holiday foods

Mmmmm...Sweet Potato Pie

Two varieties offer a unique twist on the traditional pie: O'Henry and Beauregard [darker]. For a distinct color difference, keep the two separated and use designated utensils during the entire prepping process: cooking, mixing, & spooning. Ladle two scoops of each into the plate (one across from the other), and then top the alternate variety with the remaining filling. Use a table knife to swirl the filling starting from the outside and working toward the middle. The color variation is subtle, but pleasantly noticeable. Before baking, top it with chopped nuts for an extra special treat. You may want to prepare a crust, as well. In the excitement to get it baked and photographed for today's post, the pie crust was waived. Each order of sweet potatoes comes with a 50/50 blend.

Speaking of other holiday foods, the turkeys have been relocated to their new home! (We know these birds won't actually be available as holiday food until next year, but it made for a good segue.) Turkeys and chickens were relocated and have enjoyed their new space since last Thursday. Electric netting is next on the agenda.

Saturday was a VERY productive day on the farm - thanks to two neighbor girls who wanted a bit of extra cash! After the brooder room was completely cleaned out and scrubbed-down, we then moved onto to cleaning the out front part of the shed. We made so much progress in there that Eric was able to install a small wood burning stove - and light it, to boot! Working in a heated atmosphere is a welcome change.

Ready-to-eat fish has been added to the In Season page. Two men have enthusiastically offered to harvest fish and throw them in a holding tank. Eric cleans them that night and soaks them in salt water. The pond is stocked with crappie, bass, bluegill and channel cat. All varieties are priced equally and orders are filled from what's available. Sorry, no specific orders will be accepted.

There's still time to register for the upcoming herb class. Paula will be co-teaching with Jacque Spangler. While both represent the Harvey County Master Gardener program, Jacque also represents Harvest Greenhouse. Click on the poster to read the details. We'd love to have you!

fire season kicks off

Fall offers the most fantastic blessings of the year: vivid sunrises & sunsets, crisp air, serenading coyotes, migrating geese, simmering suppers, and fires in the stove. Last week’s frost marked the beginning of fire season. A new chainsaw has been busy cutting out trees for an extension to the permanent fencing around the farm. Armload-by-armload, the wood pile moves indoors. Last winter saw at least one meal cooked on the wood stove and we plan to do even more this year. Experimenting with the five-gallon buckets, wood ash = lye = soap (we hope). All is well and all are blessed.

Projects from the previous post are coming along - one quicker than the other. Eric's chicken schooner is about 3/4 complete. After the ends are closed off, feed and water tanks will be hung inside and it should be ready. Electric netting will provide a run for the birds to enjoy daily sunshine and fresh air (and protection from predators). This schooner will house the meat flock while the layers remain in the hen house.

Paula's greenhouse is currently postponed due to another project taking priority. Some of you have visited the brooder room, but almost everyone has seen the fridge and freezer sitting on the front porch. (We really wanted the appliances in the brooder room, but it was still being used.) If the greenhouse went up first, it was going to be nearly impossible to get the appliances in there. So, the brooder room has been cleaned out with the waste doing it's thing in the garden. After a vigorous bleach rub-down, minor repairs will tighten up the walls and everything will be primed & painted. Not only will the appliances be moved in, but the room will also hold all MHf supplies: egg cartons, packaging materials, other items for purchase, etc. In a sense, it will be an on-farm store!

Another herbal class has been scheduled (in Harvey County this time). Click on the flier to read all the details. Hope to see you there!

Do you like to fish or know someone who does? And would you like to get paid for it? Check out the most-recent farm venture: MHf Harvest Rebate.

fall projects

Eric's Project: Poultry schooner
Here's the base for the first schooner. It's going together fairly quickly and should be sturdy enough to move using the BCS. At just 20' long, this prototype will work nicely to house the current meat birds: turkeys and chickens. Another at 50' long will be built for the laying flock.

Paula's Project: Greenhouse
If you've ever visited the farm, you may remember seeing a hay shelter surrounding the hydrant near the hen house. We had to figure out a way to keep the hydrant from freezing in the winter. Now, after four seasons of weather, it's falling down and needs replaced. Harbor Freight's 10' x 12' greenhouse will work beautifully! Here's a time-lapse video from You Tube showing someone else putting up the same greenhouse.

Could not resist capturing this morning's gorgeous sunrise!

(click on any photo to enlarge)

promotion day

Promotion: to further the growth or progress of.

This weekend the turkeys and chicks were promoted to larger facilities. This grand hotel became the new home for the turkeys. After they learned they had more space above their heads, they began roosting on the water tank and the feed bin. So, today they get an official roost in their pen! With portability in mind, these larger pens are surprisingly easy to move and the design is much more stable than the smaller pens.

The incubator chicks and the La Fleche moved into the turkey's old house. La Fleche is the breed that arrived during the heat of July. Starting with 24, only 6 remain. The tallest on the far right is a La Fleche.


Farm tip for the day: when one cow is all alone in the pasture without any inkling to join the herd, there's much more to the story. "Congratulations, Angus! You have just been promoted to motherhood!!" She calved a healthy bull-calf yesterday morning. Eric and Snow checking on the pair.

Eric's Endeavors ~
Put up electric fencing in 1/4 acre plots along the driveway. The cows have pretty much eaten the available grass in the existing pastures, plus it saves us time mowing.

[click on any photo to enlarge]