I’m BAAAACK!
I know I kinda gave up blogging. One thing got me thinking is how many people have left social media and might not be able to keep up with our ranch updates! I still don’t want to try for weekly updates just yet as that just seems like more work than I’m able to do right now. Instead I will write a monthly blog all throughout the month and post it on the 1st of each month. Seems like a much easier compromise. Some days I barely get on the computer and others I have more time to devote to writing. Let’s just see how it goes!!
Sorry if this is a little long. I had to give perspective a few times so you knew what was going on leading up to the October happenings!
Shane’s Woodshop
Shane has been busy planning his next stage of the woodshop and what he will create. He’s come up with a name for his business (though I will wait for it to go live to reveal it), has a huge list of ideas for things he wants to make, and began designing a few with his CnC program. We’re excited to see where this leads!
(pictured is an herb processing tray made from walnut)
Livestock News
We had SO MANY chicks hatched out by rogue hens hiding around the ranch!! We had 4 rounds in the brooder (we took the chicks because we didn’t have a safe place to keep moms & babies together yet. Another project, another day). These are all fathered by our Swedish Flower Rooster, Cowboy Dan. The first round of 5 chicks (born July 1), they look to be from Australorp, Barred Rock, and Buff Orphington hens and a couple are roos, rest hens. The second round of 4 chicks (born late July) are from a Barred Rock/Light Brahma hen and so far all look like hens. The third round of 6 chicks (born early August) look to be all from a Rhode Island Red hen and are apparently a pretty even mix of hens & roos so far. The fourth round of 9 chicks (born early September) were from a Swedish Flower Hen. We’ve lost a few to a Cooper’s Hawk who keeps close unfortunately, but most are doing well out with the adults.
We call the last batch the “Quail Chicks” because they are about the size of large quail running around the orchard, driveway and back yard areas. They are small enough to get through fences so they REALLY free range haha. I’m honestly surprised our cats haven’t caught any! In any case, they are really cute and really fun to watch chase bugs. The first round chicks are starting to lay eggs and crow.
Not a whole lot to report with the sheep other than pastures are getting locked down tonight, Nov. 1st, for the winter. We have 21 adult ewes, 3 adult rams, 4 ewe lambs, and 5 ram lambs that will be sorted and split into 3 sacrifice areas. Four of the ram lambs will be heading to the auction later this month. They would have gone sooner but there was always something important going on for those auction dates. If you’re local and need meat lambs, let me know!
Head on over to the SHOP section to see what we still have for sale for breeding stock!
I managed to sit and take some pictures of the rams & llamas with my attack kitty by my side protecting me haha. I was waiting for the water to drain out of the well so the bubble could be reset (video below).
Garden Updates
The garden was rather an epic failure this year. I thought I had put enough nutrients in the garden beds, but alas, I was wrong. I’m a disappointment to all the gardeners in my family/ancestors! We had a decent crop of Broccoli and Cauliflower that was harvested and stored in the freezer. I ran out of time to keep track of the peas and cucumbers so they were fed to the chickens. The tomatoes I bought must have been determinate so they looked pathetic, however I have gotten quite a few tomatoes for fresh eating. Not a total failure there. The radishes got beetle-ridden BADLY so, you guessed it, chicken food. I planted beans and NOT ONE CAME UP. Planted brand new mixed salad greens and had an abysmal showing there too. Still have some beets in the ground, so not a total failure. Planted some carrots on the porch in pots and they seem do be doing okay, not a total failure there either!
Here’s my advice. Never buy compost or potting soil for your raised beds from bags. I would water the garden for an hour and the dirt was only damp down an inch. It just wasn’t getting to the roots like it should have. It also dried out fast so seeds just couldn’t sprout like they needed. I think the only thing that saved the tomatoes was the fact I used some rabbit manure in the bed.
This reminds me! The winter is the perfect time to start planting trees and shrubs. I’ve compiled a list of Best Days, from the Old Farmer’s Almanac, in a blog post to help you out:
Nov/Dec 2024 Planting Guide – Zone 7/8
November and December are pretty quiet in the gardens. There’s still a few things that can be planted though. Date guidelines are a combination of the Old Farmer’s Almanac and a couple websites. Hope it helps! Amy
Woodland Adventures
The trailcams down in our woods have been SUPER busy this month. We’ve seen so many deer, squirrels, rabbits, opossum, raccoons, coyotes, and a few visits from our bobcat(s)! Normally I don’t post a bunch of deer videos, but the one below was so funny. That doe made some WEIRD noises I hadn’t heard before! Check them out:
Science Corner – Space Edition
Fortunately the earthly weather has been pretty mild lately, though I would like more RAIN. Now space weather on the other hand! October was rife with CME’s (Coronal Mass Ejections) from our Sun that caused Aurora Borealis to be seen quite far south! I wish I had a better camera, but I’ll share what I managed to get on October 9th around 9pm or so. Other folks were able to pick up on a lot more color with their cameras. SOMEDAY I’ll have a better one!
Folklore Tome – Samhain
What is Samhain (SOW-en) you might ask? To the ancient Celtic peoples it was the beginning of the dark half of the year, the last harvest festival, and the time the veil between our world and the world of our ancestors was thinnest. In olden times it was celebrated near, what our modern calendar calls, November 1st. It was the halfway point between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice. This year that actual date/time this occurs falls on November 6th at 2:21pm. Others say it is celebrated on the New Moon closest to the 1st of November. Without written record it’s all educated supposition really. As time flew forward, it became All Hallows Eve, or Halloween.
You might also ask, why do I bring this up in a homestead blog? Simple really. The ancient peoples of many cultures followed the seasons and the moon cycles because certain plants were harvested certain times, seeds needed sewing so harvests could succeed, hunting and the harvesting of livestock was best done certain times of the year, and so much more! Samhain, for us, is a time to tell stories and share memories of family members who’ve gone, and make final preparations for winter ahead: preparing the garden for spring planting, selling or harvesting livestock for our freezer so they don’t need fed all winter, cutting firewood, etc. Things begin to slow down for a bit. Next blog post you’ll see just what winter has in store for us!
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Sabina says she’ll see you all again December 1st
for the November Homestead Happenings!
Hollow Hills Ranch 