Today I got up and went to work nearly immediately.
To start off, I rode my bike to that abandoned lot near my house to gather up some of the tall weeds there. My rabbits absolutely love having “pasture” to eat. It’s a big treat for them, and it actually saves money since I can stretch out their rabbit pellets.
Then I planted some sweet potato slips and started some maca root seed. Maca is an adaptogen, and it helps the body adapt to new situations and deal with stress easier. I like eating a spoonful of maca root powder every morning, but a bag of maca powder can get expensive, so I’m going to try and grow it. I’m putting it in the one sunny section of my yard, so maybe it’ll do well.
I also saw on the internet that you can start your seeds off in a banana to help keep the seeds moist and to fertilize them, so I tried that. In theory, it seems like it’ll work well. I just hope an animal doesn’t dig up my seeds.
In the meantime, my husband went to fill up on gasoline. We got an extra can and are keeping everything filled up since gas is so cheap right now. I keep hearing about how gas prices are going to skyrocket in the near future, so we’re trying to get ahead of that curve.
I also planted some mint starts. These are supposed to be invasive perennials, but I bought some last year that didn’t spread and didn’t grow back this year. Of course, until the plants died, I had some awesome mint. I’m hoping to see more vigor from my mint this year. I’d love to take some mint with me to a new property.
Speaking of, after planting things, my husband took us to the W house. That’s what I’ve been calling the trashed house on the nearly 7 acres. It’s not for sale, but it seems abandoned, and my husband and I love it. We’ve been annoying the owner about selling/renting it to us, but we haven’t heard anything in a while. We would really rather have legal rights to the property before we do anything, but it’ll need a lot of cleaning and clearing before we can do anything, so we’ll be starting that in the next few weeks unless the owner gets back to us with a “stay off or I’ll call the cops.” At this point, the owner hasn’t expressly told us “no” to using the property. They haven’t told us yes, but a neutral answer is halfway to a yes, so that’s how I’m choosing to see it.
I finally finished the skirt I’d been working on!
I took a bunch of old shirts that were too small for my husband (he’s still getting taller), and I made a patchwork skirt for myself.
At this point, I felt like I earned a nap. Then I cooked up some dinner. I got some turnips from my dad. I’ve actually never eaten a turnip, so I wanted to try one. I know that boiling it would have been the more traditional approach, but many people don’t like that, and I didn’t think I would. I cooked up my turnip like I would have made potato fries and mixed it up in a bowl of rice. It was pretty good that way.
Then, I sliced up a banana to make banana chips, and I made some granola. I’m going to use this granola in place of vanilla wafers in some banana pudding. With GF oats, this is not cheaper, but it’s healthier for my husband, and if I want some, I could have some.
I also made cheese lasagna. My husband and I love lasagna. I usually make it about once a week… But I also have a secret. I blend up a can of pinto beans and mix it with the sauce to stretch it. This definitely isn’t typical, but it’s a way for me to reduce the cost of lasagna since I have to use GF noodles (I also buy these in bulk. Like… a year’s supply at a time), and it’s an easy way for me to slip in some extra nutrients.
Whew, this was a long and productive day. I’m actually really looking forward to being this productive or more every day when we begin seriously homesteading. I have so many ideas!
Frugal Treehugger 