Hurricane Irene 6:00 PM EST

The neighbor tells me he's getting 14 mph gusts in our parking lot with his anemometer.  My dog won't poop.  I'm sure he's waiting for the gusts to get to at least 65mph before he decides that an accident is imminent and he must go out.

Hurricane Irene 5:00 PM EST

Every time I go outside to record, coy Irene does nothing of note.  As soon as I stop recording, the wind gusts that have done the damage I've documented so far start kicking up.  Stop your teasing Irene!

Winds are starting to pick up, everything is getting real soggy, and the gutter on the building across the way is hanging off already.  Every time I look out of the window it looks a little less sturdy, but that may just be me.

Getting ready to put my "duck boots" on and venture forth into storm to give the dog a bathroom break.  Should be back just in time for the five p.m recording!

"That's great, it starts with an earthquake.."

Video blogging of Hurricane Irene, every hour on the hour until we lose power!  Coming to you live from my apartment porch.

Kind of worried about the beehive at the homestead, but there's nothing we can do it about it now.

Stay tuned.

Compost: You Can Do It!

We have a lovely (really, beautiful if I do say so myself) giant pot of compost on our porch.  Proof that apartment composting is achievable.

Despite what you may think, it does not stink.  You can't smell it at all unless you get right on top of it, and then the only thing you smell is that wonderful rich aroma of wet, fertile earth.  It is really quite nice.

We throw everything except meats into that compost bin.  Eggshells, crumbs, floor sweepings, ashes, used coffee grounds.  It all breaks down within a matter of days.

How did we do it?

We had an olive tree in a giant pot.  The olive tree did not make it, but the giant pot remained.  Full of dirt.  One day, we just decided to start throwing all of our compostable trash into the giant pot instead of into the garbage.  We turn it at least every day, but usually it gets turned a lot more than that because it's just fun to dig in good dirt and why not?  We're out there being dirty smokers anyway.  We keep it just barely damp, but not sopping.  And that's it.  It's that easy.  We don't even really chop things up into tiny bits or anything, we just dump it all in.  It breaks down just as fast.

The compost was going along just fine when we decided to go out on a digging expedition and dig up some earthworms and natural soil for the microbes and aeration.  We read that all good compost requires these two things, and although ours seemed to be working just fine without, it couldn't hurt.

The worms were visible for about the first four days but I couldn't tell you if there are any left alive in there.  I haven't seen any in months, but if they aren't, the compost is doing just fine without worms.

I can't wait to have a big yard compost bin, but for now, the giant pot on the porch suits our needs perfectly. The compost we have made in it could probably be sold, it's that good.

Apartment dwellers, fear no more.  You can compost!  We are proof.

Mmm.  Giant pot of really good dirt.

-L

Leftovers

On the radio yesterday morning we heard some depressing headlines about the extreme weather we've been having recently, and the effects its been having on the country's crop production. The general consensus being: less crop => higher prices. Now this type of thing happens from time to time and is nothing new really, but the population of the world is ever increasing, and eventually these shortages could be big big deals.

Later in the day, I came across an article that I thought was really quite interesting in light of the morning shortage report. There's a new chemical called bisin being researched that has the ability to prolong the shelf life of our food. Apparently its not really meant for fruits and vegetables, but things like meats and cheeses can theoretically last "almost indefinitely". According to the article it is a naturally occurring chemical that kills the bacteria (i.e. E.coli, salmonella, listeria) that spoils food. They already have it patented and are looking to get approval to begin adding to foods within the next three years.

...I don't know about anyone else, but as neat as the technology might be, this bothers me. On one hand, it would be really convenient to be able to take the surplus from good production years, and instead of selling it off at discounted prices, be able to keep it for times like this when there's a shortage. But on the other hand...I don't really feel comfortable eating a 5 year old cheeseburger...no matter what it looks like.

Here is the link to the article.

-J

The Name Game

So we've been bandying about names for a little while.  We haven't decided which we like best.  We want your input.  If all goes well, we will be marketing at least our honey to the general public, so you, general public reader, get to have a say.

See that poll on the right?  Make your choice there.

J came up with The Hearty Halfling.  I thought up the rest.  Personally, I think The Hearty Halfling sounds like a great pub.  I almost wish we were opening a pub, instead of starting a homestead, just so we could use it.  I can see the round red door now.

BUT.  We aren't starting a pub.

The last time we went to look over the house, I found a giant thistle had grown and died in the backyard, sending thistledown and seeds all over the place.  Hence, Thistledown Farms.  J doesn't like it because there are already half a dozen Thistledown Farms in various parts of the country.  But it is pretty, right?

There is a dip in the yard, and ferns grow in the woods next to the house.   Ferndale.

Pennywhistle Farms would be a nod to my insturament of choice in our musical family.  Doubtless as long as I have time to practice, a pennywhistle will be heard frequently on the homestead.  J plays the guitar, but Acoustic Classical Guitar Homestead just doesn't flow, ya know?

Hummingbird Hollow would be in memory of my father, who passed away in July and loved birds.  He spent the last year of his life watching and photographing hummingbirds in Arizona.

Make a choice, let your voice be heard, and vote for the name of our homestead!


L

Dreaming Small

Let me introduce myself.

I'm a 30-something veterinary technician, fiance and mother of one (son).  J and I have a dream.

We want to be able to grow almost all of the food we consume ourselves.

Currently we live in an apartment.  We've always had container gardens on our balconey, but we always wanted more.

Now we have the opportunity to make our dreams come true.

Please feel free to follow along, day by day, as we explore backyard urban homesteading.

L