TPH Episode 8

Happy Halloween homesteaders! Welcome to The Pagan Homesteader Halloween Special! In this episode I have some music for you as well as a couple of Halloween stories. I also talk about a couple of more serious topics in addition to all this fun.


Intro Music - Ghost Town by Adventures of Leonid

Beer, Beer, Beer by Brobdingnagian Bards from The Holy Grail of Irish Drinking Songs

Halloween by Fishing for Comets from Scattered Among the Archipelago

PC Halloween by Devo Spice

Links

http://rivenfae-wolfwoods.blogspot.com/ RivenFae’s Blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msw6jWhJocw Victorian Farm

Submitted by Amethyst Star
about.quilting.com - learn to quilt
www.threadbanger.com - sewing and crafts with quite a few vids featuring recycled materials and repurposing
www.knittyspin.com - learn how to spin wool www.raverly.com - social site plus bazillions of free kntting and crochet patterns. spinners and tatters are welcome
www.theanticraft.net - crafting for the slightly sinister - I love their books
 www.knittinghelp.com - a website with vids on how to knit.

TPH Episode 7

In this episode I will discuss current gas prices, hyperinflation, my thoughts on fall, disappearing skills, the ground beetle, and I have another Halloween folktale for you.
Creepy Critters

The Ground Beetle

News

http://digitaljournal.com/article/299030 Man who lived without money for 18 months to start community

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11542840 Iran to hold OPEC presidency

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-16/china-says-its-medium-heavy-rare-earth-reserves-may-last-only-15-20-years.html Limited Rare Earth Minerals

http://digitaljournal.com/article/298981 Households in UK live in fuel poverty

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article23522.html Mortgagate could crush economy

http://www.wired.com/inspiredbyyou/2010/10/peak-everything/?ibypid=13 Peak Everything

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704300604575554210569885910.html Increased Cotton Prices

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/is-the-us-already-past-the-point-of-peak-water.php?campaign=daily_nl Peak water?

http://www.red-alerts.com/ Dollar collapse accelerating
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-10-15/opec-members-seek-100-oil-to-counter-dollar-weakness.html OPEC seeks $100 oil

Making adjustments

Life is full of adjustments and that is never more evident than when you are attempting to make a change in lifestyle. So far we have had to downsize, give up a lot of privacy, and try to learn a little more patience. Overall however, we do not regret our decision. Making adjustments has also meant becoming a little more creative. I have mentioned before about the outside shower situation. Well, as you can tell by looking outside, fall has arrived so now it's a little too cold in the mornings for me to take a shower outside. Once again an adjustment has to be made and here is the solution we have come up with so far.

Since the bathroom isn't built yet we had to come up with another solution to the shower situation. I was thinking about it one day and it occured to me that if we could find some sort of basin we could stand in that to catch the water. So we headed over to the farm store and bought a 16.5 gallon galvanized tub. We plan on placing a board between two of the rafters to suspend the solar shower from and place tarps behind and under the basin. This way we can take a shower, catch the water, and protect the wall. It's not the ultimate solution but it will do for now.

The kids have already had the privelge of taking a bath in it. Hopefully we can get the shower set up inside soon so that I can actually use it.

We also got some worms for the worm bin. We went to a local bait shop and bought some red wigglers. So far they seem to be doing well and the bin doesn't smell. We have been slowly adding food so we don't overwhelm them. Below is a picture of the worms before we put them in the bin.

We shredded some newspaper to make a bed for them and then added them to the bin. Initially we gave them some coffee grounds, tea bags, and a chopped up potato to eat. The potatoes seem to be slowly disapearing and they haven't died on me yet so we must be doing something right!

Our neighbor was also nice enough to give us a bathtub! Ok, so it's not much to look at now but I think it will clean up fairly well. I'm not going to complain because it didn't cost us anything and it's one less thing we have to worry about for now.

It's baby steps but we are making progress. Slow progress is better than no progress and for now it keeps life from getting boring!

TPH Episode 6

This week I have some listener feedback, a shoutout to my Podkin and some updates from the homestead. I discuss some herbs used for the treatment of colds and flu and the featured animal on Ancestral Animals is the Buckeye chicken. And this month will feature Halloween folktales.


Worm Bin Instructions - http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm

Prince Valiant Comic Strip - http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/pvaliant/about.htm

Fabric Softner

4 cups water
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups baking soda

Place water and vinegar in a container. Slowly add the baking soda being careful not to let the mixture overflow. Stir when finished. Use about a 1/4 cup per load. The baking soda will settle at the bottom but just give it a good shake and it will be ready in no time.



Buckeye Chicken

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

American Buckeye Poultry Club, Laura Haggarty Secretary/Treasurer P.O. Box 35 Williamstown, KY 41097 (859) 801-6081, laura@americanbuckeyepoultryclub.com, www.americanbuckeyepoultryclub.com

American Poultry Association, PO Box 306, Burgettstown, PA15021, email secretaryapa@yahoo.com, www.amerpoultryassn.com


Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities, Dr. Charles R.H. Everett, Secretary, 122 Magnolia Lane, Lugoff, SC, 29078, email crheverett@bellsouth.net

The American Buckeye Club, Jeffrey Lay, 4686 Crains Run Rd, Miamisburg, OH 45342, (937) 470-2888, jefflay@woh.rr.com, www.americanbuckeyeclub.org.

Books