As the Spindle Turns . . .

With regard to gardening and self sufficiency:

Two things struck me this weekend, one is self sufficiency. I've followed any number of self sufficient homesteads and farms. There are guides for how much to plant for each person, how much land do you need, etc. Even people with 3 acres of land still buy certain staples. If you are eating a plant based diet, most will admit that you can only grow 80 % of your own food. They buy flour, sugar, salt, and oil/fats to fill their pantry. Making jelly and jam takes a lot of sugar, even using a low sugar recipe (or Pomona pectin). Pickles need vinegar with a specific acidity to avoid spoilage and disease. Everyone likes a treat every once in a while too, like coffee or chocolate. Screw the new food pyramid. 60% of the people developing it have stock in the companies it benefits. My garden plan reflects food I actually eat and how frequently. Example, I ran out of frozen beans by January 1st. I need to plant more than I did, probably double.

I figure that I can only grow 60% max of what our family eats. Another homesteader recommends 25 pounds of white rice, 25 pounds of quick oats, 25 pounds of flour, and a couple pounds of salt, plus a couple gallons of vinegar for a typical family of 4 for a 3 month period. I think the idea was to keep achieving food storage goals, first for 3 weeks without shopping and then 3 months. The person I watched was not US based so it had nothing to do with the current political climate. It was just general prepping. Since that person was a farmer, I think that is a good rule of thumb. She also mentioned pasta.

A lot of my harvest is weather dependent. If we have a late frost, I lose the stone fruit tree harvest. Some trees only produce big every other year. Then there is the late season drought which kills my attempt at fall crops. We have one very frequently. In the stupid high temperatures caused by climate change, squash won't even produce. It's a tricky balancing act. Don't even get me started on bugs and critters. This year I hope to get more fencing set up to prevent some of my usual problems. It always comes down to finances.

The other video I watched was on design. While I'd like to setup a watering system, I am not sure if I can. Water should be planned before anything else. I need gutterwork and may eventually move an IBC tub up the hill, but a first flush system needs to be setup as well as a leaf-catcher. Piping costs money too. Finding a reliable contractor who will actually listen to me, a mere female, that's another thing entirely. The garage may be missing a facia board and other side's gutter isn't exactly attached. A previous contractor cemented the PVC drainpipe to the driveway on the downhill side. The garage is built into the hill. I need the water to run in the opposite direction. Also I hate PVC. The glue they use makes me violently ill. Then there is the matter of overflow or winter drainage. A tape measure will determine if the IBC tub is even short enough to get under the gutter. If it fits, it would mean moving the compost pallets and rejiggering the potato garden. It could be done, but it depends on whether the last contractors did what I asked them to do. Then I'll need pipe fittings for that IBC. I won't be able to put it up on blocks for a watering can. There's a lot to take into account. The designer I watched would have me use 3 IBC tubs for the size of my garden. No space for that up the hill, just one fits.

I've drawn up plans for another set of garden beds. Once the weather clears, I'll get out and take measurements to see if they'll fit where I want them. I've 6 new raised beds that'll need soil. I also need metal conduit. Infrastructure isn't cheap. I'll be using a lot of scrap wood that's been kicking around too.

I am dreaming of spring and new beginnings. I won't be self sufficient, but I hope to grow 400 pounds of produce. Will it be 60% of my groceries? I think I need more infrastructure to do that. I already know I can't begin to grow enough peas, carrots, tomatoes or corn (raccoons). I've never been successful with onions, but I hope this year is different. (dratted squirrels)

While the false spring was here, I did spend time clearing the area behind the garage. I think it'll become my potato patch. I checked out the sun angles. In spring and summer, it'll get morning and afternoon sun. Parts will have full sun. There is room between the hazelnuts to put an old bench that a neighbor discarded. I can give it a coat of linseed oil or polyurethane. Then it can hold about 5 potato grow bags. I have in mind to make a makeshift bed with wood boards, rebar and cinder blocks. The steps to the attic of the garage can hold four more containers of potatoes and the wire mesh corner bench can hold 6 more grow bags of potatoes. That's 21 potato plants.

Potatoes are one of the first plants I start outside in March. It also means that it is the first area I need to have ready to go. The weeds have been pulled and grass has been sickled. The compost pile has grown significantly. It's also located right there. I need to turn the pile regularly as soon as temperatures get above freezing. I have a tarp to put up there to flip the pile. The ground will get covered with cardboard and woodchips. The bench has got to be hauled up there too. That'll be the hard part.

Rock wall on the bottom of the picture. From the 2022 incident:


The branches from the fallen Siberian Elm have been removed. I also was given a set of RV steps out of treated wood. I plan to use those on the rock wall. When the Elm fell, the rock wall kind of scattered and needs to be rebuilt. It was a 100 year old tree. It had three major trunks. Two fell at various times on my poor garage. Last year my neighbor took the rest of the tree out entirely. The area has sun now.

2022




The building is the garage. North is up. The curve is the rock wall. The H is a hellabore. The (P) persimmons and currant bush never got planted. One persimmon graft died and we don't know if the base stock survived. Persimmons need two to bear fruit. We could not obtain a second. The company read the original zone wrong and had it listed as zone 6 but it was actually a 9. I'm in zone 6. They refuse to sell me a zone 9 plant. If it died in the drought, I will replace the existing tree with a willow, currently growing in a pot. The three tiered wire rack will go where the currant bush was planned.

By removing the branches and portable steps, the ground hog hole has been exposed. The neighbor did leave mothballs there to deter the skunks. The mothballs offended some critter. It left me two huge piles of poop. It looks like small pellets. but the piles are large. Raccoon, ground hog or skunk, maybe even deer? I didn't notice any tracks when it snowed.

I've been watching the Back-to-Eden video as well as Ruth Stout on how she grows potatoes. My wooden boards will define an area for me to try a Ruth Stout garden. I need the compost to create ground on top of the cardboard. The boards are 6 ft long. Cinderblocks will be the end caps. Those are 18" wide. That will be the new potato bed, holding 6 plants, covered in straw.

I'm back inside because we've had snow flurries all day. I've sharpened my pencil and I am planning out what to plant and when. Some seed packets are old and may not germinate. I am doing a trial batch of onions. The seed is from 2024. In two weeks, if it doesn't sprout, I will start over with a different pack of seeds. I also have onion bulb sets coming later in spring. I have more garden plan sketching to do. I've outlined 17 crops that I want in the garden. I have in mind to grow 400 pounds of food. I have tons of flower seed packets too.

On that note, as the temperature drops again, I need to bring in my cabbage plant and a pot of herbs. They were on the front porch getting some vague sunshine. Hopefully this makes sense. I have a hard time articulating the pictures in my head.

It started with a batch of Kefir gone wrong. I wasn't about to throw it out, not at today's prices of milk. Muffins were the answer. Banana Nut Muffins, Cranberry Orange muffins and Date Nut Bread (muffins). Except by the time I got to baking the date nut, I had to half the recipe but I accidentally put the full amount of sugar in. Oops! They are caramelized. The freezer is full and breakfast is a no brainer.

The wind has picked up to something fierce. The temperature is dropping like a stone. The power went out long enough to screw up appliances. I was in the basement when it happened. Lots of thoughts run through my head when things like that happen. Starting with "Oh no, not again". One year we did lose power for a week in 20 degree F temps. A lot of prep has to happen to survive that.

After another run to the doctor for my husband, it started snowing horizontally. No one ever likes to see that. It was originally forecast for later in the day. We made it home and got him up the hill before it became slippery. I treated him to a nice omelet for lunch and a movie afterwards. He had thrown his hips out as well as both thighs. The adjustment was painful. He deserved a treat.

Meanwhile, I tackled a mountain of dishes. I am working on a major grocery resupply list. We get a quarterly discount at the food co-op. It resets on January 1st but we don't get a retirement check until the 14th. By then, the list will be long. I took a good look at our dry goods. First, we have some that don't need the giant container that they are in. Whole foods has smaller Le Parfait jars on sale. I made a list. I also cleaned up older jars and replaced old sealing rings. For things like camomile that we aren't using a lot of, it went into a smaller jar. I got myself a Mason Genie or something like it. I sealed several jars to keep the dried herbs fresher longer. Organizing the shelves was immensely satisfying because now I can actually see what I have. Rice and pasta is on the top shelf. Flours are down a shelf. Dried beans and other things like salt or arrowroot are on the next shelf down. The kitchen makes a whole lot more sense now.



Empty jars got washed. Oh the dust! Some got put away once they dried. Some things still need to be transferred to smaller jars after the smaller jars are good and dry. Now it's dinner time. Reheating leftovers will save time. Tomorrow is my daughter's appointment with a surgeon. Fortunately, the snow was just a dusting.

After supper, I'll go back to watching Lord of the Rings to finish my knitting. In my head, it's called Lord of the Strings.

The weather doesn't seem to agree. It went from mid 50's to mid 20's and 30 degrees. there weren't any 40s in there at all. No. It'll be in the teens this weekend as a high temperature. Then it goes to mid 40s. What a crazy thing!

The week has been very busy, even for me. Work cancelled because of supply chain issues. In going to the grocery store to buy produce, what a disappointment! All the fresh produce from CA had been affected by the bitter cold temperatures across the plains. The oranges were very sad. The lettuce looked obviously frost bitten. Whole Foods threw away all the zucchini. The Food Co-op didn't but boy, they were sad. We bought frozen green beans and some peas. I went through all my homegrown yellow beans already. We've had a lot of stews. In another week, I'll be able to harvest lettuce and spinach in the basement. I usually grow them indoors in winter. I'll wait until temperatures go up on Tuesday to check on my outdoor cabbages. They are under two layers of covers.

This week has been all about the cookies. I made sugar cookies from a friend's recipe. I made Russian teacakes with pecans. Under consideration are:

* apricot oatmeal cookies
* molasses ginger refrigerator slices
* shortbread with cranberries and pistachios
* fudge
* gingerbread
* chocolate shortbread
* thumbprint cookies

A few years back, I picked up bon appetite's cookie magazine. We also have a 1980s copy of the Betty Crocker Cookie Book. Searches at the library yielded little. A lot of people beat us to the shelves. The same people must also be responsible for the empty shelves of butter. Three stores we had to go to! I ordered butter through Azure Standard. It'll be here Tuesday. Chrono may make some vanilla biscotti if she is up to it.



I am great at making lists, not so much for getting it all done. I am freezing some of each batch of cookies. It's the only way to ensure a variety. The chocolate cherry cookies are all gone already. I might have to make another batch. It is possible that I'll make a chocolate Reeses Pieces batch. My base recipe is the Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe but I add a 1/4 cup baking cocoa and then the Reeses Pieces. With the chocolate cherry, I did the same but soaked dried sweet cherries in Kirsch. With my oatmeal apricot, I have the dried apricots chopped and soaking in brandy to rehydrate them.



This could also happen:


I just zested an orange. Navels came in to Whole Foods in okay shape. We'll see. I work the 20th and 21st. It screws with my hips to stand, unmoving for hours on end at work. I may not be able to stand in my own kitchen afterwards. It happened last weekend. It was too painful to move. Today they called and wanted me to work the Friday and Monday of the same weekend. I said no. I know my limitations. Two days is all I can manage. Next year, I am hoping to concentrate more on my own business.

Yes, I did dye yarn this week. I got some beautiful shades of pine green. There will be pictures once it's all wound into skeins. Meanwhile, I need to make 50 hats by the end of April. It's a tall order. Currently, I am making a petal hat in onion skin-dyed wool, a rich shade of yellow. With Jaggerspun closed, I have to dye all my own yarn to shades that I want to work with. It has changed my color palette a bit, but it also takes longer time-wise.

Well, really it started yesterday. My husband had a doctor's appointment. The street was parked full. I had the Jetta at the bottom of the driveway since it bottoms out and cannot go up. Yeah, we live on a hill. I was trying to figure out how to manage Hubby and a vehicle. The van was turned the wrong way. Finally folks left to go to work and I was able to move the car. I grabbed the keys and was going to drive the van out and turn it around so Hubby could get in. He is mobility impaired.

The van wouldn't start. The ignition sounded like a rapid fire machine gun. I had to allow extra time to get Hubby safely down the hill and into the other car. All good. Appointment happened. Everything was good. I called my mechanic and explained the noise. He said it meant not enough current was reaching the starter. Just jump it. As we tried to open it, the hood latch jammed. Decided to run errands first. We ran errands in the other car. A storm was coming in with a lot of snow. We got the Jetta gas after trying more than one station. Joan, the Jetta is a picky eater. She currently has a taste for Shell gasoline, 93 octane. Give her some slack, she is 23 years old. She knows what will keep her running. There are no stations near us. We hit up a grocery store first near a Shell station and headed over around 3 pm. No gas, pumps are being worked on. At this point, the next closest station was all the way over near my mechanic. I called him from there. Explained that the van's hood release was jammed. He recommended percussive maintenance. As soon as I got home and groceries were put away, we grabbed a bite to eat (plus fed Hubby) and headed out to try again. Bingo. Hood up, van jumped. Now for a ride to recharge.

I headed to the pharmacy to pickup Hubby's prescription. It was a drive through. Then on to fill up a tire with air. I left her run while filling up on air at Sheetz. Rush hour traffic was in full swing. We headed north, away from traffic. Chrono had a hankering for Baba Ghanoush (effectively hummus but made with roasted eggplant instead of chickpeas). We went to our favorite Lebanese restaurant and ordered take out. Chrono stayed in the running van. Then we headed home. We drove for over two hours. I was getting low on gas.

Got into the driveway. Turned off the engine. Decided to see if she'd start again. Nope. We need a new battery. Tuesday morning, I, at least got in a shower. There are 4" of snow on the ground. I called the mechanic. He agreed with my diagnosis. I told him I'd be in after the snow stopped. I called off work. I will miss the income but I needed to deal with the battery issue. I have more gigs this weekend. It needs to be fixed by then.

In theory, I could have walked to AutoZone and bought a battery - however, been there and tried to do that before. One needs a very long extension to a wrench to remove the battery. Not happening in the snow. Last time they almost lost the nut. It really needs to happen indoors from underneath. But, I can't just jump the van. I have to clear snow first. I spent a good hour clearing both vehicles and shoveling the street so the vehicles could move freely. It isn't going above freezing anytime soon. The heavy/slushy snow will freeze into a solid block. Both vehicles got cleared as well as our long driveway and the street area.

Time to eat something. I reheated leftovers. Then I headed with the gas can over to a filling station. I gave the van a drink. Now I could manage the 16 (or 20) miles to the mechanic's. He lives above the garage so no worries there. I went over her specific needs. Yes, it's also time for an oil change. With the snow, honestly, the most important thing was to get the windshield fluid fixed. Somewhere there is a leak. It shouldn't hold a whole gallon of washer fluid. I have a hunch I poured it onto the ground. Evelyn the Eurovan gets a spa day tomorrow. She's my baby, only 22 years old with 381,000 miles at least.

From 2010


But the day isn't over. We were out of water. Living in fracking country with a huge number of strange cancers, we don't necessarily have safe water. They'd like us to believe it, but somehow I don't.
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/families-demand-answers-pa-health-dept-cancer-cluster-findings/

We headed to a different grocery store to stock up on meat, cheese, and water. Tomorrow we'll head back to get the results (bill) of Evelyn's spa day. Thursday we load the vehicle and Friday is setup at the craft fair. It's been a week and it is only Tuesday. Chrono has a hernia from surgery earlier this year. I need to be her road crew. She really shouldn't lift stuff.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DRV--Rsjd3l/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

There were a lot of "call-offs" at work so I took an extra shift. I worked Friday, Sunday and Tuesday. I need arch support if I continue to do this. I bought another pair of the same shoe style in April before the tariffs hit. They were already using cheaper material and had no arch support at all. Same model number. I didn't need to have to make another purchase of Dr. Scholl's. I have the old shoes and wore them to do gardening today in the mud. They definitely have arch support. I've worn the shoes down to threadbare though. I may try switching out the inserts.

I do food demo's. I can't believe it's been 8 years.


I collected more chicken manure wood chips on Wednesday. Today we went to work on the Pomegranate tree. It outgrew its wire protection mesh. Despite the thorns, the deer have been munching on the leaves anyway. I put on a wider diameter mesh circle. It got fed wood chips too. The deer had been there and ate our jack o'lanterns. It was kind of a mess. The remains got pushed over the terrace edge into the sedum. They could come back. Chrono spotted five deer on her last walk around the block.

To get wide enough wire mess, I had to move a compost pile that was aging in the wire cage. The completed compost got added to the herb spiral. I had to fix some of the bricks as deer cut through there and knock over my bricks. Since the compost mesh was also protecting my peach tree, I had to make a makeshift cage for that as well. The deer eat the bark in winter and kill the trees.

While I was at it, I moved two menhirs, I mean cinderblocks, into my retaining wall. The I added the unfinished compost and twigs behind the blocks. So yes, more fussing in the garden and feeding my soil organisms. I did encounter some happy worms.

I've been thinking a lot about COP 30 and climate change. If we stopped using fossil fuels today, we would still hit 2.4 degrees C of temperature rise and it would take about a thousand years to go back to something resembling normal. It needs to be on everyone's mind instead of the Epstein files. (Not that locking up pedo's isn't important. It's not a one or the other situation. We can focus on more than one thing) It's just that we have hit tipping points. The public needs to be aware of the consequences of big oil running our policies and politics. I'd love to see more people implementing permaculture designs into their yards and a lot less lawn worship. I think if easy to implement solutions are applied, we can change things. It would give us a sense of doing something instead of hopelessness.

For me, feeding my soil micro-organisms was a top priority today. I'd also like to look at planting more native species. Again, I was inspired by "Crime Pays, but Botany Doesn't" at just how much work and benefits can be achieved by planting native species, like cooling the soil, retaining water, increased biodiversity, etc. . Look up Joey on YouTube if you are not familiar. Meanwhile, there is still plenty more chicken manured woodchips at my farmer's place. She operates a regenerative farm in Western PA. The baby chicks had been in this enclosure before getting big enough to be put on pasture. The manure is already a bit aged. I figure I need at least 6 more garbage bins full to fulfill my needs. Fewer people are raking leaves to leave on the curb. The Leave the Leaves movement has gained momentum. I am happy about that. That means we'll have more fireflies, among other things. I love the fireflies.



Next year's seed includes Milkweed to cut down on Spotted Lantern flies. I'll be putting in with my roses. I am also thinking about flowers that feed monarchs throughout the growing season. They enjoyed the Mexican Sunflowers a lot. It's hard to plan what will bloom and when. The Scabiosa decided to bud today. This is a second round for them. I also saw a barn swallow by the interstate. I thought they were supposed to migrate. That was also concerning. It is a shame that so many people are disconnected from the environment. But then it's a shame we have no time except to work and eat. I wish everyone had time to stop and smell the flowers.

Scabiosa

but don't have much to show for it.Today was farm day. That means I needed to have clean, dry milk half gallons (glass) with lids all washed to go back to the farm so I can pick up next week's. I did a mammoth amount of dishes. No, we don't have a functional dish washer, just me. I finished drying and putting away last night's dishes and washed more today. The milk jars went into the food dehydrator to dry. I had to finish drying tomatoes so I was running it anyway.

I filled water jugs in case we lost power. We have a wicked wind happening plus the X5.1 solar storm. I went out to see if I could run the walnut dye bath, ah, no. Too windy. The temperature dip into the mid 20's polished off the potatoes. I tossed those into the garage, grow bags and all to wait for spring. The mandala garden got a couple more panels added to keep deer out over winter. After the tree fell, there was a bit of re-organizing fencing in the mandala garden.

My farmer said I could have the early chicken brood bedding - that involved some preparation on my part. I needed a bin with a tight fitting lid to put the bedding into. Unfortunately, it already had wood chips from the mulberry chipping earlier this year. I'd been given a woodworker's garbage bin (no lid) that was on its last legs. I managed to dump the stuff that was in that (all garbage really) and move the chips into that. They were half decayed anyway and very moist. Then, I dragged it up to the garage near where it'll go onto a path in spring. One task done.

At some point I had dug out clay out of a bed and put it into a 5 gallon bucket. Could not begin to say how many years ago. The bucket was chipping apart. The "dirt" was more like silt. I spread that along my retaining wall, except the bucket broke apart. Most of the silt made it. The bucket got trashed. Well, one less thing on the back porch.

I still needed another container for the chicken bedding. The one with the angelica and pokeberries would do. It has a nice lid. The bin was full of water with plant material fermenting. I guess I don't have to worry about seeds sprouting. I dumped that at the foot of the pear tree. Yay, two containers. Now, for a small container to fill each garbage bin with bedding and then a shovel. The shovel was in the farthest back corner of the garage and not very accessible. I had to maneuver around the garden hose. Next was to excavate a tarp to protect the van, which is full of merchandise for the next show. Nothing about today was easy.

We got to the farm. I remembered to bring garden gloves and a mask. Chrono got in her farm kitten petting time. I filled the two bins, put lids on tight and wished I had 4 more containers. The bedding was mostly wood chips. There was very little oder. I wore my mask anyway. Hopefully I can come back next week and pick up more. There was quite a bit of fungus on it already, breaking it down. It's going to be lovely in the garden. I'll add it to perennial beds to hold in moisture as well as add it to pathways to walk on.

The snapdragons are still going strong despite the temperature.

besides politics, but here is what is affecting me directly: With regard to the environment, PA scored a big win in the election. We kept PA Supreme court justices that are friendly toward conservation. That means there is a chance I'll still be able to breathe the air. Three area data centers have been announced. The Center for Coalfield Justice is holding informative sessions. Meanwhile, I will continue to worry if our local grid can even handle the new load. Power used to go out every time the steel mill fired up a burner., every Monday at 8 am. The mills are gone but we still have a lagging power system - consult your physics book if you need an explanation. Power will go out when they bring that shit online. In PA, several coal power plants that produced mercury emissions were taken off line. That puts additional pressure on the other electrical plants. Those plants are also often taken offline during severe weather like bitter cold or heat waves. Our predominant power plants are coal, nuclear, and natural gas. Grid operation is not going to work smoothly. In addition, other power plants that were supposed to go offline due to age, have been given the green light to go years beyond their obsolescence. That little political gem is thanks to the current regime but impacts Maryland and other parts of the eastern seaboard. So, yes, electricity may no longer be a given. (and we haven't even gotten into the nitty-gritty of aging capacitors and other expensive aging equipment)

There was a strange memo issued by Bill Gates. The only real thing he got correct was that climate change is real. My favorite climate scientist explains the rest, better than I can. The problem is that global leaders listen to Gates. Spoiler, his memo doesn't cover air quality at all.
https://youtu.be/9MmqKEkOtwo?si=YMmu6L8SeUMPWI69

Meanwhile, children and elderly starve. Food banks were already struggling with all the federal layoffs. Add to that all the additional ones that occurred last week from Microsoft to UPS to Amazon. Soon the airport will be closed without air traffic controllers. Currently, they are saying 10 %. My nephew out in CA got laid off in the tech sector. My neighbor works at the airport. I think pretty soon all of us will know people affected by the economy. (I'm being polite). The library is collecting food locally. Our governor made 5 million available from emergency funds and Mark Cuban made another million available for assistance. As my daughter put it, that covers Philly and Harrisburg, leaving Pittsburgh out in the cold. Obviously, it's not distributed that way, but it gives you a broad sense of how many people are being short-changed. Let's hope the partial payments to SNAP will help stretch those dollars further. The economy is the biggest factor to be worried about at the moment. Recession, tariffs, immigration abuse, and inflation all at once.

We've had a lot of solar storms lately, combined with Coronal Mass Ejections. It is theorized that a continued bombardment of solar wind and CMEs is affecting the earth's response in the way of earthquakes. At the moment Kamchatka is at the biggest risk of producing a very large earthquake in the 8.0 range. Also of concern is Campi Phligrei, the "burning fields" near Naples in Italy. The area houses a super-volcano. More and more studies indicate a phreatic explosion could occur. Land rise continues and peoples' basements are now coated with sulphur deposits from the fumes. More earthquakes continue in that area. I'm sure other regions around the globe will be dicey as well. See Stephen Burns for an explanation of this theory. https://www.youtube.com/live/Mtp0sri71QE?si=uSDmjpbRQp26yMLS

The fear factor is rising. I take this with a grain of salt, knowing that people have survived worse before. The 2026 garden plan may need to shift if the globe is put into another volcanic winter. Instead, I'm working on fall chores while the weather holds. See my latest vlog:
https://youtu.be/uye5dLWgBxg?si=WpY1ORQulNKdlkXF
There's also a sweater I'm working on, which I just ripped again. There were supposed to be 15 stitches, not 18 at the end. I'b so close to finishing! Last night, I worked on an appliqué crazy quilt. I stitched 4 more patches. It's a multi-year project. I have two going simultaneously. The pink one needs about 30 more pieces before I can embroider and add backing. The green one is no where near as far along. I kid myself into thinking that I am clearing the attic. The bits and bobs of fabric kicking around get incorporated and off my floor. Four patches doesn't even make a dent. My goal is 15 patches per year. They are all hand sewn. Sewing machine repair has been back burnered. My husband broke another tooth. Dentistry is going to cost us.

From a few years back:


Green Quilt


I'll post the complete sweater when I'm done. The roar of the wind has made me anxious to finish. My latest discovery is a homestead in Estonia. What they've done is inspiring.
https://youtu.be/QyNJSsuFUas?si=U_3bJISkA-eVsgZC

Still don't have enough stamina nor enough time. Yesterday, I worked around the dead Japanese maple that crashed into my front yard bushes. There are three fallen limbs to cut. The hand saw and I are not completely compatible. I get back strain quickly. I worked on the yew bushes instead. I worked my way back to the ladder under the window box. It no longer looks like a skunk is inhabiting the hole. There is still a lot more to cut on those front bushes but the tree must be dispatched first. My goal was the ladder. I trimmed to that point.

The second story has a casement window cracked open that I cannot close. It is only a centimeter but enough to let cold air in. I wanted the ladder to set up in the driveway to push the window closed from the outside. Not happening. The 11 ft ladder doesn't get near high enough. Not to mention the driveway is on a hill and you can't get the ladder level. I am looking at making blackout curtains instead. The house needs so much work. I'd have to win the lottery to get even half of it done. I stuck the ladder into the backyard mulberry tree. I have plans to trim that next. It is an okay height for that.

Today I worked on clearing the driveway. I did a clear cut with the sickle. I also sawed the Siberian elm shoots down. Those shoots grew from a dead stump that is decaying nicely. Tree shoots are drying. The plant cuttings of phlox and Jerusalem artichoke went into my terrace project. I am redoing the hugel bed that was called "Middle Earth" There is a double stack of cinder block on the lower side now. The plant cuttings went in as fill. I am attempting a series of terraces going up the hill. That is the goal anyway. Roughly, I want a 3 ft bed with a 2 ft path. Then a row of cinderblocks before starting the next set. Middle Earth is getting a metal raised bed. The mulberry tree has extensive roots and sucks water out of direct plantings. I carved up those yellow roots all the way over in cinderblock bed #2 when I transplanted cabbage. Yes, that mulberry needs to be cut back.

2016 Hugle bed


With raspberry plantings


I have more shaping to do with the contour of the hill. At some point, I need to pull out a level. I woke up this morning thinking about the steps my neighbor gave me. The steps are treated wood for an RV. I think they will do nicely to segway the hill as the hill dips both southward and eastward. From the driveway, the longer side will be flat with the cinderblocks holding the bottom edge. Then will come the steps. On the eastern side, the garden will be lower. I have existing plants along that fence line. There is a plum tree and a spice bush. I am tempted to plant another elderberry I was given. It's been in a pot for several years. That could happen in spring.

Anyway, to stop my neighbor tossing toxic moth balls into my yard, I dealt with the issue myself. The neighbor believes the skunk lives in a hole along my garage by the rain barrel. First I had to clear the black raspberry canes out of there. I drove another section of "dig defense" (a sturdy underground fence) along the garage wall. I backfilled the skunk hole/ground hog hole with dirt. It's hard to call what was dugout of there "dirt". It was like river bottom silt. Then I laid down chicken wire. I know I will regret this later in life if I ever need to dig there. I topped the chicken wire with dilapidated cinder blocks. I tossed my old Coleman propane canisters in between (you know, the little green jobbie's). The garbage collection will not take these. Most are totally rusted out. The canisters are what stopped the critters from using that as an entrance. They collapsed into the hole. It wasn't the moth balls.

I started another fire to cook more walnuts for dye. I didn't have enough dye in the pot to do the whole batch of skeins I planned. I'm gradually moving the fire pit up the hill. I didn't get to the rest of the cutting that's needed. I got full of cleaver burs and spent a lot of time pulling them off my clothing. I discovered my sweater is not wool. I got a little close to the burn bin while pulling off cleavers. Part of the sweater melted. It originally came from a thrift store. I do not remember buying it, but from now on, it will be my yard-clearing sweater. Mom used to call them "Saturday clothes".

I am glad I got the driveway clear and the walnuts cooked with a bonus of ground hog proofing. While I waited for the fire to burn out, I managed to pick another pound of black plum tomatoes. They were also in the raspberry section. I really don't think we've had frost yet. It was supposed to hit 33 degrees last night but I don't think it did. So, no frost and no freezing point hit yet. It is so bizarre. We are already a week past our normal frost date. There were flowers on that tomato plant. But I'm already dreaming of next year's garden. . .