November 30, 2014

The plus side to living on a farm-

You can eat Apple pie for breakfast and a pizza puff with hot wings for lunch, and then do an hour of hard labor, stripping a calf pen and cleaning out a barn. The guilt is gone.

Velvet the calf left yesterday. We are now down to a cow, a pig and chickens. Oh, and a ridiculous number of cats. Don't get me going on them. Ok, I will just for a second.  Most of the cats are indoor outdoor cats. Next year, if I can get over my emotional unstableness, they will all be outdoor cats.

Emotional unstableness-  as the polar vortex rips through the area, the cats stand at the door meowing and pawing on it for HOURS.  I can't look away, I can't turn them away, and then I let them in. And when Doug comes down in the morning to get ready for work, he stands there motionless, as 6 cats are running around the kitchen and living room.

Cats love outside. Cats are able to live outside. Barn cats are mistakingly bred to live outside. I must hang on to this. I must believe it!!!

We adopted a single baby chick from Diane. She had a hen go broody, and all of the chicks died except for this one. She no longer wanted to keep it in her bathroom, I don't blame her, and so it came to live in our barn. It's in a cage right now, but as soon as it gets big enough, I'll just let it have free reign over the place. The pack of renegades (other chickens) come by to visit it throughout the day and try to figure out where it came from and why it's here. The chick is pleading the fifth.  I think it's better that way.

Still no clear direction on what and where the farm will be. We want to feed those who need real food the most, and we're going to have raw milk. That's all I've got. I may try one more avenue for the farm to be a farm with an ag loan, so we can do it right, but I'm not hopeful. I am hopeful that Gods plan is perfect, and so much bigger than what I could imagine. And I'm sure that he will not leave his work unfinished. Even when we can't see it, he's still moving forward. We're just along for the ride, as   Bethel is as well.

November 26, 2014 or maybe I've been going about this all wrong

So the dream is a small family farm. For our family to be small family farmers. I thought the end result should be us sustaining our current lifestyle, providing good, real food, direct to the consumers. This is a possibility on a much smaller scale than the one I originally thought was small. There are hoops and double Dutch jump ropes we have to get through with the government to even be a business farm, and with our current land and other factors, it's just not possible.

But...... We can still farm.  A couple dairy cows, a beef cow to butcher, a dozen chickens, and 2 feeder pigs. That is about what we can do. And what a life we could live with all of that beautiful food to sell off to willing customers.

 The original vision was to greatly improve our own quality of life, and letting others, the customers then benefit by minutely improving their quality of life.

That's not our Gods way. And I was slapped in the face with it today, gently and lovingly of course.

Let's be real.  We serve a radical God, who radically loves us in crazy ways that the world can't fathom.  Heck, at times, we can't even fathom it. And thats what our vision should be around. So here's the new radical vision:

We give our food away.

What if, instead of "tithing" the religious 10 percent, we do the opposite. We GIVE away 90 percent and keep 10 for ourselves. The people who need this real food the most, aren't savvy consumers- CEOs, upper middle class, but it's those that dont have the means to obtain it. That's our target "customer".  The customer who has no real way of paying, but can benefit the most from our product.

RADICAL

A radical God, a radical life.  It's sounds crazy, and backwards, but as I tell people all the time, "if you don't think my choices and lifestyle are crazy, then I'm not following Jesus."  I mean, the man preached about drinking his blood and eating his flesh. It's crazy.  He let those that we think deserved to be punished and tortured, go free.  He set them free, and he got to our hearts so we could understand why they deserve it as much as we do.

So yes, we can still farm. Yes, we can still be farmers.  And instead of worrying about improving our quality of life, our focus will be on improving OTHERS quality of life. Cause let's face it, when we open our eyes, and I mean truly open our eyes, and we see the poverty around us, our life seems like a dream. When we take away, that they deserve it, or that it is their own fault, and we see the hurt, and the anguish and the shame in their eyes, our hearts can bleed for them. That's what we need.  Not stone cold hearts.  Not safe and sparkly christian lives.  But we need bleeding hearts and open hands.

We struggle financially at times.  We live paycheck to paycheck, and sometimes we live paycheck to the paycheck after the current one. We live on a meager budget where we spend more on gas than groceries. But we live with a God that provides our every need.  As much as I want new yarn to be a "need", because then I can knit new gloves and socks for everyone, it really isn't. Sometimes it is, but most of the time it isn't. When we have a need God provides it.  And if he doesn't, than we just didn't need it at that time.

So there it is.  Maybe I'll call it the 90/10 project. I don't yet have a group in mind to serve, I'd rather have God bring them to me. There is a food pantry at our church that could be the connection, but again, he'll bring the people to us that need it the most.

90/10

RADICAL

November 24, 2014

Farm Happenings

Winter was hard on the farmstead last week.  But what a gift!  We're back to spring already so "cold chores" have been put aside. It was a challenge, it involved hard work, and the cold sickies started to effect the kids and I. For 4 days straight, we were going in and out numerous times during the day. Freezing cold to cozy warm, windy freezing cold to cozy warm. Water had to be replenished regularly to all the animals because it kept freezing. So that meant every couple hours, bundling up and heading out with pitchers for the smaller guys and a bucket for Bethel. We made it, we managed, we all had, or have miserable stuffed noses now.  

I am pining for a fenced in pasture.  Pining as a fashionista pines for new shoes.  We are still using the stake for Bethel.  I told Doug what I wanted to do for the pasture and handed it over to him. So Ive chosen not to nag and complain, just let him handle it as his man brain deems appropriate. 

It's sooooooooo hard

So anyways, she's still on the tether line. Of course the ground froze last week and she was stuck in one place with hardly any grass. On a positive note, she did get some exercise, running and bucking around. 

Big farm plans have been in the works, but most cannot be broadcasted.  We want an extremely small family farm, which apparently the government doesn't like, so we're going to stay legal, but quiet about a lot of stuff going on here at Green Gables. Our original plan was to have 4-6 jerseys, sell the raw milk, Doug goes to part time or slower route at work, we grow as a family and a farm. 

Two problems- startup expenses and legislation

The startup expenses for this endeavor would be extremely small. But I figured we would just get an ag loan. America loves farmers right?  Especially small family farms. That's what you picture when you grab your dozen eggs from the grocery store and it says "farm" on it, right?

The government does not like small family farms. I can't go into all the ridiculous, nonsense reasons that we can't technically be a farm, according to the government, who would then offer us grants and great interest rate loans, etc.  So the startup expenses have been the first challenge, but we're exploring options and seeing what our God comes up with for us.

So any other farm endeavor that we would try to take on, to make a business out of, would not work. They would shut us down. But raw milk......

And that is all I will say

Problem 2 is legislation. Because Illinois knows they cannot ban raw milk, without getting hung in the process, they are using the age old tactic of suffocating the small farmer until they die. What that means is, they impose strict regulations, lots of hoops, which in turn cost tens of thousands of dollars.  Then they put restrictions on how much you can sell, in essence, putting you in debt and then not providing a financial way for you to get out. 

But raw milk.....

IDPH is fighting for the above scenario right now. Their proposed regulations are in the process of being considered. If they do get passed, our farm dreams are done. But we have a higher sovereign God that is in authority over all, even our goofy government, amen??  So if our farm dreams are dashed I can only assume they were not His plans, and relax in that, because I want to be in the center of His will. It will be sad, and my flesh will be crushed, but there will still be so much to be thankful for.  

November 12, 2014

Farm Happenings

My soap has cured for three weeks and is ready to go. The conclusions-

It is not pretty

It does not lather like commercial soaps

It smells divine

It cleans

I will not attempt my hand at soap again anytime soon. After a week of research and reading up on lye, I had frightened myself to an oblivion. The process wasn't enjoyable, for me at least. So I'm getting my next load of tallow tomorrow, and were going to go with candle making next.

Quick subject break- parenting a 13 year old is extremely daunting. And this is a boy. Daunting.

Back to the farm- the cold weather hit today and Im sure in some places it can be pleasantly mild. But out here, on the hill, with the wind, its anything but pleasant. I thought I had invested in warm enough gloves, I thought I had a warm enough coat, and I found out today, early on, I was way wrong.
I went out to bring the animals out for a few hours to stretch their legs, and then clean out the pens. It was cold.....freezing cold. So on the ASAP checklist, find some used farm worthy warm attire for 5 people.

You learn something every day, and today I learned that the animals really take this cold in stride. The chickens could really care less. They're all over the place in their little flock, getting into whatever cow pies they can find. And the cows just go out and graze like its nothing. If I was a cow and someone brought me out in that weather, I would stand there, still and staring, thinking of how cold it was, and waiting to be brought in.

Big farm plans are in the works....if they even will work. All I can say right now is our goal is to have an extremely small, sustainable working family farm. Working family farm, like all if us, even Doug. A lot of things to need line up first, and tons and tons more research needs to be done. That is all I can say for now, as things solidify, Ill update.

Stay warm!!

Novemeber 10 2014

I dreamt of these mornings while we still lived in the Heights.  The view from the couch

 

 

 

 

The view from the porch

 

Novemeber 9 2014

Farm happenings

Again, it's been very quiet here. The farmhouse "big kitchen" had a mini makeover and now includes the color "barn red". Between that and the ambience my Christmas tree is producing, this is the warmest, coziest house I've ever been in.

Polar vortex coming next week? I'll believe it when I see it. I'm to the point where worrying about a bad winter out here is such a burden. And truly I'm not going to put my trust into a media weatherman. If they're so great, why didn't they predict the horrific winter we had last year? So we prepare by trusting a God who creates the weather, and just being wise in our choices.

I've stopped fretting over the chickens and the cold. Doug fixed their windows so there is no longer any drafts blowing in. After reading my friend Jons farm update, I'm confident the chickens will do ok in the coop. They're much more resilient than I've given them credit for apparently.

Bethel and velvet the calf are doing well. She's been in during wet and windy weather. That little shed turned barn, is another one of the coziest places I've ever been in. The smell of pine shavings mixed with cow is heavenly. I long for the quiet mornings of heading out there in the dark, with the sun peeking over the horizon at me. The quiet swishing of milk in a bucket, a baby calf in the pen next to me, and resting my head on bethels big warm belly with forever thanksgiving for the gifts she's given us.

Heaven...

November 2 2014

Farm happenings.

Not much. Maybe we're adjusting to this craziness now and getting a better grip on it so the mishaps have decreased. I am worried about winter though, for the animals sake. My dream would be to have this pasture fence up before the cold sets in. I want Bethel to have a place to get some exercise and run and buck around a bit on nicer days.

I want to either winterize the pig palace, or get him set up in the barn.

The chickens have me the most worried though. They're in a concrete building that used to serve as a milk house. It's cold in there. We've thought about putting a heat lamp in there for them when it gets really cold. They just seem so little and frail.

And then there's the brood of cats. We let the outdoor ones in on Friday because the weather was just so bad. They got accustomed to the warmth pretty quickly and now are begging to come in all day long. To avoid the cat fights we had Friday, we've been letting them in at night into the basement. I'm sure they can make it out there on their own but we're still softy homesteaders.

October 29 2014

Harvest time!!

 

Doug going for a ride

 

October 27,2014

Farm happenings

Bethel is still pregnant and doing well. I stringed up the area for fencing so we have an idea for supplies next spring. With the calf, we'll most  definitely need it, especially if it's a girl. We'll be keeping her for an additional milk cow. Can I just take a second to say how I adore dairy products. Cottage cheese, sour cream, butter, ice cream, yogurt, and all the hard and soft cheeses!!!! To consume these products the way I'd like to would cost a fortune every week in our grocery budget. I'm so excited to have them all on hand, and fresh, and unpasteurized !!!

The coop is getting stripped and deep cleaned tomorrow in preparation for the deep litter winter composting chicken coop plan. Our little setup is difficult because there are two "floors" in the coop. It's still doable and I've researched enough to give it a try.

I've also decided to bite the bullet and stop being a cheapo. We're going to use pine shavings for bedding for all animals now. I'm hoping it will suppress my allergies a bit since I'll only have to work with a small amount of hay in comparison to the straw I've been handling.

We got lots of manure and "pee pee straw" thrown on the garden. I raked it out yesterday and Chris Jones brought over a load of sand. He rolled it all up to a beautiful soft finish. Doug is off this week so we'll be throwing a layer of more "pee pee straw" on top to rest and break down more. The "pee pee straw" from the cows is loaded with nitrogen and other yummy things soil likes to eat.
The price of Bethels milk may vary by selling time, but for right now, each gallon will be 5.00. I've researched pricing in surrounding areas of Illinois and most are selling for 10.00 a gallon. That's crazy to me. And completely unaffordable. We're a small operation and really aren't doing this to bring home the bacon. We're doing this to offer quality and healthy food to friends, neighbors and our community. That's the vision. Good food that's good for you, just how it was intended to be.

October 25, 2014

Trey is 13. He's in an awkward emotional stage where he is pretty lukewarm about most things. One thing that he absolutely adores is our kittens

Ocotber 23 2104

Farm happenings

It's been awhile.

Not much going on the past week

Velvet the new baby calf is doing well. She's a little escape artist and manages to get out once a day but she never goes far and is easily coaxed back in with her bottle.

Bethel is eating for two. She's been coming in at night and dining on hay.....a lot..of hay. We're crunching numbers to see how much milk well have available to sell come spring. It seems well only be able to have about 20 customers so if you're interested in getting on the list, message me for details. The Illinois rules governing raw milk sales are limited advertising (I hope this doesn't count), and the customer must pick up the milk from the farm with their own container. If you're good with that, let me know. If the list grows quickly, a deposit may be required by the end of the year to hold your spot, but ill let you know as it gets closer.

Peace and Harmony went back home today. It was so sad to see them go and I'm sure well be making regular visits down there to see them. But it made chore time spool much easier tonight. Well welcome the break until our new admits come down.

October 20, 2014

First batch of tallow soap ready to cure...it's a bit rustic looking

 

 

October 19 2014

First batch of soap. Let's hope it saponifies. Tallow, olive oil shea butter and lavender

October 17 2014

She's pregnant!!!!!! Two and a half months!!! So clearly I have no idea what I'm doing when watching for a cow in heat. We are soooo excited!!! Time to start reading up on what calving and milking!!!!!


Later that night

I have a verified pregnant cow in the barn....this is the sweetness of life

October 16, 2014

I can't

Take

The

 

 Excitement !!!!

We were going to have Bethel checked on Monday but he's coming tomorrow!!!! I can't believe it!!!

The new calf, which Tori has named Velvet, has been doing so well. She took the bottle immediately and has been up and mooing to the other babies all day. Bethel went out today for some fresh air and I can tell she misses them. Shell be going back in after chores.

March 19, 2014

A post from my original blog

Titled "Farm update"


We will be closing next Monday!!! I can’t believe it! But I will breathe a sigh of relief after all the papers are signed. Here are broken down updates:

Garden
The only thing I know about the soil is that it is clay heavy. I didnt know what this meant or what to do about so I went to my friends Emily and Roberto, who suggested a mix of soil, sand and mulch thrown right on top of the existing grass. So that’s the plan. I cannot wait for the heaving breaths, the breaking back and the blisters all over my hands from working this!!! I’m so desperate for some down and dirty work!

I’m hoping I won’t need fencing right away around it and am not planning for it. Getting the bed ready and the seedlings started seems to be enough at the moment. But if the garden begins to get attacked, fencing will be on huge list of projects to complete.

Using the garden planner from Mother Earth news, I have created a bed 20ft by 40ft. I am an overachiever and am confident that this will not be a garden to highlight in BHG, but I know that the best way for me to learn is to get in there and do it! So that’s what I plan on doing.

I just ordered my seeds and am hoping they get here today so I can get that setup going. No clue what’s going on with the sowing of seeds, but a little youtube and book help will get me through it. I wasn’t going to go the seed route, but with the size of the garden, it would have cost a fortune to buy all seedlings. Ultimately, my saving grace is going to be my friend Gwen, who I am hoping will be at the new house mentoring me through it all.

Milk cow
This, as most of you know, is where my heart is, and my jersey cow is on the top of the list for purchases in 2015. For now I am reading about fencing options for the pasture and working with different ideas. The goal is to have the fence up by this fall and the milking stanchion ready.

Chickens
We will be picking up our little egged darlings at the end of April and then will begin the 21 day hatching process. At the class, we got to crack open some eggs that “didn’t make it” through the entire development process. Three embryos were saved for the class I’ll be doing for our 4-h kids! They were preserved in baby food jars. It took 3 days before we all were equally grossed out and they are now hidden in the closet until the class.

We have two options for a coop- an old milk house that we can work with or a huge dog cage that we can build around. Those will be the permanent options until next year. I’m hoping we won’t have to go the route of the temporary PVC piping coop. The plan for the dog cage will be to cover the outside with “something” ( don’t know what yet) for protection and such. My dream for my chickens is to let them free range all over the place and then let them head in at night, but I’m not sure what the predators in the area are yet. This will just be a learning process as everything else is.

The Hog
I’m still looking at costs for fencing options for my hog-a licious. Not much planning has been done in this department except that it’s still on the to do list for 2014.

Safe families
We have completed our training and once we get into the new house we can have our home study done. For those that aren’t familiar with Safe Families, it is a program that helps families in crisis get back on their feet. If for example, a mother has to go into the hospital and she has no one to take care of her children, instead of going into foster care, they will come stay with us. There are a lot of different scenarios, but the ultimate goal is always to go back to the family….which I love!! The best place for kids to be is with their parents, and the great thing about this program is that we are not only helping the children, but their families as well! For those with older children, if you have toddler clothes and toys laying around, save them for me!! I’m an extreme purger so I save nothing and get rid of everything!

That’s all in the way of updates. The McClenehan sisters and I will be heading down to Comet Crossing for some fellowship and farm air next week. Keep us in your prayers as we will be traveling with 8 children!

Until next time……

February 21, 2014

A post from my original blog

Titled "Spring is coming.......on the farm!!"

So we have a tentative closing date for March 28th. This has already been changed and I’m sure it will change again. Almost all paperwork is in, appraisal is done and we’re just waiting for warmer weather and less snow. Here are the plans for things so far

Garden – I bit the bullet and bought the Mother Earth news garden planner app. It was painful at $10.00, but so well worth it!!! Because I’m not going to be able to test the soil and look for drainage problems before we move in, I’m just going to be using raised beds this year. I’m planning potatoes, onions, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. I am in no way a gardening master and really have no idea what I’m doing. My experience consists of having a potted Roma tomato plant last year and harvesting 9 tomatoes off it…….yes…….9. But I learn the best from mistakes, not books. Not the easiest way to get through life, but it works.

Chickens- our 4-h group was looking for a host family to do the embryology class so guess who signed up….this gal!! I seriously get to take the class, learn all about chicken development and hatching, turn the lovely things daily and then we get to watch them hatch right in our own basement!!!! How. Awesome. Is. That.

So these will be our chickens we will be bringing to the farm. We have no coop yet and am not sure about our plans for one, but I saw an easy one to make on a Becky’s Homestead video. It consisted of PVC piping which to me translates, cheap, easy and temporary.

The house- first thing that will need to be accomplished will be gutters on the house, ASAP. From there we are going to begin replacing windows. I’m excited for Doug to learn all this handy stuff and I think his man spirit is too. Men were made to build and work and create. He hasn’t had much opportunity thus far in his life, so I’m excited to see him flourish at the house.

Other livestock- I thought my dairy cow was going to be our first big livestock choice, but I’m finding out that hogs are pretty darn easy. I’m pricing out and planning out a pen and am hoping to have our own hog to raise for meat this year. No clue as to when you get them or where you get them, but I’m letting God lead the way, and as I hold Jesus’ hand we follow Him.

Dairy cow- my goal is to be schooled up and ready by next summer or fall. I know for sure I want a jersey because of all the delicious fat in their milk! Until she comes though, we will have to figure out a way to keep her in pasture- whether it be fencing or tethering, and we also will need to start adding a milking stanchion to the shed, and a little shelter for her. I cannot express my excitement about my lovely dairy cow, it’s the only “thing” in this life that I really want….yes, a dairy cow.

And one of the best things that is happening with this move is that one of my bosom friends is moving right down the street from us. We will be like Anne and Diana, performing signals to communicate with each other from our porches. It is very exciting and encouraging to have a close christian sister nearby. I’m sure we will need each other more than we can imagine. Asking for a cup of sugar is no longer walking 10 feet next door. It’s going to be the kids hopping on their bikes and riding half a mile :)

Sigh….sigh…. Sigh…… I go to bed dreaming of summer there and wake up planning. I am trying to be in the here and now, embracing the current time, but the current time is cold and windy and gloomy and there’s cable and nothing for the kids to do outside. My delusional mind thinks that winter on the farm will be better than this. But alas, I would much rather be huddled up next to my warm cow milking right now, than be looking at the neighbors house directly in front of me.

I can’t wait for the horizon..everywhere I look, there will be the glorious horizon.

January 18, 2014

Taken from my original blog

Post was titled-- "Ohhhhhhh. Myyyyyyyyy. Gooosssshhhhh. It’s coming true!!!"

Because as we write out our prayer requests and our deepest loves and desires, we always have something to go back to when Father answers them. We can say “whoa!! There it is,”.
So maybe this heavily neglected blog is in a sense a prayer journal because I can remember pouring my heart out about wanting a farm. Nothing crazy, just a modest little homestead. And ya know what, Father has answered that prayer.  :)))))))

So if I can keep it together and continue writing on here, I plan on chronicling our farm adventures.

At some point, if I do keep it together well enough and keep up with my neglectful writing, I may switch everything over to a true farm blog!  But for now, alas, we have Life with the Supernauts.

Two topics I want to hit: where we are with purchasing the farm and about the farm. And then my prelim plans

1.  Here is the listing
http://m.realtor.com/#rdc?action=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.realtor.com%2Frealestateandhomes-detail%2F11338-N-16000E-Rd_Grant-Park_IL_60940_M79536-85365
There is a 4 car garage and the blue shed in the pictures will someday be the cow shed and/or storage. The property that the house is on is really 1.75 acres, the driveway and the bit of property on both sides of it is in itself 1 acre. The driveway is a quarter mile long. Goodbye shovels and snow blowers, hello snow plow!!!

As of right now, we have a contract active. The owners do have to to find another place to go, so our goal is to close next month, and they will then rent the house out from us until they find a new place to buy, or until June 1st. This was of course fine with us all because who wants to move in the winter!?

Right now we are just finalizing all the paperwork for the mortgage and then it will go to underwriting which I am so thankful that god is sovereign and in complete control.

We have a lovely couple renting our house out. And because our god is orchestrating the whole thing they can move in whenever, no tight restrictions.

Farm goals- first draft, rough draft, preliminary, dreams and ideas

1. Chickens- I will be getting them shortly after we move in. I’m looking right now for chicken coops or chicken tractors. But if worse comes to worse there is an old milk house on the property we may just convert to a coop. I want to be able to open the door every morning and let them roam, and I may for a while. I’m not sure what predators are looming about around the area, and I’m not sure if Harley the moose dog would be enough to scare them off. We’ll begin with the chicks and brood them until they’re ready for the great outdoors. If I can time it right, I may start the chicks here so when we move they can go right to the coop. All rough draft planning right now

2. Garden- we won’t be there in enough time to get the garden going for the summer. But I wanted to watch the first year and be able to see how well the land drains and plot out the best spot for the garden. In this year we’ll begin purchasing supplies for fencing and that sort of thing. No matter when we get there, I will be giving potatoes a shot in a growing bag on the porch and hopefully get some fall and winter crops in. (When I say crops, I mean plants.). I know NOTHING about gardening but I do know I want to grow LOTS of stuff. This is going to be the most challenging of all goals.

3. Trees – because the driveway is a good chunk of our property I thought the best way to utilize it would be to plant trees- sugar maples, apples and peaches. I want grapes somewhere as well but not sure where they’re going to go yet.

4. The cow- This is where my heart melts. This is where my heart is. This is the love of my homestead-a jersey cow. This equals milk, cream, cheeses, yogurt, etc. yummmmmmm!!!! It may be a few years before we are able to get her, a small pasture needs to be fenced and the cow shed converted but I’m hoping to have this sweetheart by spring of 2015.

5. Berries – no clue where they’re going but I I know we’ll have them somewhere. For sure strawberries and blueberries.

6. Alpaca and/or Angora rabbits. I have done no research on either one of these yet and they are much farther down the road. I would like to have them not only for pets but for their fiber. (I do love my knitting, and homespun alpaca is dreamy). Again, just a thought and something that I’ll be praying about and researching.

So that’s it all in a nutshell. We’re really just letting God lead us and following Him. Stay tuned for more updates as they happen! Life With The Supernauts is having an extreme makeover!

September 24, 2013 (Taken from my original blog...before any farm dreams began to come true)

Seriously, I want a farm.  More than anything.  it is seeping through my veins.  This earnest desire to farm and work.  Here is my dream-

A cute wooden farm house, the kind with a lot of small rooms, and lots of space.  Maybe even a creepy cement basement that I can use as a root cellar.

A sprawling garden loaded with strawberries and pumpkins.  Greens, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and a special section for herbs!

A milk cow.  I want a milk cow more than anything.  I want to wake up at 4 am and milk the gosh darn cow.  I want to make cheese and yogurt and use the cream for coffee and ice cream…homemade, churned ice cream.

Chickens!  Glorious chickens!  My favorite part of our stay at the McClenehans farm was going out in the early evening and letting the chickens out for an hour or so to do their thing.  It was serene and renewing, just chilling with the chickens for that time.  Watching them take their baths, observing the dynamic of the flock.

A beef cow and a pig.  I want the pig for more of a pet, but we would eventually eat it.  Pigs are cute.  Theyre sweet like dogs, so this would be difficult.  Maybe we would just have a cute little charlottes web pig.  But the cow, he would be dinner.

Last, but not least… Alpaca.  Beautiful, soft, loving alpaca.  Google them!  They are the cutest thing next to charlottes web pigs!  I’ll raise them and sheer them and use their wonderful fleece to spin my own yarn.  I will of course dye my yarn glorious colos and then beautiful mittens and hats and sweaters!  (I’m off of the sock kick)

Oh wait, one more thing and the most important.  I want children, lots and lots of children running through the forests and prairies, exploring and learning.  I want our three children, plus all of the children we can bring home and adopt.  Children form Russia, and Columbia, and Uganda and Haiti.  Loving each other, growing together.  Children of all shapes and sizes.  I don’t see a number of how many, because that’s Gods business.  But I see them all.

So basically, I want to be Amish.  Seriously!!!!  They have something going for them with their simple lifestyle.  I want to work with my hands and make things from scratch, and turn off all of the electronic devices and just be with each other!  I asked Doug to hang up a clothes drying line in the backyard for me.  I could get one of those umbrella looking things from the 70’s but that wouldnt be Amish enough for me.  I want a nylon rope strung up in my backyard!  So when I ask Doug this, he looks at me like Ive lost my face.  I try t explain to him the good and joy and peace that comes from that hard work with your hands.  Yes, the laundry line will save money on the gas costs, but what it does for my spirit is so much more than that.  We live in a day and age that everything is done for us, so we have more time to do ridiculous things, like stare at our phones, or watch endless hours of television dramas.  I don’t want it anymore.  I keep thinking back to that scene from Wall E when he is on the space ship and our generation has become overweight specimens that just sit on a chair with a screen in their face.  Meals are made in liquid form and served to the people sitting in chairs.  We were not created to be looking down at a phone during dinner.  God created us to look into our children’s eyes, our husbands eyes, and talk to their spirits.  Our hands were not made to microwave breakfast sandwiches, or put preserved toaster pastries into a toaster.  They were made to form, and create using the beautiful food God gave us.  I want all of this and more.

So for now, while being stuck in the burbs, I will continue my vendetta for backyard chickens in Chicago heights, I will plan out my urban garden in the backyard, and I will hang my clothes on my nylon clothesline.  But all with the constant yearning and dream to have our own land.  Land that our God created for us to be in tune with.  Not just to use it, but to become part of it

October 15, 2014

Farm happenings

We got a new calf this morning. She's about 5 days old. Lloyd said with the cold wet weather has just been too much for the babies so he brought her down here to stay warm and dry. He also used some old gates to construct two additional pens in the barn! Hallelujah ! It was a bit much with the three in one pen- Bethel and the first two babies. Plus feeding will be a lot easier now with them separated. Bethel tends to be a bossy hog with the hay when she's in with them. The sweetest thing to come from this is Tori, who has been out there with the new calf for an hour, sitting with it and petting it.

Darling girl!

We got a HUGE egg from one of the leghorns yesterday. It was so big it wouldn't fit in the carton! So I cracked it open to put in our meatloaf for dinner tonight and it was a double yoker! They've been laying steadily, about 3 eggs a day. The last brown hen hasn't begun laying yet, but we're keeping an eye out for her first brown egg

October 11, 2014

October 9, 2014 aka The Butchers Block

Farm happenings

I'm impatient. I called Dr pat and said "Listen, I can't wait until the next heat cycle. What's the soonest you can check Bethel??" He said 35 days after breeding, so he's coming next week!!

We went to the Butchers Block in Lowell today to get some of Lloyds tallow. We got to talking and immediately I could sense that Diane (the owner) and I were most definitely kindered spirits. So I asked her if it was possible for us to have a field trip of sorts, to see the butchering process, from life to packaging.

She said "You want to see the slaughter?" with an extremely weirded out look on her face.

I said, "No, no. I don't want to see it......the kids do".

She said "They're kinda young, so if it's ok with you, it's ok with me".

I could tell this was not a normal request from customers and she was riding it out to see if we were from a hidden television investigation show.

So she said "Theyre back there right now working. Let me double check with the guys and see if they're ok with it."

Of course they were. How often does anyone get to see what they do, and how hard they work.

So back we went.

As we walked around the building and approached the back door, we saw the next live cow, waiting patiently outside.

Then it got real

Trey and Tori witnessed the slaughter, which consists of a hammer like gun that quietly puts a bullet in the cows head and they die instantly. So once the cow was lying down I peeked in. To the right of this cow, was one that had just been skinned and they were in the process of cutting it in half. Sometime during this process, the guts were taken out into a large bin and as he was pulling them out I heard tori identifying organs- "There's the intestines, there's the liver, there's the gall bladder." After the carcass was cut in half and cleaned, it went into the cooler to be hung and aged for two weeks.

It was a tough thing to watch. The kids didn't mind as much as I did. I've just had all this time of becoming disconnected from my food sources. It's so pretty in the grocery store that you forget where it actually comes from, and that a life must be taken for you to have it.

So I'm hoping to go back for the cutting. To see where each cut of beef comes from and how we get it.

Then we perused the consignment stores in downtown Lowell, and the hives on my eyes started

/#+##!!$;/'#

That's me swearing.

So we left and headed over to Settlers Pond to buy some honey. It's more local than the other jar I polished off this morning. While we were there, the kids cleaned out the cat house for her and spent some time with kitties. I sat in a chair and gritted my teeth because my eyes and neck were inflamed and itchy beyond belief.

So I am now home, with 5 lbs of tallow I'm going to render tomorrow, and hives on my face.....AGAIN. I was hoping to start rendering the tallow today but it takes hours and per The Prairie Homestead, it should be chilled overnight before working with it. So tomorrow morning it will have to be.

To any allergy sufferers, these allergies will.go away in the winter, no? After some hard frosts, I should be good, right? Please, please, please say yes

October 6, 2014

Harvest views

 

 

October 5, 2014

Farm happenings

Bethel pregnancy check countdown- 18 days

Garlic was planted today, in the way of- I have no idea what I'm doing but let's see how this works

Another one bites the dust-

We lost another brown hen today. She had been eating fine and getting around ok, but we had noticed she'd hang around the coop eating alone while the others were out adventuring. She died while there were 5 children playing outside around her, all for them to witness. It was mildly horrific. So we buried her on the back end of the property and will never be ordering chicks from this hatchery in the future.

October 4, 2014

October 2, 2014

Farm happenings

Bethel pregnancy check countdown- 19 days!!!

I've been bringing her in at night with the calves, which has brought a whole new dimension of smell to the barn in the morning.

The leghorns haven't laid in almost a week. The brown mutt chickens haven't laid yet. I fear that they are filling up on all the corn in the fields and not eating their food in the coop. They are then lacking the nutrients they need to lay the eggs. Or maybe I'm.completely wrong and it's something else, I'm not sure. What I do know is that these chickens were a big gamble this year, mostly because they came from a production line hatchery. We'll see how the fare in the winter and in the spring we'll be ordering heritage breed chicks, if I can find them.

Theodore went for an evening run with Doug and Tori last night.

I'm trying to make the house a home. I hate it. I stink at it. I like cleaning and shoveling manure and cooking. But it makes Doug warm and fuzzy inside to have a modern type home, not a shack, so I'm doing what I can.

September 30, 2014

Our cold medicine for the winter, from Brutus

September 29, 2014

As I was out walking around and taking pictures, I thought I would go get some of the calves. When I went in, poor Bonnie was on her side and bloated. She had just died.
We were hoping they would have a better chance to survive down here in the comfy cozy barn, being hand fed and loved on by the kids. But that only goes so far in nature I suppose.
Sadness

On another note, we ate Brutus tonight. He was huge. Nothing like the grocery store chicken. See picture below, now mind you, I did not tie or mold his legs down to make him pretty like they do at the grocery store.

September 27, 2014

Farm happenings

On the agenda today

Watch Doug and trey shoot guns with Chris

Can more pumpkin puree

Possibly make pumpkin goodies

While standing in the house with all windows closed, watch Doug cut down ragweed and lambs quarter from the yard.

Butcher two roosters

 

 

 

1 rooster down......gosh I love my husband

 

 

 

September 25, 2014

Farm happenings

Not much. It's pretty quiet here. Here's a picture of the chickens raiding bethels space

 

 

September 21, 2014 aka Sadness

Farm happenings

Sadness.

So to make this easier, let me name the new calves and reintroduce you to them.

Pumpkin, the tiniest one of all. She has remained penned up and hasn't gotten loose. She is also the one that had the two holes in her shoulder that we treated.

Bonnie, the escape artist. The one who spent the night in the corn and then continued to escape out and be with Bethel.

And then there's Peace and Harmony, but we aren't talking about them today.

We're only speaking of darling Pumpkin.

Yesterday when we went in to feed them in the morning, Pumpkin was lying on her side. She seemed very weak so we took her temp- 97. Calves normal temps should run around 101. So I called Lloyd and he told me that she was dying so just let her be and he would be by to get her later.

This was difficult. But we assumed nothing could be done. So we carried her out to the grass and sunshine and laid her by Peace and Harmony who were in the outdoor pen. And then we waited.

Periodically we would walk over to see if she was still with us, and she was.

A couple hours later, Tori went and took her temp and it was up to 100! Hurrah! Tori also got her to drink a little water.

Then the storms were coming in so we brought everyone inside to the barn. She curled up in the corner and stayed there until night. All evening we tried to get her to drink more but she was really giving up. At about 9pm, she began grinding her teeth. I found out this morning that it meant she was in pain. So we covered her with straw for warmth and left her for the night.

I sent Doug out in the morning to check and see if she was still alive. She was, and she had wiggled out of the pen and in front of the gate. Doug reported that she was grinding her teeth and it was then that I had had enough. I called the vet. He came down about an hour later and took her temp. It was barely 90. She was dying. But he gave her some electrolytes and vitamin shots and we covered her with a heating pad, blankets and straw.

She died a little over an hour later.

It was heart wrenching. I beat myself up, saying we should have called the vet the day before. And if it was our calf, I would have. But I am at this in between place of someone else calling the shots and trying to respect and maintain a life.

The kids handled it well, even Tori who had invested so much in her.
It was a melancholy day at Green Gables Farm today.

Shell be buried tonight.

September 20, 2014

Tori and her cat

 

Doug cooking up our first mini egg

 



September 18, 2014

The little brat escaped this morning again, but this time, instead of the corn, she's taken up residence with Bethel

September 17th 2014

Farm happenings

Lloyd brought the calves down last night with my Bethel love. As we unloaded the first calf, we had a twine leash on it. I walked her crazy, bellowing, terrified self to the barn. We were a foot away when the twine slipped from my hand and she took off. I took off doing the pregnant elephant run....in muck boots. Tori assisted me. Our mission was not only to catch the calf, but more importantly to keep her from going in the corn.


She went in the corn

So into the corn we went looking for her. Lloyd stayed back, probably laughing at us because it was almost useless to search 80 acres of corn for her. But we tried.

Have you ever run through corn? It is one of the more disturbing things I've ever done. After a half hour my entire body was itchy, and I was at the point that I felt the corn was reaching out and grabbing me. It was coming alive and coming after me!!

So we gave up and exited the corn.

The calf was gone.

 The other one was put in the barn and we went in for dinner.

Fast forward to this morning.

 I woke up the bethel laying by the barn. The mysterious ghost unhooked her again last night. This time she didn't take off, she just lounged in the yard. As I walked towards her I heard a distant mooing....in the corn.

That calf survived the night...and coyotes. Trey went out looking for her. Tori went out looking for her. I stayed at the edge and called out cooommmeee booooooossssss. I wasn't going back in to the crawling corn stalks.

But she didn't come out. So the plan is to keep calling for her through the day, hoping she gets hungrier and comes out.

 

Make it a meal is right!!! Number 2!

 

 

After listening to the calf bellowing in the 9 foot corn all day, and repeatedly sending out kid search parties, I'm happy to say that the calf is here!!! She finally got close enough to the house and weak enough for us to grab her. I got 2 pints of formula down her and she's in the nice warm barn with her friends.

That brings our count of lost and found animals to 3

 

 

September 16, 2014

Farm happenings

Bethel has been serviced 3 times. This last time with 4 bulls!!! So we'll wait a torturous 6 weeks, TORTUROUS!!! to see if she's pregnant. Getting back to a raw lifestyle, doing things nature's way is so opposite of the American way.

American way- instant gratification

Nature's way- torturous waiting periods.

Another example.

 I planted cherry tomatoes in a pot in April.

The month April.

I just started getting a good crop this month. That's 4 months. Four months for food. Compared to the 10 minute drive to the grocery store, it's like getting food in dog years.

But this is what it's about. Disconnecting from this crazy town American lifestyle and slowing down back to the basics.

Lloyd is bringing down two more calves this afternoon. They are a few weeks old and healthy, but with the rain and cold, he thinks our comfy mini barn would be a better place for them right now.

Chickens- no eggs yet. I'm extremely pleased with the free ranging though. Carl, the hawk who hangs around here, hasn't gotten any for dinner yet. We have 4 roosters.....yes 4. We're going to have to have a mini processing day to eliminate at least 2 of them. Ronald will stay for sure. Brutus, the biggest and meatiest of them all may.be the first to go.

Pictures of the new calves to come later.

Farm.happenings update

Hold the show!!!! We just got back from Lloyds farm and Tori found our first egg!!!! It was soft and leaking but it's an egg!!! Talk about torturous wait! We hatched these darlings in May!
Clearly by the looks of the picture we need to cover the tops of the boxes since they roost on them at night and the poop is falling in.

 

September 13, 2014

Farm happenings

Bethel was due to go into heat yesterday and I wasn't sure of her signs so she went down to be "serviced" today. The girl is with 4 bulls!!! If this doesn't work I don't want to think about the next step.

The chickens are due to start laying in a week or so. With the colder weather already hitting us I hope we can get a couple before winter sets in.

Peace the calf is still doing well. Her leg is still draining from the abscesses but she's up and running on 3 legs, eating well and playing with Harmony.

 

September 12, 2014

I woke up to my left eye swollen shut, one enormous hive on my face, and it's now going down my neck. Clearly I shouldn't have been wrestling with weeds while out looking for Bethel. And little Z is coughing and has a runny nose.

It's just never going to end.

I'm waiting for one simple, normal day.

If bethel goes into crazy town heat today I'm going to have to be admitted to the hospital for a week of respite. My spirit can't take much more.

(Bethel in heat today means 2 failed pregnancy attempts. If this girl doesn't get pregnant, there will be no calf and no milk. No calf, no cash. No milk, no sour cream, cream cheese, no mozzerella, no yogurt, no kefir, no BUTTER, all homegrown of course. )