Winter has reared its ugly head again. I am not sure why we are always taken by surprise, thinking that fall will last all the way into spring. We have been warned by the weather people that there was a chance of snow this weekend. Tonight Phil went outside to have his goodnight smoke and said there were wet snowflakes falling. I decided not to listen to him and went to bed. It is now 11:30 and I am awake because I went to bed to early. We have at least 2” of snow on the ground, and the wind is blowing like crazy. I hope that this won’t last long. I don’t like being cold. I don’t like when I can’t grow anything. I don’t like it when there is so little daylight I can’t see it except on the weekends. I love the summer when I come home from work and stay outside for another 4 or more hours. Now I come home and it is almost dark.
When I first started talking about keeping chickens Phil put his defenses up, and pushed away from that for a very long time. This spring he gave in and built a coop for me. I found 2 chickens on Craigslist to bring home. Soon after that Phil’s friend gave us another chicken then a few more. I found another 10, bringing our flock up to a level that we needed to sell the eggs. We enjoy the chickens so much … naming the chickens and watching them play in the yard. They are a pain in the back side sometimes. Picking and scratching at things we don’t want them to, but for the most part they are just cool to hang out with. Early in October I found 3 baby chicks for free and brought them home. Phil decided they needed to live in the garage (just like every other baby animal we have brought home). They are now almost 2 months old and just moved out of the garage into the barn pen. He is very worried about them … and misses an animal in the garage. I think I need to find a new baby or two to bring home for him.
Last week I found an ad on Craig’s List for layers … and I had to bring them home. I went to see them after work this week. Phil was tired and decided not to go with me. I drove out to a beautiful area of Iowa to find the chickens. When I got out of the car and walked to the area the chickens were in I saw a carcass hanging from some chains. (Thankfully it was a deer waiting to be butchered). I was actually a little nervous when a big guy who could barely walk started yelling about the rent being late and how the money I paid would go to him. I got through it and found layers for $3 each. I went out there to bring 10 home, but ended up with 18! I was happy to get them into my car and get out of there!!!! We have this great "chicken box" I found at an auction a few months ago. It is an antique but works great!
We are starting to be in demand for eggs …. And honey .. and garden produce. We haven’t made a lot of money yet, but I can see where this can go if we play it right. One person said today he will pay twice the cost of store honey to buy what we produce, because it is real and honest. The eggs … the following I have is at work and one other regular customer. I hope someday we will have a real “following”. The chickens have been paying for themselves with the eggs we sell.
I wasn’t able to post this last night because we had no internet service. That is one of the pains of living in the middle of nowhere. We have satellite TV and internet service. We loose it during storms or just when it feels like going away. We pay as much or more as we did in the city, and have very spotty service.
I am excited that we are having a cold gloomy day because the day is mine. I am going to be able to stay inside and get some chores done that I have been putting off, and make some jerky. One of the things I have been wanting to do is make soap (Yep from lye). I haven’t done that in years. I have been working on cleaning the beeswax and want to use some of that in the soap. I also want to work on making some lip balm with the beeswax. Some of the things I NEED to do are clean the basement and my office. Both need to be organized!!!!
I hope we get heat soon (we got the furnace “fixed” last month and have NO heat now). The heater works well in the living room, but the office is FREEZING!!!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Chickens and Olivia
I wish I could share the sound and the sights of my chickens as they come to visit. Caelum and I were putting in some fence to keep the chickens out of the garden today. He pooped out on me I was left alone to put the fence up. The chickens came to visit me one by one. They would walk close to me and talk for a minute then walk away. It seemed they were trying to tell me something …. If only I could understand chicken.
All the kids came out last night and we had a pretend birthday for Olivia. Her birthday is Thursday but she will be with her family, so this was our time with her. We made little pizzas. I love doing this with the kids. I put all the “fixings” in bowls and let the kids make what they want. Last night we used some mini bagels as the base with homemade pizza sauce. They were very creative. Olivia made a face with her pizza. Ruby really liked the Canadian bacon, and Caelum and Grandpa loved it all. After the pizzas we opened her present and enjoyed the cake and ice cream. She had a wonderful birthday.
Ruby and Olivia marched in the Veterans Day parade today in Bellevue. They were so excited. Delana bought lots of candy to throw out to the crowds. We didn’t go to the parade but I wish we would have.
So ……. Today was a working day. We got a lot of stuff done. Caelum and I got the gardens put to bed. He got to drive the tractor …. AND chase the chickens. We worked well together and had lots of time to talk. It is so nice to hang with Caelum and just talk. He opened up to me about lots of things in his life, and what he is feeling ….. it was a wonderful day,
I am off to bed. Such a long day
All the kids came out last night and we had a pretend birthday for Olivia. Her birthday is Thursday but she will be with her family, so this was our time with her. We made little pizzas. I love doing this with the kids. I put all the “fixings” in bowls and let the kids make what they want. Last night we used some mini bagels as the base with homemade pizza sauce. They were very creative. Olivia made a face with her pizza. Ruby really liked the Canadian bacon, and Caelum and Grandpa loved it all. After the pizzas we opened her present and enjoyed the cake and ice cream. She had a wonderful birthday.
Ruby and Olivia marched in the Veterans Day parade today in Bellevue. They were so excited. Delana bought lots of candy to throw out to the crowds. We didn’t go to the parade but I wish we would have.
So ……. Today was a working day. We got a lot of stuff done. Caelum and I got the gardens put to bed. He got to drive the tractor …. AND chase the chickens. We worked well together and had lots of time to talk. It is so nice to hang with Caelum and just talk. He opened up to me about lots of things in his life, and what he is feeling ….. it was a wonderful day,
I am off to bed. Such a long day
Friday, October 29, 2010
October updates
I think we finally have things under control and fall is here to stay. The temperature was at 24 degrees when I left the house at 5 this morning. BURRRR, I think everything is frozen now. I haven’t dug the carrots yet but I think I need to get that done before the ground freezes. I have been working at getting the mulch layer down, but by the time I get home, change my clothes and talk to Phil for a few minutes it is almost dark. We have one more week before daylight savings time changes, so I will have NO daylight after that. The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend so I plan to get the mower out and start chopping the leaves and hay. It will be ready to rock in the spring.
I started planting garlic last weekend. Hummm, I don’t think I realized how much I was purchasing. I have about ½ of it planted ….. We are going to have a ton of garlic next year. If it produces well, I will have another product we can grown and sell locally. My plans to make Pooh acres self-sufficient are far from realized but I can see how it can be done with a lot of hard work.
We are refinancing to get the interest rate down well below 4%. I would never have imagined it would get that low. We are also refinancing to a 10-year mortgage. We started out with a 30-year mortgage 3.5 years ago. I think we are doing pretty well on that. I hate being in debt. It totally stresses me out. It is good to see that I will be able to pay this place off before I retire. I seriously thought I would have to work until I was 80 to make the payments. If we sell either one of the rental houses the proceeds will go directly toward the principal of this house.
Our chickens are self-sufficient already. They are laying about a dozen eggs a day. I have a customer who buys every egg I can bring her. We have set that money aside and opened a “chicken account”. Everything we buy for them will come from that account and all the egg money will go in. My egg lady is also interested in buying butchered chickens next summer. I have another one or two people who also want to buy meat chickens. I think if we can figure out how to house and raise 100 babies next spring we can start making a profit! We will need a bigger coop for them…. The work never stops. We can even do two batches of meat chickens if we start early enough in the spring.
We had some scary visitors last night. Caelum, Ruby and Olivia came out to trick or treat us. They were all dressed up in very frightening costumes. It was so nice to see them all. I think they get bigger every time I see them. Caelum is so excited to be as tall as I am, and I believe he is going to achieve that pretty soon. We took them to the garage to see the baby chicks. They were so excited that the chicks would eat out of their hands. They are all a little frightened when the chicks flap their wings and make loud noises!!! We are going to have them next Friday night. I am so excited. Olivias birthday is the following week so we will likely celebrate her birthday at the same time.
This is week 3 of going to the gym in the morning before work. The trainer we are working with has worked us hard. I thought I was doing a good job of working out on my own .... but I am doing much better with her. Today my arms and shoulders hurt a lot! I am seeing some results that you can only see with my clothing off ... that is a very good feeling. I wish I could afford to continue working with the trainer .... but I afraid after my 6 week commitment that will be the end, unless I can make a HUGE sale and justify the expense.
Phil came into the garden with me tonight and used the riding mower to chop straw and leaves for me. It is amazing how quickly he can do it compared to when I chop it with the push mower. It is going to be great tomorrow to spread out the chopped mulch .... and spread more hay for the winter. We need to haul in some manure to feed the soil too! Ugh, we have way to many things to get done in 2 days!!!
I started planting garlic last weekend. Hummm, I don’t think I realized how much I was purchasing. I have about ½ of it planted ….. We are going to have a ton of garlic next year. If it produces well, I will have another product we can grown and sell locally. My plans to make Pooh acres self-sufficient are far from realized but I can see how it can be done with a lot of hard work.
We are refinancing to get the interest rate down well below 4%. I would never have imagined it would get that low. We are also refinancing to a 10-year mortgage. We started out with a 30-year mortgage 3.5 years ago. I think we are doing pretty well on that. I hate being in debt. It totally stresses me out. It is good to see that I will be able to pay this place off before I retire. I seriously thought I would have to work until I was 80 to make the payments. If we sell either one of the rental houses the proceeds will go directly toward the principal of this house.
Our chickens are self-sufficient already. They are laying about a dozen eggs a day. I have a customer who buys every egg I can bring her. We have set that money aside and opened a “chicken account”. Everything we buy for them will come from that account and all the egg money will go in. My egg lady is also interested in buying butchered chickens next summer. I have another one or two people who also want to buy meat chickens. I think if we can figure out how to house and raise 100 babies next spring we can start making a profit! We will need a bigger coop for them…. The work never stops. We can even do two batches of meat chickens if we start early enough in the spring.
We had some scary visitors last night. Caelum, Ruby and Olivia came out to trick or treat us. They were all dressed up in very frightening costumes. It was so nice to see them all. I think they get bigger every time I see them. Caelum is so excited to be as tall as I am, and I believe he is going to achieve that pretty soon. We took them to the garage to see the baby chicks. They were so excited that the chicks would eat out of their hands. They are all a little frightened when the chicks flap their wings and make loud noises!!! We are going to have them next Friday night. I am so excited. Olivias birthday is the following week so we will likely celebrate her birthday at the same time.
This is week 3 of going to the gym in the morning before work. The trainer we are working with has worked us hard. I thought I was doing a good job of working out on my own .... but I am doing much better with her. Today my arms and shoulders hurt a lot! I am seeing some results that you can only see with my clothing off ... that is a very good feeling. I wish I could afford to continue working with the trainer .... but I afraid after my 6 week commitment that will be the end, unless I can make a HUGE sale and justify the expense.
Phil came into the garden with me tonight and used the riding mower to chop straw and leaves for me. It is amazing how quickly he can do it compared to when I chop it with the push mower. It is going to be great tomorrow to spread out the chopped mulch .... and spread more hay for the winter. We need to haul in some manure to feed the soil too! Ugh, we have way to many things to get done in 2 days!!!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Gleaning
One of the things I take pride in, is the way I choose to gather/forage/glean and save finances as well as the earth. I need tons of mulch/compost for the garden. Last fall I discovered drive by leaf stealing. It is not actually stealing, because it has been put out for the trash. Over my lunch break I drive around the neighborhoods close to work and put the huge recycle bags in my SUV. I haven’t had a problem with them falling over, so I don’t really have a problem with putting these dry bags in my car. Last year I made a game of trying to fit in “just one more”. I believe the most I was able to fit in were 16. Yesterday I saw my first bags and gathered 12 of them. Today I filled up the car again. Hopefully tomorrow I can start chopping them and start the fall mulching process.
I had planned to spend tomorrow working like a crazy person and getting some things done. Phil had planned on going to go to an auction with Rudy and I had the day to myself. I planned to paint the deck, replace the rotten board on the deck, get the gardens stripped and ready for winter (I still have potatoes to get out of the ground!!!!), and maybe have time to start getting the berry bushes transplanted. I love Phil, but I get so much more done when he is not at home.
I am happy to report that the final tally on honey is 51 pounds. I am hoping these hives make it through the winter. I feel I am doing better with my management of the hives, but I am still not a pro.
This will be our first winter with the chickens. I am sure they will be OK. Chickens have been farm animals for 100’s of years. We have a nice tight little coop. They will be able to get out and play in the snow. I don’t remember much about the chickens when I was little, but I am told they love to play in the snow. We lost a chicken last weekend. I have no idea what happened to her. She was running around the day before and didn’t seem to be having any problems. That night (Saturday?) Phil was shining his flashlight as he went out for a smoke and said he thought there was a dead chicken. Sunday morning he found her laying in the chicken run. I was sad to see her dead. I had planned to butcher her pretty soon, but it was a waste to just have her die.
(This is from the next morning since I didn't post last night) I slept in so late today. 4 hours past my normal wake time of 4 AM. It felt wonderful. I must admit my everything hurts like crazy today. I started some new exercises yesterday and my arms (shoulders) feel like they are going to fall off. Today I am going to work in the garden and throw a lot of straw and leaves. I will most likely hurt even worse tomorrow!! The pains of getting old.
I had planned to spend tomorrow working like a crazy person and getting some things done. Phil had planned on going to go to an auction with Rudy and I had the day to myself. I planned to paint the deck, replace the rotten board on the deck, get the gardens stripped and ready for winter (I still have potatoes to get out of the ground!!!!), and maybe have time to start getting the berry bushes transplanted. I love Phil, but I get so much more done when he is not at home.
I am happy to report that the final tally on honey is 51 pounds. I am hoping these hives make it through the winter. I feel I am doing better with my management of the hives, but I am still not a pro.
This will be our first winter with the chickens. I am sure they will be OK. Chickens have been farm animals for 100’s of years. We have a nice tight little coop. They will be able to get out and play in the snow. I don’t remember much about the chickens when I was little, but I am told they love to play in the snow. We lost a chicken last weekend. I have no idea what happened to her. She was running around the day before and didn’t seem to be having any problems. That night (Saturday?) Phil was shining his flashlight as he went out for a smoke and said he thought there was a dead chicken. Sunday morning he found her laying in the chicken run. I was sad to see her dead. I had planned to butcher her pretty soon, but it was a waste to just have her die.
(This is from the next morning since I didn't post last night) I slept in so late today. 4 hours past my normal wake time of 4 AM. It felt wonderful. I must admit my everything hurts like crazy today. I started some new exercises yesterday and my arms (shoulders) feel like they are going to fall off. Today I am going to work in the garden and throw a lot of straw and leaves. I will most likely hurt even worse tomorrow!! The pains of getting old.
Monday, October 11, 2010
WHAT SMELLS SO BAD?
Yesterday we needed to drop the truck off at the mechanics plus get gas in my car. I told Mable and Molly they could ride with us. I put them in the back of the SUV and got in. The stench in the car was horrible. I thought it must be the garbage I was planning to drop off today so I took it out of the car. On the way to town the odor didn’t get any better, in fact seemed worse. We stopped at the gas station first and Phil got out to pump my gas (he is very sweet to do that) and stuck his head in the window and almost threw up. He said Maggie has a big spot on her back and she must be the source of the smell! I believe she must have been rolling in chicken manure ... but the chickens don't smell THAT bad! He got some soap and water and tried to clean her up a bit. It really didn’t help at all. She spent the night outside because it was to late for her to have a bath and not be cold all night. I hope that by the time I get home from work today Phil will have given her a bath.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Another post I forgot to "publish"
Chickens running around …. Compost “brewing” ………… fresh vegetables and fruits maturing. These are the things I have become accustomed to. Autumn is in the air, the nights are much cooler. The garden is dying back, and I can feel winter creeping ever closer day by day. As always I am not ready to loose my hold on the summer, and growing lots of wonderful foods.
I wrote that a few days ago before our first frost. Saturday evening the temperature got down below freezing and killed off most of the garden. This morning when I left for work the windows of my car were covered in frost. Yes, fall is in the air. I hope winter is not totally unkind again this winter.
Yesterday was somewhat of a day of passage for me, I butchered our first chicken. I talked to our neighbor about coming over to help me. I just needed a little confidence to do it. We made an appointment for Sunday afternoon. I came in and got everything ready for Ralph. The water was boiled. I had sharp knives, cutting board, a bucket for the innards, and a machetti. Ralph didn’t show up. I was determined to do it anyway. I was nervous but I did it. I got it finished pretty quickly (I think) and put that rooster in the freezer. I know now that I can do it again.
Today I brought home 3 little chicks that I found on Craigs list. Some kids got them at the fair a few weeks ago thinking they would be fun, not realizing how much work they are. I didn’t realize how little they were when I said I would take them. Phil said he wanted to let them stay in the house where it is warmer. They are very loud … and cute. I am not sure what Molly and Mable think of them … they just sit and watch them. Hopefully they are big enough to go in with the other chickens soon.
I am feeling the panic of not getting things done in a timely manner. I needed to transplant berry bushes this fall and get the fence up for them to climb on. I haven’t gotten even one of them moved. The honey should have been harvested several weeks ago but it is still out there. I am afraid it is going to get to cold, plus I still need to treat the bees for parasites (again before it is to cold) and feed them to bring them back to strength. I have been picking up the potatoes as the chickens uncover them but they still need to be dug. The sweet potatoes also need to be dug. I don’t have any manure to feed the soil and we didn’t even shop for a tiller so I will again be doing it all by hand. (Our neighbor offered to do it, but I can’t let him). Phil tells me I am slowing down, and I guess I am but not that much!
(On to the present time the following weekend) With that being said .......... and my neglecting to post this, I must be slowing down!
Tomorrow morning I start a new adventure. I have been going to the gym faithfully for several months now. I have also been following the weight watchers plan and have dropped about 30 pounds. For the last month nothing has changed .... and I know it is all me, I am falling back into bad eating habits, and skip days going to the gym. I can't blame anyone but me. Tomorrow morning at 5:30 am I am going to be in Omaha at the gym with 3 other women and a personal trainer. We are going to meet twice a week for 6 weeks. I have never done anything like this before, I am nervous. I am friends with one of the women but don't know the other 2. I am at another leg of my journey to become healthier and smaller. I truly don't want to die from something I could have prevented like high blood pressure or a heart attack. I truly want to live a long healthy life and enjoy everything I have worked so hard for. I am looking forward to retirement. I wish I had been able to save more when I was younger, but there was nothing extra to save. I want to be able to live out my retirement years without wondering if I will be able to pay my bills. OK, enough of this. I need to go finish digging potatoes!
I wrote that a few days ago before our first frost. Saturday evening the temperature got down below freezing and killed off most of the garden. This morning when I left for work the windows of my car were covered in frost. Yes, fall is in the air. I hope winter is not totally unkind again this winter.
Yesterday was somewhat of a day of passage for me, I butchered our first chicken. I talked to our neighbor about coming over to help me. I just needed a little confidence to do it. We made an appointment for Sunday afternoon. I came in and got everything ready for Ralph. The water was boiled. I had sharp knives, cutting board, a bucket for the innards, and a machetti. Ralph didn’t show up. I was determined to do it anyway. I was nervous but I did it. I got it finished pretty quickly (I think) and put that rooster in the freezer. I know now that I can do it again.
Today I brought home 3 little chicks that I found on Craigs list. Some kids got them at the fair a few weeks ago thinking they would be fun, not realizing how much work they are. I didn’t realize how little they were when I said I would take them. Phil said he wanted to let them stay in the house where it is warmer. They are very loud … and cute. I am not sure what Molly and Mable think of them … they just sit and watch them. Hopefully they are big enough to go in with the other chickens soon.
I am feeling the panic of not getting things done in a timely manner. I needed to transplant berry bushes this fall and get the fence up for them to climb on. I haven’t gotten even one of them moved. The honey should have been harvested several weeks ago but it is still out there. I am afraid it is going to get to cold, plus I still need to treat the bees for parasites (again before it is to cold) and feed them to bring them back to strength. I have been picking up the potatoes as the chickens uncover them but they still need to be dug. The sweet potatoes also need to be dug. I don’t have any manure to feed the soil and we didn’t even shop for a tiller so I will again be doing it all by hand. (Our neighbor offered to do it, but I can’t let him). Phil tells me I am slowing down, and I guess I am but not that much!
(On to the present time the following weekend) With that being said .......... and my neglecting to post this, I must be slowing down!
Tomorrow morning I start a new adventure. I have been going to the gym faithfully for several months now. I have also been following the weight watchers plan and have dropped about 30 pounds. For the last month nothing has changed .... and I know it is all me, I am falling back into bad eating habits, and skip days going to the gym. I can't blame anyone but me. Tomorrow morning at 5:30 am I am going to be in Omaha at the gym with 3 other women and a personal trainer. We are going to meet twice a week for 6 weeks. I have never done anything like this before, I am nervous. I am friends with one of the women but don't know the other 2. I am at another leg of my journey to become healthier and smaller. I truly don't want to die from something I could have prevented like high blood pressure or a heart attack. I truly want to live a long healthy life and enjoy everything I have worked so hard for. I am looking forward to retirement. I wish I had been able to save more when I was younger, but there was nothing extra to save. I want to be able to live out my retirement years without wondering if I will be able to pay my bills. OK, enough of this. I need to go finish digging potatoes!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Honey harvest
I have put off harvesting honey long enough! I knew that I had to get it taken care of this weekend, so when I came home from work yesterday I dressed in my stylish bee clothing complete with hat and veil as well as my elbow length gloves. The bees really don't like it much when I take their honey away from them. In fact they were pretty darn upset with me. I am thankful I have protective equipment, if I didn't I would probably be in a lot of trouble.
We left all the frames outside until dark .... letting the bees go back to their home. Thankfully we had to deal with very few bees. We shooed some of them home a few we caught in a jar until morning then sent them home.
We actually harvested this afternoon. I was excited to use the new electric extractor. I thought it would make the harvest a lot faster ..... I am not convinced that it did. I think that Phil was able to harvest about as fast (with the hand crank) as we were with the electric.
We were sticky but happy to have the honey in a bucket.
I don't know how much honey we have yet ..... but it is wonderful
We left all the frames outside until dark .... letting the bees go back to their home. Thankfully we had to deal with very few bees. We shooed some of them home a few we caught in a jar until morning then sent them home.
We actually harvested this afternoon. I was excited to use the new electric extractor. I thought it would make the harvest a lot faster ..... I am not convinced that it did. I think that Phil was able to harvest about as fast (with the hand crank) as we were with the electric.
We were sticky but happy to have the honey in a bucket.
I don't know how much honey we have yet ..... but it is wonderful
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)