Koyote Hill: October - The Get Ready Month

October - The Get Ready Month

One of the pieces of folklore I remember as a kid, besides the one about the world being flat, was about spiders. The more spiders seen in the house during the autumn months was a sure sign there was going to be a nasty winter.
Well, I have been seeing lot of spiders inside, more than I have the fabled woolly bear caterpillars outside. But then again I don't really pay much attention to that groundhog either.

Although I did see a woolly bear the other day and snapped a photo ( a spider got scared and ran away). And I am still gunning for the ground hog who ravished this year's garden.

In the snow belts, winter is winter and it's going to always be cold, windy, snowy and icy regardless of the folklore.

Accu-Weather, among several other weather forecasters, are predicting a lot of winter storms and heavy snows for the Great Lakes regions. It seems La Nina is getting stronger and the forecast is for a miserable winter. The Great Lakes are relatively warm; when the cold air from the north flows down, the snow machines kick into high gear.

There are several good things to do before any winter regardless of forecasts. Get the vegetable garden in shape for the following spring. It helps to have a head start. It is also possible to get an early spring harvest by planting some crops before the snow gets here. Garlic is a natural, but an early crop of spring potatoes can also be planted in October, onions will do fine under the snow as will many kinds of lettuce, Swiss Chard and Kale.

Make some plans and build a brush pile for wildlife. A brush pile offers both protection and a source of food for many animals and insects. Besides, it fun to check the pile when there is snow on the ground and check the tracks coming and going to see what's around.

Wood ashes from wood stoves and fireplaces are a valuable resource for both the yard and the garden. Just don't burn plastics and cardboard and learn about what plants benefit for some ashes; potatoes don't care for them but tomatoes do.

Occupy Wall Street

The movement continues to grow and spread from city to city; it's not going to go away. There is a lot of frustration and anger but for the most part it has been a non-violent movement to date. Wall Street and many politicians would do well to heed the message; the old status quo is no longer acceptable. The mega rich may jeer with cocktails in hand but “the times they are a changing”.

Support you local #occupy or help out financially if possible. What is happening is the American Spring and is as important as the Civil Rights Movement and anti-war movement of the sixties. It's about America's future and it's opportunities for all, and sorry, if your poor, that sure doesn't mean a person is a failure or lazy.

What began with a few dozen people on September 17 has now spread throughout the USA and into Canada. Here's a list of occupy events which have mushroomed. My best guess is this list is updated as more events are added.

This is a good perspective on the movement, and if your on the fence, food for thought. Here is another link to what is happening and it is not just unemployed socialist hippies regardless of what some political parties put in their Kool-Aid.

Perhaps, now is the time for some mainstream churches to get back to the basics of Christianity and #occupy the Gospel message.

Some Food History

The Seneca andIroquois Nations inhabited much of western Pennsylvania and New York; the nations were some of the earliest democracies in this Hemisphere. They grew many crops which we are familiar with today; beans, corn, squash cucumbers and melons.

They also harvested many wild food crops in the autumn months. The harvest involved everyone, young and old, rich and poor; it was for survival. Acorns, beechnuts, hickory and butternuts were a few of the nuts gathered and saved for the long winter.

The plentiful oak trees provided bumper crops of acorns. The acorns were boiled in lye and then ground into a powder which was then used for puddings and pounded into meat for a special meal.

Nut stones can still be found today near older nut trees. These stones had small crevices in which the nuts were placed and then hit with an appropriate stone, cracking them to get the meat. Today, it is not uncommon to discover and old nut stone.

Sunchokes, pictured above (they bloom in late September and into October) were also gathered in the fall and the tuberous roots were baked and eaten. Today, the sunchokes, a member of the sunflower family, can be found in many health food stores. It is a highly nutritious native American food. For some odd reason, the tubers are now called JerusalemArtichokes; the plant has nothing at all to do with Jerusalem or artichokes. The tall plants can still be discovered in low areas were there is ample moisture or they can be grown in the home vegetable garden with care; they can spread rapidly and the plants can get up to ten feet tall.