Diary of a Modern Homestead

Moving

2008-02-27T17:24:00.001-06:00

I'm in the process of attempting to move from Blogger to Wordpress hosted on my website. I think I've got it all figured out and Lord willing it will work. Being a computer idiot savant is not the easiest thing in the world. Anyway, from this point on I'll be continuing to blog at http://www.tabletophomestead.org/wordpress.

Till next time, Blessings.

Judy

Goose Eggs and Free Firewood

2008-02-19T21:54:00.001-06:00

I don't have anything especially interesting or educational to write today, but if I don't keep up the habit it will be months again before I post. Procrastination has a way of stalling out productivity.

This morning I was blessed to do some homeschooling with my granddaughter. Oran, my grandson who just turned 3, has become especially interested in his sister's schooling. I made him 6 flashcards - A, B, C, 1, 2 and 3. He had them mastered within 5 minutes. Lianna and I fixed a bit of breakfast for ourselves: cream of wheat and scrambled goose egg. We started with the cream of wheat and used the making of it as a math teaching tool, then she asked if we could have eggs also. I said "Sure" and she told me that she really liked goose eggs best. We've only this year started eating our goose eggs. I decided it was no use for the geese to lay them only to have them freeze before they got around to sitting on them, so I decided to try to use those that were laid before warm weather came. I've found them to be outstanding. One goose egg makes 2 ample servings of scrambled eggs and they turn out especially rich and creamy. Just don't overcook them (the mistake most people make with scrambled eggs.) Here's how I make scrambled eggs:

Melt real butter in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet so there's about 1/8th inch in the bottom of the skillet. Match the size of the skillet to the amount of eggs you're cooking. (For 2 or 3 servings I use my 6" skillet.) Turn the fire down to medium. Whisk the eggs until the yolks are well distributed in the whites, but not completely blended. Add a little milk and whisk in. Pour the eggs into the hot (not too hot) skillet and LEAVE THEM ALONE!. Yes, I just spoke strongly but it's the most important thing to do to not end up with a big mess in your cast iron. When the edges start to set up, gently fold them to the middle with a fork. Continue this gentle lifting and folding until most of the egg is soft set. You can see when the sticking stops. You may have to turn the fire down low if they seem to be cooking too fast. When most of the eggs are set, turn off the fire and continue to lift and stir gently. Patience, patience, patience is the key to good scrambled eggs. Once they're all set, you can chop the heck out of them if you like your eggs in small curds. Salt to taste and serve immediately. If you do it right and your skillet is well seasoned, clean up consists of wiping the skillet down well with paper towels. :)

My son-in-law Donald came in this afternoon with a pick-up load of well seasoned firewood that he got from a friend. Seems the fellow had a new chainsaw and just liked playing around with it, so he sawed up a bunch of 3 year old wood just for the fun of it. What a blessing. A lot of it was smaller which is an additional blessing as I'm still nursing sore ribs. Somehow in all the coughing and respiratory illness that has plagued our family this year I've managed to separate a rib. That means where the rib connects to the sternum it's come loose. Unfortunately, as with most connective tissue injuries, it's going to take a while to heal, but I'm blessed once again to have my daughter and her family living right in the backyard to help when my husband is working out of town.

We took a drive around a local lake earlier tonight. The full moon was beautiful. I have to make a trip to the city tomorrow (that's the Okie term for Oklahoma City) and I do dread it.

Till next time, Blessings.

Judy

Things I'm Thankful For Today

2008-02-16T17:21:00.001-06:00

1. The 47 pairs of shoes in my closet, to stylishly coordinate with every one of my provocative outfits.

2. The $175,000 mortgage that allows me to live in a shoddily built home 6 feet from my neighbors identical shoddily built home.

3. The Walmart 3 blocks down that allows me to buy poison gas/virus impregnated meat and "fine" goods from China.

4. 158 channels of cable TV that bring me not only the best in "reality" entertainment but all the fascinating infomercials I could ever want.

5. My job that takes me away from home 5 or 6 day a week so I can pay for the aforementioned essentials. . . . .

LOL. All jokes aside, what I'm really thankful for today:

1. The live coals left in the woodstove this morning when I got up.

2. The piece of dry wood my daughter left on the porch for me.

3. That my ribs have healed enough (haven't told this story 'cause I didn't want to whine) to allow me to split a bit more wood.

4. That none of the poultry succumbed last night to the predatory owl that's been hanging around lately.

5. The precious rain, even accompanied by plentiful mud and damp cold.

May you all share the simple blessings I enjoy. Till next time.

Judy

Reconnection

2008-02-16T00:12:00.001-06:00

I've been offline quite a bit in the last few weeks with various illnesses and injuries in the family, but Lord willing we're ready to move on. A few things I've been doing to "reconnect" with my agrarian heart:

Cleaning out the greenhouse and starting a few plants

Learning to draft my own clothing patterns

Having other homesteaders over to butcher excess pigs

Continuing to reduce clutter in my home

Learning to live with an apartment sized refrigerator since my regular one went out, and saving for a SunFrost high efficiency 'fridge

Things on the to-do list:

Work on expanding fencing in order to put the remaining breeder pigs on pasture

Looking forward to David welding me a broadfork to begin the process of working the garden more without the tiller

General tidying and cleanup around the homestead

Buying or building a new incubator for hatching chickens, Muscovy ducks and guineas

Training the geese to a new barn where they can lay their eggs and brood them safely.

Lord willing, I'll be able to blog more soon,

Till next time,

Judy

Covert Homesteading Tactics, and. . .

2007-11-30T00:26:00.001-06:00

what's going on at Tabletop Homestead.

Just something I've been thinking about. We go into homesteading with romantic ideas that sometimes just don't work out. It doesn't mean that our desire to live simply and self-sufficiently on the land is flawed, just that our methods may be prejudiced. For example, beautiful loaves of freshly baked bread come to mind; however, in our house they often get moldy after being only half-eaten. But, Middle Eastern flatbreads and tortillas go like hotcakes. The point being, adapt homesteading to your family as much as your family to homesteading, tweaking it along the way and sneaking things in that they may find that they actually love. Don't worry about what the books and the folks on the internet forums say, do what's good for your family and what works in your locale.

We've all had one kind of respiratory crud or another for the last 3 or 4 weeks. It started with granddaughter Lianna and a late night trip to the ER with extremely sudden onset of croup. Next, her mother developed early pneumonia and Doodad (my dh) came home bearing glad tidings and snot from Ft. Bliss, which I quickly caught. Then, Oran (baby brother) knocked Lianna in the head with a flashlight necessitating one stitch, which I provided here at home, and to top it all off Lianna came down with an especially nasty case of poison ivy on her face. Let me elaborate - her face, her eyes, up her nose, in and behind her ears, her lips plus garnishments over her arms, hands and trunk. (Her mother cringes when I pray regularly for more little arrows to fill our family quiver.) So, hopefully all you readers will understand why I've been a little behind on posting.

My most recent endeavors have been in drying produce and, once again, cheesemaking. This week we weaned young goats, banded the boys, and gave tetanus shots (about the only goat immunization I worry about.)

I just can't seem to get it out of the back of my mind "what if I can't get canning lids???" Therefore, I've been trying to hone my dehydrating skills with my Excalibur dehydrator while planning ahead to using the solid glass scrap storm door I have out back to build a solar dehydrator. http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/surv/soldehyd.htm

http://www.echotech.org/technical/technotes/Solar%20Dehydrator.pdf

http://www.motherearthnews.com/DIY/2006-08-01/Build-a-Solar-Food-Dehydrator.aspx

Lack of a carved-in-stone plan has never been a deterrent to us, and we'll make do, learning along the way, with what God has provided.

Currently on my kitchen work table I have jars of dried tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms, buffalo, hominy and winter squash. My latest cheese experiments have centered around Middle Eastern cheeses - how to make cheese in a warm climate. I've been experimenting with Domiati type cheese - Egyptian cheeses which are unique in that salt is added before coagulating with rennet or acid. These cheeses are aged in whey - some in a fresh state and some after cooking in the whey yielding a mozzarella type cheese. Though I can provide no documentation, it's my belief that the early addition of salt serves to inhibit the proliferation of undesirable bacteria in the cheese, something that is especially concerning in a warm climate.

I want to elaborate on all this in a later post, Lord willing.

Today I worked on the electric fence gate, getting an electroshock treatment in the process which hopefully was beneficial. LOL.

Last weekend we put new plastic on the greenhouse, and I've been perusing my store of seeds and the latest seed catalogs in preparation for planting.

It's not that nothing's been going on here and in my little mind, but that too much happens and I don't know where to start. This weekend we will have guests for a hog butchering. Lord willing I will have wonderful pictures to post. Also, we hope (check out the Biblical definitions - confidence unwavering, trust, security, assurance) to have venison for provision provided during Dave's next leave in December.

Tidbits:

A nicely written post on Christian agrarianism by Herrick Kimball.

I'm not saying that I will and I'm not saying that I won't, but Michael Bunker provides something to think about in his latest post.

A friend of our family is faced with a recurrence of cancer and needs prayer. Pray for Dennis and Dory. I can provide details in private email.

Till next time, Blessings.

Judy

How Bad Do You Want It

2007-11-26T17:41:00.001-06:00

The thought occurred to me this evening, as I was doing evening chores: a woman completely alone on the homestead: Would I still want to do this if it were only me here?

David is in the city working to provide the monetary means we need to be debt free, as we believe God has ordained (him to provide, us to be debt free.) My daughter, her husband and the grandchildren are in Texas tending to a family emergency. I have a rare opportunity to reflect completely alone this evening.

Would I pursue this life alone? Without a doubt, yes. Could I have done alone what David and I have done together? Absolutely not. Would I hunger for Christian community and fellowship? Certainly. But in the end, if it all boiled down to just me, staying here instead of "moving to town and getting on cable" as we joke, would I stay?
Without a doubt.

No matter where you are on the journey, how do you feel about this life? Would you do it alone? It matters.

Till next time, Blessings.

Judy

Hey Momo, What's For Supper?

2007-10-27T15:55:00.001-06:00

It's an enchilada in a bowl, a recipe I developed myself.

Tabletop Homestead Posole

(ingredients with ** were produced here, those with * can be produced here)

**1 pound pork loin

* 1 large or 2 medium onions

**2 pints chile verde

* 2 pints canned tomatoes

* 1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon cumin

* 1 tablespoon dried oregano

* 1 tablespoon paprika

**1 pint canned pinto beans

**1 cup dried hominy

1/2 cup brown rice

cooking oil or *lard

water

salt

Cut pork loin into small cubes and brown well in a small amount of oil or lard. Add chopped onions and salt to taste (helps sweeten and soften the onions). Saute until onions are soft and beginning to brown a bit. Add chopped garlic and saute another minute or so. Deglaze the pan with about 1/4 cup water, scraping up all the browned bits. Add chile verde, tomatoes, beans, spices, hominy and rice. Add water to thin to a soup consistence (it will thicken as the rice and hominy cook.) Simmer 1 hour or until the pork is tender and the hominy is soft. Serve with grated cheddar or *crumbled goat cheese.

Till next time, Blessings.

Judy

Tidbits

2007-10-22T17:13:00.001-06:00

Here's just a few quick tidbits I've collected recently and a quick post to let everyone know that all is well:

I want to highlight this installment of Michael Bunker's Off-Grid Living for Agrarians series. In my opinion, it's the basis of thought and planning for anyone anticipating off-grid living regardless of their reasons for doing so. It also sort of sent me off on the tangent I've been on the last couple of weeks, which I'll be posting on soon.

A nice post about investing from Homesteader Life

Evaporative cooling for food

I was explaining to Lianna about making Machaca, a northern Mexican dried shredded dried meat I'm experimenting with. I was telling her that it was made in the days before electricity, and that Momo was trying to learn about living without electricity. She promptly responded, "Well, then turn all the lights and stuff off."

Till next time, Blessings.

Judy

Homestead Storage

2007-09-29T20:50:00.001-06:00

"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

Today's chores and reflections

2007-09-24T15:28:00.001-06:00

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

The 7-year Itch

2007-09-22T16:47:00.001-06:00

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

Canned Carp

2007-09-10T14:01:00.001-06:00

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.)

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.

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.

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

Snakes, good reading and chores

2007-09-09T10:42:00.001-06:00

"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.

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

And here's a picture of his working end.

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

*********************************************************************************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

*********************************************************************************

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

*********************************************************************************

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

Target Practice and The Garden Salvage Operation.

2007-08-29T00:05:00.001-06:00

And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes. Zechariah 9:8

Sorry, no witty lead-ins this time. I really just have some wonderful pictures of family target practice. Our Papa Hamilton, our family patriarch and a gifted minister of God, came over for family fellowship and a meal of buffalo hash (the recipe's at the end of the post.) Afterwards we just thought it was a good time for some family fun.

Our junior spotters:

I'm not sure, but I think if you look closely you can actually see the bullet:

David spotting:

Rachael takes a turn with the SKS:

Then tries her hand at spotting:

A rare picture of me. I really am more comfortable than I look:

Papa and David discuss an ammo feed problem:

David takes a turn with my new .45:

And Lianna joins in with her BB gun. She hit 3 out of 4 at 20 yards.

The same morning we got the garden ready for the salvage crew. We used electric fence to divide the garden into 2 sections and to protect my still viable peppers.

This is our herd sire Max, 1/2 Boer and 1/2 dairy:

Here's the buffalo hash recipe. I rarely use a recipe, so it's sometimes hard for me to put things in a true recipe format. Bear with me:

Take a nice chunk of buffalo (or beef or venison or pork or whatever). Cut it into cubes 1/2" or less in size. Brown the cubes well in a hot cast iron pan. Remove the meat and throw in a finely chopped onion, a little salt, and brown well. Deglaze the pan with a couple of cups of water (pour the water in the pan and scrape up all the nice brown stuff on the bottom.) Return the meat to the pan, add a couple of tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce or tomato paste or even some powdered dried tomatoes, cover and simmer till tender, adding more water as needed. Meanwhile, melt about 1/4 cup butter and add 1/4 cup of flour to make a roux. Be careful not to let the flour burn. When the meat is tender, pour the broth into the hot roux and whisk to make the gravy. Return the gravy to the pot with the meat and add enough finely cubed (1/4") potatoes to make however much you need. I prefer canned new potatoes for their waxy texture and I use about twice the quantity of potatoes as meat. Simmer until the potatoes are done (or hot in the case of canned potatoes remembering to boil home-canned potatoes at least 10 minutes somewhere in the process.) Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

We make this simple and mild, but it can be jazzed up with garlic, cayenne pepper or chili powder, green sauce, or any number of vegetable additions depending on what's in your pantry and what you like.

A tidbit for today: Here's an inspirational and true post from Homesteader Life,

and an article by Howard King. (My disclaimer: I post this to edify those who agree, to teach those who might, and to incite no argument with those who don't.) God is perfectly capable of leading us where He will have us go.

Till next time, Blessings,

Judy

Turkey Craw Beans and Other Wonderful Vegetables

2007-08-27T07:32:00.001-06:00

I got ahead of myself in my last post and forgot to post the picture I took of the prolificity of my Turkey Craw beans, so I decided rather than go back and add the picture I'd just post specifically about them and a few other varieties that I love.

According to the stories, the Turkey Craw bean originated when an hunter somewhere in Appalachia shot a turkey and found an interesting bean in the craw. He planted it, saved seed, and the variety was born. It's a bean you have to hunt for or stumble across, but it is available from a few sources:

Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center

Southern Seed Legacy Project

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Reimer Seeds

The Turkey Craw bean is one of the most beautiful and unusual looking beans, in my opinion. It's listed in most sources as a cornfield bean, and is touted as being stringless and of a good flavor for snap beans. Unfortunately, I missed that stage this year. I don't know yet how they'll do in drought, but with this year's rain they certainly were abundant.

I love the colorful names we've given our southern vegetable varieties. I grow them as much for that reason as any. Here are a few of my favorites, some of which I grow and some I haven't tried yet.

Mule Team tomato
Arkansas Traveler tomato
Blue Goose pea
Trucker's Favorite corn
Lena Cisco's Bird Bean
Texas Homestead bean(the original name of the Kentucky Wonder)
Rattlesnake bean
Nebraska Wedding tomato (I'm assuming, based on it's wonderful name, that it must be from "southern" Nebraska. At any rate it's a salute to the other half of my genealogy, my Nebraska Czech heritage. I'm exactly 1/2 Czech, 1/2 Texan, born an Okie and southern as they come.)
Sheepnose apple

Here's a belated but better picture of my mixed pole bean harvest

I found no interesting tidbits for today, just an uplifting verse from our Lord's word:

"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James 5:7-8

Till next time, Blessings,

Judy

How To Skin A Cat

2007-08-25T09:13:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite sayings is "There's more than one way to skin a cat." I get a bit annoyed on my jaunts around the homesteading communities on the internet when people tell other people, "Oh, you can't do that!" as if there's one way and one way only to accomplish the things we do on the homestead. I'm a bit like a Missourian when I hear that; I want to say "Show me." As far as I'm concerned, right Biblical doctrine is carved in stone. Everything else is, well, it's just everything else. I try, when asked for advice, to use the following guidelines: 1) If I've actually done what it is the person is asking about, I say, "In my experience. . ." 2)If I only have anecdote from other homesteaders or have only read about the activity in question I say "I've heard, or I've read. . . ." and 3) If I'm completely in the dark I say, "I have no clue." I often break the "rules", those directions that are in all the books, often word for word in book after book. I make no apologies for it and I've learned some interesting things along the way. I encourage everyone, when it comes to your personal agrarian journey, to try prayerfully breaking the rules. Learn how to learn, not simply how to follow directions. And mostly, pay no attention to those who would tell you "You cant."

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:9

As I mentioned in a previous post, my garden is a riotous explosion of grass, at least the south side is, and I'm to the point of harvesting seed and putting it to bed for the winter. I picked all the pole beans that had dried on the vine and am almost finished shelling them out. There are several varieties: rattlesnake, genuine cornfield, white half-runner, Kentucky wonder, Grandma Nellie's mushroom bean and turkey craw bean. The turkey craw beans were surprisingly prolific.

Next I'll be making one more harvest of cowpeas along with sorghum. I did manage to get the peppers weeded, and they're just coming into their harvest season so I'll continue to care for them. David and I discussed how to deal with the grass and have decided to run a bit of electric fence to protect the few things we want to keep and initially turning the goats and horses in followed by the pigs. Ideally, we'll get it all done in time to plant some winter wheat for a cover crop.

I grow only heirloom vegetables and have spent lots of time in the last couple of years collecting, sorting and cataloging seed. At the risk of really upsetting some readers, I'm not sure it's time well spent for me. Let me explain. I value the heirlooms, the history they represent and the genetics they preserve. I will continue to grow heirlooms. But, I also value feeding my family in what I feel will be tumultuous times ahead. I've gardened long enough in the same place to have things that always volunteer. Varieties that actually thrive in the tough climate of the southern plains. I've made a decision to focus less on cataloguing and more on simply saving what grows well. Corn is a soft spot for me, so I will continue to be careful not to let my corn cross and to carefully keep the various varieties separate, but when it comes to beans and cowpeas I'm saving them in a mix and planting them the same way. May the best bean win. Hopefully the time I've spent sorting and separately planting, labeling and harvesting different varieties will be better spent weeding.

I've been asked about my new sourdough starter and am happy to report that it seems to be a wonderful one - not too sour with a rich flavor. I inadvertently left a jar of it on the mantle for over a week and finally got the nerve to do something with it. There was a bit of mold on top. Once you've lived on the land long enough you develop a tolerance for little inconveniences like mold. I scraped it off and the starter still smelled nice. I combined it back with some of the same starter that had been in the fridge and made some really good bread. I baked it in a super hot oven in my cast-iron Dutch oven and it turned out great. One thing I've discovered is that with sourdough you have to be careful to let it rise sufficiently. It makes a world of difference in the texture of the finished loaf.

David and Oran got up this morning for their Saturday trip to the feed store - some "man time" that is so important for little boys. This afternoon or tomorrow we'll be getting the garden ready for grazing, so Lord willing there will be pictures in an upcoming post. School has started for Lianna:

and I caught her praising the Lord the other day:

Finally, a tidbit: Don't store too much propane, if you don't want to be registered with the Department of Homeland Security.

It's time to get to work. Till next time, Blessings.

Judy

What We Would Have Done Differently

2007-08-22T20:47:00.001-06:00

I stumbled across this piece I wrote in 2002 in hindsight of our move to the land.

What We Would Have Done Differently
2002

March 28, 1999. Got to the farm about 3:30 p.m. without incident until I stuck the truck and trailer along with 14 goats, 5 chickens, 4 cats, 2 geese and a 3-legged sheep. Had been raining here all day and was sloppy, sloppy. Put up goat pens and made bacon, gravy and fried potatoes for supper on the camp fire - turned out raw and sandy. Didn’t sleep well.

March 29, 1999 Up with Dave, then kindled the fire and had coffee and read Countryside. Started laundry (by hand in 5 gallon buckets) - seemed like it took hours - and washed up dishes. Tired already. Put up a tarp shelter for the goats. Third time’s a charm, the first 2 attempts were used for a goat trampoline. Made a pen for the chickens and geese. 2 out 5 promptly escaped. Brought in firewood, straightened up the campsite, juiced up the fire and made stew. Caught a little black snake with an orange necklace and yellow belly. Wonder what we’ve gotten ourselves into. . .

That was more than 3 years ago, and although those were my private thoughts, I wouldn’t have dreamed of letting anyone else know that I was feeling, shall we say, less than confident. After all, when you make the decision to live a homestead life in a plastic world you don’t want to give well-intentioned "normal" people any more ammunition than necessary. By now I’m used to being "that crazy goat woman on the hill who doesn’t know it’s the 21st century" and it doesn’t bother me to say, "You know, we probably should have . . . . . "

Although realistically we picked the most appropriate general area of the country for our needs - warm weather, adequate rain, trees for wood, no building codes or Euro-Union gun laws - we probably could have done a little more research on our specific homestead. We might have found a place in this area that was a little more ideal, but on the other hand it’s purposeless to spend too much time coveting what our neighbor owns on the other side of the fence. We’re making the best with what we have.

Our intention was to drill a well immediately, but finances and geology interfered (another research issue) so we’re still hauling water: do-able but not convenient. Fortunately we’ve got a good spring. We’re working on developing a spring-based water system, and rural water is coming in a year or so, but we should have made an adequate and reasonably convenient water system a priority. On the other hand, adversity IS an excellent teacher.

The garden was another area we approached backwards. When we leveled a place for our "temporary" house, a 1950’s vintage 8x35’ Spartanette park model trailer, we also cleared 2 large garden areas then proceeded to try to coax nourishment from unimproved Oklahoma clay and summer drought. We should have started with what we have now: a 15x20ft, well-amended, fenced plot close to the house; extensive container plantings; with gradual work on the bigger plots to increase fertility and soil quality.
When we moved here our biggest pre-occupation was with building a house. Needless to say, it’s not built yet, but we’re cozy in our little trailer with a 12x18’ addition. We would have been better served concentrating our initial planning and energy on permanent livestock housing and a roomy, weather-tight workshop/tool storage area. Another thing we didn’t consider in the beginning was adequate storage for preserved food and large food-preservation equipment.

A major headache has been our driveway. We spent many a sleepless, rainy night wondering if my husband would be able to get out in the morning to go to work. Surfacing dirt roads with good rock in high-use areas should have been a priority on our homestead.

I really don’t know where we’d be now if we would have started differently, but things have come together as things will. Our little house garden is exploding and the largest plot is perking along with green manures of wheat and rye and soil-enriching crops of black-eyed peas and mung beans. The goats are milking well, the chickens churning out eggs and chicks, and the rabbits finally reproducing like, well, like rabbits. There are jars of home-grown, home-canned pork stew meat in the pantry cabinet and hams, cheeses and bacon in the extra refrigerator.

New homesteaders, don’t fret. We all could have done at least something different or better in the beginning (if we’re honest with ourselves,) and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Persistence is the key. Live and learn.

After The Storm

2007-08-22T12:21:00.001-06:00

"Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest. Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city." Psalm 55:7-9

We knew we were having quite a bit of rain early Sunday morning, but who would have thought that we would awaken and find that we were in the midst of an actual tropical storm.

It just goes to show, take nothing for granted. We're fortunate to live on a hill, in a house on poles, so flooding is a non-issue. It would take one of Biblical proportions, and we know by God's word that will never happen again. David, Lianna and I got out as soon as the rain stopped to go take a look at the pond and creek. We could hear the seasonal creeks on both sides of the house roaring like snowmelt time in the mountains. Pictured below is normally a path, not a small creek.

We found the dam on our little pond breached, which didn't really surprise us as it had been compromised for some time.

The culvert was right there and we needed to work on the pond and dam anyway, so we considered it all blessing.

The only other damage we found was a culvert out on a road that runs the perimeter of the property and a low water crossing at the far end of our land almost out. Neither was really an issue for us.

We estimated that we ended up with about 8 inches of rain, which filled both mudholes, oops I mean "ponds" here at the house so the ducks and geese are happy. The garden, with all the rain we've had this year, is overtaken by grass and past resurrecting, but we do have a great crop of seed for next year's garden. More on that in my next post.

Tropical storm Erin seems to have ushered in fall, with maximum daytime temps the last few days in the low '90's and night time temps in the low '70's. I've noticed lots of fall flowers blooming about 3 to 4 weeks early, which I find interesting and makes me think I may need to get busy with winter preps. Saturday, before we knew we were going to make history the next day, David and I went on a backroads trip to forage for edibles and medicinals. We didn't find as many elderberries as we would have liked, as the county mowed the majority of the patch we had spotted. We did bring back some poke berries to dry for medicinal use and found a buckeye tree, which is something we've never seen here before.

A couple of tidbits: Rick Saenz has posted an entire series on simple living on his Dry Creek Chronicles Blog. It's a great read.

Here's another inspiring post from Herrick Kimball, The Deliberate Agrarian.

Well, gotta get back to harvesting seeds in the garden.

Till next time, Blessings,

Judy

An Update On Life Without A/C, and a few other notes.

2007-08-06T15:51:00.001-06:00

I'm sweaty. It's not that big a deal. I'm at about a week without air conditioning. We did some work on the water cooler on the porch and replaced the pads, pump and drain. We resisted the urge to turn it in through the window to the house. Why? 1) The house is dark and the porch is a much nicer place to take a break. 2) The humidity generated by the water cooler will rust the guns. 3) The dogs and cats are sooooo happy. 4) It gives the children incentive to be outside, where children should be. (No, I'm not anti-child. I believe they need fresh air, sunshine, work to learn from and opportunity for imaginative play.) I figure at my age I would be sweating anyway, so I might as well save electricity while I'm at it. Even while we were using compressor A/C I kept the house at about 80 degrees. That's what I'd recommend for anyone starting this journey. Don't try to go from 70 degrees to 90 degrees overnight. Turn your temperature up a little at a time. The jump from 80 to 87.8 degrees is really no big deal compared to if I had tried to transition from 60 or 70-something. Think frequently about your grandmother or great-grandmother. It was do-able for her, it's do-able for you. Mine hauled water into the house until she was 60. And remember, the advantages to sweating include beautiful skin secondary to pore-cleansing and forced good hydration. :)

I found this on the Reformed Puritan blog:

“The time was when manufactures were literally domestic - the occupations of people in their homes. The industrious producing citizen was a “free-holder,” a name whose vital significance to British liberty our times have almost forgotten. He dwelt under his own roof-tree. He was his own man; he was the free-simple owner of the homestead where his productions were created by the skill and labor of himself and his children, apprentices, and servants. Now all this is changed; the loom is no longer heard in the home; vast factories, owned by the monopolists for whom the cant of the age has already found their appropriate name as “kings of industry,” now undersell the home products everywhere. The axe and hoe which the husbandmen wields, once made at the country forge, the shoe placed on his mule’s feet, the plow with which he turns the soil, the very helve in his tool, all come from the factory. The home industry of the housewife in brewing her own yeast can hardly survive, but is supplanted by your factory “baking powders,” in which chemical adulterations may have full play. This production is centralized. Capital is collected in commanding masses, at whose bidding the free-holding citizen is sunk into the multitudinous hireling proletariat. Conditions of social organization are again produced, fully parallel to the worst results of feudalism, in their incompatibility with republican institutions.From these changes have resulted the extreme inequalities of fortune, expenditures and luxury which now deform American society.”

~ R. L. Dabney, “The New South”. A Discourse delivered at the Annual Commencement of Hampden Sidney College, June 15, 1882. Discussions, Vol. IV - Secular.

Summer is finally here, after our long and wet spring. But, fall is in the air also. Just the other day I saw several signs of fall that were at least 3 weeks early: goldenrod blooming, blazing star blooming, broomweed getting ready to bloom along with a certain feel to the air and angle to the sun. This winter could turn out to be quite a bit of fun.

The seasons pass so quickly now, and I feel such an urgency to get done what I feel called to get done. Not that any of it matters as we are not saved by works, but I believe that God endowed us, at least some of us, with that sense of urgency. I don't know why, but I'll continue to work hard and try to influence my family to work hard in anticipation of a glorious, eternal homestead.

And just in case anyone was wondering, Oran the Superfluously Naughty One is, well, he's cleaner:

Until next time, Blessings.

Judy

Canning Pinto Beans and No A/C

2007-08-03T07:20:00.000-06:00

I talked a bit in my last post about canning dry pinto beans. Years ago I met an older lady who taught me how. I had never heard of such a thing, but after trying it found out that, like canning venison, canning dry beans really improves the end product.

I started out with about a gallon of dried beans. I probably could have handled another 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon in my big pot.

Pick your beans over carefully (the little dirt clods with inevitably end up in your meal even with the most careful washing if you omit this step.) Give them a good washing in a couple of changes of water. Cover the beans with about twice as much water as beans. The addition of a little acid (vinegar, whey, lemon juice) helps the soaking make the beans more digestible. I use citric acid, about a teaspoonful per gallon of water. Improved digestibility = less flatulence. Soak 12 hours to overnight. The beans will about double in size.

Drain and rinse the beans at the end of the soak and cover them well with fresh water. Bring them to a boil and cook for 30 minutes or so. The canning process completes the cooking. The beans should be soft, but not done. Add any goodies you like: meat, onions, tomatoes, etc. Garlic is best added when the jar is opened to serve as it sometimes changes flavor in the canning. I added 2 pounds of lean, chunky bacon ends that I got on sale from the Oklahoma Food Coop.

Get the canner ready and throw the lids in some hot water to soften the sealing compound. Fill clean jars about 2/3rds full to allow for further swelling of the beans. Fill the jars with boiling bean juice leaving 1" head space. Add a teaspoonful salt per quart either before or after filling as you prefer. Or, you can leave the salt out altogether. It contributes nothing to the preservation of the food in this instance. Wipe the jar rims clean and cap with clean, hot lids and rings.

Load your canner.

Secure the top and wait for the steam to evacuate. It's necessary the steam replace air in the canner to allow the temperature to rise to the appropriate level for canning. Once it really starts blowing, give it about 10 minutes, then place the weight. If you look carefully you can just barely see the plume of steam in the picture below.

Process for 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. A note, 10lbs pressure is a sea-level baseline and must be increased with increases in altitude. Here are the altitude adjustments for a dial gauge canner:

0-2000 feet - 11 pounds

2001-4000 feet - 12 pounds

4001-6000 feet - 13 pounds

6001-8000 - 14 pounds

For a weighted gauge anything above 1000 feet is processed at 15 pounds.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia is a great source for anything you want to know about preserving food safely.

Michael Bunker wrote an especially thought-provoking post Monday on his blog A Process Driven Life. Based on it, I've decided to stand firm on the commitment I made to be as frugal as possible now that I'm home almost full-time. I'm turning off the A/C during the week while Dave's gone. He can make the decision when he's home on how to use it and he's approved of my intended actions in this. I know 9 out of 10 of you are asking "Why?" My ready answer stands as it always has, "Because I can." On further analysis I have several reasons. 1) It saves lots of money, 2) Sweat never hurt anyone, 3) I owe it to my family to acclimate myself so I can remain productive if ever I have no electricity at all, 4) It's our intention to put off-grid systems in place and compressor cooled A/C isn't compatible with a poor girl's solar/wind/generator system, and 5) It certainly further separates us from the world because everyone we know will think we're nuts, which is OK with me. (The technique of letting our neighbors think we're nuts has helped us ward off many problems in our 8 years here on the mountain.)

I know I can do this, because we spent our first 15 months here on the farm with no electricity. We slept in a screen tent the first summer. It's all a matter of planning your work around the daily heat curve and drinking plenty of water which is a good thing in and of itself. I was raised with a water cooler. One without a pump, nonetheless. It was my responsibility as a child to go outside periodically and wet down the pads on the "swamp cooler." We brought ours from western Oklahoma, where admittedly they work better than here in the more humid central south. Dave pulled it out yesterday, cleaned it up a bit and we moved it up to the porch. I thought it would make a nice place to shell peas, and the critters and babies certainly love it.

Depending on the power requirement, if it were to be compatible with an off-grid system we may experiment with using it in the house.

I found a new and delightful blog today: Seeking The Old Paths

And finally, I found this beautiful reminder of the scripture in my front garden. It's a Texas Star Hibiscus.

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. Isaiah 40:6

Till next time and a further report on life without A/C, Blessings.

Judy

A Few Bits and Pieces

2007-07-30T08:49:00.001-06:00

We all know this one well, but it never hurts to review.

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:3-5

I received an especially generous birthday windfall recently and hot-footed it down to the local restaurant and janitorial supply. I purchased a lovely stainless steel colander and a good stainless grater along with a canner-sized restaurant quality pot and two 2-pound bread pans. Ladies, it is always worth your while to purchase quality kitchen and homekeeping equipment, even if you have to make-do with junk and save your egg money to do it. Forget the various forms of global discount stores when it comes to these purchases and go for professional quality that will work well and last. I can promise you that if our pioneer grandmothers had access to stainless steel they would have abandoned enamalware and tin in a heartbeat. I love the history and heritage of old kitchenware, but in the long run you're better off hanging it on the wall and buying quality tools for the very important work you do in the kitchen.

I found a really good bread making site, complete with instructional video. I'm on a quest for the secret to making a chewy, rustic sourdough loaf with blistered crust and big holes out of predominantly whole wheat flour. I lost the starter I'd had for several years, probably because I gave myself a bit too much leeway as to what to add to it, and have had to make another one. So far, everything seems to be going well. I used freshly ground organic whole wheat, bottled water (no chlorine) and a touch of malt flour. I honestly don't know the rationale for adding the malt, but I found reference to it here so I thought I'd give it a try. Every day, or even every 12 hours if I think of it, I've been feeding the starter by discarding half and replacing it with the same amount of freshly ground flour and un-chlorinated water to make a soft dough. Time will tell if it will all work out, but so far it looks promising.

Here are some other interesting sourdough links I found:

Sourdough Baking

Carl Griffiths 1847 Sourdough Starter - free for a SASE

rec.food.sourdough Starter FAQ

Citric Acid: For me, citric acid powder is a household essential. I started out using it in making goat milk mozzarella, and have since found many uses for it. It's great for lots of applications that call for vinegar (natural cleaning products, cleaning out the coffee pot, polishing the rust off of cast iron, etc.) 1/4 teaspoonful mixed in a quart of water makes a good hair rinse for use after using a soap-based shampoo. You get the same effect (removes soap curd and adds shine and manageability) without smelling like a pickle. Some older recipes call for "sour salt." This was nothing but citric acid. I make a refreshing summer drink out of shiso leaves (which is an whole new post in itself) that uses a bit of citric acid for tang. I buy my citric acid powder online from Liberty Natural Products.

Here's an interesting blog with a recipe for Shiso drink

I got the first batch of cowpeas canned and was blessed that all the jars sealed. Today I'm using my big, new pot to make a monster batch of pinto beans to can. Some might ask why can something that keeps so well in it's natural state? Cooking beans right can be fairly fuel intensive, plus the fact that it heats up the house. I use basically the same amount of fuel in the same amount of time canning up a large batch as I would cooking a single batch. Plus, a quart of perfectly cooked pintos is wonderful convenience food. I'll document the entire process in a later post.

And finally, Kathi, my friend at at Oak Hill Homestead faithfully posts Thankful Thursdays. They always make me feel good.

Till next time, Blessings.

Judy

Tomatoes, Cowpeas and Stagefright

2007-07-25T16:59:00.001-06:00

I have 2 favorite ways to preserve tomatoes. Both save space, after all the bulk of the tomato is water, and concentrate the great summertime tomato flavor. One way is by dehydrating. I like to use small to medium sized paste type tomatoes cut in half. I scrape out the seeds and salt lightly before putting in the dehydrator at about 110 degrees and dry them until crunchy. The ones you buy in the store packed in oil are more leathery and that's nice, but for efficient preservation I like them dry so there's less chance of mold. I can always reconstitute them to the degree I prefer before using. The second method I like is to preserve tomatoes as paste. Again, tomatoes are mostly water, so I start out by chopping them coursely, salt them and heat them briefly, then pile them into a colander over a bowel to catch the very best tomato juice in the world. After they drain I run them through a food mill to remove skin and seeds and put them into the crock where I cook them on low with the top off until they cook down into the most lovely tomato paste you ever tasted. No crockpot, no electricity, no problem. Pour the puree into shallow pans, cover with cheesecloth or something similar to keep the bugs out and let the sun do the work. Undoubtedly the Lord wished me to talk about tomatoes this year instead of dealing with them, as I have none. Now southern peas, that's a different story. . .

I've talked before about "manna from Heaven" on the homestead. That's whatever crop produces in abundance in a particular year. Some years, here on Tabletop Homestead, it's been squash. That's not going to be this year, as best I can ascertain I have my first case of squash vine borers. This year the winner is. . . .

Southern peas, otherwise known as cowpeas or specifically black-eyed peas, cream peas, crowder peas or several other names. They're all Vigna sp. in the Latin.

I'm going to be putting together a list of good recipes for southern peas as the beginning of my personal cookbook. I nag David all the time, when he makes something delicious, about not writing down what he put in it, but I'm just as bad.

A good list of black-eyed pea recipes.

More recipes.

301 black-eyed pea recipes.

And so it goes. Google "recipes" and search "black-eyed peas" within the original search.

This is one particular recipe that interests me, as I'm also trying to build a repertoire of whole wheat recipes and bulgar isn't hard to produce at home from stored whole wheat. I was also thinking about how one could substitute things like lamb's quarter or poke for the spinach. I haven't tried this recept yet, but I believe it has the makings of a good basic recipe that could be adapted to other nice additions (tomatoes, peppers, nuts or seeds, fresh cheese or sour cream, etc.)

SPINACH WITH BLACK-EYED PEAS

Printed from COOKS.COM

1 lb. spinach, frozen or fresh (defrost frozen)
1/2 c. bulgur wheat #2, soaked 20 minutes
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
1 c. dried black-eyed peas
1 med. onion, minced

Steam spinach; drain and chop; set aside. Cook black-eyed peas until well done but still firm. Drain and set aside. Brown onion in oil. Add peas, mix well. Add to spinach and wheat (bulgur). Add salt and pepper to taste.

And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. Genesis 3:10 KJV

At work the other day I pulled up my blog to show off the previously posted picture of Oran the Superfluously Naughty One. Then, when several people said that they wanted to read more I actually had to leave the room. The thing is, I have kept my life very compartmentalized. Folks at work know I'm a little different and I often get "Well, when things go nuts I'm coming to live with you" but still, I have two lives. Now, the people I work worth are dear, dear people who I love, but up to this point I've basically blogged to an anonymous audience. I almost feel now like someone who's pulled up to a stoplight enthusiastically singing a song or giving themselves a good talking to when they look over and realize the people in the next car are watching their every move. It kind of makes you want to duck your head and go "Oops." I'm a little concerned that now that I actually have to come face to face on a regular basis with people who may read my musings it might somehow distort the integrity of my writing. I happen to be the most introverted person I know and have over the years learned to manage this in a people-oriented field of work. I know, though, that God takes us out of our comfort zones in his own time and at his own good pleasure and on that note I welcome my new readers and re-commit myself to keep sharing honestly what goes on here at Tabletop Homestead.

Until next time, Blessings.

Judy

There I Go Again

2007-07-23T11:08:00.000-06:00

I promised in previous posts to be more faithful in my writing, and wouldn't you know it a month's passed with nary a peep from the Tabletops (that's the Table Hills, or Tabletop Hills, or Tabletop Mountains in south-central Oklahoma for those who don't know us.)

I was blessed a few weeks ago with the opportunity to cut down my working-in-town hours to one 12-hour shift per week. I can't go on enough about the benefits we've reaped despite the cut in cash. Ladies, if you're edgy, stressed or vaguely ill for no apparent reason and you're working full-time, consider cutting back. Put the figures on paper. Consider your gas; vehicle maintenance; value of the vehicle lost due to mileage; clothing; meals eaten out; time taken away from frugal pursuits such as gardening, sewing and food preservation; and the time you lose transitioning between your town job and your role at home. You'll probably find that you don't make nearly as much as you think and the intangible benefits of peace for your spirit are priceless. Though some might disagree, but I speak from having walked way too much of the path of the world. Women are hard-wired to the home. Some just hide it better than others.

The main reason I haven't posted lately is because I've been so blessedly busy here on the homestead. I've concentrated on getting the house in order and am ready to move on the the barnyard and garden. Without sounding like a groupie, which I'm not, I have to add that I've gotten back to my Flylady routines and the fact is they work. There is a segment of the population, especially among ladies, whose minds just flat work differently. Yes, prayer is essential. Discipline is essential. Flylady simply provides a way to slow down and organize our thoughts. She truly understands and capitalizes on how the easily side-tracked female mind works. Learn a few basic principles without turning the teacher into an idol, give glory and thanks to God and it's amazing what can be accomplished. 'Nough said.

My birthday was this week and I asked for and received a tiny voice-activated recorder. I lose 90% of the good ideas that come to me while I'm busy. I've tried carrying a pad and pencil but inevitably end up sweating all over the paper and stabbing myself with the pencil. My dear husband's first question was "How are you going to keep up with a recorder when you can't remember what you had for breakfast?" Then, being the helpful and resourceful man that he is he gave me a little pouch on a string that's just big enough for my recorder and my cell phone which he insists I carry on me when he's gone. The string is long enough to go around my waist and the whole thing works great. Now I can sit down in the evenings with my days "dictation" and transcribe it to the appropriate list, computer file, calendar, etc. I'm on a roll!

Another recent blessing has been satellite internet. It's enabled us to disconnect our land-line phone and it generally works well. The biggest benefit for me has been in the downloading of large text and audio files. Here Dave's finishing up the mounting pole:

We're still working on finishing the pig butchering and I experimented with canning some of the bacon I'd made. Here in southern Oklahoma it's just too hot to hang it, no matter how well it's cured and smoked, so I did a little research and this is what I came up with for my method. I fried the cured and lightly smoked bacon until it was about 3/4 done, packed it into sterile 1/2 pint jars using a jar funnel to keep every speck of grease off the rim, put on hot lids and pressured at 12 pounds for 90 minutes. I added no liquid. At this point, 2 weeks after processing, every jar remains sealed. (Fine print disclaimer: Do as I say, not as I do. Always follow USDA guidelines for home canning). Here's some of the bacon in progress:

The rain we had in June was nothing short of amazing. This is my front herb bed with fennel, sage, soapwort, catnip, and tansy.

I'm in the beginning of a learning/doing curve regarding the Christian woman's headcovering. Knowing that I would need something extremely practical for the kinds of work I do on the homestead, I recently ordered several sizes of scarves in cotton, rayon and silk from Dharma Trading Company. This is a company that specializes in fabric dying and painting and they have lovely quality "blanks", various clothing pieces in white and black. In addition to the scarves there are several pretty, modest dresses and skirts that show promise. My order arrived quickly and I was very satisfied with the quality. This is one of the scarves, a white cotton "gauze" which actually has the feel of a light, finely woven cotton sack towel. It's 27" x 27" which is about the smallest I prefer. It doesn't slip, stays tied and soaks up the sweat. (Yes, I know, Yuck! But it's a fact of life on a homestead in the southern plains.)

And this, well I just don't exactly know what to say about this other than this is Oran being Oran and, well, it's a full time job.

"Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. " James 1:21

Gotta get busy. Till next time, blessings.

Judy

Summer's Here

2007-06-24T19:47:00.000-06:00

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Genesis 3:19

As anyone who's pursuing the agrarian life knows, or soon will, God wasn't kidding about that. I spent the day working in the garden. When it gets this hot and hotter, the best plan is to get garden work done in the cool of early morning, but I seem to always drag it into the afternoon and later. It's not especially pleasant working in the heat of the day, but I think it's prudent to acclimate oneself to the heat if one is going to live in the south. I generally work about 30 to 45 minutes, then take a 15 to 20 minute break and tank up on water. I came in on one break today and granddaughter Lianna had fixed me the perfect snack for replenishing electrolytes: sliced tomatoes sprinkled with salt and lime. How she knew to do that I'll never know, but it was delicious nonetheless. I harvested the hulless oat plot today. Quite a bit of it was still somewhat green, but I was afraid the drier tops would start shelling out if I waited. I cut the tops off with scissors and left the straw to incorporate back into the garden. Right now there's a pretty good pile of oats on a screen on the livingroom floor. We'll put it back outside to dry some more tomorrow. I grew up in southwest Oklahoma, wheat country, and I had to laugh at myself harvesting grain with a pair of scissors. I also dug the onion crop today, and it was pretty dismal. We'll have lots of pickled onions, anyway. I let the grass get ahead of me in the row and onions don't do well at all with competition. David and I pulled all the garlic a couple of days ago and I worked on getting it all in, also. The oat, onion and garlic row will all go back in dry beans for a fall crop. We've been really concentrating this year on "calorie crops" - those crops that provide the most protein and calories. For us that's been mostly beans and cowpeas. One can only live so long on summer squash and tomatoes.

This morning my son-in-law Donald butchered another of our small pigs. I'm quite proud of him as he's really getting good at slaughtering effectively and humanely. It's such a blessing to have 3 generations here on the homestead working together, helping each other, just living life. I think there are six more pigs to go and we're caught up. These are small pigs, butchered at about 100 pounds. They have to be split a little between the hams just to fit on the gambrel.

Lianna and Oran know exactly where their food comes from. Here they're helping their daddy move the pig.

David added on to the electric fence to fence some of the front pasture a few days ago. Here's Lena, the Ancient Horse (she's 25 and still beautiful) and some of the goats enjoying fresh grazing.

There's still lots of work to be done this week: finish dehydrating two cases of peaches, finish getting in the garlic, mow, replant empty garden rows, weed, can more pork, the list goes on. If we ever got caught up I don't think I'd know what to do with myself.

Till next time, blessings.

Judy

"The Real World"

2007-06-22T22:21:00.000-06:00

I've thought on this before, but never put it into words. At work today (my alter identity, my "real" one being the me and the life I write about here) I was telling a dear friend about the herb I'd found that increases breast milk production. I directed her here to see the picture. She asked me if I ever wrote about her. I told her I only wrote about my life on the homestead, and that she should come to visit more often. :) The conversation got me to thinking about "real life." So many people who don't understand or oppose a simple agrarian lifestyle like to think they live in the real world and we live in a fantasy. These are the people who live in houses practically identical to their neighbors with 5 feet in between; whose lives center around what they do away from home (work, school, sports); who fall asleep at night to the sound of cars going down the road and sirens; who buy and eat "butter" that is about one molecule away from plastic and meat that is sluiced in various viruses and carbon monoxide before being bound up in polystyrene. They grow "gardens" of completely useless pretty flowers and poison any good ground they may have in order to grow a monoculture of inedible lawn grass. They clothe themselves in the latest fashion, regardless of how uncomfortable, impractical or immodest it might be. They plant a TV and/or internet ready computer in each childs large and plushly appointed individual room, completely sabatoging any chance of real family time. And this, they say, is the real world.

Lord willing I will stay on this piece of out of the way land, serenaded to sleep by the frogs and the cicadas and the whipporwills, with an occasional mid-winter refrain from the coyotes. I will haul my water into the house in a bucket, to keep me humble. I will grow and process my food, my meat, knowingly intimately the realness of what I feed my family. I will make my simple clothes and continue in learning about covering my head in submission to my Lord and my husband. I will create real things, useful things. I will teach my grandchildren and try to provide an example for my daughter. I will venture to town as little as possible, finding ever newer ways to provide for the needs of those I'm responsible for right here on this homestead. I will praise the Lord for the love growing in my home; my good and competant husband, my precious child and grandchildren; the roof over my head; the fertile soil and the gentle animals that keep it so; and for His grace in saving one such as me to a glimpse of heaven such as this.

This is life, as real as it gets.

May you all share the blessing,
Judy

Never Complain About Rain On The Plains

2007-06-20T21:15:00.000-06:00

This will be just a quick post.

Another storm blew through last night, this time from the north. We received probably another 1 1/2 inches of rain, which topped the ponds off and laid the corn down just a bit. It's been such an incredibly wet couple of months, but we consider it all blessing. This morning the grandchildren and I picked green beans, probably a gallon after snapping. Tomorrow I should have enough for a canner load. It seems like each year brings an abundance of one particular vegetable. I always call it our manna. This year it looks like it will be beans.

Dave butchered a goat for a customer in the city before lunch and we enjoyed some great 3-generational family time. While he worked I snapped my beans, our daughter Rachael crocheted and the children played nearby. After lunch Dave worked on expanding the electric fence for the goats, horse and mule. We found few wild plums ripe on the edge of our property and Lianna and Oran ate the whole bunch. Rachael wanted to learn how to make homemade mayonnaise, so she and I worked on that for a while. This evening was spent putting together my monthly order of soap for the Oklahoma Food Coop.

Till next time, blessings,
Judy

Shame On Me

2007-06-15T12:04:00.000-06:00

I am a procrastinator. I always have been and it's certainly a thorn in my side. The longer I put something off the harder it is to do; hence, it being 3 months since I made a blog entry. Forgive me, dear readers. There's certainly not been a shortage around here of things to write about. I'm not even sure where to start and how to organize it, so I guess I'll just approach this post as a ramble.

My sudden disappearance from the online community started with some mid-life issues, the worst of which was a sudden inability to sleep. Without going into the details I'll simply say that I'm sleeping again and have immersed myself in the very best medicine, life on the homestead. I had begun to feel lost and disconnected and am happy to report that by prioritizing my duties to family and home I am once again centered.

Last month we enjoyed a precious visit with the Michael Bunker family and their Christian agrarian community in Santa Anna, Tx. God in His sovereignty and providence knew exactly what He was doing in the timing of this visit. I'm anxious to visit again and fellowship with the great folks of this group.

We've been way behind on our butchering, and I was thankful when my daughter and son-in-law took it upon themselves to butcher two hogs. Our hogs are a pot-belly/standard cross that max out at usually around 120 pounds. It makes for easily butchering one in a day, along with the advantage that the entire carcass will fit into a chest freezer pending cutting up and processing.

We bone everything out and I crack and use the bones for stock making. We canned the hams, shoulders and loins in quarts for what my daughter calls "Instant Pot Roast." She opens a jar and adds potatoes and carrots for a quick meal that doesn't taste quick. I used the neck meat ground with the heart, liver and onions to make "Dirty Rice Mix" (my son-in-law is from south Texas/Louisiana stock and appreciates Cajun food) which I canned in pints. David used some this morning in some rice along with a can of pinto beans and it was yummy. We freeze the ribs for barbeque with the side meat on for a meatier cut. The belly meat and shanks I'm curing in brine for use as bacon and in beans. One skill I want to master is curing meat for keeping without refrigeration, and I decided the shanks would be a perfect practice cut. My granddaughter Lianna has been heping me cut meat for several years now and has recently graduated to a real knife. Grandson Oran has just earned his "butter knife."

Yesterday we butchered 6 rabbits and I spent today putting those up. Here's Lianna with the pans of legs and loins ready to be roasted lightly prior to packing in jars and canning.

Our total yield was:

6 quarts of hind legs and loins canned with broth made from the backs
A generous appetizer quantity of livers, delicious fried lightly in butter
A meal of "Buffalo Wings" made from the front legs.
Enough leftover meat bits and stock for a big batch of rabbit and dumplings
A nice plate of belly meat for the cats.
About 1/2 pint of rendered rabbit fat, a delicacy.

I considered our potato harvest this year to be the Great Potato Famine of South Central Oklahoma. It was a fairly dismal yield for 65 feet of row. However, God used it to teach and humble me when what to my (self-assumed) practiced eye looked to be 7 quarts turned out to be 14 quarts. Now I'll think of it as The Year of Loaves and Fishes.

I've identified a new medicinal plant, White Milkwort (Polygala alba). It's reported to be useful in increasing the milk supply in lactating women.

With this year's crazy, wet weather the garden has been a bit off-schedule. I managed to get green beans, dry beans, corn and cowpeas in during a break in the rain along with tomatoes and peppers, but have been quite late with the rest of the warm season crops - squash, melons, cotton, okra. These I finally got planted just in the last week or so.
We're beginning to pick green beans and am finding that I'm well pleased with the bush variety "Strike." Another variety that I'll definately plant again is the pole variety "Grandma Nellie's Mushroom Bean." My standby pole varieties are Kentucky Wonder and Rattlesnake, which is quite tolerant of the heat. The garlic I planted last fall is almost ready to harvest.

The squash and melons have germinated quickly in the warmth and abundant moisture;

The experimental plot of hulless oats are turning. . .

And the corn will be ready soon.

We've been thankful for the abundant rain, as we know well that in a matter of a week or two the southern plains can turn quite desert-like. Looks like more rain's on the way.

Till next time (hopefully not so long a time), blessings.

Judy

Catching Up

2007-03-03T09:23:00.000-06:00

Spring is a busy time, and I haven't posted as often as I should, so this is an effort at catching up.
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And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens. Proverbs 27:27

We've weaned all but 3 of the baby goats and my world has turned into milk! I'm faced with using over 2 gallons a day from a single milking. I've always loved cheese and it was only natural that I decide to learn to make it. I make several types goat's milk cheeses. One is a kind of generic sharp cheddar type that I age for at least 60 days. I'm experimenting this year with using beeswax for coating the cheese for aging. Whatever doesn't get eaten continues to age and dry and I eventually grate it for use like Parmesan. I also make feta, soft chevre, ricotta, cottage and goat's milk mozzarella plus yogurt and fefir. I'm a raw milk convert and none of my cheeses are made from pasteurized milk, although the government says this will certainly result in serious illness and most likely cause death for me or one of my family. Here is an interesting article on the history of raw milk.
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Gardening is almost getting ahead of me. We've worked toward setting out permanent rows and paths and were blessed with finding several piles of wood chips left on the roadside by the county. We've begun using these in our garden paths and around our permanent beds. Some have told us that we should compost them first as the high carbon content can effect nitrogen utilization by the plants, but we've had no problem using them as is. Mulch is a key strategy to gardening in the southern plains. Right beyond the pile of woodchips you can catch a glimps of our permaculture bed in front of the house. It's filled with edible and useful plants; everything from strawberries to bamboo to passionflower to rhubarb. I'll try to inventory it and post a list and some details. It's pretty extensive.

My husband Dave re-did my bean trellises this year. I had field wire tied to t-posts, but the weight of the beans pulled the wire down, so he extended the height of the posts and used 52" cattle panels for trellising. The total height is about 6 1/2 feet. I find that pole beans are more productive than bush varieties, and there's something restful about strolling down the trellised row in the evening reaping the harvest. Plus, behind the beans is a great place for grandparents to steal a moment of intimacy in a life full of grandchildren.

This is a close-up of the detail of how we increased the height of the t-posts. The original trellis was only about 4 1/2 feet high, and pole beans need more room than that. I'm so thankful that I'm blessed with a "man of steel", knowledgeable in metalcraft. Ladies, each of your husbands has a gift. Don't forget to thank God for both them and their skills.

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This morning my granddaughter Lianna and I went foraging for morels. After several years of less than ideal weather, we're hoping this year will be more fruitful. We found but 3 mushrooms, but we were thankful for that. We also found several other wild edibles and ended up with some lovely breakfast ingredients for our efforts. Morels are in the middle and clockwise from the to are pokeweed, fresh eggs (foraged from the henhouse), violet leaves and flower, redbud and dandelion flowers.

This was breakfast, scrambled up in some nice grass-fed butter from our Oklahoma Food Coop.

That's it for now. Till next time,
Blessings,
Judy at Tabletop Homestead

The Task for Conservatism: Family Lessons From The New Agrarians

2007-02-23T08:31:00.000-06:00

This is the text of the article mentioned in the last post. Here's the link.

"The Task for Conservatism":
Family Lessons From The New Agrarians*

By Allan C. Carlson*

* Adapted from a talk to The Fellows of The Russell Kirk Center, Mecosta, Michigan, September 24, 2000.

In this article, I will focus on my recent book, The New Agrarian Mind: The Movement Toward Decentralist Thought in 20th-Century America. I call the group of writers under scrutiny here the "New Agrarians," largely to emphasize their deliberate grappling with the forces of modernity in the 20th century. This book is, at least by intent, more than an intellectual history. I wrote this inquiry, in part, as a book of lessons for potential 21st-century Agrarians. That is, I built my narrative around this question: what positive and negative lessons can be drawn from the 20th-century Agrarian experience?

Regarding the positive lessons, I will suggest nine:

(1) Successful modern agrarianism will be countercultural, even if it labors under the "conservative" banner. I refer here to the 1934 essay called, "The Task for Conservatism." Written by the popular historian Herbert Agar, it appeared in the remarkable, albeit short-lived journal, The American Review.1 Inspired by Agar’s immersion into the work of G.K. Chesterton while an editor at G.K.’s Weekly in the late 1920’s, this article stands as a model of "activist" or "radical" conservatism.

Agar wrote, let us remember, at the very worst point of the Great Depression: one-third of American workers unemployed; the nation littered with failed banks; stock certificates issued during the exuberant 1920’s rendered worthless. In reclaiming the label "conservative," Agar argued that it had been thoroughly twisted by what he called the "apostles of plutocracy" into the defense of economic "gamblers and promoters." As Agar wrote: "According to this [strange] view, Mark Hanna was a conservative." The author sought to reclaim the term by appealing to "another, and an older, America," a time when there was virtue in and a moral plan for the nation.

Central to this plan, Agar said, was "[t]he widest possible distribution of [productive] property." For Thomas Jefferson, this had meant a nation of self-sufficient farmers. For John Adams, this had meant "an interdependent community" of farmers and modest merchants, with government holding the balance. All of the American founders, Agar maintained, had held that "a wide diffusion of property...made for enterprise, for family responsibility, and in general for institutions that fit man’s nature and that gave a chance for a desirable life." Physical property, in short, was so important to the full and rich human life that everybody should have some.

America had lost its way, Agar continued. Under current economic conditions, the ownership of property fell into ever fewer hands: "The normal human temptation to sacrifice ideals for money" had grown, lifting "the rewards for a successful raid on society to dangerous heights." A culture of widely distributed property fell under attack by "the barbarism based on monopoly." The great banking houses and financial institutions had destroyed "an entrenched landed interest" in the South during the Civil War. In 1914, the same group determined that America no longer needed an agricultural surplus for export, and it set out to destroy the independent farmer as well.

Agar called for an effort–at once "radical" and "conservative"–to restore the Property State. This "redistribution" of ownership must become "the root of a real conservative policy for the United States." As he explained, the ownership of land, the machine shop, the small store, or a share of "some necessarily huge machine" needed to become again the normal thing, in order to set the necessary moral tone for society. Agar stressed the political nature of this attempt, for it was not in line with existing economic developments: "It must be produced artificially and then guarded by favorable legislation." All the same, it was necessary in order to rebuild a humane America, a compassionate America, one that would make "for stability in family and community life, for responsibility, [and] for enterprise."

(2) The second lesson from the New Agrarians is love of the planet: an ecological sensitivity. Liberty Hyde Bailey, named dean of the College of Agriculture at Cornell University nearly 100 years ago, first crafted most of the themes that would characterize 20th-century agrarian thought, and this environmental passion was at the core of his vision. His most provocative book appeared in 1916. Entitled The Holy Earth, it emphasized "the oneness of nature and the unity in living things," a process guided by The Great Patriarch, God the Father. As Bailey explained:

Verily, then, the earth is divine, because man did not make it. We are here, part in the creation. We cannot escape. We are under obligation to take part and do our best living with each other and with all creatures. We may not know the full plan, but that does not alter the relation.2

Every man, Bailey said, should know "in his heart...that there is goodness and wholeness in the rain, in the wind, the soil, the sea, the glory of sunrise in the trees, and in the sustenance that we derive from the planet."

So, the agrarian also begins as a true ecologist, aware of the inner-connectedness of our lives with the rest of Creation.

(3) The third lesson is the positive value of human fertility. Harvard sociologist Carle Zimmerman, founder of the discipline of "rural sociology" in the 1920’s, was the New Agrarian writer most committed to dismissing the gloom of Malthusian ideas. Instead of fretting about "overpopulation," Zimmerman celebrated high human fertility and an abundance of large families as signs of social health. In his book Family and Society, Zimmerman called "an absolutely stable or decreasing population... unthinkable for the survival of a nation."3 In his massive tome Family and Civilization, he stressed that hope for the future rested on "the making of familism and childbearing the primary social duties of the citizen."4 Zimmerman’s celebration of the small family farm rested on its biological vitality, writing, "These local family institutions feed the larger culture as the uplands feed the streams and the streams in turn the broader rivers of family life."5

(4) The fourth lesson from The New Agrarians is the virtue of self-sufficiency; the recognition that liberty rests on a family’s ability to meet its own basic needs. The New Agrarian economist Ralph Borsodi emphasized the need to ground one’s life outside large impersonal institutions such as corporation or state. All families, he said, should produce two-thirds of needed goods and services within their homes, workshops, loomrooms, gardens, and modest fields. The truly "free person" was not "merely the man who has the infinitesimal fraction of the political power represented by a vote." Rather, the free man was one "so independent" that he could "deal with all men and all institutions, even the state, on terms of equality." Only the self-sufficient household could support this true independence.6

(5) The fifth lesson is the bond we hold with ancestors and posterity. The Midwestern writer, Louis Bromfield of Ohio, emphasized the linkage of generations in his great agrarian novel, The Farm. Drawing on his own family history, Bromfield described the apogee of the family farm under the tutelage of his grandparents, here fictionalized as Maria and Old Jamie. During this time, the farm was a cornucopia. The breakfasts alone on weekend gatherings were magnificent: "sausages, waffles, and maple syrup from Jamie’s own maple-grove, fresh strawberries or peaches if it were summer...hot fresh rolls, and sometimes chicken and mashed potatoes, home-dried corn, and an array of jams and preserves...." Maria presided over the day as "a kind of priestess," watching happily as all her children and grandchildren consumed what she had herself grown and prepared.7

Later, when Bromfield himself resolved to return to the land and to build the farm again, he saw this as a way to restore the bond of generations: ties to those who went before, and to those to come. As he wrote in his splendid agrarian book, Pleasant Valley: "[I sought] a piece of land which I could love passionately, which I could spend the rest of my life in cultivating, cherishing and improving, which I might leave together, perhaps, with my own feeling for it, to my children who might in time leave it to their children."8

Our humanity, said the Agrarians, rested on this family chain-of-being and its rootedness in a place.

(6) The sixth lesson, taught with special energy by the ‘Southern–or Vanderbilt–Agrarians,’ is suspicion of the industrial mindset, where the modern agrarian would serve as watchdog over industrialism’s mindless sprawl. In their book, I’ll Take My Stand, the twelve Southerners accepted industrialism when it assured "the laborer of his perfect economic security" and protected labor as "one of the happy functions of human life." Yet in the early decades of the 20th century, they said the assumption behind machines had been that "labor is an evil," the new technological devices did not so much "emancipate" workers as "evict" them. They criticized modern advertising and modern salesmanship as "the great effort of a false economy of life to approve itself." The industrial mindset, they added, damaged art, manners, learning, and even romantic love. In an insightful turn of phrase, poet John Crowe Ransom emphasized that industrialism was a force "of almost miraculous cunning but no intelligence." It had to be controlled, he said, "or it will destroy the economy of the household."9

In short, the Southern Agrarians saw as one of their central tasks the defense of humane institutions–religion, home, art, family, the acts of learning–from the revolutionary force of industrial organization.

(7) The seventh lesson from the New Agrarians is the importance of local attachment and regional identity. In his essay "Still Rebels, Still Yankees," Donald Davidson showed how differences in key aspects of life–from way of thinking to daily behavior–continued to give a marvelous variety to America.10 In Herbert Agar’s splendid agrarian volume, Land of the Free, he lashes out at so-called "world cities" such as Chicago, London, and New York. With their cosmopolitanism, their skepticism, their falling birth rate, their lack of morals, and their imitative and decadent art, such cities were the sure signs of the end of a civilization, marked by "a hospitality to death."

Fortunately, he continued, America still had a healthy "native" culture, born–as in ages past–out of farming settlements. As Agar explained:

[T]here are signs of the conversion of the intellectual class in the Mississippi Valley to the idea that if America is to have a culture of her own the intellectuals had better stay at home and take part in that culture instead of streaming to New York and becoming good little copies of an alien civilization.

He had special praise for the regional cities of Nashville (home of the Southern Agrarians) and Indianapolis (home to novelist Booth Tarkington). He might have added Cedar Rapids, Iowa (home to artist Grant Wood, novelist Ruth Suckow, and poets Paul Engle and Jay Sigmund), and other cities of the regionalist revival of the 1930’s, which had also held on to their native-born writers and artists.

As a result of their secession from the world-city, there are now four or five country towns where the local life is richer, where American Culture is closer to defining itself.11

(8) The eighth New Agrarian lesson is the necessary role of religious faith as the source and protector of community. The Iowa-based Roman Catholic Priest Luigi Ligutti was the most effective New Agrarian advocate in the 1940’s and ’50’s, as leader of The National Catholic Rural Life Conference. He stressed how the ownership of land and other productive property and the control of technology for human ends were mandates from God. "This thesis is true," Ligutti concluded, because it "fulfills God’s intention in man’s creation, because it exhibits Christ’s love for mankind, and because it furnishes all of us with the assurance of a good life here on earth and a good life for eternity."

Ligutti emphasized the historic role of various churches in building rural communities in America, including "The Mormons in the West, the Mennonites in the Middle West, the Amanas in Iowa, the Lutherans in Minnesota and the Dakotas, Father Pierz in Stearns County (Minnesota)...and Father Tracy in Nebraska." In 1946, Monsignor Ligutti joined with 75 other religious leaders–Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish–in a statement declaring "God’s intention in creation" is to allow man to live in dignity and "to establish and maintain a family." Land was "God’s greatest material gift to mankind," and "The farm is the native habitat of the family." Indeed, the farm itself bound the true community together. As Ligutti framed the appropriate words for a devout Catholic farmer:

How can I, a farmer, grow in appreciation of my noble calling? It is not merely clods of inert soil I work with, but millions of God’s invisible creatures. It is not just a wheat shoot or a kernel I behold, but God’s rain, sunshine, blue sky, captured therein and held prisoner so that on the altar [Christ] himself may become a prisoner of love.12

(9) The ninth New Agrarian lesson is the unique power of marriage, a point made with special effect by the contemporary agrarian writer Wendell Berry. Proper marriage, the Kentuckian writes, is a sexual and economic unit; the sexual function without the economic function is ruinous, with "degenerate housewifery" and "degenerate husbandry" the result. When brought together, though, the consequence is beauty. Berry describes this in his poem, "The Country of Marriage":

Our bond is no little economy
based on the exchange
of my love and work for yours,
so much for so much of an expandable fund.
We don’t know what its limits are;
that puts it into the dark.
We are more together than we know, how else could we keep on discovering
we are more together than we thought!13

Marriage, so understood, is an economy of joy. Berry’s fictional character, Mary Penn, describes how, with "a joyous ache," she knew that she "completed" her husband, as he "completed" her:

When had there ever been such a yearning of halves toward each other, such a longing, even in quarrels, to be whole? And sometimes they would be whole. The wholeness came upon them as a rush of light...so that she felt they must be shining in the dark.14

Marriage is, in fact, a "great power" able to transform not only individuals, but the world. Held in the grip of marriage, time flows over husband and wife "like swift water over stones," smoothing and shaping them to "fit together in the only way that [human] fragments can be rejoined."

The experience of the 20th-century Agrarians was not all positive; they also taught several lessons of a more negative sort.

The first negative lesson is this: resist the temptation to use government to pursue good ends. Many of the New Agrarian projects stumbled over an embrace of state power for purposes of social engineering. Liberty Hyde Bailey wanted to use the Extension Service to "engineer a new race of farmers." Louis Bromfield called for a great, state-guided Missouri Valley Authority to reconstruct the whole mid section of America. The Southern Agrarian Frank Owsley called for a new government program, giving every landless tenant 80 acres, a house, a barn, two mules, two cows, and $300. The state would then require subsistence farming, while prohibiting the sale of cash crops. Ransome wanted all farmers to face regular inspection by state authorities to insure these ends. Wendell Berry called for price, production, and consumption controls on all agricultural products, which would in practice require a command economy.

Yet, the only true rural communities that survived the great consolidation of government and economy in the 20th century were those who fiercely kept the bureaucrats at bay. A telling example here is the Old Order Amish. In one sense, they are America’s only true anti-statist, libertarian community. That is, they fiercely fought numerous state governments, with many of their leaders imprisoned along the way, but in the end won the right to educate their children in their own way. They sought and won exemption from all forms of Federal Social Security. They have refused to accept other forms of state welfare, relying on their own community for help in emergencies. The Amish have also refused most forms of farm subsidy and support payments. At the same time, they are eager participants in local market transactions and foes of government regulation. They have grown from a community of 5,000 in 1900, most located near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to 150,000 today, with colonies in over a dozen states.15

Contrast their survival and growth with that of the rest of rural America, whose numbers fell from 30 million in 1900 to only 4 million this year. These vanished millions were the families who submitted to state authorities, who took the advice of the government Extension agents, who entered the string of state programs designed "to save the family farm," whose children attended the government schools.

They are mostly gone now: rural ghosts. It is "The Plain People" who survive.

The second and related "negative" lesson is that only a religious faith that is otherworldly and separatist is strong enough to sustain rural community within the existing economic order. Liberty Hyde Bailey complained bitterly about the growth of sectarian, fundamentalist, "Gospel-splitting" denominations in rural places. Ralph Borsodi condemned all devotion to otherworldly gods. Louis Bromfield mocked all orthodoxies and said that the "best farmers" would seldom be in churches. The Southern Agrarians were embarrassed by the Baptists and fundamentalists in their midst. Herbert Agar saw the rural Protestant churches as symbols of failure. Even Wendell Berry condemned "otherworldly" Christianity as a cause of rural degredation.

In fact, the rural virtues would survive the 20th century only among the universally condemned Anabaptist, fundamentalist, Pentacostal, and monastic communities. It appears that only a commitment to a radical "separation from the world" gives sufficient psychological or moral power to overcome the lures, appetites, and pressures of modern life.

Indeed, this truth came home to me during a June 1998 visit to a successful new agrarian community in central Texas: Heritage Homesteads. They understood this lesson, or secret, and so have survived–indeed, have grown–while others of a more secular bent failed.

The third "negative" lesson derives from the Agrarians misplaced faith in new technology. Most forcefully advanced by Ralph Borosodi, the New Agrarians held that recent innovations–especially the internal combustion engine and electricity–worked in favor of a new decentralization and de-industrialization of life. They embraced the gadgets and innovations of modern technology–indeed they claimed to be on the technological cutting edge–while still holding to the themes of tradition, stability, and family.

In doing so, they forgot that the purpose of a tool or machine–every tool or machine–is to produce the same amount of product with less human labor, or, put another way, the substitution of capital for labor. Indeed, it would be the prized internal combustion engine placed in the small tractor that would displace 19 out of every 20 Midwestern farmers over the course of the 20th century. It would be cheap electricity that displaced most of the chores done by women and children around the farming homestead.

The only alternative is control of technology: the prohibition of certain innovations that threaten community values by group or religious elders or by the state itself. However, the New Agrarians refused to go down this path, holding to the illusion that technological advance would be their ally.

The fourth negative lesson is the unexpected power of home schooling as a tool to restore and renew families and subsistence communities. From Bailey and Zimmerman to Agar and Berry, the Agrarian imagination faltered on the question of education. While all understood that the weakness of families derived, in large part, from the prior surrender of key family functions, none saw the possibility of restoring home-based education as a first step toward family reconstruction. Nor did they see that this step would be bonded to other actions of self-sufficiency, ranging from home births and maternal nursing to home gardens and simple animal husbandry. Most of the agrarians called instead for curricular reforms in the existing schools. Even Ralph Borsodi, who successfully "home schooled" his own children in the 1920’s, failed to see its universal potential, calling instead for group education led by a new elite.

Today, we live in another time of exuberant prosperity, with the value of stock certificates once more soaring. We live in a time when Mark Hanna has again become a hero to many self-styled conservatives. We live in a time marked by a degraded, dehumanizing culture, a so-called "world culture," featuring at its core "a hospitality to sterility and death." Perhaps The Agrarian Mind in some form will have another opportunity on history’s stage, in the century that now dawns. If so, I hope that these lessons gained from the experience of the 20th-century New Agrarians will be taken to heart.

Endnotes

1 Herbert Agar, "The Task for Conservatism," American Review 3 (April 1934): 1-16.

2 Liberty Hyde Bailey, The Holy Earth (Ithaca: New York State College of Agriculture, 1980 [Reprint of 1915 Edition]).

3 Carle C. Zimmerman, Family and Society: A Study of the Sociology of Reconstruction (New York: D. van Nostrand Company, 1935).

4 Carle C. Zimmerman, Family and Civilization (New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1947).

5 Carle C. Zimmerman, "The Family Farm," Rural Sociology 15 (Sept. 1950): 211-219.

6 See: Ralph Borsodi, Flight from the City (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1933; 1935).

7 Louis Bromfield, The Farm (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1933).

8 Louis Bromfield, Pleasant Valley (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1944).

9 I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition (Baton Rouge & London: Louisiana State University Press, 1977 [1930]).

10 Donald Davidson, "Still Rebels, Still Yankees," American Review 2 (Nov. 1933): 58-72; 2 (Dec. 1933): 175-188.

11 Herbert Agar, Land of the Free (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1935).

12 See: Luigi G. Ligutti and John C. Rawe, Rural Roads to Security: America’s Third Struggle for Freedom (Milwaukee, WI: Bruce Publishing Co., 1940).

13 Wendell Berry, Collected Poems, 1957-1982 (San Francisco, CA: North Point Press, 1984).

14 Wendell Berry, "A Jonquil for Mary Penn," Fidelity: Five Stories (New York and San Francisco: Pantheon Books, 1992).

15 See: Donald B. Kraybill, The Riddle of Amish Culture (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989).

A Quick Hello

2007-02-17T08:27:00.000-06:00

I've got 3 wonderful days off work in a row and 6 weeks worth of work to get done. Such is life on the homestead. The weather is wonderful today, up to 70 degrees already. I spent the morning engaged in goat midwifery and ended up elbow deep in the south end of a north bound doe. Yes, I know it's yucky, but it's life. My daughter lives in dread fear of the goats going into labor without me around. She could handle it, she just doesn't know it yet. This is a woman in her early 20's who is an outstanding mother to two very independent minded homeschooled children under age 6 (both birthed sans medication with little more than a moan), has made a home for a family of 4 in a 12 ft. x 12ft. shed, and who at one time welded trailers for a living and can make the prettiest seam with a 1912 Singer treadle sewing machine. I think she can handle it.

I found this interesting article on agrarianism. Speaking of agrarianism and particularily Christian agrarians, I stumbled on the term while researching Christian viewpoints regarding NAIS (National Animal Identification System.) I thought to myself, "Wow, finally a label for who I am." I was pleased to find out that there were others who shared the designation.

http://www.profam.org/pub/fia/fia-1503.htm

This will be a short post; the garden's calling and the laundry needs hanging.

Till next time, blessings.

Judy at Tabletop Homestead

Waiting On Spring

2007-02-13T21:25:00.000-06:00

Hear, O ye kings; Give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel. Judges 5:3

Last Saturday we went to an old-time Gospel singing at our church. Let me tell you, if you've never attended a gospel singing you've missed out. What a blessing. There were 3 guitarists, one of whom also played the harmonica, a lady who played the mandolin and two pianists. We enjoyed 2 hours of wonderful music praising the Lord, then had dinner and fellowship afterward. Baby Oran, 2, learned how to say "Amen." I'm still humming . . .

Out of Egypt I have traveled, thru the darkness dreary
Far over hills and valleys and across the desert sands
But I've landed safe at home where I shall not grow weary
I'm camping, I'm camping, in Canaan's happy land.

The weather has turned icy again, but I'm hoping spring is getting ready to make an appearance. All the tomatoes I planted are up along with the cabbages, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. I've since planted 10 varieties of peppers, Connover's Collosal asparagus, Imperial Star artichoke, cardoon, jicama and cassabanana. I have seed potatoes sitting here in the living room floor which I hope to get planted along with peas and possibly the onion and leek transplants this weekend. This year I'm doing a fingerling potato experiment. Here in the southern plains long term raw potato storage is challenging. Waxy fingerling potatoes can so well that I decided to try several varieties:

LaRatte fingerling
Kipfel
French fingerling
Austrian Crescent
Banana fingerling
Ozette fingerling
Peanut fingerling
Purple Peruvian
Rose Finn Apple

The last week or two I've been busy with soapmaking. I sell natural cold-process soaps on the Oklahoma Food Coop and this month was my biggest order yet. Tomorrow will be spent labeling and packaging orders and Thursday we'll take them to Oklahoma City for sorting and delivery all over the state.

I have rabbit thawing in the refrigerator to cook tomorrow. I wanted to share one of my favorite rabbit recipes, Rabbit in Coconut Cream (downloaded from allrecipes.com and amended slightly to my own cooking techniques.) Make sure you buy good coconut cream, not expensive at all in most Oriental groceries. Compare and get a brand with the least amount of ingredients, mostly coconut, water and a bit of citric acid. Or make your own. The fat in the coconut, which by the way is a good fat even though it's highly saturated, lends a luscious richness to the normally dry rabbit and the slight sweetness is nothing but yummy. This is an old Columbian recipe.

1/4 cup oil for frying
1 - 2lb rabbit cut into pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
1 red pepper, seeded and sliced into strips (my preference is a fresh paprika pepper)
1 bird's eye chile (or a small amount of any hot chile) seeded and minced
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 3/4 cups chicken stock (homemade stocks are best)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup cream of coconut (I use at least twice this much, taste and use as much as you like)

Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the rabbit pieces until well browned. Transfer to a plate. Add the onion, garlic, and peppers to the skillet; cook and stir until the onion is transparent. Transfer the rabbit back to the skillet. Add the tomato, stock, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours. Remove rabbit pieces with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Increase the heat and boil the remaining liquid until it's reduced by half. Stir in the coconut milk. Return the rabbit pieces to the pan. Cook, stirring gently, until heated through. Serve over rice. Makes 4 servings.

This is a great summertime recipe, when the garden is yielding up it's abundance.

Gotta go now. Dave tells me Oran has turned off several of the breakers in Grandma's bedroom. I'm finding out that boys are quite something. No wonder they grow up to be men.

Till next time, blessings to you and yours.

Judy

Grandbabies and Sunshine and Good Food

2007-02-03T10:05:00.000-06:00

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4

I wrangled the grandkids by myself at church today. Lianna, 5, does beautifully. She loves the Lord and loves church. Oran on the other hand, is 110% 2 year old boy. I think he loves church, too, but who can slow him down long enough to know for sure. After each hymn he jumps up, claps loudly and yells "Good job!" Although I maintain that wrangling young children is a young woman's game, sometimes grandmas have the edge. My daughter gets very upset and embarrassed by her energetic son. I've learned to pick my fights. During the greeting and the singing, it's not that big a deal if he stands up and looks around and even comments occasionally. During the preaching and praying, though, Momo gets serious. I have a 5-gallon paint stirring stick. It has his name on it, literally. Mostly I shake it at him and say "Boy, do you see this? It's a swat and it's got your name on it and Momo knows how to use it." (Terms in italics spoken in the strong southern drawl your grandpa used when he was real serious.) I take the swat to church, along with a bag of raisins or nuts or some other quiet snack. I tell him, "We can do this the easy way (indicating snacks) or we can do it the hard way (indicating the swat)."
Most of the hard way is bluff, but he doesn't know that. Not that I wouldn't tear him up if I thought he was in serious default of the right way of doing things (more italic emphasis.) Today, I stuffed a few nuts in his mouth whenever he had an inclination to question the preacher and he eventually crawled up on my lap. With a little strategic back patting and rubbing, he fell fast asleep. I'd forgotten how drowsy one gets with a warm, sleeping child on one's chest. I wonder how much instruction young mothers actually get out of church service. My daughter asked me when we got home what the preacher taught. I told her all I could recall was that God was all-powerful and completely in control. I guess that's enough.

Blessed sunshine

It has been absolutely gorgeous the last couple of days. Our wood usage is way down this weekend, since we use the greenhouse attached to the south side of the house to help with heating. On sunny days, we have a window fan that blows the warm air from the greenhouse into the house.
Here's a link to more information about the greenhouse. The craziest thing about this winter is that despite all the ice, snow and cold, the animals by all indication are telling us that spring is near. My geese are mating and I've found 2 eggs. I have 2 pullets that have already started laying and one of them is broody and sitting a nest. I've talked to others here in Oklahoma who are experiencing the same.

I wanted to share a great recipe. My ancestry is Czech (and it's starting to show LOL), and the Czechs know how to cook homestead style.

Segedin Goulash

1 1/2 pounds fresh pork, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons lard
1 teaspoon paprika (homemade is the absolute best)
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
salt to taste
1 cup water
1/2 pound sauerkraut (again, homemade is the way to go)
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup sour cream (Daisy brand or homemade is my preference. Yogurt will work also)

Fry onion in 1 tablespoon lard. Add pork, paprika, caraway and brown well. Add salt and 1/2 cup water, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes. Add 2/3rds of the sauerkraut and simmer 30 minutes longer. Brown flour in remaining lard, stirring well, and add to meat with remaining 1/2 cup water; simmer for 5 minutes. Add sour cream and the remaining sauerkraut. Bring to a boil and serve. Serves 4 to 6.

This is a recipe that can be made with almost 100% home produced ingredients. That's the kind of recipe I like best. It doesn't hurt that it's delicious served over homemade noodles. For those who are concerned with the amount of saturated fat in this recipe, I recommend reading "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon.

Blessings, until we meet again.

Judy

The Promised Pantry List

2007-01-31T18:57:00.000-06:00

"And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them." Genesis 6:21

First, a little about our day. The cold has blown in again and with it a bit of snow. This is definately a 360 degree turn around from this time last year when temperatures were often in the 70's, winds were 40 mph and it seemed all of Oklahoma was on fire. What a blessing the moisture is. My granddaughter and I have been cooking today. I made a soup from leftovers in the refrigerator - gravy from last week's buffalo roast along with the last of the meat, leftover winter squash, some homemade broth, onions, hamburger, potatoes. Next Lianna and I got out the sourdough starter and made a couple loaves of sourdough bread, then she insisted we bake a cake. We found this great old recipe in my 1953 Joy of Cooking for Mock Pound Cake:

Sift 2 cups sugar. Beat until soft 1 cup butter. Add the sifted sugar gradually. Blend these ingredients until they are very light and creamy. Separate 4 eggs. Beat the yolks into the butter/sugar mixture. Sift 3 1/2 cups cake flour (I used all purpose). Resift twice with 4 teaspoonfuls baking powder and 1/2 teaspooonful salt. Add these ingredients in 3 parts to the butter mixture alternately with thirds of 2 cups milk. (The recipe called for 1, but it was just too stiff.) Beat the batter until smooth after each addition. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. (I used 1/2 teaspoonful lemon extract, 1/4 teaspoonful almond extract, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.) Whip the 4 egg whites with 1/8 teaspoonful salt until stiff but not dry. Fold them lightly into the cake batter. Bake in a greased tube pan in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour. A strand of spagetti makes a great cake tester. Our grandmothers used a clean broom straw. Cool for 5 minutes then loosen from the sides of the pan and invert onto a plate to complete cooling. This cake is light like a chiffon cake, yet rich and flavored like pound cake. It will probably our new tradition for birthday cakes.
Now, the promised pantry list. The items in italics would be the first ones I'd do without. Explanations for my individual situation are in parenthesis:

Whole wheat (We have a Country Living grain mill that grinds beautifully. I highy recommend them.)
Whole corn (Ground in the mill for cornmeal or made into hominy.)
Popcorn
Rice
Oatmeal
Dried beans
White flour
Sugar - white and brown
Salt (we keep a 50 pound bag for use in curing meat)
Lard (kept in the freezer)
Vegetable oil
Vinegar (White for general use. We make our own wine vinegar for good eating.)
Honey
Sorghum
Peanut butter
Whole peanuts
Mustard
Ketchup
Dried fruit
Bouillon (My preference is home canned bone broths, but I keep a bit of this on hand.)
Baking soda
Baking powder
Yeast (Kept in the freezer. I'm using yeast that's been expired for several years but is perfectly useable after being kept in the freezer.)
Cocoa
Soy sauce (Bought by the gallon from an Oriental grocery store)
Dried milk
Dried eggs (Usually obtained from friends who get Indian commodities. Most people don't use them.)
Coffee
Tea
Pepper and spices
Pasta (I have a hand-cranked pasta machine that makes much better than store bought)
Commercial canned vegetables
* Green beans
* Potatoes
* Peas
* Mixed vegetables
* Corn
* Spinach
* Diced tomatoes
* Tomato sauce
Cream of mushroom soup
Salmon
Tuna
Onions
Potatoes
Ramen soup (Cheap and easy. Really flavorful versions are available at Oriental groceries)
Salt peter (For curing meat. Another item available at Oriental grocery stores.)
Canning jar lids
Disposable plates, bowls, utensils
Paper towels
Toilet paper
Feminine products (We've started using cloth pads, so this will soon be deleted)
Dish soap
Bleach
Ammonia
Laundry soap
Lye (A multi-use product - soapmaking, hominy, cleaning.)
Otc medications
* Aspirin
* Ibuprofen
* Pseudoephedrine
* Diphenhydramine
* Robitussin
* Cranberry juice capsules (I have frequent UTI's)
* Vitamins

My next step will be to determine storage quantities and I'll post these when I get done.

A friend sent me this great link:

Making of America Digital Library

The following is an excerpt from a book in this collection "Plain and Pleasant Talk About Fruits, Flowers, and Farming" by Henry Ward Beecher written in 1859:

The two extremes of husbandry are, the adoption of every novelty and every experiment indiscriminately, and the rejection of every new thing and every improvement, as indiscriminately. Wisdom consists in "proving all things and holding fast that which is good." We do not advocate large outlays for expensive machines-for fancy cattle, for every new thing that turns up. But when, after full trial, it is ascertained what are the best farm horses, the best breed of cattle, the best milch cows, the most profitable breed of hogs and sheep, and the most skillful routine of cultivation, we think our farmers ought to profit by the knowledge. It is never a good economy to have poor things when you can just as well have the best. This, then, is OUR CREED. We believe in small farms and thorough cultivation. We believe that soil loves to eat, as well as its owner, and ought, therefore, to be manured. We believe in large crops which leave the land better than they found it-making both the farmer and the farm rich at once. We believe in going to the bottom of things and, therefore, in deep plowing, and enough of it. All the better if with a sub-soil plow. We believe that every farm should own a good farmer. We believe that the best fertilizer of any soil, is a spirit of industry, enterprise, and intelligence —without this, lime and gypsum, bones and green hanure, marl and guano will be of little use. We believe in good fences, good barns, good farmhouses, good stock, good orchards, and children enough to gather the fruit s: We believe in a clean kitchen, a neat wife in it, a spinning-piano, a clean cupboard, a clean dairy, and a clean conscience. We firmly disbelieve in farmers that will not improve; in farms that grow poorer every year; in starveling cattle; in farmers' boys turning into clerks and merchants; in farmers' daughters unwilling to work, and in all farmers ashamed of their vocation, or who drink whisky till honest people are ashamed of them.

Till next time,

Judy

Seasons

2007-01-26T12:26:00.000-06:00

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1

It was with sadness, yet a certain understanding, that I read this morning that the Kansas Milkmaid will no longer be making her wise and wonderful contributions to the community of Christian agrarian bloggers. It's good though, in a way, to see the agrarian community reflecting life, with it's ups and downs and it's comings and goings. Kansas Milkmaid, we haven't met, but I'm still going to miss you. As spring follows winter so do newcomers to this wonderful life in His garden. Lately, I've been enjoying the freshness of the Ante Family Agrarians, a young family new to life on the land, and would encourage others to support their efforts.

It's an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day in the southern plains today. Dave brought in 12 bales of nice, bright straw, which was a blessing to find as I fear we have a bit more winter ahead. He also brought me 3 big bags of potting soil so I can get caught up in the greenhouse. Best of all, last night he brought me a wonderful gift - a bright red Kitchen-Aid Artisan mixer. I've admittedly coveted one for some time. I'm not usually one to get excited about "stuff", but to my mind homestead equipment that will last a lifetime isn't "stuff."

There's a buffalo chuck roast in the oven. We raise most of our own meat - pork, goat, rabbit, duck - and also hunt for venison, but we buy buffalo from producer members of the Oklahoma Food Coop. We all agree it's better than beef! Here's what I did:

First I seared the roast in a hot cast-iron pan. Probably the most important technique for cooking meat is the searing process. It carmelizes the sugars on the surface of the meat and makes the base for the richest and most flavorful gravy. Once the meat was good and brown I sauteed an onion in the same pan in a little butter. The meat then went back in the pan with some salt and an herb mix, "Better Than Salt" from another food coop producer. The blend contains oregano, onion, marjoram, basil, savory, garlic, rosemary, lemon, sage, thyme, pepper and bay leaves. I topped the roast with the sauteed onions, added about 1 cup of water and finished with about a quart of carrots and celery that I had in the freezer. After covering and baking in a slow oven (250 to 300) till the meat was good and tender, I made gravy by running the cooked onions, carrots and celery through the food processor and adding some fresh cream. Our nice lunch was rounded out by mashed potatoes, fresh green salad, sourdough bread and peach cobbler.

This afternoon was spent in the greenhouse where I planted 3 types of cabbage, 2 types of Chinese cabbage, 2 types of Brussels sprouts and 1 type of broccoli. I also planted 19 different varieties of tomatoes and a flat of bunching onions, and did some straightening up. I found that the 4 flats of bulbing onions and 1 flat of leeks that I planted a couple of weeks ago are up and running.

I haven't forgotten the promised pantry list, and will be posting it as soon as I get it typed up.

That's it for today. Blessings to all.

A Quarrelsome Wife

2007-01-21T18:00:00.000-06:00

"A Foolish son is his father's ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping." Proverbs 19:13

I am a willful woman. It's the affirmity I am to bear and, honestly, it's a real pain in the rear for someone who endeavors to be worth more than rubies to the good, capable and resourceful man God has given me. I decided yesterday that every time he aggravates me, every time I find myself bowing up to argue just for the sake of arguing, I'm going to kiss him. Really kiss him. It's hard to be irritable when you're concentrating on *really* kissing.

For what it's worth.

Baby Steps

2007-01-21T14:20:00.000-06:00

With all the bad weather this last week, I've had a good opportunity to read many of the other Christian agrarian blogs out there. All I can say is "wow!" Now, I'm a fairly intelligent person, if the numbers are to be believed, but I just don't have the background to address the deeper issues that some of these talented folks do. Over the years, though, I've become certain in my belief that God gives us all gifts, just like His word says He does. So, I'll continue to take baby steps in this adventure of opening my journal to the eyes of the internet.

I've practiced baby steps today. I'm firm in my belief regarding my role as homekeeper and helpmeet for my precious husband, but my human nature often gets in the way of what I know is the right way to conduct my day to day activities. I'm a rotten housekeeper. Once I get started I can do a good job, but I'm usually overwhelmed with all that I need to do. My best move, I've discovered, is to get the kitchen in order. It seems like the heart of the home is the kitchen, and once it's in order I feel much more momentum to conquer the rest of the bedlam that befalls a homestead household. So, this weekend I tackled my kitchen.

I started in the pantry. Hindsight is 20/20 and this is certainly true in homebuilding. David and I built our home together, just the two of us. It's a good home, solid and warm, but my pantry is just way too small. It's 4' x 10' and could easily have been four times that size. I usually clean it out about twice yearly and with the recent ice storms I've been motivated to update my pantry and preparedness lists. I'll be posting those with details of what works for our family soon. Pantry rules that are on my mind:

Label everything, regardless of how obvious it is what the contents are.
If you buy store-bought canned goods, look a brand that stacks well. We love the Wylewood brand from Sav-a-lot. The quality is good and the cans will stack 3-, even 4-high.
Remember the old standby rule: "Store what you use, use what you store."
For preparedness, consider both staples for cooking from scratch along with a smaller quantity of no-cook or lo-cook items

If you find, during pantry cleaning, that you have lots of things that have gotten lost yet could have been used, consider moving those items to eye level. Although it's logical to have the items you use most in the most accessible place, you should also remember that it's not frugal or self-sufficient to waste food by putting it aside and forgetting it. When I post my pantry list, I'll further discuss my pantry setup and the rationale behind it.

Moving to the kitchen, here's some suggestions that I have found helpful:

If you have a family of 3, you really don't need place settings for 24. It's only human nature that the more dishes you have, the more you'll dirty before washing them.
A full sheet of newspaper fits very nicely on the top of most refrigerators. It's not noticeable and has saved me so much time wiping down the greasy dust that accumulates up there.
Think hard about the electric gadgets you keep in your kitchen. If you don't use them, pass them on. They won't be at all useful if electricity becomes scarce and if they take more time to clean and put away than they save, they're enslaving you. I keep a blender (great for powdering dried onion, garlic and peppers), a food processer, a rice steamer, a crockpot (makes perfect tomato paste) and a great old electric skillet that I probably should give to someone who would use it more than I do. I could easily do without all of them. On the other hand, non-electric helpers I have are a Roma food mill (testing this out to decide if I want to invest in a Squeezo), a #32 meat grinder, a Country Living grain mill, a hand cranked meat slicer, an Enterprise lard press/sausage stuffer, a hundred-year-old apple peeler, and a tortilla press. On my wish list are a cider press with grinder and a good kraut cutter.
Old tin-plated utensils (food mills, graters, etc) and enamel plated ware are all romantic and served their purpose well, but as much as I love the past I'd recommend replacing these with stainless steel as money becomes available. They'll all rust eventually. Whenever you replace or buy new equipment, buy the very best you can afford. Cheap kitchen equipment costs more in the long run.
If your kitchen isn't working, change it. I'm not a follower of Feng Shui or any of that non-sense, but I do know that sometimes it takes several tries in arranging our homes to get things right. My husband maintains that all furniture should be bolted to the floor and never move, but with gentleness I can usually get him to understand that change can be a positive thing. If you find yourself tense time after time as you get out a certain piece of equipment, or if you find yourself hesitating to wash it and put it up, maybe it isn't in a good place.

"Baby Steps" is a buzzword in online homemaking circles and I'm not much on buzzwords, but sometimes as homesteaders we get overwhelmed and need to do one thing at a time. More news from the kitchen to come.

Blessings to you all,

Judy

Stuck Out Here In Paradise

2007-01-14T16:40:00.000-06:00

"I don't wanna go nowhere. Let the river flow, I don't care. Can't go to work and the boss can't call, But me and my baby don't mind at all - Stuck out here in paradise."
(copyright '95 Ranger Bob Music, ASCAP/Polygram Int. ASCAP/Murrah Music BMI)

Ice Storm 2007, as the local news has termed it, is about over. It started out with rain on Friday morning as the temperature started to plummet. Dave made a quick trip to town for a few last-minute things, but all in all we were prepared. We brought 6 5-gallon buckets of water in the house plus the 5-gallon drinking water jug along with filling both 20-quart canners and the 12-gallon Amish made canner for hot water. Our house isn't plumbed for running water so carrying water isn't an unusual thing, but we brought in extra since we knew the freeze proof faucets outside would be iced over. We brought firewood up on the porch to keep it out of the ice and gave the goats and pigs extra straw bedding. We had plenty of kerosene and wicks on hand for the lanterns and took time to make sure they were topped off and the wicks trimmed properly. When we moved to Tabletop Homestead in 1999 we spent the first 15 months without electricity, so all this was just a matter of reviving old habits.

I just heard on the news about people in the eastern part of the state who had thought ahead by purchasing generators, then were surprised that they couldn't get fuel to run them once the power went out and the gas pumps no longer worked. Preparation is as much about thinking through processes as it is about stockpiling stuff. You have to think about the things you absolutely have to do and then plan how you're going to do them in the absence of electricity, transportation, running water, etc. What's necessary in your house might not be the same as what's necessary in mine. Basically, our family must:

Keep warm
Drink water
Cook and eat
Provide for minimal necessary washing and hygiene
Take necessary medications
Handle human waste
Light common areas
Consider activities to avoid "cabin fever"
Care for livestock and pets

No one can tell you "If you store x-number of days' worth of these foods and buy a generator you'll be prepared." Each family must consider it's own situation and needs, while being objective about what's absolutely necessary (keeping warm) and what's nice to have (daily showers and video games.) Start by making a list of your family's vital activities then sit down together and discuss how you might get these things done in less than ideal circumstances. From there you can decide what kinds of things you need to keep on hand.

I have to say, as crazy as it sounds I love things like ice storms, flooding rains, etc. It gives us a chance to fine-tune our preparedness, but more than that I enjoy being separated from the world for a day or two. I love the family closeness it fosters and how it focuses all our thoughts and activities on the homestead. We'll be de-iced enough in a day or two that we can't use it for an excuse, and we'll go back to the things we have to do in the world. We look forward to the day when it doesn't take an ice storm to keep us home.

"Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them." Ezekial 38:7

Shifting Gears

2007-01-10T08:54:00.000-06:00

Most homesteaders dream of a day when they no longer have to leave the farm to pay the bills. Many of us continue be bondservants in the world working toward the time when we can finally concentrate our full energies on the homestead. The hardest part of all of this for me is shifting gears. I believe it's easier for men. Most men can come home from their careers, change into their jeans and jump right into their vocation as homesteader in the matter of an hour or two. I admire that. For me and many women however, it takes more time.

A married women's heart is at home, no matter where she is. God hard-wired us this way, whether we admit to it or not. I work 3 days a week as an R.N. at a local hospital. Now, I'm not complaining; I'm blessed to have 4 days on the homestead for every 3 days I work. It's just that it takes me a lot longer as a woman to wind down and make the transition from being a nursing supervisor responsible for many people both sick and well to being a stay-at-home mom and grandma submissive and responsive to my husband's leadership. Likewise, my days off are clouded with the thought in the back of mind that soon I must leave again.

I long to home, and we do have plans in progress to make that happen. I look forward to waking every morning with only thoughts of prioritizing the day's work to make our homestead a place that reflects God's blessing and glory.

"Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your alter, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God." Psalm 84:3

Skirts

2007-01-08T08:05:00.000-06:00

"In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparal, . . . " 1 Timothy 2:9

Without being dogmatic, what's on my mind this morning is skirts. I wear them most of the time now. Growing up it took an act of Congress to get me into one. It seemed to me to be such a bother, what with all the hosiery and slips and uncomfortable shoes it entailed. Now that I'm older, though, I'm becoming less and less inclined to allow men other than my husband to gaze upon certain parts of my anatomy. Plus, I just like them. I find skirts to be comfortable - cool in summer and actually warm in winter even when working outdoors. A flannel skirt and flannel petticoat really hold in the warmth. Now that I wear skirts most of the time, I've learned or at least decided that they don't really require special socks, shoes, and other paraphenalia. I wear skirts barefoot, with tennis shoes, even with muck boots only changing into dress shoes when I need to look grown-up. Who would think that would be a problem for a grandmother.

On the practical side, are there times when I don't think a skirt is appropriate? I do: anytime it isn't safe. I wear sturdy jeans for things like tilling the garden, mowing the lawn or working with any other kind of rotating power equipment. I wear jeans when I'm working near an open fire. Other than that, I can't buy the argument that skirts aren't practical.

In our house, skirts are economical. My daughter makes 2-yard skirts for both herself and me. They're so thrifty when we come across $1/yard fabric. She uses selvedges for an automatically finished side seam and puts in an elastic waist and quick machine hem. Any scraps from other projects make little skirts for my 5-year-old granddaughter.

Food from Afar

2007-01-07T07:35:00.000-06:00

"She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar." Proverbs 31:14

I always love the new year. It's the time here in southern Oklahoma to start the garden. I start cabbages and other cole crops, onions, lettuce and greens, and a few really long season things the first part of January in the greenhouse. I like experimenting with new varieties, and grow exclusively open-pollinated seed. This year we've got lots of new trellis space, having mounted livestock panel trellises on both the east and west sides of the house, so I'll be trying many new vining plants. One that interested me was a plant called "Casssabanana" from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

This plant is from Guatamala and described in the catalog: "The fruit are brilliant, flaming red and are about 2' long, one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen! They have bright orange flesh that is sweet and is used in drinks, jellies and other desserts; it has a tropical fruit taste. The fruit are fragrant and keep for a long period, like squash. . . .Huge vines can grow to 50' and are quite ornamental. . . . .Here in southern Missouri the fruit almost ripened last year, so we think if the plants are started indoors, we could easily get ripe fruit here in zone 6. . . .This plant was first mentioned in Europe in 1658 as a popular plant in Peru."

Using plants from other areas of the world is a technique I use often to further our work towards self-sufficiency. I like to explore and experiment with edible and useful plants from areas with comparable climates, especiallyl Mexico, the Mediterranean, parts of the Orient and the Middle East in order to provide variety and good nutrition in the family's diet.

Information on the Cassabanana from the Center For New Plants and Plant Products at Perdue University

Gardening, NAIS and the Gospel of John

2006-11-25T15:25:00.000-06:00

I haven't had any epiphanies this morning, so thought I'd just talk about what's going on here on our homestead. We looked over the garden today. There are baby brussel's sprouts all over the plants. This is our first year to grow them and I'm looking forward to seeing how a "real" brussel's sprout tastes. Another new winter crop for us is kale. We also have cabbages, broccoli, onions, garlic, peas and turnips still growing. One advantage of gardening in the south is that we can actually have produce all winter. It's one of the things I'm currently working mastering to increase our food production and self-sufficiency. I picked several Black Spanish radishes. They're really a neat looking radish and huge. I tried sauteing some in butter with a bit of Spike (a natural all-purpose seasoning) and found that cooking takes the bite out of them. It makes them taste a bit like turnips, only better in my opinion. One can only eat so many pickled products. I'm also told that they are great candidates for root cellaring. Along with the radishes I sauteed up a few Jerusalem artichokes. The key to them is to take them off the heat the minute they're fork tender. We also like them mashed like potatoes. Be careful, though, because to put it indelicately - they'll make you fart.

I've noticed many news articles lately regarding the USDA's decision to make the NAIS (National Animal Identification System) completely voluntary. Along the same line, I've got some wonderful southern Oklahoma land for sale, complete with ample rainfall and a gentle climate. You'll find no sighs of relief here. We don't buy it and are insulted that the powers that be think we would. We encourage all readers to go to NoNAIS.org where they are doing the good work in getting out the best information about this unprecedented intrusion into our way of life.

I'm currently reading in the gospel of John. It's such a beautiful book, and it's easy to see why it's recommended as the first book for new Christians. I was saved in my teens, but never discipled. Fortunately, even though I didn't know what being saved meant, God did. In my early 30's I sat down and read the gospels for the first time. I remember walking into the living room Bible in hand and asking my dear husband in amazement, "Do you know what this says? And you didn't tell me!" Let us not forget to share the Word with others.

Blessings, until next time.

Welcome to Tabletop Homestead

2006-11-23T15:50:00.000-06:00

We are Christians. We are homesteaders. We make no apologies.

We are moving this newly created blog from another site and will begin by sharing the few posts we've accumulated.

Thanksgiving
We had our family Thanksgiving yesterday. My granddaughter asked me why we didn't celebrate for 3 days like the Pilgrims. I told her I really didn't know, but it sounded like a wonderful idea to me. Maybe a plan for next year. We had goose and smoked brisket, cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, grean beans with lemon butter sauce, giblet gravy, pumpkin casserole, salad with homemade dressing, homemade cranberry sauce (my granddaughter has determined it makes a great peanut butter and jelly sandwich), whole wheat rolls, chocolate and pumpkin chess pies, pineapple upside down cake and peach cobbler. Today I'll take the leftovers and make a mineral rich broth from the goose carcass along with goose pot pie with the meat, gravy, beans and mashed potatoes.

I love to cook and find myself more and more giving advice to younger women. How sad that we're raising a generation that by and large has lost the art of good cooking. If I had one piece of advice to give beginning cooks it would be that you can't go wrong with quality ingredients. I'm not talking about spending a fortune at the gourmet food store, but in taking the time to seek out the best quality fresh locally grown food you can find and afford. In the priceless verses of Proverbs 31:10-31 the lady who would make Martha Stewart look like an amateur is described as seeking the best for her culinary efforts. Growing your own is the optimal choice. What you're not able to grow, buy from local farmers. Don't settle for margarine that's one molecule away from being plastic and instant soup that's full of unpronouceable chemicals. Learn about the wonderful qualities of real butter, homemade bone-based stocks, vegetables that haven't traveled thousands of miles. I told a group of young women the other day, I don't cook with anything that won't decompose.

We at Tabletop Homestead are thankful for the bounty of our farm, for the quality food that we're able to feed our young ones. We're thankful for the land that God so graciously allows us to steward. And, despite the uncertainties we face trying to live slowly and simply in a fast and complicated world, we're thankful that God is still, always has been and always will be in complete control.
9:09 am cst

Thursday, October 5, 2006
Changes
Yesterday, my dear husband brought home some of the propaganda, for want of a better term, that the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture in cahoots with the USDA is distributing regarding NAIS - the National Animal Identification System. Although I'm quite familiar with this program, it hit home as I was readinng the material. I literally became nauseated. Last night I had a rough night, awakening around 1:30 with much anxiety and spending almost an hour in prayer. I made some decisions. I can't advocate a lifestyle that requires licensing by the government. I've got to start looking for alternative ways to provide protein for my family besides the traditional keeping of livestock, as the USDA is determined to take that away from us. Tabletophomestead.org will change, although it breaks my heart to do it. Please be with us and pray for us as we work through this and check back frequently as we revise our life and our site.
2:33 pm cdt

Friday, August 26, 2005
Fall Gardening and Greenhouse Planting
The last few days we've been busy planting the fall garden and praying for rain. We've planted cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi, spinach, lettuce and a fall crop of basil. Whether or not we have any luck is now in the hands of God and the Oklahoma weather. We've also done fall cleaning in the greenhouse and have planted several varieties of perennial herbs to overwinter for setting out in the spring. A few of the things we planted were hybrid (from seed that was given to us), but the majority of our garden consists of open-pollinated and heirloom varieties. Many people don't realize that we now have only a fraction of the vegetable varieties that were available even 50 years ago. Gardening, while certainly important on the ladder of self-sufficiency, is only part of the equation. Without seed-saving you're almost in the same boat as the person who relies on the grocery store for all their food needs. So - plant a seed, grow a crop, save 2 seeds (one for next year and one more in case of a crop disaster.)
8:08 am cdt

Saturday, August 20, 2005
Fall is in the air
Yes, it's still August and unseasonably humid, but you can feel a hint of fall in the air. The light's a bit different and if you're very still you can feel just a touch of cool on the breeze. It's a little early this year. Usually fall begins to tease us right about the first of September when dove season starts. Fall means thinking about cutting up the trees we downed last year for firewood, butchering pigs, gambling on an end of season garden, cleaning up around the homestead in preparation for winter and getting ready for hunting season. We burned a large brush pile yesterday and I'm thinking it would be a lovely site for a new herb garden.
11:12 am cdt