Eric
Mood:  chatty

Our friend Eric has told me he routinely reads our blog but he gives me a hard time about the amount of time that passes between posts. So, I made a promise to myself that this month I would try to post more often. Nearly every day I have had an idea for a posting--thoughts on the webworm caterpillars defoliating our trees (who knew this American native is a European invasive!), the epiphany that happened as I was destroying a paper wasp nest (THEY FEED CATERPILLARS TO THEIR YOUNG!!), the pineapples  that are ripening in the greenhouse (if the webworm caterpillars don't eat them first!!), the nature of cattle, fences, the subtle changes in the weather (have you been feeling those fall breezes?)--there is always something to write about. This is partly because many of the jobs on a farm lend themselves to meditations on life--weeding, or working on fences, or starting seeds in the greenhouse, or walking back from the pasture. Having something to think about is not the problem. So, what is? I don't know--remembering to actually do the posting?! :-)

Today I remembered so here's my latest entry--for Eric. (Hi Eric!)

We didn't have much of a pear crop this year because we had a cold snap after most of the pear trees had just blossomed. Only the late bloomers (like the Kieffers and Orients) had a yield and it was not a big one. However, Deb and Khrys's tree is next to their house so that warmth followed by the intermittent rains means they have a LOT of pears. When they offered to share their bounty, we jumped at the chance.

When we got home, the work began--deciding what to do with them!! We need to conserve freezer space because come fall, we will have chicken and beef to put in it. I thought about canning them but neither of us like canned foods. It doesn't seem to matter whether the canning is done by a corporation or a family member. My grandmother and mother both canned and while I loved the spiced peaches, I don't like the "dead" taste that seems to come from the high heat required of canning. It is as if all the energy has been destroyed. So, what to do with these pears.

Well, this year I have been doing a TON of dehydrating. I've done tomatoes (which I then used in breads, crackers, and soups), blueberries (a quart of blueberries shrinks down to less than a cup!), grapes, figs (dehydrating changes them from something John won't eat to something he enjoys--and it's a LOT less work than making fig newtons!), and our small crop of apples and pears. So, my first thought was to dehydrate these pears as well. Then Deb mentioned fruit leather . She also loaned me some trays to make it easier, suggested adding nuts (for protein), recommended keeping the mixture as dry as possible (to dehydrate quicker), and showed me how she removes the pear from the core rather than the core from the pear (HUGE timesaver!!) So, I was on a mission!

Well, I LOVE the fruit leather!! It tastes a bit like a really healthy gummy bear. I made up several recipes. For all of them, I first cooked the pears. (These are, after all, good ole Florida sand pears!) Besides, I wanted to keep the skins of these beautiful organic pears for the fiber and nutrients. Cooking makes the skins softer and more enjoyable to eat. 

I knew I wanted a little bit of sugar, but not much, so for one batch I blended in some of Marie's famous Mayhaw jelly. Although I admit it doesn't look that great before it is dried (it's the up-chuck looking goo on the right side of the picture) but when it is dry, the colors and the taste become more concentrated. YUM!!

I also made a batch with my berry jam (see earlier post) and a batch with herbs from the garden (cardamom leaves, holy basil) and some ginger. There were still some cooked pears left over so I put them in some canning jars in the fridge. I didn't process them but we can get them eaten in the next few days. We love fruit in the morning with our fresh eggs and home-made bread.

Now, I am nearly done with the day--just waiting on the current batch of bread and cinnamon rolls to do their final rise before I put them in the oven. As I sit here, it finally occurs to me why I don't get around to doing more of these posts--I'm tired! But Eric, you are worth it. :-)

Synchronicity
Mood:  d'oh

Do you have those synchronous moments when seemingly random events collide? That happened to me recently with the idea of invasives. 

First, week before last we were busy battling centipede grass. It has invaded some of our pastures. This is a problem because it stays short--too short for the cattle to eat it. Therefore, a pasture can be full of grass and yet the cows go hungry. Ironically, we intentionally introduced this plant onto the farm because of its tolerance for low Ph and poor soils. We would love to have this grass in our front yard because it saves energy since it does not need to be mowed regularly--something we do with the Bahia because of my allergies. So, we rented a sodcutter, cut the centipede sod in the pasture, cut the bahia sod in the front yard, and switched. Now we will see what happens.

Next, one night last week I saw a sweet big-eyed tree frog in the fig tree eating my figs. I let it be--it was truly beautiful. The next day I searched the internet to identify it. Turns out it was a Cuban tree frog--an invasive. Turns out there is a professor who has his research assistants working on projects to do away with this cuban invader. (Check out the instructions on how to gas the little bugger: http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/cuban_treefrog_inFL.shtml )

Finally, with my mom I attended  a presentation on native plants. As part of the display there was a book called "Invasive Plant Medicine: The Ecological Benefits and Healing Abilities of Invasives." I've been reading that book and it is changing the way I think about invasives because it makes a strong argument that invasives are natural and are very useful to our soil and our earth. 

Actually, my thinking about invasives initially was challenged when Boots and I attempted to make a garden for the Administrative Offices of the park. The park administrator at that time wanted us to use only native plants. This led us to a conundrum--how far do you go back in a plant's history to determine if it is native?! Even corn--that quintessential native plant food--has only been a native for 8000 years! So, where do you draw the line? We ended up dropping the project because we were unable to decide what qualified as native!

My thinking was also challenged when I found out that the "invasive" African bees (killer bees) are much stronger than the European bees (that ironically we call "native") and so are able to withstand hive collapse.

And then there are the cowbirds which do such a great job of eating the hornflies off our cows and cleaning the grasshoppers out of our fields. The story is that these immigrants came over from Africa on the backs of a hurricane. 

So, this is what was on my mind yesterday when John and I were watching a video on  hay-less winter grazing. It is a recording of a gentleman in Crescent City, FL who is grazing his 200 head of cattle year-round. He a native of Mexico and is using many of the things that have been working for him on his ranch there. One of his strategies is to plant Mimosa and Honey Locust in his fields. Both are considered invasives but both are legumes which means as "nitrogen-fixers" they are medicine for the soil. (More information: http://farmprogress.com/story-valuable-silvopasture-has-edible-trees-14-98044 )

Although I have relatives who moved to this continent in the 1600's, many people would consider me an invasive. Just today I was called a Yankee and told that "GD Yankees are the ones who won't go home." I guess that means I am most definitely an invasive. Perhaps that is what makes me so tolerant of my fellow invasives on our farm. 

Imperfection

Our ideas about food have become a bit skewed and off. For example, we have been trained to believe perfection translates into flavor. We often seek the best looking and biggest fruits and vegetables because we think they will be the tastiest and healthiest. We overlook the small and blemished because we believe them to be inferior--in food and in life. By doing so, we are missing out.

 

Experimenting
Mood:  energetic

One of the challenges we have is finding ways to preserve the goodness of fresh foods so we can enjoy them in the off seasons. We freeze, can, and dry fruits and vegetables. I also make preserves. The problem is that while I love jams and preserves, I don't like all that sugar. However, without sugar, you get syrup.

So, I tried something suggested by Diane, my nephew's fiance. Diane gave me some Chia seeds and suggested I use them as a thickener. I only knew Chia as the "hair" on a chia pet so I was surprised when she recommended them but I am very happy with the results. Here is what I did.

I cooked 3 cups of fresh blackberries in their own juice for 5 minutes (long enough to incorporate 3 T of Mexican cane sugar) and then put the mix through a Foley foodmill to remove some of the seeds. Next, I added 3 T of Chia seeds. This yielded a full pint of jam with just enough extra to eat now! As you can see in the picture, the extra jam looks wonderful on a piece of homemade bread. It also tastes great because the Chia adds bulk without overwhelming the flavor of the berries in the way that sugar does. Thanks Diane!

Life
Life. What matters? What is important? What is the purpose? Why? Why? Why? The reason I love farming is that all that mess falls away when I am digging out weeds or planting or doing chores. I still don't have answers but I do have this absolute knowledge that there is reason and purpose--that I am a cog in the wheel of a life that makes sense.

April already?!

OMYGOSH it's mid-April already! Since my last post, the other two mamas had their calves. We now have a full complement (3), Cinder, the female mentioned in the previous post, Wester born 5 days later and Easter born on, you guessed it, Easter day. The last two, unfortunately are male (or "fortunately" if you either love veal or are Winston--the bull who had have to go if we kept his daughters.) Wester is in the picture on the left and Easter is to the right (east-ha!)  Mama and Cinder are in the background next to the bale of hay.  I've been milking Mama daily since three days after Cinder's birth. She continues to tolerate it (though she gives me a look that tells me she things I am a weirdo.) I only get about a pint of milk a day but that is enough to keep me in milk and allow me to make a bit of yogurt. I'm very thankful and don't like to think about what the future inevitably holds for her--she's our oldest cow. 

We also have 6 little chicks hatched by one of the black hens. She's been a great mama so far--a relief since our two best moms were killed by a local bulldog. Why is it alwasys the good ones who get caught?! I especially hated to lose the little hen who last year single-handedly raised two broods. She was the best mom I've ever seen--training her babies to eat bugs, avoid fluttering helplessly around kitties, and raise a big ruckus when something bad is trying to get into the pen.

We have the garden about half in. It is still missing the hot weather crops--peppers and okra. The peppers in the greenhouse were killed the night it went down to 27 degrees (the night after Wester was born! It was so cold, he didn't get up to poop and ended up with a bad case of pasty butt that nearly did him in--ask us and we will give you ALL the details!) A lot of things got killed that night including any hope of a crop from the pomegranites. However, the blueberries made it through. Since they are our biggest crop, that was a relief.

We are trying something new to help build our soil. We have planted some patches of hairy indigo--a legume that the cows love and that is tolerant of low-fertility soils. we are hoping it will build the soil and that we will also be able to get a cutting or two off of it for the cows. We seeded it on a rainy day but hadn't had any rain since it germinated. It was at critical stage yesterday but, thankfully, today it rained. The seed cost $150 a bag so we were VERY happy to see the rain. It is another reminder that we humans can plan and set goals but in farming, it really isn't up to us. God laughs (and it isn't usually a santa-belly-laugh. )

It's spring!
Mood:  lucky

FINALLY, we have our first calf of the year. We have been expecting one since late December (obviously there was a miscalculation!) and, at last, it is here! What a little cutey. It was born very quickly--we did the chores this morning and wondered if Mama was going to have it today. I checked on her before noon and the calf was up and trying to nurse! I would say I expect Buffalo Girl to deliver today but I have been saying that any number of days now!

We also have a chicken setting on some eggs (since last weekend) and lots of blooms! Although the Mayhaws got frosted at absolutely the wrong time, the pears and blueberries are looking good. It just might be a productive year despite the odd hot/cold spring weather. We are hopeful.

It has been great porch weather. As an example of how good it has been I am posting a picture of our two boys--one happily lounging and using his brother as a cushion, the other annoyed at me for waking him.

More Chillin'
Mood:  chillin'

Well, the sun is coming up and it is 18 degrees right now. This is not abnormal for February--just abnormal for the lows in the 50's we've been having. Since our pear trees are now in full bloom--and we've had little rain to cushion the blow--we fear for the worst. But, that is farming. Anyone who has ever read Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder knows it has ever been so. 

The odd thing is that it is impossible to feel hopeless in the spring. Fall, yes but spring, no way. Every day shows something new fighting its way to the surface or showing a bit of green. This is why people still love to farm. And that also has ever been so. 

Oh no!!
Mood:  chillin'

Oh no!! After weeks in the 70's and 80's with warms nights as well, the pears, mayhaws, and citrus are covered in blooms. The pomegranites and figs have leafed out. The blueberries are budded. Everything thought it was spring.

Then, cool air blew in some much needed rain. We got only a quarter inch but hoped it would be enough to give the ground enough additional mass to hold some warmth. Unfortunately at 5 AM the temp on the porch was already down to 30 degrees. That is NOT a good sign.  

Frosty Day
Mood:  cool

 

It was a frosty morning this morning. The crystals in the grass were shining like diamonds and John wore his Rocky squirrel hat. It was one of those mornings when a warm house feels like a huge blessing. Our only concern is for Buffalo Girl's calf--due any day now. I hope s/he waits for a toastier day!