Okay, so here I am again. All in the same MONTH! I am blogging more!

We have had GREAT weather for working outside! So, last week we put up the new plastic on the greenhouse, as the contractor plastic that was a quick fix last year has shredded all over the field! We needed a few extra hands, which we received, and voila! Travis has been working on enclosing the ends with boards and the see-through roofing stuff (I'm sure it has a more technical name...whatever).

So, looking at the farmer's almanac planting guide, planting is not favorable right now until the first few days of March. So, I will use that and relax the demons in my head that are screaming at me for not getting the peas sown this week! Get thee behind me! I am wondering what people have to say about moon planting. So, feed me.

I am also working on a CSA advertising campaign and calling interested people about CSA's. I am not to keen on the calling, but realiza the importance of it. So, I will sign off now and make those calls...email me if you want more info on a CSA in Kitsap!

Blessings

Reflections and Directions

Well, it is a New Year...you can count on that. Reflections of last year are a little fuzzy as we put that year behind us and move onto the hopes of this year. Last year was a great year, don't get me wrong. Talk about a learning experience! But, this year it needs to be a little different as we are a military family and things will change next year as sea duty looms on the horizon. This year we need to seize the moment and here is a list of things we are hoping for:
- Time as a family
- Weekend getaways in the mountains
- A long-due trip to Idaho and Montana to visit family and show our kids new things
- Getting our household finances in order
- Travis trying out that new muzzle loader and getting to do all of the hunting he desires to do (I guess that leaves me looking forward to becoming a hunting widow???)

So, we are setting out to achieve these "hopes" in this new year. Here are some things that will be different at Red Barn Farm in order to achieve these things:
- We will focus on the health and happiness of our family!!!
- We will not be vending at Farmer's Markets, with the exception of "maybe this fall".
- We might have some produce available for our family and friends to purchase, but our first goal is to sustain our family with what we grow.
- We will leave a little more time to promote/teach/learn about ag in our county.
- we will devote some of our crops for the local foodbank.

I want to thank our customers for last year and allowing us to serve you! You can still catch us at some of the Farmer's Markets hanging around the Pheasant Fields Farm cart.

oh...one more thing!
I WILL TRY TO BLOG MORE, I WILL TRY TO BLOG MORE, I WILL TRY TO BLOG MORE

"Our" Christmas Story

We had a Christmas that was right from that movie the Christmas Story! It is always so hard to be away from our families. You would think after 12 years, I would get over it! In the past we have tried many different things to ease the lonliness. We have been invited to people's houses, that helps. I have cooked dinner here, that helps. This year we thought we would go to the Navy Galley for Prime Rib! Holiday and Sunday dinners from 4:30-6 is what was posted. Travis made a phone call, but no one answered. Oh, well....we got there a hair before 5. "oh, we close in 5 minutes....get in here and get all the food you want and then you eat....get your drinks and desserts right now too before they put it away!," The little Phillipino dear urged. So, uneasily, we paid, though we didn't want to be rushed on such an occasion. Upon arriving in line, we saw the carnage. The last of the beef and turkey dripping in fatty juices. Paige drew a blank stare and then I knew we weren't doing "this". We quickly bailed out of there while a fight between the cook staff and cashier ensued. Got our money back and made the trek back to the truck. Now what? Tears started to form, and I tried to push them aside as I thought about how lucky we were to be together this time of year. Still I couldn't wipe away the thoguhts of our extended families together and missing out on all of the holiday hype. We drove through an eerily quiet Silverdale and found ourselves at Shari's! The kids were happy, Travis had a burger....far from the Prime Rib he had his mind set on. It wasn't ideal, but it was "our" Christmas, we will always remember it!

A Local Holiday Season

Well, where did the time go between Thanksgiving and now? I wanted to sit down and write about our wonderful Thanksgiving, but in all of the rush...that dream faded. We took the challenge of eating one dish local and got pretty close to all dishes local. I will give you a rundown of our local fare....

Turkey...35 pounder (we raised him)

Ham...from our pork that we purchased from JJJ Farms

potatoes...ours

stuffing...made from Luigi's bread cubes (the best ever)

gravy...made

brussel sprouts...a gift from Nikki

Rolls...made

green bean casserole....our canned beans

green salad

Sweet potatoes...I have never attempted to grow these, but I would like to try.

Apple Pie...Chelan apples

Pumpkin pie...our pumpkin

So, 8 out of 11 dishes came from here or a local source. Wow, it was amazing. I think our house guests thought we were a little compulsive and crazy as we shot down their attempts to sneak things onto the menu that were not local. But, a challenge is a challenge....and we DID IT!

Autumn's Promise

Whew...what a season. Some people have a count of how many jars of what they have put up, I just put em up. I can try to recall...

I am sure there were at least 80 jars of pickles that I put up (some used as bartering stock for my Chelan goods).
A couple dozen each of green beans and pickled beans.
Some 8 or so jars of delightful plum jam that is as beautiful as it is tasty (can't wait to top brie with it for those Christmas parties),
3 cases of apple sauce, plus the sauce I helped a friend with.
At least 12 pints of tomatoes and 12 quarts, too
We tried ketchup...a couple of brave friends and I...I love it, the fam doesn't.
Travis froze 50 ears of corn on the cob
We have a a fair share of berries of all types
spicy chow chow
lots of frozen peppers before I found a new favorite....
candied jalapenos! ( thanks to my new friend Dodi for her recipe)
dehydrated apples (Thanks, Hanias)
fruit leather
and the clincher....(drum roll, please).......

174 jars of Salsa!
It was great, we converted the October House at Pheasant Fields to our own rustic cannery, complete with propane burners and a trusty Cuisinart! It was Dodi and Merle, Lisa Marie, and I...oh yeah, Nikki dropped in once in a while to be our taster. It took us 9 long hours for the red and another 6 for the green salsa...but, it was a blast! I am now the proud owner of about 5 cases of salsa! I love it!

I entitled this Autumn's Promise because of all those tiring hours of prepping and sowing and weeding and watering and weeding and weeding....the seeds planted held true to their promise and we have abundance people!

Whew...they're gone

Okay, okay, okay. There were a lot of promises made. But face it, sometimes promises are broken. On our farm, they get broken frequently. I know, I know we promised that we would put some pictures up of the broiler chickens and their growth. You would get a picture of them happily tromping through the fields in their tractors, drinking fresh water on demand and frantically consuming all food in sight. Well, at this point I am going to ask you to trust me that all of the above happened right here on the farm. You want proof? Let me just show you the same chickens that are now in the refrigerator weighing in at (drum roll).......7 pounds! What in the? Okay, so not ALL of the chickens were 7 pounds, but the top shelf of the fridge is stacked with seven pounders! Here are the chicken stats:

smallest bird: 4.9 lbs

largest bird: 7.18

average weight: 5.47 lbs

age: 8 weeks, 3 days

"processing" time: 12 hours

# of crew members: 7

# "processed": 65

MVP: Travis

Why was Travis the MVP? Well, he had to work his paying job that day. So, he missed out on all of the fun. But, he is voted MVP for taking care of the flock daily (except for duty days), this includes feeding, watering, and moving the tractor. He has built the tractor, repaired it every time the goats broke in, ripped the tractor apart and rebuilt two smaller ones. Chewed his fingernails to nubs every time the feed prices have jumped, and listened to me complain about the prices. He prepared the processing area, sanitizing every piece of equipment used until 12 am, woke up at 5 to get the water heating up, drove the F250 to pick up the contestants in the lower field. Went to work, called hourly, came home a little early with frosty beverages for all. Thanked God he had to work. Helped me package the birds, weighed them, hauled them to the fridge, cleaned up the area, loaded the borrowed equipment and then he.....took me to dinner. And no, we didn't eat chicken.

Thanks Farmer T!

GREAT PENINSULA FUTURE FEST

Well, from about today until Wednesday I will be on a dead run! This weekend is the GPFF and I will start prepping tomorrow for it, man the booth both days (as well as the PFF/RBF salad booth), Nana and munchkin fly in on Sunday, the big Chicken Fest '08 happens on Monday and Tuesday, KCAA meeting on Tuesday night, and then I will FALL OVER on Wednesday! I hope that you can join up with me! Blessings to all!