Today on the homestead

Hello Readers,  summer is soon to be past, I noticed leaves falling this morning while at the barn. I think perhaps they are for lack of rain and much dryness, rather than an early fall.  What the FEG (fresh eating garden) garden produced is about gone as well. With the tomatoes and peppers this week I made a hot salsa and canned 5 -1/2 pints.  It bothers me to see any amount just left out in the garden, so even though it is not so vast an amount, every jar counts for us. Doing small quantities is a blessing as it does not cause me to become over anxious as I tend to do, when I have 1/2 - 1 bushels of beans, tomatoes, potatoes, corn or what ever else comes off almost at the same time.

Today I went and picked up an order at a local bulk food market:  100 lbs of raw sugar, 25 lbs of cornmeal, 5 lbs. of rice and some oatmeal.  With the rice and cornmeal, I heat treat for long storage in my buckets. The oven is lit to about 200 degrees and the item placed in a deep sided casserole pan, put in oven for about 15-20 min, stirring almost every 5 min. or so, till hot through and through, of which I run my 'clean / dry ' hand through for testing.  Take out, placing in another container to cool completely and then put in my buckets. I have never had bug issues with these items, of which, a 5 gal bucket full last about a year. I also got a 15lb box of butternut squash. These are a long term keeper for us in our second pantry, which is a bit darker and cooler than the other pantry. I put them in stackable baskets until I can them, which I look to do next week. But we eat them stewed or baked too.

 Now, the oatmeal, I have not been successful with heat treating it and putting in my buckets;  bugs find their way as does mold, so the chickens and pet pig of grandson, get this and they do not mind the extra 'stuff'.  I have since looked on you tube and have found several that heat treat a different way.  Putting jars in the oven, called 'oven canning,' at 200 degrees, to sterilize, for about 20 min.,  then fill jars with oatmeal, put lids and rings on, placing back in oven at same temp for about an hour, then taking out letting cool and the jars seal. I am putting my oatmeal in quart jars, as that is about the amount we use at a time.         Well, the jars have sealed nicely, so I am pleased and hoping this process is more of a success. From the 3+ lb bag I got 4 quarts.

Keeping sugar, salt and honey on hand at all times is a must for a pantry of any size, for these items never go bad. I buy honey from Ford's Honey Farm in New York. They are wonderful people and the honey is excellent. I do realize that it is suggested to buy honey locally for allergy reasons, but as we do not have this issue, I have found the Ford's honey affordable and like the taste much better.  They have a web site as well. 

I perhaps have listed these links before, but feel I will do so again as they are good reads and viewing for homesteading.

The Deliberate Argarian blogspot.com

Starry Hilder - youtube

Paul Gautschie - youtube    lots of great information on his Back To Eden gardening.

Urban Homstead.org -  The DerVaes  living in CA and homesteading in the urban community they live in,  wonderful information and encouragement.

Primitive Technology- you tube


Useful thoughts

I save as much string from feed sacks for future uses in my sewing of crafts, such as my cloth- hand sewn- saw dust filled dolls.  I also save the inside brown layer of sack from the feed sacks, or brown/white paper bags for wrapping packages. If a feed sack is white and has a design on it I like, I save it to write letters to friends. Getting an unusual letter in the mail is fun.

From the bulk food market I ask for their empty plastic containers, which sometimes hold 5 lbs of spices, or the cardboard, very large containers that will hold a 50 lb bag of animal feed. I store heat treated rice in the small plastic containers as we do not eat much rice, but I am going to try to heat treat noodles too and store in the plastic containers.

Upcoming 'things to do' fall/winter
dip candles
render fat for lard/can lard
can produce I have in freezer- berries for jam,  tomato/pepper/onion mixture for salsa, tomatoes for sauce and juice.

Heat can more oatmeal.

When the humidity and heat break a bit, I will venture outside and get on with cleaning up the gardens, both vegetable and flower. Getting the vegetable one ready to bed for winter. We use the BTE method.

More cornmeal to heat treat, so I will end my thoughts for today.

Continue on in what ways you are able, keep on learning, keep on pursuing, don't give up. If something does not work for you, keep looking for what does, it is out there. Keep focused, stay encouraged, ask God, He can and will lead you. Look or read of others that will and do encourage you, not the ones who make you feel you can't because you have not the resources they do.  Sift, sift and sift again from all the abundance of resources available, to apply to what works 'for you.' This is not for if your already into a homestead, but are looking to begin.

God is good and greatly to be praised.

In Joy

What is the Meaning? SHTF

Hello Readers,  I have been thinking of these 'letters' lately as I have read some other blogs and the you tubers of this past year that I viewed   SHTF.  Simple minded that I am I had to actually, ")  google them to find out their meaning.  Well, first off, I prefer to refer to the S as 'something'     'seriousness'    'sobering' 'stuff'   or whatever word of a seriousness nature beginning with S.  Second,  most of what I have read of others referring to these letters, they are implicating the economy failing,  the infrastructure of our government failing, the world in total chaos, (more than it is at present),  the grid shutting down for the count.  And all of these are serious, very, but I am more thinking that daily life can be pointed to these 'letters' for many people. The question people are asking after they show these letters, is,  'what will you do?'  Again, for most people, and I include ourselves, it is a matter of asking this question when something in the daily life gets a real wake up, what will we do? 

Being prepared is wisdom, but sometimes you cannot when you cannot foresee what lies ahead.  God does, and we must trust and rely on Him. Our example is of the recent health issue with our daughter AddieMae.  Up until then, her care and health have been very steady. Now, we are in a new phase, of which we never foresaw coming or even thought of her health going in such a direction. But it did, we were not totally prepared, but God has made a way. Faith tested and being tested, but God is faithful and true. 

These letters SHTF do not only pertain to coming disaster, but pertain to life in all ways.  Be prepared as you can on matters that you can. Wisdom is the principal thing, and scripture does tell us a prudent man sees danger coming and prepares, but the simple keep going on.  Be discerning, commit all to God in all your ways of what your life is and He will sustain you.

In Joy