Community



This morning, I was reading online about a group of neighbors in Illinois, that gathered together to help harvest the fields for a widow of one of their neighbors. This brought back a lot of memories for me from my childhood in a small farming community in Indiana.

On more than one occasion, I remember my Dad hooking up the combine or corn picker to the tractor (this was in the days when the combines and pickers were separate machines and needed to be used with a tractor) to go to help a neighbor who had been injured, sick, or to help bring in a neighbor's "final harvest." Often times, the farmers that were helping to harvest, had left their own fields with crops still in them in order to help. 

The women in the community would bring in pot luck meals so the men wouldn't have to leave the fields until the harvest was finished. It was a time for helping without any thought of repayment. It was time of remembering, of caring, of showing love to your neighbor in a very practical way.

The next spring the men would gather once again and plant the crops using their own seed, machinery, and other resources, to plant the fields so that the widow would have an income for that year. If there were livestock, they would also help with that...as a community so that no one person had to do it alone.

That is real  community. That is loving your neighbor as yourself. That is truly helping others by giving a hand up not a hand out. And this is how it needs to be once again in our country...neighbor helping neighbor.

To read the article mentioned above, click here.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog.


**Photo used in today's blog is from a public domain site http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=20044&picture=sunset-on-the-farm.

Food Storage for Cans

Even though I do a lot of canning, dehydrating, and freezing of my homegrown foods, I am not above buying canned goods from the store if I see a really great deal. However, I am a bit OCD when it comes to having my food storage area looking neat and tidy. I want everything in nice neat lines, with all cans turned in the same direction. I also want to be able to rotate the cans so nothing goes "bad". Which shouldn't be a problem right? Wrong!! I evidently have a terrible time with rotating the canned goods.

The first thing I tried for rotation of the cans was to turn my shelves perpendicular to the wall, and space the sets of shelves far enough apart from each other that I would have access to either side of the shelving. That way, I could remove the oldest cans from one side of the shelves, and put in the new stuff on the shelf on the opposite side. That worked for about a month. Then the old and new stuff started to get mixed together.

Then I started using the above method with the addition of writing the date of purchase on top of the can, so I could make sure I was using the oldest cans first with just a glance. Which worked wonderful until I started stacking the cans. The newer cans would get stacked on top of the older cans and things just got messed up.

I finally tried something that I saw on Pinterest. It was using an empty cardboard soda pop box to store cans in. The idea is that you store the cans in the box on their sides with the front of the box cut out for easy storage and can removal. While I ended up making a slight modification to what was shown on Pinterest, overall this method has worked out really well for me.

What you will need and what to do: 

• An empty box for canned beverages
• Strapping tape
• Scissors
• Wrapping paper (optional...This is just the OCD in me that wants everything to look neat and tidy and if everything looks uniformed, it looks tidy.So I use the same wrapping paper to make all storage boxes look the same.)
• Labels (optional)
• Pen

• Cut out the front of the box as pictured above.

• Cover all seams of the box with strapping tape to reinforce the strength of the box to help it keep from tearing from the weight of the cans.
• If you are not going to cover your box with wrapping paper, you are done. Place cans in box, laid on their sides.

•  If want to wrap your box, cover with wrapping paper. Label so you will know the contents, Place cans in the box and you are done.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Fruit Fly Traps

 Above photo is from a public domain photo stock site.

I have had an abundance of produce this year to preserve, but that is also the exact same reason that I also have had an abundance of fruit flies in my home. Since I don't like bugs of any kind in my home (who does right?) I tried several different methods and traps to get rid of them. The one I found that worked best for me, while it doesn't look the nicest, it does seem to really work.

Place some food from your compost into a small bowl and tightly cover with plastic wrap. Secure the plastic in place with a rubber band. Using a pin or tip of a knife, poke a couple of holes in the top of the plastic. Set dish in the area where the fruit fly problem is at.

Why this works is because the fruit flies will crawl through the hole to get to the food but they cannot get back out so they trapped. Once you have trapped enough, take it outdoors and uncover the dish.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Yucca Shampoo – Make your own

Some of the Yucca flowers in my yard.

For hundreds of years, the southwest Native Americans used the dry root of the Yucca plant for shampoo. During the 1970's it was the “in” thing for everyone to buy shampoo with yucca in it. The yucca plant does leave the hair looking shinny and beautiful. This is because the Yucca root contains a natural saponin which softly lathers when used with water. It helps to prevent dandruff and some say that it helps to prevent hair loss. Now days though, it can be rather difficult to find commercially made shampoo that has Yucca in it. 

The Yucca plant.

Making shampoo from the yucca plant is not difficult at all. To do so:

1. Dig up a small to medium size plant.
2. Remove all dirt and chop the the roots into manageable size pieces. (About 1 inch cubes seems to work best for me.)
3. Peel off the brown outside layer of the root, cutting off the hairlike extensions..
4. Use a hammer or rock to pulverize the root pieces into the pulp. You know you have smashed them enough when the pieces turn from white to light yellow.
5. Your shampoo is now finished. You can either freeze it or dehydrate it for later use. To deydrate it, place onto a cookie sheet and place into 225 F degree oven for an hour or two or until all the moisture has evaporated and the root no longer feels sticky.. Or you can dehydrate by allowing to set in the sun. Store in a dry, cool place in an air tight container. If you freeze it, allow to thaw before attempting to use.
6. To use: Put a small amount into a bag made out of cheesecloth. Close the bag and wet it. Squeeze the bag with yucca root to dispense the lather onto your hair. Wash as you normally do.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Freezing Fruits

Fruit that I put into the freezer today. (Click onto image for the details.)  I ended up freezing 4 pints sour cherries, 10 pints of rhubarb, and 4 pints total of mulberries. It was an awesome day. Thanks for viewing and visiting my blog.

Simple Soil Test – Does it Work?

We all have seen it, the “simple soil test” that is going around on the Internet that claims that you can test the alkaline and acidic in your soil using vinegar and baking soda. It sounded to good to be true so I thought that I would test it to see if it really did work as it claimed it would. I also wanted to see if it was something that homesteaders could use to test their soil if commercial testing was not available in their area..

Short answer to "Does it Work?":

Yes and No

Longer answer to "Does it Work?":

Yes, in that it the soiled bubbled if it were alkaline or acidic as the claim said it would when the baking soda or vinegar was used.

No, in that it does not indicate what the pH actually was so you do not know how much of sulfur or lime to add to amend the soil.

How the test was conducted:

1. I had five different soil samples that I had previously had tested by a commercial company. So not to prejudice the outcome of this test, I covered the labeling that identified where the soil samples came from, and used numbered labels to identify each sample.
2. For each soil sample, I placed 40 ml of soil into two glass beakers, Into one beaker, I added one half cup of vinegar to test for alkaline. Into the the second beaker, I added one half cup bottled water and one half cup baking soda to test the acidic.
3. Beakers were cleaned with distilled water between each soil sample testing.

Test result:

The presence of alkaline and acidic matched up perfectly with the result from the commercial testing.

Conclusion:

If a person didn't have access to some kind of commercial soil testing, this would work in a pinch. However, it would leave the question of how much to add to correctly amend the soil. It is best to find what the existing pH and use an online garden calculator from the National Garden Association, and find out how much of what to use for your type of soil.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Washing Soda – Make Your Own

Most “make-your-own” laundry detergents call for “washing soda.” While this is readily and cheaply available in some areas , it isn't as easy to find in other parts of the country. Also, it might be a good idea to tuck this recipe in the back of your mind if you ever want or need to make some laundry detergent, but are out of washing soda and for some reason you are unable to get to the store.

The recipe for making washing soda is very easy and straight forward.

What you will need:

Baking soda

Yep that is it. One lone ingredient. Baking soda. That is because baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) turns to sodium carbonate (washing soda) after it has been heated.

What to do

**Preheat your oven to 400°F

**Cover a baking sheet with baking parchment paper

**Pour a box, or just a few cups, of baking soda (not baking powder) onto the baking sheet. Make sure to break up all the large clumps.

**Put it in the oven and bake for 1 -2 hours. I have heard that some people bake it for 45 minutes, but I recommend at least 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours just to make sure the chemical reaction is complete.

**Allow to cool and store in a clearly labeled air tight container.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Keeping Your Cool

Yesterday here in the mid-west, it was 86°F. Today it is suppose to be even warmer, so a lot of my neighbors have their air conditioners going to try to keep cool. Since I am trying to cut back on our dependency on the grid, we haven't turned ours on...yet anyways. ;-)

Air conditioning is kind of like crack, the more you use it, the more you think that you need it. There are those who need it for medical reasons, such as those with heart conditions, or the elderly, but for most of us, we don't really need it. We only think that we need it. Having said that I will admit though, I like air conditioning especially during the mid summer months when the average daily temperature is 90+°F, but when the electric bill comes, I'm not liking it near as much so I found some ways to help cool down my house and myself, without the use of the AC.

• If you have a basement, use it during the heat of the day or if it doesn't cool down at night. The temperature in my basement remains between 63-68°F no matter how hot it gets outside. So we have basically a second home set up down there with a kitchenette, beds, etc. It isn't perfect, but we do stay cool without to much problems.
• This sounds counter productive, but only have your windows open during the night and early morning. Then shut them during the rest of the day. This will allow for the cool air to get into your home but when the outside air becomes warmer than your inside air, and you shut the windows, it will trap the cool air inside your home.
• If you must have your windows open during the day, wet bath towels or bed sheets and hang them in front of the windows. This will lower a room temperature by 3-5°F. While that isn't much, every little bit helps.
• Avoid strenuous work and play during the heat of the day.
• Drink plenty of water. Your body will feel cooler if you stay hydrated. Stay away from alcohol, sweet drinks, tea and coffee. Alcohol will not cool you down. It will just make you not care if you are hot or not. Sweet drinks adds a lot of unnecessary calories. Tea and coffee both have a natural diuretic in them which is just the opposite of what you are wanting to happen.
• Make use of box and ceiling fans. Remember that fans will not cool a room. They only cool people so keep the fans pointed at you.
• Freeze water in large containers, such as a milk jug, and place it in front of the fan with the fan blowing on you. This will help cool the area around the fan and make you a lot cooler.
• To help cool you during the night, put a small pillow covered in a couple of plastic shopping bags in the freezer for an hour or two and sleep on that. It will cool down your head which in turn will cool you down.
• Wet your head. The evaporation of the water will cool you down.
• Soak your feet in ice water.
• Fill your bathtub with cool water and get in. Once your body gets use to that temperature, let some of the water out and add more cold water. Your body will stay cool for a long time after this. Kids wading pools are also good for this.
• During the daytime, not only close your blinds, but also use insulated curtains to help keep the sun and heat out of your home.
• Keep lights, TVs, and electronics off. These all produce heat and every little bit helps.
• Banish all cooking to outside. If you don't have outside space, cook your meals during the coolest part of the day and then rewarm them in the microwave.
• During the night, open all cabinet doors, closet, and attic doors so the hot air can get out and these spaces can cool down.. The heat is trapped in these places and will keep the house warmer during the day. By cooling them down during the night, it will help to keep your house a little cooler during the day.
• Eat frozen fruit and other frozen treats. Cooling down the core body temperature helps to keep you cooler for a longer period of time.
• If nothing else, during the heat of day, visit your local library, mall, or other places that have air conditioning.

There are solar power air conditioners on the market. I have never used one so I cannot recommend it. If you have any other suggestions on how to keep cool without air conditioning, please leave your suggestion in the comment section to this post. Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Apartment Homesteading

Some of the tulips in my flower gardens.

Apartment, Condo, or Renter Homesteading

I recently have received several emails and I have talked to a few people who were rather upset. It seems that they want to homestead, but they either live in a highrise apartment in a major city, or they live in condo or they rent a free standing house and are not allowed to dig up ground to plant a garden or raise any kind of livestock. It was also truly impossible for them to move from where they currently are living for a number of different reasons.

I explained to them that the beauty of the modern homesteading movement today is that the definition of homesteading is very flexible. That wasn't always the case. Back in the 1970's during the last major homesteading movement in order to be considered a homesteader you had to: live on at least 5-10 acres of land, have some chickens, cows, and a horse. That isn't so today. What I am finding is today 's definition and goals of homesteading is  to become  more self-reliant and self-sufficient no matter where you live or situation in life. In other words, homesteading is a way of life and thinking and not a physical location.

I won't lie to you. Homesteading is a lot of work and it is much easier to achieve the homesteading lifestyle when living in country and on your own property. However, you can achieve a homesteading lifestyle even with living in the city or renting.

No matter where you live, homesteading takes not only hard work, but also determination, learned skill, and a willingness to fail in order to learn. A lazy, slothful, prideful, person will not be able to make it as a homesteader.

In no particular order, some of the ways that a person/family in the city or are a renter, can start homesteading are:

• Start thinking like a homesteader: Homesteaders look at ways that they can do tasks themselves and not rely on others or machines to do their work for them.
• Grow food and herbs in containers: Anything that grows in a traditional garden can be grown in a container. Even sweet corn can be grown in a container. You will need preferably a southern exposure, but a western exposure will work too. If you have a balcony, check with your apartment manager first before placing your containers on there to make sure fire code or your lease will allow for that. And please never place items on an outdoor fire escape. Your life, or someone else's life may depend on it. If you decide to grow your containers indoors. You might want to check out Window Farms  for products for growing food indoors. If you have neither a southern or western exposure, you can still grow food by using a grow light. Also check about rooftop gardening or check with your city to see if you can grow a garden in a vacant lot.
• Learn bread making skills: Nothing tastes or smells better than fresh baked bread.
• Learn how to grind grain to make your own flour: With the grain mills that are available on the market today, you will be amazed on how easy it is to grind your own flour.
• Learn how to preserve food: Learn how to can, dehydrate, or freeze foods and which method of preserving foods is best for you. Usually apartments do not have a lot of storage space so it would be difficult to find space for a large freezer or for glass jars of food. Still, learning how to preserve food in those ways are good. Also, you don't need and expensive dehydrator in order to dehydrate food. You can use your oven or the sun to dehydrate food.
• Learn how to make jelly and jams: If fresh fruit isn't available or in season, you can use regular apple or grape juice that you buy at the store to make jelly. You can also use frozen fruit to make jams.
• Learn how to make your own apple cider vinegar.
• Learn how to make your own pectin.
• Consider going vegetarian: I love meat!! There is nothing better to me than a thick, juicy steak fresh off the grill or a fresh fried egg. However, where I presently live at, we are not allowed to have livestock which includes rabbits or beehives. While this isn't for everyone, our solution to that was to have two days a week that are meatless. It is amazing how much we don't miss meat on those days. Our goal is to become completely self sufficient food wise, so that is one way that we accomplishing that. Like I said, that isn't for everyone.
• Offer to volunteer at a local petting zoo so you can learn animal husbandry for farm animals.
• Learn how to save open pollinated seeds
• Wash your dishes by hand instead of using a dishwasher. Washing them by hand saves both money and water...and your dishes end up being cleaner. Also, it takes about about 20 minutes to wash dishes by hand . The dishwasher takes about one hour. So it is quicker too.
• Learn how to sharpen knives using a whet stone
• Learn how to tell time by the position of the sun
• Get rid of the credit cards and get out of debt: Learn how to live on what you actually make and not on what you wished you made. I won't lie. That isn't always easy. Family and friends may not understand. But it is well worth it.
• Learn how to forecast the weather by the type of clouds and other things in nature.
• Learn how to make natural dyes for fabric and yarn from food.
• Make your own paper and ink.
• Learn how to weave baskets. Community Colleges, Libraries, Craft Stores, Park Districts, sometimes have classes on basket weaving. If nothing else, there are some excellent videos on YouTube about how to weave baskets that you can watch.
• Learn how to churn cream into butter.
• Learn how to use a solar oven.
• Learn about aquaponics and consider raising fish for meat.
• Learn about wild eatables in your area: Take a walk around your park and other public places and notice the weeds that are growing. Do research on those weeds to see if they are eatable or poisonous. See also if the weed can be used medicinal use. Please don't pick the weed in the park. An option might be for you to take a picture of it with your cell phone for further reference. Keep a notebook on what plants you found and where they were located for future reference.
• Learn basic first aid and have a first aid kit in your home for minor medical emergencies.
• Learn about herbal medicines: Then learn what works for you and what doesn't. Word of caution...If you are on any kind of medication, please check first with your physician to make sure the herb would be okay to take. Some herbs can cause serious side effects when taken with prescription or over the counter drugs.
• Make your own groceries: Learn how to make things such as baking powder, noodles, crackers, mixes of all kinds, soups, cookies, etc. from scratch.
• Stop using paper products such as paper towels, paper hankies, paper napkins and so on. Make it a habit to use cloth instead. Not only is it better for the environment, it will also save you money.
• Make your own cleaning supplies. You can easily make your own glass cleaner, scouring powder, furniture polish, laundry detergent, fabric softener, with just a few common every day products that you probably have on hand or easily could get from the store.
• Hang clothes on a drying rack instead of using a dryer.
• Learn how and what to upcycle
• Learn how to spin and weave. You don't have to spend a fortune on a spinning wheel to learn how to spin. You can use a drop spindle to learn how to spin. Most homes cannot handle a full size weaving loom, but you can learn the technique by using a table top loom (http://www.ashford.co.nz/newsite/weaving-wheels-looms/102/weaving/katie-table-loom/moredetail.html) [the loom may be compact but the URL isn't and was to long for me to be able to make as link.]  that is compact and folds up when not in use.
• Learn how to knit and crochet.
• Learn to make your own soap and other personal hygiene products
• Decrease your reliance on electricity. Don't get rid of it all, but learn how to hand chop and grate instead of using a food processor, stir by hand instead of using a mixer. Learn how to entertain yourself without electronics. Use kerosene lamps once in a while instead of electric lights.
• Learn to make your own candles and wicks.
• Learn how to repair things yourself instead of hiring others to fix it for you. If you are renting, and the problem is something dealing with your home, the landlord will probably want their people to do the work, but you can watch and learn from them to learn how to (or maybe how not to) repair something. Or even ask if you may help them.
• Learn basic sewing skills
• Learn how to make jerky
• Learn how to make pottery from clay
• Learn how to make cheese.

I hope that gives some of you some ideas on where to start at if you want to homestead but thought it impossible because of where you live at. The important thing with all of this not to become overwhelmed with it all. Just pick one thing and start there. After you have learned that skill move onto something else and learn that...and don't be afraid of not being able to do it perfectly the first time. It is through failing, and not our successes, that we actually learn.

Thank you for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Bathtub Chickens

I am rather hesitant to write about this because the last thing that I want to do is to discourage someone from trying to become more self-reliant or self-sufficient. However, I have been seeing a recent trend among the urban homesteaders that is not only troubling, but downright dangerous, and that is raising chickens in your home in the bathtub  Aside from the fact, that it is very cruel to the chickens to be kept in such a cramped and confined space, never seeing the outside world, it also, in my opinion, can be a huge health risk. In fact I will go so far as to say it also is a life threatening thing to do.

There are many diseases that people can get from chickens. I know this to be a fact because my Dad had to have part of one of his lungs removed because of his exposure to chickens that resulted in tumors in his lung. The only time he was exposed to chickens was at chore time. We absolutely did NOT keep chickens in our home. We kept them in 1,000 sq ft chicken house that had plenty of ventilation and they had outdoor space as well . If you doubt me on the health risks from being exposed to the dust and chicken poo, I would invite you to research airborne pathogens from chickens. I can assure you that the results from your research will give you cause to at least pause and reconsider doing that.

The main reason given by homesteaders and preppers for raising  chickens is that they do so for the protein from the eggs. Here is a surprise...there really isn't that much protein in a egg. A large grade A egg only has 6 grams of protein in it. Since protein is present in almost everything that we eat, let us compare the amount of protein in an egg to other foods:

1 large egg – 6 grams of protein

• ½ cup of green sweet peas – 8 grams of protein
• 1 cup milk – 8 grams of protein
• 4 wheat crackers – 2 grams of protein
• 1 slice of bread – 2 grams of protein
• 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter – 7 grams of protein
• ½ cup of peanuts – 18 grams of protein
• 1/2 cup tofu – 10 grams of protein
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes – 1.53 grams of protein
• 1 cup bean sprouts – 3 grams of protein

And the list goes on, but I think that is enough to show that there are other foods and means (like buying dehydrated eggs for example) where one can get protein without having to risk the health and well-being of not only yourself but also your family.

Of course all of that does raise the question of, “How much protein does a person need each day?” The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following:

Recommended Dietary Allowance for Protein
	Grams of protein needed each day
Children ages 1 – 3	13
Children ages 4 – 8	19
Children ages 9 – 13	34
Girls ages 14 – 18	46
Boys ages 14 – 18	52
Women ages 19 – 70+	46
Men ages 19 – 70+	56

Women who are pregnant should eat 10 more grams a day and women that are nursing should eat 20 more grams a day.

Another thing to consider about raising chickens inside your home is, if there is a WROL situation, how are you going to feed your chickens? How will you discard their feces? Some breeds of chickens get sick easily, how will you handle that?

I am not wanting to discourage anyone from raising chickens IF you have outdoor space to do so. Chickens make for awesome pets as well as a food source. Just please, do it in a responsible and safe manner. 

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Going Home

Home that I grew up in.

This past Monday, I had the occasion to go back to the farm that I grew up on and that I now own. The plan was to just be there Monday night, and then come back here early Tuesday afternoon. Between a ice storm on Tuesday morning, and the threat of a heavy snow fall, my plans were changed very quickly. I ended up staying there for an extra day.

The old dinner bell. Used to call the family in from the fields for mealtime.

 

That isn't a bad thing. Yes, because of my business, some major changes, adjustments and rearrangements had to be made, but it is at the farm that I always slow down, touch nature, sit back, and have time to adjust what my priorities really should be. Funny thing how what seems to be of utmost importance in the city, seems almost silly when in the country. Country life is a different way of life. One that is much more slowed down but yet much more satisfying and fulling than one in the urban/suburban setting. And I miss it.

 

Hand pump that my great-grandfather put in. The well and pump are still being used today.

When I am back home on the farm, I am able to “center” myself, unwind, and quiet my thoughts. It is a time that I remember the events of the past and realize how they have shaped who and what I am now. As I look over the fields and walk through the woods, I am reminded of those who before, worked, sweated, and sacrificed, so that now I can enjoy the fruits of their labor.

 Looking across the north field to the woods.

As I walk through the orchard, or inspect the grape arbor, raspberry bushes, and strawberry beds, I am reminded that winter will one day end, and spring will once again cause the fruit on the farm to blossom as they have for the past 103 years and hopefully will continue to do so long after I am in the grave...and I am humbled. Humbled because I realize that while my name may be on a piece of paper that says the land belongs to me, it doesn't really belong to me. It belongs as much to my ancestors and my descendents, as much as me. I am only the caretaker of the land for a very short span of time so I need to be a good steward of it so that others can enjoy it.

 Milkhouse with grape arbor behind it with part of the east and south fields.

 

I would like to encourage you to take some time today, to slow down, enjoy the memories and things of the past. Quiet your thoughts, don't be afraid to re-prioritize what is really important. In other words, take some time to go “home” again. But just don't stay there. We also need to look to the future as well as take care of today.

 "The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep...

And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."

-Robert Frost Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening 

 Thank you for visiting my blog. :-)

 

Stress and Homesteading

"Sensational" Lilacs from my spring 2012 garden.

Since today starts the observation of Lent, I was going to get all super religious today and write about Lent, but I have ended up having one bad day. Actually it has been more than just bad...it has been horrible. After working 20 hours straight with no sleep on a client's website, I learned that a family member of mine had died this morning, another family member is getting divorced, and, that a member of my immediate family will be losing their job in a couple of months. Plus everything I said or did today, someone was right there “correcting” me on whatever it was that I said or did or trying to “one-up” me.

By late this morning, I was a mess. I was stressed out. I mean I was REALLY STRESSED out. I just wanted to crawl in my bed and cover my head up and stay there for a very long time.

The last thing I wanted to do today was anything to do with homesteading. Yet, I knew that I had to bake some bread if we wished to have some tonight and tomorrow morning. So I made up a batch of bread dough and started to knead it. As I kneaded the dough, I started to feel some of the stress going out of me. The more I kneaded the less stress I felt. That dough ended up being the best kneaded dough ever in the history of the world of bread baking. **LOL**

But as with all good things, that too came to an end. Today is fairly decent day weather-wise, so while I was waiting for my bread dough to rise, I went outside and started to work on preparing the yard so that I can double the size of my vegetable gardens this spring. That was very labor intensive and hard work. The physical energy that it took to do that helped to channel some of that stress adrenaline that I had been feeling into a sense of accomplishment. .

I then went and rearranged my food storage area putting things in nice neat order. My life may be all out whack right now, but my pantry doesn't need to be out of order too. By doing something as simple as that, it brought some soothing calmness and order once again back to my mind.

My point in all of that?? While I know of no “scientific” study or research on this, I am finding that one of the best things to help deal with stress is homesteading. Not only is the simpler lifestyle less stressful to begin with, but the very nature of the physical energy that it takes to homestead, I believe, also reduces the stress adrenaline in our lives. I am wondering, since stress is the cause for so many illnesses/diseases, could homesteading also improve our physical well being as well as our mental well being? I don't know...we shall see.

Thanks for reading and for visiting my blog. :-)

Tracking Animals

Last night we had a snow fall, which made a perfect day for tracking animals. Besides the normal squirrel, bird, cat and dog tracks that one would normally expect to see in the suburbs, today I found out that there are at least two coyotes, and a fox, that are roaming my neighborhood. I also saw some deer tracks along the river and some other animals that I couldn't identify.

It is a good idea to do that even if you don't ever plan on trapping them. One is so you will know how best to protect your gardens and other vegetation from the animals that are around your neighborhood. Another is you just never know when you will have a hankering to eat some squirrel. (lol) It is a fun and interesting hobby to have and the kids get so excited when they find a new kind of animal track.

Take some time today to go outside and see what animals you have in your neighborhood. Thanks for reading. :-)

Soap Making Epic Fail

I was going to write today about making soap. At least that was the plan. Since I have never tried doing that, I thought that I would take pictures and blog about my first attempt and end the post with attractive pictures of home-made bars of soap lined up in a pretty row. Guess what happened” To say that it was a complete and total failure, would be the understatement of the century. The only thing I ended up making was a huge mess.

How could something as simple and every day, like soap, end up being such a total failure? I had a recipe for it. The recipe was guaranteed to “work every time.” I had watched so many videos on YouTube about soap making that I thought that I could do it in my sleep. I had all the right ingredients and tools for making it. I even had some high-tech stuff to make sure I did it correctly. Still it came out as a huge flop.

I guess the moral of this experience for me is this: Just because you think you can do something, have the correct tools, and watched others do it, doesn't mean that you will actually have the skill to able to do it. So practice, practice, practice now before you really need it.

Will I try making soap again? Yes! Will it be today? NO!!!!!!!

Thanks for reading. :-)

Starting Out Homesteading

 Sunrise at another property that I own. 

  I have had several people in the past day or two, email me and ask me with questions about homesteading and prepping. The questions that keeps on being repeated are, “Where do I start? What do I do? How much should I do?” Hey folks, I am new at this too.*smiles* But the good news is that there is an excellent video on YouTube that answers those questions better than I ever could. 

 

If you wish to watch the video directly on YouTube, click here.

I would invite you to visit southernprepper1's channel. He has excellent advice about homesteading, self-defense, and other related topics. Click here to view all of his videos.

 

Chickens, Goats, and Bees...OH MY!!!

The Hubs and I have been talking recently about purchasing a few chickens (White Rock hens only...no roosters), and also thinking maybe a couple of miniature goats to have as pets and also for fresh eggs and milk. I decided today to look into how many of those, the city that we live in, would allow us to have. Come to find out we aren't allowed to have any. None. Zip. Zilch. Na-Da. The city ordinance doesn't even allow for bee hives. Nothing that can be considered “livestock.”

Not sure that I am understanding that one. Less than a mile away from our house our park district has a “farm” with all kinds of livestock. But I guess that is different because they call it a “petting zoo.” The “zoo” consists of....you guessed it....chickens, miniature goats, miniature ponies, and so on.

Hmmmmmm. Maybe it is time for me to have a visit with my city council and find out how to change that ordinance. They say, “You can't fight city hall” but maybe I won't have to. Stay tuned...

:-)

Thanks for reading.