Winter is Here

Winter really snuck up on me this year. The beets (and extra beds of beets) I'd put in due to our mad love for pickled beets froze into the ground and were covered with snow. The lovely braided chains of about 10 varieties of fat garlic bulbs needed sorting and planting, and kept getting put off to the "next weekend." A couple dozen cloves made it into the ground....I managed to hack into the frozen earth and haphazardly put in about a quarter of the bulbs I'd planted last year. Within days of planting they too were blanketed with snow. No time to add a layer of hay for extra insulation, the garlic now carries the same "wish and prayer" of protection as my lovely roses and strawberry beds. I guess we'll be growing that "Darwin-ian" garden Shermen had been promoting, (and I'd been scoffing as laziness) survival of the fittest.
Now it is time to do the "indoor stuff." Paint and drill the dried gourds from two seasons ago. Peruse seed catalogs and plan for the next season. Fantasize about building greenhouses and cold frames. Rue the waste from the recent season, "I could be eating beets from our garden right now, if I'd only....." then quickly smack those thoughts right out of my head.
This year I've decided the garden is for PLEASURE. Big ideas about total self-sustainability, feeding our family and more, participating in farmer's markets and starting CPA's of our own....gone. (for now.) I get enough stress from the work week, our untidy house and unfinished business of a million varieties. Freaking out because the tomatoes and berries are (literally) hen-pecked, the cukes aren't pickled and the basil isn't pesto'd.....over. This year I'm growing more flowers and things we can eat as we stroll through the beds. Snap peas and strawberries. Things that give pleasure right where they are.

Like Lambs to the Slaughter

Our lambs have been safely delivered to the processor, we are using Wisconsin River Meats out of Mauston. They will be ready for pick-up in the form of chops and steaks in about a week. I think I'll take their pictures down in my classroom, kind of unappetizing.

Bye Bye Sheep

Erik, Hilda and Matilda just headed off to their new home. Their new owners seem like lovely people, very informative regarding the art of sheep raising- (shepherding?) We learned a lot and definitely plan to try again in the future. The key to successfully raising stock such as sheep, (as Shelly our new friend informed us,) is to be prepared PRIOR to acquiring the animals.
She also told us about a wool festival near West Bend area end of October, which we hope to check out. Another note, according to Shelly and a couple other people who called regarding the Craigslist post selling the sheep, it is very likely that Erik is California Red, but the two ewes are not typical representatives of that breed.

Sheep "Going Rogue"

Just as good fences make good neighbors...good fences also make good farmers. Here you see our California Red sheep, Erik, Hilda and Matilda, enjoying our tender yard grass and moments away from nibbling (and trampling) the last beet crop. Erik, Hilda and Matilda are lucky we are not gun owners.

We used the electric line-wire fencing to enclose our sheep grazing area. The fence had been working fine so far this year, after we figured out using weed killer on the fence line is not bad land stewardship. As Mom says, "even the UW extension uses Round-up!" Round-up is animal safe, only stays in the ground a few days, and is Kaaren's new best-friend. The wire-line fence was inexpensive, relatively easy for (Shermen) to install, and doing the job of keeping the sheep in. Last winter, our ewes (Hilda & Matilda) lambed 2 males. Shermen and I castrated the lambs ourselves, using the rubber band method with a tool from Farm-n-Fleet. I thought the job went swimmingly, the boys appeared untraumatized, and we even gave them tetanus shots to prevent infection. Apparently, (we later found out from the sheep shearer man) we missed the actual testicles?testes? and merely trimmed up the sacs a bit. While the little rams were probably still rendered sterile, (due to the killingly close proximity of sperm to body heat,) around August they started getting that adolescent flood of male hormones which rendered them impervious to our silly little wire line electric fence.

Wire line fencing snaps easily, and also stretches. The little fiberglass posts that support the line bends and the little yellow plastic things that attach the line to the post detach with just a moderate amount of pressure. You can mend the snapped fence line with little crimpers, but then you have a weak point. I'm not sure, but numerous repair points in a line probably inhibit the electrical flow also.

There is a better type of electrical fencing called "webbing" which is made of material similar in appearance to a dog's leash, but also much more expensive. Plain old woven wire fencing, about 4 feet high is also effective for sheep, doesn't require electricity to work, but does require metal posts for support. At around 5$ a post, this can become a pricey process.

We are knee deep in the home renovation situation, and out of $$$. The guy we bought the sheep from doesnt want them back, as he has switched to a strictly dairy stock of sheep. The little rams are safe and cozy in the barn, fattening up on a diet of strictly corn and grain, getting ready for market. (A pure grass diet may be healthier but is less palatable for most people.) Erik, Hilda and Matilda are in the front yard nibbling on our willow.

Craig's List posts ads for free.

Outdoor Sink / Work Station

This outdoor sink / workstation may not look like much (cuz I made it myself....) but it has been wonderful for keeping the canning / preserving part of gardening from totally trashing our kitchen. Having a countertop, an old sink, and the composter right there together, my first batch of pickled beets was just a completely different experience. No sand in the kitchen sink etc. It makes a great potting station also because I can just sweep leftover soil off the counter.

Those rubbery, flexible buckets were a great find. I can wedge the little one under the drainspout of the sink to catch the runoff water for my flowers. I bought them at the garden expo in Madison, WI last year. I bought 3, one in each size.

Homemade Holiday Gift Ideas - Succulent Garden

For the past couple of seasons our family has agreed to a spending “cap” for holiday gifts. Homemade gifts may not necessarily end up being less expensive, but are definitely more meaningful than another scented candle; (unless, of course, it’s a homemade scented candle.) Last year I made little jars of a homemade bath soak which recipients seemed genuinely pleased to receive. It was a fun and inexpensive way of telling family and friends you rarely see that you love them.
I’ve started some succulent gardens and plan to spend the next couple months looking around for unique containers. Hopefully, by the time December rolls around I’ll have some lovely succulent container gardens to give as gifts.
Succulents require soil with excellent drainage. You can always just buy some specialty mix, or just make your own. I did a little research and the “recipes” can get pretty crazy. I mixed up a bag using approximately equal parts of potting soil, sand, perlite and peat moss.

Credenza Before & After

I finally got around to sanding, priming, "re-finishing" our cool old credenza.
The top of the credenza is a blue enamel. For the front and sides I used Behr's glaze mixed with Behr's Antique Brown over an undercoat of umber brown, for the darker panels I glazed Behr's Toffee Crunch over the Antique Brown. I "scumbled" some gold trim detail, put a layer of glaze over it, then scumbled another layer of gold over that. The pretty blue flower pulls are from Anthropologie.