Chronicles of the Long Shot Farm

We were really lucky, being just past the edge of the hurricane path – the counties east of us (Dauphin, Lebanon, and York) all got hit harden than us, with much more rain, more trees down and more wind damage.  We lost power during the night and it was not restored until mid afternoon today (Sunday) – but relatively speaking, that was nothing. Just hoping the states north of us don’t get hit too hard.

Beatiful afternoon the day after the Storm

Incredibly enough, Sunday afternoon turned out to be a gorgeous late summer day, warm and sunny, with just a bit of a breeze.  We worked in the grapes, pulling weeds in the last row – this gave us 5 loads of weeds in the back of the fourwheeler – nice addition to the compost, and a great workout.  But the grapes looked happy!

We have been seeing Turkeys everywhere – even Tina saw a whole flock over the weekend (so many, that she accidentally used a 4-letter word).  But now there is proof:  Sammy took some pictures this afternoon of turkeys sitting on our trellis end-posts in our blackberry patch.  By the time she got close enough with her camera, some had already left.

Finally this week we were able to start making spaghetti sauce (2 batches so far), and Duff and Anja stopped by to help make 2 batches of salsa.  They took more tomatoes to Pittsburgh with them, to work on pizza sauce and another type of salsa as well.  We also have been having tomatoes in salad and pasta, on sandwiches and burgers.  Just can’t beat the taste of fresh, ripe, homegrown tomatoes!!!

We had our first pig roast over the 4th of July weekend – not our first ever pig roast, but the first one at the farm.  It was a combination of open house, birthday and graduation party (like they always seem to be), and pretty much followed the same schedule as out previous pig roasts:  aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents come all afternoon, and friends of our kids come toward evening.  We basically served food twice, first for a late lunch around 2:00, then again around 6:30.  In between – and afterwards – we have coffee and desserts, and chips, vegies, fruit and other snacks were always out.  Toward evening we also had some of every wine we made last year together with a selection of cheese.

Everything was set up in the back yard – which meant easy access to electricity, bathrooms and the refrigerator/freezer.  A bonfire with benches as set up across the street (with a cooler of drinks and another cooler of snacks, including all the makings for smores)

We put the pig on the roaster around 1:30 am on Saturday morning, stuffing half of it with bread stuffing (the same recipe we use for a turkey – basically cubes bread, onions and celery cooked sauteed in butter, and seasoned with salt, pepper and sage) and the other half with sauerkraut (since we had so much!).  We used a large can of fruit cocktail in heavy syrup to 4 quarts of sauerkraut.  The basic bread stuffing started off with 4 loaves of bread.  Next year, we need to double both quantities – at least!

With the roasted pig and stuffing we had baked potatoes (fresh from the garden, wrapped in aluminum foil and “baked” on the grill outside), as well as hot corn (frozen from last year’s harvest).  Everyone brought something along, including vegies trays, pasta salads, baked beans, dips and chips, rolls, fresh fruit, melons etc.  We had made brewed ice tea and lemonade, which we kept in two 5 gallon self-serve cooler, plus water, soda and a keg of Sam Adams “summer ale”.  It was quite a feast!

With everyone there to help out, set-up and cleaning was done quickly and efficiently.  Next year will be even smoother, as we will know where everything is to be set up (ie level ground for buffet tables – which are closet doors balanced on rain barrels), ensuring there is enough shade throughout the day to keep things manageable.  Plus we know where everything is stored since the move 🙂