This just came out of nowhere. I checked the weather earlier this evening and (I'm not sure how) I completely missed this. The storm is long, extending all the way from Oklahoma to New Hampshire. By the the time I realized what was happening I was battling 60 mph winds in attempts to keep my rabbits covered. See we re-tarped the hutches in preparation for winter. Unfortunately the new tarp is not as heavy and blows all over the place. It was our goal to construct sort of a suspended tarp weight that would help to anchor it during storms likes these. I now fully understand it's necessity. With the winds we get on an almost daily basis up here, it needs to be done ASAP. In the mean time, I did my best to anchor it for now in the hopes that they will fair this storm at least. I think the worst of it has past now. I wasn't just wet when I came back in the house, you could ring me out! I suppose this is autumn's last hoorah before winter sets in and those winds carry white outs instead of just rain.
I've often felt like I am a living anachronism. Out of place in time. That I should have lived some time ago, when life was simpler. You worked hard for what you had, and still had little. Yet those few things you did have were cherished beyond today's worldly comprehension. My whole life I have been drawn to skills of the past such as sewing, gardening, and animal husbandry. I remember as a little girl, tagging along to my mother's garden club meetings, and hours spent with her and my grandmothers teaching me how to sew and knit and crochet. These used to be skills that every little girl learned as she grew up. I raised quite a menagerie of critters too, from hamsters and ferrets, to chinchillas and lizards!
Today, most I my time is spent spinning, knitting, and sewing. We have lived down here near Pittsburgh for two years now and have accomplished quite a lot. We raise our own chickens for meat and eggs, have two alpacas, 5 angora rabbits and a big enough garden to provide some of our own produce. This is small in comparison to most farms, but this one has BIG dreams. We still rent you see. We have been fortunate though, to be located far enough north of the city as to seriously live in farm country. The house we rent sits on a working diary farm. But still it's not our own. Don't get me wrong, we feel blessed for what we have, but are so desperately hoping that we will find our own property soon enough so that our our farm can grow. We've reached our capacity where we're at without getting ourselves evicted. But our alpacas have to be boarded on another farm and there are sheep, pigs, and other livestock calling to us. More like bellowing. I have such a desire to become more of a farmer that it aches. I sit at work dreaming about furry creatures, spinning wool, canning vegetables, and yes, mucking out stalls. While most other girls are reading magazines about fashion and gossip, this girl scours the pages of her Grit and Mother Earth News trying to devise new schemes for building a cold frame, raising meat rabbits, and composting. I collect buckets, mason jars, chicken wire, and books on homesteading. I visit other homesteader's blogs trying to glean from their experiences and long for the experience to hold day old piglets in my arms. Barn boots are not just the latest fashion statement, they are a necessity.
I realize that for most this may sound unusual. Especially in this day and age. But this is who I am. In a day and age of uncertainty, of rumors of economic collapse and instability, this girl wants to be prepared for anything. And even if these things weren't a possibility, I would still want to be doing exactly what I'm doing. Farming. Gaining skills from a lost generation. And one day, perhaps helping others to learn these skills as well. There are joys to be found in these simpler ways, and I intend to find discover them!
I realize that we are technically in the middle of autumn, really I do. But Halloween, for me, marks the end of a season. A season full of gardening and harvesting, sowing and reaping. I can't help but to close my eyes and imagine what it might have been like for people a few hundred years ago - possibly even a thousand years ago. And not just here, but in countries abroad. My ancestors came from Scotland and Ireland mainly, though sadly, I have to admit I don't know much about them. All I have is this information passed to me by my parents, grandparents, and other relatives. Yet I feel haunted by the past. I past that wasn't mine, than belonged to those ancestors I never knew. In a new age where we take most things for granted, it's hard to fathom that there was a time when there were no grocery or other convenience stores existed. People were thankful for the bountiful harvest, as it meant that they and their families would be fed during the colder months.
So, every year during this time between Halloween and Thanksgiving my thoughts wander to the ancients. Yes, Thanksgiving is a relatively 'new' holiday to this country. But I've read that the Native Americans before us celebrated their own form of 'thanksgiving' to mark the end of harvest, and with the arrival of the Europeans, these traditions sort of intermingled. Regardless, history is full of stories of celebrations that mark the end of the harvest. A time to be thankful for just simply the abundance that will allow them to survive another long winter.
November 1st comes as a reminder that old man winter is just around the corner and could reach out his icy fingers any moment now. Heck, we had our first snow this past weekend! Not a lot, mind you, but it was snow that covered the landscape, even if for just a few brief moments. And while I feel that we could have accomplished more to store for winter, I do have two bushels of butternut squash and a few baking pumpkins in my basement to cook up throughout those cold winter months. I had hoped to have some canned tomatoes, at least, lining my shelves, but that just didn't happen. Our tomatoes seemed to rot before they were ripe for the picking. Every year is another learning experience. Last year we had jars of pickles and sweet potatoes. This year it is squash and pumpkins. Maybe next year I will have all of those plus the tomatoes! The goal is to one day be able to grow and harvest enough to provide at least 75% (or more) of our food for the winter.
So stop for a moment and think. What final preparations you will be making for winter between now and Thanksgiving? For some of you, it might be just as simple as making sure the snow tires are on and the car is tuned up. For others it may mean stocking food not just for yourselves but for all of your livestock. Admittedly, we are somewhere in between.
It was a gorgeous fall day yesterday! Just the right temperature, sunny, and bustling with folks either setting up their booths, wandering the collections, or just enjoying all the tasty vittles. I was so thankful for my dad's help as this was my fist ever festival and it took me a bit to figure out how to get set up. I think he ran home to get me something three different times! Good thing they live right down the street. Within a couple hours of organizing, rearranging, and putting the final touches on pricing, I was sitting down to the spinning wheel with the visiting elementary students flocking over to see what I was doing.
Today looks like it is going to be another beautiful day today! And all the lumberjacking festivities and horse pull start up at 11am! So we'll be heading back down to start setting up for the day here in a few minutes. So head on down and enjoy a day of festivities reminiscent of the past.
Well this weekend I will be a vendor at the 6th annual Johnny Appleseed Festival hosted in my hometown of Sheffield, Pennsylvania. It will be my first ever vending event! My feelings are a mix of excitement and apprehension. Excitement because I get go home for a weekend, spend time with my family, watch some crazy Appalachian Mountain lumberjacks, and share my products with the world. Okay, well maybe not the whole world, but certainly a small part of it. Apprehension because I've had such a busy past month with a series of (sometimes unfortunate) events, that I had hoped to have a better variety of products made. But I suppose I will just go with what I got, and make the best of it! I've got at bunch of colorful baskets, bits of fiber and yarn, and some wax dipped origami stars. And best of all, I'll be sitting right by the horse pull! One of my all time favorite events. Weather permitting, I may bring a couple of my angora rabbits to pluck as a fiber demonstration as well as my spinning wheel and knitting needles. I'll also be sharing that booth with a friend of mine who makes some wonderful hoops (yes folks, for 'hula' hooping).
So if you're out and about this weekend, and anywhere near Sheffield, or if you're looking for a beautiful drive with a unique festival at the end of the road, head on up to the heart of the Allegheny's! You won't be sorry! See you there!
Last weekend was great! My sister and I had fun from beginning to end. If you didn't catch the last post, we attended the second Mother Earth News Fair at Seven Springs, PA. Talk about homesteading and sustainable living galore. They had everything from livestock and cooking, to foraging and hammocks. Seriously folks, if you can thing of it, there was probably a lecture or workshop on it. In fact, there was SO much to do and see that it would have taken you a week to see and attend everything (if you had a week). We had to do a little strategic planning to figure out what we wanted to see and when. They great thing about going with my sister was that we pretty much were interested in the same things, and outside of maybe two lectures, we took in the same information.
So it was great from the start! We had booked a 'rustic' cabin at Kooser State Park for the weekend. I'm glad we made our reservations ahead of time, as I think every single cabin was spoken for. Let me say, for 'rustic' we sure made out pretty darn well:
Other than the absent bathroom, it had all the amenities you could ever want. Seriously, I think I could live just fine in one of these if it had a water closet of sorts. We got all settled in, made some dinner in the wood stove and spent the evening folding and waxing origami stars, pickin' on the strumstick, and chatting up our excitement for the upcoming day.
Waxed Origami Stars
The next morning we arrived at Seven Springs by 8:15am, hoping to get a close parking spot (which we did). The outdoor grounds were opened by 9am and my sister seemed to make a beeline for the livestock. I don't think it was intentional; maybe some unseen driving force, or the subliminal whisper of, "over here." Whatever it was, she made it to the meat rabbits in break neck time, and by 9:15 had bought herself a pair of Silver Fox does and one buck from Mule's Eared Farm. Well that was fast. We happened to run into Jenna Woginrich of Cold Antler Farm (one of my favorite authors and bloggers) purchasing herself a Silver Fox doe. She was one of the keynote speakers at the fair that weekend. We were able to attend two of her seminars on Raising Meat Rabbits (I guess that was fitting, seeings how we just bought three) and Living A Sustainable Life. Both were great. She's a great speaker as well. Before I forget, here's my sister, happily holding one of her new rabbits:
A girl and her rabbit.
Well, that's all i have to tell for tonight as my computer is about out of power! And I suppose it's past my bed time. I'll share more hopefully later this week (I've only just touched the tip of the iceberg), as well as my preparations for the Johnny Appleseed Festival coming up in my home town this weekend.
We're off to the fair this weekend! Me and my sister, braving the elements (it's supposed to rain all weekend!), spending our nights in a 'rustic' cabin with no plumbing! Ah yes my friends, this will be one great adventure. And I can't wait! For all of it! I will get to see some of my favorite authors and hopefully come home just a little bit smarter as a homesteader. There's SO many great workshops and seminars going on this weekend that I just don't know how I'm going to choose. All I can say for sure is that I will be stopping by to hear Jenna Woginrich from Cold Antler Farm and Joel Salatin from Polyface Farms. Those 2 are a must for me. So if you live in the greater Pittsburgh area and have nothing better to do this weekend, hop on out to Seven Springs for a little taste of my world. We'll be there both Saturday and Sunday. Young or old, there will be something for everyone!
