Spring Doin's

You know, if I could bear to blog without including pictures, I might be more timely in my updates. I often think... "oh, I should blog about that" and then never get around to taking a picture of whatever the subject might be, and thus it never makes it to the blog and I go weeks without updating. (nice excuse, huh?)

Here's what we've been up to recently:

I wish there was some way to include scents on the computer. Because right now the farm smells like this...(seriously, the fragrance wafting on the wind is simply amazing!)

It has been a busy couple of weeks since my last post. We recently returned from our encore performance of "Potatopalooza" in the gardens. I was starting to think we might never get through them all. We planted about 1,000 row feet of seed potatoes, all by hand. I know other farms do more, and more power to them! This is enough for me.

The big high tunnel is coming along and should be in good shape for the opening farmers market on May 1. This tunnel contains chard, choi, salad greens, radishes, spinach and arugula.
Just a week ago I was in a mild panic thinking that the crops wouldn't be ready in time. But as usual, I was just being angst-y. Today I harvested these, and in two weeks they will be perfect on the market table.
We've also been laying out and prepping beds for planting. Just yesterday, the first seeds went into the fields. We are by no means ahead of schedule, but as of yesterday, we are caught up and on schedule.

Other recent things worth mentioning:

• The Fruit Tree Grafting class at Seed Savers was marvelous! We'll see how well we put the new knowledge to work.
• We are getting more than 10 dozen eggs a day. There is a limit to how many eggs two people can eat.
• The Blue and Luci show continues to be good entertainment. They are quite the pair, I wish I had video to share as photos don't due them justice. Luckily the "interest in the chickens" seems to have waned, hopefully permanently.
• We've have some wonderful folks come out and volunteer their time to do a "working visit" to the farm. Big thanks to Maggie, Terri, Linda, Dawn, Michelle and Danelle for their time and willingness to "work and learn".

I'm sure there is more to share, but I'm tapped out for now. Will write another update soon and hopefully it will include stories of morels we've found (not yet, though).

A Dog's Day

Its been two weeks since Luci joined us on the farm, and what fun it has been! We were a little concerned about how Blue would react, as she takes her job of alpha dog pretty seriously, but they have become fast friends...literally. They tear around the farm together like a couple mad animals. There is much growling and posturing, but they are clearly having fun. The favorite game is the rope toy tango.

First Blue teases Luci mercilessly with the rope toy.

Then eventually Luci gets a hold of it and they play tug of war. Keep in mind here, that Blue weighs about 50 lbs and Luci weighs in at about 4 lbs.


So given that Luci is a true Terrier at heart (stubborn) and Blue is all Blue Heeler (ornery) this is what usually happens. Blue pulls so hard that Luci tips over, but Luci refuses to let go of the rope. So Blue just drags her around the yard on her side. Never fear, no dogs were harmed in the playing of this game. Its clear from watching them that this is pure canine fun.

Now if we could just explain to Luci the difference between a toy and a chicken...sigh. She's cute and smart, but alas, she isn't perfect. Back to the training regimen.

It must be Spring Vol. I

A few days ago we experienced a first here on the farm...our first 100-egg day!

It is rather a banner event, but at the same time, what the heck are we going to do with all those eggs? If it was market or CSA season, it wouldn't be an issue, but its not. So when life gives you too many eggs, our default solution is to make noodles!
So we did and we tried out a new drying method that we think is an improvement over the "drying them on every horizontal surface in the cabin" method. Isn't this why they call it a drying rack?


And the bonus is that as the noodles dry, they eject themselves from the drying rack onto the nice clean bed-sheet on the floor. (Don't worry Mom, I'll wash the sheet before you have visitors!)

And Now....

...here's Luci!


I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our farm crew. Luci is a Jack Russell Terrier and once she gets a bit bigger she will be in charge of the "banishment" of all crop-eating mammals. Right now she's not much bigger than the rabbits she is to control, so it might be a while. Blue is fulfilling her role as resident puppy trainer and behavior modification specialist and while not in love with the newcomer, she hasn't tried to eat her...yet.

Edited 3/21 to correct spelling of her name. Luci is short for Lucia which means 'blue ocean'. All in keeping with our cerulean farm theme~

Noodle Day

With our hens finally increasing their egg production and our pullets starting to lay their first eggs, we are finally getting buried in "chicken seeds" again. We can only eat so many omelets, so celebrate the occasion I declared that today was Noodle Day!

Since my very lucky purchase last year of the $12 pasta maker, and my realization (duh!) that I can make the dough in my KitchenAid, pasta-making isn't quite the major chore that it used to be. However it is still a significant event that generally involves my taking over my parent's cabin so that I have enough surfaces to dry the cut noodles. Mom & Dad are in town for the weekend, so I took advantage of the situation and made a mess.

I sure hope they don't come back early : )
This should mean that we will have Herbed Whole Wheat Noodles to sell at the early farmers market! Woo hoo!

Rice Cooker Magic

I love my rice cooker. Period.
The rice cooker that we have is a basic PHD (push here dummy) version, just an on/off switch. No fuzzy logic, bells or whistles.

In the past we used it about once a month whenever we made rice, but since last year we use it nearly daily, especially in the winter. That was when I discovered that I could use it to make our breakfast oatmeal. I dump steel cut oats, water, salt and dried cranberries in the night before and when I wake up in the morning I hit the switch and walk away. About 20-30 minutes later we have perfectly cooked oatmeal, ready to dress with maple syrup and eat! Love it!

Then this winter my insightful friend Maggie sent me a recipe for using the rice cooker for making polenta. Ohhhhhh...

I keep medium grind cornmeal for my bread baking, so I tossed it into the cooker and gave it a try. Cornmeal, water and salt, cooked for a little more than a full cycle, dressed with butter and BGF honey, be still my heart! It is my new favorite breakfast. If you have a rice cooker, give it a try!


Edited to add:
Should have included this to start with...

Polenta
4 cups water
1 cup coarse grain yellow polenta
1/2 tsp salt

Place water in rice cooker bowl, add polenta and salt.
Stir 15 seconds with a wooden spoon or plastic rice paddle. cover and set for porridge or regular cycle. A few times (or once!) during cooking, open the cover, stir 15 seconds, then close cover. At the end of the regular cycle , taste the polenta and make sure the desired consistency has been reached. If not, push the button and let it go a little longer.

For breakfast I just dress with butter and honey. If serving at another meal, you can add in 2/3 c. shredded Parmesan at the end.

PFI and Trees Afire

Thursday we had to leave the farm shortly after dawn to make it to Ames for the PFI Cooperators meeting. This is an annual outing for us and one last opportunity to visit with a large group of farmers before the season begins. It is also the place where we commit ourselves to various field trials that we want to work on during the upcoming season. In the past we have done trials on tomato trellising systems and high tunnel profitability. It appears that we will continue the recent high tunnel trial, and add one on HT fertility. We also volunteered to do a study on low tunnel technologies in the field, which basically translates to "how do we keep the damn row covers on when its windy?" Details to follow on all of these, I'm sure.

Anyway, as we got ourselves and our chores ready for our departure the sun began to rise and lit up every surface covered with hoarfrost. It was absolutely glorious and looked like the world was ablaze in an icy fire. They aren't the greatest pictures, but you get the idea.