Cider Press

We got a cider press! I have been wanting on of these for years! So fun for all ages. We have made about 30 gallons so far, all from apples from neighbors trees that would have otherwise just been wasted on the ground. Some of these pictures were taken at our fall party- very fun. The hogs, chickens and sheep all love to eat the pulp that is left so none is wasted. All that sugar sweet fruit helps fatten up the critters (and humans) for the winter.

Ben and Charolett...ahem.... bacon and sausage...

We ran out of bacon.... so we got these... =) They are SO cute! I am glad they are ugly when they are older... that'll make the whole "bacon" thing much easier. =) We still have one 1/2 available and one 1/4. $5/lb hanging weight (somewhere around 80-110lbs for whole??) plus cut and wrap paid to butcher. (about 55 cents/pound... depends on how much you want smoked). We need $100 deposit for 1/2 $50 for a 1/4 (helps cushion our high feed costs).  Email if interested. They are being raised on pasture, with access to wooded area to root for bugs/grubs, being fed apple pulp from cider press, corn from garden, pumpkins and some food scraps as well as store bought hog feed.

 

Newest member of the farm

Here's Charolette. She is about a month old.

Within seconds of placing her in the pool, Elle ran to get her duckies from the bath toy box and put them in with her so "she wouldn't be lonely".

 

Potholes State Park

LOVE LOVE LOVE this park! So fun for the kids. Big park, river to play in/float, fire pit, lake to ski and tube on, sand pit to play in, paths to explore, and very best of all we go with just the most incredible families that have the sweetest and adventuresome kids and such grounded parents! Very fun.

Canning Peaches

Came back from Eastern WA with a box of Peaches. I have never canned them before, Elle loves canned peaches, so it was fun to learn. We'll see how they taste a few months from now! (Still enjoying fresh ones while they are available).

What's up Doc!?

My son is a VERY picky eater. It is a massive battle that quite honestly, I have not fully gone into yet. I have so many other battles I choose to fight with him that as long as he is still growing well and such, (which he is) than I am just not going to worry about it until I get his other "issues" figured out. But, one of the things he LOVES is carrots... particularly dirty carrots fresh from the garden! He worked on eating this one all afternoon.

Braided Onions

I am not actually a huge fan of onions. I ask them to be removed from my burgers, don't put them on salad and I have NEVER bit in to one like an apple. I am a huge baby when it comes to cutting them, my eyes water for a LONG time and I wear my kids swim goggles whenever they are handy. HOWEVER- I know how healthy onions are for you and do enjoy them in things that I can't really taste them in- like soups, sauces, salsa, stews, roasts, etc... This was my first year growing them and I honestly did it with my mother in law in mind because she LOVES onions and uses them in everything. So here is a little less than 1/2 of the onions I grew this year. They are being hung to dry. I think that ideally this should be done in a dark space (?) but to my understanding it is suppose to be warm (80 degrees or so) so I am trying this. The door to the greenhouse (the one I am standing in taking the pictures) is open so it doesn't trap moisture in there or anything, (it is suppose to be dry)- anyway, we'll see how it works in about 2 weeks I will know. I did ut some down below the shelves in a bottom vented box as well to see if the dark makes a difference. If anyone has experiance with this and wants to comment- that'd be great! =)

And here is one of actually quite a few little watermelons I have growing in the greenhouse right now. It was an experiment to see if I could get them to grow in our climate in an open greenhouse, so far it looks like it is working, we'll see if they get to size or not. That'll be SO great if we can grow our own watermellons! Yum.

And this is just a photo I took this morning and just had to include it. I was too late with the camera to get her drinking out of it. =) We live close with our animals. =)

The Dance

Oliver is not as excited about the dance as Elle.

"remember life before kids?"

Elle lost her 3rd tooth! (notice all her "bling"!)

No words necessary

Farm critters everywhere

One more week! Yum Yum!

Tom, (cat) don't forget he's family! =)

Rabbit and chickens- it's not even Easter!

Oops... well... close enough to a critter...

See, he wears shirts every now and then...

Even pants!

What a big boy... It is not often that he stands still long enough to get a photo- so I have to post this one to document what he looks like not blurry or naked. =)

Love that little man! He's my little monkey- my favorite critter. =)

Kid's Play

These are the "puppy cages" One of my kids favorite games is to play puppy. One of the nice things about being back up in our house is to have the space to make forts and still have room to walk in the room. =)

Yet another bonas to having a lot of space inside! I know, I know, the kid never has clothes on! I have to choose my battles and that is just not one I care enough about yet. ha! =)