What's All The Buzz?

See this pretty flower?  Some people call this frost weed.  Some people call this babies breath.  Whatever it is, the bee's sure do like it.

We have tons of it around here.  This plant is taller than my head.  You can hear it buzzing with all the activity.

  

If it would last longer and dry well, this would be pretty in a wreath.  But sadly, it doesn't last very long once it's picked.  So, I just enjoy it while it's around.

So until next time,  

Small Farm Girl,  bee watcher.

Question of the Day

Today, as I was reading some of the blogs that I follow, I was noticing the different types of homesteading that there were.  Some people specialize in canning, some in sewing, some in growing and some in decorating.  But, in my humble opinion, they are all still a type of homesteading.  I mean, it's important to have these skills.  So what is your specialty?

SFG, question asker...er

I Still Want To Be A Hermit

I easily can say that I could become a hermit.  I know I've wrote about this before, but I'm starting to really believe it.  The more I'm around people the more I realize I don't like them. I find that it has gotten to the point where if I'm around a bunch of people, I just sit back and shake my head about the stupid stuff they're saying.  I've got to watch myself and make sure I don't make a "did you really just say that" face.   I've also gotten to where I'm not participating as much in conversations because I find that I catch people when they contradict themselves and I point it out to them.  I know I shouldn't do this, so therefore, I try not to say much.

Now I have some friends that I can sit and talk to,(Phelan is one of those.) so I'm not TOO anti-social,  but most times, when I'm around people, I can't wait until I can get home and just say AAAAHHHHH.  I go to my bedroom, by myself, and just veg.  I'll read or watch t.v.(yes we have a t.v. in our bedroom.), or sometimes just catch up on reading the blogs that I follow.  I need those alone times so that I can recharge my batteries.  

I do know people who have to constantly have other people around them.  Or if they don't have people around them, they are on their phones texting people.  They can't stand being by themselves. I feel sorry for these type of people.  I don't think that they really know themselves if they haven't been alone with themselves.  Are they afraid of what they'll find?  Are they afraid of the person that they are.  Possibly.    

Now,  I know there isn't really anything I can do about these people.  I can't change them.  I can only change me and the way I interact with them.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not mean to people.  I don't HATE people.  I actually like SOME people. hehehehe.  There are even times when I WANT to be around people.  But,(and you knew this was coming.)  I can only handle so much at one time.

So on that note, I'm thinking about a nice little house back in the woods where I can be by myself.  Okay, Hubby is aloud to visit. :0)  I'll live back there were the only things that know where I am will be the deer and the birds.  I'll have my own little garden, my own little porch that I can sit and watch the trees, and my own little room where I can paint my pictures.  Oh, I can see it now.......

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl,  hermit.

My New Project

If your like me, you'll accumulate many magazines over the years.  I have stacks and stacks of homesteading and herbal magazines that I keep "just in case" I need an article out of them.  Well, yesterday I started looking at all of the space that they took up.  I'm at that stage in life where space is more important than the magazines.  But, what if I NEED one of those articles?  So I got to thinking,  why don't I start taking out the things that interests me in the magazines and put them in a folder?  I could have a recipe folder, an herbal folder, an DIY folder, I actually could have a FEW folders.  But, I know for a fact, that they wouldn't take up all of the space that the magazines do plus, they would be more organized so I could find them easier.

It's funny, I was just thinking about doing this when I came across this post at Rural Revolution.  Patrice makes a lot of since by doing this.  I have TONS of links that I have bookmarked for keeping.  Looks like I'm gonna have to do some printing too.  You know though, I really like doing things like this.  I guess I'm kind of weird that way.  I love organizing things. (Although you couldn't tell it from looking at my house. :0)  )

So I just thought I would give you all a heads up on my new project.  I'm looking forward to starting it.  Plus, this gives me an excuse to go and buy new folders and new paper and new pencils and new crayons and new....... Okay, I guess I don't really need all of that stuff, but I just might buy it anyway.  I just can't help myself when I get into the stationary department. Hehehehe

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, organizer extraordinaire

Okay, I've Called It!

  That's right! I officially have declared that Fall is here!!!!! It doesn't look like this around here YET, but it will soon.  In fact, we have a covered bridge that looks kind of like this one.  I think I'll have to get some pictures on here to show you all.

Anyway, back to Fall.  The days are warm, the nights are cool.  Perfect!!!!  The leaves are starting to get crispy and so is the air.  You know what I'm talking about.  It's like the air has been put through an air filter.  It's soooo much easier to breath. The frost weeds are blooming so I know that frost is just around the corner.  I guess it's time for us to start getting in the wood for winter.

Our garden is done, I mean brown corn stalks, done.  I thought about using them for a cute little decoration out in front of the house.  We'll see if I get the gumption enough to do it. hehehe.  I get a lot of ideas this time of year, but I have so much stuff to do, I just keep adding to the list.  Hubby's Dad has us a few rows of beans that should be ready soon.  I hope it doesn't frost before I get those canned up.  That's gonna help us a lot.  Stupid rabbits ate all of our beans.  We'll see if that happens next year.  I'm taking measures that it won't.

I'm also taking measures so that Jack wont be killing anymore chickens.  The chicken coop will be worked on this weekend!!! Yay!!!! I'm hoping it will get done soon, at least before the snow flies.  I would at least like to get some pictures of it on here when it's done.  My plan is to landscape around it.  That's gonna have to happen in the spring.

As I'm writing this post, I'm also thinking about the things I'm gonna miss about summer.  I'm gonna miss sitting outside in front of the house in the mornings and watching the pond.  That's my favorite thing to do in the mornings just before it gets too hot to.  I'm gonna miss going outside in shirt sleeves and not having to bundle up against the cold winter wind.  I'm going to miss the times that me and Hubby jumped on his dad's motorcycle and just rode around for a few minutes. (Yes, I know we still can in the winter time, but I'm not a winter rider.  I'm a wimp!)  I'm also going to miss the fresh veggies that we could get at the farmers' markets.  Although, we are getting some really nice apples right now!

I guess what I'm saying is, I love living in an area where there are 4 distinct seasons.  By the time I get tired of one season, it's time for the next.  So right now I'm saying, "Bring on FALL!!!"

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, lover of the seasons

New Addition

Here's the new addition to the farm!!! One of the Wild Cows had a little bull!  Last year neighbor's bull jumped our fence and got in with our ladies.  He called one morning to tell me the "bad news."  I was elated!  We didn't have a bull at that time so I was GLAD that his bull jumped the fence.  He was glad that I was glad. lol!!! Saved us from having to buying one this that.  We wondered if our cow had gotten pregnant because all of his cows had already had their calves.  Well, I guess she was!!!!!!!  Now we don't have to wait one more year for steaks!  Yay!!!!!

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl,  new calf owner

It's Butchering Time!!!

Well, today was butchering day for the rabbits.  It was their destination, their reason for living, and might I say, a very tasty one at that.  If you've never tried rabbit, you don't know what your missing.  IT. IS. GOOOOOOOOD!!!  Plus the nutritional value of rabbit is outstanding!!!!!  Low fat, low cholesterol, but high in protein and in flavor.  If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it.

Anyway back to my story, me and Hubby were butchering the rabbits this morning.  He does the killin, I do the butcherin.  We make a good pair.  :0)  For all the years of my life that I've been butchering things,  it's still hard for me to do the actual killing.  Oh sure, I can shoot a rabbit, deer or squirrel with no problem, but the animals that we raised here on the farm is just a little harder.  Now don't get me wrong, if I had to, I would, and CAN, but I've got Hubby now and he doesn't mind doing it so why not let him.  Just like he doesn't like butchering.  He said it turns his stomach.  He can do it if he has to, but he doesn't really want to.  So I'll gladly do it.

So today we just had 3 rabbits that were ready to be butchered.  Not too many, and it doesn't take all day to kill, butcher, clean, and vacuum seal.  As I was butchering today, I accidentally sliced into my finger.  As my Dad always said, you will get cut more times on a dull knife than you will on a sharp one.  Well folks, he's right.  The knife wasn't as sharp as I wanted it to be and low and behold,  I sliced right down into my knuckle.  Ouch!!!!!!

Now out of all my many years of butchering animals, not one time have I ever gotten sick.  My stomach never turned or anything and I've been into animal cavities up to my shoulders before.  I've never had a problem.  I looked down and saw the blood coming out of my knuckle and I just about went down.  Things started to go black,  I started feeling really hot,  I needed a drink.  I told Hubby that I butchered  my finger with the knife and I needed something to drink BAD or I might pass out.  He was changing the oil in the car so he ran and got me something to drink as I sat down on our four wheeler so I wouldn't fall down.   He came running  back with a big glass of ice water and I took a long swig.  He stood there waiting for me to show it to him.

"See?" I said.  "I think I hit the bone!!!!"

Hubby looked at my finger, looked back at me, looked at my finger again. "Is this what your talking about?" He went to touch my knuckle.

"Don't touch it!!!! I might faint!!!! I jerked my hand away from him.

"Have you looked at it?"  He asked.

"Uh, no.  I'm too scared of what I'll see."

"You might want to look at it."  He replied.

I peaked with one eye.  (I don't know why that was going to be better than with both eyes, but it was.)  On the tip of my knuckle there was a small cut.  Probably 1/4 of a inch long.  A small drop of blood was oozing out of it.

"Oh, I guess it's not as bad as I thought it was."  I smiled.

Hubby just rolled his eyes and went back to changing the oil in the car.

I'm so glad I have a big protector of a man.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl,  bleeder.

Busy, But Having Fun!

I didn't realize how long it's been since I've posted on here.  We've been busy helping Phelan and her family settle into their homestead.  It's nice having her here.  I'm just waiting for her to get tired of us coming down for a visit. lol.  It's fascinating watching her raise her three boys without electric and running water.  She comes to our house every once in a while to do a load of laundry.  Got to have those boys closes clean for school!!!  She has been washing their clothes in a tub with water. Then hanging them out to dry.  With them living down in a holler, there isn't much wind.  Plus, it's wet almost all the time.  Wet like a rain forest.  It's hard to hang clothes on a clothes line to dry when it's that wet.  Although last night she was telling me that she could use a good ole fashion rain storm to fill up the creek again.  They've been dipping water out of it for flushing their toilet inside the cabin.  She said it's starting to go dry.

When she comes up to wash, she'll fill up a few jugs of water so that they'll have something to drink and cook with.  We'll set outside and drink tea (unsweetened!!!) and just chat.  It's nice to have someone close to my age and someone with the same weird mentality that I do, to chat with.

We also have been looking for her and her husband a place for their motorcycle shop.  He builds and repairs motorcycles.  Which is good, because for some reason the motorcycle that we ride wasn't "running right". hehehe.  We've looked at a few places.  Some are run down, some are really nice.  Our biggest problem is finding out who owns them so we can ask about rent.  We've got a few good ones in the works though.

Me and Hubby have also been expanding the goat pasture.  We put up a gate so that they can go out with the cattle and horses.  Oh, by the way, you can't keep goats in with just a barb wire fence. hehehe.  We knew that when we let them out, we just figures with all of the food that they have to eat in the big pasture, (45 acres) they wouldn't want out to eat the small, puny grass that we mow.  WRONG!!!   I honestly think goats just KNOW where you don't want them to go and they will make it their life mission to go there.

Oh well, that's life on a farm.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, goat wrangler.