Keep Close to Nature's Heart...

Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away,

once in awhile, and climb a mountain or

spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.

John Muir 1838 -1914

I find that seeking out moments with nature have to be not only on her terms, but when she wants to keep her beauty close to her own heart away from prying eyes. She keeps her beauty protected for those who seek out to see it and that are there just for that moment and time.

Passing through a field, I see the plants, flowers and seeds. When I look at the woods or while walking through the woods I see the trees as a part of my life for that moment. I look at their form and shapes, their limbs and leaves as pieces of art.

As I sit in a spot I look and see everything God has provided us in our world. If you think about this a moment, as you sit there and watch the leaves fall, you are seeing in your life a moment of time that will not be repeated.

Yesterday I took a trip into McConnell Mills State Park after the big ice/snow storm pushed through. People had already adventured into the key locations before I made time to go there. But I knew a few places others wouldn't venture into and I could go there and sit and reflect on the sounds and beauty.

The storm had left behind a glass covered forest, as the trees were covered heavy with ice and snow. I sat along the river and listened to the water rush by. Knowing the ice would leave it's toll, I could hear the stress of the trees as branches could be heard crashing down.

As the wind blew ever so slightly, the sound of the cracks of branches could be heard like wood in a fireplace. The pops and cracks would sometimes be followed by big crashes, and other trees would begin to crack from the wind and sound. I sat there listening to this being played out all around me, and I was thankful to be able to go to a place where the scenery was so different from my own mountain spots of the homestead. The scenery and sounds always seem so much more defined and louder in new places as you visit them.

I left these photo's as large as I could so you can look at them and see how they make you feel. This is what I saw around me as I ventured into the park and took in all that was around me.

 

Some Early Spring Flowers, 850 Bulbs Later. Garlic, Shallots, Cherry Bushes.

I invested in some Cherry bushes a few years ago, last years late frost and my lack of attention killed those off. Last year was to be the first year of production. I did harvest 5 berries, but not enough to say how good they are. Interested in their sweetness, I dug back to the folder, it states the cherries are to be sweet. I am not so sure about the grafting of the root stock and how this came to be.

I have tended to them well, and here they are along with a neglected raised bed. I have reclaimed that bed this year....

                   

I am glad to see some of the bulbs coming up that I planted last fall. DS and I planted 850 plus bulbs, making this place a little more colorful this time of year. I planned the beds out, including wild plants and flowers located in natural habitats on my homestead. I took certain areas, examined them for what might look pretty, and might be wild and grow there.

Thou the flowers are starting to come up, they should grow and bloom until late May, and I forgot some as a few pieces of paper has gone missing. I trust I planned well and it will look nice...

 Shallots and Garlic

In Hobby Farms Spring issue, Chickens, Another Freebie, Being Self Sufficient

You know, I supposed it could be self sufficient advertising because it was a freebie. Although it is a hen, I guess it could be a small roo, couldn't it?

As for the big winter storm that has hit many of you, I hope you put your self sufficient skills to work. Sure its cold, but also a good time to make some extra cash by removing snow for folks, and remember use common sense when asking to be paid. Its good for you, and that karma your building now will visit you later in life just when you needed it. Its times like these that put most folks on the spot, there is no doubt, if your reading my blog, you are doing as snug as a bug in a rug!!!

If your just ready this for the first time, join and follow my self sufficient lifestyle and how you can get back to living on the basics. By all means please share your ideas with me as well, I am always interested in learn new or how to do better......

I am kinda shocked to see how popular chickens are becoming, I know they bring a new joy to our lives as well as help us make our breakfast...

Where Do I Live? An Odd Town With 218 Other People, Funny Read

That's right!!! where the woods are full of Kung-Foo fighting bears!!


A place where mullets are out dated (sort of)


A place where the animals love everyone (thou you might be on the menu)


A place where if you wanna stop and dance, nobody's looking


A place where if your not careful you could get

on the cheek

And I think I now Hate snow!!!

So What Is My Self Sufficient Fund?

Well years ago when I started my to live self sufficient (SS) I decided to start out with a fund of 1500.00 and see where that could get me and I would figure the rest out. Buying the 1954 harvester super C and 48 inch box tiller put a huge hit in that amount, and after purchase of more jars for canning, I have since stayed below the 1K mark but with sales of goods from canning, bartering and trading have kept that going.

The funds are to improve my garden and level of planting and producing food to consume or sale/barter with. The eggs are still being sold to friends and that money goes back into their food fund as well as my SS fund. I have raised my prices to just below what the super market are selling their organic eggs locally here. Their selling theirs for 3.69 a carton, so I am selling mine for 3.00 a carton.

Each improvement I make to my property/garden comes from my SS fund, and its doing okay, not as much as I expected. I didn't tap any trees as I was going too, I need to design a cooker to cook the sap down.

An Awesome Useful Book To Have.

I have in many post suggested buying Country Wisdom & Know-How as a tool to use to help you along in your journey of living as self sufficient as you choose to do. Here is a picture of mine, note how well used this book is.
This book is filled with more than how to garden, it has recipes, crafts, elixirs, quilting, canning, soap making, lotions, home repairs, animal assistance/health, meat sectioning for small and large game, chicken/duck rearing and under ground storage. To be honest it's just filled with information that will help the novice self sufficient person. Whether your just starting a self sufficient lifestyle or whatever level your at, this book is a must have.

At a small cost of $12.97 this book is worth its weight in gold. Instead of purchasing several dead tree books (paper books) and spending loads of money, purchase this book first. I have personally cooked several recipes from the book, yum yum pigs bum!!!

If you purchase this book, I look forward o getting some feedback from you here on my blog.

Deer, snow in the back yard!!

We were lined up to get 6 more inches last night, that didn't happen!!! However we did get 4 inches.... I plowed about 10 last night and headed back up this morning on the plow. Only a half inch fell today, and they are expecting another 4-6 again tonite.... But it is what it is, a season that should only come and go when I agree it should. While we're at it, I wanna take time off winter, add it to spring and some to summer, the beginning part of summer too, and the added time to the back side of spring. So I guess what I am saying, we need to create a new season call SPRIMER. SPRIMER is the time taken from winter and placed between spring and summer.

Three cheers for SPRIMER!!!

 

I am feeling a little better today and I was able to eat a full meal today. Although some stuff sat well, others didn't when I was feeling ill.

I counted 7 deer last night that showed up to the feed I put out. I don't do it very much once a year or twice, never the same spot thou. The picture was taken through a window as not to spook the fellas. As you can see they look pretty healthy. The bucks have since lost their horns, and I was pleased to sex the largest deer of the group to be the buck I was I saw last week. Can I get that to go please!!

The other two not in the photo were up the hill a little, just out of the cameras view.

I am looking forward to making my cold smoking video soon, I am saving a leg of deer, I will have some salted cod, some trout, jerky and bologna to smoke all at once. I might do some pork chops as well, but I will need to be careful of my temps. I might smoke a loin as well, I will decide a couple days before. Cold smoking is a wonderful self sufficient way to preserve and add flavor to meats, jerky as well as cheese.

I also have some canning to do before long, being ill the last week and a half has put me off as I was going to have all my canning done by now. But I will get it done. Sometimes being self sufficient has challenges.

How Much Snow?

Coming out of the garage getting ready to plow snow
Look at the pile of snow on the trash can!!!


Snow on my truck


Driveway coming down the shop, took me 45 minutes just to plow and get to the top.


Here is a pic of shane trying to use his tractor to clear his Moms driveway with a blade on the back, he got stuck and got down to dig out. He continued to clear her driveway.

Winter Time Pics At Night

Having a whole house generator installed allowed me to have power when it went out. I had it ready to use from the last snow storm, so being self sufficient allowed me to plan better for the future.

 

 

This Is A Lot Of Snow

And it, snowed, snowed and it snowed some more.







Last night as the big storm moved in, I was shoveling off the side deck over looking the valley below, when I decided to take a break. As I looked into the night sky, snow was falling, icey type of snow, and some would glitter from my outdoor lamp post in my back yard. It was pretty to see, but I couldn't take any pics as the snow was falling pretty heavy.

This morning I took those pics of the sun trying to make its way through the snow storm, but the snow would win in the end. Though the snow is a pain in the rear, I had missed it when I lived in Virginia. I was up early this morning plowing out the drives so folks could get in the parking lot.

I had a job to deliver in Latrobe PA, just 10 miles away from the farm I grew up on. So just for food to my soul I drove back to see it. I wouldn't have drove back there if I wasn't driving my Hummer as the old road was covered in 14 inches of snow. The house has long been gone, the hill we used to sled ride down still looked inviting as it always did in the winter. It really makes me sad to see time take its toll on such a wonderful place to me. Some of the repairs I did or help do were still there, as if it were done yesterday in my minds eye.

On my drive back home, my mind starting thinking on how time has passed in my life. This year I will be 40 y/o and looking/being back on the farm today has just given more faith in why I moved back here and live a slower calmer life style. I supposed if given a chance to go back and make some changes in my life, perhaps I might as I do have a few regrets. But they are done now, and the only changes I can make better are the ones today and in the future.

I know most of you know that living a more SS life can be like one big rewarding chore, and today it was like more of a gift to live a slower working/rewarding life style.

Now that we are getting snowed in tonight, I have two fires going. The light smell of the smoke in the living room from the wood burning is just as I remembered it as a child. Tonight, I have come in from plowing the snow that fell today and stand by the fire to shake the chill off. Back on the farm, I would stand by the kitchen wood stove to shake the chill off from sled riding. Its remarkable how much you can feel about your life today and reflect back on it when you were a child.

I took up my mothers method of child rearing, as my real father was nothing less than a beast and a barbaric ahole. That sits where its at, my mother was sometimes heavy handed, but not without reason or nor was she quick to use such methods. Mom was a teacher really, she understood we were kids, and kids not only make mistakes, but we were in fact learning about the world. Though I stand 6-2 weigh in at around 270 pounds, it would easy and quick for me to be hot headed and deal with issues like my father. But today, reflecting while driving home, I am proud of myself for being a teacher father. I am sometimes quick to scold the children with firm/nice words, but never scold with name calling/bad words. I also get rewards of watching my children work through problems with the skills I have taught them.

Why all the reflecting today? I dunno, but I do it sometimes and seeing the farm today I think is what triggered my thoughts of reflecting.

If mom were alive today, I wouldn't be the same person. Perhaps I wouldn't have worked so hard to get where I am today, living back home in PA. But I know that she would be pleased with her 14 years of hard work of raising me.

I am making Sunday Moms Snow Day in honor of my mother, to my wife by waiting on her hand/foot and cooking up a storm. Just because hard working moms need a extra day a year to feel special