Bruce
Herd Master
YAH, pictures!!!!!
HomesteaderWife - Tales from Wolf Branch [05/10/2023 - The New Fella!]
- Thread starter HomesteaderWife
- Start date
Pictures are always a good thing... I routinely catch flack as I'm no photographer... 
Doesn't mean I don't like to see them... Thanks for the update.
Doesn't mean I don't like to see them... Thanks for the update.- Thread starter
- #153
HomesteaderWife
Herd Master
So here we are again- the hen that's in my profile photo who was responsible for hatching five baby ducks is back on the nest again. Like I normally say, I make these brief kind of for personal record-keeping! My timing puts Fat Momma to be hatching out babies before Easter!
- Thread starter
- #154
HomesteaderWife
Herd Master
It's an early Easter gift we just can't keep to ourselves!
Mike CHS
Herd Master
Perfect timing.
Poka_Doodle
Herd Master
Adorable!!! Jealous of your timing.
lcertuche
Loving the herd life
Howdy, I'm from Arkansas. I used to have a bunch of game hens and they were broody practically all summer. The price of chicks and the bother of raising chicks broody hens are the way to go. The chickens I have were bought as chicks last spring and only started laying a couple of months ago. I'm looking forward to more stories from Wolf Branch and your homesteading adventures.
- Thread starter
- #158
HomesteaderWife
Herd Master
I've been absent from here for a very long time. Time has slipped by with so much going on. We have lost a lot of animals in that time, and currently stand with only five chickens and four ducks. It's been heart-breaking.
There's been positives in the time as well- we finally found a large wood stove, are almost finished with our porch, we are decorating the inside of the cabin, we've built our own bed, and so much more.
The garden was pretty much a bust except for cucumbers and jalapenos. Our sweet corn failed, as did the Blue Hopi corn. The only thing that really took off in the heirlooms were the birdhouse gourds- we have quite a lot of them we are waiting on to harden. And they're still going!
This year's canning included mainly LOTS of pickles. There are jalapeño slices, of course! That's about all, haha.
Did a lot of scouting this year for wild American persimmon trees and found a few that are dropping now. I'll prepare next year early to harvest them and dehydrate the pulp- I hear making "fruit leather" from it is a tasty treat. We have also gathered a lot of seeds from the ground in hopes of one day growing some more trees.
A lot of work around and outside of home. A fair share of struggles here and there. But you know, in all of it, we are blessed and can't complain. For every bad, there's five good things (if that makes sense!) God takes care of us! We pay the bills and save enough to get the necessities. I'll be back here more regularly now that things have settled down some.
There's been positives in the time as well- we finally found a large wood stove, are almost finished with our porch, we are decorating the inside of the cabin, we've built our own bed, and so much more.
The garden was pretty much a bust except for cucumbers and jalapenos. Our sweet corn failed, as did the Blue Hopi corn. The only thing that really took off in the heirlooms were the birdhouse gourds- we have quite a lot of them we are waiting on to harden. And they're still going!
This year's canning included mainly LOTS of pickles. There are jalapeño slices, of course! That's about all, haha.
Did a lot of scouting this year for wild American persimmon trees and found a few that are dropping now. I'll prepare next year early to harvest them and dehydrate the pulp- I hear making "fruit leather" from it is a tasty treat. We have also gathered a lot of seeds from the ground in hopes of one day growing some more trees.
A lot of work around and outside of home. A fair share of struggles here and there. But you know, in all of it, we are blessed and can't complain. For every bad, there's five good things (if that makes sense!) God takes care of us! We pay the bills and save enough to get the necessities. I'll be back here more regularly now that things have settled down some.
Mike CHS
Herd Master
.
That last paragraph pretty much sums up most lives of those who frequent this forum. I'm glad to see you back and really happy to see you doing well in spite of the bad.
Bruce
Herd Master
Sorry about your loss of animals!!
I think a lot of our gardens this year did similarly to yours. Too much rain here. We FINALLY got ripe Sungold cherry tomatoes starting 2-3 weeks ago, should have been happening mid to late July. It has been hot the last week or so, WAY hotter than usual so even the full size tomatoes FINALLY are starting to get red. But it will cool substantially starting tomorrow so the tomatoes will slow ... until the first frost kills them.
I think a lot of our gardens this year did similarly to yours. Too much rain here. We FINALLY got ripe Sungold cherry tomatoes starting 2-3 weeks ago, should have been happening mid to late July. It has been hot the last week or so, WAY hotter than usual so even the full size tomatoes FINALLY are starting to get red. But it will cool substantially starting tomorrow so the tomatoes will slow ... until the first frost kills them.
