lots of fun adventures to share.  My 13 year old cousin was here for a week experiencing  life on the farm.  She was great fun to have around, and very willing to help out with anything except the processing of chickens.  We stacked wood, went riding, picked vegetables, canned vegetables, moved fence, et cetera.

Also, a very intense rain came through yesterday evening causing four inches of water  to collect in our basement which meant we had to use the sump pump for the first time in a year.  At least the gardens won't need watering. 

The big, big news is that "Rebecca" finally arrived.  We all adore her, but my darling husband has certainly spent a lot of quality time with her these past several days.  I hate to admit it, but I am feeling just a little bit jealous.  And with her all her amiable qualities, flexibility and versatility, I'm afraid it's going to be a year-round love affair. 

Becca, or Becky, is a BCS 852 walk-behind tractor.  She was made in Italy, and we purchased her through Earth Tools based in Kentucky.  She weighs in at a svelte 600 lbs, has 20 inch wheels, a Lombardini diesel engine, and you start her up by simply turning a key, which is my favorite aspect of her (besides the fact that she gets things done).  We currently have her hooked up (via PTO) to a 32" brush hog and it took my darling husband approximately 2 hours to clear an acre with her. We have mowed a pathway for the pigs as well as cleared all of the 7 foot(!) weeds that were outside the Pasture A fence.  She works at three different speeds in both directions and has a wheel differential making it easy to steer.   We haven't purchased any other implements yet but a mower and a rotary plow are the next on the list.

While farms with larger acreage could use a full-size tractor, we couldn't justify the expense as we only have about 8 acres of workable farmland.  Plus, we have lots of small spaces, and one of the main uses of Becca will be to mow paths for the electric netting we use for sheep, pigs and chickens.  Other uses will be for garden prep, lawn mowing, and hay mowing (and possibly baling!).  We might even splurge and get a cart so she can haul stuff.  My darling husband and I have both spent many hours looking over all the possibilities (and watching the YouTube videos) for this great machine. After five years of living on the farm, we finally have bought a "real" piece of farm equipment.  We first found out about the walk-behind tractor from Hobby Farms, a periodical we subscribe to.  Ironically, this month's issue was highlighting the successes of real horse horse-powered farms.  Oh well, I can safely say we won't be one of them! 

Flexibility and Fun

Update on the Squelon:  It is most likely a pumpkin of some sort. 

Learning to live simply is learning to let go, use what you have, and go with the flow.  My first thirty years were somewhat regimented with myself usually playing the commander.  Things had to be this way; we had to eat at this hour; homework had to be done before fun could be had.  I lived a life of very little flexibility.  I'm not sure why this is, but anyhoo...

Working a farm and raising a child has shown me that one has to be flexible.  The world will go on if you all have french toast for dinner.  In fact, the world will go on if said child doesn't complete homework or said stepmom doesn't do her grading because a ewe is lambing.  The world will even go on, if on a 90+ degree day, it is just too darn hot to be productive and so you go to Secret Caverns to cool off (where the temperature is always 51 degrees F). 

This is just what we did earlier in the month. The weeds in the pastures would be there when we got back, and the garden vegetables would wait patiently to be harvested until evening when the temperature would drop to the low 70s.  I don't usually complain about the summer heat, as the season is so fleeting and I know the cold, dreary months of winter are just around the corner, but I will admit, it was just a little too warm for comfort.

So, we got in the car and drove out to Secret Caverns.  Scoharie County, about 1/2 hour South of Albany, is known for its caves.  In fact, the cavern employees were saying that there are about 200 to 300 caves in the county.  The largest tourist attraction there is Howe's Caverns, but we didn't visit that one due to the fact that it is the largest tourist attraction in the county.

We had tried to visit Secret Caverns twice before with Bud.  The first time, several years ago,  it was for a Masonic Lodge function in the evening and there were thunderstorms, so the cave people thought it would probably be best not to do tours. 

The second time we went was on Halloween a couple years ago.  With all the costumed folks around, Bud started descending the 123 steps to the cavern floor and by step 5 did an abrupt one-eighty and exited in a flash. I guess we couldn't blame him for that one either.

So by this third trip Bud had matured a little more, but I think it was the prospect that it was cold in the cavern that really made him think that it wouldn't be so bad.


There's not a whole lot of pomp and circumstance surrounding the entrance to the cave.  The stalactites, stalagmites and flow are still numerous inside the cave.  And there is a beautiful 100 foot water fall inside the cave at the end of the accessible part of the cave.  I particularly enjoyed the tour as the guide interjected a lot of folk history into his talk.  It didn't really matter to me if it was the "truth" or not, because it is the oral history passed down that defines the culture of the area.  I would say, however, that you don't want to be a cow living in Scoharie County, as it seems to be the cows who inadvertently "discover" all of these caves by falling down holes.  Poor things.  I see a Far Side cartoon in the making. 

At one point during the tour, the guide turned off all the lights.  We have been conditioned to think that our eyes will adjust after a bit, but in reality our eyes only "adjust" because there are some photons of light that are making their way to our eyes.  Two hundred feet below the surface there simply is no light, so we could be there for days and our eyes would never "adjust".  I don't think Bud appreciated this fact, and clenched my hand super tightly when the lights were shut off.

After the tour, we opted not to browse through the artfully tacky and unairconditioned gift shop  (more on the consumerist nature of our culture later) and instead went down to Cobleskill to get an ice cream before heading home to do the chores that were still waiting for us, as expected.

The Case of the Squelon

I was enjoying my Saturday morning earlier today when my darling husband calls me outside.  "Sweetie, you have to come see what is growing in the garden!"  I had images of some giant plant eating fungus springing up overnight as I had spent a great deal of time in the garden yesterday and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. But then again, sometimes my powers of observation leave much to be desired. 

Anyway, the photo below is what my darling husband had unearthed. 

Currently, it is about as large as the seedless watermelons one sees in the stores these days.  We have no idea what it is, except that is from the Family Cucuribitaceae, which means it could be a melon, a squash or a little bit of both (hence, squelon).

This rogue fruit was a volunteer in the asparagus patch (and has decidely taken over that bed, which is fine as the asparagus season is over) so we decided to leave it there and see what developed.  Obviously, we're not sure yet.

Squash and melon are in different genuses so they shouldn't easily cross pollinate, but it's probably not out of the realm of possibility.   It is important when planting your squash to keep in mind that there are only four species: C. pepo, C. maxima, C. mixta and C. moschata.  The reality of the situation is that all summer squash (zucchini and yellow squash), acorn squash and most pumpkins are C. pepo, and if you're like me, you plant several of these in your garden each year.  I also have planted both buttercup and hubbard squash right next to each other, both of which are C. maxima. Which may be why I have the rogue squelon growing right now. We also try to grow melons every couple of years, which may have contributed to this mix.  The seeds could also have come from any farmers-market melon that we bought and then mulched the seeds from. 

We'll simply have to track the squelon's progress over the next couple months to see what finally takes shape.   I would like to think it is at least edible, if not roasted, perhaps then in a soup. 

Happy gardening.

The next Food Network show...

...should be Real Cooks on the Farm.  In it, contestants would have two hours to calmly prepare a healthy meal but everything, except for five ingredients of the contestant's choosing (seasonings, olive oil etc) , would have to be from the farm s/he was plopped down in and NOTHING would be prepared ahead of time (including the butter).  Now, on this farm, there would be a dairy cow, and plenty of poultry.  There would also be beef cattle, sheep and pigs, but I highly doubt you could process these larger animals in the amount of time given.  A huge vegetable garden would be available, and you would hope it would be high summer so that there were actually yummy vegetables in it (you can only do so much with greens and asparagus and the show isn't titled "Extreme Farm Cooking").  There would also be an orchard and berry brambles to find fruit in. If you were lucky to be in a farm in the south, you would have citrus available as well.

We don't have cable, so we don't regularly get to watch the Food Network, but we were staying at a place that did have television this past weekend.  And I confess, I am a little bit of a Food Network junkie.  So this new food show inspiration came to me the other evening when I was in a rush to create a good, substantially portioned meal for my family (sometimes I am accused of making "tapas" sized portions).  I had no time for advanced planning as we ended up being gone all day, but I did know I had a plethora of food available to me.  I'll be damned if I just caved and said "let's go order a pizza".  We have been traveling a lot the last few weeks and the "dining out" category of our budget was literally bursting at the seams. 

So, luckily we had some marinating venison in the fridge (a gift from a friend last fall which we had thawed earlier in the week).  I realize this would be cheating on the new show, but chicken would be an equally good protein and I am confident I could process one of those in about 20 minutes. Knowing the venison needs mere minutes over high heat to cook, I first headed to the garden to gather greens.  I have plenty of different lettuces, but to spice it up a bit, I added arugula and beet greens, some oregano, sage and rosemary.  I also pulled our first three carrots from the garden and picked a few pea pods. 

I had also noticed that the black caps (wild blackberries) were in abundance by our creek, so I went and gathered those (somewhat labor intensive as the berries are small, but so tasty).

I threw the lettuce, herbs, and arugula in the bowl after three washes in the salad spinner (to guarantee that no slugs remained), shelled the peas, chopped the carrots and then added the black caps.  We had bought some River Rat cheese up in Clayton, NY when we were visiting the Thousand Islands, so I added some chunks of that (I guess that would be one of my five ingredients off the farm).  I then added almond slivers (another off-farm ingredient).  For the dressing I used a raspberry vinegar and avocado oil (I know, strange combination, but really good).  I then cooked the venison over high heat (for about 4 minutes total) and put 8-9 pieces on top of the salad. 

There, done.  Probably 40 minutes from start to finish.  If I was doing chicken, it would take a little longer as the bird would have taken about 1 1/2 hours to roast--still within the two hour time limit though.  It's interesting to think about what wouldn't be possible to make in a two hour time slot: bread would be difficult as you wouldn't have time to process the grain into flour. And your main protein would be turkey, chicken, and eggs (or you could do the wild thing, and go for squirrel, possom, muskrat, frogs, I suppose).  It would certainly be entertaining to see what people came up with.

All jesting aside with the Food Network show, it is possible to put together a good meal from scratch, and despite the time pressure, it was actually enjoyable.  Meal time can be stressful and/or monotonous, two adjectives I'd like to eliminate from my vocabularly.  To simplify things, after five years together, my darling husband and I have finally decided to take my mother's fine strategy and prepare a weekly dinner menu.  We will then go one step further and decide who is cooking it each night.

As Julia Child would say, "Bon Appetit!"

Montana Misadventures

We just returned from a week long visit to Montana where my brother and his lovely bride got married Missoula style (see photos below). 



Roasting the Pig.  The catering crew actually camped out overnight so they could baste this baby every hour



Love that the bride wore this beautiful sage green Etsy.com creation--handmade in New Zealand.  The groom is wearing jeans (as is the best man) and low cowboy boots



Appetizers and drinks were available before the ceremony

It was a fantastic trip and it was the first time Bud was able to experience the Big Sky of Montana.  We went hiking for a couple days in the Bitterroot Valley, staying in a US Forestry Service cabin, which I highly recommend for some simple living.  Below is a picture of the East Fork Guard Station which is on the East Fork of the Bitterroot River.

The cabin is about 15 miles up a mountain in Ravalli County, which means it's 15 miles from the nearest public phone, 30 miles from the nearest town center, 100 miles from Missoula, and about a day's drive from Billings.  I tell you this because of the misadventure which occurred while we were there.

Wednesday evening, I had to go out to our rental car to get a shirt for my darling husband from our "non-camping" suitcase.  Mission accomplished without drama or bear sightings, and the happy family went to bed.  The next morning, my darling husband asks "Where are the keys?"  "I put them on the table," I replied.  Except that they weren't there.  Or anywhere in the cabin.  No, they certainly couldn't be locked in the car!  Or could they?  Darling husband wasn't so darling (rightfully so) at the moment, and once I realized that our identification, money, and food was all in the car I began to panic a little bit.   It was also drizzling out.  With little choice, the three of us set off up the road to try to find a neighbor.  No luck.  After walking a mile, we turn around and walk the other way. 

At this point, I should remind you that we are in Ravalli county which, as my brother mentioned right before we departed Missoula, is the militia capital of Montana (and hence the country?).  A mile down the mountain we spot a small community of camps and there is a VFW sign at the road.  We walk up a ways and it is completely desolate although there are trucks in driveways.  Darling husband asks if we should knock at any of the doors, but it's difficult to even determine where the doors are.  We decide to turn back on the main road.  

A little bit further down the road, I spot an older man eating his breakfast by a huge picture window in his kitchen.  With very few options aside from darling husband walking 15 miles down the mountain, we knock on the door and explain the situation.  He lets us in, and directs me to the telephone (right next to the Playboy magazine).  I got on the phone with the rental car folks while darling husband chats it up with our new friend and Bud takes in all of the girlie calendars hanging around. ("That's disgusting!" he exclaimed later).  The rental car company was not extremely helpful as the spare key was in Billings and thus they wouldn't be able to get out there until the following day (and Lord knows how much it would have cost us). The car did have an outside combination key pad, but they wouldn't give that to me over the phone   But apparently, our new friend and darling husband had hatched a plan to break into the car with a very large screwdriver, a piece of cloth and a coat hanger.  MountainMan drives us back to our cabin and then they pry the door open with the screwdriver to let the coat hanger through.  After several failed attempts to hit the "unlock" button, Bud mentions that the back locks are shaped the old-fashioned way, so that a coat hanger formed into a hook could probably do the trick.   Low and behold, they unlock the car! The alarm is blaring and Bud climbs in to pop the trunk.  Keys aren't there.  A few expletives are on the tip of my tongue, when Bud suggests that we open the suitcase and there they are.  I inadvertently left them there when I grabbed the shirt the night before. 

We thank MountainMan and later in the day drop off a few beverages for him, to add to his very vast collection ("That's one thing we need plenty of up here in these mountains" he told us). 

And so, the misadventure ended hardly before it started thanks to a kind individual living outside of Sula, Montana.  And note to self: if you're going to lock the keys in the trunk, do it closer to civilization!



Summertime Sensibility, Spreads and Strawberries

School's out!  In all honesty, I was feeling a little bit adrift last Friday, particularly when I turned in my school keys.  I will truly miss my team members and the rest of the middle school faculty.  The group of people I worked with were sensible and grounded.  There was none of the drama that is associated with many workplaces.  We worked well together and were a functional, well-oiled unit.  Our different personalities complemented each other fabulously, and it is a shame that the middle school is no longer in existence. 

With it being a somewhat emotional day, I came home and realized I had locked myself out of the house.  Note to self:  don't give the key to the house sitter a week before you actually leave town, you just never know when you need that hide-a-key.  So there I was, without a spare, at 5:30 in the evening, in a very short summer dress (I had just come from the retirement luncheon).  I did have a cell phone (surprisingly), and I called a couple people, hoping I had given at least someone a key in the past.  No luck.  But, a dear friend came over and helped me break in (not easy) without doing any permanent damage.   We then shared a couple beers watching the sun set over the hills.  So, be sensible, and make sure your neighbors have a copy of your house key!

In the garden, the garlic scapes are up.  I never really know what to do with scapes, but it would be very insensible to not use them in some way, shape or form.  It is possible to grill or saute them.  I also learned last year that you can make garlic pesto out of them as well.  I don't really follow recipes when making pesto-I just do a lot of tasting to figure out if the proportions are right.  So, basically, you would use garlic scapes (with the flower part cut off) instead of basil, and walnuts instead of pine nuts (walnuts are cheaper).  Throw some Parmesan cheese in there and of course olive oil and blend.  I freeze the pesto in ice cube trays then put in a plastic baggie in the freezer.  When you want a great snack spread, mix the pesto with the same amount of cream cheese.  Yum!

Another recipe which I made for my team party last week is as follows:

Spicy Chesapeake Chicken Spread
 2 packages (8 oz) softened cream cheese
1 TBS bottled steak sauce (I used BBQ sauce as that was what I had around)
1/4 tsp curry powder
red and black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups minced cooked chicken (I also threw some turkey in there as I had it around)
1/3 cup minced celery
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds
crackers

1. Beat together cream cheese, steak sauce, curry powder and pepper.
2. Blend in cooked chicken and celery and 2 TBS parsley.  Refrigerate remaining parsley (or just don't pick it until later).
3. Shape mixture into log.  Wrap in plastic and chill for 4 hours or overnight.
4. Toss together remaining parsley and almonds and coat log with this mixture.
5. Serve with crackers (duh).

You may want to half the recipe as my darling husband and I were eating chicken spread sandwiches for three days, and that was after the people at the party had it!

Finally, let's be sensible about strawberries.  We love fresh strawberries and we use them throughout the year in smoothies, on french toast and waffles, or in sauces, spreads and dressings. I also make lots of strawberry preserves when I can find the time.  However, the season for finding relatively cheap strawberries is relatively short and I don't have time to make jam.  But I do buy them in bulk at the farmers market (I can buy a flat of 8 quarts for $30), rinse them, remove the tops, spread on cookie sheets and freeze.  When frozen, put in plastic baggies or containers.  Out of sight, out of mind (for the moment).

Enjoy the first "real" week of summer!

Infertility in a fertile land

My darling husband and I celebrate our fifth anniversary today.  We have shared so much on our relatively short journey and I feel truly blessed that we are together.  We have each other, Bud, our families and friends, and our farm. 

It is also really the fifth year anniversary of us being unable to have children.  This part of our life together has run the gamut of emotions and it seems to have finally come full circle.  For the first year, we weren't too concerned about our inability to conceive, but the medical community defines infertility as a couple unable to conceive after a year.   I had great reservations about crossing into fertility procedures (for all those in similar situations, you know--the constant blood work and ultrasounds, the shots of hormones, the invasiveness of it all, the not knowing, all of the moral and ethical questions that arise).    I remember talking with some close friends about my hesitancy of pursuing treatment and my main argument was that the process really interferes with the normal processes of the body.  However, I also knew that the in-vitro is really quite successful, and so my husband I decided to pursue the option. 

In the beginning of 2009, we went through 6 months of less invasive treatments before we had to take a break due to feeling so overwhelmed with the process.  We then went back for another 4 months of more aggressive (in-vitro) options in 2010. We were not able to complete either in-vitro cycle and I was declared to be a "rare case" by the doctor.  I was left in a state of great physical pain for about a week, and emotional pain for considerably longer.  Several people suggested we get a second opinion, but after much thoughtful consideration we decided that my body was sending clear messages to me that this route was not the road to be taken at this time.
For me, going through the process of advanced fertility treatments made me feel a lot worse about myself as a person, and really did a number on my perception of my own womanhood.  Here I was, unable to bear children, the very core of being a woman, and every other day, when I walked into that center (which was an hour and a half away)  I was reminded of this flaw.  And every time when the fertility docs came up with a new plan that didn't work, I felt like it was somehow my fault.

I tried to rationalize everything, thinking that my inability to have kids was in the grand plan.  Perhaps that's one reason why I fell in love with a man who already had a son, a son who is with us more often than not and who proudly proclaimed, at the age of two, "I have a mom, a dad and a Distan" (me) as if everybody in the world has a Distan.  And I guess to some degree I continue using this paradigm.  Maybe this is why I have the interest in midwifery, or why I teach children.  I am able to play a large part in children's lives, without having one of my own. 

Many couples in our position, and particularly women, have a difficult time when their friends, colleagues and acquaintances become pregnant.  I remember standing at the photocopier and someone announced, "Watch out, the last three women who stood there ended up pregnant within two weeks."  Not helpful.  There is no correlation between making photocopies and pregnancy thank you.   Then my general practitioner said "Just wait.  It will happen when you least expect it."  Righto.  For some of us, it won't.  End of story.  Thank you.   She's not my general practitioner anymore (although I can't say it's because of that comment--she moved on to gerontology).  My darling husband also mentioned how difficult it was for him to preach a Christmas Eve sermon because it was so focused on birth.

I sought alternative practices and readings, namely acupuncture and energy healing.  While apparently I still can't conceive children, I was able to realign myself and am now in a much better place than I was a year ago. 

Interestingly, I somehow got on the mailing lists for all sorts of baby products and literature in the mail(probably thanks to the fertility/pharmaceutical corporate machine which thinks I ought to have a baby by now).  Fortunately, the local food bank is always in great need of baby formula.
 
It's really hard to talk to others about infertility and I'm sure many of you who are on this journey feel similarly.  My closest friends know, and some of my family, but I had to wait a while to feel more removed from the process to just say, "You know, I can't have kids."  It's also really hard to write about, but this is a cathartic exercise.  I remember when I was going through the process I dreaded looking at infertility websites on the Internet.  Everybody had a different opinion on the topic, a different experience.  By and large, I ignored the Internet, in an effort to stay somewhat sane throughout the process.  I found the hundreds of pieces of tidbits offered by folks confused me even more, made me feel more unsure about whether I was taking the "correct" course of action. My life was suddenly becoming emotionally very complicated and I was losing touch with who I was.  
I can empathize with all couples going through this process, but it is such a personal journey, and there is no one way to feel or act or react.  There is no "right way" to go about it.  Follow your own heart.  Do whatever it is that feels right for you and your partner.

Wild Windy Weather

The long Memorial Day weekend has had an ominous start as some very unstable weather has made its way to our area Thursday night.  We were all just getting ready to go to bed when the storm hit us.  The lightning display was spectacular but the heavy winds were quite damaging.  The power went out, causing Bud to wake up, and the boys ended up sleeping on futon mattresses downstairs where they could be calmed by the weather radio and be cooled by the lower downstairs temperatures.  Fire whistles were going off for much of the night and emergency crews were out clearing roads from downed power lines and trees as soon as the winds died down.  We woke up to find that the top 20 feet of one of our tall pines had snapped and been flipped around as it fell to the ground.  Fortunately, most of the downed trees seemed to fall ten feet away from the homes and not directly on them. 

We were surprised to see the fallen part of the tree oriented this way--it had to either have flipped in mid air or been pushed by the wind as it came off.  

Friday was beautiful and my darling husband and I spent most of the afternoon in the garden.  I planted some beets, greens and cucumbers and dug the bean bed.  Unfortunately, last night around 8pm, another set of thunderstorms came through with heavy rain, and I'm sure that most of the seeds got washed away.  We will simply have to assess and maybe replant later in the week.

While digging the bean bed, I came across some old potatoes that were still in the ground so I dug them up.  I also picked some of last year's fall lettuce that had been insulated by the snow and then started regrowing this spring.  The lettuce was delicious in our first green salad of the year.  The potatoes were more of a disappointment, but considering they were salvaged, we didn't have high expectations.  The new potatoes in the neighboring plot will be ready in a couple months. 

The Final Count(down)

When starting this post I realized that the "final count(down)" could mean one of several things:  the end of the world as we know it if you're from Harold Camping's camp, the end of the Space Shuttle era if you're a NASA junkie, or the end of the school year if you're a student (or teacher).

Last night, my darling husband and I did a final count of the animals we have on the farm.  With the arrival of four Berkshire/Duroc piglets yesterday, we are in full operational mode for the next six months (well, minus some broilers we'll be dispatching).  The final count:

26 Cornish cross broilers
10 hens (and 1 rooster)
10 Dorset cross sheep
9 turkeys
4 piglets
3 cats
2 dogs
1 horse

Total count:  66 animals, of which 43 will only be here until October (sorry to be so morbid, but that's the reality of it). 

Our trip down to the Southern Tier of New York in a borrowed 1980-something vintage Dodge pick up to retrieve the piglets was relatively uneventful.  We found some old karaoke tapes (one of our friends holds regular karoke evenings in the church basement) in the cab of the truck, and shamelessly played them...with the windows down.  After all, it wasn't our voices on the tapes.  Bud got a kick out of listening to "Sweet Caroline" and a very off-key "Achy-Breaky Heart".  There's only so much one can do to keep a 9 year old entertained on a four hour journey.

We took the truck out again today to help a dear friend move some belongings.  Three trips to the storage unit was all that was required and we just barely dodged the requisite afternoon rainstorm (which was a good thing considering the last load had boxes of cameras and canvases in it).  Bud was very proud of the fact that he snagged a 1980-something era mortar board, a very cheesy pair of sunglasses and a garden owl (thanks Doug!).

And since it's not often that we have the use of a pick-up truck, my darling husband will be taking our snowblower in for a tune up--better do it now as it will be snowing before you know it (or at least before we would normally have the snowblower in working order) as well as the weed-whacker (which we definitely do need as the grass is enjoying all of the rain we've been getting).

I could probably think of a hundred more uses for the truck before we have to return it tomorrow afternoon, but I'm tired and tomorrow I will be camping overnight with my students, so sleep is definitely a requirement!

Catching Up

I can't believe that it has been over a month since my last post.  Obviously, things have been a bit busy on the farm. The poor weather conditions have not helped much.  It was the second wettest April on record in our area, which prevented us from doing much of anything outside (fencing and planting). 

First, kudos to our friend Doug who was watching the farm while we went to visit my darling husband's family.  One of our ewes gave birth while he was on call and he went above and beyond to try and save one of the two lambs.  When all was said and done, each of the new moms gave birth to twins but only had one survive.  We have four rambuctious gamboling lambs now.  Two of them are as of yet unspoken for and will be ready for processing in October (if there are any takers out there in Cyberland).

We also constructed (largely in the rain) the chicken tractor for our broilers.  The plans we followed can be found on this website.  While perusing plans for chicken tractors I was surprised at how many plans included pressure treated wood!  The plan we used actually calls for EMT (electrical metallic tubing) which is both light and sturdy.  Our final product looks pretty much the same as the one on the website, and it seems to be keeping the birds in and predators out.  However, it was somewhat frustrating to construct (did  I mention it was raining the whole time?!) as the structure wasn't entirely stable until the hardware cloth was attached.  All the birds are now out of the shed (see this post about shed usage), which is a good thing, as it was getting to smell rather ripe in there!

Sheep shearing is behind schedule as well.  Usually, we have sheared the sheep and sent them up to the pasture by now. But with the late birth and the wet weather shearing isn't scheduled to happen until mid May (just days before we get our piglets). 

The good news is that the horse did get shod, so he is ready to go (once it dries out) and there is plenty of lush green pasture for everybody. We also have asparagus coming up!  And I also managed to sew the curtains for the kitchen window (five years after moving into the house).

Next on the never ending list:  plant the peas, carrots, onions and potatoes (and actually write down the garden plan), assemble the 1979 Ashford spinning wheel I was able to find over April break and enjoy the few moments that the sun actually shines!