[Pony]

Oh Pony! Could ya? Would ya? It's been tooo long since our families have been together!!

I'll do anything short of butchering the livestock.

It's just so difficult to find someone willing to actually WORK around here. We're not skinflints, we'd pay decent $ to get someone to care for our place.

Can't imagine how hard it is for folks who have larger 'steads than ours...

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

ROFLMAO!!

Momma's going to love that! Thanks CF, from Momma!

 

[kaeko2003]

Thank you CF! Don't worry WIHH if he is following me it's cause you are by my side. LOL
Pray you all make it next year. I have wanted to meet you two since I joined HT. You are beautiful people!

 

[mtnbluet881]

Sounds like you all had a great time! Sorry I missed it.

One question: at what temperature and how long did you leave the red clover in the dehydrator? I have tons of catnip and have been disappointed with our weather --sunny--rainy--sunny--rainy. I will try again but the last batch of herbs I nursed like a baby, taking it into our vehicle just before the rain only to forget when they were almost dried.

So...maybe it is time to "fire up" the dehydrator and just get it done.

Forerunner arrived with Ernie and Ernie's son, Jared. They were staying Sat night.
My DH and I spent 12 hours there on Sat.

I would have liked to have stayed for the Sun activities but DH was wanting to get home.
I guess we were suppose to be home on Sun morning!
I didn't get to sleep until 3:30 (too much caffiene) but at 5:30 the phone was ringing.

My DD was needing a babysitter so her hubby could take her into ER!
She had a fever and was SICK! She had deveoped a very inflamed Pilonidal Cyst that needed attention plus 2 antibiotics.

Anyway~~~~~I digress!


Some of the many activities that occurred on Sat:
------------besides lots and lots of visiting and laughing.......................

~collected red clover and put it in the dehydrator for making red clover tea.

~black smithing ----- fired up the forge and made a few useful gadgets

~butchered 8 BIG Cornish Rock Cross chickens-----it really surprised me that each of the 8-10 year old children that were present were eagerly willing to participate in the head chopping activity.

~harnessed up 2 Belgium draft horses and went for a wagon ride.

~trimmed hooves on draft horses (by ForeRunner ...... the horses were BIG and the man was relentless! Very Impressive!)

~banded 2 young bull calves.

~learned about spinning yarn, spinning wheels, different fibers, --------brought home a drop spindle and some roving

~learned lots about "extreme" composting

~SpringValley sells raw milk ---- interesting conversations!

~Had conversations about Civil War Re-enactments and saw some Civil War artifacts

~lots of garden talk and walks

~made a couple batches of homemade ice-cream

~Lots of free range poultry-------and talk about predators and predator control

~LOVED the comfortable look of their home and the shelves of canned goods

~demonstration of trapping techniques


I'm not sure what was going to happen today but I wish I were there!

Such a good bunch of nice, nice people!

 

[mtnbluet881]

I have a couple of side notes to add to your wonderful and insightful speech.

1) When a person takes the time to learn homesteading skills (and yes, it does take time), their income may go down. We need to pull together to come up with new and innovative ways of making money.

2) I know of such a community that you speak of. I have lost touch with them due to their internet communications coming to a halt. I believe it is because of the low income factor. Since I live far from them I plan to go visit them when our income comes back up.

3) Yes, the low income can slow or halt communication and, thus, making networking more difficult. When families live in close proximity the low income may be a blessing, not a detriment. However, since most of us are strung out all over the place, the high price of gas and/or the high price of initially building/buying an alternative energy vehicle is prohibitive to people getting together.

4) So..networking is wonderful, but only if it includes the exchange of new ways to gain new income.

5) Tall Pines, I applaud your low energy vehicle! :sing:

Yes, Ernie, my couple of points grew to more, but all you said is so critical. There are a lot of like-minded people out there that are so very isolated and it is important we network or get together so that we are able to live freely in our local communities.

Yes, I could go on and on...so I will just stop here.

I enjoyed myself thoroughly, and I really didn't expect to. I'd like to stress a couple of things from this weekend that I picked up on and hear the thoughts of others.

1. We pulled people interested in homesteading from across the state (and beyond) and we're still only able to fill up a good kitchen. Where's everyone gone? There's more who are interested in these things than just us, surely, but time commitments and the commitments of our own farms tend to keep us isolated. I'd like to see planned communities with dozens of homesteading families all sharing property lines so that this sort of thing would be just a matter of course. You could walk back home and feed your chickens and your dogs and still get back to the campfire before the coffee was ready.

We have got to spread the word or die out.

2. Lots of folks who are interested in homesteading but just haven't been able to pull the trigger yet for one reason or other. Just start. Even if you don't have the knowledge, do what you can now and learn as you go. What if you're only on a quarter acre lot? Do what you can. What if you're in an apartment? Find a way to do what you can. I know I'd be willing to let some like-minded family come plant 3-4 100' rows out in my garden area. Letting them learn and help keep an area weeded is certainly better than letting it lay fallow or losing what I don't have time to manage myself to weeds. The small loss of those 3-4 rows I wouldn't have had time to manage on my own is nothing, and it would probably keep some other family fed for a month or two at least.

3. Connections are vastly important. We laid the connections for future livestock deals, farm products, knowledge exchanges, and shoulders to cry on. We learned who shares diverse interests and who might be able to supply us with the odds and ends that we need but either don't wish to buy from the corporate world or can't. What a survival mechanism that is for small homesteaders! Connections, connections connections. I can't stress it enough.

4. Showing the next generation that there are others out there. My sons watch me and know what I'm doing, but it's important for them to know that I'm not such a complete anachronism in the world and there are others out there doing things similar. And just as important, it's good for children to know there are other children interested in the same thing. With a little luck, we can keep them engaged and not lose them to the pull of corporate America. Today's boys who hunt grasshoppers together in the fields will be men helping each other in those fields before we know it. The little boy sitting on a log around a campfire today may find a future homesteading wife in the little girl sitting next to him. That's the next generation we bring with us, and we're showing them that you CAN be happy in the company of like minded folk who struggle and endure the same problems.

I didn't plan to go initially but Forerunner twisted my arm into it. As usual, I'm his sidekick in these sorts of endeavors and he undoubtedly knew that this weekend would teach me the importance of building connections for future survival. So I humbly accept the lesson and thank the Mullers for putting this together. Just as important as maintaining soil fertility or practicing good animal husbandry is providing a ways and means for like minded folks to come together. We're all swimming upstream out in the regular world; it's an amazing thing to find there are others swimming alongside of us.

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

Sounds like you all had a great time! Sorry I missed it.

One question: at what temperature and how long did you leave the red clover in the dehydrator?

My old 'mr.coffee' dehydrator doesn't have a temp guage, but it does have a fan. Usually, I pick enough red clover to fit in about 5 trays and single layer them on a tray. I'll reverse the order of the trays after a few hours (top tray goes on the bottom, et al) When I pick in the morning, they are usually ready that afternoon.

We had 13 trays jam packed on Saturday. Most were dry that evening.

Sunday, I took the food processor and ground the blossoms (less storage). Filled a gallon jar of ground red clover tea)

 

[mamajohnson]

Yay! You registered! See MamaJ, we're taking care of our girl up here.

Thank you thank you! That girl holds a special spot in my heart! Keep an eye on her ((hey - find her a good homestead man!!!))

 

[Forerunner]

I'm not online at home, yet.
Power is back on, but my computer has some minor issues and parts are en route.

After reading through the various threads, I was compelled to comment here....

I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend with Paul and Cyndi, and with the good folks that made the homesteading weekend. I felt very at home, as though I was among old friends. The laid back atmosphere was almost sedative, and I enjoyed the rest....other than the mosquitoes Saturday night....if only Ernie had picked a better camp site...

I was impressed with the very simplicity, practicality and authenticity of what Paul and Cyndi have going on. I am looking much forward to next year and, Cyndi, I do hope you can make good on your offer to come and visit later this summer.
Maybe I'll have this wonderful fiber you sent home with me spun up by then and be ready for further instructions.

I do hope to be back online at home within a week, but I'm not holding my breath.

Ernie, as always, thank you for the portability and the comaradarie.:buds:
Give my condolences to your eldest......... he's a good sport:sing:

 

[Ernie]

...if only Ernie had picked a better camp site...

I KNEW somehow that was going to end up being my fault.

 

[mtnbluet881]

Reporting back,

I loaded up 8 American Harvester trays with catnip and I am 3 hours shy of 24 hours and they are about 90% done at 105 degrees fahrenheit. I selected that to dry the catnip but not heat it nor lose the green color.

Some trays are done and I did rotate the trays a bit, so maybe I am beyond the capacity of American Harvester with 8 trays.

Next batch I'm going with either 110 or 115 degrees as 24 hours seems a bit long even though they are reported to have a high moisture content in the leaves.

I think one reason you don't find catnip tea on the local grocery shelves is that it is quite bitter. I cut it with a slice of lemon and honey. But Dr Christopher says that bitter herbs help to clean the liver, so I am happy.

My old 'mr.coffee' dehydrator doesn't have a temp guage, but it does have a fan. Usually, I pick enough red clover to fit in about 5 trays and single layer them on a tray. I'll reverse the order of the trays after a few hours (top tray goes on the bottom, et al) When I pick in the morning, they are usually ready that afternoon.

We had 13 trays jam packed on Saturday. Most were dry that evening.

Sunday, I took the food processor and ground the blossoms (less storage). Filled a gallon jar of ground red clover tea)

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

I KNEW somehow that was going to end up being my fault.

It's got to be someone's fault and Timothy called foul first.

you both know better to camp next to an area that has dense foliage (you call it grass, I call it my wild flower garden) where the wind isn't blowing to keep the 'squiters' off.

Lesson learned ... there is a reason I tell folks where to camp. Don't want to listen? Figure it is a good lesson for next year and you'll both get here earlier to get a good camp sight.

:hobbyhors

 

[Ernie]

Yes, ma'am.

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

Cyndi, I do hope you can make good on your offer to come and visit later this summer.

I'm looking forward to it. I'd to be there when I could be the most help with harvesting or canning or general help after the babe is born. I've already let Dawndra know I'll be coming down and look forward to meeting Lori and seeing Rachel and Dawndra again (and yes the boys too!)

 

[Tiempo]

How long had it been since those hooves had been trimmed? :shocked:

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

Terrible, eh?

This is a team we sold last fall, the guy let us borrow them back for the weekend. I don't know if the new owner has ever had their hooves trimmed. We did give him the name and # of our farrier when we sold the team.

 

[Ernie]

Like sheep and goats, do you find that some horses just NEED more foot care than others? Some breeds may be particularly prone to that?

When I was raising goats I culled the ones who required the most labor. The ones who didn't deliver their own young properly, the ones who constantly escaped the fences, and the ones whose feet always needed special attention.

 

[wyld thang]

yes, it goes from breed to breed--though a lot of times it's traits through bloodlines(like people who have thin enamel on their teeth), as well as the horse's color and the surfaces they are used on, where they spend most of their time, how much exercise/work they get. The worst thing you can do is throw them out in soft (esp mucky) pasture and never touch their feet.

Then there's the wild mustangs who never have their feet trimmed--how do they get along? They're moving miles a day, over many different surfaces at different gaits. They have tough WILD hooves(a horse is as good as its hooves, a wild horse with soft hooves will not pass on that gene). This constant wear keeps up that equilibrium(hm, that word almost sound like "horse-freedom" ha). Way back I used to work at a summer camp where the horses were kept barefoot, they were trimmed as needed every 6 weeks or so, but they also were walking at least 15 miles a day on trail rides, out on varied terrain pasture, spent some time in cement floored stalls (for the time when kids groomed and fed them). All had healthy feet, and I used to help the guy who trimmed them so I could observe over time how it went(I would go fetch the horses, clean out their hooves and get the mud off their legs kind of thing, and trot them around so he could see how they moved). Of course most of these horses had working cowboy stock type of bloodlines too(including mustang blood), as a background, no foo foo show ponies.

Glad Forerunner could give them a trim.

 

[Tiempo]

WT beat me to it

Unfortunately, when people are considering which horses to breed, these days hoof health is the last thing they consider, if it's ever considered at all.

We are breeding some dreadful feet.

Drafts are particularly prone to blowing apart like that if they are not trimmed on a really tight schedule. As large as their feet are, they still have a hard time holding up under all the weight they have to bear and tend to flare out and crack apart very easily.

Here is me and the largest horse I've ever had on my books. He is sold out of state now, but here he was 4 years old and over 19hh. He had really good feet, but I trimmed him every 6 weeks minimum.

 

[tallpines]

Cyndi, ForeRunner,

I need instructions for making mint-red raspberry tea.

The mint---------does the age or size of the leaf make a difference?
Or is it best to use primarily the younger leaves?

Do you use equal amounts of mint and red raspberry leaves?

Was it 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon honey per quart?

Do you dry the leaves like you do the red clover, or use them fresh?

 

[michelleIL]

When I make a mixed herb tea, I use more of what I want to taste in the tea. If the herb tastes like crap, I use less of it. I take five finger pinches and throw them in my press pot, and make whatever for whatever reason I'm making the tea.