Homestead Update

Time for a homestead update. It’s still mostly winter here on the farm… at least for the moment. However, spring is gradually creeping in. This is much earlier than I’m used to, so I’m delighted. What winter weather we’ve had has been short and relatively mild. I expect this is probably the last of it.

There is still much we can’t do until spring arrives for sure-and-certain, but we are making a little progress on our homestead goals.

Garden

The load of top soil finally came for our garden beds. Once the weather warms back up, probably next week, I think we can probably go ahead and plant a few early crops such as onions and peas.

Rebecca and Lyle brought some of the dirt over to our house and made flower beds for me on either side of the front porch. A friend had given me some gorgeous exotic poppy seeds last year that I want to plant there, along with some other bee-friendly flowers, and maybe some herbs.

Chickens

Rebecca’s hens have continued to lay all winter. This is at least the third winter she’s had chickens and they’ve always laid for her through the winter. She doesn’t keep a light on them, so we haven’t figured out what her “secret” is. She currently has 6 hens and she’s been getting 3-6 eggs a day.

She got her incubator and is getting it set up. She plans to put eggs in next week. If all goes well she should have baby chicks in about a month.

Bees

We decided to go forward with beekeeping. Our equipment came in a few weeks ago. Lyle got the hive boxes put together. Rebecca and I tried on our bee suits and pulled the smoker and other pieces of equipment out of the box, wondering what each thing was used for. Dad order two nucs of bees that are due in mid-May.

In the Kitchen

I’m making progress on my sour dough technique! Some loaves are better than others, but overall the quality of my bread is improving, so I’m pleased. I’m still keeping my sprouts going, but I’ve decided to not attempt kombucha just yet.

And just to cap off the country-living vibe, I finally convinced Lyle to put up a clothesline for me. Just because I love sun-dried bed linens.

Our recent lifestyle changes have not been without challenges, but it is definitely interesting to see what each day holds. Stay tuned for our next homestead update. Life is an adventure!