The life of a homesteader....

[British Red]

Okay...so...the wreck.

Here is a closer shot.

wreck bow by British Red, on Flickr

Two questions

1) Can you see the wild food?

2) What do you think caused a hole that big in the bow? She is is on soft sand and mud, the anchor is down and there is a 10 foot wide hole in the bow. Any guesses?

 

[Mesquite]

Whelks?

And was it a bombing target?

 

[British Red]

1) only a little bit - but there are whelks

2) Bombing and shelling My buddy has a lovely 4" gun round (heavy iron inert projectile) he recovered from round there. We used to sit on the sea bank and watch the bombing runs come in. Great fun to hold up score cards

She is encased, inside and out, in mussels

mussels on wreck by British Red, on Flickr

No-one normally touches her - but they are safe - cockling used to be huge and still goes on.

Its dodgy though. She is well over a mile from the shore, and the tide comes in scary fast. Put it this way, there are fifty foot trees on the shoreline

Distance to shore by British Red, on Flickr

If you wait for the tide to turn, it comes in at over ten miles an hour....over soft mud.....on a bombing range.

Its a great place to forage - but not for the novice!

 

[JonathanD]

I'm a tad jealous. What larks!!

 

[Harvestman]

It's a bit like that on the Severn estuary mudflats. Ihe tide comes in at terrifying pace!

I assume that you got an excellent haul then?

 

[British Red]

No "r" in the month yet, and the Wash runs warm because its so shallow. Two weeks yet till harvest - this was just a recce to see how the season was running

 

[Alreetmiowdmuka]

Mmmm mussels.onion ,garlic chillies and a slosh of white wine. Lovely!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[British Red]

...and we grow, make or forage all those ingredients now

 

[Trojan]

As always very impressed!

 

[British Red]

Wine bottling today - there was an epic raspberry harvest this year so we did a full case of raspberry wine as well as the "cranachan whisky" discussed elsewhere.

Raspberry wine can be a pig to clear but this one looked great

Raspberry Wine after fining by British Red, on Flickr

I racked it then filtered it to be sure

The kitchen does end up looking like a weird transfusion service sometimes!

Racking and filtering by British Red, on Flickr

I used a lot of half bottles for the raspberry as it is jealously guarded stuff

Raspberry Wine by British Red, on Flickr

....but there was a little left over

Raspberry Wine by British Red, on Flickr

Its as good as I remember

Got to filter off the pure honeycomb stags breath tomorrow. Its a tough life this homesteading.

 

[British Red]

Its been a busy old time. A neighbour rang up and had asked the tree surgeons to "leave everything" (after my buddy and I told them to never give anything away). They had about twenty cubic metres of chip. We pooled our "dumpy builder bags", put forks on the back of the tractor and hooked chains on the front.

This is my half

Woodchip by British Red, on Flickr

It will go on six inches deep on the gooseberry bed. That will take three years to rot in. In that time it will stop weed seeds germinating whilst fertilising the soil. All good stuff. Why do people throw this stuff away?

Anyway the wood from the demolished trees is divied up - my half

Doesn't look much but theres about ten cubic metres there when cut and split

Woodpile by British Red, on Flickr

Been tarting up a small coop picked up for cheap from a local old boy

Small coop by British Red, on Flickr

Cleaned out the inside and built new perch bars

Open coop by British Red, on Flickr

Harvested yet more chillis and made sauce

Chilli sauce in large pan by British Red, on Flickr

Lovely weather - long may it last

 

[Imagedude]

No "r" in the month yet, ...

apart from the one at the end of September

 

[British Red]

apart from the one at the end of September

The original post (and the trip) was August

.....but mea culpa

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

Hugh next time your popping over my way give me a shout and I'll take you out and show you somthing far better Razor clamms as far as the eye can see and if your lucky the odd flat fish that fill's a dinner plate.

 

[British Red]

BB does love a razor clam

 

[British Red]

All sorts of oddments today

We've been making pectin (see a full post on the subject) ready for the jams and jellies season - I fancy having a crack at sloe jelly this year

Processed Jars by British Red, on Flickr

All our neighbours have an apple glut - they are just falling and rotting

We are being invited to take all we want - but there are only so many I can process

Dried Apple Rings by British Red, on Flickr

I really must bite the bullet and buy a proper apple scratter and get into making cider and cider vinegar in an industrial way ....just wish I could find one that I can afford!

I'm looking after my neighbours chickens whilst he is away (all good practice)...and I've figured out how they are clearing the electric fence - a flying leap off the waterer !

Chicken Escape by British Red, on Flickr

But did you know that chickens love left over caulis from the field? They do you know!

Chickens eating cauliflower by British Red, on Flickr

I harvested one of my experimental bean crops today - Dutch brown beans.

Dutch Brown Bean Pods by British Red, on Flickr

This is what they look like

Dutch Brown Beans by British Red, on Flickr

I have high hopes for these in a home made "baked bean" and in chillis (I know, no beans in chillis in Texas - but there are here)

We are also harvesting and drying herbs

St Johns Wort

Dried St Johns Wort Herbarium by British Red, on Flickr

Lemon Balm

Dried Lemon Balm Herbarium by British Red, on Flickr

and also seed saving

The parsnips did well again if anyone wants some?

Parsnip Seed by British Red, on Flickr


Onto the haricot beans and sole picking tomorrow

 

[tommy the cat]

Parsnip seed I will probably need next season as I think anything left will be 3 seasons old. ....😨

 

[British Red]

Chuck whats left Dave - its almost totally useless after 2 years.

 

[bigbear]

IIRC the brown bean or something closely related was the staple of your part of the world at one time BR. Be interested to know how they are, have a packet of Borlotti seeds I am going to plant in the spring.

 

[British Red]

I'll report back for sure big bear - I need to dry them first and cook a load of them