The frost has officially hit! The girls were rowdy this morning making a racket I think they're not ready for the cold either. Last night, with the temperature dropping we rushed out to the community garden where we have extended our growing space. We headed out around 8:45 pm for some last minute veggie picking. Bumping around with our headlamps in the dark hoping not to run into a bear before we got into the bear fence! It was freezing! We picked some cucumbers that we were holding out for and a huge zucchini, not as big as the last though 17"!!! The garden really produced for us this year and the sun exposure at the community garden really is 360 degrees. Makes our little plot in the yard seem like a waist of time. I also volunteered this summer at a local sustainable farm in nearby Carbondale. What a great bunch of folks! I ended up working so much that we worked for a full CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share in trade. We also purchased a fruit share from a organic farm, Ella Family Farms. We have been enjoying peaches, apples and pears! I bought an extra case of apples and canned some apple sauce yesterday and made choc chip zucchini bread! Storing away... so far we have a pantry full of pickles, tomato puree, jams and sauce. Haven't braved the pressure canner yet but we're getting there. The girls have enjoying the scraps from all the sauce making. Our plan was to try to "put up" enough food stuff to make it through the winter with out having to buy canned goods. I also purchased a pressure cooker which has made bean reconstituting super easy. Amazing what little changes can make a huge different in your self sufficiency.
I know that this post hasn't been much about the chickens but I was hoping to inspire some out there that perhaps think that living on a "farm" is too far away. It really can be done in a super small space. I would love to hear about some small victories out there.
