A Very Pretty Chicken Quilt Not too long ago I was contacted by a lady named Rebecca who found one of my chicken photos online and wanted to use the image for creating a quilt. Needless to say, I was flattered that she asked! She promised to share a photo when the…
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How Many Eggs do Chickens Lay and other Common Chicken Questions
Common Chicken Questions People from all over the world contact me with comments and questions about homesteading. Chicken questions top the list! Here are some of the common questions I am asked about raising chickens…I hope that this post will answer some of your questions too! How Many Eggs do…
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Scenes From The Pioneer Fest
Scenes From The Pioneer Fest The Boone County Autumn Pioneer Festival gives visitors a glimpse of early settler life in Northern Illinois each September. I thoroughly enjoy spending an afternoon walking through the displays, dreaming about what life was like back in ‘the day.’ There’s always so much to see…
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Cast Iron Envy
Cast Iron Cookware at the Autumn Pioneer Fest Last weekend was the annual Autumn Pioneer Festival in Belvidere, Illinois. I try to make it there every year to see all the great pioneer living displays. It reminds me of my Grandparents’ home a little bit and brings me back to…
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The End of Our Summer Veggies
The End of Our Summer Veggies The cool days of autumn slow the production of tomatoes, peppers, beans, and other heat loving veggies. I feel a little sad when I walk through the garden and see tiny little peppers that will never ripen. It’s always bittersweet knowing that there won’t be…
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DIY Succulents Review – Book by Tawni Daigle
DIY Succulents Review Let me just start by saying that I have killed jade plants, cacti, and aloe vera, as well as a number of other houseplants over the years. It’s not that I don’t have a green thumb. It’s just that I tend to sort of wear out my…
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Autumn on Our Homestead
Autumn on Our Homestead Our weather is gorgeous, with sunny days and crisp nights. Jack Frost has yet to visit and my tomatoes, beans, peppers, eggplants, and squash are still filling our table and tummies. I have yet another batch of spaghetti sauce cooking down in the kitchen as I write. The…
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Homemade Tomato Paste
Make Your Own Tomato Paste The tomatoes are still ripening in my garden and I’ve been cooking and canning my own spaghetti sauce for the last week and a half. The latest batch of tomatoes wasn’t large enough to make a full canner of sauce, so I processed tomato juice…
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Canning Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Having your own homemade spaghetti sauce on hand is a great feeling in the winter. You can purchase tomatoes by the bushel or grow your own to make this delicious sauce. Try raising your own herbs, garlic, peppers, and onions to flavor the sauce, too. Once you’ve…
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Advanced Bushcraft: An Expert Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival by Dave Canterbury
Advanced Bushcraft: An Expert Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival by Dave Canterbury Book Review I’ve always enjoyed reading up on survival skills, even as a kid I would pour through my Dad’s army survival manuals. So when this new book by Dave Canterbury came out, I was…
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Hatching Ducklings in Autumn
Coming Soon – Autumn Ducklings! You might think I’m a bit crazy for hatching ducklings (or chicks) in the fall. Why would anyone think of incubating eggs at this time of year? You can read more about my reasons for Hatching Chicks in Autumn, if you like. The short answer?…
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How to Dehydrate Apples for Storage
Dehydrate Apples for Easy Storage Sometimes we have more apples from our Azure Standard order or from a friend’s tree than I can use all at once. I like to make homemade applesauce and old-fashioned applesauce cake, plus I also enjoy slicing them up to dehydrate apples for winter. You…
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Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe
This Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread is a great way to use your zucchini harvest and satisfy your chocolate cravings too! Easy recipe!
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Freezing 20 Pounds of Organic Peaches
Freezing Peaches This week I received my monthly order from my Azure Standard (#ad) buying club, including 20 pounds of organic peaches. There aren’t any organic peach growers locally, and since peaches are sprayed with a lot of pesticides, I was glad to find organic peaches in bulk. Since we…
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Too Many Zucchini?
Do You Have Too Many Zucchini? I have more zucchini than I need right now, although they were rather slow coming in this year. Now I’m busy making zucchini bread, zucchini cake, stuffed zucchini; and shredding and freezing them to use this winter. Are you feeling a little ovewhelmed by the…
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Summer Squash Pickles
Brine Cured Summer Squash Pickles I enjoy having extra produce from my garden all summer. It reduces our grocery bill, increases our nutrient intake, and tastes great…what a deal! Sometimes I have so many veggies ripening that we can’t use them up fast enough. Canning, dehydrating, and freezing are great…