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Welcome:  Kick off your boots and come on in...  |
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June Bug
outstepping
75 Posts
Traci
75 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 16 2008 : 6:29:42 PM
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Welcome Kate and Michelle!!!! This forum is awesome. It is so helpful and fun. I look forward to hearing stories of experiences from your paths Traci |
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June Bug
outstepping
75 Posts
Traci
75 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2008 : 6:32:46 PM
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Oh yeah, Jo, the huckleberries are really starting to go off here! It is still just a tad early so they kindof pucker you up a bit but still sooo tasty! How about you?
Traci |
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Mountain Girl
outrigged
237 Posts
JoAnn
Colville
WA
USA
237 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2008 : 7:28:14 PM
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Traci, We were going to venture to our secret spot next week(which half of the people in the North Basin know about: ) but Jim's backpacking trip to the Sawtooth Mtns. was moved up so we'll be delayed a week. Jim thinks they might be a little later than normal this year with the crazy weather we've had this year. What part of the world do you call home? JoAnn P.S. I saw a few at the Farmer's Market last week and they said they were lower elevation huckleberries.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away. Unknown |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2008 : 09:06:12 AM
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Oh, you girls are pulling at my huckleberry heart strings! We're picking blackberries, but it's just not quite the same. Great to see you over here on the "wild side", Michelle!
And welcome, Kate-of-all-trades! You are in such good company here. What perfect serendipity that you found MJ's magazine (or that it found you). Keep us posted on those fires...
Jen
Farmgirl Sisterhood Member #9
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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Elizaray
outspoken
680 Posts
Elizaray
680 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2008 : 11:00:03 AM
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MMM! Jen I miss the wild blackberries from the Pacific Northwest! For some reason, they don't like the desert environment! LOL
Elizaray |
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Kuiu Kate
outbound
16 Posts
Bull Frog's Garden
Headwater's Camp
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2008 : 1:43:03 PM
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Thanks ladies!
JoAnn, my Mr. is a Jim also :o)
My favorite huckleberry patch was spared by the fire! I plan to hike out there tomorrow and check on them, it's probably a tad early here still. Wine is one thing I hadn't tried making from them yet. Sounds wonderful! Michelle, is there a prefered type of yeast to use?
I just edited my intro post to add that I just received notice that we have been removed from the evacuation warning list! Yay! All but one of the fires (the closest) are considered contained and they are hoping to have that one contained today or tommorrow. Control on all of them is hoped for by early August.
Out there Farmgirl Sister
"May I live simply, so that others may simply live" ~Gandhi |
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Mountain Girl
outrigged
237 Posts
JoAnn
Colville
WA
USA
237 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2008 : 2:18:40 PM
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Glad to hear you are off the evacuation list. That takes a lot of worry off the plate. There was a wildfire close to Spokane that destroyed 11 homes some worth over a million dollars. They found out it was started by a flareup of a recreation fire someone had and thought they put out THREE days before the wildfire. JoAnn
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away. Unknown |
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June Bug
outstepping
75 Posts
Traci
75 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2008 : 2:46:38 PM
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Fire season can be so scary! I'm glad to hear the huckleberry patch was spared Kate. JoAnn, we live in northern Idaho in a small town called Deary. I know what you mean about having a "secret" huckleberry pickin' spot. I don't know how much of a secret it is, but you sure don't want to just give it away! We have a small patch in our back yard AND we found wild strawberries while we were out. They were tiny but had the sweetest most amazing flavor burst. It was a real treat! I love summer!!!! Traci |
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Elizaray
outspoken
680 Posts
Elizaray
680 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2008 : 3:05:03 PM
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Kate- So glad you are off the evacuation list! Does your house smell like smoke from the fires being so close? Good thing the huckleberry patch was spared! I have heard that they grow well in burn and logging areas- so do you think your patch will spread?
Elizaray |
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Kuiu Kate
outbound
16 Posts
Bull Frog's Garden
Headwater's Camp
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2008 : 4:18:53 PM
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Elizaray, I'd heard that also (about them growing well following burns and logging). This patch is in an area that had been logged a couple years ago and I only found after they'd punched some new roads. It's a great big patch. :o) I was surprised never to see any sign of (black) bear in it last year. Could see where the coyotes ate low down (and scat full of berries). I'm thinking with the fire having moved so many animals I may have more competition this year for the "crop".
I don't mind sharing with them, esp. as so much of their habitat was ruined, but I admit I've been anxiously awaiting huckleberry season! The wild pigs broke down some fence and plowed up some of the corn. :o( All the critters are moving and after water and damp soil. I filled extra troughs just for the wildlife. The only critters I haven't seen near the house and barns are the cougars and bears. A few days ago I watched a golden eagle flying the perimiter of the moving fire hunting small game running ahead of the fire.
And yes unfortunately everything smells like smoke. When I got gasoline the other day in town the fellow at the station told me "your car smells like smoke". I stuck an open box of baking soda in it hoping it might absorb some of the odor like it does in a fridge. The house must be 100+ years old. It was once a stage stop, and isn't very air tight. Even though I closed up all the windows at the first smell of smoke June 21st., there's ash everywhere also. We had a change of wind direction yesterday, so alot of the smoke cleared. If it continues to improve, I'll probably start washing curtains and start another "spring cleaning" this weekend. Sigh. (but counting blessings)
Out there Farmgirl Sister
"May I live simply, so that others may simply live" ~Gandhi |
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HuckleberryWine
outbound
21 Posts
Michelle
Rosalia
Wa
USA
21 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2008 : 4:52:19 PM
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| Huckleberry wine...best choice of yeast is champagne. Also dried some...delightful little huckleraisins! Wonder if Kate's huckleberry patch will be surrounded by morels next year? Sounds like they enjoy a similar environment? But morels really come on after a fire. Read in the paper that they were picking like crazy over in ID this June after last year's fires primed the area for peak crops. I have a few pickin'spots, and they sadly involve a bit of driving, but camping out makes up for it. One spot around Bonners Ferry, ID was ready with thumb-nail sized fruit, my other spot is going to be worth checking for low-elevation readiness next week. Going to do much less harvesting this year, due to gas and projects at home. Another reason to make longer camping trips, but maybe fewer in number. |
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LunaTheFarmLady
outthinking
7 Posts
Luna
Rineyville
Kentucky
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - Jul 18 2008 : 04:55:18 AM
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Hi All
I'm throwing myself out there (in here) instead of lurking around. I've been on MJF for a bit and love that forum but I find that my leanings are for more wildness outside. I am 57, I was born and raised in the city and a small town in NJ. But a small town in NJ 50 years ago was pretty different than today. There was a a hill behind the town that was just left wild and what we called empty lots all around that were little mini trerasures of nature. In those days of early immigration many people had chickens and goats in the backyards. these memories i guess have formed a lot of my thinking because I have continued to want that feeling of the wild outdoors. I've never done most of the things you ladies have except in my spiritual center. I think in another life I probably have because there is a longing for it in me.
When my boys were born I was 35 and 39 and I knew I wanted them to have the freedom to explore the world and experience it with all there senses. The influence of TV was increasing and computers were just beginning to get a hold of the young minds around us. When Will was 4 and David 1 I met some wonderful women who also wanted to raise their children naturally and organically. We formed a homeschooling group or rather and unschooling group. We explored with our children every natural park in the tri state area and mmy little backyard with a creek was our classroom. Through my children I finally got back to the place I needed to be. They are now 18 and 21 and to my eye still the most beautiful creations walking the earth. They are independent now and so can i be.
A year and a half ago, I left the hustle and bustle of NJ where I had become a special ed teacher in urban districts and bought 14 acrea and an 1885 farmhouse with my partner in Hardin County KY. It has been quite a year. We now have 15 sheep and amazing garden that is producing enough to sell at two farmer's markets and a house without holes in the walls! i can wake to beautiful sunrises over the sheep field and the sound of birds in the trees. I have more work than ever but it is good work done for ourselves. Our dream is to be totally self sustaining and off the grid. I am a spinner and fiber worker and ocassionally make hand stitched dolls and pillows. I am growing herbs and want to expand that along with more flowers for market next year. I am exploring using these little skills to create income without getting caught up too in the business world. Meanwhile, my fields are a beautiful oasis of wild clover, grasses, sweet annie and lots of chicory and queen annes lace.
I am blessed and grateful to be here. I have made the most amazing friends and neigbors here who have helped so much in getting us going.
My biggest outpost adventure so far othr than hiking through fields and backwoods has been caving with a group that I met with one of my neighbors. Ky if full of beautiful caves that are like being in a totally different world.
My body is challenged daily, there are still legal issues from my old life to resolve but I feel alive again.
Luna
http://blueballmountainspindleneedleworks.blogspot.com/
whereever you go, there you are... |
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Mountain Girl
outrigged
237 Posts
JoAnn
Colville
WA
USA
237 Posts |
Posted - Jul 18 2008 : 07:06:04 AM
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Welcome Luna, Sounds like you started on a great adventure. Sounds wonderful. Glad you joined us. JoAnn
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away. Unknown |
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June Bug
outstepping
75 Posts
Traci
75 Posts |
Posted - Jul 18 2008 : 07:50:06 AM
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| Welcome Luna! I think you'll be right at home here, this forum really is a treasure. Thanks for sharing. Traci |
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LunaTheFarmLady
outthinking
7 Posts
Luna
Rineyville
Kentucky
USA
7 Posts |
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HuckleberryWine
outbound
21 Posts
Michelle
Rosalia
Wa
USA
21 Posts |
Posted - Jul 20 2008 : 09:25:08 AM
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| Hi Luna! Hope you enjoy it here. It sounds like you've made a good place for yourself. I hope your challenges work out and you have lots to enjoy. |
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Welcome: Kick off your boots and come on in... |
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Kick off your boots and come on in...
