Triple Creek Farm, January 12, 2013

What a wonderful week!!!  Springlike temperatures, working out side without a heavy jacket, soil is not frozen and I am one happy girl.  There is nothing like a false spring.  Because of false spring, I will be able to make it through the winter if or when it returns.

IN THE KITCHEN

A longtime favorite in the house is a breakfast casserole, I made homemade sausage, added a couple of duck eggs, grits and cheese and this was a great meal.  It is wonderful using the bounty of our little farm.

Soup this week is broccoli and cauliflower cheese soup, if you check the recipe you will see I made a few changes.  I did a mix of broccoli and cauliflower and cleaned out the cheese drawer in the fridge.  I like a soup which allows me to make changes and use a pinch of this and a dash of that.  This is a wonderful chowder type soup and I use the method to make lots of other soups.  I now make my potato soup by this method.  If you would like to make this soup, milk can be used in place of the kefir milk.

ON THE FARM

Mr. Bootsie built a goat walk for the girls, they are very pleased with something being added to the pasture for them to play on.

The work on our goat barn is being talked about and Saturday some lumber was obtained to really get the job going.  A small amount of work was done this week,  a lot of ideas were being bounced around as this is the first out building for us.  (Our coop and pole barn were built by local carpenters.)


IN THE COOP

Girls have been loving this warm weather and the ducks are enjoying some pond time without ice.

I have been bringing in plenty of chickweed for the girls and the ducks to eat.  I hope I will be reducing the crop of chickweed in the garden if I keep pulling it out for them.  This is one invasive plant. 

Deedle is not letting us down,  there were 7 more ducks eggs this week.  The girls are slowly returning to laying, they are not regular but we are collecting eggs.  There were 31 hen eggs this week.

IN THE GARDEN

The cold tunnel is starting to work, not because I know what I am doing.  Mother Nature seems to be taking care of the crop in the tunnel.  We did harvest enough lettuce this week for a salad.  

The garlic and onions are growing, January is the month to feed your garlic and onions if you fall planted.  

Seed orders are beginning to arrive.  Planting of the cole crops has begun inside.  Sometime was spent this week reworking the raised beds.  Turning soil and removing rocks from the bed potatoes will be planted in.  I am digging out a 5 gallon bucket of rocks each day.  More rocks will work up by next year but they will be easier to dig up.  

I have been thinning and retying the raspberries.  There is new growth showing on the shoots I am taking out.  Raspberries need the yearly thinning if you want to harvest a good crop.  We will be mulching the berries.  

IN CLOSING

The wonderful break in the weather this week has me thinking of harvesting our crops and eating from our garden again.  We are using the food we canned, froze and dried last year.  I realize I need to get to the bottom of the freezer and use all of the veggies I froze.  A second set of hands has taken some of the load off of me.  Mr. Bootsie has jumped in and is really helping with the daily activities on our little farm.