Laura's Homestead Adventures

Family Grain Mill

2012-02-09T19:35:00.001-05:00

Even though I enjoy all the conveniences of a fully electric home I hope one day to be at least partially solar powered if not completely. I am fascinated with knowing how to get by should the luxury of electricity become unavailable for whatever reason. I also just really like the idea of passing along basic skills to future generations. Things like making candles, soap, cheese, gardening, and cooking real food from scratch should not be things our kids have no basic understanding of. I admire those who live "the good life" to quote Helen and Scott Nearing and strive to get closer to the ideal working homestead that I envision.

One of the items I have had on my wish list for years I finally purchased last Fall. I would love to have the Country Living Grain Mill since it seems to get the best reviews and honestly the old fashioned design makes it look like what you think a grain mill should look like but it is really pricey. After a lot of research I found The family grain mill which is a good quality hand grinder for under $200.00 that can be attached to a Bosch mixer or a kitchen aid mixer should you wish to power it by electricity. Here is a video demonstration of the grinder in action.
.http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Family+Grain+Mill+Video&mid=E151DFF488C1254A2FD8E151DFF488C1254A2FD8&view=detail&FORM=VIRE1
I see offered by many retailers online so it pays to shop around for the best deal.

I have been hand grinding Hard Red Wheat Berries to make whole wheat flour, my entire family has taken turns grinding flour and I am often surprised to discover a freshly ground batch left by someone who felt the urge to expend some energy. Grinding flour is not easy work I have to say, but it is a great way to relieve tension as well as a great bicep workout. I mounted the grinder to my counter edge in the kitchen. I found that a simple plastic lid like the kind on a coffee can fits nicely over the open bin so I can leave unground berries in it all the time. I grind the wheat into a canister I keep on the counter below it so any time the urge strikes me I can grind wheat for a while. The Family grain mill is also supposed to grind other kinds of flour like bean, oat and rice flour and oat flakes but I have not tried any of those yet. I have been making the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day recipe http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx experimenting with half wheat /half bread flour since my family likes a fluffy loaf but I like the grainy goodness of whole wheat. I have not been able to get the really light fluffy kind of flour you buy in the market and I am not sure if it needs to be sifted or if it has to do with the quality of the grinder or the type of grinding element it uses, but I find the flour very useable. I plan to experiment with making flat breads and pancakes over an open fire outside just because I think those would a good substitute for baked bread if needed in a pinch. I have had it for a few months now and it seems to be of good quality that will hopefully hold up over time.

Pinerest Addiction

2012-02-07T14:33:00.003-05:00

I can not believe I have allowed myself to find yet another thing to consume my time online since I try so hard to limit my mindless foray's into the land of the lost but I am loving Pinterest so much.
Here is one of the latest things I have pinned to my boards Spicy Black Bean Burger. I have the beans soaking now.

For the recipe click on my link to pinerest and get started making your own fun boards
http://pinterest.com/laurapike/
When you click on someones board pictures it usually takes you to the original source of the picture.
It is a lot of fun.

Pantry Organization Dried Goods.

2012-02-05T17:05:00.000-05:00

I wish I could remember which preparedness blogger originally pointed me in the direction of these great inexpensive containers but they have really helped to get me started organizing a working pantry, one of my goals for 2012.

I ordered them from US Plastics
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/search.aspx?search=PB%20safety&page=1

here are the three items I have ordered so far and the prices which I found to be very reasonable in comparison to similar brand name containers sold in local stores.

Item No.
66425

Clear Container With Handle and Cap

160 oz Clear Container 7.5” x 5.13” x 10.5”.

Comments: Standard Ground (UPS, USPS) $2.21 each

72035

11187

32 oz. PVC Pinch Grip-It Jars w/ Lid

Comments: Standard Ground (UPS, USPS) $1.35 each

66579

PVC Clear Canister With Lid

20 Oz Canister With Lid, 3.3" x 3.3" x 4.85"

Comments: Standard Ground (UPS, USPS) $1.28 each

The containers are the same as the kind you might find in your Warehouse stores like Sam's club holding dried goods, sturdy and washable.

Later down the line I may venture into long term storage in five gallon buckets for the same kinds of dried goods but this is a nice start for now. I still keep the flour, sugar and other baking goods in canisters on the counter since I those often but these would probably hold two five pound bags of flour or sugar.

I store things I know I will use and cook with regularly.

Canned goods are another area that I plan to slowly build up. My short term goal is to have enough on hand to feed my family and my animals without going to the store for 1 month and then build from there. This will include water which I find to be the biggest challenge.

February Already?

2012-02-05T14:17:00.000-05:00

Today I hope to have a never leave the house kind of day, my favorite kind of days since they are so rare. At noon it is already 79 degrees outside and I have been out and planted a flat of strawberries and one bunch of green onions in the holes of my cinder blocks that surround a couple of the raised beds. Little by little the garden is becoming more of what I knew it could be. I somehow broke my digital camera so I am left to take pictures with my phone these day which I find less satisfactory but for now it works, these are some pictures of the garden right now.

Yesterday was my grandson Cadyn's 4th birthday and I was happy to be off work and able to join in the celebration. It was a beautiful springlike day here in Florida and we had a crowd of guests. I saddled up old Red and took the 9 kids on horse back rides. My oldest grandson Logan who is now 6 has learned to ride on his own off of the lead rope which thrills me to death. None of my own 3 children like to ride so the idea that I might have a future riding buddy in the making really makes me happy. My daughter in law made pulled pork sandwiches and potato salad. It was a perfect day.

The new years projects are going well, I got rid of 10 boxes of stuff out of the garage last week, so I am ahead on that goal of one box per week. This past week I planted carrots, spinach and more broccoli. So the goal of planting at least one new thing per week is well on track. I am brainstorming on how to find a place to plant seed potatoes soon. I don't have anymore raised bed space and don't want to spend money on materials right now so I am going to have to get creative. I certainly have the room here in this spread of property so I am sure when I get out and look around I will come up with something. More on this topic to follow.

On another note I was recently inspired to join Pinterest by another blogger Debbi and I have been having so much fun with it. It is like your favorites folders on your computer but with pictures which seems to make it so much more fun to save and organize the things you find on the web that spark your interest, its addicting really. You have to join the site and wait for an invite which takes about a day by email, but it really is interesting once you set up your own boards. You create your own virtual bulletin boards for pinning up things you clip from the Internet your favorite blogs and social media sites. /http://pinterest.com/laurapike/

The New Year

2012-01-18T09:05:00.002-05:00

While I hate the idea of putting any unnecessary pressure on myself in the form of resolutions there are definitely some things I want to accomplish this year and since my blog is my way of journaling my thoughts I guess I am gonna put those hopes out there.

First, I really want to get back to blogging again, I have seem to have hit a wall last year and the longer I was away from it the harder it became to jump back in, so this is me jumping in. I miss the interaction with my fellow bloggers, I miss actually putting a thought down in writing, it somehow helps me to clarify my direction and focus in life zeroing in on who I really want to be and where I want to go.

I got divorced October 25th 2011 and that day marked the end of a long hard journey but now that it has all finally sunk in, I realize I came through it alive and well, and the old saying really is true, what does not kill you only makes you stronger. So, 2012 marks the beginning of a new life for me. I feel no need to reinvent myself only to be more genuinely me, to truly live the life that nurtures my soul and to be more present in the moment and to make sure that my family and friends know I am there for them and support them.

Next, like so many Americans I need to lose weight, and I want to do it in the most sensible of ways by eating more whole foods, fruits, veggies, lean cuts of meat, less simple carbs and by increasing my activity. Losing one half to a pound of week would be lovely but if I maintain and don't gain but have made choices I feel good about then I am fine with that. I absolutely refuse to jump on any diet trends I want to make lifestyle changes that don't make me feel like anything is off limits. I love food I just need to love it in a little more moderation.

Declutter, declutter, declutter, that has got to be the theme of 2012, I am drowning in 29 years worth of stuff.
With the divorce somehow I became responsible for all of our accumulated junk and man do I have a hard time parting with that stuff,, but it is really time to get rid of lots of it. So in that spirit I am again aiming for small manageable goals, to rid stuffed to the rafters garage of one box a week. Since I am starting late in January I figure I can manage to get rid of at least 40 boxes this year giving much of it to local charities. that should be doable right? I just have to learn to let go, I am such a pack rat and I really want to simplify my life.

I want to amp up the gardening efforts even more, maybe add a couple of more raised beds. The fall garden has been absolutely wonderful, my daughter in law and I have grown broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, collard greens,onions and herbs this fall and winter with really good success. I have discovered my grandsons will eat any green veggie when mixed with fruit as a smoothy via my Vitamix. Getting ready order the spring seeds and start them indoors soon.

Professionally, I have a goal to sit for my CCRN which is a certification for Critical Care Nurses that involves a really difficult test, so I plan to study for a year and take the test at the beginning of 2013 again not putting too much pressure on myself but taking it on in little chunks.

Lastly, I want to continue to focus on building up my pantry and cooking meals from scratch. I hardly buy convenience foods but there are some things my youngest son really loves like pizza and frozen burritos so I am hoping to convince him to learn to make his own versions from scratch, he likes to cook so it will be a fun project for us to experiment with together.

I am looking forward to the challenges of new year, I still am working way more than I want to be but for the next 3-4 years it is what I need to do to get to where I want to be so I will find ways to make it work and still have some quality of life. For me that means making sure to get plenty of rest, not allowing my inner critique to get the best of me and by reminding myself to be fully present at work, at home with my family, out with the horses and in the garden. I have so much to be grateful for, now I just need to focus on enjoying it all while working towards where I want to be say five years from now but that is topic for another day.

Finally Going Back to Work

2011-08-29T15:06:00.000-04:00

Tonight will be my first night back to work in the ICU after one month off recovering from my injury.
I considered myself blessed to have such a good job to go back to but boy being home was so
nice. Heres to hoping that 12 hourse passes quickly and that my patients are well cared for

Happy Birthday Christopher and Casi.

2011-08-28T14:27:00.003-04:00

Today we celebrate not one but two birthday's in our house. My son and his wife Casi are 28 today. We all think it is pretty special that they were born on the same day, my son in California and Casi here in Florida and that somehow they found each other. We know she was meant to become a part of our family.

Hook Rug Kit Give Away at Hungry Hook Primitives

2011-08-28T14:03:00.007-04:00

I love crafts that use recycled materials and have loved the primitive creative patterns seen on hook rugs forever but have never known anyone who actually makes them who I might learn from. Today one of the new bloggers I follow Farm Girl posted the following giveaway from another creative blogger at Hungry Hook Primitives.

http://hungryhookprimitives.blogspot.com/2011/08/rug-hooking-tutorial-lesson-1.html?showComment=1314554575232#c4130539824412402103

This blog explains in detail how to gather the supplies to begin making hook rugs including finding wool garments from thrift stores that can be used to make rug strips. If the rest of her tutorials are as easy to understand and as thorough as her first one I can't wait to read them. Finally I have a much clearer understanding of how these rugs are put together.

Visit her site and read yesterday and today's posts for a chance to enter her give away of one of the two kits pictured above.

Looks like fun.

The New Homestead Begins to Take Shape

2011-08-25T15:42:00.023-04:00

With my recent move from the suburbs to a more rural setting on five acres again I have decided that I no longer can be considered an urban homestead so I have changed the title of the Blog back to Laura's Homestead Adventures. Slowly, the pieces are beginning to fall back into place and I am beginning to see progress.

Last weekend I bought four young laying hens off of Craigslist and a starter coop for them with plans to build a larger movable chicken tractor very soon. The chickens are currently moulting but should begin to lay eggs again as the weather cools off in the next month or so.

Because we have mild weather usually well into December here in Florida we can grow a Fall Garden, we have the fall garden seeds started and sprouting and 3 raised beds in place one with a nice batch of green beans already on their way. My daughter in-law Casi and I planted Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Cucumbers, Pumpkins, Garlic, Cilantro, Basil, Oregano, Thyme and Squash Seeds and all are doing well.

The plans for fall include establishing at least 8 raised beds for veggies, continuing to can and freeze our produce as well as in season produce from our local farmers market.

I have eight meat rabbits in the freezer thanks to my gentleman friend who does not mind doing the dirty work for me with plans to continue to butcher rabbits all fall and winter. I know I will eat the meat and will share it with the boyfriend and his family but I am not sure I will convince anyone else in my family to eat it, they can't get past the cute factor. We have four does and a buck and their offspring in different stages of growth. I know for many the idea of eating rabbits is difficult but I feel like if I am going to buy and eat meat why not raise my own in humane conditions, well fed, well cared for right up until the quick end. Worldwide, rabbit meat is consumed routinely and it is a great source of protein for families that can be raised in a very small space.

I have not yet learned how to spin my angora rabbit wool into yarn yet but plan on trying to take a class this Fall or Winter to learn the basics. If I am successful at learning to spin the yarn I might think about adding a couple of more Angora bunnies, but I wonder how many bunnies one might really need to provide enough fiber for knitting projects. Ash, our little grey Angora has become such a wonderful pet, he lives in the house and loves to run around and jump in peoples laps to be petted. He is terribly spoiled.

Now that I have mastered canning salsa, jams and spaghetti sauce I need to learn how to pressure can things like soups, chili and meats so that is the next project.

I will continue to dry the herbs that I am growing and hope to learn to dry some fruits and veggies as well.

These are small beginnings but beginnings none the less and it is exciting to get back to doing the things I love. This week I am going back to work after being home for four weeks following my horse accident, I have loved being home even if it were not under the most ideal circumstances but at least I go back with a clear reminder in my head of what I work so hard to support and that makes it so much easier.

Canning Salsa

2011-08-16T12:44:00.009-04:00

Yesterday my daughter in-law Casi and I decided to can some home made salsa using the ball blue book recipe for zesty salsa which can be found at

http://www.cookingcache.com/dips/zestysalsa.shtml?rdid=rc1

The actual recipe that we used had been adapted to go with the canning starter kit that I bought at Lowes and used approximately half of the ingredients listed here. In the future we will make at least the full recipe or even double the recipe and fill 1 Quart jars, these small jars will be gone in no time, we called these little jars personal salsa jars since one person can easily polish one off all by themselves. Next time we will may try some variations like adding Black Beans and Corn. The flavor is amazing and it was a very successful first canning attempt for my daughter in-law. This time we used all store bought ingredient but I cant wait to do this with some of my fall tomatoes and peppers from the garden.

100th blog post.

2011-08-15T08:39:00.003-04:00

I just noticed that I had 99 posts so far so this post marks my 100th blog post.

When I started this blog it was because I was forced to be on bed rest after surgery and I have to laugh as I mark this occasion that I once again find myself on forced bed rest due to injury.

Today I looked at the tracker that I downloaded to this blog that shows where in the world the blog is being viewed from. It honestly is mind boggling to see people from everywhere and I do mean everywhere in the world reading about what goes on in my life and what I am doing on my humble little homestead. My kids and I were talking about all of the different countries represented as well as those from what looks like almost every state in the USA and once again we all had to concede that it is a small world and becoming ever smaller as we increase out ability to communicate effortlessly with people from around the globe.

To those of you that follow or simply stop in to visit my blog I want to say Thank You.
Thank you for the words of encouragement when things were rough, for the laughter when life is good, and for reaching out to let me know you understand my thoughts.
Thank you for sharing your lives with me through your blogs, pictures and videos, I feel blessed to have the ability to soak in the different cultures, different beliefs and words of wisdom, to see your successes, your failures, your heartache and joy and for being brave enough to allow others into your world day in and day out.

Unexpected Forced Vacation

2011-08-14T18:05:00.020-04:00

On July 31st I got up and out early to beat the scorching heat and get in some riding time.

I saddled up my two mares, my paint mare Karma and the Welsh/Paint Pony mare Lily both pictured here both of whom tend to be a little high spirited and hard to handle. The paint mare and I usually come to a understanding pretty quickly, I have ridden her frequently and had some of my best moments on the trail with her. That morning however, was not so pleasant, both mares were not behaving well even as I saddled them. But,stubborn woman that I am, I rode them both but not without a great deal of head throwing, prancing around, kicking, some rearing up and generally just being difficult.

After my initial rides on both of them I decided to spend some time working with the paint mare Karma to get her to stand still while being mounted, usually I have to have someone hold her while I get on her so she does not run off before I am fully in the saddle. After a repeatedly making her come to a full stop in front of my mounting block I thought she was going to finally cooperate but alas I was terribly wrong. Just as I swung myself over the saddle to sit she decided to take off in a full canter before I could fully catch my balance and find my seat. She ran directly along side of the fence where if I did not raise my right leg it would have been caught. My right foot was not yet in the stirrup since I had not time to place it there and I am unsure looking back on the event if that foot being free was a blessing or a curse in any case as my right leg came up instinctively to avoid the fence my saddle slipped to the left and I knew at that moment I was coming off of the horse one way or another. I have no idea really what happened because it happened so quickly but in a matter of seconds I hit the ground and hit hard. I immediately knew I was hurt but was able to after catch my breath and with the help of my family get into the house. It wasn't long before I knew I needed to head to the emergency room. I had severe pain in my neck and in my rear end.

Long story short, I ended up with some bad whiplash and a broken sacral bone, which is basically my tail bone, the large bone in the back of your pelvis. The whiplash began to ease up after a week but the broken bone has forced me out of work since the event, with the hopes of going back to work after the 26th of Aug. Standing, sitting or bending are very painful with laying on one side or the other in bed being the only comfortable position I can find I am forced to get lots of greatly needed rest and lots of time to think and reflect on where my life is going. Boy is that a scary thing to face.

I have asked myself over and over what went wrong that day and a couple of things could possibly have influenced the events of the morning. Besides being horribly hot and humid for so early in the day, both mares had had their hooves trimmed the day before and even though I was riding on soft ground it's possible they had tender feet.

Additionally, in my repeated attempts at getting the mare to stand still at the mount I had neglected to re-check the cinch which had loosened too much something I usually am so careful to do. Also I believe my high strung mare was pretty agitated by my exercises with her which I failed to fully realize. In any case I did not win this battle with my horse, I did not show her who was in charge and I was not as careful as I should have been.

It will be a long time before I will be healed enough to ride again and I had to admit to myself that I definitely don't bounce as well as I did when I was younger. I will have to really evaluate how best to be safe when riding again and how best to find a way to make these mares safe to ride whether it be being sent to trainers or spending a lot more time with them myself. I can't bring myself to consider finding them new homes, I love them both so for now I will be considering my options.

As for my time off, it's unexpected, its financially challenging, but it's nice to be home.

The event has really made me stop and think about people who live with chronic pain or illness and given me a greater sense of compassion for them. I know that this accident could have been so much worse and I am so grateful that it was not.

First Blog Post from my Droid Phone

2011-08-14T04:28:00.001-04:00

Just discovered the Blogger app for my phone that allows me to blog on the go. Amazing what can be done from this thing.

Drying Homegrown Herbs

2011-07-03T15:19:00.009-04:00

I had forgotten to post this the day that I did this project back in July. I still have a hard time with the arrangement of photos in my blog posts. But you get the idea here.

I have had this Excalibur Dehydrator for 20 years, I bought it at a yard sale for next to nothing but have only used it a handful of times over the years. Hopefully, that infrequency is about to change. Today I picked some very overgrown Basil from my little herb box off the back porch, rinsed it in a colander and spread it out over two trays to dry. The pics show the before and after, as you can see a large amount of fresh herbs condenses down to a much smaller amount when dried. Yes, herbs are cheap, you can buy them for less than a dollar at the store but there is a real sense of satisfaction in cooking a meal seasoned with home grown spices.

I have a surplus of Thyme and Oregano to do next.

I don't have a book to go with the dehydrator but I am sure an Internet search will give me some ideas on how I can preserve some of the other garden surplus. Anyone have any success with dehydrating fruit? If so I would love to hear from you.

Still alive and kicking.

2011-06-25T16:00:00.004-04:00

Dear blogging friends, I just want to say I am still alive and well. Life lately has really derailed my ability to blog and follow blogs. My family and I have been in transition again, as we neared the end of our one year lease we decided the place we were renting was not ideal for our large family.

Fortunately my daughter in law found an amazing home for us to rent on Craigslist. Five fenced acres with covered stalls for the horses, room for the dogs to run free, lots of gardening space and privacy out in the country. We are so much happier.

I will be relieved when all of the boxes are unpacked and we settle in better but if I have to rent I could not ask for a more ideal home. I could even have a dairy goat and a few chickens here.

I am very excited about what I will be able to do here.

We stubbornly moved every one of the big half barrel veggie plants we had going and we continue to get a steady supply of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and tomatillos which we don't quite know what to do with (they are extremely prolific). We also have eggplant and pumpkins coming along.

I am still working way too many hours but somehow I have managed to find a rhythm to it all and am making it work.

Summer came to Florida early this year and with a vengence, we have had consistent temps 95 to 100 degrees every day for about 2 weeks. We finally are beginning to get some regular rain, thank goodness because the whole place was beginning to look scorched.

So life goes on, I hope to catch up with your blogs and lives soon, I have missed my blogging pals,

Here's to a happy summer.

What kind of energy do you bring to the table?

2011-06-07T15:56:00.002-04:00

I heard someone say "you and only you , are responsible for the energy you bring into the room". I really like that and hope to keep it in mind as I go through the day in and day out grind, but man my energy really needs some coffee.

Introducing Ashton

2011-04-08T17:08:00.003-04:00

This little guy is my newest project, he is my first Angora Bunny, he is nine weeks old and my grandsons who name all of the animals are calling him Ashton, Ash for short. He will provide me with Angora fiber that I hope to learn to spin into yarn. I found a local woman who teaches spinning classes and how to dye the yarn and sells all of the tools for gleaning your own fiber. I am excited about this new endeavor. He came from a really nice young family who are just starting their rabbit business and they have handled him so much he practically leaps into my arms whenever I open his cage. I am in love.

Traumatic Day for Rocky

2011-04-08T16:18:00.003-04:00

My baby is growing up. With my busy schedule I try to handle little Rocky as often as possible, including picking up his feet. Today I had the farrier add him to the hoof trim regimen that I have done on my horses every six weeks. He was not a happy boy. He fought with everything he had, but in the end it got done. He is a sweet horse and I continue to enjoy the him for the surprise gift he was to me. I won't begin to be able ride him for about two years, I hope that he will eventually become the replacement trail horse for my trusty old horse Red who is now 27 and just beginning to show signs of his age, he will be a hard horse to replace, hopefully with lots of love and careful training Rocky will fill his shoes someday.

Mini Tornado

2011-03-31T12:48:00.002-04:00

Lots of rough storms blowing through here in Florida the past two days, was glad to be off work and hunkered down at home. Yesterday, a mini tornado blew all the tomatoes off the plants and some siding off of the house, snapped a little tree clean off like a match stick, but the family, horses, dogs and kitties are all fine and that's all that really matters. Hope you have sunny skies where you are.

2011-03-25T17:48:00.002-04:00

Today is my one day off, but since I worked the last three nights I was so tired and slept all day, so now I'm up at 4 in the afternoon and it's morning to me. Sadly I have but 4 precious hours of daylight left to make the most of. Such is the life of the night shift worker.

The weather here in Florida has been beautiful, Monday my kids and I went on a spur of the moment camping trip, we packed up and went to a local campground called Rainbow Springs, we had such a good time but could only stay one night, we are anxious to find time to make a few more treks out before the heat and humidity gets too bad.
The past few weeks here have warm but without the humidity that plagues us later in the year so we have been spending lots of time outside. My lovely daughter in law Casi has been bitten by the gardening bug, thank goodness someone else in my family sees the value in growing your own food.

Together we have begun to formulate a plan to begin building on the Urban Homestead idea here in our new home in the suburbs. So far we have planted two 4x6 raised beds with cucumbers,bush beans, bell peppers, yellow crookneck squash, zucchini and egg plant, our next project will be to fill a several half barrels salvaged from all my old farm with pepper and tomato plants.

I recently taught myself how to knit from a You tube video, it was much easier then I thought, however the price of yarn is outrageous so lately I have been thinking about Angora Rabbits for fiber which of course would mean I would have to learn to card and spin the fiber into yarn. Has anyone ever read the children's book "If you give a mouse a cookie"? I seem to keep going there.

What Are You Doing to Be Prepared?

2011-03-15T12:14:00.007-04:00

I borrowed this image from google images, I wish I could say it was stuff I have on hand, while I have a few things I am not nearly as prepared as I hope to be. I live less than 30 miles from a major nuclear power plant, would having Iodine tablets on hand in case something happened at the power plant be smart? No one wants to act out of fear or panic but rather to be rational and logical and plan for things that really could happen and that you can protect yourself and your family from.

The events in Japan have certainly gotten me thinking about how prepared my family is for any unexpected disaster natural or man made. I have to admit that I don't believe there is much of anything that the people of Japan could have possibly done to prepare for what has happened there but what about the things that might happen that we can prepare for?

Emergency preparedness has been a goal of mine for years and years but one that I never quite feel I have even scratched the surface of. Sure I have plenty of canned and dry goods but if hard pressed to come up with fresh water my family could only manage for a day or two, and that is not counting fresh water for my animals. Some of the bloggers that I follow have truly made preparedness a priority and I am in awe of what they have accomplished.

I know that like anything in life it all depends on how much importance you place on the thought and how much of a priority it is made. So today I am considering where to start and what items need to be acquired first.

So my question to you is what are you doing or have you done to prepare for the unexpected?

All I can do is Pray

2011-03-11T16:49:00.004-05:00

Today anything going in my world that I might want to write about seems so trivial in light of the terrifying news from across the ocean, I send out my prayers to all of those people impacted by this horrible event in Japan I know you all join me.

A note from the trenches.

2011-02-04T15:29:00.006-05:00

Work Work and more work, for those of you who might be wondering where I have disappeared to, that word is my life in a nutshell. Sad but true. Have been working two jobs focusing on doing what I need to do to keep it all afloat right now while I have all my kids under on roof. It won't be like this forever. My Urban Homesteading adventures are few and far between, the kids and I planted some Romain lettuce on the back porch, those little green sprouts coming up are such a nice reminder that the cycle goes on. I am still making bread regularly and spouting seeds in the window sill, but that's about it. I am reading a book on home cheese making but the thought of making it from store bought milk saddens me. I can't wait for the day I have milking goats again.

This month my colt Rocky will be six months old and I will wean him from his mama, which promised to be a traumatic experience for all. I will post pictures of him soon. He kept the blue eyes which makes him pretty unusual looking.

Hope all of you are keeping warm and well this winter. I pop in and catch up on your blogs when I can.

A Healthy Kitchen Window Project-Sprouts

2010-12-28T12:18:00.004-05:00

Home today trying to nurse a very nasty cold, my second one in only a short time uggg. I wanted to share these lentil sprouts I grew in a Jar in the kitchen window. I was itching to grow something that I could eat and since I am not ready for outdoor planting yet this was a quick and easy project. There are a bunches of videos on YouTube of people and their sprout projects and there are all kinds of jars and sprouting kits out there that people want you to buy but a mason jar with an open lid and a piece of clean window screen ( sold by the foot at the hardware store for pennies), worked just fine. I think the sprouts took longer then they should (about 5 days) because the house is not super warm. Although at around 70 degrees it is not cold either. All of the videos I watched said you should have sprouts in 3-4 days so I am not sure why mine were slow, but they did sprout and they taste fresh. These will be added to my salads and sandwiches this week and I have another jar in the window in progress. I am pretty sure just plain lentils from the supermarket will work just fine, I ordered these last year from a preparedness website, they came vacuum sealed in a Mylar type package but I don't believe they are any different, if anyone know the answer to that question please let me know.

Feeling good about the direction I am heading, one small project at a time.

Hope everyone is staying warm and safe through the rough winter weather, even here in Florida we are getting down in the very low 20s at night. Happy Monday!

Starting From Scratch

2010-12-26T12:35:00.004-05:00

I have always believed that the idea of homesteading is simply a mindset, meaning that a person can homestead anywhere under any circumstances, in the city or the country by making simple changes on a daily basis, deciding what their priorities are and how best to utilize the resources they have available to accomplish what they want.

Given the big changes in my life over the last six months and my new living arrangements, I have decided that my new years resolution will be to put my money where my mouth is and over the course of the coming year completely start over and see how many actual changes I can make in my lifestyle towards my goal of simplifying and getting back to basics and living the homesteading mindset.

I am am going to make a new list of goals for the year, and work towards them, blog about what I learn including my successes, failures, heartbreaks and whatever else comes along the way.

An update on my bread making post, I will no longer buy bread from the grocery store, I have actually incorporated bread making into my life in a very practical way and am very pleased to say that my family has made the transition nicely using the bread on a daily basis. Often for me that is half the battle, I have to make changes that are actually practical or I am fighting a losing battle. So one change down, one hundred more to go.

Now to figure out where to start.......I'll keep you posted.

Making Bread the Easy Way

2010-12-22T15:53:00.005-05:00

If you have never attempted bread making by hand because it seemed like too much work or even a bit intimidating as I did, you have got try this recipe. I have tried other methods but for me this proves to be the easiest method by far.Using the recipe from this Mother Earth News Article;http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx
I have been making fresh hot bread every day, even on days that I work 12 hour shifts. It really is as easy as they claim.
I mixed up the large batch recipe ( which makes enough for 8 loaves) in a Rubbermaid type container I keep in the fridge and every day I pull out enough dough to make one loaf, shape it into a round ball and leave it in a either on the counter or in a bowl dusted with corn meal, wheat germ or just plain flour, cover it with a dish towel and let it rise for 40 minutes while I go about my day. To bake I don't use the pizza stone as they suggest, I preheat my oval ( you can use a round one too) dutch oven to 475 for about 15 minutes, shape my dough into a loaf shape, put about three slashes in the top of the loaf, sprinkle some wheat germ on top and cover. Then bake for 20 minutes, remove the lid and bake for 10 more. That's all there is to warm crusty goodness! I am so impressed I will be buying this book or the authors other book "Healthy bread in five minutes a day".
Before I baked the first batch I found a bunch of U-tube videos demonstrating the method and they all agreed that it was a success.

I don't have a picture to share today, my loaves disappear as fast as I can make them, but they are almost foolproof, they are so easy. Knowing this is something I am going to make a part of my lifestyle,I plan on buying my next batch of supplies from Sams club they have the best prices on yeast and flour in bulk, I think I figure about 30-40 cents a loaf. With some hot homemade soup on a cold day it does not get any better.

2010-12-01T05:30:00.001-05:00

Have been in a writing slump, but have been following all of my favorite bloggers when I can.
Sending out my wishes for Happy Holidays to all of my online friends. Take time to breathe, and enjoy the precious moments when they come.

October 2010- Life these days.

2010-10-15T14:15:00.007-04:00

I continue to be MIA when it comes to blogging. I guess because I always intended this blog to be about homesteading and even though I have not lost my passion for the subject, I regretfully have done nothing in my life lately that could even be slightly considered homesteading. About a week ago, I wet a bunch of little peat pots to fluff up and plant seeds in but they still have not one seed started. I found a lead on person who might teach me how to make the old fashioned wool hook rugs or felted rugs that I have always wanted to learn how to make but I have not called her. So I drag my feet about updating the blog, feeling like I have nothing of interest to contribute.

Fortunately for me you all are so inspiring, when I get online and read what all of my favorite bloggers are up to, it occurs to me that I really just want to see what is going on in their lives, the good the bad, the ups and downs I like hearing what is going on with my far away friends and I feel genuine concern, joy and frustration along with them in all that they encounter and are willing to share with me. I love hearing about the weather in other parts of the country or the other side of the world, I like seeing what people are cooking up in their kitchens, or what their kids are doing in school. I enjoy seeing their families their dogs, cats and other assorted menageries of animals. I love the similarities as well as the differences in all of our crazy lives.

Also, I am reminded that part of the reason I blog is purely for my own need to chronicle the journey that I am on. So very much in my life has turned upside down but in the midst of it all life still goes on and I am determined to remember to enjoy the journey not just focus on the destination. I know a year or two from now I will look back on what was happening now and appreciate those obstacles that seemed so insurmountable that turned out to really be stepping stones on the path to wherever life is taking me.

I have been spending most of my free time in academic mode. Because I went back to work in the ICU, I had several educational certifications to renew including ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) and have decided to pursue getting my CCRN certification (Critical Care). The test is very difficult and to prepare for it I am taking an online course through the Critical Care Nurses Association that requires a commitment of a lot of hours online and reading. So most of my time is spent trying to memorize things like which lead on the ECG machine reflects the electrical activity of each area of the heart. Oh so exciting! The whole process has gotten me more motivated to go back to school and finish my Masters in Nursing, I dropped out of the program I was in when my husband and I separated. Lately I have really begun to realize that at 47 I am no spring chicken anymore and I can't see myself doing the physical labor involved in bedside nursing for another 20 years. Having that degree would allow me to go into teaching which I have always wanted to do.

In my fantasy world of the future, I live in the mountains of New Mexico, I have a working homestead that is at least partially self sufficient, the chickens are back and clucking happily around the barn, I teach online classes from the comfort of my home office while the dogs sleep at my feet, and when I want to escape it all I ride off into the sunset on my trusty equine friends. Hey a girl can dream can't she??

Since the weather has cooled a bit here in Florida I have had the chance to do the thing I love most in the world, ride my horse. The new foal has not been weaned yet and probably has a few more months on his mama so she is not able to be ridden, but good old faithful Red my 25 year old Quarter Horse has proven once again that he has been worth his weight in gold. I have been getting out on him and exploring the great riding trails right near my new home and he takes on every new trail we find like an old pro. I have been warned over and over NOT to ride alone and I know I really shouldn't but if I waited around for someone to ride with I would never get to ride. So off we go and so far it has been nothing but the best way for me to escape it all.

One of these days I will proudly post a picture of the new veggie garden I have started or some other homestead related blog worthy topic, but until then I'm just taking it one day at a time and trying to appreciate the journey.

When Life Hands You Lemons...

2010-09-28T08:03:00.011-04:00

I don't know why I have had such a hard time finding anything that I feel is worth writing about. There have been so many big changes in my life over the past two months and originally my intention in blogging was to chronicle my journey, I should be blogging about all of it. I think, that I have had a mental block about how to continue this blog when it has gone so far away from it's original intention.

My life has changed so dramatically, moving from the country with no nearby neighbors to living in a development with next door neighbors only yards away, from owning to renting and all that goes along with worrying about another persons property, to the loss of my precious livestock. Don't get me wrong I am not whining, I am grateful for all that I have and that my family and I are healthy and happy. However, I am grieving the loss of the dream for now.

I also have changed jobs again and have been settling into a new routine, at least this was definitely a change for the better. I found out I am not meant to be a home health nurse, I learned so much from the job and met so many great people but I am a hospital nurse this much I have learned. So I have taken a job at a hospital 9 miles from my new home in the ICU and am finding it a much better fit for me.

The challenge for me now is to figure out where to continue with my dream of some self sufficiency, maintaining the homesteading mentality in the middle of upheaval in my life.

There are tons of wonderful websites and blogs about urban homesteading and I have got to glean from them a path that is right for me. I need to just jump in somewhere and begin, whether it be planting a few seeds for a kitchen garden, making a batch of soap, candles, or learning a new skill of some kind. Wish me luck!!

In the spirit of re-focusing, think I will change the title of my blog to "Laura's Urban Homestead Adventures", what do you think?

New Beginnings

2010-08-29T08:47:00.008-04:00

Beginning to get settled in the new house, still lots of loose ends at the old house but slowly it is all getting sorted out. My big excitement this week started when the two horses I have moved to the new house disappeared. My youngest son went out to feed them and they were gone, busted down a fence and took off. I drove around the neighborhood all morning, called animal control and the sheriff's office but no word of them. I really was worried since the mare Karma was about to have her foal. Thankfully I live in a horse community. The horses had decided to take a trek about 2 miles down the road where another neighbor found them and put them safely in her pasture and through the grapevine someone got in touch with me to let me know where to find them. What a relief. When I got my Karma girl back she looked like her adventure had taken it's toll on her and she was going to foal any time. So in the early hours of Aug. 27th around 2 a.m. my youngest son who had been out to check on the horses woke me to say we have a new colt. The young Quarter horse that was hia father was a light buckskin color so he may stay this light color. Hia eyes are a pale blue but I am assuming they will change color as he gets older. I have been out handling him every day so that he gets used to people, he likes the attention. I am hoping his name will come to me in time, in case you read this post earlier you might notice that I had to make some changes in the text. Turns out she was a he, it just took a little while for things to settle and reveal themselves.

He is adorable, aren't all baby animals....I'm in love.

Thanks!!

2010-08-17T06:20:00.002-04:00

All of you blog followers and friends out there who have sent me words of encouragement, Thank You!!

You have no idea how much it helps to hear you thoughts.

On to new adventures soon

Did I mention that my Karma horse,the paint mare, is preggo?? Waiting on a foal any day now (although I have no idea when she got pregnant, she came to me that way)

It was a huge surprise in the midst of all the chaos in my life lately to look at her one day and realize that she has milk veins and is bagging up.

Pictures soon as soon as I figure out which box I packed the camera in.

The Long and Winding Road

2010-07-30T05:58:00.004-04:00

I heard that song a couple of days ago and it has been stuck in my head, as I sat down to write this post it seemed a fitting title.

This post is long overdue but it was very hard to sit down and write, I have been dreading writing it because by doing so I have to expose myself and my embarrassment. However, I knew eventually I would have to pull my head out of the sand, face the facts, live my life out loud and all that good stuff.

I sadly will be leaving my homestead. I have been working two jobs for over two years now trying to keep my head above water, after going from a 2 income home for the last 27 years to just me trying to keep it all going, I finally had to admit to myself that I can no longer keep up the pace nor do I want to. So I am allowing my home to go into foreclosure. I tried several attempts to get the bank to modify my loan but they won't do it. I am way upside down in the mortgage now that housing prices have bottomed out in my area and my home is falling apart literally lol!! I probably am looking at around 30,000.00 just to fix the things that need to be fixed to keep it and it is simply not worth it. The land is the heart breaker, I love that land with a passion, I pray that I someday will be able to have another homestead and begin again, in the mean time, I am determined to find ways to do an urban version of homesteading on a much smaller scale for now.

I have found a really great place to rent in a horse community so I can keep the horses and two of my dogs and still have room for my kids and grandkids who are all still living with me. With great sadness, I have been finding homes for all of my other critters, so far the ones I have given away have gone to great homes especially the dogs which is such a relief to me.

Going through 16 years worth of stuff is challenging to say the least but little by little I am making some headway. I rented a big storage shed and I am sure it will be filled to the rafters before all is said and done.

So, this blog has taken a turn in a new direction. I will still be following all of my favorite bloggers, living vicariously through the posts of people I have come to admire. I hope that a year from now I will have landed on my feet and be moving forward again with new enthusiasim and vision, but for now I am just trying to take it all one day at a time and do what has to be done to keep from losing my mind.

You say Potatoe, I say.......

2010-06-02T05:37:00.004-04:00

My daughter in law Casi was so thrilled to see that there actually were potatoes growing under those plants, i'm so glad to have somebody else around who appreciates my efforts!! Here is the first batch we pulled up, a little too soon, so there were many small ones but the ones most recently are coming up bigger. I am trying to leave them in the ground and not pull them until we use up the ones we have out but at some point I am going to have to get out there and get the rest in before the bugs eat them. I have to figure out the best way to preserve some of them. Any suggestions?

2010-05-31T19:03:00.010-04:00

Thank you to my eloquent friend at the Wild Magnolia for giving me this Versatile Blogger Award. I believe in passing it along I am supposed to tell something about myself, so here a some things about me that are not in my profile.

I was born in Oklahoma City but when I was two I moved with my family to a suburb of Los Angeles California where I lived until my late 20s. I lived for about 6 years in a beautiful town up the coast from Santa Barbara Calif. not far from the infamous "Neverland Ranch" I still miss California very much but don't believe I will every return to live there again. I have lived in Central Florida for about 15 years and have grown to very much appreciate the ebbs and flows and more relaxed pace of the South, I will never ever love the humidity here and find summers to be miserable still. I hope someday to move to the mountains of New Mexico a place I love.

I love to read, especially period pieces that take me to another time and place and teach me something historical, I love movies like that as well and big epic pics like "Seven Years in Tibet" and "Out of Africa" are some that I loved. Although my favorite book has no historical significance at all it's "Lost Horizon" by James Hilton. I have no idea why that one struck such a cord with me but it did. I love blogs for the same reason they take me to different places, teach me new things about the world around me and let me take a peek into how others live.

I am a music lover, all kinds of music although I have no musical talent, I am a closet singer. I am proud that I passed that love along to my children.

When I was 18 I backpacked through Europe with a girlfriend, it was a great adventure and one that I am so glad I had the chance to do before I came home and married and had babies.

I believe in compassion for others and really try my hardest to have a live and let live approach to life even when it's hard to do so.

Alright enough about me, on to who to pass this award along to which is a really hard choice to make, I follow so many amazing blogs and continuously surprised and inspired by all of the talented a caring people out there in blog land. Many of the blogs I follow faithfully have already received this award so I am looking beyond my usually circle of blogging friends to some others that enjoy.

Although she has huge huge following and is actually bit of a celebrity I have to give credit to Jenna at : coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/2010/05/good-morning-from-cold-antler.html

I first read an article by Jenna in a homesteading magazine I can't remember which one and it mentioned her blog. Her blog was the first blog that I started following and I was hooked from then on. She has a variety of interests and she writes in way that pulls you right into her life and has you rooting for her. Jenna is a published author with a book and multiple magazine articles and a beautifully illustrated blog.

The next blog is the girls at: http://stickhorsecowgirls.blogspot.com/2010/05/c-when-opportunity-knocks.html two great friends who post about anything and everything and often leave me thinking or laughing. Intelligent and witty they feel like women you want to hang out with.

The next blogger lives in New Mexico not far from where I hope to move in the next few years so I live a bit vicariously through her posts, and i am in love with her little Donkeys , see them at http://www.the7msnranch.com/

Hope to have introduced you to some new bloggers,

Laura

Remembering why we celebrate Memorial Day and Piggies to Market

2010-05-31T07:09:00.006-04:00

Remembering all who have sacrificed it all for this land we call home and our freedom.

Before I run out the door to work, I had to post that I sold two of my male piggies at the auction on Saturday night for $50 each, for a little tiny rural auction that was a good sale, and paid back my investment of $30.00 each for the male and female I originally bought to breed. The money went right into bags of feed to finish off the two I plan to keep for meat. I gave the only two females of the litter to the woman who gave me the horses who in turn gave me two little Peking ducklings. I have 3 more babies left to sell and will take at least two of them next Saturday to the auction.

I met an older man at the auction who was wanting a baby goat for a pet but could not afford one, I heard through a friend that he was a nice old guy who would be good to his word, so I loaded up one of my two buck kids and took him to him on Sunday morning, he was thrilled to say the least and I got to see his really beautiful veggie garden and know the little guy will be well cared for.

Sunday it rained buckets so i was forced to stay inside and ended up doing nothing, nothing of any use that is. I guess I needed an afternoon like that, I can't remember the last time I did that.

I should have passed along the "Versatile Blogger" award that I received from a very gracious woman, but I was too brain dead. I will have a hard time choosing who to pass it along to since there are so many great bloggers out there whose posts I love to follow, but I will do it soon.

Hope everyone who gets Memorial Day off enjoys time with family and friends. I am off to work, still sick people to see even on the holiday.

The Harvest Begins

2010-05-27T05:57:00.014-04:00

As usual my pictures are out of order, but I give up on trying to fix them.
Please ignore the weeds around the bed, they are out of control, but I wanted to show the enclosure I made to keep the chickens out of the raised beds, I was going to cover the top as well but so far they have shown no interest in bothering the beds so I will wait and see. I was thinking that in the winter I will try covering it with plastic to make a mini green house for lettuce and spinach etc. It was really cheap and not to hard to make. Next time though I will cut all my pvc pipe in 2 foot sections and piece it together with connectors, if the sections are too long the pvc wants to bend and bow, I think shorter sections will be easier to work with and not as unstable.

I have been able to begin harvesting things from my garden and was able to make my first meal from the farm. I should have taken a picture but I did not think of it at the time. I had roast chicken, green beans and red potatoes all grown or raised here on my little plot of land. What a sense of satisfaction seeing my hard work return a yield. All of my kids are back home with me and along with a good friend have participated in one way or another in helping me keep it all going. I am so thrilled that my two grand-sons get excited when they see they find a big green bean to pick or that Logan the four year old snuck out and planted his own pumpkin seeds, imagine my surprise when they started coming up in the middle of my herbs.

Pictured are some of the herbs I have growing in the water trough raised bed, thyme, rosemary, basil, lemon balm, along with some of the green beans from another raised bed. Yes those are pumpkin vines threatening to take over the whole trough. I have a large plot of ground where I have been growing the potatoes, black eyed peas, tomato's, squash, peppers and a few other things. Additionally, I have two wood frame raised beds, I built this year. I have to say the things in the raised beds have grown so much faster and look so much better then my in ground plants. The soil here in Florida is so very sandy, it may take me years to amend it to my satisfaction, for my purposes raised beds are the way to go, great soil from the beginning almost no weeds and at a better height to work with. Well worth the investment of time and money to make them.I have lots of things getting ready to begin ripening, I can't wait to pick the first tomato.

I did not take pictures of the chicken processing, I did five white rock hens that I ordered from Murray Mc Murray, I let them live longer then I should have I think they ideally should be done at around 6-8 weeks to be the most tender. I procrastinated. If I am honest about the whole thing I will have to admit that I am not 100% OK with the killing of animals for my food purposes, I struggle with the whole thing a bit but keep coming back to either going back to being a vegetarian and give up meat all together or raise my own giving the animals the best life I can. For now I am trying to do the latter and hoping that I become more comfortable with the whole idea. The actual processing is not that bad for anyone thinking of doing it there are lots of places to find info, I am sure there are you tube videos out there. My only word of advice is to be prepared, have everything you need ready ahead of time. I used a deep fryer to have boiling water ready, a large table covered with a clean plastic drop cloth, a clean five gallon bucket a de-boning knife, an ax and a tree stump, I am sure every one knows it is not the most pleasant of events but when my five hens were all packed in freezer bags I was grateful for the experience. I am thinking about ordering another batch of 25 meat birds, but am not looking forward to raising another batch of chicks quite yet.

On a completely unrelated note, can anyone tell me how to get the blog spot to allow you to load more pictures?? If I have more then three pics and any text at all the blog program boots the pictures off. This post started out with three pictures and as I added text it bumped them off, to who knows where. It seems like I can type the text and then add the pics but then they all end up at the beginning of the post instead of spread throughout. Irritating!! I love seeing every ones pictures of their farms, kids, creative projects, cooking and critters and would like to post more of my own without having to create a post for every one of them. I am sure it is operator ignorance on my part lol, but I have no time to sit here trying to figure it out, there are baby goats screaming to be fed.

Just saying a quick hello to my blogging friends.

2010-05-08T09:04:00.003-04:00

I really hope all of my great blogging friends out there are having the best spring ever. My life has gotten so hectic and full of things that have to be done that there has been no time to post and no time to follow any one's posts. The little farm has blossomed but with all of the new life and growth comes tons of work as I know you all are well aware. Besides that, my new job has me spending hours on the computer every evening charting the events of the day so by the time I am done I don't want to touch a laptop. But I miss the give and take of the blogging world and hope to find a way to make time to catch up soon.

Blessings to all!!!

Laura

Spring Update

2010-04-18T00:53:00.012-04:00

I started this blog when I was bed-ridden after surgery last fall and it seemed then and through the winter that there was plenty of time to keep up with it, in fact it became a kind of therapy for me, a confessional, diary, thought sorter, creative outlet and link to life on other planets.

It seems lately that since the day the "Endless Winter" finally ended there has been no time for blogging. Beautiful weather and more projects then I can ever tackle have had me either outside working, planting, clearing, raking or working at one of my two jobs. I have been working a lot, I do the regular Mon-Fri gig with the home health agency which is a pretty great job and then on weekends I do one or two nights at the hospital 7 p-7a. This week for example I worked all week, got home at 4:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon and left to work all night at the hospital at 6:00 p.m. I am in no way complaining, I am so very grateful to have the ability to work and make good money for what I do. and I do it so that I can have the resources to do the things that I really love like building raised beds and chicken coops and day old chicks from the hatchery. Someday though, in the not too far off future I hope to be able to sit back and enjoy it all a little bit more, but in the meantime its all a very fine juggling act.

Spring has arrived to my homestead in a big way, with baby goats, geese, bunnies and a batch of 10 pink little piggies. My animals have been prolific to say the least. The garden is well underway with healthy potato plants, green beans, black eyed peas, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, pumpkins, cucumbers and collard greens all showing great promise. I feel very proud of the progress I have made. I often look around and think you wanted a little farm, well you got it.

I met a woman at the feed store a couple of weeks ago who was looking for fertilized duck eggs,to hatch in her incubator, I overheard her and offered to let her have the batch of 10 that my Peking duck had recently laid. Somewhere in the course of our conversation I must have mentioned that my horse had died at Christmas time and that I hoped to one day replace her. The woman called me a few days later and said that she had been thinking about it and wanted to offer me her two horses, for free!! I went to see them , one is a really nice Registered Paint mare and the other a Welsh cross pony around 14 hands high. I am thrilled to say that they will be coming to live with me soon, as in later today after I go home and take a power nap. I will post more on them when I get them home and settled. I am a believer in Karma of sorts- you reap what you sow-I am so glad I gave her some Duck eggs.

In another twist of fate I had a patient the past two nights who has some really great words of wisdom for me on marriage, family and life. I won't go into detail because her words hit me where I live, but I have to say I am again amazed at the way people cross our paths as if they were meant to influence us or change our course in some way. Hope you all are having a wonderful spring.

Happy Wednesday and Spring Garden Progress.

2010-03-31T06:52:00.004-04:00

Just a quick note to remind myself that I planted onions and heirloom tomatoes yesterday after work. The rest of it is coming along and I need to get some pictures up of the new growth. I noticed a couple of holes in the leaves of the potatoes and bell peppers and was reminded I need to find a good recipe for organic bug spray, I was hoping to stay away from things like 7 dust. I know there is one with a mix of veggie oil, dish soap and water but don't know the exact measurements, anyone got one??

Warning post not for the squeamish or vegetarian

2010-03-30T06:43:00.005-04:00

I am sharing this post because I want to chronicle the good the bad and the ugly as I travel on my little journey towards a more self sufficient lifestyle. Life and death are a part of life on a farm and I want to record things the way they happened.

Yesterday my grandson's chow/shepard mix puppy decided to play ( I don't think he really knew what he was doing) with one of Rhode Island Red Hens. He played with her so hard that the only humane thing to do was to kill her to end her suffering. When I picked her up and saw the damage I could not help but feel that she probably weighed 12 lbs. I knew that it would be an absolute waste to just kill her and bury her so I decided the time was now to get my hands dirty and get her from the yard to the pot. I wanted to raise my own food right? Time to put my money where my mouth is.

In the back of my head I kept thinking our grandmother's generation or at least our great-grandmother's did this probably once a week if they were lucky enough to have some land and a yard full of chickens. Since the damage to her skin was so bad I decided the easiest thing to do at 7 in the evening would be to skin her. With a decent skinning knife from my son the whole thing went pretty fast. I will spare you all the gory details but will say the directions for the whole process are easily found on the Internet and really not that bad.

Once she was cleaned up she was washed seasoned, put in the crock pot overnight with a hand full of fresh herbs from my garden Rosemary, Oregano, Basil and Thyme stuffed inside the carcass for flavor. The only mistake I made was to cook it on high all night I should have set it on low for a more tender finish. Never the less it looks and tastes just like any other chicken. I think with a slightly more gamey flavor since she was free range, but that may be my imagination. I will be taking a chicken wrap for lunch today and a sense of satisfaction knowing I did what I said I was going to do. She lived a happy life and she died quickly at my hand. ( after the unfortunate dog event), I don't enjoy anything about taking a life, I did a stint as a vegetarian because I am appalled at what goes on in the meat processing plants, but I do eat meat ,and I feel good about moving in this direction when it comes to where my meat for the table comes from.

Off I go to make the money to buy the chicken feed.

Life's Little Bumps in the Road

2010-03-28T08:39:00.004-04:00

Sometimes you just have to dust yourself off and get back on the horse. I spent from Tuesday to Thursday night in the hospital. I have over the years had some Kidney problems on and off and the little pain in my side that I was trying to ignore decided to bring me to a screeching halt and demand some attention. Long story short I had a raging infection along with some other issues that will have to be followed up with yet more testing, yuck! But I am feeling better now and so very happy to be able to rest up at home this weekend. The weather the past couple of days has been picture perfect and I have to get out and get some pictures today. My humble little garden is beginning to show promise, the baby goats, bunnies and chicks are thriving and the wheels in my head are spinning with projects to come. I am excited that I am back in plenty of goat milk again, thank you Juniper ! Going to make some cheese today. Happy Sunday Everyone!

Visitors from around the world

2010-03-21T08:50:00.002-04:00

I had to make a quick comment about how surprised I was to see the visitors to my blog from around the world. I recently added one of those visitor tracking maps to my blog just for fun and decided to look at the visitor stats last night. Wow, is all I can say. I have had visitors from of course the USA and Canada. I knew I had visitors from Australia thank you all !! You have become like friends who I am anxious to hear from. But what shocked me were the ones from India, Russia, Africa, Spain and I am sure I am leaving some out. So, I want to say, if you stop by to check out my humble little blog thank you so much for visiting.

Again and again I am impressed with what a small world it has become. With the Internet and satellites to convey images to our televisions in seconds we can be on the other side of the world if only by technology but never again will we as isolated as we once were. However you see it good or bad it is here and it is amazing.

Learning to Ride and Welcome Spring

2010-03-21T07:57:00.010-04:00

Yesterday I volunteered to work a concession stand at a horse show to raise money for the local chapter of FCCD an organization aimed at keeping at risk kids from committing crime and being delinquent from school. I am no longer a member since I don't work in the prison system any more but many of my friends are so I was recruited. I learned a big lesson, never wear cowboy boots to stand on your feet all day cooking food.

After a day of being around all those horses my friends 13 year old who does not ride wanted to learn, so we came home and saddled up old RED and spent the rest of the evening teaching her to ride, she loved it. Of course Logan my four year old grandson wanted to ride too so I told him to get his boots on, those are the boots he chose. RED is the best horse that you can put anyone on. After Logan then his little brother Cadyn 2 wanted to ride. As you can see by the diaper only wardrobe, it was finally a nice warm spring day

We spent the remaining hours doing barn chores, which included raking what seemed like 50 lbs of rabbit poop to add to the compost pile. How do such little creatures make so much poop? I just think of it as garden gold. We finally felt we could let Juniper and her baby who is so much stronger now out of the barn for some fresh air. While making my feed run, I picked up two silkie chicks at the feed store, I felt sorry for them they were being picked bloody by the the other chicks, so they have replaced the living room chicks who were moved outside to a bigger cage. I worried that the night temps might still be too cold but with a light and a cover over the cage they did fine with temps into the low 50s.

I fell into bed last night and slept that sleep of the dead, that kind of sleep that comes from the really good tired, you can only get from a long day of working hard but doing things you absolutely love. It was a life is good day.

Happy St. Patricks Day!!

2010-03-17T07:13:00.006-04:00

I have just enough Irish in me to feel proud that there is another holiday to celebrate, even if just with a greeting out to all of you.

I have been so busy I have no new pictures, but wanted to post a quick update, I have baby rabbits! The first successful litter born here on my property. I have had some real nightmare stories with previous attempts at raising them but I think we may have turned a corner

Junipers little Doe kid is doing great and Juniper is now back in milk wooo hooo, that means goat cheese again soon. The other little buck sadly did not make it, I did end up tubing him several times and got nutrition in him and he stayed alive for 5 days but never would get up and walk or do anything but lay there and whimper, I finally decided to let him go since he seemed neurologically impaired. In the future I will tube any failing kids immediately as I think the delay in getting the colostrum in him may have been too long. I learned a lot from him. On the upside his mama Juni looks so much better since she had her kids, they really took thier toll on her.

The potatoes are coming up and black eyed peas, green beans and peppers are planted. Baby chicks are getting big, I can't wait till they are big enough to move out of the living room

I feel like I am missing so much of all of your blogs since I have not been able to spend time online at all, the new job has me bringing a lot of paperwork home at night. Hope to this weekend, feel like I am missing catching up with old friends.

Rain Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day

2010-03-13T01:38:00.008-05:00

I need to whine, this was a long tiresome week, my first week on my own doing home health and while I believe I am going to really like the job, it was a challenging week of learning new paperwork, and then duplicating everything on the computer which is such a waste of time, getting lost ( a lot), and since I have been driving my pick up truck for so long but decided to drive the car to save gas I got to find out a little too late that my car has faulty window seals and fills up with water in the rain. I got wet, really really wet. Add to that, the mud and muck that has to be trekked through to do anything around the farm, company arriving for a visit from up north, and a really really messy house and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. Oh and did I mention the rain, the wind, the tornado warnings with me out driving around in it, showing up to peoples houses looking like a wet poodle? yeah I did I know, well let me say enough rain already!

On top of that craziness, my beloved goat Juniper had her babies last night and she had a very difficult time, I tried my hardest to stay with her till she delivered but at about 2 a.m. I had to give up and try to get some sleep since I had to work in the morning. Back up at 5:30 to check on her and she had delivered triplets but one was dead already and the other two are very weak and may not make it. After several hours I had to bring one of the two in the house to try to feed because he could not even latch on, he won't eat for me either, he has no ability to stand, he is like wet noodle. I milked mama and made him a bottle with a goat nipple and tried and tried to teach him to suck on it with no luck. He is still alive but I don't expect for long. The last kid, a little Doe is weak but able to stand and nurse but she does not have the spunk she should. I left her with Juniper and hope she gains some strength overnight.
This has not been the greatest week but I know when the sun comes out and I finally get a decent nights sleep (which is not tonight since its 2 a.m. and I can't sleep) things will look a whole lot brighter. As always, I have to stop and be grateful for all of the blessing in my life and know that I have it pretty good by comparison to so many but sometimes you just have to vent and move on.

On the up side, I am done whining now, it's not freezing cold here anymore, I can really get serious about my little garden plots. Bring on spring, daylight savings time change to longer days and lots of outside fun.

March comes in like a Lion

2010-03-06T14:33:00.006-05:00

I miss reading all of my favorite blogs, I have been so busy around here that by the time I fall into bed at night and would usually read I am too pooped and just pass out. I am looking forward to catching up with all the news from around the world soon. Hoping everyone is healthy, happy and living life to the fullest.

It has been cold here in Florida with more freezing temperatures than have been seen in decades but I believe it is soon to begin to be warmer. I can't believe we have too many more terribly cold days left before spring finally arrives, thank goodness because I am ready to get out in the dirt and plant something. I went and bought seeds today, Roma Beans and Black Eyed Peas. along with 4 Bell Pepper plants from the feed store. I already have 5 25 foot rows of potatoes in the ground so that is a start. I hope to get the rest in this week.

The new baby goats are doing well and the chicks I ordered from Murray Mc Murray arrived. I ordered Aracaunas, Buff Orphingtons and Barred Rocks all pullets, along with 5 straight run White Rocks Giants that I plan to raise to be butchered. This is my experimental batch. I decided to try my hand at just five for the freezer to see if I can successfully see them from chicks to freezer before ordering a larger batch. They definitely are genetically different than the laying chicks, they are growing so much faster then the others at only a week old you can see the difference in size. I will post their progress as they grow. Sadly, I have lost a few of the babies for reasons unknown. I go to bed at night and they all are fine, I get up in the morning and there will be one who looks to have been trampled to death. I have no clue as to what could be wrong. Hopefully the remaining chicks are going to thrive.

I started my new job this past week, I think I am going to love this job. I have never worked anywhere like this before, there is no stress, you drive from one home to another seeing patients and they are actually happy to see you when you get there. As you drive from place to place you listen to the radio, have time to think, I keep finding myself saying,wow they are actually paying me for this

Sadly, the pregnant rabbit had her babies on the wire and decided to nibble on some of them, (rabbits are not the smartest creatures) and unfortunately none of them lived. I am feeling a bit discouraged by my inability to breed rabbits, aren't they supposed to be the most prolific creatures. She had a nesting box, she pulled fur to make a nest along with the hay that was in the box and then she had them outside of the box in freezing temps. What's up with that?

Still waiting on Juniper my favorite Doe to kid, this seems like an incredibly long pregnancy and she is so big, I know we will both be glad to see delivery day come. Oh and one of my trio of ducks who I thought were all males is female (surprise, surprise!) she is laying eggs.

That's all the update I have for this morning, off to begin another busy week. Hope to get some new pictures up soon. Have a great week everyone and hopefully spring is beginning to creep in where you live.

Baby Bucks

2010-02-27T19:35:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I came home from my week away from home anxious to see the new baby goats, they are a pair of buck babies who obviously carried the Boar goat gene forward from their grandfather who was a Boar Goat and their mother and father who are both half Boar goat. The Mother, Valentine is really just a pet, she is almost impossible to milk since she has some very small teats and she is very small so I am not sure her youngsters are meat goat quality, from a farming standpoint she is not really moving the efforts forward, but she has wormed her way into my eighteen year old sons heart so she will stay.

I am not sure yet what the future holds for these boys since I won't be keeping any Bucks, but for now we will enjoy having such cute babies around and most likely later they will be sold at the critter auction. I believe we have less than two more weeks before my Oberhasli Juniper has her kids, that is the event I am anxiously awaiting. I am trying to give her extra nutrition, and she has been well wormed because she is looking too thin. She seems very healthy otherwise, so hopefully it is just the drain of the kids on her that is causing her to look bony.

The Secret Goat Code wins again.

2010-02-25T17:34:00.008-05:00

I recently read a blog post about the "Goat Code", the secret code among goats that says if your owner is expecting you to kid on a certain date, hold out for the time when he or she is away on vacation, or in the middle of a family crisis or ......... you get the idea. Sure enough, today while I am here in Clearwater Florida, 80 miles from home, with one more day of training to go, one of my goats , a little black and white mixed breed doe named Valentine, delivered two little kids. My son says they look fine and are nursing, they are all white like my half boar buck , he has no idea if they are male or female nor does he care. I on the other hand want to jump in my truck and drive home to see them but I will restrain myself. I would ask him to take pictures to email me but of course I brought the digital camera with me. Anyway, I had to share my excitement with someone. I knew some of you out there would know how I am feeling about having to wait to see them. I will post pictures when I get home.

Bubble Baths

2010-02-23T20:22:00.004-05:00

I was afraid I would hate this week living in a hotel but I gotta say it is pretty wonderful.

I took a bubble bath tonight, I never ever take bubble baths at home. I always feel like I have a million things to do and no time to waste.

This week I am remembering that along with all of my pursuits I need to really stop and unwind every once in a while, seems so simple right but how often do we really really do it? I have to once in while steer off course open up to something new, challenge myself to learn, grow and let go.

Birthday Boots and My First Raised Beds

2010-02-22T21:37:00.005-05:00

This is my week at the hotel 80 miles from home while I attend orientation for my new job. The hotel is great and I am enjoying the peace and relaxation. Just a couple of quick things to share.

I found these cute boots for my 2 year old grandson at the feedstore, he loves them. I wish they made them in my size, I would own a pair.

I am so excited that this past weekend I went and purchased the materials to make my first raised bed gardens, I decided they were the best way for me to get started on my garden this spring. I need to sit down and figure out exactly the cost per bed but the measurements are 8 feet by 4 feet. My son a good friend and I put them together very quickly and I look forward to adding many more over time. I hope to post pictures of them when they are full of healthy plants soon.

Sunshine Blog Award

2010-02-22T19:11:00.025-05:00

Thank you Granny from "Grannys Garden" at: http://grannyandpa.blogspot.com/

for the Sunshine award.

I have to thank Granny for passing this award along to me and for her support of my blog since it's very beginning. Even though she is on the other side of the world she has loves the same things I do, chickens, gardening, finding treasures in unexpected places and a simple daily appreciation for life. Thank you Granny!!

To continue spreading the sunshine I must pass the award along to 12 blogger who brighten my day, they are:

Carmen at: http://waxedoutcreativelife.blogspot.com/

Barbara at:

http://3acrehomestead.blogspot.com/2010/02/last-little-biddie-quail-eggs-next.html

Deb at: http://www.howdyfromcowtown.com/

Misha at: http://frommyfrontporchinthemountains.blogspot.com/

Lisa at: http://laughingorcaranch.blogspot.com/

Texan at: http://www.blogger.com/profile/14560812716080117867

Author name unknown but I am a big fan of : http://myfarmhousekitchen.blogspot.com/

Twistie at: http://fromthecountryfarm.blogspot.com/

Melodie at: http://laughing-duck-farm.blogspot.com/

Pam at: http://georgiafarmwoman.blogspot.com/

Sherri at:http://smallfarmgirl.blogspot.com/2010/02/just-hanging-out.html

And lastly another favorite blogger whose name I do not know :http://aintforcitygals.blogspot.com/

Protecting My Investment

2010-02-17T14:06:00.007-05:00

Moving from a two income family to a one income head of household has been challenging to say the least. When I sat back took stock and thought about where I wanted to go with my life, knowing that I was now really in the drivers seat I kept coming back to the things that have always pulled at my heartstrings. For as long as I can remember I known I wanted to live a life in balance with nature and one of the ways for me to do that is to grow and raise as much of my own food as possible. I wanted my own farm, hobby farm, way out west ranch, homestead, whatever you want to call it, I have had a vision in my head that won't go away.

In the past in my attempts to make it happen, I have jumped into way too many projects at once not thinking and planning things through as well as I should have resulting in losses, costly losses. I no longer have the luxury of making those kinds of mistakes. This time around I feel like I have a really good focus on what is important.

My steps towards my goals have been well planned and I have not taken on more than I could handle. The results are so gratifying. I have nine healthy hens who on average produce 6-7 eggs a day. I eat eggs almost every morning for breakfast and have a great sense of satisfaction that my girls are feeding me, we are dependant on each other. I have the beginning of a really good meat rabbit supply, with one pregnant female and two younger ones who can be bred in about five more weeks. My pair of Yorkshire pigs with hopefully produce a litter this spring or early summer and I will be on my way to a steady source of pork. I am paying very close attention to the health and well being of my animals making sure to learn as much as I can about the best practices as I go.

My point is that this time around I have been very careful to focus on how to get the best yield out of my investment and am constantly re-evaluating what my next step should be. Its really hard to blow 30 bucks on a new sweater when I think about how that might go towards the cool cheese press I have had my eye on, or the hand grain mill I have wanted for so long. My priorities have drastically changed. I feel like finally I am on the right track and as long as I maintain this kind of rational approach I feel confident that I will see my plans a success.

While I try to have a farmers attitude towards the animals I can't say that I am not attached to each and every one of them, I spend hours just watching the things they do and have established a trusting relationship with all of them. Killing an animal is not something I will ever take lightly, but I feel that if I am going to eat meat I can at least feel good about where it came from and the life that it led and know that it was killed quickly with the least amount of suffering possible.

I know that this home that I am living in now is not the final resting place of my dreams but while I am here I am learning all I can and preparing for the next phase in my life, one that will hopefully take me back out west to build the homestead that I will spend the rest of my life on.

I hope that by this time next year I will be posting that a much greater amount of my families food came right off of this little homestead. I see so many of my fellow bloggers accomplishing exactly what I have set out to do, I have to thank you for your continued blog posts that motivate me to continue on the path that my heart insists I travel. By the way Dad if you are reading this, your blog is my greatest inspiration of all.

Circle of Friends Award- My first Blog Award!

2010-02-17T10:31:00.013-05:00

Debbie at http://happydays1948.blogspot.com/ gave me this Circle of Friends Award. I have to say a few words about Debbie, she was one of my very first followers and such a wonderful supporter of my blog, her friendship and the other followers who came to my site through her have become invaluable sources of inspiration and information to me. I have come to enjoy the give and take the daily ups and downs that we all share more then I ever imagined. Thank you Debbie!!

Debbie awarded some of my favorite bloggers already so I will pass it along to some of my other favorite blog authors.

This award is given to blogs that bring a smile to your face, or just make you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

So to continue the tradition I award this Circle of Friends award to:

Brenda at:http://grannysbest.blogspot.com/, I have learned so much about goat care from this blog I constantly use it as a reference now. Thank you Brenda for all of the great advice.

Feral Female (don't know her real name it's a mystery):http://thoughtsfromayodelinggoatherder.blogspot.com/ her blog cracks me up, she has an offbeat no nonsense sense of humor that I love.

Jaz at Octoberfarm: http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/2010/02/indian-food-on-snowy-cold-day.html, this blog is visually stunning and I am in awe of her cooking talents and her appreciation for the beauty and bounty of mother nature.

Melodie from:http://laughing-duck-farm.blogspot.com/ , I find a kindred spirit in the day in and day out happenings at this blog. I am in love with her little goat Murray and I loved her post about living with a home schooled son.

Michell at:http://chocolateandmarmaladetea.blogspot.com/ This blog is real a girly girl blog and I love the retro feel of the blog, the graphics and the music and the ins and outs of her life always perk me up. I feel like I spent time with a good girlfriend after I pop in. She reminds me of a much younger me in another life ,back in California.

Jayme at:http://talefromthecoopkeeper.blogspot.com/ This is a blog I only recently found and have been enjoying her quest to get back to basics.

I forgot how many people I am allowed to pass the award on to. There are so many blogs that I follow each with a unique and different message, I learn something new everyday.

Thank you all for making my little escapes from reality so interesting and diverse.

Compost Making Saturday

2010-02-13T17:48:00.005-05:00

Wish I had something new and exciting to post about besides manure, but after a wet cold week we finally had some sunshine here in Florida on Saturday, so it was a day to get out and take care of some long overdue muck raking, piles and piles of it. Between the rabbits, chickens and the goats there is plenty. I can't believe how much manure five little rabbits can make. My horse and pigs are out in a very large pasture so I don't have a problem with that manure accumulating and don't generally worry about raking it up.

All of the muck goes into the brewing compost pile. I have not really taken composting as seriously as many do, I figure it will get to where it needs one way or another over time. I had hoped the compost would be ready for the garden this spring but it has been an especially cold winter here and I have not turned the piles regularly so I don't have as much usable organic matter as I would have liked. I know I could till it directly into the garden soil anyway but I really am curious to see how it turns out if I leave it to fully decompose in piles. I want to learn more about vermiculture ( happy hungry little worms) as a way of more quickly decomposing the material but I have not gotten around to it yet.

We had another night in the 20s here again, this has been one of the coldest winters in Florida History. On a personal note, I went out to dinner with friends to a new Country Western Themed Steak House, the food was great, the band was good, came home and slept like a baby, amazing what good medicine a little hard work, fresh air, good friends and good food can be.

Keeping on Track

2010-02-09T10:26:00.005-05:00

The last few day I have had the feeling that I am losing track of my goals, all those New Years Resolutions are becoming fuzzy thoughts in the back of my head. So today I have a day off and it is time to sit down and refocus on what is important, consider where I am going and how I am going to get there.

At the beginning of January I was focused on keeping track of where my money was going and accounting for every penny by keeping receipts and writing down what I spent. I used coupons for all of my grocery purchases and I stuck to my list. I did not make one impulse purchase of anything I did not absolutely need. I got through the entire month of January without even once going through a fast food drive through or buying a meal at work. I planned all of my meals carefully and followed through, I was really proud of myself. Then on Feb. 1st, after a particularly long and stressful day at work I decided to take home Arby's for my youngest son and I for a quick no cook dinner. In the back of my mind I thought you don't need to be extreme about this you can have a meal out once a month and still keep on track. No big deal right? Unfortunately, It has been all down hill from there.

So today, after a 10 day spiral of a drink here, a burger there, a magazine here, a new CD there, I resolve to get back on track. I have kept receipts for everything I just have not looked at them lol, denial is a beautiful thing but it does not get you where you want to go.

My New Girls

2010-02-04T14:35:00.016-05:00

This is Molly she is my latest addition to the homestead, she was bred at the breeders home the day I bought her to a Big Flemish Giant. She is a Checkered Giant/New Zealand Cross. If she was bred successfully she is due on Mar. 1st. Molly got out of her hutch when she was younger and broke her foot and it healed fine but looks funny. Because of that the breeder gave me a great deal on her, I think the leg adds character to her, she is sweet and friendly.

Both of those breeds are meat rabbits, and that is Mollie's purpose here on the homestead, to make lots of fat little babies, some of which end up in the family freezer. I can't actually do the killing myself, I know this from past experience (which shall never be spoken of again), but I have a good friend who has agreed to do the dirty work for me in exchange for some of the meat. A few days before she is due I will add her new nesting box and some shredded newspaper to her hutch for her to begin to nest in. I have been told that when she starts pulling hair out she will be close to delivering. This is my first serious attempt at raising rabbits, I am anxiously awaiting.

The other two that you see here together are younger does that I bought from the same breeder, his babies are all handled from a very young age and are exceptionally used to people. They love to be held and petted. I will be purchasing a buck for my trio when these two get old enough to be bred in about 8 more weeks. I can't decide if the buck should be a Flemish Giant, I like them because they throw babies of varied color from tan to oranges, or a White New Zealand, they tend to get really big and are great meat rabbits.

On a side note, Juniper, my Oberhasli dairy goat is acting odd today, according to all I know about the impending signs of birth she is getting very close to kidding. I think I have gone out to check on her 20 times today, I wish she would get on with it, but I bet she will wait until this weekend when I am at work till late just because she can.

I am beginning to feel a real sense of satisfaction as I look around and realize that little by little my homestead is beginning to really take shape. Life is good.

The Wall

2010-02-01T04:30:00.004-05:00

Another up at 4 work day but before I run off I thought I would post the almost finished wall that my son built as mentioned in my earlier post. I still need to paint the door and the trim but he did a really good job and now there is a way to contain the busy little boys when needed. When my son first starting talking about building it I was very skeptical , I honestly did not know he had done so much studying carpentry and home repairs. The finished wall is really pretty, he says next he will build me some little shelves to stagger across the wall for whatever I want to display.

No Knead Bread

2010-01-31T08:53:00.008-05:00

Today was my first attempt at baking bread from scratch, I have been visiting the breadtopia website for a while now reading about the No Knead Bread method of baking a Boule ( round loaf),but never have gotten up the nerve to give it a try, yesterday I got brave and mixed the ingredients up and let them rise for the recommended 18 hours, actually longer.

Today I am on to the second part of the recipe the shaping, second rising and the baking. The house was pretty cold when I got up this morning (for Florida), it was around 63 inside, I suspect the dough might have risen even higher if it had been a bit warmer. I proofed as directed the bread in a pine needle Indian basket dusted with wheat bran, the basket was one that my daughter gave me a while back that looked a lot like the proofing baskets at the website. Alternatively, I could have let it have a second rise on a floured towel. The basket rinsed out absolutely clean , I was afraid that it might not, and I set it in warm the oven as it cooled to dry out after the bread baking was done

I baked the bread in my cast iron oval dutch oven, which gave it a nice loaf shape instead of the round shape as seen in the demonstration video. The finished product was amazingly good. The crust was a bit harder then I would have preferred, I am going to have to keep experimenting with how to end up with a bit lighter crust. It was so hard I had to slice it with an electric bread knife. However, the taste was really good. My grandsons kept asking for more, and when we added butter and fresh Tangerine Marmalade to the warm bread it went from good to heavenly

I forgot to take pictures of the finished loaf before we had it almost gone. These are the last couple of slices. I will definitely be trying this bread and variations of it again on my next days off.

Here is a link to the site, the first short video tells you all you need to know to bake successfully, the second one is more of a way of advertising several of the products they sell. I have to say they have some pretty cool stuff , now that I am officially a bread baker I might have to invest in some real tools.

http://www.breadtopia.com/basic-no-knead-method/

I have yet to figure out how to move the pictures in my blog to appear chronologically, it seems they just end up wherever the choose to, and I can't figure out how to delete them once they are there without deleting the whole editorial.

Images from the Homestead

2010-01-30T22:47:00.033-05:00

Thought I would share a few images from around the property. Two of my five dogs, Moose the Lab, and Lola the incredibly spoiled chicken killer, is a Boston Terrier.
Charlotte and Wilbur the lucky pigs, (not very original names but fitting). The two of them might think they are dogs instead of pigs they come running whenever I call them. Both absolutely love to be petted and will fall over wanting a belly rub. Wilbur is a bit smaller then Charlotte and has yet to figure out what his part in the equation is.

The tree is a typical Florida Live Oak , those and the Sand Pines constantly threaten to take my property back to it's original state, picking up fallen branches and thinning trees is a constant battle.

They Come Back!

2010-01-30T08:19:00.011-05:00

My oldest son (26), his lovely wife, and my two grandsons are moving back in with me for the next two and half years while my son goes to nursing school. My son has been building a wall to separate off a section of my home into a small apartment for their family, including a sitting room two bedrooms and a bath with a common kitchen that we all will share between the two sections of the house. My younger son (18), and I will have the other half of the house. My middle child, my daughter (24) is living in Australia until August and she is now displaced from her childhood room. I sympathize with her protests from the other side of the world but when you spend your life jet setting around the world, you can't expect mom to keep a shrine to you at home should you decide to drop in once in a while. Love you Kimberly!!

The house has been full of dust and noise and toys strewn about. My quiet life has turned upside down, I am preparing myself for things to get hectic, I will have to learn to meditate, pray for patience and put a lock on my bedroom door. But having said that, really I am so grateful to have this opportunity to spend this time with them and that I have a home we can share. I know that during this time together we can make some great memories. I get to spend precious time with my beautiful grandsons and share my love of animals and growing things with them.

The picture is the partially built wall, my son had most of it completed in one day, I had no idea he was a such a good carpenter, he knew exactly what he was going to do and in a matter of hours he had a solid structure up. I will post the finished wall later.

Welcome home kids, the door is always open.

New Job

2010-01-26T21:00:00.002-05:00

I got the new job I was hoping for, I will be doing home health in a salaried position with a great deal of flexibility as far as my schedule goes. No more 12-14 hour days, no more not getting home until 9 at night and having to get up at 4 am and do it all again. I have to work my current job for three more weeks then on to a new adventure. On top of that great news the orientation is for a week in Clearwater Fl. near the beach and they put me up in a hotel for the week. Even though its an orientation it will be like a mini vacation. I am looking forward to it. Thanks for the good vibes sent my way.

Sowing Seeds of Hope

2010-01-24T19:12:00.008-05:00

Job interview on Friday went really well, hopefully in a few more weeks I will be starting a new job with a great deal less stress, a more flexible schedule and home by 5:00 every day.

Went for a really long horseback ride yesterday out in the woods it was a perfect day. Today was a day for catching up at home, I am happy to have planted a few seeds, tomatoes, spaghetti squash, bell peppers and sage.

I Hate Change

2010-01-20T20:55:00.004-05:00

Today on my day off I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and could not go back to sleep, I never automatically wake up when I have to work, why is that? Getting out of bed I felt the all too familiar stiffness in my legs and feet that I have become used to since I started this new job and I think I am getting too old for this lol! I have a job interview set up this afternoon. I have only been working at my current job for three months, I am not one to bounce from job to job, but I feel like it is not really the right fit for me. I love what I do but there are some real management problems and in the healthcare field management problems trickle down to inadequate patient care and I feel the need to protect my license. I hate change, I like to settle in establish a routine and build a life around it However, I know that change is a good thing too and if I just stretch myself a little I may find just the right combination of work and quality of life. So I am putting it out there, if it is meant to be it will happen if not I will stay where I am and be on the look out for the next opportunity that will offer what I need. Wish me luck!

The People We Meet Along the Way

2010-01-20T11:29:00.003-05:00

I don't mention my work-life much, I guess when I am home I really don't want to think about it, I like to retreat to my world here at my little homestead and forget about all of the pain and suffering that happens when people are sick and dying but a post I read on another blog caused me to really stop and think about how all of these people (my patients) impact my life. I have met some amazing people over the years and each and every one of them has left some imprint on me, some larger then others. These assorted and different people, remind me that life is a precious gift, to stop and soak it all in, to let go of the petty things that I cannot change and focus on what is really important. In the end all that really is important is the imprint we leave behind on those we love and those we meet along the way.

Is it worth it?

2010-01-20T10:45:00.005-05:00

While I was peeling and de-seeding (is that a word?)yet another batch of Tangerines to make my now famous spiced Tangerine Marmalade as requested by friends and family, I kept thinking boy this is a lot of work, is it worth it? I have to admit the stuff smells pretty darn good when its simmering but when I burned my fingers while filling my jelly jars and realized that I had spent two hours of my morning to yield 6 small jars I again had to again question my sanity.

The answer came to me later, after I had cleaned up the mess and the jars had cooled down. I fixed myself a couple of pieces of toast and spread them with the fresh warm marmalade, after the first bite felt that sense of satisfaction that only comes as the result of things made by your own two hands and decided that yes, it is definitely worth it.

The recipe is pretty simple:
12-14 tangerines peeled and seeds removed, pureed in a food processor, blender or in my case my Magic Bullet.
In a large dutch oven style pan add the pureed tangerines and 6 cups of sugar. I have made with 3 cups Splenda and 3 cups of sugar to reduce the sugar in the past but I did not think it made as thick of a jelly besides you really only use a small amount at a time as a spread.
To this mixture I add a dash of Cinnamon, a dash of Cloves and a dash of Nutmeg all to your preference.
Bring the entire mix to a boil, reduce heat slightly and continue at a slow boil for a bout 1/2 hour, till it forms a sheeting on a metal spoon. The recipe says 220 degrees but I could never get it to that temp. and it still turned out perfect.
Remove from heat and immediately spoon into jelly jars, screw lids in place and turn upside down to seal, it continues to thicken as it cools.
The first time I made a batch I got impatient and thought the stuff was more of a syrup then a marmalade but when it really cooled it was the perfect consistency for spreading.

Starting Seeds

2010-01-16T13:33:00.003-05:00

I have to admit that I have been procrastinating. I have had my eye on the stack of seed catalogs that have come in the mail but have not figured out what to order yet. I think I am afraid I won't actually get the garden started in time to plant. I am starting from scratch here, other then my water trough herb bed that the chickens wiped out I am looking at un-tilled ground that needs to be worked and fortified and a fence built to keep them out. Or, I could go with the building of raised beds of some kind but they will still need to be fenced in. I think I would like to do a combination of both but have none of needed materials purchased yet. I keep thinking that really I could just do it the old fashioned way and get out there with a shovel and rake and turn the soil up myself, it would be really good exercise and I would have the satisfaction of having done it, yeah yeah I could do that if I could just get motivated. I have seen so many great posts written by those of you who are already starting your seeds on warming mats and in window sills across the country and here I am living in Florida where I can start so much earlier and I have done nothing, hanging my head in shame here. Maybe I am making this public admission as a way of motivating myself to practice what I preach. I can't really hope to produce more of my own food if I don't actually plant some. So that being said Moose (my chocolate lab) and I are going to find the shovel. Even if I do 1-2 square feet three times a week I will have a decent plot ready by March-April when I want to start planting.

Day in and day out life.

2010-01-14T08:09:00.007-05:00

Some days you just have to put one foot in front of the other and do what needs to be done. On the days that I work, I am up at 4 a.m. out to tend to the animals, have coffee, read a few blogs while I sip then getting ready and off to work for a 12 and many times 14 hour day. I usually am not home until 8-9 in the evening then its a quick feed and check up on all of the animals, wash some dishes or do some laundry then crashing into bed exhausted only to get up and do it all again the next day. My 18 year old son still lives at home and is a tremendous help making sure everything is fed and watered. Thank goodness for him.

I live for my days off. Even if my only plans are to rake out my little barn, freshen the hay in all of the bedding and drag fallen branches to the burn pile I get to be outside doing what I love. Not very glamorous, but a good life none the less. With all the tragedy going on in the world one has to be absolutely filled with gratitude for all of the blessing in our lives however ordinary they may seem. That's the plan for today, the sun is shining, promising warmer weather and I am out to scoop poop.

Florida Winter

2010-01-10T09:07:00.005-05:00

This is what is cause for excitement here in Florida, this is a picture of the little snowman my daughter in law and her sister made yesterday morning. The grand kids loved it! I know its not real snow by comparison to the rest of the country but when you live in Central Florida its surprising to see this to say the least. So far all of my animals have been hearty and healthy through the freezing temps. I never thought I would be going out to break up iced over water so that the animals could drink but that has become a regular occurrence for several days now. I am sending warm thoughts out to all of you who endure the cold for months at a time and keep all who depend on you safe, warm and healthy in this insane weather.

A little bit here and there all adds up.

2010-01-07T14:52:00.006-05:00

Homesteading is my first love and I am passionate about living a more self sufficient life but I still depend on modern conveniences for a great deal of my daily needs.Having said that, as part of my money makeover 2010, I decided to revisit the Grocerygame.com and commit to serious couponing as part of my overall efforts to save money on perishable items. Today I shopped CVS using the coupons as recommended and walked out of the store with $35.00 worth of toiletries and cleaning items for $9.00.
Not a bed start. I am very careful not to buy items that I don't need just because they are cheap. My goal is to cut back on the number of hours I need to work to make ends meet by becoming a great deal more conscientious of where the money I make actually goes. It's funny how I have come to realize the value in my grandmothers advice that all those pennies add up. I used to just think it was a waste of time to focus on a few cents here and there, too bad I waited until my forties to finally realize how right she was. I have gotten into the habit of routinely refilling water bottles with filtered water for 25 cents a gallon (our water is full of iron) saving at least 60 cents a gallon if not more.

Quiche for dinner.

2010-01-06T14:55:00.005-05:00

A quick spinache and ham quiche for my 18 year old son and I tonight, thanks to the happy hens in the yard. Always looking for new ways to use the my eggs.

Its Cold in Florida

2010-01-06T07:37:00.002-05:00

I know that by comparison to the rest of your who are up to your ears in snow it is warm here, but as a person who has only ever lived in the Sunshine states of California and now Florida these sustained cold temps are hard to handle. I don't even own any gloves but gardening gloves. It is currently 27 degrees outside with a wind chill feel in the teens. I have done the best I could to bed all of the animals in with extra hay and quilts over cages etc. How do you all manage it?

How not to cut trees....

2010-01-04T05:38:00.007-05:00

I had to post this picture. Those chain saws are stuck hard in the tree. My good friend has been trying to help me clear some of the dead trees from my very wooded property, he does not cut trees very often so there is a learning curve. My 18 year old son and I laughed so hard at this predicament we had to take a picture. We ended up getting the chainsaws cut out with a hatchet without damaging them. Unfortunately, five minutes later he did it again. Some lessons take a little longer to learn. It's so good to have help with big jobs like this.

Spiced Tangerine Marmalade

2010-01-04T05:27:00.005-05:00

I had forgotten to post my homemade gifting project that was a big hit. In my quest to find uses for the abundance of tangerines I have been getting from my friends tree, I decided to make Spiced Tangerine Marmalade. I used a traditional recipe and added Cinnamon, Nutmeg and ground Cloves to the mixture as it cooked. Now I understand why your don't see this type of jam made very often. Getting the seeds out of the Tangerines was a hugely time consuming job, taking a long time. However, the end results were delicious, and gave the whole house a wonderful smell as it simmered.
I am off today with another big bag of Tangerines at hand, I think I will make some more for my grandson PBJs this coming year.

Year End Thoughts

2009-12-28T18:16:00.009-05:00

As I begin a new year I want to reflect on what I have accomplished in the past year and where I hope to go in the coming year. This past year I finally began to take steps toward having the homestead I have always envisioned. I searched out and purchased two milk goats who are possibly pregnant, nine fat hens who are laying an abundance of eggs and a pair of piggies who I hope will breed this spring. My gardening efforts did not yield much but I got the bug to build raised beds and start again this spring. In the coming year I would like to be much more conscientious of my spending while looking at everything I already have with a fresh eye.
On a professional level I changed jobs, and while the new job may not be where I would like to stay forever, I am grateful none the less for it and the new things I have learned while there. Additionally, I had a major surgery and came through healthy and free from a long term health issue that had robbed me of energy for years.
I have been so very inspired by all of the hard working amazing people I have followed as they blog about their lives.I hope to reflect back this time next year with a sense of satisfaction that I have simplified, consumed less and produced more from my little plot of land here in Florida. I have thought a lot about why we blog, why I blog, and why I find it so cathartic. I know I do it for myself, an online journal in a way to remind me of where I have come from but why do it in a public format? I know connecting with like minded people is one of the reasons, wanting to feel like my life and my efforts mean something may be another. I would love your input on this topic, why do you blog?

Google Yourself

2009-12-21T10:11:00.002-05:00

Has anyone googled themselves?? I was in google images looking for an illustration for my posts and I googled my profile name lauraslife and was shocked to see my profile pic as well as several of the pics from my blog pop up. I guess I did not realize how far these little messages can travel. A kind of Karma in a way, who knows how what you send out may come back to you.

Another year comes to an end.

2009-12-21T09:23:00.003-05:00

Today is the third of three days off and I have gotten most of my shopping done which is a huge relief. Also, I have gotten some real sleep which I so needed and am feeling so much more positive. The Christmas tree has lights but still no ornaments and I have decided that it's OK just like it is. This year I will have no guests to my home, this year won't have all the bells and whistles of years past, but even so, it will be a year to visit with friends and family and to be grateful to have the chance to start again in a fresh new year.

Next year I hope to move my homesteading goals further forward. I like the egg, veggie count that some blogger's post, I like the plant something, harvest something philosophy that others follow. I would like to raise my own Thanksgiving Turkey and maybe even a few more to sell at the local critter auction. I also hope to put together a pantry system in my home that helps me to spend less time and money in the grocery store. Additionally, I would like to begin a small home business, not sure yet what that will entail but I am going to start researching possibilities. I plan to purge a ton of my junk and might even try my hand at selling some things on ebay.

As I look back on this year I have to acknowledge that I am blessed. If I don't get the chance to say so before then, Merry Christmas to all of my new friends online, you all have no idea how much you have inspired and encouraged me with your blogs.

Letting Go

2009-12-17T07:23:00.004-05:00

Today is a completely off topic day. As hard as it is for me to admit, I can't get into Christmas this year. I pride myself on being optimistic, seeing the bright side of life and moving forward but I am coming to realize that I just need to allow myself to face my feelings and accept that this is a year to take a step back, forgive myself for whatever it is that I think I could have, should have done differently. Anyone who has ever gone through a divorce may know what I am feeling. This will be the first Christmas in 27 years that our whole family will not be together, it's hard.

I know that time has an amazing way of healing, I pray that this time next year I will have my usual zeal for the season back. I am not a person who usually shares her personal emotions but I guess I feel the need to stop denying and mark this season as one of those life milestones that in the end will only make me stronger and wiser.

The First Present

2009-12-09T09:38:00.003-05:00

Yeah!! I finally bought a present. I was reminded by the music at Octoberfarm's blog of the video The Snowman by Raymond Briggs that my own children watched over and over when they were young. Honestly, I am not sure who loved it more, me or the kids. I decided to find the DVD for my grandsons. Now that I have finally made a purchase maybe I can keep the momentum going and find meaningful gifts for the rest of my loved ones.
The music you hear first on my blog is from this movie, the movie has no words just a beautifully illustrated story and wonderful music.

JUICING DAY

2009-12-08T16:11:00.002-05:00

My good friend has a couple of very prolific citrus trees in the yard, one is a tangerine tree that is overloaded with what looks like thousands of ripe tangerines. It pains me to see them go to waste, so today I went and bought a juicer So far I have frozen three big batches of juice. It is so good.

I think I will be doing some juicing on every day off for the next few weeks. In my quest to produce more of my own food I have added so far: juice, eggs, goat milk, cheese, fresh green beans and a variety of from the garden herbs.

Eggs, eggs and more eggs.

2009-12-04T04:32:00.002-05:00

In the course of a week my two eggs a day has gone to seven eggs a day with three more about to begin laying. I am facing a case of be careful what you wish for...... I am giving away eggs to everyone I know and still have too many. Guess it is time to start looking for egg recipes.
Happy Friday everyone, its 4:30 a.m. time to milk the goats, then off to the hospital for another very long day. Such is the life I chose, it is challenging at times but I am grateful everyday for all that I have.

Coffee Anyone??

2009-12-03T14:55:00.003-05:00

I finally took a minute to take a picture of my vintage coffee grinder and thrift store coffee percolator. When I stop and ask myself what would I really miss if there were no electricity I think of coffee. I know for now I am dependant on coffee beans that are shipped from from South America but I did find coffee bean plants for sale on eBay and Amazon for around $8.00.

I found a link to the University of Florida's Ag site and they say that coffee can be grown in Florida or as a potted plant. Anyone out there ever grown coffee? I will have to do a lot more research so see if it is even remotely realistic to think about on a small scale but it might be fun to try. I had to laugh the other day I was watching the show "100 Mile Diet " or something like that and the families all complained that the most difficult thing to give up was coffee.

Thank God It's Thursday!

2009-12-03T07:47:00.003-05:00

After two excruciatingly long days at work (14 hour days) I have one day off. I am determined to make the most of it but I have already spent two hours in bed sipping coffee and reading blogs. I keep telling myself "me" time is good but I still feel guilty . So I am going to make a list and put on some Christmas music and jump in hoping that the spirit of the season will begin to creep in. Getting about 5 eggs a day now. (Quiche for dinner tonight) I love the idea of keeping a count like so many of the bloggers I follow do. I think I will start mine Jan. 1st.

Happy Thursday!!

Laura

Happy Tuesday!!

2009-12-01T05:20:00.002-05:00

Just a quick hello to all of my blogging friends, I had one day off (Monday) and it was full of chores and shopping trips for the essentials that keep this place going. Back to work today.

I got the coffee grinder that ordered from ebay, it works great and I am having freshly hand ground coffee this morning. I will post a pic later. Have the best of days!

2009-11-26T09:34:00.001-05:00

Wishing all of my blogging friends the happiest of holidays! May you really feel the spirit of thankfulness for all of the blessings in your lives.

Two Eggs a Day.

2009-11-25T07:10:00.005-05:00

I am so excited that two of my nine new hens are laying daily. You would have thought it was Christmas early, I am so happy to eat my morning omelet with eggs from my hens and herbed goat cheese inside. It's truly the little things in life! On a side note, my youngest son 18 who still lives at home won't eat the eggs from my chickens, he loves eggs but says he cant eat the children of the hens he knows. Weird kid!!

2009-11-25T07:09:00.001-05:00

Problem Fixed

2009-11-24T10:52:00.002-05:00

I think I found the problem with my ability to open links in blogger. I un-installed some of the applications I had recently downloaded from facebook and removed the google toolbar they were displayed on and the problem was fixed. I guess you really have to be careful about what you download. Happy to see all of your blogs entries again!!

I can't read the blogs I follow

2009-11-24T10:41:00.001-05:00

I am so frustrated, I am unable to open the links to the blogs I follow. Everything else in blogger works but it like a pop up blocker is on that prevents me from going to all of your blogs.
My pop up blocker is off. I have written to google, no response yet. I have run anti-virus and disk clean up on my computer I have re- booted a million times. This has been going on for over a week. I am in blog withdrawal!!!! Any suggestions??

Making Soft Cheese

2009-11-18T17:16:00.007-05:00

I have gotten in the habit of making at least one batch of easy soft goat cheese each week.
This easy method uses lemon juice to curdle the milk. If stored in an airtight container immediately the cheese retains a lot of whey making it soft and spreadable like cream cheese.
If left to hang in the cheese cloth longer you end up with a dryer batch that can be sliced or even crumbed like feta. I add spices to season the cheese according to my taste. I found the original directions at the website "Slugs on the Refrigerator". I would post the link but I can't seem to make copy and paste work inside the blog format. I hope to expand my cheese making adventures to Mozzarella and eventually hard cheeses too. http://www.slugsontherefrigerator.com/ . I figured it out, here is the link to that site.

It's the little things...

2009-11-18T15:16:00.005-05:00

that make me smile , like the first eggs from my new flock of chickens, my new milk goat, a colorful batch of homemade soy candles, a batch of freshly made goat cheese from my own goats milk.

Coming home after a long day at work and gladly summoning up the energy to tend to my little farm because all who reside here depend on me.

Coffee Grinder

2009-11-07T10:30:00.001-05:00

Ordered a coffee bean grinder off of ebay today, I think it was a post at "Cold Antler Farm" that inspired me to find one, now to find an old fashioned percolator.

I have followers!!!

2009-11-07T10:08:00.003-05:00

I just had to say thank you to those people who commented on my blog. This is my first venture at writing anything ever and as you all know it is intimidating to say the least to bare your soul and expose yourself for all the world to see. I find the process is somehow liberating and scary at the same time.

I enjoy the blogs I follow so much and feel so satisfied knowing that there are other people out there who share a similar vision and interests as I do. Having grown up in Los Angeles Calif. most people really don't understand why I do what I do (that's certainly a blog in itself). Already, you have added so much to my knowledge base. I am happy if I can add in anyway something to the collective experience.

I have a long way to go, I hope that someday I will be able to add photographs that even come close to the beautiful images that some of you share or that I might be able to write as eloquently as some I have read but I believe the journey is going to be a lot of fun.

I feel like I have made some new friends out there....Thank you!!

The first week in ICU

2009-11-06T09:03:00.002-05:00

Spending a lazy morning sleeping in and reflecting on the whirlwind that has been this week.
I am pleasantly satisfied with all of the new experiences that came my way at work this past week. I transduced an arterial line, pulled a sheath, learned about Central Venous Pressure, what do do with some really lethal but lifesaving medications, and probably a hundred other things I did not know before. It's not rocket science, but it is definitely more technically challenging stuff then I had previously been exposed to. I watched a family greive the loss of a beloved mother with grace and dignity and I prayed that I would have such a family by my side when my time comes. I am reminded that life is a precious gift not to be wasted.

Coming home nightly to my little chunk of land I feel the need to simplify even further, shed the unnecessary clutter in my life and get even more back to basics. I read a blog somewhere out there describing the simple satisfaction of grinding your own coffee beans and percolating them on top of the stove in a simple old fashioned coffee pot, somehow that appeals to me a great deal. The problem I see with trying to simplify is dependency on the consumer machine.
Even if I decide to get back to basics and grind my own beans and even go so far as to brew them over a campfire or a wood burning stove, I have to get those beans from somewhere right? The challenge is to find local sources for such items. I think that might be harder to do then I can even imagine.

Life is good

2009-11-05T04:50:00.002-05:00

For the past week or so I have had that amazingly satisfied with life feeling. I have a new job and am finding it very rewarding, forcing me to grow and inch out of my comfort zone. For years I had thought I would like to be an ICU nurse but was afraid of the complexity of the medications and the advanced equipment one sees in that setting but after only two days in the new position I have learned so much. My head is full of new things that I am trying to sort and make sense of. I believe I am going to rise to the challenge.

In my home life the simple addition of the dairy goat who needs to be milked twice daily and the new chickens combined with the cooler weather has rejuvenated my desire to continue on my journey towards a more self sustaining homestead. I find milking very grounding, somehow connecting me more to all of the animals who all come to watch the dairy theatre. Anthony, my 18 year old son and I have settled into a peaceful routine. Something about the fall, even in Florida makes you want to nest in, go to bed earlier and keep the home fires tended. I like it!

Life gets hectic

2009-10-27T18:15:00.004-04:00

My life has had it's share of turmoil lately, but thankfully things are working out. I no sooner had returned to work after my long post surgical leave before I found myself in the midst of some pretty intolerable working conditions. I have never in my life walked off the job, but that is exactly what I found myself doing. I feel like it was one of those defining moments in life where you have to stand up for what is right at any cost. I quit my job on Friday and thankfully because I am an RN I had a new job by Tuesday. I am now in the middle of reorganizing my life to accommodate my new schedule.

Managing to care for my livestock, milk my dairy goat twice daily and continuing trying to grow some of my own vegetables are projects that I am determined to maintain because they bring me so much self satisfaction. I patiently await the arrival of the first eggs from my hens who are looking fat and healthy. I lost my Barred Rock Hen sadly to my dog Lola, the Boston Terrier who simply loses her mind when she gets close to a chicken or duck. I have tried everything short of tying a dead chicken to her neck and making her carry it around for a few days as I have been advised, to no avail. I still have my original nine Rhode Island Red Pullets and fingers crossed they stay alive and well, but that is a pretty big wish since they are all free range with no enclosure to keep them safe at night. I hope to build a safe structure very soon but have not been able to get to it yet.

I had really good success with my first batch of soft goat cheese made with lemon juice instead of rennet to curdle the milk. I followed a basic recipe for making soft spreadable goat cheese with lemon juice I found doing a simple Google search online. I added some chopped up lemon balm herb that I had growing in my little garden. The resulting cheese was soft spreadable with a nice sharp flavor very similar in consistency to cream cheese. Eaten over flat bread or toast was so delicious I will make it a regular addition to my homesteading projects. I hope to find a recipe for Alfredo sauce using goat cheese as well.

I made made a batch of 6 soy candles with a great pumpkin spice scent the candles are really long burning and I am very happy with them, however, I realized as I made them that they are not really moving me in the direction of self sufficiency because I must purchase all of the ingredients to make the candles from retailers. I need to do more research on home made candles. The only way I can see to truly make my own candles from my own materials would be to raise my own bees, so for now I will have to ponder that question.

Making a living.

2009-10-13T21:49:00.002-04:00

Finally home cozy in my bed with Lola the Boston Terrier at my feet. She is an amazing escape artist, she can get out of any enclosure which is how she a wrangled her way up on to my bed, I am to tired to object. Worked a 12 hour shift today which in itself is not all that bad. I certainly am grateful t have such a good paying job. I think about what so many people are facing in this country and wonder how they manage to put one foot in front of the other every day. I am very tired though, and would have liked to have fallen into bed feeling like I had accomplished more around the homestead today. All I really managed to do today was water the little garden. My youngest son fed and cared for the animals today, he is 18 and I keep thinking I have got to figure out how I can manage it all when he is not around full time. Its time to call it a night.

Small Steps to Sustainability

2009-10-12T14:06:00.002-04:00

I read a post by Jenna Woginrich on the Mother Earth News Website where she talks about her beginning journey towards sustainability. I found it so inspiring to hear how a girl who holds down a full time job in Design (Web, Internet stuff) has completely transformed her life to one that not only allows her to be far less dependant on the consumer machine as well as much more satisfied with her life. I know that feeling, I love that feeling. I too, have finally begun to realize that I can do this myself. I have no idea what the future holds for me but I am determined to live the life that I yearn for with or without a man around. I know by making smart choices and organizing my time I can do this while working full time time and then some. With that goal in mind, I have over the past two months added to my little homestead, a flock of ten Laying Hens and two Roosters. The sight of those happy birds happily pecking around my yard is heart warming. I have also added a Yorkshire Sow and her little sidekick a Yorkshire Boar Hog. The idea is to let them breed and use their offspring as a source of meat and to make a very small income off of any piglets sold. My trough garden is coming along nicely. The peppers I planted are loving the never ending summer here in Central Fl. and are producing fruit already. The tomato plants look great but no flowers yet. The cool weather crops I planted ( you know the ones you are supposed to plant in October) are looking a little rough from the heat. I hear rumor of a cool front coming soon so maybe they will perk up then.

I made a wooden raised bed frame last night,with the help of a friend I learned how to work the drill and went and bought my own set of drill bits and drivers and a chuck ( I now know what a chuck is). I am so proud of those tools, they are the first tools I have ever owned. All the leftover tools in my house were my husbands. I hope to make many more over the coming months adding to the production of vegetables for my home. Additionally, I found a local builder and bought a goat milking stand. I currently have only one small doe a Spanish/Boar mix who is pregnant. I plan on milking her once a day and leaving the baby with her the remainder of the time. I am looking for a real dairy goat to buy but they are pretty hard to find in this area and expensive so I may have to wait a while. I am happy to have this venue to journal my progress and I am constantly inspired by others who write so eloquently about their adventures. Thank you Jenna Woginrich!

Live Stock Water Trough Garden

2009-09-27T13:20:00.000-04:00

Since I usually work in excess of 48 hours a week there is not a lot of time for time intensive homestead chores so I am looking at ways to be self sufficient and grow my own vegetables that are not terribly time consuming.

With this thought in mind I decided to plant a small vegetable garden using the basic principles in square foot gardening in my unused horse trough. To do so I elevated it using some cinder blocks I had left over from another project, it already had holes drilled in the bottom from it's previous use as a baby duck brooder. In the bottom of the trough I had my son fill it with about 10 inches of pine needles and oak leaves raked out of my front yard.
On top of that he made another layer of about 10-12 inches with decomposed manure (horse and goat)that had been raked and aged for over a year. On top of that I dumped about 15 bags of generic topsoil that I got at Walmart for about $1.18 per bag. This made a nice bed ready for planting.

New Beginnings

2009-09-27T11:26:00.000-04:00

This blog will follow my efforts to take small steps to a more sustainable way of life. I have been re-inspired by the Dervais (spelling?) family of Pasadena California, see them on you tube "Paths to Freedom" for your own bit of inspiration. I plan to simply jump in where I am,focus on taking care of what I have, using up the glutton of material posses ions I already have and living a life more conscientious of the choices I make daily.