Wild Turkeys!

We see wild turkeys often, but we've never seen an albino turkey before! What fun. A group of about four or five of them wandered through the yard yesterday.

The Wilderness

Getting settled in to our new homestead requires a bit of redefining the word "walk." Usually I put on my 20-pound vest and go on my 30-40 minute walk. Well, last fall I learned that it's not safe to walk up to the Nat'l Forest any longer. A neighborly fellow walking his dogs gave me the true scoop about the strange people living up there. (I agree. Anybody who calls their place the "Poison Oak Ranch" sounds a bit odd to me.) So . . . that route is out, unless I decide to invest in some concealed weapon, which seems like a bit of overkill (no pun intended).

So I changed my route and decided to stay on the back roads in the woods. Lovely walk! Took the kids and the grandkids when they visited. However, last week when I was on my usual walk in the woods, I ran into the new neighbors (I use the term "neighbors" loosely, as they are probably at least 1/4 mile away) and we chatted. Their first question:
"Do you have bear spray?" (I wonder if it's anything like insect repellent).
"No. Why?"
"We've seen a lot of bear sign lately right around here."
I guess it is fall, and I confess I thought I saw some bear droppings the other day, but . . .

My new acquaintances were quite free with all kinds of local mountain cautions, like:
~ besides the bears roaming around, there is a pack of wild dogs to be on the lookout for. "It was even on the national news," they told me. I don't remember seeing it, but I began to listen even more intently.
~ rumors of a wolf in these parts  (OK, I hear the coyotes occasionally, but really! A wolf?)
~ last winter they had a moose in their front yard.

By now I'm wondering if they are trying to pull the "newbie's" leg, but honestly, they seemed sincere and concerned for my safety. (I was waiting for a cougar sighting, but they didn't say). So we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and went our separate ways.

So now, my hiking is limited to our 14 acres. Back and forth, around and around I go. Not quite as adventurous as the other routes, but probably wiser.

One good thing . . . my cell phone works at the top of our homestead!

Pine Cone Wonders: Easy Fire Starters

It's summertime, and all those pine cones are dropping. It's time to collect them. Why? Read on . . .
Are you tired of saving all those newspapers for fire starters? Tired of scrounging up bundles and bundles of cedar kindling to get that early morning winter fire going? Well, here is a sure-fire way to get a roaring fire going in no time at all. It really is a wonder because it works every time!

Pine Cone Fire Starters!

First you need some nice, large pine cones (we use Ponderosa pine cones). We collect them when they are nice and dry. (Make SURE they are completely dry or this will not work.)


Then you need some parraffin and a large (large enough to dip the pine cone in) coffee can. Break up the paraffin and put it in the can.


You also need a heat source, something to melt the wax. (Caution: Do not heat the coffee can full of wax directly on top of the wood stove). Melt the wax in a coffee can set in a hot-water bath or another heat source out in the garage.


When the wax has melted, use a pair of tongs to dip the pine cones in the melted wax, lightly coating them. Then lay them aside to dry. Once dry, we keep them piled in a box next to the wood stove.

How to start a fire with pine cones:
1) Place a couple of pine cones on the bottom of the wood stove
2) Pile 2 or 3 logs on top of the pine cones.
3) Light the pine cones.
4) You’re done. Truly, in less than a minute, you’ve got yourself a fire! No newspaper, no kindling, no blowing your lungs out on a dying fire. This really works!

Note: Pine-cone starters work well to start outside, brush-burning fires also.

Available Now! Free Rent!

What does this look like to you? If you guessed storage for extra firewood, you would only be half right.

Actually, these are the brand-new, highly anticipated chipmunk condominiums. Yes, that's right folks! When the "neighbors" see these high-class condos, they'll move right in. The features can't be beat:
~ Multiple entrances and exits
~ Solid, leak-proof roofs
~ Plenty of ventilation
~ Basement storage area for a winter supply of pine
   nuts

Two condos are finished and ready for our homestead's eager residents. This newest one at the right is a work-in-progress. It is especially high-class because the contractor (yours truly) finally figured out how to stack the building materials neatly and securely.

We anticipate four or five of these Chipmunk Heaven Condos to be completed over the course of the summer. By winter, every ground squirrel for miles around will move in. Unfortunately. Why unfortunately? Because ground squirrels are rodent pests and tunnel all over the place. They are NOT cute little Disney "Chip and Dales," I'm sorry to say.
Oh, wait! Here comes a future resident now:

My Favorite Things

Oh, goody! I have two and a half weeks before I have to head for California for a 3-week homeschool convention "loop." Since moving over here the end of May, I've had no time to pursue one of my favorite homestead activities: thinning trees and hauling forest "trash" to the burn pile.

The Ponderosa pine on our homestead grow as fast as carrots, and they need to be thinned in order to keep them healthy (and so the lower branches don't all die).

So I started up the 4-wheeler this morning, hitched up the trailer, grabbed a clippers and a saw, and off I went. It's fun to make the place look nice and it's great exercise. The only trouble is that there are fourteen acres of trees and trash (leftover piles from logging years ago).

What Do You Do with All Those Goat Kids?

Kristel and Chad bottle-feeding a couple of kids for "fun"

I have been at a couple of homeschool conferences two weekends in a row, so I dug into the archives to find a story from our past "rural town" homesteading days. Here is an old post from a couple of years ago:

Awhile ago, I was reading a blog about a "Goat Lady." It was fascinating to learn the woman raises 400 goats! They were for meat, which reminded me of our one-time adventure with goat meat.

First of all, let me say that I LOVE dairy goats–they are right up there with my all-time favorite farm residents, the low-maintenance chicken.

Now, to keep a steady supply of goat milk coming, you have to breed the does. I milked two nubian goats steadily, and each doe was faithful to produce two or three kids every year. Most were bucks. My husband and I thought, "Ah-ha! Here is an easy source of free meat, much like lamb." (Another story about that. We raised sheep too).

Kristel and a little friend

"Free" meat is never free. And it is easier said then done to get a supply. After disbudding and castrating the little bucks, we allowed them to grow strong and healthy on all the free milk (we separated them at night, and I only milked once a day). Two goats give a LOT of milk for one family! At about two months of age, we figured they were just about "cookin’ size." So, we butchered them. Ourselves. What a mess. Goat kids don’t have near the amount of meat per pound as does a fat little lamb. It was a LOT of work to dress the kids and cut them up. And the flavor wasn’t like lamb. It was more gamey—more like venison. It wasn't tender, either. But is WAS free. Sort of. If you don't count labor (never count labor in your idea of what is free when it comes to the farm).

It took us one time to decide that eating our own goat kids was SO not worth the time and mess. From then on, we kept them for 2 months, loaded them into the truck, and hauled them to the Sales Barn (livestock auction), where the Asians snatched them up for a tidy sum—which helped pay for hay and grain for the milking goats. A MUCH better trade-off! 

Making Tub Butter

Do you, like me, despise tub margarine that seems to be about 80% water and lasts less than a week, since you have to spread so much of it on your bread to get any taste? Do you, like me, wonder what it’s actually made of? What a waste of money! And it’s not very healthy, either.

But butter alone is too hard to use if left in the fridge, and too soft (especially in the summer) if left out. (Besides, the cat might jump up and start licking any butter that is left out on the counter.)

Ta-Da! There is hope. Years ago, I learned how to make butter that keeps in the fridge yet stays SOFT, just like tub margarine. The perfect homestead compromise between natural butter and healthy canola or olive oil. Since learning about this, I have not looked back. And I have not bought tub margarine since.

To make this simple concoction, you need:

1) A blender2) 2 cubes (1 cup) soft butter
3) 1 cup Canola or Olive oil
4) A 2-cup Tupperware or Ziplock plastic container with tight lid.

Blend the oil and soft butter together until smooth and creamy. Pour into the storage container, snap on the lid, and put in the refrigerator. It hardens up to the consistency of tub margarine. It lasts a lot longer than tub margarine because you don’t need very much to taste it. And it cuts your butter costs in half.

Enjoy!

Speaking of Fires . . .

The middle of the day

Seeing the fires in Arizona (so bad!) reminds me of the fire we had in the mountains, back in 2007. It was not anywhere near our place, but southwest of us, near Chelan (54 miles away).  It was the eeriest thing ever. The sun turned blood red, and you could look right at it, even at noontime.

The layer of smoke from the south hung over our mountain for a couple of days. The wind didn't blow. It looked like the setting for the Land of Mordor, from The Lord of the Rings.

At night, the moon was red too!

Blood-red noon sun

Smoke just hanging over the mountains in the middle of the day

The Top of the World!

"We're on the top of the world, lookin' down on creation . . ."

When you are eight and six years old, the top of Mt. Hull (over 3,000 feet) is the top of the world, to be sure! Katelyn is pointing out to Ellie the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range from the Rock, our viewing point above our homestead.

The girls pulled out their homemade booklets and sketched the scenery. They also snacked on Reece's Peanut Butter cups and lemonade. (Need that energy, you know!)

All in all, a gorgeous day in the Okanogan Highlands.

Civilization at Last!

The screen "at rest' and out of the way

After fifteen years of "summer cabin" mode, we have joined civilization at last! They hooked up the satellite dish (now we have two: one for internet; one for TV). But here is the latest invention:

Space is severely limited in the 25 x 25 cabin (plus loft), as you may know. Lucky for us, the spaces between the supporting beams is just right to slip a 42" flat screen snuggly into it. But, who wants that thing to dangle down and have us walking into it? No problem! Roger created a "stand" that screws into the wall and moves in and out to keep the screen protected when not in use.

The screen swung down into viewing mode

When we want to watch TV, we just unsnap a sturdy hook behind the screen and swing the screen so it hangs straight. Of course, there will be a stand under this, but I wanted to take a picture before I forgot!