Trick or Treat!

That's 9 pounds of candy neatly (and fairly) divided up. I am still in shock from that number. We were only out for about an hour and a half. And there weren't that many people handing out candy! More than I thought, I suppose. 

The girls had fun knocking on doors and smiling brightly when people guessed that they were the galaxy protecting Men In Black.  They also chuckled when they were complimented on their businessmen costumes! 

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This fits in with our farm pictures because 1.) Farmers like candy too!  and 2.) Think of all of the money we saved by "making our children beg the neighbors for candies!"  

Happy Halloween! 

Grape Juice

We tried our hand at grape juice. It was before I bought the cheese cloth. Haha 

We'll see how it goes when we crack open these quarts. It might take a LOT of Sprite to cover the pulpy taste. Cross your fingers! 

Roasted Seeds

Last night we roasted our pumpkin seeds and Tilly couldn't keep her mitts off of them!  She even took some for her friend, Levi, who had never tried them before. The only problem I had was me leaving them out. I think they lost their crispiness by being left out overnight. I started late, and I was too tired to wait for them to cool. Next time, I will wait because nothing tastes quite like autumn like freshly roasted and toasted pumpkin seeds. :) 

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Rinse and strain the seeds to clean out your gross pumpkin guts. 

Boil the cleaned seeds in salt water for about 10 minutes. 

Pat them dry. 

Set them flat on a baking sheet. Try not to overlap too much. 

Season to your liking. We like plain salted seeds, but I know others add cinnamon or even spice for a kick. 

Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Mix the seeds and flatten them before roasting another 10 minutes. 

That should do it! 

Watch for them to brown. Remember that the seeds cook faster than their shells, so if the shells are dark brown the seeds may be black!  Ovens vary, so use the 10 minute roasting times as a guide.

Enjoy. 

Bottoms up!

With an abundance of apples, I decided to make apple cider.  Without a cider press, I endured a time consuming process of making said cider. 

I chopped the apples, juiced them and then overheated the juicer!  It took a while for the juicer to want to work for me again, but it took a rest and kept on juicing!  After juicing, I hand-strained every drop through cheesecloth.  The end product was worth the mess and the time and the hassle. 

Look at that jug! I cannot wait to add a few cinnamon sticks and heat that juice up! What a delicious trick or treating beverage for the whole family to enjoy.  

Yesterday & Today

Grapes! 

Juicing more of Grandpa and Grandma Smith Grapes for juice and jelly. Tilly loves helping out, and this was an easy way to get her hands dirty in the kitchen. She had lots of fun! 

Pumpkin Patch

I don't remember the pumpkins being so clean, lined up, and off the vine when I was a kid. Maybe I have forgotten what it was like, but it seemed more authentic back then....a hayride out to the field to pick the perfect pumpkin and another ride back.

Matilde and her preschool classmates had fun and made lasting memories today, whether the pumpkins were sprayed clean or not! 

Canning goodness....

Granmo had an excellent idea. She recommended I can apple pie filling!  GENIUS!!  Just heat and serve! I couldn't believe I had not thought of it myself. Now, to only find the time.  

24 useful hours in every day....

Home Sweet Home

Golden Delicious

When life hands you (FREE) apples, make applesauce!!

Daily update

The Donnas have been molting and we have been fervently attempting to combat a war on rats, so the egg count has been WAY down. At this time, I believe the Australorp is the only bird laying. I hope these chickens start laying regularly soon. 

Expense update

I forgot to account for these expenses....

9/28 Hayes Feed, Burien

$34.93

10/22 Hayes Feed, Burien

$24.04

I think both purchases were rabbit food and possibly some chicken scratch for the Donnas. 

The tractor photo.

There are many stories involving (all of) the Smith boys and this tractor, so I couldn't help but add this picture to the mix. 

One bird. One shot.

That's a quail. 

Only a whole bunch more to feed the rest of us.  

Hahaha 

11 Pounds

Andy and his pops, Tim, culled six rabbits this afternoon and rendered eleven pounds of meat! 

We ate the first rabbit mixed in with a pot of homemade chicken soup last weekend. No one noticed! That's a terrific sign. I can't wait to substitute it in other recipes. If anyone has any good rabbit recipes, please feel free to pass then along! 

What $6 can buy us.

Here is our loot from our Farm to Table order from Matilde's preschool. It's a fantastic partnership bringing fresh organic fruits and vegetables from local farms to families at an affordable price. We plan to purchase a bag of produce every other week for only $6 a bag. Can't beat that! 

Anyone know what that purple sweet potato looking veggie is?  

What a pear!

Matilde was given this pear by one of the secretaries at her school today. It is so gigantic! I can't wait to slice into it! It's as big as her head! 

Yesterday & Today

Mountain mama

Tina's on the prowl tonight!  My poor, poor Donnas. 

Time to prune.

These grapes took off, but now it's time to prune....I think.  Any suggestions what to do next?! I know we need to prep for the coming year, but what's first? 

RIP RATS.

These rats will soon be bastards.

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This pellet gun fires at 13k ft/second, comes with a 4x32 scope, and silencer. 

No longer will these rats feast on fresh Donna eggs or chicken feed. They will soon be a warning to all other rodents in the area. WE WILL NOT STAND IDLY BY.  THIS IS OUR LAND! SETTLE YOUR RAT DEBTS, HUG YOUR RAT BABIES, AND KISS YOUR RAT MOTHERS BECAUSE TONIGHT WILL BE YOUR LAST. 

MUWHAHAHAHAHAHA 

(It's been a fun weekend!)

Wed., Thurs., Fri.

I'm MOLTING!! MOLTING!!!

We're not the only people eating rabbit in the city!  It was nice to see rabbit meat for sale at the Queen Anne farmers market yesterday evening. I think Andy may be filling our freezer this weekend with more, but I haven't confirmed that yet. :)

I thought these piles of radishes and turnips were beautiful!  They looked very yummy!  I remember trying a turnip for the very first time in elementary school. I don't quite remember for sure, but I think Mrs. Trautman brought them in for us to taste because of a book we were reading. It could have been Ms. Carlson. I just remember that it was my reading teacher and she was dumbfounded that a few of us had never tasted one before!  I recall liking it, but NEVER eating one again! Hahaha 

I keep falling asleep early....

This is a photo of Cousin Ty's turkey!  He went turkey hunting in his home state (AZ) last weekend and bagged a bird for the big day!  He dressed it and now it patiently awaits a warm November afternoon with the Kraenzlers.  Congrats my friend and enjoy that warm fuzzy feeling of knowing where your food has come from! (Not that Safeway is a bad place for food to come from....) 

Empty Beds & I failed.

We've cleaned out the beds and will be weeding and composting and filling them again soon.  Planning for next year has begun since we slacked off on winter planting. 

This is what's left to compost of our fantastic green onion crop. Andy suggested green onion pesto. The girls love pesto, but I didn't think it sounded good. I made it anyway. I should have gone with my gut because it was not good! It could have been my oil choice or my nut choice, but it whatever it was, it was bitter. 

Corn Stalks

After picking the remainder of corn, we just couldn't part with their beautiful stalks just yet. Andy bunched them and stood them out front. They make it feel like autumn and are nice piece to welcome friends, family, and neighbors. I love coming home and seeing these tall stalks still serving a purpose albeit a decorative one. 

Freakin' Tina

That, my friends, is the feral barn cat we picked up as a mouser for the yard. Andy promised it would be an outside cat only.  

Does a better job as a hat than as a mouse killer. 

The last of the tomatoes. I promise this time.

Ha!  

This is all that is left of the five large tomato plants we grew in our front garden beds. I will miss seeing them grow wildly about. *sigh* 

The last of the carrots.

RIP kits

Unfortunately, this afternoon we found all of Mary's newborn kits deceased. As she began nesting, we moved her inside to the upper, unused chicken coop. The weather has been absolutely terrible here with high winds and pounding rain, so we moved her indoors to protect her and her kindle from the elements. She gave birth sometime yesterday/overnight. Andy added a heat lamp to help keep them from getting too cold, but it still didn't help. We are not sure why, but her entire kindle didn't survive the night. 

Andy is still convinced that raising rabbits is worth the time, money, and effort, but I'm having my doubts. I love raising our own meat and the feeling of sustainability, but it hasn't proven to be successful or profitable just yet. I hope I can hold out long enough for my love to prove me wrong. I'm not sure how many more dead newborns I can handle. 

Tengo celos.

I am EXTREMELY jealous of our north Delridge neighbor and their Great Pumpkin. Isn't it fantastic? We pass this haphazard garden daily as we make our way home from Matilde's preschool. They also have watermelons!  WATERMELONS!  Can you believe it? 

I am so jealous.