New Backdoor! {Before & After}

With a ting and a crash, a pebble kicked up by a weed whacker shattered one of the panes of our back door. Alex swept up the glass and piped in some silicone sealant around the shards left around the edges of the intact other pane. That was three years ago. Last Monday, I finally convinced Uncle Leonard aka Krash to come help us install a new back door.

I sawzalled (that's a word, right?) through the nails that were holding the old door frame in place and it fell right out. The new one fit...almost.

Much finagling ensued including, at one point, Krash balancing a ladder on the stairs wielding a circular saw overhead to cut into our asbestos shingling. He is not one for safety precautions.

Finally the new door fit in the house frame. Len screwed it in place after lining the frame with handy foam insulation. Alex caulked around the door for additional wind and water protection. Not surprisingly, that area of the house immediately felt less drafty.

We are thrilled to finally mark 'new back door' off our list of home improvements!

PS. Leonard helped us out in exchange for lunch, the return of his ladder, and creation and maintenance of a facebook page for Krash books. Take a peek and 'like' if you enjoy highly creative stories.

How To Fence Raised Beds

The chickens eye the tomatoes, the dogs walk all over the bean bed, and the squirrels want into everything. What's a space intensive gardener to do? Fence around the beds. Yet every spring I resist. Fencing is ugly and expensive. It is a pain (literally, I have a hole healing in my finger from a wire poke) to install and remove. Grass is hard to cut around the edges.

This year I was intentional about planning and installing fencing. I finally have the perfect balance of function and aesthetics. Here's how I fence our raised beds:

1) Use the same style throughout the garden. My cousin Todd of Combs Landscape Design advised that if all the fencing is the same, it disappears visually. I prefer vinyl coated wire fencing because it is less apt to poke fingers during installation and removal.

2) Install the fencing 2-3 inches above ground level. With this clearance, you can use an edger or scissors to cut grass missed by the lawn mower.

3) Staple every 12-15 inches. If you pull the fencing taught between staples, this is sufficient to hold. Every staple you put in during the spring must be removed in the fall. Don't be like my husband, who put a staple every inch last spring and then had his wife remove the fencing in the fall. She will not enjoy removing hundreds of staples when a dozen would have done the job.

4) Fold corners into right angles. This defines the space visually and also adds stability.

5) Remove and re-roll the fencing in the fall. This will allow the chickens to do their dirt turning business and saves the fence from excess wear and tear. I use pliers to remove the staples and store the fencing in the loft of our garage.

How do you fence?

Added to Simple Lives Thursday 45.

Friday Five: Anxious Feelings

I don't usually admit to being fearful. I'm the over-confident one, eager to offer advice and assistance. But truly, the month of May has me feeling a little anxious. Here's what I'm worried about:

1. Pecha Kucha - On Thursday the 12th, I will present my ideas about 'When You Know Your Food' to a crowd, possibly a very large crowd. The facebook invite has over 350 RSVPs and the last event had between 600-700 audience members. Whoa.You can watch how I perform under fire for a small donation of $2. There will be free beer, food carts, screen printing and a photo booth to entertain us.
2. Weather - The sunshine yesterday and this morning should have me in a pretty good mood. The potential happiness is overshadowed, however, by a forecast for more rain and chilly temperatures. Everything is less fun when it is raining: chickens are more squawky, children more obnoxious and gardening more difficult.
3. BlogHer Food - I'm going to Atlanta May 19-22 for the BlogHer Food conference. I'm flying by myself, staying in a hotel by myself, and volunteering as a mic wrangler during most sessions. Lil will be shuffled around a bit because Alex is also traveling for part of that time. I'm concerned about what to wear, how many business cards to bring, how the volunteer job will go, whether the conference is a good use of money, etc.
4. Garden - My garden looks like a bunch of caged soil right now. I planted out seedlings but they are mere specks of green on a dirt brown expanse. The dogs are being particularly nosy this year, so most beds are surrounded by chicken wire. Some even have bird netting over the top to protect the peas from sparrows. I worry every year around this time that my garden will not produce, though I have to remind myself that I always end up with a jungle by June.
5. Lil's Food - The eating habits of my five year old are driving me batty. She likes approximately five healthy things at any given moment, and these change regularly. She asks for treats all the time and we argue when I suggest real food alternatives. I know that Lil will very likely eat whole foods as an adult but right now she wastes an awful lot of quality ingredients. I hope this phase ends soon because it is squeezing the enjoyment out of my very favorite activities: cooking and eating.

And yet, I feel ashamed about my anxiety when I remember that thousands of people are still suffering from earthquake, tsunami, and tornado damage. My worries are not a drop in the bucket compared to those who are without homes, living in war-torn areas, and suffering from illness, joblessness, or hunger.

Listing my concerns about my wants when all my needs are generously met makes me a little ill at myself. But, blah, that's how I'm feeling. How are you doing today?

PS. I am genuinely looking forward to assisting Joseph of Swainway Urban Farm at the Clintonville Farmer's Market tomorrow morning. Come say hi!

Homestead Care Instructions

With dogs, chickens, and worms depending on our care, there is a lot to have in order before we leave for vacation in Massachusetts today. To complicate matters, a friend may stay at our house while we are away. Fortunately, our neighbor and my sister are experienced with the particulars of our creatures and we trust them with the care of the homestead. Animals aside, I am most concerned about two things: my seedlings in the basement and the fruit tree blossoms, like the peach pictured at left. My sister will check on the seedlings and I am fairly confident they will stay alive even if she doesn't share my love for monitoring soil temperature and moisture. We unfortunately have no control over whether a late frost will wipe out our fruit for the whole season.

I thought that some other homesteaders or vacationers might want to read the instructions we left for house guests/caretakers. If you do, feel free to download our Homestead Care Instructions. Edit and use them for your own trips if you wish.

To follow along on our trip to Buzzard's Bay, Ipswich, Dr. Seuss Memorial Garden, Graycliff Estate, Mike's studio, and more, find me on twitter, facebook, or foursquare.

Through the magic of scheduled posting, readers will still see fresh content on Hounds in the Kitchen too. Easter is coming up and I couldn't leave you without some fun egg posts!

Added to Simple Lives Thursdays 39th Edition

Keeping a Homestead Journal

I have resisted written journals forever because writing about just anything seemed to open for me. When I came upon the idea I could track activities around the homestead in a journal, I was excited. I challenged myself to write a little something every day in March. Meeting the challenge was a cinch because there's nothing I love more than being productive and writing about it.

Each evening, I organize the day's record with a title line that includes the date, temperature, weather, and location. Underneath, I note accomplishments and challenges, such as 'moved the chicken coop', 'Lil coughing all night', 'cooked for family', or 'started tomato seedlings'. This is the same format I use for my field log that I've kept since high school to record birds and significant natural sightings on hikes and vacations.

Here's what I love about the log:

• Already I can look back and see progress in the weather and my activities.
• The feel of a good pen on an excellent notebook is a lovely way to end the day.
• I am finally writing down planting dates so I can compare them in future years.
• I can't wait to take the journal on vacation next week and put some new locations in the title line!

Do you keep a journal or log? How do you keep track of gardening and cooking activities?

Added to Simple Lives Thursday 38th Edition.

First Cache of 2011: Firewood

Our family spends countless hours harvesting and preserving foodstuffs for times when they are unavailable fresh. We preserve tomatoes, cook up jam, press cider, can applesauce, and dry herbs summer through fall.

Our winter stores for 2011-2012 began Sunday, just as the winter of 2010-2011 violently passed on. Alex chopped and I hauled ash wood from generous friends who had to remove the dying tree. We went back today and will make one more trip to fill our wood pile. We believe with this week of hard work we will have enough fuel for our wood stove to last the whole winter next year.

What are you planning to 'put up' in 2011?

Introducing Intern Keara!

A few weeks ago I was approached by Lil's teacher at school about having an intern. Her step-daughter was looking for a cooking-related internship. Other small business owner friends have had great experiences with interns, so I agreed! Keara will be assisting around the homestead and at cooking classes for the next two months. She might appear in blog posts too. Below she introduces herself and the internship program.

"Hey there everyone, it's Keara. I'm a senior at Linworth AP and have the chance to do something called a walkabout. At the end of January all the seniors go out into the 'real' world of adults and pursue their hobbies or career paths. Some people stay here in Ohio, while others may travel all the way to Mexico to volunteer in an orphanage. There are two walkabouts, one starting in January and ending in March, the second from April to May.

My current passion is life is cooking, and for my first walkabout I interned at the lovely Worthington Inn and worked in the kitchen. The Worthington Inn buys everything that they can locally and fresh. I'm interested in buying local organic, along with gardening and using what I plant in the foods I eat. This is what brought me to Rachel, I'm really interested in how she goes about making her food and hoping once I leave her to be able to use what knowledge I've gained in the kitchen at home. Thanks for reading!"

Friday Five: Why Alex Brews Beer

I'm not back quite yet. April Fools! I convinced one more person to write for me this week, my husband Alex. Here's a little bit from him about beer brewing. If you want more details or a tutorial, let me know in the comments.

I've been brewing beer for over a decade now.  The justification at first was that I could save money by brewing my own tipple.  However, between the cost of the equipment and the beer kits the savings just never materialized.  The kits contained liquid or dry malt extract which is fairly expensive thus I moved to the next stage of brewing: all grain.

In 2003, I set up a mash-tun and started brewing from grain.  Grain costs less than extract but it still couldn't cover another cost increase: drinking good beer makes you want to buy more and different kinds of expensive, good beer.  The moral here is don't expect to save money brewing beer.

Here are the five real reasons I brew my own beer:

1. The satisfaction of a homemade product -  I like being able to serve and see people enjoying something I have made.

2. Having beer on tap in my basement -  Ever since I went to kegs, it is awesome to be able to walk downstairs and come back up with a pint of draft beer.

3. Brewing styles that are hard to buy -  Ales and lagers are everywhere, but styles like Kolsch, Altbier and some of the more exotic Belgian ales are harder to come by. If you brew it yourself, any style is easily within reach.

4. Fermentation and yeast are awesome - There is something magical about using yeast in food production.  I bake bread as well and love the smell of yeast loaves rising.  Watching beer ferment is fascinating as the yeast flocculates, rises and swirls around in the carboy.

5. The vocabulary - What other hobbies have words like: sparge, wort, mash tun, trub, strike, flocculate, lovibond and others.  All of these describe some aspect of the brewing process as well as just being fun to say.