Welcome back to the homestead.
It has been unseasonably warm here. We’ve taken advantage of that to get some projects done without freezing. The only downside to unseasonably warm temperatures is that all of our garlic sprouted more than we expected it to at this point. I am hoping it will be fine through the winter.
We have a portion of the yard that is full of various flowers. There are also TONS of Rose of Sharon growing in there. The ideal time to transplant them is November-March when it’s not TOO cold. We dug up some of the smaller ones and made a “barrier” along the road. We were going to move the big ones, but we seriously underestimated their root system. Hopefully the small plants will take and grow really well now that they have more room. We spaced them 12 feet apart and put black mulch around the base. If it all works well, they will be beautiful in the Spring!
Our hens are still not laying. There is not enough sunlight each day for them to really produce well, which I expected. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed. We did get a light put in the coop and hope that it will help move things along. We may need a second one. They are still entertaining. The roosters crow all day long.
Now that the weather has cooled off, I have been baking again. Breads and pizza dough have been the biggest products of the kitchen. Since I make most things from scratch, I get a 25 pound bag of flour and keep it in a food grade bucket with a gamma lid. I do the same with sugar. I HIGHLY recommend this if you also keep a lot of flour on hand.
I canned a bunch of pears that we got in our Misfits Market box and from a local lady. They are SO good. I have to work through my thoughts of not wanting to eat the food that I worked so hard for. It feels good to have it on the shelf, but is silly to just stare at it. I think many home-canners go through that in the beginning. This book has almost every recipe you could imagine for canning.
It’s a slower time around here outside of the kitchen. Seed catalogs will be coming in the next month or two. Our homestead planner got lost in the mail, so we are awaiting that still. This planning phase feels so frustrating. We want to DO. But, we want to be prepared. We want to be wise with our garden space and gain as much knowledge for growing what will be most beneficial for our family. We learned a lot this year, and are both really excited for next growing season. The kids have even asked if they can have their own small garden to tend.
I hope you are all well. This cold and flu season feels especially hard. Hang in there.