Food processing
Pesto, pesto, and more pesto. We ended up using about 50 cups of basil to make 10 jars of pesto.
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| Paisley + Basil |
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| 2 hours-worth of basil picking |
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| loaded with homegrown garlic |
Corn season is coming to an end. Within the next couple of weeks the corn will get pretty pithy, so the time to harvest is now. We picked about 30 ears of corn, blanched them, gave them an ice bath, and then stripped the cobs clean. Ken swears that the best way to cook corn is to put it in boiling water within 5 minutes of harvesting, and the taste drops off significantly if you wait any longer. I'm thinking of imposing a blind taste-test, but for now we heed his advice.
Organizing
On my WWOOFer profile, I list "organization" as one of my strengths. Ken (with much of Susan's encouragement) used my presence as motivation to clean up one of his storage areas, the garden room.
The space wasn't terribly functional before we got our hands on it. We cleared out everything and added insulation to the ceiling to start.
We then added some boards to the back wall and drilled in some rails to hang up tools.
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| finished product |
Weeding
Our last weeding project! Before we got started, we couldn't even see those purple flowers (Crocus) as they were hidden below crab grass. I enjoyed spending time weeding this bed with Suzanne, our fellow wwoofer from Switzerland. It was interesting to get some of her insights into how other areas of the world view America. She came to the farm expecting it to be giant fields of grain with big tractors and monocropped rows, but was really pleased to find the beauty at Chanticleer. She's spending 3 weeks in New Hampshire and then flies to Los Angeles for 2 weeks before heading back home.
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| crocus flower |
Saw-milling
I remember the look on Ken's face when Sean mentioned off-handedly that we had used a manual sawmill many times at our last farm. It's a shame it took us so long to start milling... we could have gotten a lot more done. By the final day of work we had milled three giant logs into a couple dozen 1.5 inch boards. Ken is hoping to put in a new floor, and he said we created enough lumber for about 20% of the project.
I really love running the mill. Although the sawdust debris and loud noises can get a bit overwhelming at times, the whole process is rewarding. It's a nice combination of problem-solving and physical labor. You must figure out the correct orientation of the log in order to get the most usable lumber out of it. Pushing the mill forward will certainly make you sweat and your whole body is fatigued by the end. You have to stay in-tune with how hard the engine is running; if you push too hard, the cut becomes warped and your board is useless. It takes patience and endurance.
A lot happened these last two weeks that I failed to photograph. For the National Day of Caring, we went to Shaker Village for a community trail-work event. We re-created a trail that had been overgrow for months, cleared out invasive species that were choking out peach trees, and removed a fallen tree from a stone wall walkway. This was the first time since Americorps that I worked with so many people at once to do environmental work, and it was amazing how much we could accomplish in such a short period of time. Later that week we went back to Shaker Village and did another weeding session through the community gardens.
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One final trip to Rumney Rocks State park. Suzanne joined along with us after only climbing a couple of times. She kept up super well and had a great day hiking around and searching for interesting routes. The highlight of the trip was a 90-ft route called "Land, Ho!". It was a large open face that overlooked the whole park from the top.
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| Suzanne kicking butt |
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I'd like to give my most sincere thanks to both Ken and Susan Koerber for welcoming us into their lives for a month and a half. We felt at home immediately due to their warm hospitality and openness. I can guarantee you that we will meet again!
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