Fire And Ice

Just before we roll ourselves into the month of March and the soon to follow, spring season, we are preparing an end of winter event. If you are looking for an outing that combines both fire and ice…we’ll be offering this gathering on Saturday, February 29th, on pristine Lake St. George.
Only two spots left!
Mid Winter Brunch On Lake St. George
Drive out any winter doldrums and Join us on Saturday, February 29th at 10:30 a.m. for a catered brunch featuring hand crafted cocktails, select appetizers, and a hearty fire- cooked meal ( coffee and hot cider, too!). Stay cozy in the wood heated wilderness tent or sip your cocktail by the campfire. Our ice fishing traps will be set and coals will be hot! Don’t miss the food and fun! Where? Lake St.
George state park. Cost? $25.00 Interested? Contact us here:
fernwoodnursey@fairpoint.net

A Beautiful Day In March

What a delightful day! Warm and sunny and the ground squishy and oozy with mud. We walk across the strategically placed planks along the ground to duck into the greenhouse as early in the day as possible. Decadent warmth! Our bones are so happy to have heat from the sun! Aah! We so appreciate our dutiful woodstoves and the great heat they provide us throughout the winter, but I must say, our souls are sun seekers now. We are basking in the glory of vitamin D. Of course, because of our work, we are directed outdoors almost every day now. The greenhouse, the nursery, the gardens…And, as Ruth Stout said ( and I agree!) “I LOVE SPRING ANYWHERE, BUT IF I COULD CHOOSE I WOULD ALWAYS GREET IT IN A GARDEN.”

Our curious hens have found bare ground!

Hair cuts are desperately needed!

Today, we have been busy with an array of chores. Flats of seeds started, chicken coop mucked out and all the bedding deliciously tossed into the compost heap and replenished with clean shavings, a few signs were painted for the nursery season, two huge piles of brush were collected and are now ready for burning, emails were written and sent, more class postings have been added to our ‘classes and more’ page, and I was even able to put together some yummy chocolate Irish whiskey brownies. Did I already use the word decadent in this post? Let’s just apply that same word to these brownies, and then, let me share the recipe with you please.

Brownies With Irish Whiskey And Currants

1 cup hazelnuts ( I have also used walnuts)
12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate
2 sticks of unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup Irish Whiskey
1 1/2 currants or raisins
2 cups granulated sugar
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 unbleached all-purpose flour
Adjust the oven rack to middle position and preheat to 325 degrees. Spread hazelnuts (or walnuts) on the baking sheet and toast for 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool and remove skins from hazelnuts. Set aside.
Turn heat up to 350 degrees.
In a stainless steel mixing bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water, melt the chocolate and the butter. Take off heat once melted and allow to cool slightly.
In another small saucepan over low heat, heat the whiskey with the currants or raisins, stirring constantly to keep from sticking or burning. Cook until the liquid is sticky, bubbly, and reduced. About 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
In a bowl with an electric mixture whisk sugar, salt, and the eggs until they are mousse-like. Add flour in three batches. remove from mixer and stir in the chocolate. Stir in the currant mixture. Last, stir in the nuts. Bake in 11X17 baking dish well buttered. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until firm to the touch. Cool before serving.

Oh boy, you’re going to love, love, love these! Enjoy!

Studio, Classes, Workshops!

The studio that has been on our list to build is underway and will be completed and ready for late winter/ early spring classes. Over the last several years we have been offering classes here at the nursery and farm. Rick has taught many classes on native plants, plant propagation, and designing beds for shade. We’ve had workshops on building hypertufa vessels, dyeing and spinning wool, and soap making. We’ve taught people how to butcher their own chickens and cure and smoke bacon. Now we are wishing to expand the classes and workshops we offer. More classes on raising sheep, washing and dyeing wool, and spinning and felting. A workshop on fermentation, home canning, and sausage making, may be what’s offered. Imagine wanting to learn about homesteading skills, and knowing of a place to learn them. In addition, Rick will increase the amount of workshops being led on horticultural topics. A native plant walk and idtentification class. A talk on shade and woodland plants for the garden. A hands-on work shop on plant dividing. Just to name a few. We think the nursery and farm here are unique in many ways. The nursery is unusual with regards to the native and woodland plants ( shade and some sun loving plants, as well) we grow . Rick has been working with natives and woodland plants for well over thirty years. His knowledge and experience has always been a welcome help to customers who have questions or for those who want to learn the most they can about native and woodland plants. We have always been a rare find amongst plant enthusiasts. Though we actually have about 15 acres of land, we grow a tremendous amount of food on what would be considerd a small holding. We can see all of our gardens from the house. In addition we raise at least two pigs a year, 75-100 meat birds ( chickens ), lamb, and raise a substantial laying flock. Our three large organic gardens easily produce enough food for two to three families. We operate a greenhouse, a hoop house for an extended growing season, and several cold frames. What we buy for food is kept at a minimum on account of what we are able to raise and preserve. We feel that we are a good model for living sustainably on a somewhat small piece of land. Not everyone wants to own large 100 acre parcels of land, and knowing that you can provide for yourself on far less, can be helpful information. Also, we are firm believers that growing even a little bit of food on your own decreases your dependency on others to do it for you. We see our life here as a cycle of activity that allows us to be as self sufficient as possible. So, in order to accomplish this, we pay close attention to how we’re doing things. We are good soil stewards. We rotate crops. We pay attention to pollinators and how to avoid plant disease using organic methods. We keep our overhead low and try to always be efficient in our work. These are the types of skills we’d like to share. The new studio will be a place to offer more workshops and classes on all that we do here, from native plants to growing your own food, to learning about soil amendment or making your own soap. We’ll be keeping you posted on the progress and would love to hear any suggestions about classes folks might be interested in ( Sharon, if you’re reading , I have your ‘what to do with herbs’ class on the list). If you are interested in plants, take advantage of the knowledge and experience Rick has to offer, and suggest a class. By spring we will have a list of what’s being offered so far, so keep checking in. In the meantime, we’ll keep writing about life here at Fernwood.