ElCloud Homestead: Waiting on God

We tried to set the guineas free yesterday

07:05, 2008-Aug-5 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 0 comments .. Link

I sprinkled food in their open gate, leading out into the green grass yesterday morning. (They've eaten and trampled all the grass in their little enclosure.) It took them a long time to leave the open gate and wander into the grass itself, and they stayed in their little tight flock as they browsed.

Then we decided to take the dog outside. We've had Molly for just over a week, and we knew she liked trying to startle the guineas through the fence. We hoped she wouldn't bother them too much once they were free. We were very naive.

She ran at them, and they scattered. The three white ones flew into a tall tree in front of them. One lavender one flew up on top of the guinea enclosure. The other lavender one ran/flew into the long grass. Molly knew it was in there and was looking for it. It finally ran out of the really high (waist high) grass into some knee high grass and poison ivy under our redbud tree. It nestled down out of sight to hide.

Molly would NOT give up looking for it. We tried distracting her, to no avail. We should have taken her inside at that point, but we didn't. The lavender guinea on top of the guinea enclosure flew up into a different tree. Molly found the one in the grass and it ran out of the grass. Molly got a mouthful of tail feathers and pulled them out. The guinea ran back into the knee-high grass, and Molly trapped it. She had it between her front legs and chest, trapped. We finally managed to get Molly up, and the guinea ran out of the grass. We grabbed Molly's collar and it ran under one of the giant bushes near the house.

We took Molly inside and waited. After awhile the four treed guineas flew down and began to browse and peck together again. It took longer for the fifth guinea to join them.

For the rest of the day, we either walked Molly on her leash (which she really didn't enjoy) or we would shoo the guineas back into their enclosure and close the gate so Molly could be off-leash. Well, that can't continue forever. And Molly needs more exercise than she can really get on a leash ... not to mention she prefers not to do her business on a leash. So, we have to figure something out.

Steve's thoughts are that we walk Molly on a leash as far away from wherever the guineas are for several days. Then we try letting her off-leash again, and hope that she loses interest in them, and that the guineas get to be faster at flying up into trees to escape. Hmm. I guess that's the best we can do.

I'm not exactly sure how you train a dog not to chase the guineas, especially a dog who loves to chase after things like a sheltie. I don't want her killing or tormenting the guineas, but I'm glad she isn't chasing cars. Steve said I'd better figure out how to pluck a guinea, because if she kills it, we're eating it.

Hmm. I do NOT think we'll ever have free-range chickens on our property. The best we can hope for with that is a chicken tractor, I guess. I wonder how much a guinea or chicken can take before it dies of a heart attack? Molly may kill the guineas from shock and fear more than actual physical damage.

But here is one photo of our guineas, enjoying the green grass, but staying close to their safe enclosure.

And here is a photo of Molly trying to startle them from the outside of the fence, while they're safe inside.

Well, no one ever said country life was boring. My children found this very exciting, especially once they realized the guinea was okay. Of course, then we had some kids wanting to try letting Molly out off-leash again and others who were very protective of the guineas. That made for some interesting afternoon conversations, and some interesting insight into their characters and personalities.

We'll figure it out. And hopefully they'll come to a peaceful co-existence. Or maybe not. We're still hoping our Mama Persian cat and Molly will come to a peaceful co-existence. Although, in that instance, the Mama Persian is the instigator and aggressor.

Trusting in Him,
April

Moving on up, and out ... the history of our guinea homes

10:43, 2008-Jul-16 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 0 comments .. Link

Since Momofsix asked, I'll share what we did with our guineas since we got them. I have friends who use refrigerator boxes, laid on their side, with the top side removed, and netting over them. But I didn't acquire one of those in time, and we made do with what we had.

First, they came home and were placed in a very small plastic container. There were only five of them, and it worked ... for a few days. You can't see all of the tote, but the waterer is in one corner, and the feeder in another corner. Obviously quite small. When they started hopping and fluttering their wings, we had to move them quickly.

So I went to Walmart and bought the largest plastic tote they had. I don't have a picture of the keets in the larger tote, but it was a 45 gallon tote with wheels on one end. They only lasted in that for a little more than a week, before I realized they were flying up onto the top of their feeder and waterer. It would only be a short hop/fly from there to the top of the tote box and out into the basement.

So, finally, we had the idea to put them into one of the built in cages we have in our basement. Steve's grandparents had used it as a kennel for some of the small dogs they bred. It likely was for puppies or a pregnant mama dog, about to have her babies. One of the cages was double-wide, with a floor at my hip level, and was caged all the way to the ceiling. Perfect! We put cardboard down over the metal mesh floor, and put the pine chips over that.

We did have one keet escape from this, we think through a 2 inch gap between the roof and the doors. But that was the only escape, and it was just a day or two after putting them in.

They were about half-grown, or more, when we finally finished the outdoor enclosure for them. We used an old dog pen, just south of the house. It already had chicken wire around the sides. We had to fix one end of the pen, patch a few areas, and then we added chicken wire mesh/fabric over the top to keep them from flying out, and to keep owls from snatching them up.

There is fencing on that right side, but it is a different type than the left side and didn't show up in the picture. But this gives you an idea of the size, plus you can see the "roof" we put on it, and the doghouse that was in it already.

And here's another picture of the guinea keets on their first night in their new home (Sunday). Um, this next picture shows where we ran out of chicken wire and had to temporarily finish the roof with netting I had bought to cover their 45 gallon tote (but couldn't because the heat lamp interfered with it.)

We have 3 white guineas and 2 lavender guineas. I have no clue what boy/girl ratio we have, though. We don't intend to keep them in this enclosure very long. We do want them to be free-range on the property, eating ticks and any other bugs they want. But until they're full-grown, we'll keep them in here. It shouldn't take long ... they grow amazingly fast! At the moment, they still seemed overwhelmed with the space, and spend all their time clustered together, even when browsing around for bugs.

It isn't a pretty enclosure, but it works! And it will work for guinea keets and chicks in future years, too.

Trusting in Him,
April

How did I end up with this job?!?!

09:13, 2008-Jul-11 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 0 comments .. Link

I am not a country girl. I was raised in towns and on military bases. I have never been in 4-H and I have never raised poultry. Our pets were limited to fish, one bird, cats, and dogs.

But now we have guinea keets. And even though Steve did live on a farm for part of his childhood, and did raise poultry, and was in 4-H ... they have been my job. I researched what we needed to start keets or chicks. I picked them out, and captured them in the store. I released them into their little tote when we got home. A week later, I moved them into a larger tote. I've fed and watered them daily. And when they outgrew the larger tote, I moved them into the built-in cage on the basement wall that had once been a dog kennel. I even caught the escaped keet two days later (still not sure how he escaped) and put him back.

But now it's time to move them outside. It's a little past time, to be honest, but we were warned that owls would snatch them up if we didn't give them some protection outside for awhile longer. So, we've been waiting to finish a fenced (and covered) area for them to be safely moved to.

And every day when I go down to feed them, I wonder how in the world I'm supposed to catch these guinea keets to move them outside. They're fast! And they fly!! And they're in a cage that starts at my waist, and goes up to the ceiling!! I'm not that tall, and I have a baby belly that comes between me and the cage anyway. And I'm not a farm girl. I've never captured or held a full-grown chicken or guinea (although these are only half grown) before.

Suddenly our cool built-in cage is looking less cool. Maybe that wasn't such a great idea after all. Maybe we really should have moved those poor tiny defenseless keets outside a little earlier.

I can just imagine half-grown guineas flying in my face, escaping into the basement, and never making it outside at all!! How did *I* end up with this job?!?!

And yet, it's my job. I don't want to wimp out on Steve and demand that he do it. I really do want to try. So, sometime this weekend, we'll be moving them outside. I think I need some prayer ... and any tips you might have.

Nervously trusting in Him,
April

Yet another new homesteading experience ...

11:09, 2008-Apr-7 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 0 comments .. Link

Yesterday we had yet another new homesteading or "country living" experience. DH set our yard on fire. On purpose, of course. A large portion of our land had not been mowed for years. Only the area right around the house was mowed regularly. Last year, a family friend brush-hogged the overgrown areas for us. But, there are too many bush stumps and such mixed in with the grass. It's difficult to mow, and even worse to walk through.

So, Steve set two areas close to the house on fire. They were areas where pampas grass and peonies were planted. We hadn't been mowing it, to protect the peony bushes. But, it was overgrown with other weeds and bushes, too. As the brush burned, and the new peony shoots appeared in the ashes, we watered those specific areas to protect the peony bushes. Hopefully the pampas grass will also return. We need to use Tordon to kill the bushes that have intruded, and we intend to try to fill in the beds with more peonies (transplanted from various places in the yard.)

Then we burned the bigger area that was never mowed until it was brush-hogged last year. Now that we can see those bush stalk/stumps we intend to get rid of them, too. We don't expect to turn it into an immaculate lawn, but we would like to be able to walk through it without tripping constantly, and mow it without ruining the mower.

The children were not comfortable with this process. They've seen us burn brush in the burn pit, and they've seen us burn trash in the burn barrels. But those are contained, and they don't mind it. They were not used to us setting a fire, and letting it spread.

They didn't worry too much about the two small areas. We didn't want that to spread far, so we stood by with water and it dwindled fairly quickly. But we let the larger area spread, and we just stood back and watched it. We put out one front as it approached the lawn and the house, but we let the rest burn longer.

Our children were nervous, and kept wondering if we should call the fire department. I admit that I was nervous at first, also. When my family was here for Easter weekend, they'd seen a fire truck heading to a field fire that had become a problem. I feared we'd have a repeat of that situation, but with stronger consequences since this is our home, not just our field. But, Steve assured me it was under control, and working well, so I chose to trust him and reassure the children. That took some effort, because some of the children moved from asking if we should call the fire department, to threatening to make the call themselves. At which point, I told them that if this fire got out of hand, I would come get them out of the house and call the fire department, but they had better NOT touch the phones.

I helped Steve play fire fighter, as we stood guard over it, and then finally made the choice to put out the edges of the fire, after dark. It had moved as far as we wanted it to, so we put it out. I manned the hose, and he fought to move it to the areas I needed to reach. It kept snagging on those bush stumps and he'd have to go unhook it. Fighting the HOSE was harder than fighting the fire, at that point.

We came in covered in black soot. Our white tennis shoes may never be the same. And we found out that boys should not be allowed in the burned area. They run instead of walking, so when they trip over bush stubble, they fall into the soot, and cover their clothes with it. Then they come inside and track it everywhere. Yikes! I'm going to have to rewash some laundry my four year old stepped on in his sooty boots. I had to tell him NEVER to step on Mom's clean laundry, but especially NOT when all SOOTY.

As Steve said last night, "Now that's something you never did when we lived in town!" No, it isn't. But, it's one more country living experience under my belt.

Trusting in Him,
April

The Evolution of a Clothesline ...

10:55, 2008-Apr-7 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 1 comments .. Link

Last August I posted an entry entitled "Falling In Love with Whole Laundry" about my love of my clothesline. I followed it up with "Photos to Go with My Laundry Love". At that time, my clothesline was an umbrella-style clothesline tree.

We left that clothesline behind, when we moved to the farmhouse. We talked about digging it up and bringing it with us, but just haven't done it yet. We still own that house and could move it later, if we choose to.

After we moved here, we tried to string a new clothesline on the existing clothesline poles. One pole was loose, though, and the clothesline we bought was too stretchy. It sagged to the ground, when it had clothes on it. We only strung one line, since the rope was so bad. I posted about "Our Rustic Laundry System" in November, about two weeks after we'd moved in.

I wasn't able to use our saggy clothesline for very long, before winter really set in. Then we spent most of December using our two indoor wooden drying racks. I was able to keep up with drying clothes this way, as long as I washed a load or two of clothes daily, washing exactly what would fill the two racks. We set a fan in front of the heater vent to blow on the racks.

Then in January, my parents came to visit, and my Dad put his electrical knowledge to use, and installed some wiring that would let me run my electric dryer in the basement. We continued to use the indoor drying racks, at times. I tried to air dry half my laundry, and use the electric dryer for the other half.

In March, my Dad and Uncle came to visit over Easter. They came to help do some work on the house, as I blogged about in "Making the Family Homestead our Home". One of the many things they did was to fix my saggy baggy clothesline. After they left, we just had too many cool rainy days to use the clothesline. I could have used it some days, but worried that the items I line dried would have to come in that evening and finish up in the electric dryer, since rain was expected overnight.

But this weekend, we had warm, sunny weather and I finally was able to test my new clothesline. It worked wonderfully, although I think we are going to tighten the lines (THREE LINES) a little bit more. It was a bit challenging hanging out clothes in 30 -37 mph winds. I realized we really need to put a new windbreak along that property line. The previous one (an orchard) was cut down several years before we bought the farmhouse. I had to hang heavy items like jeans indoors, because they just blew off the lines.

Now that's a clothesline I don't have to be ashamed of! We've finally arrived!!

Trusting in Him,
April

Making the Family Homestead our Home

10:08, 2008-Mar-28 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 4 comments .. Link

First, I need to apologize for neglecting this blog. I do most of my blogging at my ElCloud Homeschool blog. Although I haven't been blogging very regularly there, either. I've considered double posting everything at both blogs, and for awhile, I do. But then I start to feel redundant and quit double posting. I'm not sure what the solution is, since I don't want to give up either blog.

Now on to the point of this post ... this Easter weekend, and into this week, we had my parents, sisters, nephew, and Uncle here visiting. My Uncle and Dad came to help us work on the house. Their original intent had been to redo some of our wiring. But after examining it, they felt it was actually safe ... a little wonky in its arrangement, but safe. We do need to replace our fuse boxes with breaker boxes at some point, but we didn't do that this weekend.

So, then they started looking for other projects to tackle. They reworked some of our plumbing, and replaced our toilet with one that actually flushes well. They added wiring for two ceiling lights in the living room, so we can flip a switch and have light instead of turning on 6 lamps to have less light. They added insulation over the kitchen and master bedroom, so that area will be easier to keep warm. They redid my wobbly saggy clothesline. They got the chain saw working again, and the 4 wheeler. They hauled fallen limbs (from the ice storm) to the burn pit, with the 4 wheeler. They changed a door knob, and generally made us ladies feel rather lazy sitting around inside, although we were caring for the children, cooking meals, doing dishes, etc.

Steve was only able to work with them on Saturday and Sunday, then he had to return to work. But Dad and Uncle Howard stayed busy. They are such hard-working men, with lots of experience in many different areas. We were incredibly blessed by their loving and generous acts of service this week, and are very thankful.

We've been buying little electric heaters as they go on clearance. That, along with the added insulation in part of the house, should help us prevent using so much propane next winter. We will also do something about our windows before next winter ... caulk them better, or cover them with plastic. Something to prevent the cold drafts. The thermal drapes have helped, but it could be better.

We are slowly making this our home. It is Steve's family homestead, and he is the 5th generation to live on it ... our children are the 6th generation. But we are making it our HOME, not just our family history. We haven't painted yet, and there are many things left to do. But it feels like home already, and we are slowly making changes so it will work better for us.

Trusting in Him,
April

Spring is coming

02:23, 2008-Mar-4 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 0 comments .. Link

The signs of Spring are starting to appear. This weekend, I used the clothesline for the first time in months. And on Saturday, we opened our windows to enjoy the 65+ temps. It was beautiful! (Of course, we had rain and snow on Sunday.) Monday, I looked out my kitchen window and saw a fat robin in the yard. Today I looked out my kitchen window and saw 4 robins looking for worms! Yes, at the same time ... it wasn't one bird coming and going.

Spring is coming. I've been reading and studying to learn all I need to know about having our own laying hens. I've been pricing the cost of chicks, and their accessories, and making plans. And hoping we can keep our chicks safe from coyotes (yes we hear them howling at night sometimes), hawks, foxes, coons, stray dogs ... and, and, and. The list seems endless.

I started reading my gardening books, plus a few more from the library. Then it hit me. Rabbits. Deer. Raccoons. Gardening will be different this year, and I need to figure out how to protect our garden without too much cost and trouble. I don't know if we have raccoons here, but we probably do. I know we have deer and rabbits in abundance. Just last week Steve came home to find 10 deer in the wheat field right next to our proposed garden plot. And we've seen the bunnies, and their tracks, all over the place. Do we even stand a chance at harvesting anything? I hope so.

I think I need to "toughen up" a bit and adjust myself to the uncertainties of country living. But, at the moment, I'm just enjoying all the signs of Spring. This week's temperature may be falling again, but the signs of Spring are still around.

Blessings,
April

34th Carnival of Homesteading is up!!

09:55, 2008-Jan-21 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 1 comments .. Link

ElCloud Homeschool has the Carnival of Homesteading up!! You can see it HERE.

Enjoy!
April

Carnival of Homesteading News

01:58, 2008-Jan-15 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 0 comments .. Link

Sheri, at The Shades of Pink, has hosted this week's Carnival of Homesteading. Visit her blog to read about the definition of homestead, and her thoughts on the original homesteaders, as well as visit the blogs of those who contributed.

Next week, I will be hosting the Carnival of Homesteading at my ElCloud Homeschool blog! You can use the handy-dandy Carnival entry form to submit your entries to the carnival.

Check ElCloud Homeschool next Monday the 21st for the carnival! And on the 28th, Abi from Lighter Side will be hosting the Carnival of Homesteading.

Blessings,
April

32nd Carnival of Homesteading at CatherineLove's

07:01, 2008-Jan-8 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 0 comments .. Link

The 32nd Carnival of Homesteading is posted at CatherineLove's blog. Go visit and enjoy the many posts on homesteading and country living.

Blessings,
April

Learning to be a country wife ...

06:55, 2007-Dec-28 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 3 comments .. Link

I need to keep this brief since I have so much work to do today. My family is arriving tomorrow morning, early, for a 5 day visit, and I lost yesterday for preparation due to a septic issue -- which is what I'm going to tell you about.

We were very worried about the state of the septic tank when we moved in here. It is old, and we had no idea when it was last pumped. Earlier this Fall, we had talked to the plumber, who referred us to a septic guy, who referred us to a septic pumping guy. He suggested we look inside and see what level it was at. We did and thought (to our untrained eye) it looked good.

But we knew adding 8 people to the house permanently could change things quickly, so we intended to keep an eye on it. We've been saying for a couple weeks that we needed to go look at it, but the winter weather made it unappealing, so we didn't.

Then we noticed our shower was draining slowly, and wondered if it could be related to the septic situation, so for a couple days, Steve has joked that I should go check on it. Since my family was coming, I decided yesterday to go check on it. Yikes!! The water level was FULL, and just about 2 feet below ground level!!

I frantically called Steve, and then began calling septic pumping services in our surrounding area for price quotes and to find out who could come that same day. I forbid the kids to flush or use the sink in the bathroom, too. I finally went with the guy we originally were referred to and had previously spoken to. He came and took care of it, but in preparation for his arrival, I had to go out and move some big fallen and frozen to the ground branches by myself.

Steve said that just when we think we've got stuff under control, another bill pops up unexpectedly. It's not comfortable and not easy, but God always seems to provide what we truly need. Perhaps He wants us to continue to depend on Him, and not take His blessings for granted.

That was not how I intended to spend my day yesterday, but I'm glad it's taken care of. Thankfully, it didn't back up into the house ... that would have been so much worse. But the shower was still draining slowly when I showered last night, so we decided it must be hair clogging the pipes somewhere. So we bought something to dissolve hair when we shopped for groceries last night. We poured it down the drain before bed, and that seems to have resolved the problem.

(Speaking of becoming a country wife ... how many times am I going to have to help Steve get a vehicle unstuck on our own property before winter is over?)

At least the plumbing is ready for company, but I need to work on the rest of the house now.

Blessings,
April

Today I walked in Narnia ...

09:27, 2007-Dec-15 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 2 comments .. Link

We were hit by an ice storm earlier this week, and then it was topped off with 6-8 inches of snow last night. The trees were still bent down with ice when the snow hit.

Today I was out on our property, walking around, admiring the beauty. It was simply beautiful with the sun glinting off the icy branches. Some areas reminded me of Narnia before Aslan's return.

Here are a few pictures of the Narnia-esque beauty.

Blessings,
April

Photos of our rustic laundry system ...

12:31, 2007-Nov-28 .. Posted in Homestead Happenings .. 3 comments .. Link

I know many folks have a more rustic system than this, but coming from our old home, with washer and dryer right in the kitchen, and a small umbrella tree clothesline right out the back door, this seems rustic to us.

Our washing machine in our basement drains into a sink, which drains into the sump pump, which exits the basement into the yard via a gray-water pipe. This picture was taken before we leveled the washing machine, so it's tilting to the side. Lovely laundry environment, isn't it?

These are the indoor drying racks I use daily. I can fit one large load on these racks. Sometimes I can get 1.5 loads drying at the same time. We have a fan sitting in front of a heating vent blowing on them. I flip clothes over to help the underside dry.

And here is my saggy-baggy clothesline. I can only fit one load on the line. I try to avoid using the middle section, because even socks and underwear touch the grass when it's fully loaded. Today it's near 50* and blustery, so I'm using the line. Tonight the indoor racks should be dry and I can bring in the outdoor laundry to finish on the indoor racks.

We need to reset the right clothes-line T-post in concrete so it will stand upright and hold still. Then we will string all 3 lines, with heavier grade clothesline. But in the meantime, this is what we have. Sad, isn't it? Funny, too.

So, if I use the outdoor clothesline, I can do two loads of laundry in a day. Without it, I can do 1 - 1.5 loads. It took awhile to catch up once we moved in and hooked up the washing machine, but I'm doing fine now. I even started using cloth diapers again. Since we don't have an electric dryer hooked up yet, I am using only pocket diapers with microfiber inserts which line dry quickly.

There are a few places with 220 electric wiring, but the outlet plug is not the right type for our dryer. We need to fix that before we can use our electric dryer.

And that's our rustic, but effective, laundry system. I'm thankful to have it. It's better than washing in the kitchen sink ... or the laundry mat!

EDITED TO ADD: We had used plastic clothesline at our old house on an umbrella style clothesline. Here Steve bought a clothesline rope, but suspected it would not be strong enough. It obviously isn't. He looked and looked for something stronger. He finally bought at Lowe's a plastic coated wire that we're hoping will work. We haven't tried it yet. His grandparents just had wire strung, but it had been cut the day of the auction for trucks to be able to drive around, so we could not re-use it. We may just have to set a third T post in the middle, eventually.

Blessings,
April

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About Me

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ElCloud Homeschool Blog
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My Favorite Scriptures

• Deuteronomy 6:4-9
• Psalm 127
• Psalm 128
• Titus 2:3-5
• 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12
• 1 Peter 3:1-6

Our Family

• Steve 35 yo hubby
• April 35 yo SAHM
• A - 13 yo girl
• R - 11 yo girl
• C - 9 yo girl
• J - 7 yo boy
• M - 4 yo boy
• L - 2 yo girl
• G - newborn boy