Dealing with Ducklings...

  It is impossible to know what  day will hold...when I got up this morning, I had a to-do list a mile long. First on my list was to go to Lowe's hardware store to pick up some paint for the ceiling of the bathroom we are renovating. When I rounded then bend into town I was struck speechless as the car in front of me hit a mother duck and 2 of her twelve babies. The mother duck flipped out from under the car and half ran/ half rolled down the embankment to the railroad tracks. The babies, who were no more than a day or so old, tumble head over heels, rolled free of the car and then ran in the direction of their mother. The other 10 babies were trying to cross the road. I whipped into a driveway and ran back to try to get the ducklings off the road. They were running willy nilly all over the place, but when they saw me they all ran for the cover of the shrubs at the edge of the drive.
  I went looking for the mother duck and the two ducklings that went for a tumble under the car. I searched the embankment and the edges of the woods, but I couldn't see the mother duck or ducklings anywhere. I went to Waxhaw Town Hall to request that local animal control help in catching the ducklings... fat lot of good that did me... I even tried to use the logic that ducks in the road were a traffic hazard, but there was no help to be had. So I went downtown to a friends pet grooming business and asked my friend if she could help me with the ducks. She and one of her employees came with me to help round up ducklings.
   When we got to the location where I had left them, we could hear them peeping away, but they were deep in the woods in thick underbrush, so we couldn't get to them. We crossed the road in search of the mother, we searched both sides of the tracks and the surrounding embankments, the mother was nowhere to be seen. We were getting ready to give up when my friend saw one sad little duckling running down the railroad tracks. The three of us spent the next half hour running up and down the hillside, across the railroad tracks and  through the dense brambles at the top of the embankment, trying to head off this tiny little duckling. It was as fast as greased lightening and seemed to have an endless supply of energy. I was afraid of traumatizing the poor little thing but a storm was coming...the skies were black and I could hear thunder rolling in the distance. If it had feathers, I would have just let it be, but since it was covered in the fine down of a hatchling, I knew the coming storm could mean death for it. At this age the duckling is not water proof, and is supposed to be sitting snug and warm under the protection of its mother during a rain storm, (although I can't imagine how she would possibly fit all 12 ducklings under her...). So  we needed to catch it before the storm came. Eventually, my friends ran the little fella up the hill as I sat waiting in a tangle of brambles. I whisked it up as it ran by me and cradled it in my hands until we could get it closed in the box we brought with us to hold it.

  As we climbed in the car, the skies opened up... Whew!

  With my friends back at work and the duckling tucked away in a box in the trunk, I headed for home to call Wild Waterfowl Rescue to come get my little friend. There are laws forbidding the interference with or domestication of wild waterfowl, and I wouldn't want to go afoul of the law... (I just couldn't resist the pun... sorry), so I didn't even entertain the idea of raising it myself. I left a message for the rescue people and opened the trunk to get the box out. As opened the trunk, out popped the little duckling! I was startled, but managed to catch the little stinker in mid air. I have no idea how it got out since it was a box with very high sides and the flaps were closed over the top, but I was glad that it didn't get loose again, since the rain was coming down hard and it was beginning to hail!
   Once inside I put a hot water bottle in the box and covered it with shredded paper. I pulled the flaps of the box straight up and taped them so that the box sides would be higher, set the whole she-bang in the tub and pulled the shower curtain closed. The phone was ringing so I went to answer it and when I returned to check on the duckling it wasn't in the box, or for that matter, it wasn't in the tub either! I found it in the laundry room and spent another few minutes chasing it around. I have raised chicks for twenty years and never had any trouble keeping newly hatched chicks where they belong. Once they have feathers and begin to hop and flap, it is a different story, but chicks that are less than a week old generally stay where they are put. I didn't think ducklings could be much different...show how much I know! I eventually had to cover the box in cheese cloth and tie twine around it to keep it in.
  The phone call I went to answer was from the Waterfowl Rescue, they were on their way to my house to pick up the duckling. When she arrived, I told her how much trouble I'd had keeping up with the little urchin, (I did this as an attempt to explain why the box was trussed up like a Christmas package). When she looked in the box she chuckled and said it was no wonder... the duckling I thought was a Mallard was really a Wood Duck. She explained that the Wood Duck is very agile and that even at a very young age these ducks can climb trees. She also told me that most rescued Wood Duck ducklings don't survive, since they are flighty and don't take well to confinement. They often beat themselves to death trying to get free. How very sad, but I can see how it could happen.
  The rescue worker took the duckling and put it in a little net container. She was going to go back to the place where the mother was hit to use a mother duck call to see if she could get the other ducklings to come out of the woods to her. I wish her luck, it took three people a half an hour to catch one little duckling, I can't imagine one person trying to gather up 10 of the wild little things!
   The Wild Waterfowl Rescue organization is run by volunteers. This young woman came out in the middle of a terrible storm to collect the duckling from me and then spent who knows how long trying to find the rest of them. I am thankful for her efforts and the efforts of the organization she volunteers with. Whether it knows it or not, that is one lucky little duckling!

Chag Pesach Samech!! May HaShem's Peace be Upon You All!

Last night we had our Pesach, (Passover), celebration. It was a lovely time of fellowship and as always I was caught up in the story from long ago, of the night that the Angel of Death passed over the children of Israel and spared their first born. Then at the break of day the entire House of Israel and a vast number of others left the hardships of bondage in a foreign land and followed Moses into the deliverance that God had promised more than 400 years before.
  During the next seven days I will eat unleavened bread and contemplate the future Exodus. Both Jeremiah and Isaiah speak of the time to come when God will regather his children, Judah, (the 2 southern tribes) and Ephriam, (the 10 northern tribes), from the four corners of the Earth and settle us as one family, in peace in the land that he promised to His people so long ago.... sigh... let it be soon!
  During the week of unleavened bread we will enjoy tender and tasty flat breads cooked on a hot griddle, no nasty, tasteless matzo crackers in this house! The secret to good unleavened bread is the kind of wheat that is used to make the bread. Most recipes call for whole wheat flour or unbleached flour, but normal bread flour is made from hard red spring wheat, which is high in gluten. Gluten is great for making wonderful lofty loaves with the assistance of yeast, but unleavened bread made from hard wheat is tough and chewy, due to unstimulated gluten. In order to make light, tender unleavened bread it is best to use soft wheat flour. Cake flour is made from soft wheat, but is void of nutrition and makes for a pasty textured flat bread. It is possible to find Bob's Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour in small bags at most higher end grocers or you can find soft wheat berries at a natural food store and grind your own. I use Atta flour if I am short on time, but I prefer to grind my own from my cache of long term stored soft wheat berries, since they are organic. Atta flour, which is used in Indian cookery to make chapati, is made from whole grain soft wheat berries. It makes great unleavened bread and can be found at any Indian grocery.
  Here is a simple recipe for unleavened bread:

2 cups whole wheat soft wheat flour
1 tsp. sea salt
1 cup very warm water
Olive oil

  Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix with finger to incorporate. Slowly add water with one hand while mix in with fingers of the other hand. When water is completely absorbed and flour is beginning to stay together,remove from bowl and knead until ball of dough is smooth. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Break into pieces the size of a walnut and roll into smooth balls, it should make 12 to 16 balls. Cover with a towel.
  Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle to medium high heat and drip a small drop of olive oil on skillet and polish with a paper towel removing most of the oil and leaving a shiny smooth finish on pan. Choose a ball, drop it into a small bowl of extra soft wheat flour and roll it around to lightly coat. With the palm of your hand flatten ball into a round and roll out into a circle 4-6" in diameter, turning and rolling to keep it in shape. Check to see if water sizzles when a drop is flicked onto the skillet surface, if it doesn't sizzle an pop the water on contact, the skillet isn't hot enough, so heat more and test again. Once the skillet is hot and the first dough round is rolled out to desired size, drop the dough circle onto the griddle, leave there until small bubbles start to form on the bottom side and the bread slides easily when pushed lightly with a finger. Turn when bubbles are forming and allow bubbles to form on top side. The bread should begin to puff. Use a spatula to lightly press to help bread to puff. When there are a few good pockets of air in bread turn and repeat until bread is mostly filled with air. Don't worry if it doesn't completely inflate, but make sure that there are large pockets of air or the bread will be chewy. When done remove from heat and brush lightly with olive oil or ghee. Place in a towel lined bowl and cover with towel corners to keep warm. Roll and cook dough balls one at a time, so that the dough rounds don't dry out.

  The breads freeze very well, if let cool completely before freezing. To use after freezing, place in foil and heat in the oven until just warmed through. They will taste like you just made them! Whether or not you keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, these little flat breads are nutritious, full of flavor and filling.

Dreams

   I woke up this morning feeling nostalgic. I had dreams last night of the sun sparkling on the waters of the New River, I could hear snatches of John Denver's song, Poems, Prayers and Promises playing in the background. I could almost smell the fresh, tangy spring air and feel the sun on my face. I was dreaming of a time long past when I was a young bride living in the mountains of Virginia; when my life was spread out before me and everything was possible. I woke with my heart  filled with warmth and my head full of memories.
  While sipping coffee and watching the birds at the feeder on the deck I savored the fading sensation of my dreams and reflected on how much of my life today is built upon the foundation of that period in my life. It was 1978 and my husband and I were living in Blacksburg, Va., the home of Virginia Tech State University. With the end of the Vietnam war, the  "Hippies"  who collected around the college town in the late 60's became the  "Back to Lander's" of the 70's. The rich, inexpensive land in the areas surrounding Blacksburg became the home to many of these idealistic souls. Due to their influence, some very good vegetarian restaurants and a natural foods co-op thrived in the downtown area.
  The local natural food co-op, Grassroots, gave a discount to anyone who volunteered to work hours at the store. The shelves were lined with glass jars that were filled with whole foods of every description. Exotic sounding teas and spices scented the air and were offered for sale by the ounce or by the pound. I was a working member and soon had my very own glass jars full of wonderful smelling "natural" foods, lining the shelves and counter of our tiny kitchen.
  The vegetarian restaurant/bakery, Our Daily Bread, had glass cases stuffed with dark crusty loaves of whole wheat bread fresh from their brick oven. The wholesome vegetarian soups and salads they offered were a welcome change from the junk food fare geared to the college students. You could enjoy a steaming bowl of
soup and a sandwich made with fresh baked bread, in the exposed brick dining area or take it to go and sit out in the grass on the hill across the street and watch the world go by. It was those earthy loaves from the bakery and the Tassajara Bread Book that inspired me to learn to grow a sour dough starter and make my own whole wheat breads.
  During the mid to late 70's many good books and publications came out on the subject of self sufficient living, organic gardening, natural foods and vegetarianism. Some excellent vegetarian cook books were authored by vegetarian and natural food proponents like Molly Katzen  and Laurel Robertson. Rodale Press was publishing,  Organic Gardening magazine, a digest size magazine that was full of sage advice and instruction on natural ways to grow food and contend with garden pests. Mother Earth News magazine published many articles on homesteading, organic gardening and thought inspiring things like how to build a home from old tires and bales of straw.  Many of these publications are still in business, although I think an essential spark went out with the tragic passing of Robert Rodale and by the corporate buy out of Mother Earth News and the subsequent move from their facilities in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Both Organic Gardening and Mother Earth News are still useful resources but in my mind lack the vitality and vision of their beginnings. 
  With all the new life being breathed into age old ways of living and the good resources available through Rodale and other publications, there was real hope for a change to come in the way people looked at commercial food production and petrochemical use, as well as an up swell in desire to return to simple living. The years have seen many changes, there is more awareness of the virtues of organic and sustainable agriculture, but not many have embraced the concept of living a simple life.
  For me the idea of self sufficiency and simplicity was life changing. I had grown up moving from place to place as a military brat, but on occasion I would land at my grandmother's house for a season or more while my parents dealt with technical difficulties. During this time I would stand at my grandmother's elbow on the porch shelling peas or on a chair next to her in the kitchen while she canned the garden surplus. The memory of those happy days coupled with the inspiration of those I knew in the Back to Land Movement, led me to crave a simple way of life. It would be many years and many, many miles later that I would actually have the ground to grow my dreams in. But the memory of those days in the lush green mountains of Virginia, living among others who dared to dream of going back to basics, kept me inspired to prepare in what ways I could, for my dreams to become reality.

*As a side note:
  I still have most of the books and magazines that I leaned on for instruction and inspiration, many of them still get a fair amount of use. My original copy of Moosewood Cookbook  by Mollie Katzen, is still on the shelf for sentimental reasons, but since it is now in two pieces with many loose pages, I have purchased a revised edition for kitchen use. Rodale 's Home Food Systems is a very good read. Some of the appliances that are discussed are no longer available but the basic information is relevant and very useful for anyone who is interested in knowing more about whole foods and how to use them. Laurel's Bread Book and Laurel's Kitchen are both inspirational and functional. John Seymour's The Self-Sufficient Gardener is a "must have" for those who are interested in self sufficiency and raised bed gardening. He wrote several books on self sufficient living, The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It, was his last, published a year before his death in 2004. It covers many aspects of self sufficient living from raising animals and raised bed gardening to making your own alcoholic beverages and more. It is definitely worth owning.

** all the links for the books are selected randomly, I do not have any affiliation with Amazon or any of the other websites that I have linked to.**

Thanks To My Talented Husband

Due to the diligent efforts of my husband, my computer has come out the coma. He coaxed it back to life, formatted my hard disk, (sigh...), reinstalled programs and found back ups for most of the important things. The only thing I lost outright was my bookmarks. I use them extensively and will probably never find all the websites again, but it is a small price to pay to have a functioning computer again! Many thanks to Da for all the time and effort it took to get me back online! Now it's time to write some posts for my blogs...

Computer Problems

Hi!
  I have been very busy composing new blog entries and a few tutorials, but recently that all came to a halt when my computer died. Unfortunately, my oven stove also died, (a very expensive replacement...), and I have switched to my Coleman camping stove for stove top cooking and my toaster oven/cast iron dutch oven for baking. This is likely to go on for some time since I have not found a stove I like or can afford at the moment. But I must prioritize and put the funds towards a stove replacement first...
  I have been very excited about all the things I am preparing to post here and I will continue to compose my posts and tutorials on paper, waiting for the opportunity to get back on the internet. I make periodic forays into Charlotte and can possibly post from the library while there. I will at least post updates to keep you informed about life at Heart's Ease Cottage. I will be missing you and hope to be back posting from home very soon! Until next time, Shalom! Elle

Resting

  Saturday morning is the best morning of my week. Our Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday, so Saturday morning is the one morning of the week when there is nothing on my "to do" list. I can lay in bed until noon if I like, but I seldom do since I don't want to miss a minute of this wonderful day!
  I actually plan for and work towards the Sabbath all week. There are things that I do Sunday through Friday that help me to have life ready for a down day. I have found that by accomplishing something every day towards Sabbath, I am  not only cutting down on the amount that must be done on Friday, but I am preparing my heart  as I work in anticipation of the day.
  Friday is Preparation Day, the day that allows my Sabbath to be peaceful and restful. I have planned, worked and shopped all week so that on Friday I can focus on baking, cooking and put the finishing touches on the house. At sundown Friday, all is ready for my day of rest.
  So here it is... Saturday morning. All the cares of life were checked at the door at sundown last night, they will be there to be dealt with at sundown on Saturday, but for a blissful 24 hours, we will have rest from the cares of this world. The world will of course, go on with it's hustle and bustle, "go here, get this done, take someone there..." , but here in my home we are insulated from the world, set apart. There is music playing on Pandora, I have written letters, played cards with my husband and  watched the birds at the feeder. I have food at the ready so whenever anyone one is hungry they can help themselves. We won't leave the house unless it is for a walk later in the day, so there will be no stress from swimming through traffic, or dealing with rude drivers. We won't be buying anything or conducting business. If the phone rings it will be screened. We will have time to think about pleasant things, time to rest and regenerate. We have an opportunity to meet with our Creator on the day that He established  from the very beginning for our own good ...the Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath....
  To me, the Sabbath is the key to a simple life. In it I have time to see my life from a safe distance. I can decide what is important, I can let go of things that take my peace or stress me out. It is a time for getting out of the forest so you can see the trees. So whether or not you believe in keeping it for "religious" reasons, the principles of the Sabbath can work to your good and towards a simpler life. Why not try a day out of time? Work for six days and take the seventh off. Let your body and your mind have a day of rest and receive the benefits. Let me know how it goes!

Lots of Changes Going on at Hearts Ease Cottage

  Hi all! I am in the process of reworking this blog. I am still debating whether or not to keep it on Blogspot...  I have a large quantity of material to be posted that I have been working on for some time, but have hesitated to post it since I didn't know what I wanted to do about location... for now I am reworking this blog, keeping this blogspot address and creating a "mirror" blog on Wordpress.
  My objective for the blog remains the same. I want to talk about living a "simple" life, growing food, raising animals, baking, cooking, homeschooling, putting food by, pantry keeping and much, much more.We have spent more than 20 years homesteading on a very small piece of property. We have used edible landscaping and intensive garden techniques to help us find room for 10 kinds of fruit, medicinal and culinary herbs and to squeeze in 10 3' x 20' french intensive raised beds, we have two goat barns, a chicken house, and workshop, as well as flower gardens and outdoor "rooms" for enjoying the gardens, birds and butterflies, all on a one acre piece of property.
 It is my belief that even the smallest piece of land can be encouraged to grow delicious fruits and vegetables, to provide goodness for the table and health to the body from fresh air, sunshine and hard work.. It is possible, even in the smallest apartment in the city, to have a flourishing "kitchen" garden, with no dirt and very little sunshine required to grow food just bursting with nutrition. I want to share what we have learned over the last 20 years and illustrate that no matter where you live, you can add fresh home grown food to your diet and live a simple life based on hearth and home.
  Our personal lives have had lots of changes over the last few years. Our needs have changed as well. We are in a new stage of life. Both of our boys are grown and have moved to their own places We had very bad news about my husbands health, which caused us to make a big decision and move to Costa Rica for a time to fulfill part of a "bucket list". Our year living in Costa Rica was wonderful, rejuvenating and memorable, but it exacted a heavy price on our beloved homestead. We lost two lovely mature standard plums to a freak accident while we were gone and most of the beds and the herb gardens were overtaken with couching grass. We have spent the last year and a half reclaiming the gardens and reworking the homestead to meet our new needs. As of this moment, the vegetable gardens are in prime condition for planting. We are establishing a new garden for permanent beds of asparagus, artichokes, Goji, strawberries, and other perennial edibles.  We are laying new pathways, establishing a koi pond, and have planted 100 azalea bushes to add beauty to our place and to attract birds to nestle in their branches.
  Our present life circumstances may have changed some, but our dedication to a simple life and to creating a lovely bubble of sanity in this crazy world remain the same. I am in the process of developing curriculum for  classes, writing tutorials and possibly an e-book or two, to share with you this year. I am excited about the way things are taking shape both on the ground and in this blog. I hope that you will stop by and see what we're up to. And as always, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave a comment and tell us what you are doing to make yours a simple life.