More About Cropping

We're into full swing now. Colin has one field of wheat already planted and hopes to get another couple in. I even think he's planting sweet corn this weekend. This is the field of wheat. He's already spread the "organic soil conditioner" -aka piggie poo and then Dad followed along behind with the disk and rolling harrow to make sure it gets worked in so that the nitrogen won't escape into the air.

The wheat is "no tilled" which means that Colin did not plow this field in the fall. It looks a little smoother than normal, but that's because of using the disk and harrow. No tilling saves a lot of fuel, which is good for the environment and for our input costs. It is also a time saver, something to think about now that Colin's Dad is starting to want to slow down. We have to find time saving ways if Colin is going to be able to work the land himself.

This field is what a no till field usually looks like. It was corn last year, this year it will be soy beans. We're still waiting for the ground to warm up before planting this one. Right now Colin is chisel plowing another field to get it ready for corn. With our heavy clay ground it is not a great idea to no til corn. It really affects production.

This is where the real farm work is going on right now. This is Daddy's greenhouse and it is full of sprouts. You can see the plastic hanging down from the ceiling. Colin uses that to create a smaller greenhouse inside to keep the temperature about freezing overnight. There is a space heater for really cold nights. We won't be safely free of frost until May 24.

Here's a selection of plants. Mostly tomatoes right now. But the cucumbers and pumpkins are all planted too. There is even a pot of flowers for Momma's garden :)

And here is where a lot of the tomato plants will end up. Colin has the garden covered in heavy black plastic and makes a hole for the plant. We have soaker hoses underneath the plastic, but we've only had to water a couple times in the 2 years we've gardened this way. Having the plastic was a life-saver last summer. It was so cold and wet. But the tomatoes that were laying on the plastic were still good, if they had been laying on the ground they would have rotted. I sure hope we have a good tomato season this year. Last year was dismal. Not only do we need the income, but I need to can tomatoes and make fruit relish. I was also thinking of making tomato sauce this year too.

That's about it for now. Nothing too exciting (according to me-haha) going on around here. If anyone has questions feel free to ask. I never know how much people want to know :)

Cropping Starts Today

Colin has lately started supplying a restaurant in Pembroke with pork. It's called JJ's if anyone's nearby. Grandma took Ella for a sleepover (she was having Ella-withdrawls), so I decided to take Daddy out for supper -likely our last real date night until the end of summer. I was right, today he started injecting the "organic soil conditioner", aka piggie pooh, today and has already said to eat without him.

On the house front, things are going well. We were at the Home Show in Petewawa on the weekend. We found another modular home builder, Guildcrest, that is actual based in Ontario. A definite plus. Also, their homes arrive complete, inside and out (except of course for the "seam"). Their prices are equal to or less than the company we were thinking of using. And those homes were completely NOT finished inside. Colin would have months of work to do before we could move in. We even got a quote for the new septic that was half of what Colin was expecting. Getting quotes has been the hardest part of all this -except the waiting. I'm getting so excited, I just hope we can work mortgage payments that we can afford.

Here's the floorplan we're thinking about. Room size is subject to change because I don't know what I'm doing :)

Cookie day today (in between loads of laundry). I made Bushel Cookies. I made the 1/4 batch because it's a new recipe. The 1/4 batch made 8 dozen cookies, plus 4 "Daddy size" cookies. I hope you've got a scale. Next time I make them I'll measure my ingredients and update the recipe. Also hope you've got a cookie scoop, the dough is rather slack and sticky.


Bushel Cookies
Full Batch 1/4 Batch 1/2 Batch
Brown sugar 5 lbs 1 1/4 lbs 2 1/2 lbs
Lard 2 1/2 lb scant 3/4 lb 1 1/4 lbs
Eggs 12 3 6
Maple Syrup 1 c. 1/4 c. 1/2 c.
Baking Soda 2 oz. 1/2 oz. 1 oz.
Baking Powder 2 oz. 1/2 oz. 1 oz.
Milk 1 qt 1/4 qt 1/2 qt
Flour 6 lbs 1 1/2 lbs 3 lbs
Oatmeal 2 lbs 1/2 lb 1 lb
Raisins and Chocolate Chips, mixed 2lbs 1/2 lb 1 lb
Ground salted peanuts 1 lb 1/4 lb 1/2 lb

Mix as you would any other cookie. Cream shortening and sugar. Mix in eggs and syrup and oatmeal. Alternate milk with flour and leavenings. Then gently mix in raisins, chips and peanuts. Bake 350F for 10-12 min. on greased cookie sheets. Let cool 5 min before removing from sheets or they will stick.

Personally, next time I will save the maple syrup for my pancakes, as you can't really taste it in the finished cookie. I may put in at least 1/2cup (per 1/4 batch) of peanut butter. I also did not put in the ground peanuts. I don't like nuts in things so I didn't have any around. I did have some sunflower seeds in the freezer, so I added some of them.

I always keep my nuts and seeds (and yeast) in the freezer. Please don't keep them in your cupboard, they can go rancid very quickly.

Home Plans

I have long known that I am married to the most wonderful man in the world. He's hard-working, loving and a fabulous Daddy. But he has now proved himself to be the kind of man that is near impossible to find, outside of the Mennonite/Amish communities.


You'll notice this eyesore, I mean back part of our house. Once upon a time it was a summer kitchen and shed. Now it's freezer storage/junk room/even junkier junk room. It's also the main entrance to our home. Rather embarrassing to have anyone outside of family come by and see -especially pork or sewing customers. It's starting to fall off the house (good construction I know) and it really bothers/embarrasses Colin, so he's decided to bite the bullet and take it down. It's good timing (sort of) because we are working out the financing to buy this part of the farm from his Dad, so we might as well ask for the extra to put something usable on. Our house is very misleading, it seems a good size when really it's only 2 bedrooms and about 800sq ft.

This is where my Colin really makes me fall in love with him all over again. The addition is going to be big enough that my Mom will come and live with us!!!!! Not too many guys these days want their MIL to move in.

The addition will be a new living/dining room so that more than 3 people can sit down at once (good since Colin's family total 10), a bathroom that is more than 3x5, in fact it will be wheel-chair size just in case Mom's arthritis gets too bad in the way distant future. There will also be 2 good size bedrooms. One for Mom and one for Ella. Ella's current room is so small and if we build her a new room, that means we will, eventually, get a bathroom upstairs. Hurray! Coming from a 2 bath house to this one bath one has been such a change. You don't realize how convenient having a bathroom on the same floor as the bedrooms is until you lose it :) That's one of the reasons I spent the last 2-3 months of my pregnancy sleeping on the chesterfield. I made so many trips each night, Colin was afraid I would fall. With the layout of the addition I get a much bigger kitchen, moving the table to the new part. Also, Momma finally gets a pantry, we'll rip out the old bathroom and put in LOTS of shelves. Ella will get the old living room as a playroom. I'm so happy about that because I'm tired of hearing from the in-laws that she has "so many toys", when really she has very few toys. It just looks like a lot of toys because the living room is so small and it's easy for them to take over. It will make things easier for Ella and Daddy because he can watch his shows in the living room and Ella can play in her playroom and we don't have to have the TV up full blast :[

What does Daddy get for all this? Except the love and admiration of a happy Momma? He gets a "man-cave" in the basement. He'll finally be able to set up his train set and have storage for his telescope. Maybe now he'll use it more since it will be handy. He'll also have somewhere to escape if there gets to be too much "girl" stuff going on. He'll also appreciate the second bathroom, once it gets done.

Now we just have to decide how to do it. We've been looking at modular houses. They really seem like a good way to go. Colin would have a lot of finish work to do, but it would certainly save dollars. We also have a couple of contractors working on prices. At least with modular it would be on site in a day and is built indoors. We also have to work on where the money is going to come from. I trust God, He has always provided for us. I just hope we can do it soon. Mom doesn't need to live with us now, but I would like to see her move in when she's still able to take an active part in Ella's live and enjoy herself; not just move in to be "looked after". Mom has had to struggle and make do for so long, I want to take care of her and have her not have to worry.

Laundry

Off to a better start today. It's a wonder the things that can change a mood. I got out a surprise gift from a girlfriend and used one of the pretty new dishcloths that she made. They are such a pretty blue.


I've got a load of laundry in the machine, one load folded and ready to go upstairs. I caught Colin in time to get the recycling down to the highway. The bread is mixing in the bread machine. And I'm ready to start some custom sewing.






Thought I'd share some pictures of my dungeon, I mean cellar.
It's actually looking better than before. Colin has recently insultated and now it's brighter and you can't see the cracked stone foundation. The insulation is neat, it's like aluminium foil covered bubble wrap. Colin recommends it for anyone trying to insulate around a bunch of stuff (oil furnace/tank/washing machine/pumps/etc).

Running After Time

I really need to get back on schedule. I've been sleeping in and getting up when Ella does for a while now. But that leaves me chasing after time all day long and getting no where. Guess I have to go back to getting up at 5:50 with Colin. I hate feeling behind before my day even starts.

One of my favourite websites is the Amish Cook. The cookbooks The Amish Cook at Home: Simple Pleasures of Food, Family, and Faith and Amish Cookbook that Lovina and Elizabeth have written with Kevin are so enjoyable I sit and read them like a "real" book. Lovina and Elizabeth are Old Order Amish and so live a much more basic life than mine. When I start feeling like I'm drowning in work, especially laundry, I like to take a short break (regroup) and read a bit. It sure puts my work into perspective when I read about doing laundry without an electric washing machine. I don't usually use my dryer, but it sure is good to have it when I need it.


Some days Ella seems to need more parental attention than others. This is one of those days. I may just give up on all my plans for the day, except the laundry, and spend the rest of the day playing house or whatever she wants. I try not to do too much intensive work while Ella's up, she's only going to be this little for such a short while. I don't want to look back in 20 years, when she's too busy for me, and say "I wish I had spent more time with Ella, doing .... wasn't that important after all".

I wish Colin and I were able to have more children. I worry Ella will be lonely. But I'm not in the mood to follow this line of thought -maybe another day.

I can't hear the washing machine any more. Time to hang up the laundry and start another load, depending on how much line is left