Back to the "new" grind, WonderMill Junior

Hijacking a theme from David at True Blue Sam, we needed to do something about the corn harvest from last fall. We had an overabundance of popcorn and there is no way we could pop a bushel (plus or minus). We have a lot of movies in the library, but not that many.

We've raised Ladyfinger popcorn which is best to eat during a John Wayne marathon, but our second variety, Robust, has larger kernels. We used the Robust popcorn to make caramel corn that turned out okay. Cleanup wasn't fun though.

And... we got this in January:

A WonderMill Junior. Since I've been grinding, I discovered that I'm not really in shape for this and a half hour is about my limit (but getting better). Having to grind several pounds of corn to break in the stone burrs, I tossed the cracked corn to the birds. But today, we made this as our first attempt at making something for us to eat:

Was it worth all that grinding?

Yep.

I cheated a bit, though. I used a drill to grind with the included steel burrs on the first pass and break the hard kernel. Made a mess until I adapted a shroud to catch all the dust that flew everywhere. I put in the stone burrs to make a finer corn meal and ground it by hand.

The Mrs. used this recipe and it was pretty good stuff. A bonus is that I didn't break a tooth after biting something crunchy. It could have been a stone but more likely just a hard bit of a kernel. My choppers are still intact.

I'm looking at an attempt at tortillas, next. Tacos on Tuesday?

One good thing is that we are gaining confidence that if I lose my job again, we can at least feed ourselves with what we grow. We have the skills to grow our own food, preserve what we harvest and we intend to pass it on.

In the mean time, another square of cornbread seems to be within reach.

Merry Christmas!

Like this little Black Hills Spruce, The Stranded Tree Farm has a vision to grow a little bit each year, to be bigger and brighter than the year before.

This has been another busy year off the farm which affects family (obvious), friends (our few faithful readers) and the farm itself. We've had a few disappointments on the farm, such as two plantings of sweetcorn that failed and the loss of several fruit trees. Some surprises along the way, like the late green bean crop that was shared with our neighbors.

We hope everyone's Christmas is happy as we look forward to another busy year. If we can get more accomplished, we will see less from our disappointed robin (and I saw this guy a lot this year):

In the tradition of sharing Christmas songs:



Merry Christmas from the Stranded Tree Farm!

Wednesday wildlife, our green friend

Found among the blackberries:

I enjoy the small things like these frogs and hope he fills up on those Japanese Beetles this year. The neighbors have been spraying to try to control those devastating pests and they decided to congregate on my corn instead.

Drought warning for August, 2017

With barely an inch of rain since June 1st, this is the result:

 

 

What likes the Grand Canyon, this is an example of what the hay ground looks like. This is the 5th summer out of the seven that we've had the acreage where rain has been way below average. This week will be spent on pump repairs. And weed cutter repairs. Oh, and work on the mower. You get the point. (It's been one of those summers.)

Legacy trees, pin oak and red maple

A good friend of ours retired earlier this summer and as a tribute to Bill and his wife, Kathy, we decided to plant a couple of trees in their honor. Bill picked a picked a pin oak and Kathy chose a red maple. Interesting choices in that we have a plentiful supply of seeds and acorns and typically transplant young sprouts each year although not close together.

That changed as I planted several pin oak seedlings in the row next to the hay ground in the same row as red maples that were planted a couple of years ago. Space was available after we lost several due to our ongoing battle with rabbits.

Here's a look:

Pin Oak

 Red Maple

I've known Bill and Kathy for over 35 years and our paths have come together and diverged at least a dozen times in that period. I know that they've supported us behind the scenes throughout the years. As an honor of them and our friendship, these two seedlings are a reminder of their legacy here in Iowa and I think of them each time I haul water, cut weeds and other work.

Just a small token of appreciation for a couple of people that made a difference in our lives.

Friday is buck day, June buck

This guy is in a hurry

June brings berries

Very low yield for our first year of strawberries. After almost three weeks of no rain and with a pump breakdown, we only got about 5 quarts. You can't expect much without moisture and starlings taking their toll.

Flavorful and low numbers, but still enjoyed.

Wednesday wildlife, a little protection this week

I kind of like this doe:

 

She's not taking crap from a rabbit:

Friday is buck day, young buck

Those antlers will grow in someday.

Wednesday wildlife, a little late for Mothers' Day

After several summers of seeing twins, we have just the one this year.