NTWG

The wood burning season is well underway and to this point has been what I would call a successful non-traditional wood gathering (NTWG) experiment.  So far we've tried using pine cones for kindin' (see previous post).  We have also tried cutting up stove-sized pieces of non-treated pallet wood.  They burn great but should only be used as a supplement to traditional wood as they burn VERY hot!  They are great for getting a roaring fire up and going but quick.  We also got lucky and caught a high-line clearing crew working in the area who had pieces that were too large to go through their chipper.  The wood that I picked up was in front of a property owner who did not want the wood and in fact wanted the crew to haul it off.  They were more than happy to have me pick it up and save them some time and effort, and all I had to do was ask.  I've also picked up a fair amount of kindlin' from a local hardwood company that leaves a pile of their culls free for the taking.  While going through the pile the other day I had a good conversation with fellow wood scavenger who suggested checking out a rail road tie company who also leaves a pile of end pieces (untreated of course) for those who want them.  I'm sure there will be other opportunities that will arise in the future and any and all are a welcome chance to pick up supplemental fuel for the trusty wood stove.  So keep your eyes peeled for stacks of burnable, (often free for the taking) material.  As long as you are not having to go out of your way and the providers are willing for you to take it off their hands...why not!!!   

Kindlin' in a Cone

Fall and winter are busy seasons on the Runnin' Lean homefront!  Preparations of all sorts have to planned out and then completed before the weather takes a turn for the worse...and then decides to stay that way for a few months!!  One of the most important things to consider (if you're heating with wood that is) is your kindlin' supply!  It's true.  It is something that you can & should continue to gather throughout the burn season as well, but the more you have stock piled from the start the less you have to fret about finding a suitable dry material to use though the rain and snow of winter.  We've tried something new this year that has provided great results . . . pine cones!  A friend of ours has several pine trees on his property which just so happen to be in and around his yard (easy access don't you know;)  The cones are a nuisance to him as they create unwanted debris for him to deal with year after year.  This last spring  we asked if we could pick some of them up to dry out and use for a fire starter.  Without hesitation he said yes.  We promptly picked up a galvanized trash can full of the cones that were strewn around his house and yard.  In no time we had filled the can and were on the road back home with our flammable treasure.  I've used several of them at this point and have to say...they are perfect kindlin'!!!  They burn fast and hot and are so easy to get lit that I can simply put a match to them and watch them go up :)  So pick up some pine cones and bring on Winter!

You Have to Craft!

If you like to give gifts, one of the best ways to do it while Runnin' Lean is to make them yourself.  By making gifts you can often personalize them more than store-bought ones and it gives of yourself, too. Often times if you stop and think for a moment, you can make something using supplies you already have on hand or you may be able to pick additional materials at local thrift stores. For a little girl, I made my first teddy bear out of a sock and then crocheted a bright colored scarf for the bear too.  She named the little guy Cocoa Bear.  A loaf of homemade bread with some wild violet jam was the perfect birthday gift for another friend.  Homemade bread is a rare treat for most people these days!

Look around your house and see what you can craft today--maybe a birdhouse for a bird lover, a scarf for a friend or two, homemade cookies for those with a sweet tooth?  You'll be giving a gift that both comes from the heart and stays out of your wallet:)

LaRynda     

Tuned in to Being Off-Grid

A few weeks ago LaRynda and I went on the hunt for a solar-powered radio that we could use both inside and out when working and relaxing.  I had been thinking about it ever since I read an article in Mother Earth News where a young lady was lamenting about a moment of clarity.  It happened one evening when she was hand grinding the next morning's coffee by candlelight with her crank radio playing in the background.  She was essentially, at that moment operating entirely (and quite happily) off-grid.  The story stuck with me.  The moment that she described was something that LaRynda and I both relate to and strive for.  We already had the candles, lamps, a hand-crank coffee grinder, and a dyno (hand crank) radio for emergencies (although not a great one).  A combination dyno/solar radio seemed to be the best option, so the Internet search was on!  I'll tell you right now, there are a lot of choices out there and the prices and ratings vary greatly!  What we finally settled on was a little radio from Kikkerland.  The reviews on this little guy were for the most part very good...and so was the price, under $20!!  It has a built-in solar panel on its top and a fold-up hand crank on the back.  It's pretty loud considering how small it is.  I've never had to turn it up past halfway and the tuning seems to work very well too.  I've read that if you have it sitting in full sun throughout the day that it will play continuously without a problem.  While we have not had a chance to test this, I will say that after it's left sitting in the sun for while it seems to hold a charge for at least a couple of hours of non-stop use.  The crank option also works very well.  I've had radios that claimed that a couple of minutes of cranking would constitute a couple of hours of use, but in reality it seemed to be just the opposite ;)  Not with this guy!  I'll usually crank it through a commercial set or through the length of a song for a good long session of music listening.  These types of radios are only going to get better of course, but for right now..and for the money...this guy is the one to tune in to when you want some entertainment on an off-grid style dime!!!

Dandelion Wine Is Fine!

This spring we invested in a grand experiment--Concocting ways to put our larger than normal dandelion crop to good use.  We enjoyed dandelion greens, made dandelion syrup, and last but not least tried our hand at making some dandelion wine!  Now I've heard about dandelion wine my whole life, and I've made my fair share of wine; however, the two paths had never crossed until now. 

We started out by picking about 3 quarts of dandelion flowers pinching off as much of the green stem as we could.  We then soaked the little yellow gems in water for a time to rid them of any buggy pests.  Next we boiled the dandelions for approximately ten minutes.  At this point, they really smelled like Polk greens.  Then yet another straining took place. This is the part where we discarded the flowers themselves and only used the strained liquid in our wine making mixture.  While letting the boiled liquid cool for a bit, we grabbed a thoroughly sanitized glass gallon jug (Discarded apple cider jugs are perfect for wine making!) and added 5 cups of sugar to it.    Once the dandelion water had cooled to slightly above room temperature, we filled the jug to its neck with the dandelion liquid.  One packet of dry yeast was the last ingredient added to the jug.  Time for the lid!  After tightening it well, I shook the jug like a madman until everything was thoroughly mixed.  At this point, I removed the lid and replaced it with an airlock.  The wine was then placed in a cool, dry area out of the light.  In the past I've only had to let my wine set for about 6 weeks, but in the case of this dandelion wine...it was still perking well past that date and it was closer to 9 weeks before I felt comfortable with bottling it.  

Let me just say, patience paid off and the wine turned out great!  It resembled a dry white wine and all who partaked seemed to enjoy it!!  Simply put, dandelion wine is fine!!! 



Dandelion wine on ice

Want to try making dandelion wine yourself, but don't want to be all fancy-like with an airlock or just don't own one, you can use a balloon attached to the top of your jug with the help of a rubber band or two. When it's time to store it in a cool, dry place make sure that if you are going to go the balloon route that you have plenty of head space.  If everything is working properly the balloon will fill with the spent gases created by the yeast/sugar reaction.  The balloon should go down as the yeast finishes its job. Only then should you think about moving on to the next phase...bottling.  In situations where you are unsure if the yeast is totally spent, and thus through with its alcohol-inducing chemical reaction, just put your bottled wine in the fridge rather than racking it.  The cold temps will halt the yeast in its tracks and keep you from experiencing the unintended busted bottle or blown out cork.  Feel free to post a comment about your experience!

The Power of Pallets

My interest in Pallets all started when I had couple of acquaintances tell me the various ways that they had  been able to put these throw-away lumber treasures to good use.  We had also recently read an interesting book called appropriately enough "Build It!.....With Pallets" by Joe Jacobs (checked out from the Library).  From this I found that there were all kinds of things that could be built from this big box scrap lumber, including bird houses, chairs, tables, poultry houses, planters, and much much more!   These instigators kept me thinking about the various pallet stacks that we all see sitting around at the end of an inventory delivery.  Finally, I went into a local retail/hardware store that always seemed to have a mountainous pile of pallets stacked by their back door.  After checking with a couple managers and assuring them that I only wanted to grab a few here and there, I was OK'd for the occasional run!  I only picked up four pallets to start and took apart the first one with a claw hammer and flat screw driver.  The results weren't bad, but for the second one I sprung for a $2.99 pry bar...and oh what a difference!  I'm now getting 3/4 to all of the boards removed with very little to any damage, where as before it was more of a 50/50 split.  The trick is patience--you can't get in a hurry with these guys.  I don't plan on wasting ANY of the boards, busted or not.  There is at least some usable wood being taken from every single board.  Anything that is simply too damaged to be used will be thrown in the stove this next winter, as these pallets have not been sealed or painted.  I'm even salvaging as many of the pulled nails as possible, and straightening all that can be saved.  There is an entire sub-culture of folks who are out there building any number of things with this otherwise wasted and often free for the taking lumber.  All you have to do is Google "building with pallets" and then sift through the results.  Once you've done this, you may be like us and say "count me in"!!!      

The Little Things are the Big Things

A simple trip to the Post Office today reminded me of a very important rule.  Simply put (no pun intended) ;)  it's the little things in life that make it the most worthwhile.  Upon opening the PO Box and going through its contents I quickly came to a pleasant realization...no bills!  Furthermore there were a couple of freebies--a sample of a new Kellogg's cereal that I had sent off for and a copy of Living the Country Life magazine,a neat little publication that I had recently found a free 3-year subscription to on-line.  To top it off there was a Netflix movie as well.  We spend just under $11 monthly on Netflix and we sure get the good out of it!  Any day that you can walk away from your mailbox with a good feeling is a good day, but when you walk out with a stack of items that are each in their own way a little payoff to your self-discipline and simplicity, well that's Runnin' Lean at its finest:) 
 

Trees for free!

In celebration of Earth Day, one of the home improvement stores in our area was giving away trees.   The campaign was called One in a Million since they planned to give away a million trees in just one day. Earlier in the week we had found the promotion via a freebie site.  It was a "one per person" style promotion so LaRynda and I both picked one up before we continued with our in-store shopping.  They were beautiful little Blue Spruces and will be welcome additions to our property!  Unfortunately, over the last few years we've lost a lot of trees in this area due to a couple of severe ice storms.  While this has made for a welcome supplement to our winter wood stack it's been sad to see so many trees have to come down.  We had already talked about the prospect of planting some replacement trees and this campaign came at the perfect time!  More and more companies are celebrating Earth Day with promotions like this as it becomes apparent to them that there are financial benefits to jumping on the green band wagon.  Giveaways like this can improve the look and value of your property for years or maybe even generations to come.  So keep an eye out for them every Earth Day.  They're good for the stores, good for you, and good for the planet...not bad for a freebie;) 

Bring the Spring!

Spring is not only a beautiful time of year, but also it's a time ripe with opportunities for Runnin' Lean!  Everything is fresh and in bloom, and it's the perfect time to take advantage of all that nature has to offer.  We've already made a couple of batches of wild violet jam and dandelion jelly as well as a dandelion tea.  The dandelions are plentiful (as they always are this time of year ;) and I'm going to try my hand at some wine too!  A little later in the season, dandelions will also be a great source of greens.  These are all concoctions that are new to us, but I have to say that the jam, jelly, and tea have all been hits.  We'll have to wait six weeks to see how the wine turns out, but I have high hopes.  The Internet has been a great recipe resource for all of these projects.  So far, as with most things...the simplest ideas have been the best.  Not only has everything worked perfectly thus far,(minus a needed pectin boost for the dandelion jelly) the ingredients have been inexpensive to non-existent.