Getting Ready for the Winter Season

 

The light and temperature always seem to change rapidly this far north and this time of the year. The nights and mornings are chilly enough to layer up the clothing and then, for a brief couple of hours, one sheds the layers due to being too warm only to start putting them back on in a few hours or so. 

The angle of the sun is suddenly low in the sky and areas that were bathed in sunlight during the summer hours only briefly see a bit of sun before slipping into shade for the day. Meanwhile work in the gardens changes over from weeding, watering, and harvesting to cleaning up and either planting cover crops or over-wintered crops. In between we nervously watch the remaining crops in their race to ripen before they succumb to weather and predators. 

It is time to ready the little woodstove and gather the books on the topics I want to study. I have also enrolled in an online painting workshop that I am rather excited about. It will give me inspiration to figure out how I am going to accommodate painting in my little off-grid cargo trailer and it will allow me to refocus and hone my painting skills after so long a break. 

Today I gathered my winter clothing from my storage unit to replace the summer clothing I will be packing up to store. I will also be fixing the trailer up yet again. I need to insulate and finish the ceiling. I will be learning how to bend wood to attach to the metal ribs so that there will be a thermal break. I will need to make the trailer water tight to protect everything from mold, which has been an issue. While I know that a cargo trailer wasn't built to be lived in, I believe the makers of this trailer did a sloppy job with their construction. If I was hauling around tools to work on jobs, they would be rusty!

Quite honestly, if I was to do this again, I wouldn't pick a cargo trailer. I had originally thought I would travel and camp in it while painting after my divorce, at least until I got my feet on the ground and I had a chance to heal. That plan was derailed by a cold, wet December, mold, and...the pandemic. 

I will just say that it has been an interesting journey and I grateful to be where I am both physically and emotionally. 

I am eager to get back to my painting and drawing. 

The above photo is a study I painted of a Solar Flare tomato I grew while living on Whidbey Islang from seed I had saved. 

I will leave you with a photo of the jungle in the Little Hoop House which is currently protecting beans, tomatoes, figs, and various herbs. 

Yours in Truth and Beauty, 

-Renee

The Rice is in the Boot!

 

I might have mentioned in my previous post that this farm where I have landed is somewhat unique. First, this farm is also a seed bank, and grains such as wheat, barley, and rye are grown on a small scale. 

We also grow rice on a small scale.

Now, I have to explain a bit here. This farm is located on an island in the Pacific Northwest of the United States off the Washington State coast. We are at a latitude of 48.59 degrees North. Not only is the climate somewhat chilly, we have long days and short nights in the summer. Rice is sensitive to the length of day, or perhaps more accurate, the length of night. Add the intolerance to cold at certain stages of the rice plant’s development, to the sensitivity to the length of the night, and you can see why it is a bit more challenging to grow rice here. 

But, it is possible. 

It is pretty amazing to me to see it growing here in such an unlikely place. As to why grow it here when there are other places in the world that have a climate and latitude that are far more suited to growing rice, well, that will have to be for another post.

It is complicated. 

I will add that the rice is growing in a hoop house and the day-length is controlled with blackout coverings. 

It has been a bit of a strange weather year. The temperatures have fluctuated quite a bit and fall is definitely creeping in. The rice, along with a few other crops, might not make it to full maturity. This farm is off-grid and we don’t use artificial heat in the hoop houses although, we do use solar power to vent them when needed. 

In between working in the gardens and getting my trailer ready to move to a different spot, I am gathering and drying herbs and making tinctures. 

Here are the latest, Shepherds Purse, Grape leaf, and Lemon Balm. The hops I gathered are nearly dry enough to make tincture and some will be kept for dried stock. I also have Mallow drying, both root and leaf, and Stinging Nettle seed. I hope to be growing and harvesting a lot more herbs next year. In the meantime, there is still hawthorn berries to harvest and willow bark I dried to tincture. 

Well, it is late and I must get some rest so I will wrap up this blog post. I am eagerly awaiting the ripening of some of the beans grown from older seed I did a rescue process on. 

The blog posts will be shifting from farm gardens to trailer remodel as the seasons change. I will also be picking up my sketch pad and pencils soon. It will feel good to get back to art.

 I am ready. 

Yours in Truth and Beauty, 

-Renee

September, Already?

 

I took a look at the last time I posted to my blog. I am a bit embarrassed that the previous post was last winter! 

It was a funny year, weather-wise. Winter hung on until May and then suddenly it was summer. Here on the farm we have been in a constant rush to get the garden in and keep up with everything. 

Summer came on with a vengeance and everything shot up, flowered, and fruited, including the grass and weeds. 

We have been dealing with cute, fuzzy, wild rabbits cutting their way through the fences to decimate our wheat overnight. The voles have multiplied and cut down the beans at the stem and left them dangling on supports. They have tunneled into the potato beds and wreaked havoc amongst the tubers. 

It has been a constant battle this year. In spite of that, we have managed to harvest a few things. 

We enjoyed eating ripe figs fresh off the trees growing in the hoop house and wild berries have been a welcomed addition to our diets. Volunteer cherry tomatoes and ground cherries have been a constant snack. Kale and mustard greens grow freely on the farm and we eat them until we can’t eat anymore. There were a few potatoes the voles missed and hopefully the protection I put around the beans we are growing to renew the seed stock for the seed bank will hold. 

It is now down to a race of what will ripen before fall truly arrives and shuts down the summer growing season.

Last fall, I planted my first bed of wheat in my herb garden. I grew Maris Widgeon wheat and it did very well as shown in the photo above. I had a good harvest and as soon as I have time to thresh, winnow, and weigh it, I will do a little report on it. Last year I had helped to plant wheat and barley but this was the first bed I grew on my own. 

I continue my studies in growing and using medicinal herbs and the medicinal herb garden has made progress. Today I harvested hops to make into tinctures and teas. My fingers are stained with the yellow pollen and have taken on the distinctive smell of hops.

Finally, as fall has announced that it is on the way, it is time to move the Scarlet Raven to a new spot. I will be doing a complete overhaul to remedy the lack of weather proofing and finally build out the interior properly. 

I will be filming that process and more, to be announced in a near future post. 

I have a lot to share from this incredible learning journey I have been on and I am finally ready start sharing. 

Hang on! It will be a joyful deep dive into growing food, building skills, resilient off-grid living, creativity, and art.

Yours in Truth and Beauty, 

Renee

Late Winter on the Farm

Mt. Baker Sunrise

It has been a while since my last post. Living off the grid, electrons are scarce this time of the year in this northern latitude. This winter has been a time for contemplation and planning. After nearly a year, I am finally able to get a storage unit so I can move my worldly goods to the island. I hope to get the last load moved this week. 

Winter has also historically been a time of survival. While not quite as extreme as in earlier days, when the infrastructure we are surrounded with today was not available, it is still a challenge to live this close to nature. 

There are many benefits too. I personally have found that my body has changed in subtle ways. I am more adapted to being out in the cold. I found I needed to eat more calories to keep the weight on and the internal furnace stoked. It was also a challenge to stay awake once the sun set. Around here about the time of the winter Solstice, that is around 4:00 in the afternoon. Mealtimes shift with the light as well, for both animals and humans. 

While sometimes it can be tough, I am enjoying this life. It certainly makes one feel alive and connected to nature. 

The animals on the farm know how to endure. We have lost a few rabbits in the Rabbitry this winter and a few chickens to hungry predators. Raccoon, mink, owls, and Bald Eagles take their toll on the flocks no matter how well we try to protect them. We have to balance the quality of life of the animals with protection from predators. It is a challenging balance to achieve. 

We have added another small flock of chickens to the collection this year. They are a beautiful bunch. Here is the rooster, Bruno, with Graylight, one of his hens.

Bruno

Graylight

I have a lot of exciting plans in the works for this spring. I have spent part of the winter studying with an herbalism school and am putting in a medicinal herb garden. I plan to start a YouTube channel soon to document not only the herb garden, but the many things we do in the garden and for the seed bank. 

I am slowly picking up my sketchbook again and have plans for plein air painting and creating a studio tent to set up a still life or two. 

There is also a new farm puppy to paint!

Cayenne!

It will be a busy year with the current events in the world adding that much more urgency to our goals.

It is time to feed the rabbits for the day and get everything buttoned down before dark. We have another cold snap on the way but spring is definitely coming!

Yours in Truth and Beauty, 

-Renee