Winters are always mercifully slow. But this is an exceptionally slow winter on the homestead. We didn’t plan very well for winter-time farming, and so right now we’re kind of dry. In fact, we’re buying most of our food from the store right now. Here’s what we have currently, food-wise, on the homestead: A hodge-podge…
The era of Bob Dylan and warm hands is over. We have woken to the real world. Or perhaps it’s not exactly the real world, but simply the world that we are used to – the pleasant dream of having a really snazzy tractor (that the farm couldn’t afford) is over. This has been our…
The dead days of winter are the seeds of the year. Small, cold, withered, and brown, they still hold the hopeful potential of spring. This time of year is a welcome break. Pretty much everything is dead or sleeping. But sometimes the long dark nights overwhelm me, or it doesn’t get quite cold enough to…
I think that my reading inclinations can be a little excessive. After all, uncontrollably reading Jane Eyre in under 24 hours can be a little hazardous to one’s health. You book-lovers out there know what I mean, right? You vaguely hope that no one will notice your imprudent weakness while uncomfortably wondering if perhaps you…
Sometimes people get a funny expression when they look in our freezer. Apparently a bag of chicken feet isn’t a common staple in most kitchens. But I think that part of ethical meat-eating is to use the whole animal. So if I kill one of our animals to sustain the family, I’m not going to…
Little Brook folks like lard. There, I said it. (Side note: anyone thinking about Tina the llama?) Llamas and social prejudice aside, isn’t there something cool about turning pork fat (that would otherwise be wasted) into a healthful, delicious cooking ingredient? And I won’t bore you with lard health facts: There are plenty of articles…
I’ve been dragging my feet over this post. It’s not that the market garden isn’t really interesting and exciting; I’ve never been this hyped for another gardening season. But I want to post about methods that work. Right now my garden is one big experiment. But here’s what I’m doing in the garden right now:…
I think life here is beautiful. And when I take pictures, I want it to reflect the way it makes me feel. So many times when I’m explaining about our farm or taking pictures here, I feel frustrated that I can’t capture the comforting rhythm, the changeful sunlight, the exquisite clarity of a newborn calf….
Burrowing into a book is my way of managing stress. I’m always reading a good book, and often juggling many. Well, it might not be juggling so much as braiding. I love holding the thread-like stories and thoughts of several books at once. I find blending them together in my mind, connecting the ideas to…
Our garden is sleeping. Thank goodness. I was so ready for the season to hurry up and die. Right now, we have a couple half-grown oxheart carrots… and a single frozen kale plant. Not too high-maintenance. However, I’m already prepping for next year. Seed catalogs are a really good way to get through winter. Request…