Unseasonably Warm
November 22, 2009
Filed under EMS, Food, Glorious Food, Friends, Gardening, Homesteading, Local and/or Small Businesses, Weatha, Work
It’s been so beautifully warm here in Central New Hampshire for the last week or so. There was one morning with rain but it cleared out so Sun could shine and warm us mere humans up. Honestly, I could stand this weather till spring.
Wolf went up to Gitch’s Funny Farm yesterday to assist in the culling of turkeys. I don’t remember how many he and Erik ended up culling but I think two dozen. Wolf is exhausted but happy. He enjoys working with Erik and assisting up on their farm and would rather be body tired than brain tired.
This morning I asked Wolf “you realize you’re Erik’s apprentice now, right?” to which he replied “Yea, you’re right.” He then went on to say he’d like to spend some time with Doreen so she can teach him how she does her books, orders grain/feed and animals, and all the other stuff. So, Doreen, expect a call from Wolf about this in the near future.
The good news is Wolf and I have paid off a couple of our bills which will allow us to make bloated payments to other bills. This means we should be caught up by the middle of 2010. We’ll be able to save for a farm of our own! You have no idea how happy this makes us. This morning we sat down and made a list of things to research to include grants and mortgages, heritage breeds verses commercial breeds, etc.
The bad news is we’re going to have to move from this area. We’ll still be in New Hampshire but it depends on where I get a job. I’m going to apply for jobs in the Sunapee and Seacoast areas of NH. This means we’ll move somewhere between where I work and Concord (the state capital). The old saying goes “All roads lead to Rome.” It’s the same here in NH: all roads lead to Concord so it’s in the middle of the state essentially. This allows us to access farmers markets and coops in a much bigger area than if we stay where we are right now. While I’d love to stay where we live there just aren’t any jobs for me here without having to travel over an hour and that’s just not cool with me.
We’ve made the decision Wolf will quit his job and stay on the farm full time while I work. The good thing about that is I can (probably) work two 24 hour shifts so I’ll only be off farm two days a week. Our farm will be a combination of “just us” and profitable so we can sell a lot of what we grow.
Our plans: vegetables, fruits, honey, chicken, goat, and pig.
Of course, all of this depends on the economy and me getting a full time job which pays enough to support a farm. We’re totally open to suggestion so please comment early and often. Give us hints, tips, and advice!
November 8, 2009 
Good Autumn
October 28, 2009
Filed under Deep Thoughts, EMS, Faith, Friends, Good People, Herbalism, My Health/Appearance, Organizations, School, Wealthcare, Wheel of the Year, YouTube
The usual panic I feel around this time of the year has not come. Sometimes I feel the Black Dog lurking (hat tip to Winston). Anyone Facebook friends with me or Twitter will see my status occasionally says “The Black Dog is on the horizon.” or something like that. Mostly, though, I’m feeling good.
Over the last year I’ve been participating in a reiki share at D Acres. From that a small group formed a Heart Circle of which I’m one of the participants. We’ve been working hard are manifesting that which we want: abundance, respect, good health, love, etc. The women I Circle with have really taught me that I am my worst enemy (which I knew but didn’t know) and, by dwelling on the negative, I create my own unhappiness.
I’ve been able to trade reiki for food with one of the participants who is apprenticing to become a reiki master. She and I get together and she practices her reiki skills on me and I practice manifesting good things in my life, not just bad stuff like debt, bad attitudes, terrible workmates, etc.
Last week I took reiki I and plan to take reiki II and III so I too can become a reiki master. I’ve also decided I will be taking the herbalist class but not until 2011 (not until I’m done with this class). I’m considering taking the massage therapist class but I’m not sold on it. All the love and healing I’ve received over the last year has made me realize I want to — no, NEED to — balance out the chaos which always attracts me like a moth to a flame (that is, emergency medicine and western medicine) with trueness of healing though divinity and nature.
That said, I have to go study how to put IVs in.
First Frost
October 18, 2009
Filed under Chickens, Deep Thoughts, Gardening, My Health/Appearance, School, Weatha, Wheel of the Year
Though the area has been getting frost for the last week or so it just creeped up to our yard the other night.The basil is not shot to shit as is the catnip. Damn. I kept meaning to harvest it. Oh well.
Though we didn’t get any snow here on Howling Hill it’s been had in the area. I’m not looking forward to winter.
Turned the heat on. That sucked. Doing so meant winter was upon us. Closing the windows two weeks ago was also hard.
Getting ready to cull the chickens. Wolf plans to do so on Saturday I think.
I’m turning inward like I always do at this time of the year. Instead of fighting the inevitable depression I’m allowing it to come knowing it’ll pass.
School and work are taking all my time and energy. I’m so depleted already and I still have a year to go…
Hope all is well at your blog.
What Have I To Say For Myself?
I’ve been very remiss in blogging. So much so I think I’ve lost all my regular readers. As much as that sucks, I’m glad to say my life is busier than Times Square on New Years Eve. Well, maybe not too glad…
School and work have taken over my life. I do not have two days in a row off which really sucks. I’ve been very, very tired totally sapped of energy and strength. I haven’t had time to clean my house or do laundry, or be in the garden. Time has gotten so scarce for me Wolf and I have been contemplating finding Athena a new home.
We pulled up the garden a few weeks back and let the chickens in to do their thing. The garden did not do well this year at all. The tomatoes were blighted and the rain in the first half of the summer was just unrelenting. Even the beans I planted didn’t do well. However, the carrots and potatoes did good considering.
I’m not shutting this blog down but I’ll be absent from it for long periods. Between school and work, well…you know how it goes. It actually wouldn’t be too bad if I had internet at work but I don’t.
I’m leaving you with this in hopes you’ll use it to create abundance in your life. I’ve been watching it and meditating on creating an abundance of energy, money, time, attention, and good grades.
How to Eat a Lobster
I put this photo-tutorial together while on vacation. Sorry for the funky lighting.
So, from the beginning!
The tools for eating a lobster: bib, nutcracker, pokey-thing, and wetnap. I don’t use the poky-thing (I use my fingers) but all the other stuff I do use. The bib is very important because lobster is one messy crustacean. Mostly it’s the hot water the lobster is boiled in which becomes messy. Regardless, you will get some on your shirt so I recommend the bib depsite the knowledge that you will look like a dork.
II shows a lobster before I’ve started eating it. To start, turn it over so it’s back is on the plate like I have it. Once you get it on its back, start eating the legs. To do this, twist and pull the leg at the point where it meets the body. There isn’t much meat in the legs but the juice is yummy to suck out. This is also a great way to introduce your kids to lobster. Believe me when I say there is nothing cooler than being five years old and thinking to yourself “I just sucked a lobster’s leg!”
Moving on to trois, you’ll note I’ve pulled all the legs off and sucked out the juice/meat. It doesn’t take long, only a few minutes.
Numero quatro portrays a lack of claws. Now, there’s some debate here. Some (most I dare say) believe the tail is the best meat but I disagree. I think the claws taste best so I pull them off the same way I pull the legs off and put the two claws aside to save for last. That’s what I’ve done in this picture.
Go is the pulled off claws with the meat taken out. To do this the nutcracker is needed because the spiky things on the lobster are brutal to your hands which will be sensitive because the lobster is hot. Crack the shell with the nutcracker (like in the picture below) then peel it apart a bit. Pull the meat out with the poky-thing, or your fingers. I choose the latter because I (sometimes) like to eat my food with my hands.
Sieben. I forgot to take a picture of me dismantling the tail so I’ll do the best I can to describe it. First you have to pull the tail from the body. To do this you tip the whole lobster onto it’s back then snap backwards against the grain. Twist apart. IMPORTANT: there’s all kinds of water in there so make sure you do this over the plate, bowl for the shell (the waitstaff should give you one) or onto the floor if you’re in a dive. Onto the ground works if you’re outside. Tip the body and tail letting all the water drain out.
Once you’ve drained the water, put the head aside. Now, take the tail and hold it horizontally so its little tail fins are in your right hand (or left, it doesn’t matter. I’m right handed so…). Then squeeze in until you hear the shell crack. Once you’ve done this, put the body vertically so the tail fins are near your belly and pull the shell apart using your thumbs to pull away from the middle of the tail. Take the meat out.
After getting the meat out, carefully split it down the middle. See the digestive track? DON’T eat it. Rather, carefully pull it out making sure you get all the poop. It’s preferable if you don’t break the poop-shoot cuz then it’s easy to just peel it out of the tail meat. If you come across some green stuff don’t worry about it. It’s edible. Watch for eggs in a female lobster. I think you can eat them but I’m not sure.
ÅttaThe head is the last bit. Now, there is some meat up there but you really have to dig around for it. I don’t bother but my Aunt Elaine does. She thinks the best tasting meat is up there but, as I said, I think the claw meat is the tastiest.
Nove Empty plate. If you’re wondering where all the shell went, it’s in a bowl to my left.
ЭтотWashing your hands with the wetnap is important to get all the goo off. No matter how many times you wash your hands (wetnap, soap, clorax) the smell will remain for a few hours so I don’t recommend trying to get romantic with your love until after the smell wares off.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.
Hello Autumn
It’s autumn here in central New Hampshire. Though the weather is the best it’s been all year, the nights are cool, the bugs are dwindling (thankfully), the fog is thick in the morning, and I’m busy as hell.
Garden-wise this year has been terrible. Part of the reason for such a bad harvest is because I planted late and didn’t start any seeds in February this year. I stopped doing that a couple years back because the cats kept eating the sprouts. The trailer is too damned small to have any sort of quiet place sans cats for seeds to sprout so I just stopped doing that. Between the late start, dry spring, cool temps, and constant ran in June and July, the garden just did terrible. I didn’t even get that many beans.
Another reason for the terrible gardening these last couple years is because of the trees. Howling Hill is a very wooded plot. Pine and maple trees tower over the trailer. There is very little open space thus very little sun which gets in. While the lack of sun has always been the bane of my (summer) existence, the fact is the trees are taller now than ever before, thus they block out even more sun. This is great in that it doesn’t get too hot in the trailer but in the winter it’s freaking cold because — you guessed it — the sun doesn’t come in. Having the trees taken down is something I’ve thought of but to do all the ones which need to be done will be about $1000 and that’s a lot of money to spend, especially since we don’t have and and especially especially since we want to move. $1000 is $1000 closer to a down payment. I just can’t justify spending that much money.
I’m seriously wondering if I will even plant next year. Wolf didn’t help out in the garden like he promised with planting, weeding, and picking and I can’t do it all. Besides, next summer I’ll be flat out with the class I’m taking. There’s no way I can do it if he doesn’t help and he’s not helping so I can’t do it. And I don’t want to nag him to get him motivated so I think there will be no garden next year.
I found this article on my Twitter feed a few days back. I think I’ll send the seeds I have to this organization. I’ll keep a few for myself but otherwise I think I’ll give the rest away.
We got four more chickens so now we have 10. Two have stopped laying because I think they’re being bullied. Does that sound right?
As I said I’m taking a class (don’t ask) so I’ll be flat out. With the work schedule I have (Tues, Thurs, Sat 7a-10p) I don’t have much time. Class is on Monday from 8a-5p so that leaves Wed, Fri, and Sun for me to do homework and all the other stuff (dog walking, house cleaning, sleeping).
After years of trying to figure out what I want most I finally did this year: a wife. Wolf and I need someone to do the cooking, cleaning, gardening, dog walking, etc so we can get some rest, have some friends, and do a little hanging out.
I’m tired. So effing tired I could sleep for a month. Just another 14 months of this before…something. Hopefully my schedule will let up some when I’m done with class but I don’t see that happening.
