Sap season

This time 0f year is not winter and not spring. It is maple syrup season. The sap is flowing and that means cleaning the evaporator, installing the flew pipe on the stove in the sugar shack and tapping trees. When daytime temps reach above freezing and night time temps dip below freezing, sap is flowing. Sap is collected from sugar maples but can be collected from red, siver and other maples and other tree species but we like maple. For every 40 gallons of sap collected you can get 1 gallon of syrup, depending on the sugar content in the sap. Sap collection occurs every morning and late afternoon. When enough sap is collected to fill the evaporator the boiling begins. As the sap approaches the syrup stage it is drawn off and finished inside. The smell of evaporating syrup is like no other, sweet and mapley. Gods goodness in a tree.

Compost is gold

Compost is one of the best ways to add nutrients to your garden. Above I have provided a list of good things to add to your compost. Remember to layer each ingredient in small amounts to get the best results. We plan on using a no dig method this year in our garden beds to reduce weed seeds. You can add compost in the fall or add it in the spring when setting out plants. You can layer it on top of the bed or row, or incorporate it in the top 2 inches of soil. The idea is not to disturb the sub-soil, because this will encourage weeds. There are many videos and chapters written on techniques, so I wont repeat them here. Stay tuned for pictures and progress updates as planting season draws near. Spring is just around the corner.

Knitting and spinning and weaving, oh my!

During the cold month of January I am usually doing one of these three. Weaving seems to take up most of my crafting time as of late. I did get out some roving and am spinning that on my Louet. Here are some of the hand painted spindles I have created. I like to paint familar things here on the farm.

Bee Business

Well, after a long absence, I hope to be posting on a more regular schedule. We were able to bring two hives through the winter, so now Dave is cleaning up and replacing a bottom board on our oldest and most productive hive. The other colony was a collected swarm last year and seems to be doing fine.

Last Friday my Shetland/BFL ewe had triplets. I made little coats out of felted sweaters, because the temps were in the teens. All are doing great. Another set of triplets born this morning from my texel cross ewe and all are up and nursing. The temps today will be in the 50s.

Natural dyeing day

With the busyness of fall harvesting  it's a wonder I got any natural dyeing done at all. But I did and I love the results. I managed to dye 6 oz. of roving a medium blue with Japanese indigo, spun into yarn and overdyed with black oak bark. I prepared my dye bath by bringing 1 oz of dried oak bark almost to a boil, turned it off and let sit overnight. The next day I strained the bath and added alum, cream of tartar and tin using Bancrofts one pot method described in J. Lilies book.( I love this method, especially for roving). Along with the yarn I put 2 oz of white roving in the dye bath for a beautiful yellow. I simmered the bath gently for about 45 minutes. Turned off the burner until dye bath was cool. I then washed and rinsed the yarn and roving in warm water. I can spin these rovings as is or blend on my drum carder. The possibilities are endless.

Fall is here

 

Lots of things happening in the garden before the first frost. Lettuce, kale and greens are in a raised bed, ready for a hoop house. Sweet potatoes have been dug and stored. The garlic I harvested in July has been cleaned up and stems cut off ready for storage. From left to right, Chenok red, Inchelium, Italian and Polish red. My favorites are the Chesnok and Inchelium. My husband built a small greenhouse, which has carrots, spinach, lettuce and greens in  a bed I will cover with remay to winter over. Eliot Coleman has written several books worth reading on winter veggie harvests. The last of the Dahlia blooms will be cut and brought in for one last bouquet. Time for lots of knitting and weavin

Horse lover

After many months of feeding and caring for Deets, our 2 year old gelding, he is ground driving and doing a good job. Since this photo was taken Dave has built a small sled, one he can stand on and is working with it also. In the future he will be trained to pull logs, a mower and other small equipment. We will be training him to a cart for enjoyment. It can't be all work. He is a smart boy.

Great Lakes Fiber Show

Here is a shot of my booth who I share with Cathy at The Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster, Ohio on Memorial Day weekend. Lots of interest in the dye plants I bring to sell, and how to grow and use them for dyeing. There was good attendance and the weather was beautiful although a little chilly in the a.m. I bought a few things as this in my chance to get things I normally would have to order. A beautiful moiget Shetland fleece was the prize of the day as was cotton yarn I will use to weave a baby blanket for our 4th grandchild in
Sept.

Pansys and potatoes

Now that spring has arrived I can't help but get my hands in the dirt. Planting is in full swing with more seeds going in the ground every day. We are close to our last frost date, May 10th so tender annuals can be planted. Pansy's are my favorite spring flower because they can be planted early and last a long time if I dead head, and many varieties reseed themselves. Johnny Jump-ups and violas. I still have a variety that I got from my mother-in-law when we moved here 15 years ago.

Another favorite is Yukon Gold potatoes. They are fairly easy to grow and will store all winter if you don't eat them all up before spring. Which means I didn't plant enough. I have also planted a red variety for new potatoes, which we dig right after they bloom. They are small and tender and melt in your mouth. Potatoes are high in potassium and grown organically the skins can be eaten right along with the rest of the potato. I will hill the dirt up around the spuds and mulch when the plants emerge to keep down weeds and to keep moist. Now all they need is sunshine and rain.

First Overshot Project

With all the cold and snow and lots of time indoors, I've tackled my first over shot project. I love weaving with my hand spun yarn and this skein although mill spun using my sheep's wool, was naturally dyed with indigo. The warp was a 10/2 unmercerized cotton. I don't think I made any mistakes. 5 of my 6 ewes have lambed and my first dairy goat is due next week. Fresh goat milk sounds so good. I can make kefir and soft cheeses once more.

Fall ewe flock

These two ewes were ones from a lamb crop two springs ago. We had sold them to an Amish friend and had no plans of buying them back but...... our friends moved and weren't taking their sheep and we lost a 2 year old mule ewe last month to plant poisoning. A tomato plant had sprouted in the compost pile next to the pasture and when we noticed a problem it was too late. These ewes are out of our last texel ram and BFL/dorset cross ewes. that brings our total to 5 ewes which is plenty for our small farm.

The BFL is very obvious in the face and clean necks and bellies. The texel is also obvious in the hind end. They are nice ewes. They will be bred to our yearling texel ram, Elliot.

St. Johns Wort

Last week as I was taking a walk with my dogs, and I sometimes like to venture off the path, when  I came upon a bunch of St. Johns wort plants growing in a field. This is the first time I have found this herb and was very excited. I picked some and brought them home to use the flowers for an herbal oil used on sore muscles.

Here is a close up of the flowers.

This is the finished oil. I filled a pint jar 1/3 full of flowers and then poured olive oil over the flowers to 2/3 full. I placed the covered jar in a crock with water in it and heated on low overnight. You can see how the flowers turned the oil a red color. I strained the flowers out after it cooled and now I have a good oil to rub on sore muscles or in this case my husbands sciatica.

Wedding Flowers

On August 16 my 24 year old son is getting married and his fiance' wants a bouquet of country flowers. So last spring I planted a lot of different annuals like zinnia's, bachelor buttons, sunflowers and some dahlias. This morning was so cool and nice I decided to cut some of the flowers to get an idea of what will look nice. Then I took a walk and gathered more.

A close up of the garden flowers.

This was the final gathering, including herbs from my herb garden goldenrod and some queen ann's lace from a nearby field. What could be more fun.

Garden in full swing

As you can see by the photo, the sugar snap peas are taller than my 6'2" husband. We are eating sweet pods of peas and when the pods fill out I shell them and freeze them for winter. We grow this variety every year and are never disappointed.

Another project growing in the garden is non-GMO wheat. This variety is Maris Widgeon, an old heirloom from England. It grows to about 4 feet tall and the heads are a good 4 inches in length. We planted this last fall and will harvest it in July. I want to grow wheat for sprouting and grinding for bread. This spring we planted Kamut (an ancient wheat) and Sonoran white. These are all on trial and we will pick the one that does best here in SE Ohio. WE will also consider how easy they are to winnow, whether they lodge and how they taste.

Apple Cider vinegar

It has been awhile since I've posted any farm activity. I've been trying to get all my winter weaving, spinning and knitting projects done because I know as soon as it warms up I will be outside starting the garden.  I have been very busy with lambing and kidding. One big doe kid from my 3 year old alpine doe needed help, but all are well and the doe kid is one of the nicest we've had from our alpines. We breed for milk and dairy soundness, which means sound legs good udder attachment, teat placement and size and a good sound structure to produce milk. We've had 1 ewe lamb out of a Shetland mule bred to our texel ram and a ewe and ram out of our shetlands bred to a BFL. Pictures in next post. I'm posting a picture of apple cider vinegar I bottled up in January after fermenting since September from apple cider from our own apples. It turned out very good and with 2 1/2 gallons I shouldn't run out. I put a mother in the cider  I got from an amish friend, and let it work for about 4 months. Raw unpasteurised cider vinegar is high in potassium and can be sprayed on your animals hay daily for about 2 weeks before lambing or kidding to help with easier births. Adding it to the water is another way to get it in their systems. The Robins have returned and the Blue birds too so Spring is not far off.

Arctic Vortex Projects

What am I doing to keep myself busy during the freeze? I bought an Irish penny whistle and am learning to play. This is something I have always wanted to learn. I also play the violin, guitar, and mountain dulcimer. It is fairly simple if you can play by ear. What fun!

My next project is spinning small amounts (30-60yds.) of Shetland wool into a fine yarn to knit Kate Davies, Sheeps Heid Tam. I need 9 colors and so far have 5. I am combing the wool and blending some to get different colors. I am mostly using the neck wool which is very soft.

And last but not least is THE PROJECT. Sarah is a pup out of our male border collie Craig and our Ruby who is a Jack Russel-Heeler mix. She is 12 weeks old and very smart. If you notice the light yarn in the above picture, that is her doing. While I was on the phone, she found my basket and thought this skein was so much fun to play with. No damage done but it will take awhile to unravel.

Old Saint Nick?

I was caught kissing Santa Claus. We weren't under the mistletoe but who could pass up an opportunity like this! Even Saint Nick knows the reason for the season. For born this day in the City of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Rooster's in the Hen house

Our new chickens are in the chicken house finally. A couple of weeks ago on a 50 degree day we butchered our old hens for stewing and moved our young hens and rooster out of the chicken tractor into the chicken house. Just in time because the weather turned very cold. The breed of rooster is a Partridge Plymouth Rock with a Speckled Sussex hen in front. Behind the rooster(who I haven't named yet) is a Partridge hen and a Delaware hen(white). I have 9 hens in all which make for a handsome group. These heavy breeds were chosen because they are dual purpose, good for laying, foraging for food and for meat. The hens can become broody and hatch out chicks, at least that is what I hope for next summer. We haven't got any eggs yet but the hens are approaching 5 months so I expect some at any time.

Butchering and sausage

 

 

 

 

This past weekend we butchered the largest pig and I did something I have never done in 57 years. I cleaned hog intestines for sausage casings. My neighbor, who has cleaned hog intestines before told me how to do it.  My husband squeezed the small intestines out and handed me a pan full of casings. first I turned them inside out and scraped the membrane off of the intestines. It took a little while to get the hang of it but as I went I got better, and NO it did not smell bad. The bottom picture is sausage we made. The next day we smoked the sausage and it was very tasty. We probably got 20-30 pounds of link sausage and a lot more bulk. We seasoned it with sage, salt and pepper.