rural life – Online home of Jon

Lawn Mower Repair

Last time I used the mower it was running rough. So in the spirit of good preventative maintenance I put it away until I had some time to look at it. It would appear that the bolts that hold the carburetor had evaporated. After some looking I found one bolt laying on top of the mower deck and the other had gone to the land of lost bolts.

I searched around in an old canning jar and found that little bolt on the right side that was missing. Looks pretty factory I think. The other one I just screwed it into the nearest empty spot.

I think Dad would be proud but Uncle Harold might shake his head at that one bolt but it’s all I had.

Pickles

I harvested garlic and dill this week. With a short trip to Argersinger Rd to visit an Amish farm we scored a box of pickling cucumbers for ten bucks. Garlic from Lincoln Rd and Dill from right outside in the garden.

I made a few jars up of garlic and dill pickles. Mom wanted bread and butter pickles so we started slicing and let these sit for twelve hours before I mixed up the spices and vinegar. Then I canned them while Kirsten and Mom were at the fair.

A dozen quarts of whole dill pickles, nineteen half pints and five pints of bread and butter Pickles.

Mushrooms in the woods

Can anyone identify these for me and tell me what they are? I think they might be chicken of the woods but they are growing on a downed log that might be hickory or some hemlock.

A quick glance through Cornell returned this link, which indicates to avoid them if it is growing on an evergreen. “Be wary of Chickens growing on conifers (in the Northeast) as they are a different species and can cause poisoning. Chicken of the Woods can make a fine chicken substitute as long as you make sure to fully cook the mushroom.” I am in the Northeast, so I suppose I need to go back and see what these were growing on.

Garden Review

So I planted a small garden this year. I’ve started to lose track of everything I’ve planted this year so here’s a list.
Pole Beans Did well.
Bush Beans Did well.
Broccoli Did well.
Brussels Sprouts A bust
Zucchini Bush Green Planted four and did well.
Zucchini Black Saved for next year.
Squash Yellow Saved for next year.
Sweet Corn A bust.
Pop Corn A bust.
Tomatoes 2 Yellow, 2 Cherry, 2 Roma, 3 unknown Did well.
Asparagus 30 crowns two given away and eighteen came up. Note to self no purple passion next time. Wait change in plans the purple passion came up this week, it just took a lot longer than the others. These are all going great.
Carrots Did well.
Spinach black and New Zealand Did well.
Lettuce Did well.
Peas Did well.
Vine Peach Melons, a cantaloupe that I am going to try and trellis. Did okay don’t bother with them again.
Cucumbers Straight Eight, and Pickling Eaten by a citter.
Watermelon A bust.
Potatoes Red, White, Blue, and Yukon Gold
Russian blue, a bust.
Red did well.
White and Yukon gold never got planted.
Raspberries kind of pathetic but still there.
Black Berries One plant of two survived.
Dill did well.
Oregano did well.
Cilantro A bust.
Parsley A bust.
Basil did well.

And a few flowering plants
Adirondack Roses Doing well.
Lilacs Doing well.
Zinnia Did well.
Marigolds Did well.
Sun Flowers Did very well.

Sunset

From Sunset

How much

Just exactly how much do you need to get by and be comfortable? I used to watch Dad try and figure this out, maybe he was lazy or maybe he was actually a genius. I’m not sure, but I prefer to think it was some place in the middle.
I’ve got my subscription to Mother Earth News and I’ve read some things that seem to indicate its possible. Energy independence, food independence, income independence first?
I posted a list from cheaprvliving.com before that made a list of how to live off $1000 a month, I think that leaves out a few things but its a good start. Taxes with a house on a piece of land are going to be around three thousand a year today and probably three times that in twenty years.
I think I want a piece of land to at least call home base and use to generate some income but I don’t want it to be a boat anchor on me so I can’t go any place or do anything away from the land.
Some small stock, maybe goats, pigs, and chickens would be okay. I’d need someone else to do the butchering since I have no stomach for that, another expense.
Could I generate at least limited electricity from solar panels and a small wind turbine or would it be cheaper to just buy from the electric company? I want to keep things I enjoy like the motorcycle and a laptop a small car or truck to get around in and maybe find a way to run that off something I could grow.
Oh for that perfect world that I dream of.