by Laura Parker Roerden My first experiments with preserving tomatoes involved burnt fingers, cuts, and a bloody looking mess of tomato waste everywhere that reminded me of that classic Julia Child SNL skit. Fortunately, canning does not have to be a horror show. Over time and with the help of my fellow canner and friendContinue reading “The Five Very Best Tips for Preserving Tomatoes”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Birches
For Lara and all the Garden Moms by Laura Parker Roerden (August 28, 2015) This summer was a long march of loss. Three parents of the kids we grew up with in the neighborhood of the farm died, one after another, as if the branch they were hanging from no longer could sustain them. Each was in theirContinue reading “The Birches”
In Praise of the Roo
8 Reasons Roosters Rule by Laura Parker Roerden Should you have a rooster in your small flock or backyard farm? The question comes up a lot. Roosters are noisy, are not necessary for hens to produce eggs, and many ordinances in residential neighborhoods forbid them. So unless you’re wanting to hatch your own eggs, which obviously requires themContinue reading “In Praise of the Roo”
Do You Know Where You Are?
(And other thoughts on eating locally wherever you are) by Laura Parker Roerden What does it mean to be here? I mean right where you are at this very moment. I can distinctly remember the first time I actually understood what being present to where I was meant deep in my bones. Like a lot of my epiphanies,Continue reading “Do You Know Where You Are?”
Signs of Spring on the Farm
by Laura Parker Roerden It’s that time again, when the hens become broody and build hidden nests that make morning egg collection a treasure hunt rivaling the White House Easter Egg Roll. Last spring we found this nest in our calf barn. Naturally, we left the eggs so that the mother hen could tend toContinue reading “Signs of Spring on the Farm”
We’re All Bigger on the Inside
by Laura Parker Roerden We’re still patiently awaiting the arrival of Mezzie’s first calf, which has felt just minutes away for five long days. My own first baby was born during a snowstorm in late January, when everything is quiet and suspended and nature gives us the blank slate on which to write a newContinue reading “We’re All Bigger on the Inside”
A Stitch in Time
(July 5, 2014) by Laura Parker Roerden It was a dark and stormy night. . .and we were celebrating the 4th of July and our dear friend Janice Kimball’s birthday at the farm with the Yankee Independence Day tradition of salmon and peas, a gaggle of children, board games, and soggy fireworks and poppers. We tookContinue reading “A Stitch in Time”
Farm Kids
by Laura Parker Roerden Growing up, I knew exactly one other dairy farmer in town who had a daughter my age. The other family I knew with a daughter a year younger had moved away to upstate New York before we were teens. Her father had been able to trade his 100 acre farm in Massachusetts forContinue reading “Farm Kids”
Among Large Animals
For My Big Brother David by Laura Parker Roerden (May 9, 2014) This morning I got a call from our most patient of neighbors. It was a familiar refrain: “Your cows are out,” she simply said. Before I could get off the phone this particular neighbor’s husband was already half way up the street toContinue reading “Among Large Animals”
Carrying the Water
(April 14, 2014) by Laura Parker Roerden I spent a fair amount of time in farmhouse kitchens growing up. My dad and uncle would often lend a hand to other farmers and they in turn would reciprocate here. There were the trips to help out old Miss Green and her daughter Miss Green, farmers inContinue reading “Carrying the Water”