We love pigs. Why do you ask? Bacon, need I say more… Well, actually that is vastly under selling pigs. On our homestead they help compost kitchen waste, clear land for future projects, seal ponds, and yes they are very yummy. So, in order to keep our little herd of swine going, we invested in…
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More Spring Preparations and Making progress on the Bee Traps
Spring is here and sadly we are not quite ready for it. The garden still needs work, raised beds are still under construction, bare root plants still have bare roots. However, we persevere and continue to do what we can to keep up. This weeks spring preparations include pig relocation, garden preparations, and swarm traps!…
Yard Cleanup Almost Complete and More Bees!
Spring is approaching rapidly, and with it a whole host of projects! We engaged in some yard cleanup to get ready. There are so many projects do around our homestead this spring. Most of them involve sections of yard that were trashed this winter by me cutting firewood, the power company trimming trees, and loggers.…
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……
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…
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…
Return From Oblivion; A Quick Catchup After Our Hiatus
Well, it has been a minute. Alright, it has been more than 164,000 minutes since our last post. Our hiatus has been too long and was largely caused by stress and frustration. I genuinely enjoy writing down the stories of what is happening here to share with you all. However, remodeling the mother-in-law took its…
Cleaning out the C$*@# and Chicken Parenting Round 2
Hello friends, spring is rolling in fast here on the homestead and we are struggling to keep up. With the rise in temperatures, it was time to clean out the duck house and chicken coop. The garden is in terrible need of preparation and planting. Plus, we had to finish getting ready for our new…