raindrops keep fallin on my head

early this week i spent a few hours trying to tear down our garden. there were still green and red tomatoes to be harvested as well as parsley, basil and onions.  i tore all the tomato cages away from the plants and stored them behind the barn. the strawberry plants were weeded in preparation for adding straw for the winter mulch. then began the task of clearing out all the other vegetation and pulling the balance of the tall grass that had grown up, well, everywhere. oh my it was hard work. i started out standing and stooping over to pull and then eventually sat right down in the garden to save my back. i made a little progress but knew it would be much easier work if i waited for a little rain. and it has rained every day since!

sitting there in the garden pulling weeds i daydreamed about the garden i will plant next year -- the heritage seeds i want to plant so i can save seed for the next year, the wood poles i want to build for growing sugar snap peas, the new sod i want plowed for pumpkins and gourds. the list goes on and on. but mostly i thought about dreaming and setting goals and reaching. i've learned it's not healthy to become complacent or comfortable with yourself or your life.  when i let myself become stagnant i was unhappy with everyone and everything, but really mostly with myself. with this farming gig i've given myself permission to learn as i go, make mistakes and yes even fail. so let the rain stop so i can get back into the garden where the weeds will now be much easier to pull.

and for your listening pleasure, here's the theme song from the movie butch cassidy and the sundance kid -- love that movie and wasn't robert redford a total hunk??!!

apple butter!!

until this summer it had been years and years since i'd done any canning. i have fond memories of spending a whole day in the kitchen with my mom and my grandma and grandpa farmer putting up tomato juice and mixed vegetables for soup. yes, it was hard work but the sense of satisfaction was worth it. this summer we put up over 130 quarts of food -- pickles, tomatoes, tomato juice, green beans and chili sauce. after all of our garden produce had been put up mom and i still yearned to do more canning so we made apple butter! this was a super easy recipe made from canned applesauce and baked in the oven. here's my sister kathy's recipe!

kathy's homemade apple butter

1 gallon canned applesauce -- we bought a case of 6 gallons from a wholesale food distributor
3 pounds brown sugar
1 5 oz bag of red hots
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon cinnamon

mix all the ingredients together in 2 large cake pans. we used the biggest ones mom had -- around 12 x 15 inches. stir very well. cook in preheated 350 degree oven for 3 hours or so with one pan on the top shelf and the other on the bottom. stir every half hour or so. after 1 1/2 hours switch the pans so the one on the bottom is on the top and vice versa. it will get thicker as it cooks. when done scoop into pint jars, add lids and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. we got 5 1/2 pints per recipe. so far we've made 20 pints and still have 2 gallons of applesauce left.

this is a very sweet recipe. the next time we make it, i plan to reduce the amount of sugar a bit. 

all ready for christmas gift-giving!!

streams of light

when you look up into the trees in autumn there is a mesmerizing play of light and shadow. crimson leaves blaze, shadows dance and streams of light filter down to warm your face. if you stand still under the tree with your eyes closed you can envision the experience as a metaphor for your life. there is motion and stillness, light and shadow, confusion and illumination.

and so it has been for me for many, many months. i faced an endless road of unhappiness and chose the brighter path. the choice was scary and exhilarating and laden with regret. but each time the shadows seemed to overtake me, the streams of light came back to show me the way.

at the core of my life change was a fervent belief that the pursuit of money and material possessions was weighing me down. being a faceless, nameless cog in the wheel of corporate greed was disenchanting and demoralizing. i wanted to live simply, peacefully and sustainably.

a year later, here i am -- living with my mom in the house that she and my dad built almost 60 years ago on three wooded acres. i wanted to raise chickens for meat and eggs. and we did it. i wanted to have a large vegetable garden. and we did that too. we've canned, frozen and shared bushels of produce. we're getting 5 dozen eggs a week, enough to share with family and sell to friends. we've named our homestead butterscotch farm and we are happy.

we are two farmer chicks, a hoe and an apron. welcome to our blog . . . sit back and enjoy your visit. the sweet tea is brewing and mom's butterscotch pie is cooling on the rack. we're sure glad you stopped by!