Fall Is Here!

We had such a wonderful, productive day yesterday. The weather was cool enough that we were able to go the whole day with the doors and windows open on the house. We worked hard around the property trying to get things ready for winter. Shawn collected some firewood, we cleaned up trees, and then ended the day with a walk around the property.




We made our way over to the Mule Pond, which is a small little pond that is filled by one of our springs. It has been so dry this summer that the Mule Pond finally dried up.

Here is Shawn standing in the hole that is usually filled with water.


Here you can see the dried-up Mule Pond a bit better. We'd really like to find out exactly where the spring bubbles up from the ground.


There's still a lot of beautiful wildflowers to be seen.



Then we made our way back to the second spring. We call it the Deep Spring because it basically looks like a deep well. We love the way it looks.


It's also nice that it retains water even when there's very, very little rain.


Cute grandbabies for Grandma Colette to see.




The pond was down really low, so it was easy to see the tracks of the animals that have been coming to get a drink. Here you can see tracks from deer, turkey, and raccoon.


I also ended up washing the fleece blankets yesterday that Aunt Angie made for us. I always keep these in the vehicle during the Fall/Winter in case of an emergency or just if the kids get cold. The kids had a lot of fun playing in the "tent" that was made from the blankets hanging on the line.



Anyhow, that was our day. I enjoyed it so much that I thought I'd share. I hope you enjoyed it too!

I Feel So Homesteader-y

When we bought this property 7-1/2 months ago, I had certain activities in mind that homesteaders do...a stereotype of what a homesteader is. It's really nice to look at my daily schedule and see that I'm now performing those activities myself instead of reading about others doing them.

I've been busy lately hanging laundry on the line, making homemade laundry detergent, cooking eggs from our own chickens and potatoes from our own garden, canning apples from our own trees, and ordering seeds for next year's garden.

Shawn has been busy battling weeds in the garden, cutting firewood, picking okra and green peppers, repairing the chicken coop, feeding chickens and collecting eggs, and trapping the animals that are trying to steal all our apples.

There's such a feeling of contentment after spending the day canning. I cannot say that I particularly enjoy canning, but I do feel good after the long day's work. I'm sweaty, achy, and probably stinky, but I actually have something to show for it.



I canned the six quarts of apples on Wednesday and then attempted making apple jelly yesterday. The jelly never seemed to gel though, so it seems that we have a lot of apple syrup instead. Looks like we'll be having pancakes for breakfast tomorrow morning.

The most wonderful feeling though, is the happiness I get from the kids' excitement.

Sarah begging to go help Daddy feed chickens and collect eggs.
Sam coming to me and asking, "Can I help you make jelly?"
All three kids scrambling to get their shoes on so they can help pick apples.

THOSE are the awesome moments that I'm enjoying most of all.

Does Prepping Mean We Don't Trust God?

I came across a wonderful post that addresses the above question.

http://autonomy-and-faith-collide.blogspot.com/2010/07/time-to-load-up-pantry-past-time.html#comment-form

I agree with her assertion that Scripture calls us to be prepared.

I do believe that God wants us to be prudent in our decisions concerning the future. I believe that Proverbs 31:21 points out that one of my duties as a woman is to ensure that our family is prepared. That verse states:

"She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet."

To me, this means that I should take precautions before an event occurs so that my household has nothing to fear. Now, whether that event is an ice storm or an economic collapse..the premise is still the same. I have a Scriptual obligation to make sure my family is prepared.

Just some thoughts..things to think about...

We Have Eggs!!

Woo Hoo, so excited!

Shawn went out to the coop this morning to let the chickens out and found these three little surprises waiting for him.


No, none of our chickens laid the stick of butter...I just put it there for a size comparison.

Anyhow, we're excited. Of course, it figures that I just purchased 10 dozen eggs from the farm this weekend. I foresee us eating lots of eggs.

Editing to add in another picture. When I went out to put the chickens away last night I found a 4th egg in the coop. Then I put all the new eggs in the carton with the eggs we just bought from the farm. You can really tell the difference in size when you compare them in the carton!

Canning 101

I've been saying for a LONG time now that I would like to learn how to can food. Well, yesterday I finally did it! We all went outside yesterday and picked the peaches off the last peach tree.

As usual, Sarah was a great helper.


But it didn't take long before she found a way to be rewarded for her hard work.


I never fully realized how time-consuming and messy canning was. My kitchen was a disaster. At one point I just had to step back and take a picture of the momentous process.

I had pot of boiling water to dunk the peaches in and a bowl of ice water to plunk them in so the skin would come off. I had a bowl to put the peelings in and another bowl of lemon water to keep the peeled peaches waiting. I had a cutting board for the peaches, a bowl for all the yucky spots, another bowl with lemon water to put the halved peaches in. Then I also had a pot to heat up the peeled, halved peaches, a pot of boiling water to cover the peaches once they were in the jars, and finally the pressure cooker that I used to boil the filled jars. Whew....

So, after six hours of work...yes, it took me six hours to do this. Apparently I am NOT a "natural" when it comes to canning. Anyhow, after six hours of work I ended up with...drumroll please....



FOUR, only FOUR quart jars of peaches! My children could eat one or two jars just by themselves in one sitting!

I will say that our peaches did have quite a few bad spots. With this being our first year growing an orchard, we definitely have some learning to do. Little worms did some damage and we also suffered from brown rot. If I hadn't had to cut off so much yuck then I'm sure the processing would've been faster and ended with a larger quantity. Oh well, I guess this is what has to be done if our family is going to have organic peaches. However, next year I might try dehydrating peach slices instead of canning!

Emergency Preparedness

Lately, Shawn and I have been spending some time discussing the many scenarios where emergency preparedness would be life-saving. First I have to admit that, while I write this post hoping that everyone seeing it will glean information from it, my primary reason for writing this is so that my own friends and family will be better prepared. I love them. I worry about them. So, I want to take this time and try to save them from discomfort, pain, and grief.

We became really motivated to start preparing for an emergency after the Ice Storm of 2009. After about the third day of the storm, Shawn made a trip in to Wal-Mart. What he saw in the store made us change the way we prepared for emergencies. He noticed that, after only three days, the shelves were already extremely bare. There were customers in the store openly crying because they were so overwhelmed by not having electricity for three days. He overheard a conversation where a lady was telling a friend that she'd heard a rumor that one neighborhood in town had power. The lady's family was trying to figure out if they knew anyone in that neighborhood so they could go stay with someone that had electricity. This lady was desparate to find someone, anyone, with electricity. One of Shawn's co-workers told him that most people in his neighborhood left to stay with others. He was pretty much the only person that stayed in their home. Shawn's co-worker personally had to run off a carload of men that were driving up and down the street looking for empty houses to loot. All of this happened after just a few days during the ice storm. We know some people that were without electricity for more than two weeks.

After that incident Shawn and I really started to work through what we would do if we were put into a desparate situation. I would really like it if my family and friends would start asking themselves the same questions and take actions to ensure that their families are taken care of in an emergency. As much as I would love to say, "If something bad happens, then you all just come to our place..we'll take care of you!" That response is really just not practical. You must be prepared to take care of your own family in case of an emergency.

So, if there's another ice storm this winter:
Do you have a reliable supply of drinking water?
Do you have a way of keeping your family warm if there's no electricity?
Do you have enough food to get through several weeks?
Do you have a way of cooking/preparing the food if electricity is out?
Can you protect your family and your home if looters come into your neighborhood?

If the BIG earthquake occurs:
What will you do for water if all the pipes are broken?
If the roads are impassable, are you able to survive with no outside assistance?
If your home is destroyed, do you have alternate shelter for your family?
If someone is injured, do you have the skills or tools necessary for treatment?

Like I said earlier, I would love it if we could provide sanctuary for everyone, but we just can't. Since I won't be able to help my family and friends during an actual emergency, this is my way of helping. I urge you to prepare now. If I can help you now with your preparations, please know that I am willing. Of course there's plenty more that you can prepare for besides ice storms and earthquakes. However, I think preparing for a natural disaster is a great starting point for most families.

Another Update

Since it seems that I'm incapable of posting with any type of regularity lately, I think it's more reasonable for me to just give updates from time to time. We've been on our property for six months now. I've discovered that this time of year is extremely busy if you're trying to grow a garden and keep an orchard alive! So, with that said, this is what we've been up to...

Andrew is turning into a great little homestead helper. (Isn't he a cutie!)


The chickens are now free-ranging in the afternoons. This photo was taken on their first day out of the pen. They spent that first day going no further than the shade of the barn, but now we often see them up by the house later in the evenings. I love that they're helping control the bugs around here and we've noticed that we're going through less grain feed than before.


Shawn spent several days cleaning out the root cellar. The previous owners left a lot of unwanted items behind when they left. So, after Shawn sorted through the old bicycles, mildewed clothing, Reader's Digests from the 70's and 80's, and jars of mysterious liquids...this is what we were left with.


We know that we have to find where water is coming in and fix the leak, then kill off the mold that's in there, possibly replace the shelving because of mold, and replace the exterior door. Just more stuff to add to the "To Do" list.

Shawn already managed to build a very nice woodshed and some crates to use in the root cellar. He loves building things with wood and is really quite good at it!

Finally, I'm pleased to show off our first ever potato harvest! For being our first year growing them, I thought that we had a pretty good crop. We're estimating that we have about 50 pounds of potatoes. The crates that Shawn built will stack one on top of another and we're putting them in my laundry room for now. The laundry room is on the north side of our earth-berm home, so it's built into the ground and stays pretty cool all the time.


Other than this we've been spending our time watering the orchard and garden since we haven't had any rain on our property for about two weeks. We're also trying to control the weeds in the garden by putting down newspaper and covering it with straw. Oh, the areas we already have done look SO much nicer! We're starting to pick blackberries and enjoy some on a daily basis. I'm researching putting in a fall garden. I have some empty space in the garden now where the potatoes were and I have several raised beds that will be empty once I pick the garlic and onions soon. I'd like to go ahead and put something in their place instead of letting it sit empty. We've also been spending a lot of time with the Sears repair man since the brand new Craftsman riding lawn mower that we purchased two months ago breaks down every single week...but that's a long rant that would be a whole post by itself. Needless to say, I'm starting to think that we should've saved our money and just invested in a couple of goats instead!

Anyhow, that's the most recent update and the closest I get to having an "excuse" for not posting more often. We're still loving our busy, sweaty, itchy, achy, productive lives as homesteaders!