Ultimate Upcycle - That old mattress saves a tree!

Here in the great state of Alaska we have many opportunities to view wildlife - which is a great thing - unless that wildlife is eating your apple and cherry trees down to the nubbins and killing them!  You know from some of my previous posts that we grow great apple trees here and that they will produce, but only if you can keep the moose from eating them!  Remember in one of my previous blogs I also promised you an upcycled mattress plan?  Well here comes a mattress saving some apple trees!

My folks have a large animal fence that they use to keep out the moose - I cant afford that right now so the best I can do is turn some old worn out mattresses into some protective fencing!

This is only part of the mattress - there will be other blogs with the rest of the mattress later.  Start by breaking down the box spring portion of the mattress.  Keep the fabric and other parts for other projects.

 Take the metal coil or spring portion of the mattress and four long pieces of the wood frame and begin to wrap it around the apple/cherry tree.  Drive a stake of the wood frame into the ground to anchor the metal portion to the ground as wide around the tree as you can.  Try not to touch the tree - Im afraid that the metal touching the tree all winter will freeze burn  the tree ( I havent had to worry much about that since we haven't had much cold this winter).  Continue staking the metal around the tree at intervals that keep it going and keep it seeming sturdy - it may have to hold off up to 1500 pounds of hungry moose!

This particular mattress was a double bed size so the metal portion is about 4' high.  I put bird netting over the top of the metal circle just in case the moose should feel the need to stick a neck inside the circle.  So far they have not liked bumping their noses into the metal parts of the mattress and have left this alone.

This is a relatively free upcycle.  You did buy the mattress at some point in time probably (unless you can get one from a friend for free-for-real), and there will be many uses for the rest of the mattress as well.  The top mattress will also have this metal coil or spring inside it so you can get two tree wraps out of a mattress set.  Be sure to keep that fabric from the top of the mattress and the bottom - they have great uses.  Stay tuned and we will talk about some things to do with those in another blog!

Happy New Year - I hope it is a great one and that you start to dream big for your next growing season today!

High Tea in a small town!

I posted recently about my mother giving the gift of tea party and how having that is so important.  Yesterday my mother once again gave me a gift of tea party!  We have a new tea shop in town  - Clumzy Clover Tea and Treasures ( find them on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clumzy-Clover-Teas-Treasures/ ) and they serve High Tea!  It was a rare kid free, time available for shopping day for me and when I asked mom what was on her Christmas list, she asked me what my day looked like - and invited me for tea!

We had so much fun and really it was the first time in a long time that we got to have a real visit, just the two of us.  The food was divine!  Can you see the little green glass on the bottom tier?  That is Dill Pickle Soup!  I never would have thought about even trying it but mom tried it first and said it was good - she doesn't usually fib to me about food - so I gave it a go.  There were other delights on the tray as well - Egg Nog Scone, a savory puff pastry something with feta and spinach and a tomato stuffed with a quinoa salad that made me want to lick the bowl!

One of our conversations was about how "we" - as in our family - are good at trying to teach self care as well as care taking, and that as a society "we" might not be very good at teaching that.  "We" have to do better!  I have talked to people who would love to have a tea party but they worry that people will think they are "silly" for doing that.  Be Silly!  Host a tea party - or invite your friends to a tea house, or even a tea shop near you!  Make sure you let your kids know that it is OK to do that with friends and family- even if they like coffee better!  My boys like a tea party - even though I secretly think they are coming for the food - it still gives them the sense of comfort and joy, after all  - 'Tis the season!

Water Bottle Upcycle

I have some of the most creative family members on the planet I am sure!  Recently, there was a gathering of family quilters - we call it quilt retreat - and these lovely bouquets were on all of the tables.  They are simply an up-cycled water bottle with a scrap of fabric tied into a lovely bow around the middle!

It makes a lovely centerpiece, and is especially useful where a glass vase is not an option - at the cabin, or in a room that has a high traffic area of small children!

It uses that water bottle that you hate to throw out or send to recycle if it hasn't outlived it's usefulness, and you can use different sized bottles to make an arrangement or put Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even Halloween fabric around it to fit it to a theme!  Simply beautiful!

Thank you Cranberry Cottage girls for the awesome idea!

A little tea and some great company!

My mother has given me many things; life itself, good parenting and home making skills, the freedom and the confidence to pursue my own religious beliefs, and the ability to see beauty in others, even other women, without feeling self-conscious, to name a few.  She has walked 60 miles to raise money for cancer, she raised three healthy children, and one husband, gave me knowledge and a love of learning, reading, writing, gardening and nature.  She hosted a tea party for 250 people in her yard and did NOT use paper dishes.  One of the crown jewel of gifts from my mother is this – TEA PARTY!

She loaned me a tea set, so I might host a tea party for my 3 best girl friends.  How could a tea party even be in the top ten items that my mother gave me?  My mother, by simply loaning some dishes, opened up my eyes to the friendship and sisterhood of other women, and the importance of being and allowing ourselves to be with those women.  She supported and encouraged those friendships.  Silly?  No.  Those dishes, antiques by the way, gave me “permission” in a way to take the time out, to do something frivolous maybe, something for myself, while at the same time doing something for others.  Tea party is not just for the hostess; it is also for the guests.

Now, once a month, (lately we haven't made time - but we need to) those friends and I, take turns hosting tea party.  The hostess makes lunch, be it simple or fancy.  We exchange small gifts; a candle, a pen, a book, a bookmark, but mostly we nurture our friendship.  We mother one another.  Sometimes tea party is our place to vent our frustration with the rest of the world, our home life, our job, or even our husbands.  It lasts only about four hours, but it is some of the most important time we spend during that month.  It is just for us, women.  We share sorrows, hopes, dreams, and good fortunes.  We are able to give one another the kind of support that one does not get from a spouse, or even our children’s hearts.  We are better wives, sisters, friends, and mothers for it.  My incredible mother gave me this, tea party.

Recently, the daughters in our family hosted a Mothers Day Tea for all of us, including my mother in law, and other Mothers who were somehow family to our group!  We dressed up, and the youngest of the girls helped to cook the treats, and made menu's, and dressed the tables, and hosted a beautiful party!  It was wonderful!  And even the youngest of us learned the value of a tea party!

I met a woman during school registration recently, and while we worked one of the registration booths, we chatted about family.  This woman, this beautiful soul, had fostered 15 (I think she said) children throughout her life and currently has two boys of her own at home.  She was having a hard time because her youngest child (an eight year old Aries) is very difficult for her.  She is in her forties, and she is tired.  Tired to her soul.  Her spirit was tired that day as well.  She was remembering some of the kids she had fostered, and one of her comments was “I don’t think it made a difference”!  I let her know that it had to have made a difference because she had already told me that some of her kids had come back and told her so.  But…some were lost, she told me.  Lost to drugs, alcohol, or abuse from other families, or returned to an abuse situation in their home.  Things completely outside of her control. This woman needed a tea party.  She needed to relax, have a sip, and be a friend.  She had been only a mother for too long.  She needed the support and mothering of other women to see all the great things she has done, and the things still within her yet to do.  The things that had been feeding her soul, but had stopped doing so now, because she has had no time with other supportive women.  Women who can say to her, “Even if you made a difference in one of those children, you have made a big difference.”  Other mothers who can give advice on raising an Aries (I have one – it is difficult).  That’s what tea party does.

My mother might be sad that I think one of her top ten gifts to me is tea party, but I hope not!  I hope that she recognizes that she made a difference – not just in one life but in many lives- by teaching the joy and grace of a tea party!   Party on Ladies!

A little Wicked Home Cookin'

It is absolutely fall (really close to winter) here at Wicked Raven Farm, and the proof is not necessarily in the frost on the pumpkins!  Every year about this time I get really fired up to preserve the harvest, or really, to just preserve for the winter months!

I love to make up my own recipes as well and a favorite of my whole family is baked beans Alaska style.  The recipe is adapted from a recipe in the Ball Blue Book of Canning which I recommend for everyone - new cooks/caners especially!  Its a great wedding or housewarming gift too!

I always try to rotate my stock of dry goods in the fall and beans are no exception.  I am a lover of all types of bean but my very favorite are the black beans and the small red beans.  To make a batch of baked beans for canning you will want to soak a pound of dry black and a pound of dry small red beans overnight.  Make sure they are completely covered with water the whole time.

Then in the morning put them in a big stock pot and simmer in clean fresh water for two hours or until skins begin to crack.  Then do the following:

Start with some good white onion and some pepper bacon - about a pound of each.  

Dice them both.

And fry in a pan until both are smelling wonderful and the onions are translucent.

Then mix together in a bowl (I use a large shallow storage container) the following ingredients;

1 can tomato sauce

3 large sprigs fresh sage - finely diced

1 tsp. liquid smoke

1 Tbsp Cumin

1/4 C prepared mustard

1/3 C Molasses

1/2 C. Brown Sugar

2 Tsp dry Mustard

1/2 C. Stubbs spicy barbeque sauce (or your favorite)

2 Tsp Salt (this seems low but remember your bacon brings some to the recipe)

Mix the whole caboodle into the beans on the stove and add the bacon and onions.

Stir together and bring to a boil - simmer for one hour.  Ladle the product into the size jar you want to use (I like the tall large mouth jars for this).  Put the lids on and place in your pressure cooker.

For pints process 1 hour and 20 minutes and for quarts 1 hour and 35 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.

For baking the beans to use right away - simmer the original beans 3 hours, pour into a baking dish (I like a deep cast iron pot) and then pour the sauce mixture over the top and bake for two more hours or until the desired consistency is reached.  These are great for potlucks or as a side dish for a quick meal.   Great with anything!  Enjoy!

Gifts from the past

My husbands people are from Pennsylvania.  He comes from an area that reminds me of tales from the deep South - not so much the slavery and Amityville horror aspects - but from the food aspects.  Food is love and I can relate to that!  I do NOT look like a woman who is not a little bit about the food!  My mothers people are also food people.  They are from the South.  Food is love.

One of our favorite gifts has been a mandolin that Chads Gradmother (Meemaw) gave to us not very long after we got married.  It sat on a shelf as a decoration for a few years, cherished for its message of stability and usefulness, but not really used.  Until we started growing potatoes (you knew I wouldn't be able to resist a potato reference).  Once we started growing spuds and harvesting them of course we had to start cooking them.  The best way to slice potatoes is on an old fashioned mandolin.

Im not sure how old our mandolin is, but I think Meemaw said it is from the 30's.  We tried a new mandolin and it was ok but didnt have the sturdy feel and consistent slice time after time with out any adjustment that the old heirloom did.

My husband wasn't excited about us using it at first - he though it would break or wear out, but after using the new plastic model (our old one is wood and steel of course) he decided that the old one had held up for this long and it took a beating that it could probably handle a few more slices.  We now use it almost weekly to slice anything from potatoes for chips, scalloped, and grilled to cabbage for sauerkraut and slaws.  It is awesome!  Using it gives a glimpse into the past while we are standing in our fairly modern kitchen.  It is a connection with our ancestors.

 Now for the cook book.  I know you were wondering what that ratty old book next to the mandolin was!  A second and wonderful gift from the past!  It is a handwritten cookbook that was also given to us by my husbands grandmother.  It belonged to her mother and it is 84 single pages of handwritten recipes!  They are so much fun and such a glimpse into the lives of our people!  She did not abbreviate teaspoon and tablespoon but she did abbreviate cup. Meemaw said when she (Gramma Millie) was first married that was how people saved recipes - there were not many Betty Crocker cookbooks to be had then apparently!  One recipe is for an "Orange 5 day cleanse" and there  is a note written in and it says "(name we can't quite read) gave up after the first day"!  There are also some recipes that were obviously written (as most were) before anyone knew the health disadvantages of Saccharin.  There is a recipe for Saccharin cake!  Other than the Saccharin it looks really good!  Most of the recipes look delish.  We cant wait to try some of them, like the "Dream Bars"  (like a creamsicle it looks like), and a recipe for potato cake that looks like it might turn out like a brownie.  Yum!  And it uses potatoes - how would I not love that?  There are also the little cut outs from the newspaper - I think that must be a family tradition that we cut stuff out of the newspaper and save it!  Or maybe all families do that and keep the recipes forever!

This cookbook was well used.  The front cover was gone and the back cover was no longer attached.  Some of the pages were so worn that they are barely hanging on by the threads that bind the book - yes - it is bound with what appears to be yellowed dental type floss.  No wax though. It is beautiful!  I have an old fashioned copier and I was able to gently lay the book page by page and copy it.  My plan is to turn it into newly bound cookbooks and put covers on them as gifts for the family girls!  I haven't designed the covers yet but am mulling that over and Im excited to see the reactions I get when they realize what they have in their hands.  The original is tucked safely away now in my cedar chest to be gently brought out and perused on special occasions and when I need to feel that ancestral connection.  I hope that you too have an ancestral connection like these to use and remember your people.  Look around your space - Ill bet you do.

Blessed (and connected) Be!

50 years of marriage - the story quilt - A Wicked Raven Designs Tale

Last June, my parents and two sets of my dads siblings celebrated their 50th year of marriage!  Three sets of family members all celebrating a 50th anniversary in the same year!  It was amazing! My dad has 10 siblings living still out of 11.  Its a big Christmas party or Anniversary party! 

One of the other families children were able to finish a quilt for their parents in time to present it on their actual anniversary!  I however am not quite that organized, and please keep in mind that I do most of my quilting in 15 minute increments!  So as we went through the year, I thought about the best way to develop a quilt that a lot of people could participate in, and that would be unique and unusual while still maintaining the status of "Anniversary Quilt".

This is the story quilt developed for my parents to honor their 50 years together.  The above photo shows my folks displaying it in their yard where they host other weddings.  The quilt tells the story of their life together in fabric and blocks.  I chose blocks that spoke to where they met and where they were from, and some of their life together (I still have to design a pattern called "cookie fight").

If you start at my mothers right hand (the top one) and go down the quilt toward her feet you can follow the story.  Below is the label that gives all the information and was applied to the back of the quilt.  It reads like this:

50 years of marriage – a story quilt: 

Doug and Florene Carney

June  , 1963 to June 29, 2013

50 years ago the Ohio Star (Overstreets) became Best Friends (Larissa Cummings)

With the Southern Belle (Patricia Parker) and took the Steps To The Altar (Kim Carney)

As the Wheel Of Time (Nan Williams) went by, and a few moments of Contrary Wife (Alicia McRoberts)

The Tru Blue (Karen Carney) Union (Cynthia Buzby) built the Snowfire Gardens (Char Pine)

With Wind Art (Janelle and Rachael) Double Pinwheel (Shirley Washut)

And Cups and Saucers (Linda Thomas) held together by an Irish Chain (Humphreys)

The italics indicate the maker of that particular block.  My dad is from Ohio and my mom is originally from the Southwest, she collects teacups and he designs wind art.  Their home is called Snowfire Gardens, you get the gist.

A different member of our family did each of the blocks that are using the fireweed fabric (fireweed is big here in Alaska), and I made the Irish Chain blocks.  It was machine quilted by Carol Hill - the only person to work on the quilt who is not a family member, but we love her anyway! 

It came together really well even if it was presented on their 51st (ish) anniversary.  Some folks who saw the quilt before it was presented spoke of the time invested in the making of the quilt and I could never fathom how they could even think about the time invested in the quilt itself when the marriage has been going on for more than 50 years!  I am not yet 50 years old so I cannot possible imagine what 50 years feels like but it feels wonderful to know that it is possible to make things work for that long!  

Be happy and be creative and Be Blessed!

I'm so blue and I love it!

We have started to harvest here at Wicked Raven and it has been so much fun so far!  Check out these potatoes!  The blue ones are ones that Reed planted in the rows where he had corn last year and we just hilled up the dirt and planted these - left over from the high school seed that we didnt have room for there.  I cant wait for the kids at the high school to see their produce now that I have seen these!  They are dark blue/purple inside and out and the flavor is great

The above photo shows just part of the potatoes we harvested here recently.  We made red, white and blue potato salad for a potluck and we made red white and blue potato chips for home!  The blues are a little less dense in texture than the reds and whites so they cook faster.  We have noted that for next time we are cooking them.  Flavor is fantastic for all of them though!

Above shows a few of the other varieties we planted with the blues and all of them are good.  We will definitely add these to our regular lineup and Reed is already planning one whole bin of blues for next year.

I believe these are called "All Blue" aka "Purple Marker" potatoes and the small yellow are called "Gold Finger", we also have some Yukon Gold and I wasn't able to get the name of the red ones - the paper bag the seed was in got wet and the name was badly smeared.  Definitely worth giving a try.

I was also recently given some "Magic Myrna" potatoes that were developed locally and they are marvelous!  Stay tuned - I will profile those in a future blog!  Yes More potatoes coming up and I will also be updating you on the high school project soon - our grant period is coming to an end so we are starting harvest there as well!  Happy Fall!

Put it on the list - Take care of yourself!

“Reading is my inhale, and writing is my exhale.  If I am not reading and writing regularly, I begin to suffocate and tend to climb the nearest person like a frantic cat, clawing at the persons eyeballs and perching on his head, desperate to find a breath of air.”  Glennon Doyle Melton – Carry On Warrior.

That is totally me!  I feel that way often and while Glennon’s husband appears to have “got it”, my husband is made crazy by the crazy frenetic cat lady, or the crazy writer scribbling in any number of notebooks, scraps of paper, or back of envelope/receipt/bank statement/business card.  He has stopped asking me why Im writing things down or what Im writing down – to be honest some of the things that have inspired me have been seriously weird after he mentioned it to me and I thought about it.  But eventually it will all come together and turn into a great blog or at the very least a great chapter in a novel!

Why do we have to have other people “understand” why we do things?  Why can’t we do them because they make us feel alive, whole, ok, healthy, safe, etc….. any number of things that can be cured by simply taking some time for ourselves.  That really is what I get out of reading and writing.  It is for me – time to do something that I like to do, and taking a break from my whack-a-doodle life for a few minutes to jot down an idea, or read about something I am interested in!  I spend so much time – and I know all moms do- dealing with other peoples things, dreams, interests, crises, etc… that often I don’t do any self care nor do I spend any time in my own head.  Some days I have no idea what is going on up there!

I also jot down lists of things that I would like to get done.  Sometimes these lists amount to pages and pages of “to do’s” and its gets quite overwhelming.  I have to spend a little time with myself and pare down the list to the things that REALLY have to be done.  Or I make a list of things that I need to do outside and inside so Im not feeling like a bad weather day is wrecking my whole list or my whole day.  If the weather is nice I do outside stuff and if it’s not I do the indoor stuff!

(Above photo is the lists currently in my planner on top of my calendar!  I do not recommend this).

Since I had a hysterectomy a few years ago my memory is not great – especially if I run out of the hormone replacements (it’s a whole other blog and someday Ill do that one) so writing things down is a saving grace so I don’t forget to do the basics even!  Sometimes the writing down of my lists gets me writing (inspired) and I spend 15 minutes writing something I want to write – besides the list!  Usually one of the things on my list is “write for 15 minutes”.  

The point is – take time to do things for yourself – whether other people understand why you do them or not!  Even 15 minutes a day will make a difference for you and probably for your family!

Be inspired and Be Blessed!

In great Garden Form!

Houston High Garden project has been such a blessing for so many people this year - me because it renews my faith that people want healthy food and to grow things, my friend who lost her husband because she likes to stay busy so she doesn't think so much about how life's not fair, and a lot of the kids who will eat the food and who needed some community services hours so they could get some fees waived for the sports seasons! Tons of benefit and tons of produce!  Here are some of the forms we have used this year to keep track of what we planted, what we harvested and how many hours we spent doing it!  Since we were grant funded this year by a grant from the State of Alaska Department of Agriculture Farm to School Program, we had to keep track and we quickly realized how much we like to see our results on paper!  Nice Job!

This form is from a favorite blogger of mine - either I'm channeling her or she is channeling me - we have a lot of the same processes and ideas.  This one keeps track of how much we planted vs. how much we harvested.  Im pretty sure you could modify it to fit your own needs if there is something missing.  For us we are going to modify it to show a column for how much we planted or for how many plants we had.  For some of it (carrots) it will have to be an estimate since we did not count the seeds in the packet - we will have to call it 1 oz.  For potatoes we know how many pounds of seed we started with, and for tomatoes and zuchinni we know how many plants we have.

http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2012/10/free-printable-end-of-the-season-garden-tracker.html

She also has some other printable forms that you can get on her site.  Check it out!

We are also getting some kids some good community service hours (these are not hours required by a court, but because they look good on the kid, his resume, and his scholarship applications).  And also because we are partly grant funded by the State of Alaska Department of Ag Farm to School Program and we need to keep track of how much time everyone is putting in as well as what we are getting out of the garden. We are using this form (see link below) for this because they can use it anywhere in the community, not just for high school services.

http://www.chaffey.edu/honors/com_svc_hours.pdf

Everyone can use community service - feeling like you have made a difference can be a huge boost for morale for folks who are feeling less than good about themselves, it can make up for a lack of funds for a family who needs sports as a motivator, and it can make people aware of a cause that you are passionate about!  Some people want to be secret agent service people and I used to be one of those people.  I totally get the concept, but read on for why you shouldn't!

A few years ago I was doing some secret community service, I always pick up garbage at the public ice rink while Reed is skating for practices.  They are in the parking lot of a middle school and there is always garbage to pick up, it blows in from all over the place and McDonalds is right down the road!  I never wanted anyone to know that I was doing that - it was just for me - I knew it was getting cleaned up and didn't care if I got credit for it or if anyone knew I was doing it!  It made me feel good to do it and I liked pulling up to a clean parking lot.

One day I had more garbage than I could fit into the back of the car (I had it full with gardening stuff of course), so I tried to sneak it in and throw it away without any one seeing me.  The rink staff stopped me - I have no sneak- and asked me why I didnt tell them I was doing it - I went through all the reasons and they finally said "but Lis - we get credit for your volunteer hours - but only if we know about them!"  Turns out that they can get grant funds for that type of thing because they have willing volunteers!  ONLY if the know about it!  Our school is the same way, as is our garden!  We get credit for the hours put in - only if we know about it!  So keep track of your hours of volunteering that you are doing - even if it is picking up garbage in a parking lot - it is important and it matters!

Stay tuned for the educational handouts we gave out to our volunteers who helped in the garden!

To Dyson for - even on a holiday!

I haven’t done too many product reviews, but this is one that is such a life saver for moms, dads, grammas, gardeners, and pretty much anyone who doesn’t live in a bubble!  We all make dirt, the dog sheds on the floor, dust comes in, boots don’t get taken off, etc.  This little Dyson hand held vacuum has been such a godsend for me.  Received from my mother in law for Christmas one year, my sister in law and I each got one.  You know how everyone says “don’t buy a woman an appliance for (insert holiday here)” – you can ignore them on this one product.  She should love it.  She might have to use it once or twice, but after the flour spills out of the canister one time and she doesn’t have to haul out a big vacuum, or sweep for half an hour to clean it up, she will appreciate this cordless wonder.

It has three attachments, and it also has a long extension so you can get the cobwebs out of the high corners or suck up the rabid mosquitos that got in while the door was open. (yes - my husband DOES do that).  It has a simple recharger (plug into the car or the house), and it is lightweight enough that the smallest of mess makers can clean up after themselvs!

I even loaned it to the washer repairman today (yes - I finally have a working washer after 2 months!  Thank you Darren from Denali Appliance) and he asked me how I liked it so I had to crow a little about it while we sucked up some of the dust bunnies (actually dust clydesdales would be a better  description) from behind the washer and dryer.

Im not saying it’s the ideal Valentines gift – don’t go there guys – but it is a fantastic gift and a fantastic CORDLESS product that makes my fast life a lot easier!

Carry On Mamma - it wont be fair - you are NOT alone!

I have been struggling with “fair” often lately!  My son fell and shattered his elbow in February as you may have read in one of my earlier blogs.  He simply fell down and landed perfectly so that his elbow shattered into more than 15 pieces.  So unfair!  That is “some Bullshit” and could have been a dream stealer for him.  He plays comp hockey and is very good.  He is also one of the nicest kids I know as often as he can be.  He helps others, he is friendly, mostly polite (he is 14 after all), and I see both my kids really trying hard to be good human beings.

How is it fair, and how does he deserve for an accident like this to happen to him?

My oldest son had his very worst injury ever playing soccer – his second sport of choice at one point in time.  He also played comp hockey, and Junior level even.  He was head butted by another player and it required 65 stitches to close the gap, and he had to have a root canal which was his first filling ever!  Again, this is not a bad person gets what he deserves – this is a great person gets screwed!

My best friends husband was taken from us due to cancer.  One of the most awesome humans I ever met was dealt a hand that was more undeserved and unfair than any I had encountered to date.  He and my friend are the most amazing people – if I call – she comes and when he was alive he would come too – chemo pack and all!  He made the fanny pack look cool again!  Complete Bullshit that they had to live through that and that one didn’t make it.  She still practices holding up half the world.  If I can ever be as good a friend as she has been to me I will be in good shape!  Im pretty sure Im not that good yet though – I will have to keep practicing!

I have been without a washer for more than 2 months.  Two days after Reeds second surgery on his elbow, the washer broke down and I have been two months getting it replaced (they tried to repair it, couldn’t get parts, decided to replace it, no equivalent available, etc… its an insurance thing).  So on Wednesday of this week my brand new Electrolux was delivered and installed.  Of course I had a hockey practice to get the youngster to so I put a load in and off I went knowing that when I came home I would have clean clothes in my own house!  NO!  Washer wont spin.  Clothes soaking wet, still dirty, and a brand new broken washer in my house!  Repairman (who is a friend and a great repairman) came over and put the belt back on that appeared to have been shaken off during shipping (the washer came to Alaska on a barge).  He ran it through its paces and it seemed to be working beautifully.  So this time I stayed home while I ran that load.  I heard it go off and thought – ok – I am in business with my 9 loads of laundry!  No Deal!  Washer didn’t make it through one load and my guy can’t come out til Tuesday to see WTH is going on!  More “completely not fair”!  I am making some great community connections at the Laundromat though.

Enter Glennon Doyle Melton and her book “Carry On Warrior – Thoughts on Life Unarmed”.  This is a book that another friend had recommended to me that she picked up while struggling with the grief of losing her son.    I know I just gave you a book recommendation earlier this month, but at least for my girls – this is a must read!  She takes us out of the realm of seeking perfection with her life stories and lets us seek peace in our lives.

It has already made me laugh, cry and say “OK – I am not alone!”  She discusses at one point how we label our emergency contact in our phones as ICE – In Case of Emergency.   She also discusses in that chapter that we need to make sure we tell people that they are not alone.  We can’t try to placate them and make them feel better other than to let them know that they are not alone.  “Life’s not fair”, or “you will be OK” don’t work.  We F%$*N know lifes not fair – we just lived through some crap that pushed that right in our faces – no one has to tell us that it’s not fair.  We might not ever be OK – don’t say that we will.  Just say that we are not alone!  I think we should all change our ICE contact to say “YOU ARE NOT ALONE”!  This is the person that we would call in our direst of need or that someone else would call if we weren’t able to call!  So if we miss a call from that person it will tell us that we missed them but we are still not alone!  Im doing it!  Carry on!

Be a great neighbor!!!

I am a great farm sharer and I encourage everyone to be.  My neighbors and I trade tomatoes, potatoes (of course I have to mention spuds in my blog), and squash as well as flowering plants, apple starts and sometimes grass seed.  Some things should not be shared however!  The other day I was showing a neighbor around the farm - he is a hay farmer - and when we got to the cold frames with the squash he began to try to pull the nettle I have growing in there out!  Oh - he said - you cant have this growing in here!

 I had left the nettle in there so that I could harvest it for my tea products, particularly my detox tea that is an important part of my winter health program!  I have tried for a few years to establish a patch of nettle on the farm at various locations with no success - it wants to grow where it wants to grow!  These plants established themselves in the squash bin along the way and have done really well - I've made two harvest runs at them and they just keep producing!  So I have left them and they have dropped some seed and I have been able to harvest some seed as well to save for next year.

 The hay farmer neighbor was quite concerned that the nettle would escape into his field and make his hay much less salable due to it not being easily consumed by livestock.  He made a good point.  When I had started to try to establish a patch of nettle I never even though about how it might affect my neighbors - certainly not the ones a half mile away and up a fairly large hill from us!  I finally agreed that I would keep the nettle in the squash bin as best I can, but from now on I will think really hard about what I am planting and how it might affect my neighbors.  Poisonous plants and ones that might become difficult to control and contain will be hard pressed to find a place here at Wicked Raven.  I have experience with  mint getting out of control already even though I planted it inside a container!  It is rampant.  I will give you some hints and helps for that one in a post coming soon.  Nettle can become a rampant pest plant in some circumstances, but here in the "burn area" of Big Lake, the clay seems to be a deterrent for this plant spreading too wildly.  At least where I am.  That's not to say that it couldn't get out of control anywhere.  Nettle is a perennial plant and sometimes resumes growth after winter from rhizomes or root nodes.  Here in Big Lake, any perennial can be killed by the cold and I haven't had success finding nettle in the same place each year.  Im hoping it likes the squash bin and will come back there next year.  I would feel somewhat better about my neighborliness if it stayed in the box!

 

The above photo shows the seed on the paper towel from one harvest of the two plants in the squash bin!  The stack of twigs to the right of the glass jar are the ones that I harvested the leaf from and these seeds are all from those twigs - only about a dozen stems!  To the left of the glass jar are the newly harvested nettle stems that are waiting to go onto the towel and rack.  The orange prescription bottle is where I store the seeds that I save and these nettle seeds will go into that jar.  My harvested leaves go into the glass jar.  It takes a lot of nettle to get through the winter for us - I use it for a lot of things.  Nettle is an anti-asthmatic, it helps with liver function, and can assist other herbs as a cure for gout.  It has vitamins C, B, and beta-carotenes, among others.

Most folks are not able to handle nettle bare handed and you should take caution when you are handling it as it can sometimes cause a severe rash or other reaction.  I have never been bothered by nettle and only occasionally do I have to pluck a tenacious stinger out of my skin.  I brush them off and go about my day!

 Regardless of whether I am a good neighbor or not - nettle is a necessary plant.  I will however be more careful about how, where and what I plant and how it will affect my neighbors.  I hope that you will think about your neighborhood and how your planting affects that neighborhood!  I hope your affect will be only positive!

HHS Garden Update - Things are growing great!

We have been seeing some great things at the garden lately - thanks to a great mix of sun and rain as well as the soil amendments we have added!  Our squash are going great guns and producing a plethora of produce out there (see photos below),

 

The zuchinni to the left was growing so hard against the wood of the growing bin that it has a crease in it!  We should be able to harvest it next week!  Can't wait!


The cleanup has been going really well too - we have had a couple of football players who wanted to get some community service hours on their resume' so they have been helping out by clearing the fence line of brush.  They are also working on the huglekulture beds to help us as well - we will be ready for strawberry plants in there soon.  Below left is Tanner Barclay manning the wheelbarrow to move some grass clippings into the Hugelkulture beds and on the right I am walking down the Huglekulture rows to mash down our brush piles before the clippings are applied.

 We have purchased some supplies with our grant monies from the Department of Ag Farm to School Grant that we won in the spring and we are happily using the goodies to make the garden grow better!

The wheelbarrow was already in place at the High School but we purchased the yard card and you can see our shovels and rakes with the red handles in the background as well as a few of our watering cans ( So far I haven't been able to find the galvenized ones that we want), and some of the promix and composted steer manure for helping our depleted and compacted soil.  At right is Nancy Albertsen - Volunteer extraordinaire - checking out the new supplies and garden goodies!  Below she is weeding the sign  near the front gate of the school.  This planter bed has been there since 1989 and is in need of some TLC.  It drives us crazy as we go by so we decided to use some of our summer time to start rehabbing the flower bin.  We have cleaned it out and it will be repaired and have some new soil added carefully around it so we can put new perennials in it next spring.  The red twig dogwoods will stay in place if at all possible.

We are excited about the upcoming harvest season - stay tuned and see how that goes.  I will be posting the forms that we will use to keep track of our produce (planted vs. harvested) as well as the hugelkulture directions for you soon!

A silence not so golden!

A  few years ago I put out ant bait.  The store bought stuff - raid style.  It was not my choice to do so but the sale of our old house depended on a home inspection and the home inspector said we had to use the ant bait.  We were given a list of options that we could use and I chose the one that seemed least likely to kill kids, dogs, birds, etc., and I also left the new homeowner a note and the label so she would be able to make informed decisions and adequately protect her kids and pets.

Upon moving to this Wicked Raven Farm location we realized that the same situation had occurred.  I didn't get to be the chooser of what went around the house or onto the ground.

I am re-reading Rachael Carson's "Silent Spring" and it is giving me eerie flashbacks to the first few mornings here at Wicked Raven.  No birds sang save for the loon song at the far end of the lake.  Yes - there were dead ants all over the place but....no songbirds.  Not even a raucous Raven which seem to always be near where my youngest son is.  If he is outside I can easily spot him by the ravens flying around or nearby.

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The Chickadees were silent as were the sparrows, junkos and swallows.  No Robins either.  Just silence.  It seemed like weeks before any of them started coming back even after I had hosed and scraped up every bit of ant killer I could find.

Today as I sit out on the third story porch and look out over the lake, I am stunned by the beautiful sounds of songbirds I hear and even the raucous Raven is there crowing at the Arctic Terns on the dock!  I am also sincerely afraid that not much has changed since Rachael wrote her book in the 1930's!  Almost 100 years ago and man is still struggling with the concept of harmony with nature.  There are pockets of us who stand against the wind and cry out against the use of chemicals but not nearly enough of us.

The Round up ad keeps playing like it's a marvelous product for a perfect yard.  Maybe we need to re-define what the perfect yard is!  Like I always say "if it will kill a dandelion, it will kill you!"  Eat them instead! Not that I think we should all eat ants, and I dont know how I would catch enough for a meal either, but there has to be a better solution than something that silences the songbirds!

If you have never read "Silent Spring" all of our local libraries carry copies of it, and it is really worth a read especially if you are concerned about the environment that we are leaving for the future generations, and how long the struggle has been going on!

I dont have a solution to the ant problem here still - ants are still everywhere!  If you have something organic that works well please let me know so I can try it!

Also check out the Rachael Carson Institute for more information on her amazing journey.  http://www.chatham.edu/rachelcarson/

I hope you have wonderful, songbird filled days!

A little goes a long way!

I know you're going to laugh that this is yet another potato blog but.... I wanted you to see how easy potatoes are to grow.  Early in the spring I peeled some spuds for a dish I was making and of course the peels went into the compost bucket and eventually into the pallet compost bin.  We have worked and stirred it at least once a week and last week when I went out to stir it again and get some finished compost for another project, here is what I found!

Those are potatoes coming right up in the center of the compost bin!  From just potato peelings! We have also had them grow up in the grass clippings that were piled up in the meadow area for storage, and when we threw a batch of kitchen scraps on top of the pile - up came the spuds!  So we will leave them alone and let them grow and empty one of the rolling composters out to start putting new scraps in!  Ill post an update when we harvest these ones and Reed's as well.  Reed has some that he planted in last year's corn rows that we have been burying as we go and they are doing wonderfully!  Stay tuned and throw some spud peels on your compost pile and let them grow!

Houston High and the Great Potato Project Part III - The Whole Garden Comes Together!

We have begun our second summer of working on the HHS Garden Project and this year we are taking it over the top!  We received a grant from the State of Alaska, Department of Agriculture, in the Farm to School program (  http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/ag_FTS.htm for more information) to enable us to expand the garden and get some of the tools and soil amendments we need to be really productive!  Part of our grant conditions are that we had to have the kids design the garden and help plant it.  This year we have been much more successful at getting the kids involved.  Some of the reasons for that are that it didn't snow the day before school got out and we have some really engaged staff members who are keeping things going as well as some really engaged students who thought garden design might be fun!  Our garden design most closely follows the plan designed by Michael Riffelmacher, a Sophomore at HHS.  His design was very clear, concise, and gave expansion options that will work over time as we expand throughout the years.  We had 7 students who did garden designs and all of them were fantastic!  I hope they all take their designs and make them happen.  

Mrs. Albertson is one of our fantastic staff members who have committed to helping the garden grow!  The group is meeting each Tuesday from 1-4:00 pm at the High School Garden and things are growing great.  The classroom students were able to get all of the potato bins planted before school got out.  This year we have pallet bins, upcycled tire bins, and also some rectangular bins made by the Culinary Arts instructor Mat Bredburg out of scrap wood.  

The above picture shows one of the scrap wood bins and our Zuchinni plants.  We are starting out with just the two for this summer and see how we do.  The plants were obtained from the MYHouse MY City Market which is a Non Profit working with homeless and at risk youth to give them job and life skills. (http://myhousematsuhomelessyouthcenter.com/) They have begun a greenhouse that is community supported and their greenhouse projects makes a great partner for our garden project.

We posted an informational sheet to let passers-by know what we have going on and hopefully keep the dogs out of the garden!

 Above and below, we used on of the scrap wood bins for Rainbow Blend carrots.  The kids love it at harvest time when the multi-colored carrots are harvested and can be made into wonderful snacks or eaten as a snack themselves!

Above right, Christy Hammond shovels more soil onto the potatoes that have grown up enough to need burying.

Another project we have begun at the garden is the Hugelkultur bed shown above.  Hugelkultur is the process of  using waste material, sticks, logs, twigs, grass clippings, etc to build a no-till raised bed that will feed itself through the years with the disintegration (composting) of the materials used to build it.  We will be using this one for strawberries and building another one at a later time to use for raspberries.  This is a learning experience for most of our group as they have not seen nor built Hugelkultur before.  It expands the knowledge base for all of us and is a good example for the kids that they can use what they have where they are.  Please see http://www.inspirationgreen.com/hugelkultur.html for more information.  There are also many YouTube videos regarding this concept as well.

 

 Above left, I am mixing soil from the giant dirt hill behind me with soil amendments.  Our soil came from underneath the football field and is nutrient poor and very compacted.  It is a clay/sand mix that needs peat, vermiculite and other amendments for it to be a good growing medium  Above right, two of our students pull trees along the fence line to prepare for the tomato tires and the mixed soil storage area.

 The mosquitoes were fierce the day we were working out here, and we had more dirt in our hair from swatting them than we had in some of the bins!

 We started with two sets of two tires and two well established Sungold tomatoes that had been hardened out for about two weeks in the wind and rain here at Wicked Raven Farm.

 

 We mixed our soil and planted the tomatoes low in the tire.  You can bury tomatoes deep and they make more roots.  We chose to bury ours deep so that we would have lots of root base and maintain our good upright habit of this indeterminate tomato variety.   See the blog at  http://wickedraven.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.htmlee for more information about this wonderful variety of yummy tomato!

The finished planting of the Sungold.

 Left, one of our sets of tires has potatoes planted in it.  These ones have been re-buried a few times already.
To the right is one of the scrap wood bins with potatoes in it and these are ready to be buried again. That will be on our list for the next garden day.

Our good old original pallet bins with potatoes in them.  These have been buried once already and are almost ready for the next bury.  

Stay tuned as I will be posting updates and posting some of the pictures of the kids doing the planting (I can't find the darn things today but they are awesome)!  Ill also try to upload some of the handouts we have been using to help this fun and educational project go forward!