If you’ve read more than a few posts on this blog, you know that I love to find ways to get as much use out of food items as possible. Pineapple peel wine? Heck yeah! Fermented grapefruit peel syrup? Definite yes! When I recently came across a mention of making coffee liqueur from coffee grounds, I knew I had to try it. And while I was at it, why not also make something out of the black tea bags we normally toss out?
Continue reading “No Waste: Frugally Fantastic Coffee & Tea Liqueurs”Category: Growing
Musings: Rewilding The Farm (AKA The “Transitional” Property)
Have you seen the documentary “ReWilding Kernwood“? If you haven’t, it’s worth watching, especially if you love wild spaces and believe in the “leave no trace” philosophy. Here, we’ve been doing a bit of rewilding of our own property, for multiple reasons. It may look unkempt and unappealing to some, but the pollinators and animals that call our land home are big fans.
Continue reading “Musings: Rewilding The Farm (AKA The “Transitional” Property)”Reality Check: The Melted Farmer
As someone who currently lives in a humid subtropical region, I expect some heat and humidity in the summer. I do. But what I don’t expect is days-long stretches of heat and humidity that reach 110F with the heat index and nighttime temperatures in the 80s – heat waves that necessitate “excessive heat warnings” from the weather service that basically advise rational people to stay indoors. How, exactly, does a farmer do that?
Continue reading “Reality Check: The Melted Farmer”Haiku: Silent Strength
One day, while in the laundry room (where I mix up the fermented feed), I moved a dechlorinating bucket of water and something caught my eye. It looked strange, so I took a closer look…and was awed.
Continue reading “Haiku: Silent Strength”Farm Fowl: Let’s Talk About Poop *Graphic*
Ah, the dirty little (not so) secret that farmers and homesteaders often sidestep when discussing the nuts and bolts of raising animals: poop. Poop is important, and I think that anyone who raises animals, whether as livestock or as pets, should be looking at it.
Continue reading “Farm Fowl: Let’s Talk About Poop *Graphic*”Around The Farm: A Small Harvest…And A Surprise
The largest sunflower, a volunteer that defiantly sprouted from a seed that the chickens either missed or couldn’t reach because it bounced outside their run, has reached the point where it’s ready for harvest. While I’m always delighted to find these kinds of volunteers, I also discovered a surprise growing amidst the other sunflowers that I had intentionally planted. What kind of surprise? Read on to find out.
Continue reading “Around The Farm: A Small Harvest…And A Surprise”