Caring for Chickens

I often get asked about looking after chickens. Things like: Is it hard? Worth it? Dirty? Is there really any difference between home raised and store bought? Does it cost a lot? Can anyone do it?

So here are my answers.
No, it's not hard but it is some work and initially you need to have a good house for them and have some equipment for brooding, feeding, watering and nesting.

Worth it? I think so but it's not a get rich quick scheme. I make enough money to get my meat and eggs for free by selling half of what I raise minus the costs involved.

Dirty? Yep. Chickens will scratch, poop, and make a mess, and you have to clean their house out periodically. This depends a lot on the weather and if they are allowed out on range or kept inside.

Is there really a difference in flavour? Oh my YES! You have no idea until you try it so grab a copy of the local paper and find a farmer today, or look for signs for eggs. The meat is flavourful and moist, and eggs stand up all perky in the pan showing off their deep yellow yolks, instead of those pale watery things you get at the store that run all over the pan.

Does it cost a lot? That depends on you. You could spend a fortune on all the latest equipment or improvise with what you've got. Some fixed costs are the price of the birds, feed and bedding. Variable costs would be the kinds of shelter and lighting you provide, types of feeders you use, if you heat your hen house etc.

Can anyone do it? No. Now you may be surprised since I just told you it's easy and worth it. But I'm practical and you have to consider a few things. If you are not there to look after them because you like to take weekends away and do not have a neighbour who'll care for them, you maybe shouldn't have livestock. If you want your yard to be all neat and tidy because you're a fantastic gardener, you should have them penned so they stay out of your garden. If you're not a practical person and a good problem solver then you probably shouldn't either. There are all sorts of unexpected things that happen that sometimes require a quick fix and it's just you and your wits and observations.

That being said, watching the antics of chickens can be very entertaining and if you feed them a good ration you'll get a good supply of eggs. So let's talk about the types of chickens generally available today. There are 3 main types of chickens and numerous crosses but they typically fall into 3 categories, Meat, Egg Layers, or Dual Purpose.

Meat Birds are bred for their large breast and thigh size and rapid growth. Here I can raise my broilers (that's what they're called) in about 10-12 weeks. Less if I'm doing Cornish Hens. You can get a pure bred Cornish but I get Cornish cross because although they grow a little more slowly, they are hardier and easier to free range. They come as day old chicks either in the mail or from a feed store and I like Rochester Hatchery or Black Creek Farm and Feed. You'll be able to get info from your local feed dealer on the types and ordering process in your location. Caring for your day old chicks is easy as long as ou are prepared. They require a heat lamp to maintain the temp about 90 degrees, some shavings for litter, dishes for water and food, crumbled food and you're going to need to keep them somewhere draught free and away from your cat. The hatcheries have good directions on their websites about caring for your chicks but I'll give you some tips too. They will grow quickly so having an area that will expand with them is useful. A brooder guard (really just a circle of corrugated cardboard) helps keep them near the lamp (a red 250 watt infrared one) and food and water when they are little but make sure they have enough space to get away from the lamp if they get too hot. Observation and a good thermometer are your best bets. Look at your chicks. If they're huddled together under the lamp then they're too cold. If they're as far away from the bulb as they can be or lying flattened out and panting then they're too hot. They should be happily walking all over and sleeping near the outer perimeter of the lamp shade or somewhere they're comfortable. Chicks start out on feed of around 22% but it does vary by manufacturer and medicated or unmedicated feed is available. If your chicks are vaccinated then use unmedicated feed because otherwise you'll just kill the vaccine. If you are feeding medicated feed it's to prevent a fatal disease in chicks called coccidosis you'll need to feed it to them for about 4 weeks but ask your feed dealer on the current recommendations. They'll always need a clean source of water and that can be tricky because they tend to kick shavings in it all the time so you need to check regularly. I start mine off with water in egg cartons cut into groups of 4. Feed as well. They then can't get themselves soaked and cold as easily. After a few days when they're eating well I switch to a feeder that's long and has 25 spaces for feeding on each side, and a waterer that has a screw jar top. It's enough for 25 chicks but I do have to increase the size of the waterer periodically and I raise it onto a little platform to help keep the shavings out of it. Another tip if using a kiddy pool. You know, the hard plastic wading pools you get for $10. They're ok to use with a cardboard brooder guard to start with and then you can use it without after a time. You'll need a wire cover for the top or your energetic hoppers will surprise you from time to time by escaping. The pool is also easy to clean when you're done and waterproof so it protects your floor. One thing to note, raising chicks is fun and you'll be tempted to raise them in the kitchen (everyone does it once) but they manage to kick up a tremendous amount of dust that will coat everything in the house so you might want to confine them to a basement or laundry room for the first few weeks. By 5 weeks they can control their own temperatures so they can be put outside in their house, but they may still need a little extra heat fro the first 10 days to really thrive.

If you're raising your own layers there are additional lighting requirements I can tell you about at a later time. So let's go on and talk about raising broilers. They will not sleep on perches, just on the litter on the floor so it's important to keep it clean and dry. They'll need constant access to water and I raise my waterers up onto a couple of bricks so it keeps the litter out of the water and at the chickens chest height. I use a hanging feeder hanging at the height of their chest so they waste less food and it stays cleaner. I feed a commercial feed because I know it's balanced and has all the minerals they need and I let them free range for the afternoons and feed peelings and spoiled fruit also. They find grass and weeds and bugs to eat and get some exercise too which keeps them happy and healthy and their house cleaner also. Their feed changes with age and size and it's best to ask what the recommendations are in your neighbourhood. I usually feed a 16% grower finisher. Meat birds will eat a tremendous amount and convert food at a rate of approx. 3lbs grain and other food to 1lb gain. As they grow the rate slows but you get more meat and less bone so it evens out. We experimented at home and found that a store bought chicken (ready roasted) was about 50% meat and 50% carcass where as ours were 25-30% bone and the rest meat. A much better ratio.
So an 8lb chicken was about 6lb meat, and that's enough to feed our whole family and have left overs.

A note about feed. There are lots of recipes out there for mixing your own grain using a concentrate. Please follow the recommendations. A commercial feed is easy to use as you know it's already mixed properly. Depending on your area they are about 60% corn, 30% wheat and also may contain barley, oats, alfalfa, grit, fat and vitamins and minerals. When mixing your own you should aim for about 16% protein, or 18% during the very coldest months of the year. Keeping your feed fresh requires keeping it for short periods of time, in a sealed container like a tote or garbage can in a cool and dark place. You basically want to keep out the bugs, mice and rats, and use it before the oil start going rancid. The longer you leave it, the more the vitamins and minerals are lost and these are things you are paying for so you want them to be used to promote the health of your flock, as well as the health of your wallet.

So now to layers. The usual practice if you decide not to raise your own chicks, is to buy pullets. A pullet is a young hen about 18 weeks old who hasn't started laying yet or is just getting started. This is good because you get all girls, and yes only the girls will lay eggs. Most breeds begin laying between 18-22 weeks of age. You can just bring home your birds, set them up in your sanitized house with plenty of bedding, food and water, and wait. It's important to provide a nest box for every 5 chickens for them to lay in. It should have clean soft bedding in the bottom so they can feel comfy and it'll help keep the eggs cleaner. There are many different box types from the roll-aways which collect the eggs, to wooden boxes 18" square, to milk crates turned on their sides. As long as the top and sides are covered, hens don't seem to much mind where they lay. You can encourage them to lay in the boxes if they are elevated. Mine are mounted against the side of my house and there is an access door so I can collect the eggs from outside without entering the hen house. It's about waist height and the hens have no trouble flying the 2 or 3 feet needed, infact they appreciate the privacy. They will lay where it's safe, so having a fake egg, rock, or golf ball just sitting there encourages them to add their egg to the pile. It may sound weird but it works. I have 4 nest boxes and they really only use their favourite 2. Go figure. Your hens will lay usually in the morning, though there are exceptions to the rule. In this region it's common practice to shut up you hens for the night with feed and water and then not let them out again until late morning or noon and give them the afternoon and evening to range. This has the benefit of avoiding a fox or raccoon who's going home after a night of hunting and means your eggs will be in the nest instead in some out of the way place like under the shed or in the bushes. Eggs in a yard attract rats and other undesirable pests, not to mention they will quickly begin to stink! We discovered this when we moved into a trailer once where they had kept chickens. In the hot weather a horrid smell was emitted from under the front porch. We thought something had crawled under and died. Further investigation turned up 4 or 5 eggs left over from the previous occupants. PHEW!!!

Dual Purpose birds are just that, good for meat and eggs. The roosters will get to be a big enough size that you can eat them and the hens will lay eggs though not as many as a layer breed. They often tend to be hardier and will go broody which means they will fluff out and sit on a nest of eggs for 21 days give or take a day. Having a hen raise the chicks or removing them and raising them yourself in a brooder are your choices and everyone has a preference. I've not done it any other way than using the brooder because I've always had layers up till now and they've never gone broody on me. I'm still waiting.

Now it's time for a confession. I started writing this several days ago and have never had time to post it. So I'm going to do that in a few minutes. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have as I realize this is incomplete. I'm going to work on it a little more in between watching kids and having a night away this weekend. (We're going to walk on the ferry, take the bus and go see Cirque Du Soleil)

Giggles and Squiggles

It's crazy round here right now. We have Jack and Madylin over for the days, Chris, Jordan, Kate and Meghan, (Jordan is back from camp on Hornby Island this afternoon) plus Annie and Autumn, and also my friend Linda is visiting with her 2 boys Adnan and Rohan. It's a madhouse! But fun. Right now Linda is out touring around with the boys in her nice new car, and the kids here are doing crafts and building planes and other various projects. There's chalk on the driveway, planes in the livingroom, and happy kids all over. We made juice popsicles but they won't be ready until this afternoon and the kids already had a snack so they're not too bad right now. Still, having all these kids, especially ones that don't sleep is tiring! So my hat is off to mums who do this everyday. Life at the homestead continues, and I wouldn't change it. Except maybe wish for less bickering. Laundry and dishes await and I think my landlady is coming for an inspection tomorrow so I have to clean up the kid and my rooms and also Steve is going to shampoo the carpets. Brian is popping over tonight too which should be interesting. Off now to make some progress with the house and work. Bye!

The Grape Experiment

We are taking cuttings from our resident grape vines and are going to try 3 different methods and document the success of each. Partly out of curiosity, and partly because we are practical and want to guarantee success. We are renting our current home so we want to take some of this vine with us. We currently have 2 other cultivars of table grape (as opposed to the tart wine grapes) and will possibly have fruit off our 3 year old specimen this year. I'll pinch out any flowers that develop on my younger vines so the vine will put it's energy into developing it's root system which is in my opinion better for the vine. Our cuttings right now are in a glass jar of water, and in between the tomato plants in the planters on my deck. I cut green cuttings and left one leaf on each. I cut the leaf in half if it was large to reduce the amount of water lost while the cutting develops roots to support itself. I keep them moist, and we'll see what happens. They don't appear to be wilting but I will leave them until after I dig out the tomatoes unless there is obvious growth and then I may carefully prick them out and pot them individually. Our lease is up in March so we may have to move in the winter and it's easy to move pots with dormant vines in them. I may take some stem cuttings this winter too and heel them into moist sand. The next cuttings I am going to try are green cuttings with rooting hormone. I'll let you know how they turn out. If they all work, I could end up having several hundred vines so guess what you're getting for Christmas!

Today another batch of beans is going in the garden. Royal Burgundy and also yellow wax. I was thinking of another row or 2 of peas but the weather may be too warm. The corn is growing but not amazingly well. I think it's not getting enough heat and water maybe as it is a little sheltered by the kiwi vine. Same for some of the squash. I watered them separately to make sure the soil moisture in the garden is constant and we'll see if it makes a difference. It should be obvious in a week. I'm going to put down another drip hose and see if that helps. Drip hoses placed along the rows of plants are good because they waste less water than an overhead sprinkler that loses so much due to evaporation. They also put the water where you want it, at the roots, and so the leaves stay dry thereby having less fungus problems, and the weeds don't get watered. When we had our big prairie garden in Alberta, we spaced the rows further apart and ran drip hoses on our low pressure well. Very few weeds grew between rows which saved on a lot of raking and hoeing. In fact we just drove the rototiller up and down a couple of times and that was it. It soon got too hot and dry for the weeds to germinate. We still had to weed between the individual plants but it was minimal due to the shading of the veggies not allowing weeds to get started much. Another method is intensive planting (like the french intensive method) which uses soil preparation and shading to control weed growth and allows more harvest per area than traditional methods. As for watering your row garden, you can leave drip hoses on a maturing garden over night and give the roots the benefit of a good deep soaking. I used to water only once a week, but for 12-24 hours. When germinating seed I found it best to plant during expected wet weather or to overhead sprinkle to keep moisture around the level of the seeds to aid germination and make sure they don't dry out.

I am going to turn the chicken compost today and should be able to use it in the garden in another week or two. It's earmarked for the potatoes. I started brussels sprout seed yesterday as well as watermelons and beans. They're on the deck. I need to finish planting tomatoes out today and then think about what I'm going to put in my winter garden. I figure the watermelons will mature on the deck (hot and south facing) even in September and I planted an early maturing variety. That's a good tip for end of season planting, plant varieties that mature quickly, the ones you'd normally plant early in the spring before your main season crops. They have a better chance of maturing in the shorter growing period in the fall. Peas, spinach and lettuce all do better in cooler weather so I plant them in spring and fall. And if the peas get nipped too badly by the frost before I get all the peas picked, I just dig them under as green manure. Anyways, I'm off outside in my straw hat and sunscreen while it's cool and the house is calm.

Happy Gardening!

The KIwi Vine Mystery is solved

The reason the vines produced poorly last year has become evident.. As you know, kiwi vines most commonly need to be planted male and female so as to ensure fertilization of the female flowers. Although I should point out that there is at least one cultivar that is self fertile and will grow here. Well I went out to cut the vines back and see about maybe trying to propagate them and found that while the female vines are going crazy with long luxuriant growth, the male one has very little and I didn't see any flowers although they could be hidden up in the canopy. I guess this is the part where you ask "how do you tell the difference between the male and female vines and flowers?" Most vines purchased from a nursery will be marked. If not you'll have to wait until flowering. The female flowers are white with yellow centres and have white centre filaments that protrude. The male flowers look the same but without the white filaments in the middle. They look like a normal flower with white petals and a yellow centre. So that explains a lot. Maybe it's time for a new male vine. I'm still going to root some cuttings and I can pick up a new male vine at the nursery if I cannot get one rooted here. I am going to get some more rooting hormone as mine is currently AWOL. It's one of those things I know I packed but now I need it I cannot find it. It will also help my grape vine cuttings develop callus quicker. Callus is the white part that forms on cut pieces and sometimes along the sides. It is from the callus that the roots develop. Grape vines need a certain temp for callus to form but once it's formed the roots will develop in cooler temperatures. More on this later.

My friend Linda and her 2 boys are on their way here today. They're staying until next Tuesday and it'll be really great to see her again. It's been 4 years nearly. I think. My brain is a little fuzzy this morning. Right now she's in Kelowna and heading this way so we should see them this evening. I should get going and sweep and then tackle the kids room. And the laundry. Wish me luck! Steve and Chris are helping Dad and Janet move into their new place today so they are gone until this evening also and Annie and Autumn are coming over as well. It's going to be a house full!

The Simple Life Begins

There are so many books, articles and websites about permaculture, sustainability, self sufficiency etc that I've decided to focus more on the benefits of living a simpler life. Maybe you'll find something inspiring. Maybe we can laugh together at the blunders I make. But most of all I hope you enjoy reading this.

So a brief re-cap of who I am. Hi I'm Elizabeth. I'm 33 and have 4 children living at home from 4 - 11 years. Plus grandkids and friends who drop in regularly. Our family recently moved from a 16 acre homestead to a rural/suburban neighbourhood and into a rented house with a small garden plot, spectacular views and about a half acre of shale, steep hills and heavy tree cover. So not a lot of usable space. We raise chickens for meat and eggs in a shed and run that is now half run and half garden. The garden was terribly neglected and overgrown with weeds and thick brambles. Buried in there though we found some berries, a few odd roses, 3 kiwi vines and 2 large well established grape vines. Time will tell how much they bear and the type of grapes. There are a dozen fruit trees but they are badly planted in areas with inadequate sunlight and are dying a slow death basically. We may see a little fruit if we can keep the birds off it. Still, this house has somethings we've not had in a few years like municipal water and electric baseboard heat. It is a far cry from our trailer with a woodstove and well that runs dry for months in the summer. I've lived and worked on farms for a while though I was raised in the city. I love the country and want to get back there. I've always been interested in self sufficiency and my appetite was fueled by books mainly by John Seymour, without a doubt the father of the self-sufficiency movement and a very practical man and writer. I love his books and his no nonsense approach.

So here we are. Trying to be more independent and self reliant. How about you? Where are you at? If you're just starting out and thinking about how wonderful it will be to get back to the land I wish you luck, truly. It's an admirable goal. I'll tell you one thing about homeasteading though. It's not for the faint of heart or weak of back. It's hard work, and lots of it at inconvenient times. But the joys and rewards are worth it.

Question: Is going back to the land or seeking a simpler way of life just a cop out? OR is it going to become a necessity? Do you think it means giving up running water? Electricity? Your car? Growing your own veggies and having chickens running around your yard?

Well living a simpler way of life can encompass one or all or even none of those. A simpler life is just that... more simple. It doesn't necessarily mean giving up every convenience. What it does mean is eliminating things or expectations in your life that are not bringing you happiness or fulfillment or meeting your needs. In todays world we are so over stimulated, stressed, and over scheduled that we fail to see the joy in simple things because we're frankly exhausted. Sound familiar?

But where do you start?

Ok, so you recognize there's a problem. It could be that your relationships are strained and your kids never see you. Maybe your job is demanding so much from you that it's making you sick. Or have you just reached a point where you've realized that "money can't buy happiness"? Your quantity of life (ie. material possessions, vacations, fancy cars, nice house) isn't a quality life. It's just empty and the stress of trying to maintain your standard of living is wearing you down. Now what?

Decide where you'd like to be in 6 months, a year, 5 years. And be flexible because your attitude and expectations will change over time. While it's good to set long term goals, you also need to set some short term attainable goals, and 3 is the magic number. It's really hard to try to change everything at once, especially if you want this to be a permanent change and not just a "thing you tried one month". SO set 3 goals to work on at one time, in addition to your long term goals. YOu'll often find that your short term goals are the baby steps to achieving your long term goals. Once you've accomplished a goal give yourself a pat on the back or if it didn't quite work out, figure out why, learn a lesson from it and move on. If you're homesteading there's no time for regrets. Just learn from your mistakes and try something else. Perhaps you need more research. Perhaps a different way of doing it, or maybe something different all together is in order. It's up to you to figure it out.

So what are your goals? My long term goals are these:

Own a piece of land 8+ acres with a source of water, and a comfortable house.

Raise and grow most of my own food. I say 'most' because I cannot grow chocolate more's the pity.

Be debt free. A mortgage is ok for the short term.

Have time to really enjoy being with my family, particularly my children and grandchildren.

Here are my 3 current short term goals.

1. Sort, de-junk the house, and only keep what is essential. Details on this to follow in the coming weeks. Needless to say, a Garage Sale is in my future.

2. Get my second crop of lettuces, peas, beans and melons planted. And continue caring for the garden by putting up a pea fence and fertilizing this week.

3. Set up a schedule of activities for all the kids and register the kids for a one week program each this summer.

There's so much more to write but best leave it for tomorrow. In the coming days as time allows (I'll have 10 kids in the house, so maybe not a lot) I'd like to tell you about : What's in my garden and why. How to raise chickens and look after them. Deer and other garden pests. Sources of heat for your home. Edible berries and their uses. Propagating grapes and kiwi vines. Victorian gardening methods we can still use today.

Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think.

Nova Scotia...Cheap land but is it worth it?

We've been looking at places for sale in and around Nova Scotia. Why? Well for several reasons the most obvious being that we are still looking at moving out of town and homesteading somewhere we can actually afford to buy the land and work on our goals. But there are so many things to consider. Availability of work. Cost of Living. Access to social groups, church, school programs etc. Weather. Availability of arable land and water. The list is very long and complicated as most lists tend to become as you study and research. 

So I don't know what's going to happen. Here we can work and save and try to buy a place in a few years hopefully. We'll be past divorces, bankruptcy, have our business established and hopefully have a sizable down payment in the bank. That's if land prices don't keep rising so fast that we can never catch up. 

One of our main considerations is that we love our children and want to be close to them. Part of homesteading is the social aspect of developing the relationships with the people you live and work with and that's never more important than with your own family. So how does that work if you move out of town? My idea of a perfect homestead is one big enough for all of us. Multiple generations living and working side by side towards a common goal. With family meals once a week and celebrations as they come up. Now this doesn't mean we all live like sardines in a can, No, it means that we all make decisions that are right for our own family units first, and for the family as a whole second. And adjustments will have to be made of course, we're humans living in proximity with each other and that always means making allowances and being kind and patient. But we have a common goal and that's a better quality of life for ourselves and for our children. We want them to learn that it's not buying things to make you happy, it's about being happy with what you've got and feeling good about doing something yourself and doing a good job.

So here's how things are on our urban homestead this week. 

We're going to be over run with kids. Current head count will be 6 on Monday, 8 Tuesday and 10 for the rest of the week. Bring on the craft supplies! It's going to be fun but busy! Linda and the boys will be here sometime tomorrow or Monday so we have to get the house tidied up a little more and start thinking about getting the garage sale stuff sorted out. Heaven knows we need the room! Go figure, we get a big house and manage to fill it. Well, time to prioritize and downsize. We have a lot of junk and stuff we no longer need, and there are some things we don't have that would be really helpful, garage sale here we come. We might even be able to afford to get to dad and Janet's wedding in August. Or buy some more chickens, or food storage.

Speaking of food storage, we've been doing alot of reading about Peak Oil. There is SO much info out there it's not even worth putting on this blog. Now this isn't something unknown to me. My Dad has told me and educated me about this for years. So talking with Steve about it has been really interesting. He stays up a lot later than I do so he reads a lot on the net and tells me about it the next day. There seems to be basically 2 camps. The Doomsday people who think we'll be back to growing our own food and living by our wits and have roving bands of bandits and anarchy, and those who say it's all a bunch of boloney and that nothing bad is going to happen. Now I could spend the next hour telling you why someone would be alarmed, or how it inspires investor confidence to hear that the Oil and Gas is profitable and increasing production etc. but I won't. You can certainly do that yourself if you feel so inclined. It has helped put some things into perspective for us though.

What do we really need for food storage? Well, the first steps are these: 

1. determine what we already have.

2. determine what we need and how we will store it, especially considering we know we have to move again in a year and food storage is HEAVY!!!

3. store water. We don't have a well, we're on municipal water so we're going to need to store some. We already have a few bottle but it's estimated you need a gallon per person per day minimum and that doesn't include cooking and hygiene, so more would be good. I did find some 55 gallon barrels online for about $700 for 4 barrels. That should do our family for about a month, and longer if we ration water and use non potable water ie. ocean, fish pond etc for washing our hair. We'll see. We have some of those 18l jugs right now that need to be cleaned and sterilized and we should just use them and store them in the dark. They will keep for a year that way with no extra preservation needed since we already have chlorinated water. If it wasn't, I'd add a tsp. of plain household bleach to them. I know it sounds gross to drink bleach but if you take out the water you need and then pour it back and forth between 2 glasses to sort of aerate it, the chlorine disperses and it tastes much better. Trust me it helps! It's like powdered milk, if you add a very small amount of vanilla to it once you've mixed up your jug it really improves the flavour and makes it taste more like fresh milk.

The chickens continue to lay. We had one hen inexplicably die a few weeks ago but the others seem just fine. Infact one of ours lays twins about 5 times a week. We get a huge egg and it has a double yolk. Very nice! The other girls I've got coming up are 2 dark brahmas and 1 buff orpington. We also have 3 dark brahma roosters so one or two of them will have to go pretty soon to the local poultry swap. I was thinking today that turkeys would be nice but our basement is full of stuff so I have nowhere to brood them. Maybe in a few weeks I'll pick up a few. I do love turkeys. 

I took several dozen grape cuttings last week and put half in water and half in the tomato planters on my back deck. We'll see which do better. I am also going to take some kiwi cuttings this week and mark the various colours of foxglove so I can  collect the seeds once they're dry.

I'm going to do a bunch more research but have figured out that to be sustainable, our family needs the following acreages:

2 acres of established woodlot for furniture and firewood.

2 acres of pasture/orchard. This for a cow, horses, and other livestock such as chickens and turkeys to free range on. The one acre to be rotated and the other in permanent orchard

1 acre for the farm buildings and driveways 

1 acre for the kitchen garden

2 acres for staple crops and grains. ie. potatoes, corn, turnips, barley, wheat, carrots

So there you have it. In an ideal world I'd like 8+ acres with at least one good brook or stream running through it and room for my grape vines, animals, a nice little house, orchard and gardens. I'm taking donations if you're interested!

I've had some experience Homesteading already and also worked out on a dairy farm in Alberta so i have limited experience with cows. I mostly just milked and tended the calves. I've raised sheep, goats, poultry and children in BC and would like to keep doing the same for years to come. I have a willing partner who is handy and inventive, both excellent skills for a homesteader as you have to often think on your feet and fashion a solution out of available materials. Now all we need is the right piece of land and the money to buy it. 

It's almost 1 am and I have church in the morning then cleaning all afternoon so I should go. I could keep talking for hours but I won't keep you any longer. Good night!

AHH! 2 weeks gone and no time to write. Well, that's not entirely true, I had time and chose to do different things. Like have a vacation.

We're back today, sort of, and enjoying Canada Day. For the past few days we've been staying at Brother and Sister Stussi's resort called Qualicum Bay Resort. It was good and the kids enjoyed sleeping in tents. We discovered that the kids tents re indeed waterproof as Meghan threw up in the middle of the night. Every mothers dream whole camping. 

And it was HOT!!! I mean, 36 celcius in the tents does tend to make you get out of bed. There's a fantastic swimming hole, more like a man made lake really, and you can take out your boat, inflatable, swim, paddle, splash to your hearts content and it's huge so nobody really bothers anyone else. 

There was a pancake breakfast this morning and we all went including the kids in between trips to the park. I swear, as soon as they made friends, we hardly saw them at all except to ask us about food! Lol! I did miss Chris though. It was weird being out without him. He's working for Grandad this weekend at the Mini-Golf. 

Steve and I had a nice visit with Hans last night and chatted for ages about how he basically bought a swamp with water rights to his spring and a ramshackle motel, and now it's a lovely resort thanks to a series of lucky breaks but more importantly, 16 years of hard work. It's awesome to see one man's vision come true and that hard work really can pay off.

I've gotta run but more details later about the new self-sufficiency stuff happening in our lives.