North Carolina

[NewHomesteader2010]

Good morning everyone. So glad to read everyone had a great time at WCA!! Would it be mean of me to make DH bring me 2 Sundays from now...it being father's day and all?!? Hehe. He did try to get me to let him go golfing on Mother's Day, so it would only be fair....right?? LOL

Well, out of 18 eggs that we set under our 2 mama's - 12 eggs in total from Beth & Alex, a total of 10 for sure have hatched!! I am hoping the mama's take the babies out so we can get a better count, maybe even a good group photo, and perhaps even get the broody coop ready for some guineas?! Teehee. After the guineas, we're going to start getting our duck house ready!!

Off topic...I actually SLEPT last night!!

DD#2 slept from 9pm-3am and has slept from 4am-7 - still going strong!! It has been almost 2 months now and last night was the SECOND time I have slept more than 2 hours at a stretch...my did it feel good. Lots planned this week: cleaning the house from top to bottom - my floors desperately need a good hands & knees kind of scrubbing, laundry, bread making, and of course sewing....ending the week with a visit from my Aunt and the garage building company to get a quote for a garage w/an apartment loft!! Once the garage gets built...we can start working on building a livestock barn - IF we get that land next to us.

On a sad note: we STINK at gardening!!

I am not going to say it was because I was pregnant and didn't get out there enough (even though that was VERY true), but our garden has once again turned into a grass field. I just don't know HOW to kill the grass prior to planting. DH refuses to mulch or put any type of weed barrier down (because of cost)...so I am afraid what is sprouting is going to die. People are harvesting green beans & cucumbers already and we don't have anything.

I want to quit, but we will try again next year...one of these days we will get it right. <sigh> Is there ANY hope?!? I'm going to go drown my sorrows in a good bucket of hot water and a scrub brush and tackle that mess of a floor while both kids still sleep!! 2 babies down...4 to go!!

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

Good morning folks

it's the start to another promising week
and hoping everyone has a really good one

last week of school for the kiddies hereand
the last week of work for me till school is back in

had a great time at WCA and came home
with 2 muscovey babies, a blue and a lavender

Meg....if you end up with an extra blue maran roo
I'd be happy to rehome him or trade mine for him
we have lots of time to figure it out

With 16 of those little guys, I'm betting there will be an extra roo for you! And a splash or two got claimed while we were still at WCA.

All the babies are well this morning. Had to do some re-arranging when I got home, then an new acquaintence called and needed a favor, so I left to help her out. Got back waaaaayyyyyy later than I'm usually up (I'm not a night person anymore...too old!) and didn't unload the car. Including my little cooler. All my lovely bell peppers!

What a waste! Oh well, at least I got the birds all unloaded!


So good morning everyone! Hope your day is awesome!

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

Good morning everyone. So glad to read everyone had a great time at WCA!! Would it be mean of me to make DH bring me 2 Sundays from now...it being father's day and all?!? Hehe. He did try to get me to let him go golfing on Mother's Day, so it would only be fair....right?? LOL

Well, out of 18 eggs that we set under our 2 mama's - 12 eggs in total from Beth & Alex, a total of 10 for sure have hatched!! I am hoping the mama's take the babies out so we can get a better count, maybe even a good group photo, and perhaps even get the broody coop ready for some guineas?! Teehee. After the guineas, we're going to start getting our duck house ready!!

Off topic...I actually SLEPT last night!!

DD#2 slept from 9pm-3am and has slept from 4am-7 - still going strong!! It has been almost 2 months now and last night was the SECOND time I have slept more than 2 hours at a stretch...my did it feel good. Lots planned this week: cleaning the house from top to bottom - my floors desperately need a good hands & knees kind of scrubbing, laundry, bread making, and of course sewing....ending the week with a visit from my Aunt and the garage building company to get a quote for a garage w/an apartment loft!! Once the garage gets built...we can start working on building a livestock barn - IF we get that land next to us.

On a sad note: we STINK at gardening!!

I am not going to say it was because I was pregnant and didn't get out there enough (even though that was VERY true), but our garden has once again turned into a grass field. I just don't know HOW to kill the grass prior to planting. DH refuses to mulch or put any type of weed barrier down (because of cost)...so I am afraid what is sprouting is going to die. People are harvesting green beans & cucumbers already and we don't have anything.

I want to quit, but we will try again next year...one of these days we will get it right. <sigh> Is there ANY hope?!? I'm going to go drown my sorrows in a good bucket of hot water and a scrub brush and tackle that mess of a floor while both kids still sleep!! 2 babies down...4 to go!!

Congrats on sleeping! I remember those days!
On your floor scrubbing...get a long-handled brush like they use for scrubbing vinyl siding. No more crawling around on the floor killing your knees.

Mulch the garden...you can use newspaper to do it, so if you take a paper, save them up for next year. No extra cost. Or switch to a potted garden. Lots of people do it that way.

 

[lyklos]

Ok... I have tried to figure it out but cant. What is WCA?

 

[peckaboo]

Iredell County...Mooresville, NC

 

[3ChickensinNC]

Ok... I have tried to figure it out but cant. What is WCA?

Wicked Chicken Auction. Its in Clayton every Sunday.

 

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

Congrats on sleeping! I remember those days!
On your floor scrubbing...get a long-handled brush like they use for scrubbing vinyl siding. No more crawling around on the floor killing your knees.

Mulch the garden...you can use newspaper to do it, so if you take a paper, save them up for next year. No extra cost. Or switch to a potted garden. Lots of people do it that way.

I have lots of newpaper waiting for ' somebodies' project.

Honsetly.....was saving for a project but never did
do it so it's all up for grabs.....lots of it.
I'm sure we can find a way to get it to you
or I can bring it to you.

Welcome to the new folks......glad to meet you

WCA is the Wicked Chicken Auction in Wilson Mills.

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

Story time....

There were lots of guineas at WCA yesterday, which brought back memories...so I decided to share.

When I was a kid, we had guineas. They were everywhere. They were loud, and I loved them. They laid rock-hard eggs that I actually used to play ball with. They wouldn't break unless they hit a rock. Daddy always said they were good watchdogs, but Mom loved her guineas too and could watch them all day.

So, when hubby and I got our little place, and I got a few chickens, we quickly followed with the first guineas we found. At first...oh, the memories! How wonderful they were! But soon the honeymoon was over. The guineas were attacking my chickens, particularly my rooster, Barbarosa. (Strike one) They'd gang up on him and were really trying to kill him! Then, a neighbor a quarter mile away had guineas, and theirs would come over and pick fights with mine. Loud fights. (Strike two). All this time I was getting in more chickens, and had raised up 100 Buff Orpingtons. I walked out one day, and all the BOs were at the chickenhouse, inside or under the eaves. It wasn't bad weather. I looked across the pasture, and the guineas were out free ranging, eating bugs like they're supposed to. Then I looked up. In the tree right over the guineas was a red-tailed hawk, watching them. All the chickens had run for cover, but the guineas were blithely going about their business. So much for "watchdogs" (Strike 3) I figured 100 chickens could eat more bugs than a dozen guineas, so I sold them off.

When I told my dad I sold them, he told me a guinea story. After he retired from 20 years in the army, he worked at a factory on shift work. When we were kids and he was on night shift and sleeping during the day, woe be unto any child who made enough noise to wake him (usually me). He asked me if I remembered when half mom's flock of guineas got eaten by foxes, and of course I did. She was very upset about her missing guineas.

Turns out Daddy was the "fox". Mom and me and my sisters were at church when he was on nights, and trying to sleep, and the guineas came right up under his bedroom window and started a ruckus. He got the shotgun. He says he only meant to scare them, but he had to collect carcasses and go for a drive to hide the evidence. Then when mom noticed missing guineas, he went "looking" and came back and told her he saw fox sign.

She didn't know what happened to her guineas until I sold mine and he 'fessed up!

While I'm tattling on Daddy, I'll also mention that Mom used to plant watermelons every single year, in her huge garden. Every year she would watch those melons in anticipation, and every year, right when they were getting ripe and she said she was going to pick one tomorrow...the deer would get it. Break open a melon and eat the insides out.

Those "deer" were me and Daddy. Mom didn't know about that until the first year I planted melons here!

Poor Mom!

Sorry...Just in a story-telling mood today! Mom turned 80 on Sunday. Dad is 83. I will always be grateful that they homesteaded when Daddy retired from the military, so I grew up hand-milking cows, and raising goats and chickens and pigs and a huge garden, learning to can and dry and put up food. It was a good way to grow up, and having those skills now means a lot to me. Thanks Mom and Dad!

 

[NewHomesteader2010]

I have lots of newpaper waiting for ' somebodies' project.

Honsetly.....was saving for a project but never did
do it so it's all up for grabs.....lots of it.
I'm sure we can find a way to get it to you
or I can bring it to you.

Welcome to the new folks......glad to meet you

WCA is the Wicked Chicken Auction in Wilson Mills.

Really?? If you don't need/want it...I will DEFINITELY take it (let me know if you want anything for it). DH talked about doing the black weed barrier, but when we looked into the cost of it and how much we'd need...it didn't seem like our garden would be very profitable (although currently it's not profitable either...LOL). We have a 50x60 area and another 10x20 area solely for grains (oats and wheat)...we haven't planted the grains yet and I don't think we'll get to it this year, but...mulching/weed barrier using paper would be fantastic (and a good way to recycle)!! I live "in" Middlesex, and you're welcome to visit - we do live in the middle of nowhere, kind of like one of those homes in horror movies where you keep driving down this dirt road and you realize things are not looking good...that's kind of like how it is to get to us!!
OR....we could converge at someone's house...like a .... a get together at Beth's!! LOL

WELCOME to the new people!!

ETA: Hollow - GREAT stories!! Sure wish my dad had the forsight to homestead when he retired from the military, especially since he grew up on a HUGE (I'm talking 2500 acres) farm!! He raised cows, pigs, horses and corn/wheat as well as had a huge orchard, a pond, and tons of outbuildings...man I loved that place, I never did understand why my dad hated the county. I bet it was because his family hired people to do the farming/tending for them and he refuses to be more than a 10 minute drive from fast food and solid Wi-Fi!! Anyway, DH and I are completely NEW at homesteading...which is why we went with chickens to start off with. We figured IF something happened to them, they were small enough that we could start over if need be. Neither of us have EVER grown anything, so the whole gardening to supplement our groceries is completely new to us as well. I'm trying to convince DH to get together with our wonderfully kind elderly "neighbor" who farms and see if we could get help from him, since he is just "down the road" and also brings us his surplus. I had NO idea what to do with the 15lbs of squash (crooked neck) that he brought us the other day. Ended up sharing most of it with people at church, because I just didn't know how to cook it.

My mother never fixed anything but peas, corn, green beans (all from a store bought can...EWEE) so I am at a loss with regards to most vegetables. LOL...care to take someone "under your wing?" LOL Seriously...you inspire & encourage me!!

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

Quote: Beth's place sounds great!

Don't take my wandering back in time as I know how to do everything. I certainly don't...as witness me losing 5 BCMs to foxes last week. But I'll bet there's enough old skills in this group that we could have a good time sharing them with each other. I'd be willing to teach what I could, and learn what I can't from someone else. That would be fun! We can make our own "Farm Days" meet-up!