Needless to say, I’ve been having computer issues.  You see my Vista won’t let me attach photos to articles or e-mails, including my blog.  We’ve tried everything humanly possible, but finally Dave said to call in the computer repair guys to see if they can fix it.  Sometimes I really hate technology!
 
I do better with low technology.  The photo below was taken two days ago when David and I were splitting up a big pile of firewood.  He, his friend Zack and our carpenter friend, Tom had gone to a piece of woods and hauled several loads of firewood, so we are already gathering wood for NEXT winter.  There is something peaceful in preparing well in advance.  I’ve cut and split wood in a blizzard, at night, because I had to.  But doing it ahead of time, when the weather’s nice is SO much better!
 
Now if I can just get this computer to work.
 
P.S.  Yeah!  Tonight it let me attach a photo in ten minutes.  Well, it’s SOMETHING!

Readers’ questions:
 
Tire wood holder

Suggestion for splitting wood- you may already know about this- not as much fun as with two people, but if you gotta do it yourself– use an old tire to hold the wood upright while you split it- keeps
the wood from falling over, and together for you to pick it up and toss into the wheel barrow.

Bob Taylor
Poulsbo, Washington

Yep, I know about the tire wood holder.  But, of course, it’s faster and more fun with two people working, as you said.  One guy wields the axe; the other sets the blocks and picks up the split pieces.  But you’re right; the tire does hold the wood upright nicely.

Storing potatoes for seed

I have seeds stored for future use, but how do you save potatoes to plant two years later.

Dan Wicker
Howell, Michigan

Sorry Dan; you can’t store potatoes for two years.  Potatoes are a renewable seed source.  That is you need to plant at least some every year if you are going to save your own seed potatoes.  By the spring following the fall you’ve picked your potatoes, they are starting to sprout.  When the weather warms up, it’s time to get them planted so you’ll have more for next spring.

Montana homestead

I haven’t been reading Backwoods Home very long and ordered a subscription for my husband’s birthday this month, along with the 11th and 12th year anthologies. I just read from the 11th year
(2000) that you homestead about 20 miles out of Cascade!!! I lived in Cascade (for about 2 months,) in the spring 1998 and now live in Fairfield (since October 1998).

Resa Wagner-Pittman
Fairfield, Montana

Sorry to disappoint you.  We moved from our Montana homestead four years ago and now live on a much larger wooded piece of ground, complete with a creek and two beaver ponds.  This is where we were living when Bob died and later we went on to build our log home.  Of course it’s not finished yet; we’re paying as we go.  But we really love it.  I’m sure Bob would be proud of our progress.  Losing him was more than hard, but we’re keeping going forward.
 
I am extremely lucky, in that a sweet single homesteader guy started writing to me about a year ago.  And since then we’ve written hundreds of letters, burned up lots of phone satellites and had a great visit where he lives in Washington a month ago.  Hopefully, he’ll be coming out here, come spring, to join our little endeavor. — Jackie

Canning cakes, soaked in liquor?

Do you have any recipes for canning cakes, soaked in liquor?

Pam Pliska
Portland, Oregon

Sorry, Pam, but I just don’t do liquor in any form; don’t like the taste. — Jackie

Last night it was -26 degrees, clear and cold, cold.  But the greenhouse stayed 55 degrees all night and this morning when I went out there for kindling for the wood stove, I noticed a tiny green pair of leaves poking up in the big square pot where two weeks ago I planted several bush cucumber seeds.  After they hadn’t germinated in a week, I planted four in a styrofoam cup, just for added insurance.  Those germinated right away so I figured the greenhouse wasn’t warm enough for the seeds in the pot to germinate and that they’d probably rotted by now.  Not so!  Wow!  Those little round leaves look so nice.  Just like spring in the garden.

 
But because it was still -15, I figured I’d better spend the afternoon making firewood.  The sun was out and it warmed up quickly to 10 degrees.  But with no wind, the sun made it feel even warmer.  So sawing firewood wasn’t such a chore.  Our huge pile is getting steadily smaller as we drag lengths out to cut and split.  When David got home from school, he said his cold was a lot better and he would split for me.  It’s easier to split wood when one person sets the wood up on the chopping block and then throws the pieces into the wheelbarrow.  It goes quicker and is less back strain on the one doing the chopping.  David chopped and I carried and set up. It took no time at all to bring three brimming wheelbarrows full into the house.  One filled the wood box and the other two added to the stack on the porch.
 
I tried a new bread recipe I saw in a farm magazine yesterday.  I’ll have to say it’s one of the worst I’ve ever made!  The poor loaves were so dense.  I figured the recipe should have had more liquid, but followed it anyway.  Big mistake!  Oh well, it tastes okay and I’ll eat it, but it sure wouldn’t win any compliments from anyone at my table.  You win some; you lose some.
 
I just got back from tossing wood into the kitchen range and I took a peek at the cucumber seedling.  The leaves are all the way open now, and another green bump is starting to show in the pot!  Yep, definitely spring!