Blessings journal: this is our second anniversary

Two years ago today, we parked the U-Haul, kissed Irene, and started cleaning and clearing and deconstructing. A year ago we woke up, kissed Irene, and parked the tractor in its new home.  Yesterday, Michael cut a hole in our perfectly good new roof.  

We are working against the clock: rain scheduled to begin in eight hours

Getting the stovepipe perfectly vertical required some basic engineering (the framing on the insulation shield is movable and will be reinforced) and upper body strength (lifting a six foot section of ainsulated stove pipe to Michael who was sitting in the rafters was no mean feat).  

Adjusting rafter ties before installing stove pipe.  

But that was yesterday. Today we woke up, kissed Irene and headed off to the Minnesota State Fair. We arrived early to avoid traffic and parking woes.  

Not many people at 7:30 am! 

We started with the animals, visiting fish chickens ducks turkeys geese sheep goats cows and pigs.  

1200 pounds of pig.  

We ate cheese curds malts cream puffs and:  

Our favorite vendor.  

We perused the art gallery Eco building frontier village international bazaar and agriculture building.  

Flowers. I love flowers.  

By 2 pm our dogs were barking.  

Feet in place.  

The crowds were gathering.  

Relatively empty for the Fair, but crowded for us country folk

So we headed home. Would our house be dry?   

No leaks!  Yay!   

Despite aches and pain and exhaustion and overcoming fear, it was a perfect end to a really good day, week, month, and year.  

Foraging journal: there be gold in them thar woods

As in the makings for golden mushroom soup: 

A prime sulphur shelf was waiting for us on the East River Road. This area usually is too dry to support sulphur shelf. Not this year. 

We were on our way to gather up Aunt Harriette and bring her home for a roast chicken dinner (she liked the plum pie too) when I told Michael that the air smelt of mushrooms. Not 30 seconds later, Michael spotted the above lovely winking at us. Our first of the year. We will have part for dinner tonight. The rest I cut up and put in the dehydrator this morning. 

The aroma of drying mushrooms has the sweet earthy smell of walking in the woods as the leaves begin to fall.  

We also found a number of purple spore puff balls, which are about the size of a soft ball. They are tasty, but lack something in texture, being kin to marshmallows. They dry well, and then can be pulverized to make velvety savory sauces.  They grow in sandy areas where the grass is kept short. 

The few sulphur shelf left from last summer. They rehydrate well.  

Wild foods appear sporadically, which make them all that much more appreciated when our paths meet. 

Harvest journal: another 34 pounds of chicken in the freezer

As soon as the weather allows, we will have to have people over for chicken dinners. We hope to start on Wednesday with Aunt Harriette. The thermometer topped out at 62° yesterday. Too early for a fire, but fine weather for making quiche (we are also swimming in eggs). Despite the (continued) rain this morning, we made good on our promise to reduce the stress in the new bird coop.  

The silence of the roosters.  

It took us 6 hours to process 9 birds.  

Only the final cleaning happens inside.  

Tyson Foods we ain't. Which, I suppose, is entirely the point. When I was 21 I sat for hours with my grandfather, boning chicken to feed the 200 guests who would celebrate my syster's wedding. I could not eat or be around any chicken for years afterward. The (normal) chickens we raise smell so sweet, whether alive or awaiting to be plucked. The broilers were not as pleasant either to butcher, or to raise, even if the are the most efficient animals at converting feed to protein on the face of the earth. Someday we may figure out how to market our overage so we can continue to support this 40 acre garden. It is not practical. It is not efficient. It is heaven. 

The volunteer Blue Hubbard is taking over the winter chicken yard.  

Weather journal: watching the clouds roll in

It's been a wet year here in Western Wisconsin, the second in a row. Unlike last year, it is also warm. The corn loves it, as do the mosquitos. 

No seeing deer in this back yard...but they are there, nonetheless, like Certified Public Accountants. 

Some storms are slow and gentle, and some magnificently not.  

Racing the rain (gotta batten down the birds) 

Inches of rain in minutes sometimes.  

Or maybe 1/3" in 5 minutes

A welcome break in the heat.  

Harvest journal: garlic, onions, potatoes, elderberry jelly and fish

August 1st of last year saw us digging potatoes and swimming in tomatoes. The potatoes, garlic and onions came ripe at about the same time this year, but we are just now beginning to have tomatoes for three meals a day.  

Golden (and red and white) onions of the sun.  

The garlic started coming out of the ground first, but since we cultivate five varieties, they came out in stages.  

July 12 and the River Giant and German Red came ripe, which is when the bergamot started to bloom.  

Our potato crop suffered from the wet, with too many of the Kennebec having soft spots. They eat fine now, but will not save.   Darn. Having to eat new potatoes...roasted on the grill...poor us. 

Red Pontiacs...we started snitching new potatoes from under the plants about a month ago. The new reds are the best.  

I am grateful to have a basement this year!  The ground under the addition remained undisturbed until July 18th last year, and we had to scramble to find a place out of the rain for our harvest. This year we trooped the goods directly to their hiding places. 

About 500 bulbs of garlic and 130 pounds of onions. No vampires around our house.  

We did not go fishing until late July, when my sole birthday wish was to get out on the water. We caught fish, and so have been out twice since then.  

Turtles share their lake with us.  

We will feed Aunt Harriette and Irene fresh fish tomorrow, with a few more stashed in the freezer for future reference.  

Jelly in the making. I need to see if I can capture this color in wool.  

And just to show that our lives haven't been entirely devoted to filling the larder: 

Spindles on and railing sanded. Now for some steps... 

Construction journal: no falling unless you really try

Today was an outdoors day, even if they keep threatening us with severe thunderstorms.  

Still lacking spindles, but we need to buy more deck screws and lumber, having cannibalized some of our 2x4s for other projects. 

Bottom and top rails are in. I feel so much better about setting up a ladder to stain the soffit now.  

Playing hooky journal: thank you Aunt Harriette

Last week we visited Aunt Harriette for the first time in about six weeks. We knew it had been that long because we visited shortly before Irene's surgery. Bad us. So we put Harriette outings on our weekly calendar, to make sure we didn't skip another six weeks working away into oblivion. Because our calendar told us to, we picked her up from the continuing care center, took a short tour of Grantsburg, and headed off to Crex Meadows.  

The greeting committee: two adult swans in summer brown and their three cygnets

Harriette, who is Michael's aunt (and celebrated 97 years on Groundhog Day), and her husband, Klink, were longtime Audubon Society members. They helped create Crex Meadows as a bird refuge. Harriette, who is mostly blind, can still navigate us through the back roads and get us all home in one piece. We haven't had the opportunity to get out much this summer, so having the luxury of taking a morning to espy sand hill cranes, swans, coots, and geese was...a luxury!   

Fish Lake Preserve, another favorite on our way home

The air has that late summer/early autumn smell of ripeness...like waffle cones or raspberry jelly, or watermelon when you first slice into it. Not too hot not too humid, but enough of each to make you feel cradled in wellness. Thank you Aunt Harriette!

Construction journal: the great migration would have taken a lot longer without our Secret Weapon

Also known as our private angel: Brother Douglas. Since we doubled the footprint of our house, we needed to double the electrical capacity. This meant replacing the 100 amp service that had been in the wall of the cabin with 200 amp service installed in the basement. The project began last year when Michael ran the wires in the sky so that the basement diggers would not run into hot wires as they excavated under the cabin. This year, new and better wires went back in the ground with the expertise (and I mean expert: Douglas not only is an electrical engineer, he's wired houses before too!) of a person with knowledge. 

Starting at the pole.  

The first day the guys worked for 11 hours getting electricity in the ground and to the house so that when the power company guys came the next day, all that would need to happen would be to connect the box on the pole to the wires at the top.  

Removing the box from the wall, where it was causing problems due to inadequate insulation.  

Just like last year, it rained.  

Racing against wind and weather.  

Half the battle was not slipping in the mud. 

Running wires through conduit; not easily done at some junctions.  

The boys won.  

A box where it belongs! 

They did work well into the night, connecting the old wires to the new.  Not pictured: various runs into town for parts. It always happens. 

Thank goodness for great flashlights.  

And then the next day Douglas performed a high wire act.  

The 100 amp wire came down and the 200 amp went up. The tricky part was raising the wires in the conduit and holding them in place while Douglas secured them to the pole.  

I helped hold the ladder. It was the least I could do. Or perhaps the most...  Thank you Sister Teresa for letting us have Douglas for the duration. Most of the addition is wired now, just waiting for insulation and wallboard. Plumbing and heating. Siding. There is more than enough to keep us busy, but this was a huge advance toward making the addition a space to live in. 

Harvest journal: we are in a pickle now!

Last year the cucumbers never grew. This year they are coming on strong! 

The eggs were a bonus.  

Michael makes great table-top crunchy pickles. He gathered all the necessaries: salt for the brine, fresh dill and garlic, grape leaves, and of course, the cukes. (I'll post a recipe with proportions soon).  

The dill thinnings-the roots didn't make it into the pickle jar

We often buy pickles by the gallon, conveniently leaving us with large jars. After packing the jar and pouring on the brine, Michael loosely fits the lid on.  

The bowl is to catch any overflow from the pickling action.  

After a day or so (depending on ambient temperature) the pickles start to work.  

Bubbles mean no troubles.  

We've been having weather in the 90s...good for pickles and cooking outdoors. After three days, you "test" one (eating it is the favored method), and if they are pickled in the middle, they go in the fridge. If not, let sit another day and test again. Refrigeration slows the pickling process, and so a gallon of pickles can theoretically last up to five months if refrigerated. I've never seen a gallon of pickles last even one month in my family...hence the excitement over having cukes AND dill AND garlic AND grape leaves coming ripe all at the same time.  

Bonus photo of the day: our wee helpers avoided being added to the pickle jar. They like to preserve themselves.  

Construction journal: let there be light!

All the windows are in.  

The East Corner

Matt and Artemis came and all went so much better with extra hands.  

The West Corner

We even had wee help.  

Frogs. I love frogs.  

Up next: braiding garlic and putting up interior walls.  

German Red and River Giant

Livestock journal: let it flood, let it flood, let it flood

Sometime in the night a day or two ago it rained two and a half inches in a short time. It washed out the driveway and flooded the basement...but through the basement door, not through our new roof. Do we care?  No permanent damage. The driveway Michael shoveled back in place. The basement we mopped. And then we got to watch the ducks paddle in their pond.  

There is nothing quite as cheerful as a duck in water.  

Ahhhh.  

Livestock journal: getting our ducks in a row

I never understood that saying. Now I do.  

Say goodnight Gracie.  

Construction journal: where is Atlas when you need him?

In the past 3 days we have installed 3 windows. The first was the smallest and will eventually illuminate our future laundry room: 

Yes, a saws-all would be faster. We aren't fast.  

We keep learning as we go. And keep forgetting as well. Good thing we have 3' eaves...which means our minor mistakes really are minor. 

End of Day 2 of East Side Windows.  

Today's window took some engineering to install, since I am both short and only moderately strong. Michael built a bench to rest the window on, and I built myself a platform of 2"x4" ends and pieces to raise me up about 7 1/2 inches.  I put a 2"x4" across the inside so we didn't tip the window through the opening. Frankly, I never thought we would be able to lift it into place. But on the count of 3 it was up and in. Miraculously, it was also square and level!   Paying attention to the sill plate paid off. 

Rails and steps will have to wait until after windows are done.  

Tomorrow Michael will do some re-framing on the west wall (we changed our minds as to where the front door will be) while I take time off to do some paying work. Our bodies need to recuperate a bit before we tackle the biggest window of all. Thankfully, we will have an extra pair of (strong!) hands to help come Sunday. 

Let there be light! 

Construction journal: deck door done

Three days ago we completed the deck part of the deck. Yesterday Michael cut away the sheathing that covered the doorway to the deck. Then we read the installation instructions, looked all over for shims, gave it up as a hopeless hunt, and went into town for shims, ice and water flexible flashing, and some lumber to adjust window rough openings.  Yes, we should have framed the ROs correctly last October, but who knew the standard dimensions of a window back then?  Not us!  It saved us nearly $5,000 to go with standard sizes. We will get to windows soon. Today we installed the East Door. 

Not exactly a Rembrandt, but looks good to me.  

Taking two full days to install one door seems ridiculous, but we had to learn about the ice and water flashing. Wish we had known about it when Irene's door went in last October.  Right now, it is a joy to walk onto the deck without having to walk around the outside of the house.  

Michael is contemplating how we will put up railing. 

I think we need a name for the deck. Something like the Liana Deck...only more appropriate for our project. If we move chickens into the back yard, it will rapidly become the Poop Deck. But chickens aren't allowed while Irene rules this roost, so interim suggestions are welcomed.  

Harvest journal: 80 pounds of chicken in one day

Broilers. They are what you get when you buy chicken in the store. They are the swine of the chicken world. They eat. They poop. They grow. They turn feed into meat more efficiently than any other animal in the world. But even they are individuals, and it is still hard to slaughter them...but not as hard as the chickens we sit and visit with and hop into our laps.   

Stoking the rocket stove to heat water to scald chickens to pluck feathers

We started today at about 9 am and finished around 3 pm, working without breaks. We could be more efficient, but if we are not being commercial, we can spend a day working to fill the freezer.  

Implements of construction: the cleaver I bought Michael as a wedding gift and a modified pillow case to keep the chicken feeling secure until it isn't  

I omit the details in deference to a friend who says her life is sufficient in gory stories (anything but an endorsement for being a micro-social worker) and bring you the end result only:

Our chickens weighed in at anywhere from almost 11 pounds to shy of 5 pounds. The average was 9 pounds.  

Yesterday's harvest was less bloody but perhaps a better red:

Currant jelly in the morning light

We have preserved July to warm our January. 

End of day journal: it feels so good to reach a target

Today is Wednesday. I know this because I gathered trash for pickup. Days can blend together when you are disconnected from a regularly paying gig. This is not to say that there are no deadlines. Tomorrow's forecast includes rain. That means we needed to get the deck completed so we can pick currants and make jelly while it rains. This is the deck five days ago:

Just getting the deck to this stage entailed a lot of work!   Michael making progress on Saturday, June 25th. 

Then I lost my Supreme Court case on Monday (disappointing but not surprising) which meant I needed a distraction. Physical labor is good for that. So I cut boards and Michael installed them and this is the deck today, Wednesday, June 29th:

All the floorboards in!  Rails and bracing will come later.  

So we toasted the new deck and are off to gather wood for the rocket stove, so we can send the broilers to freezer camp on Friday.  

Ahhhh.  

The  deck allows us to put in the door, and the door allows us to put in windows. Everything in its time. 

Varmint journal: maybe the chickens are ripe

Or at least what I suspicion was a raccoon wasn't willing to wait for them to grow any bigger. Michael has taken Irene to Mayo Clinic to get things put in order and back inside her abdomen and so I had the pleasure of facing this alone:

Feathers where feathers don't belong

Stop reading/looking here if the sight of a mangled chicken carcass bothers you. But this is what we've been trying to fence against:   

I removed the uneaten half of the carcass before documenting it as the other chickens were beginning to peck at their former playmate  

I explored the perimeter and found evidence of a well fed raccoon: 

Not far from here there is a path beaten through the grass going under the new duck fence. We haven't had time to put the ground wire on that section of fence yet. 

I didn't find Dudley's head until I was putting the birds away at eventide.  

I had to clean up the bits so the other birds don't develop a taste for each other.  

In order to not have a repeat diner, I put down chicken wire everywhere a varmint might get a paw inside and secured it with ground staples. I figure we lost a broiler because they are too big to roost and not fast enough to avoid being caught. The ducks are hyper vigilant at night and the other chickens roost out of harm's way.  

My favorite chicken photo of the day.  

This morning dawned on all my chickens and ducks with their feathers intact.  

Garden journal: radishes are ripe, ducks and chickens not quite

We have been eating radishes as if they were popcorn. Here is my favorite photo of the day: 

Fresh water is such a blessing  

The baby ducks are not so small anymore.  

Those teenagers harass our older ducks and hog the pools.  

And the Cornish crosses are about to become broilers! 

Hanging out under the pines during the heat of the day.  

So happy the Cornish got out in the pasture at least for a while. They like the tops of their heads rubbed, whereas the smaller birds prefer being chucked under the chin. The ducks do best either with a belly rub or hiding their heads under my wing, er, arm.  

Sitting with our birds at the end of the day is the best.  

Construction journal: slow but steady

The third week of May, Michael's brother Douglas came and worked fast and steady with Michael. They got the soffit up and began a back porch. Three weeks later and we just bought the last of the lumber for the back porch: 

The framework for the porch is just visible in the background  

We have done a lot of other things in the meantime, such as getting the windows and the back doors purchased and in the addition waiting to be installed. We want to start on the back so we make any of our mistakes on the far side of the house. We also needed to stop erosion on the back side. So there we start. Soon.   

In the meantime, we've slowly been finishing off the base boards where the original cabin meets the first addition. 

It took me a long time to get brave enough to make this cut

We have had to be somewhat creative in filling in spaces that are anything but uniform. It's slow, but we are getting there.  

Somewhat hard to see, but the plate size and base board are all different sizes.  

It fits!!! 

 I still need to slice skinny boards to fill in the space at the top (again, anything but uniform) but just getting this one in felt like a triumph. We spent a while trying to make the porch joists square to avoid just this problem. We'll see how well we did right soon. 

Construction journal: a rocket stove of our own

We are having a bunch of visitors coming next weekend, which coincides with our Cornish crosses getting big enough to die of a heart attack. We like the skin on our chicken and so needed a way to scald the chosen one. We have a gas burner, but are always looking for ways to avoid buying things. We have cement block. We have a fire pit grate. We have brush piles. So now we have a rocket stove: 

What you can't see are the bond beam blocks, which form the chimney.  

Actually, this is the original effort, but it made us stoop too much to feed the firebox. So we modified the plan: 

Ergonomically more satisfactory  

We heated the stockpot full of water from 70°F to 175°F in about an hour. It took three buckets of small sticks.  

While I was puttering around, clearing out the space and running the weed whip to keep the tall grass at bay, our resident chipmunk stopped by and said hello. 

He's cute when he's not busy building nests in Irene's car's engine compartment.  

Michael spent the morning putting the riding mower back together after our neighbor welded the mower deck for us. Thanks Rick!  Then spent the rest of the day mowing while I was playing with the rocket stove. Tomorrow we will mow some more!