Happy solstice all.

Well it has been cold and snowy here for the past two days and we just stayed in for the most part. They say we might have a colder and snowier winter this year. I believe them. I did a bit of futile shoveling yesterday the wind blew it all back last night. I did get a chance to add some insulation to the coop as well. It has been a bit of a slow work in progress out in the coop but it is progress.
I gave the chickens the last of the test plot of wheat I grew this summer yesterday. I understand that is a tradition in some Slavic cultures. We also bought a box of clementines at the grocery store on Friday. I decided to simmer a handful of the peels with some cloves and cardamom pods and a cinnamon stick. Man the house smells great.

Bottling

Well I bottled up 3 gallons of dandelion wine from 2007 summer last night along with a 5 gal batch of honey nut brown beer that had been siting on the table for the last year or so. I am really excited about the taste of the beer. I have dubbed it the forever beer. I also bottled up the last of the gift bottles of the nocino. All this may not help much with the economy these days but having over 8 gallons of alcohol in the cellar is still very reassuring.

Rick

Update

Looks like we may be looking at a furnace upgrade soon. I would like to get a boiler and retrofit the house for radiant heat but if we do that we will have to wait till spring. More likely we will be just upgrading to a higher efficiency furnace this spring if we can hold off till then. That gets me thinking about efficiency but I think that will be the subject of a future rant.

Rick

Another neat blog

I have read this blog before but I for some reason forgot to add it to the list of recommended blogs
So here I present Holy Scrap Hot Springs. An great resource for those interested in living a more eco-friendly self sufficient life with a southwestern maker twist.

Hope you enjoy.
Rick

Me....I just shoveled snow again.

DIY sunflower biodeisel

No I am not yet even crazy enough to attempt this yet but since Theworkshop.ca updated his blog on that subject this seemed like the perfect time to give his blog a tip of the proverbial hat. Theworkshop.ca is a great resource whether you are into wilderness living, making maple syrup or home power generation this blog has something for you.

Rick

Good organizations.

I have been on the mailing list for Slow Food Minnesota for a while now. I keep meaning to get to more of their events but have only been to one so far. Jess and I really love their message of a slower and deeper food culture. I definitely feel that the sharing of food is one of the most basic building blocks of our society. I believe that is why we instinctively gather over food during important times in our lives. I hope you all had a wonderful gathering this week. I know we did.
In reading their newsletter I found out about the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota who are having their annual conference just over at St. Olaf. I highly recommend following the link to see who the keynote speaker will be. I will probably write more about this once we have secured our tickets.

Rick

Make Blog appears to be catching the green bug.

I have been a regular reader of the Make Blog for some time and as of late they have had a number of posts pertaining to all things hobby farmish.
Like backyard beekeeping
and
Backyard Poultry
and
Edible Estates
So I figured I would point you towards them.

Rick

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Michael Pollan does it again.

Michael Pollan is quickly becoming the spokesman for the whole of the local, small, slow anti-industrial food movement. I just finished reading his latest article from the NY times. It is a long article written as an open letter to the next president. Mr Pollan lays out the case for making less industrial food a centerpiece of solving the climate, energy and health issues facing the nation today. Among his suggestions are selecting the next white house chef with an eye to promoting small food. I think this might be an excelent position for Alice Waters to preach the gospel from though Mr Pollan stops short of directly advocating her.
In related news I have recently encountered a petition to have the new president turn all or some of the white house lawn back into productive land. I think this is a good idea but it needs to be explained to the public properly so it isn't seen as posturing like Carter wearing a sweater. Again that wasn't a bad idea just too easily mocked.

All quiet on the southern front.

Hey,

Still not a great deal going on here at the farm. I picked up some supplies from the depot on the way home from work and plan to spend the weekend working on the house. Right now my focus is on energy improvements around the house. I have knocked off alot of the low hanging fruit. We have a programmable thermostat with fairly aggressive settings. I have tightened the duct work up a bit with foil tape and insulated the exposed ductwork. I am planning on adding some mastic to the ducts as well. We also have a water heater blanket and last year added a bunch of attic insulation. So now we have to look at more structural and expensive work like removing the siding and adding sheathing and house wrap or upgrading the furnace. I think the winter will be focused on improving our energy effeciency.

Rick