By:
On:
In: Chickens

In the dark days of this past winter in Minnesota, we once again found ourselves paging through the McMurry Hatchery catalog and trying to decide if we should order some chicks again this spring.  We now have 7 laying hens who are keeping us well supplied with eggs (see theirContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: Bees, Gardens, Vegetable

The strange winter continues here in Minnesota… On February 29th, only two and a half weeks ago, this is what it looked like outside our window. The snow started during the night and by morning, we had almost a foot of heavy, wet snow.  School was cancelled and we wereContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: Chickens

It has been a strange winter in Minnesota.  We have had a few coatings of snow here and there, but nothing has stuck around for an extended amount of time.  Even more unusual is the record-setting high temperatures we have had lately.  On the way home from work today, onContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: Bees

We have now enjoyed three seasons of beekeeping.  Each year brings new challenges, successes and failures.  It is a constant learning process, which is part of the fascination of beekeeping.  Just when we think we have it figured out, something unexpected happens.  The whole endeavor is a good reminder that,Continue Reading

By:
On:
In: Gardens

The first hard frost has come and gone already here in Minnesota and I am still looking through my garden photos from summer and trying to get caught up.  I wanted to share an update on my perennials that I started by using the winter sowing method.  After starting outContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: Smokehouse

Time has gotten away from me and I have not posted anything for a while.  I had started this post shortly after my last post on the cold-smoked pork chops and am finally getting around to finishing it up. So, anyhow, along with those garlic sage pork chops that weContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: Smokehouse

Cold temperatures and some much-needed spare time over the holidays provided the perfect opportunity to fire up the smokehouse and do some cold-smoking.  We decided to do some pork chops and turned to our favorite smoking resource for a brine recipe:  Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing byContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: Smokehouse

My husband and I have hung out for a long time:  we dated for 8 years and have been married for 20 years.  Early on in our relationship, he introduced me to his family’s mostly-annual tradition of making German sausage.  I do not remember the year I was first invited toContinue Reading

By:
On:
In: Bees

We are in our second year of beekeeping and what a year it has been.  Similar to gardening, the season started off with us full of hope about the potential bounty of honey we would enjoy come fall.  As any gardener knows however, things rarely go as planned when youContinue Reading