I don’t know when homesteading became such a dream of ours. I’m not sure when it happened. But, it’s here. It’s tugging on us more than anything ever has. The unlikely homesteaders. Two flawed people who grew up in suburbia surrounded by mono-crop farming; sprawling fields of gmo corn and soybeans all around our little town. My mom has always gardened and used to can applesauce from our trees in the yard. I had no interest in learning any of it back then. Sorry, Mom. Thank you for letting me eat half of your apple slices while you worked on applesauce.
Over the past couple of years, when seeking the Lord’s will for my life, I have felt the Lord telling me that homesteading has become my ministry. But, how? Why? What does that even mean, Lord?! It didn’t make sense to me. It doesn’t make sense to me. But, I know that THIS is what He has called me into; what he has called Scott into. We have had a gentle pull towards this for over 10 years. But, it has become almost an urgency to learn. We talk about it a lot. We pray about it a lot. We wonder why and have a lot of questions. What we do have is complete peace.
I am sure that some people in our lives believe that we have completely abandoned obedience to the Lord because we are not in full-time vocational ministry anymore. If you think that of us, then you truly don’t know us at all. We have held everything with open hands. Palms up. Allowing the Lord to take and place anything in our hands that He has for us. I’d have scoffed at you five years ago if you told me this is how it would go. Again, if you really KNOW us you will know. God is good and faithful, and this is right where he wants us.
In spite of all of that, here I am. Mentoring friends and strangers on the internet on how to raise up chickens to provide eggs and/or meat for their families. I am teaching them how to plant tiny seeds to grow food for their families. Encouraging them to care for the soil and the ecosystem that lives beneath– which makes everything healthier and stronger. Educating and encouraging people to take their food into their own hands. I’m showing up in the mistakes and messes. There’s a lot of imperfection. You may not learn too much from me right now, but I’m going to be in your corner cheering you on as you learn to take care of your family and yourself in this way. If you visit my home in the summer, you’ll likely leave with an armload of something from the garden. Probably squash. Sometimes garlic.
I often feel like a homesteading imposter. Imposter syndrome is weird. I am a homesteader. I have the livestock– small livestock, but livestock nonetheless. I preserve my food through canning, fermenting, and dehydration. My basement is still loaded with winter squash from last year’s garden. I cook from scratch. I am reclaiming skills that have been lost through generations. I’ve learned SO much over the last few years. I live a natural lifestyle. I steward what the Lord has given me, and I hope that I steward it well. Sometimes I need to remind myself of the things that I have accomplished. It helps in the moments of discouragement.
You don’t have to do or have all of the above to be a homesteader. It’s almost become a rat race of its own kind on the interwebs. Do I have enough animals to be called a homesteader? I’m still learning how to make sourdough, am I really a homesteader? I only water bath can, does that count? I don’t have a dairy cow, so I must not be a true homesteader. It’s all silly. If you are making any effort to become less reliant on the system, YOU ARE A HOMESTEADER. You are doing the thing.
Joel Salatin said “A homesteader is a person whose heart and whose focus is in the home. It’s a person whose life focus is toward living, staying, loving home.”
Happy New Year, friends!! The new year brings lots of new goals, dreams, and desires with it, doesn’t it? I thought, what better time than to share something so near to my heart. A family culture. This is a great time for you to embrace creating your own family culture within your home. What is a family culture? Ainsley Arment, in her book Wild + Free Family, defines a family culture as “your values and vision, your interests and traditions, all wrapped into one. It’s how you structure your life together. How you spend your time each day. The friends you have. The job you hold and how that impacts your family.”
Why create a family culture? Family is so important. You are responsible for your home. Scott and I have three beautiful daughters that we have the privilege of raising up. We take that role very seriously. We have only a limited time with them in our home, and we want to lay a very strong foundation.
A love for the Lord and the things of the Lord comes first. We found a local church family that we are heavily involved in. Rich and deep friendships have been formed over the last couple of years since we stepped into this body of believers. We are there every time the doors open and serve in various capacities. My oldest is now in youth group, and she has formed some deep friendships with really amazing young ladies. Devotions over dinner are had– though they are more sporadic than we’d like, but the effort is made. We do a Bible study every school day during our school time, and have encouraged the girls to study their Bibles on their own also. It is so incredible to hear them talk about what they have read in their own personal time. I know as a mom, it’s sometimes hard to stick to a study. I have been doing Bible studies from The Daily Grace Co. for about a year now, and I really love them. They challenge me and teach me so much. If I am not filling my heart with the things of the Lord, then I cannot possibly pour the things of the Lord into my children’s hearts. Make the time to get in the word every day.
Family dinners are a priority. We try very hard to guard that time. We have dance classes and youth group in the evenings, and I will do a lot of prep work during the day to get meals done in a timely manner so that we still all sit at the dinner table together. I’m not perfect, and there have been a few times where I dropped the ball. Overall, we do a good job at protecting this sacred time. We also have said no to many activities that would take away from this time. Programs that we once loved have been walked away from in order to protect our sacred family time. At first, there was some sadness, but no one thinks anything of it anymore. There are so many rich conversations had over a warm meal that fills our bellies.
During every meal, we ask the girls what a favorite part of their day was. Some days, it’s really easy for them to think of something, because we did something exciting. Most days, they are more mundane. It allows them to think about what they’ve done through the day and find something to be grateful for. It helps them to open up more than if we just ask them how their day was. Some days, we also ask about something not-so-good that happened during the day. I am so thankful for our family dinner times. We grow so much closer during these meals.
In that vein, we also love and value good food. Nourishing, real food is very important to us. Food is fuel for our bodies. Yes, it certainly is full of pleasure also, but we know that what we consume has a great affect on how our bodies feel. We use natural sugars as much as possible, and limit how much of them we consume. Within our home, we are really strict about eating whole foods and choose organic as often as it fits in the budget. Since doing this, the health and happiness of everyone has dramatically changed for the better. My child that used to be sick at least once a month is now rarely sick, for example. Let your food by your medicine. I like to call it slow food. Sourdough bread takes a whole day of forethought and effort. I love the intentionality of all of it. We do say no to a lot of other things because we put more of a budget into good food. I have zero regrets about this.
With that said, I can’t always control what we are exposed to outside of the home. Various functions will provide foods that we don’t eat in our home. In these instances, we just do our best, while not becoming so strict that food becomes an idol. The older girls have learned how their bodies feel when they eat a bunch of junk, and it’s no longer worth it to them to gorge themselves on it. My youngest is another story, but that is pretty normal, and I trust that one day she will recognize the same things. They’re all learning about where our food comes from, what each type of food does for us, and what foods can be harmful if consumed too often– or at all.
Board and card games are our favorite winter way to spend time. It gets dark so early in the cold months, and we often clean up from dinner and play a game if there’s no other activities going on. It is such a fun way to spend time as a family. We get really competitive, but always congratulate the winner. It sounds silly, but the girls have learned how to handle disappointment when they don’t win a game.
Good books are another way we spend time. If you see my kids in a waiting room, you will see them all with their noses stuck in a book. Scott and both love to read, and we have been able to cultivate a love of reading in our girls. Just like how what we consume with food affects us, so does what we consume with our eyes. We value only reading books that are “good and beautiful” (based on Phil. 4:8). We want books that inspire and uplift us, not books that make us feel angry or encourage unkind or immoral behavior. We always have at least one read-aloud that I read to the girls while they eat lunch. We listen to audiobooks in the car almost anywhere we go. We love literature.
On the other side of that coin, we try to spend as much time outdoors as we can. We love to go for hikes and camping trips, but those can’t always happen. Bikes, scooters, a swingset, and a yard full of animals make this a lot of fun. The girls also love to build fairy houses out of found things around the yard. Sticks, milkweed pods, leaves, and rocks end up turning into beautiful creations. You don’t have to have fancy and expensive equipment to encourage a love of nature and the outdoors. One of my kids always sits with a book to read when she’s outside. Take coloring books outdoors. Go for a walk at your local park. That is how it all started for us. We lived in a town with tons of fun playgrounds and parks. As the girls got a little older, we started heading to conservation areas for short hikes. Then, it became longer hikes. We have a really good routine now, and most of the time the kids have a blast. We’re always recharged after a good hike.
Scott and I love being out in nature, and thankfully the children do also. We talk about all that God has created and how beautiful it all is. Discussions are had about how everything works together in a beautiful rhythm. Stewarding the land well is very important to us– because God created it all and commands us to be good stewards of everything. That means they’ve learned to throw away their garbage, not just toss it on the ground. We have a saying that we use– leave it better than you found it. We take that seriously. We also work really hard to create a sustainable farm where nothing goes to waste.
Some may say that we are “too much” while also asking “how did you do it?” I am so thankful for my children. They are overall kind and polite young ladies who treat everyone with kindness and respect. That comes from a lot of work on our part as parents. We have instilled these values in them. We spend a lot of time with them and invest in them. I hope that they grow up with a lot of the same traditions in their own families while also creating their own unique family culture.
All of this said, I am not saying that your family culture needs to look exactly like mine. That’s not it at all. Every family is different, and that is beautiful. We have seen tremendous fruit since really focusing on making this our family culture. What I want to encourage you with today is to be intentional with your families. Set a focus. You only get so many years with your children, and you can’t get them back. You are raising them up and training them up to send them into the world as adults. That is our job as parents. It is never too late to make changes. Start with one area that you really want to change, and go after it. It may be hard, but hard does not equal bad. Our children are always worth it.
At the time of this writing, we are currently at the beginning of a large winter storm. We always take extra steps to keep our chickens safe in the extreme winter weather. We are expecting wind chills as low as -46 degrees, 70 MPH wind gusts, and 4-8 inches of snow. I’m not so worried about the snow, but the temps and wind will be problematic.
I remember my first winter with chickens, I was trying to figure out what I could do to keep them safe. Here is all that I have learned over the last (almost) three years.
First, we cover the coop and run in heavy plastic. I can’t find the exact roll that we bought last year, but it is something like this. I had to do this part solo this year because my husband has been working insane hours. If I can do it alone, anyone can do this. I secured it with a heavy duty staple gun. When Scott came home, we cut thin boards and screwed those on to sandwich the plastic in. You can see that in the first picture above. Hopefully this keeps it more secured in the winds..
I started feeding the chickens extra mealworms at the beginning of the week. They will get additional treats at night also. Digestion helps keep them warmer. Mealworms help them pack on some extra fat to keep them warm.
Inside of the coop, they get a thick layer of bedding. We do deep litter in our coop through the winter. This means that we do not clean out the straw in the bottom before adding new. We add a new layer of straw each week, unless it starts to smell earlier. If you do this correctly, you keep the carbon and nitrogen balanced so that there is no odor. I had a bag of fine pine shavings that I threw in there also since there is going to be such extreme wind chills.
It is still really important to keep water available for the birds. I go out every hour to make sure their water isn’t completely frozen. I often take out some boiling water to pour over the icy water to make sure it doesn’t immediately freeze again. You can also buy a heated waterer. We don’t have electricity at our coop, so that’s not a good option for us.
I made sure to put extra pavers, bales of straw, or whatever I could find around the base of the coop and run. I’m trying to provide as much of a wind break as possible for them.
Some people do artificial heat in their coop during this weather. IF you do, please don’t use a heat lamp. They are SUCH a fire hazard in a coop, and I would hate for you to lose everything that you’ve worked for. Heat panels are really great options. They keep warmth in the coop, but you can put your hand against it and won’t get burned. We do have this one, which we use for our baby chicks. We did use it in the coop our first winter. Now, we don’t use any heat because we want the chickens to regulate their own temperatures well. I don’t think there’s really a wrong choice. Do your research and come to your own conclusions.
My fellow homesteaders/farmers, know that I am praying for you through this.. and any future storms. We do all we can to protect our animals and practice good animal husbandry. I am praying for minimal losses!
I’m bringing you a different kind of gift guide today. I know that the blogging and instagram world bombard with gift guides at this time of year.. and all year, it feels like. But, I thought I’d represent those of us who aren’t asking for the typical kind of gifts. These items are all things that I use CONSTANTLY in my homestead kitchen. Full disclosure– I don’t have an oval benneton yet, but I’m adding it because its on my wish list and I know that it will be useful.
This does not include things like mason jars, canning lids, canning pot, etc. However, those would also make excellent gifts for the homesteaders in your life.
What else would you add to this list? I’ll add honorable mentions if other things pop up that I should have included!
mug is a Sift Ceramics/Venison for Dinner collaboration
“If you find yourself with more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence.”
This mug is not only insanely beautiful and perfectly crafted, it contains a saying that I want to continuously remind myself of. I spent a lot of years in ministry feeling extremely isolated and alone. Satan knew that I was lonely, and I was an easy target for his attacks. Boy, did he attack, and I had no one to help lift me up. I was crushed under the weight of it and merely a shell of myself.
I have prayed for deep friendships and community over the past five years since we moved back to our hometown. Nothing could have prepared me for how God would respond. God has answered those prayers in such incredible ways over the past year and a half that I still struggle to wrap my mind around it. Not only has God given me friends, but he has also given my husband and children deep friendships. We have people that hold us accountable. They challenge us to do and be better. They pray for us and check in on us if things are hard. We have walked alongside friends through a lot of hard things, and they’ve walked with us through the same. None of us are alone.
We have shared so many meals around our table and theirs. Bonfires and playdates happen often. Meals have been taken to those who are going through hard times. Care packages of games and coloring books are dropped off when illness strikes. Birthdays have been celebrated together. They love my babies in such a powerful way, and I love their babies just as much.
Community is so important. I have always been independent to a fault. I always say “I’m fine” or “I don’t need anything, thanks.” It was really scary to step outside of that mindset. But, I don’t want that anymore. I want a friend to show up at my door when I’m struggling. I want play dates and laughter. I want to have someone to cry with me. I want meals shared at our table and a rich, full life spent serving the Lord together. Thank you, Jesus, for answered prayers.
Build a longer table, friends. Step outside of your comfort zone. There’s a whole lot of life out there. You won’t regret it.
It has been a busy summer. We’ve been caring for chickens, training the puppy, and tending the garden.
We’ve been back at school for a month. I am still homeschooling these babies that aren’t babies anymore. Chloe is in 7th grade and joined the church youth group. I don’t even know how that’s possible. Addi is in 5th grade. Harper is in 2nd grade.
At some point in September, my younger sister came to visit. I told her she should pack her tent and camp out with us. Her exact words were “I am not camping in the rain.” Don’t worry, there’s a 0% chance of rain. It rained all night on us. I’m also convinced a train conductor had way too much fun with his horn in the middle of the night. haha! But, we all had so much fun. My parents came over for dinner. We had the most incredible double rainbow (can only see one above) and sunset. We cooked a big breakfast the next morning with farm fresh eggs, bacon, toast.. all of the good stuff. My heart was so full. When we moved out here, I prayed that God would fill it with tons of family, friends, and LIFE. We’ve been successful.
Scott and I took over leading our small group so that our current leaders could take a period of rest. We hosted our small group for a “cookout”. We had Taco Friday and ate outside.
We’ve hiked about 27 miles this year. It’s way under what our goal was, but we’ve been busy on the farm. Ranger has turned out to be the best addition to the farm. He’s so loyal and well behaved, for a pup. He hikes and camps like a champ. We love this furry guy.
This may be the most memorable part of the month. HA! I met a friend at the park for a playdate. Harper came running over to get a drink of water and tripped. She’s such a tough girl. She didn’t cry, but she lost ALL of her color. Her lips even went white and her hand was shaking. Sure enough, she sustained a buckle fracture to her radius right above her wrist. She’s in a hard short-arm cast for 6 weeks. I found a way to make it sparkly, so she is happy.
I figured that I should get back into this space. The weather has cooled off dramatically. Fall is here. The garden is slowing down tremendously, and I am thankful. We’ve worked hard this year, and I’m really looking forward to the rest that comes in the winter. We are already planning our 2023 garden. We’re expanding again. We learned a LOT of lessons this year. Back in July, we got the C word after serving during VBS. I knew it would happen, and had prepared to have things ready. The garden was neglected for several days, and blight took over our tomato plants. We ended up pulling nine total plants because of it. Our tomato harvest was sad. But, we have so much squash stored away for winter, many jars of jam, and lots of pickled banana peppers. Every little bit counts when it comes to food storage.
We should be gearing up for our trip to Virginia for the Homesteaders of America conference. We had to make the decision to cancel our trip when we learned that the whole bottom of our van is broken. We decided to buy a new (to us) van. If you’ve had to do any sort of car shopping this year, I’m so sorry. It was ROUGH and made me sick. I know it’s not going to get any better any time soon. The dealer parking lots are empty. So, now we have a (hopefully) reliable van. Lord willing, it will last us for many MANY more years.
If you didn’t know, I’m over on instagram. My blog page can be found here. I post regularly over there and would love to have you follow along.
The national parks are places that we, as a family, love to explore. We’ve set a goal to see as many as we possibly can with our daughters. We got started on that goal in 2020, and have checked six major ones off of the list of sixty-three. Last week, we spent four days camping in Indiana Dunes National Park. It was beautiful, and completely different than the other parks we’ve done.
Where We Stayed– We stayed at Dunewood Campground, which is within the park. You need a national park pass to stay here. We used the free pass that our fourth grader has. You can get one here if your child is going into the fourth grade. There were several places around the campground where a 7 day pass could be purchased for $25. The campground fills up FAST. We made a reservation several months ago, and we snagged the second to last campsite available. Please do not head there and expect to find a spot.
We were thankful for the zero percent chance of rain that allowed us to leave our rain cover off. We’ve collected a lot of our gear over the years from gifts and our own purchases and have a really nice setup going.
Our specific campsite was on the Mather loop; site 29. It was perfect. Our spot was directly across from the restrooms and showers, which also had a big camper’s sink where you could do your dishes or bring hot water back to your site to do them. There was also a water fountain with a bottle filler. We had a TON of space in between our site and our neighbors. It was so shaded and secluded. The girls had a lot of room to explore without disturbing anyone around us. The only downside to it all was the mosquitos. I know, they are just part of camping. But, this was something else. We are all COVERED in bites. We were using OFF! and it didn’t deter them, so we went and got lawn fogger to spray. This only kept them away long enough to eat a quick meal, and then they returned. That is your fair warning. I’ve never experienced being bit like that before. We still loved it.
What We Did– Our first day (Monday), we set up the campsite and ate lunch. We always head straight for the visitor center to get the junior ranger books for the kids to work on. We also participated in the BARK ranger program with Ranger (our 4 month old Australian shepherd; guess where he got his name) because I am 100% that person. We headed for the beach and waded in the water. The water was so cold despite the 90 degree temperatures.
After dinner, we walked to a gas station outside of the campground and got some soft serve ice cream. I was told that we MUST not miss that. I’m not sure why because it was just regular chocolate/vanilla/twist. It was really good on a hot day though, so I won’t totally knock it. It also was really cheap.
The next day (Tuesday), the heat index was supposed to be almost 100. We packed up early and headed to the beach to swim until lunch time. I love Lake Michigan. It is so blue and vast. You feel like you’re at the ocean without the sharks and salt. We went to Kemil beach, which was perfect for families. It was much less rocky, and it stayed where the kids could touch for quite a long ways. It also wasn’t too crowded. That evening we went to the Bailly Homestead/Chellberg farm and hiked the trail. It was so beautiful to see the old homestead. The farm has chickens, cows, turkeys, etc. Of course we would find a farm to visit. We went back to the beach that night to watch the sun set. It had clouded up, so we couldn’t see much, but it was still beautiful to see the summer solstice sunset.
Day 3 (Wednesday) was a much cooler day. We decided that we wanted to take on the three dunes challenge, which is actually contained in Indiana Dunes State Park. We paid $12 four our carload to enter the park. The three dunes challenge is a 1.5 mile trail with 552 vertical feet of SAND. I thought I was prepared. Scott and I did a 9 mile hike last year with 879 feet of elevation change. I knew it was going to be hard. Hiking on dry, sugary sand is a whole different ballgame. The tallest dune actually has stairs to climb to get up and down, but the others are all straight sand. The girls did such a good job, and we finished in under an hour. The views were beautiful. If you finish, you can go back to the main visitor center and you get to choose from a lot of cool stickers for your water bottle or bumper. We decided to take it easier that afternoon since everyone was pretty worn out. We went back to the beach to watch the sunset again. I’m so glad we did. It was absolutely beautiful. The girls got to go swimming again and were thrilled.
We were leaving on day 4 (Thursday). Once we packed up our campsite and cleaned up all around us, we headed down to Gabis Arboretum. It was a 40 minute drive from the campground, but completely worth it. It costs $10 per carload to enter. There are so many gardens to explore. One of them is a railroad garden where they have a massive train setup. It only runs on the weekends, so we missed it. While we were there, one of the trails was turned into a woodland trail. There were fairy houses all along the path, which we loved. I highly recommend taking the drive down to see it.
I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect at Indiana Dunes. I thought it would be all sand. But, Indiana Dunes is the most biodiverse park in the US. There is something for everyone to see and enjoy! It is also incredibly dog friendly. The lifeguarded beaches are dog-free zones. But, dogs are allowed just about anywhere. People were even walking into the buildings with their pooches. Definitely take the time to visit if you get the chance!
Some Resources– Our tent— I love our tent so much. It’s a 10 person blackout tent. It is a breeze to put up by yourself and does come with a rain cover. The prices has gone up so much that I’m afraid to even link it! Scott worked a lot of overtime for us to buy this tent, and we use it all the time, but we sure didn’t pay this much for it. Canopy (similar)– This takes a couple of people to set up, but it’s worth it! Pocket wall— this was a gift from my mom and came in so handy! Camp Stove— I love this little powerhouse.
the garden in late May or early June– can’t remember
We have been busy on the homestead lately. It is go- time. We have picked all of our strawberries. We’ve been planting seeds, pulling weeds, and trying to keep chickens alive through killer heat waves and unseasonable cold weather.
I’ve learned that you have to become an optimist when farming. If you aren’t, you’ll be utterly miserable. We have been battling the weather non-stop this year in some way or another. It’s a big challenge to rise up to each day. I’m not going to give up. I’ll be honest, I HATE the heat. HATE IT… but I’m still going out in it to tend to the garden and animals.
my hat was a gift from my mother-in-law and I LOVE it
We still have some space in the garden that I’m filling in this weekend. I will not miss an opportunity to grow food. Going to the grocery store makes me feel so sick when I see how rapidly the prices are rising. I’m going to grow and preserve all that I can.
We have moved some of our new babies outside. Our gosling is almost fully feathered and has been hanging out with the flock outside. She is definitely a good guardian already– as she honks as soon as there’s movement nearby. Our three guineas have been in the old duck run while they grow some more. They are also loud and so weirdly wonderful. We have six (I think) chicks in a brooder. Three are big enough to come out with the guineas and the other three are still too small to be OUT, out. Scott is working on building a makeshift brooder that can also go in our old duck run so that they are outdoors, but not where they can squeeze through and get killed by older hens.
I processed a couple of jars of strawberry jam this afternoon. We eat most of our freshly picked strawberries, but the season is so full and short at the same time that we ended up with quite the surplus. I’m anxious to see how much more we get next year!! We planted several berry plants (blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry) this year that I can’t wait to harvest from in the years to come.
We planted some ornamental pumpkin seeds this year, which should be super fun to see grow! I’m getting worried because I have only seen two bumblebees this year on our property. TWO. We use organic practices, but being surrounded by farm fields that get sprayed by airplane is not ideal for us. I’ve been pollinating our squash by hand because I haven’t seen any pollinators in my garden.
The kitchen was busy during our cold snaps as I spent the days baking loaves of bread and bagels to put up in the freezer. Now, I can pull them out on the hot days without heating the entire house. I am trying to do everything in my power to keep our electric bill as low as possible since the cost has gone up significantly.
What are you doing to cut back on your costs?
I feel like this question is consuming my mind, and I need to release it all to the Lord. He is not surprised by any of this crazy weather or inflation. He has always provided for us and we’ve never gone hungry even when it was very possible.
I hope that you are staying cool (or warm if you are in Idaho!), my friends! Happy almost Summer!
Garden updates— We’ve been busy weeding away. We had a big hail storm that destroyed all of my spinach. The arugula was still hanging on, but I had to rip it out when the temps got above 90 last week. Aurugula is a cold weather crop, and bolts in the heat. As happened last year, our onions sprouted, and then stopped growing. They are still green and alive, but refuse to grow– even though we had them in a tunnel for quite some time. I even started them much earlier than last year. We left some onions in the ground last year, and they are growing a lot this year. So, we may not have many onions THIS year, but next year we should have a lot. The garlic was damaged by the hail, but seems to be bouncing back just fine.
We started our seeds and used grow lights this year. Our tomatoes and peppers sprouted and stopped growing for several weeks. Now, all of the tomatoes are turning yellow. I am hearing that A LOT of people are having this problem. Something must be going on with the seed starting soil. Are you having problems? On happy notes– we planted several berry bushes this year. Three blueberry bushes, one raspberry, and three blackberry bushes are new. We are going to have a ton of strawberries this year also!
Walmart marked their trees down to $13, so each of the girls got a tree instead of flowers after their dance recital. (They were thrilled, please know they are just as weird as me! haha!) One is a pear and two are maples. We may go back for more! I just bought some organic fertilizer, and I’m hoping that will boost vegetable growth.
I started reading this book to see if I can troubleshoot some problems that I keep having.
Animals— We have added a turkey to the farm. I love listening to her gentle call. We also have some chicks in the brooder to replace some of our old layers. We have three guineas in another brooder that will hopefully live long enough to eat a lot of ticks. I’ve heard it said that their favorite past-time is “finding ways to die”. And, we have a gosling. She is in a brooder also. I get her out of the brooder almost daily and she follows me around the yard and garden. We have quite the diversity going here this year and I am loving it! We are getting close to a dozen eggs each day. I actually had to take our egg sign down because we have so many egg customers. I’m going to have to start turning people away or my family won’t have eggs to eat!
Puppy— everyone always asks how Ranger is doing. He is growing a lot. He’ll be fourteen weeks old tomorrow. We have worked really hard at making sure he is socialized so that he isn’t aggressive. He still sleeps most of the day when he isn’t chewing on things. Pup is for sure in the baby shark phase. I’ve read that it lasts much longer in this breed. He is very sweet and loving though, and we are all glad he’s a part of the crew.
Kitchen— The kitchen is where I first become passionate about homesteading, so it feels important to include. With the temperatures heating up, I’m not baking as much. My goal is to continue baking our family’s sandwich bread and keep making bagels. But, there will be much less fun breads. I make tortillas for taco Tuesday about 50% of the time, and would like to get better about doing it every time. They are so good and easy. We bought a quarter of a cow earlier this year, and it has been some of the best beef I’ve ever had. I need to get on another list ASAP. The rising cost of groceries has me very concerned, and I’m looking for ways to cut costs without cutting quality.
How are things in your neck of the woods? Are you unseasonably hot also, or still unseasonably cold? Is anyone in the correct season?!
We have had some really lovely weather recently. We also were out covering our fragile plants one night that we had a freeze warning. But, overall, we’ve had warm temperatures. Scott and I spent the weekend working in the garden. We planted our cool weather crops that were started from seed indoors. So far, we have carrots, radishes, onions, cabbage, and potatoes in the ground. I got an alert on my phone last night that penny sized hail was possible and Scott rushed out to cover our tiny cabbage sprouts so that we didn’t lose them. I never heard any hail, so I think we were safe.
It is so life-giving to get your hands in the dirt to cultivate these plants that will feed my family. I prayed while I was planting that the Lord will bless our efforts. Every year, we learn more. Every year, the garden gets bigger. Every year, we face setbacks. But, we will persevere!
Our flock is also growing. Over the weekend, I posted one of our roosters for free. We have too many. This particular roo was getting aggressive to the kids, which I don’t have the patience for. He was so protective of his hens though, so I really wanted to give him a good home. Turns out, someone in our circle was needing a rooster for their flock, and they offered us a turkey in return!
We have been talking about getting a “guard goose” (I know it sounds crazy, but you can look it up.) to help protect the flock from predators. Guinea fowl have also been on our radar because they eat ticks like crazy. Everything lined up and we ended up getting a goose and three guineas over the weekend. Not only will they serve those great purposes, but they will also provide even more biodiversity for protection against certain threats to poultry. All we need now are quail, and we will have all of the farm birds.
I know that I say this so often, but I am so THANKFUL for the gift of being here. We are learning and expanding our skill set so much. I read about someone calling their rental farm the “halfway farm” because they were practicing their skills while saving for THEIR farm. I feel that way. This rental property is so incredible, and I love cultivating it all. But, I also cannot wait for the day when we get to truly call a place ours. I’m just so grateful.
Who know that when God placed a vegetable garden on my heart ten years ago that it would grow into all of this? Everything we do is bathed in prayer, and I encourage you to live your life that way also. When everything passes through prayer, you truly see what is from God.
I hope that you all have a wonderful week, friends! Happy Monday!
