Life has been full and busy! A lot of spring rain this year has meant that things are actually growing this summer, so extra moments throughout the day have been spent weeding, foraging and drying herbs, planting seeds in the greenhouse and starts in the garden, mulching, etc. The wildflowers were amazing this spring, and things are now dried out and turned to California summer’s golden brown.
In the garden, we’ve planted pumpkins, summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, melons, peas, potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant. In the greenhouse we have a bed full of kale, collards, chard, beans, eggplant, strawberries, basil, broccoli and lettuce. As things begin to bear fruit, we are busy canning and preserving what we can keep from the squirrels. Already, beets and cherries are preserved on the pantry shelf as pickles, jams, vinegar. The garlic is harvested and dried and bags of blanched greens and pesto are in the freezer. In another couple months, we will have new lamb in the freezer and beef from our friends at Bridwell Angus. Having enough food to put some away feels so good, and it is comforting to know that this winter we will be able to taste some of the warm abundance of summer’s bounty. We are also planning for winter beyond the pantry, starting to collect and stack wood, thinking about areas of the house that need more or better insulation, making sure we have enough wool socks and sweaters.
In the herbal department, things have been busy as well.. The herb garden has plenty of mugwort, lemon balm, catnip, rosemary, hyssop and mint to hang and dry for teas and balms. We’ve also had some wonderful volunteer herbs like horehound which will get turned into old-fashioned horehound candies for sore-throats, and other valuable medicinals like plantain, mallow, shepherd’s purse and lomatium. Plantain is one medicinal we use regularly, as a quick poultice in the field of chewed up leaves quickly takes away the sting of prickly plants and bugs. It is amazing how nature presents us with so many gifts if we only know where to look. Lambsquarter is another abundant volunteer plant that is so good for us and that we add to sautéed greens, pesto, and salads as long as it continues to appear around the farm. Higher in vitamins and minerals than spinach, super tasty, and free!
Other projects have included working more on the mobile home/guest house to improve the plumbing and clear out two bedrooms for guests. We have also made exciting progress on the workshop. It’s now got a roof and some walls, and we have finally begun moving in some of the equipment that has been out in the weather. It also means that we can shift our attention next to finishing some house projects before we start working on the studio. This past week, we finally painted the big living room wall and the big wall in our kitchen too. We actually now have a shelf in the kitchen - amazing! We were joking that with our limited budget, we are buying building materials one board at a time. A slight exaggeration, but not by much. Luckily, we have found some good deals online and gotten some other materials as secondhand gifts, so we are managing to creep forward with our projects (as the Johnny Cash song says) “one piece at a time.”
As the temperatures continue to heat up, we are on the constant watch for fires, both outside our window and on our WatchDuty fire app. Luckily, the biggest fire happening right now is pretty far from us in Klamath, OR. But we remain vigilant and hopeful that we have a quieter fire season than last year.
The biggest gift of this summer is just realizing how far we’ve come. Though many days here still feel pretty challenging, we have already accomplished so much in just two years, and we are beginning to feel more hopeful that we can make this homestead work. As the days begin to shorten, and we turn our attention to a winter garden, cover crops, studio work and the start of school, we can finally see some of our dreams beginning to bear fruit and flowers and we feel so grateful.
I think you are amazing!