Country Living With Emma

How did the old-timers decide when to plant and do different projects on the farm? Many believed in something called "planting by the signs", which involved using the signs of the zodiac to choose planting dates. My parents planted by the signs, but I have not tried that. After I finished this episode, I watched an episode on the Harmon Homestead Ranch channel, and she did a deep dive into this su...

What we think will happen and what actually happens are rarely the same. My experience, for what that's worth, is that every catastrophic event has come totally unexpected. How can we prepare if we don't know what we're preparing for?

Do you feel as if you are trying to balance between two different worlds with prepping/homesteading versus living in the "normal" world? It's a dilemma we all face. Keeping a foot in both worlds is important, but it can be a challenge to accomplish.  Added bonus! The great chicken salad recipe I found online! https://www.theendlessmeal.com/cranberry-chicken-salad/ 

This is the third episode in a series about permaculture zones and how I am applying that concept to my own property. Gardening is a learning experience and well worth the effort to learn!

I'm working my way through the permaculture zones. Here's a discussion of what I have done and would like to do in Zone 1, the high-traffic area outside the house. 

Proverbs 24:27 says, "Prepare your outside work, Make it fit for yourself in the  field ; And afterward build your  house ." Biblically, the outside work should come first. How does that work when there is just as much to do inside as there is outside?

This is the beginning of the discussion about permaculture and design zones, starting with Zone 0, which is the home. How can I make my home run more efficiently so that I can free up time to do more outside for prepping and self-sufficiency?

I'm off work for the whole week. In this episode I give an update on what I've gotten done so far. 

How my garden did this year and plans for next year. Why I'm thankful for laundry. 

Thanksgiving Week Plans: Harvest peanuts and potatoes Prune tomatoes Cooking Recreational stuff (hopefully) In this episode, I reference a cookbook that can be found here. Evidently, my memory is really faulty. I thought we ordered this cookbook when I was early elementary school, but the publication date is 1968. That means I was in Junior High! The Kansas City Star quilt pattern I referenced is...

This episode is something of a throwback to my review of the book, The Fourth Turning is Here . I think we have hard times coming and I think that involves a major war like we have not seen since WWII.   

I am beginning to research zones on my property relating to permaculture. Doing a Google search returns some interesting images relating to how to divide a property into various zones. In a small property like mine, I don't even have all the zones. However, I want to improve my use of the areas adjacent to the house. 

What kinds of things do you do to prep for winter? Texas can have all the weather, sometimes in the same week! I still have crops growing, but it's going to get a little colder this week. I'm talking about what I'll be doing to get ready for winter.

In the midst of Y2K, I had a personal SHTF event that took our well, which serves two households, out of commission. No one knew how to solve this problem and I was truly On My Own to figure it out. Find out what happened and how the problem was resolved.

Caring for elderly family members is a learn-by-doing experience. What can we do to be more prepared to care for family members or be cared for ourselves?

The election is over. Your candidate may or may not have won. Where do we go from here?

The local heritage festival where I demonstrated hand quilting has come and gone. How did it go? Would I do it again, and would I do anything different?

The clock is ticking. My hand quilting demo at a local heritage festival is coming up quickly. Can I get it all done in time?

After my fourth work trip in a month I am more than glad to be back at home in the country. I'll discuss how the two environments differ.

We've had multiple disasters in the last few years, especially the latest one in Appalachia. In this episode, I go down the rabbit hole on a disaster I had never heard about,  The 1927 Arkansas Flood. How does it compare to the damage from Hurricane Helene?  https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/flood-of-1927-2202/

How did people predict the weather without all the technology we have today? It's easy to take that technology for granted.  Link to the Old Farmers Almanac: https://www.almanac.com/

Updates on progress for the living history demonstration and what's going on with the fall garden.

My thoughts on how having more than one option can be invaluable in an emergency. Also, I reference the Sensible Prepper YouTube channel and his livestream from October 29, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgB6GHG3B60

Foraging is a big topic in Prepper Land. Do you know which plants in your area are edible? What did we find to eat in the woods when I was a child?

What I am doing to get ready for winter in general and this winter in particular.