Friday, May 13, 2022
We've used rabbit tractor for chicks before
(Originally posted on whollyholyliving.com, May 13, 2022 by Eden)
Well, I’m one tired lady this morning.
Yesterday evening, we noticed we were short a chicken. Something had gotten into the hoop coop and eaten it. Fox? Raccoon? We weren’t sure. But I asked my husband to help me think through some solutions because we were so confident in our hoop coop build as being predator proof.
So, we looked for weak spots and holes, and did a quick patch job before the sun set for the night.
L read more...
Hopeful of our hoop coop build
Chicks in rabbit tractor
Tractor materials
Hoop coop in progress
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Monday, May 9, 2022
Luna had 2 sweet little bucklings this afternoon. The birthd were textbook smooth, optimal positioning of both kids, and no interventions we're required! Praise God!
The thing that has us scratching our heads is the percentage chance of her birthing only males 2 years in a row. Last year, she had ShaggyMaple Tumnus, and this year, she had another two bucklings, one almost solid white, the other golden.
The white one was born first, followed nearly 30 minutes later by his golden brother. T read more...
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Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Hey Friends!
Lots of stuff is going on here on the homestead. Each day I ask my goat, Luna if she's still pregnant. She looks back at me as if to say, "...Yep... are you?" To which I answer with a sigh, "...yep... not too much longer, girl, let's hang in there together!" I've never been this pregnant through the springtime, and into June, so with the weather heating up, I'm ready to no longer be expecting. But, it's one of those things that happens in God's timing, not mine, and I just have t read more...
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Thursday, April 21, 2022
Me and my youngest planted potatoes
Today was a pretty good day on the homestead.
In the Chicken Run Garden, we planted our first potatoes. As the season goes on, we'll continue to layer in more. I had lots of help from my girls and they loved getting to play in the dirt.
Additionally, I've been playing with the garden management notebook, and seeing how I can best utilize it as an effective tool. Today, I came up with a seed storage hack.
I've been using presentation notebooks for reorganizing all of my recipes and it o read more...
Lovely Iris in bloom
Finished potato row
My oldest daughter shoveling woodchips
Updated Garden map, harvest/planting record
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Saturday, April 9, 2022
Gardening Management Notebook Cover
Hey friends!
I have been a' workin' this week! And since the weather decided to be wintery again (folks around here refer to it as "dogwood winter") I decided to do some of the more "inside" work. As I was sitting at the computer desk, it actually snowed for a bit Saturday morning!! IN APRIL! I'm not used to East Tennessee not having designated seasons like the midwestern states where I was born and raised; it just decides to host winter weather at random.
But, with the chilly and damp wea read more...
Homestead Management Binder
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Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Baby silver fox bunny
We planted the first market row with lettuce and greens mixes! It's being providentially watered in with a nice spring rain today!
My husband also began a no-dig flax patch. We like flax for a number of reasons, 1) nutritional benefit of flax seed, 2) textile value as fiber, 3) pollinators drawn by the lovely blue flowers. We put down our newspaper weed barrier and began topping it with aged compost. Once that is completed, we will sow flax, likely next weekend so that we can take advantage read more...
Luna, and her buckling from last year, Tumnus
Pregnant Luna 2022
Bunny cuddle puddle
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Sunday, March 20, 2022
One of the sweet little baby bunnies
We had our first ever litter of silver fox babies born on the homestead today! There are 9 kits, all born alive and doing well so far!
The first 24 hours we plan to check, but mostly leave them alone to keep warm and let miss Heather rest and mother them.
She built a lovely nest at the very last minute! When I checked on her this morning at 8:15, she had not pulled any fur, and when we came home from lunch after church, the nest was FULL of fur, and 9 wiggly little kits!
She kindled on read more...
Lovely nest
Mama (DeColores Heather) resting
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Friday, March 18, 2022
The virtue of patience was explained to me as being, "the art of waiting without complaining." There is nothing like life on the homestead to really cultivate that virtue.
Right now, we are waiting for our first ever litter of silver fox kits to be born. I am so nervous and excited! This is our doe's first breeding, so I have a lot of questions that I'm waiting for answers to, like, will she be a good mama? How big will her average litter size be? Did we wait too late to start breeding her? I read more...
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Saturday, March 12, 2022
Snow in March 2022
It's time for another homestead update!
Gardening:
The daffodils, crocuses, and forsythias all in bloom may lead you to believe that Spring has finally sprung! I know that I am sorely tempted to get out in the garden and plant all of my spring crops already. But... alas, it's not quite Spring. In fact, we got snow! Our overnight temperatures are in the teens, hard frosts, and all the pretty green things and blossoms are burried under an uncharacteristically late blanket of white! I'm not the read more...
Enjoying the last daffodils over a cup of tea
Rocking chair repair
Spring snowy coop and barn
Spring time dish scrubbers!
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Tuesday, February 15, 2022
reusable planters from repurposed ground meat containers
Whether you're starting seeds indoors for the very first time, or you're an old pro, here are some simple tips that serve as reminders for us year in and year out to get the most out of our seed-starting process and work smart, not hard.
1.) Don't break the bank!
Chances are if you're wanting to grow your own food, you don't want to go into debt to do it. Rather than spend big bucks on seed trays or peat pots, try using things you already have on hand. If you have plastic containers f read more...
2015 minimal set up in a rental home with fluorescent light
full spectrum LED grow light
Peppers and grape tomato flats
Amish Paste tomato flat
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