Bevis and Butthead

What does a stupid MTV cartoon have to do with homesteading? Nothing, really. But when I was contemplating this week's topic, every time I said, "fire" all I could hear was their stupid voices repeating, "fire...fire."

Now that our annual winter cold snap is upon us (may I add that so far it has not reached the minus-degrees it usually does at this point - - and let's hope it stays that way!), I wondered: "At what temperature do you keep your thermostat?" We've heard so much about conservation and keeping our homes a little cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer. So, keeping my home at around 74 degrees all winter probably surprises you. What is a City-girl-homesteader doing with her home so warm? Let me tell you...

This:

Our own wood furnace sits next to our "regular" furnace
and attaches to the duct work.

"This" is the most amazing home-heating system ever. It runs on 100% wood (and an occasional match if the coals have all burned out). It burns efficiently (usually one crate of wood per day - - maybe two when it does hit zero degrees). We do have the usual country-living propane tank and "normal" furnace, but we've discovered that life is MUCH nicer and cheaper when we only use that for backup. In fact, we hadn't filled our propane tank in three years - - while most of our neighbors are a minimum of three wintertime fill-ups. At $500+ each fill-up, that packs quite a punch.

 How it works:

• Fill the chamber with your usual kindling, wood, etc. 
• Light match.
• Adjust damper as necessary.
• When the air chamber that surrounds the fire chamber heats to a certain temperature that we've set (such as 200-degrees) the fans inside the air chamber turn on to force the warm air throughout the duct work of the house. When the air chamber cools to 125-degrees (also set by us), the fans turn off until the air chamber again reaches 200-degrees. 
• When you notice longer and longer times between the fans coming on, just go load up the coals with more wood. Typically that will be several hours later.
• And since it's simply heating air in a separate chamber, no, we don't smell like smoke or a campfire.

So, here's all I love about our wood-burning furnace:

• Cost savings! We're not spending $1500/year on propane.
• Our house (if we're not being lazy) basically stays at 74-degrees all winter. 
• We use already-dead wood. It needed to be cleaned up and out of the the forest behind our home, anyway.
• When you heat with a "regular" furnace, unless the fan is blowing the air, you always feel a chill, even if your thermostat reads whatever temperature you've set. Wood-heat is incredibly efficient - the basement stay nice and cozy from the ambient heat of the unit. Also, when the fans aren't running - no chill like the "standard" furnace.

Cons:

• Having to plan ahead. You have to make sure that you've gathered, stacked and dried the firewood properly. Not really a con because that's just life on a farm, anyway. 
• Having to cut and split your fuel. Not exactly a con, either, because I don't know any man who doesn't like a good power tool and a reason to use it. Plus - have you used a splitter before? Let's just say, I don't mind the opportunity to play with power tools, either... :)
• Having to load up the crates with wood in all kinds of weather. This is only a partial con. 1) the reward of the warmth from our furnace is such a great trade off; and 2) it's winter folks - consider this a cardio workout or weight training. Besides - it just adds to the connection I feel with the land and the appreciation I have with this stewardship. So...not really a 'con,' either.

So...just pros and no cons. I highly recommend it to everyone!

Oh Cheeez....

Well, I was super excited to get to playing with my newest gadget: a yogurt and cheese incubator. I should just call it a "dairy" incubator because it's also good for making sour cream. I have made homemade yogurt in the past (it is the BEST tasting stuff ever, btw - no sharp afterbite at all - creamy and dreamy!) but after warming up a whole oven for 12+ hours for a 2-quart batch, I just thought that I wasn't actually doing anything that cost-effective. However, I was glad to have learned the skill and the knowledge that I COULD do it. Plus, my oven doesn't heat up any cooler than 170-degrees. So, it likely killed the very bacteria whose growth I was trying to promote.

Enter the Yogourmet dairy incubator.  I had first seen something like this in a Lehman's catalog (the ultimate in non-electric/Amish friendly tools for today's homesteader). It would likely be a much more cost-effective project in something smaller than an oven; and since it would hold whatever it was warming at 105-110, would probably induce good-growth rather than destroy it. I was intrigued, but at $70 +$16 shipping, I thought it a bit exorbitant for a well-constructed styrofoam warmer.

Yay for Amazon! I researched several models (all electric) before settling on this one. It finally arrived yesterday. Since I was fresh out of yogurt starter (all you need is a cup of plain yogurt), I determined to make mozzarella cheese. My husband bought me a super book about a year ago and has complained that I haven't made a single recipe to date.

Well, first of all, it turns out that I still didn't get to use my new toy because mozzarella doesn't require an incubation period. Secondly, it calls for an entire gallon of milk. Yikes! Not to be deterred, I decided to proceed but with only half a batch. *Oh won't my husband be so delighted when he comes home today?*

What did I end up with? Mozzarella crumbles. No matter how I tried, I couldn't get the cheese to start to "stretch." It just crumbled over and over. Oh well, once again, I'm glad to know how to do it (should it come down to survival and I need to subsist on grass and powdered milk...) Speaking of powdered milk, there are several cheese recipes that say you can make cheese from reconstituted milk. Maybe for my next project...?

In the meantime, I just talked to my husband who didn't find it very cost effective or time-wise to take half-a-day making cheese from a half-gallon of milk. Well, at least he can't say that I've never used the book he got me, right? And - it is pretty tasty and more fun to use the crumbles instead of shredding a block of cheese. Perhaps I'll have to make something yummy for dinner with it to help his angst. :)

A little love goes a long way...

This blog is dedicated to many things. It's dedicated to the amazing green space that we have to live on. It's dedicated to anyone looking to improve life by using the advances of our age to help our ability to return to the simple things in life. It's dedicated to sharing anecdotes of our experience and inspiring others to join us or teach us on our journey. It's dedicated to anyone who feels "stuck" in the hustle-and-bustle, but wants to find a way to stop and smell the roses... or vegetables... or manure...

It's also dedicated to those less naive than I - those whose livelihood or upbringing had immersed them in rural living long before I came to it. It's dedicated to those who long for it. It's dedicated to my children who were my top reason for embracing a semi-agrarian lifestyle.

More than anything, it's dedicated to my wonderful husband whose vision for living a truly good life took me from the busy east coast and returned me to my own roots! Come enjoy the ride with us!