This Week on the Homestead
I don’t really know why but for some reason I haven’t been taking my camera with me as we go about our usual weekly chores and projects. It is for that reason alone I haven’t shared a garden or meat bird update so I figured I’d gather together what photos we do have from the week and share with you the latest happenings.
I think the biggest news is that we got rain! I remember a place where rain was not news but here, with the fairly dry spell we’ve had since the fall, rain is most definitely noteworthy. Our big pond was nearing empty and our tanks were low but thanks be to God for His faithful provisions!
The other major event of the week was butchering the wild hog we’ve had for some time. It wasn’t big, by any stretch in the world of hog butchering, but it was time for Bonnie, as the children named her, to go. We had been feeding her eggs, soured milk or whey, soaked local grain, and kitchen scraps. Both Stewart and I have noticed we don’t feel great when eating commercial or corn-fed pork so we decided to make a point of avoiding both corn and soy in feeding this pig. We have started eating some of the meat and fat and we are very thankful that, so far, the usual pork-eating symptoms were not present. I really believe we are what we eat eats and this has us talking of setting up a real hog operation this year, if the Lord wills.
Does anyone else have experience with corn- and soy-free pork?
Elijah decided, after reading about it in these two books, that he wanted to try his hand at making something with the hide. So I believe he is attempting some sort of rawhide situation involving wood ashes and much scraping of the hide. The rubber gloves and safety glasses even came out for that one!
We had another doe drop two kids – a boy and a girl – this week. The meat birds have their own story to tell so I will wait on that. Also, we planted a bunch more seeds in the garden and I made what seems a very small dent in the weeding, but Lord willing, I will share more about that when I get some photos.
Finally, Miss Mabel. She has dipped kind of suddenly in her milk production and we can’t tell by looking at her (or figuring out when she is in heat) if she is pregnant, so we are in the process of getting her tested. June marks one year since she was last freshened and with the dates the bull came to visit, I believe she’d be ready to dry up by July if it is a yes. If she is not pregnant, we will start over again, I suppose.
The good news is we have goats dropping so we will start milking them, Lord willing, by her prospective drying up period. Which is right around the time we’d be butchering the meat birds and harvesting the potatoes, Abram pointed out to me just the other day. Maybe it is the desire for more nourishing food than what money can buy, or perhaps it is the growing number of little ones who out eat me most days of the week. Or, maybe it’s because we can focus more of our time on the nitty-gritty of the homestead with bigger infrastructure time and resource sinks out of the way.
Whatever the case, we have really been working towards growing more food in 2018. But throwing more time and energy into it is reminding me how very fragile everything is, in and of itself, and how it is only upheld by the sustaining grace of our Lord. I have botched so many plantings and projects and endeavors and will continue to, til the end of my homesteading days. But I thank the Lord that He is faithful and merciful in all things.
I love this time of year because the possibilities are endless. Our planting season is a little behind your’s, so I am finishing up planting my potatoes. I planted two long rows of potatoes and probably overdid the sweet potatoes but I started the shoots from a sweet potato from my daughter’s garden and it had forty shoots come up on it and I just couldn’t waste any of them. We have a little vegetable stand so any extra will be sold.
This year we planted grapevines. We love grape jelly and raisins and grape juice. It will be a season or two before we get enough grapes to make too much but they are thriving. Last summer we planted some wild blackberries and this year they are full of blooms. When we planted the grape vines, we bought four blackberry vines and we planted them and they are all covered with blooms too so I am hoping to have my own blackberries. I moved some cacti that was growing between my neighbor’s land and mine and he was going to burn them out, so I moved them because I make jelly out of the little prickly pears.
I have really severe asthma, and was thrilled last year when a huge mulien plant grew. I have used the leaves in teas and in boiling water to help with the wheezing and this year, I was pleased to see that where the plant grew last year there are eight healthy looking plants growing. We are also adding more quail boxes to our little quail house. I started out raising the quail and selling the eggs to a local vietnamese restaurant and his business has expanded and he is asking for more, so we added eight more birds. The manager of the restaurant also buys my hen eggs and duck eggs. The ducks were the result of rescue and they are so happy to live in a clean backyard with their own pond that they reward me with eggs every single day. We don’t use the duck eggs but the vietnamese restaurant guy buys them and even bought wild geese that my grandson killed that were overtaking our pond.
What I have figured out about growing, foraging, and raising our own food is that we are in control. I know our eggs are the product of healthy hens and that they are not eating chemicals that will harm us. I waste less than I did before we started this process of raising our own food and putting the food up either by canning, freezing, fermenting, or drying. My grandchildren love the process too and are learning so much and having experiences they will never forget.
I came across one of your early posts when I was searching for information on fermenting vegetables. If I remember correctly you had 2 boys, piles of laundry, no house, no plumbing…no nothin!!! “Oh my word, they are not going to make it.” I thought. So over the years I watched your dear family take root. Wayne is pleased with your book. I remember you mentioning a recipe that had an error on the salt measurement. Could you remind me so I can make a note of that? I pray God blesses you in every way. Your books are a valuable resource.
Kat – Oh I have thought so many times that if it wasn’t for the Lord’s sustaining mercies, we would not make it either. 🙂 It has been a struggle at times but He is faithful and will supply all of our needs
Concerning the measurement fix. I believe that was for the Summer Squash Cortido recipe and the tablespoons was supposed to be teaspoons. Thank you for your kind words and for supporting our work!
I also discovered commercial pork doesn’t agree with me; what our food is fed is very important. Blessings on you all.
Please have your son read Deerskins to Buckskins. That’s how I thought myself to tan hides. It also includes how to sew them and projects.
Adele – I will look into that book – thanks so much for the recommendation!