goldenoakfarm (@goldenoakfarm)
My husband and I had a homestead farm in Western Massachusetts with beef cattle, pigs, meat birds, and layers along with large vegetable gardens and an herb garden until he died on Christmas 2020. I only have the gardens now but no longer have animals except my old cat, Larry.
Chaos Sunday - September 6, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
On Sunday morning I was up at 5:45AM and I got the sprinkler going then got my post up. Then I unloaded the dehydrator. I got a pint of basil to make a small amount of basil salt with. The kefir gr...
Starting the Big Garden - September 5, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
On Saturday morning I was up at 4:45AM and got my post up. Then I got the kitchen cleaned up and sat down for 15 minutes. I had started the sprinkler when I got up and I had a couple chores to do. ...
Busy Day - September 4, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
Sunrise Friday morning I woke at 4AM and laid in bed making the list for the day. I finally got up at 4:30AM and got my post written. Then I got the dehydrator unloaded. The first tray where the ma...
Tomato Soup and Dehydrating - September 3, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
Small garden - tomatoes On Thursday morning I spent most of it getting caught up on posts. Then I finished the laundry and put it all away and cleaned up the kitchen. I sat and made a couple big or...
Freezer Room Prep to Do - September 2, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
I have been wanting to move the freezers out of the barn since 2020. But I ran out of money to finish their room in the new cellar. On the basis of an (incorrect) Fuel Assistance evaluation, I star...
Moving Mulch and Mowing – September 1 & 2, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
We’ve had nothing but gloomy or rainy days all week. Tuesday was no exception and I spent most of the day trying to finish the bills/budget. My helper friend was here and did some chores, cleaning ...
More Gardens Done - August 31, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
West and West Herb gardens finished On Monday morning I was up at 4:45AM and got my post up. Then I got ready and headed out to the gardens. I had to drag the hoses for watering the new grass back ...
Do Nothing Then Busy - August 29 & 30, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
On Friday night I had opened the house up because it was to be low 80’s on Saturday. I had planned to mow but the grass hadn’t grown enough to warrant it. I did sit and pay bills/do budget for a fe...
Nothing Special - August 28, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
On Friday morning I was up around 5:30AM and got the sprinklers going. Then I emptied the basil out of the dehydrators. I didn’t pack the leaves as they retain nutrients better if not crushed much,...
Finishing the Garden and Pickles - August 27, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
On Thursday morning I woke at 4AM but I didn’t want to get up. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I read and dozed until 5:45AM. I got the sprinklers going even though they said 30% chance during the ...
Finishing the Kefir Cheese - August 27, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
On Wednesday we left the kefir draining the whey off. This is what it should look like. There should be no loose or jelly like areas. The cheese should be solid enough that it peels off the butterc...
Almost Two More Gardens - August 26, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
East Shed garden all cleaned out On Wednesday morning I was up around 6AM and worked on getting my post up. I wasn’t moving too fast and wasn’t even close to ready when my general helper got up at ...
Making Kefir Cheese - August 26, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
I had put the kefir grains into the raw milk I had skimmed the cream from on August 21st. For some reason, the milk did not want to turn to cream all at once. It turned the top ½” at a time and I h...
Two Gardens - August 25, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
Juneberry flowers - Photo by general helper On Tuesday I was up around 6AM. I got my short post up and then went out to clean up the kitchen. Once that was done, I set up to process beans and went ...
Just Chores and Mowing - August 24, 2026 @goldenoakfarm
Sunday night was an even worse night, up multiple times in the night and not out of bed until 6:30AM and only because the cat had nearly expired. Tom appeared because, while he has 10 motorized veh...