September - October 2020

Grit

Rural American Know-How

Grit2 min readArchitecture
Rub Some Dirt On It
■ Just over a year ago, I bought my first house—all 720 square feet of it — along with a yard that looked like it had never been turned to anything but lawn. When I first saw the yard, on an unseasonably warm January day, I knew I could transform it
Grit1 min read
Grit Magazine
CAITLIN WILSON, Lead Editor OSCAR H. WILL III, Editor at Large CHRISTIAN WILLIAMS, Editorial Director REBECCA MARTIN, Technical Editor LANDON HALL, Group Editor, Collectibles AMANDA SORELL, Senior Editor CARLA TILGHMAN, Managing Editor ALLISON SARKES
Grit5 min read
Rooney The Goat
Farming is good for my soul. I love so much about it. I grew up on a farm, and can’t imagine a nonfarming life. Yet, farming can break my heart. Raising livestock can be equally rewarding and devastating. Loss is inevitable, despite our best efforts.
Grit1 min read
Looking For
I’m looking for frog, pig, and fairy-tale patterns to work for my grandkids. I’m also hoping that someone can share Aunt Martha’s brand iron-on transfer patterns with me. I lost my grandmother’s in a fire. Low cost or postage needed not a problem. Mo
Grit2 min readAstronomy & Space Sciences
WIT & WISDOM
■ Pick an oddly shaped pumpkin. Everyone, it seems, seeks a perfectly formed pumpkin for a jack-o’-lantern. The better choice is actually one that’s slightly misshapen—a little long, a little wide, a little bumpy. The peculiarities will give characte
Grit4 min read
Keeping Kids Safe On The Homestead
■ There’s simply no place like a homestead for a growing youngster. It’s a giant classroom, where kids learn about responsibility and hard work. They also learn real-world skills, such as earth stewardship, how to care for living creatures, and the i
Grit6 min read
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
■ Chicken is one of those versatile foods that delivers comfort in a multitude of ways. Hungry for Italian or Tex-Mex? How about Chinese? No problem; chicken fits the bill. Chicken is economical and readily available, and it cooks quickly and with ea
Grit6 min readDiet & Nutrition
Kudzu In The Kitchen
A sweet, intoxicating scent wafts on the late-summer breeze as I make my way to the house after doing chores at the barn. It makes me pause, breathe deeply, and smile. This special aroma heralds the arrival of kudzu blossom season! Kudzu is the commo
Grit7 min read
ROOF REPLACEMENT on Rural Buildings
Two days of rain kept me from some much-needed mowing, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to work on a couple of projects in my shop. When I turned on the lights, though, my eyes drifted to a dark spot on the ceiling; the dreaded first sign
Grit1 min read
Rough Roofin’ Tools
Here’s a list of tools you may find useful if you plan on doing your own metal roofing work. Even if you purchase pre-cut panels, you’ll need to cut panels and trim. ■ Tin snips ■ Metal shears ■ Panel shears ■ Tape measure ■ Cordless impact driver (f
Grit1 min read
Set Up Shop
I decided to tackle my roofing job myself because it wasn’t a large project and I have decent carpentry skills. I also feel comfortable climbing on roofs and already own most of the tools necessary to complete the job. I don’t want to minimize the la
Grit6 min readCooking, Food & Wine
How to Process Deer Meat at Home
In “How to Field-Process a Deer” (September/October 2019), I described how to field-dress, skin, and debone a deer in the field. Once the meat is home, it’s time to process and package it for both the freezer and the table. If this is your first time
Grit2 min read
How Old Is This Deer?
Like other mammals, deer begin life with baby teeth, or milk teeth. Adult teeth replace the baby teeth at a predictable rate. To age a deer, use the teeth on one side of the jaw, called “premolars” and “molars,” as a reference. (Ignore the front teet
Grit1 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Parts and Cuts
Here are the parts from most tender to tough and the way I cut them: Tenderloins — Steaks or kebab medallions Backstrap — Steaks Rump — Steaks Rounds — Steaks and roasts Shoulders — Steaks (if large enough), jerky, stew meat, burger, or canned Flank
Grit1 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Using the Gut Pile
Heart. Cut it in half and remove the large blood vessels at the top of the heart and the connective tissue inside. The heart can be cooked several ways. My favorites are roasted; sliced, grilled, and topped with grilled onion and cheese; or cubed and
Grit1 min read
Natural Sinew for Stitching
The silverskin that runs along the backstrap is the longest strip of natural sinew on a deer and can be used as thread for stitching. To harvest the sinew, don’t cut through this silverskin when cutting the backstrap steaks, but fillet each steak fro
Grit6 min readCooking, Food & Wine
DO’S & DON’TS of Cooking with Deer Heart
Many hunters discard all organs while field-dressing a deer. I used to do the same, until I heard a veteran sportsman rhapsodizing about the culinary delights of fried deer heart and yellow onions. After that, I saved a heart, and my wife, Elaine, pr
Grit6 min read
Drying the HARVEST
Whether you nurture a suburban backyard garden, two potted tomato plants, or acres of produce, this year you may depend on your harvest not only for fresh vegetables, but also for variety. The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting our food supply, from proc
Grit1 min read
Watch “dehydration 101” Workshop Online
The “Dehydration 101” workshop is part of the Food Preservation Course at MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR ONLINE. Watch as Renee demonstrates how to preserve food by removing the moisture but keeping all the flavor! Join today! As a Grit reader, you can acces
Grit5 min read
Traversing Tricky Terrain on a Trail Horse
Sometimes, the best thing to do is go out and learn on the job. Any horse, especially a young one, can quickly become bored working in a small area, so some trainers take a green horse out after only a few rides “inside.” When you take your horse out
Grit2 min read
Tips for Safely Crossing Water
■ One way to get a green horse over its fear of water is to find a shallow place in a stream, or a puddle-covered dirt road after a rain, and ride around in the shallow water. This way, there’s no way for the horse to avoid it. After going up and dow
Grit1 min read
Our Store
Train Your Horse in Groundwork, Driving, and Riding ■ Storey’s Guide to Training Horses is a one-stop reference for every aspect of horse training. Now with full-color photography, this third edition includes step-by-step guidance on all the essentia
Grit7 min read
BE READY FOR Anything
Preparedness runs the gamut from carrying a pocket flashlight to homesteading off the grid. It also includes awareness, which is the ability to effectively recognize when it’s time to take action based upon the situation and your plan. This makes pre
Grit1 min read
Watch the Practical Preparedness Workshop Online
There’s still time to join the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR ONLINE: SUMMER 2020! This unique program features eight courses with 56 workshop videos. The Practical Preparedness workshop is part of the Modern Homesteading Course. The SUMMER 2020 program is s
Grit8 min read
Wild Rice REWARDS
For those of us lucky enough to live in the Great Lakes region, enjoying locally harvested wild rice is one of the benefits of living here. We take an even greater enjoyment in harvesting this annual plant using traditional methods, navigating a cano
Grit7 min readEarth Sciences
Power From The Sky
Wind and solar are two of the most accessible sources of renewable energy. Large farms of wind turbines and solar arrays can provide power for multiple sources, but there are also smaller home units available that generate power for a single property
Grit1 min read
Wind And Solar Data
Distributed Wind Energy Association www.DistributedWind.org NOAA Climate.gov www.Climate.gov/Maps-Data/Datasets www.Star.Nesdis.NOAA.gov/smcd/emb/radiation/solar_resource.php Solar Energy Industries Association www.SEIA.org EnergySage www.EnergySage.
Grit7 min read
An axe on The Upswing
Anyone can whip out their credit card and buy a new axe, but “certified” axe junkies face uncontrollable excitement when they spot a dark corner at the flea market filled with rusty, broken-handled axes. This, my friends, is the intersection of oppor
Grit7 min readBotany
A Pear By Any Other Name
■ Everyone’s familiar with pears: They’re aromatic and sweet, and they melt in your mouth with each slurping bite. They’re so familiar that their signature shape is, well, pear-shaped; technically, the shape’s name is “pyriform,” which is Latin for “
Grit7 min read
GRIT RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS for Wiser Living
Dirt to Soil tells the story of Gabe Brown and his wife as they try to save their farm by experimenting with new practices that lead them to a new type of farming: regenerative agriculture. Read how Brown dropped the use of most herbicides, insectici
Grit7 min read
Prepare a Home Dairy First-Aid Kit
Keeping a herd of goats for a small home dairy of your own is an especially rewarding farm project. It’s a fine feeling to watch a well-kept dairy goat, slick from spring grass, following you toward the milking shed. And knowing that your family is h
Grit5 min read
Build A Better Uncapping Tank
The honey harvest is an exciting—and sticky — time for beekeepers. As we anticipate that first bite of homemade biscuit drenched with unbelievably sweet honey, we know it’s well worth the work it takes to get to that point. Yet, golden honey isn’t th

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