Cucaloupe... or is it Cantacumber?

Who called it? Someone a month or so ago said I may end up with hybrid vegetables after mixing up my cucumber and cantaloupe seedlings. I was skeptical but low and behold I found this is my garden this passed week.



Notice how the one on the left is very yellow compared to the one on the right. Both these specimens are quite large as well. Pretty much all of the other ones are still tiny at this point. Some area farms and markets are already selling their pickling cucumbers so I am secretly whispering to these guys to hurry up because I have pickling to do.

Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

They come in all shapes in sizes too.




Nature makes no mistakes, she just gets creative once in a while.

Bee Serious! Part two: Everything I Now Know About Hives

There are different types of hives but the most popular one for bee keepers is called the Langstroth Hive. Those are the boxy hives that stack one on top of the other.



Skep hives are traditional hives that have been used for hundreds of years.



Top Bar Hives are designed for the ease of the bees, not the beekeeper. The design is much more conducive to their natural instincts, where as Langstroth Hives are more conducive to collecting honey so more often the choice for farmers and country folk looking to harvest honey.

Hives are built on a stand, to keep hives off the ground.

The next part is a Bottom Board, basically the entrance in and out of the hive. This is where many beekeeper put a screen to reduce hive exposure to mites. As a bee flies into the entrance the mites fall off and drop through the screen and are unable to get into the hive. This is a very good line of defense.

The larger box on the bottom of the hive is called a Brood Super, this is where the Queen resides and lays the eggs, the brood. A natural bees instinct is protect the brood so many worker bees stay in this compartment to attend the queen and the brood. Since the queen lays eggs in the same honey comb that the nectar is made into honey, a beekeeper needs to make sure the frames they are collecting are filled with honey and not babies. So the next layer is a "Queen Excluder", this screen allows the worker bees access but not the Queen. This limits the queen to the bottom chamber. There is enough room in this chamber for eggs, larvae and honey for winter for the whole colony. The Brooder Super is not harvested and left for the bees to use over winter.

On top of the Queen Excluder are Honey Supers. These are half-size boxes that have honey comb frames. This is where worker bees move the honey to when the bottom Brooder Super gets to full. A bee keeper can have two, three, four or more Honey supers on each hive. Usually you will only see one or two depending how productive a hive is.

On top of these layers you will find a hive inner cover and then a top cover. In a hive bees create a lovely super strong "bee caulking" that makes their hives weather tight. The inner layer keeps the bees from 'caulking' the top cover. If the top cover was ever sealed it would be extremely, extremely hard for a bee keeper to open, which would disturb the bees.



In this picture you can see our instructor had taken off the top cover and the inner cover. There are two Honey Supers on this hive and one Brooder Super. He has 6 hives currently, at one time he had 25. While standing in the hive yard, discussing the hives there were literally thousands of bees buzzing all around us. It was fascinating. The bees were not concerned with us at all, they just kept flying by like we weren't even there. No one else had protective gear but him because he has an allergy and he has been keeping bees for 15 years.

I'd like to thank the academy...

Angelina at Homegrown Naturally passed an award on to me yesterday and I am so grateful. Blogs take a lot of effort and time, and sometimes it is difficult to ascertain whether or not people are liking what you choose to write about. When I started this blog I wanted to share the little things we do (recipes, money saving, mindful living) to make my life joyous in the hopes that others will find information and inspiration. It is nice to know that my writing is noticed with such lovely kudos. Thanks Angelina!




Here are the Award Rules, if you find yourself the recipient of this award.
I hope you will pass it along!

•Thank the blogger who awarded it to you.
•Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience using ten (10) words.
•Pass it on to 10 other blogs which you feel have real substance.

So, to fulfill my obligations...

Thank you Angelina for such a nice award. I appreciate that you thought of me and my little blog.

My blogging philosophy: Mindfully connecting present to the past while treading Earth lightly.

Here are the people (and their blogs) that brighten up my day:

Kari at Moo Said The Mama is a terrific, intelligent, academically minded homemaker. She is constantly challenging me.

Sue at Living the Good Life is down to earth, a real Mother Hen for me. I love it!

Simple Mama at Homemade Serenity is chalked full of inspiring ideas. I love stopping over at her blog.

Sweet Locus Farm is a farm in my neck of the woods (Ontario) and love reading about life on her farm, the day to day activities and all the lovely projects she does.

Dixie at Eat At Dixie's is eco-conscious lady who share her adventures, feelings and philosophies in a very down to earth way.

Wendy at Butterflies and Breezes has created a lovely home-centred female-empowered blog that I recently discovered.

Slow Living essentials is another recent addition to my daily visits and already I am enjoying it immensely.

Powell River Books is a nice slice of blog-o-sphere where Margy lives with her husband on a floating cabin in British Columbia.

Simple Natural Homestead is a terrific blog with lots of thought provoking content on holistic living, raw food and living a better life.

Sarah at The Napping House is full of fun, kid friendly ideas. I love the slice of life her blog brings to my daily readings.

Julie at Towards Sustainability is another kindred spirit with lots of good simply living posts.

That was hard, hard to narrow down. All the blogs I follow are excellent, if I didn't feel so I wouldn't follow them.

Homestead Blessings Review

Well, they finally arrived, my two DVDs from Homestead Blessings in Tennessee. I was so excited to get started I watched both in less than 24 hours. I ordered The Art of Dairy Delights, and their newest addition, The Art of Quilting. Since I purchased these videos with my own money instead of having them gifted to me, I do not feel obliged to give a review filled with false praise. Many of the reviews I read prior to placing my order practically gleamed with how wonderful and informative these tutorials are. I must disagree. These DVDs, although sweet, leave a lot to be desired.



The Art of Dairy Delights is a one hour instructional DVD that walks you through the basic process of making your own butter, ice cream, yogurt and mozzarella cheese. I am fairly proficient at making my own butter and I have been experimenting with making my own homemade ice cream for a while. I still thought these DVDs would delve deeper. I wanted a bit more like the DVD case description suggested. The description says "the process of making scrumptious ice creams, smooth and tasty butters, rich and creamy yogurts and delectable cheeses." Notice the plurals? It lead me to believe the was more than just the basic vanilla ice cream and plain yogurt, I mean they did use plurals when describing what processes were included. No, I was wrong. I felt sourly disappointed at the end, wondering why I hadn't just borrowed a book from my library instead.

The Art of Quilting held a lot of promise also. It was a step by step feature on cutting and piecing together a standard square block quilt. I have been quilting for a few years now and am a little beyond those basics. Again I expected more. I had visions of learning new techniques, maybe the best way to salvage some worn out clothes. I wanted to learn quilting from a homesteading perspective, and thought this DVD would give me some more insight into keeping quilting simple. Aside from the vintage treadle sewing machine used, I wasn't impressed.

These videos are far too basic for a homesteader like me. The skills I have learned over the last few years were acquired from library books, Youtube videos and first hand knowledge from others. And barely cost me anything. These videos carry a much higher price tag and I doubt I would have purchased them knowing what I know now. For wannabe and seasoned homesteaders these DVDs use up resources (money) that can otherwise be directed to their farms. Some other bloggers who have feature the videos as giveaways were overly generous with their reviews, and after reading some of them again, now that I have seen the videos, I wonder if they had even watched them before promoting them so blindly.

I am sorry dear readers, sorry to say that I must give this series a thumbs down. While I am enthralled with anyone who chooses this lifestyle, and giddy at watching how others go about their homesteads, the atmosphere was not enough to make me enjoy these DVDs. After spending over $40 for the videos, shipping and border duties, I realize now I should have just went to the library and paid $2 for parking.

Raspberry Tarts

These tarts are super easy. I went out and picked some wild raspberries yesterday in the woods behind our house. I already picked raspberries at a local berry farm and have 8 jars of jam and 2 very large bags of frozen raspberries in the freezer so I wanted to make something different. Raspberry tarts it was.



I couldn't find a recipe that I like so I just winged it.

2 cups of raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup of sugar.

I started by mashing up my raspberries in a sauce pan. I added the sugar and brought the mixture to a slow boil. The heat does not need to be very high. Simmer for about 10 minutes and remove from heat. Set aside to cool. This is very similar to jam so I imagine ready made jam can be used as well.




I made a traditional Pastry Crust.

1 cup of cold shortening
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp of vinegar
dash of salt

Cut shortening and flour together with pastry fork until the mixture resembles small peas. Add vinegar and salt and mix together. You may need a bit of cold water to pull it together. Form into a ball and place in fridge to cool.

When ready, form dough into small balls and place in mini-muffin tray. I use this neat tool that presses the balls into tart cups. It makes the job super easy and great for kids.



Bake for 10 minutes at 375F, until slightly brown. Let cool slightly. Remove from pan and cool on a baking rack. Spoon in some of the Raspberry mixture and let set.

And your done! Enjoy!

Bee Serious Part One: Everything I Now Know About Bees

This is the first installment of a three part series on keeping bees. Today I attended a bee keeping workshop at a local organic farm and education centre. I was floored when I discovered this farm, and grateful that I did not have to travel as far away as Texas or the United Kingdom to access homesteading workshops. By no means am I an expert. Just a novice passing on information that may be of interest to you lovely people. I also find that talking about something I just learned, or by teaching it to others the process solidifies the learning experience in my memory and I am less likely to forget things.

The Bee Serious series will go like this:

Part One: Everything I Now Know About Bees
Part Two: Everything I Now Know About Hives
Part Three: Everything I Now Know About Honey

Everything I Now Know About Bees



A hive of bees can include up to 80,000 bees. There is one Queen Bee, the only female who's only role is to procreate before dying after two years. When a Queen Bee is born she leaves the hive briefly, flies up to 100 feet in the air, accompanied by 6 to 8 Drone bees. Over a couple days she mates with the drones and then returns to the hive. She does not mate again ever. After mating once she is set for life (two years) in which she can lay up to 2,000 eggs a day. When a Queen finally dies, it is up to the others of the hive to infuse Royal Jelly into one larvae, which will grow into the new queen.

There are up to 150 Drones, the only bees that mate with the Queen. These bees do nothing else. After mating these bees return to the hive where they are feed and attended to by the worker bees. In the fall however, the Drones are usually kicked out of the hive. Their work is done and they did not lift a finger to help store up honey for winter so out they go.

The rest of the hive is made up of Worker Bees. These are the bees that keep the hive thriving. There are house bees who stay in the hive attending to the Queen and the drones and the Brood, the baby bees still developing. These House Bees receive the nectar from the flying bees and go about to turn it into honey. They fan the nectar with their wings to extract the moisture, thus making it into honey. Once the nectar has reached the desired consistency, about 7 to 8 per cent moisture, they cap it off with bees' wax also known as cappings.

The flying bees are the bees that leave the hive. They will go up to 7 kilometers away from the hive to get nectar and pollen. Bees need both nectar and pollen for winter. Nectar is turned into honey, their sugar and the pollen is their protein. Bee keepers must be careful to leave enough resources for the bees to survive the winter.

There are numerous pests that can infect a bee hive and can ultimately destroy a colony. Varroa mites are small red pest that infest a hive and attack the off spring. With a serious infestation hives can be lost within 30 days. There are tricks to be used by beekeepers but the main one is to be ever vigilant. Bee keepers must use Integrated Pest Management in order to stave off possible infestations. Another serious concern is American Foulbrood, which at first makes an appearance as a nasty smell emanating from the hive. Bee Keepers partake in extensive training to learn all they can about pest management and techniques to prevent or treat an infestation.

Other concerns for a hive include predators like bears and skunks. Bears will go for a small hive that is not thriving rather than a highly active hive. Bears can and will get stung repeatedly when they go for a hive so they have become very good at watching for and going after less populated hives. If a bear decides to attack a hive it will leave no board or frame unturned. It will destroy all bee, honey and equipment for some sweet success. Bee keepers know they have a skunk issue when they see scratch marks on the entrance of the hive. Skunks scratch at the wood and wait for the bees to come investigate. When they do the skunk eats them, sometimes chomping them in half and leaving half of their bodies on the ground, another indicator of a skunk problem.

Bees are very industrious, always moving, always working. They are capable of sustaining themselves and other wild life including humans. Bees are cultivated all over the world including Africa, Brazil, North America and New Zealand. Bees play such an important role in our ecosystems by transferring pollen from plant to plant. Having a bee hive near your garden, either flower or vegetable, will greatly increase your yields. Bees and honey are some of nature's greatest gifts.

Kayla's Quilt

I finally finished my niece's quilt. It's about time her birthday is...was only two weeks ago. Opps!



Have you ever seen the show, Canada's Worst Handyman or Canada's Worst Driver? I think there is a future in Canada's Worst Quilter. I'd give the other contestants a run for their money. I have never taken a class. I am always making mistakes and never has a quilt turned out as nicely as I pictured it in my head. If it wasn't for the beauty in the fabric I doubt any one would want to own one.

My stitches are never straight. My measurements are always off. I AM Canada's Worst Quilter... but I love to quilt. So what are ya gonna do? Keep practicing, I guess.

Name Change

I have been wanting to change the name of this blog for sometime now. Not the web address, just the name. I think the name of my blog was giving people the wrong impression about me. Bless Ewe Farm was the name I had in mind for my farm if and when we acquired one, and so when I started this blog as an account of our journey to the farm I decided to name it after my dream farm. Like everything though, things change. The farm dream has been downscaled, let's just say it has be pruned a bit.

I needed a blog name that more accurately represented my main objectives. When I started the Bless Ewe Farm blog it was with my full intention to move out onto many acres to raise sheep. Much time has passed (over two years), research has been completed and I have found myself steering more and more away from large scale or even small scale "farming". I'm more like a self-sufficient gardener than a farmer anyway.

At this point I am not entirely sure I intend to have any animals at all, other than domesticated cats and dogs. Animals are a lot of work, and although I do not shy away from working up a good sweat, I am humble enough to admit that maybe I should leave that kind of work to the experts of agriculture. Feeding, mucking and handling I can deal with. Illness, birthing, hoof clipping, de-worming and castration are aspects of animal husbandry that I am squeamish about. If I did decide to raise animals it would be a handful of chickens, maybe a beef cow but certainly nothing more than a standard hobby farm operation.

I am still of a homespun mindset. I am living simply according to my family's needs and my values. Does that mean I do everything "by the book"? No. Do I need to justify myself to the homesteading community at large? No. This blog is simply an extension of me, the work I enjoy and the life I lead. I think the title, Home[in]stead does a better job of describing me and what this blog is about.

Hectic Summer Daze

Summer brings a big to do list. Everything from prep and plant the gardens. Weed. Can. Freeze. Take Kids to Park. Go to Beach. Take Kids to Soccer Practice. Plan Camping Trip. Go to the Drive In... summer has it share of hectic days and lazy days, sometimes a day can be both lazy AND hectic.

As a family we do more in summer. Living in the northern hemisphere means we are not guaranteed a whole lot of summer. There's a radio commercial on all the time that states we have 95 days of summer, and 270 days of winter! That's not entirely true, however after a seemingly long March filled with blizzards and freezing rain we often wonder if spring will ever arrive.


Canada is usually perceived as being this northern tundra way up there. I have heard of southern tourists arriving in the Toronto airport with skis...in JULY!! This maybe an exaggeration but I was once in the United States in August when someone from New York state said to me, "Well, you have snow in your country right now..." Ummm, what?! No...it's August, my dear. You live about 300 miles from me and you can't figure out how our shared climate works. The Canadian border is not some magic line that separates the barren hinterland from the balmy south.

However winters can feel extremely long. I do not do much driving or traveling or much of anything away from the home in winter. Not because I can't but simply because I don't want to. Winter is my calm time. My time in the home where I am warm and toasty.

Summer is my running time. In addition to my gardening and preserving, I make it a point to do many, many day trips with the kids. We are in the park at least once a week, the beach as well. Sometimes both in the same day. I usually spend a lot more time in my car visiting farmer's markets and farm stands, collecting fruit and veggies to put by for the winter. My son's sport is soccer and this year he is on a traveling team. We may not do much in the way of "book work" for homeschooling but there are still homeschool friends to meet up with, play dates to go on and of course the slue of birthday parties and barbecues.



Summer is a wonderful time of year. I enjoy it's hectic days. After a seemingly long winter at home summer is a welcome change of pace. By October I am ready for a reprieve. I like to slow things down. The kids hunker down at the books. I get working on Christmas plans and complete the final touches on the pantry. In the fall I may even find myself in a more creative mood than any other time of year. Each season has it's own pace and style.

Some days in summer I'd like to call "Uncle!". Those are the days when I am pulled in multiple directions and wondering why in the heck do I do this to myself? Why do I need to can 24 jars of tomatoes? Then I remember, I actually don't need to can 24 jars of tomatoes but I want to. Being busy in summer does not mean I am not living simply. My priorities are still in tact. Simplicity does not mean in activity. It means concentrating your time, energy and resources to the things that truly matter to you. Those things will change throughout the year but it doesn't need to change your priorities. It's just the way of the seasons. I will have my rest soon enough.

Blueberry Bushes

This year I have found myself growing tired of me saying, "I can't do such-and-such because we are moving to our homestead next season anyway." The list of homesteading things I can't start at the rental house is extensive. I can't have chickens, or a bee hive. I can't plant any fruit trees or berry bushes. I can't do extensive gardens like I want. I can't build a deck. I can't, I can't, I can't.

Well this year I had enough and I started to think outside the box to conjure up some ideas of how I can get things started here and transplant them to our permanent home once we get one. Fruit trees can be bulky. Constructing extensive gardens is costly and would take a lot of effort to move. I wanted to see if Blueberry bushes could grow in pots and I found this video.



The key is peat moss since blueberries like a more acidic soil. Each year I will add some compost to the pot to keep the soil healthy.



Over the next season or two, my blueberry bushes can grow and when we are finally moving I can bring them with me. I wasn't sure I would get any berries this year but there are about 20 or so on my two tiny bushes. This gets me started on a few projects while still waiting to get really moving on my homestead. It's a small step but a step nonetheless.

A Thank You...

Yesterday, my neighbor presented me with a gift, an antique table loom for weaving. Her son has been in my care for a few weeks. I was hanging laundry when she came outside and asked if I had a moment. I always do for a friend and I came over to chat. She handed me a card which said I was an inspiration to her and she was grateful for all I had done for her and her son over the last four years since she moved in. Since she arrived we have had barbeques together, I have watched her son off and on when needed and most recently I encouraged her to homeschool even though she is a single mom. Since making that huge leap of faith a few months ago and changing her son's mode of education I have encouraged her like any friend would and given her ideas and things to ponder. Our friendship has really blossomed.




But she is moving in a week and she said she wanted to give me something to show how appreciative she was for all I have done. Under a blanket was the loom and when I lifted it off I cried! It is the most thoughtful gift I have ever received from anyone, aside from my husband. I usually have a very hard time making friends, and usually feel more at home with my husband and kids than other people. I had no idea she felt this way and even now I am having a hard time accepting such a costly gift.

I can think of a few people in my life who have inspired me to become the person I am today. I wonder if I have ever made it as clear to them how much their friendship, advice and camaraderie have meant to me. In our busy, disconnected lives, are we ever so bold to tell a person that they are appreciated and loved? Would these people know how we feel about them? I had no idea how my neighbour felt about me until yesterday. I was just being me, lending a helpful hand or a listening ear to someone who needed one.

This may be a bit campy, but here goes...

To my sister, Jennifer, I adore you. You have been a fixture in my life long before my husband, my kids or any other person I know. You are my constant friend. I love you.

To my dear friend, Crystal B., recently moved north, you have listened to my endless prattle over many, many cups of coffee. You inspire me to be a better, more patient mom, who truly delights in being with her kids. I miss you already.

To my friend, Tammy, it was you who inspired me to begin homeschooling. It was your unwaivering faith that led me to believe that I too can accomplish and succeed at such a worthy parental role. For your encouragement, I thank you.

To Mrs. Fox, my elementary teacher-librarian, you inspired me to write, write and keep writing. It was that early encouragement then sent me on a path to win awards, accolades and ultimately to journalism school. For this work, I humbly recognize you.

And last but not least, to my husband, who has always believed in me when I found it hard to believe in myself. Thanks for obeying orders and not dying on me seven years ago.

I know this is a poor substitute for saying these things to the people in person, but after today I will make more effort to let my loved ones know they are truly loved.

How Does My Garden Grow...Now?

The garden seems to be doing great this year.

In the upper garden, some of the lettuce has been harvested and tastes great, the handful of strawberries we have collected are superb. The broccoli is still growing but shows no signs of florets. I fear the weather has turned too hot for broccoli which prefer the cold.



The peas are still blooming so nothing is ripe yet. And my pumpkin plants are just starting, so I am not sure they will be ready come October.

In the main garden, however, my tomato plants are flourishing with lovely yellow blossoms all over. I have had to plant then all around the outside, the main area where the deer travel in. I ran out of tomato cages and staked a few. The two that were not staked or caged yet have been nibbled on, most likely by the deer. I had to stake the cucumber plants in order to train them away from the tomato and pepper plants. It seems to be working.



The other week I was weeding in my main garden when a neighbourhood dog came bounding through five backyards to come visit. He was a fairly large, heavy set Labrador 'teenager'. He went straight through my garden. I tried to minimize the damage by holding him back but he was too strong and he bounded through my onion patch (left side of picture). When the owner finally came to claim him, he didn't even apologize! If it happens again, I have some choice words to say.

My lower garden, the one closest to the forest is a bit touch and go at the moment. The corn planted on the outer edges are growing but the inner seeds never did sprout. In place of the invisible corn I planted a few late pumpkin seeds, just to see and then two days later I found the pumpkin seeds dug up and all piled up on the edge of the garden bed, very neatly, might I add. Something strange is afoot in that garden, but I haven't quite put my finger on it.



My two cantaloupe plants have been nibbled on some but the blossoms are still very much alive so we shall see what kind of fruit I have in the end.

Nothing is ever boring in the garden. There is always something new happening. A freshly sprouted plant, a new danger to protect them from or a new technique to try. I really do love working in my garden. When I head out each morning I never know what to expect.

Playing House...Frontier House

A dvd I ordered came in the mail yesterday. It's PBS's Frontier House, a 6 part series profiling the lives of three families trying to live life as settles heading west in the 1880's. Given that we do not have a television, I did not know this show existed until recently.



It was a similar Canadian show, Pioneer Quest, produced years ago that got me interested in the lifestyle I am pursuing today. At the time this show was airing on television we did have a tv and I was enamored by the concept. I would have volunteered for such a show in an instant, without hesitation. That is not to say it is how I would like to live but just that it sparked an idea. Is it possible to live and work so close to the land in modern times?

At the same time I was also making my way through The Complete Tightwad Gazette, reading about self-sufficiency, and the book, Your Money Or Your Life. Typing in Self sufficiency into a google search I came across the books by John Seymour, and that led me to Carla Emery and then later Henry David Thoreau's Walden. With the release of the Food Inc film, and the books The 100 Mile Diet, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I made small but steady steps on this path.

All these things lead me in the same direction, on the path to simplicity, a path to resist the consumer culture and forge my own life using my own belief system and values, not those impressed upon me by mainstream media. At the root of all this was an idea that, without romanticizing the hardships, life possessed more meaning when people were more directly involved with their food, their families and their day to day tasks.

It has taken a long time to get to this point and I still have a fair distance to go, but I keep going. Luckily I stumble upon little bits of inspiration like Frontier House to keep me focused.

Freezing Summer Fruits

We've been busy the last few weeks, picking, canning and freezing strawberries and raspberries. Blueberries will be ready soon.




By August my freezer is always packed with numerous frozen summer berries. We use them in cereals, yogurt, pies and my personal fave, smoothies!

I use the flash freeze method for berries. Using a cookie sheet you pile on the berries in a single layer and place in freezer uncovered. Once frozen, pull out the cookie sheet and place all the berries in a large freezer bag. This method keeps the berries from clumping together allowing me to remove only as much as I need at one time.



Be very gentle with the berries, raspberries especially are highly delicate. Next up, blueberries!