# Singles Monthly Homesteading Thread- August



## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

Wow where has this year gone!! Working this weekend. Hatched some eggs for my bosses daughter. 17 out of 24 with about 3 not being able to get out of the shell. The first day they started hatching the humidity was high. The babies couldn't get dry so I started another incubater with no water and put them in it. The next day when the bosses eggs started hatching I couldn't get the humidity up enough for the chicks to get out of the shell. It was around 67 68 percent. He always said his eggs were hard the crack. We had one of the 17 die.


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## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

Finished mowing all the pastures and started mowing the hay fields today. We'll probably do a late season square bale harvest this year, but only on a couple of the fields. Gonna' let at least two of them "rest" (except for another mowing) the rest of this year. While I had the bush hog on the tractor, I also mowed the very heavy cover crop of cow peas on the garden. Now the peas are starting to put out again, and the deer were there getting breakfast this morning. Thinking about putting out at least a small Fall garden, but the deer ate the last one up.


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## viggie (Jul 17, 2009)

Sweating my butt off trying to clean up the front yard. With crazy on the loose this spring, I worked behind the fence where it was safe. I think he's locked up again now though because it's been quiet for a couple weeks.

In good news...the first tomato found it's way into a sammich for lunch.


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

I bought a folding saw. It is a Silky Big Boy. It is am awesome saw. I wished I had bought a size or two smaller. This one is 30+ inches. I really have to think about the rhythm while using it or the blade will flex. I cut an inch limb in 3 to 4 passes with the saw. It's very sharp. It only weighs a pound. Nice saw. I may get a smaller one later. It didn't take very long at all to make this mess.


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

Picked peppers, potatoes, peas, beans and squash this morning.


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)




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## viggie (Jul 17, 2009)

I made a batch of cultured butter using the piima we made in class as my starter 










The buttermilk went into buttermilk dressing (this is the one Jamie Oliver has posted)










And if I'm going to be making butter, I'll need to restart my sourdough so that's bubbling away on the counter right now.










And out in the garden, things are finally starting to pick up.


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

I picked up 4 new chickens today and worked in the greenhouse area. I wish I knew how to post comments with each picture but I don't. The first picture is my new ones. I think 2 are roosters. Gotta take the bad with the good. The 2nd pic in the back is my original flock. The 3rd pic the 3 white ones are the 3 I hatched out earlier this year. The 4th one is of the new ones I got today. The last one is my straw bale setup. I put lime and fertilizer on them and watered it in. I may put another row down the middle.


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

Those birds look yum, er, I mean beautiful Tambo. 

My few rows of green beans peetered out last week. They were pulled and the area tilled up again. Put in two rows of peas and two more rows of green beans. Tomatoes are delish and coming along nicely. My cukes didn't do much of anything this year. I've a small barrel of beets working and tomorrow after work I'll be planting another barrel with lettuce and spinach. 

Weather has been like I remember it 30 years ago. Warm during the days (high 70's low 80's) and cool overnight (60's) Sure am enjoying that.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

maters growing well





burgundy okra bloom


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)




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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

Nice Elk! But there doesn't look like there's enough meat on that bird to make it worthwhile


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

LOL, corn on the cob with an hors d'oeuvres of hummingbird?


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

This is the summer of rebuilding my bird flocks. August 5 
my last black australorp chick hatched. Since April I hatched
About 150 blacks, around 75 ducklings, and 35 pheasants
and chukars. To this I'm adding a group of 10 more chukars
This weekend. 
Sold mostly the egg laying chicks and a few mixed and Swedish
ducklings. Going to re vamp some pens next week and 
tighten up against predators. 
Also some freezer camp ducklings on schedule next week .
These are Peking duckling at 10 weeks average 7 lb dressed.
No turkeys this year, though a few breasts in the freezer from
last year are for making jerky.
Aside from foraging delicious chanterelle and other late
summer edible mushrooms, it's also prime wild blueberry
Picking season. So, it's a full steading agenda but work
gets in the way often to get er all done!


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

This is the summer of rebuilding my bird flocks. August 5 
my last black australorp chick hatched. Since April I hatched
About 150 blacks, around 75 ducklings, and 35 pheasants
and chukars. To this I'm adding a group of 10 more chukars
This weekend. 
Sold mostly the egg laying chicks and a few mixed and Swedish
ducklings. Going to re vamp some pens next week and 
tighten up against predators. 
Also some freezer camp ducklings on schedule next week .
These are Peking duckling at 10 weeks average 7 lb dressed.
No turkeys this year, though a few breasts in the freezer from
last year are for making jerky.
Aside from foraging delicious chanterelle and other late
summer edible mushrooms, it's also prime wild blueberry
Picking season. So, it's a full steading agenda but work
gets in the way often to get er all done!


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

are you still feeding the grass clipping to your birds?


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

I did little outdoor cooking on my ******* fire pit. I worked a little in the garden. Greenbeans, Great Northern beans and Pinto beans. Deer tenderloin and pinto beans on the fire. I put some edges on a tool I have. I'm not sure what it's called.


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

Tambo the technical term for that garden tool is "pointy weed getter ridder of"

Use it in good health sweetie.


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

Forgot the picture of my garden


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

I finally quit fighting and mowed the garden last week. I've always heard that cockroaches will survive a nuclear attack. I'm pretty sure I can safely add bermuda grass to that list too. I had a bird build a nest, lay eggs and manage to hatch out the eggs in a 2 week period while I happened to be out of town.

While the time from beginning the nest until the eggs hatched was pretty danged quick, the time for the little darlins to leave the nest took forever. Yes, y'all go ahead and say it....everyone else has....why didn't I just kill the little birds? Probably some sort of bee eating bird anyhow. The secret is out....I'm just an ol softy :sob:

So without being able to cultivate the garden for about a month...the grass was hip high. It should not be scary to go pick tomatoes! 

This year has been an amazing year for dragonflies. They are decimating my bees. I'm basically trying to sell off extra hives and figure out how to maintain the ones I'm going to keep. I feel like I live in a killing ground. It's that bad.


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

Our leaves are starting to turn already, so I'm starting to clean the yard of the crap that needs to go for town pickup. Worked on cleaning up the storage area a little bit (a very little bit). 

Doing some winter nest feathering. Got new curtains for the living room. The ones I had up were 20 years old and it was long past time for new ones. But they will be recycled into curtains for the cabin doors' windows. THey're still in good shape; I was just sick of seeing them every day for 20 years. LOL This past winter I had purchased new area rugs for the place and these curtains go fabulously with them. The bonus is I had to shorten them by a lot--they only came 63" long and my windows are more like portholes. I shortened them into cafe curtains at 32" inches. I've got enough fabric left over to either make oversized/stuffed pillows for the couch or a new seat cushion for the wicker chair. I lean more towards the pillows as the wicker chair I think I may take up to the cabin next year for the outside porch. 

On Friday, when I took Dad shopping with me (for the curtains and a few things for the kitchen) we also stopped at a farm market. It's the only farm of any substantial size left in this county and has been "Green Acre'd." The family wanted to sell and the employees all got together and bought it with a Green Acre grant from the state. It can only ever be a farm now. No townhouses in their future. Yeah!!!!!!! Anyhow, I got some peaches and finally made my jam today. We were down to our last 1/2 pint. I didn't do much canning last year because of the surgeries and this year I just haven't done much either. Lucky for us I went crazy the year before last and we should be good until next year (fingers crossed). I made 8 half pints and 1 quarter pint. Boy does it look good. Can't wait to get into it.


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## viggie (Jul 17, 2009)

Took an early peek at the carrots...did a mix of orange and purple this year










The eggplants have quietly been working on something delicious and gorgeous for me.










The first batch of brined pickles is starting to smell pickley










And Mocha helped me can up the first batch of diced tomatoes this weekend


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

I blanched and froze some green beans today


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## Echoesechos (Jan 22, 2010)

I'm canning during my days off. Kinda disappointed in my peaches. They ripened so fast they were hard to work. Tasted the same though. I have to many people asking for my plum jam ?? It's like my quilts, don't want to give them away. I love to see canned produce on shelves. My mother just told me that when I was little I always wanted to see my grandmas canning. If we visited my grandma (her mother) on their ranch and I came up missing they would always find my in her pantry. It was a cross between a butlers pantry and regular pantry. Floor to ceiling shelves, drawers, pull outs etc. That is still my dream pantry. It always spoke to me is what I would tell them when they got me out of there. ahhh love those memories.

Forgot to say I had 12 pounds of dry shelled whole hazelnuts given to me. Woo hoooooo.... bagged them in quart freezer bags and besides the one I'm nibbling on they resting in my freezer waiting for winter baking.


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

elkhound said:


> are you still feeding the grass clipping to your birds?


You bet! All my birds are doing great on greens, especially
clover and dandelions. Geese like nettles, which I fond out
about reading a book once on how poultry is raised
In germany


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

Update added a potting area, worm bin, manure tea and a compost bin. And added soil to the bales. 8/19/2014. I started onion cabbage bush cucumber and lettuce seed in the black barrel. I made a little shade for them so they wouldn't dry out to quickly.


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

Forgot my worm bed pictures


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

Blanched and froze some snap pea's and some shredded zucchini today. Plus I got 12lbs of Pacific Salmon and Steelhead brining that I'll be smoking in 4-5 days.


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## Twp.Tom (Dec 29, 2010)

My Brother is on a quest to grow the 'Great pumpkin'. This is his pumpkin @ 4 weeks,three days. According to his calculations, it is approximately 195# right now. The Great Pumpkin weigh off, does not take place until Oct. 11. I will post a pic before he enters it in the contest! Thats a pop can on top of it!

The contest is in Salem Ohio Oct. 11th. cool website: http://www.ovgpg.com/


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

Tom... zounds!!! Please don't turn him loose on zucchini!!!


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

Made Chocolate chip cookies for the Grandkid's today


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

I'm gonna toss this chocolate Zucchini bread into the freezer once it cools down


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

I know y'all already know but It's HOT!! I got up early and tilled the garden. Then I trim some limbs that were in the way of the mower. It was just too hot to do much of that so I decided to mow the lot next door. It was almost too hot to just ride on the tractor but I got it done. The short rows are green beans and the longer row is Great Northern beans and Pinto Beans at the far end. My cucumber bed. Dixie hogging the air vent. My air conditioner needs charging. It was frozen up Friday morning when I got up. I've found a happy medium of about 78 degrees will keep me comfortable and it from freezing up. Feels pretty good when I come in from working outside.


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

I'm with Dixie. LOL


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## viggie (Jul 17, 2009)

Late seasons corn babies










Today's goodies from the main bed


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

Mowed again today. I'm still not finished. 

I bought a little antenna with a built in rotor. It was $55 I think. It is suppose to be a 150 mile antenna but it's not. I get the channels I was getting with my homemade antenna better plus 3 more for a total of 7. It is worth the money but it is kinda cheap to. I can put it up and take it down by myself so that's a plus. Over all I'm pleased with it.

3 more days of 12 hr shifts. Maybe 5. Then it will be M-F 6 to 2:30.


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## Echoesechos (Jan 22, 2010)

I had some zukes and yellow squash given to me. Going to shred the zukes but not sure what to do with yellow squash. I really only like it battered lightly and fried. CN I slice them and then freeze to fry in the winter or should slice lightly floured they flash freeze and bag for freezer? I will chunk some to add to stews but want to gave it to fry. Any ideas?

Sure glad people think of me to donate this stuff to. Going to check my green beans to see if they are ready to pick. Things are so poo sly stIcking up on my shelves. So pretty.


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## Twp.Tom (Dec 29, 2010)

Tomatoes were doing pretty good*, a little late ripening, but still productive. Started picking a few this week. Looked out there 15 minutes ago, and the chickens had jumped the fence, and decimated the crop!-They didn't like the green peppers. I will build a higher fence next season* They did like the peppers too!!! So, I just finished picking what I could-Will freeze the peppers tonight, for cooking this winter. The chickens are probably happy tonight!


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## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

Walked to the mail box late this afternoon and noticed something had taken every leaf off two of the blueberry bushes. There's no sign of a bug infestation. One of the plants was way too high for a rabbit to reach (unless Harvey has moved into the neighborhood), so I'm guessing the deer have now developed a taste for blueberry leaves. Those varmints are about to get on my last nerve.


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## Echoesechos (Jan 22, 2010)

Just finished snapping my first picking of green beans. Will can them in the morning. Cleaned and rearranged my store bought canned goods this afternoon. I've been using my canned food storage as the overflow area. Needed to put up my jars. Feels good to have that done.


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## littlejoe (Jan 17, 2007)

Just work. with little time for play. Rained out this evening, but kinda enjoy the work, 'specially since I've got some bills, actually bills are paid, but it came out of a reserve fund. Lost the pickup transmission two weeks after the money maker quit, as well. Housing cracked! I wanted to ******* it, and weld it up. Transmission mechanic said it wouldn't be good...maybe since he could sell me one, though? It still isn't right, and going back minauna to see if they can make it right?

Weeds have been on a runaway path for the last two weeks, where buffalo grass wasn't established. Killed my pushmower when I tried to use it as a stumpgrinder the other night, so it went to the medic. Jacked with the rider for the last few minutes of daylight a couple days ago, and couldn't get it to run either?

***** are cleaning my only fruit bearing tree very nicely! A plum, and they leave droppings on my road going to the highway, every morning for me to see! Buster, my ever vigilant dog, seems to be slacking a little. Or maybe it is him...he's kinda like Wiley E Coyote! 

Life is good!!!!!!!!!


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## viggie (Jul 17, 2009)

A certain forum member and I got to go see Joel Salatin speak this week! I just got tickets for another talk in November by Will Allen and Michael Pollan...so maybe I'll glean some wisdoms from all the big names.


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## Twp.Tom (Dec 29, 2010)

I went to the Mahoning County Fair in Canfield, Ohio with my Brother, and his family this Morning* Had a great time* It is the largest county fair in the state of Ohio-Huge!!!! bigger than most other State fairs! I took a lot of pictures, I love to share them with You All!


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## Twp.Tom (Dec 29, 2010)

My parents went on their first date , to the Canfield Fair in 1953!!


I really liked this 'Hopalong Cassidy' Bike, w/guns included!


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## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

Sewing machine tractors: Who would have "thunk" it?


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

I posted this on this thread because I did it yesterday.

I worked in my strawbale garden. I planted the cabbage seedlings in them. I hope they do well. I saw one of the kittens on one of the bales so I gave it a swat. Why is the garden the best place to play for a kitten?

Do you think the three chickens in the pics are roosters? The first one is twice as big as the others and a week younger than the other white one.


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## Echoesechos (Jan 22, 2010)

If they are the same breed then yes on the one. Different comb and the bigger growth. My friend says they grow the spurs on their legs faster too. But I'm still a newbie so you shouldn't listen to me. Kittens love to play wherever you are but I also think they can read body language because they go where you don't want them every time. Good thing they are cute huh? LOL


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