What did you do to be/become more self-reliant today?

[Beekissed]

That's hard work, Sumi, and I admire your foraging and persistence...many folks would not work that hard for such a thing nowadays, nor would they think of hauling wood in their car. They say wood warms you three times...when you cut it and stack it, when you burn it and when you save money by doing so.

We've been getting wood lately as well, but have been getting it here and there all spring and summer too. Our final effort was buying a load of cured oak to keep up on the porch for days when the snow is too deep for us to cart wood in from the wood shed...having that better wood for the worst days also decreases our total wood use at that time. We don't have any dead oak on our property or we would cut our own. As it is, the wood guy is a young guy who really hustles to support his family, so we don't mind giving him some business each year. He said that last year he made $44K off his wood sales, though he had to split that money with the guys who help him, he still made a good profit.

Earlier in the year we bartered with a neighbor for loads of wood and gave him a riding mower that no longer worked in exchange. This week I had one of my boys come out and cut down some standing dead pines in the yard, so we'll have that as well.

We still have some large trees that fell during the winter that need cut up and split, so we'll be storing those as well.

This past week Mom and I~and purely by the grace of God, because we knew not what we were doing~got the carburetor cleaned out, the gaskets changed and everything put back on the wood splitter...and it worked! For the past couple of years it had been surging when it ran and was difficult to start, but this year it wouldn't start altogether so we changed the oil, changed the sparkplug...those didn't work. Meanwhile the pull cord broke, so that was replaced. Then we did the carburetor and that was the problem...starts right up and purrs like a kitten, so now we can split all the bigger wood. God was surely helping us that day because I had forgotten the order of some of the gaskets, so just winged it.

Today we went and got our utility trailer inspected at the state police barracks so we could get it titled and such. With that trailer we can haul more wood, manure, wood chips for the garden and anything else that is too dirty(yeah, she doesn't like to get her truck dirty ) or too big to put in the back of Mom's truck. I guess that was our step for today.

 

[sumi]

@Beekissed I like that, warming you 3 times. For me, I could add a #4, the view from that hillside is simply breathtaking. Down onto a lake, island, swans(!), up into the forrest, it's so beautiful and peaceful up there. DS and I look for felled trees, branches, etc, so we don't harm what is there. So far we found plenty. Hopefully we will find enough to keep us warm for a few weeks.

I must take a pic for you all of my poor car, loaded with timber lol I do not have a vat number, so I can't buy a van and get it insured, I couldn't find a truck for sale, so I decided to buy the most spacious car I could find then? A 7-seater with the back seats tucked away and the next row folded down provides ample space for loading, so be it? It's messy though…

You remind me of a few years ago when we went on a compost making mission. Another car, a hatchback, collecting a few bags of dry cow manure, driving home… Someone smashed one of my car's windows and we didn't have it replaced yet, so with the wind from the open window... By the time we got home, the inside of the car and the 3 of us were completely covered in cow manure dust! We got out of the car, me, DH and a friend of ours, looked at each other and burst out laughing. It was all we could do.

 

[Corn Woman]

I have been bartering with friends for produce that I don't have. I let farmers use my parking lot and forklift to unload produce to sell and I have been given 5 bushels of peaches ( not all at once) 1 bushel pears and 1 bushel Jonagold apples. All but the apples have been canned. I traded a friend tomatoes for carrots and canned 16 pints of beautiful carrots for quick soups and stews after work on snowy days. DH goes elk hunting next month so fingers crossed he is successful and we have some good meat in the freezer. My garden is going crazy right now so canning and drying is in full swing to fill the shelves. DH told me that I never go to the grocery store anymore. I took it as a compliment.

 

[Britesea]

Lol, and you think, @tortoise that teaching him will take less time than knitting it yourself? In your dreams! It's still a very good skill for children to learn though. I also read where a teacher encourages her kids to knit in class; she claims that they actually retain more of what they hear when they do so.

 

[Beekissed]

I want to do some reason research into what (if anything) I can grow here in Fall/Winter veggie-wise. My green thumb is itching and I'm getting tired of shop-bought stuff. My two hens have been awesome in supplying the eggs though, most days we get an egg and sometimes 2

I want to make some ACV, does anyone here do it themselves? @Beekissed?

I have done so, though I haven't for some time now. Used to have an orchard where I lived before and happened to have some of the old, glass vinegar jugs so it all made sense to make my own.

I just juiced some apples, jugged it, placed a paper towel over the mouth secured with a rubber band and left them in a dark corner in my bedroom, next to the chimney. They grew a great mother and turned to vinegar just fine...took some time but can't tell you exactly how long as I just left them alone, swirled them every now and again, and eventually used them.

 

[tortoise]

I am re-upholstering an auction find rocking chair. We've had it sitting around for ages and I tried to do this once before but didn't do it right. I'm using fabric already have and don't care for because fabric I like will take a 90 mile round trip, and a very expensive trip to a fabric store. No way I could get out of there for less than $100. so.... ugly chair. *sigh*

I knit a hat for baby. (legit need) and knitting a hat for DS8 now because he's jealous. my SS move on this one is making DS8's hat 2-tone, rather than buying more yarn.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Planting fall vegetables - Brussels sprouts, broccoli, Napa cabbage, green cabbage, rainbow swiss chard, red cabbage, carrots and peas. (and anything else I might try to get away with!) Still need to pick up some onion sets. I think I've got radish and lettuce seeds that I can put out too - might have some Kale. I think I need to go dig through the seed drawer and see what I can come up with. We've already put up a new fence around the raised beds to keep the dog out... silly dog... she's a digger.

 

[OzarkEgghead]

Tortoise,

I wasn't a fan of squash either...until I decided to candy it like holiday yams. I cut up my fresh butternut squash into slices about 1/2" thick, scooping out the seeds and using a paring knife to slice off the rind. I usually cut the solid pieces in half so that they cook as evenly as the rings where the seeds came out. I arrange the slices in a single layer in a large casserole or rimmed cookie sheet. In a separate bowl, I heat 1/4 cup butter with 1/2 cup brown sugar in the microwave just long enough to soften/melt the butter. Then I mix in 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp mace or nutmeg (nutmeg for a more subtle flavor, mace for more punch) & 1 Tbsp flour. Spoon the mix over your squash pieces & bake at 350F for 45-60 min, or until they're fork tender. For an occasional twist, especially when the Fall apples start coming in, I add apple slices in with the squash slices. The brown sugar & nutmeg or mace compliment them just as nicely as they do the squash!

 

[Beekissed]

Today I took 3 trips to the closest large town, 20 miles away, to collect leaves. Bags and bags of leaves left out on the curb for the trash service. So far, in three days of collecting, I've picked up 181 large bags of leaves, pine needles, lawn clippings, sawdust, etc. to place on my BTE garden.

Will continue to collect them until the Lord indicates "Enough!" or the supply runs out. I had prayed for a way to get my leaves from the yard onto the garden in large quantities without killing my back with the raking of it all and this was the Lord's immediate answer to that prayer...and He just keeps giving and giving and giving!

That's one of the things I did today to receive God's sufficiency for me(no self sufficiency to be found here). Right now my garden looks like I'm starting a landfill...going to be something to empty all those bags. I've stored some for winter bedding, filled the coop, will use some bags to create a warm place in my spare pen for the new pup to sleep this winter, will fill the coop again before the snow flies, and the rest will go on the BTE garden.

God is so very good!!!!

 

[Denim Deb]

Bee, once I get my garden set up the way I want it, I'm going to be telling the neighbors they can dump all their leaves there. Glad God sent you the leaves.