Around The Homestead

Updates and other goings on since my last "Around The Homestead".

Studio Window

After dealing with all of those structural issues in my studio, I am pleased to report that the window is finally in and the siding up and painted.

Still needs some trim on the adjacent wall and the other downspout.

If you look under the eaves, you can see where Dan added soffit vents. Remember the discussion about attic ventilation? (See "Living Without Air Conditioning".) Well, our house had no soffit vents. The only vents our attic has are gable vents, which hasn't helped keep the house cool in summer. We're also looking into a solar attic ventilation fan, which will hopefully be in our near future.

Next up will be replacing the dining room window on the right, and the siding.

Gates

old gate

Maintaining fencing and gates is ongoing, and the old gate to the blueberry bush was in pretty sad shape. It was made from random branches and such. It has served us well for over three years, but the wood had dried out and the pieces didn't fit well anymore. So Dan made a new gate.

new gate

This one is also from recycled materials, but sturdier and looks nicer. It still needs painting, but it's serviceable as it is.

Piglets

I recently gave you a Piglet Report, but I wanted to mention that they've been out and about, exploring.

They travel in a little herd. 

Scurrying back to Mama Pig with Papa Pig moseying along behind. 

Polly's piglets are small enough to slip under the fence, but fortunately they never stray far from mama.

Bucks

Randy and Clark, taking a break from girl watching

In other critter news, I can report that the bucks are impatient for breeding season to begin. They've been sparring and perfecting their masculine goat cologne. Breeding won't be for a couple of months, but they're ready.

Deer

I thought the arrangement of our garden fence would deter the deer, but alas, we've been finding deer prints in the mangels and corn. Hence my latest deer deterrent.

Deer deterrent. Kinda hard to see, huh?

It's a hog panel tied to the open corner of the field and decorated with fluttering plastic tape. Will it work? I'll have to let you know!

Corn

Speaking of corn, ours is about four to six weeks behind where we'd like it to be.

The electric fence (front) divides the corn from the goats' "field of weeds".

That was because of weather and equipment failure, but we managed to get some in with enough time to make a crop of all else goes well. If we get enough rain and no deer damage, then it should be all right.

My little goaty girls

And speaking of our "field of weeds", you might be wondering how my new little doelings are doing.

Violet, Stella, & Luki heading out to the field of weeds.
They love weeds more than the nice pasture we put in!

It was one of the best transitions I've ever had with adding new goats. The adults (Daphne and Helen) don't put up with any nonsense, but their daughters (Stella and Jessie) get along great with the three new girls.

Helen and Jessie gobbling down those weeds, with Lini in the background

They have their own sparring matches, but then go out to graze together, leaving the moms to chew their cuds in peace and quiet.

Luki, Lini, and Violet. Lini sees one of the cats.

Luki and Lini are the tamest. Violet is still a little shy but has been coming around. She no longer runs to hide anytime I'm near as long as I'm just part of the scenery.

Violet's turn to wonder what that cat is up to.

Luki and Lini came from the same farm, so Violet was the "newcomer" amongst those three. However, she and Lini have taken up as friends and it's usually Luki who can be found contentedly chewing her cud by herself. Luki was a bottle baby, so I think she prefers the humans to the other goats.

Lini is so long! Did you notice she has wattles?

Honeybees

The bees are the least demanding of all our critters, perfectly content to carry on with no notice of us. With the observation window in the beehive I can check on progress in the bottom box.

A peek through the observation window at the back of the bottom hive box

Not a terribly good photo. I had to put my camera lens right on the window to prevent glare. It doesn't appear that they are building comb on the top bars in this box yet. If they do, it will mean they've filled all the boxes above and I should get a bit of a honey harvest this year.

Cats

In cat news, we have a new cat.

Valentine relaxing in the doorway of the chicken coop.

I'll have to tell you her story soon.

Well, that was a long one. I recently gave you an update on the chickens, and the next post will be a garden update. I need to do an update on the edible hedgerow as well. It's taken it's toll from no rain, the summer heat, and a few tree loses. I knew it would be slow to establish, however, so we'll just keep pressing on, slowly but surely. 

 Around The Homestead © Aug. 2015 by Leigh
at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

An Etsy Shop for Dan, Contemplating Self-Sufficiency, and Masanobu Fukuoka

I have several posts in my drafts folder, although none of them is quite ready for you yet. That's because I've been helping Dan set up an Etsy shop for his pyrography, [now closed] and I wanted to share that with you. We're still getting pieces added, but at least it's presentable enough for visitors.

It probably seems pretty off topic from homesteading, but on the other hand, he would love to be able to work from home rather than off the homestead. Most homesteaders can relate, because that seems to be part of the self-sufficiency formula. I'm guessing it's one of the biggest frustrations for a lot of folks, i.e. having to have a job to support oneself and buy the things it takes to become self-sufficient. Ironic, isn't it, that self-sufficiency can only be obtained with a lot of money?

Dan and I talk about that a lot, actually. I've concluded that the biggest problem is that we (speaking of homesteaders in a generic sense here), are trying to support the lifestyle from which we came. It seems to me that most folks assume that the way things are, is the way things are supposed to be. I've talked about this in other posts:

• Technology as Taskmaster
• Living Without Air Conditioning
• Defining Sustainability
• Agrarianism: Forward or Backward Thinking?
• Reflections on the Slow Life
• Taking Stock
• Contemplations on Value & Money
• Mindset: Key to Successful Homesteading?

Obviously it is something we are still trying to figure out!

I just finished reading Masanobu Fukuoka's book, The One-Straw Revolution. It is interesting to me that someone from the another culture on the other side of the world can make the same observations we have and come up with similar conclusions. Namely, that science and industry are destroying agriculture and, thereby, destroying the environment (and the earth). The consequence is that we humans are no longer content with simply growing food as a lifestyle, because now life is only about making money. This is the very dilemma we find ourselves in as homesteaders. If that sounds harsh, well, I suggest you read the book for yourself.

An Etsy Shop for Dan, Contemplating Self-Sufficiency,
and Masanobu Fukuoka © July 2015
by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Pizza Sauce

I had a couple of people ask for my recipe for pizza sauce (see "Too Many Tomatoes"). I thought I had it in a blog post, but only found comments about it scattered here and there. So here it is, all in one post.

Homegrown Pizza Sauce

There is actually no difference between my pizza sauce and ordinary spaghetti sauce. It's just that we eat more pizza than spaghetti, hence the name. Ingredients are simple:

• tomatoes
• sea salt
• seasonings of your choice
• lemon juice or citric acid

I usually freeze my tomatoes and make my sauce when the weather turns cooler.

Bags of tomatoes in the freezer for canning later. TIP: Frozen tomatoes
are easier to peel than with boiling water & ice baths. Just dunk the
frozen tomato in lukewarm water. The skins easily peel and slip right off.

To defrost and prepare for sauce making, you have two options. If you have something like a Squeezo Strainer or a Roma Sauce Maker, then the tomatoes can be defrosted and processed into juice with one of these.

The Roma removes seeds and skins easily

Alternatively, pop the frozen tomatoes into a large pot,

Frozen Amish Paste tomatoes 

and cook down until soft. Then run them through something like a Foley Food Mill to remove skins and seeds.


Pour all that lovely tomato juice into a crock pot or slow cooker and add your favorite herbs and spices.

Tomato juice cooking down with homegrown thyme, oregano, & rosemary

Cook down to the consistency you desire. I find it takes about two days to decrease the volume by half.


I can my sauce in pints, which is a couple weeks worth of pizzas for Dan and me.

I add one half teaspoon salt per pint, plus either one tablespoon lemon juice or one quarter teaspoon citric acid. They are processed in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes.

And there you have it.

Friday night special

 Pizza Sauce © July 2015 by Leigh
at http://www.5acresandadream.com/