Still Growing.......

These Boots Were NOT Made For Walking

There was a time, not so long ago, that I purchased shoes NOT for comfort, or for function, but because they were cute. Cute! That is all they had to be, cute!!!!! Last fall I bought my first pair of wellingtons. I had no idea exactly where they would take me, but I knew that for the first time they were going to be functional, and functional they are! They garden with me on muddy days, they wake up the hens, they put the hens to bed, they clean pens and coops, they pick berries and they would even look cute with a jean skirt (I'm just sayin!). It is a different time in my life, and it is amazing to me how much I don't miss those "cute" shoes.

It Never Ends!

My day began at 6:30am. I Opened the chicken coop to find 10 of 12 chickens still on their roost~ Shoot! I could of slept in a bit more! After feeding them, watering them and throwing some fresh grass in their pen, I got myself a cup of coffee. Oh! and a bottle because the baby heard me and woke up early, bummer!!!

At about 7:30, I made the baby some toast and we headed out to the garden to pick some cabbage for dinner, and any other vegis that were ready to eat. We brought our finds inside and started to preserve what needed to be done. We made cabbage rolls for dinner (and to be frozen for those cold winter eves), made and froze fresh pesto, (because that is the best!), made zucchini bread because we have zuks coming out our ears and blanched and froze vegis that were not going to be eaten any time soon. And this was all done by 11:30! But my day is not over! I still need to make a composter, make more zucchini bread, do laundry, till and weed the garden, play a game or two with my babies, plan dinner for my hubby's b-day tomorrow, & clean the house! This is just not today, but everyday! This homesteading thing is a lot of work, but the best and most fun work that I have ever experienced. I love at the end of the day, getting the chickens in their coop, kids in their beds and crawling in to bed feeling a great sense of accomplishment! Ahhhhhhh! This is the life!

Now back to my chores.....

A Place to Call Her Own

For years I have dreamt about having an organic vegi garden. I have never had a garden and I did not grow up spending my summers hanging in the garden with my mom, but the thought of fresh vegis coming from my own soil was delightful! So during our long, rough NE Ohio winter I began reading and planning for my first garden. Not having done this before, I had no idea what to put in it, how much grows from a plant or two, or whether to use seeds or plants. I did tons of internet searches and read a couple of gardening books, but in the end I realized I was just going to have to jump in and find out for my self what works and what does not.

In May we (one of my fav peeps and I) hit our local gardening store and purchase tons and tons of packets of seed, vegi plants, and organic compost. We tilled our plot and started planting! And as of today, it is full of fresh organic vegis! So much that we are struggling to keep everything picked before it goes bad~ but that is a good thing! I have definitely learned a lot about what works and what ways we can improve it next year. I am still struggling a bit to keep the pests out, as we are finding the the river brings in a whole other bunch of garden bugs that an average garden may not see. And a bonus, that I did not expect, is that my kids love to help with the garden. They are learning tons about how our food gets to the table and are taking great pride in eating what they picked that day. These are the thing that I hope they look back on when they are grown and can't help but smile!! Our first garden has proven to be a win- win for everyone!

Projects, Projects, & More Projects!

Not only do I strive to fill the belly's of my family with good, chemical free food, but I am also a firm believer of creating a beautiful, comfortable home for my family to live in. One that is not only kid but animal friendly as well. I want a home that they love to come home to. I don't want tons of clutter that needs to be dusted or a lot of things that can be broken during a WWF match. I don't want my home to be so full of things that it is like a corn maze to get through. And most important is it has to be cheap! Let's face it, kids wreck things. The very last thing that I want is to spend $900 on a coffee table only to have a black Sharpe mark down the center of it. Life happens and I don't want to feel the loss of furniture that cost a fortune. So once a week (maybe two or three times) I head out to local garage and estate sales. I search high and low for the best stuff. I almost always have a list of items that I am on the hunt for and do my best to stick to it. When I do find a piece that I like I run down my personal check list.... 1) do I need it? 2) is it functional for my home? 3) can it be fixed up and more than likely be painted white (I love white!!!)? 4) (& very important) Is it cheap? If I can answer yes to all these then I pack it up in the mini van and bring it home. Love projects!!!!!

Recently I added an iron double bed to my list for the girls bedroom. Over the weekend I found this really great metal bed.

Not what I was originally looking for, but for $7.00 I will make it work! It is a bit rusty, but with a little sanding and a coat or two of white paint, it is going to be the bomb!!! (finished pics to come soon!)

Also, I found this lamp on the side of the road with a price of FREE! Can beat that! I'll take it & (am sure you guessed it) with a coat of white paint, it will be as good as new!

It's a Farm!!!!!

I am not sure if it is because of Martha Stewart or just some stupid farm girl fantasy, but for the past couple of years I have been obsessed with the idea that one day I will get a few chickens, raise them organic and go out every morning to collect those beautiful brown farm eggs. Well this was the year! I didn't know the first thing about raising chickens, but by god I was going to figure it out. I picked up a book from the library, called a local hatchery and place my order for 8 baby chicks. I had two weeks and a lot of learning to do.

The day the chicks arrived I was so excited, and nervous! I picked up the small flock and brought them home. They were so cute!!! I had them in a box in my laundry room and when the weather got a bit warmer I moved them to a large shed. Having chickens made me feel like a real farm. I loved it!!!! When the chicks were about four weeks old we had a bit of a mishap! A neighbor's beagle got into the shed and killed all 8 of those chicks. So sad!!! We now refer to that as the River Cottage Massacre!

After picking up the broken farm, I called the chicken man and ordered more chicks. Not sure how my order of 8 turned to 12, but never the less, we were back on the farm path! So as of today, we have 12 healthy, 5 week old chicks, who are patiently waiting for their coop to be ready. In the mean time they are taking up camp in the shed in the evenings and running the chicken pen during the day (which was finished a couple of weeks ago). I think that make us officially a farm!

Is She Crazy???

Well maybe a little, but not as much as one would think! Welcome to my new blog! I started this blog so I can document the trial, tribulations, failures and successes of running a (very) small farm. More of a homestead. A homestead that was started because of two blueberry bushes in my front yard.

After several summers of NOT getting blueberries from a couple of bushes that I was told existed, I finally figured it out! The birds were getting to them before I was. So to make a long story short, I covered them with bird nets and boom! blueberries. Tons and tons of blueberries. Blueberries that I had a small part in growing. Blueberries that were free of pesticides and any growth hormones. Blueberries that I froze and used all winter long. And as time went on I realized that I had a deep desire to do more. I wanted to provide healthy food (free of any sort of chemicals) for my children, and create an environment around them that was beautiful, fun, safe and offered a wealth of learning experiences. So it all begins....... River Cottage Farm.