WINE WORKS.
Blackberry season has indeed proved fruitful––pun only mildly intended––and now we have three different batches of blackberry wine in the works. We could probably at least get one more batch out of those bushes, but with four carboys already spoken for, we'll have to find some more containers. I added some beets to one batch––because why not?––and I'm eager to see how that one turns out. Beets are wildly healthy and a famous vegetable in the fermented world, especially in the Ukraine where beet kvass is a bit of a staple. Why not throw some into the wine?The mulberry wine is bottled, the blackberry wines are rolling, the oatmeal beer seems to be maturing nicely, and we haven't even arrived at melon or pear season yet... it's going to be a bubbly summer. And hopefully, if all goes well, a pretty fortified winter!- Jesse.
ANIMAL FARM.
So, for those of you waiting to find out what brand of creature Hannah and I were preparing for this week...we'd like to officially introduce you to Johnny, June and Reba––our new RABBITS! We drove to Lexington on Thursday and purchased two young bunnies and a pregnant "doe" as they are referred to in rabbit terminology. They will be our breeders and, according to the wonderful people who sold them to us, we will have baby bunnies from Reba on July 16th, or thereabouts!Between the chickens, the new bunnies, and Wendell, it's nice to finally have a variety of animals around. Animals are the heartbeat of a farm, the life, and they give your day routine. They are the first thing you tend to in the morning––even before yourself––and the last thing at night. And even though they do require sacrifice, because you have to be around to feed, water and shelter them seven days a week, they also reward your sacrifice ten-fold. The chickens will soon give us eggs for food and shells for compost. The rabbits will provide us with manure for fertilizer, along with meat and bunnies to sell for more income. Wendell will help protect them. And they all make us laugh and smile. With the addition of the rabbits, Hannah and I are beginning to feel as though, even if we don't own the land, we have our own little farmstead going. And it feels lively.- Jesse.
WENDELL WEDNESDAY.
Only occasionally do we let Wendell come in the house (like when it is one million degrees outside like today) but as soon as he comes in, he runs straight for the bed. A bit spoiled, maybe?
WE ARE INSANE.
Jesse and I clearly don't have enough going on, so we've decided to add another venture to our busy little farming lives. We started building this crazy contraption yesterday, as always, out of scraps of junk we managed to find. Any guesses as to who is joining the Rough Draft family tomorrow?
