Monthly Archives: May 2010

Shortage of Mayflowers

Snow from the cottonwoods tells me we are “between blooms”. The dandelion, maple, apple & other early spring flowers are all gone, while the summer buds haven’t opened yet. Continue reading

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Nathan’s Sesame Candies

About 7 years ago, we bought a couple packages of sesame candy bars, and Kathy was telling me how they reminded her of the ones her grandma Helen shared with her. I looked at the back of the wrapper and saw the really short list of ingredients and decided to just give it a try. Continue reading

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Gluten-Free Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars: This is a delicious recipe without flour and uses maple syrup & honey instead of sugar. They are excellent! Continue reading

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Warning: perspective shift ahead!

At a total length of 8 to 9 inches, the slate black Townsend mole (Scapanus townsendii), is the largest mole species in North America. It occurs in meadows, fields, pastures, lawns, and golf courses west of the Cascade mountains. http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/moles.htm Continue reading

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Permaculture & Christianity, part 2 – “Replenish”

This is what permaculture really embraces–the continuous cycle. The end result of one system feeds into the next–there is no waste, only a progression. Minerals and water move from the soil, into plants and then to the animals and people, and back to the soil again. Permaculture describes how this cycle flows with visible features such as plants, gardens, & water and also with invisible things like communities, cultures, and seasons. Isn’t this the definition of replenishment? Continue reading

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Naturally hatched ducklings

About 2 weeks ago, the first of our broody ducks produced a nice hatch. I had kept her in one of the goose pens, under the protective umbrella of the “watch gander” as she sat for 28 days on her 9 eggs. Continue reading

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Rotational mob-grazing elimintes buttercup

We cross fenced our main pasture 3 years ago, and separated it into 5 paddocks. One of these paddocks was nearly taken over by creeping buttercup last summer. Continue reading

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New kids in the goat pen

The new kids, named “star” and “angel” will get all the milk from their mom for the next couple weeks. This will give them a good start until they are big enough to be separated for the night, and Penelope will then rejoin the morning milking routine.

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Permaculture & Genesis, part 1 — “Dominion”

I’m taking a Permaculture design course right now, and it’s got some excellent principles and methods to use in growing food and building communities. However, there are some permaculture topics where Christians have better solutions. Here is the first of several. Continue reading

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Putting up spring’s surplus: Pickled Eggs

The birds love spring’s fresh pasture, and the beta-carotene in grass-fed eggs makes the yokes a thick and rich dark orange. The problem is sometimes there are just too many to eat them all. Continue reading

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