Preparing for Winter

It has been awhile since I have posted. It seems like now that we are in the last part of summer we are in the mad dash to get ready for winter in addition to summer stuff. The tomatoes are coming in well despite the fight with the tomato hornworms. I really hate those things and we have had a heavy year for them. I have picked dozens each day to make sure that I actually get some tomatoes. As it is we have a late crop because the first tomatoes were hit pretty hard despite my efforts. So the tomato plants put on a second crop which is what we are now harvesting. The pole beans are about played out and I am getting ready to pull them. The second round of squash and zuchinni are just about to start flowering so we will have more just before the cold weather comes in. We are also busy filling the woodshed and getting the pastures in order. I put some finished compost on the goat's winter pasture yesterday and threw out some old wheat seed to encourage the chickens to scratch it in. I truly love it when I can get the critters to do my work for me! Now, if I can just find where they are hiding the eggs. We haven't gotten any eggs for a week and are having a time trying to find them. I am worried that something is getting the eggs. This week I re-mulched all the pathways in the garden so they are good to go until late winter/early spring. I try to mulch them twice a year to keep the weed population down. The biggest frugal thing I have done lately is to buy a bunch of potatoes that were on a really good sale and can most of them. Now, my emergency potato stores are stocked back up. My husband also replaced the brake pads on his car, saving us a good deal of money in not having to go to the mechanic. He also changed the oil in my car, saving even more money. We have spent a good deal of time this summer working in the yard. Unfortunately, we get busy with those things that are higher on the priority list and the yard gets pushed to the bottom. I have cleaned up countless piles of sticks and small branches that have fallen out of the trees and we have cut out dead branches so that we avoid so many fallen branches. We have had a couple of dead trees lose their tops and have burned off the piles of dead, rotten wood from that. We have also gotten rid of some weedy patches that made the yard look untidy. The dead fig tree was cut down and I have been able to keep the grass mowed on a regular basis. We still have some more work to do, but all in all the yard is looking much tidier. Our next goal is to clean up the old chicken coop that finally fell over this past winter. The back yard will look so much better once that is gone. Because of the heat that we have been dealing with we can only spend a couple hours outside early in the morning, so I think we have accomplished a lot with the little time that we have had. I think this fall when things get a little cooler we will be able to really make a difference and knock out some things that seem to take so long to get finished. We butchered a litter of rabbits this past month so that helped put meat in the freezer. Looking forward to deer season, even though I am not looking forward to the cold weather that comes with deer season. I remade two outdated dresses into more modern dresses last week. I love it when I get a new outfit made. It is so exciting to get to wear it. I have some oversized t-shirts that my aunt gave me that I am going to make into skirts soon. It will be nice to have a few more everyday skirts since the ones that I have have seen a lot of use. Within the next month I will be going through the children's clothes to see what they might need for this winter. I don't think Little Britches will need much, but Petunia might need a few things. Well, daylight is burning so I had better get to it before I can't stand the heat anymore. Blessings, Kat

Summer is most definitely here

Well, summer is most definitely here. Heat index has already been over 100 and only supposed to get worse this week. The humidity is very high. Yesterday I was out getting the morning chores done as soon as I had enough light to work on and I was drenched in sweat by 8 am. It is 6 am now and I am getting ready to head outside to get more chores done. The goats are taking more naps in the shade during the day...don't blame them really. This is truly siesta weather. We finally turned on the AC in the house this past week. Right now we are trying to zone cool the house and hope that works for this summer. Right now I am in our den with just the ceiling fan going, no AC yet, and frankly it is uncomfortably sticky. I do think the thermal curtains are helping to keep it cooler, but with this high heat and humidity there really is no super relief without air condition.

The garden so far is holding its own. The cucumbers and squash are done for now. I have replanted but it will be a month or so before we start having more squash. The zucchini are still holding their own and I will be replanting those as well. The pole beans are starting to produce, I am just hoping that this blistering heat won't cause them to drop their blooms. The tomato plants are loaded with tomatoes, which I am super excited about since last year I had a poor crop of tomatoes. Not enough to do everything I wanted to do. Now I am dreaming of all the salsa, tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, ketchup, and anything else I can think of. Sweet potatoes are almost finished planting and hopefully they will do well this year. Carrots and beets are almost finished up. I have a few more that I will pull and make another small batch of pickled beets and then use the rest in salads and such. The carrots will be frozen and used up this coming week.

We had a stroke of fortune this past week. My aunt replaced her dishwasher because it made a lot of noise. Nothing wrong with it and it is only a year old, but it was just too loud. So she asked if we would like to have it. I brought it home because our 20 year old dishwasher was starting to leak a small amount at the door seal. It also did not get the dishes as clean as I would like. Well, the next day my old dishwasher wouldn't even turn on. So we installed the one I got from my aunt and yes it is loud, but it works and cleans the dishes well and doesn't leak. Win, win in my book. New dishwasher for free. The bonus is that hers holds more dishes so won't have to be run as often, saving electricity.

Once again I am purging things in the house. Whenever I purge excess items I put stuff away that I am not sure I want to get rid of. This past week I have taken two loads to goodwill of those items that I put aside last year. It feels so good to get rid of stuff. I am now at the point where I am ready to get rid of several pieces of furniture. I mean really who needs 4 dining room tables, I only have one dining room.

We had vacation Bible school this past week at our church and that just about wore me out. The kids enjoyed it, but I am not cut out to be a teacher. I just don't have the patience. It definitely made for a long week, but I have to admit it was a fun program.

I am finally done with all the sewing for the children so maybe now I can do some sewing for me. I look forward to it. I enjoy creating new clothes and I do need some new summer dresses to wear to church.

Hope you all are enjoying your first few days of summer. Blessings, Kat

2015 Garden Photos

The garden this year is coming along nicely so I thought I would share. Enjoy!

This is the top bed area. As you can see the catnip has really taken over the front portion. There are also carrots, beets, basil and tomatoes in this area.

Here are some of the tomatoes in the top garden area. You can just barely see the narrow walk and then the beets on the other side of the walk.

A small huguelkultur bed on the other side of the top portion of the garden and yes that is the shallow part of the cement pond!

Still at the top of the garden but in the pond area looking back toward the house and goat barn. Under the tree is a large huguelkultur bed with herbs and flowers.

There are 2 bed areas here. The triangle bed which splits the pathway to go in different directions and then on the very far side next to the fence is the salad bar. All the kale has been harvested from here and the salad stuff is about done. Some wayward catnip has taken up residence but will become rabbit food shortly. The triangle bed has flowers and herbs that haven't come up yet.

This is going down the left side of the triangle. Peas haven't come up, then there are tomatoes, basil, marigolds, zinnias, and after th tomatoes will be another crop of peas. In the middle bed is squash, then on the far end the bed is fallow until fall. Directly across from the first set of peas is okra, watermelon, 4 o'clocks and soon to be eggplant.

This is down the right side from the triangle. On the right is oregano, lavender, sweet peppers, tomatoes, pole beans, hot peppers and asparagus. Oh, marigolds, basil and morning glories.

This is the outside fence along the driveway. it houses cucumbers, kale, dill, radishes, zuchinni, marigolds, and apple mint on the very far end.
That is it for now. Happy gardening!

Apology for my Absence

Sorry, I haven't written in a while. The holidays were busy and then after the holidays, just trying to get some down time. Then I got the flu and I was really sick for about a week. I still have a lingering cough that just won't seem to completely go away. Most days, I think it is gone and then I get a coughing spell. We have welcomed in a new year and with it have made some assessments about our life. The biggest assessment is that our budget got out of hand last year with my mom's illness requiring much of our time and then my Hashimoto's flare keeping me exhausted, sick and generally out of sorts. So, I have taken a hard look at our budget and hopefully we are back on track. January was a bit expensive with the extra propane cost that we incurred, but we still managed to put some money away for savings. We need a new car as both of ours have some serious age on them and are starting to have some problems. One of our cars is difficult to find parts for and the past several times we have had repairs done the mechanic had to make parts. That is going to get expensive. It also uses a lot of gas, so it is time for it to go before it completely dies. That is our big goal this year is to find something reliable that we can either purchase outright or finance only a small portion that we can have paid off quickly. We have not had to finance a car in years so maybe we will get lucky this year as well. The second biggest assessment is the goats. We felt like our old buck was simply not doing the job in getting our girl's pregnant. In 2013 we only had 2 of the 5 girls kid. Last year we had none. So we put him in the freezer in September and hope that our replacement buck has done his job. Several of the girl's look like they could be pregnant. I should pull blood tests and might do that soon to make sure. But if we don't have babies coming soon then it looks like we will be getting rid of all the goats. We simply can't afford to feed them if we aren't getting anything in return. I could raise several lambs and a couple of pigs every year cheaper than keeping a non producing herd. I miss my milk, cheese and butter though. So, our grocery budget had gotten out of control and I am in the process of working within a very tight and strict budget. Not everyone in the family is happy about that, but it is what it is. I have been making soup once a week and then several one dish meals that are nutritious and filling. No need for elaborate meals and the cost of a meal is greatly reduced. I am in the process of getting the garden going and hopefully we will be blessed with a good harvest. My oldest and I are getting together things that I need or want to get rid of and will have a yard sale soon. That money will go into our savings for the car as well. I plan on posting a weekly tightwad tip column so keep an eye out for this that I have done during the week to save money so that more of it can go into savings. Hope you all are having a great new year. Blessings, Kat

Garden Now for Springtime Ease

I am closing up the garden for the winter. I chose not to garden this fall with my thyroid issues, but I am making sure that spring will be as easy to get started as possible. So here is my list of things to accomplish so that this spring/late winter I am ready to go.

1. pull all old plants and weeds in beds.

2. Add some dried leaves and compost to the beds and mix well.

3. Cover the beds. I use whatever is handy, old plastic tablecloth material, tarps, feed bags and even a thick layer of pinestraw or leaves. This will keep those weeds from coming up before you get in there to plant.

4. Clean, oil, and put away garden tools.

5. Empty all old dirt out of any pots, wash them out, and then stack them up.

6. Since we all rotate things around the garden (hint, hint), go ahead and move trellises to where you will need them next year.

7. Add another layer of mulch to the pathways, or wherever else you might use mulch.

8. Disconnect and drain hoses, then roll them and hang them near the faucet.

9. Make any fence repairs that need repairing.

10.Clean up any trash (you know the pile of plastic nursery starter pots that the squash plants came in).

In the spring all you will need to do is push away the mulch/covers, plant, hook up the hoses and water. Easy peasy spring planting. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Sorry for being gone so long

I apologize to all you good folks out there for just dropping off the planet for a bit. I have been re-arranging my life and then my mom got sick and this past month has been a little taxing to say the least. I haven't forgotten about you all, I just really needed a break and to re-assess how things were going for our family. We had been in the rut of always having projects to be finished and work to be done that I felt as if that was all that I did. So, I took a step back and have done some major changing around here. Life has a much more pleasant routine these days I must say. Major projects are finished. Now it is just a matter of some daily routines to keep the farm running smoothly without major daily input. Same thing with the house, daily routines so no getting behind. I am doing some sewing again and schoolwork is going much more smoothly. One of the major things that we had to review was how much time I spent on the road running my oldest here and there. It is a major part of the day to go to town and so we had to sit her down and set a limit on all that running around. We couldn't keep jumping in the car every single time a friend called. Sometimes they need to come out here rather than us running to them. So, I am really pleased with how things are coming together. I don't feel so stressed about getting it all done and my days go much more smoothly. I have some time for myself which is nice. I am back to working on my book and have written a few articles which will be sent off soon. Like I said I have been sewing again, mostly on my clothes. That is another area that I was getting very frustrated with. I have a very hard time finding clothes that fit me properly and frankly it had gotten to the point where I was feeling very dowdy and not me with my wardrobe. So, I am redoing my wardrobe to reflect my personality and to actually fit me properly. I am really excited about it. It is like going on a shopping spree without spending any money. I just pull clothes out of my closet and am making them into something completely different that fits my personality and my figure. My husband thinks that I am going through a mid-life crisis and he might be right. I have decided that all outside chores are done early in the morning and then I shower, dress, do my hair and...wait for it....put on make-up! So that I look presentable when he comes home. I think all of this is really his fault as I was working on a cross-stitch one day in a particular dress that is styled in a 1940s era style (I like vintage things) and he told me that I looked like his grandmother sitting there with her knitting. I guess I really did, but that is not what I want to portray. Anyway, I know vanity...one of the seven deadly sins. However, I don't want my husband thinking of his grandmother when he looks at me. Not that I want to be that middle age woman trying to hang onto her 20s either. I just want to look nice and look my age (ok maybe not completely...the wrinkles could go) and look like ME. Anyway, life is good again and I have some time to have fun and do things for myself. I needed that. I am so many things to so many people that somewhere along the way "I" had gotten lost and forgotten about. And the problem with that is that we change. Who I am now is not who I was 20 years ago. Me, myself and I have changed over the years as life has molded and shaped us. I will continue to change and who I am now will not be who I am in another 20 years. My likes and dislikes change, things that I feel are important change, LIFE changes and along the way it shapes and molds and modifies us along the way. Anyway, I am finding time to be creative again and that has me feeling very alive and excited. I never really realized how much I missed it. My studio is cleaned up and organized (it took 3 weeks to get that done)and I can go in there and work for a couple of hours and feel good....really good. So now, even with all the many hats that I wear to so many people I have reconnected with myself and that is fantastic.

I am still struggling a bit with my thyroid and adrenal issues and it doesn't help that I got off track as far as food goes. However, I am getting back on track with no wheat and am beginning to feel better. The joint and muscle pain are diminishing again and I am not stiff and sore all the time with swollen joints. I just take this one day at a time and do what I can to better my health.

I decided to shut down the garden for the winter. I spend a little bit of time each morning in the garden getting it ready for spring. By spending 30 minutes or an hour every day then I will be ready and there will be no major crunch to get it done so that I can plant. I have also decide that some of the area that I used to plant will be turned into a berry patch and I will no longer be doing a CSA so I don't need that space to grow veggies. I am planting the berries in large barrels because there is the chance that we might move and I want to be able to take them with me. We realized that most of our chickens were well on in years and that is why we have had so few eggs this year. Now, we have none as they have completely shut down. So we butchered several of the oldest hens along with the spring roosters that hatched. We will be replacing those hens soon with some pullets. The goats are doing fine. We have one last goat in milk and she isn't producing much at this point. She has been in production for 16 months now so I am surprised she is still producing anything. We have 2 that are going in the freezer this week and our buck might go in the freezer in another month or two. That will be hard for me as he is such a sweet boy and we have raised him since he was 8 weeks old. However, he hasn't been that great at getting the girls pregnant and I just can't keep extra mouths to feed. The rabbits are doing ok. The second colony is busy having babies, but the first colony is in limbo. It was the colony that got hit with coccidiosis and I lost several does, my buck and most of the babies. I do have a new buck and some replacement does in there now, but nothing is going on. It is getting frustrating. The two horses are doing good, Thunder actually is doing well on our current feed program and keeping some weight on. He is going into winter looking pretty good for such an old guy. We are still splitting all the wood from these trees that came down this last year so we are well set for firewood for a good couple of years. We probably will be splitting for the rest of the winter. We just keep it steady and don't try to overdo ourselves. I don't mind splitting some wood by hand a little at a time because it does help keep my muscles in shape.

Anyway, I guess that is about it for now. Have a great day and again I am sorry for being gone so long, but I really needed the break. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Mosquitoes, Fire Ants and Blow Flies

We are now going on our 8th day of rain. Every single day rain. heavy rain. Everything is a mess with the muck and the mud everywhere. I am tired of the rain and I am tired of the mud. The weeds is my garden are a nightmare. I suppose I could pull weeds in the rain as long as it isn't thundering and lightening, but goodness I have to change clothes enough just tending to the critters. by the way they are tired of the rain too. Even the ducks are tired of the rain and I am finding them more and more in the goat barn. And with all this rain with the humidity comes....mosquitoes...fire ants....and blow flies. I have had 6 rabbits die of fly strike and the others weren't looking so well so the other 7 were killed and put in the freezer for the dogs. The dogs are eating well. Which stinks because several of those rabbits were ready to process and I was looking forward to some rabbit. The blow flies are terrible around here right now and I am trying to check critters everyday and keep things as clean as possible, but when the rain runs right through the aisleway of the barn carrying mud and muck with it it's hard. The chickens are staying fat and sassy though, but there are even more than they can eat. My local feed store will be happy because with the amount of fly spray that I am using around here daily to try and protect the critters, especially from the blow flies. The mosquitoes are breeding like crazy too...apparently they don't take a break while it's raining. I was in the garden yesterday trying to pick what I could, but the mosquitoes were eating me alive. And if the mosquitoes weren't eating me then the fire ants that have popped up everywhere were. you would think those suckers would drown with all this rain and the ground soaked as it is. Oh well, we are getting a good amount of school work done but it isn't easy having to keep Little britches in the house so much. She really is an outside girl. Oh well, gotta put on my mud shoes and slog through the mud to take care of chores. If I get stuck I hope somebody will come to my rescue. Have a great day, Kat

Pretty Quiet and Wet

Well, it has been a pretty quiet week around here. With the loss of BC and the rain we haven't been doing much. We did get the summer shower finished with the exception of a few minor tweeks last week. It was nice to get that project done. I have been teaching little britches to swim this summer and she is doing quite well. I am looking forward to my trip to Maine. I will only be gone a few days, but it will be nice to have a break. I don't get them often. I am often amazed at how our life has pretty much fallen into quiet routine when I can remember not so very long ago that I was completely overwhelmed and always felt and is I was fighting a fire. Most major projects are done, the things for critters settled and built. Now, we are just in a routine of maintaining and keeping. It is kind of nice actually. I suddenly feel like I have all this free time and I often find myself looking for that fire ad feeling guilty that I don't have one to put out. Of course, there are always weeds to pull and seeds to plant, but I don't stress myself if my garden isn't completely weed free. The horse barn has been mostly redone and now all that is left is for the barnyard to be graded with the tractor. If we can get the tractor going then we will do that in the next couple of weeks, hopefully. So, I think I might be ready to start thinking about pigs again, just feeders not breeders. I won't be going into the pig breeding business anytime soon. I have to admit that I don't really like having pigs around all the time. I enjoy them while they are here for a little while and then I am glad to be done with them. We have had a rainy summer which has been nice for the garden. It has been cooler than usual also which has been nice. You would think living this far south all my life that I would be used to the heat and humidity by now, but I simply am not nor will I ever be. We are supposed to get more rain today so that might wash out my gardening day. Saturday is typically a day that I spend a lot of time in the garden. That way I don't feel like my garden is suffering if I don't get much done during the week. I am planting through this year for a continuous crop since the weather has been a bit strange so I have more planting to do. If I can't get in the garden because of the rain then I will probably clean the refrigerator. I hate cleaning the refrigerator but it must be done. I guess I had better get started it is really dark out there and doesn't look like I have much time before the rain settles in. Blessings, Kat

Where I've been and what I've been up too

Wow, things have been busy and since the mornings are getting started real early around here due to the heat, I haven't posted much. I guess I should get better about that. A few weeks ago a friend of mine got two horses and they didn't settle in very well. Her experience with horses is limited and so this old horse trainer pulled out her dust covered boots and headed down the road every morning after chores to help. The horses have settled in now and we are just working out some kinks with two horses that haven't had much riding or work for several years. So being with her horses has really inspired me to stop procrastinating and putting off my own horses. I have been working on getting BC back into shape and making plans to get Whisper started again. I stated in another post earlier this spring that this is the year of the horse in which much needed repairs and such get done to the horse barn. So I started working on that yesterday. The feed room out there is now nice and tidy, all tack has been gone through and will be cleaned today. The tack area has been cleaned and organized. Today I have plans to make some repairs to BC's stall. I will be taking out the old hay rack that was built way to high up on the back wall to be able to throw hay into and installing a new (to him) hay tub. Why a tub? Because we frequently feed bagged chaff haye and it won't go in a standard hay rack. Then I have the side door to repair, which I was thinking about widening but because of our water problem with that barn I might not. I will be installing a drainage ditch at the door which tends get trampled down to allow the water to flow into the barn. I will put a pipe in there so that doesn't happen and there is still room for the water to flow around the barn instead of through the barn. Then I will be cleaning the outside of that side of the barn where all the junk has accumulated. So busy busy day this morning. Of course the garden is finally in production and we have been getting some good rain the past few days. We just keep planting and will plant straight through fall since the spring was off to such a bad start this is the only way to make up the difference. I don't think I will get much squash this year even though the plants look great. No squash vine borers and no squash bugs, but the squash are not maturing well. Maybe that will get better with time. Harvested most of the onions. Didn't get a whole lot but they are nice looking and I am sure will taste delightful. Sweet potatoes are in the ground and the first crop of corn should be ready soon. We had another snake in the garden so dear hubby got in there and thoroughly cleaned out some areas that I haven't been able to get to with everything else that needed to be done. The weeds and the snakes seem abundant this year. The goats are doing well and still no babies which is driving me nuts even though a couple of my girls look like they are going to explode. I wish they would pop soon because Dolly and Windy are both dropping in milk production. I still don't have a shortage though and have made some cheese and ice cream pretty regularly. Since the heat is getting to be unbearable we spend most of the day inside. The little one and I have been doing some crosstitch and the oldest has had a cold. I have some sewing projects that I likely will be finishing up soon. Other than that we are plugging along doing what we can outside before the heat gets to be too much and then enjoying the quiet time inside for the rest of the day. Hope your summer is going well and your garden is producing. Blessings, Kat

Springtime on the farm

Wow, it is definitely spring even with this cold spell we are having. Yes, I said cold spell. Normally we are hitting mid 80s and a couple weeks ago we were doing just that. Now we are hitting mid 60s. I had to close the windows in the house and am having to put on a jacket for the morning chores! Unbelievable. But if it means that summer will be slightly cooler I will take it. So we are definitely seeing springtime on the farm around here. 3 hens have been sitting on nests and two have hatched out babies. One hatched out at least 6 that I saw, but since she nested in a very bad spot we lost 3 right off the bat. One of the other hens has 3 bitties with her and I have no idea if she hatched out more or how many she was sitting on. She was a total surprise. Another hen is sitting on about 7 eggs so we will see if she hatches out any. So far we have 6 baby chicks on the farm. One of our ducks is sitting on a nest also....right in my new huguelkultur bed in the garden. I don't care she can sit there as long as she needs to if she will hatch out some babies. The wild birds are nesting and we found some Robin eggs in the garden. Not sure if they hatched and the shells were cleaned out of the nest or if something got to them and dropped the shells. However, they were very pretty and made for a nice science lesson for Little Britches. Now, if the goats would just do their part and have some babies of their own so I can get to making cheese. It looks like Sugar and Coffee are beginning to develop udders and a milk line so we will see. The others I simply have no clue. Although milk production with Dolly is up because of all the fresh browse. Even old Thunder is feeling frisky these days and I think I am going to have to separate him from his daughter. He hasn't shown any interest in her in years but the new feeding program for him must be doing some good. I think I might need to back off his Red Cell for a little while. The rabbits are in full production mode and I can't keep up with the litters that are being born. The only problem is that they all seem to like the same nesting box, which is the top of a dog kennel. So thank goodness it is big enough because one will have a nest in one corner of it and another one will have a nest in another corner of it. My chinchilla doe is by far my best producer and she loves to be pregnant and having babies. Thank goodness she does take the summer off because I am afraid that she will wear herself out. I put two of her daughters in the second colony so hopefully I will continue with her great mothering genetics. She produces nice large babies that grow out well also. So far with everyone in full production the buns are getting their full feed ration, along with hay and fresh greens picked daily. When they stop producing for the summer then I will cut back their grain ration. With all the rain everything is really wet around here and I already had to strip the main rabbit colony once after the big spring cleanout. Usually I only have to do that once every other month, but it barely lasted a month with all the rain. We just seem to be getting so much at once and the roof leaks in a couple spots and sometimes if it is heavy enough it will come over the edge of the concrete into the colony soaking the bedding. I don't want babies being born in wet bedding so I had to make sure to get it stripped again. The buns were so excited to have clean fresh bedding. We were worried about colony 2 with all the rain because water does seem to seep under the walls if it rains hard enough, but apparently it is holding up well and the bedding was dry. The conveyor belt that a friend gave us seems to have really helped with that. I guess the water went under the belt and that way the bedding and bunnies stayed dry. I really have to get those bunnies some more toys and hidey holes in there. The garden is coming along well and of course the weeds are flourishing as well as the veggies are. So everyday I spend about 30 minutes or so pulling weeds. If I keep on top of it then it doesn't become such a chores. I need to move some tomato plants today. I even have several volunteers from around the garden coming up so I will move those into the tomato patch as well. Of course, I am still planting in the garden it takes awhile to get it full and I keep coming up with spots to plant more. If everything keeps going though we will have an abundance of food for us and for the livestock. At least that will cut down on the bill some. I am concentrating on protein (peas) and black oil sunflower seeds for the livestock because those are our two most expensive ingredients in our feed. We will see how it goes. This winter I will grow some grains, but I don't expect to be able to grow nearly enough. We have also been getting in wood for this coming winter. It is nice to have the "new" woodshed to stack it in and to work near. We are getting a second wood stove and so will need all the wood we can get for this winter. And of course with all the rain we are fighting fire ants once again. They are popping up all over the place. Where the chickens are we don't have too much of a problem with them but they are everywhere in the garden and all over the pastures. I also have to be watchful of the rabbit colonies because believe it or not they will come over the concrete into the colony. If you have been reading here long you know I don't like poisons, but for fire ants nothing else works. Believe me I have tried every single home remedy there is. I use the minimal amount that I can get away with to kill those suckers but they must be killed! So that is spring around here so far. How is your spring going? Hope it is going well. Blessings, Kat

The Cost of this Life

Lately on the homesteading type forums there have been loads of questions about the cost of this life vs. the cost of continued consumerism. Many people want to know what they can do for themselves to save money. I am completely amazed at the responses that tell them that they are better off buying their groceries because they will spend more. The average answer is that buying groceries is cheaper, but think of the quality that you get from growing your own. While that is true, I find it hard to believe that I and a handful of others actually truly do save money. If I bought all that we eat I simply couldn't afford it. So how is it that I can save money while it seems that the rest of my homesteading friends spend more than they would at the grocery store. I think the answer can be as simple as KISS...keep it simple stupid. I saw an answer that detailed the list of things needed to have a garden. The list was a paragraph in and of itself. Here is my list...a shovel, a dirt fork, a hoe, a rake, open pollinated seeds, a hose, and a wheelbarrow. With those few things one can grow a tremendous amount of food year after year. If you buy those things used then you save even more money yet. I recently saw a craigslist add for about 60 hand gardening tools for 30.00. Yes, I called and they were already gone. Whoever got them got a great deal! People were also saying that chickens produced expensive eggs and that you can buy eggs much cheaper in the grocery store. Hmmm....maybe for some but my chickens cost me nothing. They free range and get kitchen or garden scraps. Even their housing can be built for free using reclaimed materials or pallets. If they must be confined because of predator issues they can still be fed scraps and garden trimmings/waste. my hens not only produce eggs for me but they raise little ones to replace themselves each year. So while I might have spent 75.00 or so on my initial flock, I have made that back over and over again. There are two ways to approach this life...1. is the willingness to put in the effort of using the resources available and the other is still with the consumer mindset of buying everything you think you need brand new. So this life can cost as much or more than the traditional consumer lifestyle if you want it too or it can cost much less with some effort and ingenuity. It is up to you. I just want to encourage those that don't have a lot of capital that this lifestyle is attainable and no you don't have to go broke maintaining it or even starting up. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Compost Tea for Combating Disease

I am always looking for ways to combat disease in the garden, especially with my tomatoes. We have such humid weather here in the deep south that we are plagued with disease. While that doesn't always mean that we lose production completely it does mean that production can be reduced. I have seen this with tomatoes especially. I have gotten verticilium wilt and my tomatoes will still produce, but no like they could. I have used compost tea in the past for added nutrients, but have never used it as a method of disease control of plants. This year my scientific experiment will be to use it as a method of controlling disease and see what happens. To control disease compost tea must be made aerobically, which means the tea is kept oxygenated while "brewing". This keeps the microorganisms alive. It also must be applied at least once a month, not just on the occasional basis that I have done in the past. So how do you make compost tea?

First get a 5 gallon bucket and something to aerate the tea. An aquarium pump will work for this. Next you need to put some finished compost (about 3 big handfuls) into a piece of cloth that will allow good flow through it. I like to use old curtain sheers for this. Tie this up and place in the bucket. Now fill with non chlorinated water. you can let your water sit in another bucket for 24 hours if you have city water to release the chlorine. Then in the water mix in 2 teaspoons of molasses and 2 teaspoons of citric acid or lemon juice. These two things will feed the micro-organisms. Turn on the pump and let sit for 24 hours. Use immediately after that as a foliar spray.

To control disease this needs to be done on a once a month basis. Hope we all have success with this. Blessings, Kat

Happenings around the farm

Well, now that the rain and cold seems to have settled down some I might actually get the garden planted and growing. We have run out of time for spring (cool weather) crops to come up from seed so I bought some plants the other day. Maybe I will get a small crop of these things before the heat of summer gets here. I am planting twice what I normally plant because I just have a feeling that this year will not be a good garden year. This spring has been crazy weather and already put me way behind and I have had to replant several times already. Ok, some of the replanting is due to the chickens, but the drenching rains we have had have had a role too. I planted strawberries this year, 36 plants all total and I am thinking of buying a few more. I will try to get some more things in the ground today and tomorrow. I am hoping to be done with planting for the most part within the next week. We still have no goat babies and all of the pigs are heading to the freezer. These little pigs are just too much trouble. I will stick with feeder pigs each year for awhile. Keeping pigs year round is rough on fences and on the feed bill, especially when neither of the females gave us viable babies. At least we will have pork and I will start looking for a couple of feeders soon. The chickens are back to laying like crazy and we now have egg customers again so they will be earning their keep. The dogs and cats will be sad that their egg supply will be going elsewhere though. They have been enjoying the extra eggs. Titan is doing well with his obedience lessons and starting to come into his adult temperament. He notices when things are different and takes serious offense to that. The other night my husband laid down on the big couch and Titan noticed something was different and let out two big growls. Then yesterday the studio door was open because I was in there doing some cleaning up. Titan noticed it and barked and growled until I stepped to the door to tell him it was just me. Both are good signs that he will make a good property guard. Dakota killed a possum the other night in the big barn. She is such a good dog. I don't know what we would do without her. And Valentine is being her usual old lady grumpy self. I guess we need an old lady dog to keep the others in line. The rabbits were doing really well and having babies like gangbusters, but they seem to have gone on vacation these days. I haven't had a litter in over 6 weeks. I keep telling them that summer is coming and they need to get busy as I need to get some serious rabbit meat in the freezer. They aren't listening. I guess they will ramp up here soon. maybe the crazy weather has them thrown off. I can't milk rabbits though and so I really wish my goat girls would get on the ball with some baby action. My neighbor down the road has already had her babies and I am having serious baby goat withdrawals! However, the good news is that the little buckling she had is coming to live with us when he is ready to leave his mama. We have already named him Moonshine and he is beautiful. He has some excellent bloodlines (Kastdemur) and his mama has a beautiful udder. I am excited to see what he does with improving my herd. Not that Buck is not a good boy, but it will be nice to have some different and lets face it better blood in the herd. We have lots of spring projects that have been on hold because of the rain and so now is the time to get busy before the heat of summer gets here. Two things that I really want to get done are the outdoor solar shower and a second rabbit colony. The second colony will help in meat production so that we don't feel like we are short when we feed rabbit to the dogs. Now that we are feeding raw we really need the extra production. The outdoor shower is great especially for those times that the little one gets muddy from head to toe and when I get filthy and dirty from being in the garden. I loved having one before in the summer and it sure does help on the power bill. I will post instructions when we get started on it. Petunia is turning 15 this weekend and she is studying for her learner's permit. It really makes me feel old. I found it hard to believe that she had become a teenager and now she is a teenager that drives (or will soon). Look out world here she comes! She is also learning how to cook and has already fixed a couple of simple suppers for the family. I have to admit having a teen in the house is nice. She may not want to do outside chores, but I hate inside chores and she is more than happy to fold laundry, vacuum and clean the kitchen. We make a good team. Little britches on the other hand is good at making messes and really is having a difficult time understanding the cleaning up and chore part of the deal. She would much rather be outside all the time in any kind of weather doing what country kids do....getting dirty....really dirty. Well, other than just normal everyday things that is about all that is happening here. Busy with the garden, busy trying to get time to work on other projects, busy with spring in general. Hope your days are happy and busy as well. Blessings, Kat

It's Raining... Again

Ok, really I am just a little tired of the rain. The garden is now officially way behind. Seeds that were planted a couple weeks ago are probably rotten because there is no sign of them. The onions look like they are beginning to rot before they even get started. I have a foot of mulch in the pathways and I am still splashing water when I walk through there. Now, the septic tank is beginning to grumble because the ground around the field lines is saturated. Really, did we need a whole years rainfall within a month's period of time?! Ok, I guess I have gotten my grumbling off my chest now. The good news is that I have done some things that I was putting off so that I could go play in the dirt. I have made and milled lots of soap and I am finally getting the goat fat that I had in the freezer rendered so that I can make more soap. My goal is to get all the soap made and all the fat rendered and out of the freezer. The laundry is caught up and put away and the taxes are almost finished. I probably will finish those today along with the soap. Tonight I get to catch chickens and clip their wings. They are devastating what is in my garden. yesterday morning I had turnip greens...yesterday afternoon I had turnip stems. Yep, in just a few hours they got in and stripped the turnip greens of anything leafy and they started nibbling on roots that were poking out of the ground. I really hate chickens and if they didn't provide me food for next to nothing then I would butcher every last one of them. However, right now I am getting between 8 and 9 eggs a day and that certainly helps if nothing else than to feed the dogs and pigs. Speaking of pigs, I think I might be about done with pigs. It doesn't matter how well we repair the fence they get out. Only two of them mind you, the other one never gets out. you can leave the gate wide open and he is content to stay put. Also, with small pigs it takes considerably longer for them to get to any size worth butchering and by then they are tough. I want pork chops and ribs that melt off the bone when you cook them. I don't want pork loin that is harder to chew than jerky. We just butchered a sow that was just under 2 years old. She was a good size and we got about 35-40 lbs of meat off of her. We ground every last bit of it because the loin that we cooked was too tough to chew. The ribs we cooked needed tyrannosaurus rex teeth to pull the meat off the bone. The other ribs will go to the dogs, maybe they will have better luck. The one thing I did like was the amount of lard that I got off of her....over 2 gallons after rendering. So, I am debating on whether or not to go back to larger hogs that grow out faster (but eat you out of house and home for 6 months) or stick with the little pigs and just butcher younger and smaller. I have two breeders now though that right at a year old would only yield maybe 15 lbs. of meat and that is being generous. I might keep the pair of little ones to produce lard and dog food and just raise a large hog or two for us. I don't know, definitely a dilemma. The little pigs cost very little to feed. They don't get much grain at all. They mostly live off kitchen scraps and garden gleanings. They get extra eggs also and a little milk thrown in now and again. But they are much harder to fence in because they chew their way through a fence and can make just enough of an opening to squeeze their little bodies out of. The problem is that now they are heading onto my neighbors land in their daily wanderings and for those of you that have read my blog for any length of time you know that I don't need anymore problems with any of my neighbors. Pigs rooting their way through their manicured yards would definitely create some tension. Oh, well I am sure that I will come up with a solution to this issue soon. My little sow still has not has piglets yet even though she looks like she is pregnant. If I don't have piglets soon then I probably will sell her and the little boar. She is so sweet that I don't think I could butcher her. Then I will repair the fences and start looking for feeder pigs. I could always raise one for us and sell the other one. That might be an idea. So blessings from the farm and here is hoping that you all have a sunny, clear day! Kat

What We Are Up To

We have been busy working on the garden lately. I am sure I have said it before, but we are greatly expanding the garden. We don't need more space to grow more for us as we grow plenty to use immediately and put up for future use. However, one of our big goals this year is to grow more for livestock feed. Feed costs are rising and the drought plaguing most of the country has not showed any sign of letting up. In fact, it just seems to be getting worse. That means even higher grain costs as farmers simply can't grow grain. I have already culled my goat herd and can't afford to cull the rabbit herd, in fact I need to expand that. So what is a smallholder to do? Well, the answer is simply grow as much as you can yourself. Now, it really isn't practical for many smallholder's including myself to try and grow all of their current grain needs. It simply would be too time consuming to do it by hand and too costly to try and find equipment that would even fit on my property let alone find the pasture space to give up to that much production. So again what to do? Well, take a look at what some of the old timers did who were in the same situation. In the days before heavy equipment which led to small grain fields instead of several hundred acres farmers grew root crops to supplement their small grain fields. Things like turnips, beets, sweet potatoes were very often grown more for livestock fodder than human food. These things could be easily stored during the winter to supplement grain. Peas were readily grown for a protein source and often dried on the vine. Vine and all were then fed during the winter to the family milk cow. Another thing that some did was to plant and grow a grain field and then let the stock harvest it themselves. Usually they turned the stock out onto fields that were not quite mature in that the plants were still green and while the grain had formed was nowhere near ready to harvest. The time that the animals were on the fields allowed the farmers to stock up grain rations that would be fed later when the fields were fallow. This meant that the farmer could grow more grain than he was capable of harvesting and still get the benefits of large grain production. So what are we planning here on our little 10 acres? Well, we are planning lots of root crops...turnips, sweet potatoes, and beets in abundance. Everywhere we can stick them. Then we are planning a small grain patch to be rotated throughout the year. Then we are planning on turning the pigs on the front pasture for a few months until it is time to plant quinoa (high in protein) and then move the pigs and plant the grain which will be harvested. We have a lot of concrete space around the pond which is in the center of the garden and we are building beds on top of this concrete to grow crops that would otherwise take up ground space. This will increase our gardening square footage tremendously. We will also be planting loads of field peas to be our protein source. Field peas don't take up much space and a whole lot of them can be grown in a small area. Many varieties produce several crops during the growing season and unlike beans can be fed straight off the vine or simply dried. Once the harvest is done then the whole plant can be pulled up and fed to the livestock. It is a lot of hard work, but we have to watch our costs and even if we can only substitute one store bought grain meal a day for the critters that still cuts our needs in half. So, I guess I had better get to work. Blessings, Kat

2012 Reflections and 2013 Goals

Wow, another year is almost gone. Now that I am in the middle of my life it seems that time goes by so quickly and the years pass faster and faster. This especially applies to watching my children grow. My oldest is 14 and will be 15 in just a few months. It seems like just yesterday that we were coming home from the hospital. She was so tiny and I was so clueless. Well, I am not going to get all reminiscent about the children. This post is about life, the farm and the home. As you may have noticed this past year I have been on the warpath to downsize and simplify. Life is simply to short to work all the time and never have time to do things that you enjoy. Not that I don't enjoy taking care of the livestock or gardening and all that, I do. However, it can become too much like hard work all the time and that sucks the enjoyment right out of it. So, I have downsized the "stuff" in my house and I must say it is so much easier to clean. I still have some things to pack away and/or get rid of, but I have downsized a great deal. The livestock daily maintenance (feeding, cleaning etc.) is more or less on a routine now and only takes about an hour and a half a day. We are still working on the garden to get the most production with the least maintenance. I still have loads more mulch to get in the garden pathways to help control weeds. I will be doing this year's garden planning this coming week so as to have everything in place so that by the end of January I can start spring planting. I can't believe the garden year is going by so fast. We are expanding the garden this year to include more livestock feed so that will take some time this coming month preparing those areas. We still need to get a smokehouse built so that will be a priority in the coming months. All in all things went well in 2012. We had a good garden harvest, we added livestock with the pigs (hoping for spring babies!), we downsized where we could and finished a few projects here and there. I believe after all these years that I am finally getting the hang of this homesteading thing. So with all that being said, what are my goals for the coming year. My first goal is to expand the garden for more livestock feed. I am trying to decide now and will make my final decision as to what crops will most benefit our farm. I want to expand my composting efforts as I never seem to have enough compost no matter how much we seem to generate. I want to build a feed trough for the goats so that I can get rid of the buckets that they are always scattering everywhere. I want to build a mineral feeder for the goats for the same reason. I would like to expand the rabbits to a second colony but that is not really a priority right now. I want to completely re-fence the perimeter. I think that has been a goal for about 2 years now and hasn't completely gotten finished, but this year I think it will. I want all my firewood cut, split and stacked before next fall. It never fails that midwinter we run out of split firewood and I have to go out in the cold to split large rounds of wood. Nothing more miserable, however it does warm you up quick. I want to get that smokehouse built and another outdoor summer shower built. My first one was a little rustic (ok a lot rustic and not very private). And then finally I want to be able to do more sewing and painting. So those are my hard and fast goals for the coming year. All in all it has been a good year. How about you? How has your year been and what are you thinking and planning for the coming year? Blessings, Kat

After Christmas Update

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas. We had a quiet day here at home with a day full of thunderstorms. Actually, it was nice. I have always liked the thought of cold winter weather in which I was forced to take some down time and enjoy quiet inside activities. Well, cold winter weather doesn't happen much in the south. So I settle for stormy winter weather that forces me to stay inside and seek those quiet winter activities. Did I do any of those such things yesterday...no not really, but I did enjoy the downtime and I did enjoy spending time with my girls. My hubby had to work last night and came home sick. So since it is blustery cold outside today after all the wind the farm chores are up to me. That includes getting more wood up for the fireplace. We have been going through a lot of wood this year, not necessarily because it has been so cold, but because we have been using that as our sole source of heat to keep heating cost down. This old house gets so damp and chilly and will stay that way without some heat going all the time even if it does warm up outside. This has really been a strange winter. One day we are in the high 60s, even 70s and the next in the 40s. Yesterday the high was in the low 70s and today the high is supposed to be 47. These dramatic drops are crazy. So anyway today is a wood cutting and hauling day. Anyway, my other plan for the day is to get the garden plans set down on paper for the spring. With planting more spring crops for livestock feed it is important that every inch is utilized properly. This will definitely put my knowledge of bio-dynamics to the test. The good news is that since we had those trees come down we have lots of material for huegulkulter beds that I have been working on. I will explain more about that in another post soon. They will hopefully add more space to the garden while helping with drought conditions which look like they will continue and be even worse this year. Even though we have had loads of rain this past week or so we still haven't had the amount of rain that we normally have during the fall and winter. The pond is way below normal level for this time of year. So the relaxation is over and it is back to work for me. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Growing Grains on a Small Scale

Years ago I read a copy of Gene Logsdon's "Small Scale Grain Raising". It is an excellent book, but at the time I really wasn't ready to jump into the world of raising substantial amounts of grain. I did, however, experiment with very small plots of different grains just so that I could get a feel for what it was like and what was required. Well, with the increase in feed prices and the fact that I can only downsize my herds so much it is now time to really think about raising feed for the livestock. So that is my goal this week, start planning out the grain patch and decide how to rotate it out to get the most out of the land that I have to use. It would be nice to be able to grow all that I need, but I will be happy if this first year I simply offset my feed cost by even just a little bit. So what are you planning for your garden this year? Blessings from the farm, Kat

Reflections on Saving Time on the Farm

Time has become something that is very precious to me. I don't know if turning 40 or 41 had anything to do with that or not. It might have been that I always felt like I had no time for the things in life that I really enjoy. Don't get me wrong I love our life and the things that I do, but there are leisure activities that I enjoy also. Things that are mine and only mine, things that make me...well me. Those things get pushed to the side in the busy life of trying to homeschool, keep the house, and do the farming. With this life it is very easy to get caught up in being only part of yourself, the part that enjoys hard work and challenges that come along with farming. So this past year has really been about getting that other part of me back at least to some extent. No, I still won't have the time to immerse myself in a painting to the point where I live eat and breathe the painting until it is finished. I once ate nothing but chicken and rice soup for a week while working on a painting. Those were the days before children. However, a couple of hours a week shouldn't be too much to ask. So, this past year I have set out to make my life easier so that I can manage to carve out those few extra moments to be the other side of me. Here are a few of the things that have helped and some things that I am still working on and hope to have finished by the first of the year. I will separate them out by category. Garden 1. Mulch is my very best friend. I mulch heavily and anytime I have a few extra moments it doesn't take long to rake up a couple wheelbarrow loads of mulch and dump them in the garden pathways. I now keep the garden heavily mulched and the weed issue well isn't. 2. Biodynamics-deep beds, heavily composted are invaluable at saving me time. Why? Because I don't have to worry about water and I don't have to worry about weeds because the plants are so close together that the weeds that do get in there are stunted and not much of an issue. Things grow even if I neglect the garden. 3.Stop trying to grow everything. I used to grow corn which was a huge waste of my time and resources simply because we don't use much, don't eat much and it requires a lot of care. Corn needs loads of water down here in the south. It would take me an hour just to water the corn. We eat so little that it is much more worth my time and money to go to the farmer's market and buy it from some other poor sap...cough..farmer... 50.00 has enough corn in our freezer to last us from harvest to harvest and saves me hours of watering, weeding, and harvesting. 4. Take some time off...for folks up north you have no choice but to take winter off unless you are utilizing a greenhouse. I take the summer off with very little in the garden. Tomatoes and okra are about the only things going in the garden by July. Down here in the deep south it is just too hot. Livestock- 1. Build a routine..having a routine means that livestock chores are not that hard. I can do the morning milking, feeding and barn cleanup in an hour in the morning. Since I am fresh in the morning and have more energy than the evening, I do more during that time. I don't hay twice a day, I put out all the days hay in the morning. They nibble all day on it. Nightime feeding takes me about 20 minutes. 2. Put things where you need them. We now have 3 barns...the goat barn, the horse/rabbit barn and the pig "barn" (more of an area really). Chickens are right next to the goats. We keep goat stuff in the goat barn, horse and rabbit stuff in the horse barn and since the pigs are in between we keep that in the goat barn and start there...see routine. I can't tell you how much walking and toting this saves. 3. Keep number manageable and down to what you need, not what you fall in love with. This can be a hard one. Previously, I would never butcher a doe or get rid of one of my girls. However, as the herd grew in size I realized that I really didn't need that many girls and those that weren't producing or producing well needed to go. I still have a couple that might be going soon. I don't want to milk 7 goats every morning. 3 is good, 4 is manageable. Home- 1. De-clutter. Clutter is time consuming because you have to spend two hours moving the clutter so that you can spend 1 hour cleaning. I can no longer deal with stuff. I have spent the better part of the year having major cleanouts and getting rid of stuff. Have a place for everything, if you don't have a cabinet, or drawer home for something then hang it on the wall and if you can't do that then do you really need it? or do you really need what is in the cabinet that it could go in? 2. Develop routines to keep it down to a manageable level. Every morning I wipe down the bathrooms. It takes me 15 minutes tops in my morning routine and my bathroom is always clean. Each evening after my little one's bath the tub gets scrubbed down and rinsed while she is putting on her pj's. Take about 5 minutes. Make the bed as soon as the last person is out of it. It takes 5 minutes and makes a room look so much tidier. Fold and immediately put away all laundry as soon as it is done. Takes just a few minutes and then you aren't looking at that stack of laundry all day that keeps building as it comes off the line or out of the dryer. 3. Keep things where you need them. I don't keep all cleaning supplies in the same spot. I keep them where I use them. Saves time going to get them. 4. Swiffer is your friend. Those dusters are the best home cleaning expense that I spend money on. It takes time to polish furniture, but it takes minutes with a swiffer duster to dust the entire house from top to bottom. Dust is a no no here with our allergies and living in the country unfortunately means lots of dust. The floor dusters are great too in that they take minutes to sweep and dust all the floors. 5. Something I am working on is packing up my glass, heirlooms and collectibles. I have been the family heirloom keeper all my adult life. I have 3 sets of china. Really who needs 3!? So, I am doing what my great grandmother did. First, I am taking certain heirlooms and packing them in boxes for the girls. They will get these boxes when they get their own homes. Second, I am packing things up that will be rotated through the year. I am thinking of 3 rotations, maybe 4 with the seasons. My great-grandmother did this twice a year. She packed up half of her beloved collectibles and put them in a storage room that they had. Then halfway through the year the boys had to bring those boxes out and she rotated what she had packed with what was out. The stuff packed was then put on display and the other was packed away for the next 6 months. Makes cleaning much easier, freshens the house decor, and you enjoy these things much more. So now, that I have gotten rid of things not needed or wanted I am packing and downsizing the rest. Tools- 1. Keep them organized and have a tool place. Moving all the tools except barn clean-up things into one area has helped save me so much time. We are notorious about leaving tools somewhere. My grandfather would be ashamed, he taught me better than that. My husband is worse than I am. Having an organized tools spot means that you want to put the tool back where it belongs and where it can be found. I used to spend forever hunting for the tool I needed to do the job. 2. Keep a small tool box in the house for small things. This saves me time in that I don't have to go outside to get a screwdriver, or a hammer or etc. I have a small toolbox in the house for small little repairs or odds and ends. 3. Keep tools clean and ready to use. Nothing is more aggravating than going to get a tool and it needs a blade changed or whatever. Then you have to stop what you are doing, take care of the tool and you have wasted time getting the job done. When you finish using a tool clean it maintain it and put it back ready to grab and go the next time you need it. When wood splitting day is over the axe head is sharpened and ready to pick up and use then next time wood is split. You get the picture. 4. Keep extra parts on hand. I can't tell you how much time we have wasted over the years by not doing this. Say your in the middle of weed eating and the string runs out. You go to the tool room and there is no more string. So then you get in your car go to town 30 minutes away, get more string 15minutes in store (if you don't get distracted looking at something else, drive the 30 minutes back home and finish the weedeating. See you wasted an hour and 15 minutes minimum and in that time the weedeating could have been done. When I buy replacements, I buy two so that I have what I need and when I use one up I replace it. This saves so much time and wasted energy, plus helps during those times when you are broke and don't have the money to spend on weedeater string or extra staples for the staple gun. So those are my best time saving tips. I am actually beginning to see the point where I might be able to get to do some sewing or some painting or even just sit down and read a book. Amazing, I might get to be me again! Blessings, Kat

Whoa, Where did that Chill Come From?!

Wow, that was fast. Just day before yesterday I was wondering why we were still in the 80s at the end of October. Then, I woke up yesterday to much cooler weather. The sun was hiding all day long, the wind was blowing and we didn't get above 70 for the day. Big drop from the day before. We aren't supposed to hit 70 today either. The goats didn't quite seem to know what to do with themselves yesterday and nobody really has winter coats since we have stayed so warm for so long. They stuck close all day yesterday and by 4 pm were ready to go in the barn. I left the horses stalls open so that they could get in the barn last night and I noticed the pigs had dug their nighttime nests deeper. Yes, pigs make nests to sleep in at night and I can guarantee you my pigs build better nests than the chickens do. I just wish my little sow would build her nest inside her house, but she seems determined to stay outside. Oh, well....you can lead a horse to water or a pig to shelter.... We had a fire going all day yesterday as it was downright chilly in the house without it. It was nice to have and we were glad we spent the other day getting firewood up. Guess I need to get on that a little more if old man winter is really rearing his ugly head. The garden is coming along quite well and I am hoping that it will keep it up. The broccoli and cauliflower plants are still a little small and I am hoping that they will get big enough to stand up to the first frost which is scheduled around Thanksgiving. Today it looks like I will be covering all the windows in the house to keep out the cold air. It is one of those chores that I put off until the last minute, simply because I like light and covering the windows definitely cuts down on that. Some of the windows we only cover with bubble wrap so we do still get in some light, but still the house is much darker in the winter. I suppose since this house has moved so much this past year that I have a lot of caulking to do also. Need to check my supply of caulk and will probably have to get more. I go through about 3 tubes every winter, if I am lucky. This year might be more as we have had some serious movement. Oh! And guess what?! I am so excited. I got my studio cleaned up yesterday. It isn't perfect by any means and I still have a few stack of things to go through, but I can get in there to work. I even set up a painting that I had started working on several years ago to start on again. Maybe I can get it finished. It really helped to have cleaned out the space that I did. I have several more boxes of things to clean out and I have to get the little ones things set up in there for her to work with while I am out there working. I even starting organizing my sewing things so I can start sewing again. I was so excited to have that done. I just love crossing off projects off my list of things to do. Today I am going to try to finish mulching the garden. It looks like I will be expanding the garden next year even more than I had planned. I have had family that is getting hard hit in these economic times and they might need my help. I have always planned for that event, but not really sure I am ready for it. Well, it is getting to be that time of the day so I had better get moving. Blessings from the farm, Kat