Life continues on the "farm"

Well, it's been super busy at work. The place where my dogs think I go every day to hunt for their dog food. (I couldn't make them understand any other way)

The turkeys are getting huge. I have lost, or rather, it was misplaced for me, the card for my camera, so I have pictures to post but can't get them right now.

It's extraordinarily hard to keep up a full time job, especially during our busiest season, plus keep up with the demands of all the animals on the homestead, AND keep a clean house. Needless to say, things are falling apart a bit at the seams lately. However, the kids are away this week and it's amazing how things just fall into place and get cleaned up with no effort when you don't have to come home to make dinner. It's quiet without them, though, and I miss getting my phone calls throughout the day to let me know what they're up to.

The ducks are HUGE and have a new pool to swim in. They absolutely love it, but it will be a task to keep it clean. It only takes them two days to completely muddy the water. The duck house is almost built, and we've been enjoying eating from the wild harvest of blackberries, and groundnuts. I made a nice honey with rose petals. Tonight I will be canning beets, last night I canned the greens.

It's a lot of work, but it's rewarding. I enjoy going to bed each night because I am exhausted by that point, but I also look forward to the new morning to begin to see my animals and do the chores that will help sustain them. Each morning, everyone gets fresh grains and water, I put down new bedding for the turkeys, who are extremely messy, and hand out any treats I have like greens, liver, etc. The turkeys follow me around as I do my chores, as do some of the chickens, and George waits on the bottom step for his special wheat and corn breakfast. I want him to eat the nutritionally balanced pellets, so I only give him a snack. He's not starving, because I caught him courting with Martha yesterday. Looks like more babies are on the way.

I want to put a plug in for a great website www.eattheweeds.com - this guy has youtube videos where he shows you how to identify wild edibles and he's just fantastic. I highly recommend him for anyone interested in wild edibles.

July is here and the foraging is on!

OK, officially on, anyway. We've been foraging for a while now, as the seasons just don't wait... but it is officially challenge time.

I gave a copy of Wild Foods I Have Known, and Eaten by Russ Cohen to the boyscout leader, a friend of ours, and he is loving it. Perhaps a new convert? I love spreading the word that wild edibles are not only healthy and free, but delicious also.

Keep posted, and we'll post more soon.

On the farm side, the baby chicks are 6 weeks old and temporarily living in the big chicken house. They can stay there for a little while, only because they are still small. The duck house is almost built and the turkeys are HUGE. We gave two of Martha's babies to a friend from work and they love them. They will be pets, so it's nice to know that they will be loved.

More later, thanks for reading!