Up to date

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.
-Louisa May Alcott 



It has been a while since I have posted.  Life has a way of sneaking up on you and making the days advance so quickly, a month has past before you are really even aware.  The daily routine of work, meals, household chores, and raising a child, blend and meld into a cohesive web of sameness.  All of the sudden its been two months since I have written anything here.  I have not been idle however, and I have not neglected my endeavors that are within the scope of this blog.

Firstly, let me start by saying that my chickens are jerks.  Well, one of them is a jerk.  Maven, the smart red star, has gotten into the garden a couple times.  I have it fenced off with chicken wire, but she finds her way in, mostly from something being placed too close to the fence.  The other hens will run around, trying to find a way in, pissed that they are left out of the buffet.

She scratched up all the hay in between the rows!
Too bad she didn't scratch up those weeds.

And of all things, eats the crap outta my peppers!

Maven is also careless.  She trampled a few onions and some chard. There were droppings around I had to get rid of, lest they burn my veggies.  Its hard to stay mad at her though, she comes running when called, is always friendly, and like the others, gives me eggs without fail.  So I forgive them.

Beautiful brown eggs from the red stars.

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The other day, Maya and I went to a U-pick strawberry field about 10 miles away from our house.  There was no one else there except a zillion ripe strawberries.  We picked for about an hour.  Well, I picked, Maya ate them. Don't worry though. This field is organic, just not certified.  Not all farmers can afford the cost of certification, but, like this farmer, value growing organically.

Strawberry field! 

I love living up here.  There is nowhere that I have lived before where people actually trust each other enough to leave a scale and a lock box to put your money in.  This is not the first place I have encountered that employs such faith in the good in man, but, it is another addition to a list that is both restorative and inspiring.  

1.25 a LB!

We ended up with a haul of 17lbs of Hood Strawberries, which I promptly processed.  I froze most of them, but did make some strawberry, and strawberry rhubarb jam.  I was completely out of jam, so this was absolutely perfect timing.  That was my first canning attempt this year.  The strawberry jam I made with pectin, and the rhubarb I made with an older recipe that used a lot of lemon to set up.  Interesting stuff. I love that it is easy to start and learn the basics, but there is a challenge in its mastery.

This is what 17lbs of strawberries looks like

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The garden is progressing.  Yesterday I found my first tomato! It is a Borghese, and my biggest plant. All my veggies seemed to have stalled out, but then I feed everything with epsom salts. Apparently, they just needed a little boost. Lesson for next year, amend more.  A lot more.  

Baby 'mato

My beans are finally starting to grow and climb. I built trellises for them using bamboo from my yard. Use what you got!

Go beans go!

Dragon Wax Beans

This is probably the thing I am most excited about.  The ground cherries.  I have never grown them before. I have never even tasted them before. Hell, I had never even heard of them before researching seeds for this season.  Who could resist fruits in husks that keep for a month and taste like vanilla and pineapple? Not me. The picture below is four plants. I have 10 in the back garden, and another 10 in the front yard. These in the back yard are much bigger as I planted them first, and already have about 15-20 cherries. I am thinking ground cherry jam, pie, syrup, compote, crumble, ice cream, hmm, what else...

Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry

A freaking ground cherry!

 The tomatillos are coming along nicely. About 3 feet tall now and full of blossoms. 7 plants made it, and I am hoping for a bumper crop.  I am really looking forward to branching out beyond salsa verde. I have quite a few recipes just waiting for fruit!

Tomatillo blossoms

 All my trees are growing massive amounts of fruits.  Well, all except the fig tree. It was pruned early spring and hardly has any fruit at all.  It has grown a lot though and is looking fuller and healthier, so I am expecting a much larger crop end of summer.  Good thing they fruit twice a year! The plum tree is just ridiculous. The pic below is about 1 square ft of plums. Both apple trees are FULL of apples. The pear tree is looking healthier than last year, and has probably twice the fruit.

Yesterday, we picked cherries from one of the cherry trees in the front yard. I actually climbed up that tree and picked all that I could. It was sad to see clusters of 15-30 cherries just out of reach.  These cherries were perfectly ripe, large, and plentiful.  All in all, we picked 10lbs.  Not bad for a tree that we were told we would lose everything to birds and squirrels.  Haha animals! We win!

Plumageddon!

Summer Apples

Super Cherries!

 I also have about 60 sunflowers planted on the side of the house, along with more dragon wax beans, and yellow wax beans. We expanded our strawberry patch by about 15, so we have about 25 strawberry plants all bearing fruit, though I have only picked a couple handfuls.

I have in the works, a couple potato towers, compost tea, and many, many canning days. I will post tutorials, and what is working and what is not as I go!


Food totals:

10 lbs cherries
4 oz beans
8 oz strawberries

489.25 lbs to goal

Learning

A human being has so many skins inside, covering the depths of the heart. We know so many things, but we don't know ourselves! Why, thirty or forty skins or hides, as thick and hard as an ox's or bear's, cover the soul. Go into your own ground and learn to know yourself there.
-Meister Eckhart 


I have always been told that being a "jack (or jill) of all trades" was a good thing.  Knowing a little about a lot things.  That is me.  I love to cook, but I am no chef.  I routinely burn, mangle, and fumble culinary creations.  I love to sew, but I don't think anyone but me would wear what I make.  I love to draw and paint, but lack the technical skill to express my vision.  I love to write, but my fear keeps me from finishing projects.  I could go on and on.

But, I have this pull, this desire, to really KNOW something.  To be REALLY good at one thing. The closest I got was probably when I was a Macintosh computer tech.  I worked on mainly about 10-12 models and knew them inside and out.  I knew part numbers, locations of torx and phillips screws, shortcuts, and workarounds. I could take an MacBook apart and put it back together in record time.

Unfortunately, this information holds no value for me anymore, and I no longer KNOW a thing.  I don't know if it is possible for me at this point to excel at one thing. Or, dare I say, if its even important. I just want to. I have known a few people, who have known since they were little, exactly what they wanted to to with their life.  And, then they went and did it, and lived happily ever after. Maybe its because I never knew what I wanted to do with myself. Or, because I still don't. Maybe its because I want the satisfaction of expertise? Or, maybe it would be a knowledge notch before moving on to the 10,000 other things I want to know.

What is currently preoccupying my mind that is within the scope of this blog is: gardening on a self sustaining level, changing out my one trick pony landscaping for dual purpose plants and herbs, creating systems and setups that require less work and maintenance, and not burning dinner.

Here is some things from my world last week:

Had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows!

Planted a bunch of strawberry starts in the front yard with
my garden helper  (to her right)

I had previously dug this out and now am adding buried
 buckets in of Lavender, Valerian, and Meadowsweet.
In the back are daisies. Also I am adding in a
bamboo border from the bamboo in our backyard.

Needs more bamboo.

This is what it looked like when I started. This is
getting dug out and will have sunflowers, lady's mantle,
skullcap, and  parsley.

My apple tree in the back is starting to flower

My other tree, another variety.

Spring has come!

“All the spring may be hidden in the single bud, and the low ground nest of the lark may hold the joy that is to herald the feet of many rose-red dawns.”  -Oscar Wilde

Spring is here, and with it, that sense of renewal, of change, and new beginnings.  The promise of awakening and growth is at every turn, on the street, in the fields, and in the cries of the morning birds. If you couldn't tell already, I love springtime.  All of it. And never more than now, being where I am.  There is no where I can go without seeing daffodils.  Soon, the Crocuses (Croci?) will bloom and the Tulips will too. The heralds of spring in this neck.

Today was a good day here.  Maya and I spent a good part of the day outside.  She with the hose, me in the garden finishing laying down the hay. Who knew "making it rain" would be this fun to this kid. We are in the PNW for crying out loud.

Make it rain momma!

I had plenty of help from the Thunder Chickens.  We chased them off all day.  The lure of wriggling worms is so strong.

Gimme some worms yo!

Chickens about to take a dirt nap

We added spinach and kale to our actually planted list. I am hoping for kale of epic proportions. I am tired of buying it.  I am thinking that I won't have to anymore, as I planted A LOT of it. 

Hay!

All hayed out. I promise I'm done.

Tonight we are enjoying this fine weather as a family on the patio, bbqing, listening to Reggae, and watching Maya show off her dancing moves. 

Daddy and Daughter

Spring is here, and I am filled with the promise of what will be. New growth, opportunity, shedding my old skin for a better fit. 

life is good.

Garden Progress

Our garden space is finally all dug up and leveled.  A big thanks must go out to my Mister, as he kinda took charge of the digging and manned out 3/4 of it.  I raked it level and weeded. Then began making the raised rows that will house my seedlings. Oh, and I weeded.

Whew! Almost done!

Then I weeded some more. And, did I mention I weeded?

Tomatoes and beans will go here!

As you can see from the pics, I still have a fair amount of weeding to do.  I did, however, purchase a bale of hay to strew in the walkways.  This will keep moisture in, and the weeds to a minimum.  I will only have to weed the raised rows going forward.  Each of these rows has now been double dug, and, minus more weeding, is ready for planting! 

While getting the bale of hay at a local shop, I ran across strawberry starts for .75 and Walla Walla onions for 2.49 a bunch.  I was entirely lacking onions, so this was a great purchase for me.  I also have some strawberries in the front yard already, and I will be adding these new starts in tomorrow. The onions are ready for planting now, so they are going in tomorrow too.  These will be the first things actually planted in the garden this year.

Cheap organic starts, yay!

My plum tree is flowering, and even though I have not seen a bee yet, I am positive that this is going to be a banner year for this tree.  I can't wait, I'm out of jam.

Plum overload!

DIY Lotion Bars

My daughter has had patchy dry skin since she was a baby.  I have used all kinds of lotions and creams and none work very well, or for very long. I also don't like putting lotion on her skin that is full of chemicals, when I know there are natural alternatives. I have been reading about lotion bars for a while now, so I decided to make some of my own.  I used two Altoids tins I had been saving, as I couldn't find any of the molds that I own, of course. Here is what I used to make them.

1/2 c Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
1/2 c Pure Beeswax
Essential oil of your choice (my choice was lavender)

Get your stuff together!

Some methods I have seen call for using a double boiler.  I did not, I just used a sauce pan on low heat. Add your coconut oil and beeswax to the pan. Since I just had a block of beeswax, I simply grated it, measured it, and added it to the pan. Add your essential oil.  I used lavender, and about 15 drops.  You can chose any oil you like or combination of oils.  You can also add more oil if you like the scent stronger.  When making this again I would probably add more than 15 drops, but that's just my personal preference.

In the pot!

Melt it all together over very low heat. Mine took about 10 minutes.

All Melted

Set up your clean tins, molds, containers, or whatever you are using, and pour the mix in.

Bonus!

I decided I would have enough to fill an old lip balm tube I had been saving for just such a day, so I filled that up too. It turned out to be exactly the perfect amount for both the tins and the lip balm.

Perfect!

Let them sit and cool completely before using. When they are ready, just rub it and let the heat of your hand melt it slightly.  Then, rub it in wherever you need some lotion! That's it! Easy, cheap, and completely natural.

Finished tin

DIY Deodorant. Oh yes, I did...

I have been wanting to try a DIY deodorant for a long time.  So long in fact, I have two empty deodorant containers just waiting for use.  There is no doubt for me, that I would like to use something that isn't toxic, and includes natural ingredients.  The trick though, is, does it work?  Am I going to make this stuff, and stink like a dirty hippie half way through the day?  Well, high time I found out.

The chosen recipe:

1/4 c Baking Soda
1/4 c Arrowroot powder (or corn starch)
4-5 T Coconut oil
10 drops of essential oil
A container to put it in

Ready to go!

Start by adding in the dry ingredients.  I whisked them together to make sure they were well blended.

Well Blended!

Add in the Coconut oil.  I used a fork to blend in. Add in your Essential oil.  I used Lavender, a little Sandalwood, and some flowery, unknown oil that is not labeled, and I forgot what it was.  Both Lavender and Sandalwood have anti-bacterial properties, which I thought would be a perfect for a deodorant.  After you mix in the oil, just stir it up into a paste.

Sometimes pasty is good.

Next, put the mix into your container of choice.  I used my empty deodorant container after washing all the nasty commercial stuff out of it.

Ready to fill!

I filled this one up and still had a lot left so I got my other empty and filled that up too.  Notice my specialized tools.

Right tool for the job. Ignore bananas.

After filling, they looked like any other deodorant, but smelled lovely, and were safe enough to eat.  Eww, I know, but you could.  

Ready to de-stink.

I put both in the freezer to harden up for a bit.  The next morning, I grabbed one, put it on like regular deodorant, and squished my arms around.  There definitely seemed to be too much on, so I wiped some off, and put on my work shirt.  About 15 minutes later, I noticed that my underarms looked "wet" and realized that there was still too much on.  I still have to scrub it out to see if it stains, so I will have to get back to you on that.

Coconut oil melts at a very low temp so applying like normal was not a good idea. I wiped it all off and applied again, this time just swiping my fingers over the top and rubbing into my armpit. I went to work and the real test began.  

I want something that is non toxic and healthy, but also something that works.  Testing it at work would be proof enough for me as I work in a very fast paced bakery.  About an hour into my shift, I felt pretty good and warned my boss of my experimental deodorant project.  That made my pits fair game, though she never said a word about it.  When I got home, I smelled my underarms, and, to be honest, there was a little smell, but not anymore than with conventional deodorants.  I am thinking I may need a little more than I put on, so I will have to play with that. All in all however, a complete success!  I would probably recommend putting it in a jar or tin with a lid instead of deodorant tubes.  I hope you try this or some other recipe, and replace that nasty conventional stuff!

Seeds Are Here!

Wow! That was fast! I got the seeds from Botanical Interests on Saturday, and the seeds from Bountiful Gardens today.  Not too shabby.  The packets from Botanical Interests have a ton of information on them, and even more on the inside.

Botanical Interests packets with beautiful illustrations

I am equally impressed with Bountiful Gardens.  They have some very unique seeds I didn't find anywhere else, and I love what they are doing.  I got my medicinal herbs from them as well as quite a variety of veggies.  Though not as pretty as the Botanical Interests packets, these have a simple, natural beauty that is undeniable. And, their descriptions and information is outstanding.

Bountiful Gardens packets

So, next thing is to start these bad boys!  I am on a pretty tight budget and ended up opting for free containers from work to start the seeds.  Our muffins come frozen in these and we throw them out everyday.  Seems like they would be perfect and the cost is definitely right. Each tray has 24 spots.

Free Ain't Bad!

The next thing I did, was finish clearing all the blackberry from my garden.  It was a chore to be sure, but I got it done, and dug out a 4' x 17' stretch.  Only a bajillion feet left. I am building garden muscles though, and that is good. 

No More Blackberry!

In Real Life, This Is 4' x 17", Pinky Swear.

My girls were out in force, trying to get any and all worms that were exposed from my digging.  I don't think a shovel full got turned without their being at least one worm in it. Good sign!  I decided to start keeping an egg count.  I have three chickens.  Two Red Stars, and a Turken. I got two eggs since I started counting yesterday the 10th.  They are very regular layers, each providing an egg a day usually. And, I no longer have any bugs in my yard.   

Garden Helpers

So, a good week! My goals for next week in the garden:

Dig out the rest of the garden

Buy fencing and put it up (to keep the chickens out)

Map out all my veggies

Dig out the beds in the front yard

Make a plan for herbs and medicinal flowers in the front yard or in containers

Trim everything else up.