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Sunday, January 25, 2015

January Blues

Another month in the books. Just a couple short weeks away from the official seed starting date. LOL, I already blew it, I started potatoes in a tote in the kitchen. Eh, couldn't help it really, several of the small potatoes I harvested from last years crop had pushed sprouts in the bottom of the bucket I had them stored in. So, a shovel, a couple of buckets and the tote got filled with compost from the pile. Taters got covered up and now I have beautiful green in the kitchen. A pleasant reprieve from the dull grey and brown outside those windows. The peat pellets are calling to me and it's hard to resist the urge to get 100 seeds started, LOL. Scifi would be laughing at me right now, teasing me for my lack of self control.

The Lionhead kits are growing. I'm glad I brought them in the house. A little more work for me but worth it. Keeping the 2 in the house has given me new ideas for rabbit hutches and how to keep rabbits better than I have been. 18 years of keeping them the same way has worked to a point. Keeping them inside where I see them constantly, see how they behave and such, has given me new insight on how to better care for them. I hope to be able to start building for those ideas before too much longer.

Now that spring is on me, I'm ever so antsy about no internet connection at the house. It's hard to share things on the fly and write what I'm thinking or doing at any given moment when I don't have that net connection to share it with. “Sigh” Sometimes the simple, self sustainable lifestyle is hard to take. All those things I have to give up just to get by. I so need a better paying job. While I'm glad I have a job, the amount of time I spend working that job compared to the amount on my paycheck is constant source of displeasure for me. Sometimes, subsistence living just plain sucks. Part of it I guess, I just do what I have to do and get on with it.

Update on Lil Sister..... Sis was pretty sick. Pregnancy Toxemia was the final diagnosis. A beautiful little brown and white kid ended up being lost out of it, a vet bill I couldn't afford and Sis is kind of getting a little better. The worst part of it is, no milk. That part of it hurts the worst. No milk. My best milker and no milk. Yep, I'm upset about it, the whole thing, all the way around it.

I've got a camo throw blanket finished. Well, almost finished, LOL The ends need tucked still but for all intents and purposes, it's finished. So, the camo is the next raffle throw for the blog. It's a 3x5 couch throw and it will go the same as always. $10 an entry, 3 entries for $20. The raffle will go until the 7th so it can ship to the winner in time for Valentines Day. I've got 3 more in the works, in various stages of completion.

The chickens have quit laying. I think they have anyway. I can't find any eggs. Not sure what's up with that since I should have 15 a day. Not one single egg to be found out there. It's not that cold here so I'm at a loss as to why. It could be a moult but the birds all look good and I'm not seeing any feathers laying about. I've stopped letting the egg sucking dog out before I do chores so I know he's not getting them on me. Could it be a coon or a possum? I don't know at this point. The investigation continues......

6 comments:

  1. I would think a raccoon would go after chickens first or at least once. Could it be a snake? That is what got mine for a while. It is daylight that affects the egg laying in winter. I hope you get that solved soon.

    I am living with no water again, so I understand how hard things can be.

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    1. Hi Linda! Eh, no snakes yet, still too cold. Coon or possum could be after the eggs, for sure but I haven't seen any signs of it.

      ARG, the water thing, I can SOOOO relate to that!

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  2. I love reading what your projects are and how the homestead is going. For winter we turned off internet to house and just use phone.still have to be careful about how much data we use. When contract ends we will just use straight talk. Feed is so high and work slow we are pinching pennies. I am sharing you post on my facebook page. Hopefully will bring in more people for a chance on your afghan.

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    1. HI Peggy! Oh yah, the buffalos nose is bleeding here, LOL I've been gazing longingly at that straight talk wifi all winter. Maybe after tax time and the tractor tire purchase. If I have enough left... Thanks for the share!

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  3. Can you tell me a bit about your experience. I'm trying to save to buy a bit of land, be self sustained. I live in Florida. My email is coliluna@gmail.com

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    1. Hi Polarity, if you read back thru the blog, you'll learn all you need to know about my experience. Every up and down, every success and failure is all here....

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Comments always welcome