cupid, insanity

Years ago when researching the deed to our new home, it was curious to note that the only heir of Charles and Caroline Korb, the initial homesteaders of the farm, was a daughter named Cornelia Korb. The deed stated that the she was a ward at the Warren State Hospital for the Insane. I have oft times wondered just how it was that Caroline was mentally ill.

When we first purchased the farm, there wasn’t much of anything here by way of landscaping. There were a handful of old apple trees, a few very old pears, an old lilac and in the front of the house there was a spice bush,  a barely surviving rose and some pale pink flowers that we were not familiar with. We found out that the plant was called “Bouncing Betty” also known as (Soapwort) Saponaria officinalis. One has to wonder if this plant had a practical use for the Korbs because of its sudsing properties.

Sometime later when perusing the old graveyard in Troutville I happened to see a patch of Bouncing Bets. As I drew closer, it was surprising to see that they were growing at the grave marker of Charles Korb!  Had Cornelia planted them? When did Cornelia go insane and why?

The Bouncing Betty still survives today by the steps in front, over a hundred years later, despite the tansy and peony newcomers who keep trying to nudge it out. We still have not tried its soaping properties, but we have tried to lovingly restore the old farmhouse that Charles and Caroline built. This year we went back to the Troutville cemetery and I checked to see if the Bouncing Bettys were still surviving there. There was no sign of them but Charles’ head stone had been replaced and I noticed a grave mistake. The birth date for Caroline just didn't jive with Charles’.

As inquiring minds want to know, I did some research and lo and behold by the virtues and miraculous nature of the internet I found a gem. Who could have ever thought that after 100 years I could come to find this tantalizing piece to the Cornelia puzzle?

As cool as it was to find out how Cornelia ended up in the asylum, it didn’t provide the satisfying closure I had hoped for. Now there are many, many more questions and speculations. Cornelia, the poor woman, is listed as single and living at the farm in the 1900 census. Her mother died in 1901 and her father died in 1902, she was 36. For seven years, she was sole proprietor of the farm.

Who was taking care of the 300 acre farm with one of the largest barns in the county? Was she selling off the livestock for her upkeep, perhaps she was leasing the cropland? Was perhaps the beau a farmhand hoping to take over ownership of the farm? Who sent her to the asylum? Why wouldn't they let her out? What caused her to be violent and who was her anger directed at? It was July 22, 1909, was it very warm and humid and the couple were doing hay together and they argued and tempers flared and she went after him with a pitchfork? Maybe there wasn’t even a boyfriend, only unrequited love.

The most unfortunate and very tragic part of whatever scenario it was that caused her admission to the asylum, was that Cornelia not only had lost control of her temper, she lost control over everything. As strange coincidences go, the very week that I came upon the online news clipping this fascinating article came to me.  It has photos of the contents of the suitcases of asylum patients that expected to be only staying for a few days and from the same time period as Cornelia’s stay in Warren. http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/abandoned-suitcases-reveal-private-lives-of-insane-asylum-patients/

At the time it was easy to get yourself admitted to an asylum - drug use, alcoholism, mourning a little too long over a lost child, a fit of anger - all could have you admitted. It was easy to get in but impossible to get out. Cornelia, from Warren State Hospital records, was in there for years and each year her estate was charged for her keep. In 1917 her debit was 129.00 for the year and that’s the last entry that I can find, she would have been 51. Sadly, for now and perhaps forever, that’s as far as the story goes. 

Side note: some clues as to what life in the asylum was like http://www.pagenweb.org/~warren/misc/warren-state-hospital.html

 

wedding hill apples

There are two old apple trees in close proximity to each other near the top of the sunny side of the hill. It was reported to us, decades ago, that the larger tree was a Northern Spy and the smaller a Winesap, but we’re not so sure. We don’t think the larger is a Northern Spy, the smaller may be Winesap but maybe more likely it could be a Baldwin, but we’re just uncertain as to what they are. The larger tree split in half a number of years ago during a particularly strong storm and is clinging to life and seems to be getting stronger. They both ripen in late October and both are delectable. 

There was a marriage on that hill 30 years ago this 2014. It seems like yesterday that the three happy and nimble farm children climbed the twisted old trees and tossed the apples down to us; the children are all grown and gone now to eastern cityscapes. Do they even remember those carefree times?  These apple trees have likely been picked by at least 3 different farm families. I don’t doubt that many a pie has been baked with them in the same old kitchen filled with apple pie aroma on a chilly but glorious autumn day.  

 It’s not impossible for a standard apple tree to live for 300 years- which is quite phenomenal! Can any apple tree grown today have a similar life expectancy? None of us will be around to tell of it. I also know from experience, that it’s not easy to get an apple tree to get to the point that you don’t have to worry about them anymore, rabbits can destroy a young tree in one evening’s meal and borers can decimate one.

This little chicken, half the size of her peers, survived an attack from a red tailed hawk. She is super friendly, perhaps from time spent recovering in the kitchen from her wounds. She prefers to hang close to the house and not with the others, seems to prefer human or canine company. She likes to nestle close to the dogs and is fond of sitting on your shoes but would prefer your lap if you’d let her. 

This was a bumper year for chestnuts especially for the hybrids, we never had such a crop of huge nuts. The pigs are eating quite a few of the Dunstan hybrids as we still prefer the Chinese chestnuts for taste.  Chestnuts are really good for you don’t you know! They are high in essential fatty acids, high in fiber, beneficial for cardiovascular and nervous system health. They are low in calories compared to other nuts as they are low in saturated fats. They are high in vitamin C unlike other nuts and high in B vitamins. They’re an “excellent source of minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and zinc, besides providing a very good amount of potassium” !!!

Peculiar. Two of the most consistently productive apple trees here are unknown seedlings. One is very close to the road, completely neglected and  nearly run over by the plow each year. The apples are consistently large and unmarked. They are beautiful apples with a rosy blush on one side of most of them. They’re tasty too, crisp and light textured, mildly sweet.  The other tree which is most often just covered with medium size lovely red, disease free apples. These apple are good too but they don’t keep well and get mealy quickly. When they are just picked and ripe the taste and texture is just great. We made vinegar, applesauce and apple butter this year, still an abundant supply leftover.

This is a Redfield cider apple, This is the first year the young tree produced fruit. We can hardly wait for when there is a good supply for making cider. It's claimed  that the cider is red, and the sauce made from the apples is red. It certainly is beautiful, the very dark skin belies the eye popping surprise inside. 

Honey

Down to two hives this year, which is really more than adequate for our pollinating and honey needs. It was so bitterly cold last winter and many colonies across the area perished because of the “polar vortex” This polar phenomena is reported to be coming back this winter. We lost a gallon or two of honey from a sticky explosion in the hoop house. We had the honey in a 3 gallon jar with a spout and had it the hoop house as it was a bit warmer in there during a chilly week. We were not inside when it happened but somehow for some reason it had broken into shards and honey all over the place. It took weeks for the bees to find it but once they did it was short work.

Little woods - beebalm

swine

We are trying pigs for the first time.  We were told that these two pigs are the breed "Spotted Poland China". A quick search though claims that name is no longer used, if they are "Spotted Swine" then they are white with black spots and if they are Poland China then they are black with white spots. Don't they look somewhere in the middle? Well they are closely related and are the type that will get HUGE. We are using them for soil prep (sod busting) and it's easy to see that they are going to be excellent for that purpose. So far so good, no smell and they have only escaped twice!!

duck brood

The duck was a fair bit luckier than the turkey with her clutch of eggs and this morning appeared with 12 or 13 ducklings, considering that 13 is an average clutch size, she did quite well. She was such an excellent brooder going for what seemed like weeks without visiting the pond. We may have to try and catch the males and keep them away from the pond for a spell as they are not at all gentle with the ducklings.

turkey clutch

This was the clutch of eggs that the hen turkey defended to the end. One night in the wee hours of the morning, something attacked the nest, the eggs were destroyed and the hen was mortally wounded. We do not know what it may have been - possum, raccoon, fox? We are terribly sad about it. There is still a hen that is laying eggs; her freedom, unfortunately, is now limited.

hoop house

Have some mixed feelings on this, we'll see and report in a year or two  but regardless it is up, completed in the fall. It's generally about 20 degrees warmer in there when the sun is not shining, when the sun is out it's quite warm, warm enough to bend a candle and this was in the cold winter months. We had a very cold winter with temps below zero a number of times. It's past mid March now and winter seems to be reluctant to leave us. The ground is still quite frozen, in years past we have planted potatoes by this time and sugar snap peas too. We have our work cut out for us with the hoop house and still have lots to figure out but hopefully we'll be rewarded with some season extension and lots of great veggies

garlic!

German White

This fall, we planted four varieties of garlic- German White, German Red, Turkish and Zemo, all hard necked varieties. Zemo - a porcelain variety from the Republic of Georgia with a high content of allicin, Turkish a hot spicy variety, German white -moderately spicy and stores very well, German Red -full bodied garlic flavor. Garlic is, as surely you already know,  wonderfully good for you. It's a potent antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal agent but sadly most of those benefits are lost in the cooking. Researchers have found that diallyl sulfide found in garlic, was as effective as 100 times as much of the antibiotics erythromycin and ciprofloxacin and would often work in a fraction of the time! It has been found to be beneficial to protect from lung, brain, prostate and breast cancer, help alleviate high blood pressure and high cholesterol and the anti-inflammatory property in garlic can help the body fight against allergies. As the powerful benefits of garlic come mostly through its raw form, it's lucky we have a dish that makes it very easy to eat raw garlic ... pesto! We will be using the Turkish to make pesto this summer/fall and will be consuming lots of it.

Turkish Red