Raise the Flag

Back in 1992 (for me), seasonal flags for the home were setting a trend where we lived. They were sewn, not silk screened. I almost purchased one at a shoreline boutique until I saw a few of the price tags: $89-$104.  I remember thinking that it was less than a yard of nylon fabric; I should just make one! And “sew” began my plunge into flag making.

Nylon fabric comes in a width of 54″, so if you buy 1.5 yards, you can cut the fabric to be 36″ x 54″ and have half a yard left over to use for other flags! For the Goose, the flag was red; the white, yellow, and green were remnants from other flags. Back then, but they still might today, the company Flag Factory sold flag patterns that you could buy and use as templates, but for many that I sewed, I drew the pattern on tissue wrapping paper and used that.

All the flag patterns are seen on both sides, but you’ll only be sewing on ONE side. To make a flag, it’s really VERY simple, but it takes a LOT of black thread and a few hours of your time. Once you have the size of the flag that you’d like to sew, APPLIQUE with the zigzag stitch set so closely that it becomes a solid wide line of stitches. Then you’ll turn your flag OVER and CUT AWAY the base flag material, being VERY careful NOT to clip the zigzag stitches. To finish the flag, turn all sides under and topstitch and then make a 4″ casing at the top. I sew a small piece of elastic to the end so that it can attach to the flag pole. The flag poles that have the plastic sleeve over the wooden pole are the best!!—That way the flag never wraps in the wind; it will always slide back to its correct hanging position.

For the candy cane, I appliqued it onto green flag nylon, then turned it over and cut away the GREEN nylon. If I hadn’t done that, you wouldn’t be able to see through the candy cane because the dark green nylon would be behind it.

The wind on our farm is always strong and the flags have taken a beating!! But, some of them are almost 26 years old and have flown at my house for a month each of those years no matter where I’ve lived! So, I’d say they’ve held up well.

Through the years, I have made flags for so many reasons: special holidays; or, special family events (birthday, new baby, first day of school). I have made pansies, daffodils, Easter eggs, sunshine, manatee, apples, jack-o-lantern, snowflakes, birthday balloons, etc. But, I have also made them for other people as gifts: grapes on vine; Stegosaurus dinosaur; etc! There is no limit what you can create.

For a while, I couldn’t find the colors of nylon that I liked in the weight that I preferred. I was only finding ripstop nylon and I don’t care for that. Recently, I came across a business that does carry the nylon for $7.99 a yard (54″ wide) in a wide variety of colors. For about $10 you can make a flag for your house, too.

Made in the Shade

Seeing Kergord sitting in the shade of the run-in, rather than basking in the sun like all the other animals on the farm, brought back a memory—Four years ago this February, I was tasked with the job of processing the wool for the Kentucky Cloth Project. Although just in its planning phase, this project was testing the idea of growing hemp for a fabric. Kentucky grown hemp would be combined with Kentucky sheep’s wool.

Close to 100 pounds of wool was brought to me to wash, pick, and lightly card. The wool was from a few farms near Paris, KY. The wool was beautiful even before it was cleaned. The staple lengths were perfect, there were no “second cuts”, it was relatively debris-free, and the wool itself felt so soft!

The raw wool arrived in burlap sacks. Each sack weighed almost 50 pounds. The shepherds had already “skirted” (pulled away the very dirty or heavily debrised) wool before giving it to me.

I divided the wool into piles so that I could begin to see how many loads I would need to wash. Each of the above baskets was then subdivided.

And then, the washing began. It took several weeks and a LOT of hands-on work!

Each load was washed several times, until it finally rinsed clean.

To dry the wool, I spread it out on coated wire racks and/or screens. Once it was dry, I put it back into baskets to wait for the next step, which was boxing it all and shipping it to a fiber mill in California (as directed).

The Fiber Shed in Geronimo, California was going to blend the Kentucky wool that I sent with Kentucky hemp that someone else was in charge of sending (smiles).  A large fiber mill in New York state also helped them. The hemp fiber needed to be cleaned and soften without being compromised (weakened). I think that was a challenge for them.

Several months later, they sent me fiber samples of the wool/hemp combination— both the final fabric and the attempts along the way. Apparently it will be a durable fabric used for canvas shoes, luggage, etc.

It was such a fun experience…and one I haven’t thought of for several years! But, as Kergord is panting in the shade while the January temperatures aren’t really that mild, it reminds me that shearing season is coming soon…but definitely not yet!!   (smiles)

 

January Thaw

The snow melted today, and although the pond is still frozen, the world seems a milder place! I decided to move my garden beds. I had posted about the plans in a blog last week, and while I didn’t think I’d be able to do it for another month or so, with today’s kinder temperatures I decided to go for it. First I needed to determine how difficult it would be to move the beds…were they frozen into place? I used a shovel to try and pry a corner of one of raised beds from the frozen ground. The thawing temperatures must have helped because it wasn’t as difficult as I had imagined!

Messy, Messy, Messy!!!!    Once I realized it was going to be possible to do today, I removed all the plastic coverings and the pvc hoops from each bed. I hauled over my cardboard, newspapers, and junk mail that I had been saving so that I could line the bottom of the raised beds’ new locations. The mounds of dirt that you are seeing between each bed was the dirt inside the old location.

The fields are a disaster. MUD, MUD, MUD is the word here!! The ground had been frozen and covered with snow for over a month; however, now that we can see the ground, the mucking begins. Wheel barrow after wheel barrow load came off the fields today and dumped into our compost area and/or to the raised beds that won’t be used for several months.

We never plant onto fresh manure. It’s VERY important that it either ages in the compost pile with “brown” ingredients (paper, leaves, straw) or if it is added to the empty beds, nothing should be planted here for several months. Compost and soil will be added to this later when we are ready to plant.

I still have a few more raised beds that I need to haul over to this new location. When the growing season is upon us, arbors will create a tunnel of veggies between the left and right side beds like the picture shows below. I might find that it looks awful or doesn’t work the way I’m hoping, but I am definitely excited to give it a try.

Two of the raised beds are already primed for early spring planting. The soil inside is gorgeous.

The sun’s glare isn’t allowing the picture to show how rich with humus this is.

Although it is recommended that beets are sown directly into the soil, not started as seeds inside, I DID start them inside almost a week ago. The have already sprouted!!! I will be planting them outside and placing them under “cloches” within the hoop tunnel as a precaution against the cold for these tender young plants. Stay tuned!!

 

Braided Garlic

A beautiful and practical accessory for any kitchen is a braided rope of softneck garlic. The softneck garlic is more domesticated and has evolved from the hardneck garlic, which is a bit more fussy to grow. Because the softneck garlic has lost its ability to produce topsets, the center is now softer and braiding much easier. If you are choosing between softneck or hardneck (rocambole/topsetting), keep in mind that softnecks are more productive, store more readily, and are easier to grow.

I’m not sure if there is anything I love more than the smell of garlic in the kitchen, other than oregano or basil!!  All summer long the aromas of fresh basil, garlic, and oregano are prevalent in the kitchen. This garlic braid (literally translated– Aglio treccia) was loaded with garlic when first hung, but has quickly lost another bulb with each passing week.

Although I’m not Italian, I spent almost six years living in Italy during three different occasions. My “Patricia’s Kitchen” sign hangs under the cupboards near the oven and often prompts us to begin speaking Italian as we prepare our daily meals (smiles).

My kitchen ceramic garlic and red onion

Braiding onions and garlic isn’t as much for decoration as it is for storage space and the ability to allow them both to dry and not become moldy. Our region/USDA zone allows us to keep many types of onions and most garlic in the ground until needed. However,  I am still learning SO much and I might find that I like them harvested and braided instead.

One thing that I’d like to attempt making after this summer/fall harvest of peppers, is a Rista—-a braid of dried chili peppers. I think they are as beautiful as they are practical. I am beginning to feel sorry for many of my friends–I think they will be receiving braids of various veggies this year in Christmas baskets!  (smiles)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be Prepared

If you’ve ever had to run into the grocery store for a few items and that errand happens to coincide with a weather advisory for winter snow storm or tropical hurricane, you know what the shelves look like: they are BARE! It had been moments like those that prompted me to become more self-sustaining. Even though our country now offers a 24/7 whatever-you-need-you-can-get mindset, we all should be aware that, as with anything, “stuff” happens!  This doesn’t have to mean impending doom & gloom, but it does mean that there are things out of our control that might inconvenience or play havoc on the simple act of feeding our family.

When I first began to contemplate year-round gardening, I had NO idea what to expect, or what would actually be able to grow/sustain itself during the dark, bleak, frigid winter months.

So, I decided to begin small:    1) I would grow veggies I KNEW that we used a lot of.           2)  I would grow veggies that were expensive to buy to help offset my budget.  3) I would grow veggies that I knew would be easy to grow!

We either canned, dehydrated, froze, (or left in the ground), the vegetables as they were ready to harvest. We chose the method that best suited that particular vegetable. I don’t have a separate freezer and I know frozen food would spoil in the case of a power outage, so freezing is my least preferred option, but I definitely do use it for some things.

Flash back tidbit—When we had lived on a remote island in the Mediterranean Sea during the Gulf War, we drank bottled water (actually, so did the locals). Our water was shipped to the base where we would purchase it by the case. At one point, I remember we had been given an alert that apparently the water had been “compromised” and we were not to drink it. So, we bought it locally. Not much ever came of that…of course much speculation took place, but I don’t know if anything was ever proven. Yet, again, it made me realize how vulnerable we as a people are if we can’t sustain ourselves.

Currently, I reside in a very agricultural region of our country. Many of my neighbors are farmers or have farmers in their family. Producing food, and an abundance of it, comes by them naturally. As I look out upon the fields, I can’t help but think of folks living in a landlocked cities….large cities. I remember back in the early 90s (I think!) during a crippling snow/ice storm, NYC had water pipes burst and no one had water for drinking, sanitation, etc. for at least a WEEK–maybe it was longer, I can’t recall the exact details.  I do remember though that even garbage had not able to be trucked out of the city.

When we rely on others for our food and water and everything is working efficiently, it’s great. However, should a glitch occur, it can become horrible very quickly. So, whether you choose to have several cans of store bought beans, bags of nuts, an extra jar of peanut butter, and a few bags of rice stashed on your pantry shelf, or you opt  to start a veggie garden (even just a few plants), you are well on your way to becoming a bit more self-sustaining for you and your family.

 

 

Rainy Days & Mondays

A rainy Monday and back to the grind; however, my outlook is brighter. I am so thankful that the precipitation came as rain rather than ice or snow! Watching the rain gently falling outside, we were busy inside with the wool mill in full swing this morning.

For the 7th Wedding Anniversary, the gift is WOOL. This prompts many of our loyal customers to buy needle felted wool blankets/throws, felted wool flowers, and felted wool “paintings” for their significant other. AND, with winter hanging on and Valentine’s Day  just around the corner, many of our wool products are still in high demand across the country with the help of the internet.  This morning, I have been working on wool throws in all natural colors. The edges are finished with bias and a label is sewn in the corner. If you’d like to see more of the items I create at the mill click on this link. MY SHOP

A beautiful addition to our inventory is felted wool flowers. From standard blooms that she creates to custom designs and colors suited to the bride, Kelly (who also teaches PoliSci at the local college) has created some very distinct and exquisite bouquets and accessories. To make the bouquets of felted flowers, first Kelly wet felts dyed wool. She uses bubble wrap and a wash board to ensure ample agitation!!!

After it has dried, the second step is to needle felt. And then of course, the finishing touches are important.

Hydrangea, roses, asters, and berries make up this bouquet.

To see more of the gorgeous flower options and accessories that she offers, click on this link to visit HER SHOP  Below is a llama fiber wreath on which Kelly felted wool hyacinths.

Kris creates gorgeous felted landscapes from her hikes that she taken both in this country and abroad. First, I create the wool “canvas” for her by felting the wool fleeces from our very special woolly flock. She then cuts the “canvas” to the size she needs:  anything from 3″ x 5″ note cards to 30″ x 40″ large framed pieces.

To visit her website and online shop to see all that she does, click here: Wanderstruckstudio.com

The above picture was done entirely in wool and is from a scene on the Colorado Trail that she hiked this past summer.

The above wool picture is of the Ermita on the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage trail in Spain.

 

Great Backyard Bird Count

A worthwhile event that happens nationally every February, is the Great Backyard Bird Count. I know it’s a bit early, but mark your calendars. This year, from February 16-19, we are asked once again to count the birds we see for just 15 minutes each of the four days. This is a FUN and worthwhile event for ALL ages! Researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society use the information we give to assist them in their regional data. The easy part in all this is that you don’t have to go anywhere to participate with this national event.

An exciting way to engage/introduce youngsters into the world of bird watching, is to set up a few chairs at an inside window near one of your outdoor bird feeders. Have a list of the types of birds you usually see in your yard, even color them if that would help the child identify them more easily. Set the timer, and for the next few minutes assist the child count the number of a specific type of bird. Change the type of bird you are counting every few minutes within the 15 minutes timeframe. Adapt as age permits—older children can of course handle counting several types of birds at once.

If you don’t have feeders in your backyard, that’s okay. I’m certain that if you sit outside for just 15 minutes, you’ll see dozens of various birds flying by or landing in nearby trees.

If part of your daily routine is walking your neighborhood or a nearby park, count the birds there instead, if you wish.  The whole purpose of the Great Backyard Bird Count is to provide a realistic overview of the birds and their numbers in each of our regions.

After you gather your bird-count numbers, submit your data online to the link I have provided above. This may become a February tradition in your household, too!!

 

Don’t send a Chevy to do a Ford’s Job!

If you had told me 20 years ago that I would be driving a truck…and that truck would be loaded with hay for at least five months out of the year, I would have scoffed. But, drive a truck, I do…and it IS usually loaded with hay, grain, trees, or even inventory for festivals! (smiles)In 2003, I traded in my SUV for my truck because it was difficult trying to keep the inside clean when I was picking up hay!! (smiles) I had to wrap the hay bales in a plastic shower curtain and never roll the windows down in case the wind would cause the loose bits of clover, alfalfa, and orchard grasses to blow around inside the cab! (What a visual!!)

We had moved to KY from an intercoastal suburb area of Florida. At the beach, I didn’t really know anyone who drove a truck (shock and disbelief, I know!). Most had cars or SUVs. But, after living in KY for a year, and more importantly, on a farm, it was time to make some changes. Without too much coaxing, I was willing to forgo the look of the SUV for a truck. I knew I was being practical. However, within a few days of owning the truck, the kids and I were heading to church in dresses and heels. I remember being horrified that I had to climb up into the truck with a dress! Now, it is second nature…I had even forgotten the incident until now.

My brother used to tell me that our vehicle defines us. He had a Dually Ford 350 that he called Sugar Britches and another old/refurbished (practically classic) F150 that he called Ol’ Blue. He loved those trucks. He was proud I had a truck, but would tease that my F150 was just a baby! When my daughters were in the process of buying their first vehicles, he would counsel them to choose their vehicles wisely. Now, while I don’t really believe that my Ford truck defines me, I do love it and have come to depend on it for so many things, especially for the farm and farmwork!

A poster that used to hang in my room as a teenager stated: Do Not Follow Where the Path May Lead; Rather, Go Where There Is No Path and Leave a Trail.  For the past two weeks, we have had some pretty tough winter weather. This last week because of the snowfall, I have had to use my 4-wheel drive to and from town! The roads were in rough shape, but in my truck I was able to navigate anywhere and help friends (with cars) get to places they needed to be. It is especially fun to tease with many of the neighbors and farmers in my area about their vehicles—they seem to favor Chevy and Dodge; however, my loyalty will remain forever with Ford!

 

Potato Leek Soup

For about a week now, I have been craving a nice, hearty bowl of potato leek soup. The outside temperatures, winds, and horrible storms seemed to have prompted this craving. So, today, under blue skies yet freezing temperatures, I opened a hoop tunnel and harvested some of the necessary ingredients. Gathering what I need in my backyard makes recipes so easy—if I find that I need more of something, I just head back outside, not back to town.

As I began chopping the leeks, I realized that I only had approximately two cups and needed three…so, I headed back outside and harvested a few more.

After chopping the leeks, I sautéed them (for about 10 minutes) with 2 tablespoons butter to soften them before adding to the pot.

I wanted the soup that I made today to be broth based, not cream/milk based. I found a recipe that started with 4 cups of vegetable broth.

I peeled and diced 6 small to medium sized potatoes. It was a tough decision which type of potato to use…Russet or Yellow. The recipe recommended yellow – it’s rationale being that they were softer to begin with and would turn it “creamier” as they cooked down.

Truth be told, I was worried that it would be more of a vegetable soup than a creamy leek soup, but after pureeing some of the cooked potatoes, and adding that to the broth, the soup instantly became a bit “creamier”. I was happy that I had done it.

Marjoram, thyme, parsley, pepper were spices I added to the soup.

Warm soup, fresh greens, and a toasted sourdough panini were the makings of a pretty awesome lunch.  The soup in my bowl and the panini were almost gone before I realized that I hadn’t taken a photo!! (sorry!)

 

Heirloom vs Hybrid

I am embarrassed to say that for many years I never really cared which type of seeds I was growing; I just wanted it to grow!  (smiles) But lately, while studying the perks of each, I have definitely become an advocate for and fascinated by the heirloom vegetables seeds. Heirloom vegetables have been grown and perfected through the years, even centuries, most even having a family story of how the seeds came to be.

A few years ago, I hosted Appal Seed, an heirloom seed exchange program, at the town’s public library. The group came in and gave a presentation about the Appalachian Heirloom seeds that they share with farmers and small gardeners across our state. The part I had enjoyed the most were the stories and crazy tales that surrounded each of the seeds that they brought with them to share.  Sometimes a family feud had ensued or a long, lost treasure hunt had occurred to find a friend of a friend of a friend who might still have seeds from so-and-so’s garden!—Hence, the names of the seeds!

Heirloom seeds produce vegetables/seeds that are open-pollenated. You will want to save the seeds because the seeds growing during the “next generation” will look exactly like the parent plant. On the other hand, the hybrid vegetable could produce a “next generation” plant that looks NOTHING like the parent plant!!! (I think they might have some serious explaining to do! Smiles!!)

Heirloom plants don’t usually ripen all at once; instead, their harvest season is gradual and long lasting, which is perfect for the homesteader or small garden market. Hybrids on the other hand, have a large harvest all at once. This is ideally suited for the commercial gardener who plans to ship produce far and wide in great bulk.

Hybrid seeds are created by crossing two specially selected varieties. Even though this might mean higher yields, it is usually at the expense of taste and nutrition. If I am going to bother having a garden, I want the taste to be exceptional and I want the nutrients to be jam packed! Hybrid tomatoes are bred for high yields and durability for transportation. So, they are picked early and all at once, gas-ripened, and then shipped to grocers both near and far.

Heirloom seeds have withstood the test of time and selection. They have exceptional taste, high nutrient content, and usually have adapted to the region where they have been grown for generations. For me, that’s a winner.