After a week of doing little besides watching the news (counterproductive) and watching the weather (unbelievable-I hope you all made it through unscathed) I feel the need to do something real. Seed starting works for me. It seems silly to contemplate, what with 4 feet of snow and ice on the ground, but the time has come. The bak-choi, tat-soi, spinach and kale are going in to soil cells tomorrow as are a bunch of herbs. They’ll be followed by the hardy brassicas. I keep rearranging my plot plan and wonder how I’ll ever fit it all in. I have a friend coming to help me with the herbs as that’s her field.
We are debating between adding sheep or turkeys to the homestead this year. The sheep will better at keeping the field eaten down but I think you get more bang for your buck with poultry. I can butcher my own birds but I need to pay someone else to do the sheep. And, to be quite honest, I’m not crazy about lamb. I’ll eat it but then I’ll eat pretty much everything but I’d rather eat a nice roasted bird. I’m also worried that Phoebe will fall in love with a lamb. The whole falling in love thing doesn’t seem to happen with turkeys. Knowing the way we do things, we are likely to end up with both. In my dreams we get a beautiful little Jersey calf but Bruce sees that as being way more work than he wants to tackle, especially as we have friends and neighbors with milk cows already.
I got another couple of books. These were borrowed but I’m going to have to purchase The Alaskan Bootlegger’s Bible. It has excellent instructions for making wine, beer and moonshine using equipment most of have sitting around. He also suggests making a yeast solution and keeping it the refrigerator, then feeding it from time to time, just like you would sourdough. The second book is Build Your Own /earth Oven. It has great illustrations that make me want to get right to work, except for that pesky snow.
The chickens have decided that it’s spring. They’re laying like crazy and we’re drowning in eggs. I need to get a few in the freezer. I put them up in 2 egg containers and use them, thawed, for baking.
I did want to mention a really fun event this week. Our little grocery held a Friday Night Family Game Night. It was just popcorn and cider and tables of games. I had such a good time and the girls loved it. I had a couple of coupons left over from Christmas and used them to get some new games. We are big fans of The Settlers Of Cattan.
I’ve been on the lookout for food grade plastic buckets. You used to be able to pick those up all over town but no more. They all seem to be spoken for. I wonder if we have a lot of closet preppers scooping them up.
February 7, 2011 at 7:04 am
Our Mennonite bulk food store gets honey in those five gallon food grade buckets. If I ask nicely, they’ll have them washed and ready for me, for $3 each, including the lid. And they’ll help me get them to the car too. I buy them ten at a time, and so far have picked up 30 of them. I could probably scrounge around and find them free or cheaper, but I love that store, and they do such a thorough job of washing that I have no qualms putting my beans or other foods straight into them. Besides, it’s nice to support a way of life that wastes nothing.
I’ll be starting seeds soon too. Snow peas for the cold frame!
February 7, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Check the restaurants and any ice cream places — I work in an ice cream store and I scavenge all of our hot fudge/caramel buckets. 3 gallon, plastic food grade buckets. Round, sadly, but still highly useful.
February 7, 2011 at 12:44 pm
Closet preppers… i hope so! That would be a good thing if tshtf, and the news these days, holy cow, makes me wonder!
Things here are in a horrible waiting pattern – waiting for a car, waiting for my tax return, waiting to see how my son likes his new school, waiting for the psychiatrist appointments at teh end of the month. I can’t even start seeds because I currently have no place to plant them!
I am so ready to get this show on the road and get DOING all that I know I need to be doing! That’s why I love reading what you DO, it’s inspiring.
February 7, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Ah, I am inspired to start some seeds now, too. Thanks! Especially as a winter storm is to move in tomorrow late afternoon…it will help me keep thinking Spring! I like the idea of closet preppers, too
.
Blessings!
CottonLady
February 8, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Try a local university. Their food service gets tons of the buckets. I just scored 20 with lids.
February 8, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Board games have actually made it on our radar as things we want to buy (not to be taken for granted, since we buy very little in the way of non-necessities). I just wanted to spread the word that Goodwill is a great place to find board games for a great price. My husband has gone twice in the last few months and scored good games for $1 each. Another bonus: the newer games all seem to be character vehicles (it’s not just Memory anymore, it’s SpongeBob Memory!) but if you buy used, you can just get the classic versions of things.
February 8, 2011 at 5:48 pm
I live in the 5 college area so the college idea is a good one. I totally agree. I refuse to buy anything with a character on it. I do like second hand for games. Often, pieces are missing. With games, you can contact the manufacturer and sometimes get a replacement. Otherwise, keep looking. Another particalgamewith the piece you need will turn up. I actually found a missing puzzle piece that way. I had tried Ravensburger and could not get the missing piece from them. I was so tickled to find the piece in free puzzle.
February 8, 2011 at 10:10 pm
I was asked about how I got started in preparedness. Fro me, both 9/11 and Katrina were wake up calls. Then, the more I learned, the more I wanted to learn. We have always done some homesteading stuff. The two things just worked together.