Saturday, September 29, 2007

Homestead Storage

"In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has." Proverbs 21:20

I've been thinking about household and homestead storage, and how we don't have nearly enough. I've also been thinking about the stuff we accumulate, and how we have way too much. Kind of ironic, huh?

When we built our house, we thought we were quite clever to design in a 4ft x 10ft pantry. As I've written before, we could clearly use 4 times that much, and ideally in an underground situation to help with electricity-less cooling. That's just for food storage. Other storage needs I've identified include storage for seasonally used large kitchen equipment (canners, meat grinder, cream separator, cheesemaking equipment), my soapmaking supplies, storage for medicinal herbs and tinctures, better weapons storage, along with a household work area - a woman's "shop" for things like extra fabrics and yarn, a spinning and weaving area, a place for extra canning jars, a general area for a woman's projects that won't clutter up the house. Men tend to object to women's clutter, even if it is productive clutter. The moral of the story is, when you build your homestead plan on 3 to 4 or more times the storage space than you think you'll need.

I talked to Dave on the phone this afternoon, he's been away from home for 3 weeks straight and is coming home tomorrow. He asked me what I was doing and I told him that I was going through the kitchen getting rid of things I didn't use. He said, "Don't you do that about every 2 weeks?" I said, "Yes, lately." He said, "Do you have anything left in the kitchen??" The truth is, I do have things left in the kitchen, blessedly things I actually use and a whole lot less in the way of distracting dust-catchers. It's a bit comical how when we first marry we have nothing we need and when we've been married 20 years we need little of what we have. I've mentioned before how we've slowly slipped back into grid dependence after our first 15 months on the land completely without electricity. I'm approaching my kitchen and household purging with an eye to an off-grid lifestyle. It's a great clutter-reduction tool, and goes a long way to improving the above mentioned storage dilemma.

Tomorrow will be an outdoor work day. Dave has instructed me to have campfire making materials ready, as after 3 weeks with the National Guard he needs down-to-earth homestead relaxation time. I suspect his relaxation will be short-lived and that by Monday morning he'll be once again using his days off working circles around everyone else in the family.

Today's tidbits:

From Dry Creek Chronicles, what promised to be an outstanding series on The Lost Tools Of Living

John Taylor Gatto's The Underground History of American Education, an eye-opening expose on the historical development of the public school system.

From Organic and Farming, November 1973, Raising Catfish In A Barrel.

Accountability tidbit: I did get the garlic in the ground.

Till next time, Blessings,

Judy

Monday, September 24, 2007

Today's chores and reflections

Today I've been cleaning up in the goat lot; burning brush and raking up the composted remains of the last 3 large round hay bales we fed.   I'd love to have a chipper/shredder to chip most of what I'm burning (the big stuff goes for firewood) for composting but I don't, C'est la vive.  I have a dear friend who uses the big stuff for firewood, the smaller stuff for campfires and lets the rest of it rot, and that's probably the best option, but something (either neurosis or the ancestral memories of my Eastern European ancestors) makes me want to make it tidy.  At least the ashes can be spread to enrich the soil.  Once this job is through my next plan is to get a bed in the garden ready using the compost I've collected for planting garlic.  The garden year for me seems to start with garlic planting in September or October with August being the Oklahoma equivalent of the dead of winter.  This year has been a wet exception, but usually August is bleak.

I've been thinking today about how chores stack up and how we react to it.  There are those, like me, who bear the thorn of procrastination.  Then once things pile up to the point that action must be taken, we're overwhelmed and disheartened by the fact that we can't get it all done in 2 hours so we don't do anything.    I've studied this pattern of behavior, I've reflected, I know all the tricks and techniques, yet time and time again I find myself in the same situation.  I think of the Apostle Paul:

"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do."  Romans 7:18-19

Life on the land brings us ever to closer to God, His providence and His will.  He made me; He knows me more intimately than I know myself; He put me here on this 40 acres of Oklahoma red dirt.  Amongst the many blessing are times of trial and humility.  I could analyze it, but I think He'd probably prefer I just get back to my work. 

Tidbits:

A wonderful post by Kathi at Oak Hill Homestead about how she and her family bale hay by hand.

Michael Bunker is has started a great new series on his Process Driven Life blog about off-grid living for Christian agrarians.

A good article from the Mother Earth News archives on tanning rabbit skins.  I can vouch for the method and it comes to mind for me as I have a freezer full of rabbit hides just waiting on cooler weather.

Till next time, blessings.

Judy

Saturday, September 22, 2007

The 7-year Itch

Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. Deuteronomy 1:21

I may be wrong, but I think that all of us who have been at this agrarian lifestyle for a while find ourselves a bit lost at times, looking for our roots so to speak.  We make progress, then find that our progress has put us back in the world we turned our backs on.  Maybe not complete re-immersed, but heading that direction.  Or maybe not reconnecting with the world so much as at a loss of what to do next.  There's certainly no lack of jobs to be done, at least not on this farm, but sometimes I'm just stalled out.  What to do????

I think the first step is to start at the beginning, remembering and reflecting on who we were and what we wanted when we started all this; remembering the meals cooked over an open fire, the nights spent reading in the dim lantern light, the evenings waiting for the sun to go down so bathing with water dipped from a 5-gallon bucket would be a cool pleasure; remembering when there was no money for barns and lots and fences; remembering when I thought I was crazy for thinking that this was God's plan for me and knowing with all certainty now that it was and is.  Those at the beginning of the agrarian journey don't have the luxury of time for this type of reminiscing, those of us who have been here a while need it.

The next step for me is to think of those who are in the same circumstance as we were and to find ways to help and encourage them.  I don't write nearly enough, but it is cathartic and rewarding for me and part of this next step is to do it more often.  I get emails from people who say "We've bought 20 acres.  What do we do next?"  I shake my head wondering how do you answer such a question, then I decide that I should at least try.

So readers, I don't know how many of you there are, help me by letting me help you.  Lend me your beginner's enthusiasm.  Share with me that God given spark of craziness that leads you to want to leave the city and milk goats and grow asparagus and keep your children close by your side.  Talk to me, ask me, share with me, help me over the hump, tell me what you need to know.

Heartfelt blessings to you all, till next time,

Judy

Monday, September 10, 2007

Canned Carp

These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. Leviticus 11:9

From my Grandma Duffek I inherited much of my attitude toward food. I love growing it, cooking it and eating it. I also inherited her sturdy, well-fed form. She had a great appreciation for others who enjoyed food. As I outgrew my skinny little girl's frame, she'd grab me by the shoulders and say in her lovely accent, "Oh my, what a sturdy girl!" From Grandma Duffek I learned that one of the best ways a woman can show love for her family is to cook well.

I didn't get to have the woman to woman conversations with my grandma that I would have liked, but my mother has helped fill in the gaps. One thing she often talks about is Grandma canning carp. Here in the south carp is dismissed as a useless trash fish. Historically, though, it was brought from Europe in the early 1800's specifically for a food fish. Today, the Czech Republic is a leading producer and exporter of fish and among those fish carp plays a large role, so maybe my grandma knew what she was doing.

As I've stated in previous posts, the quickest way to get me to try something is to tell me I can't or even that I probably shouldn't. Last week my son-in-law, knowing that I'd been brewing this idea for some time, brought me a 5-pound carp that he caught while camping. Cleaning it was a bit challenging, as it is full of substantial bones. I found that my large, heavy Oriental cleaver was the perfect tool. (6lbs of carbon steel hand forged by some little Asian blacksmith, $6.00 at the Asian market. It rusts now, but it's super easy to sharpen and I expect it to patina with age.)

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Scaling Mr. Bones required a butcher knife, as the scales are large and tough. I actually read about a Czech fishmonger's wife who decorated a dress in sequins cut from carp scales. They are actually quite pretty. My husband and son-in-law advised me to fillet it which would have made the whole process a bit easier, but I didn't want to waste any meat so I compromised and filleted out the sections that had the ribs after I got it scaled and cut into manageable pieces. It was at that point that I determined I ought to skin it. I don't know if this can be done with the scales still on or not, and the men in my house were suspiciously out of pocket during the entire operation. I suspect the entire family was whispering among themselves, "Uh Oh, Momo's doing it again."

I soaked the meat in a brine of 1 cup salt to 1 gallon of water for about an hour, before packing it into pint jars. I had a couple of pieces like big steaks from the rear section of the fish that packed well as they were. I rolled the thinner side meat to the inside of the ones from the section just behind the ribs, and I rolled the filleted rib section pieces. After researching several recipes, I added 1 teaspoon cooking oil and 2 tablespoons vinegar to each jar, topped with lids and rings and pressured for 90 minutes at 12 pounds pressure.

An hour and a half later I expected to have the odor of a blackwater slough hit me when I removed the top of the canner. I was surprised that there was no smell at all. Canning pork or venison is much, much smellier. The 3 jars in the experiment all sealed. So far so good.

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Today I decided it was time for the final test. I opened the jar containing the large rear section of the fish backbone intact. It smelled like salmon. Just for comparison I opened a jar of bass that I'd canned as an experiment a month or so ago. The bass went straight to the cats, and not because it was bad. It just stank like fish bait. All the carp bones, including the backbone, were soft like canned salmon bones. Continuing on I mixed up and fried a batch of "salmon" patties. Still no bad odor. I set them on the table and they were gone in minutes. My daughter said, "Wow, this is better than salmon" and Oran and I had to agree.

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From the research I did I concluded that in a year with less bountiful rain than we've had this year, it might be prudent to keep carp live and give them several days in a clearwater tank to clean out. Other than that, I was tickled to have found another source of good food for my family in the days to come. I also read that carp can grow at a rate of 6 pounds per year, making aquaculture something I'll have to explore.

Tidbits:

  • My recipe for fish patties (was my recipe for salmon patties)

Mix canned fish with cracker crumbs (maybe 1:3 crumbs to fish), herbs of choice (I like dill and sage), pepper, finely chopped onion and enough egg to bind. Fry till brown in 1/2" of oil

  • Another interesting reading site,

Historical Publications of the Kansas State Ag Experiment Station

  • And just to get you thinking, (while you're reconsidering things you'ld never do, like eating carp)

The Humanure Handbook

Till next time, Blessings,

Judy

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Snakes, good reading and chores

"And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 3:13-15

A few evenings ago I was feeding the pigs right about dusk when I heard my daughter Rachael yelling something. I thought to myself "What in the world is she doing?" when I make out the word "Snake!" I instructed Lianna to see about her brother Oran, both were with me at the pig pen, and I ran (it was not a pretty sight) to the house. I got a look at the snake just about 5 feet from the porch and heading under the house and grabbed an ax, then I changed my mind and ran into the house and grabbed the .22. Rachael had been one footfall away from stepping on him. (We thank God for His protection.) I shot him twice and we had a good lesson on venomous snakes with the children.

He was a Velvet Tail or Timber rattler, about 3 feet long stretched out. Fortunately, this species of rattlesnake is incredibly docile. This one let the dog lick him and only rattled after I'd shot him once. Still, he was much too close to the house and my family.

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Here's a good illustration of the triangular head of a pit viper.

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And here's a picture of his working end.

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A lady on our NewOkiePioneers email list sent me these wonderful pictures of a Copperhead snake, the other common venomous snake in this area.

Copperhead measurement

Copperhead 2

Copperhead head 3

*********************************************************************************I I know people find me an odd juxtaposition. I have no running water in the house, but I have a blog and a website. I've never owned and don't really know how to load a dishwasher, cellphone jargon like "Bluetooth" just makes me cock my head and go "Hmmmm", I've never watched "Nip Tuck" or "Big Brother" and Napster makes me think of someone who likes to sleep in the afternoon (which I do on occasion), yet I love the internet. Not the internet of chatrooms and YouTube, but the internet that is the largest library in the world at my fingertips. Here's just a sample of what I find fascinating:

Core Historical Literature of Agriculture

Home Economics Archive

Digital Book Index (more than 1500 agriculture titles)

The Soil and Health Library

The Food Timeline

Documenting the American South

Project Gutenberg

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I recently did a mental walk-through of the chores that had backed up here on the homestead starting in my mind's eye at the gate and walking around the whole barnyard and house and came up with a list of some 30+ projects, not including major building projects. I just shake my head at women who say, "Oh I have to work or I'd just die of boredom."

Gate plantings
Redo gate signs
Plant fruit trees (along drive?)
Sort and burn woodpile by garden
Transplant giant reed and Jerusalem artichoke to right-of-way
Clean up old wood pallet in garden
Plant garlic
Plant winter wheat
Clean up shower area, make storage for bathing supplies
Move blue tank to goat pen
New worm beds
Move bathtubs to house for planters
Level rabbit water tank
Arrange rocks and set bridge timbers around parking area
Clean up goat pen
Finish clearing and burning in east pasture
Clean out milking barn
Clean lots
Clean barn and feed area
Clean woodshed
Spread woodchips
Transplant horehound bed
Build water catchment
Finish west trellises
Fence to clear west of house
Clear little garden
Add 4th side to compost pile
Clean up greenhouse
Plant trees
Weed south walkway bed
Weed north walkway bed
New rabbit barn
Tool storage at woodshed

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A couple of tidbits:

Here' is another great piece by Michael Bunker that I downloaded and saved. It speaks eloquently about one reason the modern world is such a mess.

Here's a really good recipe for Chicken Fried Steak. Even if you haven't had much success with chicken fry (as we call it), try this recipe. I made it using buffalo rump roast, sliced about 3/4" thick and pounded thin.

Till next time, Blessings,

Judy