Just a few tidbits of things going on here at the little farm homestead…
I went and made a batch of cinnamon rolls but instead of making them all up and being tempted, I just flash froze the individual rolls and put them in packs of three or six. This way I can bake up just a few and that is it. I think it’s pretty keen… we love homemade cinnamon rolls but I hardly make them because they seem to be a bit of work. I ended up with over ten packs of rolls and they will last us a few months for sure.
We did away with our big bunny hutch! I know, probably startling after all the work we put into it. But we just had to admit it was not working the way we wanted it to. And here at Windhaven, we are all about making things easy and enjoyable. And unfortunately, when I find Jessy in tears about how to deal with the thing easily, that is not enjoyable. So we decided it would be a lot lot easier to go back to the large wire cages that everyone seems to use. And we had just gotten this nice big old table from our neighbor’s barn. They moved a few miles down the road and downsized… and we got a lot of neat odds and ends! All very helpful. We added a nice little dollar store fall plastic tablecloth to keep the spills and such down to a minimum and poof! Everyone is happy!
We moved the hutch out into the dog yard for awhile to decide what to do with it. It’s rather out of sight and out of mind until spring, if you ask me.
I think that one of the most important things you can do with a little homestead is to admit when things are not right or easy… and change them. Even if it means starting over. Sure, we spent about $150 making that hutch, and working on it, trying to make the design more efficient. But it became apparent that it was just too hard to keep clean. And we’ve learned… we’ll consider building something better with more experience behind it. And it will be AWESOME!!!
In the meanwhile, the bunnies seem very content with their new cribs. Jessy lets them out a good deal to hop and play, so they seem pretty happy. Maggie is building them some new snuggle boxes… and Jessy has been layering some old blankets and such over the top if it seems cold. We’ll be plasticing in the screen porch this weekend to make it nice and comfy in there.
I don’t know if you remember or not, but earlier in the spring, I planted a WHOLE bunch of random flower seeds up in the little courtyard, next to the fence.
Well…
They were growing pretty good until we had a goat attack. Two little buggers got in there and nibbled most of the tops off everything! I could have cried! Well, Jessy managed to get a lot more chicken wire on the back of the fence and get it nice and secure and my little flowers gave it another try.
I managed to get some flowers and it looks a little more like a garden of my dreams! Next year… I am ready to really do some serious flower planting. I really want lovely perennials… nice one time purchase and nice lush growth all over in this area. But I do love zinnias… and the bunch that made it were mostly my hardy little zinnias!
I did score two lovely butterfly bushes on clearance… $4.99 each! I have to dig them in, but I think they will make nice statement plants on either side of the gate.
Just a few lovely shots of my fading fall flowers… good bye my lovelies! I will miss you….
I just love my plastic pony. I think he’s awesome.
Well, we have harvested about 15 gallons or more of English walnuts! They are seasoning in the mudroom and I can’t wait for them to be ready in a few weeks. They are much much better if you let them sit in a cool but not freezing room for 3 or 4 weeks. I think we will be picking another 5 or so gallons this weekend. The tree is very prolific this year. And the weird thing… the black walnut didn’t fruit this year! Thank goodness for little miracles! That thing is very annoying with the conk you on the head evil nut balls. I know some folks love black walnuts, but when you have an English walnut as well, the black ones are just toooo much trouble!!!
Duke Kitty has been seen a lot more around the homestead, and especially in the mudroom in his special kitty warming basket. He loves his little snuggle place. We normally keep the mudroom door open in the summer because it’s just kind of annoying to have to open three doors to get outside, but when it gets cold, we shut it up and the kitties have to come and go through the little pet flap. Luna doesn’t mind at all, and Duke really likes having his own little bachelor pad in there. Food, water, warmth and the occasional visit from us. Pretty good living for a barn cat.
Our friends new home has 8 old apple trees out back of their property and they said, come and get them for the animals! They are mostly fallen now, and a little wormy and spotty but the flock and the hogs ADORE them. We’ve snatched a few good ones as well out. Next year we all plan to get to them just a little earlier! We will probably go one more time to our new favorite orchard in the next town over… they sell fallen apples for $5 a bushel! That’s a great deal because if you are picky, you can get all super nice fruit from their many many trees… stuff that just fell. We’ll save a bunch for the livestock, but you can bet some applesauce in our future! Yum!!!
I finally got my loom warped!!!! Yeah!!!! I miss weaving so much. But the summer just got away from me and there just wasn’t a lot of time to craft. Now that the cold is here and most of our winter prep chores are done, I finally have time in the evenings to start weaving. I am so happy! This first rug is a little weird on the colors… the flash on the camera have made that one green almost neon! It’s not quite that weird, I assure you! I have black warp on this batch and it’s really fun and different than the white. I love it. I have a nice big stack of colors picked out and just need a couple good DVDs to pop in and cut strips so I can get to weaving again!
Just a fun little picture of the night watchman, Cody Pony, as he checks on the goats and sheep… its really neat to see him doing his job.
Just thought this picture of Dammartin, one of our wheaten French Copper Marans, is so pretty. He was posing for me. He’s a nice bird… 
The little piglets are now three weeks old!!! hard to believe! They are doing fantastic! I believe we have them all either spoken for and we are keeping! Pretty darn cool! They are like puppies, in that they will be ready to go to new homes about 8 weeks of age. We might keep them an extra week or so, just to make sure they get a good measure of momma time!!! They are starting to eat solid food with her… and they LOVE bananas! Just like little babies!!!
We were given a big stack of old plastic shutters and it didn’t take us long to think of a great use! We used them to cover up the end of our poultry barn! We wanted to frame it all in but it was just a project that didn’t make the cut this summer! (It was a rough project summer….) Still, with a drill and some screws, we managed to dress up the end of this building and create a little wind block as well! We will be putting up plastic to make this barn really nice in there for the chickens, soon… but this new design is awesome because it keeps the GOATS out of the barn! They were jumping the little wall and just being bad and naughty in there. Knocking stuff over and all. Now, they can’t! Yeah!!!
Been getting pumpkins from all over for super cheap… these were only a buck a piece. After Halloween, we hope to get a TON of them and store them in the poultry barn and the feed room for our hogs and chickens and such through the winter. They keep pretty darn well and our gang doesn’t mind if they get a little mushy after awhile. They are a great source of good food and believe it or not, the seeds are natural wormers! A win win situation, if you ask me!!
And last but not least… we played a little gig at a cancer benefit in Waterville this last week! It was fun but it was chilly! I think it’s probably about the last time we’ll be outside until spring when bluegrass is concerned.
Well, just a little recap of some things going on. Sorry to be a little missing in action… we had some internet issues for a few days but it’s all resolved. Being rural and online is sometimes a hit and miss situation. Thank goodness it looks like the cable guys are getting closer and closer…. we are so excited!!!! And it’s just been busy of late, trying to get ready for the winter and wrap up the last of the summer season. We’re happy, this is the first year that we really feel a lot more prepared and ready. It’s all good!!! Going into our third winter… I can hardly believe it!!!
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