Hello December!

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)
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....;)
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!
oh and if you happened to just scroll by and didn't notice,, Ill post another picture ;)

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...
A wonderful addition to Bee Kind Family Farm.

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.


Blessings
The Cool Family

A mild( and busy) November

Well, its been a bit since I have posted, I do apologize! I promised myself I would post often, and well to be honest time just kinda slipped by!
as usual we have been very busy around the homestead.
While bee and garden season have come to and end, there is still a lot of wood to be split and stacked, and bees to feed..
Despite the warm days, ive still found time to hide in my favorite nook, my sewing room, and start another quilt!

 

We have also been working on some small projects around the house! Sometimes a little paint and a new bookshelf can really brighten up a room, and so that's just what we did! The living room received a new coat of paint in a gorgeous "azure winter". The color was really hard to photograph, so between that at your monitor it might look blue.. But its more of a very pale bluegreen very subtle and really brightened up the room. We added a delightful bookshelf to our new little nook ( 10 desk painted by moi, and all) which is made out of barnwood and some black pipe. Of course some birds nest adorn it as well, I just love bringing things from outside, in to the home. Snail shell collection and all;)

I also just finished a Headboard for my daughters New room ( if you read the previous posts, we did a small remodel on her room,, added a closet, painted etc)
It is made out of pallets! The idea of course was from Pinterest, and I am very pleased with how it came out! I don't usually paint, so was a bit nervous about messing up the dandelions, but surprised myself ;)

And of course, with the chilly night upon us ( even though the days have been quite mild) we have been firing up the woodstove! ohhh how I missed baking! we do not have a regular oven, so all baking is either done in our solar oven, or the cookstove.

Yesterday; after a full day of splitting and stacking wood as a family , we made homemade pizzas, one of our favorites ( especially miss Norah!) I have posted the recipe for the dough below..This recipe will make 2 pretty big pizza crusts.
We decorated ours with Kale,Shiitake mushrooms and peppers from the garden ..
A blessed day here! I love the days we spend working together as a family.


Pizza Dough

2 1/4 tsp Dry active yeas
1 1/2 very warm water
4 Cups Flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp Olive oil

put yeast in warm water and stir, let sit until it starts to froth and bubble
add oil to yeast mixture
Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in yeast mixture. mix with spoon and then put onto floured surface and need until smooth . Put in oiled bowl and cover, let sit for 20 minutes,,,
Roll out dough and place in pizza pans ( I use a cookie sheet)
Bake crust for about 15 minutes at 350... pull crust out of oven and then add sauce toppings and cheese
Baking for another (approx.) 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly :)
enjoy!

Homesteading: The true story

Ok, its a little embarrassing, OK, its a lot embarrassing and I am sure my husband is wondering why I would post a picture like this..
If you are wondering what this is, its our wood shed that has somehow turned into a storage shed..
Its the middle of august, and we have NO wood split.. thats right, NONE.

I wanted to show the REAL side of homesteading.  With so many blogs and facebook pages out there showing pretty pictures with lovely quotes attached, I wanted to show what it can REALLY be like....Its not all running through a field of daises, swimmin in the creek  and cookin beans over a cookstove while we all sit around and craft and tell stories and live some laid back fantasy life.. ( well ok maybe in the winter we sit around a bit more;)

This is the reality of having a LOT going on....THIS is the reality of trying to be self sufficient, it can get ugly,, haha

we went from about 20 hives to 60 this year. and between that, gardens, the farmers market, raising a 7 yr old, canning our harvest, and everything else life has to offer, we are just a litttttle behind.

Being completely off the power grid, this is our only source of heat, Hot water and how we cook and bake from about october to may. so we go through A LOT of wood.

Robb assures me we are ok, and he is going to start splitting that big ol pile soon. but thats not even close to what we need . If he have to buy a load this year, I am ok with that.. its  hard to do it all, and we just have to remember that sometimes its not possible...and sometimes ya have to pull out the checkbook to keep your own sanity.....

This is what homesteading looks like at times.. its a never ending battle to keep up!!! But what else would we do if not this??? its our life :)

Timber!

Its been a busy couple of weeks here ... My dad came down for a visit last week :) We ate more than we should have, he got to spend time with his grand-daughter, and ( its never fails when son in law and dad get together) we accomplished a project we have been wanting to get done for a while now.

 

This is how it usually happens ;)
Dad and Husband have a  beer.... Dad and Husband get Bored... Dad and husband start an unannounced project,,hehehee..

I was in the kitchen Baking a pie and canning potatoes when giant branches started hitting the back porch... I ran outside to see what was up. Yep, thats my husband up in the tree, cutting down limbs with a chainsaw ...

They were getting Ready to drop our maple.. This is a beautiful tree, but there were 2 problems: It was blocking the sun for our Solar Batch Collector that will be used to heat our water in the summer, and it was dying at the top.
I will miss the Buzzzzzz sound we heard  every February from the Honeybees collecting pollen. But it had to come down :/

Robb cut and dad pulled with the rope. He told me I might have to help pull, but I ran inside and made myself scarce ..........

I did come outside quietly,  and watch once Robb started sawing, it was scary and kind of exciting... Robb has never really cut down a tree before, let alone one this tall, but my dad talked him through it,, and they dropped it like pro's

 so there ya have it :)  The hot water batch collector will be hooked up very soon. we are currently working on hooking up the cookstove for our hot water in the winter so need to finish that up first.

 quite a bit of wood to heat the homestead too..

 

Until next time :)

 

The cools