Our next endeavor :: eggs in!

Mrs. Harper has let us borrow her incubator & given us dozen eggs from her hens - many thanks!  And so our next farm experiment begins.  I read up on protocol & got the device up & calibrated yesterday.  This morning, with a little help, the eggs went in.  In 21 days we'll see what comes of it all ~ Feb 17th.

'Owl'standing Leader

Levi was Mrs. Harper's 'Owl'standing Leader for January. Good job, Bubby...we're proud of you!

Mrs Harper and Levi

Getting his award

January harvest

the first wave of broccoli coming in

Levi's first duck hunt

Some pictures from a morning hunt last weekend.  Levi and I struck out for the farm on a chilly morning and headed down to the beaver swamp in hopes of finding a few ducks.  Levi managed stayed dry (Daddy not so much after having to swim the neck-deep swamp to retrieve a bird) and we had a grand time.  Duck is one of our family favorites.....Molly the magician made three hearty meals from the two birds, with plans for more ducks in the near future.              

Sofkee Creek, low from lack of rain

Duck man!

Dreaming...

We're pouring over seed catalogs here & beginning to sketch out our grand plans for the upcoming garden season.  2 beds of carrots, 3 of potatoes, 2 for onions, and what about sweet potatoes?....  The evenings are being spent in the library, glass of wine in hand, reading about nutrient/growing requirements.

This weekend I put in exactly 240 onion plants = 2 rows down a raised bed with enough room left for lettuce in the middle.

Oh, Napoli

These babies are just getting bigger & better!  Levi can't help but pull one everytime he visits the garden.

This variety is Napoli - known for becoming sweeter as they're held in-ground during the colder months.  We're  down to our last 20 carrots or so in the garden.  The carrots were so successful in our deep beds this winter, we've decided to dedicate some serious square footage to them come spring.

Our favorite way to eat them?  Cut into diagonal chunks, tossed with olive oil/salt/fresh rosemary, and roasted in cast iron in a 400+ degree oven until soft & slightly caramelized.

New Year's Day 2012

We all awoke feeling more achy and sick than the night before.  Departed Jennings and made our way home in the early hours of the day.  Indi has her first full blown cold. 

We embraced home 'as is' and most of us cocooned in the warmth of fuzzy blankets and snoozed the rest of the day away.  The requisite black-eyed peas & greens were consumed. 

What did you do today?

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