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I Smell a Skunk...Broody hen, loose feathers, broken egg shells and a faint smell of skunk lingering in the air...We had a hen who became broody and put a total of 8 eggs underneath her. She chose to sit under some very old doors that were leaning against a wall of a very old building, formally known as the "hog b�rn". She sat and sat. Our daughters marked the calender 21 days from the time she began to sit in eager anticipation of the hatching of those eggs. Daily they gave her some grain and freshened her water. Until one morning, they ran inside to inform me that there were a bunch of loose feathers lying on the ground next to broody hen and there were a few broken eggs shells. Upon further inspection, I concluded we were dealing with a skunk (the odor gave it away).Bless little broody hen for sticking with her four remaining eggs. She must have put up a fight, for I know skunks are capable of killing chickens. We put up screens and boards to protect her while my husb�nd set a trap. The next day, the girls disappointingly announced that the rest of the eggs had been eaten, broody hen left her nest, and the trap had been ignored. My husband put a water hose into the hole that was on the opposite side of the hog barn. We know the skunk has been residing in this hole for we have noticed its lovely scent before. Prior to the broody hen incident, my husband set a trap many times tyring to trap the thing. However, we mistakenly thought the thing had left after many failed attempts at trapping it and the absense of its odor. This time with the hose on full blast in the skunk hole, my husb�nd stood with gun cocked ready to rid ourselves of the egg destroying varment. We waited and waited. Nothing. Plan B: he filled in the hole with dirt. So far, we have had no further egg robbing. We can hope and pray the thing has permently fertilized the ground or moved on to greener pastures. In Indiana, red-t�iled hawks and raccoons were the culprits we warred with as they made meals out of our chickens. Skunks are yet a different predator that we are learning about here in Minnesota. We learned they are capable of digging underneath fencing to get to your chickens and eggs. Oh well, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away... The Farmer's Wife 09:24 - 2006-May-26 - comments {0} - post commentDid Adam Smell Like That?Last week, my husband plowed and disked some ground in preparation for a pumpkin patch. The girls and I were walking up the driveway after getting our mail and visiting Grandpa and Grandma as he was finished the disking. The soil looked so rich and dark. The smell of freshly plowed ground drifted our way. Such an earthy smell, not offensive at all. I told the girls, "Just think, God made Adam from dirt like this." My six year old was silent a moment, then reflected, "I wonder if Adam smelled like this after God made him?""And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). And for those like my husband there is just something about the soil that draws him. He was made from it to cultivate it in a very literal sense. He is an agronomist. He is an agrarian, a Christian agrarian. The complexity and chemical structure of the soil fascinates him. Bringing it into b�lance so it can produce healthy food for us challenges and motivates him. Since his boyhood days, the soil has drawn him. To see him subduing it and cultivating it in order to bring fruit forth from it is part of who he is and how God made him. I love watching him plow and I love watching our daughters as they frolic joyfully barefoot behind him through the freshly plowed ground. "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it" (Genesis 2:15). Grateful for good, healthy soil, Lisa 06:28 - 2006-May-12 - comments {1} - post commentMinnesota!!!!!Five weeks ago, we made the move from Indiana to Minnesota. We sold our house and had a week and a half to pack and move for the new owners to take possession. We had a few friends who graciously helped load the moving truck, livestock trailer and pick-up truck. What a blessing that was. One family even sent us off with a song they had harmonized and that is when the tears came. What a blessing to hear the beautiful voices of this family of 7 harmonize together as they blessed us with Scripture in song.And then we were off. We must have looked a bit hill-billy driving on the interstate. My husb�nd drove the huge moving truck while I drove the pick-up and livestock trailer that was packed to the brim with some of our stuff along with our goats, chickens, dogs and cats. I did received some interesting looks! Our daughters loved it and the Lord blessed us on that 15 hour drive in that we did not have any wind to struggle against at all through any of the states. We were without electricity for a little while after moving. It was a bit like camping out and we made the most of it. For the first several nights, we slept in John's folks home until we had the generator up and running. My husband has gotten much done and he impresses me with his ability to do anything and everything, a true farmer. We now have meat chicks that will be ready to butcher and sell in about a month. We have egg layers from which we will sell eggs in about 5 months. We also have a pregnant sow. We want to keep a tradition alive that has been passed down from John's Hungarian grandmother to his parents as we learn about how to make Hungarian sausage this fall. Our garlic is doing beautifully and we have potatoes and onions in the ground. The rest of the garden is underway. John has plowed a field for corn he bought from a local farmer which will be used to feed the animals who need it. We are thoroughly enjoying our time together and we have never been busier in our lives. With increased work load comes increased appetites. I am learning to keep up with the demand. I understand my grandmother more and more. She used to cook huge breakfasts for her agrarian family which gave them a bit of a boost to make it through the day. Oh, that I could talk with her now! I plan on blogging more regularly now that my family is settled in. I have only touched the tip of the ice berg with this one. I love the new look of Homestead Blogger and am enjoying catching up on what is happening with everyone. Have a blessed day, Lisa 04:07 - 2006-May-8 - comments {3} - post commentI Smell a Skunk...Broody hen, loose feathers, broken egg shells and a faint smell of skunk lingering in the air...We had a hen who became broody and put a total of 8 eggs underneath her. She chose to sit under some very old doors that were leaning against a wall of a very old building, formally known as the "hog b�rn". She sat and sat. Our daughters marked the calender 21 days from the time she began to sit in eager anticipation of the hatching of those eggs. Daily they gave her some grain and freshened her water. Until one morning, they ran inside to inform me that there were a bunch of loose feathers lying on the ground next to broody hen and there were a few broken eggs shells. Upon further inspection, I concluded we were dealing with a skunk (the odor gave it away).Bless little broody hen for sticking with her four remaining eggs. She must have put up a fight, for I know skunks are capable of killing chickens. We put up screens and boards to protect her while my husb�nd set a trap. The next day, the girls disappointingly announced that the rest of the eggs had been eaten, broody hen left her nest, and the trap had been ignored. My husband put a water hose into the hole that was on the opposite side of the hog barn. We know the skunk has been residing in this hole for we have noticed its lovely scent before. Prior to the broody hen incident, my husband set a trap many times tyring to trap the thing. However, we mistakenly thought the thing had left after many failed attempts at trapping it and the absense of its odor. This time with the hose on full blast in the skunk hole, my husb�nd stood with gun cocked ready to rid ourselves of the egg destroying varment. We waited and waited. Nothing. Plan B: he filled in the hole with dirt. So far, we have had no further egg robbing. We can hope and pray the thing has permently fertilized the ground or moved on to greener pastures. In Indiana, red-t�iled hawks and raccoons were the culprits we warred with as they made meals out of our chickens. Skunks are yet a different predator that we are learning about here in Minnesota. We learned they are capable of digging underneath fencing to get to your chickens and eggs. Oh well, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away... The Farmer's Wife 09:24 - 2006-May-26 - post commentDid Adam Smell Like That?Last week, my husband plowed and disked some ground in preparation for a pumpkin patch. The girls and I were walking up the driveway after getting our mail and visiting Grandpa and Grandma as he was finished the disking. The soil looked so rich and dark. The smell of freshly plowed ground drifted our way. Such an earthy smell, not offensive at all. I told the girls, "Just think, God made Adam from dirt like this." My six year old was silent a moment, then reflected, "I wonder if Adam smelled like this after God made him?""And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). And for those like my husband there is just something about the soil that draws him. He was made from it to cultivate it in a very literal sense. He is an agronomist. He is an agrarian, a Christian agrarian. The complexity and chemical structure of the soil fascinates him. Bringing it into b�lance so it can produce healthy food for us challenges and motivates him. Since his boyhood days, the soil has drawn him. To see him subduing it and cultivating it in order to bring fruit forth from it is part of who he is and how God made him. I love watching him plow and I love watching our daughters as they frolic joyfully barefoot behind him through the freshly plowed ground. "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it" (Genesis 2:15). Grateful for good, healthy soil, Lisa 06:28 - 2006-May-12 - post comment
Minnesota!!!!!Five weeks ago, we made the move from Indiana to Minnesota. We sold our house and had a week and a half to pack and move for the new owners to take possession. We had a few friends who graciously helped load the moving truck, livestock trailer and pick-up truck. What a blessing that was. One family even sent us off with a song they had harmonized and that is when the tears came. What a blessing to hear the beautiful voices of this family of 7 harmonize together as they blessed us with Scripture in song.And then we were off. We must have looked a bit hill-billy driving on the interstate. My husb�nd drove the huge moving truck while I drove the pick-up and livestock trailer that was packed to the brim with some of our stuff along with our goats, chickens, dogs and cats. I did received some interesting looks! Our daughters loved it and the Lord blessed us on that 15 hour drive in that we did not have any wind to struggle against at all through any of the states. We were without electricity for a little while after moving. It was a bit like camping out and we made the most of it. For the first several nights, we slept in John's folks home until we had the generator up and running. My husband has gotten much done and he impresses me with his ability to do anything and everything, a true farmer. We now have meat chicks that will be ready to butcher and sell in about a month. We have egg layers from which we will sell eggs in about 5 months. We also have a pregnant sow. We want to keep a tradition alive that has been passed down from John's Hungarian grandmother to his parents as we learn about how to make Hungarian sausage this fall. Our garlic is doing beautifully and we have potatoes and onions in the ground. The rest of the garden is underway. John has plowed a field for corn he bought from a local farmer which will be used to feed the animals who need it. We are thoroughly enjoying our time together and we have never been busier in our lives. With increased work load comes increased appetites. I am learning to keep up with the demand. I understand my grandmother more and more. She used to cook huge breakfasts for her agrarian family which gave them a bit of a boost to make it through the day. Oh, that I could talk with her now! I plan on blogging more regularly now that my family is settled in. I have only touched the tip of the ice berg with this one. I love the new look of Homestead Blogger and am enjoying catching up on what is happening with everyone. Have a blessed day, Lisa 04:07 - 2006-May-8 - post comment
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Description Sharing our thoughts, events, ups and downs, as we restore a once profitable farm to its former greatness as a Christian agrarian family. Home User Profile Archives Friends Lighthouse Farm Our DVD's for homesteader's Homestead Series e-books Lighthouse Farm Podcasts No NAIS Recent Entries - Pig-headed or chicken-hearted???? - Health care - the way it used to be - The Egg Hog - Back in blogdom after chasing sheep - Ode to Winter 2007 - Chicken and Hog DVD's are now finished!! - Video clip of the birth of a piglet - News about Haitian friends!!!!! - Authentic AgricultureTM - Welcome! - A Peaceful Night in the Pasture - Big Sale at The Old Schoolhouse!! - Rendering Lard - Hog Butchering Time - John Ray - Founder of Biology - A Breath-taking Field Trip - Fat and Sassy - Real Men Eat Quiche - Green Tomato Recipes - Harvest - Two Cents Worth on Pinching Pennies... - Cockle burrs and stinging nettle a blessing? - Gourmet Meals At The Farm Table - Seeds Worth Saving - Sweet cartoon - Commercial rice supply has been contaminated - Spermicidal Corn - Agricultural Science Fiction Horror Flick or Truth? - SImple Entertainment - "Gardening is like a treasure hunt!" - Pigs don't stink - Diggin' For Gold!! - Rain - a Blessing or a Curse? - My Sheep Know My Voice - er - Chain Saw... - The Old Farm Dog - An Alarming Nightime Visitor - Farming Magazine - A Pig's Nest - Meager chicken harvest - Bacon + Garlic = Piglets? - A Rare July 4th Tribute to Farmers - Fencing in more pasture - Three months on our new place.... - Blood suckers in Minnesota :( - Miss Bacon and Rocky Mountain Oysters - Sheep without a shepherd - Haying with my man! - Mink solutions, anyone? - Goat meets pig... - I Smell a Skunk... - URGENT!! Please forward!!!! - Did Adam Smell Like That? - Minnesota!!!!! - Problem solved - God is good - The Rat Trap and One Happy Girl - New Podcast - Farm Restoration - The Beginning - An Honorable Gentleman Has Died - Why teach our children about agriculture? - Cheap, Safe Food??? - New NAIS links worth reading - Old Tractors Never Die - A Lawyer comments on Constitutional Rights and NAIS - Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks - Big Bellies and Big Bags - Hosting Haitians on the Homestead - Minnesota, Here We Come (after we sell our house) and "the Chip" - And God saw that it was good - Greetings |