Changes

 

I don't know what it is about this particular layout, but I like it.  It has an Instagram feel; a one picture a day, narrate the image layout. So, I'll stick with it and leave a short blog post each day.  I probably won't be sending out emails any longer to let people know I have updated.  Instead, just remind yourselves to stop by now and again to catch up on the "snapshots" I leave.  

Today, despite the drizzle and mist, I got out and pulled about three 5 gallon buckets of Burmuda grass from the north end of one of the raised beds.  Afterward, I put in some of our own compost and mixed it.  I planted three pounds of seed garlic into the north and south ends of the same bed.  Two pounds went in the top section, but the last pound went to the bottom.  I had only weeded the top section, but the bottom section didn't need any weeding.  When all was done, I put a nice thick layer of hay over the garlic. 

Now to learn some ways to preserve the garlic so it doesn't rot.  My garlic from last year rotted and I had to throw it out. 

**Comments have been shut off for the blog.  I also think this layout allows you to choose how the blog shows up in your feed.  Just click the various layouts at the top left, under the title of the blog. Also, if you see the snapshots, those with a title or caption are the ones that start a post. 

Baby Steps on the Homestead

(vacuum sealing bulk pasta)

Sometimes baby steps, little things, are all you can get done. Being content with such small steps is often difficult to accept. 

There are times in which even the most simple tasks don't get completed, leaving me with such an unfulfilled feeling. 

(small batch broth canning)

I need to accomplish something and see the evidence of these things each day. Some days the very lack of that fruit is irritating despite the fact that something was done. I don't sit idle for much time in my day because it makes me anxious. 

I have a board by the front door which has lists of tasks that need to be done. Some jobs are for me, others need more than two hands. It is rewarding to see these jobs erased, but stressful to see the time sensitive ones remain. 

However, I am totally thankful for those completions that move me one step closer to the next job. 

(dehydrating eggs for days of few)

For instance, Al was able to get a few more shelves for the food pantry so I could organize a bit better. It feels good to get items off the floor.

 

Now I am tasked with bringing all the other empty canning jars from the canning kitchen in the garage to the pantry for storage. 

I also need to get my raised bed cleaned out for planting garlic. The compost is already waiting patiently next to the spot I plan to plant it. I am considering putting the ducks in the main garden to help clean up bugs. I would need to put a fence up around the bed though to prevent them from eating the garlic and chard. 

We also need to get more chickens and turkeys butchered. We did end up eating one of the ducks last week and it was actually quite delicious. We definitely want to raise more ducks in the future for meat. 

 

And Fall Blew In

Falls here are not nearly as colorful as the northeast, but the cooling effect of the breezes and winds is enough to make you appreciate the season. 

It is a season of slowing down, but not quite a rest from the growing and harvest seasons. It is a season of preparing the farm and animals for the cold.  

And a season for fleas. 

It appears that our cat had fleas when he was brought in (or when he escaped a few weeks back), but the medicine we gave to prevent and kill fleas didn't work on the him. Come to find out, Frontline doesn't work well on the cats in our area and our feet and legs show for that. 

It has been consistent laundering and vacuuming for me. The floors have had baking soda and salt sprinkled liberally as well as diatomaceous earth. Flea traps have only produced a few fleas which is better than multitudes, but even a few can prove to be a multitude within days. 

I spend a lot of time researching fleas and their life cycles as well as how to kill them and the diseases they can spread. I have learned a lot; I have also learned there is a lot of conflicting information just as there was for ringworm. Yet, I press on regardless of the stress I feel from the little parasites that seem so inevitable for the farm life. 

Today, Smokie is in for neutering and as requested, we have him getting a microchip, and treated for fleas as well as the common side effect of fleas: tapeworms.  We also put in a call for pest control to come in a spray next week. As much as I hate spraying I hate fleas and bites even more. 

The other day, we finally took the kids to get bikes. The kids have never owned bikes and they have been begging for some time.  The store was out of helmets for the older two, but we have two old helmets they can use until we find some. Yesterday, Caleb was determined to learn to ride and he did. On his own. You would think he's been riding for months!  Alexandra picked it up rather quickly as well.  The other two are still waiting for their bikes to be adjusted to their heights. 

Al and I took a few days preparing sheep and goats for dry lot. Does received a large round bale and were brought off pasture. The sheep also had a new hay cover and shelter put up and they too were shut off from pasture.

Our quail were bartered for fresh raw milk and another turkey sold to friends. A rooster is proving he wants a short life and is first on the list for processing. And processing birds is on the list of this to do this November. 

We will be off soon to the dentist.  This appointment has been planned for several months, but with all the catch up due to Covid, they couldn't get in for fillings and a cap until now.  Caleb will have a tooth extracted since it never fell out after the permanent tooth came in (another is doing the same thing), and will have two surfaces "filled".  Hannah will be receiving a stainless steel cap on her molar.  

So I leave you at that as there is not much else to add.  Love to you all.  

prepping for first frost

 

Our first frost is coming early.  Sadly this means all delicate plants with fruit needed to be harvested.

So the kids and I headed to the gardens to pick and bring in all we could.

The loofah gourds were harvested; six in number.

The butternut squash were harvested with hopes that they will still ripen on the counter in a warm spot. I purposely left long stems on them.

All the green tomatoes were picked and left to ripen on their own.  

As they ripen, they are put in the freezer for tomato sauce or something else.  These cherry tomatoes have been absolutely amazing!  So I am very glad the plant is in a pot to bring indoors until the frost passes.  Happy to have the Chocolate Cherry variety to save seed from.

We harvested the giant watermelon as well despite the fact it wasn't ready.  But oddly enough, it was mealy, and flavorless.  So the chickens and turkeys received an amazingly large melon.

There have also been several zucchini this last week from the vine I was sure I killed months ago.  This vine has proven to be very resistant to squash bugs and vine borers.  I am so glad I saved seed from it. 

Caleb picked some flowers and I harvested a small handful of toothache plant in order to make a little more tincture for tooth pain. The plant is a perennial so I plan to dig it up and transplant it into the kitchen garden.

I have a few sandwich bags of jalapenos to use for something.  I may just dehydrate them for powder or ferment them for slices. 

The gardens need to be cleaned up and garlic planted.  Some of my herbs need transplanting and perhaps some brought in for safe keeping. This frost is actually a freak thing, and disappointing to say the least, but I will go through the punches and accept what comes my way.  

UPDATE: SULLY CAME HOME. As for animals, we are missing our cat, Sully.  He hasn't been seen for a few days.  Al and the kids have looked the roads, but didn't find anything.  We hope he just went on a journey, but his brother, Max, was meowing pathetically for him this morning which tells me he hasn't been around for a while. 

The sheep were let onto the last pasture so will need to have hay this week as well as a shelter added to their space. 

The goats will need to be brought in from pasture as well, hay bale given, and pasture mowed down.  

We still need to process some turkeys and chickens, and put up new pastures for them. Some chickens will be put into the garden to help clean up the ridiculous amount of bugs. Hopefully they won't destroy the potatoes.  

I guess that sums it up.  Not much else of interest to you all.  

Weekly Wrap-up, October Week One

I put up my fall decorations. Harvest time has a lot to do with fall, so I try to keep it focused on nature and garden harvest, thankfulness and remembering how blessed we are. The bar is the only place I have decorations aside from a welcome sign at the main entrance.

Sunday

Al did some cutting and raking in the back yard and side pasture. This will be put into small round bales. 

It felt like a lazy day with not much done, but when I make a list, I can see I did get some tasks completed despite having little drive. 

This morning, the kids and I were able to fix the back poultry cage for habitation and bring the black australorps to the back. We have a rooster coming soon so we can breed pure. 

After a breakfast of French toast, I headed out to team hooves and give dewormer to my three doelings. 

I cleaned out the room where the quail had been. Now it is swept and just needs a bit of organization. I am contemplating setting up for seed starts again like I did in Virginia. I am not sure if I want to mess with it or not. I would need shelves and lights as well as use the heat in the room. 

We found out the dog, who had been scratching on the fence and crying throughout the day, had fleas NOT ringworm. I was able to apply Frontline to her and by Monday evening the fleas were gone. The other two dogs also had fleas, but a more mild case. They too were treated. 

Al and I went out in the evening and got the bucks de-wormed as well as trim hooves. Then we took our wether (castrated male) to the does pen because he is being "violated" by the bucks in their confusion as to what in the world he is. 

After showering, I made chicken udon noodles with fresh garden veggies. 

Monday

The plan today was to do school and head out to Batesville after lunch to take the kids to their doctor appointments. I managed to find a pediatrician who would see them all at one time. 

Alexandra got a start to her science in which she had to do a test to determine blood type. Unfortunately, she can't handle the sight of blood and ended up dizzy and nearly passing out, thus dropping to the floor. Sadly, she hit her body pretty hard. Her braces were knocked off her teeth and shoved into her gums. I was able to get an emergency appointment at the orthodontist at 12:30. Alexandra had a bit of anxiety and we had to calm her down before getting ready to go. 

In town, she was nauseated but she knew it was out of fear that the orthodontist would be pressing in her sore mouth. I told her we would discuss it with the doctor when we got in, which we did. Doctor decided to remove the brackets and wire and wait until her mouth was healed. 

After that we had 45 minutes to kill before the kids' appointment, or so we thought. I got a call telling me that the doctor was called out of the office and wouldn't be back in. So, we had to reschedule. 

Then we went shopping for some things we needed for Sukkot. We also stopped by the local butcher to purchase some beef.  (We are still looking for a source of local beef.)

We didn't get out of town until 3:00 and we were hungry. So reluctantly, I stopped at Taco Bell for bean burritos, and nothing more. 

School was "canceled" for the day and everyone did their own thing. 

Tuesday

I cooked up one of our chickens on Wednesday, and even though it was a "tough old hen", she was a flavorful little thing. That is the breast meat in the spoon. I ended up shredding it up and making a delicious pot of chicken and dumplings. 

I ended up reading up on chicken and the history of the chicken as a meat. It was quite interesting to learn about the relatively short history of this bird being a common staple for the kitchen table. I pasted the link in the side bar of the blog. It is by Weston A Price. If the link doesn't work, either keep trying, use a different browser, or Google Westin Price history of chicken.

Wednesday

Not a whole lot was done today because it was the day Al took off for the Day of Atonement. My calendar got mixed up and technically Atonement starts Thursday night.  So much to learn still, but we know Yah sees our desire to please Him as we try to see clearly the beauty of this day.  I am so thankful for His atoning blood in which I would be nothing without.  

Thursday

The vet was out in the morning to look over each goat to get a baseline for future care.  She said the whole herd looks good and since I recently dewormed, there is no concern other than to make sure the famacha scores go up in the next month.  The famacha, for those who don't know, is the score given to goats or sheep to gauge anemia.  One can determine this by looking at the inner lining of the eyes for pink tone.  Basically, the redder, the better.  Only three goats had a few lice.  

It was Alexandra's birthday today, but we didn't celebrate is since she is having her party on Tuesday. Since we will be celebrating sukkot, their friends will be sleeping over in the tent. 

She did get to open a gift from Gramma and Grampa and they have all been playing Legos non-stop since! And fighting a bit...

I also started processing the last of the potatoes. I started with dehydrating sliced potatoes, then proceeded to can 14 quarts of cut potatoes. The slices in the dehydrator are still going (Friday) because it I don't like it to run through the night.  I still have 15 pounds of potatoes not processed, but I was considering dehydrating shredded potatoes for hash browns. 

Al baled the hay and the girls loaded the trailer a little before dark.  He said we got around 40 round bales from this cutting.  The small bales help for those days when we just can not get a big bale in due to weather.  

Friday

Today has been a chaotic day, but not because of my doing.  The kids for some reason woke up this morning with a major itch to fight non-stop.  My heart is aching.  I am trying not to yell.  Last night we watched a sweet movie called "The Miracle Maker".  There was a quote that the miracle maker made that touched a chord.  He said, "A quiet voice can often be heard better." (or something along that line)  What if we, as a family, could try harder to incorporate such a simple concept? 

I processed 19 quarts of mixed beans (navy, pinto, and black) to add to the pantry shelf.  The first batch was prepared as the instructions say, but I had a hunch these beans are going to be quite mushy.  The second batch was only quick-soaked and then canned without cooking them an additional 30 minutes.   

Since I was already busy in the kitchen with beans, I decided to cook some beans in the Instant Pot and make chili beans.  I served that with tortilla chips and it was a filling dinner.

The dehydrated potatoes finished I ended up with 3/4 gallon of slices. 

We made a last minute trip to see my aunts and uncles who were driving through to Kentucky.  It was nice to see them and I am so glad they chose to stay in an RV park only half an hour from our place.  The kids drew pictures and played games with the aunts while the adults talked.  It was such a short visit, but such a blessing to see them.  Caleb fell asleep in the way home and went straight to bed from the van. 

In the Garden

There are several tomatoes on the vines and I pray I will be able to harvest all or most of them prior to first frost.  Strangely, the paste tomatoes, though the outside has no hole, often have a bit of mold. I find it is a battle with the caterpillars. For every good tomato partially ripened, I find three destroyed by pests. 

My favorite cherry tomato, the Rosella, has not met my expectations this year. Instead, the chocolate cherry tomato has proven to have a far superior sweet flavor as well as a nice size for cherry tomato. I have harvested so many tomatoes from my one vine. Needless to say, I have already saved seed for next year. 

To my surprise, I found a large zucchini hidden in the vine. The plant has proven to be a very strong specimen and seed has been saved for this type as well. 

The butternut is reaching the end of its growing cycle and the ground is covered with squash in varying stages of turning a creamy orange. And the loofah gourds are still growing. While they aren't super large, they should produce a decent amount of small dish scrubbers. 

Please forgive the varying tenses while writing. I have been writing throughout the week and sometimes after the fact and other times while it takes place.