witching for water

OK, so a pipe bursts in the barn. My fault, frost. We start digging up the cement floor of the barn to get to plastic pipe and the coupling. It ends up being just too big a job. We have to cut through 10 inches of concrete and we just don’t have the tools to do it. Plan B; Let’s put a hydrant outside the barn. It will be more accessible, it won’t freeze and spill water everywhere.

So Norm and I start digging and digging until the front of the barn looks like a sight from the first world war. Trenches everywhere; down to four feet. No sign of a water line. We quit for the day, not sure what Plan C will be. That evening I am up at our local welders and I ask him where you can get one of those things the city gas and water guys use to locate pipes. The welder doesn’t know, but says why don’t you get Charlie to witch it for you. Of course this suggestion is accompanied by the welders subtle smirk, not to mention a healthy dose of skepticism on my part.

What do I have to lose. Charlie runs the business next door and enthusiastically agrees to come down to the farm with his two stainless right angle rods. One end of each rod goes through the centre of a small caliber copper pipe onto which Charlie holds. So here we have the coldest day of the year and Charlie is wandering around our farm yard, me in tow with the paint can, marking everywhere that Charlie says there is a water line. Charlie conducts this whole procedure with his eyes closed so as not to influence the outcome.

When Charlie is done we have a pattern of red lines that looks a bit like a major expressway map. On top of that, the map looks like a route no sane water line trencher would ever use. Charlie has marked the line where it goes into the barn in a spot that is really quite unbelievable. On top of that it is a place where Norm and I have already dug down to 4 feet. Just to be sure we continue down to 6 feet; still no pipe. See witching doesn’t work!, really, I had never expected it to!

Plan D ; bring in the backhoe. Bev shows up with the hoe and what the heck, I say ” Bev will you take Charlies hole down to 7 feet”. Bev, the ultimate backhoe master, gently nudges the dirt out of the way down to the 7 foot mark and no guff!, there is the water line exactly and I mean exactly where Charlie said it would be.

We now have a wonderfully placed hydrant outside the barn. Anna and Christine are happier with the new situation. It makes it easier to get the water for the sheep and for the chickens. On top of that we now have a family of converts to witching for water!

The First Egg!

Story of the First Egg

We got our first egg!
This is the whole story.
Well, I picked up our daughter from Volleyball practice, so it was about
5pm when we got home. A terrible storm was brewing, so she went
to let her lambkins into the barn, and I checked on the chickens who were
all snuggled down in the hen house. I counted them out of habit
and I only counted 11! I ran and got my daughter from the barn and she counted them
and there was still only 11!
So, I ran to ask Farmer John if a terrible tragedy had happened on the
farm that day, but he hadn’t seen anything, so we all ran out to
search for the wayward chicken before it was dark, as we got
near the barn my youngest daughter came out of the barn with a very exhausted
chicken that she had found in the corner of the barn, sitting on
its small precious first egg.

Gosh, once the sun sets chickens get very docile. Anyway, we put the darling into the hen house
with the rest of her buddies, some food and water, and hope they
all have a good night!

I think we are going to be finding eggs everywhere on this free range paradise. What we are going to do
to circumvent that happening, is we are going to put plastic
Easter eggs in the laying boxes, so the chickens will see those
fake eggs and think – hey, good idea, it’s cozy and warm in
here, maybe I’ll leave my little darling here as well. Chickens
are joiners, don’t you know!

Wow, I love farm life!

Now I’ll probably stay awake and worry tonight! Are they warm
and cozy enough? Is their feed right? There is always something
to worry about!

Turtles

Just a few days ago I was driving into the farm and one of my daughters was standing beside the road, obviously watching something. What was it? I stopped the car to check it out, and it was dozens of baby snapping turtles crawling out of the ground.

We had seen several snapping turtles from the ponds laying eggs this summer in the fields and beside the road, but this was the first time we had ever seen them hatched. Very cool.

Here’s a turtle laying eggs.

More about the chicks

OK, the chicks are almost 5 weeks old now, so officially they are now pullets. Let’s just call them the blonds and brunettes. They are all friendly, curious, and crazy. Honestly – they are so funny! They don’t like change, and these are the crazy things that have happened lately.

First of all, I needed to change the feeder from the little baby chick feeder to the big girl feeder. How hard can that be? So, after cleaning out their lovely chick house as I do every day, I gently placed the new feeder down on the floor, expecting only joyful peeping, but what really happened? Dead silence and accusatory stares. If they had hands to place on their hips they certainly would’ve. They just stood there, stunned and well, freaked out. I had to sit in there for 15 minutes to get them to relax and eat. Sensitive little darlings.

Two days later I decided we needed another change; wood chips instead of newspaper on the floor. Joke was on me. As I (gently) sprinkled the wood chips on the floor, the chickens FREAKED OUT! Oh, I might as well have been pouring snakes onto the floor. They screamed (in their chicken sort of way) and ran and hid behind their new feeder. Yep, once again I had to hang out (this time for for 20 minutes) to make sure they calmed down and survived the night.

Maybe you are wondering how I became such a knowledgeable chicken rancher. It’s all book knowledge from a book called ‘Keep Chickens! Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces’ by Barbara Kilarski. It’s a great entertaining and informative read, I highly recommend it if you are at all interested in raising chickens.

The Tent in the Woods & What I Made with the Morels and Wild Leeks

After John went on his wild leek excursion, I wanted to go hunting for leeks as well, so my youngest daughter and I got very clear instructions from John on where exactly the leeks were. We headed up into the woods, headed for the train tracks, and then headed to the left, and what was there? Not the big giant patch of wild leeks we expected, but a camouflage tent – right there in the middle of our woods, creepy and mysterious. Yup, we high-tailed it out of there, looking over our shoulders for Freddy Kruger, and forgetting about the leeks.
LOL, joke was on us. When we got back to the house, John told me it was a friend of ours that had pitched the tent. Even so, it was still creepy. John had to go back into the woods with us to find the leeks after that, and we did find a nice smallish patch. We dug up just a few of those intense little bulbs, and I used them with some morels in a delicious sauce for our dinner.

Wild Mushroom and Leek Sauce for chicken or pasta or gnochhi

2 tablespoons (30 mL) butter
1 handful of washed, chopped leeks
2 cloves garlic, minced
Big handful of washed and chopped wild mushrooms
Splash of sherry or white wine (optional)
1 sprig savoury
1 sprig thyme
1 cup (250 mL) 35% cream
Salt, pepper, cayenne, to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped fresh Italian parsley for garnish

Melt the butter in a good sized pan set over medium high heat. Add the leeks to the pan, cook for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pan, cook and stir for another 5 minutes, sprinkle with a bit of salt, and continue to cook until mushrooms start releasing their delicious mushroom juices. Add the splash of wine or sherry to the pan, if desired. Toss in the sprigs of fresh herbs; cook and stir until mushroom aroma is completely delicious, and the liquids are pretty much reduced by half. Add the cream to the pan, cook and stir until it has reduced somewhat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and a pinch of cayenne, if desired.
Serve over a cooked chicken breast or thigh, or toss with some pasta or gnocchi. Some freshly grated parmesan is very nice on top of everything, and maybe a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley, just to boost the colour.

What to do with Stinging Nettles

Probably the wierdest item that we sell at our farmstand is the stinging nettles. I’ve never been sure what to do with them, so today we tried a couple of things. What you do need to know is that stinging nettles really do sting, so wear gloves if you are picking your own, or handle them carefully if they have been picked for you. Cooking tames the sting and makes them wierdly palatable.

The stinging nettle is said to rejuvenate the body, and is a cure all for colds, sore throats, and scurvy. It has more protein than any other vegetable, and is rich in calcium, magnesium ,iron, and a whole list of other ‘good for you’ elements. Hurry up and make a pot of stinging nettle tea and start feeling better!

Today I made some tea and a soup. If I am simply consuming stinging nettles for their health benefits, then tea is the way to go – simple! Put a large handful of washed stinging nettle leaves into a tea pot, cover with boiling water, and let steep for 5 minutes. That’s it. Pour and serve with a bit of honey if desired.

Looking for a healthy soup? Try this, you are bound to feel healthier just looking at the deep green liquid. It kind of scared me at first – it’s really green, but it tastes pretty good! Our farm employees all came back for seconds, I think that’s a good sign. Our kids didn’t touch it, so you are fore-warned!

Dolway Organic Garden’s version of Stinging Nettle Soup
2 tablespoons (30 mL) butter
1 onion (or 2 shallots or 6 wild leeks), minced
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped- If you like a thicker soup, use more potatoes
6 cups (1.5 L) vegetable or chicken stock
8 cups (2 L) lightly packed stinging nettles, washed
1 big handful spinach, washed
Salt, pepper, nutmeg, to taste
Light sourcream or yogourt
sprinkle of chives

Melt the butter in a large saucepan set over medium high heat. Stir in the onions, cook and stir for 5 minutes. Stir in the potatoes, cook and stir for another few minutes. Pour in the broth, bring to the boil,cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Stir in the nettles and spinach. Bring back to the boil, simmer for another 10 minutes, until nettles are really soft. Puree with a hand held immersion blender ( I got one for Christmas, lucky me) or puree with a food processor in batches. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot with a generous dollop of sourcream and a good sprinkle of chives.
Serves six.

Hunting for Leeks and Morels

Well, I was cutting the lawn yesterday and guess what; It is morel season again. It was just a couple of days ago when I was talking with Christine about morels and how as a kid I would cut the lawn and whop all the morels off with the lawnmower. Since I have grown up I have developed a new appreciation for the morel, so this time I stopped each time I saw one, set it beside a tree and carried on until I saw the next one. By the time Christine showed up I had quite the bounty. Even Anna was really excited about the morels.

We went out as a family and combed all the familiar areas for more; under the spruce trees and in the old apple orchard. We got a big bag full.

No sooner did we get back to the farm house when a neighbour showed up, loads me in his truck and takes me up into the woods to look for wild leeks. They are considerably easier to find than Morels. After only a 5 minute search we came across a great big, mature patch. We filled the bucket and my neighbour had enough to make wild leek soup for his 10 or so guests. Pretty impressive eh?

Well that is it for the wild produce search for now. We will be back at it for puff ball season in the fall.

As for today it is time to count my losses on the beans. It got down to -1 C last night which means that the beans will be all but toast. There were two crops. One was up to 3 inches and the other about 2 Inches. Time to plant again!

Spinach!

Have I ever mentioned how much spinach we eat this time of year? With it being the first green out of the gate each spring, we tend to kind of over-load until the rest of the veggies come along. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining at all; nothing is so delicious as a fresh spinach salad alongside any meal. In fact, I’ll toss spinach into just about any dish with pretty good results.

I recently taught a cooking class with some of my favourite recipes, and this Spinach and Feta Pie was a huge hit. Yes, it is basically a giant spanikopita, but a lot less fuss. Enjoy!

SPINACH AND FETA CHEESE PIE

8 cups fresh spinach, trimmed of heavy stems

2 Tablespoon (30 ml) olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried oregano

2 cups (500 ml) ricotta cheese

2 cups (500 ml) feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup (60 ml) Parmesan cheese, grated

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon (15 ml) fresh dill, minced

Pinch nutmeg

Salt and pepper, to taste

8 sheets phyllo dough

1/4 cup (60 ml) butter, melted

• Wash and drain the spinach, but do not spin it dry. Place it in a microwavable container, and microwave it until it is wilted. Squeeze the moisture out of the spinach, and chop it. You should have about 3/4 cup (185 ml). Set aside.
• Meanwhile, pour the oil into a pan and sauté the onion and garlic over medium high heat. When the onion is translucent, after about 5 minutes, stir in the spinach and oregano. Set aside to cool.
• In a medium size bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese with the feta cheese, Parmesan, and two eggs. Stir in the cooled spinach and onion mixture, then stir in the chopped dill and nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Spread out one sheet of phyllo dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with melted butter, then top with another sheet of phyllo, giving it one-quarter turn; brush this sheet with butter as well. Repeat layers, always turning the sheets slightly from the one underneath. The final sheet should pretty well line up with the first sheet. Pile your cheese and spinach mixture in the center of the phyllo, then flatten it out slightly, leaving a three to four inch edge on the dough. Fold this phyllo edge over the edge of the filling, leaving the tart slightly open in the middle.
• Place in oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Let sit for five to ten minutes before slicing into wedges. Delicious with a Greek salad on the side.

Serves six to eight.