Time to start thinking about planting a garden! Yay! Spring is just around the corner. I’ve been gardening for the past 30 years or so. Nothing big. It’s always been fun to work in the soil, plant things, and watch them grow. Getting a few tasty veggies for the kitchen is a nice benefit, too. […]
How to Prepare for a Winter Storm
Batten Down the Hatches: How to Prepare for a Nasty Winter Storm After two major snowfalls in the past couple weeks -— more than we’ve had in years -— followed by over a week of bitter cold, I’m rethinking my plan to scrape by this winter without my trusty old snowblower. Shoveling gravel driveways in […]
Interested in Soapmaking? Here’s a Few Things to Know First
Although, by definition, every soap is made by the saponification (a type of chemical reaction) of lye, water, and fat, one soap will differentiate from the next depending on the kind of fat, the kind of lye, and how much of each is used. Lye made from wood ash, for example, produces soft soap, so […]
What is Homesteading?
Like any term out there that has a sizable group of people interested in it, there is much disagreement about what, exactly, homesteading means. People feel there are certain tools, skills, and parameters that have to happen in order to call an activity “homesteading”. There’s a lot of gatekeeping going on here. No surprise, really. […]
Simple Dutch Baby Pancake
Ooh la la! If you love pancakes you might just fall in love all over again with the Dutch Baby. Custardy in the center, crispy on the edges. Served hot from the oven it’s super yum! Dutch Baby Recipe (aka Puffy Pancake):
The Nordic Way of Getting Through Winter: Friluftsliv
Winter is tough. Cold, snow, little sunlight, and in times past little food. But being the adaptable species that we are there are many cultures that have figured out how to not only tolerate, but thrive through winter. The Nordic cultures (generally Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark) have a concept of getting outside and embracing the […]
A New Year, A New Goal
So I started this blog a couple years ago, actually. For the most part I’ve been very remiss in writing content. There were two whole posts in 2021. Shameful. Writing is something I seem to be doing in my head virtually all the time. There’s almost always a narrative going about something or other. I’m […]
The Beauty and Tragedy of Commercial Eggs
Not so long ago the only way to obtain eggs was to have your own flock of chickens. Or know a farmer that had some (and most farms 100 years ago had a little bit of everything, including chickens). Even people in urban areas routinely kept a small flock. My friends in Milwaukee say that […]
Using 5 Gallon Buckets as Nest Boxes
Five gallon plastic buckets. So ubiquitous, so useful. And only recently did I realize people were (are) using these as chicken nesting boxes. With a little modification a typical 5 gallon bucket, laying on its side, can serve as an excellent chicken nest. Some have their sides partially cut off, some have the lid left […]
Weck Canning Jars
This is just my opinion, but Weck canning jars are some of the most beautifully designed canning jars out there. The heavy glass, clean lines, and simple designs make these jars very eye catching and attractive. Weck jars are actually MUCH more common in Europe than our ubiquitous American Ball, Mason, or Kerr canning jars. […]
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