Back to the "Deep South" in Duluth GA

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I get a kick out of hearing the term "Deep South" in 2026. It is a crazy incredibly outdated label. I think maybe I should start saying the "Deep Northeast". I am a Yankee. My family came over on the Mayflower and moved to Upstate NY via Connecticut. Terms used in the revolutionary and Civil war days are generally inappropriate. My family is all but totally out of NY State now. I find the term "deep south" to be of the same thinking that the movie "Heidi" is what contemporary Europe is like. Watching the fireworks in Rochester, NY from the back yard of a house in the city made it look like a real war zone. It is a long drive between Berkshire, NY and Duluth, GA. Most of the 35K miles on the truck were spent in between. I drove the truck about 3k miles in 2-1/2 weeks. It was great to spend time on the farm. It was good to make some progress on needed repairs and improvements. I also felt good about making some new friends up there. I will be...
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Cranberry Mead

I am making mead today. It has a little cranberry in it, not much. I suspect it will be quite subtle in the finished product. The coffee can contraption holds the honey pot (jug) so the honey can all run out in just a matter of mere hours without having to baby sit. The recipe is as follows:


  • Water
  • Yeast, Lalvin EC-1118 Saccharomyces bayanus (Champagne) 15 grams (rehydrated)
  • 2 quarts Cranberry juice from concentrate
  • 10 pounds of Raspberry Honey from Howland Honey
  • The starting gravity turned out to be 1073.

The liquid that mead is made from is called "must".



The temperature is above zero out there for the first time in a couple of days. I think it is 3 above right now. The llamas seem happy, the chickens are happy anytime I give them sheep food. We got 4 eggs this morning so everyone is still producing.

I re-read the coal stove manual and discovered I was not using it as efficiently as I could have been. I had it in "weak draft" mode. My draft is excellent, I can run the hot gases through the internal chambers to more effectively extract heat to the room. It did make a significant difference. We add a log or two when the coal starts slowing down and the coal comes right back. The cats like it.

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