Well, I didn't quite plan it this way on purpose, but this seems to be travel time for me. A couple weeks ago to New England to visit my folks, this past weekend to VA to a friend's campground and in a week and a half I head to North Carolina...a 10 and 1/2 hour drive! Yikes! But it will be a great time. Just me and Ama (car) on a road trip....
Homestead wise, things are slow. Still no baby rabbits *grrrr*. My "little" chick died (drowned in the water while I was away this weekend...my brother was taking care of everyone but he was at work a lot) :-( Everyone else is being their normal selves. Although the missing cat Freya showed back up after a couple months...she completely disappeared and just "appeared" Monday and is really skinny. So, I am feeding her and Rothgar lots of food....hopefully I will have salmon skin for them tomorrow and extra tuna and stuff on top of cat food.
Monday I went hunting. Got my butt up and going at 3:30am...drove to my favorite site (woods and fields, wetlands and river all together) and was up in stand and settled by 5:30am. The stars were beautiful and I had a great view of Venus. I saw two shooting stars and watched the sun rise, listened to the world wake up. I could hear a Blue Heron on the river, heard a couple different kinds of owls and a fox. I had seen deer on the side of the road as I drove to the site...but that was way too early. As the sun rose there were no deer where I was, unfortunately, but I did see 4 wild turkeys...they came within about 50 feet of the stand.
The rest of the day was all about homesteading: got straw, got feed, got apples and made a mess of my new car! I picked a basket full of plum tomatoes, parsley and basil! Yumm Yumm! Will be making pesto tonight, freezing basil in cubes and putting the tomatoes on for dehydrating along with another batch of jerky. I made jerky, couple loaves of bread, yogurt and cheese just before I left for the weekend Thursday night. The jerky we ate during the weekend.
The cheese I had on flat bread with dinner last night which was my very first Moussaka, fresh local eggplant and tomatoes, local ground bison and pork. Nom Nom! And I have more for lunch today!
This weekend: more hunting, getting truck load of straw, need some corn to fatten chickens going to freezer next week - tackling my studio...etc.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Highland Cattle and changing leaves
Well, it seemed everyone in NYC and NJ had the same idea I did...going to Vermont and New Hampshire this past weekend. It was a gorgeous weekend but I did not care for the average of 30mph through most of NJ and NY. I go the bit of a long way but much prettier and usually not as busy. I refuse to go through NYC and Hartford and those other horrible to drive in places. (loved living in NYC many years ago...but not for me now)
Anyway, other than the not so lovely traffic, it was a lovely weekend. My rental car has a sunroof so I took full advantage of it and the great weather. Saturday my mother and I went to their town's harvest fair...it was quite busy for a little town. I had lobster for lunch! Later we went to an apple orchard and they were packed! There was a wedding going on (what a 
beautiful setting...perfect cloudless day, leaves turning and the mountains in the background - not a great pic but you get the idea)...turned out it was my father's co-workers wedding...small towns... my Mom and I got a couple bags of apples and she bought us icecream...I am a sucker for good icecream, I had apple pie ice cream...it was SOOOO good! Then we went home and she made us paella with oysters, scallops and shrimp...yummy!
beautiful setting...perfect cloudless day, leaves turning and the mountains in the background - not a great pic but you get the idea)...turned out it was my father's co-workers wedding...small towns... my Mom and I got a couple bags of apples and she bought us icecream...I am a sucker for good icecream, I had apple pie ice cream...it was SOOOO good! Then we went home and she made us paella with oysters, scallops and shrimp...yummy! 
Sunday my Mom and Dad and I went to a Highland Cattle festival. I love the "fuzzy cows" and these ones were super friendly. Here is a picture of the valley and Mt. Kearsarge where my parents live from the farm. 
Here a couple pics of the fuzzy cows...me with a baby and one of Blu Moo who was very pretty and let me pet her too!
My Mom and I cooked a good dinner together Sunday night. We picked up squash and eggplant at the festival Saturday so I roasted those like I usually do, she picked up highland cattle sausage so we had that along side and then she made apple pie for dessert and we had with a dollop of local sweet cream icecream. Was very yummy!
Then I headed home...I wandered around Vermont in the morning though. I stopped by King Arthur Flour which is about an hour from my folks...picked up a 50lb bag of bread flour (I did this last year with the all purpose flour and it works great...I divide it up into large ziplocks, add a couple bay leaves to keep buggies out and it is so much cheaper, as fresh or fresher than the grocery store and available!) Then I took the pretty route 9 out (the route hit hard by Irene...you could still see a lot of damage but they did a great job fixing the roads up so quickly!). I picked up a couple handmade in VT cutting boards (I got one last year too just for baking...so now I have an exclusive cheese board and veggie board) and supporting the stores in that hard hit area is a good thing. Below is a picture of the river in New Hampshire near where my parents live (taken from the covered bridge) 
and a pic along the road in Vermont.
bit of a change and more tightening of the belt...
...but it will be good in the long run! So, first an update and then pics (next post)!
My car was towed TWICE last week...it received a new ignition the week before, towed Monday night, a new starter on Tuesday and on Wednesday...I was stuck on the side of the road with something obviously melting. So...after two months of this I finally just sat down in my car, on the side of the road and cried. You know...I had been handeling it all pretty well...would complain a bit, was frustrated but was still saying things like, well at least I was at work when my car wouldn't start...yada yada, it could be worse. Well, Wednesday, on my way to class...all the looking at things as "could be worse"...out the window...well, I couldn't even open the window because the electric and everything died in the car so I was sitting in the car on the side of the road sweltering. So...I just sat there and cried while I waited for the tow truck. I called my folks and said I couldn't make it up this weekend and went home with my car since I wasn't going back to the same mechanic...they had actually been nasty with me on the phone....checked on the featherheads and went to bed.
After I calmed down, I thought about renting the car for the weekend...took the trip to see the folks, which was terrible traffic wise but great otherwise. Had lots of fun with my Mom especially (details in next post) and thought about my car situation on the long drive (the normally 10 hour drive took 13 hours on Monday). I looked around and realized that a regular "used" car was not that far off the price of a new car. I also realized that the car I really wanted was a $30 difference than the much cheaper made one. Well, except for the pickup but that wasn't in the budget and Ford turned down my credit (no one else turned me down). So...I have a 1 year old Subaru Forester! It is really what I wanted but didn't think I could afford (well I can't but it is no different than any other brand of car). It has LOTS of room and is AWD and has the roof rack. My NEED was a vehicle with room for a couple hay bales or a big dog crate and a roof rack for my kayak. I wanted AWD or 4WD and I need not too high a gas mileage. Most of all, it NEEDS to be reliable! Well, I got all my wants and needs in my new car! She is a misty green color and her name is Amadahy meaning "forest water" in Cherokee (Ama for short). Now, she and Aerandir (kayak) and I will have many adventures together...and carry lots of stuff! (might wait on the stinky feather heads and such for awhile...she is actually clean! My old car still has straw all over the place and a few stray feathers!)
So...anyone following this blog knows I am working on buying as little food wise as possible...it is about to get even more frugal around here! I guess my compound bow will have to wait a bit though. *sigh*
My car was towed TWICE last week...it received a new ignition the week before, towed Monday night, a new starter on Tuesday and on Wednesday...I was stuck on the side of the road with something obviously melting. So...after two months of this I finally just sat down in my car, on the side of the road and cried. You know...I had been handeling it all pretty well...would complain a bit, was frustrated but was still saying things like, well at least I was at work when my car wouldn't start...yada yada, it could be worse. Well, Wednesday, on my way to class...all the looking at things as "could be worse"...out the window...well, I couldn't even open the window because the electric and everything died in the car so I was sitting in the car on the side of the road sweltering. So...I just sat there and cried while I waited for the tow truck. I called my folks and said I couldn't make it up this weekend and went home with my car since I wasn't going back to the same mechanic...they had actually been nasty with me on the phone....checked on the featherheads and went to bed.
After I calmed down, I thought about renting the car for the weekend...took the trip to see the folks, which was terrible traffic wise but great otherwise. Had lots of fun with my Mom especially (details in next post) and thought about my car situation on the long drive (the normally 10 hour drive took 13 hours on Monday). I looked around and realized that a regular "used" car was not that far off the price of a new car. I also realized that the car I really wanted was a $30 difference than the much cheaper made one. Well, except for the pickup but that wasn't in the budget and Ford turned down my credit (no one else turned me down). So...I have a 1 year old Subaru Forester! It is really what I wanted but didn't think I could afford (well I can't but it is no different than any other brand of car). It has LOTS of room and is AWD and has the roof rack. My NEED was a vehicle with room for a couple hay bales or a big dog crate and a roof rack for my kayak. I wanted AWD or 4WD and I need not too high a gas mileage. Most of all, it NEEDS to be reliable! Well, I got all my wants and needs in my new car! She is a misty green color and her name is Amadahy meaning "forest water" in Cherokee (Ama for short). Now, she and Aerandir (kayak) and I will have many adventures together...and carry lots of stuff! (might wait on the stinky feather heads and such for awhile...she is actually clean! My old car still has straw all over the place and a few stray feathers!)
So...anyone following this blog knows I am working on buying as little food wise as possible...it is about to get even more frugal around here! I guess my compound bow will have to wait a bit though. *sigh*
Sunday, October 9, 2011
what a week...
I have been away from here for awhile...well a week or so. I have had some major issues with my car, like it was "fixed" and I payed money for that...then it died again...then it was "fixed" again and then it completely died leaving me on the side of the road on the way to class with something melting in my car. Yeah...kinda of lost it then. *sigh* So, long story short, I ended up renting a car and coming to see my folks in NH anyway. And next week...completely up in the air due to car. I can't afford a new car but I might be getting one anyway and even more cinching my belt...ALOT.
Anyway, last weekend was fun...went out briefly Saturday morning looking for deer, nobody was running...which is what I figured...so got ready and spend the day with friends at the Renn Faire and then an incredible German restaraunt...have to learn how to make Schnitzle! Sunday was homesteading day...was sooo tired but spent nearly 8 hours outside working on little things, playing with my turkeys and then got 4 meaties in the freezer (well soaking in the fridge)...cut into breasts for me, legs for soon to be made into sausage and bits and pieces for my puppy.
This weekend is with the folks and yesterday was apple picking and a harvest festival with my Mom and today going to a Highland Cattle festival with my Dad...FUZZY COWS! I fell in love with them in Scotland...am looking forward to it. Tomorrow on my way home I will hit King Arthur flour to get bulk supplies and then take my time going through Vermont and heading home.
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