The Lists!

I'm a lister. I make tons of lists and leave them all over the place in order to keep on track around here.

I have lists for inside, the farm, prepping, sewing etc etc.

Right now I am working on checking things off the lists. With spring here they get big.

On the sewing list, I have been working on putting Bear's bug out bag (or walking backpack) together. With him being such a large dog, it is impossible to find a premade one. Will do a post on how I constructed it later.

On the farm end of things, (hands head in shame) I am still working through getting this fall's wheat threshed and sorted. I am saving the shafts to make bee skeeps with. Mainly decorative but a trade or barter item with the yuppies around here. We are getting a delivery of dirt later in the week so I can fill the remaining raised beds. Add that to the list....

Put some burdock root, dandelion root to dry for spring tonic, clover looks like it will be up soon. Harvested shepards purse to dry for ointment and also for seed.
After this bout of cold mornings this week, the Grey Knight is off this weekend and will be getting the big tiller out to finish the main gardens. Planting next week before we run off south for a week. We set up a timed irrigation system on Saturday which should work pretty good. We really haven't gotten much rain this spring. Weird weather.

On the prepping side of things, we ordered paracord last night to make belts and watch bands etc. Looking a handgun thats on sale at Bass Pro. We should get some range time in when we are down south.

Today will be spent working on the wheat again and possibly finishing Bears bug out bag. Its slow going as it has to be handsewn. May your days be productive!

Beth chases Bear out with wheat straw in his mouth!

Blowing Dogs?

I know the old saying is raining cats and dogs which is supposed to be a horrible thing...

Obviously they have never seen blowing dogs!!

Newfies shed their undercoat twice a year, this is our first experience with it.
Mind you this is just one brushing, he has had 2 before this and still needs a few more before its all gone.

The dog isnt the only thing fuzzy apparently.

He was pitching a fit to go out after this and then for a truck ride to get a burger.

Wierd thing is I saved the fur. They tell me its good to spin and knit with so when I go south in a few weeks I'm gonna pick up a hand spindle.

Enjoy your fur free house! 

Weekend work

Imagine this full since I failed to take a before picture.

As you can see this is a healthy sized compost bin probably 6 ft by 4 foot in size and a good 2 and half feet tall. Yes this was full before. One goose egg and a mouse family later, its empty!

Here is where its all gone. You can see other summer projects in this picture as well. The roof on the left needs replacing, a gate is being built between the 2 building to hide the area, that wood on the right and all the wood in front of this barn needs to be spilt. We had a big wind storm that was a boon for our wood levels this year. The next raised bed that is being built is around the trees in the right side of the picture, there are 3 of them (small dwarf apple trees). The raised bed will encircle all 3 of them and will be planted with a apple guild then.

The Grey Knight has mandated that I take the day off today to give my hands a chance to heal. I don't know if anyone else has hand issues, but I do so much around here and then go inside to play in the water doing dishes cleaning , dog drool (LMAO) that my hands crack and bleed. I use a hand cream that they use on cow's udders called Udderly smooth, but if i dont use it like 4 times a day, I get in this shape on my hands.

Speaking of Dog Drool.... We are calling him Bear McHair lately as he is blowing out his coat. Tons of hair everywhere!!

A Big Fat Goose Egg!

Literally!!

I've been working on a second and third raised bed for herbs. One of which is going on the back of our barn. In this bed I have plans to plant all flowering herbs as well as some hopi black sunflowers. Framed by the red of the barn and the barn quilts, I think it will be very pretty.

This bed was no easy task. First came moving the railroad ties and cutting them to size. Then breaking the ground up in the new bed. Now I am emptying the compost bed into the new bed (to be followed by top soil) which of course involves emptying the compost bed into wheelbarrows, trucking it over to the new bed and dumping and spreading it.

The compost bin gets most of our yard waste. Weeds that have been pulled, grass clippings on occasion (we usually let those lie where they fall), dirt gets added to it in layers, and of course some nice earthworms. Then it gets a cover during the winter to help it cook.

Well, long story still long....I go out yesterday to start the emptying of the bin. Get about 2 spadefulls into it and stop.

(A big fat goose egg!)

We have a ton of Canadian Geese in the area that nest across the road in the bog. There was no obvious nest to this, it was jammed into some dirt and hay that had been on top of the bin. All I can think is that maybe a raccoon carried it over, hiding it for later eating.

The egg is currently sitting in the fridge. Plan to blow it out over the weekend then bake it for a few to toughen the shell and find a pretty little birds nest after laying season is over to put it in.

Who would have thunk it?

Sure, I settled!

The Grey Knight encouraged me for a while to start this blog so I would have a place to write down some of the stuff that goes on in this crazy head of mine. So far I've kept it farm related for the most part.

This will be my 1st personal post. So please excuse me, was a upsetting day and I'm gonna rant for a bit.

A note to someone in my life:

Sure, I settled.
I settled for a man that wakes me in the middle of the night
To hold me close.

Sure, I settled.
I settled for a man that realizes my body is my own
To control and use as I want
Who doesn't tell me to gain or lose weight, fix my hair, grow my nails
Or use my body in unspeakable ways.
I settled for a man who craves just the touch of my bare skin.

Sure, I settled.
I settled for a man that reaches over and holds my hand
Who encourages me to have ideas and pursue them
Who doesn't laugh at me, or tell me I'm stupid.

Sure, I settled.
I settled in a new life, where I know
Who I am, and what I want.
I settled into a life where I am happy
With where I am and who I am.

Sure, I settled, but it wasn't with you!

Mystery Plant? Can you id this?

Before I till under this section of the garden, we let go to seed over the winter I like to look it over and see if anything wild is going in it first. There are several good size burdock plants that I will be uprooting and transplanting.

This plant has taken over the future vining plant patch (melons, cucumbers and the like). I think its henbit or dead nettle but I'm not sure. Can anyone id it?

I know the ferny stuff next to it is wild carrot, and the large leafy stuff to the left of it maybe plantain.

As you can see large nice burdock plants.

So what is it?? Thanks for help with identifying it. I hate to waste anything that might be useful!

Candle Making .500 (or what not to do)

I don't like being outside in the dark. Don't like it one bit! Comes from being stalked by a big growlie thing (cougar) for an hour in Missouri once.

So WTSHTF I want light. Sure I've got oil lanterns, kerosene and lamp oil, even have emergency candles. What happens when that stuff runs out? Beth has to face the big growlie things lightless!! No way!

I've never experimented with candle making before and wanted to do it from the ground up so I started with making my own wicking (yes I have extra lantern wicks but ...see above)

You can get alot of candle wicks out of 420 ft of cotton twine. I braided these together 3 strands at a time to come up with this.

All the research I did said to soak the wicking for 12 hours in a mixture of 1 cup water, 1 tbsp salt and 2 tbsp boric acid..I don't know why but who I am to argue?

So this morning after soaking and drying the wicks out, I got out my supplies. Everyone on the net recommends toilet paper or paper towel tubes as inexpensive molds..DON'T DO IT!! What a mess!



I wanted to scent my candle with some calming traditional Native American scents. So I added about 1 cup of combined chopped sweetgrass and white desert sage that I was lucky enough to wildcraft on our trip out west last year. (Mental pic of Beth drying sweetgrass on a unlit bbq grill in a campground in the sun)

After the fiasco with the toilet paper tubes (leaks out from the bottom) I mad dashed all over the house trying to find suitable glass containers.  Here is what I ended up with.

2 candles scented with sweetgrass and desert white sage and while I was at it I made 10 containers of lip balm flavored with hazelnut extract (because I'm wierd like that) The directions for the lip balm are hereLip Balm from PatarusFamilia Blog

The chopsticks I used to keep the wicks upright while drying. I will trim the wicks up later.

Anyone have suggestions on how to do it better?
Beth