The more technologically advanced we become, the more there is a renewed interest in home made and artisanal products and country life.
Having our donkeys has been such a fun part of our homesteading journey. If you are debating on getting one, or want to know how to care for donkeys, this guide will help you!
Sure, it seems wonderful. But today I'm gonna let you in on a few homesteader secrets that other legit homesteaders might not have told you about homesteading... Hold everything... if you're more of a visual person, or just wanna see my sweet Bixby running in the snow and Selah mooing for her food... just click
Looking to become self-sufficient? Want to spruce up your backyard farm? Here are four backyard farm designs that will get your creative juices flowing.
I believe in this farm life. I believe in what it is we're doing here. 3 meals a day, we're around the table. Just us, each other's company, and good food.
Responsible livestock owners learn to recognize and care for illness among animals. Here are tips to keeping your animals husbandry healthy and your vet bills down.
We have been very busy getting the Milking Parlor set up and finally going. It took a bit of time to train the girls to the new space as well. They have to step up three times to get onto the milking stand. Ariel, my one large goat (Nubian) had the roughest time. She is long and has to step up just right with her head down to get into the stanchion. The milk stand has a stanchion for small goats and Ariel has adapted to it. I do have a taller stanchion, but it is to tall for my yearling nigerians to reach the feed bucket. Ariel then has to come off the stand, swing around to come down the step ups. She has been doing great, but was a bit scared at first. She is up pretty high for me to milk standing up. It took some apple flavored treats to convince her she was not going to be eaten. Clean room is pictured left. Milking area with machine. The goats enter from the right and step up 3 levels to the stand. They are then the perfect height to clean and milk while standing in comfort. UDiamond is pictured to the left showing the Milking Parlor in action. The small goats got into the routine quickly because they like to climb on things anyway. So the higher the better for the little Diva's. Everyone comes into the Parlor one at a time except, of course Brat. Yeah, we are still putting up with her. She is last and after you go out to get her, she runs into the parlor and jumps up where she is suppose to go. Always has to be a Drama Queen & act stupid. So far we have 3 goats who have qualified for stars with several others very close. Of course nothing is official until the lactation ends and the results are submitted and approved by the Goat Associations. Even Ariel is close and milking quite well. Her last test was 8.1 pounds. She is a Nubian now, not a Nigerian. My top Nigerian is UDiamond who milked 4.1 pounds on her last test as a first freshener. Alexa's sister Babette, who I need to get a good photo of, milked 4 pounds on her first test, raising triplet sons sired by Fairlea Jean Louis *S. The photo to the right is Oldesouth Babette. She is not clipped, but her udder can be seen fairly well. She has a lovely fore udder too. She is pictured at the Goat & Sheep Expo in March where she was on display with her triplet sons. We attended a couple of Goat Shows. One in South Carolina at Teena's Farm and another at Carrolton, Ga. We were so busy showing, I did not get but a few decent pictures. Arlene and I showed. Our young Jr Buck, Lost Valley PG Superb *S won Grand Champion Jr buck in one show and Reserve Champion Jr Buck in the other show. Sunra took 2 first places and we had several 2nd, 3rds, etc with some stiff competition. UDiamond took 3rd and 2nds in both shows, with her class being one of the largest. Each show we attend, we get better at presenting our goats and move up the line. I guess I was having an off day and my photo's were blurry and had to dump most of them. Oldesouth Sweet Mocha is pictured in her Jr Doe class. Look at her beautiful topline and dairy character. The photo above shows how wide she is in the rear as well. We are preparing for sheep shearing this up coming weekend. We hope to get most of them done. We shear on a stand and I do it. I tried hiring a pro, or so he called himself. He did not do an acceptable job and cut off a teat and cut a penis on one of my rams. Of course he tried to blame his incompetence on my sheep. Sorry my sheep have teats and male genitals that were in your way... NOT! Why can I shear the entire herd and everyone was still in tact when it was over? It does not take that much time to be careful and do a good job. The Icelandic's especally must be smoothly shorn with no chunks left to felt and ruin the new fleece coming up underneath. The photo below is what a group of yearling Cheviots looked like after that IDIOT was done with them. Not only were they cut up, but look at the chunks of wool left... (a picture is worth a thousand words...) We were lucky to be missed by the Tornado's that hit Tuskaloosa, Alabama. We are thankful and are praying for the folks who have lost loved ones and property. It was terrifying to watch the Tornado live on the news as it was hitting Tuskaloosa with the weather woman frantic for people to take cover. We were at the hospital monitoring the news while working to make sure our patients were safe if we needed to move folks to interior areas.
Don't want the expense of installing a cold frame or hoop house? Grow winter crops in a below-grade trench planting bed instead.
Buying local food can feel formidable if you're only used to the grocery store. Here are the best sources for finding farmers in your area
W19462 US Highway 53 54 93, Galesville, WI 54630 $325,000 Off Market 5bed 2bath 2,880sqft 26.71acres lot Build date 1907 Goo
SUBMISSION: illustration by lucy engelman. farm things
Today is Tasha Tudor's birthday. Born August 28, 1915 was a beloved American illustrator who lived a simple, full life to the ripe old age of 93. Her first story was Pumpkin Moonshine, published in 1938, but my favorite Tasha books are 1 is One, a child's counting book, and A Time To Keep which tells about the changing seasons. Her books are the kind that I plan to read aloud to the grandchildren and give for special birthdays and holidays. (It's almost time to order some Pumpkin Moonshine) Tasha was not only a writer/illustrator, but she was a homemaker in every sense of the word. She loved handcrafts like weaving, knitting, candle dipping and doll making. She also enjoyed keeping goats and chickens and made cheese from her own goats' milk and cooked delicious, wholesome foods from her eggs and from fruits and vegetables that grew on her land. Every season had its pleasures and its work to be done, and home was the core of Tasha's life's work. Working in the garden in autumn is delightful, with the clean smell of frost-bitten ferns and witch hazel in the air and no insects to bother about. There are always great numbers of bulbs to be put in the ground -- over two thousand this fall, counting the lilies. The other day I heard the first Canada geese go over as I was planting. Their calls give me such a primordial feeling. And to see a flock of snow geese flying over the white birch trees by the mailbox on a fair day is a sight to take the breath away. ~Tasha Tudor from The Private World of Tasha Tudor It is precisely a comment like this that makes me appreciate her. Perhaps it's because I live on the land, live in the country, and because I see so much beauty in my own surroundings. I won't be planting two thousand bulbs this fall, but I will put a few in the ground. I won't be spinning wool this winter, but I'll be feeding my sheep. I probably won't be illustrating a children's book, but I'll be drawing little crayon sketches with my grandchildren. I appreciate what I call Tasha's "quiet life." Not glamorous, not overdone, but instead -- quiet, simple, beautiful. Tasha Tudor, you've always inspired me. Happy Birthday! For more interesting posts about Tasha Tudor Day, click Storybook Woods. Tasha Tudor & Family
Creative Hobbies To Take Up Lockdown
There are several ways of marketing homestead products; anything from crafts to crops can be turned to cash with a little know-how. There are several venues open to those who try their hand at this money-making approach and are willing to spend a little time learning their options. Learn How to Sell Homestead Goods
Are you looking for a safe way to wean your lambs with no or minimal risks? Read our informative article with useful tips about weaning lambs.
So you're looking to start a small farm. That's great! Here's how we do it, in terms of finances and cost.
31 days of self-love. Encouraging you to love yourself and to love your body, to foster self-acceptance, and to fall more in love with yourself. #selflove
Life on the homestead is not always the most feminine thing we can do. See our ideas on how to Feminize Your Homestead.
So, what exactly is a modern homesteader? We are the type of people who enjoy cooking from scratch. We eat real, organic food and avoid GMO
From GENE LOGSDON Economists sanctify expansion in agriculture as the way farmers survive but in the very act of saying that, they are also pointing out why farmers don’t survive. If all the…
When you think of Homesteading, what comes to mind? Do you think of horse and buggy? Log cabins with dirt floors? Tilling the land? Or, do you think freedom?
