Fitzgerald's Family Farm

Fingers Crossed, But Maybe, Maybe, We'll Have A Maple Season?

2013-03-28T04:39:00.000-07:00

The weather forecast looks great for maple season for the next five - and possibly, ten - days! I've learned not to look too closely at the ten day forecast because the weather tends to change too much in that longer time. But... yesterday, I picked up sap from our tanks. With the next (maybe) week of proper temperatures we may see some sap flow! Then we get to boil that lovely sap into delicious maple syrup!

Sap dripping from a tree.

Still Waiting For The Weather To Break/Potter-Tioga Maple Weekend

2013-03-23T05:38:00.002-07:00

Not a lot to report today. We're still waiting for the weather to break so that we can get some maple sap. I'm happy to watch my garden seedlings starting to sprout.

Although our Sugar Shack has not evolved to the point where we're ready for lots of visitors a lot of other area Maple Producers are opening their doors to be visited this weekend.

Don't miss the Potter-Tioga Maple Weekend!

Click on the link for more information and locations.

For those of us who turn up our noses at “pancake syrup” and crave the deep, pure taste of real maple syrups, creams, candies and even ice cream—our time is coming.

The Potter/ Tioga Pennsylvania Maple Weekend, held the last weekend of March, is a true tribute to all things maple. Now in its ninth year, the Maple Weekend is a “traveling festival” that allows visitors to observe tree tapping, sugar boiling, and other maple-related activities in Potter and Tioga counties. Fourteen members of the Potter/Tioga Maple Producers Association open their sugar shack doors during Maple Weekend for a deliciously educational experience.

Bring the whole family and celebrate this truly American Tradition. Visit several Sugar Shacks as each is unique in production and variety of products.

Maple Patience

2013-03-19T04:38:00.002-07:00

"Life on a farm is a school of patience; you can't hurry the crops or make an ox in two days."

~Henri Alain

...Nor can you make maple syrup when the temperatures are too cold for the sap to rise in the trees. Patience, and the acceptance of the inevitability that nature follows its own schedule are all that's possible.

Maybe next week...

Waiting for Sap To Flow

P.S. I finished the last of my spring planting and moved the leafy greens into an indoor window box.

It May Be Snowing Outside, But I'm Planting Inside!

2013-03-16T10:18:00.002-07:00

After lots of time figuring out what my family wants to eat and how many plants that will require I finally put together my planting chart for inside and outside the high tunnel. I'm still planting a lot of varieties of vegetables, but not in the quantities that I've planted in the past. My 2013 Garden Plan: Feed My Family, Can and Preserve, Have A Little To Give Away, Have A Little For Farmer's Market

This is my chart for inside the high tunnel. Note that it's written in pencil and you can't tell, but there are lots of erasures and rewrites on it. Everything is subject to change.

This is my planting chart. I have flats with 72 cells. So I printed out the chart and now I'm adding the plants. The color coding allows me to write the plant name. Something I learned. Use a pen. Do not write your plant names in marker. A drop of water smears and destroys them!

Some lettuces and greens I planted a few weeks ago. They desperately need to be planted. I think I'm going to pull out a window box and plant them in that!

I grow plants for many reasons: to please my eye or to please my soul, to challenge the elements or to challenge my patience, for novelty or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy in seeing them grow.

~ David Hobson (www.brainyquote.com)

Mother Nature Scoffs

2013-03-14T08:10:00.001-07:00

I believe that Mother Nature is scoffing our feeble attempts to make maple syrup! We need above freezing during the day and below freezing at night for the sap to flow. Maybe tomorrow we'll get some sap.

Keep warm!

5 Day Forecast

Updated: Mar 14, 2013, 9:18amEDT

TodayMar 14

29^°F

20^°F

Flurries / Wind

CHANCE OF SNOW:: 30%

WIND:: WNW at 22 mph

Details

FriMar 15

38^°

30^°

Rain / Snow Showers

CHANCE OF PRECIP:: 50%

WIND:: WSW at 15 mph

Details

SatMar 16

31^°

23^°

AM Snow Showers

CHANCE OF SNOW:: 60%

WIND:: N at 6 mph

Details

SunMar 17

32^°

24^°

Partly Cloudy

CHANCE OF PRECIP:: 20%

WIND:: NNW at 8 mph

Details

MonMar 18

31^°

30^°

Snow Shower

CHANCE OF SNOW:: 60%

WIND:: SE at 14 mph

Details

Spring Is Making Its Way To Potter County, PA

2013-03-12T05:58:00.002-07:00

Temperatures are beginning to hiccup their way upwards. We've boiled the first of our sap and anxiously watch the skies for good maple sap weather. Last night the temperature stayed well above freezing and that doesn't bode well for a good sap run today. But... the weather over the next 10 days calls for highs above freezing during the day and below freezing at night. Perfect temperatures for good maple sap runs. May the stars reach their proper alignment and the sap flow!

Thinking about planting a garden this year? Maybe growing some tomatoes in a pot?

You should...

Pickled Garlic Scapes

2013-03-04T17:50:00.001-08:00

A couple of days I posted about pickled garlic scapes. The presentation looks so striking in the jar that I'm determined to make them this year and, oh boy, that tangy, mildly garlicky taste!

Go to Wooleylot's Blog here to read an article by our Farmers Market "garlic guy" and get the real low down on garlic scapes.

Best Garden Ever!

2013-03-03T06:27:00.003-08:00

Is everyone planning and preparing to grow their best garden ever in 2013? I know I am!

Borrowed from Farmer's Pal

S'mores Brownies

2013-02-27T11:48:00.000-08:00

My candy, er, cookie, jar

In attempt to shake up the usual boring? batch of brownies I made S'mores Brownies. I gave up sweets for Lent and can't taste them, but the family said they were good!

S'mores Brownies

Start with your favorite brownie recipe. I love the Baker's Chocolate On e Bowl Brownies recipe.

Put it in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. While it bakes, mix together, 2 cups mini marshmallows, 1 cup broken up graham crackers, and 1 cup chocolate chips.

Take the brownie pan out of the oven. Press the marshmallow, graham cracker, chocolate chip mixture into the top.

Put brownies back into the oven for 10 minutes or until the marshmallows are golden. Cool before cutting and eating.

A little trick I learned. Line your brownie pan with parchment paper before adding the batter. You'll be able to pull the brownies and any mess right out of the pan!

Enjoy!

Coudersport Farmer's Market Is Shaping Up For A Great Year!

2013-02-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, we had our second Potter County Farmer's Market group meeting and I feel that all the farmers are becoming very excited about the upcoming season. We have a few new people joining the group and I know that our customers will be excited by the new additions. Our market continues to grow, evolve and diversify!

The meeting was a potluck and most everyone brought something that has elements of the food grown on their farm. The pasta with pesto was divine. The french bread had the perfect crunchiness. Dilled garlic scapes made a fiery and tasty hit. Lamb pate? I've never had it before, but I hope to have it again! Chili, lasagne, and much much more. Every bite tasted absolutely delicious!

When I get this season's scapes they will be canned in a dilly bean brine.

Thank you to the Metzger's of Metzger's Farm for hosting us!

Gotta Love Calvin and Hobbes!

2013-02-23T08:42:00.002-08:00

by Bill Watterson

Oh, I do so wish......

My knees will only be snowy, wet, and cold by the end of this maple tree tapping day!

Maple Update February 2013

2013-02-22T05:48:00.004-08:00

We have a few of our sugar bushes (this is what an area of tappable maple trees is named) tapped, but oh boy did the weather turn cold and nasty! It is just too cold for humans to be outside when the temperature is 15-degrees, the wind is howling, and snow blows by sideways for hours at time. There's nothing like a few inches of fresh, powdery, slippery snow to make everything a little more difficult. Needless to say, we're a bit farther behind on tapping than we would like to be.

However, we finally had our sugar shack inspected by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and we are officially certified to start bottling maple syrup and honey! So when the wind howls outside we can still stay busy inside getting everything ready for sales.

You will see a link to our web page as soon as we are fully operational. Happy days!

Aaaah, Yes. Maple Season.

2013-02-19T04:45:00.000-08:00

Clearing falling branches from sap lines. Repairing squirrel and chipmunk chewed lines. Moving giant sap collection tanks into place. Cutting wood. Climbing hills laden with tubing. The excitement of watching drops of clear maple sap drip from trees after you drill the hole and before you tap the spile into place.

Maple season is here!

Spile and tubing in maple tree.

Over the next few weeks you'll see trucks with giant white tanks driving around. The tanks look like they're filled with water, but what they're actually carrying is pure maple tree sap! That sap will get taken to evaporators to be boiled and boiled and boiled some more. After a whole lot of steam boils off, 40 gallons of that sap will reduce to one gallon of delicious maple syrup.

And as I look out at very thickly falling snow, I know that spring can't be too far behind!

Taste The Rainbow

2013-02-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

Borrowed from Food Inc.

First Baby Plants 2013

2013-02-16T06:00:00.001-08:00

Isn't there something so very exciting about the very first baby plants peeping - and then leaping up from the soil?

First Planting 2013:

Lettuce: Lolla Rosa

Lettuce: Black Seeded Simpson

Lettuce: Green Oakleaf

Lettuce: Buttercrunch

Pak Choi

Swiss Chard

Happy Saint Valentines Day 2013!

2013-02-14T04:35:00.002-08:00

I used this same photo last St. Valentine's Day and simply couldn't find another as wonderful!

Source: Elk Valley Times

I remembered that I have a nice recipe for a quick little chocolate cake. Perfect for St. Valentine's Day! This recipe comes from a very old issue of Taste of Home. The cake is wonderfully moist and has a very dark, rich chocolate taste.

Moist Chocolate Cake

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup hot water

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 egg

1/4 cup butter melted

confectioner's sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Andd egg and butter; mix well. Pour into a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake at 350-degrees for 30-35 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool. Dust with confectioners sugar. Yield: about 9 servings.

Lady Bella Mellini

2013-02-12T05:13:00.003-08:00

The farrier came to the barn the other day to trim my horse's hooves.

That's right - my horse. My entire life I've wanted a horse and I finally, finally have one!

She's not the most beautiful horse. She won't win any prizes for conformation, but I think she's wonderful.

She has the mane of a unicorn ( a little messy right now).

And a beautiful face (oops, I tried to get out the "red eye" and gave her a bit of a black eye).

How did this happen? Last fall, I went to the big annual auction at an Amish farm. I was eyeballing all the horses - all cart horses - and fell into conversation with a lady. She said she had a horse for whom she needed a home. I thought, "I wonder if this is legitimate?"

The lady, named Carol, in a number of conversations told me the story behind my horse.

"I drive a school bus for Head Start. One day I drove the bus out of my driveway and needed to go back to get something. As I drove home, I saw this starved, hipbones-sticking-out horse walking down the road towards my house. I put it in the barn and fed it. Three days later I called the owner to let him know his horse was at my house. He hadn't even noticed she was missing. Previously, this horse' (Lady's) field mate had died. Now, I suspect it starved to death. The horse (Lady) had been at my farm a time or two before. She must have known where to go for help. I've had her for a year now and she's nicely fattened up. I breed Fjord horses and have eleven of them that I'm feeding and vetting already and really don't need the expense of one more horse. I only want to sell her to recuperate the cost of the feed she had for a year."

Carol is part of a riding club and we decided that she would bring the horse to the next club's ride and I could "test drive" her. We met, I talked to all the people, and I rode my horse for four hours. We went on every kind of terrain, up hills, down hills, over ditches, through creeks, cars drove past, four-wheelers drove past, dogs nipped at her heels - I loved her. She went everywhere I pointed her without balking a bit! She was a comfortable ride and she's small (about 14 hands) so I can get on and off her easily. I had been looking for a horse for quite a while and this just felt right.

A few weeks later, I met Carol and had myself a horse!

Her new name is Lady Bella Mellini - I love the flow of it.

Lady - the name of a white horse of a dear German friend from a long time ago

Bella - Beautiful

Mellini - the name of the hotel we stayed in in Italy this past October (and minus one 'l' its the name of a darn good Chianti wine!)

I'm in a very fortunate position where I can keep my horse in the pasture (with five other horses) right beside my property. The gentleman who cares for the five horses kindly includes my horse in the care and I can check on Lady from my front door!

I've ridden her a few times since I got her home. The weather turned nasty shortly after I had her. She's a bit barn sour and I'll have to work with her on that. She definitely has issues with separation from the other horses - she whinnies for them while we're out. The minute the weather gets better I'll be working with her a lot. And I'm going to be going on trail rides with the riding club!

The other day when I went to see her she was out in the run-in. I called her name, she saw me, and she came trotting up to me!

The Cogs of Spring Begin to Turn - Maple Season

2013-02-04T04:57:00.002-08:00

In my mind, I picture a great mechanism made up of all kinds of big and little cogs fitted together - like the inside of a very intricate clock. During winter, those cogs have stood still and silent. Maybe they've collected a little dust and maybe a cobweb or two. But now, finally, those many cogs have begun to slowly, painfully, laboriously creak to a start.

Maple season never truly ends, but the most labor intensive period of maple season - collecting and boiling sap - begins in a few short weeks. We've begun cleaning out our evaporator pans, tidying and setting up our sugar shack, checking sap lines for squirrel damage, removing tree limbs that have fallen on the lines, installing new lines to new areas, and the myriad of other tasks that comprise Maple Season.

The evaporator pans aren't too dirty.

Fitz power washes the evaporator pan.

Maple sap evaporator pan

Power washing the pan.

The cogs of spring have begun to turn.

I'm happy to see it come.

Bunnies Running Loose and Farmers Market 2013

2013-01-28T06:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday as we headed for our Farmer's Market meeting, my son thought he saw "something" hopping around the high tunnels. He thought it might be a wild rabbit.

Later that evening, I found out he had spent an hour chasing baby bunnies! It appears I hadn't latched the door to their cage securely and the latch popped off and the bunnies went out to explore. He said they could run fast! He finally caught them by herding them underneath our large bunny cage and enticing them out with carrots and then snagging them.

I went to look at the little criminals and the mother bunny wasn't there! We looked for her in the dark without success and the snowy ground was covered with bunny trails that led to nowhere.

I got up this morning and went "wabbit hunting." After poking around in little nooks and crannies I finally found momma bunny tucked up underneath our large rabbit cage. She was no worse for the wear - just very thirsty and dirty!

Farmer's Market 2013. Planning has begun! We are moving location a little bit farther away from the intersection of Rt. 6 and Rt. 44 due to heavy truck traffic causing choking exhaust fumes and enough noise that conversations have to be suspended. Another "benefit" of fracking. Please note the very heavy sarcasm.

We've begun to plan our Farmer's Market times and dates. We plan on Fridays as usual and plenty of high traffic Saturdays as well!

Much more info will be coming!

Bleak In The Morning Early

2013-01-24T05:30:00.000-08:00

Winter

a Mother Goose poem

Cold and raw the north wind doth blow,

Bleak in the morning early;

All the hills are covered with snow,

And winter's now come fairly.

Three snapshots out my front door this very cold and still morning.

How Would You Like Your Eggs - Frozen?

2013-01-22T15:31:00.002-08:00

It's so crazy cold that this egg froze and busted open in the nest today.

The chickens and other critters are holding up well.

Super Chilly Temperatures This Week

2013-01-21T05:31:00.003-08:00

Today will be a "balmy" 21-degrees. But the rest of the week... brrrrrr!

Temperatures like these mean critters living outside will need extra care. I'll bring warm water to the bunnies and chickens three times a day because the little metal tubes on the rabbit waterers freeze so fast. My first stop when I bring a steaming bucket of water down to the animals is to dump all the frozen solid rabbit water bottles right into the bucket. The rabbit bottles thaw out and I refill them with warm water. As I walk away from the rabbit yard I hear all the little balls in the waterers clicking as the rabbits drink their fill.

I then carry the still warm bucket of water down to the chicken coop. The metal chicken waterer is inside the coop, but it can still freeze solid in this extreme weather. I carry the frozen waterer outside and I pour a little bit of warm water completely over it to thaw it enough to pull it apart. After I pull the two pieces apart, I rinse out the ice and fill the waterer with warm water.

Extra feed and warm, warm dry bedding is a must during this weather. The bunnies have super thick angora wool coats and will easily handle the frigid temperatures nestled in their hutches. The chickens get their door shut each evening and they snuggle together on their roosts. Their collective body heat helps them handle the low temps. It's hunker down time!

Winter either bites with its teeth or lashes with its tail. ~Proverb

From weather.com for Coudersport, PA:

Updated: Jan 21, 2013, 6:09am EST

TodayJan 21

21^°F

8^°F

Snow

CHANCE OF SNOW:: 80%

WIND:: SW at 12 mph

Details

TueJan 22

10^°

5^°

Snow Shower

CHANCE OF SNOW:: 60%

WIND:: W at 18 mph

Details

WedJan 23

11^°

9^°

Snow Shower

CHANCE OF SNOW:: 60%

WIND:: WSW at 10 mph

Details

ThuJan 24

16^°

15^°

Mostly Cloudy

CHANCE OF SNOW:: 20%

WIND:: N at 6 mph

Details

FriJan 25

21^°

8^°

Snow

CHANCE OF SNOW:: 70%

WIND:: SW at 9 mph

Details

Winter Eggs

2013-01-18T05:18:00.005-08:00

I did so great this year, I planned ahead for the slack laying period during the winter and froze lots of eggs for baking. I took the eggs a dozen at a time, cracked them into a bowl, mixed them up, and then froze them in ice cube trays. Two cubes equaled one egg.

I've read that in France there are different recipes for summer eggs and winter eggs. I was prepared to change my way of cooking - no more fried eggs in the morning. Maybe I could have them scrambled, but I've found that, although much better than any store-bought egg, winter eggs don't quite have the richness of summer eggs of chickens who forage every day. These frozen cubes of egg would be reserved to be thawed and mixed into recipes for cooking and baking.

Strangely, over the summer we had a period of very little egg laying. It occurred during Farmer's Market season when people asked for them - which was frustrating. We went on vacation just before the egg dearth and I've wondered if the change in care affected their egg-laying? Maybe the hens were just mad at me! I've always read, and our chicken's history has been, that egg production is dependent upon the length of day. We don't put lights on our chickens in the winter. I prefer to go with their natural (or in this case unnatural) cycles. I feel like its a little easier on the chicken to get a "rest."

Do the frozen eggs work well in recipes? I don't know because I haven't cooked with them yet. My chickens haven't stopped laying! We're getting roughly six eggs a day. To be sure I'm very happy about it. Fresh eggs have got to taste better than the frozen eggs I haven't tasted. I don't know what's causing the continued egg-laying. I've been feeding them a bit more to get through the cold weather. But, in any case, having eggs at this time of year feels very unusual for us!

Baby Bunnies Still For Sale!

2013-01-16T06:24:00.003-08:00

I've been holding off on posting because I wanted to give my baby angora bunnies a chance to be sold. I've sold ONE so far. It looks like I'm in the angora fleece business. The babies are still available to buy!

You can see the beautiful richness of their coat.

They're growing fast and have been moved from the big-enough-for-a-calf-sized dog carrier inside the house - where they came with their mother after they were born so very naked and defenseless on a well-below freezing day - to a fresh new pen outside. They sure did grow fast and the amount of pooh they put out increased rapidly with their size. I cleaned the cage one and two times a day and the "odeur du bunny" still smelt somewhat strong!

Each day, when I go out to their pen, I handle these sweeties to get them used to being touched and picked up. Its oh-so-adorable when they all stand up with their little paws on the door as they wait to see what I've brought them.

I'm looking for a few more outside rabbit pens/hutches so that I can split the bunnies up by sex as they get older. This spring I'm going to fence in a little bunny loafing yard so that the bunnies can have supervised time outside of their hutches.

Hmmm. Maybe I should take up spinning next?
(Actually, I did recently purchase a drop spindle. I have a vision of spinning my own angora yarn and then knitting it into beautiful scarves. I think I can create a wonderfully lush yarn from the little beauties you see in the above photos. What a wonderful skill!)

For more pictures/videos of the baby bunnies:

http://www.fitzgeraldsfamilyfarm.blogspot.com/2013/01/baby-angora-bunnies-for-sale.html

Don't forget to hop on over to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways for their weekly blog hop!

Baby English Angora Bunnies For Sale

2013-01-06T13:15:00.001-08:00

Wow! The baby bunnies grew soooo fast and they all survived! Can you believe that not so long ago they looked like this?

Who would have thought that the cuteness could grow? Well it sure did! I'm excited to announce that I have seven beautiful English Angora bunnies for sale. I'm keeping one female, Pearl, because I'm in love with her coloring.

We have four chocolate agouti bunnies for sale. They are:

The two little boys, Brownie and Hickory

and the two little girls, Truffle and Sassafras (Sassy)

There are two beautiful black bunnies:

The little black boy (upon closer inspection, Jet is a girl!), Jet.

and the little black girl, Inky SOLD

There is one beautiful lilac angora: SOLD

Smokey, the boy, is a lilac angora (the lighter gray) and Pearl the girl is a blue angora (the darker gray). I'm keeping Pearl because she's beautifully blue, but has a pure white wool undercoat.

We tried very hard to get single pictures of each bunny but had some difficulty. Here are random shots. If you are interested in purchasing an angora bunny, we will do our best to get you some great shots.

Jet

Smokey SOLD

Light gray wool undercoat found on Jet and Inky

Truffle

Light gray wool undercoat found on all the chocolate agouti bunnies

Sassy

A basket of cuteness!

Hickory

Inky

Adorable!

Don't miss these videos of the bunnies!

Angoras are bred mainly for their wool because it is silky and soft. At only 11 microns in diameter it is finer and softer than cashmere. They have a humorous appearance, as they oddly resemble a fur ball with a face. Most are calm and docile, but should be handled carefully. Grooming is necessary to prevent the fibre from matting and felting on the rabbit. A condition, wool block, is common in Angora rabbits, and should be treated quickly. These rabbits are shorn every three to four months throughout the year. Source

The price for each baby angora bunny is $25.00. If you are interested, please e-mail me at srfitzg@zitomedia.net or call 814-274-7825.