New Homes and the Farm Weekend

Two of our not so little anymore little ones went to there forever home yesterday afternoon.  Brothers, Blue is the spitting image of dad, while Cluster has some of mama's finer qualities.  Dot (mama) also has a smiley face on both sides.  Fitting that the largest and the runt of the litter go home together. 

The kids spent some time primping them in preparation.  They got one last romp in the garden, and then a pedicure and a dry bath.  One of the best parts is that they went home with some friends of ours, so there will be visitations.

Aside from two traveling soccer games, a house full of 10 year old boys slumber partying, and 4H picnicking, we managed to get some more planting done in the garden, and some more envisioning for its future.  I am not sure if it is the fact that the weather has finally warmed, the possibility that we may soon finally be rid of the other house, or that our little farm is the site for a wedding this fall, but we feel a little lighter and better able to envision simple, sustainable changes that will move us forward. 

This morning, I processed the rest of the rhubarb that we have picked so far into 2 gorgeous Quarts of Rhubarb Vanilla cordial.  After much hemming and hawing about it, and the fact that Charles and Sidney now love soda water as much as B and I do, we are finally going to invest in a soda stream to cut down on our can waste, and to compliment the variety of cordials this seasons garden will offer.

This season we are also upping the ante with the purchase of a pressure caner.  We will be able to process a much wider variety of items to fill our pantry.  By later this summer, look for some new canning tips!

Golden Butterflies

The wind lifts the maple helicopters
dispersing them far and wide.
They dance like so many golden butterflies,
stretching their wings,
eager to propagate their future.

And, Another Rhubarb Post

The rhubarb picking over the weekend has left me in a frenzied mood to cook it.  One thing about eating seasonally, you are so excited to see the delicacies of each part of the season, that you eat them like crazy while you can, almost like you are trying to overdose on the memories of the flavors to hold you over until the next time.  I read this article this morning and I really love the idea of a living protest, and making your life a sign for your beliefs.

I already mentioned the Rhubarb Cordial that we started on Sunday.  I have decided that most batch recipes handle rhubarb in two pound increments....at least the ones that I am making.  I measured carefully the two pounds for the cordial, but when you have loads of chopping ahead of you, eyeballing is just good enough!  Yesterday I made a rhubarb lavender crumble.  I cheat a little, because I use Cracker Barrels apple crumble topping.  It is the best one that I've found, and have been yet to replicate it.  I always pick up a few bags of it when we pass by one.  hmmm maybe I should pinterest it, and see if anyone else has cracked the code to this oatmeal cinnamon goodness.  And, yes I did just use pinterest as a verb.

I also took 2 1/2 pounds of rhubarb and simmered it on the stove with 3/4 cup of water, 1 1/4 cups of sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla for about 45 minutes.  This produced a lovely rhubarb compote that gave me three full pints.  It is wonderful on toast, or my personal favorite swirled in oatmeal.

I am almost half through this first batch, and am searching for more new and interesting uses.  How do you use rhubarb??

My Rhubarb Agenda

This weekend was the traditional start to the gardening weekend in Wisconsin.  Normally we push the envelope and have most everything planted well before now, but that was not in the cards this year, and as it turns out that is ok.  We had patchy frost Friday morning!

We took our time this weekend, and got better than half of the seasons plantings in the ground before the rain began.  Thankfully, B had diligently prepared and covered many of the beds last fall, so there was not the prep work to be done.  We covered the beds that we are rotating out this season, and laid drip line as we planted. 

Our deep urge to get the season started sparked lots of conversation and brainstorming.  I love these sessions.  We can develop and fine tune our vision, and search out sustainable ways to make it happen.  As you can see from above, this weekend also gave us our first rhubarb harvest.  Thirty-four stalks as big as my arm and as wide as my wrist.  Oh there are so many things on my rhubarb agenda, so I began yesterday with a new recipe for an alcoholic rhubarb cordial.

So simple!  Two pounds chopped rhubarb, 1 Cup sugar and 1 liter of good vodka.  It needs to sit for a month, stirring it daily until the sugar is completely dissolved and the rhubarb breaks down.  Then we will strain it and bottle it.  I can't wait to see how it tastes!

We had a cold misty rain all day yesterday, perfect for watering in the new tender plants and allowing for farm dreams.  This morning, as thunderstorms and warmer air are rolling in, everything is foggy like London street corner at twilight.  I almost expect Sherlock Holmes to emerge out of the mist.  Not too bad a start to a Tuesday morning after a long holiday weekend;  warmer weather on the way and an air of mystery about the week. 

Alway's Look on the Bright Side

In case our afternoon of scattered torrential rain has gotten you down.

Remember, it has put a damper 

 on our current pollen problem! ;-)

 AND, you could be out practicing soccer in the torrential rain.  The kids love getting wet and muddy,  I've gotta give full credit to our dedicated coaches!