Independence Days Update

Okay this is just a teaser since a new one is coming. From my drafts folder back in November....

Contrary to popular opinion, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I'm still here, plugging away, working just a little bit harder in the face of all this economic uncertainty to learn new skills and get the homestead in tip-top shape.

I have an OCD-like quality that emerges when life feels beyond my control, and I respond by controlling as much as I possibly can, which generally includes my immediate environment. This means my house is actually clean (yeah, that's where all that time not posting is going), I've been working like a dog to finally finish the basement family room that's been three years coming, and I've been reorganizing and reworking our pantry system as well as continuing to stock it with home-made canned goods, bulk grains, and even home-made cheese.

So, without further ado, here are some category updates:

Plant:

Transplanted all those seed trays into both the market and winter gardens for fall and winter harvesting. The gardens are going like gang busters, and I've already harvested a couple of lovely heads of napa cabbage and bok choy. The peas were tasty if not prolific, though the first frost took them out. Next year I need to make space for them in the high tunnel perhaps because the kids do love them so.

We had our first killing frost October 20th, and I lost a huge harvest of peppers because I wasn't on top of it. Thankfully I'd already put up lots of salsa and roasted peppers and had a big basket of hot peppers drying in the kitchen. Still, it was a disappointment, and I vowed to be more diligent come October about keeping the plants harvested.