Livestock journal: pullet eggs and more

Corn that grows to the same height. Soybeans that ripen at the same time. Eggs washed and graded fit in stackable cartons. Uniformity allows a level of efficiency that makes food widely available. 

Our birds are a wide variety of breeds, ages, and, at the moment, species. This makes for many things, but uniformity and efficiency aren't among them. 

White Leghorn eggs, the light brown from Wyandottes and the dark from the local brown "egg layer" mix (Rhode Island Red and something else I think). 

An egg we found in the duck enclosure reminded me that even your old birds can surprise you. 

Our first striped egg. Duck...but which one? Arthur, our only runner duck who is of age, lays a green egg, but this would be his second for the day. (Michael named him as a duckling.) All our other ducks lay cream or tan eggs. 

Our new chickens have begun to lay as well. They have "pullet eggs," which are wee things.  

In this household you get to estimate how many eggs REALLY go into a "3 egg" recipe: 2 duck, 3 Leghorn, or 6 pullet!

And speaking of wee ones: 

Our oldest and newest household members: may they be as non-uniform and inefficient as they care to be. We love them!

Harvest journal: battling the birds

Michael and I are sitting on the deck after another day on this lovely land. I have an unparalleled view of our elderberry bushes. They are looking pretty bare at the moment, but just two days ago they were loaded. 

Elders, being mostly wild, tend to ripen over time. These were planted by birds. We simply failed to mow them down.   A bird-stripped umbel is in the bottom left of this photo. 

I was walking down to help Michael put the birds to bed when I noticed a flock of Cedar Waxwings fluttering about the elders. 

Sated, this young one was catching a nap. Almost all the umbels at the top of the bush are bare. 

Instead of heading down to the bottom pastures, I went back to the house and got a paper sack and clipper. Michael found me stripping berries when he came up from bird care duties. He joined me and we finished getting berries separated from stems at about 10:30 PM. I put them in the fridge overnight and juiced them and made jelly yesterday. 

Elderberry jelly looks like grape, but tastes much better.  

Michael made more jelly today, having finished digging the potatoes yesterday. 

Artemis must be telling Lilith about what fun she will have picking berries with her grandparents...or at least that's what I like to think has evoked this beautific smile.  

Or maybe she's extolling the creaminess of home grown potatoes.  

Harvest journal: onions onions ha ha ha

I love onions.  

yellow and white

yellow and red

Michael planted 700 onion sets. We harvested less than 500 mature onions. Our garden has suffered from lack of attention and less rain. It's not as if we have been slacking. Rather, a certain amount of time and attention has been diverted by little Miss Devine. 

Unlike our onions, this wee one is growing at an amazing rate, and is really happy about it all. 

We have also been spending a fair amount of time and energy putting up wallboard and getting it taped. 

Michael installs. I tape. Those cake decorating skills come in handy!   

I have been working on several appeals. We both work on keeping us fed, the chicken and ducks fed, all of us in clean clothes and bedding, transporting compost from town to our garden...and other general maintenance. It is a glorious existence!  Onions add depth of flavor. 

Harvest journal: Garlic. I love garlic.

I planted garlic last October and am reaping the benefit of my labor now.   It seems early for the garlic to be lodging, but this year has been drier than last year. 

The ends are withering and the stalks are beginning to fall over. It's ripe! 

Harvesting garlic is not very tricky, but there are some steps worth noting. 

Fresh out of the ground.  

First, it's nice to not wait too long to harvest, as the bulbs will start to separate from the stems at some point. You can still get garlic out of the ground, but it's hard to find and won't save as long. 

Rubbing the dirt off takes a little time, but is worth it.  

When we first grew garlic, Michael would pluck it all and then do a massive washing with water. Our garlic would rot. Avoid letting your garlic (or onions) get wet after harvest. If you do it immediately, the dirt just rubs off. If you wait, it gets glued on and you have to peel off layers of the outer skin to get rid of the dirt. That same skin is what helps the garlic keep its moisture longer and not dry out as soon. If you are growing garlic, you are probably saving it as well. We are just finishing our last braid of Germinador, and it is still good!  (It is also known for its ability to last...). 

Look Ma, no dirt! 

We don't have a good place to hang our garlic out of the sun and dry it. We set it out in the sun for a couple of days, turning it so any fungus gets some hard UV before I bundle or braid the garlic. 

Different garlic strains do variously well depending on the weather. I planted 105 cloves of 5 different types. So far, I've had a low of 82 bulbs and a high of 105.  

I like the stems to have dried somewhat but not entirely, which makes braiding/bundling easier. 

Soft neck garlic can be braided/hard neck must be bundled.  

We grow more garlic than we can eat, but that means a select few also get to enjoy our garlic.

I like to think this is Lilith dreaming of garlic.  

Season journal: we are jamming!

Nankin cherries: hardy but tiny

When fruit ripens, it's time to start making jam and jelly. Cherry jelly is precious, if only due to the work that goes into pitting them. They came ripe about the same time as the currants-red and black.  

Red currants, bright and tangy

Black currants, dark and velvety  

We had a break in fruit production of two or three days and now are in the midst of collectiing Manchurian Apricots as they ripen and fall. They are tarter than eating apricots, which make them perfect for jam. 

So happy to have apricot jam again!   

We took a trip out to the sand barrens to see if the blueberries were ripe, but the bears beat us to them. 

 Butterfly weed blooms when blueberries ripen.  

We still have elderberries and apples and wild plums, but those are fall harvests. If we are lucky, we will find choke cherries in August. 

I figured that it costs about $1.50 to make a jar of jelly, if you have to buy the jar. That does not include the fruit we grow or forage, or our time. An equivalent amount of jam at the store costs about $3. The difference is: you can't readily find black currant, elderberry, wild plum (which doesn't taste like anything in the store!), choke cherry, or the wonderful apricot jam we make. So we make more jelly and jam than we could possibly eat, and if you are lucky, you might have a dab on toast, or yogurt, or as a glaze on pork or duck...or maybe just a small spoonful straight from the jar... if the bears don't beat you to it. 

Fishing journal: we aren't the catch and release types

I spent most of yesterday slaving over a keyboard. Michael rewarded me with an afternoon spent fishing. (He had been slaving over a hot stove. More on that later.)  At the boat ramp we chatted with a family just coming off the lake. They reported they had caught a lot of sunfish and crappies, but threw them back. We aren't that way. 

18 crappies, 4 sunnies and 1 yellow perch

I don't understand people who fish for fun but don't eat the fish the catch. But I've also fed fish to people who say they don't like fish...but like mine. Maybe it's because I fillet them, so there are no small bones to battle. For anyone interested, here is our method of cleaning pan fish: 

Equipment is important. Two sharp knives are handy-a filet knife and a chef's knife. A scaler. Two bowls and two buckets, all with water in them. A table to work on.  

Michael starts the process by taking the heads and fins off with the chef's knife, and gutting the fish.  

The yard chickens get the fish livers and roe. 

He then scales the fish into one of the buckets, and the other bucket is to rinse off in between fish. 

Some people would consider this the end of the process. Not us.  

The exception to the scaling step is the yellow perch. They are armored against northern pike and do not willingly give up their scales. So they simply get skinned. 

Yellow perch are cousins to walleye

Michael puts the scaled or skinned fish in a bowl for me and I fillet them.  

First run the knife down the backbone and slide up the dorsal bones.  

Next slide the knife in across the end of the gut cavity and slide against the bones toward the tail end.  

After a bit of practice, you can do these two steps in one smooth motion.  

There are a set of small bones running laterally down the rib cage. I cut down to them, then slide the knife under them and cut toward the skin until they release, then finish separating the belly meat from the ribs. 

This is all it takes to make a boneless fillet. Repeat for the other side.  

8 fillets makes dinner for 3, which means we processed enough for about 5-6 dinners, one of which we had tonight!  

You know you've done well if what remains looks like this: 

I suppose we could make fish sauce from the heads and bones, but Michael buries them in the garden instead.  

It is difficult to find anywhere to eat out that has better food than we have at home.  Maybe it is because when I eat fish at home, I relive a little of the sunshine, scent of wildflowers and new mown hay, and the gentle rocking of the canoe.  

Construction journal: water in/water out

You've seen the water out. Here is the water in: 

No leaks! 

PEX. We love PEX.  

Now to get the wallboard in and taped, the shower walls built, the fixtures installed, the towel cupboards constructed, and the finish work done. Alas, Brother Daniel has his own life to return to, so we are on our own again. But as a reward for all his hard labor: 

Three generations of beautiful and talented people (says she who admits to absolute bias).  

Construction journal: Brother Daniel, plumbing wizard

Our addition is truly becoming a family project. Michael's brother Douglas saw us through transitioning from 100 amp to 200 amp service. My brother Daniel is now the brains behind getting the new bathroom plumbed.  

El Maestro conducting connections.  

Michael had put in a vent pipe last year, and we were laying flooring in the bathroom when Lilith made her appearance last week.  

Pergo: trickier than they make it appear on YouTube.  

The boys started locating where tub, potty, sink and shower will be located and started drilling holes, then laid pipe downstairs.  

Looking up from the basement.  

Then came the decisions regarding exactly where to run the sewer pipe. 

Yay!  Missed the core filled portion of the block wall!! 

Yes, the sewer pipe runs right in front of the new basement window, as predicted, but gives enough space to use it for egress in any emergency. 

This is where the basement door used to be...but is no more. It hasn't been flooding since we had it blocked in.  

Et voila: hooked into the existing sewer outlet...and doesn't leak!   

Next step: getting water into the bathroom!  (This is the manifold that will service the bathroom fixtures.) 

And because I cannot help myself: 

Lilith at one week old.  

Oh!  We also received our second batch of goslings and ducklings today (to replace those who succumbed to the raccoons). Our raccoon depopulation efforts continue apace, with five 35-40 pounders having become vulture and eagle fodder. We love feeding the wild birds. 

Solstice journal: welcome Lilith Ida!

Born at 4:40 pm

7 lbs 11 oz

19.5 inches tall

loooong fingers and toes

Parents are tired but doing well at learning to be parents.  

I have been dreaming of this little girl and now she is here, better than anything I could have conjured.  

Construction journal: unwalkouting the basement

Michael's parents had a beautiful house on a hill about 3 miles from here, which Michael and his dad built in the early 70s. It had a wonderful walkout basement. They sold that house in the late 80s and decamped to Arizona. Then we had grandchildren for them to visit in the summertimes (we lived in St. Paul at the time) and they needed more than a mini-motor home. In the mid-90s, we went in together and bought this land and Michael helped Clyde build a 3 season cabin. 

So when Clyde and Irene put a partial basement under their 3 season cabin (making a partial 4 season house), they decided to recreate the walkout basement, but without the convenient hillside. 

We still have the mountain of dirt that came out to put in this door.  

The problem with making a huge ditch leading up to a door is that it acts, well, like a ditch when it rains...only heading towards the house rather than away from it. We wisely hired the guy who built the basement to block in the door.  

Shaune does pretty work.  

Today we put in a window...and if the plumbing runs in front of it, the light is still nice. 

Michael will start backfilling the dirt to slope away from the house once we get the tractor running again.  

Today we also put the stairs on our deck!   

Rails are still in the future, and yes, we made the steps different lengths with malice afore thought. 

And as a final accomplishment (or maybe the first of many for the day), Michael trapped a second giant mama raccoon. 

Construction journal: unwalkouting the basement

Michael's parents had a beautiful house on a hill about 3 miles from here, which Michael and his dad built in the early 70s. It had a lovely walkout basement. They sold that house in the late 80s and decamped to Arizona. Then we had grandchildren for them to visit in the summertimes (we lived in St. Paul at the time) and they needed more than a mini-motor home. In the mid-90s, we went in together and bought this land and Michael helped Clyde build a 3 season cabin. 

So when Clyde and Irene put a partial basement under their 3 season cabin (making a partial 4 season house), they decided to recreate the walkout basement, but without the convenient hillside. 

We still have the mountain of dirt that came out to put in this door.  

The problem with making a huge ditch leading up to a door is that it acts, well, like a ditch when it rains...only heading towards the house rather than away from it. Our decision to take the door out was put on the back burner until we realized that we will have to run the plumbing for the addition right past that door. We wisely hired the guy who built the basement to block in the door.  

Shaune does pretty work.  

Today we put in a window...and if the plumbing runs in front of it, the light is still nice. 

Michael will start backfilling the dirt to slope away from the house once we get the tractor running again.  

Today we also put the stairs on our deck!   

Rails are still in the future.  

And as a final accomplishment (or maybe the first of many for the day), Michael trapped a second giant mama raccoon. 

Construction journal: unwalkouting the basement

Michael's parents had a beautiful house on a hill about 3 miles from here, which Michael and his dad built in the early 70s. It had a lovely walkout basement. They sold that house in the late 80s and decamped to Arizona. Then we had grandchildren for them to visit in the summertimes (we lived in St. Paul at the time) and they needed more than a mini-motor home. In the mid-90s, we went in together and bought this land and Michael helped Clyde build a 3 season cabin. 

So when Clyde and Irene put a partial basement under their 3 season cabin (making a partial 4 season house), they decided to recreate the walkout basement, but without the convenient hillside. 

We still have the mountain of dirt that came out to put in this door.  

The problem with making a huge ditch leading up to a door is that it acts, well, like a ditch when it rains...only heading towards the house rather than away from it. Our decision to take the door out was put on the back burner until we realized that we will have to run the plumbing for the addition right past that door. We wisely hired the guy who built the basement to block in the door.  

Shaune does pretty work.  

Today we put in a window...and if the plumbing runs in front of it, the light is still nice. 

Michael will start backfilling the dirt to slope away from the house once we get the tractor running again.  

Today we also put the stairs on our deck!   

Rails are still in the future.  

And as a final accomplishment (or maybe the first of many for the day), Michael trapped a second giant mama raccoon. 

Varmint journal: the trap worked

See the UFO in the upper right hand quadrant? 

Ritual journal: sitting with the duckies

Hanging out under the pines.  

We lose eggs in the tall grass if we let our mature ducks into the pond area, so it is reserved as a playground for the newbies, once they get full featherdom. We have 4 kiddie pools for the non-pond ducks, which we fill every night. (Ducks LOVE muck, so they make it daily.). 

Duck Resort (towels not included).

The need to fill pools gives us time and space to sit, listen to the small sounds of evening, plan our projects, or just sit and absorb warmth through our pores. 

Livestock journal: the slaughter of the innocents

Yesterday we lost 4 ducklings and 2 goslings to the raccoon monster. The monster could reach under the sides of the yurt, so we put hardware cloth along the sides as well as front and back. We ordered more geese and ducks, as we have been enjoying the geese.  

Trillium from 2 weeks ago...a bright spot to cure sad news.  

This morning we awoke to all our babies having survived the night, the live trap picked clean of bait without having been sprung, and an enormous pile of feathery raccoon poo.  

Hoary puccoon-what a great name to say! 

Michael went out to check on the trap at 3:30 this morning. The raccoon robbed it after 3:30 but before 7 am.  

Birds foot violets-bright patches on sandy banks

The trap wasn't able to hold this raccoon last year. She beats it to death then walks out...when she's not simply robbing it.  

Lupine-tiny compared to the huge blossom spikes they have in Maine.  

Yes, I am purposefully substituting wildflowers for anything related to the topic of this post. If we ever do bag the culprit, I may have to post her mug shot...but we'd have to catch her first. I'm not looking forward to figuring out how to protect our future sheep and goats and pigs from the wolves who slink through our woods. Problems for another day.  

Yellow bellwort

Livestock journal: moving the babies to greener pastures

We let the young ones out of their brooder when they were about a week old. They loved the grass!   

Pool time is a plus: ducks and geese need water deep enough to douse their entire head

They have quickly outgrown this space, which is now very well fertilized. We had some volunteer Blue Hubbard squash appear, and then quickly disappear.  

So fluffy!!!  The duckies are beginning to feather out and are a bit prickly these days.  

Today we rehabbed the last summer yurt, putting on a new tarp and finding a water bucket to go inside. The babies cried during the ride down to their new house, but they are settling in now, making tiny happy chirrups. 

Goodnight!  

Season journal: wet, wet, wet

For the past 3 days we have emptied the rain gauge and it keeps filling up! 

Ah, springtime in Wisconsin, where we are still heating the house with our wood burning stove. If the weather keeps this up, the seeds Michael planted a week ago will moulder in the ground. It would not be the first time. Last year we had a killing frost on May 27 th.  

To bring some cheer to this wet day, a few more wildflower photos: 

bloodroot flower

bloodroot sap

trout lilies

phlox

Anemone cinquefolia

Rue anemone  

marsh marigold

and some lovely 4 petal flower I haven't been able to identify.  

Season journal: baby ducks! Baby ducks! Baby ducks!

As many of you already know, I love ducks.  Yesterday morning, the ducks arrived!   

The big feller on the left is a gosling.  

We ordered 15 runner ducks and 3 Embden geese. We will see if I also love geese...  

The goslings are playing well with the duckies and if anyone is getting picked on, it's the goslings. The goslings are slower and more awkward than the duckies. They do fit nicely in my hand and are pretty calm about being held. The duckies peep more, until I tuck them under my chin. 

Color coordinated duckling!   

Already a much bigger goose after one day.  

We lost one duckling in transit and one chick today due to a previously undetected ant problem. We are tackling the ants now. Sigh. In the past two years we kept the new chicks in plastic buckets. Those presented problems. Now keeping them on a dirt floor presents different problems. Will update later as to our chick status. 

Season journal: the baby chicks arrived!

We have been waiting all week to get that phone call saying our babies are ready for pickup. Today the call came on the chicks.  

35 chicks=16 Cornish crosses, 9 Special Black and 10 Sagittas

They are so fluffy!!! 

This one's for you, Persephone.  

Michael had the heat lamp going in the chick corral for the past couple of days to help the ground dry out. He cleared out the winter detritus and turned over the soil to have as clean a start as possible.  

Run around then face plant! 

I've been popping in to check water and feed. At first they made distresses chirping sounds. Now they are making the softer happy peeps.  

Repurposed coop area.  

Michael designed a small door there in the front where we can let the chicks wander into the larger coop area as they grow. Right now, it's important to keep them warm, dry, fed, and with clean water to drink. 

I admit it: I'm taking a break from working on a difficult appeal in a sex trafficking case and engaging in a little fluff therapy.  

The blacks are small but pugnacious  

Season journal: the bloodroot and pussytoes are out!

The first flowers of spring are not dandelions, but violets. 

Violets add a wonderful freshness to salads

Violets have been blooming for about 3 weeks now. Not far behind was the Creeping Charlie.  

Creeping Charlie came with settlers as an ingredient to beer where hops were unavailable. It is a type of mint.  

Next to appear on my list of familiars were the pussytoes.  

Pussytoes grow singly on hillsides but can carpet an open swale.  

Just two days ago I espied the first bloodroot blossoms. They were not yet fully open.  

Bloodroot "bleeds" if you pick it.  

It had been an odd spring, veering between snow and beautiful days. We have spent the past couple of days weeding and turning over the garden and getting ready for the arrival of chicks.  

We have a lot of digging in our immediate future! 

We did get the chickens out on pasture a few days after the ducks went out.  

Longfeather is a good rooster, if somewhat aggressive at times.  

The best part of spring is taking a moment to enjoy the sunshine!