If you read my info on this blog, you know I used to be in "survival preparedness" big-time. Earth changes. Social unrest. Political chaos. Blizzards. Tornadoes. Etc etc etc. My other blogs, including http://survival-cooking.com/ still gets lots of activity because it discussed working with stored foods.
Oh, I still cook with stored foods, only now I do it with self-reliance more in my mind, than preparing/prepping for hard times. Yes, we have dried tomatoes and dried herbs, but only because I grew them and dehydrated them. (I don't freeze a lot, and "can" even less.) I can fix a meal in the dark, and convert a pizza box into a solar oven. I know my Kid won't eat fresh blackberries or raspberries but if I dehydrate and powder them, I can hide them in a smoothie with a little dried spinach powder and frozen bananas ... good enough for him to ask for seconds.
But when I need buckets to store the corn I grew, I surf on over to http://www.usplastics.com/. When I need a big water tank or hand-cranked grain grinder, I go to Emergency Essentials at http://www.beprepared.com/.
Just saying ... I'm not a survivalist, but am quite practical and like knowing I have enough food and drink and "medicinal" herbs put away for my family in case of emergency. Don't you?
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We ate quail eggs last night! I took pictures but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see them. Hubby ate 11, the Kid had 8, and I had 4. Come on, quail ... give us some more! Yum!
On a little more yucky note... our baby chicks didn't have much pasty butt yesterday. Only one got a bath! We might be turning the corner but will keep a close eye on it.
Massive winds yesterday. Up to 100 miles per hour in places. Blew pollen all around. Sounded like being in the middle of a tornado most of yesterday. Close to 80 mph here where we are. The Kid and I had to chase down a few things that decided to fly (inanimate!).
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Please plant a nut or fruit tree today.
Showing posts with label Prepping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prepping. Show all posts
Volcano equals short growing season?
I was reading some info online about the volcano erupting in Iceland. The article mentioned a close-by volcano, and that if they should both go at nearly the same time, it could essentially cause the opposite of global warming (global cooling). The article went on to say that basically, the SO2 that would be thrown into the stratosphere will cool the planet so quickly that we will have several years of bad harvests.
If that's even a slight possibility, then perhaps I should think about our little homestead/hobby farm in a different light. Here at this altitude in the Colorado Rockies, we already have a short growing season (between 90 and 120 days). How much shorter would it become?
I mean, the scientist wasn't talking about another ice age, was he?
-CORN: I had already chosen Black Aztec corn to grow this year, which can be used sweet (immature and yellow) or dried for corn chips and tortillas (mature and black). It has a maturation date between 75 and 90 days. That should work ok, especially since I start it indoors 2 weeks before I transplant outdoors. OR ... maybe next year I'll get Hickory King yellow corn which is good for roasting, grits and cornmeal, and matures by 85-90 days. What is the fastest growing heirloom corn good for sweet and cornmeal?
-SQUASH: The CORNFIELD Pumpkin (pepo) matures in 90 days which is really quick for a pumpkin. Good for growing in the cornfield (hence the name). Small fruits (10-15 pounds). JACK BE LITTLE pumpkins (pepo) are small, grow in about 90 days and are perfect for feeding livestock as well as using for human consumption (not just for decoration!). BUTTERNUT squash (moschata) matures in just 90 days and really stores well for winter. TABLE QUEEN acorn squash (pepo) has a 80 day growing season... short! So... What is the fastest-growing longest-storing heirloom winter squash?
-POTATOES: This is my first year of growing potatoes. Well, not quite true. We tried in 2008 but a neighbor killed them. How quickly do potatoes grow? From planting the seed potatoes to harvesting, how long does it take?
-MILLET/AMARANTH: This is our first year to grow these. From planting seed to harvesting, how long does it take?
Beans and radishes grow really quickly, as do greens, berries, summer squash, and a few other items. If tomatoes are started in doors and helped along with water-wells after planted outdoors, they will produce quite well before 90 days are up.
As long as we have balanced stores (as in storage, not shopping), and if we have sweets from time to time, we should be fine.
We had already started to set up a "grow room" in our house with "natural light" (grow light) bulbs. So far we just have seedlings, plus full-grown lettuce and strawberries. By the end of this Summer we'll have harvested from this room basics like carrots, radishes, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, zucchini, etc. Maybe even beans!
Of course, there's always installing a greenhouse which is what we plan to do. Not exactly good for growing grains (corn, amaranth, millet, etc) or winter squash (pumpkin, butternut, etc.) Maybe I could grow these in the yard, and put some in pots too (to bring into the garage during early frosts). Perhaps that would work.
I guess I should re-qualify here that I'm NOT panicking, and I'm not being the little red hen, or crying wolf. We moved to this little 2 acre plot because we want to be self-reliant and grow just about everything we eat. That, of course, includes growing for our chickens, quail, goat and rabbit. So being prepared JUST IN CASE the alertists are right is just a good idea. In my opinion.
Rambling while writing. It's what I do best!
If that's even a slight possibility, then perhaps I should think about our little homestead/hobby farm in a different light. Here at this altitude in the Colorado Rockies, we already have a short growing season (between 90 and 120 days). How much shorter would it become?
I mean, the scientist wasn't talking about another ice age, was he?
-CORN: I had already chosen Black Aztec corn to grow this year, which can be used sweet (immature and yellow) or dried for corn chips and tortillas (mature and black). It has a maturation date between 75 and 90 days. That should work ok, especially since I start it indoors 2 weeks before I transplant outdoors. OR ... maybe next year I'll get Hickory King yellow corn which is good for roasting, grits and cornmeal, and matures by 85-90 days. What is the fastest growing heirloom corn good for sweet and cornmeal?
-SQUASH: The CORNFIELD Pumpkin (pepo) matures in 90 days which is really quick for a pumpkin. Good for growing in the cornfield (hence the name). Small fruits (10-15 pounds). JACK BE LITTLE pumpkins (pepo) are small, grow in about 90 days and are perfect for feeding livestock as well as using for human consumption (not just for decoration!). BUTTERNUT squash (moschata) matures in just 90 days and really stores well for winter. TABLE QUEEN acorn squash (pepo) has a 80 day growing season... short! So... What is the fastest-growing longest-storing heirloom winter squash?
-POTATOES: This is my first year of growing potatoes. Well, not quite true. We tried in 2008 but a neighbor killed them. How quickly do potatoes grow? From planting the seed potatoes to harvesting, how long does it take?
-MILLET/AMARANTH: This is our first year to grow these. From planting seed to harvesting, how long does it take?
Beans and radishes grow really quickly, as do greens, berries, summer squash, and a few other items. If tomatoes are started in doors and helped along with water-wells after planted outdoors, they will produce quite well before 90 days are up.
As long as we have balanced stores (as in storage, not shopping), and if we have sweets from time to time, we should be fine.
We had already started to set up a "grow room" in our house with "natural light" (grow light) bulbs. So far we just have seedlings, plus full-grown lettuce and strawberries. By the end of this Summer we'll have harvested from this room basics like carrots, radishes, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, zucchini, etc. Maybe even beans!
Of course, there's always installing a greenhouse which is what we plan to do. Not exactly good for growing grains (corn, amaranth, millet, etc) or winter squash (pumpkin, butternut, etc.) Maybe I could grow these in the yard, and put some in pots too (to bring into the garage during early frosts). Perhaps that would work.
I guess I should re-qualify here that I'm NOT panicking, and I'm not being the little red hen, or crying wolf. We moved to this little 2 acre plot because we want to be self-reliant and grow just about everything we eat. That, of course, includes growing for our chickens, quail, goat and rabbit. So being prepared JUST IN CASE the alertists are right is just a good idea. In my opinion.
Rambling while writing. It's what I do best!
Good Start to a Good Year
Pic to the right: Hubby and Son, Halloween 2008 - yes, we're big ole hippies so his costume wasn't such a stretch for us! Ain't my SuperKid cute! And yes, that's our chihuahua (now gone) dressed as a pumpkin!= = = =
I'll start with last night. After our errands, we stopped at the nearby Village Inn for dinner. Geez, lots of drunks already on the road at 5 p.m.! Anyway, I'm proud to note that I order the steak and eggs breakfast, with hash browns and fruit instead of pancakes. Hot decaf tea. Yum! Then Hubby brought his slice of pecan pie home and he ate that with his dairy-free ice cream from the freezer while the Kid and I had a piece of gluten-free pecan pie (leftover from Christmas) and organic ice cream from the freezer. Delicious end to the day. Decided to not drink any champagne or other alcoholic drink because of all of the meds I'm on. Not that we're much on drinking anyway.
Hubby and I cuddled up in the bed and watched TV and read while the Kid watched movies on his computer. Until 5 minutes till midnight. Then we watched the ball drop, took our meds, and passed out... all of us!
I was up early this morning, had 3 pieces of raisin toast (GF), took my meds, and finished reading "Under the Dome" by Stephen King. I won't spoil the ending but daggone!!! Excellent read, King.
Afterwards, I made some detox herbal tea and crawled back in bed to watch TV on mute. I do that a lot. I hate commercials, plus I didn't want to wake up Hubby. Finally, he and the Kid got up around 11. Okay, maybe later. By the time we did some talking (we have business plans for 2010, and HAD to discuss our possible house again), I started lunch. I had found some organic grass-fed beef hot dogs at the health food store the other day, so those in addition to gluten-free hot dog buns, we had a right tasty lunch. Delicious dogs! The Kid had 2, as did I. Plus I had an apple. Hubby had 1 of these dogs on a hamburger bun, then I cooked him up a package of regular hot dogs and he had 3 more of those.
Meanwhile, I'm very proud of me staying with my health plan.
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On a separate note, I had a thought about self-reliant hygiene last night. Was in the shower and got the sudden urge to shave my legs. Now, I don't do this very often. Not just because I'm fat and my big ole belly makes it difficult, but I just hate shaving. This was the longest I'd gone without shaving - guess it had been about 8-9 months. Oh my gosh! When I got done, I looked like I had scraped all the skin off my legs, there was a lot of blood. It took about 8 tissues to finally get the bleeding stopped. I had to leave 2 on when we left to run errands and to eat last night. The tissues were stuck on so.... well, you get the picture. As I was trying to go back to sleep this morning, I got to thinking: why do women shave? I know I know... it makes us look all feminine and smooth and sexy, but really?
Found this website: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/625/who-decided-women-should-shave-their-legs-and-underarms - underarm hair shaving started due to a marketing campaign in 1915. Before then, people might have cared but didn't do anything about it. Shame on you, Harper's Bazaar! It doesn't give a year, but Betty Grable's pinup poster with smooth legs might have been the start of our current female leg torture.
The point is... if I had to do without shaving for a long period of time, or ever again, at all, I could and would do so. It's been LESS THAN 100 years since we started, and female humans have had hair for a whole lot longer than that. According to wikipedia, It has been suggested that the hair itself acts with a natural "anti-friction" quality between the upper arm and the thorax. More importantly, armpit hair naturally wicks moisture away from the skin, which aids in keeping the skin dry enough to prevent colonization by odor-producing bacteria.
My Hubby, bless his heart, doesn't care if I shave anywhere. Not even the errant hair on my neck that gets about 3 inches long before I notice it and pull it. (OMG, did I just write that?) Although I'll need to shave before my underarm lump appointment next week, after that, I'm tucking all of my razors away until I absolutely HAVE to shave again... whether another lump appointment (please, god, no).
And that's MY take. Eliminate what's not needed. Don't want to shave. Don't have to shave. Not gonna.
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I like the Norwegian word: Velstand. Did I mention that Hubby is of Norwegian descent? We're working on learning recipes and traditions that we're afraid we might lose without writing them down. We have learned how to make aquavit (a VERY strong drink that I can't even sip but Hubby can - one bottle has lasted 3 years so far!) and how to make brown cheese from whey (which I haven't actually done yet).
My heritage is basically a mutt. Lots of European countries in there and a tiny bit Native American. I'll borrow my husband's ethnicity for now. And my Kid... he's a complete mutt too!
= = = =
Hubby and I cuddled up in the bed and watched TV and read while the Kid watched movies on his computer. Until 5 minutes till midnight. Then we watched the ball drop, took our meds, and passed out... all of us!
I was up early this morning, had 3 pieces of raisin toast (GF), took my meds, and finished reading "Under the Dome" by Stephen King. I won't spoil the ending but daggone!!! Excellent read, King.
Afterwards, I made some detox herbal tea and crawled back in bed to watch TV on mute. I do that a lot. I hate commercials, plus I didn't want to wake up Hubby. Finally, he and the Kid got up around 11. Okay, maybe later. By the time we did some talking (we have business plans for 2010, and HAD to discuss our possible house again), I started lunch. I had found some organic grass-fed beef hot dogs at the health food store the other day, so those in addition to gluten-free hot dog buns, we had a right tasty lunch. Delicious dogs! The Kid had 2, as did I. Plus I had an apple. Hubby had 1 of these dogs on a hamburger bun, then I cooked him up a package of regular hot dogs and he had 3 more of those.
Meanwhile, I'm very proud of me staying with my health plan.
= = = =
On a separate note, I had a thought about self-reliant hygiene last night. Was in the shower and got the sudden urge to shave my legs. Now, I don't do this very often. Not just because I'm fat and my big ole belly makes it difficult, but I just hate shaving. This was the longest I'd gone without shaving - guess it had been about 8-9 months. Oh my gosh! When I got done, I looked like I had scraped all the skin off my legs, there was a lot of blood. It took about 8 tissues to finally get the bleeding stopped. I had to leave 2 on when we left to run errands and to eat last night. The tissues were stuck on so.... well, you get the picture. As I was trying to go back to sleep this morning, I got to thinking: why do women shave? I know I know... it makes us look all feminine and smooth and sexy, but really?
Found this website: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/625/who-decided-women-should-shave-their-legs-and-underarms - underarm hair shaving started due to a marketing campaign in 1915. Before then, people might have cared but didn't do anything about it. Shame on you, Harper's Bazaar! It doesn't give a year, but Betty Grable's pinup poster with smooth legs might have been the start of our current female leg torture.
The point is... if I had to do without shaving for a long period of time, or ever again, at all, I could and would do so. It's been LESS THAN 100 years since we started, and female humans have had hair for a whole lot longer than that. According to wikipedia, It has been suggested that the hair itself acts with a natural "anti-friction" quality between the upper arm and the thorax. More importantly, armpit hair naturally wicks moisture away from the skin, which aids in keeping the skin dry enough to prevent colonization by odor-producing bacteria.
My Hubby, bless his heart, doesn't care if I shave anywhere. Not even the errant hair on my neck that gets about 3 inches long before I notice it and pull it. (OMG, did I just write that?) Although I'll need to shave before my underarm lump appointment next week, after that, I'm tucking all of my razors away until I absolutely HAVE to shave again... whether another lump appointment (please, god, no).
And that's MY take. Eliminate what's not needed. Don't want to shave. Don't have to shave. Not gonna.
= = = =
I like the Norwegian word: Velstand. Did I mention that Hubby is of Norwegian descent? We're working on learning recipes and traditions that we're afraid we might lose without writing them down. We have learned how to make aquavit (a VERY strong drink that I can't even sip but Hubby can - one bottle has lasted 3 years so far!) and how to make brown cheese from whey (which I haven't actually done yet).
My heritage is basically a mutt. Lots of European countries in there and a tiny bit Native American. I'll borrow my husband's ethnicity for now. And my Kid... he's a complete mutt too!
= = = =
Added at 6:16 P.M.: I did something today that I didn't give much thought to. Just did it. I googled the girl that I lived next to for many years, when I was growing up in Louisville, KY. Janet Kelly. She's been on my mind lately because I, well, I wasn't a very nice person growing up. I was bullied so I sometimes I took it out on Janet and a few others. I googled her and found her on Classmates.com so I joined and posted my own profile. Weird. Something I never gave any thought to, or had any ambition to post. So, I did it.Posted a pic of my son and Hubby too (at the top) and this pic to the right is the Kid in Fall 2008 with our chihuahua on his lap and a stray we took care of that day before finding his family. Note the dying tomato plants by the front door! They gave and gave until we had a hard frost. Yummy yellow pear tomatoes.
By the way, I'd love to touch base with Janet, Susan Taylor, Donna Sheets, Sheila Stopher, Carrie Applebaum, and more. If I didn't mention you, high school buddies, it's just because my memory is quite, uh, ok, gone.
= = = =
Guess that's it for now. Have a wonderful Friday, and January 1, 2010.
Hoarding versus Prepping versus Self-Reliance
When it was just the Kid and I, I got quite ill. I couldn't hold a job down, hadn't slept in about 2 months, migraines, carpal tunnel and much more. When I lost my job, I didn't qualify for unemployment benefits. I applied for disability, but that takes forever, so I lost our home. We lived in a tent-camper in a friend's front yard for almost 2 months. I went to the food bank daily for our meals, and let me tell you, they don't have healthy food. It's bread, cakes, rotting fruits/veggies, and every once in a while, on-the-edge milk. Still, we got through it, and I got a new place with welcomed help.
I became a hoarder. When I was given fresh fruit or veggies, I used a dehydrator and put some away for a rainy day. Someone left a box of shampoo, etc. on my doorstep, I watered down one and stored the rest away. I hoarded. Oh, believe me, I hoarded! Just look at the ton of boxes we have in our tiny home and 2 storage units!
Thankfully the initial hoarding period didn't last long. I got medical help for my physical problems, met my husband and married him, and disability came through. My hoarding turned into prepping. What if all of these changes in the weather are a sign of frequent and radical weather changes? What if the "war on terrorism" will escalate to bring it back on American soil? What if the bird flu hits? What if What if What if?!?!
I started storing everything and anything... sewing kits, dried food, powdered milk, sterno, ammo, seeds, and much more. I wanted to be prepared for whatever may come. Yep, more boxes.
Only recently did my mindset change again. I didn't want to "prepare for a catastrophe". I want to be able to live lightly on the Earth. I want to know that I can take care of myself and my family without worrying about "using the last toilet paper" or oh no, the last of the powdered milk got ruined whatever shall I do?!
So this blog, in case you've followed me from the prepping and survival blogs, is about taking care of myself. About reacquiring knowledge our ancestors used for centuries until we got too good for our own britches. About smelling bread baking and knowing **I** grew the wheat, cultivated the mother (for sour dough) and grabbed the eggs fresh from under a hen just that morning. About serving my Kid some yogurt that we just made from milk we took from our favorite nanny goat.
From time to time, I may digress and talk about storing and checking inventory and so forth, so bear with me, but for the most part, I hope this blog will show my journey to be self-reliant and content with myself and my accomplishments.
Thanks.
Vikki
I became a hoarder. When I was given fresh fruit or veggies, I used a dehydrator and put some away for a rainy day. Someone left a box of shampoo, etc. on my doorstep, I watered down one and stored the rest away. I hoarded. Oh, believe me, I hoarded! Just look at the ton of boxes we have in our tiny home and 2 storage units!
Thankfully the initial hoarding period didn't last long. I got medical help for my physical problems, met my husband and married him, and disability came through. My hoarding turned into prepping. What if all of these changes in the weather are a sign of frequent and radical weather changes? What if the "war on terrorism" will escalate to bring it back on American soil? What if the bird flu hits? What if What if What if?!?!
I started storing everything and anything... sewing kits, dried food, powdered milk, sterno, ammo, seeds, and much more. I wanted to be prepared for whatever may come. Yep, more boxes.
Only recently did my mindset change again. I didn't want to "prepare for a catastrophe". I want to be able to live lightly on the Earth. I want to know that I can take care of myself and my family without worrying about "using the last toilet paper" or oh no, the last of the powdered milk got ruined whatever shall I do?!
So this blog, in case you've followed me from the prepping and survival blogs, is about taking care of myself. About reacquiring knowledge our ancestors used for centuries until we got too good for our own britches. About smelling bread baking and knowing **I** grew the wheat, cultivated the mother (for sour dough) and grabbed the eggs fresh from under a hen just that morning. About serving my Kid some yogurt that we just made from milk we took from our favorite nanny goat.
From time to time, I may digress and talk about storing and checking inventory and so forth, so bear with me, but for the most part, I hope this blog will show my journey to be self-reliant and content with myself and my accomplishments.
Thanks.
Vikki
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