So much to be thankful for, plus hoop house goodies

This week, Old Crabby Man Winter gave us a preview of what’s in store for us for the next few months to come. Oiy. Sigh. Ack. Harrumph. After a delicious and simply beautiful fall, it was a bit hard to have a few days of very cold temps, bitterly cold winds and gray skies. But this isn’t Hawaii, after all. Or southern Mexico. Or even southern California. Or New Zealand. Snif. This is Nebraska, where the summers are hot and dry, and the winters are punishingly cold at times.

But there is still much to be thankful for, isn’t there? Here in Nebraska, even.

I’m thankful, for example, that we don’t live in a soddy on these windy plains. Especially in the winter.

image from Wikipedia

I reckon it was pretty dark in this structure, with so few windows. (image from Wikipedia)

There wasn’t much in the way of building supplies on the plains when settlers started moving in here. No stone and very little wood, so the early settlers used what was available to make their houses. The thick-rooted prairie grass was abundant, and by cutting the sod into strips, they found that they could build homes out of it.

Whenever I look at these pictures, I think of snakes. I’m not a squeamish person, but the thought of a snake working its way through the sod and dropping on me in the night does give me pause. Of course the soddy probably was a step above the dugout.

Check out the fancy touches: a covered porch and a swing for the little boy! (image from Mother Earth News)

I’d like to think that summers wouldn’t have been too bad in these early structures. The walls would have been thick and they would have been dark and cool(ish) inside. I would hope that I would have been one of those women with the canary warbling away at the window; a big vegetable garden in the back, a small but vibrant flower bed in the front; loaves of warm homemade bread cooling on the windowsills for when the neighborhood Indians came to call . . .

Oh yes, the Indians. But that would have been during the warmer months. The colder months would have been a daily fight against the elements, working to keep warm and keep the kids fed and safe. I’d like to think that I would greet the trials of winter with bravery and daring and yes, aplomb. But actually I’d probably have been huddled under the quilts on the bed, clutching a child or two to keep warm, crying over the snake that I found in my soup that day.

When there’s abundant sunshine and gentle summer breezes and flowers and a vegetable garden to tend, it’s so much easier to be optimistic and hopeful. But in the winter time, with the frozen bare ground, the icy winds, the short days, it’s a bit more trouble to find reasons to be happy. But we have so much to be thankful for, just the same.

Living in a soddy or a dugout would still be several strides ahead of being out on the Plains in a covered wagon, for months at a time, throwing out possessions one at a time, as the oxen (or horses) got weaker, fighting despair when the children got sick and the canary flew away.

thanks to Wikipedia for this image

I think the dress on this brave lady is very attractive! (thanks to Wikipedia for this image)

I never have seen one of these old photos where the woman in the picture is smiling. Just a random observation.

We’ve got a good store of firewood for this winter, our freezers and pantry are full, and we’ve got each other to keep our days from getting too dull. Life is good. I still have enough kiddos at home to cuddle to me when I need to keep warm.

Even with winter coming on (sigh), life is good.

I’ve been wondering how cold it has to get, before the crops in my unheated hoop house will succumb. (We built a hoop house this summer, as many of you know, and you can read about the entire process if ya wanna.) The low this week, I think, was 11° (F). A few weeks ago when the temperature dipped down into the low 20s, my warm-weather crops in the hoop house all were done in: the peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, and cockscomb all froze. Also, the melons and squash. I knew that would happen, and I was just grateful for the few extra weeks of growth from them that the protective hoop house provided.

But lots of crops are still going strong, even after a dip down to 11°, I am happy to report. I am actually ecstatic to report! I can continue to go out and pick and dig these things up when I want to. I would expect when we have a forecast for our first blizzard–with below-zero temps and raging winds–that I’ll want to have them all harvested by then. But for now, I’ve got what amounts to some free cold storage out there.

Little heads of cabbage are forming on the cabbage plants.

Little heads of cabbage are forming on the cabbage plants. And the cabbage moths, which chewed the decorative lace in the leaves, are long gone, thank goodness!

Do you grow parsnips? I haven’t eaten any since I was a kid, and I remember not being fond of them at all. Happily, though the little girl me didn’t like them, the adult me loves them. And they are sailing right through this cold weather, no problem!

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I dug these the other day for supper: they are so tasty! (Homeschooler Parsnips by Bountiful Seeds)

I have a bed full of leeks which are just perfect now. I’m so glad that I babied those hair-like leek starts, which I had growing in flats outside the garage during the hoop house building project. I remember contemplating letting them just perish at one point, because I did have to water those babies every day, sometimes twice a day. But now they are all grown up and are just lovely. Leeks have a velvety texture which is just wonderful in many soups. But they do take a long growing season, if you start them from seed.

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I planted a couple of small beds of lettuce, and have a few small heads left. They are very brave and have endured just a bit of damage from the cold.

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These are my new favorite types of lettuce, I think. The one above is a red romaine, and the one below is Tom Thumb, from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

much to be thankful for

Oh! Speaking of Baker Creek Seeds, you really need to request one of these new, fabulous seed catalogs! We got one in the mail the other day and it has been my constant companion ever since. It is so thick, so heavy, so beautiful, so full of promise!! You can request your own copy right here.

A few of the snapdragons are still going strong, as far as cut flowers go, and my Mom gave me this daisy-type chrysanthemum, which is very resistant to the cold, and it is just putting out buds. (Thanks, Mom!)

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So. We have much to be thankful for. So I’ll put on another sweater and remember this fact. And when I sometimes forget it, I’ll head out to the hoop house. It just takes a few moments in there, with the earthy woodchippy smell, and the gorgeous green, still growing away, to dispell any gloomy thoughts from my head. Even if it is windblown, pale, and chapped.

So. I’ll stop sighing and harrumphing and acking and snorting and fussing, and will start counting my blessings. Promise.

After all . . .

“Thou that has given so much to me,
Give one thing more–a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if thy blessings had spare days;
But such a heart, whose pulse may be
Thy praise.”

– George Herbert

 

Hey guys, I’m sharing this post with the nice folks over at The Prairie Homestead Blog Hop. Join me to learn something new today!

22 thoughts on “So much to be thankful for, plus hoop house goodies

  1. Francene Stanley

    You’re so right. I’m inclined to forget how hard it must have been for our ancestors too. Every night I snuggle under my covers and thank God for the warmth and security of my home and pass on blessings to those other people in the world right now who don’t enjoy the same benefits.

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      It’s true, Sherryl, that we tend to focus on the hard things in life, sometimes not realizing that we have so much to be thankful for.

  2. Chef William

    Yes we do have much to be thankful for don’t we. While I am enjoying the almost wonderful weather in Mexico (yes, some days it gets very hot) I am also learning to share my time. Being a very private person with my personal time, it is a major adjustment to live in a compound with 5 other families. Yes they all have their houses but the center of the compound is where we gather to eat. It is always filled with children that want attention and women talking about whatever women talk about. There are always three of four different groups trying to talk over each other. The food is not always what I would choose, and the time to eat is when it is ready not when I am ready. I do have a lot to be thankful for, I have my bible study on Wednesday afternoons (bet you didn’t know I have been studying the Bible for years) and I have new friends, so right now my world is good. 🙂

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Chef,
      I’ll bet that you’ll be so used to the noise and the conversation that eventually it’ll be what you prefer? And for when you’d rather be alone, you’ve nearly got that writer’s studio finished, right? Good for you, with your Bible study you’re attending to your spiritual growth, too. Blessings to you, and thank you for the comment!

  3. cookinmom

    Oh my…great history post. I sure wish I could grow some parsnips like that! Ours didn’t take and have to reseed again 🙁 Looks like you got lots of woodchips around your plants! My leeks are little tiny whisps. I would give anything for potato leek soup…mmm blessings!

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      If only you lived closer, Rose, I’d share my leeks with you! Yes, I have the most woodchips in my hoop house. It’s the most pampered bit of the garden!

  4. Gena Livings

    The hoop house sounds so wonderful!
    My good friends built a straw bale home and it is spectacular.
    You are right, in that, there is just so much to be thankful for. Abundance is everywhere, especially when we look at our fresh natural food!
    Healthy blessings,
    Gena

  5. Alana (@RamblinGarden)

    Beautiful post. Our community garden ends the end of October but we would still have leeks if we could. But they were harvested, and my husband made a casserole with them yesterday. We haven’t tried to grow parsnips, but you may be interested in a use for parsnips we like. Potato latkes. We may make something like this recipe at Thanksgiving this year. It’s a lot of work but worth it. http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2011/12/parsnip-latkes-with-horseradish-and-dill/

    1. dramamamafive Post author

      Alana,
      This recipe looks fabulous! I do love Smitten Kitchen. It’s a delight to a foodie like me! Thank you for sharing–parsnip latkes with horseradish sound wonderful to me!

  6. The Great Gordino

    The home grown stuff looks great as ever! It was planting and growing stuff that was a big driver in the development of humans from having to always travel for food.
    Plenty to be grateful about indeed, and the terrible loss of life in The Phillipines certainly drives it home.
    Thanks for the great reminder,
    cheers, Gordon

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