A Fond Farewell

This will be my last post on HC. As of this week, we have accepted on offer to sell our house and property.

Chickens, in a faint dusting of snow, gobbling grain earlier this week.

We're staying in the area, but moving to a bigger house on more land with a real barn.We move approximately 2 months from now. With all the hustle and bustle of selling and preparing to move, I will simply not have time to continue blogging.

That, coupled with the fact that in the short time I've been opining, I have certainly come a lot closer to fulfilling my mission.



Our goal has been to "turn our rocky, overgrown 5.4 acres into a flourishing, self-sustaining farm, and become just a wee bit holier while we do it." With all of the improvements I've made to the pastures, and in implementing "the system," I've certainly taken great strides toward achieving the first part of that. My spiritual life has developed well during that time, too. I can honestly say that, even though I'm not continuing my mission here at this property, I have nevertheless achieved my goals - at least as much as possible in the short time I've been writing.

 So, for this final post, I'll give one last Homestead Update, and add some closing thoughts after that.

Guinea Fowl: Take 2

This week, i got 4 free guineas:

buck-WHEAT! buck-WHEAT! 

A friend of ours got them in the spring, and they're getting into his neighbor's flowers and causing a good deal of hi-jinks, or something like that. I have them in with the pullets, where they'll stay until December. By then, I hope they're trained to stay and roost behind the shed.

2013, We Hardly Knew Ye

"...from such films as Andre the Giant,
We Hardly Knew Ye...."

Or, we knew Thee all too well for our own Stinking Goode.

Either way, it was a crazy-town, whirlwind year here at the homestead.

This time last year, I knew there was so,so much to get done, so I dubbed 2013 "The Year of Getting Things Done."

Boy howdy, was it ever.

I have a yet-unfinished list, sure, but I did complete some very major accomplishments this year. We will continue our self-sufficient journey in 2014 with some exciting new additions and expansions.

For now, though, let's look back at 2013: The Year of Getting Things Done.

Quick DIY Guinea Field Waterer

With the surviving guineas now in total free range mode, I wanted to give them a reason to stay close.
I took and old tomato cage and nailed it to some boards. It was the perfect size to support their old waterer.

I took the waterer from their old cage and DIY'ed a lil' stand fer it.

The goal is to spot them by the waterer to make sure they've noticed and used it, then gradually move it back toward the garden, where I want them to be. I hope it works......

Wild Guineas

On Tuesday, we released the surviving guineas into the chicken pen after clipping their wings. We had hoped to keep them in with the chickens until they were large enough to be released on their own.
Well, they beat us to the punch.
Last night, we went to feed the chicks and check on Meatloaf's wound, and the guineas were gone.
Totally gone. Nowhere in sight or sound.
However, this morning, I noticed a small shape hanging out just outside the electric net. Upon closer inspection, I saw it was really two small shapes.
The guineas!
They somehow got out, but the training seems to have worked. I think the sight of our house is "home" to them, so now they're out in the wild. A few weeks earlier than planned, and half as many, but hey - at least these guys are OK.

Raccoon Attack (I think)

Two more guineas passed on.
This time, it was a bit more gruesome than a simply protozoan infection. They were mauled and eaten.
Two died. Two are alive, one with nasty injuries.

One of the survivors. Poor thing has some serious gashes on its neck and left wing.

I was training them that the garden and orchard area is "home." In doing so, I had them in a dog crate with very narrow slats, thinking they were safe from predators within its confines.
Not so, apparently.

Homestead Update

So besides the quarter of grass-fed cow and the ginormous website project, the homestead has been relatively quiet. The garden is great, the animals are finally stable and healthy, and things are hitting their summer stride.
That is, when the cucumbers are not swallowing them.
I was excited to see the first okra on the stalk today.

HUGE okra coming off the stem. The cucumber vines are sending yellow flowers
to squat in the other squares and devour it all.

But wait! There's more!

Fresh Garden Fruits and Veggies

For some reason, veggies grown right in your backyard just taste better. Maybe it's the freshness - picked and eaten the same day, they don't lost nutrients or taste. Maybe it's that they are harvested AT ripeness, instead of picked a few days early to merely soften during the 1500-mile trip ahead of them. Maybe it's the fact that you know exactly were they were grown, and who they were picked by, instead of trying not to think about which part of China they were imported from. :\
Regardless, they just taste better.

Fresh radishes, cucumbers, and zucchini, picked right at home!
Served with sour cream, these made for an excellent dinner smorgasbord.

We've been feasting on veggies from the garden this week. Due the late planting, we're only beginning to get our yield. But it sure has been tasty!

Teaching Moments

Yesterday, one of our guinea chicks died.

Death is a part of life, and the only
certainty we have. Teaching it young
makes it easier.

We really don't know how it happened. Earlier that day, Wife noticed that he/she (let's just say "Stanley," and credit Thing #2 with the name) was acting very sluggish and not keeping up with the rest of the flock.
They had been knocking over their food bowls for a week, so we left them to peck at the spilled food for a while.
 While the other 5 were zipping around after moths and pecking at the food and at crawling bugs like crazy, Stanley waddled around looking very confused. Despite being the same age, the natural guinea instincts had not yet materialized. Maybe they never were going to.
With the one looking sluggish, we went ahead and added the feed to a plate.
Later that evening, Stanley was resting in guinea peace.
We took the kids out to see him in the chick-u-bator. I removed him, with the kiddos present, and we discussed death for a bit. They took it very well, understanding the cycle of birth, life, and natural death, as created and ordained by God, as best they could at 7 and 9 years.
We answered some questions for them, and had a very small burial ceremony. It was sad, but nobody cried. It's nature.
We used it as a good teaching moment, and a moment that we will continue to have as time goes on. Shying away from reality is never in anyone's interests.
On the positive side, Stanley was the first animal we've officially lost. One cat has gone AWOL, but we're just not certain on where he is.
All in all, it's a pretty good track record so far.

Guineas in the Chick-u-Bator

Yesterday we moved the guineas into the chick-u-bator.

The guineas were a little unsettled at all the space.

They were pretty freaked out, for the most part. They all huddled together in one corner for most of the afternoon.

By evening, though, they had spread out nicely.

They look so tiny in there compared to the chickens, who have grown quite large.

Maybe they'll be like lizards, and grow to accommodate their new quarters? That would be funny.

New Guinea Keets

Six new little guinea keets.

On Sunday we picked up 6 guinea fowl keets. They're a week old.
We got two lavenders, one pearl, one white, and two pied, or multi-colored. They should make a nice-looking, tick-destroying flock. :)
They will free-range, so the entire area (plus our neighbors) should see a drastic decline in insect and tick populations by this time next year.
The plan is to build some permanent housing by the garden so they start off and finish each day eating bugs through the garden and orchard.
No names as of yet. I need to be able to distinguish them a bit better first.
So excited! I've wanted them for two years now. I'm so glad things are finally rolling for us.
God is good!