Homesteaders on Vacation! Tom and I visited the Upper Peninsula of Michigan early in August. We saw some really cool sights and I hope to share more of them with you. Please enjoy these photos of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore! The sandstone cliffs are slowly eroding away from the waves…
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A Fox in the Barnyard
A Fox in the Barnyard Over the years I’ve lost quite a few poultry to predators. This summer a fox has found our chicken pen and has been picking off chickens (I believe 8, so far) in the early morning. To prevent further problems, I started letting the flock out…
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Japanese Garden
The Japanese Garden at Rotary Botanical Garden Last week we visited the Rotary Botanical Garden in Janesville, Wisconsin. I shared a bunch of photos of the flowers and gardens here. I hope you enjoy these photos of their Japanese gardens! …
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Rotary Botanical Garden
Rotary Botanical Garden in Janesville, Wisconsin This is the kind of place I like to visit! You can bask in the glory of beautifully kept gardens…without pulling a singe weed. The Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville, Wisconsin offers trails through a variety of gardens with endless possibilities for photos. The Asiatic…
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How to Make Cherry Jam from Scratch
Knowing how to make cherry jam is a great skill to learn! You can control the amount of sugar and leave out the artificial ingredients, and save money!
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Hatching Heritage Turkey Poults
You might also like my posts How to Hatch Chicken Eggs in an Incubator and Top 5 Reasons for a Poor Hatch Rate. Hatching Baby Turkeys My heritage turkey hens have provided me with quite a few eggs over the last month or so. I put some eggs in the incubator in…
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My Garden – A Work In Progress
A Work In Progress Gardens, by their very nature, are constantly changing and growing. Weeds fill in between rows and plants. Seeds germinate. Seedlings grow and begin to produce flowers and food for the gardener. In my area spring is a short season and is overwhelmed by heat and…
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Alpaca Shearing Day
Alpaca Shearing Day My friend Brandi asked if I could help out on shearing day at her Mom’s alpaca farm. Well, how could I possibly say no to such a cool experience?! I pulled into the driveway and wandered down to the barn. The alpacas are so stinking cute! I…
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Foraging for Free Food
Ethical Foraging – Food for Free I’ve been interested in foraging for wild foods since I was a kid. Dandelions, plantain, cattails, wild berries and apples all made their way into a bag or basket as I hiked through the woods and fields, or scavenged through the weeds in our…
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Lazy Scrubbies
Lazy Scrubbies I have several scrubby pads that work great for washing dishes and cleaning. My Mom gave me some and I purchased several at a farmers market. They last a long time and can be made from recycled mesh bags (the kind that oranges and onions are packaged in). I…
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How to Use Rhubarb
Using Fresh Rhubarb I made a Rhubarb Cake with Rhubarb Sauce this week…the first one of the season. It’s rewarding to pick fresh food from our garden, and turn it into a yummy treat! This post contains affiliate links or advertisements. You won’t pay extra but I may earn a small…
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The Cheapskate’s ‘Straw Bale’ Garden
Straw Bale Garden? I really like the idea of setting up a straw bale garden. It would reduce the amount of weeding and watering needed to keep our garden productive. But straw runs around $3 – $5 dollars a bale around here and it would take at least 100 bales to…
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Survival Hacks by Creek Stewart
Survival Hacks Book Review I’m always interested in saving money, reusing ‘trash,’ and leaning how to make useful items for everyday and survival situations. Reading through Suvival Hacks by Creek Stewart, I found exactly this type of information. Mr Stewart shares a lot of super easy projects that you can create…
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A Gang of Wild Turkeys
A ‘Gang’ of Wild Turkeys Maybe 3 doesn’t really consitute a gang. We have a lot of wild turkeys in the area, and I often hear them calling to my little flock. The turkey hens have shown great interest in the calls, especially since they didn’t have a tom.…
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Bottle Feeding Baby Goats
But Not My Baby Goats… I don’t have goats anymore. But my friends from Trogg’s Hollow CSA have goats. They have the cutest little baby goats! My photos don’t do them justice, seriously. But I was a little preoccupied trying to give them bottles or to latch…
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Scruffy Chicks, Sprouting Seeds, & Turkey Troubles
Scruffy Chicks Our 23 mixed breed chicks hatched 3 weeks ago and they’re at that in-between stage…past being cute fluffballs but their feathers aren’t completely grown in. So they look pretty scruffy and comical now. They’ve been happily exploring their brooder room, along with our 6 ducklings. I’m keeping my fingers…