Frosty morning

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The ducks were quacking extra early this morning.  I couldn’t figure out why they were so darn quacky at 7am, when they usually aren’t up until 8:30ish.  In retrospect, I think they were chilly and complaining for a hot breakfast.  🙂

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When I went down at 7:45 to let the poultry out, I had to break the ice on their watering pans.  The hard frost on the garden was just simply stunning.  The kids were all in bed (except George, my early-bird, who was happily playing with a spatula), so I stayed outside for a few minutes and enjoyed watching the birds scatter around the yard, crunching the frozen mulch as they flapped about, their breath trailing out in front of them.

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Now, bread is rising on the counter, the baby is happily rolling about on his blanket, and there’s  a Sweet Meat squash roasting  to mix with some scratch so the poultry can get that hot breakfast they’ve been wanting.

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Once the girls get up, we’ll work on some Christmas gift crafting while we listen to our new book on CD, followed by some baking and our Advent reading for the day.

Looking forward to a peaceful wintery day at home.

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

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This post originally published in  October 2009.  I’m baking a raspberry batch for homeschool co-op and a peach butter batch for the neighborhood kids/my kids today.  I make this recipe several times a month, even for breakfast, and the recipe is frequently requested, so I thought it was worth republishing.

PLEASE NOTE –   I no longer make it in a 9×13 pan, but instead on a large jelly roll pan with the parchment on the bottom – I freeform a rectangle in the middle (it will not fill the entire pan).  This makes it easier to cut and serve afterward.

These raspberry oatmeal bars were a hit with the kids, so I thought I’d share the recipe.  It’s an adaptation of this recipe, which can also be found in Martha Stewart’s Cookies. The original recipe called for a more complicated raisin puree in the middle,  and my girls weren’t so thrilled with it.  Also, I found it didn’t fit the pan requirements very well,  and made a few other small changes.

Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

For the filling:

approx 2 to 2 1/2 cups raspberry preserves (Edit 2011 – or any berry preserves or fruit butter)

For the bars:

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg (edit 2011 – a great way to use our duck eggs!)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups old fashioned (not quick-cooking) rolled oats

organic sanding sugar, to sprinkle on top

Directions – 1.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a 9 x 13 casserole dish with parchment paper and grease with butter.

2.  In a large bowl, combine flours, salt, baking soda, oats.  In a stand mixture with paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening until fluffy.  Add brown sugar and beat thoroughly.

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3.  Lightly beat egg and vanilla together.  Add to the mixture and beat until combined.  Reduce speed to low and slowly add the flour/oat mixture and beat until just combined.  Mixture should be crumbly (see above).

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4.  Spread half of the flour/oat mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Push thoroughly into the bottom of the pan.

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5.  With a spatula, spread the preserves in a liberal layer over the flour/oat crumb mixture.  Lastly, add the remaining half of the crumb mixture until over the top, gently pressing it down.  Sprinkle with sanding sugar (optional).

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6. Bake approximately 30-40 minutes (rotating half-way through) until bars are beginning to brown on top and preserves are bubbling up around the edges.  Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into 2-inch squares (this is a very important step, if you cut them while the preserves are hot and have not reset, the bars will crumble.)

Enjoy!

Oatmeal-Honey-Molasses Bread

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I let the kids sleep in, and worked on tidying up a bit since the neighbor boys are coming over this morning for a play date (Bend-a-roos and Playmobils and sofa-cushion forts are on the agenda, according to the girls).  Chickens and ducks were let out and fed a breakfast of mashed, roasted pumpkin, scratch and oatmeal.   It was too rainy and cold to do any yard chores this morning, so after poutry-duty, I got to come in and have a few minutes to get a nice breakfast going and read my book.

Breakfast this morning is a new recipe I’ve been tweaking – Oatmeal-Honey-Molasses Bread.  My kids really like the flavor of molasses (in the winter, we make some kind of gingerbread a few times a month), and we have a good quantity of honey on hand at the moment, so I thought I’d alter the oatmeal bread recipe we make frequently.  Here’s the work-in-progress recipe (although, it taked pretty darn good this morning, and had a lovely caramely-color):

Larksong’s Oatmeal-Honey-Molasses Bread

1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast

2 cups high-gluten bread flour

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1 Tbsp vital wheat gluten

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1 1/2 Tbsp hazelnut (or olive) oil

1 1/2 Tbsp molasses

2 Tbsp honey

4 oz warm milk

6 oz warm water

Directions:

1.  Proof yeast in warm milk for 10 min.  Combine dry ingredients in KitchenAid with dough hook.

2.Slowly add wet ingredients (including yeast/milk), except water.  Process on slow, drizzling in water until good doughy consistency is reached (it will be a little sticky.  You may need a teaspoon or two more or less than the recipe indicates, depending on humidity in your house.)

3.  Knead with dough hook on medium speed, or by hand, for 10-12 minutes until dough becomes less sticky and holds together in a nice ball.  Place ball of dough in oiled pan, rolling to coat, cover with a damp towel or Saran Wrap, and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size (in my cold kitchen, that took 1 hr 15 min, but may take 45 min in a warmer kitchen).

4. Punch down dough, and shape,  rolling edges of dough under until formed into a nice loaf.  Place in well-oiled loaf pan (I like a ceramic 9×5), cover lightly with towel, and let rise an additional 45 min, or until loaf has risen nicely over the edge of the pan (in a warm kitchen, it should take about 30 min.)  During this time, preheat oven to 350, with rack in the middle.

5.  Place loaf in hot oven, and quickly dump 1 cup of hot water in the bottom of the oven.  The steam will make a nicer crust.  Bake loaf for 35 min or until bottom of loaf makes a hollow sound when thumped.  Let rest 5 min and remove from pan and let cool before cutting.

Enjoy this very moist, sweet loaf simply sliced with butter, or use leftovers for really yummy bread pudding or French toast.

Fabric grab bag

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It has been a hard week around here, as we battled two upper respiratory bugs back to back.  Finally, we’re on the mend!   So,  to cheer everyone up after all that time cooped-up indoors,  following homeschool co-op yesterday, we had lunch at our favorite Asian market (where else can you get a fresh, delicious hot lunch for $1.25/kid?  Steamed buns stuffed with Asian pork sausage, hard-boiled egg, shiitakes and onions?  Yum!!).

After lunch, we walked across the street to the best thrift store in Portland.  We’re not big on shopping, but a trip to the thrift store tends to be our favorite pick-me-up ( besides our weekly visits to OMSI).  PACS thrift store had the nicest volunteers, great prices, and an amazing selection of vintage fabric, games, toys, craft supplies, dishes, stationery, books, etc.   And it’s right in our part of town – about 5 minutes from our house (and, of course, just across the street from the above-mentioned amazing Lily Market).

We have pretty strict  self-imposed rules for thrift-store spending – we may not spend more than 50 cents on a toy, $1 on dishes, $2 on vintage board games or linens, $5 on a bag containing several items or any one “extraordinary” item.  Well, yesterday in the fabric section, there was a 1x2x3ft plastic bag crammed full of wrinkly bundles of fabric.  The price was $5 (on sale!).  I could see some pieces of very pretty high-quality quilting fabric, and took a risk and bought it.

Oh my goodness, it was a good risk to take!!

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When I got home and sorted through the bag, there was quite a stack of good-quality flannel (enough to make about three kits when we have another sewing service party in the coming months.), and a total of approximately 4+ yds of fat-1/4, 1/4 yd and 5×5 inch squares of lovely cotton prints.  But, the vast majority of the fabric was my favorite – Depression-era reproduction fabric!

Altogether, there were over 40 pieces of 1/4-yd, fat-1/4 and 1/2 yd remnants of high-quality Depression-era reprints (just a few are pictured above), and many more little pieces (great for doll and scrap quilts).

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My favorite (even though I’m not partial to pink), is the 1/2 yd of coffee-mug print above.  It will go perfectly in some French-press cozies or some mug rugs for Christmas gifts, don’t you think?

Well, now to get outside and string up our raspberry canes (yes, better late than never), and muck out the chicken coop.  Then, we have nothing on our schedule for the afternoon except playing the two new games we also picked up yesterday (a wooden puzzle-based game and a 1960’s board game) and Christmas-gift crafting!

Blessings on your weekend!

A shared meal

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A quick update after Sunday afternoon chores are done.  Spinach-parmesan puffs (above) are cooling, a pot of 3-bean soup is simmering on the stove…looking forward to bringing them to our Sunday night homegroup in a bit, where we share a meal and fellowship with friends, and dig in to our new book together.

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts. – Acts 2:46

Forest Quilts

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A friend from the coast and my next-door neighbor are both expecting, and we wanted to make them both something special.  The girls and I shopped the remnant section at Fabric Depot, as well as the fabric shelves at our local thrift store, and put together two forest-themed baby quilts.

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This one is a Rain Forest theme for the next-door neighbor.  We used thrifted flannel sheets (triple layered) for the batting and a thrifted cotton sheet for the backing fabric (thrifted sheets = my favorite frugal quilt backing).

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This was the first time in years I’ve made a separate bias binding instead of doing a self-binding backing.  What a pain it was!!  I forgot how long it takes to make, and iron and while the effect was nice, I won’t use it on my next few quilts…

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The next quilt is for a friend who is an amateur mycologist – it’s a Forest Floor quilt, complete with mushroom and tree-ring prints.

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The quilt is just a simple four-patch with some mustard-colored Egyptian-print thrifted fabric for the back and binding.  Bea helped me lay out the pattern and cut some of the blocks, Ruth helped sew about half of the 4-patch blocks, and sewed the borders on.

Now, to find a time to drag 4 kiddos to stand in line at the Post Office so we can send it out….

I have come to realize that there is absolutely no way for me to maintain a clean house, work on learning projects with the kids, get the yard/poultry chores done, cook meals, care for an infant, and accomplish any serious crafting.  It’s just not possible to keep up with it all, no matter how it may appear from the limited perspective of crafty-homeschool-mom blogs.  For the moment, the unfolded laundry is piling up, the living room is home to dust bunnies and crumbs galore and the toy basket looks like it exploded all over the front rooms, but that’s okay, because we had a great time working together to bless our friends in a small way.

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And, now to have a “cleaning and catch-up day” before we start all over with a new quilt for another friend expecting an addition to her family…

Snackin’

(This post originally published in Oct 2008, but we’re making a batch again this morning!)

My favorite fall snack as a child – roasted pumpkin seeds.  Growing up, we only got this once a year, when we carved pumpkins at Halloween.  Now that I’ve got my own pack of kiddos, I cook pumpkin many many times in the fall and winter and always save the seeds for roasting.  They make the perfect thrifty, tasty, healthy snack.

Larksong’s Mother’s Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

All the seeds scraped from the inside of a pumpkin, washed, and arranged in one layer on a pie plate or cookie sheet (most any winter squash will work, however, I have found that a few large heirloom varieties have very tough, thick seeds, and are not ideal for cooking)

a little salt, paprika, garlic powder tossed together. (If you’re feeling lazy, use any spice blend from Penzeys, but pick one that includes salt – I like Ozark or Old World seasonings.)

Drizzle a little olive oil over the pumpkin seeds, and sprinkle with the spice mixture, tossing to coat.

Bake in a 350F oven for 10-20 minutes (watching closely to prevent overcooking.  time depends a lot on the variety of pumpkin used and the size of the seeds).  Some seeds may pop and bounce out of the pan when they’re almost done.

Let cool and enjoy!  Little Hen thinks they’re “super good” with hot apple cider!

Top Secret Adventures

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Many thanks to my mother for getting the kids a subscription to Highlights Magazine‘s Top Secret Adventures!!  Ever issue brings a new mystery to solve in a new country.  It’s one of the best structured homeschooling activities we’ve ever worked on as a family.

We’re currently making our way around China attempting to solve a crime, and in the process learning geography, history, anthropology!  We’re solving logic puzzles and mazes, and breaking secret codes!

We can’t wait to solve the mystery, and look forward to next month’s adventure!

A good, quiet morning

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…reading a few chapters in Ann Voskamp’s book before the children were up…
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…enjoying granola in the breakfast nook after morning chores, watching chickens, ducks mucking happily around the yard  (Cran-Walnut Granola recipe at the bottom)

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…quilting for a neighbor’s baby, due in 2 weeks, while the children had breakfast.

A welcome reprieve before tackling the general chaos of the day.

Larksong’s Cranberry Walnut Granola

Preheat oven to 325F, and get out two large jellyroll pans.

In a large bowl, combine:

6 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups unsweetened, unsulfured coconut

1 cup wheat germ

1 heaping cup sesame seeds

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1-2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

pinch of sea salt

In a saucepan, on med-heat, combine 1  cup of honey, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 3 tbsp dark brown sugar, 1 cup veg oil (I use 1/4 cup hazelnut oil, 3/4 cup veg oil), and heat until warm and honey is thin.  Stir vigorously, and then pour over dry ingredients.

Toss all until combined, then spread over two sheets and bake 20 min.

Remove from oven, stir, scraping around the edges especially, since they will brown first.

Return to oven, and bake approx 20-25 min more, scraping and stirring granola every 5-7 min to prevent scorching in parts.

When granola is dark, toasty, and fragrant, remove from oven and immediately stir in 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries.  While granola is still hot, transfer to a glass or other nonstick bowl, or granola will stick to sheets as it cools.  When totally cooled, break up with a fork and put in sealed jars to keep crisp.  Will keep 1 month, but ours is eaten up in less than a week.

(Cost comparison: similar granola at New Seasons Market – $8.99/lb.   Estimated cost of homemade – about $2.50/lb (all items purchased in bulk to cut costs considerably, except walnuts, which were gleaned from a friend’s tree.)

And now we are 6

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George Peregrine Baker

was born on June 27 at 7:05 am

weighing 8 lb 5 oz.

Little George is now 4 weeks old, and life is starting to feel a bit more stable.  (I managed to bake chocolate-chip banana bread, work in the garden, do a few loads of laundry, and even make a simple dinner tonight without too much stress.  Things are going much better than last week, when we were subsisting off grilled cheese  sandwiches and yogurt, and couldn’t manage to get out of my PJs before 11 am.)  Overall, it’s been quite a rough start – we’re taking it day by day, but it’s totally worth it to add George to our family.

George was born at 40 weeks, 5 days (the earliest of any of my kids!), and considering his big brother was born after less than three hours, I thought things would be pretty quick, but this labor was about 8 1/2  very difficult hours.  He was OP (“sunnyside up”), and the labor was pretty excruciating and I was stuck at 6 cm for hours and hours.   Once he finally turned, he was born within 5 minutes (I caught him!  That’s 4 for 4!).  In retrospect, I’m grateful he wasn’t well positioned, or he’d likely have been born long before we got to the hospital.   He is healthy and a great nurser and looks like a perfect blend of his three older siblings.

I ended up with a PPH again, but it took several hours, a few doses of pitcoin and a hefty dose of misoprostol to get it under control this time.  And when George was 6 days old, I ended up needing to be treated for dehydration and double mastitis, so that has slowed my recovery even further, and I am anxious to get back up to full speed.  Our entire family are very thankful for the friends who brought meals, and my sister who kept the kids while I was in the hospital and afterward helped with laundry, etc.  We’re also grateful for our neighbor who cared for the ducks & chickens both times we were in the hospital, and my MIL and SIL who helped watch the girls while I was so ill the end of that first week.  We could never have made it through without the support everyone offered.  Thank you all so much!!

George is a bit of a colicky baby, and that plus a very-energetic (and destructive!) 3 year-old brother, and two intense older sisters makes for a challenging mix of needs around the house.   I have no idea how I’m ever going to get my house clean again, much less maintain it.  The thought of tackling homeschooling in the fall scares the living daylights out of me.   But, we’ll adjust to the new dynamic in the household, and before we know it we’ll have settled in to the new normal around the Baker house.  Things get a little easier every week, for all of us.

Oh, here’s a photo of the whole Baker family back when George was 2 weeks old:

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Clockwise from lower left: Harold (Hal) age 3, Grandma Bishop and Grandpa Bishop (visiting from Florida), me (Angela) holding George, Casey, Ruth age 8.5, and Beatrix (Bea) age 6.5.

I’ve got a new quick update on the garden coming very shortly, and a few recipes after that.  As things ease up a bit, I’m looking forward to posting a more frequently.  Thanks for your patience and God bless!

Ducklings!!!!

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We’ve all been dreaming of them for such a long time, and now they’re finally here!!  3 fuzzy little day-old Indian Runner ducklings came home with us this past Wednesday.

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The duckings are just about the cutest things we’ve ever seen!!  They’re comical, inquisitive, interested in people, and love to snuggle their little heads in the crook of your arm.

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The little drake and two ducks will make a great slug-seek-and-destroy team, as well as provide us with up to 400 eggs/year (for the pair of females), and endless entertainment.  Besides being good egg-layers with sweet dispositions, we choose Indian Runners over other breeds because they cannot fly (or cross any fence much over 2 ft tall), and do not need a pond.

While Indian Runners don’t go broody easily, and often don’t make good mothers, we got a drake in the hopes that one of our chickens will go broody and raise a few clutches for us down the road if we want to increase the flock (Chickens, especially Buff Orpingtons like Cookie, will sit until the clutch hatches (a few days longer than chicken eggs), and then care for the ducklings with devotion.)

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The ducklings were a mix of fawn/penciled and we won’t know exactly how they’ll look for another number of weeks, but they sure are adorable right now!

Introductions

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Meet Bolt, a lovely year-old Speckled Sussex with a seriously bossy attitude.  She’s the queen of the coop around here, getting the best choice of treats and the highest roost, not to mention staking her claim to the “best” nesting box.   She is also outgoing, curious, and very fast (hence her name) – always attempting to escape the run, and quick to keep the other hens in line.

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Spring is here, the weather this weekend has been sunny and mild, and I’m sick of having stinky chicks in my breakfast nook.  The chicks are 7 1/2 weeks old – old enough to spend time outdoors during the day (with a lamp just in case, and coming back in to the house at night when temps dip into the 30s).   Integrating new birds into a flock can be tricky, however, and needs to be done carefully, and today seemed like the perfect day to start the process.

Bolt is the primary reason that, for the time being, these 7 little pullets have been placed in a separate, fenced off run inside the larger run.    We know her personality too well to assume she wouldn’t peck these little girls and injure them.  So, with a partition safely in place away from the other hens, a freshly mucked out run, and a shelter rigged-up,  it was time to place the chicks outside for the day.

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Cookie, our Buff Orpington chick, was the first to exploring her new enclosure, and the other chicks soon followed.

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While the chicks seemed intrigued by the hens on the other side of the fence, I can’t say the same for the hens.  The more submissive hens stood in the far corner, clucking nervously.  They seemed to be waiting for a signal from Bolt as to what to make of these 7 little intruders.  Several times over the course of about 15 minutes,  Bolt strutted right up to the partition, raised herself up and beat her wings furiously at the chicks, and then strode away.  She scratched and bok-bok-ba-GAWKED at the chicks in between displays of wing-beating.  I have never seen a hen behave this was – it was almost rooster-like  – clearly attempting to send a message to the youngsters that this is HER flock and she is not to be messed with.

Needless to say, the partition will stay in place for at least a week while everyone gets used to the idea of an expanding flock, and the chicks gets grow ever-larger.  Then, we’ll remove the swath of fencing and I’ll hang out in the run to see how everyone adjusts to each other and a new pecking order is established.

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Even in their small section of the yard, the chicks are reveling in their new-found freedom.  I’m hoping the transition goes well, and everyone integrates smoothly,  but for now it’s exciting to see them growing into the hens they will soon become (and looking forward to those eggs to come!).

$42 Back Patio – How To

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Last year, we discovered a long line cutting through our entire yard (back door all the way to the far fenceline), where plants did not grow well.  A little digging turned up a concrete pathway about 3 inches under the sod (9-12 inches under the sheet-mulched beds).  We assume it was a path going back to where a garden shed or some other structure once stood (our house was built in 1922, so who knows how long ago this was put in.)

We had been attempting to remove the concrete bit by bit last summer, but it was very slow going.  My husband finally got fed up, and two weekends ago, began digging up the path and busting up the concrete with a sledge hammer for 8 hours/day.  We ended up with about 1200 lbs of concrete chunks.

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Were we upset that we now had a huge pile of concrete to deal with?  Heck, no!  We turned it into an opportunity to build an urbanite back patio off the mudroom door!

Here’s what we did to build our $32 salvaged patio:

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An existing 4×5 ft concrete pad sat directly off the back door.  We left this, and the beginning part of the mystery path in place, and then laid out blocks in an organic, undulating shape around this area to create the patio outline.  (This area had previously been almost permanently muddy – it’s very shady, gets heavy foot traffic, and with all our NW rain, no grass ever grew there.)

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You can see that the urbanite chunks were varying thicknesses.  This created a little more work on our part to get the 2% slope properly set up.

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After laying out the general shape and making it with string, we stacked the blocks and began removing soil to create a bed for the sand (the soil was relocated to the holes made by removing the concrete from the yard.)

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We laid down 4 inches of sand (hence the $42 price tag – it was 1.5 yds), and then used a level and a tamper to create a 2% grade away from the house for water drainage.

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We had three big boxes of blue glass bottles sitting in the basement, and thought they’d be perfect for accent points and filler between the blocks (we had originally collected them from friends in the hopes of using them for brewing, but they were small bottles, and we couldn’t find corks or caps to fit).

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Concrete blocks were laid down with bottles to fill in the holes (a lot of wiggling and adjusting was needed since the blocks varied so much in thickness).

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We then backfilled the cracks with more sand, and swept off the excess.  (This step is a little messy, since it was pouring down rain by this time, and it’s hard to sweep of wet sand from the blocks!)

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The surface is not perfectly even (we knew there was no way it could be!), but we carefully checked to make sure that no lips existed where one could catch a toe at the point where any blocks met.)

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We hope to plant creeping thyme and other foot-traffic friendly herbs in the cracks when the weather warms a bit, but for now are VERY happy to have a space right out our back door that is not a mud pit!  And doubly happy to have found a way to reuse items (concrete/urbanite and used glass bottles) that would have otherwise ended up in the landfill.

Working on any thrifty, re-purposed, scrounged projects at your place?  If you blogged about them, send me the link, I’d love to include it here!   Thanks!

Radical Homemakers

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Things are crazy busy here at the moment, so I’ll just drop in to say that there’s an interview with me and some other ladies (including author Harriet Fasenfest) on the topic of Radical Homemakers in this month’s Metro Parent (you can read the article for free by following the link – we’re on page 22-23).

Be back soon with some blogging about food justice, garden happenings, and a few recipes.

Signs of Spring

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When my girls were in preschool, one of their favorite outdoor activities was patrolling the school grounds with the class, hunting for “signs of spring”.  Today, after yard chores were done (including snuggling with her favorite hen, Plucky (above)), my oldest and I hunted for signs of spring in the garden.  It was quite encouraging to see life return to a yard that is still mostly dormant and empty!

Can you name the plants we found waking up?

Let’s start with an easy one – the first dessert ingredient of spring:

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10 canes of these were planted a few weeks ago, to add to the 5 put in last summer – per lb, they’re one of the highest value home crops:

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Twenty-odd of these beauties were planted last year.  Not harvest-able until at least next year, but then they’ll feed folks for 20 more:

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This one is a little more difficult – I grafted her last year, and she’s still a teeny 18 inches tall, but will eventually reach 10 ft and yield delicious late-fall/winter harvests.

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And last but not least, do you know what this is?  After rooting-up cuttings from some red, white and black ones, we now have a dozen of these fruit bushes growing.  At maturity, each can produce 15-30 lbs of vitamin C-rich fruit!

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What edible perennials are waking up in your yard?  If it’s still too chilly, which are you most looking forward to seeing come back to life?

Mason Jar Cozy Giveaway!

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Well, somewhere I’m going to have to find some time to knit this, because I’m going to give one away via the Salt of the Earth Urban Farm Facebook page! When we hit 100 likes, I will randomly select one of those 100 folks to win a mason jar cozy in their choice of colors.  Only 7 spots left, so click on the sidebar link, and like us on FB for a chance to win!  Thanks!

(For those inclined to knit their own, here’s the free pattern!)

A bit of comfort

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When you’re having a bad afternoon (the watercolors and brushes fall off the shelf onto your head, you have a fight with your sister, you mess up the eyelashes on an otherwise gorgeous portrait you’re painting, your brother whacks you with a toy), nothing gives comfort like snuggling with a sweet little chick.

(That’s Cookie, the Buff Orpington, btw)

Handspun

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Yes, we have actually been doing things besides garden projects!  (Not much, but a little bit.)  Some recent spindle spun, shown above, spun with Brown Sheep mill-end roving,  dyed with just a bit of leftover Blue-Raspberry Kool-Aid (we left it mostly white, and drizzled a little kool-aid here and there).  I think I’ll ply it and knit some booties for the baby.

On the wheel is also some Kool-Aid dyed Brown Sheep mill-end, but this time we saturated it with leftover pink lemonade, strawberry and orange.  The resulting yarn is VERY bright, and I’ll probably make Firecracker some socks with it.

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I imagine the days of getting much spinning done are coming to an end for a while – it tends to be a winter occupation, with garden, livestock, and outdoor activities spreading out before us,  spindles and the wheel may get put away upstairs before long.  Besides, I’m on the brink of my third trimester and have knitted exactly one item for the baby, so handwork time needs to be dedicated to knitting for a while.

Are there handcrafts and activities you find falling into a seasonal rhythm?  As spring approaches, what are you laying aside, and what new things are you picking up?

Urban Homesteading Action Day

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I often get asked why we have chosen to live the life of an urban homesteader.  Why put in all those hours picking slugs, shoveling manure, sewing clothes from thrifted fabric, mucking out the chicken coop, or canning peaches when we could buy a tin of them at the store?

Yes, it is hard work, and we have struggles and failures along the way.  But, honestly, having the freedom to become urban homesteaders has enabled us to care for ourselves, our land, our family, our community.

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We care for our bodies by growing and making nourishing food.

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We care for our children, and strive to provide them with a free, happy childhood (and what could make a better childhood than being outdoors, digging in the dirt and playing with the chickens?)

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We care for our community by partnering with others to grow nutritious, organic produce for urban families, and share seeds, seedlings, and knowledge so others can grow their own food, too.

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We care for our land by practicing permaculture principles, increasing our soil’s fertility, planting native plants, and encouraging wildlife to make a home here.

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We care for our animals by giving them a happy, organic life where they can roam and follow their instincts.  They in turn care for us by giving us hours of entertainment, companionship, pest control, and delicious eggs.

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We are truly blessed to live a life that nourishes us body and soul.  We believe that all people in the city have the right to increase their food security through sustainable, economical agriculture and homemaking.  Homesteading belongs to all people who wish to reach out and embrace it.  It is not a gimmick or a trademark, it is a right and a joy.  Please visit the other blog posts and videos celebrating urban homesteading at Take Back Urban Homesteading and help us as we strive to keep urban homesteading free and open to all who want to live this life!

9 and 10 days old

The chicks, 9 and 10 days old (Here’s hoping they all survive and none turn out to be cockerels, because the kids are just smitten and have named them all):

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Cookie, the Buff Orpington. (She’s the largest and fluffiest of the chicks, by far.)

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Violet (dark brown), and Nudge II (golden), the Auracanas. (You can see their little tufty beards coming in already!)

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Fiesty, the Salmon Faverolle.  She’s a petite little thing, but has lots of attitude (and 5 toed-feet and feathered legs!)

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Midnight and Blacky, our tried and true favorite breed – Black Australorp.  Our two and a half year-old is very partial to Blacky, who is the gentlest and most mellow of the chicks.

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And last but not least, Pickles, the Delaware.

We’re all amazed at how quickly they’re growing, adding bulk, wing and tail feathers every day.   We’re going to do our best to photograph them once a week to see how they change and mature.

That’s MY Spot!!

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Let me start off by saying that the entertainment potential of chickens is extremely under-valued in most poultry books.

This is Oregon, in March.  Needless to say, the ground is VERY soggy and it rains every day.   Our hens don’t have a spot of dry ground anywhere in their run to dust-bathe.  Because we have not planted anything besides garlic in the backyard, the hens have all-day access to the back and side yards at the moment, in an effort to reduce the population of  slugs, weeds, etc before we begin planting this weekend.

While ranging and scratching this morning, the ladies found a little dry patch of dirt, under the eaves, by the back door of the house.  It was big enough to fit one hen.

Never one to wait her turn, Bolt (on the right) decided that Kate (on the left) had better clear out, and made a big show of flapping and pecking and clucking at her.  Kate decided passive resistance was the best plan of action, and laid there, quite determined not to be booted out.

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The Australorps and I stood by and watched the hilarity ensue.  I swear Plucky and Sarah were rolling their eyes and shaking their heads at the Speckled Sussex’ ridiculous behavior.  🙂

In a related note – The BCS Teaching Garden kickoff workparty is this Saturday 3/5, from 10am-noon  with a FREE LUNCH (Olive Garden has donated catering) to follow from 12-1!

Please bring your shovels, gloves, wheelbarrows, and help us spread compost, plant peas and greens, and plant seeds (tomatoes, sweet peppers, and other yummy things) in pots.  We work rain or shine, so dress for the weather and lend a hand as we get the garden going!

Did I mention the FREE soup and salad lunch catered by Olive Garden afterward??

We still have a few spots open, so contact Tiffany at tiffany.mach@yahoo.com to sign up and get directions!  Thanks!

7 Fluffy Chicks!

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Our chicks have come!  We were worried they’d be delayed because of the cold, but they arrived this morning, and we picked them up at the feed store this afternoon.

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Because of a raccoon and a freak illness, we are down to 4 hens: 2 black Australorps and 2 Speckled Sussex.

To our flock, we hope to add these heritage breed girls: 2 more black Australorps, 2 Auracanas, 1 Delaware, 1 Buff Orpington, and 1 Faverolle.

We’re big-time Australorp fans, but are always up for trying new breeds.  The Auracanas are to replace our beloved Nudge, who fell victim to a raccoon.  She was such a prolific layer, 6-8 extra large green eggs/week at her peak ,we figured we needed two regular auracanas to make up for her.

I originally wanted some Welsummers (for their lovely chocolate-colored eggs), but none were coming in the same week as the Australorps, so we decided to try some other heritage breeds instead.

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Everyone is so excited to have these puff balls in our breakfast nook, and can’t wait until they’re old enough to the join the flock (just in time for our shipment of ducklings to arrive!)

For tonight, we’re off to a Girl Scout Thinking Day event, and then it’s a frantic clean-up in preparation for tomorrow morning’s visit of volunteers from our church, who have generously offered to help us spread compost and mulch and plant peas in the garden.

If your weekend is as bustling as ours is going to be, we hope you get a little rest in there somewhere!

Seed Starting: Round 1

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Sunday afternoon was spent starting our first big round of seeds for the year.

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We filled pots leftover from last year with organic compost, and shifted them into the basement to be planted and set under grow lights (When we run out of pots, we’ll be using yogurt cups and such we’ve been saving over the winter.)

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The day’s planting was 60-odd eggplants, including two standbys, Japanese Pickling, and Diamond. At Baker Creek’s recommendation, we’re also trying some varieties I’ve never grown before, but are supposed too do very well in short-season, cool climate areas – Pandora Striped Rose, Green Apple.  The one I’ve got the highest hopes for is Little Fingers, whose quick-maturing fruit is meant to be harvested when, well, as the name describes, when they’re the size of your finger.

Up next week, tomatoes, tomatillos, ground cherries, sweet peppers!

Rebirth

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On this brilliantly sunny February Saturday, we ordered chicks and ducklings from the feed store, and discovered garlic, crocus, vibrant-pink rhubarb emerging from the soil, and soaked up the first hints of spring-to-come.

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In a week in which we had a lot of sickness and stress, and grief, I am doubly blessed that we are learning to make our home a haven, a place where we can witness birth, and rebirth, and celebrate life.

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And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet, and learn to be at home. – Wendell Berry