Well, okay, more of an amateur naturalist blog.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Becoming a Science Blog and Planning for the Distant Future
Posted by Aimee at 3:13 PM 5 comments
Labels: gardening, homesteading, seasons, weather
Saturday, January 30, 2010
First Trade of the Year
Well, it isn't really a trade if I give something but don't get anything back, is it?
Posted by Aimee at 6:09 PM 5 comments
Friday, January 29, 2010
Napoleon in the Garden
Posted by Aimee at 5:13 PM 5 comments
Labels: gardening, homesteading, husband, weeds
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Going, Going.... Goodbye!
Alas, they've started work on the 7,000 square foot behemoth next door. Six months from now, my gorgeous eastern view, which I appreciated every single time I went out to feed the animals (and the weather was fine) will be utterly gone. A 12,000 foot mountain - blotted out! The sunrise - obliterated!
Posted by Aimee at 12:48 PM 10 comments
Labels: farm
Monday, January 25, 2010
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig
Well that was fun!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Mini-Vacation From the Farm
I am off to visit my two best girlfriends for my birthday and will be gone for three days... the longest stretch I've left my husband in charge of everything - kids, animals, housework, cooking....
Posted by Aimee at 8:08 AM 6 comments
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Eagles Land Again
Boy, one squished possum sure can make for an exciting day of bird-watching! This morning there was some fresh roadkill right at the end of our driveway. Lancelot, our big dumb collie-dog, went right out onto the highway to check it out, so Homero used the toe of his boot to move it onto the lawn.
Posted by Aimee at 2:08 PM 7 comments
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Fear of Pruning and Unseasonable Weather
Monday, January 18, 2010
Got My Goat Back
Storm Cloud, AKA the world's prettiest goat, returned to the farm yesterday.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Farm Planning, and Aesthetics Versus Practicality
I think I'm stealing this from somebody, but there's nothing to make you contemplate the future like planting a tree.
Posted by Aimee at 6:25 PM 9 comments
Labels: climate change, farm, self-sufficiency, trees
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Food Transformations (AKA Creative Use of Leftovers)
Would you guess that this gorgeous loaf of sourdough bread is actually a transformation of a couple of leftover sweet potatoes?
Posted by Aimee at 6:13 PM 3 comments
Monday, January 11, 2010
Expanding Orchard
Trees of Antiquity is a fantastic nursery that specializes in heirloom fruit trees. After drooling for several days over their online catalogue, I wrote to them asking if they could help me pick some apple varieties suitable to my microclimate (wet n' windy) and needs (cider, lots of it!). I included all the information I had to hand about my property - the climactic zone, the annual rainfall and high/low temperature averages - all easy to google - and my personal preferences about apples. One of their experts e-mailed me back the very next day with a number of suggestions.
Posted by Aimee at 2:16 PM 7 comments
Labels: apples, self-sufficiency, trees
Enough Eggs
The chickens must be extremely sensitive to light. Even though the days have been dark and dreary since the New Year, several hens have started to lay. If I didn't have a calendar, I could use chickens to tell me when the solstice was past and the spring around the corner!
Posted by Aimee at 1:26 PM 6 comments
Labels: chickens, eggs, farm, self-sufficiency, trade
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Advice From Our Elders
I found the most amazing web site, where full text articles and even books on all sorts of agricultural topics are offered free. They are all either in the public domain or there by express permission, so there is no trouble about copyrights. I've just spent a leisurely hour browsing, and found something I want to read in full.
Buying and Developing a Farm
It must have good weather; it must not be liable to storms. It must thrive from its own excellence and from its good location: if possible, it should be at the root of a mountain, south-facing, in a healthy position ( let's think about these factors: I think being at the root of a mountain is meant to ensure water supply from streams and springs, or seasonal melt. You may think that water is not an issue in this day and age, but it certainly might be, depending on where you live. And the times they are a changin'; places with marginal or expensive water today might have none tomorrow. South facing is good for obvious reasons, but certainly not essential. Storms are problematic no matter where you are. My farm, for example, is in a generally mild area, but I happen to be in a very exposed and windy microclimate on top of a hill, and subject to very severe windstorms: something I did not know when we bought. This is a serious consideration when planting trees and building shelters for animals. It's also just a flat-out pain in the tuchus when you are going out to do chores in sixty mile an hour winds) . There must be plenty of labour and a good water supply. There must be a sizeable town nearby, or the sea, or a river used for traffic, or a good and well-known road. It should be one of the properties that is not always changing its owners, and whose sellers regret having had to sell. (We thought long and hard about how far we wanted to be from town, and also from larger cities beyond the nearest town. Be realistic about this - living in the country is nice, being very isolated is not, at least for most people. Think about driving conditions in winter - will you be snowed in for long periods? How close is your nearest neighbor?)
It should have good buildings: never carelessly dismiss another’s expertise. It is better to buy from a good husbandman and a good builder (I second that!!). When you come to the farm buildings, check that there are plenty of presses and vats (remember that the lack of them means a lack of produce) but not too much farm equipment. It is to be in a good position: see that it is not wasteful, and requires the least possible equipment. A property, like a man, may bring money in, yet be so wasteful that little is left.
If you ask me what would make a farm the first choice, I will say this: varied ground, a prime position and a hundred iugera; then, first the vineyard (or an abundance of wine), second an irrigated kitchen garden, third a willow wood, fourth an olive field, fifth a meadow, sixth a grain-field, seventh a plantation of trees, eighth an orchard, ninth an acorn wood. (an iugera is equal to about 0.6 of an acre, so 100 of them would mean a 60 acre farm. I doubt many of us are looking for something that large - though we can all dream, can't we?- however, the rest of this paragraph still applies even to a place of only an acre or two. Varied ground provides a variety of microclimates for various purposes and provides visual interest. Translate irrigated kitchen garden into a nice spot for a few raised vegetable beds. Willow wood and olive field can be taken to refer to a fruit orchard - make sure they ate healthy and have a good situation. The plantation of trees can provide -depending on the type of trees - privacy, wind-screening, fodder for animals, food or medicine, or all of things. The meadow can be thought of as either a grazing field for livestock, a hayfield, or on a smaller place, as a lawn and open space for children to play.)
I am so happy I found this site. if you want something a little more recent that Cato, there's plenty to choose from. Enjoy!
Posted by Aimee at 10:43 AM 0 comments
Labels: farm
Friday, January 8, 2010
Hoof Rot
Trimmed the goat's hooves today. Best argument I can think of for having only three goats. Trimming is nasty, and dangerous. I got through it this time without spilling any blood (human or caprine) but that is by no means a given. In the past I have cut both myself and the goat deeply enough to require pressure, iodine, and bandages.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Lard Lover
Yup, I admit it - freely, proudly, unashamedly. I am a lard-lover. All day long, I have been slowly, lovingly rendering several pounds of pork-fat into lard. It's not hard - all you have to do is heat the fat over medium heat and stir every half-hour or so. It's almost unbelievable how beguiling is the smell in my kitchen. It smells like bacon, but smoother, richer, softer.... it's like bacon in love.
Posted by Aimee at 6:45 PM 6 comments
Labels: pig, recipe, self-sufficiency
Everybody Hates Pigs, and Confessions of Laziness
Our pigpen is pretty squalid this time of year. When we don't have a pig in the pen, it serves as a place to pitch the old straw and horse manure until I feel strong enough to get the wheelbarrow and haul it all out to the official compost pile. We were without a pig for several months, so the pile got pretty high. I did move some of it before we put the pig in there, but I have to admit, thew pile was still pretty high when the pig moved in. I rationalized my laziness in two ways: 1) my knee freakin' hurts, and 2) the pig will actually enjoy rooting around in there and turning the pile for me, thus facilitating the pile's transformation into compost.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Too Many Roos, and Musings on Meat (WARNING - GRAPHIC PICS)
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kfdGklFbWII/S0ImPNy75mI/AAAAAAAAAzY/c19Q-VedOKw/s400/RedJungleFowl+(490).jpg)
Although last year's chicks had a very poor survival rate (like maybe 25%) we still ended up with too many roosters. Now we have five, which is far too many for a flock of sixteen or eighteen hens. There are the original two, now about two and a half years old. I hear that older roosters are better at protecting the hens, so maybe we should keep these and get rid of the others. Plus, of course, these old roos wouldn't be very good to eat.
Posted by Aimee at 9:32 AM 9 comments
Labels: butchery, chickens, farm, goats, meat eating
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Eureka! Eggs!
Found eight eggs up in the hayloft. I always check up there, but it's kind of dark. The hens snuggle down between bales of hay and make nests. They are impossible to find until I move a bale.
Posted by Aimee at 12:30 PM 1 comments
Friday, January 1, 2010
2010 To-Do List
Posted by Aimee at 12:25 AM 7 comments
Labels: cheesemaking, farm, farrier, fence, homesteading, husband