Jerseys

Here is Samuel, our latest Jersey steer.

Aren't Jersey calves cute?!

Here's his mother, Bluebell, in a funny pose.

We have raised some of the Jersey steers for meat but sold this little guy to a happy neighbor. In case you are wondering, Jersey meat is good. If you are wanting to breed your cows and heifers with a Jersey bull (or have them inseminated) in hopes that you will have more heifers, you will be happy with the meat when you have bull calves. The meat is more like veal and is very tasty. We've noticed that it takes a little more time to get them to size (for butchering) and they don't have as much meat as the beef breeds, but it will work out fine for those of you that are wanting to increase the number of milkers that you have.

Deut. 28:4 "Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep."

Heritage Festival

How about this little fellow grinding corn with his mule? Too cute.

Something of interest.

Spinning wool.

These guys are BIG!

Blacksmithing.

Reenactors.

Wares for sale.

More wares.

Stone masons.

                         Playing beautiful music on a flute.

It was a blessing to talk to so many very-talented people and watch them at work.

Exodus 35:31 "And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in  knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship..."

Fun on the Farm

The before picture....
Years ago we started carving apple-head dolls in the fall. We lived in the suburbs at that time and would get apples from an older man that had an orchard. We would pick them ourselves and fill huge tubs of them for $5. This is how we were introduced to my favorite cooking apple: Wealthy. This apple used to be widely grown and was Minnesota's state apple. This type of apple makes the best pies and applesauce that you will ever taste, hands down. It's a little tart and is good for fresh eating, also.
Peel your apples (it's fun to try to peel them in one long strip without breaking it) and then carve. You can see that we even carve ears
:-) Dip them in water with lemon juice added to prevent  over-browning, and hold for thirty seconds or so. (I don't have an exact measure. This time I added the juice of two large lemons to 2 cups of water.) You can hang them to dry, put them on a rack, or place them on the windowsill of a north- or east-facing window.
When they are dry they will have formed very funny features. You can put them on a stick and make clothes or just enjoy them as they are. One year we varnished them to preserve them.
I'll post an after picture later so you can see how they turn out.
Hope you'll try this homestead fun!

Virtue and Security of the Lost Arts

I was very fortunate to have picked up a copy of the book "Home Life In Colonial Days" at a garage sale that was given by a couple that does reenactments. What a wonderful find!
This book was originally published in 1898, was written by Alice Morse Earle, and is full of useful information and helpful illustrations. There was so much in just the chapter on Flax Culture and Spinning alone that I was amazed. After listing the various influences that helped the Americans in their success in the War for Independence she makes this incredible statement: "we must never forget to add their independence in their own homes of any outside help to give them every necessity of life. No farmer or his wife need fear any king when on every home farm was found food, drink, medicine, fuel, lighting, clothing, shelter." This statement gives much food for thought.
She gives a thorough explanation on planting, preparing, and spinning flax for weaving into linen and says, "Few persons are now living who have ever seen carried on in a country home in America any of these old-time processes which have been recounted." This was 1898.
She records this quote from someone else: "Few have ever seen a woman hatchel flax or card tow, or heard the buzzing of the foot-wheel, or seen bunches of flaxen yarn hanging in the kitchen, or linen cloth whitening on the grass. The flax-dresser with the shives, fibres, and dirt of flax covering his garments, and his face begrimed with flax-dirt has disappeared; the noise of his brake and swingling knife has ended, and the boys no longer make bonfires of his swingling tow. The sound of the spinning-wheel, the song of the spinster, and the snapping of the clock-reel all have ceased; the warping bars and quill wheel are gone, and the thwack of the loom is heard only in the factory. The spinning woman of King Lemuel cannot be found."
What price (prices) have we paid for ease, speed, and convenience? I'm afraid many.
I've enjoyed this quote from Benjamin Franklin in his Poor Richard's Almanac and you may have, too:    "Many estates are spent in the getting,
           Since women for tea forsook spinning and knitting." :-)
In the revolt of feeling caused by the Stamp Act, the women of the colonies banded together in patriotic societies, agreeing to wear only garments made of homespun manufacture. I wonder how willing and able we are today? In many towns they gathered together to spin, and at the same time always had an appropriate sermon. A favorite text was:
Exodus 35:25 "And all the women that were wisehearted did spin with their hands."

Bits and Pieces

The drought has caused me to look at things in a different light. It's not that I haven't thought of these things before and not that in the back of my mind I always knew the possibility was there. But it has drawn everything into focus and its time to use the knowledge. Its also time to gain new knowledge, and instead of storing it away for future reference, put it to use now.
After having fed hay all of these years as routine, hay is hard to come by. And if you do find it, many people have raised the price to where you can't afford it. That's unfortunate for many reasons, but one we know is that things won't always be good where you're at.
Last year when Texas and Oklahoma were suffering so with the drought, and while some states were sending them hay for free or for a decent price, we heard that some people in a certain state were selling it to them for a much escalated price. Not only was I very disappointed to hear that they had done such a thing to people in need, but I thought about what a big mistake it was because you don't always find yourself on top. There are good times and there are bad. Sure enough, this state is having a severe drought this year and is dependent on other states for their hay. Maybe we are all learning to pull together for whatever is to come.
I have begun to look at our food and think about using every bit of it somehow. Did you know that in addition to using egg shells in your compost you can wash them and add them to soup for added calcium? Or that you can make a calcium supplement by letting those clean shells dry at room temperature then powdering them in a blender, food processor, or with a rolling pin and then adding apple cider vinegar to them? (This will foam so have it in a big enough container. Use 1 pint of vinegar to the shells of a dozen eggs.) Don't pour that potato water down the drain after boiling potatoes but use it for liquid when making your bread and you won't believe how it improves the texture. Use those broccoli stems to make broccoli soup and either eat the leaves or feed them to your animals. We don't care for the flavor of beets so we use the greens in smoothies ( the greens are loaded with so much good stuff that you only use a couple at a time) and use the beets to make beet kvaas. Beet kvaas is a fermented drink so not only are we getting the great nutrients but also the healthy bacteria. It does taste like beets so we put it in a small glass (you don't need much) and slam it down.
I have also become more deliberate in water usage. Things like using the wringer washer because not only do you only fill the washer with water one time for several loads, but you can let the water run out of the hose on plants or things that you want to water or catch it and use it wherever you need to. Another idea is to fill a sink or dishpan with water for rinsing your dishes instead of turning on the faucet each time. If you have used a dishpan (or other container) you can take the water outside and use it to water something. When using homemade soap, made with animal fats or healthy oils and no synthetic fragrances, to do your dishes you can add the used dishwater to the hogs' feed. The lye in the soap helps get rid of parasites.
It's interesting that these ideas used to be the norm for the way people did them. I guess things are coming full circle.

"He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessings shall be upon the head of him that selleth it." Prov. 11:26

Bits and Pieces

This has been one challenging growing year! We have been in a severe drought here this summer which means feeding hay since early June, using all of our hay, and trying to buy hay to feed when noone has any. The pastures were used up long ago. BUT! We were very blessed with a little under an inch of rain last night. What hope that brought! It also wasn't as hot today. We have been in the hundreds so many days this summer I've lost count. About a week ago I put a piece of gutter that had been given to us on the side of the big chicken coop to catch the runoff. It has a metal roof so the water is safer to use than it would be if it came off the shingled house roof. I put rain barrels at each end. I hurried out to look this morning and there was water in them! I know that God is very good and kind so the rain would come sometime. I  feel that we need to be deliberate about everything we do and not be wasteful or take things for granted.
Everything seems to be running a month or two ahead this year. Strawberries and peaches picked much earlier than usual and a couple of weeks ago I noticed that the insects were acting like they do in the Fall. I guess the most surprising thing has been that asparagus started coming up again the other day. That's something I've never heard of. We got more than ever this Spring due to the early warm weather but we've never had it come up again in the same year. I'm going to go ahead and plant Fall seeds now anticipating an earlier than normal one.
A lady that was visiting the other day is a geophysicist and said the earth was thrown off 4 inches by the earthquake in Japan. I could tell that this Spring because the sun was taking a different path. When you're outside a lot of the time you notice these things. We have very little shade now, even on the north side of the house. It worked out better for the neighbor because of the way their house is situated and they have had more shade, which was nice in this hotter than usual weather.
I want to share a recipe for a scrubbing cleanser that my daughter-in-love gave me. It works very well and is safe to use. Smells great, also. Mix baking soda and dishwashing liquid (I like a clear unscented one, but use what you have) to make a paste. Add grapefruit seed extract to kill germs, if desired. I then add orange essential oil, which also kills germs, and makes it smell wonderful. It's nice to use something scented with real oils and enjoy that smell while you clean.
Boots was in town and spoke with an older gentleman  who was selling bushels of his homegrown tomatoes. I was not only excited that someone was selling tomatoes in town but that he was selling them by the bushel! That's almost unheard of now.
Things are out of whack in every area now in our world, but this is  good opportunity for things to get back where they should be.

Psalm 82:5 "They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course." 

The Thread

I was speaking to a young mom this morning and she told me of her and her husband's desire to move to the farm. It caused me to think back to when we made the decision to move our family there. I told her that it was the best time of my life. And our goals were accomplished in our children. There were obstacles and difficulties but the good times far outweighed the bad. And they still do. If you know why you do what you do it will get you through the tough times. Ponder it often and search the Word and other writings for answers. She said that so far when they have made an offer on a place it hasn't gone through. So, as we all do, she wonders if they are on the right track. I told her it sounds like it just isn't time yet. But, if you put it in the Lord's hands it will be just the right timing when it all comes together. And when you are having those doubts that come when you are doing anything worthwhile, you will know that the Lord has taken you there.
There is a thread that runs through our lives that connects everything. Sometimes it is hard to see. It looks more like the broken scattered pieces of a mosaic to us. We see the mistakes and wrong turns and forget that our lives are in the hands of a loving God. He is working everything for our good. And one day we begin to see the pieces come together to form a beautiful picture and realize that God saw it that way all along.
This is a journey that we are on. But, a wonderful journey it is. A woman called the other day taking a Gallup poll and wanted to know how I would rate that day on a scale of one to ten with ten being the best. I told her any day that we are alive has to be a ten.
When you start to think about all of those things that you wish you had done differently step back and see the whole picture. See the thread that runs through it. See the mosaic.