The Haphazard Homestead

Vegetable Garden

2010-09-19T00:04:00.000-07:00

Our vegetable garden did rather better than expected this year. It's been a late, cool summer (which seems to have vaporized already) and I didn't figure we'd get much so I've been pleasantly surprised.

I have a hard time estimating how much we've harvested in pounds since it's trickled in little by little. I have about six quarts of pickles in the fridge (bread and butter, sweet and dill), a good bushel of kale blanched and frozen with more on the way, eleven half-pints of pickled beets (chiogga and bull's blood varieties) and approximately three pounds of beets in the freezer.

I'm still waiting on the tomatoes to ripen - pears and beefsteaks. Those won't be more than a few pounds at most (and I'm keeping my recipe for green tomato relish handy.) I have two softball-sized pumpkins I'm babying along (about halfway ripe) as well as two good sized acorn squash that I'm watching closely.

Our pole beans struggled all summer looking yellow and leggy. Now they are a nice dark green and lush. We've picked about half a pound of those with lots more tiny pods on the vines.

I need to work up the nerve and dig up the Potato Experiment.

I read somewhere that you can plant potatoes and then keep raising and filling the container with soil as the plants grow up. I had some Yukon Golds sitting around that were too old to eat so I built a small box and planted them. I started with two layers of boards, then added two more over the course of about two months. The plants have all died back and it's time to dig. It's been raining like crazy the past week so I hope I haven't waited too long.

The crop I'm most hopeful about is the parsnips. Those have done well all summer - at least the plants looked great. They are a very long-season crop - about six months. I can see the shoulders of the parsnips peeking up and they look like they are getting to a good size. They taste better after a frost so I'm going to let them go for a while longer.

I planted a handful other vegetables - cilantro, parsley, dill, a few different kinds of peppers and Valencia and Walla Walla onions. The cilantro grew great but we left it too long and now it's coriander (tasty but we just don't use that much.) Like the pole beans, the parsley lagged behind but is healthy and productive now. I think it wasn't really hot and dry enough weather for the bell peppers but we did get about six cayennes. The onions didn't do didley this year. They barely grew vertically and the bulbs are still size of pearl onions! These were probably too crowded. I bought a flat, one of those undivided trays) rather than individual starts and I don't think I separated them enough.

I had about six carrot plants that I started inside and transplanted. My friend Alix told me that carrots do not like to be transplanted and get pretty twisty and mangled.

Her theory may be correct....

So not a bad garden this year after all. We have about a month left before any serious risk of frost so we aren't done yet.

What were your gardening experiences this year?

Vegetable Garden Construction

2010-08-31T00:16:00.000-07:00

JD and I opted out of having a vegetable garden last year - which turned out to be a good thing considering our Sturgis adventure. This year I decided to give it a shot. I wasn't sure that the area where JD had had a garden in previous years was getting enough sun so we tried a new location in the middle of the property near the orchard.

The downside to the area is that it's pretty gravelly and in fact, the area in the middle where the old house used to be is thickly covered in large rocks so we decided to build several garden boxes (which we probably would have done anyway). I'm planning to build a greenhouse eventually and I think those large black rocks will be a good base for it - they'll allow for good drainage and hold some heat, too. JD is gradually scraping those back for me to where I want to locate the greenhouse.

Two sides were already fenced well enough but the other sides needed some attention. And all four sides needed something to deter deer. We installed fencing on one side, repaired and supplemented the other and installed extensions around the top. I used several pieces of PVC (salvaged from a duck blind JD had built several years ago but no longer used) and some conduit we found in the barn. I attached these to all the t-posts and fence posts and ran three rows of wire around the perimeter to a height of eight feet.

We rearranged the garden boxes a little, filled them up with lovely new four part compost and started planting.

Clockwise from top left: potatoes, beefsteak tomatoes and cilantro, tomatoes and basil, pear tomatoes

Pickling cucumbers and peppers:

This box ended up being a little crowded with parsnip, dill, carrots, onions, tomatoes and one beet:

Near the back side of the garden is a raised area with a rock wall. In the middle is a hazelnut tree and another unidentified tree. It makes for a nice little shady sitting area. After extensive weeding, I'll plant flowers on the wall and the upper area.

These photos were taken in June. The garden got off to a very slow start but is has picked up in the last month to six weeks. I even got one tomato last week!

Flower Garden

2010-08-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

Since our vegetable garden is only limping along, I thought I'd post an update on our flower garden which is doing a little better.

We built a new row of boxes this year and transplanted some perennials from the older boxes - lavender and rosemary and a couple of ground covers. For the most part, those are doing well. One of the rosemary plants was struggling and getting a little leggy but it seems to be recovering slowly.

Over the years, I have collected a pretty good stash of seeds but they were getting old and not doing me any good sitting in my closet. So in April, as an experiment, I tossed a bunch of seeds into all the boxes to see what would happen. Quite a lot it turns out:

The poppy seeds that my mom sent me several years ago were apparently still quite viable (this was after I thinned them about three times.)

The baby's breath turned out to be a good contrast to the lavender.

And I finally got some bachelor's buttons growing, one of my favorites.

I'm going to have do some transplanting and reorganizing of first box though, since I didn't plan for their height and they obscure the lavender somewhat (the foreground of the first photo). I'll probably move the lavender to the end of the box and let the bachelor's buttons fill the center.

Actually, I'm going to have to do some reorganizing all over, I think. Scattering seeds around the boxes was interesting but some of the colors don't necessarily complement each other. The bachelor's buttons and blanket flowers clash

and I definitely have way too much purple - lavender and campanula, mint and lamb's ear (aka goat's ear), even the bachelor's buttons tend to shades of purple. I'm happy that something is growing but still....

I'd like to have some more red flowers. Right now really all I have is one cinquefoil which has lovely dark blood-red flowers. I'd like to find out the best way to propagate it and start a few more.

The poppies from my mom were mixed but I did get a few red ones which I've marked for later seed collection. My friend Alix suggested Flanders poppies, too.

I'm also getting a better idea of the flowering cycles and would like to replant to have constant color in my boxes. The poppies and columbine were early, then bachelors buttons and lavender and, currently, the cinquefoil and blanket flowers are both coming on.

I'd like to get bulbs in, too, for early color. For Valentine's Day this year, JD gave me two pots of red and orange tulips as well as a hyacinth which I've transplanted into the triangle bed in the middle of the driveway. We have a few more miscellaneous bulbs scattered around the property but I'll have to hunt for them a bit since they've died back.

Our First Egg!

2010-07-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

We have our first egg! We are so proud of our girls - or at least one of them.

JD collected it on Wednesday. On Thursday, we had our second - woot!

And by the way that girl is hollering out in the henhouse, there will be a third today.

We're on our way now! Only 1198 eggs to go and we'll break even on our set up costs. (We realize this may take some time....)

Tour De Marriage Photos Part Three

2010-07-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

At the recommendation of ~~Schnicklefritz~~ Alix, my good friend who lives in Colorado, we drove along Highway 141. It's a beautiful drive along the San Miguel River through red rock canyons filled with box elders, salt cedars and wildflowers.

There were some pretty amazing rock falls and formations.

We found a side road to access BLM land and thought about stopping but between the threat of thunderstorms and the actual rain, we decided to just scout out the area for future travel purposes and keep going. I couldn't resist the wildflowers against the red, though.

We wandered down the road and visited the Colorado National Monument. We followed Rim Rock Drive and stopped periodically so JD (aka The Mountain Goat) could traipse around the ledges. I, being not so fond of heights, contented myself with the wildflowers on the non-sheer-cliff side of the road.

One benefit to the PNW weather we encountered was a rainbow over Monument Canyon.

After the wedding, we spent a day in Fort Collins visiting my oldest friend, Schnicklefritz. My parents drove up from New Mexico to spend a day with us in Estes Park. We drove around Rocky Mountain National Park for a bit before we had to head back west.

We saw a herd of young elk.

some pretty adorable little chipmonks

We drove through Berthoud Pass which tops out around 11,000 feet and saw several warning signs stating “Avalanche blasting at anytime using long range weaponry”! Those kinds of explosives looked totally justified - just look at the snow overhang!

Although we did drive through a bit of snow in Wyoming,

we had a wonderful trip and mostly importantly arrived home married and all bones intact!

Tour De Marriage Photos Part Two

2010-06-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

A few more photos from our Colorado trip.

It was still a bit early for the aspens at the higher elevation of Grand Mesa National Forest. The acres of yellow leaves in the fall must be a sight to see!

A marmot watched us carefully from his lair in the rocks beside the road.

A grouse in the Gunnison National Park let us get only so close before flying away.

A yellow warbler was singing to us as we walked along the Gunnison River at the bottom of Black Canyon.

At this lower elevation, the aspens were a beautiful pale green.

About halfway up the canyon road, the aspens were a little further behind and decorated with tiny yellow-green leaves.

Near Placerville, we stopped for lunch alongside another river and found a lovely, coppery birch log shining in the sun.

Next up, red rock cliffs and wildflowers along Highway 141. Cheers!

Tour De Marriage Photos Part One

2010-06-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more photos from our wedding trip.

We usually ended up out in the middle of the day taking photos. The sun is directly overhead and results in harsh shadows and washed-out colors. But the flowers were lovely and species that we don't ordinarily get to see so I couldn't resist. (Schnicklefritz, if you can identify any of these, I'd be obliged!)

Some kind of mallow, I believe.

I've never seen these before but they looked like little aliens.

A pretty little yellow flower only about two inches tall.

We had a little extra time and elected to drive through Arches National Park in Utah. I loved all the plants that grew in crevices in the rock.

One of my favorite plants: lovely, twisty juniper.

We expected Clint Eastwood to come riding along at any minute.

This photo doesn't really portray Grand View Point Overlook in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, very accurately. We were up on a high bluff overlooking a canyon that contained another canyon that was at least as deep. It's was pretty incredible and I recommend a trip here if you can make it. And, yes, that is snow at the edges of the lower canyon, so bring a jacket.

Haphazard Wedding In Colorado

2010-06-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Despite the best efforts of the weather in Colorado last month, we managed to have the ceremony we wanted - outdoors, solitude, and sunny skies!

Our plan was to find a peaceful, isolated spot on some BLM/National Forest land and camp out for a few days. The weather made that a challenge, even in western Colorado. It clouded up and rained so much that we thought we were back in Oregon! But on Thursday around noon, we headed into the Wild Basin Area of the Rocky Mountain National Park and found a lovely little spot along a waterway. The sun came out and, being midweek, we were surrounded by nothing but trees and willows and peacefulness!

We changed into our fancy clothes and took a few before photos.

Then we sat down and married each other. It was just about perfect!

I'm no good with off the cuff speaking so I had organized my thoughts into "What I like about you", "What I promise to do" and "What I'm asking in return” and wrote it all down. JD had clearly thought about his side of things but is great at\ spontaneous speaking and just kind of followed my rough format.

I read "Falling In Love Is Like Owning A Dog" beforehand and a short part of "Song Of The Open Road" after, ("I give you my love more precious than money...").

He said some pretty wonderful things, of course, and I managed to only tear up a little!

Then we exchanged rings,

had a toast of some lovely 12 year old Glenfiddich and took a bunch more photos.

Happy Birthday To My Dad

2010-06-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

I just want to take a minute and wish my Dad, Curt, a Happy Birthday.

I'm sure I don't tell him enough that I appreciate him. He's the reason I can run a chainsaw, mend a fence, hammer a nail and manage my finances. And, credit where credit is due, the reason I'm a packrat. Our favorite mantra is “you never know when you might be able to use that.”

What he didn't actually teach me, I've been willing to try because of the way he taught me how to think.

So Happy Birthday, Dad, and many happy returns.

P.S. I hope your knee is back up to speed soon!

Chickens, Part Four Moving Day!

2010-05-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

Two days before JD and I Ieft for our Colorado Tour De Marriage, we (he) finished the girls' new digs.

Before he moved the girls into their new home, he took a photo of me inside the coop for the last time:

and then started carrying the girls over one by one.

He put her inside the henhouse and she stood rooted to the spot not moving at all. I mean NOT. AT. ALL. If I hadn't seen her breathing, I'd have been worried. She stood in the same spot, the same position:

for about three or four minutes until JD brought the next girl in. Then they stood frozen.

They got a little better each time a new one was brought in but even so it took them a while to adjust to their new surroundings. They seemed confused by the windows. They could see out but could also tell something was in between them and the rest of the world. They poked around the inside of the house for a while but would only cautiously peek out the door:

And speaking of doors, JD, thoughtful and creative man that he is, designed and built a special door just for me.

It fits into a slot and the cable stretches up and out the top so that I can open and close the door without having to go inside the coop. Pretty sweet except he keeps threatening to paint a guillotine on it!

Eventually JD caught them all again and put them outside in the yard. They seemed to be nervous of their surroundings but liked him well enough:

The first several days, they couldn't quite figure out the process of getting inside and outside via the ramp. Now, however, when JD comes home in the morning and opens the door, they come running out. And when I get home at night, they are all in a little puppy-, er, hen-pile inside the house and I shut them in safe.

We've done all we can do. Now we wait for the egg money to come rolling in! And we figured out that all we need is a mere 100 dozen to break even on our costs....

P.S. I welcome feedback from readers - on content, on my writing, on anything at all! Feel free to add a comment via the link at the end of each post.

Chickens, Part Three

2010-04-29T01:03:00.000-07:00

So The Girls are getting huge and are needing their new home soon.

We do think that at least two of The Girls are probably The Boys. The Barred Rocks above are the biggest of the flock and have a suspiciously proprietorial attitude when we clean the bedding or change the water or food. It’s still too early to tell for sure but we are keeping our eye on them.

JD has made some great progress on their new digs - which they will definitely need before we leave for Colorado in three weeks.

All that’s left is to cut and attach the roof panels, bury and attach the fencing and add a few more panels and a door to the house.

I think JD will be glad to be done with this project. The weather is trying to get a little more spring like with the lilacs and apple trees blooming away:

and there are lots of projects that need attention including our vegetable garden plans (containers on the deck or a fenced area with boxes, we aren’t sure yet), finishing the inside of the garage, and a dozen other maintenance projects like fencing repairs, trimming the goats’ and llama’s hooves, mowing the pasture, etc.

Happy Spring to everyone!

Chickens, Part Two The Girls Have Arrived!

2010-03-21T21:28:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we brought home four new chicks - Plymouth Barred Rocks:

(The color is a little off since we have a red heat lamp in their box and it's hard to correct.)

They are pretty cute and don't seem too anxious around people. This one even sat still for a quick photo shoot:

JD worked on the henhouse over the weekend. Henry helped.

And on Wednesday morning after JD got off work, he stopped at Burns Feed Store and picked up the rest of the girls: four Wyandottes and four Rhode Island Reds.

Well, we are hoping they are girls. My only real requirement for this operation was that there be no chance of fertilized eggs, and therefore no roosters allowed. We paid a little more for pullets rather than the less expensive straight run. The woman at the feed store told us we could count on 90% females. I told JD that if we do end up with males, one day while I'm at work, they'll have to somehow go to live on a farm with bunny rabbits to play with. Or maybe they'll run away to join the circus. I'm sorry and as a rule adamantly opposed to killing animals but I can't hang with the fertilized egg thing.

I'm still not sure how you tell on a chicken but a friend who sell his chickens' egg (and said we could count on more like 75% females) said their behavior would be the best indicator. Basically they'll start strutting around and acting foolish - kind of like typical teenaged boys. I think it will be a several months before the females get old enough to lay eggs so I'm hoping it will be apparent long before that.

Until then, we'll get their coop built and their yard in place and keep our fingers crossed. I actually petted on briefly today. JD picked up one of the RIRs up and held it until it calmed down. I was able to pet it with one finger for a few seconds. They are pretty fuzzy still and it felt more like fur than feathers. I'm not sure if I'll ever be at the point where one can sit on my shoulder [Kat, I'm talking to you! :-) ] but it's progress!

Bleet - Saturday Night Live

2010-03-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with my life. But I had to laugh when I walked through the house a few minutes ago.

JD's mom lives with us and is an early-service church-goer so she's sound asleep. JD worked grave last night and is snoring in the bedroom. Henry, the lab, is stretched out on the sofa. And me? I'm in my workroom sewing and listening to an audiobook.

It's 8:22 pm on Saturday night.

Another wild and crazy night here on the homestead. I feel lucky: this kind of compatibility is hard to find!

Chickens, Part One

2010-03-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

Having had enough of expensive free-range eggs and not having any truck at all with factory-farmed eggs, we have decided to set ourselves up with some laying hens.

JD has wanted chickens for a while but never had time to set up a coop/henhouse. I like eggs alright but having bird-phobia, having chickens will be a bit of a challenge for me. I'm hoping that being around them on a regular basis will wear some of that down. For the time being, I told JD that I would do all the egg-cooking activity if he'll take care of the chicken-keeping activity. I think I'll be able to feed them from outside the coop but he'll definitely have to clean the henhouse and collect the eggs.

We've been reading up on chicken-husbandry and visited the chick room at Burns Feed Store in Orient, Oregon this weekend. Well, JD visted the chick room. I stood outside and watched the chicks safely separated by the plate glass window. They were pretty cute, I have to admit. Especially the one who had fallen asleep tipped so far forward that he was resting on the top of his head.

The woman overseeing the chick room was very knowledgeable and gave us lots of good information. She suggested building the chick box first, then, during the couple of months they are growing up, we build the coop.

So yesterday morning, we built the starter home for them. We didn't have to buy any new materials for the box. We built it all out of scrap lumber or bits we already had on hand - hurrah!

We used some of the cedar fencing panels we scavenged off Craigslist a few years ago (the same that we used for my garden boxes) and some other scrap 2x2s and 2x4s we had from various other projects.

Here it is, in all it's cobbled together glory:

JD even thought ahead suggested we create a removable divider to contain the little ones in a smaller area and separate them a bit as they grow.

We aren't sure how we'll set up the heat lamp. Apparently it needs to be around 90F for the brand new ones. I think the lamp on the rod as we have it will be too low. There's a beam overhead and JD suggested we hang the lamp on a wire so we can adjust it more easily and keep the temperature where it needs to be.

While I was at work yesterday afternoon, JD picked up a feeder, waterer, a little food and a red bulb for the heat lamp (which is supposed to be calming). Now all we need is bedding and some grit and we'll be ready for the new arrivals! We aren't sure what kind we'll get yet. Since they are strictly for egg-production, JD's been reading about all the good laying breeds. And I requested breeds that tend to be docile. We both like the Plymouth Barred Rocks (the black and white checkered ones) as well as the Rhode Island Reds and New Hampshire Reds. There's also a heritage breed called a Wyandotte which is a really burly looking - round and plump - that JD likes. We read that chickens can get agitated around other chickens that look too different (or are different sizes or ages) so we don't want to get too diverse.

The most important aspect, for me, is that they come from a reputable and humane breeder. The whole point is to make sure our eggs come from chickens that are treated well and it would defeat the purpose to get the chicks from a factory farm. I'll have to do a little research before we make a final purchase. I like supporting Burns Feed Store but I want to find out where they get their chicks from first.

I'll post pictures of the girls as soon as we bring them home.

Haphazard Blogging

2010-02-26T02:32:00.000-08:00

So I sort of just realized how long it's been since I put up a new post. Since returning to work in January, it's been increasingly hard for me to post with any regularity. Being back at work full-time plus doing a lot of sewing for my wedding clothes plus trying to spend time editing and re-organzing my photos has kept me terribly busy. The other problem I am experiencing is that the topics about which I like writing (homesteading stuff, gardening, canning, goats) are all sort of tucked away for the winter. (Okay, maybe not the goats but goat-centric projects certainly.) So I've found myself struggling to find something interesting to say.

There are a few little projects that I think are relevant and, I hope, interesting to readers so it's not like I have nothing at all about which to write but one of the things I'd like to improve the most about my writing is the speed at which I can turn out a finished project. I feel like my writing is okay but it takes me a long time to be able to say “Okay. It's done.” I'm sure the best way to decrease that time frame is to write more. So maybe my goal should just be to write more frequently - then the other issues, speed and quality, will fall away as a by-product.

I will do my best to get something up at least weekly. A couple of non-friend/family readers were kind enough to follow me. Not giving them (and my family/friends as well) something new would be a sorry way to repay them.

I thank you all for your patience and loyalty. For now, here's a picture or two. I hope you like them!

Rosehips at the elk feeding grounds, Mist, Oregon.

Lovely red blackberry vines in winter

Frosty spider webs.

Haphazard Hiking - Criterion

2010-02-06T00:29:00.000-08:00

In anticipation of our hiking/wedding trip in May, I suggested to JD that we start taking day hikes to get in shape. Last Sunday we drove out to a place just south of Maupin in central Oregon and hiked for about two and a half hours.

The map posted in the parking lot called the property the Criterion Acquisition. In the early 1990s, the BLM purchased the old Criterion Ranch with an eye towards providing additional access to the Deschutes River and linking other public lands (although there was some debate about the efficacy of their efforts published in The Bend Bulletin.)

JD knew about the area from his bird hunting days and indeed we did meet some hunters in the parking lot as they were wrapping up.

We had amazing luck with the weather: 50F and sun! What a treat in rainy PNW January. We had the area to ourselves and we turned Henry loose as soon as we got away from the parking lot. He was overjoyed and it was fun to watch as he bounded through the sagebrush stopping every few feet to sniff something interesting.

We walked along the service road for about half a mile and then turned to go overland following a gentle hill. I had to stop several times just to listen - to nothing at all. What a luxury to find somewhere away from the noise of humans and machinery. There wasn't even a plane flying across the sky. The only sound was the wind blowing through the juniper.

The air was so fresh, filled with the clean scent of sagebrush - that always takes me right back to my parents' place in New Mexico.

The main purpose of the hike was hiking but neither of us could resist shooting a few photos on such a beautiful day.

It was interesting to see Mt. Hood from the east side with sagebrush and juniper in the foreground rather than the doug fir forest I'm used to:

There were a few fences left from the ranch and one spot had a mass of vivid green lichen growing on it:

The sagebrush was mostly twiggy and leafless and the bright orange lichen looked lovely against the grey bark:

We even got Henry to sit still for a few shots although it was clearly under protest:

We took it easy since it had been a long time since either of us had been hiking. I also wanted to test how my leg held up. Neither of us are planning on climbing Everest or anything but we do want to be able to hike a bit for the sake of photography. We just want to get a little way away from the crowds to seek out some more unusual photos. I'm happy to say that we both held up well and weren't even sore the next day. I'm encouraged and looking forward to more trips.

Do you like to hike? Where's your favorite spot? Do you like to meander or challenge yourself?

Goat Sociology

2010-01-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

Being an adoptive mom to goats is new territory for me. For a year or two, JD and I talked about bringing goats in to keep down the blackberries that are slowly burying us alive. I've never had goats before but by all accounts they are pretty great animals and keeping something that likes to eat blackberries is pretty appealing. Seeing them last year at the Oregon State Fair sealed the deal for us:

Despite growing up in rural areas of New Mexico and Texas, we never had goats. There were always an assortment of animals around: dogs and cats, a few horses, flocks of chickens and I even had two pairs of ducks and a little Bantam rooster and hen. I even have a vague memory of pigs at our house in New Mexico. But no goats.

When JD and I first brought Spike home, I emailed photos of him around to my family. They all know that four-legged animals are my version of children and have come to expect a different sort of "family photos". Everyone thought our latest addition was pretty cute.

Except Dad. My mom told me that he had a less than enthusiastic reaction: "I showed the picture to your father, but maybe you remember his speaking of Depression Days when he was growing up and on welfare. They were given charity food and some of it was canned mutton and he has never been able to eat lamb or anything resembling it since. So, I'm sorry to say, he didn't not wax enthusiastic about your new family member. But I still think he's a pretty color." That certainly explains the lack of goats around my childhood homes.

So I have a learning curve when it comes to goats. I rode a fair amount when I was a teenager so I understand how a horse operates. I've had a few dogs and I know how to interpret their behavior and how to be the pack leader. I have kind of a bird phobia but they are small and I can run away from them (yeah, that's right, I'll say it out loud!). Even cows, while being large and kind of cumbersome, are pretty direct-able (bulls are a different story, I know that much.)

Goats are another story entirely. I'm still learning what their behavior means, what their social structure consists of, whether they have an Alpha Goat (male or female) or just small groups within a herd, etc. JD told me one thing he learned was that when a female had kids, their position in the herd was one rung below their mother's rank. There is definitely a hierarchy among the three that we have now. Spike is at the top, then Sir Robin and at the bottom Sir Lancelot. I'll be curious to find out if those positions can change as Robin has displayed some challenging behavior towards Spike.

We've done some reading and there's always Google but does anyone have goats? What should I look out for? Does a herd of males act differently than one of mixed genders? None of our males are, um, intact. Does that affect their herd behavior significantly? I'd be grateful for information about your experiences with goat sociology be it anecdotal or scientific.

The Saga Of Sturgis

2010-01-12T13:02:00.000-08:00

Common lore in the motorcycle community is that motorcycle riding itself isn't dangerous. As any rider will tell you, “It's the other driver you have to watch out for.”

Other, preventable factors cause plenty of accidents to be sure: drugs/alcohol, fatigue, recklessness and inexperience but in our case is was indeed that infamous “other driver”.

Luci of Dubhe reminded me recently that I'd never written about my accident and requested a post. So, grab a coffee, sit back and I'll tell you our little tale.

Early last year, JD and I decided to make the pilgrimage to Sturgis Bike Week. It was our first time so we wanted to ride the whole way rather than haul the bike on a trailer and ride around once we got there. (This is such a common occurrence that there are stickers that read “I rode my bike to Trailer Week.)

For several months, we scoured maps and read up on campgrounds and gathered our gear. We planned to meander our way to Sturgis by way of Glacier National Park and Yellowstone.

We rode across Washington the first day and saw some of the hottest weather we'd ever seen. It must have been at least 104F around Hanford that day. That night we camped at a lovely little campground just over the border in Idaho.

The second night we stayed outside of Glacier and spent the third day riding around the park. Even had our trip gone as planned, Glacier might easily have been the highlight. The scenery was right out of National Geographic. It's definitely on our list of must-visit-again.

We camped south of Glacier that night and, on the fourth day, drifted south towards Yellowstone. By afternoon, surrounded by rich green fields, farmhouses and old barns of grey wood, we rode into a little town called Cardwell. I was happily shooting away with my camera, when the driver in a blue SUV in front of us pulled over to the shoulder and, as we passed, decided to make a u-turn without looking. Events thereafter are a tad hazy....

JD told me later that he saw the SUV pulling back onto the road at last minute and attempted to accelerate out of the way. Even with his skill and experience (which I'm convinced kept it from being worse than it was), we weren't able to avoid going down. I remember a flash of blue, then blackness and then laying on the asphalt with JD holding onto my leg and asking someone to call 911. I don't think I lost consciousness but I think I must have closed my eyes tight out of reflex.

JD wasn't hurt, fortunately, other than some muscle pain a few weeks later when he returned to work. He said he stayed on the bike throughout the accident and when we slid to a stop, he was still holding on to the handlebars and cranking on the throttle.

I remember a lot of the details immediately after the accident but not in what order they occurred. Overall I was really aggravated. It was only day four of our two-week vacation and I was so mad that it was wrecked (ha). This kept me from worrying about how badly I was injured, I think. I had a fair amount of pain but I didn't know that my leg was broken. Somehow I knew enough not to investigate matters further.

I remember that the asphalt was broiling hot and a couple of people were kind enough to take turns standing over me so I could have some shade. Someone fetched my water bottle. A woman sat holding my head and talking to me the whole time.

I think there was a little cluster of people standing around us. I heard several different voices but couldn't see their faces. A man said “I didn't even look.” (This I assumed was the driver.) Another starting talking about how I'd need surgery. My EMT training surfaced and I said “Shut up! You don't ever tell the patient how bad the injury is!”

I talked a lot while waiting for the ambulance. I was trying to show that I was okay. I tried to make light of it and asked how the bike was. They thought I was really worried and told me that that wasn't important and not to worry about it.

JD was on top of things, of course, being used to emergency situations. He was calm and managed everything with aplomb. He told me I'd need surgery and I remember thinking “Oh, no. It'll be fine” as if it were going to be optional. I didn't know how badly I was hurt but somehow I knew enough not to try and raise my head to look. It hurt to move around but I didn't know my leg was broken.

I asked him a few times if he was okay. He said yes but I didn't believe him. I knew he wouldn't want me to worry and would say he was fine even if he was hurt. I think I asked the woman holding my head if he was alright. She said yes, too.

The ambulance crew was great, too. They worked quickly and kept apologizing to me when they had to do something that caused me more pain. I told them I was an EMT and just to do what they needed to do. They told me to keep breathing deeply and that actually helped quite a bit.

The transport to the hospital in Butte was a little long - about 30 minutes. I was secured to the backboard, though, and still had a lot of adrenaline in my system. The pain level wasn't too bad for which I was grateful.

The ED staff at St. James Hospital was top-notch, as were all the folks there. They, too, worked quickly and took good care of me. The only bad part was when the doctor started cleaning my wound with betadine before the nurse administered the demerol. I was pretty sure they'd set my leg on fire and I overheard the nurse fussing at the doctor for that oversight. After that kicked in, I was okay.

For the next little while, I don't really know how long it was, they took care of administrative details and prepared for my surgery. The ambulance crew hung around for a bit and came to wish me well before they left - such nice people! I waited for JD to arrive, he having stayed on scene to take care of the bike and our property. I know he came to see me as soon as he could but I had a fair amount of painkillers and sedatives on board, however, and the rest of the night is very foggy.

I spent three days in the hospital altogether. On the first night, after the surgery, I was mostly awake and a little anxious to be left alone. I asked JD to stay and he again showed me how much he loves me and the nurses tucked him up on the tiny bench next to my bed (he's 6'3”). I felt bad about that but really wanted his company. You have to ask for help when you need it, you know? I hope he knows I'd do the same for him in a heartbeat.

The next day, JD took care of the bike, got us a rental car and talked with insurance people. My job was to lay around talking with several hundred doctors, nurses, therapists, nutritionists, janitors, social workers and chaplains (okay, there was only one chaplain and she was quite nice). I'm not sure which of us worked harder.

The day after that, we began to talk about what to do when I was discharged. We still had a week and a half before JD had to be back to work. I knew that JD would be disappointed to be at Sturgis and not be on the bike but I just couldn't face the thought of going back home while our vacation rolled on without us. We decided we'd just drive on towards Sturgis and do as much as we could.

We made it to Sturgis for the last couple of days. Wisely, JD rented a wheelchair in Butte and was kind enough to push me around the whole town. As it was pretty obvious what had happened to us, we ended up talking with way more people than we would have in other circumstances. Everyone had to tell us their war stories and we even got our photo taken and put on the Sturgis website!

After Sturgis, we continued on our merry way. We drove through the Black Hills (stunning), Yellowstone (pretty but crowded), the Grand Tetons (beautiful and worth another trip) and back home via Montana and southern Idaho (surprisingly lovely).

All in all, it was a good, if eventful, trip. It was primarily a survey trip - to take a quick look at several areas and see where we wanted to return and explore more thoroughly. Even with the unexpected delay we did accomplish that. Glacier, southern Idaho, the Grand Tetons and the Black Hills are all on our must-see-again list. And, of course, we are both grateful that the accident wasn't worse. I've heard of too many accidents, less dramatic than ours, that no one walked away from. We were lucky.

Some people, after having an accident, sell off their bike as soon as possible. Others find the risks outweigh the benefits and keep on riding. I'm not as in a hurry to get my own bike as I was last summer but I'm not ready to swear off riding either. It will be riding season again in a few months and I'll just have to climb back on and see how it feels.

Happy New Year - And Back To Work

2010-01-01T11:19:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

JD and I had a quiet New Year's Eve. We had some barbecue (he beef, I tofu) and watched a cheesy movie (whose name I've already forgotten). A couple of minutes before midnight, we switched over to Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve - the 37th year! Despite looking a little rough around the edges, he was right there for the final countdown. You have to admire his tenacity.

At midnight, we had a little toast of some lovely 12-year-old single-malt scotch, rich and smoky, and listened to the gunfire erupt from the hills around us. We thought Henry would be agitated by all the noise but he stayed stretched flat out on the sofa and barely opened his eyes. Midnight is late for a young dog, I suppose.

Whatever your choice of ways to welcome the New Year, I wish you all the best. As for me, I'm back to work today after five months on medical leave. I'm a bit nervous as my job can be physically demanding at times. My broken leg nearly matches my unaffected limb in strength and mobility, though, and I haven't felt the need to restrict my activity in some time. My surgeons and physical therapists took good care of me and I'm feeling ready to get back to normal. I'm not dying to go back to work on New Year's Day but it does have a satisfying clean slate sort of feel to it.

I'm not too keen on New Year's Resolutions but I do have one this year. In 2010, I resolve to not get run over by an SUV. Of course, resolutions are so often not kept, perhaps that's not a good idea.... So what about you? Do you make New Year's Resolutions? Have you made one that you kept? Perhaps we should resolve to do away with resolutions. Or pick a date around December 20. That way we'd only have to keep it for a couple of weeks rather than the pressure of an entire year. And if that works out, then we could try for December 10 and work up to the full 365 days gradually!

From everyone here at the Haphazard Homestead - Henry, Spike, Sir Robin and Lancelot, JD and I - best wishes to you all for a healthy, safe, SUV-free 2010!

P.S. I encourage feedback from readers - on content, on my writing, on anything at all! Feel free to add a comment via the link at the end of each post. Cheers!

Bleet - Happy Holidays!

2009-12-25T23:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays from all of us at The Haphazard Homestead! JD and I had a very peaceful and relaxing day including a leisurely pancake breakfast, a few presents and general lazing about.

How did you spend your day? Did you have a big family gathering? Or more low-key?

Decorating For Christmas

2009-12-21T22:49:00.000-08:00

I don't generally do too much for the holidays. I think, like my mother, that it's kind of depressing to dress everything up only to have to take it down after the new year - especially in the Pacific Northwest where January means even more dreary gray weather. Winter can be trying in this part of the world.

The stores all had Christmas stuff out around St. Patrick's Day this year which was just kind of annoying. Once the calender turned over to December, however, and more and more neighbors started decorating and the Christmas tree farms went into overdrive, well, I caught a little of the holiday bug. I've always liked Christmas lights (which JD kindly offered to hang up for me) and, maybe it's a cliche, but I do like a pretty green wreath hung on a farm gate with the red ribbons blowing in the wind.

I surfed around a little and found instructions at Save On Crafts for making wreaths. I like this one because it instructs you to use coat hangers which are shaped into circles instead of buying specially-made frames. You cover the wire in floral tape and then wire about a million evergreen branches around the frame.

I spent about an hour cutting evergreen branches. Henry tried to help but didn't really understand the goal.

Then for about three days (not straight mind you just a couple of hours every day) I wired branches to the coat hangers. I made four altogether and, as I suspected, my handiwork improved as I went along. I cut the branches too long for the first one. On the side that the branches were pointing down, everything looked great. On the other, gravity had it's way with them and they flopped over in a very unattractive manner. I ended up using it for a centerpiece.

The second, which I hung by the front door, was slightly better but the branches were still a bit too long.

The third, which adorns the driveway gate was okay but the branches were too sparse. I could have used half again as many and it would have been better. I like the photo, though, with all the frost. That was a couple of weeks ago when it was getting down into single digits at night and the pipes froze! Brrr!

The final two, hung at the front gate and on my workroom door turned out the best, I think.

We have an abundance of evergreen trees here and the other raw materials are inexpensive so I may make more next year and see if I can sell them. There are several u-cut Christmas tree farms nearby so I might be able to take advantage of their traffic. I'll need to practice more and get my technique down. But I'll wait until it warms up a little and stops raining - sometime around July....

What decorating have you done for the holidays? Do you stick to just a tree? Or go all out like the Griswolds?

Garage Remodel Part One Pouring The Concrete Floor

2009-12-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

Our garage/workshop has been in need of some help for a while. I started organizing it last summer but never finished. JD has wanted to concrete it since he moved in several years ago but wasn't ready to spend the money on it. For being sand and lime and gravel and water, concrete is spendy! He has a jet ski that he pretty much stopped using after his girls were grown and had put it up for sale. It turns out that a co-worker/buddy of his does concrete on the side and also happens to love the jet ski. They worked out a great barter - M gets the jet ski and we get a new floor in the garage - hurrah!

So for the last six months or so, we've been clearing it out. The previous owners did some sort of work on cars so there is a big shop up front. There's also a storage building near the garage. For an hour or two every weekend, JD packed and moved and shuffled and cleared everything out.

I'm so excited to have a new garage! It's going to be so pretty (if I'm allowed to use that term for a traditionally guy-oriented area). I've already started to plan the organization. We'll have sections for woodworking and gardening, one for the tractor and riding lawnmower and all their associated equipment and, of course, a whole bay dedicated to the Harley.

Fortunately, I'm recovered enough from the accident this summer to actually help with moving things back into the garage and setting it all up. Since I was pretty useless for manual labor for about three months, I was glad that JD started work on the clear-out so early on. He figured he'd do a little at a time over the summer and not have a rush at the last minute. He's pretty smart that way.

I don't have a photo but this is what it looked like before:

chaos chaos chaos chaos tractor chaos chaos chaos recycling chaos mower chaos tools chaos chaos chaos chaos boxes chaos chaos more tools chaos chaos lumber chaos chaos chaos chaos chaos chaos hay chaos chaos boxes chaos mice

M came out a few weekends ago and did some preliminary work, leveling and tamping everything down. This is the dirt floor cleaned and prepped:

We got a delivery of rebar and other supplies Friday evening and the team showed early Saturday. JD worked grave Friday night but wanted to learn about concrete so he stayed up and helped.

In just a couple of hours, they had the wire reinforcement laid out and the 2x4s in the frame for leveling and were waiting on the trucks to deliver the concrete.

The downside of getting this done is that with the garage being inside the fenced area where Henry usually runs free, he has to go out on a leash. I haven't quite regained my strength and balance so with a 70 pound dog lurching about in the muddy driveway, it's a little hazardous. The upside is that he can see them from the living room window and can stay entertained all day. “Mom!! Intruder Alert!! People!! Strange men!! Dad!! Oh, I mean, Hi Dad!” Never mind that we just went outside and The Intruders petted him and scratched his ears.

I figured Henry would nut out when the giant concrete trucks arrived but I couldn't hear if he did. Wow, they were loud! I thought they would be the trucks with the big, rolling barrel on the back but these were different.

Have you ever watched any of the shows on the Discovery Channel about the enormous trucks and earth-movers and other giant machinery? I know all that machinery is just wrecking the earth but I have to admit to a fascination with them. The sheer size and all the engineering that goes into them is impressive. This was probably a relatively small vehicle in an industrial setting but compared to my little pickup, it was huge! My head didn't even come up to the top of the grill.

I hung around (well out of the way) watching the process. There is an interesting rhythm to pouring and working concrete. I wish I had an aerial view. It would look like a ballroom - a sweaty, dusty, noisy ballroom with beer and tattoos but a ballroom nonetheless. Pour concrete into the wheelbarrow, two, three. Dump the concrete, five, six. And turn and rake.

And the pair of men working on smoothing the concrete were as good as any drill team. It's a full-body activity and not just because it uses every muscle in the body. They stepped in, pushed the concrete forward with their feet, moved the smoothing board across the surface lightly together gracefully and flipped it up at the last second. They picked up handfuls of gravel that had collected behind the board and sprinkled it ahead of them and smoothed it again. And again. It was refreshing to see people who work hard and want to do a good job.

I thought the goats would be curious about all the noise and activity but they were pretty nonplussed about the whole thing.

I suppose if it doesn't involved them being petted or fed, they are not really interested.

Even Henry eventually calmed down. Well, I say calmed down, I think really he finally just got tired.

The guys worked for most of the day and told us we could start walking on the floor in about a week. Here it is all shiny and new. I can't wait to start moving in!

No More Apples

2009-11-28T10:10:00.000-08:00

For several days now, I've been trying to explain to The Boys that there are no more apples in the orchard and won't be until next year.

Somehow I don't think they understand. Or, like Henry, they think I'm just holding out.

See that look in his eyes? It says, “I could find apples. You just won't let me in the orchard to look.”

And the horses are no better.

See, every day for the past few months, anytime JD or I have walked up the drive, everyone would come running over and we'd toss a few windfalls to them. And now that it's nearly winter, there's nothing left but bare branches.

I think it's pretty, all grey and wintery-looking, but I don't think they share my opinion.

I am a little sorry to see the end of the apples and pears. I got a late start on preserving this year and didn't put by as much as I'd have liked. But then I go look at the pantry and see what I did manage to put up - apple butter, jars of dried pears and cranberries, bags of apples in the freezer - and I can still get just glimpse of summer.

It will come around again. It will be spring and my flower boxes will need attention. It will be summer and time to go to the cherry orchards. And, eventually, it will be fall and there will be too many pears and apples and cranberries to keep up with.

So I remind myself that dreary weather outside means projects inside. And there are plenty. Holiday gifts to sew, deep cleaning (oh boy!) and, of course, using all those preserved foods - apple fruit leather, cranberry muffins, pear crisp. Yum!

What are your winter projects?

Thanksgiving For One

2009-11-26T21:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope your day was good.

My day was pretty low-key which I quite enjoyed. Nothing against my family but I have come to appreciate peaceful holidays. JD is on graveyards at the moment so he was sleeping most of the day and Henry, the lab, just doesn't really appreciate Thanksgiving so I was on my own.

The best part, for me, was that I got to cook whatever I wanted and didn't have to worry about anyone else's food preferences or allergies or Thanksgiving must-haves.

My usual holiday dinner includes a Tofurky which I love, but is a lot of food for one person. This year I decided to go a different and lighter route. I made a pan of dressing with cranberry sauce on the side and pumpkin tart for afters.

My recipe for dressing is pretty easy:

one onion, diced

three stalks of celery, diced

olive oil

six Morningstar Farms Veggie Sausage Patties, thawed and diced

five slices of wheat bread, toasted and cubed

one package Original Flavor Tofurky Deli Slices, chopped

one cube Edward & Son's Not Chick'n Bullion (This has great flavor but is a little on the salty side so be sparing with additional salt if you use this.)

three cups boiling water

one tablespoon dried sage

one teaspoon dried savory (I usually use a tablespoon of parsley but was out so I tried savory)
salt and pepper

1. Turn the oven to 350F.

2. Saute the onion and celery in the olive oil on medium-low heat until they are translucent.

3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix the sausage, toast cubes and Tofurky. Then dissolve the bullion in the boiling water.

4. Add the sage, savory, salt and pepper to the onions and celery and saute for a few minutes longer.

5. Toss the onions and celery with the sausage, toast and Tofurky mixture. Add the bullion and mix thoroughly.

6. Put in a greased baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for about thirty minutes, remove the foil and bake for about twenty more minutes or until the top is a little crunchy and browned.

I picked up a sugar pie pumpkin at the Thompson Farms produce stand yesterday for the pumpkin tart. I cut it in half and cleaned it out. I put it cut side down in a baking dish with about a quarter-inch of water and baked it alongside the dressing.

While it was cooking, I made a pie crust following Cuisinart's Basic Flaky Pastry Dough. Just as an aside, this is without question the best pie crust recipe I've ever tried. The Joy of Cooking is usually my bible for basic baking but I'll never use another recipe for pie crust.

The pumpkin only took about twenty minutes to cook. I let it cool and then removed the skin. I used the recipe from Pick Your Own which is basically freshly-cooked pumpkin, spices, milk (I used soy) and eggs. I processed everything in the Cuisinart until it was mostly smooth but still had tiny bits of pumpkin visible.

I rolled out the pie crust and laid it in a jelly roll pan, making sure there was a half-inch edge all the way around and poured in the pumpkin mixture. The recipe said to bake at 425F for fifteen minutes then turn it down to 350F and bake for a further hour or so. My pie crusts have tended to burn around the edges and the pumpkin mixture today was pretty liquid so I decided to bake it at 350F for the whole time. Since it was a tart, I figured it wouldn't take as long too cook. I checked it at twenty minutes and it was actually almost done. I left it in for a further ten minutes. I removed it and let it cool for a bit.

The dressing may not have been beautiful but it was tasty. I realized, after reading an email from my sister, that I'd forgotten to use cornbread and toast in my stuffing. Without the cornbread, though, it wasn't so dense. Not a bad variation at all.

JD tried the dressing after he woke up. Although he said he felt only so-so about dressing, he said it was “pretty good” and went back for seconds so I'll call it a success!

and I'm very pleased with the tart.

It was light and airy and not overly-sweet like traditional pumpkin pie. And, it's worth saying again, the crust was great - crumbly and crisp. I will definitely keep it on the menu for future Thanksgiving dinners

How was your Thanksgiving? Do you have menu items that are “It's not Thanksgiving without X?” Do you go the traditional route or say “Forget it. It's take-out Chinese today!”

Whatever you chose to do today, I hope it was enjoyable. If you are in one of those fields that don't stop for the holidays, I've been there and I appreciate what you do. If you were able to be with family and friends, I hope you had a good time. If you were baching it, as my dad says, I hope you were able to enjoy a peaceful day.

Bleet - Monetizing Your Blog

2009-11-20T11:06:00.001-08:00

I've decided to try out Google AdSense. I hope they aren't too distracting from your reading. Please let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks!