Cabin Crafted

Category: Uncategorized

  • Living local

    As I re-read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable Miracle, a book I reread every couple of years, it re-dedicates me to live locally. We have the best Farmer’s Market I have ever shopped. They are open April through October on Wednesday afternoon and on Saturday mornings year round with more vendors. During winter, there are fewer vendors, but still some products are available including storage vegetables, eggs, meat, breads, and cheese. Each spring, I plant a garden and we have an orchard with 4 kinds of fruit trees and 3 kinds of cultivated berries, but other than tomato sauces, peppers canned and dried, tomatillos for salsas, and cucumbers for pickles, I don’t grow enough variety or quantity to supply us year round. This year, in support of the vendors, I decided to buy extras of items that can be blanched and frozen for winter use. This week was the first week of making these extra purchases and I came home with extra Sugar Snap Peas, celery, and carrots. The peas have been getting added to the freezer for a few weeks as I had extras and are coming to an end. The celery sliced for Mirepoix, the carrots sliced for soups and stews. Herbs are grown here in the garden to be dried and others in the Aerogarden for fresh use. Meats and poultry are available year round so don’t have to be stockpiled. One farm, in addition to beef and eggs, grows corn for meal, oats for oatmeal, and wheat for flour. Being able to watch my flour ground and bagged, unbromated whole wheat with bran is wonderful.

    A bag was brought home, a loaf of artisan bread started last evening that was baked this morning. What doesn’t get used immediately will be frozen so there will be flour for bread this winter as well.

    The finished bread is a little more dense than I had hoped, it was a new recipe that I will tweak in the future.

    After putting the produce away and some frozen, dinner prepared using plenty of fresh vegetables from market and garden to make a salad, a little garden time was enjoyed. This week has been so wet, it was nice to be able to get in there, weed a little, pick berries, and pull the 34 heads of garlic to cure in today’s sun.

    All but two are large and full and this should be enough to last us the year. The fall garlic seed needs to be ordered.

    Soon there will be peas from our garden to enjoy and freeze. And the beans are beginning to have blossoms, the first zucchini is forming, tiny peppers and tomatoes are developing. The apple and Asian pear trees are heavy with fruit to be enjoyed raw or made into sauces later in the fall.

    There was cheese purchased, Garlic Chive Chevre that was enjoyed on the salad, and a weekly treat of a bouquet of flowers from our friend’s farm.

    Keep it close to home if you can, better for the environment, better for your health.

  • Signs of Spring

    Though a single Hummingbird is visiting during the day, only the one has been spotted and not frequently enough to try to catch a photo. But other signs abound.

    The apple blossoms against a bright blue sky, as I mowed below them yesterday, the second mowing already this spring, though less of the property is being mowed, with the hope of either more hay mowing or at least a wild meadow. Son 1 suggested last year when he mowed for me that too much was being done on the little riding mower. Without consistent teen helpers around, I agreed and less is being done this year. The section below the garden where the garden used to extend, and between the garden and the orchard where an extended chicken run used to be are very rough and hard on the mowing machine and the mower rider. I have self debated whether it could be smoothed with the tractor blade and reseeded, but somehow the chickens would have to be kept out while the grass grew or the effort would be fruitless. They have denuded two areas where the grass was thin to dustbathe already since being freed back to wander the farm. Trying to keep them penned is an act of frustration as they dig out under the fence and once a hen has succeeded, others follow. The entire run needs to be disassembled, expanded with new fence wire, a chicken wire base that turns inward a foot or so to prevent tunnelling, and a top. It isn’t worth the effort or expense to do that, so they free range and become hawk bait.

    Part of the entourage that run to see what “treat” is in store whenever anyone steps out of the house.

    A very poor photo, zoomed to the extent of my phone and cropped to further enlarge, of two Toms doing their spring dance to entice the 3 hen turkeys nearby. Zoomed as they are about 200 yards away. This dance is a sure sign of spring.

    The first bird nest of the year in a Viola hanging pot, just put up a few days ago. Probably the Wren that builds in one of the pots each year, but I haven’t seen the bird on the rim yet and there are no eggs to identify. In a day or two, there will be eggs and in about 24 days, babies. It is hard on the plants in the baskets, but providing a nesting spot for the little Wrens is more important. Watering those plants has to be done carefully so as not to soak the eggs and nest. The only time I see them is on the planters, as Wrens don’t come to the feeders.

    Today, the swallows were checking out the nesting box that they steal from the bluebirds every year. The bluebirds will get the second one as the swallows won’t occupy two as close together as the two in the garden are set. I still want at least one more house for the garden area. The birds help keep the insect load in the garden reduced.

    The Peony’s are up. Though they are about 15 years old, they only began blooming a couple of years ago. Hopefully, they will bloom this year. It isn’t the best location for them.

    And the lilacs are beginning to bloom.

    The tomatoes and tomatillos have been planted deeply in tall single use plastic cups from fast food to allow them to grow more roots up their stems as many nightshades are prone to do, it will make for stronger seedlings when time to plant. At that time, they will still be planted more deeply than they are in the cups. Along with the pepper starts, they are spending their days on the back deck table in deep mesh baskets to protect them somewhat from the breezes, to harden them off and strengthen them for planting out next month.

    Another sign is the proliferation of Carpenter bees. Living in a log home, they are inevitable, drilling into the fascia boards to nest and emerging on every warm day. Though we dislike the damage the woodpeckers do trying to get at the larvae, the bees do not sting and are pollinators like other bees. The fascia boards could be replaced with a material they wouldn’t use, but then the fear is they would attack the logs instead.

    Definite signs that the dark winter has drawn to an end. There will be more chilly days, even a frost or two, but the worst is over. Today it will approach 80f here with clear, blue, sunny skies. There are a few days of cooler, not cold temperatures and some rain in the half week, but the trend is toward more consistent warmer weather.

  • Crafting and Winter Blues

    Shortly after the Christmas Amaryllis gifted bulb quit blooming, it was cut back and put in a pot of soil. Much to my delight, it has begun to grow new leaves, so with any luck, it will survive to bloom again.

    Shortly after it ceased, Kroger started displaying various forced bulbs. Walking past their display many times, I finally succumbed to the temptation and purchased the tall clear glass container with about 7 tulip bulbs growing in it. Unfortunately, the water in the container quickly took on the odor of a dirty fish tank and even if changing it every couple of days, it would again become cloudy and stinky. Yesterday when I grabbed the rim of the container, I realized it had a significant chip on the inside edge and cut my left thumb (I am a southpaw, so ouch) and left a tiny glass splinter that had to be removed. Once that was taken care of, and since flower buds are beginning to show on several of the bulbs, a decision to remove them from water and place them in one of my hand thrown pottery bowl planters with soil in hopes that they will thrive and bloom to later be planted outdoors in the back garden, so they too can bloom again another year. Having the blooms on the table is cheerful in the gray gloom of the short winter days.

    As some of the leaves are yellowing, perhaps having them in soil where they can be given some houseplant food will help their health.

    I accepted the February DARE TO DO IT spindle challenge, but may have dared myself beyond my capability by trying to spin enough yarn to knit the center square of a traditional Shetland Hap, the traditional shawl of the Shetland Islands. The shawl needs about 6-7 ounces of fingering weight yarn for that part and at my current rate, I’m already behind my goal having spun only 9 grams in 2+ days, I will need to spin about 12 more grams today to be on schedule.

    This has put my knitting on my other unfinished shawl on hold for now as I am also trying to knit a ski band/ear warmer that hubby can wear under a billed hat when we walk. It is being knit out of some Coopworth that I spun about 3 years ago and has been sitting ever since as it wasn’t a lot of yardage.

    It seems that everything I am currently working on is natural colors in camel, moorit, and dark brown or black. The darker knitting is difficult in the poor light of winter, but I am really dedicated to finishing the two knitting projects.

    I took two hours this afternoon to Zoom with the spindle group and that gave me time to knit and spin. Still behind and not finished with the ski band, but much closer than I was when I began this post.

    Stay warm, it hasn’t been here today, but should warm back up some by the end of the weekend.

  • Winding Roads

    We live in a very rural mountain area in Southwest Virginia. Main roads are reasonably straight or at least gentle curves and more subtle elevation climbs through gaps, but if you leave the main road for a paved two lane road, those rules are tossed out the window. Our road has curves and elbows, no true switchbacks, but climbs steadily two miles to our turn off, then 4 more miles to Mountain Lake Lodge. Son 1 has said more than once, that a head on collision will occur. So far, we haven’t seen that, but have seen a two wheel drive sporty sedan slide off the wrong side on ice and stopped by a large tree from a more destructive ride or tumble down the side of the mountain. We have seen a young couple, who allegedly came up to watch the sunrise, drive straight off the road where it made a 90 degree left turn, no injuries we were told.

    Today as we headed out to lunch, walk, grocery run, and a follow up hearing check on me, we stopped to pick up yesterday’s mail that we didn’t get in the rain then and turned downhill on the road. If we had been 90 seconds earlier by not stopping for our mail, we would have become the head on that son has discussed. A young man, driving a fairly new Mustang up the mountain, in spite of a sign that shows a right L turn and 25 mph speed recommendation, came around the turn too fast, off the left side of the road, and to rest at a more than 45 degree tilt, held up from the field below by a sturdy tree. He was still attempting to climb out the passenger door that he had to open up and climb over the edge and just as the neighbor who lives across the road came out to see what had happened. He was fortunate the tree was there or he would have rolled the car down into the hayfield, probably more than one roll. He was young, English was not his first language, and he didn’t know what to do. We stopped and with the neighbor, attempted to provide some guidance. His rear bumper was pulled off and I’m sure the driver side caved in, probably an air bag or two deployed. We were out for several hours and wondered if he managed to get it towed out. When we approached the curve slowly, a Sheriff’s deputy was controlling “traffic” (us) while the tow operator was trying to figure out how to remove the Mustang from it’s location. The young man was not standing there, so he must have gotten a ride from someone. He is about to learn a lesson about insurance claims, probably received a citation and will get to appear in the county seat courthouse in the near future.

    We were glad we were not in the way when he sped around that corner.

  • The Ugly Pink Coat

    Many years ago when I decided that there were to be chickens here, my wardrobe still reflected my prior life, living in a city and working in education. Yes, there were a couple pair of denim jeans, but outdoor wear was too nice to work in a dirty environment. Of course, retirement on a farm and not having to dress for a job every day changed some of that and pants became more functional than dress slacks, shirts of a fabric and style that were conducive to working in the garden and mucking out a coop, but outerwear did not really change, until the first winter that there were outdoor animals that needed care regardless of whether it was 2o degrees f or 90 degrees f.

    As I was purchasing feed and bedding in Tractor Supply and the weather was beginning to take a turn for the cold, the huge center rack of the store was loaded with winter gear. For the most part, the clothing was camo. I don’t hunt, don’t want to be mistaken in the woods for a tree or a deer, so camo wouldn’t work for me. Almost year round, when I go out into the woods or walk the rural unpaved road, a blaze orange vest is part of my wardrobe. The non camo women’s options were very limited, the teal that I wanted was not available in my size, I didn’t want the Carhartt jumpsuit, so it ended up being the Ugly Pink Jacket. Now you need to understand, I don’t like pink, don’t wear pink, didn’t dress my daughter in pink, so for me to come home with a pink barn coat was a stretch, but it was cheaper than Carhartt, not camo, not a jump suit, but it was hooded and warm with lots of pockets for necessary tools (or to bring in freezing eggs).

    The Ugly Pink Coat hangs on a hook in the utility room, right where it needs to be to go out to put on boots, gather feed, and deal with the feathered flock or do other chores that continue to be necessary year round. Most of the year, it just hangs there, but when it is needed, it is dragged out, zipped up, and keeps me warm. Last night, it got cold, today it stays cold, so for the first time this season, out came the Ugly Pink Coat. It looks like a few more days of use before it can be hung back on the hook for a while.

    It is warm, it is faded, now at least a dozen years old, but though I am glad it is there, it is still UGLY!

  • A friend lost

    💔

    Today I lost a friend, a fellow fiber lover, a playful, gentle soul who fought cancer for 9 years. Her loss is felt by many today, leaving her husband, an adult daughter and her husband, and many, many friends who loved her.

    When attending retreats with her, a part of a small contingent that would go out to lunch together. To know her, you knew a true friend.

    Through her failing health, she was always concerned about you, not herself. She was gracious and loving and fun to be around. She will be sorely missed by many.

    Goodbye my sweet friend. Rest now that you are no longer suffering.

  • Oh, how fickle

    Spring in the mountains is a fickle affair. Spring time one day, winter the next, then back to spring.

    This was preceded by a 63f day, the snowy day, it fell to 14f, climbed to upper 40’s and windy yesterday and back into the 60’s today.

    I checked the greenhouse tonight, I fear the greens didn’t survive 14f. It was too dark to see for sure, but it looked like most were burned off. The tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach, and Komatsuma have sprouted indoors, but nothing has been sown under the greenhouse yet, just the transplants that were overwintered or planted out there a few weeks ago.

    To confuse the schedule, as pasta was on the menu a couple nights ago, one of the bags of tomatoes was brought up and cooked down, run through the mill, and 4 pints of tomato sauce canned.

    Not the usual time of year for canning, but the 8 gallons of tomatoes in the freezer need to be made stable. Tonight, a second 2 gallon bag was brought up and a few handfuls were thawed enough to skin, chop, and add to a pot of chili that was being prepared. The next rainy day, the remaining gallons will be cooked down and canned. Not as many tomatoes are being planted this year, but enough to add more to the shelves.

    The spring flowers on our walk were recovering today, but the pussy willow that had begun to bloom are all burned and browned. Some of the catkins hadn’t opened yet, so hopefully they will open in the next couple of weeks.

    The switch to daylight savings time means nothing to the chicken flock, but throws our senior bodies into disarray, bodies that disagree with the clock as they adjust.

    In the midst of the storm on Saturday, our internet quit. Our router was 9 years old and after a cell phone chatline with tech support and a phone call from the local technician in our little rural coop phone service, we have DSL, we drove down and picked up a new router/modem programmed for us. It still didn’t work and no technicians are available on Sunday. They came out this morning and really couldn’t figure out why, but changed the filter on the line coming in the house and managed to get us back on. A couple hours later, it failed again and Son1 spent an hour on the phone with me troubleshooting. Thanks to him, we are back on again.

  • New Adventures

    We walk for fitness and health daily, both too old to jog or run, and most days it is on one of two section of the Huckleberry Rails to Trails path that are fairly level. This path follows the old Huckleberry rail from the Library in Blacksburg to the Rec Center in Christiansburg, about 7 miles. A couple of years ago, it was extended from where it passes under the main highway bypass in the opposite direction from Christiansburg into and through the Heritage Community Park and Nature Area. We have wandered around in that park many times prior to the extension of the Huckleberry and have walked from a parking area in the park back toward Blacksburg a several times, but have never gone to the other parking area in the park, a mile farther away.

    Today is cool and partly cloudy again, but calm wind and for variety, we drove down to the lower parking lot and started our walk at that terminus of the Huckleberry Trail, a very isolated area, but very pretty. The walk we did from the terminus to the road the trail crosses is a little over a mile, almost entirely uphill. Once we reached the road, we turned around and walked it back down to the car.

    The first couple hundred yards are downhill to a creek and after crossing the bridge over the creek, there were at least a dozen small trees all gnawed down by beaver. We did not see any animals, just the remaining trunks mostly devoid of branches and couldn’t see where their dam was built, though there was evidence just beyond this of overwash of the trail from the rain night before last, so it must be just a bit upstream from the bridge.

    It is a pretty section, probably will be prettier when the trees and shrubs leaf out. You can see the old silos from the Heritage Park section we used to walk. And this pretty glade of pines with a thick layer of needles below.

    Though there are many benches to rest on and several picnic shelters near the two parking areas, this glade would be a great place to bring a picnic on a warm sunny day.

    It took us several years to explore this end of the trail, but I’m glad we did as it gives us two other sections to walk.

    When the weather warms up consistently, we will add back in the hike up in the Conservancy that we also love.

  • Anxiety

    The past few years have fed an underlying anxiety. Being an introvert, I have always had a level of anxiety that invades my being. There are many factors that play into it’s underlying cause from surviving a sexual assault while in high school, the Cuban Missile crisis at an age when anxiety runs high anyway as you realize you are facing making your own choices, leaving home for college or job, new relationships and still wanting to be protected by the adults in your life. There have been health scares for kids, grandkids, hubby, and me.

    Then on the political front, watching this country take giant steps backwards from the advancements toward racial and sexual equality to the “Make American ‘White’ Again” movement. Our state going from progress to exclusion again.

    And there is the pandemic. Living in an area where the majority didn’t and still don’t take it seriously, or even believe it is real. Mask mandates lifted as the CDC says they are still needed indoors in some areas, ours being one of them, but seeing them now, they are few and far between. Only those of use with underlying health condition, age, or having an immune compromised family member or members wearing them at all.

    To add to all of this, a total madman has invaded an innocent Democracy, targeting civilians, firing missiles at apartment building, hospitals, and infrastructure and lying to his people about what he is doing and why. The constant flow of devastating news and the fear of nuclear war rising, adds to this level of anxiety.

    Last night, my system couldn’t deal anymore and I escaped to a hot bath and a book in bed, hoping to get a good night’s sleep.

    The nice weather is allowing daily walks, some work in the garden during the day, all efforts to avoid what I cannot change.

  • Winter Fresh

    Though the past week hasn’t felt much like winter, the garden is gone with the exception of a couple of spinach plants and a few komatso plants. The komasto in the salad hydroponic and some of the lettuce there have suddenly decided to issue forth with greens. The herbs are thriving. This week the menu has included several harvests from both.

    The night that hubby got a steak and fries, I made another bowl of Asian inspired soup with quinoa for my protein. The chives, oregano, and komatsu adding the greens, red carrot, garlic, fresh ginger, Szechuan pepper corns, and gochunjang in broth to make it soup. There was enough komatsu that some was sauteed as hubby’s green vegetable.

    Post komatsu harvest.

    Tonight, the lettuce and herbs were harvested for a salad. I think as the 6 young lettuces that are just getting a start begin to mature, there will be greens and salads for the winter when other fresh food is scarce. These two units take up little counter space on a part of the counter that I rarely use and having fresh herbs and greens is a bonus.

    As we enjoy the fresh produce, the seed catalogs have started filling the mailbox and they can provide a wish list for the spring garden. I need to get the soil tested this winter and supplement the beds for the spring. The garlic never got planted this past autumn and some of the crops grown last year, won’t be repeated while others will be added. In the meantime, I really need to cook down several 2 gallon sacks of frozen paste tomatoes.