Statistically US drivers have a 1 in 116 chance of hitting a deer every year. That means that, roughly, each driver will likely hit 0.5 during their time behind the wheel. Now there are things that will throw that statistic off, which part of the country you are in, the amount of time you spend…
All posts by Spencer
The Great Pig Escape; or How I lost A Lens Cap, also Soil Blocks
Sometimes things do not go according to plan here on the homestead. This week we experienced on of those things with our pigs. However, we also managed to make soil blocks for starting seeds in and made a significant mulch pile. Soil Blocks for Seedlings Soil Blocks are quite literally blocks of dirt used for…
Preparing for Bees, a new Goat, and More Mushrooms
Spring is fast approaching. Which means, lots of spring and summer preparations going on around here. For better or for worse, we are also still working on homestead expansions at the same time. The end result, a to-do list that grows faster than it shrinks and lots of things being half-way done. Speaking of which……
Snowed in? Time to Grow Mushrooms from Spawn
So this post is coming out a little late. But never late than never. A snow storm blew in, not a huge one but big enough to slow things down around here and keep us from going anywhere. So what do we do when we can not leave home? Keep working the homestead! So we…
Helping Others and a New Composting System
Dealing with waste and dealing with winter have some things in common. Most notably, neither is pleasant most of the time. I know I am from Alaska and Missouri winters are incredibly mild in comparison. However, the daily chores in winter are not very fun even if I do enjoy nippy air and snow covered…
Back to Baking and Announcing Permaculture Design
This week we took a major step toward returning to one of my favorite kitchen activities, baking. For various reasons baking has taken a back burner in recent months but not anymore! Also, I have been spending several hours a week working on a new certification which will help our homestead. This week I finally…
Better Garden Cleansing with Pigs and Tree Felling School
While winter is still very much present here in Missouri it still feels like spring is just around the corner. But, even if spring is still several months away, garden planning starts now. In order to recover from last years gardening failure we need to get as early a start as we can. A great…
Fixing Fowl Frustrations, the Chicken Run Compromise
Free range chickens have a lot of benefits for a homestead; bug control, healthy chickens, reduced feed costs, etc. However, there are some draw backs; chicken poop everywhere, chickens killing anything you plant they can get at, and chickens occasionally chasing you. At this point the chickens have even stripped parts of our lawn. This…
State of the Homestead Address: 2022
The state of the homestead… it is a mess! Another year has come and gone and to be honest it was an odd one for us. We did not do lots of things we normally do. However, there were some unexpected benefits as well. So, before we look to what we hope 2022 will bring,…
Excavating the Woodshop; Clearing out the Clutter
This year a number of things have gotten away from us here on the homestead, such as my woodshop. As we worked on projects wood scraps started to pile up. Tools started to disappear as disorganized piles appeared. Then, we went to Sarah’s mother’s house to help her clean out an old shed. When we…