Innholdsfortegnelse for January - February 2016 i Grit

‘Revolving Door’ Rotary Gate “You can walk right through our new rotary gate without stopping, but horses and cattle can’t get through,” says inventor Cloyce Henderson about his “no-latch, revolving door” rotary gate. The 4-foot-wide gate comes with four steel “wings” and is designed to revolve in either direction on a center-mounted, 11⁄4-inch-diameter galvanized metal post. To install the gate, just set a steel post in concrete and then slide the gate, which is equipped with a 2-inch-diameter pipe at the center, down over the post. “Animals may try to go through it, but most of them give up quickly,” says Henderson. “As the animal starts to go through the gate, the next wing comes around and hits it in the ribs or alongside the neck, and it backs off.…

Playful, Magical Healing Horse In 1990, at age 30, I went through a major life-changing event when my nine-year marriage ended. I returned to my childhood home and began to piece things together. My sister owned a small farm outside of town, where she raised Appaloosas. We had grown up together on horseback, ranging the mountains and wilderness, working for a small horse rental business. There we learned much of the business of raising and training horses. Helping my sister with her horses was the perfect distraction for me as I looked for a new job, went to school, and looked for a new place to live. As I went to meet the newest baby additions to my sister’s farm, I met the baby that was for me. He claimed…

CASSEROLES HAVE LONG BEEN APPRECIATED for their simplicity and ability to incorporate several ingredients and food groups into one neatly packaged concoction. Grains, veggies, protein and more can be thrown together for a quick meal any night of the week. When I was growing up, my parents loved to fi x casseroles, and they each had their favorite go-to recipes. My mother’s masterpiece was shepherd’s pie, piled high with mashed potatoes, and my father’s specialty was a Cajun breakfast casserole, which was delicious morning, noon or night. When my brother was old enough to help with the cooking, his standby was good ol’ tuna casserole. I can’t remember what I liked to make as a kid. Memories of being the dishwasher – every time, I’m sure – have probably taken…

Weaning is, in most cases, the most stressful event in the life of a young animal. Change in diet and nutrition, change in environment, and change in peer group all combine to stress a newly weaned youngster. Coupled with the loss of security and social stability from their mother, weaning can send many animals into a spiral of stress that can result in loss of condition at best, and at worst, make the young animal vulnerable to sickness and disease. With a little careful planning, much of the stress of weaning can be eliminated, or greatly reduced. Physiology of lactation After giving birth, one of the most important tasks a mammalian mother undertakes is to produce milk for her baby. The fi rst milk produced is colostrum, which is rich…

During and after a winter storm can be a dangerous time to be out on the roads. Places accustomed to large amounts of frozen precipitation generally have the infrastructure and manpower available to treat roads prior to winter weather, and clear them after the storm hits. But when you live “out in the sticks,” sometimes it takes a while for the county to make it to you. Even then, dirt and gravel roads can remain a mess of slush and ice, especially when the daytime temperatures reach just high enough to melt some of the ice, only to refreeze into a slick, solid mud slab by evening. The fi rst rule of thumb is, do not drive unless it is absolutely necessary. I can’t stress that enough. Often it’s just…

Cast-Iron Collector We happened to be in a big-box store, and my wife saw the GRIT magazine with cast-iron cooking on the cover, the July/August 2015 edition. Anything that pertains to cast iron, I generally read, which leads me to this little letter. I’ve been collecting cast iron for a while now, and we cook on it just about exclusively. I do have an old Fisher woodstove, and we heat our home with it. I cook soups and stews all winter long over It with Revere ware, which I also collect. I can’t say for sure how many pieces of cast iron I have, but I’m sure it’s about 100?! I usually fi nd cast-iron pans and things in tag/yard sales, but do pick up some in fl ea markets…

COMFORT FOODS VARY widely depending upon the part of the country in which you’re located. A family in the Midwest might cook up grilled grassfed beef burgers and thick-cut steak fries, while a plate of fried chicken and okra is more common in the South. All of these foods, though, have one thing in common: They are true comfort foods – that is, they evoke feelings of nostalgia and bring back memories of time spent with loved ones. Beyond the simple nutrition of it, meals are, for many folks, a way to connect with family members and their heritage. Food stirs up memories of time spent with family, both past and present. By turning meals into quality time at the dinner table together, it becomes an opportunity to connect with…

Hops, along with water, malted barley and yeast, are the four main ingredients in most beers. Hops add bitterness to beer that helps balance the sweetness. They also add a fl oral aroma to heavily hopped beers. Not only can you brew beer with hops, these plants look great as ornamentals and can serve a very practical purpose for home beer brewers. Best of all, growing hops at home does not require a “green thumb.” Vining perennial Hops are a product of the common hop plant (Humulus lupulus). The hop plant is a vining perennial that grows up to 30 feet vertically each year before dying back in the fall. Over the winter, the plant’s rhizome (an underground stem) awaits the arrival of spring, when it sends up young shoots.…

There’s a woman I know who is a neighbor of ours, named Anna. She lives across the creek, and Anna is right out of the pages of a Foxfi re book. She’s in her 80s and enjoys crocheting rag rugs and quilting. I met her at the local craft fair when we had booths next to each other: She was selling her rag rugs, and I was selling my pastel paintings. I asked her to teach me how to crochet a rag rug, and she happily agreed. It might seem complicated, so I’ll try to simplify the instructions without leaving anything out. You can purchase fabric, or you can scour your closet and local secondhand stores for used bedsheets. I did both. Flannel kind of sticks to itself, and that…

PASTURED CHICKENS ENJOY FRESH, natural nourishment, and the exercise involved in getting it, all while protected from predators and the elements. Afterwards, their high-nitrogen manure is left where needed as their portable coop, or “tractor,” is rolled to greener pastures. At the heart of successful pasture-based poultry management is a secure, sturdy chicken tractor that stands up to the beating it will take from not only coyotes and coons, but high winds and other weather factors. Not to mention it’s awfully nice if your enclosure can be quickly and easily moved by one person. If you haven’t pastured broilers before, you’ll be surprised how much grazing they do, given the chance. Twenty 2-week-old chicks will gobble 80 square feet of clover in two days. At 6 weeks, they should be…

THEY’RE FULLY EVOLVED, here to stay, and taking the countryside by storm. I’m not talking about some invasive insect, but the off-road utility vehicle (UTV) that’s now available in scores of models, numerous brands, and a full palette of colors – including several camoufl age versions. First developed for a few specialized industries, these versatile little machines are true choremasters for folks living the country lifestyle, and they are fun to operate. UTVs are perfect for getting around the acreage and boldly going where a pickup truck dare not tread, they have less environmental impact, and in some cases they can replace your tractor to boot. Workhorse of a different color UTVs aren’t intended to completely replace your tractor or truck, but they perform many of the same functions with…

Share your visual perspective with the Grit community. Post your photos at Facebook.com/GritMagazine, Facebook.com/CappersFarmer, or tag us on Instagram (GritMag). We chose several images you see here from those platforms, and you can fi nd more within the blogging community on our websites. Share your best shots, and we just might select one of your photos for a future issue of the magazine. To admire even more readers’ photos, visit Grit.com and CappersFarmer.com.…

ERIC DAHLBERG KNOWS a thing or two about making a buck off his land. The New York native has several businesses in place that are helping him earn a living from his properties. His plots are located in the southeastern part of the state, on the edge of Schoharie County where it joins Albany and Greene Counties. All told, he owns, rents and manages more than 300 acres. “I’ve got 93 acres in the main spot. The gravel pit has 22 acres, and I have a few others,” he says. “On my land I’ve got about 30 acres of pasture. The main farm has two houses, a cabin and a sawmill. We rent out the cabin, and we do some recreation on our land.” The land is on the edge…

BRUSSELS SPROUTS (Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera) are one of those vegetables that people either seem to love or detest. Perhaps they produce strong negative reactions because they are equated with miniature cabbages. When overcooked or produced from a plastic bag from the freezer, they tend to lose some of their luster and can be a sorrowful soggy mess. But plucked directly from the garden after being tinged with a frost to enhance their sweetness, they are at their fi nest. Today one can fi nd brussels sprouts in markets fresh on the stalk, bagged or loose. I like these delectables halved and oven roasted on their own, with pecans or walnuts, with other fall root vegetables, pan roasted with garlic, or lightly steamed and served with butter or olive oil.…

Winter sowers, and gardeners in general, are typically a frugal lot. We’re always looking for ways to reuse or repurpose throwaway items. One-gallon plastic jugs make perfect candidates for winter sowing containers. The plastic is soft, easily cut, and a decent size for a good crop of wintersown seedlings. Follow the steps below to make your own one-piece winter sowing mini greenhouses. 1 Rescue a clear plastic jug from the recycling bin. Choose one made of translucent clear plastic, such as an iced tea or water jug. Many actual milk jugs are made of opaque white or yellow plastic, which will block sunlight, and are not a good choice. 2 Wash the jug thoroughly and let it dry. Discard the cap. 3 Using a sharp knife or sharp tipped scissors,…

“For 15 years now, I’ve had food year-round,” says Penn Parmenter. Standing in expansive productive gardens of her 8,000-foot-elevation Westcliffe, Colorado, homestead, we’re talking about the 6 feet of topsoil endemic to the fertile Wet Mountain Valley. We’re talking about highelevation heirloom tomatoes, corn and squash, and we’re talking about passive solar greenhouses. Penn and her husband, Cord Parmenter, moved onto this land on Christmas Eve 1991, with nothing but a camper and a woodstove. Here they’ve raised three sons and an ample four-season food supply in and around a makeshift 800-square-foot home. That fi rst spring, they built a raised garden bed. And then another. Eventually they’d built dozens of garden beds, an iron forging business (Cord’s) and a seed business (Penn’s). They never did get around to building…

Historically, man and beast alike were great benefi ciaries of the turnip plant. Heck, before the 20th century, beef producers relied heavily on a steady stream of crops to sustain their herds through winter, even in a specifi c order of turnips, rutabagas, and fodder beets (mangels) and carrots, based on crop storage qualities. But if you think turnips are simply something European farmers commonly grazed and fed hundreds of years ago, think again. In an era of high feed prices and widespread, persistent drought, new turnip varieties – such as Pasja – are giving beef producers an opportunity to extend grazing options and seasons. Just as important, turnips can help improve pasture quality. Way out west Chris Benedict, regional specialist at Washington State University Extension, directed a two-year study…

BIRDS OFTEN GET THEIR COMMON NAMES for many reasons: what they look like, where they live, or the sounds they make. A few even sing their own name in their song. Three of them are the Eastern Whippoorwill (Antrostomus vociferus), the close cousin, Chuck-will’swidow (Antrostomus carolinensis), and the Common Poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii). Their song, heard mostly in the evening and night hours, is a distinctive whip-poor-will! Masters of disguise Whippoorwills and their related species belong to a family of birds called the nightjars (Caprimulgidae) and are mostly active at night. The Eastern Whippoorwill is a medium size nightjar, measuring between 8 and 10 inches long from beak to tail. It has a short bill and long, rounded wings and tail. Male birds have a white patch under the throat and…