Heavenly Home
We have a winner!!! Finally ;)
I need a book like that for myself, but I will share it with the children if I win! Please put my name in the hat!
Hooray for you Eric/Purewater! :) Please contact me via email or message with your address and I will get it right away to The Hoffman's. Also if you are interested in purchasing your own Knot4Fun book. Check out the site.
Blessings, Chasity L. Burrell Senior Editor Homesteadblogger Common Sense Ideas for Going GreenOver the last several months I have gotten lots of email asking questions regarding how to teach kids green methods of doing certain tasks and making changes within the family to promote an earth friendly lifestyle. Many have asked for my opinions on going green and global warming. Over the next few weeks I will be posting answers to a lot of those questions while offering tips and ideas that promote simple ideas for green living. So no one is confused, I don’t have an answer to global warming. I do not take a side, because I don’t feel there is a side to be taken. The truth for me lies in a logical thought alone; the earth is a planet of clean resources. If those resources are abused, mistreated, and squelched into non-existence, the planet must change to accommodate. This means that you cannot cut down trees and other vegetation endlessly and recklessly at a quick rate and expect the air quality not to be affected. God made earth with a perfect balance to support life. Plants give off oxygen, which supports animal life. Animal life gives of carbon dioxide to support plants. Destroy this intricate balance without concern and there will be problems. God’s design for life is intricate and complex and we were given the task to care and respect His design (Gen 1:26-28 and Psalm 8:7); a simple concept in my mind. God in His omnipotence already knew what man would invent over the ages, how many humans would inhabit the earth, and how the earth would be treated. Yet, we have been given free will to follow His commands. So, my official stance is, live, but be careful and mindful as much as possible. So today I offer a few simple ideas for incorporating earth friendly lifestyle choices. Lift this topic in prayer. Ask God for wisdom and guidance on how He would use you and your family to care for His earth. Remember, every change takes time. If your family currently doesn’t have a focus on how many water bottles they dispose of, you will not change this overnight. Take it step by step and soon your motivation and mindset will be changed, because your focus is on glorifying God and respecting His creation, not because it is the politically correct thing to do.
Try incorporating one or two of these over the next month and your family will be well on their way to helping improve and maintain a healthful balance of the earth’s resources. These are my thoughts. Leslie Valeska ~Contributing Writer~
Herbal Hair RinsesBelow are recipes for 2 herbal hair rinses I plan to make today. I scribbled the directions down on index cards, and tucked them into my Idea Pile (I have a Recipe Pile, too....no files, just piles). I have no idea now where I got these... I need to keep better notes Elderberry Rinse 3 handfuls Elderberries 2 1/2 cups vinegar Bring to boil. Simmer 30 minutes. Strain. Use as final rinse. *My Notes: I wrote this just as my copy reads. Now I don't know if the recipe meant fresh or dry berries. I only have dry and I think I'll not use 3 handfuls...maybe 1 cup or so. I plan to use apple cider vinegar, and I think it might need to be diluted with some water. I'm just going to put mine in a jar and set it out in the sun for the afternoon. It's sure to simmer in the triple digit temps. today! Update: I handful of dried elderberries was about 1/3 cup...but I only added about 2 handfuls. They make the vinegar very red...might be a good thing, might be very colorful! I will dilute with water after it has simmered in the sun for a while.
Nettle Rinse 1 cup dry nettles 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup filtered water 6 drops rose essential oil Simmer nettle, vinegar, and water in a covered pan over a double boiler, for 1 hour. Cool. Strain. Add essential oil. Use as a final rinse. *Notes: Again, I think I'll just put mine in a jar out in the sun for the afternoon. I may try some different essential oils in different batches- rosemary, lavender, bergamot. Update: I had to add more liquid- probably more like 1 cup of water, 1 cup of vinegar. Anyone else have a favorite herbal hair rinse recipe to share with us? I love making things like this!
Blessings, Featured Blogger~USS Full QuiverCongratulations to this weeks featured blogger
USS Full Quiver  I just recently visited this blog and what a nice experience. Beautiful pictures, recipes, and just a sweet site here on Homesteadblogger. If you get a chance go by and give a congrats to our newest Featured Blogger... Blessings, Chasity L. Burrell Senior Editor Homesteadblogger Heritage Acres Homestead Raising PigsAs usual, I never get these up on the proper day but with the new little one, I try whenever I can and I've got a good topic. Since we are doing it, I thought pigs would make a good post!Pigs are most useful creatures, in my opinion. Two pigs raised per year provide a great deal of products and services for our homestead:
And a great deal of entertainment to boot!
There are many ways to raise pigs on the homestead. We have chosen to purchase feeder pigs, or rather, just-weaned baby pigs. They can be had in our area for $30 to $60 a piece, depending on breed, age, and demand. Lately, it seems they are getting a bit harder to find as more and more people are returning to home-raised foods.
Whether to purchase gilts (young females), boars (un-neutered males), or barrows (neutered males) is another choice you will have to make. We chose to purchase gilts this year to avoid the entire issues of neutering or not. There may be problems with boar taint in un-neutered boars. The procedure to neuter them is painful for the animal but does reduce the chances of taint. If you are interested in this issue, I suggest you visit Sugar Mountain Farm’s Blog. Walter has done extensive research on the issue of boar taint.
Our pigs are raised on the ground. We believe this is the healthiest way to raise pigs. Contrary to popular legend, pigs are not “dirty” and don’t, if given a chance, wallow in their own excrement. Even in a relatively small area, our pigs select a spot as their “bathroom”. They do not root, rest, or eat in that area. Pigs raised outdoors on the ground do need access to water so they can wallow. Wallowing keeps their skin clear of infections, prevents sunburn, and cools the pigs.
We gradually expand the pigs’ area as they get larger and work up the existing ground. We keep them contained with electric wire. Electric wire is very effective as long as the fence charger is fully functional. The wires should be gradually moved up as the pigs grow. Electric wire also affords opportunity to move the pigs to areas we want tilled.
What, how, and when to feed is another question. We have chosen to purchase a custom mixed feed from our local feed mill. It is roughly 12% protein. The recipe is:
The original recipe called for 35 lbs of a vitamin/mineral mix, 25 lbs of lime, and 25 lbs of salt. We found these additional items ended up in the bottom of the feed bowl uneaten and so eliminated them this time around. Since our pigs have access to the dirt, we figure they will get what mineral they need from there.
Our pigs also get excess skim milk, buttermilk, whey, and eggs. According to Morrison’s Feeds & Feeding, skim milk, along with corn, makes very good pig grub. And the pigs love it!
When and how to butcher is the final concern when raising pigs on the homestead. Last year, our pigs went to the butcher at 5-1/2 months of age. They were around 150 lbs live weight. This is officially called “BBQ size”. They were very tender and tasty although the cuts were small and there was very little fat for sausage and lard. This year we started earlier and plan to raise our pigs to at least 200 lbs. They will be 8 or 9 months old. We would like to have plenty of sausage and bacon for our Christmas visitors.
One day we plan to butcher our own pigs. This will give us more flexibility on cuts, skinning, etc. For now, it is convenient and cost effective to take them to our local custom butcher.
Raising any animal is a learning experience. It is always nice to visit, experiment, and talk to someone else who has done it before. So don’t be afraid to jump in there and try raising some pigs on your own homestead!
Kristin Hoffman homesteads with her family in the hills of Garden MiscellanyTGIF! Anyone else had that kind of week? The garden however, withstood the thunderstorms, hail, and the heat; and is looking much more perky than I look or feel today. I've seen lots of posts on your gardens and it seems most of you are doing well. Keep those posts and pics. coming, it is so much fun to "visit" other people's gardens!
Here's a little something I read in the Texas Gardener's Seeds newsletter: Did You Know... Earthworms are one of the most valuable garden assets we have at our disposal. An average earthworm will produce its weight in castings (poop) every 24 hours. A healthy population of earthworms can deposit up to 50 tons per acre of valuable organic matter each year. They will burrow as deep as 6 feet into the soil, breaking up heavy clay soils and enriching sandy soils. I did know that earthworms are great assets to the garden. Still trying to wrap my mind around that whole up to 50 tons per acre of organic matter...too much math for me. I think the key to that may be the "up to" part. I'll just stick to knowing that worms are our friends and try to encourage them to live in my garden! A couple of thoughts on medicinal herbs- "Herbs were the original medicines"....from Lasagna Gardening with Herbs by Patricia Lanza. Some historical books I've read lately have had the "herbs as medicine" theme in them. Made the books all the more interesting to me. Yesterday I heard an herbalist say that it is often quoted "we all used to be vegetarians"; but she said actually, "we all used to be herbivores". Interesting, especially if you begin to look into the nutrional and medicinal properties of herbs. Eating our medicine sounds much more palatable than some of the pharmaceutical options today! Please note that I'm not advocating everyone going back to eating only the "green herbs bearing seed and fruits of a tree yielding seed"; those days have passed away. But, I do think it is a good idea to add as many herbs as you can to your diet. Your food will taste great, and you might just find you don't need to visit the doctor very often! Don't forget that wise old saying- "An apple a day keeps the doctor away!"
Seeds & Squash In case you missed it yesterday, I posted a link on my blog to some fun with seeds. I love the creative things people come up with! Who knew seeds could be so much fun. Speaking of seeds...I have 2 huge, ugly, yellowish-orangish (as my girls would say), cucumbers on my table... I'm going to see about using those for saving seeds. Someone needs to be more thorough when picking the veggies, I do believe! Which reminds me of a cute story one of the ladies at church told me about her son. Her son, now in Heaven, was very careful about his garden. He always kept all the weeds pulled, checked on the vegetables every day... just kept a very neat, well groomed garden. Well, he had a neighbor who wasn't quite so thorough in his gardening, but he did have a sense of humor. When he discovered a huge zucchini growing in his garden, he snuck over to her son's nice & neat garden and placed the jumbo zucchini in amongst the plants there. Her son never did figure out how that huge squash got by him! So, if you discover an oversized zucchini in your own garden...First of all, see if it is still attached to the plant
Have a great weekend, plant some seeds, pull some weeds, and stay out of my zucchini patch...! Blessings, Homemaking Wisdom from Long AgoI found the following excerpts from a book published in 1877 to be both humorous and very truthful still today. The book is titled: TRIED AND APPROVED. You can read the entire book online here. from p. 332 Housekeeping... Housekeeping, whatever may be the opinion of the butterflies of the period, is an accomplishment in comparison to which, in its bearing on woman's relation to real life and to the family, all others are trivial. It comprehends all that goes to make up a well-ordered home, where the sweetest relations of life rest on firm foundations, and the purest sentiments thrive. It is an accomplishment that may be acquired by study and experiment, but the young and inexperienced housekeeper generally reaches success only through great tribulation. It ought to be absorbed in girlhood, by easy lessons taken between algebra, music and painting. If girls were taught to take as much genuine pride in dusting a room well, hanging a curtain gracefully, or broiling a steak to a nicety, as they feel when they have mastered one of Mozart's or Beethoven's grand symphonies, there would be fewer complaining husbands and unhappy wives. The great lesson to learn is that work well-done is robbed of its curse. The woman who is satisfied only with the highest perfection in her work, drops the drudge and becomes the artist. There is no dignity in slighted work, but to the artist, no matter how humble his calling, belongs the honor which is inseparable from all man's struggles after perfection. No mother who has the happiness of her daughter at heart, will neglect to teach her first the duties of the household, and no daughter who aspires to be queen at home and in her circle of friends, can afford to remain ignorant of the smallest details that contribute to the comfort, the peace and the attractiveness of home. There is no luck in housekeeping, however it may seem. Every thing works by exact rule, and even with thorough knowledge, eternal vigilance is the price of success. There must be a place for every thing and every thing in its place, a time for every thing and every thing in its time, and "patience, patience," must be written in glowing capitals all over the walls. The reward is sure. Your husband may admire your grace and ease in society, your wit, your school-day accomplishments of music and painting, but all in perfection will not atone for an ill-ordered kitchen, sour bread, muddy coffee, tough meats, unpalatable vegetables, indigestible pastry, and the whole train of horrors that result from bad housekeeping; on the other hand, success wins gratitude and attachment in the home circle, and adds luster to the most brilliant intellectual accomplishments. Besides that first line, I think this was my favorite part: There must be a place for every thing and every thing in its place, a time for every thing and every thing in its time, and "patience, patience," must be written in glowing capitals all over the walls. Perhaps I should do a little writing on the walls today!
Even if you don't have time to read the book, do go over and read the dedication...I love it! Blessings,
It's Giveaway Time!!!!!!One of our own Front Porch Blog Team Members has offered to give away a COOL book!
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I'm ready for....well, something other than what's been happening in my world this week. 
Maybe we should change that to an apple and some herbs...
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