Working harder or smarter?

FFF Photo a Day - Day 48

This is a bucket of our soil, well sort of. Usually in the fall we fill a number of buckets for us to use when we start seeds indoors when the snow is still on the ground. 

Someone neglected to fill all the buckets needed! Once in a while, Farmer Phil's follies is to work harder not smarter. Thus he will be out with a pick axe this week getting soil and a good upper body work out. 

But hey, who doesn't like a farmer with a muscular upper body??  

Week #10 - What's in the box - This week's focus - Butternut squash

It's Week #10 and we are at the end of August - Wow, this summer has flown by! This is the time of year in which you can spend picking produce pretty much on a full time basis and still have more to pick when you are done!

Given the heat and the excess flies - we've been bringing the veggies inside the house to store and keep cool. Good thing we have a big house as they have almost taken over most of the living room!

What's in the box this week:
Onions
Potatoes
Cucumber
Zucchini
Herbs (cilantro, basil, parsley, chives)
Assorted peppers - Jalepeno pepper (green, tear drop shape) or Banana pepper (yellow, spear shaped) or Cherry Red Hot (small round red) or Chile peppers (round, thin) or Habeneros (small crumpled green)
Tomatoes - both cherry and regular size
Assorted melons - Honey Dew melon (white/green, smooth and round) or Cantaloupe (white/green, rough exterior, round)
Assorted Squash - Butternut squash (long neck, round base, yellow/green) or Patty Pan squash (orange/yellow, looks like a bit like a small pumpkin)
Swiss Chard
Kohlrabi
Leeks


This week's focus - Butternut Squash

Butternut squash also known in Australia and New Zealand as butternut pumpkin, is a type of winter squash. It has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. It has yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp. When ripe, it turns increasingly deep orange, and becomes sweeter and richer. It grows on a vine.

Butternut squash is a fruit that can be roasted, toasted, puréed for soups, or mashed and used in casseroles, breads, and muffins.

It is a good source of fibre, vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, and potassium. It is also an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin E.
The fruit is prepared by removing the skin, stalk and seeds, which are not usually eaten or cooked. However, the seeds are edible, either raw or roasted and the skin is also edible and softens when roasted. One of the most common ways to prepare butternut squash is roasting. To do this, the squash is cut in half lengthwise, lightly brushed with cooking oil, and placed cut side down on a baking sheet. It is then baked for 45 minutes or until it is softened. Once roasted, it can be eaten in a variety of ways as outlined above.

PAUL'S FAMOUS BUTTERNUT SOUP (serves 6 as a starter)

1 fresh butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups of chicken stock
Half a cup cream
1 tsp curry powder (as hot as you like)
A squirt of Worcestershire sauce
Salt and black pepper

1. Toss the chopped onion and garlic in a pot and sauté, don't burn or caramelise. They must be translucent but still white.
2. Add the peeled butternut and chicken stock and bring to the boil.
3. When the butternut is soft, mash (as in MASH, don't liquidise or pulverise!).
4. Add the other ingredients and stir.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Our Valentine Surprise



The farm's newest edition!

Wednesday morning, Philip went out to the barn to do the usual morning chores. Let the goats out as usual and went on sleepily to feed the pigs outside. While out there he heard a funny noise - one that was not a typical early morning on the farm in mid-winter kind of noise.... it was the sound of a very young goat bleating for its mother.

On investigation he discovered a baby kid born only hours before. He must have missed seeing the new arrival when he let them all out but sure enough, Louise had had a new baby!

Now what made this all that more surprising was that we were not expecting to kid until May! Our rent-a-buck had only arrived on the farm in mid-December and with a four and 1/2 month gestation period... well you do the math.... was it immaculate conception??

Puzzled, I dug through my records (after checking on Mom and baby and getting them settled in some comfy private accomodations), to see when was the last time we had a male goat on the farm. Sure enough, we sold the male kids (born only 7 months before) at the end of October. I guess they were a might more mature than we had thought!

So now we are wondering just how many other February births to expect and did we rent this buck in vain! Luckily its been a very mild winter so we shouldn't have to worry too much about dangerously cold weather should we have more births earlier than planned.

I must admit, while unexpected, the birth was a wonderful Valentine's surprise - a much needed boost in the middle of the February blahs!

Louise and babe are doing well. We are not yet certain but it looks like its a girl (these things don't always "reveal" themselves right away!).

Stay tuned for more follies on the farm we call home.

Hungry cats.... cheeky mice!

Hungry barn cats this morning.... Am I the only one that sees the mouse tracks! While we only have three cats of our own... we appear to be feeding several more. They don't however, seem to have a taste for mice.

Patches and Shadow came from the Corn Maze so they are unlike most traditional barn cats... they are friendly... a little too friendly.  You will be bending down to pick up something up and they will leap onto your back and snuggle into your neck. Then there is Caleb - the cat.... he is actually a she (long story) and is skittish and shy. You know you have been blessed if she comes over and lets you touch her.....

But back to these mice... they are getting a bit cocky! They used to have the decency to scatter when you came into the barn but the other day, one sat up on the stall wall and I swear... looked at me, winked and then sauntered into the wall!

Anyone have any advice?

A family that fences together.... does not always get a lot of fencing done!

 In preparation for the arrival of our new Dexter cattle, the family marched out to do some fencing. We didn't have much time, so all hands were needed! We were reinforcing the current fencing with rails and posts that hopefully would prevent any more dramatic escapes. Last summer. Brutus (Noel's giant steer) had crashed through several portions of the existing fence.

One of the things I love about our lifestyle is the opportunity to work together on these types of projects. The sense of accomplishment and team work that is created is awesome. While we did eventually get the fence done in time.... there was also much fun and often not much fencing actually being accomplished.