Free to good home

Crichton and Newt are inspecting our new roadside score. We already had a spare plywood shelf from a shelving unit in the shed, and needed a base to make a workbench. On our way to the feed store, we saw it waiting for it's forever home.A few screws and it's now a storage space for our bigger tools boxes and a dandy work bench too. That grey metal shelving unit to the right was a freebie from a former job. As you can see, storage and work space have barely made a dent in the shop bay of our new garage.
The western-most bay has 45 bales of hay stacked in one corner, with room behind for kitties to patrol. Turns out they've been using it as a dining room too. Here's Crichton munching on a baby cottontail. Not the nicest sight, but nature sorts out checks & balances whenever possible. The mama bunny is always in our pasture or front yard or barn yard, and does her thing without being hassled. But her babies don't always learn the ropes fast enough, and the cats get them. Enough survive to carry on, and we've gotten to enjoy our rabbit inhabitants, as long as they stay out of the garden.
Stewart, making sure he really really really can't come in the shop. "Really? Are you sure? You might want a big dumb dork to help out.... "
And here's Maggie, peeking out from under the back deck. He & Mercia are learning about the big outdoors, but they hide under the deck quite a bit. And wouldn't you know it, they still come inside to use the litter box!

Cow, cat and concrete...

Stella has a long way to go to match the size of her mom's horns, but she's getting there. She's a very protective mom, and also keeps an eye on any other critters in her territory. I have no doubts that she'd make short work of any stray dogs or coyotes or even a mountain lion that tried to make trouble.

Here's little Douglas, enjoying a pasture break. We haven't been working with him as much as we'd like with halter training, but he's pretty mellow about being moved around.

Is this really what you want in your guacamole? Magnus claimed this avocado box for his personal retreat, and later defended it from his sister, Mercia.
The cement truck was so huge and heavy, it had to be backed around the fir trees, doing quite a number on the soft ground, but what can you do?

The crew was very conscientious and took great pains to make sure the slab was finished up nicely.

Now we have to wait for the slab to cure before putting a sealant on it. Then, finally, we can drive on it and start putting up shelves.

Newt just couldn't help herself from inspecting the job site, as you can see by the tracks she left.

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Today Stella gave her first gallon of milk. She was apart from Doug just over 4 hours. Not too shabby for her first lactation, and me being a newbie milkmaid. She still had a little milk held back for Doug too. I imagine if we took Doug off her and bottle fed him, we'd easily get 3 gallons a day. That would be a bit too much for us, so it's working out just right as is. The laying hens are getting some milk every morning, and they love it. We're making butter and yogurt, and tonight we started some sour cream. Tomorrow we'll try making a soft, herby cheese, and work our way up to feta and cheddar.

It’s that time again – nettle season!

Why get so excited about an obnoxious, invasive and painful weed? Because it’s tasty, healthy and ever-so-useful. Here’s what Euell Gibbons had to say about nettles in Stalking the Healthful Herbs:
“Unlike many health foods, nettle greens are really good, as well as being good for you.In addition to their good taste, nettles are rich in vitamins A and C, amazingly high in protein, filled with chlorophyll, and probably exceedingly rich in many of the essential trace minerals.
No grazing animal will eat a live nettle, but when nettles are mowed and dried, all kinds of livestock eat them avidly and thrive on them. Horses get shinier coats and improve in health when fed dried nettles. Cows give more and richer milk when fed on nettle hay. Hens lay more eggs when powdered nettle leaves are added to their mash, and these eggs actually have a higher food value. Even the manure from nettle-fed animals is improved, and makes better fertilizer.
Nettles furnish one of the most valuable of all plant substances to use as a mulch in your garden, or to add to your compost pile. Having approximately seven percent nitrogen, figured on a dry-weight basis, this plant is richer in this essential nutrient than many commercial fertilizers.”

From the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society:
“Nettle leaf has a long history of folk use. Nettle greens are wonderfully nutritious, containing large portions of minerals, vitamins A and C, chlorophyll, and protein. Nettle leaf has the ability to increase the production of urine and to increase the efficiency of liver and kidney function. It is used for anemia, has shown antiallergenic properties in hay fever, is taken for urinary problems such as cystitis and stones, and because it increases the excretion of uric acid, it is also used for arthritis and rheumatism. In Europe, nettle rhizomes are used to reduce the inflammation and improve the painful urination that can be part of non-cancerous prostate enlargement. This plant is quite safe. No side effects or contraindications have been reported for nettle products. Nettle leaf is considered to be safe during pregnancy.
Nettle is commonly used as fresh leaf (must be cooked to deactivate the sting), dried leaf, tea, tincture, capsule, tablet and ointment. I like to use nettle leaves in a number of ways. A particular favorite is as a mixture of chopped and lightly steamed nettle leaf, ricotta cheese, tofu and/or egg, and seasonings which I use as a layer in a lasagna dish or use to fill pasta such as manicotti. Nettle leaves are a tasty addition to some soups and stews and can be added to other cooked greens such as spinach, collards, or kale. In the summer, I make sun tea using fresh nettle leaves and fresh mint leaves - adding a touch of lemon makes a refreshing tea. I also dry nettle leaves and use them for tea, in soups, or as a substitute for parsley. Freezing nettles works well for use during the winter months. I chop the fresh leaves and then lightly steam before freezing. Frozen nettle is easily added to soups and stews or cooked as a green. And then there is the tincture I make with the fresh (or dried) leaves and use as a tonic. Oh, by the way, I have read that dried nettle leaf is also useful as animal feed.”

Some harvesting tips from Botanical.com:

"When the herb is collected for drying, it should be gathered only on a fine day, in the morning, when the sun has dried off the dew. Cut off just above the root, rejecting any stained or insect-eaten leaves, and tie in bunches, about six to ten in a bunch, spread out fanwise, so that the air can penetrate freely to all parts.
Hang the bunches over strings. If dried in the open, keep them in half-shade and bring indoors before there is any risk of damp from dew or rain. If dried indoors, hang up in a sunny room, and failing sun, in a well-ventilated room by artificial heat. Care must be taken that the window be left open by day so that there is a free current of air and the moisture-laden, warm air may escape. The bunches should be of uniform size and length, to facilitate packing when dry, and when quite dry and crisp must be packed away at once in airtight boxes or tins, otherwise moisture will be reabsorbed from the air."

At Seven Trees, we prefer nettles fresh-picked and steamed, dried for tea, and best of all...in beer! Sometime in the next couple weeks, we’ll be starting a batch of our notorious nettle braggot, a mixture of nettles, barley malt, honey, hops, water & yeast. It tastes rather herbal, but interesting, and adds a bit of a warm flush to the beverage experience....We’ll share the recipe on brewing day.

Here is the garage, with roof on. Tomorrow the slab will be poured.

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Milking log:

Stella is consistently giving 3 quarts, sometimes a bit more, after being separated from Doug 4-5 hours. She's getting better about let down, which means the cream content is getting better too. This weekend we hope to try making sour cream and maybe some kind of soft cheese.

Almost done!

The garage colors are a near match for the colors we painted the barn and will be painting the house and other out-buildings.
Somehow, Stew keeps getting in the pictures. Monday the roof will go on, Wednesday the concrete floor will be poured, and somewhere in there the roll-up doors, gutters & downspouts get installed. Then we get to take over and build a wall between the parking bays and the shop area. We'll also be finishing the shop interior, eventually.

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Milking log:

3/21 - Stella & Doug weren't separated due to work schedules, 1.5 qts anyway.

3/22 - 3 qts after 4 hours separation.

3/23 - 3 qts, 4 hours separated, and I let Doug have a drink after Stella slowed up, so she'd let down again (double-dipping, I call it).

3/24 - 3.5 qts, 5 hours off, double-dipped.

3/25 - 2 qts, 4 hours off, no double-dipping. We had company over to watch the milking procedure, and Stella did fine. I stopped after 2 qts so as not to push my luck.

3/26 - 3 qts, 3 hours off, double-dipped.

3/27 - 3.5 qts, 5 hours off, double-dipped.

3/28 - 3 qts, 5 hours off, double-dipped.

Stella is getting pretty consistent with giving 3 quarts if I let Doug back on her for a minute after the first couple quarts. I still think she could easily give another quart, but not without me having to finagle it out of her.

Garage progress!

Posts set

48 hours later, siding girts and 2 trusses up!

View from the 0ld apple tree.

Lovely site built trusses.
One of the reasons we picked Blue Ribbon Steel Buildings over all the other companies.

Mercia softens warm laundry for us.


Spring has sprung sort of. I am out planting conservation trees today, in between snow, wind, sprinkles and sleet. March is certainly "in like a lion". Let's hope she's out like a lamb!

Cat meets cat: garage time at Seven Trees

Job site inspector strikes again!Wow! Who would have thought a tiny building needs this much destruction! It's a big shock to have a giant dirty empty space, but the builders will start Monday and soon it will be our garage, with lots of nice trees & shrubs planted around it.
We did manage to squeeze in a brewing session. This is an English pale ale getting started. Next week we'll brew another batch of milk stout.
Mark says bye for now! Stay tuned for lots of photo-updates this busy busy spring....

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Milking log:

3/19 - 1.5 quarts in a few minutes. We decided to go out to dinner, so I just milked enough to keep Stella in the routine.

3/20 - 2.5 quarts after being separated 5 hours. I left some for Doug since my hands got tired. I think Stella could easily give close to a gallon in the evening milking.

And Stella's in heat. We'll get a few months to count cycle days before Bob comes back, which will help us eatimate when she gets pregnant again.

Spring is springing!

We're jumping right into mad season at Seven Trees. As if having our first calf and learning how to milk wasn't enough, it's also the start of garden season. Here's some teeny tiny lettuce sprouts, just up in the greenhouse. We chose red and green oak leaf, as they are consistently good producers here. And the new trial is Olga romaine.

Fedco Seeds says this about it: "Elegant lime-green Olga won our hearts in our 2006 lettuce trials. Big upright 8" oval heads with big hearts, big flavor, and slightly fringed leaves. So sweet, crisp and buttery that breeder Frank Morton thinks she must have some butterhead in her background. Stood considerable heat before developing slight tipburn and bitterness in August." Now that we're a big-time dairy, we need the most high tech equipment....or not! We use a 2 gallon stainless steel pail with lid, a canning funnel, and one of those gold-plated permanent coffee filters. So far the milk has been extremely tasty, and you can't quite make out the cream line from last night's milking, but it's over an inch in a quart jar.And look what the stork is bringing us now! A garage....not this color of course. Our's will be tan with dark brown roof & trim, to match the colors we'll be painting the house this summer. Construction should start next week.

My informal milking log:

I haven't yet milked Stella all the way out. We're still both learning, and also sharing with Douglas, but each day is better than the last. My first milking was 3/12 and I got a quart after much wrestling and fit-throwing. On 3/13, we separated Doug from Stella for 5 hours and I got 2 quarts. I could have gotten closer to a gallon, but I had a cut on one hand, a smashed finger on the other, and it was really uncomfortable to keep milking. Stella eventually seemed bored with the process as well, so I figured I would end it on a positive note. On 3/14, scheduling issues prevented us from separating mom & baby, so I had a harder time getting her to let down for me. It was Doug's first time being tied by Stella's head as I milked too, and he settled down really well. I tried a few tricks, like bumping her udders with my hand, brushing her, more warm washcloth massages, but still no milk. I ended up letting Doug nurse a minute to get her started. He has already learned not to bug me while I milk, and laid down for a nap. I settled for a quart of milk, and it has a nice creamline. As Stella gets better at the whole milking procedure, I plan to milk her all the way out, at least a few times a week, so I can gauge her potential production. I think she could easily give 2 gallons a day if we didn't calf-share, and a gallon with calf-sharing.

3/12: 1 quart

3/13: 2 quarts

3/14: 1 quart

It never rains but it pours...

When it comes to crises, that is. The main 'stead wagon, Pearl the 99 Outback, went in for a routine oil change and a check-up on some ongoing issues. Well....a hefty chunk of change later, and she should be good for another 5 or more years. Brakes, a bevy of assorted gaskets & seals, and the tensioner and idler that the timing belt spins around. Amazing how much car repairs cost, but still much cheaper than a new car. And our main 'stead dog, Stew, went to the vet today, as he's been feeling poorly and limping the past few days. Turns out he may have torn some ligaments in his knee. He & Fergus have some vicious roughhousing sessions, and it looks like the Corgi has scored some hit points on mighty Stew. So now he has to be sedentary for 3 weeks, plus take assorted medications, to see if he heals on his own. If not, we're looking at surgery for the big guy.

In the meantime, we are starting to put the garden to bed. Not much left but chard, lettuce, spinach, beets, carrots, potatoes and the last peppers under their little plastic tent. Some of the peppers went into a batch of chili, which I canned the other night. I've never canned chili before, and it went great.

The pressure canner we have was a yard sale find from our neighbor. He tested it out and even showed me how to use it. It's a '70's Presto brand, but still works like a champ.


Can you see why we want to build a canning kitchen? Not much elbow room or counter space here, and heaven forbid both of us want to work in the kitchen at the same time.
Here's the impromptu bean processing area - the hearth. Usually dry beans are ready to harvest when it's hot & dry, so we put them in the greenhouse to finish drying. This makes the pods crack open so shelling them is easy. Bit this time around it stayed cold & wet and we had to pick them greener and set them next to the fire to dry. So now we shell a few every night and let the beans finish shrinking up in the cardboard trays. Not so fun in our tiny house, but that's farm life. We're planning a taste test between the 2 varieties soon.

We also went to the county planning office today, to see what our options are for the new garage. Turns out we straight up can't put in a mother-in-law apartment with our garage. Just plain can't. Our house was the original homestead for the 40 acres behind us, but as our title paperwork shows, the land was chopped up and sold off over time. Now we have a tiny percentage of the 'stead, and it's too small to allow a separate apartment according to the county. We have some ideas for workarounds that will suit our needs, and we're having fun plowing through plans before we go talk to the bank.

If you're gonna dream, dream big

Seven Trees needs a garage. Seven Trees needs a canning/brew kitchen. Seven Trees needs more storage space and a place for guests to stay. So here's what we came up with:

This is called the Cascade (how appropriate) from Homestead Design. There is plenty of space on the bottom floor for one car, storage, plus a workbench & counter with sink and burners.

Looks like a decent amount of space upstairs for an apartment/guest room, with a little storage over the bathroom. Adding a bathroom will necessitate having the septic checked out by the county. Ours was installed way back when, and probably needs updating/replacing if we want to get this project permitted. Not cheap, but that's life.

Here's the same plan someone in New York built. They got rid of the additional entry door in front of the bathroom and sided it in board & batten. We can probably save a little on siding since we want paint grade (to match the house) not stain quality. But nothing is ever cheap these days, so we'll just start looking for bids and see how it goes.

P.S. Anyone interested in sponsoring a board, batten or commemorative roof shingle will receive membership in the Seven Trees Fun Plan - A stay in the guest house, homebrew tastings, and a home-cooked meal.