We got an egg!

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We moved the chicken coop to their winter spot. There's not enough left growing on the ground to be able to leave them in one place for more than a day or so. We've moved their pen to a spot in our back yard where it will stay until spring. We will spread dried leaves and other bedding materials in their yard and they will poop, scratch, and peck it to lovely compost throughout the winter.

As Joe went to move the coop he found an egg! Our very first pullet egg!

 

A pullet is a chicken that is less than a year old. The first eggs laid by a chicken are smaller than regular eggs.  After a bit they get the hang of it but as someone who appreciates lots of little things, I've always loved the little eggs!

Here's our egg on the left with a store-bought egg on the right. Hooray for our chickens!

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Our House in the Storm

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I've just about gotten everything ready for our mini-Thanksgiving break and so have time to come up for air and make a post. 

Just about three weeks ago our area of the country was hit by an extra early snow storm - before leaves were even off the trees which caused a fair amount of trees to break and caused quite the rukus. Our street was out of power for a full week with our house just a little bit longer. 

Both my husband and I were out of town (in different directions) for the storm itself but our dearest cousin Ben was able to snap the following picture:

Joe arrived home the following afternoon to no power and a clear front door, 

thanks to the marvelous Ben! 

The night after that I arrived home with some supplies from where I had been ( where they still mostly had power). I started up the charcoal grill and stewed and steamed us up a warm supper. Thank goodness for cast iron pans! 

As I cooked Ben once again came to our rescue and connected the chimney pieces I'd brought home for the woodstove we'd bought and brought home a week or so before the storm. (How is that for providence!) 

With the woodstove and a small generator my mum found for us mid-week we made it through the full week without electricity with very little loss or even hardship. I am so thankful for the preparation we did for the hurricane (that we didn't end up needing then) and for the extra measures preparedness measures we now have. 

Living without electricity for a week definitely simplified life and allowed us to really spend time together. Our routines and life during that week evoked daydreams of frontier living and lent a satisfaction, sense of accomplishment, and hardiness we both crave in our normally-electric lives. While we were relieved when we finally had power again, there was a bit of sadness at the return to the hectic higher-speed life of modern conveniences.

I hope you all made it through the storm even half as well as we did!

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Garden Bed Cleanup and Planting Garlic

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Due to a week without power (almost two without internet) following a freak pre-haloween snowstorm I'm a bit behind on posting. I've had a couple saved up and here we go!

The week before the storm I finally got around to cleaning up the garden beds - with a little help from the girls!

They take bathing and cleanup rather seriously. I also got a chance to use the new dibble I bought at the Garlic Festival from good friends Hope and Hugh Davis of The Farmstead. Jake chewed my old one and they're so helpful I'm happy to have another.

I'm so excited to try two new varieties of garlic this year (also purchased at the Garlic Festival), Bavarian Purple and Russian Giant as well as planting about a third of our harvested garlic from last year.

We did have a couple little incidents. I called home from school just after class and Joe asked me if I was interested in garlic chicken. One of our buffys (the blond chickens are buff orpingtons) had escaped the pen and had found her way to the as yet un-mulched garlic beds. We'll find out how much she managed to find before she was stopped but Joe said she pretty well reeked of garlic. The following day Jaker got into the bed and had a bit of a snack on the manure I'd worked into the soil but left a shiny clove of garlic.

Now the beds are mulched and even weighted with sticks to prevent any more snacking and we're looking forward to more garlic and scapes next year!

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New Windows!

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Work trips, being sick, school deadlines, our newest addition to the team, as well as the work that goes with the change of seasons would be enough but on top of that we got all of our windows replaced! 

 

The change is definitely noticeable. Our little snug house just got much more snug! We will also feel the benefit in warmer seasons when we will have the option of opening each and every window! Not only will we be able to get the darned things open, they all now have screens! We knew it would make a difference and that we would love it, we just didn't know how much!

New Addition to our Homestead

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With a house that is more than 75 years old, there are lots of places where the darned varmints can easily come in to escape the cold. In a place like this mouse-catching is a very valuable skill. While we've caught a few with traditional traps and even found one of the less-than-intelligent ones in a water jug one morning, it was time to bring in an expert.

Meet Thelma our new "barn" cat. 

When she's accustomed to our rhythm and a little older, she'll spend her days outdoors and her nights in our walk-in basement encouraging the tiny critters to find another residence.

She loves visitors and purrs loudly for a rub and a snuggle. At the ripe old age of four months it's important to spend a lot of time with her and get her accustomed to people and the rules of our home.  Stop by and meet her, we would all love to see you!

Three Amazing Years.

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Last week my husband and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary. Complete with a brand new pantry (for me -below the white beam to the right of the stairs), wild grape jelly (post to follow) and whiskey (for him), brunch at O'Rourke's in Middletown and just a grand day together overall.

Thank you to my dear husband for three amazing years and such a wonderful 

addition to our home! 

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Family Traditions - Franklin County Fair

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While there were several yearly fairs within an easy driving distance of most my childhood homes, the Franklin County Fair has always been a favorite. While it has its share of carnival rides and games like the rest, my favorite parts of the Franklin County Fair have always been the produce and craft competitions.

As children, my brother and I entered our own creations into the competitions - from creative scarecrows and flowers to baked goods and hand crafts. Over the years I won first prize for my petunias and my muffin mix (with muffins to prove its worthiness!) and was even robbed of first prize for my knitting as the judges didn't think I could have made something that well by myself.

Each year I look forward to seeing everything on display in the round house and the children's building as well as all the different animals. This tradition would not be complete without a piece of fried dough with maple cream from the local booth. I'm happy to steer clear of any booth with large lettering (like the non-local vendors) and am content to reminisce and even drool over the gorgeous array of home-canned foods on display from the competitions.

 

It's always interesting to watch things change as the years pass. One delightful addition to this year's fair was compost and recycle bins at the trash stations. I am so thankful to live in a place where even mainstream events are becoming aware of the need for efforts just like this.

 Now I shall look forward to my other favorite fair each year, the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival in October. Especially as we look toward expanding our family, I am so thankful to have these traditions to mark the yearly rhythm of our life.

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Modern Foraging and Sumac Lemonade

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One of the many things I love about having access to wild land is the ability to forage.  

On a walk the other day, I came home with blackberries, a few raspberries (the last of the season), wild grapes, and a big pile of staghorn sumac drupes 

(not to be confused with poison sumac).

I passed by apples, plums, and crab-apples still thriving from when there used to be houses in what is now flood land. The berries I ate immediately after snapping a quick photo. The sumac and the grapes have been turned into other deliciousnesses.

Sumac Lemonade:

I grew up knowing the staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) as a wild shrub and only knew of using the drupes as perfect material for smoking bees when opening a hive. Recently I came across a brief reference to Sumac Lemonade and had to know more! 

Turns out I had been living near a delicious treasure all these years!

Instructions:

Collect 15 to 20 clean staghorn sumac drupes. 

 Spread them out and remove any critters.

Soak in water for 24 hours. 

Strain, sweeten to taste, and enjoy!

The final sumac juice is very tart like lemon juice and has a wonderful complex flavor that almost reminds me of a rooibos (red tea) lemonade. A concentrate of the sumac juice freezes well for longer enjoyment.

Stay tuned for wild grapes!

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