Progress Update...... Thursday 11/13/14

So, I took a stroll around the farm today taking photos of our progress so far. Fair warning it is not much :)

I started with the quietest rooster ever, Old Rusty. I was promptly photo bombed by our current steer. He even stuck his tongue out at me......

Symbiosis around the homestead....... part 1

Websters dictionary defines symbiosis as, "the living together in more or less intimate association or close union of two dissimilar organisms, a cooperative relationship." We are finding that the more symbiotic relationships that we can build between the different components of our homestead the more harmony we have, the healthier the livestock/garden/system is and the more money we save.

As I loaded old hay in the back of the truck this week I started thinking about all the ways we are integrating and building symbiotic relationships and thought "what a great idea for a blog series" so here we are.

Doesn't everyone butcher roosters when school is cancelled?

Happiness is finding out your peds class is cancelled on a day it is sunny and warm enough to butcher those extra roosters that really need to be relocated to the freezer. I am in my last semester of RN school and homesteading tends to take a back seat to school these days. Having a whole day to devote to the farm is extra special.

**** Advance warning, there are actual butchering day photos to follow. If this bothers you hit the back arrow now.......

Happy New Year..... 2014.... a look ahead.....

Wow, its January 1st 2014, time does fly!

We are not big on New Years resolutions around here, more of a goal and lifestyle list for us.  

We have been working on stepping off the mass consumerism, everything has to be bigger, faster and more convenient bandwagon. The main plan for 2014 is to be more diligent in this endeavor.  Our instant gratification throw away society is out of control.

The Scurvy Elephant Flock.....December 2013

We expanded the flock on the farm this year to include Pekin Ducks, more Buff Geese, Turkeys and more Delaware Chickens. Of these, the only purchased were the eleven Pekin Ducklings. The Buff Geese were from eggs hatched from our original pair. The Turkeys were eggs from a friend that we hatched out. The Delaware Chickens were from eggs from a breeding flock of 5 hens and one rooster that we selected from our original mixed flock. This was our first year incubating and hatching our own eggs. We learned a lot!

Smelly bones..... A Theory......

Ever since we started eating grass fed meat we have notice how quickly bones/carcasses start to smell REALLY BAD.  I am not referring to fresh bones but cooked ones. It does not matter if it is a rotisserie chicken carcass or bones from a roast.  In no time at all they smell really foul in the garbage. Scenario, boil a chicken for dumplings, bone the chicken and discard the bones in the kitchen trash, by the next morning they stink. Do the same thing with a factory raised chicken and the bones do not smell that foul that quickly.

My hypothesis is that all the crap (preservatives etc) that are pumped into factory chickens when they are processed makes them not rot as quickly as naturally processed chicken bones. It reminds me of the twinky that will live longer than I do. Do I want to consume something that doesn't rot naturally. If it doesn't rot naturally what does it do to my body when my body tries to digest it? Just a random thought.....

Better late than never......

After many hours of enjoying and learning from other blogs it is time to start one of our own. In an earlier life I considered blogging to be an act of  the self-absorbed. In time I have come to rely on the farming and homesteading advice from my favorite blogs. It must have been a truely busy day if I didn't check to see what was new with the ladies of Polyface Farms at http://polyfacehenhouse.com/ Sharing recipes, ideas and the struggles of everyday homesteading makes us all stronger and feel less alone.

The goal of our little corner of the blogoshere is to share, entertain, and every once in a while maybe even teach those who are even more newbie homesteaders than we are (though we are still very wet behind the ears ourselves). So grab a cup of tea and come see us once in a while.