But If It Runs Like a Deere, Man, Her Eyes Light Up!

She likes the way it's pullin' while we're tillin' up the land

She's even kind of crazy 'bout my farmer's tan

 

She's the only one who really understands what gets me

She thinks my tractor's sexy

I love this time of year!  Wednesday morning when I went outside to let the chickens out, I was both saddened and excited to find frost on the ground.  In years past this simple act of nature would have sent me into a tailspin.  This year it brought relief.  (Either I'm getting old, or I'm just worn out -- probably both.)  I was sad that the tomatoes and peppers in my garden hadn't produced more this year than they had.  It wasn't a good year for them in our garden.  We had beautiful plants and they produced nice fruit, but nothing ripened or grew as quickly as usual in our garden this year.  The prospect of being done with the garden and having one less thing placing demands on my time was a such a relieving, burden-lifting feeling that I felt more alive than I have for a while.  (It's funny because I never felt the garden was a burden, but to be done with it until next summer felt like someone released me from one of the many chains that bind me to all that has to be done.)  I felt so alive that I wanted to create something.  It was a little chilly to be working out in the yard, so I went back in the house and canned pepper-onion relish, which turned out to be delicious.  (Our family has discovered over the last year that we really love relish, so we have tried several different kinds.  So YUMMY!)

All summer I have wanted a basket that is big enough to gather the vegetables in my garden.  I have watched at the DI -- for those of you whose eyebrows just went up, I did go to the DI two or three times this summer (the DI and my OCD do not get along very well -- thank goodness for rubber gloves) -- and I have looked at some at Michael's and Walmart and such.  The baskets I want always cost upwards of $30.00.  To me that is a ridiculous amount of money to pay for a basket to use to pick fruits and veggies.  So I refuse to buy one.  Then one day when I was looking at some willow baskets and grapevine baskets, it hit me that I have two grapevines in my back yard.  I determined then that I would make my own basket.  So, I checked out several books from the library on basketry, but none of them said anything about grapevine baskets.  I did find several websites that talked about how to make them.  In the end, I decided to do my own thing.  On that first frosty morning, I decided to celebrate the frost by making my basket.  I started it before lunch.  I got a good start on it that day, but I didn't have time to finish it.  I finished it on Friday.  It is really cool to say, I made this.  It's far from perfect, and I learned a lot from it, but I made a basket that will be strong enough to hold my produce.  It is about 18 inches in diameter at the top of the basket.

This is the basket in it's finished form

I learned several things from this basket.  The reason that a lot of baskets have a separate bottom piece that is added on to the basket is because it is VERY difficult to get those vines to weave into the tight little curves that become the bottom of the basket.  Next time I will start with the bottom rather than the top and I will make a flat bottomed basket.   I also read about how basket makers get willow bows to bend without breaking.  I will work on that as well.  So, my finished basket is big and doesn't have as many vines at the bottom as it does at the top.  I have decided to line the basket with muslin.  so the bigger holes at the bottom won't matter.  I had a lot of fun making this basket.

I also checked out a book on making rag rugs and I am very excited to try that.  Now I just have to wait for the time and the funding (although I don't think the funding will take all that long -- I already have tons of fabric scraps that I couldn't throw out.)  Time - or the lack thereof - is my biggest burden.

I am ready to buy a farm and become self-sufficient.  The man of my dreams laughs at me when I say that because I mean self-sufficient with his income.  I want him to keep his job.  Someone has to pay the power bill.  What I want is to have a bigger garden where I can produce all the vegetables that we eat for the whole year, plus some to share with family and friends.  I want a small orchard with a few peach trees, a few apple trees, a few pear trees, and a few apricot trees.  I really like my walnut tree, so I think I'd also like a few nut trees as well.  Then I would have enough to can as much fruit as I'd like instead of rationing it out all year because the peaches cost too much (and have to be purchased during the time that we are recovering from exorbitant school fees -- why don't I remember to plan for those!) 

I'd also like to have five or six sheep and learn to spin and weave.  I'd like to keep a few cows for meat and maybe milk.  (Which of course would mean I'd need to grow hay, too.)  I'd love to have a space for my chickens to free range rather than keeping them in a small run all day.  They love it when I let them free range -- but then I have to watch them or make someone else watch them on a farm, that wouldn't be a problem.  A horse or two would be nice, too.  Then of course, I'd have to have a small tractor.  This is my dream.  It will likely never happen, but it is my greatest desire.  I want to live at least a mile from my nearest neighbor and let my little warrior run as free and wild as he wants there on our little farm.  I'd like to be able to help people who need food because I have an abundance from the labor of my own hands.  I was born to be a farmer!  It's all I ever wanted until I fell in love with a wonderful engineer who puts up with my crazy little whims and indulges as many of them as he can.  (Hence my chickens.)  And then enjoys watching me revel in them.  I love this man!!!