Cider Pressing!

Our neighborhood is full of people who have apple trees. We even have two that are very prolific, and it troubled us to see so many going to waste. So I put a posting up on a school bulletin board looking for a cider press to borrow. Our friends and neighbors, Carol and Kirby, responded that they had a press and wanted to make some cider too, so we agreed to get together on Saturday and smash some apples!


So the day before, Frank and I picked all the apples off of our one tree that was ripe already, and also picked apples at two of our neighbor's too (with their permission, of course!). You want a wide variety of apples for the best flavor, and we did a good job filling the van, that's for sure!


Once we got to the site, we dumped apples into a big copper tub and swirled them around to clean them. Then we grabbed each one, inspected it for bad bruises or worms and cut them out if needed. We made sure to get all the apples out of the water before we put more in, as Carol said we didn't want any 'waterloggers'! When we had a full bucket, Frank would take it over to the grinder and press.


The grinder was aptly named as that was the only job it did (other than maul Carol's dad's arm many years ago, but we didn't really want to hear about that!) and it did it well. Once ground up, the apples fell into kind of a bucket made out of slats of wood. This is where the apples would be pressed and the juice would come out.


You can see from this view that there are two receptacles for the crushed apples. When the back one was full, it was scooted forward into the position for pressing. While there was a motor on the grinder, the pressing was done with human power. As the apples were pressed, the juice ran out and into a bucket lined with a screen and cheesecloth.


Once all the juice was out, the press was opened and then the apple squishings were dumped out into the wheelbarrow to get dumped in the woods. Too bad we didn't have any cows or pigs to give them to!


Now the only part of the process I didn't get on film was the 2nd filtering and then getting the cider into the milk jugs. Carol was able to buy some from a local dairy, which was great as it saved us a ton of time and work finding and cleaning our own containers. We ended up with 38 gallons! After setting aside cider for people who gave us apples, we each were able to bring home 10 gallons to freeze (we left the containers looking less than full so they would have room to expand when they froze). It will be so nice to have this wonderful cider all fall and winter, some for cold drinking and some to put into the crock pot with a cinnamon stick or mulling spices!


Lastly, here's our happy but tired Frank after a long day moving apples around until we had sweet cider. The bins are finally empty, the farm van at least 500 pounds lighter, and not only did we bring home lots of cider, but also the satisfaction of doing a job using our own fruit and our own power (for the most part) just like our families have done for 100's of years. Big thanks to Carol and Kirby and Bonnie for including us in their family tradition.

My favorite nephew named Quinn!

Hi Quinn! I told you I would write about you!

To all my blog-reading friends, let me introduce you to my newphew, Quinn. He lives in Oregon about 5 hours drive away from us, which I think is too far as we can't spend that much time together. This guy is great! He's a good student, a good son, and a good athlete now too! Check out his recent birthday present:



Looks to me like they had to order a larger size just to fit that name!! (Boy was I glad to get rid of that thing when I got married!) Quinn is playing football now and wanted a jersey from his (and his Dad's and Uncle Frank's too) favorite team, the Oregon Beavers. I bet Quinn's not hard to spot at practice any more!

We love it when Quinn comes to visit us. He plays video games with us and always brings good movies to watch. And Aunt Jayne loves to make him piggies and whatever else he wants to eat. It doesn't hurt to get spoiled once in a while!

We love Quinn!!

Our Last Introduction....

Well, up to this point we thought we had introduced you to every living creature on Red Pony Ranch (except no picture of Jake the cat yet), but then we realized that the trough needed to be cleaned and we remembered the goldfish! So Frank and I bucketed out the trough until it was about three inches deep, then we went goldfish hunting.


Here's what we found! Actually, we stared with 6 feeder goldfish just about three years ago now, so I guess a 50% survival rate isn't too bad. It strikes me funny that in three years, though, they haven't made any little baby goldfish, unless of course they ate them. I asked Frank the mathematician what the odds were that all three goldfish were the same sex and he said 25%. He knows about this kind of stuff.


Of course we had the usual supervision of field activities, led by Daisy. Momma donkey was watching more warily from a short distance away. I was glad Daisy was content to play with the water out of the hose rather than go bobbing for goldfish in the bucket.


So once the goldfish were securely out of the trough, Frank scrubbed away. We didn't want to use bleach like we do in the barn and more temporary water receptacles for the goldfish's sake, so we went with just good old elbow grease and lots of rinsing.


Once the trough was about 1/3 full, I lowered their bucket in so they could swim out but they seemed to like it in there. So I figured they might like a little shelter, so Frank put a good rock in there and now they have a little fish-cave to play in. Hopefully Daisy doesn't fish it out!!

Farm Dog

She didn't start about being a farm dog! Sandy started out being lost and starving and parasite infested. Then she had a great day when, after several days wandering the school, Frank took pity on her and took her first to the vet then brought her home. They've been best buds ever since.


Sandy and Frank loved the beach and went out almost every day. On weekends there were mountain hikes. We even bought her a puppy of her own, our sweet Carly who has recently gone on to puppy heaven. Three years ago, however, Sandy the beach dog turned into Sandy the farm dog when we moved here to Arlington.


At first Sandy had a hard time with living on a road that had actual traffic (we were at the end of a dead-end before) but after a couple of weeks she learned that not every car that went by was coming to visit us. That's when she blossomed into the good farm dog that she is now. She lays in the yard with chickens all around and does not think they are for her to eat or chase (well, she might think it but she doesn't act on it!). She loves to play on the hay stack and supervise the daily barn cleaning. One of her favorite things to do it go for a ride in the farm van!


There are so many good stories to tell about Sandy that it's hard to come up with just a couple of favorites. Like the time when she was young and got so dirty all you could see was her eyes and teeth when she smiled. Or like the time we were on a little trip and we said, "let's go" then got distracted and she sat up and started making speeches which we roughly translated to, "I thought you said LET'S GO!"


You might think that Sandy got a pretty good deal when she found Frank that day over 12 years ago, but I think we got the even better end of that one. She is a happy dog, always ready for any adventure, waits contentedly for us when we're gone, and just generally is everything you think of when you think of a good dog. We are blessed to have her in our house and in our hearts.

A Sunday Drive

It was a beautiful fall Sunday, so Frank and I (and Sandy, of course) decided to go on a drive in the mountains behind our home town of Arlington. Some of Frank's students had told him about a hamburger joint in Darrington that had an awesome hamburger that would make you $#!^ for a week, so of course we had to include that stop in our plans. Ultimately, we ended up not buying the GollyWhomper, but our regular hamburger and fish sandwich and fries were very good. After our lunch, we loaded back up in the minivan and hit the Mountain Loop Road.


There were so many lovely things to see as we were driving, but this waterfall made us stop and start our picture taking. We actually heard it before we saw it. There were several others along the way. We had an incredibly heavy snow pack this year and these waterfalls still running so late in the year are evidence of that.


Farther on down the gravel road was a beautiful section of river running over boulders and forming these beautiful eddies. I tried to capture how crystal clear the water was here, and just didn't do it justice.


As we continued on down the road, we rounded a corner and saw this most peaceful mountain pond tucked in amongst the trees. Up until this point, all the water we had seen had been moving quite quickly, so it was a nice surprise to see this sight. The water was as smooth as glass, broken only by random logs and vegetation.


There were quite a few mountain peaks, and this one was the most easily photographed. The others were too close to get much of a picture that truly showed their majesty. Our road was at about 2300 feet elevation and we estimated this peak at between 6000 and 7000 feet. I guess I should look it up!


We had a wonderful day enjoying God's beauty! We are so blessed to have all this just 1/2 an hour from our home and so easy to get to. Some people have to go on vacation to get to scenery like this and we have it right in our back yard. I hope to never take it for granted.

Morning visitors

I was still in my jammies when I was heading out to put the minis in their paddock when I saw these deer under our fruit trees. It was a mom and two of this year's fawns. They were eating the apples and plums off the ground, as well as helping themselves to fruit they could reach. That explains fruit on the tree with teeth marks in it! In the picture above they were looking at the chickens who were hollering to be let out and figured even the deer could open the door for them!


Before I took this picture, the deer went into the mini's paddock and drank out of their little trough. The donkeys were at the other gate looking at them, but for once they didn't hee haw!


Their tummies are full of nice fruit and a drink so they start heading off to check out the pastures and fruit trees of other people in our nice little neighborhood. I know for a fact that Pam and Roger have pears, they should head over there!


So off they go, with momma looking back at me and the babies already looking for new trouble to get into. They headed off to the north as momma headed to the south. I waited to see when the babies would notice that mom was not with them, but momma turned around and followed them instead. Come back any time!

Just plain thankful...

I just love this little farm. It brings so much pleasure to me and I am so thankful for every day here. Yesterday was my first day back subbing, so I REALLY appreciated being home today not working! So today I just walked around and took a few pictures of things that I am appreciative of today...


When we tore down our old house that was so much longer than our new one, there was a space left between the house and the shop that we didn't know what to do with. After thinking about it for a year, we decided to put in this little garden. This is the first year of these plantings and I think they're finally looking nice. The tall thing by the little pergola in the back (which is actually by the front yard) is a table grape called Suffolk. It didn't produce this year so we have high hopes for next year. Please ignore the little wood stakes and chickenwire as the chickens were getting in there and digging everything up! Darn chickens!


Speaking of chickens, here's the girls looking for dropped fruit below the plum tree. They are really good at keeping it cleaned up. I actually have to make sure to pick up all the downed apples before the chickens get out or they don't leave any for the horses! I did notice the deer are coming at night too, to get their share!


I think most horse owners would be very content to see these last two sights in their barn. The picture above shows my 2 1/2 tons of pelleted bedding and 8 bags of beet pulp that I have got stored up for the winter. (I have heard from a number of sources about a potential beet pulp shortage, so I'd actually like to get a few more bags just to be safe.) I love for the horses to come in each rainy winter day to their warm, cozy stalls with their clean fluffy bedding. Pelleted bedding is wonderful in that it breaks down to a coarse sawdust and it is so easy to pick out the poops and the pee usually stays in one nice clump to remove as well. Hey! Notice that sign on the right that says "Bail.."? Well, there was someone running for office that had the name Bailey, so we somehow (!) got a hold of a sign and will cut out the name and use it on Bailey's stall. Too funny.


This picture is actually not ALL of my hay that I have bought for the winter. There are 250 bales of local grass hay (I have 75 more at my hay guy's barn), 10 big bales of orchard left from last year (I'll use that right when they come in while they still have fall pasture, so if the nutrients aren't as good in the hay they're still getting some from the pasture and of course their supplements). The other little pile of hay closest to the camera is 4 bales of Teff hay. This is for Maddie, who has had some problems with her liver, and this hay is very low in sugars and seems to be the best hay for her delicate system. Only the best for Maddie!

Chickens!

Today I want to talk about the only animals who actually pull their weight here on the farm, our hens!! I had always wanted chickens and the first spring after we moved to our little farm was the time to get started. Our local feed store has Chick Days where they bring in a number of different breeds, and I went in and just said, "I'll take two of those, and two of those, and two of those..." until I had a dozen. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying close attention and one of the little chicks had a deformed bill and died shortly after I brought them home. So 11 babies made it to be big enough to go into the coop and hopefully lay some eggs. Over the next year we lost a couple of chickens; one to a coyote and one just up and died for no reason! Here's the first dozen eggs we collected from them...aren't they tiny!


And here they are being cooked too! In a short amount of time they were laying eggs that were normal sized!


Frank and I really love the chickens and all their antics. We let them out in the afternoons to forage for bugs and dust bathe under the big cedar tree. They are great at eating almost all our food waste from the house and the weeds from the garden too. We have them pretty spoiled so they follow us whenever we are outside, hoping for a little handful of scratch or some bird seed when Frank is filling the feeder.


The next spring I decided I wanted a turkey or two for a pet, and while purchasing the tiny poults, the feed store suggested that we get a couple of chicks at the same time because the little turkeys were too dumb to find the food and water without someone showing them...so I came home with two baby turkeys and two tiny little banty chicks. Well, the turkeys didn't work out (another long story for later!) but the two little chicks grew up in to a little rooster called Colonel Sanders and my favorite little Silver Sebright hen named Sophie. She supervises most everything that goes on here at the farm. She has discovered how to get out of their safe run, so she is loose most of the time. She also lays her tiny, walnut-sized eggs in the barn in the hay rather than in the nest boxes.

I don't know why everyone who has the space doesn't have these wonderful animals. Who could want more than to be entertained by their antics and get fresh eggs at the same time! And nothing compares to farm-fresh eggs...YUM!!

The Donkey Story

Well, we built a barn and ended up with an extra stall. Which as all horse owners know, is a sucking vacuum until you fill it. So Frank and I were discussing what we wanted to do about that, and Christmas rolled around and we decided we wanted a donkey. Meet sweet Lily on her first day here. She was saved by a nice woman down in Oregon, just steps from getting on the semi to become donkey-hamburger. Lily LOVED her cozy stall with endless hay, and she didn't come out for 2 weeks! Finally, she decided to come out and graze and met Bailey and they became good friends right away.


Well, time passed and it became obvious that we got a 'buy one, get one free' special! This is Lily out in the side pasture talking with Maddie. I never saw a pregnant animal as huge as this one! (See also picture of her to the right.) Well, time passed, and passed and passed, and finally on July 8th, after checking about every hour all night, at 5am I went out and found this!


I could not believe that that huge baby came out of poor Lily. Baby Daisy's legs were already almost as long as her moms! Also she had thick hair and it wasn't a few days later that I discovered that she had some little teeth too! She must really have been overcooked!


Daisy has turned out to be a great little donkey. I never had donkeys before, so I just raised her like I would have a little horse and she's learned all her lessons well. She does everything I would expect a horse or donkey of this age to do. Momma is still shy, and tries so hard to please, but her baby is very people oriented and especially loves kids. Next year Daisy will be learning her big-girl lessons like riding and/or driving!


We can't imagine what Red Pony Ranch would be like without the donkeys. They bring so much joy into our lives. It is so interesting how different they are than horses, especially in how they love people. They do, however, know how to tell time, and we better not be even 5 minutes late with their dinner or we hear about it! HEEEE HAAWWWWWW!

Just a few last minute things happening here before Frank heads to school on Wednesday. This is a picture that we took of him and Daisy for his on-line school. Cute, huh!? Daisy is actually trying to get to the apple that's in his hand. What a mooch!

We pulled some beets today and they are soo good. We planted a cylindrical variety this year and they are so big without being woody and once cooked can be cut into uniform slices. I don't think I'll ever go back to the globe kind. I'll try to remember to get a picture of one in a couple of days when we pick some again. Frank got some plastic and covered the tomatoes. It's been getting pretty cold here at night and we really want them to ripen on the vine, so we made mini-greenhouses for them. The weather is supposed to warm up now so maybe we'll get some ripe tomatoes and corn soon. So far it's been a bust.


This is our fairly picked-over herb garden. We did not plant kitties but they came up anyway! This is Katie kitty. She is mostly a house cat, but I guess she can't resist a little dirt warmed up by the afternoon sun. Katie is 10 years old and pretty sweet when she wants to be! Typical female cat. She's a good lap sitter though.

I'll do a better job of introducing the donkey and telling their story on another post soon. It's a heart breaker but with a good ending so far!