Worms, worms, worms!

Happy belated Mabon! I hope everyone had a great Mabon and got to spend some time with those you love. We had a nice evening here at home. My hubby built a small fire in the firepit and we sat around drumming for a bit while the kids played. It was nice to just be outside and observe the moon and stars while spending a little quality time together.

Things have been a little busy for us lately. Last weekend we took the kids to the State Fair. Even though they didn't get to ride as many rides as they would have liked, they still had a good time. We took them through the petting zoo and through an exhibit where they got to see live farm animals and learn about them. I told them we may have to start a Fair Fund for next year so we can get the wrist bands and stuff.

The husbandly unit has been working on building a shed so we can eventually get our stuff out of storage. He has managed to get the framing up for three of the walls so he is making some progress. I will take some pictures as we go along and get them up at some point. So far we have used reclaimed wood that we have gotten off of Craigslist. We will eventually have to buy some OSB and perhaps some more 4x4's to get it finished but so far we are trying reclaim as much as possible.

So one of our latest projects was building a worm bin. I found the directions for this at http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm. It was very easy to do but now we have to get some worms! I haven't been able to find any locally so it looks like I will have to order them from online. We bought two 10 gallon containers for about $5 each.

We followed the directions and drilled the holes in the bottoms of the containers and one of the lids.

With this system, once the first container is full of compost you set the second directly on top. The worms will work their way up through the holes to get to the new food. Once most of the worms have moved into the second bin you can harvest the compost. I like this system because the containers are not that big so they can be kept pretty easily inside. Also, the cost is minimal for the supplies. The worms will be the biggest expense. Once we get some worms I'll let you guys know how it goes.

We haven't started construction on the bathroom yet and the low's are supposed to get down into the 50's this next week. I get the feeling that's where they are going to stay for a while so I may have to resort to sponge baths again. Ah well, hopefully soon I'll have a somewhat real bathroom.

Stay tuned and I'll try to post a little more often than what I have been!



TPH Episode 5

First let me apologize for the audio quality. Hopefully it will be better next week. This week I will give a brief introduction to Permaculture and how it can be used in human landscapes. Here are some links that you may find useful.


http://permaculture.org.au/what-is-permaculture/

http://sacredearthinstitute.org/

http://dfwnetmall.com/earth/permaculture-classes.htm

http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/index/

http://www.oaec.org/permaculture-design

http://omvalleypermaculture.wordpress.com/category/permaculture-classes/

Arcus Arcanum Tarot

Foktales



http://americanfolklore.net/

Blogs

http://blog.greenearthstones.com/

    

TPH Episode 4

In this episode I ramble about cold showers, growing potatoes, and fall gardens. I also introduce a new segment titled Ancestral Animals where I discuss the American Mammoth Jackstock. As always, there is the Gardening by the Moon segment. I also review a new to me blog and a great little film titled Farms of the Future.


Article: http://theemergencyfoodsupply.com/archives/the-coming-global-food-shortage


Fall Garden: http://www.humeseeds.com/falwint.htm

American Mammoth Jackstock:
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, PO Box 477, Pittsboro, NC 27312, (919) 542-5704, email albc@albc-usa.org, www.albc-usa.org

American Mammoth Jackstock Registry, Linda Coffman, Registrar, PO Box 1723, Johnson City, TN 78013, (830) 330-0499, email register@amjr.us

American Donkey and Mule Society, PO Box 1210, Lewisville TX 75067, (972) 219-0781, email adms@juno.com, www.lovelongears.com

Homesteading Pagan Style - http://angelg5159.wordpress.com/

Farms of the Future: http://www.thetinylife.com/farms-of-the-future/

Cold showers and recycled tires

The thing I have always marveled about the changing of the seasons is how one day you can fry an egg on the hood of your car and then suddenly the switch is flipped and the 100 degree temps go away. Well, last week that switch was flipped.

I had told my husband that when the low temperatuers dipped into the 60's I was NOT taking a shower outside. Last week we had a couple of nights where the temperatures got down into the low 60's so we had to figure out something else. I ended up taking a sponge bath inside and my hubby was gracious enough to help me wash my hair. I hung my head over the side of the bed while he washed it. I can't see us doing this everyday so things are going to have to get under way quickly to build a bathroom that is enclosed.

Things have warmed back up for now, but we have entered the cycle of cooling trends and from here on out we will gradually see the signs of fall.

In other news, my husband  and the kids planted a potato a few weeks ago. It was one of those that we let sit for too long and it started to sprout. Well, to my surprise, it's growing! It likes the compost we have been  putting on it so well, we have actually seen it grow a half inch in one day. We had it planted in a 5 gallon bucket that we had turned into a planter but since it is doing so well we decided we needed to do something a little different.

The other day I had stopped at a gas station and noticed some used tires behind a tire business next door. There were two that were the same size so I picked them up and tossed them in the back of the van. I brought them home and we put down some weed barrier and transferred the plant to its new home. As you can see in the pics, the plant had gotten fairly tall. We covered it mostly with dirt and put on the second tire to give it more room to grow. I've got two more tires to add as it grows and hopefully we'll have some potates soon! We've got several weeks before first frost so hopefully we'll have something to harvest by then. If not, it has been a fun experiment.

Despite the fact that everything has not gone as we would have liked, there are certain things that I really like about living in the country. This evening we have a cold front pushing through and there are some impressive storms. We have't really gotten any rain, but we did get a spectacular sunset. I walked outside to check the skies and I was greeted by a brilliant gold sky. The clouds were in such a position that the sun was reflecting off of them to create a sky of pure gold. It was absolutely breathtaking. Even the kids were impressed. Then the wind started to pick up and we were greeted by the first cool breezes of the cold front.

It's for moments like this that we came to the country. Well, one of the reasons anyway. These are the things that can't be traded or bought and unfortunately so many people just don't understand. But for those of us that do, we know how wonderful it is.

TPH Episode 3

I'm a slacker...I know. I forgot to post the show notes here! Sorry! I plan on putting out a show this weekend and I'm adding some stuff to the show so stay tuned!


Today I discuss Peak Oil some more and I go on a bit of rant. I'll try to control myself a little more next time.



http://lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

http://oilcrashmovie.com/index2.html