Goodbye to Weston Farm

It's official.  On October 8^th, 2015 we sold our beloved property to another nice couple who is excited and thrilled to have it, and we will be leaving Weston Farm in the near future.

I say “beloved” because of all the reasons we truly love and will miss this home and property.  However, we are just as excited to move into our new home which we signed papers for today!   We are downsizing from six acres to one and upgrading to a newer home with (hopefully) less maintenance and unforeseen costs.

So much happened after we moved here; my career took a turn and became much more consuming than I ever would have anticipated.  (Kevin’s was already there.) The kids’ interests shifted and expanded.  Health issues for both of us, multiple surgeries (5), snakebites (okay, only one, but you get the point!) all came into play at the same time. 

All those things coupled with, my idealistic vision of farming being hit with a dose of reality.  Planting and growing things isn’t as simple as sticking seeds in the ground and watering, then harvesting.   I could go on, but the bottom line is, I think we bit off more than we could chew without something else in life giving, and I’m not willing to give up most of those other things until my kids are grown.  

I’ll miss the charm of this old farmhouse, but not the maintenance and utility bills.

I’ll miss the privacy, but not the isolation.

I’ll miss the long stretch of country road leading home, but not the long, bumpy drive.

I’ll miss watching the spring storms roll in across the pasture.

I’ll miss the unobstructed sunsets and sunrises.

Most of all, I’ll miss the trees.  These huge, ancient trees that have been here longer than my existence…  There is something magical about their spring awakening, after a long winter’s slumber, and something darkly mysterious as they creak and groan, stark and naked in the midst of winter.

The new home is convenient to everything.  Schools, Church, grocery store and just minutes from the main thoroughfare. 

I’ll enjoy being closer to the schools and kid’s activities.  Our commute to work is fairly substantial and the added running back and forth to town for every other little things, like grocery shopping, prescription pickup, practices, school events, church… it adds up.   The eight miles into town takes us 20 minutes (one way) so doing things mid-week is an event

I’ll enjoy allowing the kids the opportunity to grow up with neighborhood friends and in the community.

I’ll enjoy having a more open, sociable floor plan, where the kitchen is open to the family room so the cook (yours truly) isn’t isolated in the kitchen while everyone else is off doing their own thing.

I’ll enjoy having the boys in separate bedrooms.  (2^nd and 8^th grade are light years apart.)

I’ll enjoy having a completely fenced backyard where Jasper will live and play and his fur might have a chance of staying the nice biscuit white it’s meant to be.  (His current play place of choice is the neighboring pond, where he joins the cows and brings himself home filthy.)

I’ll enjoy not having as much dirt to track into the house and while I’ll miss all the shade gardens, it will be nice to have the option to landscape with sun-loving plants.

And… I’m looking forward to having time to mountain bike again and settling into a somewhat more streamlined life.

Update: November 22nd.  Tomorrow will be a month since we closed.  The day we signed the papers, I felt this massive burden lift off my shoulders and an overwhelming sense of peace come over me.  We've mostly unpacked in our new home and are fixin' to enjoy our first Thanksgiving here. I couldn't be more thankful. <3

A Thousand (plus) Pears

I’m not sure me attacking 1000 plus pears as a canning novice was the best decision, but attack I did.  

Jars and jars of Jam (which I am scared to test for fear it may be the consistency of rubber), Preserves, Pear-I-don’t-know-what-to-call-it (maybe syrup?), Balsamic Pears, Pickled Pears, Cinnamon Pears, Clove Pears, Plain Pears later… 

Take-away:

Seckel Pears are delicious. Perfectly sweet.  They may, however, be too sweet for jam/preserves.

Seckel Pears ripen quickly. No 5-7 day window there.

When making jam/preserves, you can’t wing it.  You can’t lessen the sugar.  You can’t substitute for Stevia.  You can’t alter the recipe at all.  If your ratio of pectin (natural or added) and acid and sugar is off, your jam won’t set. Or, it could go the other way and turn into a rubber like consistency.

Jams/Jellies/Preserves are best when made in smaller batches. (My pot-to-feed-an-army was not conducive to successful jamming.)

One stove isn’t enough when canning 1000 plus pears. You need two.  One for cooking jams and such.  The other for canning two canners at a time. (I opted not to try the pear butter this year because of the cooking time.)

I think, once I recover, I’ll buy some fruit in “small” batches and try making jam without the time constraints… 

Hopefully when I do get up the guts to try some of my canning experiments from 2014, they will be edible and even tasty!

Next year, however, I’m setting up shop and selling those suckers the minute they come off the tree… Smaller quantities…

Thanksgiving Break 2013

Kevin took the week of Thanksgiving off to relax and work on projects and I took Wednesday off to make it a five day holiday. The first part of the week was icy and frigid. We had to go buy insulated coveralls, gloves, and warmer clothes just to work outdoors. We worked on the chicken run first... it was of utmost importance because Jasper killed Arietty. Rather, he took a chunk out of her back and Kevin had to put her down. It's disappointing because she was my favorite, but I know it's the cycle of life and Jasper was just acting on instincts. We had hoped he would protect the flock, but unfortunately, his definition of livestock clearly does not include poultry. I kind of wanted to be there to help take care of her, to see how I would react to the situation, but I was at work, and I did not want her to suffer while I commuted home.

Our friends, the Molinas, invited us down to Lufkin to spend Thanksgiving Day with their family. It was really nice to see Jenn and her family. I think I still feel stuffed from all the food. Time for the after the holiday diet. ;-0

Our recovery plan for our project was to hurry back from Lufkin Friday to make up for some of the time we lost due to the rain and ice earlier in the week.

We spent the rest of our time working on building eight raised beds, and staking out our garden and greenhouse. We plan to have many more beds, but only had enough lumber delivered to get eight up. We needed a place to put all the leaves... there.are.so.many.leaves! (47 pecan trees will do that I guess) I'm almost embarrassed to take pictures of the yard right now because it's about knee deep... that's from just two weeks of them falling! At least we have somewhere to put them now!

We started a couple of projects... Kevin started building in the office desk. I decided to turn the top of the entertainment center into window seat with storage baskets underneath for the girls room... and I made a pictures frame for a 12 x 12 canvas... it's hard to explain, so I'll have to post the after pictures later.

After the kids came home, I took trimmings from the cedar trees and made boughs for the front porch. Luke and Kevin rescued more doors and windows from the old house and that was that... a few chores, dinner, a fire, hot cocoa, football, and a blog... back to the grind tomorrow... so not ready to make the mental switch back but it must be done!

I've posted the week in pictures below!

Luke and Kevin "rescued" doors and windows from the old house...



We staked out the garden and greenhouse... built eight raised beds... it's a small start.



I started a project... turning the top of the entertainment center into a window seat with storage for the girls...

Window seat in progress



I have to paint it white to match the girl's furniture... and make a pillow for the top...



Kevin started a project... built in desk.

I started a project... 

I have to make the artwork to go in the center.  It's a 12 x 12 canvas... After pictures to come...



Kevin & I finished building the chicken run.



Our first order of Jersey Girls Raw Milk & Cream - Yum!  This stuff made the best hot cocoa!




The twins "helped" cut cedar branches for decorating the porch... Pictures to come...

 

Our current state of Frazzle!

Most of this can be deduced from my facebook page, where I share quick snapshots of the days... but I took time to write a friend and decided I'd turn it into a blog post as well. It kind of explains our current state = FRAZZLED!

My life has been non-stop since football season started. We are down to the last few weeks though. We have one to three games left depending on how far we get in the playoffs. Trying to fit dinner, homework, chores, lunch making, and baths in before 8:30 pm is hard enough when you get home at 6 pm. When you have football practice three nights a week, and don’t get home until 7:30-8:00 and still have to do that stuff, it’s nigh impossible. We’ve survived thus far by tag teaming. By tag-teaming, I mean Kevin comes to practice and stays with Luke, and I take the little ones home and start the routine. That works well except when he travels, or has to work late. Those days, I try to do their homework with them in the car. I’ve only resorted to fast food one night and felt awful for that. Cooking on Sundays for the week, or at least pre-prepping stuff, has helped tremendously. It’s a hard time of year though also rewarding. It stretches me as a person – quite painfully – having to be extra organized just to survive in combination with having to overlook other things, also, just to survive. It makes me seem dull, and rigid, because I can’t vary from the schedule without everything domino-ing around me… and people can’t understand the lack of flexibility. On top of all the football, fall is the time we have the fall festivals/fun days at the elementary school, PTA festivals, homecoming, various events on the square… so while I’ve enjoyed this spell, I’m definitely looking forward to the next season… where hopefully I get more time at home, and less time running. Plus, I miss blogging!

Jasper has healed up quite well. I love his sweet furry face! We are contemplating getting him a playmate. Elijah said: We should build them a house if we get him a girl friend. Eliana: Yea, so they can have their romantic time. Me: Well, animals don’t really have their romantic time in a house, per say… they tend to do it just about anywhere. That kinda swooshed over their heads, thankfully.

We have two Americaunas and two Buff Orpingtons laying. Not consistently, but one day, we got four eggs! I’ve named the three Buffs. Arietty (from the borrowers), Clara, and Lydia. They are the most friendly and lovey of my chickens. I keep hoping one of the three Dominiques will be a rooster, so I can name him Django!

We did a bonfire this weekend. That was a lot of fun. We used one of the fireplaces (wood burning) for heat as well inside. We had a problem with our gas line and though it’s fixed, they haven’t made it out to fill up the propane. I guess this time of year, there is a long line in front of us. It was 38 for a low on Saturday night so got a little frosty inside! Good snuggling weather! ;-)

I am going to join the Heritage Herb Club. My first meeting is Sunday. I think we are making herb wreaths and sachets. I have no herbs to share yet, thanks to the grasshoppers, but I will restart with seedlings next time, soaked in my grasshopper repellent solution.

I went to a Day of the Dead tea party on Saturday. It was interesting! There were all kinds of yummy herbal teas, lots of amazing Hispanic food. I learned how to make homemade tortillas! (I think. I have to try them unattended to confirm.) My friend, Rebecca, gave me a Thyroid Booster tincture so I can research the ingredients… I have been reading that fluoride is the number one killer of the pituitary gland that regulates the thyroid function. I started having the conversation with Kevin yesterday about having someone out to test our old well and seeing if we could convert the house back over to the well water, instead of the city water and if not, buying filtration system that is better than the one on the fridge… to remove the fluoridation.

I’ve been reading about canning too. Most of the things I want to can require a pressure canner, so that’s on the list to buy. Also thinking I might try making bread dough and freezing it – have you have any success with freezing dough? Have you tried?

I cooked a pot roast with mushrooms and onions this weekend in the crock pot. I served it on homemade half whole wheat rolls with provolone and au jus. It’s one of Kevin’s faves. Mine too! Also cooked a turkey and put it in the fridge for meals this week. LOVE turkey.

Twelve!

I can’t believe I have a 12 year old! TWELVE! Where has the time gone?!
Luke, you are growing into a handsome, intelligent young man. This year you have really stepped it up a notch. You are balancing your school, football, and home life with a maturity above your years. You are a blessing and a joy and I could not be more proud. I love you! ..

Egg-citing News!!!

Look who laid her first egg!!!

This morning Kevin and I went to let the chickens out and my favorite snuggle chicken was nested in the roosting box!  She was quite startled when Kevin opened the top of her little cubby. 

After she emerged, some time later, we checked the box and sure enough, we had our very first "homemade" egg!!!

I'm so proud of my little chicken and kind of smug that my favorite laid the first egg. ;-)

Kevin got the coop ready just on the nick of time...

La Coop ~ est. 2013

(Delayed post a few days for "after" pictures!)

 
I've been thinking... I have an amazingly fun life. Not every girl gets to come home, change out of her heels and chase chickens in the mud. 

 Yes, last night, after a full day at work, coming home to make dinner, pack lunches, direct homework, supervise baths and chores, and doing a load of laundry, I changed out of my heels to chase chickens… at dusk… in the mud from the fresh rain! At one point, with a chicken under each arm, my legs started sliding in opposite directions! 

 Chickens are, it would seem, creatures of habit. Previously, they entered the coop promptly at dusk… Enter.New.Coop. Now, they wander around in the vicinity, looking around with little clucks and murmurings… Their new, fancy coop made by my handy dandy hubby is just waiting there… inviting them... They just need a little direction. Once we get them in there, they love it. (Yesterday was night two…) They have a roost now with plenty of room for them all! 

 We find it ironic that Abercrombie and Fitch, the two bantam silky roosters who evidenced not a shred of chivalry to the girls, by hogging the very best spot in the temporary coop, have found themselves huddle on the floor while the chicks perch on their fancy roost! 

 My husband really is truly brilliant. I pinned some chicken coops on Pinterest and before I knew it, he had taken those ideas and made a cute little cottage for the girls (and Abercrombie and Fitch) and hopefully Henry William Thomas Alexander Rufflesby, whenever he shows up… or perhaps John Wayne… or Clint Eastwood… (All names being tossed around for a rooster.)
 

Below is the progression in pictures! I’d like to thank our friends, Jenn, for helping me with the painting, and Michael, for helping Kevin with the roof… (and also for the fabulous company over the Labor Day weekend!) 

My favorite part is the ramp and the roost... or the waterer and the feeder, or the nesting boxes...  Take a look!

 

Kevin pulled this door from the old house pile and restored it.





Such attention to detail!



Luke digging the trench for the pipes to feed the waterer



Work is more fun with friends! 

There was some indecision on the paint color. ;)





The chickens are Happy, Happy, Happy!