Making A Summer Kitchen/ GIRLS SPACE...

So... here on the farm, there are several out buildings and sheds and places to get out of the weather and do some type of work. My hubby claimed the garage, part of the attic, and the old house for himself. The kids are building a fort, the goats have a barn, and the chickens have their very own out building too. Good thing for me I claimed the ancient, rundown cellar and cellar house for myself! And ooooh, do I have plans for that space!!! I know this picture doesn't look like much, but I look at it and see a nice cool, well laid out SUMMER KITCHEN. If you look past the one corner that has a leak in the roof, and maybe squint just a little bit, its really not so bad. There is lots of room for a kitchen stove, all my canning and dehydrator supplies, a kitchen sink, prep table and a window air conditioner. It would be (((Heavenly))) to go out there and do my canning without all that heat and steam ever being in the main house. I have a canning stove stored, I have an old 1940s sink in the garage, an extra air conditioner. I can even hang a porch swing from the rafters for a comfy seat while I wait for the canner to cool. Underneath this room, is the old original cellar that goes with the old house. Right now its full of years worth of old junk from other people who have lived here. But thats OK, because now its getting cold outside and that means any snakes will be stiff... or at least lethargic enough not to bite me as I empty it out. Its an understatement to say its a mess. It is sooo beyond a mess its just crazy. My husband did pull a few things out for me this Summer, he has absolutely no fear of snakes (CRAZY man). So far, a few old dishes, old pop bottles, mason jars and....sigh..... a bunch of old tires. I need to borrow my daughters metal detector and go over the dirt floor for treasure... lol. Ya just never know!

old cellar1

old cellar1, a photo by linger.kathy on Flickr.

Our New Stove

Well, the days are getting chilly here and after much debating over brands and models, gadgets, air flows, fire box sizes, and other amenities, we've finally ordered the wood cook stove! There was really never any contest between the brands... I just fell in love with the Kitchen Queen immediately. Yes, I would have liked a flame view door, who doesn't like to look at all those toasty flames? But my practical nature wouldn't trade beauty for function. A new stove is a big investment these days, all that function doesn't come cheaply!  There were several options with this stove...two sizes, colors, water tanks and a coil, summer grate, warming oven.... what to choose? Well, we decided to forgo the mounted on back water reservoir,  the white enamel and the stainless coil.  We ordered the smaller 380 model, in black enamel, with a summer grate and the warming oven. Am I satisfied with those choices? I surely hope so!!!

There is a 3 week wait for delivery, we ordered on October the 14th, and we are anxiously awaiting the 4'th. Since I don't have it here yet to take pictures, I'm posting pics from their website. I love the fact that it will be here in time for me to fix Thanksgiving dinner on it, and Christmas too! Lets just pray I can get the hang of it quickly and not burn the turkey or serve it raw...lol! Nah... I think I can do this! Well, without further ado, here she is.... DUM DA DA DA DAAAA!!! THE KITCHEN QUEEN.

Going Walkabout...

The wind had a definite nip to it today but we went walkabout anyway. I think I was having some seasonal depression from lack of fresh air and sunlight! Left the dishes and laundry and all my cares behind me as I went out the door. Drug the whole  crew along with me for a walk through the back fields.

Wow, it has really grown up back there in the last weeks of Summer. There were clumps of grass 10-12 feet tall back there. Blackberry canes were rampant, it was an obstacle course walk. We should have no trouble getting a deer this year, the trails were well travelled and very numerous. The rain earlier this week took most of the remaining leaves off the trees, but there were still splashes of bright color here and there to marvel at.

I decided to pick up anything interesting that could be made into a basket arrangement and came home with some long canes of Rose Hips, some pinecones, some dried curly grass, and some wispy little branches to fill a basket with. Matt was content to gather pinecones, but Ethan decided to collect Rose Hips for tea along the way. He picked a little bag full, and then took a shortcut and beat us home... lazy thing!!! lol! I meant to look along the damp places to see if there was any mint left to pick but got distracted by a hundred things and forgot. I suppose if the weather permits, I'll go out tomorrow and find whats left of it.

***YAWN***  Well, here it is 1:30 in the morning and I'm still up, think I'd better give up for tonight or my poor goat will be mad at me tomorrow. She likes a regular schedule of milking!  Nite all.....

Oops! Forgot About My Blog!

LOL... Seriously, I'm never going to be one of those wonderful, organized bloggers who manages to update her blog on a daily basis. I always mean to... but somehow daily happenings (homeschooling,  milking the goat, pasteurizing, making cheese, cooking, mowing, chickens, working on the house, hunting mushrooms, crafting, using my herbs to make tinctures and salves etc..keeps me from it..  And now I'm about to forge ahead into the fascinating world of soap making. I'm tired just listing all that. At least I'm good about taking lots of pics as I go, even if I do forget to post them here until months later! I took some beautiful Fall pics of the boys, and some of the Grandkids as well. The leaves have been beautiful this week and when the sun filters down through the trees its very appealing to just go walk-about rather than work!

My oldest sister got to come for a week this month and we had such a good time all of us together and at ease. We didn't do much as far as running around, but we had lots of time to talk and catch up on news. We drank a lot of coffee, goofed off, cooked and ate A LOT of comfort food that week! We sat around the campfire in our yard and she got to see stars  that she can't see in Georgia.. the city lights there blot them all out. It was a wonderful time for us, we hadn't been together in at least 10 years. The week flew by and next time she comes we may twist her arm to stay at least 2 weeks... or 3..... or? Maybe the Summer!

Well, I'm finally drowsy, better sleep while I can. Matthew fell down the gravelled road today and is so scraped up that I'm having to give Ibuprofen every 6 hrs for the pain. He'll be up around 6 wanting Ibu. and some lidocaine on the worst of it. Putting up some new pics tomorrow. Have a great week!  

The Old Spring House

100_0014, a photo by linger.kathy on Flickr.

This is our old original spring that we still use for most of our water. The water is sooo cold even in the middle of summer. I look inside and visualize another woman years ago storing her fresh milk, butter and other perishables down in here. Love the old ways..... Our drinking water gets run thru a British Berkefeld filter just in case theres Crypto or other nasties in there now. I doubt it but you never know!

Daisy 8/9/11

Daisy 8/9/11, a photo by linger.kathy on Flickr.

My goat girlie.... fresh milk and goat cheese extraordinaire!

CHICKEN MUSHROOMS

Picture 410, a photo bykathy on Flickr.

Some lovely colored chicken mushrooms with bits of greenery growing up through them. Found in early Summer.

CHANTERELLES

Picture 417, a photo by kathy on Flickr.

This is a skillet FULL of Chanterelles we picked about mid-Summer. The season lasted about 12 weeks here, with several large flushes of these. Fry in butter, or saute in butter and red wine for a yummy treat!

Home Improvement 011

Home Improvement 011, a photo by linger.kathy on Flickr.

The new addition for Mom & Doug... day 1 of building.

MUSHROOMS!

Home Improvement 034, a photo by  on Flickr.

One of the many and various species of edible mushrooms we have growing here. This one is a cauliflower mushroom we found on the hill.

Things We Did Over the Summer.....

One of the high points of Summer this year was having an "apartment" added on to the back of our house for my Mom and brother. We all wanted to live together on this beautiful piece of property, but realized we would all need the privacy we had been used to sometimes. So after much debating and plan drawing, changes and add on ideas, we came up with a house plan we all thought was appropriate!

Things literally went as slow as molasses from that point onward. It seems that it's much harder than you would think to find people who are actually wanting to work for their money! That being the case, we've slogged our way through a lot of the detail work. We were able, however, to find and hire a gentleman from Ohio to come here with an Amish crew and build the outer shell of the add-on. It was a real experience to sit back and watch the Amish guys as they put it all up from scratch.

There were only five guys on the crew, they came by way of a driver, whose only job it was to be their chauffeur. They brought with them all the necessary lumber and roofing supplies needed for the shell. We also had them to put up board and batten siding for us while they were here. I LOVE THIS SIDING!!! It is all knotty pine, which incidentally we have got to get sealed before old man Winter makes his first visit.

What we thought could be done in a few short weeks has turned into a bit of a nightmare for us. Truly nobody we know seems to want to be hired! In this economy this is somewhat of a surprise to all of us. I can't imagine turning my nose up at good money for honest work but that is exactly what has happened over and over. So... my 13 year old son, Ethan, has decided he is grown up enough to do things like hanging insulation, laying tiles, and generally doing anything he is capable of! He's doing a wonderful job so far, and is earning some honest money from honest work. He is learning the value of a job well done, he is learning about work ethics, and learning that getting filthy while working is a perfectly natural and acceptable way to earn a living. Most importantly, he is learning that family is one of  the most important responsibilities you have while on this Earth.

Big brother catering to little one.

Our road we live on is beautiful for walking with the boys. We sometimes go days without seeing a car.

Interesting trees that twined together tightly as they grew.

We are completely over run by frogs & toads of all shapes and sizes!

A few of the chickens scratching for grain. A partial view of the field hubby tilled yesterday and today.

Spring Has Sprung!!!

Oh my goodness, it was the longest, dreariest Winter I can ever remember. But can it be that Spring is truly here at last? The answer is YES! It IS FINALLY Spring here on the Fork. We've had a ton of rain so far, but yesterday Eric was able to plow up the main garden and today he went over it again. I must say its looking pretty good for a brand new garden! It appears to be very nice dark loamy soil that should grow veggies like gang busters. The field is huge compared to the garden spot at the other farm, so we doubled our garden area, and may even till up more if we run out of space.

Our chickens are looking fat and sassy, I'm so pleased that they are so healthy. We have around 15 hens with three roosters and get approximately 12 eggs a day. We also have 20 new chicks in the brooder to replace a few older layers and to put some in the freezer. This week I have to find time somehow Even more exciting, I've finally located a quality milk goat that should be perfect for our needs. Right now I'm just talking back and forth with the owner, trying to firm up a date when I can go pick her up. She's a registered Alpine doe, seconds freshener, with a wonderful udder. I'm really hoping she can supply all our milk and cheese needs until I can locate a second doe so I can stagger lactations.

STARTING OVER AT 45!

So.... hi to everyone from Horse Fork Farm! This is the place we hang our hats now, and I must say we really are enjoying having a new place to call home. We're still home schooling, and still trying to simplify our lives... though I'd say the schooling is going much better than the simplifying! Its not that we don't WANT things to slow down for us. We'd LOVE a chance to just kick back and stay at home for days on end. The simple truth is that life in todays world is pretty darn hard to slow down at  all! So, the hubby still works at the hospital every day, and I still keep things going on the home front.

There have been a lot of changes in our lives lately. We lost my Dad in October and theres this huge hole where He used to be. He was sick for so long that we all knew He could go at anytime, still, it was such a shock when He was gone. We all got to spend another 8 months with Him after He came home from the Cleveland Clinic. We knew it was His last trip up there..... they were good to tell us the truth so we could be prepared. Lots and lots of changes..... So what do you do when everything changes? Well, you go forward as best you can and thats what we're doing. We've got the new Farm, and my Mother and younger brother are moving here with us. Boy do we have a million plans for this place! It's so exciting to sit here with my seed catalogs and plan my big garden, the herb garden, cutting flower beds, a greenhouse..... Some lovely chickens came to roost here last week, some Rhode Island Reds, a few Buff Orpingtons, and some Barred Rocks and Silver Laced Wyandottes.  A couple of little brown rabbits somehow snuck their way onto the truck at the same time and Matthew really likes them!

We really miss the old farm, but who wants to live under the brand new, locally useless, high tension mega power line thats cutting a big nasty gash across my beautiful State?  Not I... or hubby or kids want to live under that huge humming monstrosity. So we moved, and try very hard not to look back too much, because we meant to live there the rest of our lives, and can't now.....

Okay, enough of the sad memories. Lets get moving, going forward, making plans, making things happen. So what if I'm already 45? It will take me a little longer to do things.... weeds in my garden just might get ahead of me but its ok, I'll get them eventually. Spring  is coming very soon. How do I know this?  The birds are already coming back, the early bushes have green buds on them. It smells like Spring when the ground warms up under the sun. Hurry up Spring, I need your help to bring me my dreams in warm raindrops, white clouds, and warm brown earth. Come and make me SMILE again!!!