Prayers needed......

I'd like to ask that you hold Mike up in prayer. He's been suffering since last Friday with pain in his left knee. There is no sign of inflammation, but yet there is heat and it is tender to the touch on and above the knee cap. He doesn't recall mis- stepping, slipping or anything else that might have caused the pain to occur. Currently I'm treating him with Arnica Montana( bruising, pain), Ruta Grav.( for tendonitis or sprain) and herbal tea with Yarrow, Peppermint, Echinachea and honey( which he dislikes, but does drink). I also even rubbed, gently, his knee with DMSO( even though it states it's not for human use, it does work in small doses) Sat. evening he was able to bend it and even put weight on it, then after a full nights sleep with little, to no pain he awoke to the same symptoms. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse, yet it isn't getting any better either. He said it feels like a nerve is caught. We ask that you pray for guidance and wisdom, as to how to treat this problem and discernment as to when to seek a orthopedic Dr.'s opinion. We do have medical insurance,major medical only. Mike is praying it will stop being a problem, as quickly as it began. He won't admit it, but he is dealing with a lot of pain. Thank you, your prayers are comforting.

How's that global warming.... working for you?

BTW, we received another 4-5 inches of snow late yesterday afternoon and evening. The wind was blowing and gusting 30-40 mph, so it looked like a blizzard. Cortney and I joked that maybe we'd better tie a rope to the lamb barn, so we could find our way back to the house when out feeding the lambs at 10pm. Mike, being a tease, saw that we were heading back from bottle feeding the lambs and he held out a steel mixing bowl and wooden spoon, "Clang, clang" is what we heard, so we could find our way back. Grinning, we both thanked him for being so thoughtful to help us find our way back! I think we've received more snow in March than we have the entire winter. Sure glad Mike and I got that pasture seed down,all this moisture is surely a blessing. We ended up replanting some of our tomatoes, all of our herbs and peppers. Dumbie me, I didn't put in the heat lamp and with our house being on the cool side, I think those seeds rotted because it wasn't warm enough to get them germinating. The cabbage and what tomatoes that did germinate look great. I now have the heat lamp running through the night and when it gets warm enough in the house during the day I turn it off. I don't look forward to our electric bill though. Praying we see more seedlings pop through this week. Well.. off to start some laundry, then outside to get barns cleaned out,and haul firewood. Once back inside Cortney needs to get going on school and my plan is to clean the house. Two dogs shedding, and all the mud, it's a wonder this house is such a mess! :o( I'm ever so thankful for our mudroom, at least the mud is kept in one area. The dogs don't like it much that they have to wait until they dry before coming into the house. We do wipe their paws as they come into the mudroom, but when it was snowing, they get wet and then smell like wet dog, YUCK! Okay I need to get a move on it. Have a blessed day all :o)

Why it is important......

...now more than ever to support your local farmer. Big food industry is trying to stop the ever increasing wave of people searching our a local source for their food supply; IE: CSA gardens, planting your own garden, Food Coops, farmer's markets, etc.... Here is a link to an informative article. http://articles.mercola.com:80/sites/articles/archive/2009/03/28/Say-Goodbye-to-Farmers-Markets-CSAs-and-Roadside-Stands.aspx We urge all of you to be in contact with your state representatives about this very issue. The bill being pushed leave to much open for interpretation.

Emergency #'s may be dial direct!

It's been a rough couple of weeks for me. I'm suffering from physical & mental overload. I was browsing for the Ascites information and came across this list. I NEED to call several of these and plan to do so directly. :o) Emergency Phone Numbers: Emergency Numbers may be dialed direct! No operator assistance is necessary! All lines are open to Heaven 24 hours a day! Feed your faith, and doubt will starve to death! When in sorrow, call....John 14. In time of worry, call....Matthew 6:19-24. When your faith needs a boost, call.... Hebrews 11. When you are lonely or fearful, call....Psalm 23. If God seems far away, call....Psalm 139. If people seem unkind, call....John 15. When you feel down and discouraged, call....Romans 8:31-39. When you want peace and rest, call....Matthew 11:25-30. When you need sweet assurance, call....Romans 8:1-30. If you are losing confidence in people, call....I Corinthians 13 If you are depressed, call....Psalm 27. When you are in danger, call....Psalm 91. When you have sinned, call....Psalm 51. If your pocketbook is empty, call....Psalm 37. For how to get along with others, call....Romans 12. When you need courage for a task, call....Joshua 1. If you want to be fruitful, call....John 15. When you grow bitter and critical, call....I Corinthians 13 For Paul's secret to happiness, call....Colossians 3:12-17. If the world is growing small and yourself great, call....Psalm 19. When the world seems bigger than God, call....Psalm 90.

With Spring arrive many babies, especially on a homestead....

Chickens are the #1 homestead animal and with Spring brings deliveries of baby chicks. This year we will NOT be ordering chicks, instead we pray that several of our good brood hens set good clutches. I'm posting some info. I've found useful in raising chickens. Hybrid meat chickens are a horse of a different color and we personally choose not to raise them. Instead we raise large breed layers, they are treated as dual purpose. Here is the information and I hope it proves useful. Ascites; is a condition not a disease. It is a distended abdomen that may be filled with fluid. There is often muscle congestion and enlarged heart. One or both lungs may be congested and watery. It is caused from lack of oxygen, phosphorus, vitamin E and selenium deficiencies and high levels of salt in water or diet. In the past few years, a new disease problem has occurred in home broiler flocks. The disease is called ascites syndrome. Owners typically observe an increase in death loss from three weeks to market. Anywhere from 10 percent to 60 percent of a flock may become affected. Ascites is the medical term used to describe the large amount of fluid that accumulates in the abdominal cavities of the birds that die with this disease. Other changes that are seen are purple discoloration of skin, enlarged livers, dark red lungs, and greatly dilated, flabby hearts. Essen-tially, the cause of death in the birds is due to heart failure and lack of oxygen to the tissues. Genetically, the modern broiler is very prone to develop the illness. This is probably due to the bird's exceedingly fast growth rate and high oxygen demand. Some researchers have shown that in modern meat breeds the growth rate and muscle mass have greatly increased, while the size of the bird's heart and lungs have not kept pace. These factors, along with inadequate oxygen during growth, 24-hour-a-day feeding, and 24-hour lights have resulted in home flocks losing large numbers of birds to heart failure and ascites. Several measures can be taken to reduce the incidence of ascites syndrome in flocks: Switching to a dual purpose meat bird may be helpful. Observations have shown that breeds of chickens besides the broiler Cornish cross are not as sus- ceptible to ascites syndrome. Improving ventilation in the barn is very important. lack of adequate air exchange is considered by many to be one of the most important factors leading to this disease. Temperatures are frequently cold at night, especially in early spring, tempting flock owners to tighten up the buildings to conserve heat. This may result in inadequate oxygen to the chickens. Improving ventilation to the birds means having a source of fresh air coming in and a way to move the stale air out of the building. Simply having a crack or two in the door on one side does not promote air circulation in the barn. You may need to add some inlets and a fan to draw fresh air across then out the barn. It is best to consult your county educator or a agriculture engineer to help you design a suitable ventilation scheme for your brooder. Raising broilers during a warmer time of year when good ventilation is easier to achieve will help reduce the incidence of ascites. Reducing the growth rate in the birds is believed to help prevent ascites. This can be done in a number of ways. A) remove the feed from the birds at night, B) cut out feeding supplemental grain as well as eliminating night feeding, or C) cut back the diet to feed only 90 percent of the total estimated intake. Although the birds will achieve desired weight at a slightly later age with these plans, death loss from ascites should decrease. It is important to remember that the heart muscle damage to the birds from inadequate oxygen starts the very first week of the chick's life. Day old baby chicks need oxygen as much as the older birds! Ascites syndrome deaths occur after the third week of life because the heart cannot keep up with the demands of rapid growth and heavy body weight. Making management changes after the second or third week will probably not reduce the incidence of ascites! Growers experiencing death loss in their broilers are encouraged to consult their local veterinarian or cooperative extension poultry specialists before assuming their problem is due to ascites. Other infectious and non-infectious diseases occasionally cause death. A diagnosis should be made by a qualified professional before consuming the meat. http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/animaldisease/nf216.htm

This was shamelessly borrowed from The Tree of Liberty. When I think things can't possibly get any worse, BAM! Monsanto is pure evil and that is my personal opinion. If you feel the same way, might I suggest a book that will open your eyes WIDE! The book is entitled; Seeds of Deception by Jeffery M. Smith. In brief it's about exposing Industry and Government lies about the safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods, you're now eating! Apparently, President Obama is considering appointing Michael Taylor to head the new Food Safety Working Group. Who's Michael Taylor? From Food Politics (care of Jill Richardson): Mr. Taylor is a lawyer who began his revolving door adventures as counsel to FDA. He then moved to King & Spalding, a private-sector law firm representing Monsanto, a leading agricultural biotechnology company. In 1991 he returned to the FDA as Deputy Commissioner for Policy, where he was part of the team that issued the agency's decidedly industry-friendly policy on food biotechnology and that approved the use of Monsanto's genetically engineered growth hormone in dairy cows. His questionable role in these decisions led to an investigation by the federal General Accounting Office, which eventually exonerated him of all conflict-of-interest charges. In 1994, Mr. Taylor moved to USDA to become administrator of its Food Safety and Inspection Service... After another stint in private legal practice with King & Spalding, Mr. Taylor again joined Monsanto as Vice President for Public Policy in 1998.The man has moved in and out of roles at the federal government and Monsanto so many times he probably has whiplash. So what's the big deal? (I'm not going to opine on Monsanto here, other than to say that I know quite a few people who think Monsanto is the most evil corporation in the world, and that's even after this AIG debacle.) Well, two things:The first is that I find it puzzling, to put it lightly, that Obama would choose this guy to help ensure food safety. Here's what Taylor recently said:FDA is in "bad shape" and the FSIS meat and poultry inspection system is "obsolete," Taylor said. "We're spending a lot of government money to do inspections that could be done by someone else," he said. "We need to complete the transformation of FSIS as a food safety agency, away from inspection to a science-based public health agency." Yes, because it's been proven just how effective is lack of rigorous monitoring and regulation on the part of the government. We need more of less. Taylor was also responsible for writing the rBGH labeling guidelines for the FDA. The guidelines specifically prohibited dairies from stating that their products contained or were free of rBGH. Sounds safe to me. Second, the appointment of Michael Taylor to the Food Safety Working Group would really belie Obama's pledge not to appoint lobbyists to positions within his administration. And this would not be the first time. Am I shocked? No. But this is not merely a matter of a politician going back on a pledge or dancing around the edges. The AIG/bank bailout fiasco shows just how crippled the Obama Administration can be by conflicts of interest. Secretary Geithner has failed miserably at asserting the federal government's authority over the corporations to which we've handed out hundreds of billions of dollars. The banks aren't lending, and AIG and Citigroup are using our tax dollars to provide private benefits to some of the who got us into this mess. As Josh Marshall eloquently states, the real issue behind the AIG bonus debacle isn't the money.There's no end of puffed up outrage and opportunistic posturing over the on-going revelation of the AIG bonus scandal. But some line has been crossed. And it's worth thinking really clearly about just what that line is. What is so damaging about this isn't the money -- which is almost trivially small compared to the many hundreds of billions we've already committed. The problem is what appears to be the president's mortifying impotence in the face of bankers and financiers who created the problem. Appointing people who have close ties to--and, in many cases, have actually worked for--the industries they are responsible for regulating, is a losing proposition. Whether or not Geithner and other Obama appointees are intending to serve private corporate interests over those of the nation, their close relationships and possible conflicts of interest certainly don't help. Originally posted at Carbon Institute

Do any of you have any questions?

Time is getting tighter( springtime clean up and garden preparation) and I'm running low on energy to think of things to post about, so.... I'm asking for your help, what you'd like to know or learn. I'll research it and add what we do that works well for us. I'm looking forward to your questions. We're headed out to the solar dryer and then out to clean up some flowerbeds and leftover stuff in the garden( Horticulture 101). We hope to get our composted manure spread on the gardens, raspberries( which still need pruning) and strawberries. Mike is also planning, barring any weather, to spread the manure on the pastures as well. It's forecasted to be wet( rain and even snow mix) on and off again for the next week or so. This will not only give a boost to the established grasses, but also to the seed we spread last weekend. Have a very blessed day! :o)

Some friends and family are having a difficult time....

leaving a Comment on our blog, so.... I investigated and this is the information I came up with; How do I leave comments on a blog? If someone has comments enabled on his or her blog, then you can usually find a "comments" link at the end of each post, like this: If you click this link, you will go to the comment posting page. (Note: in some templates, this link may take you to the post page first. From there you should be able to find the "Post a Comment" link which will take you here.) The comment posting page looks like this: In the upper left corner, there is an option to show or hide the original blog post that the comments relate to. The rest of the left-hand column contains any comments that have already been made. The profile photos of the comment authors may also display, depending on the blog's settings. On the right hand side of the page is the space for you to enter your comment. Beneath that are the identity options. (Some of these may not be available, depending on the blog's settings.) The options are these: Blogger username: Your display name will appear, along with a link to your profile and your photo (if you have one). Other: You can enter your name and a link to your website, without having to have a Blogger account. Anonymous: No identifying information is displayed. The comment is credited to "Anonymous" without a link. The owner of a blog also has the option to have comments open in pop up windows. In this case, all the primary features will still be present, just arranged a little differently: Notes: This article only covers Blogger's commenting system. Some Blogger users have installed third-party comment systems (e.g. Haloscan, Enetation, etc.) which will work differently. If anyone who is able to COMMENT would please give an added information to my family and friends about how they might make comments it would be such a blessing. I'm not sure if they need to register somewhere first or what, again any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance :o) I hope to see more comments from friends and family, soon!

If you don't like the weather in Montana....

Time to begin collecting runoff water again. We have four oak
barrels that we fill with runoff as needed.

Keep in mind that our temps is well into the 40'sF, so a lot

of the first snow melted as soon as it hit the ground. If I had to guess

we probably received around 4" of snow. We'll wait to see how much

moisture this gave us, but I'm betting it's good! :o)

What a blessing it is to have gotten all that pasture seed spread

yesterday. We re -seeded the bottom portion of our front pasture, as

we've had a problem with weeds and cheat grass in this area and pray

with a high germination that the new grasses choke out these problem

weeds. This, hand pulling( annual weeds) and digging( perennial

weeds) got our back pasture and upper portion of the front pasture

almost entirely weed free, and without chemicals! Truth be know we

purposely left some weeds along the fenceline. Why you ask?

They are actually herbs, good for our animals diets, the cows and horse

search them out.

Sharing pictures

It's greening up nicely! If we get the fore casted
moisture and then a warm up you'll be able to watch it grow

Shot of the cow barns, to the right of that our garage and our house in

front

See the cliffs in the background. Behind me( as this photo was taken)

are mountains, so we're in a valley of sorts.

Just a few more.....

Our granary, pig pen( behind the barn) and barn. The plan is...
To add a new metal roof to the barn this year before winter.
As well is a roof across the back and right ride of the barn. The
right side of the barn will be for shelter for the turkeys and across
the back for wood storage as well as a roofed in area for the pigs
(besides their hut)

Barn, shop, main coop and east side of my parents house.

East side and back view of my parents house and back yard.

Their shed is in the background.

The cow barns( light tan color), we need to paint all of our buildings, if

possible, this year.

More photos....

Mo enjoying his grazing time in the front pasture.

Addy and Bessie with a good view of the river

Remember when Button busted off her horn, well this a is

pretty good shot of how it's coming along. She'll have one horn longer

than other but it appears she will have two.

Bessie keeping just far enough away from the electric fence.

Actually it isn't even on because the wind tangled it up and

we need to unwind it and tighten it, but they respect it all the same.

Photos cont......

Addy, our Dexter, enjoying the new green grass. The river
is in the background. That is electric fencing, because the edge
a 6-8 ft drop off to the river.

All three girls grazing and enjoying the sunshine.
BTW, the date on the camera is wrong, but I don't know
how to fix it.


A few of our layers, speckled sussex, Plymouth white, barred rock, buff orphington, RIR and austrolope. They are spoiled and when they see anyone
coming, they run to the fence.

Mike's blacksmith shop, soon to have half converted into a walk

in cooler. Then we can butcher all of our own animals, including beef.

The blue building is a brooder coop, but currently is housing the lambs

and the red building to the right of the shop is the main coop. Hopefully

this summer we'll get both coops re fenced

The root cellar completely finished

This shot is of the front of my parents home, Mike's shop( right)
and you can see a portion of our back pasture( girls included)
Behind the shop sits the barn and to the right of the shop is the
main coop.

This is one of Mike's pride and joys, a Farmall M with a F11 loader.
He's been working on this tractor in all his spare time getting it up
and running.


Well, they wouldn't hold still, so I got a good shot of one!
Today they were very playful and enjoying the sunshine.

Awwwwh, so cute! I guess so because I posted it twice, LOL!

Crossed off the "Honey Do" list, today!

Here are a few pictures, I still haven't figured out this camera of Mike's.
Cortney and her two bum lambs, Luke and John. It's so cute because
they follow her everywhere and they listen to her too! I keep reminding
her that they go back to our friend by end of April. She insists she knows
but ...... I see her getting so attached.

These are our turkeys, free ranging for the afternooon.
The grass is just beginning to green up and they love
picking around for just that right morsel. We have 12 altogether
and four toms and four hens are slated to be butchered, soon.
Our Narraganset hen and a Bronze hen are already laying eggs.
We pray we get two good nest hatches as we did last year, as
we are beginning to establish a good customer base. Selling
our turkeys, live or butchered. We donated a butchered turkey a few
years ago and the word spread quickly how big it was( dressed
out at 33lbs) and how delicious it was. Once you've had fresh,
free range, natural turkey you'll never go back to frozen storebought
turkey.

Today we all had our chores, Mike worked on his Farmall M tractor
and PTL! he finally got it running. This has been a work in progress for
close to a year now. He was so excited he had to take it for a test
drive down the road a bit and then played with the loader a bit as well.
This is going to come in very handy in a few weeks when we start
spreading manure on the pastures. Last Spring Mike was able to
borrow the company bobcat to load the manure spreader, in years
previous to that we've loaded it by hand. Having a tractor with a loader
and bucket is a HUGE blessing!

Cortney dealt with the lambs, rode Mo, and helped prepare dinner.
She also bundled branches as the lambs nibbled around the orchard.

I made Indian Fry Bread( see recipe below) for breakfast. My Dad
came over for Sat. morning coffee and conversation, I washed
dishes while listening.
We'd planned to begin setting up the new
greenhouse, but our weather is changing yet again. Monday our
forecast is to receive up to 2 ft of snow! I just keep telling myself,
it's a blessing as we really need the moisture( okay not believing it
for a minute because I NEED spring, LOL!). I also misted our seed
starts. Nothing is up yet, but I'm guessing with a few more days of
sunshine and heat we'll see green seedlings popping through.

We invited Jon for supper and he gladly accepted. Our supper was
BBQ ed T bone and rib steak, homemade macaroni and cheese
and home canned green beans.

Indian Fry Bread
1c. unbleached white flour
1c. whole wheat flour
1/2c. powdered milk
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 c. warm water
2Tbsp. oil or melted lard
Mix in given order, mixing thoroughly. Knead dough 4-5 times on
a floured surface.
Preheat olive oil or lard in a frying pan, enough
to be 1" deep in pan.
Roll dough or press out with the heal of your hand
1/4" thick. Slice into small squares( 2x2"). Place pieces in hot oil
and turn when golden brown, until golden grown, then remove and
serve warm with maple syrup, honey, powdered sugar or cinnamon
and sugar. Enjoy!

Before the storm begins to roll in, in the afternoon tomorrow, I'll try
to get some updated pictures of the animals, how the root cellar
looks with all the dirt in place and some update pictures of our place.
So as Ellie Mae, of The Beverly Hillbillies would say,

"Y'all come back now ya hear!"

Having digital camera withdrawls......

I asked Mike if he wouldn't please bring home his work ,digital camera. The only problem is I can't figure out how it works, so will wait for him to help tomorrow, as it's his weekend off. Our weather has been beautiful, into the 60's which is a blessing for laundry days. Still working on cleaning up and bundling branches from the fruit trees. Yesterday while I was sorting branches into bundles, Cortney was on dog poop patrol. I adds up quickly when you have two dogs and there is nothing worse than stepping in some. This is why I'm so fussy about getting it picked up on a weekly basis( if the weather cooperates) We purchased some flower seeds yesterday and plan to plant these to add to our starts. We typically don't buy many flowers but do have several planters on the back porch area and one under the kitchen window that I like to fill. Why not grow our own and not spend the money at the greenhouse. Cortney picked, pansies( mixed colors), lupine( mixed colors),Canterbury bells, viola, gaillardia, and lavender. We already started from our own saved seeds,marigolds( various styles and colors), zinnias( mixed colors, shared by a friend) calendula, purple cone flower( echinachea) and portulaca( moss roses). Most all of our established flowerbeds have perennials or a wild flower/ herb collection. I love gardening but when it comes to flowers I want them to reseed or come back every year basically on their own. The Lord does a so much better job putting colors and varieties of flowers together. After 6 yrs we're still adding flowers. This season we are tilling up the right of way in front of our place and sowing wildflowers. This is due in part to three years of utility companies and a construction crew building a new bridge just 1/4 mile down the road( last summer) tearing up this portion of the yard and not returning it as they found it. Quite frankly I'm sick and tired of cleaning up their messes and reseeding the area year after year so.... my thought was sow it in with wildflowers, it will be pretty as well as relatively maintenance free, other than watering. When in the city on Monday, we picked up our greenhouse, so this is Mike's weekend project. It's not a fancy expensive greenhouse, but we're certainly excited and now we won't need cold frames. It's 6x6ft. and we plan to start lettuce, kale, spinach, carrots, sweet peppers, cukes and a few tomato plants in the greenhouse. Here in our growing zone the tomatoes and cukes come so late that the garden greens are finished and I like to have tomatoes, peppers and cukes in my salad. If the truth be known it would be a good idea to possibly pick up another greenhouse for a spare or even run two, we'll have to see how it goes with this one first. Cortney is now a nanny( sheep) to two little bum lambs. We are raising them only until weaned for our friend. She's finding out that it isn't cracked up to what it's supposed to be but she's doing a great job. She's bottle feeding them every 6 hours. It's so cute because they follow her everywhere, baah, baahing. She's named them John and Luke. Luke is smallest of the two but gaining ground quickly. This is part of my digital camera withdrawls, all these cute moments missed. I hope to get some good shots and post here tomorrow. Well, I need to get Cortney off to work and get back and get laundry in, clean barns and bundle the branches. I'm also working on beginning some Spring cleaning, one room at a time, washing walls,ceilings, curtains, windows, floors, rugs etc..... It always feels so good when it's all finished. May the Lord bless you in a special way today.

This is a Red Currant bush in our yard. When in bloom it just hums with the sound of bees. The yard was basically non-existent, 98% weeds and 2% bare dirt. So we raked and put down lawn seed and began watering to keep it moist. It had been several weeks and the grass seed was coming up nicely and was long enough in spots to need a trim.

This is where this story begins......
It was a Saturday afternoon and Mike and the kids were sitting out on the back patio( just to the left of the above Currant bush) playing with Cortney's kitten. I decided to begin rolling up hoses in preparation for mowing. Jon quickly volunteered to help me in rolling the hose reel up as I fed the hose. I walked across the patio past Mike and Cortney toward the first sprinkler and.........
Well, the next thing I remember is sitting on my backside, looking at bricks and dirt. Now mind you this all took place within several seconds. I looked about and then up and realized I was UNDERGROUND!

Here is a picture taken the next day from our bedroom window. You can see the soil is still wet from watering and yes that is the place I fell through into an abandon cess pool( old style septic tank). Before you say EWWW.... it hadn't been used in decades and was completely dry. This cess pool was built in a 12ft wide circle, lined with bricks and as we found out later, the bottom was brick as well. Large timbers were laid across the opening and then covered a couple feet of soil. The timbers were at least 50+ yrs old and of course being in the yard the watering didn't help keep from rotting. One of the timbers had already fallen into the tank and evidently when I stepped I helped the second timber break.
After I realized I was underground, I panicked and began yelling to Mike for help. He heard me and had heard a noise seconds earlier but the BBQ was blocking his view. He admitted that he chuckled a bit figuring that I'd slipped in the mud and fallen or was tangled in the hose Jon was rolling up. Mike gave Cortney her kitten and stood up, still not seeing me, he stepped around the BBQ to see a hole and no ME! He only had to take several steps and he saw I was at the bottom of the hole. He tried to get closer but the soil was giving way and he was afraid it would cave in on top of me. By this time Jon was running for a ladder and Cortney ran to the neighbor's house( she thought they could help Mike and Jon, she was panicked too) For me it really began to sink in and I was afraid to move, for fear I'd fall further, not knowing if it was an old well or something( okay I panicked!) Mike lowered down the ladder and talk me into climbing out. Once out I realized my shoulder was pretty sore. Jon wanted to investigate the hole, boys, gotta love'm. Mike allowed him to carefully climb down half way to report what he saw. He reported that it was most likely 8 ft deep and 10-12 ft wide and it had a bottom, so wasn't a deep well.

When Jon climbed down inside he made the hole a little bigger. See the new grass coming up among the weeds?

This picture was several weeks later, after Mike and Jon excavated the remaining timbers off the top, opening up the entire hole.

Some of the dirt fell in during excavation. The timber that gave way when I stepped is right behind Cortney. Jon is standing on the bottom of the tank and you can see the dirt is well above his head, he's over 6 ft tall in this picture. He's now 6' 2". We filled this hole in with two dump truck loads of rock, soil mix and topped it off with 3 ft of top soil. Needless to say I still walk around this spot.

We of course had no reference to this tank or any other in ground tanks or wells, in any of the papers we received at closing and the gentleman who owned this place at the time we bought it, died just days before we closed. My shoulder was fine within a few days, nothing serious, Praise the Lord!

Inside shots of the cellar

The dirt is up level with the outer door. I don't have any recent pictures of the cellar, all finished and covered with wildflowers and herbs. It will be on my list of pictures to get once we get a new digital camera. I sure miss not having one handy.

We had a very wet Fall that yr. and it hampered Dad and Mike getting the cellar ready. The potatoes were muddy and wet, so we placed them on paper lined shelves to dry before placing in the tater bin. Our first winter they didn't have all the dirt on top and it got cold inside, so we had to run a heat lamp to keep stuff from freezing. The floor also was very wet, so humidity was high and the squash, pumpkins and onions didn't keep well, in fact they began to mold very quickly. The following summer we opened the inner door, the outer door and ran a squirrel cage fan( see it in the picture above) to dry out the floor. Mike and Dad then added a vapor barrier and gravel on top of that. The humidity is just right, as squash and onions keep from Oct to April and the potatoes, carrots, beets and cabbage keep from Oct well into May.

Dad and Mike also added two more center supports, just because dirt is heavy and it would be awful to have it collapse. Dirt weighs lots and wet dirt weighs even more.

Tater bin awaiting filling. The potatoes took several weeks to dry and the skins to harden before adding to the bin. You can see the dirt floor was too wet.

I simply couldn't live without our cellar, it's a must have tool on any homestead, especially if your desire is to be sufficient.

Pictures of the cellar being built and ....

The door and steps added in this photo
Most of the dirt has been packed in around the sides and top is being
shoveled into place.

Before all dirt was filled in or the steps and outer door added
Mike inside showing the height.

My Dad( 70 yrs old), left and Mike, right, throwing the dirt

in around the sides.

This is a BEFORE shot of the exact spot my folks house now sits

from the tractor, past the grainery

This was the first summer, they've now added beautiful flowerbeds on both sides of the front step. They also added shutters on the front windows, which makes it look more country farmhouse style.

Use and reuse, or invent uses.....

We have a small orchard of fruit trees and bushes and it always amazes me how many piles of branches we end up with each year after pruning. We have three mature apple trees, three trees that are on their 5th year, 2 mature plum trees, 2 plums planted last year, 2 pear, last year, 1 cherry tree, last year, 1 ground cherry bush, 2 elderberry bushes, 1 red currant and 2 concord grape vines. So either we burn HUGE slash piles every Spring or you find other uses. I choose to find other uses. What isn't big enough to mess with for firewood, we bundle for kindling( the straight sucklers are such a blessing to work with) the grape vines can be kept for making baskets. Some of the larger straight branches I'm keeping for a future project, a rustic bench or chair. The cherry bush prunings are also good from making baskets, as they are limber enough to weave without breaking. Straight branches can be used for garden row markers, or larger ones used for Tee Pee towers for climbing beans, peas or even cukes and squash. The possibilities are endless. Happy pruning! Tomorrow is a BIG day for Mike and I, it's our 25th ( silver)wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been 25 years, well... it's true what they say about time flies when you're having fun. Mike has to working in the morning, but took off the afternoon so we can go out for supper and possibly a movie. Cortney has been sneaking around here for days, so not sure what she's got planned. I can't wait! Well, yet another snow storm is heading our way It's only a one day special, PTL as I'm sick of snow and ready for "Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!" The final product is mud, but I'm just so...... tired of snow. Our wood pile is holding up well in fact we may end up with about 1 cord leftover. All total we had approx. 8-9 cords and this has supplied two households, ours and my folks. I'm not sure I've mentioned this here on the blog, but my folks home is on our property, just 75 ft behind our house. They had a home built here 2-1/2 yrs ago. They wanted to be closer, but couldn't find anything in the area and land was so outrageously priced, so Mike prayed and I prayed, yet neither of us knew about the others prayer and just before Easter Sunday Mike approached me and said "Come outside and look at something with me!" He started telling that if we moved the brooder coop and the grainery there would be more than enough room to have a house built right here for my folks. I'd been thinking along those very same lines. We know it was the Lord speaking to us. We suggested this to my folks on Easter, after dinner. They were a bit shocked, but very excited at the idea. With lots of prep work, moving buildings and our grainery, ground breaking was on June 1st. We ended up moving two fences twice( so cement trucks could have access), we moved our three sided cow shed, their sewer and water line had to go right down the middle of my already planted garden and the small cellar had to crushed in, as it was in the way of the contractor. We also helped my Dad put in a chain link fence and sod for their back yard and for my Mom's dogs. The garden issue was traumatic, but it was my choice, to avoid a whole entirely different torn up mess. My Dad made the offer to rebuild us a new cellar, as well as put in a cement foundation for our grainery. He and Mike worked very hard to keep that promise, with a new 12x12x8 root cellar. My Dad, 70yrs old, and Mike covered the cellar with 4-5 ft of dirt, shoveling it all by hand! My folks moved into their new home in mid August. I'll add some pictures of the cellar during the building process, as well as my folks house. Have a blessed evening and may it continue into this new week.

How well are you prepared for.......

an emergency situation? It could be weather related,loss of a job, it could be terror related, how about a pandemic! We've found a good way to make sure your preparation bases are covered is to prepare for the worst and pray for the best. Do you have enough water and food for a minimum of 30 days? Water and the ability to access water, then purify it is and should be your first priority. Just stop for a moment and think of all the water you use in a day, not just for drinking or cooking, but washing, bathing, flushing, animals, etc..... Storage of water is relatively simple, it's finding the space. This is why we store enough for our family to function for several weeks and then have alternative means to gain access to water( if no electricity we have a hand pump for our well), we also have the river just at the back of our property. Food; "Store what you eat and eat what your store". Rotation is a very important part of a good food storage plan. You'll want to store food items you are accustom to eating, a stressful time, is not the time to begin eating and cooking with dehydrated foods, or eating grains, beans and such that your system isn't used to. Don't forget to include some comfort items as well. We store our canned produce, grains, flours, sweeteners, herbs and spices, basic pantry items( yeast, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, salt, etc....) We also cook 98% from scratch and eat seasonally. Preparing for basic hygiene is often overlooked. Deodorant, toothpaste, feminine needs, razors, soap, lotion, etc.... You'll want a good first aid pack, band aids( various sizes) bandages, sterile gauze, antiseptic ointment( herbal alternative ointment), alcohol, splint, pressure bandage( for heavy bleeding), antibacterial soap, betadine/ iodine, tape( different types, as some people are allergic to the adhesives), benadryl( or homeopathic alternative), aspirin or other pain alternative, etc... We also have suture kits, good herbal remedy books, homeopathic remedies, as well as good medical training( Mike is a licensed EMT) Building your immune system is and should be every one's personal priority. To do this you need to cleanse your body of immune suppressors; Preservatives, food dyes, GM foods, soy, immunizations, etc..... by changing your diet and avoiding these items. You should seek to ingest foods the way God created them, whole, not processed and full of chemicals. Many people complain about organic and natural foods being so expensive and they are but, if you take into account immune suppression, your medical costs begins to add up. What kind of price do you put on good health? Mike, Cortney and myself haven't had a major illness( cold, flu or otherwise) for 5-6 yrs. When we feel symptoms coming on, to lets say a flu bug or cold virus going around, we take 1000mg of natural vitamin C, echinachea( recommended dosages) and 1-2 tbsp. elderberry tincture a day. This gives a quick boost to our immune function and 99% of the time the symptoms disappear within 12-24 hours. We also have a tincture for super immune building( possibly needed during a pandemic) The recipe was handed down through generations from the catastrophic flu pandemic of early 1900's Here is the recipe, store in a cool dark place. Four Thieves Vinegar Use equal parts of the following herbs: Lavender Sage Rosemary Thyme Melissa (lemon balm) Hyssop Peppermint A handful of garlic cloves( crushed and peeled) Blend ingredients in a glass jar and cover completely with organic, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar, which is available in most health food stores. Cold infuse (let sit at room temperature in a cool place) for six weeks and then strain off herbs and garlic. You can take Four Thieves Vinegar by the teaspoonful, use it as a salad dressing, or even add a spoonful to your bath water for personal protection. You can also use it as a topical spray to disinfect surfaces -- including skin -- and/or you can take it as a tincture. All of the ingredients in Four Thieves Vinegar are potent antibacterials and antivirals! Elderberry tincture is easily made as well, if you prefer a non alcoholic version, substitute cider vinegar for vodka. Simply gently crush elderberries, place in a jar and pour vodka filling jar. Let set for 4-5 weeks in a cook dark place. Strain out berries and seal the liquid in a jar and keep in a cool dark place or refrigerate. We feel being able to care for our own medical needs is a blessing, especially in these times of uncertainty.