Larry's Family Farm

11/19/2025

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11/07/2025

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11/06/2025

10/28/2025

This is just Nature's annual reminder that Winter is on its way. There's always so much more to do around the Farm or Homestead or even your own Home to prepare for the coming months of cold and snow and ice.
I enjoy Autumn. Sometimes I find myself wishing that Fall would last until New Years and then go directly into Spring. The reality is that Winter is a necessity. We need the water that the rain and snow provide. Mother Nature Herself needs time to rest and restore Earths energy. If I were younger I'd probably embrace the Winter months. I'd be skiing or snow mobiling like I did not that long ago. Well, it is what it is. I'm thankful that I am still able to go outside during the bitter cold days to perform my daily chores. To care for the livestock and to prune the elderberry, pear and apple orchards.
I do look forward to going ice fishing. Although it is getting a little more difficult each season to pull my sled across a frozen lake and set up my pop up ice fishing hut. I still drill through the frozen surface using a hand powered ice auger. Friends in my age group no longer find joy in such physical activities. I haven't decided if I keep going because fishing is something that I truly enjoy or if I continue going just to prove to myself that I still can.
Ready or not Autumn is here. It is up to each of us to find the beauty or to drown in self misery. For me it is time to sharpen the pruning shears and also to go through my tackle boxes and get my things organized for the upcoming ice fishing season.
Thank you all for a terrific 2025 Elderberry Harvest. We look forward to seeing you again next season.

10/25/2025

Cierra from Petersboro your Elderberry Plants are ready for pick up. Please call or text us to arrange for pickup. Now is a good time to plant them.
(435)770-0176

10/20/2025

The War Department's ELDERBERRY JALAPEÑO JELLY/DRIZZLE.
Our Family Favorite
INGREDIENTS:
1 (1.75 oz.) package powdered pectin.
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups fresh frozen elderberries
2 cups water
1 green Jalapeño pepper, minced
1 red Jalapeño pepper, minced
3 1/2 cups white sugar
5 half pint (sterilized) canning jars with lids and rings
DIRECTIONS:
STEP 1: Mix the pectin crystals with 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl. Stir in the fresh frozen elderberry, water, pectin mixture,green Jalapeño and the red Jalapeño together in sauce pan. Bring the mixture (while stirring) to a boil for 1 full minute. Remove from heat. Stir while off heat to remove bubbles and foam for about 5 minutes. ( Add a tiny pat of real butter to help disapate bubbles and foam).
STEP 2: Ladle into warm sterile jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe jar rim clean with damp paper towel then install lids and rings. Seal jars in a hot water bath. Consult your altitude and canning instructions to determine amount of time time in water bath.
When done carefully remove jars from water bath and place them on a towel on your counter or table. Allow to cool completely. (Overnight) Test lids to insure they are sealed.
Once opened store the jelly in refrigerator.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Include Citric Acid or Lemon Juice to achieve the optimal acidity for canning.
This is a Home Recipe. This is not a USDA or Ball Canning Blue Book approved recipe. Use recipe at your own risk.

Great on crackers with a little Brie.
Larry's favorite is to heat a flour tortilla, lather with real butter, cover with Elderberry Jalapeño jelly then roll it up like a burrito and enjoy! (Have plenty of flour tortillas on hand!)
Makes excellent Holiday and Christmas Gift.

(Picture of the War Department used without permission, LOL)

10/19/2025

COYOTES prowling around at 1:20 AM
Maverick jumped up on the bed to wake me so that we could grab a flashlight and go out to check on our Chickens. It amazes me how he can wake from a deep sleep and is immediately ready to go to work to protect our two chicken flocks.
Me? I find myself half asleep standing outside in the dark at 34° in my underwear with a flashlight in one hand and a coyote getter thingy in the other hand. The coyotes are retreating. The Chickens are safe for now. I'm shivering in the cold air and admiring the clear starlit sky above with my pal Maverick at my side. I feel pretty darned lucky to be living the rural lifestyle.

10/19/2025

Wish you lived out in the country?
Here's an idea.

10/17/2025

How THIS very knife helped save Family from being homeless. What is this knife for? THE ANSWER IS IN THE COMMENTS.

10/14/2025