"I woke with a start as thunder boomed in the predawn light. A wave of relief washed over me as the winds picked up along with the storm. We'd spent hours picking pears the previous evening, finishing just at evenfall. Had we been a day later, the storm would have taken most of the crop." Harvest season marches on here on the homestead. This week we helped the neighbors get the pear crop in, spending about two and a half hours with my sons in a tractor bucket picking the higher branches while...
8 days ago • 3 min read
"The chill breeze swept across the open fields, an early and unwelcome harbinger of the winter days ahead. It was only late August, but already nighttime temperatures had dipped unseasonably low. There was a pause in the wind, and for a moment, the ghost of the warm sunlight that bathed the homestead just an hour before lingered. Then it began to blow again, and the heat vanished like a wisp of a memory." Our weather took a sharp turn towards cold this week, with nighttime lows into the 40s,...
15 days ago • 4 min read
"The sunlit hours of late summer days always seemed to shrink faster than they grew in spring. With the shifting of the season, so too changed the aromas in the home. Instead of being greeted by peaches and honey as I entered, my senses were teased by the perfume of apples and a whiff of fresh baked bread." Our life is very seasonal here on the homestead. Because we grow and preserve so much of our food, timing is critical (and can be a tricky when the weather doesn't cooperate). There's also...
22 days ago • 2 min read
"A ray of morning sun caught the bits of detritus of homesteading life, nudged to the edge of the walkway - a stray feather, a flake of bedding, a tuft of cat hair. It was time to vacuum again. Cleaning wasn't my favorite, but oh, wouldn't life without messes be boring." As I sit here typing, I have a cardboard box next to me with four rowdy baby duckies in it. They alternate between doing their best to empty their water bottle into the basin below it and nibbling everything in site, and...
29 days ago • 2 min read
"The drone of the cicadas filled the air. My youngest told me that when he was little, he thought that the sound was just the noise that came in summer. There's no doubt that the sound is as penetrating as the oppressive heat of the late summer sun." Fun facts - some cicada species can produce a call in excess of 120 decibels, approaching the pain level for humans. The hotter it is, the louder they sing. We finally got a break from the wildlife smoke outside late this week, but it came with...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
"One day I stepped out into the warmth of the afternoon sun, and was greeted by the fragrance of hundreds of summer flowers. The next day, I stepped out and ran into a miasma of Canadian wildfire smoke, tightening my lungs and making my throat ache." Our "summer fun" continues here in northeast Wisconsin. Now that the extreme heat has let up, outside time is still challenging due to high amounts of particulates in the air. We've been in the Unhealthy to Very Unhealthy range all week, with no...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
"The sultry air draped over the countryside, making it feel like the inside of a giant Easy Bake Oven. Outside work wasn't pleasant. It didn't take long before you were soaked through with sweat. Still, there was a peace and healing in the heat, driving out the impurities from your system better than a high-priced sauna." The dog days of summer are toasty this year, but thankfully we've had enough rain to keep the garden from baking. Many of the larger storms have missed us and pond water...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
"Stepping in from the brilliant sunlight to the cool interior of home, a subtle sweetness in the air caught my attention. It took me a moment to recognize the smell. It was a combination of honey and peaches. Duncan had been processing honey comb, and we had a bushel of fresh peaches spread on the kitchen table to finish ripening. It was a good reminder to savor the comforting bits in life, wherever you might find them." I read an article this week about water. In the article ("If Water Has...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
"It was all so different! The days slipped into weeks, slipped into years, and somehow those tiny plantings placed into the ground with enthusiasm and a lot of hope turned into a bonified food forest. Now it was time to tame and nurture those trees, shrubs, brambles, and vines, lest they cross completely back into wildness." Harvesting and preserving season is ramping up here in northeast Wisconsin. It can be overwhelming at times (especially when many things need attention at once), but it's...
2 months ago • 3 min read