Uncategorized – Page 97 – This Old House 2

“Abraham Lincoln created the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1862. At that time about 90 out of every 100 Americans were farmers. Today, that number has shrunk to just 2 out of every 100 Americans. Still the motto of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is the same today as it was nearly 150 years ago. Across the bottom of the official USDA seal, are the words “Agriculture is the foundation of manufacture and commerce.”

When we finally moved in to the completed Homestead here, Mike was eager to get a large garden going and have a stand out front to sell some of the produce. His grandfather had a fruit and vegetable store in West Haven years ago and something in the growing of produce has always held his interest. We’ve had a small horse farm ever since we were married 24 years ago, but didn’t devote any large piece of the land to vegetable gardening until recently. We also have several hay fields at This Old House that need tending.

What we’ve learned in the past few years is …. Farming is HARD WORK!.. and it’s truly a science. It’s not hard to lose an entire crop to weather or over/under-fertilization or pest infestation. I’ve gained tremendous respect for those who tend the soil and produce food for the masses. I’m not talking about corporate “factory” farms, but those who are down in the trenches, the fields, the barns, the soil… from sun up to sun down. While we’re just a hobby farm with that small stand out front, there is enough toil here for us to appreciate those who are feeding their families off the land and making a living at it too. I urge you to support their efforts by buying local produce whenever possible. Your body will thank you too! Not only is their produce healtheir for you… without them present in this country’s system we’re headed down a road we don’t want to go.

A very interesting article about Family farms and their plight… http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/familyfarms/.

We don’t have hay equipment, so a farmer in the area brings his equipment for atleast two cuttings each summer to cut and bale the hay. He takes most of it to feed his own animals, and leaves some of the hay for us. The hay must be cut in dry weather conditions… there needs to be enough time to mow it, thresh it into rows, and then bale it with a haybaler. Then the bales need to be picked up out of the field and stored in a dry loft where there is plenty of air circulation, so as to prevent mold, which makes them useless for feed. Moldy hay can make a horse very sick. If there is a rainy season, it’s hard to get this accomplished. Yesterday the hay was cut in most of the fields here, some of it baled, and today, before the predicted rain, they’ll try to finish what they started. Last year we had to throw our stored hay out because it had gotten wet and was stored too tightly. When I opened a bail to feed the horses weeks later, the mold cloud forwarned me that the hay had been ruined. Lesson learned.

Lesson No. 2

Weeding is a bitch.

The larger the garden plots you plant,

the more weeding you’ll have to do.

These are onions – competing with weeds

Lesson #3

If you’re gonna grow berries… you’ll have to protect them from the birds

if you plan to eat any yourself.

A very fine mesh works best. These raspberry and blueberry bushes will have a covering

very shortly, as they are already being scoped out by the birds.

Lesson #4…

Peas are happiest when you give them ample room on both sides of

a mesh net fence to grow..free and clear of other clutter.

These are now as tall as me.

And let me tell ya… I’ve never been a pea eater until we grew them ourselves.

There is no comparison in taste to what you buy at the grocery store.

It’s that good.

I’ll never get tired of silver dew drops on broccoli leaves.

Lesson #5 – No matter how badly you want to say your produce is

ALL ORGANIC.. that’s really really hard to do. Organic farming is a very difficult

time consuming thing, and it’s not a precise science.

That’s why your organic produce in the store is more expensive than the factory farm standard.

Worthy practice Absolutely…

but it’s oooh, sooo easy to want to grab that insecticide or fertilizer and sprinkle it all over

to get the easier results. We’re doing as much of this as organically as we can,

but the temptation is there.

Lesson #6. About those chickens…

Yes, they’re really easy.. and I love them dearly!

Those eggs are just incredible tasting, and better for you

if you feed your chickens properly.

Chickens love to free range, and if you can do so, although there are hazards…

(fox, coyote, hawks, dogs)…

it’s well worth letting them roam for a while each day.

Also, sometimes chickens just die.

I lost two a few weeks ago for no apparent reason

and after doing much research that’s what I came up with.

Two chicken experts told me the same.

My coop is clean,

They showed no signs of being sick, no parasites,

no evidence of having been attacked. No signs of being egg bound,

They were fine in the morning,

then when I went back to check on them, on two separate days,

I found one just lying there, dead.

That kind of freaks me out.

The only good thing is…

The first chicken to die..

happened to be the one who was plucking everyone elses

tail feathers out.

Karma, indeed, is a bitch.

If you’re still with me, thanks for tagging along 🙂

I recommend highly planting a little plot for yourself.

It can be a few pots on the deck or patio,

a small plot on the side of the house,

or a patch of dirt out in the back yard.

The rewards you reap are worth the effort

and getting back to the land just feels good.

Up the creek… with paddles

Me: Come on.. lets go kayaking..

He: (who doesn’t DO water.. or small watercraft that has the potential to tip)

OK.

Me: What?… ok?…

He: Yep. I’ll be home in half an hour, lets go.

Holy crap.

So I had the boys help me get the boats off the racks in the garage

and put them out on the lawn just so he couldn’t change his mind.

Well he could have, but it woulda looked bad in front of the others.

So, off we went with the boats in back of the old longbed truck.

We came to the boat launch at Cedar Lake and unloaded the boats.

I told him his feet wouldn’t get wet but I lied just a little.

He got into his boat… oooh sooo tentatively..

and it immediately began filling with water because as you can see…

it’s a sturdy sea kayak that doesn’t want to sink…

it has holes that fill up the boat according to your weight, and then

let the water back out as you relax and float on.

He wasn’t buying it.

He: Oh, no.. I don’t think so.. I’m gonna sink!

Me: You’re not gonna sink. The holes are there for that purpose! No sinking! I promise!

He: Yeah, ok.. you go have fun, I’ll wait for you here..

(paddling ever so slowly back the five yards to the waters edge)

Me: GET OUT HERE. You’re not gonna sink!… and the lake is so shallow

right here you can stand and be up to your knees. if that!

He: DON”T YOU TAKE PICTURES!!!

Me: I’m not taking pictures. Let’s go.

*click*

To his credit – He got the hang of it pretty quickly…

learned to use the paddle efficiently and turn.

Me: Can you take a picture for me?

He: NO! I like staying upright! Don’t come near me!

GET AWAY FROM MY BOAT!

Okay.. give me the camera.. STAY STILL!!!

and let me come to you.

DON’T MOVE!.. I’m coming over.

(Me not moving one inch)

He takes the picture with my phone and doesn’t even drop it in the water.

Good man 🙂

This is me making damn sure I’m not gonna hit his boat

because we’ve made progress.

Once he was really comfortable we had a great time…

a relaxing, sunny, warm day on the lake

and then

…up the creek.

I think this is one of my most favorite things on this earth to do…

Truly your boat becomes one with you and being so close to

nature in this way, on such peaceful water.. is soul soothing.

This is where we stopped and turned around. I noticed our paddles were wider than the tunnel and I wasn’t sure we could navigate through and back.

You don’t think I was taking THAT chance on this day, do you?

Tonight daughter asked…

“Dad, will you do it again?”

He turned to me and said…

“How long have we been married?”

That could mean I might have to wait another 24 years.
I’m not asking for clarification.

The ties that bind

He liked to have fun.

He had many friends.

He lived on his boat for a while.

He built real sailboats, little race cars, model airplanes…

He was incredibly mechanically inclined..

bright in a way that could have taken him anywhere he chose to go…

… if he had chosen to go.

He is stubborn ( I inherited that)

There is a certain anger (for a time I inherited that too, but I’ve grown up some)

There is an emotional detachment to family and friends I just don’t understand…

and I don’t think he does either.

We don’t have the bond I’ve seen other daughters appreciate and cherish.

The affection now doesn’t come easy, doesn’t come at all…

because it never was.

And yet there are the ties that bind.

He is my father…and I am his daughter.

As his world becomes much smaller

and his body frail,

I can no longer ignore the lack of relationship.

The past is gone… and I’m done with the hurt of what wasn’t.

What remains needs tending.

And so I do what I’m capable of…

and my husband (thankfully)

takes care of the rest.

Today my son and I went to his home and mowed lawn,

hung his flag out on the deck,

trimmed shrubs.

After the yardwork was done,

he sat out on the deck with an old photo album

and reminisced with my son about the good ole days…

the days of custom vans and sailboats,
parasailing on Lake George..

his three years in the Carolinas as a draftsman in the Army
(the best years of his life)

He glanced over at the pot of impatiens I placed on the steps…

Red – the very same flowers he used to plant
around the big old oak tree in the yard of our long ago home.
He remembered this…which amazed me.

I took this picture…because I felt it then…

the ties that bind… .
.they are there in the little things…
and that will be enough.

Just this

Today is one of those days

when the weight of things

feels heavier.

Even the sky isn’t sure of itself..

moody, sunny, blue, grey, clouding over periodically.

It’s the kind of day where I just want to say to the universe…

stop the nonsense.. not one more negative thing, please.

***

Life can be such a wonderful, wonderous thing…

and there is enough natural disaster to make it difficult going…

So why do we, as humans, INFLICT more.. on each other.

Aren’t we supposed to be smarter than that?

Or are the smarts the problem…

Ignorance would be bliss?

***

Why do people who come together for a good cause..

who’s hearts are in the right place..

who’s mission is worthy…

let ego and drama get in the way of their good work and efforts.

That saddens me…and it seems to come between women more than men.

****

I think CNN is a curse.

Most news outlets for that matter.

Do I want to know about the sick individual

who dismembers an innocent man, violates his body

and then mails his body parts to various places?

Oh, and let’s have the WORLD know about it..

so we can torture the victims family with continual -in your face- coverage..

and give some other sick individual ideas.

***

Rumor has it Cas*y Anth*ny is selling her story…

a book? A made-for-TV movie?

Say it ain’t so.

People, please don’t buy it if this comes to be.

I’m still flabbergasted that she walks free.

***

Is it really so hard to be “decent”?

What is it about the simple act that gets lost in translation.

If every single person could just be DECENT in their interaction with

other humans, other animals, with the environment.., in politics.

the world would be in such a better state.

It doesn’t cost a dime to be decent, compassionate, considerate, KIND.

***

Hows that for heavy.

I must be particularly perimenopausal today..

you’re welcome.

***

I’ve been out in the garden trying to wash all this off

with the dirt.. it’s cleaner out there.. you know?

Relocation

When they found what they thought was a safe neighborhood

to raise their children, they quickly claimed the lot of their choice

and built their home.

Within days of moving in, it was evident they had made a

tremendous mistake.

They asked themselves why they hadn’t taken note of the traffic…

or the rowdy crowd on the other side of the hedges.

Soon, the riff-raff invaded their space, making it clear they weren’t

welcome. Every day there was heckling and ruffled feathers.

So, they did the only thing a young couple can do when faced with

such adversity. They abandoned their well built brand new home…

..and moved to the other side of the slider.

OOookay then!

*sigh*

The Hall Homestead

On our drive home from the horse show I pulled in to this beautiful old homestead… it was apparent no one was living there by the condition of the house, however the apple orchards out back looked well maintained. There was a sign out front that heralded a weekly farmers market with the sign “Halls Homestead”….I found the following through a google search that brought me to a Foody blog post about Apples.

“This beautiful antique orchard is owned and cultivated by Paul and JoAnn Desrochers. – 18th Century Purity Farm At The Hall Homestead. The farm has been in JoAnn’s family since 1830 when her great great great grandfather came to Connecticut from Rhode Island and planted the majority of the apple varieties that persist even today. Paul and JoAnn cultivate 88 varieties of apples at three different properties in the area- most of these varieties grow at Hall Homestead. There is a wild and timeless feeling to the fields and trees that spread across the hill beyond their farmhouse and barn.

These apple trees have flourished in JoAnn’s family for generations, even surviving the devastating effects of the hurricane of 1938 in which dozens of trees were decimated. Her grandfather painstakingly reestablished the trees that still produce today.
JoAnn and Paul took took over the Hall Homestead in 2008; it had declined during the preceding years was completely abandoned when JoAnn’s mother died in 2007. They have nurtured the trees back to health over the past three years, working from dawn until dusk.”

To read more about this extraordinary couple and their apple orchards and varieties… see link below..

http://foodiefatale.com/?p=4315

Isn’t she a grand old dame? … I just love this farm

and I plan to return to try their Hidden Rose Apple…

ever heard of it? Me either.

The size of the smile…

What a terrific weekend !

Years ago, when my daughter was just nine or so… we were backyard horse people who thought we’d dabble in the horseshow world to see what it was about. We went to a big barn where they give lessons and show a specific breed of horse.

Ofcourse, the horse we had wasn’t show material, and so we needed to buy something better. We then entered a BREED SPECIFIC show world… where life became complicated. I happen to love this particular breed and we still have one of those, Opie. ……That breed specific world of show? It became clear after a few years of seeing it through that It ain’t our thing –

I’m not trashing it here, we have friends that are still very involved in it and they have had tremendous success. It was just way beyond what we wanted to do with our show experience. We found it to be very expensive, a bit too intense, competitive in a way that people weren’t very nice to each other, a little catty and drama-filled, but most importanlty we just weren’t having fun. After trading up to a third horse on trainer’s recommendations.. I realized we weren’t in Kansas anymore. My daughter wasn’t enjoying the experiences… and worst of all, we had bought a young horse to bring up, and the filly was killed in a training accident at the show barn. My heart was broken. So we brought our newest horse home and were done with it.

Many years later, my daughter wanted to take up lessons again. This time we went to a barn where I knew they had a mix of the breed specific show people and those who are just taking lessons or participating in Open shows. The barn is family friendly. We also met Heidi, who has taken my daughter under her wing and has introduced her to the world of Open and color breed shows with her horse, Beemer.

Just a year ago, Beemer was a horse nobody wanted.. he came to the barn very skinny and depressed. He was stubborn and unhappy – but Heidi saw something in those big brown eyes, bought him and took HIM under her wing too. What a turnaround… shows you what love can do.

SO!… what did we find this weekend at the Tri-State Horsemen’s Association first show of the season? …What a difference! There is still good competition, but it is less intense. So many breeds, so many beautiful horses!…. There is commeradery among competitors!… compassion! Smiles everywhere!.. doesn’t matter the color of the ribbon, although the blues are still the most desired. In general, the atmosphere is more user friendly, the cost is more affordable…and my girl is smiling ear to ear.

What a magnificent horse… I’d love one here at This Old House…

husband would file, tho, I’m sure of it.

Another team from the barn.. Maria & Apache…

A very pretty paint…

This horse wore very colorful “clothes”.

His owner was just as colorful.

They don’t melt in the rain

We packed up the Jeep and loaded the trailer and our fearless Leader Heidi and her horse Beemer took my girl to a two day horse show not too far away.