an epic day in the life of a promiscuous* gardener.

*i am a promiscuous gardener because the garden in which i spend the least amount of time is my own.  rather i find myself happily weeding, watering, tending to the beds of other folks.  promiscuous.

that being said, most days this week have begun with me on the road at 6am heading out to the home grown farm to stand waist-high in an epic acre of okra - alongside another 3 or 4 agrarian-minded gals, doing the bidding of farmer brandon and his epic acre of okra.  this morning - however - i was butt scootin' along the rows, thinning out that epic acre.  i might add that i only worked one double row out of a total of 83 rows composing the epic acre of okra before having to scamper off to four more gardens.

which brings me to my harvest total for today:  purple figs.  gypsy peppers.  sweet bell peppers.  jalapeno peppers.  chocolate cherry tomatoes.  mexican mint marigold.  boxwood basil.  sweet genovese basil.  lemon balm.  apple mint.  lavender (with buds!)  sage.  peppermint.  and bouquets of wild sunflowers.

champanel grapes and sunshine.

but my favorite of all to harvest were the champanel grapes.  today was my first time to eat a real grape - fresh plucked from the vine, still warm from the mid-afternoon sun.  my mouth exploded in flavors that can only be described as juicy velvet (setting aside all preconceptions of velvet as an awkward fabric worn by awkward people).

if you have ever eaten a ripe cherry tomato in the heat of the summer day - you know the pure joy to which i'm referring.  except it was a grape!!  i have now come to term this experience of such deep gratitude and elation (perhaps obscenely as i am prone to do) farmer-gasmic.  please let me know the next time you have a farmer-gasmic experience - and then i won't feel like such a dork . . .

the beautiful bounty from woodway elementary.

anyways, i harvested many a basketful of grapes - uber-jazzed on my creative high - and decided to harvest native perennials into bouquets for the market in the morning.  thus, i will be carrying flaming canthus-turk's cap bouquets and trailing rosemary-crepe myrtle bouquets with me to market.  (in my mind, i imagine that beautiful women who bathe regularly smell of rosemary and crepe myrtle blossoms . . .)

days like today make me feel like i live a fantastical life of flowers and farms and fresh-cut herbs.  but that also might have been me becoming ever more hysterical after so many hours in the texas sun.  (disclaimer:  i started holding conversations with chickens whilst working the epic acre of okra during the 7 o'clock hour of the morn).  i did start to notice that by 3pm i could smell my flesh burning - under my glistening gleam of sweat.  smelled faintly of bacon - which made me oddly hungry . . .

napping beneath the grape arbor.  and yes, i am wearing cut offs and boots.

all that to say - i am epically happy.  i shall soon by removing all the dirt from betwixt my creases - and all the brambly twigs and crepe myrtle blossoms that have woven their way into my braids.  for not only am i epically happy, i am epically dirty.  and then i shall sleep and epic sleep before rising once again with the sun to go to market.  o life.

wide open spaces.

life is full of our wee little unexpected and beautifully frustrating complications.  we've been looking to buy a house and land - because we can't afford to pay rent.  doesn't that sound backwards?  but we'd rather be investing in the future, than living month by month.  and honestly, i want to grow some perennials - really massive rosemary bushes and asparagus and peach-plum-pear trees that i know i'll be around to harvest. so we're hoping to buy land.  

right now the leading option is located 15 miles from downtown waco - or a 15-20 minute drive.  4 acres.  with a round pen.  perimeter fenced.  and a large barn/storage building.  with utility and water hook-ups.  $60k.  and seeing as we're poor - and prefer the challenge of living simply - we're thinking of living out of a finished section of the barn.  which will basically be like living on a bus.  hopefully.  (doesn't help that i'm reading a book called Twelve By Twelve right now . . . ) so our future plans - or at least our discussed dreamings - include:

• building a wrap-around porch (which will double our living space - and force us to be outdoors - piddling around with the sheep or the gardens)
• perennial orchard - with all the fruit tree goodness, grapes, blackberries, rhubarb, asparagus, herbs - medicinal and culinary, and wildflowers galore
• sheep.  we'll probably apply for a texas department of agriculture young farmer grant - which will give us $5k or $10k if we match funds.  we're interested in keeping our land mown - and i - in the art of shearing, carding, spinning, dyeing and beyond.  (see awesome cyclo-carder below.  i want to build this!)

cyclo-carder from felt the sun

brick-built oven

cob oven

• wood-burning stove, solar panels, rainwater catchment.  any of the aforementioned.  as we will be living in a tiny space - this means low utility cost.  but we have a large metal roof - so we might as well put 'er to good use.



move-able sink for the out-of-doors

• i want an outdoor kitchen.  built-up with a lovely cob oven/stove/grill that we hand build.  complete with some old reclaimed cast-iron sink.  and ready for processing all the harvested goods for market.
• and i'd like an outdoor bath/shower.  a solar-heated shower would be lovely.  and we'll plan on growing some evergreens or some sort of privacy barrier so we can bathe out in the open country air.

the infrastructure will be there - but we'll get to hand-craft the home into what we frugally will.  i'm excited to piece together old bits gleaned from the habitat restore and thrift stores and freecycle and craigslist and friends.  as well as give away some of our larger possessions that won't fit into living quarters that are 12'x30'.

lord only knows what we'll do when the babies enter the picture . . .

today's bizness. and a cup of lemon ginger tea.

morning started with an inspirational song to rev up the urban gardening coalition office:  'bizness' by tUnE-yArDs.  then the gathering of eggs from our lovely hens.  today's total:  8 -- all in a lovely array of beiges and browns and one lone white.  not too shabby for 9 layers.  biked to first meeting to discuss housing possibilities down at ye olde habitat office. 

then off to the goodwill as-is store - possibly heaven for folks who love to craft from recycled old clothes and shrunken sweaters and moth-eaten blankets (ie my love language).  here i dig through shipping crate-sized boxes for golden treasure. (i score raggedy carhartts for raggedy garden work, an old samsonite suitcase for farmers market, & old flannel pajama pants for diy flannel scarf).

bike with the dog and co-workers to the river for a meeting about ramping up the s.n.a.p. (food stamps) at the waco downtown farmers market.  then more house browsing and new dreams of living on land, semi-in-the-country with our own road-side farm stand where we sell our soaps and home-baked goods (thank you not-very-comprehensive cottage food bill) and vegetables.  first, the house in axtell.  next, the house on orchard lane.  dinner with the boys.  crafty work for the farmers market. 

and ending with lemon ginger tea, more inspirational music (thank you for your sweet dance moves, janelle monae), and bit of reading from the wonderful world of wildwood.

mountain traditions project.

o hurrah!  friends in the mountains - making music, growing food, living simply.  this is my little way of promoting their new film project!

watch the trailer here:  the mountain traditions project trailer.  (an old waco friend is now a part of this community!  he's the bearded one on the tire swing!)

guilty pleasures for the now.

things i may currently be obsessed with - in no particular order or timeline:

 

• reading books that become movies.  "hunger games" and "all the pretty horses" and "interview with a vampire" and "twilight" (yep - team jacob) and "wildwood" (will most likely become some sort of hipster claymation phenom)

• foster the people.  all the time.  "helena beat" and "call it what you want" 
• reading books about diy home repair - ie reclaiming wood floors, kitchen tiling, building an outdoor kitchen, insulating, etc.  considering if we are able to buy a house/land - we'll probably have to rehab whatever we can afford

lovely moccasins - from manamocs

• moccasins - both homemade and ye old vintage minnetonka

imagine this on a sweater.  it is - by sharp shirter.

• old grandma/crazy sweaters - a never waning obsession
• convincing my husband to craft me antler buttons and tan deer hides (so i can make my own stinkin' moccasins)

bacon-chocolate covered pretzel - by lynsey confections. 

• bacon-flavored things.  mainly bacon-flavored chocolate.  even though i still proclaim to be a farm-itarian.
• dreaming about harvesting all those greens on the side of the road that look like a crazy love child of turnip+mustard+radish greens.

foxfire friday: soap making.

January 27, 2012 Foxfire:  Soap Making.

Come learn how to make soap with goat’s milk, beeswax – and just plain old castile.  Participants will learn hands-on how to make one batch of soap.  Soap takes 4-6 weeks to cure – in case you’re interested in making soap as Valentines gifts for loved ones.  Home-made, hand-made soap will also be available for your purchasing pleasure.
Open to 20 participants.  Please register for the Soap Making workshop through Eventbrite.  And please wear long sleeves, pants, closed-toe shoes, and bring some dishwashing gloves if you have them!
We will be meeting at UGC Headquarters (1526 N. 11th Street).  6pm.  The process takes anywhere from 1-2.5 hours – so feel free to bring knitting or stories to share will folks – because there is downtime to chat more about the soap making process.

new soap!

after spending the afternoon harvesting swiss chard, kale, fennel, arugula, lettuce, mizuna, and more - it's nice to come home and spend an evening with soap.

for sale at the waco downtown farmers market starting tomorrow morning.

wildcraft's selection include:  rosemary-mint (with green tea), peppermint poppyseed, cinnamon honey, lavender honey, patchouli honey, mesquite bean scrub, unscented beeswax, & unscented goat's milk.

ooooh la la.

 

all soaps are also available at wildcraft & co.'s etsy shop:  www.etsy.com/shop/MadFarmerMotherHen

wanted: small house with acreage.

dreams include:  bike-able to downtown areas (ie we can load up a bike trailer and haul all our goods to the farmers market each saturday). small acreage (1-10 acres) - enough to grow a large garden, plant some fruit trees, and keep some small livestock (chickens, bees, a few goats - pygmy/dwarf/full, dogs, maybe a horse). house can be in minimal stages of disrepair - so we can grow as a loving married couple, fixin' 'er up and learning some basic handy skills (ie plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc.) so long as we can make the house and land more liveable. also to include: wood-burning fireplace, wood floors, porch, good counter space in the kitchen (for fermenting projects), maybe an outdoor kitchen, existing perimeter fencing, stock tank, both wooded and open areas.  interested in both traditional and owner-financing. a cabin or cottage would be lovely. small but cozy. please contact with great opportunities.

also, we are poor.  and will supply our own rocking chairs.  but are willing to build/repair toward our dream.  see below for suggestions:

wooden - but not energy efficient. via Backyard Neighbor.

amazing gypsy kitchen via Thrift Candy.

Amazing wood stove via Thrift Candy.

More amazing gypsy kitchen from Thrift Candy.

outdoor kitchen & garlic via Transition Woodinville.

canning wall via Sweet Mama Jane.

january gardens and a portable typewriter.

beginnings of the north waco training farm - ground breaking january 16, 2012

.

january is one of my busiest months in my sometimes-i-get-paid-and-pretend-i'm-an-adult job as a school gardener/agrarian social worker.  odd time of year.  the mlk day of service is when i (in conjunction with the urban gardening coalition) coordinate about 20 community and school based gardens in planting donated pansies and snapdragons; seeding potatoes, onions, and greens; building new garden beds with creative materials from the habitat restore; and turning lots of compost.  we also eat and chat and reflect and make art and all that good stuff.  all this means that i work 11-12 hours/day leading up the event (note:  i get paid for 8-10hours/week - ie i'm basically a professional volunteer, which used to be a strange and twisted dream of mine . . .)

portable.  non-electric. $5. awesome.

this also means that my ability to craft and knit and soap-make has been put on hiatus - which is a stinker since those things keep me grounded (besides digging in the dirt, which i am able to do for approximately 5 hours each week - more if i'm lucky).  however, today i (and my wonderfully dashing husband) took some r-and-r.  which looked like me fixing up an old portable typewriter i recently bought for $5 at a local thrift store and making soap labels, which then were cleverly and craftily affixed to bars of lavender honey and rosemary mint soap. (my husband - however - had to fuss with our old truck - a 1972 ford - which has been a bit fussy herself).

our vehicle for cross-pollinating.

 and that's about all for the weekend - which boiled down to one day over the past two weeks.  now for a shower and some steinbeck.

soap stories: eucalyptus mint & citrus calendula.

calendula!  wonder herb!

i'm trying to get into the swing of crafting soap each weekend to build up my stockpile (and to spread lovely herbal scents throughout the house as it cures!)  this past weekend's creations included:  eucalyptus mint & citrus calendula.

the story of eucalyptus mint:

a minty fresh soap with a zest. hand-made. and peppered with dried eucalyptus.

eucalyptus has antiseptic, anti-bacterial, and warming properties - which help in the healing process of cuts and scrapes and relieving aching pains and congestion (think vick's vapo-rub).  also works as a mild insect repellant.

although eucalyptus grows prolifically around central texas, the eucalyptus for this batch was recovered from a local florist's dumpster and crafted into table settings for my friends' wedding this fall.  from there i rescued and reused to scent this soap.  i grow the peppermint in pots around my yard - for soap-making and tea-brewing and whatever else my mind can dream up.

made with: olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, lye, eucalyptus and peppermint essential oils, dumpstered-and-dried eucalyptus leaves, and home-harvested crushed peppermint leaves. and that's it. plain and simple.

the story of citrus calendula:

first of all calendula is a simply splendid and silly sounding herb.  i love it.  providing citrus-y bursts of beauty in a winter landscape.  the calendula petals for this soap were harvested and dried from flowers growing at one of the local school gardens where i grow with neighborhood youthooligans.

calendula petals are perfect for the bath - refreshing and stimulating the skin - and for rubbing topically to relieve the pain of stings, scrapes, scars, burns, and rashes - a natural antiseptic. (the petals are also pleasantly tangy/peppery to taste and eat!) basically, you should plant your own!

add that with a touch of lemon and orange - and perhaps one of the most lovely/spritely/spring-ish soaps you could hope for.  cures all your winter blahs and blues with one whiff.  but can also lift your spirits after a day of sweating in the sun.

made with: olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, water, lye, beeswax, lemon and orange essential oils, and dried calendula petals. and that's it. plain and simple.

o-so-soon to be added to our lovely little etsy shop and to be appearing at the waco downtown farmers market at the urban gardening coalition's booth.

foxfire friday.

once upon a time, i was reading through the foxfire series.  a lovely series from which to learn many of life's little secrets.  like concocting moonshine.  or cobbling shoes.  or raising goats.  or making jam.  and i thought to myself, why not bring that into being here where i live - where we gather and share skills and learn from one another - none of us experts and none of us really knowing one another other than knowing what we'd like to know more about.  and so foxfire fridays were born.  a series emerging from the local whim and fancies of friends we know who craft and can and brew and stew and ferment and forage - and meet month by month.


but why the friday?  i also discovered a lovely little farm in birmingham, alabama (the jones valley urban farm) who ran a workshop series entitled 'second saturdays,' and yup, they meet on the second saturday of every month.  mash 'em together and here we are with waco's own foxfire fridays.

thus far we've learned about:

• canning and preserving
• kombucha brewing
• knitting
• cheese-making (hard, soft, and yogurt cheeses)
• soap making
• herb-crafting (tonics, salves, and syrups)
• rootbeer brewing
• diy household cleaners
• and backyard chicken keeping

and the story continues . . . this month - january - i'll be leading another soap making workshop at the urban gardening coalition headquarters.  stay tuned for more details and lovely stories and photos from what results.

ps - i'm hoping to name my first daughter tallulah falls - after a story (and place) mentioned in the foxfire books.  my husband concurs - so long as he can name a son jasper jack.