Updates

It has been awhile since I have written regularly on this blog, but I came across it again and I realized that I had been missing out on sharing my story with the rest of the world.  A few things happened since last summer so I though I would take a moment to bring us all back up to speed on the happenings around the homestead.

I had an addition of 8 more hens to my flock.  They came from a friend of mine that could no longer keep them.  They are 3 ameraucanas, a black sex link, and 4 anconas.  They are a little more of an handful than my docile older gals, but they do lay some colorful eggs.  My egg cartons now hold green, white and brown eggs.

I have also finished my garden clean up for the spring and have been working on getting all my beds turned over in preparation for planting.  Some cold tolerant crops went in the ground this week.  These included potatoes, onions, peas, carrots, parsnips, lettuce and spinach.  I am hoping to plant out my brassicas soon too, but the nights have still been dipping into the 20s, so I will have to wait a bit longer. 

My seedlings that I started this winter are coming along beautifully as well.  I have 3 varieties of pepper again (jalepeno, paprika, and spanish mammoth), broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, celery, thyme and basil.  I just planted my tomato seeds and I hope I am not starting them too late.  My garlic started coming up a few weeks ago and they are already over 6 inches tall and looking very happy.

Over the winter I had time to do a little extra preserving. I made my first attempt at homemade instant mashed potato powder.  I also dried onions and crushed them into powder to be used for seasoning in many of my homecooked meals.  I dehydrated my late harvest of parsnips that I finally dig up just before the official start of spring.  I also dehydrated any extra mushrooms that I bought on sale.  Turns out they are great additions for breakfasts and dinners alike.

In my fiber world I have been working on spinning a few pounds of wool that I bought at the local fiber festival last fall.  I wanted to try a variety of different wools to see how they worked up and so far I have been pleased with the results.  I have also added knitting to my repertoire this winter and manage to make a couple of pairs of socks and started working on a cardigan for myself.

All in all things have stayed fairly busy around here even though I haven't taken the time to post much since last year.  With all the crazy going on in the world right now, I am quite happy that I have a nice home base to work with and now I will have a little more time to share the goings on here since I am temporarily out of work like many others in the country.  I hope that if you are reading this, that you are well and making the best of whatever situation you find yourself in!