tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64094407984122019552024-03-13T08:47:34.047-07:00Our Little HomesteadWe are a family of earth lovin folk, living completely off the power grid. We are situated in the Pisgah National forest, and hour from the nearest town. We enjoy gardening, beekeeping,preserving our own food, selling at the local markets and living as simply as possible. we heat and cook with wood.We heat our water with wood and solar and do without some of the luxuries in life but wouldn't have it any other way. Somtimes hard, always rewarding.. THis is our storyOff-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-66760844700247634442018-07-24T08:18:00.000-07:002018-07-24T08:18:28.004-07:00Not always easy.. But always rewarding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I just could not skip over the past 2 months. Depsite the 50 some odd inches of rain this year. yep you heard that right,, almost 2 ft alone in a 2 week period in May, we came back fighting after the flood to ensure we could put food up this winter!<br />Weeding replanting, mulching, spraying ( organic of course;) and just babying my gardens proved to work ;)<br />I've been picking bounty daily and putting up for for the winter<br />One thing has proved true through all this rain, Mushrooms love it! haha,, We got a good crop of shiitakes after the flood ( all that bumping around and underwater for 24 hours) ,but had to go find the logs first,, Our friend Jon found almost all of our Shiitake and Oyster Logs during flood clean up!!! Our oyster mushrooms have been prolific, I have probably picked about 10 of the wicker baskets you see below.. I've dried then and canned then and they will be excellent in soups, omelettes , casseroles and pizza this winter.<br />Numerous jars of Green beans have been put up with another big crop coming in.<br />30 jars of pickles have been put up, and i am not sure Ill do anymore, while my daughter and I love them, I just wonder if I want to make anymore haha<br />I have sauerkraut fermenting in the crock ( from our cabbage crop) and will be canning it this week.<br />I am on to tomatoes now , just did salsa last night, next up is tomato soup....<br />We had an ok potato crop despite the rain,, about 70 lbs... good enough to get us through most of winter.<br />15 Chickens were processed in early May... and we will do about 10-15 more before winter..<br />along with 2 more pigs ;)<br />It is all so much work, and even more so when Mother Nature decided to make it even harder. But the joy I get from baskets full of homegrown vegetables is incomparable.<br />The pantry is filling up quickly and it is a beautiful sight.. Ill be sure to share in photos when it is filled to the brim ..<br />Still waiting on sweet potatoes and Winter Squash and hoping to get a fall garden in..<br /><br />Oh and did I mention,, about 800 lbs of Honey?? ;) Our spring flow was awful, but With all this rain we are so very pleased with our Summer Bounty!!!<br />Thats is , once again, in a nutshell... Just thought I would catch you up before I pledge to post .. weekly?? Don't hold your breath, but I promise to try .....<br />Thanks for stopping by and reading<br />Much Love<br />The Cool Family<br /><br />A few photos of what is coming from the garden..... </div>
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<br />Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-77555613941949404032018-07-23T09:39:00.001-07:002018-07-23T09:39:30.026-07:00May 18th , The FloodHello friends!<br />I almost thought about just not writing in my blog anymore. I just do not have time ( Or I do not devote time, one of the two) to telling you about all that is going on around here.<br /><br />I think I really just need to get past this post, and maybe things will start to ebb and flow a bit more. I honestly did not even want to blog about this. I am much more adapt to beautiful homestead posts than depressing ones, and this one is well ,, depressing , but it is story worthy and part of our homesteading journey. so here it goes!<br /><br />On May 18th our property flooded.. and it came out of nowhere. a flash flood of sorts..<br /><br />All of May this year had been rainy. Every. Single. Day.. it rained.. When they called for .10th of an inch, we got 1-2"... Our spring Honey flow( or lack there of) was happening.. and it was a hard pill to swallow knowing our Spring flow would not be as good as it should have. The Tulip poplar trees were loaded with blooms. Trees that had not have blooms in previous years were just laden with Beautiful Poplar flowers ( if you have never seen a Tulip Poplar flower, it is Google worthy)<br /><br />Now let me set the scene a bit , since you may not the the lay of our land.<br />To get to our home you have to cross a tiny single lane cement bridge. This bridge it within a stones throw, maybe 110 ft from our front porch. underneath the bridge is what use to be the main creek. Years ago it was filled in with about a half an acre of dirt and the creek was diverted to the end of our private street.. and that is now where the main creek flows.<br />So about 200 ft or so away , is where it used to "Y" but now the water just flows all one way instead of coming right by our house as it used to. There was a lot of minor ( and one major) flooding here yrs ago, which is from what I understand why this was done.<br /><br />On May 18th, my husband Robb drove over this little bridge and dried up creek bed to make sure it was water free ( it was). The Creek has come over that .5 acre of land in the passed, and filled up that creek bed a bit. It once slowly filled it up until it was level with this bridge ( mind you this bridge is our ONLY way out) but that was the worst we had ever seen it.<br /><br />
Robb came in and sat down for supper. We talked about the rain ( it was pouring again ) the normal spots along our 12 mile gravel commute , that had flooded over ( there are spots that commonly flood over and are impassable, it was not unheard of at all)<br />We talked about the bees, the honey flow, cursed the rain and ate our dinner.<br />Halfway through our meal I looked outside and saw some saplings swaying in the dried up creek bed. I mentioned this to my husbands, whom disregarded it as just the wind.. Well there was no wind, which is why it caught my eye.<br />About 30 seconds after that I looked out our front window towards the bridge, and my timing was impeccable. That very second water was coming over the bridge and towards our home.<br />It was surreal, thats the only word to describe it.. ok and terrifying. haha.<br />after almost 2 feet of rain in some part of Western NC, our creek rose to 13 ft above flood level, and Broke its banks................<br />I am not gonna lie, I wish I could say I held my composure and did everything in an orderly manor, but that is not the case.. I was kinda freaking out.<br />I told Norah to put anything on the bed that she thought was of extreme importance.. I looked back a minute later and she has her entire room on her bed. It was the sweetest and most hearbreaking thing ever.<br />At this point we were not sure what to do. I have never dealt with flooding, Flash Flooding at that.. and was very scared. We just were not sure how fast the water would raise, if it would follow a second flash flood etc. So we got a ladder out and headed for our roof.<br />and it rained<br />And rained.....<br /><br /><br />and<br /><br /><br />Rained...<br />Buckets. I am talking a complete downpour for 3 hours..<br />Everytime I said " Please God, make it stop raining" It rained harder...<br /><br />We sat on the roof and watched our property flood. We watched my gardens ( still in the baby stages) get swallowed up by Wilson creek. we watched it come to the bottoms of the Chicken coop door ( which is almost 3 ft high) and we watched it come to the bottoms of about 25 of our Hives...<br />At that point all I wanted was for the bees to make it.<br />Chairs can be replaced.toys can be replaced.. Established Hives are a little harder to replace. and the blood sweat and tears that goes into caring for an established hives is irreplaceable..<br /><br />We watched all of our outdoor equipment go under water ( lawnmovers, weedeaters, 2 generators, wood splitter, )<br />We watched everything my husband collected ( he calls is useful , I call it garbage) float our from under our shed.<br />We watched Trees float through our yard, snakes, unidentifiable items ( hard to see when its raining sheets),<br />The worst part of was watching the water come up to the bottoms of our Bee Hive enterances, The water even picked up a stand of 3 bees and turned it around, The stand was floating,and we are just staring at it, waiting for it too float away, it never did,, I do believe some prayers were answered on that roof, as I asked God to please spare the bees...................as soon as the water came to the bottoms of the enterances the water stopped rising....<br />
<br />I have never felt so helpless in my life. So much hard work at the mercy of Mother Nature..<br />The more we prayed , the harder in rained...<br />and just when we thought it could not get worse ( about an hour in) the creek filled its bank at on the other side ( if you picture 10 o clock and 2 o clock it was flooding from 10 o clock and was now coming at us from 2 o clock) and the creek was coming toward our house from that direction..<br />I would like to say we were shocked, but at that point we just watched it happen with little remark, and the occasional " please make this stop" comment...<br /><br />At some point,, ( I believe about 45 minutes into us going on the roof) Robb called 911.... She explained that they could not get to us.<br />Remember it is 12 miles of gravel to get to us, on a road that follows either Wilson Creek, Johns river, in the middle of a National Forest<br />Roads were completely gone, flooded over, trees were down. It was an absolute mess.<br />She mentioned them getting us by helicopter if they had to...<br /><br />Robb brought some ladders and tarps unto the roof and made us a little shelter to keep us dry, along with some blankets<br />With the constant downpour the warmth lasted only a short time and we were starting to get wet again.<br />It was probably about 65-70? but it is amazing how cold you can get when you are wet! My poor little Norah ( 11 yrs old ) was shivering like crazy.....<br /><br />3 hours later,, they arrived... The water had receded a bit by then,, maybe a foot or so??<br />The water that was in our home at one point ( it only came into the home about 2 ft,, not high, but about 2 ft in.. thanks goodness!) They found a Forest Service rd that was passeable.<br />It was mandatory evacuation, so we packed a few bags quickly walked through the lake that was our yard, got in a truck, and headed out.<br />Trees were down and Gravel rds were giving was as we drove over them, it was awful.<br />At one point I took Norah out of the truck and crossed our by foot. I realize they were rescuing us, but I needed to do that on my own. as we drove over more road gave way and the truck behind us could not make it over..............................<br />an hour later we arrived at Collettsville School ( my daughters School)<br />
where they had a Red Cross Station set up.. Then we were evactuated from there, because that was flooding... True Story....<br /><br />Long story short. A teacher and amazing Human Being, heard about the flooding and asked someone they knew if we were at the Red Cross shelter, she offered to take us anywhere we wanted to go. We ended up at an Inn around 1130 pm that night...<br /><br />This story could get really long.. The first week was a whirlwind. So much support and help and so much to be grateful for. Our flood insurance did not cover anything outside or inside...<br />But the amount of financial support we received Blew us away..<br /><br />From May 18th until Now as really just been piling more stuff to do on top of our already ridiculous schedule<br />We had lots of clean up...lots, and some things still need done but in all we are back to normal<br />Its amazing how resilient plant life can be! My flower bed that was completely underwater, thrived and grew, and our gardens are doing awesome,<br />We have 2 more garden and another beeyard on another peice of property that did NOT flood, thank goodness!!<br /><br /><br /><br />It really could have all been much worse.. I am so grateful for the people who were her for us during all of it. You know who you are...... THank you for your unconditional love , without judgement, and just helping us in any way you saw fit.. whether it be a can of soup, letting us borrow your truck and phone ( YES we had some friends loan us these things!) , paying for our hotel, helping come clean up, or some cash to help us get some new things.... I think that is one silver lining in all this.. realizing who the good people in your life are..<br /><br /><br />
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Much love!<br />Onward and forward<br />Homesteading photos to follow,, atleast positive ones!!<br /><br />THe Cool Family<br /><br />
Flood<br />
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Aftermath</div>
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<br />Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-924014313898222802017-12-25T17:25:00.000-08:002017-12-25T17:25:15.474-08:00Merry Christmas <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />The Eve of Christmas was spent making homemade Pierogies for dinner ( and dog treats for our furry family member). We had a lovely meal of our pasture raised Pork, Homegrown home fermented Sauerkraut and homemade Pierogies.<br />Christmas took place outside for a good portion of the day. Hot Cider and Butternut squash and sausage soup warmed on the fire filled our bellies.<br />Our hearts are full <3 br="">Merry Christmas from our Homestead , to you and yours </3>Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-45946215797789446632017-12-23T18:28:00.000-08:002017-12-23T18:28:43.601-08:00Don't Grow up... yet<br />
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Please, don't grow up,, Miss Norah Jane,, I see it, It morphs from from day to day, a shape shifter of child, young lady and (gulp) a short glimpse into preteen at times...Sometimes I see the grown up Norah more than I am ready for, but then the Little Norah sneaks back and takes precedence, and I exhale. because I get: ONE more day of little Norah Jane....<br />
Almost 11 yrs old ( well not until May 1) and still attached to stuffed animals and pretend play, decking out your Tree house landscape, catching critters around the homestead, and just hanging out with the chickens. An imagination that is 10 fold what mine was at this age.<br />
Growing up Alone, in the forest, with no siblings is an attribute to such an imagination You have a naive nature that I hope you carry with you a bit longer, because kids grow up too fast.<br />
I hope I can remember the 10 year old Norah 30 yrs from now.. I take pictures, I blog, but I hope whats in my heart is how I remember you best...Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-69152211621439207792017-11-10T16:13:00.002-08:002017-11-11T07:26:45.146-08:00Autumn at the Homestead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;">Greetings! And Welcome November ! </span></div>
<span style="text-align: start;">We have really just been buttoning things up around here, gettting ready for winter.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;">With bee season finally at a standstill ( with the exception of autumn feeding) we have been able to play catch up</span><br />
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In the past few months we have been...................................<br />
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Splitting firewood, our only source of heat<br />
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Bottling Muscadine Wine<br />
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Preserving the Bounty</div>
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Wild Foraging and making Medicine<br />
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Eating Comfort Food</div>
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Adding these 2 to the farm,, Pickles and Pancakes</div>
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Processing the last batch of Chickens</div>
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Enjoying Garden Bounty In November </div>
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Enjoying the last few weekends at Coffeys General Store before we close for the Winter<br />
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reveling in the autumn beauty that is my commute.....<br />
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Blessings<br />
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The Cool Family</div>
Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-62356829965401792432017-09-15T12:43:00.000-07:002017-09-15T12:50:53.625-07:00Staying Balanced Staying CreativeThe farm, homestead and ol General Store demand a lot of my time from March through September.<br />
and as the apiary grows from year to year, My end of the honey business " to do list" can be somewhat overwhelming, not leaving a whole lot of time for what Ive always loved to do : BE CREATIVE!<br />
For years I had a sewing business ( before the farm took hold of our time) and it allowed me to create every day! I did burn out at times, but I always felt fufilled at the end of the day. I am reminded that I need to keep creating to keep a balance in my life.<br />
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Norah and I took time away from Chores to make Toad Houses. Such a inexpensive, simple way to spend time together and create. We gathered Rocks, sticks, moss, pincones, tree bark and whatever else we could find.<br />
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<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Ive gotten back to my sewing too. It feels really good to do what Ive always loved.<br />You can check out some of my creations , soon, at <a href="http://www.womanandwolf.etsy.com/">http://www.womanandwolf.etsy.com </a><br /><br />I will be offering handmade clothing, wildcraft herbals, things I find in the woods, and really just anything I find wild and beautiful <3 br="">Please feel free to favorite my shop so you know when I add some more items ,,<br /><br />What are you currently working ? I would love to hear what you are skilled at and practice in moments that you have time,<br /><br />Blessings<br />Jaime<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></3>Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-91456307593588934402017-07-24T07:37:00.000-07:002017-07-24T07:37:10.917-07:00In A nutshell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am surprised I don't have more posts with this title, as I always feel that time gets away and I'm posting about whats going on , on the farm and homestead........... In a nutshell!<br />
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I found a moment of peace this a.m. My husband took my daughter to music camp , its quiet and I have my coffee,, a good time to sit , reflect and tell ya'll ( well as much as I can , there has been a LOT going on) what we have been up to!<br />
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GARDENS<br />
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They are more on the Jungle side of things now, or alteast getting there, but they sure were beautiful at one point , this is one of 4 gardens..... <br />
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THE BOUNTY<br />
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A few photos of our Daily Harvests<br />
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THE FARM<br />
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its been a BUSY 4-5 months, we just pulled our Summer Honey ( about 1000 lbs) once that is extracted and in buckets, it will be time to get the girls ready for winter.. <br />
Here are a few photos from this Bee season.<br />
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COUSINS~<br />My Niece Collette Came down for a week. Norah and her had an amazing time! From creek swimming To fort Building ~ Tree house redecorating to raiding the candy counter at the General store, :) I miss her already and sure hopes she visits again soon!<br /><br /><br />
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<br /><br />THE PIGS<br />Saying Goodbye To Bob and Terry was tough to say the least... We now have a freezer full of meat to get us through winter and for that I am super Thankful... We will process 25 more chickens before winter and I still have a lot of garden Bounty to put up. We will be eating good this winter .<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDjFu1HLZuhSzHWMiuQc1GxBIcV2fjHCT8NJUHhq-CuX0uTcbh62TzJkA1pnIV7VVhIyft4OQ4QXNsnjr_bho9KvTeQEuKL9PNzuJeQE22-9KO6f32RH268WbE5JI-a6vP6tblaSrDgk/s1600/sayingoodbye2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1415" data-original-width="1600" height="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDjFu1HLZuhSzHWMiuQc1GxBIcV2fjHCT8NJUHhq-CuX0uTcbh62TzJkA1pnIV7VVhIyft4OQ4QXNsnjr_bho9KvTeQEuKL9PNzuJeQE22-9KO6f32RH268WbE5JI-a6vP6tblaSrDgk/s640/sayingoodbye2.jpg" width="640" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
So that's our summer In a Nutshell................................................<br /><br /><br /><br />Blessings <br />The Cool FamilyOff-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-54021945749023842172017-05-10T12:40:00.001-07:002017-05-10T12:41:04.749-07:00Dont give up on me, I'm covered in BEES !<br />
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Terry Blowing some Bubbles</div>
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My dad helping in the beeyard and being silly ( acting like he is being attacked by bees )</div>
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It's creek Time!</div>
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Bust first Helping Dad out painting some hives</div>
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My husband has been busy building bee equipment</div>
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Coffeys General Store open for business</div>
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Its sure been awhile friends! Don't give up on my and this ol Blog. Don't worry, I am not literally covered in Bees, but our bee yard has blown up to about 90 hives :o and life has just been busy. Add in 40 some odd chicken, 5 gardens,2 pigs, 2 farmers markets, 1 child, and 1 General Store to run, and you are running your tail of .<br />
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Spring is in full force here. I finally got the last of my gardens in 2 days ago, The spring honey flow is starting to happen, The store Opened The first of April, and everything is Green as can be :)<br />
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I hope everyone is getting some of this warm weather. Its been pretty nice here in NC, I know some of ya'll up North and still kind of chilly. Hoping you get to enjoy some beautiful Spring days soon!<br />
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Blessing<br />
Jaime<br />
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<br />Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-67043940882956923412017-01-10T07:32:00.000-08:002017-01-10T07:32:21.951-08:00Snowed In<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hoping that snow is insulating our sweet honey bees</div>
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Our road</div>
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Bob and Terry, our pigs, eating and then heading back in to the shelter, they aren't fans of the snow<br />
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Homemade pizza outta the woodstove, yes please</div>
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Sled, eat , repeat. Oh and bring some more wood in, haha..<br /><br /><br /><br />Mother Nature snowed us in starting Friday evening,, Here we are Tuesday, and our roads are still a mess.. Getting out of here is a long haul in good weather, so you can imagine what 7" of snow will do..<br /><br />Its been a wonderful 3-4 days.. Full of sledding, eating, baking, laughing, and spending time together.. yeah we are getting a little stir crazy, but a good walk in the woods can fix that right up ;)<br /><br />There is something amazing about these moments in winter. We work so hard all spring and summer to grow our food, preserve our bounty, split wood, so we can enjoy the feeling complete self reliance.. we supply our own power, heat, water, and food...its a comfort worth all the work it takes to get to that point..<br />Go ahead snow us in for a couple weeks...., KIDDING! haha,, no thank you.. It sure has been beautiful, but there is a reason I am living a wee bit south of where I used to live....<br /><br />We are supposed to warm up quite a bit and get rain, which means the first 12 miles of my commute out of here will be 12 miles of MUD,, fun stuff.....<br /><br />So for now we are snuggled by the woodstove enjoying the snowy view from inside....<br /><br /><br />Blessings<br />The Cools <br />Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-6727090989606284362016-12-24T08:20:00.000-08:002016-12-24T08:20:55.579-08:00The Gift Of Imagination
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2 nights ago I did something I believe most parents can
relate too. Raise your hand if you ever get the last minute “ I didn’t get my
kid enough stuff” anxiety.. I hate it, it goes against everything we believe
and live by, but I still get that feeling every year. We do keep it simple at Christmas,
alteast compared to a majority of americans, but she does get here share of
stuff.<br />
So , 2 nights ago…. I got in my car and drove AN HOUR one way to the store,,
and not just any store,, wait for it…………. The corporate monster.. Walmart. <br />
NOW here is where I defend myself<br />
The Defendant calls Jaime Cool to the stand:<br />
Walmart is all we have, literally… If you follow my blog you are familiar with
just how removed we are from civilization. To recap: I have to drive 12 miles
of gravel to get to a paved rd. after about 40 minutes I hit a town of 500 ( a
crossroads with a gas station, a small mountain school of 300.. k-8) a post office that’s open
like 3 hours a day, and a small medical center ( thank god for that) and that’s
it… another 10-15 minutes brings me to town. A town of about 18,000.. and we don’t
have much in the way of stores.. your fast food restaurants, big lots, a bunch
of different grocery stores, and Walmart,, a big ass Walmart…. <br />
I am not a regular Walmart shopper, I do go in for thread and fabric from time
to time ( as we don’t have a fabric store, that’s 56 miles away, about 1.5
hours) or those things I cant find anywhere else,, a gun , a canoe, a
trampoline ( haha, I haven’t bought any of those things, but you get it,, they
have everything) . All my food shopping ( what we don’t grow and can,, snacks ,
sugar , flour, coffee milk etc) is done at Aldo and Big lots, my 2 favorite
stores </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
Only one problem Aldi and Biglots, nor
any other store in town had one I was looking for <br />
2 specific,, MY LITTLE PONIES..<br />
My daughter has been obsessed with my little ponies for more than a short
phase. More like 2 YEARS. She brushes their hair every morning, they go to
school with her every day … they have been in the creek , in the dirt, in the
bathtub, have eaten dinner with us, gone to town with us,, they are almost
family, haha<br />
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Ok so here I am 7 o clock at night, and
I Pull in to a SEA OF CARS. Now this is no small parking lot,, and it
WAS. FULL.. of last minute crazed Christmas shoppers<br />
“what in the hell am I doing here???” I ask myself. And then I go in..<br />
anndddddd it’s a mad house.. full of people buying stuff.. <br />
and here I am buying stuff.. <br />
and wondering why Im here buying ….. stuff…..<br />
Ive always enjoyed christmas for the decorating, baking, handmade gifts, making
memories…. Yes the stuff has always been part of it,, but not my favorite
part..</span>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Straight ahead, to not pass go , do not collect
200 dollars,,, get to the pony aisle STAT!<br />
I get to the pony aisle,,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it looks like
a tornado hit the pony aisle.. good lord..<br />
So ok, this should be easy, pick a 2 ponies.. I am pretty sure I stood there
for 20 minutes looking.<br />
She really wanted the pony with the beauty shop etc,, but you spend 11.00 more
for a bunch of plastic crap that I am just gonna end up stepping on in 24 hours…
KEEP IT SIMPLE, I tell myself…<br />
I find 2 ponies ( that she doesn’t have and has asked for)<br />
I head to check out and get the hell outta there, haha,, back to the forest,
back to the gravel rd, back to the quiet….<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So fastforward to the next day. Norah spent they day outside
playing with the chickens..<br />
Chasing them, trapping them,talking to them…. I would peek outside or do my
usual “call” to make sure she was ok and still in the yard ( she likes to sneak
off into the woods and down to the creek without asking sometimes). I cleaned
the house and did inside chores… around late afternoon she called me outside to
show me what she had been doing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A sled of water and a chicken fort, of course !</span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Now this isn't out of the ordinary for Miss Norah. She is always building something outside, creating , using her imagination. But I guess it just struck a chord with me because I was in such a tiz to get her more STUFF 2 nights earlier... <br /><br />I don't know why I felt compelled to write this. This is not intended to be a judgmental post, nor is it written to make you feel guilty about all that stuff you bought..<br /><br />Lets face it,, Our kids will wake up Christmas Morning so excited and tear into all That stuff we bought, there will be smiling, giggling, excitement and memories.. and it makes it all worth it,,,<br /><br />But don't forget to leave a little room for the best gift you can give a child........<br />IMAGINATION<br /><br />Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our Homestead to yours!!<br />
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<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The CoolsOff-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-63119653727252287642016-12-02T09:20:00.000-08:002016-12-02T09:20:34.379-08:00Hello December!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Its very hard to believe the December is here. The weather has been unusually warm ( and dry, so so dry, but we did finally get some rain the other evening)<br />
I am picking the last of the broccoli, there is lettuce, radish, beets, kale and chard going in the greenhouse, the neverending woodpile is just that. Never Ending....;)<br />
I am starting to can some potatoes. I do not have a root cellar or any cold storage. so around this time of year I begin the inevitable chore of canning whats left and starting to grow eyes ....canned potatoes make amazing Fried taters!<br />
oh and if you happened to just scroll by and didn't notice,, Ill post another picture ;)<br />
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Happy Birthday to me! My husband and daughter got me 2 American Guinea hogs for my Birthday! They will eventually become food for our family, so I am trying not to get too attached ( which has proven to be nearly impossible) considering their adorable demeanor...<br />A wonderful addition to Bee Kind Family Farm.<br /><br />I hope you are enjoying the slower pace of winter, we surely are. While there is always something to be done, its not nearly as hectic and a much needed break from the craziness that is spring and summer.<br /><br /><br />Blessings<br />The Cool Family<br />Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-26523686465816058822016-09-28T05:56:00.000-07:002016-09-28T05:56:14.026-07:00Late Summer Foraging<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICmunVdExYSxqT_rF62U1sWyPoRK0uOHmR51yGouNM3K2BhfWpLrkdjFLTPi7SBEXPZMfIzWSNeoXUVTLfT-ChzyL9cmF03dpFlokYyOmrPzjLfIh1bj7-81qSVCxDutuJCx3JyihK9I/s1600/bountyse%255Bt27.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICmunVdExYSxqT_rF62U1sWyPoRK0uOHmR51yGouNM3K2BhfWpLrkdjFLTPi7SBEXPZMfIzWSNeoXUVTLfT-ChzyL9cmF03dpFlokYyOmrPzjLfIh1bj7-81qSVCxDutuJCx3JyihK9I/s640/bountyse%255Bt27.jpg" /></a><br /><br /> <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aE5pwSddKEj7AGEnplExG13JUqHXNLDhlzAEvIgyrrvQ-4qPcgbPLeaL1kQY0JPPR5oQcDk54Uz3aYYfEusKwzIMjo4e6OBBZA_4qwdAxsFoe9FlciRhYPGtVpxeXnfufn62z2oSH2U/s1600/chickenofthewoods.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aE5pwSddKEj7AGEnplExG13JUqHXNLDhlzAEvIgyrrvQ-4qPcgbPLeaL1kQY0JPPR5oQcDk54Uz3aYYfEusKwzIMjo4e6OBBZA_4qwdAxsFoe9FlciRhYPGtVpxeXnfufn62z2oSH2U/s640/chickenofthewoods.jpg" /></a><br /><br /> <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN94awmj09W-tvbxL7ozkF42jQfHjGVVVYSf7McZYsQmEFIcW2M51DH5uAOmp85Ne1bJFwcX5R7IapxgB9SwNwb-UXVGYONgD49HKxDEozujHv6oRgQ2DIaFWU3blyXOW6oUl7UZEZUXI/s1600/elderberries.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN94awmj09W-tvbxL7ozkF42jQfHjGVVVYSf7McZYsQmEFIcW2M51DH5uAOmp85Ne1bJFwcX5R7IapxgB9SwNwb-UXVGYONgD49HKxDEozujHv6oRgQ2DIaFWU3blyXOW6oUl7UZEZUXI/s640/elderberries.jpg" /></a><br /><br /> <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Ixb1c2zT8IUbpC2NbI8_muRli-Vo17qV3J-LdRkTBXvGSbhupoGoqTgraIgc2_szVNAvbwcRuHjm9V6qHVh3ijqgljKlq29ek3JKlMcaj0HtsqQ8hZJyKzFk9QEelYIzmScnmGR5ogY/s1600/elderberryrr.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Ixb1c2zT8IUbpC2NbI8_muRli-Vo17qV3J-LdRkTBXvGSbhupoGoqTgraIgc2_szVNAvbwcRuHjm9V6qHVh3ijqgljKlq29ek3JKlMcaj0HtsqQ8hZJyKzFk9QEelYIzmScnmGR5ogY/s640/elderberryrr.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />With life on the homestead slowing down a bit, and the temperatures a little more tolerable, we have been able to get out into the woods and do some wild foraging,<br />The days have been filled with Elderberry Jam making, elderberry drying ( for elderberry syrup this winter) , Baking persimmon Cake in the sun oven , and storing away some chicken of the woods mushrooms in the freezer for this winter .<br />We just had a good rain ( after about a month of dry!) So I might venture back out and forage some more if time allows..<br /><br />What's growing in your neck of the woods??Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-58978119714307643392016-09-17T17:26:00.000-07:002016-09-17T17:26:42.145-07:00Homemade Chevre<br />
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Homemade Chevre, I'm addicted to making it! Its so easy and the end result is unmatched. I was a bit skeptical about my cheese making abilities, how time and instruction intensive it was to make it, and how just taking a half gallon of milk, sprinkling some culture in it and letting it sit could transform this milk (which is good in an of itself) to this goat cheese that is just as good as my local markets ( ok maybe not as good, I have to give those women credit, they know their cheese )<br />The only big challenge is finding raw goats milk, If you don't have goats or live in an area where farming is prevelant , this can be a challenge. Luckily a neighboring farmer has more than he needed at was happy to start bartering for some of our Honey . This works out perfect, although having our own goats would mean fresh goat cheese cheese all the time..I'm talking to my husband about that now ;) hehe<br /><br /><br />you can find very easy Chevre Making directions on the link below! I ordered my butter Muslin and Culture from them. If you live close to a bigger town you could probably find a supplier. This was just easiest for me. The butter Muslin is a bit pricey, but I wash mine an reuse it!<br />
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<a href="http://www.cheesemaking.com/Chevre.html">http://www.cheesemaking.com/Chevre.html</a>Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-81093768041422415042016-08-19T12:32:00.000-07:002016-08-19T12:32:18.607-07:00Exhaling and updatingWell after an insanely busy summer, we are at the Beach for a week of R & R.. I am so sorry I haven't blogged, but Ive been exhausted at the end of each day at the homestead, I just didn't have it in me...<br />
So here I am ocean view, coffee in hand, and ready to tell you a bit about the last 2 months?!?!? wow it has been a while since Ive blogged. I cant believe fall is almost here!<br />
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Farm Tour <br />
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So this year we were part of the High Country Farm tour put on by Blue Ridge woman in Agriculture. An amazing organization that is dedicated to strengthening the High Country's local food system by supporting women and their families with resources, education, and skills related to sustainable food and agriculture.<br />
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Every year they put on a farm tour for a number of counties. You pay around 20.00 a carload, map out the farms you want to see in that county, and then drive from farm to farm for a tour. Its pretty cool..<br />
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We had so much fun doing the farm tour and had a really great turn out!! I couldnt find the pictures of the actual tour in my files, but here are some photos of us getting ready and making sure everything looks nice ;)<br />
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<strong>Summer Honey Harvest</strong><br />
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Expectation for our summer flow were low. After a very rainy spring, which started out nice, but turned into a 2 week cold and rainy event, which killed our Spring Honey flow ( the bees stayed inside and ate the spring honey they had brought in, since they weren't able to go out and forage), we braced ourselves for a similar event for summer. We figured this year would just be a bad year for honey and we would except the disappointment with bigger hopes for next year.<br />
We were WRONG! We endep up pulling aroun 1000 POUNDS!!! a far far cry from our anticipated disappointment! the honey a floweth! I am so happy for My husband most of all, who worked endlessly in the beeyard making this happen. ( yes assistance in the bee yard increases honey flow) and bringing us from a horrible loss of around 30 hives (back down to 35 hives coming into the spring from 65 hives going into last fall) and bringing our fall hive count to around 85 as of right now.<br />
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<strong>How does your garden grow??</strong><br />
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<br />Bountiful INDEED! I was a bit worried about our tomatoes this year. Many of of my plants fell over ( and they were extremely tall, things get tall here in the holler). While i did have some staked, I never got around to staking all of them with the tall stakes they needed . Add a pretty bad storm with a 65 mph gust of wind and you can guess what happened..<br />But the bounty was incredible, I put up around 10 quarts of tomatoes, and about 42 pints of salsa.. The canning will resume when i get home. :)<br /><br />
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<strong>Coffeys General Store</strong><br />
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<br />SO as many of you know that follow my blog, we recently purchased a 120 year old General store in the middle of the Pisgah National forest. And while its 12 Miles of gravel in any directions to arrive at this destination, our first month open has been a success!<br />The store is located in Edgemont a sleepy isolated town with about 8-10 full time residents. Located In the Grandfather District of the Pisgah National Forest and right Wilson Creek ( a designated Wild and Scenic River). Our cliental include but are not limited too, Kayakers, campers, hikers, swimmers , and old timers that just want to comeback and reminisce. Its a weekend Gig! so works perfect with our homesteading life! I will have time to keep up on the gardens, housework, bottling and labeling of honey, etc..<br />My daughter has had a rough summer >insert sarcasm here< swimming in the creek, eating icecream, and even busking/ playing here fiddle to support her icecream habit.<br /><br />We are on our last day at the beach. Every year this is a much needed week for us. Could we go without it? sure.. but a recharge is always nice.. When we get home this week, we will be extracting honey,, canning more bounty, planting our fall garden, feeding some of our hives, doing a full inspection, starting to split a entire seasons worth of firewood ( yeah we are really behind), and getting back into the groove of Homestead life...<br /><br />I hope everyone has had an amazing summer!!!<br /><br />The cool Family<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
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</strong>Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-29894065119453937962016-06-20T06:54:00.000-07:002016-06-20T06:54:00.928-07:0021 days of homegrown foodHello! So I am really really trying to keep this blog going but its just so busy. planting, weeding, harvesting , weeding, butchering chickens, beekeeping, harvesting honey, <br />
selling at the market, opening a 150 yr old general store, participating and being on the Local Farm tour have kept us busy to say the LEAST.. its been a complete whirlwind... <br />
I figured I could atleast leave you with some pretty pictures! I started an album on my facebook page, called 100 days of homegrown food posting a daily bounty for 100 days... I leave you with the first 21 :)<br />
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Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-5355126707835617022016-05-09T11:02:00.001-07:002016-05-09T11:02:58.960-07:00Right place at the right time.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A worker bee, checking out the new Queen , second after being placed in the hive..</div>
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<br />An hour sooner or an hour later ,checking the hives, and we would have missed this! We were able to watch 4 Queen Cells emerge from an emergency cell in a Queenless hive. All have been place in new nucs( hives.)<br />you could hear them chewing there way through trying ever so hard to make their way out of the cell, it was really a cool event to witness.<br />what a blessing and how grateful we are for these experiences on our farm!!!<br /><br />I hope you enjoy the photos!<br /><br />Jaime<br /><br />Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-61791347623071307362016-04-23T07:40:00.001-07:002016-04-23T07:40:26.493-07:00Dreams and gardens are Growing!So, Its that time of year,, its bee season and garden season. and I just cant seem to sit down and blog! At night I am just too tired to try and conjure up the words and explain to you the gazillion things we have going on.<br /><br />In the past couple weeks we <br />*got our gardens in<br />* have been building bee equipment<br />* inspecting bees and getting ready to rear queens<br />*weeding, watering, watering and watering( we finally got rain)<br />* remodeling our honey "house" and putting new equipment in<br />* spoke at the Mother Earth news fair out bees<br />
* spoke at Eustace Conways Turtle Island preserve ( about bees)<br />* working with Blue Ridge women in agriculture as we are going to part of this years farm tour,,<br /><br /><strong>oh and did I mention,, ??? we bought a 150 year old General store?? yeah, true story...</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSjF_GpkZJk8_derP48saYxApQIIbbDLyydNCerkbX06vZjSNEBnNQHwQ9ngGKGpauDZIwCnC9w_958BbIaZzdA6q74zBm7WlgObemWbUBtL6mH9RK5NCrKXcqRi4P1qo62KS11FGIB0/s1600/coffeys2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSjF_GpkZJk8_derP48saYxApQIIbbDLyydNCerkbX06vZjSNEBnNQHwQ9ngGKGpauDZIwCnC9w_958BbIaZzdA6q74zBm7WlgObemWbUBtL6mH9RK5NCrKXcqRi4P1qo62KS11FGIB0/s640/coffeys2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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We are now on top of everything else ( almost) the owners of a 150+ year old General Store Located in the middle of the National Forest on a wild n scenic river.. * Coffeys General Store* ( its one mile from my house and has been closed down for years) it has survived 2 Historic Flood a great depression and has so much history. the antiques in it are amazing,, It's almost overwhelming ... so much hist<span class="text_exposed_show">ory in the store!! and yes everything in it comes with the store ;)<br /> it will be a bit of long road and a 5 yr vision to really have it how we want, but we plan to open on July 4th of this year.<br /> the goal : you can get your essentials here for camping, our local produce, honey, eggs, soap, Chicken, ( pork eventually) etc</span><br />
This is going to be a beautiful extension of our homestead!<br /><br />
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<strong>The gardens</strong> : so all 5 gardens received a wonderful steady rain yesterday( after about 3 weeks of nothing) so everything should really start filling in!! <br />Its just me working these gardens so its quite a bit of work, but I wouldn't have it any other way.. :)<br />
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so if you follow my blog you are just gonna have to get used to a lot of info crammed into one post,, haha...<br />we have a lot on our plate right now, but I will continue to update your on our homestead , store, off grid life, market, bees etc...<br /><br /><br />So as you can see our gardens are growing and so our our dreams!!<br />Yay for new adventures!<br /><br />and please forgive all the typos, I know there are more than a few ;) headed out the door and getting started on my day!! Have a beautiful day!<br /><br /><br /><br />until next time<br /><br />The Cools<br /> </div>
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Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-5655208259063166862016-03-18T17:08:00.000-07:002016-03-18T17:08:16.765-07:00Progress and Simple Pleasures<br /><br />
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<strong>Progress</strong><br />
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Robb and I spent the day on Monday getting our row cover up for our cabbage and broccoli. I am done dealing with Cabbage worms. They are the sneakiest most destructive little suckers, and the squish squish method just isn't doing it anymore... Its easy to get them out of the broccoli, but the little worms borrow inside the inner leaves of the cabbage and its impossible to get them. I have had some gorgeous cabbage over the years , only to be destroyed...<br />So this cover will keep the moths from laying their eggs on my plants ( which eventually hatch and turn into little worms that munch away on my Brassicas.<br />It was a bit of work and dealing with frost cloth in wind, I forgot but was soon reminded that it is nothing short of aggravating.. I also managed to really smash my finger.. But I am sure it will all be worth it when I am opening a fresh jar of kraut this winter!<br />
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We have also been working on some new chicken tractors for our meat birds. This year we did not skimp on materials and made them the "right" way so they will last us many seasons. We just got tired of weathered rotting wod and things falling apart because we decided to use recycled items. don't get me wrong, recycled is great, but the maintenance and time we spent on these older tractors for them to just start falling apart made us realize we need to use new treated wood. These are some nice tractors!<br />Robb managed to get 2 done this week! Ill have more photos soon, they are pretty nice. Each one will fit around 10 birds. We will move them around the property as needed, giving them a good life of bugs n fresh grass!<br />
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I have planted nearly all my seed potatoes! 40 lbs! I am glad to have gotten them in the ground, just in time for a much need rain, forecasted for tomorrow.<br />
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<strong>Simple Pleasures</strong><br />
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In between all the work, there are always moments of simple beauty in spring that make my heart sing. I am so happy another season has arrived! The first bouquet of the season, our girls pollinating the peach tree, and some baby chicks are truly life's simple pleasures!<br />
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Happy ( almost) Spring!<br /><br />Blessings<br /><br />The Cool FamilyOff-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-64042988150723444322016-03-07T07:31:00.001-08:002016-03-07T07:31:59.175-08:00and just like that, Spring has Sprung<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Getting ready for life in the Fast lane, so to speak, here at our Homestead! It looks like Spring is jusssst about here. Now I am quite sure we will get another frost or 2, and probably one in late April ( Ya know that one that always makes ya freak out, because you have everything planted in the gardens). But for the most part it looks like temps are steadily rising.<br />
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The bees are out! and dang happy too! We have been feeding them some pollen substitute . A good source of protein for them before the Alders and Maples bloom( which are in Fact in bloom right now!)<br />
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Ive started all of my seeds. Some are being transplanted now, and other have a ways to go before that happens...<br />
A lot of my cool weather crops are going in now. I have 4 pretty good size gardens, and like to take my time getting stuff in ( instead of doing it all in one day) so I started planting last week and hope to have all my cool weather plants in , in the next week or so.<br />
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Norah has been busy Fishing, Playing in her Tree House, and Bringing insects into the house ( the first sign of spring around here.. hahaa) .. She even found some Frog eggs in the pond, that we are going to raise up and release, when time :) <br /><br />It feels good to be outside with hands in the dirt again! <br />
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How are Temps In your Neck of the Woods???<br /><br />Blessings<br />The Cool Family<br />
<br />Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-89769628201481641332016-02-13T13:08:00.001-08:002016-02-13T13:08:22.527-08:00When Life Gives You LemonsOr when a wonderful neighbor gives them to you............... Make Lemonade :)<br /><br />One of our part time neighbors was kind enough to bring us a bowl full of lemons from his lemon tree in Florida ! They are nothing like lemons from the store, not to mention twice the size!<br />I decided to make lemonade concentrate with them, which will come as a real treat once the summer heat hits. Nothing beats a cold glass of lemonade after a morning of gardening. I think it is my favorite summer drink.<br />I ended up with 5 pints of strawberry Lemonade, and 5 Pints Of regular Lemonade...........YUM!<br />
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Homemade Lemonade Concentrate</div>
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Its pretty easy ;)<br />1 Cup lemon Juice</div>
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1 Cup sugar</div>
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1 Cup water</div>
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Make a syrup by mixing the sugar and water in a pan on low heat..Once dissolved add the lemon juice and syrup into a pitcher and stir.. add about 3-4 more cups cold water ( depending on how sweet you like your Lemonade) and serve with ice!</div>
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If you would like to can the concentrate. Can in a water bath canner for 15 minutes.<br /></div>
Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-994065545319091612016-01-30T11:22:00.000-08:002016-01-30T11:22:23.058-08:00The days in Between<br />
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We are just trying to stay busy here, in between the days of Snow and mud..The Roads are pretty much clear( though muddy) and the weekend is supposed to be gorgeous! 60-65 degrees and sunny.<br /><br />While its going to be nice, its still a bit too muddy to do very much outdoors.. Although I have started some seeds... too early , you ask?? maybe a little, but I always start a few trays to hold me over until its "officially" time. I find that starting them a bit earlier gives them time to grow big and strong too..<br />
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Norah has been on a letter writing kick.. I believe she has written and mailed out around 6 or 7letters. It makes me happy to see her doing this when almost every form of communication these days happens via the internet. She has been begging and pleading for an email, hehe, for what, I don't know, but she really wants one for some reason ( probably because mom has one ;)... I briefly explained to her that before days of tinternet ( when I was a kid) people used to write letters all the time, this is really how people used to communicate or say hello, if there were not talking on the phone.<br />She wrote some friends from camp and some relatives, I really hope she gets some letters back and continues to write.<br /><br />The sewing machine has been pulled out briefly. I made a skirt and a small quilted table runner for our table.... I have so many fabric scraps that really need to be used up, as they take up so much space ! This was the perfect project to use some of them. It really started out as a full blown quilt before I decided I just didn't Love the fabrics,, and didn't want to invest time in a quilt if I just felt "meh" about it everytime I looked at it. It looks nice on the dining room table and brightens it up a bit ......<br /><br />Besides that, we are just really waiting for things to dry up before working on a million projects outside. My mushroom hoop house ( that keeps my shiitake logs in the shade) collapsed during the snow storm so that need fixed. We have 5 fruit trees to move, a grape trellis to put up, trellis for the peas, 2 chicken tractors need built, and on and on and on.. I always seem to get anxious this time of year,, so much that needs done for spring,, and so little time. It all gets done though, always does....<br />
and our chickens, well they hate snow, haha.... so yeah they are happy about the thaw too...<br /><br /><br />Blessings<br /><br />The CoolsOff-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-27600114256647252712016-01-23T11:05:00.001-08:002016-01-23T11:05:23.501-08:00Big Snow on the Homestead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well ,the much anticipated Snow from Winter Storm Jonas, arrived! I kind of lost count after awhile, but am guessing we were blessed with about 15" of the white stuff.<br />For those of you who follow our blog, you know that we are within a National forest. We have a 12 mile gravel ( now snow ) commute. The roads are not maintained by the state or county. although The National Forest does hire someone to plow( sometimes). Last time we had snow like this, it was 6 days before our roads were cleared...and a week before our Mail arrived. <br />They did come through with a plow yesterday when the snow started,but that has since been covered with about 10 more inches of snow.<br />Hey, it makes for a good hiking trail, when ya cant drive on it! <br /><br />We have really been enjoying our time snowed in; baking, hiking, sledding , reading. eating and hanging around the wood cookstove staying warm. <br /><br />Now spring can officially arrive.. *wink<br />
<br /><br /><br />Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-69861829582438962392015-12-31T10:55:00.000-08:002015-12-31T10:55:22.388-08:00 A Visit Home and our Honey House Demo<br />
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Hello! Well,, I suppose everyone is catching up on getting back to a regular routine after The Holidays! We had a lovely visit home to my Parent farm in North East Ohio. I forgot how much I loved being able to see the sky for miles, amish buggies, and old barns. It will always be home!! But I will admit, the mountains were calling me back . A short and swift visit, but filled to the brim with family, love, laughter, and food, ohhh the food!!!<br />
We even fit in a visit with My folks neighbors who own Queens Right Aparies ( Beekeepers, farmers, and owners of all kinds of creatures,). They have a lovely store filled to the Brim with everything Beekeeping, and were kind enough to let us in after hours. They also have some wonderful exoctic animals which Norah really enjoyed!.<br />
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The New year is nearly here. While its still winter, Janauary is fil;ed with things to do on the Homestead. I have ordered some seeds and will start seeding my spring crops soon! Robb is getting ready to build more bee equipment and planning out this years goal/strategy . We also have some chicken coops that need mending, and need to figure out some fencing and shelter for the Piglets we will be getting in the spring.<br />
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We have had quite a bit of rain the past couple weeks. But did have a very warm SUNNY day last week that allowed us to get into our Honey "House" ( I put that in parantheses, because its actually a camper). We are knocking out some closets in order to make room for some new honey equipment. As our apiary grows we are hoping to be able to purchase some bigger and better equipment to make the honey extracting process a bit smoother and more efficient.<br />
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<strong><em>Queen Right Colonies</em></strong></div>
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<strong><em>Honey House Demo</em></strong> </div>
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well, I started typing this blog last night, and since then I believe my dog has eaten my camera chip, haha.. so the Honey House Pictures will have to wait!<br /><br /><br /><br />Blessings <br />The Cool Family</div>
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<br />Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-74556275364712657532015-12-11T07:33:00.000-08:002015-12-11T07:33:30.097-08:00Handmade Homemade Holidaysat the risk of sounding Cliché. I LOVE this time of year. The gardens are sleeping, the bees are tucked in , and my sewing machine has been dusted off after months of neglect. A time to warm myself by the woodcookstove, cook comfort food, bake treats for the family and prepare for The Holiday Season!<br />Of course, like any mom with a little girl, I succumb to some commercialism to make the little gals Christmas morning nothing short of spectacular. Although it is kept to a minimum, and I really enjoy focusing on handmade and homemade, and teaching Norah to enjoy these things too, as they really are the most special and genuine of all Christmas moments.<br /><br />Here are some things we have been working on the past week.............................<br />
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<strong>Homemade<br />Chicken sausage</strong><br />
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17 lbs to be exact... we processed birds last week , froze some whole, and decided to make sausage with the rest. We ended up with ; Italian, hot Italian, Breakfast style, and Bratwurst,, all equally tantalizing! <br />Sounds like a good addition to Christmas morning breakfast, to me ;)<br />
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<strong>Handmade Bows ( and arrows</strong>)<br />
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My husband made these, and they are AMAZING. He made enough for the whole family , plus a couple more for Christmas gifts. Norah loves hers, and boy is she a natural! I just am not as good a aim, she told me I just didn't have the skills .. haha<br />He made arrows to go with the bows, but also bought some. The handmade ones are made with doll rods, and eraser tips.<br />I had a lot of people ask how to make these! I did say I would blog about it, but we just haven't had time .. I do promise to edit this blog and post a link on how to make them soon!<br /><br />
<br /><strong>Handmade Quivers</strong><br />
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I stitched up these quivers so the kids have somewhere to put their arrows. <br />
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<strong>Handmade Basket</strong><br />
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I had so much fun making this and do believe I have found yet another hobby ;) after a walk through the woods yesterday morning, I decided to collect some ( what I believe is) Honeysuckle vine, and gave a try at making a basket. not to shabby for my first one. Ill be making more for sure. This may to go someone with some handmade gift in it, as it would make a lovely gift basket.<br />
<br /><br /><strong>Handmade Hot pad</strong><br />
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These Hot pads are they result of a Rug gone wrong.. I braided miles and miles of fabric to make a rug last year. Well the rug was not turning out as expected. The larger the rug became,the harder it was to keep it from "waving" despite my efforts to wet the rug and set something heavy on it,, the large the rug got the less that worked.. SO, I turned these braided beauties into hot pad. I made one for myself and love it, and will be making a few for gifts.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Handmade Snowmen</strong><br />
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We will be making these every year !! free, fun, and earth friendly :) Oh,and they won't melt ;)<br />
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<strong>and last ( well last for now) but not least.. Handmade Snowflakes!</strong> <br />
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I was a bit addicted to these this year. Norah and I spent a good couple hours experimenting , trying to cut out the perfect snowflake, A great craft to try with your kids!!!<br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From our Homestead to yours</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have a most blessed Holiday Season..</span></strong><br /><br />The Cools ~<br />
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<br /><br />Off-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6409440798412201955.post-25919779124902713502015-11-27T13:53:00.000-08:002015-11-27T13:53:55.038-08:00Thankful<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Chicken, Green beans, Mashed Potatoes, sweet potatoes, Delicata squash, pickled peppers, stuffing with homemade breadcrumbs and our canned chicken stock, carrots, pickles, pumpkin for pie , apples for apple pie, and greens from the garden.. All from our homestead ..<br />
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Setting the table. and dreaming of Pumpkin Pie...<br />
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Time at the creek<br />
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Norah managed to snap a photo of me at the woodstove <br />
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Blessed and Thankful BEYOND measure. Spent the day preparing a Homegrown meal over the woodstove. Boy , that was a bit of a challenge as it was 60 out, but I managed to keep it fairly comfortable in the house.<br />What an indescribable feeling of pride , security, and gratefulness to be able to provide a Dinner from everything we grew, with wood we harvested, split and stacked. To be able to sit down as a family and enjoy and Reflect on all we have ( so so much!!).. especially our Health, which allows us to live this life,, made this day even that much more special.<br /><br />We followed the meal with a beautiful hike outside and some time at the creek.<br />
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If a day were ever perfect, this was the day..<br /><br /><br />Hope everyone had a beautiful Thanksgiving!<br /><br />Blessings<br />The Cool FamilyOff-Grid Homesteadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03015036727288329780noreply@blogger.com4