What HAVE we been doing?

Sunrise, sunset. Over and over again, yet always breathtaking. There have been many sunrises and sunsets since my last post. So what have we been doing since early May?
Here's a partial list:

1. Graduated a daughter, Olivia, from high school
2. Celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary
3. The resident midwife "helped out" 14 new babies
4. Welcomed 23 new Galloway calves
5. Seen the pastured poultry move into full production
6. Begun our weekly appearances at the farmer's market
7. Gardened
8. Weeded (and weeded and weeded!) above garden
9. Cut and baled hay
10. Had a little fun in between all of the above

We would like to spotlight Olivia in this blog. The above picture was shot during the Senior Awards night at Merrill High School on May 26th. As a former student of Maple Grove elementary school and because of her fine grade point average Olivia was awarded a Walter and Mabel Fromm scholarship. This generous 4 year scholarship will be a tremendous help as Olivia pursues a teaching degree. She's enrolled at UWMC in Wausau for the fall semester.

Ollie's graduation on June 4th saw a gathering of siblings for dinner before the ceremony. Pictured here: top row: Flynn, Olivia, Gabriel. middle row: Seth (holding his daughter, Sylvee), Hannah (holding nephew, Calder), Emmy. Bottom: Willa (holding niece, Piper)

And...the main event: Olivia entering the field house for the commencement ceremony. Still a little bittersweet for the parents to see another child officially step out of childhood. Olivia left with Emmy and her children and by the next day had landed in New Orleans with them for a working vacation: Zac worked. Em, Ollie and the grandkids vacationed. It was a rare trip out of state for Olivia and her first trip on an airplane. We did our best to keep up with the weeds in the garden until our master gardener returned.

Many of you are farmer's market aficionados. We love them, too. For us we are so appreciative of the venue they provide for us to market our farm's produce directly to the customer...no middle man. Since the first Saturday in June Craig has been at the market on River Drive in Wausau each weekend. Three of those weekends there have been fresh chicken offered.

And sold out! There is also frozen grass fed beef by the cut, honey, and our Middle Sister soaps. Recently, Olivia harvested garlic scapes and Craig has offered these at his table as well. In fact, he was inspired to make a basket from
"found" items at the farm in the shape of a goat: Oh yeah! he calls it his "scape goat." If you want to know what to do with garlic scapes try this:

GARLIC SCAPE PESTO
1/2# organic garlic scapes, top bulbs removed and cut into 1" pieces
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 cups grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
Place scapes and pine nuts in food processor and pulse till a thick past forms. Add the parmesan cheese and pulse. With processor running, drizzle in enough olive oil to achieve a moist spreading consistency.

Two Weekends in May

Always eagerly anticipated are visits from grown children and those precious grandchildren. The first weekend in May all three of our grandkids were here. While their visits always prompt photos, this time we gave the prize to Sylvee and Grandpapa. We caught them returning from a walk through the herd checking for new calves or cows in early labor. It was breezy outside so Grandpapa improvised a baby carrier with his sweatshirt to keep 3 month old Sylvee warm. Food is always a big part of our gatherings. We were able to include fresh asparagus and our favorite spring dessert, rhubarb mousse. Easy and elegant, here's the recipe:
2 cups diced young rhubarb, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 envelope unflavored gelatin,
1/4 cup cold water,2 tsp. lemon juice, 2/3 cup heavy cream whipped,
additional whipped cream, sweetened.
Place the rhubarb in a heavy kettle, cover and heat slowly till juice is rendered. Uncover, add sugar, and cook rapidly until tender. Soften gelatin in cold water, Beat into hot rhubarb, stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved. Add lemon juice and chill till mixture begins to thicken. Fold in whipped cream and chill till firm. Serve with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.
If you don't have rhubarb growing in your yard you can certainly obtain some at the Wausau Farmer's Market on River Drive which will open Saturday, May 15th!

The farmily scribe finished the annual newletter/order form and stuffed envelopes here seen ready to be mailed. This year we sent out 125 in our mailing. We celebrated the completion of this task by driving into Athens late on Sunday afternoon for a soft-serve ice cream cone and deposited our envelopes at the local post-office.

The next Thursday saw the arrival of the second batch of broiler chicks. This is what those cute yellow chicks have transformed into by week two: gangly teenagers! They've lost the baby fluff and are beginning to feather out. C'mon feathers! We help them transition to life on pasture by turning the heat on the brooder's warming light down gradually and then off. Nights are cool outside still, but there are other delights to be relished: bugs and grass!

Craig calls this the "maternity ward". Cows and calves taking a sunbath. Since Jonquil's birth there have been 7 other calves born. The calves really enjoy each other, racing around with their tails in the air playing tag.

Maybe we should have specified "rain" when we asked for more precipitation in our last post. This was the scene in the barnyard on Saturday morning, May 8th. Looks like something from our February post, doesn't it? But as our daughter, Camille, commented: "it's wet!" So it is and we'll take it. The newsletter from Central Wisconsin Graziers advised having a "drought plan" to deal with the major league ten year drought we are experiencing. So far this spring we've yet to reach the one inch mark in the rain gauge.





The "emancipated travelers" were less than happy with this snowfall. Rather than ranging out over the pasture they hung close to the feeder. Craig had thoughts of snowshoes for them, but by afternoon the snow had melted away and they were once again roaming hither and yon.

Now, for just a little on what everyone else was occupied with this week. Music was a big part of Gabe's week. Seen above practicing piano for his weekly lesson, he also played clarinet in Thursday's big spring scholarship concert at Prairie River Middle School and played a saxophone in a jazz band event on Saturday, the 8th.

Plus, he mowed the orchard on this sunny, Sunday afternoon.

Willa, who is on the girl's varsity soccer team in Merrill, is #15 in the center of this picture. This game was resumed after a rain delay and was played for a while under a magnificent rainbow which is seen fading in the corner of this picture. (Merrill did win over Mosinee, 1:0) Those of you who visit our table at the Wausau Farmer's Market would known Willa as Craig's helpmate at the market. She also is the voice on the end of the phone line reminding you that your chicken order is ready for pick-up.

...and she likes to drive the riding lawn mower here on the farm. Usually, it is an excuse to catch some rays although the first mowing of 2010 required jeans, sweatshirt and jacket.

Olivia is the master gardener here and is shown above in one of the garlic beds. Although mulched heavily these beds still require some weeding. Weeds are admirably persistent aren't they? She is counting down the last days of high school and has spent a lot of time preparing for her AP exams for classes she has taken this year.

Yeoman Craig is off to the garage to do some welding. And exactly what is he working on?

A new unit of steps for the granary. The granary is my favorite of all the old farm buildings here at Ninepatch. A couple of years ago Craig and the kids put new metal roofing on this building where grain (of course!) and our organic feed supplements are stored. The steps were a very old wooden unit: rotting and leaning steeply. Not one to do something that won't last for many, many years Craig is shown installing the steel deck he has welded together. Steps will be added soon.

Snow melt off the house roof filled our 55 gallon rain barrel. This water will be used for irrigation in the garden....just in case.

After looking at what was on my calendar for the coming week and remembering that the hummingbirds' return is usually the second week of May each year, I thought I'd surprise them this year by being ready before their arrival. Usually they hover in front of the dining room window as if to say "We're back! Where's the food?" because their return has caught me off guard. I cooked up my homemade nectar (easy: 4 cups water, 1 cup sugar brought to a boil, then cooled) and hung two feeders at sunset on Sunday.
And lastly, a post-script to an earlier post in which I mentioned Samuel Thayer. He has a new book: Nature's Garden. Check his website: www.foragersharvest.com

A little on being green

The refrigerator magnet pictured above dates to B.C. (before children, that is) which makes it at the very least 30 years old. Since Earth Day has just recently passed, it would be appropriate to offer kudos to those environmentalists who long ago saw the need to be more mindful of our footprint on the lovely home we call earth. All those years ago the city of Wausau had not yet mandated that its citizens recycle plastics, glass, paper, etc. The result was that most of those things ended up in the landfill, and probably are still there in a partial state of decomposition. But some of us would routinely on Saturdays load our vehicles with items that could be recycled and drive to the site on Townline Road. Volunteers helped us find the proper place to deposit our items and kept things orderly. Many of us started watching more carefully the packaging on items we purchased and would not buy something if it were not in a container that could be recycled locally. Or we worked harder to put what we bought into something that was reusable for the long-term. Thanks to my mother-in-law for my first cloth grocery bags! Still in use after many years (and still beautiful) not once has one torn as the paper bags did. As the children arrived they were diapered in cloth: no disposables in the landfill for decades after the baby was grown. Small steps, admittedly, but if you never take those first small steps...




Now onto other things green. The plum is the first tree in our little orchard to blossom. Naturally the bees are loving all things in bloom and this little beauty is just a very short flight from their hives. Later, we will harvest plums for jelly and syrup.

In the woods across the lane, the showy trillium are blooming in abundance.

Although more modest, the wood violets are brightening the ditches near the house.

Dylan and Joanna were back for what has become a semi-monthly visit and went right back to work on the scrap metal project. Dylan shot this pic just as they were ready to head to Wausau Steel with this double load to be, shall we say it? Recycled.


Friday, April 30th was a day to be marked. We saw the first calf of the year born. Meet "Jonquil" born to "Dandelion". (Guess what was in bloom when she was born?) Wet and wobbly yet when this photo was shot Jonquil was soon bounding after her mom to nurse.

Notice the broad streak of yellow in the pasture behind mother and daughter? Yup. Dandelions. While folks in town wage war on them we welcome them because the cattle love them. They gobble them up voraciously: blossom, stem, and leaves. Because dandelions are deep-rooted they bring up minerals from the sub-soil.



...and that other remarkable thing on the 30th? Rain! A very welcome .4 of an inch fell. All we can say is: "more, more, more!"

Sunday, sunday

While Craig and Willa were away from the farm for the afternoon last Sunday Olivia, Gabe, and I took a walk in the woods to see what's up. Having picked ramps for a number of years now, hearing the chef from L'Etoile in Madison earlier in the week on WPR raving about the ramps now available in southwest WI prompted a check to see if we might be able to harvest some of these wild leeks (or wild garlic as they are also called). They are up and growing but the edible bulbs are pretty puny yet. We just let them be for now.

We were delighted to find an abundance of spring flowers in bloom. Above is spring beauty, also known as "fairy spuds" because of their starchy, edible roots. (As an aside on this: if you are interested in a guide to identifying, harvesting, and preparing edible wild plants we would like to suggest Samuel Thayer's The Forager's Harvest. Sam lives in Wisconsin and offers foraging workshops.) The eight petaled white flower is bloodroot, so named for the red orange juice in the stems and roots used by many cultures as a dye and insect repellent. Below is the yellow trout lily. "Trout" because of the mottled leaves resembling the coloring of the brown trout. Missing is the photo of the common dandelion. Those who chronicle such things have remarked that the dandelions made an uncommonly early appearance this year: in the southern parts of the state some 7 weeks earlier than is usual. While not quite that precocious here in central Wisconsin, wild flowers and birds are ahead of schedule here as well.




And...up in our garden and seen below: the garlic. Our garlic beds took a beating when a couple cows decided to break through the garden fence and take a stroll through the garden. Aggravating, but not irreparable.



Other new faces at Ninepatch this week: Broiler chicks who will spend the first couple weeks of their lives under the warmth of the brooder. These birds are the first in a succession of 9 batches that will arrive every two weeks over the spring and early summer and will be incredibly fresh when seen at the farmer's market on June 12th.

So where were Craig and Willa? At Lapp's in Reeseville, WI. They returned home late in the afternoon on this sunny Sunday with bees. While we had been successful in overwintering a large percent of our bees, we needed to supplement our colonies. Here you see Craig installing bees into one of 14 hives he keeps. The next day a check revealed bees with pollen on their legs in the hives. They had gone right to work!

Included in the week's activities here in the town of Hamburg was a visit from our son, Dylan and his wife, Joanna. Always ready to go to work, they put their energy into Joanna's idea of ferreting out some of the scrap metal laying about the farm, loading it onto the pick-up truck and trailer and seeing if, in the process of beautifying the farm, they might also make a profit. They did both!

Spring Break

Over 30 years of parenting we have sometimes heard the complaint that while others spent "spring break" in Mexico or Florida, we always stayed at home and worked. It's true. So spring break 2010 arrives and what do our oldest children decide to do? Come home and volunteer to work! Painting our egg-mobile was an excuse to spent an unusually warm late March afternoon in the sunshine. Essentially a camper on wheels for our emancipated travelers ( our Rhode Island red hens and their men), the egg-mobile provides a place to roost overnight protected from predators as well as straw lined nest boxes on both sides to lay eggs in. These boxes are accessible from the outside for easy egg collection. Soon, new refurbished, it will be moved out to pasture as our hens range free for spring, summer, and fall. Seen here are 1 of 9 and 2 of 9: Seth and Emmy. Both married and parents themselves.

Another daughter, Camille(3 of 9), came home from college and made a couple batches of milk-based soap. A book brought home from the library about 10 years ago about soap-making started a younger daughter, Hannah (5 of 9), on this enterprise. She marketed her soaps under the label Middle Sister Soaps...being the middle sister in our 9 children. Hannah is also in college now, but Camille continues to put together these soaps. The soap in the mold above is mint.

These bars of lavender soap are on the curing rack for 6 weeks. They'll be ready in time to grace our table at the farmer's market in May...those bars that are not snatched for the personal use of family members at home and away.

Even the little ones had some project they wanted to do while at the farm. Before breakfast one morning (notice Pip's pj's) Grandpapa and Piper planted some Chocolate Mint cuttings from mama Emmy's home garden in Stoughton. Eventually, dried leaves from these plants will make a delicious tea.

Speaking of breakfast...at Ninepatch this frequently means eggs. We are very happy to note the return of the bright orange yolks and the more intense flavor in our eggs since they are free-ranging on the grass in the sunshine once again.

Another small, but significant milestone passed the week of spring break: the return of the rain gauge to its place in the herb garden (albeit very weedy herb garden). Farming has taught us the reason that folks discuss rainfall so passionately. Our grass-based farm depends on rain, and good snow cover in the winter. And it is dry, very dry this spring. We were glad to have a couple of showers in recent days. This frosty morning followed those too-good-to-be-true temperatures we experienced on spring break.

And, of course, taking time to hold a grandbaby on each knee is top priority. Calder on the left, Sylvee on the right.

Hints of spring

While we've been busy perusing seed catalogs, watching the auction bills, attending grazing conferences, and doing a bit of home remodeling spring has gently blown in with a spate of sunny and warm days. Witness! the first pussy willow bouquet!

This may not look like much to you, but it is looking to us like rhubarb mousse in weeks to come. Those small curls of rosy red and pale green are the rhubarb just beginning to unfold from beneath its bed of composted manure. This sighting was made on Sunday, March 14th. Garlic and asparagus have not yet shown themselves. The next morning, the 15th, a small flock of Canada geese flew over our farm. As is usual, they were heard first, then sighted. They must be the scouts for larger flocks to come.

Here's the spring view of the cattle yard. It's muddy to say the least, but here the Galloways must stay until the pasture is ready for them. To put them out now would do tremendous damage to our carefully managed pastures until the frost is out and the grass has reached a height of 6 or more inches. You can see what just moving the tractor and hay wagon over the grass does in the foreground.

Of course, like everyone else, we look for reasons to be out in the sunshine...even raking. The snow melt revealed wood chips from loading fire wood into the basement wood room all fall and winter as well as ALOT of gravel from the drive that was pushed into the lawn along with the snow by the snowplow.

Time to move the cold frame into place on the south side of the house. Here seedlings will be nursed along until it is safe to transplant them into the garden. This one was made from scrap wood and recycled windows. So far what's up are onions and leeks.

And, last but not least, we did not wish to waste a breezy and sunny day by not putting a load or two of clothes on the lines. The solar clothes dryer: dry, great smelling clothes for free!!