Daily update

We paired Eve and Adam together again today. With Mary gone, Eve will have to keep busy. ;) 

Seeing red.

I plucked just under one hundred tomatoes from their vines. They will be made into sauce, paste, dried tomatoes, and even ketchup!  We are very excited to make our own ketchup to be honest. There are still many tomatoes on the vine that I hope will ripen soon because I still need to can enchilada sauce and salsa!

Daily update.

80 today!  It was beautiful. 2 eggs from two hard working egg layers. 2 eggs missing from two lazy birds! 

Tomorrow sees to canning chicken stock  and drying some tomatoes for a later batch of ketchup. Also, tomato sauce. Must make tomato sauce!  I harvested nearly a hundred tomatoes, so we should be able to some of both out of the batch. 

Next week we will be at the harvest fair with the other two Cornish Cross fowl and they will be processed either that evening or the next afternoon. Andy heads to Lincoln park for some salmon fishing tomorrow around five am. Hopefully chicken and rabbits won't be the only meat gracing our freezer!  

The girls said goodbye.

Today was an exciting day!  Andy and the girls processed our first rabbit. We decided to eat Mary first since she wasn't producing any offspring. To be sure, we both palpated her tummy today and also a few days before. I would have hated to cut into her and have kits in the womb, but we were right to say she was barren. I couldn't get over Matilde continuously asking if she could "take out the guts!"  Andy just shook his head and answered no.  Evan and Tilly were great through the whole process.  They have both come to an understanding of why we raise animals and are grateful for the food they provide. 

Along with the rabbit, we harvested about 10 pounds of chicken with only two birds!  Two chicken breasts weighed in a whopping 2 pounds by themselves. I couldn't believe it. Amazing what 10 weeks of food scraps will do to a hungry chicken!  Tomorrow I get to make chicken stock with the remaining carcasses and can it for later use. Busy day tomorrow!  

Chow Box

This beautiful box was the final welcome box that we gave to the new next door neighbors. 

It included: a curly cucumber (it grew in a circle!), lots of tomatoes, a couple potatoes, a handful of garlic, three large  green onions, two Walla Walla sweet onions, a half dozen fresh eggs, and a handmade tomato pincushion.  It was presented to them in a cute handmade veggie box from Andy with a card made by the girls. I think they enjoyed the surprise, but I think I needed to extend a hand since I've poo-poo'd the house. Like our other neighbor, Matt, I was upset with the house not the people. I needed to give the box to live my amends. 

Welcome to the neighborhood Karoline and Chris! 

Daily update

High of 81, 5 eggs. Not quite sure how that happened!  

Mary still isn't popping out kits, so I think she may be some good bbqing soon. I think the plan is to cull the birds and the bunnies in the same weekend. It's quite taxing, but I'm sure Andy will enjoy the satisfaction of stocking the freezer.  He's planning more dove, quail, and pheasant hunting this fall as well. I hope he does well! 

Not the best picture...

But it's a picture! 

This funny looking "lantern" is a tomatillo!  Salsa verde is coming to a canning jar soon!  I can already taste it! 

Four days worth and I'm all caught up!

We have been out of town for a few days. We headed south and roughed it as a family for a bit. The girls had a blast, but our trip was hindered by a stomach bug that took out half the Smith population. We're better now, and we did end up enjoying our time away from the hustle and bustle of the city. 

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Here is dinner!  We each caught a fish...errr...the girls and I each caught a fish. Well....Evan caught two, but one was on Tilly's pole, so according to Grandma R's logic Tilly said, "my pole, my fish!" 

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When we got home we noticed the hops were really taking off!  Nice big flowers are such a treat to look at!  Sorry the picture is so dark.  I'll attempt a better one soon.  

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I thought I'd be nice and start a basket of fresh veggies and eggs for the new neighbors next door. Andy reminded me that they are kind and I should also be kind. So here is a start. I plan to add more once the onions are done drying. Should only take a day or so. 

Daily update

77 and four eggs. 

Continuing to harvest veggies daily. We need to pick blackberries soon because we're all out of jam!  Thinking about adding Mary to the stockpot because she hasn't had a kit yet. Not sure how much longer we are going to waste money on feed and time spent tending to her. 

Canning dreams...

4 out of 5 isn't bad.  I received a ton of helpful advice from family and friends about last night's mishap. However, I do feel that the jar may have been flawed, well, along with my overfilling. My mother-in-law suggested I freeze the extra bit of tomatoes, so I'm not tempted to overfill. I'll remember that for next time. Our diced tomatoes look yummy and ready to eat whenever I need that little extra. There are also a ton of tomatoes still on the vine ready to be canned into salsas and sauces soon enough. 

Tomato failure. 👎

Today, I decided I would can diced tomatoes. I'm not a canning expert not am I an experienced canner, but I've read a ton of publications on the matter. I went into this task WAAAAAY too confident!  I clearly need help because this is a photo of what I found inside my water bath! 

So....HELP!!

I think I over-filled this jar. It was the last one and I really wanted to preserve every. last. tomato. Could that be why this jar exploded? Any and all advice or in-home canning demonstrations are welcome!  👍

The Amish are full of great ideas!

These are our homemade fly repellent bags. The Amish use bags of water with a penny dropped in it. We'll see if they work!  The girls had fun making eight of them today. They put them up all along the fence. Fingers crossed. 

Walking on...

Poopoo, whooooaa!  

Man, for as cute, preppy, and girly she is, she really is just a dirty farm girl at heart. Look at those feet!  She's walking right through chicken poops! 

Houston, we have a problem!

So I went with the idea of putting the pumpkin vines on a makeshift pulley system, BUT what happens when the pumpkin starts growing on the very end of the vine 10 feet in the air? 

I think I'll have to sew up a little sling. Anyone have any other ideas?  

More tomatoes!

We tried black cherry tomatoes this year, and they're looking good!  

Vine ripened beauty

I love the ripening color progression that is occurring right now. It's a wonderful sight.  

(Yesterday) Standing tall

Our corn is really growing. It towers over that buff guy that lives in our house! 

Is that what I think it is?

Why, yes it is!  It's a DOUBLE YOLK!! 

So awesome! Those Donnas are working overtime! 

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

I've been a bit under the weather over here, so Andy and the girls were responsible for pictures. I thought these three were great photos!  The cucumber pic is my favorite! 

Daily update

High of 75 today, four eggs gathered and even more consumed! 

All of our birds are healthy and happy. Our bunnies are now completely safe and enclosed with no way to escape.  A Washington state food safety officer paid us a visit and told us everything looked good and only commented on the fly situation, which we are currently working on. His visit doesn't worry us too much since it's only Roger, my bro-dude-in-law!  He gave us a walk through because he's visiting, and we were curious to hear about how his new job is going. He seems to be very happy, and we are proud of him!  Thanks for the inspection Uncle Stinky! ;) 

We've graduated to tassels.

Our corn is tall, strong, and fabulous! It is growing and growing and is now showing tassels up top. That means our silks will be here soon and corn shortly after that!  It's perfect! 

Daily update

79 degrees, four eggs gathered

We lost yet another bunny last night. A day or two ago (not exactly sure because Andy was home and I wasn't) the little bunnies kicked/pushed their food dish out of the hutch and it left a hole. One jumped out and Andy was unable to catch it. Last night we say in bed and heard it being attacked. Andy stepped out with a flashlight and saw a rat assaulting our bunny. Andy scared it away and helped the bunny, but it was already too late. :( 

We don't plant flowers...

...but the flowers that bloom before our veggies grow are just spectacular sights to see!  Below is one of the many flowers blooming on our pumpkin vines. The yellow is so vibrant and fresh.  

Homegrown Goodness

Nothing says summertime at a Smith home like a BLT! 

Vines

According to our seed packets, we have the pumpkin and cantaloupe plenty of space, but it appears to be crowded. Andy put up stakes to give them someplace to grow. We will see if that works. The fruit is quite heavy, so we may need to better think this one through for next year! 

It's a goat!

Oh, man! Tilly and Evan fell in love with this little wether at the Yakima Valley Fair today. It's three weeks old, still bottle fed, and really cute!  It's for sale, but just my luck I forgot my wallet at home!  

YOU'RE INVITED to Seattle Tilth's 2013 Urban Harvest Fair

Come visit us at Meridian Park, September 7th!  We will be showcasing our beautiful bunnies and encouraging others to try raising their own foods right here in the city!  It can be done!  

The fair is free and is located behind the Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Ave., Seattle 98103) in Wallingford. There will be plenty to take in.  Please visit the Seattle Tilth's event page for more details:

http://seattletilth.org/special_events/harvestfair2013

Daily update

High of 82, four eggies

So our poor little bunny who was having a hard time yesterday didn't make it. Bummer....Andy is brainstorming a way to prevent them from curiously trying to escape. 

The hops are what's hoppening!

Hahaha I couldn't resist! 

So, we had a tour visitor who was absolutely certain that hops ONLY grew straight up and were IMPOSSIBLE plants to train.  I smiled and said we were new to farming and new to growing hops, but thought we'd try it anyway. Trial and error. But now, I look outside and see this plant growing up and hanging a right on the line!  Booya! 

Daily update

We have been out of town, so I am a bit behind in posting pictures. I assure you that I did send out photos to my email list, just haven't posted them here. 

81-4 eggs

Everything is looking good. All except our white bunny. She's looking rough. Not sure if it will make it. It appears to have gotten cut and was found in the yard. She may have squeezed through the food dish hole in the mesh and cut herself on the way down, but that's just a guess. 

Catch up and a BIG cuke

Here is Tilly sneaking a snack. Little baby bites ran along the plant! She finally tore off a piece and chewed on that for a bit.  What a goof! 

What beautiful carrots!  We even have a couple purple and even a few white ones growing too! 

(This is what happened when I said, "Smile!") 

I reached in through the vines to feel the weight of it, and it slipped right into my hand!  It's going to be tasty!