chicken happenings

True to their breed...these chickens (the meat birds) are growing fast.  Faster than we were possibly ready for...but with some cheap lumbar, scrap fencing, and a little handiwork they are enjoying their new home.  The thought is that next year this box will be a acquire some wheels and be portable....but for now it is a permanant fixture in what hopefully will be our pig pen next year.  They seem to be enjoying the space and for now staying away from the pumpkins that spilled over from the garden. 

The chickens are only with us a mere two more months before they will be making their way, one by one, into our freezer where they will patiently wait to nourish our bodies all winter.  And with what looks to be a good turn out for our first annual chicken harvest it should be done in no time.  Thanks in advance to all those who have offered their help...rewards will be in the form of fried chicken livers and a rye IPA that is bubbling away in the bedroom as we speak.  

hello autumn

So here we are...puddle jumping from summer to fall seamlessly.  I love how you don't need a calendar, the news, or the internet to know that the seasons have changed...on cue the morning air is just a bit more crisp, leaves change, you drink cider, eat cider donuts, break out your sweaters and your kids are in hand knit hats and mittens...  Fall is, by far, my most favorite season. There is just something about the smell of fall that I love.  And what other way to welcome fall...well a trip to a local orchard for some apple picking with my three favorite people...

yes...this is my most favorite season

goodness...it has been a while

I have been on a self imposed blog hiatus trying to figure out what to do with this space.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy this space, but it is also hard sometimes to maintain.  I honestly don't know how people who farm, work, parent also blog regularly....it blows my mind.  They likely don't have a computer that is 6 going on 7 years old and can upload pictures much more efficiently...but still blogging takes time (and possibly longer for my child fried brain and slow as heck computer).  So anyways, not much will change...I was just doubting my ability to keep up with this space the way I have in the past...now I am just accepting that some weeks there may be no blog entries and another might be chock full....and I think I (and you) might be alright with that (and anyone who is not can chip into the "buy caitlyn a new computer fund").

Anyways...the past few weeks haven't been necessarily busy (trying to avoid being that word), instead we have been trying to slowly ease into this September groove.  Find some peace in our days, a new-ish rhythm (including some home-preschool), and enjoying the last few weeks of summer (because it isn't over yet!!).  So here are a few moments captured over the last two weeks.... 

pickled beans and jalapenos...

slurping up the last bit of rocky road....

bag baby

chicks getting big and curious

all extreme crawlers must have a head lamp....yes?

Passata

What to do with all the cherry tomatoes... Well I'll let you in on our new favorite way to use them up... Roasted cherry tomato passata! It is just about the best thing... Ever. We are make oodles of it and trying to save some for the freezer to enjoy this winter (not sure if it will make it though).

So... This recipe is modified from the river cottage canning & preserving book:
3 lbs tomatoes (in our case cherry)
Fresh herbs (we use rosemary and thyme)
2 cloves garlic
Salt & pepper
Teaspoon of salt
Olive oil

Combine all ingredients on baking pan and make sure evenly distributed. Roast at 350 for an hour. Blend or process in your food processor and pass through sieve (or use your food mill!). You can use this puréed tomato delight just about any way you would use a can of tomatoes for...a sauce or soup base (I added just whole milk to it for my new favorite tomato soup) or maybe a bloody mary???!

for just a few more moments

Big deep breath....and exhale!  We had a beautiful weekend with friends and family and as I sit here mulling through the few photos I managed to take I wish we could all be back in the moment.  So for the few quiet moments I have this morning I am closing my eyes and imagining the sun on my back, salty lips, bellies full of home cookin' and a crackling fire - I can almost smell that fire...it was a good one.

a late summer retreat

After several reminders that we live in Vermont and haven't even gone camping once we decided to pack up and go for a long weekend - leaving all our would-be projects aside and taking a moment to breath.  Luckily we were able to stay at a friends cabin in the woods of Sugar Hill, NH - thereby eliminating the need for half our camping equipment and meaning that we didn't have to strap Adele to the roof of the car...(packing a car for camping was tight before acquiring a dog and a new baby!).  And let me tell you...it was lovely.  We hiked, swam, saw two moose, a bear (well 99% sure a bear) and even had some pancakes at Polly's Pancake Parlor.  Life was good!

perfecting his stair climbing skills

and fast crawl

still laughing...
this is when I noticed Owen was chewing on a huge glob of candle wax....
look at that goofy face

Saturday morning Isabelle had a tough time understanding why on earth we would want to go camping after getting so many sweet little chicks in the mail the day before.  That was until mama came to the rescue with flower crowns and daddy helped build a fairy village in the woods - then...and only then...was she convinced camping was alright.  Later that day we hiked Lonesome Lake trail and took a quick dip in the lake - Isabelle walked all by herself (almost) the whole way up...we were so proud!

a flower crown of wild flowers

a heart healthy breakfast: bacon, eggs and potatoes cooked in bacon fat...

hard at work building a fairy and gnome village

Owen splashing in lonesome lake

enjoying a snack after a long hike

sunrise from the cabin

a tired dog

We had a great mini retreat and are excited to be "retreating" again this weekend (this time down to RI for a much anticipated wedding celebration!).  Thanks so much to the Jarzombek family for letting us use the cabin for the weekend!!

and well i can't leave you without a harvest photo right?

and of course there was good reason to come home...two days away from our garden and this was half the harvest

more chickens

Yes...why not add a few more (28 to be exact)?!  We had debated back and forth over committing to buying meat birds for a few months...until finally I just hit the submit button, and done was done.  The reality is simple:  eating the type of food we want is expensive and outside of our budget.  Solution: grow it ourselves.  So here we are...like little squirrels getting ready for winter.  Freezing and canning produce, singing to our chickens in hopes that another starts to lay an egg (still only lexi is laying for us), and brooding some new chicks that will eventually be in our freezer and then into our bellies.  And the fate of these sweet little chicks is known by all and even still they are loved by little hands all day (possibly loved a little too hard sometimes...).

a quick morning run to the post office in our jammies...

receiving lots of love

...and attention from little ones

our "big kids"

tomatoes...and possibly early signs of blight...boo

Where did I read or hear the saying..."we spend all winter dreaming of summer and all summer preparing for winter"...not sure...but so true.