A little politics

Though the name of the blog is inherently "political" in that it states clearly that I do not want to rule the life of any other, nor can I tolerate others ruling my life, I have tried to limit the political posts as surely we are all more interested in living, rather than in arguing about how it is supposedly justified to live another's life for them. 

Still, with my background in ethics and socio-political philosophy, and my interest in real justice, I find myself near constantly reading about and otherwise delving into the area of politics in some form, though never in a way which could be understood to lend any legitimacy to the distasteful practice. 

On that note, a particularly good blog post was offered today by Wendy McElroy, a noted author of women's issues, history, and the individual. In this post she discusses the question she invariably gets when she writes on the police brutality which passes as "law enforcement" today: Where are the good cops? 

A snippet: Where are the good cops when police brutality happens? Where are they afterward when victims plea for justice? William Norman Grigg eloquently asks and answers these questions on his blog Pro Libertate where he is currently presenting a series of articles about police brutuality; it runs under the general title "The Thin Blue Whine." Where are the good cops is a question of particular interest to me because, whenever I write about police brutality, I hear from at least one reader who objects, "But what about the good cops?" The clear implication is that I focus on a few "bad apples" and, so, I'm being unfair to the majority of cops who are (it is claimed) decent men.

I disagree...for several reasons.

Follow the link above for the rest, it is well worth reading for both those who know that there simply is no role for police, and for those who still believe in the myth of a good cop. 

More on the build process to come. I did some testing today for a new method and need to make some adjustments to the plan..

Outdoor Grocery Store

I have for many many months now enjoyed breaking my fast with fresh raspberries, muscadines, and only for the last few weeks, fresh persimmons as well. But the first two of these I must admit are cases of gleaning, not really foraging as they are intentionally planted plants (not by me, but by a neighbor) as opposed to true wild edibles. The persimmons on the other hand, if any were intentionally planted the original planter has long since passed, and no one but me, and very rarely Rancher Bob makes any use of them.

However these are far from the only wild edibles I have been either enjoying, or working to positively identify so that I may enjoy them in the future. A few other examples are henbit, which I described in the past and look forward to enjoying here again soon, as they are the first of the greens to come up. Since it is either ignored or hated by most gardeners, I have no problem harvesting more than I can possibly use in exchange only for strange looks and even rarely some gratitude for "weeding" a small area of the garden. The henbit is used much like cooked spinach. I am partial to using it in italian style dishes mixed with other ingredients, but it can easily stand on its own as a "pot herb." "Pot herb" being just another name for any cooked greens.

I gleefully took advantage of the fresh briar leaves, as some may recall. And I have enjoyed clovers, and clover look alikes such as wood sorrel and yellow sorrel, both of which are wonderful slightly sour additions to salads. I read recently that they also make fine lemonade like drinks.

Still, I very much consider myself a novice forager, one still learning as much as is possible while trying to identify as many plants as possible. Some such as pecan are ridiculously easy, others present more of a challenge, such as mushrooms, though I am making some progress on that front as well having positively identified two mushroom varieties on the land which are edible.

Last month, I finally managed to find and correctly identify a Jerusalem Artichoke, which is neither from Jerusalem nor an artichoke, but is related to the common sunflower. The tubers it produces are edible and can be substituted for potatoes for those on low starch diets. I had and still do plan on growing this as a vegetable, but finding on in the wild is an unexpected delight.

With the cold temperatures, around 20F currently, the search for wild edibles turns largely to meat. With any luck at all, I will be filling the freezer with beaver meat which I have come to learn can be used in any recipe calling for beef, but is leaner than beef. With the arrangement I have made with Captain Rob, I hope to have no need to buy meat again. Between the beaver harvest each year, and what I take of rabbit, perhaps even squirrel if I feel like it, I should have an abundant supply of meat for every occasion!

Add to that the chance at turkey and deer, and I should be able to set quite an extravagant table when I desire to do so. In some ways it is hard to believe that some folks claim that there is a food shortage. In truth there is a shortage on knowledge, and a shortage on willingness to try "new" (or very old) things..

Beavers? Dam!

Still no luck in trapping the nuisance beavers in the neighbor's pond. They dropped another tree last night, and have begun on yet another sweetgum. These are not small trees either, probably about as old as the dam itself. Each is over a foot in diameter, yet this or these pesky beavers are determined to drop all of them, and many good pines as well.

All the while they are building their home, and undermining the existing dam, which will of course cause their home to cease to be. I am certain of the undermining as I discovered myself looking at the world from three feet lower when walking across the damn this afternoon. I'd stepped above one of the tunnels, which was large enough to drop me quite a ways.

This means that we need to get these beaver out of this pond before there is no pond to save and it costs the landowner quite a bit in both time and money to have the dam rebuilt.. most likely meaning waiting until summer, meaning all of the fish will die, and the land will be changed by the winter rains etc. with the pond gone.. Fortunately the neighbor is a gentleman farmer who has no livestock relying upon the pond, though he is seriously considering getting a few next year to cut down on the fuel expense of bush-hogging the area a few times a year.

Little else to report.. I turned a left over hambone and a couple of dollars worth of beans into several meals, then turned the remainder into several more meals of chili by adding in ground turkey, more onion, and spices.. finally I turned the last bit left which did not get frozen into future meals, into three final meals of a modified chili which includes corn and whatever else is on hand.. For all of these meals I am guessing that I am averaging under 25 cents a meal.. Not too damn bad if I say so myself..

It is really about the food

Got up this morning to move the water from the blueberries to the raspberries, the latter of which are still producing! Of course enjoyed my morning ritual of picking all of the ripe raspberries for my breakfast.

Went out into the fields and hills again today to check the fences, but also to look for more wild plums like those I found while repairing the fence a couple of days ago. I found another tree, but the fruit was not yet ripe. Still, good to find these so I know what to look for whenever I am hiking. These plums are as good if not better than any I've had elsewhere.

While up in the woods I came across what I believe to be a variety of Hen of the Woods, an edible mushroom. I need to go back with my primary mushroom identifying book to make sure. Still, a nice specimen and it has many of the necessary traits.. If it is a Hen of the Woods, then I will have some very good eating in my future as this is definitely one of the prized mushrooms, related to the Maitake of Japan. This guy is over a foot in diameter, meaning that I ought to be able to get a couple of good meals off of it, and still leave enough for it to reproduce.

I checked the quince.. still far from ripe, as is also the case with the muscadines.

Dinner was a couple of varieties of squash simply sauteed with a bit of salt and one of them finished with a bit of parm.

Later I will enjoy the mystery melon, which I have been told must be a tiger melon from Asia. Regardless it is delicious and a welcomed treat!

Blog changes

As you may have noticed I have changed the name of the blog. With that name change comes a slight change in focus, from exclusively travel and the building of my off grid home, to include elements of philosophy, including a focus on the value of the individual.

As the title implies, I have no desire to rule any others, nor do I accept the claim that anyone has the right to rule me (or any other person for that matter). This is the pinnacle of peaceful coexistence and the necessary consequence of simply recognizing that others are also inherently valuable.

As this understanding and respect for others has been one of the major factors in the decision to lead the life I am living, including the off grid home I am building, I decided that I should not try to separate it out from the adventures of living.

I hope that you enjoy these changes..

Fresh food

Even though there are many difficulties right now, and I may well be at a crossroads, there is still much to enjoy. Fresh raspberries for breakfast, right off the cane. Blueberries for a mid morning snack, needing only a bent knee to harvest. Dinner tonight? Fresh mixed beans (Chinese long beans, Adzuki beans, haricot verde (green beans)), Chinese cucumbers, which in my experience are the most flavorful without any of the bitterness of regular cukes. in basalmic vinegar, mustard (real mustard not that neon yellow stuff) garlic, black pepper, a touch of cayenne, and salt marinated in the fridge. And fresh tomatoes sliced with salt for a appetizer.

If I were willing to heat up the house by cooking, I could have corn straight from the stalk as well, with a side of edamame.

This is a time of abundance, even in the small garden to which I have access so though my mind may be troubled by other considerations, my body is quite satisfied with the bounty of non-processed, fresh and flavorful produce at my doorstep.

Peas and Pods

Brief post tonight.. just a quick shot of my meal this evening:

This is English peas with daylily pods. After taking the pic, I added a chopped garlic flower then removed it from the heat and chowed down on this gourmet foraged meal. It was so flavorful that there was no need for salt or other seasoning. Simply a little butter.. Imagine asparagus with a lighter texture, crossed with a mild squash, with just an occassional hint of spice and you have the flavor of these particular daylilies.

This is why I live the life I am living! This is "roughing it" at its best..

The Good Life

Usually I go on about my luddite interests, the more simple way of living, enjoying what is rather than seeking the pleasures of modern life.. and perhaps that is what I am doing with this post as well. Still, this is a bit at odds with the rustic life I have been describing and living in the last year (almost) since I left Austin for the Ouachita Mountains.

I am talking about the glass of wine you see.. This is not some California Chardonnay, it is my own wine made from the muscadine grapes which grow locally. The muscadine is a treat to any real southerner who grew up picking these thick skinned native grapes along the creek banks and fence rows. The only problem I can see with the few commercially available muscadine wines is that they are treated like other fruit wines and made so sweet as to be almost undrinkable.

Not so with this first run of our own home made muscadine wine. This is a nice dry wine which retains the muscadine flavor, but is also elegant and much more complex than one expects from native grapes. While I expect to tinker with the process in the future, this wine promises to be a wonderful addition to the larder..

Who says you cannot have elegance in the backwoods?