Productive Days

Hello Dear Readers,  our days have been productive, lots of activity going on inside and outside on the homestead. We listen to NOAA weather on our scanner daily, to get an idea of how the day, days or week is suppose to be so we can plan our projects. With the days of late being pleasant, we have been outside, husband clearing one of the creek beds of dead trees, fallen limbs and water willows that have become too numerous, but not before I was able to harvest bark and leaves for drying. These trees are amazing at how they root almost instantly where ever a limb may fall into the water. There are still plenty around down in the other creek beds for future harvesting of bark and leaves.  I have been laying garden hay, which is very fine hay with no seeds in it at all, but old enough we don't feed it to our livestock, in the back orchard, the upper orchard, around my rose beds, wolf berry patch, muskadine patch, grape vines and in the main garden. I pruned the blueberry bushes a month ago, we now have 22 and with the very warm weather they are budding and some want to put out blooms already.  I planted two new cherry trees in the back orchard, awaiting two nectarine trees to come in the next few days and I will plant them in the back orchard too. Our two established cherry trees are in full bloom, of which I got some cherries for fresh eating last year, and hope to get a bit more this year.

With more physical work I am doing I make quite sure to take my tonic everyday in the morning and it helps so much.  Tonic:  8oz water, 2teaspoons apple cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons honey, and a dash of cayenne pepper, stir well, add one or two ice cubes, and drink. Within 10 minutes I notice my energy level rise and it last till a good bit into the evening, 8 or 9 pm.

We have nursing care for the children M-F 8 hours a day, which is wonderful blessing and is allowing us to be outside so much now. On the weekends, husband continues with outside projects and I stay inside with my 'to do' list. Yesterday I made bees wax wraps. I made these for the first time several weeks ago and I really like them. The ones I made yesterday are for a spring sale I am having soon to raise money for the historical, old general store we bought several years ago. I also started on a stain glass for the front porch. The design is of an authentic, antique stain glass window in our previous home in Arkansas. That home had so much character, I shall forever miss it. But this glass will give me fond, happy memories of it.  Today, husband and I made turmeric capsule supplements. Turmeric is very beneficial. As we gain more knowledge and take steps to produce what we can for ourselves, not only in our food, but also in medicinal ways,  we find it very rewarding. We continue to see good results from the colloidal silver we make. And all does not only benefit us humans, but our livestock benefit too. 

I found really cute ideas to make bird feeders. One will be made for a granddaughter having a birthday in April. I made some suet blocks for our birds yesterday and put it out today. The birds have not come yet today, but I gave some to the chickens and they loved it. There are many recipes on the internet, but the basic ingredients are lard, peanut butter, oatmeal, sugar, flour, and wild bird seed.

This week will see our steer going to the butchers on Tuesday, pig will be butchered on Friday. Our dear neighbor who gave us pig, will be teaching us about hog butchering, as we have never done one ourselves. We will kill pig on Friday morning, then load him and go to the neighbor who has all the equipment, etc.  It is to rain Mon.-Wed this week, so I will begin sanding down the kitchen counter, restain and polyu it. I have a jumper I am working on for sewing and started another dish cloth recently, I need to finish. Husband will go get feed and hay, he has some things going on in his machine shop as well.  Always good to have 'lists' for out and in, this way a body does not get bored, but then, on our homestead, and most probably on any working homestead, there are no idle days. But I did get a 2 hour nap in today "). 

I hope those who stop by and visit are encouraged, blessed and are making progress in your homesteading journey.

In Joy