With the mid-winter point coming up this week (Imbolc, for some), I’m finding myself taking stock of this winter’s qualities and beginning to think of it as another mild winter like last year’s. Last year was the warmest on record, globally, and this is set to be the (new) warmest yet again, according to climatologists, so it seems possible that this winter could end up similarly warm overall.
I’m thinking of this in part because Dan just sent out the reminder that sugaring season is coming up, and last winter’s mild February made for a very brief, mild sap flow. Our local yellow maple already contains less sugar per volume than that of sugar maple, which doesn’t grow super well here, so a low-flow year is a disheartening one in terms of time and resources vs. end product.
Ted here to bring you the latest on our collective efforts to live a rich life without a correspondingly rich impact on the planet… or news from Dancing Rabbit.
And yes, I know that by calling this winter mild when we’re only halfway through, I’m surely invoking some seriously wrathful storms in February. Sorry about that, but it is semi-intentional: Aurelia is lamenting the lack of any good sledding so far, and I wouldn’t mind some myself.
The overall mild conditions have allowed me to preserve the sense of our sustenance being a continual effort, as opposed to having to sustain a deep-winter cessation of productive efforts owing to overwhelming climatic experience. As I wrote last time, we managed to grow fresh mushrooms and harvest fresh kale into January in our root cellar and garden respectively, and I’ve been continuing to make a 3-pound cheese every third week.
Now Tereza and Sara have Ironweed kitchen producing multiple jars of fresh green food each week in the form of various sprouts. I’ve loved alfalfa sprouts since I was a kid, but we’re also producing broccoli, fenugreek, lentil, and radish sprouts, which adds a lot of zest to the typical heavier winter fare of staple grains and beans, potatoes, and dehydrated, pickled, or frozen veggies. Oh, and garlic.
The latter is one we grow a lot of annually in Ironweed gardens, as you’ve no doubt read about in the past. We try to store a lot, and sell some, but either way to preserve or use productively as much as possible before it withers in spring. One of my favorite category of condiments is Indian-style “pickles”, or achars, which do include preserved vegetables, but also robust quantities of various potent herbs and spices, and lots of oil. Spicy garlic pickle is a typical version, its pungent heat an excellent antidote to winter chills.
I’ve made two batches now this winter, in addition to the one made in our absence last fall. Each uses about a gallon of peeled garlic cloves, which can take a week or more to accumulate. In addition I have to toast and grind into a masala a variety of seeds, hot peppers, and spices, including asafoetida, a potently resinous root powder from a plant native to southwest Asia, and jaggery, the Indian version of unrefined cane sugar.
I love substituting equivalent, locally grown ingredients in recipes where I can (I usually use Sandhill’s sorghum syrup for the jaggery), but in pursuit of at least one batch meeting the recipe’s ingredients as exactly as possible, I finally resorted to sourcing these two ingredients on the internet, where I was pleased to find both in bulk quantities, organically grown.
The resulting product this time around is fantastic, and as we plan and scheme to start scaling up production (this stuff really wows the palate, and for those whose tastes include this sort of thing, it seems to be a crowd-pleaser), we find ourselves thinking of good vehicles for product tasting (crackers? mini chapathis?) and recipes to go with. By the way, I’m happy to share the recipe I’m using… write if you’re interested!
In other mild-winter news, ultimate players managed to get out for a third January game last week on the 50 degree day for some five-on-five, and I’ve heard some pretty steady saws and other tools in use around the village. It’ll be time to start onion seeds in the next couple weeks, and we even have a family newly moving to Dancing Rabbit scheduled to arrive this week. Not quite high season, but getting there…
Bear and I have spent parts of the past couple weeks getting started on a remodeling job at a small house in Rutledge owned by my parents. I’d been fearing that the weather would be prohibitively cold for the work, but the only time I get chilled is when we break for lunch and stop moving. I enjoyed a month or so of slow-down, managed to get a good book or two read, but it is also good to be working again.
I spent most of our last work day deconstructing the old chimney in the house from the top down, while Bear worked at the other end pulling up old floor and subfloor in one of the bedrooms to inspect the framing. Sure enough, some of the floor joists need replacing, which is no surprise in a house of its age, but good to attend to before putting energy into renewing it overall.
Dancing Rabbit’s annual retreat begins this week, and the planners have an extensive agenda lined up for us, so construction will take a back seat for a week or so. I’m just glad retreat doesn’t land on my birthday again this year, which has happened more often than not, but with all of the February birthdays around here, it is hard to avoid the phenomenon. I’m gathering handwork (clothes mending, mobile making, and more garlic peeling) so I can feel tangibly productive while participating in meetings.
By the time I write again, winter will probably be mostly spent (but not before a couple good snowfalls!), so I’ll take this moment to bid you a good remainder of the cooler time of year, and hope it is filled with all the good things you wish for in your winter. Cheers!
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We’re excited to announce that we’re teaming up with Midwest Permaculture again to offer a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) at Dancing Rabbit in 2016! Taking place Sept 17-25, the course will cover the full PDC curriculum, with creative and practical techniques for designing abundant food, water, energy and housing systems, plus more in-depth info on what it takes to create authentic and long-lasting community. You can find out more here!
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Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community and nonprofit outside Rutledge, in northeast Missouri, focused on demonstrating sustainable living possibilities. Find out more about us by visiting our website, reading our blog, or emailing us.