Innholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2024 i Grit

“Let every step you take upon the Earth be as a prayer.” – He áka Sápa (Black Elk) What a profound word, prayer. Though humble in appearance on the page, how it manifests in each person’s life can be personal and dynamic. For some, prayer looks like folded hands and kneeling; for some, a deep meditation; for some, dancing and singing in their languages. All different forms, but still the same act: Communing in faith with what you find meaningful. Treating our world as sacred is also an act of that faith and an extension of that prayer. Walking that path of prayer isn’t always easy, but when we find ways to act in faith and love our world, we’ll change not only our world for the better, but also…

GLAZED SWEET BREAD WITH WINEBERRY FILLING This is a versatile sweet bread that works well as a snack, a breakfast treat, or a dessert for company. The berries offer an enticing sweet and tart vibe, which adds to its appeal. We freeze 3 or 4 gallons of wineberries every summer so we can enjoy them throughout the year. Yield: 1 loaf, serving 10 to 14. Dough 2 cups all-purpose flour2 teaspoons baking powder1 teaspoon salt½ teaspoon soda1 tablespoon sugar½ cup chilled butter, chopped, and grated into bits3 ounces cream cheese, chopped into pea-sized pieces⅓ to ½ cup milk Filling 1⅓ cups fresh or frozen wineberries¼ cup sugar Glaze ⅓ cup powdered sugar¼ teaspoon vanilla extract⅛ teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia extract Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 450 F. 2. In large…

Family: Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterfly) Flight period: May to November Flight period in Deep South: All year Wingspan: 1¾ to 2⅝ inches Identification: The dorsal (upper side) is mainly orange. The forewing has black marks and white spots near the apex (point of the wing). The hindwing has a black band and black marks near the outer margin. Near the submarginal area are four black spots. The two outer spots have blue in the middle. The ventral (underside) is brown with a cream-colored cobweb pattern. There are two large eyespots on the hindwing, pink markings on the forewing, and a narrow lavender band near the outer margins of both. The Life Cycle American ladies lay 3 to 4 broods each year. The eggs are usually laid singly, but sometimes, you’ll see…

PLANT JUICE Plant Juice is an organic solution made with carefully selected ingredients that promote explosive growth and pest-free plants. It contains over 250 species of beneficial bacteria and fungi, along with organic worm castings, alfalfa, and kelp meal to boost microbial activity and nutrient uptake. The sustainably sourced, all-natural ingredients ensure no harmful chemicals are used, and the 32-ounce bottles are made with 100% post-consumer plastic. Use as a foliar spray or soil drench to promote healthy and resilient plants that require less water and can withstand drought. Give your plants the best food naturally with Plant Juice! #12130 $29.95 Member: $25.46 BASIC GARDEN TOOL LIME — SHORT, REGULAR, LONG, X-LONG The Basic Garden Tool is a multipurpose tool that makes working around your yard and garden beds easier…

If you had asked me in the early 1990s, I’d have told you I didn’t care for sheep. Fast-forward to 2023, and I’ve raised sheep for 30 years, served on a breed association’s board of directors for 15 years (and now work for the association), and count fellow breeders as some of my best friends. What happened? Shetland sheep came into my life! Having cared for commercial flocks in the past, I thought of sheep as large, pushy, and maybe not too bright. But after inheriting the rocky, hilly family farm, my husband and I knew we needed to raise livestock to keep the farm active. While I grew up with high-maintenance dairy cows, sheep, while still plenty of work, seemed a more practical choice if we both wanted to…

My experience hatching duck eggs led me to ask: Will chickens foster eggs from another species and raise them? The answer: Absolutely! I have female and male ducks, but only female chickens. My ducks lay daily and stop laying to sit on eggs if enough are stockpiled. Certain breeds of chicken go broody and will only start laying again once the broodiness wears off or once they hatch and raise something. I didn’t know much about hatching duck eggs, but I knew that if I wanted ducklings, my best bet was to keep the egg count up by setting the eggs under my broody hens. Chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch. Duck eggs take 28 days. Though the humidity differs within an incubator, it’s fairly regular beneath a mother…

My 81-year-old brother-in-law, Henry Milam, often discussed his childhood and teen years with me. His memories follow. I was 2 years old when my parents, older brother, and sisters moved from a farm on Route 360 near Danville, Virginia, to what seemed like the other side of the world: Pittsville, Virginia, about 40 miles away in the low hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We moved to operate two farms. Big families were common in the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s. I was the sixth child of eight. At times, 12 people crowded around our kitchen table, because my mother’s parents lived with us in their final years. My father had to build an extended table so all of us could eat at once and go back to the fields. Feeding…

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Family: Pieridae (whites or sulfurs) Flight period: March to December Wingspan: About 19/16 to 29/16 inches Identification: Generally, the dorsal (upper side) is yellow. Males sport a solid-black border and females have an uneven black border with a few yellow spots. Both have a black spot near the top edge of the forewing and a central orange spot on the hindwing. There’s also a white form of the female with the same markings as the yellow form. The ventral (underside) is yellow with pink wing edges and a silver spot, rimmed with pink on the hindwing. The Life Cycle When the chrysalis is first revealed, it’s green. It’ll turn yellow as it hardens. Before the butterfly emerges, the chrysalis will turn transparent. The butterfly will be in the chrysalis for…

My animal knitting patterns are born out of collaboration with two of my children, who record the sightings in nature and sketch them for me to draft. The patterns are also the culmination of a lifelong love of both knitting and animals. Animals make our world a more beautiful place to live in, and my hope is that knitting this project will bring you happiness and appreciation for all the animals out there. New knitters will find this mallard project challenging, but anyone who can knit in the round should be able to complete it. The pictured duck measures 14 inches from bill to tail feathers and is 6 inches wide. It was made with Cascade Yarns’ Cascade 220 (about 220 yards per hank), a worsted-weight 100% Peruvian Highland wool.…

Sometimes, all it takes is the whiff of a familiar food to propel us back to our younger years and the meals we enjoyed. Many of us can recall a favorite stew, meat, or casserole dish we had again and again when we were a child, or maybe just a certain ingredient our household frequently used that opens the door to myriad memories. The following are a few of my favorite nostalgic recipes to warm you up during cold weather. And whether you have a host of passed-down recipes of your own or not, there’s no time like the present to start creating beloved meals to enjoy for years to come. TEXAS RED-GHOST GOULASH This is an interpretation of American goulash. It contains beef and paprika (as part of the…

Every businessperson wants to make a profit, but profit margins are often small for livestock raisers. Nevertheless, raising grass-fed beef offers opportunities for livestock producers to succeed. Because regenerative grazing is based on working with — not against — natural systems, you can start raising grass-fed beef with minimal capital. A farmer or rancher can keep production costs low by fostering biological activity to improve the soil’s health. Profit can come from the health and productivity of the fields and the cattle. Producers will know they’re on track for profitability when the organic matter in their soil increases, their paddocks support more cattle, and those cattle are healthy. If you can afford to purchase land, build a barn, and buy a tractor and haying equipment — and you want to…

A common question asked by many people whose goal is self-sufficiency is, “How many vegetables should I plant to feed my family for a year?” This is difficult to answer, because so many variables must be considered. I grow nearly all of my family’s vegetables — with the exception of a small amount of lettuce or peppers here and there — so I’m going to walk you through the way I determine how much to plant in our garden. Make the Most of What You Have The phrase “results may vary” is certainly true when it comes to planning a garden to feed your family. Here are some things that can drastically affect your personal results. Soil. Your garden soil will make a huge impact on how much food you…