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Habitant garden

 I have a very small garden in my yard. I affectionately call it my “habitant garden” because I’m attempting to grow (not specific varieties) the types of plants a typical habitant would have cultivated. This year my blueberry bushes have gotten stronger but haven’t produced a berry. Although my uncle advised me that I could harvest from my rhubarb the same year that I transplanted it I’ve opted to not harvest it and to let it grow large, only trimming where absolutely necessary. For a second year in a row watermelon has proved an abject failure for this habitant. I’m unsure if it’s the soil or a lack of sun or both. My Three Sisters garden is doing better than last year. I planted more plants than I have in pervious years. This year I attempted two three sisters gardens in one. On the left I planted everything within a matter of weeks and on the right I staggered the planting by months according to these instructions: another difference between them is that with the right side I a...
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A hanky for your head

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 For anyone reenacting a Canadian milicean  during the Seven Years War in America during the summer, being too hot can be common place.  We know what a typical allotment of clothing would have been in the summer from  various sources but one is from Bougainville in 1757: One capote  One blanket  One wool stocking cap 2 cotton shirts One pair of wool leggings  I breechcloth The wool stocking cap or toque can be worn even in the hottest of weather. You can get it sopping wet and let the water evaporate and cool your head. You can flip some of the bulk up to create a sort of brim but let’s face it a double thick knit wool cap can be murder in the summer. There are of course practical applications for a toque in the summer, especally at night or in inclement weather. Would the milice have gone bare headed in the summer? Probably not. For social and religious reasons 18th century French Canadians would have been compelled to cover their heads while in publi...
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