finally emerging from our winter malaise

While we are still in the middle of a possible blizzard, Bryan and I have begun to turn our thoughts toward spring. Temperatures in the low 30's over the last two weeks felt like a glorious heat wave. Even the chickens remerged from their coop and could be seen playing in the snow. Our heads are filled with seed orders and garden plans. Now we just have to wait out the next two months. We did finally hang our vertical cherry tomatoes in the windows. They will have to be hand pollinated, but at this point I'd sell my soul for a garden fresh tomato.

As we sit in the house, watching the snow fall outside the window, our farm designs spin rapidly out of control. Spring will be so wonderful, if it ever arrives.

Winter Ice Storm

We are still in the midst of the Iowa winter. Perhaps it was our time spent basking in the glow of the Florida sun that has left us unprepared for the mental strength that is required for a landscape drained of all color. However, as if sensing our absolute fatigue, winter provided an unexpected experience this morning. We emerged to find the world covered in glass. Tiny colonies and cities of ice made strange every surface.

Latest Developments

Bryan and I have been helping Papa Steve harvest his industrial crop of corn and soy beans. While we are not interested in supporting this type of farming, we do acknowledge at it is this larger farm that allows our gifted sustainable farm to exist. The first week of driving the wagons was mildly interesting. Unfortunately after the initial training the whole process just became painfully banal. With the extra hours and the approaching winter we have not made that many improvements to the farm.


A small bit of news from the farm would be that we found our first cluster of eggs, while cleaning out the chicken house this morning. We are so proud of our little hens.

Was that a snowflake?

Our garden plans were interrupted this weekend by an early freeze. During our stay in Florida we had forgotten what a cruel mistress the Iowa weather can be. We were able to save most of the remaining vegetable crop and now have basins of green tomatoes and buckets of potatoes in the basement.



A few weeks ago we installed a plastic "green house" like structure into the garden in order to save the beets and the peas we planted late in August. It is a mystery how Bryan and I are still married after this endeavor. Take one sheet of 50 foot plastic and add 30 MPH wind. Result: shouting matches about the best plastic procedure and later rolling on the ground laughing so intensely that I burst into tears. Oh, and the plastic blew off the next day. It has since been retrofitted and reinstalled. Good times. We just have to focus on the prospect of beet wine this winter and search for another equally obnoxious project to begin.

The Tomato Harvest

I have been in the midst of remodeling my studio and apologize for my absence over the last two weeks. The studio looks great and the paint has almost worn off Marty's coat.




Two weeks ago we harvested half of the tomato crop and instigated a canning party at Papa Steve's house. Our love for peeling tomatoes grew with a smallest addition of midwest brewed beer. I would advise against "dry" mass canning sessions. If anyone is interested in our canning tally, we boastfully present our numbers:





12 pints tomato sauce
24 pints canned tomatoes
6 jars of apple sauce
4 jar of pear butter



The apples were picked on my grandfather's farm and the pears were from my father's farm. The second wave of tomatoes have ripened in the garden this week, plus I have three Publix bags of pears and apples in the root cellar. For the time being we are just ignoring the bounty of fruit that still needs to be canned. (shh, don't disturb the fruit flies)

Update on the Dandelion Wine

As I posted earlier, the dandelion wine tasted a bit like gasoline for the first six weeks of it's existence. However, I am happy to report that after three months it has developed quite a nice flavor. I can be quite particular about wine, about the cost of the wine that is, with a self imposed seven dollar price limit. So having admitted that I am no great expert on the subject, I would recommend the dandelion wine. In terms of cost it is quite recession proof, costing only a dollar a bottle. The only regret I have is that I only made seven bottles and have since run out of wine.

Here is a link to the dandelion wine recipe. I followed this recipe exactly. However, I would recommend that you do not leave the bottles open as the recipe suggests. I had a issue with fruit flies and have since read that you can attach a balloon to the top of each bottle to allow the gases of fermentation to escape when it expends while still restricting the admittance of flies.

I'm off to research beet wine so that I might restock my wine cabinet.

Harvesting the Butternuts

We have been harvesting the butternut squash now for three weeks. I cooked fresh squash, squash and apples, squash soup with dumplings, butternut bisque, and squash stir fry. So I guess the real question is, does anyone else want some squash? As I attempt to unload some "product" I begin to notice that my regular "clients" each have in their homes at least two uneaten squashes (the plural of squash is odd sounding) .




If you are in Iowa please feel free to stop by and pick up some squash. (we live one hill away from my childhood home in the blue house. E-mail me if you need directions.)


Bryan continues to harvest the carrots.