I’m having a hard time grasping the fact that we’re now half-way through the month of July already. The weather’s been way different from last year’s. Instead of massive amounts of rain and flooding we’re in a bit of a dry spell. And that’s okay. For now…
It’s not a bad thing completely. The lawn hasn’t needed mowing in over two weeks (yay!). The down side is, the hay field is starting to look a little stressed, like we may not get a second cutting… But it rained last night (thankfully) and it’s supposed to rain some more next week, so that will help out some.
The gardens have to be watered every evening now just to keep them happy. And the raspberries are a complete loss this year. They’re all hard and tiny and mostly brown. Not even the birds want them. But I am thankful that everything isn’t underwater again this year!
Another thing I’m really thankful for is my (limited) knowledge of the ability to forage something to eat if I have to. People did this back in the depression era out of necessity. I do it occasionally just because I enjoy it, and honestly, some weeds just taste better than the produce you can get at the grocery store. And when you pick them fresh, you’re getting way more vitamins and nutrition than you could ever get from the store.
My scavenged dinner the other day consisted of Purslane and Lambsquarter. Both plants (weeds) grow abundantly on my property. There’s a ton of ways to use both in your cooking, raw or cooked. I kept it simple.
For one dish I simply sautéed the two greens with onion and bacon, added a touch of chicken broth, and that was it.
The other dish I did the same, but added dried chilis and beans for something a little more filling. And because of the bacon, you won’t even need to add salt.
Both dishes were great and cost pennies to throw together. About as cheap as you can get, really. And everything came straight from my farm (chilis, dried beans, bacon, bacon grease for sauteing, chicken broth, onion, purslane and lambsquarter). How’s that for living off the land? Now if you want to get fancy, you could make some nice cornbread to go along with it. How much better can it get?
Hmmm, what else am I thankful for today? The wild flowers, gracing the farm and fields right now. Picking them and putting them in a vase always makes me smile!
And, the amazing views I’m so lucky to gaze my eyes upon while driving around my small (population: 496 people) town.
And off the topic, but a quick update. Penny still hasn’t shown any signs of babies coming soon.
I gave her a huge, pig-hug, belly squeeze this morning and I swear I felt a baby move. But oh hell, let’s be honest, it could’ve just been her breathing. Who knows? Stay tuned… ~A
