Let Spring Get Sprung!

  We have started out spring garden. I couldn't be more excited that the weather has started to break and so has the ground. For the past few years me and my beau (Dan) have been living on a homestead in North Carolina, now that we are in Montana, we are on our own for growing food. Now that we are no longer in the country but in the city, its nice to take on the challenge of urban farming once again. Not only that but a climate that we have never lived in (we just moved here in February). But we have started our experiment, by digging up one large patch of sod and two smaller beds. Digging up sod by hand is not an easy task and took us much longer than anticipated, but it feels great to be done! Potatoes have just been put in and so have our onions and I really feel like we are getting some where now. We added few bags of mushroom compost to add nitrogen back in the soil, grass can take a lot out of your dirt. We also have starts in the house, ready to be put in after the last frost. Tomatoes, greens, cabbage, peppers, squash, cucumbers, herbs, lettuce, okra and more things that are not coming to me right now. Its crazy to think how much food you can grow in a little space. And did you know that you can buy seeds on food stamps!? I'm itchin to start cooking and preserving some of it. 

The Junk Box is Upon Us

      I believe that there is a new movement of humans wanting to learn how to do everything like it used to be done. If you are lucky, these things have been passed down to you, but like me, there are a lot of us that are on their own. There are not many places in our western culture which still values traditions of the past, and I think that for most of us that are interested in learning it is more of trial an error, picking peoples brains, and doing a lot of work trade (or volunteering your time) just to learn what used to be past down. Weather it is baking using wild yeasts, or cooking with your own harvested foods,or spinning your own yarn to knit your own sweater, gathering plants to dye your sweater. I get much hope from knowing that there are humans that still value and actually enjoy the process of things instead of cutting corners. I have learned so much by just taking time. I have learned that so many things are intertwined, (and can save you some dollars to boot!) for example: so many things done in the kitchen that we usually throw in the trash or dump own the drain can be used for natural dyes. Or unwanted pieces from our vegetables can be tossed in the the compost or kept in the fridge to make vegetable stock. I love that we can not only learn these things and pay homage to those who have kept traditions but also be creative with what has passed down or discovered. I love and hate living in the age of technology. It is amazing that we can have access to so many really fantastic things that people create. I love being inspired by those things and trying to mix old traditional craft with inspiration of today. Or just take it in and be in awe of our human capacity to create amazing things when we want to.  Yet I think we can get really distracted by it. And for those who are makers, I think that it can really block what we want to accomplish.  I am not computer savvy, and writing a blog is something I never thought  that I would want to do. It is a whole new world to me, yet I am convinced it great way to share and build community with like minded humans, so I am opening the junk box. I want to introduce a different kind of "crafty". A crafty that is a little more rustic, maybe a little more unorganized, and a little more dirty, yet just as creative and beautiful.