Seeds, Seeds Seeds!!

If you've been reading here for any length of time, you know I like to support smaller business. I especially enjoy ordering seeds from a smaller supplier if I can, so when I found Heritage Harvest Seeds  and T&T Seeds, both in a zone cooler than mine, I was thrilled! Today I placed an order with T&T. We ordered an elderberry bush, 5 "Fall Gold" raspberries and 5 "Royal Purple" raspberries. I've never seen raspberries this shade, dear readers, and I cannot wait to see the preserves we make from these! I also ordered green tomatillos from them.
Because I was on a roll, I also ordered purple tomatillos from Heritage Harvest. That salsa should be eye-catching!
We weren't done yet! Then we started "Mammoth Russian" sunflowers, "Walla Walla" onions and cilantro for kicks!
Our basil is coming up wonderfully, and I think I'll have to transplant our Mesclun soon too! It's growing by leaps and bounds!
How do you encourage spring at your house?

Current temperature: -1 degree Celcius or 26 F
Overcast
Very breezy!

Heritage Harvest and the Rare Bean

I know I've mentioned this before, but I adore the catalog of Heritage Harvest Seed! I placed my first order last week, hopefully they'll still have in stock what I ordered. I left it later than I like. The tough part was decided from 12 pages of tomatoes which to order! We already have 3 or 4 different kinds of tomato seeds here, but I want to add to them this summer. So from 12 pages in the catalogue, I wrote out about 20 different kinds, and then put it aside until better sense could take over. Then I whittled the list to 4, I think. I wanted early harvesters, as well as determinate type so we could grow them again from any seed we saved. I was proud of myself for only ordering those tomatoes! I also ordered red celery, and rhubarb.
I have high hopes for this order!
I'm sure I'll be thrilled with it. I like that these folks grow this seed themselves, they don't just get it from someone else. They've been in business for 10 years no, and they're proud of the fact that they don't deal in hybrids or GMO's. Many of their seeds are either heritage or heirloom, and many have fascinating histories! Like the beans passed down through three generations within one family, until being forgotten in a bag somewhere until they made their way into the hands of one of the owners of HHS ten years later. Wouldn't you know, a number of them sprouted! It makes me smile to think that an extremely rare bean seed that I might order has such a history behind it!

Their catalogue makes for more fascinating reading than most seed catalogues that arrive at the end of winter. Not only are the pen and ink drawings charming, they include little tid-bits like this:
"The Hidatsa, Mandan and Arikara Indians dried squash to keep over the winter. The squash was cut about 3/8" thick and placed on willow rods called squash spits. The slices were spaced slightly on the rod so air could circulate around them. The squash spits were then placed on the upper rails of the drying stage to dry."

If you live in Canada, or know a gardener who does, I encourage you to check out their website, or even order a catalogue. Peruse it, fall in love with it like I did and rest assured that we're preserving some very rare and endangered seeds, and those that would like to.
You won't be sorry you at least looked.

Strawberry Dreams

Today I’ve started Strawberries from seed, “Patio Temptation”
I’ve recorded the plant requirements, and started the seed in peat pellets. Once the plants are almost outgrown the peat pellets, I’ll cut the netting on these and move them to the strawberry pots we have. I’ve grown strawberry plants before quite successfully, but in very rich soil and from started plants, never from seed.
So this should be an interesting journey!
Added: 11 seeds were put in damp paper toweling to assist the germination process.

We started 11 seeds; let's see how many we actually get to sprout!

Seeds Starting Time!!

Spring cannot come soon enough here in Northern Ontario, Canada.
So the fur-bearer forecaster says we'll have spring in another  six weeks. Yeah, I don't put much stock in whether a groundhog sees his shadow.  Whatever.
What I do put stock in is one growing one's own food.
If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know I'm a big advocate of growing food, not lawns, no matter how much space one has.
So I'm happy to report that it's finally seed starting time!

At the beginning of the week, we hit our favorite TSC store and rounded out our seed supply with some more vegetable and herb seeds. Mom got a cabinet that has allowed us to move up from two plastic boxes, allowing us to keep everything in one place. All but one missing seed catalogue are in there, along with our gloves and tools, and of course all our seeds. Also this week, we started a few seeds in peat pellets on trays that now reside in an east-ish facing window. We started mesclun, pickling onions, grape sized tomatoes, spring onions, mini bell peppers, sweet basil, lamb's lettuce, crookneck squash, and we started radish sprouts in a jar! (Our alfalfa sprouts were such a hit a few weeks ago, we decided to branch out)

I will admit that all those seed catalogues were extremely tempting. It can be very easy to order twenty different types of heirloom tomatoes when one is stuck inside with -30 temperatures! I wrote out a very long list and set it aside for a few weeks, and then approached it rationally. Instead of twenty different types, I only ordered four. In addition to the tomato seeds we already have, I think we'll get a pretty good variety this coming summer. Now if I could just find my T&T Seeds catalogue so that I can order those purple raspberries, Saskatoon Berry bushes and strawberries!
Hurry up spring!

Current temperature: -6 C, or 21 F
Sky: Overcast
Light breeze

Assess, Plan and Learn

Before I moved out to the bush (as we up here call it), in many ways I had a "country attitude". Often, I did my laundry by hand, even though my friends couldn't understand why. I walked, even when I didn't need to. Buses were plentiful and friends would often offer a ride. But I chose to walk. Even the winter that I abandoned the warm, stuck bus to walk home over 3 miles away. I would explain these choices by saying I wanted control over what I could in my life. I couldn't control when I worked, or much of the world around me, so I controlled what I could.
I still feel the same way.
As I write, there is a jar of sprouts quietly growing on a shelf, full of nutrients that the grocery store produce just doesn't have any more.
There is a butane stove, complete with bottles of fuel, out in the shed. We have a brand new propane stove here in the house (thanks to the folks!) with lots of propane outside; but still, it's good to have a back-up. Many of you know I like to have back-ups. The trick is to assess, plan and utilize.

Assess what we have for cooking, food production, hygiene, water, heating, entertainment; whatever we'd need to survive being stuck inside for a week or more. Up here, that could mean a big snow storm or a road being flooded out. I recommend that you assess your own areas for the most likely emergency that might keep you stuck at home. The more prepared you are, the less impact the situation will have on your life.

There's a part of my town's history that applies here. Many years ago, a main road washed out in the spring break-up. It just so happened that a few towns-women were expecting and wouldn't you know it, a couple of them went into labour. According to the local story, those that went into labour had to be air-lifted to town, where the hospitals and doctors were. While this is a bit of an extreme example, it does underline the need to be prepared to not get to town. Childbirth is a unique situation, and different for everyone, but think about your family or your situation for a moment. How would you fare if you could not get to a grocery store or a bank for a week. What about two weeks? Three?

I like to play a little "game" with myself, "what if".
What would we do if the well ran dry for a month? (Which isn't unheard of out here the way our summers are going) I need to come up with a water plan. Rainwater harvesting, collection and storage then becomes something I need to learn about. We don't have gutters or very many rain barrels, so as I see it, that's where I need to start. Get gutters installed, which means, for me, buy them and learn how to install them. Did you know that each 1mm of rain = 1 Litre (L) of water per square metre (m2) of roof area? So a three bedroom home has the potential of redirecting quite a lot of water! So I think rainwater collection is pretty important. This then involves making sure we have rain barrels. So far, we only have two good ones, so clearly a priority this spring is to get a couple more large ones. Developing the spring down the back is a good idea too. I think having a couple of back-ups when it comes to water is prudent.
Some of you might remember we had pump issues this past summer, and we were very lucky to have the saved water we did. Water took on a whole new importance for me. So, I've assessed what we have for water, seen a need, and am now working on a plan to improve our water situation.

So what if we can't get to a grocery store for over a month?
Again, not unheard of up here.
So, we've assessed what we eat that can be grown, and we have a plan to grow what we can, and how to best preserve what we grow. I've made connections with local hunters that are willing to share some of what they hunt, and I've done the research so that I might get my fishing license this spring. Wild fish is not my first choice when I'm hungry, but I know it's not terrible either. No one in our large family is a vegetarian, we all enjoy meat. Local fish is easy to obtain and can be pressure canned for preservation. For us, this makes sense. At least while I work on a plan to raise a pig for meat.

Everyone's situation is different. Our needs may all be slightly different. But I am a firm believer in the simple fact that no matter where we live, country or the city, no matter what country you call home, we all need to make sure that if our "normal" lives are disrupted that we try to minimize the upset to our families. People that are prepared come through crisis better than those who wait for someone else to do something.
Play "what if" with yourself. Imagine there is no one else to help you coming for at least a week. Assess what you have, and how you can improve upon that. Make lists if you need to, write it all out. But keep a level head  during it all. Panic and fear never helped anyone who wasn't a cave dwelling two-legged.

Be realistic, but honest.
Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.

Dreaming About Gardening

Happy new year, everyone!
I hope you all celebrated in a safe way. I was hard at work, although I did raise a can of ginger ale at midnight.
In case you're wondering where I've been, I work nights for the next few months, so I've pretty much been working and sleeping. I did have a dream about corn this morning. In the dream, I was harvesting dark purple ears that had white kernels. No idea if such a thing exists yet or not, but they sure were pretty in the dream! The picture today is of "heirloom glass corn", also pretty. While we're buried under a foot and a half of snow, all I can really do is dream of gardening.
And send out my seed orders.
Have you sent your orders out yet?

Stay warm!

Food; Sharing it and Stocking Up On It

On a forum I follow, someone brought up a good question. "If you knew the economy was going to collapse in six months, how would you prepare?"
It's a good question, and one that's relevant no matter what country you live. We have a global economy, and what happens in the U.S affects us here in Canada. What happens to Japan's economy will affect Canada. So, as much as I hate the news, I do try and keep one ear on it; if only to find out in which direction the world is falling into the crapper.
But this question started a lot of conversation. We talked about global weather patterns, imports and exports, who grows what, and the loss of industry. I've talked here before about the loss of Canada's textile industry and how much wheat we export while the price of our bread goes up. I've also talked before about how the weather impacts the price of our groceries. We've all seen it, so the economy collapsing isn't that far "out there".

Many talked about squirrelling money away at home, cashing in whatever savings bonds they had, buying silver coins, cutting up credit cards or in some cases, getting credit cards. Some folks talked about the underground economy, and that saw a lot of interest. I've talked about it here before, and it's something that I see a lot of. Folks that are no longer reporting that they're looking for work, they've found a way to "work under the table" and yet still support their family. On one hand, I see the sense in that. What's the point in handing over gobs of money to the government for your retirement if by the time we're retirement age, there's nothing left? On the other hand, if you ever find yourself in a position that the government money is keeping your kids from hunger, and you haven't been paying into it... so it's a double-edged sword I think. I know some folks that would advocate putting enough money aside that if you were laid off for a year, you could still live comfortably. But I also know how many of us live from check to check, and it's not possible to put money aside in that case. So for many of us, it's a delicate dance.

I suggest buying an extra box of cereal, or an extra can of tuna or two, perhaps an extra can of frozen juice or maybe an extra package of chicken quarters if you can. Add your extra to your grocery list. Yes, it's more fun to use that extra $8 to treat yourself to lunch, but if you use that extra $8 to buy a big jar of peanut butter instead, it might make the difference between your kids skipping lunch or eating one day. Yes, I personally know people that have been in the position of not eating their own lunch so their kids can eat. It happens more than you think. I'm a big fan of being more self-reliant though, and if you've been reading this blog for more than a month I'm sure you know that. I think it's important to support our financially challenged, empower them to have access to better quality food, teach them what they need to know to make their lives better and allow them to take control and have some pride back.
It's all about control and independence.
Those that can help, however, should. If you can spare a can of tuna, or peanut butter for a food bank, no matter what the season, consider sharing it. So many families, on both sides of the border, live with malnutrition simply because they don't have access to the kind of food they need. Yes, a can of soup can make a big difference.

I volunteered at a food bank many years ago, and it used to drive me crazy how many out-of-date cans of soup there were. The food bank had to throw these out because they weren't allowed to pass them on. But, I also saw folks that had gardens bring in bins full of vegetables and fruit. It gave me hope, and the inspiration to do the same when I could.
So I encourage all of you this week to do something positive, for both yourselves, and for your neighbors.
Go out to lunch less, put some food aside for a wintery or $ crunched day. Share what food you do have with those who don't have enough themselves.
You'll be glad you did.

The Creative and Colourful

For those of us blanketed in snow and grey mists, color is important. Colour, depth, life....it's missing right now for many of us. I think that's one reason why my Christmas trees are always a riot of colour. So one idea I've been exploring is sketchbook journals. One paints whatever, or draws whatever moves them, and apparently then one writes one's thoughts or observations over top of the dried paint. See the example at the left? That's a great example. I have no idea who did that one, I found it on the web.
I used to paint quite a bit when I was younger. I did it because I enjoyed colour, and watercolors and the transparency of it all. Then I got into acrylics and a Native style, and I pursued that for some time. And then life went weird and it got left along the way somehow, like my sense of impulsiveness and fun. But the Universe has pointed me  back in that direction over and over again these past couple of months, and I have been giving this the barest of acknowledgments. Tonight I ignore it no longer.
I have decided  that I will pick up the brush and the pen again.
How does this tie into homesteading? Oh, very easily.
I can paint nature, the birds in our yard, the feeder they eat from, the trees I
co-habitate with, homesteading ideas and concepts....the possibilities trip over themselves.
I can also use this watercolor journal/sketchbook to prompt new ideas in beadwork. I have been bitching lately that for a time, we weren't making anything new. Whose fault was that? Mine! I remember the snippet of a dream I had not long ago in which I clearly heard a voice say to me "if you want something new to create, dream it"
And so, I will!
Not that I need another reason to, but here's a good reason to plunge into this...
"...this safe haven of personal expression can become for you, if you let it, a source of relaxation. A ready breathing space in a busy way of life. Learn to do relaxation and breathing exercises before and after you draw not only so that you tap into the more intuitive side of your brain but that so that the discipline of drawing and the artistic pathway becomes a source of great personal pleasure. Your journal should never be a chore but something you look forward to as a little breather in the busy pace of life."

What do you do to be creative?

Almost Deleted and The History of Knitting In Canada At Least

You know, for a while there, I lost sight of why I blog. I didn't think anyone gave a good whoop about whether or not I blogged, but then someone very dear to me reminded me that if I was enjoying it, that's what mattered. So because I enjoy it, I'll carry on.
So, I can't chat too much about gardening and homesteading and living off the land too much in the winter. Around here, it's the season for knitting and crocheting. I don't crochet, although Betty and my mother keep trying to get me to pick up the hook. Once again over the next few months, I'll be knitting for the homeless. We have a soup kitchen in town, and I've been told they'll take all the scarves, mitts, socks and hats I can knit. So you'll be hearing a lot about all sorts of knitterly things over the coming weeks. One thing in particular has caught my attention, the history of knitting here in Canada. We have a few American friends that tease us about living with polar bears, all in good fun of course, but we tend to have a lot of winter in our corner of the north, so I figured there has to be a pretty extensive history of it, right? So I've begun to dig into it. Today I found an archived version of "Canada Knits:Craft and Comfort in A Northern Land", by Shirley Scott. It's fascinating stuff, believe me! Oh, here's some for you to read!

"Despite their excellent needlework skills native Canadians did not knit before Europe an contact. They worked with skins, grasses, and other animal and vege- table fibres; weaving, sewing, embroidering and ornamenting their clothing and
household objects with intricate skill. In fact, one of the reasons why the first intrusive Europeans were not more positively repelled was the native people's interest in the trade goods that the Europeans brought. Their fine metal sewing needles easily replaced the more awkward bone needles and were among the earliest and most prized trade goods.
Native Canadians did, however, have some skill in woolcraft. They made use of the wool of wild animals that was shed in spring and found caught up on twigs or blowing loose across the land. Inuit women today, for example, tuck bits of qtvtuq, the underdown of the musk ox, into their sealskin boots for added
warmth. We may safely assume that such an opportunity for warmer feet would
not have been neglected in past centuries. We know too that the hair of
domesticated dogs was used by Pacific Coast Indian tribes to make clothing and that these people also had spinning skills. Anthropologists tell us that the
Salish people, who have a rich textile tradition, were skillful blenders of dog hair, duck down, and vegetable fibres, which they twisted and spun into
yarns and wove into blankets. Some spinning whorls and blanket pins have
been found that are two thousand years old. The adeptness of native women at needlework, their skill in shaping garments, their love of ornamentation and
their eye for design meant that when they were finally introduced to knitting they seized upon it and became some of the most dedicated practitioners of the art. Knitting skills were passed on to many native people at the same time as religion and the other fundamentals of European culture . The missionaries saw the teaching of knitting as a means of avoiding idleness and of building
character rather than as a form of artistic expression. Nevertheless, the tools that they gave to native people were valuable indeed.
Canada ' s first kni t t e r s did not s t ay. The first Europeans to establish a
settlement in Canada were the Norse, who came from Scandinavia via Iceland
and landed at l'Anse aux Meadows on the northernmost tip of Newfoundland. They did not leave any actual knitting behind them. However, we do know that they worked with wool.
Excavators at the s i t e of l'Anse aux Meadows have uncovered a small number of artefacts that offer a glimpse of the woolcraft of these Norse colonists. A spindle whorl of soapstone, a small needle-hone of quartzite, and an elongated bone needle were found. All of these objects are indisputably Norse and were not known to the local native Canadians of the period. They were part of
a woman's tool kit. Socks and mittens were probably knit using the single-ne edle nalbtndnlng technique, a form of knitting that predates the two-needle method. The yarn used at l'Anse aux Meadows was probably wool, although the Norse occupants did not practice agriculture here as they did in their other colonies where sheep and cattle farming dominated the economy.
The settlement at l'Anse aux Meadows was short lived. Perhaps, as Birgitta Wallace suggests in The Norse Atlantic Saga, it was merely a stopover point for trading voyages. The journey south may have seemed too long, the season too short, and the goods no more exotic than those easily obtained from Europe. For whatever reason, the outpost was abandoned. and with it disappeared
the opportunity of leaving knitting knowledge behind.

The e a r l i e s t known knitted piece found in Canada did not come from
settlers at all but from seasonal workers who probably brought it with
them. It is a fragment of a knitted cap found at the late sixteenth century
Basque whaling site at Red Bay. Labrador. The Basque people harvested our
rich coastal waters for many years before the French and the English
established themselves here. but the Basques were economic opportunists, not empire builders. They were happy to return home when their work was done. Their most lasting legacy is the place names that remain on the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, not the art of knitting.
What an interesting glimpse back...to me at least! What did you think?

The Season of Seed Catalogues!

It's time for the much-anticipated arrival of seed catalogues here in the North, and in the spirit of sharing, I'd like to share a bit of how I decide where to buy, and where not to!

I like to shop locally if I can. Sometimes that means either my own region or at the very least, my own country. Not only has changed laws now made this nearly mandatory, but it makes more sense to me. Especially if I can find seeds guaranteed to grow in either my zone, or colder. This year, I've been lucky enough to find two seed companies that grow successfully in colder climates than mine, AND believe in non-GMO's! Yay! Heritage  Seeds and T&T Seeds, both in Manitoba. I can't wait to see how their seeds do next summer! No matter where you live, you'd be wise to buy as locally as you can. Please consider heritage types. They are worth the time, consideration and research. We lose an alarming number of plant species every year to hybrids, and the heritage types have colors, taste and shapes that no lab can reproduce reliably.

I made a list in the summer, and again in the autumn, and again just last week. I then compare this to how much space I'll have for growing, and how much work I'll be doing in a heat wave, or weeding  amidst mosquitoes. The seeds that make the cut are the ones I order.

This coming year, I'm going to attempt saving more than just pea seed. Starting small, and being realistic, I figure I'll probably move up to tomato, pepper, pumpkin and zucchini. If all goes well, I may not have to buy those seeds next winter.

Have you got your favorite seed catalogues yet? Who do you like to buy from? How do you decide what to buy and what to leave?

Food Efficiency

These days, it's easy to get overwhelmed and lose track of our goals. Around here, it's as easy for us as anyone else. Usually, this is signified by an upset in blog posts. When this happens, I flip through my "big binder of homesteading knowledge". It reminds me what I want to learn more about, my goals and where I'm headed. Today, I landed on a link I'd written down, with no explanation of why I was writing it down. It led to a very good article on improving efficiency by ten percent on the small farm. In it was a point on food waste that I'd like to share with you...


"According to the David Suzuki Foundation, close to half of all food produced worldwide is wasted; discarded in processing, transport, supermarkets and kitchens. In the U.S. — and we can assume Canadian figures are similar — about $600 worth of food is tossed each year. Therefore, if we can prevent the waste of just five dollars’ worth of food each month, we will have reduced food waste by ten percent.
When buying in bulk consider how much food, teetering near its best before date your family can consume. Freezing extra meat is easy; freezing extra vegetables takes a little effort but what can be done with a case of on-the-verge-of-over ripe mangos? Mango jam? Mango themed party?
Plan ahead, work out your menu for a week and make a shopping list, say the experts. Also try not to shop when tired, hungry or fighting with your spouse, prime triggers for overspending and impulse purchases. Watch those “best before” dates. And know what’s in your fridge.
Wrap bread and baked goods well to keep them fresh but don’t choke the life out of produce with tight plastic wrap. It keeps the moisture in and condenses it into tiny drops of water that dampen and eventually decay the produce. Don’t wash fruit and veggies until just before you use them. Chopping, dicing and even de-stemming gives microorganisms a place to grow.
Organize your menu to eat the most perishable produce first. Berries before apples, fresh fruit and vegetables before frozen, etc.
Ethylene is a colourless, odourless, gaseous hormone that all fruits and veggies release. It hastens the ripening process. High emitters include apples, apricots, avocados, unripe bananas, cantaloupe, figs, honeydews, nectarines, peaches, plums and tomatoes.
On the other hand, ripe bananas, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, eggplant, kiwi, lettuce (and other leafy greens), parsley, peas, peppers, summer squash, sweet potatoes and water melon are ethylene sensitive. If you use your fridge’s two crispers to keep the emitters away from the ethylene sensitive, you’ll keep the ethylene sensitive in prime condition for a longer time.
Freeze bread crusts and stale cheese and use later for crumbs and sauces. Throw leftover wine into gravies and ripe fruits into smoothies. Make your own stock with leftover meats and vegetables. Make a weekly date to clean out the fridge. And, when you shop, remember that a bargain is not a bargain if half of it rots before you can eat it."
(Taken from http://smallfarmcanada.ca/2012/the-power-of-ten/)

A very good reminder that we have all forgotten from time to time. Especially in this season of holidays and get-togethers.
What ideas do you have for being more efficient with food?

No Berries For Chickens

My most humble apologies for neglecting the blog for the past couple of weeks. I do have a very good reason though. I've been giving an old enterprise a shot of newness. Cee Cee Native Crafts. It's a family venture, we create native-style beadwork. But lately I've been envisioning all kinds of beadwork that incorporates gemstones. Wild colors, vibrant designs and exciting new designs! So....I sort of got carried away with myself. But!
I am here today to share with you my plan for brambles!
So I might have mentioned a few dozen times my plan for the garden for the summer of 2013... lol
A part of that plan is golden raspberries like these...

So according to "The Backyard Homestead" book, raspberry bushes like nitrogen. And they can produce year after year, if they're cut back in the fall and tended carefully. Hmm, this got me thinking, maybe I don't have to ignore the tired red ones already here. Now the plan is to try and rejuvenate the reds and plant goldens. If I can get more fruit from the reds, woohoo! If I get no more, oh well, I tried.
So, according to the book, I should have cut them back in late summer to ground level. But then it also says that in late fall, cut them back to 4-5 feet. Well, mine are not that big now. Taking the middle ground would tell me to cut them back to a foot then. See, these reds are scattered all over the property, they aren't in a nice bed, all orderly and controlled. But, I do want to cultivate the bunch down the property line. So I'm thinking, mulch those, stake the canes and mark with a piece of twine and posts so I know where I "babied" when the snow melts. In the spring, I'll take up the mulch, top dress with compost and see how they produce fruit. And then compete with the birds... and the bears.....
As I've said, I also want to plant a variety of golden raspberries, such as "Fall Gold". According to all the literature, it prefers drier soil, well, we sure have that! It likes partial sun, we have that, and medium nitrogen. I can do that.
The question is, where in the backyard should it go? I'm thinking the side of the yard that we have a neighbor on. Because the other side will eventually have chickens.
I'm looking into growing forage for my eventual-chickens, but it won't be raspberries!
No berries for chickens!

Stay warm!

Our Lives Are Not Our Own...

 “Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others, past and present … and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.”

Cloud Atlas

Interesting. 

Ponder on this. what do you think about it?

Dark, Gentle, Harsh and Beautiful

Yesterday I was reminded of one of the benefits of living in the woods, or the "bush" as we Northerners refer to it. I was out picking ground hemlock (Taxus canadensis) with a couple of friends, we had found a beautiful patch, thick and dark and on even ground! (Hemlock seems to prefer slopes where one has to almost be a mountain goat to pick it) The weather was nice enough that we had shed our coats, it was sunny and I got two big bags picked! The only drawback was the radio that was blasting away. When I pick I prefer to hear nature, so that I can hear any unwelcome thumps, grunts or shuffling that might warn me of a bear or coyote. Both animals are prolific up here, and both have been sniffing around in broad daylight, so it's not unheard of. One of the friends I was picking hemlock with prefers to keep the music loud, and thereby scare off any curious animals bigger than a squirrel. I know her reasoning, and I respect it. So I put up with the loud music all day. At least it was country and not music that makes my skin itch and my teeth grind! All that being said, I had a great day. As I've said, I was pretty productive and I still had time to think.

There are so many people picking in this community that I worry there'll be no hemlock to pick next year. But I've seen quite a bit of hemlock over the last month, so the chance of there being none left is pretty slim. What's the attraction? Generally speaking, it's easy money for the amount of work one does. There's no one looking over your shoulder, you are responsible for how much time you put in, and you can work solo or with someone else, depending on your preference. You want to find branches that are no more than eighteen inches long and no bigger than a number two pencil. A harvester is paid .45 cents per pound, so the more hemlock one has, the more one is paid. The harvesters with trucks and ambition are better off than those of us who do not have trucks or ATV's. While I'd love to have an all terrain vehicle, it's not in the cards right now. So I pick what I can, and pack it out on my back and enjoy the birds while they're still here.

Yesterday, we were reminded of nature's dark side when we came across the remnants of a fox, reduced now to only scraps of fur and a skull. But that's Mother Nature for you. Kind and gentle one minute, and dark and harsh the next.

Catch Up and News!

I love autumn.
There's things to do that just can't be done any other time of year, the air smells different and there's an urgency that doesn't feel the same at any other time. The to-do lists are different, the days get shorter and you really need to watch your step on the back steps!
Here, our leaves have passed peak, we've had a couple of snows and more than a few frosts. We've harvested tomatoes, one of us ate peas fresh from the pod frequently, beets and we're pretty pleased with the showing of pumpkins. (We got 2!)We've made plans for crop rotation for next year, I've dug two more garden beds with hopes to get a couple more in yet, and we planted one bed with red clover as a green manure crop. I had plans to have 7 new garden beds dug, but a money making opportunity and weather worked against my plans. Oh well, modify and adapt, as Betty says. My to-do list has changed. Now is the time to weather-proof windows and doors. So the big picture window in the living room is on the agenda for today I think. Maybe even a couple of the basement windows. Next time we go to town I have to have measurements for two doors  and the windows in the craft room that need heavy plastic, since they'll be covered outside. Also on today's list is to start cleaning and organizing the pump room. Cleaning out the mud room comes after there is room in the pump room. This coming spring we'll be taking down the old mud room and building a newer, bigger, brighter and better one.

That money making venture I talked about? Picking hemlock. Quite a few people up here pick it and sell it to a neighbor, in turn, he sells it to a medical lab. Eastern hemlock is being used by many to treat cancer. So we were doing that whenever we could, and then the weather turned nasty. Which is why I didn't get more garden beds dug.

As if all that isn't enough, two days ago we got a new puppy!

His name is Harley and he is of "mixed heritage" Kind of sounds like a questionable tomato one has found in the garden, lol.
So, now you know why I've not been around much. With the cold and damp settled in though, and Harley, at least I'll be closer to home.
Are you getting ready for winter?

How Huge Food Corporations Will Make Upcoming Food Price Hikes Even Worse

An interesting quote this morning from an article I read called, "How Huge Food Corporations will Make Upcoming Food Price Hikes Even Worse"
First the quote, then a link to the article if you're interested.
(And there's a print link if you're like me and prefer to read articles without all the flashing ads on the side)

"Nearly 90 percent of U.S. cropland is comprised of just four crops. This year, the USDA estimates [10] that the nearly 30 percent of U.S. cropland is planted in corn, 23 percent in soybeans, 18 percent in hay, and 17 percent in wheat. Of these, only wheat is significantly different from the others: it mostly goes to feed humans (not livestock), it is less affected by the drought [11] in the U.S., and the U.S. is not the world’s top producer (it’s fourth)."

Here's the link to the article. It's worth a careful read.
How Huge Food Corporations Will Make Upcoming Food Price Hikes Even Worse

Chop Your Wood And It Will Warm You Twice

I found this of interest this morning, and thought perhaps someone else might as well.
From "The Farmstead" book,

"The most common measure of firewood volume is the cord. A standard cord can be described as a well-stacked pile of logs, 4 feet high by 4 feet long by 8 feet long. Since few people burn wood in 4 or 8 foot lengths, most sales are a face cord - that is, a 4 by 8 foot face, cut into desired lengths. A face cord of 16" long pieces is really one third of a standard cord."

Later on in the same article, the author continues with this advice,
"Most wood species will not burn if freshly cut, so the wood you purchase should be reasonably dry, or "seasoned". The surest way of having dry wood is to purchase it several months prior to using it. Splitting logs hastens drying. Split logs or small round logs should be stacked  outside under a roof for 6-10 months before burning."

I remember many years ago, when I was a teenager, we burned wood here. There was one or two places I lived after I left home that we also burned wood. That old saying that "chop your wood and it will warm you twice" is accurate. I remember splitting wood being a lot of work, then stacking it, then bringing it indoors, and then finally clean up. Not to mention keeping the fire a reasonable size, minding the chimney, keeping the chimney clean, etc, etc. But all of that being side, besides the mice that inevitably got indoors, I enjoyed burning wood. It smelled good, it was good exercise, and it was relatively inexpensive. Wood is a renewable resource, if managed correctly. And if you're lucky enough to own a wood lot, it can be source of income for those industrious enough to eke out a living from it.

Have you ever burned wood in a fireplace or woodstove? Do you plan to do it at some point in the future? Tell me what you think about burning wood as a source of heat in the comments!

Coming up next, what wood burns best, wood stoves and their history and the future of burning wood.

Water, Precious Water

WE HAVE RUNNING WATER AGAIN!!!

Turns out, the problem was two-fold. A bad pressure tank and a hole in the line leading from the well to the pump. Both issues are fixed. Thank you so much to all our friends. Everyone who put up with our whining, helped us get water from the spring, lent us water vessels, suggested and loaned family members to try and help fix the pump, those who went down the well, as well as those that were out in the rain this morning.
EVERY ONE OF YOU is an angel, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
And a SPECIAL thanks to those wonderful friends who let us shower and 
do our laundry at their house. YOU ROCK!!

A Tidbit About Aquifers

Did you know?
A hole dug into an aquifer will turn into a water well because the openings between the pieces of sand or gravel or shattered stone are so large that water molecules can easily flow.
The thickness of an aquifer from top to bottom varies with the nature of the earth. An aquifer can be only a few feet or inches thick, or it might be hundreds of feet thick. It might extend for miles without a break, like the Ogallala Aquifer which stretches from Nebraska to Texas. This aquifer is as large as California and contains as much water as Lake Huron. The aquifer might only be pond-sized, or it might stop abruptly because of some prehistoric geological upheaval. Generally an aquifer follows the topography of the land. Where the land dips, the aquifer does likewise.

From "Wells And Septic Systems"
by Max and Charlotte Alth

Tomatoes, Zucchini and Apples, Oh My!

Hello from the bush!

The other day was a very good tomato harvest day for us. They taste so sweet and such a nice colour! Wonderful in both the salad and the sandwiches we ate.

We were lucky enough this morning to be invited to a friend's orchard, to pick all we wanted. By my rough guess we picked somewhere around 10 pounds of apples. They were on the smallish side, but firm, very red, and did I mention free? Of course, we'll make him a couple of pies for all his help, with both the apples and some other things that are still "classified" as yet.

Another friend gave us a massive zucchini yesterday, there is zucchini relish in it's future! So tomorrow is all about fruit and veggie prep here.

Tuesday I think we'll go foraging in the bush.

What's new where you live?