The Beauty of Homesteading

No, I am not referring to the nature or the symbiosis of homesteading. I am referring to the physical beauty of homesteading. No, not the landscape or the animals.


The actual homesteader's superficial beauty or vanity. The beautifully manicured hands and artistically placed make-up and hair.

Okay, I think you know by now my sarcasm, right.

I think its time to go shopping...after a bath!!! (and yes, I am wuss, when I am working with the bags of soil, I use a mask so I don't blow black out of my nose for days...I guess there is some vanity after all)

Two Flew the Coop (or hive)

I am so sad. We had not one, but two hives, abscond! We worked so hard on our Hive #1. We bought a new queen, she left, died or was ousted because we ended up having a laying worker (all drones)! We emptied every bee out of the hive and then set them in front of the hive to re-enter, less the laying worker, (supposedly the colony won't let her back in) and put in good brood from another strong hive with eggs and nurse bees. That was hard work, wearing beekeeping clothing and veils and gloves in the 100 degree June weather. But we did it. Shortly after they had made themselves a new queen. Success! With the continued heat and no rain and no pollen or nectar of any amount, they got into their honey stores. I guess when the queen saw how low that supply was, she decided to move her colony somewhere else. I could have prevented that if I had started feeding them earlier than August. Oh, I could kick myself! The new hive (AKA the Pond Hive) did the same thing. We must not have gotten food to them in time. 50% of our stock gone. That's a lot of money and a lot of (next year's) honey down the drain...

Ok, Lord, I am ready to see progress. I think you have shown me all the down side. Goats, rabbits, chickens, bees, garden...So, I am ready to see the flip side now. Amen.

Knitting

I have my worsted wool, my size 9 needles, peaches and cream yarn and size 5 needles. Okay, soooo....My aunt, who is so awesome at knitting, spinning and all things yarn, showed me once, but then I put it down and never went back until now. And have forgotten. I have to say that I am thankful for the internet and all the videos that you can watch to try to learn. It can be a bit overwhelming because so many people have their own variations, and then of course, being left-handed makes it even more awkward to learn right-handed. But as I suspected, it will be better in the long run if I learn it that way. And poor Aunt Sherry gets her brain picked every now and again.

My daughter was going to learn with me, but she still seems to be more of a crocheter like her Mamaw, Granny and my Mamaw before that. Which is good, because as you can see in the picture below, she would leave me in the dust! Yes, Sarah's first attempt at casting on in the green yarn and my first attempt in the purple yarn. I was not lying about the skill skipping me...but the stubborn streak I did inherit, from all sides! About time that trait works for me for a change. I still practice when the evenings are calm, which is not very often at this point.

I have tried the knit stitch and the purl stitch. My first attempt is below. I know, it is horrible, but I have to start somewhere. I may not be able to wear anything I knit in public, but the goats will not laugh at me(at least not in front of me) at my knitted scarf or hat that is keeping me warm when I go out to milk them in the winter.

Plastic Feed Sacks

Okay, all the creative people in the world kind of hurt my feelings. It amazes me how people sew, knit, paint and the list goes on. It skipped me. My mother does it ALL! I mean everything from making clothes and quilts to painting and colored pencils and wood burning on gourds and crocheting and punch needle and...I am tired, you get the idea. I like to color with crayons. Does that count? But nonetheless, being of German, Scottish, Irish and Native American descent I am a bit...determined, yes, not stubborn, determined. As I am getting older and finding that simple things are better. I am trying to obtain skills that will be useful when I am able to "stay at home" and run the homestead versus working from home full time. And I will. Even if it is mastering garden and greenhouse, especially herbs, since that is the name of the farm, all the skills that go along with milking such as cheese and yogurt making, knitting, candle making and soap making with our beeswax and honey. You get the idea.

So, these plastic feed sacks. People are making purses, grocery bags, bags in general, things I am not confident I could make. But wait...tarps. They are making tarps to cover hay bales, chicken and rabbit runs, using them for weed barriers, etc. Surely I can sew a tarp, right ? Well, I have saved my first bag-dog food, the chicken bag is getting there, so it will be soon that I may have my answer. And the strings when you open these bags...why didn't I think of saving them to sew on buttons or tie things with. They are fairly thick and sturdy thread.

So much to learn, so much to try. Life is certainly not boring is it? I will post a pic of my first tarp. Be prepared. Do not have liquid in your mouth for your own safety. It could go in or out at the sight of it.

Update on Laundry Soap

Just wanted to say that I love, love, love my laundry soap. I use about 1/8 of a cup (its a scoop from something else so haven't measured exactly). And thank you, Lisa Davis, for the vinegar fabric softener tip. I don't use much, since I don't want to smell like salsa, but even about a tablespoon in the rinse cycle makes a big difference in Bruce's Carharttwork pants, both on the line and in the dryer. We have four hampers in the house, usually at least two if not all of them are full. I am pleased to say that I am down to one that I should finish tomorrow. What will I do if I get the laundry caught up...and no, you can't send me yours, nice try though. Yes, the laundry soap is part of the motivation, but really, it is probably the fact that I had to finish off the gallon ice cream so I could use the bucket to put my laundry soap in. Sugar, sugar! Luckily, it is about gone---just like the dirty clothes :)

More Chickens!

Dern you, Murray McMurray Hatchery! Why do you tempt me with your sales in my inbox! Yes, I am weak when it comes to chickens. Especially since we have the brooder built. I have 25 heavy straight run coming September 13. I ordered those about three months ago to ensure I would have everything ready and cleaned up. And last week, there was a special. Duke's Mix they called it. A plethora of variety. You know, my mother chastised me for just ordering all one breed of white chickens last year; she called them "boring." So, now I have gone to the other extreme. Yes, I clicked order now! And they will be here in two weeks. Oh dear, what have I done. I will have 25 more three weeks after that. Guess, I better divide the brooder. At least I know the ones I ordered in the past will be useful for eating and eggs. I guess even if I get fancy ones I can still eat them and their eggs. I will just call them gourmet.

Laundry Soap

I made my first batch of laundry soap today. I hope that it works well. I had read one recipe that was just shaved soap, 1/2 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax. And you use it just like that. Well, it sounded like a lot of shaved soap, so I looked up a few other recipes and ended up making a batch that is in my 5-gallon bucket. I will find out tomorrow how it works. Can't wait...what, wait, can't wait to do laundry, really??? Did I hit my head :)