Once Again. Chickens!

We finally got more CHICKENS!!!!  YAY!!!

Hubby found a great deal on some young pullets and hens.  They are just starting to lay eggs.  It is cheaper for us to buy them at this age than it would would be to raise them from little babies.  Although, they aren't as cute as little balls of fluff.

Our 5 roosters that we have, are very happy to have their own little harem.  I'm sure the one single hen that we had was happy to share all the men. lol.  This young rooster was strutting his stuff for the girls.  The wind was really whipping that day as you can tell by his feathers.

Since the weather is starting to turn warmer, I've been feeling a little better, mood wise, and I'm wanting to get out and start on things outside.  I bought a few asparagus plants and I've scoped out a spot in the yard to make an asparagus bed.  It's going to be close to the Shack (which is still under construction).

 I plan on making an announcement about the new things going on here at the farm in the near future.  There are just a few things that need to be taken care of first.  I promise I won't forget you all. lol.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, egg eater.

Homesteading Videos

It's a hundred degrees below zero here on the farm.  Okay, that may or may not be an exaggeration.  Either way, it's cold!  I keep telling myself that it can't last too much longer.  According to the weather that I check on the Internet, today will be the last REALLY cold day for a while.  It's also telling me that we are suppose to get 3 to 6 inches of snow tonight.  Ugh.  So what does a person do when it's this cold outside? (Other than break ice out of watering bowls for the rabbits and chickens)  I'm watching homesteading videos on YouTube.

If you have the time, and you want a good laugh, I highly recommend watching these videos.  PLEASE REMEMBER, just because these people have a YouTube channel about homesteading DOES NOT make them experts.  In fact, some of these videos are down right entertaining on how BAD they are.  I'm not saying they are ALL wrong.  There are some good ones on there.  But, you have to be selective.  Make sure you do your homework. lol

I really find these videos entertaining, especially the ones that try to be funny and informative at the same time.  Or, the videos where people try to "act" for the camera.  You'll just have to watch some of them.  So the next time you are stuck inside, check some of the homesteading videos out.

I DID find some that I thought were pretty informative.  Come to find out, I know more than I thought. Ha HA! I guess I just think a lot of this stuff as common knowledge. But, that's because I live in the Appalachian area and people still kind of homestead here.  We just call that normal living. 

What I did like about these videos were that they really motivated me into to figuring out our game plan for this coming year.  I started looking into what to plant in our garden. Like I said last year, I don't plan on it being a huge garden.  I'm wanting something that I can maintain.  And with me being down in my back and knees and Hubby working full time, we shall see just how big that will be.  I keep telling myself not to do what I do every year, which is plan this HUGE garden because THIS year I'm going to work in it really hard and pull every weed, and mulch around every plant, and can every veggie that comes out of there.  Ya, that is the lie I tell myself every year.  Then "things" just happen and the garden gets neglected.  We may still get a few things out of the garden every year, but we don't do it justice.  

Well, as I'm typing this, I see the snow is starting to fall.  They have upped the total snow fall amounts just a little.  Oh well, back to watching homesteading videos. lol

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, What's YOUR favorite homesteading information center?

Pups in the Holler (Picture Heavy)

Here are the pictures of the pups in the holler. (Can they still be called pups if they are over a year old?)  You can tell they really liked the fresh spring water.

Chassis watching Holley across the holler.  Can ya see her?  She's beside the old, fallen tree.

Holley looking up the holler.  Hard telling what she sees.  We've got a nickname for her, it's Hurricane Holley.  In the next few pictures, you'll understand why.

Chassis' nickname is Chubby Chassis.  She weighs probably 15 pounds more than Holley.  She's taller too.  It's hard to believe they're from the same litter.

"Let's gooooooo!"

She's always wanting to play.  Even if Chassis' not so sure if she wants to play.

Notice Holley's goofy expression on her face.  It seems to be there a lot.

Chassis has to stay on her toes if she's going to keep up with Holley.

This goes on All. Day. Long.

You can tell the dogs really enjoyed their time exploring the holler.  We have snow on and it's kind of cold, so I haven't been down in there lately.   Can you imagine the energy the dogs have right now?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, dog referee. 

The Holler (picture heavy)

With the warm weather around here, I decided to take the dogs down into the holler. I don't have good hiking boots yet, so I just pulled on the old Muck Boots and took the four wheeler out for a little ride.

The dogs loved it! I took many pictures of them, but I figured I would leave those pictures for another post.  There were a lot of pictures of the dogs. lol

I hate that there was an old tires down in the holler.  I'm not sure where it came from, but I'm sure it's been there for a REALLY long time. 

This is our house from the back side and the beginning of the holler.

The holler is pretty deep in some places.  I couldn't walk down the hill, let alone ride the four wheeler down there.  In some places, it's straight up and down.  When the kids were smaller, we use to get plastic garbage bags and "sled" down the hill in the leaves.

Here is where a spring comes out of the ground right under this tree.  It always has water here.  Plus, it never has frozen. (yet)

It's deeper than it looks in this picture.

This is our fire ring that we used only a few times.  I LOVE it here in the summer.  It's cooler than on top of the hill.  I would sleep down here, but it's very rocky and I'm very wimpy. lol

The squirrels love it down here too. There's a bunch of nuts.

I noticed a bunch of different types of mushrooms down here too.  I'm gonna have to get a mushroom identification book for the Appalachian Mountains.  I could have a holler full of gourmet food. 

There are many different types of moss too.  The rocks are soooooo beautiful.

I'm just happy to see some signs of green.

The walk/ride did me some good.  I'm the type of person that can recharge in the woods.  I always have been. I just have to remind myself that every once in a while.  I have to reconnect to nature, especially in the winter when the world is dark and gray.  Today was sunny, warm, and wonderful.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, get out to your holler.