Getting Off The Grid - The Last Days Of August

The last days of August is when we have the worst heat of the summer here in central Alabama. Things get "crispy!"

This week we have had temps soar up to 102° fahrenheit with no rain, anything left living in the garden had to be tough or die.

Some died.

The Homestead :

Life has been slow around here, the homestead is ready for the changing of season, the garden that is.

I still need to cut back bushes and small trees, I had to neglect them because of going away from home to work for pay.

I was given some really nice but used 8 x 2 x 10`s that was taken from a house, they were the floor joists, so those will be a new floor for the little house that will be built on the property in a few weeks. 

The flower beds/ herbs beds / vegetable beds are being cleaned one at a time.

From The Garden :

I finally got it done! I used a push mower to clean off the tomato patch that was more or less nothing but grass, next I got on the riding mower and cut it even shorter, as close to the dirt as I could get it.

I did not stop there, I mowed down the cucumber patch and the squash patch, they were spent, nothing more coming.

The garden got tilled over and is now ready for the kale seed and other greens I bought 10 days ago.

I get okra a couple times a week and a couple bell peppers here and there.

I am drying basil and sage.

The may pops are getting riper each day ( Passion flower fruits)

The stockpile :

The only food I am stocking is the okra, that is all I have left!

With that being said I did home can mushrooms I bought.

I also love beans, all kinds of beans so I home can me a few types for quick go to meals when I am to busy to stay in and cook all day. This week the bean is green baby Lima`s. I got six half pints so that is six meals for me.

I have yet to make it to the farmers market, its an hour drive and I need cash in hand when I do make it there. Much easier to buy when people see the money in your hand.

The Learning :

The last ten days has been a roller coaster ride! 

I am old school but living in a new world, so I will learn how to do things now but not forget my roots and ways to live free as possible. After all if there is an easier way to do something I want to know.

Building and running an online store, making the products and shipping. Its a whole new world. I have to be professional, I can`t use the words ain`t, fix`in to do that, or any of the other Alabama sayings. Plus I have to watch my spelling. 

But I won`t stray to far off, I need simple and I make simple. I do not want all that store bought stuff filled with preservatives, dyes and additives when its not necessary at all. I package simple and I handwrite the labels. People pay for the products, they want fancy packaging? ? Fancy packaging costs money, speaking for myself I want more product and pay for less packaging.

I am learning to live off the land, learn what I want in and on my body. Its still the old way, just in a new tech world that is stepping back to some old ways in the process of all this technology advancement. 

How is life on your homestead? 

For more information about the new online store click here : Sunshine`s Homestead Creations

By Andria Perry

Photos by Andria Perry