Spring Chicks and A New Family Member

About a week ago I placed an order for 15 Australorp pullets, 5 Buff Orpington pullets, and 3 Buff Orpington males. I have been patiently waiting for an email stating when they will ship. Okay, so maybe I was getting a little anxious! So I went onto the website this morning and they're sold out until May! It could be a while before I get my chicks. Hopefully it won't be that long since I placed the order before they were sold out.

In other news...we have an addition to the family! Sunday night, my parents found a little hound dog cowering in the middle our driveway. Reeking of skunk. They already have two indoor dogs, so guess who ended up taking him?

It started out as just a foster. The local animal shelter is so full they can't take anymore, so I knew taking him there wasn't an option. But by the end of this week, after several baths and an investment in "Skunk Away", he had cuddled next to me every single day while I work on my homework and grown on us.

 So, his new name is Sam. We think he is a beagle/dachshund mix.

Did I mention he hates his picture taken? This is the only full body shot I have been able to get. The rest of the time he is an inch from the camera lens!

Yup, a little ironic that his favorite toy is a skunk!

He will be headed to the vet in the morning to get his leg checked out. He has a limp when he runs, but other than that it doesn't bother him. He will also be getting neutered, but don't tell him that...

Now honestly, I always said we wouldn't have an indoor dog. I'm more of a cat person. Not that I don't love dogs. I have my German Shepherd, Sugar, but she is more suited to be outside. I've always leaned towards bigger dogs. But this little guy has done great so far. I especially like the fact that he doesn't bark at all! Yet anyway!

This post is linked to:
Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop!

The Durability of Aluminum Greenhouses

Today is a sad, sad day. For those of you that live in the mid-west, I am sure you noticed the awful storms we had last night. For those of you that don't, we had up to 60-mph winds, torrential rainfall, and tornado watches all night. For some reason that has become the winter norm for us in southern Indiana.

I was a little worried about my greenhouse when I left for work last night. A few panels had blown out from the last storm. I thought maybe a few panels might bust out, maybe even shatter. Oh well, they sell replacements at the hardware store. I didn't expect this though.

Yes, I did cry like a baby. No, I didn't pay a whole lot for it. But this throws back my seed starting schedule, and just the fact that I did put over $100 into it (after purchasing the wood to mount it on), is frustrating.

My dad thinks we may be able to salvage it and use steel framing to build it back up. I suppose we will see what happens. If this doesn't work I am going to try a homemade PVC pipe greenhouse. Either way, I am determined to get some seeds started this spring!

Using the Freezer to Save Money

There is some produce that I simply don't have the time to attempt to grow. One of these is mushrooms. I love to saute mushrooms to put in an omelet, top a pizza with, put in casseroles, you name it! I got tired of buying them in tiny little cans or spending $3 for a pound of fresh mushrooms though.
As I was looking through the produce I saw several containers of marked down 1lb containers of mushrooms. Then it hit me. The freezer! So I loaded up my cart with 3 lbs of mushrooms for $1.35 a lb and set to work.

I had to make sure that I didn't procrastinate and end up with a bunch of rotten mushrooms, since they were marked down. So as soon as I got home I washed them up, sliced them, and froze them on a cookie sheet. Only put one layer on the sheet though, if you don't, you'll end up with a big chunk of mushrooms that are hard to break apart.

I was thrilled! I ended up with an entire gallon zip-lock baggie full of  mushrooms, ready to use! The next evening I threw a handful in the skillet to make my own concoction of Spinach-Mushroom Chicken. It turned out great.


I have to admit, I used to have the attitude that I should only can and dry everything. If I resorted to using the freezer, then I was being too "modern" and not trying to live how our ancestors did to the fullest. But honestly, if they had access to things we have nowadays, I would imagine that they would think that I was insane for not taking advantage of every method we have to preserve foods!

I still like to make sure things are balanced though. I would hate to lose all of the foods I put away because the power went out and everything was in the freezer. Likewise, I don't want to can things that my family doesn't eat. We don't like canned green beans, so we freeze them so they still have that fresh crunch.

Since this discovery, I have been on the lookout for what else I can buy cheaply and freeze. Abbi over at Proverbs 31 Living just put out a great article about freezing sandwich meat! You have no idea how excited I was to see that. I thought I was the only one constantly feeding wasted sandwich meat to the dogs...

I have also shredded half a head of cabbage that was leftover and just put it in the freezer. With only two of us, it's hard to use up an entire head of cabbage. Now I just grab a handful of frozen cabbage when I make Spinach and Cabbage Minestrone Soup. :)

I also love to pick extra blueberries and strawberries when they are in season to freeze for smoothies later in the year.

Does anyone else have anything that freezes well that saves you money? Please share!


This post is linked to The Country Homemaker Hop, Living Well Blog Hop, and Farm Girl Friday Blog Hop!

2012 Goals

Last year was a busy year. I almost feel that I didn't accomplish anything that helped further my homesteading goals. But as I think about it, maybe it is because I didn't have any goals established in the first place! Even so, it wasn't such a loss after all. We accomplished several things last year:

•  I finally got my orchard planted! I have been wanting to do that for the last five years.

• We began raising bottle calves for our own grass-fed beef for the first time. They will be ready to take to the butcher soon.

•  As I mentioned in my last post, I found a great deal on a greenhouse for starting seeds.

Goals for 2012

I hope that this year will be even more productive. I think it helps to have specific goals, instead of generalities. So, here are my goals for 2012:

• Have a successful garden this year and put up salsa, tomato sauce, pickles, and green beans. When I first started canning, I went overboard canning pickles. We don't eat a lot of pickles and it always resulted in excess that went uneaten.  I'm going to learn from that and only can what we will eat this year.

• Order Buff Orpington chicks to replace the hens we lost last year.

•  Raise and butcher the cockerels. I have had chickens since I was around ten years old, yet we have never butchered any. I hope this year will be the first that we get to fill our freezer with fresh home raised chicken! The butchering part of homesteading is an area I have always felt that I lack in. I have the "book knowledge" on how to do it, I want to have the experience though!

• Build a goat-proof fence for dairy goats. I don't plan on getting any this year, but I am hoping for 2013.

• Find another horse safe hay ring. Having another one of these would save so much hay.

 

• Add another bottle calf to the herd. 

 

• Plant more fruit trees in the orchard. We still have enough room for about four more trees!

I hope that having my goals written out where I can see them will help me reach them this year. I already have a timeline worked out for when I am going to complete most of my goals.


Does anyone else have any goals for 2012?

It's that time of year again!

I always look forward to this time of year. The time when seed catalogs start arriving in my mailbox, and I can spend cold evenings snuggled up in a blanket drooling over the wide varieties of seeds available. I have already been looking through the catalogs, trying to decide which varieties I will try this year.

Last year I started the majority of my transplants at home for the first time. They turned out okay, even though I had to start them in the window. It made it difficult because they wanted to grow towards the sun, resulting in lopsided little starts. Not to mention the cats liked to knock them over and eat them :(

This year will be different! This past week I found a 6' x 8' greenhouse for sale on Craigslist! So, DH and I picked it up and spent most of Sunday putting it together. It needed new footer boards and a little cleaning up. It is just the right size for starting my tomatoes, peppers, and probably some herbs. Best of all, I don't have to protect them from the cats!

My new (to me) greenhouse. It was like Christmas morning when we went to pick it up!

Another thing I hope that will be different this year is the quality of my garden. Last year was a busy one. I never realized how much work a wedding is until this year! Needless to say, my beloved garden ended up as a plot of weeds. Neglected from the rush of wedding plans and honeymoon. I was able to harvest some potatoes, after digging them up from under all of the weeds. And of course the indestructible zucchini and yellow squash! But other than that, it was a loss.

I am going to learn from my mistakes though! Instead of ordering a packet of every vegetable that looks sooo delicious, I am going to stick with the ones I have experience with. I think it will be better to have a small successful garden, than a large disastrous one ;)


What about you? Am I the only one that gets carried away once those seed catalogs show up in the mailbox?

This post in linked to the Living Well Blog Hop, Homestead Revival Barn Hop , Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways and Simple Lives Thursday.

Slowing down...for a little bit anyway!

Okay, okay, you caught me. I know I haven't had a post in a little over a week now. My home has been plagued with some type of stomach bug that ended up requiring both my husband and I calling in sick to work. Oh, and did I mention this week is finals week? Yeah, it's been that kind of week. *sigh*  I really don't know about you guys, but is it difficult to get in the *Christmas Spirit* when all you can think about is housework, homework, work-outside-of-work work, and the never-ending farm work?

It's one thing when you are healthy, but when something like that hits you and leaves you asleep for two days without batting an eyelash, things tend to pile up!

(Yes, I know all of you moms out there are thinking, "There's no way I could sleep for two days straight with the kids!  I know, one day I won't have the luxury of sleeping when I'm sick so I'm gonna enjoy it while I can ;)

So, my random thought this week has been that I really need to appreciate my health more than I do!

On a side note, DH and I are planning on making our homemade jar gifts tomorrow! So plenty of pictures and directions are coming. (Yeah I know, were cutting it pretty close! Especially considering Christmas is only 9 days away!)

Have a good Friday! :)

Are there any "homesteading" students out there? I don't know about you but I am soo ready for winter break. What about you? Any plans?

Horseback Riding Safety

Did you know that most riding accidents do not occur during “dangerous” sports, but while riding for pleasure? And that the most common reason for admission to the hospital among horseback riders is due to a head injury?

A few weeks ago, my 14 year old sister went to the emergency room and ended up staying overnight because she was not wearing her helmet while riding her horse. She was fine at first, but after a little while we could tell that she was not ok. She ended up with a concussion and some short-term memory loss. She could not remember at all what had happened over the last week, and continuously asked the same questions within minutes.

After a 24 hour stay at the hospital for observation she was fine, and she is back to her normal self. But it was a reminder that we always need to wear our helmets while riding, even if it is just a quick ride down the road. 

I am sharing this because many homesteaders dream of having a horse on their farm for pleasure and for work. While I know that wearing a helmet may not be the rough and tumble vision of homesteading you had in mind, it is a very important aspect of owning and riding a horse.  English riders shouldn’t be the only ones willing to protect their brain! Fortunately, this trend has been changing (albeit slowly) in recent years due to the increased public knowledge of the protection offered by helmets.

Choosing a helmet

First of all, never substitute an ASTM approved and SEI certified helmet with a bicycle helmet! The coverage area that a bicycle helmet protects is very different from the areas most commonly injured in horse riding accidents. Riding helmets extend further down the back of the head to protect this very sensitive area of the head. Bicycle helmets are also not as rigorously tested and do not go through the same certification processes as riding helmets.

There are so many choices for helmets nowadays. It really boils down to how much you want to spend and if you are concerned about style. I have bought many helmets over the years and have found that you get what you pay for. I’m not saying that you have to go out and spend $200 on a helmet, just that cheapest is not always the best route. The cheaper ones I have bought tend to fall apart easier, especially after spending the year in a hot barn.

A good, cheap helmet that isn’t going to fall apart after one summer would be the Troxel Sport Schooling Helmet. It's not pretty, but it's only around $25 and has most of the comfort features of Troxel's more expensive models.

After that, basically the sky is the limit as far as how much to spend, but an average range priced helmet that I like is the Troxel Legacy Helmet. What I like most about this helmet, is that it has a fixed visor. Velcro attached visors tend to fall off after a while, so I am willing to splurge for one that isn't going to fall to the ground if I want to go for a gallop. 

When to get a new helmet

As long as you take good care of your helmet, it should last you a good while. It is recommended to replace your helmet every five years, but if you are involved in an accident while wearing it you will want to replace it immediately. The foam inside the helmet will basically collapse when it protects your head in a fall. Troxel also has an accident replacement program, although I am not certain on what their fee is to replace the helmet.

So, remember Every Time, Every Ride and you should be well on your way to keeping your head safe while riding!

This post is linked to the Living Well Blog Hop at Common Sense Homesteading,& Homestead Revival Barn Hop #39

I have not been paid or reimbursed for anything in the writing this article. Simply a satisfied customer.

Websites used

http://www.riding-instructor.com/helmets.php

http://www.troxelhelmets.com/blog/troxel/know-when-its-time-to-replace-your-riding-helmet