Brrrr! It’s cold here today! There is a storm warning, and the sheen of white on the ground isn’t frost, it’s ice! Of course, it’s winter and all to be expected. But winter brings more trouble to a farm than just a low thermometer. Bedding for animals becomes necessary. Rabbits live on wire floors which become… Read More The troubles with winter
The dream was to raise Angora rabbits, pluck their wool, spin it into yarn, and sell it. And rake in the money. After all, Angora fur sells for $6 – $8 per ounce! I stumbled across a purebred French Angora doe for $30. She quickly produced an equally purebred litter of eight kits. I fought… Read More Even best laid plans must have room to change
I read once that having livestock was publicly announcing your willingness to run outside, at any hour of the day or night, in any state of dress or undress, to deal with whatever emergency happened. I scoffed at that. Certainly there is time to put on pants or a jacket, right? Nope. Hubby and I… Read More Midnight adrenaline!
The price of rabbit and chicken feed is rising. A LOT. The drought conditions that affected the MidWest’s corn crop in the summer of 2012 have been trickling through the rest of the feed supply. If there is less corn, then what there is costs more than it did previously. And those who purchase corn… Read More I might as well feed them dollar bills
Our house does not have air conditioning. It isn’t built in, and we chose not to purchase a window unit. Sure, the afternoons get very warm, but it cools off in the evenings, and I don’t want to spend money to combat heat that is that temporary. We have a stone floor in our kitchen… Read More Living frugally vs other people’s white carpets
Hey, that rhymes! Seriously though, I got bitten by a pullet tonight. Not pecked – bitten. I didn’t know they knew how to do that! The chickens have been on lockdown for the past three days in the hope of getting them to roost in the coop instead of the trees. But three days wasn’t… Read More Bitten by a chicken
I TRIED to make today a good day. I really did! But as the poet said: “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men/ Gang aft agley”. You see, I started feeling sick yesterday and haven’t been up to par. My hubby has been great, picking up my chores in addition to his graduate studies. But… Read More Days that don’t work well
It is NOT easy to find a housesitter when you have 29 animals to take care of. On the one hand, regular pet sitters are often overwhelmed by those numbers, and don’t wish to deal with the issues that livestock type animals can bring. On the other hand, farm sitters can charge too much, and… Read More Finding a housesitter
Have I mentioned recently that I’m still getting the hang of this homesteading thing? This weekend was the worst. I am cut and bruised and swollen all over, from multiple things. Ready for the list? First of all is a bunch of scratches on my left arm and stomach. They are from the mother rabbit… Read More Homestead injuries
I have been wondering about this a lot lately. Most of my self-sufficiency attempts are working well. I had no problem adding chickens to my lifestyle. Doing a compost heap worked almost textbook perfectly. The mealworm farm produced lots of bugs for the chickens to eat. Even after moving from Colorado to Oregon and not… Read More When to throw in the towel?
