apple pockets, truckbed of fence & our heirloom apples

These cooler days we have had sparked that inner desire for bread baking & of course apple pies. While looking at one of my most enjoyed kitchen store, I have found what I call the must have kitchen gadget for moms (& dads). I knew the second I spotted them I must include them in the list.

I picked up both for a total of $17. Knowing these will not just sit in a cabinet somewhere, collecting dust, along with their lifetime guarantee to replace any item that does not last "forever".I feel no guilt. Besides, I'm a pie making fool when the weather goes south. Watch out big freezer! Momma's making pocket pies!

They make the perfect size pie pockets for the kids school lunches. We spent the afternoon harvesting apples, making the pie filling & trying out our new kitchen toy. They were easy to use. So easy in fact, Frog was pumping them out rather quick.

I will be sure to make the dough a bit thinner in the future. In my defense, it was a new to me pie crust recipe from the Macrina bakery cookbook. Which, by the way, is the best crust I have ever tasted.

Speaking of apples, I had a few visitors yesterday, from a new winery out in Ravenna Ohio. I had posted a barter on a local website which is how they found me. They carry a hard cider line using only non sprayed, heirloom apples. All of their trees were hit by a late frost so were on the hunt for locals with organic heirloom cider apples.

We have 12 apple trees total which produce. A handful more that are not very productive. After reading their request, I welcomed them out to have a look. About half the tree varieties are for cider and the rest for eating. So a deal was made. I will not take your money. You can have all the apples you can use in exchange for canning jars & some of your hard cider made from these apples. Smiles for everyone and the deal was made. Heck, I'll probably throw in some of those pocket pies for all them to munch on as they harvest from the massive trees. To think, I was so worried all these apples would go to waste due to my being behind in everything around here.

Have you been desiring a picket fence? For the yard or garden? Maybe even as a nice decor for the driveway corners? Just not in the budget? Well my friends I had one of those DUH light bulb moments as I drove home the other day with a truck bed full of old 6ft high privacy fence. I do some of my best thinking on those little long distance trips.

No, I do not need privacy fencing, being we have no neighbors. Especially 200ft of it.

No. This fence is for a very special project I will be sharing in the next week. You too, if ya have not already thought of it, will be amazed at the simplicity and obvious of it, staring back at you.

The summer is almost over. Kids start school next week. Frog begins preschool. And me? I'll be back on the video trail. Hunting down useful ideas, how to's and visiting some great people who will share their knowledge with all of us. A different turn is in the road for my little videos. So sit back and enjoy the scenery before our next destination arrives.

Sweet dreams,

~Tammie

Livestock gardens, Hello Stud & what was that?

We attended the very nice auction site of Mt.Hope this week. The mission was to purchase enough fryers as cheap as possible for the fridge. When the prices are anywhere from 75 cents to $3 a fryer, the money saved from feeding them 12 weeks makes it worth the trip.
While there, I spotted an amazing very large New Zealand white buck. I fell in love. I was determined I would not leave without him. He would make an amazing breeder for our meat production. When it came time for bidding on him, as usual, there was a bidding war for this prize. I was competing with 3 buyers and once the price got up to $10, I just left my bid card in the air, not taking it down to signal I was in this to win. Needless to say I got him for a great price compared to what I would have anywhere else. BUT what I paid for him is what I paid total, for the 9 fryers.

Of course what is a moment of joy not spattered with upset?! As I was collecting a few fryers from a bottom cage,(they use stacked cages at the auction), a doe in a top cage went into the outside corner (Panda swore she was aiming it at me! ), when I suddenly felt wetness on my side/ hip area. I turned around saying"what was that?" as my daughter is roaring with laughter... " Pee! she just peed on you!". Lets just say the trip home was not joyful with that odor on my shirt.

It's not the first time I have endured a rabbit peeing on me. What is it about rabbits peeing on me?!

Our new buck has a wonderful temperament. Does not mind being held (which for the kids can be hard due to his size). So friendly and calm.
Depending on your locale, you may not have many options in commercial feed despite having a local feed mill that does customized blends. One must consider the life of the ingredient. Not just the recipe.
There is an unused area on the south side of the property which we will be experimenting with growing our own chicken & rabbit feed. We will start out with a plot of around 1800 sq ft. (30x60). I have been very unhappy with store bought feed and its ingredients. Between the dominate soybeans & corn ( usually GMA and/or heavily chemical raised) are enough to make me rethink their feed.

Raising them on a commercial feed which most likely contains ingredients grown/modified in a way I am completely against makes me feel uncomfortable & hypocritical. The opportunity for change is an option we now have room for.
Our livestock number is low enough that with the 30x60 plot, we should be able to provide enough feed year round. They have an old dog kennel run which is approx. 10x30 then turns into a 15x50 feet space (in an L shape). For 5 hens & a few rabbits, the greens are never over taxed. With grass in some spots over a foot tall, a free range environment is replicated while their safety is drastically ensured (compared to just roaming the property).

The gate entry section has been tilled. Clearing out the rocks & planting a winter rye this weekend. The animals will have a fence keeping them from this section until growth is adequate.

In the sunniest corner, we are putting in a raised bed with a cold frame cover for growing items through winter. I have planted Swiss chard, spinach ^ winter density lettuce plus the dandelions I have transplanted. Having it IN their pen will make the winter supplement harvest a bit easier.

one half has yet to be filled with soil.

The plan for the big feed garden is to grow black oil sunflowers(PEREDOVIK variety) , corn, alfalfa, climbing peas or beans along with red clover, rye & alfalfa or timothy grass. MINDFUL intensive inter cropping/rotation.

I am still working out the details and doing calculations for proper ratios. We have begun fishing at the local lake to supplement the chicken protein diet need. Our children love to fish and the blue gill love their hooks. The Captain just pops them in the freezer for later use. We will defrost the fish, chop it up & put it in their scrap pan. All of this with the kitchen & garden scraps will provide their need for a well rounded healthy diet.

I found a helpful site which gave the deciding factor for what I plan to grow. I chose diverse items which would provide for their needs but also work for the intensive planting of our small plot. There is such vast knowledge and opinions with the greatness of internet. I have skimmed through many a book from the library on the livestock feeding subject. With no success on finding anything on growing your own alternatives other then what is found in commercial feed. The internet offers much more information access without having a "publisher" backing them.

If your looking to grow a versatile crop of sunflowers, check this site out on how easy it is to make your own sunflower seed oil for your own consumption. I'm printing those pages out for later reference.

We are also speaking with Mr. M about keeping a few pigs on the back 5 acre empty land. The best part of this? It was The Captains idea! We figure by raising a few piglets and sharing with Mr. M, no one would mind our use of the empty land.

There is always an abundance of change going on around here, which I do enjoy. But I must bid you goodnight before I ramble on more.

And as always....

Sweet dreams,

~Tammie

Family Archery time, home grown chicken feed & what time is it?

What an exciting week! The Captain is on Vacation and for once, we have had many many hours of family fun together. Lil' Man spends hours shooting his BB gun our old neighbor G gave him. A wonderful Red Ryder "your going to shoot your eye out" one. The Captain purchased a pellet rifle so he can play alongside him as they come up with various items from the yard to shoot. At least it is just debris we are cleaning up anyway.

I found a compound bow perfect for the kids to use. Panda is not into shooting the various guns as her little brother, so when I spotted this Bow from Bear archery products, I did not think twice before picking it up. All 3 of our children love the new family Archery time. Panda is in that stage where she does not want to do anything and is bored all the time. ('tween hormones have arrived in our house by the way).

I have spotted her going out and practicing throughout the day, aiming at the styrofoam target we made. It has become the most enjoyed purchase shared by them.

Even our little Frog gets in on the action. For being 4 years old, she does pretty good with it. Lil' Man likes being the big brother helper by urging her on to have good form, safety awareness & all the other great tips he shares.

On the Homestead front, we are putting in a garden for growing the Chicken & rabbit feed. About 1800 sq ft with mindful intensive inter cropping. I have researched what we will grow for providing them with a healthy diet. NO soybeans for protein. LOTS of Black oil sunflowers with are just 6% less protein then the soybean. I'll go into it more later on.

The Apple press cam home & was put to use quickly. With 3 medium bowls of sliced apples, I was able to press out 3/4 of a gallon cider in under 7 minutes! It was easy. inexpensive. & does the job better then old wooden presses. I'll share more of that later, too.

There is so much more to share but I have so much left to do today. My body is tired but my mind is racing. I best be off and get a few more things done before the bugs dot me with itchy spots.

Sweetest dreams,

~Tammie

my "Loving it!" moments

Remember the meat grinder/strainer I received back in January? Here we are 8 months later, I finally have had the chance to play with the tomato attachment. I fell in love all over again. What had taken 20 or so minutes with my hand crank (including re-feeding the skin/seed "spit out" 3 times to extract all the pulp & juice it wasted), I spent 5 minutes continuously feeding tomatoes into the hopper of this baby:

When it would spit out the skin/seeds, they were bone dry. Bone dry!

I had half a stock pot of tomato sauce in under 5 minutes. The time this thing will save me when the tomatoes really start pumping out are well worth it. I can not say enough great things about this machine. If your in the market for one on a budget, I would highly recommend this one. Being the combo of a meat grinder, I can make fresh meatballs & sauce in under a half hour for a meal!

While on the subject of meat, we butchered 2 of the rabbits last Friday. On the way home from last weeks auction, i had asked Lil' man if he would like to help butcher a few rabbits. he was all about it! I taught Lil' Man the process with the first one. He did the second. I was amazed & bursting with pride how he stepped up to the plate the way he did. At 7 1/2 years old he went from the very first step to the last with mom just there for any extra help needed. I was not sure how Frog would be since she is so young at 4 1/2 yrs old. She refused to leave and watched the entire process without any upset. Panda on the other hand has decided her mother is crazy.

In her words "Mom. Your cool. but your crazy. I'm going upstairs." I will not force her to participate if she does not want to. I believe it is wrong to do such a thing. Forcing a child will only make them associate this lifestyle with bad feelings. Besides, she helps with plenty of other things around here.

While at the auction last week, An Amish man had a very interesting and eye catching poultry carrier. I admired the round top with its simplicity and the ease of its complimentary shape when carrying it. I noticed that when a person carries the square tops, it is held further away from the body. Adding a cumbersome gait, straining of the upper body & arm. With his round top long carrier, he was able to carry it closer to his body without hindering his stride or posture.

As I stood behind him during the auctioneers speed talk, he noticed me eyeing it. I smiled and complimented him on his handiwork. Inquiring if the bottom was rabbit wire or wood. We did some small talk and he gave me a closer look at it. I thanked him and explained how I noticed it was not awkward to hold as the square shape but long enough to hold a few animals. I said "it's beautiful".He replied. "it's simple".

That is my project for this week. I will try to replicate the carrier he made. It almost has a shape similar to an upside down garden hod. More round at the top (which would be the bottom of a hod).

An upside down hod basket from an old tutorial.

I will be sure to document the progress and share the results with a possible how to if I am successful. It truly does appear simple and inexpensive. Very attractive despite being "simple".

I have strawberry vinegar to tend to before bed and 3 gallons of blackberry wine which have stopped fermenting- which is not good at this stage. Time to do some troubleshooting.

Sweet dreams,

~Tammie

Mid week babbling and pictures

The front pathway bricks are done. After digging up all the bricks, using the old ones plus old paver bricks given to me by a friend, it looks as though it has been there forever. I worked on this for 2 days. Using landscape cloth in the trench, laying the bricks in place and filling the in betweens with all purpose sand. Ones with creeping thyme were filled with organic potting soil.


I found creeping thyme on the clearance cart for 50 cents each, which made this project total cost :

sand $25- creeping thyme $4- Bricks free- my time? 2 days spent enjoying the sunshine, getting dirty. Covered in sweat. My kind of fun.

Although the front garden bed looks disarrayed, it will fill out with growth in the next year. Everything except the irises are transplanted from our old house or have been purchased recently.

Black hollyhocks will bloom next year along with the roses, lavendula, peonies, yarrow, mint, purple irises, plus the foxglove, delphinium, larkspur & other flowers I grabbed seed for. I am filling the rest in with culinary herbs such as rosemary, oregano and thyme. I am contemplating that next spring I may plant a few pickling cucumber on a wide trellis, in front of the big window.

As for the edibles garden, it is bursting with life:

Can you spot the cucumbers in the one above?

Momma rabbit had 3 kits left. Her record for litter mortality rate was not pleasing. She has been sent to market.

I went to Mt. Hope's livestock auction where I picked up a New Zealand white doe and young buck. There were 2 NZW's in one cage which turned out both are bucks. I happened to also bid on the wrong buck before bidding on the other 2. I ended up with a chocolate rex instead of the white buck beneath him. Oh Well. The extra bucks will be going to freezer camp in the next few days.

We have added 2 new hens to the chicken run. Eggs do not seem to be a priority with my bunch. I have tried the begging. The bribing. The Yelling and threatening. They could care less. A few are still young yet. I'll give em a while to come to their senses.

I have pears to harvest before the rain, which are 40 ft or more above ground. The biggest and most beautiful are always out of reach. I have around 50 pears in the basement ripening. These bigger ones I have great plans for which will be shared here next month.

By the way, My camera situation has been fixed! Can not wait until the next destination! But I must not spoil the fun. You will just have to stay tuned for our upcoming new episode.

Sweet Dreams,

~Tammie

Cottage life

Time flew this week. It started with clearing out the old garden beds form the house front. It was overgrown with burdock being the most abundant. I am putting in a pink & black flower theme in the one front side bed. Black hollyhocks and pink multi petal Rugosa roses. I must find some more black flowers and add Pink Foxglove & larkspur. It was not on purpose, this garden has that theme. I wanted a proper "English cottage garden" appropriate flowers. I found a lovely woman on Craigslist who was selling Black hollyhock. She happened to also have the Pink Rugosa's. Once I thought about it and brought up the subject to The Captain, he got a good laugh that the color theme is matching to my Pink tiller and garden tools. So we decided to just go with it.

Then, as we were weeding between the sidewalk cracks, Panda discovered this along the cement curves:

As we investigated more, we found it is a brick border going most of the length of our cement pathway. Going from the driveway to the landing area just before the front steps:

This old cottage has so many secrets to tell. I feel as though it has been waiting for just the right person to listen. It reveals them slowly but makes one feel as though, they have found a great treasure.

I am bringing this beautiful cottage back to life. These old brick accents are being tended to by my own hands. Being given their due. Sneak peek of their makeover:

Giving it the love it deserves and in return it has given me such great happiness. Everyday I wake up to the sounds of birds singing just outside my bedroom window. The chorus of crickets and frogs keeping the melody as the sun rises. I wake with a smile forming on my face before my eyes are even open.

The Apple trees are so abundant and looking to burst their limbs from such weight:

Thankfully the Apple press and "Chomper" will be finished before the next weekend. I found a fantastic "apple picker" from the Hartville Hardware store. It only set me back $25. The handle is a metal/durable plastic pole which expands to 12 ft long. Well made and looks to last many decades. Hopefully I can get Chris over here with his "climbing gear" to pick these pears. I found online that you must pick pears BEFORE they ripen. You let them ripen in a cool room which can take almost a week or so. This prevent that horrible gritty texture and prevents them from ripening on the inside quicker then the outside. That press will be working it's arse off this month.

The children have been enjoying these weeping cherry trees along the driveway. They make such cool "hangouts". We placed the outdoor living room furniture in the side yard next to one of the weeping trees. They give such an amazing feel to this place.

I truly am in paradise. I never want to leave this place. Every want. Every desire. Every wish of a home. I have found it here. Not a day goes by I am not thankful for what we have received. Going through the past has produced the present. I would not go back and change a thing since all of it has led us to the path of our beloved cottage farm. To the love & happiness as a family. The renewed love & bond as Husband & Wife.

Now I best get more Blackberries picked. Already we have harvested around 40 pounds. Made into jam, wine & frozen whole. Between the garden harvest of pickling cucumbers, yellow wax beans, Okra & the few tomatoes, the water bath canner has yet to be off the stove. I must have 15 jars of Blackberry jam put up for lil Miss Frog. Not to mention the many I will need for the holiday baskets. Thankfully it looks to be at least 1 1/2 more weeks of blackberry heaven from our "backyard" canes.

Sweet dreams,

~Tammie