Place To Be

as of yesterday, we have 6 new residents at the ‘stead!

needless to say, they are chirpy and hilarious – reqbat demanded a duck cam which is a GENIUS idea but i think i would never get any work done if such an amazing thing existed.

the 2 drakes are significantly smaller than the ducks, and one has mottling on the crown, so its already difficult to get into livestock mode when i’ve named him ‘nick drake’.

luckily, caring for the ducks is a Fun New Chore since they are as small as they’ll ever be and every predator in the lower laurentians is going to be after these little dudes.  muscovies are one of the largest breeds of duck, but we still have a little ways before they’re too big for the snakes, considering this ::

snakes are heavy magick, and our garden is simply slithering with them!  we were fortunate enough to watch this rather unfortunate toad turn into lunch for this rather large garter snake.  we missed the catch but scrambled for our cameras to record the swallow – about 20 minutes of struggle.  what a macabre spectator sport!

there are at least 4 garter snakes around and even a northern ringnecked snake lurking around the south side.  too quick for the cameras, so you’ll just have to take my word on our resident diadophis punctatus edwardsii.

if that weren’t enough animal action for ya, here’s a painted turtle who appeared to us almost out of thin air. whoever said turtles were slow never met this guy

wild life galore!  this really is the place to be

April May Fly

april has come and gone, thank the gods, though the sentiment seems to be dragging on into may.  by the time the rain clears the blackflies are bound to be in full force!

in preparation for the new growing season, we have been expanding our growing space, which unfortunately meant clearing some trees.  beautiful maples that were damaged in house building gave up hard.

split and piled, we now have our wood for winter and even enough to frame a large grain bed!  the trick is to use EVERY part of the tree – don’t just throw the branches into a brush pile – break and bind them with twine into faggots for kindling.  your future self will thank you for not having to split cordwood in the middle of february.

hiking up to the meadow in search of apple saplings is a wonderful reminder of the vast wilderness that surrounds us.

coyote or … ? whatever it may be, let’s keep them here. diversity is the key! developers need not apply.

returning from town is never complete without a load of free ditch mulch!  wild grasses, horse manure, and woodchips.  nature supplies you with everything you need to remain fertile.

nothing in life is truly for sale, don’t be roped into thinking otherwise.

peace and peas

heatherrific

Marché Morin-Heights

Nous sommes à la recherche producteurs ou de transformateurs d’aliments ou de produits « BIO » afin de pourvoir notre nouveau marché fermier de Morin-Heights. Aussi, les artisans, musiciens, et auters artistes performatives sont bienvenue de nous contactez. Le début des activités est prévu pour le mois de juin – surtout 2 à 7 chaque vendredi.

Le lieu de vente sera situé sur les terrains de la Légion à l’angle de la rue Watchorn et de la route 364. Les terrains de la Légion sont le siège de marchés aux puces très courus par la population régionale Les tables sont offertes au prix de $30 chacune,

Nous espérons pourvoir faire de ce lieu un nouvel espace de rencontre pour tous ceux qui sont conscients que leur santé passe par celle de leur environnement. Faites–nous part de votre intérêt en nous appelant [450] 226.2789 ou en nous écrivant.

merci et bonne bouffe!

heather et regan

________________________________________________________________________

We are currently looking for vendors! Food producers, artisans, and performers are welcome to apply. The market will take place from 2-7 on FRIDAYS starting mid-june.

The Morin-Heights market will take place at the Royal Canadian Legion on the corner of Watchorn and the 364 – the same place as the infamous Flea Market. Spaces are $30, bring your own display/table.

We are hoping to create a space that promotes local agriculture and that encourages community interaction. If you’re interested in taking part – please do not hesitate to call [450] 226.2789 or write us!

thank you!

heather and regan

Arizona, Arizona

dear world,

heather here and i’d like to introduce you to the MESQUITE TREE.

it’s a rather unassuming, scrubbly sort of vegetation – but! – if you were to wait till the end of season and grind the product of its pods, you would end up with a sweet tasting flour that is 70% protein and which complements buckwheat tremendously.  sadly, our cold, damp quebecoisclimate does not favour this particular plant, but keep your eyes peeled for it.  i have a feeling its desert abundance will soon be made known throughout the foodie world.

it fueled our bodies, our tired spirits.  driving through northern arizona [ALL OF IT] was expansive, staggering.  beautiful, deprived.  we saw it all – the grandiose mansions and gated communities, the exhausted poverty of the unfortunate reservation system.  processing these injuries was overwhelming – by the time we reached sedona we just wanted to stop.  moving.  to be still, to plunge our tired bodies and souls into the earth.  which is exactly what we did.

shaken, we were whisked away from the vortical power of sedona to cornville by a benevolent farmer.  we only spent a day and an evening weeding, but it felt like so much MORE.  only recently having revived from our winter comas, the southern sun in april was at the same power as our same sun, in june.  being a textbook virgo, there is nothing like digging in the dirt to soothe any and all heartache.

little did we know that paradise lived in the desert.  taking a tip from our host, we head out to fossil creek.  the closed road did not deter us from achieving the bliss that is

we had gone swimming throughout our trip – it was the golden rule.  it didn’t really matter if the colorado river was hypothermia-inducing cold – we went swimming anyway because HEY!  we were there, we had our respective suits, and the air was hot as blazes.  but here, in fossil creek, there were no heart attack yelps.  everywhere was a swimming hole.  the creek is lined with ancient coral – the kind that houses hundreds of lizards.  finally finding what we both were looking for, it was hard to leave.

there is nothing more beautiful, more terrifying than the desert.  i was immediately at home in its expansive landscape, its consistent middle-of-nowhere frequency.  the forest can be quite claustrophobic, but i won’t hold it against it.  it too, was once the bottom of an ocean, maybe even the bottom of the same ocean.

Winter’s Shade

 

smiles, all around!

we’ve made it through february <3

Hunger

it’s hard to not be hungry after a long day skiing!  spending hours outdoors is a pleasure, but one does burn a lot of precious calories.  here’s the best way i know how to get your daily protein and have some sweets!

sweet and savoury venison stew

so simple!  venison + frozen blueberries + applesauce + water + slow woodburning oven = stew.  please note that all the ingredients, even the wood we burned to cook it, were extremely local and hand picked by the homestead nomads their very lovely selves.

put the lid on the pot and cook in slow heat for 2 hours.  the apples and blueberries make the meat just melt in your melt.  wild food is really the best food!  the meat can be served with any dish, can even be used to supplement any beef or chicken in a given recipe.  the broth can be ladled like soup and packed with fresh buckwheat and arugula sprouts like a hot salad.

to wrap up your meal, how about some ice cream?  or; better yet, SNICE CREAM?

 

- 2 bowls of snow -[backyard]
those big stainless steel bowls work best.  the quality of snow you are looking for is, first and foremost, freshly fallen.  the absolute best is of a crystally, finely grained snow.  powdery snow will also do.  the dryer the snow the better but what the heck!  experiment at will.  1 bowl will be the actual snice cream, the second will be the cooling agent to keep snice cream from melting too quickly.
- a bunch of flavour [quebec blackberries and blueberries]
fresh or frozen fruit for a sorbet or cocoa powder for a more traditional palette.   [we used the blueberries and blackberries we picked in august].  mix with…
- maple syrup [le fou d'erable]
really the only sweetener we use anymore.  blend with flavour of choice to make a paste [not too thick]

whip all ingredients together [quickly!  hand whip only NO BLENDERS] in a bowl placed inside the second bowl lined with snow.  adjust flavour and snow amounts for best texture and flavour saturation possible.  add a bit of heavy cream [35% and +] for creamier texture.
best eaten fresh!  or place in freezer for more solid results.
the best thing about this is every time you make it, you will result in something unique and plentiful [during or after snowfall] when it happens.  snice cream should be eaten as a salute to winter!

Sprout Season

first, we must find the grain. we watch it grow- its harvest is the
sturgeon moon. keeper of the seed. Red Lion will keep you safe.
Explore i know no boundaries, know the bounty, eat me. straight from
the vine. Yours, divinely.

 

installation ideas

Stay Wild

 

do join us!  video wilderness, yarn magic, and delicious music!

 

Statement

The use of both moving and still images are used to capture the stillness and ephemerality inherent in the transient nature between culturally acceptable sedentary lifestyle along with the more volatile and marginalized nature of nomadism.  With their wildly different artistic training, Heather and Regan combine their diverse backgrounds to play with and to address the subjects of self-sufficiency, permaculture, pagan spirituality, native folklore, natural history, and domesticity.  Homestead Nomads began showing as a collective in August 2011 with their first show in Val-David, and continue to work together, allowing their work to evolve naturally to their surrounding environments.

Regan Moran

I am a visual artist working with video and photo montages accompanied with sound that I also produce and find. I document real life and use my images to honour local people who work with rhythms more attuned to their landscape than to a clock on a wall.   I received a grant from the NFB for a short film on the Rouge river and did freelance camera work for CBC Quebec North in James Bay and worked shooting or assisting in many small independent films in Montreal. Just because video is a TV medium does not mean it has to be made into bland sequences designed to sell  things or lull people to sleep. I want my videos to be inspirational and imply that we need to stay close to the earth and enjoy what nature has to offer, which is everything; food, light and spiritual connection. The most recent screening of my work was at the St Sauveur Independant film Festival on September 11 2011, where I presented, The Making Of Cities. A look at the music of Jeremiah Wall. 

Heather Utah

Formally trained in Fibre and Liberal Arts, Heather Utah has been creating drawing and textile installations and releasing independent publications since 2007.  Much of her work is made public in various locales in and around Montreal and New York.  She now lives and works in Morin-Heights, and is currently collaborating with Regan Moran in the artist collective ‘Homestead Nomads’.