The Curious Parts & Pieces Of Country Life

I made it over to Portland Homestead Supply Co. today. I am in love! I didn't have my camera on me, so I had to take cell phone pictures(Sorry for the bad quality). I just wanted to give you guys an idea of the ambiance, and nature of the store.  The store had fresh eggs that were brough in same day, 2 goats, 2 ducks, and tons of baby chicks of all different kinds. Any tool you can possibly think of for any type of homesteading need- This store has got it! I set out to buy something while I was in there- to support them. I bought a book full of adorable and educational illustrations called "Farm Anatomy- The Curious Parts & Pieces Of Country Life". I highly recommend checking it out. I flipped open the pages and instantly learned that on average 1 hen lays 260 eggs per year. 1 hen!

I hope as I learn to be more self sufficient, and make a direct connection with my food- you will learn, and possibly be inspired to do it yourself! Check back as I am going to start dehydrating fruit!

Self Reliance & Fun Canning Label Downloads from Frolic

Some day when we get our mini cabins up, and a garden in the ground we are going to can our food! My mom bought Wayne a couple of amazing books for Christmas. One is called Back To Basics, the other is Homesteading. Homesteading has tons of information about canning, and lots of recipes. The books arrived at our door a few days ago and they have been on our laps since we opened the box. There are 2 more books in the Self Sufficiency Series(Self-Sufficiency & Simpler Living-2 books now on my wish list). I see the price of food rising every day, and it seems harder and harder for Americans to become self reliant. The definition(yes I looked it up) is Independence. There is money in every single one of us being dependent, and also a form of control. According to the EPA, 3,000 acres of productive U.S. farmland are lost to development every day. Between 2005 and 2006, the US lost 8,900 farms (a little more than 1 farm per hour). With my eyes opening up more every day I realize how many benefits there are to getting off the grid. Not only would we be creating our own electricity, eating seasonally, have long term food storage, saving LOTS of money and big muscles ; ) but we would be living mostly in our own footprint. I am quite fed up with mountain top removal, nuclear disasters, fracking, oil spills, poverty, smog, traffic, monsanto, chemtrails and blackouts(I could go on). There is a trend I have seen on Pinterest, which I figure is going on throughout the world. More and more people are wanting a more relaxed lifestyle and to live within their means. Going back to wood burning stoves, small cabins, salvaging old items, pallet furniture, outdoorsy things like hiking, canoeing and fishing. I love healthy trends! Let them continue, and let us all become independent in our future.

I have here some canning inspiration for you from Frolic. She had a guest post from Banquet which created a free download for canning labels, with a recipe for preserved lemons. Check it out here!

Read more about the sustainability and the importance of family farms here- Also a reference for my statistics written above.