http://www.seekingsimplicity.org/
I have compiled all of my writings from the last 6 years into one place. You can find me now at Seeking Simplicity
A lot of things have happened in the past year +. I have a new blog located at http://www.seekingsimplicity.org/farmjournal and a brand new one at http://www.2lezfishfarm.com
I hope to “see” you all there!
Posted in changes | Leave a Comment »
June 4
We live on a small and relatively quiet road. The speed limit on our road should be 40 (curves, narrow, and hills). However, like all county roads in our county, the speed limit is 55. This means that people actually attempt to go 55 or faster.
I have spoken with our local authorities about putting up signs that state “Slow, Children at Play.” It seems that those signs are no longer legal to use, as it indicates that children have permission to play in the road. Hmmmm.
So, I decided to put up signs on my own land. I figure if they are funny and memorable, people may think and slow down. Or, if nothing else, they will slow down simply to see the signs. This sign (Watch for Flying Monkeys) comes from a picture I took of SuperS who was swinging from a rope in the front of our house. Yes, he appeared like a monkey. I thought it would be perfect. With a little design magic, I created a sign and posted one on each side of the road — as people approach our house / driveway.
As soon as I put up one sign, an elderly couple passed our house. They slowed down and I saw them chuckling. I am now waiting for more indications that this first sign worked. The next sign I plan on making will be “Entering Munchkin Land. Proceed with Caution.” After that, I need to get off the Wizard of Oz theme and think of new clever signs to make. I think if I rotate these bi-weekly, I may get people interested in slowing down, simply to read the signs. I would! Of course, my 15 year old thinks I’m a dork, but others seem to think these signs are funny. So, I will continue.
Today I weeded the upper garden (I love my hoe) and cleaned the house. My sister is supposed to be arriving this evening. We have not seen each other for about 4 years. We had a falling out after our mother passed away and my father remarried. I am looking forward to this visit.
It was sunny and warm. No clouds and little wind. I hope it rains soon!
Posted in community, home | 21 Comments »
This is this has been utterly ridiculous. Every time that I try to login I get booted out. The connection is so slow here that I think I may have hand crank internet connection…. It has taken me two weeks to be able to login here. The connection doesn’t actually take 2 weeks. I simply get tired of waiting!
Anyway. All around us we have been noticing signs of things getting worse. The other day I woke to hear my husbands voice (for real — he was here. I was not daydreaming). He was speaking to sawmill after sawmill. For the past few years we have purchased our wood, slab wood, from sawmills. The wood was great — it was the leftover pieces from milling. We weren’t cutting down trees and were burning waste. Each of the sawmills that he called were closed. One local sawmill told us that they had not milled since January. There is limited construction taking place. This means no need to mill wood. It run this means no wood for sale for burning. This was the same tale told by all the sawmills around us.
We decided to go to our old house (on the market but not sold) to move part of our wood to this house. We pulled up and noticed that the pile was markedly smaller. Someone has been stealing out wood! We loaded a lot of it into the truck and stacked it at the Amish house.
The same day we read in the newspaper that someone stole 4 solar panels off of a neighbors house. You have to remember that we live in a sparsely populated area. Thus a neighbor is anyone within 10 miles or so. Well, this neighbor was only about 2 miles away. Someone crawled onto their house and unhooked the solar panels and stole them.
An Amish friend told us about people starting to steal chickens. A friend of his lost over 100 chickens in a few month period. The place is predator protected, but not human protected. I know that there are a number of people around here who are unemployed or underemployed. It is assumed that some people are becoming desperate.
And to top it off, we received a notice that our propoerty tazes were going up 30%. Odie called to inquire about this. He learned that our state is in such deficit that taxes are going up for everyone between 15-30%. This is the way that the state will be making up some difference. Uh huh. We’re taking on the debt!
Other than that, I am continuing weeding daily. I can’t believe how fast the weeds grow! Our strawberries are coming in and I ate the first juice warm strawberry the other day. It was wonderful! I have been cooking almost exclusively in our sun oven. I have learned a lot.
Have there been any interesting occurrences in your neck of the woods? Have people been responding to this economic crisis?
Posted in changes, community, tomorrow | 10 Comments »
May 24th
This morning I made a great breakfast of cornmeal+ rye waffles and scrambled eggs. The kids devoured everything.
Odie and I are trying to decide what hard goods we should get before the dollar tanks. I hope we can go over a list when he gets home in a few days. This time he will only be home for 4 days, which is disappointing, as last time it was 8. A week seemed to be perfect — we all got into the groove together. I finally felt that we were acting like a family. The 2-3 day visits were simply that — a visit. A couple days to party, but not to have a real family life. It was not “normalcy.”
The house is in terrible disarray at the moment and the kids refuse to clean their rooms. Well, Z-man is refusing to do anything that I ask of or tell him to do. I don’t know what to do anymore. Some have advised spankings, some have advised grace, some have advised removing privileges, and some have advised ignoring his behavior. He has some behavioral issues and now is very defiant toward me. He will listen to Odie, but if I say a word he turns off his ears. it can be so difficult!
E-girl, on the other hand, although she doesn’t do all of her chores, she has adopted the role of a country girl. She takes on any chore that happens to do with the animals. Feeding or watering? She’s there. Rescuing stray chicks? She does it before I notice. I am impressed with how well she has adjusted and seems to love it.
Mad-town is a typical 15 year old. She does enough to skate by (barely), but seems to count the days until she can move back to the city…. If she only understood that the city may not be the same city in a few years….
Mount Laundry is now finished. Well, it was — until I found that the kids had taken the clean sheets from the house and used them to build forts in the dirt outside. Yup. More laundry.
Anyway, I worry about hyperinflation. I think I worry about that more than peak oil at the moment. There may be oil, but will our dollar be able to buy it? Will our dollar be able to purchase anything? Is hyperinflation looming? What things are in our future? This past year has been interesting and frightening to watch. It makes me want to be more prepared — planting extra, choosing items that will last long term, and living more simply.
Garden:
Yukon Golds poking through
Today I weeded the upper garden and walked through the lower. The lower has a bundle of activity! I love watching things sprout through the ground. It makes me feel a sense of awe at the miracle of life. From a tiny seed comes so much.
Weather: hot (upper 70s) and sunny
Dinner: tortillini with garlic and olive oil and salad (olive oil and balsmic vinegar dressing).
Posted in changes, economy, Peak Oil, simple living, tomorrow | 24 Comments »
May 23
Today started as a cool and rainy day. The laundry was still on the line, despite my protests that it needed to come down before the rain fell. Oh well, I guess that the rain water will soften the laundry. Seriously though, this has got to change. Hello children! Laundry and rain ….
E girl has a friend staying for the long weekend. We are excited to have another person here and to show her the new excitement of our lives.
Dinner: Beef stew (potatoes, celery, carrots) and homemade bread
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
May 22
Yesterday I was frantically tilling and planting the garden. The forecast predicted rain. The rain didn’t come. So, today I carried water to the upper garden (yes — up a hill) in order to give my seeds a nice start. There is no rain predicted for at least a week. Then at 5:00 this afternoon the drops started to fall. And for about 2-3 hours it rained. It rained and rained. I was thrilled that my gardens could get the much needed moisture. I was simply sad that I spent time carrying water when I could have waited. Oh well.
I have never been a farmer. In fact, I was barely a gardener. A few years ago, I couldn’t seem to get anything to grow. My husband can attest to the quality of dead houseplants and the botched vegetable gardens. Three years ago, when we decided to simplify our lives, I decided to get serious. I dug up the back and front yards and planted vegetable and perennial gardens. I had success, but still relied on the farmer’s market. The following summer we moved to a farm and I planted a rather modest vegetable garden. We moved into the house in July. I did not get a garden in until late July. We had a beautiful harvest, but it was still short. This is my first year growing from early season throughout the year. I may be taking on more than I can handle (especially with our lack of reliable running water). However, I have hopes that I can get enough food to feed ourselves for a year.
This is the upper greenhouse (on the hill). In the foreground is a strawberry field (white flowers). The greenhouse is approximately 30x20
The greenhouse tomato plants are beautiful and large (mid calf).
Tomatoes in the Upper Greenhouse
This is the little greenhouse behind the house. Currently full of spinach.
Today I watered the greenhouse plants as well as the gardens.
Laundry was placed on the line. The kids didn’t take it down before the rain. Let’s see how long it stays up this time!
School: Z-man took a spelling test and worked on grammar, E-girl focused on vocabulary and phonics, and Mad-town took another Science test.
Dinner: Friday night is Pizza night! We are having our neighbor 21 year old and his fiancee over for pizza. They have done so much to help me, and I wanted to do something for them.
Posted in changes, garden | 7 Comments »
May 21
A few weeks ago I planted seeds in the garden behind the house. In that plot I planted 4 rows of potatoes (Yukon gold and Peruvian Purple), 2 rows of onion (red and white), and a row of carrots, a row of leeks, a row of flax, and two rows of lettuce. I looked today and we have activity! It is very exciting to see things coming through the soil. I added Chamomile to the rows of onions and horseradish around the potatoes.
Today I planted on the huge garden on top of the hill. A ton (not literally) went in. Wormwood is on one side of the garden.
- Areas next to the rows: Amaranth: Love Lies Bleeding – Green , Hartman’s Giant
- Row 1: (3 sisters) Baby Rice Popcorn,Purple Podded Pole Bean, New England Sugar squash
- Row 2 :(3 sisters): Country Gentleman Sweet Corn, Scarlet Runner Beans, Delicata winter squash, Bush buttercup
- Row 3: Bush Beans: Jacobs Cattle Gassless and Tendercrisp Celery
- Row 4: Fava Bean and Golden Wax Beans, Giant Prague Celeriac
- Row 5: Cucumbers: Early Fortune and Black Diamond, Dill
- Row 6: Cabbage: New Jersey Wakefield and Brunskwick, Broccoli Romanesco
- Row 7: Beets: Cylindra and Albino
- Row 8: Beets: Crosby’s Egyptian and Chioggia
- Row 9: Pride of Wisconsin Melon, Honey Rock Melon,
- Row 10: Sugar Baby Watermelon, Blacktail Mountain Watermelon, and Cream of Saskatchewan Watermelon. Radishes mixed into row 9+10: Round Black Spanish, Purple Plum and Early Scarlet Globe
- Row 11: Parsnip: Hollow Crown, Rutabaga: American Purple Top
- Row 12: Peas: Little Marvel & Sugar Ann and Turnips:Purple Top White Globe, White Egg
I still have to get some summer squash into the ground!
In the upper greenhouse a few weeks ago (growing well): Tomatoes and Peppers
I have yet to plant anything in the hoophouse. I think I will do that in the fall for an winter harvest. At this point in the season, I don’t need to use it.
I agree that I may have planted a little too much. However, as I have been reading about hyper-inflation, I figure that planting a little extra for ourselves, our neighbors, or our families may be a smart idea. Whatever we don’t eat, sell, or store, we can give away.
The kids: It took four days to get my children to take the laundry off the line. It still is not folded. I am testing to see how long it takes for them to listen to me. When Odie is around, they jump and listen to both of us. When it is just me, they walk away. Ugh. It is getting frustrating. I am pulling out my hair!
Yesterday I told them to pick up the living room while I took the little boys to the store. I came back and the house was trashed. They could not blame the little boys, because they were with me!
Dinner: A simple pasta. It is too cloudy to use the sun oven. I have been using it for days, which has been very nice. It is also too hot to use the wood cook stove. So, I will use a small electric burner. It is a great addition.
Evening: head to the laundromat for the final huge load of clothing and blankets — all to be hung on the line in the morning (it is supposed to be dry and sunny).
Posted in family, garden | 8 Comments »
May 20
This morning I woke up to hear more pips. I checked in the brooder and found that we had more hatchlings. By the end of the day, a total of 9 chicks arrived. I was very excited — especially after believing that I had totally ruined the hatch. I look forward to hatching more.
I fed the kids and then brought S and G to the doctor for a well child check. I was amazed to find that S is 38″ and 33 lbs while G is 40.5″ and 36.5 lbs. They are 2.5 years apart and almost the same size. It was amazing. Other than that, the appointment was pretty standard. They were amazed at S’s vocabulary and phrases. He said “Momma, I have a cut on my mouth right here.” Quite a lengthy sentence for a 2 year old!
Garden: I came back from the appointment and got to work in the upper field. Actually, first I had the kids start some school work. Miss M did take a grammar exam and a science exam. E took a math exam and the three boys joined me in the field. I managed to till the rest of the field with my 10″ tiller. The kids followed me and stomped on the ground between my rows. I ask that they do that so that I can know where the rows are. We planted peas and sweet potato slips. I haven’t grown sweet potatoes yet, so I am interested in seeing how they do. Tomorrow I will be finishing the first planting. If this economic situation is as bad as it looks, I will be happy to have food in the garden. I may actually plant a little extra for our neighbors — just in case.
I ordered garlic for this fall It will be arriving in time for an October planting. I am still trying to decide what type of turkeys to get. There are so many wonderful heritage varieties….
This morning I turned on the water for the pepper side of the greenhouse. Tomorrow I will have to water the tomato side. The tomato plants are getting quite large. it is very exciting!
All of our strawberries are in bloom. It looks like we will have quite a few strawberries. We may find that we have to sell some. Maybe this could be a way for the children to earn a little extra money.
After tilling, I ran to the store and did some major grocery shopping — including items like cheese and fruit. When I returned home, I learned that a neighbor borrowed my truck (with my prior permision) and left her children at my house (also with permission). Suddenly I had 11 children at home. The kids all had fun — the girls hung out together and the boys ran through the fields together. About 5 hours later they all left and we could finally sit down to a dinner.
Dinner: white bean, garlic, chicken sausage, spinach, and onion soup with homemade bread. The soup sat in the sun oven all day. Wow. I love using that!
Posted in cooking, garden, tomorrow | 6 Comments »
May 19
I woke up this morning and ventured outside. I finished tilling up the upper garden. The previous owners never cleaned up that garden, thus I needed to get things tilled in. It was sad to see all of those beets which were never harvested! As I was tilling, E-girl ran up to me and informed me that we had pips! A few weeks ago I purchased Buckeye eggs with the hopes of hatching them. So I placed them in the brooder and turned them once a day. It was not until later that I learned that I needed to turn them at least 3-4 times a day. Oops! I was expecting hatching 1-2 days ago. I was going to toss the eggs this afternoon, as I was certain that I screwed it up and created duds. Well, I was surprised to hear that one hatched. When we looked in, there were other eggs with bits broken. I guess we were going to have a hatch after all! As of 11:00pm, we have 4 chicks and 3-4 more than are working through. This is thrilling! I recently ordered guinea eggs and more chicken eggs. Odie would like some turkeys. I guess that will be my next purchase. Eggs or poults? I have to decide!
Garden: I bought a few soaker and sprinkler hoses and ran them through the greenhouse. The tomato plants are getting large. The peppers look good. I sprinkled some basil seed in the area, hoping that they may start. I will be planting the peas, etc in the upper garden tomorrow. 25 Sweet potato slips arrived today. I will plant them tomorrow afternoon as well!
We ran a grain order form over to a neighbor. The ten-minute trip turned into 1 1/2 hours as I learned about goats. It was a fun visit and I learned a lot! We have talked about adding goats to our farm sometime. I am not sure when. A year or two? We were going to sit down and make a 10 year farm plan this past week. We never got around to doing it — there was too much unpacking to do. I guess we will have to do that soon. Our friend is going to order some grain. I finished my order and just sent it in. It will feel good to have more food in the house.
Mad-town got her driver’s permit today. Oh yeah…. I am dually excited and terrified. It means that I don’t have to drive everywhere, but this means more freedom in 6 months. Am I ready? I’m not sure. Wow. Oh wow. She’s growing up!
Dinner: Very simple meal. White beans cooked all day in ths un oven in chicken broth, salt, onion, and garlic. I removed some of the beans from the broth and we put it on bread with Parmesan cheese. We also had some fruit, cheese, and spinach. It was simple and remarkably good. The kids were begging for more. I guess that was a winner!
Plans for tomorrow: Little boys have a doctor appointment (well child). Plant seeds in upper garden. Make more bread. Dinner: more white beans, with spinach. Need milk! Mom time: find a good book and relax for a bit…. 🙂
Posted in food storage, garden, Skills | 5 Comments »
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