Cranberry Pleaser

As you can see from this photo, we like to make our wine the traditional way - smashing the fruit with a baseball bat!  Actually, we only did this once, but it worked quite well and I prefer it to letting anyone's (especially his) feet touch the fruit. 

This was the first batch of cranberry wine, which in both cases has been inspired by the discounted cranberries that always go on sale after Thanksgiving.   Since it was so hard to smash the fruit for a 5 gallon batch, I've started freezing fruit before I use it in the wine.  This makes it mushy and much easier to smash up a bit so the yeast can get good access to the fruit.  I think this time I put the unfrozen cranberries in the food processer and chopped them up a bit. 

The final product is a lovely color and very bright.  It was also very potent, with a 14 percent alcohol content.  It was still a powerful drink when diluted with sprite and ice, which made it a good summer beverage instead of the holiday drink I imagined it would be. 

Countertop Livestock

It was time to rack the cranberry/grape/raisin wine, and to take the the pear/prune/clove wine out of the crock and off the fruit. This is the second cranberry based wine I've made, and I think this one is going to be better than the first, which was drinkable, and maybe even enjoyable if you mixed it with some sprite and told yourself it was sangria.  I'm hoping the grapes and raisins will add something to the final taste other than just the tartness of the cranberries. Its a little early to say for sure, but the pear wine tastes weird. Maybe cloves weren't a very good idea.

I think I prefer making wine and other fermentations in the winter, on cold dark evening like tonight. I get a feeling of accomplishment similar to that of growing food in the summer. The gist of the chores is the same - making sure they are alive and have food, making sure that they have a comfortable temperature, checking their progress and tending to the ferment. Maybe its more like having livestock in the house. Quiet, gassy, and invisible livestock.

Baby Chicken Visit

On my way home from working out of town today, I dropped off some expensive organic chicken feed for our forty eight baby chickens. My partner in this chicken adventure recently set them up at his family farm. They have a cozy converted milk room for their first home out of the brooder. Even though they were huddled near the lights because it was so unusually cold, they seemed to be content and growing. The little bard rock chicks made me want to go home and watch baby videos of Helen and Mrs. Hall. They also made me want a spicy chicken sandwich for lunch!

Barn Quilt

Helen and Mrs. Hall, when not roaming the yard, live in their very own chicken tractor. Complete (roost, egg box, etc.), with a painted barn quilt inspired by The Egg.

Helen and Mrs. Hall

Helen and Mrs. Hall have been giving us eggs for over 4 years. They stay in the fenced in yard and provide not just tasty eggs, but also entertainment, companionship, yard ornamentation, and fertilizer. Or, said another way, they are always in the way, dig up the mulch, eat my garden, create a stir with the neighbors, and poop on everything. Good eggs though.

Mrs. Hall is the darker colored one and the most friendly. She thinks I'm the rooster so she flirts and crouches for "petting". Helen plays hard to get. I try to do my part to keep'm happy.

Inside the Blue

This is a fuzzy photo of the inside of the bus from the back door. There's a futon, and a sink that used to be in my parents house. No running water and a bucket under the sink drain. I finally have some place to put all the afghans I rescue from (buy at) goodwill.

We Have Fire at the Bus!

Its not as smoky now that I filled in all the holes in the old stove. I rescued the stove from an old barn that was being demolished.

The Bus In The Wood

The bus now has a custom built front door (which doesn't close very well and has no knob), an outside bench, picnic table, and firepit. The views of the river from the many windows are best in the winter after the leaves have fallen.

Stupid Sock Monsters

Can I post images from my phone? Yes, I can!  I made these stupid sock creatures for my friends two baby girls.  I'm sure they will be replulsed when they are older.

"Remember moms weird friend?"

"Do you mean the one who used to give us mutant dolls made from old socks? Gross!"

 They remember me!!

I'm Back!

After nearly five years, I've decided to give this another try. Here goes!