Monday- March 31,  2003

MARCH, CAME IN LIKE A LION & LEFT LIKE A LAMB

Sunday in the Southland was very warm with temps in the 90's.   We spent pretty much the whole day working in the yard --planting, ripping out concrete, fertilizing, watering.  I had the pleasant chore of mixing up coffee "fertilizer" for the plants.  I finally got a bit fed up with the irregularity of getting coffee grounds from Starbucks so I tried another local coffee shop in the area and they'll supply you with as much coffee grounds you want -- you bring the 5 gal buckets and they'll fill 'em up. 

We found out the other day that one of our relatives in the Army Reserve has been activated and is going to be shipped out to the Middle East very soon -- as a matter of fact, in a few weeks.  Before, they were nameless faces... now the faces are going to become a bit more personal. 

Weather Report:  Another warm, Spring day.

Sunday- March 30,  2003

DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN

We spent a lovely day yesterday hiking in the mountains.  The sky was brilliant blue and the air warm, the hills were covered with new green growth and masses of colorful wildflowers.  When we got to the 40ft or so waterfall, some of us - who were brave enough - having anti-freeze for blood, took a plunge into the ice cold mountain water.  We are blessed to have this wonderful natural recreation so close by to our home (about a 5 min drive) -- somewhere to go to get away from the city's distracting sites and sounds.  A peaceful place where one can commune with nature and experiences the wonders she has to offer.

Weather Report:  Unseasonably warm.

Friday- March 28,  2003

This year we bought some fragrant red roses to use in cooking and now that they are blooming it's time for makin' rose petal jam.... Now, just have to track down some scones ;-)

Rose Petal Jam

1 cup fresh rose petals (must never have been sprayed with any chemicals)
3/4 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon

Puree in blender until smooth. Slowly add 2 1/2 cups sugar, blend till all sugar has dissolved; (leave in blender). Stir 1 package pectin (ie. Sure Jell) into 3/4 cup water, bring to a boil, and boil hard for 1 minute.

Pour mixture into blender with rose petal mixture until well blended. Do this very quickly - it sets up FAST!! Pour into baby food jars. Let set for 6 hours, till firm. Will keep one month in refrigerator. Freezes well.

~ Recipe courtesy of Rose Petal Jam Recipes by Mimi ~

 Ok, I'm not thinking how this answer could be interpreted in a different way--that is until the guy asks, "Magic Mushrooms?"  I started to laugh and shook my head and told him, "No, the eating kind!"  Funny thing is, he's not the only one who's asked.  When the UPS guy delivered them yesterday he jokingly wanted to know if these were "psychedelic mushrooms."  And then yesterday evening, one of our friends asked us what have we been doing lately and when we told her "Planting mushrooms."  She smirked and asked, "Now, what KIND of mushrooms?"  *sigh*

Weather Report:  Warm and going to get even warmer over the weekend with temps in the low 90's - yikes!!!

Thursday- March 27,  2003

From across the pond...

Check out this wonderful site and read their great collection of articles at: Self-Sufficiency in Style -- Here's some of what they have to say...

"Homesteading, self-sufficiency, hobby farming or even survivalism, call it what you will, producing your own food is still possible.  Many dream of such a life, but few attempt it, believing it beyond their grasp.

It may be a return to a frontier spirit for an American, or a yearning for a lost rural idyll for an Englishman.

Whatever the motivation, it has a long and honourable place in many cultures, and need not be associated with extreme or weird political views, poverty or deprivation.

A love of personal freedom is always present.

Is that such a terrible thing?"

RIGHT ON!!!!

Weather Report:  Pleasant. 

Wednesday- March 26,  2003

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

Wherever we live, we should start to do something. We can start first by decreasing our energy consumption--you can actually live on 40% of the energy you are now using without sacrificing anything of value. We can re-fit our houses for energy efficiency. We can cut our vehicle use by using public transportation and sharing with friends. We can save water off our roofs into tanks, or recycle greywater to the toilet system or garden. We can also begin to take some part in food production. This doesn't mean that we all need to grow our own potatoes, but it may mean that we will buy them directly from a person who is already growing potatoes responsibly. ~ Courtesy of EcoNet ~

The past couple days have been just lovely!   As the days become longer, most of our time is now spent outdoors.  Yesterday we planted winter squash, pumpkins, a last crop of snow peas and transplanted the tomatoes into the Earthboxes.  The yard is continuing to slowly evolve and take shape. 

These past couple months were spent trying to incorporate a variety of fruits into our landscape.  We are hoping that the trees will grow in the locations we picked for them, hoping that eventually in a couple years it'll look like a forest garden -- lush, dense and fruitful. 

As we dream of one day picking fresh guavas and apples from the trees we are also in a slow, but steady journey to go beyond gardening and start to go off-the-grid as best as we possibly can.... and even then some.  We find ourselves, at times, feeling frustrated that the going is slower than we'd like.  Reading from a book is one thing, but actually working on the task with your hands and figuring problems out with your brain is another!  Some tasks just don't some easy to us, as gardening does (though we are learning from a few gardening blunders -- we have killed our fair share of plants).  Learning new things can be daunting, in fact sometimes down-right scary!  Incorporating ideas, words, plans and concepts form books into a reality, now that's a real challenge and the question is are we up to it?

Weather Report:  Sunny and warmer, dry and windy. 

Tuesday- March 25,  2003

JOLTIN' JOE

Dropped in to our new local Starbucks down the street for some coffee grounds... and it was our lucky day!  Usually we come too late and find that someone has already been there to pick the grounds up...    We brought  home a huge bag and added some grounds to our compost pile (mmmmm, the yard smells like roasting coffee, but who's complaining?) and the rest we plan to scatter among the acid-loving blueberries... hoping that'll give them a wake-up jolt! (Here's a good thread to read from the GardenWeb forms about using coffee grounds in the garden)

The other day we removed (*ouch*) a beautiful, large ficus and schefflera that was growing up against the house... now that side of the house looks naked and sooo wide open!  OK, looking on the bright side though, removing it has now opened up a huge amount of growing space that we can use for edibles.  We replaced the ficus and schefflera with an Anna Apple and Elderberries and are thinking of planting some ferns and nasturtiums also. 

Weather Report:  Sunny and warm.

Monday - March 24,  2003

Weather Report:  Overcast.

Sunday - March 23,  2003

TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON...

We spent a lovely afternoon hiking in the San Gabriel mountains yesterday. But, as we enjoyed a pleasant hike in the natural beauty of our local mountains, one had to remember that there was a conflict going on in the world and that people were dying. Our thoughts and prayers are with the American/British soldiers and the people of Iraq.  Our hope is that this war will be over soon with minimal loss of life.

Weather Report:  Lovely Spring Day!

Thursday - March 20,  2003

HAPPY SPRING TO ALL...

Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world. ~ Virgil A. Kraft ~

Thanks to a posting on the 'GARDEN JUNK' FORUM, I have found a source for some free, 55 gal plastic containers in our area -- Would have never thought to check a car wash! Cheap is great, but free is even better....

The other day we visited our local Armstrong's nursery and thanks to the influences of Gary Jones (owner of the once famous, but now closed HORTUS NURSERY) they had 2" heirloom tomatoes that were going for 77 Cents.  Well, now who could pass up such a price?  Ok, we did control ourselves as we already have quite a few heirlooms that we are growing from seed... but, we did pick up a few of the varieties that we don't have.  Why do heirlooms have to have such enticing names anyhow?  It's sooo tempting to want to try and grow all of them...  OK, I'll have to calm down now and just be realistic... ;-)

Here's a useful website for answering the question How can my community reduce waste?  While you're there, don't forget to check out the recycling ideas left by some of their readers.  (Thanks to Rebecca for the link.)

And here's another useful link: Personal Unbranding Resources where there is some methods listed (too bad, though, it looks like the site hasn't been finished)

Weather Report:  Dreary and cloudy -- similar to the world's situation today.

Wednesday - March 19,  2003

POST SCRIPT

In my last post I forgot to mention where we got our  TWILIGHT LAUNDRY APPLIANCE .  Here's an excerpt from my email to one of our reader's question regarding where one can purchase it:

We purchased ours from Global-light-network.com They are doing some changes on their site, so you'll have to call them and talk to David or Nita.  Tell them you are interested in TWILIGHT PRILL LAUNDRY APPLIANCE.

I've seen the Prill Laundry Appliances sold on other sites going for as high as $200! So be careful! Talk to David or Nita and ask them if they still have the TWILIGHT, PRILL LAUNDRY APPLIANCE bags for $50. We deal with them because they are very knowledgeable, so let them know that we referred them to you.

Prill beads are truly amazing for cleaning out toxins, I have read really amazing things about the beads. One remarkable story is that they are using them in Lake Mead to clean out the Perchlorate toxins.

In addition, we are using a bag of PRILL BEADS to clean out our tap water instead of having to purchase costly filters or bottled water.  Don't want to start sounding like a commercial ad (*smile*)  So, if you like you can read all about the wonders of PRILL BEADS on their site. 
 

Weather Report: Warm and sunny

Monday - March 17,  2003

this year.  So, we'll save the pile for yard waste & paper and keep the kitchen waste in these nice, "attractive" compost containers.

This year we hope to stretch our monthly shopping "expeditions" from 4 weeks to 5, then 6 and then to ????? Who knows?  We just got some plastic (*cringe* I know, I hate plastic, but sometimes there's simply not much choice) food-grade storage containers for the bulk food items. We're making our own granola, flour tortillas, peanut butter. ketchup, salsa and all desserts and some breads from scratch.  We've been phasing out unnecessary cleaning products and detergents and getting down to the basic, natural, "cheap" cleaners such as lemon juice, baking soda and white vinegar.  We are using the ever-lasting TWILIGHT LAUNDRY APPLIANCES for our wash and if we need sudsing action we'll use 7th GENERATION products.  For dishes and bath soap, we like DR. BONNER'S CASTILE SOAP and we use the long-lasting CRYSTAL STONE for deodorant.  For toothpaste, TOM'S of MAINE is a favorite, and we use MICRO-BRIGHT once and a while -- but we can do without and use baking soda.  We have to buy organic shampoo (not very particular on the brand -- whatever's on sale at the health food store).  We do not purchase conditioners, we get by with using an apple cider vinegar herbal rinse that we make ourselves.  For our splurge urge to indulge ourselves, we buy a natural lotion -- we use it sparingly and a bottle goes quite a long ways.  Also, since I have been purchasing bulk oils, butters, and essential oils to make soaps, we can start to make our own.

Shopping wisely has helped us save money so we are able to purchase items that'll help us live more sufficiently.....

Here's some progressive viewpoints from a posting at PORTLAND INDY MEDIA CENTER:

-------------

*Spend Less then You Make

*Don't Store Savings in a Bank

*Put Your Savings Into Investment that Lower Your Initial Cost: Energy

Efficiency, Self-sufficient Gardens, Organizing Your Life and Time.

etc.

--------------

The new "Victory Garden" is much more so a victory of the people to help

themselves.

--------------

Don't trust the man to feed you and keep you healthy.

Do it yourself. for free and for freedom.

Weather Report: Breezy, cool and clear.

Sunday - March 16,  2003

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS...

Frontyard                                         Backyard      

Everything seems to have grown overnight!!!! The Southland got drenched early Friday morning and all day Saturday and into the night with a large, warm, El Nino storm.  We estimate that here in the foothills, we got at least 6"-7" of rain, possibly more?  We are indeed very grateful for the large amount of participation this storm brought us this late in the season giving the plants a good, deep soaking. 

As I mentioned in a previous entry, we hope to tear out the concrete driveway and replace it with an herbal grass mixture with concrete stripping where the car tires go (trying to replicate the "old-time" driveways, where they had grass and two small strips of concrete for the car tires)  This will keep the rainfall on our property, as we hate to see the water (and soil) just running down the driveway and out into the street.  And some wonder why the ground water reserves are not being replenished... Cities are becoming "asphalt jungles."  Time to take back the open earth and let her drink in and absorb the rain.

Weather Report: Soggy and wet, with a wee bit of sun peaking through the dark clouds.

Friday - March 14,  2003

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

Of what? And for what purpose?  How can we become more self-reliant this week? These tough questions are hard to answer about our lifestyle & attitudes that have been instilled in us from the unceasing pressures and bombardments of our "programmed" modern culture.

Here's another question -- How many things do we own which cost over $150 (the approximate annual income of the poorest third of the world's population) ?  Do we know which goods & services we use every day would not be available in the absence of cheap labor & raw materials from poor countries? Can we do without or find substitutes for such things?

Here's a check list of WHAT YOU CAN DO: List all your possessions which you would have to own in order to live without great discomfort and inconvenience.
What proportion are they of your total possessions? How do you define 'great discomfort and inconvenience'? List three suggestions for simplifying your life and try them out for a month...

Spring is a season of new growth and renewal for the natural world and spring cleaning and de-cluttering of our homes -- why not ourselves?  See you all along the path...

Weather Report: Overcast and dreary.... rain likely this weekend.

Wednesday - March 12,  2003

Weather Report: Foggy.. but clearing

Tuesday - March 11,  2003

TEA TIME... COMPOST TEA TIME

The guys are getting ready to start brewing some compost tea today.  Compost teas, are gaining increased attention as a crop protection tool for the control of foliar diseases and as an inoculant to restore or enhance soil microflora.

Here are some related links:

Compost Teas for Plant Disease Control

Make Your Own Compost Tea: As easy as 1 2 3!

Brewing Compost Tea

Soil Food Web

Weather Report: Warm and sunny again -- no, not complaining!

Monday - March 10,  2003

"WE ARE THOSE WHO LIVE WHAT WE BELIEVE"

Yesterday was a very busy day!  We spent much of the afternoon planting seeds and re-potting seedlings.  In the morning, we were visited by Blair Philips and Deanna Moore of CommonVision.org of Santa Cruz, Calif.  It's a real pleasure to get to meet people who are trying to actually make the world a better place for others by doing not just talking -- especially for us urbanites in Southern California... as stated on their website: "We will be working with Southern California as an At-Risk population of people who can benefit most from our work."  Hmmm "at risk?" gives us SoCal'ers something to think about.

Weather Report: Warm and sunny -- temps in the 80's

Friday - March 07,  2003

We are excited about this year's garden... This will be the FIRST growing season using Tim Dundon's "ROYAL SOIL."  We had our first load delivered sometime back in the fall of last year, so we will have to wait and see how successful the summer veggies will react to the horse manure.  If we harvested over 3,000 lbs of produce last year without the ROYAL SOIL, what will this year bring? God willing... Provided that we are blessed with ample rain and good weather.

Weather Report: Lovely day, couldn't ask for any better.

Thursday - March 06,  2003

WASTE NOT

"The proverb “waste not, want not” reminds us that it is easy to be wasteful when there is an abundance but that this waste can be the cause of later hardship. “A stitch in time saves nine” reminds us of the value of timely maintenance in preventing waste and work involved in major repair and restoration efforts."

~ David Holmgren ~ 

The guys finally installed a pipe system to funnel our wash water to an outside bucket.    As I mentioned before we are have a new water saving 22 gal washing and machine and will be using PRILL BEADS to wash the clothes in.  By using the prill beads, there will be no need to worry about soap residues and will allow us to use the grey water directly on the plants. One small step in reducing our waste.

Before                                          After       

UNPAVED PARADISE

We have quite a lot of concrete (yuck) on property (especially in the backyard) as the previous owner had lots of cars for his business.  We'd like to get rid of it one day soon.  So far, the guys have destroyed the large concrete walkway leading up to our front door (see above photos).  When everything is all grown, it's going to look lush and green -- better than dead, dull and hot concrete!  By implementing porous "permeable paving" techniques will, of course, help the soil collect more of the rain than running off into the street sewers and eventually down to the ocean.

Weather Report: Nice and warm

Monday - March 03,  2003

FALLING BEHIND

LATE!!!  Just finished the newsletter... I know, it's a bit overdue!  So, check out the latest (late) FEBRUARY issue of our newsletter...  

Tasks seems to continually pile up in an endless stream of 'to do's.'  So, we will have to start prioritizing certain tasks and chores and starting crossing items off the list. Our family members are obsessive at making "to-do list" .  But, lists certainly help keep us on the track and see if we are progressing or not!

As much as we love planting, we can't wait 'till the bulk of its all over so we can move on to tackle more projects that we have planned.   Self-sufficiency is costly at first, but in the long run will eventually pay off and worth every penny! 

PART OF OUR TO DO LIST FOR 2003

Here's a great article featured in the Spring issue of Knitty.com on learning to spin yarn:  SPINNING FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS

Weather Report: Overcast.