Nothing beats fresh pumpkin pie at dinner in January. How about a fresh baked acorn squash in February?
Storing winter squash is easy. Most store well right into March. However, the process begins in the fall. (more…)

It’s Just Another New Year’s Eve

Laundry done and hung to dry,
I’m tired now, I don’t know why.

Lunch is through, dinner is coming,
Today has been kind of numbing.

Looking past throughout the year,
See what’s ahead it is so near.

Another New Year’s Eve is close,
We’ll have some cider for a toast.

It’s just another day you see,
A farmers life it is for me.

Another year has come and went,
How were your days mostly spent?

Ours was filled with work and fun,
Farming in the golden sun.

Fixing this and fixing that,
Racing time just like a rat.

Next year is now tomorrow,
Let’s hope for little sorrow

You too can have fresh carrots all winter if you do a little planning in the fal. If you store them correctly in the ground they should last all winter.

As the first frost is upon you, mulch dirt and leaves up and around the carrots. You should use at least 12 inches. As the tops die off, the carrots will stay fresh under the layers of mulch. When picked, these carrots will be sweet and delicous.

Now, in order to pick them, you have to have a thaw…or a good pick ax. They freeze in there pretty hard. Much to our dismay we found this out the hard way when we went to dig some up in mid-December. We did however have a thaw right before Christmas, so we had fresh carrots on the table that year.

You can if you wish store them in a root cellar. If you are storing them your root cellar be sure to layer them between sand. A bucket works well, and keeps any lurking critters out. Mice and moles love to nibble.
Be sure to check on them periodically for mold or decay.
Stored properly, you should have carrots throughout the winter months.

It is snowing outside again. We have gotten about 8 inches in this storm so far. If I calculate the snowfall correctly, we have gotten over 40 inches. That is half of what we usually get all winter in one month.
Figuring that we will be inside hunkering down today, I think I should do some laundry. I prefer to do it on a sunny day so I can hang them out, but I am not sure we are going to see much sun for the next few days. The last time I waited for a sunny day, the laundry got a bit backed up and we were surrounded by clothes racks. (more…)

One of our local historic houses went up in flames last night. The barn and the ell are completely gone. We went by today to check it out because we had heard all sorts of rumors of what really happened. The owners are lucky that the rumors weren’t all true. We were told last night the house and barn were fully engulfed, so we anticipated the house being gone too. From what we hear the flames were unbelievable.
It seems that the house was spared for the most part. Maybe some smoke or water damage, but it looks like they might be able to still live there.
It is sad event. It is always sad to see a piece of history gone. You could see the old timbers of the barn and ell just burnt to a charcoal state. Old beams that have probably been there over a hundred years gone in just a short time.
The foolish people who were renting the house were having back draft problems with the wood stove. Instead of knowing this was wrong, and calling in the professionals they vented into the barn. Well, the barn is gone now. And so is most of the ell. Stupid people shouldn’t have wood stoves.

5:30-6 a.m.- Wake up and get the dogs outside.
6-7 a.m. - Get the wood stove going, make the coffee (no Mr. Coffee here). We use an old percolator coffee pot circa 1940’s. We then feed the dogs and get them settled. After they have eaten we eat. Oatmeal, eggs and toast, or maybe some pumpkin bread would be on the menu.
7-8 a.m. - We relax. We do watch the new at this time but only for a short time. We can’t take it for longer than 1/2 hour or so. Too much input. No one needs that much input. And is the news really news anymore or just a side show for freaks. Who cares if Brittney Spears cut her hair off?
We plan on what we are doing for the day, or we may talk about what project gets done next in the house. That usually takes the longest since we have so many plans to accomplish.
We get the dishes done, the house cleaned up, and then it is off to work. (more…)

Could you live without your microwave? How about your washer, dryer or dishwasher? Could you live without your hairdryer? Is a t.v. in every room normal for your house? If you had to flick a match to a candle instead of flicking a light switch, do you think you could survive? (more…)

Under all that snow out there lay a garden in waiting. As I look out at Harvey the old scarecrow, I wonder what magic is taking place out there deep in the earth. As the earth sleeps for winter, the soil is preparing itself for another year of planting. The soil replenishes itself with the help from the composting we do all summer and then add to the garden in the fall. Even throughout the winter, we add compost on top of the snow. As it melts in the spring, it will be turned back into the soil for nutrients.
It looks so cold and desolate out there now, except for Harvey. He holds down the fort, and keeps watch over our carrots. The next thaw we have, we will again have fresh carrots. The ones we dug up for Christmas were the best carrots I have ever tasted. They were sweet, tender and juicy. We picked enough for a couple weeks, and should store well in the root cellar. I will make soup, juice, and of course serve at meals.
We are working on a couple websites that should be up and running soon. One of them will actually capture us “going back in time” with the backdating of our house.

It snowed again last night. I am glad we didn’t get too much, as we have another storm on the way tomorrow.
I have been taking some time off to just putter around, and it feels good. The in-laws have been visiting, so it has been nice not to be too busy. It makes for a much more relaxed visit. Yesterday we went to Strawbery Banke, and we had a great time. The liked it so much, they became members. Now, when we go again in the spring, they will be free too. It is so nice there in the spring, summer and autumn seasons. We had never been during the Christmas season, and it was beautifully decorated for the holidays. (more…)

While Jimmy Stewart is on t.v. having a wonderful life, we are sitting here on a quiet Christmas Eve watching Cary Grant in The Bishop’s Wife. It is a wonderful, but much less known Christmas time movie. We have already done the ritual of It’s A Wonderful Life, and all the Rank and Bass Christmas specials from long, long ago. We will start tomorrow with the tradition of Ralphie and The Christmas Story. (more…)