Thursday, 1 November 2012
Baby Angora's
This is Flopsy's recent litter. I am so confused about angora colours! When they were born I thought they were all chestnut. Now I am not so sure . . . 2 coppers and a chestnut? The actual colours in the bands are all the same - grey, black and reddish brown. The difference in what you see seems to be more in the amount of each of those colours. The lightest/reddest of the group looks quite different but she actually has the same exact colours as the darkest one just more red/less grey and black. The darkest one has much more grey and black and less reddish brown. Sooo . . . are they chestnut? Copper? or something else entirely! I don't really care myself as they all look wonderful made into yarn but I would like to figure it out so their pedigrees are correct . . .
Sunday, 28 October 2012
The 2012 seeds are in . . . . mostly!
I look forward to fall seed collecting every year. Some seeds start trickling in earlier in the summer but it isn't until late October or early November that I can really sit down and assess the years collection. This year was good. Very good in fact. I already have almost all I need for next year plus enough for some good trading this winter. I have a list of stuff to find still but lots of time to find it.
Some of this years highlights . . .
Beans - I grew my favourites from last year, Amish Gnuttle and Flagg. They did not disappoint. Another great success was the Tiger Eye. I started it very early and it was growing great until we got a surprise frost one night after I had started leaving the cold frame open. All but one of the plants succumbed to the frost and died back to the ground. The one surviving plant showed no sign of frost damage whatsoever and it went on to produce a nice sized crop of beans - from which the majority of this years seed came from. a few of the other plants did grow back and do fine and I saved seed from them as well to keep a bit of genetic diversity but I am very excited about the seed from the frost tolerant plant. I ened up planting about 6 seeds in late summer to see if I could get a second crop. As of October 27th they are still looking good and close to producing a few pods of dry seed. We have had several light frosts and the plants all look great still. I will probably start covering them in the next week or so anyway as we will be getting some pretty hard frost soon.
I tried Trionfo Violetta again (out in the Rayleigh garden) and it was fabulous!I also tried the mystery bean from Slovakia. It turned out to be a green snap and was very good. It is a pole and will be on the list for next year for sure. The Gold of Bacau was good and I will plant some next year but probably not a huge amount. Bridgewater did good but was planted too late for a great crop. Calima was way too late and not nearly as productive as I had hoped. I will give it one more try next year and get it planted earlier! The rest of them were all good but nothing to write home about.
Tomatoes - Tomatoes were interesting this year. I lost A LOT of seedlings this spring to to a cold snap while they were hardening off. Some survived and did well (Barlow Jap and Joe's Portugese most notably.) And Siberia did well. I had a lot of mystery tomatoes and single plants of various kinds - too many to list right now. The biggest surprise was the one from the store bought tomato that I saved seed from last winter. It turned out to be a vigorous indeterminate plant with loads of nicely shaped fruit with VERY firm flesh. The taste was good, not knock your socks of great but decent enough. I was hoping for them to be great storage tomatoes and the ones I picked just before the first frost have been keeping well, the flavour is not so great with the ones that are ripening indoors though. I think I will work with it though and hopefully though selection I can get something good. The seed I saved was from the earliest and best tasting fruit.
Another couple tomato surprises this year were a teeny little determinate plant with LOADS of bite sized grape type tomatoes. It was part of an heirloom mix and I have no idea what it is called but it was great. And Kardinal which outproduced ANY other plant this year with big, great tasting paste type tomatoes. I tend to keep away from determinate plants due to space but I think I will plant several Kardinal out in Rayleigh again next year.
As far as seed collection from the tomatoes . . . I got lots of seed for next year. Some for trades but not huge amounts.
Lots of other cool stuff too - lettuces, brassicas, corn, squash, herbs, spinach and more.
Next year I should have a bunch of biennials ready to produce seed . . .
Here is my stash . . .
And some of the trade packages. I already have one BIG bag of trades set aside and ready to ship.
Some of this years highlights . . .
Beans - I grew my favourites from last year, Amish Gnuttle and Flagg. They did not disappoint. Another great success was the Tiger Eye. I started it very early and it was growing great until we got a surprise frost one night after I had started leaving the cold frame open. All but one of the plants succumbed to the frost and died back to the ground. The one surviving plant showed no sign of frost damage whatsoever and it went on to produce a nice sized crop of beans - from which the majority of this years seed came from. a few of the other plants did grow back and do fine and I saved seed from them as well to keep a bit of genetic diversity but I am very excited about the seed from the frost tolerant plant. I ened up planting about 6 seeds in late summer to see if I could get a second crop. As of October 27th they are still looking good and close to producing a few pods of dry seed. We have had several light frosts and the plants all look great still. I will probably start covering them in the next week or so anyway as we will be getting some pretty hard frost soon.
I tried Trionfo Violetta again (out in the Rayleigh garden) and it was fabulous!I also tried the mystery bean from Slovakia. It turned out to be a green snap and was very good. It is a pole and will be on the list for next year for sure. The Gold of Bacau was good and I will plant some next year but probably not a huge amount. Bridgewater did good but was planted too late for a great crop. Calima was way too late and not nearly as productive as I had hoped. I will give it one more try next year and get it planted earlier! The rest of them were all good but nothing to write home about.
Tomatoes - Tomatoes were interesting this year. I lost A LOT of seedlings this spring to to a cold snap while they were hardening off. Some survived and did well (Barlow Jap and Joe's Portugese most notably.) And Siberia did well. I had a lot of mystery tomatoes and single plants of various kinds - too many to list right now. The biggest surprise was the one from the store bought tomato that I saved seed from last winter. It turned out to be a vigorous indeterminate plant with loads of nicely shaped fruit with VERY firm flesh. The taste was good, not knock your socks of great but decent enough. I was hoping for them to be great storage tomatoes and the ones I picked just before the first frost have been keeping well, the flavour is not so great with the ones that are ripening indoors though. I think I will work with it though and hopefully though selection I can get something good. The seed I saved was from the earliest and best tasting fruit.
Another couple tomato surprises this year were a teeny little determinate plant with LOADS of bite sized grape type tomatoes. It was part of an heirloom mix and I have no idea what it is called but it was great. And Kardinal which outproduced ANY other plant this year with big, great tasting paste type tomatoes. I tend to keep away from determinate plants due to space but I think I will plant several Kardinal out in Rayleigh again next year.
As far as seed collection from the tomatoes . . . I got lots of seed for next year. Some for trades but not huge amounts.
Lots of other cool stuff too - lettuces, brassicas, corn, squash, herbs, spinach and more.
Next year I should have a bunch of biennials ready to produce seed . . .
Here is my stash . . .
And some of the trade packages. I already have one BIG bag of trades set aside and ready to ship.
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
My new favourite pepper . . .
I grew a few different peppers this year. Not as many as I had planned but more than any year past. The Black Czechoslovakian was great again. And I got lots of Anaheim. But the one I am most thrilled with is the Alma Paprika! It didn't really impress me much as it was growing - just a plain, smallish red ball. But when I cut open the first one (to try in a salad) I was surprised at the thick wall. There was a lot of pepper for a seemingly small fruit! But the highlight was the flavour - wow! It was mild enough to eat fresh like a sweet red pepper but with just a hint of bite. I tried some in a Thai soup and it was stellar again. This one will be most welcome in next years line up!
Monday, 27 August 2012
Chicory Coffee
I finally got around to collecting and roasting some chicory root to try as a coffee substitute. I ground the roasted root and brewed some up . . . while it was "brewing" (I actually steeped the ground root in water for a while then poured it through a coffee filter.) I sat down at the computer and did a bit more research. It turns out that one of the biggest benefits of including chicory in your diet is the large amounts of inulin it contains. Inulin, a prebiotic, is a soluble fiber that helps to feed the healthy bacteria (probiotics) in your intestines! After reading list after list of health benefits that directly pertain to me, particularly the part that showed it is very good at helping to regulate blood glucose in diabetics, I was even more excited to try it!
As I sit here to write this post I am enjoying my fresh brewed cup of chicory coffee - and I do mean enjoying! It is not only palatable but actually GOOD! And I am drinking it black, something I cannot do with real coffee. I gave up sugar in my coffee almost a year ago but I still have it "double cream." This morning I had no milk/cream (oops, forgot to stop at the store after getting home from the lake last night!!) so I decided I might as well try it the healthiest way - without anything else added to it. It is really good. Just about the same amount of bitterness as real coffee but with a hint of sweetness and flavour that is uniquely chicory. I think I could easily give up the coffee (and the cream!) if I have this as an alternative. As an added bonus it reportedly helps to suppress hunger and thereby lead to weight loss . . . I guess I need to go out foraging again!
This is chicory in bloom - it can be found along pretty much any roadway! (Photo credit - http://www.freeherbpictures.com/chicory-herb-pictures.htm)
Roasted and ground up in my coffee/spice grinder
And the fresh cup of "coffee"
As I sit here to write this post I am enjoying my fresh brewed cup of chicory coffee - and I do mean enjoying! It is not only palatable but actually GOOD! And I am drinking it black, something I cannot do with real coffee. I gave up sugar in my coffee almost a year ago but I still have it "double cream." This morning I had no milk/cream (oops, forgot to stop at the store after getting home from the lake last night!!) so I decided I might as well try it the healthiest way - without anything else added to it. It is really good. Just about the same amount of bitterness as real coffee but with a hint of sweetness and flavour that is uniquely chicory. I think I could easily give up the coffee (and the cream!) if I have this as an alternative. As an added bonus it reportedly helps to suppress hunger and thereby lead to weight loss . . . I guess I need to go out foraging again!
This is chicory in bloom - it can be found along pretty much any roadway! (Photo credit - http://www.freeherbpictures.com/chicory-herb-pictures.htm)
Roasted and ground up in my coffee/spice grinder
And the fresh cup of "coffee"
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Garden in August
Here are a few of the things growing in my garden right now!
The Flagg beans . . . These beans are so cool looking and they are tasty AND they are productive - how much more could you ask for in a bean?! I have already harvested enough for my seed next year and some trades. There are about a bazillion pods starting to dry on the plant - going to be some good bean meals this winter!
Grapes. I hate these grapes. Ok, hate might be fairly strong word but seriously - I want BIG grapes. Ones that you can actually eat. I have tried several different grapes and still, year after year, this is the only plant that grows well and produces any grapes at all. This year it is LOADED . . . with teeny, weeny, little grapes. Now these grapes make very tasty jelly and some decent juice but I can't exactly make raisins out of them! Even if i did take the effort to dry them they would be a giant seed covered with a little bit of raisiny skin - not very appetizing. But, every year I continue to nurture the plant as it is still the ONLY grape I have been able to grow. Maybe next year the one surviving plant that I planted this spring will grow well enough to give me hope! At least these little grapes are pretty all hanging in clumps from the vine!
OOOOhhhhhh! Just look at these lovely, BIG, round, perfectly formed and almost ready to ripen tomatoes. They are growing from lovely, TALL, and perfectly sturdy, disease free vines! I'd love to share the name of this variety that seems to like my garden so well but . . . I did the UNTHINKABLE and planted seeds from a tomato I bought from the grocery store last winter. So ha! I just proved that not only can the seeds from storebought fruit/veggies actually grow but sometimes they might surprise you. Avtually I knew perfectly well that they would grow but I was admittedly surprised to see them do so well. I saved these seeds because it was a freakishly good tasting tomato - something that rarely happens from food bought at the big box supermarket. I wanted to plant some with the hope that I could find a plant or two among the seedlings that showed good storage/keeping qualities (one would assume that it being from a grocery store means it had to have good storage qualities to be shipped the distances that it was!)I was so surprised to find that all 4 of the plants I grew showed surprisingly stable type - meaning the seeds were most likely OP and not hybrid, making my selection much, much easier! BIG, STRONG plants that are loaded with huge clumps of fruit. I can't wait to taste them and test the keeping quality.
Grapes. I hate these grapes. Ok, hate might be fairly strong word but seriously - I want BIG grapes. Ones that you can actually eat. I have tried several different grapes and still, year after year, this is the only plant that grows well and produces any grapes at all. This year it is LOADED . . . with teeny, weeny, little grapes. Now these grapes make very tasty jelly and some decent juice but I can't exactly make raisins out of them! Even if i did take the effort to dry them they would be a giant seed covered with a little bit of raisiny skin - not very appetizing. But, every year I continue to nurture the plant as it is still the ONLY grape I have been able to grow. Maybe next year the one surviving plant that I planted this spring will grow well enough to give me hope! At least these little grapes are pretty all hanging in clumps from the vine!
OOOOhhhhhh! Just look at these lovely, BIG, round, perfectly formed and almost ready to ripen tomatoes. They are growing from lovely, TALL, and perfectly sturdy, disease free vines! I'd love to share the name of this variety that seems to like my garden so well but . . . I did the UNTHINKABLE and planted seeds from a tomato I bought from the grocery store last winter. So ha! I just proved that not only can the seeds from storebought fruit/veggies actually grow but sometimes they might surprise you. Avtually I knew perfectly well that they would grow but I was admittedly surprised to see them do so well. I saved these seeds because it was a freakishly good tasting tomato - something that rarely happens from food bought at the big box supermarket. I wanted to plant some with the hope that I could find a plant or two among the seedlings that showed good storage/keeping qualities (one would assume that it being from a grocery store means it had to have good storage qualities to be shipped the distances that it was!)I was so surprised to find that all 4 of the plants I grew showed surprisingly stable type - meaning the seeds were most likely OP and not hybrid, making my selection much, much easier! BIG, STRONG plants that are loaded with huge clumps of fruit. I can't wait to taste them and test the keeping quality.
Harvest season is getting into full swing!
It seems like its been a slow start to the harvest this year. Spring was cold and wet. Much of the garden, including everything out at the Rayleigh garden, was late to get planted and slow to start growing. Some things, like the watermelon and cantaloup didn't even start to germinate until July! But when i checked my records from last year it is actually right on schedule with most stuff. Tomatoes are about a week later but everything else is doing just fine. I suspect I am going to be hit with a LOT to get preserved in the next few weeks!
The highlight of this year so far has to be these Trionfo Violetta beans! They are growing out in the Rayleigh garden and two weeks ago I picked about a pound of beans - good I thought, if I get this amount once a week it will be lots (I have several other snap/wax beans at home as well)and I happily put most of them in the freezer. Then 1 week later I went out and picked FOUR POUNDS! Three days later another pound. And there are a LOT of beans on the plant still and even more flowers! We will be eating these beans all winter. I wish I liked them canned as i prefer not to rely on the deep freeze but these will all go into the freezer. The thought of eating mushy canned beans is pretty much nauseating. Fresh or frozen on the other hand - yum!
This is the first batch of tomatoes from the garden. We have been eating some fresh for the past week or so but the one "Siberia" plant is ripening en masse. This isn't really enough to bother with the canner though and too much to just eat so I will probably slice them and put them in the dehydrator. Might as well get some dried tomatoes done before the peaches start ripening next week and take up the whole dehydrator for a week! One day I WILL build a big solar dehydrator so I can do more at a time.
Another harvest worth noting . . . this is the painted mountain corn. Alex spent almost an hour shucking these while I collected beans and watered. It was delightful to hear her get so excited when she "unwrapped" each cob and discovered what colour it would be. The first cob she finished was so long that she wandered around the garden for a few minutes brandishing her corn "light sabre" Lol - she may be my little gardening buddy but she definitely has her daddy in her! Towards the end I was forced to guess what colour each cob would be before she started unwrapping!
I can't wait to try this corn in muffins or maybe some polenta. It is so pretty. It is also the quickest corn to grow and produce a crop that I have ever grown. It was the last variety I got planted and still the first to produce harvestable cobs. the cobs still need to finish drying but they flowered well before the neighbours corn even started to show tassles so I should be safe to save seed from it.
This is the first batch of tomatoes from the garden. We have been eating some fresh for the past week or so but the one "Siberia" plant is ripening en masse. This isn't really enough to bother with the canner though and too much to just eat so I will probably slice them and put them in the dehydrator. Might as well get some dried tomatoes done before the peaches start ripening next week and take up the whole dehydrator for a week! One day I WILL build a big solar dehydrator so I can do more at a time.
Another harvest worth noting . . . this is the painted mountain corn. Alex spent almost an hour shucking these while I collected beans and watered. It was delightful to hear her get so excited when she "unwrapped" each cob and discovered what colour it would be. The first cob she finished was so long that she wandered around the garden for a few minutes brandishing her corn "light sabre" Lol - she may be my little gardening buddy but she definitely has her daddy in her! Towards the end I was forced to guess what colour each cob would be before she started unwrapping!
I can't wait to try this corn in muffins or maybe some polenta. It is so pretty. It is also the quickest corn to grow and produce a crop that I have ever grown. It was the last variety I got planted and still the first to produce harvestable cobs. the cobs still need to finish drying but they flowered well before the neighbours corn even started to show tassles so I should be safe to save seed from it.
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
More baby bunnies!
Flopsy had her first litter 2 days ago. She has been a dream to breed right from the beginning. When I put her and Mocha out to breed she had herself in position before I even let the buck go! Very eager to be bred. And then she started organizing the hay in her nest box within minutes of me putting it in her hutch. Two days before giving birth she added fur to the nest and at exactly 32 days she had her kits all in her beautiful nest. She acted like a seasoned mom the whole time!
So far it looks like a chestnut, 2 chocolate agouti's and two that at first I thought might be REW (which would had been a big surprise as there is no REW anywhere in the bucks pedigree)At 2 days they are looking ever so slightly blonde so maybe fawn or cream? Should be able to tell in a few days.
So far it looks like a chestnut, 2 chocolate agouti's and two that at first I thought might be REW (which would had been a big surprise as there is no REW anywhere in the bucks pedigree)At 2 days they are looking ever so slightly blonde so maybe fawn or cream? Should be able to tell in a few days.
Garden in early July
I had a dream the night before coming home from our vacation in Victoria - I dreamed that we got home and my garden was infested by some horrible pest that turned everything crispy and brown! I knew of course that I had wonderfully responsible people taking care of the critters and gardens while we were away but I have to admit to being a bit anxious to get home to see how things were! Not only was the garden NOT the least bit infested but the lush growth was a lovely sight! Except maybe the lush lawn . . . it took me 4 battery charges on the lawnmower and 2 days to get it all trimmed down! The gardens looked awesome though. Not even a lot of weeds to tackle. These pictures are a bit late in posting but this was my garden last week, the day after we got home . . .
Beans, these are Flagg - my new favourite bean! good fresh and really cool looking in a dried bean mix!
The blue corn . . .
Flax - I grew a small patch to experiment with spinning linen. I tried it a few years ago but only had 2 plants and get a very small amount of fiber. This year I should have enough to actually do something with. And lots of seed! The thing I LOVE about this plant is that it is sooooo pretty, especially early in the morning. By mid afternoon the days flowers have all dropped but the next day . . . a whole new flush of flowers!
And the blackberries are looking amazing this year! We should get tons, which is great because the majority of our strawberries ripened while we were away!
Beans, these are Flagg - my new favourite bean! good fresh and really cool looking in a dried bean mix!
The blue corn . . .
Flax - I grew a small patch to experiment with spinning linen. I tried it a few years ago but only had 2 plants and get a very small amount of fiber. This year I should have enough to actually do something with. And lots of seed! The thing I LOVE about this plant is that it is sooooo pretty, especially early in the morning. By mid afternoon the days flowers have all dropped but the next day . . . a whole new flush of flowers!
And the blackberries are looking amazing this year! We should get tons, which is great because the majority of our strawberries ripened while we were away!
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
New Etsy Store
I finally decided to open up an Etsy store and sell some of my angora wool and yarn. Now that I have a few more rabbits and plan on keeping several of Pennies babies I should have enough of a supply! I just don't think I will every wear enough fancy lace scarves and shawls to justify keeping ALL the wool. I love the spinning part. And making the pretty skeins with nice labels. Making yarns is just so . . . cool! The price that people seem to be willing to pay for specialty yarn like 100 percent angora is staggering - but good for me if I can supply it!
This is my latest creation, it is a super soft laceweight 3ply studded with beads! I just like to squish it in my hand! This is made from my new bunnies!
And this is the lace shawl I am working on with the chocolate agouti laceweight yarn I spun from Pennies wool. I just LOVE this pattern. I couldn't find a pattern I liked but I found a scarf with this thistle stitch that I loved so I adapted it to be triangle. It took me three tries to work out the increase but I think it is working out well.
This is my latest creation, it is a super soft laceweight 3ply studded with beads! I just like to squish it in my hand! This is made from my new bunnies!
And this is the lace shawl I am working on with the chocolate agouti laceweight yarn I spun from Pennies wool. I just LOVE this pattern. I couldn't find a pattern I liked but I found a scarf with this thistle stitch that I loved so I adapted it to be triangle. It took me three tries to work out the increase but I think it is working out well.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
OMG, my kids have friends!
I always wonder when our society stopped allowing families to raise their own kids? When did it become so necessary to turn raising a family into a factory assembly line? We are expected to send our kids to daycare when they are at most a year old. Those who don’t are thought of as old fashioned (but lucky to be able to stay at home with their child.) Then at 3 if they are not in a preschool program of some sort then we are setting them up for social failure. And God forbid we should dare to educate them at home when they turn 5! Children NEED to be in school “they” say. Sure they do, how else is society going to brainwash them into conforming to what is deemed “normal.” Imagine what would happen if we educated our kids in a way that turned them into mature, reliable, responsible and . . . wait for it . . . RESPECTFUL adults. How on earth would our society go on?
It seems to me that if you dare to think outside the box and actually figure out what YOUR child needs as far as education/socialization then you get labelled as "weird" or even worse as a bad parent that is setting their child up for a doomed life and failure as a social being! I have been homeschooling my children for several years. They have never been to public school. Guess what? THEY HAVE FRIENDS! How did that happen? Don’t they have to go to school to have friends? Surprise – kids make friends, anywhere, anyway and anytime they see other kids. At the park, at their swimming lessons, at scouts, at dance, at friends houses, at social gathering of any kind. They make friends with complete strangers. And they develop long term friendships with kids that they meet at any of the aforementioned places. And even better, they aren’t restricted to choosing from the 30 other 6yr olds in their class. Yes sheeple, my 6yr old son’s BFF is 8. And he has other friends, some younger and others older. He plays with kids from 2-20 and does it without any thought as to whom he “should” be friends with. I remember being in high school when we all started dating. It was a really big deal if you went out with someone from a different grade. Now think about this for a moment – how many of you are married/dating someone who was in the same grade as you in school? I’m not. My husband and I were 2 grades apart in school. School kids spend 6 or more hours a day in a classroom with peers who are at most 1 year older/younger than them. They are told what to do all day by an assortment of older people. How in anybodies world is that natural? I challenge anyone to find an adult workplace (or social setting for that matter) where all the employees are the same age and the boss is older by a decade or more than any of the employees. You will not find ANY workplace like than ANYWHERE! I would bet big money that some of you have bosses that are younger and many co-workers that are older or younger by many years. And yet we all seem to get along fine. In the past 38 years I have had a number of very good friends who were much older or younger than me. When I think back on my life at all the people who have come and gone I can’t honestly think of ANYONE from school that was more important to me and influential to my life than some of my friends who are 10 or more years older/younger. So why is it that the very first concern people raise when they talk to someone who homeschools is “Aren’t you worried about socialization?” Yes actually I am VERY concerned about socialization – that is exactly why I DON”T want to send my kids to public school!!
I am always amazed at the number of parents who use the phrase “just wait until they’re teenagers!” It is “normal” and expected that children will go through some socially necessary rebellion stage as they hit puberty. Talk to any family with teenagers who have been homeschooled for most or all of their lives. You can have a conversation with the 16 yr olds and not feel like they don’t want to be there. They rarely go through that teenage rebellion stage. The “I hate my parents” stage. The “adults are always wrong and need to be rebelled against” stage. Instead they have been allowed to have a voice and converse with other people (of all ages) in a more realistic and natural way about anything and at any time. There is neither need nor opportunity for homeschooled kids to develop the cliques and gangs that seem to grow in our under supervised schools. They never need to “fit in” to a certain social group. These groups of kids that feed off each other like packs of wild dogs until all respect for other people and often for themselves had disappeared. They pressure each other to fit in until there is no sense of identity. Kids are forced to conform or risk being ostracized or worse. They are forced to become the robotic sheeple that our entire society revolves around. You have to wear this, you have to eat that, you have to think the same way as everyone else. If you dare to speak out you are criticized or told you are wrong. Until you just start to go with the flow because it is easier and, quite frankly, safer. How would any child in this kind of social setting have any chance at all of becoming a freethinking human being? Is it any wonder kids come home from school with “teenager rebellion syndrome.” It amazes me how many kids actually do make it through school and manage to “make it” to the real world relatively unscathed. But it also scares me to think about how many do NOT make it. They may survive but how many kids graduate from highschool with low self-esteem and other problems. So many brilliant minds who will never share their real thoughts and ideas because they might go against our societies ideas of “normal.” Imagine how different our world would be if all our children were allowed to be themselves without having to consider whether the clothes they want to wear would be acceptable by the rest of the flock.
It seems to me that if you dare to think outside the box and actually figure out what YOUR child needs as far as education/socialization then you get labelled as "weird" or even worse as a bad parent that is setting their child up for a doomed life and failure as a social being! I have been homeschooling my children for several years. They have never been to public school. Guess what? THEY HAVE FRIENDS! How did that happen? Don’t they have to go to school to have friends? Surprise – kids make friends, anywhere, anyway and anytime they see other kids. At the park, at their swimming lessons, at scouts, at dance, at friends houses, at social gathering of any kind. They make friends with complete strangers. And they develop long term friendships with kids that they meet at any of the aforementioned places. And even better, they aren’t restricted to choosing from the 30 other 6yr olds in their class. Yes sheeple, my 6yr old son’s BFF is 8. And he has other friends, some younger and others older. He plays with kids from 2-20 and does it without any thought as to whom he “should” be friends with. I remember being in high school when we all started dating. It was a really big deal if you went out with someone from a different grade. Now think about this for a moment – how many of you are married/dating someone who was in the same grade as you in school? I’m not. My husband and I were 2 grades apart in school. School kids spend 6 or more hours a day in a classroom with peers who are at most 1 year older/younger than them. They are told what to do all day by an assortment of older people. How in anybodies world is that natural? I challenge anyone to find an adult workplace (or social setting for that matter) where all the employees are the same age and the boss is older by a decade or more than any of the employees. You will not find ANY workplace like than ANYWHERE! I would bet big money that some of you have bosses that are younger and many co-workers that are older or younger by many years. And yet we all seem to get along fine. In the past 38 years I have had a number of very good friends who were much older or younger than me. When I think back on my life at all the people who have come and gone I can’t honestly think of ANYONE from school that was more important to me and influential to my life than some of my friends who are 10 or more years older/younger. So why is it that the very first concern people raise when they talk to someone who homeschools is “Aren’t you worried about socialization?” Yes actually I am VERY concerned about socialization – that is exactly why I DON”T want to send my kids to public school!!
I am always amazed at the number of parents who use the phrase “just wait until they’re teenagers!” It is “normal” and expected that children will go through some socially necessary rebellion stage as they hit puberty. Talk to any family with teenagers who have been homeschooled for most or all of their lives. You can have a conversation with the 16 yr olds and not feel like they don’t want to be there. They rarely go through that teenage rebellion stage. The “I hate my parents” stage. The “adults are always wrong and need to be rebelled against” stage. Instead they have been allowed to have a voice and converse with other people (of all ages) in a more realistic and natural way about anything and at any time. There is neither need nor opportunity for homeschooled kids to develop the cliques and gangs that seem to grow in our under supervised schools. They never need to “fit in” to a certain social group. These groups of kids that feed off each other like packs of wild dogs until all respect for other people and often for themselves had disappeared. They pressure each other to fit in until there is no sense of identity. Kids are forced to conform or risk being ostracized or worse. They are forced to become the robotic sheeple that our entire society revolves around. You have to wear this, you have to eat that, you have to think the same way as everyone else. If you dare to speak out you are criticized or told you are wrong. Until you just start to go with the flow because it is easier and, quite frankly, safer. How would any child in this kind of social setting have any chance at all of becoming a freethinking human being? Is it any wonder kids come home from school with “teenager rebellion syndrome.” It amazes me how many kids actually do make it through school and manage to “make it” to the real world relatively unscathed. But it also scares me to think about how many do NOT make it. They may survive but how many kids graduate from highschool with low self-esteem and other problems. So many brilliant minds who will never share their real thoughts and ideas because they might go against our societies ideas of “normal.” Imagine how different our world would be if all our children were allowed to be themselves without having to consider whether the clothes they want to wear would be acceptable by the rest of the flock.
Monday, 28 May 2012
New Bunnies!
Yay, I got two new Satin Angora's last week. Merry and Flopsy are settling in very well and after a few days of adjusting to their new home I brought Merry in to play with. He had been wonderfully groomed before arriving so all I had to do was pluck out the rest of the loose hair he had. I only got about a half an ounce but it was plenty to start a small yarn project. I spun a very small amount of it and made a short (10 yard)4 ply piece of 26 wpi yarn just to see what it would look like! After working with my chocolate agouti's and Mocha's chocolate wool all winter it was kind of nice to have something a bit different! Merry's wool is a gorgeous warm grey with streaks of dark brown. I can't wait to get the rest spun.
This is Merry . . .
And Flopsy. I am going to breed her to Mocha soon. Could get some black bunnies from that cross!
And Merry's 4ply lace weight yarn! Not enough to do anything with but I think I will do the rest of the half ounce from him in the same way. If it spins up the same as Penny's lace weight that I just finished I should get about 100yrds. Good thing I've got most of the garden planted already!
This is Merry . . .
And Flopsy. I am going to breed her to Mocha soon. Could get some black bunnies from that cross!
And Merry's 4ply lace weight yarn! Not enough to do anything with but I think I will do the rest of the half ounce from him in the same way. If it spins up the same as Penny's lace weight that I just finished I should get about 100yrds. Good thing I've got most of the garden planted already!
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Baby Bunnies!!
Penny had 7 adorable babies a few days ago. And NO reds!! Yay. I like the reds but I was getting kind of bored with them. This litter is 4 chocolate agouti's, 2 lynx and a cream. I will be keeping one of the lynx for sure (please, please, please be a doe little bunny . . .) Maybe the cream if it is a doe and possibly one of the Chocolate agouti's. I really hope that there are a lot of does in the litter as I have possible homes for a few of them already. I can't wait till they're old enough to get some wool from. Next winters spinning projects are going to be so much fun.
The whole litter - well the ones on top anyway!
One of the chocolate agouti's. They are all close in colour but a couple are a bit more red that others.
And the cream . . . isn't he/she sweet!
My favorite - they looked so silver blue when they were born that I launched into a study of my rabbits pedigrees and any color genetics info I could find online! I was sure they were going to be opal but that would be impossible with this cross as both parents are chocolate agouti and don't carry the black gene necessary to produce a blue/opal! Now that they are a few days old they are starting to show a bit more fawn colour in all that silver so lynx it is.
The whole litter - well the ones on top anyway!
One of the chocolate agouti's. They are all close in colour but a couple are a bit more red that others.
And the cream . . . isn't he/she sweet!
My favorite - they looked so silver blue when they were born that I launched into a study of my rabbits pedigrees and any color genetics info I could find online! I was sure they were going to be opal but that would be impossible with this cross as both parents are chocolate agouti and don't carry the black gene necessary to produce a blue/opal! Now that they are a few days old they are starting to show a bit more fawn colour in all that silver so lynx it is.
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Spring!
I have been watching this spinach for the past few weeks. I planted about a dozen spinach plants late last fall but they did not grow enough before frost and cold weather shut them down. I wrote them off and didn't even bother mulching that bed (actually I did once with leaves but they all blew away in a windstorm the next day and I didn't feel like gathering all the leaves again!)So I was happily surprised when they started showing new growth as soon as the ground thawed. I know spinach is tough and very cold tolerant but I figured without at least a row cover or some mulch it wouldn't make it. Wrong. It not only made it through the winter but is nearly big enough to harvest a few leaves for some salad and it is only the end of March!
There are other things growing too, garlic and the rye that I planted last fall. Also a few left over onions that I missed last year. They survived the winter in the ground so I will probably let them go to seed. I am selecting for winter hardiness in all my crops and the biennials that overwinter successfully are certainly worthy of being included in the seed collection! I also have several carrots that overwintered successfully that will be grown for seed this year.
There are other things growing too, garlic and the rye that I planted last fall. Also a few left over onions that I missed last year. They survived the winter in the ground so I will probably let them go to seed. I am selecting for winter hardiness in all my crops and the biennials that overwinter successfully are certainly worthy of being included in the seed collection! I also have several carrots that overwintered successfully that will be grown for seed this year.
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Rose Hip Fruit Leather
Did you know that rose hips contain more vitamin C that citrus fruit? I can't grow oranges here but I have a wonderful climbing rose that gives me loads of huge, tasty little fruits every winter. The kids and I collected a bunch a couple weeks ago and I decided to try another attempt at rose hip fruit leather. I had tried it before but using wild rose hips and it was not very good at all! These rose hips are very sweet and big enough to actually work with. The seeds are a pain but I just threw them all in a pot and cooked them until they were soft, then squished the whole mass through a sieve. I combined it with about an equal amount of applesauce and spread it on a cookie sheet to dry in the oven. It turned out REALLY good!
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
More dyeing and spinning!
I am getting tired of this winter weather, but at least I am getting lots of playtime with my wool! The more I work with the Texel fleece I got two years ago the more I like it. I originally thought it would only be good for experimenting but as I spin more and more of it I am thinking of trying it for some socks. I would love to use the khaki colour that I got from onion skins in an iron mordant for a sweater but I don't think I will be able to spin enough of it on my drop spindle without losing my mind!
I did a batch of black bean dye. I don't think it is going to be very wash/light fast which is too bad as I got a lovely purplish blue colour from it. I tried small amounts in various mordants and after baths and got everything from a "glacier" blue to a light purple. I spun four different variations of this dye into singles and then made a 4 ply sock weight yarn from it. The finished yarn is very pretty. I still have quite a bit of the purplish stuff left to spin and I will make a 4 ply sock yarn out of it.
This is the finished yarn from that experiment . . .
And the "khaki" colour from the onion skins/iron. These pictures show it much less green than it actually is. I want to get 4 slightly different shades of this colour to ply into a sock weight yarn. If I get my spinning wheel build before I run out of this fleece I might spin a heavier yarn and make a sweater for myself, I just love this colour!
I did a batch of black bean dye. I don't think it is going to be very wash/light fast which is too bad as I got a lovely purplish blue colour from it. I tried small amounts in various mordants and after baths and got everything from a "glacier" blue to a light purple. I spun four different variations of this dye into singles and then made a 4 ply sock weight yarn from it. The finished yarn is very pretty. I still have quite a bit of the purplish stuff left to spin and I will make a 4 ply sock yarn out of it.
This is the finished yarn from that experiment . . .
And the "khaki" colour from the onion skins/iron. These pictures show it much less green than it actually is. I want to get 4 slightly different shades of this colour to ply into a sock weight yarn. If I get my spinning wheel build before I run out of this fleece I might spin a heavier yarn and make a sweater for myself, I just love this colour!
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Natural dyeing
I finished spinning all the angora wool I had except for some I am saving. So . . . now what to do? I still have a garbage bag full of fleece from a Texel sheep that was given to me a while ago. It isn't the nicest wool for a finished yarn but I decided to pull some of it out and start experimenting with natural dyes. I dyed some wool years ago using marigolds and it was a lovely yellow. Yellow is pretty much the most common natural dye available. Only problem is I don't really like yellow! It is also the middle of winter so not many plants growing enough to collect material for dying. After a bit of research I decided to try onion skins. The results were amazing and have gotten me really excited to try more and different stuff. The onion skins gave me a really pretty rust colour and a lighter shade of rust. I tried some in my cast iron pot to try and get an olive green bu8t it turned out a duller shade of rust. I did notice that the finished yarn turned green where the wet wool was touching the metal coat hanger that I had it hanging on to dry though! So that coat hanger is soaking in a pot of water awaiting my next batch of onion skins!
I also tried some coffee. I was hoping for a dark brown but got a REALLY pretty almost coppery tan colour. I have just started spinning it and it is lovely. I soaked this batch of wool in a vinegar solution for quite a while and when I started carding the dyed wool I noticed it was MUCH softer than the same wool that I have been using . . . not sure yet if it was the coffee or the vinegar solution that caused it but it is actually soft enough now that I might be able to use it for something other that colour swatches and samplers! A sweater in coffee brown would be perfect.
Lichens are another great source of natural dye that does not need a mordant so I gathered a few tiny bits from my old fence to see what I would get. It turned out a light tan colour that is actually kind of pretty too. I need to do a lot more research and employ the help of my botanist husband to identify the lichens as they all produce something different and some don't dye at all.
I plan to plant a bunch of different dye plants in the front garden this year but until they mature I will be trying stuff that I can find around home and later in the season collect some goldenrod and nettles.
Here is what the onion skins look like (carded wool and spun single). . .
And the finished yarn (2 ply, one was the darker onion skin batch and the other was a lighter shade of onion skin) . . .
the coffee (with some natural coloured wool for comparison). . .
And a sample card I made comparing the different finished yarn colours . . .
I also tried some coffee. I was hoping for a dark brown but got a REALLY pretty almost coppery tan colour. I have just started spinning it and it is lovely. I soaked this batch of wool in a vinegar solution for quite a while and when I started carding the dyed wool I noticed it was MUCH softer than the same wool that I have been using . . . not sure yet if it was the coffee or the vinegar solution that caused it but it is actually soft enough now that I might be able to use it for something other that colour swatches and samplers! A sweater in coffee brown would be perfect.
Lichens are another great source of natural dye that does not need a mordant so I gathered a few tiny bits from my old fence to see what I would get. It turned out a light tan colour that is actually kind of pretty too. I need to do a lot more research and employ the help of my botanist husband to identify the lichens as they all produce something different and some don't dye at all.
I plan to plant a bunch of different dye plants in the front garden this year but until they mature I will be trying stuff that I can find around home and later in the season collect some goldenrod and nettles.
Here is what the onion skins look like (carded wool and spun single). . .
And the finished yarn (2 ply, one was the darker onion skin batch and the other was a lighter shade of onion skin) . . .
the coffee (with some natural coloured wool for comparison). . .
And a sample card I made comparing the different finished yarn colours . . .
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Angora stuff
I have had my angora rabbits for about a year and a half now. I have harvested wool from 4 different rabbits - 2 coppers, a chocolate and a red. The red was only a small amount and I no longer have that rabbit so it is just copper and chocolate for the time being. Mocha, the chocolate, has been the best producer as far as volume of wool. Penny has the best sheen and is my favorite colour. I combined most of Penny's wool with some sheep wool last year and got enough to crochet a hat. I have been saving Mocha's wool and started spinning it a few weeks ago. I am not mixing it with anything but I did decide to ply it with a gold thread just to give it a bit of extra kick! I am very happy with the yarn so far. As it is pure angora and a fairly thick yarn I am going to use it in a open, lace-like pattern and make my self a bolero. I just hope I have enough yardage!
I have also collected several gallon sized ziplock bags of odds and ends, less than prime wool that isn't really suitable for spinning but I have been keeping it and plan to try using it for some felting projects though I am not sure yet what that will be!
Here is a picture of some of what my little herd has produced for me so far! The 2 balls are copper and red mixed with equal amounts of sheep wool. It is niceish but the sheep wool I used was coarse and did not do the angora justice! The chocolate skein is about 50 yards of the yarn I am working on for my bolero. I still have quite a bit more to finish. And the hat I made which is the only actual project I have finished using my homegrown wool. I have done a few samplers with some small amounts that I was playing with as I learned to spin but up until now I haven't really had enough volume to make anything.
So . . . in conclusion, I have decided that I need more bunnies. Actually less bunnies in total but more angoras. So I am going to start cutting back on the mini rex herd and increase the number of angora's. I am thinking 2 each of the colours I want to keep which will be chocolate, black, copper and ?? possibly tort or maybe even white (that I could use for dying.) I think the black would be neat for dying as well - it would give a cool effect with the different shades.
I do love these bunnies as urban homestead "livestock." They are relatively cheap to feed, don't take much space, they're friendly and fun for the kids to play with, entertaining and cuddly when I need a pick me up, useful as wool producers AND as great fertilizer producers for the garden!!
I have also collected several gallon sized ziplock bags of odds and ends, less than prime wool that isn't really suitable for spinning but I have been keeping it and plan to try using it for some felting projects though I am not sure yet what that will be!
Here is a picture of some of what my little herd has produced for me so far! The 2 balls are copper and red mixed with equal amounts of sheep wool. It is niceish but the sheep wool I used was coarse and did not do the angora justice! The chocolate skein is about 50 yards of the yarn I am working on for my bolero. I still have quite a bit more to finish. And the hat I made which is the only actual project I have finished using my homegrown wool. I have done a few samplers with some small amounts that I was playing with as I learned to spin but up until now I haven't really had enough volume to make anything.
So . . . in conclusion, I have decided that I need more bunnies. Actually less bunnies in total but more angoras. So I am going to start cutting back on the mini rex herd and increase the number of angora's. I am thinking 2 each of the colours I want to keep which will be chocolate, black, copper and ?? possibly tort or maybe even white (that I could use for dying.) I think the black would be neat for dying as well - it would give a cool effect with the different shades.
I do love these bunnies as urban homestead "livestock." They are relatively cheap to feed, don't take much space, they're friendly and fun for the kids to play with, entertaining and cuddly when I need a pick me up, useful as wool producers AND as great fertilizer producers for the garden!!
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Backstrap loom part 2
I built my next trial loom. This version is a bit more user friendly! It still needs a number of improvements but I used it to weave a blanket for Stephens favorite stuffy. I need to figure out a better way to attach the warp but other than that it worked great. I used a very basic pattern this time and was thrilled with how it turned out. My selvages were a thousand times better than my last attempt and I figured out how to hem the edges properly. I can't wait to try my next project - a proper strap for the loom.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Backstrap Loom Prototype #1
I have always wanted to learn how to weave. Actually I already know HOW to weave - I just want to learn how to weave really nice fabric that I can actually use! This would of course require the use of a loom. And not just one of those quick cardboard looms (you know the ones with the little slits in the ends to wrap the warp thread around and then you had to painfully thread the weft over and under every single strand!) that we all learned how to weave on as kids. I have been reading and googling and drooling over pictures of big fancy looms that take up half a room and cost thousands of dollars. Even if I could afford the price tag there is no way I could fit one in my house. Then I found a video showing how to make a simple backstrap loom out of nothing more than a chopstick and a piece of card! I knew that would be a step up from the cardboard square with the slits in it but still a long way from what I want. BUT - making one would be a good first step in learning all the weaving terms and the multitude of different bits and pieces that are involved in simplifying the weaving process as well as give me an idea of what I needed to do to make something that is actually useful. So I did it. 90 minutes later I had completed my first project - a very crude and unbelievably messy, teeny square "rug" for Alex's little stuffed puppy! The time included the time to gather the materials I needed - a piece of cracker box from the recycle bin, 2 different yarns from my stash and an 18 inch piece of 1/4 inch dowel, cutting and threading the warp threads and doing the actual weaving. These pictures show the loom in action. It is ugly. Very ugly. I'm pretty sure the the most primitive cave people had better looking looms. But it served its purpose very well and that was to guide me in my path of discovery. I already have a number of ideas to start construction on a usable (and hopefully somewhat more attractive!) backstrap loom. A loom that I will be able to tuck into a drawer when not in use and take with me to the lake in the summer.
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