SNOW CANVAS

So for our art lesson today and taking into account the inclement weather due later on in the morning we started our homeschool lessons off outside in snow overalls jackets and boots armed with four spray bottles of water and food colouring...... actually I requisitioned some recycled bottles i had washed and stashed away...... and armed with four colours we hit the snow.

Curious to see what happened when one tried to spray on snow.... we really had NO idea as we have not done something like this before and as far as i am concerned the possibilities are endless. Thank you to Sarah for giving me the idea and as we went we adapted in place... some photos:

We REALLY liked the effect and it was great fun. Next time... we choose a slightly smaller snow pile..... as it is important to be able to reach... and of course you don't want to stand on any painted sections... so we learned a lot just doing it... great opportunity to play outside and leave a colourful mark.... i did have thoughts of drive by snow on lawn painting..... blue spotted snow anyone? Using food dye means to negative environmental impacts....and of course it is covered up by the very next snow shower.....and you can start again... camera in hand. 

SEED CATALOG TIME OF YEAR

Browsing the catalogs and making lists checking it twice time... you have your seed orders ready to go yet? I have to admit this year is harder because i have to make sure i cover all bases.... what are you ordering? Below are some useful sites I can recommend as being best of the best.

Fedco Co-operative Garden Seeds:

Baker Creek Heirlooms:
Missouri seed company that maintains a huge stock of Open Pollinated varieties, including many varieties brought to the USA for the first time. I have personally ordered seeds from them and their service is second to none. 

Johnny's Selected Seeds: 

Forest Farms: 

Abundant Life Seed Foundation: 

Seed Savers Exchange:

Their physical catalog is delectable in its images and information.

Face of the Earth Seed Company:

Hudson Valley Seed Library:

St. Lawrence Nursery:

Horizon Herbs:

Pinetree Garden Seeds: 

Badgersett Woody Agriculture:

Site hasn't been updated since May... maybe give them a call?

RH Shumway, Seedsman: 

Richters Herbs:

Sand Hill Preservation Center:

Hope you find the links both useful and perhaps if you have not started a food garden before will take the plunge this year. Happy browsing.

Winter and Staying Fit

So part of my new routine is to go to the gym four times a week for an hour just to get me more conscious of my fitness specifically during winter and also to work some muscles to make sure my weight doesn't balloon with some of the limitations I find during winter. Not saying for a moment that one needs to do it but it allows me some alone time and some girl time with friends and get's me some time where i can focus specifically on myself.

So it also allows me time to get out of the house every single day during the school week which with home schooling is IMPORTANT. I already am finding it both fun and motivating and it is something i haven't done before.. so it is also a bit of an experiment. I am very active but there is a difference between activity and targetted exercise and that is for me the main idea! I want to reduce my % of body fat (2%) and trim up and drop some pounds!

SCRIBBLER TOO!

Is my new addiction...... be warned.... it is VERY VERY VERY ADDICTIVE... especially if you like to doodle.......  But it is a wonderful fun drawing tool!

Christmas and New Year

Redreaming Webbots Tipping Point

Autumn eases into winter......

"Here is the dark tree
Denuded now
Of leafage...
But a million stars"
-   Shiki

When i walk around the simple fact is everything is in a constant state of change .... the light is different..... the land looks changed and almost unrecognizable, the rhythm moves along..... but i love the crispness of the air and the leaves..... and i love the passion of the weather changes and i love the snuggling in the house times when it is nasty outside... all is welcome. 

We have spent a great deal of time doing yet more winter preparations... collecting stacking and moving firewood..... lighting the fires to keep us all warm and for cooking delicious smelling stews on.....

The cat's too notice the changes and are inside more than out.... they find the warmest spots of all....

Chicken house finished and moved into...

So we did it. Finished the chicken house and moved the chickens in to check out their new digs.

I LOVE it being closer to the house... it is so much more convenient and during winter will take a lot less time to maintain.... and also it is far more comfortable, weather and critter secure and spacious than the original version.

Here are some photos..... the girls seem pretty happy!

MORE on the Chicken House.......

So the project is moving along now at quite a rate and is getting close to finished... luckily since as the calender moves on so does the cooler weather.... but of course the chickens and ducks are fine where they are at the moment... really it is only snow fall that we have to watch out for..... and that seems to be a fair way off yet....



Progress so far.... today we had to actually go get more materials while hubby was around with his van so the larger sheets of 4 x 8 can be brought here.....

if you are wondering why he ceiling lining boards don't cover ALL the insulation and the whole of the inside of the ceiling it is because it was originally put there to prevent the chickens from pecking at the insulation.... and they can't reach that high.... it will be covered later as funds permit ... for now it is purely functional.....


Door frame is made and the only thing left to get is the hinges! We forgot them.... another day.

Winter Chicken and Duck house..... Barn.

We have been working on the new chicken and duck house in our barn... it affords some great advantages over the paddock location... feed is close by... and it cannot be cut off by snow during winter and is significantly larger.

Added a window for natural lighting during the day....

A window we recycled from the house... it fit almost perfectly with only a little building up of the space... still needs detail finishing....

Simple Pleasures of Harvest time....

So we are still harvesting the delicious produce from the garden.... and are at the drying, canning, freezing the goodness for the long winter days....

Also lot's of kitchen time and trying new recipes....

One that i recently added to my repertoire is Welsh Cakes! Pear Sauces to use later on..... sunshine in a bottle i believe.....

The large red tomatoes this year turned out to be QUITE TREMENDOUS.......

Sustainable Country Forums

Sustainable Country Living

Not just the WHY but the HOW

As the Administrator Alex put's it....

Suffice to say many of us believe that the need to live a more sustainable life is about to become a necessity (instead of a luxury).

So for all the readers that are working on living a quality life more sustainably a new forum is now on the web dedicated to working out the details of HOW to do it from those actually endeavouring to make changes in the way they live.

So if that sounds interesting to you please check it out. HERE

The setup is well organized and clear and I believe it is a community that will answer some of the specific issues with decoupling from the system at the same time as being supportive for people working on their own particular projects. If you grow your own food or raise chickens or home school or just want to understand how to go about those projects then I believe this online community might be for you.

Creative people living in the here and now and redreaming and reassessing what is important.

At the same time of course we are knee deep in several projects here at home.... we added more ducklings to the flock..... we are harvesting daily.... and of course with that comes the canning and the drying and the processing of the bounty. The weather has been mild and cloudy good gardening weather.... and we are also beginning to think about rehousing plans for winter for the poultry... it is high time we re-evaluated the way they are managed over winter.... and we believe we have a good plan,,,, Upstairs in the barn.... we are building them a new home... its amazing how much space there is up there,,, photos to follow,,, the boy's are very motivated.

HARVEST TIME......

From early morning until late at night it seems there is always an element of working with the produce going on..... picking, washing, cutting, canning, dehydrating. bagging, freezing.... then of course the clean up...... rinse and repeat.

This year the garden is producing heavily the weather has been kinda and there is no blight to contend with. More produce planted means more work going into preserving it.

One of the best resources i have come upon for supporting canning efforts is THIS

WHAT an amazingly useful sight for information and of course the best part for me is the photos that go with each of the recipes and methods and the step by step format. WONDERFUL discovery that supports and adds to the knowledge i have already gained from doing it for myself.

More photo's to follow.... sneaking in time when i can as the tomatoes are really producing strongly at the moment. Partly drying and canning are my preferred methods of storage with also some frozen cooked pulp as vegetable bases for winter stews.

REDREAMING.

 I made a small collection of my photographs to express my perception of the world and the way i look at things..... there is a purpose behind it.... it is about REDREAMING.... that is to take yourself into a position of starting anew each day.... almost recreating your self on a daily basis as a way to see anew and fresh the things around you and beside you and within you.

I hope you enjoy.

Some inspiration for the end of the Month

So this month i managed to keep the vegetable garden under control and it is now producing! More photo's to follow.... our chicks are hatched safely and we have increased our flock of ducklings with some more Muscovy ducklings. I started another painting... a LARGE painting called Redreaming Antipodes.... photo's to follow! It is turning out lovely. So we are flat out harvesting, drying, canning, storing wood and generally living a rich life. I found a FANTASTIC new book for homeschooling that is just stupendously useful called How to Home school For Free. The beauty of this resource is the data that is up to date regarding web sources for QUALITY internet experiences for learners. (adult or child).

So enjoy the images below and be inspired going into August!  

JUNE WHERE DID IT GO?

Seriously... it disappeared in a puff of forgetfulness. I know we lived it... but things seemed to pass so quickly and now it is July! The garden is growing strong, we have baby ducklings in the smokehouse and eggs in the incubator. We have started harvesting cucumbers, lettuce and herbs and hit a really hot spell here in upstate New York. 


We also have a new isp... a much improved change that means i don't have to count my usage like before and so this should make it possible to post more regularly. 


We have had dog attacks on our chickens and ducks and lost two. So saddening for us all.


Right now I am working on gardening and when it is really hot putting some time into my art...... and increasing my stored food supply. I don't feel comfortable letting it get too low with so much uncertainty in the world and a real sense of the fragility of the supply chain and superstructures that support it. Moving to as local as possible is sensible in many ways.. food security is a priority in my daily life. Enjoying the moments are too.

SAXONS AND CAYUGA CHICKS

We have some new baby ducklings!

 One Cayuga Duckling and three Saxon ducklings. Very cute.... both on the Critical List of animals. I also commandeered the Smokehouse to be a poultry Nursery.... it is easy to control the temperature... has a secure door and is close to the house and power. It is great! we can keep the little one's in there and know they are safe and secure.