Month: May 2022

Today’s title may confuse you…..or intrigue you….. But needless to say, it was an interesting week.

All the rain has yet again caused us to have to wait until the grass was crazy tall and by the time we mowed it, we should have baled. However, that is a huge benefit for us. We are able to use the extra grass cuttings in the garden to snuff out weeds, help in maintaining moisture, cover the walking paths to reduce mud, and improve our compost.

For those of you who follow me on Facebook or LinkedIn, you will have seen that I finally got my green bean plants put in. Six rows of green beans that are planted to their max. Along with the already great dirt that was in the rows from years of dirt and compostable materials, we also had some fresh compost ready to add to the rows. It was amazing! If you aren’t a compost person, this next bit may gross you out or just not understand why I get so excited about it… But, 2 years ago, I tried starting a worm farm, and thinking I epically failed at it, I threw all the remains of the worm farm into the compost pile. HOWEVER…..fast forward to today, and I created a wonderful vermiculture! There are SO MANY red worms in my compost…and they are breaking down the produce scraps, dirt and grass clippings wonderfully! To the point that the dirt actually smells like manure! It was weird to have dirt smell like manure when we don’t have large livestock to make it smell that way LOL But it was amazing, and so dark and moist. I am so pleased with our compost!

In addition to getting the green beans planted, Wyatt and I spent an afternoon working outside and we pounded posts into the garden and fastened some goat-fence to it. At the base of the fencing, we planted cucumbers on one side and spaghetti squash on the other. The plan is to feed the vines up the fencing so that veggies will hang down and make picking MUCH easier! And, I just think it looks cool how we did it 🙂

And now for the “Part of a Finger” part of the title…… I haven’t made a post for a while, because I had a little accident with a knife. While making dinner one night, I was chopping some veggies, and on the last cut, I thought I nicked my finger with the knife. When I inspected my finger….It was more than a nick with the knife…..a chunk of my finger was gone. Now, I am not going to gross anyone out by posting bloody pictures or what my finger looks like, but I cut off the end of my finger in a diagonal across my fingernail. Needless to say, it is still quite tender, but it is healing nicely. The passing joke in the house is “don’t cut your finger” every time I am cooking or prepping in the kitchen. *insert eye roll here* HAHAHA

I hope everyone has a great weekend!! Remember that this weekend is not just about having a long weekend. People who loved this country made the ultimate sacrifice dying for our freedom, and this weekend is about remembering them. So take a moment this weekend, when praying over a meal, enjoying the weather, having a bonfire, or toasting with a drink, to remember that freedom doesn’t come free….. Happy Memorial Day, and God bless!!!!

To say we had a crazy week is nothing short of the truth. It was CRAZY!!!

First, This beautiful young lady had her birthday!!! We celebrated with one of her favorite dinners (balsamic glazed chicken skewers, Israeli couscous salad, and homemade ice cream cake), and played one of her favorite games (Castles).

Then, this beautiful young lady got her driving permit!!! Seriously, how is this possible?? Looks like we have another chauffer in the house! LOL

This young man was told that he could earn $5 for each carpenter bee that he killed using a piece of rope…..and Luke had to eat his words…..because Wyatt earned $55!!!! He legit killed 11 carpenter bees WITH A ROPE!!!!

The weather last week was amazing! We were finally able to get the yard mowed! We literally could have baled it. With all the rain we had gotten over the past couple weeks, we had standing water in our yard and had to wait for it to dry out. The cut grass is beneficial to our garden though, so I was grateful for the excessive amount of grass clippings. After cutting the grass, we let it dry out for a couple days, and then we raked it up and moved it into the garden. We put the clippings around the melons and the pumpkins. We have found in previous years that grass clippings prove to be great at retaining moisture underneath, and its also serves as a great weed barrier.

We worked diligently at getting the garden all planted, except for the green beans. The beans will be planted Memorial Day weekend….at least that’s the plan. But, we did get the herb garden done. I’m pleased with how it turned out, and I can’t wait to have fresh herbs.

There was a bit of excitement last Wednesday when a feral cat came onto the property and started attacking the mother cats. We had to go out and break up the fights.

And lastly, spring is about new life……..and there is more on the homestead!!! In addition to the 3 litters of kittens we have on the homestead, we now also have baby ducks!!! Karen had her babies!!! They are super cute!!! She was sitting on 12 eggs, but she won’t let us get close enough to see if they all hatched. And we have another mother duck sitting on a nest of 14 eggs!!!

What a whirlwind… I’m ready for a break…but there is so much more to come 🙂

I hope you all have a wonderful week. I’m looking forward to a less crazy week.

This week’s post is a shout out to those who have given of their time and materials for our homestead….and to brag a little on our hard work.

For those who follow us on Facebook and Instagram, you may have seen our post about having had a back breaking weekend last weekend. Luke was on shoveling and dirt hauling duty. We moved a LOT of dirt!!! Praise God that Luke found us a utility trailer (our anniversary present to each other) that we could hook up to the mower. Lily and I were on row-making duty in the garden. We tore apart bales of straw and formed the planting rows, and then Luke covered them with dirt. They look GREAT!

In between dirt loads, I used the time to make some mini-fences to put around my melon and pumpkin areas. I made them out of scrap 4×4 posts and some pallet boards. I think they turned out pretty neat. Then, we did the same thing we did with the rows, we put down a layer of straw and covered it with dirt.

Once we got all the boxes and rows covered, we took some sawdust and put it in the walk ways. Sawdust is a great natural ground cover, and when put on thick enough, will snuff out the weeds and grass.

We made GREAT progress, and the garden is ready to receive plants, with the exception of 4 circular planting areas we need to straw and dirt, and once all this rain stops….. What sloppy mess it is out there….. But with raised row gardening, the plants don’t get flooded out. Just some water laying in a couple low walk way spots.

It was a hard day, and Luke and I were really feeling our ages by the time we were done, but it was great to get outside and be in the dirt and get some projects done.

And now for me to SHOUT OUT!!!! I want to offer a HUGE THANK YOU to all of those who have helped us so far. We have had people donate sawdust, pallets, time, machinery…It is so greatly appreciated, and we thank God for your contribution….even if they are a bi-products or waste product. THANK YOU!!!!

And now a Public Service Announcement: If anyone has any materials they are looking to get rid of, or would like to donate, feel free to reach out to us. We are always looking for materials to use around the homestead. Materials like pavers, bricks, barn wood, old windows, tarps, sawdust, wood chips, branches/limbs, etc. We are also willing to barter for these materials with our homemade goods.

Hope you all have a great week!!!!