Independence Day Challenge

     This is last weeks challenge update.  Life here has been busy.  A friend from the UU church we  attend asked me how my summer was going.  "Busy"  describes the summer in one word.   My friend has been homesteading for well over 30 years.  She told me that she looks forward to winter because; although she loves gardening and lives off  the fruits of her labor, she likes the quiet of winter.  When hubby goes back to teaching school in a few weeks we will have a Barn, a larder full of food and a few cord of wood put up for the winter. Until then we plug away.

Planted:  We have had a few weeks of rain here.  The sun came out for a while on Saturday.  I planted spinach, carrots,beets, radicchio , lettuce, radish.  

Harvested: broccoli florets, garlic, lettuce, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, potatoes, onions, basil, dill, cilantro, mint, oregano, dry beans, polebeans.

Preserved: Pickled carrots, pickled beets, dilly beans, blueberry jam, dried zucchini, herbs, kale and broccoli leaves. Blueberry wine.

Managed reserves: tidied larder, moved the wee one into his own bed (Woo Hoo!!)

Prepped:  I found blankets and sheets at the Goodwill for the wee one's bed. I also found 2 one gallon glass jugs for  making wine.

Reduced waste: decluttering. With all the rain we have had I have been inside more and realized that my house has experienced Summeritis.  The strange syndrome that occurs to otherwise tidy homes when you don't spend too much time inside.  Things and chores pile up.  Still composting.

Local Food:  Going to Farmers market and farm stands.  I volunteer for a community garden that donates organic produce to low income seniors.

Learn something new:  I am learning how to put this bloggy thing together.

Cooked something new:  Pickled carrots.