by Susan | Feb 12, 2011 | On the Farm
We’ve contracted with a local logging company to harvest wood off the back portion of our property. They started preliminary work this week. To do this they have punched a winter woods road through the woods. Just beyond the telephone pole on the left is where...
by Susan | Feb 5, 2011 | On the Farm
We heat our home with an outdoor wood boiler. This is a very economical way for us to heat our home given that we live on 49 wooded acres. The only catch is that at some point you have to cut the wood. We believe that the area where our house sits used to be pasture....
by Susan | Dec 4, 2010 | On the Farm
In recent years it’s become our family tradition to cut a Christmas tree from our own property. This usually involves at least an hour of tromping through the woods, studying every fir tree under 20 feet from all angles. It is too skinny? Is it full enough? Is...
by Susan | Oct 3, 2010 | Garden
So this may not be very exciting for you, but I just harvested my very first carrots! I didn’t get them planted until August and I’ve had to thwart the deer to keep them growing, but here they are! I only planted three rows in my raised bed, but with the...
by Susan | Sep 24, 2010 | Garden
About a month ago I reported that the deer had found one of my raised bed gardens. I took action to try to protect my lettuce and carrots by surrounding the bed with string and little flags that flutter about in the wind. It seemed to work well until this past week....
by Susan | Aug 28, 2010 | Garden
Yesterday, I spied this doe in the the garden area – right about where the chicken coop is going to live. As soon as I stepped outside with my camera she went on alert. She studied me calmly as I snapped her picture before darting down the ravine barking as if...
by Susan | Aug 23, 2010 | Garden
One of the first things I noticed when I moved to New England is that summer weather doesn’t really hit until July. Paul enjoys the saying that in Maine we have two seasons – winter and the Fourth of July. While this often seems like only a slight exaggeration,...
by Susan | Aug 20, 2010 | Garden
This week I purchased a few end of season butterfly bushes from a local garden and farm store. This one is laying on its side in the driveway waiting to be planted, but that doesn’t seem to bother the butterfly. Upon closer inspection the butterfly is looking a...
by Susan | Aug 1, 2010 | Garden
Today I had the time and the cucumbers to attempt another round of pickles. The first batch we made turned out good, but not awesome, so I’m told. Apparently I have a family of pickle connoisseurs. This time around we made pickles with a different recipe. We...
by Susan | Jul 28, 2010 | Garden
I’m not sure what this says about me, but I get really excited about growing garlic. A bit garden geeky, I know. Today was harvest day for my Russian Red. It’s like Christmas day digging up the garlic and see how Mother Nature treated the little cloves I planted in...
by Susan | Jul 25, 2010 | Garden
More than half of the flowers in my garden are hand-me-downs or gifts from Mom. Over the past couple of years Mom has given me a couple of dozen baby dwarf Korean lilac plants that she dug up from her garden as her lilacs began to spread. Three of these plants...
by Susan | Jul 23, 2010 | On the Farm
Paul putts around our property in an old New Holland tractor. This tractor predates amenities like cup holders and sun shades. For years Paul has threatened to get a cup holder for the tractor so he can have a big slurp close at hand when he’s doing hot dusty...
by Susan | Jun 26, 2010 | On the Farm
I finally got a good night sleep last night. That combined with decent weather and I was ready to tackle a few outdoor projects today. I spent some time pulling logs out of a gully near the house with the tractor. The gully runs along the space where we want to move a...
by Susan | Jun 17, 2010 | On the Farm
Here’s a little video of the tree eating monster in action.
by Susan | Jun 16, 2010 | On the Farm
Did you know that I have my own Paul Bunyan? I do. He doesn’t carry an ax, but a chain saw. He’s been slowly clearing trees around the property. The key word here is “slowly.” We’ve got plans for a garden and a workshop on the far side of...
by Susan | Jun 13, 2010 | Garden
I’ve been eagerly planning four raised vegetable beds. The past few summers I planted veggies in a dozen or so Earth Boxes scattered around the yard. While that worked well, I want something more permanent. So Paul cleared land in the fall for a large vegetable...
by Susan | Jun 8, 2010 | Garden
I spent a thoroughly enjoyable half hour this afternoon photographing the butterflies enjoying my chive flowers. The flowers are a bit passed their prime, but that didn’t seem to bother this Red Admiral or Vanessa atalanta.
by Susan | Jun 2, 2010 | Garden
Another critter has taken up residence in my garden. Three different times this little garter snake has surprised an “eek!” out of me when I was puttering in the garden. Despite the high-pitched squeal, I’m fairly certain that he’s more scared...
by Susan | May 30, 2010 | Garden
Last year was my first attempt at growing garlic. After trying some Russian Red garlic from the local farmer’s market (at a premium price) I became a garlic snob. I enjoyed this hard neck garlic so much more than what’s available in the grocery store, I...
by Susan | May 16, 2010 | Garden
This afternoon I spied something unexpected in my garden. Nestled next to my newly planted peony was a tiny mouse. I studied it for a moment trying to decide what to do. I assumed that it was dead, but on on further inspection I could see it’s fur moving as it...
