Change of scenery

I'm not really sure how to start this post, or where I want it to go for that matter. I'm just going to start typing and if it goes side-ways at any point, please forgive me.

Raw food diet for pets:

My parents have two Pomeranians and have recently switched them to a raw foods diet due to health concerns.  In a few weeks most of their respiratory problems have disappeared and they are starting to loose a bit of the fat that canned/bagged dog food (and too much snacking) has deposited on them. These are all good things.

Myself a proponent of Natural Rearing, the inquiry into the dogs health concerns sent me back to my copy of The Complete Herbal Handbook For Farm And Stable by Juliette de Bairacli Levy. Like any medical book, one needs to ask proactive questions and do research to make sure what you are reading is accurate. Personally, I scan 4-5 medical and non-medical websites and any of my other herbal books to cross check before enacting a medical plan. It is due diligence and one should not be remiss in this step. It is cheaper to spend an extra half-hour checking than hours and monies paying for a mistake.

The thing about homeopathic medicine is that it really puts the onus on the individual to manage their own well-being. If you are lazy about your research, your results will fail and potentially make you sicker. I use herbs for health all the time, but that is because my body chemistry rejects modern medicine. On the contrary, my father can only take one or two herbs, as his body chemistry is more acclimated to modern pharmaceutical drugs. It is all about knowing yourself and your bodies' preferences.

For example, if I am getting sick, I sleep. Sleep normally fixes most of my issues within a day or two. More serious concerns for me are debilitating migraines that are typically caused by atmospheric pressure changes. I suffered very few when we lived in San Francisco due to the lack of rain, on the other hand, since we moved to New York, I get them at least once a month. Some of it is also due to eye strain from fluorescent lights and computer usage. I understand this, so I tend to prefer darker rooms and more natural light settings. Nature knows how to diffuse light through trees, good sunglasses and a broad-rimmed hat help in areas of openness.

Part of knowing yourself, in my opinion, is also knowing your own failings and strengths. I tend to eat too much meat and sugar, I know this, and am working on adding more greens to our diet and only eating natural sweet products like fruit, versus processed items like chocolate. You can't go cold turkey though, or at least I can't. I find if it's not in the house, I'm too lazy to go out an buy it, so I try not to have soda or chocolate in the house. It kinda works. I also know though, that if I'm craving something weird, like chips or popcorn, it's probably an imbalance in my diet, in this case, a lack of salt (I don't cook with salt or pepper normally). Oddly enough, a pickle typically satiates the craving.

Overall I think you just have to actively watch what you eat and drink and how you generally live. I know if I don't sleep most of the weekend, I'm absolutely useless at work on Monday. Likewise, if I'm exceptionally irritable for several days running, it's time I got out of the city and sat in a park or went to the farm and got my monthly dose of 'nature'. The fact that there are so many health problems now-a-days compared to a hundred years ago, I think, corresponds directly to our lack of green spaces. I was much better when we lived in Florida or California, because every day I was outside for at least an hour, typically many more, and I tended to visit farms and shop organic farmers markets in California. Our food was definitely healthier out there.

I'm not saying I want to move back and more than likely we never will, but I will miss the "proper" food I was able to purchase. Until we have our own farm at least, then I should be all set.

On a completely different matter...

Totems-What animal are you?

Bear Totem: Industrious, instinctive, healing, power, sovereignty, guardian of the world, watcher, courage, will power, self-preservation, introspection, and great strength.

My husband thinks I'm a bear totem as I like to hibernate in bed during the winter. :)

Haven s. 3 Rocks!

We watched the latest episode of Haven season 3 last night and I couldn't stop squealing. FINALLY, Audrey and Duke kiss! About dang time too. I initially liked the AudreyXNathan pairing, but Nathan's way to possessive for me and all girls like the bad boy, especially a bad boy who may really be 'a good man'. :)

One of the most useful little books

As you know we want to homestead after we leave NY. I'm not trying to do much of anything here since we have none of the space we had in CA. Man, I do miss my porch. Anyways, one of the most useful books we own is probably The Backyard Homestead, by Storey Publishing. Why? Because the size lots they walk you through are a tenth of an acre, quarter acre, and half acre. Obviously you can expand based on what they show you, but the idea that ever someone with a tiny little suburban lot can farm...I wish more people would.

Here is there 1/4 acre plot design. Granted, house size and lot configuration will dictate a few changes, but let's use this as an example:

1) 12 beds of vegetables. That's a lot of veg if you use intensive square foot gardening practices. Add a few vertical garden plots in there and you'll have everything you need veg wise.

2) Fruits and nuts- a fruit or nut tree instead of oak or ficus in your front yard will give you all you need. Add a fruit arbor (like kiwi), some small potted berry bushes (like blueberry and strawberry), grape vines in a side trellis, and some potted mini fruit varieties like lemon, orange, pear, etc, and you'll have more fruit than you know what to do with. 

3) Herbs- everyone knows you can put potted herbs on windowsills, but if you add a few around the berry bushes or walkways you'll be able to pick as you walk!

4) Grains- if you have animals, you should grow your own feed for them. Even if you don't, a small 25x50 ft patch of wheat or oats will give you enough to add it into your breads, muffins, and cakes.

Instead of a permanent chicken coop, try a movable chicken tractor design like this one made for 3-4 chickens!

5) 12 chickens- a typical family of 4 doesn't even need this much. You can get by with 3-4 and save a bit of space for more gardening, or give it to them for exercise. Use a chicken tractor like above and move your chickens around the yard to help with insect and weed control.

6) 2 pigs, rabbits, or goats- depending on cuteness level, you'll want to pick an animal you know you can slaughter without getting upset. If pigs and rabbits don't work for you, switch to two small Nigerian Dwarf goats and get fresh milk instead; or one milk and one meat goat variety like Fainting goats! If you do this, enlarge the space a bit by only having the 3-4 chickens and switch the grain to hay to feed the goats!

7) 2 beehives- You should have at least one anyways, even if you don't harvest the honey. If you just want them to pollinate your yard, use a top bar hive, if you want honey, use the normal box style. Put one at the top of your yard and one at the bottom to get maximum coverage.

Around #3 on the picture you'll see a garden shed and compost piles. You can use a greenhouse/shed design to start plants in before transferring to the garden beds, and if open compost bins make you nervous, use a barrel style that is completely seal-able.

I like this design because you can play with what's most important to you and your family. It also allows you to get an idea on space. There are several dwarf varieties of plants and trees out there as well, so think about that if you are tight on space. 

Goat Sheds

I designed the goat sheds we want. It should be big enough to hold 5-6 goats. It's based on this one we saw at the Heifer Overlook farm in Massachusetts.

Accidental Farmers

I'm almost done reading Accidental Farmers by Tim Young. I must say it's not what I expected. I've read the others: Pollan, Salatin, Logsdon, Belanger, and Howard (and a few others), but this is the first one that actually told (in grisly detail) about the dark, ugly side of farming. I must say though, I think the big reason they had such problems was the fact that they are actually trying to run a farm. Not a homestead or smallholding where they take care of their own needs, but a farm, where they are trying to turn a profit. That's the problem, in my opinion. People aren't trying to just sustain themselves, they are trying to feed the world, which is what got us into this industrial food mess to begin with. I'll give them the points because part of their goals incorporates creating a local food shed, but that's not our goal. We don't want to feed the world. We want to feed us.

I'll take care of me and mine, you and yours is your own problem. Maybe that sounds harsh to you. Maybe you're thinking why not try and feed the world. I'll tell you my honest, brutal opinion...there are too many of us as there is. In 1999 an anime came out called Blue Gender. It wasn't the greatest, but to this day it remains a favorite. Why? Because it told the story of where I really think the human race is headed. Basically, humanity has screwed up the Earth so bad that Mother Nature says 'screw it' and treats us like an infectious virus that needs to be exterminated. Humanity becomes the hunted. The timeline for this fictitious revolution? 2030. Eighteen years in our future. That's not so implausible considering what we've done the last 200 years to the planet. I'm not a hippy, I'm a pragmatist and I am of the firm belief that if we do not attempt to fix things now, we won't have a later. Kind of like the church-goer who thinks, if they're wrong I've wasted an hour every Sunday, but if they're right....

Anyways, it reminded me that I need to really look at our economic choices surrounding food. The other stuff, entertainment and such, I'm less concerned with, because I know we are working with a limited timeline where we are purchasing as much as we are right now. I'm spending more now, because I don't want to spend it on those items later. Regarding food, clothes, and chemicals I do need to be mindful of, especially food. I think food is the single most impactful way you can express yourself. Think about it this way, you can spend $8 on a fast food value meal that ultimately destroys a piece of land, an animal, and potentially a species, or you can spend $20 and help preserve a piece of land, species, family, and community.

I'm okay with spending a bit more. I'm going to spend it anyways, so I might as well spend it wisely. That being said, I'm going to stop by a new butcher tonight and see if their advertised local, sustainable, organic, pasture-raised meat is all it says it is. We're doing our part by switching off beef and chicken and moving to goat, lamb, and pork, but we can do better, and I'm willing to do a little bit more to achieve better health for me and mine. What are you willing to do?

Summary:

When Tim and Liz Young decided to leave their comfortable suburban life and become first-time farmers in rural Georgia, they embarked on a journey that would change their lives. The Accidental Farmers reveals how the couple learned that hamburgers, bacon, and eggs don't come from the supermarket but from real animals that forge emotional bonds with their human caretakers. Seeking a middle path between a meatless lifestyle and the barbarism of factory food, Tim and Liz created Nature's Harmony Farm, a sustainable oasis where rare breed animals and humans live together searching for something nearly lost by both humans and the animals...how to live naturally off the land. Rather than a how-to guide, this book is a personal memoir of the Young's journey to farming and is sure to delight those interested in moving to the country or simply learning more about the struggles of sustainable farming.

I'm thinking of trying this...

What do you think ladies? Anyone want to try it with me?

Fly me to the Moon!

I'm going to the "Field Trip to the Moon" at the AMNH museum tonight. I'm very excited. :)

On a different note, my work may be going with my idea for our company Halloween Party: Alice in Wonderland/Children's Storybook.



I think Johnny can be plenty freaky.