We do good work

Getting Started

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Enough said.

So I lied. We didn’t get out to the Farm on Saturday as it was Honor America Days in Rome, NY. Long standing family tradition that we all head to brother Don’s house to watch the parade. Members of both sides of Ron’s family show up and we have such a good time. Our little city has their fireworks the same night. Always a great show. So that was our day. On Sunday Jo and I headed up to Ft Drum to restock the pantry. Ron went to the Farm by himself with stern warnings to behave and not do anything crazy.
Monday was another beautiful day and after work we grabbed a quick dinner and headed out. Even in the shade it was hot out there. My job was to get started on painting the outhouse’s trim. Ron and Jo went across the stream to check on the mushrooms and get some of them soaking. More on that later.
I decided to try the no painters tape method. Which surprisingly, went pretty well. Will have to go back with the main color and touch up a few spots, but it certainly went quicker. I finished the first corner and was well into the second when Ron and Jo came back. Ron picked up a paint brush and started painting the flat sides. Of course. He took the easy part. He did get a bit ahead of himself and had to grab a tissue to wipe the green paint off the red. And it is red – official name is “Red Cent”. “Backcountry Green” is the trim color. More touching up to do when it is fully dry. Those of you who paint walls know that it is usually pretty easy to wipe off a mistake. Not so much when we you dealing with rough cut lumber. Even with 4 coats of paint on it, does not wipe off worth a dime.
Reaching the top was the hardest part. The ground is most uneven. We had both a small step stool and a ladder to use and both took some serious adjusting to get the stable enough to use. It was easier with Ron or Jo holding the ladder. Then I didn’t worry about falling off. We zipped though the last of the painting as Ron worked on the larger flat sides and I continued doing the small edges. Jo held the can of paint and went back and forth between the two of us. That was a great help. We got home just before 9 pm. All of us were sticky from the bug spray and sweat so quick showers for all. Sat and talked for a bit and then headed off to sleep. This really is better than a gym membership.

When will it all end

Getting Started

We had planned to get out to THF on Saturday and get the first color coat onto the outhouse. Weather did not cooperate. Thunderstorms were expected later in the day and we did not want to get the paint on only to have it washed off by the rain. So it was a puttering day. Ron set out to fix the trailer light. When that turned into a bigger project, he set it aside and installed our new outside lights. Another thing off our to do list, yea team.
We spent the rest of the day running errands; needed to pick up the paint and we stopped to buy some local honey. Cannot wait to try it on my morning toast. So much for the rain. It finally arrived long after dark.
Sunday it was bright and sunny and very hot. Almost too hot to get anything done. But still calling for rain about noon. But the plan was still on to do some painting. I suggested we do the inside first. That way the rain would not be a factor. Ron agreed and we started getting ready. Then Jo noticed we had standing water in the bottom of our dishwasher. Crap. We do not need this. Ron pulled the filter out and washed it and I bailed out the water. We set that project aside as we really needed to get out to THF.
A perfect day for working outside as long as you have enough shade. And we certainly have that. We unloaded all our needed paraphernalia – paint, brushes, water, camera, cell phones, snacks, stepstool, plastic bags, bug spray, and boots. Halfway down the path, I realized we had left the brush in the car and headed back for it. When I caught up with Ron, we realized we had forgotten the painters tape. So back I went again to the car. This time I had to drive home to get what we forgot. Thank goodness it is only 15 minutes one way. When I got back, Ron had already brushed the house down and we got started. I got the fun job of taping. So not my favorite thing to do. Ron mixed water into the primer and started painting. I finished the taping and picked up a paint brush.  A few hours later we were done.
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Now we just have to wait for it to dry and hope that the expected rain doesn’t wash off my taping job.
Today we had not planned to get out to the farm as it was supposed to rain but again didn’t. So off we went. This time we had better quality paint brushes which make the work easier. I decided that we needed to white wash the ceiling too. I did that while Ron took out the toilet seat so we could paint the base and then finished taping.
Before
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And after
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Makes such a difference. Now the inside feels finished. Almost.
Now for the fun part. Getting the first color coat on the outside. Ron decided I would do the roof area while he worked on the bottom. We definitely need a couple of smaller brushed to get into the tiny areas.

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We are thinking one more coat will do the trick. Then we have the trim to paint, Ron’s mushroom to hang, some sort of shelf out in, figure out something for the floor, decoration for the front door, a fix for the surrounding area — in other words, I have no idea just when this house will be open for business. Have a feeling Ron will be tweaking for sometime to come.

The sweet smell of success

Backyard Gardening

It is mid July now and our 4 beds garlic are ready to be harvested. Not only do we have to get the garlic pulled and curing, but the beds need to be readied for next season’s garlic. We will plant that come September. This year we are trying 3 different varieties of hard neck garlic; German red, German white and Italian red. No soft neck for us. We don’t care about being able to braid the garlic, we want the scapes.
First thing we had to do is get our canopy set up in the backyard. We learned the hard way that you need to have an extra tarp over the top. That way you don’t get so much sun damage to the canopy top. Several years ago Ron built two screen bottom beds to try growing greens on the deck. He didn’t have much luck with that project, but the beds have been perfect for garlic drying. They are showing their age now, so we will have to come up with another plan soon. And the two beds just barely hold 4 beds of garlic. When we start growing larger amounts, they will just not work.
Jo and I started by pulling the garlic out of the beds, shaking off what dirt we could. The smell was just amazing. There will be no vampires around our place for weeks to come. Each load of garlic was dropped into the wheel barrow where Ron set up with the clippers. DSCN0681
For the first two years, we didn’t cut the stalks off. Just laid the whole thing across the rack to cure. After attending a few more classes on garlic, Ron decided this year we could cut the stalks off when we pulled them. That made it much easier to get the garlic into the canopy. Now when it is cured, all we will have to do is trim off the beard, brush off the remaining dirt and bag the heads up.
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Ron showing his skill at clipping the garlic stalks.
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Another good year. Only three heads were split and had to tossed into compost bin. It will take between 2 – 4 weeks for the curing to be complete. That will depend on the weather too. During the day we will leave the canopy flaps open for the breeze to do its magic. Unless the forecast calls for rain. At least we don’t have to worry about the rabbits and deer eating our garlic. Apparently they don’t like the stuff.
All this is good practice for when we have garlic growing out in the field on Tiny House Farm. Am not sure what kind of contraption we will have out there to use for curing. Even if we only do 1/3 of our field in garlic, that is going to be a lot to deal with. Some serious planning to be done between now and then.

Dehydrating obsession

Food

I just spent 30 minutes chopping a small watermelon into chunks so I could try dehydrating it. I have been pondering this for a couple of years, but just ever got to it. Come home from family get together with a left over watermelon and that was that.
IMG_3748I have been in love with our dehydrator ever since Ron talked me into buying it 4 years ago. It was a hard sell as his reading told him that the Excalibur dehydrator was the one we needed. Not cheap by any means, but he is not a man to buy second rate just to save a few bucks. At that time he was reading a lot about being prepared. We live in Upstate NY and one of these days we are going to get a nasty winter storm. He had read so much about the best way to store food long term and decided that we needed to give dehydrating a try.
Apples slices were our first project. One of his friends from work, Ruthie told him about her favorite local cider mill, Old McMarley’s Apple Farm in Clinton, NY. First he came home with some of the cider. It was fabulous. Then he came home with a box of apples and one of those contraptions that peels, cores and slices an apple. I borrowed another snazzy hand crank apple peeler from Josi and we got to work. With the three of us working together we filled all 9 trays and set it up for the night. 24 hours later we had yummy dried apples slices. We weren’t sure the best way to store them, so I food savered some and then stored others in mason jars. I also took some to work and shared with friends there. A smashing success, if I do say so myself. We ate some as a snack but mostly toss them into our steel cut oatmeal each morning. Take my word for it, a food saver is great for lots of things, but not for storing dehydrated apples. We have done apples again every year since then.
Since then I have dehydrated garlic, onion, beets, garlic scapes, carrots, leeks, corn, peas, lima beans, kale, cucumbers, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, grapes, pineapple and hot peppers. Ron’s favorite thing was the cherry tomatoes that he cut in half, slid onto a skewer and smoked for hours. Then we put them into the dehydrator. When they were done, we stashed them in the freezer. When Ron made his salads he would pull a few out and chop them into bits. They gave him a blast of flavor that he just loved. But that was a one shot deal. He grew the same tomatoes the next year but didn’t get enough tomatoes. The following year he could not longer get the seeds. Hasn’t been able to find another one that gives him the same size, taste and yield. We had hoped that this year we would be able to try again. Blasted deer has ruined that.
I especially like having the leeks stored in a jar for me to use in a favorite soup. So much easier to buy some nice leeks at the local farmer’s market, chop up a good bunch, wash them good and dehydrate them. Then just have to toss a couple handfuls and the rest of the veggies into your pot. We store everything in glass jars. Learned quickly that we need to put labels on right away. Everything we have gotten involved in has been a learning process, but I have to say the dehydrating has been my favorite thing. Cannot wait to see how the watermelon turns out.

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And here is the end result. One watermelon reduced down to under one quart jar of bits. They aren’t crispy but chewy and sweet. Taking them to work today to get opinions from my taste testing crew.
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Oh deer, our veggies

Backyard Gardening

I should have known better. I thought I had a good handle on our deer issue. I went out to the garden this morning to get some sugar snap peas for lunch. And found this
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Now only did he/she (am pretty sure it is just the one) trash our tomatoes, but they went to town on our green beans too. Obviously there will no canning of beans again this year. They have only eaten the leaves and not the stalks. So Ron thinks we might get more growth. Fingers are crossed. Last year was such a disappointment with the rabbits dining every night.
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Now I am beginning to think we not only have ninja deer, but invisible ones. Remember the movie John Travolta movie -Phenomenon? He kept building his fence higher to keep the rabbit out. Then he figured out the critter was already in the fence. I am thinking that our pest is hiding behind the asparagus. No other explanation for it. I have VHS tape and trellis parts surrounding the garden and one of them still gets in. Not enough damage for a herd, so most likely just the one. But dang, we have lost lots of potential veggies. So I grabbed the tape and ran it around a few more times, going lower. Ron tells me that deer can drop down and crawl under things like a dog can. Haven’t seen that myself, but I have no real reason not to believe him. Unless I stop and think of all the times he has tried to get me to believe his lie. Like the time he told me be broke his leg while running and would not make it back to NY for Christmas. He tends to tell tall tales …..so maybe I better google that. Other people he knows will agree that he just loves to see what he get someone else to believe.
I have not given up on the garden this year, but let me tell you, I have a good 8 months to plot and plan. Next year, there will be NO deer damage. Even if Ron finds himself sleeping out there in a tent. He says he has fond memories of roughing it when he was young. This farm of his might be his midlife crisis, so sleeping in a tent will bring him that much closer to his youth.

Opening soon

Getting Started

I am annoyed at brother in law Don and his son, Jesse. Yesterday Don called to ask Ron when he was headed out to the Farm. We had been waiting until the possible rain cleared the area. Suddenly it didn’t matter. Ron got dressed in his work clothes and headed out. First dropping his bush hog off at Farm, then headed to Rome to pick up the ladder Don found for him. That was the last I saw of him for next 6 hours. He was a happy, tired man when he got home. Not only had Jesse taken the bush hog to the path, having great fun with it, but they had leveled off the outhouse. Decided not to try moving it, just got it settled better in its spot and level. The annoyance is because nothing is supposed to happened at THF without pictures being taken. Ron assures me he warned them.
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This morning Ron and I headed to Lowes to get some outdoor primer so we could get the first coat on the house. We got to the Farm about 11 am and got started. Well, not quite yet. I forgot the camera in the Transit. So Ron had me go back on the 4 wheeler. And, yea me, I remembered how to get the thing into reverse. Nailed the 3 point turn.
The best thing about this painting job is that we did not have to be neat about it. Actually, we were pretty messy. I still haven’t gotten all the paint off my hands yet. Or my glasses. It was the perfect day for painting. Sunny, but nice and cool in the shade provided by the trees. With a breeze too. Three hours later we were done. One more coat of primer and then, well not sure how many coats of the final color we will need. Hoping not too many.
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Fair warning. The first person who says “you missed a spot” will be handed the paint can and brush.
Updates to follow.
7-6-2015
Second coat of paint is now on the outhouse. I got home from work, grabbed a quick dinner and changed into work clothes. Don had called earlier to say he would meet us out there about 5 pm. We took Jo with us too. Ron planned to have her practice driving the 4 wheeler. She was not a fan of that plan. That thing makes her nervous.
This coat went on so easy taking us about 2 hours. And used so much less paint.
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Having Jo with us meant that I finally got to be “in” a few pictures, instead of being the one taking them. This is me moving the ladder from one side of the house to another. I was painting up high, while Ron handled the lower parts.
Jo never did drive the 4 wheeler, but she and her uncle Don went on a walk around the Farm. He is a serious nature guy and is able to ID lots of birds by their calls. Something I wish I could do. He has a wicked sense of humor too. And when he gets together with Ron, watch out.
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It is going to rain tomorrow, so we are not sure when we will be able to get the final color on. No real hurry, but it will be nice to have one more thing done. I keep telling Ron he needs to make up a to do list. Then we can check things off. He is not so sure that is a good idea. Will take him longer to write up the list than to actually get anything done.
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