The Frugal Farm Living life deliberately

Look how big these goslings are getting! They came to live here three weeks ago today. Here is a picture that might help you get some perspective. Look how small they were! But they were three times the size of a baby chick!

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9.8.09 25 quarts canned pears
9.5.09 8 trays dried peaches
9.5.09 17 quarts canned peaches
9.5.09 5 quarts garlic dill pickles
9.4.09 7 quarts garlic dill pickles
8.30.09 6 1/2 cups crushed blackberries
8.29.09 4 pints green beans canned
8.24.09 14 pints green beans canned
8.17.09 4 cups crushed blackberries
8.18.09 10 pints green beans canned
8.13.09 8 pints green beans canned
8.12.09 2 cups crushed blackberries
8.7.09 6 cups crushed blackberries
7.16.09 2 cups black currant jelly
7.15.09 13 1/2 cups crushed raspberries, 4 lbs blueberries frozen
7.11.09 18 1/2 cups crushed raspberries
7.6.09 2 batches freezer jam, 10 cups crushed raspberries
7.3.09 2 cups red currant jelly
5.28.09 32 pints cooked blackberry jam
4.17.09 8 lbs strawberries into the freezer

As I am sure is the case with many other parents, I have tried various systems and charts and lists to get my kids to do chores, and do them consistently, especially in the summer. This spring I started brainstorming about how I was going to have a successful summer with the children and I came up with this idea.  read more »

I have picked over five gallons of raspberries in the last ten days. I have made about 3 gallons of raspberry jam, and one-third of that was seedless. Three of the kids have swimming lessons every day. When I have a chance to get online, somehow I forget that I even have this blog. There are three more weeks until part of the children go back to school. I'm sure by then the rest of the garden will require all my attention. I hope you're having a good summer, too!

I mentioned a week ago that I'd picked the first of the red raspberries. The kids picked some during the week but yesterday I felt it was time for a serious harvest. I picked about a quart, but left hundreds of almost-ripe berries that will probably get picked tonight.  read more »

We got some fluffy mail today! Eleven baby goslings will be taking up residence here at The Frugal Farm. I might be a little crazy for taking this on, but it ought to be fun.

Click on the picture to go to flickr and see the rest of the photos.

I have caught this raccoon taunting this skunk on at least three separate nights. The raccoon has not been skunked. Yet.

They are both hungry, and eating (or trying to eat) cat food.

A little-known fact is that Frugaldad is half Canadian. His dad was born and raised in Alberta. When I saw this plate at the thrift store last fall I snatched it right up.  read more »

Back in December I blogged about how my washing machine was broken. I am putting this post up full of keywords and links in hopes that it can help someone, because I certainly never found anything that would have led me to the answers that I needed.

The background and the problem  read more »

Blogged at the renovation blog.