Homemade Soaps and Lotions

I've been obsessed with making natural, homemade soaps for a long time. I've talked about it and talked about making soaps as part of learning homesteading skills and I finally got around to learning this year.  And now I'm totally hooked!

November Garden Update 2013

It's been a busy weekend.

Rescued a Woolie Bear Caterpillar....

He/she now lives in one of my half barrels that I've prepped with a layer of grass and dead leaves to compost during the winter...

Arrival of Jack Frost in the Garden

The first frost came early this year!  Last year, the first frost came on Nov. 6th!!  This year, October 24th.  I think we're in for a bad winter!! BAD!  I'm O.K. with cold but snow?  Not really. 

Well, the one good thing that happened with the first frost is that my crazy, mind-of-its-own pumpkin plant finally croaked.

I thought at one point that it would start climbing up the house. :-P

Transplanting Strawberry Plants + Other Garden Surprises

It's been rainy, rainy, rainy all week!!  The plants are loving it and so am I since I haven't had to get up early to water!!  Being that it's rainy and overcast outside, it's also a good time to transplant my new strawberry plants. 

When Squirrels Attack + Happy Garden Surprises

This is about the time the squirrels go crazy.  They just have digging on the brain. My raised beds look like Swiss cheese lately and I'm finding acorns and peanuts stuck in the dirt in the beds.  Crazy squirrels.  And when they attack?  This is the result...

Homesteader Weekend: Concord Grape Jelly

Guess what I did today??  I canned for the very first time!!  One of the things I've always wanted to learn is to put up food properly especially via canning.  So far, I'm fabulous with freezing, which I have to say is still my favorite way to put up food.  Right now, I have two giant bags of Chinese long beans, a bag of rapini, tomato sauce, cherry tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, a Swiss chard/mustard green stir fry mix, and basil all packed in my freezer for the winter.  I love freezing but it was time to venture into hot process canning.  I just didn't think I would be making concord grape jelly.

Fall In The Garden

The weather is changing here!! It seems a little early compared to last year, but I welcome it.  I've been trying to clean up my psycho garden.  I've chopped down a lot of my squash plants and finally pulled out my melon plants.  All but one tomato plant have been pulled out.