Wood and Water

Sometimes the weather just does what you want it to do around here. It rained Monday night most of the night and stayed nice and cool all day Tuesday. We propped the gutters up to drain into the buckets and they all got filled. Yeah! Our city well water (which we haul out to the homestead) is so hard, the plants eventually seem to stop responding to it. So having that rainwater really is a boost to the garden.

Mrs. D has her wood permit now, so we'll start bringing in our fuelwood tomorrow. Mrs. D, being the delicate female that she is (tongue in cheek), can only handle a couple hours of cutting at a time, so this project will take until the forest closes to woodcutting in December. This will make for many hours of romping through the woods with L'il Homesteader, as well as numerous Teddy Bear Picnics. Such a good life it is!

A Time For Planting

A blustery day, as Winnie the Pooh would say. This one is supposed to bring us some rain. The baby garden sure needs it. Mrs. D and L'il Homesteader have planted broccoli, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, garlic, carrots, lettuce, and tons more. What with the way the wind's been blowin' since the end of March, it's hard to keep 'em watered. Then there's the compost heaps, and not to even mention how much the critters drink. Speaking of rain, haven't started on the gutters yet. Ah well.

The milking machine broke down a few days ago, just when we were really getting to like it. Pulsaters gummed up or something. Grandpa D says that always was a problem with those machines. He is glad he isn't the one milking cows! Mrs. D will have to wait for mechanically minded male personage to get around to looking at it, dousing it with WD40 hasn't helped. It is faster to milk by hand anyway, with just 3 ladies.

Chick, Chick, Chickeee!

And now it's May. More improvements this month. "Around the Homestead", Mrs. D's blog, will be updated more frequently; aiming for once a week. "The Homestead" will still be (the goal is) monthly, followed by the monthly newsletter of the same name.

Some new homestead artists will be joining the store with their own "Homestead Treats". Look for their info in the blog as we get their fine crafts added to the store.

So much has happened since March, it may take all month for me to get it up on the blog. L'il Homesteader finished his Pre-K work and is continuing with review and enrichment activities while we wait for his Kindergarten books to arrive. With 2 cows and 1 goat in milk we are trying out a milking machine, weighing the pros and cons.

Today's big news: Maryruth got the day-old baby chicks last Saturday, we picked up our 25 from her on the 3rd. So here are our week old babies. We are still having some chilly nights, so they are in an old water tub in Mrs. D's bathroom. No broody hen this year, so they've got a heat lamp to keep them warm. L'il Homesteader spends every waking moment inspecting his babies and playing with them. Ah, spring!