Independence Days, weeks 11 & 12

Man, it's been a weird summer. Nothing is really thriving. The corn and potatoes appear to be hanging in there, but everything else is just kind of sitting there.

I should start writing this stuff down as the week progresses, because by the time I write this. I forget half the stuff we do.

1. Plant something - Nothing this time.

2. Harvest something - Eggs, a few beans and peas, a few berries.

3. Preserve something - I made some bread & butter pickles. A bit vinegar-y now, but they probably need more time.

4. Reduce waste - Rigged up a suction-cup shade cloth arrangement for our west-facing sliding door. It's holding up, but still needs a little fine tuning. Steady progress on cloth diapers. Other than sending Amelia to school, we're pretty much at 100% cloth for her, and for Owen. Pulled a couple hay bales' worth of weeds out of the garden and fed them directly to the cows. They were happy. Well, except Meadow. She's above eating weeds, and walked away in a huff. Moved their water trough to a more convenient spot, since they drink it dry every single day. I use the hose filling the trough as a weeding timer now. I turn on the hose, and weed until the trough is full. The cows gather 'round for water & weeds. The boys run around "helping" and hand-feeding weeds to the cows.

5. Preparation and Storage - I can't think of anything for this one.

6. Build Community Food Systems - Sold eggs at work. Bought more black raspberries and sweet corn from local vendors.

7. Eat the Food - Sweet corn, blackberries, eggs, rice, beans. Nothing exciting.

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