Refresh

An afternoon summer storm hit today.  After days on days of nothing but pure sunshine and hot, humid temps, the rain was much needed.  Our gardens and lawn needed the drink.  As i was on my way home from feeding the pigs, trying to beat the storm, it hit.  The wind pushed against the truck, the trees blew around me, the road was there by memory alone.  It sure did get my heart racing.  

It sure did make me feel alive.  

Once home safe and inside the comfort of my home, i laughed!  I laughed at how scared i was of a bit of lighting and wind.  I laughed at how vibrant i felt.  I dropped my things, grabbed some water and dinner and snuggled up with my pup on the couch.  Hubs has been working nights recently, so naturally my guard is up more than usual.  Its funny how one person can help you feel so grounded.   When hubs is here, my worries vanish. 

Yet when the lighting, wind and rain crashed against the windows, i felt a sense of calm embrace me.  I felt so, so safe.  This home we built, its solid and filled with love.  I felt that deep peace within me, reading my book and eating my dinner.

The storm was typical of most summer storms.  It came and went within the hour.  It was so needed and i am grateful indeed.  I had time today to relax completely and our land drank it right up.

There is a beautiful calm after the storm.  A beautiful light.  Warm air that smells so refreshing.  Today is the first day that i have really been so grateful for a storm.  The first day that i saw all of the beauties of these weather patterns.  I thought about our children in the future and how if it was just mama and the kids home, i would put on a full out dance party and let them know that the summer storms are something to live too, not be afraid of.  If daddy is home, they might sit on the front porch and watch the storm coming in with their father's calm and wise words to comfort them.  

Embrace Life & Refresh your Views.

Raspberries & Garlic

Not in the same recipe, but all in the same week.  Two recipes, put up for the year ahead.  Berry Jam & Garlic Scape Pesto.  It felt so good to get back into the canning groove.  To dust off the water bath, to sterilize the equipment, to put on some James Taylor and happily work in my kitchen.  

This is my second year canning, and getting back to it felt refreshing.  Summer is truly here.

I wanted to do the usual batch of strawberry jam, but that didn't happen.  The big juicy red fruit came and went within two weeks.  I totally missed it, and i was so bummed.  Looking back now, I'm glad it happened, because it forced me to try a different jam.  I didn't pick quite enough berries for the jam, so i improvised with some blueberries off of our own bushes, and that did the trick. 

Raspberry Jam:  1 quart & 3 pints of fresh raspberries, along with 1/2 a pint of blueberries.
Yield: 8 jelly jars along with 1 small jelly jar i found in my stash.

Garlic Scape Pesto:  30 garlic scapes, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, dash of pepper, some toasted pine nuts and some olive oil.

Yield: 2 jelly jars & 1 pint.

I had never tried this before, but boy, do i love a new recipe!  Suroweic's farm had garlic scapes so i tried it out.  Next year i will try adding a bit of basil in, as i didn't realize how intense the garlic would be.  The great part about this?  We can use it in place of minced garlic.  Yes!  Yet another item i can take off our grocery list :) 

Happy Monday Friends

A lame Pig

Well i certainly had one of my first animal farming scare.  Our pig now weighs about 120 pounds, he is growing like crazy.  On Monday of last week, we noticed that he couldn't get up very well, and when he did, he just laid back down.  It seemed that his back legs were hurting him.  Jason called the vet, the vet said it could be that he over-heated and we should take his temperature.  The vet said that if it was over 103, then he is pretty sick.  I, never raising farm animals before, had a hard time not getting too worried about him.  Jason stayed calm and clear, saying we would take his temp, and if it was high, we would just have to kill him now and get about 50 pounds of meat.  We wouldn't want to give him antibiotics or pay an astronomical amount for a farm vet to come out here.  We want to raise a pig that produces healthy meat for us, clear of hormones and antibiotics.

So, i came to grips with it.  If i am going to be a farmer, life and death are very real and expose themselves more often than i have ever been used to.  I put on a brave face, with the comfort of knowing that hubs would know if we needed to put him to rest now.

Jason did the dirty work, taking their temps.  You have to do a rectal exam to get their temperature.  But i'll tell you, that man of mine, his a keeper.  He made jokes and kept the mood light while i sat back and worried.  After taking both of their temps, our pig was only 102 which i guess is normal.  So that was a relief that he wasn't sick on the inside.  We determined that he must have just pulled a muscle in his back leg, and he would come out of it in a few days.  He could get himself around the pen still, so he could have plenty of water and food.

In just two days he was much better.  He was running all over the place and back to his normal, crazy self.  It was such a relief, but also a good lesson for me.  These animals are here to feed our family, they are not our pets, and there lies a big difference.  I'm glad that i had this little glimpse of reality before the fall comes.  I also know that each year we do this, it will become normal and easier for me.  My hope is that when we have kids, it will be part of their raising, and they will also think of it as normal.  They will know where our food comes from and that it lived a very happy life while it was here with us.

This Summer's Start

Summer has always been my second favorite season (First being autumn, of course).  Summer holds some of my fondest memories of my childhood.  Summer's filled with trips to the lake, camping, hiking and just simply playing outside all day long.  I now long for a summer off, yet that is not in my horizon at this time.  I do have some things brewing that would make this possible in the future.  But for now, for this time and this summer, i will enjoy it in the mornings, evenings and weekends.

This summer started early in New England.  With temp's reaching 100 degrees last weekend, we took it in.  We took the canoe out on Hermit lake.  We began eating every meal outside.

I make homemade buttermilk biscuits with fresh strawberries and whipped cream for the hub's birthday.

Along with homemade french fries & grilled pineapple with a maple glaze.

We have picked the first of the harvest, radishes.

My herb barrels are growing ~ growing ~ growing.  Basil & Cilantro pictured above.

We spend all waking hours watching and hovering over our garden.  Oh how i love watching our garden grow.  While hubs hopes and tries to will the corn to get "knee high by the forth of July."  As my father says.

We beat the heat on the first 97 degree day with a cold veggie salad with our own radishes and basil included, similar to Soule Mama's.   Annie's mac & cheese and turkey dogs topped off the dinner.

Cold Veggie Summer Salad

Corn, fully cooked

Fresh Basil, cut/shred into small pieces

Cucumber

Tomato

Radish

Olive Oil

red wine vinegar

lemon juice

Cooked Orzo

~Mix all together.  Amounts of each ingredient to taste~

This weekend also included my first visit to Surowiec Farm for the season.  What a totally wonderful feeling. I love shopping at the farm for as much as i can.  This weekend i picked up some sugar snap peas, zucchini and fresh delicious strawberries.

We have sold so much maple syrup this week, that we spent Sunday morning bottling more.  I just Love syrup sales.  It feels that we are really making an honest dollar on what we truly love.  This lead to discussions and dreams of a farm stand for all the veggies from the garden that we won't be able to eat or preserve.  It lead to the hope of the day we can really live completely off our land.  

Dreams are a wonderful thing.  

Especially when you have the same ones as your partner.  It just makes you feel whole and happy.  

It makes me feel that our life is going in the direction we desire.

We puttered around, and it was wonderful.  Nothing on the schedule, just doing what we felt was right.

We had friends over for a Mexican dinner, then went out for ice cream, followed by fireworks in town.  Our first use of our beach blanket of the year, taking in the summer night, full of bright skies.

I have spent evenings on the front porch, on clear, warm nights.  Jason woke me up, just to show me the fireflies across the way.  Wow, they are marvelous and so, so alive.  There are thousands just lighting up my view.

I made fresh blueberry lemonade from Ashley English in my latest edition of Taproot!. (Simply amazing!)  That magazine totally rocks.  Anyone that doesn't have the subscription, is missing out.  I can't wait for the next edition already.

Refreshing 

I spent last Sunday afternoon, with my feet in the brook, reading Animal-Vegetable-Miracle. Then i ventured to the blanket on the lawn that was calling my name.  I napped there with my pup.  A wonderful way to put a close to the weekend.

Hubs helped his grandfather out, mowing the fields.  He didn't mind, he didn't mind one bit.  My man loves tractors.  Especially this Farmall.  This Farmall that is started with a crank in the front.  Its a total classic and so beautiful.

Summer has begun.

And we are taking it all in.

Every morning garden walk and every evening firefly show.

Bloom

Throughout a person's life, they meet many people.  People smiling behind a service counter, teachers, fellow workers, hikers, campers and the list goes on.

Some people have an profound influence, an effect on me.  Some people look at me, listen to my thoughts and value my opinions.

My husband is one of those people. I met him fresh out of college, ready to take on the construction world.  I met him exactly when i was ready.

I have seen myself do a three-sixty since being in his presence.  I'm now excited to show my suppressed interests and inspirations.  I no longer worry about how i will fit in, or who i am supposed to be in this one beautiful life.  I just be myself, one hundred percent.  I am now doing and feeling the things i was interested in as a child, a time when i was my true self.

He has let me find myself and feel strong & beautiful in whatever i do.  He tells me every single day how much he loves that i am his wife.

He is my happy, and i am totally his.

Today is his very, very special birthday.  Happy birthday to my life-long companion.

Thank you huni, for letting, and encouraging me, to bloom.

"Take, for joy's sake, from these hands of mine a little honey and a little sunlight."

                     

                                                                                                             - Osip Mandelstam

(All photos above taken in mid-may 2012 at Bean Hill Farm & Home.)

Meet our Pigs!

Three weeks ago these beaut's arrived.

Born in Pennsylvania, landing in New England.

There were twelve to choose from, Kate chose the pink sow.  I chose the only spotted hog.

They are funny and make us laugh, a lot.   Watching hubs run after them and play with them cracks me up.  We are learning a lot with our first pig venture together.  They have a great home here at the farm, amble space to roam, warm hay to keep them snug at night, and treats a few times a week.  They love strawberries & watermelon.  They love to have their backs scratched.  The male loves to rough-house, the female loves to get snuggled.

At first, i couldn't imagine these guys ever leaving us.  But i know that is inevitable.  We bought them to feed our family home-grown food.  This is my first experience, and i'm feeling more & more comfortable with it everyday.  I decided to stop taking my camera out to their pen, to treat them more like farm animals, and less like pets.  I'm sure there will be a few more pictures to share in the fall, but for now that method is helping me be detached.  I know the day they leave us might be hard, but i will be so grateful for this homegrown pork all year long.  Pork that lived a very happy life, antibiotic free and totally nourishing for us.

I'm soaking up every minute with them, making sure they are comfortable, happy and never hungry.

We are getting many laughs & feeling so, so grateful that they are here with us.

Welcome.