High 56 Low 45

Wow, what a whirlwind of a week! We have been busy in all areas of life. Our teenager got her braces off. That was a major deal. Her smile is beautiful. Our son has had either a fishing pole or a bow in his hands at all moments of each day. His accuracy with a bow has jumped leaps and bounds and he has caught a lot more trout since opening day.  Brian has been busy making improvements to animal housing and I have been planting, transplanting, milking, making cheese and tending flocks.

Here we were up to our ears in chores so we did what any rational people would do. We ran away to the San Juan Islands and played on the beach.

We spent four days in the pouring down rain playing on the beach, playing canoe tag and visiting with friends. We ate chocolate cake and fresh lake trout. It was a great escape.

So now that we are back, we are back to work. Garden, barn, hive, coop, forest and browse areas all need my attention I will be back to it in the morning. Hopefully the rain subsides!

High 61 Low 45  Drizzly but warm. ( Our seedlings are loving this!)

Farm Camp

http://songcroft.com/index.php/farm-camp/

This month has been busy with all of the usually Spring chores of getting the cover crops turned in, garden planted, pullets out to forage, hens in their Spring/Summer home, goat kids birthed and settled in, does milked, cheese made, rabbits bred and the post-construction landscaping started, all the while enjoying the flush of green that has taken over our land.

Although these things have me excited, it’s Farm Camp that has been on my mind. In August we will be opening SongCroft up to those who would like to live and learn about how to run a family farm. This is so exciting that I am finding it hard to concentrate on other projects. We’re going to have a lot of fun!

You’ll experience instruction on dairy goats, chickens, ducks and rabbits as well as growing your produce year-round and preserving the harvest. Mushroom logs, the basics of permaculture, food forests, alternative energy and home arts are all part of the program. It’s great to read books and dream about living a more self-reliant lifestyle but it’s a rare opportunity to be welcomed on to a farm where you are able to learn and try things out for yourself!

Checked out the Farm Camp page. Tell us what you think, what you would most like to learn and if you intend to enroll don’t wait because space is limited.

High 51 Low 43 Misty morning with sunny afternoon

About a month ago, our family had a beautiful salmon dinner. As we were eating, my 9 year-old son Simon looked up from his plate and said, “Pretty soon Mama, I’m going to put the fish on your plate.” He said this in a deeper than usual voice and with all sincerity. He is my little man.

This Saturday was the opening of fishing season. The lakes in our area are clean and well stocked. Simon got his gear together and at 6 a.m. came in to our room to wake up his Daddy so they could “Get a move on.”

The two of them went off into the morning with sandwiches and fishing gear. They met up with our good friend Derrick, who Simon has decided is his best fishing buddy outside of his Dad. Simon just turned nine and was given a beautiful fishing pole and gear by Derrick.

Having come from a long line of fishermen and having many of my best childhood memories of catching my own meals off docks and jetties, I was secretly elated that my child has fishing in his blood.

About mid-day, as I was working on chores around our place with Sofie, the guys came back. I waited patiently and refrained from asking if they had a good catch in the case that they got skunked. I instead asked if they had a good time, which they said they had

Simon looked at me and smiled his sweet “I’ve got a secret” smile and then disappeared out the door. When I went back to the door to meet him, with my camera in hand “just-in-case”, he was standing there with the biggest grin and eleven trout on a line! Some were quite large.

He had me call his grandmother and invite her to dinner. Simon set a table with floating candles and flowers that he picked. He was one proud boy.

He and his Daddy cleaned the fish and used the innards to fertilize some of our fruit trees. I cooked up a dinner of baked beans, corn bread, salad and the best pan fried trout I have ever tasted.

This was a day that will never be forgotten, by Simon or by the rest of our family. Self-sufficiency can start at a very young age.

High 59    Low 40            Overcast morning with clear afternoon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xWHETBd8BA

SongCroft Spring Tour (click above to see the video)

Today was the first warm day in along time. I actually saw people in shorts and tank tops. With all of the hail and heavy rains of late, I think people were truly optimistic and taking whatever they could get.

It was a beautiful day to explore with my son Simon. Among other things, we went on a trillium hunt. We looked for the precious flowers that hide in the shadows of the forest. We found lots of them but were delighted with every one. Simon was pleased to bring to a secret place where fifteen bloomed together, all in different stages.

Simon and I explored the creek, looked for frogs and salamanders, discussed the lives of the arborial faeries that live in the massive cedars and hemlocks and watched a pileated woodpecker. We collected maple blossoms to add to our supper, a mediteranean quinoa dish, and told each other secrets.

Today was a day to slow down and enjoy the weather, my children and the arrival of Spring.

It was precious.

Harpo is 15 minutes old

Shugs Birth (click here the title to see the video)

High 42 Low 38 The sky is shifting between sun breaks and darkness.

It’s cheese making time and the kids and I are ready with the molds! Part of our path towards having a self-sufficient lifestyle is to raise dairy goats. Raising dairy goat be very rewarding. Goats have milk high in cream which makes good cheese and the medicinal benefits are well documented. My son, Simon, can chug a quart down right after it’s left it’s maker.

If you are trying to live a self-reliant lifestyle in the city, you can check your local ordinances to see if it okay to have goats. In Seattle, it is legal to have miniature goats and I have met lots of folks who raise them.

Last Thursday, one of our does, Aggie, had two beautiful kids. We now have a little buck and doe. Baby Goats are so cute it is unbelievable!
Every generation receives names from either a literary great or from the live of one of our favorite musicians. The buck is named Harpo and the doe is named Shug. The names came from one of my favorite books. I’ll let you figure out which one.

I had been up the night before thinking Aggie was going to have her kids but she never progressed. I kept checking and finally fell asleep around three in the morning. The next day I ran the kids (the human ones) to their Spanish Class and various other commitments. When we came back, Aggie still wasn’t close. I cooked dinner and cleaned up before falling asleep around ten.

Simon woke me up around eleven saying he could hear Aggie in the goat shed and it was time. I threw on my clothes and ran outside with the lantern. (Luckily, I had the forethought to wire a light in the kidding stall the day before.) Sure enough, Aggie was in the process of birthing Harpo. I looked up and both Sofie and Simon were peering over the stall wall. They weren’t going to miss seeing the kids born. Brian showed up a few minutes later.

When Harpo dropped to the ground, Aggie just looked back like, “Gee, where did that come from?” I helped clear his throat and calmed her as she got ready to birth the second kid. Within five minutes she birthed Shug and all was well. I stayed with her until both had had some milk and were clean and dry. I also waited until I knew she birthed the placenta.

Brian brought the iodine for the umbilical chords and Sofie brought a nice warm bucket of raspberry leaf tea with a bit of molasses and Aggie sucked the entire thing down at once.

I left the mama and babies to bond. It was almost three in the morning and we were  all tired.

It’s been four days and the kids are strong and healthy. Aggie has recovered and if the kids weren’t there, it would be hard to tell she just birthed.

All is calm here. Cheese making has begun. We are working to be a self-sufficient farm.

The kids and I will be dying eggs this weekend. It is kind of funny since our hens lay blue, green, pink, brown, white and tan eggs it always seems like we have Easter eggs anyway.  Some years they just stuck stickers and colored on the eggs because they liked the colors as they were but this year they want to color them.

We will use onionskins, spirulina powder, beets and red cabbage to make our dyes. One of the tricks to make the colors really work is to let them sit in the dye with a little vinegar added for about an hour. Allowing them to sit makes all of the difference! The colors are really amazing and quite vibrant. You can use your own creative ideas as to what to try as a colorant. Simmer your dyes for 15 minutes before using them and of course, don’t forget to hardboil the eggs! (Even if April Fools is close to Easter this year)

I’ve included a couple links incase you would like detailed instructions or a video to see how it id done. The photo is of our eggs before we dye them. Aren’t they beautiful!

http://www.ehow.com/how_4825511_dye-easter-eggs-naturally.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/natural-easter-egg-dyes/33289.html

Enjoy!

High 65 Low 43 Cool morning with warm afternoon. Sky was blue by noon.

I spent today puttering around on the land finishing lots of little things that needed to get done as well as taking care of a few larger things.

I moved all of the pullets to the big brooder. That means we now have nineteen pullets and five chicks. The chicks are still in the house. They have a small brooder box and a heat lamp. They were too young to join the rest in the large brooder since they have not feathered out yet and are still quite delicate. We will keep them inside for a couple more weeks. We have a hen sitting on a dozen eggs. We are hoping for success this time. We will be selling laying hens as well as eggs in a few months.

The ducklings spent the day in the new chicken tractor I finished. Brian gave them a seed tray as a splashing pool. It brought back memories of Sofie and Simon at two years old. They got in and out of the pool over-and-over again, splashing, laughing and having the time of their lives.

The goats went for a long walk with Sofia.  As the goats browsed, Sofia collected Balm of Gilead to make in to medicine later. I wonder what the goats think when we wild craft beside them?

Before coming in to make supper, I brought the laundry in off the clothesline and they smell fresh and crisp. It smelled much like my mood right now, optimistic and happy, with lots of energy. Just like Spring.

High 52    Low 38     Overcast with rain from mid-day on

Okay, so I’m going to blatantly brag about my kid. What can I say, I’m a mom who loves her kids and like most moms, I’m proud of them. So bear with me while we both experience one of my proud mama moments.

First, a little background, our fan club on Facebook has been experiencing a lot of activity lately. Folks have been really getting in to sharing their favorite ways to use different wild plants that are harvestable this season. The creativity has been really fun.

Harvesting wild greens is a fun pastime for the kids and I, so Sofie, our twelve year-old daughter, has been enjoying reading what others are posting on the Facebook wall. She has always been a really creative girl and has become an exceptional cook.

In fact, her cooking skills surpass those of many adults.

While I ran to the market one day this week, she made me lunch. Upon returning, I was pleasantly surprised to find maki sushi awaiting me on a plate complete with wasabi and soy sauce. Maki sushi is the name for sushi that is rolled, typically in a sheet of nori. The presentation was pretty with the black nori, white rice, bright yellow of the egg she gathered from our hens and vivid green sprigs peeking out the end. When I took a bite, I was surprised and delighted to realize that the greens were chickweed.  It was such a lovely fresh combination with the rich egg cooked Japanese style, tamagoyaki, and the brightness of the taste of Spring carried in the chickweed. I ate the whole plate!

It’s always a good feeling to see my children become accomplished at something. It feels great to know that they will not only leave our house with the basic skills of being able to cook for themselves but it is a blessing that they will also know that they can identify, gather and use wild plants from season-to-season. And admittedly, it is sheer pride I feel when I see their creativity and ingenuity manifest itself into something as wonderful as chickweed sushi!

Chickweed is not only delicious but it also is nutritious and has been used in herbal medicine for centuries. If you are interested in more information, check out the SongCroft Facebook page to see what others are doing with this wonderful winter perennial.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/SongCroft/232174564481?ref=sgm

High 59              Low 34 The sky was clear blue.

The weather was at a record high for February in Western Washington. The warm air and the bright blue in the sky felt lovely. It was a perfect weekend for having the SongCroft Self-Sufficiency Skills School Classes.

The first year course participants were on the land on Saturday and the second year participants were on the land on Sunday. It was busy and fun.

The first year group spent the day learning about starting their own seeds. We discussed why they would want to start seeds of their own, different techniques for starting the seed and how they would transplant the seed. They planted their own seed trays to bring home and care for as well as potted up some seedlings I had started in advance. It was a very fun day. We had a good sized group but what warmed my heart the most was that my twelve-year-old daughter decided to join the class and start seeds for her own garden. She grows a small vegetable garden each year so learning to start her own seed will build upon those skills she is already cultivating. These skills are part of our legacy.

The second-year course participants, learned about setting fence posts, espalier trees and greenhouses. I demonstrated how to train young fruit tree branches to grow against a fence to create a two-dimensional tree and walked the land showing which wild greens were ready for harvest.

I feel fortunate to be in a place to share the things I know well with others. Life is very good.

Some of our course participants were interested in learning more about the world seed bank. Follow the link for more information.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/02/26/norway.seeds/index.html

High 56             Low 34

It was a beautiful clear day.

It’s hard to believe that it is February in Washington. In all my years, I have never seen it so warm this time of year. We have peas sprouting in the garden  and it feels like May.

During this early warm-spell, we have been able to get a lot done. Brian has been setting fence posts and I have been cleaning up the fallen branches from winter storms.

I have cleaned the goat stalls in anticipation of kids being born over the next few months and even installed a new automatic watering system. With two less goats, we sold two kids, there is a bit more room. Our buck will be leaving us soon. We will just have three does. Milking time is coming on fast and I relish the mornings where I still get to sleep in.

The winter rabbitry has been cleaned out and made ready to become a brooder for the broilers that will arrive soon. We hope to keep a few from this flock to use as breeders so we can sell them locally. If we have time to prepare their home, we will also raise a few heritage breed turkeys. The heritage breeds are beginning to disappear since they are not as breasty and fast growing as the more common commercially raised turkeys. These turkeys haven’t had the turkey bred out of them.

The henhouse and yard were also cleaned and given fresh straw. We have hens and ducks sitting on eggs and the kids are raising another 13 chicks in the house. We hear the “cheep-cheep” of little ones and it brings smiles to our faces. These chicks will grow to be part of our egg layers. We sell a fare amount of eggs from our flock and occasionally need to raise new girls to replace older girls who stop laying.

Today, our daughter took the goats out for a long walk in the sun. They were all leaping and jumping as they happily went looking for fresh browse. On the way back, they took a diversion and caused some havoc in the garden. Brian is trying to get the fence up as fast as he can. I can only laugh at the thought of the goats biting things as they run off knowing darn well they are not suppose to be there.

It’s only February and the nettle is up, the winter wren is still singing and the frogs have been in chorus. Another song has been written on our croft.