I started off the new year by.......canning...of course! I hadn't canned anything since October of 2023.....even though I thought about it....I didn't do it. 
Most of my ingredients are in the freezer with the exception of the oranges that my sister sends me from a small family farm in Florida. Everyone else in the family eats the oranges she sends, but I make marmalade instead and then sell it to other people. 
I have many products that I have run low on...but don't have the ingredients to make them...which is sad, but that is what seasonal local canning is. The reality of all the produce and fruit in the fall can be overwhelming as you are processing as fast as you can. Either you are cooking it right then or getting it ready for the freezer to be used later.
As my mother use to say"your eyes were bigger than your stomach". in this case it was my unrealistic view of how much I could can in a day was a bit flawed. Canning late into the night can lead to all sorts of disasters.....I try not to can late in the evening....but it sometimes happen.
So the new year has started and I have one more batch of lower sugar marmalade to make and then thaw the ingredients for lower sugar Triple Berry Jam. That should be it for today.
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The last couple of days have been over 70 degrees and the flies have come out in droves.....both outside and in the house..............ick......... It doesn't help that the warmth in the house and the temps outside  , plus manure outside promote the development of  flies.......
I thought I had gotten things under control till this last stretch of warm weather. So my little red dirt devil is my best friend and suck up unwanted flies very efficiently! I know the flies have been bad as I have heard it from people who don't have farm animals anymore but have neighbors with animals. So my plight is not unusual and the cold weather is due this week......which will help to tamp down the little pests.
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 What CAN I say? Yes I have been canning almost everyday since about the 1st of June. Even with all this rainy weather I was canning fruit and produce from my freezer and then shopping at local farm stands and pick your own establishments. 
I will say ....I am tired and glad today is a day off from the Can Can Kitchen, but tomorrow I will have Tomatillos and Poblano peppers to roast for Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde so my canning kitchen again will be busy. 
Construction is still going on outside but will soon move back inside to replace the south and west facing windows. I have a large hay delivery due this week and I am hoping to send 50+ sheep to auction this month. 
So on it goes.....life on the farm keeps moving and growing...I just try to keep up!

It is hard to judge how much propane your AGA will consume and how often the tank level needs to be checked. The first thing I discovered is all the AGA literature is aimed at people who are using oil. natural gas or coal. This means that with natural gas you don't have to worry about running out...cut off...unable to pay, but not running out. This means that running my stove at what is considered the optimum temp ,having only 1 person cooking and only using it as an auxiliary source of heat, it is hard to figure how often I need my  110 lb propane tank filled. My fuel provider(both oil and propane) have me watch the gauges on the tanks and when they get low I need to call them. 
But this is problematic for me: 
  
1. The AGA stove I have works by using radiant heat. The stove retains it's heat in the iron body filled with wool and the oven temp is determined by how close to the fire box it is. The plates on top are the same , the boiling plate directly over the fire box(heat source) at full temperature can be over 500 degrees. The plate or hob to the right is the simmering plate. The rule of thumb is 7 minutes maximum on any plate and then the pot or pan goes into the correct oven for it to finish cooking.  Which means you need to be prepared with your ingredients to cook quickly and then into the oven.  This may seem silly, but  your kitchen doesn't smell, so you need to learn to use a timer once things go into the oven. Reheating leftovers or frozen casseroles is really easy and you don't have to wait for the stove to heat up, boil over...etc.
THE PROBLEM COMES WITH HOW MUCH FUEL DO I NEED?
2. If I do keep the stove up to optimum temp my Addition kitchen/living area is 74 degrees, while the rest of my old house is set between 62 -64 and I have forced hot air.
3. So I turned the AGA down(there are no numbers or marks just a dial that goes up or down to shut off the gas).  This will affect my 4 ovens making them work at the lower temps.
The roasting oven should be 375-475 F, Baking oven 325-350 F, simmering oven 250-315 F.
But with the reduced gas flow :
my roasting oven is 325-365 F and the baking oven is 275-325.  But my simmering oven is now great for letting dough rise , warming plates or keeping cooked items warm, drying herbs or melting butter.
My 4th oven is used as storage .
3. So my dilemma is I have to turn the stove up for when visitors come and still hope I don't run out of Propane(especially in the winter). It is hard because my usage is so erratic it is hard for my fuel provider to find the right balance. 

​Hopefully soon things will level out....even with all this ...I love the AGA and it was Brandon's dream to have one...so here we are!

This is Moss and her ram lamb Peat, who was born this morning . Mom and peat are having some evening mash and are relaxing in the lambing shed. There are now 22 lively and thriving lambs in the farm yard.
The house is getting it's makeover...new windows, shingles and trim and finally I have a new washing machine which will be hooked up on Friday!!!!!!
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​So much to do and such weird weather.....very hot....then cold and windy, back to hot and now a return to cooler dryer weather......but everything is greening up and the bugs (other than ticks)haven't arrived in full force!

We had more snow in March and I was sure I was done lambing. But the last weekend in March a ewe lamb was born from a mom who gave birth last April while I was at my mothers funeral in Virginia. Then 2 days later a yearling gave birth to another ewe lamb. I really thought I was done...but this morning in between the rain squalls a ewe who is just a year old gave birth to a ram lamb. I guess I can't really say if I am done with lambing. There are now 21 lambs! 2 tan, 2 black, 2 ewe lambs with horns and the rest of the lambs are white or have tan patches. We shall see what the rest of the month brings.