Slow Living: August 2012

It's hard to believe it's September already.  Our nights are getting cooler and the leaves are starting to change.  I heard the weather reporter say that today may be the last one in the 90's for the year.  I hope they're right. I'm ready for this brutal summer to become lovely fall.

So on to my August's installment for the Slow Living Project.  :-)

NOURISH: Make and bake as much as possible from scratch. Ditch overpackaged, over-processed convenience foods and opt for 'real' food instead. Share favourite links/recipes/tips from the month here.

Lots of Farmer's Market and Garden produce this month and a whole lot of home made peach jam on just about everything.

Fresh Farmer's Market "Peaches and Cream" Corn

Hubba also made a very memorable Colorado-inspired Jamaican Feast one night... Jerked Beef (top sirloin), (green) peas and rice and an oven roasted sweet potato.  Not exactly Jamaican Jerk, but it sure was tasty and reminded me of many, hot summer nights eating at a friend's restaurant so many years ago.

PREPARE: Stockpile and preserve. Freeze extra meals or excess garden/market produce. Bottle/can, dehydrate or pickle foods to enjoy when they are not in season. Aim to reduce dependency on store bought items especially those known to contain BPA and other suspect additives. Stocking up on dry goods when prices are low counts too.

Canning season has started.  First up was Palisade Peaches.  Quickly followed by homegrown apples and more homegrown apples.

Apples are one of the few things that are doing well for us this summer.  :-)

I am making plans for canning pumpkin and still hopeful that I will have enough tomatoes for saucing.

We also made the first half of our annual hay buy.

REDUCE/Reuse/Re-purpose/Repair: Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing. A ladder into a strawberry planter? A sheet into a dress? Share ideas and project links here, allowing others to be inspired.

I have been filling old and donated canning jars with tasty goodness.  I have only had to purchase a few cases and of course lots of new lids.

GREEN: up our lives. Start (or continue!) using homemade cleaners, body products and basic herbal remedies. The options are endless, the savings huge and the health benefits enormous.

I had my first ever experience with Squash Bugs and resolved it with dish soap, water and diatomaceous earth.

GROW: plant/harvest. What's growing this month? What's being eaten from the garden? Herbs in a pot, sprouts on a windowsill or and entire fruit/vegetable garden -opt for what fits space and time constraints. Don't have a backyard? Ask a friendly neighbour or relative for a small patch of theirs in return for some home grown produce, they may surprise you!

This month zucchini, cucumber, tomato, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, radish, beets, onions, okra and apples have all made it to our table.

We finished off the radishes and there are just a few remaining beets still  in progress.  Coming up soon are spaghetti squash, pumpkin, acorn squash, butternut squash and rutabaga.  :-)

We finished the breeding protocol for our both of our alpaca maidens, had a little more work to do and finished that this week.  It's now time to schedule our vet to come out for the ultrasounds.  Fingers Crossed that they are pregnant.

We will officially start our cria watch in about 2 weeks for our girls who are due in October, but Frieda is looking especially pregnant and uncomfortable.  I'm thinking she might deliver early.

CREATE: to fill a need or feed the soul. Create for ourselves or for others. Create something as simple as a handmade gift tag or something as extravagant as a fine knit shawl. Share project details and any new skills learnt here.

Not much going on here unless you count jam, butter, sauce and a small bit of knitting. ;-)

DISCOVER: Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests. Trawl libraries, second hand shops or local book shops to find titles that fill the need. Share titles/authors of what is being read this month.

I have learned a little about Pectin, Blossom End Rot and Squash Bugs.  I have also been spending a lot of time with these old books.

ENHANCE: community: Possibilities include supporting local growers and producers, help out at a local school/kindergarten, barter or foodswap, joining a playgroup or forming a walking or craft group. Car pooling where possible and biking/walking instead of driving. Even start up a blog if you haven't already - online communities count too! Or maybe just help out someone trying to cross the street! The rewards for your time are often returned tenfold.

I have given away some of the yummy goodness I've been canning.

ENJOY: Life! Embrace moments with friends and family. Marking the seasons, celebrations and new arrivals are all cause for enjoyment. Share a moment to be remembered from the month here.

An impromptu visit with a dear friend, a planned visit with cousins neither of which I've seen in a looooong time.  There was a trip to the County Fair and dinner with a new friend.  We enjoyed plenty of Olympic coverage and have been getting up early to watch some live Paralympic coverage online.

We also went to see President Obama speak at a nearby rally.

I hope you're enjoying the change of seasons and will consider joining in over at Slow Living Essentials.