Today Mike, Jen and Steve are going foraging. Mike and Jen knows where a big bunch of morels grow on Dave's land. He also thinks there are ramps growing there. In my herb and edible weeds notebook are pictures of ramps and information on how to identify them so they should have no problem telling them from other plants. I am sure glad that I thought to take time to print out pictures of all the edible weeds and plants that are known to grow in our area and all the information of what parts are edible and what are not. . All that information is coming in very handy.
We have been eating hostas shoots for the past few weeks. They are pretty tasty. It's so nice to be able to eat frest food again. Our lettuce is up and growing really good so we have been eating a lot of fresh salads. Some thing we have not had all winter. Oh how I have missed the sweet crunchy taste of lettuce in my mouth. We are also getting fresh radishes now. Radishes are not something I really ever cared for before now but that crunchy taste that I have missed so much it there so I eat them now.
Last week the guys put up the big 10 ft wide by 20 foot long metal frame out over the patio then they put the tarp on top. We took apart the rocket stove and moved it out of the garage and put it back together under the tarp. It will soon be to hot to cook in the garage. They moved the gas grill and turkey fryers out there to. Then the guys built the fire pit about 5 feet away from the tarp. Now we can cook out in the open and get a breeze at times. It's so much nicer than cooking in the garage.
I only had one picnic table so the guys went back to the home improvement store and did some work for the owner in order to pay for wood to make another picnic table. They are going to follow the design of the one I have. The owner was about out of fire wood so they guys cut down two trees and cut them up and stacked them for fire wood. The guys are good at bartering their physical strength for items that we need. Truthfully if it was not for Steve, Mike and JR I don't think the rest of us would have made it this far.
Nikki, Tammy, Jen and I have been tending the garden. We are doing really good at keeping the weeds out and the younger girls are enjoying the tans they are getting. I don't care if I tan or not. I am to old to worry about things like that any more. We have also been foraging for edible weeds and plants in the yard. Jen is Native American and now she wishes she had paid more attention to her grandmother's teachings when she was younger. I wish she had to. I am a novice but we are learning thanks to my notebook. We are now eating less of the food storage and more fresh foods.
The redbuds trees have been blooming so yesterday we made redbud jelly. For supper everyone pigged out on bicuits slathered with the redbud jelly. They were a bunch of happy campers after dinner last night.
I have been noticing that we have a lot more honey bees out in the garden this year. Its been a few years since I have seen this many. I was talking to Steve about it and he thinks we should build a hive and maybe the honey bees will move into it and hopefully we can start getting honey. I hope he is right because our sugar stores are getting low and we only have about 6 months worth of sugar left. I have some Stevia planted but its not big enough to use yet.
It's so nice to be able to cook and eat out doors. Most of the neighbors are doing it to. Things have changed a lot in the neighborhood. People are getting outside more, meeting each other and really getting to know each other. We are starting to work together for the betterment of the neighborhood. When ever our guys are out building something some of the neighbors come over and offer to help just so they can learn to build it themselves. Often times the guys will go help them.
People have been watching me and the girls gather weeds and plants and cooking them so now we are teaching them to.
Plus I am teaching them how to dry foods for long term storage. Steve has had several requests for help in building solar frames for drying foods and Mike has had several requests for help in making smokers to preserve meat.
Our neighbor behind us was able to get us ten bottles of propane to use but we are saving them for canning. All other cooking is done on the rocket stove and the fire pit. Nikki has never cooked over a fire pit and she has taken to it like fish to water. And she is learning to make sour dough bread. She is turning into quite the little cook. Well I shouldn't say little since she is taller than me.
We now have fresh milk thanks to the guys. They found a farmer that had goats so they did some work for him in exchange for two female goats. They plan on getting a male soon. They also managed to barter man power for 12 more chickens which two of them have turned out to be roosters so now we will be able to raise meat chickens. They have even worked out a deal with a farmer to get two nice size hogs this fall in exchange for work. I can't wait to get my hands on that hog meat. I want a pork chop.
Things are really starting to improve. So far the military has not made it to our small town. We hear they are to busy in the bigger cities trying to keep martial law and taking care of all the bodies they have been finding. They say there are mass graves being dug every where. The death count is suppose to be over 2 million now but we have no way to know if that is right or not. Time will only tell and I wonder if they will ever have an acurate death count because I am sure some people may have died in the wooded areas around the country and may never be found.
We have been eating hostas shoots for the past few weeks. They are pretty tasty. It's so nice to be able to eat frest food again. Our lettuce is up and growing really good so we have been eating a lot of fresh salads. Some thing we have not had all winter. Oh how I have missed the sweet crunchy taste of lettuce in my mouth. We are also getting fresh radishes now. Radishes are not something I really ever cared for before now but that crunchy taste that I have missed so much it there so I eat them now.
Last week the guys put up the big 10 ft wide by 20 foot long metal frame out over the patio then they put the tarp on top. We took apart the rocket stove and moved it out of the garage and put it back together under the tarp. It will soon be to hot to cook in the garage. They moved the gas grill and turkey fryers out there to. Then the guys built the fire pit about 5 feet away from the tarp. Now we can cook out in the open and get a breeze at times. It's so much nicer than cooking in the garage.
I only had one picnic table so the guys went back to the home improvement store and did some work for the owner in order to pay for wood to make another picnic table. They are going to follow the design of the one I have. The owner was about out of fire wood so they guys cut down two trees and cut them up and stacked them for fire wood. The guys are good at bartering their physical strength for items that we need. Truthfully if it was not for Steve, Mike and JR I don't think the rest of us would have made it this far.
Nikki, Tammy, Jen and I have been tending the garden. We are doing really good at keeping the weeds out and the younger girls are enjoying the tans they are getting. I don't care if I tan or not. I am to old to worry about things like that any more. We have also been foraging for edible weeds and plants in the yard. Jen is Native American and now she wishes she had paid more attention to her grandmother's teachings when she was younger. I wish she had to. I am a novice but we are learning thanks to my notebook. We are now eating less of the food storage and more fresh foods.
The redbuds trees have been blooming so yesterday we made redbud jelly. For supper everyone pigged out on bicuits slathered with the redbud jelly. They were a bunch of happy campers after dinner last night.
I have been noticing that we have a lot more honey bees out in the garden this year. Its been a few years since I have seen this many. I was talking to Steve about it and he thinks we should build a hive and maybe the honey bees will move into it and hopefully we can start getting honey. I hope he is right because our sugar stores are getting low and we only have about 6 months worth of sugar left. I have some Stevia planted but its not big enough to use yet.
It's so nice to be able to cook and eat out doors. Most of the neighbors are doing it to. Things have changed a lot in the neighborhood. People are getting outside more, meeting each other and really getting to know each other. We are starting to work together for the betterment of the neighborhood. When ever our guys are out building something some of the neighbors come over and offer to help just so they can learn to build it themselves. Often times the guys will go help them.
People have been watching me and the girls gather weeds and plants and cooking them so now we are teaching them to.
Plus I am teaching them how to dry foods for long term storage. Steve has had several requests for help in building solar frames for drying foods and Mike has had several requests for help in making smokers to preserve meat.
Our neighbor behind us was able to get us ten bottles of propane to use but we are saving them for canning. All other cooking is done on the rocket stove and the fire pit. Nikki has never cooked over a fire pit and she has taken to it like fish to water. And she is learning to make sour dough bread. She is turning into quite the little cook. Well I shouldn't say little since she is taller than me.
We now have fresh milk thanks to the guys. They found a farmer that had goats so they did some work for him in exchange for two female goats. They plan on getting a male soon. They also managed to barter man power for 12 more chickens which two of them have turned out to be roosters so now we will be able to raise meat chickens. They have even worked out a deal with a farmer to get two nice size hogs this fall in exchange for work. I can't wait to get my hands on that hog meat. I want a pork chop.
Things are really starting to improve. So far the military has not made it to our small town. We hear they are to busy in the bigger cities trying to keep martial law and taking care of all the bodies they have been finding. They say there are mass graves being dug every where. The death count is suppose to be over 2 million now but we have no way to know if that is right or not. Time will only tell and I wonder if they will ever have an acurate death count because I am sure some people may have died in the wooded areas around the country and may never be found.