Drinking Water

Are you tired of buying water? I am! We are looking into buying a water distiller. Just curious as to what others do? Do you or anyone you know own a water distiller? If so, how many gallon? Where did you purchase? Would you go that route to do it again? I have also heard a bit about reverse osmosis filters??? Any advice appreciated!

Maple Syrup Sunday

Last weekend we boiled down 9 gallons of sap. We used a propane turkey cooker and I cooked 2 batches, 4 gallons on Saturday and 5 on Sunday. It took all day, like 10-12 hrs each day. Most expensive syrup we've ever eaten. Had I planned ahead I would have gathered wood and cooked it that way but I did not. I also should have added to the syrup as it boiled down. The way I go about it this weekend will be based on the mistakes I've made. I will also use a shallow pan rather than the deep lobster pot as seen above. As of tonight we have 17 gallons to boil down. When the sap was boiled down I was unable to tell when it was ready. One web site said "it will have an oily appearance", and another said when it "reaches 219 degrees". I could use some HELP here from those of you that have experience with this!

Neither method worked perfectly for me. So I went by the guess factor and consistency, probably not the best method.

Batch # 1 after cooled had the consistency of honey. You could eat it by the spoonful and I DID! It is from nature, it must be good for you, right? :)
Batch # 2 turned out a bit on the watery side. Regardless of consistency it is the best maple syrup I've had since I was a child. As it cooked up the sweet aroma brought me back to my childhood at the sugar house in Canada. Interestingly, that is the ONLY memory I have of going there as a child.


On a final note, I will clarify that I did drink raw milk as a child. My brother reminded me after he read my post. My brother milked for some time as a teenager. He use to fill an old glass vinegar bottle after his workday was done. So I indeed did drink raw milk when I was at my Dad's on the weekends. Funny how I completely forgot about that. I think at the time I did not really know the difference. Last weekend we stopped and bought a gallon of raw organic milk from a farm in my brother's hometown and I made my first batch of mozzarella cheese and it was SO easy and tasty. The whole family liked it! I bet you can't guess what I'll be posting about in the next week or so. Things have been crazy busy here with Springs arrival. I will catch up on everyone's recent posts over the weekend.

Sprouts & Taters

I finally scooted over to Johnny's to buy a bioset as seen on Angie's blog Children in the Corn. It works great for sprouts, edibles in 3 days. I tried the canning jar method in the past and the results were some stinky rotted seeds, not pretty!
This was about $15, I received a slight discount because it did not have a box. I sprouted alfalfa, broccoli (esp for spouting), and mung beans. I like the alfalfa the best and ate them mostly on salads but the mung beans ended up in the compost pile. Not quite sure how to prepare/eat them, I have heard in rice? Any suggestions sprout eaters?
John harvested our potatoes, this was the best batch yet. We have approx 3 picking baskets full. Is one basket considered a bushel?
So I need a screen name for this hard working farm man. Although John is a good name I need something a little spicier, don't you think? Ree at The Pioneer Woman
refers to her hard working husband as Marlboro Man, check out her blog if you have not yet. It is a hoot. They live on a working cattle ranch, she home schools, she is a great photographer, and she is entertaining!

An Afternoon in Pictures

Can you guess what Naughty Dog is playing peek a boo with?

OK...it's time to play name that flower since I haven't a clue.

Do you remember when you use to be able to do this?

She has finally over come her fear

Wild strawberries, my favorite!

Rainy Day

This morning, in the pouring rain we went out to this event meeting Regina & family from Sea2Shore blog once again. Due to the weather we only stayed a couple hours. There were a few speakers I would have liked to stay and heard but we were literally soaked from head to toe despite our rain gear. However, we had the opportunity to listen to a couple who raised Alpine goats. I enjoyed their talk and learned some good stuff about goat rearing, shelter, feeding, and maintenance.
One interesting fact that I learned, goat meat is the most consumed meat in the world.
Did you know that? I went to the farmer's market last week in hopes to buy some but the goat lady did not have any left. I hear it tastes like deer and cow. John would like to raise Boer goats. I can eat my own turkeys, and chickens, and maybe if we get some meat bunnies but I'm not sure if I could eat my goats? I cannot even imagine munching Annabelle and Oreo. It is a fine line and you have to make that decision before you bring the animal onto your farm, pet or supper?

Cray fish the kids caught in their bait trap. They are going fishing in the morning and I'm sure they'll catch a big one using these!

Trying to stay dry! This storage bin is now our goaties outside shelter. I wanted to get the goats a large dog igloo to put in their pen but instead John flipped this bin over onto a piece of plywood, cut out a door, and there we have it. A free & recycled goat house...savings of $125!

Pretty flowers I cut off a tree out front. Of course I do not know what they are, imagine that! Thanks to all of your flower identification knowledge so far I know we have Magnolias, Quaker Ladies, and Columbines here on the farm. What might this be?

My boy picked me some wild Irises, how sweet!

I've yet to plant the sweet potatoes, maybe tomorrow. Anyone ever grow them before? I've read they grow as a vine.

We ended the night with an old movie, Richer or Poorer.

Fencing debate

We were blessed with yet another beautiful weekend. We have accomplished a lot around the house but the list is endless. Our two biggest projects are building outdoor areas/fencing for our animals and the garden. This place came with lots of half falling down barbed wire fencing and rock walls but nothing that will keep the goats and chicken in. This week we were able to get the quail outside in a chicken tractor and last night John completed enough of the chickens pen to get them outside. He still needs to add on a few nesting boxes and we need to buy some more fencing so they have more room to roam once we get them outback. He put wheels on it so we will be able to rotate the areas they forage. Now the debate is on about the fencing for the goats. The plan was that we would install it last weekend then that was postponed until this weekend so I say it's a must this week! Initially I planned on purchasing some welded wire fencing (2x4" squares) and then John mentioned we had some chain link fencing and we should use that. I initially objected then I did a little on-line research and I went along with it. The issue is that it is only four feet tall and I think they'll be jumping it in no time and also I must admit it does not have that "farmy" eye appeal I'm looking for. John is VERY frugal and says we can make it happen for the meantime. Any advice from the goat owners? I'm hoping you'll side with me....joking. I want to hear what works best before I go and dish out any cash if necessary.

As for the garden, we have a few rows of garlic coming up, John took the mulch off today. We will see how the greens fare the cold Spring Maine nights. John also planted some peas and we are hoping to get the onions and potatoes in tomorrow. This is the earliest we have ever planted in the 14 years we have had a garden. The soil here is like gold especially compared to our old house which was all clay. We have some ginormous (Leah's favorite word) tomato plants and we had a bunch of seedlings until they accidentally were fried in a make shift greenhouse (windows leaned against the house with hay bales on both sides) so we are back to square one. I replanted the tomatoes 3 kinds: cherry, romas, and a mix of large tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower, and broccoli. Tomorrow we will replant the rest of our losses. John bought some asparagus roots approximately 40, we are excited to finally be getting a bed in although it will be a few years before we can harvest.
I have basil and cilantro growing as well. This is a first year for herbs, not sure why I never attempted to grow them in the past. I plan on planting some dill and a few others. The great part about them is that you can easily grow them in pots and they can be grown year round.

Last thing I want to mention before calling it an early night. An article I read in a local newspaper over the weekend titled "With start of gardening season, seed suppliers see growth in demand - factors included increased prices for food and fuel" The article is about two local seed suppliers that have seen a big influx in seed purchases this season with many comments from their consumers that the main reason they are attempting to grow their own is to try and offset the costs of everything else. I think it is a great thing, the increased interest in gardening, not the rising fuel costs which are downright scary. There is so much we can all do by producing our own and eating locally. We are not only helping our own pocketbooks but that of our neighbors. I wish I knew what I know now 10 years ago. I sometimes wonder why it took me so long to get headed in this direction in life. I had always been such a career girl until we bought the farm and thankfully it has allowed me to refocus to the important things in life. I still have lots t learn but I am getting there...slowly. We have always grown a decent garden eating fresh produce all summer and giving a huge portion away. Last year I did a little canning - pickles & relish etc but this year I would like to preserve much more.

One of my girls!













The kids made up a sign and put it out by the road with a cooler full of containers stuffed with crawlers with a jar using the honestly method. They sold their first dozen today, they were delighted!

Shavings VS. Sawdust

What do you all use for animal bedding? We have been buying bails of shavings from Agway but now that we have accumulated so many critters we need to rethink this. Shavings have been costing about $4.50-$5/bag and we go through 2-4 bags a week depending on how many chicks we have. I called a local saw mill and I can get a cord of saw dust for $50, not quite sure how much that will be? Then I called a local wood worker and he has 3 -55 gallon bags full of sawdust he said he will give to me tomorrow. I am all over that, the price is right. Not sure if he'll be willing to save for me in the future but I'm going to try and do some wheeling and dealing tomorrow. Will trade eggs/veggies for sawdust? It's a thought! Soon the animals will be out in the pasture during the day so we will not be going through so much.
To supplement their feed we buy bread at a local bread store. They sell flats for $1.25 ea as animal feed. It usually consists of several loafs of bread and sometimes some sweet treats that have already expired or almost to that date. I have been freezing the sweet stuff in hopes we will soon have some little piggies.
Calling it a night - Good Weekend to All!!
(picture from last summer, fence beside barn)