Been quite awhile...

Well, I didn't mean to be away for this long but right after all my traveling came the end of the semester and well, that is always a lot of stress! It has been one of those Falls...lots of stuff going on around the homestead, new car to lessen stress of being stranded but add stress to the bank account and end of semester woes.

However, I finished both my Geology class and my Soil Science class with A's and will be moving on to my new school this next semester..transferring into the BS in Oceanography and Climate.

This past weekend I spent time finishing projects that needed to get done. I never got the geese and ducks moved to thier new pen so they are where they are til the Spring. However, they needed just a bit more shelter than the awesome tree there...so I put together a very rough shelter with some 2x4's and a full sheet of plywood...interesting doing it by myself in the pen that was all mucky from recent rain...it got done though and my muscles were only a little sore the next day! LOL

I also finally got my worm bins made (I will post pics in another post) for my red wigglers and I am nearly done with my aquaponics system. I am awaiting another size tubing, need to make the final connections then add plants and fish...(I will post all this in its own post soon too).

Anyway...I am back and have lots of projects to catch up on.

Travel time...

Well, I didn't quite plan it this way on purpose, but this seems to be travel time for me. A couple weeks ago to New England to visit my folks, this past weekend to VA to a friend's campground and in a week and a half I head to North Carolina...a 10 and 1/2 hour drive! Yikes! But it will be a great time. Just me and Ama (car) on a road trip....

Homestead wise, things are slow. Still no baby rabbits *grrrr*. My "little" chick died (drowned in the water while I was away this weekend...my brother was taking care of everyone but he was at work a lot) :-( Everyone else is being their normal selves. Although the missing cat Freya showed back up after a couple months...she completely disappeared and just "appeared" Monday and is really skinny. So, I am feeding her and Rothgar lots of food....hopefully I will have salmon skin for them tomorrow and extra tuna and stuff on top of cat food.

Monday I went hunting. Got my butt up and going at 3:30am...drove to my favorite site (woods and fields, wetlands and river all together) and was up in stand and settled by 5:30am. The stars were beautiful and I had a great view of Venus. I saw two shooting stars and watched the sun rise, listened to the world wake up. I could hear a Blue Heron on the river, heard a couple different kinds of owls and a fox. I had seen deer on the side of the road as I drove to the site...but that was way too early. As the sun rose there were no deer where I was, unfortunately, but I did see 4 wild turkeys...they came within about 50 feet of the stand.

The rest of the day was all about homesteading: got straw, got feed, got apples and made a mess of my new car! I picked a basket full of plum tomatoes, parsley and basil! Yumm Yumm! Will be making pesto tonight, freezing basil in cubes and putting the tomatoes on for dehydrating along with another batch of jerky. I made jerky, couple loaves of bread, yogurt and cheese just before I left for the weekend Thursday night. The jerky we ate during the weekend.

The cheese I had on flat bread with dinner last night which was my very first Moussaka, fresh local eggplant and tomatoes, local ground bison and pork. Nom Nom! And I have more for lunch today!

This weekend: more hunting, getting truck load of straw, need some corn to fatten chickens going to freezer next week - tackling my studio...etc.

Highland Cattle and changing leaves

Well, it seemed everyone in NYC and NJ had the same idea I did...going to Vermont and New Hampshire this past weekend. It was a gorgeous weekend but I did not care for the average of 30mph through most of NJ and NY. I go the bit of a long way but much prettier and usually not as busy. I refuse to go through NYC and Hartford and those other horrible to drive in places. (loved living in NYC many years ago...but not for me now)

Anyway, other than the not so lovely traffic, it was a lovely weekend. My rental car has a sunroof so I took full advantage of it and the great weather. Saturday my mother and I went to their town's harvest fair...it was quite busy for a little town. I had lobster for lunch! Later we went to an apple orchard and they were packed! There was a wedding going on (what a beautiful setting...perfect cloudless day, leaves turning and the mountains in the background - not a great pic but you get the idea)...turned out it was my father's co-workers wedding...small towns... my Mom and I got a couple bags of apples and she bought us icecream...I am a sucker for good icecream, I had apple pie ice cream...it was SOOOO good! Then we went home and she made us paella with oysters, scallops and shrimp...yummy!

Sunday my Mom and Dad and I went to a Highland Cattle festival. I love the "fuzzy cows" and these ones were super friendly. Here is a picture of the valley and Mt. Kearsarge where my parents live from the farm.

Here a couple pics of the fuzzy cows...me with a baby and one of Blu Moo who was very pretty and let me pet her too!

My Mom and I cooked a good dinner together Sunday night. We picked up squash and eggplant at the festival Saturday so I roasted those like I usually do, she picked up highland cattle sausage so we had that along side and then she made apple pie for dessert and we had with a dollop of local sweet cream icecream. Was very yummy!

Then I headed home...I wandered around Vermont in the morning though. I stopped by King Arthur Flour which is about an hour from my folks...picked up a 50lb bag of bread flour (I did this last year with the all purpose flour and it works great...I divide it up into large ziplocks, add a couple bay leaves to keep buggies out and it is so much cheaper, as fresh or fresher than the grocery store and available!) Then I took the pretty route 9 out (the route hit hard by Irene...you could still see a lot of damage but they did a great job fixing the roads up so quickly!). I picked up a couple handmade in VT cutting boards (I got one last year too just for baking...so now I have an exclusive cheese board and veggie board) and supporting the stores in that hard hit area is a good thing. Below is a picture of the river in New Hampshire near where my parents live (taken from the covered bridge)

and a pic along the road in Vermont.

bit of a change and more tightening of the belt...

...but it will be good in the long run! So, first an update and then pics (next post)!

My car was towed TWICE last week...it received a new ignition the week before, towed Monday night, a new starter on Tuesday and on Wednesday...I was stuck on the side of the road with something obviously melting. So...after two months of this I finally just sat down in my car, on the side of the road and cried. You know...I had been handeling it all pretty well...would complain a bit, was frustrated but was still saying things like, well at least I was at work when my car wouldn't start...yada yada, it could be worse. Well, Wednesday, on my way to class...all the looking at things as "could be worse"...out the window...well, I couldn't even open the window because the electric and everything died in the car so I was sitting in the car on the side of the road sweltering. So...I just sat there and cried while I waited for the tow truck. I called my folks and said I couldn't make it up this weekend and went home with my car since I wasn't going back to the same mechanic...they had actually been nasty with me on the phone....checked on the featherheads and went to bed.

After I calmed down, I thought about renting the car for the weekend...took the trip to see the folks, which was terrible traffic wise but great otherwise. Had lots of fun with my Mom especially (details in next post) and thought about my car situation on the long drive (the normally 10 hour drive took 13 hours on Monday). I looked around and realized that a regular "used" car was not that far off the price of a new car. I also realized that the car I really wanted was a $30 difference than the much cheaper made one. Well, except for the pickup but that wasn't in the budget and Ford turned down my credit (no one else turned me down). So...I have a 1 year old Subaru Forester! It is really what I wanted but didn't think I could afford (well I can't but it is no different than any other brand of car). It has LOTS of room and is AWD and has the roof rack. My NEED was a vehicle with room for a couple hay bales or a big dog crate and a roof rack for my kayak. I wanted AWD or 4WD and I need not too high a gas mileage. Most of all, it NEEDS to be reliable! Well, I got all my wants and needs in my new car! She is a misty green color and her name is Amadahy meaning "forest water" in Cherokee (Ama for short). Now, she and Aerandir (kayak) and I will have many adventures together...and carry lots of stuff! (might wait on the stinky feather heads and such for awhile...she is actually clean! My old car still has straw all over the place and a few stray feathers!)

So...anyone following this blog knows I am working on buying as little food wise as possible...it is about to get even more frugal around here! I guess my compound bow will have to wait a bit though. *sigh*

what a week...

I have been away from here for awhile...well a week or so. I have had some major issues with my car, like it was "fixed" and I payed money for that...then it died again...then it was "fixed" again and then it completely died leaving me on the side of the road on the way to class with something melting in my car. Yeah...kinda of lost it then. *sigh* So, long story short, I ended up renting a car and coming to see my folks in NH anyway. And next week...completely up in the air due to car. I can't afford a new car but I might be getting one anyway and even more cinching my belt...ALOT.

Anyway, last weekend was fun...went out briefly Saturday morning looking for deer, nobody was running...which is what I figured...so got ready and spend the day with friends at the Renn Faire and then an incredible German restaraunt...have to learn how to make Schnitzle! Sunday was homesteading day...was sooo tired but spent nearly 8 hours outside working on little things, playing with my turkeys and then got 4 meaties in the freezer (well soaking in the fridge)...cut into breasts for me, legs for soon to be made into sausage and bits and pieces for my puppy.

This weekend is with the folks and yesterday was apple picking and a harvest festival with my Mom and today going to a Highland Cattle festival with my Dad...FUZZY COWS! I fell in love with them in Scotland...am looking forward to it. Tomorrow on my way home I will hit King Arthur flour to get bulk supplies and then take my time going through Vermont and heading home.

food and rights and the environment - warning "rant"

Most of you who know me have gotten the idea that I really support food rights and the environment...you could say that the two have become my life being supported by many other things in my life, including my spirituality.

So, recent conversations with several people and an article from one of the newsletters I receive spurred me to say something...I will continue to intersperse my learning to homestead trials and joys with things like this on this blog.

So... about food and rights and environmental impact. I believe everyone has the fundamental RIGHT to eat what they feel is best for them (or not if you choose to eat junk). I believe that everyone has the DUTY to walk their talk. If you believe that the environment (you know the planet we live on, the water we drink, the air we breathe) is important...it is up to every single person to do their part to make a difference. Revolutions do not succeed because of big groups usually...revolutions and change happen by everyday PEOPLE making the changes, one person at a time. One person plus one person plus one person. That is how we make a difference!

So, if you believe that you have the right to healthy food in our bodies...then stop buying from the grocery store middle aisles in particular. Demand fresh food. Educate yourself. Demand labeling even on produce. If you find out like I have what is really in those foods...and you don't like it...change the way you buy and the way you eat. Don't be complacent and decide it is too much work... if you don't do it for yourself, do it for your children (for those of you who have them) or do it for the future generations.

If you understand the impact that CAFOs and large ag farms (corn, soy, etc) are having then you will know it has to change. So, don't support these industries! Stop buying meat from the grocery store unless you know it is not raised in that way - research your brands or buy local (hey and buying local helps your local economy). Stop buying vegetables and produce grown on farms that use tons of fertilizers that leach into the ground and water (not to mention in your bodies).

You believe that the government (and this is coming from someone who works for the government) does not have the right to tell you what you can and cannot eat...CHOOSE to make a difference in the way you buy and the way you vote!

WALK YOUR TALK people. No one is perfect but if we all make small changes it will make a difference. Big business will not change its practices while it is still making tons of money. People start thinking differently and more importantly making a difference in how they buy...then the big business and the government will make a difference if only to cover the bottom line. But talk does no good with out action. And no, you don't have to homestead like me. But changing the way you buy food, buy commodities, stop playing the consumer game we have all gotten trapped in and we can make a change.

One judge in Wisconsin said:
"no, plaintiffs do not have the fundamental right to own and use a dairy cow or herd"
"no, plaintiffs do not have the right to consume the milk from their own cow"
"no, plaintiffs do not have the right to produce and consume the food of their choice"

Do you really want this to be the precedent? Do you really want to be told what you can and not eat, can and cannot own, can and cannot grow?

not feeling very accomplished...

I had a "list" and it is depressing when only a couple things on the list get crossed off. But so I don't feel like a complete slacker...I will write down what I got done...not what I didn't from said list.

- made a batch of Vanilla Caramel Apple Butter (came out okay but I burned the bottom a little - now trying to soak the pot)
- 6 pints of yogurt (4 maple and 2 vanilla) for the next 2 weeks breakfast
- another part of the aquaponics area set up
- another section of the kitchen rearranged

busy day yesterday but can we dry out a bit? PLEASE

I got a good amount done yesterday and am hoping for a bunch more today...enjoying a bit stronger coffee with lots of yummy cream so I can have extra strong coffee to make the pumpernickel bread shortly. But first...can we dry out PLEASE?

The homestead is a disaster and I just spent days cleaning and organizing things not long ago! There are flies galore! There are cows across the street but I believe the biggest culprit is the duck/geese pen. They will be moving to their new area in the next month or so (just need to coordinate schedules with friends' helping me) but they have been pretty good where they are even through the hurricane. Well, it is a muddy disgusting mess right now and no amount of straw is helping (and I am out). And flies...ugh...disgusting! The geese stay pretty white no matter how yuck it usually is out...they are a muddy mess now.

AND...fleas, I have had no issues with this all yea and now...fleas. Last year when it got like this we had a small problem. My flea meds are out because we are heading to winter and honestly, with my older cats, I really hate using it. My Trollie girl has been on it because her buddy, my brother's dog tends to be a flea magnet. UGH! Trying to get the harvest in, the freezer full and tons canned with these two issues has been a bit of a miserable task.

Anyway, I did get some done yesterday after a meeting and then errands took WAY longer than expected. So, late afternoon I started on chores....and letting the Ball blue book explode in the kitchen (stolen from my homesteading blogger friend OFG - I really like the image it invokes!).

I got lots of applesauce canned (and some eaten). I have gotten quite a bit of apples from a really cool local farm...they have seconds for a decent price. Super sweet great flavor applesauce. I got couple quarts done the other day plus enough to eat for breakfast the past 2 weeks.
Yesterday:
- 4 pints (2 plain, 2 cinnamon cardamom)
- 6 half pints (cinnamon cardamom)
- 2 quarts of juice (mostly for cooking)

I also went pumpkin picking. A local place I really like grows amazing big pumpkins that most people like plus the pumpkins I like! The woman remembers me specifically for that. I like the old fashioned long neck pumpkins for roasting. So, I picked a few of those (noticed lots still getting ready to ripen so should be more in another month!), a small hubbard and got some spaghetti squash and butternut squash. I got the butternut cut up and will be making apple butternut squash soup tonight to go with pumpkin bread and probably chicken breast (hoping to get a couple meaties in the fridge tonight).

Okay, this is getting long and coffee is done...more later with how much I get through my list!

baby! and food put up...

One of the babies Mani has been sittin on hatched! Hopefully there will be several more hatching too! I will be running to the barn as soon as I get home!

In the meantime, it has been one of those weeks. Never enough time to get everything done. Last night I got 11 quart bags of eggplant put in freezer. Those will be lots of lunches for the ones in cubes...I like them roasted. The sliced ones will be for eggplant parm and such over the winter...along with the tomatoes that have been put up (canned and frozen). I couldn't resist the eggplant, I stopped at one of the little farm markets and she was just bringing the eggplant in fresh picked and only $1 each for really big perfect looking purple eggplant! Numm Numm. Tonight I will be roasting one to have with fresh tilapia with roasted red pepper cream sauce. Organic cream and the peppers I roasted. Definite yummies!

I still have about a dozen and a half apples to put up. I plan to make them all into apple sauce for myself for lunches. Probably a few of apple butter for holiday gifts. And if I can get them done by Monday...go get more! I have a few other things to get put up mostly in freezer... onions and yellow squash and pickling okra. Monday is feed day (getting the 100# bag of feed and getting whole wheat and oats to sprout), apple day (hopefully) and meatie freezer farm day! (if my car acts right!) *crosses fingers and says a little prayer*

I was hoping to go hunting tomorrow but the weather is looking exceptionally crappy and another day of sitting in the woods in the rain with the squirrels all cozy does not make me happy. Sitting in the woods in the rain waiting for deer...sure! They have to eat sometime...the squirrels are all snug with their little stash of munchies wondering why we crazy humans are sitting in the rain. But not going hunting at all would be blah too. Maybe we will jumpshoot for Canada Geese...they yummier than squirrels! I need to rearrange my freezers though...they are getting mighty full! Such a great feeling! If I get all my feather heads set for freezer farm there and a good deer and a few Snows...I will be all set for the Winter and Spring. Should be getting pretty good for veggies too if I can go punkin picking soon, they hadn't opened yet last weekend.

So tomorrow up in the air but Sunday and Monday is pretty packed with homestead "to do lists" and studying...have my first test in Soil Science on Monday opening...due Friday but considering how my middle of the weeks are, need to get it done Monday night!

something besides yogurt and cheese!

Well, my little sweetie polish is still hanging in there but hasn't improved any. I don't have a clue what the problem is. Is so sad. The plan is still to make the new area in pen and coop for her and Lil Dude and hopefully new babies!

Speaking of babies. Less than a week and the eggs under Mani should hatching...cross your fingers! They should be half pure Buff Orpington and the other half RIR/Astrolorp mixes. All under my broody polish! I paid for the Buff eggs and half of them broke in transit so I am really hoping these little eggies are viable and hatch! I am not so good at the candeling so am just doing the fingers crossed and praying method!

And...more babies...I HOPE from my rabbit does...they are due in about a week and a half... definitely crossing fingers and praying...I haven't had a doe kindle in over a year! These bunnies really need to start earning their keep besides the wonderful poo for my garden!

I have one busy Sunday coming up...here is my list:
- go pick pumkins and other squashes to put up for winter
- go to Llama fair...hope to get wool for holiday projects/gifts
- come home and butcher couple more chickens.
- build pen for Sweetie and Lil Dude
- various other kitchen things and more work on the Sun Room project

*sigh* Saturday I hope to make up for the crazy busy Sunday by having a nice long kayak trip! The rest of this week is more yogurt and cheese and applesauce when I get home from work and in between all that studying for my two classes. *falls down*

More yogurty goodness!

I made another batch of yogurt...a little bigger. Yesterday morning before I left for work I heated the milk up, added my culture (still the Dannon yogurt) and put it in my prewarmed cooler. I left at 6:00am and got home about 8:00pm and after checking on my featherheads, immediately checked out my yogurt...it was perfect! I put up several jars and added mango to 2, peach to one and left one plain (for the next starter). There was a tiny bit left so I put up in a cloth to make yogurt cheese! It will be enough for a snack!

Loving this yogurty goodness!

Yogurt a success!

I am so happy...the yogurt thickened up during the day. I put in two cups and flavored one vanilla and the other with the mango I had left from making the dessert goat's cheese.

Yay, I am happy that most of my food adventures are going well. If I can keep this up, it will save me money and be much healthier and I will avoid the trip to the grocery store more often!

Tonight is school and tomorrow errand day so I don't get home til late...so more food, rearranging house and homestead stuff this weekend!

cheese, yogurt, applesauce and chickens!

I have been making goat's milk cheese (from my homesteading friend's goats) for awhile now...some worked, some didn't. I FINALLY figured out the trick (letting the milk sit out for the day and THEN put it on the stove!). I think I was doing it too cold and not getting much curd when it finally got to temp. Anyway, I made cheese and divided it into a savory one (dill and salt) and a sweet one (mango). And then, I made ricotta successfully for the first time from the whey! Oh my is that the best ricotta I have ever had! I had the mango cheese with golden delicious apples I picked on Saturday. I had the savory cheese in my suddenly appearing big zucchini...baked with my own sundried tomatoes and sausage from the piggy I got last month. Yumm! The ricotta I am saving until I have a bit more and making a yummy dessert!
Then I tried my hand at my first apple sauce. I took the rest of the apples I picked and made 2 batches of apple sauce...decided to combine them after cooking down and putting them through my foley mill. I spiced with cinnamon and cardomom and canned in 2 very large canning jars and have enough for breakfast for the rest of the week! Very yummy...so first apple saucing was a success!

(the chickens, turkeys and ducks/geese all really enjoyed the apple parts caught by the foley mill, as well as the extra whey!)

I took the raw cow's milk I got and used half a gallon to make yogurt for the very first time. I heated up on stove, added a dollop of Dannon plain yogurt and put in a cooler with some hot water over night. I left there over night... I checked it this morning and it came out well! A little liquidy so I put in a cloth that I use for my cheese making and put in strainer over bowl and back in cooler (minus the water). I will check on tonight when I get home! So very excited!!!!

And finally...I put two of my meaties into freezer farm all on my own. I usually help with the killing (my friend has helped me in past) and do all or most of the cleaning/prep. However, this time, it was just me from start to finish. I plucked and kept most of feathers for crafts, breasted them out (for dinner this weekend), took all meat off legs and such to make sausage (something I haven't done yet) and took the skin and all misc pieces for my puppy girl.

Besides all that I did some rearranging in the house for Fall prep. I got a gun rack at a yard sale and put up in the sun room and put my kayak paddles and fishing rods on it. Got the little table and chairs in there out and onto the porch (just too crowded and I have plans -aquaponics and herbs!). Rearranged my corner in the kitchen from 1/2 baking supplies, 1/2 candlemaking/soapmaking to all cooking. (I share house with my brothers and decided I want to start slowly getting "good" kitchenware since I am cooking more and keeping things separate i.e. not messed up...this month I got a cast iron dutch oven/fry pan, last month a good double boiler). Candlemaking/soapmaking supplies moving to the family room that I never use. And I started rearranging my living room so I have my drafting table in one corner and a much more functional conversation area with my big old ugly couch and 2 chairs.

And, I even managed to go to two little events with friends which was lovely and spent much of Saturday kayaking and attempting to fish!

busy time of year but so glad it is starting to cool down

I have been busier than a one armed paper hanger as they say...but it is all pretty good (except my car being in the shop again).

I am working on getting the rest of the homestead Fall ready and into Winter ready because I know it will be here before I know it especially now that school has started. Irene helped get some started! On top of that I have the light up in the barn but my ladies have already slowed their egg production... :-( Hopefully it will pick up again. I have been reading alot on my forums about feed.

I am on an all local (mostly), paleo/primal diet meaning I don't eat many grains and I eat only meat I raise or from local organic farms (pig and bison mostly) and as much of my veggies that I grow or I get from side of the road family stands. I just switched my dog to that type of diet now too...she gets all the "extra" stuff from my meat birds (hopefully soon rabbit) and I add bison heart and things like that plus some veggies, my birds' eggs and yogurt. Now, it is time to look into reducing the amount of commercial feed for my birds and rabbits. To continue in the lifestyle I am trying for and to save money. It seems that sprouting grain is a good way to go and helps in egg production. So, I am embarking on this new thing this weekend. I have some seed I will try this weekend and in a week I will be going to my local grainery and getting much cheaper layer feed that I currently get at TSC and a big bag of oat seed and barley seed. I'll post how it goes!

Meanwhile...lots more to do this coming weekend including freezer farm time for half the meat chickens, making soap, cheese and yogurt! I so wish I had my own goats and cow but until then I have local supply luckily! I have lots of pics to share from this past week but will post them separately.

all well at Little Rooster Croft....bye bye Irene

It was a worrisome couple days and a long night but my motto is "prepare for the worst, pray for the best". We pretty much got the best...so many things could have changed and it could have been catastrophic, for most, it was not. As it was, lives were still lost and much property damaged.

One thing that is really annoying me is the folks I hear saying the weather reporters and the government made too much hype. Well, that "hype" saved lives. If it was worse those precautions would have been the only thing that would have saved so many affected. If those precautions weren't taken and the warnings not as they were and Irene had been worse, everyone would have cried neglect and poor warning. Having grown up in Florida, we were evacuated many many times and it came to nothing. However, there are many times that evacuation is what saves people's lives.

Anyway, I am glad I took the time and effort to prepare...much of it ended up being early winter prep!

However, my birds are not pleased with me! LOL Here are pics of the pathetic turkeys before I opened the coop.

Let us out! Impatiently waiting for me to open door!

Well...I am up and waiting out the storm

so figured since I still have power I would play on the computer.

I did a lot of prep the past two days because I have been pretty worried about my "kids". I changed plan several times but what ended up happening was:
- my friend helped me strengthen the turkey pen but I put the turkeys in their coop and locked them in
- I got 3 pieces of plywood to cover front of open side of 3 sided barn that the coops for fancy chickens and turkeys are and the rabbit cages. (seems to be holding for its purpose so far which is to keep driving rain out). Henry and his girls are able to come in and out through gaps but they are all on their usual roosts and so far no flooding in there
-got all the kayaks, trash cans, etc into the shed and made sure there was enough room still for the meaties! their pen gate did come off and they were running free around yard but now they put themselves up in their shelter which is good...so besides having to wash off the kayaks when we take them out, it should be okay
-the ducks and geese, unfortunately do not have much shelter, but the pen is holding and the tree is pretty secure above them

We still have hours of this hurricane to go though and have had some tornadoes touch down near us...so, it is going to be a long stressful night.

weather watching, more veggies and babies...

Well, the earthquake was amusing yesterday...I was at work but it didn't seem to phase the kids, feather or fuzzy. Or their little brains were over it by the time I got home anyway!

However, after the work I did in the turkey coop/pen the other night...I thought I had patched up any escape routes...you know for a turkey that is bigger than my dog! Apparently not...little miss Royal was out AGAIN when I got home. I wouldn't care if she free ranged but I am afraid for her safety. She is so very sweet though...I held her for quite awhile while trying to figure out how she escaped...she just sat in my arms...not sure she was happy about it but she was pretty good about it. Serves her right for being miss escape artist anyway!

My little Trollie dog has a visitor for the week...her old buddy Nala is here while Daddy is on vacation. So, even more confusion and chaos...like we need that...LOL oh well, what is a little more?!

AND...to add more fun, we have a lovely hurricane that seems determined to bear right down on us later this weekend...possibly at a Cat 2. Lovely. Have I mentioned the buildings at this croft are a little old and worn down? And I rent...so have only done what minimal work I can on them? And I live on a sandbar...so....yeah...not entirely sure what to do to prepare for 100 mile an hour winds and possible major flooding. Except perhaps turkeys in the living room...not an option I want to consider right now.

On a positive note...found another local farmers market where I got lots of red peppers and some green tomatoes. So, dinner last night was a lovely venison sauteed (minimally) and fried green tomatoes...every bit of ingredients local and organic including the bacon grease to fry the tomatoes! Numm Numm simplicity. Roasted red peppers will probably happen Friday since I have the day off....and maybe that darn Cajeta! Tonight is working on Turkey Pen until it is too dark to see AGAIN.

Oh and I have a dozen Buff Orpington eggs coming early next week to put under my broody Bardy...and RIR red momma is still taking care of her single chick. I will TRY to get pics if momma will cooperate soon!

more pics of my turkeys...and gardening stuff

Well, this weekend was one filled with headache and not much sleep due to stupid allergies that I am trying to fix so I can dive!

But I did get a few things done this on Sunday...in the rain. I planted cabbage, broccoli, kale and spinach and a few mums for color. I got the front garden pretty much weeded, tried for the side of the house but the weedwhacker was not cooperating. I did harvest the rest of the mint and will be freezing this batch, the other batch is drying. Siggy (Sigbjorn) was very interested in the mint...then decided to just chill with it! LOL

I have definite plans for how to do my winter garden involving straw bales and old windows. We'll see how goes!

And I love my new turkeys...they are still skittish but are very sweet. They are the only turkeys that have figured out how to roost in the coop and have managed to escape coop and pen several times! So, they are smart. They are getting a little harrassed by the other turkeys so I am letting them chill by themselves in the coop for a few days...except in the middle of the monsoon yesterday I started worrying about the turkeys so I went out in all my rain gear and shooed them all in the coop and locked them up. They all survived to this morning...of course this morning I was bouncing out of bed and running out there to let them out afraid there would be mayhem keeping them all in the coop for too long!

smart turkeys

Well, my Royal Palms are how I remember the breed...too smart for their own good! LOL

Guess who figured out how to escape the pen when none of the other turkeys have figured it out? They were sitting nice and pretty in the barn when I got home. After putting them back and after it started raining I went and checked on them. Guess who are the only turkeys who figured out how to roost on the ladder in the coop...all the rest were wet outside? Yup...smart turkeys.

scary food stuff

I am not really sure why folks would eat meat from a grocery store. I is pretty much why I was a vegetarian for 20 years.

Read this article...makes me definitely not trust the FDA and "American Corporate Food Industry" even more.

http://www.foodrenegade.com/deadly-salmonella-not-illegal-foods/


Know your food. Know your farmer.

busy busy....that is the time of year!

Well, haven't made the cajeta yet....but I have gotten lots done. Besides the fencing for the front garden which is successfully keeping the chickens out and the feed and water bowl table for the hens that is quite successful, I have been doing little things like harvesting and drying my mint and just domestic chores...the house needs work too! That is a losing proposition while my brothers are living there...but I am trying.

My most exciting news is that one of my hens hatched a baby! I let her set her eggs in the shed but really didn't think anything would come of it. Actually had 2 hens sharing the nest. So, the RIR was the one with the chick yesterday morning...it took a bit but finally got both of them into a brooder...really don't want to lose the chick. The other hen, my Buff Orpington was the one setting on the eggs and she was NOT happy when I lifted her to check on them. So, I left her there. Yesterday evening after returning with my other exciting news....(have to wait for that one) :-)....I checked on everyone and my Buff was on a perch in the hen's barn and left the nest unoccupied in the shed. So, I transferred all the eggs to the RIR...we'll see if anything comes of them.

So...for the other exciting news...I got a pair of Royal Palm turkeys finally! I am so excited. They are very pretty and the same age as everyone else and seem to have settled in after a bit of squabbling! So, I believe, if all goes well, I have my breeds for now. One pair of Buffs, one pair of Royal Palms and my Bronzes - Tom and Spring. The other four mixed breeds will probably all go to freezer camp now. Especially since I saw the that the darker Tom is a bit of a bully....might keep one of the Slate looking hens...not sure yet.

Pics coming later...couldn't get any decent ones last night.

little things done...and rain...and cajeta!

I had a very busy weekend off the homestead mostly but I did get a few things done (besides normal chores).

Last night I made more roasted red peppers, got some in the olive oil in the fridge (since I am already dipping into them...LOL). I made a roasted pepper, mustard, olive oil sauce for crab cakes Friday night...came out quite yummy! I got the rest of the roasted peppers into a freezer bag. I also roasted jalapeno peppers and got them in the freezer too. I did my first batch of tomatoes, blanched, skinned and smooshed and also in the freezer. I was going to can, but since I had to get the 2nd freezer up and running because I STILL hadn't made enough room in the first freezer AND I still have chickens to put up in the next couple weeks....figured might as well freezer more stuff because jars are so darned expensive.

However, I have a project for myself tonight...I am going to attempt to make Cajeta with the last gallon of goat's milk in the freezer....then can it. Wish me luck!

Oh and we finally got rain...uh LOTS of of it! We have been getting bits here and there but now, we have buckets...supposed to rain a good portion of this week. Perhaps if there is enough dryness in between so my plants won't drown...I might get some more veggies finally!

piggy in the freezer...

Since I have not yet made the jump to raising my own pig (but am seriously thinking about it for next year if I can get a good enough pen - super strong - built) I bought half a pig from a local farm that I believe in. Greenbranch Farm in Salisbury, on the Eastern Shore Maryland is doing what I think is good and what needs to be the future for farms...small to medium organic, raised on pasture animals. This is the first animal I have bought in bulk like this. Last year was the first time I had a big animal to put into the freezer (the deer my friend gave me and Shawn and I processed). The venison is pretty much all gone but now I have half a pig in my freezer plus lots of veggies I have been putting up recently. I have some bison from the local farm here too and a few bird parts left from this winter. My own chickens will be going in the freezer soon, I am thinking 2 or 3 weeks...a day that is cool and on the weekend when I have a little time. So, I am feeling good going into the fall and winter with food. Hopefully I can add to it with my own venison and geese (raised and hunted) later in the winter too!

Turkeys...

It has cooled down here a bit, only in the high 80s! And it is my alternate Friday off so I spent a few hours working outside on the homestead. I even spent time hanging with the kids (my favorite part of homesteading but the thing I get to do the least). I cuddled my Polish babies...they are so cute. I also spent time with the turkeys...just put some feed down and sat down in the pen. Tom wasn't as attentive to me this time...his lady was there after all! LOL The last pic is of the pair I will most likely keep out of the 4 Slate/Oregon Grays.

A happy post about my Polish babies...

I spent Monday evening out with the critters 'til it was too dark to see. I hung out in the fancy chickens coop for awhile...held my babies and Lil Dude and took some pics. I also had some tomatoes with me...so they were all making a happy mess.
Meet 'Aine (pronounced An-yuh, meaning joy/brightness)...she is the sweetest thing and likes to snuggle. She is not easy to get a photo of though. Her pic is to the right.

My other female is Niamh (pronounced Nee-av, meaning brilliance)...she is very sweet too but more shy. Her pic is to the left.

Then there is Aodhgagan (pronounced Ey-gagone, but will be shortened to Aodhga - Eyga, meaning Little Fire because he is just gorgeous black with firey streaks on his head and tail and long feathers on his back.) He is fiesty like my Pachy was (Pachneic - meaning Little One). He is to the right with Lil Dude in the background.

I got some pics of the fancy critters...they are below. Viviane is the Americauna, Merlin wouldn't sit still long enough...crowing his fool head off so, so no pics of him today. Bardy is the Barred Rock hen, Goldy is my Gold Wyandotte, sadly lost my spirited little Wynny, the Silver Wyandotte (I believe to a hawk). Then there is Mani, Silver Polish and Czyna my old girl.

Vivivianne Goldy and Bardy (and Mani's butt)

Cyna

Mani

Another rough but productive week at the Croft

Well, first the sad news. I lost all the turkey babies. I am trying to not be too devastated but it is hard. I wish I had a mentor, but the list I am on is very helpful. I will be trying to fix 3 things, in particular, maybe one or more is the answer. 1. completely clear out and redo the coop area like I did for the Polish/Americauna coop. (maybe there is something not good there?) 2. make a specific baby area in the spring and get a thermometer and hydrometer (maybe the temperature and humidity is not as good as I had thought?) 3. change the feed (I was told that Dumor, which is the easiest available feed here, is not the greatest and maybe lacking in nutrients. So, we will see what happens next spring.

The good news, I now have 6 more half grown turkeys. I got a pair of Buff from a homesteader friend...after reading about them, I am very excited about them (I think I already posted a pic). I am still wanting to breed either Black Spanish or Royal Palm but decided babies are not something I want to try again this season...too heartbreaking. So, I got 4 mixed breed instead from a local guy. They are Slate/Oregon Grays. I do really like the Slate, so that will be okay for now. Two look Slate, two look Oregon Gray, so I will figure out who is boy and girl and then keep 2 and put 2 in the freezer. This means 2 turkeys and 4 geese are freezer bound later this fall. That will leave me 6 pair of turkeys for the spring (praying all goes well) and a pair or trio of Emden Geese and the 6 ducks plus the chickens, of course.

I am positive that I have a pair of Rouen ducks, and pretty sure a pair of Pekins...still trying to figure out the Cayuga. All the roos are going to the freezer in another month or so. Still trying to fatten them up, am about to give up on meat chickens.

I also just bred my rabbits again...I REALLY hope they took this time...I am getting very frustrated.

And finally, veggies...my garden is still slow but going well now. I had a friend come help me build a fence in the front yard (to help keep the chickens away from the road) and a new compost bin to keep some of the compost for my garden and not just a chicken smorgasbord.

I also have been buying local veggies from the side of the road stands (putting money into the community and getting fresh veggies). I have made a ton of sundried tomatoes from a bushel of Romas I got. I just made my (becoming famous) Blackberry Jalapeno Jelly - all local. And I roasted my first peppers and I love it...so will be heading to the farmstand again and adding regular peppers to my list for next year to grow!

The heat and sad mystery

Well, the heat is something that lots of folks are talking about and those of us with feather and fuzzy heads that live outside are particularly anxious. Luckily my featherheads and rabbits survived the 108 degrees of the weekend and I am extremely thankful. I spent an hour and a half alone on Friday morning trying to prepare everyone...getting extra water filled, setting up an extra fan in the barn, one on the rabbits, one on the chickens and turkey coop...both of which are inside and open barn but no access to a pen at the moment (that will change as birds get older and bigger but while I have babies, it isn't possible for me to open them to the pens). I had frozen water bottles for the rabbits, as well as the fan. It was rough but everyone made it. I am not looking forward to that kind of heat again but it is supposed to get really hot the end of the week again. So, after doing some reading, I read about someone using frozen treats...I will be doing this on Friday...for feather and fuzzies.

Sadly, I did lose most of my turkey babies, I honestly don't know what is happening to them, they are just "disappearing". I have sealed up as many holes as I can find...I did fine little round holes and I am wondering if I have a snake or something...some of the eggs in the coops have been missing too. I am down to 2 turkey babies as of this morning. :-( As soon as these babies are ready to release to the pen, I am doing a full revamp of this coop...somehow I have to seal up all the possible ways of digging in and out.

I do have some major improvement projects lined up for this week...pics and details as they get done!

EDIT: Well, when the last turkey baby died (the last two I found where I saw them hanging out the night before - looking perfectly fine). I had a couple buckets and larger waterer in the coop (high sided bin that the babies couldn't climb into that I refreshed with water everyday but didn't move too often). Spring drank from the large waterer and the buckets were nesting boxes. I cleared all those out and cleared the bedding out and found 2 of the babies wedged behind the waterer and the buckets...pretty much under the barn wall. *sigh* So, yeah, it is being reformed like the fancy coop was. Needs this to keep winter drafts out anyway...the birds just love digging the edges of the barn. So, door is opened now and all turkeys hanging together.

a hard week

Well, as any homesteader knows...some weeks are just harder than others and sometimes losses are harder to take than others. This week has been super stressful in other ways because my car broke down...again...and it is State Fair prep week (starts tonight) and I am in charge of 3 exhibits (not homesteading related but wetland/beach preservation)...and I am going for my Scuba certification this weekend and have been trying to figure out how to get there(the only weekend I can for the rest of the season because of the shop's schedule and mine). So...yeah, been a stressful one.

THEN I get home from having my car towed on Tuesday and I found my oldest hen, Gertie, my only Sussex, was hit by a car and was still warm and lying on my driveway. I was devastated. I am still very sad. I just stood and held her and cried. Sometimes doing this pretty much alone is just too hard. But I am lucky and I do have friends that remind me why I am doing this. Then I go and work with my animals and I remember.

Gertie is the hen at the bottom, the Speckled Sussex. It is the last picture I took of her.

But, I feel guilty about Gertie. See, she was the hen that didn't really care to freerange. She liked to hang in the coop with the turkeys. But when the babies were born I kicked her out, because I was told you never know how others besides the mother will act with babies not their own. She ran around with the other hens sometimes and sometimes did her own thing. She roosted in the barn at night with everyone else. She did not take direction from Henry though, she has been around a lot longer than him. He pretty much kept his girls away from the road. I feel guilty because Gertie really didn't care to be out and about running around and if she had stayed where she wanted, she would not have been hit by a car.

And...I have lost 3 turkey babies too...just literally disappeared. Not sure how or why if they got out of the pen they didn't come back as I have seen them do when Momma calls them. I can't find any way that anything has gotten in to them...the other babies in the coop next door are all fine. I am down to four babies now.

So, I know all homesteaders go through things like this...and I have lost hens before and I know I sadly will again. Just sometimes it is harder to handle than others.

latest on the babies

For the most part the turkey poults are doing great. Unfortunately I am down to 6 from 8. One of them is missing and another I found this morning looking perfectly fine but a little squished, I am wondering if Spring could have sat on him wrong? I think they are getting big for her to keep under her but that is where they all were (one peaking his head out) when I checked on them last night. *sad* but still doing better than raising poults in a brooder.

I spent some time with my Polish babies too. One of them is so Pachy like in his ways ...defnitely a roo and the other 2 full Polish I am pretty sure are girls. The Sebring mix is still more skitsy and standoffish. I have opened up their "brooder" and took them all out but they end up all back in there at night. So, I will leave it in the coop with the top propped open for a few weeks so they can decide when they want to hop out or feel safer in there.

The picture above to the left is the two girls, a buff and black/white splash...doesn't quite look like Mani, my silver. To the right is the boy with Goldy, my gold wyandotte. Still working on names for the new polish. Below is a pic of Czyna, one of my older Polish.

To the right here is a bunch of the featherheads together. In the back is Merlin, in front of him is Vivianne, my Americaunas. Three of the little ones are drinking along side Bardy (Barred Rock) you can sort of see.

The Ducks...

The ducks and geese still want to have very little to do with me but the ducks sure do love when I fill the pond up!

The brown is my female Rouen and the white is one of the Pekings, the black is one of the Cayugas. I have not figured out the male/female of the Pekings or Cayugas yet.

Friday work and hang out day

Working full time and going to school makes it very hard to spend as much time as I would like to just "hanging" and doing the little things on the homestead. Friday was a day off from work and I ran errands all morning but I got to spend a bit of time with everyone in the afternoon.

I had picked up my two new turkeys, a buff adolescent pair. So, I spent a little time in the pen hanging with them and Tom.

Isn't Tom a handsome one?

Well, the weekend was pretty hot but I spent a few hours doing chores Sunday...the little ones that don't get done during the week...sprayed down the rabbit cages (rabbits weren't too happy with me but they WERE cooler!).

I also got a new addition to the homestead. My friend found a little bantam rooster on the side of the road so asked if I could take him in. He is full grown but I have never seen such a tiny adult chicken! LOL My polish 1/3 grown babies are the same size! I think his name will be Lil Dude. There was some scuffling and pecking but order has been re-established. It is hilarious seeing him and Merlin (Americauna roo) sitting on the perch together crowing! Of course, I didn't have my camera for that pic! I did get some pics yesterday morning though.

I also got some pics of the turkey babies. They are starting to fly! Only a little over a week old! They are feathering out nicely and look great. Makes me very happy!

interesting discussions...

I am on a rare breed turkey list and I was asked a particular question about how I can "harvest and eat" the birds I raise. The person asking the question raises turkeys and chickens, eats meat but did so from the grocery store because she couldn't stand the idea of eating something resembling an animal, let alone an animal she knew. Also, as a heritage breeder, she asked, why wouldn't we keep the heritage as pets only and eat the more popular birds instead. It started a very interesting discussion and I thought I would share my response here because it explains a lot about what I do and why. Most of the people that replied on the list did so in a similar vein or just agreed with my post,which made me feel good and gives me hope for a change some day in our way of eating as a society.

Here is the post:
I was a vegetarian for 20 years. I worked in animal shelters for a living, volunteered for other shelters, including rabbit rescue, wildlife rehab, etc. So, I have seen the worst of the worst to the most wonderful happy ending stories.

My problem has always been about people who "wear blinders". People go to the store and buy food, never thinking about where it comes from, what the animal went through to get from the point of being born to finally on our table. I abhor the animal "food" industry. CAFO farms are some of the worst places in the world for animal suffering and environmental damage.
(I am an environmental scientist - or will be soon - working in that world
and in school now...so I see that side of things too).
There are two reasons I raise my own animals and why I raise heritage breeds:
1. I know the animal was raised kindly, treated with respect, allowed to "live" and enjoy life and I know that animal was killed with respect and honor and I know how that animal was treated after that moment, as well.
When I started into homesteading I talked to some friends of mine, ones that were spiritual like me. I asked them how they did it. They raise chickens and Icelandic Sheep. They told me that it is sad when it is time for an animal to be butchered and yes, tears are shed but they think ifyou felt nothing for that animal, then you didn't raise it right...it didn't have the life it should.

The very first meat I ate after 20 years was that Royal Palm turkey I spoke of in my last post. I had raised chickens before but only for eggs. I raised that bird from a day old poult...and he had a good life...ran around the yard, did turkey things....and I killed him, cleaned him and cooked him (with help). You can bet I had tears in my eyes...but I thanked him and knew his life was better than all the ones in the grocery store.

2. I raise heritage for food. I do this with the chickens, turkeys and rabbits. I do this because the breeds we are raising were raised for food. Part of my philosophy extends to the "diversity" idea. We (as a people) are going to get into severe trouble because most of our food, meat and vegetables, has been
bred to just a few breeds being the ones raised on big farms, feeding most people. I live in southern Delaware, chicken capital of the world, trust me, I see this on a daily basis. One of these days that common breed...bred down to specific characteristics that makes it so they can not live naturally, breed naturally, etc will be wiped out by one single virus, bug, something. Heritage breeds will have a much better chance, the same idea and reason for "seed banks" and the SeedSaver organization.

If we raised heritage breeds just for pets, there wouldn't be that many of them. The lines would not grow and continue and be refined as much, the lines would stagnate. These breeds were the breeds our grandparents knew...these breeds were (are) dying out because they are no longer the popular breeds on farms and many of the lines HAVE stagnated. I totallybelieve in the SlowFood movement.
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/slow_food/

I do have my pets, they are generally my breeders and the rest are
destined to be food, but are treated just as well as my "pets". They are raised
with respect and honor.

I hope I explained it okay...and didn't ramble too much. It is a subject I am passionate about, the idea of eating whole good food...the back to the land/eating local movement. I do eat meat now after 20years and I believe that raising animals for meat can and should be humane and is environmentally friendly and beneficial when done well. I only eat meat I raise or are raised on farms I can visit and I know the animals are raised well - so in most restaurants...I am still a vegetarian, but there are a few restaurants here in Rehoboth Beach that buy primarily or only from local small farms.

And back to turkeys in general, Black Spanish and Royal Palm are some of
the rarer breeds, and Black Spanish, in particular, is one of the oldest. They are not popular, which is why I want to raise them. I like their characteristics and if I can share the breed with others (even if just on the Thanksgiving table), maybe more people will think about what they are eating and where it comes from.

Blessings,

Kitty
Little Rooster Croft

Rain and gardens

We finally got some rain today!!! This is always a hard time of year in Southern Delaware. Last year I tried to have a garden on this new property I am renting and it was a disaster. The soil (sand) is just not good, the location seemed good but got way to much of the afternoon sun, so between horrible soil, little rain and high heat, no matter how much watering was done, the garden just fried.

So, this year, I took up the "who needs a front yard...you can't eat grass" method. And I am doing raised beds and container gardening. I am also much less ambitious this year and the size is more manageable. I have two raised beds in the front yard, made out of left over fire wood as the border...filled with rabbit manure courtesy of my rabbits, organic soil and hummus bought from the local store. My compost is pretty much gone due to chicken scavenging.

My mother gave me topsy turveys so I planted a bunch of cherry tomatoes and one with hot peppers and one with mild peppers hanging from my porch. The idea is that I can walk out the front each morning, water the plants, grab the tomatoes for my lunch and go! The peppers are for my jelly that was so popular last year (jalepeno berry jam). I have pickling cucumbers in containers, plum tomatoes and basil in a couple others. I have some herbs growing like rosemary and lemon balm, parsley, dill and chives. In the raised beds are zucchini, yellow squash, winter squash and more plum tomatoes. I love my sundried tomatoes and refuse to buy the chemical laden expensive things in the grocery store! So, I dehydrate my own, put them in a container in olive oil and I have enough for the whole year!

My chickens have been very "helpful" with the bugs, but have also eaten all the flowers off the squash plants and uprooted a few things like my lettuce, so a fence just went up this morning, not fool proof but hopefully proves too much trouble for the chickens who have more than an acre to play in...I only ask for a few feet for myself!

Tomorrow, ducks, geese and turkeys....oh my! And hopefully pics!

been a long time and lots of change

I have not been here in awhile. There has been a lot of change at the homestead, some very sad, some good.

I had some losses over the winter, most notably was my Polish Rooster Pachy, one of his girls Sunna and Kaninchen, my siver fox buck. It made for a very sad winter...Pachy, especially, was my baby.

The good that has happened in the year that I have posted (I can't believe it has been that long!) is the addition of 2 Standard Bronze turkeys (Tom and Spring), 6 ducks (a pair each of Rouen, Peking and Cayuga), 6 new Emden geese, 4 Polish babies and a new Silver Fox buck named Ronan. Most of this happened in the past month or so.

The turkeys I got last summer, 3 of them actually, one was "Autumn" and thanksgiving dinner. "Spring" turned out to be a hen so I kept the pair. Spring started laying eggs a few months ago and started being broody a few weeks ago so I let her. She hatched babies this past weekend! 8 of the 9 lived and are running around the coop like crazy things!

I will post pics in the next post and then talk about the garden...what there is of it!