Thanksgiving Thoughts

Thanksgiving is coming late this year. We typically put up the Christmas decorations on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. I want that festive spirit to be around longer this year, so we're putting them up earlier, possibly today!

CR has been off work for over a month with an injury to his arm. I hate to see him in pain, though he's been managing it well. Hopefully, with continued physical therapy, he will be mended soon. It's been a mixed bag of experiences, having him home for this long. We've had a 25+ year run of him being on the road for long stretches at a time. As his retirement age gets closer, we're learning what it's like to live together. Honestly, this time has been mostly smooth with a few bumps. I imagine it's been more of a normal marriage lifestyle than we've ever had. I'll take it!

We've had several conversations about giving thanks in all things- from one of our favorite bible verses- throughout our time together, not just in this season. Our blessings are stacked up in big and little ways. In hard times, we like to unstack them, look at them more closely, and put them back in our memories for the next trial. It keeps us grounded and happy. Somehow, nothing is as terrible as we imagined when we take the time to compare it to all the kindnesses we've been showered with. Pausing to examine God's blessings can calm your spirit, especially as you're reminded of all the good he has already done for you! 

Our Thanksgiving meal is going to look a little different this year. Since our children all have families of their own, we're inviting them to a nacho feast on the Saturday after. I think it will be a nice break from all the turkey fixings! We're looking forward to some board games and maybe an afternoon movie with them!

The homestead is slowing down, getting ready for the winter nap. It's my favorite season! All of the goodies we harvested are stored away. The animals (just chickens this year) are ready for their annual rest. Our daily routine turns to more indoor, cozy activities. 

I've put together a small newsletter that recaps the homestead activities throughout 2025. You can sign up for it here. 

Define the Word: Enough

If I grow all my food and never set foot in a grocery store again, am I simple "enough?"

If I avoid everything single-use, using glass and earthenware containers, am I simple "enough?" 

If I handcraft all my own cosmetics, bathe in lye soap, and hand-wash all my clothes by beating them on a rock in a stream, am I simple "enough?" 

If I unplug from all electronics, read books by the light of a beeswax candle, and only attend live performances for entertainment, am I simple "enough?" 

If I stop getting haircuts and only wear homespun cloth or fur skins that I harvested by my own hand, am I simple "enough?"

If I only care about your definition of enough, will I ever be satisfied with my choices of "simple?" Of course not. I'm here to encourage you to find your own way and let you see my progress as an inspiration- not an instruction manual. I hope we all find a way through our life journey that brings us peace and few regrets when we reach the end of it. My path is one of simplicity that measures up to my own standards. It is "enough."

The Loofah Experiment

 
Have you ever wanted to grow a bath sponge? Back in 2018 I got the wild idea to try growing loofah here. I knew it would grow in this area because my mom had done it before. When she grew it though, we were living in Texas so I hadn't actually seen her plants. As I told her my plans, she smirked and told me to make sure I gave them plenty of room. I totally underestimated the degree of warning in that smirk!

I started the seeds indoors with my other garden plants. At that time we didn't have grow lights- just a row of fluorescent bulbs hanging over the plant shelves. The loofah seedlings came up at about the same time as the other squash plants. They grew pretty quickly and I was worried that we had started them too early (more on that later.) We planted the garden around the same time as we do every year and those loofah plants were a very good size. 

Just a few weeks into the garden season, I began to regret how many loofahs I had planted. They took over the trellis we had planted them by and then went for the rest of the garden! I think CR became a master of restraint that year. Even though the long vines were frustrating him at every turn, he held it together pretty well!

When the first frost warning came at the end of the growing season, I realized that I had, in fact, started those seeds too late. Some of the loofahs were still green. Even though I knew I could salvage them, I had read enough about them to know that harvesting that early would make processing them harder.

Last Harvest Before the Frost

After the harvest I spent a good week peeling and squeezing loofahs. It was a big mess and pretty time consuming. (Since then I've learned you can dry them in the oven first to help with the process but that info wasn't around when I was having a go at it.)

Soaking Loofahs in the Laundry Sink

After the hassle of getting the loofahs peeled and cleaned, I was over them. I never wanted to see another one again! I kept two of the nicest ones and swore I was going to trash the rest of them. Fortunately, a cooler head prevailed. CR took the lot and stored them away in a mesh laundry bag in the store room- where I basically ignored them- until today. Today I got a memory reminder on the blog Facebook page about the loofahs I had processed six years ago. So I went down to the store room to see and there they were, hanging on the nail where CR put them. 

Loofahs in Storage

I took one of them out of the bag to see what kind of condition it was in. It was fairly crunchy and really dry but the fibers were still interwoven and strong. So I decided to clean it up and see if it would hold up to use. In the following picture you can see what it looked like, straight from the bag.

Six Year Old Loofah

Since the loofahs have been hanging around in a damp basement, I started by sanitizing it in a mild bleach solution. There were a few seeds still clinging to the inside! After rinsing it a few times, I put it on a towel to air dry. As I'm writing this it hasn't completely dried. The texture right now reminds me of the ones that were newly harvested. I don't notice much of a difference. I'd say the storage experiment was successful!

Cleaned and Ready to Use

What I learned:

1. Loofah needs a long growing season. If I ever grow more, I will start them about 4 weeks earlier and put in bigger pots.

2. Loofah needs a lot of room. If I ever grow more, I won't plant as many and I won't put them in the vegetable garden.

3. Loofah can be frustrating to process. It helps to have a lot of patience (and a partner to talk you off the ledge.)

4. Never disregard a mother's smirk. 

 

Top Ten Uses For Bandanas

 

Bandanas used to be popular headwear. When I was a teenager, way back in the 19__'s, actresses and singers wore them as fashion accessories. Men would make headbands out of them. Some of the grandpas I knew kept one in their back pocket to wipe the grease off their hands or blow their nose on.  I think now a lot of people equate bandanas to hippies, bikers, and cowboys but I still find them in the farm stores and Wal-Mart. I think of them as a tool and wear one on the homestead regularly!

 The main reason I wear a bandana is to keep my hair clean and in place when I go in the chicken coop, mow the grass, or visit hubby’s garage. But there are lots of other reasons to keep bandanas on your person and in your vehicle besides to keep your hair tidy. I’ve put together this list of 10 of the most useful uses for them.  

1.  Mask

      I’m sure that the more recent past events have made us all aware of how handy a bandana is to use for a mask. Whether you felt masks were helpful or not isn't the point, sometimes you couldn't get access to places without one. Masks are useful for dust and smoke. I wouldn't even think of cleaning my chicken coop without one. I keep dust masks on hand but a bandana could easily replace them if I ran out and couldn’t get more.

2. Emergencies

I learned how to fashion a sling and a makeshift bandage out of a bandana when I was a young Girl Scout. It’s a lesson I’ve kept in my mind for first aid situations. A bright bandana in your vehicle can also be hung outside to catch the attention of emergency responders if they are looking for you. 

3. Container

Have you ever run across some berries or edible mushrooms while you were hiking but didn’t have a sack to put them in? They’d be smashed in your pocket! But tie up the corners of a bandana and you’ve got a carry bag. When I spot a patch of clover to pick for the rabbits, I don't have to make an extra trip to the house for a bowl to collect it, I just use my bandana.

4. Handkerchief

Although disposable paper products are my preference for germy things, they aren't always handy when a sneeze pops up. If you have littles with runny noses, you know that a tissue isn't always available. Use a bandana, catch the "stuff" and wash it when you get back home.

5. Dipstick Wiper

Has your car ever decided to quit while you're out on the road? One of the first things to check is the fluid levels. Care to wipe those dipsticks on your good jeans? Sometimes you have to do something under the hood of your vehicle that involves oil or grease. Bandanas are cheap enough to turn into garage rags after a messy road emergency.

6. Windshield Wiper

If you’ve ever driven in humid conditions and lost the use of your defroster, you know what this is about! A bandana usually won’t leave as much lint on the windshield as any fast food napkin you dig up.

7. Hand protection

Think back to that roadside emergency, only now it's your radiator cap. Have you ever went camping and forgot to bring a pot holder? Wrap a bandana around your fingers or palm to keep from getting a blister when you have to twist, turn, or lift something tight or hot. 

8. Water filter

If you find yourself having to sterilize your own water, you can boil it. But you shouldn't boil the leaves, bugs, and sticks that might also be in the water! Strain it through the bandana to remove the debris before you boil it.

9. Wiping Cloth

You got the perfect seats for the baseball game, but they are wet, your toddler with sticky hands picked up your cell phone, your dog walked through mud on the way to the car.... If you know, you know.

10.   Trail Marker/Flag

If you aren't sure about the trail you're following and want to verify you can find your way back, tear off strips of your bandana to tie onto branches. Or mark your spot to return to with a bandana flag. 

 

I've used my bandanas for most of these reasons and more throughout the years. They're thrifty gadgets that don't take up a lot of room and come in so handy for so many things.

Five Benefits of Home Gardening

We've just about got all our garden planted! It's a big chore that I look forward to every year. Not everyone has the ability, space, or knowledge to have a garden as big as mine. But, you know what? There are even more people who have gardens much bigger than mine. I look at what they have and fall into the trap of impostor syndrome. Do I really have the right to call myself a gardener when others grow so much more than I? If you get that feeling, too, remember with me that how much we grow isn't the only aspect of gardening. Here are 5 benefits I get from it, whether I'm growing a huge plot of food or one tomato vine. 

Number 1 on the list is that I get outdoors. Preparing the soil, planting the seed or seedling, tending the plant, and harvesting are all outside activities whether I'm planting in the ground, a raised bed, or a small container. I put down my phone, turn off the TV, and walk out of my house to breathe fresh air and feel the sunshine without the distractions!

That leads into the mental health bonuses of gardening. Planning and anticipation of plant growth and harvest are great mood boosters. I find myself checking plant progress every day! The reward of seeing your work turn into food is hard to describe but I know it's real. Just seeing the social media posts of gardener's meal plates that boast "homegrown" in the captions is proof that it's something to be proud of. 

The third benefit of home gardening is the physical benefits. Aside from the actual body movement to grow the plants, there is the satisfaction of knowing the nutritional quality of the harvest. I get to control the amount (if any) of everything that goes into my food. I also know how old it is when it makes its way to my plate or gets preserved. 

The cost of food is a popular topic lately and home gardening also helps with that. Not only do I save money by growing it myself, but I can save seeds to lower my costs even more for the next year! The spent plants turn into food for my livestock or become compost. If my tomato plant produces more than I can use, the excess becomes barter for whatever veggie didn't grow well for me.

The final reward for home gardening is the connection it gives me to my roots (no pun intended.) We've come a long way as a society but, not very ago, almost every family had a garden. We didn't always have a Walmart in every town and a convenience store on every corner. I can remember a time when grocery stores weren't open on Sundays and certainly not 24 hours. If there ever comes a time when food isn't readily available, I want to be able to get mine like my parents and grandparents got theirs. Growing food isn't something that can be learned in one season. It takes practice and knowledge. I feel at ease knowing I can if the need ever comes.  

I'm sure there are other benefits for home gardening but these 5 are the ones that affect me the most. They're the reasons I start filling up cups of dirt in February, spend hours fighting mosquitoes in June, and suffer the stifling heat in August. It truly is thrilling to be able to type "homegrown" in a social media caption and know the food in the picture is going to taste so good!

Tribute to Grandpa

Proverbs 13:20  He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. 
My grandpa (on my mama's side) has been gone for a while but I still miss him. He grew up in the hills of Tennessee but when he was in the army (wartime) he met my grandma at a bus station in Indiana and moved here with her after he was discharged. They visited his out-of-state family whenever they could and loved when the family visited them. Sometimes we could get him to talk about a shenanigan he pulled with a brother or cousin when he was younger! He didn't have a lot of "book learning," He would tell you the only reason he stayed in school through the eighth grade was because he liked being on the baseball team! But he was wise in so many other ways. Most times he didn't have a lot to say. And when he did talk, paying attention was usually a good idea!
 I remember riding around on the mountain roads of his boyhood, and thinking how far up we were or how far down the bottom was. I never was able to be at ease! But Grandpa wasn't phased one bit. He had helped build some of those roads, working for the CCC, and he would say, "It's not near as hard to drive on them as it was to build them." 
 I remember Grandpa as a carpenter. He built my "stow box" when I was a young 'tweenager. For the family, he fixed up broken chairs and built bookcases. I remember him showing my DH tips and tricks like how to use a toothpick to fix a loose door hinge. 
 I also remember how good my grandpa was at fixing cars. For a while, he was the manager of the local service station. My own father had passed away before I was old enough to drive. So in my high school days, it was Grandpa who checked the oil, changed the tires, and jump-started my dead batteries- he even gave me my first car! 
  And Grandpa was an excellent gardener. On their small town lot, Grandpa grew blackberries and raspberries, and rhubarb and onions. He would have tomatoes and potatoes growing like crazy in used-up old tires. And in one bed there was always leaf lettuce. That lettuce is what brings my grandpa's memory fresh to my mind today, because Valentine's Day will be here soon. And Grandpa always planted his lettuce on Valentine's Day. And if some would ask, "What if snow is on the ground?" Grandpa's reply would be, "Throw the seeds on the snow, they'll grow." And for him it always did. So today I'm sorting out lettuce seeds and preparing for Valentine's Day. I don't think we will have snow this year, but it's ok if we do -my grandpa said so!

Monthly Checklist

Are you a homesteader? How do you know? I call myself one. Yet, I don't even know how to describe what that means. I don't live "off the grid" with solar panels and candles as my only light source. Sometimes my garden fails and I (gasp!) eat at McDonald's occasionally. My chicken feed isn't organic. But I embrace the simple, old fashioned skills and habits that my ancestors had. I live for the days when I can be slow and deliberate about my chores, when I feel connected to my home, when I have a deep understanding of everything I eat, wear, use, and desire. "Homesteading" is a vague term that loosely resembles the general idea of my lifestyle. It's the best I can come up with. And I believe there are many, many ways to be a homesteader.
I've made the following checklist of things I do that help me to be this way in the three areas that affect me the most- food/water, home, and consumerism. And I'm sharing it with you in case you want to join me, wherever you are and however you live. It's customized for my area, you may need to adjust dates in consideration of growing zones and seasons. Please comment any suggestions for additions or changes! This is a journey for me, not a rigid rule book.

January:
Food
Check freezer and canned goods to see how vegetable supply is holding up. Make note of veggie amounts to plan for in the summer, whether purchased or planted. Combine packages of small amounts to make soups and stews.
Home
Start a new journal. Winter dust mite check. Wash all bedding in hot water. Sweep or vacuum in corners and under beds. Let in as much natural light as possible.
Shopping
After Christmas clearance- baking supplies, decorations, winter bedding, and gifts that won't expire (add one year to age recommendations on toy gifts) I keep a box of gifts for birthdays and Christmas.
Resupply items you purchase every 6 months: furnace filters, water filters, cleaning tools (brooms, vacuum filters, trash bags, etc...)

February:
Food
Check the freezer and canned goods to see how the meat supply is holding up. Make notes of how much you've used to plan for next year. Check emergency water supply for power outages.
Home
 Check the grow lights and clear clutter off the garden plant shelf. Go through kitchen linens. Separate into 3 stashes:
                                                        1. Garage/workshop 
                                                        2. Cleaning/dusting
                                                        3. Still good for kitchen use
Shopping
Replenish kitchen linens as needed. If you are a chocolate lover, hit the post-Valentine's Day clearance to stock up. Make sure there are enough Solo cups to start garden plants.

March:
Food
Check emergency food supply for power outages. It's the beginning of Spring storm season in Indiana and we have been without power for more than 7 days in the past. Plant cool weather crops as space allows and start transplants.
Home
Check oil lamps and replace batteries in emergency lighting (flashlights and headlamps.)
Check all electronic chargers and replace as needed. Put heavier outerwear into storage. Note any that need to be replaced. Change smoke detector batteries.
Shopping
Thrift shops will be putting out short sleeves and light jackets, check your list from October to see what you need to replace. Watch for clearance sales of any outerwear that needs to be replaced. Watch for sale prices on Easter hams and turkeys and stock up if you have room.

April:
Food 
Freeze or can any Easter sales and clearance. Make broth with any stored bones/scraps in the freezer. Check your dehydrated food stash. If you use an outside grill, clean it and check for any needed repairs.
Home
Spring cleaning time! Put winter clothing in storage. Make a note of anything you need to replace.
Shopping
Canning supplies, freezer bags, kale, and spinach if you freeze or dry it.

May:
Food
Mark the opening day of the Farmer's Market on your calendar if you buy or sell there. Purchase any freezer beef or pork from local farmers (check your notes from February.)
Home
Prepare your kitchen and plan some ready-made meals if you do any gardening or food preserving. Clean gutters. Check the mailbox and trash containers for needed repairs and cleaning. Plant a flower or tree if you have space. Remove invasive plants if you have them.
Shopping
Stock up on asparagus if it's a favorite.

June:
Food
Local food should be in good supply by now. It is a good time to find a fresh egg supplier if you need one.
Home
Dehydrate and freeze garden fruits and veggies. Only can what you have to, save the canning for when your home needs heating if possible. If you need compost, check with the nearest city to see if they have a free supply.
Shopping
Cherries for the freezer. Also, watch for sales on small appliances that need replacing (June is popular for wedding gift sales.) Resupply items you purchase every 6 months: furnace filters, water filters, cleaning tools (brooms, vacuum filters, trash bags, etc...)


July
Food
Plan more slow cooker and pressure cooker meals to save cooling costs for your home. Plan your fall crop storage space now. Where are you going to put your squash, potatoes, and onions for winter? Rotate emergency food and water supplies if you didn't use them in the spring.
Home
Check cabinets and exterior walls for rodent entry opportunities and fill them in. Test well water. Lay in winter heating fuel if needed.
Shopping
Stock up on blackberries and sweet corn for the freezer. Onions should be ready now, too. After the 4th, stock up on picnic supplies- plates, cups, napkins...

August
Food
Can any pickles you want for the year.
Home
Start the fire cider and ferments (hot sauce, sauerkraut, etc...)
Shopping
Hit the back-to-school sales for paper, pens, staples, rubber bands, etc... Socks and underwear are sometimes packed in larger quantities for school shoppers, too. Check Labor Day sales for NEEDED items.

September:
Food
Start pulling things out of the freezer to can as the weather cools.
Home
Replace light bedding with warmer bedding to save energy.
Shopping
Check the list you made in April to replace any winter clothing as needed.

October
Food
Stock up on Winter Squash, potatoes and onions.
Home
Check the heating unit and backup supply. Repeat the March checklist. Check vehicles for emergency supplies and ice scrapers. Check antifreeze levels.  Put summer clothing into storage and make a list of what needs to be replaced.
Shopping
School clothes will be getting marked down. Thrift stores will be stocking winter clothes as well. Stock up on ice melt.

November
Food
Plan your Thanksgiving menu early and watch for specials. Make food gift preparations now for Christmas.
Home
De-clutter. Send a few boxes to charity and get a receipt for taxes. Do a major cleaning the first week of November so you won't have to stress the holiday week. Check the condition of your snow shovel.
Shopping
Hallowe'en candy sales. Check your gift supply and list of Christmas recipients to see what you still need.

December:
Food
Save meat and veggie scraps in the freezer to make broth.
Home
Let go of the holiday plans and traditions that cause stress. Share your plans to simplify with your friends and family so they won't place heavy expectations on you. Invite them to simplify with you.
Shopping
I avoid the box stores as much as possible during this month. Make it a mission to find a local artisan, coffee shop, butcher, farmer, etc... to visit.

How to Collect Chive Seeds

Chives are one of my favorite plants in the herb garden. They have the most gorgeous flowers and they’re so easy to grow. It just takes a quick snip to get a handful of an aromatic, tasty add-in for anything tangy- sour cream, Greek yogurt, butter, etc... They also re-seed themselves quite easily so I keep the blossoms clipped off as soon as they're ready to harvest. I just don't want them to spread all over the plot. Once established, they will usually thrive for years but neglect and/or disease can end them. In case I want to start them in a different spot or gift some (they ARE pretty) I save some seeds from year to year. They're very easy to collect! 

Start by clipping off the older blossoms. Leave about an inch or so of the stem on them for a "handle." Drop them loosely into a paper bag. Set them aside. Make sure the top of the bag is securely closed and give it a gentle shake every day to make sure the blossoms are getting airflow all around them. Do this for about a week.

Open the bag and see if any seeds are laying in the bottom. If you can see several seeds, it's time to take out the blossoms. Carefully tip them into a container with an edge so the seeds don't roll away.

Pick up each blossom by the stem and give it a little tickle with your other hand to dislodge any remaining seeds. The loose seeds will have a static-like property so be careful not to lose them! 

After you've finished tickling the blossoms, carefully scoop up the seeds and put them into an envelope or bag. Store them in a dry place until you’re ready to plant.

Garden Prep

 We're about to hit garden season! Behind the scenes we've been preparing for weeks and even though the nighttime lows dipped below freezing a few days ago, we've already got some things planted. The journey to home grown food production is never ending. In the wintertime we plan, calculating what we need and where we need to improve. Now that spring is here, we start putting those thoughts into action.

Way back in March Hoosier Hubby started tilling the garden plot while I started some of the seeds. At the beginning of April we laid the fresh plastic and anchored it with the straw bales we're planting in this year.

The Foundation

We put together a row cover and placed it over our freshly planted cabbages and broccoli. 

Row Cover

AND we started conditioning those straw bales, which is a daily chore. 

Conditioning the Straw Bales

I also got the raised beds cleaned out and planted some spinach and baby bok choy in them. Last week we planted some potatoes and sweet potatoes in a few straw bales to see how those work out. 

Our potting and seed starting setup is in the basement. We started hardening off the stems of our plants with a fan a few days ago. About a week before they go into the garden, I'll take them out daily to climatize them. I will be so happy to have them out of the house and the mess cleaned up! There are currently 68 plants in that space - some to plant, some to sell. 

Seed Starting Station

By the time veggies start rolling in out of our garden we will have put in hours and hours of labor. But taking that first bite of a vine ripened tomato or sneaking a zucchini into a neighbor's mailbox or putting a salad on the table that didn't come from the store? All make the work worth it!

    

 

Raising Dutch Rabbits

 We have started raising rabbits for meat again. They are a huge asset here on our little homestead. The only other source of protein that we grow is chickens. Since we keep chickens for eggs, by the time we are ready to process the older layers, they are only usable for soups and broth. Having something that can be grilled or baked is nice for the variety. There are a lot of different breeds of rabbits and many are good for meat production. We did a little research and tried an assortment before we finally chose to raise Dutch exclusively. Their size, cost, ease of keeping and mothering abilities made them the perfect fit for us.

  Before we narrowed down our breed choice, we tried raising some larger rabbits. One of those fryers would make 3 to 4 meals and we got really tired of eating the leftovers. On average we get a 2 pound carcass when the Dutch are dressed at fryer age. The meat to bone ratio is really good. One fryer rabbit is plenty for a meal. At the stewing age a Dutch rabbit will also make 2-3 good dinners (such as rabbit stew, noodles, pot pie, etc...)  There is no need to continue to feed a grow-out past this point and I would much rather get an extra rabbit out of the freezer when we have the occasional dinner guest than deal with leftovers after every single meal.

 Due to their smaller size, Dutch rabbits don't need a lot of feed to grow or maintain. We buy a 50 pound bag of rabbit pellets about every 5-6 weeks but we never let the feed barrel go empty so I can't say exactly how much they eat. I also supplement with some yard goodies- clover, plantain, dandelion, etc... Occasional garden scraps and a couple bales of timothy hay round out their dietary needs. It's economical to supply that for the breeders (2 does, 1 buck) and the grow-outs.

 Dutch rabbits are fairly easy to raise. We don't treat our rabbits like pets but none of them have ever shown any signs of aggression. They do well in cages so we don't have to worry about parasites from the ground and unplanned breeding. 

  By the second breeding a Dutch doe has usually got the mothering thing down. Except for the occasional loss from nest box escape, ours have done a really good job of raising offspring to the weaning stage with no help from me.  Every doe we've raised has produced a good litter size. We expect to find 6-8 kits per breeding and have gotten as many as 12- but that is a rarer occurrence. By breeding 2 does 3 times per year, we can realistically count on putting 36-48 rabbits in the freezer per year. 

 Overall, Dutch rabbits are a perfect fit for our situation. The costs and benefits balance well which means we can feel secure in our decision to include them on our homestead.

Raising Chickens

 So you want to raise chickens? Congratulations on taking the step to owning a little bit of food freedom! Keeping chickens for egg production is a great way to ensure you have a protein source on your homestead, doubly so if you process them for meat. There are a multitude of ways to raise chickens and you can save a lot of time and money if you research them before you invest. I’m happy to share how we raise our chickens now and the mistakes we’ve made in the past. The main areas to consider in chicken keeping are shelter, food, space, reproduction, time, health, and clean-up.

SHELTER

There are so many cute coops popping up around the farm stores! They aren’t cheap although some of them seem to be cheaply made. Knowing how many chickens you’re going to keep and what types of predators are in your area will help you decide how big of a coop you need. 

When we bought our first little flock (3 hens of unknown age) from the local auction, we didn’t have a proper coop. They were sheltered in a dog run with a dog house for the first week or so. But I knew we would be getting more chickens before that first week was up. So DH built an old-fashioned coop out of repurposed tin, discarded house doors, and scrap lumber. Twelve years and dozens of chickens later that old coop is still standing. We added a concrete floor (to make clean-up easier) and a small automatic door (to make life easier) but otherwise, it is exactly the same. It provides shelter from the elements, a place to roost at night, nesting spots for egg laying, and a feed storage space. We hang our feeders in there to keep the feed dry and there is always fresh water inside and outside.

FOOD

Even though I toss them garden and kitchen scraps, most of our feed comes from the farm store. We buy enough 50-pound bags to last a month. We use pelleted feed because there seems to be less waste than if we feed the crumbles. Hanging the feeders helps to deter rodents from coming into the coop to sneak a meal.

SPACE

Free-range is a term that gets thrown around a lot in the chicken-keeping world. According to the USDA The claim "Free Range" can be used on any meat or poultry food product. Before we built the pen (called a run) we let our chickens have true free-range of our little acre. We lost dozens of chickens to predators (wild and domestic) during that time. How much space your chickens need is subjective to how you want to raise them. Cage-free and free-roaming simply mean they aren’t kept in a cage. It doesn’t mean they have access to the outdoors. 

REPRODUCTION

Most hens’ egg production drops off after 2-3 years. At that time you will have to introduce new layers to keep your egg supply at the same level. It’s best to have a plan for the older hens, too. We generally process ours for meat at age 2. If you can afford to continue feeding hens that aren’t laying, that may be a good option for you. We prefer to use our birds for nutrition. In order to procure new layers, you have several choices: buy layers, buy chicks to raise, or hatch your own chicks. If you choose to hatch your own, you will need to have a rooster to fertilize your eggs. Otherwise keeping a rooster is only beneficial for protecting the hens. We like to keep a rooster and hatch our own eggs. This prevents the risk of introducing an illness through new birds being brought into the flock. We have had to deal with a few “mean” roosters, though. They didn’t get to stay after they showed their true colors but if we didn’t have the plan to process them in place, it would have been a tougher problem to solve. Before we started keeping a rooster, we were spending a lot of money on chicks every time a predator wiped out the flock. Now we have extra protection and a steady supply of chicks.

TIME

Keeping chickens is not a hard labor task but requires a time commitment. Before we installed the automatic door, we had to let them out each morning and lock them up each night. They need daily food and water checks. You have to collect the eggs at least once a day- more in the wintertime if you don’t want frozen eggs and in the summertime, if you don’t want them to go bad faster. 

HEALTH

Chickens can and do get sick. In our area, vets do not treat poultry. Medications and treatments are on the shelf at the farm store but diagnosis and dosage are self-taught. Be prepared to ask neighbors and web crawl for answers. We’ve not had to deal with a major illness but things like mites have sent us down some Google rabbit holes for treatment options and preventative measures.

CLEAN-UP

Chickens POOP. Standing, sitting, roosting, and laying are all excellent opportunities for a plop of poo to land wherever they may be. In some instances, like after an 8-hour sleep session, the poo will be piled up. You will need to have a place to put it. No matter what type of bedding you have down on the coop floor, that will also have to periodically be cleaned out. Ammonia build-up from droppings in the coop can make your birds sick. It can make you sick if you don’t wear a protective mask while you’re scooping it up. Have a plan. We compost our litter and manure. Since it is a hot manure, we pile it for a year before we put it in the garden. 

Chickens can bring a lot of positive experiences and benefits to your homestead. Hopefully, this list can help you be better prepared to enjoy all the good things you will get from being a chicken owner!

Outdoor Chores, Winter Schedule

January 7, 2023. This was originally posted in 2017. We no longer have goats but the rest- the chores and weather conditions- are still accurate. Today the high temperature will be 47℉ and there's mud EVERYWHERE. It will probably be like that all next week. Less than a month ago, we had temperatures in the dangerously cold region. This gives an insight into how we deal with the fluctuations.

We got above the freezing mark yesterday! It was a balmy 50+ degrees but the wind was gusting between 30 and 50 mph all day. The howling was really starting to get on my nerves so I did something I rarely do in the daytime- I've turned on the tv. Sometimes the wind was still louder but it wasn't a constant barrage on my ears anymore. The only thing worse than listening to it inside was working in it outside! It was a hold-on-to-your-hats kind of chore day!

I knew it was going to be blustery when I first woke up. I could already hear it that early. So I tried to wait it out before I headed out to feed and water the critters. But wait! Don't I have to take care of all that at the first crack of daylight?? Not exactly.  I LIKE to get it all done first thing. I insist on getting it done as early as possible. That's just common sense- taking care of your animals before yourself. But everything is set up so the animals won't suffer if conditions don't allow that. That is one of the great things about living on a small property and not working off of it. Of course my critters need daily food and water. I make sure they get fresh supplies every day. But I can also provide enough to make sure they are well supplied until the best time of day to do so. The only time I have to rush - in the winter time-  is when I have appointments or errands in town.

 The hay eaters, goats and rabbits, are given enough hay to last 2-3 days at a time. Since I top it off daily, they are well supplied with hay. They get pellets as a supplement but it's not their main meal so there is no rush to fill their bellies with it. It's a treat they look forward to and I take it out when the weather is at the optimal point for the day. The barn cats hunt all day long and come running for their daily cat food as soon as they hear the back door open. The poultry feeder will hold a weeks worth of food at a time but I keep the level at two days worth.

 All the water buckets, bottles and poultry founts are heated and they all hold enough for 2 days. I fill them up every day and make sure none have failed, but I don't have to do it first thing in the morning. I know they have enough and it is still good quality.

There are some challenges during times of bad weather, also. Ever tried to scoop up frozen wasted hay? We use the deep litter method in the chicken coop and the goat sheds get a manure pack but the rabbit cages are a different ballgame. The potty corners still have to be cleaned and underneath cleaned out. Every time there is a break in the cold, there is also a rush to get that done. And we take advantage of that time to scrub out the water buckets and bottles. Unlike the summertime when we're just mindful of rain, the winter temps can play havoc with our calendar. If there isn't a break, since we are small scale, it still has to be done. But usually Indiana weather fluctuates enough to make it easy to find a good day once or twice a month for those chores.

New Year Purge and Hoard

Foreword: I have been gone awhile. If you've been a reader since the beginning, you know I have spent the last 15 years caring for loved ones through illness and aging. Last November my mother passed away. She was the last of those needing my time and attention. I've taken these months off, before her passing to care for her, and after, to heal and find my path again. I'm almost there. Rekindling this blog will be bittersweet. When I began, my mom was my biggest cheerleader. She'd lived her life with a homesteading mindset, knew about the things I was learning, coached and enabled from the sideline. Even in the latter days of her illness, she always wanted to know about my chickens and garden. I will find bits of her every time I put a thought into words. I'll be sad but I know the peace will come because she taught me that, too. Thanks, Mom! 

I've been reading articles about other cultures' New Year traditions. One that I found really interesting was the old Irish custom of deep cleaning their homes. It was done (and still observed today) to help start the year with a clean slate. In our own way, we observe something like this in our home. Before Christmas everything gets a good dusting and/or washing. While we're putting away the Christmas decorations we discard the worn out items. After the holiday get togethers, we rearrange the cupboard and recycle/repurpose the mismatched plastic lids and bowls. Worn out linens get put in the dust cloth collection or sent to the workshop for greasy jobs. The fridge gets a good going over for chicken treats and kitty scraps and the stove top gets a scrub down. Molly gets a new dog bed and blanket for Christmas so we can trash the old ones. This purge is a great feeling of renewal. 

About the time we get everything cleaned out, however, we start collecting other things. Egg cartons start to pile up because the hens are laying less frequently. Take out containers and deli/bakery cartons are a hot commodity for seed starting around here so we're saving all of those. Speaking of seeds, the catalogs start showing up in the mail around this time, too. There's one in every reading nook! 

Suddenly, my yarn supply doesn't seem big enough either. I've finally got time to look at all the new colors. That spinning wheel I dusted before Christmas is calling my name. The jigsaw puzzles are marked down, too. I would love to get one or two new ones!

I don't have children at home to clutter up the place with new toys but I do have a DH who enjoys his big boy toys. I'm not alone in this collecting caper! There's "projects" stacked up in the workshop, parts to build a chicken plucker, and campervan supplies. 

We've managed to clear out the unnecessary stuff that is a weight to hold us down and start adding the things that make us hopeful for life to continue in a fulfilling way. Here's to 2023- may you be blessed beyond measure!

Breakfast on the Run

What are you doing with all your extra eggs? Our flock is in their first summer of laying so we are getting a nice number of eggs every day. EVERY DAY!! We set up a roadside stand to sell our extras but, honestly, our market area is flooded. Fortunately eggs can be stored in a variety of ways for leaner times. One of my favorite ways is to freeze them, prepared, for quick breakfasts. In a month or so our garden is going to be flooded with produce to put up and, shortly after that, we will have rabbits ready to butcher. It's going to be soooo busy around here. On those days a quick breakfast will really be handy. Already the mornings are full of getting everything watered before the sun starts working its magic. Today I grabbed a thawed breakfast taco out of the fridge and had it baking while I did the morning chores. It was nice to come inside to a hot breakfast!

I used my recipe for breakfast burritos and just substituted a smaller tortilla to make these the perfect size to eat on the go. Scrambled eggs hold up well in the freezer- very tasty- just be careful not to overcook them. We have a grandchild with a dairy allergy so I didn't add the cheese this time. It's easy to unwrap and add it individually after thawing to avoid accidental exposure.

Freezer Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients

1 pound pre-cooked, drained well, and cooled meat (bacon, ham, sausage, etc…)

8 scrambled and cooled eggs

½ bag frozen Potatoes O’Brien cooked, drained and cooled

Shredded cheddar cheese to taste (approx. 1 cup)

8-10 burrito size flour tortillas warmed slightly in microwave

Instructions
To use

Divide all ingredients between tortillas. Wrap and place in a freezer bag (I like to individually wrap them in foil first because I bake to reheat.) Freeze.

Transfer individual burritos to the refrigerator the night before. Wrap in paper towel to microwave 1-3 minutes or until heated through. Wrap in foil to bake at 350 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Heating times will vary due to thawing conditions and different ingredients.

Prepare Ingredients

Make an assembly line

Wrap them all up

Freezer ready

A Homesteader's Love Letter

 Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Are you anticipating roses and chocolates? Holding out hope for diamonds? Hoping to catch a glimpse of a fancy (we're PG rated here!) steak dinner? How do you celebrate, if you do? Need some ideas? Here's some of the things DH has given me:

A hand written poem

A bouquet of hand carved radish roses

A hand carved heart-shaped picture frame

A bracelet with the gps coordinate of our first date etched in it

Notice the one thing these all have in common? They were all HAND made. He took the time to fashion something out of a raw material with his own hands. This year I'm writing about those hands in my Valentine tribute to him.

Dear DH,

I see your hands. They're a lot more weathered than they were when you reached for mine the first time so many years ago. I still get a giggle thinking about how nervous you were (and those sweaty palms!) The nerves were still there when you picked up that first crying baby but each one that came after found you a little more confident. Through the years, I've watched those hands work. I saw the dirt seeping into the pores from every garden. I witnessed the welder burns and blisters you traded for every dollar you earned. I've smelled the grease from every single motor you tinkered into one more mile. The same callouses that are proof of your hard labor have brushed tears off my cheek and smoothed my hair after a ride with the windows down. The way God made you to be a protector and provider is evident in every weathered skin crack. Your resolve is evident in how you deal with the pain of aging and overuse of those very hands. Every day you get up and use them again. Every day I see and I love you more.

Always, 

Your Hoosier Girl

Soup Re-do

 Corn chowder was on the menu back in 2012. (I find it mind boggling that I've been recording my homestead endeavors that long.) That fall I shared a soup recipe every Saturday. This particular one is still a favorite because it's so versatile. It's also tasty because, well, bacon!

Today I'm using up the milk that we bought for Christmas. It's about to expire and, unlike our home grown milk, will rot if not used up soon. The recipe calls for evaporated milk but I'm going to use the whole milk instead. I also have potatoes that are starting to sprout so this soup will take care of both problems. I don't have bacon on hand but I do have a chunk of smoked jowl that I can substitute. Also, I'm out of corn. I could go to the store and buy some but I think it will be just fine without it. So basically I'm making potato soup with pork. I'm still going to call it corn chowder, because I can. I mean, what's the point of having a versatile soup recipe if you rename it every time you change up the ingredients??? AM I RIGHT?

Half the battle in a sustainable lifestyle is the ability to make do with what you have. If I run to the store when I'm out of corn and bacon, and don't limit myself to the ingredients I have on hand, I'm just creating more chances to have something else spoil. Preventing waste is a necessary component of the overall picture. It's a whole lot easier if I adapt and overcome without creating more chaos or stacking up more burdens. Sometimes it's best to find a new recipe for what you have on hand. Having some that you can switch up works for the times when you don't have the time or resources to do that.

Winter Composting

 What do you do with those scraps, shells, and coffee grounds when the weather turns cold and the ground freezes?

I'll start by sharing that we have less house waste to compost in the winter time. Most of our meals are soups, stews, and casseroles. They contain some kind of meat that prevents composting any leftovers (which is a rare occurrence.)  All the trimmings from the veggies were composted in the summertime when we prepared them for the freezer, canner, or dehydrator. 

At the beginning of fall we tilled most of the compost we had into the garden. Then we started a new compost pile when we did the fall cleanout of the chicken coop. Any kitchen scraps we have will go there along with the wood ash from the wood burner in DH's workshop . Even when the ground is frozen, the chickens will visit this pile every day to scratch through and look for bugs and to eat the tidbits they like. Their stirring, along with the heat from the manure, keeps the pile from freezing. Eventually, we will get days that are too cold for even the bravest chickens to venture out but, in our area, those temps come and go. We call them "cold snaps" because they aren't permanent. 

By the time the coldest weather is on its way out, I start saving my eggs shells and coffee grounds in a separate container to put in the garden with the tomato plants- to help prevent blossom end rot. Some of the coffee grounds also go around the blueberry bushes for the added acid. The compost that we kept over the winter is put in the garden and the deep litter in the chicken coop becomes the spring compost pile that will go into the next fall tilling.

When we had goats their manure and bedding also went into the two piles at the same time as the coop cleanouts. This cycle has been successful for us for many years. 

Preparing for the Christmas Celebration

 Our message at church yesterday was about the journey Mary and Joseph took to get to Bethlehem. Miles and miles covered, on and off the back of a donkey, what a great way to prepare for a baby. (NOT)

Preparing for a modern Christmas can seem just as daunting: the food, decorating, travel, and gifts- UGH. It's so easy to lose sight of why we do all these things. During this time, I tend to revert to a longing for simpler everything! Fewer decorations, one pot meals, and passing up the invitations in order to stay home and rest, brings me time to reflect on the birth of our Lord. Just like modern women tend to nest in the days before they deliver a baby, I start to prepare for the celebration of Christ's birth- every single year. It should be old news to me by now, but my old middle-aged heart still thrills like a youngster when I think about it. There seems to be a cord that pulls at most women's inner self when they think of childbirth and new babies. When the realization of the magnitude of this event reveals itself, the tug is even greater.

Our family Christmas is simple on purpose. We keep the gifts few and meaningful. There will be music and laughter and hugs and naps. We've found the less we spend on material things, the fuller our hearts get. So, how do we prepare for that? 

Generally, we cook a large something (turkey, ham, brisket, etc...) and make smaller meals out of it all week. In between, we eat a lot of breakfast foods that are easy, quick, and can be made the night before. The kitchen is always a gathering hub, I mean, that IS where the coffee pot is.  Plus, we don't have all our family at once so everything needs to be ready for whenever they show up.

 Our critters get checked on the same as usual, but some days they get extra feed and water in case we get busy with family during normal feeding times. 

Like I said, we keep the gifts to a minimum. Usually a good book, a new mug, or a gift card is enough for each of the older kids. The grandkids get "experience gifts" to avoid toy overload. I put some thought into each gift but I don't spend hours shopping for them.

Our indoor decorations include a tree with the trimmings, mistletoe in a doorway, candles in the windows, and a nativity set. DH sets up an outdoor lighted nativity. That's it! I enjoy the flickering lights in the evening and that's enough for me.

By keeping my material preparations simple, I have the time to (as the old hymn says) "prepare him room." That's how I keep my mind on the real meaning of Christmas. 

If you are struggling with Christmas preparations or overwhelmed at the thought of everything you have to do or everywhere you have to go, you can go simple. Simply say, "NO." By deciding in advance to give up the extra, you can still have a great holiday. Reaching a goal gives a feeling of satisfaction, even if the goal is to do, have, and be LESS. Some people thrive on busy. If that is you, carry on. But if you're busy to meet society's expectation or because "everyone else does it that way," free yourself! When you give yourself permission to buck the norm, you secretly allow someone else to do the same.  

Let's Go Fishing Giveaway Rules

 I'm "gearing" up for the 2022 Preparedness Challenges! One of the highlights will be a giveaway that goes along with the topic of the month. Since I'm new to YouTube I'm doing a trial run this month. The GIVEAWAY video will be posted on December 1. Run over there to leave a comment if you want to win this month's prize: a REALTREE Pocket Combo fishing rod and a 2022 Farmer's Almanac. 

Here are the official rules:

See Our Croft is solely responsible for the contest. 

YouTube is not a sponsor of this contest and entrants release YouTube from any liability related to the contest.

• Anyone over the age of 18 with a mailing address in the USA can enter who isn't related to us can enter.
• One entry per person.
• Comment about fishing in the comment section of the contest video. DO NOT INCLUDE PERSONAL INFORMATION IN THE COMMENT.
• A winner will be chosen randomly from the comments on December 6 at 9AM Eastern time
• The winner will be notified by reply on the comment, watch your notifications! Email See Our Croft at the address in the description of the video with your name and mailing address if you win.

https://www.youtube.com/howyoutubeworks/policies/community-guidelines/

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Make Your Own Seed Tape

 I covered the basics of making a seed tape 10 years ago in this post. That info is still good but I've improved it here.

This is my favorite time of year to make seed tapes. I'm too busy with other things in the springtime. I want to put all my effort into the plants I'm starting under the grow lights. Plus, I prefer to go through my seed stash in the fall and buy the ones I need to replenish while they're on sale. 

Why would you even want to go to the time and effort to make a seed tape? I'm all for saving time and energy, believe me! But, even more, I like to save money. Most of the seeds that I put on a tape are the ones that have to be thinned after planting. In this instance, I'll use radishes as an example. 

We eat a lot of radishes. What we rarely eat is potatoes. Radishes are our replacement food for potatoes. Baked, boiled, mashed, fried, even the occasional hash brown is made from radishes. They're a staple here. Unlike potatoes that you plant one time and harvest multiple potatoes per seed, radishes have to be replanted at regular intervals, one radish per seed. In order to keep a steady radish supply, I plant them every two weeks throughout the growing season. I can save some of the end-of-the-season plants for seeds but it's a waste of space to save some at every planting. So I buy a variety of radish seeds. 

The directions for radish planting call for even spacing and then thinning when they emerge. I think it's more efficient to plant a tape and forgo the thinning. Not only does it save money on wasted plants, but it saves some wear and tear on my body- no bending over to thin the plants!

To make a seed tape, you'll need the following supplies:

Water, cold and boiling
Corn Starch
Food Coloring (optional)
Cheap toilet Paper (the thinner, the better)
A measuring device- yard stick or tape measure

Here's the step-by-step directions:

1. Make your paste that will encapsulate the seed by mixing a little corn starch into cold water to dissolve. Then stir in boiling water. I add food coloring to make it easier to see on the white tissue. It will thicken as it cools. (I made a lot for the sake of taking a picture- a little goes a LONG way.)

2. Read your seed instructions to find the spacing requirements. I'm not planning on thinning so I use the final measurement.

3. Lay out the length of toilet paper beside a yard stick or measuring tape.

4. Using a syringe (I get mine at the farm store in the livestock medicine department) put a tiny blob of the paste at desired intervals on the length of toilet paper. Putting the blobs on the edges makes it easy to do 2 tapes at once, just cut down the middle when done.

5. Drop a seed into each blob of the paste. Use a toothpick to submerge the seed. If needed, use the syringe to cover the seed with more paste to secure it.

Now all that's left to do is let it dry. This will take a couple days depending on humidity. I like to save my paste until it's finished just in case a seed decides to drop off as the paste shrinks down. When it's done, I'll cut it down the middle and roll it up into a seed envelope. Easy Peasy!