It was this time last year...

Almanac
Originally uploaded by rkeithstewart

…that we started itching to get a little more land. Benita took Christmas money and bought two blueberry bushes and a grapevine. We planted those and started thinking about how many more fruit trees we could have if we had more land. Then we started thinking about how big of a garden we could have if we had more land. Our planning and scheming was so satisfying that we began to talk ourselves into being unhappy with the small acreage and house that we have. I don’t think we ever said that we were “unhappy” with our house, but some of the things we talked about and how we spoke about those things (many of our wants became needs) might have given anyone else the impression that we weren’t “happy” (as if that’s a real measure of anything).

Well, we put our house on the market within a month of beginning our discussions of wanting (needing?) more land. We found a house that we really liked and were disappointed when that house sold just as we began efforts to make an offer. I also “found” another house that was very suitable. The only problem was that house wasn’t for sale, and the owners would not contact me back so I could talk them into selling their home to me (the nerve).

So, here we are on our quarter acre still wishing, wanting, desiring, dreaming, and living. I must say, I still want to have more land, but with the way the economy has shifted over the last year it’s hard to determine what we could afford given that I our current house would probably not sell for what we want out of it.

What do we do? We do what we would do if we had more land - we get up, live an active life rather than a passive life - we continue to simplify our lives the way we have been doing over the last year. We continue to pour ourselves out creatively and expressively with great appreciation for what we have earned and been given in life. We continue to plan and do just as if we were living our “dream”. (What if our current situation has to be our dream?)

And with our continual planning, we are planning which vegetables, fruits, and herbs that we want for next year. Of course we will not feed the family with only what vegetables we grow, but we can supplement our food with fresher vegetables that we had a hand in growing, and the kids can learn that tomatoes don’t come from a can.

The planning and reading lately has taken me down memory lane some. I have run across some resources that my grandparents used on their farm when I was little. I found The Progressive Farmer magazine that my grandfather used to read. I never read the magazine as a child (I was certain it had to do with farming so I knew it had to be boring). I ordered the free copy.

I also found The Old Farmer’s Almanac online. I was looking for dates and times to plant vegetables and found a great planting table where you can enter your zip code and get a quick reference for early and late planting for garden vegetables. My grandparents always had an almanac (they just called it “the almanac”) around and consulted it for planting and weather advice. I have to admit that the almanac includes a lot of what I would call superstition, but who can argue with the history they’ve had - the almanac was first published in 1792 !

Read more later about our “Year of Endeavors”.

Winter Solstice

Christmas Cactus
Originally uploaded by rkeithstewart

The shortest day of the year; the longest night. The beginning of winter. The earth falling into dormancy. Hibernating, renewing, re-creating. The leaves have fallen and become next year's dirt, the cycle begins again. Sleeping, awakening, quickening, slowing. Much like the phases of a day or a life. Solstice - the end - or the beginning?

The blooming Christmas cactus offers the hope of another season.

For all the meaning attached to this day and all the people of differing religious views, it really all comes down to one thing - it's the first day of winter. It's the God-ordained cycle of nature that keeps the earth and its people fed.

The best part of it for me is that the days finally begin gradually getting longer.

Soap Batch 2 - Success

Soap Batch 2 - Success
Originally uploaded by rkeithstewart

The soap was made using the same recipe and method as the first batch. However, I added cinnamon as a colorant. I think the result is nice - some of the pieces are marbled, but all of the pieces have a great brown color.

I used a $2 stick blender from a thrift shop to help with the stirring. That's probably the reason for the bubbles that can be seen in some of the pieces.

I used a shoebox lined with a shopping bag for the mold. The result was firm, but it was easy to cut and held its shape.

Where are the Bees?

Everyone who has any interest in nature (or food) should watch this video. It was loaded from TED and it is excellent.

Our Advent Jesse Tree

Our Advent Jesse Tree
Originally uploaded by rkeithstewart

This is our Advent Jesse Tree that we are decorating one day at a time. I made the tree from sticks found in the yard. I did have to cheat a little by getting some of the sticks from the woods at the end of the street because we didn't have enough straight pieces for the tree. I covered the basic structure with vines found growing wild around the corner. Some of the vines are morning glories.

Moses' Tablets

The Sea Shell Wind Chimes

The Sea Shell Wind Chimes
Originally uploaded by rkeithstewart

The wind chimes has a nice soft "clink" sound to them. I really loved the colors here. The yellow in the background is the Japanese Maple in its fall colors.

I may need to move the chimes in order to maximize the wind it gets - right now it's on the back porch that is screened in and doesn't get some of the more gently breezes.

The Ugly Soap

The Ugly Soap
Originally uploaded by rkeithstewart

The Ugly Soap - it lathers great and doesn't dry my skin.

Fall in South Alabama...

Fall in South Alabama...
Originally uploaded by rkeithstewart

This photo is about as good as it gets this week. We have pretty much been busy trying to get everyone well (whole family has been sick with a cold or something similar). We did get in the yard for awhile on Sunday (the temperature was in the mid-sixties) and played for awhile. I began thinking about a place to have an herb garden next summer. I've read in a couple of sources that the "average" family only needs an area of about 6 feet by 4 feet in order to have the space needed for growing herbs.

The only problem right now is deciding which herbs we would want to take the trouble to plant. I know garlic isn't really an herb (is it?) but I would like to include garlic bulbs in our herb garden. We had a single garlic bulb a few years ago that Benita got from her grandmother in Louisiana that produced wonderful garlic. The bulbs were actually juicy, similar to an onion, and was great in Fettucine Alfredo.

I have a place picked out that I will start working on with leaves and compost.

I have also still been researching soap-making. The original batch (that was very ugly) is cured now and I have been using it. The soap itself is good, but the look and smell aren't there yet. We need to keep looking at others' recipes (is that the right word for a soap concoction?). One place I have found has a lot of good information - Kathy Miller has been making her own various soaps for over 30 years - great pictures.

Really, I Don't Like Snakes

Identify the Snake ?
Originally uploaded by rkeithstewart

I spent Saturday morning recapturing leaves. What others call a “convenient curbside service provided by our city“, Benita calls “giving our leaves away”, so now instead of “raking” leaves I “recapture” leaves. Last fall I decided to place the raked leaves around the bases of the pecan trees and along the fence. We have added vegetable scraps and coffee grounds at various areas under the leafs to encourage microscopic activity in our yard. The nitrogen in the leaves is sufficient to fertilize our grass and to provide a great area for composting. We don’t do composting with the fancy compost barrels - ours is one step above throwing the scraps onto the yard. I guess our method could be described as somewhere between passive composting and extremely passive composting. We place the scraps under the leaves and pretty much just leave it alone.

We have wondered whether we are actually doing anything because we don’t check on the compost and we don’t spread it around. We haven’t seen many earthworms (which we expected). One clue that we may be having some ecological impact is the presence of little brownish/bronze colored snakes. I found one a few weeks ago under some boards in the backyard. This was in an area we the kids play and without knowing much about the snake I didn’t think it would be a good idea to let the snake remain. A few days later we found another snake like the previous one on the carport. I caught it and put it in a jar for examination (see photo) and then sent it on it’s way. Roger Clay, with the Alabama Department of Conservation identified the snake as a redbelly snake (storeria occipitomaculata). Which, according to what we have read is a reclusive snake that lives in piles of decaying leaves and wood (Wikipedia) and is non-poisonous.

So yesterday I was adding more vegetable scraps to the composting area in the front yard. Guess what I saw when I pushed back the leaves to place the scraps on the dirt - yes, another of the brown snakes. This time I just let him crawl into the undisturbed leaves. I guess we are having some impact. This is a really odd attitude I've developed toward snakes. Really odd because I really HATE snakes.

I'm Kind Of Getting Into This Soap-Making Thing

By looking up the methods and ingredients myself, I'm learing a lot more than when Benita just tells me about it. It's a very interesting subject that is very historical.

The method that Benita made her soap with is the cold process method, meaning the oils and lye are mixed together as they cool - no cooking is involved. Anyone who remembers "The Beverly Hillbillies" probably remembers Granny standing over a pot in the back yard making lye soap - another method, but not cold process.

This is a website I found that is pretty interesting: http://www.certified-lye.com/index.html


What I'm finding out is that we should not have used the soap the other day - the lye was still harmful at that point in the process. Also, the smell is supposed to go away as the soap cures.

Soap Update

The soap results were not so impressive. After the first day the soap had not sufficiently dried so we heated the mixture back up and re-molded it. It came out better the second day, but the soap is not beautiful. It also doesn't feel very good. We used some of it to wash our hands and it felt good while we were washing, but after our hands dried they seemed very dry. We both had to use lotion on our hands to make them feel better.

We now have the bars drying out of the way (about a three week process). We'll see how it turns out.

Also, the soap doesn't smell very good. It's kind of chalky smelling.

Another Project That Doesn't Have Much to Do With Farming

Sea Shells for Wind Chime
Originally uploaded by rkeithstewart

These are some shells that were collected by a co-worker who lives near the beach in Gulf Shores (Alabama). I found a long piece of driftwood along the bay in Fairhope last year with the idea of adding shells to it to become a windchime.

I finally got around to it last week after I found a piece of similar driftwood. Me and the kids (mostly me) worked on tying the shells together with ribbon to make the chimes. I've added the chimes to the driftwood but I haven't hung the whole thing up. (My wife says her favortie windchimes are the ones in the neighbor's yard).

What's this got to do with life on a quarter acre? Not much - especailly not much to do with farming. It's probably just restlessness and the need to do something that feels productive (not like my work).

I do like the idea of making something that is tangible and incorporates natural items. I like it that the kids can (kind of) participate too (if I let them).

A Work In Progess

Kudzu Christmas Wreath
Originally uploaded by rkeithstewart

This is the Kudzu Christmas Wreath I've been working on. It's beginning to look a litte more finished and full as I add vines. It's amazing how it kind of becomes an obsession - twisting and pulling the vines and the "challenge" of getting everything to stay together and shaped.

No Crops

Grape Leaf Spring and Fall
Originally uploaded by rkeithstewart

I've got to admit that I was a little disappointed with our "crop" this year. Our pecans vanished - maybe it was the rain, it could have been the hurricanes and tropical storms that blew by us - but something got them. We didn't get enough even to pick up.

The new grape vine yielded one bunch of grapes. They tasted (and had the consistency) of scuppernongs. This yield was to be expected during the first year I'm sure.

We got a few tomatoes - not enough to freeze. We got no blueberries (their first year also). Hopefully next year will be better.

At least we have the soap to look forward to. I'll put up some pictures of the Kudzu Christmas wreath later.

Time to Make the Soap

I (Benita) finally made soap today --- something I began thinking about a few months ago.

It started out as an idea for making Christmas gifts, and then as an idea for another income. I found a recipe in a book and watched some videos on YouTube.

My holdup began with my search for lye. Did you know that you can't find it on store shelves anymore? One local hardware store has a newspaper article about how lye is used in home drug labs posted on the shelf where lye had previously been stocked. So I called the Red Devil company (1-800-423-3845, recommended in Better Basics for the Home) who referred me to a company where I could buy the lye online.

I never knew soap was so full of oils and grease - Olive Oil, Crisco, Coconut Oil. As I read more and watched videos I realized that this is no small undertaking. I needed a special kitchen scale, gloves, goggles (it seems that lye is very dangerous and should be used only outdoors and should not get on your skin).

To begin the process I gathered the gloves, goggles, measured the oils and took the lye outside on the carport while my sweet husband (supportive in all my crazy endeavors) melted the fats. I poured the lye into the water and let the temperature slowly drop to the "magic" point (about 95 - 105 degrees) so the lye mixture could be added to the fats mixture. It is apparently very important to the chemical process for the two mixtures to be about the same temperature when mixed together so the lye mixture will turn the fats into glycerin. After mixing everything together I had to stir for about an hour.

Then I added lavender essential oil, poured it into a container, wrapped it in blankets, and have now left it to set till tomorrow evening when I will cut it and let it dry for a few weeks.

The Fate of a Dung Beetle

Tonight, our son was playing around with our two year old and told her he was going to fill her room with "dung".  I asked him what he knew about dung and he said "it's the waste dropping of animals".  He then went on to report that "dung beetles eat dung and turn it in to useful material for soil". 

 

He concluded with "the world would be a lot smellier place without dung beetles".

 

He knows things he shouldn't know (who is teaching him this stuff?)

 

As it turns out, he is mostly correct.  According to Thaibugs.com :

 

• "...a small 1.5 Kg pile of Elephant dung on the African savannah attracted 16 000 dung beetles of various shapes and sizes, who between them had eaten and or buried that dung completely in just two hours. One dung beetle can bury 250 times its own weight in a night."
  

And another thing...

The hit of the day.
Originally uploaded by rkeithstewart

...this finished off the day. Fresh pineapple - the kids loved it and begged for more. We all had to practice a little self-control so that some would be left for tomorrow.

It Seems a Little Late...

...to start this, but what better time?

Today was good - a slow start, a slow middle and a slow end. Everyone was pretty much on their best behavior today (baby daughter had a couple of moments, but nothing big).

I made pancakes for breakfast and we had dip with Wheat Thins for lunch. Yes dip - Asparagus Dip - it had a vegetable, a protein (cheese) and carbohydrates (Wheat Thins). The kids played well outside and rode their bikes. I took some pictures while they rode. The girls were wearing their bathing suits underneath their pants - they looked ridiculous and the pictures will be highly treasured as they get older.

I went down the street and gathered some Kudzu for our Christmas wreath. This all started last year when I "built" our Christmas tree out of sticks gathered from the yard on Christmas Eve. Anyone who knows me knows how much I dislike Christmas trimmings. This dislike usually gets interpreted as a dislike for Christmas - I don't really dislike Christmas, just the fake commercial nature of Christmas. I especially dislike Santa Claus (and we have not perpetuated this myth on our children).

When you really boil it all down, Christmas is a commercial holiday / season. Even Christians for the most part buy into the sentimentality of Christmas without much thought about the miracle of the virgin birth.

Anyway, last year I "built" our tree - this was it:



I think it turned out pretty good (in a really cheap, thrown together way). Well, I was so pleased with the result that I have decided to "build" another tree this year and make it really impressive. I am also making our wreathes out of wisteria vines and Kudzu vines. I twisted the kudzu vines around a bucket to make a wreath and it is drying in the shed. I think my wife (BJS) thinks I'm a little off. I'll give updates.