This was an area once covered by a large tree. I kind of like my new vista. #grownostr #nightsky #homestead

Day 74: #grownostr initiative After hauling 4 trailer loads of downed tree branches I came home to find the first eggplant of the year. How does everyone like to eat eggplant? #gardening #homesteading #eggplant

Day 73: #grownostr initiative Good morning all. I'm done with the animals and garden for the morning. Before I move on to vehicle and equipement maintenance, I am going to read a few pages of the books I found at the library yesterday. What pairs well with a book about the end of the world? A book on pickling 😉 Have a great and productive day. #gardening #homesteading #animalhusbandry #reading #books #TEOTWAWKI #pickling

I found this old book in the local library. I love illustrations like this. Just knowing someone probably sat at a desk and thought this through and drew it is cool. #grownostr #gardening #library #illustration #homesteading

Day 72: #grownostr initiative Today is already a great day. My son and I took took care of the garden and the animals from which we collected eggs. Then we came home and he cooked scrambled eggs by himself for the first time. I love that he is learning: 1. Where food comes from 2. How to prepare and cook food 3. What good food taste like (tomatoes from a garden vs. store bought, etc) 4. He was also discussing the economics of farming on our walk back #farming #farmlife #cooking #goodfood #eggs #lessonslearned

Day 71: #grownostr initative I am thankful to have electricity again. Its easy to take things for granted. I hope all had a great day! #Thankful

Day 70: #grownostr initiative Along with electric service being restored this evening, i harvested quite a bit of vegetables. I hadn't really done much over the last few days due to being a lumberjack. Bad news: I had a lot of broken tomato plants from the storm. Good news: fried green tomatoes! #gardening #homesteading #harvest #friedgreentomatoes

Day 69: #grownostr initiative Day 2: without electricity Even though a good portion of my garden was destroyed by the storm, I took this pic of the Super Sweet 100 tomatoes. #gardening #homestead #tomatoes

Day 67: #grownostr initiative Its almost time to harvest some okra. I like to slice and dredge them in egg and corn meal and fry them in oil until crispy. Simply season with a little salt and pepper out of the oil. Pair them with sliced tomatoes--it doesn't get much better to me. How does everyone else like okra? #gardening #homestead #okra #friedokra

We've trained our new quackheads to go into the house at night so they dont get eaten by the racoons and coyotes. We have only 2 out of nearly 20 ducks that we released on our pond last year that didn't get eaten. We didn't train them, but they have been able to outsmart their predators. #grownostr #homestead #ducks #quackheads #lessonlearned

Day 66: #grownostr initiative Its very humid right now. My weather app says 100% humidity. I love the way the dew on the dill plants look in the garden this morning. #gardening #homestead #herbs

Day 65: #grownostr initiative I found a nice little surprise behind the cucumber trellis this morning...a bunch of Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta.) Not only are they pretty, hopefully they will attract some pollinators. #gardening #homestead #wildflowers #pollinators #surprise

Day 64: #grownostr initiative I only had 1 egg this morning and 1 cherry hot pepper. Nevertheless seems like a good scramble if you ask me. #gardening #chickens #homestead #goodeats #foodstr

Day 63: #grownostr initiative I may have misidentified this as a Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina) several weeks ago when i transplanted it from the side of the road to one of my gardens. After seeing the folliage rosette it could be a Mullein (Verbascum thapsus). I may have to wait to see the flower color ro know for sure. Purple = Lamb's Ear, Yellow = Mullein. #gardening #plantid #homestead #lambsear #mullein

Day 62: #grownostr initiative We haven't even started picking the majority of our garden yet and our counter is already full of vegetables. 😳 I picked a couple of handfuls of green beans, another handful of peppers, squash and cucumbers. It was exciting to see an eggplant growing. I've never grown eggplant before. First okra!

Day 61: #grownostr initiative Our internet service has not been working great so last night I went OG internet (see image below.) #OGinternet #magazine #gardening

Day 60: #grownostr initiative Garden News There was good and bad news in the garden today. The good news: there is some color to the Super Sweet 100's. The bad news: it appears the Cherokee Purple's have Blossom End Rot. The other varieties seem okay. Also we received heavy rain and wind and nearly all the pepper plants were laying on their sides. #gardening #homesteading #tomatoes

Day 59: #grownostr initiative I am getting ready to change out the serpentine belt on my truck. Ive never done it before, but it should be pretty straightforward. Other than being in a parking lot, its usually cold and/or raining when i have to do vehicle repairs so I'm pretty excited about that. Ive learned a lesson: carry an extra belt. Its fairly cheap and could save a lot of time. Not to mention if you were on an interstate in the middle of nowhere! #autorepair #lessonlearned #beprepared

Day 58: #grownostr initiative Another long day at the J.O.B. but i was able to take a pic of my Parsley that is bolting. I guess i will be drying some herbs this weekend. #gardening #homesteading #herbs #preservation