Homesteader Life

I get a lot of questions on starting a farm these days. One thing I have tryed to stress is starting small. Think small. Modern industrial agriculture requires debt, lots of debt. It promises returns that barely pay down the debt and creates an ugly cycle that ends with tears and […]

We started canning beans yesterday. I love the sight of the jars full of fresh picked and canned beans piling up on the counter. Beans are in my opinoin the most important crop for the homestead. They will grow in any soil and seem to always yeild a good crop. For the space they take […]

There are a few things that one notices right off the bat when exploring Polyface Farm. First, the lack of machinery. No plows, disk, drags, planters, silage wagons or any of the other contraptions that make farming so expensive to get into. They do have machinery for haying but not much else. Second, almost every […]

We made it home today about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. We had a great time, although I’m glad to be home and don’t want to sit in a car again for some time. We stopped at “Endless caverns” on the way down. There are a lot of caves in the Shenandoah Valley. It was […]

We are in the process of packing the car. I spent the day tying up loose ends around here, making sure everything is ready for my departure. My cousin got here tonight to help out the folks while I’m gone. My brother has said he’ll come out and lend a hand, so I suppose they’ve […]

It was a lot cooler this morning than its been in some time. I didn’t even start the floor fan up in the cow barn. I am thankful for a break from this heat. I’m going to pick beans today. Last night I skidded out some firewood with my brother-in-law. We used the old Ford […]

Things are pretty busy around here this week. Leah and her sister have been making a mess of jam. They got the black caps done and yesterday they picked blueberries. While they picked blueberries I dug a grave for Katie. It was hot and the ground is dry and hard. Took forever getting a hole […]

We have some sad news. Our dog Katie was hit by a truck last nite and was killed. She never has gone in the road before, but it only takes once. It was a pretty sad time for all of us, she was a good dog and my little buddy. I miss […]

Yesterday was a pretty productive day. By sunset I had a bulk tank half full of jersey milk, my barn chores done, a big mixing bowl full of snap peas harvested and froze, 8 summer squash and 5 zuccinies picked, a big mess of broccoli put up, some more pasture clipped and I was standing […]

I got up late this morning. By the time I finished morning milking the post office had called and said that the baby chicks were in. So I skipped breakfast and the whole family went to town to get the chicks. We dipped the beaks and got them settled into their new home. We have […]