Homestead Happenings: Fall Feature
The Outdoor Oven Gets A Cover (Partially) and Garlic Bed Prep!
Months ago we completed, save a bit of cosmetic artistry, the outdoor oven. We got to use it exactly one time for a Fourth of July Pizza party, then we were struck with the driest summer in recorded history. My dreams of sourdough, endless pizza, and corn roasts were foiled by Madre Nature. Never has being grounded from measurable precipitation felt like such a torture!!
Well, since we had the wettest spring and driest summer on record, I am anticipating the snowiest winter in recorded history too. My amazing husband wanted to make sure that our oven was protected from the elements by not only a sound structure but a cosmetically appealing one too. That said, he has been laboring in his wood shop off and on over the last few weeks building jigs and hand chiseling fir beams that we salvaged from a house that the snow annihilated one year on the front of our property. When he started talking about mortise and tenon I thought he was referencing some new wine cooler or something, but apparently the man wanted to put together the oven cover using only old school architectural methodology. He's a peach!
With today being relatively warm out, we all marched out after finishing our homeschool regimen for the day and proceeded to be useful. This included the children gathering salvaged 1X4's from the demolished building and removing any nails from the future roof purlins. I helped my husband pack the meticulously labeled beams to the building site, and helped place said beams on their concrete piers.
Interestingly enough, there was a thing that didn't go as planned. Even though my husband had crafted a jig as a template for his tenons, and fitted the entire structure together on the ground, some of his wood cuts did not want to "mate" correctly. I always appreciate the use of a good expletive, and the profane utterances did flow. However, after a bit of chiseling, cussing, and refitting the pieces did indeed go into their homes! I also got to hold a four foot beam in a matter that made me resemble, "Rocket off of Guardians of the Galaxy" according to my son. Isn't he just a saucy little confection!
In between refitting chiseling, I ordered some seed garlic from Filaree Farms, something that I had neglected to do. When I bought my homestead the original trail blazer had encouraged me to grow garlic as it "did well here" and he was right! Garlic flourishes here, but I haven't grown any in about a decade as it needs to be planted in October here in North Idaho, and gee golly if I don't get overwhelmed with to dos this time of year and forget to put the garlic in. Not this year! NAY! There shall not be a deficit of pungent goodness in my larder, and starting about next July there shall be a wide swath both in front of me and in my wake as I cast my garlic breath upon the masses! YAY!
I have some unused raised beds by my greenhouse and 1%er travel trailer, so while the Tempestuous Polynesian ironed out his quality control issues I dug out the weeds, took the tractor to the compost pile and selected some lovely compost, brought it back and dumped on the bed, and raked. Weather-wise, it looks like I will place my little future garlic cloves into the ground this next Sunday, and future post alert: I will probably blog about it!
My day is far from over, for in a bit I have to wander into the library to attend a How to Make Your Own Beer class that I was instrumental in bringing to our town's repository of knowledge. I absolutely adore learning how to make my own anything, so it should be interesting to see how that class turns out!
So how about ya'll? Are there any fall chores that are keeping you hopping like a procrastinating southbound goose? October is one of those mad dash months leading up to the inevitable snowpacolypse in these parts, but the feeling when all your winter prep is done is priceless. I so wish I could bottle the "satisfaction as the winter's firewood is once again done for the season" feeling, for that would be a more notable accomplishment indeed!
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I'm sure that cover is going to fabulous! Can't wait to see the finished version!
Have fun with the garlic-fest and fingers crossed it does well for you. Those pizzas are going to be awesome!
Thanks @aunt-deb! I think the oven cover might get finished tomorrow, so I will totally get a picture of the finished product on here as soon as I can!
I'll even eat a slice of pizza in your honor😜
Sweet! I'll be on the lookout for it.
(Oh, and just fyi - my fav is pepperoni. ;~D)
Oh how right you are.
Judging by the impressive craftsmanship, that oven cover is going to be around for awhile.
Awe, that is right nice of you to say, me ol' matey! lol! I hope it stays around awhile too!
I take it you are feeling the satisfactory feeling of completed winter prepness? I hope so!
Looks like a lot of progress @generikat! May I link this article and feature your username in the next issue of the Weekly Homesteading Newsletter? Let me know as soon as possible! Thanks!
Oh wow! Of course you can @kiaraantonoviche! Thank you so much😊
Hey there! I just wanted to inform you that your article has been included and linked in the most recent issue of the Weekly Homesteading Newsletter! Please check it out if you have the time! Thank you and have a great day!
Thank you so much! I did check out the newsletter and resteemed it too!
About two more weeks until garlic planting in Oklahoma.
Great stove!
Hooray for approaching garlic planting day! 😊
Are you planting a lot this year?
900-1000 or so.
Gonna intersperse with spinach and lettuce. Hoping to get a harvest before Jan.
OMGoodness! That is a more than a fair amount! I love inter-cropping, spinach with cabbage is one of my favorite combos, but I love the idea of spinach and lettuce with garlic. I need to spend some more time reading your posts, you go hard! lol!
I think I already commented on this post but nowhere to be found . You have a very talented husband to make that cover. Plus there is something to be said for seeing a fresh bed ready to plant . Hope this one gets through. 🐓🐓
I have had quite a bit of trouble in posting, upvoting, and commenting land over the last few days, so much sympathy for ya, and for your trouble, you get two comment upvotes!😊
Aaaah can't relate at ALL on the winter prep tasks... considering we have only 2 seasons down here in Panama.. rainy, and sort of rainy. LOL! But, we DO make a mighty fine pizza on our grill!!! Gotta take matters into your own hands down here and the ovens just don't get hot enough for a good crust! I'm so sure that awesome oven will do an amazing job.. one day! And just think of all the garlic you'll have to put on the pizzas! Garlic (and lots of it) is the KEY to a great pizza.. in my humble opinion! ;) Great job mama!
Yum! Grilled pizza!
Also, we are both in full agreement regarding garlic being the key, I love to brush butter and olive oil on my pizza crust and apply liberal amounts of garlic.
You must have all sorts of awesome adaptations for dealing with that humid, Panamanian climate!
The oven makes the most crisp, chewy pizza ever, I tend to chuck the pies into the oven at around 450-500 degrees, and I am glad that at least one of us is enjoying some toasty warmth, it's dipping into the twenties at night here! lol!
This year I resorted to writing a fall to-do list and posting it on the fridge, lest I forget some important autumn task. Due to circumstances mostly beyond my control, progress was not gradual and comfortably paced; rather, progress was made in just 3 or 4 bursts of ambition on the few days when the weather and my other obligations were cooperating. At least two jobs remain unfinished, but it hasn't snowed yet!
Oh, I so hear you. My to dos are seemingly never-ending, no matter how many lists I create! I'm hoping to be done with the essentials before the snow flies, but my fall projects completion confidence is waning just like the daylight hours, lol! You sound close to being done though, hang in there!
Love the oven! Can't wait to start growing food again and maybe build an outdoor oven too... moving house in a month ;)
Your moving? Wow! Congrats and happy trails! Can't wait to hear all about it!
Going down to the coast to look for a new house in 2 days... then move everything before the 1st of December ;) Exciting times. Have a great week ;)
Your husband is quite the craftsman. Beautiful! Go for the garlic. My kind of prepping! 🐓🐓
Oh, thank you so much! He really worked hard on this particular project, I can't wait to post the finished result. I think it will be done by Tuesday!
And isn't garlic the bestest! Whenever I see a braid or two hanging I feel all prepalicious, lol!
I had so much fun reading this. What fun. And I must admit, your hubs is quite the handyguy. That's impressive, whether they go together in the end or not. Very nice work.
Winter chores getting done here. Just finished building about 80 feet of fence (I need a tractor like you have, the hand-dug post holes about did me in), and now am finishing up a gate. I'm full on expecting much cussin, spittin and hammer tossing, much like oven covers, once I try to hang it. That old handyperson adage is so very true, when building just about anything..."if it's possible it won't fit right, don't worry, it won't." But we keep smiling and building on.
Good work on the garlics. That will be so nice to have. I planted some kale awhile back, all excited for winter vege's, but it's still really short! Just sits there and does nothing. Think I bought ornamentals. What the heck and I yi yiiii. What a gardener...
Well, hope your day is grand and you get more done than yesterday. Which is no doubt a whole lot of stuff.
Oh wow! I have missed getting to chat with you, and thank you so much for the kind words!
Um, you seem to be doing no small amount of manual workishness as of late, are you going to get a sabbatical from your seemingly never-ending labors?
Yum, kale, I tend to eat kale and eggs at least a couple of times a week, it is one of my favorite noshes, but I happen to think ornamental kale is super pretty, so I suppose you have a bit of a win/win there super gardener!
I have been beyond busy as usual, in fact, I am still rather soreish from my 2 hours of beach volleyball that I participated in. It was in an indoor horse arena, you would be proud of my friends and I, we used our country skills and improvised, lol!
Hope you have the most marvelous weekend!!