Fortunately, we’ve been having some periodic, gentle rains that have actually been measurable, as opposed to those rare .017 of an inch, formerly this summer. And the temperatures have been nice too — in the 70’s during the day and low 50’s at night. The gardens have sure responded well. Will said in two weeks I’ll be canning lots of Cowboy Candy as our jalapeño plants are setting lots of tiny little peppers. Yea!
Since we were going to teach another seed saving class yesterday evening, I asked Will to go out and pick another ripe Sweet Granite muskmelon as I’d seen some approaching ripeness the day before. Oh, here he came on the ATV, with the whole front rack full of them! Wow! We took a couple to the class, where we all got to enjoy eating some. Folks were amazed at how different they tasted from store-bought muskmelons. Great taste is another benefit from growing your own, plus you know they’re not going to be contaminated with chemicals or doused with evil bacteria. That’s getting scarier every day, as recalls are coming for nearly everything in the store. To top it off, I just saw that lab-manufactured eggs are now going to be added to baked goods and mixes in many of the big box stores. ISH! First meat, then chicken, now eggs for Pete’s sake. As if chemicals and bacteria in boughten food isn’t enough. And they get all upset because some of us radical homesteaders actually drink raw milk?
We thank God every single day for being able to live the life we do. Yes, we have to work — a lot, actually. But the rewards are many, evidenced at every meal we eat. Our panty is full, our freezers are full, the gardens and orchard are bursting with produce, the hay yard is full, with much more to haul home. Our woodshed is not full, but we have piles of dry firewood, some cut up and split, some in pole length, waiting for splitting; that’ll happen in a week or two, when the haying is finished. Yes, we are, indeed, greatly blessed! And I truly hope everyone who has the ability will do what they can to become more self-reliant.
— Jackie
Maybe that’s why I don’t feel good
I got to get going – alot to do before it gets hot today
Take care ❤️
Looks like fall is over for awhile, we had a couple weeks of it, now back to upper 90’s day and upper 70’s nightime. Hope the few things I planted for a fall garden survive! Thanks for letting us know about the eggs. I very seldom buy mixes of any kind, but if I do I’ll sure check the labels! Best is grow/produce your own or buy local if you can. Cook from scratch whever possible. Keep hoping, praying, keep faith. And take time to relax on the porch or wherever your heart leads you!
Whew, that’s hot! I hope it cools back down soon. I just checked our peppers in the hoop houses. They took a break because of the heat but are now setting tons of peppers. Yea!!
I have been buying flour that is chemical free and having my bought wheat berries milled into flour. I am going to buy my own flour mill to grind my wheat berries. Cheaper and I can stock up on wheat berries since the wheat crop was bad this year. I have not eaten any bread from the grocery store in the past year. I like to make my own cookies and cakes from fresh ground wheat, taste much better. The news was talking about eggs from a lab, make me sick to my stomach thinking about eating these. Now it will take extra time to read labels in the grocery store to make sure we are not buying any of those crap.
Yep, I hate shopping anyway but having to read labels to make sure we’re getting food instead of crap is disheartening to say the least. We bought several hundred pounds of organic wheat, some to grind and some to plant. Now we have a combine, I’m excited about next summer’s crops.
I took the plunge and ordered a flour mill this morning. A little costly but I believe will be worth it. Looking forward to your wheat growing adventure next year.
Who did you order your wheat from, that is a lot.
I got it through my friend, Sherri, who got it from a neighbor of her son’s near Elk River, Mn. I’ll ask her.
I forgot to tell you, on the 25th of August the same day my chickens got caught 5 of them. A sighting of a mountain lion was sighted by the Big Muddy River.
I only live like a mile away as the crow flies.
So I imagine that what got them.
With soybeans and the old orchard in horse weeds and some kind of tall grass and a old grainary that cat has a lot of places to hide.
Sort of spooky around here now and they are protected by the state of Illinois.
Take care ❤️
Honestly, I really doubt that a mountain lion got your chickens. They’re pretty timid about going around buildings. It was more likely a raccoon or fox. Both have gotten our chickens in the past.
Everett thanks for the reply to Jackie
It made my day.
Today I planted 2 hills of Black Beauty Zucchini and tomorrow 2 hills of yellow squash and then Cascadia peas and green beans.
Of course spinach, lettuce, radishes and kale and red Swiss Chard.
I believe I am going to have to plant a fall garden from now on.
I don’t know the temperature on the South side of the house but I was really sweating.
But we all have to keep trying even if things are a little discouraging at the moment.
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Take care everyone!
Yep, we homesteaders need to constantly adjust what we do to suit our circumstances and the weather. Like I planted sweet corn 3 times, not knowing if we have time enough for it to get ripe enough to eat. I do know if I didn’t plant it, we wouldn’t get any! Hang in there and persevere! You will be rewarded.
Providing for yourself is hard work-and not for the faint of heart. Today I’m taking a break-doing only what has to be done and sitting in a rocking chair. I’m enjoying the great day (but I do that each day). It’s good to relax and watch the clouds. After a day of rest I’ll hit again. Everywhere I look I see something to do which can be overwhelming. I make lists and work off that. It’s funny the same things I don’t want to do keep staying on the list. People think food grows/appears in the grocery store or fast food restaurants. Treasure the flavor and security of your home grown food.
Oh boy, we do treasure the flavor and security of having our own home grown food!! A thousand times over. It’s funny, because you’re taking a relaxing day and so were we. Sort of. Well, okay, this morning. We sat on the front porch and watched our dogs, Gypsy and Sarge, the 170 pound English Mastiff, playing in the grass. It’s hard to tire out Gypsy but Sarge was doing his best! They were rolling around on the ground, jumping up and playing chase me. It was so funny. But, this afternoon, I cleaned up the old wood box, which was kind of falling apart, cleaned around where it had been, even mopping. Then we put in the larger, more solid wood box that son, David, made for me when he was 14. Besides nostalgia, it holds more and is built out of 2″ x 6″ lumber, not one inch. It had been on the enclosed, heated back porch that had been our main seed room until we transferred the business on August 1st. Now we’re cleaning it out to make other uses of it like enlarging our living room a few feet and having a place to over-winter some big plants.
May the Lord bless you extra, Jackie and Will! You have been such a refreshing, helpful blessing to us for so many years!
It scares me to think of lab grown anything!! And our next generation may not know anything different. Keep homesteads & keep praying!
That scares me too. After all, many modern kids don’t know where eggs or carrots come from. Honestly! We’ve had many groups tour our homestead and we had to actually show them carrots grew in the ground and eggs…well, you know where eggs come from. Ha ha. We pray about it every day and try our best to educate everyone we can about real food.
I remember taking a young boy from my church to help gather eggs one time. He said that he thought the eggs grew in the garden. Shocked me, but that’s the reality of our world.
Jackie, that front porch looks inviting! I am so jealous!
What those far removed from the source don’t realize that raw milk would be sold in local area – also known as buyers know where you live and would be upset if they got sick. My relatives go back to the 1660s here in the US – all drank raw milk. I drank it when my grandparents had dairy cows.
Earlier this summer I stocked up on paper goods – made more storage room and filled it up. They say the cost of toilet paper is likely going to rise so be prepared.
Selena,
TP again? Shades of the pandemic!!!
Yes, I try to stock up on many items when on sale, even if I don’t need them. Prices are only continuing to climb.
Because of the extreme tariffs and the cost of diesel, which fuels those big semis and trains that deliver food and other things, you can bet everything is going to go up. Take into consideration too, that the farmers who raise the food in the stores fuel their tractors with diesel (like we do!), some buy fertilizer (which we don’t), herbicide (don’t), pesticide (which we also don’t) and supplies, all a much higher prices. Many are going bankrupt this year because of it. Like the cattle ranchers who are experiencing drought and horrific grass fires, wiping out cattle, pasture, hay and feed, not to mention equipment and structures. Plenty of reason to stock up and grow what you can….not to mention all the recalls.
Eggs – I can’t believe what they are going to do next!
Good grief.
I love your front porch!
Take care 💖
I was totally horrified when I read that about lab eggs, especially when they’ll sneak them in baked goods and mixes that look so “normal” to folks buying them. Sort of like sneaking GMO ingredients into our food chain. I quit buying corn, vegetable and soybean oil years ago and read every label on everything I buy so we don’t end up eating those icky, chemical-laden ingredients! Hey, did you know they spray Roundup over wheat fields when it’s almost ripe, so it ripens all at once? True! Yep, enjoy your bread.
Roundup!? Still! what will it take to stop making roundup? so growing our own wheat and grinding the berries are our only option?? Eggs from Lord only knows What. people are no longer eating food. they re eating plastic. What happened in our oceans with all the plastic- marine life is in danger. i no longer eat fish.
Yesterday i started my dry bean harvest. looks good .thresh it out when it cools off. everyones harvest is so important in these times. Prayers for a good harvest all