Here in our little community, the County Fair is a pretty big event. There's a lot of good food, rides, pageants, livestock shows, and competitions. I have entered the Fair in three years, 2006, 2007 and 2009, and am proud to say I received ribbons for every year. Apart from enjoying all the cooking and baking, it's fun to see how you measure up to other cooks and bakers.
The photo here shows some blue ribbon baking: a decorated cake, a loaf of white bread, and a Chocolate Dream Pie. It sounds like bragging, but I am proud that I make things that other people appreciate. I also plan to use my blue ribbons as a marketing tool for selling my farm produce. My Hot Kosher Dill Pickles won first place, so I will put a little ribbon on my label so everyone knows they're eating the best dill pickles in the county. Here's what I put in the 2009 County Fair:
Baking Division:
White Loaf Bread: Italian Feather Whey Bread *1st place
Sweet Rolls: Cinnamon Rolls with Orange Glaze * 1st place
Chocolate Chip Cookies: Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies * 1st place
Peanut Butter Cookies: Jif Peanut Butter Cookies
Other Cookies: Soft Ginger Cookies * 1st place
Plain Sugar Cookies: Almond Sugar Snaps
Decorated Cake: Violet Damask Dalia * 1st place
Fruit Pie: Gooseberry Pie * 2nd place
Other Pie: Chocolate Dream Pie * 1st place
Canning Division:
Dill Pickles: Hot Kosher Dill Pickles * 1st place
Corn Relish: Sweetcorn Relish * 1st place
Other Relish: Yellow Squash Relish * 1st place
Corn Cob Jelly: Corn Cob Jelly * 1st place
Other Jelly: Sweet Hot Pepper Jelly
Other Canned Good: Elderberry Syrup * 1st place
Crafts and Photography:
Craft Item from Recycled Materials: Knitting Needle Holder from Pringles Cans * 1st place
Tole Painted Object: Purple Spotted Kitchen Cannisters * 3rd place
Handmade Jewelery: Celtic Knotwork Necklace with Heart Pendant * 1st place
Patriotic Item: Flag Brooch
Other Craft Item: Millefiore Heart Brooch
Black and White Photo: Cimetiere Pere Lachaise, Paris 2002 * 3rd place
Landscape Photo: Ben Lomond, 2001
Vacation Photo: Mojacar Playa, Spain 2005
Collage or Theme: Photos from the Cambridge American Cemetery * 1st place
Friday, June 26, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
New Farm Toys
Charles is excited like a little boy at Christmas ("he's been! he's been!"). His new tractor-driven post driver is fully operational. It's very heavy duty, basically a steel beam with a hydraulic ram. On a full drive it will exert 71,500 pounds of pressure on the end of an 8-inch diameter post. Don't get any body part in the way! The warning contains words like "crush" and "amputation". Once the tractor is exactly in the right place, the driver is adjusted until it is level and plumb. A fence post is loaded - no need to sharpen the end - and held in place with a spring. Then the operator stands to one side and moves a little lever, about six inches long, back and forth, which raises and lowers the ram. Five minutes later the post is firmly in the ground.
It's at the limit of our old tractor's capabilities, but in 75 minutes, he put in 6 posts, including manuvering between post locations. That would take almost two days the old way of auger out the hole, finish by hand with a post hole digger, and tamp the post in by hand. One morning, he and I put in 21 posts in about 4 hours, and that included having to deal with a fountain of hydraulic fluid when the return hose worked itself loose from the hydraulic tank. Messy!
The Campsite Field is now divided into four, with another fence to go, giving us a total of 5 paddocks. Each paddock will have access to an automatic waterer and a shelter corral, but these won't be finished until spring. I'll put pictures of our completed fence up then, for now, just gaze upon the glory of our post driver!
It's at the limit of our old tractor's capabilities, but in 75 minutes, he put in 6 posts, including manuvering between post locations. That would take almost two days the old way of auger out the hole, finish by hand with a post hole digger, and tamp the post in by hand. One morning, he and I put in 21 posts in about 4 hours, and that included having to deal with a fountain of hydraulic fluid when the return hose worked itself loose from the hydraulic tank. Messy!
The Campsite Field is now divided into four, with another fence to go, giving us a total of 5 paddocks. Each paddock will have access to an automatic waterer and a shelter corral, but these won't be finished until spring. I'll put pictures of our completed fence up then, for now, just gaze upon the glory of our post driver!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Baby Goat named: JoJo Bucket
The new baby has been named JoJo Bucket. He is named after his uncle/half-brother Cotton Ear Joe, whom we called JoJo. He got the Bucket from his immediate love of the feed bucket. I gave him a nice manger area, but he far prefered dumping over the bucket and laying in it. He is the boldest baby we have ever raised. He doesn't care where mom Sarah is, he wants to be with the people because they have the fingers required to scratch his ears. Sometimes is drives Sarah crazy.
One day Sarah was bleating outside the barn, and I couldn't find JoJo Bucket anywhere. I checked all over the barn, and even got Charles out of bed early to help find him. I looked between the hay stack and the barn wall, in all the outdoor shelters, in the old barn. Charles rechecked the stalls in the barn, the wood stack, the side of the barn that we use to store big stuff - then he just turned around and there was JoJo Bucket stood in the middle of the barn, like he'd been there all along. I found his hiding place a couple of days later: he was under a little trailer in the barn, so low that he has to crawl under it.
The goat that we processed this spring (JoJo) is turning out to be a real treat. Every way we have eaten goat meat has been delicious - burgers, meatballs, roast and sausages. Some people might not like to read this but JoJo Bucket will share the same destiny. Because he was sired by his own grandfather - which is not the end of the world, but also not the best situation - we don't want to sell him for breeding. He will supply meat for our family, which is, I think, the most noble thing an animal can do.
One day Sarah was bleating outside the barn, and I couldn't find JoJo Bucket anywhere. I checked all over the barn, and even got Charles out of bed early to help find him. I looked between the hay stack and the barn wall, in all the outdoor shelters, in the old barn. Charles rechecked the stalls in the barn, the wood stack, the side of the barn that we use to store big stuff - then he just turned around and there was JoJo Bucket stood in the middle of the barn, like he'd been there all along. I found his hiding place a couple of days later: he was under a little trailer in the barn, so low that he has to crawl under it.
The goat that we processed this spring (JoJo) is turning out to be a real treat. Every way we have eaten goat meat has been delicious - burgers, meatballs, roast and sausages. Some people might not like to read this but JoJo Bucket will share the same destiny. Because he was sired by his own grandfather - which is not the end of the world, but also not the best situation - we don't want to sell him for breeding. He will supply meat for our family, which is, I think, the most noble thing an animal can do.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Family wedding and a new baby
The past week has been crazy, with putting in the (late) vegetable garden, building the house, receiving our new post driver in kit form, a family wedding, and a new baby this morning!
Charles and I traveled to Columbia, Missouri, to attend the wedding of my cousin, Donald Potter, to Christen Kent. Donald is the son of my father's oldest sister, Sallie. Sallie and her husband, David, are the other farmers in the family, but they farm big-style corn and beans. Their daughter Ruth and her husband John are also farming with them.
Donald owns parts of two piano bars, one in Columbia and the other in Lexington. Christen is a first grade teacher. They depart on their honeymoon in a couple of weeks, going to Italy - Venice, Florence and Rome.
I fretted all weekend that my pregnant goat Sarah would have her baby this weekend while the whole family was away from the farm. But she's a good goat, and when I got up this morning, there she was in the barn with a new baby boy. Mother and son are doing well, both eating and walking around. I'll work on finding him a name today. I already had a name picked out for a female, so I'll have to look around for a male name.
The house is still progressing, with added floor. I can now walk all the way from the front of the house to the back of the house. Charles will only work on the house for another day or two, and then we have to switch to fencing. We have to put in a couple thousand feet of fence by the end of the month, plus the males need a new paddock this weekend. And my tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings are still in trays in the garage, so that will occupy my evenings this week.
Charles and I traveled to Columbia, Missouri, to attend the wedding of my cousin, Donald Potter, to Christen Kent. Donald is the son of my father's oldest sister, Sallie. Sallie and her husband, David, are the other farmers in the family, but they farm big-style corn and beans. Their daughter Ruth and her husband John are also farming with them.
Donald owns parts of two piano bars, one in Columbia and the other in Lexington. Christen is a first grade teacher. They depart on their honeymoon in a couple of weeks, going to Italy - Venice, Florence and Rome.
I fretted all weekend that my pregnant goat Sarah would have her baby this weekend while the whole family was away from the farm. But she's a good goat, and when I got up this morning, there she was in the barn with a new baby boy. Mother and son are doing well, both eating and walking around. I'll work on finding him a name today. I already had a name picked out for a female, so I'll have to look around for a male name.
The house is still progressing, with added floor. I can now walk all the way from the front of the house to the back of the house. Charles will only work on the house for another day or two, and then we have to switch to fencing. We have to put in a couple thousand feet of fence by the end of the month, plus the males need a new paddock this weekend. And my tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings are still in trays in the garage, so that will occupy my evenings this week.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Update on House Build
The first three rooms are complete - the posts, beams and floor joists. Charles has to come in to town to get more lumber in order to continue, but next is the beams that will support the upper floor over these three rooms and the exterior walls. The upper floor beams will greatly stabilize the structure, so we can remove the diagonal bracing you can see in all the pictures after the wall structures are in place.
(The picture are down the side there, I've put them in order from top to bottom for now, but the next photos will just be added on top.)
We're working together pretty well, as a team. We put posts and beams in place in the late afternoon when I come home from work. Then Charles puts the floor joists in place during the day. My Uncle Paul comes down to help lift the posts in to place, because it needs three of us, especially for the 16-foot tall posts.
If we didn't have to do anything else, the main structure of the house would probably be complete in a month, but it just doesn't work that way. Our males need new pasture, the female goats are next, then the female sheep and donkeys (together). Plus I'm still putting in the vegetable garden - I need to get that finished this weekend.
Next week we're expecting delivery of a mechanical post driver that goes on the back of the tractor. Charles is almost as excited as one of our friends, Scott Uzzle, who is looking forward to borrowing it. We have a couple thousand feet of permanent cross fencing to put up in the month of June in order to complete a state cost-share contract. And we received a small amount of funding to deal with damage to our fences from the ice storm in January, and we have about 30 days to use that money up, as well.
(The picture are down the side there, I've put them in order from top to bottom for now, but the next photos will just be added on top.)
We're working together pretty well, as a team. We put posts and beams in place in the late afternoon when I come home from work. Then Charles puts the floor joists in place during the day. My Uncle Paul comes down to help lift the posts in to place, because it needs three of us, especially for the 16-foot tall posts.
If we didn't have to do anything else, the main structure of the house would probably be complete in a month, but it just doesn't work that way. Our males need new pasture, the female goats are next, then the female sheep and donkeys (together). Plus I'm still putting in the vegetable garden - I need to get that finished this weekend.
Next week we're expecting delivery of a mechanical post driver that goes on the back of the tractor. Charles is almost as excited as one of our friends, Scott Uzzle, who is looking forward to borrowing it. We have a couple thousand feet of permanent cross fencing to put up in the month of June in order to complete a state cost-share contract. And we received a small amount of funding to deal with damage to our fences from the ice storm in January, and we have about 30 days to use that money up, as well.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
One corner is up - and it's almost as big as a house!
Finally we have what so many people have been waiting for so long to see - we have lumber standing on our house site!!! When the first post went into place, I nearly cried with relief. Four posts went up yesterday, as well as the floor beams that connect them at the base and braces to hold everything exactly where we want it. Charles is putting in the floor joists and sub-floor in place for that one section today, and if that goes smoothly, he'll get started fabricating two exterior wall sections to put into place when I get home. And weather permitting, we'll put up a couple more posts this evening. It's nice to finally have progress.
The weather was horrible over the weekend - what else can you expect from a federal holiday. I took Friday off to haul in hay, which we finished before the rain came in Friday night. We still have more to cut and haul, which we hope to do this weekend, into next week. However the weather man is predicting unsettled weather early next week, so maybe not.
The garden was tilled on Sunday morning - sure do love that big tiller on the tractor. Then it rained all afternoon on Sunday. I planted seeds out into the wet garden, hoping it's warm enough to dry out and not let the seeds rot in place. I'll start putting out seedlings this week, too. I don't feel too bad about being behind with my garden, we still have some farmers out planting corn for the first time - nearly a month late.
We filled the rest of the rainy weekend with a project I've been ready to do for about 2 years - paint the bathroom. This is the upstairs bathroom in my dad's house, and it was never really intended for continuous use. We scrubbed the walls and ceiling, repaired damaged dry wall, and painted with mildew-proof paint. Much nicer - bring on the hot showers!
The weather was horrible over the weekend - what else can you expect from a federal holiday. I took Friday off to haul in hay, which we finished before the rain came in Friday night. We still have more to cut and haul, which we hope to do this weekend, into next week. However the weather man is predicting unsettled weather early next week, so maybe not.
The garden was tilled on Sunday morning - sure do love that big tiller on the tractor. Then it rained all afternoon on Sunday. I planted seeds out into the wet garden, hoping it's warm enough to dry out and not let the seeds rot in place. I'll start putting out seedlings this week, too. I don't feel too bad about being behind with my garden, we still have some farmers out planting corn for the first time - nearly a month late.
We filled the rest of the rainy weekend with a project I've been ready to do for about 2 years - paint the bathroom. This is the upstairs bathroom in my dad's house, and it was never really intended for continuous use. We scrubbed the walls and ceiling, repaired damaged dry wall, and painted with mildew-proof paint. Much nicer - bring on the hot showers!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
It's been a busy week, folks. Charles and I went to Tennessee last weekend to visit my mother and celebrate her graduation from Austin Peay State Univerisity with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Professional Studies (basically management with a liberal arts twist). She's been working very hard for the last two years to complete her degree, and was very glad to be finished. So we met a couple of their friends, Brian and Patty, and went to see Elton John and Billy Joel in concert. Talk about a show! Both were terrific pianists and showmen, but for me, Billy Joel stole the show. When he sang "I Love You Just the Way You Are" I almost cried!
On the farm, the weather finally came good, and we were able to cut hay on Monday afternoon. It was raked yesterday, and will be raked again today to turn over the grass for better drying. Tomorrow afternoon, after all threat of rain is gone, we will start baling and hauling. This is just about the hardest single job on the farm. Not only do we have to wait until just the right weather, we have to be rush to make sure it's all done before any more rain. Even a shower on the finished bales will help mould grow, making the hay almost useless.
On Monday, we took our first goat to be processed into meat. It was hard to do, but just like the vegetables we raise, we raise goats (and sheep) for their meat. He had a really good life with us - no fence could keep him in, he was completely free-range - and he will help to meet our goal of sustainability. We should get him back tomorrow.
Tuesday was our final Girl Scout meeting of the school year, so we had a big celebration dinner, prepared by everyone in the troop. Miss Anna and Katelyn made mozzarella cheese to go on the foccacia Molly made. Charles and Ashley made Salade Nicoise. Sarah made sangria punch, then worked with Molly to make calamari. Ashley made butterscotch Congo bars for dessert, and Kelsi potted up some impatiens for table decorations. On Saturday, Molly graduates from high school, but tonight she will be presented with three local scholarships for college and our troop is giving her a lifetime membership to Girl Scouts.
Tomorrow (Friday) is a busy day for us, so I'm taking off work to try to get as much as we can done. We have our first delivery of lumber for the house, a delivery of fencing materials and hay hauling. Then in our spare time - as if! - we'll start cutting ice storm debris off a section of boundary fence line that is due for replacement. I also want to get my vegetable garden planted and our bathroom painted this weekend. Sshhhew!
It'll take me four months to recover from this four day weekend!
On the farm, the weather finally came good, and we were able to cut hay on Monday afternoon. It was raked yesterday, and will be raked again today to turn over the grass for better drying. Tomorrow afternoon, after all threat of rain is gone, we will start baling and hauling. This is just about the hardest single job on the farm. Not only do we have to wait until just the right weather, we have to be rush to make sure it's all done before any more rain. Even a shower on the finished bales will help mould grow, making the hay almost useless.
On Monday, we took our first goat to be processed into meat. It was hard to do, but just like the vegetables we raise, we raise goats (and sheep) for their meat. He had a really good life with us - no fence could keep him in, he was completely free-range - and he will help to meet our goal of sustainability. We should get him back tomorrow.
Tuesday was our final Girl Scout meeting of the school year, so we had a big celebration dinner, prepared by everyone in the troop. Miss Anna and Katelyn made mozzarella cheese to go on the foccacia Molly made. Charles and Ashley made Salade Nicoise. Sarah made sangria punch, then worked with Molly to make calamari. Ashley made butterscotch Congo bars for dessert, and Kelsi potted up some impatiens for table decorations. On Saturday, Molly graduates from high school, but tonight she will be presented with three local scholarships for college and our troop is giving her a lifetime membership to Girl Scouts.
Tomorrow (Friday) is a busy day for us, so I'm taking off work to try to get as much as we can done. We have our first delivery of lumber for the house, a delivery of fencing materials and hay hauling. Then in our spare time - as if! - we'll start cutting ice storm debris off a section of boundary fence line that is due for replacement. I also want to get my vegetable garden planted and our bathroom painted this weekend. Sshhhew!
It'll take me four months to recover from this four day weekend!
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