Random Tid Bits of Our Life

No real agenda for this posts just some random photos from the last time I downloaded my camera.

Ate the first spaghetti squash of the season.


Split it, remove seeds, cut in half lengthwise, cook until tender (approx 350 degrees for 45 min)
Remove from oven, stir up with fork, add butter, s & p, and shredded cheese
Heat a little longer then serve.....DELISH!

Would LOVE to hear how others cook theirs up!!


Canning is a whole lot of work but well worth the effort!

Kids have been working on a cabin... gotta love their paint job

Damn tomato hornworms! I joked about hatching one on facebook and my gardening
friends were less then impressed....lol

BEST tomato harvest yet! I have made a couple different batches of spaghetti sauce, cream of tomato soup and Maine Man made some tasty salsa.

BEST pepper season as well.

Confessions: I did not know until about 1 years ago that red peppers are just green peppers that are on the plant longer.

I didn't know you could grow Bay leaves in Maine either....until I saw a plant at the farmer's market last summer. I bought the last one. I kept it inside throughout the winter and this summer it has been thriving in the hoop house.

We've been eating lots of corn on the cob.

Hubbard squash

New Life

Yesterday morning I went out to the barn to discover one of our Muscovy Mommas had hatched out 26 ducklings.
I couldn't believe my eyes! We have 3 adult females & 1 drake. This is our 4th hatching this season. The first one hatched 2, then 5, then, 4. 26 has to be a record ;) They are adorable. We never bore of new life on the farm.

Her way of letting me know I am getting a bit to close for her likings.


With a little time and effort she manages to cover them over quite well.
Have you ever heard of a duck hatching out so many babies?

Chicken Stock

We eat chicken on average of once or twice a week. Since we have been raising our own chickens (the last 2-3 year) we've always froze most of them whole limiting our chicken variations to baked, rotisserie, or in the crock pot. After we eat and I pick whatever remaining chicken off I always place the remains (bones) in a ziploc in the freezer to eventually make up a chicken stock in my my crock pot. I fill my crock with a couple chicken carcasses, carrots, celery, onions, bay leaves, peppercorns & fresh or dried herbs and let it simmer over night. I'd keep some in the fridge for immediate use and freeze the remaining broth. The last batch of chickens Maine Man processed I asked that he would part them out. I had been really craving some boneless BBQ chicken. He parted out all but 3-4 of 20. I was left with lots of bones so I made up a humongous batch and canned chicken stock for the FIRST time ever. Woooo hoooo. The things that excite me!



Last year was my first year with a pressure canner. Before I had only processed food that only required open water bath such as pickles & relish. Confessions......I did not even dare eat the first batch of beets that I processed via pressure canner. The pigs have enjoyed them and nobody has contracted botulism ;) I think I am ok this year ;) I have also used the pressure canner to put up green beans for a first. Looking forward to doing a taste test with some of the green beans I've frozen.


This week I am on vacation so I hope to get a few posts in as I have been a little slack lately. We have absolutely NO plans so the week will be spent putting up harvest, planting fall crops, getting the kids ready for school (haircuts, etc..)


Off to pick tomatoes in the hoop house and make some spaghetti sauce. Enjoy your week!

Special Visitor

A couple posts back I mentioned that we were getting a visitor from inner city New York. We were united through the Fresh Air Fund. We were fortunate to get such a LOVELY young lady! She was a PERFECT fit with our family!

She helped in the gardens even cooked us breakfast two mornings in a row.

Obsessively picked eggs ;)

She even got to drive the tractor.

Play with Jesse

Catch her FIRST fish and MANY more thereafter.

Have the time of her life tubing

Swim for hours

Go out in the boat

Eat lobster

Join us in a very special event

in search of seashells & crabs

Our hope is to stay in touch and have her back again next year !

Putting Up Harvest

You know when you come back from the garden with a basket looking like this you have a full day of work ahead of you. For canned goods so far this season I have put up zucchini relish, zucchini pickles, kosher dill pickles, pickled garlic, rhubarb, strawberry jam, and chicken broth.
With the tomatoes I have made spaghetti sauce and a cream of tomato soup which has already been consumed and or I frozen. I LOVE to can but if I can freeze it that is the usually the route I take out of convenience. For any of you new to canning my canning bible is THE BLUE BOOK OF PRESERVING. It can be purchased on Amazon for less then $10. With our gardens I could literally put food up all day everyday but I do not want to spend my summer in the kitchen. I put up what I can and the rest is consumed fresh or given away to friends & family. Today is a work day catching up around the homestead. I will be putting up some green beans and we will start planting our fall crops in addition to moving the cows. The next 2 days we will play! That is kind of how we roll here. Work a couple... play a couple. It is all about finding that balance! We have had a wonderful summer and I have literally taken thousands of pictures in hopes that some day I will have more computer time to sit down and post about a few of our Maine adventures. Stay tuned ;)

Fresh Air Child

Last night we picked up our fresh air child from the airport. JJ is from Brooklyn, NY. She will be will be staying with us for a week. Initially she was to arrive by bus but after a mix up she was not able to board the bus. Leaving both parties distraught I booked a flight for her and with her parents blessings she flew for the first time. She is everything we hoped for and more. Polite, considerate, well adjusted, and a whole lot of fun!

Well worth the drama we went through to get her here.

Wordless Weekend