The Long Haul........ winter and a country in chaos

 As the country dissolves into chaos and we slog through what seems like a very long winter, sanity seems to be slipping away.

 

It feels like combat fatigue.  Slap on the hiking boots and start walking when the weather permits.  I keep threatening to join a gym but that would entail me getting into a cold van and traveling several miles, getting out of warm van to have my nose hairs sucked into my brain and I think; nope.  It's the way of the country, we could have signed up for no chaos but nope we got went for crazy.  I've turned off the TV and the newsfeed on my phone.  I always worried we might go to war and I'd never know.  Well, now the government is at war with, "We The People". Trump and Elon use the constitution for toilet paper and everyday seems like a new fire or flood.  So I am choosing to listen Heather Cox Richardson in the evening after dinner and the rest of the day is for seed starting, micro-greens, walking, winter pruning and food prep.  The crazier it gets the more food I squirrel away or the more seeds I buy, the more miles I walk and those seem to be my coping mechanisms.   The patriarchy is not going down easily or without a fight and this is their last gasp to hang on to colonialism and that old white guy sovereignty.  It won't end well but it needs to end.  They will not go quietly into the night, they will burn everything down on their way out the door and we will have a golden opportunity to start over.  

After a 4-5 mile hike I do feel better.  A deer crossed my path the other night and I thought; you have no idea who Trump is or Elon Musk.  It was a revelation!  The sun is going to come up in the morning and set at night and this planet will go on spinning with or without us.  Well isn't that a nice thought?! 

As cold and as icy as it was this morning I set off on an amazing adventure.  A walk that should have taken me an hour at most, ended up taking three.  

Stop and look where your feet are planting, it could be someones home. 

It was so very quiet but then the crows kicked up a fuss and I watched overhead as silent bald eagle flew over head.  Another one who has no idea who Trump is ...... 

This area that I hike is very close to my house and I am surprised at the invasive species that have taken over so many places. 

Pampas Grass where cattails used to be.....

False bamboo or Japanese knotweed..... also where cattails should be.

They are not considered food for any animals although they seem to offer some shelter.  I think I'd rather see the cattails but this stuff is here to stay.  These two species are almost impossible to kill.  I keep looking for ways to use them but not been very successful.  I even tried cooking the young shoots of the knotweed.  I boiled it in two changes of water, stuffed it with cream cheese and still had my hard time choking the stuff down, grateful there was bit of cream cheese in there!  Pampas grass, maybe cordage but cattails are much better IMHO.  

In these times of chaos how is everyone doing?  How are you coping?  

see you in the yard or on the trail 💚

Deep Winter

February 1st and winter holds on.  It has been a typical Ohio winter as I remember winters.  My kids in Alaska are having a warmer winter than Ohio; days reaching 45F with sun.  Here on the shores of Lake Erie it's been overcast much of the last three months and temperatures dipping into the -30's with the windchills coming off a very frozen lake.  Nose hair numbing to be sure!  

But isn't winter beautiful?  The solitude, the snow muffles the harshness of city life, it is a blessing in the wee hours of the morning when I poke my head out the back door to see a herd of deer dancing around the bird feeder.  

January is a month for planning.  Every January is kicked off by planting onion seeds on the new moon.  On the menu this year; Sedona, Talon, Patterson, Blush and Redwing.  I made the mistake of using two year old seed and I will not do that again; as germination has been less than stellar.  I know onions and leeks do much better with fresh seed!  But it just kills me to toss seed so I planted a flat to see if this was really true and yes it is. 

So spotty......

Another flat has been replanted and we will cross our fingers!  

Ursula is looking good and I am snacking a couple times a week off lettuce and other greens.  Not enough to make a salad but the tasting has been delish! 

January, also known as the hungry gap and has me down the hydroponic rabbit hole!  

I have a nice lettuce mix and broccoli micro-greens growing at present.  I've had fun trying out clay pellets for the first time and learning about hydroponic fertilizers and PH balance etc.  It's keeping my mind off the country and world at the moment.  I really needed a break.

I'm back to canning a few things (beans), stocking up my grains, quinoa and barley.  Canadian, non-bromated, no glycosphate, organic hard winter, high protein flour.  (Read your labels!  If your flour is not labeled UNBLEACHED, it is bleached.  Bleached flours have had all their germ & bran removed.  The flour is artificially aged through the use of BLEACH.  Last time I looked, bleach is toxic so why TF is it ok to be in flour?  Add bromate, why?  Well here is an article on the carcinogenic properties of bromate and why they add it to flour: BROMATE

All in 50 pound bags.  A case of soba noodles, the chicken that was on sale (no it isn't free range, organic chicken, its chicken)  I saw eggs for $8 a dozen in the store today so I am eyeing those fluffy butts at Tractor Supply.  Avian Bird Flu has hit NE Ohio in a big way!  On the January planning map; ways to insulate the chickens from wild birds.  So more labor intensive projects ahead.   

But on the days there is sun you can find me in the hoop house soaking up the smell of moist earth and humid warmth.  A good cup of tea and audiobooks for a quick lunch break is heaven! 

I've had time to drop into technology too.  Both computers are working, both printers are working (one wirelessly), I hooked up a camera to my monitor so I can Facetime or join zoom meetings again.  I am plugging along getting my 13 year old camera to shoot video with a remote.  My brain is still in old technology and I have not kept up with the latest and greatest as technology is so expensive!  But I am muddling my way through on a very small budget. 

Apertures, ISO's, shudder speeds .... it is a bit daunting.

I have uploaded a video on my youtube channel if you're interested in installing a paper bag floor: Paper bag floors  

Hoping to upload a few more on winter pruning, starting seeds, micro-greens and pottery. Maybe a few from kitchen central too.  Goal for 2025, get my youtube channel up and running! 

I feel like the times are precarious at best.  I am not a "prepper" or a doomsday-er or flat earth-er, it's just time to hunker down in lieu of the political climate, the climate in general, oh those wild weather patterns.  The last time our government shut down I remember the lines at the Cleveland Food Bank and it was staggering.  People in brand new trucks and SUV's with the trunks open, waiting for a box or two of food.  Some in designer clothes clutching their pearls.  This time around it could be so much worse but honestly, we just don't know.  Inventory your freezer, your storage shelves, don't forget your pets.  Put a few jugs of water aside.  I am watching and taking notes on North Carolina, California, Tennessee and other hard hit places.  What are the take aways?  Have a "go bag" ready but if you don't need to go it would be good to have some things put aside to get you through some tough times.  I have been waiting 3 weeks for a quart of hydroponic liquid fertilizer that should have been here two and half weeks ago but due to inclement weather it's held up somewhere in the midwest and who knows when it will get here.  Ya, a first world problem for sure.  I am now looking for local hydroponic suppliers and happy to say I have found 3 in our area.  

As I sit her pounding away on my keyboard it has just been announced that 25% tariffs will be put in place for Canada and Mexico and a 10% tax on China.  Hmmmm what will be immediately impacted?  Since Mexico supplies 63% of the US imported veggies and 47% of the imported fruit & nuts, buckle up for your next trip to produce section.

• Avocados
• Tomatoes
• Bell peppers
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Cucumbers
• Squash
• Bananas 
• Pineapple 
• Snacks
• Cooking oil
• Nuts
• Tea

But wait there's more! 

The US imported $69 billion worth of vehicles from Mexico and $37 billion from Canada in 2023.

Tariffs could add about $3,000 to the price of some vehicles.  Even if you only need repairs, tariffs on parts will be going up.

The US imports 75% of its smartphones from China.  Tariffs could raise the price of smartphones by 26%.

Canada provides 85% of imported lumber to the US.  I can't wait to go to Home Depot and price lumber!  And you think the new house market is stagnant now, 😂

Appliances....... I'll be down at the river beating my clothes on a rock. 

Wonder if farmers will suffer due to retaliatory tariffs?  It's happened before. 

Canada and Mexico are major buyers of US farm exports.

Canada supplies 60% of US crude oil imports.  If tariffs include oil, gas prices could rise by 30-75 cents per gallon, TD Economics figures warn.   That electric bike is looking pretty good. 

and all this from a guy who campaigned on lower prices on groceries, housing, etc..... Ya I can't wait to see all those free eggs, there will be so many eggs were gonna be throwing them at the White House.  And gas, gas would be so cheap we'll be taking a bath in that stuff.... drill baby drill.  For all those who drank the orange kool-aid; buckle up buttercup it's gonna be long 4 years.  

Ya, it's all fake news....... 

 

Ursula is in the building......

January 20th in Paine Falls, I think, as the days are starting to run together.  Our first big snow was November 29th and the storms just keep rolling through northeastern Ohio.  I am thankful for the ever green pines and bright red berries on the deciduous holly; where the robins are gobbling at a rate that would make me choke.  Garden flowers are a forgotten memory but the finches are grateful for the seed heads on the echinacea, hydrangeas and salvias.  Small birds on black plump seed heads swaying in the cold north wind, a wind that takes my breath away.  It has been a winter of memories as kid in my red rubber mid calf boots slapped against frozen bare skin on the way to school, leaving red chaffing marks that lasted until Spring.  Striped off at the coat rack in the school hallway and changing into white Keds.  My beet red legs returned to normal around lunch but then it was time to go outside on the playground. And me all the time wondering why boys got to wear pants?! It was a different time and we didn't question any of this, neither did our parents; "It's good for you!"  And honestly, looking back, it probably was..... 

The last 3 or 4 winters lulled us into thinking we were turning into the new Miami of the north.  This has been quite a wake up call!  There has been time to finish old projects, start new projects, catch up on reading, trying to keep the bird feeder filled and the always behind paperwork organization.  Plan the 2025 garden, order seeds, plant seeds, review last years crops, make decisions about will be carried forward and what to try new.  Yes, hope springs eternal in a garden, even in the dead of winter.

This thing arrived on my doorstep for Christmas. I wrestled it into the house and kind of knew what it was.  I walked around it for a week debating on sending it back. The gift of a high tech (there's that word again!) hydroponic growing system!  Thank you Rachael💚  I am intrigued by growing plants in water and fertilizer.  I had intended to use a small bucket tower and still intend to try that method and then stumbled across a rain gutter system that might find it's way to the testing grounds too.  Life is short, try all the things!

The system is called Mygardyn and it is pretty bougie; I'm more of a bucket and small pump girl. 

Assembly required.... 

The system actually went together pretty easily however tethering it to my smart phone was a bit daunting but we soldiered through and at the end of the day everything was working.  Lilly at customer service talked me off the ledge of packing it up and sending it back.  This thing waters itself, fertilizer is only added once a month and it's on a light timer so no need to turn it on and off.  It was up and working on Dec. 26th. and it has a large presence.  I have decided to call her Ursula, she is that audacious! 

The seeds are already sown in a little cup filled with rockwool.  Then the growing cup is inserted into a sleeve and that is inserted into the watering column. 

This came as a kit so I did not pick out any of what I am growing.  So what am I growing? 

Butterhead lettuce, pink celery, red sorel, purple basil, breen, yellow swiss chard, bulls blood lettuce, green salanova, lemon balm, white petunias, fuchia snapdragons, stock flowers, celosia and sunflowers.  It's a lot!  

The breen and purple basil germinated in a couple days.  

I started lettuce on the grow rack in potting medium and they germinated in 48 hours. 

 The germination does seem to take a bit longer in the hydroponic system but it's winter and we have nothing but time. 

So here we are today and there is greenery!  I have had to prune seedlings back to one and sometimes two plants per cup.  

This where water is added. 

All in all I think it's a good system if you want something to pop out of a box, plug in and wait for greens.  I did get online and check out buying new plugs filled with lettuces and kales but my jaw dropped when I saw the price!  I will be hacking this system and using my own seeds for the next round of planting.  I have checked on craigslist and facebook marketplace and they do come up for sale.  I don't intend to use it in the summer but think it's great for late Fall and into Early Spring, known as the hungry gap from our grandparents era.  The other thing I'm on the fence about; I like tending plants, being in touch with my plants.  This system is a more or less, walk away and forget it system.  To be fair, it is in the kitchen and I enjoy being greeted by blinding white light every morning.  Kirby has run into it a couple times and can't figure out what it is but now takes a wide berth. 

 It has plunged me down the youtube hole of hydroponics and I am thankful it's winter because there is a ton of information!  As soon as I can work in the studio with out freezing to death I plan to put the bucket system together.  My goal is to grow greens throughout the winter months and this has been a winter to test all the systems.  The hoop house I had high hopes for is frozen solid.  In this part of Ohio we don't see the sun very often.  There is not enough solar energy to warm the hoop house.  Most of what was planted in the hoop is frozen.  The kale is the only thing thriving and curly kale varieties are winning hands down.  Lacinato kales are not fairing quite as well.  Radishes are on hold as are turnips and spinach.  I think it will be great to extend the seasons and during those warm winters it will be good for growing some greens.  

As we brace for a week of arctic temperatures, -20 by Wednesday, microgreens seem be the way to grow. 

Fern is enjoying warm breakfasts of oatmeal and a scrambled bit of protein.   She has a touch of frostbite on her head but she'll recover by Spring. 

A few pictures of why I love winter.......

 

January .....technology

 This is my idea of the "Smart Home" 

But we live in the age of technology and it feels like I am still beating my clothes on a rock. 

My trusty old computer; Sparky, was gasping.  Noooooo!!  Sparky was dying a slow and lingering death, it just got slower and slower.  It was such a pain I stopped using it, except for emergencies like printing recipes or Facetime-ing the kids or looking at old pictures or printing out decals for pottery. 

I was so tempted to just walk away as I am very content keeping myself busy without a computer. 

The New Year came and went and I decided I really did need a computer so I dug in and did my homework and decided on a Mac mini M4 instead of an entire unit.  The classic; MBFYB or more bang for your buck, or so I thought. 

I am trying to re-invent my life path at 70 years old and have decided to revisit my YouTube channel I started so many years ago.  As Sparky slowed down I abandoned that ship as loading one video was taking 15-18 hours!  A new system should fly at lightening speed, I hoped!  Besides it's January in Ohio and what better time to tackle this?  Put those waders on and plunge into the deep end! 

On a snowy Saturday I drove down to Microsoft and plunked down a months worth of social security, coming home with little box and a cord.  No mouse, monitor or keyboard.  Spent the major part of the day trying to sync it with the new fiber optic WIFI.... I had a monitor, keyboard and mouse.  Drilled all the appropriate holes in the NEW desktop 😭, ran a new surge protector and dropped our ATT fiber optics down to 300 MBPS from 1000MBPS on the ATT APP, at my kitchen table.

 Big surprise, everything works better and we get coverage in a long dead upstairs bedroom!  Back to syncing the new computer to fiber optics!  I tried everything; watched endless YouTubes, rebooted the computer, unplugged, waited and  fired back up again; no WIFI signal.  In a stroke of complete frustration and putting myself in a time out, to do a bit of birdwatching on the Bird Buddy (the feeder with built in camera, more technology). 

 "💡"  What if I ran the ethernet cord from the modem to the computer?  Dug through a big box of wires and found an abandoned ethernet cord.  It worked!  However I did not want to run wires and drill more holes in the new bookcases!  I opened my ATT app (not customer service!) and rebooted the modem.  That took awhile so I ate a cookie and did some deep breathing. Finally, the modem had the green light. Severed the umbilical cord and prayed to motherboard above!  And it worked!! 6 hours of my life I will never get back.  

So excited that my tenacious self had worked through all this I jumped on and thought it would be fun to Facetime the kids with this new system.  Was it faster, was the picture clearer, sound?  And it occurred to me the monitor did not have a camera!  just kill me........ I ordered a logitech brio camera for $37.  No Facetime this weekend!  

A few days later I had to file my Ohio State Sales Tax online.  I always have a box of Kleenex sitting close by because I can never get through that system.  However they had upgraded to a new two part verification and as I logged on I was fully prepared to terminate my vendors license as I am not doing shows anymore.  To my amazement I walked myself through, did not shed one tear and still have a vendors license.  Press, print out receipt and nothing...... I went back to plugging and unplugging, googling what little I had left of a brain only to find out Hewlett Packard no longer makes a compatible driver for my printer and new Mac Mini.  Long verbal expletives flowed from my mouth!  

Poked around for a new printer but absolutely none are able to print out ceramic decals.  Clean out the upstairs bedroom of all Christmas stuff and put old wool blankets in the new refinished cedar chest.  I swear it's like dominos around here, never a straight path to anything!  Finally set Sparky on a table, in an upstairs bedroom with the old printer, wiped out everything except my file for images.  Thankfully I had a very old plug in keyboard that worked but no mouse and needed to purchase a new mouse; back to logitech!  I am waiting for that delivery.  Meanwhile I am off to purchase a new printer for $119 from Best Buy.  

After all this I still need to install a keyboard drawer under the new desktop.  Maybe I should give up chickens and gardening and become a gamer.  This has been completely uncharted water and happy I did get through some pretty choppy water.  Yes, I could have called somebody to do all this buy now I know how everything is connected or not connected.  Learned a lot (new curse words) and  lost a few precious brain cells.

All that said; I start winter pruning next week and starting seeds this week.  I will attempt to make short videos on each of those topics and post to YouTube.  

BUT!  First I need to clean out the studio. It looks like an abandoned woodworkers shop. Turn it back into a garden center and pottery studio.  No straight paths anywhere around here! 

And so 2025 begins..........

 Baby it's cold outside!

We are in the midst of a good old Ohio winter, it's been three years since we have experienced a good long winter!  Cold and blustery!  This week we are in the teens, windchills make it single digits.  I walk out the door and want to retreat to the fireplace.  

What better time to start indoor projects?! 

Dec. 6th I ripped the old office apart and went through 40 years of papers, birthday cards and life's detritus.  Drawers filled with rubble; old belt buckles, brass gun casings, the shell casing from catching my first halibut in Homer, Alaska, kids baby bracelets, kids baby teeth, cloth patches ment to be sewn on backpacks from trips around the world.   So many old sketchbooks and pencils no bigger than a nub but worthy of keeping....... why? 

 

The pens & pencils I couldn't part with, stuffed in my Grandma's old salt box and keys to her back door and garage.

I bought Billy bookcases from IKEA and decided to give them a built in appearance with trim and base board moulding.  They went together pretty easily and I did beef them up to hold loads of books and pottery.  

Used a plank of pine for my desk and ran new wires for my computer, printer, chargers and camera equipment.  The point that I got off my knees and surveyed the progress I realized the rats nest of wires were not going away!  This makes me crazy!  Maybe it's that weaving thing I do; creating order out of chaos but this was not going to fly!  So I ordered more shelves and had to wait two weeks.  

Spent half a day untangling, tethering, zip tying and labeling the spaghetti of wires.  Yes, we still have a landline....  two days later I discovered at 6:30 am my bitter half had decided to convert our entire house to fiber optics with another company!  They knocked on the door at 8 am and launched rapid fire questions at me about passwords and what did this line go to and how many tv's and computers we had, and and and..... we have one TV and one computer....... but Butch decided we needed 1000 mbps!  The technician asked who in our house was a gamer because we had enough mbps to play the fastest games on the internet!  I told him I have a bird buddy and that was the best game in town!  A bird feeder that takes pictures of birds and then alerts me to the bird at my feeder or squirrel.

Of course he had no idea what that was....... I took him outside and showed him.  Nope didn't need many MBPS for that.  

The downside of running 1000mbps,  my phone no longer worked on our wifi and I needed to go to an upstairs bedroom to get service on my iphone.  My computer refused to connect unless hooked with an ethernet to the modem and on it went.  There is no tech service, only an APP with AI that wants to help you, kill me...... by December 15th I was so over fiber optics and people telling me how great this new technology would be; I called bull shit!  I finally threw my hands up in the air and got back to building bookcases without WIFI or internet or youtube.  

Finished up December 19th!  The storage gained is amazing and much needed! 

Then I broke out the label maker!  Whoo Ha! 

and I rolled to the pantry...... installed puck lights and labels!

Be still my heart and why didn't I do this 40 years ago!  Oh ya, I had little kids and was on every corner in Cleveland selling pots! 

After all that Christmas arrived on schedule.  Took time for beach walks and snow and holiday cheer. 

and now it's 2025 and we are organized!  Still projects, new knee pads and more adventures (hoping not on my knees)!  

Happy New Year! 

but for now ..........