Forget-Me-Nots Along The Way | |
tomatoesTomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes! I can't believe how many tomatoes we have in our garden. It was a slow start, but they have been growing like crazy lately. We already canned 7 quarts of spaghetti sauce (and used 4). We have at least 80 tomatoes on the counter right now. After church tomorrow we will probably make another batch of sauce before the tomatoes go bad. Yesterday my husband and a couple of our kids killed 3 roosters for dinner tonight. I soaked them in salt water all night and put them in my large roaster all day to slow cook with potatoes and carrots. Everyone enjoyed them. We are just starting to be able to eat the "fresh" chickens. We get more than a dozen eggs a day from the hens. We have at least ten more roosters to eat. We have at least 20 turkeys that we can eat. We are going to let them get big enough first. We have 3 huge males that are ready for Thanksgiving. I am going to start preparing my family for a "no power" day. We are going to not use any unnecessary power on Sundays to see the effect if will have on my power bill. My power bill is way to high and I know there are things we can do beyond what we already do. All of my light bulbs are the twisty bulbs. We have the air set a little hotter than I like. I hang out most of the laundry (except the endly white load of socks, and on rainy days). We limit the lights on to whatever is needed, but not to leave a light on. Next I think we should only use the power for the air, fridge, freezer, etc., but not for lights, laundry, TV, etc. on Sundays to see what effect it has on the power, then if it is significant enough I could try two days a week. The kids will love the lanterns and I will love the quiet. Well, after church tomorrow I am going to take some pictures. Have a nice one. Brenda ***Chickens ***
Posted by ~Rebekah~
03:56, Friday, September 5, 2008 .. Posted in Serenity Garden .. 3 comments .. Link
Robert E. Lee had a chicken he took with him the whole time the Civil War was going. Many a soldiers tried to cook the chicken, but he managed to rescue it saying, “Boiling the hen will give us one fine meal, but keeping her alive will feed us every day.” So, as I said, not only are we preparing to buy a home, we'd like one with land so we can have our chickens. Today I emailed our county law division and asked them stipulations pertaining to keeping hens and the local zoning laws pertaining to the subject. I am awaiting for more information so we can keep in mind those stipulation while we look. In the meantime, as you may have already noticed, I'm looking at both city coops and plans for regular ones. I have an idea of what I'd like for a bigger one if we find a place in the country. I'll share those plans later. Right now, I'm picking out which chickens we'll order once we move. Let me just say that there are lots and lots of chickens out there. Bantams which are smaller in size and tend to lay eggs with more yolk than whites, then there are the common chickens, the specialty and the Cochins which have the cute feathered feet but have a reputation for being poor layers (please, all jokes aside here, I'm having a chicken breed crisis). There are crested breeds with feathered crowns and heavy breeds which are used for meat. With all those breeds, I felt more and more confused at choosing exactly which ones would work for our area with cold Northeastern snow and wind. Ones that were well mannered, lay eggs quite often, and are good setters. (now I'm starting to sound like a singles add.haha) Murray McMurray is a hatchary with good, healthy chickens. Not only do they sell chickens, but other game birds like turkeys, ducks, geese. Lets not forget about pheasants, quail, peacocks, and guineas. If your ever in the market, I HIGHLY recommend Murray McMurray at www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html One decision I do know, we are looking for brown egg layers. So, that trims the list down a bit. The best part of Murray McMurray is they have "assortment" options for different breeds and egg colors. So we have now decided to order the BROWN EGG LAYERS ASSORTMENT. How easy was that? We know we wanted brown egg layers, we just weren't sure which ones to choose because we've never had any of them. Choosing the assortment, Murray McMurray throws in an assortment and you'll only know once they get to you which breed they are. I like that alot because we don't have to choose just one breed, but can see which ones we really prefer for our next order. In the Brown Egg Assortment, they guarantee 5 of the following breeds: Black Australorps; Lt. Brahmas; Dark Cornish; Black and White Giants; Buff and White Orpingtons; New Hampshire, Rhode Island Reds, Barred, White, Partridge, Buff Rocks;Deleware, Sussex, Turkens; White, Silver Laced, & Columbian Wyandottes, Red Star and Black Star. A couple other breeds we were introduced to from our homestead friends, and plan to also purchase are Araucana and Dominique Chickens. They produce green and blue eggs. Our friends called them "easter eggs". They're both pretty friendly and by exeperience with our friends when we were there, they are pretty good natured and do well in the winter months. Check out a Youtube video above that I found on the breed. How exciting to have made our choices. We hope to introduce them late summer, early fall when we close on a home of our own. Woohoo!
here I go againWell here I am again. I haven't been blogging lately. I needed a break to get myself emotionally together. I am feeling like a new woman and ready to take on this homestead and life. I have been gardening, sewing, cleaning, everything to get myself feeling good again. I will start taking pictures to show some of the stuff I have been working on. The weather is getting a little cooler and more enjoyable. I have been schooling the kids. In Texas they do 6 - 6weeks instead of 4 - 9weeks. I am trying that this year. I am taking a week off in between. We are loving the new schedule. On my week off from schooling we are going to empty the full garage, sort everything out, and frame out one of the garage doors to start our addition of two rooms there. I am so excited about this. The garage right now isn't sealed because one of the two garage doors is broken. I have everything that doesn't fit in the house in the garage. I have a task before me. I want to sort every box and container and make sure it is needed, then put them in plastic totes to ensure nothing gets ruined. Next week is sure to be a lot of work, but it will be worth it. Be back soon, Brenda ***The Eglu*** A Traveling Chicken Coop
Posted by ~Rebekah~
02:07, Thursday, September 4, 2008 .. Posted in Serenity Garden .. 2 comments .. Link
So I've been searching for plans for chicken coops. In our search for a home here in NYS, I'm trying to keep in mind we'd like some land in the country to have chickens, goats, etc. Sounds silly to those of you who know doug and I in real life, BUT we've always had this dream. Thing is, he works in the city limits and finding a small homestead or a home on a small piece of land within our budget, has proved to nothing more than trying. We won't let that get us down though. If the good Lord wants us in the city limits, then we should plan accordingly. Some cities allow chickens. In fact, some allow chickens, just not the loud roosters within the city limits. With that in mind, I've been looking for regular chicken coop plans AND small city type chicken runners that can move. You can imagine my surprise when I found a site by OMLET that sells Eglu's. Yup, IGLOOS for chickens are made from energy efficient polymers using modern construction techniques and at the end of its life it can be 100% recycled. Take a Look at their Brochure online in PDF Above you'll see a guide to keeping chickens. The little girl is SO CUTE and the eglu is in the picture. I just found the little girl to be so precious that I had to post this. My one true concern with this is in the harsh Upstate NY winters, how the chickens would get on and not freeze to death. This is where you avid homesteaders come in. What do you think? Have any ideas on what to do in the wintertimes? Have any other ideas or plans? How bout plans for bigger size coops if we do find a home with some land? Let me know your experience and feel free to comment. Blessings! Rebekah
Musings...of Autumn?
Posted by HandsNHearts
07:36, Thursday, September 4, 2008 .. Posted in Women of the Homestead .. 3 comments .. Link ![]() You know, in just a matter of a handful of weeks now, Autumn will officially start. Yes, I know I do this every year. I get rather melancholy this time of year. Every year it's the same thing. September begins and I start thinking with excitement about things like combines harvesting the fields, fertilizers being spread on those large farmsteads, cooler evenings, the surprise of a cool breeze during the day, air conditioners being used less and less and windows opened with softly blowing curtains around them, apples ready to harvest, pumpkins starting to perk p for picking, leaves slowly beginning to turn all those magnificent colors of deep rust, brighter red, rich orange and brilliant yellow, the gathering of firewood for that first lighting of the woodstove, those wonderful autumn smells...ever notice how pies and breads just smell so much better, so much more homey during the autumn than they do in the summer? the starting of school and those big yellow buses rolling along the lanes early morning. No, my children aren't riding a bus, but there is just something that touches my heart and says autumn, in a nostalgic sort of way, about those yellow buses on the road after a summers' absence. There are preps being made everywhere it seems... folks are finishing off larger portions of their gardens and clearing them for a winter rest, chickens are growing and seem to know time is limited for gathering those bugs and greens before the snow flies, barnyards are freshened and hay mows filled with the last of the hay harvest before winter. There are just smells and actions that speak autumn all over. But, it's a bittersweet time for me. I miss all those things I've just mentioned. I know it's all a state of mind, really, but I have not been able to wrap my mind around a changing of seasons since moving here. Everything stays so green...and so wet...this time of year around us. I can pull out the autumn colors in flowers and garlands to decorate the house and give an illusion of autumn, but it's just not in my heart. I am just too wrapped up with seasonal changes. Yes, I have so many friends here in the South who would argue vehemently that there are changing seasons here, and there is a definite autumn. I guess my trouble is, I only know one kind of autumn in my mind. It's the only one I've ever known. It's hard to change a vision that is ingrained in a nearly-40 year old mind. So, this weekend, we are going to try to bring autumn to the homestead. I am gathering the fall fabrics to tuck here and there on a table, along a bookcase and near an oil lamp. I'm putting up a simple garland of flowers...all those beautiful rich tones I so love this time of year. We will be doing our evening devotions with the lanterns lit instead of the regular lighting...sort of creating that cozy feeling that autumn brings with it. My eldest daughter says that's fine...as long as I don't crank up the a/c so we all have to don sweaters and thick socks to really bring that feeling of autumn to real life! *** Barak Says HE has more experience than Sarah Palin...Who's right? You do the math! ***
Posted by ~Rebekah~
03:02, Wednesday, September 3, 2008 .. Posted in In The Readers' Den .. 6 comments .. Link Barak was in office 767 days when he announced he was going to become president. Sarah Palin was in office 635 days when she announced she was going to be a candidate for Vice Presidency. If they get the presidential slot, she'll have 24 MORE days experience on January 20, 2009 when she'd enter Vice Presidency than Barak if he became president. Since Baraks Candidacy, he's raised about 21million dollars a month for his state. Sarah Palin? As Governor of Alaska she has 1.025 BILLION. That's right, BILLION, she's been handling which is 47 TIMES as large as Baraks. Barak Obama has 2500 Employees working for him. Sarah Palin? Handles 77,000 employees which is 31 times as large as Barak handles. SO, if Barak, as he's stated on the news recently, is more than qualified with experience to be president of the United States, then Sarah Palin is 31 to 47 more times qualified than Barak. You do the math!
YOU as an individual American Citizen have a Freedom and Right to vote for whomever you want. YOU have that right and really the OBLIGATION to your children and children's children, to uphold your duty as an American Citizen. I don't care who you vote for! Democrat, Republican or a Third Party you have an obligation and freedom from our Founding Fathers, to participate in electing your government leaders. Take time to educate yourselves on all parties candidates running for office and REALLY look past "special interest groups" who help to form your opinions without you really knowing it. Find out what each candidate stands for and vote according to what YOU stand for. What do you stand for? Who do you stand for? If someone walked up to you today and asked what you stood for could you answer yourself? Or would you answer the way you were taught by someone else? Understand that this is America. We have certain freedoms that our Founding Fathers founded this country on. One with pride and accomplishment. In helping others and learning to be neighbors even if we disagree with one another. President George Washington said that if we become "Party Oriented" instead of Americans United, we would falter as a Country of freedom. United we stand, divided we fall. Use your freedom to vote wisely. Vote for The United States of America and not by Party Loyalty. Enjoy that freedom. Some don't have it. Blessings to you everyone! Rebekah
Homestead Snapshots...
Posted by HandsNHearts
04:46, Tuesday, September 2, 2008 .. Posted in Around the Homestead .. 3 comments .. Link Not sure how good these will be. I'm not what you would call tech-saavy in the least. Even joking, one probably wouldn't call me that. My 'techie' is off in Arkansas, so I'm all you have when it comes to sharing pictures here. I'm using the video camera (it takes still shots as well) and working to figure out how to upload them...it's slow-going, to say the least.
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