Silo Filling 2018

Yesterday was the day...

Jim tested corn stalks twice in the last week, and yesterday morning corn silage went into the east silo.  Jeff (the guy who chops our corn) bought a different harvester over the winter.  He always had a John Deere, and this time he bought a Claas.  Merle ( our neighbor and the man who used to chop our corn) wanted to take some video of the harvester so he hung out on the barn hill for a while...

It didn't take long at all to fill this silo as full as Jim wanted it.  Some changes are coming...soon...on our farm, and we don't need both silos to be full right now.  More on that later...but don't worry...we're good with it!

It still makes me nervous when I see Jim "run" up the ladder on the outside of the silo!  I only do it on rare occasions, and I'm shaking in my boots the whole way up...and down...

The silage is beautiful and the unloader is all set up, ready to go!  As I sit here typing, our Amish neighbors are running up and down the road with their horses/mules and empty wagons, preparing for their corn harvest.  I don't envy them that job!  What takes us a few hours can take them days, sometimes several weeks to finish.

Wishing farmers everywhere a safe and bountiful harvest!

Canning Update...

My garden is tiny this year.  In fact, so tiny that I'm sure the local tour guides who pass by in cars with tourists, use it as yet another way to distinguish an "English" garden from an "Amish" one.  Years ago when my garden was big (by my standards) it was regarded as small by said local tour guides, so I can't imagine how it's regarded now!  (yes, it ticked me off a little bit when I found out, can you tell?!  :)  Oh well...)

It's also very overgrown with grass right now, and I will be the first to admit that an Amish garden would NOT look like mine in this regard.  In my defense, the 10" + of rain that we had in the past month did nothing to help with weed control!

Regardless...I'm happy with the results of my canning efforts this summer!

First came the pickles... 

I only got two batches of banana pickles processed before my cucumber plants wilted, but these will hold us over for a while!  The  pear butter on the top shelf is from last fall...

Next came jellies...

Raspberry jelly, blackberry jelly and white grape jelly.  I like to give these as gifts, and we'll still have plenty leftover for ourselves...

Then came tomatoes...

I have four tomato plants this year, and they were doing great until the monsoon season hit.  Now they're suffering from blight, although there are still enough tomatoes out there for a small batch of sauce now and then. 

I made two batches of salsa so far this year...eleven jars each, and I still hae several jars left from last year.  I'd like to do another batch if I get enough tomatoes at once, because I like to gift these jars as well.  We eat a lot of salsa ourselves, so I want to have plenty!

This year's salsa is on the top shelf, the second shelf is several batches each of pasta and pizza sauce.  I use Mrs. Wage's mix for those sauces.  It's quick, easy, and we like the flavor!  My go to Sunday lunch lately has been french bread pizza.  Just slice a loaf of french bread horizontally, spread some sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice, bake it in the oven for about 15 minutes at 400*, and you have a quick lunch!  Bake it on a stone, and the bottom even gets a little crispy.  Mmmm...

Our white grape vine overachieved this year, and I got what I feel like is a huge amount of grape juice on top of the jelly that I made!  I have sixteen quarts of juice on the bottom shelf that I made "the old way", and twelve quarts of juice concentrate on the middle shelf that I made using my friend's steamer.  THAT, friends, is a nifty way to make grape juice! 

The other things on the shelves are things from last year that I need to use up!  I don't have any canned beans, and that disappoints me, but it's my own fault!  We won't be starving anyway this winter, that's for sure!

What kind of canning/preserving do you do?

Grapes, Grapes and More Grapes...

The grapes are ready!  I guess they really liked all the rain we've had this summer, because the vines are that heavy that they've fallen off the top wire, and have begun pulling one of the posts over!

This bucket full is from a section only about three feet wide...

Yesterday's outcome, from one bucket full...two batches of white grape jelly.  I never tried it before, but just followed the directions for Concord grape jelly in the pectin box.  We had some on English muffins for breakfast, and it got a thumbs up!  (that's salsa in the jars behind the jelly.  The tomatoes are just as happy as the grapes!)

If you need me today...or for the rest of the week...I'll be standing at the kitchen sink!

A Quick Getaway...

It's been a long, long time (10 years!) since Jim and I have been able to both be away from the cows at the same time!  Other than just a couple (4, to be exact!) of times in the last few years where we've missed a milking together for a couple of graduation parties, a wedding and my parents' sale, we've had to divide and conquer when it came to taking time off.

This weekend, while we are in between hay cuttings,and before Jenna heads back to college tomorrow we were able to take a quick trip to Ocean City NJ with Jenna and a friend.  Eric would have gone along, but already had made plans with some college friends.

We left the cows in the trusted and capable hands of our friends Ivan and Victoria, and neighbor Daniel for three milking and we skedaddled!

Ocean City NJ is a short three hour drive.  We tied up the cows in the morning, and pulled out around 6 am.  Before lunch, we were relaxing on the beach...

Within the hour, thunderstorms rolled in, and the beach had to be vacated.  We hung out at the music pier for a while...

...saw a beautiful rainbow...

...and went to an Escape Room for some entertainment.  We were paired up with another group of four, and we found the pirate's treasure before the time was up!

The beach was closed for the rest of the day, so we checked into our boarding house and cooled off, and then headed to the boardwalk for supper .

Later, Jim and the girls rode the ferris wheel...

We bought our salt water taffy and walked the boardwalk for a while before turning in for the night.

This morning was beautiful!  Jim got up early (his body clock just wouldn't let him sleep in!) and went to the boardwalk for coffee.  Later, we all took a walk on the beach...

 The water was warm!

While Jim and I packed up the car, the girls headed out to the water for a quick swim before we headed home again.  It was just a quick trip, but it felt so good to finally get away from the farm for a bit of relaxation!

A Bright Spot In a Dreary Week...

Let's face it...too much of one kind of weather gets old, no matter how much you've needed said weather...

Earlier this spring we had ten days straight of rain, resulting in +-7 inches of rain and soggy fields.  Crops were planted late, first cutting of hay was late, but eventually it all worked out.

Then we had several weeks straight of hot, dry weather, resulting in stressed crops and worried farmers.

This week we've had four days or so of rain, resulting in +- 6 more inches of rain.  I don't want to be a complainer, because in the long run, all the rain is great for the water table!  Needless to say, it's been a little frustrating.  "Feast or famine, so the saying goes". 

The rain lilies, however, are quite thrilled! 

Yesterday...

Today...

Their true name is Zephyr Lilies, but we call them rain lilies because they push up shoots and bloom right after a heavy rain.  You can trick them into thinking it's rained, by dumping a bucket...yes, a whole bucket full...of water over them every few days.  In the fall, you just take them to the basement before the first hard frost and forget about them until spring!

They are a bright spot on these dreary days!

3rd Cutting...

The weather, the weather...it's all about the weather! 

We've had such a unique summer, weather wise.  A cool, wet spring got the corn and beans in late...1st cutting of hay was a little later than usual...and now we've gone about three weeks without any measurable rain.   Earlier this week we had less than 1/10th of an inch while folks almost within sight had at least 1/2" or more.  The crops are getting a little bit stressed, but the forecast is calling for rain over the next week.  We sure hope they're right!

One thing positive about having no rain, is that Jim was able to get some dry hay baled this week.  He mowed a couple of fields on Tuesday evening, and baled it this afternoon...

I never seem to time my pictures right, so that the bales are in the air between the baler and the wagon.  Oh well...

I had the easiest job...

We're very thankful for several loads of nice, dry small square bales of hay.  Yes, balage is easier and faster to bale, especially when the window of nice weather is short...but no one likes to feed it...and we liken dry hay to gold.  There's not much better than dry hay to keep a cow's rumen happy!

Now it can rain.  Please?!

Susquehannock State Park...

Yesterday afternoon, on a beautiful day, one of my "oldest"  (tee-hee) friends and I took an afternoon excursion to Susquehannock State Park.  It's a beautiful park/overlook close to where I grew up in the southern end of Lancaster County.

Disclaimer...rant ahead...

The "southern end" has lots of gems that people who live in the central or northern end of the county have never been to.  I remember as a teenager, many people would say I lived in the "boondox" or "way down there", so far away.  But they didn't know what they were missing.  Ok, enough of my rant...  :)

A bit of background...the Susquehanna River is the longest river on the east coast, and flows through Pennsylvania, draining into the Chesapeake Bay, and then the Atlantic Ocean.

Looking south, if you enlarge the photo you can see the Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant on the west (right) side of the river...

looking north...

You can see Peach Bottom more clearly on this picture.  There were lots of boaters and jet skiiers enjoying the water yesterday...

We took a short "hike" ...

...to another overlook where we could see the Holtwood Hydroelectric Plant below us.  In the distance to the north is the Norman Wood Bridge, which crosses the river to York County...

The wineberries were beginning to ripen...

My friend Sue and I...

She and I grew up together  and I'm glad we've been able to keep in touch.  She's a rockin' school teacher!  I used to always remind her when we were kids, that I was "older" than her.  A whopping 4 months older, but I was a year ahead of her in school because of when our birthdays fell in the year.  Now I'm reminded that I really am older.  Ha!  Love ya, Sue!