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it's the sounds of nature that inspire me to be me.

A quick update...yes I am still here!

5/22/2015

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It's a hard thing not knowing where you are going to be in the next five months to a year, especially when it comes to farming on the homestead. We have had one heck of a time while renting the homestead we are currently in and have been given the option to buy but it can be hard at times to come up with such a big down payment. So as we try to save enough for our down deposit we continue on with our journey to becoming more self-sufficient.
In the yard we have been creating raised gardens for my herbs and smaller crops while in our acre garden we are a few weeks from finishing our bigger portioned crops. We do things a lot different from the average farmer and that's because we are still learning and different is sometimes better. I have squash, cucumber and melons as well as corn coming up in my acre garden so far, although I am hoping it all survives as we are under a frost warning for tonight. Our greenhouse is completely full of plants just waiting for June 1st so they can go in the ground, I am pretty sure the hubby needed to make me a bigger greenhouse!
Our pigs are growing and Cinnamon and baby Caramel are doing well. We should have Muscovy duckling around the first week of June which will be exciting. Also today I received my new incubator so I can finally get back to incubating my chicken eggs in hopes to expand my flock. I have done some canning this past few weeks and managed to make 14 quart jars of pickled asparagus and 8 quart jars of pickled ramps as well as 1 quart of blackberry jelly! I think it is so comical when I have people say your canning already? Sure am I always reply, its in season so I have to can it for winter! I don't think they realize I have eight hungry mouths to feed and things do get costly if you purchase them from the store.
Will update again later, it is getting busy around here
-Jenn :)


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An update on the homestead

5/6/2015

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It is getting very busy here on the homestead since Spring finally decided to come in full force and greet us with its presence. We have had a few upsets while being here on this rented homestead but we just pushed them aside and kept going as we have to in order to meet our goals. Since the beginning of may we have been turning up ground, planting seeds and organizing the property as it was a big mess when we moved in. I now have a tomato garden planted along the fence line beside our house, radish and carrot boxes in the back yard with my greenhouse, peas where planted along the fence line near the bottom of our hill and all my berry plants remain in buckets growing in rows. I was excited to see my rhubarb sprouting and finding out that we have wild leeks growing in our treed areas.
I am still trying to keep up with downsizing our home but after a day out planting I really don't have the energy to decided if I want something or not so that process is going a bit slower then originally planned. But on the upside all our piglets are almost at market weight, Caramel our little lamb is growing, we will be sending our sheep in to market as well as the piglets and we have a new rabbit who is pregnant, so our meat rabbit production is finally growing. I am still looking for a New Zealand buck for my ladies but other then that I am not buying any more animals until we find another more permanent homestead.
My homemade incubator has yet to hatch any eggs and at times is not keeping the temperature correctly so I splurged and purchased a Sportsman incubator in hopes to speed up production of our chickens as my ladies just are not broody. So here I sit patiently awaiting for the delivery truck to bring me my incubator.
My homestead cook book has been pushed aside for the last week as I am trying to get everything planted and growing but I do hope to get back to that very soon. I have also found my scrap book full of allergy free recipes from a few years back when our little one could barely eat literally anything and am considering publishing another cookbook with allergy free recipes if my homestead cookbook takes off.  I am also in the middle of making a couple different quilts in order to sell to make a few extra dollars and the girls have been learning how to mend clothing...they haven't quite got it but I am proud to know that they are not afraid to try and try again!
Well I have to run still lots to do and my bread got off to a late start so to the kitchen I must go!
Hope Everyone is enjoying this lovely weather!
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Our First Pig Raising Experience

5/4/2015

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We have been raising pigs for almost three years now and I have to say we are still far from pro's when it comes to these lovely creatures. The first year we had ever raised pigs was quite the learning experience. We started out with four Tamworth pigs, such beautiful creatures they were and so gentle. But did they ever grow fast. The hubby had hurt his back about a month after we bought them and so didn't make it far from the house, so it was up to me to feed them. Everyday I went to the barn, feeding and filling their water trough and everyday the one male piglet would wait until you would give him a good rubbing, boy did that pig love being rubbed under the chin. It had only been about three months and they sure where growing, the one morning I made it down to the barn and had to do a quick gate repair as my little piglets were not so little anymore and the male who loved to be rubbed stood as tall as me. Its a little scary the first time a pig stands up and meets you eye to eye! Now after this incident I went to the house and said I think its time we take our pigs in! The hubby kindly responded nope probably not for another few months. So I went about my chores and after oh about another 6 months past the hubby finally went down to the barn, headed back to the house, looked at me and said "Who the heck's pigs are they?" I just laughed and said I told you so. Next was to get them to the Abattoir, they where too big for us to handle me being 8 months pregnant so we hired a guy with a truck but learned quickly that pigs really don't like to leave the ground. They were stubborn as ever, they just would not walk up the ramp. So we where stuck I had placed an ad online but no response, then finally I decided to message a man that was selling a large pig and he was kind enough to take the pigs to the Abattoir for me. I was going to pay him for all he did but when he noticed my pigs where Tamworth he was interested in a female. That is when I decided to trade a pig to get the other three to market! Raising them was a rough go but I learned pigs are clean animals, who do not like to go up ramps so horse trailers move them best and really they are extremely easy animals to raise and as long as they are fed they are happy. And the 850 lbs of pork that came off my three pigs was more then enough to feed this happy homesteading family for the whole year!
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