Weekend Refresh

We have had a busy weekend. We celebrated our 12 wedding anniversary this weekend with some time alone visiting the big city near our home. We found some great stores which has helped us decide that adding on to our home is the right thing to do for us.

If you have a HFH( Habitat for Humanity) Restore store near you, I urge you to go and take a look if you haven't already. At the one near us they had everything from kitchen cupboards, furniture, appliances, doors, windows, tile,and sinks. They are used but still in good condition items that are donated to the store and then sold for HFH. With our plans to add on to our home in the near future we were excited and pleased to have found things we could use and are Eco - friendly by not letting them go into a landfill.

3 day old chicks (bantam)

This weekend we also acquired a few more animals that we were planning on getting. We now have 2 more rabbits and 8 more chickens. The rabbits are a month old and the kids were grateful to have them. Five of the chickens ( 6 weeks) are bought for eating and 3 other chicks are 3 days old for a birthday gift.

Bottle fed lambs we fostered

The lambs are no longer here, they were reunited with their other brothers and sisters and moms. They were a real great pleasure to have fostered ( even though we lost 2 due to pnuemonia - the temps here went crazy on us) during their bottle feeding days and hope to have the opportunity to foster again next year.

  Today our cat ( Fuzzy) is at the vet having surgery. I did cry when I had to leave him but plan to go pick him up later this evening. I will post an update later this evening.

 Have a Blessed day!!!

Self - Sufficient part 1

For us here self sufficiency is a big priority of ours. Of course being self sufficient is a lot of hard work. From day light to dark there is something to do, from feeding, checking on animals, digging in the dirt, or playing with seeds. So where does one start on the road to self sufficiency? Well let me start by saying the road is long - don't try to get it all done in one year, it takes time. Its a learning experience. you learn by trial and a bunch of errors.
Our first 6 years here we concentrated our energy on the garden and building the soil. we experienced some great harvests, and some not so great. From there we introduced fruit trees onto our property. Now we have 5 apple trees, 3 peach trees and 2 cherry trees all well established and thriving. we also learned how to make laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent.
This year (Year 9) we are concentrating on animals and the greenhouse and maybe some alternative heating source. Getting animals is a given- everyone is on board and ready to learn and help. the green house should get done within the next month - just in time. The heating source we are doing some research on and trying to figure out which would be best for our needs. On one hand the outdoor wood stove will heat the home and our water but wondering if wood, to use in the stove, will be readily available. On the other hand we have been also looking at solar panels but will the sun be enough here in the winter months to keep our home warm. This will be an exciting venture to see how it turns out, stay tuned.

Let me introduce you to

BISCUIT!! He is 4 days old today. He is 1 of 4 lambs born to the same mother. She was unable to take care of all of them so our neighbors asked us to take care of him. Hes a very sweet addition to our family and we have really enjoying this opportunity. Here on our Bit of soil its really hard to determine what we will get into around here. I think that's what keeps us going in these lazy snowy winters. The kids are also enjoying the lessons being learned by helping us take care of him. Its alot of work, just like caring for a newborn. But work that I enjoy and I have raised many animals on bottles. Horses, kitten and goats to name a few. can't wait ot show you more pictures as he grows.

Do you have any bummer babies ( bottle babies)?

Around the bit in September- letting things grow

Well the rain once again has brought me inside. Inside to catch up my blogging, housework, and laundry ( which I would rather do when the rain is over so I can hang them up outside). I was working out in the raised beds clearing the summer vegetable plants for some fall planting - better late then never - for some radishes and peas before winter sets in.

OUTSIDE - The main garden has been cleared and prepped for a winter cover crop, which will give the soil some much needed nutrients it may have lost through the summer plants. With the cover crop along with a layer of compost that was made throughout last year next years garden will have an extra bit of help. Also on the agenda this fall is to cover a area for a new bed which will be used to grow something edible in the front yard next year. this new bed is part of my five year plan ( more on that later). Tomatoes in the raised beds are still providing enough tomatoes to keep them piling up and keeping me trying to find new ways to preserve them. Drying them has been the best way for me since I have what I need canned in the pantry. Peanuts are the last long crop I have in the ground which they will not be harvested until the first fall frost. We still have plenty of fresh carrots in the ground and with any luck will keep us through the winter with a cover over them.



INSIDE - We have been busy trying to organize the master bedroom and going through things that we no longer need. With any luck we can get rid of some things that others can benefit from. We are trying to keep our flour, sugar, and other baking supplies full for the pending holiday baking that we do here.



PREPARING - We are also taking time to get things for our emergency bags that we may or may not need. But just having them around I feel better knowing the family will be okay if something should ever happen because of natural or man made disasters. We still need a few things just to be sure. One thing we recently scratched off our list is another kerosene heater. We received it for $50 which is a great value and of course it is used. Used but in great shape and only used one year for a few days. Also today I am making my way to the new Amish store close to here to see what they have for our pantry. I will update you when I get back.

So with everything going on our lists of things to do and our lists of already done are still both growing. But hubby says as long as the "done" list is growing its okay that the "to do" list continues to grow. So with that I will end this post to letting all things grow, weither is be the garden, the garden plots, the pantry, or the lists.
Have a great homesteading day!

Homestead happenings - August

With everything growing like crazy my family has really seen how much a mom can juggle at one given time. It gets really hectic and confusing at times but its really amazing how much you can get done in a 24 hour period.
Keeping- Tomato soup ( thanks A for the recipe), hot juice, and tomato juice are the things being processed at this time. With the occasional bushel of green beans thrown in just for good measure. But really With 50+ pounds of tomatoes coming out of the garden in a day the juicer has been working over time! The pantry is full with an added 4 shelves put up which are all full also. The freezer also full. Its a good feeling when you know how well your family will be fed this winter.
Outside - We built a shed for the horses and also a much larger pasture for them to room and eat. It feeds them plus we now have about 40 minutes of mowing gone!! And as if cutting out the grass wasn't a big enough plus we also have no money out of our pocket for all the materials used. The shed was recycled from a bigger shed we took down for someone. We also got a kids playhouse which was recycled. the posts we had from when we first moved here and never got around to building the fence. The fence was given to us by a neighbor, he took it down to put up new, the fence is in great shape. He said it was going to the landfill - NOooooo. Okay he brought it to us. Yippee!!
Inside - still going through things to have a yard sale. this will take some time with the garden flourishing like it is. Our electric company sent us a letter about a program to help the environment and save energy. So we are signing up for that.
Well that's about all for now. I am trying to get the fall planting in the ground and the raised beds ready for the winter months with new horse manure on them for next years planting. You know you are a homesteader when you are thinking and planning for 6 months from the month you are actually in. HAve a great weekend!

Freezing, canning, and salting Oh my!

Although the weather feels like Fall it still is indeed Summer. The harvest season is in full swing. With peppers, cabbage, blackberries, corn, potatoes, and brussel sprouts all needing to be canned, pickled, froze, or dried we are i n the midst of our busiest time of year. Oh and did I mention putting up fence, 7 birthdays, and building a barn for the horses? Yup all that means a whole lotta late nights bonding with my kitchen. (Sigh) The pleasures of homesteading. ya gotta love it.

Our first set of corn has really set out alot of pounds and makings for some savory meals come winter. The potatoes are coming up and we have about 20 pounds in the pantry, where its cool and dark. When the potatoes come up new veggies have been filling the holes in the garden or raised beds. We have a lot of veggies in the pantry, almost nearly full, making me wonder where I will end up putting the rest of our harvest. I'm sure the cupboards could hold a bit more with a little rearranging.

Yesterday we went over the hill to check on posts for the fencing and alas the blackberries were ripe and much more to our surprise the wild animals didn't eat them all. SO we got a container and had a fun time picking them wonderful berries which will be jam sometime today.

Just because

There are so many pictures I want to just unload but this is my favorite. It just seems everyone even the animals can't get enough of the fresh veggies. Here on of the kittens is in the Brussel sprouts.
Okay well that's all I have for tonight so I think I am going to bed. Good night!

a time for color and babies

Yes that is Spring. With Spring in full swing I thought I would share a few pictures of just a few things that are happening around here.


On the left are the kittens that were born under our porch. The photo on the right shows a baby robin bird, just emerging from the nest. Preparing to take its first flight. A robin has eggs in the tree out front every year. We are pleased to be able to watch them emerge every year.



The animals and the garden are not the only thing growing. Our flowers that attract the bees are blooming and keep us in beautiful flowers all Spring and summer long. We plant just enough flowers to keep the bees happy and just enough food to keep us happy around here.





With the rain falling, sometime which felt like buckets, we were also able to capture some in our homemade rain barrels for the garden and raised beds. It seems to rain, fill the barrels, then quit raining long enough for us to use what we saved then rain again. I hope to add around 3 more barrels this summer.



The apples are growing faster then last year. We have a total of 5 apple trees now. Two of which will provide us with wholesome apples this fall and winter. This is the yellow delicious in the picture above. The other one, not pictured, that will grow apples this year is called a Jonathan apple. The peaches are bigger already then in the past, hope to have pictures uploaded soon. We pruned the peaches this year at the end of winter and they are so much happier.
While we still have grass we are taking alot of time to reduce our lawn every year. I hope to have the front yard grass free in the next 2 years. Have a wonderful day!!!

I'm sorry, so sorry

This has been a long week. I am very sorry for not posting for the last ten days. OH where do I began at telling you how much has been going on here?
Okay well number 1 ) all of this Springs fruit trees are in the ground!! Then is froze...duh. Duh on me big time. Still hoping is was not below freezing to do any damage to those wonderful yummy trees.
2) The horses are doing great. Eating like well ... ummm... horses!! LOL Loving there long walks in the yard, eating grass and laying in the sun makes them want to run. They also have become well aware of there feeding times. And don't you dare be even 2 minutes late.
3) Planted potatoes - four rows of 15 feet long. Need more but the rain started and I needed to quit. Also the peas, onions, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, carrots and radishs are all growing well.
4.) We had a great big Easter celebration here on Sunday after church. There were 9 kids hunting for eggs. We had 518 eggs that all the kids had a blast looking for. I love Easter.
5) Building a lot for the horses. This will be handy for them to be in the yard eating grass and being in the sunshine without a lead line ( leash).
So really cleaning, planting, seeding, composting, building, and planning is all that I have been doing around here. Oh yeah and breathing... well if I have time. Man I love Spring but it sure is tiring.

postponing the posts

Sorry for so much time between posts but things are getting really busy around here. As the following posts will show - just how busy we have become.













First, last Sunday we decided to take the kids fishing. They all had a great time although we didn't catch any fish. We ended up at the creek, skipping rocks and having a blast here are some photos of our day.
The boys enjoyed catching frogs and crawl dads while I enjoyed searching and watching the minnows in the water.

Back at home there are tons of bees on the flowering trees. So nice to see so many of them so soon.

The onions are growing in the raised beds as well as the peas. I seeded the carrot and radish bed the other day and they should be sprouting soon also.

New strawberry beds are awaiting the arrival of the plants. They should be here any day now, as well as the new fruit trees and our potato seeds. The potatoes are going to be very late. Oh well they will get planted when they arrive!!