So, what do *you* think?

My Mom and Dad sent me out this cradle to use for our new little one. They weren't really sure of the age or even if it was the natural wood or if it was painted. We decided to use a little stripper in an inconspicuous spot to see just what we were dealing with and if it was the "original finish" we would leave it as is, but if it wasn't, we would refinish it. That seemed the safest course as we were concerned about multiple layers of lead based paint. As it turned out, it was multiple layers of paint, 3 to be exact. Brown then black then green. Really bright green! Below is the cradle partially stripped, you can see the green running down the side.

So, we stripped it all the way and sanded it, but the best we could get it is pictured below. We wanted a more accurate date for it so we asked an antiques dealer that we know and an antiques restorer for an age estimate. They place the date in the 1840-1850 range, we also found out that it was definitely homemade, hand planed, square nailed and the original color was green. Since the paint is milk paint that explains why we couldn't get it all out. The restorer said that we now have basically 2 choices: leave it as is, add a light stain and seal it. You will always be able to see the green this way. Or, choice #2, paint it again as it originally was. The original color of milk paint can be viewed here, it is the one called Tavern Green. Or I suppose we could paint it some other color.

Almost nobody likes the idea of repainting it, it runs contrary to our 21st century sensibilities that prefer natural looking wood. However, even though I wouldn't want a whole house full of painted furniture, I do like it for some pieces. When this cradle was built it wasn't fashioned from oak or cherry or another "beautiful" wood, it was made from utilitarian poplar which isn't really considered pretty. It was designed to be painted and brighten the home where it was used, as painted furniture is very, very common from this era.
So, the question is: what do you think I should do? Please tell me truthfully, I really want to know! If everybody thinks painting it would be hideous, then I'll probably bow to your wisdom and not repaint it. I'm starting to doubt myself here. ;-) I'm inclined to paint it mostly so it will look as it was intended to look but I'm afraid that I'll wish I hadn't once it's done. Oh, the indecision!!! Opinions please. ;-)

State of the Farm Address

Rebekah had her 9th birthday on Monday and of all the things that she wanted, a pet was first on her list. Now, I'm not much for "pets", animals that pay their own way and earn their keep? Sure! But not getting an animal just for the sake of having it. We used to have ducks and though I haven't missed them since they've been gone, the children did. So, I heard a lot about how ducks would keep the fly population down and other enticing statistics. ;-) There *are* tons of flies here; the man who keeps his heifers here in the big barn rarely cleans it and it is a gigantic fly incubator. Anyhow, we got her 2 Black Swedish and 1 Blue Swedish duckling. She was thrilled with them!

The garden is really producing well, we're racing to keep up with it. As you know, I'm a big advocate of dehydrating foods but I do can some as well. I look on the canned stuff as "convenience" food since it's quick to prepare/heat up but I like to use it sparingly as it is nutritionally depleted. I think jars of canned produce do look pretty though!
And! The big news is that Tansy calved yesterday!!! She had a heifer calf which is Aleks' as part of his graduation gift from us. She is named Senna. The birth went just as I wished it would: outside in the fresh grass, with no problems. Tansy cleaned her up and she went to nursing.

We've worked on numerous dairy farms and were pretty sure that we didn't want the conventional dairy model as it relates to birth. On some of the farms the laboring cow is put in a headlock and gives birth there on the concrete. When the calves hooves are showing they tie chains to them and yank the baby out. The calf is them beaten on the chest and cussed at until it breathes, taken away from its Mother and thus begins the life of a dairy cow. :-( On a different farm every birth was attended and the calf literally did not touch the ground before it was taken away, on still another farm the cow gave birth in with all the other cows, usually right in the manure. You would find the calves completely coated in manure, unable to stand with only the tip of their noses showing. Makes you want a glass of milk right now, doesn't it?

The little children weren't there for the birth which I was glad for, but they did watch her eat the afterbirth. Most farmers don't allow this but we do. The placenta is loaded with oxytocin which will slow down any excessive bleeding and it's full of calcium which helps prevent Milk Fever. I actually wasn't worried about Milk Fever as cows who don't eat grain (i.e. grazing cows) rarely get it. After we put the Mama and baby in the barn for the night we gave her warm molasses water and a quantity of comfrey leaves. Together they give an iron boost and an immune system boost. Life seems abundantly good right now! ;-)

We welcome thee

We attended worship services a week ago in Salem, Ohio at the Wilbur Friends Meeting House. We had a very blessed day and enjoyed both the Sabbath School and the service itself. As you know~ or maybe not~ Conservative Quakers employ what is called "waiting worship". As you take your seat in the meeting house you begin to pray and meditate, when someone feels led to share some words or a prayer then they stand and do so. Consequently there can be long stretches of silence. It paints quite a qontrast to the "programmed" worship generally found in churches. Still, we enjoyed ourselves. The littlest children did very well sitting through the 2 hours of combined services, I was very thankful! We don't "play" in church and since we've been home churching I was afraid that they might not do very well in a new situation.

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The meeting house itself is a gorgeous old brick structure that was rebuilt in the 1870's. The huge white shutters are opened to emit the light which is pretty distorted by the original wavy glass of the windows. In the cloak room are several original bookcases with bound volumes of Quaker writings and treatises that seem to be as old as the cases they're housed in. A gal over on the Sewing Academy had recommended a book called American Grit which are the compiled letters of Anna Briggs Bentley. Mrs. Bentley was a Friend (Friend is the preferred term, "Quaker" is derogatory) who settled in eastern Ohio in the early 19th century. Her home meeting was the Salem Monthly Meeting. We visited Hope Cemetary after services where she and many of her family are buried. In many ways things haven't changed all that much in the 200 intervening years, some Friends today still use "thee" and "thou" and the calenders in the Meeting House really do refer to the months and days as "First Month" and "Fourth Day" etc. ;-)

Maybe Anna would still feel at home there, I know we did.

Hands to work and hearts to God

It all started with the question "is a Shaker spool a religious artifact?" A seemingly benign question that led to days of conversation as we worked out the answer as it relates to our own lives. The Shaker philosophy about work so closely resembles ours that I was taken aback when I read it, "Do your work as though you had a thousand years to live and as if you were to die tomorrow." I want the things that I create to be things that I can be proud of, I don't like looking at something I've created and wish that I had taken the time to do a better job. If a dress takes 3 hours but a better quality dress takes 4, is not the extra hour one well spent if it yields a thing of greater beauty? Since we see our lifestyle choices as a way of living a life that allows us to focus more on God and less on popular philosophy, all of our work indeed becomes a religious act. As we tend the garden it is so easy to see that our daily bread really does come from the hand of God. Every garment sewn becomes a religious artifact because of the spirit in which it was undertaken. Every jar of jam or pickles reflects the ultimate and eternal provision with which we've been blessed. Every day is then a communion with God.

Aleks bought a new scythe recently which came without instructions. He called the company to make sure he was assembling it properly and they told him that the upper handle should be screwed or nailed in place. Screwed or nailed? No, he whittled a peg and used the bit and brace to drill the hole. Every step with the knowledge that it was a tool he will use for a lifetime and pass to his own children. He then proceeded to finish it with many coats of linseed oil, a time intensive process that meshes well with the scythe itself. Is it a religious artifact? Yes, I think it is.

I have been fashioning tiny garments for our eagerly awaited baby. Miniature chemises and gowns, coats and tiny caps. I think about the little one as I take each stitch, what a wonderful thing it is to welcome a baby! Every garment that touches his body has been lovingly made by the people who will love him the most, isn't that exactly as it should be? Mr. G has been preparing the cradle that the little one will nap in, it will be next to the stove where it's the warmest, right in the center of household activity where he will be looked in on as every one passes by. My Mother has said truthfully that the baby will not spend too much time alone as there are too many arms that want to hold him! ;-)

To look at our labors in this light makes the mundane holy. An act of worship instead of a chore. The Shakers eventually died out due to mass production, their hand crafted items could not compete with the new cheaply produced competition. Today we esteem what they made because anything hand crafted is such a rarity, most of us have rarely seen anything lovingly constructed by a true craftsman. Each step we take toward ease and convenience leaves us less able to provide for ourselves as knowledge is invariably lost. We yearn for what we know should be and are unsure of where to even begin to retrieve it.

Summer ritual

Today kicks off the official beginning of Jam Making, a very much enjoyed (and tasty) summer ritual. The various pastures around our place boast several Mulberry trees which we attempt to harvest ahead of the birds and raccoons. The children's summer ritual involves eating enough Mulberries to give them diarrhea ;-) Actually, I'm glad to have them do this, it works as a sort of early summer cleanse.

I have never really been interested in making jam from them though because you can't easily remove the stems but we decided to try it anyway. The results were very pleasing!

When I first began making jam I made loads of freezer jam, a super tasty method that is probably the most popular right now with home canners. I did make one batch of strawberry freezer jam for my folks, my Mom likes it on ice cream. ;-) But the majority of our jam this year will be the good, old fashioned cooked version. Also, I really want to get away from store bought pectin because it costs money and has ingredients that I don't like in it, so I made our jam without added pectin. This results in a different "set" than what I'm used to, but I wonder if that's because the artificial, mass produced product seems "normal" whereas the real deal seems "off" to us? I've found that to be true in so many cases, for instance, what does corn really taste like? Likely you've never had anything but the super sweet, hybridized candy thing that we call corn. It's such a shame how much we've lost. The biggest down side to cooked jam is the loss in yield, we ended up with about half of what we would have had by doing freezer jam (and I can just hear Angie now saying that she's not going to all that trouble to only get half, lol). I also added very, very little sugar, this gives a tarter taste but is more in keeping with our philosophies about sugar consumption. We all loved it when we did the taste test though, so apparently no one misses the sugar.

The other new thing I did this year is to replace the traditional bands and lids with Gulf Wax. I really debated this one because paraffin is a petroleum by-product which I don't like but lids are a constant expense and I don't like that either. Just so you know, the USDA does not recommend using paraffin wax to seal anything because of mold contamination. But I think the USDA is suspect anyway, probably representatives from Ball sit on its advisory board...... but I digress. The nice thing about the wax is that it's endlessly reusable! I really like that, plus it looks quaint and old fashioned which is a nice bonus. Aesthetics are important, right? The USDA representative did say that the only real danger would be mold, which is easily seen upon opening the jar, so it's not like you'd be playing around with botulism or something that can't be seen or tasted. I hope that I will like it as much as I want to like it!

I have found that I can't make too much jam in the evening because it makes my feet swell up, so I try to be finished before noon. I can then go and enjoy the breeze on the porch which is where I've also been doing my sewing lately. I'll have Mr. G or Aleks carry my "sewing table", which is actually my Great Aunt Elizabeth's canning table, out to the porch and I can sew with a comfortable breeze blowing. I like to be there and watch the children play and depending on where Tansy is I can watch her graze. It is a very peaceful feeling. ;-) All of my "work" (should I even call it that?) brings me such a sense of satisfaction. The cooking, canning, dehydrating, sewing, hanging laundry, mending....... none of it is a chore. I'm so thankful that I don't have to leave home to earn money. I really sympathize with those who are compelled to do so!

My life lately

I am now finished with the last of Abigail's dresses. This is the pink/red print that I bought recently from Zinck's. I wanted to do something a little different so I pleated the bodice and added 100% cotton ribbon on the stitch line. The skirt is pleated as well to keep the theme going. We tried to do sausage curls but that didn't work out very well, they were just too limp. ;-)

This is a better shot of the sleeve detail. I pleated the sleeves just like the skirt and added the same trim.
This is a close up of the pleated bodice. I really like the look and I think I'll make this style again!

The boys also got new homespun shirts which I have yet to put the buttons or buttonholes on. They prefer their homemade shirts to storebought as does Mr. G, they are more comfortable I guess!

I've also gone on a button buying binge as of late. I use china buttons on dresses and pinafores and metal on shirts with the very occasional mother-of-pearl thrown in when I don't have anything better. I buy mostly from E-Bay but that can be hit or miss especially with china calicoes as they tend to get snatched up by collectors. I purchased these below along with 118 plain white china buttons not pictured. I also have about 20-30 ringers coming by the end of this week. I'm pretty happy with my purchases especially in light of how expensive new buttons are, I had to buy new metal buttons for the shirts and they were $.66 a piece. That's more per button than the antique ones which are better quality too.

This is Katie and her new green dress. It's the first one that she has sewn entirely by herself. I'm very proud of her and the job she did!

She and I also hand washed the boys' wool winter coats. Dirty! Ugh, I could not believe the water, but they are all fresh and clean now and packed away. We also gave the girls' winter dresses a heavy scrubbing, mended them if needed and put them away until the weather cools. That's a job that I feel good about once it's accomplished.

Aleks, Levi and Micah got new overalls this past week. They are rather partial to overalls and really dislike the fit of modern jeans. I suppose if that's all they owned they would get used to it, but for work wear nothing beats pants that don't fall down! ;-)

In addition to all this we harvested over 1000 leeks and got a gallon of powder from them. The garden is doing well and we're eating sugar peas now. Mmm!

I had some blood work done and found out that I'm pretty anemic and I have a low platelet count. I have never been anemic before and was pretty surprised to hear this, although it sure explains why I'm so tired. I'm supposed to take it easy. ;-) Also, I have consistently been measuring big this time, which is again something that never happens to me (except for the twins of course). Anywhere from 3 to 8 cm bigger but we're pretty sure it's not twins so.... what is it? It seems odd to me that you could have 8 children and each pregnancy would be pretty much the same until your 9th and then boom! everything is different. Time will tell, I supose.

Things have been so crazy here that I hardly have any computer time. Blogs that I used to check frequently now don't get visited. I miss hearing about you all and hope to be back when things settle down.

Elisabethe's pink dress

After a long wait, to a 5 year old anyway, Elisabethe's pink dress is finally done! This is the fabric she picked out at Zinck's when we were there a few weeks ago; it was marked as a reproduction print but I'm unsure as to whether that's true or not. It's the same basic style as the other girls' but with no neckline gathering. The skirt is a very full 86" and the red silk ribbons match the red dots in the print. It has the requisite 3 growth tucks. ;-)


But, far more importantly, Elisabethe lost her first tooth last week!!! She has now officially entered the realm of "big girlness" and thrown off the trappings of little girlhood. I'm not really sure what all that entails except that she carries herself with a new dignity befitting her status. The proof is pictured below. ;-)

Rebekah's yellow dress

I finished Rebekah's yellow dress today so I can check one more item off of my list! Anymore it takes me three days to finish a dress. Day 1: cut out bodice, sleeves (always hand hemmed) and waistband and assemble including neckline piping and completely finish neckline (also by hand). Day 2: rip skirt panels, iron and hand hem to proper length, put in 3-5 growth tucks and iron it all neat and pretty! Day 3: run gathering stitches or pin in pleats and attach skirt to outer waistband by machine, whip stitch inner waistband after ironing, make 5-7 hand made buttonholes (I don't like hooks & eyes) and attach buttons - usually china but occasionally mother of pearl. I used to work somewhat quicker but I find it easier to pace myself this way for right now. Rebekah's dress is following my favorite style for this summer, a gathered bodice, bateau neckline and cap sleeves. She will have silk ribbons at the shoulder but I didn't pin them on for this picture, I have some pretty yellow from Wooded Hamlet that will go well, I think. Her skirt is only 85" wide as I was short on fabric.

Her pettichemise sleeves really shouldn't be peeking out, I need to make sleeveless chemises for all the girls this summer but I'm pretty sure that I won't get it done. Maybe I can just pretend that I meant it to look that way!

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day!

New dresses for Abby

I think we finally have our computer issues worked out and so I can blog about what I've been doing during our down time. I want to get all of the children's sewing done by the end of June so that I can concentrate on sewing the baby's layette. BTW, for whatever reason blogger won't let me put these pictures in the correct order. :-(

We went fabric shopping today so that all of the girls could choose a new dress. Most of these fabrics ranged from $2.99 to $3.99 a yard and I know I'll be sorry that I didn't buy more yardage when I had the chance! From top to bottom they belong to: Abigail, Elisabethe, Rebekah, Tabitha, and Katie.

This aqua diamond dress was originally for Elisabethe but the waistband came out way too tight in spite of my correctly (or so I thought) measuring it, it therefore became a play dress for Abby. It is a little longer in the bodice and skirt than I would normally make for her, but she'll grow into it. Below is a close up so you can see the print.

The lavender dress below is the one I sewed first, it is intended to be a "Sunday best/going to Grammas" dress. It has a bateau neckline with some light gathering along the neck and cap sleeves with silk ribbon bows at the shoulder. The skirt is 80" wide with 3 half inch growth tucks and it fastens with 5 hand worked buttonholes.

And a full length shot.

This is the full length shot of the aqua dress, it is made in the same style as the lavender except there's no gathering along the neckline. The skirt is 80" which seems so full and feminine, I really like that look. It has 3 half inch growth tucks and 5 hand worked buttonholes as well.

Tabitha's revamped summer frock

I finished Tabitha's new dress today. It might look familiar as I was working on it last autumn. It originally was a winter dress with coat sleeves, but the sleeve pattern was off and after I tried to fix it and they still weren't right, well, it got put away for a while. ;-)

So I took the sleeves out and re-cut them into the loose sleeves they are now and trimmed them with waved braid. It's the 100% cotton trim that I got from E-Bay a while back; it is shaped somewhat different than modern rick rack, closer to the original stuff a little bit. The color combination is period correct for the 1860's, even though it seems pretty raucous for modern tastes. I also put 5 growth tucks in the skirt rather than my usual 3, it's a sure bet that they will have a growth spurt the minute they get a new dress! ;-) It does have a waistband, though it's hard to see; the waistband has the stripes going horizontally instead of vertically as they are in the rest of the dress. I've done that several times and I really like the way it sets off the waist.

There is a discussion over at the Sewing Academy about sewing for others. The recommended rate is between $25 and $30 an hour as advised by those who do/have made a business out of it. I timed myself when sewing the trim onto the sleeves, it took me an hour and 20 minutes to do them both. At that rate I'd pay around $40 just for the trim, not counting the actual dress construction (and the trim on the bodice!) and fabric. Dear me! I find that very motivating when I'm tempted to think that sewing is a waste of time. But regardless, it's my job to make sure the children are clothed, I suppose I should call it my duty since that's really what it is. I'm thankful for the many sewing, crafting, painting, quilting, doll making, history loving fellow bloggers who continually inspire me to approach my duties with renewed vigor and inspiration. Thanks to all of you!

This is for you, Mom!

This post is mostly written for my Mom since I promised I'd post pictures of Katie's cakes and kind of, um, forgot. ;-) Katie has been learning cake decorating from a local lady and these are her first 2 cakes. Below the rainbow would be the birthday child's name, but since this was only for practice she left the name off. And this is the cake she did today, it looked very lovely in person, the pictures don't do it justice. She is certainly enjoying learning this art and I will gladly hand the cake decorating reins over to her!

Home Economics

My last post got rather lengthy and so I left out what we did when we got home from the auction. The day had been very warm and we were so thirsty for a refreshing drink that we decided to make lemonade. Here is our recipe if you'd like to see what the real deal tastes like. Fair Day Lemonade

• 8 lemons
• 2 cups white sugar
• ice

Place lemons in a mixing bowl and cover with boiling water. This removes the wax that lemons are coated with to keep them from drying out. Let sit in water for 2-3 minutes then drain water and wipe out bowl. Place lemons on a towel and roll firmly back and forth to dry them off and to make juicier. Slice lemons thinly and place 1 layer in bottom of bowl followed by a sprinkling of sugar. Slice lemons on a plate so as not to lose any juice. Slice all lemons and use all sugar layer by layer then let it rest for a half hour. Press firmly with a beetle, don't worry if you break the pulp. Place all contents in a glass pitcher, add 3 quarts of cold water, stir well, and serve over ice cubes for your picnic luncheon at the Fair. Because of the peels, this lemonade will get bitter if left overnight and is best consumed fresh.

Also on the menu were homemade crackers. This recipe is exceedingly simple and very hardy. They hold up well in soups and are great for dipping, the recipe is so versatile that I never tire of it.

Cottage Crackers

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Mix flour and salt together thoroughly and then add water and oil. Knead until all the flour is incorporated and dough has an even consistency. Tear dough into 12 fairly even balls and coat each lightly with oil, then place on a plate and allow to rest covered with a towel for 45 minutes. Heat oven to 450 and roll each ball into a rectangle then cut into strips (these can be rolled out without using flour, the oil coating makes them not stick). Place on floured cookie sheet, poke with fork holes and add garnish. These crackers are really bland plain, our favorite toppings are garlic powder, salt and parmesan cheese. Divine! For a sweeter cracker use sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until edges lightly brown and curl. They will have more snap if allowed to cool before eating. The first time I made these I cut them into circles but the dough doesn't like to be handled too much (it will get tough) so the strips seem to work best. Enjoy!!!

Today the children dug 300-400 leeks and brought them home to be preserved. We love wild leeks, they really add zip to soups and casseroles.

Below are Elisabethe and Abigail, they were in charge of washing the stems before they got diced up.



Rebekah was washing the bulbs and placing them on a tray to be dehydrated. Tabitha, in the background, is chopping up stems.


Levi, Aleks and Micah were trimming roots off, chopping stems and placing on trays.

We will dehydrate these for a day or two and then store them in gallon size glass jars. If it appears to be an insufficient quantity, then we will try to get another batch harvested before the fields get plowed and they all are plowed under. We also made 2 batches of butter today, which never lasts long. I can't hope to put any back with the way the children eat it. ;-) I fed the buttermilk to the baby chicks, usually I use it in biscuits or pancakes or something but not today. We are also freezing at least 1 gallon of milk a day so that when Tansy is dry we won't have to resort to buying milk. I think that's all the news from the home front for now, I hope you have a lovely Wednesday evening!

The Country Auction

Have you ever been to a country auction? The kind of auction where all manner of things are sold: from real estate to automobiles, farm equipment to rocking chairs, antiques to bubble gum card collections. Often they take place to settle an estate and you never know what might come up for bid, the items in the auction notices that are listed in the newspaper are scanty at best, as only the most valuable items are generally listed. They want to draw the biggest crowd in hopes of driving the bids as high as possible. Still, there are deals to be had at an auction; we bought our wood stove for $25 at a farm auction 4 years ago, for instance. When you arrive you can feel the carnival-like atmosphere as you thread your way through the throngs of people to look over the items and dig through the boxes in hopes that a treasure lies beneath the junk. There is almost always a food vendor or two in attendance selling the typical over-priced fare that one might indeed buy at a carnival. You will at some point wait in line to register for your bidder number, unless it's an Amish auction where they will sometimes just use your name instead of assigning a number. Some auctions take place in a tent where you need to furnish your own chair, at other times the auction crowd walks along with the auctioneer as the items go up for bid. As you look over the items you are careful not to seem overly interested in anything whilst keeping an eye on anyone else who takes too great an interest in the offerings that you've decided to bid on. If you are wise you will have decided what the maximum amount is that you're willing to spend on each piece, it's far too easy to get swept along in the excitement of the moment and overbid. I've observed people pay more at an auction than the item would have cost them brand new.

I've been going to auctions since I was a little girl, but I've never been to an auction quite like the one we attended Saturday, and I never expect to see another one like it in my lifetime. The newspaper listed a Copperclad wood cook stove and since this is one of the items that we need, we wanted to attend. I spoke with the auctioneer and he said that I could come look at the stove on Thursday forenoon. When I arrived, after traversing a mile long driveway that resembled a cowpath more than anything else, I looked the stove over and decided that so hideously ugly a contraption couldn't possibly reside with us. However, also listed were some cast iron cauldrons and a copper cauldron, so I went to look at those. The elderly lady then showed me through the house and that's when I learned the unique history of this farm. The farm has been in her husband's family since the first decade of the 1800's when Christian Zurcher immigrated from Switzerland. When he bought the farm the house was already standing, though it was only a log cabin then. Karl, who is 82, is one of 4 people who jointly own the farm today; he is only the third generation since the original Christian first bought it. That does work out, but only if fathers were still siring children when fairly old. ;-) So, the farm has been in the same family for 200 hundred years; apparently somewhere around 1940 the family decided that enough progress had come and they never updated the house afterwards. One of Karl's sisters had lived in the house until her death 2 years ago, she was still canning on a wood stove. By the way, these weren't Amish people or of any religious persuasion that might account for the details that I am going to relate.

the farmhouse

Now, for the most interesting part. I have never, ever, seen a farm with so many original tools and artifacts. When they quit farming with horses, they hung the harness in the tack room, and there it still was on sale day. When feed stopped arriving in burlap sacks with the elevator's name printed on the side, they bundled them together in the granary and there they still were on sale day. When they quit molding their own candles they put the candlemold safely away, along with crocks of all descriptions, cast iron, copper kettles, the original dry sink, Hoosier cupboard, wash stands.......... This family seemingly knew the value, not the cost but the value, that these items had. You've heard of people that know the cost of everything and the value of nothing, I presume? This family was the antithesis of that belief. They didn't hoard junk but only treasured artifacts. Now, if my possessions were to be auctioned there are a fair number of antiques, but only because they were acquired, they haven't been passed to me intact through 200 years of family history.

2 nail kegs- ignore the camera date ;-)

All of the original buildings were there: along with the bank barn, chicken house, pig barn, sheep barn, honey house, tool shed, harness room, and granary, were the smokehouse, icehouse and backhouse. There was farm machinery that hasn't been in common usage for a hundred years, tools that I've never seen outside of a museum.

3 cast iron kettles and a copper one on the left

You could have purchased the farm with all the furnishings and tools and opened a museum. However, the auction attracted a lot of antique dealers and that generally means high prices, there were very few deals to be found. The cast iron kettles went for $350 - $450 a piece, considerably more than we paid for ours that was in better condition. The copper one went for $285. Karl told me that when he was a boy the cast iron kettles were used for butchering and the copper kettle was used for apple butter. A sausage stuffer went for $200 with an Amish farmer finally outbidding an antique dealer. It adds an extra burden for people who will actually use the items to have to outbid a dealer with ready cash. I wanted one of the cauldrons but I just can't compete there.

80 gallon barrel with original red paint and lid

The Zurcher family had reserved seats in the front row of the tent to watch the items as they sold. Mrs. Zurcher (the one who showed me the house) cried as certain items were sold. When the wash stand and baby crib were carried away, she didn't look. 200 years of heritage gone in the space of 5 hours. Whatever history those pieces had is now forgotten, whatever stories could be told now won't be. The majority will sit in antique shops in anonymity, with nothing unique to distinguish them from anything else around it. Aleks said it's one of the saddest things he has ever seen. It reminds me of one of the final stanzas in the poem The House With Nobody In It.

Now a new house standing empty,

with staring window and door,

Looks idle perhaps and foolish,

like a hat in its block in the store.

There's nothing mournful about it,

it cannot be sad and lone,

For the lack of something in it,

that it has never known.

But a house that has done what a house should do,

a house that has sheltered life,

That's put it's loving wooden arms

around a Man and his Wife.

A house that has echoed a baby's laugh

and held up his stumbling feet,

Is the saddest sight when it's left alone

that ever your eyes could meet.

Thoughts on poultry

What an eventful week! After my "Spring is surely here" post we got 3 days of snow storms, that meant that Tansy couldn't be turned out to graze so she was in a flounce the entire time. Poor sulking beast! The mama banty only hatched out the 2 babies that I already mentioned, the other eggs were duds; apparently the rooster has failed to grasp the full import of his duties. I would be happy to dispense with a rooster altogether, but Mr. G thinks one vital to the mental well being of the hens. I think that he only chases and torments them endlessly and they would be calmer without him. But, either way, fertile eggs are lower in cholesterol than non-fertile eggs so I guess he will get a stay of execution for now.

The chicks that we ordered from the hatchery came at 8 AM Monday morning. It was a scramble to get everything assembled for them but we managed and got them safely settled in their temporary quarters. Once their box is set up I take each chick and dip their beak in their water dish which contains about a teaspoon of jello powder mixed in the water. The sugar gives them energy which is sorely needed after their travels through the mail. I have always made the food that our baby poultry eat since I think it gives them a better start. It is also better for them because I don't feed them anything that I wouldn't eat. Commercial chick starters, with the exception of organic starters, are all medicated and filled with nasty by-products. I have never needed to give antibiotics to any poultry and certainly never to chicks. My recipe is as follows:

• 3 cups coarse ground cornmeal




• 2 cups coarse ground wheat




• large handful of rolled oats




• 1 tablespoon baking powder




• smaller handful dry molasses (can use 1/4 cup liquid molasses)




• 2 big pinches dried alfalfa




• same amount red raspberry leaf




• 1 teaspoon salt




• 6 farm fresh eggs




• enough milk to make it really moist

Mix dry ingredients then add eggs and milk. Bake on a cookie sheet at 300 until done. Let cool and then crumble. This batch I had neither alfalfa or red raspberry so we used plantain and dandelion instead. I have observed what chickens actually eat when on pasture and the greater majority is bugs and seeds, that means that they are ingesting a great deal more protein than even a 40% starter would have. My recipe contains huge amounts of protein due to the wheat, eggs and milk and I feel that they grow better this way. We rarely lose any. Obviously though, this is by no means a cheaper way to raise poultry, it's much more expensive and probably wouldn't even be possible on a commercial basis. However, I feel that for the 50 or so chicks that we have at any given time, it is the best way. Chicks also need grit but I use "kitchen economics" here also and don't buy any. I dig a cereal bowl sized clump of dirt and grass which they will scratch in thereby ingesting minerals and seeds while also getting the needed grit.

It's always exciting to see the new life in the Spring, to be reminded afresh of the annual renewal. I always wanted children in April, May, September and October. I succeeded on all counts except the April baby that never happened. Katie was born in May but she's my only Spring baby, we tend toward Autumn babies. Rebekah, Levi and Micah in August, Aleks in September, Tabitha in October, Abigail in November, and Elisabethe in December. And, the new arrival due in September! We're very excited (you'd think this doesn't happen with a fairly regular frequency!) and full of plans. All of my children were born on odd days: 23, 31, 29, 29, 21, 3, 21, 25. As you can see I'm missing a 27, so we'll root for that. ;-)