Ms. MacDonald's Farm

Ms. MacDonald's Farm Growing food. Raising animals. Building a life rooted in the land. Small-scale homestead in Northern Michigan. Sharing the journey - from seed to harvest.

Putting blueberries away for the freezer!For the last two years, we’ve made a point to stock up on blueberries from a lo...
08/26/2026

Putting blueberries away for the freezer!

For the last two years, we’ve made a point to stock up on blueberries from a local blueberry farm while they’re in season.

When I get them home, I give them a rinse in diluted white vinegar, and then portion them into quart-sized freezer bags and freeze them for later.

Throughout the year, we’ll pull them out for smoothies, yogurt, baked goods, and whatever else sounds good at the time.

There’s just something satisfying about filling the freezer when local food is plentiful, knowing we’ll still be enjoying a little taste of summer months from now.

Putting blueberries away for the freezer!For the last two years, we’ve made a point to stock up on blueberries from a lo...
08/26/2026

Putting blueberries away for the freezer!

For the last two years, we’ve made a point to stock up on blueberries from a local blueberry farm while they’re in season.

When I get them home, I give them a rinse in diluted white vinegar, and then portion them into quart-sized freezer bags and tuck them away for later.

Throughout the year, we’ll pull them out for smoothies, yogurt, baked goods, and whatever else sounds good at the time.

There’s just something satisfying about filling the freezer when local food is plentiful, knowing we’ll still be enjoying a little taste of summer months from now.

08/25/2026

Eggs are restocked 🥚Follow the farm fresh eggs signs off May Lake Road onto N Verlinde 🙂

Last year, I tossed the last of my garden tomatoes into the freezer with every intention of processing them once winter ...
08/20/2026

Last year, I tossed the last of my garden tomatoes into the freezer with every intention of processing them once winter hit and life slowed down.

Well… winter came and went. 😂

And there they sat, forgotten at the bottom of my freezer.

I finally pulled them out, let them thaw for a day, peeled off the skins, and tossed them into a pot to simmer.

About two hours later, they had cooked down to the perfect consistency. Straining out a good portion of the seeds was a special kind of torture, but the end result was worth it.

What I started with: two gallon bags + one quart bag of frozen tomatoes
What I ended with: one quart bag of sauce

That might not sound like much, but it is genuinely some of the best tomato sauce I’ve ever tasted.

Last year’s garden, finally processed… just in time for this year’s tomatoes to start piling up. 😂

08/17/2026

It was a busy weekend here at Ms. MacDonald’s Farm!

Saturday kicked off with picking up five new ducks from someone who was downsizing their flock. Then I made a stop at Up North Blueberry Farm and came home with 10 pounds of blueberries.

From there, it was back home to process the remaining meat chickens, followed by some much-needed family time.

Sunday morning, I packed everything up and headed to the Frederic Community Market. Then it was back home again to spend the evening finishing up the meat chickens, getting them packaged and tucked away in the deep freezer.

By Sunday night, I was definitely ready to put my feet up.

Five new ducks, 10 pounds of blueberries, a freezer full of home-raised chicken, a market day, and some family time squeezed in between. I’d say it was a pretty productive weekend on the farm.

Hanging out at the Frederic Community Market today. I’ve brought lettuce starts, eggs, and chard.
08/16/2026

Hanging out at the Frederic Community Market today. I’ve brought lettuce starts, eggs, and chard.

11.5 pounds of homegrown potatoes!This spring, I planted 3 pounds of seed potatoes, and over the past couple of weeks I ...
08/13/2026

11.5 pounds of homegrown potatoes!

This spring, I planted 3 pounds of seed potatoes, and over the past couple of weeks I dug up 11.5 pounds. That’s almost 4 pounds of potatoes for every pound I planted!

Is it a record-breaking potato harvest? Not by any means. But there is something incredibly satisfying about sticking a few little seed potatoes in the dirt and coming back later to dig up dinner.

Every garden season is an experiment, and now I’m already thinking about what I can do differently next year to get an even bigger harvest.

08/12/2026

I will have lettuce starts for sale at the Frederic Community Market on Sunday, August, 16th 😎

08/11/2026

There’s something pretty satisfying about knowing exactly where your food comes from.

I recently processed about half of our meat chickens, and I was curious how the numbers would shake out.

Our finished birds ranged from 4 lbs 6 oz to 5 lbs 2 oz, with an average weight of about 4 lbs 12 oz.

I estimate about $8 went into raising each bird, which puts the cost at roughly $1.69 per pound of finished chicken.

For comparison, I checked current grocery store prices and found whole chickens raised on non-organic feed running around $1.46–$1.87/lb.

Are we beating the grocery store on price? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But coming in right around grocery-store prices for chickens that were raised right here on our little farm, where I knew what they ate, how they lived, and handled every step from chick to freezer? I’ll take that as a win.

There’s a lot of work that goes into raising your own food, but there’s also a whole lot of satisfaction in opening the freezer and seeing the results.

Address

Frederic, MI

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Ms. MacDonald's Farm posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category