Unfortunately, no great mead drinking or fighting this week, but progress is being made in the long house (the new name for the cabarn)! We will unveil in a few days I hope. We are making progress on the water line and getting some more brush-hogging done.
Wildlife encounters this week included a Harrier Hawk and a cat that looks to weigh about 50 lbs! He is some sort of bobcat but all brown in coat. He is also not afraid of me, he keeps his distance but does not run away. That will be an interesting foe in the livestock-keeping adventure for certain. The Cherry Blood Mead is nearly ready to bottle and I just started a Blackberry Melomel that has great potential! Cannot wait to sample these by a fire in the long house this winter! We also made a trip to Lehmans in Amish Country earlier in the week and picked up a small fruit press.
I have looked at several antique fruit presses in the past, but all have needed substantial work and cleanup. So we picked up a small one at Lehman’s that can also function as a cheese press. Yes, we will be trying to make cheeses soon! This little press worked pretty well on the fresh Valhalla blackberries! The amount of flavor transferred to the mead from a pressed fruit/juice compared to just whole fruit or cut fruit is definitely discernable!
So I will be doing an upcoming piece on the importance of knowing where one’s people come from. We feel that part of what we are trying to accomplish with the farmstead is a continuation of the skills and culture of our ancestors. We think this is important for any human being to explore regardless of where their ancestors come from. In our case, this is predominately Scandinavian and Celtic. So we will not only be doing somewhat modern homesteading but also exploring the methods, techniques, and tools of our ancestral people.
Within
In modern world, we still exist,
We long for woods and ocean mist,
In older times our people roamed
in search of spoils on briney foam,
Our souls remember deep within
That binding to our Clan and Kin,
For sea and farm and gray and green
Men born too late, stuck in between,
Ravens black as midnight sky
Listen for our battle cry,
For we are Folk of Sword and Helm
We were born of Ash and Elm,
2023 RDH