I love seeing old photos side-by-side with new ones of the same area, but this site takes it to a new level. Check out these civil war era photos that fade into current photos. How cool! Be sure to use the sliders, it makes it more real to me.
Month: June 2015
History Fading Away
Posted by Steve On June 25, 2015
Happenings Around the Homestead
Posted by Steve On June 22, 2015
What a slow week around here, at least on ‘homestead’ things. I can’t think of a single thing I have done other than dehydrate some herbs and make yogurt.
I had hoped to work on the roof of the chicken coop this weekend, but I didn’t get around to it with the rain on the early part of the weekend and a need to just take it easy in the later part of the weekend.
This week I hope to dry some more mint, re-pot some mint, work on the chicken coop roof, and pick garlic. Yes, I actually have some garlic that is ready to be harvested. It is a little earlier than normal, but it is time.
Now off to finish my cup of coffee and think about all the things I wish I had accomplished this week. 🙂
The Chicken Chronicles
Posted by Steve On June 16, 2015
Just like yesterday’s post, this one is two weeks in one. I forgot to schedule both of them last week. DUH!
The Welsummers are now about 13 (now) 14 weeks old, and they are FINALLY starting to venture out with the big hens some. Up until this point we have wondered if we made a mistake putting them into the coop with the older hens, and perhaps we did, but now they seem to be coming out of their shell (pardon the pun) a bit. 😀 We are still cornering them by themselves in a separate cage almost daily to give them time in the sun without having to worry about the older hens picking on them.
One of the issues we have had with the Welsummers is that they just roost on top of the nesting boxes instead of the roosting bar. Last night I put a branch in there near the nesting boxes and was happy to see a couple of them on the branch when I opened the door to the run this morning.
The laying is going full steam, and we have been able to bless family and neighbors with several dozen eggs so far. It sure is nice to see the smiles on the faces of folks when you bring them a dozen fresh eggs, especially those who really enjoy them.
Speaking of eggs, the silly Welsummers are roosting on top of the nesting boxes, so there ends up being a mess in the boxes all-too-often. I need to get another roosting pole put in the coop in an effort to prevent this – it’s not happening this week though.
Speaking of chicken projects, I also need to get the roof patched. There are a few leaks, which aren’t causing trouble now, but I sure don’t need them to continue. I doubt I will get to that this week either. And that isn’t it. I have another project I have been putting off for a while, though I will save the details of it until later.
Happenings Around the Homestead
Posted by Steve On June 15, 2015
WEEEEELLL – it helps if you hit the post button. 😀 This week you will get a double update.
It’s been a bit of a slow week around the homestead, at least outside. Inside I have been drying some herbs, both oregano and mint. It might be better to air dry these both outside, but I prefer to use the dehydrator on low (around 95 degrees) because it is consistent. When things are dried outside I have to keep a closer eye on them to ensure pests aren’t getting into the items I am drying, and I have to watch for the rain. I don’t have either of those worries inside.
The oregano I am drying is a nice, strong, True Greek Oregano, whereas the mint is Chocolate Mint (my favorite), Orange Mint, and Spearmint. There is something special, I think, about herbs that have been dried at home. I don’t know whether it is simply knowing where they come from, or if there is a quality difference (I am sure of that, btw), but I sure do like it.
The plants I started last week are all doing well though. I am so hopeful that the sweet potatoes take off and grow well. My biggest concern is the deer. Once they find these plants, they will certainly eat the leaves off of them. They always do. I probably need to get a covering for them as soon as I can to try and keep that risk down a little. I may put the tomato cages over them temporarily until I can get something more appropriate.
I am a little surprised that the brassicas I planted early in the spring haven’t all bolted yet. They are in a part of the yard that gets afternoon shade, so it may be that this is enough to keep them from bolting, but it is also enough to keep them from growing like I want to see them grow. Even so, I don’t mind the plants taking their time as long as they don’t bolt. 🙂
Since I originally wrote this, last week, I have successfully finished drying the mint and the oregano. Today I plan to put Feverfew on the dehydrator.
Perhaps the item of most interest this week is that some of the winter sown plants have just been happily living in their milk jugs since winter. My oldest son has been wanting to plant some things, so I showed him where to move them yesterday. That means I now have Skullcap, German Chamomile, and two types of Echinacea in my raised flower bed. Woot! Here, let me share a picture or two:
One of the new flowers/herbs in my garden, German Chamomile.
My Favorite Fresh Mint: Chocolate Mint
The Chicken Chronicles
Posted by Steve On June 2, 2015
There is not a whole lot of new things happening with the chickens. The biggest news right now is the babies (Welsummers) and the older ladies (Rhode Island Reds, primarily). The Reds sure do pick on the Welsummers, so much so that they Welsummers stay in the coop away from the other hens. This week we have taken the step of putting the babies back in the baby coop and a separate run when we can. It doesn’t work so well when it rains, which it has been doing this week, but it is nice to get them outside.
One thing that is encouraging is to see the Welsummers testing one another. No, I don’t relish the fact that they are establishing a pecking order amongst themselves, but I do like knowing that they are getting tougher and stronger, which means they will be able to hold their own with the older ladies soon enough.
The biggest problem with the Welsummers is they are roosting on top of the nesting boxes, and in fact they stay there much of the time, which means their droppings are falling into the nesting boxes. We have to make changes because of this. It isn’t hurting anything, but it is making the eggs more dirty.
One of the nice things about the hens right now is how they are fertilizing the garden for us when they are out running. I like one way I have heard it said: chickens are a compost factory that just happen to lay eggs. Surely they are not providing all the compost we need, but they are helping.
Happenings Around the Homestead
Posted by Steve On June 1, 2015
As I have said in a previous post, I am not planting my garden in full this year. I decided to only plant those things which were already ordered (sweet potatoes and herbs) and some things I had already planted before deciding this (corn, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and garlic). So even though I am not doing a lot this year compared to previous years, I am still planting quite a bit. This weekend I needed to plant some sweet potato slips that arrived a couple of weeks ago, as well as Goldenseal plants.
I must have ordered more sweet potatoes than I remember ordering. I planted 45 slips, 15 each of Beauregard, O’Henry, and Purple Passion. Those are orange, white, and purple sweet potatoes, respectively. Oh, you didn’t know there were different colored sweet potatoes? Yep, and while they taste similar, they do not taste exactly the same. I find the purple sweet potatoes to be more dry and a little less sweet, while the white sweet potatoes are more mild, and actually make a pretty good white potato substitute. Here is a picture of one of the slips I planted:
O’Henry Sweet Potato Slip
The garlic is coming along nicely, and it won’t be too long until it is ready to harvest. It is not all that is doing well though – the mint is growing like wildfire this year. Check out these pictures:
Chocolate Mint – one of my favorites!
Orange Mint
I mentioned the Goldenseal. Check out the roots of this plant! They are so golden in color:
Goldenseal Roots
Here is picture of the leaves.
Goldenseal
I am anxious to see how this grows. It is native to this area, so it should grow well.