July 2017 Update from the Apricity Homestead

There is a saying in Alaska that “Once the Fireweed blooms to the top and goes to seed we have six weeks ‘til winter.” From our cabin window, we watch the field of

fireweed stalks slowly make their way to full bloom. In the summer time, I tend to forget about the blustery cold nights of negative 50 degrees and never-ending darkness. The lush green of the season, radiantly warm days, and short nights blur the memories of the beautiful and harsh winter. As we watch the pink fireweed blossoms, we say goodbye to the endless days of summer, and begin to welcome sunsets back into our lives.

As always, we made time for adventures into our vast backyard– horseback riding and hiking. We took the horses out exploring on a number of day rides, watched ducks fly in our creeks, and caribou run on the hillsides. The horses got to enjoy their new summer pedicures and the dogs ran wild up and down the row of horses.

By July, the garden and woods are filled with fresh edible foods. The garden has come into its own. Daily, we weed the rows, inspect the plants for signs of disease and pest, prune large plants, water, and thin the rows. We enjoy the garden’s bounty as onions thicken, tomatoes ripen, peas burst on the vine, and melon-sized turnips (or “snow apples”) make their way to the dinner table in wild green salads.

For us, it is important to take advantage of this productive season by saving and preserving the garden and wild foods for winter eating. This preservation brings us closer to self-sufficiency and nutritional health in the colder, darker months. During the month of July, we put up 40 pounds of garden greens, canned 16 quart jars of wild berries, and dried and fermented copious amounts of wild greens. There are many different methods that we use to preserve these harvests. One fantastic way to preserve hearty greens is through lacto-fermentation. This July, we made a wild green sauerkraut out of burnet, fireweed blossoms, and rhodiola. The fermentation of these greens into a wild ‘kraut provides us with a tangy, nutritious treat during the winter months.

In addition to taking advantage of the wild edible plants, we have prepared many wild medicinal plants from our surrounding area. With a variety of different preparations, valerian, bedstraw, sweet gale, labrador tea, dock, rhodiola, and plantain have all been added to the homestead medicine cabinet.

As always, we made time for adventures into our vast backyard– horseback riding and hiking. We took the horses out exploring on a number of day rides, watched ducks fly in our creeks, and caribou run on the hillsides. The horses got to enjoy their new summer pedicures and the dogs ran wild up and down the row of horses.

A highlight of the month was an all-ladies backpacking trip. We trekked across the tundra, gorged on wild blueberries, and glassed for wildlife. We saw three snowy owls, drank tea from wild plants, and slept on beds of moss under the open sky. While drifting off one night, one snowy owl swooped just two feet over our heads. It was a fantastic trip!

We celebrated the end of the month and all of its work with an outdoor feast, cooking over an open fire. We enjoyed this feast with new visitors, now wonderful friends. We feasted on an egg and wild green casserole, cornbread, a garden salad, Morgan’s winning home-made mead, and a delicious sourdough chocolate cake with blueberries, fireweed blossoms, and chocolate ganache . It is necessary to stop and celebrate the victories and bounty of summer!

Now, in early August, the days are still warm but nights grow longer and the panicles of fireweed continue to march up the stalk and into the changing season.

Here’s to making the rest of the summer happy and productive!

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Cheers

Margaret, Morgan, and the homestead critters.