Thanksgiving Thankfulness from the Farmer's Wife

Every year we have so much to be thankful for, and every year that we are able to continue farming is counted as a blessing - this year especially.

At the beginning of the year we were having to take a good hard look at the logistics of even being able to stay on our farm.  Ethan had a transition in his town work and had been working retail for a year.  It became apparent, however, that his retail job was not a job that would fit with keeping the farm going.  After many long discussions, we decided to be open to the possibility of a move for Ethan to be involved in a ministry job. And so the applications started going out and the interviews started, up to 2 hours away from our farm - which of course would mean selling the farm.

Right as we were in this process, however, Ethan was approached out of the blue by a church within our town.  Ethan met with the leaders of this church to find out what their vision was as they were wanting to learn more about what Ethan's ministry passions were.  Before we knew it, Ethan was offered a full time position, which he started within a month. Not only did this offer allow Ethan to follow his call to ministry, but it also allowed us to keep the farm.

I was amazed and humbled with the timing of this job.  It started the same week that our Downtown Des Moines Farmers' Market started. To be perfectly honest, I was a little worried (read very panicy) as to how farming/farmers' market season/retail job would work for our family.  After 10 weeks of Ethan's new job, I had learned that I really shouldn't have spent so much time worrying.

And then it happened.  One fateful evening at our homeschool softball game, an evening I had stayed at home with the kids for some reason, Ethan tore his achilles tendon. (He did make the out though!) As we sat in the ER trying to process the injury, the questions popped up once more (as they have multiple times, yearly, since we started the farm).  Do we keep going?  Do we sell the animals and keep the land?  Do we just sell it all, buy a small acreage in the country, and become a boating/fishing family once more? 

Thankfully, my good friend, who had driven Ethan to the ER where I would meet up with him, looked me in the eyes and told me not to worry - people would rally behind us and help us get through.  And that is just what happened.

Ethan ended up in a splint for 3 weeks, followed by surgery and a cast for 6 weeks, followed by a walking boot another 3 weeks.  After developing planter faciatis, he was taken out of his walking boot to start physical therapy (which he continues).  I won't lie and say I was not frazzled, completely exhausted, and sometimes went a little nutso from taking over the farm work this summer, but I will say that the Lord provided for our needs.

We were never without family, homeschool friends, and church friends to help us out with things I couldn't get done myself - loading hogs and lamb for the locker, setting up new fence, doing improvements on the farm, manning the market booth when Ethan couldn't, etc.  I also had a meal a week provided to me once each week by my homeschool friends.  I can't say enough how I looked forward to that night of no cooking after early morning chores, hot afternoon chores (did I mention we had historic heat and drought this year), and after supper till the sun went down chores - all while trying to keep the housework up, garden growing, and husband and kids loved.

Ethan kept reminding me it was temporary.  And it was.  One day, shortly after the Farm Crawl (where 1000+ people visit our farm) and as homeschooling was starting, Ethan took over the chores again, be it ever so slowly and carefully. And then our 6 months of Saturday farmers' markets were over.  And now we are in a time of "rest" (for those who have town jobs and farm as we do, you know rest is said in relation to the rest of the year).

Today is Thanksgiving.  Each and every day I am thankful to the Lord for His sacrifice on the cross, which paid the penalty for my sins, and for His resurrection that promised life eternal to all who would follow Him . . . for His sacrifice and promise to me.

But today is a day where I also count my blessings from Him - for Ethan's new job which allowed us to keep the farm.  For family, friends, and our new church family who helped keep our farm afloat this year.  For our customers who cheered us on and blew us away with our best year yet and an increasing demand for our meat. And for what the farm has provided for our family - including the lessons learned.

It seems appropriate that this year is the first year we have had a Thanksgiving meal made completely with food from our farm.  I am reminded of the grace that was given this year to have a meal like this, in a year of drought and injury, and of the grace to be yet another year on the farm.

From our farm: sweet corn, broccoli, carrots, pickles (cucumber and dill), potatoes, sweet potatoes, heritage breed chicken, green beans, cooked carrots

Our sweet children, who were troopers this summer and helped me with growing, harvesting, and preserving each item above.

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To Clean Out a Clothes Closet

As I have said many times, it's not as much the size of house or number of people in the house that makes a house overfull . . . it's the amount of STUFF in the house.

We are in a constant battle of making room in our house, and just this fall I have come up with a way to keep our closets from getting overcrowded. 

To start with, you will need to be semi organized - keeping long sleeves together, short sleeves together, dress shirts together, etc. Once you have gotten that taken care of, you are ready to go.

When you put away your clean clothes, hang them at the BACK of the area where they belong.  Next, make a habit of choosing your clothes from the FRONT of the type of clothes you are wanting to wear.  Do likewise with your dresser - stick the just laundered clothes on the bottom of the pile, choose from the top.

It will soon become apparent as to which clothes you are continually skipping over because you have something you like better in back of them.  These skip over clothes are the ones that you seriously need to ask yourself why you keep them. 

Two helpful questions when dealing with stuff:

1. Is this adding to or taking from my life. (The taking from usually shows itself as taking away time with shuffling it around because it is in the way or shuffling more important things around because the lesser is taking up space that could be used otherwise.)
2. Could this item bless someone else more than it blesses me?

So there you have it.  Since I just hung up Ethan's clothes and told him the method to my recent madness, I thought I would share with you as well. :)

Garden Fencing

Things have been quite different around the farm with Ethan's torn achilles tendon.  I have pictures of my August garden, I just haven't had a chance to put my post together.  In an attempt to keep my blog going, I have a post from a guest blogger - our 8 year old son, Caleb.  Enjoy. :)



On August 22nd we had a work day to put fence around the garden to keep the animals out. It was at my house. We had family and friends come to help.

I helped dig holes and put posts in the ground. I watched and learned that the more square it is the better it looks. We used steel and wood posts, and we put the small wood posts 30'' in the ground and the big wood posts 36''. 

I had fun helping on Work Day.

Potatoes and Sweet Corn - Ethan's Favorites!

Ethan's a meat and potatoes kind of guy, and corn is also one of the few veggies he will eat.  So this week's harvest is for him!

 

The kids and I finished bringing in the last of the potatoes.  My potato plants got skeletonized this year from potato beetles so I was happy with what I got.  Next year I am hoping my secret garden weapon (guinea foul that I hatched out) will help take care of garden pests.

I also started to bring in the first of the sweet corn. We have had a historical drought this year, so many of my corn plants didn't put on ears or if they did, they didn't pollinate.  Again, I am happy with what I have gotten so far due to the year.

 The first, and probably biggest, picking of corn.

 Not a ton, but it ended up being more than I expected in the roaster.

I like to pack my food to freeze into sandwich baggies which I put put into gallon freezer zip locks.  It allows me to freeze smaller portions for recipe flexibility and less waste.  Sandwich baggies are also cheaper to toss than quart zip locks.  When I empty a gallon zip lock, I will rinse it out (although it is usually clean), and store it for the next harvest - just changing the year on the bag.

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Tools of My Trade

For awhile I would use a knife to cut the kernels off of sweet corn. I wasn't ever happy with how my corn would turn out though. I either spent too much time trying to cut the kernels off just right or I would end up cutting too deep or not deep enough, making my corn too dry or wasting corn. I rarely buy things from home sales companies, but I decided to try the kernel cutter from pampered chef after hearing the great reviews my friend gave of it. They, of all people, know their sweet corn as they have a very successful sweet corn business and freeze a lot of corn themselves. This purchase kitchen tool was definitely worth the price and worth giving up some kitchen drawer space! After all of the work of planting, caring for, and trying to preserve sweet corn, it is nice to save a bit of time in the preparing process and end up with perfectly cut corn. You can find this cutter through your local pampered chef consultant or from the link below.


When cutting my corn, I have also substantially reduced my mess by placing a cutting board on the bottom of my roaster and cutting my corn inside my roaster. It keeps the splatters off of the table, corn from spilling out of my pan, and cuts down on the times I have to empty containers. A cookie sheet, pan, or any large, sterile tub will do, but since I have a roaster handy, I take full advantage of it. Although a roaster might be hard to find at a garage sale or from an individual no longer needing one, you might be able to snatch one at an estate auction. I placed a 22 qt roaster (vs the 18 quart) on my Christmas list. I use it for multiple projects, and not just ones where I need to heat with it. I can't remember how I functioned with out it! Below is the link to the roaster I own, and I am very happy with it..

Potato Harvest

I just finished harvesting the last bit of my red potatoes before lunch.  This is the first year I have actually gotten my potatoes to do anything, and I am pleased with what I ended up with.  Part of it is getting the garden more set up, and part of it is knowing a bit more of how to properly grow potatoes.  I have one more variety, Kennebec I think, to harvest after the tops die down  Now I just need to decide how I'm going to store them: peeled and canned, sliced and dehydrated, or in the cellar (which needs some work to make it better for preserving food).  What is your favorite way to keep your potato harvest?

p.s. I did get my "How does your garden grow - July" photos taken.  But between our computer being broken for a few weeks and Ethan having just tore his achilles tendon, I haven't had a chance to put the post together.  I better hurry because August is coming!

How Does Your Garden Grow? July 1st

July 1st: We have been short on rain lately, but the garden is coming along alright.  Thing have been busy so I haven't gotten all of what I had hoped planted, but I have gotten the most important things in.

I realize that it is a little hard to read the words on my drawing.  Here's what's in each quadrant.

Quadrant 1: Peas, cucumber, dill, green beans, yellow wax beans, cauliflower, broccoli, cantaloupe,

Quadrant 2: Sweet peppers, green bell peppers, banana peppers, zucchini, summer squash, acorn squash, carrots, onions, lettuce, spinach, slicing and cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes, onions and carrots

Quadrant 3: Corn with beans

Quadrant 4: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, watermelon.

** Click on photos to see them enlarged and scroll through backwards to watch progression **

Full View

BUMMER!   Forgot to take a picture

July 1st: Enjoyed some more strawberries, kids' flowers coming up nicely - my flower plots planted

June 1st: Enjoyed a few strawberries from new transplants. Kids each planted a plot of flower seeds opposite strawberries.  Needint to plant my flower plots. Excited to see experimental direct seeded asparagus up and joining asparagus transplants started indoor from seed.

Quadrant 1

July 1st: harvesting and canning green beans and broccoli, enjoying the first of my late planted peas, cauliflower planted

June 1st: needing to plant herbs, lettuce behind peas, and eventually fall broccoli and cauliflower

Quadrant 2

July 1st - harvesting some carrots and lettuce, onions and carrots planted between tomato plants - needing to plant acorn squash and basil. needing to support tomatoes

June 1st: harvesting lettuce and baby carrots - needing to plant acorn squash and basil

Quadrant 3

July 1st - sunflowers and all corn planted - planted pumpkins and gourds elsewhere on farm

June 1st : needing to plant 3 rows of late sweet corn, sunflowers, pumpkins, and gourds

Quadrant 4

July 1st: all plants planted. volunteer watermelon came up were beans were going so didn't plant beans (will try fall beans in place of potatoes)

June 1st - needing to plant 3rd row of sweet potato slips, watermelon and beans

Blueberries and Vines

July1st: enjoyed many blueberries form smaller bushes, planted second row of blueberries - needing to move grapes over a few feet to the right, plant another planting of sunflowers, and mulch

June 1st: nibbled on some unripe, but nicely tart, blueberries - needing lots of work and planting yet!

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De-Beeing our New Shed

Earlier this spring we brought in a new building to our farm. We are going to fix it up and put it to use soon - but first we had to get out the bees!  Our friend who keeps some hives on our farm helped us with this, and he got a new hive.

 

The tiny opening where they were going in 

Setting up the "Bee Vac"

 

Getting some of the bees from the outside first

 

Time to move inside.  There entrance was right under where the sunlight was coming in.

 

Corner board removed.  Except those aren't honey bees, but bumble bees!

 

Removing the bumble bees

 

There are the honey bees!

 

A peek inside

 

A better peek inside 

 

Collecting the bees

 

A shot downward after many bees had been captured

     

  

Bees in their box, ready to be relocated.

I had to leave for the last part, but the comb was removed - the honey was not dry enough to be used so it will be given to the bees who will take it into their new hive.  And now our building is ready to be worked on!

How Does Your Garden Grow? - June 1st

I thought it would be fun to do a little photo journal of my garden this year. This is the first year I have really had it set up how I want.  We've been slowly tilling up new land, running hogs in it for fertilization, and battling the joys of starting a new garden. (Weeds, grass, soil quality, etc.) There's a little more work that needs to be done - putting a border and rock down at the hydrant, tilling up the berry/grape end (not shown in the drawing) and fencing it in. (We will be using field fence and will be including the orchard in the fence, which is directly behind the garden - this is as much to keep our livestock out!)

I have decided to garden with quadrant gardening.  I will be rotating the 4 sections of my vegetable garden each year (moving 1 section to the right) to help control disease and nutrient loss.  I used some resources to piece together my quadrants.  It isn't exactly what was recommend, but it is what works for the types and amounts of plants I grow.  I also have some permanent and semi-permanent beds.  On the back, north side of the garden, is my asparagus.  In the front I have a strawberry patch and cut flower patch.  I will rotate the strawberries and flowers every 3 years for the benefit of the strawberries.  And then directly behind the strawberries and cut flowers is a permanent border with rhubarb.

Click to Enlarge

I realize that it is a little hard to read the words on my drawing.  Here's what's in each quadrant.

Quadrant 1: Peas, cucumber, dill, green beans, yellow wax beans, cauliflower, broccoli, cantaloupe, herbs

Quadrant 2: Sweet peppers, green bell peppers, banana peppers, zucchini, summer squash, acorn squash, carrots, onions, lettuce, spinach, slicing and cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes, onions and carrots, basil

Quadrant 3: Corn with beans, pumpkins, gourds

Quadrant 4: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, watermelon.

I have almost all of the above planted. I got things in a little later than hoped, but it's much earlier than I have been able to other years. I'm also excited that this year I was able to start all of my plants from seed, either inside or in the garden, except my hot peppers.  I only wanted 1 or 2 of each variety so it just worked better to buy those.

So with all of that said . . . here's how my garden grows in June. :)

Full View: Enjoyed a few strawberries from new transplants. Excited to see experimental direct seeded asparagus up and joining asparagus transplants started indoor from seed.

Quadrant 1: needing to plant herbs, lettuce behind peas, and eventually fall broccoli and cauliflower

Quadrant 2 : harvesting lettuce and baby carrots - needing to plant acorn squash and basil

Quadrant 3 - needing to plant 3 rows of late sweet corn, sunflowers, pumpkins, and gourds

Quadrant 4 - needing to plant 3rd row of sweet potato slips, watermelon and beans

Blueberries and Vines: nibbled on some unripe, but nicely tart, blueberries - needing lots of work and planting yet!

The 3rd Building on CGF Arrives!

As many of our blog followers might know, we purchased our farm about 4 years ago with absolutely nothing on it except trees, grasses, and massive ant hills. We have come along way since we first broke ground here, but we still have quite a bit of set up to do! 

One of the things that we are much in need of is more structures.  We have our house and our open face shed that we built, but that is it.  With all of our different livestock, we really would like more buildings.


About 1/2 mile away, on the top of the hill on an old farmstead, we saw this old 12 x 20 grain building.  We contacted the owners of the land, met with them and enjoyed hearing the history of the farmstead, and we were given permission to purchase and move the building.

Since it was built with 3 skids, which had been resting on concrete, it would have been a simple-ish task to move it to our property after a good snow, pulling it behind our tractor. But alas, we didn't have much snow this winter and it is now almost May.  So we did the next best thing. Ethan got ahold of his cousin, who also farms and can do about anything - and who has a grate trailer and an assortment of tractors, and requested some help.

I trailed behind with the camera to capture the process.  Here's my best attempt.
*You can click on the photos to enlarge them.


Ethan and Verne hooked up the front corners of the building with chains to the loaders of 2 4020 tractors.  They then lifted up the front of the building.


Verne backed the trailer under the building. (The trailer had some steel extensions on the bed so the skids would have support on them.)

Next, the building was hooked up to the winch.  This would have easily pulled the building up onto the trailer . . . except the winch wasn't getting power from the batteries or something.  I didn't ask!



So plan B - Pull both tractors parallel to the trailer, hook them up again to the corners of the building, and back the tractors up to pull the building onto the trailer.


 Now, the large, heavy building somewhat was on pivot point being pulled on different corners by 2 tractors.  All I will say is that it is a bit tricky to reverse at the same rate with 2 different tractors, and I was glad with the building was on the trailer and sitting still!


After the building was on the trailer, I had to take off to town with our kiddos for our home school coop.


Ethan said that they then chained the building to the trailer and headed down the road.


The 1/2 mile drive was uneventful, and they pulled up into our pasture behind the house.


Unloading the building seemed to be a bit easier, although pulling the building off with the tractor didn't seem to be the best way to go power wise.  They kept the tractor chained up, though, and just pulled the trailer ahead. The weight of the tractor seemed to do the trick as the trailer pulled ahead, and the building slid off the back.  Just before the last part of the building came off the trailer, they once again hooked the building up to both tractor loaders to hold it in the air while they finished pulling the trailer out, and then they gently lowered the end of the building to the ground.

So now we have another building here!  We have a bit of work to do before we use it though.  First off - we discovered that it came with honey bees in the walls! Thankfully we have a bee keeping friend who is excited to capture the colony for a hive.  We then need will need to reside it to keep it tight.  We need to make it predator safe since we plan on brooding some chicks in one of half of it. (There is a full wall in the middle, dividing the building in half.)  And lastly, before we pull it to its permanent location, we want to put some lengths of cement down to help it be level and stay off of the ground.  Since we will be putting a bit of work and some money into it, we want it to last a long time! 

So there you have it!  Hopefully I can get some pictures and posts of the bee extraction and fixing up of it. I'm sure excited to put it to use though!

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