There always seems to be one final "snow dump" late in the spring up here. It feels like it's usually in March. Well, yes, with one final day left in March, the outside world is a powdery blue-gray of precipitation this morning. Tomorrow morning I will make my first (of many, I hope) 5-minute-walking commute to Alaska Feed to help out in the chick barn with the spring fuzzies. Wear boots and prepare for anything <--I wonder if that adage could be the mantra for Alaska? Could we translate that into Latin and have the University put it on their logo?
APRIL 19, Saturday, SAVE THE DATE for SCAN Fairbanks' (Sustainable Community Action Network) first annual EarthDinner. I'll announce the time and place on this blog. This will be a community potluck featuring local foods. Friends will be asked to bring a dish to share that has at least one ingredient that was grown locally. At this time of year, that may mean the salmon you caught last year in Seward, the moose from last fall, it may mean the culinary herbs you grew on your porch and froze or dried, the eggs your chickens laid, the cabbage you canned yourself. We'll have some facilitated discussion, and we're still waiting to hear on financial support from Organic Valley, which may let us sponsor some speakers and do other cool things. We have eighteen days to "beef this up" and suggestions are welcome.
At yesterday's meeting we had an excellent speaker who'd built his own straw bale house. With some minor adjustments (like vapor barriers, spray-in cellulose, and 'quick-dry' concrete for our abbreviated building season) these are wonderful homes for the Interior. Ask me more if interested.
New Zealand travels: 8/23/08 to 2/9/09
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Go Figure!
I can't find online publicity anywhere, but the "Feather-of-Knowledge Chicken Info Session and Chick Auction" is this weekend --tomorrow, Saturday--at Seekins Ford starting at 9am. YES, IT'S AT THE CAR DEALERSHIP! Call them to confirm at Seekins Ford:459-4000 or call Alaska Feed 451-5570. From 9-12 folks will be talking about coccidiosis and chicken health issues. The 'chick auction' begins after that. I understand that both events are free and may include some refreshments. I don't remember the credentials of the speakers, so if it's not a DVM listen closely but double check with your vet.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
"Sheep to Shawl" Part 1
It's taken me quite a while to fit learning raw wool preparation into my life, but now I can't wait to do more! Continued credit--and kudos for friendly encouragement--goes to A Weaver's Yarn (their link at right).
Here was Darla, an Icelandic X ewe lamb. Extenuating circumstances on the farm, including a very late, snowy spring, meant that she ended up wearing almost more of her hay than she ate. "Fiber sheep" as apposed to "meat sheep"(lamb) can wear a jacket/sheeting or be contained in a feeding area that doesn't involve throwing hay bales into the wind over the frozen fence . . .
After sheering, the fleece is skirted by cutting out all the dung tags. If the ewe lambed before sheering, she may have already been "crutched" around her tail with the clippers, eliminating some of the mess. This is a photo of a small part of what remained of the fleece.
After washing the fleece in hot water with Dawn dish soap it's dried and picked apart. Washing the fleece, so far, has the hardest part. You have to be careful to use the right temperature of water and not agitate it too much.
You can hand card with brushes, but I rented this drum carder from A Weaver's Yarn for an incredibly low price compared to what it actually costs. This brand of drum carder is made in New Zealand. The awl is used to loosen the fiber from the larger drum so that it peals off in a whole sheet.
What comes off a drum carder are called "batts"--now ready for spinning!
Here was Darla, an Icelandic X ewe lamb. Extenuating circumstances on the farm, including a very late, snowy spring, meant that she ended up wearing almost more of her hay than she ate. "Fiber sheep" as apposed to "meat sheep"(lamb) can wear a jacket/sheeting or be contained in a feeding area that doesn't involve throwing hay bales into the wind over the frozen fence . . .
After sheering, the fleece is skirted by cutting out all the dung tags. If the ewe lambed before sheering, she may have already been "crutched" around her tail with the clippers, eliminating some of the mess. This is a photo of a small part of what remained of the fleece.
After washing the fleece in hot water with Dawn dish soap it's dried and picked apart. Washing the fleece, so far, has the hardest part. You have to be careful to use the right temperature of water and not agitate it too much.
You can hand card with brushes, but I rented this drum carder from A Weaver's Yarn for an incredibly low price compared to what it actually costs. This brand of drum carder is made in New Zealand. The awl is used to loosen the fiber from the larger drum so that it peals off in a whole sheet.
What comes off a drum carder are called "batts"--now ready for spinning!
Friday, March 21, 2008
2008 Fur Bikini Contest
. . .was one of the most visited web galleries at the Anchorage Daily News.com today.
This should be a close second, but I know better. *sigh*
http://www.adn.com/matmaid/story/351739.html
and this
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/119569
I finished my first day at the 4th annual Sustainable Agriculture conference here in Fairbanks. Tomorrow is another day. It's an interesting mix of progress and contradictions-- held at the Princess Hotel with little plastic creamer cups and mystery-meat hamburgers and trimmings straight from the industrial freezer case. On the other end of things, I got the feeling that the 50 of us in that room may, in a few years time, find ourselves flanked by hundreds of others. The state speakers from CES and Dept of AG are witnessing to wait lists for CSA's in the hundreds (a successful one in Anchorage is filling the production void in our state by FLYING CSA subscriptions up from WA), saying that cruise companies are clamoring for local berry production, and some of the cruise ship companies are trying local potatoes on board vessels. At the same time the keynote speakers are from Kansas, and their ideas are wonderful but not always adaptable. Then you get into manufacturing issues like that of the potato growers -- there's only one "potato chipper" in the state, and its owners are VERY particular (pun intended :) about what type and color of potato goes into the equipment. The cost of freight--whether it's a potato chipper, dairy equipment, or hoop houses for gardening--is enough to make Kansas producers faint. What you get, instead, are Alaskans telling each other where the supplies can be obtained and how to build their own XYZ contraption that will "get 'er done"
God, I love it here!
As an aside, my vermiculture farm is doing so well our cantaloupe leavings have sprouted 3 inch tall shoots. We could add some little plastic dinosaurs and it will be the hot, fetid sanctuary of the Pleistocene.
This should be a close second, but I know better. *sigh*
http://www.adn.com/matmaid/story/351739.html
and this
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/119569
I finished my first day at the 4th annual Sustainable Agriculture conference here in Fairbanks. Tomorrow is another day. It's an interesting mix of progress and contradictions-- held at the Princess Hotel with little plastic creamer cups and mystery-meat hamburgers and trimmings straight from the industrial freezer case. On the other end of things, I got the feeling that the 50 of us in that room may, in a few years time, find ourselves flanked by hundreds of others. The state speakers from CES and Dept of AG are witnessing to wait lists for CSA's in the hundreds (a successful one in Anchorage is filling the production void in our state by FLYING CSA subscriptions up from WA), saying that cruise companies are clamoring for local berry production, and some of the cruise ship companies are trying local potatoes on board vessels. At the same time the keynote speakers are from Kansas, and their ideas are wonderful but not always adaptable. Then you get into manufacturing issues like that of the potato growers -- there's only one "potato chipper" in the state, and its owners are VERY particular (pun intended :) about what type and color of potato goes into the equipment. The cost of freight--whether it's a potato chipper, dairy equipment, or hoop houses for gardening--is enough to make Kansas producers faint. What you get, instead, are Alaskans telling each other where the supplies can be obtained and how to build their own XYZ contraption that will "get 'er done"
God, I love it here!
As an aside, my vermiculture farm is doing so well our cantaloupe leavings have sprouted 3 inch tall shoots. We could add some little plastic dinosaurs and it will be the hot, fetid sanctuary of the Pleistocene.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Master Food Preserver Schedule
The classes will be held in the kitchen at the Fairbanks Food Bank, 725 26th Ave., the first Thursday of each month, 6:00-9:00 p.m. with the exception of January 10th. The classes will be hands-on with lots of opportunities to practice. A reminder letter will be sent out prior to each session. Here are the classes as we now have them scheduled:
> January 10th - Basics of Food Preservation
> March 6th - Making Jams and Jellies
> April 3rd - Pickles and Relishes
> May 8th - Canning Fruits
> June 5th - Canning Fish and Meat
> July 10th - Freezing and Drying
> TBD - Sausage and Jerky
>
> Classes will cost $15 each, or if you would like to attend all, the cost is $75. There will be a manual and we will have plenty of time to hone those food preservation skills. Call the office, 474-2420, for further information or to register. You must register and pay for the class or series in advance to be guaranteed a seat.
>
> --
> Deborah F. Tindell
> Administrative Assistant for
> Home Ec/4-H/EFNEP
> UAF, Cooperative Extension Service
> 1000 University Ave., Room 138
> P.O. Box 758155
> Fairbanks, AK 99775-8155
> Phone: 907-474-2420
> Fax: 907-474-6885
> Email: fndft@uaf.edu
> January 10th - Basics of Food Preservation
> March 6th - Making Jams and Jellies
> April 3rd - Pickles and Relishes
> May 8th - Canning Fruits
> June 5th - Canning Fish and Meat
> July 10th - Freezing and Drying
> TBD - Sausage and Jerky
>
> Classes will cost $15 each, or if you would like to attend all, the cost is $75. There will be a manual and we will have plenty of time to hone those food preservation skills. Call the office, 474-2420, for further information or to register. You must register and pay for the class or series in advance to be guaranteed a seat.
>
> --
> Deborah F. Tindell
> Administrative Assistant for
> Home Ec/4-H/EFNEP
> UAF, Cooperative Extension Service
> 1000 University Ave., Room 138
> P.O. Box 758155
> Fairbanks, AK 99775-8155
> Phone: 907-474-2420
> Fax: 907-474-6885
> Email: fndft@uaf.edu
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Three-day lesson plan I did for pre-K at Arctic Light Elementary
Here is the result of our three days of "study" of caribou migration with "special ed" three-and-four-year-olds
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Become a Locavore
I'll be taking the following master food preservation classes from CES. Stay tuned for some July and August "PU Parties", the "putting up" of food at harvest time. I'd also encourage us all to guestimate an annual amount of $ paid for produce and "rebalance" to make that money available during the growing season. If I normally buy 300$ of produce at the Farmer's market and rely on the grocery store for $1200 during the year, I'd like to try and at least front $1000 during the growing season and nickle and dime the grocery during the winter. Think of the money our farmer-friends would get! Think of the joy with which they'd be able to plan for next year if their sales went up!
The classes will be held in the kitchen at the Fairbanks Food Bank, 725 26th Ave., the first Thursday of each month, 6:00-9:00 p.m. with the exception of January 10th. The classes will be hands-on with lots of opportunities to practice. A reminder letter will be sent out prior to each session. Here are the classes as we now have them scheduled:
January 10th - Basics of Food Preservation
March 6th - Making Jams and Jellies
April 3rd - Pickles and Relishes
May 8th - Canning Fruits
June 5th - Canning Fish and Meat
July 10th - Freezing and Drying
TBD - Sausage and Jerky
Classes will cost $15 each, or if you would like to attend all, the cost is $75. There will be a manual and we will have plenty of time to hone those food preservation skills. Call the office, 474-2420, for further information or to register. You must register and pay for the class or series in advance to be guaranteed a seat.
The classes will be held in the kitchen at the Fairbanks Food Bank, 725 26th Ave., the first Thursday of each month, 6:00-9:00 p.m. with the exception of January 10th. The classes will be hands-on with lots of opportunities to practice. A reminder letter will be sent out prior to each session. Here are the classes as we now have them scheduled:
January 10th - Basics of Food Preservation
March 6th - Making Jams and Jellies
April 3rd - Pickles and Relishes
May 8th - Canning Fruits
June 5th - Canning Fish and Meat
July 10th - Freezing and Drying
TBD - Sausage and Jerky
Classes will cost $15 each, or if you would like to attend all, the cost is $75. There will be a manual and we will have plenty of time to hone those food preservation skills. Call the office, 474-2420, for further information or to register. You must register and pay for the class or series in advance to be guaranteed a seat.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Five Freedoms
The UK has a governmental oversight committee, the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC), with a diversified group of non-governmental affiliates. The following is from their website. The HSUS has something similar, but is still considered a "special interest group". Take your votes to the grocery store and to the farmer's market and to the small-scale farm friend down the road. True compassion for animals starts here.
The Five Freedoms
The welfare of an animal includes its physical and mental state and we consider that good animal welfare implies both fitness and a sense of well-being. Any animal kept by man, must at least, be protected from unnecessary suffering.
We believe that an animal's welfare, whether on farm, in transit, at market or at a place of slaughter should be considered in terms of 'five freedoms'. These freedoms define ideal states rather than standards for acceptable welfare. They form a logical and comprehensive framework for analysis of welfare within any system together with the steps and compromises necessary to safeguard and improve welfare within the proper constraints of an effective livestock industry.
1. Freedom from Hunger and Thirst - by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour.
2. Freedom from Discomfort - by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.
3. Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease - by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.
4. Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour - by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind.
5. Freedom from Fear and Distress - by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.
Stockmanship - The Key to Welfare
Stockmanship, plus the training and supervision necessary to achieve required standards, are key factors in the handling and care of livestock. A management system may be acceptable in principle but without competent, diligent stockmanship the welfare of animals cannot be adequately safeguarded. We lay great stress on the need for better awareness of welfare needs, for better training and supervision.
The Five Freedoms
The welfare of an animal includes its physical and mental state and we consider that good animal welfare implies both fitness and a sense of well-being. Any animal kept by man, must at least, be protected from unnecessary suffering.
We believe that an animal's welfare, whether on farm, in transit, at market or at a place of slaughter should be considered in terms of 'five freedoms'. These freedoms define ideal states rather than standards for acceptable welfare. They form a logical and comprehensive framework for analysis of welfare within any system together with the steps and compromises necessary to safeguard and improve welfare within the proper constraints of an effective livestock industry.
1. Freedom from Hunger and Thirst - by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour.
2. Freedom from Discomfort - by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.
3. Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease - by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.
4. Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour - by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind.
5. Freedom from Fear and Distress - by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.
Stockmanship - The Key to Welfare
Stockmanship, plus the training and supervision necessary to achieve required standards, are key factors in the handling and care of livestock. A management system may be acceptable in principle but without competent, diligent stockmanship the welfare of animals cannot be adequately safeguarded. We lay great stress on the need for better awareness of welfare needs, for better training and supervision.
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