Green Acres and Misty Skies

Venison Sausage

2013-01-06T20:44:00.002-06:00

I have been trying out a few recipes for venison sausage.
The first two are loosely based on recipes found on the internet: http://www.lets-make-sausage.com/deer-breakfast-sausage.html and http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bulk-venison-breakfast-sausage/

I combined them as follows:

Approx. 6 lbs venison to 3 lbs fatty pork ground together
1 cup cold water
3 T sage
3 T garlic
6 packets red pepper flakes
3 T salt

The mild version
1 cup water
1 1/2 T sage
1 1/2 T garlic
3 T salt
3 T brown sugar

These turned out well, although I thought that it could use some improvement and flavor.
I was given a recipe book 301 Venison Recipes; The Ultimate Deer Hunter's Cookbook.
This recipe calls for:
5 lbs venison, 1 lb pork
1 lb ground beef fat or suet
2 T salt
3 T sage
2 t pepper
1 t red cayenne
2 T molasses

I blended this into the first recipe and added a few things, tweaked the flavor a little.
This is what I used:

Mild
6 lbs venison, 5 lbs pork
1 T. Garlic, Rubbed sage, Powdered Sage
2 T. Curing Salt, Molasses
6 T. Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 t. Paprika
1 Cup Cold Water

Spicy
6lbs venison, 5 lbs pork
1 t. ground black pepper, ground red pepper
1/8 t. ground white pepper
1 t. paprika
1 T. Garlic
2 T. Sage (1 T. rubbed sage, 1 T. ground sage), curing salt
6 T. brown sugar
2 T. molasses
1 cup cold water

The flavor of the mild in the last recipe was heavy in garlic, and light on sage, without much other flavor. the molasses and increased sugar should meld well with the paprika, and I reduced the garlic slightly. We are using curing salt this time, so I have decreased the amount and we will see how it goes.

The hot recipe was hot enough but I felt that the crushed red pepper was too chunky, so I put it through a pepper mill and I was pleased with the results. I also reduced the amount of garlic so it would not over power the sage. I switched the recipe to curing salt and added sugar and molasses this time, which it did not have in the last recipe.

The rubbed sage is a little hard to mix and blend, I may use only powdered next time, but I thought that it would nice to have recognizable herbs in it. I think in the future it would be nice for it to be a homegrown sage and I can dry and powder it myself.
In addition, I might try a hint of liquid smoke, and adjust the amount of sugar and molasses. I also have ground red pepper, but I didn't want to over do it. It seemed plenty spicy last time, just too garlicy and a bit unbalanced. I am hoping the curing salt/sugar/molasses is the element I was missing in the last batch. We shall see. I plan to taste it in a few days, and vacuum seal the rest.
The problem is that you have to let the meat cure for a few days before you really know how it will taste. And, really, it is too late to change the batch. But I can add to the recipe the ideas for the next batch, so that I can follow that recipe.
I sort of lost the first one with my original notes, so this time I stapled it into the venison cookbook.
Last time, I vacuum sealed it and kept it over in the fridge for 3 days before freezing. This was in hope that the flavors would have a chance to meld, without aging the meat much. Being as fresh as the deer is, I don't worry, but using store bought pork, you just don't know how long it has been in the freezer case...

The best part of the sausage making process is that less meat is wasted. I always had a hard time with the foreshank and neck for jerky or stew. I tend to use the very best cuts in my stew and I use scraps of any of it for jerky. Now I really have a system of meat use as I butcher.

Roasts are cut large and left whole. They can be cut partially defrosted for steaks, for stew or for jerky. Any meat that is cut off the large roasts while processing is cut in cubes and put in a bag labeled precut stew. Another bag is filled with marinade for jerky, and any slim and slender scraps go here. A bowl is loaded with scraps with too much work in cleaning, and too much fat for other cuts. This is the sausage bowl. The Backstrap is put in a bag of marinade and saved for wrapping in bacon. This is the prime meat. In this way, very little is wasted.
At the rate we had deer this year (5 so far) I think that it would pay to save hides. After fleshing, I think I will salt, roll and freeze the hides. As they are collected, (8-10), I will process them after the butchering is done.

Homestead Brain

2012-06-09T15:35:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, I have homesteading on the brain, in a bad way. A friend of mine joked that my hen going broody has my biological clock ticking, but I disagree. It does have me amazed in wonder about our future farm life.
Last night I did a google search on homesteading. Of course I land on Mother Earth News, and Homestead.org. I can across an article that asked readers how they knew they were homesteaders, that they had arrived at their dream. Many replied that they left the house with chicken poop on them, or that they had not had to buy eggs in so long they had to ask friends for cartons (who generally tend to want them back full of eggs) or that they rarely visit a store until they run out of salt. I have noticed how declined I am to shop at the grocery store, although my family has a serious addiction to cereals.
But I think that I have begun to feel that I am more of a homesteader than I give myself credit for, but also, that I won't think that I have arrived at my dream for quite some time. It has really made me think about what homesteading is about, and I think that the full image is different for everyone with this dream.
Personally, I feel like there are very few skills I have that even make me a some-what homesteader.
I love gardening and have more many years, but the last several I have increased my garden's size and scope nearly every season. I read all through the late winter and spring, mouth watering, about what I want to grow and imagine the harvest. The difference now is that I actually do have a harvest. Each year, with little work but weeding and watering I get to harvest strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. I have asparagus which thrives in it's own bed that marks the coming of spring each season, and in the past two seasons have produced enough to share on several occasions. I have planted garlic bulbs each fall and this year, I believe will have enough to last until the following year. I have fresh lettuces for any meal, anytime, and more crops on the way. I plant potato, corn, beans and carrots, onions, leeks and chives. All veggies that we will use and store, and all from my own yard. There is no greater feeling than eating the food you have produced and food you, yourself have preserved. I want to continue this until I can grow all our family food needs each year, and supplement store bought goods only for the things we must have and cannot possibly produce ourselves. When finances are more stable, I plan to buy whole meats from local organic producers, and know my beef and pork by name. I will build a smoker and produce the juiciest ribs and the smokiest jerky and sausage. And that makes me a homesteader. The urge and drive to want these types of things.
On my list for the future are many more homestead skills. From soap making to cheeses. From woven crafts to buildings and greenhouses. Planting a vineyard, an orchard and a grove. Making the the things we want most and enjoying the process. That is what a homesteader does, more or less.
I think what has occurred to me this season is the jealousy factor. In years past, I would tell friends and family about progress and drawbacks in different areas of my mini farm. And they would be entertained by the lessons I have learned and how I was able to circumvent disaster. But this year, I feel that others are wishing that they too, could get a start on their own mini-mini farm. Some long for their own laying hens, and remark how nice to have the eggs. Others are proud of the volunteer tomato that is happy to exist in such shallow soil. Many, of course, salivate at the asparagus spears as the emerge in the spring, or the blueberries loading down the branches of the bushes. This year, I feel the jealousy, which I never noticed before. I notice comments about how they long to have food in their back yards, and I tell them to just do it! There is no reason to wait. The great thing about gardening, farming or any other endeavor, is that it is a learning process, and until you begin, you will learn nothing.
I am no expert, I am still a novice, but I take the time to learn as much as possible about everything I try to accomplish. I take notes, and observe the outcomes and the process to see what needs improvements. I allow my mistakes to humble me, rather than be humbles by wishing for something just out of reach. I drive forward until I am near enough to grasp my goals. And I enjoy learning from all that happens around me. And that, too, makes me a modern homesteader. But I will not accept the title until I feel that we can stand on our own, and produce what our family needs on a regular basis. Until we are able to store away and preserve the fruits of our labors enough to last through a long winter. Until we are able to withstand a storm without it bothering us at all, because we make a point to always be prepared. Then, I will truly be a homesteader.

Bad birdies and broody hens

2012-06-04T15:09:00.001-05:00

I made the unfortunate mistake of uncovering ripe blueberry bushes. To my dismay they were void of anything blue by morning. I had been showing the bushes to friends, as this year marks our first blueberry harvest. What a shame! They are now recovered, but the majority of this years crop was stolen.
I then realized I have even bigger fish to fry. My don's hen, General, has been acting rather strange this week. I noticed that she looks pretty fluffy and makes strange noises when laying her egg each day. I have collected several very warm eggs. Yesterday, I pulled her off the nest to forage with the others, but within minutes she was sitting back in the coop. Then it dawned on me that she has gone broody.
At this point its just comical, she screeched when the coop door is opened and acts like a real turkey. Today our other two hens wanted to harass her off the clutch so they could add to it. They are not acting like she is but they insisted on sitting on top of her in order to lay the eggs with the clutch.
Last night I ordered 10 rare breed hatching eggs. We will move her to her own place with her 10 plastic Easter eggs and replace them Friday when the eggs are shipped in. 44$ for 10, which is rather steep! I hope she hatches them all and that many are pullets!

MMMM.....Bread!

2011-12-30T13:44:00.000-06:00

I have been laid-up, so to speak, the last week because I had my wisdom teeth pulled, OUCH!
The last few days I have been feeling better and craving some good home cooked food. I got into my old Fannie Farmer Cookbook and decided to make rolls for dinner last night. I have been craving some good bread, and yearning for a new bread recipe book :s
The rolls came out ok, and I had dough to spare that I wrapped up and put in the fridge. It was a quick mix recipe, so I am hoping that it holds. I decided today to make cinnamon bread, another bread I have been daydreaming about and have never tried. I just set it to rise, so I will have to get back to you on how it turns out. Either way, it really is so much fun. Bread is like a living thing, and it is so much fun to m. make! My dear friend, and future sister in law, makes a lot of bread with her mom. They use a bread machine to knead the dough. She has this recipe for jalepeno cheese rolls that is really fabulous. My husband loves the bread, but can't eat the peppers, so I will have to omit the fillings. The rolls themselves are seriously sweet. Great for dinner rolls! I am going to have to get that recipe from them!

So I have been online scouring Amazon to use a gift card I got for Christmas. I found a few really interesting books and put some on my wish list, and others I used the card for. Here are the ones that are on the way: (I read a bit of them with the "look inside" feature, really cool!)

this looked interesting, and was the only bread book I could afford. I hope it is good!
this one I have heard about, and I love Storey Publishing, so I am confident I will love it. Plus it was less than $1...Can't beat that price!
Then I also purchased several Storey Country Wisdom Bulletins, one for milk soap, making cheese, butter and yogurt, and one on braiding rugs (I was wanting to make some rag rugs out of old work jeans for the house, LOL).
The book I am most excited about is:
This is one of those books that I would have loved to write! So I know I will love reading it. I wanted the hard copy, not the kindle version for this one!
I have already read the intro online, it is going to be fabulous! And one that I think my sister-in-law will also enjoy!

There were so many things I wanted to buy on amazon, but I will wait! But I am still in the mood for some baking and home cooking, so I am delving into my Fannie Farmer Cook book and my Fleishman's bread book, which I adore!

I love these books!!!

Chickens

2011-09-18T14:20:00.000-05:00

This spring we bought 6 pullets (or so we thought). One turned out to be a rooster, and we gave him away along with one hen. We now have 4 city hens, that have just begun to lay.

The weather has turned cold, and I am about to seal the coop up so that it is waterproof.
We have been feeding the girls Layena, and I just gave them a Flock Block.

Now comes the planning portion of my chicken project. I orginally hoped that we would be moved to the Farm by winter, but since we are not, I have plenty of wiggle room in planning the future of the Flock's coop plans.

We are currently using a Chicken Ark, which we found pictures of online, and just slapped together after a bit of haggling and banter. What we came up with works well for a handful of laying hens, but could still use a little fine tuning to make "just right".

I am working on a back trap door for egg collection. Our current larger door would be used for cleaning. It needs new and sturdier handles. I need one more board across the top, before I seal it up. I would like to adjust the roosting perches, to ensure there is plenty of room with 4-6 hens. I would like to add a few hens each year and perhaps cull the older ones. I am not sure yet.

Now the "planning" I spoke of.
I currently have 3 raised beds made with cinder block, a potato bin made of recycled pallets, and 2 compost bins, also made of pallets. When we move, I plan to change the garden quite a bit and also expand it greatly.
I have always wanted to practice sustainable agriculture, using crop rotation, green manures, compost and animals combined to get greater fertility in a concentrated intensive growing situation. What I plan to do now, is keep this "chicken Ark" and use it for the winter at the farm on top of my raised beds.

Bed #1 would be ready to plant...after having composted there previously.
Bed #2 would be current compost. Two bins that cover an entire bed. One would be the active bin, the other would be used to turn the compost into for the finishing stage.
Bed #3 would be the current location of the Chicken Ark. It would be used for one month (during winter and possible late fall or early spring, depending on that particular season). Straw would be used in the upper chamber along with pine shavings for bedding or nesting material. Each week this area would be scooped out, but the litter thrown below to the ground level. As water and food is changed out, a new layer of CLEAN straw several inches thick would be added to the soiled straw, and the clean food and water brought back in. After 4 weeks, a thick layer of bedding and manure would be left. And the Ark moved to the next bed. This bed would then become divided into the 2 compost bins from bed #2.
Bed #4 would be the last of a cold frame crop (which there should be several to stretch through winter). As the crops are finished being harvested, the left over vegetable debris would be left for the chickens, when the Ark is moved onto it from Bed #3. This is done as in Bed #3. The chickens eat the vegetable debris, and bedding is added for 1 month, and all is composted once the birds are moved to the next bed.
Bed #5 Would be another cold frame, exactly as in bed #4 but at an earlier stage of maturity. This would be harvested at the same point that the Ark is moved from Bed #3 to Bed #4. The Ark would be moved here after spending 1 month on Bed #4. Followed by composting the manure and bedding.
Bed #6 Would be a hoop house that would have been put up about the same time as the two cold frames. The crops in the hoop house would likely differ from the cold frame crops. These would be brassicas, specifically Brussels sprouts, and Broccoli, Cabbage, etc. Perhaps some clamped potatoes, Some onions, leeks, garlic, etc from a fall crop. This should be harvested by the end of the cold season (usually by March) and the hoop moved to the beginning of the beds to harden off transplants started elsewhere. The Cold frames can also be moved to the beds that are ready and have been composted to start more carrot, spinach, lettuce and other early plants in Spring, as well as early potatoes.

By the time that the chicken ark has moved from Bed #1 to Bed #6, the season should be warmer. The hoop house could have the plastic sheeting removed, leaving only plastic netting. The Entire hoop would be moved to pasture, and a shelter/nest box could be put inside. This structure would be light enough to move daily during the months when the grass is very green and there are many bugs. You would have to come to the location of the hoop house to collect eggs, feed and water the chickens. But they would get the full benefit of pasture, without being harmed by predators or becoming messy around the farm buildings.

At the end of the warm season, the chickens would be transferred to the ark, and the process would begin again. The hoop could have the plastic put back on to protect late vegetables, and the chickens would be moved successively as the crops are harvested. Ant new beds would be planted down to the winter crops for the cold frames.

My plan has so many advantages, and I try to take sanitation into consideration. By building a hot compost pile, all at once and turning it into the second bin, the bedding and manure should reach temperatures hot enough to kill harmful microbes and bacteria. The sanitation of the ark is considered, by cleaning the upperchamber weekly, and refreshing the litter beneath, giving them a clean and safe place to walk about (normally it would be much too snowy for them to be outside.)
And the benefit it provides to the owner, by keeping them close to the house (as is the garden) for taking care of them and collecting winter eggs. Also by being close to the home in winter, added light or heat can be used more easily.

Web Soil Survey...a useful tool

2011-05-19T18:12:00.000-05:00

I have been studying again and I am trying to make a good, practical plan of action...step by step.
I am trying to be sure, what comes first!
Yesterday I went back to the PFI website, which I enjoyed so much last season, and I started looking at some old archived farminars.
Today that farminar led me to this INVALUABLE site, provided by USDA web soil survey. The speaker was pretty great and I regret that I wasn't able to participate while it was live, I really enjoyed the recording anyways.
whole farm soil planning . It would have been a foreign language without having looked at it on the farminar, and listen to the discussion about it's infinite usefulness. It was better than the Christian County GIS, which I really had a ball with last year, and this is yet another useful tool in the box. I could see how incredibly helpful it would be in CHOOSING a property to farm, or even just for folk about to build a home. It is soooooo worth checking out. It has information about your soil type, it's water holding capability, and so much more.
For us, this could be areas prone to flooding (our house in town), or sinkholes (the neighborhood), moreso than the GIS, which I believe only gives info on existing sinkholes (in other words, the people using the system are the ones trained to put the clues together about what the maps mean).

I enjoyed many farminars in the last 48 hours! And feel like I have caught up on a lot going on and hope to stay up to date.

A slow spring with Books to read!

2011-05-14T19:38:00.000-05:00

At the local library again, with a relatively limited selection, I chose a few reads. The first two, were about chickens.
The Joy of Keeping Chickens: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry for Fun or Profit (The Joy of Series
This was a good read. The author genuinely likes the animals and cares that they are kept humanely. She educates others very well on what to expect when starting a flock for the first time, and seasons after. She gives a good general picture of chicken keeping, on the smaller scale, but still in a "for profit" venture, as well as just to have the pleasure of keeping a flock of your own.

Keep Chickens! Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces I found this book to be a bit biased, as the author made clear that she didn't care for the idea of naming, and then butchering her pet chickens. She keeps them on a very small scale purely for their eggs and her personal enjoyment on an urban sized scale (in her case, 3 hens, in my case, I currently have 6 in town).
Although this book did have some good information, it seemed to lead to the authors own personal opinions too much to recommend as an all around good chicken book. Most readers would lack the information they really need to get started, it read for me, more like a chicken novel.

THIS IS SUCH A GREAT BOOK!!!! :)
This book appealed to me on so many levels. I have absoutely always found it facinating what it was like to cook through the ages, particularly in america. I found so often in my middle school history classes that they had really disconnected history in their books. That it never really added up for me how people lived from day to day and I always enjoyed opportunities to reenact or imagine how they lived. I loved to read books with historical themes, and especially loved to read books about being "holed up" somewhere in the middle of winter, maybe in a cave, maybe in a cabin, struggling to survive, and living by skill alone. I loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, I loved visiting the Williamsburg, Virginia and Jamestown reenactments and historical sites. I loved getting caught up in the ways of old, and this book really takes you there, all the way up to our unfortunate current way of life, so dependant on outside input and prepackaged, disposable life. It was all that I had been wondering about my mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and all their mothers before them. All the stories about "back in their hay day", I could see so clearly what the history books couldn't say. I am sad to finish the book, because I know how it ends, with my generation of google, Wikipedia, and digital books. How our lives are electronic, everything is e-commerce. Kids don't recognize fresh raw broccoli at school, they don't know how from my parent's generation...the boomers, to my generation, the x-ers, or whatever my kid's generation will be...things change SO FAST!!!
Since the industrialization of American women, since technology has reined supreme in a man's world...nothing will ever be how it used to be. And a major thing to remember, although this fast paced change has revolutionized cooking in a mere hundred years....it has opened up a world of opportunity for women. We truly take for granted how short a time has passed since women were the workhorse of all humanity. Life truly was not possible without mom. It is nice to learn the traditional ways of cooking. And get back to our roots, get back to the land..but we must be thankful for some of that change. I would love to own this book, it is on the wishlist, especially if in a hardcover!

This is another book I have picked up, but haven't read yet, since I have been absolutely engrossed in the previously mentioned book. But I will recheck it if I must.

I have absolutely always planned to have honey bees and become a bee keeper. It has been another on a long list of future hobbies.

This year, in the last few weeks, actually, we have been discussing getting Guineas.

They love eating bugs, and even with a very cold winter, and exceptionally cool Spring, we have seen a very large number of ticks. I hate the idea of spraying the entire property with chemicals. It's bad enough the herbicides required to kill 6 foot tall poison ivy plants. To add insult to injury, I refuse to use pesticides, unless over run with some horrible plague of insects like the end of Creepshow!

My husband suggested the guinea fowl as a method of controlling ticks and after reading up a bit on them, and seeing one in person, I like the idea a lot. They get along with chickens and are even more hardy and helpful!

I have read that they are very noisy and sound warning alarms toward strangers, and danger alike. Some people don't care for them because of this. With guineafowl, "Birds of a feather, flock together", they are gregarious, as bird lovers say. They are very social and it can be used to train them to return home to roost. They are called "The poor man's pheasant" and can be dressed as such. But in my opinion are much more useful as a pest controller than anything. I already had planned to build a permanent chicken coop on the farm, when we finally move, so now, I will also account for space for the new poults as well!! They are right around the same price range as chicks, they eat turkey starter, and mash initially, but when more mature, it is said that at least 90% of their diet is insects through all the warmer months. And after two weeks of age they are hardier than any other poultry. That sounds too good to be true. I am so glad that we are taking on birds for the farm as a start. I cant wait to start including critters on four legs!

Four legged animals are great for lawn mowing! As we have been having trouble keeping the grass cut and do not have the funds for a tractor, we now have a riding mower. I know we aren't ready for pets at the farm yet, and I can't keep something furry here long, besides the cats. I doubt the mower will last for ever, since it came from craigslist, but it is a start. I would like to get a little more yard clean up going on both properties this season, and start tilling up some plots for vegetables. Creating compost bins and getting water to them. We have human sized weeds to chop down, grass to mow, and poison to irradicate. I have flowers, and trees to plant. Berries to move around the land, and more to plant from town. I have planning for orchards, groves and vineyards, and I have animals to account for and arks to build! I have lots and lots of projects, here there and everywhere!

there is plenty to do in the barns. to fix up and organize, to clean and move out of the way. Sorting, storing, and clearing away the cobwebs of years passed by. Fixing up for years to come! The grass just keeps on growing! Along with everything else!

I am excited to get the chickens out of the brooder, and into their chicken ark permanently. And perhaps buy those keets! But alas! The weather has stayed cool all season! Plants aren't in the normal stages for this time of year. we are all getting a slow start!

Gotta Hurry

2011-04-29T08:30:00.000-05:00

I spoke with the county office yesterday, and they said that our permit was set to expire this month. I gave her my sob story, that I had been in the hospital and worked had slowed to a crawl since January. I asked if we could have just the plumbing inspected. It's ready. And the HVAC is almost done, but we are behind finishing the electrical. She said don't worry, she will bump up the expiration date in the books and just get it all ready for rough in. I told her I wouldn't be able to afford a new permit. She said don't worry, about it. So hopefully that will buy us enough time to get done.
I know everyone expected us to be done by now. But that is how life goes. Life is trying and expensive. You have to roll with the punches, as they say.
So now we have to get to this punch list. My husband threw his back out and has been down for the count for most of April. He's feeling a little better, although it still hurts him and it is a nagging pain. We are hoping that he can go to a doctor or chiropractor soon, but it is just a matter of convincing him to go. For now, it's back to work, again.

I have been working on a few things. I have a few tricks up my sleeve as they say.

We bought baby chicks last weekend, they should be a week old today. 6 pullets, of different breeds. I only know that 2 are supposed to be "golden comet" and the other four are "chickens"...I am not sure what they will be later. Our intention was to keep them here in Springfield, because they just changed the ordinance last year, to allow them in the city. They would have to be kept in a chicken tractor, and never allowed out. we haven't built them a building yet, and I think that is my job. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative, and we had monsoon like storms until just yesterday.
I spent some time last week trying to mow by the old farm house. It looked really good, but after the storms, it has all grown up really fast! I found a morel mushroom under the lilac bush, a big one! And that got me excited! And yesterday, I nearly got a bullfrog with my mower. But luckily, the blades missed her, and I carried her up to the pond. Last night, we had a garter snake in the living room, a pretty good sized one. It had a spot that looked a bit skinned, and I set it free...I am guessing it was supposed to be a gift from one of our cats...most likely Mr.Meowers.
I am wanting to put in a garden at the little farm house. We made a mess with the bobcat last year, cleaning up stumps and debris. the land is rutted up and hard to mow. We will be looking to rent bobcat again soon, and I will scrape off the sod to compost, and put in corn, potatoes and beans for summer. The soil down there is old, which means it is full of nutrient. There are lots of maples and walnuts down there. and there is a long row of daffodils by the clothes line. I plan to put the garden in there, right along side them. It should benefit all of us, and will make for good cook outs and bonfire parties by the barn. :) Hopefully someday, there will be harvest parties!
My Springfield potager is coming along, slowly. I have harvested asparagus, which I blanch and freeze if I can't eat it right away. You can hold it over for a while in a glass of water in the fridge, if need be. I also have chives and garlic we put in last year. I am not sure how many cloves I put in, but 4 remain, and that is a start! The chives, I cut with scissors, and dry in the dehydrator. It makes the whole house smell like onions! But it gives me a good supply for baked potatoes, salads, and whatever else I can find to use them in. Other crops, that we direct seeded, are sprouting: spinach, carrots, peas. I put in seeds of onion and leeks, but I don't think they will fruit out, so I will replant something else there. My intention is to grow a lot of salad greens, carrots and beans this year. And corn and potatoes. I have eggplants and tomatoes as well, and a few pots of herbs.
At the big house, I would like to start a little bit of naturalizing landscaping. Some natives like purple coneflower, I have already thrown out there. But I was thinking of a combination of things. Some natives along the borders of the fence rows, and some old fashioned favorites landscaping the house. I have so many plants here that I am proud of. Now I plan to dig them out and transfer them to Rogersville. I hate doing that, but I have just recently started to invest so much effort into them, that it would be a shame to not be able to enjoy them. In a rental, you never know what your tenants will decide to dig out and replace, so I only plan to leave things like vinca vines, and a few other ground covers. I will take the specimen plants with me, and make up the new landscape. That should help with our appraisal as well.

That's it for now. These are our accomplishments and plans for the time being. This weekend they are calling for more rain, so we will probably work indoors on electrical, which is really needed.

I will try to post more, now that my computer is up and running again! :)

Back to the Plan

2011-03-30T10:37:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess an update is in order. A few short days after my last post I was taken ill and spent over a week in the hospital. My lung had collapsed. Apparently my years of smoking and my awful cold contributed to my spontaneous pneumothorax. It was awful, but I made it through it. I am still struggling with my addiction to tobacco, my feelings of angst, and a rather hefty hospital bill! :) But ..... I made it through it, so that is what I have to focus on. I have to not worry about it, and concentrate on what is good, and how I can keep it so.

After my return home, and a few weeks of recovery, I started to cooking a lot of comfort foods. How cliche to eat instead of smoke, but it was just how I felt I wanted to spend time. those first weeks I made a lot of good meals.... Chicken cutlets with pork tenderloin red sauce, Lasagna, Stroganoff, Salisbury steak..... I started to bake dinner rolls and biscuits...then became more daring and tried my hand at sour dough....then deserts, yes cookies, that is easy...but also French Silk Pie....Mmmmmm...that's my husband's favorite. And it began to occur to me that even though I have spent my life skinny, (and that is partly to blame for my lung collapsing) I am gaining weight after I stopped smoking. Granted, I am cooking all the time...but I always have. It's still the tail end of winter in the Midwest, so outdoor activity has come halting...so that may contribute too...but I think a lot of it is that we are just getting older. We may be wiser, I am not sure...but the older...that is a measurable event.
But I found some great sites while searching for my comfort in foods....some helpful advise is so great....

http://cookistry.blogspot.com/2011/03/technique-troubleshooting-dough.html
I keep returning to this one just to read about the breads! LOL, it's really a great start.
Thefreshloaf.com this one was pretty great, too.

I keep thinking "we HAVE to get that house done!"...it is costing us everyday we stay here! And it makes everyone miserable daydreaming about it.
I keep thinking "I won't be here forever".....I better enjoy NOW, NOW, or I may never have a chance. And I keep thinking, "you will be a better farmer without cigarettes....GET OVER IT!!!" So I will try!

I have been thinking of a few things I love....and remodeling is so a part of us (my husband and I). Last night I saw the best episode of "I hate my kitchen" on DIY Network. Although I would not do exactly what that couple did, and I don't have a $21,000 budget...I DID love some of their choices. Green glass tiles, an integrated compost bucket (at over $300...GEEZ!) The stainless open shelving was AWESOME, although I would never do it....and a BEER TAP in the kitchen!!! YA! Now THAT, is right up my alley!!!
Well, except that mine will be in the breakfast bar section of the kitchen/dining.....
They used a bright green paint on the walls, which I LOVED...and it got me thinking about the colors of my space...hmmm....not a lot of walls in there....But I really loved the space...

but what was really cool was the magnetic primer they used under it. After several coats of the primer, which was infused with iron....they used their walls as a magnetic board...it was pretty neat!!
It's all in the imagining how you will live in the space...what you can do to it, how you can change it to fit your needs.

Then I kept watching DIY Net...just because...I watched until it was pretty late. I am a HUGE fan of the "crashers" series...BUT, I know I would never be so lucky as to get crashed...I really would love to...I even know their names...I think (Matt Muenster, Amed Hassan, and Josh Templeton...well, I think anyways!)

I like the shows because the remodels are FAST, the are SWEET looking, and they are FREE even though the materials they use (at least Matt always hooks it up) are CUTTING EDGE, and very PRICEY. So nice....so so nice! I know that there are other great shows on DIY, but the Crasher are my top pic...and Rehab Addict would be up there, too...because I really really love how Nikki preserves historical integrity. my husband says we are a lot a like, physically and otherwise! ;) Mostly because we both tend to have dark circles under our eyes, LOL and we are very petite ladies...well, some of us USED to be! LOL

So I am getting RE-motivated about the house....AND THE PROSPECT OF SPRING.

Right now we are in the process of wiring. We are making home runs, running the lighting circuits, installing can lights, receptacle and switch boxes, fan mounts.....We are making final decisions about the lay out....We are getting closer...and I love it. HUGE things are coming....HUGE. And with it, a huge amount of stress, too. It is going to be a long process.....and I am realizing that it may take us until fall to complete the project. Over a full year...but that is ok....I knew that things NEVER go to plan, and when your plan is as loose as ours....well, it's more likely to meander to the destination. But it is all for the best.

I have pondered where to garden...here or there? And I decided HERE! and maybe THERE!!
I already have so much in place here, it is too much to ignore the plots out there. I figure, if nothing else, if we decided to take the cinder blocks from this garden, to start the next, what is stopping the plants in place from growing?? Not a thing!!
So I planted. I planted potatoes at the first of March, and the other day I covered them with compost. They were culled red norlands from the restaurant that my FIL works at. Which is DOUBLE great...for one, they were free, normally you pay about $4 for 10 seed potatoes. for another, they are ORGANIC and LOCAL....so...TRIPLE GREAT!!!!
Audrey and I threw out some onion family seeds by the garlic and chives, and I figure we can plant tomatoes in the back of that bed.
The bean bed of last year, we threw down some seeds, too. carrots, peas, spinach...and I can't wait for it to grow. I don't know why I planted the peas. Neither of my kids will eat them...Audrey seems to be writing off anything green, and Chas, being so sophisticated, informed me that he prefers canned, because he likes the mushy texture, I suppose. Last night I made him eat asparagus...I dumped cheese sauce on it, and he said it still wasn't enough...I thought it was good though!! When he is older, I think he will change his mind....
The only other thing I have to harvest now is chives, which I did, and ate sour cream and chive potatoes for several days. The other day I broke down and bought some store produce...HOW IT KILLS ME TO EAT A MEXICAN TOMATO IN MISSOURI, I cannot describe to you...HOW UNFAIR that the tomato gets to vacation in the heart of the Ozarks, and I don't get to go to Cozumel....seems sort of backwards to eat that way..... : ->
Anyways, I splurged....I bought a $6 T-Bone....yum...OMG, yum...how this Texas girl "loves me some steak!!". And I had to have salad with it....so off we went, and this was one expensive trip to Dillon's. Red leaf lettuce is $2, $1.50 avacado (the exception to mexican and south of mexico produce!!), Spinach $3, tomato $1.50, cucumber $.99......but it was really really good. I topped this with my home made garlic bread croutons, and some onion parmesian dressing.....man that was good! Now I crave the spinach....
I have always always loved spinach. even the mushy canned stuff, and as I got older, learned how much I LOVE the butter taste of fresh spinach....I use it in place of lettuce, by preference at Subway, and at home!!
speaking of; I made a WONDERFUL sandwich with my (store bought) french bread. YUM!! I was telling my son this last night and he said he wanted to try it. (glad he said so as I sliced the other half of the loaf for garlic bread to go with our alfredo linguine....I had to use up that whipping cream, so we won't eat it anymore! LMAO) He thought it sounded good...so I saved him two slices for today's lunch. I asked if he wanted lettuce, he says yes, but no to the spinach...well, I snuck it in there anyways. I just don't see how he could tell the difference, it's green, it's crunchy and it has iron, not just water!! I do LIKE lettuce, but it is kinda worthless nutritionally...I LOVE spinach...and I don't mind tricking him into eating it.
SO that was my story...
1. I miss my garden and eating foods I GREW...there is SOO much pride in that...it makes me wish I grew that T-Bone, too!
2. I love making breads, and utilizing them for other things. I really enjoyed the french bread sandwich more that a sliced loaf bread sandwich. I really liked getting to use my croutons, they had been in the container for ages, waiting on a salad...and they were really good, I was amazed. they were just cut up, left over garlic bread! nothing special. Just cut ....

This makes me think...(everything does!)
It makes me think about the next year, and the one after that. It makes me think about how a few years ago, well even last year, at this time...I had nothing to harvest....and although I only have a very few things at the moment...its that many more than before. Just asparagus and chives. But I know that asparagus and chives will live on in the garden until I choose to change it. And in future years, i could possibly have clamped potatoes to go with my chives...EVEN BETTER, to have FRESH MILK, from the farm, for the sour cream, and butter.....HOW WONDERFUL IS THAT TO DREAM?? And the way I see it, it's not that far fetched. I mean, how many dairy's are in my neighborhood?? How far is Memory Lane?? It's not very far....8-10 miles, maybe.

I just want you to know that I am serious. This makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to imagine...ONLY EATING LOCAL.
no mcdonalds.
no taco bell.
no kfc.

WHAT DO THOSE PLACES HAVE THAT I DON'T HAVE????
Msg, preservatives, to start...
and how far away did the chicken travel....HOW MANY TIMES DID IT CROSS THE ROAD?????

I have proven to myself that I don't need it...and now I am beginning to realize that I don't want it either.
I want my own foods. I want then to travel less than 15 miles to get to my plate. I want them to be thought through meals, intentional. Things I want, things I crave.
I don't CRAVE a big Mac. I don't need dehydrated refried beans and sour cream that comes out of a caulk gun. (check it out next time you visit the "Bell"). I am not opposed to dehydration...but I just think that we sacrifice so much for convenience and not having to over think anything about life day to day. It's silly.
That is not the message that I am trying to teach my kids, and my family and friends.

I believe that the "day to day" deal...that IS life. You have to embrace it all for what it is. you have to enjoy every day, the good the bad and the ugly. And when it's bad and ugly, you have to make it good. And that is what makes a person good, that they keep aiming for something better. this happens to be my something better.

I enjoyed that spot on "I hate my kitchen" for a few other reasons too.
1.) I love hippies! Especially ones that can pull off a great set of nappy dreads. It may not be everyone's taste. but I find it adorable.
2.) I love organic gardening and composting and they made a point to talk about it repeatedly. Organic isn't just a trend...it's the right thing to do...but it has become awfully trendy....I'm just saying!
3.) I liked that the couple was artish...the guy was more clean cut, and the girl was a total hippie....reminds me of stories about the 60's....geez....but that is the type of couple I can relate to...complete opposites...coming together...that's the stuff I love!
4.) I loved the incorporation of RECYCLED materials...the countertops...well, it's kind of ridiculous that it's MORE expensive than granite and marble. They used those great mosaic backsplash tiles that I can't wait to get my greedy little hands on!! (thankfully that can wait virtually forever!) They even used a light cover from a stop light...( I have NO clue where you can purchase that)....all these things...are so GREEN. And of course...bamboo flooring...the greenest we know of at this time in history. It was well thought, for this couple.
5.) the chickens...I really loved the chickens...the fact that they showed them (and the plants) so much. they spotlighted the eggs, the compost, the garden ...and the chickens....they spotlighted a lifestyle that to some seems weird or farfetched....but to me...it looked like the life I have been dreaming of....
collecting veggies from the garden., and eggs from the chicken coop, feeding them scraps and grains I grew...composting, in a stylish way ( I currently use coffee cans and creamer cans...a far cry from the posh set up they had!!) They spoke not only of their beer brewing, organic gardening, chicken raising and canning...They spoke of a lifestyle that I love...that I want.

What I didn't like:

$300+ for a in counter compost bucket??? that is just stupid
over priced materials abound. the custom cabinets, crazy faucet, and upgrading appliances that seemed to me to be just fine.
they did not speak of reusing any of the old cabinets. not even in the basement (duh) or garage. Bad Hippy!
I wanted to see a bay window for their seed starting OR an outdoor cold frame or hotbed nearby to the kitchen. I think that was a major part of their lifestyle...and I hate it when the kitchen is so nice no one wants to use it!! I think that kitchens should be designed to use the hell out of them. They need to be beyond durable...they need to be well planned for the uses of the owner. Not general purposed for everyone. This couple needed a place to germinate that was out of the way of the countertops...
I liked some of the open stainless shelving...BUT...it seems like they wasted a lot of space on pilsners...it made me feel like they drank more than they ate! There were some oddly placed things. Spices all over instead of jsut by the stove. Beer by the sink, but I don't know where exactly the compost was...it was a little strange....but over all, it was OK

I gotta go now...but these are just some of my recent thoughts....

I will get back on task soon, but I have croutons and crumbs to make today, dishes and loaundry to do, and another child to transport to school and back, and dinner to plan! So much to accomplish each day...let's get to it!

Latest book I am reading

2011-01-20T12:33:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was at the Webster County Library. If you have ever visited it, it is probably less than 1,000 square feet. And yet, I still, am able to find something to read, and if I were more fond of fiction, I would be able to read all that library had to offer in less than 2 years, and that is with taking breaks all summer long.

I came upon the book by accident. As it sat atop a bookshelf with a few other miscellaneous books. I still have yet to figure out all the sections in the tiny library. As far as I can tell, it is mostly comprised of Christian fiction, but there are still a several titles that I will want to borrow. I haven't utilized a library in a long time, not since my son was little and we borrowed games and videos for him. So this has become something I have grown fond of. It is a quaint little place, with friendly librarians, who still enjoy reading. It is rather low-tech, although they still use the bar code scanners and computers for a card catalog, so at least I don't go in there wondering what I should do! I put the book back, thinking, with two more in my hand, I wouldn't have the time to read it before the due date. Then I changed my mind, and grabbed it up, adding it back to my stack. I am glad that I did.

So about this book, then.
Possum Living, by Dolly Freed, is an interesting and somewhat humorous tale of a young woman and her father, jobless in Pennsylvania. She describes how and why they get by with little to no money at all. After her mother abandoned them, they have found many ways to procure food and goods needed, and have decided that there are lots of things you JUST DON'T NEED. She describes her style of living this way because; "Sometimes Daddy frets and says we are little better than possums living this way. Possums can live most anywhere, even in big cities. They're the stupidest of animals, but there were possums on earth millions of years before men appeared, and here they are-still going strong"
She goes into economics, budgeting, and the cost of living (in 1978). She has a list of the things they DON'T spend money on, and in that list is vacations. (we don't really exactly vacation, but we do take trips sometimes). I love this line:
"Vacations, another common expenditure, are not required-our whole life is just one big vacation. We don't need to "get away from it all" because there is nothing we want to get away from."

That statement really began to suck me in to her writing. Not that the writing is spectacular. Just the opposite. The fact that opossum is misspelled (or not, depends who is asked), and her indifference to the mores of society, her obvious lack of formal education, her distaste for all that is the "rat race", just makes the writing more entertaining.
I am from Texas, and now reside in rural Missouri.
I once visited New York, and was asked how I like all the cows. I thought to myself, How do you like all the smog? The stressed out executives that curse the tourists in their Big Apple? how do you cope in a microcosmos of stress, and competition? A population that far exceeds the land? Homelessness, and starvation are a daily occurance, to the point that no one cares about them anymore...how is that working out for ya'll?
I love my area. Yes, it can be boring if you are from a big city, and enjoy that kind of stuff. I, on the other hand, find comfort in living in a community that still opens it's doors for the homeless, when there is a wind chill advisory. On slow crime days ( a lot of days) the police will actually go out and assist the homeless to the Red Cross, and churches that invite them in to stay warm. I find comfort, that we are not too good, too busy, or just plain too greedy, to care about those in need, and less fortunate than ourselves. So if you are a New Yorker, or other city life sucker, think about it....where would you go to "get away"? Vermont? Maine? the Hamptons? Yes, that is right.....THE COUNTRY!!! I would chose that vacation everyday, and visit the executive monkeys when I fail to appreciate what I have here.

Her chapter titles are cute, too. chapter 4 " We rassle with our consciences" just cracks me up. She describes her father as "the old fool", yet speaks of him endearingly, obviously she adores him. she lists what Daddy thinks about living the possum life, stating that it is "unmanly to worry so about the future." and that "Jesus clearly and specifically taught against concern for future security (Matthew 6:25-34). Like it or not, it's un-Christian to plan for the future." {what a riot!} Her father says, "There is nothing I do now as a young man to live that I won't be able to do as an old man" and my favorite " I refuse to spend the first sixty years of my life worrying about the last twenty." She says "The notion of kicking the kids out of the old nest and sticking the old folks into some retirement village is part and parcel of industrialized economics, which I also dislike on other grounds"......"The idea of genetic immortality-the family going on and on forever-appeals to me. It's the closest thing I have to a religion"

So I find that in her simple words, and her obvious rural dialect, that some things still ring so clear and true. That it does not take a higher education to love, to live and laugh. It takes heart. And by leaving behind all these notions, she is left only with the purity of just getting by. They have each other, and in that they have everything.
She has chapters about raising and butchering rabbit and chicken from their cellar. Fishing, Frogging and hunting turtle from local waters. Some topics are a bit more than I think I would be willing to try, but then, in reading it, it gives me a sense of what it really was like to live they way they have. 1978 is not so far in the past, and not so long ago that this way of living was the norm. But, then, "to each his own". They lived this way not because they HAD to, but because they WANTED to, and enjoyed it. They loved their wild caught food, and they had their own ways of preparing them, their own ideas of catching them. She says, "Some people reportedly play "turtle roulette." They feel around in holes in banks where snappers retire during daylight hours, hoping to grab the thing's tail with their right hand and gaff it before it wakes up. I don't know anything about this technique. If you want to learn it, go to any rural town and ask for "Lefty". He'll be happy to tell you all about it." {that is just funny, don't care who you are!}

this book isn't a text book of getting by, it is almost nearly a novel, non-fiction, but a novel all the same. I read it in less than a day, maybe closer to half a day. I especially enjoyed the afterward. While reading the book, I couldn't help but wonder how that worked out for them. Did she stay living with her father her whole adult life? Did they continue their possum lifestyle? She answers those questions in the Afterward, written in 2009. And I applaud the addition. with out that, it may as well have ended with a cliff-hanger for me. I won't spoil it...the way it all turns out for her, and her father. But I do however wonder, why he was ever in that car? Or was he? It makes me even more curious about her life now, and if she ever chose to write another book. Keep in mind, all the while, that this woman was a mere 18 at the time of writing, and had but a seventh grade education. You will have to buy, beg, borrow or steal the book to find out what became of her. And although I don't think I will be using her recipes for turtle soups or stews myself, I really enjoyed the reading of it. I really found some great things in there, for all that she might take back, there is plenty that is left behind of value. Her quotes show that her time spent "improving her mind" paid off. And reading it, has also improved mine as well.
This book was thought provoking for me, and led my imagination into another world. Her honest nature, and blunt attitude made it more enjoyable, but the truth of her life in those years, was the best gift. A lot of people have lived this way for one reason or another, but not nearly enough choose to share it the way she did. I would recommend this book, it was really a fun read!

With that, one last quote she shared, that leaves me with hope for how we choose to change our own lives"

Mark Twain's definition of work: "that which you do when you would rather be doing something else"
By definition, you could indeed, not work, so long as you did what you love. And that is different for each individual, but the principle is the same for all.

Playing Catch-up

2010-09-14T08:59:00.000-05:00

I really don't have the amount of time on my hands that I used to. Writing on the blog is harder now than ever with so many obligations. I think it is funny how striving for a simpler life can get so complicated. Progress on the new house is a bit slow, but we did get the concrete poured in the garage over the weekend. Our plans to rent backhoe and dig in the geothermal and septic will be held off because of permitting. My husband has to take a class on septic systems in order to be allowed to install it himself. the class is not offered until late October, which really sets our schedule back. So in order to not lose too much time, we will have to concentrate on other projects that also need addressing before the weather breaks, and turns bitter cold. I have been praying for fall to set in, the weather is so lovely to work in, but now I feel like maybe it will come too soon. It is not that we have to have any of it done by a certain date, but we are all in a hurry to get it done, for the sake of sanity and simplicity. we all just want to move to the country!
Yesterday, as I sat on the back porch I saw two pairs of mating hawks, circling and diving with each other and calling out...it was really nice to watch them. I then decided that perhaps I could get a better view of the back field from my upstairs bedroom window, and instead I saw a flock of 10 turkeys, walking around, heads down. searching for food. There are a lot of Oak trees in the small area and they were munching acorns and grains and oblivious that I was following them....well, until I had to make a scene swatting mosquitoes! They were so viscous!
I really enjoyed the experience, and the quiet...but it made me feel discontent with our situation. The helpless feeling of being on a schedule that is not your own. I am willing to set to any task, if it leads to my goals, and at present, I don't feel like I have a task!
In town, there is much to do. Much that I should be doing right now, too. There are dishes, and laundry, as usual...there is bread to toast into crumbs, dinner to plan for tonight, and the budget to go over and over, how to save a dime here, pinch a penny there, to make it all work. there is that lingering guilt that I should have a job, even though I don't have the time, and would likely not have the energy. But I will be working soon! Not only have I recently become manager to our new property and a landlord, but I also have some budding business schemes to help us to pay the rent. We are rolling over the ideas in our heads and trying to decide the best ways to make a profit that will sustain us. We can't make back enough on renting out our house to pay all the bills. And Mick can work in town for now, but eventually we will need to make a decision on what is going to be the end product, what is the end result, what is the clear career choice for us both?
Farming is obviously still my goal. Sustainability is a HUGE word and a goal that is hard to attain in modern times. Is it really possible to grow and gather all that a family needs to survive? I feel like that could become stressful, very quickly. But what are the best ways of slowly implementing this into our daily lives? How can we slowly creep towards self sufficient life??? It takes more than reading a few books on the topic, and planning spring, summer, and fall gardens. It takes more than buying canning supplies and a dehydrator to save food for an entire winter. And can it be done in today's modern age? Can I do it, with my limited time? And resources? What are the best first crops to try, that will work well on the land I already have? Will my failures on the small scale equate to lessons that will hold valuable in the long run? Will it help me become a real farmer???

I know I have outlined and re-outlined, in daydream fashion the steps I would take if I acquired a farm. And now I have. So what is next?
This is what I hope for:

Build a coop and raise some chickens for egg laying. Learn as much as possible about raising poultry and taking care of them well, organically
build or buy a beehive (skip). Learn as much as possible about raising bees, and harvesting honey. Learn how best to store the honey and beeswax.
Plant crops that are good forage for both bees and chickens. Plan rotational grazing for the chickens, and develop a plan to encourage nectar in all cropping plans. Plan for weather considerations for both.
Begin cover cropping new ground. Plant green manures or compost on fresh sites, and begin first, a vegetable garden for us, and also some field crops for sale, or storage on a larger scale than in our personal plot. Hops, Strawberries and Asparagus I think are obvious first choices, as well as brambles like black berries, raspberries, loganberries, dew berries, and some natives like gooseberries and elderberries. Begin laying out a vineyard. Learn as much as possible about harvest and storage of small fruits. Learn to make wine (for personal consumption), juice, jam and jelly (for storage).
Learn more about field grains. Incorporate their growth into crop rotation, green manuring practice but also, try harvesting the grain, if even just by hand with a scythe. Our property is not so large that we can't do it manually, if divided well.
Begin to coppice existing trees, and begin to plant more. Hardwoods, nuts and fruit trees. Plan to involve natural conditions for later spawning mushrooms in the shade of the "woods". Harvest, cut and stack fallen tree limbs for fire wood. Use a woodburning stove, and keep harvests small and sustainable.
continue to plan for more planting each year until we are able to grow more than enough food for seasonal eating and storage. ( I feel this one will take some time to master)

The best I can figure, I can start on a few tiny projects at the new place, but in all honesty, I feel it is better to continue to grow as much here in town as possible. I would rather not have to transport my harvests, or to further complicate outdoor activity at the new place, for now.....but there are a few things I could get a head start on, for now...

more soon, I hope! :)

Carpenter ants

2010-09-03T12:31:00.000-05:00

Well, I am back again today! After my update post, I had some research to do because I found that there were swarms of flying ants hovering around some of the windows of the new house. I knew that wasn't a good thing, but didn't know what to do.

I did the wrong thing! I should have googled it, before taking action. I instead, went to CHC Do it Best home center and bought a gallon of insecticide. I had seen some ants in the house before but on Wednesday and Thursday we had torrential downpours and the sheer number of winged ants was dismaying and scary. One even bit me, when trying to crank open the window! :(
So I hosed them, good old american overindulgence...I sprayed every damn ant I saw!!! I don't want them to eat my home from the inside out before I even have a chance to move in! Dumb Bunny! I should have followed my gut instinct that there was a better way and better tool for the job.
Diotamaceous earth is an organic substance comprised of a fossilized coral or something and acts as a dessicant, drying the insects bodies out, or in the case of soft bodied insects such as slugs or aphids, it will tear holes in their crawly little bodies and kill them. (thank God I am not a Buddhist, eh?)
Anyways....folly of my thinking, now I have no clue where the main nest is, and if the poison acts as a deterrent, I may never find out....Baits are the way to go...and some homespun concoctions of sugar/borax water will suffice, but any combination of sweets and protein should draw them in, although many things would suffice, now that I have read a bit, I am confident in my new approach....
Carpenter Ants like sweets, even when it is not real sugar. I have been telling friends and family since I was 9 that nutrasweet and Fake sugars are BAD FOR YOU. And cause cancer, and God didn't want you to put it in your tea! I don't even like splenda, to be quite honest, but perhaps if I had a weight problem I would feel differently...but I don't like the fizzle it makes when it hits my coffee, as if I added baking soda or pop rocks to it. So I came across the information to back it up, and I didn't really read it all, because I guess I was smart enough to know from the git go that I prefer to eat the fruit of the earth and not that of a test tube or petri dish...but to each his own....some folks just trust that the soda pop companies and manufacturers have their best interest at heart. I on the other hand have always been leary of anything that sounds to good to be true....there is a reason that phrase is so catchy! ;)
I only read enough to know that I will continue to not use the products for my consumption, or my families...and I would sure love to try killing something with it to prove my point! LOL :)
Now that I have screwed it up for myself {ah, what was I saying in the last post about learning from utter failure? As Always! :)} I will have to see if they reestablish themselves in the house, and follow them to their nest so I can find the main colony.
From what I read (I really didn't expect anyone to read all those links, now!) These winged swarms are essentially new kings and queens of mayhem and destruction, and come from a parent colony...their job and destiny, as will all living things, is to get laid, and to find a new home...or maybe find a new home, and then get laid....EITHER WAY....Both male and female can have wings, the males, as always seems to be their misfortune, are expendable, and die shortly after mating....the female, however, is broken free from her wings, and doomed to domestic life...when her wings fall off, she turns into a house wife, burrows a hole into my pretty little house, and closes the "door" with a pile of sawdust, to lay and hatch a BAGILLION eggs inside the comfort of my slightly moist, but still sound joists and rafters (little *&^%$#@#$%^^%%^$%^&*ers)
She will make all flavors of babies, including more queens to colonize some more, but the heirarchy was pretty interesting. Two types of workers and differing sizes of winged creatures, and great drawings (as if I care to know this, but now I do) of the body types, one hump or two.
It was pretty cut and dry for me at this point that this is a serious very naughty problem, and only God knows how long they have been at it here......Just another one of those lovely little presents left behind by the former owner, who obviously was "on top of their game" in the respect of taking care of their business, bless their hearts, I hope they figure it out someday....but now,it is my burden, and so help me if I will allow them to do any more damage to my dreams! I will sort it out just like any other hurdle, obstacle or obstruction to my path to happy! A colony of house eating insects will not ruin my plans! Never! Not so long as I can fight!
I hope you are enjoying my narrative, here, because I am having fun, but suffice to say, my solution is to put away the nuclear holocaust for a moment, and resort to an easier method...I will offer both moistened sugar/borax paste, which is the old school poison...then also I would like to try to kill them with equal....In many sites I visited today, it said to give them a choice between the commercial varieties offered, and they will develop a preference. So I will do the same from home-made. I may incorporate honey and borax as well, seeing how they may prefer the more organic choice as much as a modern human would....But the concept of killing them with something that is supposed to be fit for human consumption is intriguing because I know that my inlaws use it all the time, and I have wished for them to stop. I am unsure that even if this works as well as the website proclaims, that they will stop their habit of fake sugar,and instead take up jogging ....and drinking plain water...but it is worth the proof to myself in any case, and if effective, it is just good to know!

Anyways, if it works, I will try to post again....as proof!

Breaking Ground

2010-09-03T10:59:00.000-05:00

Normally on new construction you "break ground", but because the new house is already framed in, the ground is "broke" BUT.....this week marks the beginning of construction for us. We are starting our work in the garage now. We have our gravel delivered already, and are planning to have it spread by the end of this weekend. By next weekend we hope to have the concrete poured and the floor finished, then the doors delivered and installed. I am hoping to be able to clear out all the materials from inside the house and have them neatly organized in the garage for our base of operations, and be better able to move about the house, when the time comes.
Now we are trying to line up and plan for the outside work with the backhoe and installing our geothermal HVAC system. I am very excited about going green in that respect, and hope it pays for itself over the years, as promised. I really would love to be net zero someday, and this is our first step in that direction. As soon as the garage is complete, we are renting the machines to dig trenches and holes for the geo, the septic, and the water lines and gas lines ....and installing the thousands of feet of pipe to make it all function properly. The plan is to get all this outside work complete before the weather shifts, usually in October, but sometimes earlier.
The Ozarks is very prone to flooding, as we have found out over the last few days! The highway coming in to our place is completely flooded and is an "at your own risk" situation coming in. I have found at least one road to the east that is on higher ground, but have yet to find the southern path in that is above the water table in times like these. I must cross 2-3 flooded roads to get my daughter to Pre-K, and I think I see a bus in her future! :)

As for the property itself, the water seems to really only collect a lot at the bottom of left field...which is GREAT! In comparison to our current house, that is literally underwater during flash floods, this will be a huge relief from that. We can hole up in our house, without much worry of being washed away or constantly worrying about the sump pump and if it is on or not. (speaking of, I better go start it!)

My garden here in town is still in full production. The kentucky wonder pole beans were so tough for eating green I have decided to let them go, and shell them. My tomatoes are still producing, and ripening, but many have shown signs of blossom end rot, and I have to throw them in the compost. I planted some more bush beans, not too long ago, and we will see if they make it....with the weather staying like it is, which means, changing everyday, it is hard to say if I will harvest anything from that sowing, but I figure it was worth the effort, since the seeds are still fresh, and it is yet another opportunity to see what works or why it doesn't. Funny how failures become so valuable...but let's hope that I get SOME harvest before the cold weather.

Trapping season will be starting soon, for my falconry. So keep a watch in October for my other blog, Dust of Snow, to see if I catch a Redtail, and if it catches any bunnies!

I have been hard at work both in Springfield and Rogersville, trying to keep up with 3 houses is a real chore. But with my split schedule, I am able to prioritize and use my time more wisely than before, and have been spending much less time being idle, and getting things done. It is so exciting for my daughter to have started school this year, and I am so proud of her for her efforts. My son, too, is excelling and becoming more responsible now that he is an upper level elementary student, I hope that he values the goal setting and uses his new skills to his advantage. I may be transerring him soon, if work continues to progress at a fast pace...and I truly hope that it does. I would love nothing more than to move by Christmas, but if not, I would love to be in before spring! I can hope for it, but not bank on it, as there is so much to do!

We WILL do all we can as fast as we can and get this project going at a steady pace. Our first month's labor is fully planned I believe and can be accomplished in the time frame we are setting. I am very very very excited to be starting. It is funny how much hard labor can get you excited, and how all the little sacrifices, like skimping on the food budget and all extras can really pay in the end. how little I miss the extra channels on TV, and would be just as happy to be out of contract with "Dish" than to watch tv at all! I could care less about entertainment, because I can't wait to sit on my porch swing and watch the birds and listen to the cows moo...and boy do they!

In other news, the Hedgpeth's have put the roof back on their barn, and I am excited for them, even though I have ever met them! I had hoped that I would have a chance to stop in, and introduce myself as a new neighbor....They named my street, after all, and probably used to own my land, and everyone's around us.
We are also nearby neighbors to people that work for the Rocking Z ranch, who often supplies fresh farm raised beef for the restaurant that my FIL works for. I think their ranch is located elsewhere, but I see their trailer, and think they must be in association with them. That is exciting, because I hope to someday be able to afford to buy a full cow's worth of beef and grind my own burgers, etc. I love the idea of local foods, as we know from my previous posts, and I feel like the luckiest woman in the world to be moving right into the heart of farmland, and in the area of so many old time farmers that have been in the industry of raising food for generations. I only hope that some one will adopt me as their apprentice and mentor me in the ways of doing it the old fashioned way.
As most rural families will attest, the simple life is pretty complicated, but all that sweat of the brow pays dividends in character and the warm fuzzy feeling of taking care of yourself. I really am in love with my life today. As I drive to the new place, my eyes fill with happy tears of gratitude and love. Appreciation and thankfulness...I am blessed. So very blessed. Thank you lord for allowing me the opportunity to live my dream. Thank you lord for the strength to make this happen for us, the chance to try, the gift that has been granted to us, to do this, the life that is ever changing because of it....I am in awe of life. And some days I tell myself, that I have never been so happy to be alive as I am now. Even on a bad day, I think to myself...you now have everything you have ever wanted, you are the luckiest person in the world...don't let anything change that. Don't let your attitude be the cause of your demise....instead, change your outlook about a drawback, learn what you can, and plan better in the future...and I promise, Lord, that is what I will try to do. Everyday for the rest of my life...I will make the best of each minute of each day, and try to appreciate all you have afforded me, and all that we have created for ourselves. I have to give us a little credit, too....as none of this would be possible while sitting idly by watching life happen.

Carpe Diem!

Audrey and her cousin, Emily

2010-08-05T19:26:00.002-05:00

Free ride day at the fair

How things were built "back then"

2010-08-03T10:58:00.000-05:00

As you know we are remodeling an older farm house to rent, to allow us to afford to finish a new farmhouse, to live in, on 12 acres.
Work on the old farmhouse has been going along nicely. we have replaced the entire floor structure in one bedroom, off the garage. We have now moved on to a seriously dilapidated and rotten floor in the living room. The Floor was collapsed, we think, because of a cast iron woodburning stove. (that was supposed to sell with the property but didn't). This room is what we think comprised the entire original home in 1920, and as is the norm, was added onto repeatedly since then. The newspapers in my previous post were beneath several layers of linoleum, above the original hardwood flooring (tongue and groove, fastened with square nails)
The layers went from barn wood subfloor and railroad tie floor joists, to the original layer of hardwood. then tar paper backed linoleum type product (added after 1955), then a double layer of cardstock paper, more linoleum, a layer or tarpaper, and even more linoleum, then OSB subflooring (obviously a later renovation) carpet padding and carpet. There may have been 4 layers of linoleum, I can't recall, but definitely at least 3 layers! It was a lot of work getting all that out, and gingerly removing the hardwood, to hopefully refinish and reuse in another room.

Saving the hardwood will be a neat adventure, as we had hoped to do so on our current home, but it turned out that it was pine, and much too damaged to try to use. I am hoping to clean, and lightly sand the flooring, and consider if stain is needed before finishing it with poly urethane.
The pillars and joists were an interesting discovery.
The wood used for the original joists are milled lumber (very rough) and perhaps rail road ties. Or some similar beams. The pillars were constructed by using stacked flat stones.

We plan to add a new footer and foundation wall and rebuild the floor structure completely. we are debating how much of the original structure to leave behind. And perhaps repurpose some of the old pillar stones somewhere at the new house, as a "keepsake" of the older history of the property.

A Time Capsule Under the Floorboards

2010-08-02T14:38:00.000-05:00

Sunset

2010-08-02T14:26:00.000-05:00

I love sunset out here! :)

2010-08-02T14:18:00.000-05:00

Green acres

2010-07-23T08:50:00.000-05:00

I am excited to announce that Green Acres and Misty Skies is OFFICIAL!!!
We officially have ACRES!!!
When I started this blog my intention was to document my experience in growing food plants and other useful plants. To share with readers my advise, and what I have researched or learned through experience while gardening in my small urban back yard. Well, my yard was never really all that small for a city lot, it is over .5 acres....long and narrow, and full of weeds and brush...a real jungle!
Our new place (Yes, officially ours!) is 12 acres +. It is also long and narrow, full of weeds and brush and worst of all ..... the largest crop of Poison Ivy I have ever encountered.
Typically I tend to lean towards organic....sometimes I will use a fertilizer, mostly just compost, and rarely if ever use herbicides.....well, that has changed too. With the devastating rash my son got from camping at the property, we made the decision to buy a real herbicide to eradicate the invasive plant. And hopefully, not have to rely heavily upon the use of the chemicals after that...we are using a product known as CrossBow. It is safe for stock animals to eat after a short period, so I feel a little safer about using it, and it does not kill grass, as round up would. It is a mixture of 2 4-D, and Triclopyr, that kills broadleaved plants and perennials, such as poison ivy.
I am not in love with the idea, but we really don't have much choice.

Now we are facing a myriad of projects. Absolutely, never-ending. In order to afford "the farm" we are forced to repair and renovate an old old farm house in poor condition to rent out, to help cover costs. We are also going to be finishing the building of a home that was left by the previous owners unfinished. With my husband and my willingness to persevere through nearly any hardship or project, I think we will accomplish great things.

As for farming, well it still seems like a distant dream. We now have 3 homes to care for and maintain. We have obligations as landlord, as well as our other obligations. We have a lot of work ahead, and farming is at the end of the line, it is the prize for all this stress, discomfort and labor. But it is a good prize, it is my dream, and I will work hard to earn it all. From the house, to the land, to having this opportunity given to us, and driving it home. This is what we have always wanted. And I will be living my dream. I feel blessed. I worry only about the money to fund the projects, not about the work. I feel like the work is what makes it all possible, but better still, it is what humbles our character in order to deserve it. And that is our intention. To earn every acre, and to take care of every blade of grass, every last poison ivy plant on that lot is MINE, and I have to care for the land, the way it should be.
I have about 3,000 questions about rural living, farming, and husbandry. I have a billion ideas, and a trillion dreams to realize. I will need luck and faith. Hope, and help! But I can't wait!

here are a few pictures of my green acres, I hope that they are as beautiful and serene to you as they are to me. I love this land......I adore it. Sometimes when we are at our empty house at dusk and I see the sun setting through the window of my unfinished bedroom, I think to myself, this is heaven.....I could die right here, right now, and be at peace. The view of the setting sun, over green fields with a backdrop of trees, with cows mooing softly, mocking birds diving off posts and cicadas chirping through the night, I realize:
THIS PLACE IS PERFECT! :)

this is my driveway and barns

Two beautiful walnuts

6 acre pasture I call "left field"

Our new house tucked in behind some trees.

This is the view from the kitchen and the back of the house.
My daughter's bedroom, and the kid's bathroom share this view, along with my deck and dining room.
This picture was taken the day the hay was baled, on my husband's birthday!

This odd little nook is from the laundry/mud room. On the left is my garage, the right is the house, and porch. You can see the front "yard" has been hayed as well. And (unfortunately) there is a single wide trailer obstructing the view to the barns and my field of poison ivy. There is a brushy area in the center of this picture, just behind the hay bale, that is a "pond" but really, is more of a trash dump site, and mosquito hatchery. Too bad mosquito breeding isn't big business, we'd be rich! (and farm poison ivy, too!)
We are having the trailer hauled away, and cleaning of the debris left by the previous owners is soon to come. We are going to treat the pond, until we figure out what to do with it, and have time to make a good decision...I am not against having a pond, I just don't think this one is very healthy. If we could clean it up, and landscape it, it could be a sanctuary, but as it is.....it's the pits!

Garden Snapshot

2010-05-21T09:24:00.001-05:00

My camera was taking extremely blurry pictures the last few times I have tried to use it. SOMEBODY (shouldn't point fingers) messed with some settings, and I haven't quite figured out how to take a normal photograph! BUT, I turned on the macro function to get the close ups I have really been wanting all along.

This is a beautiful white rose that came with our house. It has been moved several times and this is definitely where it will forever reside! It has the slightest blush of pink, but in bloom is pure white inside. Likely a floribunda or something along those lines. It blooms once a year. This year on mother's day, and the last several years, It's been on my daughter's birthday. So I often refer to it as Audrey's Rose, since it was blooming when I had her! :) This year, I was able to cut a few for my Mom, for mother's day, and she was so excited, she said she hadn't seen a white rose in a long time.

The Blueberries photographed beautifully with the macro setting. I have been really wanting to get their close-ups for a long time. You can see the bloom of the fruits, and the crowns on the ends! Love it! :)

The peas have grown quite a bit, which is good, since I planted them in March! They have been flowering for several weeks, and have set plenty of pods....I am just waiting, and waiting, and waiting to pick something!

Here is a cool under leaf shot of the Broccoli...er.....or Brussels Sprouts...maybe...we'll see what this particular one looks like in another month...they look an awful lot alike at this stage, but it will soon become clear which is which. I really don't get too terribly worried about marking out this and that....It's a kind of plant identification exercise for me throughout the growing season! I have let a bit of the garden chores get behind, and the walkways need mowing, but really, the garden is coming along nicely. I will be making plans for some more succession sowings very soon, once the growth rates begin to increase with the temperature.

Garden Picture update

2010-05-20T10:40:00.002-05:00

On the left is a picture of the peas and little broccoli. At right, is the same bed taken from the opposite side of the bed, just today. The broccoli is around 10" tall and the peas around 2'. I added stakes to keep the peas off the broccoli, and I beat them up just a little bit!

This is the potato bin with red norland and freedom russet. they have grown considerably in the last few weeks. I am not really sure how much the "bins" are helping production....we'll see! :)

The Asparagus is so huge, and I am battling questions at all angles, since not too many of my friends have seen this garden bohemith after it's spear stage. Questions about why I let it get so big, why, why, why?

Tomato..round...???

2010-05-12T09:16:00.000-05:00

I am on a roll this Spring!!!! I just keep killing tomatoes!!
The seeds never sprouted. Not even that batch of Roma seeds that I even fermented first. Geez!
I went ahead and planted out the Sutherland's transplants, even though I knew it was too early. And I was correct in thinking that when potting up, I planted them much too deep. When I went to plant the poor little guys, their stems were becoming soft and green, hollow and mostly rotten. The stems simply collapsed, and nutrients were completely unavailable....a very serious, and obvious mistake. But it is no longer any mystery what happened!
So yesterday, at Lowe's I bought some new transplants. The larger potted plants that have been at the nursery for the last month looked very sad and wilted from the cold weather we have been having. There were so many squash and cucumber falling over in devastation from the cold bitter nights, and damp mornings. (kinda looked like my tomatoes!). But I chose what looked to me like freshly delivered 9 cell pack tomato and peppers. Small, but healthy, and undisturbed so far by the weather. They had been tightly packed onto the shelves and somewhat sheltered by the other, older plants in the surrounding shelves. Currently they reside inside, under a grow light, I don't dare put them out, and stress them further. We are only 2 weeks away from outdoor planting.

Friday, I went out to the good old Waste Center, and guess what? They are out of compost. Again! I came out in March, thinking to beat the rush, and they were out until April. At the time, the taters were freshly planted, no big deal, I can cover them. So I return in April, as asked, and the sign says nothing until May. This is crap! I think that something needs to be done in my own backyard, it is obvious that I cannot rely on the county to help!!! He offered mulch! LOL...to quickly kill my potatoes! NO thanks! So I need to act quickly to get the earlies covered. I am not sure how I will be doing that around the freshly planted freedom's, but I have vowed to try, since I knew it was going to be an awkward planting once half the red norlands rotted. (that was from not sulfuring the chitted taters, and also, from cutting seed pieces too small without enough eyes to begin compensation and producing enough leaf, from what I left of the tuber)

The funny part is that I understand all these concepts, but for some reason that I can never ascertain, i still insist on learning these lessons the hard way! I mean, honestly...what business do these two varieties of potatoes have growing in the same bin? None! Russets and Reds are totally different in growth rate, habit and height. not to mention the 1 1/2 month gap between plantings. I set myself up for this frustration.
I assume that the second bed of Yukon gold will pan out nicely. All planted together and hopefully they will be producing together...unfortunately, that will be my late crop and it will be a long while before I know how that turns out!!! Hey, I am still better off than last year. I bought real seed potatoes and have begun hilling them long before I had last year. I have nixed the straw, as far as a covering material, it will be mulch only...not to mention that I will have two crops, not just one, and have doubled, maybe tripled the amount of plants in about the same square footage...(approximately, because there is a path, but also because of the vertical cubic footage....it kinda balances out).

LEARNING A LOT!!!

I have been wondering about the wisdom of planting peas early....and whether or not, in a cold moist spring like this, you could succession sow them at all. Same for spinach. The weather is so sporadic, it is hard to saw where the cut off should be.
It is definitely much too early for warm weather stuff that is direct sown.....All of the Beans, and squash, etc. has to wait 2-4 more weeks, depending on how well the soil warms when the air does!!!
The Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts are knocked around both by the cats and the birds. Not to mention that the mint seems to do nothing to repel the cabbage moth! I have gone out and smooshed several tiny caterpillars, which I learned last year, you always miss some!!! And I have picked off and smashed little yellow eggs, that I also assume will be evil little blue green meanies, munching down my plants....yet again!
I hate poisons, so I just keep picking and smooshing, and hoping I am wrong about reincarnation!!!
They are getting taller, and from what I saw of the nursery plants yesterday, they are catching up with them quite well.
The thing is, I am really wishing I had hoops set up. If half of the 1st bed was hooped, I wouldn't have to worry about the cabbage moth at all. I could keep them covered for most, if not all of their growth, assuming that the covering allowed light and water to penetrate the barrier and if I were to seal it at the soil line.
Eggplants, I read, are much the same way. They can apparently be grown under cover for the entire season, and it is actually preferable to in the open .... they are bug magnets! I read that if there is one colorado potato beetle in the garden it will be on an eggplant. They seem a fragile and vulnerable choice...(I am working out ways to kill now! HA! But I love a challenge, and if I keep one alive until fruiting, that'd be an accomplishment, and maybe make up for all the tomato manslaughter taking place on my premises this season!!)
So I bought seed...Ha! scared to kill some one else's hard earned transplants! I feel confident in growing the latest batch of tomato, and fairly excited about seeding the eggplant. I am hoping for warmer days soon.

The Art of Frugality

2010-04-23T15:46:00.000-05:00

There really is an science to saving money. But when you save a lot of money, it feels like an art. It seems perfectly designed for your benefit. That is what I have been learning through experience for the last month and a half or so. In a post last month, I wrote a little about somethings I learned online from different "coupon experts" and bloggers. I linked myself up to several good RSS feeds to be "in the know" about specials and deals in my area at my favorite stores. And I feel like I have learned SO much from them that I would like to tell a little about how I have saved by following these ladies lead.
It REALLY began for me after getting in line behind two old ladies that were "power shopping". I decided to go ahead and get in line behind her, even though she had a large order, because it looked as if she were almost done. What remained on the conveyor belt was about 30 boxes of cinnamon toast crunch. I kinda figured they might be non profit, because I had seen these two shop together before, and I even knew that they drove together in a large van with no seats so they could pile all their goods in about once a month or so. As I looked up I saw her friend was talking with an employee who was loading up a huge cart (I mean huge, like a lumber cart from Lowes) of what appeared to be full of boxes and boxes of frozen food. There were two of these carts. I had my son with me at the time, and we patiently waited behind them, mildly curious about what the were up to, and if they worked for Boys and Girls Club, or the Kitchen or what? As we waited the lady was licking her finger, counting out her coupons and handed over what looked like 300+ little clippings, and she told the other lady, "oh I owe you such and such" amount of coupons, and thumbed out a few more. She then turned to me and asked..."Do your kids like cinnamon toast crunch?" I said "Well, sure! It's full of High fructose corn syrup and doused in sugar, who doesn't?" with a huge grin. She said, "well they are on sale, why don't you go back and get yourself a few boxes, with these coupons they will only be...$x. This is going to take a while" she said as she looked back at the cashier who was furiously swiping and scanning as fast as he could, while the bagger was packing box after box of discount goods.
"Thanks! I will" and I ran back to get them.
When it was all said and done, the cashier asks her for $83 and some change. She pays her tab and he hands her some catalina coupons and looks at the end of her infinitely long receipt (he must have folded it six times!) and says "You've saved $348 by using your Dillon's Plus card. Have a great day."

What else could she do but smile????
and say "thanks, I sure will!"
Wouldn't you?

Not long ago they also did a spot on a cold news day about a lady who buys coupons online and uses them during sales to get things cheap. She claimed to save all sorts of money doing this and could justify paying for other people's duplicates and extra newspapers. She caught a lot of response when the newscasters asked the viewers to email their opinions. Most folks said they clip and occasionally use coupons but that they save more money by far, using store brands and sale shopping. Now, these are also frugal folks, like I thought I was at the time.
I became loyal to store brands that I began using as soon as our little family was out on it's own. I would always feel so grateful when I could spend $100 on groceries, and feel spoiled. Only to have the groceries run out before the next payday, then having to calculate what ingredients I could afford to buy for dinner on a Wednesday and Thursday night. And I bought tons of generics, while my family insisted (although no complaints at mealtime) that I should buy the known brands. And I insisted that sometimes the store brands are just better. (this is my opinion here). But still, I thought I was being as cheap as I could be...still thought I did well to get on sale what I could, and buy what I need when I need it. But after a few good go around's, I finally see what they are doing right, and why it works so very wonderfully.

I shop pretty much at Dillon's and Walgreen's only. I trust their store brands and they always have great sales. I have shopped at both stores loyally for many years. But now I know how to shop so much better.
I used to go to Walmart for the items I found were too pricey at the grocery store. Always a special trip for bathroom, laundry, and cleaning supplies, paper goods and pet food. I just assumed it was always cheaper.
But now I know that is not always the case, and it'd be hard for them to really keep track of what the bottom dollar rollbacks SHOULD be, to match the deals I find everyday, at my grocery store.
I have proved the value of this by buying boxed Au gratin Potatoes. I used to go to Price Cutter's for their store brand, until I purchased the Kroger and it was just as good. Then I didn't have to cross the street for them and save a bit too. The Generic potato at Price cutter's was $1.89, never a sale. I am not positive how much regular price for the Kroger, but they run their brands on sale all the time, and a good deal for theirs is $.99. The Betty Crocker Potatoes at Dillons are regular price $1.69. And a week ago the SALE price at Walmart was $.94. (are you following me?) I also have a few $.40 off One box of Betty Crocker potatoes coupons that I could use at any of these stores. Why chose Dillon's? The highest price is actually the Price Cutter store brand, so they are out. I'd imagine Betty Crocker would be more (if I remembered the price).
So its between Dillon's and Walmart, and Walmart looks like the winner...on the surface.
If I take my coupon to Walmart, my $.94 Potatoes are now $.54 potatoes, which is a steal by any account. Cheaper than the Dillon's store brand, even. Almost worth the trip to Walmart, if I planned on buying other things at the same time. It's a 20 minute drive through lots of traffic to get to Walmart. So back to Dillon's ...I could save the gas and just buy the $.99 store brand and call it even if I factor in the gas...but probably not feel better about it since I already know there is a cheaper box of potatoes out there. Or maybe just that it is nearly half price for name brand, either way.... but now that I know about a few VERY IMPORTANT websites, I buy them closer to home, at a discount!
Here are the links
Cellfire..............Shortcuts.................and...............Upromise where I can load coupons onto my store loyatly card. Not to mention all the printables from Coupons.com........RedPlum.com..........and SmartSource.com......and many others. Store sites like Walgreens, CVS, and Dillon's home site are invaluable, they allow you to see (or downloaded if you really wanted) their weekly flyers, and usually will have exclusive, web-only printable coupons as a bonus. It really is worth the afternoon looking at these, to save BIG.

So, back to my story! The above sites are how you get cheaper potatoes without a trip to Wally World.
I went to those first three sites and I registered the number on my CVS and Dillon's cards on the appropriate sites. Then I loaded a score of coupons to the cards, not thinking much of it all. In fact, most all of these coupons were duplicates of coupons you get in the Sunday Paper. At the time I didn't realize how cool that is, I thought, geez...how many boxes of potatoes do I need? HMMM...that is a good question!!!
So there is a coupon for Betty Crocker Potatoes, for guess what? $.40 off per box. So that is $.89, right?
WRONG!!!! Dillon's is so awesome...they double paper coupons, a lot of time they even double the ones that say not to. {Up to one dollar}. If you have a $.50 to $.75 off coupon, it is actually a dollar off.
So, my $.40 is now worth $.80. That works out to $.49 a box, cheaper than Walmart's $.54 a box and half price from the store brand!
The cellfire and shortcuts coupons you load from your card come off before your coupons, without any action on your part. What is better? They have duplicates on your card from the different websites, and you can load them monthly. They do have expiration dates, but they are easy to use.
NOW imagine you used this in conjunction with a sale. For example.....this week both Kroger brand and Green Giant brand frozen veggies are $1. Normally I buy the kroger when it is 10 for $10, and I am out of my own homegrown frozen veggies. But on my Dillon's card I have loaded $.50/2 coupons, and I also have $.50/2 paper coupons. If I buy 2 veggies, I can subtract the $.50 right off the top....$1.50 for those two...but I also have the coupon...THAT DOUBLES to $1. That is $.50 for TWO or $.25 each. If I bought the store brand I would still be paying $1 each....so you can see how this works out very well. You always have your store brands as back up if you run out, and nothing is on sale...but the point is really to stock up. So it lasts until the next sale, and save up your coupons.
Ok so how much time do you have to spend figuring all this out? Not much really, you are already wasting a lot of time listening to me ramble aren't ya? Check out the other blogs, and waste some time with the specialists....Coupon MOM, Frugal fritzie, I heart coupon deals, Be centsable....google more blogs...find one in your home town, some one who shops where you shop. Buy the paper, save the printed coupons from the register, and print online (they have some really good ones online.) Join facebook, a lot of companies think it is cool to make you be their fan to get the coupons...so I do....and print it twice. But the most important thing, is read the parts about store policies...not everyone knows Dillon's will double those under a dollar coupons up to a dollar...(a $.75 only goes up to $1, but it's YOUR quarter!) Not everyone knows that many Dillon's will also take expired coupons. Not everyone will remember what coupons they have either, and that is why the blogs are great. They are so fast to update with each and every deal, so they can do some legwork for you...all you have to do is decide, what you like to buy, that is on sale, that matches your coupons....and Viola! You save more than you spend. I have done it 3 times in the past 24 hours....I saved $15 on my $12 out of pocket at Walgreen's on some odds and ends. I saved $17 over my $13 out of pocket at CVS on absolute necessities. But the best was at the grocery store, Dillon's huge 10 for $10 sale, store wide, with many unadvertised manager's specials....I saved EXACTLY $65.35 on my $65.34 order! One penny over. But I realized right then and there....last time this year, i was hitting those same sales, and coming home happy enough to spend $130.69 on that amount of food. (this trip I threw in a few tubs of ice cream, and caramel topping, and kid's toothpaste....all sorts of impulse, not on the list buys...yet I still SAVED BIG TIME). And all I did was walk a bit slower and thumb through some little pieces of paper, and read a blog or two every other day while I drink my coffee. That is it. I saved $65 this morning, by doing not much....and last year...I didn't. And that is the kicker.

I have saved so much money in the last month and a half. I have been able to buy name brands cheaper than store brands, and stock up on a lot of household goods while at rock bottom prices, that should last until the next time they are on sale. I have been intentionally over-buying the things we use the most. I am shopping for things "because it is on sale". But, once you have a small stockpile, you only have to replenish what you have set aside, instead of starting from scratch. Even so, I was able to begin the stockpile at a discount to begin with!

Google: Coupon Match ups, and Coupon Stacking...I promise you will learn a lot! =)
There are several sites linked to what they call the "frugal Map" so you can locate a "good deal" blogger in your area, that will post the sales, coupon matches and discounts or rebates for you. All you do is read, print and buy the Sunday paper! And maybe All You magazine.
It is so easy...and it is worth the 50% off, especially when your store runs as many great sales as mine does!

Good luck to you, I hope you save a TON of cash, and invest it in something you WANTED, instead of always those things you NEEDED that always cost too much!!!

How big is too big??

2010-04-20T11:00:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I had a surprise visit from my FIL and BIL. They were in the neighborhood dropping off a mower to be repaired and wanted to swing by and pick up some equipment that the had loaned us. My FIL is an avid gardener, and works at a local restaurant that specializes in serving locally grown food. A great place to eat with a friendly laid back environment. And my FIL has learned a lot from his involvement there...and off handedly told me my asparagus was much too big. He said that the restaurants want the thin spears (the ones off the smallest plants or late in the season). I told him no, I don't think so. Why would you stop harvesting at that very stage? I told him it was unhealthy for my plants to harvest the tiny "newbie" spears, that that weakens the crown. And that the largest ones are in fact quite tasty, and not at all woody.
But at the same time I became perplexed. Here he is, working with a fine gourmet chef, and I believe he knows what they say they want and need in the kitchen. No doubt I trust his judgement. But why then, do the plant breeders emphasize the size of the spear? My particular variety, I read, can get up to 4 cm in diameter, on the healthiest spears. And other similar varieties are named for their size and girth...IE Jersey GIANT. Why then would the chef's think that they are inedible? I don't understand this at all.

I have been thinking how beautiful and creamy colored the spears are when they begin to push through the surface...and thought about blanching a few spears for experiment's sake....then he could see how very tender the spears can be. I just don't know that is true of it. What I know of Asparagus, you do NOT harvest pencil sized spears, because it marks the end of the harvest. And that it is common, or preferred to have spears the size of a grown man's thumb.
So...I must do the only thing I know how....GOOGLE IT!!! :)

Here is what I've found:

This is from a PDF from Texas A&M University:

"Harvesting
Harvest asparagus spears from established
beds for about 8 weeks, depending
on the area. Do not harvest during the first
2 years after planting. This waiting period
enables the underground crown to grow
and store enough reserves for a strong harvest
for many years to come.
Harvest the spears when they are 4 to
10 inches long. To prevent the spears from
becoming fibrous, harvest at least every
other day. The fibrous condition is caused
by overmaturity or inadequate fertility.
Spears with loose or opened heads are too
mature.
To harvest, snap off the spears by
hand at ground level. Never snap asparagus
spears above the ground or allow a
stub to remain. An alternative method is to use a
knife to cut the spears 1 to 2 inches below
the soil level (Fig. 4). To avoid damage to
the developing buds in the crown, never
cut the spear too deep. However, this
method is not recommended because the
knife may spread diseases from crown to
crown.

Stop harvesting when the spear diameter
becomes less than 3⁄8 inch or when the
spear heads open up with rising temperatures."

And even better, because it verifies my belief, from Illinois;

"While Europeans prize white asparagus, Americans tend to prefer the green or violet-green varieties. When buying asparagus look for compact tips and smooth green stems that are uniform in color down the length of the stem. Check the cut stem end for any signs of drying and always avoid withered spears.
Pencil thin or thick stems can be equally delicious. Contrary to popular belief, thinner stems are not an indication of tenderness. Thick stems are already thick when they poke their heads out of the soil and thin stems do not get thicker with age. Tenderness is related to maturity and freshness.
Asparagus comes in a variety of colors including white, violet-green, pink and purple. If you must store any variety of asparagus, treat it as you would treat a cut flower. Trim the stems and stand them in a glass with one to two inches of water. Cover with a plastic bag and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days or until ready to use."

This is even more helpful to Missouri growers, because of the proximity to our state and similarity of climate. As far as I know, bigger is better...this is not a zucchini or a cucumber, where maturity means the seeds are ready to reproduce, and sacrifice flavor for it's growth...this is altogether a different entity.
Here is another excerpt from Ohio;

"Buds on an asparagus crown are arranged in a "dominant hierarchy" or "pecking order" system. The first bud to emerge as a spear is the largest in diameter. When a spear from a crown is harvested, it signals another bud on that crown to send up another spear. With each successive spear that is harvested, the spear diameter decreases because the lower-order buds are smaller and produce smaller diameter spears. The largest spears occur between the second and fifth week of harvest and decrease rapidly thereafter. This is why asparagus harvesting should stop after a certain number of weeks to allow the crown to send up small diameter spears that will lignify and become ferns to manufacture carbohydrates to send down to the crowns for next year's crop. Spear diameter during the first year after crown planting will be smaller and possibly more difficult to market than the larger spears produced after the first harvest season.
Because the length of harvest season will vary from year to year depending on air temperature, stopping the harvest when one-fourth to three-fourths of the spears have a diameter of less than 3/8 inch (about the diameter of a pencil) is a better guide than harvesting for a specified number of weeks. Experienced gained by growing the crop will make it easier for the grower to know when to discontinue the harvest. Over-harvesting will weaken the crown, reducing the amount of carbohydrates stored for the following year, and will lead to further decline of the planting, putting plants under stress and making them more susceptible to insects and diseases."

And here is a brief (ha ha, to me brief!) list of links:
Asparagus yields

Kentucky U Asparagus bulletin

Maryland U

enchantedspoon.blogspot.com

www.marketmanila.com

how stuff works

www.vegetablegardener.com

I think I am satisfied with the answers, but if anyone has personal experience with growing Giant Asparagus, please feel free to comment. But, in the meanwhile, I like that mine are humongous and will enjoy them thoroughly. In fact, while googling the answer to this quandary, I found several suggestions for preparing the Asparagus, including bacon wrapped grilled ....mmmmm, yum! Everything tastes better with bacon!!
Catcha later! :)

Tomato Massacre Spring....are we on round 3 ? ? ?

2010-04-19T10:14:00.000-05:00

I can't begin to tell how irritated I am at myself for allowing this to happen, not once but twice already this season. It is enough to make me cry, that I have killed yet another batch of tomatoes. I know it happens to the best of us, I know we all have our "off" years...but the frustration of the waste of time, money and materials just gets so dejecting!
But as I always say, you pretty much learn nothing when you don't make mistakes. And I am a big fan of picking things apart, so here we go....what went wrong?

Ok so the first batch that I started from seed died from a number of factors, as I have explained in a previous post.

Didn't sanitize pots
Used potting soil, instead of soil less mix
overwatered (seeds rotted, not one sprout out of a dozen and a half seeds)

That is newbie stuff, I wrote it off and bought transplants, and started Roma seeds from my dehydrated tomato from last year. We'll see what happens with my seeding (AGAIN) later.....we'll see, we'll see.
But what about those transplants? HMMMM???? I was so excited to try new varieties of heirlooms, and what did I do??? I am not sure. I am thinking that there are so many variables to this one it is hard for me to narrow it down. Either way I am sure it was my fault! The thing I should have done, first and foremost, that I can never do is just leave well enough alone!!!! But here is how I think I massacred a perfectly decent batch of transplants that some nursery people spent 8-10 weeks nurturing, in less than two weeks!

I put them in the prop box while it was much too warm. even vented it was an oven.
I potted up the transplants into larger containers, WITH PEAT MOSS. (that would be for seed starting) When likely, the only plants it was imperative to pot up would have been the ones in the 4 cell packs that looked like crap to begin with.
I bought plants that looked like crap to begin with. (Juliet tomato) And kept them with the others.
When I potted up the transplants I buried them deeper than in their original pots. this is fine in the ground...I do it every year....it makes the tomato sturdier with a much denser, deeper root system....but apparently you can't do that in their pots...
I gave them fertilizer...I don't know if that also shocked them.
I moved them into the house during a 2 day cold spell, then back outside. I took them in and out of the prop box, as weather changed.

I could probably think up a few more things I did to contribute to their sickliness....I just can't think of how many more ways I could have screwed this up that I didn't do already. There are signs of fungus establishing on the surface of the peat. The plants that actually have died show signs of damping off, just as the seedlings would. That is a combination of the peat's moisture retention and perhaps over watering. Plain peat is just as bad as plain soil I suppose...not a lot of room for air transfer...I have smothered them. A few others show signs of burn, like in the peppers. The Juliet's were just in steady decline to begin with. There is no end to my frustration. All I can do is get the bed in, plant and cover, and PRAY.....and perhaps start some late seeds, as a back up....be careful in planting, if the survivors are permanently stunted and become bug magnets....GEESH....what a waste of 30 bucks!

Anyways, I had to share tomato story as a reminder to myself, a lesson to be learned or maybe just plain out common sense, or the lack there of, that caused this....I have to be humbled by my inexperience, grit my teeth and sink my shovel back in the dirt....and keep on truckin'!!

Take care, and may your tomatoes stay lush, green and healthy...and not keel over as mine have.....Oh, and could you spare a cutting??? LOL