Homesteading
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Why We Do What We Do
Yesterday on Facebook, my husband posted the following: I know very few free range humans. Instead, most are very domesticated humans. If you live in the city your environment is not free range but you may meet the USDA criteria for “cage free”. TyWiggle I thought that was pretty clever. To that he received the following response from a friend of ours, who stayed with us for a few months in 2016: …you are also a slave to your work. Like you barely spend any time with your family and you are a workaholic. At least you were when I lived with you. You may be free in some ways…
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Beast and Birds Showdown
While sitting on my back porch this morning, I saw two large black birds standing in our garden adjacent to our hen-house. I squinted and got up from my seat to get a better look, and I saw that they were vultures, just standing there beside our well-house. I went out to shew them away and to see why they were there, thinking there were probably dead animals out there. But when I got to where they were, I saw all our birds (chickens, ducks and turkeys) alive, standing at the fence on the outside looking in at them. It was like they were having a staring contest — a…
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The Cost of Our Milk
Our kids love cereal, particularly our boys. I think they would eat it all day, every day if I let them. But I don’t. However, I’m fine with letting them drink as much milk as they want. That’s because our milk comes from our own animals. This is a chore my husband is not particularly fond of, and he often wonders if the cost of obtaining that milk is truly appreciated by all those who consume it. So, in the interest of having our kids better understand the cost of our milk, I started having them recently go out with my husband each time he milked and be a part of the process.
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Transplanting Chickweed
My youngest son has been struggling lately with sleeping all the time, and I believe part of his problem is that he is not getting enough of the proper nutrition he needs. Since we prefer to get our nutrition from the food we eat, as opposed to popping pills, my husband referred us to the garden for some fresh greens. Chickweed We all love this edible weed, commonly known as chickweed, and it’s pretty easy to identify. So, my husband started cultivating it to grow in our gardens. This bout with excessive sleep, coupled with our need for homegrown greens in the winter, prompted my husband to start our family on a new project. Moving Our…
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Homesteading Tool Must Haves – Forstner Bit
When it comes to boring deep holes in wood, it is hard to beat a Forstner Bit. Spade Bits You probably have some spade bits to go with your drill. These are fine for limited use. They dull easily and are not easy to sharpen. The spade bit seams to overheat quickly. They jam up suddenly at that can be a knuckle buster. Holes sometimes get out of round when the bit travels too quickly while drilling. Hole Saws You may also be familiar with hole saws. These are good for sheet goods like plywood and sheet rock, but are limited if you need to put a number of deep…
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Putting Up A Post with a Harbor Freight Trencher
Ty’s been single-handedly doing a lot of work around these parts for several years now, but he has had a faithful companion to help share the load: his Harbor Freight Trencher. While the trencher has had its share of maintenance required, Ty has definitely gotten his money’s worth in having it. Check out his most recent project with this pal of his:
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The Beginnings of Our Beekeeping Journey
In late February Ty and I attended a 3-day Beginning Beekeeping class taught by our County Extension Agent. It was my first exposure to learning anything about honeybees. Personally, I have always had an aversion to bees in general, and I never paid much attention to learning anything about them. I just knew they stung, and I didn’t want to get stung. When we first moved into my grandparents’ home over ten years ago, they had big azalea bushes by the front door, and I always hated going through the front door in the summer because these giant furry bees (bumble bees) would be lingering right there, buzzing loudly. So, I typically just…
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Big Picture Plan: Keeping the Dogwoods
Yesterday the Wiggles went out into our woods. The lesson was about the Dogwood. This tree is a valuable component in my long-term Land Stewardship goals. It thrives as a naturalized understory tree on southern/eastern aspects in mid slope areas. It seems to like moist and richer soils, if there is such a thing on unmanaged Oak and Hickory woodland in central VA. The need for managing the land in three dimensions has become one of my criteria as I attempt to maximize land output while maintaining as low an input as possible. The land is a solar collector. The land that captures and retains the most energy will by…
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Family Project: Identifying Dogwood Trees in the Woodland
We have two beautiful Dogwoods in our front yard, one nestled between the outbuildings behind our house, and dozens scattered throughout the woods that border the back of our property. They are not only aesthetically beautiful, but also very well-mannered. Requiring little to no input or maintenance, they enhance the overall landscape we are aiming for. Given their medium size and their preference for dappled shade, they fill a void in the three-dimensional space without being problematic, providing dappled shade themselves. While the fruit of this species is not meant for human consumption, the trees provide fodder for the birds and animals in their natural habitat as well as our…
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Breakfast is Served: Eggs a la Wiggle
This morning on our day off from work, my husband served me this delicious dish. He calls it Eggs a la Wiggle. 🙂 For the past several months, my husband has been using his culinary gifts in creating delectable dishes containing our farm fresh eggs and grass-fed beef, with cheese and garden greens purchased from the local grocery store. This morning he made his way out to our gardens to gather fresh greens, some of which he planted last season and some this past December. These beautiful greens are what you see in the above masterpiece. 😛 Here is a gallery of the ingredients used and the process by which he assembled the final product:
