Basket Making

Last Saturday Maryanna and spent the day learning about basket making.  The two teachers had a lovely display of their handmade baskets and handwoven bags to inspire us.

We chose to start with a cattail basket since cattails are easy to find.  This project uses two different types of dried cattails, a stiffer one for the spokes and wider more flexible ones for the weavers.  We first soaked the weavers and repeatedly sprayed the entire project to keep it moist.

I wish I could say this came easy for me, but really I was struggling with the technique and worked at a pace much slower than Maryanna.  Occasionally I'd get stuck and she'd come over and help me, and she really found joy in that!

We took a walk to identify other useful plants for making baskets.  Pictured below is bittersweet.  There is a native bittersweet that is protected here in Michigan but this one is an invasive variety.  We gathered long strips of it and pulled off the leaves.  The thicker pieces would serve at the frame and the thinner strips would be used as weavers.

Here is our teacher Rowena with the beginnings of a bittersweet basket.

This book was recommended for unlimited ideas of plants that can be used.

When we returned back home the others were anxious to start one of their own so we spent the rest of the evening working on more baskets.  You can see here how we used an empty yogurt container and clothes pin to help form the shape.  Peter caught on quickly and worked totally independently. 

Here are the first two we finished.  

Maryanna is using her for little toys and I gave mine to Paul to collect his keys wallet and iphone.  I'm not sure I want to admit how long it took to make this little thing.  It had me wondering about how it is Ikea sells anything below $10.  Still I cannot deny the joy there was in making it and huge satisfaction in finishing it and seeing it used daily.  

I am enlivened by constantly trying and learning new things.  I'm am grateful to those who are just as enthusiastic about teaching them.  Here is the site to other nature classes in our area http://www.naturelearningcommunity.org/index.html

A day to remember

Maryanna just recently turned 8 years old and was baptized. She has been looking forward to this special day all year and was committed to preparing herself.  At bedtime she would share her excitement with me by asking many questions. I enjoyed many late night gospel discussions by her bedside and over the last couple of months focused our family gospel study around the importance of baptism and what it means to commit to live and love as Jesus did. 

       

When it was time to enter the baptismal font Clara would not be left behind.  She wanted to be right by her sister's side.  Maryanna was beaming! 

Maryanna was baptized by Paul, it was a quick ceremony that involved complete immersion.  She stepped out of the font still beaming and a moment later as I greeted her soaking wet in the dressing room, she jumped as high as she could, threw her fists in the air and declared, "I did it!", "I can't believe how good I feel!" I couldn't help but cry as I shared in her excitement and realized how much she has grown in the last 8 years.  What a joy it is to be her mother and be blessed by her enthusiasm and great capacity to love.

  

Maryanna had a very special dress to wear to celebrate the event.  I made this dress years ago before I was even married when I attended a week long heirloom sewing conference with Martha Pullen in Alabama.  Constructed of beautiful Swiss batiste, entredeux, and heirloom laces, I guessed at the length and size an 8 year may wear, I even made an accompanying slip. I somehow knew I would have daughters that would wear it on their baptismal day and happy of the work and foresight from years ago because there is no way I could squeeze such a project into my current stage of life.

We had planned a meal afterwards for our family that would be traveling from over an hour away to attend.  We also invited a few neighbors to join us.  I planned to keep it simple, have everything ready the day before so we could remember that it was the baptism that mattered most on this special day.  

Unfortunately I ended up getting really sick the day before, we even wondered if we would have to reschedule the baptism.  I got a bee sting on my leg (not from my bees) a few days earlier and figured it would heal in time, however, each day it got bigger, redder and more swollen.  By Saturday morning I could barely walk.  I sat in the grocery store parking lot feeling achy and did not have the strength to push a cart.  Since the grocery store is actually really far from home I stopped by a nearby friend's, she gave me some remedies and I sat on her couch for awhile.  Still no improvement so I headed home, arranged for a babysitter and Paul took me to the ER.

It turned out I had cellulitis in my leg.  I was prescribed the proper medicine and sent home to rest and elevate my leg.  I felt so sick, like I'd been hit with a full body flu.

Paul reassured me I'd be well enough to attend the baptism but we'd have to make other plans for the meal afterwards.  By this time it was late into the evening, past 10 pm and I was too tired to think about anything let alone plan a party.

Sunday mornings are always a challenge, but this one was especially so.  We had a baby lamb born that needed attending too, the other ewes were showing signs of labor, there was the usual milking, all the younger kids needed baths, the house was a complete bomb, we were to have over 50 people at our house by mid afternoon and I simply could not even get myself out of bed.  Honestly I prayed for a miracle to happen, and it did.  

Paul and William attended to the animals, James, Peter and Maryanna got the younger ones dressed and they were only an hour late for church.  Maryanna informed me right before heading out the door the beautiful dress I made was gaping open in the back, I forgot to put button and button holes in.  We fixed that with a simple safety pin.

I called my mom who was staying a ways away at my brothers, she was unable to make it to our house in time to help.  Paul called his parents to see if they could pick up a few things. I then texted our babysitter Peggy and put a call across the street to our good neighbors Hank and Carolyn.  I told them the situation and within an hour they were here with ready hands.  Peggy cleaned the house, Hank cleaned up the lawn and set up chairs and tables, Carolyn called another neighbor, gathered table cloths (and floral arrangements!) and headed to the grocery store.  Peggy drove me to the baptism and I left the rest in the hands of my neighbors. 

Here is the scene that I returned to in my kitchen as I limped in from the car.  What a blessing! I was able to spend the rest of the afternoon resting, everything was being taken care of. 

These are the angels that helped make it happen, they are my team of first response, always so generous in their kind words and support showing up out of no where just when I need it most.  Carolyn, my neighbor, Peggy, our babysitter and Paul's mom.  I am so blessed to know them, they have taught me so much.

We enjoyed a perfect day, good food, the company of friends and family and many begging chickens.

I am so grateful my parents were able to make it.  When I asked Maryanna what she wanted most for her birthday she said, "all I want is for Oma and Opa to come to my baptism".  With only a few weeks notice they made it happen, it was a quick trip full of fun times and so happy to share this event with them.

I sat resting as everyone cleaned up.  Clara said, "Carolyn, can you make a party for me next year?"  Carolyn laughed and said, "sure, you should see what I can do with more than two hours notice!" 

Blueberry Summer

We have 9 blueberry plants in our garden but I think we really need at least 50 to supply the family demand for blueberries.  Peter's been picking a small handfuls from our bushes but they do not go any farther than a little snack.

   

So we took a trip to a local blueberry farm to fill the greater demand. It was fun for the first 15 minutes then everyone started complaining.  I kept encouraging them with thoughts of homemade blueberry ice cream, smoothies, cobbler and the chance for blueberry pancakes into January!  It kept them going.

Little Charlie was anything but helpful.  He refused to be confined to the back pack and shoved blueberries into his mouth faster than we could pick.  One person was on guard for chasing him at all times.

It wasn't until we arrived at the farm that I discovered George had a fever.  Poor guy did not even want to get out of the van.  I gave him a water bottle and set up the back pack to shade him and he slept the whole time.  

In the end we had picked 28 pounds!  

And boy was this crowd worn out!

After weighing them they were packed in brown paper bags.  I was just about to back up and leave the farm when I had a feeling to check on the berries in the way back, just to be sure they were secure.  I discovered one of the children thought it would be a good idea to dump their water bottle on top of the blueberries.  With even the slightest shuffle of the bag it gave out and in an instant half our blueberries were spilled at my feet.

The farm owners who from the beginning were amused with our picking team felt really sorry for me.  They gave me a great deal on some pre picked and boxed berries.  I came home with almost 60 pounds and packed all but 5 pounds into freezer bags.

Here is Clara after a hard day's work.

And here's what we made the very next day, blueberry ice cream.

The following day we made a gluten free cobbler and topped it with whip cream.

We've also made many smoothies and pancakes and simply enjoyed snacking on them frozen by the handful.  We'll see how long our supply will last us.  Aside from the pile that spilled at my feet, not one berry has been wasted!

Garden report 8 - Hide and Seek and sometimes Eat

I need to confess I've been hiding from the garden lately.  A few weeks ago we experienced several days in the mid 90's and I simply burned out. Since then, even on the more recent beautiful mild days, I have not tended to garden like I should have.

I tried an experiment of not going to the grocery store and only eating out of the garden for a week.

We picked some beautiful food, peppers, basil, peas, broccoli, beets, turnips, cucumbers, lettuce, and kale.

We enjoyed some happy meals, mostly salads, stir fry and smoothies.  And without any meat left in our freezer or the meatiness of squash I believe we were really hungry that week.

I have become most grateful for farmer's stands and grocery stores this summer.  And I have become way more realistic in my expectations.  I will be satisfied even if we only produce %25 of our own food. 

The tomatoes were looking promising.  Lots of green ones but the nights have been way too cool lately for them to ripen.  We let the guinea hens loose on them hoping to catch those sneaky worms.

Clara has been hiding from her garden because of the "creepy bugs".  The weeds are as tall as both her and her flowers.  George snuck in there yesterday and picked three bachelor button flowers.  He whispered to me just before sleep, "mommy, I put flowers in your bathroom".  Sure enough in a tiny vase with water were those three bachelor buttons.  That was as sweet and satisfying as a bushel of ripe tomatoes!   

Here is a small sample of what the kids may find on a run through the garden.  They usually just leave it on the table but today I was handed a whole stalk of kale, roots and all.  I am happy that they are still having fun with - hide and seek - in the garden.
  

And so, not to feel so down on this year's garden, I celebrated our beautiful garlic harvest by braiding and hanging it in the pantry.  I have 5 of these lovely braids and a full bushel still waiting for my attention on a quiet afternoon.  We consume a lot of garlic in a year as do our animals, I am happy to report we may have actually closed the loop on that need.

Here is the garden view from the kitchen.  I may grow tired of toiling in it but I will never get tired of looking at it.
  

Looking back

Garden report 7

The experience of inexperience

The experience of inexperience is not comfortable.  I know because it has met me at every season here on the farm so far.

Today William and I set out to harvest some honey.  I consulted with experts, reviewed a book, read blogs, skimmed forums and finally said we just had to do it.  All we had to do was suit up, smoke the bees out of the box and pull up the bars capped with honey.

It was not easy to get the bees off the honey.  A friend advised us not to over smoke or else the honey may taste like smoke.  So we smoked a little and then just sat with the bees and encouraged them (with a feather) back to the hive.      

This tested our patience.  We tipped the box over thinking that would encourage more out but as I tipped it all the comb collapsed on itself.

We guided as many as we could out by hand, and since the comb had already collapsed I gave the box a little shake. 

We loaded the box in the wagon and headed back closer to the house so we could collect the honey that was dripping all over the place.   We had two food grade buckets set up with a straining bag and the plan was to crush and strain.

On the way back to the house I had a overwhelming feeling that I had no idea what I was doing.  Before proceeding I needed a breather so with bee suits still on I invited William to lay in the grass by my side.  I stared up at the sky and wondered how I could be such an idiot.  Our experience looked nothing like the YouTube videos we watched. 

The sky answered back, be not discouraged, the experience of inexperience opens the path to gained wisdom.

I relaxed into this thought and forgave myself for allowing the comb to crush on itself.  I forgave myself for every plant or animal (and even child) that may have been miss cared for because of my lack of experience.  I am learning not to take my mistakes personally. 
  

It was good that lesson was had because the mistakes continued to happen.

As I began cutting into the comb and dropping it in the bucket I discovered there was some brood comb in there!  If the comb had remained intact I could have inspected each individual bar and only harvested off the ones that were fully capped.  I assumed that they broke off because they were too heavy with honey and that harvesting would be necessary in order to allow space for more brooding.  

Baby bees are all white, Maryanna learned all about it from an expert the last time we inspected the hive.  She saw a few and cried out "stop! don't kill the babies".  I really did not know what to do.  I picked up broken pieces of comb and inspected them carefully before adding them to the crush and strain bucket.  The obvious brood comb I set aside.  

I felt horrible and wondered if the queen got crushed somewhere between the combs.  I won't know until the next time I check on the hive.  I then practiced some really sloppy bee keeping, I took the broken brood comb back to the hive and wedged it in the the empty box.  I told myself, I may not know what to do with this but I'm sure the bees do.  I sure made a mess of their home and prayed they'd be okay.

Honestly I feel more concerned about the well being of the hive than harvesting honey.  I kind of wish I did not touch the hive today.  I wondered if I made a mistake in choosing a Warre' hive over the more traditional Langstroth hives. 

I wondered a lot of things and was grateful for what was learned.

A bunch of bees were lingering along the honey trail to the house.  Peter got stung on the tip of his finger, he said he was trying to save a drowning bee.  He was totally freaking out. I on the other hand was calm, I knew exactly what to do.  I have been through this before, carefully flick out the stinger so you do not squeeze anymore venom into the flesh, rinse under cold water and apply lavender oil and ice.  And I would not have known that had I not experienced a bee sting before.      

I forever will be a student of experience, for that is where we take ownership of gained knowledge, and that is where our knowledge becomes wisdom. 

Garden report 7 - still hungry

The sunflowers have bursted!  What a joy it is to see them dancing outside the front window.

The garlic was harvested and now drying in the garage. 

James' birdhouse gourds are happy.

And it is a wonder to Maryanna how one tiny seed could grow so tall so quick.

The hugel beds have experienced success with beautiful basil and greens but for some reason the squash are now limping.  I'm seriously worried about the possibility of no zucchini this summer.

The black Hungarian peppers are most productive but again I do not know how to cook them.

Green peppers are beginning.  

The beets are tempting me to roast them.  The problem is we have no a/c and I have not turned the oven on in over a week.  Beet kvass?

I have been stir frying.  This is a mix of greens, broccoli, peas and mushrooms.  It was yummy.

Even the stir fry made the kitchen too hot so I pulled some turnips, and carrots, picked some parsley and found some purslane.  Mixed with olive oil, salt, honey and lemon juice this is one of our favorite salads.

The garden is producing yet still we are hungry.  I've been wondering about our ability to grow our own food and came to the silly realization that it is not a lack of food, it is simply my lack of enthusiasm in preparing it.  Who wants to sweat in a 90 degree kitchen over a hot stove?!  I need an outdoor kitchen for sure.

Looking back

Garden report 6