Fall Hit Snooze

Fall was late this year.  I took this picture one morning in mid October.  It was the very first morning it felt crisp enough to be fall, following a week of miserable heat and humidity.

The leaves were reluctant to turn because of the heat.  So the break in the weather was quite welcome.  Now, finally, the boys could wear those long sleeved Halloween shirts.

I hope this is a sign it will be a mild winter. 

Gardening 2017

May was very rainy here.  So rainy I could not get into my garden for weeks.  I would sink six inches in the mud.  Plus it developed an underground stream running through the middle.  I tried planting some seeds during that time, but they didn't come up.  However, plants that I put in during April are doing well. 

In another section I replanted beans, kale, and a few other things that never came up.  I also have a number of tomatoes and peppers going.  Plus herbs from last year - lavender, comfrey, lemon balm, mint. 

So far, we have only eaten lettuce, swiss chard, and turnips.  Hopefully now that it isn't so rainy, my garden will start to perform better.  I ordered some peanuts and plan to plant those as well.

Readers, do you have a garden this year?

When Birds are Jerks

This spring, a little bird decided to build a nest in my clothespin apron, which was hanging on the deck (convenient for grabbing to hang clothes).  Everyday, the bird would add twigs, and I would remove them.  We went back and forth.  Stubborn little feathered friend.

 

 

That is, until I got really busy.  And forgot to check for a couple of days.  After which, I found this.  Not only is the nest complete - on top of all my clothespins - but now the bird is sitting there all day.  Probably on some eggs.  Look how SMUG this bird looks.

 

I guess I won't be hanging out the laundry any time soon...

 

Nicely played, bird.  You win.

Treasure Hunting

We have a persimmon tree that self-seeds fairly easily, so we told a neighbor he could come dig up some up the small trees and try to transplant them on his property.  When he started digging, he got more than he'd expected.  Turns out the hillside where the persimmons are growing was a dump site for the old homestead that used to be on our property.  He dug out a number of bottles from under the tree roots.  Many were broken (there were a few old boots in there, too), but some where unharmed.

I have only cleaned up the front center bottle, with the white residue inside.  It has Norwich on it, and is an old Pepto Bismal bottle.  Once I get time I'll clean up the others and see what Google can tell me about them.  Several appear to be liquor bottles, and one at first glance looks like Pepsi to me.

Hard to say what else has been  buried on our land all these years.  Prior to us moving there in 2000, no one had resided in the old (now torn down) house since the mid 70s. 

New Fence Line

Last year when we did that overnight backpacking trip with the boys, a big storm blew in and blew a fuse in our electric fence.  The horses got out and were running all over, and no one could reach us because we were in a region where there was no cell phone service.  Once we found out, we drove the two hours home, and I was terrified for the horses the whole way.  I already knew that Phoenix was limping.  Luckily, I was able to get them home (they were about a mile away from our house, up a mountain) and Phoenix's injury, while painful, was treatable.  I NEVER want that to happen again.  So I've been saving every cent I get from Christmas or selling stuff online towards building at least one very secure pasture.  With no electric!  That means three board fencing for most of it.  With the cost of wood right now, it's a pricy endeavor.

We've been working on this stretch since Christmas.  We hit a number of obstacles, including a broken nail gun, a post hole digger that didn't want to run, and post holes that dipped into an underground stream and were filling with water.  Not to mention all the rocks we had to dig through!  Happily, we now have a big stretch done.

This pasture already has wood fencing on two other sides.  So now three sides are fenced with wood.  We only have the back stretch left.  Because the final side is by a river (and may need adjustments as a result), and cannot be seen from the road, I will probably try to use high tensile fence wire with a mixture of wood posts and t-posts.  It should go in easier than the wood (with having to dig less holes) and hopefully will be cheaper.  After that's done, I will start saving again - I still have a couple of other stretches of wood fencing I want to do.  I do love seeing the fence lines once they're done!

Mutant Sweet Potatoes

Where's my gardening experts?  I need some knowledge!  My sweet potatoes all came out looking like bears clawed them in the middle of their growth.  Perhaps they tangled with some zombies?  Could this be from getting too much rain this summer during a key part of the growing season?  Or is it something in my soil balance?

The good news is that once I peel all that mess, they still taste good underneath. I roasted wedges in olive oil and herbs and they were fantastic. The bad news is that they are not storing for very long (maybe two weeks) before getting soft inside.  They aren't staying firm like they should.  So if you have any great ideas for preserving them let me know. 

The Helicopter in the Yard

A few weeks ago the utility company was trimming trees in our region.  They asked if they could use our pasture for refueling through the day.  The horses were in a different field at the time, so we didn't mind if they used the hay field.  There aren't a lot of open spaces in our region for them to land a helicopter because the terrain is so hilly and wooded.

All day long the helicopter would stop by every hour or so to get fuel from a truck in our pasture.  Our dog, Bo, made best friends with the guy doing the fueling and stayed by his side all day.  I think Bo wants to be a helicopter pilot when he grows up. 

The boys were disappointed that the helicopter was gone by the time they got home from school.  They had hoped to be able to sit on the porch and watch it while they did their homework. 

Using What We Have

I love recipes where I can use the foods we harvest ourselves.  I found a recipe on Pinterest recently for lemon raspberry zucchini bread that was perfect with a few modifications for this purpose. 

I switched out wineberries for the raspberries, as we had some in the freezer that we foraged from our land in July.

I switched out shredded rampicante squash for the zucchini, as I had a ton from the garden that needed to be used up.

I used eggs taken from the hens we raised from chicks.

Now if only I could figure out how to grow a lemon tree on the property.  Then I'd be all set!

As for the bread?  I could not stop eating it.  So good! 

Walking, Plus a Discount Code for the Salem Half Marathon

I've been trying to walk as much as possible for an upcoming 24 hour race.  Some days I can't find the time to fit in a walk in addition to my run.  But on the days I can, I always enjoy it.

Most of the time I just walk on the road we live on, or else on our land.  I can walk for an hour, and sometimes not a single car will pass by.  It's always scenic, with fresh air and plenty of wildflowers and nature to see.  I like listening to the bird calls, and wish I knew what all the different birds were.

Some days I can convince a kid (or two, or three) to come with me, and those are my favorite walks of all. 

Two days ago, I was contacted by the Salem Half Marathon.  This is their inaugural year, and in addition to the half marathon, they are also having an 8K and a kids' run.  Salem is so scenic, with rolling hills and an adorable downtown - the perfect place for a distance run.  They have offered Two Bears Farm readers a discount of 20% off registration if you use the code BLOG20.  Come out and run - it's sure to be a fun time, and afterwards they are having a post race party at the farmer's market with food, bands, and kids activities. 

More Canning from Summer 2016

We've eaten a lot of the produce from the garden fresh this summer, but I'm still trying to can things too.  I was hoping to can massive amounts of tomatoes in all form, but have been struggling with what I think may be blight on the fruit of my larger tomatoes.  Probably as a result of all the rain we've had.  Regardless, I was able to find enough tomatoes and jalapenos to make a batch of salsa.

While I only got 5 pints (plus about a half pint I didn't can but ate immediately on chips, spoiling both my lunch and dinner) from the effort, I was pleased, since it was my first attempt at canning salsa.  It isn't quite as chunky as I'd like, but it has excellent flavor.

I also decided to try to make pickled eggs.  We have some excess eggs, and I thought maybe the boys would like them.  They seem to like all other things pickled.  I confess that I have never eaten a pickled egg.  They always look so.....creepy....floating around in there.  Like something you'd see in a curiosity cabinet from 1911 on dusty shelves next to jars of double headed snakes and an octopus brain. 

As of the time I am writing this post, the pickled eggs are still curing.  I am going to be brave and try one.  It'll be interesting to see if anyone in the family likes them.  Maybe we'll get lucky and everyone will.  If so, I might try to make a spicier version with jalapenos - since I have excess in my garden to use up.

Readers - have you ever eaten a pickled egg? 

Winter Squash

In mid August I started picking winter squash.  I picked up several tiered baskets at yard sales this summer, which I plan to use for storing winter squash and sweet potatoes in the basement.  I still don't have that root cellar I've been dreaming of building.

Lots of butternut, rampicante (which is also a summer squash, but I've left some in the garden to become winter squash), and delicata.  This is the first time I've grown delicata.  We roasted some the other night and everyone except Reid seemed to like it. 

I have some blue hubbard as well, but it will be much too large for my basket system when I bring it in. 

Last year my winter squash fared quite well in the basement, so I'm hoping this year will be the same. 

The Skipper

We have skippers fluttering all over my garden.  They really like the zinneas and the comfrey, which are now in bloom.

I like this skipper, that I caught on my cell phone camera.  I watched them flying all around for a good five minutes before I even thought to take a shot.

Readers, do you have many butterflies around your place?

Comfrey Salve

Last month I made my first healing salve.  My parents gave me some comfrey for the garden, and it took off.  I picked some and layered into olive oil, then let it sit in the sun for two weeks so it would solar infuse the comfrey into the oil.  I used a mason jar that was warped, since I didn't want to put this jar through the canner.

After two weeks were up, I strained the oil and made the salve by adding beeswax, plus a couple of healing essential oils.  Comfrey is one of the best known healing herbs - perfect for bruises, cuts, sprains and wounds.

I got a sunburn one day from taking the boys to a water park (I used sunscreen, but didn't realize it was expired by a couple of years).  I put the comfrey salve on it and it diminished the pain immediately - it felt so soothing.  Paul got welts on his skin from removing a bandage, and he used the comfrey salve and found it speeded the healing and took away the itching. 

I need to make some more!  I made several jars, but everyone wanted some (which made me happy - I love to share the things I make).  It's so handy to have in the medicine cabinet. I still have a big jar for us, but I thought maybe I should make another batch just for sharing.  We have plenty of comfrey in the garden, so this will be a good project in the coming weeks.

Black Walnut Tincture

Last year I wanted to make walnut tincture, but I missed the window of time when the hulls on the walnuts are green.  This year I timed it just right.  All you need to make it are a few walnuts and the strongest proof vodka you can find. 

You need to chop up the hulls from the walnuts.  The husks are antiparasitic, antifungal and antibacterial.  They are designed to keep worms out of the walnuts.  The second you cut into them they are yellow, but they instantly start turning brown and they will stain your fingers, so don't be like me -- wear gloves!  My fingers were stained brown for days and nothing would remove it!

The tincture can supposedly be used like iodine to clean wounds.  The walnut hulls smelled just like iodine when I was chopping them up.  Black walnut tincture can also be used to deworm for various parasites.  Some people use it to deworm their animals.  Among other things, it may help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and may treat heartburn and colic.  It is known to be good for fighting candida or yeast in the system.  Some even say it fights cancer, syphilis, and malaria. 

Black walnut tincture is strong and you should consult your doctor before using.  It is not recommended that you take it for longer than two weeks, and it is not recommended for use in pregnant women. 

I think it will be handy to have around.  I will let this cure for a month in a dark place before straining out the hulls and bottling it. 

Half Runners

My grandmother told me to plant half runners this year, and I've been waiting for them to get long and plump.  I finally had a day I could go pick a batch from the garden. 

When I brought them up, I had a helper to string them for me while I chopped potatoes and onions and garlic.

Our HVAC had died and we were trying not to heat up the house, so I cooked them on the grill burner.  They were delicious!  I am hoping I will have enough to can a bunch in addition to eating them fresh.  I love green beans. 

Rebellious Squash

This is the time of year when my squash gets out of control and does whatever it wants.  It takes over all the nice rows I've laid out.  My husband is irritated it climbs over the fence he built around the garden.  He says, "you need to do something about your squash". 

What, exactly, am I supposed to do?  Ground it?  Remove privileges?  Send it to its room? You can see in the picture below where two different types of squash are escaping their prison. 

Aside from the fact that my squash is trying to take over the world, it doesn't seem to hurt anything when it climbs out of the garden.  I do have to wear muck boots now in the garden, as I can't see very well and there is a black snake that likes to hang out under the shady squash. Not to mention that neighbor of ours that got bit by a copperhead when picking peppers in his garden is never far from my mind. Here is one area I now call squash row (this area is primarily rampicante and blue hubbard):

I know I've got rampicante, blue hubbard, butternut, and delicata growing.  There is also a pumpkin and zucchini, but they are planted elsewhere. There may also be some spaghetti squash in there somewhere - I did plant some.  It will be a nice surprise to hopefully stumble upon at some point

Readers, do you have a favorite squash?

Finally! Hay!

We were so late in getting up hay this year.  We didn't get it up until the end of July.  Mostly because we had lots of storms on a daily basis this summer.  The weekend we got up the hay had temps in the upper 90s so it was rough work.  Here is our hayfield on day two of getting up hay (we were over halfway done at this point).

Our little hay barn isn't big enough for all the hay we get, so we try to have people come buy it directly from the field as much as possible. 

Bo, being smart for a second, and getting in the shade after running like a wild dog all over the pastures.

I'm always glad to see the hay in the barn and the field nice and neat, and to know we won't have to do it again until next summer! 

Rampicante Squash Pickles

I heard about rampicante squash last year on a podcast.  It's an unusual Italian squash in that it can be a summer squash, similar to zucchini (only more creamy and less watery) or it can be left in the garden to cure and become a winter squash.  I planted them this year and instantly became a huge fan.  I just love these squash!  The plants have been doing so well I decided to make dill pickles.  I usually try to get about 10 pounds to make pickles.

I used a pickle mix this time which made it easy.  After they cured for 24 hours, we ended up with 18 pints of pickles!

I thought to myself, this is a crazy number of pickles.  Too much.  But then that day for lunch the boys went wild for these pickles and ate an entire jar in one setting.  At that rate?  Shoot, maybe I should make a couple more batches!

Readers, do you like pickles?

More Canning 2016

Another couple of firsts for me in canning this year.  While I've done pickled beets before, I have never canned beets plain.  Now that I have my pressure canner, I can do so.  I canned 9 pints of beets and then the next day opened a pint to make beet hummus.  Very tasty!

Then I dug up yet more carrots from my garden and used those to make a carrot cake jam recipe that I found in a book from the library.  The house smelled so amazing when the carrot cake jam was bubbling.  It has spices in it as well as coconut, pineapple and pear.  Really fantastic on an English muffin with cream cheese.

If I get enough carrots, I may try to do another batch of the carrot cake jam.  I think they would make good gifts.

Readers, have you done any preserving lately?

Pallet Garden Fence Finished

It took a long time, but the pallet garden fence is finally finished!  I really like the way it turned out.

Sunnybrook Farm was kind enough to help us get some more pallets to finish it off.  It will be interesting to see how it holds up with time and weather.  Hopefully it won't wear too quickly. 

I like being inside the fence.  It's like my own little garden world.  What more could I ask for?