Journey To Me

A New Homestead Newspaper and other things

Yesterday the kitchen was warm and the smells great.  Don't you love when the kids come in and say "What smells so good?"  I canned applesauce, rose hip syrup, V-8 juice, cooked a couple of pumpkins, froze some and made 4 dozen muffins, made cabbage rolls from the V-8 juice.   Thank you Lord.  I didn't get the salsa done, but that can happen today, Lord willing.

The wood furnace is up and running!  I put the first fire in there last night.  The chemicals from the paint and from the new stove pipe had to burn off, a smell that wasn't so great, but it was warm.  I'm so thankful for this new stove.

Today it's out to the barn to clean some more and try to get the new goat pens done, haul some wood into the house and violin lessons in town.  Maybe some house cleaning and, of course, schooling.

There's a new homestead newspaper on line.  It's free and  if you'd like to check it out, the site is- http://www.freewebs.com/homesteadernews

Have a good and Godly day.

 P.S.  We picked up not one but two Angora bucks on  Saturday.  We'll have some nice kids come next spring, Lord willing.  Pictures later.

Oh yes we can, can

Can that is.  I just finished up two batches of rose hip syrup, that was supposed to be rose hip jelly.  Happens everytime I make it.  I think I need a new recipe.

I have V-8 juice simmering on the stove, soon to be sieved and put into jars and canned.  Then to finish off the apples and put some applesauce up.  Next up is the rest of the ripe tomatoes which will make about 8 quarts of salsa.  I have a couple of pumpkins in the oven and would like to get some pumpkin muffins made and some pumpkin pancakes.  When the V-8 juice is done, I'll use some to make some cabbage rolls to put in the slow cooker.  By that time my honey should be home and I get to drive tractor and bring hay bales home.  Someone please help my house! 

I love going down to the canning pantry and looking at the fruits of my labors.  I know you enjoy it too.  All the lovely colors and jars.  Canning is addicting, but it sure helps the grocery bill.

With all of that said, time to get off my duff and get that V-8 juice finished.

From Glory Farm

Rose Hip Jelly and An Angora Buck

Today we're going visiting.  We're going to pick rosehips at a friend's house.  I used to make rosehip jelly and tea and I'd pretty much forgotten that they even existed.  Very  high in vitamin C.

Rose Hip Jelly

4 cups rosehip juice

7 1/2 cups sugar

1 bottle liquid pectin

Remove blossom remnants and stems from rose hips.  Prepare rose hip juice by  placing crushed rose hips in a pan, cover with water and cook for 15 minutes or until soft, strain through cheesecloth.

Measure juice, stir in sugar.  Place on high heat, stirring constantly.  Bring to a full rolling boil.  Add the liquid pectin and heat to a full rolling boil.  Boil hard for 1 minute.  Remove from heat, skim off foam, pour jelly into hot containers and seal.  Rose hips should be picked after the first killing frost for the best flavor and jelling.  This jelly is a good source of vitamin C.

Tomorrow we're taking a road trip down south, near the cities, to  pick up an Angora buck.  We don't go this far very often.  To church is about as far as we usually travel these days.  This is a treat for us and I pray the Lord blesses our day and helps us to bless those that He puts in our path.  Lord willing we'll have Angora kids in the spring and have some to sell, fiber to sell, and a way to help our farm pay for itself.

Our two oldest girls are on a camping trip this weekend.  CCCCCold.  They went  up to the Boundary Waters.  It'll be a trip they remember, one way or another.

Have a marvelous weekend, all.

Treating livestock herbally

I found a wonderful site for treating livestock with herbal supplements.  At this farm, they deal mostly with sheep, but have info and links for other things as well.  There's an herbal deworming spreadsheet that helps put information in a more readable form.   http://www.reedbird.com/index.html

I hope you find this useful.

From Glory Farm

Thanksgiving

Pics-Harvest Festival and Plowing

These pics are from a couple of weeks ago.  Our town has a Fall Color Festival.  I only took a couple of pictures.  There are three rivers that converge in our town.  This is a shot from the bridge right downtown.  It was beautiful.

Our son also took part in the tractor pull.  He placed third (out of three ), but he did his best:

My honey plowed up a few acres on our north 20.  I think we're putting in oats and alfalfa next spring, and somehow want to get some wheat in. 

Here's a picture of the plowed field.  Isn't it lovely? 

I guess I sound like I'm boasting.  I just love this land and all that the Lord has blessed us with.  I want to be a good steward and use it for His glory.

From Glory Farm

Using the Harvest

 What are you getting from your garden?  We have harvested cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onions,sunflowers, kale, pumpkins, apples and plums this fall.  With this harvest there are a number of things I make.

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Homemade spaghetti sauce-tomatoes, garlic, onions, basil, thyme, sage, oregano, majarom, cayenne, savory from the garden

Homemade salsa-tomatoes, onions, cayenne from the garden

Cream of carrot soup

Tomato soup

Kale soup

Meatball stew-using carrots, potatoes, onions and beans from the garden

Scalloped hotdish-carrots, onions, potatoes

Speedy boiled dinner-cabbage, potatoes and carrots

Cabbage rolls-cabbage, tomatoes

Runzas-Ask for the recipe on this one.  These are delicious,  cabbage and onions

French Fries

Onion Rings-love these

Coleslaw

Applesauce, apple pie, baked apples, fresh plums, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes

These are just a few ideas.  What do you make with your fresh harvest?

You know, even with stretching our grocery money, I'm still spending about $100 a week on groceries.  There are six of us, and I can't think of how to save any more than I am.  Any suggestions?

Garlic Works Wonders

Fixed the fence yesterday, got all of the critters back in their respective pastures and what do you think I see out the kitchen window this morning??????Cows in the horse pasture?  Good guess and you'd be right.  I can't figure out why our fence isn't charging.  Lord give me patience.

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It may be time to start up the furnace.  We're having freezing temps at night and the house gets down to 60 at night.  No wonder everyone heads for a hot shower first thing in the morning.

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Well, the headcold is still in the house.  Ds and I both ate a bunch of garlic yesterday and I believe that's why we both feel so much better today.  (and why no one gets close to us.)It usually works very well.  Dd is still feeling poorly and is next for the bathtub.  She doesn't want the garlic unless I mix it in with chicken noodle soup.  That's doable.

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Time to get my wool socks on and get the chores done. 

Have a good and Godly day.

From Glory Farm

Being Flexible-It's Just Not Me

It's  starting to be one of those days.  The two yougers are sick with a decent headcold and I think I feel their pain.  Or at least I'm starting to.  This means I get to do chores alone and I was just informed that we have donkeys and cows in the horse pasture.  This doesn't look good.  Morning plans out the window and walking fenceline, repairing and herding the animals back to their respective paddocks is on my list. 

Sun is out, birds are singing, it's a nice day for a walk!

Write more later.

Bartering, Borrowing and Blessings

  Most of our neighbors are farmers and they seem to be open to bartering for things.  My honey can fix about anything with a motor or engine and there aren't any farm mechanics around here, especially ones that make house calls.  See how God works?  My honey is trading labor for use of an excavator and some gravel to do our septic mound.  A neighbor's brother just gave DH a small blacksmith's forge.  My cousin tore down his cabin on the lake and let us scavenge tongue and groove, windows and doors, and firewood.  I have a friend with whom I traded hay for use of her ram to breed my ewes, now she's looking into getting me some free llamas, (blessing or not?)  We borrow equipment and lend equipment.  We help each other.  Lately, I have been stressing over finances.  I do this a lot.  (God is still working on me.)  So this morning I'm counting just a few of my blessings. 

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Today I get to...clean the barn, pick tomatoes, teach my children, perhaps trim goat and sheep hooves, find a buck for my dairy goats, check fenceline, stack firewood, this and maybe more.  How blessed to have sheep and goats, tomatoes and firewood and especially children.  A grateful heart is fertile soil for the Lord to work with.  Lord, I want You to harvest a bumper crop.