The Quietness of Winter

   For the most part, I have been enjoying the quietness of winter. Although there are no garden chores, other than ordering seeds for spring planting, the barn chores have more than doubled in the winter months. It seems I just get done cleaning the barn, chicken house and duck house, when I have to leave the comfort of the woodstove in the house and go out into the frigid air and do it all over again. This is the first winter in a few years that we have had a cow in the barn again, and I must have forgotten how much work it is to clean up after a cow confined to the barn to have decided to do this again! Oh well, spring is coming and soon the sheep, cow, chickens, and ducks will be outside all day only coming in at night.
   I have started to order my garden seeds and have already received all my vegetable seeds. This year I ordered all my vegetable seeds from High Mowing Seeds, an organic seed company right here in Vermont. For years I have ordered all my veggie seeds form The Cook's Garden, but this year decided to "keep it local." This week I will order my cut flower garden seeds. I always order the flower seeds from Johnny's Selected Seeds in Maine. I have tried other companies but my best flowers seem to come from Johnny's. I am especially excited to try some new varieties this year, as well as, the tried and true sunflowers (6 varieties), zinnias (5 varieties) and celosia (4 varieties). I am looking forward to growing "Blue Boy" bachelor buttons, pincushion flowers, snapdragons, and China asters. Wish me luck!
   The prospect of starting seeds soon is so exciting, but the thought of my laundry room being taken over by grow lights and flats of seedlings on tables is a little daunting. I do so love the smell of the damp soil though! So I think I'll make a cup of tea and sit by my woodstove, and do my flower seed ordering right now.

Chickadees having breakfast on the farm this morning.

 

Temperatures finally warm enough today for the ducks and chickens to venture out.

 

The quietness of Winter in our field.

 

The herb garden at sunset last week.

 

Getting the barn ready for Winter

 

   As we go through this rainy, chilly weather pattern it makes me realize that a lot must be done in the barn, duck, and chicken houses to prepare for winter. My winter hay supply will be arriving in the barn, so I must reorganize and make room for the neatly stacked bales of hay which will dominate the first room of the barn. Where will everything go? Why do I always end up putting gardening tools and supplies in the animal barn instead of the garage designated for the garden paraphernalia? Well, everything will have to be put back into place and the hay will arrive to feed the animals.
   The animals are all doing well. The vet paid her visit for yearly exams and shots, and declared all are healthy. It is always a relief to hear that from your vet. Annabelle, our 4 1/2 month old Jersey heifer, has now been weaned off of her twice a day bottles and has been mooing her protests but has finally resigned herself to only eating grain and hay. Poor Annabelle! The sheep are getting their winter wool and are beginning to look like a flock of cuddly teddy bears. Oh, so cute!
   I recently had another small harvest of lavender and was able to make one more batch of lavender oatmeal soap. I have my fingers crossed that the 24 lavender plants I planted in the spring will winter over. I will mulch them with straw for protection and hope for the best. So far, they seem very well established and have grown more than I thought they would have in their first year, and I had three generous harvests from which I could make soap, lip balm and dried lavender sachets. I am already dreaming about all the lavender products I will make next year.

dried lavender sachets

 

 

home-crafted lavender oatmeal soap

 

return of winter wool

 

Poor Annabelle, no more bottles just hay and grain.

 

Fair Days

   My good intentions of blogging once a week have once again taken a backseat to the chores needing to be done around the farm. I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post.  Soon the gardens will be done for this season and that will free up lots of time for indoor pleasures such as writing. The gardens were quite successful this year with such perfect summer weather. My flower gardens all did beautifully and I was able to enter a lot of flowers in the Tunbridge Fair this year in the cut flower category. My entries included sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, and celosias. I had sold so many bouquets of cut flowers in the past few weeks that I was really in a panic trying to find enough blooms for the arrangements for the fair entries. Luckily the flowers were in top condition and all received blue ribbons! My greatest honor was receiving the "Best of Show" rosette for a potted geranium I entered. This plant was bestowed with the "Libby Dodge Award" and was such a huge surprise and honor for me. It felt like Christmas when I was a kid!
   The animals are all doing well and the young chickens are finally laying eggs every day now. Unfortunately discovering that we have two roosters in the mix has left us without two laying chickens that we had counted on. I must say that the roosters are truly beautiful to look at though and delightful to hear crowing "Good Morning" each and every day. It's also nice that the chickens, ducks, sheep, and calf are all in the barn and chicken house earlier and earlier each night with the shorter days. That means my day has been ending earlier as well.
   I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely early fall weather.

Cosmos entered at the fair

Sunflower entry

Celosias entered at fair

Zinnias

"Best of Show"

 

A Calf for the Farm

   Already we are at the end of June. After a slow start to the growing season in the vegetable and flower gardens everything has suddenly taken off at once, especially the weeds. So it's weed, weed, weed every early morning and every evening. I have even been able to harvest some lavender in the new lavender garden and there is much more to come. My only regrets this year gardenwise is not having planted more lavender and strawberry plants. Oh well, there is always next year.
   I avoided a regret I knew I would have and brought home a one week old Jersey calf to the farm on Monday. She is just adorable, and we have named her Annabelle. Of course all of the sheep are terrified of this tiny calf, since sheep are pretty much scared of anything, but they are getting used to her ever so slowly.
   All of our little "birds" are growing up way to quickly. Our Wyandotte chicks are now pullets, the next step before becoming laying hens, and our little duckling, Beatrix, is almost full sized. How does this happen so fast? So I am staying put on the farm this summer and enjoying all my lovely farm animals and especially our little Annabelle while she spends her first summer as a little calf.

Annabelle taking a rest after her first bottle at her new home.

She really does look like a baby deer!

Beatrix getting bigger everyday.

 

Beatrix is Here!

   Our new duckling has arrived and is just as darling as can be. We have named her Beatrix and she is now a tiny yellow duckling but will soon grow to be a large white Pekin Duck. Our plan is that she will be a companion to Francesca, our Rouen Duck, but we will have to wait and see when introductions are made.
  Francesca originally had two companions when we got her two years ago, but now occupies the duck house alone at night and during the coldest winter days. I ordered three Rouen ducks from a local feed store- two females and one male. I had hopes of little ducklings from this grouping, but it was not to be. I ended up giving the male duck away because he was so abusive to the female ducks, and even worse to me. I had constant bruises on my arms, where he bit me every time I gave them food or water, for the few short months I had him. Francesca's constant companion, Jemima, was killed the first summer by what we believe was a fox. Francesca was seriously injured as well, but survived by staying in the water in the center of a small livestock trough behind our barn, so apparently the fox could not reach her. She limped for a long time, lost quite a few feathers, and suffered a broken heart always looking for her friend Jemima. Since then she was adopted by the sheep, and thinks she is a sheep. She is always by their sides during the day when they are in the pasture. We thought she might like this little duck for "duck" company when she is alone in her house, but I fear she will probably just teach Beatrix to be a sheep too!

Beatrix- one day old

Every duckling should have it's own claw foot bathtub on the back porch!

Last week's bee inspection- the bees are thriving!

Our "not so baby" chicks

March is here!

   We are into March now and I have high hopes for warmer weather, unfortunately the long range forecasts are calling for a colder than average March. My sister recently sent me a quote which I intend to live by this month, "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I will be patient awaiting spring!
   My seeds I planted last weekend for the flower cutting garden are sprouting and already growing. I have flats of flower seedlings all over my laundry room because it is such a sunny, warm room for starting seeds. Kind of a chaotic scene, but who cares, the plants are my harbingers of spring.

Stocks for the flower garden

 

   The sheep are tired of the barn and try ( and sometimes succeed ) to make a break for it when I open the back door of the barn to take out food and water to the chickens and duck. I try to let them out when it is not too blustery or hovering around zero, but they seem to get a little taste of the great outdoors and want more. Who can blame them? When they are outside they are eating the bark off of the old apple trees in the field, which I fear may be detrimental to the old trees. The chickens are bored as well, and can even be heard bickering in their coop. Believe me, the animals want spring just as much as, if not more, than we humans do.

Bickering hens

Scrambled eggs, fried eggs, poached eggs, egg salad, eggs Benedict...

Francesca spends most of the coldest days sitting in a heated bowl of water, she says "that's living."





  
   With the high today to be only 15 degrees and tonight's temperature around minus 18, I think it will be a perfect day to put on a pot of Country French Beef Stew. It is a perfect "warm you up " meal, takes only one pot to cook in, and smells so delicious while cooking. What more could you want on such a frigid day? My husband and I will enjoy this meal tonight in front of the fire in our living room with a loaf of homemade bread ( courtesy of my Zojirushi bread machine). Try this recipe- it is guaranteed to warm you up!

Country French Beef Stew: Makes 6 servings

Ingredients-

1/2 cup dry navy beans
4 cups water
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 pounds boneless stew beef
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion cut into thin wedges
3 cloves garlic minced
2/3 cup dry red wine
14 1/2 ounce can beef broth
1 cup chopped tomato
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 medium carrots cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Rinse beans. In a large saucepan combine beans and 4 cups water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans.
Place flour and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in plastic bag. Add beef pieces a few at a time, shaking to coat. In a 4-6 quart dutch oven brown half of the beef in one Tablespoon of the hot oil; remove beef. Add remaining oil, remaining beef, onion, and garlic to dutch oven. Cook until beef is brown and onion is tender.
Stir in wine, scraping until the brown bits are dissolved. Return all beef to dutch oven. Stir in beans, broth, tomato, and dried thyme. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 1 1/2 hours. Add carrots return to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer covered for at least 30 more minutes or until carrots and beef are ultra- tender. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Stress and Anxiety

   Lately I have been experiencing the trials and tribulations of owning animals. First of all, Charlotte our two year old pregnant ewe has been losing patches of wool since shortly after she came back to us after breeding. I noticed loose patches of wool when I got her home on her left hip and next to her tail on her right side. Those loose patches fell out and there was Charlotte with a bare butt in sub-zero weather. I really worried when more patches of wool fell out, and after talking with other sheep owners decided it was time to call our sheep vet. It seems since she is eating ferociousy, acting normal, no fever or illness, no rash, no bugs or parasites, and the wool is growing in again that my vet's diagnosis is that our Charlotte is stressed! It seems that sheep can lose patches of wool when they go through a traumatic event, and for Charlotte leaving our farm and her flock and being bred for the first time was way too much of a stressful event. So now that she is home among her friends she is doing fine. We just need to be patient for her wool to grow back in, which for now looks like peach fuzz. Poor Charlotte! She is also eating some extra mineral supplements to help her along.
   My next animal fiasco involves my 2 year old chocolate lab, Holly, who has decided she can not stay home alone ( although two other dogs are at home) without chewing some item that belongs to me or my husband. This is the dog who did this for her entire puppyhood but upon turning two years old suddenly stopped her bad behavior. Well, it's back! I finally could have a life and go places without worry, but she has suddenly regressed. Last week we lost a slipper, my leather baby shoe I had in my sewing room on my grandmother's antique sewing machine, and a leather work glove. She doesn't just chew them, she swallows them! She ate the fingers off of my husband's suede and cloth work glove he left drying by our woodstove, and threw up each of the five glove fingers on our bed at 4 a.m. two days later. My beautiful little 55 year old baby shoe ended up in our backyard after her morning walk. No need to go into details on that return! So now Holly must stay in a crate when we go out or go with us. The diagnosis on this animal? Seperation anxiety. So, I have two neurotic animals on the farm. One is stressed and one has anxiety. Guess what? Now I am stressed and I have anxiety! I guess these animals are just coddled too much, but who can help it? They are just so cute and so sweet.
   Enjoy the brief weather warm up we have been promised later this week!

Holly got to go shopping at Tractor Supply to buy an owl to scare away pidgeons, because she can't be trusted to stay home without supervision.(I guess she got her way- again)

No longer a pair of baby shoes- just one.

Another sub zero morning. No chickens out this day!

Still snowing..

At least Holly enjoys the snow.

 

 

 

Battle of the Moles

   My dilemma in the barn now is how to outsmart the moles. I see little foot prints and paths in the snow leading to my barn, I have holes in between bricks in the barn floor, but alas I cannot catch those little devils in traps. They have dug wonderful little tunnels under the bricks on the floor, even enough to push some of the corners of the bricks up, which was my first clue that they are indeed moles. Usually I catch quite a few moles in traps earlier in the fall, but this year they waited until the really cold weather to set up housekeeping in my barn. While at Tractor Supply picking up provisions for the animals last week I bought brand new traps, thinking they smelled something foreboding on the old traps. Still nothing! I've tried cheese, peanut butter, but still no luck. I fill in the holes in the floor but new ones appear, so I know the moles are having a great time while I am not around. I then decided to bring in my secret weapon, Teddy. Teddy is the garage/shop resident tabby cat who lives in a very warm, heated workshop. Although he catches mice and moles in the garage, he wants no part of an unheated barn. So the battle of the moles continues... Thanks Teddy!

Mole pathways to the barn in the snow

 

Tunnels under bricks on floor

Teddy, the secret weapon, to tired to catch moles

 

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the ice sculptures I took in Stowe last weekend, while visiting my daughter. No chance of them melting anytime soon.

 

Diamond ring ice sculpture

Musical clef ice sculpture



 

The sheep are still enjoying the afternoons outside even in the frigid temperatures. Here they are on a sunny 10 degree afternoon, happy to get out of the barn

 

 

Hopefully the groundhog won't see his shadow on Sunday and he'll stay out! Can we really anticipate spring will be right around the corner then? I hope so.

 

Christmas Fruit Cake

   As planned, I made my fruitcake on Saturday morning, although I never planned to be mixing the ingredients at 4:00 a.m. and having it in the oven by 4:30a.m. It was one of those nights when you are awake most of the night and finally give in and just get out of bed. Usually I read or knit when I can't sleep, but I figured why not bake the fruitcake. The oven warmed the kitchen on a -8 degree morning ( maybe I should have waited until this morning's -17 degrees) and the aroma of the spices, fruit and rum was nothing short of "intoxicating". I am including the recipe in my post, but you may want to make it at a more reasonable hour.
   Saturday night and Sunday's snowfall was absolutely magical to wake up to. At 14" on the ground I think the chickens and duck will be in their houses now because of the snow depth and not just the frigid temperatures. They have all adapted to staying in with the comfort of heat lamps. When I first started keeping them in during the cold days, they tried to push their way out every morning while I cleaned the coop and fed and watered them. Now they want no part of going outside into the deep freeze and snow. Egg production is high so obviously they are content with their winter arrangement. The sheep on the other hand, enjoy a romp through the snow as long as it is not zero or terribly windy out. They like the freedom of being able to come and go into the barn during the day.
   The Christmas baking and present wrapping continue this week. All the things that make the holidays so wonderful!

First time out making paths

George not to sure if he likes snow yet

 

Martha, twin brother George, and Francis playing in the snow

 



 

Christmas Fruitcake Recipe



 

1 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons cloves

1 teaspoon allspice

3 cups sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup raisins

2/3 cup currants

1 lb. mixed fruitcake fruit

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped dates

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups applesauce

1/4 cup rum

 

 

Cream shortening and sugar gradually with spices. Sift flour, salt, soda together. Dredge fruit and nuts with 1/2 cup of flour. Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add alternately with remaining flour mixture,stirring until well blended. Stir in applesauce, fruit and nuts, and rum.

Bake in a well greased tube pan in a preheated 325 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours or until done.

Ready for oven

Ready to eat!



November's Farm News

   After a month of not blogging, it's time to get back to writing about the happenings on the farm. Daily activities are very quiet this time of year. No garden tasks to attend to, except perusing all the colorful seed catalogs that are showing up daily in my mailbox. It used to be that in January, right after Christmas, they would arrive giving us something to look forward to after the holidays, but they seem to be coming earlier and earlier each year. With too much to do getting ready for Christmas in December, I have tucked the catalogs away in my desk drawer until January. It is such fun to sip a cup of tea by the fire in the middle of a snow storm and dream of next year's garden. The empty palette of a snow covered garden offers endless possibilites of what to grow next year.
   The animals are spending a lot of time in the barn with the exceptionally cold temperatures as of late. Yesterday was hovering near 30 degrees and the sheep acted like spring lambs, running and jumping. It really puts a smile on your face to see them run and play in the bit of snow we have on the ground and act like it is April rather than December.
   The chickens are really not a bit impressed with the snow we have covering the ground, in fact they do not like it at all. They squawk as soon as they come out of the hen house and feel the cold and see the snow. Frostbite on the rose on top of the chicken's heads and their feet is a real concern in the sub-zero temperatures, so they have spent a few days locked in their house with a nice warm light on and are just as happy, and actually laying eggs everyday. The shortened days of winter offer less light and most chickens lay fewer eggs, but my girls have been laying steadily. With holiday baking starting now nothing beats farm fresh eggs in all baking recipes so I'm glad for the extra eggs, as are my family and neighbors.
   Charlotte, our breeding ewe, is now in New York State at Cabin Creek Acres in Schuylerville being bred. The younger lambs miss her terribly and look for her and call her with their baaing daily. Even though she is not the mother to any of them, they seem to rely on her as a mother figure. She will be home just before Christmas, hopefully pregnant. She is a bit chubby from sneaking grain from the other sheep and eating more than her fair share of hay. This extra weight can be detrimental to getting pregnant and to birthing in the spring, so she is on a diet. Poor Charlotte, she so loves food!
   Today's chores include hanging the outside Christmas wreaths and enjoying the upper 20 and lower 30 degree temperatures. After our latest cold snap it will feel downright balmy out. Thanks for your interest in The Farm at Mill Village.

Unhappy chickens in the snow.

Francesca trying to drink frozen water although she has heated water in her duck house!

Sheep happy to be in their barn when it was 1 degree outside.

 

I have no idea where they came from, but these yellow violas are still blooming against the foundation of our house despite frigid temps. Summer lives on!

 

  

First Snow

   This morning we are having our first snowfall in South Royalton, Vermont. Only up to an inch is predicted, but it is our first honest to goodness snow of the season. Since the date is October 30, old timers would forecast 30 major snowstorms for this winter. I don't know if this "old wives tale" will come true, but that is a lot of snowstorms for the winter of 2013-2014. We only just had our first frost last week on Monday, so after a very mild October we are suddenly plunging head first into winter it seems. Yesterday's morning low was 19 degrees and today's was 24 degrees. Brrrrr.
   Last week we devoted to the delivery and stacking of seven cords of wood to heat our farmhouse for the winter. We are lucky to have a 20x24 1930s garage on our property that we store our firewood in every fall and winter, to keep it dry. Also lucky enough to have it only a few steps from the backdoor of our house, a blessing during frigid Vermont winters. The garage seems to accumulate a lot of gardening equipment and "where do we put this?" items in the summer, but come fall it is cleaned out for only the firewood and storage of our porch and garden furniture.
   We also brought our hay home and stacked it in the barn last weekend, and can now breathe a sigh of relief that all the heavy lifting of wood and hay is complete, we'll be warm this winter, and the sheep will be well fed.
   One of our ewes, Charlotte, will be leaving to go to another farm to be bred in the beginning of November. I know we will miss her, but she will soon be back and hopefully grace our farm with a beautiful lamb (maybe twins) next April. The sheep are being lazy laying outside on the sunny days and still foraging for apples. It seems the pace of all the animals has slowed down and with no gardening chores I finally have time to make Christmas presents. So far I have made 4 1/2 presents,  with a lot more to go. So since the weather is chilly and snowy, I am off to my craft room to create. Enjoy the snow!

Sunrise over the barn last Tuesday am

Millie checking out the first frost

First snow!

A poor "woolly-bear" caterpillar caught in the first snow

 

Warm Gingerbread

We have a bounty of eggs now that all of our chickens are laying. We sold several dozen eggs last week and have had requests for more. The new "Fresh Eggs" sign is almost completed, just waiting for my husband to letter it this week. I enjoyed painting the graphics of the chickens on the sign, but will not even attempt to do the lettering. Hopefully the sign will be up by the road this weekend.

Laying hen in nesting box

 

The sheep have one late apple tree, at the very back of the pasture, where they spend their lazy days  waiting for the last apples to drop. I think they will be quite sad when these apples are gone, since they have so loved eating apples the last two months. They still run out of the barn every morning and check the ancient, crooked apple tree they have been getting all their apple treats from, even though it has been barren the past ten days or so. At least they have this one more tree to satisfy their apple cravings. Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees on our property and within our view so these red apples on this tree are a little bit of color for us to see.

The chickens, duck, and sheep are in their barns by 6:30 now, so I find myself curled up with a book on the couch by 7:00. I like this time of year with no urgency to get things done in the evenings. I do enjoy baking, so I sometimes pop something in the oven for an evening snack. My latest baking endeavour is an October favorite- gingerbread. Once you make this from scratch gingerbread, you'll never use a mix from the grocery store again. Served with a dollop of whipped cream it is undeniably an autumn treat. 

 

Gingerbread

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour( plus extra for dusting pan)

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg ( or ground nutmeg)

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 large farm fresh eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup warm water

1 cup light raisins

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8" baking pan with butter and dust with flour.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until well blended. Set bowl aside. In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter and brown sugar until well blended and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until just blended. Continue beating while slowly adding the molasses. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg mixture and stir just until incorporated.  Add the water and stir until blended. Gently fold in raisins. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack. Serve warm with whipped cream.