The Firefly Files

First Foods

It's still early in the season in these parts, but I've been enjoying lettuce (as well as wild foods-- dandelion, chickweed, and violets) for a while now at least.  Now, at last, I'm starting to get some of the really good stuff!  This is a photo of one morning's worth of strawberries, organically grown and freshly picked.  We had the best strawberry harvest we've every had this year.  I even got to make a little jam!

Strawberries

Could be a very good year for fruit in general... this is the first year that I have fruit on my dwarf trees that survived the "June drop."  I have little pears and apples, though none of my nectarines made it (it's only in it's first year, so that is to be expected).  Of course the giant old apple and cherry are producing like mad, as always.  The blueberries aren't quite ripe yet, but we have lots of fruit this year for such small trees (they're only in their third year).  I think we'll have enough for pancakes and smoothies, but probably not enough for pie... we'll see.

At the moment we have a steady stream of peas, which we like to eat straight off the vine.  I keep a bowl on the kitchen table for snacking but it never stays full very long.  I look forward to seeing what will be debuting next!

More Bounty from the Garden

Oregano and White Sage

Herbs are amazing; they just keeping giving and giving!  I still have most of my culinary herbs going strong in the herb bed just outside the kitchen (most of the medicinal herbs are located out in the garden, which is a bit of a walk).  So, yesterday I gathered a bunch of oregano and white ceremonial sage.   I've been hearing so much about the wonders of oregano oil, especially as it pertains to flu, so I decided to make a batch for myself.  The white sage I've been growing for a while with the intent of making my own sage smudges.  I finally decided to get around to it!  It was pretty easy, and the result was pretty cool.  It's hanging from a kitchen beam at the moment; I can't wait to be able to use it!

White Sage Smudge Stick

Oregano Oil

Honey Harvest 2009

Last week the honey was extracted and bottled-- almost 60 pounds worth from a single hive!  Not bad for a first honey harvest.  I also have a bunch of wax to melt down and use for candles, but I'm saving that for a rainy day project.  I splurged and got some labels printed up, too.  Pretty cool!

As local as it gets...

Comfrey & Plantain Oils

Today I pruned back the comfrey and, well, I just couldn't let all that awesome healing power go to waste, so I made up some comfrey oil.  I've read that comfrey harvested in the fall makes a stronger brew, so this will be a test.  I still have plenty of the comfrey salve I made up in February from dried leaves I'd harvested in the previous summer, and that works just fine-- but I'm curious.  I've already had two requests for some of my salve from friends, so as soon as I  harvest the honey (in the next few weeks, hopefully) and have beeswax, I'll get the salves made up.  The oil has to set for about 4 weeks anyway, so the timing should work out just right.

I learned an interesting thing about using comfrey though-- I didn't realize the part that contains the most allantoin is the stalk!  Here I've been harvesting just the leaves...  D'oh!  I have to say though, as I said above, the salve I've been making with just the leaves works great,  but that's from the dried leaves which tend to be more potent to begin with, so maybe that even things out.  **shrug**

I tried my hand at making some plantain oil for the first time this summer, but the color is very light.  It's supposed to be a "rich, dark green"... and that it is not!  If I can harvest a bit more before the weather turns, I plan to give it a second go.

SO, anyway... it's all a learning process and I continue with my experimentation.  But at least I am enjoying the ride. 

Local Harvest

The house is filled with the scent of jasmine incense mingled with the rustic peach tart I made for dessert tonight.  Bliss!  The farmer's market is great this time of year, baskets spilling over with all kind of wonderful local fruit.  All summer I've experimented with trying to buy as much as possible locally... not only fruits and veggies but also cheese, meat, preserves, and raw milk.  Now, I'm hooked.  There's just no comparison in taste and quality.  Of course, it will be more challenging come winter, but I am committed to buying what we can.  There are several winter Farmer's Market's around and though the selection is much more limited, I think we will still be able to do pretty well!

Rustic Peach Tart

Finished the last of the corn this week... it doesn't last long, but while we have it, it is sooooo good.  The beans are finishing up as well.  Tomatoes and peppers are still producing like mad, and the house is overflowing with zinnias and dahlias.  Oh!  And I found one lone, perfect, ripe strawberry in the strawberry patch yesterday!  Talk about a late bloomer!

Finally, the honey harvest will be happening some time this month.  I can't wait--  I probably have a least a hundred pounds out there!  I've been getting my honey locally from a friend for years, but this will be my first time harvesting from my own hive.  That is about as local as you can get. 

November 21, 2008

I admit it, I've been neglecting the blog!  Too much interference from RL.  In the spring I acquired 7 new chicks, a kitten, and a beehive!  Needless to say they all have kept me busy for quite some time.  I'd been wanting to add to my flock for a while and was especially interested in some blue egg layers (Ameracaunas).  So, when a friend was placing a large order with McMurray Hatchery, I decided to tack on a few.  You always have to plan for losses... those wee chicks are pretty fragile, so I ordered 4 Ameracaunas.  But, I figured I'd like to mix it up a bit and get a couple others, so I also ordered three Black Australorps and three Plymoth (Barred) Rocks.  As it turns out, they were out of the Ameracaunas so I only got the Blacks and the Rocks.  I am disappointed but hope to get the ones I wanted next year.  And, the ones I have are just beautiful!  Some have started laying already so they are keeping me well stocked in eggs.  Four hens I gave to my sister, so my flock is still at seven, which I think is a good size for us.

The bees... wow, are they amazing!  Although I won't get a full honey harvest this autumn, I have been able to extract a couple of jars worth, and also get my own wax (which I made into candles).  I am so psyched to have the bees;  I love making my own candles, herbals salves/lip balms etc, so to have my own wax is a real boon.  Not to mention my own local honey.  Yum!

In February one of our cats passed away after a long bout with kidney failure.  So sad!  I still miss  her curling up next to me at night.  After a while we acuired a kitten from the same friend I split the chicken order with.  One of her barn cats had a litter of kittens and we picked a black tortoise shell bob-tail and named her Luna.  She is full of mischeif, that one, and loves to torment our other cat Piper.  But she is settling down now (7 months old) and I'm so glad she's stopped wreaking havoc in the middle of the night!

That's the main update for now.  Next time I'll post about school and how that's going.  We've made some changes this year that are really working well.  But for now, dinner awaits!

School, Harry Potter, & Harvest Time

Wow, my last post was in April!  Such is the life of a gardener, I guess.  I'll pick back up on my posting (more frequently) once the garden is put to bed for the season.  Right now everything's either at peak harvest or just passing, so it's already slowing down some.  I had fabulous success with my pumpkins this year:  13 in all-- a witch's dozen!  Everything did really well, with the exception of my cukes.  They were so bitter;  I will won't be trying that variety again!  I'll post more detailed garden notes another time...

We had a great summer.  The highlight was the Harry Potter book release party we went to on July 20th.  The place that did it really went ALL OUT and it was a blast.  The peeps got to pet a variety of "magical creatures" including an owl and a 90-pound albino python! 

Magical Creatures

The owl was my favorite;  they truly ARE magical.  Let's see... they got interviewed by Rita Skeeter, had a potions lesson, got their fortunes read by Professor Trelawney,

Fortunes

helped Hagrid find Fluffy, and got to watch Snape on trail and decide whether or not he was guilty or innocent.  In addition, we watched a bard preform, got a horse-drawn carriage ride, and got to eat ice cream on the double decker Knight Bus!  Naturally, none of that compared to actually getting the book.  Peep #1 started it on the car ride home.  I let him read a few minutes before bed, then he spent most of the next day reading it until he finished that evening.  It took me quite a bit longer, but I loved it as well.

Knight Bus

Fortunes

Potions 101

 

**SPOILER ALERT**

Okay, I KNEW Snape wasn't bad!! I would have been seriously disappointed if JKR had gone that route; IMO it would have been so horrendously out-of-character if the immensely wise Dumbledore trusted Snape only to have him turn in the end. I loved the retrospective we got to see of Snape in the end, though I was really bummed out he had to die. I loved the character, which I really credit Alan Rickman with... he brought a likability to Snape that the books never had.

I just loved the book. It was a fantastic journey, and I'm sorry it's over wail. The epilogue was a littlle too corny for me though, but still enjoyable. I just thought it needed an "in between" chapter... maybe set a few months later, so see how everyone is settling into a world without Voldemort. Which reminds me... Harry had wanted to be an Auror-- I wondered what his profession was as an adult and wish that had been revealed. (Perhaps he signed a book deal and was living off it ... LOL)

At last!

One other small beef: lack of Ginny and Harry. She remained such a small part right to the end. Sure, they got married and lived happily ever after an' all... but I just figured she'd have a bigger part. Their romance just never rang true to me because we never really get to see it develop... Harry just seems to realize he likes her one day and boom, that's it. They share some snogging on and off, get married in the end but... just kind of falls flat for me. I still think Harry and Hermoine would've been a better match.  They shared a lot of emotionally charged scenes and were a lot closer than Ginny and Harry.

**END SPOILERS**

Other than that, we enjoyed our usual vacation, had a visit from my brother and his family, and generally spent a lot of time doing summery things.  Now I am turning my attention towards school, which we start the Tuesday after Labor Day.   BUT, the details I will save for another day, another post, as this is already turned into War and Peace...