New Blog

I started a new blog for Farm School! Take a peek. http://aafarm.wordpress.com/

I am...

Feeling - So. Damn. Excited. to be moving! 6 days!

Writing - thank yous for many gorgeous and thoughtful "goodbye" gifts from friends.

Thinking - about the year to come and what it holds.

Knowing - that this time next week I will be wondering which box holds that very specific and immediately needed item I can't seem to find.

Listening - to bird song and crickets outside my windows.

Drinking - a not-small clutch of bottles that we simply can't take with us. End-of-summer Pimm's Cups seem very appropriate.

Savoring - the start of blanket weather.

Watching - enough Mad Men that I should be concerned about second-hand smoke. And those Pimm's Cups? They go perfectly with a Mad Men marathon.

Eating - the freezer's odds and ends. Homemade blintzes? Yes, please! Lamb chops lovingly raised by a local farmer? Oh my! The last of the blueberries? I like them still frozen, plain, and eaten with a spoon.

Hiding - my last, desperate purchases from my beloved Gabe's.

Resisting - the urge to let myself get too overwhelmed with my "to do" list.

Anticipating - seeing old friends, meeting new ones, missing the ones I have here.


*This post is inspired by SouleMama.

Empty. And full.

The countdown begins: Just 14 days until we say "Goodbye, West Virginia. Hello, Rhode Island." We are (still) packing. I have to confess that I have been packing for over a year now. I started packing books last summer between semesters because I was terrified that our eventual move would be sudden and I would be trying to manage a job, school, moving, selling the house, and packing all within a month or less. Well, our move has been anything but sudden. This spring and summer were an excruciating test in patience and understanding, slathered with fear and unknowing. There was a time (not that many weeks ago!) when we sat down and worked out the (very serious) possibility of the fact that I might have to move to New England alone while Aaron stayed here. I am so glad that doesn't have to happen. I can't even express how afraid I was of that happening.

So, we watched our plans to move slip from January, to April, to June, to now. Our house isn't sold and there is still fear, but at least we are finally moving forward. Sigh. It's happening. Our cupboards are emptying, the more necessary things are getting packed away, and we are so full of excitement for this new adventure.

Glow Worm

I found this little caterpillar (well, not so little, he was about the size of my index finger) crawling across our patio floor. Safe travels, my friend.

Bookends and Nightstand

Aaron and I spent a few afternoons together working on these bookends. I cut out the shapes, and did some sanding. He gave advice, put them together, and finished them. They are just lovely.


The toadstool was a copy of a toy I had made some time ago. The shape just seemed to work, so I used it again.

We went back and forth about what to put on the other side and finally settled on a hedgehog. I think he turned out swell. The spikes were a bit hard to saw, but he came together very quickly.

This was the last project to come out of the wood shop. Aaron is down there right now packing things, marking tools to sell, and cleaning up the sawdust. I loved that wood shop.



I should also mention that Aaron made this beautiful nightstand some time ago. What a treasure. (Both the nightstand and the guy. I am one lucky lass!)

dying clothes

I had all of these white shirts that I was going to toss before moving. They were all grimy, stained, and pretty much unwearable. How long do whites stay pristine? I am not a Bleach Queen (really bad for the enviro), so my whites tend to fade pretty fast and end up looking totally shabby. I didn't even really think these were fit to go to Goodwill because they were pretty unsightly. Note to self: no more balsamic dressing or hot cocoa while wearing white. Anyway, I felt pretty bad about it because none of these shirts had holes in them and they were all from pretty expensive stores. Not to mention that I really liked them all. So I decided to try dying them a different color so that I could keep them. I figured it was my way of saving some dough and reusing something that I already had.

I imagined saving up all of my beet water or dying them with yellow turmeric or something natural. But then I remembered that scene from Dodie Smith's I Capture The Castle where the family dyes all of their clothes green and ends up with a whole emerald-colored wardrobe, so I decided that buying black Rit dye might be more versatile and probably a little less obvious.

It totally worked and the shirts all have this beautiful, mottled, soft grey color (which is what I was hoping for).

It worked so well that I decided to take a set of sheets that we received as a wedding gift (so they aren't even that old!) that has slowly and mysteriously turned from light blue to white and dark brown in places -- totally gross -- and bleach them white (yeah, I know...once a year while saving something from the landfill is okay, I guess) and then dye them purple. Breathing new life into old things feels even better than buying something new!

eggs

Brown = Redstar (sexlink)

White = Brown Leghorn

Today, I am...

...feeling the first whisper of fall.

...dying dingy whites to give them new life.


...bleaching faded sheets.

...taking down New Chicken's pen (for good!).

...marveling at the first egg laid by New Chicken!

(yes, that is a golf ball in the background. We had read that it's one way to get a chicken to stop eating eggs, which the new girl did the first time Sally laid with her around. So far, it has worked!)

...finishing up last year's homemade hard cider.

...making homemade bug spray.


...reading this year's farm school student bios.

...blocking knitting projects.


...enjoying kitty enjoying shoebox.


....hoping for some good news.

Farm Field Day

We went to the university's Organic Farm Field Day this year. It was awesome. So many good workshops, tours, and tons of information. Plus, they served us an amazing dinner.

Free Bird

So we saw an ad on Craigslist the same day Henny Penny died.

Free chicken to a good home.

We asked if it was a hen and then went on our way. Not knowing my way around all chicken breeds, I was struck by the chicken's huge tail feathers. "Are you sure this isn't a rooster?" I whispered to Aaron as he and I tried to catch it in the dark coop.

"He said it was a hen."

"I think it's a rooster."

We brought it home anyway, posted the below picture to a chicken keeping forum and quickly found out that it's a Brown Leghorn and indeed a hen. It is a flighty little beast. It has gotten out twice already and catching that thing is nearly impossible (we keep thinking that this quality might make it a good free-range bird). So far we have had to keep it in a pen next to the coop. After a few days of that, we did try gradually introducing them, but Sally seems a bit confrontational. And not your normal setting the pecking order stuff. This poor bird spent two days upstairs in the coop because Sally wouldn't let her downstairs at all (even when Sally herself was upstairs in the nest box). Oh boy.

I think we should get rid of the chickens sooner rather than later. However, we thought Sally needed a mate for the time being. Maybe not?

New Hen

Henny Penny

Henny Penny had been laying internally for some time. At first, we weren't sure what to do so we took the suggestion of a fellow chicken-raiser and gave her meds. This brought the swelling down and her spirits up. However, I think that it may have been a mistake in the long run because after a few short weeks of seeming happy she reverted right back to suffering. On Saturday we decided to put her down. It was really sad, but for the best. I have to say that I haven't really thought much of the other chicken, Sally, until that day. However, that morning she stayed with Henny Penny, laid down when Henny Penny laid down, and closed her eyes when Henny Penny closed her own. I don't know if she thought it was sleepy time or if she was being empathetic, but as Aaron and I sat and watched, it was nice that we could all be quiet for a little while together.

Henny Penny was a sweet, docile chicken that didn't mind being picked up, loved you for the treats you brought, was completely silent (a great quality for a city-chicken), and had a sense of humor that rivaled Matilda's. She showed bravery and strength through an attack on the coop and managed to survive and continue to lay eggs even though she sustained injuries. She enjoyed strolls around the yard, being sung to, and over-ripe blueberries. She was named not for the neurotic, apocalypse-obsessed chicken that thought the sky was falling, but after a character written by my own soul-sister, Beatrix Potter.

We buried her under the snowball bush in the backyard. She will be missed.

Sad

Rest in Peace, my sweet Henny Penny.

gnome home

I made this Gnome Home mushroom puzzle and little gnomey recently. I used a couple of pieces of scrap wood that Aaron had laying around the wood shop. Poplar and mahogany. It turned out pretty good but the door piece got away from me and the base is like half an inch thick. Oh well, it still looks great! I am not sure if it's better to start cutting something like this from the smallest to the largest or the other way around. I think I did this one largest to smallest, which might have been a mistake. I'll just have to make another and try it the opposite way to see what works.

We are off on a wild road trip to Cabela's tomorrow for farm gear, but not before a stop at the farmers market and Southern States for the week's veg. Going to Cabela's seems to be a oft-taken pilgrimage around here. People get excited and plan a whole weekend around it. I must admit, I am a little giddy about it, myself. Who knows what kind of treasures we'll find!

On the Needles, on the Nightstand

Knitting: Wedding Washcloths from the Purl Bee
Reading: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
and Harry Potter and the Camber of Secrets (#2) by J.K. Rowling

I just finished Devil in the White City recently and all I can say is "wow." It blew me away. I had a really hard time putting this book down, however, because half of it is about America's first (documented) serial killer, it was so scary that I only let myself read it when Aaron was home. The other half, about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, was just as fascinating. So much was happening at that time in America. We think of this as a time when technology changes rapidly, but the amount of things that were changing at that time really shows that this is nothing new.

When I wasn't letting myself read Devil, I was reading the second Harry Potter book. I don't know why. I guess the combination of being in school and it being summer made me want something light. Also, I am trying to read books that I won't necessarily have to keep when we move, so this was a candidate. I don't know what it is about the Harry Potter books, but I find them incredibly boring and slow and I am really not interested in any of the characters whatsoever (perhaps Ron is okay, though). I suppose this might be good to read in line at the bank or waiting in the dentist's office, but I just don't know. I'll finish it, but it didn't compel me to read the rest any more than the first one did. Definitely glad I won't be lugging it to RI.

Knitting more washcloths, as always. I love how fast they are. I can finish one in just a couple of days. I love the seed stitch ones in the above link.

Farm Crate

Aaron and I finished my bicycle crate this week! We took turns burning the farm logo into the wood. He used some kind of pine that was impossible to burn, so it took forever and we decided against the shading we had originally planned. Anyway, it turned out so awesome. And it's a perfect Matilda-sized box.


Someday, right? Dream it up and then make it happen.

We practiced on scrap wood several times before burning the actual box. Too bad our practice wood was different than the box wood, because the practice was a breeze. More pics to come once it's mounted on the bike.

Matilda got a haircut!

Today

Today, I am...

...Cleaning the house
...Reading Possession
...Watching Songcatcher
...Eating homemade food cooked for (not by) me
...Saying goodbye to my MIL who has been here since Thursday
...Thinking about Farm School
...Loving my little bald kitty
...Folding laundry
...Packaging the mint I dried for winter teas
...Knitting Christmas presents
...Basking in the fact that my semester is over

Brittany

I love my bike! Aaron and I have been really trying to take advantage of the fact that we live so close to a very nice bike trail right now (and not dwell too much on the fact that we were supposed to move already).

We've been trying to take different routes and trails often to keep it interesting. Aaron got me this bike when we still lived in Somerville. It is the perfect bike for me! Small, fast, and cute. Plus, it has a basket. I've named her Brittany, because that's the kind of bike she is (a Brittany Free Spirit).

Me and Brittany on Nantucket

Aaron got me some really cool bike gear for my birthday this year because we've been biking so much. He got me some awesome rainbow streamers, which look so great as I'm zipping along the trail! Also, he made me a proper farm produce box to go on the back. I plan to use my new wood burning kit to decorate it with "our" farm logo.

Chicken Trouble - a note about hybrid breeds

We recently got a hard blow: Henny Penny is dying. We suspected she wasn't laying eggs for a little while -- though not that long, because I would see her in the nestbox each day and just assumed the eggs were hers. She started getting heavy around her middle and became disinterested in anything other than the store-bought feed we give her. No kitchen scraps, no vegetation, no bugs. This is not the bug-eating Henny Penny we know and love! We started keeping a little bit of an eye on her, the noticed that she was laying down a lot. One day she started closing her eyes = not good in the chicken world. We started doing research. It turns out that after two years of age this breed (Red Stars) are particularly susceptible to something called "internal laying." Simply put, the egg remains in the chicken and fluid builds up (hence the heaviness) until they die. There is no cure. It is common among all hybrid breeds and hatchery-born chicks, which is a very serious reason to find a heritage breed from a local source.
We went to the feed store and got some medicine that helped her get a little more comfortable. We had to give her injections for 4 days. (Aaron said he couldn't give her a shot so I had to every time!) She is now walking and eating and trying to lay eggs, but it won't last. She will eventually end up back where she was and then she will die.
I am preparing myself for the fact that, come autumn, I will have to kill a chicken. I think about it for a little while every day so that, when the time comes, I will have thought out every angle and I will be able to find the peace within to come to terms with the task at hand. But I can't kill her. She doesn't deserve to live on in pain, but I can't do it. We've been trying to find a vet that will put her down for us, but we haven't had any luck so far.
My dear, sweet HP. She is just the nicest little chicken there ever was.

Illumination Night

Knitting: Tessellation Cloth
Reading: Illumination Night by Alice Hoffman

This cloth has been such fun to knit! It's almost like a lace pattern. I've been knitting it while watching the hours and hours of recorded material that I need to watch for class. Shhh...don't tell!

I just finished Illumination Night by Alice Hoffman. A teacher had recommended it years ago and I finally got around to reading it. A hard book to put down, it's the story of a Martha's Vineyard couple and the people around them. And there is a giant in it. I liked Hoffman's approach to the story, but there were large portions of the book where she used second person and I don't think it was 100% successful. However, it was a perfect summer read!

English Muffins and Eggs Aaron

Over the weekend, Aaron and I decided to try our hand at making homemade english muffins. We used Mark Bittman's recipe from this book, of course. I really only need one cookbook in my life and this is it. I have loved this book for well over 10 years and it is the go-to for things like this.


These were so easy and turned out beautifully. I highly doubt we'll be buying englishes anymore. They are hardier than store-bought muffins and pretty delicious, too. Sometimes working with yeast makes me nervous. It just seems so apt to fail. I need to get over that, though, because things like this are just too good to pass up.


Of course, we used the homemade english muffins as part of one of our favorite recipes: Eggs Aaron. Once in awhile Aaron will make this incredible, eggs benedict-like breakfast. He uses sun-dried tomatoes in the sauce, but that is all I know about his secret recipe!

Aaron has also become an expert egg poacher, which is such a gift. I have to admit that I am not there yet.

Clematis on the front porch

Sigh. There are many things I will miss about this little house. My beautiful clematis is certainly one of them.

Local Meal

As we were sitting down to lunch recently, I realized that the meal we were eating was almost entirely made of local ingredients. I snapped a few pictures for an obligatory and probably boring "this is what I had for lunch" post.

The Menu:
Quiche
Roasted Radishes
Pickled Ramps

I'll admit that the crust on the quiche is not local. I have yet to find a local flour source. It is homemade, however, so that counts for something! The eggs, of course, are from our two favorite chickens on the block, so they are ultra-local. The quiche also contains some sausage that we got from a local farmer.

We bought the radishes at one of the first farmer's markets of the season. They were only $1.50 a bunch and so beautiful. We bought a few bunches and decided to experiment with some, so we roasted them. I know it sounds weird to roast radishes, but they are phenomenal. Just put them in a casserole dish, use a little butter, salt and pepper, and some balsamic vinegar and let them broil for a few minutes. They come out really caramelized and sweet, not at all strong like a raw radish.

I talk about the ramps here, but this meal was prepared a few weeks later, when our pickles had had enough time in the brine for us to try them. They were REALLY great! Wow! The coriander in the brine produced a nice lemony taste.

So, there you have it. A pretty quick and painless (mostly) local meal. If we all ate this once a week, we would save 1.1 MILLION BARRELS OF OIL PER WEEK. And it was all so delicious.

Rose in Bloom

I just had to take some pictures of our rose bushes, which are currently in full and beautiful bloom. When my mom was here the yellow rose bush in the front yard was just beginning to bud and she couldn't believe how big it was. You see, she got me this little rose bush a few years ago and it was no bigger than my two fists put together. I didn't even take very good care of it and here it is, just bursting with roses at least twice a year. I really want to transplant this bush and take it with me but I am also terrified to uproot it.



In other rose-related news, today Aaron built a couple of quick trellises for the backyard rose garden. Of course, we do not deserve to enjoy such things ourselves, we only do them when we are poised to move. The roses were literally falling into the pathway, thorns sticking into any skirt or petticoat that came near. I think that they will enjoy their new support and train up the trellises very nicely. Plus, it makes the yard look all the more Secret-Gardenish for perspective buyers, so $10 and a couple of hours seems worth it.

Fallingwater

My mother came to visit a couple of weeks ago. We had marathon house cleaning and packing sessions, which was such a huge help. Sometimes you need someone there to help you get started on such a huge project. We did find a little time to take the drive up to Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob, two houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Both are only about a 30 minute drive from our house, so it was nice to go one last time before we move.


Fallingwater is an incredible piece of art. If you are driving through Western Pennsylvania, I highly recommend seeing this. I love going there and imagining what it was like to live there. I think going there a few times in different seasons is one of the best things we've done since we moved here. You see new details each time you visit.


It was our first time seeing Kentuck Knob, another Frank Lloyd Wright house just a few minutes from Fallingwater. It was really neat, as well. The kitchen is an octagon in the middle of the house and the hallways are narrow. I kept imagining what it would be like to live there in winter and decided that it wouldn't be a bad place to hibernate.