RANDOM UPDATE

It has been over a week since my last post, and though it has been a busy time, there have not been any earth shattering developments here at HareBrainFarms.  Progress has been made on several long term projects, while maintenance and time with grandkids (the youngest only a couple of weeks old now) have taken up time here on the farm.

With my daughter and son-in-law living 2 hours away, a couple of trips to see them and the grandkids took time and money away from farm projects, but well worth it.  One must have priorities and spending time with my kids and grandkids pretty much tops my list.  I only wish they were closer so I could see them more.

Truck repair and maintenance has also taken a toll on the budget (both time and financial) recently.  The power steering pump has been on its way out for a couple of years and finally bit the dust.  There have also been a couple of tire replacements.  The truck being a necessary item, these things also end up high on the priority list.

On a more productive note, the deep canyon in part of my driveway, left over from the flood over a year ago, has received lots of rocks to fill the void.  Still a lot more work to finish the job but it is progressing.  I will make a post on it when it is finished, with photos and explanations.

Clearing of brush in some of the overgrown areas has been slowly happening, as well as necessary garden work and harvest (such as it is).  Hopefully next year will be a better year for the garden.

Cooking outside can be a hit and miss proposition in regards to the weather, so I have been working toward a shelter for my little cook area.  I recently traded for a portable garage, one of those that consists of a tubing frame with a covering stretched over it that they sell at Harbor Freight.  The cover is pretty worn but the frame is good and can be covered with a big tarp for my purposes, when the cover no longer keeps the rain out.  It has now been taken down and moved to my cook area and will soon be up and functional.  Another post with photos and explanation soon.

All in all, it has been a busy couple of weeks and though nothing significant got finished, several things are in the works.  Always plenty of things on the old to-do-list, but things are gradually being marked of and others added.

Also, I have finished retrieving all of my old posts which had originally been posted on another blog and will begin posting them here.  The first will be a 6 part series on self-sufficiency that I hope you will find informative and enjoyable.

PRE-FROST HARVEST AND MAGIC SOUP

With the first hard freeze coming, some last minute harvesting had to be done.  The main things to pick were a lot of hot peppers (mostly still quite green) and a few green tomatoes.  There were of course, a few other odds and ends.  Little bits of things like okra, beans, and such.

What should I do with these last minute harvest items?  The peppers can be dried or pickled and some eaten fresh (though carefully because they are all rather hot).  The tomatoes can mostly be put aside to ripen, or fried green.  The odds and ends are a different story.

Since it is Halloween, I decided that they would go well in a common garden variety "magic soup" (often referred to as stone soup).  With this goal in mind, soon I had thrown a handful of green beans, a few scraggly carrots, a few pods of okra, a turnip top, and a handful each of kale and chard leaves into the old magic cook pot.  A bit of pork shoulder for flavor and it was on its way.  Some potatoes, onions, garlic, and of course, a couple of green habaneros and it was up to the fire and the magic pot.

While I waited, I mixed up a batch of sour dough cornbread to cook in the big skillet when the soup was finished.  By the time the soup was done, the fire had died down just enough for making the cornbread.

The finished product was quite tasty, and yes, two habaneros (even green ones) really spiced up the soup.   A really nice warm up on a chilly evening, with lots of flavor and nutrition.  No, the flavors were absolutely NOT "layered".  They were perfectly blended as only a real fire and cast iron pot can blend them.  It is magic after all.  Sorry, I couldn't resist the reference, it being Halloween and all.

I hope you all had a wonderfully spooky and magical evening.  Stay warm.   

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Happy Halloween from Hare Brain Farms! 

Yes, it is Halloween, and the first freeze warning here.  Time to pick all the chillies and tomatoes (ripe or not), pick the last of the okra, put extra bedding for the goats and rabbits and get ready for a fire in the workshop.  If the weather forecast is correct, 25°F, while not really that cold, will certainly take down all the tender plants and make it a bit uncomfortable.

As always, I have been putting off preparing for the inevitable freeze as long as possible.  I always hate to see the growing season end, but the feel in the air says it is time (can't trust the weather forecast at all, but the bones don't lie). 

Tomorrow will start the winter routine of cutting wood instead of grass, of feeding hay instead of fresh green vegetation, and of preparing the garden for next year instead of harvesting this year's bounty.

And so the seasons of the year and the cycles of farm life continue.

Have a great Halloween, and don't get SPOOKED.