The Pressure's On: August Updates

After two years of water bath canning, we dug in and bought a pressure canner today. Nothing against all the vinegary sweets we've created via water bath...pickled beets and dilly beans are still on our 2012 agenda. We were just ready to start putting away more of our garden. And with only 8 cubic feet of storage in our solar powered freezer, canning is the obvious way to go. Right now I'm babysitting a batch of stew that's merrily steaming along in the canner. It makes this really nice, steamy metronome sound as the weight rocks on top, and it's peaceful just to sit by and listen. So, as that cooks, here are some updates:

Straw Potatoes

 The garden went nuts this year. We've had a long growing season, and frost is not in the forecast for the next couple of weeks. A couple people asked about straw potatoes, so here is a more in depth look at the process. Our ground, as mentioned in prior posts, is hard, rocky, and low in organic content. A friend told me about growing tubers in straw. This is my second year, with good results so far. Also, this year, I can really see the straw composting and adding to our garden soil. Here's how:

1. Put potatoes on ground and cover in 12-14" of straw.

2. Water

3. Watch them grow.

4. Harvest by pulling back the straw.

The Pig Debate: Grain vs. Grass

Our hogs went to slaughter last week. Hanging, they weighed 150, 159 and 159. We were pleased, and are looked forward to the maple-brined, smoked hams and bacon. Buying grain, however, is something we didn't enjoy...especially with the price hike this year. Bill and I have been looking into options of grazing, and might be branching out into heirloom varieties of pigs who can sustain themselves on grass. Large Blacks or Red Wattlers are the ones we're particularly interested in....so next year, look for pastured pork in place of pink Yorkshires on Blue Cloud. The grazers won't put on 200 lbs in 3 months like our pinkies did...but we won't be buying grain every week either.

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!
	We added a new addition to the farm. Our rooster, a gift from a neighbor up the road, is scrawny and his crow is giggle-worthy, but he is successfully fertilizing eggs! (And, he doesn't crow until about 9 AM!) We'll see if broody Blondie (at it again, and determined as ever) can hatch any chicks in about 20 days.

The Gobblers It's about that time of year again. The turkeys are getting big and about ready to be put into the freezer. Bill really improved his gobble this year and has become quite the turkey farmer. See it for yourself. (video coming soon)

Pesky Sheep

A recent speed-bump in our progress came when our neighbor's twenty head of sheep escaped their pasture....and roamed on our land for several days. Our orchard and windbreak got munched on, and, though the damage could have been worse, seeing those nibbled-down, broken, leafless branches, I was immediately deflated...and then enraged. I debated putting lamb chops into our freezer. But Bill, as always, calmed me down. And we put up an electric fence. And crossed our fingers that our neighbors will take care of their pesky roaming fluff-balls.

A Grizzly Glacier Tale

Bill and I wrangled a couple of my brothers, Josh and Nick, and Nick's girlfriend Casie, into coming with us on a two-night backcountry trip into Glacier National Park, with an itinerary putting us over Gunsight Pass. 

The A Team: Casie, Nick, Bill, Josh, Cass 

Probably about 8 or 9 miles in on the first day, through wind and hail and rain-soaked undergrowth, we were finally nearing the top of Gunsight Pass. The trail became a chiseled pathway right into the mountain-side, with sheer, rocky drop-offs to the lake below. Up ahead, there was a snow crossing that looked a little treacherous with the steep angle. We were studying the snow, and Josh pointed out one additional potential complication: two grizzlies foraging for grubs just below the snowfield, maybe 200 yards away. We had a moment of excitement and drank in the sight for a few minutes, then decided to press on. We crossed the field without any indecent, and made it 200 yards up the trail, to a fantastic overlook. While admiring a mountain goat on the opposite mountain, a couple of us looked back and were surprised to see a grizzly coming up the trail after us. And, then...it broke into a run. For your enjoyment, and for the "grizzly tale", here are some videos, courtesy of You Tube. 

Needless to say, other than a pepper spray to my face, and maybe a few pairs of wet underwear, we came out unscathed. After the first day, the weather became a sun-bather's dream, and we stretched out on the rocks to pick huckleberries, unhurried and happy.

The Gunsight Pass hike scenery was jaw dropping, and the campgrounds had character and beauty. Pit toilets earned not so consistently high marks, but the open pit toilet at Lake Ellen Wilson campground, with its unmatched overlook of the lake, set the bar high for all other pit toilets out there. There were a plethora of mountain goats, many of whom visited us in camp and tried to lick at anything salty. We also got to check out one of the park's only hike-in chalets and grabbed a tasty lunch of soup, sandwiches, and pie.

Kudos to Nick and Casie for introducing us to this delicious "gourmet" backcountry meal, which will definitely be a part of our next trek: 

Beefy Noodle Bowl

• 3 Tbsp beef jerky, shredded
• 1 3-ounce package of Ramen noodles
• 1 1-ounce package instant onion soup
• 2 Tbsp mixed dried vegetables
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp dried cilantro
• 1 or 2 packets of soy sauce, optional

At home: Discard flavor packet from noodles, combine all dry ingredients in a quart size, freezer zip lock bag.

On the trail: Boil about 2 cups water. Add to zip lock bag, then stir or shake gently until all is soft and rehydrated. Season with soy sauce as desired.
Makes 2 servings. This receipe courtesy of One Pan Wonders

Third Time's a Charm up the Grand Tetons

The French know how to name mountains: The "Big Tits".

After a three-year quest of trying to climb a mountain (strike up "Chariots of Fire"), we finally did it. The first attempt was cut short by a lightening storm. The second attempt happened to be a good water year, and we couldn't find a way to forge the raging creek/river early on in the ascent. But this time, we made it up the mountain of Table Rock...and finally saw the Grand Tetons, up close and personal.

Table Rock, on the Idaho side of the Tetons, is a 14 mile trek (roundtrip), with over 4000 foot elevation gain from the trailhead. If you plan on going, take more water than you think you'll need and a camera. And, of course, a dog to pose for you.

July

Just a few updates from the farm...

The Great Scape

Who knew that garlic scapes were so delicious? Bill and I had no idea that the curly green tops (scapes) of garlic were meant to be harvested and enjoyed as a Fourth of July delicacy from the garden. This is our first year of growing garlic, so we were clueless as to the joys of scapes until our neighbor pointed out that we should "cut those tops off."  A little oil, salt and pepper, and onto a hot grill, and they were something like a marriage of asparagus and greenbean, with a good kick garlic. Next year, more garlic scapes!

The Grill Master testing his scapes. 

"Well, that's a big coyote......waitaminute. That's not a coy..." 

We had our first wolf sighting at Blue Cloud: a big Gray, about 200 yards in front of our property. He didn't seem too afraid of us....just stared us down for nearly a minute then loped up and over the hill.

Piggie Tales

The pigs are getting huge; they have at least doubled in size in the past month. They've developed a liking for the tennis balls that Stewie incessantly carries around and sometimes drops into their area. I caught one playing with the ball by dunking it repeatedly in the water tank. Sometimes, they just carry them around in their mouths.

This is "Blue Eyes", who squeals when you scratch his ears or back.
He's running toward me for a good ear scratching.

Nothing like a good, stiff draught on a hot sunny day.

Hoggin' the feeding trough.

Dry and Drier

Despite the hot temp and life-sucking winds, our baby windbreak is green and growing. Bill put in well over 2000 feet of watering hose (PVC pipe and dripper tubes) with drippers that deliver 1 gallon per hour.  We have well over 90% survival rate since the planting.

It's an extremely dry year, and, already, there's been a significant fire (the Corral Fire) in Helena that burned down four homes. For the Fourth, the county banned all private fireworks. Local firework stands, apparently, were feeling the heat when the county issued the ban. One fine, upstanding TNT-booth owner implied that the ban was violating the Helena-area "people's freedom". I believe he was referring to that amendment about having the right to burn down our homes, as well as those of our neighbors. Anyway, it is hot, windy, and looking like it's going to be a big Montana fire year.

The Elizabethan Collar, a Stewie Staple

Stewie is, again, in the collar of shame, recovering from a leg laceration. Total vet bills to date are: well, too many to count. But this is his fourth go round in his plastic halo. I can't believe we're actually considering pet insurance for this dude. If Baxter could roll his eyes, he would.

The Hot House

Using 2 cattle panels, bent and attached to two 3x6 foot raised beds, and covered with plastic sheeting, we created a small tomato and pepper growing house. It's our newest addition to the garden project.

Wild West

My little sister is getting married, so a little Montana-style celebrating was in order. All the best of western Montana: Chico Hot Springs, the Mint Bar, Big Dorothy's (brothel turned restaurant/bar), and Last Chance Gulch, added some good juju to her bachelorette bash.

Mom of the Bride, The Bride, and Bride's Big Sis

Now, Hurry Up and Grow

The Tree Team: Dad, Jo, Bill and Me 

As I'm sitting down to type this, it is down-pouring outside and the thunder is rumbling. Rain couldn't have come at a better time. Over the past four days, "The Tree Team ," Bill, myself, my dad and my step-mom Jolynn, planted over 300 trees into our rocky, cement-like front yard. It was, admittedly, exhausting work, and we all ended up with some aches and blisters, but we are pretty proud of those beautiful rows of new little plants...that are now soaking up all that wonderful rain!

We moved efficiently; but those concrete-like clods and ever present melon-sized rocks were something to reckon with. We didn't add any supplements to our soil as we planted, only a few scoops of "topsoil" from a local sand and gravel company (which looked a lot more like organic-starved fill dirt) when we sometimes needed something finer to work with alongside all those clumps and rocks. My dad was a machine, and the farmer in him came busting out, ready to tackle anything and to keep us all moving our shovels.

A Doug Fir, bright green and ready
to grow!

The trees and shrubs came mostly bare-root from DNRC's nursery in Missoula. As I mentioned in the earlier blog, the windbreak consists of 7 rows:




Outside row: Caragana
6th row: Juniper and Honeysuckle
4th and 5th rows: Ponderosa Pine and various shrubs
3rd row: Douglas Fir and Nanking Cherry
2nd row: Green Ash and Snowberries
Inner row: Serviceberries

We pre-dug the holes with the mini-ex a few weeks ago (see last blog post), so the holes were extremely dry and hard to work. Bill and I hadn't planned to put up any deer-fencing, as it truly is rare to see deer (mostly Muleys) hanging around by our place. However, after working to get those trees into the ground, we decided we'd rather not risk it, and we plan to put up an electric fence shortly, in hopes to deter whatever deer are in search of some yummy new growth.

The watering system is not yet in place, but will consist of a series of PVC, black plastic water hose, and emitters for a drip irrigation system.

Other updates: 

We finally conquered the relocation of the hen house! It took some scheming, but Bill figured it out.

The Hen House on rollers.

How to move a shed with an 18V cordless drive...
...oh, and a winch!

We rolled it about 100 feet south, away from our generator and sewage drain field, to a flatter pasture area. Using a 2-ton car jack, we elevated it and stabilized it on two 4x4's.  Then we lifted it again, high enough to slide in sections of 2x4 track and several 5"  "roller" logs. With the roller logs sandwiched between the 4x4's and the 2x4's, we pulled the house forward using a hand winch attached to the back of the truck, leap-frogging the track and rollers as we moved the house along.  Easy peasy!  Thank you YouTube!
We even managed to turn the thing 90 degrees by slowly shifting the angles of the logs and pulling from one corner.




The main reason for the shed move was to accommodate our newest farm addition: pigs!

After the building was in place, we put up fencing to enclose about 1000 square feet of pasture. We opted for cattle panels instead of hog panels to save a few bucks; the hole spacing is a little wider, but it's small enough to contain our 50lb "piglets".  We used some recycled house logs for the corner posts and some left over t-posts to break up the 16-ft panels. To help build the fence we finally bought an iron tamp bar, which made all the difference in digging rocky areas and securing posts. Should have had that in hand when we first moved in.Bill framed in a wall/door to split up the hen house, to accommodate the pigs as well.

Building fence around the "new" hog/chicken house.

We brought our  little piggies to Blue Cloud late last night. They weren't too pleased about the bumpy truck ride to our house and squealed to let us know it, but they seem to be getting along nicely now in their grassy pasture. All we need to do now is build a feeder, and we're set.

We purchased the pigs from a Hutterite colony near Choteau.  I guess the price of pork has gone up drastically since last year, increased from 1 to nearly 2 dollars per pound for wiener pig. But we're sure happy to have them on the farm. After we unloaded them late last night (a tricky affair from the back of our pickup truck), Bill and I stood at the fence panel, awe-struck that we finally did it, and smiling to hear their little grunts as they munched on the grass. Butchering time should be around August. Yum, bacon!

 

The Blue Cloud Bunch