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February in Maui

In my humble opinion, this is well worth the read, even though it is OVER ONE YEAR OLD!  February, 2010 had a bitter pill to swallow where the weather is concerned.  And anyone who experienced the Ice Storm in Kentucky was thankful in February, 2011 that nothing even close to the 2010 pattern was repeated! 

WRITTEN BUT NEVER POSTED IN 2010:

I'm sure many of you will not read this until you get back from your vacations in the islands or Europe, as February is such a good month to be away from the grey days of Winter.  Some take their family trips now to beat the blahs of boredom or the bleak streets of dirty snow.  

Where are we vacationing in February you might wonder?  We are barely through the first half of the month and our adventures are in full game. 

Not all our Christmas decorations are down, but by the 2nd of February we have already survived the worst ice storm of the century and have come out strong.  Our particular county had every tree in existance bowing under the weight of an inch of ice on each branch until what seems like more than half of the trees succumbed and broke in two, snapped their branches, or just cracked up the middle from the pressure.  This all came on Tuesday, January 27th and lasted for two days.  Then came the blocked roads slick with ice and the power lines down everywhere.  Most of the surrounding counties including ours had no electricity.  And then to add insult to injury, after the second day, we were informed that the water company would be shutting off their pressure as they had no electricity in which to filter the water.

We had to lug water out to our livestock when the well stopped pumping, and all our electric mesh pasture fencing hung low to the frozen ground from the weight on each wire.  All our chickens and goats were able to step over it and roam freely, once again foraging for nothing alive, mixing flocks and having rooster fights.  And we had it good.

The county water supply to our Farm really never went off, except for about an hour, even though the pressure went low and high regularly.  Having lived in New England for most of my life, upon hearing that rain was coming with freezing temperatures, I immediately went into rote measures and we filled every cooler and tub with reserve water, not knowing how long we might be out of power if we lost it.  Therefore, we had plenty of water and only had to put our goats in the colt barn for a couple of days.  We lost a few of our two month old chicks and I don't know if they were too crowded in the milking parlor or susceptible to the frigid air.  It was too cold to move them into the teen barn, who had already been laying eggs for a month, and it's not good to mix ages of hens.  We were some of the few who had it good! 

In the meantime, we were snug in beds like bugs in a rug.  Someone up there had seen fit to have us purchase an Amish farmhouse equipped with gas furnace in the living room, gas domestic hot water heater, gas cook stove and gas lights.  So, we were warm, we could prepare warm food and we had lights.  I had the foresight last year to buy an emergency radio so we even had updates of the rescue efforts.

The clean up crews of volunteer neighbors were out 24/7, removing broken limbs from roadways, driveways, and dangling power poles.  Our door usually had someone knocking to be sure we were OK and the National Guard came 3 times to offer us water in case we were out.  We finally took some the last time they stopped.  People were very resourceful and cooked on their grills, fired up little used wood stoves or basement stoves.  We were able to give away dozens of eggs to anyone who came whether they thought they could use them or not.  After all, it was the least we could do.  We were stuck at home so we baked, gave food away, sat in our cars to recharge our phones, talked a lot and watched the ice melt.  For the most part neighbor helped neighbor or families bunked in with each other, and those who just couldn't survive at home went for shelter in public buildings.  The schools were subsequently closed to students the better part of a week and a half due to most families having no water or electricity or both.    

We finally got our electric back on Saturday morning and life kind of got back to normal.  Normal here is being concerned about our neighbors and they being concerned about us.  When we went shopping, we started our conversations by asking people how they were doing with the storm, or how the waitress was handling the aftermath.  It's been about a week and a half now and many are still without power and some without water.  A cashier about 30 minutes away from us calmly told us that she was told not to expect electricity back for 4-6 weeks!    

So, we just about took all the jugs of extra water out of the kitchen when we got the warning yesterday that a tornado was heading our way.  It never showed, but the high winds blew off the house siding strips on the ceiling of our front porch.  We got out there, holding on to the brave daughter hammering, standing on our picnic tables to reach, taking pictures for posterity, waving to the drivers-by, all amidst 40-50 mph wind gusts.  What an adventure!!!

Leave for vacation?  The great escape?  Not on your life.  We are here for the full adventure, helping one another and helped in return.  I suggest that if you are ever in a situation like this, that you help someone more needy than yourself for the moment and it will eventually come around to you in time.

Darlene Rose

Country Girl #1    

       

      

The Meaning of Thanksgiving - Then and Now

This is a post that began in November and is concluding in February!  Don't ask me why I didn't send it in 2008 but here is our Thanksgiving tale, spanning 3 months, and what a journey!

A year ago exactly in November I purchased our property in Kentucky and who knew what was in store...it's all good here!  So, on Thanksgiving Day we celebrated our God's goodness to our nation, thankful for our family and our achievements, but also for the anniversary of our sustainable life farm and community. 

Now I don't mean there weren't challenges...there are.  But, we are meeting them head-on and working hard to resolve each one with purpose and efficiency.  The bottom line is that each decision we make is based on leading us to the same goal of an environmentally-friendly, self-sustaining, Green, country lifestyle that as much as possible supports local labor, local food and community.  Therefore each endeavor we take on must meet those criteria.

Let me give you a few examples of our challenges and successes - like the HVAC (Heating Venting Air Conditioning).  We already have radiant floor heating in the basement that needs to be connected to new - yet to be installed - pex tubes under the first floor subfloor.  Then we need hot water baseboard installed in the rest of the addition and farmhouse generated by a wood furnace that heats water about 250 feet up the hill.  And last, air conditioning ductwork needs to be added throughout for cooling in the summer.  I designed this system to take advantage of the 50+ acres of woods, not to mention the countless number of logs already on the ground waiting for me to complete this endeavor.  Things are looking up as I have recently located a company that is experienced in these areas and they should be able to begin installation this week....

(Now the February update - the HVAC never even began to be installed until this month, but should be finished in about 2 weeks.  The two systems are to work in cooperation with each other and keep our air temperature balanced!  The exterior wood furnace will have to be considered in the future as it is not longer in the budget at this time, but can be a simple addition when the time is right.)        

Our chickens have not been as productive as they should be either...with the older hens slowing down their egg laying appreciably and the six-month olds - who we call the teenagers - not all beginning to lay consistantly.  So, we have a plan in place which will take some effort and record-keeping, but we will now determine who is laying and who is not.  Also 100 more day-olds will be arriving early December which will begin their egg-laying career in the Spring, just in time for the Farmers Market season.  I also should be able to sell some of those egg-ready pullets if anyone in the community is looking to add to their flock or begin one, like I did last Spring.  I was also able to locate a new feed supplier which will cut down on my costs and increase the nutrition of our grain.  We rely on the sale of eggs with the chickens paying for themselves as a steady stream of income to help keep the balance of sustainable farm life.

(FEB.:  We have had a very prolific turnaround from our laying flock after we changed their feed, and turned on some early lights and late lights in their pasture.  My 85 layers which were giving us up to 20 eggs per day turned into 100 layers as the teens matured and all are now producing 36 dozen PER WEEK!  My complaints in the Fall seem so trite right now as we beef up our marketing skills to keep our refrigerator stock flowing!!!)

Maggie, our faithful livestock watchdog has added to the excitement around here by presenting us with 9 bouncing puppies!!!  We saw a black limping dog around some months ago and our neighor told us there was an extra large brown one here also for a few days, which we never saw.  It seems like the latter phantom is her counterpart as most of the newbies are brown, with some white paws for good measure,as the protective Mom is completely white.  We will plan to keep one for additional livestock care in the Spring, and sell the rest as  presents, to be picked up 2 weeks after  Christmas.

(FEB.:  Selling puppies was a great idea and having them all go to good homes before January 1st was admirable.  But, as the two month mark and we still had all the puppies, we decided to GIVE them away to good homes.  We had a great time with them and did keep one which is now 30 pounds at 3 months of age.  Gonna be a BIG boy everyone tells us.)

What a difference a few calendar pages can make!  I am surprised myself at the great turn of events with the concerns I'd had last Autumn.  I'm taking notes on today's concerns so I can give them their proper wave of the back of my hand to aleviate any stress I may feel that I need to entertain.  Let this be a lesson to us all.

Darlene Rose 

Country Girl #1        

         

Vegetables in Season

There are some of you that already know what "vegetables in season" REALLY means, and I thought I did too until I moved to Kentucky.  Now that I'm here, it doesn't mean the same anymore and never will...Most people go to the grocery store and see a variety of fruits and vegetables on the shelves.  If it is Summer, the peaches and plums are plentiful and blueberries, cherries and strawberries are luscious.  When Autumn weather hits, the apples hit the stands in every size and color along with acorn squash and pumpkins.  Winter hauls up oranges from the South and potatoes come down from Maine.  Lettuce, radishes and herbs bring in early Spring. However, when someone has a garden or a farm plot, that person is on the other side of the counter, so to speak.  Our 60 x 64 foot garden last spring and summer really produced such an enjoyable bounty that I now know what "in season" means because when that particular product ripens, it is ready to be dealt with NOW!!!       First we got the green onions and lettuce, which took only a few weeks to come up, looking beautiful.  Then the squash, cucumbers and zucchini flourished, followed by tomatoes and peppers.  The corn was successful as well, along with late season lettuce.  And even later in the season, peppers and tomatoes came in stronger than the first harvest.       What this means is that we needed to find ways to distribute our goods by finding markets for our products each harvest time...  A. More is harvested than one person or family can use; B. The excess needs to be used or will end up being composted; C. Selling at the Farmers Market is a good community service, providing fresh local products as all families do not have gardens; and D. What is not eaten fresh or sold must be processed by either canning, freezing or baking/cooking and then frozen.       Our personal value of a sustainable farm life has an even more far-reaching aim of being able to support ourselves as much as possible from our own land.  This includes bartering with neighbors who share these same values, for products which we don't grow and in turn, supplying them with products which they don't have.  I can vividly see summer squash burgeoning our refrigerators duing mid summer awaiting the two Farmers Market days per week and still having more than we knew what to do with.  Time to be resourceful I say, making four squash recipes in one week - amid the groans of "more squash" from my youngest. Then I resorted to freezing quart after quart and still being able to trade with a farmer for cucumbers, as our cukes had not filled out as early in the season as their hearty crop.       This involves much community communication, goodwill, and support, not to mention time and effort.  During those same weeks that we cooked and canned - I should say, froze - many zip lock bags of tomatoes, (as we are not adept at true canning yet),  we also went to a local farmer for our wonderful lesson on "corning".  This is a process of picking the ears of corn off the stalks in the field, taking them back to the barn to shuck them and take off the silk with vegetable brushes and then cutting the kernals off in just the right way which will produce a cream-corn style when served.  It then took several hours inside their home to cook thousands of kernals in pans on the stove, cooling the corn with big frozen jugs of ice in gigantic bowls and then freezing them in quart and pint sized containers for winter fare.  We "put up" about 80 containers of corn in all and were even blessed to take home some "fruit" of our labor to add to our table during these cold days of winter.       So why am I writing all this in January you might ask?  Our desire is to teach, motivate and help others to try some sustainable ideas in their own backyard, even if you are a city dweller.  We were so delighted recently when a good friend from New York City visited and exclaimed with satisfaction that he had successfully raised fresh produce on his windowsill this past summer.  What a joy to our hearts to see our vision bearing fruit in the hearts and soil of others.         Well, there is no better time to dream and research than during the long quiet-garden days of winter.  If you already have experience starting a garden, this is valuable assessment time to see what crops were more successful than others and which ones you will repeat next season.  It is also time to quantify what you planted and what yeild did you reap for yourself, your Farmers Market or for your neighbors.  If you have never planted produce, where might you set out a pot or two with tomato plants or lettuce to pick at a moments notice?  Or, try determining what herbs and vegetables you could add to your already established flower garden.  There is nothing finer than going out to smell the roses in summer and returning with a basketful of salad for the evening meal. The greatest surprises we had this year were harvesting our own crops from our own garden, smelling the delightful scents of our herbs amid our perennial flowers within easy reach of our front porch, eating farm fresh produce daily, and realizing we could do it...without prior training or experience.  How about you?  What will you change this year about your eating style and will you venture to start a pot or two, or a garden plot or add something novel to your already existing garden? Have fun with it and expect the best...you can find your green thumb! Darlene Rose Country Girl 1     

Our Feathered Friends

Wanted to give you an update on our poultry...sort of making the loop of what I have shared with you and what has progressed.  We have about 90 chickens now and about 20 ducks.  It has been a good season and a challenging season for this farmer wanna be... 

You remember I was able to locate a laying flock of hens just prior to the opening day of our local Farmers Market end of April.  Well, we were doing fine with egg production and sales until the Kentucky heatwave, when it seems most egg layers went on strike for various reasons.  The  chickens milled around like idle teenagers and the ducks became broody, which means that they started setting on their nest of eggs and hissed when I tried to collect my profits from underneath them. 

This went on for about a week, until I decided to allow them to add to their family and our flock.  I am a systems analyst in heart and don't make decisions lightly, seriously considering the ramifications of such a decision...the domino effect as I affectionately have dubbed it, how each will affect other issues surrounding it.  We now would have no duck eggs for the Market which had become quite popular, one woman recently requesting 10 dozen as she makes great omelets with them.  Also, as two ducks were setting on about 13 eggs each, out in the two-acre West Pond Pasture, I realized the first night that I would get no sleep for more than a month wondering if a fox or coyote were after them, as we lock all our livestock up in the milking parlor barn...now our chicken coop.  Not to mention, that even after any fertile eggs hatched, the ducklings would need a week or two before they would be ready to be semi-independent.  As I looked at the prospect of no sleep for me for about 40-50 days, I went out one evening at dusk with my trusty "animal-lover" daughter, Snow White, we gathered up both Mom Ducks and 26 eggs and made a shallow nest in our hay, way back in the second pen of the goat section of our chicken coop.  There they stayed relatively undisturbed for the last month and now we have 5-6 new black baby ducks waddling after their Moms, as it should be!

The chickens on the other hand have gone back to their original nature of hanging out in the cool of the barn which of course increases my maintenance of manure scooping 100-fold...not my style.  I love low maintenance and therefore like extremely efficient flow charts of activity...even from my poultry.  Soooo, long story short, 164 feet of electric mesh fencing has arrived and was installed YESTERDAY - Hooray - while my husband is also on duty to help build a Rain Shelter to put in the middle of this "surround system" of predator protection and containment for each age group - the layers in one, the teenage pullets (will start laying at 4-5 months of age, which mine have begun with tiny eggs we toss out for the first 2 weeks until they get a bit bigger), and the "babies" which are about 3 months old at this juncture in another.  The shelters will allow each group to be pasture raised to gobble up all the bugs they can find within the confines of this electrified netting as well as have food and cool water from a watering contraption inside the shelter and their nests will also be close at hand as each hen of laying age delivers an egg about once a day or every other day.  They are locked up each night by me to roost on protected high perches and let out again in the morning for fresh table scraps to pick through and enjoy.  The thing about this way of raising poultry is that it enhances the earth tremendously as each section is scratched and fertilized for several weeks with the hens also eating the juicy grasses.  Then the Rain Shelter, (which is built on skids, something like a wooden snow ski on each side) is dragged, by my pulling on an attached rope - strenuous but low maintenance, for about 40 feet to a new section of the pasture for another bounteous feast and so on.  I get my pasture fertilized and raked, and they get a new crop of grass, bugs and raw soil to manage.

It is quite a wonderful system when you think about how the majority of chickens live in confined cages, laying egg after egg without ever seeing the light of day, much less the freedom of free choice morsels and rotational grazing.  I almost bought another farm in North Carolina last year before settling here as they had a 450 foot barn - as big as a football field it seemed - at least as long as the eye could see - full of 11,000 laying hens.  When I walked inside for a brief look, they were all crowded on the dusty floor with the lights on 24/7 to encourage them to constantly eat pellets treated with hormones to facilitate the most egg production and they had a life span of about one year.  I didn't want the chicken business, just the gigantic barn for my future plans.  I vetoed that farm.

No, I am happy here.  The solar electric fencers have just arrived and we should set them up today or tomorrow.  And with any grace, the Rain Shelters should be ready too as our good friend Paul (he and his wife Alison are the ones who gave us the walking tour of their farm and blueprints for the units) is coming to help us construct the frames today...real community spirit.  I love that the most!

It will be back to our project soon, but tonight we celebrate our second and third daughters' double birthday, August 28, 2008 by going out to dinner and opening some of their presents.  But, on Saturday, the big "sports" themed party will begin at 3 pm with softball, volleyball, horseshoes, slip and slide, corn hole toss, not to mention the barbecue chicken, hot dogs, baked beans, salads, watermelon, sweet tea and lemonade and cupcakes in the shapes of soccer and baseballs.  Wish you could be here!

Plan to visit soon to be a part of whatever it is that you envision yourself to be.  We'll be waiting...

Country Girl 1

         

An Amish Wedding

For months now I have wanted to tell you that we went to an Amish wedding and we were indeed so honored to be invited.  The daughter and son of a neighbor were both marrying in a double ceremony. 

A three and one-half hour service in German usually takes place on Thursday with over 300 guests in attendance.  It was with eager anticipation that my oldest daughter, who desired with all her heart to go from beginning to end, got permission and experienced the event in all its fullness including the men singing the psalms in German, recounting the days of old and the blessings of our God.  I did not attend the entire time as the rest of us volunteered to drive all those that were preparing the meals at one of the bride's homes to the place of the wedding so they too could witness the ceremony itself.  The regional Bishop led the service with several preachers giving messages also in German.   

German or not, I could still understand the minister when he said that a man should leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife...  Sweet words.  But the highlight for me was the deep baritone singing of all the men.  For years, I had told my children stories of my family's tradition of going to the Russian Orthodox Easter services of my grandmother which lasted until after midnight and of my hearing the deep harmonious sounds of the men singing in their native language the psalms of old.  And of the wizened, old priest with the decanter of incense in a golden flask attached to gold chains swishing through the air filling the church sanctuary with the sweet aroma of frankincense I am so fond of today.      

Afterward, we all headed back to the home where the pleasant food awaited, some in horse and buggy and others in cars with drivers.   

An Amish wedding is a very industrious affair and they only occur in the Spring and Fall with hundreds of attendees and many of those invited either traveling for hundreds of miles to celebrate, while others more local become the servants of the day.  The bride hand picks a select group of women in the community to be honored to be the cooks or the servers.  It is quite a responsibility as most of the preparation is done early that morning right at the reception site, in this case at the home of one of the bride's parents.

One tent was set up with a row of gas stoves and ovens to cook the noonday meal.  The festivities of volleyball, badminton or refreshments went on throughout the entire day.  A bit of rain did not dampen anyone's spirit as the tents and chairs allowed us to happily visit and meet new neighbors and out of town families from neighboring states amidst the continued singing of the men.  The children played with their friends and never seemed to need correcting by their parents.  No one got into trouble and no matter what age, each youngster seemed to know just what was correct and what wasn't. 

After some time, the brides opened their gifts with their attendants keeping lists of gifts and givers.  The stoves were again re-fired several hours later to feed the guests a second dinner time meal.  However, after the adults had eaten, each young single person was paired up with either their own boy or girlfriend or suitably matched with an available friend to be escorted into their own community meal where they chatted or sang by themselves.  Many a married couple came to meet in this way, we were told.

Our oldest three girls had an invitation to sing a few of their own songs in the evening and we were all blessed to be together on such a joyous occasion.  We find the Amish to be gracious, hospitable neighbors that we believe we are most fortunate to live among.  They, like me, desire to live a more plain and simple life. 

Often I find that I am reliving an experience here in KY that is very memorable and satisfying from my youth.  And of course, there are numerous occasions when I experience something entirely new and quite miraculous.  This country life really does agree with me!    

As I sometimes say...Don't knock it unless you've tried it...

Country Girl 1            

Moving Day for the Teenagers

Do you remember my telling you some time ago that we got 30 day-old chicks from a hatchery?  They arrived bright and early Monday morning as I got a call from our local post office that I could come and get them then or I could have the package delivered mid-day on my doorstep.  I jumped in the car and smiled all the way home.  They were so cute and cuddly as peeping, fluffy newcomers.  Some were black, some were yellow and some were a bit of both.  I had wanted many varieties, and I counted out 30 instead of the 26 I had ordered, which is what the hatcheries do to keep everybody warm.  I got out my catalog and tried to identify which were which  Tough job as many chicks look alike, although as adults they look completely different.

Their brooder was already warm with a heat light, fresh shavings on the bottom and a layer of newspaper for one day so they wouldn't be confused about what was food and what was bedding.  The second day, i took the newsprint away and they snuggled down in the shavings, ate all day long when they weren't huddled together to sleep and successfully found their vitamin-enriched water again.  All was well in Chicken Land...

That, as I said was 7 weeks ago.  After 1 week, they grew too big and too aggressive toward one another for the long Rubbermaid box I had them in.  They looked like a small nursery school where some children are riding scooters and bumping into the more sedate kids.  Some of the week-olds were happy to sit quietly and snooze, but not so the others who would test their wings and fail to fly over the smaller birds, toppling them and sending everyone squawking in excitement.

Thus, they were all moved out into the Milking Parlor, which is on the East side of the Poultry and Goat Barn.  We set up an even bigger space with the same heat lamp strung over even more shavings, with an 18 inch cardboard up the sides.  They were perplexed the first few days, but easily got used to these surroundings and then eventually a bigger grain feeder and bigger waterer.  We also had to add a room space heater as we couldn't maintain the recommended temperatures of 95 the first week and 5 degrees less each successive week.  Did you remember we have very little available electricity and had to reorganize our extension cords into the Milking Parlor...just checking to see if you are paying attention.  Ha!    

At about five weeks of age, several of them learned how to fly up and perch on top of the cardboard side walls.  Of course, their weight began to sag the top of it and last week it caved completely in.  They "took over" the entire milking parlor with this newfound freedom and we added straw to the rest of the floor, as this makes for easier clean-up to the compost pile.

With a startle, a couple of days ago I realized that tomorrow or Monday my new batch of day-olds will be arriving at the post office!  These are even different varieties than I already have and I needed to be ready again.  So, my now "teenagers" had moving day to the "big girls" poultry barn this past Thursday.

What a job!  They have not been handled and were terrified to be caught.  I kept promising them they were going to a better place and they would enjoy it more...  They were actually quite comical afterward when they were exploring their new home, on the "high ground" of the Chicken Coop, as our Poultry Barn has a raised section which can be closed off from the lower section.  I gave them one night of peace from the other hens by putting them up there with the ducks, who have claimed the high ground and who could care less that there were 30 little, new bodies in their space.  However, chickens have a pecking order, so I needed to have new ones added to the older ones just before dark.  That way the hens just want to go to sleep before there is no light and always look for something to perch on higher than the ground and can't be bothered pecking at the little ones.  In the morning, they seem to accept the additions more readily, and on that particular day, it was good weather and I scooted all of the big chickens outside for the day.

This morning, I made all the teenagers leave the high ground just for a little while, after the big girls were outside.  Wlithin 10 minutes they all had found their way back to high ground again and I hope they will learn to use the new perches we built up there, instead of perching on the gates that the last layers I bought have claimed.  Interestingly enough, the four hens I brought from CT, (Flopsy - a Polish crested with a fancy plumage on top of her head - very cute; Maude - a creamy, soft caramel colored Buff Orpington who is so friendly she runs to me to be picked up and carried; Dottie - a black and white speckled hen that reminds me of dots and I think she is a Dominique; and the White Chick - pure white, pretty aloof and I believe she is an Americauna that lays Easter colored eggs of green, blue and pinkish; they always perch in the nests I brought down also and they refuse to stay inside the Pond Pasture with the others.  Creatures of habit to a T... 

Tomorrow is Sunday and I hope good weather again as I plan to try scooting the teenagers outside too through my little swinging trap door, complete with an exterior ramp and an inside milk crate to hop on for them to reach the hole to get out...let's see how long it takes this group to learn what it took the older ladies weeks to get.  Of course, I will need to introduce Maggie to the teens.

I should also say at this point that animal lover daughter Snow White went this week to our local feed store and came home with day old ducks...four Mallards and two Buff Orpingtons are now back in the original brooder with the heat light on and shavings and peeping most of the time.  Did I tell you that ducks are much messier to care for...but are soooo cute...as they don't just drink their water.  They play in it all the time until their shavings are soaked and they are soaked and then they play in it some more until it is all gone and then they need clean, fresh water at just the right intervals so that they don't parch to death or they don't live in soggy, cold bedding either.  Some challenge.  Did I tell you that we sold out of duck eggs this week at the Farmers Market?  So, we need more ducks...

What stage of life do you think you are in?  Day Old...Tween...Teen...Adult... Can you recall some of your teenage years and what you thought was so cool but you'd be embarrassed to admit it now...just think of these chicks in the same way.  They are passing through this stage and when they are about 20 weeks old, they mature and give us eggs...  Happy maturing!

Farm Girl 1   

Well, Bless Her Heart

Last week I had a great time baking a cake which I planned to give to a nearby family that was going through a difficult time.  It is one of my favorite recipes, Chocolate Sour Cream Cake with cooked vanilla frosting topped with coconut.

I couldn't find my usual baking pans, as most things are still packed, but I was sure that we had already baked a cake in them in Kentucky.  I resolved to ask my daughters if they had borrowed the pans and taken them home on another occasion and had not yet returned them, and in the mean time decided to use a bundt pan instead.  I made the recipe as usual, sprayed the pan, poured in the creamy batter and adjusted the temperature of the gas oven as I am used to an electric oven's heat.

Then I went outside to smell the flowers and visit with a gardening soul on the front porch as she fussed with the new plants and enjoyed her work.  Occasionally I went back inside to check the oven and finally the cake tested done with a dry toothpick coming out clean and the kitchen filled with flavor. 

I don't remember how long I waited for the pan to cool before I turned it upside-down on a platter, but when I did, to my utter shock, only half of the cake dropped out and the rest stuck tight to the bottom of the bundt pan.  Not only was there just half a cake there, but what was there was crumbly and broke apart on the dish.

I was so stunned that I just left the room, went back outside and exclaimed that there would be no cake for the neighbors today.  My daughter accepted this news without batting an eye and kept to her flowers, only mildly asking what had happened.      

After about half an hour, I returned to the kitchen to assess the situation.  Shake as I might, I could not get the rest of the cake out of the pan.  I tried scraping it out with a soft spatula and it only came out in clumps.  I finally decided to throw it all together on the platter, no matter how it looked and proceeded to cook the flour based frosting.  I didn't even let it cool, but ladled it out on the mound of crumbs with an air of playing with sand in the sandbox...and here's the revelation...repeating over and over, "Well, bless her heart...well, bless her heart."

I had to laugh out loud at myself, because before moving to Kentucky, I would have been such a professed perfectionist that I probably would have thrown the whole "mess" away, promptly out of the oven...maybe even the bundt pan too.

But, here I was in my southern drawl saying, "Well, Bless Her Heart," and accepting this situation for what it was...a cake not coming out the way I expected.  In actuality, my family ate that dessert after dinner and loved it and said that maybe I should have sent it over to the neighbor as it was so delicious and no one would know any different.

What do you think of that?  Real progress is being made in me, I'm sure, and I didn't even come to Kentucky thinking I would get an internal transformation, but that I would just go to a place that would be different.  There is something uniquely heavenly about living here.  Everything is soft, easy, accepting, welcoming, helpful, and expectant - even amidst the daily challenges.

I find myself pausing occasionally to say "Well, bless her heart" in a sing-songey way and it is so soothing, because it is so accepting.  It is so easy.

My heart is blessed as I become "country" in a miraculous sort of way...

Farm Girl 1

       

Could Our Farm Be Getting Small?

I think I read somewhere that a 140 acre farm in Kentucky is considered a medium to large size farm.  I bought this property thinking that it is a pretty big place.

My redesigned kitchen will be in the same room as the existing one on the front East wall of the farmhouse, with some minor changes.  So the question has arisen, "Where shall we put the new septic system to accommodate the commercial kitchen I am endeavoring to put in?"  In order to be approved for commercial use (serving food that we make and sell here or at the Farmers Market and to the public), they require a three pot sink, a separate hand sink and a mop sink.  As I don't want the farmhouse to look like a commercial kitchen, in my design that we forwarded to the capital in Frankfort for approval, I want a walk-in pantry just outside the kitchen door to the North which will include the three pot sink and mop sink with access to more storage in the basement.  This will also let me keep some of my dry storage items in convenient bins close at hand. 

This means that the new septic system in the East Pasture will be quite extensive in the lower third of the field.  Our 60 x 64 foot vegetable garden is now in the upper portion and likely in the future to expand.  The contractor has been agreeable to leave me as much room as possible of the East pasture for the garden and still meet state codes for the lateral lines.  Eventually, the section that has the laterals might be able to be used for light livestock, but not until it settles.

My West two acre field is more of a slope and the lower section floods for about a day after a heavy rain, so it isn't good for a garden.  The upper level could be good for livestock, which I have considered for alpaca in the future with easy access to the lower level of the big bank barn.

The two acre Pond Pasture is already designated for goats, chickens and ducks.  It's a good flat field, right behind the big bank barn, convenient to the old milking parlor, with a ready water supply.  Just between these two barns will be a good location to bury my three tractor tires I bought at auction so guest children can climb on them.

Just above the East pasture is the row of outbuildings - Workshop, Hay Barn and Colt Stable.  Behind them is another two acre pasture which slopes down a gentle hill that our neighbor's colts are in right now...very convenient for horses and the colt stable.

So that brings me to the 14 1/4 acre Double-Pond Pasture that runs the whole width of our property which our three horses live in now.  Behind that are the two Hay Pastures - the West one is 4 1/2 acres and the East is a bit over 9 1/4 acres.  The "back 40", which is only really 29 acres, (but the "back 40" is what they say in the movies) is what has been designated for rotational grazing of cattle by a neighboring farmer to lease from us.  That leaves the remainder of our 140 acres in timber or logged woods - about 62 acres.  I'm considering letting a bunch of hogs out in those woods, fenced in to eat and clear the scrub at the base of the big trees.  I will be able to get more cleared land that way eventually.

Anyway, when we consider having more garden or planting blueberry bushes or an apple orchard...you can see the challenge of just "where" to put them.  Blueberries are 6' x 6' and apple trees are even bigger, so we are talking about a very large designated area.

Now that I am actually on the land, I realize how very valuable it is and how strategic planning can bring the most benefit for us, our livestock and our crops.  Whatever my decisions, I always consider the view that I may be disturbing and don't want to put trees in the front that may block the back fields.  I always consider the value of the soil and endeavor to not put anything into it that would compromise its natural organic state.  Our livestock deserve the very best care and feed, free from herbicides, pesticides and artificial growth-producing  hormones.  And we, as consumers of the products of these animals deserve uncontaminated, whole foods that lead to our increased health and well-being.  The use of the land is foundational to all life.

Can you see how I'm feeling that I'm running out of space?  I tend to comfort myself with the thought that I am probably not running out of room, but am just inexperienced about these things and will get the answers I need when it is time to know.  But, I sure hope I know soon, as it takes blueberry bushes years to mature and produce an abundant crop of fruit.  Orchards have a similar time frame.  And I haven't said anything about bee hives...where should they go so we'll be able to see them from afar, but not be too near our B & B guests?

I'm happily ordering some great books that will come soon about country life, homesteading, survival skills, root cellars for putting foods by, some old time country recipes, and tools for the farmer.  I can hardly wait.

I have always been blessed with a certain amount of foresight, being a planner at heart, goal oriented and such...so now I see that I am more content to live out each day with wisdom, but leave the long term planning to my Creator, as I enjoy each moment more.  I actually have to force myself to do this as it is truly foreign to me.  I hear people saying to me...it will work out...enjoy each challenge...are you doing OK?...looks like things are moving along...you are really doing an awesome job...  These words are music to my ears and I replay the tapes of these muses.  They remind me that everything is really OK.   

I am learning to appreciate my space...be it ever so humble...or grandiose.  Just so long as I keep a good perspective on the fact that I have space to enjoy, really enjoy, and not just inhabit it.  I think that makes all the difference.

Farm Girl 1                           

The Iris Blooms

Gardening is a real big thing here right now!  Every chance we get, we are out in the gardens.  We have predominantly two - one in the topmost part of our two acre East Pasture reserved for vegetables, and the front perennial beds that wrap around the Wrap Around Porch welcoming us home as we come around the curve, will greet all our guests upon arrival to our bed and breakfast, and is currently giving all the passersby signs of progress.  (We know this when we meet the local folk downtown, or at the elementary school, or just about anywhere and they comment on what changes they see each week.) 

I must say at this point that it is my third daughter who has spearheaded all the gardening, with the rest of us taking minor roles.  She has been busy for months pouring over seed catalogs, hoeing, spreading compost and peat moss, rototilling until her arms feel as if they will fall off, and has been acquiring the advice and plants, rhizomes, bulbs, seeds and flowers to plant.  She is our avid Farmers Market rep, never tiring of filling up our huge cooler with all the farm fresh, pasture raised chicken and duck eggs as well as all the other sundry items necessary like table, chairs, signs, crates, stuffed chicken, etc.

Most everything here has a "foundational" quality to it at this time.  The cement foundation has been poured in a deep hole in the back yard for the basement of the new addition, with mounds of red soil everywhere...the evidence that something has been begun back there.  The drain and septic system lines have been dug across the bright green lawns and field, in the lower portion of the East Pasture, with mounds of brown soil everywhere...evidence that something is being done over there.  And the vegetable garden has been rototilled and has mounds of dark compost and manure piled everywhere on top of black mesh...in evidence that we are endeavoring to put in a garden of sorts.  So many pokers in so many fires can be daunting at times.   

But the front garden, that can be seen with all the joyful colors of our recent bushy and floral purshases, has produced our first fruit - the iris has bloomed!  These iris transplants were given to us early on and were put in with faith-filled naivety...hopeful that our gardening inexperience and our Kentucky unfamiliarity would not be factors when we dropped the wilting stems into the "prepared" beds.   And, Lo and Behold...it blooms! 

This is really a joy!  I haven't had a garden in years and have been undeniably looking forward to blooms and produce.  So imagine our excitement when the first iris proudly uncurled its bud to reveal a lovely flower-head!  And not just any flower-head either, but a beautiful shade of violet!  You see, periwinkle, purple, and lavender have been our colors of choice for the garden, of course amid all the other pastels and even some bright primary  accents as well. We have a great plan to make our West guest entryway gate a wonderful purple that I saw in a magazine some time ago.  And a cutting garden is also in the future too. 

The point is that so much of what we are doing right now has a "in the future" focus that it has been a true delight to have some "now" fruit of our labor.  Even a single bloom is like a drink of cool water to thirsty travelers such as ourselves.  We definitely feel as if we are on a journey in all our activities and I for one always have to keep a guard over my heart to be sure I "stop to smell the flowers" in everything I do.  I have always been so goal oriented, that I have missed enjoying the roses along the way, and I am determined not to miss them this time around.  Sometimes I just sit and look around me at all the wonder...the Amish ball field across the road...the expansive night sky...my chickens and ducks having overcome their learning curve of what is expected of them each morning and night...the neighbor colts racing across our Back East Pasture...my youngest daughter in a musical performance at school...my toy poodle snuggled tight next to me wherever I sit...the West Pond Pasture awash with yellow buttercups dotted with a red hen occasionally digging among them for a morsel...the antics of our littlest four-month old goat April Mae who thinks she is people...my oldest three daughters more beautiful than ever learning about themselves with each passing day...and even the fact that I am now allowing myself all this pleasure.  It is all a wonder to me...

What in your world do you "wonder" about?  Have you paused lately to "smell the roses" of your creation?  I trust that you will remember yourself in a kind way  and note those things or places which bring you joy and rest...

I faithfully remain yours with green thumbs, vicariously anyway through my daughter.

Farm Girl 1

         

 

Balance in the Barnyard

Even before our move, I had done quite a bit of research about livestock guardian dogs.  Many farms that I visited either had llamas or dogs to be on patrol over their investments and I was always considering whether I would go that route also.  A goat seminar I attended in Virginia last year had two Anatolian Shepherds that lived in the barns with their herds, and an alpaca shearing day I participated in had two of the same breed also guarding their herds.  Neither farm had lost livestock to predators. 

Well, here I was with my own precious chickens, ducks, and goats that we put into our barn every night, and our dairy farmer neighbor telling us a couple of weeks ago that a weasel got in to his pen and cleaned out about half of his flock of chickens.  Not good news seeing that they live just up the road.  So when our Amish farmer Sam told me there was a female, two-year old, Great Pyrenees for sale at a good price, I went to look at her.

The owners of Maggie told me they were moving to a small acreage, she lived among their hairless sheep all year long, was aloof and not friendly to people, had trouble loading her into a crate in my van, and even though I bought her, wondered all the way home if she would work out for us and how would I acclimate her to our livestock.  After all, their inherent nature is to ward off all newcomers...even killing a newborn in the pasture because it hadn't been "introduced" by the owners first.  To stop myself from worrying, I had to conclude with a positive flick of my head, that this was probably the best decision I have made in a long time.

My animal loving daughter, who we call Snow White, upon seeing Maggie said that she had kind eyes, (which I had noticed actually), and gently took hold of the leash and pulled 75 pounds of unhappy white shag out of my vehicle to the ground.  Maggie was not happy to have on a collar, not happy to be on a leash, not happy to be in unfamiliar surroundings and not happy that we were not happy with such an unhappy dog. 

We "walked" her around the Pond Pasture - on the leash - for about 20 minutes with the chickens strutting their stuff at a safe distance and the goats eying her with terror.  The goats were so excited and out of their comfort zone that they literally leaped off all four feet and hopped as if on a pogo stick - for those of you who are old enough to know what that is.  When the dust settled, I finally decided to let her loose...of course after we had shut in the other animals.  With my heart thumping, Maggie warily eyed us, the livestock and the pasture.  And then, to our surprise and comfort, she started to investigate the boundaries of the pasture...which is what I had learned these dogs do when they assess their "new position" in life.

There was a storm here in Kentucky that night and the wind blew, the rain pelted our windows and even though Maggie was shut up in our other barn, I was uneasy.  And sure enough, in the morning, there  was no Maggie to be found.  The wind had blown open her barn doors and after a search, we reluctantly headed off to celebrate Mother's Day, with plans to tell our neighbors and possibly put an ad in the paper for a missing dog that was so new to us we couldn't describe her (except for her kind eyes), who had no identifying tags on her, and who probably wouldn't come to us/strangers even if we called her by name.

It turned out to be a lovely day for our family and we happily returned after dark as we had done all the chores early.  And there, back in the barn, was Maggie...even with tail wagging!  We were soooo happy to see her and to assure her that we would continue to come back for her wherever we went.  She seemed to express that she had adopted us too and was willing to work things out in our lives.

She has since gotten out of our Pond Pasture every evening after all the others are shut in for the night, probably squeezing between two wide posts we surmise.  And she is in there again in the morning.  She put a paw on my back one morning and I was startled to see her playful side, as she romped and seemed to want me to play with her.  Another time, she was no where to be seen and when we called, she appeared over the crest of a hill way back out in the Double Pond Horse Pasture.  We believe that she is walking over all the acreage now assigned to her, to claim it as her own and to be a protection for us all.

We have come to know her as NaNa Maggie, just like the keeper of the nursery in Peter Pan...a watchful eye on everything and so wise.  I'm sure she will turn out to be the best decision I have made yet!  She greets me each day, wanting to be pet and sits near my feet when she can. And do you know what else?  Our two pygmy goats that used to rule the goat pen, when we got three new Boer goat kids recently, are watchful of who they butt now as there is a bigger billy-goat-gruff in their picture - Maggie!

Sometimes it just takes a little adjustment to bring balance to the barnyard of our lives.

Farm Girl 1