Seasons they are a changin'

Butternut squash, anyone? That would be our cash crop this year. We were pretty happy with our 8-ball zucchini squash too, but the butternut squash definitely broke records in production. I will be cooking, cubing, and freezing it for weeks to come. Our onions were plentiful as well as our green peppers, jalapenos, and banana peppers but we struggled to keep-up with consuming (or processing) them fast enough before spoiling. We only froze two large freezer bags of green beans and the rest were left to dry on the vine. From the picture, you may also be able to see a couple heads of cabbage and a spaghetti squash. (Both did reasonably well but it was difficult and time-consuming to pluck those stupid little green cabbage worms every day, so we were only able to salvage fist-sized heads of cabbage after removing several of the outer layers.) Overall, our garden was kind of a flop...fairly disappointing. Multiple floodings and prolonged saturated soil really took it's toll on our growing season. Plus, limited by my broken ankle, I could only offer minimal assistance during harvest times. Jason ended-up doing all of the picking, chopping, pureeing, and canning all alone. Next year, we've decided that we will only start tomatoes indoors - everything else can tough-it-out. So much for our four-tiered, labor-intensive, hand-made shelf and florescent grow light. Our 2011 garden will celebrate and support local seedlings and seeds that we've saved. Other randomness: We have also toyed with the idea of winter rye. I might like to explore amaranth possibilities. Mid-summer, I planted a couple of raspberry bushes that we're hoping take off. We still need an apple source and free-range egg supplier.

No, I'm not crazy.

I want to move into our garage. Convincing Jason is another story. We'd need to fix it up or tear it down and build new, but size-wise it seems reasonable. I don't know how many times we've talked about building a one-room cabin with a half-loft (for storage or sleeping) and downsizing to just the essentials. We have stayed in a couple camping cabins in southern Iowa **see picture** and they couldn't be more perfect. Of course, it would only be temporary...a way to save money and 'practice' our sustainable, minimalistic habits. I can dream, right?

Reflections

Ok, so I'm feeling like I never shared the two GOOD days that we had on our Missouri vacation (before it was cut short by my broken ankle). Well, to start off, we got an early start and made it to our first destination in just under 7 hours. We planned to stay two nights at Lake of the Ozarks State Park before driving two more hours south to Branson and Table Rock State Park. Note: Unfortunately, I have moved away from documenting every moment through photos. I say unfortunately but really it's probably for the best. I am much more able to enjoy 'the moment' and live it firsthand instead of reliving it through pictures (later). This also means that I'm often ill-prepared and don't have my camera when the moment comes that we'd like to have a quality photo of that magnificent landscape or unique perspective. We have joked about how some day we will be able to look back at pictures and recognize the increase in popularity and commonplace of camera phones by the abrupt decline in photo quality and low-resolution pictures. Of all the fish we caught, I don't think that we have a single picture of even one keeper. Needless to say, we DID catch a lot of fish...not the bass that the internet raved about, but still a good time. The area we stayed in was beautiful. Quiet and not over-crowded for the most part. My only complaint was the heat. Of course, the week we decide to go on vacation, it is 104 degrees with excruciating heat indexes. Ok, back to my story...So our first day was spent driving, setting-up camp, and fishing until dark. We were blessed with a gorgeous sunset, retired to our truck tent, and awoke at dawn to go fishing on a picturesque lake in a dreamworld fog.

The foggy morning turned into a sunny, calm, and lazy day filled with long periods of fishing, swimming, and swaying in the hammock. By the end of the day, we were already making plans to return next summer and seriously contemplating stopping back for a couple days at the tail-end of our trip. Little did we know that the very next morning we'd be speeding to the emergency room. Despite our trip to the ER, we packed-up and headed to Branson for part 2 of our vacation - two days in a hotel and a timeshare tour. Much needed rest, relaxation, and air-conditioning was appreciated (especially by me almost comatose on pain meds). We ordered-in and watched tv. Additionally, the hotel provided us with a wheelchair which was very useful for getting me around the timeshare tour, Bass Pro Shops (where we had to get the motor fixed...yeah, another downer and unexpected expense), and dinner out. You should have seen the hill that Jason pushed me up at the hotel! He had to take three breaks and I was so worried that I was going to roll/tip backwards because of the extremely steep incline. Poor guy. Our trip turned into such a work-out for him and he had to take-on all of the two-person tasks himself which resulted in re-injuring his lower back. After checking-out of the hotel, I decided that I really didn't want to be the one to say "let's go home early" so we headed on to part 3 of our vacation - Table Rock State Park. We carefully selected a flat campsite near the restrooms and overlooking the lake...not thinking that I'd be spending much time boating or fishing. Three hours later, we accepted that the trip needed to come to an (early) end. However, as we approached the exit for Lake of the Ozarks State Park, we impulsively decided to try another night of camping...but, after an all-night thunderstorm and downpour (that almost sunk the boat and restricted me from leaving the truck tent), we FINALLY said enough is enough.

Rain, Rain Go Away

7 inches of rain fell here in a 24-hour period...killing our brussel sprout plants. Additionally, all this rain has helped us (re)realize how glad we are that we didn't buy that abandon farm property. Ever since the first time that we set foot on the property, the pond and a good portion of the land around the pond was flooded. Previously, we thought that it was super soggy because Iowa had gotten an unusual amount of rain this spring and summer. Maybe not especially accurate. Later, we were told that the field on the east side of the property line is slightly higher and may cause excess water (and probably agricultural chemical) run-off into the pond...therefore flooding the property. Hmmm - Yeah, we made the right decision.

New Pal

Before vacation, Jason purchased a manual, hydraulic wood splitter. Our backyard wood splitting practices have evolved from using a steel splitting wedge and sledge hammer to a very large ax. But, both were very strenuous and time-consuming and sometimes impossible. We'd seen our neighbor using a hydraulic splitter with a foot pump pedal, so Jason starting researching but only found manual ones online (no where local). Genius me suggested calling Shoppers located a mere 12 minutes away. Long story short - this is our new, powerful pal. It works awesome and can split up to 18" pieces. Less than a month ago, we picked-up a truckload of oak and a truckload of maple. Good hardwoods for burning. The wood will need to 'season' for a year before we can use it. Now, we just need to find some softwoods to get our fires started. Being campers, we have been ripped-off far too many times on the cost of firewood, so this was definitely the route to go for us. People often post free firewood on Craigslist but it's never cut-up in manageable pieces. We estimate that he has split $250-$300 worth of firewood. Not too bad for only the cost of fuel to pick it up. One day, this will come-in especially useful when we have our wood-burning stove. He split all of this in two afternoons - about 4-5 hours total. I split a few, too. :o)

Slowin' things down...

We've spent the entire summer looking forward to our 9-day camping, boating, and fishing vacation in Missouri and (as you may have guessed by the picture) our vacation was cut short. I broke my right ankle at 6 a.m. on Monday morning (only two days into our trip). We had gotten up early to go fishing and the grass was still dew-covered. Needless to say, I was in flip-flops and slipped. Jason frantically drove the 20-miles to the nearest emergency room and they informed us that I had broken my fibula. They put me in a temporary cast and suggested that I see a orthopedist as soon as we returned to Iowa. We tried to tough it out...We stayed in a hotel for two days resting and relaxing and then attempted a day of boating and camping, but it was just too much for both of us and we ended-up heading home. I see my doctor tomorrow. I'm really hoping things are not as bad as they seem. Everything is so difficult - even the most simplest of tasks. So much pain! And I have always thought that I had a fairly high pain tolerance. I know that people struggle with much bigger challenges, but I'm feelin' pretty 'me-centered' right now.

Growing Our Learning Library

After temporarily postponing our homesteading aspirations, I decided to invest in some brain food (literature). I tried to be selective in choosing fairly current resources. I think I found several good ones. Let me know if you've read of these. Feedback and recommendation are appreciated.

The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre! by Carleen Madigan Change Payment Method Cancel Items Change Shipping Speed Change Delivery Address The New Create an Oasis with Greywater: Choosing, Building and Using Greywater Systems - Includes Branched Drains by Art Ludwig The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour Change Payment Method Cancel Items Change Shipping Speed Change Delivery Address Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream by William Powers Change Payment Method Cancel Items Change Shipping Speed Change Delivery Address Toolbox for Sustainable City Living: A do-it-Ourselves Guide by Scott Kellogg The Backyard Beekeeper - Revised and Updated: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden by Kim Flottum Change Payment Method Cancel Items Change Shipping Speed Change Delivery Address Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance by John Storey and Martha Storey Change Payment Method Cancel Items Change Shipping Speed Change Delivery Address Living with Goats: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Backyard Herd by Margaret Hathaway Change Payment Method Cancel Items Change Shipping Speed Change Delivery Address The Self-Sufficiency Handbook by Alan Bridgewater, Gill Bridgewater Change Payment Method Cancel Items Change Shipping Speed Change Delivery Address Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, Third Edition by Abigail R. Gehring Change Payment Method Cancel Items Change Shipping Speed Change Delivery Address Today's Homestead Volume II by Dona Grant Change Payment Method Cancel Items Change Shipping Speed Change Delivery Address Today's Homestead: Volume I by Dona Grant

Following 'the gut' feeling...

This past Thursday morning, Jason called the owner of the property and told him that we were no longer interested in purchasing the land. What?!? Why (you say)?? Well, after one final rendezvous around the property, we no longer felt that it was ours. Previous to this visit, we had felt a sense of ownership every time we went out there (or even thought about it, for that matter). I could feel the sinking sadness in the unspoken words between Jason and I on the ride home. Though, neither of us voiced our feelings until hours later, we both knew in our guts that this was not 'the place' for us.

Over the past couple of weeks, Jason has been actively researching and inquiring about land loans, zoning regulations for agricultural and residential usage, yaddy-yadda. Here and there, we had occasional doubts that left us questioning what is really realistic for us physically, emotionally, financially, etc. Still, no significant doubts. We loved the place, it seemed perfect, we would still be near the investment properties, and we could keep our current jobs without increasing our commute times. Regardless, our decision became clear to us this past Thursday. Granted, there has been a little bit of a grieving process for us. (Temporarily) giving up a dream is a big deal...bit of a spirit-crusher.

Honestly though, I can say that I am confident that we made the right decision. I sincerely feel an internal 'calm' and contentment with what we are currently doing in town (small-scale gardening, rainwater collection, composting, and saving money). We are living, learning, growing, and taking the necessary baby steps to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Now is the time to take a breath and save money to fix-up our current home while continuing to nurture our growing garden(s) and practicing more sustainable/renewable skills. We intend to educate ourselves more thoroughly and enrich our knowledge of raising goats, chicken, ducks, and honey bees. So that's that.

Growing Garden

Our tomato plants started growing at a rate that we couldn't keep-up with. Every day, new branches needed redirected back into their tomato cages and suckers needed pluckin'. I remember taking this picture of Jason standing in the garden and being ecstatic about how tall they were. Two weeks later, some of them we as tall as him. They're indeterminate plants so they can get 7' tall and will continue to grow until the first frost. We're gettin' an itch to pick. The tomatoes are a good sized but are probably still needing a couple more weeks to ripen. (Though generally made at the end of the growing season, when there is not enough hours of sunlight to ripen tomatoes, we couldn't help pick a half dozen green tomatoes to make a sugary green tomato cake for my birthday.)

First harvest(s): banana peppers, jalapenos, 8-ball zucchini, one-third of our onion crop, and a couple green peppers 

With our first two 8-ball zucchini squashes (and first green pepper), I hollowed out the centers and stuffed them with ground turkey, veggies, and lentils. Click here for my recipe. It was delicious (and healthy). We'll be making this one again and again.


As I've mentioned previously, the weather in Iowa hasn't been especially garden-friendly with frequent downpours, wind, and flooding. This past Saturday, we awoke to tornado sirens blaring at 3 a.m. Apparently a mini-twister decided to tear through our precious tomato garden. Strong winds toppled several plants and took 2' of the tops of all of the plants. Sad stuff. Three days later, it appears that we may have saved our backyard crop by re-erecting the plants and adding additional (strong) supports.

Ways of Thinking

Just as Jason always says "Hindsight is 20/20"...

Let me reflect back: As the winter was winding-down, we flipped through page after page of the Gurney's Seed and Nursery catalog circling our wants and carefully mapping our garden.

Buy local, support local - Isn't that what we're all about? We dream of having our own self-sustaining homestead, yet we aren't actively supporting the people who have already accomplished it. How does that make sense? Here's my rational: It takes time to break habits - including our ways of thinking. We are use to going to the big, corporate grocery stores for our food and ordering our seeds from people who have built a business and reputation of providing strong and healthy plants (along with colorful, large 50+ page mass-mailers). Sure, Gurney's Seed and Nursery probably started with a dream of a self-sustainable future and it is 'local' to the people of Lawrenceburg, IN but... (So, now it seems that I am bashing Gurney's...not my intention.) We just really need to stop, think, and look around. There is probably something similar nearby - Actually, I can think of two places...Goode's and Lucille's. We constantly talk about how important it is to know where your food comes from. Lucille's is less than a mile from our house...duh. Despite which, the seedlings that we purchased from Lucille's are doing better than the ones delivered via the internet.

Lucille's isn't anything fancy but it has two gigantic greenhouses and is family-owned and operated. They sell seeds in old spice shakers and have a few dozen farm kittens occupying the baskets of onion sets and sleeping on the check-out counter. A quick peek out back behind the greenhouses and they have goats, chickens, ducks, donkeys (maybe more). Cool people, it seems. Needless to say, we will be loyal customers from today forth.

Additionally, we dried and saved some of our seeds from last year (bell peppers, jalapenos, spaghetti squash, green beans). Weird how something so simple can become so exciting. Also, new to us this year was starting our own sweet potato plants. Jason plopped a whole sweet potato in a jar of water and within days it was sprouting babies. A couple weeks later, we had 2-foot long plants begging to be planted. Here is a picture of Jason's baby sweet potato plant...this was about two week ago, so it's grown a bit...

Baby Steps

Practicing our homesteading skills...







Jason made 2 of the rain barrels last July/August and added 3 more this May. One 'good rain' fills all 5.

We also added a second garden this year. The tomatoes are loving the freshly tilled, nutrient-rich soil.

Our vegetable garden is only 6 weeks old. In addition to our 23 tomato plants, we're growing a couple varieties of green beans, shell peas, sugar snap peas, cabbage, eight ball zucchini, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, brussel sprouts, peppers, asparagus, carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, six varieties of potatoes, and four types of onion.

All of this rain has flooded the garden a few too many times. Jason replanted the spinach seeds, but otherwise things don't seem too bad from the excessive moisture. We recently spotted our first couple green tomatoes, about a dozen tiny jalapenos, several purple flowers on the potatoes, and five fist-sized cabbage heads.

Last summer, we started collecting our coffee grounds, egg shells, and vegetable scraps to use as compost and add nitrogen to the soil naturally. Together, we constructed a compost bin out of leftover decking wood. Unfortunately, its one design-flaw was that it was backbreaking. So, this year Jason found a composting tumbler on CraigsList - much better - even I can do it.

We also lucked out on mulch this year. (Last year our mulch consisted of grass clippings.) For those of you who don't already know, Jason is especially skilled at winning at contests/give-aways on the radio. He won a $50 gift certificate to Iowa Outdoor Products, so tah-dah $50 worth of mulch for free. Better than concert tickets any day.  :o)

Ankeny Expanding Concerns - How close is too close??

Possible issues coming up the in the next few years.  Ankeny is wondering how far east they should extend water/sewer type services.  (Elkhart is in the yellow, right above the red arrow.)

Aerial View of Property

Here is an aerial view of the property. You can see more of the general (original) layout. There is a fairly large pond at the back east side of the property that we intend to clean-up. Our garden and greenhouse will probably be on the south-west side near the road...at least that is what we have envisioned. **Note: I am still trying to get the hang of this blogger.com formatting, so things might be a little wacky for awhile.** 

Not a pretty sight

Not much to look at, but this is the only image available (for now). Jason and I have been eying this abandon property since last winter. We can't stop planning the sequential steps necessary to restore it into our very own full-functioning homestead. Tearing-down this 110-year old house will be one of our first projects along with cutting-back the overground trees and towering weeds.