Independence Days #6

I am posting this early because I'm going to be busy with the funeral and family and travel over the next few days. No more posts likely until Monday.

1. Plant Something Strawberries, sweet onions, tomatoes,

2. Harvest Something Salad greens, dairy products

3. Preserve Something Put up extra Peanut Butter, baking soda, powdered milk, and cooking oil from the store.

4. Prep Something Went to a yard sale and got an extra terra cotta cooker. Mr. Greenjeans and I looked for an old exercise bike to power the grain mill but now luck. Found some odd racks - maybe from a homeschool that can be turned into a solar dehydrator. Got permission to garden the lot in back of us. Ordered seeds - non-hybrid and organic specialized to mountainous and northern climates. Used and gathered rain water.

5. Cook Something (new) The only new thing for me was baking my first loaves of bread from the wheat ground in the gain mill.

6. Manage reserves After the food group talked about preserving grain, I did the dry ice in the grain a second time and put bay leaves all through it. Mr. Greenjeans and I then stored it under the house (black widow spiders ewwww). There isn't as much room under there as I'd first thought.

7. Work on Local food systems Worked with my neighbor on gardening the back lot. They had all sorts of ideas on getting it watered and what they wanted to plant. It's exciting as well as stretching to work with another family on these things. It is a good way to practice all that non-attachment to my way of doing things. So far, so good.

8. Learn something new All the time on the food groups. I would like to point people to the website, Future Scenarios by David Holmgren, co-originator of the permaculture concept. He combines global warming and peak oil concepts into differing ways the future might unfold. Interesting stuff, and he takes a fairly hopeful approach (well as much as one can).

I put together the grain mill and got pretty confident grinding. With the handle extension, it isn't as difficult as I feared it might be.

I'm off now to take care of that other aspect of life: grieving. It is something we are not allowed good time for anymore. I'm going to see family who are not a bit like us - conservative, money and things oriented. But they are family and it is important to renew those bonds every now and then. It is good for them to know they've been taken care of in this time - as much as we're allowed. I already know it's going to be a little strange as it is my inclination to bring food but the reception is being catered. Ah well.