Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm

Another Summer of Family Fun & Learning in the Poconos

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 02:36:00 +0000

Take Trip Back in Time

Hello Folks, Aunt Eunice here. I hope you are all doing well and are getting ready for summer. To some people, that means getting the blades on the lawn mower sharpened or hosing off the lawn furniture or getting more propane tanks for the grill. For Quiet Valley, it means gearing up for our summer tour season. On the third Saturday in June, we open our gates to the public for tours of the historic farm. It’s a chance to spend some time in the 19th century. Since we will be portraying family members living in the 1800s on our small family farm, we will ask you to use your imagination and pretend you have traveled back in time. No cars. No computers or cell phones. Just traditional chores and heritage crafts being done, animals being cared for as well as the growing and harvesting of crops. Quiet Valley is a small working farm as well as a living history museum. On the tour, you will learn what life was like for farming families who lived on a typical homestead between the 1820s and 1890s. A lot changed from the beginning of that century to Victorian times. The railroad came through, we went through the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution began.

Learning From History While Having Fun

We also hold events at Quiet Valley both large and small. Along with school programs, camps and workshops, we have many opportunities for entertaining and engaging educational experiences. In other words, having fun while learning something interesting. Events give us the opportunity to teach about the past while connecting it with a new way of doing something, making the past relevant for today.

Summer Garden Party

At our opening day of summer tours this year Saturday June 19th, we will also be holding our 13th annual Summer Garden Party. This event is covered by your farm tour admission and you will be able to enjoy a variety of garden-related activities. You may just learn something new you can use at home. If nothing else, there will be tasty treats to try made with recipes we will share using fresh herbs and vegetables. We will be showing how to make lawn art pieces, teaching about various greens grown in the garden, offering tours of the kitchen garden and sampling herb bread baked in the outdoor bake oven. We hold tours and events rain or shine, but I am hoping for shine so we can open up horse drawn wagon rides, too. A special learning opportunity that is also fun is our bake oven workshop on Saturday July 24th from 8:30am to 1:30pm. You will learn about the use of the oven and how to make bread from scratch.

Music in the Valley and More

Besides the Summer Garden Party, we also have Music in the Valley on July 17th where traditional music will be played around the farm. August brings three events, on August 7th we have the 103.1FM Bigfoot Birthday Bash for all you country music lovers, Heritage Craft Day on August 14th featuring a variety of traditional craft demonstrations and then on August 28 & 29 the wonderful Pocono State Craft Festival with lots of opportunities to shop for the beautiful art and handcrafts. Summer time is certainly a busy time at Quiet Valley. However, we do find time to relax by the end of the day as the cool evening air arrives. We enjoy glasses of lemonade and rocking in our rocking chairs while we ruminate on the busy day we just had.

Save some time for Quiet Valley this summer. You won’t be disappointed and we would appreciate your support for our special non-profit farm museum. Well, that’s all for now. Take care and hope to see you soon. Aunt Eunice

Snow Geese & Other Feathered Friends Migrating Back North

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Sat, 27 Mar 2021 01:17:00 +0000

The Birds!

Hello Folks, Aunt Eunice here. I am in fine fettle now that spring has arrived and I hope you are too. Many signs of spring are all around as I am sure you’ve noticed. Daylight Savings Time means it’s light enough when I get home from the farm, seeing the crocuses bloom and the pussy willows budding. For the last two weeks, being around our house has been like being in the Alfred Hitchcock movie “The Birds”. Hundreds and thousands of starlings have migrated north and I swear, all of them are perched in my trees! The racket they make is quite loud. Sometimes they take off all at once for no apparent reason and swoop and swirl in unison like the beginning of a murmuration. It is a sight to behold!

Snow Geese Formation Spotted

Another migratory species, snow geese, passed over our house a number of weeks ago. In all the years I have lived there, I have never been at the right place at the right time to observe them. What a sight to see! The sun was lowering in the west and the geese were so high up, the late day rays made them look like twinkle lights or strands of silver beads. The honking they emitted during flight was different than the Canadian geese that had flown over earlier that day. That was why I looked up and saw them. What a beautiful thing. As they flew overhead, I saw a jet leaving a contrail behind it and couldn’t help, but think “you have it easy” with powerful engines carrying you along. The bird species has its heart, wings and some mysterious directional sense to make a journey that could be thousands of miles in length. Below is some information about bird migration from allaboutbirds.org.

Bird Migratory Observations

Geese winging their way south in wrinkled V-shaped flocks is perhaps the classic picture of migration—the annual, large-scale movement of birds between their breeding (summer) homes and their non-breeding (winter) grounds. Of the more than 650 species of North American breeding birds, more than half are migratory. Birds that nest in the Northern Hemisphere tend to migrate northward in the spring to take advantage of burgeoning insect populations, budding plants and an abundance of nesting locations. As winter approaches and the availability of insects and other food drops, the birds move south again. Escaping the cold is a motivating factor but many species, including hummingbirds, can withstand freezing temperatures as long as an adequate supply of food is available. The two primary resources being sought are food and nesting locations.

Origins of long-distance migration

While short-distance migration probably developed from a fairly simple search for food, the origins of long-distance migration patterns are much more complex. They’ve evolved over thousands of years and are controlled at least partially by the genetic makeup of the birds. They also incorporate responses to weather, geography, food sources, day length, and other factors.

For birds that winter in the tropics, it seems strange to imagine leaving home and embarking on a migration north. Why make such an arduous trip north in spring? One idea is that through many generations, the tropical ancestors of these birds dispersed from their tropical breeding sites northward. The seasonal abundance of insect food and greater day length allowed them to raise more young (4–6 on average) than their stay-at-home tropical relatives (2–3 on average). As their breeding zones moved north during periods of glacial retreat, the birds continued to return to their tropical homes as winter weather and declining food supplies made life more difficult. Supporting this theory is the fact that most North American vireos, flycatchers, tanagers, warblers, orioles, and swallows have evolved from forms that originated in the tropics.

Taking a journey that can stretch to a round-trip distance of several thousand miles is a dangerous and arduous undertaking. It is an effort that tests both the birds’ physical and mental capabilities. The physical stress of the trip, lack of adequate food supplies along the way, bad weather, and increased exposure to predators all add to the hazards of the journey.

Migrating birds can cover thousands of miles in their annual travels, often traveling the same course year after year with little deviation. First-year birds often make their very first migration on their own. Somehow they can find their winter home despite never having seen it before, and return the following spring to where they were born. The secrets of their amazing navigational skills aren’t fully understood, partly because birds combine several different types of senses when they navigate. Birds can get compass information from the sun, the stars, and by sensing the earth’s magnetic field. They also get information from the position of the setting sun and from landmarks seen during the day. There’s even evidence that sense of smell plays a role, at least for homing pigeons.

Find out more at The Cornell Lab

What an amazing thing for birds to accomplish. Migration. Well, I am happy to be migrating into spring, my favorite time of year. I seem to awaken in spring like a bear coming out of hibernation. Watch for the subtle greening of the brush and the grass and the trees. It’s lovely to see the various shades of green develop as the next two to three months progress. That’s all for now. Stay safe. Take care and talk to you soon. Aunt Eunice

Making This Year’s Batch of Maple Syrup, Plus Pancakes!

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 01:42:00 +0000

When Tapping for Tree Sap, Timing is Everything

Hello Folks, Aunt Eunice here! I hope you are all doing well. The coldest harvest is now over and the ice house is full to the rafters with nice big blocks of ice. We should have plenty for our needs which is mostly for making homemade ice cream and for keeping the birch beer kegs cold. Now we are preparing for the sweetest job on the farm, maple sugaring. The farmer started tapping the maple trees about ten days ago and has been storing the sap for Maple Sugaring Day. Quiet Valley members are invited to attend and will get to sample buttermilk or buckwheat pancakes with our 2020 syrup on it. They can learn all about the process as it was done in the 19th century. It always amazes me that it takes 40 gallons of sap to get 1 gallon of syrup! No wonder it is so pricey in the stores. If you keep cooking it past the syrup stage you can eventually get maple sugar. What a wonderfully tasting sweetener. My husband uses the syrup in place of corn syrup when making sticky buns. What a treat that is!! I learned a couple years ago that the first sap collected has the highest sugar content. Not sure how big a difference there is between the first and the last collected. I also found out that you can make syrup from the sap of other types of trees. Their sap doesn’t have the sugar content of the sugar maple so I imagine it takes more sap and more cooking down to get the sweetness I crave. This is the time of year this particular job has to be done as the sap is rising. Night temperatures need to be below freezing and daytime temperatures above forty. If you miss this window it will be a whole year until your next chance.

A Fine Maple Flavored Breakfast

Quiet Valley’s sap will be cooked down in large kettles over fires. The ladies volunteering will hard boil eggs in the sap and will also bake potatoes in Dutch ovens using hot coals from the fire. Along with the pancakes, it makes a pretty fine breakfast. If you are used to using the syrup you get from bottles shaped like a lady, take my advice and try the real thing. There are lots of recipes out there nowadays that use this special sweetener so be adventurous and try it in a dessert or a savory dish like butternut squash soup.

Ready for Spring

Though it may not seem like it, given the temperatures we’ve been having, Spring is just around the corner. Soon we will be cleaning up the detritus from winter, starting our vegetable gardens and mowing lawns. I think we are all looking forward to the longer hours of sunlight daylight savings will bring. Well, that’s all for now. Stay safe, take care and talk to you soon. Aunt Eunice

Ice Harvesting Event, Ice Boxes & Early Food Preservation

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 01:01:00 +0000

Aunt Eunice here. I have been enjoying this snowy weather we’ve been having, but I do wish it would snow everywhere except on the roads and walkways! That sure is a lot of plowing and shoveling! It is so pretty though and looks much closer to the winters of my youth.

Recreating the Traditional Ice Harvest

We are happy to say this weekend Quiet Valley is holding a traditional Ice Harvest which is a special event for those who have joined our membership program. We will be using the horses and sleds to bring the ice blocks in from the pond to be stacked in the ice house. There each layer will be covered with sawdust. Folks new to the process are always surprised that there is no electric refrigeration involved. Our ice house is a wooden building with a vent ridge along the top. As a layer of blocks are put down a layer of saw dust is put over them. My best explanation is to tell visitors to think about an Igloo cooler. It is an insulated box that can keep things cold if you add ice to it. The ice blocks are the ice packs or ice cubes and the insulation is the saw dust. If the ice is not used up, we will still have it available for our October Harvest Festival to keep the birch beer kegs cold. My father, who was born in 1911, told me a story about hitching a ride on the ice wagon. At that time, people still used ice boxes as we do our modern refrigerator. They were wooden and lined with zinc or tin. The ice man would come by and deliver a block which would be put into a compartment of the ice box and it would keep your food cold. The older boys in town would steal rides on the ice wagon all the time, but my father was only five and really too young for this adventure. The boys helped him up into the wagon. Now they all knew to jump off the wagon before it went over the bridge between the two towns. My father didn’t know it and besides he was having a good time. He got a very long ride and the iceman got a surprise at the end of his route. He kindly took my father back. I am sure by then my grandparents were starting to worry. Since Quiet Valley’s ice is from a pond it isn’t something I would want to put into a glass of ice tea! It is useful in wash tubs to chill bottles of water or to use in a hand crank ice cream machine.

National Museum of American History says the natural ice harvesting industry in America began to take off in the early 1800s. The process of ice harvesting looked somewhat similar to crop harvesting, with horses pulling plow-like ice cutters across frozen lakes and ponds. Before ice could be cut, snow had to be cleared from the surface. The ice was also measured to ensure that it was thick enough—anything less than eight inches would melt too quickly during transportation to far-flung locations. By the end of the 1800s, many American households stored their perishable food in an insulated “icebox” that was usually made of wood and lined with tin or zinc. A large block of ice was stored inside to keep these early refrigerators chilly. By this point, cold had become the clear choice among food preservation methods, proving less labor-intensive and more effective at preventing spoilage.

You Can Ice Skate on the Pond Too!

When members come out to Ice Harvest on Saturday they are welcome to bring ice skates along. According to Wikipedia, ice skating has been around a very long time though the exact time and process by which humans first learned to ice skate is unknown. Primitive animal bone ice skates have been found in Scandinavia and Russia, some dating back to about 3000 BC.

The earliest clear, written mention of ice skating is found in a book written in the 12th century by William Fitzstephen, a monk in Canterbury. In the work, centered on Thomas Becket, he describes a scene taking place below the northern city walls of Canterbury during the winter:

…if the moors in Finsbury and Moorfield freeze over, children from London play. Some of the children have attached bones to their ankles, and carry well-worn sticks. They fly across the ice like birds, or well-fired arrows. Suddenly, two children will run at each other, sticks held high in the air. They then attack each other until one falls down. Often, the children injure their heads or break their arms or legs…

Well, Aunt Eunice won’t be ice skating this weekend, but I may take a sleigh ride down that nice long hill in the pasture. If you want to come out this Saturday February 13 call the office at 570-992-6161 and join as a member. There are a lot of other benefits to being part of Quiet Valley than attending the Ice Harvest. Hope to see you at the farm. Thanks for checking in and take care, Aunt Eunice.

(Main photo by Devin Munoz)

Harvesting Ice During the Wintertime at Quiet Valley

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 06:31:00 +0000

Hello Folks,

Aunt Eunice here. I hope you are all healthy as a farm’s work horse and doing well. Here on the farm, we are busy with workshops, planning for spring, and preparing for Preschool registration which is always a hectic few days. The farmer was very excited as his vegetable seeds came in the mail last week. He and the retired farm manager can’t wait to get in the garden to plant them. I swear, every gardener’s favorite times are planting and harvesting! Not much to harvest on a farm this time of year, right? Well, there are a couple of things around here you can only harvest in the winter. That would be ice and maple sap.

Winter Fun for All Ages

The farmer has been checking the thickness of the pond’s ice and we are about halfway to a safe number of inches (9 to 11″) that will allow us to go out on it and start cutting blocks. It’s a fun day on the farm and one of Quiet Valley’s member benefits where members can come out and learn about the process. They can also lend a hand cutting the blocks with an ice saw, pulling the blocks into shore with a pike or carrying them to the horse-drawn sled with a pair of ice tongs. The pond is out a ways from the farm so try to hitch a ride on the sled as the horses pull it back out. If you want you can grab a ride back in, but then you will be sitting on a block of ice for a seat! The cutters will surround the opening they made in the ice with some of the blocks to make a “fence” around the open water. This a precaution for the unwary or younger set who are welcome to go skating on the other half of the pond. If there is enough snow on the ground folks bring their sleds along and ride down the hill behind the gift shop. It’s a nice long ride. Just remember it’s a nice long walk back up the hill. That winter activity is meant for younger legs than Aunt Eunice’s! Too bad, as I always loved sleigh riding and was the last one to come inside, not until I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes anymore!! I hope we can have our Ice Harvest this weekend. With the warmer climate we have been having the last decade or so there isn’t always an ice harvest. At one time ice was a sizable industry in the Poconos. After the train came through in the 1850s, blocks of ice were shipped to eastern cities like New York and Philadelphia to use for refrigeration.

I am keeping my fingers crossed. It is a cold, but fun day and everyone gets a cup of homemade soup and bread along with a hot beverage and cookies. If you want to get notice of whether we are holding it or not and aren’t a member yet, join Quiet Valley in the next day or two and ask to be put on the email list.

Tapping Maple Sap Soon

The other item we harvest in winter is maple sap once it starts running which can be anywhere from late February into March. The nights need to be below freezing and the days above forty degrees. This is the beginning of the process to get maple syrup. But that’s a story for another day. Maple Syrup Day is also a Quiet Valley member benefit and you will learn the process and get to try homemade pancakes with last year’s syrup just for a start.

That’s all for now. Take care of yourselves and each other. Talk to you soon. Aunt Eunice

(Main photo by Devin Munoz)

2021: New Programs, Skills Demos, Gardening Ideas

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 06:14:24 +0000

Hello Folks,

Aunt Eunice here. The first week of a new year is over and I can’t help but think of a year of possibilities stretching out before me in the remaining 51 weeks. They could be good, they could be mediocre or they could be not so good. Probably a mix. I am putting out wishes and prayers for good ones for all of us!

New Programs Adjusted for COVID Restrictions

In keeping with a year that may still restrict our events and programming due to COVID we have yet again developed safe additional activities for both children and adults. There is a nice series of heritage craft and 19th century life skills classes taking place once a month for ages 15 and up. For the younger set, there is the Heritage Homeschool Program where they can sign up to learn a variety of craft and farm-related skills. There is also the Cabin Fever Workshop in March with five different classes from which you can choose. Sign up early for any of these classes as they fill up fast. Check out our website for details and other options.

The Calendar of Events is updated with our major fundraisers and smaller summer events so feel free to plan a visit for a summer tour or to enjoy our entertaining and educational festivals. The farmers have already ordered their seeds and Gary, our retired farm manger, will start some in his greenhouse and have the plants ready to sell in May at our Farm Animal Frolic. He’ll have a nice variety of healthy, well grown seedlings. Last May I purchased four kinds of tomato plants which all performed beautifully. One of my favorites is the Golden Jubilee. Eating yellow tomatoes causes me fewer digestive issues as there is less acid in them than the orange or red tomatoes. Gary is teaching a class called Preparing for Spring Gardening on March 13 for interested folks. Spaces will fill up fast!

Planning a New Season of Fresh Veggies

It’s encouraging to think about Spring and growing vegetables, herbs or flowers. Finding new ways to use veggies and the herbs in recipes or planting flowers in new spots or as companion plants in the vegetable garden. If you don’t grow the plants for yourself, remember you can visit your local CSA or Farmers Market. There will always be a nice selection of produce there and it will be locally sourced! Better for us and for our community growers. The Charmant cabbage plants that I bought at the sale last year gave me delicious cabbage that was easy to raise. Charmant is an early variety that produces uniform, solid, medium-sized round heads with blue-green color, a tight internal structure and a short core. It has one of the best holding abilities of all early varieties. I usually buy Quiet Valley’s sauerkraut, but I used some of my cabbages to make my own. I freeze mine, but some folks prefer to can it.

Special New Years Foods

We enjoyed some on New Year’s Day as part of a traditional Pennsylvania German meal of pork and sauerkraut, which is believed to bring good fortune in the coming year. Eating pork of any style on New Year’s Day is said to inspire progress throughout the year to come. According to German legend, pork is eaten on New Year’s Day because pigs look forward when they root for food, rather than chickens and turkeys, which scratch backward. Many cultures have food superstitions about what to eat on New Year’s Day to bring prosperity in the new year. In the South it is Black Eyed Peas, Greens and Cornbread. Read more here.

That’s all for now, but thanks for checking in. Take care of yourselves and each other. I will be thinking of you. Aunt Eunice

A Quiet Time to Reflect on the Year’s Accomplishments

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 05:30:00 +0000

The Preservation & Dissemination of Knowledge

Hello Folks, Aunt Eunice here. Now that our final fundraiser of the year Old Time Christmas is over, we enter Quiet Valley’s only truly quiet phase. The end of December and the month of January are the staff’s time to reflect, to evaluate the past year and to look ahead. This is when assessment on the programming and events of 2020 will take place. What worked, what didn’t? Are there programs that just don’t serve a purpose anymore, can they be tweaked or is it best to set them aside. Are there holes in the programs and activities we offer? This kind of review is what brought about offerings such as our Preschool program which takes place each spring and fall. It brought about the Farm to Table Experience which eventually morphed into the Farm to Table Dinner. Small summer events came about more than a decade ago due to this process. The one in June focuses on something we do very well here at Quiet Valley and has been of growing interest to the public for a number of years, Gardening. Raising your own food is a very rewarding and tasty hobby and for the early homesteaders it was a necessity. In July we added a day to focus on the traditional music of the 1800s. In August we started to hold a day dedicated to the heritage crafts and folk art of the 19th century. Demonstrators shared their specialties and there were some chances to try the process out for themselves. Quiet Valley has existed to not only preserve the life skills and history of rural farm life of the 1800s, but even more importantly to teach it to others.

Persevering Despite a Worldwide Pandemic

As I look back at 2020, it is like looking at a picture of yourself that is underwater. It’s somewhat familiar and yet not quite what we would normally expect to see. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted our programming and events into something different, something new and yet at the same time a bit familiar. It was a confusing process, frustrating at times and a challenge. I am proud to say the Quiet Valley staff, board of directors and volunteers were up to the challenge. We had some great ideas on new ways to present activities and events. What we offered may have been different, but it stayed true to our mission. We shared what life was like on a small family farm in the 19th century. We taught visitors how it would have been for those early settlers who were willing to face hard times to own their own land and to be free to make their own choices. We helped the public make the connection from the past to the present and offered lessons on how this knowledge can be relevant in their lives today.

Forging Ahead with Confidence

As the year winds down second by second I am glad to have this time to reflect and review and to plan and to assess, but to also rest in the knowledge that we “did good”! As January arrives, we will hit the ground running, eager to face the upcoming challenges with hopefully at least some of the courage our forefathers had. What new thing needs to be added, what else can we share with our visitors, what would you like to learn?! I can’t wait to get started. See you in 2021! Best Wishes for the New Year and take care. Aunt Eunice

November Observances: Thanksgiving & Veterans Day

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:33:00 +0000

November is About Transitions

Hello Folks, Aunt Eunice here. November has not only arrived, but is half over already. This month, more than all the rest of them makes me feel like I am running to catch up! Helping to get Quiet Valley ready for our Old Time Christmas while simultaneously planning multiple family events at home can be tad overwhelming. My family has quite a few birthdays this month including mine. Throw Thanksgiving into the mix with six birthday parties and you have a very full month. I feel like this is a month of transition as we move from fall into winter, as the leaves finish falling off the trees, the last of the lawn mowing takes place. Daylight Savings time is over so of course it gets dark earlier. The colder temperatures at night might have us inching up the thermostat. By the time I get home at night it is quite dark and instead of going for a walk I now curl up with a book. It won’t be long until the seed catalogs start arriving!

Veteran’s Day, How & When Established

Let’s not forget Veteran’s Day is in November, an important day of recognition of our military service members and all they have given to our country. According to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs – World War I, known at the time as The Great War, officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m. An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday – a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.” This day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I. However, in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting in its place the word “Veterans.” With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Thanksgiving – A Brief History

Thanksgiving will soon be coming up and the traditional foods as well as some that are simply our family favorites will be enjoyed at Aunt Eunice’s house. It will be smaller than usual as we are heeding the guideline of social distancing. It is the smart thing to do. The original colonists on the Mayflower would have understood. According to History.com, in September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers – an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth. Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore and were taught and helped by the Native Americans. Our meal is bound to be different than the original harvest meal shared in Plymouth. Though no record tells us the exact menu, the meal most likely consisted of items such as deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat.

Whatever dishes may be on our Thanksgiving sideboard we will be grateful and we will be praying for our family, friends and neighbors. That’s all for now. Please take care and talk to you soon. Aunt Eunice

Passing on Heritage Skills, Tomatoes Abound

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 23:58:00 +0000

Preserving & Teaching Heritage Skills

Hello Folks, Aunt Eunice here. Well, in my last message I said August would be as busy as July and so far I am right on the money! Besides the historic tour last week, we have had bake oven highlights, a pottery highlight, a visit from the beekeeper with some of his bees and Saturday was Heritage Craft Day. Heritage Craft Day is a summer event that offers a close up look at a number of the traditional craft and trade skills of the 19th century. As part of our farm museum’s mission, we are tasked with preserving this kind of knowledge. There were rye straw basket and hat makers here, spinning and weaving was demonstrated, and the bobbin lace and tatting ladies shared their versions of lace making. The potter was at her wheel, there was quilling which is a paper craft and quilting as well. There was puppet making for the children, the men folk were making rope and the bake oven was busy turning out loaves of whole wheat bread. Aunt Eunice even had a chance to sit a spell and do some whittling. All in all a lovely day both entertainment and weather-wise.

Tomatoes in Abundance

Our tomato plants seem to be loving the hot, humid weather and we are harvesting many different varieties. One of my favorites is the Juliet, a small, plum shaped one that is firm and has a sweet flavor. According to Bonnieplants.com – Juliet tomatoes are slightly larger than the well-known Santa grape tomato, it bears delicious, sweet fruit on indeterminate vines. Some gardeners refer to it as a mini Roma because of the shape. The wonderfully sweet fruit are crack resistant and remain in good condition on the vine longer than most cherry tomatoes. The fruit are as soft and juicy as cherry tomatoes, they hold up well in salads, and they have a longer shelf life so you can keep them on hand without picking every day. Here is an old time recipe using squash and tomatoes from Quiet Valley’s bake oven cookbook. It may help you use up some of the many you will be harvesting in the month of August!

Scalloped Tomatoes and Squash

Dice 3 cups of summer squash
Brown squash in 3 tbsp. of butter
Cube 2 cups of tomatoes
Add salt & pepper
Layer squash & tomatoes in casserole
Pour on 1 ½ cup of white sauce (recipe below)
Sprinkle with ⅔ cup of buttered crumbs
Sprinkle with ½ cup of grated cheese

White Sauce Ingredients & Directions

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add the flour and whisk until combined.
Slowly stir in 1 cup of cream (or milk) and whisk until smooth.
Stir in the remaining cream, salt and pepper. Whisk constantly until the mixture starts to thicken. This will take 3-5 minutes.
Remove the white sauce from the stove.

Cucumbers, squash, carrots, beets, bell peppers, and kohlrabi are just some of the other vegetables that we have been harvesting. Last Thursday, we picked the sweet corn. It was immediately blanched, cut off the cob and frozen. All the staff received one ear each for lunch. It was delicious and certainly couldn’t have been fresher! I hope your gardens are producing as well as our Quiet Valley kitchen garden. Otherwise, remember to check out your CSA or farmer’s markets. Your local farmers will appreciate the support.

That’s all for now folks. Hopefully, we will see you on the farm before summer ends. Remember to check our Calendar of Events as we are planning several moderately-sized fall events to supplement our non-profit organization’s income. Take care. Aunt Eunice

Summer Highlights of Heritage Skills, Farm Animal Friends

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 18:41:00 +0000

Pigs, Horses, & More Farm Animal Friends

Hello Folks, Aunt Eunice here. I am sorry it’s been a while since I have written to you. With July arriving, I have been busier than a farmer trying to catch a litter of rowdy piglets! Speaking of piglets, our sow Sweetie Pie had a litter of sixteen last month. Whew!! That is quite a large number as she only has the spigots to feed fourteen. She is a great mother though and all of them have thrived. Now that the babies are eating on their own and have grown a good amount the majority have found a home at another farm. Last week, our new heritage breed boar arrived at the farm. He was a bit shy about exiting the trailer into his new home, but with some coaxing (and food) he decided to enter the pig barn. Our sow Bertha was there to greet him and they have become good companions. We have named the boar Max and he is a fine fellow. It has been hard to get a good picture of him as he is in love with his mud wallow so that is where you can find him most of the time. Max is a Gloucester Old Spot breed. The new draft horses Jenny and Judy have settled in nicely as well. They did not come to us as a team, but they are working very well together. They are so similar in appearance that they seem like sisters. They are both Suffolk Punches. The other animals are all doing well and there are plenty of them for visitors to see.

Programming Adapted to the Times

Our COVID-19 adapted tours are going well and folks can safely visit and learn about various chores and tasks done on the homestead in the 19th century. Last week was a very busy one with several extra demonstrations. There was a pottery highlight, a Spinning and Weaving Day, a Bread Baking Highlight, oats being harvested, and Saturday was Music in the Valley. Several musicians came out to the farm and played traditional music on dulcimers, fiddles and banjos. We appreciated the sharing of stories about music development in the United States along with their talent at playing many classic tunes. We even had a very entertaining puppet show. It was a great day.

This week will be another busy one with a Rye Straw Craft Day on Tuesday, Split Oak Basketry along with Quilting on Wednesday, Paper Crafts on Thursday and on Friday evening 7/24 a special fundraiser, an Ice Cream & Art Twilight Tour where folks can create some art work, enjoy homemade ice cream, and visit two tour stops on the farm for special presentations. Call the office for more information or to sign up, but hurry.

July has been plenty busy and August looks to be the same. I hope you will have an opportunity to come visit us. You will have fun and most likely learn something new. Nothing better than having fun while learning! Well, that’s all for now folks. I hope you are staying healthy. Take care of each other. Thank you and see you soon. Aunt Eunice