Pitcher Water Pumps

Our pitcher pump - most important tool on a homestead!

I don't usually do two posts on my blog in one day. Then I remembered after I posted the earlier one that I forgot to tell my readers about our water pump breaking Friday evening. My husband went out to give the horses water and it broke. He usually can just reposition the thing in the pump but it was stripped and would not tighten. So that means we have to replace it. But that evening.........our horses were watching him to bring them their water...........I had no water in the house because I was washing dishes and had not replaced it yet. It was hot, and we were thirsty!

Luckily, we have another pump.........now I am talking about pitcher pumps here. The kind people use for decoration? We use them for getting our water out of our hand dug well. If you use one, you should always keep a back up one and maybe some back up parts. The other thing you should do is keep a supply of water stored in bottles regardless of what kind of pump you use. I mean many bottles of water. I usually fill the green soda bottles and keep them in the root cellar. But at the moment, I did not have any because of the remodeling job we are doing and no where to store them.

A different kind of pitcher pump

This is the other pitcher pump we have. It was stored in our shed but we hadn't used it in a couple of years. You can hook a hose to it. That was why we bought it to begin with. To be able to pump water upstairs to a tank we were planning to put there for a gravity fed water system. Now things have changed and we aren't going to do that system that way. But we still have the pump and are using right now. It is much slower than the other one and harder to pump. We will replace the other one as soon as possible as this one is not easy to prime and is unusable in freezing weather. It is good for in the house or in a building. For now though.......it does the job!

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

He Took My Place

Photo Credit: Sam Mugraby

A message I received from our Aunt Lois. She sends me such great things that cause me to really think. I hope this will cause you to really think too. Perfect for a Sunday post! Thank you, Aunt Lois!

"One day, a man went to visit a church; He got there early, parked his car and got out. Another car pulled up near the driver got out and said, Hey, I always park there! You took my place!" The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.

After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, Hey you that is where I always sit! You took my place!" The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still He said nothing.. Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, "What happened to you?" The visitor replied, as his hat became a crown of thorns, and a tear fell from his eye, "I took your place." "

Thank you, Jesus for taking my place!

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

katlupe's Bonanzle List Of Book Sellers!

Driving through the state forest to my house!

Remember this is Friday and that means New Friend Friday! If you don't know what that means.....then click this box and get in the groove with all the other bloggers in the "know". Make new friends and visit other blogs, and please be sure to leave quality comments not spam or links to inappropriate sites (You KNOW what I mean!). It is for fun and for meeting new friends. So join us:

Bonanzle is a new site where you can list your products for sale. I love it even though my sales haven't really taken off yet. I figure it is summer and give it time. Mostly my products are my used books. I am only selling them because I have a lot of them. I explored Bonanzle's forum, and unlike eBay's discussion boards........the Bonanzle sellers are REALLY nice and helpful. They even............share their information with the other sellers. It was rare on eBay to see that happening.

Since I sell books I thought I would give some other booksellers a plug on this blog of mine. Here are some interesting ones I have found:

1. Jennifer's Series Books - She sells juvenile series books like Nancy Drew, Beveraly Gray, Trixie Belden, The Outdoor Girls and Judy Bolton and many, many more!

2. Pacesetter Eclectica - Her books are for collectors too. She has a big variety of books that you may be searching for. I saw a book or two in her booth that I had read eons ago. Take a peek!

3. Joangranite's Stuffed Closet - I viewed her books just yesterday! She had a variety of books about famous people or written by famous people.

4. Qwack! - She doesn't have a huge inventory of books but I bet if she gets more sales her inventory will increase. Low prices and some good choices. Maybe you'll see something to strike your fancy!

5. Autumn's Emporium - Autumn's selection of books is divided into categories. I set the link to go to the cookbooks but she has nonfiction and fiction available also. Goodness! She also has Needlework Pattern Books available! Be sure to check her out! Her prices are excellent.

6. Candisbooks' Booth - Candi has the book store I love to go to! Her selection is varied and her prices are excellent! Be sure to visit her store if you are book shopping this week-end!

7. Mahane Yehuda Books and Collectibles - A good variety of books with fair prices. Lots of good Jewish literature and topics. Take a peek!

8. Overbooked - She has a big variety of novels. Lots of historical which is what I like to read myself. And futuristic, fantasy and science fiction and many other kinds too. Her prices are really good. Go check her shop out right now!

9. Bookbin Etc. - Bookbin Etc. is a variety of what I term collector's books or books that may be hard to find. Maybe she has something you are looking for!

10. Little Roses - She has some awesome cookbooks! Just the kind my friends on Homesteading Today love! I hope you won't buy them all up before I have a chance to share her link with them. LOL

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Wordless Wednesday Featuring Our Little Girls

Dark Shadow

Tawny.......... had a tough night, needed some sleep!

Georgie Girl, the boss mare

Posing for pictures!

In Search Of The Wild Thorns - Black Raspberry

Black Raspberries getting big.......

Yesterday afternoon, my husband and I spent a couple of hours in our black raspberry patches. They surround our homestead. I tried for years to rid us of them and we have been successful in those areas. Every now and then one will try to come back. If you let it get started before you know it you will be surrounded again. It is a weed to some. But it is also a very good food to eat and to use in your natural medicine chest. Not only for the berries, but for the tea you can make from the leaves.

So plentiful this year that there is enough for the birds & for us!

The black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis L.) is a shrub that grows with arching canes which root at their tips. The stems are covered with prickles that are curved. Leaves have a whitish color underneath. The bush is covered with white flowers from April through July. The flowers give off a scent, that to me, is the rich smell of spring. I love that scent! My cats, Patches and Hobo come in at night scented from the brambles they spent the day in. Heavenly! I really think they should bottle it. 

More berries coming..............

The berries themselves are a dark purplish black color and usually are ripening and ready to pick from July through September. You will see white hair rows growing between the dark drupelets. It has always seemed to me that the berry bushes are alive...........not alive like in the plant world.......but in the human world. If you try to get in there to get a berry or to cut the canes to thin or clean out an area, the other bushes will grab a hold of you. If you do manage to rid your area of the bushes, you will have bloody cuts and deep large scratches to show for your effort. 

They grow very thickly together!

Black raspberries are good for many more things than just making it into jam, jelly, preserves or juice. It is a medicinal plant and was used for many ailments by the Native Americans. My Medicinal Plants and Herbs book says that the root is a good astringent tea used for diarrhea, dysentery, stomach pain, gonorrhea, back pain and used as a "female tonic", as well as a blood tonic for boils. The leaf tea is a good wash for sores, ulcers and boils. In Germany, they approved of the leaf tea for diarrhea and mild inflammation of the mouth and throat. It is an astringent because of the tannins in both leaf and the root. 

Out back along our forest path

Here are some blackberry recipes that I found online and I love to make these special desserts for my husband. It just seems to give me a good feeling to make good food using the berries I pick right around our homestead. Check some out!

Our side yard right near the house full of berry bushes

When you are picking be sure to look under the leaves. As the berries under the leaves are shaded, and those are usually plump and juicy not having the sun dry them out. My husband climbed in among those nasty thorns to pick the fattest and juiciest berries. The lure of the BEST berries is always in the inside circle of tight bushes! If you can penetrate that circle you have gotten the prize!  When we sat in the evening munching on our snack of fresh blackberries it seemed to be well worth the fight of those brambles.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Common Plantain's Place In The Natural Medicine Chest

Common Plantain growing all around our homestead!

Common Plantain (Plantago Major L.) and Narrow-leaved Plantain (Plantago Lanceolata L.) is all around me. The juice is what you need for bee stings or bites, you just chew it a bit and take that juice and apply. I have used it many times for bee stings and in about five minutes you cannot see the bee sting at all. Works fast. I also add it to our salads and stir fries.

One time I was at my friend's house and we were out on her deck when a bee stung me. Very suddenly! I looked around real quick and spotted the Common Plantain growing in her yard...........I ran down the steps and grabbed some and started chewing. She looked at me as if I was crazy. She was feeling bad that I got stung but didn't really know what to do. As soon as I applied that juice from the Plantain on my sting, it stopped hurting immediately. And in just a couple minutes or so there was absolutely no red spot. I knew it would work as I have used it many times before that.

Now I am not saying it works every time. One other time I was stung by three yellow jackets at the same time and it did not relieve those painful stings one bit. My husband also got stung by yellow jackets last year and they made his hand turn black and blue............but nothing would relieve it. We burned those guys out with boiling hot on their hive. Their ground hive was hidden in a bale of hay we were using for insulation up against our house. So for the most part yellow jacket stings are hard to soothe with Plantain.

A close up view of Common Plantain (Plantago Major)

It was known as "white man's walk" as that is what the Native Americans called it. That is because it grows along paths. I have it all over my yard and paths. It is very plentiful from May through October. It is a perennial and grows from 6-18 inches tall. The leaves are broad oval shaped with wavy margined or toothed, ribbed with a grooved stalk. It's flowers grow in a slender, elongate head. Most people think of it as a weed. Not me! I love my weeds. I think of it as medicine or food and that is more important to me than a nice lawn (now I don't believe my husband thinks the same way on that........men love their lawns!).

For eating you can chop and add it to your salads or sandwiches in place of, or with lettuce. Or boil it for 10-15 minutes and serve with butter. Try to use very young leaves as they are sometimes very stringy and you might not like them. I like to pick a variety of greens growing wild and cook them all together or put them all in our salads raw and chopped. Why let them go to waste when they are full of rich vitamins and minerals?

 Common Plantain growing in our lawn.

Common Plantain is used widely in folk medicine world wide. It is a confirmed antimicrobial and stimulates the healing process. In Latin America it is believed to be a cancer remedy. Traditionally both varieties of Plantain are used as leaf tea for coughs, diarrhea, dysentery and bloody urine. Science research has confirmed bronchodilation action (widening the air passages of the lungs and eases breathing). Leaves can be applied to blisters,sores, ulcers, swelling, insect bites and stings, also used for earaches, eye ailments and to reduce the pain of inflammation. The mucilage from any plantain seed may lower cholesterol levels.Be careful though as some Plantain seeds may cause rare instances of Dermatitis when being handled. Not for everyone but sensitive individuals may contract it. So just be aware and be careful.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole
All Photographs Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole
Updated 2020