Getting Off The Grid - A Bad Case Of.....

November  9, 2017

After a week of cold we got the normal temperatures back that is the 70`s as highs and the upper 50`s at night. My kind of weather! But at this time of the year we bounce back and forth with the cold and hot, like a slow smooth tango.

 I know I cannot live in Alabama and hope for tropical weather so I will have to go with whatever mother nature brings, as old man Winter comes a knocking.

Progress  Around the Homestead :

Saturday was a free day so we went down to the place to buy a few of the plastic drums and see what else this old guy has sitting around we might use around here. I could not believe that the place was closed on a Saturday around 2 pm! If I were a betting woman I bet it had something to do with college football.

When Monday came around I made sure that I went by there but first I also made sure I only took $50, I would get what I needed for $50 or go elsewhere. Of coarse this guy wanted more but he let go of $10 and gave me four barrels for the $50.

 I will paint them black, place them inside the greenhouse, fill with water. As the days gets hot they will absorb heat and at night they will radiate the heat out into the space to keep it warm.

From The Garden : 

I have kale. I have turnip greens and turnips. 

I have Swiss Chard (aka beets) Other than that I have nothing. 

But..... I have tomato plants in the greenhouse ready to be re-potted into large containers, maybe have some ripe tomatoes in January? 

The Stockpile :

This week I did not shop for much of nothing. But I did pick a huge sack of kale and I home canned four pints, not much but a start for re-stocking. 

Learning :

I have ordered yet another book, this one is specifically on foraging in my area of the USA.

The more I walk around my woods the more I learn, Sunday I noticed several types of wild mushrooms. 

The red mushroom I know is a big no no, the photo does not do this red mushroom justice, it is bright.

Next I seen clusters of mushrooms, they all had a hint of purple on top.

I am not sure why one was upturned but I got the underside of it.

And last I seen one brown mushroom, after I had left the camera back at the house.

I am certain that all of these are NOT edible but its a learning experience each and every time I study a mushroom. 

And.....

I also received my new book on foraging and I am disappointed at how little this book shows. I need a book that shows what I can eat here in Alabama, not Northeast! But that is how we all get stuck buying the books, they NEVER tell us where they are foraging. Another live and learn experience. 

By Andria Perry
Photos by Andria Perry