2/6/10

We begin a new year in our new home. 'o9 brought many changes into our lives, such as a new home with a bit of land so that we can actually get to do all the cool things we've only dreamed about. As our little home, now starting homestead grows and develops we were hoping to be able to keep an account of what we are doing.

To begin, at this point we have:

Chickens: 1 Silkie that Jed got off Craigslist for free, 9 Ameraucanas (we started with 10, but Tabby had a snack), and 2 Rhode Island Reds. So far, all the chickens are very friendly and follow us where ever we go. The Rhodes have been laying since September, Silkie has always laid, and the Ameraucanas started right after Xmas. We also have one ex-rooster, Tyson, that would attack females, but got over it as soon as his head was chopped off... he was delicious, I will grant him that.

Hogs: 2 Tamworths gilts. We got them right before Thanksgiving and have had them rocketing around the backyard and chilling with our neighbor's horse. We'll eat spots first... she's the one that refuses to come back home and uses the horse for protection... I refuse to have any sort of intelligent pig...

Ducks: Or ex-ducks I should say. We started with a set of 9, which were all eventually slaughtered for a feast. We acquired 4 Golden Hybrids and 5 Mallards... We now have well fed preditors in the area. I was able to witness the capture of a couple of ducklings by an eagle (Golden?) which was pretty freaking magestic, but none the less, dwindled our flock.

Cats: Our loving cats that have been with us since we were in the tiny apartment in Morro Bay. Calvin and McGee. Calvin is our smallish, black Main Coon that is the spawn of satan and McGee is heaven incarnate.. until he starts making those iegh, iegh, noises in his throat and Calvin runs to hide behind us before he gets a butt whoopin (or more accurately, McGee grabs him by his throat and pins him to the ground)

Garden: ... Or lack there of, we planted many trees: 2 cherry, 1 apricot, 2 apple, 1 almond, 2 olive, 1 peach, 1 nectarine, 2 sycamore, 1 ash, 1 poplar, 1 black walnut, many chestnuts (we're hoping at least 3 make it... the Tams think they are delicious), 3 ceadars, 2 pines, and 2 willows. When we got here there was only the almond. We've also added black berries, raspberries, boysenberries, grapes, strawberries, and blue berries. I've had two attempts at a garden so far, the first had tomatos and such until the chickens discovered that they were delicious.... We didn't get to harvest anything from there. As winter started we started a brassica garden. The only items that have not been ravished by the chickens and Tams are the cabbages and the brussel sprouts. We go out there periodically to encourage them to grow.

Bees: None personal so far, but we put a base out there for them with some lemon grass to draw them in. We have a ton of honeybees stop on by to feed amonsts the mustards. (Jed tried eating a bit of the mustard the other day and had to keep spitting it out because it was really strong... must eat them young...)

In the future:

Meat Babies: Or a term that Jed has asked me not to use. =) This refers to any kind of animal offspring we wish to have from our livestock. For example, we want to have dairy goats, but also have some kids to eat, as well as getting a Mulefoot boar to mate with our Tams so that we can have pig meat babies.

We have Dorkings, White-faced black Spanish, Blue Andalusians, and Standard Old English Game (25 in total) comming in mid-March. As well as a Barnyard Assortments (20 random fowl - chicken, ducks, guineas, turkeys, geese) sometime this year.

We're also scheduled to pick up a Nubian/Boer cross doe that has just freshened so we'll have milk, hopefully for 10 months.

I guess one thing to point out is... Jed has never lived near a farm before. This has made the whole process that much more entertaining as sometimes I'll ask him like "blah blah blah, goat breed types?" for which he'll respond, "Qua?" I sometimes forget that he has not lived around animals...

We're also using this as a way to keep track of our produce... and to this purpose

As of today the 6th of Feb, we've collected 48 eggs from our chickens in the last 6 days. We are now resorting to sticking cartons full of eggs into unlocked vehicles just to get them out of the fridge.

We are hoping that this record of our trials and lessons will be entertaining to people and inspire you to try a little sustainable living on your own, be that a small garden box in your appartment or plowing under your lawn to grow some grain. We have been enjoying this new life and want to show others the fun that can be had by homesteading in what ever way you are able.