What did I do with my Saturday night? Extracted honey. You?

In the Spring of 2012, I helped (watched and took pictures, mostly) Vicki at Zilke Vegetable Farm hive some honeybees to replace hives that had been lost over a particularly hard winter. I wrote about this experience, and how it changed my outlook on those little busy buzzers forever.  

Last weekend, we had the privilege of helping extract honey from the frames that had been produced by those bees (well, some - one of the two hives was lost this last Winter and re-hived in the Spring).

Welcome home, honey(bees)!

I was super sad to hear that the hives at Zilke Vegetable Farm did not make it through the winter.  The good news is that Vicki has absolutely no intention of giving up on them.  She placed an order for three new colonies of bees to get three hives up and running once again this year.  I begged to be a part of the hiving for a couple of reasons.   First, I have had a totally irrational fear of bees that has been almost uncontrollable.  I am embarrassed by the way they've made me shake and run as though they were going to eat me alive.  As totally non-threatening as honey bees are, they terrified me.  I've wanted to get over that so I don't teach Lexi to be a crazy person over insects.  Second, I am a firm believer in documenting things that we are involved in (obviously, since I am always writing about it here...)

Opening Soon!

May 19, 2012!!!

Being good friends with the farmers who run a farm stand is such a blessing. I get inside access to planting, playing in the dirt and information. I have been anxiously anticipating them setting an opening date and was finally given an approximate date, May 19!!!! I won't hold them to it though as weather and other circumstances really dictate the date, but I wouldn't be heartbroken if they were open already! :-) They are feeling better prepared this year and ready to open earlier as a result. Make the time to stop out to see them on Carpenter Road in Milan, just North of US-23, on the east side of the road.  I guarantee you will want to go back, again and again.

Vibrant, delicious lettuce
growing strong

The lettuce has been coming for quite some time, stored turnips from last season have come and gone through the weekly farmers market at Original Gravity Brewery (every Wednesday 5-7pm - with Happy Hour being extended for market hours), and lots of wonderful new things are in the ground and growing along already!

One sweet haul and one heck of a good time! A lesson in life and the evolution of Ball jars (in part)

Saturday, I got a quick text from my dear friend saying, "Five boxes of used canning jars at an auction - 25 jars, many blue, per box - $5 each.  SCORE!!" This was followed by "Come see them!" How could I resist?

I went right over and while she washed, I did a preliminary sort. When I went home for the evening, I printed out some of the resources I have found on the history of the Ball brand and their logo, to take back with me on Sunday. Armed with information, we set about identifying what treasures were in her haul, and to determine an actual count. My preliminary sort from the day before was helpful here, as I had grouped by color and similar logos to try to separate time frames of production. When we were confident we had them all ordered chronologically, we began cataloging the inventory and photographing each style for reference. There was a marvelous mix of blue and clear Ball, aqua and clear Atlas, lavender and clear Kerr, as well as several other interesting fruit jars and miscellaneous jars produced by Ball and Atlas for commercial purposes (these originally came with food in them from the grocery store - pasta sauce, commercially canned fruit. etc.). The commercial jars were labeled with the actual product label, so the jar manufacturer was molded quietly into the bottoms of these jars.

Chronological lineup

I spent the entire day (from noon-ish to 7pm or so) with Vicki, organizing, cataloging, and all-around appreciating these beautiful and historic gems. We learned together about some of the history of the company, associated patents and government regulations, all of which shaped the history of this line of fruit/canning jars. We lined them up for a "family" photo and Vicki took a video of the progression.

Aside from the learning and productivity we experienced all afternoon, the greatest gift was not that she sent me home with some beautiful jars to add to my collection (although it was extremely generous and is unbelievably appreciated), but the amazing gift of friendship. We got to know each other better and had what we decided was a proper, soul-feeding Sunday afternoon. As humans, we all need a day now and then that recharges our being and revitalizes our spirit. This was the sort of day we had. We bonded, shared, laughed and let go of the stresses of the workweek together. It was, I believe, the greatest gift that can be shared between friends. I made sure to tell her how  much it meant to me and how blessed I am to call such a lovely person my friend. Everyone should be so lucky!

Enough with the mushy stuff. Let me cover some of the history we pieced together. Please keep in mind, this is the assembled history of only those jars she acquired in the lot. It is in NO WAY a complete reference, nor am I an expert in any way. All dates are approximate, as there was often overlap and ambiguity as to when the molds were removed from production and new ones were introduced. I will list the major resources from which I gleaned my information and I highly recommend anyone interested go check out the information for themselves. That said, here is what we learned:

Closing up for the season

After an unusual season with respect to weather, the time had come in our region to put the farms and gardens to bed for a winter's rest.  Our garden was spent, since the frost has sealed its fate, and we wereequally ready to rest until we begin preparing for the next season in the coldest part of winter.  

Our dear friends, the Zilke's, had labored with love, determination and sheer guts for many months to deliver the freshest, healthiest produce to their CSA members and patrons of the farm stand.  The time had come for them to close the big white doors on the barn and spend some time recharging their batteries.  Just as the farm needs to spend some time resting and recharging for the next season, so do its caretakers.  

S, the little one and I had the high privilege of spending much of their last day at the farm stand with them, while they buttoned things up and made the final preparations to take a break. We spent time harvesting sunflower heads to salt and roast later (another post to come),  husking a truckload of popcorn, cleaning up at the stand and helping them ready it for their absence. 

It was a cold day, and it got less pleasant as the day went on.  It was as if Mother Nature were saying, "It's okay.  You can rest now.  I've got it from here."  As the day neared its close, it began "snowing."  It wasn't real snow, with fluffy flakes, but a hard, frozen pellet like snow that made it clear we no longer needed to be outdoors.  The message was heartily received. 

Bound for Florida with nearly a solid month of rest and relaxation as their only obligation, these hard-working and deserving farmers were ready when this day came.

Tom and Vicki made the final decision and, together, flipped the sign that held their hours to reveal a new message:

Zilke Vegetable Farm Stand

It is no secret that I love hanging out with the Zilke's and spending time shopping their farmstand.  Over Labor Day weekend, I had the privilege of helping them out at the stand on my two days off (Friday and Monday) in order to give them a little freedom on those days.  It was a welcome respite for me as well. I got to spend the days surrounded by gorgeous produce and in the company of some truly superb folks.  

Friday was a very hot day.  Nearly 100 degrees Farenheit, it was sweltering when there was no breeze. I can't say that I minded it in the least.  The customers were wonderful and gobbling up the corn as fast as we could stock it on the shelf.  It was interesting to watch folks choose what they wanted fresh for their holiday get-togethers.  Helping them find the right, fresh, delicious produce to make their meals special was a ton of fun and immensely rewarding.  

A day in the country for a couple of city folks

Last weekend we had the pleasure of hosting some friends, Z and N,  in our home for the better part of a day.  They are both from the city.  Originally from London and Los Angeles, let's just say they are not super familiar with a country lifestyle. :-) The thing I looked forward to the most was cooking for them.  We had gone to visit with them in the last couple months and they treated us to a traditional English Lamb Roast and accompanying delights such as Yorkshire pudding.  The meal was amazing!

It was very important to me, when they came to see us, to share with them a simple country meal to show them our "traditions."  Our intended menu included grilled chicken, beans and carrots fresh from the garden (also grilled), and maybe a cherry pie made with the tart cherries we just picked.  We also thought about fried zucchini cakes with feta cheese and maybe some potatoes.  An early morning trip to the farmer's market finalized the menu and we were off to a great start.  The four of us drove around the area, along the way sharing with them fields of wheat just being combined, others being baled.  The soy beans are struggling in many fields this year, but we introduced our friends to those as well as field corn (and what it looks like when it has been terribly dry).  Our drive passed by farms of varying sizes and functions (grain, cattle, etc.)  When we returned home we, of course, showed them the garden (weeds and all) :) and the laying flock.

While we were out on our tour of the area, Z mentioned that he would like to try venison some time.  PLAN CHANGE! :-)  As soon as we arrived home, I got started on dinner, thawing some venison backstrap to fry up for sampling.  It was such a hit, we decided to cook up rest of the backstrap and have it as a main course instead.    While it was thawing, we had a lovely chat and the guys started talking about the lawn.  Z had never ridden a lawnmower, so Shane, with his new found mastery of the mower, took Z out to the back yard to teach him how.  It was FANTASTIC!  He looked as delighted as Shane was the first time he rode it.

Our country meal came together nicely, consisting of venison, rosemary roasted potatoes, mixed fresh veggies from the garden, zucchini cakes and cherry cobbler.  I had hoped to have time to make a pie, but the cobbler was simpler and tasted amazing.  After dinner we taught them to play euchre (a card game most commonly played in the Midwest) and we thoroughly enjoyed a couple games.  It was an absolute pleasure to share our slower lifestyle with some city folks.  It was obvious that the way we live is very different from the pace and style of their city lives.  Whenever we have the opportunity to share our life and learn about the lives of others, we jump at the chance.  In this case, we were especially grateful to have the opportunity since these dear friends will soon be moving out of state with the ARMY and will not have the opportunity to visit often.  I must say, we are blessed to have such awesome friends.