HOMESTEADING. WHY WE'RE CRAZY ENOUGH TO DO IT.

Its not about why we do it. It's more of a how...

You see we wake up everyday, and no not always at the crack of dawn... These days we sleep in a little later. We did just have our second child after all.... We head outside and get our first deep breath of the that cool crisp morning air, and breathe it all in. By 'all' I mean the essence of manure, the smell of the dew, usually some hint of smoke (if you're from around my parts you'll understand with the constant prescribed burning) and yup more poop; cow manure at the neighbors, rabbit scat, chicken droppings, water fowl goo here and there from ducks and the goose who free range the property, and then you've got the heaps and heaps of horse manure.... 

Any body need any manure for their compost or garden beds??? Come on down!! TAKE IT AWAY... Like yesterday..

Please...?

Okay, ok but really... We have more than enough to go around.. Scooping manure is a constant filler task. What I mean by that is, tasks that are continually ongoing, basically we will be doing these until the end of time. Poop scooping is just one of those tasks on the homestead, if you don't like it or love it, maybe this lifestyle ain't for you! 

Alright, you don't have to LOVE shoveling animal dung, but, you have to understand and respect its necessity to all farm stead animals. 

Our backyard plays a harmony of sounds finches who have once again taken up residence in our aspen just outside the chicken coop, a couple hens obviously laying eggs, and the ducks splashing away in their pool, Lucy goose honks supervisorly. The first task of the day for my farm stud (as I now spend much of the morning tending to our newborn) include: feeding the horses, all 5 of them. Under the shelter of the barn, also resides the two pigs not far from finishing. With the help of barley fodder, they express their gratitude oh so loudly. We provide loose hay for them at all times, they munch, not eating much, using it mostly for bedding. Spencer checks all their water daily. Maintaining proper hydration is mandatory for horses, especially with all the roughage they receive on our non uniform pasture. Even more so for swine, who are very susceptible to heat stroke. 

Our little farm girl has usually arisen by then and seeks something to fill her tummy. Much of the other chores can be completed through the day. With a toddler and new born sometimes the chore timeline changes... Daily. You see, sometimes I'm not perfect.... Hard to believe I know! Sometimes I do my chores a little late and yes sometimes certain tasks take precedence over chores.... Like trying to nurse a sick gosling, and failing.... Or even nursing a newborn!

When I do finally get to the chicken coop I do my I initial egg check, make sure the water is full, and throw some sprouted fodder for all the birds. 

Right outside the chicken coop our rabbits lay peacefully as they wait oh so patiently for fresh picked weeds I snagged for them on the way. Honestly they are the only animals on the homestead who are patient and don't rush me at the sight of food. 

Maybe that's why I love them so much.

Those furry bunnies bring me more joy than I ever thought they would, and they are so simple! 

I free feed them a local organic pellet feed, weeds or cut them some fodder as a special treat! This summer I plan on weaning them off the pellets completely in an effort to pasture or grass feed them. 

The homestud is actually helping me to complete a vision I have to build a rabbit run out of an old flower bed over run by weeds and wild flowers. Hopefully by next week my bunnies will be converted to the colony high life with more to eat than they can keep up with. 

Many of these chores are repeated in the evening; feeding horses and pigs, throwing sprouted fodder for the birds, checking all waters. The rabbits usually only need more pellet feed every 2-3 days, but as they drink a large amount their water can need filling twice daily at times. In my dream works they would have a drop water system... A girl can dream!

And there ya have it! We're now free to garden or whatever else needs attention. Granted there's usually always something needing a fix or a mess to be cleaned. But at the end of the day we're never bored with our crazy life. 

You see, we get to view the fruits of our labor everyday! In the eggs we collect, those trays and trays of veggie starts, potato and onion sprouts making their appearance above soil, the promise of meat soon to be in the freezer... All organic and nonGMO ta boot! We find happiness in becoming producers, not consumers. And that fills us up. 

We only wish to provide a wholesome, healthy, and educational lifestyle for our brooding quiver of kiddos. Life skills like these will only become more valuable to my children's generation as we head into the future of this crazy world. I only wish we'd jumped on the wagon sooner!

Sharpening knives. 

Rabbit stew tonight..

Amen to this life. 

2015 -- GOALS FOR THE STEAD

Not that I don't love winter, it used to be one of my favorite seasons. But as of the last 5 years my little high desert haven has been a stranger to the real winter season to which myself and many others were used to as kids. No more white Christmas' for us Central Oregonians, unfortunate for a desert climate with such high fire risk.

This inefficient winter only feeds my anticipation and gives way to the all of my dreams of spring! So I have begun making the necessary preparations and lists for this years homestead projects--- granted I did start this list a couple weeks ago.... I kept adding more and finding new to dos so naturally I put off posting until now. I have listed future projects and to do's as well as addressed all of our current and already progressing responsibilities(**).

PIGS**-- If we decide to stay in Tumalo one more year, creating a more permanent hog enclosure is a must! Don't get me wrong my handsome other half is pretty crafty and fashioned an awesome and well thought out recycled pallet enclosure, but alas our last pig broke some panels and escaped numerous times... Not an issue since we're fenced all round our 5 acres with a great front gate, and we simply replace the boards or the whole pallet. But coming home and being bum rushed by a 200 lb hog last year scared the bejeezus right outta me! We will be slaughtering our two current hogs the first week of June to freeze, preserve, and accommodate our annual Sisters Rodeo Kick-off party. In our attempt to be self sufficient we would love to perform the whole process ourselves but as we have never done this before we have much to learn and many tools/supplies to gather to make this possible. In previous years we'd simply call our local mobile slaughter man and he comes to do the dirty work then takes the meat directly to our local Redmond Smokehouse for processing and smoking if wanted. We hope to avoid that wait and cost of that option. We need to acquire proper cutlery and a scraping bell of course then will come the issue of how we preserve it. Another task to get under my belt! Woo! A knowledgable coworker and friend of Spencer's has graciously offered his services in exchange for a a small portion of the meat and a few dozen of our free-range eggs. I don't know about y'all but mama loves to barter and exchange on this homestead, it's an old practice sadly forgotten by our culture. I seriously DIGRESS! More about our homestead hogs later.

RABBITS**-- slaughter first litter of kits(mid April), learn to treat hides for selling furs. Buy new rabbit cages and build new tables. Build more nesting boxes. Incorporate free range foods (build rabbit tractor) and homemade sourced feeds.

HORSES**--rotate pastures to the front of the property, transfer manure to garden, hang hay feeder, set up two more boarding pastures.

LAYERS**-- set up brooding room, buy a rooster in hopes of broody hens, buy 6 more laying hens, build sand bath

BROILERS-- set up brooder, build chicken tractors, order 60 broilers, buy chicken plucker, buy hanging waterers/feeders.

DUCKS**-- order 4 Cayuga ducks, create house near pond, buy egg incubator.

TURKEYS- buy 3 turkeys (one to eat, two to breed)

BEES- research bee growers, build hives, buy bee suit, miscellaneous supplies, bee keeping books

GARDEN**-- gather cardboard boxes, begin making mulch, rebuild garden fence, create bed along backside of garage and under kitchen window, transplant hops away from house/ secure ladder in ground for hops to climb,

PASTURE MANAGEMENT**-- see horses above, buy a harrow for field, clean/move horse manure

GENERAL FARM**-- get on a consistent hay purchase schedule (at least a ton/ month), buy more trash cans (feed storage), buy bulk feeds and bulk dry pantry goods(Azure Standard)

As you can see there are a great many tasks that need to be done. And so many more that we yearn to tackle in the coming year. As Ive said in this and earlier posts, we want to learn, and grow in 2015. I want to earn more notches on my homestead belt! There's so much we are capable of with the privelage of our property, and if we might be moving this fall we had better get the most of it. Come let's get started!

Headed out to the barn,

QB