Gemini's Snow Day

Since we haven't been able to get Gemini out for a cart drive recently, we took advantage of the snowy day to take him for a walk. Here he is getting a mini-lunge session while we wait for a car to go by. Gemini never passes up a chance to eat, so he could use a little exercise....

Pausing to pose with pony near the Pole Rd.

We thought it would be a good idea to take Gem to the pig farm up the road. He doesn't care for them at all, and he needs to be able to take them in stride while pulling a cart.

Look at the face on this boar! We also wanted a closer look to get used to the idea or raising and eating a critter like this.

Gemini thought the wind-spinner was rather spooky as well. He sure gets a lot of attention from traffic when he's out walking. It's fun, and a great way to get him used to different sights & sounds.

At the end of the walk, he was ready to quit hoofing it and catch a ride home. Unfortunately his bus wasn't running today, so he walked home anyway.

Steamed Pumpkin Pudding and an Arctic Express

Magnus is able to annoy Newt, even in his sleep. The kitties spend about 23/7 indoors, now that the woodstove is cooking about 23/7 as well.

We tried a new pumpkin recipe tonight (scroll down a bit for the recipe), and it's a winner. If you don't already have a pudding steamer, this recipe alone is reason to go buy one.

The howling north winds are as tough on the bees as our more common Pineapple Express. The Fraser Valley can sometimes take over our weather in the winter, giving us days of bone dry, frigid gales. At least we're lucky this one isn't bringing snow. We put some old roofing panels to use as baffles, and it seems to help. You can see downed branches from our last windstorm to the left.

Gemini has a thick, soft, woolly coat to keep him warm. The humans, on the other hand, have to dress up in some creative outfits to work more than a few minutes outside.

The hens are keeping their feet warm in the straw while they get some sunlight. There is a heated water bowl in the background, and each coop has a heater on a thermostat. They still don't look very thrilled with this weather. Once Doug & Buddy are gone, we'll be starting on their coop upgrade/move to the barn.

Even the garlic is trying to keep warm! Hopefully the wind will leave the straw in place, if not we'll have to lay some chickenwire over it.

............

It's garden planning time...the seed catalogs are getting dog-eared from overuse. The 2010 garden should be lots more productive, and lots less maintenance involved. Fingers crossed!

Congee and critters

Look at this lovely use of an old laying hen! The soup above is called congee. Also known as jook and chao ga, it's an Asian version of comforting chicken soup. My personal recipe is this:

One soup chicken

One 'stalk' of lemongrass

Three 2" pieces of fresh ginger

1.5 cups Jasmine rice

Cilantro

Lime

Salt & pepper

Put an old laying hen (previously butchered) into a soup kettle and cover with water.

Chop the lemongrass into 1.5" pieces.

Scrape most of the peel off the ginger and add.

Add salt to taste, maybe 1 tablespoon.

Simmer 24 hours on the back burner, not letting it come to a boil.

Take out the chicken and remove meat from bones.

Strain out lemon grass and ginger.

Put chicken meat back in pot and add rice.

Bring to a quick boil, then simmer until rice is porridgey.

Salt & pepper to taste.

Garnish bowls of congee with chopped cilantro and squeeze a wedge of lime into it. Heavenly!

This kind of soup can't be canned, so I freeze it with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of cilantro in each container.

Magnus is taking advantage of chilly nights by the woodstove. The squash are in curing before being stored in the pantry for the winter. They like a week or so of warm temps, then they will last for months in the cool dry pantry on a wire rack. The Uncle David Dakota dessert squash are all they're cracked up to be. Highly recommended!

Gemini is obviously starving to death, and needed to come up on the back porch to beg for dried apple slices through the kitchen window.
After a hard day's work at Seven Trees, humans and critters need to relax.....Gemini doesn't really like beer, but he can't help being nosey.

Pony Power!

We took Gemini out for 2 drives this weekend. Even though he's middle-aged, he still has the potential to have an active working life well into his 20's....assuming we can get him in shape! Just like any athlete or manual laborer, being fit goes a long way towards reaching top physical performance. We've been driving him about 2 or 3 miles, and he's not really breaking a sweat. We're also working on getting him to keep his mind on his job and not the scary roadside distractions like flagging tape, mailboxes, plastic bags, sheep, and most terrifying of all, the giant hog down the road. He's getting much better, and so are we. The more we work with him, the more everyone's confidence level goes up, and we can look ahead to fun stuff like driving him all the way to Everson and going through the coffee stand drive-thru.
Here's a peek at what Gemini's career might have been if we was alive 100 years ago - a Pit Pony. Small ponies, especially Shetlands, were used to haul coal tubs from the rock face to the larger tunnels. Children and women used to do the work, but labor laws changed in 1842, and ponies took over the work. They were stabled underground, fed underground, and in most cases only went 'topside' for an annual 2-week holiday. They worked an 8-hour day, and were reportedly well-cared for.
Shetland ponies are actually one of the strongest equines for it's size, even compared to the large draft breeds. It can pull up to 2-3 times its weight where some draft breeds can only manage half that. A large-ish Shetland can also carry a small rider. There are 2 main "styles" of Shetland pony, the old-fashioned stocky drafty British type, and the sleeker, lighter, more horse-shaped American type. We chose Gemini because his conformation looked a lot like a miniature draft horse, as opposed to a "dwarfy" mini-horse or "racy" riding pony.

Here's the shiny "roadster" coming up on our shopping list this summer. It's called a forecart because it comes before the cart (or other farm implement) and gives the farmer a place to sit and steer the horse from. This is the one piece of equipment that will let us put Gemini to some much-needed work around Seven Trees. The beauty above is made by the Pioneer company and comes in a variety of sizes. It's also tricked-out to serve as a road cart when it isn't pulling anything, complete with brakes, lights, cargo tray, etc. if you're willing to pay for all the options. There is a hitch on the backside that enables us to hook up pretty much anything that an ATV or riding mower can pull.

Here is a larger horse harnessed to a forecart and pulling some kind of 2-wheeled cart. We often use the scythe to cut areas outside the critters' grazing area, and a cart like this would be handy for bringing the cut grass back to the barnyard for them to eat.

A lovely team of Belgians harnessed to a forecart which is pulling a blade. This setup could also be used for road-grading. Gemini isn't big-enough to do this kind of work, but you can see how handy the forecart is for a variety of chores.

The funky thing above is called a chain harrow. It can be used to smooth out rough garden soil, help seeds get down to dirt level when overseeding an established pasture, and our favorite - breaking up cow pies out in the grazing area. Gemini should have no trouble pulling this along.

Here's another dandy farm implement - a manure spreader. Most of the farms around here use a giant motorized one, or spray a liquid slurry on their fields. This itty-bitty one is just the right size for us, and Gemini. As it rolls over the ground, gears in the hopper turn, breaking up manure and spreading it evenly over the ground so it can fertilize the grass. Being able to utilize pony power and manure this way will help us close the loop of inputs and expenses while helping grow more/better food for the critters.

Can't have a cart without the harness. The diagram above is of a driving harness. We have a simple version of that now that we use for light driving. On smooth surfaces without much weight, this is a cheaper way to go. It's crucial to adjust & fit all the little straps and buckles just right so that Gemini can work comfortably and safely. We'll probably invest in a fancier parade style driving harness at some point, just because he will look so cute in it!

This is the kind of harness we'll need to do farm chores with Gemini. It's called a draft, work, or pulling harness. For light work, such as horse show competition where light carts are used, a harness needs only a breastcollar. It can only be used for lighter hauling, since it places the weight of the load on the sternum of the horse and the nearby windpipe. This is not the heaviest skeletal area; also heavy loads can constrict the windpipe and reduce a horse's air supply.
By contrast, the collar and hames harness places the weight of the load onto the horses shoulders, and without any restriction on the air supply. For heavy hauling, the harness must include a horse collar to allow the animal to use its full weight and strength.

Finding pony-sized working harness ready-made is nearly impossible, so we'll be looking for harness-makers at an up-coming draft show in our area. The Washington Draft Horse and Mule Extravaganza is set for August 31 - September 3 during the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe.

Here's poor Gemini, after a long cart drive, putting up with a human on his back. He needs some work, but it won't take much to get him saddle-trained. We won't be able to ride him more than for training puropses, but it will be nice to have him ready in case visiting kids want to hop on.

And below is Gemini in cart mode. The noise in the beginning of this clip is a tractor that just passed him. He's getting used to all kinds of road traffic, and it didn't faze him a bit.

Slipping into summer.....

Another busy weekend, and the weather finally cooperated! Here's Doug & Buddy, lounging in all the grass they haven't eaten yet. Looks like they are both headed to 'freezer camp' in November, but we won't be cow-free for long....
The bees are doing great, but not ready for the honey super yet. This is one of the outer frames of the upper deep hive body we put on last week. No eggs in it yet, though they are drawing out comb and filling it with honey/nectar/pollen as fast as they can.

Check out the girl-next-door! Isn't she cute? This is a couple-week-old Shorthorn/Galloway cross heifer, who might just end up moving to Seven Trees when she's a bit older. This coloration is a newer one for the Galloway breed, but Shorthorns & Galloways are old Scottish cattle that do well in our climate, put on good weight on grass, and if you're lucky, still have some milking ability left in them (though they're mainly used for beef these days).

These precocious little bean plants are now planted outside and getting ready to tackle their bamboo pole teepees. The other pots are full of cuke, squash, melon, pepper, tomato & herb starts. It doesn't look like it in this pic, but in one warm sunny day, nearly everything sprouted at once. Hopefully all these plants will keep at it once they hit the dirt so we can have a bumper crop of good food.

Here's the genius himself, with his lack-legged sidekick. Nothing says love like a fresh tennis ball...

Gemini took us for a nice long drive this weekend. There were all kinds of 'scary' things going on, like motorcycles, pink flagging tape, hay trucks, tractors, kids, mailboxes, chickens, his own shadow....but most terrifying of all was the giant pig at the hog farm down the road. Who knew that pony-boy has hog-phobia. But we spent some quality time walking him close to all the spooky things, and he's really getting the hang of being a reliable cart pony no matter what is going on around him. After we got him home & cooled off, I just had to see if he'd hop in our utility trailer. No problem! He's pretty willing to try anything if you ask him nicely.

Last, but never least, Stewart demonstrates proper chewing technique on his tennis ball. We have to buy these by the case because it doesn't take him long to shred one with his monster grizzly-bear jaws.....

Weekend project runs amok!

Re-doing the south bedroom was supposed to be a 3-day weekend thing. Install a ceiling fan, replace all the switches & outlets, shampoo the carpet, paint & make new drapes.
It took most of Friday just to get everything out of the room. Gemini was doing yardwork, when he wasn't busy chasing chickens, cats & dogs all over.

Here's a look at the entire bedroom, spewed out all over the living room. Chaos!

The minty-celery green was just too pale for that room. It gets full sunlight, even in winter, and needed something dramatic.

Same corner with partial paint & new ceiling fan. The trim, including the tiny bit around the ceiling edge, will be a dark bronzy-brown.

Another view, partially done. The room is so small that it's hard to get a picture showing perspective. The closet will stay the light green color, as a memento, and because it's a pain to paint it. There was a spiffy beaded curtain with a bright yellow sunflower painted on, but we'll replace that with a plain dark wood beaded one.

Painting done but for the trim. We just got the bottom trim done so we could shampoo the carpet and start putting furniture back in. We ran out of weekend, so we'll finish the trim painting and get the drapes done hopefully this coming weekend.

The kitties enjoyed a slumber party during the mess.

We also secondaried our first-ever batch of grape wine. A neighbor gifted us with buckets & buckets of grapes last fall, and we made jam with some and wine with the rest. Wines made from North American wild & hybrid grapes are often said to have a "foxy" quality. Whatever they call it, it's pretty darn tasty! We'll try more in about 6 months.

Our batch of chicks should arrive this week, and the bees not too long after. The garden is underway as well. Busy times, but we're planning to check out opening day at the Bellingham Farmer's market April 4th, and seeing Dan Savage at WWU later that evening.

NOW it's spring!

The hummingbirds are back! We've had the feeder up for a few weeks, anticipating their return, and today the Rufous hummingbirds showed up.

Bird Web says this about them:

Rufous Hummingbirds are highly territorial, defending feeding territories not only while breeding but also during migration. Rufous Hummingbirds do not sing but make warning chips in response to perceived threats. Their wings make a whine much like the sound of a cicada.

If you live in Washington State, be sure to check out Bird Web for wonderful pictures, info & sound clips of all kind of local birds.

Gemini is learning how to use the pony drive-thru to get treats. Smart guy!

The hens are enjoying some yard time. The garden is off-limits again, since we'll be planting onions & potatoes out soon. Kohlrabi, broccoli, chard, spinach & lettuce next.

Winter weekend

It's been a quiet week at Seven Trees. Seeds are ordered, chicks are ordered, paint colors picked out. Now we just have to wait for spring. So we decided to make some bread. It's a great recipe that only takes a few minutes of work, and no kneading. Goes great as a loaf, especially with butter and homemade grape jelly. And it works as pizza crust too.
The recipe is from soon-to-be-gone Seattle PI - "Here's how to make artisan bread with just a few minutes of work".

Here we have Magnus Cat (who now has his own Facebook page), investigating the laundry.
Since it's been too dang cold to take Gemini out for a drive (and he may be too woolly for his harness anyway!) he got a workout on the lunge line. He doesn't care for being made to exercise ;)


Here he is, after blowing off a little steam, with a quick peek at Doug & Buddy, who were fascinated by the whole thing. What sounds like traffic in the background is the north wind which has been blowing steady for a long chilly time.


Almost forgot!
The big "demand" button in the upper right corner is to request Marc Gunn to play in the PNW. He's a very entertaining musician and podcaster, and we'd love to see him play at one of the Highland Games or a local pub. His home page with more information is at http://www.marcgunn.com/about.shtml
If you like cats, Irish music and drinking, then check out Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers
And if you want to hear a well-chosen mix of Celtic & Irish music, try Marc Gunn's Irish & Celtic Music Podcast

Today was Burns Night, the annivesary of poet Robert Burn's birthday. We didn't celebrate it this year, since we didn't procure a haggis in time, but maybe next year...

There are a lot of customs and rituals surrounding this observation, most dramatic of which is the Entrance of the Haggis. Here's a step-by-step video guide and more great information, plus recipes, from the BBC Food site.

Today's Weather

Fall's falling...

Harvest continues. Here's J shelling Hidatsa Shield Figure beans. Grand total for apple sauce canned is 20 quarts, 37 pints and 19 half pints. Good thing we like apple sauce. We also dehydrated some broccoli for the first time, and it was so delish we'll be saving a lot more that way for sure next year. Last thing left to harvest in the garden are the peppers... and we'll need to do them soon. It was 39 degrees last night and it could freeze at any time.

Return of the prince. This is an Agaricus Augustus Fries mushroom, also called the prince, which grew near where the same variety showed up last year under our old growth trees. This is a more coastal California mushroom, but apparently it likes it here. J harvested, sliced and dehydrated it to share with some friends. The mushroom is a delicacy and quite tasty.
I was clearing garden plants from the side of the house for winter prep and look who was hanging out catching bugs! J actually watched her catch and eat a small spider.
Here's Fergus's Marty Feldman impression.
Stew tried as well, but looks more like he's attending some sort of first aid class. Nice try Stewart.
The cats like to lurk just outside the cat door tormenting one another. As long as one of them is sitting right outside, then it is too dangerous to exit. This can go on for hours.
After such cat door torture Magnus needed some Z's, and what better place than on some warm sheets from the dryer? At least his feet weren't muddy this time.


Here we are approaching a 4-way stop on Gemini. No matter how little or much we drive him, he's always the consumate proffesional.