Composting Toilet Poem

i'm reading "the self sufficient life and how to live it: the complete back to basics guide" by John Seymour and in it he has a poem about his composting toilet which was just too hilarious. all joking aside this is a really great book!

Our Marvelous Thunderbox "Loo"
now the human being is a very strange beast with capabilities good and bad
not frightened of nature, no not in the least our follies are often quite mad
the toilet that flushes fills our souls with glee
a brainwave by Thomas Crapper
mixes shit with clean water and pours out to sea
as if the dirt did not matter

out of sight, out of mind, much shoots down the pipes
an incredible fabric of magic
squandering food for the soil as the water we spoil
it's a tale that is terribly tragic

but all is not lost for at a marginal cost
another solution comes easy
the composting loo; yes that's our riposte
and your tummy need not feel to queasy

the vent goes up high, sending gas to the skies
and the lid fits snug so no entry to flies
two years it will take, our compost to make
and our river's not sorry the flush to forsake
no water, no tricks--it's all built with bricks
the shit and the kitchen waste too
all go together making food for the soil
in our marvelous Thunderbox loo

Perfect Soup Stock

soup is pretty much my most favourite thing in the world and making stock from scratch is super easy and basically free. take your bones/carcass (you can even save and freeze them and then make it when you have time!) put bones/carcass in a large heavy bottom pot with onions cut in half (skins on) and carrots cut in large pieces (skins on). drizzle with olive oil and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. put the pot on the stove top, add pepper corns, bay leaf, salt (if necessary) and fill the pot with water. bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. simmer for a few hours. put the stock through a strainer. pick any meat off the carcass and put aside to use in soup. let stock cool overnight and skim fat off. make soup as usual or freeze for later use.

Current Goings On

Here's what I've been up to lately!

reading: so many books is ridiculous. I'll post some reviews once I'm done some. mostly are farming/homemaking books
knitting: a baby blanket for my cousin and his wife's little fetus. will post a picture when it's finished.
fermenting: I'm venturing into the world of fermenting vegetables with some beet sauerkraut. I'm taking pictures so expect a step by step tutorial!
job searching: yawn. i did get offered an interview but the job was going to Africa for 6 months to teach people how to make websites. a) i know some html code but am in no position to TEACH people how to make websites b) is not being Internet savvy really the most important issue when it comes to people in Africa? seriously? websites? id go to Africa in a second to do AIDS education or build wells or farm but websites? no.
stripping: wallpaper that is. my mom is getting her house ready for sale next summer so I'm stripping the old wall paper in the guest room.

xo liz

Back to Life, Back to Reality

sadly my time at everdale has come to a close. yesterday i arrived back in Ottawa to organize my life and get things going. i feel pretty lost and heartbroken at the moment. i miss the farm and everyone there so much. my life in Ottawa is pretty ridiculous. i opened my closet and i have so many clothes. i have so much STUFF. i need to pare down to the basics.

with everything I've learnt this summer i feel pretty unstoppable. i feel like my dreams are achievable, i just need to figure out how to get from here to there. i want to have a small off grid strawbale cabin with solar/wind power. i want to grow all my own food. i want to bake and preserve. i want goats and chickens. i want a supportive network around me of like minded people without living on a commune.

people keep asking me if i intend to farm and a keep saying "no" because i just want to farm for myself but then i think about how ridiculously happy farming makes me and maybe i should farm for a living. humans aren't meant to work in an office doing menial tasks that have no direct results. as Cam, on of the everdale interns said, there is direct truth in the tasks we do as farmers. when vegetables are active so are we, weeding and harvesting. when they are dormant we curl up by the fire and plan for next season. if farming is in the cards for me than a proper internship is probably a good idea, otherwise I'm not sure.

stay tuned,
(farmer?) liz

Ruminations

Every week in the Everdale newsletter "Gifts from the Field" a different apprentice writes a reflection. they asked me to do one this week even though I'm not an intern. here's what a wrote:

When I arrived here at the beginning of July I never expected to be sitting here over 2 months later. My name is Liz Charles and I am one of the many volunteers that have made their way to Everdale this season. Unlike the others I never left. I decided to come to Everdale for 2 reasons. Firstly, because I had finished my degree in Environmental Studies and spent 4 years talking about organic farming and food without having any practical knowledge. My second reason is that I am striving to live a sustainable life and to be as self sufficient as possible. The hands on education in organic farming as well as sustainable living that Everdale offers to its interns and volunteers seemed like the perfect match. My time at Everdale has helped me connect with my food, the environment, and my community. Being able to see food go from seed to table is so amazing and makes every bite even more delicious because of all the hard work that went into it. I am truly grateful for every meal. Being able to see how a farm can give back to the environment and enrich the soil and water rather than devastate it is also a wonderful thing to witness. Most importantly I’ve found a group of people here, with the staff, interns and volunteers at Everdale, that are truly committed to sustainable living and are not only inspiring me but are also amazing friends and co-workers. If someone a few months ago had told me that the happiest day in my life I would be covered in mud, fish emulsion, baking in the hot sun after 10 hours of work I never would have believed them. Thanks to my time here I am so excited about my future, knowing that sustainable living is not only better for the planet, but also makes me unbelievably happy. ~Farmer Liz

On Death and Dying

So one of the folks who lives here had some people up for the long weekend. one of their dogs got to one of the chickens that had escaped the coop. in short i watched a chicken die, it squirmed and shook violently and looked like it was in a lot of pain before she closed her eyes and went limp. then i carried her limp, warm body down to the forest to bury her. i wish i had an axe to put her out of her misery but there was nothing i could do but watch her die. it wasn't sad or disgusting it was just life... or rather death. all i know is that if i were a chicken i would rather die quick and relatively painlessly by the hand, or rather axe, of the farmer that cared for me than by a dog or weasel or some other sort of long drawn out death. i hope i'm here when we cull the hens. i hope i get to kill some chickens, but do so with all the love and respect that these birds deserve. i hope their death is swift and kind.

The Farmer in the Grocery Store

Yesterday a bunch of us went into Georgetown and had to run into the grocery store to get some bitters so we could make Manhattan's (hey farmers like fancy drinks too!). Anyway it was my first time being in a really huge obnoxious grocery store in months. We started looking at the produce, the conventional produce was all shipped in from the states even though it was mostly in season here, and the produce was so ugly. The beets were cracked and dry and shriveled, the garlic wasn't processed properly and was all split at the top (probably due to mechanization), our organic produce was even comparable in price with a lot of the conventional produce. The organic produce looked better but ours was still cheaper. Thats because we don't sell to a distributer, we retail our own food and skip the middle man. I hope next season to find a CSA near Ottawa so i can get local, organic, well priced food and that i can support my local farmer. it would even be better if I could find a CSA that would allow me to work a day a week in exchange for a share. I'm also hoping to get a community garden plot in Ottawa to start growing my own. This winter I will begin planning my bio-intensive garden and probably making many tripped to Lee Valley!