3/8/10

Hey everybody!

Finally March has come and with it the first signs of spring! We’ve had several beautiful, warmish, sunny days lately and I, for one, have been just soaking it up! And so have the Maple trees; we’ve started making maple syrup! First, we drill a hole in the tree, hammer in a spile and hang on a gallon jug, as you can see Tim is doing. Then we gather the sap in five gallon buckets and carry them across the field to the house as my mom and I are doing in the next picture.

The sap is poured into a big pan and boiled over an outdoor wood fire all day to leave a sweet substance called Maple syrup!                                                                                            

It’s then filtered and canned to be enjoyed throughout the year. Notice the clear golden color of this syrup. We immensely enjoyed these pancakes covered with fresh maple syrup Saturday morning!

We’ve started a lot of seeds these past two weeks as well. The seeds are started on a thermostatically-controlled heat mat and usually they pop up within two or three days to graduate to the next step. We have two large, floor-to-ceiling racks with several shelves for holding plants below florescent light bulbs. The racks are big and make our dining room rather cramped, but it’s nice to see so much life right in the middle of March. In a few weeks, these plants will be transplanted to our high tunnel greenhouses. We have a variety of greens, broccoli, and tomatoes seeded so far.

Our pullets (young hens) have just started to lay eggs. Pullet eggs start out very small, but they gradually get bigger as the chickens age. It won’t be too long before these eggs are full-sized. 

Our intern, Dennis, ended his internship and returned home this past week. He was our first intern and he really became a part of our family. We had a little going away party for him before he left. Below are our good friends, the Fritsch family, surrounding Dennis (in the chair) at his party.

Dennis got to experience all aspects of our farm work and had a lot of fun recreational experiences as well. He was a good worker and we really enjoyed having him here! Below are photos of Dennis pruning a tree this winter and he and Tim having fun in the mud last summer. (Ugh! :)

We’re looking for another intern for this summer, so if you know anyone who might be interested in the position, please tell them to contact us!

 ‘Til next time,                                                                                                                                         Anna                                                                                                                                                                         PS: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13

Wow! Jesus makes a huge difference in people’s lives! He can take the most obtuse person (in the world’s eyes) and make them bold and useful for Him! The more time people spend with Jesus, the more they become like Him. This verse reminds me that I need to make sure I spend quality time each day with Him. I want to be so like Him that people will immediately realize that I’ve been with Jesus!

2/18/10

Howdy everyone!

I hope you’re all enjoying this February-ish weather! We’ve gotten plenty of snow and some of us are actually enjoying it!

Pete has been continuing to work on his house and it looks great! He has done wonders with his bathroom and now he has just finished improvements in the living room that change the whole look of the room. Below, left, is our intern, Dennis, putting up trim around a window, and, right, is the finished product after he is done.

Two weekends ago we all went to PASA’s (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture) annual Farming for the Future conference in State College. It’s a huge event with lots of speakers and workshops as well as a trade show and other events. It’s buzzing with excited people interested in sustainable farming, from every background imaginable and there is a wide variety of farming interests represented there. The workshops cover topics from pastured poultry to pastured hogs, to fruit-growing to high tunnels, to beekeeping, to cut flowers to landscaping with fruits, and lots more. The big problem is that many of these interesting sessions are scheduled at the same time, so choosing which ones to attend is often an agonizing decision!  But, anyway, we all learned a lot there and had fun! Hopefully we can incorporate some new methods that we learned there into our farming this year.

Well, since it's the month of February, not a whole lot is going on around here, so I don't have any more news. What a dreary month... But everybody knows that February is a short month and then March is spring, right? Well - maybe not... But hopefully!

So long 'til next time!

Anna

PS: I thought a great verse for the week of Valentines Day is I Corinthians 13:4. It's a verse we should all live out to everyone around us. Imagine if all Christians had this kind of love for everyone! We could turn the world upside down!

Love is patient, love is kind; it does not envy; it does not boast; it is not proud; it is not rude; it is not self-seeking; it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.                    I Corinthians 13:4

1/31/10

Hey there everybody!

Pete went for a visit to our sister and brother-in-law in New Mexico this week and he had a great time with them! Left, is my niece Christy, and right, my sister Bekah and my niece Abby.

He also got to visit James Ranch in Colorado while he was out west. It's a beautiful farm right in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, as you can see from these pictures. This farm raises cattle for beef and dairy, as well as chickens, and produce.

This a shot Pete got of the Rockies as he flew over them. God's creation is so beautiful!

My dad's birthday was this week. Happy Birthday Papa! His homemade cake is a basket filled and overflowing with apples, as you can see. All of our apples froze last year so we didn't get a crop, so we're hoping that we'll get some this year.

We watched a video Friday that my dad got for his birthday, called "Food Inc." It was really good and I would highly recommend it to anyone! It shows all about how our food is produced these days and about the large companies that are in control of the country's food supply, and how important small sustainable farming is. Parts of it are almost enough to curl your hair, but it's reality and it's a reality that we need to be aware of.

I realized something last week. Did you know that farming is possibly the most important and sacred occupation there is? Farming was the first occupation that God gave man to do. He put Adam and Eve in charge of tending the garden. Farming is the occupation in which we work closest to the land and God's natural creation. Farming is the base of every society and each country must have a strong agricultural base for its food supply. Without food people can't live, so everyone is really dependent upon the farmers. And if you can control the food supply, guess what? You can control the people. When a few large companies begin to control the country's food supply, then we are all completely subject to those companies. (Which has happened.) We absolutely need small famers all across the country to produce food in a sustainable and healthy manner. If you have an unstable food base then you have an unstable society. Farming is not only perhaps the most important vocation, it is also one of the most rewarding. Working close to God's creation has great rewards and the sweat is indeed worth it! 

Well, so long 'til next time.

Anna

PS: I was impressed this week by the story of Joseph and his incredible faithfulness, even in a foreign land.

"Thus he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate."  Genesis 39:6

"The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper."  Genesis 39:23

"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much." Luke 16:10

Imagine my parents being able to rest in full assurance that everything under my resposiblity was always fully taken care of and not having to look into anything that is under my care! I wish that were the case! Joseph is one of my big heroes, and I will really try to follow his example and be faithful in little and in much.

-SDG

1/17/10

Greetings folks!

We had a new arrival this week! Our first Devon/Scottish Highland calf was born on Friday. We used to have a Scottish Highland bull along with the Scottish Highland cows (those are the really shaggy ones with long horns), but they grow too slow, so we got a new bull to add some Devon blood to the herd. This little guy is Barnabus' (the bull's) first baby!

We started pruning this week since the temperatures have gotten bearable. It's really nice to be out there in the fresh air working on the trees! (IF, and only if, you have warm toes, that is. :) This is my dad pruning on a ladder.

Yesterday we had an adventure with an escapee cow! Our dog Reuben stays in the mudroom overnight in the winter, and Friday night, at about 2:30 in the morning, he started barking his head off. My dad got up and looked out the window and saw a cow standing in the middle of the driveway! Oh joy! He ran out there by himself in his pajamas without even a coat and herded it back into the fence.  Saturday morning my mom looked out the window and there was that same cow again, standing in the driveway, licking the van! Pete checked out the fence, and it turned out that the electric had actually been somewhat down. He fixed it and we assumed that everything would be just fine from then on. Well, we went to our orchard about 13 miles from here to go pruning, and after a couple of hours, Pete got a call on his cell phone from a neighbor that our cow was standing in the middle of the road! We put away our tools and rushed home. The neighbors had chased it off the road and into our shed and so we all herded it back into the fence. Pete again checked the fence and fixed the problem. The cow has gone for a day now without getting out, so that's improvement!  

Pete and our intern Dennis went for a visit to Polyface Inc. this week. That's Joel Salatin's farm where Pete worked as an apprentice for a year about five years ago. They really enjoyed their trip and got reinspired. Sometimes that's necessary in farming, or in any business, really.  Sometimes, even when you absolutely love what what you're doing and it's your life dream, you still need to be reinspired and encouraged to keep on keeping on when you're in the middle of the daily grind with long hours, escapee cows, chores rain or shine, etc.     This is Pete, my jolly big brother - complete with a twinkle in his eye! 

Several of us have had colds this week. I'll blame mine on my mom. :) Let me explain that. For over a year, I've been eating a clove of garlic every night, just as an immune system builder. Then just recently this winter, my mom told me that I can't have any more garlic. I'm eating up our winter supply. Can you imagine that? Most sixteen-year-olds are told they can't have any more candy, chips, etc., but my mom tells me I can't have any more garlic. The irony! Ah, oh well. I suppose I'll live. :)

Til' next time,

Anna

PS. I thought this scripture was really interesting! Imagine having this kind of hospitality to anyone, let alone complete strangers! This is the way true hospitality really should be! You never know when you'll be entertaining angels unaware like Abraham did! This is the kind of hospitality I want to develop!

                 Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant." They said, "Do as you have said." So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes." And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.   

                                                                                                     Genesis 18: 1-8

-SDG

1/4/10

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year! We sure did!  We had a great time celebrating the birth of the savior and of the new year!

We've cut our own Christmas trees for the past few years. We get blasted by wind in the Winter here, so several years ago we planted a little grove of spruce trees behind our farm, hoping that someday they would serve as a windbreak for the house. Some of us didn't like this arrangement, though. Pete didn't like it because he wouldn't be able to see groundhogs in the field (Groundhogs steal from the garden and dig tractor hazard-sized holes in the pasture). Others of us didn't like it because we wouldn't be able to see the sunset every evening. The fact that a grove of full-sized spruce trees would someday drain the spring that feeds our house was the deciding factor, however. So, much to my dad's chagrin, we've begun to use them as Christmas trees. He groans good-naturedly and sighs "poor tree" every time we cut one down :). We haven't pruned them, so these trees have a decided wild look to them. Much better than the trees we've bought in the past that are perfectly symmetrical and identical to every other one on the tree farm! These have character!

Dan came home from Mexico for Christmas and it was great being with him! My dad had the whole week after Christmas off from work, too, which was wonderful! I love it when he gets to be home with us all the time and we're all together! Our major job for the week was putting up wood paneling in the hallway upstairs in our house. The old plaster was starting to look pretty bad, so it was due for a replacement. It looks great now! I love the log cabin look!

Young chicks snuggling under a heat lamp                            Reuben, cutest member of the family!

After the New Year we usually start planning for the next farming season, and my mom has begun looking through seed catalogs a little already.  Pretty soon, we'll start itching to get our hands in the soil again!  As for animals, we have just cows, laying hens, pullets (young chickens, not old enough to lay eggs yet), young chicks, a couple of cats, and a dog right now.

I hope you all have a great New Year!

'Til next time,

Anna

-SDG

These are the words of a song from a CD I got for Christmas. It really impressed me.

More Love

O Lord, Your love is so vast and so wide,

Freely given to all who believe.

It soars above the highest sky, and it floods the deepest sea.

It moved your heart to send your only Son

To die on Calvalry's tree.

And now Your love has been poured in my soul

That its waters may flow through me.

O Lord, I come to You with great shame

For I fear my work is in vain.

I am moved by the sound of man's empty praise

When I serve others in Your name.

If I give my wealth as a gift to the poor

Or my body to the flames of the fire,

Still all will be lost when I stand in Your sight,

If my motives are not love inspired.

O Lord, how I long to be filled with Your love.

I lift up my dry thirsty soul.

Overcome this love that I have for myself

As I yield to the Spirit's control.

May the love of C?hrist increase in my heart

And my knowledge of Him ever grow.

So the service I give to my King above

Will reflect the love that He's shown.

- By Rima Hourani and Steve Pettit