Wherein We Set Up Outdoor "TV"

Yesterday we finished building and installing our "big screen" outdoor TV.  It gets one channel.  The chicken channel. It's our fave!

 

We can also change the channel by picking up our chairs and moving across the street to the big green barn (in the background) they get the cow channel!

When The Snow Blows...

We are solidly in the midst of an Arctic blast.  It is cold, icy, snowy and windy.  It is not fit for humans outside.  Luckily for Creek Cottage Homestead (and me) we only have chickens to take care of as far as farm chores. The chickens get fed and watered, eggs collected, and checked on twice a day.  Other than that I get to hunker down inside and keep warm.

Besides schooling the kids and general household chores I've been staying busy by browsing seed catalogs and coming up with a must read list for the remaining months of winter.  The list is long but I've found every book but one through the local library system!  I love libraries!  So tomorrow I going to venture out and have my trusty librarian order me some books.

1. Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte (Companion Planting)
2. Gardening When It Counts by Steve Solomon (Survival Gardening)
3. Market Farming Success by Lynn Bycznski (Farming Biz)
4. Flower Farming by Lynn Bycznski (Cut Flower Biz)
5. Great Herb Mixes You Can Make by Jim Long (This is the only book I may have to purchase!)
6. Making Bentwood Furniture by Jim Long (Craft)
7. Making Dream Pillows by Jim Long (Herbal Craft)
8. From the Ground Up by Jeanne Nolan (Memoir and Gardening Advice)
9. Backyard Market Gardening by Andrew Lee (Farming Biz)
10. Chicken Tractors by Andrew Lee (Chicken Housing)
11. Pastured Poultry Profits by Joel Salatin (Chicken Biz)
12. Dairy Goats by Gregory, Diana (Goat Education)
13. Goats, Rabbits & Chickens by Hollis Lee (Animal Education)
14. How To Raise Dairy Goats by Martha Maeda (Goat Education)
15. Raising Goats: The Backyard Dairy Alternative by David Weems (Goat Education)
16. Gathering: Memoir Of A Seed Saver by Diane Ott Whealy (Memoir & Seed Saving)
17. Homegrown Herbs by Tammi Hartung (Herbs)
18. The Holistic Orchard by Michael Phillips (Fruit Trees)

What do you think?  Think it will keep me busy into spring?

You can see from the list what my priorities are for the coming year: Growing and selling produce, growing and selling flowers and herbs, crafting and selling what we can, increasing our egg laying flock and adding broilers, raising a small milk goat herd (after we get fencing accomplished- the actual animals may have to wait until the spring after this coming one), and starting our fruit orchard.  We plan on adding a couple of Heirloom/Heritage fruit trees per year.  This year will be apple trees.

That's not too much to chew off is it?  We shall see!  What have you all been doing this winter?

Pursuing A Family Economy

The Lewis Family learning to butcher chickens last summer

Farmer John and I went on a lunch date earlier this week and I told him I was serious about earning money from our land this year.  Nothing grand- just keeping on top of the garden so I have excess to sell, adding another dozen laying chickens and trying our hand at some broilers for ourselves and a few to sell to friends.

Then, to my surprise, my husband said he really desires to leave his corporate job and come home to make a living on the land. This is the first time he said it as a definite goal not just a pipe dream.  We both shared our desire for a lifestyle of "needing" less and in the process freeing ourselves from modern consumerism and economics.

I laugh because we are both admittedly middle aged (44) and for our mid-life crisis we don't want to go buy hot rods or take early retirement to a tropical island.  We want to need less and provide healthy food and knowledge to our community.  It is a dream different from most.

Now, I don't think it will be easy.  We will probably have to work harder then we ever have. But I do think (if it is within God's will) that it is obtainable.  If we build our customer base slow without incurring debt and let God open doors then I do believe John could come home in three years or less and we'd be working for ourselves not somebody else.

Herrick Kimball over at The Deliberate Agrarian has been doing a series on Family Economies and his last post really captures our desires.  You can read it here.

We will be writing a proper business plan soon but our plans include: selling eggs, broilers, veges, herbs, flowers, bread, jams, and crafts this year.  Michigan has a great cottage food law that allows us to sell up to $25,000 worth of product from a home kitchen without needing any sort of license and because we don't want to be the next "Tyson" and want to keep things on a micro level we also weed out a lot of other government regulation. 

In the future we want to add animal fiber and goods, goat milk caramels and soaps, bramble fruits, and an orchard.  We aren't sure if we want to CSA or Herbal CSA but we will want to add educational classes and a green house for annual flowers and potted veges/herbs.  (The latter will require at least a $40 yearly micro grower state license.)  We want this to be a venture that our kids can add to with their own ideas and talents and I've always wanted to do a magazine and write agrarian non-fiction. (As well as the fiction I have in the works.)  But we aren't doing any of this with a get rich mentality or desire.  Our desire is to be closer as a family, closer to God, closer to the land and the rich, healthy heritage of agrarianism and be blessed with an opportunity to share it with others.

I'd love to hear the stories of others doing the same!

Respect The Farmer Who Puts Food On Your Table!

 

I am by no means a real farmer.  We grow a large garden every year and are working toward the goal of feeding ourselves without depending on a grocery store and then eventually we hope to have extra to sell, but we aren't there yet.

Our entire animal contingent is made up of two cats, 17 hens and one rooster.  In Michigan, where we live, it is illegal to sell raw milk except under the guise of a "herd share" program.  Since our family goes through 4 or 5 gallons a week that puts "herd share" out of our current price range so we want to add a couple of milk goats.

Sounds great, right?

Well, it did up until a couple of days ago when it our temps plummeted into the little ball on the thermometer never to be seen again and the winds started chewing at my bare skin and the snow drifts organized themselves into a knee-deep wall that blocks my path to the barn.

Right now all I have to do is feed and water the chickens and collect eggs.  I bundle up and its not too bad but I really have no desire to get up at the pre-crack of dawn, daily, to milk animals in a heatless barn.  I am a wuss!

But it also makes me appreciate all the real farmers that are out there taking care of their animals day in and day out- leaving the comfort and warmth of their beds and homes to trek to the milking parlor or elsewhere.  Their dedication to keeping the food I take for granted on my table is starting to really hit home.

When I'm opening my drapes, my neighboring dairy farmer is out feeding and checking on his calves.  They milk at 4:00am and 4:00pm.  Uhhh... I'm up with my Costco managing husband at that time and I'm barely able to hold a thought.  I have gained nothing but respect for farmers since moving to the country. 

Never take for granted the food that is raised for you and the work that went into getting it to your table.  Farmers FEED us!  Farmer's are my rockstars!

Food From The Ground!

My "city daughter" wonders why we can't just buy our food from a store like normal people.  She did not get the "farmer" gene.  I however did and even though my gardens are messy (er, that means tons of weeds) there is just nothing like going out your back door and digging up dinner.  Here is a picture of the bounty we picked just the other day...

 

Zucchini, cabbage, carrots, jalapeno peppers, banana peppers, tomatoes, parsnips, beans, rutabagas, turnips, horseradish, dill, basil, patty pan squash and chard! Oh, and eggs from the chickens! So much more fun and rewarding to harvest your own rather then traverse the tiles of the grocery store under bad lighting!  I was going to say bad music too but then I remembered that the Musak playing now is from the 80's and were talkin' bout my generation!

Are We Real Farmers Yet?

 

Dressed to kill!

It is done.  We are minus two roosters in the barn and up two stew birds in the fridge waiting to be air-sealed and put in the freezer.  I took no delight in the actual killing and I'm thinking that is a good thing.  If I were indifferent to it then that might be cause for worry.

The entire family was required to be in attendance despite my "city" daughter's pleas to be excused from it.  Even my visiting parents looked on and shared stories about their young years on their parent's farms.

Apparently my dad never had much to do with the chickens.  The men in his family took care of the cows and the fields and the chickens were left to the women.  He has memories of my grandmother and her two sisters dispatching, cleaning and putting up 20 chickens in an afternoon.  We are pitiful compared to that.  It took us a very long time to do the two.

My mother has vivid memories of chickens.  It was her job to do the plucking when she was a girl.  Her dad would dispatch and I believed her mother scalded and then mom plucked.  Grandma saved the feathers and made pillows and mattresses with them.  Grandma did not however save the feet.  My mom was surprised (and a little grossed out) when I said we needed to save them to add when we make stock.  She thought the couldn't be cleaned quite enough.  I too pondered this at first but when scalding the entire chicken (not just holding it by its feet and dipping it) the skin peels off the feet leaving them clean.  I now have two sets in my freezer.

I found I didn't mind plucking although if we were going to do more chickens and be more efficient I would want to build a chicken plucker.  I didn't try cleaning out the bird.  I left that to my husband.  I figure after he "masters" the job then he can teach me.  Then again, perhaps I will just attend an intensive seminar at Polyface.

All in all it wasn't a terrible process. I don't know if there is a broiler biz in the future or not but at least we won't be dropping any chickens off at the animal shelter- not that anyone would mistake us for hipsters.  (We maintain that we're pretty much where hip goes to die... LOL!)

 My husband's fancy killing cones were not quite the right size.  Plan B: milk jug and empty ice cream pail.

 

 Scalding the chicken

Taking turns plucking.  Yes, us wussies wore gloves.  Notice the manly husband and his lack of gloves.

Andi terrorizing city-sister who took photos the during the first chicken and was required to help during the second. (I can only imagine her journal entry that night... what awful parents...lol.)

15 Years & A Movie In Production...

Yesterday was the birthday of my second eldest. Andi Rose Lewis has been blessed with 15 wonderful years of life and we have been blessed by her in return.

We spent the day celebrating as a family.  The other kids and I took care of her daily chores as well as our own and then, after lunch, she opened her gifts and then we partook in cake and ice cream. (Orange Soda Cake, Creamsicle Ice Cream, and Orange Soda). We then went to Barnes and Noble to pick her up two books that she wanted that were released on her birthday. We finished the day off by having her favorite dinner... Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and watermelon.  I am so thankful for this wonderful, Godly, young lady.

 

Also... I found out from reading The Deliberate Agrarian about a new Christian, Agrarian movie being made called Beyond Off Grid.  It looks really good and I am looking forward to it's release.  My husband and I have been working on self-sustainable living (though we have a long way to go.) and I hope this film will inspire us and educate us. I really hope the grid doesn't go down but it seems to me to be prudent and know how to live without it if needed.  Let's face it, we've only had around 125 years (ish) of electricity in history.  Seems foolish to forsake all the knowledge of those who came before us as primitive and not needed.  Our normal is actually not normal when viewed through the scope of history. 

 

The novel I am working on touches on these subjects too.  The Follower is set in post-peak oil and though electricity is still around society is very much changed and agrarianism is once again the main way of life for most of society.  Anyone want to donate the use of a weekend cabin and babysitting for me to write more?  Haha... just kidding... sort of.

 

Have a super Fourth of July! 

 

Keeping Chickens... Hazardous?

It appears there are dangers associated with keeping chickens.  Chickens, in fact, are a "gateway" animal and hardly harmless barnyard creatures.  Go here for the facts!

Did you enjoy that?  I sure did and must say I'm completely guilty of it all! 

Fresh Eggs!

I know you've all heard the hype.  Chickens on pasture lay superior eggs compared to commercial factory farms.  I'm here to tell you the hype isn't hype- it is real.  We are currently eating both types.  We go through a lot of eggs in this family and with only 6 adult layers right now (averaging 4 eggs a day) we supplement our fresh eggs with commercial ones from Costco. There is such a difference.  Even just looking at them.

Our egg yolks are deep in color not pale like store bought, the whites are firmer and less runny.  And the taste is... well... yummier.  I'm not a scientist so I'm not going to get into a nutrition debate but I do honestly believe I'm getting a more nutritious food item from my own eggs.

I challenge you to take an egg test.  Search out a local source for fresh, pastured eggs and purchase a dozen. (It's not that hard, chickens are very trendy right now.)  Do your homework though.  Go to the farm, check their feed etc. out.  If a farmer won't let you see the operation, think twice about purchasing from them. No use paying for eggs that aren't the real deal.  Once you have said eggs, heat up a fry pan and fry one pastured egg and one commercial egg side by side.  You should see a big difference and taste it too.

Top eggs are commercial, bottom eggs are fresh from our farm.  The difference isn't quite as stunning in the photo but it was very obvious in real life.

I also challenge you to find a way to fit real, healthy, farm fresh food into your budget.  If you stop buying Oreos and chips you may be able to afford a bit more healthier food staples.  Cook at home, grow your own, eat seasonally, start a buying co-op, purchase in bulk when the price is low and preserve it for later etc.  Be creative.  Take charge of your food and your health!

God's plan for us

Leviticus 19:9-10

When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick the grapes that have fallen.  Leave them for the poor and alien.  I am the Lord your God.

What if all of us who grow food did this?  What would the impact be?

I'm Back!

Oh My Gosh!!! I still exist!  Getting serious about a great many things.  Farming... got chickens!  Bees are next. We've had our top bar bee hive for two years.  This is the year to finally get bees for it!  Also getting serious about writing and selling artisan products from the homestead.  More soon...

 

Reagan holding one of our "Little Peepers"!  12 Barred Rock Pullets.

My Favorite Thing About Summer!

God is so good!  He gave us wonderful, tasty, sweet fruit!  My favorites are berries but cherries and peaches are close behind.  I love summer fruit picking and in my little area of West Michigan we have wonderful u-pick farms close by.  Some day, when we have property, I'll to be able to grow my own. (Well, we do have a small strawberry patch- our landlords are awesome- they let us garden.) But for now I have to get my fix at the u-picks.

Strawberries and raspberries get picked at Beaver Creek Farm- they are organic growers and their prices are affordable! Besides yummy things like strawberry shortcake and homemade ice cream, we also freeze berries for year-round smoothies and make homemade Jam! So much better than store bought.

It is such a good feeling of accomplishment to see these pretty little jewels sitting on my counter!

Cherries come next.  (About the time we are starting to get Zukes from the garden... see background.)

We can sweets for eating straight out of the jar and pitted sours for pies and other baking.

Blueberries at Dykstra's are next!  Their farm is just right down the road.  I can walk or bike to it.

I make some jam with the berries, but mostly freeze them for smoothies and baking.

Lastly, for us, come peaches... I'm sadly remiss of peach picking pictures... sigh... but we like to can them up for eating and also for pie making.  Picking your own and canning/freezing is a great, affordable way to keep your family in fruit for the year.

You can check for farms and u-picks in your local area here. 

Planting early is a crap shoot!

You know we aren't proponents of gambling so I don't know why we try and start plants before its really time in Michigan. It really is a gamble.

Lettuce doing great!

More lettuce doing great.

Spinach- not harmed by the freeze we had but not doing exceptionally well. We think the two year old seed is not good.

A different type of lettuce, not doing as good as the other two, but trying. This was new seed (at least we bought it this year).

My poor lemon balm. It was so pretty and then we had two nights of freezing weather. But all I have to do is trim off the blackened leaves and it will be just fine.

My lavender can't quite decide what to do. Most of it looks dead but there are some signs of green life.

Chives doing just great- They are about to blossom. I will cut off the blossoms and let them grow more. At the end of the growing season I let the blossoms go to seed and the chives replant themselves.

My beautiful tomatoes- all dead. The blueberries are fine though.

Corn- kaput!

Pumpkins and basil- kaput.

Cilantro barely hanging on.

Strawberries looking good.

New tomato plant being kept up on the deck for easy moving inside on any more cold nights.

Even the lilacs (My very favorite flower.) around the area bit it. They were flowering but not quite to full potential when the freeze happen. Lilac season abruptly ended.

Now most of the shrubs look like this.

I did find one still blooming quite nicely.

If you want to see some fine lilacs and get some ideas for using these edible flowers check out this. I don't have any lilacs in my yard but next year I will scavenge some from the sides of public roads to play with. (I see people doing this every year.) Unless of course I have land by then. If I do I'll plant plenty of bushes.

A post of tidbits

Our friendly little ground squirrel is going to get aquainted with a new spice!

I've just read that squirrels don't like cayenne pepper. Guess who's going to go to Costco and buy a big ol' honkin' container. The heavy rain we've had has surely washed away the castor oil I tried and the neighbor's teen didn't have any luck with his BB gun. So cayenne pepper is next on the list. Apparently you sprinkle your garden plants and soil with it and it keeps the squirrels away. I'm pouring it right down the hole.

Also heard that the USDA is not going to persue the National Animal ID System. Yeah! Don't tread on me!

Remember the cigar box purses that were trendy a few years ago? Well now, you can make cowboy-boot purses. Actually they're quite cute! The how-to is in the June/July issue of Mary Jane's Farm magazine.

If you can sew and are looking for fun vintage style patterns check out FOLKWEAR. They have great vintage patterns from many different periods, countries and cultures. I found several I'd like to try once my sewing abilities improve.

Just today an idea for a children's picture book popped into my head. I've got great words but alas I have no artistic talent in the illustration department. Anyone know Johannah Bluedorn? She is the talented lady who illustrated Raising Maiden's of Virtue. Her drawings for that book are right in line with the pictures in my head. I'm going to write it and send a proposal off to Vision Forum. Actually, I'd like to publish it myself (not vanity publishing but actually start a publishing house) but I fret that the entire process might be a bit large for me. Anyone else ever thought of publishing? Any illustrators out there?

Finally, because of the excitement of building and having a greenhouse this spring we started lots of seeds. They were doing great and then we had two nights of freezing weather. Now we need to start at least half of what we had started over as they went caput. We lost pumpkins, tomatos, basil and corn. Also, my beautiful lemon balm turned brown and the leaves curled up. Thankfully, there is plenty of new green leaves already growing. So what did we learn? We need to keep rabbits in the green house to heat it to keep the plants alive. But how do we keep the rabbits warm in the winter? Anyone have knowledge on this. We'd want meat rabbits, both for their meat and for their skins (for fly tying.) Of course we would also need to learn to tan the hides as well as butcher the bunnies and I'm not sure the landlords would appreciate us processing rabbits in our garage. LOL!

Protecting the Homestead from Critters

We have wasps something terrible in our area. Those nasty little critters try to build nests everywhere. Just this afternoon I had to chase two of them out of our mailbox and knock down the nest they had started.

We have read that having a honey bee colony in your immediate area will cut down the wasps because the honey bees will attack them. I hope to get our top bar hive up and running soon but in the mean time we have wasp traps up.


The other pesky critter we are battling currently is a ground squirrel. You can get rid of moles by putting castor oil in their holes and on the lawn. They will pick up and move somewhere else. They don't like the castor oil's smell, taste or how it feels on their fur. We are hoping it is the same for ground squirrels. I just had my son pour some down the newest hole tonight.

Dirty rotten little squirrel and its latest handiwork in our back yard. Not only is it an eyesore but it is dangerous. One wrong step and you've twisted your ankle- OR WORSE- lose your croquet ball.

You might not think that a ground squirrel would be anything to worry about. But this little guy burrowed this tunnel only feet from the garden area. Thanks, but no thanks. The garden is to feed me, not him. If the castor oil doesn't do the trick then the landlord's sons will. They sit up on the decks with pellet guns and hunt. Don't go all PETA on me. We have a huge field in the back and the little guy is more than welcome to live happily out there. But its closing time in my yard. He doesn't have to go home but he can't stay here.