Wow, 2009 has been busy especially the last few months of it.  I have not been very good at keeping this site updated but with the gardening done, my focus has moved to other things not homestead related.

I am going to be posting more on what we are doing to get the garden ready for next year and I am going to be incorporating a couple of square foot gardens into the garden.

Randy is definitely not a square foot garden fan so this will be an experiment on my part to see what I can accomplish in the square foot gardens that we cannot in the regular garden.  I think I can eliminate two of our largest garden problems with the square foot garden.  Our number one problem was weeds.  I grew more grass in the garden than we had in the front yard.

The second problem was rabbits.  I lost 5 entire rows of green beans to the bunnies.  With a square foot garden, I can put some chicken wire around it easily so that the bunnies will have to eat something else.  This is an easy way to keep rabbits, dogs, crows, etc out of them.

I am also hoping to introduce Rosebud and a bit of mule powered gardening.  This will be a first for me and an almost forgotten art but it should be a fun project.  Rosebud needs a job and it will be a challenge for me to learn.

I can’t wait for 2010 to get here.  We have so much to look forward to this year.  I hope that everyone will join me in planning for a great year to come!

We have had about 2 or 3 inches of rain overnight so it is going to be wet.  I just can’t put it off any longer.  The lima plants are taking over the garden.  I guess they like the cooler weather.

I am going to be working full time which is great news for the budget and lousy news for the garden.  R can’t get out and pick so I will be picking evenings.  It’s a good thing.

I made soup yesterday with the soup pots I have in the freezer.  I added some frozen tomatoes and some okra.  The okra made it so thick that I can’t simmer it all day but boy is it YUMMY!

Be back soon!!

Welcome to the June 8, 2009 edition of carnival of homesteading.

Mary@SimplyForties presents Update on my Urban “Farm” posted at SimplyForties.

Julian Pollock presents The History of Shutters – From Marble and Straw Mats to Metal and Poly-Wood Slats | TheHistoryOf.net posted at The History Of – Blog, saying, “It’s a double benefit when one discovers that polywood style materials, developed to be a cost saver – also turn out to help reduce one’s carbon footprint. More households are turning to door and window shutters for protection against our increasingly unpredictable weather. So now there are eco-options using forest-saving polymers as well as sustainable wood as regulated by the FSC.”

Canning

Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: How to make Strawberry Jam posted at The Barber Bunch.

Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: Canning Class at Carriage Hill Metro Park posted at The Barber Bunch.

Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: How to make Sauerkraut posted at The Barber Bunch.

Vikki Lawrence-Williams presents Preserving Asparagus by Canning posted at Survival Cooking, Gardening and Emergency Preparedness Info, saying, “Asparagus is ready to harvest, but what can be done with it? Dehydrate it (http://www.survival-cooking.com/2009/05/preserving-asparagus-by-dehydrating.html) or preserve it by canning (http://www.survival-cooking.com/2009/05/preserving-asparagus-by-canning.html).”

Gardening

Yanic Arsenault presents Our garden –Year 2 : Eggshells, the wonder trash posted at Adventures into green.

Sandy Wong presents Guidelines and Basic Tips of Drilling Drainage Hole on Garden Container | Gardening on Cloud 9 posted at Gardening on Cloud 9, saying, “We know that good drainage is the key to healthy plants, but the containers that we find most attractive are often the ones without drainage holes. But we can drill the drainage holes by ourselves, and it is much easier than what most of us would expect. All we need is an electric drill and steady hands. And here, let me show you how to drill holes on our containers.”

Mother Hen presents Garden Update posted at Mother Hen.

The Family presents Planting tomatoes posted at Once Upon a Family, saying, “Get your tomatoes off to a good start”

Brian presents Super Sturdy Trellis posted at Meadowwood Garden, saying, “Need support? The Super Sturdy Trellis is inexpensive, easy to make and a hurricane couldn’t knock it down! Perfect for pole beans, peas, melons, cucumbers etc. Visit us to learn how to make yours!”

00FF00 presents Wildlife in your Garden posted at ooffoo, saying, “A member of the ooffoo community presents nine top tips on managing as well as encouraging natural wildlife in your garden.”

Miscellaneous

Chris presents Dealing with unwelcome guests in your house (part 2) posted at Home I Own, saying, “The rest of my article about dealing with spiders”

Brian McKay presents Is Now the Time to Buy a Home? posted at MonitorBankRates.com, saying, “Have you been sitting on the sidelines the past couple of years waiting for the housing bubble to deflate?”

Emma presents What is your child eating? posted at Baby-Log.

Preserving

Carolyn presents The Barber Bunch: How to Dry Tomatoes posted at The Barber Bunch.

Vikki Lawrence-Williams presents Preserving Rhubarb from the Garden posted at Survival Cooking, Gardening and Emergency Preparedness Info, saying, “Rhubarb isn’t just for pies and preserves. Dehydrate it, then this winter, sprinkle it in your oatmeal! http://www.survival-cooking.com/2009/05/preserving-rhubarb-from-garden.html”

Recipes

00FF00 presents Top 10 Vegetarian Soups posted at ooffoo, saying, “A member of the ooffoo community presents ten scrumptious veggie soup recipes to take you through the year, from summer watercress to winter minestrone.”

The Austerity Kitchen presents Fried Elderberry Blossoms posted at The Austerity Kitchen.

Heather Levin presents Easy Frugal Bread Recipe posted at The Greenest Dollar, saying, “This no-knead bread recipe is super easy and it’s made in a Dutch Oven. Lots of pictures for each step!”

Sahara Reins presents How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs posted at Fowl Visions.

Recycling

Yanic Arsenault presents Rethinking recycling – When you move, donate goods and share resources! posted at Adventures into green.

Sara presents Polliwogs and Doodles, unschooling, hands on learning, natural parenting, homeschooling, nutrition, gardening, baking, frugal living, foraging posted at Polliwogs and Doodles, saying, “Easy tutorial for making diapers out of recycled clothing!”

Sustainable Living

Joshua presents Tips for Learning during Summertime posted at Family and Parenting, saying, “Even though it is summertime, it is a good idea to keep your child’s mind active.”

Clea Danaan presents Happiness is Living the Farm Life in the Suburbs posted at Clea Danaan’s Intuitive Gardening Blog.

Nancy Miller presents Top 100 Blogs for DIY Home Improvement posted at Construction Management Degrees.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homesteading using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of homesteading, blog carnival.

After it was determined that he could not get out of bed by himself, we decided that he would have to be admitted to a nursing home.  This has broken all of our hearts but there was just nothing else we could do.  My mother has been there every day, sitting by his side, watching tv with him and reassuring him that everything was all right.

Last night, my mother and daughter arrived at BJC Medical Center and Nursing home to find the door locked and a sign on the door:  Closed due to the Swine Flu Outbreak in GA.  My mother burst into tears and demanded to see the administrator.  The administrator also refused her entrance.

Close to hysteria, my daughter finally convinced them to allow her to visit for long enough to explain to my father why they couldn’t stay and that they didn’t know when they would be able to come back.  My mother has been crying ever since.  The Swine Flu Outbreak in GA consists of 2 people on the other side of the state who traveled to Mexico.

I understand the need to protect patients from illness.  I understand how fragile the health is of some of the elderly in the nursing home.  I do not understand how they can quarantine a nursing home and refuse to admit people’s loved ones.

Admitting my father has been an extremely emotional and difficult decision.  He has terminal cancer and his doctor told us that he might have a few weeks to live.  Do they think that the Swine Flu is going to go away in a couple days?  Are they going to let my father die alone?

Editor’s Picks:

Tiffany Washko writes a really good article in Are You in Danger of Becoming Free? posted at Natural Family Living Blog.  If you are interested in gardening at ALL you need to read this one.

Lindsay tells us some ways to garden if you don’t have space.  How to Vegetable Garden… When You Live in Apartment posted at Off the Urban Grid.

Can you learn from chickens?  Sahara Reins can and she presents Ten Things I Have Learned from My Chickens posted at Fowl Visions.

Furniture out of boxes and other money saving ideas.   Silicon Valley Blogger presents How To Furnish Your House On Any Budget, Even For Free posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Thanks!”

An Irish Prayer:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Frugal Living

KCLau presents Learn Money Tips playing iMafia posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “About iMafia, an application for iPhone. How it is connected to real life in terms of personal finance and how to play the game.”

Good Luck on St Patricks Day

What’s good luck on Saint Patrick’s Day?: Finding a four-leaf clover (that’s double the good luck it usually is). Wearing green. (School children started this tradition of their own — they used to pinch classmates who don’t wear green on this holiday). Kissing the blarney stone.

Farm Animals

Stan Wrobel presents Homestead critters on your counter top. posted at Cottage and Yard.

Carole DeJarnatt presents Raising Chickens–Homemade Plans–another Chicken Feeder posted at Fowl Visions.

Fast St Patricks Day Fact: Believe it or not, the colour of St. Patrick was not actually green, but blue! In the 19th century, however, green came to be used as a symbol for Ireland.

Gardening

MomToCherubs presents Building Garden Beds posted at Simply Beck’s Bounty, saying, “We are adding some raised beds this year, and also some potato boxes. Here is the “building” and the “low down” on our projects.”

VikramKir presents How Create and Make a Garden! Tips to build your own garden! posted at Thoughtfully Vikram….

VegBox Recipes presents Growing Our Own: Update 3 from the New VegBox Garden posted at VegBox Recipes Blog, saying, “This latest dispatch from the veg-patch is a light-hearted review of the Spring ‘haps and mishaps of a newbie veggie-grower, who shares five key “lessons for novices” learned along the way.”

Vikki Lawrence-Williams presents Growing Turnips posted at Survival Cooking, Gardening and Emergency Preparedness Info, saying, “Here’s a great bit of info on how to grow turnips: including a bit of history, seeding, thinning and more. To post 2 days later is info on preserving turnips.”

Leorita Seneres-Velasquez presents Money-Saving Tip for the Day: Grow Fruits/Veggies in Your Yard posted at Money Matters.

Stan Wrobel presents Great homestead garden vegetable posted at Cottage and Yard, saying, “Here is a native American vegetable that would be a great addition to any homestead garden.”

Cindy S presents HR 875 Regulates Homesteaders, Gardeners and Organic Farmers posted at Small Homestead, saying, “This new bill will regulate all food production including small farmers, homesteaders, gardeners. Take a moment to read the bill and let the Ag committee know what your thoughts are.”

Miscellaneous

Jeonard Cook presents Learn How to Sell Your Own Home: Advertise like a Pro posted at How to Sell Your Own Home.

Buck Weber presents Use What You Have and Cut the Clutter posted at THE BUCK LIST, saying, “Using what you have on hand before going out and purchasing something is one of the basic rules of living frugally. This can be a great way to both save money and get rid of clutter.”

Brian McKay presents Trillions Lost in Household Wealth posted at MonitorBankRates.com, saying, “No wonder we are in the worst economic recession of the past 50 years.”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Lower Your Car Insurance Rates! How To Cut Insurance Premiums In Half posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Part of being self-sustainable is to live frugally. How about working on ways to cut your family’s insurance payments?”

The Smarter Wallet presents Cheap Meals You Can Cook At Home To Save Money! posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “Thanks!”

Shot presents How to fix Mark to Market posted at Conunderground.com, saying, “Original ideas to fix mark to market”

Recipes

Rani presents Irish Potato Candies posted at Christ’s Bridge, saying, “Need something sweet for St. Patrick’s Day?”

Sustainable Living

Heather Levin presents Composting Toilets: All You Ever Wanted To Know | The Greenest Dollar posted at The Greenest Dollar, saying, “All you need to know about varies types of composting toilets, including how to make your own.”

Nancy Muller presents Learn-a-New-Skill Challenge; Sourdough; Recession Depression Therapy posted at Recession Depression Therapy, saying, “Join the fun, as we learn a new skill together. Or, please, lend your expertise.”

Charles presents Electric Solar Panels posted at How To Make Electricity.

I am going to close this edition with an Irish Blessing:

“May you always have…
Walls for the winds, A roof for the rain
Tea beside the fire, Laughter to cheer you
Those you love near you
And all your heart might desire.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homesteading using our carnival submission form.  The carnival of Homesteading is looking for hosts for future editions.  Please email me if you are interested.  Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of homesteading, blog carnival.

It has been decades since the farm was truly a working farm and the next year or two will be a learning experience for me and probably for Randy as well.  The economy has changed small  farming as the cost involved is far greater than it was in years past.  Our goal is to become more self sufficient.

A month or so ago, we were grocery shopping and I picked up a small can of green beans.  They were priced at $1.09.  I knew that prices had been rising but it seems like just yesterday that I paid less than 50 cents a can.  I looked around and all of the vegetable prices had doubled from what I remembered.  In discussing it on the way home, we decided that our first priority for the spring was to plant a garden and can or freeze enough to last us through the year.

The rest of the farm will grow slowly.  I am determined to have chickens and a milk goat.  We would also like to add a calf and a pig or two for meat. We live simply now and growing our own food will not only insure the quality but also hold our costs down.

This website will include information on gardening, canning, recipes, raising chickens, pigs, goats, etc. and any other things that we can come up with to become more self sufficient.