Winter and My Canning Shelves...Where Did It All Go?

Oh my...I get sad when I go to the basement this winter and look at my canning shelves.

Most winters, they're still mostly full!  Jars and jars of tomatoes, salsa, pasta sauce, applesauce, green beans, grape juice, etc.

This is what happens when you lose a couple of months over gardening/canning season.  The shelves get empty really fast.  There are about six jars of applesauce...a dozen or so jars of green beans...a dozen jars of grape juice...a dozen pint jars of tomatoes, and a few jars of pasta sauce, thanks to my Mom who canned some for me in September...

We'll be eating plenty of pickles...

...and I have an abundance of empty jars ready to go for next summer!

No...we are not about to starve or come anywhere close!

We are blessed beyond what we need or want, and we have a freezer full of good home grown beef and some frozen veggies (thanks again to my Mom and my sister for picking, shelling and blanching my lima beans this summer!)

The store bought stuff just doesn't taste nearly as good, and it makes me sad to see the shelves so empty at the end of January.

DIY Dryer Balls...

Have you ever used dryer balls?

Have you ever even heard of dryer balls?  They're those wool balls that you put in with your laundry to help the clothes tumble and dry more efficiently in the dryer.

I hadn't until a few months ago, but I can tell you that I'm now convinced that they work...and that they're ridiculously easy to make!

You start with 100% wool...either old sweaters or wool yarn.  I went with a friend to our local Goodwill store the other day, and scored a pile of 100% wool sweaters for just a few dollars.  Our local store has a "bargain room" where all clothing is sold for $1.39 per pound.  You've got to be willing to dig, but if you have time, it's worth it.

Adult sizes work best, as you get a larger piece of wool to work with...

Lay the sweater out flat, and cut out either the front or the back.  You want to cut off the waist band and cut around the seams, ending up with a large, relatively rectangular piece of wool.

Then begin cutting in a spiral, starting at the outside edge.  I like to cut a spiral about 1 1/2" - 2" wide.  I tried it cutting a more narrow spiral, but I like the finished look better this way.  When you get to the center, leave a small square of wool.  This will be where you begin wrapping...

Bunch that small center square into a ball, and begin to wrap as tightly as possible...

When you're finished...wrapping the wool as tightly as possible as you go...tuck the ends in wherever you can...

The ball on the bottom is what it should look like when you get to this point.  (the top ball is completely finished...just so you can see what the finished product looks like next to it)

Next...put your wrapped wool balls into an old nylon stocking as snugly as possible and tie knots tightly between them...

Then...toss them into the washing machine with some old towels or dark colors and wash in hot water.  Throw them into the dryer (still snug in their stocking) with the wet laundry and start it up.  The hot water and hot dryer "felts" or shrinks the wool and keeps the balls from unraveling.

I recommend running them through several hot wash and dry cycles, to be sure that they're completely felted and that they don't unravel in the dryer.

In the picture below, the white ball on the right is made of wool yarn.  This was one of the first dryer balls that I made, and I wouldn't recommend this method. It was harder to get the yarn to "felt", and was considerably more expensive to make...

I usually toss at least three of the dryer balls into the dryer with my wet laundry.  It shortens the drying time, and helps to prevent static.  You can even occasionally put some drops of essential oils directly onto the balls if you want a lightly scented load of laundry.  (It's a lot less expensive than fabric softener!)

I didn't wash the sweaters first, but that was a personal decision.  I figured they'd be washed in hot water soon enough and get clean that way.  If they are noticeably soiled, wash them in cold water and lay flat to dry before cutting, but don't wash them in hot water yet or they'll be felted before you want them to!

There you have it!  A simple, fun project for a cold wintry day.

Baby It's Cold Outside...

Brrr...

We've been spoiled this winter with mild weather.  It's the second week of January, and this is the first bitter cold that we've experienced...and it brings back memories of last winter.  Thankfully, it's not to continue for too many days!

Our barn sits on a rise, and has absolutely no protection from the west winds. When the wind blows, it gets really cold on the side of the barn where the heifer pens are.  There's no good way to insulate the water lines over there, so we have to be proactive to keep them open.

Yesterday afternoon the temperatures began dropping and the wind picked up.  We drained water lines on the west side of the barn after evening milking, and headed into the warm house.  We could hear the wind blowing when we went to bed, and we hoped that we wouldn't find trouble this morning when we got up...

This was the temperature at 7:00 this morning...

My main job right now in the barn consists of keeping those water lines open and/or making water available to the heifers.  I run a hose from the main water line in the cow stable to a tub in the outside pen several times a day. There's a tub at the end of the entry way, on the other side of that gate, and the heifers learned quickly where it is...

Jolyn hangs out with me, and often sits on my shoulder while the hose is running...

If water bowls have frozen, I fill calf bottles with steaming hot water...

...and pour the hot water over the water bowl valves to open them up...

The cows' body heat keeps the actual cow stable pretty warm.  It was 60 degrees out there last night at bedtime!  The outside pen water line will probably remain drained for a while yet.  The box pen water lines will stay drained over night, and be opened each morning for a while.  Even the youngest heifers learn quickly that they need to drink when the bowls are open and running!

Meanwhile at the calf hutches...

The youngest calves are kept warm and dry with fresh bedding and they each wear their insulated coats.  I had to bribe this little one to stand still by letting her suck on my fingers.  That was a cold choice...and it's also why she looks a bit goofy.  (The hutch is also a lot bigger than it looks here...)

This was what remained in their water buckets from over night...

We're just thankful that even though it reached the single digits overnight with a windchill in the minus teens, the wind has remained calm today, and that makes all the difference!

Stay warm, wherever you are!  There are only 72 days 'til spring...but who's counting?!

Some Fiddling Fun...

So...this year for Christmas, we got Jenna a fiddling book, at the recommendation of Jim's cousin Durelle, who is a gifted musician.  After our extended family gathering on Saturday, he stopped over...with his guitar...and the two of them had some fiddling fun.

Keep in mind that this is all simple sight reading, and it's their first time playing together.  After all the classical training Jenna's had, it's fun to try something different!

Here are two short videos, just for fun.

The first one is slow...

...and this second one is faster and catches my ear.  Part way through, my memory card got full, so it's rather short...

We're looking forward to hearing more, as time allows.  Maybe I'll have to pick up the guitar and practice a few chords!

New Years Babies...

It wouldn't be a holiday without something happening on the farm!

Last night two new calves were born...New Years Eve babies...

 And this morning, another one...a New Years Day baby...

Two Holstein bull calves, and a Holstein/Jersey cross.  They're enjoying their straw beds and their warm bottles of colostrum!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!