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.

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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!

Fall has fallen

The image above is is of Persephone, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a Pre-Raphaelite painter.

In Greek mythology, the start of autumn coincides with the time the goddess Persephone returns to the underworld to live with her husband Hades. Persephone was abducted by Hades who fell in love with her and took her to the underworld. Persephone's mother, Demeter, goddess of grain and the harvest was so distressed by the loss of her daughter that in her grief, she withdrew her nurturing presence from the earth. Flowers wilted, and crops on earth died and became dormant. The earth became cold and barren.

It was eventually agreed that Persephone could return to her mother for two thirds of the year but would spend the remaining months with Hades. While Persephone is with her husband in the underworld, seeds lie hidden in the barren ground and when she returns to her mother, Demeter celebrates by resuming her divine duties and restoring fertility to the earth. Seeds burst forth in crops and fruits and life reborn.

We're still madly harvesting and putting up food for winter here at Seven Trees, but things are starting to wind down. Check out Newt, taking a break in a wheelbarrow of hay.

What are these two looking at? They were watching the mini-rodeo as we wrestled with Buddy.Buddy in the stanchion, getting his halter adjusted. Not long before Buddy & Doug will do their part in the cycle of farm life and feed us for a good long time. For now, we're giving them lots of treats and all the hay they can eat.

Harvest frenzy continues...

We procured a lovely steel shelving unit for our harvest drying rack this weekend that was quickly put to use for curing veggies.

But right about the time we thought things were settling down Monday the neighbor stopped by. Seems he'd gotten a call from a friend about a shipment of grapes that weren't able to get where they needed to, so they were looking for someone that would use them. Since he has grapes already, we got a delightful special delivery... wow!

Lots more than we expected! A closer view of the beauties. We'll juice them and use some for jelly. If there are no takers on sharing some of this bounty, then we will start a batch of zinfandel wine as well. Good neighbors... well they make good neighbors!!

In the meantime, Newt, who always tries every object out as furniture... gives this drip hoses a test for comfort. She lays on them often, so maybe they retain heat or something to that effect. She's an odd cat, if we haven't said so before.

While Newt goes experimental, Magnus, the intrepid house-cat, "lols" on the living room floor. He seems to have no penchant for testing anything uncomfortable, preferring to lounge on soft things like fluffy rugs, fleece blankets or his human's bed.

Smart kitty!

And an update. Neither of us got a call about winning that draft horse filly. Sigh...

Busy bountiful summer!

The new pullets have just started laying. We had to hurry up and add some nest boxes to their coop, since the older hens don't share their house too well.

Coop with a view! This Welsummer was a little perturbed by the sudden appearance of 'air conditioning'.
Much better! The young gals are getting the hang of laying now, but we did find a few eggs in the barnyard this morning. Practice make perfect!

Here's a bit of the squash patch. You can just make out the yellow yardstick in the middle of this jungle. The vines literally grow more every day, and we have to chop them back from the melons, cukes, beans, maters & peppers that are trying to hold out against the onslaught.

The warm summer is good for the few melons we're growing this year. Not quite ripe yet, but close. This is a Blacktail Mountain watermelon, developed in Idaho and good for cooler summers.

We totalled up our harvests so far this year, just to see how we're doing....

1lb asparagus
27lbs assorted lettuce
3lbs mint/lemon balm/catnip
3lbs nettles
15lbs chard
27lbs kohlrabi
14lbs carrots
6lbs onions
15lbs tomatoes
32lbs cukes
17lbs broccoli
116lbs taters
25lbs blackberries
20lbs green beans
50lbs beets

1340 eggs
59 heads garlic
4 heads cabbage
28 pints pickled beets
21 quarts green beans
5 pints relish
5 pints sweet pickles

Still to come:
-onions
-carrots
-squash
-beets
-maters
-peppers
-melons
-chard
-berries
-apples
-cabbage
-broccoli
-kohlrabi

-lettuce

We're frantically watering, harvesting, processing, and even starting some veggies for a late fall harvest. Maybe we should follow Newt's example and find a hidden nook to relax in. Here she is, tucked behind a stump in the barnyard. When the cows noticed me taking pictures, they came over to ham it up. Newt high-tailed it for some other hidey-hole.....

Spring Update

The weather is finally warming up at least a little. Had a few days of sunshine albeit cool out still, but enough that the dandelions are popping out as are tree buds, grass is finally growing... all signs it just might really be spring! I have mowed 2x this week alone, if that is any sign of the long awaited thaw.

Honey Bee update. About all we have done besides gawk at them while they are working whenever we have a few moments, is change the entrance opening from the smallest to the slightly bigger 4" opening, and refill the feeders located inside the top honey super. This picture is looking down into the honey super at the feeding jars. A few bees get in here and spend the night, and you can see bees that were feeding on the jar that is being removed. The feed is a 50:50 mix of sugar to water, and some Honey B Healthy a feeding stimulant with essential oils that is supposed to aid in hive "build-up" with new honey bees. It is also supposed to calm the bees when used in a spray bottle in lieu of smoke or in addition to, during honey season when the bees are more protective.

Baby chick update. The new laying flock is rapidly feathering out, likely thanks to the cool spring temperatures. They often act like little raptors, rushing at each other and leaping as if to spur their opponents, and generally practicing at other grown up chicken behaviors, even roosting on the perches. Sadly the cute little peepers are growing up, but we can look forward to some healthy new layers.

Dog update. Stewart will do anything for a tennis ball, even twirl like a ballerina. Fergus has teeth, will bite ankles.

Cat Update. This is what goes on while we are at work. As a matter of fact, this goes on when we are home as well. No doubt about it, these kitties know how to sleep.

Except when Magnus is having play time. The two older cats are only minimally interested in play any more, but Magnus waits for me to get home from work each day, and rushes to find me so we can play. Here's a creative cat hide out of box and newspaper with some old New Years beaded string that he loves to attack. Two paws up!




Here's Newt having a little break in the grass out back. Notice the sour expression at the photographer? Newt is about as happy to see a human wielding a camera as the Brangelina clan!

Coming soon: Photo montage of the Honey Bee hive check to make sure we still have a queen!

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.

Meatloaf a la Spring

Couldn't resist sharing a picture of our tasty Sunday dinner. Equal parts ground beef & pork, chopped green olives, onion, egg, cracker crumbs, salt, pepper & A-1 sauce. The mashed potatoes are from last year's Island Sunshine potatoes (so far the best variety we've ever grown) with plenty of sour cream mashed in. Leftovers are just as tasty as the original dinner!
The picture above is of Copra onions, a popular storage variety that we're trying out this year. Last year's onions finally ran out in mid-March, and these should be even more prolific with an early start and heavily compsted soil. We started seeds under a lamp in the house, then moved them to the greenhouse, and finally out to the garden last weekend. Hopefully they will settle in enough to weather late frosts, but we can always start more if need be.

Territorial Seeds says this about them:

"When all your other stored onions have turned to powder, you'll still be enjoying Copra. Our best storage onion and the unequaled leader in hard storage types. Adapted to long-day areas, it is a medium-sized, round, dark-yellow-skinned onion with ivory flesh. The thin necks dry quickly. In storage trials, Copra was as sound and flavorful in the spring as when freshly harvested in the fall. High in sugar and moderately pungent, Copra makes excellent French onion soup. "

Those pretty spuds above are a brand new variety developed by Wood Prairie Farms called Prairie Blush. It has won a Green Thumb Award from the Mailorder Gardening Association as one of the top six introductions for 2009. It is a mutation of Yukon Gold with a little denser, moister texture, aside from the lovely pink blush. If you want to read just how this tattie was discovered and developed, check out this fascinating article, One potato, two potato, three potato ... SCORE , from the Portland Press Herald.

We've pretty much decided on our favorite spinach variety after a few trials - Baby Leaf Catalina, from Renee's Garden seeds. The flavor stays sweet, they don't bolt as fast as the other varieties we tried (Bloomsdale), and so far they aren't bothered by any pests. We've got some starting under the lamp indoors, along with the first chard & lettuce seeds of the season. As they sprout, we'll move them to the greenhouse to grow more before planting them out. Then we'll keep starting more veggies as the weather warms up. Next on the list after greens are white and purple kohlrabis, broccoli & beets.

And as usual, the cats of Seven Trees are incredibly excited by the whole gardening experience...I don't know how Magnus gets into those pretzel positions!

Photo interlude #387

Life at Seven Trees is starting to get even busier now. We are part way done with adding an electrical circuit to the barnyard, have onions & chard sprouting in the greenhouse, some just-delivered firewood to stack, a beehive to paint before the bees arrive in April, and so on. Here are a few random pictures of goings-on this week....Homemade pizza again, always a favorite.
Newt has decided to be boss kitty of the house. She beats up the other two cats, bullies the dogs, demands treats, and hogs the best chair for her naps.

Magnus just wants to relax & enjoy life. All he needs in this pose is a clam on his belly to crack, and he'd be a land otter!

Can't do anything outside without proper inspection. For some reason, digging the trench for the power line is fascinating to all the critters. Gemini even got in the trench and walked along the whole way. I guess he wanted to make sure it was up to code. Here's Crichton, Fergus, Stewart, Doug & Buddy, keeping an eye on things. BTW, this shot is from our front stoop. I love being able to stick my head out the front door to check on the animals, or just to ring the front bell and call pony over for a treat when he's in the yard.

We found a really great deal on straw on craiglslist, so the kitties just had to check it out for themselves. You can barely make out Newt in the shadows, and Maggie is enjoying the smell of fresh straw.

We'll be working on the electrical project this weekend, stacking wood, canning chili, and hopefully having dinner at the Beach Store cafe on Lummi Island Saturday evening. We also have a cow's tongue in brine in the fridge. It will pickle for 7 days, then soak 2 days in plain water, then be slow-cooked. If it turns out tasty, we'll post the recipe. Getting beef fresh from the butcher and raising our own, means we can get every last bit of the cow to eat. I'm sure some things we won't like, but we can share that with the dogs.

And speaking of dogs, Stewart got to help round up cattle the other night. The barnyard gate wasn't latched, and the steers got out into the backyard right about bedtime. We tried rounding them up ourselves, but it wasn't working. So we brought out the specialist. Stewart has a knack for knowing how to circle around and drive them in the right direction without spooking them. It is so cool to see him work. German Shepherds were originally a herding dog, and Rottweilers are derived from an old Roman cattle-herding protection dog. Stew must be channeling his ancestors, since we've never trained him to herd cattle.

Is it spring yet?

It's that scary-licious time of year when we have to put down the seed catalogs and place our orders. Time to commit to a list of plants, and hope to get a year's worth of produce from them. Most of 2009's veggies are return visitors, but we're adding a few we've never tried before.

The picture above is Detroit Dark Red Short Top from Fedco Seeds, who say:

"Introduced 1892 and still the standard late variety for home gardeners and canners. Globular smooth uniform beets with tender oxblood-red flesh. This short top strain had the best roots in our evaluations."

Beets seem pretty happy here, especially with all the compost we add to the garden soil. We've grown Early Wonder Tall Top, which was good for fresh eating & pickling, but the greens were a bit iffy. Bulls Blood was a red-leafed variety we tried too. The "greens" were wonderful, with a deep purple-crimson color. The roots themselves were good, but stayed small. Since we get lots of wonderful greens from chard & spinach, we're going to concentrate on beets for pickling this year.

Most gardeners in the PNW were challenged by the cold spring of 2008. Plants just didn't want to grow! We ended up replanting more than one kind of veggie because the seeds rotted in the ground. Everything eventually got into gear, but by then there just wasn't much time to set and ripen fruit. We would have had a bumper pepper crop judging by how many green ones we managed to pickle. But I really wanted to try those candy apple red Jimmy Nardello's or have some Cayennes mature enough to gring into red pepper flakes.

This year we decided to hedge our bets and look for short season peppers. After hearing good things about the Czech Black hot pepper from Fedco and a few friends, we're giving this black beauty (see picture above) a try. Fedco says:

"Black when immature, the 21/2" long conical fruits ripen to a lustrous garnet... Mild juicy flesh runs with a cherry red juice when cut. The heat, a tad less than a jalapeño’s, is in the ribs and seeds... 2-1/2–3' bushes bear very early, setting about 20 pointed thick-walled peppers per plant."

Now that the only plants left in the garden are these topless mangel beets, the hens can get to work tilling in all the compost piled on the garden rows. They really look forward to it and it's a big help working in all that raw material.

Warning! Gratuitous critter pics below.

Crichton assembled a hoard of catnip toys and proceeded to beat the crap out of them. As you can tell by the rest of the pictures, no one was impressed....