One Job Done for the Year Our old rooster is resting warmly in my kettle.  Today has been a big day for us all.  At the farm, there are three big days out of the year which our children and grandchildren come from their homes to help with butchering our roosters.  In exchange for their work, they receive some of the tasty meat for their freezers. There is a good deal of … [Read more...]

My kids got bit by the hot cocoa bug this week. Somehow, when the weather changes, it takes our diet with it.  Does it change yours? My menu shifts completely from summer cookouts to soups and roasts. It doesn’t matter the season, I know giving my kids a cup with 1,000 grams of refined sugar in it isn’t the best idea. So, I cringe a little when they ask for hot … [Read more...]

The cool air of autumn carries so many memories and feelings as it swirls through the leaves. There’s not much that can give feelings of nostalgia quite like a perfect fall day. Memories of playing in leaves, fires with marshmallows, harvest parties, wagon loads of corn, and as much apple crisp with ice cream as we can eat. But do feelings of nostalgia tell the whole … [Read more...]

To Renew or To Make New Again Between the harvests of several crops and caring for our animals, farming brings a lot of repair work.  Many things on the farm age and need a helping hand to renew them to usefulness. This summer has been no different for us. My husband has been busy renovating, or bringing back to life, a shed which formerly served as a chicken house, a … [Read more...]

What’s Your Today? If today was the only memory your child would have, would you live it differently? Some of us would forget everything else and have a cake fest. Others would schedule things out to the minute. Maybe some wouldn’t leave the couch to allow for every last snuggle. I doubt any of us would carry on as usual. We always think we have tomorrow, but no one ever … [Read more...]

Memories can come at any time.  But today as I have been out in the garden, memories invaded my thoughts.  As I picked each buttery-colored wax bean, I thought of my mother.  Even when she lived with me at the age of 94, she helped me snip beans.  Along with the beans, I brought in a fine bouquet of gladiolas to please her and to perk up the scenery in the house.  Though her … [Read more...]

I couldn’t believe my ears. Relief flooded over her face as she told me her story with a beaming grateful smile. As she talked, I wondered silently: Could raw milk really change someone’s life? It’s funny I could wonder, because people tell me every week how raw milk is changing their lives. People constantly tell me stories of raw milk healing eczema, clearing up breakouts, … [Read more...]

Summer is a time of opening things up and getting light on everything. I love the smell of fresh air that comes with summer. Unless I’m hauling a load of manure... I think that would be called ripe. As a kid, I remember my mom reading books to me of stories from the “olden days” when they would bring out all the rugs, hang them on the clothes line and pound them until they … [Read more...]

Last month I wrote you about a true story that happened on our farm.  This story has been taken from the book Tales from Heritage Farm by Randall and Wenda Grabau. The main characters are two young children, a homemaking mom, a German shepherd named Sam and a little bird.  We left the story as one little girl came running into the farmhouse kitchen yelling to her mother.  … [Read more...]

The most important thing about your trip around the sun Yesterday, I completed another 584 million-mile trip around the sun. If you’re like me, my brain can’t comprehend that many miles. In order to travel that many miles in a year, Google tells me that’s 67,000 mph or 18.5 miles per second, which is like running a marathon in 1.4 seconds. Traveling that fast would be like … [Read more...]

Farm work was done, the milk hauler had recently picked up the milk and was headed to the cheese plant, we had just finished eating dinner, and my daughter was getting out the ice cream. Ice cream is not only a perfect followup to any meal but this is ice cream month! Not only did President Reagan see fit to make this month the best month, he made this weekend, the 17th, … [Read more...]

The following story is true.  Due to its length I have split it into two sections.  I hope you enjoy reading next month on how this tale ends. This story has been taken from the book Tales from Heritage Farm by Randall and Wenda Grabau. Sam and the sparrow It was a sunlit morning. The sky was blue. I was energized by the freshness of this vibrant, new, spring day. It would … [Read more...]

Someone said, “There’s no accounting for taste!” However when we’re talking about food there is an accounting. Our tongues can detect five basic tastes: sour, sweet, salty, bitter, and umami. My two favorites are sweet and salty. Sweet salty together are awesome. Some people prefer sour – think sour gumballs, lemons, and sour apples. Sister Barb even liked stolen green apples … [Read more...]