New peeps

Our first intentional farming "enterprise" arrived today- we have orders for several free-range organic roasting chickens. 25 day-old cornish roasters arrived at the Viola post office today and will live out the next 12 weeks or so in these cozy digs. Our 6 hens, Cheryl, Cathy, Barb, Nancy, Bonnie, and Carroll (named after aunties) and two roosters Napoleon and Rutherford Domingo were surprised to encounter the new peeps when they came in from the yard to roost.

That little quail-y looking one in the foreground is an extra "rare breed chick" the hatchery included with our order- hopefully another hen to round out our egg situation. It has spraddle leg, and can't get around, although is bright-eyed and eating and drinking just fine.
Our attempt at fowl physical therapy: affixing a splint made out of tiny band-aids. We'll see how that goes.

Tonk!

TONK! *trrrrrrrrrr*
This evening, for the first time since late last summer, I heard an acorn hit the metal roof and roll off.
Fall is coming... there are pumpkins orange-ing up near the compost pile, even!

Other signs of late summer around here:

Oven-drying oodles of garden tomatoes.

Beeswax.

Wild (blurry) plums!

7 new ducklings, hopefully breeders: 1 cayuga, 2 black swedish, 4 welsh harlequin.

Preserving the Harvest

Last year, I took a 3-day class in Richland Center and became a (capitalized for importance)CERTIFIED MASTER FOOD PRESERVER in Wisconsin. The class got me excited about sauerkraut and sun-dried tomatoes and made me extremely nervous about pressure canning. But tonight! Tonight, I conquered my fears, with Jake's help, and together we made 13 quarts of crushed tomatoes, in just 6 and half hours!

I had thought that a pressure canner would be more efficient, but its not. It still takes a boatload of time to skin, core, quarter, cook/crush, jar, and process. Maybe next time will be faster now that we know what we're doing. Probably not.
HOWEVER: chili made with our OWN tomatoes and our OWN beans will taste great this winter! This was our first experiment with growing dried beans, and we harvested two pounds or so of Tigers Eye beans, but next year we'll plant at least twice as many... a great source of backyard protein.

Telling the Bees

"It was believed that bees would thrive only in harmonious families, and they were supposed to be included in family happenings. They were considered to be models of domestic peace and harmony and were also highly industrious workers, attributes to which most households aspired. "Telling the Bees" was vitally important, whether it was good or bad news or simply everyday happenings."

Coincidentally, or not, this tradition has made itself known to me twice in the past week. Once, at a lovely little cafe in Juneau, AK, called Paradise Lunch, and the other via urban farm legend and new idol Novella Carpenter's book Farm City.
I love this notion. Essentially, its what I've been doing with this blog... whispering it here, instead of clandestinely, to the hive.
Ergo, the change in the blog's title.

So, bees, here's the haps, illustrated:

I had an AMAZING trip with some delightful women I am blessed to call my friends.

AND, Jake and I have an absolutely beautiful new neice, Amayah Ann! I am a woman rich in neices, and so thankful for it.