What a pleasure to open your Substack this morning and read about your homesteading trials, tribulations and successes! I definitely live vicariously through you and Jill and love all your posts! Yes, I like the political and world informative posts, but I WANT/NEED your homesteading posts! Thank you. Today was a beautiful reading.
Over here in the UK our allotment (plot size about 60x40 feet) has produced blackberries, broad beans, French beans, pumpkins, ornamental gourds, chard, beetroot, cucumber, zucchini, leeks, shallots, plums, pears. We started the year with some reasonable asparagus too. Our tomatoes down there (it's 6 minutes away from the house, below sea level) were rather pathetic probably because it gets quite windy, but our dahlia collection was and is fantastic. The only problem is the water supply, which is from cisterns so you have to water with cans by hand. Nonetheless very satisfying, and we did better than other allotment holders this year notwithstanding the late start (cold and wet), the burst of warm weather at the wrong time and then return to cold and wet!
I've long since given up on any slug deterrent, organic, copper, eggshells, beer, orange rind ... two things worked. one, if one doesn't mind an untidy-looking bed, is putting all the discarded leaves from salads and cabbages round the plants: easy food for slugs and snails which then leave the rest alone.
The other is starvation: I'm now only growing plants which slugs and snails don't eat. It works, but it does take quite a few years ...
Yes, ick comes with the territory. So I use clippers on the slugs, and then get rid of the gick left on the blades as I clip/prune plants. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do...
Allotments in the UK were developed back in Elizabethan times (see https://www.allotment-garden.org/allotment-information/allotment-history/#google_vignette). Modern UK allotments are usually owned by local councils, and to get one you have to apply (there's often a waiting list). There is a yearly rent, not very large, and many allotments have their own associations with a subscription that covers insurance and gives access to a seed catalogue. There are often rules governing the amount that must be cultivated, the number of trees allowed, size of shed, dogs to be on leads etc. This last is to avoid fouling but on the edge of urban areas one gets badgers as well as cats! We are fortunate that our site is rabbit-free, but the other site in our town adjoins open fields and they get in and cause havoc. If an allotment is considered to have become derelict or seriously overgrown then the council can evict the plotholder after due notice. Some allotment sites, ours included, are statutory, which means they cannot be closed for redevelopment.
Thank you, for responding! This information is very interesting. Creating a sitting area in the allotment among the gardening, is such good information. Serenity / peace / rest.
Good morning, Drs. Malone; It's good to be back as a subscriber on your substack! My "retreat" from all social media from late spring to late summer was to allocate time to the celebration of our 65th wedding anniversary , an event scheduled for early July. Relatives and friends from across the country and locally joined us for luncheon on a perfect mid-western summer day, the sun sparkling on the river's blue water and the air clear and warm. The joy of the gathering, however, turned shortly thereafter to grief as our son suddenly and unexpectedly died. Again, we gathered, but this time to bury our loving and much-loved child. The aftermath of the latter event is time consuming and heart rending, as our son lived solo: his beloved canine companions are returned to the rescue organization whence they came as per the contract. His "boys, " two gelding paints are now removed from Sweet Grass to a local boarding stable where we visit them at least weekly. The orchard of young fruit stock, including 22 new plums and pear trees, now watered by young lads who live across the road. A commercial crew arrives bi-weekly to mow and trim grass - as we work on the house contents to settle the estate. Life hangs on the balance of a slender and fine thread and changes in a matter of seconds. We are grateful for the years we had our son, but mourn not only his death but the cessation of his vision come true of self-sufficiency on a small holding . The dogs, the horses, the extensive garden boxes, the orchards, the pond full of fish, all organic and tidily done, as a true husbandman and tiller of the soil. I share these intimate details to thank you both for sharing the details of your farm, its animals, the soil and the crops, the changes and additions - gifts you give so generously and which I will now feel and smell vicariously. Additionally, to remind myself, and all of us to be thankful for each day's blessings and be grateful for all that we do have and not bemoan that which we think we lack. Rath De Ort!
Dear Sarah and Jett, Words fall short in expressing any words that could touch the sadness of your loss! Your message is so beautifully said, in all times but especially in these crazy times, remembering to cherish every moment with our loved ones and remembering to make the effort every moment we have to celebrate that life is certainly a mystery of joy and sorrow. Much love to you both and to your family. Your beloved son is with you always, as you are with him!
STUNNING. Incredibly moving. And clearly you're incredible people whose most magnificent crop was a spectacular son. Jesus called him back Home, ☦️. May the rest of your bountiful journey be blessed ~~
I love your farming posts. Gonzo and Gizmo are darling. You need to write a children’s book about them ( in all your spare time). Those baby horses (foals) are so darling. Nothing like babies whether human or animal. My youngest child is expecting a baby. We are so excited to have a new baby in the family.
Our garden had a late start because of a cold Spring. Our tomatoes are coming on. We thought we would try canning tomato soup this year. Have you ever dried sliced tomatoes.? They could be ground up to put into soups. They dry great. We raise roma tomatoes . They make great sauces and salsa. My husband put tomato baskets above our acorn squash. It grows up over the top so it doesn’t take over the whole garden. It helps but it is still all over the garden. Our garden looks like a jungle. We are still getting green beans. The carrots are looking good as is the peppers. Our peach tree is still ripening. Awaiting my favorite fruit . I make a fabulous peach pie. It is my favorite pie.
The nights are starting to cool down here in beautiful Idaho. The farmers will starting potato harvest soon. My dad was a potato farmer. Nothing like slicing up a raw potato freshly dug. Peel it first then salt and pepper. Yum.
Love your writing in all respects. I'm retired anesthesiologist living in Virginia with 4 generations at home. My garden had no tomato worms either, and my beans did not grow this year either. We are simpatico on gardens and the dangerous power of mRNA in the hands of shallow souls. Take care and God Bless.
Thanks for all the likes. So much is happening in our good country lately that an analytic conclusion of mass psychosis (of some kind) is not itself a psychosis in my opinion. I wake up every day asking myself, "Could it just be me?" One owes oneself some introspection when things don't make sense using the bearings you have used most of your adult life. My faith (and the popular song) " never promised me a rose garden," but what the heck ARE those unrecognizable plants growing out there. They definitely are not for harvesting or consumption. Thanks again for reading.
I’m not sure what it is about growing old but I find myself always worried about all different types of life now, from insects to animals. We have a house on a lake full of bass that really don’t taste very good so I can’t fish because I may hurt one, sick isn’t it. Am I going crazy or do you think as I do? I’m beginning to think the life of an animal is no less precious than my own, although I don’t think I could ever be a vegetarian.
That's why the Native people always gave thanks to the Creator before killing the animals that nourished them. (and they used every single part of the animal). I seem to remember reading (from one of my alternative sources) that fish offer themselves to us for food, James. I remember a person I knew going from killing animals to "shooting" them with a camera.
DD, I like many, love all kinds of meat!! But like MANY, I live in denial about where it comes from. Funny how people think it come from a styrofoam plate wrapped in plastic!! Oh well…
Ya, we have lost the symbiotic relationship to our food. From being too removed from the whole process; from raising, caring, feeding and finally killing with respect and love for the whole experience. I was so fortunate to have been exposed to the whole cycle in raising rabbits with my dad. In the city, no less. My dad had a tender heart that he covered up with booze, he didn't know what to do with the pain of his mothers early death. Quite the opportunity for introspection.
I never had to deal with alcoholism in my family growing up. Of coarse from 16-17-18-21i had my own bout with drinking. But it stopped then. Now I have to deal with it all these years later and don’t know what the answers are, just pray daily it might some day get better…
As my friend Dannion said when I asked him about my drinking , he said "oh, it's just self-medication." No judgement, just understanding about the challenges of being in the body. I drink responsibly most of the time and pay attention to the tendencies of negative emotions. Another opportunity to watch and learn.
I wonder what he’d say if it were your spouse that you were trying to deal with and those negative emotions (BTW negative emotions hits the nail on the head) and figure out how to deal with them, because I can’t figure it out. When I’m coming home from work I never know what I’m coming home to. I pray it’s not going to be a bad time. At times I question if I can come home to it if it were to go on for the rest of my days here. Alanon?? It’s so hard to know what is the right way to handle someone else’s drinking and as you say those negative emotions and negative effects drinking has on your spouse. When we were young her drinking was not a problem, things have changed in her over the years, it so abusive to me at times and no one, even friends of mine that go to AA can tell me how to fix this. It’s even hard for me to explain the emotional abuse I have had to take from someone I love, it’s a f’d up rollercoaster life I never thought I’d be in but I am. One friend told me I allow it by staying here, but for me I’m afraid what might happen if I were to leave. You see DD, these are just the surface problems of living with a functioning alcoholic. I’m starting to think there is nothing I can do to fix her problem. J
I was vegan for over 20 years and it negatively impacted my health. I filled myself with PUFAs and estrogen-laden foods. The way I became a meat eater again is (a) I got sick (b) I learned that ALL live food gives up their lives for us (yes including the beets and carrots I just juiced and on some level they feel pain when you cut into them or grind them through a juicer).
If you can find a farm that humanely raised and humanely slaughters their animals, that's the best we can ask for (and remembering all of us will have to perish and die at some point.)
The key is for all of us to live a healthy, happy life and die a quick, painless death. My prayer before eating as others have shared in their replies is to give thanks ...and rest in knowing the animal lived a life I would have enjoyed if we had changed places. (hope this helps.)
The other option is to become a breatharian and live purely off of sunlight and water (I haven't figured out quite how that works yet ;)
These days I haven't any encounters with creatures scheduled to be eaten. However Gtok offers some video shorts that bring such sentiments to mind. I suspect we are subject from nudgings that we are subject to from the animal rights and the vegan types. Always someones trying to shape our views on things.
It’s strange I don’t have a problem at all with people that hunt. I hunted years back,though never had a love for it, I liked hanging out with friends. Over the years something has changed.
In the day went along on hunting (to my relief, we never encountered any game). The commoradery was a big part of the action. Personally enjoyed helping work on restoring old cars for the same reason. Opportunities and more current attitudes have changed.
Mike, Way back when I would go hunting in the Berkshires (Ma.) with my cousin and my Uncle Ben. There was a bar there called The Liars Club where you’d tell big stories. We had a lot of fun back then!!
We also pheasant hunted which was lots of fun. That same cousin had a German Shorthair Pointer trained really well. His name was Bullet, great dog. I remember he would point at bird and freeze, my cousin would give him a command and Bullet would rush into the bush the bird wound fly up and all hell would break loose. One day I took a shot and thank God I thought I would hit the dog but didn’t. That would have been a disaster, he never would have forgiven me. But bird hunting was much more fun than deer hunting at least for me.
James, I hear you! My folks moved to a lake in the woods in the UP of Michigan after I graduated high school. Had heard about bird hunting so I went out solo and came across a ruffed grouse that wasn’t 20’ away. After blasting it to smithereens with the shotgun, I proudly took it home to my folks. What I didn’t realize at the time, but soon figured out, was that the bird was a mother grouse seeking to distract the intruder from her young ones. That was it for me for hunting of any kind. I still regret pulling the trigger. But, like you, I understand the need to cull the deer herd and so on, I just don’t want to be the one doing the culling. And insects? There are some on my hit list: waterbugs, roaches, ants, mosquitoes, flies. But that’s about it except for the violators on my tomato plants. I’m good with wasps and bees, will catch them inside and release outside. I like small spiders and prefer to co-exist with them, particularly those in the bathroom which usually end up with names. Bigger spiders in the house wind up outside, unless a black widow, in which case, it is bidden farewell.
I am right with you down the line!!! I think when I was young I was generally ignorant of the miracle of life. I have so changed since then. I can’t imagine knowingly injecting a person with harmful chemicals or not acknowledging ending the lives of 13 young soldiers. Just 2 examples I threw in there…
It might interest you to know that as a special education teacher, I kept as a pet a black widow on my desk for years. We fed it flies and crickets. It’s important to know what is and what isn’t a real threat. Black widow bites ARE serious but they seldom bite unless threatened by being touched and they often bite “blanks”. No venom, like a warning shot. They don’t live in my house but I’m not inclined to kill them if I happen to see them outside. I’m a lot less forgiving of brown recluse who happily burrow into my bed and bite because as far as they are concerned, it’s their bed now and I can just jolly well move over.
No but each one lives about 3 years with good care. Since they are literally everywhere except the north and south poles, they were easy to find around the school building. A kindergarten teacher had me paged one day when she recognized one crawling across the floor!! Interestingly, no one in all those years was ever bitten. That’s the potential vs actual threat demonstration.
Wow, that's way longer than my bathroom buddies last. Think the cats might have something to do with it. My wife understands and is okay with it - she's put up with me for 50 years...
Dear James, as a recovering vegetarian, I share your sentiments. I have often thought about what I will say first to our good Lord when I get a chance. Probably hit Him first with the demand to explain , if He can, the reason for suffering followed immediately by the huge disconnect between His command to Love one another while embedded in a world where everything eats (sometimes brutally - just watch my cats) everything else!! I console myself with the first law of thermodynamics but I’m still going to ask!!
On my single ever trip to a farm as a tot I was bitten by a windmill and attacked by a goose. May have influenced by attitude towards getting my hands soil-ed. Wife from a farming Ala. family so she is our authority on things agricultural.
Bitten by a windmill!!! Dr Nash, you are absolutely hilarious! I love Dr Malones Substack partly because he and Jill are brilliant but also because his followers/commenters are so wonderful, smart, thoughtful and funny!!
My husband and I have cucumbers (TONS of cucumbers) every summer. We juice them every day and we go through 'all of them' and we have tons and tons of cucumbers. We each drink 2 cups of fresh cucumber juice for midmorning and midafternoon. We give our dog the juice and pulp also so he had fresh, enzyme-rich veggies also.
The juice is structured, it's a natural blood cleanser, it's delicious, and it's filled with life and vibrance. I invite you both to join in this practice as well...and cucumbers keep for over a month in the frig when they are freshly picked.
We have an abundance of peppers also and don't know what to do with all the extras though...freeze them maybe? (neither of us like the pickled pepper option)
Have you tried “blistering” them then add a bit of soy sauce? Yum!❤️🙏( I took it to mean fry quickly on a med high heat till a bit blackened…. Sounded nutty but tasted great. Easy, too.)
I had so many cucumbers I just stuck them in the freezer whole. I learned to make lots of different cucumber purees, soups, drinks so they did not go to waste. I still have many in the freezer. I just take them out to defrost to soften a bit so I can slice easily.
Dr. Malone - Just another note expressing appreciation for sharing successes AND failures. Also the fact the sometimes we learn from the failures and sometimes, well, it's a mystery! I just find it all encouraging as I slowly shift into another chapter of life where I, too, will get to experience the ebb and flow, success and failure of a little homesteading. So, I say thank you.
Such FANTASTIC foals! I grew up with AQHA horses. Nothing like your breed but to me almost any horse is a beautiful one. I so enjoy reading about your homesteading and seeing your pictures. We have lived in mid-eastern KY for about 3.5 years now. My husband was born here and lived here till age 18 when he moved to MI. He's so happy to be back...me, on the other hand, I was born in north-west OH, so this is very different. Dr. Malone, please continue your precious work!
Life used to be "so easy" or at least not openly filled with 2-legged pests from our own country (turtles all the way down-style) ... and then came the stinkbugs. When on leaves (currants, raspberries, etc.) and disturbed (a single chopstick works well), they drop like a rock. Let them drop into a yogurt container with water and a few drops of dish detergent. They (& and beetles) can't swim and won't learn ... If only starlings, yellow jacket wasps or Giant Asian Killer Hornets would eat stinkbugs... BTW, life was never easy. Never will be. Carry on.
We have some stink bugs , but I think with our hard winters they die. We get June bugs. There is also potato bugs in the potato fields. Thankfully we don’t have a bunch of bugs like the warmer climate areas as they die out in the winter. No chiggers either. Thank heavens.
We too, in Mn. are experiencing fall weather with all its glory. I am glad I read to the end, the poetic quote was beautiful. Abundance seems to be both of your middle names! Have a great nap, you deserve one today.
I’m tired just reading this post! LOL. We have 80 acres and my garden/yard plot can hold 3 houses. 😳 …. Well maybe 2-1/2. I know how much work you guys have.
What a pleasure to open your Substack this morning and read about your homesteading trials, tribulations and successes! I definitely live vicariously through you and Jill and love all your posts! Yes, I like the political and world informative posts, but I WANT/NEED your homesteading posts! Thank you. Today was a beautiful reading.
You took the words right out of my mouth!
AMEN!
Over here in the UK our allotment (plot size about 60x40 feet) has produced blackberries, broad beans, French beans, pumpkins, ornamental gourds, chard, beetroot, cucumber, zucchini, leeks, shallots, plums, pears. We started the year with some reasonable asparagus too. Our tomatoes down there (it's 6 minutes away from the house, below sea level) were rather pathetic probably because it gets quite windy, but our dahlia collection was and is fantastic. The only problem is the water supply, which is from cisterns so you have to water with cans by hand. Nonetheless very satisfying, and we did better than other allotment holders this year notwithstanding the late start (cold and wet), the burst of warm weather at the wrong time and then return to cold and wet!
You have blackberries? Lucky you! And dahlias! So it's not a slug&snail paradise then as it's in my (tiny) neck of the woods ...
Very early cultivated blackberries. It could be a snail paradise but for the judicious use of organic slug pellets!
I've long since given up on any slug deterrent, organic, copper, eggshells, beer, orange rind ... two things worked. one, if one doesn't mind an untidy-looking bed, is putting all the discarded leaves from salads and cabbages round the plants: easy food for slugs and snails which then leave the rest alone.
The other is starvation: I'm now only growing plants which slugs and snails don't eat. It works, but it does take quite a few years ...
Go out at night with scissors and a head lamp.
Oh, I did that as well, to the digest of my husband. Have you ever tried to remove slug remains from scissor blades? Gross - just gross!
Yes, ick comes with the territory. So I use clippers on the slugs, and then get rid of the gick left on the blades as I clip/prune plants. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do...
French beans? Not runner beans? Why?
We have enough beans without! Also our neighbouring plotholders have an excess and offer us theirs...
What does it mean to have an allotment? ( plot)? Do you rent or purchase your land? Just wandering how that works.
Allotments in the UK were developed back in Elizabethan times (see https://www.allotment-garden.org/allotment-information/allotment-history/#google_vignette). Modern UK allotments are usually owned by local councils, and to get one you have to apply (there's often a waiting list). There is a yearly rent, not very large, and many allotments have their own associations with a subscription that covers insurance and gives access to a seed catalogue. There are often rules governing the amount that must be cultivated, the number of trees allowed, size of shed, dogs to be on leads etc. This last is to avoid fouling but on the edge of urban areas one gets badgers as well as cats! We are fortunate that our site is rabbit-free, but the other site in our town adjoins open fields and they get in and cause havoc. If an allotment is considered to have become derelict or seriously overgrown then the council can evict the plotholder after due notice. Some allotment sites, ours included, are statutory, which means they cannot be closed for redevelopment.
Thank you, for responding! This information is very interesting. Creating a sitting area in the allotment among the gardening, is such good information. Serenity / peace / rest.
Good morning, Drs. Malone; It's good to be back as a subscriber on your substack! My "retreat" from all social media from late spring to late summer was to allocate time to the celebration of our 65th wedding anniversary , an event scheduled for early July. Relatives and friends from across the country and locally joined us for luncheon on a perfect mid-western summer day, the sun sparkling on the river's blue water and the air clear and warm. The joy of the gathering, however, turned shortly thereafter to grief as our son suddenly and unexpectedly died. Again, we gathered, but this time to bury our loving and much-loved child. The aftermath of the latter event is time consuming and heart rending, as our son lived solo: his beloved canine companions are returned to the rescue organization whence they came as per the contract. His "boys, " two gelding paints are now removed from Sweet Grass to a local boarding stable where we visit them at least weekly. The orchard of young fruit stock, including 22 new plums and pear trees, now watered by young lads who live across the road. A commercial crew arrives bi-weekly to mow and trim grass - as we work on the house contents to settle the estate. Life hangs on the balance of a slender and fine thread and changes in a matter of seconds. We are grateful for the years we had our son, but mourn not only his death but the cessation of his vision come true of self-sufficiency on a small holding . The dogs, the horses, the extensive garden boxes, the orchards, the pond full of fish, all organic and tidily done, as a true husbandman and tiller of the soil. I share these intimate details to thank you both for sharing the details of your farm, its animals, the soil and the crops, the changes and additions - gifts you give so generously and which I will now feel and smell vicariously. Additionally, to remind myself, and all of us to be thankful for each day's blessings and be grateful for all that we do have and not bemoan that which we think we lack. Rath De Ort!
What a heart wrenching and beautiful tribute. Thanks for including the blessings, for some reason today is filled with Gaelic and Welsh sentiments.
Dear Sarah and Jett, Words fall short in expressing any words that could touch the sadness of your loss! Your message is so beautifully said, in all times but especially in these crazy times, remembering to cherish every moment with our loved ones and remembering to make the effort every moment we have to celebrate that life is certainly a mystery of joy and sorrow. Much love to you both and to your family. Your beloved son is with you always, as you are with him!
STUNNING. Incredibly moving. And clearly you're incredible people whose most magnificent crop was a spectacular son. Jesus called him back Home, ☦️. May the rest of your bountiful journey be blessed ~~
I love your farming posts. Gonzo and Gizmo are darling. You need to write a children’s book about them ( in all your spare time). Those baby horses (foals) are so darling. Nothing like babies whether human or animal. My youngest child is expecting a baby. We are so excited to have a new baby in the family.
Our garden had a late start because of a cold Spring. Our tomatoes are coming on. We thought we would try canning tomato soup this year. Have you ever dried sliced tomatoes.? They could be ground up to put into soups. They dry great. We raise roma tomatoes . They make great sauces and salsa. My husband put tomato baskets above our acorn squash. It grows up over the top so it doesn’t take over the whole garden. It helps but it is still all over the garden. Our garden looks like a jungle. We are still getting green beans. The carrots are looking good as is the peppers. Our peach tree is still ripening. Awaiting my favorite fruit . I make a fabulous peach pie. It is my favorite pie.
The nights are starting to cool down here in beautiful Idaho. The farmers will starting potato harvest soon. My dad was a potato farmer. Nothing like slicing up a raw potato freshly dug. Peel it first then salt and pepper. Yum.
Have a great day.
...and all I've got is 1 overactive apple tree -> apple cider -> hard apple cider -> apple jack for the tough times ahead.
That sounds good: Apple Jack!
Wow, all so amazing..a lot of work, but what a reward/sanctuary to come home to. Side note: maybe cucumber flavored eggs will catch on 😂
Love your writing in all respects. I'm retired anesthesiologist living in Virginia with 4 generations at home. My garden had no tomato worms either, and my beans did not grow this year either. We are simpatico on gardens and the dangerous power of mRNA in the hands of shallow souls. Take care and God Bless.
Thanks for all the likes. So much is happening in our good country lately that an analytic conclusion of mass psychosis (of some kind) is not itself a psychosis in my opinion. I wake up every day asking myself, "Could it just be me?" One owes oneself some introspection when things don't make sense using the bearings you have used most of your adult life. My faith (and the popular song) " never promised me a rose garden," but what the heck ARE those unrecognizable plants growing out there. They definitely are not for harvesting or consumption. Thanks again for reading.
I’m not sure what it is about growing old but I find myself always worried about all different types of life now, from insects to animals. We have a house on a lake full of bass that really don’t taste very good so I can’t fish because I may hurt one, sick isn’t it. Am I going crazy or do you think as I do? I’m beginning to think the life of an animal is no less precious than my own, although I don’t think I could ever be a vegetarian.
That's why the Native people always gave thanks to the Creator before killing the animals that nourished them. (and they used every single part of the animal). I seem to remember reading (from one of my alternative sources) that fish offer themselves to us for food, James. I remember a person I knew going from killing animals to "shooting" them with a camera.
I knew someone that hunter elk, bear, deer and other animals with his camera.
DD, I like many, love all kinds of meat!! But like MANY, I live in denial about where it comes from. Funny how people think it come from a styrofoam plate wrapped in plastic!! Oh well…
Ya, we have lost the symbiotic relationship to our food. From being too removed from the whole process; from raising, caring, feeding and finally killing with respect and love for the whole experience. I was so fortunate to have been exposed to the whole cycle in raising rabbits with my dad. In the city, no less. My dad had a tender heart that he covered up with booze, he didn't know what to do with the pain of his mothers early death. Quite the opportunity for introspection.
I never had to deal with alcoholism in my family growing up. Of coarse from 16-17-18-21i had my own bout with drinking. But it stopped then. Now I have to deal with it all these years later and don’t know what the answers are, just pray daily it might some day get better…
As my friend Dannion said when I asked him about my drinking , he said "oh, it's just self-medication." No judgement, just understanding about the challenges of being in the body. I drink responsibly most of the time and pay attention to the tendencies of negative emotions. Another opportunity to watch and learn.
I wonder what he’d say if it were your spouse that you were trying to deal with and those negative emotions (BTW negative emotions hits the nail on the head) and figure out how to deal with them, because I can’t figure it out. When I’m coming home from work I never know what I’m coming home to. I pray it’s not going to be a bad time. At times I question if I can come home to it if it were to go on for the rest of my days here. Alanon?? It’s so hard to know what is the right way to handle someone else’s drinking and as you say those negative emotions and negative effects drinking has on your spouse. When we were young her drinking was not a problem, things have changed in her over the years, it so abusive to me at times and no one, even friends of mine that go to AA can tell me how to fix this. It’s even hard for me to explain the emotional abuse I have had to take from someone I love, it’s a f’d up rollercoaster life I never thought I’d be in but I am. One friend told me I allow it by staying here, but for me I’m afraid what might happen if I were to leave. You see DD, these are just the surface problems of living with a functioning alcoholic. I’m starting to think there is nothing I can do to fix her problem. J
I was vegan for over 20 years and it negatively impacted my health. I filled myself with PUFAs and estrogen-laden foods. The way I became a meat eater again is (a) I got sick (b) I learned that ALL live food gives up their lives for us (yes including the beets and carrots I just juiced and on some level they feel pain when you cut into them or grind them through a juicer).
If you can find a farm that humanely raised and humanely slaughters their animals, that's the best we can ask for (and remembering all of us will have to perish and die at some point.)
The key is for all of us to live a healthy, happy life and die a quick, painless death. My prayer before eating as others have shared in their replies is to give thanks ...and rest in knowing the animal lived a life I would have enjoyed if we had changed places. (hope this helps.)
The other option is to become a breatharian and live purely off of sunlight and water (I haven't figured out quite how that works yet ;)
These days I haven't any encounters with creatures scheduled to be eaten. However Gtok offers some video shorts that bring such sentiments to mind. I suspect we are subject from nudgings that we are subject to from the animal rights and the vegan types. Always someones trying to shape our views on things.
It’s strange I don’t have a problem at all with people that hunt. I hunted years back,though never had a love for it, I liked hanging out with friends. Over the years something has changed.
Going out hunting is a great guy bonding experience from what I have heard.
In the day went along on hunting (to my relief, we never encountered any game). The commoradery was a big part of the action. Personally enjoyed helping work on restoring old cars for the same reason. Opportunities and more current attitudes have changed.
Hunting at My Uncle’s cabin was a big poker game 😂
Mike, Way back when I would go hunting in the Berkshires (Ma.) with my cousin and my Uncle Ben. There was a bar there called The Liars Club where you’d tell big stories. We had a lot of fun back then!!
The Liars club is fitting for hunting or fishing 😂
I use to go pheasant hunting with my dad on the farm.
We also pheasant hunted which was lots of fun. That same cousin had a German Shorthair Pointer trained really well. His name was Bullet, great dog. I remember he would point at bird and freeze, my cousin would give him a command and Bullet would rush into the bush the bird wound fly up and all hell would break loose. One day I took a shot and thank God I thought I would hit the dog but didn’t. That would have been a disaster, he never would have forgiven me. But bird hunting was much more fun than deer hunting at least for me.
James, I hear you! My folks moved to a lake in the woods in the UP of Michigan after I graduated high school. Had heard about bird hunting so I went out solo and came across a ruffed grouse that wasn’t 20’ away. After blasting it to smithereens with the shotgun, I proudly took it home to my folks. What I didn’t realize at the time, but soon figured out, was that the bird was a mother grouse seeking to distract the intruder from her young ones. That was it for me for hunting of any kind. I still regret pulling the trigger. But, like you, I understand the need to cull the deer herd and so on, I just don’t want to be the one doing the culling. And insects? There are some on my hit list: waterbugs, roaches, ants, mosquitoes, flies. But that’s about it except for the violators on my tomato plants. I’m good with wasps and bees, will catch them inside and release outside. I like small spiders and prefer to co-exist with them, particularly those in the bathroom which usually end up with names. Bigger spiders in the house wind up outside, unless a black widow, in which case, it is bidden farewell.
I am right with you down the line!!! I think when I was young I was generally ignorant of the miracle of life. I have so changed since then. I can’t imagine knowingly injecting a person with harmful chemicals or not acknowledging ending the lives of 13 young soldiers. Just 2 examples I threw in there…
Was trying to remember from whom the idea and phrase "reverence for life" came. Turns out it was Albert Schweitzer. Thought you wouild like this summary of his life: https://www.wrf.org/women-and-men-of-medicine/albert-schweitzer-reverence-for-life
It might interest you to know that as a special education teacher, I kept as a pet a black widow on my desk for years. We fed it flies and crickets. It’s important to know what is and what isn’t a real threat. Black widow bites ARE serious but they seldom bite unless threatened by being touched and they often bite “blanks”. No venom, like a warning shot. They don’t live in my house but I’m not inclined to kill them if I happen to see them outside. I’m a lot less forgiving of brown recluse who happily burrow into my bed and bite because as far as they are concerned, it’s their bed now and I can just jolly well move over.
Thank you for that insight! Did the same spider live all that time? Figured their life span was much shorter.
No but each one lives about 3 years with good care. Since they are literally everywhere except the north and south poles, they were easy to find around the school building. A kindergarten teacher had me paged one day when she recognized one crawling across the floor!! Interestingly, no one in all those years was ever bitten. That’s the potential vs actual threat demonstration.
Wow, that's way longer than my bathroom buddies last. Think the cats might have something to do with it. My wife understands and is okay with it - she's put up with me for 50 years...
Dear James, as a recovering vegetarian, I share your sentiments. I have often thought about what I will say first to our good Lord when I get a chance. Probably hit Him first with the demand to explain , if He can, the reason for suffering followed immediately by the huge disconnect between His command to Love one another while embedded in a world where everything eats (sometimes brutally - just watch my cats) everything else!! I console myself with the first law of thermodynamics but I’m still going to ask!!
On my single ever trip to a farm as a tot I was bitten by a windmill and attacked by a goose. May have influenced by attitude towards getting my hands soil-ed. Wife from a farming Ala. family so she is our authority on things agricultural.
You could get over it - just don't farm windmills and geese.
You might like farm life Michael. It is peaceful living on a farm. But it can get very busy during planting watering and harvest time.
Maybe
Bitten by a windmill!!! Dr Nash, you are absolutely hilarious! I love Dr Malones Substack partly because he and Jill are brilliant but also because his followers/commenters are so wonderful, smart, thoughtful and funny!!
You included!!!
To Robert and Jill,
My husband and I have cucumbers (TONS of cucumbers) every summer. We juice them every day and we go through 'all of them' and we have tons and tons of cucumbers. We each drink 2 cups of fresh cucumber juice for midmorning and midafternoon. We give our dog the juice and pulp also so he had fresh, enzyme-rich veggies also.
The juice is structured, it's a natural blood cleanser, it's delicious, and it's filled with life and vibrance. I invite you both to join in this practice as well...and cucumbers keep for over a month in the frig when they are freshly picked.
We have an abundance of peppers also and don't know what to do with all the extras though...freeze them maybe? (neither of us like the pickled pepper option)
Hope this helps :)
Freezing and dehydrating works well with peppers.
I treat my peppers like tortilla chips. Arrange in a cast iron skillet, top with cheese, roast till melted. Super yummy.
Hello wns115,
Have you tried “blistering” them then add a bit of soy sauce? Yum!❤️🙏( I took it to mean fry quickly on a med high heat till a bit blackened…. Sounded nutty but tasted great. Easy, too.)
I had so many cucumbers I just stuck them in the freezer whole. I learned to make lots of different cucumber purees, soups, drinks so they did not go to waste. I still have many in the freezer. I just take them out to defrost to soften a bit so I can slice easily.
I love cucumber sliced and put into vinegar . You can also add sliced onions. We call them coocalutes . I don’t know how to spell it.
Dr. Malone - Just another note expressing appreciation for sharing successes AND failures. Also the fact the sometimes we learn from the failures and sometimes, well, it's a mystery! I just find it all encouraging as I slowly shift into another chapter of life where I, too, will get to experience the ebb and flow, success and failure of a little homesteading. So, I say thank you.
Such FANTASTIC foals! I grew up with AQHA horses. Nothing like your breed but to me almost any horse is a beautiful one. I so enjoy reading about your homesteading and seeing your pictures. We have lived in mid-eastern KY for about 3.5 years now. My husband was born here and lived here till age 18 when he moved to MI. He's so happy to be back...me, on the other hand, I was born in north-west OH, so this is very different. Dr. Malone, please continue your precious work!
Life used to be "so easy" or at least not openly filled with 2-legged pests from our own country (turtles all the way down-style) ... and then came the stinkbugs. When on leaves (currants, raspberries, etc.) and disturbed (a single chopstick works well), they drop like a rock. Let them drop into a yogurt container with water and a few drops of dish detergent. They (& and beetles) can't swim and won't learn ... If only starlings, yellow jacket wasps or Giant Asian Killer Hornets would eat stinkbugs... BTW, life was never easy. Never will be. Carry on.
I hate those stinkbugs - we have them everywhere in late fall. Then they crawl out of the cracks/from the window frames inside our house all winter.
We have some stink bugs , but I think with our hard winters they die. We get June bugs. There is also potato bugs in the potato fields. Thankfully we don’t have a bunch of bugs like the warmer climate areas as they die out in the winter. No chiggers either. Thank heavens.
Now there is some truth!
I love your Homesteading news, Robert! It was a delight touring with you this morning! Keeps the world in a lovely balance!<3
We too, in Mn. are experiencing fall weather with all its glory. I am glad I read to the end, the poetic quote was beautiful. Abundance seems to be both of your middle names! Have a great nap, you deserve one today.
I’m tired just reading this post! LOL. We have 80 acres and my garden/yard plot can hold 3 houses. 😳 …. Well maybe 2-1/2. I know how much work you guys have.