Summer Solstice

The summer solstice was yesterday evening, around 7:00. I had just finished up the milking dishes and shade was finally spreading over the hillside, so Bird and I went for a stroll. We stopped to smell the flowers:

In the Garden...

And in the Wild

 We walked through the garden.

Stop to Smell the Garlic

Anticipation

 We checked on all the critters up the hill, who seemed to be bearing the heat well.

Not Broiled Chickens

Veronica and Vervain

Bird Is Very Patient

Finally, we came home and surveyed the fruits (and vegetables) of the day's labor: two pounds of  garlic scapes and a jar of asparagus pickled, eight quarts of strawberries preserved, and two nice cabbages fermenting into kimchee. Canning was not the smartest way to spend the hottest day of the year, but I think it was worth it. And it seemed a fitting way to kick off the summer.

Pickles and Preserves #1

 Happy first day of summer, everyone!

Wednesday is Kale Day

Suddenly, it is summer in the garden. Almost all the beds are planted, and we have been harvesting radishes, spring garlic, lettuce, spinach, and other greens for weeks now. The spinach is amazing, but a close runner up is dinosaur kale, a new crop for me this year. Unfortunately, Farmer Fin got burned out on kale a couple of years ago, so it has become sort of a guilty pleasure for me, to be enjoyed on the days that he is in Manhattan.

 

Last night's dinner was so good, I have to share: leftover polenta and dino kale steamed in white wine with sauteed garlic scapes (just coming up this week; time to get out my canner and get to pickling). I made the polenta earlier in the week as a way to use up the remaining jars of tomato sauce in the pantry.  

I use the recipe in Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything, with the minimum amount of water. Basically you boil 4 cups of water, add a cup of polenta in a slow stream, whisking vigorously, reduce the heat to low, whisk every minute for five minutes, then switch to a wooden spoon and stir pretty much constantly for 15 or 20 minutes. When it's cooked I stir in lots of good butter from Cowbella in Jefferson, NY. Spread some sauce on top, sprinkle with cheese (mozz from the store, cheddar and parm from the basement), and broil it for a few minutes. For the kale, I chop a few scapes and cook them for a few minutes in olive oil, then add the kale and some (lousy) white wine that was left in the fridge. I think I could eat this every day. I recommend it for you kale fans out there. 

May Flowers

I know that lots of people live in cold climates, like Scandinavia, Alaska, Minnesota, and such. However, this is the farthest north I've ever lived (and really, would ever want to live, unless I succumb to the temptations of Maine - Vacationland! - or maybe Nova Scotia), and I'm still getting used to the delayed seasons here in the Helderberg Hills. This year, though, the month of May is just like the Mays of my youth in the mid-Hudson Valley, 1° south of here in latitude. 

It started with the apple blossoms. The first week of May smelled wonderful and buzzed with bees.

The Goats' Second Pasture

My birthday is in May. Farmer Fin took me for a shopping spree at the Barber's Farm greenhouses. I was like a kid in a candy store. Plus I had ice cream for lunch. 

 

 

All sorts of violets and other little wildflowers started bursting out everywhere, along with the wild strawberries. Then, the lilacs made the air almost sickly sweet. Also, something about this warm, rainy weather is encouraging all sorts of flora I haven't seen here before, like these columbines that popped up in the backyard.

Bees Love Columbines, and Hummingbirds Do Too

Vervain's Debut

On Sunday, the 22nd, Earth Day, right after breakfast, Violet gave birth to a single kid. The baby was huge, as big as her week-old cousins. Like all the rest, she was on her feet within ten minutes. We waited, but no twin came. When we peeked under her tail, we high-fived: another doeling! Her name is Vervain. Now she is three days old, and in a break between dramatic rain and (sigh) snow showers today, she joined her herd outside for the first time.

Vervain and Violet

Vervain was timid for a few minutes, but she was soon ready to explore. 

Violet is a Helicopter Mother

Hoppiness

Today was the first day outside for Juniper's kids, Jade and Jasmine. They got some exercise and met their herd mates, including Pansy's kids. Sorry for the lousy video quality; the cuteness comes through anyway.

The Cuteness

Cotton Hill Farm just got a lot cuter. Pansy had her kids on Friday the Thirteenth, a buckling and a doeling. Here they are like five minutes after they were born. That's the little guy taking his first steps.

 

Today I tried to get Pansy out into the sun for a bit with little Petunia and Billy Goat. They were all pretty cautious about leaving the shed, but they played outside for a few minutes.

 

All weekend, the vigil continued for Juniper. We started to think she had forgotten to have her kids, even though she was so wide she could barely walk around.

 

The waiting paid off, though. Yesterday after a short and simple labor, she delivered two little girls! After that, we saw the first rainbow of the year. Sometimes life is beautiful.

Jade

I can already tell she's an adventurous one; she was outside the barn when I went up in the morning. 

Jasmine

 Juniper's kids have pink noses and giant rabbit ears!!!

 

We have a short break now before Violet kids. Stay tuned for progress reports and more cuteness.

Suspenseful Spring Saturday

Mostly what we are doing is waiting for Juniper to give birth. Today might be the day. She is large.

Jumbo Junie

Last night we checked on her at 2 AM. The moon was so bright that we didn't need a flashlight. When we got back fifteen minutes later, the bed was still warm.