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MAKING THE MOVE -- I am from the Upper
Peninsula and have a great love for the beauty and am in awe of the vast
wilderness that is still there. My husband has fallen in love the the U.P. and
would love to make it our home someday. If you have any advice or suggestions
for us in making this move we sure would appreciate it. --Sharon
The U.P. is a beautiful place to live and I can understand your wanting to come
back here. It's not for everyone, but for those whose hearts are here, the
challenges are worth it. Of course, wherever one id drawn is the best place to
be. We have thought about living a number of different places, but we like it
here. As far as advice for a move, I think wanting it is probably the most
important, and being willing to make (and let) it happen. As well as being
flexible and open to possibilities that may not have occurred to you to begin
with. Spending time where you think you want to settle helps, too, as each
community is different and offers different possibilities. Mostly though,
allowing and following your instincts and inner urges should land you in the
right spot at the right time. Being already familiar with the U.P. helps a lot,
as many people come here with rather unrealistic expectations and then are
disappointed when it doesn't live up to what they had imagined. The longer
winters in particular seem to be a challenge to many folks (though we find them
quite short!) But following your dreams is important, no matter what others
might think or say. If anything, in the early years, I spent too much time
worrying about the particulars of our new life and not enough time just enjoying
living it. The particulars always come together if yo live each day to the best
of your abilities and aren't afraid to enjoy doing so. Life is so full of fun
and interesting possibilities, the hardest part is choosing which ones to live!
WINE YEAST and FROZEN FRUIT for WINE -- I
can't find wine yeast or waterlocks. Do you have addresses for sources? Also I
have some frozen chokecherriess and am wondering if you ever made wine from
frozen chokecherries. I remember my mother made some wine once from grapes and
didn't use any wine yeast, just let it ferment on its own. Do you know whey one
couldn't do that?
--Pam from Montana
I don't personally know of any mail order sources for supplies, but an internet
search will yield many options. If you don't have internet access at home, most
libraries do and can help you with your search. Also, ask at wine stores in your
area. They might know of a local source for supplies even if they don't
themselves carry them.
As I don't have a freezer I haven't haven't used frozen fruit but I would think
it would work just fine. The wine will come out different than if you use fresh
fruit but you can make wine from most any kind of fruit or vegetable matter --
fresh, frozen, canned, juiced, etc.
Grapes in particular don't need purchased wine yeast, and often other fruits
don't either. The purchased yeast simply gives an extra boost to the "right"
fermenters and a better chance of having a good wine fermentation instead of
vinegar or some other. They didn't have packages of wine yeast in years past and
they made a LOT of good wine! However, because folks generally made wine year
after years, those yeasts were naturally present around them and so it was more
likely those yeasts would "settle" into their fruit must. Some older recipes
mention using bread yeast but I don't think it works as well (taste wise) as
regular wine yeast. The biggest problem with letting the must ferment
"naturally" is the possibility of ending up with vinegar, or worse, instead of
wine. I don't think it's worth the chance as a packet of wine yeast is quite
inexpensive. however, you certainly can go that route. And if it turns toward
vinegar instead, just say you were planning on making a good wine vinegar and
enjoy the brew!
SOLAR CHICKEN COOP -- I'm building a chicken
coup and wondering how you solarized yours?
--Jesse from Pennsylvania
The "solarizing" of our old chicken coop (which we tore down some years ago) was
simply having south facing windows. This is not a new idea of course, most old
chicken coops I've seen were built with a row of windows on the south (usually
longest) side. ours was also buried into a hill of sand. This berming helped to
moderate the temperatures. In the very cold of winter we had foam panels to put
put over the windows to help keep the heat in. These were the years when we had
extended -20 to -30 temperatures, something we haven't seen in many years now.
We would take warm water out to the chickens often and hope for sunny days to
help warm things up. The windows were hinged on the top so in the summer we
could tip them in and up against the ceiling, out of the way. There was hardware
cloth on the windows on the outside to keep critters out and chickens in. It was
a simple design and worked well for the eight years we had the chickens. It was
a simple coop with no electricity.
MAKING VINEGAR -- You mentioned
making your own vinegar, do have any recommendation on this? --Bill
from Michigan
Vinegar is fairly easy to make, particularly if you
can make or obtain fresh cider in the fall. You basically make wine, then expose
it to the air, covered with a cloth to keep dirt and stuff out, and let it turn
to vinegar. I usually add some "mother" saved from the last batch or other
non-pasteurized vinegar (usually available at food coops and health food stores)
to make sure it gets going on the right track. For eating vinegar you just let
it go until it tastes good to you, then bottle in clean jar or bottles (you can
pasteurize it to stop the aging if you want though I never do). Since it is
quite acid, bottles with plastic lids work better than metal lids. But regular
canning lids work, too. To get vinegar strong enough for pickling, it takes a
lot longer. The last batch I did I started in September with fresh cider and it
wasn't ready until July. You can make cider from other juices and wine, of
course, and that could be fun for gifts.
STRAWBERRY CAGES -- How do --Kay
The chicken
STRAWBERRY BLOSSOMS -- I have had a
-Jim
It depends
CAT GRASS SAVER -- When I
mentioned i
He staples a
TOMATO RACKS -- Are the
-- Heather in New Windsor
I do usually
ROTATING CROPS -- I've always read
-- Karen
As in so many cases, ties that it makes
sharing fun and gives one a place to start.
POTATO HARVEST -- I
planted potatoes in ? -- Mary
Potatoes can be dug
PUMPKIN SEED DRYING -- I'm interested .
--Tom from Michigan
For squash/pumpkin seeds
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Copyright
© 2010 by Susan Robishaw
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