Belvedere Farms

Farming for Flavor and Raising our Family on 47 Acres in NE Ohio

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There’s nothing like the smell of fresh cut hay.

There’s nothing like the smell of fresh cut hay.
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#hayingseason #freshhay #hay #farmlife #summeronthefarm #hayfield #ohiofarm

Just like that, canning season has officially begu

Just like that, canning season has officially begun.
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I drove down to the vet’s to pick up meds for a sick heifer and since it takes me right through Amish country, I couldn’t resist stopping at a farm just off the road to pick up 10 quarts of small but luscious berries (the small ones are sweetest, I think).
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Harvested rhubarb from the garden and a couple hours later : strawberry rhubarb jam.
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When you’re filling shelves for the winter, every little bit counts.
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Are you making jam this year? What’s your favorite fruit to use for jam? I loooove apricot jam, but have a hard time finding local apricots here in Ohio. If you know of a source - spill the beans!🤣
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#canningseason #strawberryjam #homesteadmama #homesteadskills #oldfashionedonpurpose #preservingtheharvest

Eleven brand spankin’ new piglets born on the fa

Morning milking is a balm to the soul. . I used to

Morning milking is a balm to the soul.
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I used to be a die hard night owl and use the quiet of a dark house late at night to get all the things done. I’d put the kids to bed and start a whole ‘nother shift of work into the wee hours.
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Having a milk cow changed all that.
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Now I can hardly get the kids to bed soon enough so I can crawl between the sheets myself. Sometimes I even curse the chickens who won’t go to bed until dark (and we can’t go to bed until they’re shut up).
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And I’m up before the sun, relishing the quiet of a dark house, and soaking up those first golden rays of light as I call in the cows for milking.
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It’s a whole new way of living, of navigating the hours, of participating in the day, and I’m not mad about it at all.
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#milkcowlife #dawn #ohiofarm #sunriseonthefarm #farmlife #milkcow #modernmilkmaid #homesteadmama #morningmilking

It’s been unseasonably hot the last few days, wi

It’s been unseasonably hot the last few days, with high humidity and thunderstorms in the afternoons.
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It’s ideal growing weather - you can almost hear the grass growing.
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One thing I love so much about farm life is the connection to the earth- her patterns and her subtle changes week to week over the season.
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It makes me feel connected and reminds me of my responsibility as a steward - to do the best I can to help each system and species in our farm ecosystem connect to and benefit the next.
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Everything works together for one common goal: feeding our families and community in ways that honor and respect the land and each animal.
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#thisisfarming #ohiofarm #iamyourfarmer #farmlife #grassfedbeef #grassfed #regenerativeagriculture

You want to make real honest-to-goodness cheese at

You want to make real honest-to-goodness cheese at home. Make the most use of that liquid gold you’ve got coming in by the pailful. Fill your family’s bellies with nutrient-dense protein-packed cheeses grown right in your backyard, stirred by your own hands, aged in your own home.
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But cheese? That sounds/feels/looks so intimidating, am I right?
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Here I am, standing on my box, to tell you that it does. not. have. to be that way. Our great-grands didn’t have sterile kitchens. Or commercial supplies. Or a degree in biochemical engineering. But they made cheese. And fed families. And thrived.
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My friend Kate’s ( @venisonfordinner ) new course “Cheesemaking Without the BS” will get you where you want to be in your Cheesemaking journey. She’s got a houseful of kids, a homestead to run, and cows to milk. Making cheese is just one of the things because she’s learned how to make it work, without overwhelm, and she’ll teach you to do the same.
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In fact, despite the VERY many fancy Cheesemaking books and guides and articles I’d read over many years, it was following Kate’s methods that gave me the confidence to finally make things like Asiago, Gouda, and Butterkaeser.
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Now’s the time. This weekend is a special sale ($57!) and for the next month she’s got a hand-holding mentorship option to walk you through step by step. Once you purchase, the course material is available to you always.
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If you’ve been thinking, dreaming, wondering if maybe YOU could learn to make cheese, yes. The answer is yes. And Kate’s the gal to get you there.
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Other than rennet and cheese culture, this is hands-down the best investment you’ll make in yourself on your Cheesemaking journey.
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Go forth, friends. Learn. Make. Eat. Thrive.
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Click the link in my bio for Kate’s Cheesemaking Course. Sale is good through this weekend!
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#cheesemakingathome #homedairy #learntomakecheese #cheese #homemadecheese #milkcowlife #homesteadskills

“It isn’t the great big pleasures that count t

“It isn’t the great big pleasures that count the most; it’s making a great deal out of the little ones.”

- Jean Webster (American author)
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#ohiofarm #morningmilking #milkcowlife #modernmilkmaid #milkcowlife #morningchores #springonthefarm #farmmornings #sunrise #goldenhour #ohiohomesteaders

This time of year I worry about too much grass gro

This time of year I worry about too much grass growing too fast before I can get the cows over to eat it down and make the most of it.
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As a grass farmer, it’s the very best kind of problem to have: grass tall enough to get lost in.
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Speaking of which: can you find the baby? Comment with a 👍 when you do!
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#grassfarmer #grassfedbeef #iamyourfarmer #farmraisedkids #intensiverotationalgrazing #grassfed #grassfedbutter #farmlife #homesteadlife #supportlocalfarmers

That milk pail foam tho 🤩🤩🤩. . Those firs

That milk pail foam tho 🤩🤩🤩.
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Those first few weeks hand milking can be disheartening. Dribbles and squirts, milk running down your wrist, sticky fingers, and sore forearms.
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Milking is a skill. No one is good at it right away. It takes practice. The more you practice, the better you get. The faster you get, the more sure and even your squirts.
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And then one day, there will be foam in the bucket and you’ll know you’ve arrived. Your squirts are fast and firm and sure and the sustained pressure of all that milk hitting the pail makes the most gloriously frothy foam.
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Keep at it friend. Whatever skill you’re working on now. Just because you’re not that great at it right now doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing or that you won’t get better.
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Keep working. Keep trying. Keep learning. The foam will come.
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#farmlife #milkmaid #modernmilkmaid #milkmaidlife #milkcowlife #handmilking #rawmilk #homesteadskills #traditionalskills

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