The past few weeks have flown by and I have been busy with my small business, with family stuff and with the homesteads.  It all flew by so fast!  And it dawned on me, I haven’t updated my friends that follow me here in some time. I am not sure how time flies so fast but it does!  Anyway, here I am with an update.

August was a blur, it was hot, it was rainy, it was humid…oh my was it humid! We are made of some pretty tough stuff when it comes to working hard and suffering through weather.  After all, we do have Northern Michigan winters and I love them. But one Sunday a few weeks ago it was 99% humidity and 96 degrees F  (how do you add that little zero at the top when on your computer? I digress.). Needless to say when given the choice between sweating it out working outside at the new homestead or going home to our suburban homestead where we have air conditioning and a long list of things to do, we caved and went home to AC and low humidity.

And just to be sure we were on our toes, Mother Nature tossed in some nights with upper 30’s. These nights have slowed the ripening of my heat loving crops like tomatoes and peppers. But my brassicas have loved the cold nights and I am harvesting cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage.  Time will tell if I started the brussels sprouts early enough to reap a harvest. With just a couple weeks left before our first frost date some of my tomatoes may have to be pulled and ripened inside. The peppers could probably be put under some frost blankets and greenhouse plastic in hopes they turn. It is so much easier with wildcrafted things.

Speaking of this year has been a year of foraging for me.  I continue to learn about wild edibles, their uses and when to harvest.  I am a long way from being an expert but I am using so much variety now. We harvested a small amount to wild blueberry because the bushes don’t produce much. I did add some compost to a few bushes near the fodder trees and it worked!  We got more berries on those bushes than the others, so I will do that again this fall. I harvested tons of mullein, mulberries and the leaves, sorrel, chickweed, dandelion, thistle, yarrow, plantain, blackberries, goldenrod and so much more. The blackberry and mulberry harvest were amazing.  I have gallons of each in the freezer. In fact, the blackberries are still coming but we have stopped picking them.  We have left those for the wildlife and for Mama Bear and her cub so they can get enough calories for winter.

Oh!  Did I mention Mama and Baby bear?  Yes, we have black bears here.  We have some game cameras out and we catch all sorts of things like coyotes, raccoons, fox, possums, skunks and now Mama and Baby bear. I have to admit it is a little unnerving to know they are wandering around the woods. We are a lot more aware of where the dog is and of what is going on around us.  We aren’t noisy people except when building fences or using the tractor but that is exactly what you are supposed to do to warn them you are around.  Apparently they don’t want to see you either. Despite all this I think its really neat they are here.  I am sure they have enjoyed the bumper blackberry year as well.

Another update is we have been talking more and more about moving to the acreage.  It is our dream.  I will miss the abundance we have created at the suburban homestead. I will miss the stunning sunsets and moons reflection on the lake. I will miss amazing neighbors.  But our time here at the suburban lot is coming to an end.  The house is too big and the lot too small. We need space to grow and have livestock. Space for the grandkids to come and run free. Space to hunt and forage. And while I have worked and helped on other farms for over two decades it is time I have a forever home and a farm of my own.  A place to grow old and sit on the porch snapping beans in the breeze while the chickens run around catching bugs. It is time I fill my inner Laura (if you don’t understand this see here).

I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams…

Thanks for coming back!

RWL

In 2020 this property was full of discarded logs and tree tops from past logging operations.  It had been logged three times that we could tell from records.  The logs were stacked high enough we had to climb on them to view the entire acreage.  Mixed among this mess was brambles and thistle.  If you’ve ever had to try to walk through that kind of pokiness it isn’t fun.  It was a mess. But we could see a diamond in the rough.  We could see the new forest among an old growth one, the ponds, the sugar maples,  the wild fruit, the flora and fauna. It could be regenerated and turned into a beautiful working homestead all while restoring the wilderness areas we wouldn’t be using.

In September of 2020 we purchased it and started cleaning it up.  We moved the piles and endless piles of dried tree tops, a fire hazard, we pushed, sawed, drug and piled them up and then covered
them in dirt and then planted them.  Fast forward three years to 2023 and those piles have shrunk considerably and became home to many living things.  They are also no longer a fire hazard, after two years of drought it is a relief to have them taken care of.

In 2021 and 2022 we planted grasses and grains in the paths that were cleared of logs. They have turned into green meadows now full of life and beauty. The winter rye we have planted has held back the brambles (This was something an old farmer told us) and help shade and improve the soil. It will be planted again this year.  We did try winter wheat, buckwheat, daikon radish (we have some clay in spots) we haven’t gotten enough rain to sustain these crops as well. Maybe next year.

We continue to work on the soil so we can eventually farm and graze animals here. We are learning a lot while we do this. We are also getting into fantastic shape!  One method we have used this year is called crimping. It’s a method many no till farmers use for cover crops. This method helps reduce erosion, heat on the soil, and mitigates the loss of nutrition bare soil can cause.  We chose to do this because we don’t have a lot of equipment and we could just push the rye down with our small tractor bucket.  We also chose to do this because our land is hilly and erosion can be a problem. You can also use a board to crimp grasses and just step on the board to flatten the grasses.  This works well in smaller areas such as gardens where you use cover crops.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to build our permaculture paradise and make decisions.

The potatoes are starting to get big!

Some of the beets the deer didn’t get are ready to pick. These are my favorite food.

And now we have a rabbit. grrrrr….

My onions are getting really big! I can’t wait to see how big they get.

Scout napping while I weed.

Beets, greens, garlic and potatoes for dinner. We ate it all, no leftovers.

Every time I buy a lemon I save the seeds and put them in a pot.  I do have to cover it so the cat doesn’t eat the leaves. I will use this in some dishes but they need to be put in separate pots.

Snapdragon

More work with the trees but this time we are making ramial wood chips.  I will be making a blog post about the benefits of these and why we went though the trouble.

The wild blueberries are ripe!

As are the wild raspberries!

A mama spider protecting her egg sack.  I let her stay, she can eat all the bugs and so can her babies!

A poppy!! One of my favorite flowers.

Medicinal herbal sun tea.

I have been working on making the fruit trees more resilient.  I added cardboard, compost and some wood chips.

Ah, the late nights began here.  I am sad I didn’t stop to get photos of us with Nicholas Ferguson.  This was the evening of July 4th and we sat on the porch and talked until midnight.  The view was stunning and the conversation was wonderful.

I made quiche for breakfast and then we took Nick to Sleeping Bear Dunes so he could see the dunes and Lake Michigan.  We walked the shores looking for cool rocks and had lots of long conversations.  Nick also gave us some great ideas for our land as we move forward, build and start putting livestock on it.

Nick helping others put up trellises up at Baker’s Green Acres Thursday before the conference on Friday.  I helped get things cleaned up by cleaning of course!

My little tent and home for four days. Of course due to my food issues I had to bring all my food with me.

Nick teaching.  If you would like to see the video Baker’s will have it up on their site after it is edited.

This is tree hay for animals,  not pot…lol

Morning view. So beautiful.  I did hear the dogs take off after coyotes in the night. They are such great livestock guardians.

Free range Thanksgiving dinner roaming around.

This is Louie, he’s a big, big boy… He is also super sweet unless you’re a coyote or after the livestock.

Fog on the second morning…it was so beautiful.  We stayed up so late each night talking around the fire.

I can’t even tell you how much fun I had, how much I learned and how thankful I am that Nick made the journey this far north.  I learned so much and I can’t wait to implement it all.

Well this week was really busy and I took a lot of photos.  The yard is getting to the jungle look.  Just wait though! LOL

The peppers are really taking their time with the cold nights.

I have purposely let this mullein grow so I could harvest leaves and flowers for medicinal uses.

Guys!  I have wanted one of these for years.  I know its old and worn but I love it anyway.  It is HUGE and HEAVY!

We shook the mulberry tree and we got about three gallons to freeze for smoothies and jam.

Can you say mushrooms?  I hope these produce well for us next year.

The apples are looking good, we will see. I have had lots of issues with disease with this tree.

Day lillies.

I just had to take a picture of this perfect gluten free sourdough waffle.

The nasturtiums are blooming so I have been including them in my salads.

I was given my grandfathers office chair.  I imagine all the work he did while sitting in it.  He was a Michigan DNR officer for decades but retired once most of the work was office work.  He loved working in the field.

I planted more lettuce, basil, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and more!

The air quality here has been rough for several weeks and we were having headaches, eye issues and breathing issues so I set up a few fans with filters on them.  The blue one was to catch pet hair and the second one was a HEPA.  It really helped with air quality.

A ripe blueberry!!! So yummy.

Wishes?

The even walks with the boys.

This was Father’s Day week. My husband is not only the person who has provided most of the financial support all these years while I was a stay at home homeschool mom, but he is the flower guy around here. He loves the yard to look beautiful and he does an amazing job.

The wild blackberries flowering, it is looking like it’s going to be a bumper crop this year!

The wild low bush blueberries were starting to look really good this year.

THIS is in my YARD!!! Next to the garden.  I got the deer fence up pretty quickly after losing some beans, beets and tomatoes.

Scout is always so helpful and models for me.  As you can see my rhubarb was jurassic as usual!

A little painted turtle!

Strawberries!

My new Hori Hori knife!

The walking onions are starting to look like they have a personality of their own now. The tops start to sprout and get heavy eventually falling to the ground and replanting themselves.

The lavender was just starting.  I promise I am trying to catch you up to current times so you can see it in all its beauty.

Harvesting a little of everything daily now.  This years garden was pared back to mostly eat as we go instead of canning.  I did however plant a lot of potatoes, beets, onions and garlic. The strawberries have been tasty when I can beat the pill bugs to them.

I planted 62 Chinese Chestnut trees and all but a few have gotten leaves on them.  They have all found good homes with friends.

I finally got around to using the garlic scapes up today.  They have been stored in the bottom of the fridge for several weeks.  In fact, I have actually harvested the garlic and am curing it in the basement.  Times have been busy!

Garlic scapes are those curly green almost flowers that appear on the top of your hard neck garlic in the spring.  After they make a full turn I run out with kitchen scissors and cut them off.  If you don’t have time to process like I didn’t, no worries, you can just put them in the fridge and process later.

This year I did three things with my scapes.  I made pesto, scape salt and dried powdered scapes.  Now because life has been fast and furious I didn’t take a lot of photos. I may add photos of the finished product in one of the diary posts.

Garlic Scape Powder:

Wash, dry and finely chop the scapes. I used my Ninja for this.  Dump contents on to a lined cookie sheet and dry in the oven at the lowest temperature (mine is 170F) or put on a dehydrator tray with liner at 135F. I dry until the scapes are very dry.  Let cool and then pulverize in blender or Ninja until powdered.  I save in a sealed mason jar and add a food safe silica packet (you can save the ones from vitamins and reactivate them (dry them back out) in your dehydrator).

Garlic Scape Salt:

For this recipe I washed  about 12 scapes and dried them for a few hours making sure they were completely dry.   I then roughly chopped them up and added them to my Ninja with a 1/2 cup of smoked coarse salt.  I then blended until the mix was mostly chopped but still a bit chunky. To dry you can put them in the oven at 170F or in the dehydrator at 135F for as long as it takes to get the mix very dry.  I run this through the Ninja again until it is powdered and if if it damp at all I will return it to the dehydrator.  To store I add a food safe silica packet to a canning jar with a tight lid.

Garlic Scape Pesto:

1 pound of garlic scapes

1.25 cups grated parmesan

1 cup of quality olive oil

1 tablespoon of apple scrap vinegar or vinegar with the mother

smoked salt

fresh ground pepper

Wash scapes and then blend all this together in a blender until desired consistency.  We serve this over pasta or chicken. You can use it any way you would use pesto.

Tools/Products Used:

This is the section where I use affiliate links.  If you use these to purchase I will get a small amount of money in return.  I do not post anything I have not used and tested, if I ever do I will make sure you know. All of the products below I have used and abused a lot.

Ninja Blender: https://amzn.to/3ruPVl8

Excalibur: https://amzn.to/3Df8psy

Excalibur tray liners: https://amzn.to/3rBGocc

Food Safe Silica Packets: https://amzn.to/3DjDYl6

Hickory Smoked Salt: https://amzn.to/3NV7emP

We’ve had some logs fall over the winter and in last years storms so it’s time for some firewood and other projects!  The hubby really likes cutting wood.

Here we have started a compost area next to some of the gardens we are starting.

One of the hard parts about working on vacant land even as small as 20 acres is the amount of walking and moving things you have to do.  The tractor has been one of the vest investments we made.  It was used and it isn’t big but it does the job.

Chickweed!

The berries are getting so close!

Can you guess?  I bet some of you in the south know?

Peanuts.

More bees!After several years with no deer in the yard at the suburban homestead, the deer have found me!  Ack!!

The deer found the few plants that I didn’t spray with garlic and onion spray. They came in two days later and ate the tops of my beets too.  Naughty things!!