Archive for the ‘Gathering Summaries’ Category

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Event Summary: ESP at 2012 Preparedness Fair

Saturday, May 12th, 2012

by Catherine Haug, May 12, 2012

Bigfork Emergency Response Team (BERT) hosted the first Bigfork Preparedness Fair on May 5, 2012. Although the weather was wet, windy and cold, the fair had an excellent turnout: over 300 people signed in and there were many booths both indoors and out, as well as several lecturers.

ESP had a booth in one corner of the main room, featuring a backboard of photos from past gatherings, books on sustainability topics to browse through, and Jeffrey Fund’s pedal-powered grain grinder for people to try out. We had several different grains to grind: spelt, Jeffrey’s wheat and Wheat Montana’s Prairie Gold wheat. (more…)

Posted in Gathering Summaries, Topics-Repurpose, Topics: Community, Topics: Emergency Preparedness, Topics: Energy, Topics: Food & Nutrition, Topics: Home & Ranch | No Comments »

Gathering Summary: Getting Ready to Grow Stuff, March 21, 2012

Monday, April 16th, 2012

Don Bates makes a point

by Catherine Haug, April 6, 2012

(photo, left, by E. Blackler)

This was a fun and inspiring evening with MonaRae Tuhy and Don Bates, on seed starting and related topics. And Stephanie offered a great dessert: Berry Crisp with Whipped Cream.

This is just a short synopsis; you can find more detail in the complete, printable pdf file: Gathering Summary: Getting Ready to Grow Stuff, March 21, 2012, and in the handouts. Read on for handouts, presentation topics, and references & resources. (more…)

Posted in Gathering Summaries, Topics: Gardening | No Comments »

Gathering Summary: The Craft of Knitting with Carol Marie, etc., Feb 15, 2012

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012

by Catherine Haug, March 1, 2012

Cat's felted hat; knit scarf & mittens

This is just a short synopsis; you can find more detail in the complete, printable pdf file: Gathering Summary: The Craft of Knitting, etc.. There were no handouts.

Carol brought lots of samples of knitted as well as crocheted, felted & needle-punched items to view. Her friend Roxy demonstrated how to use a drop spindle to make yarn from roving. Several audience members brought in-progress and finished knit items.

Read on for presentation topics, references & resources. (more…)

Posted in Gathering Summaries, Topics: Home & Ranch, Topics: Sewing & Fiber Arts | No Comments »

Event Summary: Cider Press at Tamarack Time! Oct 15,2011

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

Raw cider from press

by Catherine Haug

Despite forecasts of rain and cold, the weather cleared off just as we were setting up on the deck of La Provence. It was a beautiful day! We started grinding and pressing the first apples around 11:30, and continued without stop until 4:30. Lots of new people brought apples or stopped by to check out our operation.

Jeffrey’s latest modification to his grinder added a bicycle to power the grinder in tandem with the stair stepper – perfect for couples to work together. Our youngest helper, Caleb Riedesel (kindergarden), helped by working the stair stepper! and with pouring cider into the jugs.

14 individuals/families brought apples; a total of 70 gallons of cider was pressed (last year we pressed 44 gallons).

A big THANK YOU to all who brought apples and/or volunteered to wash & rinse apples, feed the grinder, work the stair-stepper and/or bicycle, pour cider into jugs, and give out tasters. Thanks also to Jeffrey for the use of his grinder, and to Marc Guizol for the use of his deck. And thanks to my fellow ESP core team members for your dedication to this community event.

We have no new photos this year, but you can see lots of photos from last year’s cider press event at Event Summary: Cider Press at Tamarack Time, Oct 9, 2010.

 

Posted in Gathering Summaries, Topics: Community, Topics: Food & Nutrition | No Comments »

Gathering Summary: Sugar Tapping with Kathie Lapcevic, October 19, 2011

Monday, October 24th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, October 22, 2011 (photos by Edd Blackler)

This is just a short synopsis; you can find more detail in the complete, printable pdf file: Gathering Summary: Sugar Tapping, by Kathie Lapcevic, October 19, 2011. See also Kathie’s handout: Maple & Birch Tapping at Home, by Kathie Lapcevic.

In addition to the main topic, Kathie opened with an announcement of Flathead Food Swappers’ first meet; see the Event Notice: Flathead Food Swap, Nov. 9, 2011.

Stephanie served a wonderful dessert: Pumpkin-Walnut-Cacao Cake with Chocolate Drizzle and Whipped Cream.

Presentation topics

Collecting sap in bucket

Collecting sap in bucket

  • Selecting a maple or birch tree for tapping
  • When to tap
  • How to tap (includes equipment needed)
  • Collect the sap
  • Cooking down the sap to syrup
  • Pouring off
  • Storage of the syrup

For more information

(more…)

Posted in Gathering Summaries, Topics: Food & Nutrition, Topics: Home & Ranch | No Comments »

Gathering Summary: Repurposing & Other Innovations, September 21, 2011

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, September 29, 2011; updated Oct 7, 2011 to add upgraded video of slideshow

(clip art from PlanetPals.com)

We were a small but enthusiastic audience for the Repurposing-2011 event, with good discussion. None of our presenters were able to come in  person, but eight different projects were represented in the slideshow.

Updated YouTube Video of Slideshow

You can view a NEW video version on You Tube (see video screen below) with upgraded slide quality and a new soundtrack! (more…)

Posted in Gathering Summaries, Topics: Community, Topics: Energy, Topics: Home & Ranch | No Comments »

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