I hate revealing secrets, but I'll let you in on this one. I have a 3-day road trip around northern Illinois that is so cool. I look for three things on this trip: thrift/resale shops, yarn shops and quilt shops.
First: the overall trip is west on 34, south on 30, west on 34, south on 47, west on 6, west on 34 (stay over in Kewanee) west 34 (divert to Bishop Hill) to Galesburg then back to Kewanee (stay over another night) north on 78, east on 30, (in Rock Falls/Sterling) north on 1st Street, east on 3rd Street (also Route 2) east on 52, east on 38
In Kewanee, you MUST stay at Aunt Daisy's Bed & Breakfast. Michele and Glen are the nicest hosts and you will LOVE it!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!
The Salvation Army in Kewanee is my most favorite secret of all. Not so much for clothes, but I got a Victory Edition of a cookbook for $1.00 and an old aluminum cake carrier for $.50!!! And other things too, it is great. Also, the Quilt Box in Kewanee is also a great quilt shop, don't miss it! The mexican restaurant in town looks a little seedy, but the food is great!
In Galesburg, you go to the Galesburg Antique Mall - three floors of well-priced goodies at Main & Seminary Streets. Right around the corner is a great creperie, and The Purple Hanger - CAN'T MISS this one - they support victims of domestic violence and the prices are excellent.
Bishop Hill is an interesting historical town as well as nice shopping. The bakery has the best Peperkakor cookies - dark and chewy, mmmmm
In Rock Falls/Sterling on 1st Street is the CLS Thrift Shop - another charity shop with interesting stuff and great prices.
In downtown Dekalb is the Yarn Exchange - worth the trip at any time, they have a very nice selection of yarns. There are also a few great stores in town resale and thrift. There is a GREAT charity shop on the east end of Lincoln Hwy, but they are only open M-F.
Le Mouton Rouge is a nice yarn shop on Liberty Street in Morris. Quilter's Garden is a nice shop on Main St in Princeton with a large selection of batiks.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Overview
So. Where is this little story at?
I buy 15 acres not too far from my current job. Plant an orchard of fruit trees for the human. Supplement the forest area with oak, fruit and nut trees for the pig area. Plant the human garden. Two summers readying the 2-acre pasture. A season growing corn, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat and an over-winter of silage. Purchase the heifer (and bull?) and train to pasture. Purchase chickens (in egg?) and raise to pasture behind the cow rotation. At 1-year, breed cow and begin dairy production. Continue growing/harvesting/rotating crops to support livestock (and human) and turn dairy into cheese, butter, etc. At some point I quit my day job, and probably die of exhaustion soon after!
I buy 15 acres not too far from my current job. Plant an orchard of fruit trees for the human. Supplement the forest area with oak, fruit and nut trees for the pig area. Plant the human garden. Two summers readying the 2-acre pasture. A season growing corn, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat and an over-winter of silage. Purchase the heifer (and bull?) and train to pasture. Purchase chickens (in egg?) and raise to pasture behind the cow rotation. At 1-year, breed cow and begin dairy production. Continue growing/harvesting/rotating crops to support livestock (and human) and turn dairy into cheese, butter, etc. At some point I quit my day job, and probably die of exhaustion soon after!
Bzzzzzzz
And bees! Honey and beeswax. How could I forgo keeping bees?
Goats? Pigs? (Chevre? and Ham?)
Goats? Pigs? (Chevre? and Ham?)
A New Vocabulary
Cow - female
Bull - male
Jersey - smaller dairy cow with higher-fat, higher-protein milk than typical
Brahma - large chickens that lay brown eggs and tend to take care of offspring - also cold hearty and unlikely to get carried off by other birds of prey (about the size of my dear Roscoe!)
Forage - pasture where cows (etc) graze on not-just-grass
Silage - slightly fermented mixture of grains and hay that is more readily digested
Short Ton = 2,000 lbs
Bushel = about 60 lbs
Bull - male
Jersey - smaller dairy cow with higher-fat, higher-protein milk than typical
Brahma - large chickens that lay brown eggs and tend to take care of offspring - also cold hearty and unlikely to get carried off by other birds of prey (about the size of my dear Roscoe!)
Forage - pasture where cows (etc) graze on not-just-grass
Silage - slightly fermented mixture of grains and hay that is more readily digested
Short Ton = 2,000 lbs
Bushel = about 60 lbs
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Stuff to Buy
Bull trailer
harvesting equipment
helpful husband
tractor
scooter
pickup truck
chicken coop on wheels
moveable electric fence
Jersey cow
Jersey bull
Brahma rooster
Brahma chickens (10)
Sheepdog
pair of pigs
pair of goats
harvesting equipment
helpful husband
tractor
scooter
pickup truck
chicken coop on wheels
moveable electric fence
Jersey cow
Jersey bull
Brahma rooster
Brahma chickens (10)
Sheepdog
pair of pigs
pair of goats
The Plot Thickens, Literally
OK. Two cows: well, one cow and one bull, so that the farm is truly self-sufficient. Two cows eat something like 72,000 lbs of food per year. If we assume grazing will provide some portion of that amount for part of the year, let's say we need 7 months at 42,000 lbs. Throw in extra for the wintering of chickens and the acreage needs to look something like:
4 acres corn
4 acres wheat
4 acres soybeans
4 acres alfalfa
0 acres straw (by-product of wheat)
1 acre forage
4 acres corn
4 acres wheat
4 acres soybeans
4 acres alfalfa
0 acres straw (by-product of wheat)
1 acre forage
Friday, October 7, 2011
The Purple Hanger-Galesburg, IL
An nifty thrift store in a slightly bad location (a few blocks from the "cool" stores and out of sight) but they have good stuff and their money goes to support victims of domestic violence. GO THERE! Really! Its worth finding-a few blocks south of Main and just off Seminary.
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