I posted my first blog entry on November 28, 2004. That was almost six years ago. Granted it was on a site that is no longer active and I have taken a couple of month long hiatus’ I can honestly say I have been consistently blogging in some capacity for at least five years. That is a lot of random one-sided conversation, if you ask me. In that time I have blogged for three companies, four non-profits, one magazine, four newspapers and countless contributions. That is not even counting the over 400 posts made to anotherkindofdrew.com. It is because of this dedication and because of the tone I take in my blog as well as the content that has led me to my most recent opportunity.

About three months ago I was contacted by GRIT magazine (after some emails and recommendations of other writers) to blog on grit.com. WOW! What a community of wonderful people. They are all ages, sizes and shapes and come from all different walks of life from extremely rural to suburban to downright urban.

And so it is with great pleasure that because of the popularity my writing (through anotherkindofdrew.com) on GRIT.com, I can announce that this blog and even an image of mine was featured in the March/April issue of GRIT magazine currently on newsstands. If you haven’t gotten a copy it is available at most newsstands across the country. Published by Ogden Publications it is a staple in small farm/hobby farm reading.

So again, thank you for reading my blog, commenting on my blog and supporting all my various projects.

I have not told anyone yet until now. So, my dearest blog readers (all 2 or 3 of you) I am pleased to announce that I was contacted by the Managing Editor of The Farmer’s Almanac (yes, that is THE Almanac) to write a piece for the 2011 version. Of course I said “yes, yes, yes…” I can’t really say more than that and really I am only saying this to further advance the point I am about to make.

I have been asked/told/instructed/encouraged 7 times this week to write a book on some gardening topic or another. The most recent request coming from a friend of Pan’s whom I have never met but have found myself having at length conversations with on manure and composting. And the conversations have gotten me thinking, “maybe I should write a book.” I mean, I am just as entertaining as the next guy. I know a fair amount of what it takes to transition from the city to the country and can tell some pretty funny stories about life along the way. But I digress until I have thought about it more. In the meantime, I want to just share my feelings on organic fertilizer as I really concreted my thoughts on the subject tonight.

So my new friend says to me, “I can tell you this, I need simple yet effective. My husband is a firm believer is chemical filled pesticides and is totally opposed to trying anything new…swears nothing will grow without chemicals.”

I gasp. Seriously. I gasp. NOTHING? Nothing will grow without chemicals? Before I can even get my thoughts together my fingers start flying across the keyboard. I responded, “It’s perfectly okay in that neither fertilizer is right for every situation. Allow me to briefly give you my take on the situation.

A chemical fertilizer is a compound that has been chemically processed or refined to increase its potency and thereby increase the food production an individual farmer can produce.

The main problem is the result of applying too much or an over application of this class of fertilizers. Any plant can only use so much food during its growth cycle. What’s left over tends to travel into groundwater, streams, lakes and the ocean, due to rain or irrigation. This pollutes the natural environment and causes a great number of problems. … See More

The organic class of fertilizers tends to be less refined and involve little or no chemical processing. Also, the natural environment tends to have an easier time of breaking down and absorbing them. Using such ferts allow for an increase in the biological activities of the plants giving yield to a more natural, organic, sensitive crop.

The issue with this class though comes when manure is involved. Because of the nitrogen levels, too much can be detrimental to your crop.

For us it boils down to an issue of stewardship. As a holistic Christian I am hugely concerned with the way I treat the planet; God’s environmental gift to us. I don’t feel good at all about using lab tested chemical compounds on the earth I will eventually put in my mouth.

Oh, and for what it is worth, I don’t think the Garden of Eden had Miracle-Gro.”

I was sincerely hoping that by this time of year I would have several posts up about the transformation of brown, dead, winter-laden grass transitioning into wonderful blades of summertime glory. I was hoping that I would have several sets of Flickr pics showing our gardens decorated with little sprouts as if the dirt were little chocolate cupcakes adorned with tasty sprinkles. But alas, I cannot.

Winter hit hard this year and it isn’t done yet from what I hear. In fact, the weather channel is talking of snow flurries as late as tomorrow afternoon. Now I don’t believe in wives tales, per se, or even signs of spring but didn’t that groundhog see his shadow or something halfway constructive?

This you must know though. I am hard headed. When I awoke Saturday morning to no ice in the chicken waterer and no crunch under my feet as I navigated my way out to the yard I promised the day would not disappear in vain. I would make something of it yet.

Two days prior Pan and I had purchased some onion bulbs at the feed and seed in a mad attempt at making spring come. We had no plans other than to have them ready at the first peak of 50 degree weather. I knew what bed they would find a home in and I even had some compost and soil ready to be laid. So when that mercury jumped to 53, I must have looked like a pasty college student headed to the waves of Panama City, Florida on Spring Break. NOTHING could slow me down.

By afternoon we had turned the compost and laid it in. We had added some sprinklings of chicken manure for good measure. We had pressed the sweet onion bulbs into their earthen home. We gently watered the entire plot and carefully covered it all with hearty straw. What a great feeling! Spring had sprung if only for 2 or 3 hours.

As the afternoon sun fell from overhead and the wind started to bring in the night air we sat on the porch looking out at our first bed of the season. What a site! I gathered up our tools and headed to the barn to put everything away. I took one last look though – anticipating an early summer harvest – and said under my breath, “Take that Phil! Take that!”

One year ago I looked into her eyes, I squeezed her hands just a bit and I said with all authority and conviction, “I do.” She returned the affirmation and we began what I now refer to as “the great adventure.”

Before getting married and moving back to rural, middle Georgia, I lived in Brooklyn, NY. The life was fast paced and there was always so much going on. I prided myself on giving meaning to ‘ol Blue Eyes’ lyrics. With a firm handshake and a toothy grin I had said on multiple occasions to people, “if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere,” and by all accounts I had made it. I had a beautiful apartment that had recently been renovated. I was just a block from the train. I had a group of supportive, fun friends. I had a job I was happy with. I was never lacking for artistic inspiration.

But at night, I went to bed alone. My other two bedrooms echoed in their emptiness and leaving the lights on did nothing to relieve my solitude. The TV offered little distraction as it became boring and I felt no more connected to the cast of ‘Law and Order’ than I did the man in the moon.

Several big decisions later though I was standing across from her promising to have and to hold until death do us part. And even those words could not adequately convey to her how much I welcomed this new part of life.

Within days we were at home on Odom’s Idle Acres figuring out how we could make it not quite so idle and how we could breathe life back into our otherwise normal existence. Our faith was strong and our determination was bursting from our beings. There was clearly room for a large garden. We could easily see ourselves with chickens. We simply knew that the life we had now formed together was going to be one that incorporated our dreams, our desires, our hopes, our learned lessons and our love for the world around us.

In short order we had planted several gardens. We had built a coop and purchased laying hens. We had reexamined our dependence on the grocery store and processed foods. We had redone our budget to live more modestly without sacrificing the fun in life. And through it all our connection to each other continued to grow.

And now one year later we still walk our land, dreaming, plotting, imagining. We look forward to being blessed with a family of our own and the opportunity to see them grow as we did; independently but with the support of our friends and family. The acres aren’t so idle anymore and we can see how God has blessed us and continues to bless us.

And now – one year later – I sit here at my keyboard thinking back to the nights that ended with smiles and even the ones that ended without such pleasure and I realize that this great adventure has all led up to this; this one moment. The moment when I can see that life is what you put into it. You plant a seed, you get a crop. And in this last year our seeds have turned to crops and now, holding each others’ hands, we wait for our harvest.

One of my most dear friends, Lacy Razor, wrote today’s blog post and because I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to share it with y’all. Lacy and her husband Josh are a happily married, military family trying to start a farm, a family, and embrace the country lifestyle in a fast-paced world. Their REAL dream is to offer our community an organic you-pick orchard and garden, greenhouse, U-fish, country store, and so much more! Until then, we focus on sustainability. You can read about their experiences at Razor Family Farms.

Good and simple meals rarely involve exotic sauces, costly ingredients, or snobbery. The magic is that you can make Magic Potato Soup when your cupboards are nearly bare. When anyone else would walk into your pantry and declare that a meal could not be procured, you can just grab a saucepan and smile. In just moments (and with seemingly nothing at all), you can produce a soup which is so flavorful and lovely that your guests will beg for the recipe. Upon receiving the recipe, they will insist that you have left out an ingredient. Magic, I tell you.

This soup was first served to me by Becky Matheny, who graciously shared the recipe and agreed that all of GRIT-dom should be able to partake in a little bit of edible history. She, like so many master cooks, believes that simple and fresh ingredients make for good and clean food. Becky lives in a 220 year old farmhouse in the Shenandoah Valley and hosts Soundquilt, a non-for-profit grassroots music festival. Her husband Mark, a talented musician, can often be found with his band (the Walnut Grove Band of Walnutt.net) in their pre-Civil war era barn.

Meet Magic Potato Soup*

• 4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 onion, sliced as thinly as possible (the onion will
  “dissolve” and be absorbed by the liquid almost completely by the time the
  poatoes are cooked if sliced very, very thinly!)
• 1 teaspoon salt (and an optional dash of pepper)
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour

Combine the first four ingredients in a saucepan and cook until potatoes are tender. Drain, reserving liquid. In the empty saucepan, heat butter and flour until flour is browned.

Add the reserved liquid. Stir and cook until smooth (use a whisk or fork). Add potatoes and onion, then heat through.

Sprinkle with chives or parsley, if desired or if such items are available.
Recipes like the one above were common during the Great Depression when a few potatoes had to feed a large family. While most of us are able to purchase or grow a wide variety of vegetables in this century, we may not always be so fortunate. It is wise to learn, appreciate, and preserve the art of frugality.

One of my favorite cookbook authors, Xavier Marcel Boulestin**, once said, “Do not be afraid of simplicity. If you have a cold chicken for supper, why cover it with a tasteless white sauce which makes it look like a pretentious dish on the buffet table at some fancy dress ball?” Food does not have to be dressed up to be delicious. So, do not be ashamed of “humble” eats and serve this soup (and others like it) with pride.

*Recipe is similar to one found in the More-With-Less cookbook, by Doris Janzen Longacre, published by the Herald Press, in Scottdale, PA, copyright 1976.

**Xavier Marcel Boulestin wrote several cookbooks, my favorite being: Simple French Cooking for English Homes (1923). He was a respected chef, successful restaurateur, and the very first televised chef.

49 states received snowfall in the last week. Even rural Georgia – Odom’s Idle Acres – found itself covered in 4 inches of beautiful, powdery, Bing Crosby song-inspiring snow. For most it is just an excuse for a day off work or out of school or a reason to slick up the garbage can lid and head for the nearest hill. But for those who see snow as an epicurious test to our homesteading skills it is the perfect reason to make up a batch of Snow Cream.

Snow Cream is akin to ice cream tasting almost as good but definitely twice as much to make. Not to mention the way mother nature does most of the work as opposed to a more traditional method of freezing a custard mix as a first step.

So how do we make this Snow Cream? It’s really quite easy. Needing only a little dairy, some sugar and vanilla flavoring/extract, the largest ingredient is just outside the front door: fresh snow.

Word to the wise, DO NOT try to use snow that is within footsteps of your coop or in the goat pen or where your dog typically finds respite.

But why does snow lend itself to this treatment? Well, let’s think about ice cream for a second. Ice cream is basically a collection of tiny frozen crystals of milk/egg/vanilla/sugar beaten together with air. Snow is fluffy frozen water crystals. So it would serve to reason that all we need to do is add the flavor to try and match one of Baskin-Robbins 31.

Okay, time to get all nerdy real quick.

Because snow has different ratios of water to air based on outside temperatures, wind speed and velocity there is no tried and true recipe for Snow Cream but rather a suggested method. You can fill in your own blanks and add your own flavoring as desired.

INGREDIENTS (based on 1 gallon of Snow Cream)

• 1 gallon fresh, white snow.
• 1 cup Milk
• .5 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla

The directions are nothing more than mix all your ingredients together and freeze for an additional 10 minutes to harden.

I added some chocolate syrup to my first bowl and then added some homemade strawberry jam to my second bowl.

This week has been about anxiety for me. I have felt tremendous anxiety. I have read about God’s protection from anxiety. I have talked with others about their anxieties and I have learned to release anxiety.

Along the way though I found things that make me happy and have sustained me in the lull times.

This week I updated all my social networking profiles like this one, this one and this one.
I started writing for this great ezine and meeting other contributors.
Pan and I began dreaming and trying to figure out finances for this little baby.
I spent hours trying to figure out how this cube could effect multiple housing situations around the globe.
I watched this classic an embarrassing 27 times.
I then contemplated how different my life would be with this in my wardrobe.
But I ultimately decided I would stick to just this.

My homesteading life rarely leads into the kitchen. Pan does most of the cooking and for good reason. She is amazing and is able to blend homemade with ‘good-for-you’ with delicious. Me? I am quite astute at mixing grill with darkened meat with edible.

I must confess though that we are pretty well stuck in either “chicken mode” or “beef mode” with a bit of pork every so often. We rarely have fish as it is so hard to get fresh when you live in middle Georgia. Good deer meat is rare as well and we are pretty picky about who we accept it from since – it has been my experience – the taste is all in the cleaning and preparation. And game? Well, game is just beyond us. Until recently.

While strolling along the Interwebs one rainy Saturday I came across a recipe for some hearty, rabbit stew. “Rabbit stew,” I asked myself? I had honestly thought that existed only in Elmer Fudd cartoons. But here was an easy to follow, delicious looking recipe for such. I decided we should try it.

According to my family rabbit had been a staple of my grandfathers diet and so I figured I must have some predetermined qualities that would allow me to catch one of these oft-forgotten critters. I set about researching how to make a rabbit trap. I had seen rabbit droppings and foot prints in the orange clay so I knew they were prevalent in my area.

I decided on a simple, wooden rabbit trap perfectly laid out by “Dwayne’s This and That.”

Within a half hour I was ready to set it out and within a day or two, I figured, would be reading up on how to clean and prepare the rabbit I had caught.

Pan and I took the trap out in one of our back fields being careful not to let too much of our scent permeate the box. Once in position we put in the bait; peanut butter, carrots and lettuce. We then set the door and sprayed some apple cider around the perimeter. I had such a good feeling about this endeavor.

Week 1. Nothing. I find all sorts of things to blame it one – weather, trap building, smart rabbits.

Week 2. Nothing. Discouragement begins to set in and I question my ability to actually homested.

Week 3. SUCCESS!

Last night Pan and I went down to the trap to see it had been tripped. The box was heavy and because we heard no noise we figured the rabbit had expired. I knew this was not ideal and figured this would be a lost cause.

When we arrived up to the house I lifted the door up a bit so Pan could take a picture of what was inside. As the flash went off I watched her mouth utter the words, “It’s hairy…..it’s a possum….ewwwwww….a possum!” I quickly shut the door.

The rest is fairly uneventful. We took the box back down and dumped the possum…well, the two possums (yes, two had found their way into our trap)….back where they came from. We took the trap up to the shop to be reconstructed and aired out in the hopes of trying again. But even with all this rabbit adventure I began to think to myself how I might have felt if I was a true homesteader without a job to support us. I have heard of possum stew and I can see how if you live off the land and all you catch is a possum, you do what you have to. But I was still a bit discouraged the rest of the night and wondered how I would have done things differently.

In the meantime, I look at my trap and my bait and my stew recipe, hoping that one day I will catch more than a case of the rabbit stew blues!

If you are anything like me you find this time of year to be stifling, frustrating and sometimes completely overwhelming. The rain never seems to end. The sun seems to take hiatus and leave us with nothing but lackluster dirt and plants who can’t even muster enough energy to be a pretty brown. They are dull and lifeless moving inertly in the cold breeze offering little that is thrilling or inspiring. But as my Facebook page gets weighed down by people’s images of fleeting winter wonderlands and no-school days due to snow, I find myself dreaming about cucumbers and english ivy; a garden so green even Marvell is taken by its beauty.

“No white nor red was ever seen / So am’rous as this lovely green.”

And so this past weekend my wife and I sat down with some tea and a few leftover niblets and began to plan this years “potential.”

We talked about containers, raised beds, our existing landscape and what percentage of self-sustainability we were currently living in. We quickly decided to expand our main garden by another 98 sq. ft. We opted to remove our tomatoes from the garden bed and grow them instead in containers so as to move them around, if necessary.

Our seed catalogues had long been sitting next to the couch with dog-eared pages and post-it notes as well as highlighted items and notes in the margins. I have been staring at the pages long enough to know the scientific names of some plants I had never even seen before. Between Victory Garden, Main Street Seeds and Johnny’s Selected Seeds we were confident we would have an even better garden than last year.

Armed with a piece of posterboard, a ruler, some Sharpie pens, a Macbook and Excel, we got down to business. I plotted and she entered. Before long we had laid out beds, prepared our seed orders and continued our dream of becoming homesteaders free from the confines of our local grocery store.

anotherkindofdrew tips for your own “Potential”:

• Do your homework. Find seed catalogues and online reviews to match. Remember, plant what you like, not what the books tell you to.
• Find our germination times and hardness zones. The right time to plant is as important as what to plant! If you start indoors and transplant outside you will need to do some basic calendar counting to figure out your key dates.
• Layout your garden on paper. Don’t let your taller plants shade out your smaller ones.
• Think about companion planting so you can make the most of your soil.

This week has simply flown by. The high school yearbook is wrapping up so I got a lot of calls asking me to do last minute portraits for students who did not have anything to submit yet. I also spent some time taking some shots to round out the yearbook for final upload. I would complain but there is nothing to complain about. All the students I worked with were great and so appreciative. And the school always goes out of its way to accommodate me. Pan only made the week better by fixing up some amazing dishes this week including chicken and rice (leftovers today, in fact), pork chops with some sort of roumalade and, of course, brilliant steak. And if all that weren’t enough, we are going to be working on bring the gardens back to life this weekend which will include firing up the tractor – always a guilty pleasure of mine. But at work I found myself getting lost on the Interwebs and enjoying a wish list of things – yet again!

• I found a lot of practical ideas when researching and studying the history of these again.
• I found a great picture (which I promptly lost) of these, which I have asked my wife to work on when her shop gets warm again.
• Several times I tried to stay interested enough to read this whole page but instead decided to check out the cliff notes version here.
• About Wednesday I felt like I just needed to remember the good ‘ol days. So, I did…right here!
• Oh….and here too!
• But as always I returned to all I really want in life. Well, with some goats.
• In this dreary, cold weather I would gladly settle for just a few of these, to be honest.