Hawks Nest Farm

Stacking Apples

2011-10-06T23:47:00.000-05:00

Since Steve Jobs' death, I keep thinking about the funny little movie called "Stacking Apples" that our girls along with our french exchange student, Margaux, made earlier this summer. (The girls took on a bit of a french accent from Margaux while making this movie!) While watching this film, I am reminded of Steve Jobs' hand in the history and making of all the various Apple products that our family has ever had...too many to name. Of course, that is not what the girls had in mind when they made their movie using my iPhone and iMovie on our iMac. They were simply playing a game, inspired by the "Minute to Win It" TV show, to see how many apples they could stack!

Our condolences to Apple on the loss of a great leader...may you continue to delight and inspire the world to innovate and play!

Picking Apples

2011-10-05T21:12:00.000-05:00

I had a choice and I always picked apples....

This bowl of apples I picked today are for you, Steve Jobs...thanks for everything...we'll miss you...your vision helped illuminate the world and keep imagination alive. Rest in peace.

xoxo

---your friends at Hawks Nest Farm

Making Grape Jelly

2011-09-19T23:28:00.000-05:00

Somehow, back in 2009, I convinced Mamie to help me make a movie about making grape jelly, but we never managed to edit it. With this year's grape crop, I decided to produce the video along with the jelly. Making a video about the harvest process is something my mom and grandmas never did, that's for sure! For the record, they never made grape jelly that I recall either. Anyway, it's a sweet little movie, but since it was filmed 2 years years ago, Mamie was like, "MOOOOMMMM, reallllly? Do you have to????" To which I replied, "Of course." :)

My childhood grape jelly story....
One day many years ago, when I was in first grade, I came home from school and my mother was not at home, so I helped myself to an afterschool snack...my favorite snack--grape jelly. On that memorable day more than 40 years ago, I proceeded to eat nearly an entire jar of grape jelly. I sat on the kitchen floor...me and that big jar of grape jelly. I had no idea where my mom was. All I cared about was that grape jelly. I made myself sick on grape jelly that day. After that, I thought I'd never eat grape jelly again for as long as I lived. Just the thought of it made me want to puke.

It wasn't till college that I tasted grape jelly again. I began buying grape jelly as I had kids and actually began to like it again. Finally, now that we are growing our own grapes and making our own, I can truly appreciate the great wonder and beauty of grape jelly all over again...in moderation of course!

Woolly Bear on a Stick

2011-09-17T14:17:00.001-05:00

It's the season for caterpillars. We notice them everywhere! We are especially fond of the woolly bear caterpillar with its spikey fuzz. This little bug eventually morphs into the Isabella tiger moth and is best known for its legendary ability to predict the harshness of the upcoming winter by the size of its brown midsection. Less brown means a harsh winter; more brown means mild. We learned about this old-time farmer factoid from the Farmer's Almanac. Makes us want to go out caterpillar hunting and see what the other woolly bears bristles are telling us about the upcoming winter.

For more info on this cute little bug, check out this nice link by the Buglady over at the University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee).

http://www4.uwm.edu/fieldstation/naturalhistory/bugoftheweek/woolly_bear.cfm

Oh woolly bear, woolly bear––

What do you know?

Will winter make us weary

of ice and snow?

Or do the brown bristles

of your fuzzy back

fortell mild days

for play outside our shack?

by pbird at Hawks Nest

Going Grape

2011-09-15T09:11:00.001-05:00

With the weatherfolks predicting a hard freeze two weeks earlier than usual, we picked the grapes. Got a decent crop...a bushel (40lbs) maybe? Most are ripe, some are not. We take our chances with those left on the vine in the frigid night temps.

Some people use frostbit grapes to make certain wines, but we won't be making wine. Tried that a couple years ago (previous post here)...the stomping was fun, but our wine turned out horrible, tart and combustible...2 bottles spontaneously burst in the pantry causing quite a scene!

Making plain old homemade grape jelly is fine with us...bring on the peanut butter!

Happy Apple

2011-09-14T12:42:00.002-05:00

the artist in me loves the patchy texture...

We are happy to have lots of apples this year--it doesn't matter they are covered in soot blotch and flyspeck! Those fungi are harmless and wash right off. Last year, we didn't get a single apple due to the frost that killed all the blossoms.

The weather people are predicting an early hard freeze tonight which won't be good for the apples or any other crop. We are picking as much as we can and hoping for the best!

Speaking of the frost, the great poet Robert Frost claimed he didn't spray his apple trees and neither do we. A lovely link to his apple poems and the Robert Frost Stone House Museum and Orchard may be found here.

AFTER APPLE-PICKING by Robert Frost

MY long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree Toward heaven still, And there's a barrel that I didn't fill Beside it, and there may be two or three Apples I didn't pick upon some bough. But I am done with apple-picking now. Essence of winter sleep is on the night, The scent of apples: I am drowsing off. I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight I got from looking through a pane of glass I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough And held against the world of hoary grass. It melted, and I let it fall and break. But I was well Upon my way to sleep before it fell, And I could tell What form my dreaming was about to take. Magnified apples appear and disappear, Stem end and blossom end, And every fleck of russet showing clear. My instep arch not only keeps the ache, It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round. I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend. And I keep hearing from the cellar bin The rumbling sound Of load on load of apples coming in. For I have had too much Of apple-picking: I am overtired Of the great harvest I myself desired. There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch, Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall. For all That struck the earth, No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble, Went surely to the cider-apple heap As of no worth. One can see what will trouble This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is. Were he not gone, The woodchuck could say whether it's like his Long sleep, as I describe its coming on, Or just some human sleep.

Fall Swarm!

2011-09-08T13:43:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, out by the barn I noticed a pronounced humming in the air. The sound got louder and louder as I followed it to the chicken coop. I could not see where the buzz was coming from.

Finally, I looked up. Perched high up in the branches of the oak tree some 30 feet above the coop door was a big clump of honey bees! I haven't had a chance to check our hives yet, but most likely it is one of our colonies!

We witnessed a swarm only one other time. I wrote about that in a previous post here. That one was easy to catch because they clumped in the apple tree, and we cut the branch and plopped them in a new hive box and fed them.

This swarm may have to take its course with nature. No way I'm climbing up to the top of that tree! Maybe this swarm is getting ready to take over the coop, or the doghouse down below. If that happens, I'll know what to do. In the meantime, we wait. They cannot hang there forever. They need to be in a protected space with honey stored up for winter or else they'll starve.

Waxing and Whining

2011-07-05T23:10:00.000-05:00

Every year the mice do a number on my beehives. Those pesky little things are so cute, but can be really damaging to a beehive in winter, especially after a deadout which was the case for all 3 of my hives this year. I need to replace wax foundation on at least a couple dozen frames. The nice thing is that I will have a big pile of wax to melt down and try to make candles.

Mice have eaten most of the wax on this frame which must cleaned out before replacing with new wax.

The old wax is all cleaned and scraped out.

I install the new beeswax foundation onto which the bees will build new comb.

5 frames with new wax foundation and the pile of old wax

Chicks at 1 Month

2011-06-10T10:04:00.000-05:00

The chicks are now 1 month old and growing by leaps and bounds, so last night we decided to do a quick photoshoot with the iPhone. Most of their baby down is gone now as their feathers grow in, and they look and act like awkward teenagers. The Buffs (Buttercup, Piper and Dandelion) are the friendliest, the most opportunistic and least afraid, but it is very difficult to tell them apart. Zinnia is the smallest, most gentle and doesn't flinch when held. The others are all quite skiddish. Moony is the most fearful of human contact and screeches like crazy if you try to pick her up. Lempi is the most aloof and fully feathered. Buttercup and Piper try to fly up on the edge of the box when we are near their box which is currently in our sunroom. If the weather will cooperate, we'll put the chicks outside in their new coop. After school the girls have been taking them into the garden to peck for worms and seeds and practice flying. It's difficult to catch and bring them back inside. We need to earn their trust. One way is through food. The chicks go ga-ga over bits of cheese, watermelon, apple, and lettuce and other veggies. By giving them extras to their diet, not only do the chicks positively associate humans with food, their palate is expanded and familiar with leftovers which normally would either go in the trash or the compost.

Buttercup - 1mth

Moony - 1mth

Zinnia - 1mth

Lempi - 1mth

Piper - 1mth

Tilly - 1mth

Cookie -1mth

Dandelion - 1mth

Kukka - 1mth

Bitsy - 1mth

Chickenbox

2011-05-24T12:34:00.001-05:00

We moved the chicks from the kitchen to the sunroom and into a huge new box. The new box has tall sides to prevent flying/fleeing. Got it from the recycling bin at Fleet Farm. The kids truly enjoy decorating the chicken boxes with elaborate art and messages. Minna drew an especially gorgeous freehand illustration of a royal chicken couple inspired no doubt by the newly married royal couple, Will & Kate! We are not sure if our little chickies are interested in the art or messages in their home, however they are very curious and seem to notice things. They seem most content however, pecking at black spots we purposely placed on the wall to encourage their foraging instincts and deter pecking at one another.

It is interesting to note that everytime we get a new chickenbox, the questions are the same...is it big enough? Where should we put it? Who is setting it up? Is it warm enough? What are we going to put on it? etc. How do we keep the water clean? By the time we figure it all out, the chicks grow too big and need to go in a bigger space...thus continuing the cycle!

Endless Waterhole

2011-05-15T23:55:00.000-05:00

Several of our garden beds couldn't get enough water today. Can you explain why? Tell us in the comments! (This one is fun for the kids.)

Cheep Shots!

2011-05-10T22:14:00.000-05:00

Meet our new chicks! Ordered 6, but got 10 instead...couldn't resist! The wee ones are chirping blissfully in their temporary cardboard box home and not pecking each other too much, which is good. They are very active and take tiny naps in between eating, drinking and general scratching and pecking activities. The girls did a great job naming our little hens and we are so glad to welcome them here.

Buttercup - Buff Orpington

Moony - Ameraucana

Zinnia - Black Australorp

Lempi (a finnish name meaning loved, favorite or beloved) - Ameraucana (she is the biggest and bossiest!)

Piper - Buff Orpington

Tillie - Silver Laced Wyandotte

Cookie - Silver Lace Wyandotte

Dandelion - Buff Orpington (the sleepiest)

Kukka (finnish for flower) - Golden Laced Wyandotte

Bitsy - Black Australorp (the smallest and quickest)

Squatter in the Hive

2011-05-10T11:11:00.000-05:00

Here is what I found in one hive while preparing for the new bees on May 3:

Jack Frost - Go Away Now

2011-04-20T11:39:00.000-05:00

It's April 20th and this is what we woke up to. Yep, we've had our fill of winter.

Geeks for Leeks

2011-04-20T10:58:00.001-05:00

"Minna, do you want to look for leeks?" I said when she came home after school yesterday.

"What?" She replied, half-interested.

"Leeks, wild leeks. They're kinda like onions. They are the first edible forest greens to appear in spring. I want you to help me look for them. It may snow tomorrow, so now's the time to look."

"Oh Mom..."

wild iris chewed by deer

It took some urging, but eventually Minna pulled on her boots, and we went outside and began our search. In the gully out back, we noticed all the wild irises eaten down to the roots by the deer. We spotted an empty mouse house in a rotted out tree trunk. We felt sorry for the patch of nearly bloomed bloodroot cozy in their leafy wraps anticipating a heavy snow. Fifteen minutes later, without a leek in sight, we gave up and decided to work on cleaning out the beehives, which I had already started earlier in the day.

mouse house

vole trail question mark

As we made our way toward the beeyard, Minna complained about the noxious smell of bee death lingering in the air. "Mom, these dead bees smell HORRIBLE."

Meanwhile, I cursed the raised maze of gopher and vole trails in the apple orchard and pasture. As I came up next to the thicket by the hives, some little green patches caught my attention. I triumphantly shouted to Minna, "I think I found some!" Indeed, the greenery seemed to be the wild leeks we were pursuing.

I remarked to Minna, "Wow, how did the deer miss these?" We were shocked that somehow these patches miraculously eluded the greediest eyes and mouths of our local gang of thieves.

Only a couple dozen groupings were growing, so I carefully dug out two plants and took them inside, washed them and squashed them to see if they had the smell of onions. They did, so I tasted them and they were good. Like scallions, only more garlicky. Wow. A whole new experience!

So now geek leek mom is a little cranked at the critters hogging all the woodland groceries.

I'm not the only one miffed about the lack of leeks in our woods. In today's New York Times there is an article about a new demand for wild edibles and overharvesting for entirely different reasons from ours. How interesting and timely!

Fungal Fever

2011-04-18T08:36:00.003-05:00

Well, the lilacs aren't blooming yet, but reports on shrooming sites are saying that mushrooms are showing up in some Minnesota woods. Indeed we have found some, too. We will hunt for morels again, but last year we did not find any so learning about other edible species widens our options. The Minnesota Mycological Society is a great place to connect with others interested in local shrooming. The group is hosting a meeting tonight that looks interesting:

Monday, April 25 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm, 490 Hodson Hall, U of M St. Paul Campus
We all have Morel tips and tricks to share, from the hunters who find buckets to those who find modest handfuls. We’ll spend some time discussing as a group our most fruitful habitats, times, and spotting tricks for locating morels across the state. And if you’ve already been running across other species of mushrooms in your walks in the woods, bring them in to share some early spring excitement and identification

There are dozens of resources on the internet for mushrooming. The MMS lists some links here. The Journal of Wild Mushrooming has a nice page with advice for first time mushroomers to get started too.

Remembering Sara

2011-04-17T20:58:00.000-05:00

Our sweetie-pie hen, Sara, sadly passed away on April 1 for unknown reasons. Besides being an all-around good mannered hen, Sara is remembered for a memorable field trip to painting class, as well as her acting debut in the movie "Chick Therapy" which premiered at our first film fest in 2008. Sara will be missed by all of us and her coopmates Muff the hen, Mr. Muff the roo, and ducks Oiva and Pilvi.

Chairs for Weiwei

2011-04-17T14:11:00.002-05:00

In keeping with our promise to show support for the renowned chinese artist Ai Weiwei who has been detained by chinese officials, our family drew chairs on our driveway at 1pm today. Our chalk drawings will probably not be understood by the dozens of motorists, walkers, runners and bikers that go past our driveway everyday. They probably will think we are a tad bit crazy. Oh well. But perhaps, just perhaps, one of them will slow down and take time to learn about Weiwei's compelling art and story that is captivating the world. Will you?

More on the international effort that inspired our symbolic act and about the artist in this New York Times article here.

Vintage Finds!

2011-04-15T16:40:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I found 2 old vintage paint-by-numbers in a junk box in the barn at my mom/dad's. Apparently, the paintings once hung in the hallway by the basement door of my grandparent's house.

Last year, the house was torn down and items dispersed. Nobody claimed these paintings. The paintings had a pleasing palette and needed a little attention, so I offered to rescue them from the dusty/dirty barn.

Before taking them to the frame shop yesterday, I popped the first picture out of its ratty tatty frame to clean it up a bit. And there, beneath the picturesque country cabin landscapes was another paint-by-number!--an old time city landscape complete with horse and buggies! I popped the frame off the second country painting and another city painting was inside!!

My heart pounded! Wow! What an astonishing find...these vintage city paint-by-numbers! The colors were vivid. Couldn't take my eyes off them. I took all of them to get framed yesterday and told the framing lady my story. She said she hears stories like that all the time!

Now, I have so many questions. Who made these paintings? Someone in the family? Were they garage sale items? Why were the country paintings covering the city paintings? Did my grandma know about this? Hopefully, my aunties and uncles will have some answers, and if not, oh well...it sure was fun discovering them. Like a little message from beyond...especially with our strong city/country connections.

But wait there's more!!!!

During the same trip to my parents, my mom showed me these pastel portraits made of my dads parents and my mom's mom. Mom had them commissioned in 30 years ago. She didn't remember much about the pictures except that the artist was from our hometown and they sat for the artist for about an hour. Mom said grandma Mamie was beginning to suffer from Alzheimers and "that explains her pained look." Mom wants the portraits framed now after all these years.

I didn't remember the portraits being made and neither do my siblings. The portraits were never on our walls growing up. Hanging fine art on the walls was not a big deal in my family. So these new-found unusual pieces of a farm couple and a city grandmother only adds to our family story and history.

Now when I look at these pictures, it makes me think about the art expressions in my own family. Wondering what questions my kids will ask someday...

Eggnormous!

2011-04-15T11:32:00.000-05:00

Thinking the girls had played a practical joke on him, Jay discovered a huge egg in the coop last night. But the giant thing in the pile of duck eggs was not a plastic easter egg planted by the kids. It was real and laid by Muff, our last remaining hen as indicated by its green color. The long, torpedo-shaped egg measures a whopping 8.25" in circumference lengthwise and 6.5" in circumference around the waist. Muff's big egg nearly beat the Hawks Nest record 8.5" egg laid by Sandy! Plans for the jumbo egg including blowing it out and preserving it as a special egg and reminder of our feathery friend.

What makes an egg big? We don't know. There's been alot of worms. Maybe that has something to do with it. It's all a bit of a mystery. A good science project idea, actually!

Check out more odd-shaped chicken eggs here.

Jumbo Muff egg (top), normal Muff egg (middle), duck egg (bottom)

Spring, Finally!

2011-04-07T01:00:00.000-05:00

Finally on Sunday, the first crocuses bloomed, same spot as last year. What a relief from this long, cold winter...

The birds are most noticeable in their joy for spring. Our deck bird feeder is constantly noisy with excitement and activity. Meanwhile, a robin has been attacking its reflection in the window for 2 days now...he is getting territorial! Oiva and Pilvi (our ducks) are happy splashing in puddles and pecking at worms. Our two remaining chickens, Mr. and Mrs. Muff are roaming freely without snowbanks to navigate. We plan to welcome new chicks and bees in May. We are missing our old pal Chui this spring, although no plans for another pup quite yet. His winter deposits are showing up now that the snow is disappearing. Same with all the poo from the deer that are determined to decapitate my hostas before they even break their tiny tips out of the ground. Once again, don't even get me started on the voles and pocket gophers! grrr.

Paint cans are out and the kids are readying the coop for summer. Ski pants, jackets and mittens are out and rain coats, rubber boots and garden gloves are in. Along with softball schedules and Twins games. Gotta clean the garden shed and get ready for pruning and planting to begin.

Winter Stew

2011-02-09T12:09:00.003-06:00

beef "moijakka" - finnish-american stew

Some bitter cold winter days are meant to stay inside to warm hearts and souls...

We are now grieving the passing of a very special woman--my Aunt Wallis--who will be deeply missed. Wallis had been in a care center since before Christmas with complications from breast cancer. The week before her death, I brought her some "fruit soup" which she enjoyed and said, "helped get things moving down there." For my next visit, I promised to bring her some moijakka (Moy-uk-ka), a finnish-american beef stew. She looked forward to it eagerly.

A week before last Friday, I made a batch of moijakka and planned to bring it to Wallis the next morning. Meanwhile her condition worsened. She never got to try my soup--on Saturday morning, I received a call from my mom that Wallis had died in her sleep.

Aunt Wallis and me

Wallis was a woman of strong faith and good sense of humor. I can just imagine her chuckling up in Heaven saying, "Your moijakka would have been nice, but you were too late--I got a better invitation." She and I would have a good hard laugh like that. Must be a finn thing.

Wallis' big blue pot and mine

Wallis also had a strong belief in family and traditions. She would have been happy to see people enjoying this stew which has been a family tradition for generations. So for Wallis' funeral I made a huge batch of moijakka...enough to feed a kirkko-full. (church-full). I made the moijakka in the big blue pot that I inherited from Wallis and a couple other stock pots...over 30qts in all! Some people have asked me for this recipe which I made up myself, so I am sharing it here in her honor. Enjoy!

(For variations on this recipe, and links to finnish-american restaurants in the upper Midwest USA, visit the Mojakka website at mojakka.com.)

MOIJAKKA (Moy-uk-ka)

Ingredients

2 pounds beef stew chunks

2 cans beef broth

1 very large sweet yellow onion

olive oil

1 pound carrots

1 pound celery (about 4-5 stalks)

6-8 medium russet potatoes

4 parsnips

2-3 medium turnips

3 vegetable bouillon cubes

8 to 10 cups of water

2 to 3 Tbsp parsley

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Cut beef into 1” chunks and brown in a pan on medium heat with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil. Drain and transfer beef chunks to 8qt stockpot. (Reserve drippings and refrigerate or freeze for use another time.) Add 2 cans beef stock to pot and bring to simmer.

Chop onion in 1/2” chunks and sauté in pan in 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil in till onions are clear and slightly browned. Transfer to stockpot. Peel and chop carrots, celery, potatoes, parsnip and turnips into large chunks and add to pot.

Dissolve 3 vegetable bouillon cubes in 2 cups of very hot water and add to stock pot. Add 6 to 8 cups more water to pot. Add 2 to 3 Tbsp parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

For a clear stew broth, remove frothy bubbles throughout simmering with a slotted spoon. (Do not bring to a hard boil.) Continue to simmer until vegetables and beef are tender.

Help Birds with Beaks, Write a BILL

2011-01-11T12:30:00.000-06:00

Minna's 7th grade class is writing bills now. Her proposal was up on my computer this morning:

A bill for a law relating to: Animal Rights for poultry.

Be it enacted by the legislature of the 7th grade that poultry should be able to live in more free space. This law shall take place because of intensive chicken and poultry farming, which in many senses is like animal cruelty. Intensive chicken farming locks hens in small cages with four or five other birds, hardly enough space to flap their wings. Laying hens and poultry should be let out to run around in the grass for at least 3 hours a day. This way, they are more relaxed and they will have more normal egg production instead of forced production. The consequences of a farmer using intensive chicken farming would be either losing their right to farm chickens, or going to jail, depending on the harshness. Benefits would be healthier, maintainable poultry with healthy, good eggs. This bill will take place June 1, 2011.

Wow! The movie Food Inc. has had an impact! I wonder if we'll find her trolling some of the animal rights groups listed at the U of M's site soon. (If she's anything like her mother...)

Minna's bill writing has us singing a tune "I'm just a Bill" from one of our favorite CDs...the School House Rock Collection...love all these old songs.

IN MEMORY OF CHUI, BEST DOG EVER

2011-01-10T12:49:00.000-06:00

It is with great sadness we report the passing of our dog and best friend, Chui. After loving goodbyes from our family and with Jay at his side, Chui passed away peacefully on Friday, January 7th at the age of 15 (or so). He was a wise, loyal, strong and playful dog who was loved by his family, extended family, friends and neighbors. A city dog for most of his life, Chui was, at heart, a country dog. He was lucky to live out the last 3 years of his life exploring the woodlands and pastures of Hawks Nest Farm. A full tribute to Chui with stories, pictures and movies will be will be posted in the near future.

The Twilight Zone

2010-12-08T17:40:00.000-06:00

Winter light is so amazing. Sometimes when I drive home, the sun sets so beautifully on the barn and the trees that I just gasp in wonderment. It is then that I forget about the fence that needs mending, the coop that needs cleaning, the ice that is damming, the stall door that is warped and all the other chores than require tending. Instead, I hurry to the house, grab the camera and run out in the snow to capture the last moments of the fading golden haze. A few minutes later, the splendor is gone...

Mamie's Science Project: Pesticides and Bees!

2010-11-19T16:02:00.001-06:00

Mamie's project, "Which Natural Pesticide is Safest for Honeybees?" got an A+ from her science teacher at the school Science Fair on Tuesday! We're very proud of her...way to go Mamie! It's off to the District Science Fair in January!

In a nutshell, here's her experiment:
Mamie tested the effects of 4 natural pesticides on our honeybees. She used Organocide (a store bought pesticide made with sesame oil, fish oil, lecithin and water), and made recipes for a baking soda/detergent spray, neem oil spray and hot pepper spray. She hypothesized that the baking soda based spray would be mildest and therefore the safest. She ran 2 tests with a control, 3 test groups and 3 timed trials. The results of her experiment showed that any pesticide spray with oils or soaps are probably not good for bees. Organocide was a little better than the others, but all ultimately killed the bees after a 40+ hr. period. If people use pesticides labeled organic or natural, they should consider the effects on bees before using. Mamie concluded by saying "the best pesticide is probably no pesticide at all" when it comes to bees.

We learned so much from this project, start to finish. While shopping for organic pesticide products, we found out most of the stores do not have a special section for organic or natural pesticides. If they do, most are not labeled safe for bees. And, store employees are generally not educated about the world's bee crisis or CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder).

The project had some risks and hazards: We all choked and coughed and our throats itched when Mamie cooked the hot peppers up for the hot pepper spray recipe. Horrid! Also, the bees got really angry. They could sense that something bad was happening when we put them in the jars (10 bees for 15 jars). Then, 2 bees got inside my bee veil and almost stung my face. Since II'm allergic to bee venom now, this was frightening to say the least. We kept apologizing to the bees and asked forgiveness. The only way I could justify the sacrifice of bees for this project is with the knowledge that the hive is so severely weakened already after a majority of the bees disappeared (CCD) the hive will not make it thru winter anyway. It's just sad.

Well, there is much more to this project, but it is best to let Mamie to tell her story!

Amur Mitigators

2010-11-07T00:33:00.000-05:00

Amur Maples have the distinction of being quite lovely in fall. Their gorgeous leafy splendor is no help in communicating the fact to the public that they are a terribly prolific reseeding species.

As much as I like taking photographs, it pains me to look at these hundreds of trees on our property line. I am reminded of the little sprouts cropping up every spring that must be cut down.

Eventually, we would like to replace these trees with a more manageable species. In the meantime, we must accept our role as amur-mitigators...

"Landicane" Damage

2010-11-06T23:07:00.001-05:00

Hurricane force winds of the Midwest's Superstorm of 2010 on October 26-27 brought down this big tree in our woods. We're not tree experts. It's hard to identify species, especially when the leaves are gone. A cottonwood or maybe a burr oak? More inspection is needed.

Another thing on my to-do list is to find a woodworker. When the giganto tree came toppling down, it took about 6 smaller trees down with it, including a lovely black cherry tree--that one we can identify--and can be used for woodworking. In the meantime, Jay will be busy cutting firewood.

By the way, the green in these forest pictures is the buckthorn. They are the last trees to shed their greenery in fall.

The Gopher State

2010-11-06T21:20:00.001-05:00

There's a good reason Minnesota is known as the "Gopher State."

Yes, I know there are worse problems in the world, but trust me...these varmints are a serious landscape enemy.

We at Hawks Nest are novice warriors in this gopher game.

Now, imagine if the designers of "whack a gopher" and other online gopher games actually spent time dealing with real gopher issues....

Wow, just think of the amazing world problems that might be solved!

Chickens that Crossed the Road

2010-11-06T20:45:00.000-05:00

Rocky

Mr. Muff

Meet Rocky and Mr. Muff...our newly-adopted homeless roosters! Here's the story:

A few weeks ago, we got a call from our neighbor's son in Hudson asking us if we'd take a couple homeless chickens they found wandering on the road by their house that adjoins state land. More than likely, negligent owners dumped these birds on public lands to fend for themselves. The couple who found them called around and posted notices, but after several weeks, no one retrieved the lost chickens.

The kids were really excited about getting new chickens because after losing Stripes, and then Sandy this summer, it was too late in the season to raise new chicks.

When we drove up to get the chickens, we noticed right away that Mr. Muff was a rooster, but we weren't sure about Rocky due to his small comb. The girls named the duo Romeo and Juliet, but the next morning we heard them both cocka-doodle-doo, so the girls promptly changed their names to Rocky and Mr. Muff.

We checked poultry picture books and online sites and determined Rocky might be a Silver-laced Wyandotte hybrid. Mr. Muff's lineage is a little more difficult to assess. His ear tufts and coloring shout out Ameraucana. But his big beautiful comb (unlike Rocky's pea comb) is a huge clue to a different breed. A Black Copper Maran maybe? They are rare birds that produce dark chocolate eggs...how cool would that be to have those eggs?

Introducing the roosters to the hens and ducks took time. We did it gradually over a few days. The roosters fought over the hens at first, but things have settled down alot. Rocky can be a real brute and chases after Mamie and Josie. They are afraid of him and that's not good. One day, he chased and crowed at the FedEx man. He also chased after Jay today, but Jay fought back and scared the daylights out of him. I'm having flashbacks of Peep, who is still in our freezer. I carry a hockey stick whenever I go in the coop. Rocky's tenure at Hawks Nest may be limited, I'm sorry to say. Tough decisions need to be made on a hobby farm.

Mr. Muff on the other hand, has been a true gentleman so far. Is it all an act? If Rocky departs, will Mr. Muff fluff up his feathers and become more territorial and aggressive? We don't know. A roo is a roo, is a roo... so stay tuned.

Honey Extraction Workshop

2010-09-21T14:50:00.000-05:00

The honey harvest has begun! Want to know how honey gets from the hive to your kitchen table? Join me Friday, September 24th at 10:00am at a HONEY EXTRACTION WORKSHOP with my bee mentor, David--the BeeMan--at his house in Cottage Grove. Email me (thrallhouse at mac.com) for details!

If you can't make it but want to be on an email list for other beekeeping events and opportunities through Hawks Nest, please let me know!

Fungi Fruit Hunt!

2010-09-20T11:46:00.002-05:00

We're sharing shots from Saturday's mushroom hunt in our woods with Josie and Minna. We identified some of the species, but need more informed opinions. The Minnesota Mycological Society is a great resource. Several mushrooming workshops they sponsor are scheduled locally over the next few weekends. I'd love to attend one of these meetings and meet mushrooming experts to help us identify the 18 or so various species that we saw! Go to their Events Calendar for more info.

A note about my mushroom photos...as a photographer, I hope these photos encourage a sense of wonder and exploration to learn more about the incredible world of mushrooms and what is going on in your own backyard!

Is it lonely in the mushroom kingdom? I don't think so.

funny, looks like this log is sprouting 2 tongues...

some mushrooms are teeny tiny and you have to look hard in nooks and crannies

kids love stepping on these and watching smoke spores puff out

sooo other worldly!

we think this is a witch's cap...do you see the witch under it? weird!

Kitchen Window I-Spy

2010-09-20T10:16:00.000-05:00

This morning out the kitchen window, I spied 2 young deer napping...Can you see them? (Click on the photos to see enlarged views.)

PINING FOR PESTO

2010-09-17T10:43:00.007-05:00

We are scrambling to harvest the last of the basil as the days and nights are cooling down. Last week, I made a few batches of pesto with our fresh, home grown basil. The recipe I used can be found here at simplyrecipes.com. Since pine nuts are in short supply these days, I used walnuts. There is a good discussion at one of my favorite food blogs SeriousEats.com about other nutty variations to use in pesto besides pine nuts.

All this talk of a pine nut shortage got me wondering...why? Well, pinenut.com founder Penny Frazier seems to know the answer on her blog here. Her article "Pine Nuts, Politics and Public Lands" outlines some historical background and controversy over pine nut production in our country...knowledge that all cooks and consumers need to think about the next time they reach for those pine nuts on the shelf.

Most foodies know their pine nuts are coming from China. There was a poor harvest in 2009. The price of pine nuts FOB China was seen as high as 43,000.00 USD per Metric Ton. It had gone down to $37,000.00 per metric ton and much of the pricing depended on the pine nut species. The same pine nuts were $7,000.00 - 13,000.00 per metric ton a few years ago. Basically, the price per pound of pine nuts has tripled over the last few years.

"So what?" you might think...Well, according to Penny....

The deficit of fresh, unpreserved pine nuts in US stores is all the more unreasonable when you consider that two American species of pine nuts grow wild on no less than 47 million acres of public land.

she goes on to say:

For more than 10,000 years, pinyon pine nuts sustained the native peoples of the area in Idaho, Nevada and Colorado known as The Great Basin. The soft-shelled pinyon pinenut, (p.monophylla) was the primary source of protein for the Shoshone, Paiutes and Washo nations, providing substantial amounts of the amino acids necessary for human growth. Pine nuts were a sacred part of the way these peoples lived.

Between 1865 and 1877, native lands were overrun with cattle and sheep. The pinion pines, which the tribes depended upon for a pine nut crop each fall, were rapidly being cut down for fuel for the mine smelters, which extract ore from rocks. Smelting a ton of ore required from 25 to 35 bushels of charcoal, derived from the pine trees. The mills at Eureka, Nevada consumed as much as 1.25 million bushels of charcoal a year, destroying the natives' pine nut groves.

Certain treaties and Nevada laws provide harvest rights to natives, but the native peoples never sought to litigate their interest in the pine nut harvests....

...The Great Basin was a semi-arid forest and native peoples could always find a harvest of pine nuts before white settlement. The pinyon never recovered from demands made upon it by the mining industry of the 1800's. The large, mature seedstock trees were depleted from all but the most inaccessible areas of the forest. As the cattlemen came in, the land was manipulated to yield grasses, rather than forest. The grasslands dry out and die rather than maintain the moisture content, like trees. Pasture lands become part of the catalyst for huge fires in Nevada. Instead of considering long-term historical land use, land managers again used faulty logic to justify treatment projects which manipulate the native vegetation, trading trees for grasses and flash fuel, resulting in deforestation.

This much knowledge is painful. Let's hear it for our pines...they've been through alot.

Wash basil thoroughly and remove bugs prior to making pesto!

I freeze my pesto in ice cubes chunks and then put them in freezer bags.
It's a great alternative to jars for freezer storage.

SAME BLOG, NEW DESIGN

2010-09-16T09:44:00.000-05:00

Welcome! Yes, you're in the right place. I decided to go bigger, bolder and more current with the times and update our blog design! Watch for new features to come on the side bars...both sides now, yippee! Thanks to all our followers and drop-in visitors from all over the world the last couple of years...we are astounded at where you all come from. It's sooo cool. If you haven't left a comment before...please do! We'd love to hear from you. And to all the new followers we have on Facebook...holy cow! You people are really funny! I just love these conversations.

Well, stop by and virtual visit us anytime! And don't forget to comment...WE LOVE COMMENTS! It's like a farm guestbook. Or shoot us a email...ask us a question about our farm. WE LOVE QUESTIONS! Have a great day! Come back soon now, ya hear?

Bumps on a Log

2010-09-15T13:36:00.000-05:00

The puffballs are back! Found these today while gathering moss. Still need to explore for the real beauties...the giants, but we appreciate these smaller ones too.

Jumping for Joy

2010-09-13T23:52:00.006-05:00

This cute little grasshopper made a pit stop on the Autumn Joy blossoms by our front door. We know he's a boy because his abdomen curves up at the end...girls are more pointy. He is most likely a differential grasshopper as distinguished by the chevrons on his legs. Of the 75-100 grasshopper species in the Great Plains area, there are 5 species deemed as "economic pests" to Minnesota crops, according to a MN Department of Agriculture fact sheet. This little guy is one of them.

If our little hopper was lucky and found a mate, their offspring will hatch in spring. According to the MDA...

Eggs are laid in August and September in egg pods under firm, untilled soil. Pods contain from 4-300 rice-shaped eggs, depending on the species of grasshopper. Females may lay up to 17 pods approximately 1-2 inches beneath the soil. The first nymph to hatch creates a tunnel leading to the soil surface that is used by the remaining nymphs when they hatch.

We are always seeing bugs and never know what they are. Are they a good bug or bad bug? The MDA has a great online field guide for identifying field pests specific to Minnesota...a very useful tool that is worth looking at! (If you click on the link above it is a PDF file.)

Web Love

2010-09-12T20:04:00.002-05:00

The kids spotted this gorgeous marbled orb weaver on the fence in the north pasture today. It is the first time we have seen this extraordinary spider here at Hawks Nest. Its bright yellow and black markings are truly spectacular...the bright orange on her legs are a lovely accent. She will lay her eggs then die after the first hard frost this fall.

From the Horse's Mouth

2010-09-08T09:47:00.000-05:00

Oh horsie apples. The newspaper recently reported that a popular MN apple orchard has been sold to a developer. Read about it here. The potential loss of more MN farmland is alarming. This makes Paula Red. Ok, bad joke, but this situation is no joke.

It's easy to blame developers... Yet, developers and their families eat apples too. If you ask me, orchard owners like MN Harvest need to get more radical in their methods to cultivate the new Johnny Appleseeds of the future. Perhaps orchard owners and developers could work together and create orchard/garden space managed by future Johnny Appleseeds.

We must keep local agriculture economically viable and keep apples growing in MN. Apples that don't look like the worm infested ones in our orchard. Seriously. Minnesotans need to take the lead and implement creative solutions to make local, sustainable agriculture a priority.

Chew on that.

Duck Soup

2010-08-31T21:22:00.000-05:00

During these last couple hot sticky days, our ducks Oiva and Pilvi are cooling off whereever they can. Pilvi, our orpington/cayuga duck is pretty as a picture chillaxin' in the big gray bucket:

Oiva, the cayuga, is less discerning...

Horse

2010-08-31T19:34:00.000-05:00

Take a looksie at one of the sweet little movies our very own hawks nest kids made for our film fest. Hmmm, I wonder if they got the idea from all the horsies busting loose this summer?

Film Fest 2010!

2010-08-30T08:41:00.000-05:00

Film Fest 2010 is a wrap! Go to our Film Fest blog to see the movies!

Tomato Warning!

2010-08-25T22:25:00.000-05:00

A Tomato Warning has been Issued at Hawks Nest

Too Much Rain, Leaf Rot, Rabbits, Voles and Hungry children continue to threaten the 1-1/2 pound Monster tomatoes in the garden. Homesteaders are urged to continue picking ripened tomatoes. This tomato warning will end once all the tomatoes are gone. This alert is brought to you by the emergency tomato network.

Summer Cottages

2010-08-24T12:10:00.003-05:00

The children of the woods were at it again this summer...building fairy cottages! Can you guess which one is tiny and which one is big?

Film Fest 2010

2010-08-24T11:40:00.001-05:00

We are busy making movies at Hawks Nest to prepare for Film Fest 2010 which is on Saturday!

The photo below is a little sneak peek at a short movie my friend (and city backyard neighbor) Lori and I made last week while she and her girls were visiting!

If you are reading this and want to join in on the film fest fun, but need to know details, send me a note in the comments!

Mending Fence

2010-08-24T11:17:00.000-05:00

Lee, our local horse and cow whisperer who recently moved across the river to the Wisconsin side, came over the other day to repair our fence and turn on the electrics. No more roaming for all the pretty horses. I can't say what a relief this is.

Lee is a true farm boy. He showed me how to use the fence stretcher tool and how to tighten loose fence. I also learned how to monitor and test the electric line. (I am thinking of mandating electric fencing as a science project for our eldest daughter who is horsie crazy.)

Is anyone else interested in learning more about fencing? Contact me and I will arrange to have Lee teach a class at Hawks Nest!

Thank you Lee. Lee gave me permission to post his picture here on this blog...he also said, "Tell them I'm single."

Done.

Squashing the Drought

2010-08-19T12:36:00.000-05:00

Today's post is dedicated to squash. To squash a severe drought of stories on this farm blog this summer. Mostly, it has been a summer of horse escapes. It really tries my patience to write glowingly about horse escapes because it brings up so many other issues that are testing our hobby farm confidence--bad fencing, bad pasture, etc.

(As I write this, I am waiting for a 2-legged lawn mower man to arrive to mow the weeds in our overgrown pasture which have grown to such a nuisance level that not even the 4-legged beasts can stand it anymore!)

Indeed, our perseverance is being tested in our third year here at Hawks Nest. On top of the numerous horse escapes and other things I've already mentioned, we've had a slew of other things to worry about: serious bee allergies, more chicken deaths, strawberry mold, roof leaks, kitchen remodeling, job changes. Who wants to hear about all that depressing stuff?

You all want to hear the good stuff, right? Cream of the crop! Hobby farming---the dream fantasy life! Well, yes, it is a dream... Is the dream over? No, but the dream is morphing that's for sure, with a heavy dose of reality.

The good news is that because we had steady rains this season, I only had to water our garden with our sprinkler TWICE this summer so far...TWICE! The flip side of that is that we've only had 2 campfires this summer: TWO! and 1 of those got rained out. Yes, this weather has been wacky.

So, getting on with the squash... to squash the silence of our blog this summer, I dedicate this post to these crazy plants that have taken over the magnolia and pine trees in our front yard and offered us an unusual new perspective at how to coexist with nature.

It's a jungle out there...

Here's to a hoping a rain of new blog stories will commence again!!!

Round Up Time

2010-06-09T10:23:00.002-05:00

They look so calm and innocent don't they? Well, last night these naughty girls got a little taste of the wild side. Had to call in help from the alpaca farm neighbors 2 doors down to help round them up. But not before they left some soggy hoofprints on another neighbor's lawn after all the rain we had.

Here is the note I left on his door:

Dear Neighbor,
Tonight the horses that are staying in our pasture got loose and wandered over into your yard. I am very sorry for the hoof prints they left on your lawn. Please call and we can take care of it if you wish.
Sincerely,
Paula

(Lawn aeration, right? Insert nervous laughter here.)

The girls had their fun galloping around in the neighbors pasture and kicking up their heels. Luckily, all it took was shaking a bucket of oats to get them back.

I have to say, it's a beautiful sight to see horses running wild like that. But at the same time, it's plain scary...and it brought flashbacks....

Last fall a couple of young 750# beef cows came cantering down our driveway and through the woods. Our neighborhood hadn't seen that much action in years! One cow, frightened out of its mind, dented our ladder and rain gutter and slipped and fell on our driveway...poor thing. The cows had broke out of their fence at the neighbors about a mile up the road. You can't shake a bucket of oats to catch a cow. It takes calm, patience...a real wrangler. A friend of ours, Lee, was eventually called in to help round up the frisky fellas into a nearby horse ring. They were picked up in a trailer the next day and brought home.

So, part of the deal of animal ownership is this: you need a plan when animals get loose. Dogs, hamsters, chickens, horses, cows, what have you. Even bees, when they swarm. And sorry cat owners, you're not off the hook, either!

When I was growing up, we had a flock of sheep notorious for jumping and breaking fences...we were constantly running down the road after them. You either have to get better fences or get rid of sheep like that. Another time, there was quite a stir in town when a herd of buffalo got loose. Then there was the time when a big giant bull cow got loose. Awful. Worst was when my folk's neighbor kept a lion penned up in their barn...good grief, you could hear that caged thing's blood curdling roar at night. It would send shivers down your spine! It never got loose, but we all wondered what havoc would be unleashed if it had! Egads.

Last night's snafu was a series of human errors (mostly mine) and not a fence issue. Our 4 legged lovelies snatched an opportunity to kick up their heels a bit...who can blame them? Don't we all want that from time to time? We realize that not everyone shares the love of animals like we do...but we are very grateful to all our understanding and caring neighbors who pitch in when an extra helping hand is needed to tend our creatures as we figure all this out.

So thank you alpaca friends for helping round up our girls. If your alpacas happen to go a-wanderin, you can count on us too!

5th Grade Field Assignment

2010-06-07T21:38:00.004-05:00

Are you smarter than a 5th Grader...with a camera ? Hmm. I lent my fancy-schmancy camera to Mamie for her weekend homework assignment--a photography project. She traipsed around left and right snapping up shots here and there around our farm and edited them down to these 10 pics. (But there were others just as good!) I was a little nervous turning my Nikon over to her, but my budding shutter bug did a great job. By golly, I think we've got ourselves a new farm blog photographer! Way to go Mamie!

4 Leaf Giant!

2010-06-04T12:21:00.002-05:00

Found in the field this morning...a humungo four leaf clover 14.25" long with a leaf span of 2.5"!! One for the Hawks Nest record books for sure!

Now...

Can you spot the 4 leaf clover in this photo? Hint look for squares, not triangles.

Dames in the Ditches

2010-06-04T11:18:00.005-05:00

DNR folks say they are invasive, noxious weeds. Herbalists say, no way...they're delicious, wild edibles. Who are we gonna listen to? I know this much: If we got rid of these pretty purple patches which are bursting into bloom right now, our ditches would be boring, boring, BORING!

Dame's rockets--often mistaken for phlox which has 5 petals instead of the rocket's 4--are just one of the colorful roadside attractions making our countryside so darn spectacular...am I right or what??

Plus, they also look mighty fine in the nifty test tube vase on the mantle in our living room. If this arrangement wasn't so pretty, perhaps I would gobble it up for lunch.

Horses are Back!

2010-05-28T09:01:00.032-05:00

McKayla's horses are back! Meet Gwennie (9) and HiT (6)! The Morgan mares are the 4-legged lawn mowers that will stay and graze in our pasture this summer. We've groomed this pasture partnership with McKayla, single mom to a 3 year old daughter and over a dozen horses, over the last 2 summers. The arrangement works for us...our pasture gets mowed down, plus we get to ride the horses. McKayla gets the assurance that her horses are well cared for. Barter system. She is a hard-working young lady and is super horse saavy, but she's got quite a monumental chore list as you can imagine, so we are doing what we can to help.

Gwennie has the black mane and is the "leader." HiT is friendly and affectionate. Both are very curious about the neighbors alpacas they can hear making their noises down the road. The kids are so excited to get to know these 4-legged lawn mowers over the coming months ahead and I am too!

A Question of Determination

2010-05-25T21:14:00.041-05:00

At garden stores, I'm usually overwhelmed by the never-ending varieties of specimens available. My local favorite garden store Black's Greenhouse is really good at posting useful info about the dozens of plant varieties they sell. On a recent veggie-finding mission, I paid close attention to the plant signs in the tomato aisle and learned...

• Determinate tomatoes are compact bushy, have a pre-determined number of stems, usually do not require staking and have a specific fruiting time. (ex., Romas, Rutgers and Marglobe) I have learned these varieties were developed for mechanical picking....

• Indeterminate tomatoes require staking and continue producing until the growing season ends. This type of tomato vine requires more maintenance, and pruning, but your hard work is rewarded with a long production period until the growing season ends.

So sometimes--with tomatoes anyway--a little bit of indetermination pays off. Who knew???

So which tomatoes did I get? I'm not that picky, but I'm learning. I finally settled on these varieties: Early Girl, Big Beef, Sugary, Summer Sweet, Green Zebra, White, Lemon Plum, Old German and Giant Belgian. All indeterminate varieties of heirloom (open-pollinators) and hybrid. They are all in the ground and off to a good start.

I need to study up about tending and pruning tomatoes, and found a good article in Fine Gardening here. I'm thinking about saving seeds from the heirlooms in this year's crop too, so I'll read this article "Saving Vegetable Seeds: Tomatoes, Pepper, Peas and Beans" by the U of MN extension service, here.

But, as always, getting ahead of myself...first things first!

If you can't make it to Black's, here's a list of garden stores in the Twin Cities that the Star Tribune put together last year!

Swarm?

2010-05-24T13:08:00.005-05:00

Temps soared up to 90 yesterday, prompting me to check the bees. Hive 1 is packed with bees. To prevent a potential swarm (like the one last year), I checked for queen cells and added a honey super. A super will go on Hive 3, too, which is also packed with bees. Hive 2 is very weak. We may take bees from hive 1 or 3 and add them to 2 and "requeen" hive 2. Requeening is an option for beekeepers when the hive does not produce enough brood and food stores (honey) to survive winter.

Was holding the camera sideways!!! OOPS!

The Garden of Good and Evil

2010-05-22T12:27:00.003-05:00

"Mom, what in the world are you doing????" the children cried as they came home from school. I tossed another long branch into the giant brush heap and replied, "Kids, an evil monster has taken over the Garden...it's time to get rid of it."

The girls eyeballs popped open wide in amazement at my drastic pruning job of our poor helpless unfortunate shrubs.

"Will they ever grow back?" they asked.

"Yes, they will grow back, but it will take time," I said unnerved.

Thus was a recent conversation from a scene in our front yard. Our shrubs––the forsythia, dogwoods, winterberries, chokeberries and hydrangea–all 6 to 10 footers, received the ax. I hacked them all down to just a couple feet high.

It was a long time coming. Our shrubs had been neglected for a number of years. The dogwood mixed in with the forsythia and the winterberries were sending shoots up all over. The poor hydrangea got completely choked out by the chokeberries.

Martin, the proprietor of Squire House Gardens who designed our garden eons ago paid a visit last summer. He told me, "...cut all the shrubs back and get rid of that one, that one and that one..." WHAT? Seriously? How can I do that? The idea of hacking these huge shrubs down to almost nothing seemed downright frightful to me. MEAN, even. But as the months wore on, I realized his advice was right on.

So this spring, I prepared for battle. Hesitation gripped me hard at first, but after the first big cut–the first big injury–my inner gardener took over, and I decided to go for the victory. Big time crewcuts. Garden makeover time.

My raid has ended for the moment. We can see the main road from our front door now. I wasn't so crazy about that at first. Perhaps privacy, even in the countryside, is over-rated. What can you really know about the world if you live behind a big wall of shrubbery? Besides, now we can grow colorful sun plants where before there was only shade.

Anyway, here are my tips for surviving severe cutbacks in the garden...

1. Tools

Good tools make all the difference. I use Corona's hedge shearer and lopper. Don't bother with crappy tools. Crappy tools don't win garden battles.

2. Attire

Cover up...head to toe, unless you want to look like you rolled in a bed of thorns. Eye protection is recommended, too. When you are pulling up those knotty roots, you will begin to believe you are tackling Medusa herself. Cover up children's ears, too. You will curse.

3. Weather

Due to #2, pick cool weather in early spring. Don't procrastinate, once leaves have set in, you will lose your nerve and the monster will win... again.

4. Clean up

The last stem and root may be cut, but the battle is not over until the wreckage is cleaned up and disposed of properly. Be happy knowing you will have plenty of garden stakes and marshmallow roasting sticks for all your campfire guests. If you are really ambitious, you can make some really cool environmental art projects with your leftovers. (You may want to get inspired by going to see Patrick Dougherty's new installations at the MN Landscape Arboretum first!)

5. Future Defense

The roots of evil still lurk underfoot. Mulch heavily and kill back new growth as needed.

6. Courage

Be brave. Remember, there is no shame in a little garden ugliness. In good time, with a little determination and creativity your garden will look snazzy again! (That is what I keep telling myself anyway!)

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

2010-05-20T14:50:00.000-05:00

This poor norway pine tree in our yard has seen its share of troubles. First it was the darn sawflies. Now it is chock-full of these awful woodpecker holes. The holes and resulting sticky mess are the tell-tale sign of a yellow-bellied sapsucker.

Now I must share my tall tale about how the pine made friends with the woodpecker and hummingbird...

This story came to me one day long ago when Minna was in kindergarten. It was maple syruping time, and I had volunteered to come into the classroom to talk about our family's experiences maple syruping.

I talked about the maple tree, its sap, and along with the usual explanations of syruping, I shared a legend I found on the internet how the Algonquin Indians discovered maple syrup. We talked about the other kind of thick sticky sap, but I could not find a legend or tale about how the pine got its sap...so I decided to take a crack at making one up. Right there in class.

Now, I know this seems a bit foolish. There I was in front of this roomful of patient and inquisitive kindergartners, waiting to see what I would say next. Honestly, I had no idea. I suppose in my own mind I was thinking that it would be easier to practice this brand of gonzo story-telling in front of unsuspecting kids than mindful adults.

So anyway, I sent a great wish to the universe to help me understand how the pine got its sap–and somehow, unbelievably my wish got fulfilled. To this day I credit the spirit of my grandfather in helping the story find its way to me. It has changed quite a bit since the original telling however. But the sweet thing was that when I got stuck telling the story in class, I turned to Minna and asked her, "What happened next?" And she made something up--snap, just like that! To this day, she does not remember any of this...one of the most magical impromptu story-telling times ever! A sticky situation as it were...and so it is with pine trees too.

Now, please enjoy this podcast of how the pine, woodpecker and hummingbird became friends. If you happen to make it through all 10 garish minutes of my voice, please do take the time to tell me what you think. And thank you for listening. Ok. Now I gotta get back to the garden. (Go here.)

Love,

pbird

1700 - 1900 - Mother Time

2010-05-13T15:18:00.005-05:00

Mother's Day weekend brought us to Iowa–where we found ourselves in the pleasantvillish town of Urbandale visiting the Living History Farms, an amazing experiential historical museum with a replica 1875 village, 1700's Indian settlement and working farms from 1850 and 1900.

Wow...what a Mother's Day field trip to remember!!! Everyone enjoyed looking at how things were done in the day. I especially reflected on all the hard-working mothers of our past...

Our conversations with the people (in costume) who worked there on the farms captivated us... We asked: "What is it like living in one century during the day and another at night?" Most of them had the same response. They said, "We really have the best of both worlds." I kinda have to agree with them...

One gal, said it best: "It's all very, very hard work, but I really love the quiet, peacefulness out here on the farm. But at the end of the end of the day, I like coming home to my creature comforts and a warm bed at night, especially in winter."

Indeed, it was very quiet and peaceful, yet there was so much entertainment: the pigs, the lambies, the kitties, chickens... The kids did not want to leave the barn. They insisted on jumping in the hayloft. It reminded me of how I grew up--the hayloft, rope swings and a crickety old pulley...spent hours playing up there as kids.

Another gal, who was baking cookies, said that friends have asked her for the recipes she makes at the farm, but she tells them "I don't even have a clue how to bake these cookies in a regular oven--I only know how to bake them in a woodstove!"

We all laughed at the thought of this perfectly modern woman able to blend cookie dough, but not her worlds!

For all the mythical, magical back-in-time moments we had visiting the farm, one specifically captured my attention the most...

We had just entered the 1875 village schoolhouse and my jawed dropped in astonishment...it was like walking into the "Little House on the Prairie" one room schoolhouse! Just like the TV show! Suddenly, I was 10 years old again! My own daughters dashed off to the front of the classroom, exploring every desk, nook and cranny.

As the significance of the 3D spatial experience struck my core, I exclaimed loudly, "HOLY COW, this is just like the TV show Little House on the Prairie! Where's Laura Ingalls?!!!"

Another visitor standing nearby, a man about my age, chuckled and said to me, "Yeah...this is freaky...we grew up watching that show, too!"

"Wow...pretty weird, isn't it?" I replied.

"Yeah!" he said.

It was only then that I happened to notice this man and his family were Asian...Hmong, I think. And it struck me in that moment that while I love, love, love the history farm experience there are many other historical perspectives that ultimately get lost, forgotten or written completely out of our big old american narrative...a cross-cultural-immersion lesson probably not being being taught in most schoolhouses.

(And as for the real Laura Ingalls...I recall reading in the New Yorker that Laura's daughter Rose "helped" rewrite her mother's stories, and even added a few stories of her own. And so it is with "history.")

It is my hope that the current cultural icon for my own daughters time, the very famous Hannah "Best of Both Worlds" Montana, is strong enough to to inspire the kind of imagination that Laura Ingalls did for me. Maybe, just maybe they will too achieve an 'ah-ha' moment when they are 40 something...who knows.

Well, that's it. That's my mother's day story all the way from Urbandale, Iowa...

If you can't make it to Iowa, a vast array of other working heritage farms and outdoor agriculture museums exist in Minnesota and Wisconsin... The Oliver Kelley Farm in Elk River, MN, the Gibbs Museum of Pioneer and Dakotah Life in St. Paul, and Old World Wisconsin near Milwaukee.

A listing by state of farm history and agricultural museums across the country may be found at the Association for Living History Farms and Agricultural Museums. It's not an exhaustive list...there are countless historical museums and farms not listed as members.

Even in our little village of Afton, we proudly have a sweet little historical museum to call our own. Our unassuming town is actually quite the bedrock of contemporary Minnesota farming history. According to the museum's website, Afton had the first farming and crops to sell in Minnesota in 1839 on the Haskell farm just a few miles from where we live! The fascinating history of our town is just another cool reason to live here.

Here is a little slideshow from our trip. Hope you enjoy!

(Song "Simple Life" by Jay)

Back to the Middle Ages

2010-05-12T09:06:00.023-05:00

Every year, the 6th grade at our school puts on a Medieval Festival with a parade, food, costumes, games and musical entertainment...all inspired by the Middle Ages. Minna's class celebrated last Wednesday...whatta hoot! Our hen Sandy...was a hit of the parade...and with our school principal too (shown below)!

The kids prepare for weeks... studying history, designing costumes, making projects, testing recipes and rehearsing musical scores to share at the event. A professional costume designer for the Renaissance Festival comes to school ahead of time to help kids design headpieces to wear on the day of the event. She even brings costumes for parents to wear too!

Thank goodness Sandy, our hen, displayed her best poultry manners and did not poop on anyone. At the end of the day, Mamie took Sandy to her 5th grade class for show & tell. Several of the kids in her class have chickens, so we told them about our idea of starting a chicken club. The kids seemed very enthusiastic!

Chickens in the Middle Ages...

We learned that chickens in the Middle Ages were as common as dirt–all classes of people kept them for food. And they used all the parts...the feathers, the bones and the fat. Whether in towns or on farms, chickens were allowed to scavenge for food.

Honey in the Middle Ages...

We also learned that honey was the most common sweetener in the Middle Ages and used for a variety of purposes--in cooking and medicine. It was also fermented to make mead, a beverage. In one of my bee-keeping books, I actually have the recipe for the Queen's royal drink which I would like to try to make sometime!

Here is the traditional medieval sweet snack recipe Minna made using our very own Hawks Nest Farm honey:

Pokerounce

Ingredients: 1 cup clear honey, 1 pinch ground ginger, 1 pinch cinnamon, 1 pinch ground black pepper, 4 large slices of white bread, 1 T pine nuts

Put the honey, spices and pepper in a small saucepan on very low heat, until the honey thins (do not boil or burn).
Let the mixture cool.
Toast the bread lightly on both sides.
Cut each slice into 4 small squares.
Put the slices onto serving plates.
Pour the honey mixture over the toasts.
Stick the pine nuts upright into each piece of toast so they look like small stakes.
Enjoy!

We are so grateful for committed teachers and parents willing to bring such a memorable history program to our school! We look forward to doing it again with Mamie and Josie's classes!

(And to all those who would frown on our schoolyard merry-making...I say, "Send them to the stockade!")

For more information on life in the Middle Ages, check out this book by Paul B. Newman (no, not the salad dressing actor guy): Daily Life in the Middle Ages.

R.I.P. Prince S. Felix

2010-05-10T22:39:00.007-05:00

In Memory of Prince S. Felix

March 2009 (?) - May 10, 2010

This morning before school the girls said their final goodbyes to our little white russian dwarf hamster, Prince S. Felix, otherwise known simply as Felix.

Felix recently began to slow down, not spending as much time on the wheel and generally not eating much. He stopped going in his tunnels altogether. Then, last week, his back legs simply gave out. I immediately began administering hand-feedings, waterings and cleanings...hamster home hospice care.

The girls had a synchronized swim meet in Iowa over the weekend, so we decided to bring Felix with us in a little cage we used for pet crickets and praying mantids.

Felix seemed to perk up a bit after all the hand feedings. But then at one point on Saturday night, while I was giving him a little drink of water from a spoon, he turned his head to look at me with his big eyes...I mean he really looked at me. Our eyes locked. He seemed to be using all his strength to tell me something...something like, "thank you for all you have done, but you can stop now..." Oh my, but what a humbling moment that was with such a tiny creature...I will remember it for a very, very long time.

Coincidently, this happened after the meet ended on Saturday...Our team had a victory dinner at a pizza place called "Felix and Oscars!" The amazing fighting spirit of our little guy was with us the whole way!

Then yesterday, Felix took a nose dive. His breaths got weaker on the drive back home. When we checked on him this morning, he was bloody for some unknown reason, and it was quite apparent Felix's time had come. So after breakfast, our girls bade our sweet little rodent farewell wishes and took off for school.

A short while later, I went to school, too, to help in Mamie's class with literature circles. We discussed the book "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbitt. A beautifully written classic children's novel about a family who lives forever and a girl that befriends them. Wonderful simple sparse words with a profound message for young readers...and old.

By the time I had come home from school, Felix had passed. He would have been just over a year old or maybe a couple months more. We didn't know his actual birthdate.

Felix will be laid to rest in the newly-established Hawks Nest Pet Cemetery next to Stripes the Hen.

Felix will be missed by all who knew him. He will be remembered as one of those rodents that was just too cute for words. A fuzzy little furball of love who was loved.

A Day at the Dung Heap

2010-04-29T19:03:00.033-05:00

Here I am shoveling horsie poo at my Cousin Carol's farm a mile up the road from us. I usually don't like to take any crap from people, but I'll take Carol's crap any day! It's garden-ready and already composted down to dirt.

Along comes Jasper, a very curious 4 year old quarter horse.

When Carol and I weren't looking, Jasper picked up the shovel and started to help. He pushed the wheelbarrow too.

Then, he rolled in the dirt and galloped away...

On average, one horse can produce 40 to 50 pounds of doo-doo in a single day...7 to 9 tons a year! It's all gotta go somewhere.

Some people don't recommend the use of horse manure in their gardens. Others are all for it... In fact, I even found a recipe for liquid horse manure fertilizer!

Personally, I am not that picky. Our soil needs whatever help it can get.

For the real dirt on dung, take a look at this New York Times article here. If you're not ready to dig in dung, check out the U of M's Extension office website's Guide to Managing Organic Yard Wastes for other ideas.

It's worth a start.

Thanks again, Carol, for the generous amount of *&#@ you gave me yesterday. You are so thoughtful!

Asparagus Wars

2010-04-27T16:02:00.020-05:00

Our asparagus is up. The seven to eight plants in the raised beds were established long before we arrived at Hawks Nest. However, someone keeps sneaking them for snacks. (Can you blame them? They are just sooo tasty fresh-plucked!) It's a miracle if we ever get enough for one meal. So, I'm planting 5 more. Maybe if I assigned each family member a plant with duties and responsibilities, we could achieve a new order in our nibbling habits?

Next to the rusty fence post in the south pasture is a single wild asparagus plant standing guard over a big ant hill. Seeing it brings out the forager in me and makes me want to wander the pasture, ditches and field searching for more.

If you love asparagus, you must check out this lovely still life asparagus art collection at Venetian Red!

Fluff & Stuff

2010-04-26T08:52:00.013-05:00

These days, many a bird species may be seen gathering construction materials for new summer dwellings. We are not avid birders, but are slowly learning to identify birds by referring to our trusty First Guide to Birds by Roger Tory Peterson that sits by our kitchen table.

This goldfinch (we think) stopped by the other day to gather some cotton from this ball we hung in the maple tree. At the amazing Cornell Bird Lab we learned:

...the goldfinch is among the strictest vegetarians in the bird kingdom and eats seeds almost exclusively,

...it takes about 6 days for a female goldfinch to make her nest, and

...the nest is woven so tightly with rootlets and plant down that it can hold water!

Mettle to the Nettle

2010-04-23T15:26:00.032-05:00

Tender-handed stroke a nettle,

And it stings you, for your pains:

Grasp it like a man of mettle,

And it soft as silk remains.

–old English proverb

With a new-found fondness for wild edibles, my attention has turned to stinging nettle. It grows next to our hiking trail. Last summer, to prevent some poor unsuspecting visitor from brushing up again this notoriously noxious weed, I told Jay, "GET RID OF IT!"

Well, lucky for me, our nettle patch is still intact. This weed is wonderful...full of rich vitamins and super high in protein. Because of its anti-histamine properties, it's great for people with allergies. And good for kidney issues and arthritis too. People even use it on their hair!

With the allergy season in full force, a cup of tea sounded nice. So the other night, I foraged. (Meanwhile, husband and kids played softball in the pasture.)

It didn't take long to fill up a large salad bowl of 6 to 8 inch tender shoots. I took the bowl inside and traded buckskin gloves for rubber gloves. I stripped the leaves from the stalks, rinsed them, patted them dry, and put the nettle leaves on cookie sheets in our new convection oven at 200 degrees for about an hour. When the leaves were completely dry, I crushed them. Then, I made tea.

The dark green tea was real tasty with lemon and honey. Very much like 'regular' green tea! (A valuable tip: don't crush the leaves hard...they powderize quickly and are difficult to strain.)

The most amazing thing happened when I added lemon to the dark green nettle tea...it turned pink!

More good nettle info at Wildman Steve Brill's great website and at this website in the UK, where nettles seem to be more appreciated.

btw...I found this nettle pesto recipe from the Good Nature Earthling website that I will be trying soon. Shhh, don't tell our kids.

NETTLE PESTO RECIPE
4 cups fresh nettle tops - roughly chopped
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup nuts of your choice (I used 1/2 almonds, 1/2 pecans in my last batch...yum!)
2-6 cloves garlic according to taste
1/4 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese (optional)

Put all ingredients in a food processor and process until creamy, making sure all the nettles are incorporated. That's it! What an incredible taste! Not only is it good on the traditional pasta, but the pesto makes a wonderful spread on toast or crackers. Also good as a dip. It freezes well.

Consequential Beauty

2010-04-23T08:55:00.008-05:00

A new crop of baby buckthorn... The fresh new leaves radiate a magical green light on a gorgeous spring evening... But don't let these images fool you.

By summer's end these tiny shoots will have spread high, wide and deep, choking out surrounding native grass and delicate forest plants.

The previous owners merely mowed them down, forcing the roots to grow deeper and sending up more shoots.

A herculean effort is required to remove this invasive species. And patience.

In Memory of Our Hen, Stripes

2010-04-18T21:04:00.009-05:00

With great sadness we report the untimely passing of our beloved hen, Stripes, who was laid to rest this evening, Sunday April 18th, 2010 under a big pine tree near the south pasture under the light of a crescent moon.

Stripes came to us in the Spring of 2008 as a baby chick. She lived a good and happy chicken life until her final hours. We are not sure of the cause of her death. It came on very sudden: Yesterday, Stripes seemed dehydrated and a little wobbly on her feet. This morning her symptoms had gotten worse. We weren't sure if it was something she ate or an infection, so we separated her from the other chickens and hoped that with quiet and rest she would perk up. Sadly, she did not. Tonight, at about 8:05pm, Josie and I went out to check on her again in the makeshift sick pen. It was obvious our sweet hen was not doing well at all (convulsing, drooling), so I picked up little 'Stiper hen' as the girls liked to call her, and best I could, tried to comfort her. Moments later, she died in my arms at about 8:10pm.

(Luckily, none of the other chickens are showing symptoms. There is a chance that she may have developed egg-binding, in which the egg gets stuck inside the hen, or an infection from when an egg breaks inside a hen. In either case, the whole coop will get a good cleaning tomorrow and new food, just in case.)

Stripes was a sweet and beautiful hen who would always try to flap her wings when being held. She was always the second one to hop out the coop door in the morning and was always second in line (behind Sandy) to coming running when called. Stripes will be remembered as a beautiful hen and a great layer of many eggs.

She will be greatly missed.

Horta Culture

2010-04-18T10:46:00.019-05:00

"In Greece, it is common to pick wild greens like dandelions and cook them and add olive oil, lemon and salt...it's called horta," said my good friend Nancy, married to Yianni the Greek. "Let's pick these dandelions and make some horta for dinner," she said.

Without missing a beat, Nancy got to work in the garden gathering up all the new dandelions creeping up between our raised beds. After rinsing them in the bucket, she brought the dandelions inside, chopped off the roots and cleaned them some more and put the whole bunch in a big pot on the stove and cooked them for about 15 minutes.

Horta & Hotdogs

That night, at our first cookout of the season, horta accompanied our hotdogs, brats and potato salad. All our dinner guests seemed to like it. Everyone, except the kids. "That's GROSS!" all 8 children explained with upturned noses.

I admit, it does seem kind of weird eating weeds. Still, I would make this dish again in a heartbeat. I may spice it up a bit with vinegar or feta next time. The kids will be begging for horta by the end of the summer--just watch!

Dandelion Root Tea

Nancy also suggested we chop and roast the roots of the dandelion to make tea. So we did. The tea was mild, and had a pumpkin-like aroma. The tea, we learned is good for detoxification, liver issues and weight loss. More on the medicinal properties of dandelions here.

This week the dandelions will be bursting into color. Our bees will be happy. Now I can be too, knowing that if we're out of romaine lettuce, there's something fresh right out my front door!

So thanks to Nancy, we've added a little horta to our culture! I told her next time we've got to try burdock with burgers!

Mad for Magnolias

2010-04-17T09:51:00.006-05:00

Our magnolia is in full bloom now. In just over a week, we have gone from watching the first fuzzy bud blossom to the whole tree burst awash in white. The fragrant blooms are so sweet and subtle. This tree is definitely is a favorite hawks nest highlight of spring...

For more information on the kinds of magnolia trees that grow in Minnesota, visit the U of MN's extension service Yard & Garden page, here.

Doe or Dough?

2010-04-14T08:51:00.007-05:00

Yesterday I volunteered in Josie's 2nd grade classroom. I helped at "Stations" and led a homonym word game. One of the homonyms was "doe" and "dough." I was surprised to find out that a few of the kids did not know that a female deer is called a doe. I should have asked if they knew what a buck was. Makes me wonder what other languages/cultures have money metaphors tied up with creatures in this way...

Three young deer have been making daily afternoon rounds in our woods out back. Last night, this one got real close to the house. I took this picture off the deck through the window. The personality of the deer and our ducks are similar. They stay close, enjoy handouts, but refuse to tamed, held or nutured in any way. Not that we would try.

What We Need is Here

2010-04-13T08:55:00.008-05:00

Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes.  Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear
in the ancient faith: what we need
is here.  And we pray, not 
for new earth or heaven, but to be 
quiet in heart, and in eye,
clear.  What we need is here.

-Wendell Berry, American Poet, Essayist, Farmer & Novelist
check out Wendell Berry's "Community in 17 Sensible Steps" 
in the Utne Reader Archives.

Skeleton Leaves

2010-04-10T22:38:00.007-05:00

The leaf skeletons from our magnolia tree are entrancing. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I never paid attention to the magnolia leaves deteriorating like this before, even though I've previously photographed the tomatillo skins littered all over our garden.

These leaves would make some crafters drool.

Blick Art Materials and other craft stores sell skeleton leaves for a hefty price.

But, if you have leaves you could speed up the natural deterioration process with this hand me down idea in a New York Times article from 1880! This method seems pretty complicated, but I'm sure the process has been updated for the ages. I'm not that crafty...yet.

Drinking Fountain

2010-04-10T21:32:00.007-05:00

A leaky hose makes a good drinking fountain. Notice how in-flight Ms. Bee cleans her proboscis with her forearms before landing.

The proboscis of the honey bee is simply a long, slender, hairy tongue that acts as a straw to bring the liquid food (nectar, honey and water) to the mouth. When in use, the tongue moves rapidly back and forth while the flexible tip performs a lapping motion. After feeding, the proboscis is drawn up and folded behind the head. ––from the University of Arizona website

p.s. I am in love with my new Nikon D5000 camera...how will I ever get any chores done?

Recipe: Egg Salad Sandwich

2010-04-07T23:47:00.008-05:00

Egg Salad Sandwich - Deutsch Style

* Start with 2 students from a big city in Germany.

* Insist they hold chickens and find freshly laid eggs.

* Don't forget to take pictures so they remember it 25 years later.

* Hard boil 4 fresh eggs and chop.

* Add about 1/3 cup miracle whip...lite, that is.

* Add chopped celery...about 1/2 cup or 2 stalks or so.

* Add a bunch of chopped onions, spring and red...maybe 1/4 cup.

* About a tablespoon of horseradish sauce.

* Little bit of chopped yellow pepper...couple tablespoons.

* Chopped fresh parsley and salt, pepper to taste.

* Mix it all up and serve to guests on delicious grainy bread with lettuce, tomato.

Makes 4 memorable sandwiches.

Demet and Stephanii are high school students from Germany. Demet is an exchange student spending her senior year at my cousin Laura's house in a small town 3 hours away. Stephanii is Demet's friend from Germany and visiting Minnesota for 2 weeks.

Pruning Time

2010-04-07T10:35:00.017-05:00

The Carpenter Nature Center not too far away in Hastings, MN has an amazing orchard with a variety of apples. I recently attended an apple pruning workshop led by John, a knowledgeable horticulturalist, who must be a genetic off-shoot of Johnny Appleseed.

The art and science of pruning is fascinating...shape, light distribution and leader development are critical to the health and long-term fruit bearing success of a tree. As I sat mesmerized in the session, I wondered, who will be the next generation of apple caretakers? It's an amazing scientific and artful job. How are we getting children interested in the importance of these skills? Rather than giving kids a pair of pruning shears which might be 'dangerous,' we give a kid a joystick and let them play video games all day...sigh. The artistic side of me, of course, wants to explore the visual metaphors, but first there are chores to be done.

The link to the handout we received to guide our pruning and training work is here. After the workshop I felt empowered and went home to inspect the 3 mature Haralson and 1 young Macintosh trees in our orchard. Last year, we didn't even get blossoms, so a good hard pruning is critical this year...a job for Edward Scissorhands (another Johnny)! However, one rule of thumb is never to cut more than 1/3 of a tree's wood in one year.

One thing I noticed about our trees is the horrible scarring on the southwest side of the lower part of the trunk. Apparently, we skiers aren't the only ones susceptible to winter sunburn! Sunscald is a winter tree injury caused by the bright sun warming up the south-southwest side of a tree trunk at the snow line. The bark temperature rises quickly when the sun reflects off the snow. Drastic warming results in the tree losing dormancy. Then when the sun goes down, the bark freezes. This is why some people paint or wrap tree trunks to prevent the injury. More on winter injury of trees can be found at the U of MN Extension page here.

The Haralson trees appear to have lived through a number of severe winters and all have survived. But I'm a little worried about our young Macintosh tree. The tree wobbles and there are signs that voles are tampering with the root systems. Next winter, I will wrap or paint the trees. The voles? That's another story. ai-yai-yai.

Eggcellent

2010-04-02T11:44:00.005-05:00

We colored eggs last night...Kids insisted on making funny character faces! Whatever happened to beautiful patterns with marbled, speckled or waxy processing??? No way, they said...it's all about ugly green eggs with peculiar faces!

More Spring Fever

2010-04-02T11:38:00.003-05:00

Recently spotted on a field trip to Michaels Craft store...

Signs of Spring

2010-03-31T09:12:00.010-05:00

After a long dormancy, we are back in action at the Hawks Nest farmblog!

And, we are finally noticing signs of spring...

...kids hanging from branches and trees that need pruning

...maple leaves, crocus and autumn joy bursting

...chicken face fencing and bone dry planter boxes

...winter creeper carpets and pink doggy tongues

...dirty garden gloves, wheel barrows and baseball caps

...crabapples falling and red troll hats

...honking ducks and geese flying overhead

and so much more!

Bees in Winter

2010-02-10T14:53:00.003-06:00

I got a super cool new app for my iPhone called Qik Video--only 2bucks!!! Turns my iPhone into a video camera!!! Here's what I harvested when I went to check on the bees today.

The Great Robin Migration

2009-12-16T12:09:00.007-06:00

posted by pbird@hawksnest

It's been a long time since I last posted. After my computer crashed, I realized how dependent I have become on my computer. Trying to restore and rebuild is time consuming and so our blog has suffered. Now winter is here, and the ski season has begun.

After one of my first days of skiing (Dec 8th, I think it was), I came home to a flock of migrating robins in our yard. I took a short video about their visit. It was too cold to shoot outside, so I shot through the window which made it kind of blurry...sorry! I added sound effects. The whole yard and woods was filled with the flittering and fluttering robins...this is just a snippet.

Want to know more about robin migration? Visit the Journey North website here.

Project 70s Redo Checklist

2009-11-19T22:38:00.025-06:00

posted by pbird@hawksnest

With the handy dandy help from Mark (Jay's bandmate), we are giving Hawks Nest some much needed mini makeovers..

Project #1: Front Balcony

I don't have a "before" picture...the original railing on this balcony was a solid wall...all closed up with siding--utterly cold and uninviting. The logic behind this design detail puzzled us...was it a nude sunbathing porch? hmmmm. We declared it the "smokers lounge" and subsequently, it never got used. So a few weeks ago, Mark made new railings to match the deck rails on the back side of the house. Everyone teases us that we can't nude sunbathe anymore. ;) Hopefully, some nice outdoor carpeting and lounging furniture will magically sprout in spring and I will be able to catch an outdoor cat nap on a perfect afternoon.

Project #2: Kitchen

It wasn't going to be a big deal, after all, we weren't going to replace the cupboards. We weren't going to spend alot, we told ourselves. Just a couple updates. We went through a huge 2 story remodel at our old house, so we figured--how hard could it be? I will attest that remodeling is like childbirth...you forget the pain after a while and a couple years later you find yourself in the same boat all over again.

Will we ever learn?

It is a slow process...we are trying to keep the 70s vibe and retro feel to our house as much as we can without going totally overboard.

But it's really hard...we've flip-flopped on our design picks so many times that we decided we must be from the Brett Favre School of Design.

So far, I am adoring our new lime green counters and all brand-spankin new stainless appliances. I'm most excited about the black granite composite sink for the loads of pots and pans we use too. Jury is out on the hardware...it's not fully installed yet.

There is more work to be done...new flooring, backsplash, lighting. I'm getting a new-found appreciation for the 70s designs and miss matched crazy patterns. It's too much work to be all matchy-matchy.

Project #3: New Shed

Actually, this project is in anticipation of Project #4. Project #4 is to convert our existing garden shed into a sauna, but before we can do that, a new shed is needed to store all our garden and beekeeping stuff. So once again, carpenter Mark came to the rescue and built a duplicate of our current shed next to the compost pile. Only things different is the direction of placement of the door and the nice new crank out window. I like that the door faces the setting sun.

Project #4: Sauna

That's "sow-na" for all you non-Finns. When I was growing up, everyone we knew had a sauna. Now I'm a grown-up and I told Jay if we don't get a sauna soon, I may be forced to relinquish my Finnish heritage. So we're converting the existing shed because it's already got a concrete floor.

I'm researching sauna stoves and layouts. Our sauna won't have electricity or plumbing...you'll have to carry your own water. This sauna is not for wimps.

Last but not least...

Project #5: Kids Rooms

We promised to paint the girls rooms two years ago when we moved in...finally getting around to that. The carpet downstairs needs replacing too, after the dishwasher exploded last year and dripped into Josie's room in the basement. Her room's damaged walls were recently repaired and painted. She picked a pink, green and blue theme. We will tackle the other rooms and carpet in due time...

Can we juggle anything else? Good grief, I hope not!!

Hopefully, more progress photos to come!

In the meantime here are some of the 70's designs i've been getting ideas from (you laugh...but i'm totally serious!!!)...especially digging that horse stall in the kitchen. Hilarious!

Chicken Check-In

2009-11-12T16:46:00.000-06:00

An email from Jack, our chicken-goddaddy (the guy we got our chickens from) and my response...

Hi Paula,
Ah chickens. A week ago I was sitting on the couch watching the tube when I heard what sounded like a death moan of Whitey (our rooster). I ran out on the deck and sure enough, the was this loud moaning of a chicken. I yelled thinking it was a fox. Still, moaning continued. I ran in the closet and grabbed the .22 mag and fired into the ground. Still moaning. I ran at the noise and hear a Goshawk had a chicken pinned. The chicken ran of from the pile of feathers and the hawk flew away into the pines. It turned out to be one of Whitey and Pheasants (Aracauna) offspring. Those haws must get more than we think because I have found piles of feathers before and blamed it on foxes. Oh well, we lost one other one that day. I caught two hens that ran away 50 yards and dove into the grasses and sat still. I brought them back to the coop and they were very nervous. Whitey was even shaken. I never found one of the Golden Biuffs so maybe she stayed out at night and got eaten by something else. You hate losing a layer. We have 20 Golden Buffs that I raised from day-olds this summer so they should start laying before too long. So I do have replacements for the older hens that seem to make good meals for the critters in the woods. I hate to keep the chickens locked up, but it is for their own good. This time of year I let them out for about 1 hour at night and watch them (like a chicken herder!). I think it is time you move to raising ostriches now.
--Jack R.

Dear chicken-goddaddy Jack,
So sorry to hear of your recent poultry passings and other disturbances. Those nasty hawks and fox...have you put up a game camera? Our four remaining hens are adorable and seem to be doing well although I'm worried about the missing back feathers on our aracauna named Muff-Muff...hoping she doesn't get frostbite. Our 2 ducks are in the coop with the hens now. They seem to get along ok, maybe too well. The ducks are beginning to act like chickens. You should see them waddle up and down the ramp. Hilarious. Our flock seems to have a built-in alarm system--they "know" when the kids get home off the bus and that's when the squawking revs up. They are let out for a couple hours and head straight to the pasture and pick at the bugs in the horsie poo. I worry about them there...like open targets. May as well put a sign on them that says "open for dinner." We need a chicken guard dog. Our dog Chui is not much help in that department anymore. He's too old. Thank you so much for your chicken feed bags, btw! I'm trying to get this sewing thing off the ground...If you know anyone else who has bags, let me know. I think we will be getting more chicks in the spring...but I don't think our fence is tall enough for ostrich, ha ha. That reminds me...you should have seen the giganto egg our smallest hen Sandy laid...oh my...it could have been an ostrich egg!! go here: http://hawksnestfarm.blogspot.com/2009/10/world-biggest-chicken-egg.html. Well, that's the news over here. Thanks for keeping us posted!
--Paula

Hawks Nest Island

2009-10-22T08:43:00.005-05:00

Minna made this imaginary island poster for a 6th grade geography project using our farm as an inspiration! Every year, 6th graders get a kick out of doing this project...their creativity just pours out. Each of the amazing and inventive posters are up in the hallway at school. Everyone stops to oogle and awe at them...they are like mini vacations for the brain!

(Sorry for the bad iphone pic--I will try to take another one soon!)

Here's what Minna said about "Hawks Nest Island"

History
Legend has it that Hawks Nest Island was created for Hawk, the bird who saved the Skeeni people from a great everlasting war. It was his reward from Anua, the Skeeni people's god. Nobody knows for sure how it was created, but the legend is the most used idea.

Size/Location
Hawks Nest Island is definitely not the biggest island in the world. It is about 228 miles all the way around. It is located 90 degrees west Longitude and 47 degrees north Latitude on Lake Superior.

Crops/Resources
Hawks Nest Island is ideal for farming. It can grow many different varieties of food. Crops are grown on the wings of the "hawk." East wing grows corn, wheat and oats, and the west wing grows vegetables. To get things they can't grow or make, the designated suppliers will sail their giant steamboat from the Harbor to the state of of Minnesota and buy and order certain things that each family needs.

People
The First people to live on the Hawks Nest Island were the Indian tribe Skeeni. They got there by a suggestion from Anua, their god. They built heavy-duty canoes. It is most likely they got here 3000 years ago. Now, there are only about 40-45 people living in Hawks Nest. Even though they do have the same kind of modern technology as we do, they prefer to stay environmental-friendly and not have large industries or anything big taking up the natural land.

Carrotcatures

2009-10-19T08:30:00.024-05:00

The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution!

–Paul Cezanne, French post-impressionist painter (1839-1906)

"Carrotcatures" Jay said when he saw the pictures I took of the funny looking carrots I dug up the other day.

I laughed, but I admit, when I pulled up one ugly carrot after another in the garden, I was horrified...absolutely horrified.

The discovery of disfigured veggies fueled my ever-growing list of soil grievances. All I could think was: Our garden is DOOMED...damaged beyond repair FOREVER! What in heaven's name has caused this ABOMINATION ? Why aren't my carrots PERFECT like on the seed package?

Whoa pbird, get a grip...

To my relief, a little veggie science research has alleviated my garden anxiety. Seems there are plenty o' reasons for why carrots buck the system.

The U of Mexico has a good explanation here, and Wikipedia sums up the problem of the carrot rebels by saying this:

Vegetables most usually grow into an unusual shape due to environmental conditions. Damage to one part of the vegetable can cause the growth to slow in that area while the rest grows at the normal rate. When a root vegetable is growing and the tip is damaged it can sometimes split, forming multiple roots attached at one point. If a plant is in the primordium (embryonic development) stage damage to the growing vegetable can cause more extreme mutations.

and,

If carrots are grown in soil which has been manured that year, some of the carrots are strange shapes because the young carrot plant's roots go off in odd directions drawn by irregular pockets of manured soil.

Ok, so we get our soil tested and mix it up better. But still, why isn't there more scientific research on google about this topic? (After all, what about all those disfigured frogs?) I didn't find alot of science to support my bad soil theory, but I did find something more interesting...a realization that my belief in "Carrot Couture" is rooted deeply in consumer prejudice...and evidence that our consumer attitudes may be shifting.

Surely everyone knows the produce aisle is basically a beauty pageant of garden stuff. Over time, consumers have been conditioned to view carrots as beautiful, long-legged and perfectly orange just like the photos on the seed packages. On another end of the spectrum, we've got growers who will go to extreme lengths to market their commodities...how many giant pumpkin pictures in the newspaper have you seen or heard about already this fall? Ever heard of a square watermelon? These veggie wonders are not merely a product of science fiction.

Produce workers (bless their souls) work hard to keep ugly veggies out of view. Who can blame them? But I am bewildered when I see perfectly good food getting throw out. Where does it all go? And what about all the stuff that gets thrown out before it hits the store?

Maybe the tide is changing. We consume ugly veggies everyday...we just don't realize it. Before I researched for this post, I didn't know (or think about) those packages of ready-to-eat "baby" carrots. They are simply cast-off ugly carrots cut up in sections and scrubbed down to look pretty and uniform. The farmer who thought of this idea to reuse unmarketable carrots explains he was just tired of seeing good carrots going to waste. Read the fascinating article all about it here.

Carrot-cature or Carrot-couture?
Cezanne may be right...the carrot revolution has begun--for me anyway. I have a prediction too: organic "ugly veggie" boutiques may soon sprout if not in California or New York, somewhere. Just watch: as supermarkets and other produce marketeers realize they can make money off these oddities of nature, we are sure to see them in the produce aisle. Already the European Commission has lifted restrictions dictating the size and shape of veggies in the marketplace. Go here to read the full article. Not only that, researchers at the U of Ohio have discovered how to manipulate the genetic code to control the shape of tomatoes...so there you go. Not only ugly...designer ugly! Does Ugly Betty have something to do with this? hmm.

I love that a bunch of funky carrots can drum up this much excitement in our household. We are lucky to grow our own and learn the simple facts. I only wish we had more bounty to get us through the winter. We have our work cut out for us next year if we want to grow more, that's for sure.

Are you somebunny that can't get enough orange bliss? Then hop on over to the World Carrot Museum to learn more about your favorite root veggie! Be sure to check out the page with the world records for some of the craziest carrots ever! If that's not enough to satisfy your appetite, take a gander at the veggies gone "wrong" at Uli Westphal's Mutato Collection and Michael Hanttula's Museum of Food Anomalies. You won't be disappointed!

posted by pbird@hawksnest

Making Grapefoot Juice

2009-10-17T22:21:00.009-05:00

posted by pbird@hawksnest

We harvested about 60 pounds of grapes on September 30th. We were lucky, because the next day it turned rainy and awful cold and hasn't changed much since. With the help of our friend Drew, and the grape foot-stomping action of Mamie and Josie, we squashed down our 60 pounds of grapes into 5 gallons of juice which Drew will make into 16 bottles of homemade wine for us to share. It takes about 6 months for the wine to age.

There is a vast science to harvesting grapes that we are just beginning to learn about...water content, sugar content, etc. We are also learning that if you get too caught up in the fine details, you can miss out on enjoying the berries all together!!

Earlier in September, the girls and I picked about 15 pounds and made some tasty and tart grape jelly. We made a video about the experience and will add it to our blog sometime soon!

Here are some pictures from our chilly foot-stomping evening with Drew in the garden...a memorable evening for everyone! Even our old dog Chui who got into the action and drank the dirty foot bath water, (ew)!

Brazilian Get Well Tea

2009-10-17T19:26:00.009-05:00

posted by pbird@hawksnest

My sister Rebecca flew into town from L.A. yesterday for our dad's 70th birthday. Some of us at the Hawks Nest have been hit with cold and flu, so she whipped up some Brazilian Get-Well Tea.

Rebecca's husband, Roque, is from Brazil and this concoction has been in his family for generations. It's delicious...try it for yourself! Rebecca says:

"Anytime anyone has a cold or is sick, the first thing to do is make make this tea...it's best to use all natural ingredients."

Brazilian Get-Well Tea
8 cups water
1 tsp. whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 to 2 Tbsp crushed garlic
1/2 cup honey
juice from 1 lemon

Combine all ingredients except honey and lemon and simmer about 20 minutes. Add honey and lemon to taste. Strain and serve hot.

World's Biggest Chicken Egg?

2009-10-17T16:59:00.012-05:00

posted by pbird@hawksnest

Check out the whopper egg the kids found in the coop recently! Holy-moly this egg was HUGE...an amazing 6 inches wide round and 8.5 inches tall in circumference!

It seemed impossible any of our chickens could push out an egg that big. We thought for sure the giant egg was a duck egg since the ducks, Oiva & Pilvi, are expected to start laying in October.

But there's been no other giant eggs to date. So we have deduced that the giganto egg must have been laid by our smallest hen, Sandy! Way to go Sandy...you are one extraordinary chicken!

Curious to know about the supposed largest documented chicken egg in the world? Go here!

Author(s) Unknown

2009-09-24T22:38:00.005-05:00

Eda Mommy Program

2009-09-23T08:27:00.006-05:00

Dear Mr. President,
I propose a plan called "Eda-Mommy" that would pay Moms everytime they make children think about where their food comes from. The Eda-Mommy plan would give kids credits toward their education.

Here is how the plan works:

Everytime the mom drives past a picture perfect field of cash crops or other big gorgeous garden, she pulls over to the side of the road and gives her children "the speech." Despite the children's cries and pleading to keep driving, she asks her children to notice what they are seeing out the car window--what crop is growing, what looks interesting about it, what the crop is used for, who might be farming it, whether or not they use pesticides, how much produce they get, who tends it, how they get paid, how many acres it might be, etc. etc.

The mom, then, hops out of her car, to take several pictures with her iPhone camera to document the vegetation--perhaps, the yellow loveliness of an impressive soybean field--and then even picks a couple of the ripened produce for the children to experience.

Mom then hops back into the car and hears loud moans and groans of "Mom, you can't do that...This is soooo embarrassing...Please, let's just go home!!!!" Eda Mommy usually has a quiet car ride home after that, but she has fulfilled her purpose and she is satisfied.

Thank you Mr. President, for considering my plan on behalf of moms everywhere.

Sincerely yours,
pbird@hawksnestfarm

The Broom & I

2009-09-13T10:03:00.009-05:00

posted by pbird@hawksnest

Ask anyone on our old block in the city and they would probably say they remember me with a broom in my hand. I spent so many hours sweeping...morning, midday or night. Sweeping the sidewalk, the steps, the porch, the driveway, the patio.

I didn't like to sweep at first. I cursed all the thousands and thousands of acorns, leaves, pine needles, pinecones, sticks and other debris from the huge canopies of oak and pine towering over our house. With time, I learned to love sweeping... the sound of the bristles brushing on the concrete. The rhythm of the swishing action. Even though my mother sells brooms in her home business, my favorite brooms are still the old fashioned ones made from cornstalks...they make the best sound.

Sweeping offered me a quick get-away from the hassle of everyday life, laundry, kids whining...a quick sweep and everything got kept and tidy again. It got me out of the house into the fresh air. With my broom in my hand, I noticed so many things in our yard, and really began to appreciate the season changes and all the neighbors passing by in cars or by foot.

My sweeping habits have changed drastically here out on the farm. We still keep a broom by the door, but I don't sweep outside every day.... If I do, it's because the chickens have made a mess of the mulch on the patiobrick. Or the oaks have dumped a load of acorns onto the deck. Or the duck's pen needs cleaning. Or the wild black cherries are splattered all over the driveway. Each task requires a different kind of broom, or maybe even a shovel.

Now if the occasional visitor or neighbor happens to stop by, I might have a broom in my hand, but more I'm more likely to have a shovel, a hoe, a rake, a bucket, pruning shears or even a camera, in my hands. My repertoire of daily tools is rapidly expanding...

Honey Harvest 2009 part 2

2009-09-12T22:24:00.005-05:00

posted by pbird@hawksnest

Here is the inside of the drip sack...the final stage where all the wax and bits of comb are filtered out of the honey. This leftover wax is collected along with the wax in the comb-cutter bin and will be saved for later use. The wax must also be filtered with another type of filtering process which I have not yet attempted.

Honey Harvest 2009

2009-09-11T20:44:00.009-05:00

posted by pbird@hawksnest

Yesterday was honey harvesting day. This year's harvest was less than last year's even though we have double the hives. I took home a 5 gallon bucket...about 42 pounds. Beeman gets the other half. All together we got about 80 pounds. As long as the bees are happy and strong through the winter, that is what matters.

There's been much talk in the bee world these last few weeks about the bee crisis. This post at the New York Times sums it all up: Saving the Bees: What We Know Now.

I think there's an underlying problem that doesn't get mentioned alot: bee stings. If you ask me, the fear of being stung makes people stop caring about these incredible little creatures who work so hard for us to keep our world's food supply in order. The fact is, honeybees rarely sting. You really have to agitate them. If you do get stung, you simply cannot take it personally. People have got to realize bees are only protecting themselves. They have much to protect. I decided to make a little movie for our film fest about this specific bee problem: the dreaded bee sting. It is definitely NOT an educational film. Well, maybe in my own way it is. I hope you enjoy. Happy Harvest!

First Day of School

2009-09-08T16:40:00.009-05:00

posted by pbird@hawksnest

Was the first day of school today. Hurray...am happy to report that each of our kids' teachers played our president's message to our nation's schoolchildren asking them to study and work hard. Amen! Watch or read the speech if you haven't! If you can't get inspired, well...I'm just plain sorry for you.

I especially liked what President Obama said about "you can't let your failures define you -- you have to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently the next time."

Don't we know it.

On a lighter note...

Now, would the president please send a message to all the farm animals who have had it easy all summer? Because once the kids are back in school, all the free roaming chickens and ducks must go back in their pens. Hobby farm moms suffer as we listen to poor ducks quack hysterically all day long while chickens pace the fence in sheer exasperation–– "Let us out, let us out!" they cry. You can't expect moms to be babysitting poultry and scaring off fox and coyote all day can you?

Oh, and then there are the 4-leggeds. Saturday morning Jay found Mandy down the road getting chummy with the neighbor horses. She's fed up with the way her pasture mate, Mama, is treating her lately. So the electric fence went live last night, as Jay found out in a rather unexpected, jolting manner.

Well, I suppose everyone will adjust to the new schedules, one way or another. We'll put out bales of hay for the horses, and a new mobile fence to keep the birds happy.

Film Fest 2009

2009-09-01T22:00:00.010-05:00

posted by pbird@hawksnest

Wow! What a crazy weekend! Over 130 people turned out for our barnyard hootenanny! The food was fantastic and ToasterFork rocked! Lucky for us, the weather cooperated--even though it looked it iffy at times. Films came in up till the last minute.

Check out the film fest blog for more snapshots!

(Links to the movies coming soon.)

2009-08-24T16:28:00.003-05:00

posted by pbird@hawksnest

Denby Marrakesh salad plate at Replacements.com:

$39.99

A Conversation with Mother about the useful invention of picnic plates that shall be utilized instead of fine dinner plates at the campfire pit during smore-eating events:

priceless.

Horsies are Happy

2009-08-24T15:21:00.006-05:00

posted by pbird@hawksnest

Mandy and Mama are much happier now that I made equine tote bags. They are happy, too, that the grass is green from all the rain we got.

BTW, my etsy.com site is coming soon!! I've got Sheep and Llama bags! But first, the film fest...so much to do, so little time...

Bumper Crop

2009-08-19T11:29:00.005-05:00

by pbird@hawksnest

The chickens were spotted pecking freshly smashed bugs off the car bumper yesterday. Ducks wanted in on the action too. See for yourself:

Working on a Deadline

2009-08-13T22:27:00.010-05:00

by pbird@hawksnest

OK, I HAVEN'T POSTED LATELY.
It's summer, and I'M JUST BUSY!!

There are sick chickens to tend, buzzing bees to keep happy, fishies that keep dying & horsies that need moving. Not to mention: weeds to pull, produce to pick, recipes to invent, bags to sew, films to make...and children that always want to go to the beach. And always: laundry, laundry, laundry.

Please, sign me up for cirque du soleil, cuz I feel like I'm running one.

Did the citiots talk to a hobby farm consultant before their big move to country life? Heck NO. They would have sized us up and told us to run in the opposite direction as fast as we can.

So here we are. Exactly sweet 16 days until Hawks Nest Film Fest. Our second anniversary of life at the Hawks Nest.

I'm on deadline.
Must forage films and request homegrown ones be sent in.
No time to write. No time to post.
Maybe a twitter here and there. About the amazing puffballs size of soccer balls growing under the forsythia. Or the glowing larvae on the moss logs. Or how the Board of Animal Health made another surprise visit two days before Stripes the chicken got sick and made us think that all of our birds suddenly came down with the bird flu. Or how a neighbor gal with 3 silkie hens showed up on our doorstep last night thinking that we would want them (we did) but had to turn them away because of the sick hen. (sigh.) Or about Camp Week with cousins. Or how a wine guy came to dinner and we chatted about making wine from our fruits. O-boy do i need that now.

No...no time for any of that. Right now I need to order a porta potty.
Cuz, darnnit, this farm didn't come with an old-fashioned outhouse like the one I grew up with...

And if you're going to have a party, you need a working potty.
Popcorn is good too.
And that's all I have tonight.