Homestead Update: September 1st

The homestead is dry, dry, dry – but i foresee some green popping up in next month’s update! I can’t wait until the ‘January first” update when i’ll line up all the photos to see how we’ve progressed… though what will truly be exciting is to compare all the firsts of months with years of that month’s firsts. I can’t wait!

But for now, we’re living in the present. Some exciting projects are underway here at Birdsong Farm. I’ll be posting a ‘before and after’ post this week of our living room – that is finally covered in a real FLOOR instead of just stained sub-flooring! Woot. Here i am getting all excited by the first few rows:

Remember that hedgerow i planted way back when? Well, i am HAPPY to say that nearly all of the shrubs (Oregon Grape and Red Flowering Current – both natives) are thriving and growing well, but am irritated to say that almost none of the sunflowers and other flowers/herbs that i planted between the shrubs made it. VOLES are the devil! At least we have a few happily blooming sunflowers – and next year: i will start indoors and plant earlier! Birdsong Farm WILL be surrounded by hedges of sunflowers! It will! (this is me manifesting something…. can you tell?). Then/Now:

Other things we got done in august but didn’t really post about:

• Processed my first batch of rabbits!
• Made a “killing cone” and processed some spring cockerels
• Our chickens all started laying regularly!
• Our ducks started laying as well – and Snowflake is even sitting! (hoping for Christmas duck if she successfully hatches and rears)
• Finally did some homesteading and got in a delicious batch of pickles
• Purchased a baker’s dozen of tiny native White Oaks to plant along the dusty road – now that is a long term investment…. will we ever see them grow to true ‘tree’ size?

And, the garden is growing. It seems silly to have such a tiny little patch of green, but it’s MY tiny patch of green and we’ve gotten quite a few salads out of it and at least several meal’s worth of beans and tomatoes. Dill is my go-to beneficial insect attractor, but alas – i saw no good bucks living and breeding on my little patch but did find plenty of evil flea beetles destroying my favorite kale and mustards. Sigh. Next spring: guinea hens will be hatched!

August was great and we hope to maybe get a nice 8 mile hike in at Silver Creek Falls later this month. For now, we slave to get ready for our big housewarming party in 2 weeks after which we’ll begin focusing hard on getting the wood stacked for winter and repairs done on the barn. Once it starts raining – we’ll be scheming up rooms to paint and closets to shelve.  There’s always something to do here!