I had a couple farm visitors looking to buy rabbits this week. Here is one of the Chocolate Silver Fox bucks that we sold. Brother M and I had a fun time trying to get them to pose in show positions so that the buyers could get a sense of their conformation before coming over.
Big sister A made meringues which left me with a bunch of yolks to use up. I made lemon curd and then decided to try a basic sponge cake recipe from a European baking book that I found at a thrift store. I know it is likely a British recipe since the measurements are in grams and the text in English. Loved it! Super simple with only a few ingredients - a lot of eggs (6!), very little sugar, and still nice and moist. Perfect for lemon curd or jam.
I also got the Prairie Homestead cookbook from the library. We made the Apple Puff pancakes on National Pancake Day.
Last Sunday, I finished making an XL batch of a tincture (herbal remedy) called "Red Plague Remedy". Here is
the story about it. I feel, especially in light of a possible current pandemic, that it is always good to be prepared with home remedies for serious illnesses. Regardless of whether or not you believe Claudia's story about the recipe, the ingredients are sound herbal remedies for a lot of different flu/pneumonia type symptoms -- so it made sense to me to make a batch. I only made a quarter batch of what her recipe calls for and am dividing it & the costs of making it with two friends.
Because the herbs are tinctured in alcohol, it should remain potent for the next 15-20 years.
Plant and seed starting are continuing to expand rapidly. I already have too much to fit on the grow light shelves and am rotating things in 12 hour shifts.
Broccoli plants are hardening off -- going out on the porch for a few hours every morning. I hope to get them in the garden under row covers later this week.
The josta berry hardwood cuttings have been in cold storage (garage) for more than a month now and I think it is time to let them enjoy some sun and try to leaf out.
My little rosmarinis officinalis (rosemary) plant arrived in the mail from Monticello gardens just before the last frost. I was afraid that it would not survive the winter and made a gallon pickle jar into a little cloche/greenhouse for it. This is the first year that I have had a rosemary plant survive the winter. It is thriving! Even growing out the edges a little. Hopefully it will grow sturdy this year and I won't need a cloche for it next winter. I am sure it will not fit in a gallon jug by then...
Lots of progress on my land clearing project this week. There are just a few big logs left that hubby will need to move with the tractor and/or cut into woodstove size pieces.
I also spent time in the orchard this week. I pruned all the trees and fertilized them with nice slow release rabbit manure. A few needed some straightening or reinforcement of their protective cages. I finished most of that too.
The elderberry bushes got the most serious pruning. I took out a third of the branches and pruned all the remaining ones down by a third. (I did the same thing last year as well). My big goal for the orchard is to keep all the trees to about my height or within arms reach and of course as healthy/fruitful as can be. Every year before I prune I read more about it and learn new tips. This year I focused on keeping and encouraging more horizontal branches.
I potted up all the hardwood elderberry cuttings that were the right thickness (3/4") -- about 50 altogether from the three bushes. I also notices some softwood sprouts at the base of the bushes already. I will pot those up for the plant sale as it get closer.
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