Winter here to stay?

Well, that November snow didn't last 24hrs.  But yesterday we got a good dusting and some more today.  Judging by the forecast for tomorrow, Winter is here.  Very late for this neck of the woods.  Although, we got next to no summer with all the rain.  Regardless where you stand on the Global Warming issue, you have to admit weather patterns are changing.

My supplies from Mountain Rose Herbs came today and I quickly whipped up a batch of this homemade hand lotion.  I put it in 2 wide mouth half pint jars from Kerr that I was hoping to use for mushroom cultivation.  They were hard to find!  Hopefully, I'll have enough left for mushrooms when I get around to that project.

The half pint is a good size seeing as how this stuff has a shelf life of at most 3 months.  Its cooling now.  I'll post a pic later.  I'll see if anyone wants to try it at work tomorrow.

Snow Falls on the North Country Homestead

Well, the first dusting of snow has hit the Homestead.  Here's a view of part of the back yard:

Flickr mangles the colors after editing in Lightroom and I haven't figured out how to avoid that!

Fireplace

One of the first fires in the fireplace.  I love a nice fire!!

Update

Well, not much new going on at The Homestead.  Still taking my time moving things.  I do now have the bed in the bedroom!

I purchased a chainsaw and have begun cutting all the down wood that is piled around the property.  That will be stacked and dried and used in the fireplace.

New replacement windows are coming.  Twenty in all, which replace the single pane windows in most of the house.  Only three larger windows not being replaced.

Raked some of the massive amount of leaves that fall on the property.  Someone has been taking the full bags that I set beside the road.  Oddly, enough someone came way up the driveway and took some that were beside the house!!

Researching raising some chickens.  I'd like to get some Barred Rocks because I love their coloring.  I'd like to find someone locally that has them.  I only want about 6 hens, that should be a manageable number.

I'm having a hard time finding course vermiculite.  I need at least 8 cubic feet for my first Square Foot Gardening box.  I have everything else.  Hopefully, in the Spring it will be more available.

One of the blogs I follow, A Sonoma Garden, has a recipe for making hand lotion.  I ordered the stuff I didn't have from Mountain Rose Herbs.

Well, I guess that's it for now.

House

Well, Odin (my yellow Labrador Retriever) and I have stayed in the house 2 nights now. Base camp is the living room where the TV is located! Bed is there now until I get other furniture. I haven't been in the mood to move. Luckily, I can leave my stuff where it is for awhile.

Closed on house

Tired. Will probably stay there starting tomorrow. Photos at some point.

House Closing on November 4th

Well, I finally have a closing date. It's probably going to be too late to put in any type of a garden. I am however currently exploring the possibility of raising a half a dozen chickens.

The Worms Are In!!

The worms arrived today!  They were a bit chilly.  Its been in the 50s but who knows how cold it was when they got put on the truck.

Here are a few picks:

Update

Well, there isn't much to update! I still haven't closed but it is moving closer. Waiting on the grant money, no idea how long that will take!

I did start a worm bin today following Bentley's method over at Red Worm Composting.  I'll post pics later when its done.  I need to get more vegetable scraps and such at work tomorrow to finish it up!

The surprising thing was how much cardboard this thing uses!  My hands got sore just tearing cardboard!

I put some cherry tomatoes (both green and overripe), along with the stems and leaves from the tomato plant, then a few maple leaves, a little bit of tissues, a bunch of strawberry leaves and runners, and one banana peel.

Once its finished, it sits for 1-2 weeks to cure, then the worms go in.  So sometime in the next week or so I'll order a pound of worms.

I guess that's it on the Homestead front.

The story thus far...

So, just to set up what inspired this blog let me explain. Thanks to the current incentives for "First Time Home Buyers" from the Federal Gov't, I am in the process of purchasing my first home. Prior to this home I have either lived with my mother or rented. I was never really able to do anything with the property I wanted. That's all about to change!

The property I have decided on has a large lawn which will provide me with ample growing space. At some point I may add some "citified" farm animals depending on the codes of the town.

Now, the area I will be moving to has an agrarian history but I will be moving into the center of town, so it won't be as impressive as an urban homestead in the heart of Pasadena, CA.

So, this blog will chart both my first experiences with home owning as well as my attempt to join the Homegrown Revolution!

Testing SMS posting