Cleaning beeswax

 I LOVE having bees on site. They are amazing creatures. They pollenate my vegetables, fruits, and flowers. All for the sake of making beautiful amber honey for themselves- that I steal. HA! You can see some of my butternut squash that I've over wintered here in this first photo as well. So yummy.

So what do you do with the weird over growths of burr comb? I had to scrape a lot off when I put my packages in and they went crazy before I got another box on. I used quite a lot of it when I caught a swarm this summer. I rub the beeswax on empty frames so that the bees can get going faster and just move the wax around. It's worth it. 

I put a folded over piece of (market) cheesecloth into my double boiler. All the junk stays in the cheese cloth and most* of the wax will leak through. I think I will try another method for getting the beeswax next year though. This works, but it takes awhile.

When I poured the liquid in the silicone trays I noticed it was an odd color. I let them cool and it separated the wax to the top and the pollen on the bottom. So, now I have a bit of pollen in this as well. I poured the pollen into an old salsa jar and froze it to use in the spring for the bees to get started into brooding faster.

I'm going to use this to make some cosmetics later, so look for those posts at a later date. Zero Waste cosmetics, well as close as I can get to it anyways. One step at a time towards a better life! 

Seasonal Eating

I've been working on a lot of areas in our lives and sharing them with you. Today I want to talk about our food. Do you know where the food you eat comes from? Are you eating something in a plastic bag that is filled with yucky chemicals? I really hope that you aren't.
We started on this crazy journey by eliminating High Fructose Corn Syrup from our diets, then I eliminated palm oil (We only had one slip up there, DH bought PB with palm oil in it. I talked to him about it and he understands.) I'm not going to go into why these are bad for your body and there is conflicting thoughts here, but I think that the less processed food we eat, as a whole, we are better off.
Then I starting doing a whole foods diet. Where everything was whole before I processed it in my kitchen. For example, if we want potato fries I use a potato, chop it up and bake it in the oven in some oil. Sometimes I make them spicy or add a flavoring to them to change it up. Sort of at the same time we began making the switch from boxed foods that were being marketed as healthy, to foods that I make from scratch. They are always fresher and taste much better, in our opinion anyways.
I realize that not everyone has the time to do all of these things, but if you could just do a little bit to make your diet better you would feel better, sleep better, even have better sex because your body will be getting energy and oxygen to the blood that you can use. (Trust me...)


Now the next thing that I want to tackle in our kitchen is seasonal eating.

Here is a link to a site that explains a little bit about why you should eat seasonally.

Below, this is taken from the site mentioned above and I did NOT create this list, but it is a good starting point to think about. Just because something isn't on this list doesn't mean you can't eat it. But you will figure out what is in season in your area and what isn't as you go along. I've been trying to do this a little bit, but DH doesn't want to give up certain things. I'm working on alternatives for things right now. Since we are no longer by the ocean, sea food is old and really expensive by the time it gets to us. That's not acceptable in my book. So, I'm purchasing lake fish that are native to the area, like crappie, bass, catfish, perch, sunfish, walleye and trout.For replacing something like oysters I'm growing salsify, which tastes like oysters but doesn't have the texture or consistency so it's good in soups and stews.

On to the list!

• In spring, focus on tender, leafy vegetables that represent the fresh new growth of this season. The greening that occurs in springtime should be represented by greens on your plate, including Swiss chard, spinach, Romaine lettuce, fresh parsley, and basil.
• In summer, stick with light, cooling foods in the tradition of traditional Chinese medicine. These foods include fruits like strawberries, apple, pear, and plum; vegetables like summer squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and corn; and spices and seasonings like peppermint and cilantro.
• In fall, turn toward the more warming, autumn harvest foods, including carrot, sweet potato, onions, and garlic. Also emphasize the more warming spices and seasonings including ginger, peppercorns, and mustard seeds.
• In winter, turn even more exclusively toward warming foods. Remember the principle that foods taking longer to grow are generally more warming than foods that grow quickly. All of the animal foods fall into the warming category including fish, chicken, beef, and lamb. So do most of the root vegetables, including carrot, potato, onions and garlic. Eggs also fit in here, as do corn and nuts.

This is a helpful list, but not all inclusive as I stated. But if you start growing your own garden you will soon learn when the seasons are around you. There are different regions and zones within the United States. So whats in season in the South isn't in season in the upper midwest. So, I've learned to adjust my eating. Certain things are never going to be in season in your location though. For example,  rice isn't grown in my area. Wild rice is and I try to eat that in the fall, winter and early spring as it is gathered in the fall. But, I buy a large bag of rice from the store in town when I need it. I'm still looking for someone local who collects it. 

For me I love being able to walk out to my garden and pick my salad greens in early May before most people have even started planting yet. 

It's a journey, but one I would love for you to join me on. 

Cat waste part 2

Starting off Here are my little poopers. To the left is Grayson and to the right is Calypso (We call her Caly for short.) 

I wanted to add some visual aids to the zero waste cats. The hardest part about having zero waste cats is dealing with the litter, poo and the packaging it all comes in to you. 

We can't do anything about the poo, that's a natural process. The liter and the packaging we can change!

This is a picture of the litter I used to use. I bought it in these big buckets because at least I could use the buckets for something, until they broke. Now I put the spent liter and the poo in this empty bucket. When it gets full(or close enough) I take it outside, dig a hole and cover it back up so it can compost. 

This is the liter we are using now. It's in a compostable cardboard container. I've already put one in my compost pile. I rip off the stickers and add them to the landfill waste, because it's plastic based and I try to keep that out of my gardens.

This is a picture of the compost inside. Its made from cedar and corn. It actually smells pretty good, but not like the chemical laden stuff. This is also widely available at Petsmart. (which is where I've been buying it.) It comes in 2 sizes. I buy the bigger size so I don't have to go as often. But, if I only had 1 cat I might just get the smaller one. 

That's about all there is to it. It's simple, and not too much different than what I was doing. 

We're working on going to a different food that I can recycle the bags for as well. I'm still on the search. Right now we're using Blue, because it doesn't have corn and soy products in it. 

Are you zero wasting your pets? I'd love to hear any tips that you might have for us. 

Meow!

Zero Waste-Month #3-May

Goal #1-Switch every family member over to using reusable bags

Goal Obtained. 

Goal #2- Stop using the plastic bags in the produce section.

Goal Obtained. 
I thought this would be easy, and for me it is easy. DH goes to the grocery store so infrequently. But seems to keep bringing these bags home. I take them to the recycling container when I go shopping the next time and I don't say anything about it. But, he brought 3 home this month. Although he's using his reusable bag! :) 

Goal #3 Stop junk from coming into the house

Will this ever happen?

Goal #4 Compost all paper that does come into the house.

Goal Obtained. 

Goal #5 Shop at the Co-op in town for bulk items

Goal Obtained. 

Goal #6 Switch to "ReUsies" instead of plastic storage bags. 

Goal Obtained.
What do I do with these zipper plastic bags I have now is the issue??

Goal #7 Stop using disposable head razors.

No Change.

Goal #8 Get more serious about composting.

Goal Obtained.

 Goal #9 Switch to using handkerchiefs instead of tissue.

No Change.
I am composting the tissues I am using.
Trying to finish up the boxes that are left in the house. I still need to buy DH a hankie to use.

Goal #10 Stop my trash service.

Still not feasible yet.
This may never be feasible for use because I cannot find a drop off recycle place in our area.
But, we are sending less and less to the landfill. :)

Goal #11 Make our own bread from scratch. 

DH's bread!! I'm doing sourdough.

Goal #12 Replace freezer bags with jars.

Trying to get all my jars in one place is difficult. I have some upstairs to use, but more things that I want to freeze are cooked meat (ham that I cooked and diced for something else. It's hard to break up in the jar.) and soup. The soup does well in the ice cream containers. ButI can't seem to get anymore of those. I really want to make sorbets in the summer with the extra fruits. 
I'm not freezing as much as I thought I would be though. Maybe I just don't need this as much and the jars I have will work just fine with this? 
Although, I do occasionally cut up bits of ham and freeze them. I'll probably need to freeze them on a sheet pan and then put them in the jar so I can get them out. 


Goal #13 Compost cat poop in a separate area

Goal Obtained.



Total we sent out 2 bags for recycling and 1 bag for the landfill. 

Jack of all trades or homesteader?

Yesterday I gave my neighbor a small pot of delphiniums that I had grown this spring. She was so suprised and called me a jack of all trades. At the time I laughed and said 'not really', but then I went home and really starting thinking about it. 

I’m a homesteader which at it’s core is to be a jack of all trades. So you learn to do what is needed in each season as it’s needed. 

I grow my own vegetables, fruits, herbs and I nourish my sense of beautiy with homegrown, usually perennial, flowers. 

She gives me excess bulbs or overgrowth from her garden all the time. (She’s been living here for over 20 years and has the most beautiful yard!) So, when I grew flowers this year, from seed I decided to pot one up and give it to her. Maybe she was suprised that I grew it from seed, or that I thought of her, I’m not really sure. But the thing that stuck with me is that as a homesteader you learn so many more skills than you would being a commercial farmer of, say only corn or soy. 

Your washer is broken? Well, you could call someone to look at it or you could go get a how to repair washers or a plumbing book from the library or look it up online and do it yourself. I can’t see paying someone to come out and fix it when I have all the tools and resources to fix it myself. As a married couple, DH and I split up the tasks based on what we like to do around the homestead, and of course what we have time for also. He likes to tinker so he usually fixes the washer and those things. Just last week he moved our washer drain hose from the draining into the utility sink to going directly into the drain line. Once he had the right tools and parts it was easy. He also does the electrical, which I wouldn’t touch anyways, and has plans to move our gutter system soon so that the ice slick won’t be right on the walkway in the winter and we will be able to utilize some rain barrels in the summertime. He helps me engineer new buildings and with getting them up. He does so much around here and I don’t get to brag on him very often, but he is really a crucial member of our homestead. Especially since it’s just the two of us right now. 

I on the other hand like to garden for, as I said above, vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers and I’m really into the perennial vegetable garden right now. (I’ll do another post on that later.) 

I also do most of the cooking, baking and cleaning. Not that he doesn’t help, but I usually have the time to complete these chores. 

I like to sew and quilt to ensure the warmth of my family and I do a fair bet of mending on our clothing so that we can get the most use out of it. 

I really love raising animals and getting new animals or birthing new ones on the homestead is the highlight of my day. I try to give them the best lives that I can so that when the day comes that they die, I know they lived well. 

I also am the one butchering our animals. DH is slightly interested in this and will watch or hold something, like a knife or a bowl, for me. But, he’s not going to go doing it all on his own anytime soon I don’t think. He did assist with deer and hog skinning and cleaning when we were at my Mom’s house in SC. He is more fascinated by the larger animals that the small ones that I am doing right now. 

Homesteading, by it’s very nature is to be a jack of all trades. And I’m so glad that I read fast and absorb the knowledge of my forefathers so that I can continue on in the human tradition of caring for my family as much as I can on the homestead.