Good Morning! <=2017

baronrenfrew · Post by **baronrenfrew** » Sun Sep 04, 2016 7:07 pm

Congrats Al! Drinking is such a part of our "culture", makes it hard at certain times. Did you take up serious coffee or tea?

Yep, feels like fall: i can sit outside with mosquitoes at a minimum (gone soon). Blue Jays are squawking up a storm across the creek (the other Blue Jays finally won vs Tampa). The firewood pile is looking good (nope didn't do a round pile...yet). Been knocking down the dead oaks: my neighbour wants 9 chords so I said yes (get my chunky butt in a shape other than round). Of course the Kubota throttle that was sticky finally let go...out in the woods with a load of wood. Thankfully it was downhill all the way...nothing faster than idle. Gotta fire up the John Deere, I hate tinkering with a machine, i'd sooner jump on and go.

goatgal35 · Post by **goatgal35** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 7:09 am

Good mornin'
Nice crisp morning. Oven is on low drying herbs, pressure canner is going with a batch of letcho, and water bath canner is bubbling away with pickles in it. I love this time of year. It's crazy busy getting all the food put up for winter. The stove runs just about non stop, which means we have to BBQ for supper every night. Have the Grandkids for a sleepover before school starts. We played catch and ate apples and pears off the trees in the yard until it was to dark to see with no mosquitoes. I guess I better wake up the kids so we can gather eggs for breakfast and then get them to help pick pears and pack cucumbers into jars. Enjoy the rest of the weekend folks :)

Maximus · Post by **Maximus** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 10:01 am

I want to play catch and eat apples and pears from the trees!!! And collect eggs for breakfast.

I've been busy canning as well. Got 62 jars of tomato sauce done over 2 days, a bunch of pears and apple sauce this weekend. Waiting on the rest of the pears to ripen more then I'll get them finished up this week. It's a raw operation, wash tomatoes, boil, skin, blender, cook, jar, phew! The pears I use cane sugar and vanilla so it's not a clear juice.

Company for a BBQ today, 9 people. You realize how jam packed your daily life is when you have to juggle canning and company and it becomes a major stressor and a crunch for time. So this morning I woke and said, well if the house isn't perfectly clean, the deck doesn't get the duck

washed off and everything isn't picture perfect, such is life. I just can't run with my head cut off anymore, it's a major reason why I am hesitant to have company. So I'll just be smooth sailing for the rest of the day. Also have bonfire with daughter and a few of her friends this evening. Pretty sure I'll be happy to let my head hit the pillow after this weekend.

I scored some really nice looking grey Swedish ducklings yesterday. There are 2 hatching this week I've snatched up as well. The one just feathering out has a nice white bib, I'm thrilled!!!

Ava and Drake need a bath but who has time today.

Well, it's getting stinking hot out already. I keep hoping for snow by Halloween :)

Cheers!!!

JimW · Post by **JimW** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 10:13 am

Well the last day of summer holidays, then back to teaching tomorrow.

Looks like lots of people have been crazy busy canning, great job!!! Hopefully next year we will plant more veggies, so we have some things to can. I wish we had fruit trees here. Our local apple orchard, Kilmarnock Orchards has closed and is going up from auction, looks like we will have to go somewhere else to pick this year. I have a few spots planned to plant apple trees next spring.

Better get outside before it gets crazy hot again.

JimW

redninja · Post by **redninja** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 10:36 am

Morning

Moved more birds over to my place last night. They are working at settling in this morning.

Making wild grape jelly with my younger daughter today. The wild grapes are fantastic this year. Only picked what we needed, about 10 quarts. Left the rest for the wildlife.

Going to pick wild apples this afternoon and start the dehydrater up. Maybe make apple sauce if I find a few different varieties.

Also need to dig and transplant the wild asparagus that's along the fence at base Borden

My youngest starts high school tomorrow. Think we are ready for that.

Going to be a busy week. Hope everyone has a great day!

Colleen Kinzie · Post by **Colleen Kinzie** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 2:48 pm

Killerbunny wrote:QR_BBPOST
thegawd wrote:QR_BBPOST good morning all! iv been sober 4 years today. I hope your all having a great long weekend!

or
Congratulations!

Congratulations Al!

baronrenfrew · Post by **baronrenfrew** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 2:50 pm

JimW wrote:QR_BBPOST Well the last day of summer holidays, then back to teaching tomorrow.

Looks like lots of people have been crazy busy canning, great job!!! Hopefully next year we will plant more veggies, so we have some things to can. I wish we had fruit trees here. Our local apple orchard, Kilmarnock Orchards has closed and is going up from auction, looks like we will have to go somewhere else to pick this year. I have a few spots planned to plant apple trees next spring.

Better get outside before it gets crazy hot again.

JimW

Aye, our local orchard is for sale as well (near Renfrew). It seems that the only way to make money farming is to : 1. Wedding or special events centre 2. Be a tourist centre with a Halloween corn maze or 3. Be in the business of "value added goods" such as cider or wine
Case in point: Sandbanks vineyard Winery in Prince Edward County; i dropped in this spring and was amazed at the "tourist trap" it had become. The variety of wines they sell, and the volume, there's no way way more than 10% of the wine is made from grapes on site (i tip my hat for making a successful business of it).

A friend has a client who is in the "apple processing" business (polishing and bagging) and he was told the local grocery stores pay less to local farmers for apples than they'll pay to overseas growers (New Zealand) as they know the farmer has few choices where and when to sell to. So the local farmers get the shaft. No wonder nobody wants to be a farmer.

JimW · Post by **JimW** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 4:35 pm

baronrenfrew wrote:QR_BBPOST
JimW wrote:QR_BBPOST Well the last day of summer holidays, then back to teaching tomorrow.

Looks like lots of people have been crazy busy canning, great job!!! Hopefully next year we will plant more veggies, so we have some things to can. I wish we had fruit trees here. Our local apple orchard, Kilmarnock Orchards has closed and is going up from auction, looks like we will have to go somewhere else to pick this year. I have a few spots planned to plant apple trees next spring.

Better get outside before it gets crazy hot again.

JimW
Aye, our local orchard is for sale as well (near Renfrew). It seems that the only way to make money farming is to : 1. Wedding or special events centre 2. Be a tourist centre with a Halloween corn maze or 3. Be in the business of "value added goods" such as cider or wine
Case in point: Sandbanks vineyard Winery in Prince Edward County; i dropped in this spring and was amazed at the "tourist trap" it had become. The variety of wines they sell, and the volume, there's no way way more than 10% of the wine is made from grapes on site (i tip my hat for making a successful business of it).

A friend has a client who is in the "apple processing" business (polishing and bagging) and he was told the local grocery stores pay less to local farmers for apples than they'll pay to overseas growers (New Zealand) as they know the farmer has few choices where and when to sell to. So the local farmers get the shaft. No wonder nobody wants to be a farmer.

That's too bad, another orchard is for sale. The one near me is right on the Rideau River, has 1500 apple trees, it was a great little spot. They did not open last year due to frost killing most of the apple blooms, this year looks like a good crop of apples, just falling to the ground, local wildlife will be happy.

I am hoping someone buys it and re-opens as an orchard, it would be a real shame, if it did not. I will go check out the auction to watch.

Post by **Killerbunny** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 6:45 pm

Our local maple syrup producer tried to do pancake breakfasts, functions and that type of thing. The demand was there but every time they went ahead with plan the Township just put more and more roadblocks up. Very sad.

baronrenfrew · Post by **baronrenfrew** » Mon Sep 05, 2016 8:02 pm

Yep, then the baloney sets in, you need an upgraded septic, fire alarm, environmental plan, commercial kitchen (which is why many just hire food trucks for the occasion) etc. etc. etc. and $100,000 later...