Baking Pretzels
Baking Pretzels Some of you probably know that Anh loves baking! However, you may not know that she also provides some baked goods for the Kent Falls Brewing tasting room: The tasting room is open to enjoy all of Kent Falls Brewing's beers, including some of the more unusual ones which are rarely available through distribution. Plan a visit while you're with us at the Inn. They are open, Thursday through Sunday - check their website for details on hours and events.
Fall Foliage
Fall Foliage Predictions Once again, the glorious colors of the fall will be coming to us soon! The Washington Post released a Fall Foliage tracker that predicts when the peak of the season will be arriving, based on temperatures, rainfall, and how the summer has gone. For those of you without a subscription, they expect Litchfield County to be approaching peak around September 27th, and that the best of the colors will be past us by October 11th. Our little valley microclimate tends to be a little bit cooler than the surroundings, so don’t be surprised if those [...]
Watch for Hawks!
Watch for Hawks! The chickens were making a terrible ruckus, so I strolled over to see what was amiss. Needless to say, they had good reason to be alarmed. We've had terrible hawk pressure this year, losing almost 30 birds. We tried a number of different things, and finally ended up putting a netting over the entire coop. Seems to have done the trick - this hawk was stuck hanging out on the roof, and was unable to fly down and get his lunch. We're going to make it more mobile by attaching the netting [...]
Who Watches Whom…?
Who Watches Whom...? I was taking care of the chickens this morning, and Dr. Fauci came out to join me. He sat down, and a few of the ladies came over to observe him as well: Clearly it was more interesting: I'm not sure who was on the inside of the cage and who was on the outside, actually!
First Cranberries!
Cranberries! I've been slowly planting more and more brambles and berries on the farm - raspberries (which Anh uses to make delicious jam), blackberries, gooseberries, strawberries, and cranberries. They seem to do well on the property. I planted the first cranberry bush three years ago. Lo and behold, here's the first few! I don't expect to get many this year, but hopefully next year we'll get enough to have them for Thanksgiving dinner. Delicious!
The Harvest is Starting…
The Harvest is Starting! This is my favorite time of year, when all the hard work in the garden is really starting to pay off in spades. I just picked my garlic. It used to last through until February or March, but Anh cooks so much with it that it probably won't make it to January. This is fine, because I love garlic (you can't have too much garlic!) Also ready are the tomatoes, cucumbers, rau mung, carrots, and a bunch of other vegetables. Even the squash, pumpkins, and watermelons are looking great. I get to plant more seeds [...]
Cancellation Policy Update
Cancellation Policy Update We had adjusted our cancellation policy to be very flexible during the pandemic, as planning travel was complicated and could be up-ended at any time. Rather than adding to people's stress about potentially being stuck with a room they didn't need, we felt it would be better to just allow cancellations up until the night before their stay. Now that things are returning to normal, we are putting our original seven-day cancellation policy back in place for reservations made on or after August 1st, 2021. Travelers who do not cancel seven days prior [...]
Shop Assembly
Fixing up our new greenhouse! Tragedy struck last year (well, in farm terms) when the brutally heavy and wet snowfall caused our greenhouse to collapse. It was especially frustrating because we had parked our truck and other equipment inside to keep it safe from the storm! After spending a couple of months tearing it down when we had the time, we have finally moved on to install a new greenhouse, combined with storage space for equipment and room for a shop. We purchased two high-cube containers, and placed them about 20 feet apart. We [...]
The Kent Falls Brewery Tasting Room has Reopened!
Kent Falls Tasting Room Re-Opens! The tasting room at Kent Falls Brewing Company, that we share the property with, has officially reopened as of today! For now, Saturday/Sunday from 12-5 you can enjoy a tasty beverage at the outdoor tables, served by a terrific staff. Everyone has been looking forward to this for a long time, so now if you stay you'll have a chance to taste and purchase their many fine brews.
Out to Pasture
Out to Pasture We finally got our pigs out of their winter area today! There's Big Mama with her adopted children out at the back of the west pasture. This is how we keep our animals happy and content - loads of fresh plants and grass for them to root around them. Pigs are basically four-legged non-stop rototillers, and if you go see the ground after just a couple of days, you'll know exactly what I mean! On the farm, we move our animals to fresh pasture every few days, depending on how big the area is [...]