#homestead
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The less appealing, smaller apples were kept apart and eventually used for a little bit of marmalade. It's my first time trying, hence the small quantity, and I am not too pleased with how chunky it came out. I will look for another recipe or feedback on how to get it more smooth.
#wild #apple #forage #jam #marmalade #preservation #slowlife #homestead #italy #permaculture
My bush experiments. I rescued these three from various horrible places inside rusty fences I was removing and/or choked with Virginia creeper. Planted them here to see what happens.
They looked pretty dead for a while, but two out of three are alive and produced new leaves and twigs. One gooseberry and one rosehip.
Particularly happy about the rosehip surviving. Makes nice filling for Krapfen. Or winter bird food. The fruit stays on the bush long after frost and snow.
The other half of the gooseberry bush was completely dead and I dug out the roots, which were rotten. Two out of three ain't bad though.
Edit: Can't remember my berries.
#Garden #Bush #Experiment #Homestead
Trust me they were very happy on this wet walk - they look a bit bewildered at being asked to sit down while i checked the water tank (quite full of silt ‘cos of the rain this summer) #dogsofmastodon #homestead #flatcoatretriever #spaniel
Toast and grind your own spices → Dry skillet, medium heat, no oil. Whole cumin, coriander, peppercorns, fennel — thirty to ninety seconds, shaking constantly, until they smell like something and darken a shade. Cool completely. Grind in a mortar, a coffee grinder, or under a heavy pan. Whole spices cost a third of ground and hold their oils for years, not months. That six-dollar jar of pre-ground is mostly dust and shelf time. Fifteen minutes buys you a season. ##NoWaste #Cooking #FoodJustice #SlowFood #KitchenWitch #Frugal #Photography #Homestead #EatTheWeeds https://twp.ai/4huUUj
When the stork is fully charged the head pulls back, the beak faces downwards and it gets this smug look about it.
#Stork #Bird #BirdsOfMastodon #FediBird #Homestead #Grid #Electricity
The last of Alan Birch is finally split and stacked.
This was a tough birch. I thought I lost my mojo but some ancient oak and fresh maple logs did split just fine so it was just that this birch was really tough. Probably because it didn't grow in a forest but on its own on a windy hill. Sadly it rotted inside as forked trunks often do.
As you can see I resorted to the chainsaw for some of the knottier pieces, the rest with wedge and axe.
#Firewood #Birch #Homestead #Splitting #Wood #Wedge
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Rainy weather (again, sigh). So I get to do some pre-assembly on my side project in the barn.
In this case, many feet.
#Homestead
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That was fun. Lego for adults. Took about half a day to assemble the head, much of that hauling it back out of the back of the barn to turn it around and getting it out of the steel crate it came in and onto this pallet.
That's the sawmill head assembled. The tracks will have to wait as any good weather will mean work on the house foundation instead.
Looks good and apart from one nut having falling out of a broken bag and a few minor documentation niggles the thing is pretty impressive so far.
Probably will be a while before the first cut as the house renovation takes priority.
This is what those two laid down concrete power pylons were for, in case it wasn't obvious.
#Homestead #Sawmill #Bandsaw #DIY #WoodlandMills #Assembly
Late again, but progress was made.
Hacked away the clay and some boulders on this stretch. This was more manual labour than on the previous side, because with the concrete overhang the excavator couldn't get as close to the wall. Also because it was hot and this is the south side and I of course ended up doing it at noon 😰
Next a lot of drilling, finishing the final hole as my last SDS bit melted. These rocks are really hard. The same drill bit will go through concrete like butter but die after about a dozen holes in granite.
Installed anchor bolts to connect the big stones (and old concrete) to the new concrete. Then more holes for rebar spacers/supports, the long rebar pieces and the top XPS panels.
#Foundation #Renovation #LogHouse #DIY #Homestead #Insulation #Building
Garden update:
Sunflowers doing well and growing tall.
Sweetcorn is growing well too, although I've just spotted some brown patches on a stalk. No idea what that is, perhaps overwatering from recent biblical deluge?
All three cucumber transplants have made it and we have the first cucumbers to eat. These loved all that rain.
Peas are doing very well too and we've been eating them for a while now.
Beans have started to flower.
Pumpkins haven't flowered yet but have started to produce runners, covering the area.
#Garden #Gardening #Homestead #GrowYourOwn
The wilted rosemary in your fridge is eight dollars of seasoning you were about to compost.
Strip the woody past-their-prime herbs — rosemary, thyme, sage — and pulse them with coarse salt until green and fragrant. Spread on a plate to dry overnight. Ten minutes of work.
A jar of something the co-op charges for, made from the scraps. The dignity of a kitchen where nothing is wasted.
What's wilting in your fridge right now that could still become something?
https://twp.ai/4hth9n
#HerbSalt #Frugal #ZeroWaste #Cooking #Herbs #Kitchen #FoodAsMedicine #Sovereignty #Photography #Homestead #Nature #SlowLiving #DIY #Apothecary
A spell of sunshine before the next rain front hits.
The young storks are facing it with glee. Each front arrived today with strong gusts of wind that blew stuff around the yard and let the juveniles hover above the nest and practice flying without the risk of leaving and being unable to return.
Although at this point I think they're just being big chickens. One was several meters above the nest before dropping back down. You're basically flying already, mate! Get out there.
#Stork #StorkNest #Weather #Homestead #Bird #BirdsOfMastodon #FediBird #Squall
Flight school. Our young storks still do not dare leave their nest for the first time, but they've advanced to hovering.
The other two siblings have to keep their heads down because there is only one helipad and its also where everybody eats their food delivery and sleeps.
At least they've soon learnt how to poop over the side. Should really move the compost heap under there for all this free phosphorus.
Meanwhile the parents are either out collecting food or perching on a nearby chimney or hay bale.
We've gotten used to the *whomp* when they take off from or land on our chimney hood at night.
#Homestead #Stork #StorkNest #Bird #BirdsOfMastodon #FediBird
Hey friends, per our recent mutual aid request, here's our update. If you follow @Siiin@pagan.plus, you've already seen something like this, but I figured folks here may be able to support, too, and we're also launching some Ranch related stuff to try to bring in more cash that you all may find exciting!
We've added a page on our website with a service we've dubbed "homestead coaching", but which is more like permaculture design on a much more intensive scale. Even if you live far away, we'd love to hear your needs and help you design systems, choose perennials for your climate, reconsider your water use and how you plant for climate resilience, and create a closed-loop system on your land. If you're on a smaller plot and still want help climate-proofing your garden or urban homestead? That's fine! We'd love to shift the pricing to reflect the smaller scale.
If you know anyone who may be interested, feel free to share. We're in urgent need of funds, and we really do have a lot of value we can share. We will continue releasing newsletters, and paid subscribers there also help bump us towards feeding ourselves!
Thanks friends, hoping you're staying cool out there.
https://rancholibertad.com/homestead-coaching/
#Farming #UrbanFarming #Homestead #Homesteading #Gardening #Farm #SmallFarm #FoodSovereignty #Resilience #ClimateChange
Still no foundation digging weather with all this rain, so I grudgingly have to do some other stuff.
Been down in the valley with the brush cutter, clearing a path through the jungle to get to the crooked old shack there.
Inside is some old wood that may have once been the old sauna building by the river which is long gone but was stored here for re-use.
Hauled a load up to the farm. Some usable stuff, although full of big nails. And some fuel for the sauna boiler.
There are many more treasures down there, but I can't haul too much in one go up the steep and muddy tractor road, nor can I go too often or the road gets too churned up.
#Homestead #Cleanup #Recycling #Wood #Shed #Tractor
Frequent flyer perks, with gouache.
#mastoart #cottagecore #cottagecoreart #watercolor #watercolour #gouache #illustration #bookillustration #homestead #fediart #owl
Pack a jar with whatever crisp thing is going soft — cucumber, radish, a stripped carrot. Equal warm water and vinegar, a spoon of salt, a spoon of sugar. Into the fridge. No canning, no boiling bath, no fear.
By tomorrow it's sharp and alive and yours — made from the half-bunch the grocery chain priced to guilt you into throwing out. Someone decided the wilting thing was worth saving, and saved it.
What's softening in your crisper drawer right now that could be tomorrow's lunch?
#Pickling #Fermentation #NoWaste #FridgePickle #Cooking #FoodJustice #SlowFood #KitchenWitch #Frugal #Photography #Homestead #EatTheWeeds