Health Update and Baby Goat

In my last post I told you all that I couldn't continue blogging because of a health problem that was causing me too much pain. I'm thankful to report that I have not experienced pain for the past two days. When I was very ill, I couldn't keep down even water, but now I can drink water and also small amounts of home-juiced veggies and fruit. Of course, the side benefit of eating no solid food is weight loss! But it's not a pleasant way to shed pounds :-(.

I'm far from healed, but I'm praying and taking each moment at a time. The Lord has been merciful and I've had restful nights, too. Many of you were concerned for me and I didn't want you to worry too much. I tire easily, but when the energy is there, I will try to continue blogging. I've never been one of those people who can faithfully blog every day, although I sure admire those of you who do! But if you're willing to stick around, I will continue to post from time to time, Lord willing ~smile~.

Homesteading news:

We have added a bottle-fed wether goat to our small farm! A wether goat is a castrated male. He was purchased for $20 and our intention was to train him to pull a cart for hauling wood when he grows bigger. He follows my son everywhere! Farmer D bought him on impulse before we had fencing in place, but I'm surprised that he doesn't roam. 

Because of the lack of fencing, the little guy has started eating the lower leaves of our apple trees and climbing on the vehicles! That's not a big surprise, considering the nature of goats. We're also concerned that he could do some damage to the hoses and wiring under the trailer.

We could keep the wether in a pen, but would need to add more goats for companionship, and we're not ready to commit to that yet. Sooo, it looks like he will have to be butchered at some point and put in the freezer. 

He's such a cute little fellow and often comes to the door of our trailer, bawling for attention! Well, so much for impulsive purchases!

Poor Health, Saying Good-Bye

My health has taken a sudden downturn, and it has become very difficult for me to blog. I may not be able to return to blogging. I'm in pain almost constantly, so I need to focus my attention on the Lord and not have any distractions.

Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me and enjoyed reading my blog. I've met some wonderful people online, and have learned so much from you!

My son will continue with the farming. We have even added a little wether goat! Lord willing, the farm will continue to develop over the years and provide sustenance for the body and the spirit.

I always felt disappointed when bloggers suddenly shut down their blogs and I'm sorry to do that to you. If I begin to feel better, I may add a post or two, but for now it's too much for me.

Deuteronomy 30:20  "That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days"

Our Farm is Growing!

A combination of busyness and poor satellite internet connection has kept me from posting for so long. With all of the exciting developments on the property, I could have been posting daily! I'll try to include several updates for you here, and go into more detail in upcoming posts sometime.

1. We have a dug well and an expanded pond!

For just a fraction of the price of a drilled well, we now have a dug well, built over a natural spring. We were told by the owner that there were no springs on the property! We also discovered that the expanded pond (formerly known as "the scummy pond") is being fed by at least 3 springs! It was the contractor that figured out that the pond was spring fed and he thinks that there must be more springs in the woods, just waiting to be discovered!

The back hoe operator said that he had never seen a well fill up so quickly. The pond level has risen about six more feet since he "finished" the pond!

This is before the pond filled up with spring water. Some of the berms around the pond were about 8 ft. high. It's hard to get an accurate perspective from the photos, but the size was huge!

The finished pond is about 35 ft. by 25 ft. and about eight feet deep.

2. Our chickens are free-ranging!

The hens and rooster, all 9 of them, are now free-ranging through the woods and around the cabin and trailer. One day, a few of them decided to go check the mail...but they turned back after walking about 3/4 of the way down our 500 ft. driveway!

3. We have bunnies!

The Lord has lead us to so many helpful contacts up here. One farm lady told us about a poultry and small animal sale about an hour away. We returned home with eight baby New Zealand white rabbits and a year old NZ/Californian cross buck.

Sorry about the blurry picture. We have 4 buns in one cage and 4 in another.

Our New Zealand x Californian buck. He's very calm and gentle.

4. Guinea fowl!!

I was so excited to find guinea fowl at the same sale we went to. I've been wanting them for awhile, but heard they could be very expensive. These were $10 each and I bought 10 of them. Two of the larger ones are in a rabbit cage in the coop, but the wee ones still need a heat lamp. Again, I apologize for the blurry photo, but these guys can really move!

5. The garden is ready for planting.

The original garden that farmer D dug by hand, has now been rototilled. A much larger garden has been prepared for sweet corn, squash, and beans. We have potatoes in the ground! Now, we're just waiting for the last frost date to pass, so we can plant the other veggies.

Digging the garden in early May

Pink Fir Apple heirloom fingerling potatoes

I thank the Lord for his hand of blessing on our endeavors! There is so much more that I could tell you about his provision, but I'll try to share it with you another time. There is much to look forward to in the coming months!

THIS POST WAS SHARED AT THE HOMESTEAD BARN HOP.

We're Planting Heirloom, Non-GM Corn!

photo credit

Now that we're on the farm, with plenty of growing space, we are going to try growing NON-genetically modified corn this year. Actually, we will try to grow a "three sisters" garden, which consists of growing corn, beans, and squash together. The pole beans will grow up the corn stalk and the large squash leaves at the base will act to suppress weeds and keep moisture in the soil.

Most commercially grown corn has been genetically modified. That corn is used in so many processed foods, including the so-called "food" at the fast-food chains. It would take too much time to go into the dangers and ethical problems of GMOs, but here are some links if you would like to learn more:

Study reveals GMO corn to be highly toxic
Understanding Genetically Modified Foods
Nine Things You Should Know About Genetically Modified Organisms 
Monsanto's Genetically Modified Corn Is Coming To A WALMART Near You
GM Sweet Corn: Consumer Alert (some is being sold at farmers markets and farm-gate sales! Ask and be informed!)

I have found a Canadian source for non-GMO, open pollinated, non-hybrid corn, located in Manitoba (they only ship within Canada). The Heritage Harvest Seed Company also offers heirloom varieties of other vegetables, as well as herbs and flowers.

You can see their catalog page for corn seed HERE.

THIS POST WAS SHARED ON HOMESTEAD BARN HOP.

Cock-a-doodle-do!

Last night we picked up 8 laying hens and my first ever rooster! A local farmer was desperate to reduce his flock size and these chickens are between 8 and 10 months old. We collected the first egg this morning. Once they acclimatize to their new environment, I'm expecting that they will begin laying regularly.

We clipped their wings this morning so they won't fly over the 6 ft. high chain link fence. You will see the feathers all over the run. Once the chickens are settled in and know that this is home, we plan to free range them.

We have satellite high-speed internet now, so I hope to be posting regularly once again, hooray!


THIS POST WAS SHARED ON HOMESTEAD BARN HOP

Update From The Farm

I'm alive and well, but won't have internet access until Tuesday, when the satellite dish will be installed. Things are very different in the country...but in a good way! I'm loving every day here.

I have pictures of the garden to show you. A second garden is being planned for next week. We'll be planting fingerling potatoes on the first dry day that we have. Herbs are ready to go in, but the last frost date up here is the end of May. It's hard to wait! The garden is amazing and the fencing and gate were put together solely from found materials around the property and locally. Didn't cost us a cent!

We're also looking forward to the opening of the local farmers markets in May. We want to make more connections with local producers, but we are now the customers of a young couple here who sell eggs, pastured pork, and lamb from their farmgate.

There is more to share, but I'll wait until next week when I can post photos and have more time on my own computer.

Farmer D's cat bite (see last post) is healing up very well, thank you Lord! No more signs of the cats, which is very sad. We keep checking the root cellar, where Toby was last seen hiding out, but we've had no success. Still no sign of Casey, except for some coyote droppings with brownish-gray fur in them. That's pretty gruesome, but I don't know for sure if the fur is from a cat.

I'll be in touch soon, Lord willing.

P.S. Anita, the eggs are awesome! Thanks so much!

Cat Sighting!

My son phoned tonight from the homestead, 8 days after Toby went missing, and said he found him in the root cellar. The root cellar is built into a hill near the cabin. But, as soon as Toby was carried out into the sunlight, the poor cat went crazy and bit D's arm, drawing blood. He dropped to the ground and took off. We're hoping that he will return to the root cellar. D left him some food and water.

Toby was hiding in the root cellar. You can see the cabin in the distance.

We're very hopeful that Casey is alive also. Casey is a great hunter and comes from barn cat stock. If Toby has made it this far, then I think that Casey must be around, too!

I'm planning to get up there tomorrow, Lord willing. I'm hoping that they will come around when they hear my familiar voice. Hubby and I were just saying this afternoon that the hardest thing is not knowing what has happened to them. Not knowing whether they were dead or alive. Now, we are thanking the Lord for this breakthrough! Poor D is nursing his wound with applications of alcohol, tea tree oil, and calendula salve (thanks, Cindy!).

That's my Toby! (You can just ignore the bad photo of me, okay? Yikes!)

Other news: We're hoping to have internet next Tuesday, so you might not hear from me until then. I hope to be back with pictures of the newly dug garden! Bye for now...