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100 Articles

When we first learned about this issue’s cover family, one word kept on coming to mind— amazing! The word that followed—inspirational! Lest you think the pioneer spirit is no longer alive and well, read our cover story about former U.S. Marines Denise and Mark Beyers. The challenges they face living their version of the American dream require the same grit, determination and smarts that made it possible for the colonists and pioneers to turn untamed wilderness into a nation that became the envy of the world. Others featured here share this same approach to problem solving. The McClungs, for example, used an old family recipe to help their sons and soon had a thriving small biz. Along with this positive attitude goes a passion for attaining a goal that’s above and…

About Our Authors

GERARD ATTOUN is a freelance writer and photographer in Joplin, Missouri. He has worked for various newspapers for 25 years and has recenlty retired from teaching journalism at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. TRACY BREEN is a full-time outdoor writer who writes for dozens of publications across the United States, including Outdoor Life, Bowhunting World, Petersen’s Bowhunting, Bowhunter and Heartland USA. He lives in Muskegon, Michigan with his wife and two children. Tracy has cerebral palsy and often writes and speaks about overcoming physical challenges to enjoy the outdoors. DAVE BOYT has a degree in forest management and manages a family tree farm. He is a certified logger, and has been running band saw mills for 12 years. He is a contributor to Sawmill & Woodlot Management magazine, and a technical…

About Our Authors

When we first learned about this issue’s cover family, one word kept on coming to mind— amazing! The word that followed—inspirational! Lest you think the pioneer spirit is no longer alive and well, read our cover story about former U.S. Marines Denise and Mark Beyers. The challenges they face living their version of the American dream require the same grit, determination and smarts that made it possible for the colonists and pioneers to turn untamed wilderness into a nation that became the envy of the world. Others featured here share this same approach to problem solving. The McClungs, for example, used an old family recipe to help their sons and soon had a thriving small biz. Along with this positive attitude goes a passion for attaining a goal that’s above…

Semper Fi Farmers

Sometimes all a veteran needs to heal and move forward is a new mission in life. This was the case for two Marine veterans, Mark and Denise Beyers. The Beyers are a couple together for the long haul. High school sweethearts, Mark and Denise have known each other since they were teens in Alden, New York. After spending so much of their youth together, it was no surprise when Mark’s enlistment into the U.S. Marine Corps was followed soon after by Denise’s in 1998. Mark had dreamed of becoming a Marine since boyhood, and after high school his dream became a reality. He enlisted with a close friend, Denise followed, and then an unusual thing happened. Five friends who had also gone to the high school joined the Corps. Once their…

Semper Fi Farmers

About Our Authors

GERARD ATTOUN is a freelance writer and photographer in Joplin, Missouri. He has worked for various newspapers for 25 years and has recenlty retired from teaching journalism at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. TRACY BREEN is a full-time outdoor writer who writes for dozens of publications across the United States, including Outdoor Life, Bowhunting World, Petersen’s Bowhunting, Bowhunter and Heartland USA. He lives in Muskegon, Michigan with his wife and two children. Tracy has cerebral palsy and often writes and speaks about overcoming physical challenges to enjoy the outdoors. DAVE BOYT has a degree in forest management and manages a family tree farm. He is a certified logger, and has been running band saw mills for 12 years. He is a contributor to Sawmill & Woodlot Management magazine, and…

About Our Authors

Red-Headed Tomato Sauce

INGREDIENTS: • 1/2 bushel ripe tomatoes, seeded, skinned and juiced• 3 sprigs basil• 4 cloves garlic• 4 tablespoons sea salt• 8 carrots• 2 teaspoons black pepper• 4 tablespoons olive oil• 12 ounces tomato paste• 2 tablespoons oregano• 1/4 cup maple syrup• 1 large onion• 1 tablespoon red wine DIRECTIONS: Dice onions, carrots, olive oil and herbs. Combine in food processor and pulse until blended. Add juiced tomatoes, blended ingredients and simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes. Add paste, wine and maple syrup. Simmer 2 - 2.5 hours, or until desired thickness is reached.…

Semper Fi Farmers

Sometimes all a veteran needs to heal and move forward is a new mission in life. This was the case for two Marine veterans, Mark and Denise Beyers. The Beyers are a couple together for the long haul. High school sweethearts, Mark and Denise have known each other since they were teens in Alden, New York. After spending so much of their youth together, it was no surprise when Mark’s enlistment into the U.S. Marine Corps was followed soon after by Denise’s in 1998. Mark had dreamed of becoming a Marine since boyhood, and after high school his dream became a reality. He enlisted with a close friend, Denise followed, and then an unusual thing happened. Five friends who had also gone to the high school joined the Corps. Once…

Semper Fi Farmers

The Road To Healing

When asked how she and Mark overcame so many obstacles, Denise said, “We did it together. We started by taking care of ourselves and followed a path to inner healing.” She pointed out that finding the right balance between traditional and natural medicine was crucial. Becoming a stronger team for Denise meant taking care of her own health in addition to helping Mark recover. She had several medical problems, ranging from herniated discs to food intolerances and became interested in eating healthy food and in natural remedies. After making radical changes in her diet and seeing such dramatic results in her own life, Denise wanted to help others get serious about their health and continued her education by training to become a Certified Holistic Practitioner and Herb Specialist. She then…

The Road To Healing

THREE WAYS TO DIG IN FOR VETERANS!

Semper Fi Fund The Semper Fi Fund was founded by the spouses of Marine Corps veterans to provide immediate _nancial assistance and lifetime support to post-9/11 wounded, critically ill and injured members of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, and their families, and ensure that they have the resources they need during their recovery and transition back to their communities. Since establishing the Semper Fi Fund in 2004, the organization has issued 119,000 grants, totaling more than $133 million in assistance to over 16,800 of our heroes and their families. (semper_fund.org) Homes For Our Troops Homes for Our Troops (HFOT) is a privately funded 501(c) (3) nonpro_t organization building specially adapted, mortgage-free homes nationwide for the most severely injured veterans in post-9/11 combat. Most of these veterans have sustained life-altering injuries, including…

THREE WAYS TO DIG IN FOR VETERANS!

Red-Headed Tomato Sauce

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 bushel ripe tomatoes, seeded, skinned and juiced 3 sprigs basil 4 cloves garlic 4 tablespoons sea salt 8 carrots 2 teaspoons black pepper 4 tablespoons olive oil 12 ounces tomato paste 2 tablespoons oregano 1/4 cup maple syrup 1 large onion 1 tablespoon red wine DIRECTIONS: Dice onions, carrots, olive oil and herbs. Combine in food processor and pulse until blended. Add juiced tomatoes, blended ingredients and simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes. Add paste, wine and maple syrup. Simmer 2 - 2.5 hours, or until desired thickness is reached.…

The Road To Healing

When asked how she and Mark overcame so many obstacles, Denise said, “We did it together. We started by taking care of ourselves and followed a path to inner healing.” She pointed out that finding the right balance between traditional and natural medicine was crucial. Becoming a stronger team for Denise meant taking care of her own health in addition to helping Mark recover. She had several medical problems, ranging from herniated discs to food intolerances and became interested in eating healthy food and in natural remedies. After making radical changes in her diet and seeing such dramatic results in her own life, Denise wanted to help others get serious about their health and continued her education by training to become a Certified Holistic Practitioner and Herb Specialist. She then…

The Road To Healing

“The 60-acre farm includes over 40 buildings and structures all more than 100 years old.” The first time I visited Stone Garden Farm and Village in Richfield, Ohio, I felt as if I had gone through a time portal, traveling back to the 19th century. As I got out of my car I glanced around, noticing a litter of kittens peeking out from behind rusted antique tractors, buggies and other farm equipment. I felt quite overwhelmed; there were so many farm tools, old tractors, and implements to see as well as buildings to explore. My uncertainty about where to begin was soon answered as the Fry family walked out the front door of their home. It was just 8:00 a.m. and time for the chores to begin.As a rule, they always feed…

The Man & His Mission

If you ask Jim Fry what his occupation is, his simple, modest reply is, “I’m a farmer. I’ve been a farmer my entire life.” However, if you have time to visit with him, you will find he is much more than that. It’s important to know that he earned a B.A. degree as an educator and historian at the University of Akron. He also co-taught a course on Native American Studies at Kent State. These facts seem to have directed his path in life. He has always been mindful of the Original People who first lived on his family’s land. As a child, he heard stories from farmers about how they collected buckets of the Original People’s artifacts as they walked behind their plow horses. Many times he and his friends…

The Man & His Mission

THREE WAYS TO DIG IN FOR VETERANS!

Semper Fi Fund The Semper Fi Fund was founded by the spouses of Marine Corps veterans to provide immediate _nancial assistance and lifetime support to post-9/11 wounded, critically ill and injured members of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, and their families, and ensure that they have the resources they need during their recovery and transition back to their communities. Since establishing the Semper Fi Fund in 2004, the organization has issued 119,000 grants, totaling more than $133 million in assistance to over 16,800 of our heroes and their families. (semper_fund.org) Homes For Our Troops Homes for Our Troops (HFOT) is a privately funded 501(c) (3) nonpro_t organization building specially adapted, mortgage-free homes nationwide for the most severely injured veterans in post-9/11 combat. Most of these veterans have sustained…

THREE WAYS TO DIG IN FOR VETERANS!

Take A Trip To Stone Garden

If you find yourself near Richfield, Ohio, be sure to visit Stone Garden Farm and Museum. Begin your tour by stopping in the Fryburg General Store. Built before 1799, it’s one of the oldest remaining buildings in Ohio. In there you can pick up your self-guided tour brochure and even do a little shopping. Be sure to make an extra trip in the fall to buy your pumpkins and in December to select your Christmas tree. If you’re local to the area, you may want to consider becoming part of the Farm- Share. You can experience the seasonal changes and perhaps even try new food when you join. For those who realize the importance of preserving our heritageand becoming more self-sufficient, or just creating healthier products, consider registering for one of…

“The 60-acre farm includes over 40 buildings and structures all more than 100 years old.” The first time I visited Stone Garden Farm and Village in Richfield, Ohio, I felt as if I had gone through a time portal, traveling back to the 19th century. As I got out of my car I glanced around, noticing a litter of kittens peeking out from behind rusted antique tractors, buggies and other farm equipment. I felt quite overwhelmed; there were so many farm tools, old tractors, and implements to see as well as buildings to explore. My uncertainty about where to begin was soon answered as the Fry family walked out the front door of their home. It was just 8:00 a.m. and time for the chores to begin.As a rule, they…

the POTTERY PROS

uyle Kilns has been manufacturing artist’s clay since 1954. It is the second oldest manufacturing business in all of Calaveras County, California. Pamela Quyle continues to carry on the name of Quyle Kilns, making wet clay the same way her mother and father did before her, on her grandparents’ homestead. One of the rewards of doing things the old-fashioned way is a product of such high quality that even today the clay could be used as a food additive, for pharmaceutical products or cosmetics, instead of for its current use, which is to allow artists and students to sculpt their visions from the earth. ARTISTS AT HEART The clay business was born in the early 1950s out of a hobby of Pamela’s parents, Paul and Joyce Quyle. They would drive their pickup…

the POTTERY PROS

Other Clay Uses

Though the main purpose for the quality clay produced by Quyle Kilns is for artistry, natural clay has many—sometimes unexpected—uses. • Personal Use: Bentonite clay is the clay most often used for the body, including ingestion by those who believe the clay absorbs toxins in the body. Clay masks—both at home applications and spa treatments—make the most of clay’s naturally occurring antibiotic properties to treat skin conditions ranging from acne to eczema. Less well known is the use of clay for cleaning teeth. It’s a suggested alternative for those who prefer not to have glycerin in their toothpaste. • Water Purification: Clay pots have been utilized as water filtration systems for years, with many currently in use in parts of South America and Asia. Low in cost and easy to maintain, these…

The Man & His Mission

If you ask Jim Fry what his occupation is, his simple, modest reply is, “I’m a farmer. I’ve been a farmer my entire life.” However, if you have time to visit with him, you will find he is much more than that. It’s important to know that he earned a B.A. degree as an educator and historian at the University of Akron. He also co-taught a course on Native American Studies at Kent State. These facts seem to have directed his path in life. He has always been mindful of the Original People who first lived on his family’s land. As a child, he heard stories from farmers about how they collected buckets of the Original People’s artifacts as they walked behind their plow horses. Many times he and his…

The Man & His Mission

The Family Vineyard

Paul Senior and his wife Kitty purchased their homestead in 1943 and gave the previous owner, Durant Brice, a lifetime estate on the property. Mr. Brice had built several outbuildings, his home, a sawmill and a roadhouse. The location was also a stagecoach stop, and was called Brice Station. Fast forward to 1992, when a wildfire burned a large portion of the property. The Quyles reforested most of it with some 22,000 baby evergreens. One southern exposure hillside that faced the main road seemed like a good place to grow winegrapes. Stuart and Dolores (Quyle) Mast discussed the idea with their neighbor, John Baratelle, who had helped set up vineyards in the Napa Valley for years. He told them that if they stuck with the Bordeaux varieties they could have good…

The Family Vineyard

Take A Trip To Stone Garden

If you find yourself near Richfield, Ohio, be sure to visit Stone Garden Farm and Museum. Begin your tour by stopping in the Fryburg General Store. Built before 1799, it’s one of the oldest remaining buildings in Ohio. In there you can pick up your self-guided tour brochure and even do a little shopping. Be sure to make an extra trip in the fall to buy your pumpkins and in December to select your Christmas tree. If you’re local to the area, you may want to consider becoming part of the Farm- Share. You can experience the seasonal changes and perhaps even try new food when you join. For those who realize the importance of preserving our heritage and becoming more self-sufficient, or just creating healthier products, consider registering for one…

Blunders Bird Backyard

After two-and-a-half years of searching for the “right” property, we left the city for good. Once our first garden was planted, all we could think about were chickens. We discussed fresh organic eggs and the fun of watching chickens run around our homestead-in-progress daily. Since my wife didn’t know the difference between a Wyandotte and a Weimaraner, and my experience with chickens was limited to KFC, we began educating ourselves, using both the internet and recommended books on selecting and raising chickens. Our research fortified our desire to move forward. Our mistakes taught us that even the best sources of information on raising chickens could not encompass or foretell the variables that Mother Nature provides. CHICKS OR EGGS? Methods of starting a flock range from buying fertilized eggs and an incubator, to…

Blunders Bird Backyard

the POTTERY PROS

uyle Kilns has been manufacturing artist’s clay since 1954. It is the second oldest manufacturing business in all of Calaveras County, California. Pamela Quyle continues to carry on the name of Quyle Kilns, making wet clay the same way her mother and father did before her, on her grandparents’ homestead. One of the rewards of doing things the old-fashioned way is a product of such high quality that even today the clay could be used as a food additive, for pharmaceutical products or cosmetics, instead of for its current use, which is to allow artists and students to sculpt their visions from the earth. ARTISTS AT HEART The clay business was born in the early 1950s out of a hobby of Pamela’s parents, Paul and Joyce Quyle. They would drive…

the POTTERY PROS

DIY Modular Chicken RUN

First of all, calling me a carpenter would be an insult to carpenters. And, getting a real carpenter to build a chicken run in the height of construction season is akin to hitting the lottery, twice. So, with limited knowledge, a couple of books, and sheer stubbornness, I sought a simple DIY design for a chicken run that wouldn’t embarrass my wife. An online search of chicken run de- signs yields thousands of photos and offers of free design plans for the doit- yourselfer. Simple plans, complex plans, plans requiring an unlimited bank account or federal funding, all free for the downloading, and which I ignored. My propensity for ignoring instructions led me down the painful path of problems. Again. (Note: Prior to construction, check that your plans comply with state and…

DIY Modular Chicken RUN

SUPERIOR SUMMER VEGGIES

… just throwing a handful of fertilizer into the dirt won’t necessarily produce fabulous plants.’” When it comes to growing healthy, tasty tomatoes and other summer vegetables, success begins with the fundamentals. “Basically, all plants need the same kinds of nutrients, although the proportions may vary some,” said Pat Patterson, an Oregon State University Master Gardener volunteer for more than 40 years. “There is the NPK—nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium— and then there are calcium, magnesium and sulfur, and the 16 other micro elements.” This may seem like a lot to rustle up for your vegetables. “Not really,” said Pat, who teaches OSU extension service classes in soils and vegetables. “Ninety-five percent of what plants need is nothing that you can buy in a bag,” she said. And that 95 percent? “Carbon dioxide and…

SUPERIOR SUMMER VEGGIES

Other Clay Uses

Though the main purpose for the quality clay produced by Quyle Kilns is for artistry, natural clay has many—sometimes unexpected—uses. • Personal Use: Bentonite clay is the clay most often used for the body, including ingestion by those who believe the clay absorbs toxins in the body. Clay masks—both at home applications and spa treatments—make the most of clay’s naturally occurring antibiotic properties to treat skin conditions ranging from acne to eczema. Less well known is the use of clay for cleaning teeth. It’s a suggested alternative for those who prefer not to have glycerin in their toothpaste. • Water Purification: Clay pots have been utilized as water filtration systems for years, with many currently in use in parts of South America and Asia. Low in cost and easy to…

4 Top Tomato Tricks

When asked for advice on growing this summer favorite, Pat said, “The main thing is to have the proper environment for tomatoes. They want warm temperatures and very bright light. Tomatoes don’t grow well in the shade.” 1VARIETY PICKING: With seed catalogs offering hundreds of tomato varieties, the biggest challenge may be choosing which ones will work for you. “You need to pick a variety that tastes great and fits the climate,” she explained. “For example, a Mid-western tomato will tolerate more heat while a West Coast tomato will not do anything if the temperatures approach 90 degrees. It will just shut down production until nights get cool.” She went on to say that local extension agents are a good resource for which varieties do well where you live. 2WHEN TO NIP:…

4 Top Tomato Tricks

The Family Vineyard

Paul Senior and his wife Kitty purchased their homestead in 1943 and gave the previous owner, Durant Brice, a lifetime estate on the property. Mr. Brice had built several outbuildings, his home, a sawmill and a roadhouse. The location was also a stagecoach stop, and was called Brice Station. Fast forward to 1992, when a wildfire burned a large portion of the property. The Quyles reforested most of it with some 22,000 baby evergreens. One southern exposure hillside that faced the main road seemed like a good place to grow winegrapes. Stuart and Dolores (Quyle) Mast discussed the idea with their neighbor, John Baratelle, who had helped set up vineyards in the Napa Valley for years. He told them that if they stuck with the Bordeaux varieties they could have…

The Family Vineyard

How Pat Got Growing

There’s a special joy in gardening for Oregon State University Master Gardener volunteer Pat Patterson. “It’s just being in the garden and getting your hands in the beautiful soil,” Pat said of what she loves most about raising her own fruits, vegetables and _owers. Her introduction to gardening came early. The Early Days “I’ve been around gardens as long as I can remember, beginning with my mother and grandmother. My introduction to gardening was gathering wild foods with my grandmother and pulling weeds.” Later, she had small gardens of her own, but the bug really bit when she decided she’d like to have fresh peas. Pat planted some along a fence, and “from there it was all downhill,” she said of her all-consuming avocation. Her gardening skills ramped up in 1976, when her husband…

How Pat Got Growing

Blunders Bird Backyard

After two-and-a-half years of searching for the “right” property, we left the city for good. Once our first garden was planted, all we could think about were chickens. We discussed fresh organic eggs and the fun of watching chickens run around our homestead-in-progress daily. Since my wife didn’t know the difference between a Wyandotte and a Weimaraner, and my experience with chickens was limited to KFC, we began educating ourselves, using both the internet and recommended books on selecting and raising chickens. Our research fortified our desire to move forward. Our mistakes taught us that even the best sources of information on raising chickens could not encompass or foretell the variables that Mother Nature provides. CHICKS OR EGGS? Methods of starting a flock range from buying fertilized eggs and an…

Blunders Bird Backyard

Make Your Own Monarch Manor

When the flowers begin blooming in my gardens, I enjoy the arrival of various butterflies. They come in different sizes and colors, but all have an important purpose, to help pollinate the nearly 90 percent of plants that need pollinators. Behind bees and flies, butterflies are the third largest pollinators. Without them, many plant species would be unable to reproduce. A lot of butterflies, especially the monarch, migrate over great distances, pollinating flowers along the way. Like other insects, butterflies belong to the lower part of the food chain. Birds and rodents consider them a tasty meal and rely on them as a food source. As we all know, the loss of part of the food chain has adverse effects throughout the entire ecosystem. We may soon find monarch butterflies on the…

Make Your Own Monarch Manor

DIY Modular Chicken RUN

First of all, calling me a carpenter would be an insult to carpenters. And, getting a real carpenter to build a chicken run in the height of construction season is akin to hitting the lottery, twice. So, with limited knowledge, a couple of books, and sheer stubbornness, I sought a simple DIY design for a chicken run that wouldn’t embarrass my wife. An online search of chicken run de- signs yields thousands of photos and offers of free design plans for the doit- yourselfer. Simple plans, complex plans, plans requiring an unlimited bank account or federal funding, all free for the downloading, and which I ignored. My propensity for ignoring instructions led me down the painful path of problems. Again. (Note: Prior to construction, check that your plans comply with…

DIY Modular Chicken RUN

The Monarch’s Journey

Monarch butter_ies travel between 1,200 and 2,800 miles or more on their amazing migration. Those east of the Rocky Mountains will migrate from Canada and the United States to the Oyamel _r forests in the mountains of central Mexico. In this mountain habitat, they hibernate in a less harsh environment, protected by the forest canopy. Not all monarchs make the trip to Mexico. Those west of the Rockies migrate to southern California. Starting in spring as they move north, monarchs produce four generations each year and each generation goes through four stages: egg, larvae (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult. The _rst three generations live about two to six weeks. The fourth generation, born in September and October, is the one that heads south and can live up to nine months. Each generation…

The Monarch’s Journey

SUPERIOR SUMMER VEGGIES

… just throwing a handful of fertilizer into the dirt won’t necessarily produce fabulous plants.’” When it comes to growing healthy, tasty tomatoes and other summer vegetables, success begins with the fundamentals. “Basically, all plants need the same kinds of nutrients, although the proportions may vary some,” said Pat Patterson, an Oregon State University Master Gardener volunteer for more than 40 years. “There is the NPK—nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium— and then there are calcium, magnesium and sulfur, and the 16 other micro elements.” This may seem like a lot to rustle up for your vegetables. “Not really,” said Pat, who teaches OSU extension service classes in soils and vegetables. “Ninety-five percent of what plants need is nothing that you can buy in a bag,” she said. And that 95 percent?…

SUPERIOR SUMMER VEGGIES

Create Your Own Pollinator Garden

Recent studies by the National Academy of Sciences on the status of pollinators in North America found that populations of honeybees, butterflies and some wild pollinators are declining. One of the biggest causes of their decline is the loss of habitat that includes food and nesting sites. ?o, how can you help? ?tart planning now to plant a pollinator garden and invite the pollinators into your yard. • Begin by researching the pollinators native to your area that you want to attract. Find out which native plants the adults and larvae need to thrive and reproduce. Avoid purchasing modern hybrid and double-flowered varieties. hose a wide range of flowers in various shapes, fragrances and colors that bloom throughout the seasons.• Find an area for your garden that gets at least six…

Create Your Own Pollinator Garden

A CHRYSALIS YOU CAN KEEP

When I saw my first chrysalis in a nature center I didn’t think it was real. It looks more like a piece of jade with gold dots. What a beautiful necklace a chrysalis would make, I thought. Luckily for me, I found Jude Rose on the internet. She designs the most breathtaking chrysalis necklaces and earrings made from glass and 24K gold that I have every seen. When you hold one in your hand, you think it is real. She also creates a piece that looks just like the chrysalis right before the butterfly emerges, another stunning design. If you love the monarch butterfly experience, you will surely want a Jude Rose necklace of your own. To purchase chrysalis jewelry of your own, visit juderose.com…

A CHRYSALIS YOU CAN KEEP

4 Top Tomato Tricks

When asked for advice on growing this summer favorite, Pat said, “The main thing is to have the proper environment for tomatoes. They want warm temperatures and very bright light. Tomatoes don’t grow well in the shade.” 1VARIETY PICKING: With seed catalogs offering hundreds of tomato varieties, the biggest challenge may be choosing which ones will work for you. “You need to pick a variety that tastes great and fits the climate,” she explained. “For example, a Mid-western tomato will tolerate more heat while a West Coast tomato will not do anything if the temperatures approach 90 degrees. It will just shut down production until nights get cool.” She went on to say that local extension agents are a good resource for which varieties do well where you live. 2WHEN…

4 Top Tomato Tricks

plans for the ultimate BAT CAVE

…done right, it will last 10 or 15 years with minimal maintenance.’” In the last issue of TNP we showed you how to build a basic bat chalet. This month we’re going up a notch with the two-chamber rocket box. This larger more complex build has been tested to do a slightly better job of holding bats—about 6 percent better occupancy rate than nursery boxes, according to the nonprofit Bat Conservation International. Why does your small farm, homestead or backyard need bats? Because they’re Mother Nature’s natural, organic solution to insect and bug control. Cucumber beetles, June beetles, stinkbugs, leafhoppers, cutworm moths and corn moths—pests well known to farmers and gardeners alike—are among bats’ favorite food. Rice farmers in Spain, in fact, were able to completely eliminate the use of pesticides after…

plans for the ultimate BAT CAVE

How Pat Got Growing

There’s a special joy in gardening for Oregon State University Master Gardener volunteer Pat Patterson. “It’s just being in the garden and getting your hands in the beautiful soil,” Pat said of what she loves most about raising her own fruits, vegetables and _owers. Her introduction to gardening came early. The Early Days “I’ve been around gardens as long as I can remember, beginning with my mother and grandmother. My introduction to gardening was gathering wild foods with my grandmother and pulling weeds.” Later, she had small gardens of her own, but the bug really bit when she decided she’d like to have fresh peas. Pat planted some along a fence, and “from there it was all downhill,” she said of her all-consuming avocation. Her gardening skills ramped up in…

How Pat Got Growing

How To Keep Your Bat Box Full

According to the experts at Bat Conservation International, the most unused bat houses are mounted on trees, receive less than seven hours of daily sun, are not painted dark enough, or have roosting chambers wider than 3/4 of an inch. SUNNY SIDE: If after at least one active season, your bat house remains unoccupied, try moving it to a new location where it receives more or less sun. Most successful bat houses are occupied within the first year, and most failure results from too little exposure to sun. TREE, OR NOT TO TREE?: With a canopy of branches and leaves, trees rarely provide enough sunlight to a bat house, or enough free drop space between ground and house for ?ats to ?y in and out effecti?ely? Move a tree-mounted bat house to…

How To Keep Your Bat Box Full

The back to the land movement is thriving, and for good reason. Now, more than ever, people want to know where their food comes from. As a result, many are moving to small farms or turning their backyards in the suburbs into hobby farms. Having a cow or two is often not an option for most of us who have just a few acres and that is what makes having dairy goats the perfect solution for anyone who wants fresh milk and only has a few acres or less. Dan Beffa owns and operates Dansha Farms in Florida, which manufacturers milking machines that are perfect for the backyard farmer. According to him, people of all ages are getting into dairy goats. “People want to know where their milk comes from because…

Make Your Own Monarch Manor

When the flowers begin blooming in my gardens, I enjoy the arrival of various butterflies. They come in different sizes and colors, but all have an important purpose, to help pollinate the nearly 90 percent of plants that need pollinators. Behind bees and flies, butterflies are the third largest pollinators. Without them, many plant species would be unable to reproduce. A lot of butterflies, especially the monarch, migrate over great distances, pollinating flowers along the way. Like other insects, butterflies belong to the lower part of the food chain. Birds and rodents consider them a tasty meal and rely on them as a food source. As we all know, the loss of part of the food chain has adverse effects throughout the entire ecosystem. We may soon find monarch butterflies…

Make Your Own Monarch Manor

Milking Machines & More

DANSHA FARMS BRUTE MILKING KIT Those who are looking for a simple milking machine that doesn’t cost a month’s wages should check out the Brute Milking Kit from Dansha Farms. This machine sells for $139 and gives you everything you need to start milking, including a pump and a bottle. This pump can be plugged into a wall outlet or an optional power cable can be purchased so it can run off a 12- volt battery. (danshafarms.com) WHYNTER ICE CREAM MAKER One of the neat things about having a lot of milk around is making yummy treats like ice cream. Fresh goat milk ice cream tastes great. Probably the easiest way to make it is by purchasing an ice cream maker. One of the ones I have found that has the best reviews…

Milking Machines & More

The Monarch’s Journey

Monarch butter_ies travel between 1,200 and 2,800 miles or more on their amazing migration. Those east of the Rocky Mountains will migrate from Canada and the United States to the Oyamel _r forests in the mountains of central Mexico. In this mountain habitat, they hibernate in a less harsh environment, protected by the forest canopy. Not all monarchs make the trip to Mexico. Those west of the Rockies migrate to southern California. Starting in spring as they move north, monarchs produce four generations each year and each generation goes through four stages: egg, larvae (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult. The _rst three generations live about two to six weeks. The fourth generation, born in September and October, is the one that heads south and can live up to nine months.…

The Monarch’s Journey

Create Your Own Pollinator Garden

Recent studies by the National Academy of Sciences on the status of pollinators in North America found that populations of honeybees, butterflies and some wild pollinators are declining. One of the biggest causes of their decline is the loss of habitat that includes food and nesting sites. ?o, how can you help? ?tart planning now to plant a pollinator garden and invite the pollinators into your yard. Begin by researching the pollinators native to your area that you want to attract. Find out which native plants the adults and larvae need to thrive and reproduce. Avoid purchasing modern hybrid and double-flowered varieties. hose a wide range of flowers in various shapes, fragrances and colors that bloom throughout the seasons. Find an area for your garden that gets at…

Create Your Own Pollinator Garden

Goat Cheese Ice Cream

Here’s a goatjusticeleague.org recipe for a delicious and creamy goat milk ice cream made from goat cheese. The secret to the smooth texture is the cheese, which stands in for goat milk cream, a hard to procure item. It’s sure to please a summertime crowd! INGREDIENTS • 1 1/2 cups goat milk• 2/3 cups sugar• 5 ounces goat cheese• 6 egg yolks• 4 ounces dark chocolate• 1 teaspoon rum, almond extract, or vanilla DIRECTIONS: Bring goat cheese to room temperature. Warm milk and sugar in a saucepan and remove from heat. Whisk together egg yolks and slowly add to milk and sugar mixture. Return to heat and bring mixture to 170 degrees F. Remove from heat again and add goat cheese, stirring until it dissolves. (Place in blender, if needed, to achieve smoothness.) Melt…

Keeping Goats & Friends Super Cool

The July and August heat in upstate New York was downright oppressive in the summer of 2016. When my mom and dad were throwing their eldest granddaughter a congratulatory “heading off to freshman year of college” party, I knew I had the perfect TNP product to test and evaluate—Portacool’s Cyclone 2000 outdoor air-cooling unit. Whether you need to keep small livestock cool in the barn, pets and family members from getting fried at a backyard cookout, or keeping your garage or carport bearable during DIY projects, the easy-to-use Cyclone is ready to serve. During my niece’s big bash, the temps jumped to a dangerously hot 104 F. That’s when we fired up the ?yclone 2000 in my parents? two-car garage. The ?yclone 2000 worked as advertised. With its centrifugal fan, the evaporative…

Keeping Goats & Friends Super Cool

A CHRYSALIS YOU CAN KEEP

When I saw my first chrysalis in a nature center I didn’t think it was real. It looks more like a piece of jade with gold dots. What a beautiful necklace a chrysalis would make, I thought. Luckily for me, I found Jude Rose on the internet. She designs the most breathtaking chrysalis necklaces and earrings made from glass and 24K gold that I have every seen. When you hold one in your hand, you think it is real. She also creates a piece that looks just like the chrysalis right before the butterfly emerges, another stunning design. If you love the monarch butterfly experience, you will surely want a Jude Rose necklace of your own. To purchase chrysalis jewelry of your own, visit juderose.com…

A CHRYSALIS YOU CAN KEEP

Of all the uses for solar energy, direct thermal is the simplest and most efficient. No photovoltaics, inverters, and fancy wiring. There is always a use for hot water, and there are a number of designs out there. The goal of this project was to design a water heater so simple that it could be built anywhere with only hand tools, though an electric drill certainly speeds up the process. The materials are simple and inexpensive, and it requires no power or plumbing. To start out with the basic design, you will need a new (unused) oil catch basin, available at auto parts stores. This will serve as the water reservoir. For more water, it is easy to stack more oil basins, and you can modify the design to be tall…

BATTERY-PACKIN’

Power storage. It’s half the equation of off-grid systems. The solar array may produce the power (aka wattage) that the inverter doles out incrementally to power tools and coffee makers, but without batteries to store it, it would all be for naught. And yet, it often seems that batteries are the least appreciated link in the chain from sunlight to lightbulb, probably because they bubble and belch, and produce an unpleasant smell when being heavily charged. But, they work hard and need all the kindness and consideration you can give them, despite the fact that they really have no way of letting you know how much they appreciate your thoughtfulness. Except, perhaps to live a year or two longer than they would have otherwise. It is a fact that the first batteries…

BATTERY-PACKIN’

plans for the ultimate BAT CAVE

…done right, it will last 10 or 15 years with minimal maintenance.’” In the last issue of TNP we showed you how to build a basic bat chalet. This month we’re going up a notch with the two-chamber rocket box. This larger more complex build has been tested to do a slightly better job of holding bats—about 6 percent better occupancy rate than nursery boxes, according to the nonprofit Bat Conservation International. Why does your small farm, homestead or backyard need bats? Because they’re Mother Nature’s natural, organic solution to insect and bug control. Cucumber beetles, June beetles, stinkbugs, leafhoppers, cutworm moths and corn moths—pests well known to farmers and gardeners alike—are among bats’ favorite food. Rice farmers in Spain, in fact, were able to completely eliminate the use of…

plans for the ultimate BAT CAVE

ream Home D Full Circle

We have just completed building our circular, roundwood timber framed straw-bale home—a dream come true. It has taken my wife, Ashley, and me the better part of five years since we sourced almost all our materials from our land and region while juggling work and a toddler. Our goals in this adventure were to build a nucleus for our permaculture homestead that used local materials to celebrate the beauty and sensibility of natural building. The seed for our home’s design was planted nearly 20 years ago when I volunteered to help build the council house at the Earthaven permaculture community, near Asheville, North Carolina. We refined Earthaven’s council house into a 1,350 square foot single-family home using natural building techniques with artisan detail and style. Deciding to build our home in…

ream Home D Full Circle

How To Keep Your Bat Box Full

According to the experts at Bat Conservation International, the most unused bat houses are mounted on trees, receive less than seven hours of daily sun, are not painted dark enough, or have roosting chambers wider than 3/4 of an inch. SUNNY SIDE: If after at least one active season, your bat house remains unoccupied, try moving it to a new location where it receives more or less sun. Most successful bat houses are occupied within the first year, and most failure results from too little exposure to sun. TREE, OR NOT TO TREE?: With a canopy of branches and leaves, trees rarely provide enough sunlight to a bat house, or enough free drop space between ground and house for ?ats to ?y in and out effecti?ely? Move a tree-mounted bat…

How To Keep Your Bat Box Full

The back to the land movement is thriving, and for good reason. Now, more than ever, people want to know where their food comes from. As a result, many are moving to small farms or turning their backyards in the suburbs into hobby farms. Having a cow or two is often not an option for most of us who have just a few acres and that is what makes having dairy goats the perfect solution for anyone who wants fresh milk and only has a few acres or less. Dan Beffa owns and operates Dansha Farms in Florida, which manufacturers milking machines that are perfect for the backyard farmer. According to him, people of all ages are getting into dairy goats. “People want to know where their milk comes from…

How To Really Mix It Up

A fun low-tech way to make earthen plasters and earthen _oor mixes is to kick off your shoes and “dance” the soil, sand, and straw together. Using a 10-foot tarp, dry mix sifted clay soil and masonry sand together by grabbing tarp corners and pulling the mix inward. Once well mixed, slowly begin to add water and straw while continuing to pull and _ip the mix. You quickly create a big earthen burrito that you jump on to squish between your toes and twist with your heels to integrate the straw evenly throughout. For more, see greenhomebuilding.com. Note: This is also the basic method for making “cob,” another popular natural building method that uses the earthen mix to build walls.…

NATURAL $AVINGS

While cost may only be one of the reasons— and far from the main one—that you build a permaculture home in the style of Michael and Ashley’s, it’s still a good idea to know dollar for dollar how going natural compares with taking the conventional route. Remember to consider labor costs, which may or may not be substantial, depending on your skill level. That said, recruiting friends and family for a plaster dancing party or afternoon of straw-bale weed-whacking could be an inexpensive way to build your home, and have some fun! FLOORS: Earthen floors, of the type Michael and Ashley used in their Maryland home, come in all different textures and price points. Some figures put these beautiful natural floors at as little as $1 per square foot for total…

Milking Machines & More

DANSHA FARMS BRUTE MILKING KIT Those who are looking for a simple milking machine that doesn’t cost a month’s wages should check out the Brute Milking Kit from Dansha Farms. This machine sells for $139 and gives you everything you need to start milking, including a pump and a bottle. This pump can be plugged into a wall outlet or an optional power cable can be purchased so it can run off a 12- volt battery. (danshafarms.com) WHYNTER ICE CREAM MAKER One of the neat things about having a lot of milk around is making yummy treats like ice cream. Fresh goat milk ice cream tastes great. Probably the easiest way to make it is by purchasing an ice cream maker. One of the ones I have found that has…

Milking Machines & More

Land, Home, & Livestock PROTECTION

A piece of paper floated across my desk the other day, yet another bill, this one for the flood insurance that, because our small farm is on a floodplain, we are obliged to obtain. Our policy doesn’t cost much, a few hundred dollars a year for combined property and possessions coverage, but now it was different: The bill had nearly doubled because, the statement mildly remarked, the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2015 added a surcharge for the federal National Flood Insurance Program—which, like so much else in the federal portfolio, was otherwise in danger of going broke. Even so, the surcharge was supposed to be for $25, and ours was for $250. Some unknown bureaucrat had checked the wrong box, making our property a secondary residence and thus open…

Land, Home, & Livestock PROTECTION

Goat Cheese Ice Cream

Here’s a goatjusticeleague.org recipe for a delicious and creamy goat milk ice cream made from goat cheese. The secret to the smooth texture is the cheese, which stands in for goat milk cream, a hard to procure item. It’s sure to please a summertime crowd! INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 cups goat milk 2/3 cups sugar 5 ounces goat cheese 6 egg yolks 4 ounces dark chocolate 1 teaspoon rum, almond extract, or vanilla DIRECTIONS: Bring goat cheese to room temperature. Warm milk and sugar in a saucepan and remove from heat. Whisk together egg yolks and slowly add to milk and sugar mixture. Return to heat and bring mixture to 170 degrees F. Remove from heat again and add goat cheese, stirring until it dissolves. (Place in blender, if needed, to…

Keeping Goats & Friends Super Cool

The July and August heat in upstate New York was downright oppressive in the summer of 2016. When my mom and dad were throwing their eldest granddaughter a congratulatory “heading off to freshman year of college” party, I knew I had the perfect TNP product to test and evaluate—Portacool’s Cyclone 2000 outdoor air-cooling unit. Whether you need to keep small livestock cool in the barn, pets and family members from getting fried at a backyard cookout, or keeping your garage or carport bearable during DIY projects, the easy-to-use Cyclone is ready to serve. During my niece’s big bash, the temps jumped to a dangerously hot 104 F. That’s when we fired up the ?yclone 2000 in my parents? two-car garage. The ?yclone 2000 worked as advertised. With its centrifugal fan,…

Keeping Goats & Friends Super Cool

Fingerpickin’ Great!

Chris Ensor fingerpicks a soft and charming folk tune on his guitar, sending rich tones throughout his 900-square-foot workshop. The 29-year-old built that guitar by hand, as he has dozens of others in the eight years he’s been a luthier (a maker of stringed instruments), custom-building guitars to his clients’ specifications. His workshop, located behind his home in Springfield, Missouri, smells of wood from all over the world. Sinker redwood from California, African blackwood from Mozambique, spruces from Germany, ebony from Africa, rosewood from India, and cherry and maple from just down the road. Clamps, chisels, routers, bits and other tools large and small fill his wall space. THE KEY OF CUSTOMERS A build, Ensor said, starts with a conversation with his customers to discover what options and features they want in their…

Fingerpickin’ Great!

Of all the uses for solar energy, direct thermal is the simplest and most efficient. No photovoltaics, inverters, and fancy wiring. There is always a use for hot water, and there are a number of designs out there. The goal of this project was to design a water heater so simple that it could be built anywhere with only hand tools, though an electric drill certainly speeds up the process. The materials are simple and inexpensive, and it requires no power or plumbing. To start out with the basic design, you will need a new (unused) oil catch basin, available at auto parts stores. This will serve as the water reservoir. For more water, it is easy to stack more oil basins, and you can modify the design to be…

The Tones Of The Trees

Just as no two players are the same, so is there a great variety and breadth of sound in the many kinds of wood used in lutherie. Below is just a sampling of the tonewoods that lay behind some of the _nest guitars. BLACK CHERRY Producing a sound best described as “buttery,” the tone of this wood is similar to that of maple. Just as with furniture, this pore-less wood lends an attractive _nish to any guitar. BIGLEAF MAPLE Possessing a low velocity of sound combined with a high degree of internal dampening, this wood also has fewer overtones than other woods like it. These characteristics result in strong fundamentals and rapid note decay, which make the wood popular for larger guitars. INDIAN ROSEWOOD Praised for its high velocity of sound and broad overtone range, Indian…

be your own King of Beers

??Prior to the modern homebrewing explosion, brewing was undertaken on a small scale in the kitchen of most households. As commercial brewing operations began to develop and expand in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the scale and complexity of equipment grew along with it. The pioneers of twentieth-century homebrewing scaled down much of this industrial equipment and the hobby became dominated by techies. While it can be a lot of fun to build a customized homebrewing setup, the brewing process is actually very simple. Although you can purchase equipment and ingredient kits from homebrew stores, much of what you need for one-gallon batches can likely be found in your kitchen. As you get more into it, you may want to upgrade to a five-gallon kit for extract brewing and maybe even…

be your own King of Beers

BATTERY-PACKIN’

Power storage. It’s half the equation of off-grid systems. The solar array may produce the power (aka wattage) that the inverter doles out incrementally to power tools and coffee makers, but without batteries to store it, it would all be for naught. And yet, it often seems that batteries are the least appreciated link in the chain from sunlight to lightbulb, probably because they bubble and belch, and produce an unpleasant smell when being heavily charged. But, they work hard and need all the kindness and consideration you can give them, despite the fact that they really have no way of letting you know how much they appreciate your thoughtfulness. Except, perhaps to live a year or two longer than they would have otherwise. It is a fact that the…

BATTERY-PACKIN’

? 2- to 3-gallon cooking pot (stainless steel or enamel) ? 3- to 5-gallon food-grade plastic bucket ? Lid, towel or cheesecloth to cover the bucket ? 4- to 6-foot length of food-grade vinyl tubing ? A spigot and gaskets for bottling (You’ll need to drill a hole in your bucket if you don’t _nd one with a spigot installed.) ? 1-gallon glass or plastic jug (This can be used along with or instead of the bucket.) ? Bottles (Use non screw-top if using a bottle capper; otherwise, _nd _ip-top bottles, use bottles of any size with screw-top lids, or simply use a 1-gallon jug with a screw-on lid.) ? 1 stirring spoon You won’t necessarily need the following equipment to make a basic batch of beer, but after you’ve made a few you may _nd yourself wanting…

ream Home D Full Circle

We have just completed building our circular, roundwood timber framed straw-bale home—a dream come true. It has taken my wife, Ashley, and me the better part of five years since we sourced almost all our materials from our land and region while juggling work and a toddler. Our goals in this adventure were to build a nucleus for our permaculture homestead that used local materials to celebrate the beauty and sensibility of natural building. The seed for our home’s design was planted nearly 20 years ago when I volunteered to help build the council house at the Earthaven permaculture community, near Asheville, North Carolina. We refined Earthaven’s council house into a 1,350 square foot single-family home using natural building techniques with artisan detail and style. Deciding to build our home…

ream Home D Full Circle

Common Homebrewing Mistakes

1 Not having all your tools at the ready when you begin. Brewing is a multistep process where timing is everything. Having everything you’ll need laid out in advance and properly sanitized is essential to keeping your operation running smoothly and safely. 2Not taking notes on each brew. Keeping good records of any ways that you deviated from a recipe, as well as taking stock of what exactly you liked and didn’t like about the final flavor or carbonation level of each brew, can keep you from making the same bad brew again— and conversely, be the ticket to figuring out your personal perfect brew. 3Brewing too big or complex. Just as a first time baker is better off attempting a recipe for drop cookies than trying to make individual Baked Alaskas…

Common Homebrewing Mistakes

How To Really Mix It Up

A fun low-tech way to make earthen plasters and earthen _oor mixes is to kick off your shoes and “dance” the soil, sand, and straw together. Using a 10-foot tarp, dry mix sifted clay soil and masonry sand together by grabbing tarp corners and pulling the mix inward. Once well mixed, slowly begin to add water and straw while continuing to pull and _ip the mix. You quickly create a big earthen burrito that you jump on to squish between your toes and twist with your heels to integrate the straw evenly throughout. For more, see greenhomebuilding.com. Note: This is also the basic method for making “cob,” another popular natural building method that uses the earthen mix to build walls.…

Hops To The Rescue

In 1516, the Reinheitsgebot, or “beer purity law” was issued in Ingolstadt, Germany. Decreed for various reasons pertaining to commerce, politics, and the desire to “protect” drinkers from the effects of hallucinogenic herbs that were common additives to beer, the law changed how beer was produced globally. According to it, only water, hops and barley (yeast was later added) could be used in making beer. Since all other herbs and plants had now been tossed aside, hops was ready for its day in the limelight. Due to its preservative qualities, hops made it possible to produce a lower alcohol beer than was common in the past—one of the many reasons that adding them was vehemently opposed by drinkers in nearly every country in which they were used as they spread from…

Hops To The Rescue

NATURAL $AVINGS

While cost may only be one of the reasons— and far from the main one—that you build a permaculture home in the style of Michael and Ashley’s, it’s still a good idea to know dollar for dollar how going natural compares with taking the conventional route. Remember to consider labor costs, which may or may not be substantial, depending on your skill level. That said, recruiting friends and family for a plaster dancing party or afternoon of straw-bale weed-whacking could be an inexpensive way to build your home, and have some fun! FLOORS: Earthen floors, of the type Michael and Ashley used in their Maryland home, come in all different textures and price points. Some figures put these beautiful natural floors at as little as $1 per square foot for…

Preserving Traditions

Using our canned goods adds an extra pinch of love to every dish.” The summer kitchen was just steps away from the house. My Mom spent countless hours in there canning. It was a way of life, a necessity I suppose. Generations before her passed down this skill. As more grocery stores offered the convenience of canned goods at reasonable prices, home canning was thought to be a dying art, but it has been making a strong comeback. Not so much out of necessity anymore, but because people want to know where their food is coming from and what ingredients are in it—a new necessity, you might say. I am one of those people. Years ago I decided to start canning. Not only did I do it, but I also got my family…

Preserving Traditions

Land, Home, & Livestock PROTECTION

A piece of paper floated across my desk the other day, yet another bill, this one for the flood insurance that, because our small farm is on a floodplain, we are obliged to obtain. Our policy doesn’t cost much, a few hundred dollars a year for combined property and possessions coverage, but now it was different: The bill had nearly doubled because, the statement mildly remarked, the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2015 added a surcharge for the federal National Flood Insurance Program—which, like so much else in the federal portfolio, was otherwise in danger of going broke. Even so, the surcharge was supposed to be for $25, and ours was for $250. Some unknown bureaucrat had checked the wrong box, making our property a secondary residence and thus…

Land, Home, & Livestock PROTECTION

Good Varieties To Can

The tomato varieties that are so delicious fresh off the vine are not necessarily ideal for canning. The best ones to use are those that produce meatier fruit with less water content since they don’t lose as much volume from evaporation during cooking. As a general rule, the larger the tomato, the higher its moisture content. Although acid is always added when canning tomatoes to prevent the growth ofClostridium botulinum,the cause of botulism, it’s also a good idea to use tomato varieties high in acid. If you don’t like the sharp taste, you can add a little sugar. How do you know which tomatoes meet these criteria? Even if you don’t grow your own, check out tomato seed catalogs online or in print. They are packed with information. Growers at farmers…

Fingerpickin’ Great!

Chris Ensor fingerpicks a soft and charming folk tune on his guitar, sending rich tones throughout his 900-square-foot workshop. The 29-year-old built that guitar by hand, as he has dozens of others in the eight years he’s been a luthier (a maker of stringed instruments), custom-building guitars to his clients’ specifications. His workshop, located behind his home in Springfield, Missouri, smells of wood from all over the world. Sinker redwood from California, African blackwood from Mozambique, spruces from Germany, ebony from Africa, rosewood from India, and cherry and maple from just down the road. Clamps, chisels, routers, bits and other tools large and small fill his wall space. THE KEY OF CUSTOMERS A build, Ensor said, starts with a conversation with his customers to discover what options and features they…

Fingerpickin’ Great!

Canning Essentials

Canning has changed a lot through the generations. Can you imagine standing for hours over a large kettle on an open fire? It is much easier today but is very important to follow safety precautions for your health and the health of those who will be eating your canning glory. The Ball Blue Book guide to preserving is a trusted source that I use, but there are many good canning books and websites available. The USDA canning guides can be downloaded and are reliable. Think of buying canning equipment as an investment—you will use these tools year after year. For the hot water bath method, you will need the following: ? Jars specified for home canning ? Bands (You can use the same ones over and over again.) ? Lids (Only use new lids…

Canning Essentials

10 LITTLE WAYS TO SAVE BIG!

Im not exactly a skinflint: I buy high-quality food, drink good wine and coffee, drive a fairly recent car, go on nice vacations, and have a satisfying collection of gadgets and tools, and I pay good money for all of them. However, thanks to what I call Celtic parsimony and an eye for buying at the right time, I wind up paying much less to sustain myself than do many other people of my age and condition. Here are 10 ways that, taken together, can save you at least $1,000 a year—and sometimes much more. 1 Change your own oil If you drive like most Americans of working age, you put a thousand miles on your car every month, about half of that getting to and from work each day. If you…

10 LITTLE WAYS TO SAVE BIG!

The Tones Of The Trees

Just as no two players are the same, so is there a great variety and breadth of sound in the many kinds of wood used in lutherie. Below is just a sampling of the tonewoods that lay behind some of the _nest guitars. BLACK CHERRY Producing a sound best described as “buttery,” the tone of this wood is similar to that of maple. Just as with furniture, this pore-less wood lends an attractive _nish to any guitar. BIGLEAF MAPLE Possessing a low velocity of sound combined with a high degree of internal dampening, this wood also has fewer overtones than other woods like it. These characteristics result in strong fundamentals and rapid note decay, which make the wood popular for larger guitars. INDIAN ROSEWOOD Praised for its high velocity of…

Pound Cakes From Heaven

April and Lacy McClung of Birmingham, Alabama, both had successful careers in the worlds of insurance and construction. But when they needed $14,400 in 2014 for their two high school sons to participate in the People to People organization and travel to foreign lands, they didn’t know how they’d raise the extra money. As always, they put their problem before the “Most High” as they call Him, and His answer was, “Sell Big Mama’s pound cake,” which had been enjoyed by the McClung family for several generations. “Big Mama spent a lot of quality time with our family when we lived in Millport, Alabama, where I learned to make rolls and bake cakes. When Big Mama (my dad’s mom) and my mother made pound cakes, I’d always be in the kitchen,”…

Pound Cakes From Heaven

be your own King of Beers

??Prior to the modern homebrewing explosion, brewing was undertaken on a small scale in the kitchen of most households. As commercial brewing operations began to develop and expand in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the scale and complexity of equipment grew along with it. The pioneers of twentieth-century homebrewing scaled down much of this industrial equipment and the hobby became dominated by techies. While it can be a lot of fun to build a customized homebrewing setup, the brewing process is actually very simple. Although you can purchase equipment and ingredient kits from homebrew stores, much of what you need for one-gallon batches can likely be found in your kitchen. As you get more into it, you may want to upgrade to a five-gallon kit for extract brewing and maybe…

be your own King of Beers

Tractor Tinkering

“Whether your lawn mower is of conventional type or zero turn, maintenance is easily overlooked…” or the full-time crop or dairy farmer, regular tractor maintenance, including replacing motor oil and filter, is a job scheduled every 100 hours. But for new and part-time farmers and back-to-the-landers it’s easy to start up a tractor or mower for thirty minutes, turn the key off when done and forget about maintenance. Hopefully this article will be your reminder. A tractor that’s not used every day is very easily neglected when it comes to routine maintenance. Because of its low usage it’s also overlooked when it comes to preventive maintenance. Let’s say a husband and wife have a few horses and the barn needs to be cleaned. The tractor that’s hooked up to the manure spreader…

Tractor Tinkering

? 2- to 3-gallon cooking pot (stainless steel or enamel) ? 3- to 5-gallon food-grade plastic bucket ? Lid, towel or cheesecloth to cover the bucket ? 4- to 6-foot length of food-grade vinyl tubing ? A spigot and gaskets for bottling (You’ll need to drill a hole in your bucket if you don’t _nd one with a spigot installed.) ? 1-gallon glass or plastic jug (This can be used along with or instead of the bucket.) ? Bottles (Use non screw-top if using a bottle capper; otherwise, _nd _ip-top bottles, use bottles of any size with screw-top lids, or simply use a 1-gallon jug with a screw-on lid.) ? 1 stirring spoon You won’t necessarily need the following equipment to make a basic batch of beer, but after you’ve…

Common Homebrewing Mistakes

1 Not having all your tools at the ready when you begin. Brewing is a multistep process where timing is everything. Having everything you’ll need laid out in advance and properly sanitized is essential to keeping your operation running smoothly and safely. 2Not taking notes on each brew. Keeping good records of any ways that you deviated from a recipe, as well as taking stock of what exactly you liked and didn’t like about the final flavor or carbonation level of each brew, can keep you from making the same bad brew again— and conversely, be the ticket to figuring out your personal perfect brew. 3Brewing too big or complex. Just as a first time baker is better off attempting a recipe for drop cookies than trying to make individual…

Common Homebrewing Mistakes

I was in the used tractor parts business for 20 years and have done my share of removing rust and brightening up metal parts for resale. Two methods I used were sandblasting and acid. Both are highly harmful to the user’s lungs. I had a friend who sandblasted with silica without proper respiratory filtration protection and he inhaled silica, which settled into the bottom of his lungs, giving him the disease silicosis. Silica sand particles are perfectly round and smooth and have been described as tiny ball bearings that the lungs cannot expel because the tiny balls keep rolling. I had one granule of silica in my eye that wouldn’t work out by itself, so after a week of irritation I went to Urgent Care and had it removed. The acid…

Scavenger Blade Making

This is one of those Goldilocks stories. You know...one is too large, one is too small, and this one is just right. Every now and then I have to carve a handle from wood. It may be that I am restoring an antique tool and need to duplicate a style that hasn’t been made in a century or two. Perhaps I’m out of a common handle when a customer needs a replacement now. Or the handle shape is too long or too asymmetrical and can’t be turned on my lathe...at least with my limited turning skill. In such cases, particularly with long handles, I turn to very “old school” tools: a froe for riving out a blank from a slab or log; a hewing hatchet for roughing out the workpiece; a drawknife…

Scavenger Blade Making

Hops To The Rescue

In 1516, the Reinheitsgebot, or “beer purity law” was issued in Ingolstadt, Germany. Decreed for various reasons pertaining to commerce, politics, and the desire to “protect” drinkers from the effects of hallucinogenic herbs that were common additives to beer, the law changed how beer was produced globally. According to it, only water, hops and barley (yeast was later added) could be used in making beer. Since all other herbs and plants had now been tossed aside, hops was ready for its day in the limelight. Due to its preservative qualities, hops made it possible to produce a lower alcohol beer than was common in the past—one of the many reasons that adding them was vehemently opposed by drinkers in nearly every country in which they were used as they spread…

Hops To The Rescue

Preserving Traditions

Using our canned goods adds an extra pinch of love to every dish.” The summer kitchen was just steps away from the house. My Mom spent countless hours in there canning. It was a way of life, a necessity I suppose. Generations before her passed down this skill. As more grocery stores offered the convenience of canned goods at reasonable prices, home canning was thought to be a dying art, but it has been making a strong comeback. Not so much out of necessity anymore, but because people want to know where their food is coming from and what ingredients are in it—a new necessity, you might say. I am one of those people. Years ago I decided to start canning. Not only did I do it, but I also…

Preserving Traditions

PORK PREP ON THE FLY

Feral hogs, the wild-roaming offspring of domestic herds, are becoming an increasing problem throughout many southern states. Where agriculture is a livelihood, feral hogs are the potent threat. Hogs rooting the ground destroy crops. For this reason and others, states like Texas consider feral hogs to be varmints, allowing them to be hunted without limit with only a basic hunting license. If eradication is your goal, you can turn the page, but as a sportsman, read on. What do you do with the hog after you have harvested it? The sportsman’s answer is to butcher and eat it. If you can haul your hog to camp or have a block and tackle and a strong tree, then the traditional gut-and-skin method will work. But, in many parts of the country, like…

PORK PREP ON THE FLY

Feral Pig Meat Safety

Hunting wild boar can be one of the most fast-paced pursuits around. But, don’t get too caught up in the chase to neglect taking care of yourself, and your hunting dogs, if you use them. Wild boar meat can be infected with a number of diseases, with pseudorabies and brucellosis being the most common. The former can be spread through raw meat consumption and saliva. It is thus often transmitted to hunting dogs since they are most susceptible to bites. Pseudorabies is not fatal to humans, but is always fatal to dogs. Intense itching is the telltale sign. Brucellosis can also be transmitted through raw meat consumption and affects humans, too. Some symptoms include miscarriages in all animals who carry the disease. To prevent the spread of illness, plan ahead, and…

Feral Pig Meat Safety

Good Varieties To Can

The tomato varieties that are so delicious fresh off the vine are not necessarily ideal for canning. The best ones to use are those that produce meatier fruit with less water content since they don’t lose as much volume from evaporation during cooking. As a general rule, the larger the tomato, the higher its moisture content. Although acid is always added when canning tomatoes to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum, the cause of botulism, it’s also a good idea to use tomato varieties high in acid. If you don’t like the sharp taste, you can add a little sugar. How do you know which tomatoes meet these criteria? Even if you don’t grow your own, check out tomato seed catalogs online or in print. They are packed with information. Growers at…

Canning Essentials

Canning has changed a lot through the generations. Can you imagine standing for hours over a large kettle on an open fire? It is much easier today but is very important to follow safety precautions for your health and the health of those who will be eating your canning glory. The Ball Blue Book guide to preserving is a trusted source that I use, but there are many good canning books and websites available. The USDA canning guides can be downloaded and are reliable. Think of buying canning equipment as an investment—you will use these tools year after year. For the hot water bath method, you will need the following: ? Jars specified for home canning ? Bands (You can use the same ones over and over again.) ? Lids…

Canning Essentials

Wild Boar Chops

The trick to cooking the lean meat of wild boar is to go low and slow. Overcooking is something to be particularly avoided as the meat can easily become tough. Aim for getting the meat to 160 degrees F. for safety, but be sure not to go much further than that. This recipe for chops from askthemeatman.com lets the meat’s flavor shine through, but also offers a robust sauce to help keep the meat moist. INGREDIENTS • 2 wild boar chops • 2 tablespoons oil • 4 tablespoons flour • Salt and pepper to taste • 1 bottle of your favorite beer • 1 tablespoon mustard • 1 teaspoon chopped garlic • 1 cup beef broth DIRECTIONS: Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F. Dredge the chops in flour, salt, and pepper mixture. Heat oil and add meat. Cook until lightly…

Wild Boar Chops

Pioneer Stockpile

Pelican Bottles For keeping drinks super-cool or super-hot while on the road, water, or trail, nothing compares to Pelican’s follow-up to its popular Traveler Tumblers. The new ergonomically designed Pelican Bottles may be cool to the touch, but the insulated interior copper liner works hard under the surface to keep your beverages the perfect temperature. Whether a hot cup of morning coffee or a refreshing afternoon iced tea, the stainless steel bottles’ extreme cold and heat retention ensures beverages stay hot for 12 hours or cold for 24 hours. Pelican Bottles feature a leak-proof carry handle lid with soft grip to make transport a breeze. The sweatproof, powder coat finish includes a textured surface for superior handling, helping to safeguard against drops, bumps and spills. Pelican Bottles are available in three…

Pioneer Stockpile

10 LITTLE WAYS TO SAVE BIG!

Im not exactly a skinflint: I buy high-quality food, drink good wine and coffee, drive a fairly recent car, go on nice vacations, and have a satisfying collection of gadgets and tools, and I pay good money for all of them. However, thanks to what I call Celtic parsimony and an eye for buying at the right time, I wind up paying much less to sustain myself than do many other people of my age and condition. Here are 10 ways that, taken together, can save you at least $1,000 a year—and sometimes much more. 1 Change your own oil If you drive like most Americans of working age, you put a thousand miles on your car every month, about half of that getting to and from work each day.…

10 LITTLE WAYS TO SAVE BIG!

Simple Hay Feeder

Some handy homestead tips and products for the do-it-yourselfer in you! We tossed some money into the pasture. The cows ate some of it. They trampled on some of it. And, what was left? They used it as a restroom. It was not actual money that we tossed into the pasture; it was hay. But the fact that they only ate some of it, while destroying the rest...well, it was money wasted. We became motivated to investigate different feeding systems after observing wasted money (hay) day after day. Most of what we found were large in size and expensive. If you have only a couple of cows or a small herd of hay-eating animals like we do, then this small-scale DIY project is for you. Before we get to it, though, let’s talk…

Simple Hay Feeder

Pound Cakes From Heaven

April and Lacy McClung of Birmingham, Alabama, both had successful careers in the worlds of insurance and construction. But when they needed $14,400 in 2014 for their two high school sons to participate in the People to People organization and travel to foreign lands, they didn’t know how they’d raise the extra money. As always, they put their problem before the “Most High” as they call Him, and His answer was, “Sell Big Mama’s pound cake,” which had been enjoyed by the McClung family for several generations. “Big Mama spent a lot of quality time with our family when we lived in Millport, Alabama, where I learned to make rolls and bake cakes. When Big Mama (my dad’s mom) and my mother made pound cakes, I’d always be in the…

Pound Cakes From Heaven

All of us devoted to conscious living and concern for our planet are aware of the three Rs: Reduce, Recycle, Reuse. I grew up in a household where a single plastic bag could have a longer life than the family dog! (Not really) Recently, when a friend and co-worker at a food bank where we both volunteer told me about items that were being tossed away at the athletic center where she works parttime, we immediately set about finding uses for these things. First, there were lots of used towels, still good and with many uses. Then, there were giant 5-gallon plastic jugs that held soap for showers and hand washing. These had been previously tossed into the landfill but now are being used in both our gardens. Here in the high…

Tractor Tinkering

“Whether your lawn mower is of conventional type or zero turn, maintenance is easily overlooked…” or the full-time crop or dairy farmer, regular tractor maintenance, including replacing motor oil and filter, is a job scheduled every 100 hours. But for new and part-time farmers and back-to-the-landers it’s easy to start up a tractor or mower for thirty minutes, turn the key off when done and forget about maintenance. Hopefully this article will be your reminder. A tractor that’s not used every day is very easily neglected when it comes to routine maintenance. Because of its low usage it’s also overlooked when it comes to preventive maintenance. Let’s say a husband and wife have a few horses and the barn needs to be cleaned. The tractor that’s hooked up to the…

Tractor Tinkering

The Art of Ristras

The beautiful bundles of bright red chili peppers that are so iconic in New Mexico originated as a practical way to preserve the chili harvest. If you have a bumper crop, this is a great way to dry your peppers and decorate your kitchen or pantry in the process. Here is an easy technique for hanging and drying peppers. 1When you pick them, make sure to leave the stem intact. Begin with a long piece of cotton string. I usually start with 3 to 4 feet, depending on how long the ristra will be. You can always tie more string on if you run short. Fold the string in half and tie a tight knot around the stem of a pepper at the center of the string. 2 Lay another pepper stem across…

The Art of Ristras

I was in the used tractor parts business for 20 years and have done my share of removing rust and brightening up metal parts for resale. Two methods I used were sandblasting and acid. Both are highly harmful to the user’s lungs. I had a friend who sandblasted with silica without proper respiratory filtration protection and he inhaled silica, which settled into the bottom of his lungs, giving him the disease silicosis. Silica sand particles are perfectly round and smooth and have been described as tiny ball bearings that the lungs cannot expel because the tiny balls keep rolling. I had one granule of silica in my eye that wouldn’t work out by itself, so after a week of irritation I went to Urgent Care and had it removed. The…

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