August 6, 2022

Weather/Nature

Do what we can, summer will have its flies.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

This may have had a deeper meaning for Emerson, but it is true, flies have been our nemesis lately. But flies beware, Erica is lightning-quick with her fly swatter.

Locals say August are the “dog days” because snakes go blind, become more defensive, and are therefore more likely to bite dogs and humans alike. Not sure, might have to research that one more.

Down On The Farm

The hot pepper seedlings we got from our seedling supplier were a substitute because the jalapeños weren’t ready. They came described only as a “wax pepper”, so we put 50 plants in the ground. They have grown beautifully, but we’ve discovered they are HOT. More like a habanero. We wear gloves when we pick them, and the girls have been stringing them for drying and storage. They’ve certainly turned up the heat in our salsa.

We finally got to use our electric incubator we bought last year, but haven’t had the chance to use. We collected 9 eggs from the hens, and got them situated in the incubator for their 21 day incubation period. It worked with 100% success! Sure beats buying chicks at $4-$5 a piece.

I’ve collected a number of old farm books over the years, because I think their advice is much better than any modern manual. In one book, “Farm Management”, published by Cornell University in 1913, Dr. G.F. Warren tells the account of a family who lived on a farm, while the man worked a “city job”. This family kept good records of the retail value of the homestead produce they raised and consumed, and this is what gave me the idea to do the same.

Best Thing We Ate

Homemade toffee: the girls make a caramel and a chocolate sauce, then layer it on saltines before refrigerating.

From Family Worship

In Acts 9, someone introduced only as “a disciple in Damascus named Ananias” was asked to do something incredibly dangerous. He was asked by God to go to Saul who had just been converted on the road to Damascus. He was asked to go to Saul, when most were trying to avoid Saul! Ananias didn’t initially know that Saul had been converted, but only that Saul had been breathing threats and murder against Christians, and imprisoning them. After initially voicing his concern to God, he obeyed. He did what he was commanded to do without knowing the whole picture of what was going on. He walked by faith and not by sight, trusting that God would take care of him as he sought to be obedient in the face of danger.

Other Happenings

A mom and her children came to visit one day this week to check out the farm and play in the creek. They recently moved to the area from Arizona, so it was nice for Erica and the kids to get to know them better. Hopefully we can have another visit as families when the husbands aren’t working.

July 30, 2022

Weather/Nature

Warm and muggy, more rain now than earlier this summer and slightly lower highs. Cicadas humming in the trees, and the sound of distant thunder make late July unique. The uncomfortable conditions outside make you want to be lazy indoors, but you can’t get away with that like you can in late January. Things are busy around here.

Down On The Farm

The okra, tomatoes, hot peppers, cantaloupe, watermelon and potatoes are coming in heavy now. Erica has been amazing as she continues to can, freeze and dry all sorts of produce in all sorts of different forms. We are also trying to keep up with weeding in the berry beds, and the kids have been working really hard both indoors and out. The pigs are growing fat on garden scraps, some firewood is getting split, a few more fruit trees are planted. We imagined that this time of year would be the busiest, and that is certainly true!

Best Thing We Ate

We told the kids that in summer we’ll eat like kings and queens, and so it is. Our garden abundance puts out a spread for breakfast, lunch and dinner that is deeply satisfying.

From Family Worship

After finishing the Gospel of John we moved into Acts, reading and discussing a chapter each night. It is wonderful to hear the older children share thoughts and insights that make it clear they are embracing the Christian faith as their own. In the early chapters of Acts, we’ve all been impressed at the boldness of the Apostles to proclaim the gospel in the face of personal danger and loss. They rightly counted it more important to obey God than to obey man, and were willing to suffer the consequences of being faithful to the Word of God.

Other Happenings

We were able to visit Erica’s parents near Charleston, SC last weekend, which was our first time seeing them in their new home since they moved there from Florida at the beginning of the year.

John and I were able to steal away Friday afternoon to go check out the nearby trout hatchery and dam at Dale Hollow Lake. Any day I can spend time with this guy is a good day.

July 23, 2022

This week we were visiting Erica’s parents in Charleston, SC, so more on that next week.

Here’s some good memories from the six years we spent on our Florida farm prior to moving to TN.

July 16, 2022

Weather/Nature

A good rain pattern has been established, which we are grateful for. Things are healthy, lush and growing again. Mornings are in the 60’s and days heat up to low 90’s. Crickets in the evening have replaced the lightning bugs, although a few can still be seen. Peak summer.

Down On The Farm

We are done harvesting cucumbers, zucchini, onions, broccoli, and kale for this year. We’ll use this space to plant fall/winter veggies once we get it cleaned up. We tried a watermelon and a cantelope, but they are not quite ready yet.

A friend who does tree work called to say there was some white oak he was trying to get rid of from a job site, so John and I went and got a pickup full of rounds that we will chop for storage. We’re always on the lookout for good firewood, and hopefully we’ll get up to having 3-4 years worth stored.

We mowed the medium red clover in the fallow garden area for the first time. We will grow red clover there for two years before making it our veggie garden and planting the current garden site to red clover. This two year rotation should add organic matter and enrich the soil, making it better each time instead of depleted.

Best Thing We Ate

A nice “garden soup” with tomatoes, onion, zucchini, and cabbage from the garden, served with a warm loaf of homemade bread.

From Family Worship

John 14 on Monday night was memorable. Comfort for the downcast, tender reassurance for the doubting, peace for the worried, all given lavishly by the One whom we are not ashamed to call “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”. He alone is the gate through which green pastures are found, and the Father is known.

Other Happenings

The Samilian’s were with us last weekend and into the beginning of this week. It did us good to see old friends and their effort to come see us was appreciated. Some pictures from the second half of their visit:

July 9, 2022

Weather/Nature

And the rains came. After two modest rains earlier in the week of 1/4 and 1/2 an inch, yesterday and overnight last night we got a total of 3 inches. It poured. The ground had been so dry that when it was light enough to see this morning, there wasn’t a puddle on the ground; it all soaked right in to the eager soil. The leading edge of the thunder storm brought high winds, so corn was my concern in the night. Most of it now being over 8′ tall, if it lodged at this point, I’m not sure it would be able to stand itself back up. Thankfully it was strong and hung in there.

Down On The Farm

More cucumbers, okra, cabbage, zucchini and kale are entering the house daily. We’ve put up enough cucumber pickles to have a quart per week for the next year. We filled a three gallon stone crock with sauerkraut that will now ferment for a few weeks. We’ve got to either freeze or pickle cabbage now, since we only have the one crock for sauerkraut. Riley has started seeds for the fall garden which will include things for winter storage in the cellar. These will be ready to plant later this month and will be in the ground until the first frost. John and Quinn also worked on the strawberry patch this week to weed it and mulch with old hay.

The pigs are benefitting from lots of garden scraps, which lowers our feed bill. They are growing nicely and haven’t caused any trouble – yet. The three chicks that hatched are doing well, and we are incubating another eight in an electric incubator.

Best Thing We Ate

Pizza Hut with friends!

From Family Worship

Our friends, the Samilian’s, joined us last night for family worship, which was a delight. We read John 14 together and had a very encouraging group discussion on some of the highlights of the chapter. The slowness of the disciples to believe, the instruction of Christ to obey his commands out of love for him, the promise of Jesus to send the Holy Spirit, were themes we thought and talked about as families.

Other Happenings

Brian and Katie, along with their girls (Olivia, Charlotte and Rachel) drove up from Jacksonville on Thursday to visit us for the weekend. We’ve known the Samilian family for 16 or 17 years, all the way back to before either of us had any children, and we’ve been good friends all these years. We went to the lake yesterday and have some more fun planned.

A follow up on our newest farm addition, Presby. One evening a feral, half-starved dog showed up and killed two of our chickens (that aren’t normally out). I was out that evening, so Erica put the dog in our kennel so I could deal with it later. When John heard the standard fate of feral dogs that start killing valued livestock, he began an earnest and prolonged protest, oft repeating the lines, “He doesn’t have a family”, and “He was being careless”. We went out the next morning to get a good look at the culprit and he surely was pitiful. We let him out and decided to see what he would do, and he showed himself to be a friendly and sweet dog – maybe John was right. So the next day we started feeding him and petting him more, and it seems he’s here to stay. He stays outside and sleeps on the porch at night, and is a good companion for Anya during the day. Why Presby? Because we’re Presbyterians of course!

July 2, 2022

Weather/Nature

We got up to 19 hot days without rain before finally getting a nice shower, about a half inch of rain. It was welcome, and I think the corn grew a foot in the couple of days after the rain. We’ve noticed that in the summer here we’ll still get an occasional high pressure system that brings drier and cooler air, which is also welcome.

Down On The Farm

The harvest continues. Our broccoli is all in now, and we are continuing to bring in cucumbers, kale, and now cabbages. We’ve blanched and frozen most of the broccoli, and the cucumbers are being pickled and canned. Sauerkraut will be the next big project.

We started to keep a record of the retail value of the harvest, because our hope has always been to actually buy fewer groceries as a result of the farm’s produce. It isn’t a perfect system, but we’re able to lookup the cost of produce per pound online and get a rough estimate. This doesn’t account for our cost to produce the veggies, but that is trickier. Would we just include the cost of the seed packet or seedlings, or also count the cost of the deer fence, tools, or even the land itself? There’s more than one way to track it, so I’ll work on that later.

We’ve also had a broody hen that we let sit on five eggs and 21 days later three of them hatched! She’s doing a good job protecting her chicks.

Best Thing We Ate

From Family Worship

We’ve been reading a chapter of the Gospel of John each night, and it has led to some great discussion. Last night we reach chapter 8 and considered how differently Jesus deals with people depending on whether they are humble or proud regarding their sinfulness before God. The woman humbled by her adultery is treated with the tender mercies of Christ, while the proud-hearted Pharisees who think they have it all together are confronted and condemned boldly by Christ. The application is not hard to draw, “for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble”. 1 Peter 5:5

Other Happenings

We had our friends, Al and Carolyn, visit us from Bradenton on their way to Massachusetts for the summer. To come here was way out of their way, and a big encouragement. Al and I served together as deacons at Providence OPC in Bradenton, FL and he and Carolyn became our good friends. A real treat to see them. And that dog in the picture? That’s Presby, the newest farm addition…more on him next week.

June 25, 2022

Weather/Nature

Hot and dry! The weather pattern continues, and we are at day 17 with no rain. We’ve had to hand water our young fruit trees, sweet potato slips, and other seeds that have recently germinated in the garden, but our more mature veggies will have to hang in there. Our soil seems to do a good job holding moisture, but I don’t want to push it. Hopefully we’ll get a rain in the next day or so.

We have noticed a lot more deer activity around the edges of the property, and one morning getting water from the creek I interrupted a group of three bucks, one pretty big one. We’ve also been seeing some turkey chicks around, trying to keep up with their mother.

The longest day of the year happened this week, and I think all that extra sun is part of why things have been growing so fast (compared to FL). Our migrating spring birds have moved on to somewhere farther north, and we are settled into the summer set of birds. I think my favorite is the wood thrush, whose enchanting flute-like call is usually the last one you hear before quieting down at nightfall.

Down On The Farm

Nothing amuses our suburban friends more than our use of an Austrian scythe to mow certain areas, but the benefits are wonderful. Using a scythe is quiet work, provides good exercise, and forms a connection to how work was done long ago. Not to mention that a clean stroke with a well-honed scythe through clover is about as satisfying as hitting a pure golf shot (the few times I’ve done so). We use a scythe to mow the Dutch white clover that we established in the orchard, using the clippings to mulch the fruit trees and bushes.

Veggies are starting to come in strong, and we’ve officially begun the harvesting/preserving season that will dominate farm life for the next few months. Erica made pickles this week with the initial harvest of cucumbers (29 lbs), which made 17 quarts after saving some for fresh eating.

She also is preserving the abundance of kale by making ice cubes of blended kale to use in smoothies throughout the year.

And we harvested a portion of our early sweet onions that will now cure on the porch before being braided and hung.

Best Thing We Ate

Quinn’s pancakes!

From Family Worship

After 6 months we are finished going through the Westminster Confession of Faith as a family. By studying the Confession, we learned a lot about what the Bible teaches and how all the pieces fit together. And the study also had the effect of deepening our conviction that the Confession rightly summarizes the Scriptures. It is our confession of the faith we hold. We’re grateful to God that we can so richly benefit from the many centuries of those who have gone before us.

Other Happenings

Not too much else. Did I mentioned we’ve been busy in the garden!?

June 18, 2022

Weather/Nature

Record heat across much of the country, and we were not exempt. It is oppressively hot – and dry. We need a good rain soon. We’ve been trying to get out in the garden early to beat the heat. Seems that all around us is still under the blanket of heat.

Down On The Farm

We harvested some summer squash that is more like zucchini. It is called Costata Romanesca, an Italian heirloom variety that has absolutely taken off in the garden. These four fruits totaled 11 pounds and were ripe a full 15 days ahead of the 62 days that the variety calls for.

The corn is up to about 5-6′ tall and the pole beans are starting to climb their way up the stalks. Tomatoes have all set fruit, but I’m hoping the high heat doesn’t hinder the remaining flowers from setting fruit. I had to spray the okra for beetles, and they should be ok. Also had to treat a Japanese beetle problem in the apple trees that came out of nowhere.

Best Thing We Ate

We are finally at the point here where our home grown food is contributing to our table. Anything from the farm has an immediate chance of winning. This week we enjoyed zucchini fritters, broccoli salad, and minestrone soup with garden veggies.

From Family Worship

We covered several chapters in our study of the Westminster Confession of Faith this week, working through the Church, the Communion of the Saints, and the Sacraments. Good discussion, and we all learned something. The timing worked one evening for my parents to join us for family worship, which was a special treat.

Other Happenings

We tried to soak up the last week with my parents in town, going on a double date, and the kids having a sleepover at their place. We also were blessed this week by a visit from Steve and Ann, part of our extended family in Alabama, as they were passing through the area.

June 11, 2022

Weather/Nature

Things had been hot and dry before getting over an inch and a half of rain Tuesday night. This seemed to put the garden into overdrive. The summer weather and long days put us in the mind to go to the lake, which we did a couple days ago. There’s something fitting about doing things in their season.

New wildflowers, frogs, and other discoveries continue to catch our eye.

Down On The Farm

The sweet potato slips finally came in the mail. Supposedly they were late due to a cold and wet spring. We may try and raise our own next year. We got them in the ground this week, along with the pumpkins and winter squash seeds. The whole of the garden is now planted. Once the spring vegetables are fully harvested (cabbage, broccoli, kale), we’ll use that area to plant a few things that will last into the early winter, like Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, beets, etc.

Best Thing We Ate

The homemade pizza night continues to be a big hit, and some weeks it just can’t be beat.

From Family Worship

We covered several chapters in our study of the Westminster Confession of Faith this week, working through the Church, the Communion of the Saints, and the Sacraments. Good discussion, and we all learned something. The timing worked one evening for my parents to join us for family worship, which was a special treat.

Other Happenings

As mentioned, our beloved GiGi came for a long weekend visit, which meant so much. She is graceful and kind, and a wonderful grandma and great-grandma.

Lots of activity this week with a day at the lake, more grandparent fun, County fair, and a church potluck.

June 4, 2022

Weather/Nature

Dry and warm during the day, mornings are comfortable. The porch in the morning with a cup of coffee is the place to be. The fireflies have been our evening delight lately, filling the fields and forests with their blinking green lights.

Down On The Farm

The garden is growing and growing. It’s all we can do to keep up with its needs, but we are hanging in there and finding the tending of the garden to be enjoyable work. I think Erica and I would agree it is our favorite part of our little farm.

Best Thing We Ate

The kids decided to make chocolate cupcakes with mint icing.

From Family Worship

This week we considered the important, but somewhat neglected topic of what the Bible has to say about oaths and vows: the difference between the two, when they are appropriate, and most of all, their significance. Fittingly, the next chapter in the Confession was on marriage. We discussed what the Scriptures say about the purpose and design of marriage, legitimate reasons for divorce, and how the institution of marriage has been undermined by various laws, including no-fault divorce.

Some may think these topics are boring or too obscure for children, but nothing could be further from the truth. Kids see and hear things about what’s going on in the adult world around them, and we’ve found that direct discussion of hard topics is like throwing a life raft for them to grab on to as they try to make sense of things.

Other Happenings

My parents are here for an extended visit, and we’ve all been enjoying the time together. This weekend, my grandma flew in to join in on the fun, and it means the world that she would make such an effort to come visit us. Pictures of Grandma’s visit next week, but here’s some photos from this week with my folks…