Boat trailer conversion

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This week-end I converted an old boat trailer into a flat-bed trailer. I am pretty pleased with the way it came out. The trailer can be switched back to boat trailer mode in 20 minutes by lifting the deck off in two sections and remounting two longitudinal bars that cradle the boat hull.

Cocktails by the pond on a summer evening

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Our custom for summer weekends is to finish the day sipping a cocktail on the bank of our pond. Yesterday we enjoyed a version of the classic Jockey Club Cocktail, which replaced the usual Amaretto with a homemade version, created by steeping vodka with cherry pits for two weeks.  I recall this fondly as I sit, bleary-eyed over coffee, on a Monday morning, before departing for work.
Here is the recipe for the down on the farm version of the Jockey Club Cocktail.

Jockey Club Cocktail a la High & Dry Farm

  • Two parts gin
  • 2/3 parts lemon juice
  • 2/3 parts cherry pit infusion
  • 1/3 part triple sec
  • dash angostura bitters

Shake with crushed ice, garnish with a twist of orange peel and a tart cherry, serve with ice.

Home-made Amaretto

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This year we had a bumper crop of pie cherries. I saved the pits and covered them with vodka. Two weeks later, the vodka infusion was decanted and filtered. The result is amazing. The liquor has a strong Amaretto-like almond flavor with a touch of tartness and complex underlying cherry notes.

Cocktails by the pond on a summer evening

 

20160625_175039

Our custom for summer weekends is to finish the day sipping a cocktail on the bank of our pond. Yesterday we enjoyed a version of the classic Jockey Club Cocktail, which replaced the usual Amaretto with a homemade version, created by steeping vodka with cherry pits for two weeks. I recall this fondly as I sit, bleary-eyed over coffee, on a Monday morning, before departing for work.

Here is the recipe for the down on the farm version of the Jockey Club Cocktail.

Jockey Club Cocktail a la High & Dry Farm

Print
Two parts gin
2/3 parts lemon juice
2/3 parts cherry pit infusion
1/3 part triple sec
dash angostura bitters
Shake with crushed ice, garnish with a twist of orange peel and a tart cherry, serve with ice.

Great year for tomatoes

This year I produced over 120 different heirloom tomato varieties, and more than 1000 plants total, in gallon containers. I have sold almost 600 of them so far this year, at wholesale, to local garden centers.  I am attracting a growing customer base, who learn that my plants do better than plants from other growers. Commercial greenhouses are heated at temperatures that give fast plant growth, but produce soft plants that go into shock when gardeners put them out in the cool Puget Sound Spring weather. My plants are grown at cooler temperatures, so they are already well adapted.

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