Friday, September 8, 2017

Autumn is knocking at the door.

Yes, another Autumn is knocking at the door. Like many others, we are scrambling to finish projects before old man winter settles in. The pantry is almost full.....there are a few more things I would like to stick in there....you know...for the " just in case" or the unexpected guests. Now that the temperatures are cooling down, I can start my wine making up again. This will free up freezer space for me to fill back up with a few fat hens. As I sit here with the news on...I am listening how our world is being beaten by one disaster after another. Wild fires, Hurricanes, Earthquakes, and civil unrest. One could easily throw their hands up in the air and say..." I give up, it is too much for me to handle, there is nothing I can do about it all" However..there is ALWAYS something each and every one of us can do. Financially....give what you can to help the people devastated by these tragedies. If you can't donate money..maybe you can go and help with the clean up. Still can't get away from your daily duties? Donate items in need. You can go to a local to you, Dollar General or Dollar Tree, pick up a few items and find a drop off location near you. Many churches or TV stations are setting up drop off sights. Still thinking you can't do any of these suggestions? Get on social media and look for stories of people that are picking up the pieces.( there are so many) Give them words of encouragement. Sometimes that means so much to a person who is down and out. Give them a " virtual hug" or offer them a prayer. Nothing is too small, and even just a few minutes of your time encouraging them, just MIGHT be the right words or time they needed to keep them going. Spread kindness, hope and encouragement. You just might save a life of someone who was thinking they had nothing to lose, and might have thought of ending their own life. Remember the words from a song released in 1965 by Jackie Deshannon.....What the world needs now is love sweet love, Its the only thing that there's just to little of, What the world needs now is love sweet love, No, not just for some but for everyone,… Now more than ever I believe, these words ring true. Lets all do our part and make this old world feel the love.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Well hello again.

I can't believe it has been a year since I last posted. So much has happened...Daisy( our cow) is now almost 2 years old and will be able to breed this fall....soon! I am excited knowing that by next fall we should have a calf on the ground. Hoping it is a little boy so we can put him in the freezer. If she has a little female...we will try to sell her. Oh! And this coming weekend we will be welcoming 2 new little guys to the homestead. We will be taking in 2 male Alpacas. They will add to the wool production. I am excited to get them here and settled in. So the wine making has gone well.
This is the Blushing Apple in progress. So far I have made Concord grape wine....blushing apple wine and strawberry wine. Everyone who has sampled it have given great reviews. The one review that I have gotten with every batch is.." If you distilled this it would be brandy" I guess the alcohol content is a bit higher than " normal" wine. I have a freezer full of berries now, waiting for cooler weather to start a few more batches. This time it will be Elderberry and maybe blackberry. So...that's about it for here....been working and taking care of the homestead...filling the pantry with home canned goods...preparing for winter.