Harvesting Compost

We'll be needing some compost soon: to pot up plants and mix up some seed starter. Of course, outside, the compost is frozen solid and everything we've dumped in since November has not broken down. So we're getting ready to harvest the worm compost. We've got red wigglers on the go, and they are ready for some new bedding and fresh food. To harvest the existing compost, I move it all to one side in the box and set up the now open side with fresh bedding (newspaper strips, dampened) and fresh food (from the compost pail, the older and moldier the better!). In a couple of weeks, in theory, the worms will have migrated out of the old stuff and into the new stuff. I'll still go through the compost when I remove it and move any worms I find into the new stuff. And we'll have a nice little bucket to get spring planting started!

The Chicks are Growing Up!

The little fluffy chicks we acquired in June have been laying for a couple of months now. The eggs are always small for the first little while. But, The Chicks are coming into their own. The sizes of the eggs are improving, including this monster! Almost three inches long! Way to go, little one!

Dark Days Challenge Meal

There is something wonderful about eating your own garden produce in January, when there's a foot of snow outside and a wind chill not unlike Antarctica! Last night we roasted a ham from our home-grown Berkshire pork. It was great! But, what was truly the surprise of the night was the roasted Delicata squash. The two small ones we cooked had been stored in the house, in our cool back room. Now, we've always noticed the difference between our vine-ripened winter squash and the under-ripe offerings in the grocery store. But this is the first time we'd had enough Delicata left to 'mature' this long. It was divine - the aging process had left it dense but creamy, with complex butterscotch or caramel notes. Delicata is normally eaten when a creamy yellow colour with green stripes; this one was completely pale yellow. There is one small one left; we'll eat it soon! And I can hardly wait to see how the Hubbard and Acorn, still in the root cellar, are developing!

Chicken Pinata!

I posted a picture of our chickens going for the 'toy' we'd put in the coop: a suet feeder stuffed with bread. One comment referred to it as the 'chicken pinata', which we love! Exactly; a party for the hens featuring a pinata! Well, our faithful reader (and my sister) Keltie requested video. So, here you go, Sis: pinata party for the hens!

Hot Fashion Tip!

We're more about practicality then hot fashion here at Aagaard Farms. It's great when the trends intersect with our life, so we can be down-to-earth but stylin'. My new hot fashion item: fingerless gloves. They are so practical for those of us living in frigid climates!! I put them on under my gardening gloves, which I wear to go do chores, like care for chickens. They fill that space between glove and sleeve, add a little extra insulation and I can whip off the glove and have full dexterity when needed. My favourite website for all things hand-made, Etsy, has them hand-knit in a myriad of colours and styles. Mine came from the cheapsie little accessories store in the mall and are highly washable, an important consideration.

Dark Days Challenge Meals

It's been soooo interesting joining the Dark Days Challenge. One thing we've realized is that we've really gotten into a rut about cooking. Yes, we're trying to use only what we grew, and yes, we're in the frozen North without the choices of people in California or the Southern States. But, some of these people are really inventive with their cooking, some are making their own breads and buns on a regular basis, which we've been too lazy to do. So, this week's local food is pretty boring, but we're motivated to try harder! Dinner Wednesday night was our own Berkshire pork chops, seasoned and roasted. Served with our own Roko potatoes and carrots. For breakfast the next morning, Berkshire bacon, a nice thick cut, with fresh eggs right out of the coop! It ain't fancy, it ain't pretty (the food styling thing still needs work, too) but it sure was tasty!

A Laugh to Start the New Year!

Happy New Year to all!! To get the New Year off to a good start I highly recommend reading Bumble Bee Blog's Dec. 28th post: A Memorandum to the Management. The chickens have the SPCA's number and they are not afraid to use it......

Toys for Chickens

We've opened up the coop's chicken door a few times in the last few weeks, when it was a little milder. The chickens don't seem even slightly interested in going outside at -6 C (20 F or so). And we don't want them to get cabin fever, now do we? So we've done a little reading on keeping them amused and one thing that came up in a few places was suet holders stuffed with vegetables. Now, we have some suet holders because we love to feed the wild birds. So we tried hanging one from the roof stuffed with some lettuce that was going 'off'. A hit! It's hanging by string so it moves and swings about ten inches off the floor. Then we tried some chopped cabbage from the root cellar. Another winner! Today, is was some dried bread crusts stuffed in the little box. Tomorrow, maybe some Kabocha squash peeled and cubed, with the seeds. We just want the hens to be happy, don't ya know?

A Christmas Thing To Do

As we were sitting amid all the splendor of our little Christmas at home, it occurred to me that I had a Kiva credit. What a wonderful way to spend some time Boxing Day! If you are not familiar with Kiva, it is a non-profit agency that co-ordinates micro-loans to small business people around the world. Kiva works with many field agencies in many countries. I have a penchant for supporting women entrepreneurs, (I currently am helping two Norah's in different parts of Africa) and Farmer Man likes to support farmers. Loan amounts start at $25 which you can put into your 'account' with Paypal or a credit card. You then peruse the list of people waiting for a loan to come through. It's really eye-opening - a woman in Latin America asking for $300 to buy more sodas for her little store, a man in Eastern Europe looking for $500 for maintenance for his truck so that he can take on more transport work. There is info on each borrower and a complete breakdown of the loan and repayment terms. Kiva has a very low default rate, the money comes back into your account and you can choose to withdraw it or re-loan it. You get updates regularly and, well, it's just a great thing to do! So we spent some time choosing who we would re-loan our funds to - wish we had enough money to loan some to everyone on Kiva's list!! Maybe that's what we'll ask Santa for next year! Check it out - it feels good!

Dark Days Challenge Meal Week 6

Well, The Berks are back and (mostly) in the freezers. Fortunately, it is cold enough that the bit that wouldn't fit are still frozen. Some serious freezer re-organizing must go on now that the holiday madness is over! First meal, Christmas Eve, was pork chops seasoned and roasted, served with a mushroom sauce (okay, not so local) and just a massive serving of scallop potatoes! The package had four chops but Farmer Man only cooked two because they were huge! As is, I could only eat half of mine! The other two will be a nice respite from turkey sometime between now and New Years! Also coming up, probably this Sunday: home-raised bacon and farm fresh eggs for breakfast before Farmer Man settles in for some serious football!

Happy Holidays!

We wish all our family, friends and fellow locavores a Happy, Healthy and Very Merry Holiday Season! May your New Year be full of wonderful, local food!

Winter Solstice

December 21, the shortest day of the year. The start of winter. It was a gorgeous, foggy morning here, with ice crystals coating every thing. The sun rose far off to the south. Cold, minus 20 C (about minus 8 F) this morning. Little wind, which always makes the day better! And we keep trying to remember: the days just get longer now........