Decemberscenting into January.

Our December started just how our November ended... with a great concert and the air thick with holiday cheer. Cassi and I were able to sneak in a last show of the year!

 Gillian Welch & David Rawlings did not disappoint. Coming off the release of their most recent album "Woodland Studios" they brought a night filled with a well curated selection of the classic tunes they are well know for along with some traditional old timey covers and a smattering from the new album as well!

 Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

Woodland Tour 2024

(December 3rd)

State Theater - Portland, ME.

Rolling back to the homestead with a fresh inch or two of snow for the twinkling lights to reflect the light on these dark winter nights leading us into the winter solstice.

the LocalRootz Homestead all decked out in holiday cheer!

The dusty miller addition to the wreaths this year was nice and surprisingly it was still hanging around in the garden as we gathered our traditional wreath and garland supplies from our surrounding forests!

Every year I think we should make more wreathes and cash in on the market as we see the prices of everything inflate beyond the reach of a typical family. I saw one local garden shop charging $19.99 for a small bunch of winter berries... the same ones that line almost every high tension corridor within 20 miles of us. It puzzles me who is buying these things, but I digress. With a little more budget in mind this year we tracked down a modest tree that was fresh cut up in Dover-Foxcroft and were happy to pay half of what our local tree farms are charging to chop your own. 

I always love the aroma of a fresh balsam fir wafting through the house as we unpack our storage totes of Christams joy filled with memories of our past holiday seasons along with heirlooms that have been passed from generation to generation. The crackle of an old timey christmas record playing and the warmth of a smoldering fire in the wood stove. A stiff glass of egg nog perhaps?  

One of my holiday projects besides going down a rabbit hole of sparkling wine... which you can learn more about at my other blog: the Bottle Forager was to make something special for my favorite girls. I am not much of a shopper when it comes to gift giving, I do tend to find some quality stuff don't get me wrong, but my favorite joy is to give a unique gift that took some time and thought.

So one afternoon when the temps were not quite so frigid I decided to finally make those owl houses we have always wanted ever since attending an owl lecture at the Audubon a year or two ago. It was at that event that I got the plans for a Screech owl house. With our abundance of chipmunks and squirrels and a forest full of the wise old birds we figured adding a few houses overlooking our compost pile and extensive gardens would be beneficial in maintaining some natural balance in the forest!

After a little research they recommended painting the outside with a lighter color like white but just a plain white box seemed a little boring to me so I used my artistic license and went with a birch bark theme.

The owl houses and all the thoughtful gifts exchanged were a hit on Christmas morning as our lil one got spoiled with gifts from family near and far.

The owl houses got put up into the landscape.

We had a nice break from our jobs between Christmas and New Years and spent the week catching up on some much needed rest, watching some family movies, prepping the goals for the New Year and just enjoying some good old fashioned family time. 

Our Candy stripe Amaryllis joined the festivities with the spectacular display of beauty.

I can’t  get over how big this is, which is why I had to snap a pic with a bottle of wine to show the scale!

Happy New Year and stay tuned for more updates on art and music as the growing season takes a rest for a couple months and we spend a few snowy afternoons flipping through seed catalogs and planning our aspirations and dreams for the 2025 growing season!

An oldie but a goodie spied at an old friends house when dropping off a box of homestead elixirs!

Speaking of which, the first round of barrels are topped off and will spend the winter resting and breathing in its new home. Sampling will take place on a monthly basis until optimal flavor is reached.

The barrel on the left holds a 5 gallon blend of rye whiskeys with an average mash bill of

( 92% Rye/ 3 % Wheat/ 5% Malted Barley)

The average age is 7.5yrs and the barrel is a used Caribbean Rum Cask

The barrel on the right is new american oak with a medium #3 char and is constructed of straight bourbons sourced from various hills that heavens rains have filled with love! 

More on its contents as it matures and finds its balance of flavors..

Happy 2025 to all our readers, thanks for stopping by and check back often to see what the new year has instore for the LocalRootz Homestead!

Falling Into the Frost.

As the growing season came to a close and the frosty autumn whispers of October foreshadowed the changing of the seasons we harvested the last of our cut flowers and lingering root crops in the warm afternoon skies and adorned our homestead with the late seasons offerings.

Unfortunately, with the autumn whispers came some cold season bugs that hampered our much anticipated date night to Portsmouth to see Bob James. I was able to escape the infirmary with no present symptoms while Cassi and Hazel took a relaxing night to heal up while I appreciated the front row seat, but sadly had to attend by my lonesome! 

Another great night of music and a real treat to finally get to see the man behind so many great albums that have been a mainstay in the RootCellar Vinyl Library for many years. At 84yrs old Bob James didn't miss a note and the talented musicians he surrounded himself with added much layer, depth and energy to the mix!

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Bob James (keys) James Adkins (drums) Michael Palazzolo (bass) Andrey Chmut (saxophone)

Returning to the homestead as the autumn whispers grew louder, shaking the leaves from the Maples and Oaks as the Beech trees clung to their yellow tears. There was no denying it was getting close to party time as the garden fell deeper into the winters grasp and corn stalks, carved pumpkins and spiderwebs loomed over the madness of an upcoming 8yr olds Halloween Bash/ Birthday Spooktacular!

The mums were in full glory as the round gourds got stacked, hay bales appeared, the firewood split and the leaves added to the woodland compost pile!

BooPops were made, my playlist got filled with haunting blues music and twangy shrieks of ghosts, ghouls and goblins.

Another successful party thanks to impeccable planning, great weather and of course a lot of help from a well organized Mother and a grateful kiddo that makes having 28 little kiddos climbing over every acre of the homestead worth it!

After that event was a much needed moment of calm.  

Milkweed Still Life.

Amanita Still Life.

Wine Caps.

Our shiitake logs really came alive in the final days of October after a much needed rainstorm and some manual log soaking.

Pounds and pounds made thier way onto our dinner plates just as the gardens final offerings started to dissolve into jars and compost heaps.

The outdoor projects became less time consuming and allowed me sometime to assess our cellar projects. One of which was an ominous stack of wines, ciders and elixirs that I have been making for the past 10years and sharing with various guests and comrades in the wine & beer trade.

I decided with the holidays approaching and extra space not on my side that it was due time to let some of these ferments out into the wild. I meticulously pulled a sample of each bottle and analyzed if I felt good about the final product. Mostly I was pleased though a few cases did end up as vinegar projects and compost enhancers!

After the first step of quality control I took stock of the supply and worked on labels for all the bottles I had available.

Cases were made up, bottles were labels and emails and texts were sent to all my friends that have supported or shown appreciation for sipping some of these in the past!

To learn more about what these offerings are and how they were constructed please check out the FERMENTZ page. A big shout out to all those who snatched up the cases in record time! It's hard for me to put myself out there, honestly I would rather just continue updating this blog as a journal of our homesteading journeys and never really promote it, but keeping records of when and where things have meandered through this world of the LocalRootZ Project has proven helpful in recalling successes and failures. That being said the donations received have encouraged me to move forward with my curiosities and passions in fermenting and now allow me to dabble into the world of  barrel aging and spirit manifesting! 

Feel free to check out my other blog for more in depth tasting notes on what I am sipping on and geeking out with @ theBottleForager

Speaking of spirit manifesting, we FINALLY got another date night and once again Jimmys in Portsmouth was the spot for a night of Colemine All Stars!

PARLOR GREENS kicked off the night with Jimmy James  (Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio) on guitar, with Adam Scone (Sugarman 3, Scone Cash Players) on Organ and Tim Carman (GA-20) on drums.

Another front row table with a nice few nice pours from the whiskey list and a much needed evening away from the homestead with just Cassi and I.

As the night heated up, Kelly Finnigan took the stage as Jimmy James stayed plugged in and was accompanied by the Ironsides brothers on bass & rhythm guitar along with horns and back up singers to fill out the stage with a scorching set of soulful music to fill our cups!

Kelly always brings it and lays out everything he has on stage!

So grateful to be able to see this show in all its entirety, especially when shared with my number one.

Cassi is maybe a bigger Kelly Finnigan fan than myself :)  

Thanks for stopping in as always. Winter has been knocking on the doorstep with flurries flying and bells jingling. Stay tuned for a Holiday post with big dreams and aspirations moving into 2025!

Squirrel Carvings.