The above pics are just a few shots of the itty bitty green things poking up in the yard. Had to take a pic of the compost pile because of the 8,000 egg shells in there from our chicken co-op.
Today has been really nice. I think it's as high as 54 degrees and sunny with gorgeous blue skies!
I had a couple of tree trimmers/cutters (?) come out today to look at our 3 scrappy maples that will soon be taken down. They quoted a decent price and I agreed. When the grounds firms up a bit, they will be back to remove those darn things. Then we'll have to take down the old retaining wall that has been damaged by their roots, drag down the grade and plant one dwarf peach tree and one dwarf pear tree.
Currently, we have 500 square feet of garden. Once the scrappy shade-making maples are gone, we will make another 500 square foot plot. I can not wait!!! Can not wait to play in the dirt, bitch and moan about the weather (because I do all year round), swat mosquitos and weed.
Must mention that on Sunday, G and E and I drove out to Linden, Michigan. That's where West Wind Milling Co is. (They're currently working on their site right now.) We bought stone ground mustard (that is awesome), a loaf of garlic parmesan, 5 pounds of spelt flour, 5 pounds of whole wheat pastry flour, 1 pound buckwheat and one honey stick for the road.
The flour tastes really nice. Have made a few sandwich loaves with them. The spelt is lovely and light, and has a sweet sort of nutty taste to it.
The store shelves were fairly bare. The owner explained that's how it usually is on a Sunday. Apparently, they get cleaned out on Saturdays. I asked him about getting flour in a bigger batch and he said they do everything in small batches unless custom ordered. He said he'd be happy to do a larger batch for me, and mix it up a bit to whatever specifications I'd like. Cool! We will be going back there. Really nice people.
Also, google gave us nice back-road directions that was nice in the car but would be great on motorcycle. G and I will have to leave the kids home and go on the bikes once it gets warm enough. He can carry the flour back in his hard-shell carrier boxes.
Went to Zingerman's Creamery after getting S from school (Wednesdays are Buy 2 Gelato, Get 1 Free day). The cheeses they make there are made with cow's milk from Calder's Dairy (where we get our home delivery goods from), and their goat's milk from local farmers. So we are set with cheese too.
I bought Ricki Carroll's Home Cheese Making in January, but I'm not sure how many brain cells and how much time I have to dedicate to making my own cheese any time soon. It sounds great, but I'm one of those annoying people who really like things to turn out right the first time, and it seems like cheese making doesn't have such a high first-time success rate.
That's why I can't knit anything more than scarves. I lose my patience whenever I try pattern work. I see my gauge is all off and I get pissed. "Waste of time!" I'll mutter and jam my knitting needles back in the yarn for another 6 months.
This Urban Homesteader is definitely more Urban than Homesteader, but I'm trying.
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