Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Seeds! Our first "seed-saving" of sorts.
Going "Poo Free"
About a year ago, I read a blog (http://simplemom.net/how-to-clean-your-hair-without-shampoo/) about going "shampoo-free." Met this one with some skeptiscism, but logged it in the ol' mental file.
This last month I've been using one of Pantene Pro-V's "Natural" shampoo/conditioners and it's making me lose a ton of hair (thank God I had a ton to start with). Not a good thing. So before I go spend $40 for quality shampoo and conditioner, I'm trying this.
For in-depth how-to of this, please go to the link above, but basically:
To "wash" you only need 1c water and 1 tbsp baking soda. How's that for cost-efficient?!
To "condition" you use 1c water and 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar.
That is all!
Last night was my first round, and not only was it really easy, but my hair is much more like...well, hair today. It doesn't have that weird synthetic feel that it usually has. It is still smooth, but not unnaturally so. This cleansing method also makes it feel much cleaner than an actual detergent does (read: shampoo). My hair doesn't feel oily today, and though the feel of the vinegar rinse on the ends is different than I'm used to, it did the trick!
This last month I've been using one of Pantene Pro-V's "Natural" shampoo/conditioners and it's making me lose a ton of hair (thank God I had a ton to start with). Not a good thing. So before I go spend $40 for quality shampoo and conditioner, I'm trying this.
For in-depth how-to of this, please go to the link above, but basically:
To "wash" you only need 1c water and 1 tbsp baking soda. How's that for cost-efficient?!
To "condition" you use 1c water and 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar.
That is all!
Last night was my first round, and not only was it really easy, but my hair is much more like...well, hair today. It doesn't have that weird synthetic feel that it usually has. It is still smooth, but not unnaturally so. This cleansing method also makes it feel much cleaner than an actual detergent does (read: shampoo). My hair doesn't feel oily today, and though the feel of the vinegar rinse on the ends is different than I'm used to, it did the trick!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Here Again & Another Cow
Hello all! I have obviously been long-absent, and I apologize. Life has been wild these last 5 months.
Where to start...?
How about cows?
We have a new bred heifer, bought from the Cantagree Dairy (LOVE this name) in Mendon, UT in early September. She is another native-bred Milking Shorthorn, and while Ruby is on the beefier side of that breeding, Carrara (fancy name she came with huh?) is on the dairy side. Meaning she has no butt and is narrow. She could slip through a chute gate just about and she'll be two in March. This makes a "herd total" of three head: Ruby (3 this year), Carrara, and Opal (1 this year). I will be milking both the older girls this spring/summer, and halter-breaking Opal. Opal may even get entered in the fair this year if she continues to grow and look like she does - and halter-breaks without serious injury on my part. Kidding. Kind of. Between haltering her and training Carrara to milk (and reminding Ruby she IS a milk cow) I'm betting that I carry some beautiful bruises this season. At least they'll offer conversation-starters while tubing on the river...I guess, that's the biggest "plus" I can come up with.
Oh! There is chard & spinach coming up from last years plants on the north side of the house (in a snug 4' space between our house and our fence on that side). I did not know that they did this...and am wondering if they didn't just go dormant under all that snow we got. Whatever the reason, it is really exciting to see green - edible green - coming up. I am actually excited to eat the stuff simply because it's fresh; mark the date, four months from now I will hardly touch it. Chard is that far down the list of things I'll willingly eat. Unless there's gravy.
More to come - but cannot remember for the life of me what else I was going to write. The gravy thing made me go blank.
I love gravy.
Where to start...?
How about cows?
We have a new bred heifer, bought from the Cantagree Dairy (LOVE this name) in Mendon, UT in early September. She is another native-bred Milking Shorthorn, and while Ruby is on the beefier side of that breeding, Carrara (fancy name she came with huh?) is on the dairy side. Meaning she has no butt and is narrow. She could slip through a chute gate just about and she'll be two in March. This makes a "herd total" of three head: Ruby (3 this year), Carrara, and Opal (1 this year). I will be milking both the older girls this spring/summer, and halter-breaking Opal. Opal may even get entered in the fair this year if she continues to grow and look like she does - and halter-breaks without serious injury on my part. Kidding. Kind of. Between haltering her and training Carrara to milk (and reminding Ruby she IS a milk cow) I'm betting that I carry some beautiful bruises this season. At least they'll offer conversation-starters while tubing on the river...I guess, that's the biggest "plus" I can come up with.
Oh! There is chard & spinach coming up from last years plants on the north side of the house (in a snug 4' space between our house and our fence on that side). I did not know that they did this...and am wondering if they didn't just go dormant under all that snow we got. Whatever the reason, it is really exciting to see green - edible green - coming up. I am actually excited to eat the stuff simply because it's fresh; mark the date, four months from now I will hardly touch it. Chard is that far down the list of things I'll willingly eat. Unless there's gravy.
More to come - but cannot remember for the life of me what else I was going to write. The gravy thing made me go blank.
I love gravy.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
First Rabbit Butchered, First Farmer's Market & Catch-Up Blog
I am not sure what sort of wildness is in the air but life has been insane lately. We're just going with it, but I'm hoping that winter brings a bit of calm to our life.
We are moving into canning/harvest season, and I'm so excited to put up new things like Rhubarb Orange Jam, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling and Fennel Relish. Those are just what I've decided on doing today. We'll can some pickled beets too because they're a favorite!
We did our first Farmer's Market the 31st of July and were really successful. The funniest part of selling was that catnip (which I took on a whim) was our bestseller. Catnip. I had to laugh. Since we are overflowing with rhubarb, I also took some rhubarb cobbler kits and sold two of the three. I was pretty excited about them because they were our first "value-added" product and they sold! It was good to talk to people about what our goals are, where we are now and whats in the works for this coming season - I can now talk about these things much more smoothly than before. My friend Christina sold her beautiful bags and other hand-sewn products across the way from us, and we met several other vendors (of course) so it was interesting to see what was available. I am not certain we will be doing a booth there more this summer - though I certainly enjoyed it - simply because of the time requirement and because I cannot take the kids down at this point. Richard took them home this time, but had to take the day off to do so, and as far as economics goes, it makes much more sense to have him work than sell produce for half the income. Once this kids are bigger this won't be a consideration, but until then, unless we have more high-dollar items to sell, we're undecided on how much we'll be going down. I am a bit disappointed by this but ultimately enjoy selling from home much more.
Last night I butchered one of our two young bucks. Initially used the "broomstick" method for killing them, but didn't do it correctly so ended up taking thirty seconds (forever! i don't really know how long) to kill a rabbit that should have taken five. Not the best deal. I felt horrible that it wasn't as quick as it should have been, but learned and will be better with the next one. Killing something with your hands is much different than shooting it. More intimate, which made me more thankful because I felt the life leave. Earlier this week I cooked a Foster Farms chicken, and was disgusted by the unhealthy smell of it - so much so that I almost threw it away. Processing the rabbit I was struck by how clean and healthy the meat looked and smelled, and it made me happy that we are providing that quality for our family. If we all had an intimate knowledge of the animals that we ate, I'm certain there would be much lower consumption nationally. We're going to fry it tonight, so I will post on the quality/taste etc then. We will be butchering the second buck this week sometime between Tuesday and Thursday, hopefully it goes much much quicker!!
We are moving into canning/harvest season, and I'm so excited to put up new things like Rhubarb Orange Jam, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling and Fennel Relish. Those are just what I've decided on doing today. We'll can some pickled beets too because they're a favorite!
We did our first Farmer's Market the 31st of July and were really successful. The funniest part of selling was that catnip (which I took on a whim) was our bestseller. Catnip. I had to laugh. Since we are overflowing with rhubarb, I also took some rhubarb cobbler kits and sold two of the three. I was pretty excited about them because they were our first "value-added" product and they sold! It was good to talk to people about what our goals are, where we are now and whats in the works for this coming season - I can now talk about these things much more smoothly than before. My friend Christina sold her beautiful bags and other hand-sewn products across the way from us, and we met several other vendors (of course) so it was interesting to see what was available. I am not certain we will be doing a booth there more this summer - though I certainly enjoyed it - simply because of the time requirement and because I cannot take the kids down at this point. Richard took them home this time, but had to take the day off to do so, and as far as economics goes, it makes much more sense to have him work than sell produce for half the income. Once this kids are bigger this won't be a consideration, but until then, unless we have more high-dollar items to sell, we're undecided on how much we'll be going down. I am a bit disappointed by this but ultimately enjoy selling from home much more.
Last night I butchered one of our two young bucks. Initially used the "broomstick" method for killing them, but didn't do it correctly so ended up taking thirty seconds (forever! i don't really know how long) to kill a rabbit that should have taken five. Not the best deal. I felt horrible that it wasn't as quick as it should have been, but learned and will be better with the next one. Killing something with your hands is much different than shooting it. More intimate, which made me more thankful because I felt the life leave. Earlier this week I cooked a Foster Farms chicken, and was disgusted by the unhealthy smell of it - so much so that I almost threw it away. Processing the rabbit I was struck by how clean and healthy the meat looked and smelled, and it made me happy that we are providing that quality for our family. If we all had an intimate knowledge of the animals that we ate, I'm certain there would be much lower consumption nationally. We're going to fry it tonight, so I will post on the quality/taste etc then. We will be butchering the second buck this week sometime between Tuesday and Thursday, hopefully it goes much much quicker!!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Land next spring!
Through his work, Richard has talked to a man who is interested in leasing us land. Apparently Richard's boss has been talking to land-owning customers about what we're looking for and trying to do - pretty amazing to have support from unexpected places - and as a result he approached Richard! We are hopeful, but are obviously several steps from putting a shovel to the ground.
We have received our seed mix lists from Justin at NRCS, and they're long lists. Instead of a few plant species there are two batches of nearly ten species! We would split our land, seeding half with one mix and half with the other so that the entire growing season is covered.
Lately we are getting more and more people coming by for produce, and I just love being able to have them walk through and point to what they want. It's just a cool experience. Sharing our goals - letting them know what they're supporting - is wonderful. Savanna will tell them what everything is too if she is outside with us, which I just love since I don't drill her or anything on the kinds of plants we have, she just catches on. We are even able to sell the catnip that we originally planted to keep the cats in a certain area of the garden. It has flourished and I figured "why not?"
I will be taking pictures of our garden again this week, and will post them shortly after. It has grown a TON since the last photos were posted.
We have several more wild bees showing up now! Hopefully they will pollinate the tomatoes like crazy.
We have received our seed mix lists from Justin at NRCS, and they're long lists. Instead of a few plant species there are two batches of nearly ten species! We would split our land, seeding half with one mix and half with the other so that the entire growing season is covered.
Lately we are getting more and more people coming by for produce, and I just love being able to have them walk through and point to what they want. It's just a cool experience. Sharing our goals - letting them know what they're supporting - is wonderful. Savanna will tell them what everything is too if she is outside with us, which I just love since I don't drill her or anything on the kinds of plants we have, she just catches on. We are even able to sell the catnip that we originally planted to keep the cats in a certain area of the garden. It has flourished and I figured "why not?"
I will be taking pictures of our garden again this week, and will post them shortly after. It has grown a TON since the last photos were posted.
We have several more wild bees showing up now! Hopefully they will pollinate the tomatoes like crazy.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Downside of the strip beds
We love the quick setup, ease of use etc of our strip beds BUT it turns out the animals love to be at ease in them! Crazy Lucy (cat) loves to lounge on the young seedlings and Jesse (Bassett/Bordercollie pup) thinks he should sit in the tomatoes to drink out of the little water dish I have in one. They're only a foot tall, so apparently it's like an animal throne lol. I'm hoping that me running them out will get the "don't get in there" message through. Not holding my breath though - I've found that once they like a spot it's pretty hard to convince them that it isn't wonderful.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Our Garden
Digitalis (Foxglove) I planted last year, put to sleep under straw for the winter, then did a happy dance when they emerged this spring - victorious! Bees like flowers too, so a constant bloom on the property should help attract bees and therefore boost our production. Thats the idea anyway.
The rest of the front flower bed. Bees have been coming through regularly and I should be able to start collecting seed soon. We have flowers in almost every planting bed. This bed only has the large, nasty/noxious weeds pulled. Food beds keep me busy enough with the weeding.
The two beds on the right each measure 4'x20' and are made with FREE scrap wood from our local mill. The shorter bed on the left is new this year and measures 1' x 18' +/-. We call the little beds "strips" because we've been putting them up in free/unused space. They are made from salvaged feed-lot fence boards (also free). Pretty doesn't grow plants (good thing lol).
These are three more "strip beds" behind our house. This area has some nasty clay soil spread over it (containing a TON of weed seed) so we're hoping that the soil in the raised beds will be enough for the plants to thrive. Not sure they will, our pumpkins are struggling but seem to be gradually getting better. The right bed contains only root vegetables though, so maybe they'll have a better outcome...?
Our home & front beds. The bed to the right of the sidewalk is 5'x60' and our neighbors regularly stroll by to check its progress. I know this because I am usually weeding, watering or thinning. The "squash boxes" (this year anyways) are new this year also, and are simply a way to use our lot more completely. They are only 18" or so square and are very quick to do. Just dig out the sod where you'd like to put one, build the box and fill it with soil. Simple. Much easier than trying to keep the grass back from the squash. They are also made with scrap lumber. All we purchase for these beds are nails. It's good to explore your community : ) Our lot is 9,000 square feet for those of you who are curious.
In the evening the leaves of several of our vegetables cup in order to collect moisture. Pretty cool.
Everything needs a place to water. By supplying a water source you attract all sorts of life that you otherwise wouldn't see: caterpillar-eating birds, aphid-eating lady bugs etc - good guys.
There is one more bed on the north side of our home. Richard dug a 5'x40' section of horrible, hard clay(then added and turned in organic matter), so that he could plant a swath of sunflowers out our kitchen window. He raised them from seeds brought from California - from sunflowers he planted for me there. They are the only thing he has started and/or planted this year. I love sunflowers, and they're right out my sink window now. Their sole purpose to say "I love you" every time I look out. Pretty words would not begin to compare to the beauty of them stretching ever upwards in love.
There is somewhat of a lull in gardening, mostly I maintain right now. Still weeding grass, watering of course, and dragging Fort Rabbit around the lawn. If we have enough to sell at Farmer's Market, we will be going this Saturday. I have been thinking up value-added products that are easy to do and use the things we have the most of - I'll be implementing them soon! We'll even have something special for cats (due to the mass of catnip growing in the "wild corner" of grasses, trees, catnip and mint).
Our rabbits should be butchered this weekend, but if Richard continues to work every day (as in 7 day work weeks) then I'll have to find time to do it in the evening after he gets home. When the kids and passerby aren't around to see me thumping rabbits on the head. Ugh. I can hardly believe that these are even considerations I'm making.
On a positive note, we were encouraged by a farmer friend to be unafraid (not dumb, just not fearful) of making a big push to get us started on a grander scale. He says not to pass up on a good thing just because we're afraid of failure. Nice to hear things like that from someone who knows better than we do about these things. It makes me wonder what gems of advice I'll have when I've got a few more decades of gray on my head.
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