Mid July Update - 2022

Sunday...

The weather here has been insanely hot and this week will prove to be even hotter. We find that our feels like temperatures run about 10 degrees hotter than the thermometer reads. Right now the temp is about 103. 

Little turkey hen on a nest

I discovered yesterday that one of my turkey hens is sitting on a clutch of eggs. I didn't know turkeys did that in the summer, but only spring. But she is dutifully sitting on at least 10 eggs. 

This morning I didn't get out as early as I wanted because I had to get bread made. Since people were sleeping, I couldn't run the wheat grinder, so opted to make Prairie Homestead's Maple Oat bread (or my version, honey oat) with organic all purpose. The oats have to soak in boiling water first and I couldn't add the yeast until it cooled. So I ground some coffee beans, made coffee, did a load of laundry, then got the bread going. 

Two new rows: squash and pepper transplants

I grabbed seeds and the fertilizer from the garage on my way out and got to work. I fertilized the soil and planted both lemon and white scallop squash.  Then I  proceeded to dig out my chives when I discovered quickly there was a wasp nest hidden behind them. 

Lovely little wasp nest

So I stopped and went on to my next task.  I used dirt from the grow bags and topped off these beds then used the fertilizer (organic chicken compost). Some of these beds are empty or partially empty. I am prepping soil to plant more. 

tomatoes and basil and a freshly amended bed

 

Once that was done, I started weeding my strawberry bed which was in desperate need of maintenance. I was quite surprised that underneath all the pesky grass was a lot of new growth. When I finish weeding (I am halfway done) I will trim the sickly looking leaves and add fertilizer. I plan to transplant these in the fall to a better location, then use the bed for short term planting that can be weeded more easily. 

A very sad zucchini...but it is alive!

After watering, I came in for a bite to eat and my coffee which was in the refrigerator. Then I went back out and watered the kitchen garden. I transplanted the zucchini but I may have killed it. Although it looks like it died, it actually may make it.) Then when looking at the butternut squash, I noticed it had squash bugs. I started squishing them because I am not about to lose my butternut. 

Transplanted chives and butternut squash

The clump of chives I did get out of the raised bed before discovering the wasps, was planted in a large garden planter in the kitchen garden. Meanwhile, the corn, a midget sweet corn variety, is up and looking really good. Carrots aren't up yet, but I am hopeful. The tomato plant, chocolate cherry type,  looks great. 

Corn

Chocolate Cherry Tomatoes

Al has been setting up sprinklers to encourage the pastures to grow. The sheep ran out of forage and had to get a bale yesterday. Yes, it was the sabbath, but they needed food. So we got a hay cover taken over and brought in a round bale. 

I went back in the heat of the afternoon to plant potatoes in all the "fire rings".  There were five of them, and one black tub.  So the larger of all my potatoes that I harvested (and believe me they were not that large) went into the ground again. I am hopeful I can get these to produce more than my initial harvest. 

I also harvested three of the sweet potato bins, but the harvest was not good.  Plants were dying back and I decided to go ahead and pull them.  I did leave one bin to see what happens in the next month. 

I did end up going back out this evening to put up a trellis and plant a succession of cucumbers in a raised bed.  

Monday...

Last night we had a pretty powerful storm blow through with winds up to 60mph.  We are thankful to the Father that all is well despite the strong winds.  The only "damages" if you call it that, were tomato cages that had fallen over, the new cucumber trellis blew over, and the corn is somewhat sideways.  

We are also thankful that just a few hours prior, Al was able to bring all the hay in from the fields (sounds so weird to say that).  He brought in 45 small round bales.  These bales are light enough for me to carry, so that is a blessing for those days when we have a need to feed animals, yet are restrained from doing a large round bale.  Other than baling twine issues, as well as difficulty disconnecting and connecting the shaft to and from the baler (Al can correct me if I am incorrect), I think we are quite happy with the purchase.  It will come in handy for sure!

I took Smoky to the vet and it was determined he is about 6 weeks old and can be weaned.  So we will offer the milk and solid kibble.  The vet said he looked very healthy, but did give a dewormer to help expel any potential problems in the belly.  He said, "Thank you" for taking him in as it is probably not common practice for people to care for animals they find, but take them to shelters instead.  

Other homestead stuff...

Our two new pear trees and one apple tree have succumbed to fire blight, so Stark Brothers has refunded us.  

This side of the squash garden is doing fairly well with lush green vines.  They seem to hold up against the squash bugs quite well.  One of the vines I have not determined the type of squash.  There aren't any on it yet. The zucchini rampicante is actually quite delicious and has done better than the other zucchini types. 

Meanwhile, I did discover that I had indeed planted the Canada crookneck which is also proving to be a hearty variety for our area.  

The quail are due to hatch in just a few days.  The eggs are on day 16 now with only two more to go!  Al will have the fun of tending those tiny creatures while we are gone. 

In our homeschool...

Hannah put together a small volcano like the one on Mars.  She had fun with that one.  

The kids were supposed to do a presentation on certain topics of Egypt, but we have run out of time before the books have to be returned (not because they are due, but because we are leaving town).  So I instead told them to read up and we can share interesting things we learned from the books.  The books really didn't cover the topics we needed, but the information is good none the less.  

We recently started reading Catherine Marshall's Christy as a family read aloud.  They do love it when I read to them and I have missed it.  If anyone knows how to prevent excessive salivation while reading, let me know!!  Good grief!  Am I just out of practice?  LOL

The last of our curriculum from The Good and The Beautiful has been ordered now that Language Arts 2 is finally in stock.  Those who have already started some of it seem to be enjoying it.  The biggest struggle being the discipline to TRY even when you don't like to do something. 

Caleb has been refusing to do his work AGAIN so I decided to put together a store in which they can buy things using the money they earn doing their school each week.  I haven't set it up completely, but the store has crafts, color books, stickers, color pages, mechanical pencils, cups, and a few other things.  

I am trying to decide what we will take to my parents' house to do while there.  I don't want to bring it all, but there are things they need to do and things I want to do.  

Blessings in His Name...Love you all

Smoky

The other day, the girls heard a loud meowing come from the back of the shop.  It didn't take long to discover it was not coming from any of our cats, but a very small kitten.  They tried to catch it, but with all the poison ivy, it was a limited access sort of thing.  

The next morning, the girls and Al put out a small animal trap with food in it and by afternoon, we were able to catch the poor little guy.  

He was terrified!  He was crying so loudly.  We set up the cage for him with a litter box and bowls of food, but since it was the sabbath we had to wait until after sundown to go to the store and purchase food and milk for it.  

When Al returned, we gave the kitten - named Smokey - some milk in a bowl as well as some soft kitten food.  The poor thing was so hungry and did drink the milk as well as eat some solid food.  My guess is he is about 4-5 weeks old.  How he found his way to our shop, I have no clue.  

He is a friendly little guy and purrs quite loudly when you hold him.  When he is pet, he lifts up to the hand to enjoy every minute of it.  We plan to take the kitten to the vet tomorrow to make sure he is okay and get a verification of approximate age.  Then we will take care of him.  

The kids know that he could belong to someone else, though they are excited and want to keep him.  Remembering Torah principles is at the top of our list.  We are taking care of this cat knowing full well someone might be by asking about it. 

A friend told me that animals like kittens, especially unintentional ones, are not searched out when they disappear.  It makes sense.  We have noticed that a neighbor up the road has kittens but I have not seen any this small.  How he came this distance as young as he is baffles us.  

But he is safe and will be loved here...except by the other cats.  LOL

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

It is such a blessing to have friends. That is no different when you are a child. Growing up, I was lucky to have one good friend at any grade level. Homeschooling kids kind of isolates you as does having religious beliefs that are different than the majority.

Not that it makes any difference because we never really had many occasions in which children from other families would get together with us even when part of a church. 

But I have made it a point to allow my children the chance to get together with others. 

We alternate families and often get a few families at a time. 

The girls wanted to have a sleepover so badly and we finally got it done last night.  It has been a non-stop party. They had a tea party, watched a movie, slept in sleeping bags, played in the sprinkler, and ate a picnic on the porch. 

Of course Caleb joined in as well. It is hard being the only boy in the family and one of few in the people we know. But he does fairly well considering. 

When we get together with other families, he has boys to hang out with, so gladly, he is not left out.  

Homegrown

This is what it is all about: why we do what we do. 

Everything in this Dutch oven is homegrown; the potatoes, carrots, garlic, and beef. The beef we raised made the broth. 

This meal makes everything we do so rewarding. 

Thanks be to Elohim for His blessings. 

A New Goat, and Garden Hopes

Yesterday we made a 2 1/2 hour trip up through the east part of the Ozark Mountains to pick up our new buckling, Rainy Day Prince.  He is a gorgeous little guy and we welcome him to the herd.  

Al and I got the tomato trellis up before we left Sunday morning and I tied everything this morning.

Hannah pulled out all the carrots and I harvested the very meager harvest of potatoes. 

The small carrots and greens were fed to the goats, while the remaining carrots and greens were cleaned up for us to eat. 

Another raised bed of carrots were planted in the kitchen garden. 

The sunflowers are all in bloom and looking quite gorgeous. 

Meanwhile, the battle continues with the squash bugs, but I believe I am coming out on top of the game. Very few are found each morning, and most of what I do see end up dead. 

There is an abundance of cucumbers which are being made into a lot of fermented pickles. The Beit Alpha type are used for salads. 

I have two loaves of sourdough bread proofing in the refrigerator and some chicken broth going in the old roasting oven.

I have been working on getting my homestead calendar put together with to-do lists for each month. Some things are time sensitive and need doing at certain times. Other things are not so urgent and can be completed when things aren't so busy. 

On my list to do in the next week is to prep the garden and plant another planting of beans. I also hope to get some more summer squash planted. My peppers need to be transplanted into the main garden with a possible plant going into the kitchen garden for saving seed. 

The quail are "tractoring" along in the garden and doing well. The males will be processed when I return from Kentucky. 

I candled the quail eggs and our of 40 eggs, 37 are fertile. The plan is to set up two more breeding sets and raised the remaining quail for meat. Our goal is to be able to produce our own eggs and quail in a sustainable operation. 

We have decided that our older four turkeys will be processed when weather permits. From the 11 poults, we will choose 2 new breeding pairs and process the remaining turkeys when they are about 6 months old. 

Our hens are back up to two dozen eggs a day after I realized a huge error on my part which brought our daily egg count down to zero.  After realizing what I did, I gave them their full rations and it took a little over a week for them to start laying again. Our goal for them is to thin the flock a bit, providing a few stew hens for the freezer, and hatch out chicks for future meat. 

We decided to keep Leg'o as a breeding ram even though he is the Rosemary's son. Since we lost our other ram lamb in the spring, we decided we didn't want to be left with one ram. So as of now, we have no sheep due to be processed and do not know if any are pregnant. 

Since I have to make a trip to Kentucky, I am in the process of drying up my milk doe, Amber. She is actually drying up quite nicely without me milking her a little each day. I am sure this is because she wasn't at full capacity anyway. I am unsure if any of the goats are pregnant but won't worry about it. Eventually, this fall we will separate goats into pens to allow for breeding. No crazy "unknowns" this time around. 

Well, I guess that is all for now. The kids are getting ready for bed so I can read our next book, Christy, to them. We were sad when the movie series came to an end leaving us all on the edge of our seats. 

Homeschool Moments

My seeds (because I needed more) arrived today and Abby decided on her own to alphabetize them. 

We finally had an empty paper towel tube (which actually wasn't long enough) so Hannah was able to complete her science project. She made a telescope using a tube and two magnifying glasses. 

Everyone had a chance to read a paper with it. 

You may be wondering why our kids are still in school. Don't they get a summer vacation?

Short answer? No. 

They spent more than half the school year not doing their work. So we are doing a modified year-round schedule. 

Monday, Wednesday,  and Friday, the girls do math, language, handwriting, and Bible. On Tuesday and Thursday, they do science, history, family reading, handwriting, and Bible. Since they read all the time, I am not worried about their reading so long as their Bible reading is done.  Caleb is supposed to do all subjects each day. This includes math, reading, journal,  handwriting, and science. He joins us on Tuesday and Thursday for history. 

Since they are all at various stages of their curriculum, I don't necessarily have a first day of rhe school year. I have already sent in my homeschool notice of intent and I received an email that it was processed. So, technically, August will mark year two of homeschooling in Arkansas. It will also mark my 20th year of homeschooling. 

Ironic that in 1994, I dropped my college major of being an elementary school teacher and said I didn't want to be a teacher.