February on the Mountain
The Thaw Continues
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It’s a lot of fun looking back at posts from previous years. Comparing what I was doing, learning and how the weather was. Last year we had the deepest snowfall we’ve seen, at over 8 feet by now. This year is the polar opposite (pretty good pun, right?)
So far there’s been 6 feet of snowfall but it keeps raining! In well-shaded areas it’s over 3 feet while in more exposed areas there’s none at all.
I Made a Headband!
Last year I made myself a rabbit fur hat using one of my rabbit hides. Though I love it, it’s too warm! I decided it was time to try making something less complicated and more functional. With a headband I can wear my hair on top of my head, keeping my ears warm without overheating. I knitted the backing out of wool. Though it looks pretty fancy, it’s a simple rectangle shape and was much easier to sew together than the hat.
Carving Cutlery
My first attempt at making a spoon ended up becoming fancy firewood. The piece of wood that I chose was just not exactly right. This piece of Lodgepole Pine persevered! I used only straight chisels, a handsaw and a rectangular piece of wood. Though it’s a bit wonky and a smidge ugly I’m happy with it as a first attempt. I think it might be time to buy hook knives for the next spoon carving project.
Winter at Last
I was looking forward to being snowed in. There’s something about the solitude and time to reflect in the calm quiet winter landscape. It’s magical, centring and I love it. As you likely know, the road up typically becomes impassable by the end of November. This year has been so different we made one last push in February. Though we made it down in Curt’s truck, we did not make it back up.
It made for a fun night of getting stuck, and eventually calling it quits and walking the rest of the way home.
Home Canning
Eating our home canning throughout the winter has been like a dream. Though I’m not a doomsday prepper or anything like that, I love knowing how to pick, prepare and preserve my food. A lot of it’s in what I’d call a testing phase, treating myself as the guinea pig before sharing with other people. Everything’s turned out splendidly! There are small tweaks that I’ll make next year, but the only failure has been some cherries.
With little time in the busy days of summer, I put them into high-proof alcohol. I figured they’d be a tasty, boozy treat in the dark days of winter. Interestingly, the alcohol reacted to pectin in the cherries creating a jello-y sludge in the bottom of the jars. I ate it anyway.
No More Pigs
I haven’t figured out what it is about storebought pork that bothers my stomach. Sometimes I get away with a rasher of bacon but usually, I end up in pain for a few hours. When Curt and I were travelling in Spain, sometimes it was the only option. To my surprise, the Spanish pork never bothered my gut! Where I’d usually prefer to just avoid it altogether, it made me want to experiment with growing my own.
I knew that I didn’t want to process a 400-pound pig, so I decided I wanted to try growing potbellies. After reading lots about raising pigs, I learned that boars can have an off taste, and potbelly pigs are generally treated as a pet animals, not for meat. But, I also found sources calling them ‘sausage on the hoof’ meaning that they’re so fatty, they’re the perfect sausage-making pig.
After reading these statements I had to give it a try and I’m glad I did. The three we butchered were delicious, surprisingly dark meat. Parts of it taste more like beef than pork. The boar has no off-taste at all, though it is a bit tough.
Three Black Cats
Luci, Gandalf and Sugar are so entertaining, that I’ve started drawing cartoons of their antics. With three vastly different cat-personalities, it’s only natural. I initially did it to get that creative itch out of my mind, but now that I’ve drawn a few and have ideas for many more I figure why not share!
Last Saturday I sent the first Three Black Cats cartoon and look forward to sharing them weekly.
Commercially done pork meat is nasty. Since pigs will eat anything, and most commercial farms are horrible habitats for animals, the meat is full of bacteria and parasites. Pigs in general are not the best to eat, but if you raise them yourself at least you have control of what they eat.
Nice start at carving, good quality, sharp chisels are key as I've learned. Learning how to sharpen a chisel is as important as learning how to chisel ;)
Wishing you a wonderful rest of the winter!
Nice work on the spoon carving Amy. It's a way better than my first attempt.
When I was heading off road in the winter, I had a 10,000 lb. winch bolted to a steel plate attached to a hitch. I had receivers at the back and front of my truck, so whenever I got stuck, I had the option of pulling from the front or rear. Of course the winch and hitch set up weighed probably close to 80 lb., so it took a bit of effort to move it from one end to the other, but it sure made getting unstuck easy. Great for winching logs or other stuck vehicles too.