Staking Tomatoes

This year we decided to try a new way of keeping out tomatoes off the ground.

Table Runner Quilt

I finally finished my table runner quilt!!!!!!

Life Is a Bowl Full of Cherries

Its cherry season here in Michigan and I went and picked cherries last weekend. I have never done this before so it was a new experience.

Blessings

This is just a person post about me and my husband and how God always has a plan.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to everyone. I wanted to say I'm grateful for our country and those who have fought for our freedom and those who continue to fight for our freedom. Thank You!!!!!!

DeCluttering Your Home

I’m glad I’m finally done with the large task of decluttering my house and mini barn!! It took a couple weeks to finish it since I worked on it my spare time and not everyday since it can be overwhelming. 

Crop Damage

We went out to weed after dinner last night and this is what we found in the garden- Crop Damage.

Strawberries

I love the beginning of summer when strawberries are ripe for the picking. I generaly just make strawberry jam but this year I also wanted to freeze strawberries for strawberry shortcake and strawberry topping for homemade cheesecake (yum).

Update About Our Chickens

We've had a lot going on the past couple weeks. As you know we got meat chickens last week (see here) well 3 of them died on Saturday. My husband went out to go check on them and they were already dead so now we are down to only 4 meat birds. I guess I will ordering some this week. We aren't sure of the cause of death but some of the birds we get from our local farm auction aren't always the healthiest but that's just a risk you take. Most of the birds we get from the auction are fine but we've had our share of unexplained deaths but that's part of homesteading, right?

The other week we picked up some layer chicks at the local feed mill. We got 15 Isa Browns, 2 Buff Orphington's, 1 Americana, 5 Blue Cochin's. We've had these for about 2 weeks and haven't had any problems. Though we have may layers right now our thoughts are to keep some of the new ones and either sell the current layers we have and/or raise the chicks until their pullets and sell we're not super sure. These chicks are doing great!!!

Our First Meat Chickens

We just got our first meats chickens this past Saturday. Of course we were ready to get them since my husband built the chicken tractor the other week (see Chicken Tractor) but I wan't expecting to get them this weekend.

Chicken Tractor

It seems like every time I go to the grocery store the price of all natural chicken would go up and the quality would go down. Last week when I purchased the chicken it was the last straw I went home and told my husband that we need to start raising meat birds. We currently do have layers birds but not meat birds so this will be a new adventure.

Planting Our Garden

I was so excited that we got to plant our garden this week. It feels so great when you stand back and look at what you have planted and get a feeling of accomplishment. Also knowing what you just planted will being you many rewards later.

First Ever Made From Scratch Pie

I just baked from first every made from scratch pie. I have to admit I was always intimidated about making the crust so I always bought the ones in the refrigerator section. This weekend I decided I would take on the challenge and make it myself.

Eggs, Eggs and More Eggs

Since spring has really kicked in we have been getting between 5-6 eggs a day. Well now we have been getting between 8-9 a day and the other day we got a dozen in one day!! We now have 6 dozen eggs in the fridge and that's after I gave my mom and the feed mill owner 2 dozen each. This week we are going to start eating more egg incorporated dishes.

Tilling Up the Garden

I'm delighted to say that we tilled up our new garden this past weekend. We had to move our location of the garden because we got blight two years in a row. The blight affected our tomatoes big time two years in a row. Some of the tomatoes would only half ripen, they would split open before they were ripe or they would fall of the ripe before they would ripen and never ripen after that.

Chicken Run Fence Pt 2

I'm so happy to say that we have finally finished our new larger chicken run!!! The ground was finally thawed 3 feet down this past weekend so we were able to sink the posts.The chickens love it since there's not only a sunny part but also a large shaded part since it partially in the woods. We decided to leave in the large tree limbs since they love to climb on the them.

Being Frugal with Health and Beauty Products

I do want to move towards more natural health and beauty prodcuts but I have much back stock to go thtough. Like I've mentioned before I'm a stockpiler (not sure if that's a word) however even though I may get it cheap I still use the items sparingly. For example I mark my disposaible contact box, contact solution, expensive shampoo with the date that I opened it. That way I can try to make those items last as along as they can.

Washing Eggs

I have to admit that before we got chickens I always assumed that the eggs are cleans no matter what. Well I was wrong. Most of the eggs are pretty clean but sometimes those hens like to lay in weird places or sometimes an eggs cracks and gets yolk on other eggs or sometimes  I don't even know how they get dirty.

Planning Your 2011 Garden

I'm sure most of you have already started planning your garden but I really haven't. I thought about but haven't drawn out a plan yet.  This will be our third year having a garden and we really haven't every drawn out a plan the past two years. This year I want to change that and want to get more out of my garden as far as fitting more plants it in.

What's On Your Plate?

As I made breakfast for my husband and I this Sunday it really dawned on me that I need to be more diligent in eating food that is grown on our own land or bought locally.  I made eggs with onion and peppers, hash browns, bacon, toast and pinto beans. Of all those items only the eggs, peppers and onions were from my land the rest was bought at the grocery store.

New Chicken Run Fence

This weekend we had beautiful weather and it once again reminded my why are we are trying to homestead.    The smell of the fresh air, the plants coming to life and being around the chickens really was beautiful. I admit sometimes I forget in the winter since we can't really do anything outside because of  all the snow, except shovel and snow blow.

Raising Chickens: Part 2- Raising Older Chicks

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Now that you have chicks that have fully feathered the next stage of raising chickens begins.  This next step what me and my husband call the "teenage stage” and at this stage we move our birds outside and in our transition coop. We came up with this when we already had full grown pullets and didn’t feel comfortable putting the chicks in with them. 

Joys of Canning with the Bounty from Your Garden

Ahh the joys of canning and reaping the rewards all winter long. I canned assorted jams including jalapeño jelly, tomatoes, salsa, peaches and applesauce. The rack above was completely full by the end of summer/early fall. With just my husband and I we have gone through a lot of the canned goods this winter. I hope my garden is successful this summer so I can more veggies. We're a little late planning our garden this year because of our work schedules.

So Many Goals

Goals, goals, goals. As homesteaders there are so many thinks to learn it can be very overwhelming so my husband and I made this list to remind us of the goals we need to achieve to become more self-sufficient. This poster is taped on our closet door in the bedroom so that we see it every day. There are over forty items that are on the list and here are just a few:

Stockpiling

All right I have to confess I'm a stockpiler. I was one long before I was a homesteader. I can't help it. It's almost an addiction. However isn't stockpiling part of being a homesteader? At first I didn't see it like that but I do now. You do need to be prepared for a disaster, lack of income, or do it just to save money. I have gotten away from stockpiling the convenience foods, cleaning products, toilet paper, paper products, feminine hygiene products to pretty much health & beauty items.

Craft Project: Fabric Panels

We'll techinally I don't know the name of these things but that's ok.

I’m really in the mood to redecorate my whole house but can’t spend a lot of money so I’m been thinking of what I can do. So to begin my redecorating journey I thought I would start with one room, my living room.

Raising Chickens: Part I-Raising Chicks

Like I have mentioned in my first post we have quite a few chickens and we have had our fair of raising chicks this past summer. We weren't really prepared for raising chicks like we should have been when we brought our first batch home. First off we really don't have a good place to raise them in a ventilated, draft free area.

My First Post

This is my first post on my new blog and I'm very excitited to share my journey with others. My husband and I have been trying to homestead for just over two years. We aren't were we want to be but it's long journey. We live in the country about 25 minutes from a large town on 6.5 acres. This was a large change from living in a large city in an apartment.When we first bought our house, four years ago, we didn't really have homesteading in mind we just knew we were tired of living in the city and wanted more space. After a year and half of living in the coutry we began to start homesteading with little things like reducing our propane and energy usage, hanging clothes to dry and just being more aware of what we are eating. Then we got 5 chickens (hens) and now we are up to 40 chickens (hens and roosters). I never has fresh eggs until then and I love them! We hope to add more livestock this year. Please stay tuned becuase I will be posting what I'm doing to have more self-sufficent lifestyle and to live the homesteading dream.