Getting back

to the blog. Sometimes I find it hard to get on here and report on what we have done or share things we use differently but I will try to do better.
Seems this summer got away from us. two days after the kids got out for summer vacation our daughter fell and broke her arm which required surgery. So we spent the summer trying to keep her cool and comfortable. With gaining full range of motion 12 days before school started she then started horseback riding lessons.
Our homesteads garden was not very useful this year and we are very disappointed. But with 1 year as a flop in the 9 years we have lived here it doesn't seem so bad.
We have braced the fence to get a calf and a few goats. We have raised them before and loved every moment of it.

Hope this entry finds you well and busy. Our homestead is still growing and we have exciting news in the next post. See you back here in a bit!

Picture post

Above - Peanuts

Pumpkins that ripened too soon

Horse shed that was made out of recycled materials.

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!

In the beautiful sun

The other day I got this wonderful photo of the colts laying in the sun. They are growing really fast and are so very smart horses.

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.

Red and Oreo

They are the best little horse colts. I will be posting a few pictures of them outside. They loved seeing everything they could. They were not scared and were interested even in the dogs. They ran, kicked, and layed in the sunshine. Both get daily walks providing its not raining. They are getting more active and I must say they are a little spoiled. We guessed there age at- Red 2 weeks old and Oreo about a week old. We here have been busy with feeding and gardening. I am a bit relaxed today becasue it is raining and I can wait at least today on the gardening. Also gives me time to catch up on posting!

Our new additions

Red and Oreo are the new additions to our family. Red is bigger and friendlier then Oreo ( we think Red is maybe a week older then Oreo)but we are excited about having them here. The kids love having to feed them milk and "train" them.

They are drinking there milk from a bucket so that helps. No need for a bottle, although I did get one just in case. But they are drinking their milk great from the bucket.

Hope to get some better photos of them tomorrow.