Projects & Harvests

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This week has been full of projects and harvests.  I am currently splattered in paint as I write this!

I have been elbow deep in the Crib to Coop repurposing project.  The total cost of the project was $100.  Crib + $100 = super cute chicken tractor, not too shabby!  All I need to do is add the nesting box and an entry door.  I am super excited to show you all how it turned out.  I will be releasing it on Friday, so don’t miss it!

The crops are growing well, I harvested a fantastic squash poquito which I will be having for dinner tonight.  I am now harvesting beans every day, I need to freeze some to keep for use in the cooler months.

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There is lots of growth here on the homestead.

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I can’t wait to make homemade pickles with those cucumbers.

My tomato plants are now taller than me with yellow blossoms, but haven’t formed any tomatoes yet.  They are super late this year, anyone know what the problem could be?

I added some “stepable” plants (mini-ivy, creeping thyme) to the chicken coop and covered them with netting so they would have some time to get established before the chickens got a hold of them.  I am hoping this will allow some more color in the pen and not just end up being a tasty snack for the girls.  Since these plants are designed to be hardy enough for people to walk on them, I am hoping they can hold up to the always starving chickens.

I can’t believe it is already mid-June.  This long awaited summer is flying by way to fast.  I am trying to enjoy each and every sunny day.

I will be releasing our big announcement July 1st for our super special addition to the homestead.  I can’t wait to tell you!

Until next time…

FINALSIGNOFF

Feels Like Summertime

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It is definitely feeling like summertime now on the homestead.  The frequent rain has slowed down some, and the 80-90 degree sunshine has helped dry up some of the wet muck.

One lesson that we learned here on our little homestead is that it works better for us to have all animals in their own pens, not pigs with chickens etc.  Pigs love the muck and enjoy rooting holes in the ground which when it rains gallons every day creates all kinds of puddles for bacteria to breed and infect the chickens.  Although we have a divider down the two pens now, the chickens can still cross back and forth.  Their side of the pen is dry and a lovely chicken wonderland, but for some reason they still spend quite a bit of time on Houidini’s side.  We definitely will do this differently when we get to the big farm (which is now on the less than a year countdown!).

I am considering growing some creeping thyme in the chicken pen, from what I have read it can withstand heavy traffic and grows rapidly.  I haven’t found anything that says its toxic for chickens, does anyone have any experience with growing this in your chicken pen?

The crops are fairing well, although my broccoli plants are getting eaten alive despite my attempts to save them.  Anyone have any tips? The culprit are little green worms.  A few of them are starting to form broccoli heads despite this daily attack.

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I harvested one gypsy pepper (sweet pepper) which was lovely, however I didn’t get to taste it.

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With me working so much, before I know it the harvested food is past it’s prime and turns into chicken treats.  I am definitely looking forward to not working as much in the coming month.

The container garden on the back deck is doing well, the fig tree has really started to grow in the last few weeks.

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The sunflowers are also stretching their arms towards the sun more and more every day.

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My great little trellis garden Gabe made me is working well.  The cucumber is starting to climb with some training from me.

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My mini-mealworm farm are now all beetles, so I am waiting for their life cycle to again turn over so I can harvest them and prepare some yummy treats for the girls.

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The Black Copper Maran chicks are in desperate need of a coop upgrade.  I have the cribs I need to begin their tractor (I am repurposing a crib to use as a chicken tractor), just not the time to do it.  Next week will hopefully present some time to move these ever growing girls to their new mobile home.  I believe they are all pullets, which is unbelievable since I purchased them straight run (not sexed).  As those with chickens know, you are inevitably going to get at least half of your straight run chicks turning into roosters when you want hens.  Maybe I should go purchase a lottery ticket with these odds?

I hope all is healthy and growing well on your homestead.

Until next time…

FINALSIGNOFF

Don’t forget in the coming weeks I will be revealing our super special newest addition to the homestead, stay tuned!

Night Shift Super Powers

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Although the majority of my adventures I share with you focus on my homestead, there are many, many stories I wish I could share that take place in my ER nursing world.  Stories that would make you nauseated, like the time bad choices resulted into exorcist style vomiting that sprayed a quarter of the staff from a ridiculous amount of feet away; stories that would make you be a little more appreciative of the nurses in your life, like the time a patient kicked me in the face right before my wedding.  However, due to the sensitive nature of my work and my respect for patients and their privacy (and the law), I refrain from sharing most of these stories.

  • What I would like to share with you are some of the super powers I have gained while working as a night shift nurse in a super busy emergency room.Working night shift give you the super power of sleeping no matter what time the clock tells you it is…or where you are…or who you are with…or what you are doing
  • Working night shift gives you the super power of calendar day amnesia-I typically have no idea what day of the week it is unless I look it up or ask.
  • Working night shift gives you the super power of power naps sustainability-It’s hard to sleep during the day with the phone ringing, the mailman delivering, the chickens clucking and the dogs barking.  I typically end up taking a series of power naps instead of getting a consecutive few hours of sleep.
  • Working night shift gives you the super power of an iron stomach-eating cheeseburgers, candy and chips at 5 am aren’t bad snack choices, it’s breakfast.
  • Working night shift gives you the super power of auto-pilot-you remember leaving the hospital and next thing you know you are sleepily pulling into your driveway with no recollection of the turns made to get there.
  • Working night shift gives you the super power of confusion-why hasn’t that person called me back yet, why is that store closed?  Meanwhile the clock reads 2:47 am.
  • Working night shift gives you the super power of critical thinking-even if it is 4:15 am and you have not slept in more hours than you can count, when it is needed, those critical thinking skills elbow their way past the haze of sleep deprivation and you (and your team) save someone’s life.

Until next time…

FINALSIGNOFF

Back to the Homestead

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We arrived home to the homestead this afternoon in the 92 degree sunshine.  It was such a nice, relaxing camping trip.  With as crazy as our firefighting, ER nursing, pig raising, chicken feeding, crop growing lives are, it is nice to have some uninterrupted time for just us.

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We enjoyed lots of great food over an open campfire.  One of the perks of being married to a fireman is he is an excellent fire builder.

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And one of the best foods of all time for camping of course…

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The campground was on the back end of a farm and stretched over 50 acres.  Since we went during the week, it was blissfully quiet.  We luckily avoided the rain, although yesterday there were storms all around us.  We tried our hand at fishing there, but besides one little fish I caught, it was pretty uneventful.

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There were definitely plenty of bugs to keep us entertained.  We used every bug repellent we could get our hands on (candles, sprays, fans) but still managed to all but get eaten alive.  There was an enthusiastic chorus of cicadas all around us.  These are such interesting little bugs.  Their songs can actually reach 120 dB (which is loud for a bug!).

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There was a friendly butterfly that stayed near our campsite for most of the weekend.

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Our tube trip down the river was such a relaxing adventure.  The campground owner drove us miles away and dropped us off on one end.  We were told we would be picked up “before the next bridge” and then we were on our own.  As we made our way to the very muddy, very cold river we hopped up into our individual tubes.

We coasted along with a few run-ins with the surrounding low lying trees, but overall it was a relaxing ride.  A butterfly who looked exactly like the one from our campsite (although we were miles away) hitched a ride on my foot for a portion of the trip.

As we saw the bridge on the horizon, the current began to pick up.  I grabbed onto a low lying branch in an attempt to swing us over to the concrete area we were supposed to get out at.  Gabe and I got separated and I continued to hang on to the branch as he floated downriver.  Once I was pretty close to the bank I let go and aimed for the concrete pad.  As I looked down on my naked abdomen, I saw a spider the size of my fist.  I screamed and hoisted myself up on the tube in an attempt to get it off of me.  Instead, it landed in the seat of the tube so I desperately tried to stay propped up on the side of the tube, balancing to stay away from the spider, but careful not to tip in the frigid water.  Eventually Gabe made his way to me and scooped the nasty creature out of my tube.  This farm girl does not do spiders!

It was nice to have a break, but it’s also always nice to come back to the homestead.

FINALSIGNOFF

A Camping We Will Go

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The day has arrived for our mini-vacation.  We are so excited to be getting a break and enjoying some much needed alone time.  My wonderful parents have agreed to manage the homestead while we are gone.

We have packed delicious food, sweet treats, a tent, sleeping bags, games and fishing supplies.  We will be packing up the truck and heading north to a large river in Virginia.  The forecast has a chance of rain over the next few days, but it will at least be warm.  On Wednesday, we have a tubing trip planned where we will spend the afternoon lounging down the river in a “cadillac tube.”  Have I told you I am excited? 

We will cooking all our meals over an open campfire.  I packed homemade fire starters to ensure our campfire stays lit.  I like to use old toilet paper rolls stuffed with lint from the dryer.  I also melt down a candle (in a pan only used for crafts) and soak up the hot wax (carefully) with round, cotton makeup sponges.  I let them dry on wax paper and voila, you have some great fire starters. 

Athough I will miss the early morning grunts of Houidini and the dramatic squawks of the chickens, it will be nice to sleep under the stars and wake up to the sounds of a rushing river.

I have a few things in the works for some exciting new additions to the homestead, stay tuned!

Have a wonderful week. 

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all the kind words and support this week.

Until next time…

FINALSIGNOFF

 

 

A Sad Day on the Homestead

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Arriving back to the homestead from a fun girls’ out evening, I did not anticipate the choices the coming hours would bring.

As you all know, we have been anxiously anticipating and working to prepare for Lady-Bug’s farrowing event.  With her belly ever swelling, we knew our wait was drawing to a close.  I have been checking on her more frequently over the last few days so I would not miss the blessed event.  I pulled in and immediately changed out of my cute shoes and into my muck boots to spend time making sure Lady-Bug was settled in for the night.

As I entered the pen, I immediately heard an odd grunting from her side that I had not heard before.  I quickened my steps through the sucking mud underfoot and rounded the corner.  There in her house Lady-Bug stood; panting, grunting and anxious.  Below her lay a beautiful black faced and cream kissed nose piglet, noisily rooting around.  My immediate response of excitement was quickly snuffed out when I realized the piglet had mangled back legs.  From mid-back forward the piglet looked perfectly healthy, but the hind legs were in the shape of a pretzel.

As my husband was away this weekend, it was just me at the homestead.  After 20 minutes went by and Lady-Bug produced no additional piglets, I knew I needed reinforcements.  I called my mom who quickly came out to assist.  As the rain steadily fell, Lady-Bug panted, pushed and paced.  As the minutes ticked by with no other piglets making their way into the world, my gut began to sense something was going very wrong.  With only 1% of all pig births running into a problem, I tried to reassure myself.

With my mom and I both praying for safe delivery of the remaining piglets and for comfort for Lady-Bug, we stood with flashlights and worried faces as the rain steadily soaked us.

Knowing the likelihood of having to put down the deformed piglet, I called Gabe and he began his journey back home.  Although I know if I had to put the piglet down I could, at that moment, I wanted to have my full attention on the distressed Lady-Bug.

My dad came as well to provide back up help and offered to put the piglet down in Gabe’s absence.  Although I was grateful for the offer, I did not want to be the sole decider of this little one’s fate.

The minutes turned into hours and Lady-Bug’s distress increased.  With Gabe on the way, my parents headed home.  As I sat in the dark pen with the rain pouring all around me, I soothed Lady-Bug and told her to have strength and listen to her instincts.  The lone piglet was surprisingly agile and scooted itself all around their shelter while Lady-Bug labored.

The evening faded into early morning and no progress had been made.  I knew that the coming hours would hold tough decisions.  As Gabe arrived home, the decision was made to let her be for a bit and see how she was doing after some quiet time.

After a bit, I headed back out in the rain to check on the laboring mama.  I was so disappointed to still see only the lone piglet and an exhausted Lady-Bug.  I used a gloved hand to check her to make sure no piglets were stuck in her birth canal and felt none.  I offered Lady-Bug water which she refused, but she would take some feed.  I was encouraged that she at least could eat some to keep her strength up.

As the early morning faded into late morning, I began to hurriedly call vets capable of caring for pigs and making house calls.  After multiple attempts, messages and redials to various vets, we got in touch with a local swine vet whose expertise is pot bellied pigs.  She hurried over to our homestead.

As she arrived, she immediately went in to examine Lady-Bug.  As I explained the night’s events, I knew by her face we were not looking at a situation that could possibly have a good outcome.  As my heart began to sink, I tried hard to stay positive.

The vet administered Oxytocin which assisted Lady-Bug’s uterus in contracting, while the vet tried to pull the remaining piglets out via her birth canal.  Lady-Bug pushed and fought to work with the vet in helping her farrow.  I knew the longer this went on the more Lady-Bug would suffer.  As the vet thoroughly examined the lone piglet, she encouraged us that putting the deformed piglet down would be the most humane thing to do.  With a heavy heart, I agreed and held the little one as the medication ceased her breathing.  With the piglet put down, all our efforts turned to Lady-Bug.

The vet stated we had several options, take her somewhere to have an emergency c-section or put her down and try and remove any remaining piglets-although there was only a slim chance they would survive.  Knowing that the stress of moving and surgery would be too much for Lady-Bug, I made the final decision to sacrifice Lady-Bug in the hopes of saving her piglets.  I figured this was the decision any mama would make given the chance.

Lady-Bug was absolutely exhausted and I knew she was suffering.  The vet explained that she would first sedate Lady-Bug and then euthanize her as she hurriedly removed the piglets.  She handed me several towels and told me to be ready to catch the piglets and stimulate them to breath.  As the vet administered the sedative, I watched Lady-Bug’s breathing slow.  I stood with the towels in my open arms, praying for the health of her piglets.  The vet then stated “I am going to euthanize her now.” I nodded my head in place of answering because I knew my voice would be heavy with emotion.  With me, Gabe, my mom and my sister by her side, Lady-Bug took her last breath surrounded by family.

The vet made the initial cuts into Lady-Bug’s belly and searched quickly for piglets.  I stood with open arms waiting for a piglet to be handed off to me.  As the seconds ticked by, no piglets appeared.  I sent up prayer after prayer that at least one healthy piglet would be found.  A puzzled look spread over the vet’s face an she stated “there are no other piglets.”  I knew at this point, the farrowing journey had ended in a way I never expected.

The vet reported that in all of her year’s of practice, she had never seen a case like this.  She concluded that Lady-Bug had genetic defects and was likely impregnated by her litter mate before we adopted her.  She reported that Lady-Bug would have likely passed away due to these genetic defects in the future, but with the stress of such a hard labor, her body was not able to pull through.

We buried Lady-Bug and her piglet together deep in the earth.  We are so saddened by these unexpected events, but know this is the reality of farm life.  Despite having buried two piggy beauties that day, the chickens still needed to be fed, the eggs still needed to be gathered.

Paul Harvey said it best, “And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker.”  So God made a farmer…God said, “I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt.  And watch it die. Then dry his eyes and say, ‘Maybe next year.’…God said, “I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bails, yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-combed pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken leg of a meadow lark.  It had to be somebody who’d plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk and replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week’s work with a five-mile drive to church, so God made a farmer.”

RIPLB  In loving memory of Lady-Bug and her lone piglet daughter

It has been a challenging few months with personal struggles and homestead events.  I am looking forward to our mini vacation this week to step away and recharge.

Until next time…

 FINALSIGNOFF

More Rain

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I am sure you will never guess what the weather is on the homestead today.  Yes, rain, rain and more rain.  This is now day two of continued rain.  If I would have had any inclination to the amount of rain this season would bring, I believe I would have planted a rice field!

More rain means no electricity to the shed and coop being installed today.  Hopefully we can reschedule soon.

More rain means too much mud and brings my fear that the chickens will again fall ill.  My husband is at the lake for the weekend and we weren’t able to finish putting the fill dirt into the pen.

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Rain is in the forecast until Wednesday, with one day of sun and then more rain until Saturday.  It looks like it will be a very wet camping trip, yuck!

Thanks to two very generous donations, I now have the cribs for my Crib to Chicken Tractor Project.  It looks like it will be two weeks before I will have time work on it.  The chicks are close to outgrowing their mini-coop so I am glad I at least have the materials needed.

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This morning coming home from work around 4 am there was an opossum lumbering across my driveway.  I hurriedly ran down to check on everyone, but they were all untouched.  Thank goodness, possums are viscous!

The next few days brings an exhausting work schedule and plenty of work to do around here.  I am looking forward to camping next week as a much needed getaway.

I hope the rain is not ruining anyone’s weekend plans!

FINALSIGNOFF