How to render pig fat for homemade lard you ask? You didn’t ask? Let me share anyway because you never know when you will need to. Wilbur and Mabel lived a good life, complete with back scratches, sprays with the hose on hot days, and lots of goat milk as treats. Well, all good things…
RASING CHICKENS 101 So you want to raise chickens. Here are a few tips to get you started. Then go over to my post about the 5 Things I learned AFTER Getting Chickens. You’re welcome, in advance, for saving you a ton of trouble. #1 Is it Legal If you are in the…
We learned a lot from having dairy goats. We learned they weren’t for us after about 18 months. They are Stubborn Goats are incredibly stubborn. This last fall, Jazz, our Nubian, had in her head she wasn’t going to go back to her pen after being milked. She dug in her hooves and would.not.budge! I…
A week doesn’t go by that I don’t say to myself “Twelve years ago I never would have….” Usually it is something along the lines of “Twelve years ago I never would have thought to get chickens” or “I would never go on a quad ride up a mountainside.” This could be titled never say…
Five ways to re-use eggshells If you have chickens then you likely have an abundance of egg shells. Today I am sharing 5 ways to reuse eggshells. In Your Coffee Eggs shells reduce the bitterness. Add shells to the grounds in your coffee pot pre-brew. In Your Compost To add calcium to your dirt….
I have tried, unsuccessfully, to have a veggie garden. I have tried in the ground and also Square Foot Gardening. I tried getting new seeds. Then organic, non GMO seeds. I decided it was my dirt. Then along comes The Art of Gardening:Building your Soil. First piece of advice? Compost. Between our chickens and goats…
This homesteading thing. The glory of being self sufficient. It is not for the faint of heart. My friend put it like this: “Everyone loves spring and the new life it brings to the farm. Things are turning green, babies are being born, chicks chirping and everyone is feeling good that we made it through…
The Principal and the kids built me a Greenhouse. This is homeschooling at it’s finest. Math. PE Quality time. (Ok this isn’t a class, but still good for the soul) They remembered what the plumb line was from seeing it at Mount Rushmore. This was great in helping to keep everything square. Even Samantha the…
5 Things I Learned After Getting Chickens Chickens might seem like a simple addition to your backyard, but let me tell you, they come with their own quirks and surprises! Here are five things I learned after becoming a chicken owner. 1. Great Compost Material Let’s talk about the poop—they do it a lot….
We sit in a comfortable silence as we drive east. I’ve lost track of how many times we have driven this route. Over to Seattle and back again. Our first journey east was 11 years ago this last December. My father in law had surgery and wasn’t recovering. We drove over to Spokane 4 or…