Project Homestead

Getting our goats. Someday.

 

Well, dear friends and family, despite your overwhelming support, kindness, and more than 300 votes, I have some disappointing news: We did not win a starter flock of angora goats. Thanks to you, our essay  earned the 11th largest number of votes among 49 worthy contest entries in Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm's great Goat Giveaway. We can't thank you enough.

Truth be told, I'm actually OK with it. There's plenty of fall gardening yet to do. We're keeping a watchful eye on this year's chicks (now four months old), who just moved into the henhouse with our big girls. A few pecks aside, they seem to be getting along well. Besides, it's apple pressing time here. I'm itching to try my hand at making apple cider vinegar and, if I'm feeling really oatsy, a foray into hard cider. Both make good use of the fruit from our solid but less than scrumptious old apples trees.

Possibility is a heady thing. Word was still spreading about our goat project while we buzzed around the Common Ground Fair late last month. With each friend we ran into who told us, "I voted for you and asked my friends to, too!,"  I couldn't help but feel like we'd already won—with the warm wishes from all of you behind us.

We were quizzing everyone we could about goats in general and mohair in particular, when we met possibly the most entertaining breeder/lover/dealer of angora goats in Maine. Pogo of Friends' Folly Farm, whose own hair curls a lot like the little one's above, assured us how delightful angoras are to have around. Who knows, maybe we'll become shepherds yet one day.

It's a cozy comfort indeed to know just who to call when we're ready to dive in, head first.

Fairly full from Common Ground

I just returned from a glorious, enriching day of lapping up organic living and growing in Unity, Maine, home of the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association. The group's annual Common Ground Fair is so full of information, friends and amazing food, I left feeling full to bursting. Here's what I can remember...

• Angora goats are “addictive.”
• Organic, locally grown fair food is VERY expensive.
• The Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association, a.k.a. MOFGA, is magic: Its fair is simultaneously down-home and ethereal.
• Young bulls are called bullocks.
• Who needs roller coasters, when kids can slide down a grassy hill, using only cardboard, for two hours and 17 minutes?

• Top-bar beehives give bees room to build honeycomb in the size they naturally need. Some beekeepers plant lavender and thyme beneath their hives to keep mites at bay.
• If you have a cordless drill, you can whip amendments into worked soil with the nifty Tilther from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. 
• I pine for Johnny’s Six Row Seeder.
• “Chestnut” crab apples are sweet, juicy and bright; the perfect size for little hands or a few big bites.
• Apples are the most interesting fruit I know.
• You can make fire by rubbing two sticks together … after tying a basic bow, carving a peg to rub in a whittled plank, and kneeling very carefully while rubbing furiously. Having a friendly Maine Guide nearby is a big help.

• Sheep are far easier to herd than goats. Sheepdogs have an easier time doing it than kiddos.
• Spinning wool is a quiet art; spinning "in the grease" works wonders on dry winter hands.
• “Fingers look like carrots” to livestock.
• Friendships made in the course of pursuing your passions are lasting and real.
• Forests selectively harvested and replanted with varying species are less stressed than single-species stands of timber.
• Hula hoops whirl around hips longer if you stand with one foot in front of the other, spread apart a bit. If you can manage it, your kids will cheer.
• You can live without cell phone service for an entire day.
• Garlic is easy to grow in fertile soil (6 inches apart on 12-inch rows). Hardneck varieties are easier to peel than softnecks. Curing bulbs in a dry place will help them store them well for months.
• Abundance is all around us.

It's time to harvest just about everywhere. Eat up, and enjoy.

Vote for Goats!

Goat heaven.

There comes a time in a homesteader's life when a dream (of raising friendly livestock) and chance (the possibility of winning a herd of goats!) overlap. That's just what happened when a dear friend forwarded me word of the amazing Goat Giveaway from Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm and its uncommonly generous owner, Susan. Our essay is in—and we can use all the help we can get. In a hurry? VOTE for us here. If you've got a moment, read on...

Here's what I wrote:

When our young family settled in coastal Maine five years ago, we did so with an eye toward planting some deep roots—and tapping into a simple, grounded life we always wanted.

We feel blessed to have found a 7-acre property that flanks a sunny four-acre fresh water pond and a broad hill covered with shrubs, maples and white pines that shelter us long after other trees have turned in for the winter. Our log cabin overlooks our chicken coop, which we built ourselves near the house to make daily visits to our dozen “girls” easy. (Our two boys collect most of the eggs.) We also tend to a productive hillside berry and vegetable garden and small orchard. We plan to welcome our first batch of bees next spring. And I’m sewing a lot of my family’s clothes.

We couldn’t have imagined how quickly we’d take to it all. Now we can’t imagine living any other way.

That’s because we found a clutch of good friends here who build, bake, knit, sew, quilt, felt, grow and raise as much as they can themselves. Luckily, they are happy to share what they know with us. We buy raw milk from dairying friends. We all raise backyard chickens (and a few sheep). A few garden year-round in hoop-houses. And we stitch handmade birthday presents for all of our little ones. When I brought it up, the idea of this contest was so exciting that a handful of friends jumped at the chance to form a “village” that would help raise (shear, feed and pet) this wooly herd.

We’re not sure if it will be a cooperative, a collective, or a CSA like yours, but our goal is the same. We want to share with others the experience of raising and caring for animals that nourish us, our families and our crafts. We have the land and the animal know-how. Others have skills to help us erect the shed that will house the flock. Still others have spun and dyed yarn. Most are knitters, crafters and mothers.

The longer we’ve lived here, the more we feel empowered to see the possibilities of what we can do with what we have—and how rewarding those accomplishments can be. I even started a blog to keep track of it all. It’s called Project Homestead. (Not all of this is new to me, though. I grew up riding and caring for my family’s horses, and rising before the sun to milk our Nubian goats. My sisters and I loved everything about them—from bottle-feeding our first kid, to their velvet-soft ears and their winsome souls.) So when we added chickens to our family last year, we all knew we were onto something. Caring for animals who help care for us is a cycle that feels organic, in the deepest way.

That cycle is what grounds us and our boys to this place we love to call home. And we think your beautiful goats would feel happy and at home here, too. In fact, our young would-be shepherds have a few ideas of their own.

“I would like to give our goats leaves and carrots and peanut butter crackers,” explained three-year-old Caleb, who often upends his bike and pretends it’s a spinning wheel. After hearing this, Owen, who is 6, agreed (what’s not to love about peanut butter crackers?). He continued: “I’d like to have goats because they would be fun to be with. I would like to help take care of them. And feed them. And give them love.”

We all would, more than anything.

Thanks so much for considering us for your unbelievably generous gift.

Fondly,

Victoria, Michael, Owen and Caleb Stefanakos

Freeport, Maine

Of course, there are DOZENS of other knitters, spinners and animal lovers who also entered the contest. To help them choose, the grassroots Fiber Farm has asked its devoted readers and supporters to vote for their favorite essay. We'd love it if you'd take a minute to support us, The Stefanakos Family shepherds, by clicking on the star at the bottom of our essay. Please vote only ONCE, as folks clogging the works get disqualified.

Thanks SO much for your support. I'll keep you posted.

domesticity wears a dress

I didn't grow up sewing. I only vaguely remember cursing bobbins in middle school home economics. A few decades later, I am pleased as punch with myself for just completing this ditty of an apron. I have long longed for a stylish, functional coverall for all of my kitchen messes. I found this wonderful pattern in a book that called to me, Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing: Patterns and How-To for 24 Fresh and Easy Projects. This project, labeled a "level 4" was a tad tricky: Seams were ripped, fabric prematurely cut in the wrong places, seams not sewn flat. But it was a wonderful learning experience. 

Sewing, mending, creating and repairing garments for family and home—these are all critical skills in the homesteader's quiver. (I've been hand sewing for a few years now, making toys and playthings for my kiddos.) They're also damn fun. Nearly instant gratification. Simpler than I expected. And requiring very little investment, thanks to my friendly sewing guide, Louisa, who is graciously loaning me her trusty Singer. 

In fact, that brings me to my next project (we're still under about two feet of snow here, so I've got the time...) I have been searching high and low for help choosing a solid, starter sewing machine—that will last. I've found roundups of tools for sewing kits. And good descriptions of how sewing machines work. Then there are the countless incredible blogs about the delights and creativity of sewing (that's worth an entire post, so more on that later). But, when it comes to laying down the hard-earned coin, I've come up short. 

Any suggestions? What sewing machine would you buy?

handmade? check. simple? check.

Struggling for gift ideas for grandparents, aunts and uncles, I was so, so glad I picked up four sheets of beeswax and a small bit of wicking. The boys (ages 2 and 5) and I rolled these beauties in less than an hour. And they smelled wonderful all the while. My holiday mantra: Keep It Simple.

(almost) homemade toys

We're busy at work rolling beeswax sheets into candles, sewing felt dolls and ornaments, and scavenging for fallen wood with which to make our family's homemade presents* this Christmas. If you have children, and you haven't yet whittled their wooden tractors or ponies yet, don't fret. (Neither have I.) Homesteading wisely is knowing when to pay others for their skills—and when to do it yourself. 

Lately, I’m enamored with Etsy, the on-line home of artisans who sell their well-priced handmade wares directly to you (just search for what you seek). It seems like the kind of creative cooperative my family and I are trying to build for food, services, you name it. Below, though, is my tried-and-true toy team, the group whose catalogs I send to the grandparents to spark their imaginations. They’re all independently or family-run businesses that believe deeply in simple living, parenting and play. Visit them often, and tell them I sent you.

The social worker who owns Three Sisters Toys offers a fine explanation of how simple, open-ended toys foster imagination and well-rounded children. Case in point: The photos above show a couple of handmade felt puppet dolls my little ones love to pose, and then strap onto a kitten-drawn "sleigh." Magic Cabin is a perennial favorite, and it breaks down its vast offerings in an-easy-to-use gift center page, with categories like “active kids,” young artists, and by price. Look for age-appropriate suggestions, too, if you’re shopping for kids 9 and up. The Wooden Wagon may be my favorite source of all for naturally inspired wooden gear from Germany and America. Countless charming, handmade, folk-art decorations, games and puzzles, plus wonderful, wonderful toys. Palumba is the on-line home for a collective of organic, green-built, handmade toys, art supplies and musical items made from all-natural materials—down to the beeswax finishes. Their wooden play kitchen is so beautiful, it’s my favorite piece of furniture in my, um, living room. Last, but certainly not least, Nova Natural is the cool Vermont granddaddy of gorgeous wooden toys, crafts, art supplies and organic woolens for all-natural families. Their printed catalog will make the crunchy grandparents of creative kids everywhere swoon.

Happy creating ... and supporting other people who do, too.

{ * I'll write more about the projects soon. Promise. }