We are so tickled to have quite a bit of sun lately. I can’t praise our new lithium-ion batteries enough. We replaced our old lead-acid batteries (golf cart batteries) a couple months ago and boy is there ever a big difference! They hold more of a charge, charge quickly, and we are using less batteries and getting more power from them. Yes, they were kind of expensive. But we saved for four, then another four. Will hauled all of our old batteries up out of the basement, which killed his bad back (they’re heavier than lithium-ion batteries too), then connected up all the new batteries, adjusted the charge controllers and we are hardly using the generator at all. I can even use the oven without starting the generator. Bad me. I wanted a stove with heavy burner grates and bought a new one. Only to find out that the oven is run by an electric heating coil to ignite the burner. Bad move, when you live off grid! But now the new battery bank lets me use the oven whenever I want to (unless we’ve had many cloudy days).
Yesterday, Will and Drew worked on hooking up the stove again, having to weld brackets to hold the stovepipe away from the house and support the long vertical piece of pipe that is fairly heavy, being double wall. I had to laugh last night. Drew was sitting in the chair and Mittens hopped up on his lap and snuggled down on his leg, just like he does on Will’s. It’s funny but Mittie won’t do that on my leg and seldom will do it for anyone else. She and Buffy still don’t get along but do tolerate each other. Kind of. No blood is drawn but there sure are some evil looks at one another!
I’ve now saved up 100 pounds of spring wheat. Some will be ground into flour but half will be planted. I truly believe a lot of our health issues come from the food we eat and today nearly all wheat is sprayed with glyphosate when it is just ripe to ensure it all ripens at once. Now that ripe wheat is what is ground for commercial flour like Gold Medal. Yep, they “say” it’s harmless. But they also told my late husband, Bob, Agent Orange was harmless and when he was in Vietnam, planes sprayed the jungle and him with it. He died as a result, years later.
We’ll be planting a lot this spring. I was thinking to myself “not so much,” but that got turned around as I thought of things I want to increase, from asparagus to berries and plenty of vegetables, especially those I can can or dehydrate. Eating good food is nice, don’t you think? — Jackie
Here’s one more suggestion for grains, as well as beef.
Paul’s Grains from Laurel, Iowa. http://www.paulsgrains.com
They, too, are a family farm since 1964, no chemicals, and are downsizing now because the family is getting smaller and have fewer helping hands. Because of that, they only offer products to folks living in Iowa (sorry!) but welcome visitors and fill orders around the state. I’ve called in an order and when he has several within the Des Moines area, he will meet me in town, no “shipping charge”.
Janie’s Mill is on line and wonderful
Family owned grain mill. Quality
And variety. Beautiful Grains and
Flour
Thaks for the tip Joann!
Surprised to see the reference to Agent Orange. My 1st husband (the boy Nextdoor)
Was a marine at the DMZ in Viet Nam. We
Married soon as he got back. I have 5 babies
In heaven. Always a trauma pregnancy. One
Lasted 7 months We divorced after 5 years
He went to doctors, but died at 62 after 10
Years sick in a family that’s usually around till
90. His 2nd wife divorced after 10 years, she
Couldn’t take the Rage either. Agent Orange
Has been Renamed as Paraquat and they encourage farmers to use it as herbicide. I’m
VERY Vocal and everyone locally knows to
Not use it. Just so frustrating how chemical
Companies can get away with ruining families and lives.
That’s oh so true!! Bob also had PTSD and went through the anti-government conspiracy business for several years until he got counseling, which really helped in all ways, especially that. I’m not saying the government is wonderful, just that they aren’t sneaking around doing God-knows what to us. (Or are they????)
Yep, I remember as a child, living in Detroit, when they sprayed the elm trees down the street with DDT. My Mom, also, kept us inside and the windows closed. Once, our cat got out and walked around in the grass (after it was dry) and she soon died of convulsions. They also sprayed mosquitoes at the drive-in movies we occasionally went to see. We also rolled up the windows and sat in the sweltering car, so we didn’t breathe in the stuff that killed Shadow. No air-conditioning in those days!!
I have to laugh. Yesterday I was in the kitchen and heard a terrible thud-thud-crash from the stairway upstairs. I thought Will had fallen down the stairs! Nope, it was Mittens chasing Buffy, hot and furious, down the stairs. Mittens does not let Buffy come up to “her” bedroom!!!
lol… speaking of A/C, once my household got it, my dad asked who installed it. Seems dad lost his one and only ally in the no A/C camp once my household got it. Despite my mother being from the south, she did not handle the heat particularly well.
Being surrounded by woods, it is the rare time we run our A/C. And once we get the humidity out of the house, the
A/C rarely kicks on – we spent time and some $ on insulation and new windows.
There have been times we have to lower the thermostat to get the A/C to cycle (the house air gets “stale”). We do get the humidity here – the corn seems to love it.
I always question those who live in high humidity areas who turn off their A/C. To me, it just runs harder to get back to where it was – there is no cost savings on the electric bill.
We lived in Japan, and on base they would mosquito spray whole neighborhoods.
They still do in many US areas!
Jackie and Will, you are living the good life. Blessed to be a Blessing! I know, because you are a blessing to me. Hope your knees are healed now. I exercised mine after not exercising for 3 months, and now it hurts some, and see some fluid, but thankfully not where the replacement accessories are. Have my one-year appt on the 10th. You know, family is where “it’s” at. I love seeing your pictures. And your bread. . .I still want to make sour dough with einkorn; seems diabetics and celiac can eat it without reaction, it seems. My husband has gut problems. He has a huge bloated gut. Now off sugar, he’s loosing weight eating far less. The bloat is still there, however. Regards from far north California.
We are so happy to be a small blessing to anyone!! No, my knees are “healed” but hurt a lot. I think that’ll be with me forever. Oh well, we all have our problems.
We love having family around, whether it’s grandchildren or adult grandchildren, or our now-grown kiddoes. I wish we could be together even more.
I know you’ll like sourdough made from Einkorn wheat. We have friends who are gluten intolerant and can eat it.
My husband passed away last year from Agent Orange being in Vietnam. Now I am reading that children and grandchildren are having health problems.
We are buying Einkorn flour to use in baking. What a difference bread makes and taste like.
My son is the bread maker for us. My daughter started having gut problems from bread that was store bought. Now she is using this flour to bake with. We did a research and found the flour mention above. I have read that Italian flour is also good. We try to buy local here in the states. The young couple that own flour company has a wonderful story on line.
Every time I look at Buffy, I think what a lucky cat to have been found when he was.
Buffy sure looks different from the day we found her, for sure. She’s pretty spoiled!!
I’m so excited to be growing our own wheat again. I’m not doing Einkorn as it’s hard to get the husk off without lots of hand labor or a machine. But I am doing organic white spring wheat that’s an old variety. Without being sprayed with chemicals, I’m sure it’ll be wonderful!!
So sorry to hear about your husband’s passing. It took the VA a LONG time to even recognize it as a health issue. I think they were hoping a lot of veterans would die before making a claim. I know Bob put in for his claim for several years, being rejected each time. He finally gave up. Unbeknownst to us, the DAV was working on his claim after he quit. He eventually ended up with a reciprocal check for back payments! God bless the DAV!!
Your pictures are so nice! Thank you for sharing your life with us. Excessive use of petrochemicals in our environment is bad. For the last several years I’ve lost gardens and trees to 24D & dicamba drift, with ‘right’ weather it can drift 2 miles! Timing planting my garden isa puzzle and a prayer. Having a large commercial chemical applicator company nearby doesn’t help either. There isn’t a lot of wheat grown in our area anymore so I don’t know if it’s sprayed or not. I do know that the deer won’t eat field corn much anymore..there was a small pile dropped by the combine in a field nearby that wasn’t touched all winter. We’re supposed to have a few warm days, so we’ll be cutting wood for the cold ones. Peace and think Spring!
It’s real warm today, 38 degrees F. Wow, is that nice. It reminds us of when Will had his heart attack a few years back, about this time of the year and temperature. Whew, we don’t want to think about that!
I really hate all the chemicals on food from the store. There’s chemical fertilizer, then herbicides and insecticides. Some are sprayed after picking to “keep them fresh” or make the color better. ISH!!
LOVE Buffy in the window! My cats too dream about birds at the feeder.Then, “14 years ago “ Aaaawwwww love it! Wheats! I’m in the wheat belt here but I too fear the government required pesticides being sprayed! Oh also several hundred acres grow over the landfills!!! If that’s not enough….
Jackie, how much wheat is needed your estimate, for 100# of flour? We Do hay local farm market who carries‘pesticides free’ flour but very spendy . Well worth the health benefits am so. I use sourdough for my bread and it So much better than anything in store s! KEEP UP THE email blogs! Really makes my day. THANK YOU
I don’t think the government requires any pesticides much less herbicides. The use of herbicides is the choice of the grower. It all boils down to the almighty dollar. For non-corporate farmers I see why they do – they’d be out of business if they didn’t.
Some states don’t help:
Cambria herbicide drift missouri
In Missouri, the use of herbicides containing dicamba, including Cambria, has been linked to significant crop damage due to herbicide drift. The Missouri legislature has taken action to increase fines for illegal use of these herbicides, reflecting the state’s commitment to protecting neighboring crops from herbicide drift. The Missouri Department of Agriculture is also addressing a backlog of complaints from farmers alleging damage from dicamba-based herbicide drift, highlighting the ongoing challenges in managing herbicide use in the state.
If you are an organic farmer in the “drift area”, you are no longer organic. But this is what happens when unlimited money is allowed in politics. My state does not allow use of dicamba.
I’ve never heard that the government requires pesticides. Maybe you’re thinking of Canada or some other country. Not America, though.
its all ‘government ‘ managed to me. here the warehouse/buyer(who buys95% of all local grown) will not buy un treated( weed control, growth control ect.) wheat- most is resold as export. without the guarantee buyer , the rancher may not be allowed or able to sell his harvest. hope i clarified myself. apologies for any misunderstanding
The government doesn’t require pesticides, but wheat growers are forced to use glyphosate to “ripen” the wheat all at the same time or be severely docked at the mill on harvest.
A decent homestead wheat harvest is about 40 bushels an acre (10 bushels to a quarter acre). Wheat is heavy and will weigh about 56 pounds. So, you can see, it doesn’t take a farm to grow enough wheat for family use.
We’re going to grow more to use as chicken feed in our striving to become even more self-reliant.
thank you!
What a delightful photograph. Yes, time just whips on by. I guess in reality every single day is eventually the good old days. Best we pay attention and enjoy each one for what it offers. I so appreciate seeing your emails in my inbox. :^)
Ooops – I was referring to the photo of you and Will. But each one has something to appreciate.
Awww, I thought so too. We looked so cute! And young!
Dear Jackie,
I was a follower during the breast cancer. And it’s good to still be above ground. But the time does fly by. It is good to be able to grow your own food. I sometimes get Prairie Gold wheat flour from an Amish friend if they have some to spare. Regular flour is so refined that even rats won’t eat it. They will chew through the bag and move on. That should tell you something. I read where a massive number of folks under 50 are coming down with colon cancer. There is definitely something wrong with our food source. The FDA will approve a small amount of different chemicals since that particular food does not contain enough to harm you, BUT, if you add up all those different foods that we eat in a day, that puts the harmful chemicals WAY above what is safe to consume. Folks, read your food labels and eat accordingly. But the best way is to grow your own if you can or get your food from a reliable source. Love the picture by the way. You look so happy. I love your garden pictures, too. Especially with all this snow outside.
Yes, Jan. I think folks are finally getting their eyes opened. It used to be so easy to trust. Trust everyone, and trust everything. Now they are just the enemy killing our food sources. Yes, grow your own to know you’re safe! Mlgardener heard rice is no longer safe, and is now growing his own; even rice!
I totally agree with you that the food in the stores is killing folks. Yes, a certain amount of a chemical may not be harmful, but what happens when you mix it with five or six others in the same food???
For me, I’d much rather grow most of our own food and know there’s nothing at all harmful in it. After surviving Merkel Cell Carcinoma, a very aggressive cancer, I’m even more of a label watcher in any food I buy.
Our father was a victim of Agent Orange too – they called it bug juice. He served in Vietnam as a Marine. He was a door gunner on helicopters and sprayed AO from the helo. Being a good Marine (and being told AO was benign for people), he helped reuse the barrels AO came in. They made (and used it regularly) a grill from one, made a bathtub, stored food in them, stored their own gear in it, made furniture from it, and basically reused the barrels regularly. He passed away on my 24th birthday in 1985. He is missed very much. I’m sorry for your loss too.
Do you have a source for wheat seed? I am gluten intolerant, but I believe it is more related to Roundup than anything else.
Thanks!!
einkorn.com
I understand your frustration in the loss of your father. My late husband, Bob, was also a Marine during two tours of Vietnam, on the ground, in the jungle. He and others were routinely drenched with Agent Orange and I’m sure they also ingested it and breathed it in. It’s a wonder more troops didn’t drop dead right there in the jungle! And to be poo-pooed for years by the VA about how harmless it was, and it would never cause the illnesses former troops came down with later on. It was just so WRONG.
Yes, Elizabeth’s link is one source. I also buy Wheat Montana, also unsprayed, locally grown in Three Forks, MT.
I enjoy your blog sooo much.
Could you please share your bread recipe? Also, could it be made in a bread machine? I have such bad arthritis.
Thank you
+ Sharing happy news for all bread bakers with arthritis: My hands are past their 200,000 mile warranty also, but you can still make your favorite bread dough in the breadmaker until the first rise is done. Then take the dough out, form a loaf in your favorite loaf pan, let rise, and bake in your standard oven. Love finding ways to adapt so we can continue doing what we like in the years our good God gives us, just with a modified approach.
Here’s my recipe:
2 C milk, scalded
2 Tbsp. sugar or honey
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. lard or shortening
2 1/2 tsp dry yeast (one package)
1/4 C warm water
6 C flour (more or less) I often sub half whole wheat
Scald milk, add sugar, lard and salt. Cool to lukewarm
Sprinkle yeast on it and stir in. Add yeast and 3 C flour and beat until smooth. Add the rest of the flour and mix. Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth. Grease a bowl and place dough ball in and turn over so the top is greased. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and set in a warm area and let rise until doubled. Knock down and divide into two portions. You may form into loaves to bake in lightly greased loaf pans or lightly grease a cookie sheet and let rise to bake as rustic loaves. When nearly doubled, put in oven and bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes. When done, tap and it should sound hollow. Brush top with butter while warm and remove from pans to cool.
I also have arthritis and I have started using my stand mixer to mix the dough with the dough hook. How wonderful. Then I just get to finish kneading it, which isn’t bad at all.
Oh that bread looks gorgeous! I can almost smell it!
That photo made me hungry. As soon as I have time, I’ve got to bake a couple of loaves!
Yeah and Agent Orange can be joined by Thalidomide, DDT, and Fen-Phen. We had three friends who died from Agent Orange.
Upside, if there was any, is the way drug testing changed after Thalidomide. I remember my mom having us in the house, windows closed, when the town sprayed DDT for mosquito control. Not optimal on a hot day but she was right.
Buffy and Mittens have what I call detente. The adult cat did not have a good day today with the kittens (yesterday she did). What is frustrating is one of the kittens desperately wants to be her friend (and play). I’m hoping once the kittens are spayed, it will be better. I’ve reminded the adult cat that soon the kittens will be bigger and there are two of them. Typical cat pays no heed to me.
A week from now will be a mucky, muddy mess as the temp is supposed to hit 49. We contracted for some invasive removal on the property on which our home is located. Our ground did not freeze until the streak of nasty cold. I trust the scheduler to send out the “grinder” when the time is right. They’ll be back at the right time for stewardship for the other lots. We are so happy with their work on the lots. While not inexpensive, I’m entertaining contracting one more year of stewardship for 2027.
Sixty days until Good Friday so come mid March, we’ll start watching for our favorite seed potatoes. Planning this years garden has officially started.