“I’m bored!”

Kids on the homestead are less likely than most to voice this familiar complaint, because there’s usually plenty for them to do. But every once in a while it happens. When it does, it’s nice to have some projects up your sleeve.
Here are some fun toys you can make with the stuff you probably already have lying around. Depending on the ages of your children, you can either make these toys yourself, or with your kids – or put an older one in charge of making them for the younger set.

• Dolls: You can make dolls out of nearly anything. They can be as simple as an acorn head with a tiny scrap of fabric wrapped around it for a hood and dress, to very elaborate, like a jointed wooden jumping jack. Rag dolls are a perennial favorite. You can make hair from bits of rovings or scraps of yarn, and clothes from your daughter’s favorite outgrown dresses.
• Rope swing: All you’ll need is a length of sturdy rope and an old tire or short piece of board. Tie the rope to the tire, or drill a hole in the middle of the board, thread the rope through and knot securely on the bottom. Then tie the other end to a strong tree branch. This will keep kids occupied for hours, and is a great activity for kids of mixed ages, as the older ones can push the younger ones on the swing.
• Soda bottle truck: You’ll need a clean plastic bottle, four bottle caps or jar lids, two pieces of stiff wire and a string. Poke holes in the bottle off-center near the top and bottom, and thread the wire through to make axles. Drill holes through the middle of the lids and slip them onto the ends of the axles. Bend the ends of the wires over to keep them on. These are your wheels. Cut a section out of the top part of the truck so it can carry stuff. Fill it with sand, little pebbles, blocks or the like. Tie the string around the bottle neck and let your little guy tug his new truck around!
• Puppet theater: Set a large cardboard box on its side. Cut out the back and cut a rectangular hole in the front. Let your kids decorate it with paints, markers or glitter. Use a couple of old napkins or fabric scraps for curtains. Make puppets out of construction paper and popsicle sticks, or old socks and buttons, or whatever else you have lying around. Then sit back and enjoy the show!

This list is only the beginning. Use your imagination, and you’re sure to come up with a whole toy store’s worth of ideas. Or maybe you already have? We’d love to hear about it – feel free to share your ideas here!

Wheeeee!

Remember sledding when you were a kid? That hill back of the school, or behind the barn, or at the end of your street? The long trudge up and the thrilling reward when you finally reached the top and pushed off, speeding down that hill so fast the wind whipped tears from your eyes?

Where’s that old sled now? Gathering cobwebs in your shed? Well, if you live where there’s snow it’s time to dust it off and polish up the runners. Because I have good news for you. Sledding isn’t just for kids. In fact, if you want to save gas and your back, your old Flexible Flyer could turn into one of your most useful wintertime homestead tools.

How many times have you fired up the four wheeler in order to carry a load that was just a little too heavy or awkward to haul around in your arms? A sled lets you pull a surprisingly large load with little effort, without the use of fossil fuel. It’s great for bales of hay and straw, hauling firewood, and of course for that little spruce tree you cut for Christmas, or for hauling home that prize buck.

Nearly any kind of sled will work. Runner sleds are great for hauling along packed roads or trails. The plastic toboggan type is better for bushwhacking or deep snow. Look in sporting goods stores for heavy-duty ones made for carrying a load.

Of course, once you have your sled, it never hurts to indulge your inner child. No one’s looking. I dare you. Go to the top of that hill behind the barn and push off hard.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…

Swing. Thwak! Swing. Thwak! Swing. Thwak!

Chopping wood is time-honored tradition on many homesteads. You’d think there would be more complaining about the intense work involved. But if you ask seasoned wood choppers, most will shrug, and smile a little as they admit, “I like to chop wood.”

Take a few minutes to watch one of these masters at work. There’s a ritual involved that’s as inspiring in its way as watching a martial artist bow onto the mat and perform his routine.

He selects a log, placing it almost reverently upon the block. Then, hefting his axe in both hands, he takes a deep breath in and in one fluid motion hoists it up over his head and down upon the very center of the log. Steel hits wood, and the two halves fall neatly apart to hit the dirt with a satisfying thud.

Not every log is so easy to split. Sometimes a knot in the wood, or a particularly tough or fibrous piece, puts up resistance. But by now your master has entered the zone. Using wedges and a sledge, he patiently works away until the wood, almost sighing, submits to his will.

Time seems to stand still. After a while all that matters is sweat, breath, the wood and the steel. The rhythm of placing, chopping, stacking. An entire morning or afternoon falls away as effortlessly as the pieces of split wood tumbling from the block.

At the end of his wood chopping session the master leans on his axe and smiles with satisfaction at his newly-stacked pile of sweet-smelling firewood. A job well done.

Could he have chopped more wood in half the time with a diesel-powered hydraulic wood splitter? Sure. But that’s not the point. There’s a time and a place for technology. But not today. Sometimes speed needs to take a back seat to spirit. Today, losing himself in the rhythm of the axe, our wood chopper touched upon infinity. And smiled.

Looking for a special, budget-busting way to introduce a little holiday cheer?  Try making your own holiday wreaths!

Nearly every homestead has abundant raw material to create striking and unique holiday decorations. Of course the old standbys of evergreen boughs and grapevine spring to mind, but if those are scare at your place don’t despair.  Just look around.  Twigs and small branches, straw and dead weeds all make great wreath-making material.  Or use your imagination and raid your junk pile for inspiration.  Have fun! How about a wreath crafted from scraps of electrical wire and decorated with spark plugs to grace your machine shop door?

Start your wreath with several lengths of sturdy material like grapevine or twigs.  Twist them together, then bend into a circle and secure with binding wire.  Use this as a frame to attach other material like pine branches or weeds.  Weave them in securely or use more binding wire to attach.

Top it all off with decorative elements gleaned from your homestead.  Try pine cones, bittersweet or holly berries or crab apples.  Use wire or needle and thread to secure them onto the wreath.  Or raid the sewing bench for ribbons, bows and notions.  Long strips of brightly-colored calico make delightful use of scraps that might otherwise go to waste.

Once you’re done making one or a few for yourself, you might find the process addicting.  Home made wreaths make great gifts, or sell them at holiday craft fairs or bazaars for a little extra Christmas money.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to include your holiday spirit.  Make it a family project with the kids, or invite friends and neighbors for a pot-luck wreath-making party.  You might just find you’ve started a new holiday tradition!

When it comes to winter food storage without using up lots of electricity or other fuel, root vegetables are king.   After all, their whole purpose is to last until spring!  Storing your root vegetables doesn’t have to be complicated.  Just keep these few rules in mind·

• Keep them some place cool, but don’t let them freeze.  A root cellar or cool basement is ideal.  If your winters are mild, you can even leave them in the ground all winter.  Just cover with a thick layer of mulch to keep out the frost, and be sure to use them before it warms up and the plants start to sprout.
• Most root vegetables like high humidity.  Pack them in damp sand, newspaper or peat.
• Don’t wash your veggies before storing.  You want to handle them gently to avoid small nicks and bruises that could lead to rot.
• You know the saying, “One bad apple spoils the bunch.”  It goes for root veggies, too.  Be vigilant against rot.  Use any damaged roots as soon as possible after harvest.  Check every week or so and promptly remove any veggie showing any sign of going bad.
• Potatoes take slightly different handling.  Keep them dry, and don’t expose them to light.  Light will trigger the formation of toxic compounds.  Do not eat potato sprouts or any part of the potato that has turned green.

With proper handling, you should be able to store your root vegetables all the way through ‘till spring – if you don’t eat them all up first!

A small crowd gathered around the cider press back of the local food co-op.  Batch by batch, volunteers took turns loading plump red and gold apples into the hopper and grinding the fruit into an aromatic pulp, called mast.  Under the intent gaze of watching children, they loaded the mast into a lined wooden tub and turned the crank down until the sweet brown apple cider trickled out the spout.

“A blast from the past!” one bystander exclaimed as he sampled the tangy, freshly pressed apple cider.

If you’ve never experienced a cider pressing first hand, you’re in for a treat!

There’s no beating fresh apple cider for pure refreshing fall flavor.  Cider pressing is also a perfect occasion to get together with friends for a fun, rewarding time.

Pressing your own cider can be as simple or as complex as you care to make it.  If you just want to try a batch for fun, you can shred up some apples in a food processor and squeeze the pulp through a clean, old pillowcase.

More serious cider fans can either buy a cider press or make their own using one of the many plans available online or through your local library.  Or, you can find someone with a press who will let you use theirs.  Ask at your local orchards – they may be willing to press your cider apples for a small fee.

No matter where you press your apples for cider, follow these easy steps for lip-smacking results:

• Apple cider can be sweet or sour, depending on the apples you use. You may not have a choice, but go for juicy, full-flavored apples if you can. Many old-timers prefer to blend different apple varieties within a batch of cider to balance the flavor.
• If you can, mellow your apples before you press them. You can do this by leaving them out on a tarp for a week or so (”sweating” the apples), or letting them freeze and thaw before sending them to the cider press. This breaks down cell membranes so they release their juice more easily.
• Discard any rotten apples or cut out the bad spots
• Make sure you wash your apples before sending them through the cider press. (Especially if you’re using windfalls!) A hard blast with a hose should do the trick.
• Store your cider in plastic or stainless steel containers, or the traditional wooden kegs. Never use galvanized steel, copper or aluminum. These can react with the acids in the apple juice and give your apple cider a bad flavor. Or worse, it can give you a gut-wrenching experience you’ll never forget, even if you want to.
• Apple cider is perishable. Chill your cider as soon as you can and drink it up within a couple weeks. You can freeze or can the extra and enjoy it throughout the year. Or, for a real blast from the past, make your own hard cider – but that’s a subject for another time!

Anne Michelsen is co-founder of Marathon Renewable Energy, Inc., specializing in solar hot water systems. You can read more of her work at YourGreenLifestyle.blogspot.com

A recent article from AAP published in stuff.co.nz reported that Australian farmers are becoming greener.  This appears to be happening at a rate much faster than in the U.S.  The article cites that idea that farmers who live closer to the land and depend on the weather are naturally more concerned with issues such as climate change.  A snippet from the longer article:

Research by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) shows that Australians’ attitudes to farming and its effect on the environment are now largely positive.

Any sceptics still believing that the men and women who grow our food and earn so much of Australia’s export income don’t care about the environment need only look at the programme for this week’s inaugural NFF congress in Brisbane.

The 300 delegates to Australia’s peak farming body’s national congress attended sessions on climate change, water and its use, and genetically modified (GM) crops – all key environmental issues.

As well, awareness of environmental issues pervaded sessions on food marketing, new technologies, and the coming global food crisis.

Farmers live closer to the soil and to the weather than the rest of us – and in their environmental awareness it shows.

I’m afraid we are pretty far behind in the U.S.  We’re just beginning to become greener.