And so it begins...maybe

Nora and I just registered for a Sheep and Goat 101 workshop being held on March 9^th at the Cornell Extension Learning Farm in Canton.  According to the description, it’s “a beginners basics course for those new to sheep and goats or wanting to get started in sheep and goats. Lectures on getting started and health management for sheep and goats. In the afternoon hands-on activities will include hoof trimming, tagging, tattooing and ID, body condition and grading, showing, feed types, how to take a temperature and other health signs.” 

Although I still continue to debate whether or not to add sheep and/or goats to the farm, Nora has decided that she is tired of my prevaricating and that “it’s just happening.”  If so, that means coming up to speed on how to handle, house and feed sheep and/or goats, as well as building a barn, putting up fencing (both electric and non-electric), and prepping the pasture…all by late spring when most folks are knee-deep in new-borns and looking to sell. 

Cheviot

Here are a couple of the breeds that I’m considering.  Stay tuned for photos of Nora tackling and tattooing a sheep :)



Nubian goat

Merino



Party in the pasture

Lynn and I decided to take full advantage of the high temp of 15 degrees and shining sun yesterday and took the dogs for a walk. We typically walk the perimeter of our yard and pasture and often venture into the woods. While in the pasture we noticed that we had some visitors recently. Apparently the pasture is one popular place, who knew.

Lynn discovered the first set of prints. Given the size (small, about the size of a cat paw) and the fact that the two forward claws are close together indicates that it could be a fox. We do have red and gray fox in this area.

While investigating those we came across some very common tracks. Can you guess who they belong to?

The first one is a deer and the other is a rabbit. So cute. But those were not the last of the tracks. Man, that must have been one rocking party. Thankfully they cleaned up after themselves. Below are tracks that are quite probably coyote. Larger than the fox, about the size of a medium/large sized dog but again with the two front claws close together and the shape of the rear pad is telling. Seriously though, what the hell do I know, I am not a naturalist. I just look stuff up on the internet and compare.

And last but certainly not least, we came across these. I knew who these belonged to immediately.

None other than Daisy2 our little wanderer. Thankfully her tracks were made much later or she would have been the main event for the party.



-12 and still dropping…

It was -11 when I woke up at 5:15am.  It’s now -12 at 6am and still declining.  According to weather.com it “feels” like -29 right now.  It just feels damn cold. 

The chicken coop is holding at 28 degrees thanks to the heat lamp, and huddled together with their body heat, the hens should be enjoying a balmy 38-40 degrees right now. 

Thanks to our trusty little wood stove, the kitchen is feeling pretty cozy as well.

On a chicken wing and a prayer

So our January thaw is over and winter is back with a vengeance. Tomorrow’s high will be -5 degrees. The low will be -20 overnight.  In my opinion that is simply ridiculous.  Of course it matters not what I think cause it is what it is.  And that is damn cold.

This cold snap triggers my paranoia about our laying hens. I have sleepless nights worrying about their welfare in this cold. For some reason, the following facts just don’t seem to sway me:

            They are the heartiest of breeds.

They are inside a coop that is partially insulated (the design does not allow for full insulation).

We have stacked hay bales strategically on the outside to act as external insulation, as well as tacked carpeting (backwards so carpet faces coop) on the large access door.

There is a heated water dish on a stone and wooden pedestal. The dish keeps the water from freezing, the pedestal helps prevent the hens from kicking in shavings to the water.

We stopped replacing the shavings in late fall and just keep adding. The shavings begin to compost and generate heat (it's called deep litter bedding).

Each hen produces roughly the equivalent of 10 watts of heat, and there are 7 of them.  

A heat lamp is strung on the ceiling pointing downwards ready to be turned on at any point. (The heat lamp poses fire danger though and just causes me more anxiety.)

The rear window is sealed on the outside with plastic.

The egg door hinge section (about five ft wide and ¼ inch gap to allow opening) has been partially duct taped to prevent a major draft.

They survived last winter in somewhat similar conditions. It is believed that these breeds can withstand -20 to -30 degree temps.

There is a wireless thermometer located in the coop and the base unit is in our mudroom so we know what the temp is at all times. (Pictured below at an outdoor temp of 5 degrees)Typically the inside temp is 19-20 degrees warmer than outside without the use of the heat lamp.

And despite all of this information, my wee little brain still frets. I guess I am guilty of projecting. After all I am a human. I would be dead pretty quickly if exposed to just the freezing mark let alone -20. It is incomprehensible to me that any living creature could endure. Yet the chickadees are still flitting about, the squirrels are still eating the bird suet, and our hens are still laying and complaining about the snow covering their bug festival. It is really pretty amazing when you think about it. But I am still gonna worry.

The increasingly humble human

Homemade White Bread

I kicked off the weekend by baking a couple of loaves of homemade white bread.  This is a Amish recipe from Lovina Eicher, who shared much of her culture, tradition and recipes in her newspaper column, "The Amish Cook."  Many of her recipes have now been collected in a series of books: The Amish Cook at Home, The Amish Cook's Baking Book and The Amish Cook's Anniversary Book.

The following recipe can either make 1 large loaf, or 2 smaller loaves.  I use two 5 x 9 loaf pans.  Cast iron makes a better loaf, but the typical non-stick variety will do the job. 

Ingredients:

1 package active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
Lard (the size of an egg); you can substitute Crisco here if needed
2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
Enough bread flour to make a soft dough (usually about 5 cups)

Grease pans and set aside.

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in a 1/2 cup warm water.  In a large bowl, combine the lard, sugar, salt and the remaining 2 cups of water.  Add the yeast mixture to the bowl and stir until combined.  Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until the dough is elastic and doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl.  Cover the bowl loosely with a damp cloth and let rise until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours in a warm, draft-free place.

Punch the dough down and place on lightly floured surface.  Cut the the dough into 2 equal portions.  Punch down a little more and form each into a loaf.  Place the dough into greased loaf pans.  Cover with a damp cloth and let rise again until the dough is level with the loaf pan, about 40-50 minutes.

While the dough is rising, preheat oven to 325 degrees.  TIP: place a cast iron pan on lower rack in oven and let heat. When you place the bread in the oven to cook, pour 1-2 cups of water into heated pan and leave in closed over for 5-10 minutes. The steam makes a fabulous crust on the bread.

Bake the bread for 40-45 minutes.  The bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped on top.

After removing the bread from the oven, brush with butter for a softer crust.  Remove the bread from the pans and place on cooling rack. 

The bread freezes well and will keep for up to 6 months. 

Feed the birds, tuppence a bag

Whatevs, more like 30.00 a bag. I can’t help but ask myself is it worth it? Every three days or so either Lynn or I fill our bird feeders; and not just with regular old seed, but wild bird mix, cardinal mix, and suet (up here they pronounce that as though it were one syllable).  Lynn is the consummate caretaker of all things.  She is impressive in that she strives to make all the creatures in her life as comfortable as possible.  You would think living with someone like that would be awesome. Note the fact that I used the word creatures and not humans.

Every day is filled with extra-time chores that involve the comfort of all of them.  It is not enough to just put some seed in a feeder. There are different feeders: the tall thin feeder that sprays seed everywhere when you fill it; the Chinese lantern style feeder (presumably for cardinals of which we have one) that is virtually impossible to fill without an engineering degree; and the little house type feeder that must be scraped of ice by me so the little ones can get to it easier and constantly restocked with suet at 5$ a pop because our red squirrels have taken a liking to it.

And so I trek out to the barn on a snow/ice laden path, empty feeders in hand, fighting for some sort of footing with every step.  Grateful to arrive at the door without incident. The fun part begins. The bird seed bags. Ugh. Now the wild mix is in a bin already. Easy  peasy. Fill the tall thin thing and let it leak out, who cares.  Oh but the top is frozen. Twist with great force, remaining seed flies about like a funnel cloud all over the floor. Fill, swear, done. The cardinal food is still in the dreaded bag. Have you ever poured bird seed from a bag? It is akin to trying to carry 30 lbs. of live fish in a sack.  Oh great, there are two holes. That would have been great info about 1 minute ago.  Sweep,scoop,swear. Repeat until clean. Exit barn and cross the tundra with less care about personal safety. It is about hanging these damn feeders now. It’s personal. I approach the feeder stands and am greeted by our growing flock of adorable black-capped chickadees, and "by greeted" I mean swooped at and chided for having taken the feeders to begin with. Seriously? Et tu Brutus? 

So again, I can’t help but ask myself is it worth it?

 Dammit! Yes.

Sincerely, the humble bird servant





The Most Scrumptious Banana Bread Ever

I started eating bananas a few months ago.  I had never been a big fan; I’d buy a bunch of 4-5 and half of them would go all brown and mushy before I ever got to them.  I mentioned this to a friend who told me there was no need to throw them into the compost at that stage.  Rather, put them in the freezer until you could use them in baking.  What a marvelous idea, I thought!  So I did, and then I tried numerous banana muffin and bread recipes until I found the perfect one. Really it is.  Give it a whirl.  You’re in for a tasty treat.  It freezes really well too. 

Sour Cream Banana Bread

(click here for a printable version) 

Prep time: 15 minutes; Cook time: 1 hour 

Ingredients:

4 very ripe bananas, divided	2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar	1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ cup butter, melted and cooled	½ tsp salt
2 large eggs	½ cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup sour cream	2 tsp white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract	½ tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan.
2. Mash 2 bananas in a bowl with a fork.  Place remaining 2 bananas in a separate bowl with 1 cup sugar and beat with an electric mixer until creamed and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in melted butter, eggs, sour cream and vanilla until combined.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in separate bowl.  Stir the flour mixture into the banana/sugar mixture and combine thoroughly. 
4. Fold in mashed bananas and walnuts.  Pour batter into the loaf pan.  Tap on the counter a couple of times to remove any air pockets. 
5. Stir 2 tsp sugar with cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle the mixture over the top of the loaf.
6. Bake in preheated over until bread is golden brown and set in the center.  The recipe calls for 1 hr and 15 minutes.  I find mine is always ready in 50-60 minutes.  Rotate bread ½ way through cooking process.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to finish cooling on wire rack.

January Thaw

We’ve been experiencing a substantial thaw over the past few days (and a torrential downpour on Sunday that washed away even more snow).  It was in the mid 40s over the weekend; felt deceptively like spring.  The grass has reappeared in large swaths, and the chicken areas are mud holes that would do a pig proud.  Daisy2, usually a startling white hen, has looked dipped in chocolate over the past couple of days. 

Thanks to the metal roofs on the house, barn and garage, we’ve had some spectacularly loud snow slides, as well as some dramatic ice sculpture.  Nora captured this photo the other day and called it “Ice Fingers.”

The seeds have arrived...

Well, at least the majority of them.  They will reside in a plastic container stored in the basement until they are either sown indoors (tomatoes, peppers, certain flowers) in March for transplant in May, after threat of the last frost has passed, or direct seeded in late May/early June.  The potatoes, and onion and shallot sets won’t arrive until late April.

Garden Planning

I decided to try a software program this year to plan the layout of our vegetable garden.  The software is called Vegetable Garden Planner and is produced by Mother Earth News.  The cost is $25 per year.  It’s fairly intuitive and easy to use, and undoubtedly has many more features than I’ve taken the time to discover. 

The best thing about it is it has an extensive list of plants, including vegetables, berries, fruit trees, herbs and flowers.  You can even select the specific type of vegetable, for instance Athena cantaloupe, Karikachi edamame, Gooligan White Baby pumpkins, etc.  The software pulls seed names from a wide list of popular seed producers.  The software then tells you the spacing needs of the plant, and when it should be sown, planted and harvested in your zone.  The software will send also email “to-do” reminders to you for each plant contained in your plan.  It’s not elaborate software, but I wasn’t expecting it to be for $25, and it suits my needs. 

Below is a high-level view of our 2013 vegetable garden plan (click on the image and it will enlarge enough to read the captions).  It only took me a couple of hours to put this together using the software. [Note: We actually have 11 fruit trees currently in a portion of the space earmarked for this garden.  Some trees will remain in this area, but the majority are being relocated elsewhere on the property.]

Random pet pic

I took this one a little over a week ago and shared it with friends and it was well received. I also use it as my profile pic. Oh and by the way, in case you haven't already figure it out, you can click on these pics to enlarge.

This is Wilma, (a.k.a. WilmaDilma, The Dil) the youngest of our brood. We rescued her from a shelter in Tennessee back in 2009. This is the shelter we got her from. http://www.proverbs1210rescue.org/ She is nothing but love every day.

Missing Summer atm

We are getting icy rain right now so I decided to look at some pics from the summer that I took in an effort to take away the chill. I am also going to start training the hens to deliver their eggs directly to our door. (so I don't have to go out in this stuff) Hmm, but what would they use to carry them?  Perhaps little fanny packs. Or velcro strap-on egg cups with their names on them to avoid any confusion as to who owns which one. Hens can get pretty territorial like that. Could be an ugly scene in the coop. Wouldn't want that. Clearly, I'll have to sit down and think about this.

Tasha Tudor

I mentioned in an earlier post that there would be more later on Tasha Tudor.  For those that have not heard of her, Tasha was an illustrator and author of children’s books by trade and gardener extraordinaire by avocation.  She was born in 1915 and died in 2008 at the age of 92.   

I first learned of her while reading English Cottage Gardening: For American Gardeners, by Margaret Hensel, a book that featured Tasha’s gardens at Corgi Cottage, her home in Vermont.  The brief bits in this book about Tasha and her gardening intrigued me, and after reading more about her online, I became even more interested.  Put simply, she is unlike anyone else I’ve ever read about or met.  Maybe I travel in sheltered circles, but I don’t think so.   

Although raised in the 20^th century, as well as being a very successful artist and author in her lifetime, she chose – quite deliberately – to live her life as though she were in the early 1800s.  She raised 4 children in a rambling, old farmhouse in New Hampshire without power and running water until her youngest was 5 years old.  She spent the last quarter of her life living in a hand-hewn house, an exact replica of an 18^th century farmhouse she loved in New Hampshire, on a mountaintop in Vermont.  She owned 250 acres, at least 10-acres of which were flower and vegetable gardens.  She grew her own food, raised her own milk goats and chickens, made her own dairy products and was reputedly an excellent cook (all of the recipes that I have tried from her cookbook have, indeed, been wonderful).  She loved afternoon teas and dressed in homespun linen dresses.  She walked and gardened barefoot when weather permitted.  She was passionate about flowers and corgis, of which she usually had 3 or 4.  She was not only an illustrator, but she also spun her own yarn, wove her own cloth, made her own quilts and clothing, designed and constructed fabulous doll houses, and made marionettes.  Her friends say her hands were never idle.   

As you may imagine, she was quite stubborn, intelligent and opinionated, as many eccentrics tend to be.  I admire her because she chose to live the life she wanted, and didn’t give a damn what anyone thought about her or her lifestyle, including her children and two ex-husbands.  She was her own person through and through ‘til the day she died.

For anyone interested in learning more, or at least seeing photos of Tasha, click here.  For in-depth information, I recommend reading The Private World of Tasha Tudor, The Art of Tasha Tudor, and gardening folks will love Tasha Tudor’s Garden.

Jump Back-More on the brood

So I described the first day our 8 hens arrived in an earlier post. So let’s jump ahead to April 2012 shall we? And this is a smoking flight SO THERE!!! Anyhoo, it turns out that one of our adorable hens was not like the others: Introducing Mistah!

Oh yes, I guess the 99% success rate of sexing failed on that day they chose the chicks for us. That puts Lynn and me in the 1%. Now don’t get all Occupy on our asses, this is not the 1% you want to be a part of. Despite his beauty, Mistah was a major pain in the EVERYWHERE! He attacked Lynn all of the time. I know, I know, it doesn’t sound very threatening, but trust me, that little bazastard would come at you from behind and fly at you feet and talons first. Nasty man. He was also very randy and rough with the hens. Many a feather was lost to his libido. The hens were secretly planning his demise. I found schematics and explosives in a egg basket in the coop. We knew we had to do something.

To Lynn that something was Sunday dinner. I could not bear the thought. So while we were occasionally pondering what to do with him, the coolest thing happened. One of our hens became broody. That means she was physiologically ready to sit on or incubate eggs. For those of you who are not familiar with the process, it’s pretty simple. Hens lay an egg almost every day, rooster present or not. When there is a rooster present and he is mounting her repeatedly throughout any given day/hour/minute, he is inseminating her, just like a human. Chances are that egg ready to drop has been fertilized. And so our hen Louisa decided she was ready to sit and incubate a bunch of eggs(referred to as a clutch).  When a hen goes broody, her body flattens and she sits atop her clutch only getting up once a day to eat or drink. That is some serious devotion right there.  She no longer produces eggs during this time.  Her hen friends however, do, and those little biatches would lay one right on top of poor selfless Louisa. Unreal.  

The incubation period lasts for 21 days from the laying date and not all eggs were laid on the same day so we saw hatching over a period of a week. We separated Mother Louisa and placed her in a brooder box, the same one pictured in my earlier post, when she was nearing the 21 day mark. Lynn, Jim, and I grabbed Louisa, and her clutch and relocated her. Soon the magic began. All in all we got 5 chicks. Watching the hatching and rearing process happen naturally sure beat the ordering online way we did it the year before. The chicks would sleep under Louisa. In the mornings when I would go in to say hello, one by one a chick head would pop out somewhere on Louisa. The cutest thing ever.

So time passed and the little ones grew. This time we realized we had 3 additional roosters and 2 more hens. We could no longer keep the roosters. They were getting to an age where the fighting was beginning. Roosters may fight to the death to get top ranking. Not fun.  A neighbor offered to take Mistah and the three boys off to his friend’s farm. What became of them, we know not. L It was the right thing to do for us.

That left us with two new young hens; Daisy2 and MadeIt. When they reached an appropriate age and size, about 4 months, we tried to integrate them into the main coop. This exercise did not go well. Repeatedly we would put them in, and they would get pecked at, harassed, bullied, etc. Chickens have a very definite pecking order and they were on the bottom. To be expected. But they didn’t like it there so they did what they thought was best, fly out. And so they did. And they did again. This kept on. So we decided to keep them separated in their own coop. Jim had built one for an ailing hen last year so it came in handy. So they hang out there during the day, and Lynn and I bring them in at night to sleep in the very brooder box they were hatched in.  Except, they don’t hang out there all day. Despite having  their own fenced in space to walk around they believe the world is their oyster. And so they fly out and walk about the property. My little adventurers. I don’t mind for the most part unless they are heading for the neighbor or the road. Here’s a short video to give you a better sense of what I do all day. Lol They keep me on my toes, those two. And they are quite demanding. I NEVER thought I would be a personal assistant to two hens. Life is funny like that.

Gardens - 2013

Our seed order was placed on Sunday.  A combo of vegetables, herbs and flowers from Annie’s Heirloom Seeds (MI), Territorial Seed Company (OR), and Kitchen Garden Seeds (CT).  I may have gotten a little carried away this year – 48 different types of vegetables, 16 herbs (a culinary and herbal tea collection) and 17 types of flowers.  Yikes, Nora’s going to be a very busy girl this summer!



Um, has anyone seen Lynn recently? :)

Summer Gardens 2012

As I may have mentioned, I discovered my enthusiasm for gardening this past summer.  I dabbled while living in Connecticut, but I had limited time and space.  But I’ve always had the utmost respect for people capable of creating beautiful flower gardens – my particular favorites being the cottage gardens so prevalent in England and in New England.

Fortunately, life worked out in such a way last spring that I was able to take the summer off.  What a fabulous treat that was!  I fully expected to immerse myself in vegetable gardening, which I did.  But I was not prepared for the unbridled zeal with which I approached the expansion of the flower gardens. 

It began with the removal of the blemish on my land; the above-ground pool that sat a mere 5 feet from my back door.  It was ugly (to me).  It was an energy-hog. It required the constant use of toxic chemicals to keep it clean.  It blocked the view of our chicken area and our woods, and I hated it with an all-consuming passion!  Thankfully, some friends of ours feel more kindly toward pools than I do, and dismantled it and hauled it away for their own use. 

Its removal, however, left a rather large, sand-filled pit in the middle of my backyard. Just filling this hole with grass seemed so uninspired.  I sat out on the back steps with Nora one day, looking at the pit in the middle of our sparsely planted, roughly 3- acre backyard, and felt completely overwhelmed by it all.  But Nora, as she often does, talked me off the ledge.  She suggested that I view the yard in sections – potential garden rooms, if you will – rather than as one large, overwhelming expanse.      I followed her advice (which I so often do).  Within a month, the immediate space around the patio and off the back steps was transformed into a butterfly garden and our circular garden.  

That began a flurry of activity that continued well into October.  In addition to the new gardens in the backyard, I added numerous perennials to the front and side borders – probably planting well over 150 plants and at least 300 bulbs by late October.  My brother added to my artistic vision by building three beautiful arbors and a bench, all constructed from wood found on our land, in addition to a split-rail fence along the driveway, and a rustic fence built from discarded barn wood along the dog enclosure.  Overall, it was a productive summer/early fall.  But just the beginning…

Tasha Tudor's Oatmeal Bread

The weekends, especially winter weekends, generally involve a bit of cooking and baking.  This morning began with baking some oatmeal bread.  This is a Tasha Tudor (more on Tasha in later posts) recipe I first tried about a month ago.  I cut her recipe in half to make two loaves. 

If you’re interested in this recipe, as well as some other good, old-fashioned New England recipes, I highly recommend her cookbook, The Tasha Tudor Cookbook: Recipes and Reminiscences from Corgi Cottage.  It’s chock full of wonderful recipes (I highly recommend the corn bread!), some dating back to the 1700s, as well as her delightful watercolor illustrations.

                                                                                                                              

Not my Roots! Nope.

So I have to say that I have been developing  a quality that has managed to escape me most of my life, humility. It’s hard not to be humble when you invite friends over for dinner, mention a fallen tree and five minutes later the tree is brought down via a chainsaw and out of harm’s way. I don’t know about you but my dinners never involved tree removal before.

You see I was raised differently. Make no mistake; I have no regrets about my rearing. I learned a lot about politics, the Arts, Culture, History, and the like. Things domestic or home improvement related, not so much. I like to tell people that when it comes to Do it yourself tasks the only thing my parents taught me was how to write a check. And it came in handy, until I arrived in North Country.

Up here they are like Yankees on steroids. There is tremendous pride associated with repair, building, etc. In fact, it is so ingrained in them; most don’t understand how a mechanic, roofer, plumber, or an electrician makes a living.  I, of course, am doing my part to help feed these people. J Call me a giver.

I have been trying to immerse myself in the culture here. Before my arrival, the only power tools I worked with were corporate executives. LOL. Over the last year, I have wielded a chainsaw, split many a log both with a gas-powered log splitter and a maul. I have tilled a number of garden beds, ground wood shavings in a wood chipper, (very Fargo’esque), and removed feet of snow with my beloved tractor (She will probably be the sole focus of a future post, and deservedly so).  I even used a drill to install these LED candles that Lynn wanted in the windows for the holidays. It may not sound like much but for me it was huge. You have to start somewhere, right?

One hobby that I will be taking up is boating and fishing. My goodness there is a lot to learn. Navigating the mighty St. Lawrence, boat safety and maintenance, what bait or lure to use, etc. My humbling moment of the year took place shortly after I bought my little fishing boat ( 17 ft Triumph dual console for those that care); the 12 yr old daughter of a friend offered to teach me how to pilot the boat and fish the river. She already has her license. Really? That almost tops the time my four year old nephew laughed at me for putting a diaper on backwards on his two year old brother and proceeded to instruct on how to install it properly. Ugh.

And so I will come out this season guns a blazin, ready to tackle anything and everything that comes my way. As long as I don’t have to touch those fish. ;)

Modern Homesteading: Back to My Roots

I’m sure many people who know me find it difficult to fathom, if not outright laughable, that I have chosen to immerse myself in “homesteading.”  Actually, our friends and family likely fall into three camps: those that share my interest in homesteading; those that find it slightly quaint, but strange nonetheless; and several that no doubt think I’m “play-acting” and don’t see any of it as big deal because they’ve been doing these things for years. 

I appreciate where the latter are coming from.  I was raised by grandparents who could do all of this, and then some.  My grandfather was raised on a dairy farm with 12 siblings.  He knew all about raising livestock, gardening, raising crops, fixing machinery, carpentry, electrical work and plumbing.  My grandmother was renowned for her cooking and baking, she canned all of the produce my grandfather grew, she made clothing, and she kept an impeccably neat house.  My mother learned from them and was equally adept.  You would think having grown up in that environment that I would already know how to do many of the things I’ve spent the last year learning.  Unfortunately, not so much.  I had no interest in any of it when I was a child.  I observed it all because I was intellectually curious about everything, but I had no interest in doing any of it.  I was more interested in reading and playing with my friends. 

Some of you may be asking, “What is homesteading?”  In the 1800s, the word referred to a free government land program and the skills necessary for pioneer living.  In the 1970s, it was the “back to the land” movement.  Today, homesteading generally refers to a lifestyle that promotes greater self sufficiency. To quote an article in Mother Earth News, “It's about using less energy, eating wholesome local food, involving your family in the life of the community and making wiser choices that will improve the quality of life for your family, your community and the environment around you.”  That sums it up nicely.

So, although some may find my knew-found interests odd, I see it as a rediscovery of my roots.  I come from a long line of farmers, and at some point 4-5 years ago I began to feel a pull toward this lifestyle (perhaps a genetic predisposition); deeply buried memories of this way of life began to re-emerge.  I tried to ignore it.  I was a corporate attorney living in an urban area with a partner who was equally entrenched in an insanely busy, but very comfortable existence.  But events interceded and opportunities arose, as they often do in our lives, that made it possible to relocate to the North Country and well, here we are…

So, regardless of how it is perceived by others, I now find comfort and relaxation in baking our weekly supply of bread, cooking more frequently and with locally-grown ingredients (when possible), gardening, canning and storing the vegetables and fruit we produce, tending to chickens, learning to spin, etc.  Call it homesteading, call it living locally, call it self-sufficiency, call it ridiculous if you like; regardless, I’m thoroughly enjoying it and it feels right.  I feel as though I’ve come home.



A soothing pic to calm your brain. I took this the other day.

An Exciting New Year -- Seeds, Glorious Seeds!

Before relocating to the North Country, January was always a blah month. The adrenaline and anticipation of the holidays has dissipated. The crisp sparkle of the early winter snow has started to fade and glimpses of February’s dinginess become more frequent. Comfortable days and nights in the 20s and 30s have been replaced by bone-chilling sub-zero temperatures. The light and color of spring seems a distant memory.

Since moving up here however, I have discovered the wonderful world of gardening. This is no longer a “when I have a moment” hobby as it was in Connecticut. Gardening has become an unquenchable passion for me. Nora would call it an obsession, but she’s prone to exaggeration. And although most non-gardeners would think that gardening doesn’t begin, especially in a northern climate, until May, that is simply not true. No, the season begins in January with the arrival of the first seed and flower catalogs!

 

I plan on spending hours this weekend pouring over (and over) the seed catalogs. I’ve narrowed my “approved” companies down to those that offer organic and heirloom seeds. I’ve added two wonderful companies to my list this year – Annie’s Heirloom Seeds and John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds.

I can’t begin to describe the visual pleasure I derive from leafing through page after colorful page of vegetables, herbs and flowers. Visions of a rainbow assortment of tasty vegetables dance in my head – the deep green of kale growing alongside the soft sage of butter leaf lettuce, the bright oranges, yellows reds and purples of carrots (yes, they do come in that many colors!), the reds, greens and deep purples of tomatoes – you get the idea. Inevitably, what was intended to be a“slightly smaller” garden becomes slightly bigger, as together, Nora and I end up with over 40 different vegetable and herb varieties. We also intersperse our vegetable garden with an assortment of annuals –zinnias, calendula, chamomile, marigolds and sunflowers. By mid-August it is quite a sight to behold. Those colors, scents, tastes and the feel of warm dirt in my hands seem almost tangible in January while I peruse the seed catalogs.

It doesn’t end with the vegetable garden either. I’ve already placed an order for 5 more blackberry bushes (we already have 5 Prime Jim bushes that were planted late last year, so should bear this summer for the first time) and an additional 5 northern variety of blueberries (we currently have 20 in the ground that are 2-3 years old). My yearly order with St. Lawrence Nurseries has been placed. No more fruit trees this year (although I may end up ordering another 2-3 winter crab apples for the deer), but I ordered an additional 9 winterberry for the chicken enclosure and several yellow potentilla for the rock garden in the dog enclosure. Of course I've also slipped in a couple of flower orders already as well -- a variety of red and yellow climbing roses, as well as some clematis. So thank you gardening for bringing the color and warmth of spring into my life in the deepest depths of winter!

Self-Sufficiency

Part of the reason Nora and I moved to the North Country was to restore our quality of life. Our respective careers had become too consuming, and we had little time or energy for anything other than work (or the mindless flop on the sofa in front of the TV). We wanted a slower pace with time to appreciate each other, our animals, our friends and family, and to enjoy our hobbies. We also wanted to move to an area where the focus was less on accruing goods and more on enjoying what you have; less on building a fortress to protect yourself from the world and more on being part of an inclusive community. I’m happy to report that we have found all of that in the North Country. 

But another factor in our reasoning was this illusive and loaded concept of living more sustainably. I don’t even like using the term anymore; it has become so twisted and manipulated by politicians and corporate America alike. Regardless, our trek down this path was largely due to my career as an energy attorney and my focus on renewable energy. Over the course of a 4-5 year period I read rather widely in the area of renewable energy, climate change, food politics, and sustainability. The more I read, and the more I discussed with Nora and with my students (I was an adjunct and prior to leaving Connecticut, an assistant professor, at UConn Law), the more convinced I became that I needed to make changes in my life. Any changes I made were unlikely to have any widespread impact, but the changes would allow me to live with myself and feel better about what I was consuming. 

We made little changes while in Connecticut --tried to use less power, added more organic foods to our diet and ate a lot less meat, recycled everything we could, etc. But it was our hope that the move up here would allow us to become more self-sufficient and bring us closer to our food sources. My brother, who lived in and maintained our house and property for the 3 years we owned it prior to moving up here, had already - per our orders - begun to grow organic vegetables and berries, and had planted a young orchard.  

When we relocated, we continued the garden, added 7 more fruit trees and multiple berry bushes, and added a small group of laying hens to our "farm." We also buy our chicken locally (organic, free range and humanely raised and slaughtered) from Smith Farm Chicken, Massena, NY and grass-fed beef locally from Burley-Rogers Farm.  I can, freeze and store (in our dirt basement that passes as a root cellar) much of our produce, bake most of our bread, and we supply our own eggs. We've also made the concious decisions this winter to heat more with wood (we have 1 woodstove in the house that is capable of heating most of the downstairs) and 120+ acres of woods) and use less oil. 

It's a start. There are many more changes I would like to make and we're a far cry from self-sufficient, but our diet is definitely healthier and more under our control. We eat far less (and I hope to eventually eliminate) processed foods. I would, within the next 1-2 years, like to add our own dairy supply as well in the form of several milk goats.

We're getting to a place I can feel good about - bit by bit.

Jump Back to 7/2011 - The Arrival of the Brood

When: July 7, 2011

Where: Our new permanent home

What: Adding the first of our farm animals.

The phone rings and it is the USPS calling to let us know our special package has arrived and is awaiting pick up. This is the big day. We finally get our baby chick hens. Who knew that you could order them online and have them shipped a day old, directly to your Post Office? And don't worry, for those who are concerned, apparently chicks can live without food for a day after hatching. I fretted about that for a bit. Lynn's brother built a brooder box for the little ones shown here:

And so our little tykes arrive at the house. Here they are in the box they were shipped in.

The hens we ordered are for the purpose of laying. And given we live in North Country, we went with the heartiest breeds. The mix is as follows: 2 Americaunas (Easter Eggers), 2 Barred Rocks, 2 Wyandottes, and 2 Buff Orpingtons.

When chicks are young, you have to show them how to drink and eat, as well as clean their vents. (a.k.a. cute little bums) I, of course elected to continue taking pictures rather than physically assaulting these young things. Lynn handles things of that nature. She has a stronger stomach and no sense of personal space apparently.

I felt violated for the poor little girl. But a clean vent is important.

And here they all are in their comfy new temporary home.









The Impetus

What happens when you take one Corporate Energy Attorney and one start-up Executive and place them in rural Northern New York on 135 acres of land? Well that is the question. And this blog is where we will try to answer as best we can.



A little bit of background

Lynn and I had been working at a furious pace for a number of years. We lived in Northern California and Connecticut building our careers. Both of us reached, what is considered by many, success. Yet we were both left singing the fabulous Peggy Lee tune, "Is that all there is?"

It's wild when both people in a relationship reach the same point at the same time. We both realized that all of our goal setting and achievement was not enriching us. We needed something else to fill our soul coffers. That something else we decided was to relocate to our property up in Norfolk, NY. A farm house built in 1860 nestled on 135 acres of mostly wooded land (pictured above) to achieve a more sustainable way of living.

Lynn was raised in this area so that is how we landed on this property. I have to say that the St. Lawrence river area is extraordinarily beautiful. I have also found the people to be equally as wonderful. Very grounded and resourceful group up here. That is not to say that all people are, but they are quick to lend a hand, share their expertise, sit for a drink or two, or just swap stories. I had no idea that people "dropped by" anymore. They do here, and the visit is most welcome.

So without getting further into our history and all that blah blah, (I am sure it will come up as this blog grows) we hope to try and document our experience. Although this is mostly for our own purposes, perhaps someone else may find it interesting.