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A Post on Choosing Heritage Breeds
Over at ModerHomesteaders.net they did a small post on choosing heritage breeds for livestock. I thought it was very informative and not surprisingly if I were to get a cow I would want a Scottish...
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Great Info on Dressed Out Weight of Farm Animals
I often ask people who I think are in “the know” how much meat you actually get from the average animal when you butcher it. Here is everything in one spot, with breeds to try as well. Great info....
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Packing and Orchard Planning
So in an effort to try and be as ready as possible to move when we finally get things ready out there, I have been trying to move as many of the things that we are keeping but don’t use on a daily...
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Orchard Phase One… Complete!
So I was able to borrow my dads truck on Friday while my mother-in-law watched the kids so I could go pick up some apple and peach trees. I decided to use only trees from Tractor Supply as they are...
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Watering and Wrapping the Orchard
I was able to sneak out to the homestead Friday morning for a few minutes and water and wrap the trees. The reasoning behind wrapping trees is to keep mice and voles from stripping off the bark and...
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Hive Update, Still Active
On the day we took our forest walk I took this short video of the beehive. The bees were really active. I apologize for the fuzziness of the video at the end, I didn’t realize that you have to tap...
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Hive Video, This Time in Focus!
We were out at the homestead today to get the building permit posted (Yeah!!!!!!!!) and while we were there I wanted to take a video of the hive using the focus this time. It was a much cooler and...
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4 Block Rocket Stove
I saw this shared on Living Off the Grid’s Facebook page. Cinder blocks are typically around a dollar so this is a really cheap, really durable way to make a rocket stove. You could easily use one of...
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We Are Getting a Sheep!
I happened to be perusing the local Craigslist farm and garden section the other day when I happened upon an ad for bred ewes. I forwarded the link on to my brother-in-law who happens to be my...
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Book Review – A Guide to Raising Llamas
I have somehow managed to find time to read A Guide to Raising Llamas by Gale Birutta over the last month or so. This is another in the line of Storey’s Guide Books. As with other books in this line...
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Dealing with the Aftermath
Saturday was spent trying to get back to normal. I spent the morning cleaning up after the butchering that was done yesterday and packaging up the things that needed to go into the garbage. I still...
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Chicks and Lawn
So the whole “permaculture” type lawn seed mix has had me thinking. I called a local feed store and talked to someone there about making me a custom mix. I figured it would be easier to talk about it...
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Beyond Blessed, and a Name has been Chosen
I am blessed in more ways than I can count. One way that was evident this weekend was when our amazing friends came over for our inaugural Homestead Harvesters gardening day. With the fruit shipment...
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One Set of Trees has Been Planted
I have been fretting about getting the rest of the spruce trees planted. I probably wouldn’t have had time this weekend, and I wanted to get them in the ground ASAP. As I mentioned I ordered 200...
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I Built a…. Box?
Last Friday came and by the time I realized it was the day our chicks were scheduled to be delivered it was already evening and the feed store was closed. Saturday was so busy I forgot, and they were...
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Glorious Day
Today was a good one. The weather was great, I was able to be outside, and I was productive. My mom came over for a few hours so I could take advantage of the weather. I first tamped all the wood posts...
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Strawberries, Chicks, and Trees, Oh My!
Many times, as soon as I get up in the morning, I will quickly check my Facebook feed. I figure if something important has happened while I slept it will show up there. Often, the post at the top of...
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Picture Perfect
This past Saturday was another Homestead Harvester day. Our family is so blessed to have such good friends as part of this group. It is energizing both in what we get done and the community that is...
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Photo Update and Rain
Today it rained pretty much all day. That’s good news for everything that was planted over the weekend. Almost all the plants are showing great signs of life. I also stopped at Tractor Supply and...
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The Shearer Cometh
I am not what anyone would call an experienced sheep shearer. My experience is limited to trying to save wool and shearing a dead sheep with scissor/shears. Then the debacle of last year and trying...
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