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8/28/09

I apologize for letting this blog slide. We had computer issues and things have been positively hectic with all the expansion this
year. I will try to get back to blogging as the season starts to slow down here in a couple of weeks.
4/8/09

Despite all the weather swings lately and my taking a month to recover from the flu, I will have to say that days like today make all
the rest bearable.

My pride and joy, a Western Bully named Baby gave birth last night- to 8 new Westerns, 6 of them are healthy and beautiful!! They
are as colorful as I had hoped and are already showing signs of being built like their Mom & Dad. I am soo happy. Pictures will
be added to the Western Bully page today.

Actually, this hasn't been a bad month. I have several new chickens running around the back yard. A trio of Buff Brahma Bantams,
6 Barred Rock Hens, 7 Porcelain D'Uccles and 1 Self Blue Old English Game Bird (Bantams). Plus I have 5 more (Lt Brahma
Standards) in the Brooder downstairs. I will be uploading pictures of the chicken tractor I made for the young ones to run around
safely in soon.

The garden is moving slower than I'd like due to weather and my being under it, but the salad greens are already starting to poke
their heads up and make a show of things. Now if I can hurry up and get the rest of the stuff in on time, we should have it made.
We have almost finished the tilling between rain storms and I do have several things in the ground. The garlic and onions have
definitely been loving the weather. One of the herb beds finally has all the plants in it, I just need to top it off with more mulch to
hold in the moisture.

3/7/09

The wind picked back up today but the temperature was so nice that lots got done today.

The garden is 3/4 tilled and raked level. Would have gone faster, but we are tilling in compost and 6 mos worth of aged manure
as well. We went ahead and planted the lettuce and parsley in the areas that are done. The parsnips and onions are next. Our
garden this year will consist of the approx 1,000 feet behind our house plus the 300 sq feet at the neighbor's house where we are
planting our corn this year.

Half of the dog kennels got stripped down to bare ground today and the first of the concrete pavers installed,so they will be easier
to maintain and clean. Plus our Blue Pit Bull, Ratchet, won't have a fit about his feet getting muddy when it rains. Though it will be
a loss of entertainment. We used to watch him sit on top of his dog house and whine every time the ground got wet or he'd try to
leap from the top of his dog house to our arms to avoid touching the ground LOL.

We started a new compost pile today, in what will be the new compost area behind the dog pens. Every time we emptied the soil
out of a tire in the ducks pen we'd move it to the new area and fill in with the leftover manure and shavings.

The hoops on the new "chicken tractor" are installed and glued in place, the bottom is braced and all that is left is to install the
side braces and wire.

One of the potato pots is started with a single potato plant that is almost 6 inches tall living in it. We have 5 more already started
and about 5 lbs of seed potatoes that should be arriving any day.

We got our new toy today too. A hand cranked grain grinder. Though Richard said he is going to miss watching me cutting corn
kernels with a pair of scissors so that it is small enough for our little chickens to eat.

Hey, we have a neverending source of entertainment at our house. LOL

It's been a long, tiring day but I am happy and that is all that matters in the end, isn't it? Besides I know that what I am doing is
better for my family and the environment in the long run.

3/6/09

Well the wind didn't cooperate on the 5th, but today was beautiful!

The ducks pen is finished, the new back gate is up, their house got moved into the correct position and the roof fixed. Their pond
even got cleaned out. I also started using up some of the compost out of the tires into beds and containers, so they should be out
of that section soon.

I finished the second herb/flower bed and started moving the tulips out from under the lilac bush to give them some more room
and I can then plant shade loving herbs and flowers under the lilac as soon as I brick and fill in the bed some.

Got all of the windblown trash out of the garden, so we can till tomorrow. We should be able to plant the lettuce, parsnips and
parsley tomorrow as well.

Also started on our "chicken tractor", It's a portable pen made from cpvc and hardware cloth. The bottom frame is done and the
glue is drying as I type LOL. I will post pictures in the animal section when I have it completed.

More of our seeds came in today and our seed potatoes should be in soon. I know the one that I cut up and put in the kitchen
window is on a roll. It is already 6" high and moving on up.

The kids love it when we have had a busy day, they get pizza for dinner. LOL

Oh, we also set a trap for my nemesis, Mr Mole. I tried castor oil and castor bean,flooding the tunnels, stamping down the
tunnels, hardware cloth in the tunnels where he came under the fence last year and he came back even stronger this year
instead of going and playing somewhere else. I refuse to use poison on our property, so I am down to my last resort.

I will post tomorrow and let you know how far we get before we run out of good weather or energy.

3/4/2009

Well the weather is starting to give us a few breaks and the speed is picking up on our projects. We got a load of recycled lumber
that will rapidly become the new rabbit shed and chicken coop.

The ducks pen will be almost totally finished tomorrow, except for moving the composting tires out of that area and back to the
garden section. I also bought the materials for a chicken tractor to be assembled some time this weekend. That way when the
chickens are ready for outside they can go out whether or not their coop is completely done and when they are through using it
full time then they can rotate time in it with the ducks, so the ducks get their fair share of the extra green feed in the yard (weeds
lol).

We are sending one of our horses to a professional trainer this next week as well, so maybe we can get more use out of her. I
would like to train at least one of them to a buggy.

The plant starts are doing really well. They actually took off faster than I thought and we are running short on room in sunny
locations and under the grow light. LOL, Thankfully some of them can actually go in the ground in the next few weeks. The first of
the lettuce seeds will actually be planted in the garden before the 19th and then followed rapidly by most of the cool weather
crops.

Like I said, things are finally picking up steam and I am no longer completely bored and stir crazy.

And this year, it looks like our 3 yr old, Sunkia, is finally old enough to start helping. She already helps feed rabbits and ducks.

2/24/09

Well the best laid plans of mice and men LOL, Sorry got sick and it took a while for me to get back on track.

I actually got a couple of warm days and got 2 of the permanent flower/herb beds built. They have Easter Lilies, Tulips, and Grape
Hyacinth in them. The Echinacea for the back of the bed are already growing in the seed flats and the Rosemary and Thyme are
on order for delivery in April for planting. Everything in those beds are perennial, so other than mulching and fertilizing they should
be almost no maintenance, except for thinning bulbs and harvesting the herbs. The Pictures are in the herb section.

The chickens have been delayed in being delivered but we do have 6 Barred Rock hens in the brooder for now. They will be ready
to lay by June or July. The other hens should be here by April.

Most of our seeds are here, now just to wait for better weather. I can hardly wait. I did improve the set up for the seedlings, they
are now under grow lights and doing very well.

Still haven't gotten started on the rainwater system. Ironically, it has to be dry before we can install the rainwater system LOL.

I did get the seed potatoes ordered as well. I ordered solid blue potatoes as well as your typical Russets. The blue are higher in
vitamins and minerals. Plus the kids will get a kick out of blue French Fries and mashed potatoes.

I attended the Farmer's Market meeting for the market that my family utilizes in Marble Hill. Looks like this year may be more
productive than last year. Better advertising and better booth placement areas. So here's to keeping my fingers crossed.

I am also starting to look into Nigerian Dwarf Goats and have found several herds that I need to look at before making my
decision. We are going to use them for Dairy as well as weed and shrub control.

That's it for today's updates. I will try to do better at getting this posted more frequently. This looks to be a busy year tho', Richard
and I are making our marriage formal this year, as well it was just announced yesterday that we are going to be Grandparents
again this fall. So between everything, you may have to forgive my occasional lapses.

2/10/2009

Yes, I am a little behind in this blog. Let's see if I can catch up LOL

I am soo excited! We are starting to pick up some of the equipment required for our spring and summer projects. We went and
collected 8 recycled barrels to be used in our rainwater harvesting system. I can't wait to get it installed and actually collecting
some of the excess. I am sure it will help in a couple areas of our yard that tend to get swampy as well.

I got the initial seed order placed on Sunday and am looking forward to those seeds getting here. I ordered all heirloom, open
pollinated varieties and verified GMO free. What is even better, is the company we ordered from is fairly local. They are only 2 frs
from us here in Missouri. Makes me very happy.

I also sent in for some seeds that were being offered for free as a promotion from a company called wintersown.org and so far I
am happy. They sent a LOT of seeds, let's see how their methods work here on our place. If it works, I may use it more often.

The seeds that were put in flats the other day have almost all sprouted. The flowers and chives are still not showing but the
tomatoes and basil are already over an inch tall and growing rapidly. It won't be long and they will be ready for outside. I am
hoping the weather will cooperate. I may have to improvise an outdoor hot frame to keep them alive.

I will get photos of our progress posted later this week, I promise.

2/6/2009
The 3rd was bitter cold again and everything that had started to thaw refroze completely. The whole yard, our driveway and the
road into our place was a solid sheet of ice. Checking the ducks water and food was an exercise in learning to skate with boots
on. LOL

The dogs have handled the cold just fine this year. They each have a "cuddle buddy " or two and none of them have even lost
weight over the ordeal.

The 4th started off bitter cold, but then the wind started picking up and bringing warmer temperatures with it. Made things even
more slippery with just a layer of moisture on top of the ice.

The first seed flat got started with 2 varieties of tomatoes, a squash, some Kohlrabi, parsley and 2 kinds of beneficial flowers. We
are also utilizing recycled soup cans with plastic wrap on top as mini greenhouses for some of our other herbs. We are putting
them in any window that gets consistent light at the moment. As we get closer to Planting Time we will start planting in Hot
Frames outside.

The ducks got their first taste of freedom today. We let them out of their house to explore their new surroundings. So far, so good.
We kept them in the first 36 hrs so they would know where home and safety was, now at night all we have to do is go shut the
door because they are already in their house. We've had to supplement with grain thus far because the ground was covered so
throughly with ice and snow.

Today was much, much warmer. It has sounded like it's raining most of the day, the ice and snow are melting so fast that is
coming off the roofs in sheets, instead of a slow drip. By 6pm there wasn't much left on the ground, except in isolated spots. It is
encouraging to watch the ground reemerge from under the frozen white blanket. We haven't checked to see if the spinach
survived, but the garlic definitely did. It was one of the first things to poke through.

The second part of the woven blanket that I am working on is just about complete. I figure that it will take around another 8 pieces
to finish it up. I will post pictures of the work in progress on the Farmviews page soon.

2/2/2009

The snow and ice are still here, although we had warmer temperatures yesterday and some spots melted off. It is obvious that
our compost piles are cooking nicely though, very little snow around them and no snow on them LOL.

The ducks moved out into the garden section (for now). Trimmed their wings before we took them out. Muscovys can fly and
perch in trees, so we had to curtail that some. I can just imagine getting calls from our neighbors to come get our ducks out of
their trees. LOL They moved into the old coop/ recycled dog house. It isn't their permanent location but until the ice melts, it will
have to do.

The chickens have been ordered for this Spring. Hopefully, the last time we have to order them. I prefer to just breed what we
need and trade for new blood lines every couple of years. We ordered both the Bantam and Standard Lt Brahmas. Let's see what
we get (occasionally they will substitute Dark or Buff colors).

We are starting the seeds for this years garden this week. The biggest obstacle has been finding a sunny window to put them in.
I so can't wait for our greenhouse to be built and solve that problem. I am also starting to root some of the philodendron that is
taking over a window in my kitchen, so I can take them to the Farmer's Market this year.

We bred 2 of the rabbits last night and have several more that need to be bred today for Spring babies. We don't really do the
whole Easter Bunny sales thing, we just need them ready when the farmer's market and exotic sales start in at the end of March.
Our Giant Chinchillas will be offered at the Exotic Swap, if the breeding takes this time.

I am really starting to get restless, itching to get outside and start in with the projects for this year. Can you tell? We have added a
greenhouse to our projects for this year, now to see how far we get with our list LOL. I know it seems pretty ambitious, but several
of my family members, including me, have ADHD, which means plenty of energy to work on things. (GRINS)

I will keep you posted on progress of these goals as the year progresses.

1/30/2009

I don't really have a lot to talk about today. More snow, more boredom LOL.

I finally found a source for fels naphtha, so the batches of laundry soap should improve some. The roads here are still covered
with snow, reminds me why we have hung onto the gas guzzling truck.

The ducks finally arrive tomorrow. We have 1 drake, and 3 hens coming in to our local feed store (the meeting point). Now just to
pick them up and then trim their wings before we put them in the back enclosure. The kids are already picking out names for
them. Of course our youngest wants to name hers Donald LOL.

The only relief to the boredom today was Devin's 13th B-day. We had him fooled all day long into thinking we had forgotten, No
one told him Happy Birthday, mentioned dinner and there was NO cake on the table waiting for this evening LOL. We sprang the
cake on him 10 min before dinner and you should have seen the look on his face.

OK, I am done rambling for the day.

1/29/2009
By the time the storm finished here we had about a foot of stuff on the ground. I say stuff because the bottom layer is ice, followed
by a couple of inches of sleet pellets, then topped with several inches of snow. It is beautiful, especially since we were prepared
for it.

My neighbors have been a good source of entertainment as well. The one just up from us who was complaining about our
woodpile this summer " Could you please get rid of the woodpile? I know we are in the county but...." got stuck half in and half out
of their own driveway yesterday. The front tires were high centered in their drive and the back of the car was out in the road. They
were hauling buckets of hot water out there trying to melt the snow, plus getting the shovel after it. Took them awhile to get
unstuck, they had to finally back out drive down the road and come back, park in the road and shovel their way back in. The
funniest part is, there was NOTHING falling while they were gone. They had assumed since they could back over the drift, they
could pull back in over it. I can just imagine how slick that drive was this morning after all those buckets of water. Enough
laughter for now.

The world around us is still out of power, heat and food this morning, but we are sitting pretty. We have enough wood in the pile to
get us through until Spring plus some. Enough oil for the oil lamps to get us there as well. Plus tons of food that we either put up
from our garden or put back from the Farmer's Market and grocery sales to get us by for quite some time. We have a full tank of
gas in the truck in case we HAVE to go somewhere. The only thing I need to do better is ..... Dish Soap, believe it or not.

We made another batch of laundry soap yesterday, still didn't gel like it is supposed to but it is getting the clothes clean. I think I
need to change the brand of soap cake that I am using. That may make the difference.

Our 15 yr old Hunter discovered out of boredom yesterday that the stick weaving isn't that hard and actually put a few inches on
the blanket that is in progress. It's amazing what kids will do when there is no other option left to them LOL.

The top on our bread has been collapsing during the change in weather the last couple of days. Still tastes good, but now we
need to tweak the recipe to keep it from collapsing in on itself. That's the task for today, along with a few more inches on the
weaving.

1/27/2009
Well the winter storm predicted for this area hit us last night and is still continuing. We have about an inch of frozen sleet in our
yard and it is still coming down. We got in extra firewood and made sure that we had enough feed for our animals before it came
in. Still I really don't like cold weather and the storm does have the roads and schools shut down.

The planning for our Spring Projects is at least getting closer to being completed with all the extra indoor time we have on our
hands. We are putting in a duck enclosure, a chicken run and coop, a grape arbor, and a hardy kiwi arbor. Plus extending the
Berry Patch and beginning to remove the Hawthorn Trees where the new Orchard is going in. We are also working on improving
the Critter Habitat by planting some more beneficial plants, flowers and some housing for the Toads and Bats.

The website has been added to today. A bunch of new pictures and of course this blog lol.

I have been doing well on learning the stick weaving, the top of the blanket is almost finished and it is starting to look very nice. I
am still happy with how fast it goes and how easy it is to work with. I can put it down to go deal with kids and still not lose my
place. (nothing to count).

I had to put off going to pick up my ducks since the weather is soo nasty. I didn't want to have to put up fence panels or make the
gentleman I am getting them from chase ducks across ice layers. (tho it might make a good America's Funniest Home Videos
episode)

OK, back to adding pictures and working on my weaving.

1/24/2009
Sorry, it has been over a week since the last entry. I have been down sick with a doozy of a head cold. I did manage to get the
pictures of the dividing fence that we installed between the main back yard and the garden that we installed to keep the house
dogs out of the garden and to keep the weeder geese and bug catching bantam chickens in their area. That should help with the
stray dog problem some too.

The temperature has warmed up some this week, thankfully. The garlic patch seems to have come through just fine and
surprisingly so has the spinach patch. The spinach aren't really growing but the patch isn't dead either. Should be interesting to
see what happens to it come the first part of spring. It may be the first thing I have available to offer at the Farmer's Markets.

I got a good surprise this week. I went to check to see what the availability is going to be on ducks at my local feed store. I didn't
like what they have ordered in for delivery in Feb. but when I mentioned that I was looking for Muscovy Ducks the young man
behind the counter said that he knew of someone who had some half grown for sale. I left my number and later that night I got a
call from the gentleman and I should be able to pick up 2-3 hens and a drake from him sometime this next week. Which is a
great thing- I won't have to incubate these and they should be breeding on their own by June or so.

Muscovy ducks are a wonderful weeding duck, they are quackless (lol) they hiss instead of quack and they are a large meat type
duck that are great foragers, good mothers, and fairly decent egg layers. They are perfect for a micro farm if you ask me. They
aren't on the ALBC list, but the breeds listed wouldn't do well in our current set up. The Muscovy however should be happy with a
stock tank swimming hole and the old (big) dog house revamped as a shelter.

While I was down this week, I finished up the crocheted blanket for my daughter's bed out of the scrap pink yarn I bought at a yard
sale last year. Then last night started to teach myself how to stick weave. I am hooked already, it is sooo easy and it is going so
fast. I love it. I am using the yarn I had set aside for a blanket for my bed before I met Richard. The colors aren't quite his cup of
tea, so I may be selling it when I get done with it. It is going to be very warm and quite beautiful. A sage green, burgundy and
cream. I'll post pictures of it when I am done with it.

Also, now that I seem to have mastered getting homemade bread on the table every day, it is time to start replacing another
staple in our household. Time to get started on making our own pasta. I will let you guys know how it goes.

I did manage to sneak a few minutes in to go see my horses, boy were they happy to see me. Especially since I had carrots in my
pockets LOL. My mare even gave me a horsey hug ( her head over my shoulder and snugged down) after she finished her
carrots. I can't wait until things warm up and I can climb back up on her for a ride. This year, I am also going to finish training my
gelding under saddle and then see if I can find a cart and get him trained to drive as well.

Time to go get dinner in the oven for tonight. I promise it won't be 9 days before I blog again.

1/15/2009
It is bitterly cold outside today, we had a high of 7 degrees outside with an expected low of below zero tonight. The dogs are being
fed double rations and have had fresh water twice today as well. I went out to the pasture and checked on the horses as well,
both were happy to see me, I think it was probably the apples in my pocket more than me but that's OK. They are both doing well
and neither has lost weight during this cold spell. I am thankful that we cleaned the rabbit cages out before this so that we
wouldn't have to open the doors to the garage and let in the cold.

I will be happy however, when the rabbit shed is built as an extension onto the workshop. I have been researching set ups for
them for a while and have decided that a rack system with catch trays is going to work best for our purposes, as we will be able to
capture all the waste for use on the gardens.

My Murray McMurray chicken catalog came in yesterday and I had SOO much fun picking out the chickens that I am going to order
next month. I will probably wait until the end of Feb. so that it won't be too terribly difficult to keep them warm that first few critical
weeks.

I've also spent some time today looking at heritage/open pollinated/organic seed online, deciding which varieties to order. I also
went by the Fabric and Hobby Stores looking for some of the things that I needed. I picked up the dowel rods necessary for Stick
Weaving, and some tatting thread for the doilies that I am making soon, unfortunately the tatting needles are sold out currently. I
also picked up a new pattern for a long dress cloak for me and doll clothes for Sunkia's baby dolls. I need to finish the crochet
blanket for Sunkia's bed. I am also planning to make quilts for the boys for next Christmas. I am thinking denim out of recycled
jeans would be nice and warm.

I started a new sourdough starter as well today and have a loaf of Whole Wheat Flax Seed Bread, I will have to admit I cheat on
that one a little. I use a bread machine, I have better results with the dough that way. I will have to let you know how the sourdough
turns out. It is my favorite bread, sourdough is almost an addiction for me. Lol

1/13/2009

A dear friend told me I needed to keep a written journal to go along with the picture journal I have been keeping on the progress
of turning our 3/4 acre rural property into a micro-farm and the search for our ideal property.

We run a web business based on the products from our micro-farm as well as those from others in our family who live a country
lifestyle on family farms handed down from generation to generation.

We will more than likely inherit one of those farms, but unfortunately it has been chemicaled to death. We are trying to bring the
rest of the family around to our way of thinking, but it looks like they are definitely Missourians LOL Show Me State Indeed.

So, for the time being we are remodeling our little corner of the world as a Micro-Farm. Thankfully for us, we are outside of city
limits by several miles so the restrictions are fewer.

So to Start with my Journal,

Today, I finally found another family who can be our models in what we are trying to accomplish. I had seen them mentioned in
one of my Yahoo groups but finally found them today while playing with our 3 yr old daughter, Sunkia. She said she wanted to
watch moo movies, (I usually play her short clips of Scottish Highland Cattle, another topic), I stumbled across a clip from a place
called pathtofreedom.com on Youtube. It was slow close to what we are doing here that I found it inspiring.

When we started last year, all we had was my soy candles, the dogs, horses and firewood. The yard was in perfect suburbia
mode. The lawn was green, well groomed and USELESS! Lol My husband had kept it up, but the flowers were few and far
between and there wasn't much else. The picture is of our backyard when I first moved in, my dog had run the grass to death and
although he mowed my DH didn't take the time to really water ( less mowing lol).

In the last year, we installed one garden that did very well, especially with our 3 Lil chickens and duck running pest patrol on the
insects. LOL

This year the garden will be 4x larger and I am hoping that we can "borrow" the neighbors' unused garden spot as well in
exchange for fresh vegetables on their table as well. (She can't handle the heat during the summer, so let her garden go last
year.) On a sour note tho', I have to find all new poultry stock. The rooster managed to learn he couldn't swim, the 2 hens lost a
foot race with a dog and the duck lost his head over a territory dispute involving a fence line. (Time for some privacy panels and
cross fencing). Oh Well, Live and Learn.

On a home note, I tried a new recipe on the family tonight from MaryJane's Farm that was a superb hit, a "Bakeover". I used the
vegetables that I put in the freezer this summer and it was wonderful. Almost forgot how cold it was outside today. Did I mention
that I am not a big fan of cold, dreary weather? Oh well, I got my chicken catalog and a new seed catalog today. I threw the seed
one in the kindling pile- no organic seed and no heirloom open pollinated ones either. YUCK!! So, I'll use it to heat the house LOL.

The house isn't in much better shape than the yard was, but that means LOTS of room for improvement. We have installed a new
set of washer and dryer, both front load- which means a lot less water consumption and energy consumption. In our case, a lot
less since we have to pump our water up and out of the basement to the septic. Since it uses less water, less pumping LOL. The
dryer is just as efficient, it dries as fast as the washer washes since more water gets spun out in the washer. I have started
installing Compact Fluorescent Lights in the house, but it is obvious we are going to have to update the wiring one of these days,
we keep burning through them faster than we are supposed to. The one HUGE plus is that we have a wood burning stove, so the
house is nice and toasty when the rest of the world is chilly and during last March's Ice Storm we were sitting pretty as the power
went out. We had heat, a cooking source and no worries. LOL

I think I have rattled enough for today, so back to housework.

Heather's Blog

House and Yard

Vegetable Garden