Our Eclectic Skillset

Workshops, Demonstrations and Presentations

 

Click here for a list of workshops that Peter and Julie can do for you

 

 

 


 

We Walk Our Talk

We love our 173 year-old home and have restored it to fit our modern lifestyle while keeping its 19th century quaintness

 

The 420' long riverfront property was a monoculture of grass and few trees in 1991 and now it is one of the most diverse lots in the city

 

 

 

 

  

 

There's even a bellows forge out back where we occasionally host a daylong gathering affectionately called "Forge and Gorge" where we bang on red-hot metal and feast afterwards

 

 


 

 

First-Person 18th Century Natural Philosopher & Gentleman Scholar

Recently Peter provided one of the PhenoCulture Wisconsin services at the Waukesha County Land Conservancy "OaktoberFest" Fundraiser

Book him as his first-person persona Mr Peter Watts, Esq who uses hands-on activities to teach about binomial nomenclature and see how modern living meets the past!

 

phenoculturewisconsin@gmail.com

     

 

     

Photos taken by volunteers for the Waukesha County Land Conservancy

 

The Video of Peter as an 18th Century Naturalist presenting Anatomy and Physiology of Skulls, Teeth and Fossils to Children was taken by Jill Bedford (Jill Bedford Photography)

 

(When Peter steps out of character to explain certain concepts, he informs his audience that he's breaking character)

 

 


 

Urban Homesteading

Any property can lend itself to being Nature-friendly

Let us help you create an environment that feeds wildlife, your soul - and your bellies

 

 

Backyard Bees

 

 

Hours can be spent sitting, quietly watching the comings and goings around a bee hive

So much can be learned by observing the cooperative precision of these of these super-organisms

 

Though honeybees are not native to the America's, we've identified at least five species of native bees and several different species of wasps in our gardens- and many of them have made homes here

 

    

  

Since we're more hands-off than some beekeepers, the combs can get, well, complicated

 

  

If you're a beginner, we'd recommend starting with a Langstroth Hive, which has been around for over a hundred years and is a little easier to learn from and care for

 

     

 

We have a top-frame hive called a BeePod which is a better choice for beekeeping since the well being of bees is most important to us

 

Top frame-style hives have been around for thousands of year and allow bees to do what they naturally do without being forced to bypass certain critical life stages

 

              

     

 

Bearding can occur because of high temperature, but it is often an indication that your hive is ready to split or swarm

 

Swarms are NOT dangerous and are incredible to witness

 

The sound energy of thousands of bees spiraling upwards is awe-inspiring

 

 

  

Children are intrinsically fascinated by bees (not to mention their sweet honey) 

 

Let us know how we can get your kids interested in the wonders of the honeybee!

 

 

       

 

  

We typically do not harvest honey from our hive unless the colony dies off

 

Unfortunately this is happening more often with the complications of climate change

 

There is so much to be learned from keeping bees and they offer incredible healing - from the honey itself to propolis to pollen to simply taking the time to slow down long enough to appreciate them

 

 

We purchase our Bee Packages from Heritage Honeybee in Sullivan

 


 

Backyard Hens

Your community doesn't allow backyard poultry?

 

We were instrumental in getting our community to accept backyard chickens

 

Though there's still more education to do, we finally have an ordinance that allows hens

 


 

Keeping food local and within our control is the only way to know what we're really eating

 

Raising backyard hens is so much more entertaining than you might think!

 

 

     

One of favorite breeds is the Buff Orpington

 

They love to cuddle and they're great layers

 

     

                        

Believe it or not, hens can be trained to stay in the yard

 

Peter uses hand gestures and vocalizations to keep them in line - plus the promise of a worm is a great incentive to stay close

 

 

 

                

Another breed that we have is the Black Australorp

 

They're not as friendly as Buffs, but they're prolific summer layers. Winter? Not so much

We compost, of course, but our hens are fed most of our kitchen scraps. In addition, many of the fall leaves are dumped into their run and by spring virtually all of it has been broken down and ready to place on plants throughout the gardens

 

Hatching the eggs yourself or getting one-day old chicks and raising them is a huge part of connecting with them

 

 

When needed, we get our chicks from Abendroth's Hatchery near Waterloo, WI

 

 


 

Growing Food in Small Spaces

 

Set up a consultation to figure out how to best use the space you have

 

  

     

 

Growing hops is easy and provides great shade over a gazebo

and grapes are wonderful - and delicious - to grow as a living fence

 

 

     

 

Children should be exposed to gardening for the vast health benefits

 

Our grandson helps harvest potatoes from a 2' x 4' x 4' potato tower

 

Food can be grown in the smallest of spaces - Let us come up with some ideas for you

 

 


 

Growing and Harvesting Garlic

 

 

Garlic is so healthy for us and growing garlic isn't difficult with the right plan

 

Wait until it's cold enough that the bulbs won't sprout before early spring. That's usually sometime in October

 

Once the soil is prepped, divide the cloves with a blunt knife

 

We trench out a row about 4" deep and lay the garlic cloves pointy-side UP about 4" apart

 

Using tree leaves in late autumn, we cover the bed with about 5" of leaves as winter cover

 

Harvest takes place somewhere between August and September for us

 

 

  

We typically make pesto from the scapes, but sometimes we miss a couple!

 

The photo on the left shows the root structure of garlic while still in the ground

 

 

 

Once it's harvested, depending on the moisture content of the soil, it might have to be washed

 

We usually let it sit in the sunshine for a couple of hours

 

 

 

We braid both hard neck and soft neck varieties, though we usually grow hard neck varieties

 

  

We can grow a year's worth of garlic in a 4' x 10' raised bed

 

We get our locally-sourced natural garlic from Copper Kettle Gourmet Garlic near Erin, WI

 


 

Spring Clean – Make Your Own Cleaning and Hygiene Products

The typical products that we use to clean our homes are filled with industrial chemicals- many which have been proven to cause illness, including asthma.

Common household chemicals are also linked to infertility

 

We want to know what's in the products we use. Our goal is shift completely from the paradigm of rampant consumerism and be as self-sufficient as possible

 

Products we can help you make include: Toothpaste, laundry detergent, dish washing liquid, bar soap, shampoo, citrus cleaner, floor cleaner, silver cleaner and deodorant

 

Consider hosting a 'Homesteading Party' with our help

(like a tupperware party, only different)

 

      

  

We do all kinds of family-friendly events

 

Make arrangements with us and we'll get the supplies so your guests can bring home their own self-made cleaning supplies along with proven recipes

 

 

                       

Learn to make your own laundry detergent. dish washing liquid, toothpaste, lotions and shampoo

 

 

 

       

 

 

Making your own soap is truly gratifying - and it smells terrific

 

 


 

Angora Rabbits

 

 

The bunny hutch was assembled by Peter and you'll find the process on the Installations/Projects page

 

Julie bought two Angora rabbits, sisters named Unut and Ostara, so she could comb out their fur and use it to make mittens and such

 

  

Keeping the cages clean means getting out there every day, even when it's subzero!

 

Unut, the black one, and Ostara, the white one, enjoy apple twigs and branches after our apple trees are trimmed and pruned in late fall and winter

 

  

The collection of white fluff on the left is a year's worth of white Angora combings

 

The fur is then carded using a drum carder

 

Julie blends sheep wool with the Angora

 

  

Dyed wool can be blended with the Angora to get the colours desired

 

 

The batting is then spun using a spinning wheel and either knitted or woven using a four shaft castle loom

 

Julie Cuccia-Watts Website

 

 


 

Fermentation Fun

We host gatherings where we teach folks how to make their own great tasting and healthful fermented foods and beverages

 

The medical world is just now starting to understand the complex and vital role appropriate gut flora have on our overall health. Eating fermented foods is an excellent way to keep that gut bacteria replenished and healthy. Modern living meets the past

 

Book us for a workshop and take home what you need to make your own!

 


 

Vinegar

 

  

We peel and core our heritage apples using the juice to make cider and the scraps to make vinegar

 

The scraps are placed in a 5 gallon ceramic crock, topped off with spring water and covered with a linen cloth

 

Fermentation takes about 6 months

 

 

  

When the fermentation is complete we strain off as much liquid as possible and then scoop out the solids

 

We use several layers of cheesecloth to twist the remaining liquid from the pulp

 

The dry pulp is composted

 

 

  

 

The apple cider vinegar contains its own mother and has a lot of uses and health benefits

 

 


 

Pickles

 

  

We use our own cukes, garlic and dill with salt

 

To EASILY make HEALTHIER pickles, top off cucumbers with spring water in a gallon crock and lay a grape leaf (for tannins and natural yeast) on top

 

Use a plate submerge the cucumbers for around four weeks or so then refrigerate. They'll stay crispy for as long as it takes to eat them

 

Fermented pickles are delicious and much better for us since they contain beneficial microbes

 

 


 

Sauerkraut

 

 

Sauerkraut is fermented using about a tablespoon of pink salt and caraway

 

The salt is hydrophilic and pulls the natural juices out off the shredded cabbage

 

Let stand for about four weeks in a dark, cool cupboard

 

 


 

Kombucha and Natural Sodas

 

  

Kombucha is delicious and full of beneficial bacteria that improve our gut flora

 

It's simple to make- using black tea,  honey or organic sugar

 

If you have a mother, called a scoby, the process takes about a week. If you're starting from scratch the process might take several weeks

 

Place the tea into a dark, cool cupboard and let the alchemy happen!

 

 

 

We don't drink soda, but sometimes we miss the carbonation

 

Often the kombucha will be fizzy and really satisfying

 

A similar recipe can be used to make a remarkable fizzy lemonade

 

*Though there is a very small amount of ethanol produced in this process, it's no more than you find in a ripe, fresh orange

 

 


 

Mead

 

Mead is an ancient fermented, alcoholic beverage made from honey, spring water and yeast

 

It's especially satisfying when your mead is made from your own honey collected from your own bees!

 

  

We use between 4 and 6 pounds of honey per gallon of spring water, which is warmed up a bit to aid dissolving

 

Once the honey has been dissolved and the temperature is around 90 degrees or less, add the yeast

 

We often use champagne yeast and it tends to produce a drier, more alcoholic mead

 

  

 

The solution is then transferred into a carboy for the fermentation process

 

Fruits and spices can be added, called a melomel, which are really fun to experiment with. The darker gallon carboy is an elderberry-ginger mead

 

 

  

 

We are pretty careful with disinfecting everything to be used in the process

 

Stop up the carboy using an airlock and watch it bubble!

 

 

Depending on your yeast and other factors, you can have a finished mead in as little as a month, but the process can often take over a year before bottling

 

 

 

Ah! The Famous MEAD face!

 

 


 

Living History

 

 

 

We've done Independence Day parades for different groups and causes

 

Peter's presentation at the North American Voyageurs Council led to two presentations for the Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison, WI

 

  

 

We created and organized Rock River Rendezvous, an annual living history camp (French and Indian War to Civil War), in our community that focused on education

 

                  

 

Though we haven't been involved with camping for a number of years, we are still prepared to present colonial life skills such as "primitive" fire starting, open fire cooking and bodice-making as well how to create your own accurate historical persona

 

       

     Book Peter for a first-person portrayal of an 18th Century Natural Philosopher for kids and adults

 

 

Haste ye Back!

 

 


 

Scots History

 

 

 

 

Peter is well known for his in-depth Great Kilt demonstration at schools, historical events and Highland Games

 

 

Peter served as Convener for his mother's clan, The House of Gordon Wisconsin, for several years and traveled to several state Highland Games, including Grandfather Mountain, in that capacity

 

He is a founding member of the Wisconsin Highland Games and Celtic Fling and Mad Celt Fest

 

 

 

Peter has been honoured to present the Immortal Memory at formal Burns Suppers for local St. Andrews groups

 

He has also worked with community theater honouring Scotland's great bard

 


 

Snow Sculpting

On a totally different tack, Peter is a past member of the United States Champion Snow Sculpting Team

 

Peter has organized school-wide snow sculpting activities

 

 

Peter and Brian Clemence look for finishing touches on the Inuit in Kayak on Whale sculpture

 

    

Peter's favorite first place sculpture is Icarus from the 1987 US Snow Sculpting Competition

Sculpture designed by Craig Yanek

 

  

Being presented with an award in Ottawa Canada

The Whale, The Bird Sculpture designed by Brian Clemence

 

Inuit in Kayak on Whale sculpture pushed the physical limits of snow

Sculpture designed by Craig Yanek

 

 

 

 

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