Homestead Voices

Whenever trees are harvested on Rusty Metal Farm, great care is taken to flag those that are to be spared. Tiny farm dog Chiclet enjoys supervising this process. | Photo by Julia Bayly Here’s a question -- If a tree falls in the forest…
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Apples, apples everywhere! That’s how I’ve been feeling over the last week. My kids brought home two heavy bags from apple picking with their father. Our backyard apple tree is overflowing. And the farmers market has apples aplenty. …
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My community garden bed in all its glory this spring. | Photo by Sam Schipani When I moved to Bangor last winter, I had no idea where I was going to garden in the spring. My second-floor apartment on the outskirts of Little City was…
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Seeing moose like this is one of the many reasons to manage land for wildlife. | Photo by Julia Bayly I’ve lived in northern Maine for close to 40 years and I am still amazed by the land use laws that stipulate property is open to the…
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Photo by Sarah Walker Caron Was it only a week ago that my fingers dug into the wet, warm soil, pulling the weeds out by the roots? Was it only a mere seven days since I wondered how many more quarts of tomatoes we’d harvest? It was,…
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Here are my favorite fall activities: shopping for kitschy sweaters at the thrift store, crafting punny Halloween costumes and experimenting with every type of squash at the farmers market. Corn mazes generally don’t rank very high on my…
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The first step in the Rusty Metal Farm garage sale was figuring out what various and sundry tools actually were. | Photo by Julia Bayly Hold a garage sale, they said. It will be fun, they said. You’ll make a few bucks, they said. …
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I have more experience with plant-based milks than your average non-vegan consumer. During my six-month fellowship at the California-based “Sierra Magazine” before I moved to Maine, I spent one sunny afternoon sampling an array of…
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The Rusty Metal Farm chickens are not at all shy about looking for food or treats when they feel neglected. | Photo by Julia Bayly Physically, Rusty Metal Farm sits atop Maine along the Canadian border, but in many ways, it also sits…
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Photo by Sarah Walker Caron My mother texted me earlier this week with an urgency: could the flat lids from canning jars be reused? She’s a novice canner who has loved the jams, relishes, sauces and pickled items I’ve canned over the…
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I hoard leftovers. My refrigerator is filled with containers of food from meals gone by that I reheat, snack on or mix and match during the week. Beeswax food wraps provide a reusable, eco-friendly alternative to plastic wrap for all my…
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Building a sustainable home. | Photo by Melissa Rappaport Schifman Building a sustainable home seems like a daunting task, especially if you do not have any professional experience in architecture, engineering or sustainable design.…
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