Our plans of having a relaxing winter haven’t exactly gone to plan. It started when the electric company came around the village to trim any trees that looked like they were going to interfere with the power lines. In the past they have given them a bit of a trim, only removing any long branches but this year they have…
Smoke and strong alcohol
Autumn has officially begun, and with it has come a sudden drop in temperatures, and a distinctly different feel to the morning air. I love this time of year. The cooler nights bring blessed relief from the baking heat of summer, and we can actually get some work done, instead of hiding from the heat during the day. After the…
What to make with a whole pig – year 2
This post is a follow up from our first butchery attempts. We learned loads in that first year, and we’ve tried to learn from our mistakes, got better with our recipes and tried a few new things. The first thing we’ve done differently this year has been the timing. Last year it was still really warm in November when we…
Gonna eat a lot of peaches
This post is for Michael, you know who you are! Well, we’ve moved to the country, and this year we’re sure going to eat a lot of peaches! We spent a very pleasant day yesterday with our friend, Ivan, preserving his year’s peach harvest, making 42 large jars of peaches in a thin syrup, ready for winter. It started off…
Back to work after our bit of a break
Well we finally got some proper snow and some freezing temperatures which the dogs have loved but Fog hasn’t been to happy about and has abandoned his rat/mouse control duties to guard the pechka. We knew it was coming so were well stocked up on the essentials but neither of us appreciated how long it would last. We are used…
Baking ( not as easy as it sounds )
Yes we can go to the nearest big supermarkets 30 miles away to get most of the ingredients you need for baking but we choose not to, we like to use what we’ve grown or can get locally at the market. Winter is my baking season, it’s just too hot in the Summer months and the cooking pechka is on…
What to make with a whole pig
We butchered our first pig on Monday. It was a monumental task, and we learned loads during the whole process. This is our attempt to document what we set out to achieve, how that went and what we learned from it, so we can remember for the next time as it will be a whole year before we have to…
Rocket stoves and Hugel beds
We’ve had a couple of extra helpers visiting for a few days last week. Anna and Olof are on a round-the-world trip, visiting various projects and learning about self-sufficiency, and practising permaculture. Danni and Richard are still here, but Anna and Olof’s interests (permaculture and rocket stoves) seemed too good to pass up! It was a hectic few days, with…