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“If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” Thomas Jefferson

Saturday, June 27, 2009

They Did it Again.

I just love how our Congress men and women seem to think it is ok to pass a bill that they have not read. The House passed that monstrous Cap and Trade bill yesterday, all 1000 pages of it. Apparently, they were plied with dove bars and a luau and just couldn't control themselves afterward. I am proud to say that the reps of my state voted against it. Now, we will have to see what the senate is going to do. It seems to have become common practice these days to not read bills. They didn't read the bailout bill and they didn't read this one. How do I know they didn't read this one? Because over 300 hundred pages were added at the last minute, no one had the time to read all 300 of those pages before the vote. For those who don't understand why most of us do not like this bill, it is simple, taxes! Taxes will go up on everything...home electricity and gas, food cost, clothing cost. Anything that costs money to produce or get it where it needs to go will rise in cost. Will this be the beginning of that hyperinflation that all the economists have been speaking of? We will have to see. Government has gotten to big for their britches folks, they need to be fired. Now we will just have to wait and see what the Senate does with this monster. God help us all.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Can't wait to see that water bill!

No, I really could wait but I am sure the water company won't wait to send out the bill. No rain for a couple of weeks now and the rain barrels are dry as a bone. The pond has dropped so much I am afraid to pull anymore out for watering because the fish need their room. I really can't wait until we get that old well cranked up again, but that is a huge financial undertaking and one that will not happen this year. So with this searing heat and daily temperatures steady at 98-100 degrees with a higher heat index of course, I have begun to have to water daily. Up until this week, I was watering every other day, but that is no longer an option. While some things like the corn are doing just fine still on an every other day watering, everything else is really stressed. If I plan on saving my harvest, then watering everyday is my only option and the only water to be had is county water. I am very fortunate that I live where I do though and my county water comes from a natural underground spring. No chemicals, no additives, just good clean clear spring water. Our water rates are not too bad all things considered, so I really can't complain much except I sure would like some rain. I thought I was gonna get some yesterday and got really excited. I learned real quick though that doppler radar lies. I heard thunder, saw the black clouds and checked doppler radar which said that I had a thunderstorn right on top of me. It lied. I had a thunderstorm 2 miles down the road, but I didn't get a drop. I went outside and watched the black clouds roll across the sky, listened to the thunder, and could even smell the rain. I cried, I pleaded, I begged, and yes folks I even groveled. However, not a drop did I get. So I still will be outside at 5:30 am watering the garden and praying to keep it alive. It is still producing and looking like it will produce well, but I know better than to count my chickens before they hatch. I have had plenty of gardens produce a little and then burn slap up in the hottest months of the year, which are coming up fast. I pray that doesn't happen this year. I hope you all are doing well with your gardens and your harvest is bountiful! I gotta get to bed, 4 am gets here awful fast. God bless.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Harvest is Coming In

Well, we are beginning to harvest a few things out of the garden. Cucumbers and peppers to be specific. We did harvest turnips greens and I just did not plant enough of those. We ate quite a few and so I only froze 3 quarts. We will be planting more for the fall harvest. In another week or so I will be in the full swing of canning season and will be canning each and every day. Thank goodness we canned a lot of pear preserves last year to have some left this year because our pear trees came down with fire blight and had to be treated, so the pears cannot be used this year. What a waste as they are loaded down. On the other hand our apple trees which have not produced in a couple of years are also loaded down with apples. This is awesome! I have decided to let you folks know exactly what we do get off our little farm and how much we put up in groceries so that we don't have to go to the grocery store. I sure will be glad when we can start milking our goats. Yum, fresh milk, butter, cheese and yogurt. Wow, what a savings, not to mention the meat we will get from the offspring. So about the harvest...over in the right hand column you will see 2009 Harvest, which I will keep updated. That way folks who are thinking about homesteading and wondering if all the work is really worth it can get a sense of what we get from our little farm. Well, time to go and feed the 4 legged critters and then feed the two legged ones. Have a good evening ya'll.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Storms over the Weekend

Wow, what a weekend! We weren't supposed to get any rain which I was dreading. The rain barrels were empty and I was going to have to start watering with county water. I don't know about your gardens but mine just don't like county water as much as they do rain water. However, the Lord saw my needs and provided rain, and then some more rain. Both days of rain were a blessing, the garden is well watered and the rain barrels are full again. Our weekend started Friday night with the strangest thing though, a wind storm. Wind storms are not something we normally get here unless accompanied by thunderstorms. This was no thunderstorm, just a straight line wind going full blast. It was kinda like being in a wind tunnel with the huge fan at one end. The only problem with this wind storm is that is flattened much of my corn. My patch of ensilage corn is completely laid down along with 2 rows of my pencil cob corn. Uggghhhh! I am hoping that I can save some of the corn. I am attempting to stand the corn back up and hope that it will stay that way. I have tons of garden chores today as the chickens got into the garden yesterday again and made a mess of all the mulch. The potatoes are ready to be mulched again also. I have turnips ready to harvest and dehydrate, and seeds from the radishes that are ready to harvest. Tomatoes are coming along well and I even have some tomatoes growing. I am harvesting cucumbers pretty regularly now and will be putting up pickles and pickle relish this week. I have plenty of canning and processing to do this week. I will also be using some of last fall's pecans that are still in the freezer to make pecan butter. Over the summer I like to start clearing the freezer because we refill with fresh in the fall. This ensures a good rotation and nothing gets yucky and old. Whatever, I can't salvage of the corn I will turn into winter silage for the livestock. I am also drying things for winter feed for the bunnies. Here in the deep south my car and a few screens work well for drying and keeping bugs off my food. Some people use their roof tops for sun drying, but with the amount of bugs we have here I wouldn't do it. The car works great and requires nothing more than rolled up windows and a sunny day, which we get lots of during the summer. The only drawback is when I need to go somewhere, then I have to do something with all my screens. I discovered this weekend a patch of eastern black nightshade growing in the big pasture so I have plans to pull it up. It isn't too big of a patch and I don't want it growing. I am sure that there is more somewhere out there and will try to get around this week to checking for it. I have been pulling tons of pokeweed this summer from around the farm. Two plants I cannot stand to see are nightshade and pokeweed. Both are very poisonous and I am just terrified that I will miss a pokeweed and my toddler will decide to try and sample the berries. We are still battling the oleanders also that the previous owner planted. Those are the toughest plants! We have cut down, dug up (or thought we did) and everything else we could think of over the years, but they still keep coming back. I don't know why anyone would plant such a toxic plant on a farm. I am still working on the billy goat shelter in the new pasture, so that we can seperate our boys and girls. Well, daylight is here and it is a busy busy day today. I must get outside and get done before the searing summer heat gets intolerable. Have a blessed day.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Summertime Menus

In the deep south it is hot, which can really put a damper on the appetite. First, no one wants to raise the heat in the house by cooking. Remember folks we still are not using our A/C and the temps have been mid 90s with about 90% humidity. As soon as the sun comes up the sweat starts pouring. While the house is much more comfortable with the ceiling fans going, it heats up quick with the kitchen appliances. Our goal is to build a summer kitchen outside for canning and summer cooking. Right now we just make do with the grill and hopefully will have the adobe oven by the end of summer. So, we lighten things up greatly in the good old summertime. What we cook we cook on the grill if at all possible. A casserole dish works over a bed of hot coals (not a flame as it will break) just like it does in the oven. Better yet is cast iron. However, we eat a lot of salads with fresh garden veggies for meals around here and cook really little. So consider changing things up for the summer and turning to lighter cooler fare to keep the heat down. Enjoy those fresh veggies and make salads unique by adding raw squash, green beans and other unusual goods to your typical lettuce salad. We have even mixed in mustard greens into our salads which add a little bit of a kick to your typical lettuce fare. Herbs are also a great way to boost the flavor of a salad. Don't forget the nuts or seeds and you can find a truly great uniquely flavored salad each and everyday of the summer. Stay cool, have fun, and work hard. Have a great summer!

Mommy, it itches!

Well, it is that time of year when we are out and about working in the yard more and in the pastures more. The inevitable will usually happen and we will come into contact with that most awful of weeds....poison ivy. My husband gets it several times a year and although it doesn't affect him as much as it does me (I would rather face down a rattlesnake than poison ivy)it still is miserable to have. However, there is something for preventing poison ivy and treating it. It has been around for generations and it is cheap. For many of us we have it in our homes already. What is this little gem that will battle the wiles of the evil weed? Fels Naptha soap. Yes folks that little bar of soap that we use on our laundry and everywhere else is great for preventing poison ivy inflammation and also for treating it. If you think you have been exposed, take a shower with fels naptha and then wash your clothes with some fels naptha shavings in hot water to remove the oils. Washing with fels naptha to will get rid of the oils on your skin and in your clothes and prevent the spread of the poison ivy. Just remember that fels naptha will also remove all the oils from your skin too so use it sparingly and only when needed to bathe with. I wouldn't use it on a regular basis as it really was not developed for bathing. However, it does work wonders in helping that poison ivy itch. It also helps for really itchy bug bites also. Poison ivy and mosquito season....gotta love summer! Of course, I have another way to battle that poison ivy that threatens to take over the farm.....Lilly, Billy, Buck, Coffee and Tea (our 5 goats). Those goats can zoom in on a sprig of poison ivy from a hundred yards and when they get done the poison ivy doesn't have long left in this world. They follow those vines up the trunks of trees and would climb those trees to get more if they could. I love my little poison ivy hunters, they sure have saved me some headache, because that stuff spreads like wildfire around here. That probably has something to do with the fact that I rarely have the courage to do battle with that menace, so my little goats have been coming to my rescue in the battle against poison ivy. Ya'll stay itch free and have a great day!

Great Agrarian Writer-Mr. Wendell Berry

There have been many great agrarian writers throughout history; Thomas Jefferson, John Taylor of Caroline, etc. We can definitely add Mr. Wendell Berry to that list of great agrarian writers. For the next few days, Lord willing, I will add quotes from Mr. Berry to my daily quote section. Mr. Berry is one of the great voices of conservatism and the agrarian life of the 20th and 21st centuries. He is an awesome poet and author whose words hold much truth and inspiration. I highly suggest reading some of Mr. Berry's works and words. Even those not living an agrarian life have much to glean from this man of God. Here is one of his poems for your enjoyment.

Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry
Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.

And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.

When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.

Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.

Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.

Listen to carrion -- put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.

Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.

As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go.

Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Starting a New Farm Project Today

Well, it is that time to separate our little baby bucks from our girls. I plan on milking our nannies and I don't want my milk tasting like a buck in rut. Our boys are showing signs that they know fall will be coming soon and they will be 6 months old soon also. Billy our little black and white buck is also the twin of our little doe, Lilly. We don't want any extreme love between the twins. So we worked on the new fence to the buck pasture and I will start working on the shelter for the boys. It will be a simple shelter to keep them out of the rain and out of the wind. Since this pasture is farther away from the house, we are enclosing a large area in the big barn closer to the house for night time safety. Lots of work, hard physical work, but that is what this life is about. Homesteading is physically demanding, but I will tell you that after a hard days work, you will sleep so well and so soundly! Of course, I think getting up at 3:45 in the morning helps with sleeping well also. Anyway, time to get to work preparing to move the boys. I have been worried that Lilly would be stressed separated from her brother, but she seems to be separating herself out naturally and hanging with the big girls more and more. Coffee has still not kidded, either she didn't read the book or I am not very good at checking tail ligaments yet. I would bet on the second scenario. She is getting close, but we aren't there just yet. Everything seems to be moving into place and I think her attitude last week was due to the baby/babies dropping down. Her belly hangs a lot lower these days. Well, that is about it for now. The garden is doing well and we have harvested some bush squash and some turnips, which were delicious. I am anxious to harvest more and will try to get pictures of my garden this week. My corn is especially beautiful and well worth all the frustration trying to get it planted and keep the critters out of it while it was young. I think I will have a good harvest even though I got started later than I wanted. Now if I can just keep those chickens out of the garden!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Swimming Holes


Long before fancy swimming pools with perfectly clear chlorinated water, generations of children found a favorite swimming hole. Usually, a small pond or creek on someone's property (that they knew of course). Nowadays, when one mentions swimming in a natural body of water other than the ocean people look at you as if you have lost your mind. People have gotten so used to chemically treated water that they just don't realize that other water is good for swimming to and not nearly as toxic to your health. When I was a kid, my favorite swimming spot was a creek on my grandaddy's property. Seems to me like there is nothing that lends itself to childhood memories more than the local swimming hole. I got my first lessons about snakes and how to avoid them down at that creek. I learned to watch, be quiet and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature as they unfolded. Down on that creek bank talking with my grandaddy, I learned some lessons about God and about life. You don't get that in one of those sterile backyard swimming pools, where it seems as if everybody is intent on making fun happen rather than enjoying what is offered. Well, I have discovered over the weekend, quite by accident that there is an alternative to those sterile pools. It actually has been the main basis of pool installations in Europe for quite some time, but we here in the States still insist on toxic water to swim in. The option is a natural pool like this:

or this one:


These pools are awesome as they are a chemical free, closed habitat, using biological filters (plants). Not only are they functional swimming holes and habitats for all sorts of pond critters, but they are beautiful to boot. We sorta have one of these, just not quite so nice looking. You see we have the first concrete swimming pool ever built in our county. It was built in the 1920s. However, sometime in the early 1980s the pump quit working and the owner decided to let it go natural. She even put some fish in it. We now have resident brim and a turtle. It is still a beautiful pond, but we would love to clear up the water some and clean it up, so we are looking at getting some plants and creating a biofilter area for the water to be filtered through the plant area. My children already love to play in the pond and frankly it is nice to step in after working in the hot garden which surrounds it. We already have some great bog plants for free down in our watershed, all we have to do is move em. Check out these pools, they are so great and could be built yourself.

Woodhouse Natural Pools
How to Build a Natural Swimming Pool

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Everything at once!

Wow, I just don't know what to say about the past few days. First the garden, I suppose!. Several days ago I was getting concerned because the rain barrels were running low and it was awfully hot. We really needed some rain, so the Lord blessed us with a good couple of days of rain. On the first day that it started raining one of our goats sent me running to the feed store for straw and to the dollar store for other supplies. Why? Well, she has decided to start going into labor. I say start because her start is about all we have gotten in the past 48 hours. This is my first goat delivery and I must say after having delivered countless horses, horses are much easier. In 20 years of assisting mares, I only had one mare "trick" me. This goat however is driving me insane. All her signs are straight from the book, but apparently she didn't read the book. Yes, I tried reading it to her, but she fell asleep while I was reading. According to much more experienced goat breeders this behavior of does is called the " Doe's Code of Honor" in which they play with their owners and keep them guessing. So while we were told when we bought her to expect a baby in August, we are now expecting in June. The good thing about spending one whole entire night in the barn waiting for a kid is that my two legged kid, Petunia, spent the night out there with me. She and I had a wonderful night talking about all sorts of things. It was a special time that mother and daughter could share without interference from little sisters, daddy's and just everyday life. God sends blessings in every situation and so I send a big heartwarming thank you to our Almighty God and little Coffee. Petunia was a trooper, actually better about staying up all night than I was. I couldn't have done it without her there. I am getting too old and set in my ways, I like my sleep. So we are still on baby watch with the goat, Coffee. Which means that her sister, Tea, won't be too far behind having been exposed to the same billy goat at the same time. No signs in her though so that is good. Now, onto the next thing. While we have been working on the pasture for our little bucks, Buck and Billy. We have been slow, thinking we still had time. Apparently with pregnant goat hormones raging their hormones are beginning to kick in. Buck has grown a right pretty beard, and I caught Billy yesterday experimenting at weeing on his face. For those of you who don't understand this, when a male goat goes into rut they urinate on their face and on their front legs. This is what makes them very stinky. So we must speed up progress on the buck pasture. Now for number three! Last night I went to feed the rabbits and Miss Baby has started pulling fur and making a nest. She did this right before she kindled last time, absolutley no time lapse. I am hoping that she is just doing this early this time because she isn't due until the 17th. We did get the next box in and set up. She was happily ensconced in her hole when I checked on her late last night. So we will see. Hormones are raging at Whisper Wind, has my husband a little nervous that they might invade the house! His new job is going well and the garden is growing great after the two days of rain. Thank you Lord for all of our blessings. Have a great day folks.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Wow! What a busy and crazy week!

Wow, things have been really busy this past week and I just have not had the time to sit down and compose blog posts. So I apologize for you all being left hanging and wondering what has happened. Let's see....where to start. I guess I will start with the chickens. I finally realized that something had gotten into the chicken house and killed my three little chickens. I originally thought that my rooster had done the deed, but the hens were terrified to come back into the henhouse at night. So we stripped all the litter on the floor, and emptied all the nesting boxes. Sure enough we found a couple of spots where something had burrowed under the wall. We now have chicken wire that is nailed to the wall and then lays is stapled into the dirt all the way around the inside of the chicken house. We locked up all the chickens and have not let them out. We have had no other incidents even though I would get up all during the night and trek out to the chicken house to catch the predator in the act of trying to break in the henhouse. We believe whatever it is is gone because there have been no further activities apparent. We will see. The hens have calmed down and now are appearing to be comfortable once again in their house, so we will give it a couple more days and then start letting them back out again. It will be nice to do so because we sure have been going through quite a bit of feed this past week. In order to keep them entertained the feed is scattered all over the floor of the henhouse which means more is used. We also don't seem to have as many kitchen scraps these days to feed them so again more feed is required. The goats are doing great and spend their days roaming the yard and pastures close to the house on weedeater detail. The woods have steadily been encroaching closer to the house and when I found a snake egg (already hatched) right outside the rabbit house door which backed up to the woods and tons of underbrush I told my husband that something had to be done to help the goats eat all that mess. Then the next day I almost stepped on a gray rat snake in the yard as I was gathering mulch for the garden. So that was it. We love the woods, but the underbrush had gotten too close. This past weekend was a huge cleanup weekend. Unfortunately my husband got a little carried away with the weedeater and "cleaned up" my groundcover under some of the trees. I wasn't really worried about that groundcover because the dogs like to rest in there and the guinea likes to hunt bugs in there. Any snake entering would quickly be flushed. We also had several piles of leftovers from our projects and these had to be cleaned up. So we have had a massive cleanup and this are much better around here with very few places close to the house for a snake to hide out. Then we discovered that a family of mice had moved into the laundry room. They actually chewed through the foam insulation surrounding a pipe and were coming up through the basement. I cannot stand mice! I really don't mind them out in the field, but I do not want them in my house or in my feed room. The cats do a good job of keeping them out of the feed room as we have not had a mouse out there in years, but this was the first time in 7 years that we had a mouse in the house. We not only had one we had several and they totally ignored the humane traps. So unfortunately we had to put poison in hidden spots around the house, since they were bringing all of their buddies in through the basement. So then began the cleanup of their little droppings that wind up in the most out of the way places. One must be very careful cleaning up mouse droppings as they are very toxic and the bacteria that they harbor can become airborne when disturbed. The best thing to do is to use a bleach/water solution to spray them before cleaning them up. Unfortunately, this is an old house with many little cracks, crannies, and nooks and occasionally we will get an unwanted visitor. We once had a rat snake fall out of the vent over the stove. It had apparently made its way down the chimney looking for chimney sweeps and took a wrong turn into the vent shaft for the vent over the stove!. That was a total shock. We even recently had a small wood duck that fell down the other chimney and was flying in panic around the house until we could catch it and take it outside. Inevitably each year we have a chimney sweep that does not have a sense of direction and instead of flying up out of the chimney they fly down out of the chimney and into the house. My husband started a new job this week and so his schedule has changed. I now must arise at 4 am and fix him breakfast because he leaves the house at 5 am. However, he gets home at 2pm which leaves him more time to work on some projects around here. He does like this new schedule although it has taken some getting used to. He eats dinner when he gets home from work because he really doesn't have time or a chance to eat while he is on duty, so that is the reason for breakfast. It is strange having to cook him breakfast before he goes to work. He never has been a breakfast person but since he doesn't get dinner until so late he needs to eat breakfast. I remember when we first got married I got up every day for months to cook him breakfast before he told me that he would prefer that I didn't because he just did not like to eat so early in the morning! Oh, how I wished that he had told me sooner, but he didn't want to hurt my feelings. Now, after all these years I am back to cooking breakfast and my days start even earlier as the alarm clock goes off at 4 am. I must admit though that this new schedule is not too bad. I already have one load of laundry and on the line to dry this morning. I already scrubbed the kitchen for today, so I am ahead on my chores. Wow, this might be nice to have an extra hour for sewing projects or other things that seem to take forever to finish. Yesterday, I totally scrubbed down the whole side porch and got rid of (temporarily) the spider webs that were threatening to take over. Even the screens got scrubbed. The bugs are terrible this year and we are running out of bug stuff. Because of them I am having to thoroughly clean the rabbit house daily which takes more time in the mornings. The horses have to be sprayed every morning with fly spray or the horseflies will carry them off. I have been spraying the bunnies with white vinegar and spraying the frame around the door and windows with a product called Odoban. I have used this for bug control for years as the main ingredient is Eucalyptus oil which is a natural bug repellant. I have not noticed as many gnats and such in the rabbit house during the day when I take out their frozen water bottles. I keep it very clean in there because I don't want to have to deal with flystrike. The bunnies don't seem to mind their vinegar spray in the morning and don't fuss when I cover their eyes with my hand. Miss Baby should be due in a couple of weeks with another litter of bunnies. I certainly hope we do better this time round. I have the nesting box ready and I hope she will use it. The past few days have been exceptionally hot and I was down to the last few gallons of rainwater in my barrels for the garden. So, God sent a surprise rainshower yesterday which watered the garden and put a few more gallons into the rain barrel. No rain was in the forecast so it was really great. The Lord has really blessed us lately with my husband's new job, the garden is growing well, the animals are doing well, and we are all happy and healthy. Even though I never doubt that He will provide I am still amazed at how well He puts things together sometimes. He is a truly amazing God and I am so thankful to have Him in my life. The past year has been difficult for us in many ways with the last 6 months being the most trying, but having endured the trials I can easily see the blessings that have been bestowed. The trials make us stronger in character and faith so that we can more enjoy the blessings that we are given. My husband has grown more in the past year in his walk with our Lord which has increased the strength and faith of our family. I see the difference in myself and our children as his faith has strengthened and his walk has solidified. It has given me strength and our children strength and direction in a way that only a solid godly father can give. So yes, the Lord blesses us each day and right now seems to be a particularly blessed time in our life. Life is peaceful on the farm these days even though very busy. We will soon have baby rabbits and then in the near future baby goats. Our children are happy and enjoying the country life. What more could a woman ask for! I hope to be back to blogging on a regular basis and get back to work on that book. Have a blessed day and I will write more soon!