End of September

This is it, the last day of September.   Pumpkins, sweet potatoes and the last of the tomatoes have been harvested.  The okra is still chugging along even though we have harvested enough seed pods to supply three farms!   Green manures have been seeded and the garden is ready to settle in for its winter rest.   Next year we hope to continue the harvest with winter crops.

 

Our Euskal Oiloak breeding pen is going well.  We have a dozen eggs sitting in the incubator with more on the way.   The Crested Cream Legbar cockerel we purchased in July is doing well too.   I can't wait until the Spring to see how he finishes out and what this group will produce.   We've heard rumors that Greenfire has imported some Jill Reese legbars from the UK and that they have cleared quarantine.  Hopefully we can add some of these chickens in 2014 or 2015.

 

Heathcliff -- 10 week old Crested Cream Legbar cockerel

And finally, after much research, we have ordered 20 rose comb Rhode Island Red chicks from Gary Underwood for Spring delivery and are on a waiting list for 18 White Dorking chicks from Yellow House Farm.   It is going to be a very busy spring!

Wine Day

Yesterday we took a little break from farm chores to visit two wineries and one cidery.

Our first stop was Pippin Hill Farm Winery located off of Route 29 in Nelson County, Virginia.   According to their website they have been rated one of the best locations for a wedding and we could easily see why.  Someone with an eye for a view designed this place.  The Blue Ridge was at its glorious best, the tasting room was a stylish blend of rustic and modern.   We didn't get a chance to eat at their restaurant, but the food must be delicious - it was already busy at 11:30 on a Sunday morning!

From the parking lot, a view of the vines and Blue Ridge

Lantern lit path with a view of the Blue Ridge

Our next stop was right down the road at The Albemarle Ciderworks.  This was our first tasting visit to a cidery and the staff made us feel right at home.   Albemarle Ciderworks specializes in a dryer style of hard cider and we found that we prefer a sweeter style - but that did not mean we didn't find anything good.  While John preferred the Ragged Mountain blend and I preferred Jupiter's Legacy blend, we both agreed that Pomme Mary was our favorite.  I also have to add a note here about winery glasses.  We've been to so many wineries and wine festivals over the years that we no longer purchase those souvenir glasses, BUT, the Ciderworks uses adorable little pilsner style glasses that were traditionally used with cider.   I couldn't resist purchasing a pair.

If you haven't visited the world of hard ciders, we highly recommend a tour of the Virginia Cideries.  Visit Cider Week for upcoming events.

Cider Apples

Apple Trees ready for picking - love this ladder!

Something about apple cider really gets the palate ready for a meal.   After we finished chatting with the great staff at cidery, we made a quick trip into Charlottesville for lunch.    It was crazy crowded on The Mall but we finally settled on The Nook, a diner style restaurant with simple but delicious fare.

For those who have never been to Charlottesville, make a visit to The Mall one of your must do items.  The Mall is two historic streets that have been paved over in brick and completely closed to vehicular traffic.   Pull up a chair in one of the many seating areas, order a cup of joe and enjoy watching a wide variety of people.   With the University of Virginia so close by, you are almost guaranteed to encounter at least one Fine Arts student.  During our visit it was a trio of musicians.

The Mall

Replete from our hearty fare, we headed up into the mountains for a visit to Glass House Winery.   It was well worth the long winding drive.   If you love art, this is the place to go.   The water garden in front of the tasting room is full of unique sculptures and glass tiled mosaics.  In fact, the entire place is full of glass art tucked into unexpected little corners.   They also have art from local artisans available for purchase.    Entering the glass house is like entering an exotic little piece of paradise --- accompanied by wine and chocolate!  A perfect haven on dreary winter days.

Glass House also had some of the lovely uncommon wines we prefer - Traminette, Viognier and a DELICIOUS chocolate infused red dessert wine.   The owner's gourmet chocolates are a perfect compliment to the wines.  YUM!    And yes, we did pick up a dozen chocolates  ;)

Glass House vines

The Glass House tasting room --- busy, busy, busy!

All in all, it was a great day of beautiful Blue Ridge weather!   And here's our haul...

from L - R: Pomme Mary cider, Signora, Ancora Meglio (2), C-Villian

Induction Cooking!

 The old stove that came with our house finally bit the dust last weekend.  It's been going for over a year and I couldn't wait for it to finally kick the bucket.

After much deliberation and cost estimating we decided induction would give us the benefits of gas and electric without the hassles of hooking up new gas lines and a super-vent.   A new vent is in the works, but the microwave/vent combo we have right now will do while we save up for the installation of a new hood.

We managed to score a deal - the last (floor model) Samsung at Lowes.  This puppy retailed at $2300 when it was introduced in 2010 and we paid less than half that.  Wooot!

I don't understand why these stoves aren't more popular.  It works on electro-magnetism, which means the top doesn't get hot like a radiant heat or gas stove.  Okay, so we did have to go out and purchase new cookware since our old (I won't say how old!) cookware (Revereware, Faberware and Macy's Tools of the Trade Professional) didn't pass the magnet test.  Contrary to some internet information, stainless steel pots, particularly older stainless steel with copper, do not work on induction.   If the magnet won't stick, the pot won't work.  That means aluminum, stainless and copper won't work.   Aluminum foil is a bad thing to leave on the stove.  John's cast iron and my Le Crueset work great.   As luck would have it, Macy's was having a cookware sale and we found another bargain in a set of Calphalon Tri-ply Stainless with 2 free bonuses.  Another WooT.

A stroll to one of my favorite stores, Crate and Barrel, also turned up this adorable two person pasta pot.  Just right for us empty nesters.   If a pot can be sexy, with it's sleek curved lines, this one certainly is.  So adorable!

2 Person Pasta Pot in Pieces

2 Person Pasta Pot Together

And just because I had the camera out, I took a picture of my chicken tchotchkes.  Gotta love collectibles!  (Please ignore the dust.)

Sad News...

My favorite rooster, Houdi, was killed by something.   Why is it always the favorites?

He was one of our most far ranging chickens so I wasn't too surprised when he didn't come running when I got home from work as most of the flock does.  (I'm the one who feeds and they know it's dinner time when "mom" gets home.)

When he didn't return again yesterday, I went looking but didn't find anything.  Today I found the grisly remains.  He had been partially pulled through our perimeter fence.  Yuk.

I am so sad.   He was our only Houdan cock bird and I was planning to set up an autumn breeding pen with him.  Now we will have no Houdans for at least another year.   This sets my Houdan project back...again.  At this point I have given up on the Houdans and have removed them from our breed list.   The girls will become part of the layer flock.

R.I.P. Houdi boy

Seed Saving

Today I attended a seed saving workshop sponsored by the Center for Rural Culture and hosted by J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College at the Goochland County campus.  Betsy Trice was our lovely instructor.

If you haven't already been to the college gardens, it is worth a visit.  Each spring they also host a garden fest to sell plants raised by the students. They really do grow alot in a relatively small space.  Today I discovered a papaya tree and several pomegranate bushes.  I am going to attempt to grow both of these fruits.

Betsy began the class with a discussion of open pollinated and hybrid seed varieties as well as GMO (genetically modified organisms) seeds.  We moved onto he importance of saving seeds from plants that have done well in our individual microclimates and preserving plant diversity.  Saving money is also a great benefit.

Then we moved out into the gardens to discuss the different types of fruit/veggies and when to harvest. I love this rain barrel set up.

Here we are harvesting sunflowers 

and dill

Dill seed

then we moved onto beautiful rhubarb, which looks just like beet seed.

After our tour of the gardens we returned for a demonstration of seed saving techniques for different fruit and veggie types.   

At the end of class we were able to select some seeds to take home.  I also found some great ideas like this elegant use of a hog panel as a trellis gate.

All in all, it was a great, if hot, day.

Eggs for Breakfast

 Sat down to breakfast and SUNSHINE this morning.   It seems so long  since we've seen sunny days here.  We were getting ready to build an ark!    The lack of morning sunshine made me forget just how golden our hen's fresh eggs are. 

With the sun streaming in through the glass and across the table I couldn't resist taking this picture of the breakfast plate.  A "Blue Plate Special" of scrambled eggs so rich and gold next to the buttered toast!  Yum!

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Welcome to Graystem Farm!

It's been so wet here the past few weeks, we're debating building an Ark.

Several of our hens have gone broody with a corresponding reduction in egg production.   We are also gathering eggs for a bi-annual Avian Influenza testing.    The chicks are adorable but it means we do not currently have eggs for sale.   If you are interested in purchasing some chicks, stop by the Powhatan Tractor Supply event on July 13th.

The herb gardens are going well.   Oregano and garlic chives are in bloom.   The basil is bushing up while the thyme and sages are spreading.  Spearmint is running rampant.    And we have our first little "giant" pumpkin.

We've had some beautiful visitors to our wildflower gardens.  Unfortunately, all of this rain has kept the bees from leaving their hives.

It doesn't look like we'll have tomatoes for the Fourth of July holiday but the bacon is ready and waiting in the freezer for those first BLT sandwiches!   Hope you enjoy your celebrations!