Hear me laugh and roar?

A few weeks ago Erik with the Root Simple blog interviewed me for their podcast.

We mostly talked about the road issue around here, which lead to some discussion of gender and expectations. We also talked briefly about gardening and art. It was really fun (and relieving) to have the opportunity to share my experience with an empathetic ear. If you have some free time, go on over and give it a listen! 

Also, I owe a huge thanks to Misti for making this happen, and to Erik for sharing my story. 

Homemade Bone Meal, a Crunch Feely How-To

We are a meat eating household, but after my long-term veganism I'm still not entirely comfortable handling meat. I also find myself extremely aware of meat use and waste. Bone broth is a natural follow-up to a meat heavy meal, and a great way to further value a meat purchase. It wasn't until last week though, that  during a bone broth making session, I had a huge DUH moment. Usually, after the broth, the bones would go in the trash. Rarely, if I'm especially organized and on top of hippie chores, I'd get another batch of bokashi going.

Why not take the bones and make bone meal for the garden?

I felt like it was great way to further honor the meat-eating choice we make. I'd see what the process is like and maybe add it to the arsenal of Permaculture approaches we use. The bones are high in calcium and phosphorous, so "waste" seemed to be a terrible fate for them. Plus they come out after a long broth simmer so much more brittle than before going in, so I figured it would be easier on the blades of the blender. 

One more way to use what we have. 

I looked homemade bone meal up on the internet, and apparently I'm not so brilliant. Lots of search returns came up. I followed the instructions on Chiot's Run since I've been reading her blog for a while and know she knows what she's doing. 

Here's the long and the short of it:

• After making bone broth, separate the bones from the meat. I made another quick broth for the dogs to really clean the bones, but I think a quick rinse would be fine, too,  
• Dry the bones in the oven on a low temperature. I think I did mine on about 200 F for about 2 hours, mixing them around in the pan once or twice to make sure they all dried. 
• Throw them in a not-too-precious but hardworking blender, put the top on, and pulse away. I used the ice setting. It took a while to get them to powder form because these were wild hog bones and were stronger than chicken bones (which I find usually just fall apart after making broth). 

Making bone meal was a difficult mental process for me, but certainly important in using what you have. Ive eaten meat for 10+ years and sometimes have problems handling meat, but if I'm going to eat it i have to face it. The are hog bones from hunted wild hogs in SC. They are considered a nuisance (which is a whole other discussion...) so we ate the pork, i tried (and failed) to render fat, but they're not very fatty anyway. Once I made bone broth with the bones, I separated the remainder of meat from the bones then dried them at 200 F in the oven. I tree in a couple egg shells too because I had them on hand. Once dry I pulverized them on the ice setting of our blender. It took a while to get a fine texture, but it got there. Bokashi would get you to a similar place, much less hands on, but it feels like a good way to honor the cycle of life.

13 Likes, 4 Comments - Renee Garner (@wolfienthesneak) on Instagram: "Making bone meal was a difficult mental process for me, but certainly important in using what you..."

Grow Curious: A Gardener's Creative Activity Book by Gayla Trail and Davin Risk

It's hard to imagine my life without gardening. It's an activity I half-heartedly dabbled in through my early 20s, and after college, when I moved back to East John St, I became interested in learning to care for the plants my grandparents planted. I *think* I picked up Gayla Trail's book You Grow Girl t the now defunct Borders Books (RIP) and immediately absorbed it and the companion website. Gayla taught me just how to organically care for the greenery around and convinced me to try my hand at growing veggies!

I've followed her work ever since. To say she's formed and informed me is an understatement; her work has been instrumental in introducing gardening to new generations.

Now Gayla, and her partner Davin, are working on a new project called Grow Curious. Check out their kickstarter and let's help get this new project off the ground! #growcurious

Homemade Witch Hazel

Today's hippie experiment: homemade witch hazel. Deciding what to infuse it with.

See this Instagram photo by @wolfienthesneak * 3 likes

Sometimes I buy plants because I want to try my hand at using them for the mainstream product associated with the plant name. Well, maybe just one time I did that? I don't know how long ago I bought a witch hazel tree (H. vernalis), but I put it in a big pot when I got home and never got around to making the skin astringent I'd intended.

Making homemade witch hazel extract!

See this Instagram photo by @wolfienthesneak * 8 likes

I {finally} put that sucker in the ground (it outgrew the pot a looong time ago--oops) and decided I should prune it a little. Since I had a branch I might as well make witch hazel, right?

Ready to infuse with herbs. #DIY #witchhazel

See this Instagram photo by @wolfienthesneak * 3 likes

After a few hours on the internet (over-research much?) I settled on the second set of instructions in this post.

I've added Camellia sinensis, lemon balm, comfrey, and mint. Now I wait. And sometimes shake. #DIY #witchhazel

See this Instagram photo by @wolfienthesneak * 4 likes

Goats: An Update

We're a week into having 2 living weed eaters in our yard. Meet Mowgli (left) and Chives (right). These guys knocked out the overgrown area outside our kitchen in a week. Above you can see a semi-before and after: the left is what it looked like on day 2, the right is what it looked like after a week (and Charlie cutting down the ligustrum that was too tall for the goats to reach and/or knock down to eat).

Now we've moved them to the front yard where they'll work on English ivy and wisteria. I'm not sure how long it will take them to demolish the area, but they're already clearing it out with vigor, fertilizing as they go. That particular area will become a woodland garden with paths, hopefully being clear enough for little hands and feet to get in and explore safely.

When I was a kid we rode our bikes through the woods, jumping fallen logs and feeling "extreme". Yes, I realize just how dorky that sentence makes me sound and I'm ok with that. I just want M and F to have the same opportunity, a natural playground available for whenever they feel compelled to get out there.

If you love goats and want to help us make this happen, prints are still available on a Pay What You Can scale.

If you're in the Charlotte area and are interested in renting goats, I can't recommend Wish We Had Acres enough.