Archive for the ‘Gathering Summaries’ Category

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Gathering Summary: Smart Use of Trees by Sally Janover, October 27, 2010

Monday, January 17th, 2011

Ponderosa Pine & Arrowleaf Balsamroot Understory

by Catherine Haug

Photo of ponderosa and arrowleaf balsamroot understory (from behind Bigfork Post Office) by Brett Thuma

Everywhere she has lived, Sally has planted trees. “They are the royalty of the vegetative world, the big work horses of the environment. One tree does more for the planet than any other single plant.”

Basing her presentation on her background in Permaculture design, Sally talked about the importance of trees in the environment and landscape. She also enlisted input from various members of the Forest Service in the audience.

Presentation Topics

The following topics are covered in more detail in the complete Gathering Summary: Smart Use of Trees, by Sally Janover, 102710 file (updated 1/18/10). (more…)

Posted in Ecology, Gathering Summaries, Home & Ranch, Landscaping | Comments Closed

Gathering Summary: Using Natural Dyes for Fibers, by Joan Goldstein, September 22, 2010

Saturday, October 16th, 2010

Madder, Amaranthe, Yellow onion skins, Lichens, Cosmos

by Catherine Haug; basket photos by Joan Goldstein

Joan provided a 2-page handout which is available on our website: The EssentiaList: Dying Fibers with Natural Materials, by Joan Goldstein

Presentation Topics

The following topics are covered in more detail in the complete Gathering Summary: Using Natural Dyes for Fibers (pdf):

  • Colors (Joan’s baskets of colorful yarns)
  • Pigment vs. Dye
  • Getting the Dye to ‘Stick’: Using Mordants
  • Dyes from the Kitchen: coffee, tea and onion skins
  • Dying with Lichens and Orchil
  • Dyes from the Garden: amaranth, cosmos, cottonwood, Japanese indigo, madder, cochineal
  • The Affect of pH, and Dying Plant vs Animal Fibers
  • Premordanting
  • Overview of Dying Process
  • Sources & References (more…)

Posted in Gathering Summaries, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

Event Summary: Cider Press at Tamarack Time! October 9, 2010

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Setting up the press

by Catherine Haug

Today was a gorgeous fall day, just perfect for pressing cider. Jeffrey F. arrived about 10 AM with his pressing apparatus. With several helpers we had it all set up on the deck of La Provence (which we shared with the “Chocolate Desserts” table) before 11 and began pressing.

In the photo, right (by C. Haug), Marc Guizol looks on as the equipment is set up on his deck.

We had lots of helpers which made it a fun time, and pressed at least 44 gallons of cider for 8 different ‘customers’! We packed up and had the deck washed off by mid-afternoon.

One of our helpers, Kathy L., blogged about the event on her Two Frog Home website. She also took many of the photos shown in the remainder of this summary. (more…)

Posted in Community, Food-Nutrition-Health, Gathering Summaries | Comments Closed

Gathering Summary: Canning & Dehydrating Foods, Panel, August 25, 2010

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

Excalibur Dehydrator

by Catherine Haug

(photo, right, from excaliburdehydrator.com)

Our Panel included Don B. and Julie V. to discuss dehydrating, and Kathie L. to discuss canning. See Gathering Summary: Canning & Dehydrating Foods for complete summary.

On dehydrating, both Julie and Don highly recommend a book: Dry It – You’ll Like It, by Gen MacManiman (link goes to Amazon.com). They discussed:

  • What it means to dehdyrate food;
  • Why dehydrate (as opposed to canning);
  • How to dehydrate and then store the dried product; and
  • Several different electric dehydrators including Don’s homemade dehydrator.

Kathie discussed both water bath canning and pressure canning, including when to use which method, and two different types of canning lids. She recommends the book: Encyclopedia of Country Living, by Carla Emery; you can peak inside, on the Amazon page. But because pressure canners vary on instructions from model to model, she recommends using your canner’s ‘how to’ book as your guide.

For complete Gathering Summary, see our pdf file: Gathering Summary: Canning & Dehydrating Foods

See also: (more…)

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health, Gathering Summaries | Comments Closed

Gathering Summary: Herbs & Their Traditional Uses, July 28, 2010

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Summary by Catherine Haug

Herbs & their Traditional Uses, by Veronica Honthaas

(Photo of ripening hawthorn berries by C. Haug)

The following is a short outline of the event. For the complete gathering summary, see our pdf file:

Gathering Summary: Herbs & their Traditional Uses

Veronica is a practicing traditional herbalist and reflexologist. A traditional herbalist is one who uses herbs from the local area. Ronny believes every area has most all the herbs needed to promote health and healing for people living in that area, and that herbs are healing foods. Sharing her knowledge through teaching is an important aspect of her work.

The use of herbs is simple and free, and very empowering. During her presentation, Ronny discussed:

  • 20 specific local herbs
  • How to store what is picked
  • Basic herb teas
  • Sun teas
  • Making tinctures

For complete detail of her presentation, please see the Gathering Summary: Herbs & their Traditional Uses.

Ronny’s Recommended Books (more…)

Posted in Gathering Summaries, Health, Remedies | 1 Comment »

Gathering Summary: Alternative Energy, June 23, 2010

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Summary by Catherine Haug

Alternative & Renewable Energy, by Jeff Arcel

(Photo of roof-top solar panels, from Mothers’ Power)

The following is a short outline of the event. For the complete gathering summary, see our pdf files:

You can also view Jeff’s slideshow as a pdf file (2.1 MB so takes a while to download): Slideshow: Renewable Energy Solutions. Some of his slides are blurry or impossible to read (slides 6, 7, 10, 43, & 65); if you want a copy of these slides at higher resolution (4 MB file) please contact Catherine: cat(at)essentialstuff.org. (more…)

Posted in Energy, Gathering Summaries | Comments Closed

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