The end of another year

Each and everyone can conclude how this year was for them. In the beginning, there was still some apprehension,. Which then diminished with the advent of the vaccine. Still, in some areas, you have to be vaccinated to enter others not. Then with all the variants, people are still getting sick. Yet again even with some alleviation of restrictions. At the end of this year in some places, they are being put back. And for some no changes at all. A very hard year for many.

For us, we were able to provide food to many homes. We were able to attend the Homesteaders of America conference. We learned so much from and would like to go back to. I was held up a lot this year with car problems. In the second half of the year, the car was in the garage more than not. It is time for this year to end and for us to start a new one.

For our health, may we prosper.

For our homes, may they be safe and secure.

For our prosperity, may it grow.

For ourselves. may we find peace.

May the new year bring us this and more, many blessings to all.

See you next year.

Dye Adventures

Something I haven't done for a while and love doing is natural dyeing. I didn't check there was a class I took years ago with a bunch of friends. I may have posted that when the class was. Since that, I have not done any dyeing. 

This time I did an experiment similar to that class. I took five dyes and dyed white wool, grey wool, and cotton. All three of those fibers would result in different colors. Cotton being the weakest of color absorption for the most part. It is very difficult to get good color on cotton. Still, that is the fun of experimentation. 

I dyed enough yarns to go even further. I took one of each color and dyed them in an indigo vat. I did this three-time with three different multi-colored hanks. Each one in the vat for five minutes more than the last starting at five minutes. This, of course, changed the color even further.

The indigo vat and the grey wool both are considered overdyeing. With the case of the grey wool, that was overdyed twice. I got the idea from the class that I mentioned earlier. The difference is I didn't use mixed dyes; I used straight colors. From that class, I believe that when all was said and done, I came home with over 200 different colors of wool. In that class, we didn't dye any cotton. This time I only got 72.

The dyes I made are Brazilwood, Madder, Weld, Annatto, Logwood. With the Indigoover dye, I also dyed with the undyed yarns as well. That is how I got 72, including the undyed yarn. It was a fun and enlightening experiment. Which I hope to continue doing more of later.

Colors from the white wool, from left to right Brazilwood, Woad, Madder, Annatto, Logwwod.

The Indigo is in the same order on the left side hank with the original starting color first.

Grey wool in the same order as above.

Cotton, Also in the same order as above.

The star of the show or conference

I'm not sure if I ever shared our furry son. His name is Chewy. We rescued him three years ago, a couple divorced, and neither one wanted him.  A friend of ours hooked us up. It was a bit of a rough start. Over time he became very comfortable and safe with us. 

We believe we were never told the whole truth about him. When we got him, they told us he was about five. Which would make him eight this year. We believe he is a bit older. He is starting to go blind in one eye. Still manages to get around very easily with only a little helo when needed.

Back to the star, you are more than happy to bring your dogs along at this conference. Which was perfect. Chewy was able to attend the conference with us. Let me put it to you this way. People remembered us because they knew Chewy. He is a very handsome Chihuahua, isn't he? 

Everyone just loved him and many thought he was a puppy. There were several people that came back several times to say hello. The children loved him as well. He was the star of the weekend.

This is the last post for the conference. I am working on a project that I hope to have finished in the next week. Which I will post about. Until then, Enjoy!

Shopping

As with all good conferences, there was quite a bit of shopping that could be had. I have mentioned a couple of things I got. The first is Stacy's Cooking with a Smile Cookbook. This was put out by Stacy from Doug and Stacy, and if you refer back to the fermenting post, you get their website and youtube page. Stacy being part Armenian has several Armenian recipes and many, many others. The fermented ketchup is actually in this book. An excellent piece to have.

The next book is the dye book from Janet Garmen. Natural Dyes on Wool with Timber Creek Farm, a journaling workbook. She had three types of dyes in the book Kitchen, Foraged, Garden. Which gives you a full range of posable dye options. Some I have tried on my own. Just doing some experimentation. Some I have not, but some I will just to see what results I get. If you are interested in dying, it's a fun little book to have.

There was a stand selling a couple of books and a lot of aromatherapy. The Beeyoutiful stand was run by a wonderful couple that we actually got to chat with a couple of times. I was able to pick up a copy of The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy. Not only did we make new friends, but I was also able to help them out with a purchase.

One of the things Ed found was a Company that helps you manage an Online Farmers Market. They allow farmers to sell their items online and not only produce. If you make things, you can add them as well. A customer can place an order online. Then there can be a pickup or delivery. That is, of course, up to the farmer. Something interesting to check out. Especially if you want to purchase locally.

Yesterday I talked about Rory Feek. Rory's sister Marcy and wife Jo opened up their own restaurant. Which they would share a recipe from their restaurant on their show. Interestingly enough, Marcy Jo's was at the conference. And Marcy herself with friends worked the weekend and did very well. We stopped there for some coffee, and while we were there, Rory stopped to talk to his sister. Which was very cool.

I was able to pick up some wonderful young ginger roots. When I first saw it, I was under the impression that I could plant it when I got home and have ginger next year. That is incorrect; the babies needed to be planted immediately after the mother had been removed. I actually didn't get it. Then after I thought about it, I should have fo the ferments I was making.  I was able to get what was left the next day. Peace & Harmony Farm Also makes syrups, fire ciders, sells roots and plants. She was a wonderful person to talk with and again a new friend.

While walking the vendor area, we came across a woodworker's hand carving kitchen utensils. We found out he was at the conference in 2019. He decided to double what he brought last time because he sold out. He sold out again, which shows how good a product he has and how many people were there. Riverwood Trading Co is a wonderful place to get some well-priced hand-carved wood pieces. If you are so inclined.

Another fun place was the mushroom tent. Not only were they selling dried mushrooms also mushroom kits and plugs. We picked up one of their kits and some pink oyster mushrooms. They are supposed to taste like bacon when they are fried. Windermere Farms is a fun place to get your mushroom growing supplies.

After learning about elderberries, I wanted to get at least one bush. Well, wouldn't you know there were none to be had. As I mentioned in the post, for elderberries, you can propagate them from cuttings. Walking around, I found a nice southern lady selling clippings. For cheaper than purchasing a bush, I was able to get five cuttings. Which are planted, and I can't wait till spring to see how they took. 

There was another family that we picked up soap from. They actually farm on two-tenths of an acre. They make soap, body products, kimchi and sell the produce they grow as well. Really nice people and fun soap. Rootbound Farm has made you realize you can sustain yourself on very little land.

My last vendor to talk about is John Moody. He is the gentleman who presented the lecture on elderberries. He has written a book on that subject. Plus one on sourdough, weeds, and frugal homesteading. They were an excellent find.

We had a fabulous time shopping, meeting wonderful people, and getting some great bargains. You would think that this would be the last post on the HOA topic. I actually have one more, till then.

Apple Jack update

I thought it would be fun to share an update on my applejack. I am sure you remember that layers of sugar and fruit in that order are all it is. You fill it up tight with the layers, cover it, and let it sit for 10 months before consuming it.

It has been a week since I did the first one. Plus, I made another one of just sugar apples and raisins a couple of days ago. I thought it would be an excellent comparison to see what actually goes on. The original one I started is three-quarters full of juice, and the fruit has shrunk about a quarter from the top.

The new one is only about a quarter full of liquid and has no shrinkage that I can see at this time. Personally, I find these to be really cool. Seeing a jar just filled with fruit and a little bit of sugar fill up with liquid. With no assistance from human hands is fascinating to me. But then that is me.

This will be the most minor update until I bottle, which won't be until next summer. While I was at it, the sauerkraut and carrot stick was ready last night. I let Ed taste it. He liked both the kraut is nothing like you get in the store. The carrots were nice and crunchy. We added some garlic which gave some excellent flavor. Thinking about it, if we had dill, that would have been good too. 

The fermenting experiments are going very well.

End of the day

The last event at the conference was a performance by Rory Feek. Rory is a storyteller, songwriter, and singer/performer. When CMT created the first country version of American Ideal. Rory and his wife Jo were contestants. They won third and since that had a television show on RDTV. 

Seven years ago, they were blessed with their first child. A little girl with down syndrome. Shortly after having her, Jo was diagnosed with cancer. Soon after their daughter Indiana turned two, Jo lost that fight. For the last five years, besides raising his daughter to help him cope with the loss of his wife. Rory has continued to appear on RDTV with a new show that records his day-to-day. It reminds me very much of a video blog and helps him come to terms with his loss.

Back in 2019, Rory and his daughter attended that year's HOA Conference. He enjoyed it so much he was going to return last year. We all know why that didn't happen. This year he attended and performed. It was a lot of fun seeing him live after seeing him only on Tv.

The performance was a lot of fun. He told stories, sang songs, and even shared some new music from his first solo album. We, unfortunately, did not have the chance to talk to him. We did see him around the conference besides at the performance. It was a wonderful experience.

That was the end of all the events of the conference. Do not worry; I still have a little more to share with you all. Until next time.

Elderberry

The last lecture I attended was on Elderberry: Growing, Harvesting, Using. The presenter was John Moody. He also is a part of the Roque Food Conference. Not unlike the rest, this was chocked full of information and the added fact that he is a very funny person. 

We learned the best way to grow elderberries; one of the easiest besides purchasing from a nursery is planting cuttings. You don't need any root tone from a cutting. You only have to wait two years to harvest the fruit. You should harvest the flowers for the first two years to allow for root growth and establishment. Something I was not aware of they is a water-loving plant. And they also have shallow roots that help fight against erosion. All things I did not know about.

If you read my last post, you already know how everything can kill you in the correct amounts. Some are much less than others. Elderberry is on the less can kill your spectrum. The berries are highly poisonous and must never be eaten raw. They can only be eaten after they have been cooked, fermented, or dried. Once they are prepared properly, you can make some wonderful syrups, cordials, and wines with them.

Elderberry is a wonderful immune buster and is extremely helpful in the fight against viruses. It helps greatly in cold and flu season. If you don't have access to fresh elderberry or dried. You can find syrup in health food stores and most groceries and drugstores as well. It is a wonderful thing to have, and if you have bushes, you can pick the blooms to make elderberry flower teas and tinctures. The flowers are not poisonous.

We have collected a plethora of information from the classes and lectures. There is still more to come; we did attend one more event on Saturday. More on that later, plus some other fun stuff. Till then.

Herbs and preparations for viruses

Saturday was an easier day to get into the conference. We had no trouble and got in early, which gave us a chance to visit with vendors. More on that later. 

My first lecture of the day was presented by The Southern Herbalist, Darryl Patton. He talked about all kinds of herbs to use with different kinds of viruses. He even gave us a formula for a viral syrup. The man has such a wealth of knowledge in the herbalist field. It was amazing how much information we got from him in a short amount of time.

One of the things he discussed was how some of the most helpful herbs are actually poisonous. Before you get all stir crazy, you need to understand something. Everything we ingest, consume, or take into our bodies is poisonous in the correct amounts. Understand most of that would take great quantities to kill us. Or a large concentration of one thing or the other. Yet, still possible.

He was actually talking about Pokeweed, which is poisonous. The leaves are eatable if boiled. You would want to use the fresh young leaves for that. The seeds in the berries are also poisonous. The poison is only released when the seeds are broken. This means you can take a whole berry like a pill without ill effects. Sassafras is another one, as is comfrey. The problem is that all of these have been used for years without any problems. 

I am not telling you to use any of them, nor was he. I am not a doctor, and I'm not giving you health advice. I am just relating what these herbs are and how in the past, they have been used. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful lecture, and I hope he does more in the future.

How to keep your bees alive.....

 

The final lecture of Friday was on bee keeping through the winter. The presenter was Kaylee Richardson She is of course a bee keeper specializing in raising bees more than honey production. She actually has a You Tube Channel were you can see all of her adventures. The cool thing is she sells her bees that she raises. She does have a website, plus she is on Facebook, Twitter and she has a podcast as well. She keeps you informed and is willing to help you if you need.

We learned some fun tricks to help help keep the moisture out of the hive in winter. And in reality we learned how to se the hives through the entire year. She does raise bees in that having hives for honey is a little different not much.

I also learned of a new (I really don't know how new) hive that is horizontal. I have never heard of this before. The same concept of a vertical hive the difference being there are no supers. There is just one box of I believe 20 to 24 cell frames. It's defiantly an interesting concept and from what I gather it does work. Something to check into. 

The other hive that I actually didn't hear anything about is the one you can harvest the honey directly from the hive. I had though that one was interesting. I think the traditional one will be the start at the farm. That will be coming soon enough.

The lectures I have been talking about are only a quarter of what was offered. Ed was attending different lectures, plus the other four or so being offered at the same time. You really needed to pick and choice what you wanted to learn.

Next time I will be talking about Saturday lectures. Just as informative as Fridays. Till next time.

Old time ways to preserve your harvest

Next on the lecture agenda was to learn more about preserving. The presenter was Ann Accetta-Scott. Her site is A Farm Girl in the making. We covered fermenting. I already knew a lot about that topic. In reality, we covered Root Cellars, Cold Cellars, Spring houses, Smoking, Drying, Curing. You may not know this, but canning is a relatively new way to preserve food. Since these were old ways that never came up in the discussion.

Ann kept asking questions if anyone knew what this was? Or if anyone did this? Things like that and always came over to my side of the audience. We just tended to know more about the subject. 

There was one thing I never heard of, Water Glass Eggs. These are a way to preserve your fresh laid eggs for winter with hydrated lime and water. They, of course, must be covered entirely, newly laid, and totally clean so the bloom isn't disturbed. I currently don't have any chickens. We are going to be bringing them back. I will have to try this to have eggs over the winter.

Another fun and informative lecture. We had a great experience with the day. There is one more lecture for Friday, and we'll talk about that one next time.

Greenhouses

The Second lecture of Friday was The Homestead greenhouse-from pop up to High tunnel. The presenter was Paul Hutcheson from Windmill Heights Garden Center. It was a wonderful lecture with a wealth of information on starting your seed in the spring to extending you growing season.

I had thought I new the difference between greenhouse, high tunnel, cold frame and low tunnel. Actually I thought they are the the same with some slight differences and what was but in them. A greenhouse is pretty easy. What I didn't know is that for it to be a green house it needs to be heated.

A high tunnel also known as a hoop house is not a greenhouse. First you actually plant in the ground of a high tunnel. Plus there is no heat, if you add heat then it will become a green house. High tunnels are used to jump start the growing season and extend the season. That part I did know. I had always considered in a green house.

The next one is a cold frame. I actually grew up with cold frames and thought they low to the ground green houses. You could plant in the or put your seedling in them. Well, that isn't true, totally anyway. You use cold frames to harden off your plants before you plant them out in the garden. Interesting enough I was going to make some cold frames to start some plants next year. I will have to rethink that.

The final thing was the low tunnel. I think we all know what these are. Truly they wouldn't be a green house so much anyway. Low tunnels are covered with a frost cloth. it also help to keep bugs out and of your plants. It's that white cloth, it also helps shade your plant which would be a help with plants that you don't want to rocket into seed. You also see them in use when the threat of frost in the spring is looming. They use it to keep the warmth in the tunnel and around the plants.

Another wonderful lecture, don't worry there are several more coming. Till then.....

Some more on fermenting and the first lecture of the conference.

 I do realize I did show any pics of what I made in class. The reason is I wanted to show you everything. I didn't have enough time to make everything yesterday. I did today minus one thing that is going to have to wait until later today or tomorrow. I have made the original and am making my version of it as well. I have a crazy idea and want to try it.

The very first thing we made was the honey garlic or garlic honey. The jar on the far right is what we made in class and will get darker with age. The next one with the white lid is the honey ginger I made with fresh young ginger I got at the conference. Enjoyable I made that one Sunday when we got home. There is so much water in the ginger that the honey thinned out very quickly. It will be consistent when it is done, or it may come out a bit thinner. We will see.

The next jar is the mixture of ginger, garlic, turmeric, and the last is just the Tumeric. The sold-looking stuff on the bottom of the last jar is actually honey. I had to liquefy it again since it crystalized. I don't really know who that one or the mix will turn out they both have the crystalized honey in. 

I would think it is too thin out and un crystalizes. I really don't know. We will have to wait and see. All the solids will fall into the honey over time. With honey, you will be able to keep them indefinitely. Honey never spoils.

The next ones we did were the sauerkraut and carrots. 

As I had mentioned yesterday, the kraut is just

salted veggies that have been massaged to release the juice from within. Once that happens, which can take a little bit of time. You can then fill your jars and pack them tight. With any ferments, you don't want air hitting them. Otherwise, it will spoil. We were given special weights and tops to keep everything under the juice and allow the gasses to escape from the jar, so nothing explodes.

The carrots are done with brine. Again, you need to pack the jar tight with carrots. Interesting, you will never fill that jar with a pint of brine. There isn't enough room with the carrots. Make half a pint of brine, and you should have some leftover. 

After the weight is put on, you will need to add more juice or brine if the weight isn't covered. And you have to make sure that the weight is low enough not to interfere with the top. The best rule of thumb is to pack no higher than the next of the jar. That way you should have enough room for the weight. 

Both of these need to ferment a week, and then you can start to taste them. You can also use sight as well. The kraut the brine hasn't even begun to cloud up yet. But the color from the red cabbage is being released. In either case, you need to check it and let it go until you like the results. Once you do, then you need to place it in the frig or other cool place. You can also remove the nipple top.

The last thing we made was the ketchup. That was a bit unexpected and a lot of fun. After adding all your ingredients, you shake it to mix. Then taste to see if you want more of something or another. Once you like it, leave it to ferment for three days and then put it in the frig.

Something we talked about and didn't make was fermented tomato sauce. I made some of that today from the tomatoes I have in the garden. You can add your veggies and tomatoes to a chopper or food processer to chop them to the size you would like. You add your salt, and just like the ketchup, it needs to ferment for three days. Then you can place that if the frig or cool place till you use it.

Something I should mention whenever you use regular lids and not the nipple or fermenting lids, you need to burp the jars. If not, they can explode, and what a mess that will make. You just open the jar once morning and night to let the gasses out. Close it up and let it continue fermenting.

The sauce which is in the quart will ferment for three days. To use it instead of heating it up in the microwac=ve or on the stove. Drain your pasta and add it to that, letting the pasta warm the sauce for you. That way, you won't kill any of the beneficial bacteria.

That was all the things we made in class. We did talk about kombucha, which is a fermented tea. Instead

of making any there, we took some plain kombucha home to make a SCOBY ourselves. I wasn't going to and then decided after learning how to do the second ferment to give it a try again. I made the kick starter tea, and all I had to do was wait for the SCOBY to form. This can take up to two weeks. We must have some patients people.

The final thing we discussed and also didn't make was the apple brandy. In these parts, we call it applejack. It is made the same way. It's really just sugar, raisins, apples that are layered. that's it, nothing else

I am planning on making my version of applejack as well. I'm not going to reveal it just yet. I want to see if it work out first. It should; one never knows. Once your jar is filled, it needs to be left alone and forgotten about for almost a year. Then you can remove the fruit and strain out the liquid. It is a fruit ferment which means there is a low amount of alcohol in it. No driving and no kids. 

I told you we learned a lot, and let us take a few moments to talk about the first lecture on Friday.

Due to unexpected numbers of people attending this year's conference. The first day was challenging to get into. I actually could only stumble into the lecture at the tail end for the question and answer. That doesn't mean I didn't get something out of it.

Janet Garman was the presenter who was talking about who to care for your sheep and harvest wool. I was upset that I missed it. I was able to see her later in the day and pick up her book on natural dyeing. Plus, I got to talk with her; she is a beautiful person that I am glad to meet.

She, of course, has a website, Facebook, and the lot. If you are interested in learning more about her, I would check out her website.

That is enough for today. I wish I had more of the first lecture. That wasn't possible till next time.

The Basics of Homestead Fermenting, by Off the Grid with Doug and Stacy

 The first day of the conference really was a setup day for vendors. You had the opportunity to sign up for a class from carpentry to beekeeping, butchering, cheese making, fermenting, marketing, and more. Ed chose to do the marketing class, and I did the Fermenting course. Doug and Stacy are beautiful people. They are more than happy to help you in your quest to be self-sustainable. 

Doug and Stacy have a very famous Youtube page. Anyone out there that is into videos for homesteading may have come across them. If you haven't, I suggest you do. There are lots and lots of videos out there they have done that can help you out.

They also have a website that has their videos on, plus Stacey has created a cookbook, plus they are taking preorders for her fermenting book that will be out later this year. I do have a copy of the cookbook, which has some beautiful things. One of which is fermented ketchup that we made during the class. Is it every good? It only takes three days to ferment, and after it is done, you store it in the frig. Personally, I think if it's no better than in flavor than the commercial varieties, it is right up there. It's excellent.

The class started with history. We don't realize how far back humanity has been doing and creating these ways to preserve food. Some of them, if not all, have been found out by accident, and we have learned that if we salt cabbage and let it rest for some time, it will last us through winter and keep us feeling good. We talked about veggie ferments, dairy, fruit, and even kombucha. The class was very diverse in information, and we, of course, got to make several ferments to bring home.

There are two significant ways to ferment with salt. Either simply salting the vegetables as in making sauerkraut or using a brine. We actually did both. The first was sauerkraut; Stacy's is slightly different from what I have made in the past. Ed really doesn't like sauerkraut. He has only ever had it made from just cabbage. The one we made had several ingredients in including caraway seed and other veggies. She had brought some along for us all to try. It's delicious, personally, I like just cabbage sauerkraut, the one we made was fantastic. 

The next thing we made was fermented carrot sticks. Those are done with brine and them too. You can add some spices and herbs actually; you could add pickling spice just like you do with pickles. She had them. We didn't make any but dilly beans. You can use the brining method to pickle any kind of veggie, and the best time is known in the fall to preserve the last bit of harvest from the garden.

The first ferment we made for the day was honeyed garlic. I have read and heard of it before; I was always leary of trying it. My mind was thinking sweet garlic. That isn't actually true; we got to have some samples on that as well. After it has been fermented, which does take months, you can eat the garlic and use the honey. You know the garlic is garlic, it's not overly sweet, and it's not excessively strong. The honey, to me, didn't have a strong garlic taste either. It is very unique and highly healthy. You can do this with other things as well, such as ginger, turmeric, even elderberries. You can also do a combination of several. I am actually going to be making not only ginger and turmeric honey. I am going to make a combination of ginger, turmeric, and garlic. To see how I we like them.

The last one of the day was kombucha. Ed hates it; when we first met, I was making it. He despises it back then. It was just a plan. I didn't know anything about a second ferment which is when you had your flavor. I wasn't going to take any kombucha home to make. Then I decided I will and do a second ferment to flavor it. 

I had an amazing first day of the conference. Learned so much and, in this case, got to bring home some goodies. More tomorrow.

Homesteaders of America Conference

 

I believe it was Nov of 2019. Ed came across a homesteading conference. Doing some research and finding the Homesteaders of America, we found that the meeting was in October. We missed it but kept an eye out for possibly attending the next one with everything that happened last year that wasn't going to happen for us. They didn't have a live event. They did have a virtual one for Ed and me. If we were going to spend the money, we would like to see the speakers live and in person.

COme this year, back in March (Ed was keeping an eye on the site), we saw that this year's conference would be live. As soon as we found that out, we ordered our tickets. We did have the grandeur idea of camping on the site location. Later this year, when we went to see about that, there were no sites available. In reality, that was for the best, not that either one of us doesn't like to camp. In fact, we do. We had Chewy with us, and there were no facilities on site except porta-potties. Which was fine; coming back to a room with a bed was more appealing for us.

After all the plans, we embarked on a 222-mile road trip to Front Royal VI. The event was at the Warren County Fair Grounds. We left in the hours of Thursday morning. Both Ed and I had a class at 9 am. Then the conference started Friday and Saturday. With us coming back today.

We learned so much, and I have a lot to share. It's too much information to do in this post. My goal is to post about a class a day if I can, with life not getting in the way. There were some fantastic speakers, the people were a highly diverse set of people from all over the country. Everyone was so kind and friendly. It truly was a fantastic event.

Happy New Year!

 I am being truthful, I am planning on blogging more. Partly it is time and I wasn't able to do any project. I have a little more money this year. I am able to do more in that respect. That wasn't the only hick-up.

A goal that we have for this is selling more from the farm. Not only produce, but also things that we have made. For me to be able to do that I need to get a little more organized. Make a list, a schedule, and of course, act in it. To help with that Santa got us not books to do those things with.

Another thing is to get back on the diet that we had started actually in '19. Due to the virus, we were unable to follow it to the letter. It was hard for me to find some of the items I needed. We should be getting back into all of that soon enough.

Here is to the best of the years we have already lived and to making our dreams come true.