Decisions, Decisions

It seems like autumn is often a time of decision-making. With the holidays coming up, there's the decision of where to spend Thanksgiving & Christmas. There's Christmas presents to be picked out. Its nearly time to pick out what seeds we'll be trying to grow in the garden next year. There's often financial decisions based on tax implications for the year. Etc., etc. Amongst all these I'm also battling with another very important decision...what to brew next. The cool weather makes me think darks, bocks, porters, & stouts. But the complications involved in brewing a lager (e.g., bock), are making me think twice about attempting that one next. So my current leaning is an oatmeal stout. That's a good thick winter-time chewin beer that Sarah & I both really enjoy. Of course, there's always the red ale, though, which is an anytime-favorite for me. Its especially good with spicier foods, like Kuhlman chili (another wintertime favorite). And recently I'm finding the smoky, dark flavors of a good Scottish Ale to be rather pleasing when there's a nip in the air. Such difficult decisions, could anyone out there offer me some recommendations?

Farm of Sickness

After coming out of the first round of sudden-cold-weather induced ailments relatively unscathed, the second bout is starting to get the better of us. Julia's been coughing and hacking for well over a week now, though she seems to be improving a little bit the past day or so. Sarah is continuing to battle a sinus headache she's had since Saturday, and today she finds out she's got pink eye as well. Paul has been coughing some, though he still seems to be feeling pretty good overall. And I've been trying my best to fight off a throat irritation the past several days. We're all pretty much a mess here. On the plus side, I was able to take off Friday to help out some and, other than feeling a little rough in the mornings, I've been doing pretty well. Also, we've got backup coming sometime tomorrow when my parents arrive for a ~2 week visit. Here's hoping Sarah can hold it together for the next day and a half until help arrives.

Flurry of Activity

With the cooler weather we've been enjoying the past week or so, I've started looking around the farm at all of the pre-winter chores that oughta get done. Dad and I will start re-building the last big set of barn doors in another week, there's flashing that needs to get hung over the various barn-door tracks, the sand box needs to be cleaned out and covered, the garden oughta be re-tilled, 6-10 hens need to be processed for the freezer, etc., etc. I'm guessing my next several weekends are gonna be good & busy getting stuff ready. And then, to add to the urgency a little, we've been enjoying snow flurries the past day or so. I've been here long enough to know that we'll still have some warm days yet before winter really sets in, but the pre-Halloween snow is a good reminder that the cold and wet of late fall and winter is coming on quick.

Growing Family

After nearly 4 months breathing our air, Julia (aka, Farm Hand #2) has broken the 16 lbs. barrier, weighing in at 16 lbs., 7 oz. today at the doctor's. That's especially good given she started at under 8 lbs., and has only had rice cereal 2-3 times. And of course, we all know how much nutritional value an infant really gets from those first couple of cereal feedings...next to nothing. On a developmental note, she's also becoming very adept at driving her little Jeep. She can turn the wheel and honk the horn pretty consistently, though she's only figured out reverse and is still pretty slow with that. Fortunately she has big brother to help her with going forward, which she greatly enjoys, at least when he's not banging her into things. I think Paul has heard the admonition "slow down" so many times he's gonna start repeating it like a mantra in his sleep.

Oktobeerfest Pics

Here's a decent pic of the variety in the judges cooler







An excellent pic of the declining bonfire








A nice look at the judges table







Milling around between songs at the blues jam








Its nice to see folks enjoying themselves by the food & drink

Oktobeerfest Results

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who came to the Oktobeerfest...the people are really what make the party, and this party was a great success because of all the wonderful folks who came to enjoy themselves last Friday night. By my count, there were at least 65 of us who braved the wind & cold to share in the food, libations, merriment, & music. The bonfire, though it went up much quicker than expected, managed to keep folks warm late into the evening. And by all reports, everyone really enjoyed the blues jam as well. Speaking for the musicians, we had a great time playing for ya'll and look forward to our next excuse to jam together.

There were 33 unique beers entered into the official beer judging (sorry if we missed anyone's entry), and the 4 judges managed to pick winners in each of the 4 categories while maintaining their verticality and sense of balance (mostly). The results are posted here in the picture and the winners of each category are highlighted in green. I have to say I really enjoyed the variety of beers this year, with a lot of rather obscure entries and some new favorites being discovered. I also appreciated the impromptu Root Beer tasting going on among some of the folks. We've been receiving much prodding and we might have to succumb and add a Root Beer/Cream Soda category next year.

Thanks especially to those of you who helped out judging, setting up, executing, & cleaning up. I'm pleased that so many of you have told me what an excellent time you had, and I look forward to hosting this again next year. If any of you have pictures you'd like to share, I'll hopefully be posting some in the next few days, so please e-mail 'em to me at kuhlmasp@gmail.com. What a great party!

Its What's For Dinner

After much waiting and anticipation, we got to bring our next new addition home earlier today. And while most of you probably thought we'd go smaller, we decided to get...a 298 lbs. half-a-cow. When it was whole and breathing, it was a rather large Black Angus cow that lived at least most of its life on a farm near here. But several weeks ago it got a significant change of venue and lifestyle when it started its journey towards being freezer beef. And after much processing & a little aging, half of that splendid animal has found its way into our freezer. Having never received beef in such quantities before, I was curious in what forms we might receive it, as I'm sure you might be too. So here's the list from the butcher shop of the ultimate forms this beautiful animal has taken:

• 9 T-Bones (3/4")
• 7 Sirloin Steaks (1")
• 7 Ribeye Steaks (1")
• 10 Round Roasts
• 4 Swiss Shoulders
• 2 Sirloin Tip Roasts
• 10 Chuck Roasts (2.5 lbs./ea)
• 2 Rump Roasts
  
• 1 Heel Roast
• 48 Hamburger Packages (1.5 lbs./ea)
• 4 Stew Beef Packages (1 lb./ea)
• 4 Soup Bones
• 1 Flank Steak
• 4 Liver Packages (1 lb./ea)
• 1 Heart
• 1 Tongue
• 1 Ox Tail

Any guesses what's we'll be having for Sunday dinner this week? And next...and next....

Nip in the Air

Last night we went to bed and, aside from it being wet & drizzly out, it didn't feel that cold yet. But first thing this morning we were surprised and pleased to find that it was right around the freezing mark outside. Excellent! Fall is really coming in fast, now, and its just a wonderful time. The ash & fruit trees have already turned colors and the maples are starting. There's much more consistent breeze going, and its actually got a little nip in it. The corn & beans in the fields are brown & gray and starting to be harvested. And pumpkins are starting to be spotted decorating people's homes. We're supposed to have lows the next couple nights right around freezing, which should make for a chilly Oktobeerfest. But, it'll really just make the bonfire, the beer, & the brats all that much nicer and more enjoyable. What an excellent time to be in the midwest...and here's hoping many of you can join us for the Oktobeerfest to enjoy the season with us.

Final Oktobeerfest Prep

'Twas the week of Oktobeerfest, and all through the barn, many creatures were stirring, especially...me. Even with the cleanup day we had a couple weekends ago, there's still lots to get done before the party this Friday. In the past couple days I've swept more of the barn out, mowed the lawn, mowed the area around bonfire, made a couple minor barn repairs, tarped the bonfire woodpile, and drank several beers. On Thurs. and Fri. I'll be moving chairs & cooking stuff down from the house, setting up tables, finishing up the barn cleanup, fashioning some sort of a "stage" for the band, setting-up & sound-testing with the band, and drinking several more beers all in order to get ready for the big event Friday night. That's a lot of hard work followed up by a lot of 12-oz curls. I have to say, though, that the barn's in the best condition since we've moved to the farm, and that pleases me greatly. Now if I can just manage to maintain that....

Blues Jam Practice

In preparation for the upcoming Oktobeerfest , the blues jam band (aka, Fat Clay & the Great Miami River Band) got together for our first practice last night. Man, what a great time that was. We were without our horn section, so it was just the rhythm section and the guitars & vocals. But in the three hours we were there we managed to put together about 10-11 songs, at least 7-8 of which are really solid, and the others will be fine for a casual jam like we're expecting this Fri. Its always so much fun working with really good musicians, and all of these fella's are really good musicians. We had a great time jammin' on a whole range of blues tunes, and now we're all really looking forward to the Oktobeerfest gig. Hope to see ya there!

Lime Jello

Paul has been sick the last week. He's had a runny nose and fever. The doctor put him on an antibiotic so that it didn't turn into bronchitis and/or an ear infection, both of which he is prone to get. As of yesterday morning, he had been on the antibiotic for 4 days and he woke up feeling hot to the touch again.

The antibiotic is Amoxicillan. This is the first antibiotic doctors recommend for pregnant and nursing women. Why? Because it is WAY too impotent to do any damage to a fetal or nursing baby, much less an infection. And yesterday morning I felt like walking my feverish son into the doctor's office and saying, "The drugs - they do NOTHING."

And I have trouble treating him the way I treat myself when I have a cold, because
1. Being a 2 year old boy, he's not so good at relaxing and taking it easy
and
2. When he's feverish, he doesn't like to eat.
So instead of "drinking plenty of liquids," he cuts back on liquids and rejects even his favorite foods. For example, normally we have to limit him to 10 or 12 grapes at a time, or else his diapers get really exciting. This last week, he would eat maybe 3 grapes, and turn his nose up at the rest. BLAR.

Anyway, yesterday morning, I was feeling tired and concerned about my boy, and started trying to remember, what did mom feed us when we were sick? He'd rejected the chicken soup and cinnamon toast. Then I remembered Jello. I found a box of Lime Jello and prepared it while carrying my little guy around. He ate some for lunch.

And today his fever is gone.

You've got to love Lime Jello.

5 minutes, 42 seconds

Sounds like another wacky John Cage "composition," doesn't it? Actually its my new personal best at completing the hardest level of (9x9) Sudoku puzzle. And, not to brag, but I was eating my breakfast at the time, so I probably could've shaved a few seconds off had I really been concentrating on it. I almost feel like I oughta be disturbed by this feat. I keep telling myself, "I'm not an addict." After all, I only play a few puzzles a day, and only on the weekdays. And sure, I could stop at anytime, right? I dunno, is it bad when you start to think about Sudoku puzzles, like, at the dinner table, or while driving or something? Hmmm, maybe I oughta take a break now that I've kinda plateaued. My previous best from a few weeks ago was 6:21, and the puzzle right before this new record was 8:30. A couple days ago a I finished one in 7:30. Now they certainly don't all go that quickly, but enough of them do that I probably oughta be at least mildly disturbed at this newly developed "skill." Oh well, maybe I'll go play a couple games of Taipai and try to forget about Sudoku for a while. ;-) Update: So to prove I'm not an addict, I came in this morning vowing to only play one game...but, then I broke my old record when I finished in 5 minutes, 7 seconds, so I just had to play another one....

Thirty

In case we were in doubt, I think we can now safely say that this flock of hens is in full lay. We've had several days during the past week or two where they've produced 27, 28, and even 29 eggs. But yesterday we received an even 30. That's the most eggs we've ever received in a single day. So with eggs coming in at a rate of around 17-18 dozen a week, what, you may ask, are we doing with this abundance. Hopefully we're selling most of 'em, though we're still trying to build our customer base to support the additional output from this flock. At present we're consistently selling around 10-12 dozen a week. Of course, this implies that our family is managing to consume 5-6 dozen a week. That doesn't really seem possible, and yet, our fridge still seems to be containing our excess eggs. I would believe we're up to consuming about 2-3 dozen a week as a family, but that still leaves at least 3 dozen more a week that we need to sell. So if you or anyone you know is interested in buying our eggs and is fairly local, we'd certainly be interested in selling them. Otherwise, we'll be looking to off a few of the hens, or become much more creative in our use of their eggs. Hmm...I wander if there's any way to take out a groundhog with an egg. Update: So they had to go and take this post as a challenge (who knew my chickens were reading this too?) .... they laid 32 today!

Oktobeerfest Prep

Of course, we've got this Oktobeerfest even coming up in just under 2 weeks now. And I'm looking around the barn thinking, "man, this place is a real mess." There's a lot of potentially usable space for this event that's covered up with junk, a lot of which can be trashed or added to the bonfire pile. So a few friends came over late Saturday morning and we started cleaning the barn up. We managed to get all of the main areas cleaned up pretty well and even a couple of other places around the barn that I've been wanting to get for a while. Other than moving equipment around right beforehand, about the only thing left in the barn is to do some serious sweeping.
As many of you know, I'm also playing in the blues jam band (aka, Fat Clay & the Great Miami River Band), so there's some prep work going on with that. Josh, who'll be playing guitar (and who came up with the band name), came over Sunday afternoon and we started picking out songs & such for this gig. Now I'm really starting to get pumped about this event. We're looking at doing some great old blues standards, and a few things we've come up with ourselves. This should be a great time and I really think it'll definitely be a bonus for the Oktobeerfest as a whole. The barn oughta be rockin' next Friday night (10/13), so I hope we'll see ya'll out there!