We have heated exclusively with a cast-iron wood stove through the previous four winters here in Texas. Somehow we’ve always managed to scrounge together enough firewood through barter or harvesting from our own land. In that time we’ve burned mostly mesquite and reclaimed wood. Much of that reclaimed wood had the remnants of use left…
It hardly seems reasonable to claim this as a month of transition from summer to fall but here we are in September. Summer – particularly July and August – bring a paralyzing halt to just about everything. It is simply too hot to work on as many homestead projects as we’re accustomed to. So we’ve…
I can’t exactly remember the last time it rained. I suppose it might have been just before I posted this update on the gardens at the beginning of July. That would have been over six weeks ago now. Since then the solar pump coming from the ponds died and died again and something in the…
Planning for…. the fall garden. We ordered just a few seed packets after taking inventory. We’ll be starting flats of greens and herbs, working beds for root vegetables, and trying to focus on really improving a few spaces. Finally realizing… that maybe we’ve stretched it all too thin. Our two major garden spaces are both…
