Rocky Oak Homestead™: When did it become ok?

You need to read this, because I could not have said it better myself........



Rocky Oak Homestead™: When did it become ok?: After my short sabatical a while back I explained my blog would be a series of many different topics, including those of my faith...so, toda...

Sick of being sick.....

Husband has been sick.  I have been sick....I think, as of today, we are finally on the mend with part of it. Husbands started out as a cold then it settled into his chest.  Mine stayed a head cold.  Today is the first day that I have had no sinus headache and am not getting short of breath.  He called me from work earlier and said he was feeling somewhat better as well.

Meanwhile, since we have felt blah, I didn't get all my seeds started....so far, just the garlic and onions.  And, I've done good to remember to even water them.

The snow is finally starting to melt, so the entire farm is a muddy mess, with deep puddles everywhere. There remains quite a bit that still needs to melt.

One thing for sure, between now and next winter, a change needs to be made on how we water the stock in the feed lot.  We battled the hydrant and hose freezing up all winter long.  We need to get a better solution. We also need to add a few more outlets to the barn, as the stock tank heaters go on the same circuit as plugging in the tractor.  I know we could just put them on different circuits, but we really do need a few more outlets out there anyway, so may as well do it right the first time.

As soon as the weather gets a little warmer, and my cold is completely gone, it looks like I will be having another surgery....Was hoping to avoid it, but the medications are not working (they did for the first week or so), so it is time for the next step.  I was supposed to go to the specialist this week but they changed my appointment until next month.  Which, probably was a good thing since I was sick.  But, its to the point now I am tired of messing with my health and want it all fixed now.

Rebecca is still working on her online scuba diving stuff.  When she gets it completed, (deadline is coming up in a couple of weeks) she will do her pool exercises, then head to Arkansas for lake diving so she can obtain her scuba certification.  The husband has been working on his too, but overtime and being sick have him far behind her.  She is getting some PE and science credit for her classes.

I was referred to a wonderful site I want to share.  Its not the same as what I had before (handwritten out and lost), but it is close, and better than nothing.  It is a website that tells you how many pounds to grow per person for reserving foods.  What I had before, was written out for me by an Amish woman that told how many feet, how many plants per person and rows of plants to plant per person.  (All I can remember is 9 tomato plants per person, to make your ketchup, sauces and for table eating).

Anyway, it is located here.

Please visit her site, http://www.granny-miller.com/  She has a lot of interesting and useful information on it.

Winter Blahs....

We have snow.  The local schools have been out since Tuesday.  As usual, we got a lot of drifting, and the county plowed our driveway shut.  Our road drifted shut within an hour after the county cleared it, but we have some nice neighbors who have been keeping my county road open.  Tues we could get out, but Wednesday we were drifted back in.  Once again, the neighbors opened the road.  Once you make it to the road, your fine.  But, it takes a 4x4 or the tractor to get out of the driveway.

Last night it was bitterly cold.  For some reason, Momma Cat brought her kittens out of their warm home and onto our front porch, were I found them this morning.  We worked on trying to save them.  Butterscotch (my husbands favorite) did not make it.  I think Wampus Kitty will.  We have been working on her all day. We warmed her up gradually, gave her drops of warm honey and finally she started drinking some warm milk.  But, momma cat wont have anything to do with her.  I don't understand why she brought them to the front porch.  They have 2 spots where they can go outside that are nice and warm--one is in the barn, and the other is in the chicken coop.  By looking at the tracts, it appears she carried them up.  No way the kittens could have gotten back on their own as some of the drifts she crossed are 3 foot tall.  So, they stayed where she put them and froze.

She will spend the next few nights in a cat carrier in the house.  She is doing so much better than she was this morning.  She was frozen and stiff, and is now able to walk some, meow, and drink warm milk and honey on her own.  However, she prefers to be on someones lap on my heat pad, wrapped up in a towel.  She was having seizures earlier, but they seem to have gone away now.

Normally we don't allow cats in the house, as my husband is allergic.  And, our barn cats are working cats. Without them we would lose a lot more grain and feed to the birds and mice.

Tomorrow I have my follow up appointment with my local doctor from my emergency surgery I had last week in Indiana.  This will determine if I can come off of restrictions that my Indiana doctor put me on, or have additional surgery, which he thinks I need.  I'd rather just take a magic pill and be done with it all, but evidently they don't make such a thing.

FREE ebook on starting seeds....

GET IT FREE HERE.

If you don't have an e-reader (I don't) then download one of the free ones online that you can put onto your computer.  I have several free ebooks on gardening now from Amazon.com obtained this way....

Onion Container Gardening

I found this on pinterest.   It orginally comefrom a blog freshorganicgardening.com, This would be an easy way to have onions year around, or for those without a yard to grow their own onions in.

This one uses a plastic container with holes cut in it.  But, I don't like mixing plastics with my foods (many plastics release toxins into our foods).

But, one could do the same thing with a clay strawberry pot......

This would be a good way to get onion greens or chives for salads.  Kids would have fun making this project.

Planting Tips

I try to companion plant when possible.

Some plants give nutrients other plants need.  Companion planting helps them to do that, so that plants are not fighting each other for what they need from the soil.

It is also good rotate your crops and  to let your soil rest every 7 years.  Even the Bible teaches that in Exodus 23:11.

Most of my gardening is raised beds.  With raised beds, rotating is easy.  And, each year I add more soil and manure, straw and such to the beds.  That keeps the soil from getting striped of nitrogen, and other nutrients.

2014 Garden Beginnings

Even though the ground is covered with ice and snow....my 2014 garden is underway.

My garlic is now up around 6-8 inches...... (about the same as the snow outside...)  I've heard people say it has to be planted in the fall.  I have always had good luck, and have never started garlic in the fall, always in January.

My little greenhouse sits in along a row of south windows.  You can't tell by this photo, but there is a floor register under it.  That gives it a shot of heat every now and then, if we have the heat on.

I planted my onion seeds today, and they too will be sprouting in about a week or a little more.  I've been told that if you trim the tops of the onion and garlic, that forces them to grow a better bulb.  So, this year I will be trimming them down.

Tomorrow I will soak my asparagus seeds, and then plant them in dirt on Monday.  I have wanted an asparagus bed for several years, and since it takes 2-3 years before you can harvest, I decided if I didn't get it done this year, it would be another 4 year delay....So, will finally do it.

Most of my seeds are from last years harvest, or off of ebay.

NFL Bans Daniel Defense Super Bowl Ad Response

WARNING....This does contain some language.

But, it makes some very good points.

Why was the commercial which supports guns banned by the NFL, yet the half nude dancers, singers, alcohol ads and such are allowed????   What about all the other TV shows that promote all this stuff?  What of those messages that are being sent?