Harvest, Hatching, and Good Health

Is it just me, or does time seem to be flying for everyone?  It seems like Christmas was just yesterday, then baby Darren was born, then winter was over, kidding season came and went, and......

Wow.

Spring is still here although our seasons are a bit mixed up.  With all of our new activities and old aching bodies the day just isn't as long as it once was.  That's okay, when you move slower you appreciate things more.

We finally got the second 2013 pig into the freezer.  He wasn't hogzilla...but he was a good 280 pounds.... (WARNING: dead pig picture.....scroll quickly if you plan to get angry or grossed out)....

My meat saw has a problem, so we were not able to make many chops this time....but that's okay because I chopped the dickens out of that last one.  I ended up using my trusty sawsall for most of the bone cuts.....

I also de-boned most of the roasts, the ham, and the neck.....and went on to make stock with them.  I've never made pork stock, but any time I can put up some stock from our home-grown animals I don't turn down the chance.  Here's the pan of bones I used for the stock.  I started by slow roasting them for several hours until they were a rich golden brown...

Then they went into the stock pot with carrots, celery, onions, garlic....and slow boiled for about 36 hours.  It turned out to be 6 quarts of the loveliest stock I've ever made.  I'll have to do that again!

I'm also making a lot of sausage from this pig.  We are running pretty low on breakfast sausage and summer is coming up we also need brats and Italian sausage for the grill.  Here's what  I'll be using for sausaging...

And of course the lard.  I kept a good bit of the fat for sausage making, but rendered a few pounds for lard...

I got 2 quarts of beautiful creamy white lard as a result.  And of course, my favorite....cracklins...

We were able to get the pig done thanks to some good friends and a cold snap.  I was getting concerned that he was going to turn into another MissPiggy...and I wasn't ready for that!

Now that the weather is warming.....the bugs are swarming.  Flies are really bad this year.  So we once again called in the big guns to deal with the problem....

I've used fly poison in the past.  The kind that you put in a little cup way up high so nothing else gets into it.....only to find a dead lizard in it one day.  Not acceptable.

And I've tried the stinky fly traps.  Yuck.

These little bugs are a tiny little parasitic wasp that lives it's life to kill fly larvae. They are hard working little guys, and the best solution we've found for keeping the fly population in check.  It's a nasty job, but it's one less thing I have to do.  We get a couple of batches of these each summer and the problem is solved.  If you look really close at this picture you can see the tiny little wasps that have just hatched and are ready to go out and eat.

 Speaking of hatching......our first quail hatch of the year has begun! 

9 yesterday, and this morning there were an additional 24!

I'll probably set another round of eggs in about 3 weeks.  For now I'll concentrate on growing these little guys and selecting some to be fresh breeders.  Most of my breeder quail are approaching the 3 year mark.

I also managed to snag a load of first cutting hay at a reasonable price.  Darren went with me for his first ever hay run.  It won't be long and he'll be helping with the loading and unloading!

New Goals & Big Changes!!

6 months ago we began making major changes around the homestead.  The first step was that Bob left a job that he had been at for nearly 20 years.  That was a scary first step, but there's no doubt the Lord is directing our paths.  His new job is great, he loves the work, loves the people he works with, and is making more money.....but it also means that he has an hour commute each way. 

We began homesteading in 1986 when we first married.  We rented a small house on some acreage and worked hard to raise and preserve most of our food.  We hunted, fished, gardened, had poultry, pigs, dairy goats.....

But by 1990 we were forced to make a decision to move into an apartment.  These were the darkest months of our lives, the sheer confinement and business of living in town.....with no ground to work or animals to tend to....was almost more than I could take.  Fortunately, it wasn't long before we were able to rent a house in a very small town, had a huge yard, and a landlord that allowed us the freedom to do what we do.  We were there for 10 years before we were led to the house that would become ours.  

On our anniversary.....June 14, 2001 we signed the contract on our home and for the first time began homesteading on property that was our own.  This home and location was perfect for us.  With 4 growing kids we really wanted to be close to town, but be outside city limits so that we had the freedom to once again have goats, pigs, etc.   There were 4 neighbors on our street....close enough to visit in the evenings and swap garden bounties....but far enough to have privacy.  Our property was surrounded by woods with a creek running through the back corner that was perfect for fishing or swimming.  With just under 2 acres of land the Lord has allowed us to do amazing things here.

But times have changed.  The city is slowly encroaching on our neighborhood.  Woods have been clear cut to erect buildings.  Where we only had 4 neighbors before, now surrounding land has been divided and mobile homes are being moved in.  The creek was polluted last fall and is now devoid of life.  We are feeling the gentle tug to move on.

And so it begins.  The search for the spot that will be the new home of Queenacres Homestead.  We have our eye on a nice 77 acre plot within 10 minutes of Bob's job.  We're praying about it.  Here is what we're looking for:

Close to work.

Between 50-100 acres at least 50% wooded.

Spring fed pond or running creek.

Raw, unadulterated land

We are praying.  We are setting new goals.  We will be saving every penny possible to make this purchase possible.  Our largest financial goal right now is to have no debt...which means that we have to get our current mortgage and vehicles paid off.  We are also saving for things that will be important to have in the future....

a livestock trailer

 16ft flatbed trailer

Fencing and fencing materials

A sawmill

Solar panels

Generator

All of these things need to be paid for outright, while reducing our debt.  Piece of cake, right?

Well, we do tend to set high goals.

So this blog will be undergoing new changes as well....as I share our progress!