How to Start a Fire

I enjoy having a wood stove for heat. The heat penetrates and keeps me warmer than other forms of heat.

The supplies I use throughout the winter to start and maintain fires are; seasoned wood (usually Juniper), newspaper, kindling and lighters. Items I use occasionally are: lint, toilet paper rolls, cardboard, junk mail and magazines.

When I start a fire, I crumple up newspaper or other forms of paper i.e. junk mail, and place on the floor of the stove. I crumple it to allow little pockets of air which the fire needs to burn. If the paper is not crumpled it won't burn well and will burnout quickly. Sometimes I add lint which I stuffed into empty toilet paper rolls to give it a boost. Lint burns easily and quickly.

Crumpled paper.

Next I place dry, thin pieces of kindling; twigs, splintered pieces of wood from spliting wood, pieces of board from projects and even leaves. I place them in a criss-cross style to allow air to circulate through. After they are in place, I set a piece of wood on top ensuring space between it and the kindling to give the fire air. 

Kindling

Wood on kindling.

Lastly, I start the paper on fire with a lighter. I leave the vent door open slightly to allow enough air to get the fire going. Then I sit back with my hot chocolate and relax. 

Fire. Wood will shift as fire burns kindling. 

Safety precautions when heating with wood:

• Each year the chimney needs to be cleaned professionally to ensure repairs aren't needed and to prevent fires caused from collected soot. 
• Have a working fire extinguisher handy at all times. Not next to the fire though just nearby. 
• Do not leave lighter near fire. It can heat up and explode. 
• Having working smoke detectors. 
• Keep children away from the stove and all supplies, especially the lighters. 
• Ensure the door and vent is closed to stove before you leave it unattended. 

Winter Routine

Each year I go through the same tasks to prepare our home, family and myself for the winter. This particular year we've been busy with building projects and food preservation, leaving me behind in my pre-winter routine. Some tasks are done, others not so much. Another problem which has caused delays, is my list keeps growing as I find other things to add.

Home Preparations:

• Have wood stove cleaned.
• Trimming of trees and blackberry bushes.
• Draining of all hoses and outside water pipes at each animal home site.
• Have new fire extinguishers if others are old or don't work.
• Put all gardening tools in storage.
• Wrap outside faucet to prevent freezing.
• Have working non-electric can opener.
• Indoor-Outdoor thermometer. 
• Change batteries in smoke and CO2 detectors.
• Boards or plastic to cover back porch screened areas.
• Air conditioners out of bedrooms and into storage.
• Plastic on windows, inside and out
• Wood for heat.
• Small eco-friendly electric heaters for bathroom and kitchen to prevent frozen pipes. The electric bill is cheaper than repairing broken pipes. (Which happens all too frequently in this area.)
• Winter clothes pulled from storage.
• Summer clothes put in storage.
• Material for sewing projects and yarn for crocheting projects.
• Food preserved and breakfast breads baked and put in freezer.
• Stockpiling of food, personal care products including over the counter meds and cleaning supplies. 
• Stored water. Just in case pipes do freeze. 
• Ensuring flashlights are working, extra batteries, working radio (preferably crank or solar). Electricity goes out frequently in our area.
• Lighters for starting fires.
• Extra blankets available.
• Electric mattress pad.
• Stockpiled food for animals.
• Heated water bowls for outside animals.
• Eight to ten inches of hay on chicken house floor for insulation.
• Mulching of trees, shrubs and plants. 
• Extra hay for bunny. 
• Extra water for bunny to change out when other is frozen.
• Snow shovels.
• Boots

Car preparations:

• Ensuring up-to-date on maintenance and re-check all fluids.
• Inflate and rotate tires.
• Water in car for drinking and to clean windshield if needed.
• Food in car.
• Sleeping bags in car.
• First aid kit in car and other supplies in bathroom cabinet.
• Extra gloves and hats in car.
• Ice scrapers in car.
• Extra winter coats in car.
• Supplies for animals for times of travel; food, water, treats, dog sweaters, extra leashes, copy of shot records. 
• Flashlight and batteries.
• Tire chains.
• Jumper cables.
• Flashers.
• Maps.
• Shovel
• Kitty litter to provide traction if you get stuck in the snow or ditch.

What do you do for winter preparation?

My Sunday Canning Project in Steps and Pics

It is Sunday.  I went to church then came home to attempt to put a dent in all the peaches I picked. This is my second time of canning more of them. I've found canning is time consuming and laborious. I tried to develop a system this time to make it a little easier. I believe I did.

My first peach canning adventure, I canned seven quarts and 1 pint. It took four and a half hours. This time I've canned ten quarts in about three and a half hours. Progress! Still a lot of work though, I think I need a nap.

Here are the steps I used for canning this time;

1. Gather all equipment: bowls, pots with lids, large spoons, canning funnel, jars, lids and bands, butter knife, pot holders, quilt, jar grabber, measuring spoon, and food ingredients.
2. Wash jars, lids and bands.
3.  Place jars in water bath canning pot, note how many can fit.
4.  Boil jars to sterilize them.
5. Mix your sugar and water in a pot to make your syrup. I used a medium syrup consisint of 4 cups of water and 3 cups of sugar. Simmer until mixture is clear. Set to the side.
6.  Mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice into 4 cups of water. This solution will prevent peaches from turning brown. 
7. Wash peaches, cut in half lengthwise (this will make peeling easier).
8. Boil water in large pot.
9. Place cut peaches in pot and blanche for one minute.
10. Remove and spread out on clean surface i.e. towel, cookie sheet.
11. Peel peaches and remove seeds. 
12. Place peaches in lemon water.
13. Remove peaches from lemon water and rinse with fresh water.
14. Place peaches in hot syrup. Simmer for 2 minutes.
15. Have jars ready, place peaches in jars using funnel to avoid dropping peaches. Leave 1/2 inch head room.
16. Pour syrup in jar to 1/2 inch headroom. 
17. Take butter knife or small spatula and insert between jars and peaches, moving knife gently around the inside of the jar. This will decrease air bubbles. 
18. Place lid and bands on jar. 
19. Place jars in water bath canning for set amount of time, determined by size of jars and elevation of where you live. I live over 4000 feet above sea level and used quart jars. My process time for my peaches was 70 minutes. I usually leave them in another 5 minutes for safety. 
20. After alotted time, remove jars and place where they will not be distrubed, to finish process. I place mine in a quilt to keep them warm a little longer.
21. Once they are sealed (the center of the lid is no longer elevated) label and shelf them.
22. Give as gifts or use for your family consumption.

Using a step by step system made it easier and more enjoyable this time to can. I'm looking forward to canning the rest of my fruit, to enjoy this winter.

Sterilze jars. 

Sugar and water for syrup. 

Lemon water. 

Wash peaches  and cut in half lengthwise.

Blanche, lay out to cool for peeling. 

After peeling place in lemon juice, then rinse with fresh water.

Place peaches in syrup to simmer 2 minutes 

Put the peaches in jars, add syrup, use butter knife to get rid of air bubbles.

Apply lids and bands. 

Process in water bath canner for appropriate time. 

After water bath, place to the side undisturbed to allow sealing

After sealed and cooled, label and shelf. 

Still Canning

I'm still canning, trying to put up our harvest. There is just so much this year. I'm not complaining, just running out of time to do all the work. Besides all the fruit I have picked, I still have apples and peaches on the trees. Fortunately many of my peaches are still a little green. They weren't getting enough sun to ripen on the trees. They are now going to sit in the sun and ripen for a few days on my tables. This will allow me time to put up other fruits.

Ripe and unripe peaches to can. 

Apples to pick and dry.  

Shaded unripe peach.  

Ripe peaches.

1st canned peaches. I canned 7 quarts and 1 pint.

Busy Canning Season

I had so much fruit this year, I've been canning and drying as much as I possibly can. It is a time-consuming and overwhelming job. When the amount of fruit is more then I can process, I give it away to friends, family and our local homeless shelter. I hate for the fruit to spoil if someone else can use it.

At present I've canned and dried; 25 jelly jars of plum syrup (I was trying for jam), 7 pints of pears in light syrup, 2 quarts of dried cherries, 19 jars of cherry jam, 1 1/2 pints of dried apples and I'm not done yet. I still have a small amount of plums and apples on the trees. The peaches on one of my trees are ready and about 1/2 have been picked. The other peaches on the second peach tree are still too green.

Today I plan on drying apples and preparing for canning peaches; hopefully I'll have enough time to can part of my peach harvest today. I like canned peaches best out of all my fruit and look forward to the end product.

The light syrup recipe I used for my pears is: 4 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar. I'll be using a medium  syrup for my peaches. The recipe is: 4 cups of water and 3 cups of sugar. I haven't used these recipes before, but I will write a review later on how well they worked.

My first batch of dried cherries I attempted in the oven. The dryness of the fruit varied and a small portion burned. The cherries I dried in my new dehydrator came out perfect. But it took about 18 hours for them to dry.

The plum syrup was my first attempt at plum jam. I looked up several recipes and none had suggested pectin. I just put the plums in a pot with sugar on the stove to cook, as suggested. After a few minutes of cooking, I  blended, put the mix in jars and canned them. And ta da, syrup. Tastes sweet with just a hint of plum tartness.

I haven't tried the pears yet. The apples turned out wonderful. Sweet and slightly chewy. I dried them in the dehydrator for about 8 hours.

To prevent my pears and apples from browning, I soaked them separately in a solution of 1 quart water and 2 tbsp lemon juice. The pears didn't brown. The apples only have a light browning on a few of the slices.

The labels are designed and printed by my husband who is a graphic designer. He wanted my jars to look pretty for gift giving.

Cherry Jam

Plum Syrup

Dried Apples

Canned Pears

Dried Cherries

Finished products

Apples to dry. 

Peaches to can. 

Low Wood Supply

In Northern California we have short summers. Winter comes quickly. Usually by mid-October we're ready to start burning wood. I mentioned to my husband about purchasing our wood soon, so as to be prepared for winter. I don't like waiting until the last minute. The wood cutters are already selling wood. I like to order five cords to ensure we have enough for the winter in case it is bad or longer than usual. We use Juniper because it burns hotter, lasts longer and doesn't have as much creosol. We still have a small amount but not close to what we need. I hope we are ready in August to get our wood.

Wood that still needs to be split from last year. 

Wood that needs to be stacked from last year. 

Stacked wood ready to use. 

Rapid Weather Changes

Today the snow is rapidly melting again and we are dealing with mild flooding. With all the snow and flooding I've begun to think again about our emergency packs. I have 2 bags with stuff for our family in it. I bought a third bag for each one of us to have our own bag.

Entrance to our driveway.  

Another view of the entrance to our driveway.

I'm not complete with the bags yet because of lack of funds. I'm slowly getting things together and trying to search clearance items in the stores. I've learned to look in all areas of a store if there is a clearance sign because you never know what you will find.

The items I have so far are:
4 packs of single load laundry detergent
4 ponchos-in case one gets torn or lost
6 toothbrushes-they come six in a pack at the Dollar Store
3 small tubes of toothpaste
3 nail care kits
3 packages of dental floss
14 masks
1 Monistat for yeast infections
10 trial size bars of soap-I've collected these when I worked out of town by staying in motels. I just kept the extras in my room.
3 deodorants
several pair of heavy-duty socks
knit hats
winter scarfs
several pairs of ear plugs
6 razors
3 packs of water proof matches
long johns
rope
combs
shampoo and conditioner
tylenol
hand warmers-8 pairs

Things I need yet are:
Lip Balm
emergency blankets
crank/solar flash light and radio
toilet paper—I have, just need to get into bags
emergency sleeping bags
food
water
light sticks
first aid kits
duct tape
change of clothes and jacket for each family member
medicines we take on a regular basis—I have, need to put into bags
cold medicine
whistles
manual can opener
dog food
book on emergency preparedness
paper and pens
books to read
card games

Have you started your pack?

Melting Snow

The snow is finally melting. We received about two feet of snow over the weekend. My son and husband drove to Shingletown for a weekend camp retreat before the snow hit. I stayed home and watched it snow and snow and snow. I was pretty much snowed in.

The neighbor boy helped take care of the chickens, ducks and bunny. He shoveled access our woodpile and collected eggs. The snow and cold prevented the girls (hens) from performing well this weekend. I got only one or two eggs each day.  

The power went out a few times and flickered several times. I was grateful for our wood stove. The dogs and I were toasty warm. 

I was finally able to get out for a few minutes yesterday. My husband shoveled so I could get out of the driveway and go run a few errands for a change of scenery. I took the dogs with me for the ride. They like riding and sticking their heads out the windows. They really enjoyed it when I went to Burger King and ordered them an ice cream to share. 

Today was even better.  The temperature was about 40˚ and no more snow fell. Our two feet of snow is melting away. I went outside to see my fowl and let the dogs play for a few minutes. The fresh air was very inviting. I just stood around leaning on my crutches and looking things over; watching the dogs play. It was peaceful. 

Snow melted off the cherry tree. 

One cord of Juniper Wood still covered with snow. 

One cord Juniper Wood uncovered. 

Temporary roof on pole barn fell under weight of snow. 

Max and Princess having fun.

Princess trying to get the ball from Max.  

The chickens and ducks favorite tree, still covered in snow. 

Rockett doing her favorite pass time, eating. 

Better performance today from the girls.  

Guard duck, Spot, says, "time for you to leave!"

Return of Winter

The last couple of weeks we had beautiful, warm, spring-type weather. This morning, everything changed. Winter returned. We received approximately six inches of snow throughout the night. The weight of the snow knocked down power lines and a wide spread power outage occurred for several hours. The outage was extensive and schools had to be closed today because of it.

It is days like this I am glad I stockpile food (usually when a good sale is on), have a manual can opener (electric can openers don't work during power outages), have wood heat and thick warm socks. What are some of your favorite emergency preparedness items?

Snow covered Cherry tree. 

Peach tree on left, Cherry on right in backyard. 

Garden and Bar-B-Que area. 

Lilac bush 

Out my front door to the left.  

Out my front door to the right. 

Entrance to the backyard. 

Apricot tree. 

Backyard 

Knuckles the bunny's home. She was burrowed down this morning. 

Spot was in the coop too long with the heat lamps. He is cooling down.

Incomplete pole barn, tarp sagging with weight of snow. 

Our snow-covered firewood. 

Cherry Tree 

Cherry to far left, Apple tree and tips of Nectarine tree on right.