Get Busy!

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Renee Wilkinson

The growing season is not too far around the corner! Witch hazel is already blooming and my flowering quince buds are days away from opening. If we can get a handle on some garden chores now, we’ll be in good shape to maximize the harvest from our homesteads this year.

When it comes to growing your own food, here is my short list of what to get busy working on over the next couple weeks:

  • Finalize your planting plan
  • Prune your fruit trees
  • Cut and divide any perennials
  • Organize a seed swap with pals
  • Get your indoor seed growing operation ready
  • Plant new trees (now while they are dormant)
  • Build row covers to extend the growing season

If you are planning to start seeds indoors, check out my tutorials on making your own seed pots from newspaper. I even put up a YouTube video a year or two ago walking you through it.

Photo by Isaac Viel

When it comes to raising livestock, there are also several ways for you to get busy and prepare now for the critters:

  • Research breeds
  • Meet your neighbors
  • Plan and construct housing

Even if livestock is legal in your city, knowing your neighbors and sharing your plans with them opens up a communication line before any potential problems crop up. If they are worried about the noise or smell, it’s better to have those conversations now and reassure them, rather than have them call the city. Periodically bringing over eggs or honey is a great way to check in with them later and give them a little perk from helping your homestead.

I’m not sure about you, but my to-do list is already getting pretty long and it’s only January! My plans for new fruit trees, honeybees and a packed veggie garden is going to be challenging with our other plans this spring (i.e. this baby in my belly). But getting some of the legwork done now means I may just be able to manage new additions better this Spring.

Posted in backyard livestock, beekeeping, chickens, ducks, garden, newspaper seed pots, projects, propagation, seeds, trees, vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Farmy Baby Shower

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Renee Wilkinson

Graduate school gives you a shortage of both time and money. Yet somehow, my classmates in Eugene put together a super-sweet baby shower for us that I just have to share with you. The theme was “Springtime on the Farm” and they came up with the most adorable and creative ways to fill us with love before Bug arrives.

Exhibit A: baby chick cupcakes. I think I screamed with joy when I walked in and saw these cuties.

Exhibit B: tea sandwiches cut in the shapes of ducklings and chicks. Seriously? Cute overload in a big, big way.

Exhibit C: the decor consisted of thrift store farm animals, post-it notes cut into triangles to make little garlands, and yellow primroses. Crafty and creative!

Our hostesses planned a couple really great activities including a MadLibs game about our growing family. In proper fashion, the responses ranged from the sincere to the hilariously inappropriate. I would expect nothing less from this creative bunch.

Someone printed off color pictures of Jay and I. Scissors were passed around and everyone cut us apart to put together a picture of what our baby might look like. Hilarious and totally frightening! We of course loved it. (Dear Baby, please don’t look like any of these…)

One of my classmates taught everyone how to make an origami lily. People wrote a wish for our baby inside each one before they started folding. When we were done, they hung the lilies from a wooden hoop, making a really simple and love-filled mobile for our lil’ gal.

We were overcome with gratitude and are still recovering from the overwhelming thoughtfulness of this creative pack of rascals. What a lucky baby to have so many people to make her life colorful and filled with love.

Posted in craft, home, random | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Upcoming Event: Eugene Home & Garden Show

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Renee Wilkinson

This Sunday at 1pm I will be speaking and signing copies of my book, Modern Homestead, at the Eugene Home & Garden Show. I have always wanted to attend the show because I know lots of my favorite local nurseries are there talking about edible landscaping. It will be a treat to share some ideas and inspiration with fellow green thumbs.

These kinds of events can fill you with so many great ideas that it can sometimes be overwhelming knowing where to begin. The goal of my talk is to help you plan and prioritize your homesteading projects. Here’s what I’m planning to touch on:

  • My journey in modern homesteading
  • Grow: understanding soil, what to grow, winter activities to get going
  • Raise: understanding the responsibility of livestock, low-high maintenance livestock, winter activities to get going
  • Create: preparing for the harvest, simplifying home care, building community

Let me know if there are any other topics you would love to hear about! I hope to see some new and old friendly faces at the event.

Posted in books, events, modern homesteading | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Goodbye Howard, Our Beloved Companion

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Renee Wilkinson

We said goodbye to our loving companion Howard this weekend, our devoted greyhound. He has been a part of our family for almost as long as Jay and I have been a family. We met him eight years ago after his racing days were over and I still remember falling in love with him that afternoon. We were so excited that we just stared at him for hours after bringing him home.

Howard settled into retirement easily. His world was now full of soft beds, gentle pets and long walks. We went on hikes through the gorge and walks up Mount Tabor. He was also more than content just snoozing all day, occasionally waking up to see that you were still there with him.

The logical part of my brain tells me how lucky we are – he had a full life, lived to a ripe old age, and the end came quickly for him. We were there when he took his last breaths as he slipped quietly off into eternal sleep.

But my heart is breaking too much to actually process anything logical right now. I miss my companion terribly. Jay has never seen me sob so much or so hard, but it’s some small tribute to just how cherished he was as a part of our family. He will be sorely missed and never forgotten.

Posted in pets, random | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Whirlwind in Oklahoma

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Renee Wilkinson

We took a quick, whirlwind trip to Oklahoma where Jay’s family lives to visit one last time with them before the baby arrives. It’s a really different culture than what I am used to being a born and bred NW gal. So here’s a quick recap from the eyes of a Portlander.

Upon arrival into Oklahoma City, we headed to the stockyards – an old part of town where ranchers used to literally drive cattle in for sale or rest before continuing on north. This might be my favorite part of Oklahoma City because it has a rich, unique history. The old signs on the drug store, next to the saddle shop, next to the steak diner hint at that history.

After many trips to Oklahoma, I finally got to visit the memorial made for the Oklahoma City bombing victims. The quiet winter landscape of Oklahoma had a stark quality like the memorial. The large black tree in the background survived the bombing.

The chairs in this picture are for each of the people who died in the attacks, including smaller chairs for the children. I’m not a fan of the wreaths, personally. It takes away from the somber tone of what should be a somber installation.

On a less somber note, the ladies of the family took a late morning trip one day for some high tea in Oklahoma City. We talked about overseas traveling while we stuffed ourselves with tea sandwiches, creamy desserts and lemon curd. Lots of food and love around that table.

We had a rough flight back that required us to be up at 3am – yikes! So here is me and my pal Will Rodgers in the early morning hours at the airport. He used to say he never met a man he didn’t like. When someone asked him what he thought then about Hitler, he said “Well, I never met the man!”

My fondest memories of the trip don’t have pictures attached to them: spending time with family, sipping tea and smelling freshly baked cookies coming from the kitchen. Every year more of Jay’s family moves away to other parts of the country, but we were so grateful to have everyone gather from the four corners of the country to be together.

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Posted in random, traveling | Tagged , | 1 Comment