So so much going on around here

There is so much going on around here that I dare anyone to keep up.  Each of these thing could really take up an entire post of it's own but honestly I just do not have the energy mental or physical to do that.  So this is as good as it is gonna get. 

Last night I was up late worrying about my enormously pregnant goat.  She was panting.  Something she has never done.  I was affraid of an infection so I, with the help from my friend, took her temp.  Ha I will spare you the details on that one!  It was within normal range so that put my mind at ease.  I guess I will chalk it up to being so big and pregnant which leaves less room for lungs.  It wouldn't surprise me if we had twins or triplets by weeks end.

Right now I am boiling down our maple sap.  We got about 4 gallons from one tree.  We tapped two.  I don't know why but one of the trees didn't give anything.  This was such a cool experience and tomorrow morning we will have waffles with homemade butter and homemade maple syrup.  I think that is pretty cool.  I am thankful for this life I get to live and enjoy.

Also today I had about 7 women and lots of kids come over to have a seed share.  It went great!  We shared some seeds, food, some tips, and other good conversation. 

The mud has officially taken over and has caused some problems but also lots of fun for the kids!  The weather though, is WONDERFUL!!  We are down to our last little pile of snow in the yard.

I also did the first planting of the year!!!!  Well outdoors.  I have already started seeds indoors but I am getting to utilize my cold frame and have planted; spinach, lettuce and swiss chard.  I was also wanting to plant sugar snap peas but I realized I bought a vining variety and I do not want to trelis them so I now need to go buy more seeds.

Tomorrow I host our monthly MOPS planning meeting.  Then off to pick up hay....why?  Because we are out again.  I love these animals but man, they eat alot!  Then a nap....hahaha...just seeing if you were paying attention.  There will be none of that.  Then we are having a local amish man come out to give us an estimate on fencing!

I have also had the joy of hosting my friend and her 2 kids this week.  It has been great to have them around to join in some of the fun around here!

Having a seed share today!

I am excited!  I think there should be a pretty good turnout.  I got the idea from another blog.  I will post the link to that blog when I post how it went.  I am just excited and wanted to share.  Have a great day!

Tapping for sap!

Ahhh this is a family experiment.  There are so many variables even when the pros do this that there is a good chance that we may all get about a tablespoon of syrup when it is all said and done :)  But that is not really the point of it all anyways the point is to experience life to the fullest and that is what we are trying to do!  I received my taps in the mail on Friday.  I called a local woman that I purchased syrup from last year and asked for some tips.  She was so sweet and helpful which is pretty common in the world of a farming community.  All you have to do is ask and they will sit you down and impart there years of wisdom at no charge. 

We explored all the options for how to collect the sap.  You can purchase special buckets or bags there are people that use milk jugs or coffee cans. After looking at them all we decided that we were going to try to put as little money into this as possible and came up with our own method.  So with two new 5 gallon buckets that we already had, some tubing and connectors we made or collecting system.  It is pretty cool if I do say so myself.  Well I can't really take design credit since Ryan really came up with the whole thing.  So here it is!

                                                       Assembling the collection system

Drilling for the tap.

Our little helper.

Look closely you can see it coming!!

Our tree which Elaina said looks like it is at the doctors.

Help from the peanut gallery!

Hurry up catch it Macy....here it comes!!!

Next step: Wait!  Then starts the boiling!

When your Mommy is your teacher.

When your Mommy is your teacher this may be the way you do your english lesson.

And this may be the way you do your math.

Making changes

Making changes has seemed to be my theme throughout 2009 and I plan to continue on the same path.  Most of my changes have revolved around slowing down our life, educating ourselves (in lots of areas), and what better than FOOD!  I have been on a journey to make sure my family enjoy the simple things in life and enjoy eating the good things in life.  Good as in wholesome, nonprocessed, natrual food.  You would probably be surprised aboout the kind of  things you are putting in your body with everyday items from the supermarket.  Not only are we eating  better but buying better.  Buying better as in buying local and knowing where our food comes from and what is put into it.

 Some of the changes I made over 2009 are;  I have started raising turkeys, growing a garden, canning and freezing ALOT from my garden, going to a local produce auction and purchasing the rest of the produce we ate and stored, making my own cheese and butter from raw milk, learning how to make my own bread, pasta, bagels, pitas, purchasing our eggs from a local farm/friend, researching GMO and organic qualifications, purchasing organic and heritage seeds for my garden this year. So I have made alot of good steps toward the ultimite goal which is feed my family better and support our local farmers.

Now one goal that I hope to move forward with this year are to raise more of our own meat and start buying more of our meat from a local organic grower.  As I was driving home from an appointment today I saw a sign for a meat/butcher so I decided to go check it out. It was a jackpot. Turns out he grows his own beef, buffalo, elk and pork.  All naturally with no hormones, antibiotics or preservatives. What a great find!  I bought hamburger, steaks, sausage and buffalo burger(well he threw that in for free so I could try it). His prices were GREAT too!  So all that to say I am making changes and some time changes can be hard other times they are just plain delicious!!

 Some other goals for this year are to store away more for the winter months, which in turn means a bigger garden, start milking our goats, plant fruit trees, not allow our land to be farmed using pestiside anymore(it is land we own and rent to farmers). These are the ones I have planned and I am sure that as the year goes by I will do what I can to add more to that list.

If you have any kind of desire to make any of these changes for you and your family alot of this may seem overwhelming but my best advice is even if it is something small it is a step in the right direction. Just take one step at a time and only take on what you can handle. Don’t get overwhelmed by trying to do it all “right now”. You will look back in a year with a list as long as mine or even longer!

 

Starting seeds

This will be my first year starting seeds of any kind for my garden.  I planted my broccoli yesterday and today I planted stevia(which I am so excited about BTW).  Soon to follow will be tomatos, artichokes, peppers and more! 

How exciting right? I mean it is just dirt.  But  if you are a gardener you can appreciate this.  Cause in a few short months this will be food on the table.

Have you ever eaten fresh homemade cheese curds?

If your answer to that question is "no" then you are truely missing out on one of lifes yummiest little treats!  These are garlic dill cheese curds.  Ha I dare you to try to just eat one.