Feathered Friends

    Late February and early March is an excellent time to clean out those bluebird houses and make ready for the arriving bluebird pairs. Our houses can be opened from the top by a couple of screws and put back very easily. The houses are about 4 feet off the ground and about 100-200 ft. from our garden. Behind the houses is a woods and in front open yard and pastures. Many times I can see them perched on the fence around our garden or on an electric line directly over our  fruit trees. We also have a Baltimore Oriole who builds it's nest in our walnut tree every year. This year I also plan to put out more houses for the wrens, because last spring I counted 5 pairs nesting near the house.

Feathered Friends

Dyeing to Dye

What to do when there are 10-12 inches of snow outside? DYE! I had some cochineal in my dye stash so I dug out my recipes and found one that I thought would suit my need. Skeins from left to right: cochineal, indigo overdyed w/cochineal, indigo overdyed w/weld. The recipe I used was from a handout I got from Carol Leigh at Maryland when I purchased the cochineal. The same basic recipe is in Liles book on scarlet red with cochineal. I used cream of tartar and tin as mordants and put them right in the dye bath. The dark reddish, purplish, ground cochineal turned scarlet as soon as I added the cream of tartar to the dye bath. This recipe was easy and I would recommend it for a got scarlet. The indigo skeins were some I had from last spring and since I had a cochineal bath going I just added the two skeins of indigo. The third skein of indigo was from an appalachian vat recipe, probably 6 dunks and the weld was grown in my garden two summers ago. I had dried it for just this purpose. I used two ozs. of dried weld simmered it for and hour, strained out the weld and added the wetted skein with no mordant. The green is more forest than kelley which I  get when I use black oak bark dye over indigo.

Wonderful Wool

With all the snow we have been getting, it has left me with alot of inside time. Last spring I spun up a three ply light worsted yarn from my BFL roving with intentions of knitting a cardigan this past fall. Well here it is! I started knitting on it in September and fininshed it last month, and is it ever warm. Just in time for all the cold and snowy weather. I am not a fast knitter but I am persistant. Hope this winter has you happily knitting too.

Canned Venison

With deer hunting season finish until next fall, I am freezing, smoking and canning venison. Canning meat is very simple and easy if you own a pressure canner. I would recommend getting one if you are considering canning anything. We purchased one over 25 years ago and it is still working without any repairs needed. If my memory serves me right I think it cost about $65, not bad for a 25 year investment. A Ball Blue book is invaluable for canning recipes and time tables for both pressure and hot water bath canning. Mine has seen better days but I always know where it is when I need it. Pack fresh cubed venison in sterilized jars, a teaspoon of salt, place lid with ring on and into the pressure canner it goes. Can at 10 pounds pressure for 1 hour and 15 minutes and you have preserved meat.

Woodstove Cooking

A few years after my husband and I were married we purchased this cookstove at an auction in Indiana where we were living at the time. This was our second attempt to buy a wood cookstove at an auction, because two weeks prior a similar one sold for over $400. This was our day, not only was this stove in better shape but we bought it for $250.  It has two warming ovens on the back and a 10 gallon water resevoir, for heating water. That was over 25 years ago and I'm happy to say it is still doing it's job. With all the cold weather we've been having it has been especially nice to have this baby fired up. It has an honored place in our home, hence the name Home Comfort.

Looking Ahead

As we take this time to look back over the year and what we might do different in the coming year, my thoughts and plans turn to next summer's garden. The new year is when we gather all the seed catalogues and make our choices for next years garden. What varieties did good for us and what ones didn't. As I make these selections I will post them for you, so you too can know what varieties have proved themselves year after year in our own garden. We plant hybrid and heirloom seed. One we plan to try this spring is an heirloom open pollinated sweet corn and letting it dry on the ear for grinding into corn meal. Fruit trees can also be pruned now although late fall and early winter are better for the trees. Even though there is not alot to do outside, we can minimize the business of spring by being prepared now. Sharpen the hoe, take care of broken handles, (my husband custom makes hickory handles) oil in sand makes a good preservative and cleaner for hoe heads, forks and shovels. Let's be ready.