2014 So Far

How can it already be the end of January?I  haven’t even written my end-of-the-year retrospective post or my resolution post yet. Oh well, I will just try to catch up a bit.  It has been an old-fashioned, darn cold winter and here are some of the things we have been up to at Squash Blossom Farm the past few weeks:

In December I started working part-time at a rather fancy restaurant, baking bread, pizza crusts and desserts. It is nice to earn a bit of income during the winter, but even better, I am learning some good tricks for more efficient baking on a large scale that will come in handy when our farm kitchen opens. One perk of working there is that I get to take home a big bag of kitchen goodies for the cows and chickens every week- ends of carrots, celery and cabbage, broccoli and brussels sprouts trimmings, apple cores, crusty ends of baguettes. I  empty the sack onto the snow and all the  animals eagerly forage through the fresh delicacies -  the dogs try to  gobble up the bread crusts before the cows get them.

With all the bitter cold spells we don’t spend much time outside just for fun and the winter already seems interminable. It is also kind of nerve-wracking, worrying about the animals when it is -20 or colder windchill.

The animals are eating a lot to keep warm. I give the  chickens extra scratch grain and make them warm oatmeal with a bit of coconut oil stirred in on really cold days. The cows are getting a bit of grain and beet pulp with their hay rations. Of course the hay piles have to go down as the winter advances, but I miss the reassuring feeling of floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall hay bales in the barn. I counted about 110 bales left;  that will only get us to the beginning of May, so I was relieved to find a farmer who can spare 30  bales, which I will pick up this Friday.

Our cow fountain froze up this winter so the cows are drinking from a small stock tank with a heater to prevent it from icing over. It takes about 10 buckets of water to fill it, which I do twice a day. I got tired of unlatching and re-latching the gate to pour in each bucket of water, so now I just pour it through the gate, resulting in icicles hanging on the bars.
The cow fountain repairman never showed up, but that is the least of our repair concerns. Since Christmas we have had so many repairs! Septic system issues, furnace not working, chimney sweeping,  a stove repair and a washing machine repair.... I hope that everything else keeps functioning for rest of the winter.

I got new glasses, which really enhance my chore attire! You can't  quite see, but the  earpieces are actually red, very trendy. Underneath my down jacket I have a fleecey sweatsuit and Carhartt overalls. My sweet sister sent us two pair of  Carhartt lined bib overalls that her family did not use-- we so greatly appreciate them this winter.

We have begun preparations for the commercial kitchen project. Rog ordered a dumpster for kitchen demolition debris

and spent a couple weekends cleaning out the scary middle part of the barn ( full of old hay and construction materials and junk when we bought the farm, we have been working on it a bit every year but hadn’t gotten down to the floor yet.) It is no longer scary! It is now a place of lovely potential. But first it will be the swing space for  storing appliances while the kitchen is being constructed.

Every week for the past  month I have been making many, many batches of chocolate truffles and sumac-elderberry jelly for Kickstarter rewards.

The truffles were packaged in origami boxes. [What was I thinking when I  promised the truffles would  be in pretty, handmade origami boxes? I didn't  know how to do origami but I figured “how hard can it be?” Ha! I learned that I do not have an innate talent for origami. (Thank you for spending much of your holiday folding boxes, darling daughters!)]

Then the Kickstarter rewards were packed for hand delivery to local addresses, postal delivery to distant supporters. We are not done getting them all out yet yet, but the end is finally in sight!

While I bottled honey and made jelly, Rog made  elderberry-raspberry melomel (fruit-flavored mead, or honey wine.)  It smelled so delicious - I cannot wait to taste this next summer!

The weather finally warmed up enough last weekend that we got outside for some fun. We did a bit of snowshoeing through our little prairie, trying out some snowshoes gifted to us by friends who moved to Florida. I bet they feel pretty smug about leaving Minnesota this winter!

Keep warm, everybody!

It’s 2014 - May I Have This Dance?

Somebody posted this definition on Facebook the other day.  It seemed to aptly describe last year, 2013, at Squash Blossom Farm, which was filled with giant steps forward, inevitably followed by a couple steps back.
For instance:

The Commercial Kitchen
We finally decided to pursue building a commercial kitchen wholeheartedly, in order to sell value-added farm products, expand our Famers Market baking to the co-op and restaurants, and be able to serve food on the farm. It will also allow us to rent out space to other small food entrepreneurs and to hold culinary classes as part of our dream folk school. But it is a very costly enterprise, partly because building a certified kitchen is so expensive, and also because we are also required to build a new well and septic system for it.  So,  in the spring our daughter Cadence  created a video for a Kickstarter campaign, which we launched in August and successfully met our fundraising goal!  We were blown away and humbled by the generous out-pouring of support. One humongous step forward!

The Kickstarter was intended to be one quarter of a four-pronged approach to funding the kitchen. We also hoped to get an FSA loan for the well and septic and use a portion of our retirement funds, all for a 3:1 grant match to  a MN Department of agriculture Value-Added grant.  But then we had to take a few steps back: Everything with the grant and loan got very delayed because of the government shutdown, we did not get the grant, and we didn't get approved for the FSA loan because our appraised property value has declined since we purchased our farm. And then, winter arrived full force, delaying our start anyway.  Deep breath. Soul-searching.

We seriously wondered whether this was a sign we should abandon this project and return all the Kickstarter contributions.  But No, our passion for it is still strong. We believe it is the right path for our farm. We will scale back the project a bit, stage things in increments, scour the countryside for used equipment and building materials, dig much deeper into our retirement account, and make it happen!  In some ways it might even be easier without the  constraints of a grant. And oh, if you intended to make a Kickstarter contribution but did not get around to it, we will still gratefully bestow the posted Kickstarter rewards for contributions made for the kitchen--contact us! (We are  steadily making our way through fulfilling the Kickstarter rewards, so if you haven’t received yours yet, expect it soon!)

The Cows
In the September 2012 we bred our cow LaFonda for a spring calf.  We were disappointed to learn she had not settled (that means "become pregnant," in farmer lingo). But then we had the most unbelievably muddy spring (after a frigid, frozen winter where our farmyard was like a skating rink.) As we worried about the cows struggling through armpit-deep mud, we were relieved that we didn't have a young calf getting sucked into the muck.  Later in the summer we were stunned to find out that LaFonda WAS pregnant, possibly bred by our bull calf before he was sold---but then it turned out to be a false pregnancy.  Once again we were disappointed, but also very relieved that we would not have to go into the winter milking. Up until then we had been considering selling the cows because it was so hard to find any hay for winter, and so expensive when we did locate it. The possibility of a calf made me realize I could not part with the cows, and then, as luck would have it, I sold two huge cow paintings, making enough to purchase the supply of hay. So, it turns out the cows earned their keep! Cha-cha-cha.

So there, two of last year’s dances on the farm.  There were many more--with the Farmers Market, the Aquaponics project, the CSA...and through them all we remained upright, did not step on any toes, and we had so much fun.  Life certainly is a dance --can’t wait to get twirling and swirling in 2014!  

Happy, Happy New Year to you!   
With  love and gratitude, 
Roger & Susan

Sunrise with Sundog

It is a cold  December morning, but the day is getting off to a beautiful start.  Saw the sunrise through the  dining room window and  had to go outside for a couple more photos.

We just passed the winter solstice, so this about as far south as the sun rises.

My dog Cocoa facing into the sunrise...

and a sunrise sundog facing back toward us.
It was so, so cold taking  these few photos! But then I pulled on the hand-me-down Carhartt overalls my little sister just sent me and I was snug and warm doing chores afterward! Thanks, Rita!

Morning Moonset

This morning, I got up a bit earlier than usual, but not as early as Rog  - he had an early morning meeting. I was just settling in to sip my coffee before chores when Rog called me up from his cell phone on his way into town - he said, “Go out and look at the moon!”  I  bundled up and grabbed my camera - and found it glowing above the horizon as I came around to the north side of the  house - it is now almost as far north as it gets.

The December full moon is called the Full Cold Moon or the Full Long Night’s Moon.  Long nights is right. Four more days until winter solstice, and then the days start getting longer!

The moon setting above Douglas.

I quickly did the chores, then came in just in time to see the sun rising through the dining room window. 

Welcome to the Squash Blossom Holiday Fair

The fire is already blazing in the wood stove in the store this morning, warming it up for the  last day of the Holiday Fair. It should be much easier to make the building cozy today, as the temperature outside is about 30 degrees  windchill factor warmer than the past few days.

Afraid I haven’t  had enough time to keep the blog up -to-date lately.  This week, my main focus was getting the store ready - packing up summer and fall items and  displaying wintery, gifty, Christmasy items. (I know, some people would have tackled this much earlier, when it was still warm outside, but other things intruded.) I managed to pull it together by Friday noon, but at midnight  Thursday it still looked like a cyclone had come through.

Santa and Mrs. Santa relax by the cookies and hot cider.  I have found some delightful Christmas decor like these dolls that I will happily keep if they don’t find a good home.

Chicken egg/ornament basket.

Fun and fancy dishes, from antique to vintage to artisan-made.

My biggest seller has been my “Warm Heart, Warm Hands, Warm Mittens.” They are sewn from repurposed wool sweaters, washed in hot water to shrink, to be dense and warm.   Many have fun embroidery, applique' or braid trim, contrasting cuffs or button embellishments. Each pair is one-of-a kind.  A garden trellis is serving as a pretty effective mitten display.

A vintage dress form  I got for Cadence last year is  currently employed as a display for  brooches and a fun mink neck-warmer.

People have been requesting these for a long time, and I now finally have notecards featuring my farm photos.  Here are a few of the cards currently available,  $1.50 each or 4 cards for $5.

Antique ceramic cardinal bookends and a gorgeous silk Chinese embroidery in an elaborately  carved display frame.

When Rog came into the store yesterday he asked, “Did you see the pretty frost on your plants in the mosaic panel by the door?” I almost didn’t tell him that I had replaced the old dormant sedums with artificial frosted plants.

I would be so happy if you stopped by the store today!  I have hot pear cider and cookies waiting for you. You will probably be greeted by three enthusiastic pooches and a couple of friendly cows over the fence. Yesterday, Zinnie  proudly and generously offered her prize quarry, a frozen  squirrel, to a young guest who was not as appreciative of it as she intended, but don't worry,  I will make sure  that squirrel is no where in sight today. We will be open noon to 5 p.m.

November in a Nutshell

November is usually my least favorite month, so cold and dreary, days getting shorter and darker.   This November has whizzed by so fast, it might be the first year I have ever wished it was longer. Life has been too hectic to post lately, so I will try to do a hodge-podge blog entry to catch up.

There are always so many preparations to complete for winter -- raking, packing away lawn furniture and garden  gear and hoses, and stockpiling hay (an expensive challenge this year), harvesting turkeys and the last of the garden, covering the cold-weather crops in the greenhouse, winterizing the beehives, to mention just a few of the tasks.  This fall we had an additional ambitious project - constructing a more weather-proof enclosure around the fish gazebo and connecting it to the barn. Rog accomplished this over several weekends. I intend to write a more comprehensive post about the  aquaponics and fish gazebo developments, but this photo gives you an idea of how cool it now looks!

Since the turkeys and a few roosters were harvested, the coop seems so much more spacious.   We are down to about 50 chickens, three ducks and the goose in the coop, plus another dozen chickens who choose to rough it, living in the loafing shed with the cows. These little chickens are some of the chicks who hatched in mid-September.

You would think we would be done with preserving by now, but I have been making many jars of elderberry-sumac jelly for Kickstarter rewards, and also dealing with the boxes of green tomatoes that had been stored in the basement to ripen.  This was the final big bunch of tomatoes that successfully ripened, simmered with herbs and garlic into pizza sauce, now in the freezer.

Fulfilling the Kickstarter rewards has taken a big portion of my time lately,  bottling, packing and mailing jars of honey and jelly, music CDs, notecards, truffles, t-shirts.  And I have so many yet to go!  Some of the rewards, such as pizza garden  plants,  paintings, and dinners on the farm, are not scheduled until spring, but one supporter requested her reward, a painting, now so she could give it as a gift. The painting is a large, whimsical portrait of her friends’ beloved dog who had recently died (the fork is part of a story).  Happily, they liked it!

Two weeks ago, we gussied up the barn for a concert.  Cadence and Israel were performing with Zenen Zeferino, a well-known son Jarocho musician from Veracruz, Mexico, as a benefit concert  for Zenen’s mother, who has cancer.

They were  joined by cellist  Nickolai  Kolarov and percussionist Martial Hangbe, all playing together for the very first time that night.  What a great audience, great food, great music!
“Guacamaya” performed at Squash Blossom Farm

The Farm Store will be open for a Holiday Open House next weekend (Dec 6,7,8)  and  I have been sewing “Warm Hands, Warm Heart, Warm Mittens" made from felted wool sweaters to sell then.  I have sewn over 20 pair so far, but many sold right away when I posted them on Facebook. Must. Keep. Sewing.  I am also making tote bags from colorful chicken feed and wild bird seed sacks.

This week we celebrated Thanksgiving with my parents and both daughters here - guests for whom we are extremely thankful.  We feasted on one of our home-grown turkeys and other farm bounty.

Today, Rog and I helped move furniture and boxes up to Sara and Cadence’s new apartment - a vintage south Minneapolis duplex (it brought back vivid memories of the places Rog and I first lived together.) So sweet to have both daughters back in Minnesota.

Tonight we enjoyed more celebration - Thanksgivikkah with Don and Betsy’s family, complete with menorah-lighting and latkes.

Our life is so rich with family and friends, furry and feathered critters,  farm and fun. We are practically bursting with gratitude!

Snow!

Snow!! It’s not much, but it is sticking, at least for the morning. Even though I always feel a bit depressed during the dismal days of November, anticipating the long, cold winter, I do get a surge of giddy, childlike happiness when first the snow falls.

We spent all weekend preparing the yard and  outbuildings for winter, but aren’t quite ready - hope we get one more warm weekend before winter settles in.

After a week of battling with the  lawn mower not starting, I was finally able to finish leaf sweeping  Saturday. We have so many  deciduous trees that the leaves get pretty deep and smother the grass if not removed.  You can never get them all - they are still falling - so some will remain to replenish the soil.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get the house and fence completely painted before winter. Before the leaves fell  you couldn’t really tell, but now it s going to bug me every time I take this walk. Oh well, that project will wait for us until spring.

After chores, the dogs and I took a little walk through the woods and prairie.  I especially like the first snow because there are still bits of vivid color bursting through the white.

Zinnie on the big rock--such a good lookout spot.

It  is a very good year for wild cranberries.

The barns barely visible through the trees.