WORMS’ END
It’s the end of an era: I have dumped the worm bin!
I first acquired the worms two and a half years ago. They are the easiest critters to take care of and the worm castings have provided wonderful fertilizer for the garden. I’ve enjoyed having them as part of the homestead.
While I am making decisions about my future activities as a retired person, I decided I would disband the worm tower for the winter. I am keeping the tower to use when I’m ready to start with a new batch of worms.
The last of this original clew of worms was set free in one of my planters. I had put a handful in the other planter earlier in the season, so it was only right that the other planter got some too.
As the plants in that planter had been cleared out, I harvested several leaves of lettuce and buried them in the bed so they would have food to process until they hibernate (called estivation) for the winter.
FRIENDS, FAMILY, & SERVICE
I have been mostly absent the past few weeks as, other than a bit of harvesting for the chickens, garden and property clean-up, and chicken maintenance, my days have been more focused on non-homesteading activities.
I got a new roof put on the house the end of August. The timing was impeccable as the job was followed by a number of rainstorms and then Hurricane Helene. The hurricane had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hit here but it was certainly the most hurricane-like tropical storm I’ve experienced. It would definitely have breached my old roof. I had no damage to deal with here in Central North Carolina.
Friends from Cheyenne, the Parks, came to visit the last week of September. What a treat! We had a lovely couple of days to visit and went to the North Carolina History Museum. It was on the verge of closing down for a three-year renovation, but the remaining exhibits were really interesting and we enjoyed it a lot. The Parks left here with Helene nipping at their heels and I was glad they made it to their next destination without any problems.
A few days later, my sister arrived for a long-anticipated visit. We talked for two years of going to see the Fall colors in the mountains and had a list of stops and activities we were planning to do in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. Helene, of course, destroyed the area so we adapted our plans. No problem, despite the “plot twists” thrown our way, we had a lovely visit!
We did accomplish the most important parts of our plans. She had not seen her paternal cousins since 1961 and we took a road trip to Cincinnati Ohio to see her oldest cousin and then a road trip to Charlotte North Carolina to visit her youngest cousin. (The two middle cousins were not available to visit).
Our route to and from Ohio (I-77) was dictated by Helene’s destruction of I-40 from Asheville to nearly Pigeon Forge (it will not be fixed for a year) and the destruction of I-26, the other route from North Carolina to Tennessee. Since everyone had to use I-77, it was readily apparent just how much aid was coming to the communities of North Carolina. Every sixth or seventh truck was a utility truck or a pickup truck pulling trailers of water, diapers, and other supplies, as well as a number of National Guard convoys – all head to western North Carolina!
There has been story after story coming out of the area indicating that the members of the affected communities were helping their neighbors in every way they could while waiting for “official” aid to reach them. Groups and companies in North Carolina from every community outside of the areas have called for, received, and delivered goods. Churches have rallied around the area with service projects to assist with clean up.
I am grateful to have witnessed such a wonderful response to the needs of others!
IT’S NOT ALL SUCCESS
When my children were young, I baked homemade bread each week (I even ground the wheat!). I eventually moved out of that phase and, like most people, returned to the convenience of store-bought bread.
During the pandemic, store bought bread was hard to come by for a while. That didn’t jive very well with Oscar’s penchant to eat a whole loaf in a day or two, so the rule became that if he wanted to eat bread, he was going to have to make it. Funny how he didn’t seem to want to eat bread then – lol.
Now a loaf of bread costs $4.00 and the taste and texture makes has become unpalatable. So, I’ve been on the hunt for an EASY bread recipe.
Imagine my delight to come across a recipe for Peasant Bread. It required no kneading and took only 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon each of yeast, sugar, and salt, and 1 cup of warm water. How simple!
First attempt: I cooked it in a cast iron skillet (as seen in a You Tube video) and ended up with this:
Second attempt: I cooked it in a small oven-safe mixing bowl (also suggested on the You Tube video) and it looked much better:
Unfortunately, I didn’t like the flavor or texture. Sigh.
So, the hunt continues.
THERE ARE NO VAMPIRES IN MY HOUSE!
This week has been about finishing a project started in October of last year when I planted garlic for the first time.
I harvested it in May. Considering the small size of most of the bulbs, that may have been early. I was judging by the way the plants looked above ground though and everything I read said garlic is ready to harvest when the leaves turn brown. I left the plants in an extra two weeks beyond that. I was concerned about leaving them in any longer because of the articles cautioning that leaving them in the ground too long could result in rot.
The garlic cured on wire shelves from the middle of May to the end of August.
By the time I was ready to process it this week I had shifted from my original thought to can it and just decided to dehydrate it and turn it into garlic powder.
First, I peeled off the outer layers and separated the cloves on each bulb. This was hard on my fingers and created quite a bit of debris but only took about an hour.
I ended up with a small bowl of ready-to-peel garlic cloves.
When family came over to visit this weekend, I conscripted them into peeling the cloves. Our hands were rather fragrant when we finished, and we teased each other that there would be no vampires in our beds tonight.
After they left, I smashed and chopped the peeled cloves and put them on lined dehydrator trays.
Since there were only two trays of garlic, I put an empty tray on the bottom, a garlic tray, an empty tray, a garlic tray, and finally an empty tray on the top. I wanted to be sure there was plenty of air flow.
Remember the mention about fragrant hands? That was nothing on how strong the garlic smell was as I ran the dehydrator! It wasn’t unpleasant but the aroma of garlic was very strong and permeated the whole house. So, I can guarantee that if there was such a thing as vampires, they were not at my house last night!
This afternoon, after the garlic was fully dry, I ran it through the blender and vacuum-packed the powder in a 1/2-pint jar. I got about 1/3 cup of homemade garlic powder out of that little bit of garlic.
Not only is it useful as a seasoning, but garlic is also good for you. Garlic is a good source of manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, selenium, fiber and it contains trace amount of various other nutrients. In addition to boosting your immune system, it may help prevent viruses from entering or from replicating within your cells. The active compounds in garlic can reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels. While I don’t season to that level of usefulness, garlic is certainly a worthy plant.
BASIL AND PEPPERS
I had a busy week at work so didn’t have much energy left for fun projects. I did get something done though!
First, I harvested some basil, washed it, and put it in the dehydrator. There’s not much that smells better in the house than basil being dehydrated!
Once it was finished, I stuffed it into 2 pint-sized jars and vacuum sealed them. Last year I found a vacuum sealer specifically for sealing canning jars. This was a game changer for me. Previously, I used the special attachment for my Food Saver to vaccum seal jars. However, that meant I would need to drag out the Food Saver, attach the attachment, seal a jar, and put everything away again. That was such a pain that usually I would just keep my dehydrated items in the freezer. With this inexpensive gadget, it’s no effort at all to seal a single jar or re-seal it after using a portion of the contents.
I harvested 12 green peppers from my garden this year. Processing those was the second project of the week.
I sliced and froze most of them. These will be great to use for fajitas.
With a few pieces, I put 2-3 tablespoons of diced peppers in a container, added a 1/4-cup or so of water and froze them.
These are super easy to thaw, and, because of the water, they retain their crunch so are great to use in pasta salads or to sauté with onions when making hash browns.
While I didn’t get a lot done this past week, I’m satisfied with what I did accomplish. Every bit counts after all!
IT WAS A TURKEY OF A WEEK
Every year my employer gives each of us a turkey for Thanksgiving. I tend to put mine in the freezer for later since I go to my daughter’s house for Thanskgiving dinner. Not this year though.
It’s taken six decades but, I’ve finally admitted out loud and without shame, that I’m really not that fond of roast turkey. At Thanksgiving dinner, I will take an obligatory piece of turkey but really, it’s the sides I enjoy.
Having said that, I decided to do something different with last November’s turkey. This past week was when that plan was finally carried out and I have worked on something turkey-related every evening of the week.
FIRST NIGHT: GROUND TURKEY
We cut off as much meat from the turkey as we could.
It didn’t matter that we aren’t skilled at deboning a raw turkey (or chicken either). The pieces didn’t have to look pretty, we just wanted to get as much meat as possible off the bones.
Then I ran it through the meat grinder attachment on my KitchenAid. I am grateful my friends at Wilding Acres Farm let me borrow the attachment, so I didn’t have to buy one just for this project!
Once ground, I seasoned the bowl of meat with 1 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, and paprika plus 2 teaspoons each of Italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder. Then I made 1/2 cup “pucks” of the mixture and froze them.
I got 19 half-cup servings of ground turkey. I will be able to take a puck or two out of the freezer to make casseroles, etc. That part is still a mystery though as I’ve never cooked with ground chicken or turkey before. Next, I need to find some recipes that use ground poultry!
SECOND NIGHT: ROASTER
I put the carcass in the roaster, filled it with water, and cooked it down overnight.
THIRD NIGHT: PICK THE BONES
I poured the broth into large bowls and removed every scrap of meat from the bones that I could. It was surprising how much meat was left on the turkey carcass!
FOURTH NIGHT: TURKEY SOUP
I layered canning jars with raw onion, celery, and carrot and topped it with cooked turkey meat, 1/4 teaspoon pepper powder, 1/2 teaspoon each of Italian seasoning and salt, and water. Then I pressure canned them.
I now have 5 pints of turkey soup base ready to make some warm soup for a cold winter’s night or to take to a sick friend. There are also 2 cups of cooked turkey meat in the freezer.
FIFTH NIGHT: BROTH
Really, this part took place on the third, fifth, and sixth night. Each night I would heat up enough broth to fill five jars and then pressure canned them. I ended up with 14 pints of broth on the shelf and 1 pint in the freezer. This will come in handy for any number of meals throughout the year. Even better, instead of paying lots of money for broth at the grocery store, this was essentially free.
TOTAL CANNED: 14 pints broth, 5 pints turkey soup base
TOTAL FROZEN: 9.5 cups seasoned raw ground turkey (frozen in 1/2-cup pucks), 2 cups cooked turkey meat, 1 pint broth
Overall, I had a very satisfying and productive week of food preservation!
I FOUND THE FLOOR!
For the past four years, my third bedroom has been used as a storage room. Over that time, we replaced the bunk beds (used when the grandkids came to visit) with shelving. The shelving eventually became overrun and at this point the floor was piled high with only a path from the door to the freezer. The piles would shift around as we sought out various tools and objects. It had become ridiculous in there!
But no more: we got it all cleaned up!
No, I’m not going to embarrass myself by posting a before picture but here’s the after picture:
Now the only items on the floor are the worm bin and the vacuum cleaner. What a pleasure to walk into the room, right up to a required item and retrieve it without fear of bodily harm.
There’s actually enough floor space that the mattress that’s been leaning up against the dining room wall for the past four months will fit in there when my company comes in a couple months. They can actually sleep in a room with a door instead of in the dining room! I’ve been saving the mattress specifically for this upcoming visit and then will get rid of it. Hmm, with the worm bin in there, it puts a whole new spin on the phrase “sleeping with the worms.” Lol, we’ll see if they mind.
While Tropical Storm Debby did some flooding and damage in the surrounding areas, the homestead got through in fine shape. The ground was wet and soggy, there were a couple of branches down, and we were without power for a couple of hours but really, it was smooth sailing.
Now that the sun has returned and started to dry things up, we were able to get out and do some maintenance in the chicken coops: collecting eggs (28!), raking the run, bedding both coops, and cleaning and filling the food and water containers.
While doing that I took a gander at the garden. I harvested 10 cucumbers (they were not in people eating condition, but the chickens will enjoy them), 6 green peppers, and – surprise! – dinner:
Remember when I over planted squash seeds because they were a couple of years old, so I wasn’t expecting a good germination rate? Well, Every One Of Those Seeds germinated, and I have squash plants everywhere! Not only that, they all have squash blossoms and many of them have fruits started. I guess I’m going to have to find some friends with whom to share the squash harvest.
EL GALLO PEQUENO
The girls have an admirer!
I don’t know whether the next-door neighbor’s rooster escaped, and they can’t catch him, or if they don’t know he has a secret bolt hole or if they have booted him from the coop for behavior unbecoming a gentleman, but several times this week I’ve seen him trying to woo my chickens.
The first few days I would see him chatting the girls up from outside the run or sitting in front of the door trying to sweet talk them into letting him in. Lately though, he visits the main coop for an hour or two and then trots out to the front yard to flirt with the old biddies in the chicken tractor.
He’s a bantam (Oscar thinks he can take the little guy) but I haven’t been able to determine what breed he is. He’s a cute little fellow though.
I call him Calvin.
EMPTY!
What a beautiful sight an empty basket can be!
It took me two weeks to get the bushel of peaches processed but it’s done! Thank goodness for that!
I ended up with 25 pints of canned peaches and 14 2-cup baggies of frozen peaches. That is a nice supply for eating, cooking, and baking for the year.
The varieties I tried this year were Southland and Norman. Both varieties held up very well in the refrigerator. I liked working with the Southland a lot. The pit separated cleanly without leaving a woody residue, which is a downfall with the Contender I’ve used in previous years. They really shrunk up in the canning jars when processed though – even with cramming them in. I’m not sure how I feel about that. It was more difficult to remove the pit in the Norman and they were kind of stringy. I’m not sure I would choose to buy those again.
There has been a lot of rain the past couple of weeks, but the weekend was dry and relatively cool (mid-80s). We took the opportunity to clean out the chicken run and dose it and the coop with diatomaceous earth. Thank goodness, because with all the rain, it was stinking to high heaven! The chicken tractor also got DE and a new layer of bedding.
Exciting News! One of the chicks I got in March has started laying eggs! Scaper is one of the Buff Orpingtons. Her brown eggs are still pretty small (though I doubt she thinks so when she’s pushing them out!). The other chicks should start laying soon too.
In addition to the peaches, I’ve been working on another big project the past couple of weeks. I should be able to finish that one this next week as I’m not going into the office for the rest of the month. I’m really looking forward to finishing that project and seeing the final product.
FOCUS, FOCUS
We finally got rain this week and the temperatures have been so much more bearable!
The past couple of weeks have been busy but I sure haven’t made enough progress on my many projects to feel I’ve accomplished anything. I have so many WIPs (works in progess) but because Every.One.Of.Them is out, on display, throughout the house, the visual clutter is messing with my ability to focus … and, subsequently to get them done.
If I walk in the bedroom, I see the quilts I need to work on. If I go to the living room, I see the chair I moved out of the bedroom to move my quilting table in a more useable spot, plastic totes in various stages of filling or emptying, a pile started for donation, family history boxes that I’m reviewing, items displaced from one spot that don’t have a new place to belong. The dining room has my old bed, the worm bin, the ironing board (for the quilting I’m not working on), and a table full of filled canning jars that need to be cleaned, labeled, and put away. The kitchen and fridge are full of fruit to be canned and canning equipment. Sigh, you get the picture.
Even with picking up one thing, dropping it and picking up another, I am making progress on some of my projects … although it just seems to create more of a mess, not less. My rearranged bedroom looks better (less cluttered) than it did. I found some old pictures I was looking for so I can move to the next step of that project. I did get the blueberries (picked yesterday) and 1/3 of the bushel of peaches (purchased last week) canned. The Prime Day purchases have been partially put away.
My only hope in all this is that every little bit helps, eventually, right?
Two Chickens Homestead 
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