Vintage Home and Farm

Time is just flying by, and I realized I had not posted anything here in quite a while. So, I updated our bee journal and garden journal with all the latest. I thought I'd share what else we've been up to here in the blog as well. We volunteered at the Lavender Festival in our local beekeeper's association tent a few days ago. It was so lovely there at the George Washington Inn's lavender farm. My daughter and I both wore long dresses and straw hats. The day before the lavender festival, we went clam digging. It was our first time digging for clams up here in this area. We've dug razor clams many times on the Washington coast. These were a bit different. We each managed to get our limit, about 10 pounds each, of butter clams and horse clams. I made Manhattan Clam Chowder last night and froze the rest for enjoying later, either as clam fritters or New England Clam Chowder. Our clam digging location was Fort Flagler , which isn't too far from Port Towsend, Washi...

We placed several empty Warre-style hives around our property, and incredibly, we had the good fortune of capturing our honeybee swarm! (If you missed it, see the article about our swarm - we had no idea what was happening!) It was interesting to see which of the three empty hives they picked. They liked the smaller one (less space to defend perhaps) that was in the best shape (who wouldn't choose the house that needs the least fixing up, right?). Now that the swarm has moved into their new home, we've been thinking about what they might need. I contacted our local beekeeper's association for advice, and as I suspected, they suggested giving them food. But, how do you put food in a Warre-style hive? We honestly had no idea. The feeders that work in a Landsthroth hive don't fit a Warre hive. It began to feel like we were back at square one learning about how to care for bees! But fortunately, I found a video that showed using a glass canning jar, poking holes in the lid...

We heard a loud buzzing sound outside the front window where I sit at my computer working (I work remotely), so I went outside and saw thousands of honeybees zooming wildly in every direction in the garden near the hives. Ten thousand square feet of garden space covered in a cloud of honeybees! The air was filled with the insanely flying bees, it was like a bee storm! They absolutely NEVER act like this. We couldn't get close to it because they were out of control. Eventually, the bee storm died down, but the loud buzzing noise continued. Perplexed, I walked around, trying to figure out what was going on. The noise was overhead, and as I looked up, further and further up, to the very top of our deodor cedar tree (about 100 feet or more), I saw the swarming mass of bees had moved up there! They were in a loose swarm, flying in circles near the top. I managed to get the whole experience on video, from the moment we saw the craziness going on in the garden, to when the swarm formed at...

It can be challenging to figure out how to help a sick hen get better, especially if you don't have a veterinarian who can assist you. After 8 years of raising chickens and ducks, we struggle with it every time. In some cases, old age is the culprit, but we've also had the good fortune of finding a few things that seemed to work when there is an illness or injury. I like to document what we've attempted to make it easier to remember the next time around, and it's also good to share ideas to help others. So, here are 10 ideas we've tried that helped our sick or injured hens get better. Important note: Do not eat eggs laid by hens that you know are sick. While it may depend on the treatments given to the hen and the nature of their illness as to whether their eggs are safe, it is just generally not recommended to eat their eggs. The eggs will likely be of poor quality; the shell may be so thin that the egg is compromised with bacteria; and any medications the hen has ...

Imagine having homemade sour cherry crumble, four pie tins full, ready, and waiting in your freezer. All you have to do is take one out, let it thaw, and then bake it on a cookie sheet. I'm still working on using up the fruit that I froze last summer, including tart cherries. So, I decided to make a few pie tins full of sour cherry pie filling and then add a crumble topping made with oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and walnuts. In all, the batch I made filled four 8-inch tinfoil pie plates. Then, each of these fits inside a gallon ziplock bag. I used a straw to remove the air from each bag. They're ready to go into the freezer. With any kind of frozen dessert that has a crumble topping, I think I'll thaw it in the fridge first. That way, the topping won't get too brown during baking. Alternatively, I think you could bake it at a low temperature (like 325 degrees F) for a half-hour and then increase the heat at the end if needed. If the top starts to get browned,...

  We had a busy weekend filled with farm activities. This past week, we took care of Patch the donkey while his owners were on vacation. He's a sweet animal. But it did mean a few extra chores every day. Everyone helped and we even managed to get his stall all cleaned out on Saturday before his owners returned. I've spent many hours in the garden, planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting. We also weeded around our hundred or so blueberry bushes (that was a terrible chore). Yesterday, I saw a giant orange and black bumblebee on the blue borage flowers. It was the biggest bumblebee I've ever seen. It was drifting from flower to flower, just like the smaller bees. Above is the best photo I was able to get, but it doesn't do the bee justice. I mean, he was ENORMOUS, the size of four regular bumblebees.   My husband helped me hang a vintage goose tea towel rack my sister gave me ages ago. We had to put a couple of anchors into our lathe and plaster wall, which is why I ha...

Last weekend, we bought a practically new hammock at a local auction. First, my husband had to order straps to attach the hammock to the trees. Then the straps arrived today. My husband wasted no time getting the hammock up and testing it out. In fact, each of us took turns climbing inside it.     It's amazingly cozy. I was surprised at how relaxing it actually was stretched out there. All of us agreed this is the perfect summer spot. The trees we put the hammock between seem to be growing at precisely the correct distance from each other so that a hammock could hang there. Was it planned that way? Sure does seem like it. Look at the beautiful tree canopy above. Family and friends, come and stay with us and enjoy the hammock this summer!