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Homesteading

Leaving the City for the Country

January 15, 2020 by Jackie Ritz Leave a Comment

More and more people are dissatisfied with their lives and are leaving the city for the country.

This is what I did 6 years ago. I had a deep longing for land of my own and a more slow-paced lifestyle.

My name is Jackie Ritz. I’m a mom, wife, blogger, farmer, herbalist, and author. Leaving the city for the country was a very difficult decision that my husband and I made in 2013…a decision that has transformed our lives and enriched us greatly.

We moved to this place, our farm, nestled away in the gorgeous region of Appalachia in North Carolina. When we started this homesteading lifestyle, we had no idea what we were doing! Through trial and error, this lifestyle has awakened something deep within me and brought out my creativity in many different ways.

I homeschool my children, write books, share content on my website, and craft various things from the materials our land and animals give me.

I’ve learned so much from this land, but most of all, I am incredibly grateful for all the I have. I have no other desires than to live out my life right here with my family, my farm animals, and my gardens.

As I crossed over into 2020, I really started to wonder how I could share this beautiful farm, my animals, and my lifestyle with the world in a more meaningful way.

And my thoughts kept coming back to YouTube. I could type all the descriptive words to share with you how beautiful my life is, but seeing it, is completely different.

So, here is my first relaunch video. I’ll be releasing a new video every week and I would love for you to share this journey with me. Next week I’ll be publishing a How to Make Elderberry Syrup video so make sure you are subscribed to see it!

Filed Under: Homesteading Tagged With: homesteading

How to Castrate Sheep

August 5, 2018 by Jackie Ritz Leave a Comment

I remember when we got our first sheep and we crossed our fingers that they would only have ewes. Well, you know how luck goes…we got some ewes but a few rams. This year we got all rams! Thankfully we had castrated some baby goats so that they could stay with their moms for more than 2 months, so we knew how to castrate baby sheep. It’s exactly the same way. 

We use the “banding” method of castration. We find this to be less stressful on the lamb. This is where you slide a special rubber band (super tight) around the scrotum. This cuts off blood supply to the testicles and the testicles eventually fall off after 1-2 months. You can find a castration bander at your local farm supply store or purchase something similar to this one. 

In this video, we show you exactly how to castrate a baby sheep. 

More reasons why we band rams or bucks: 

  • We want the ram lamb to stay with it’s mother after 2 months old. At 2 months old they can breed with their mom (and every other female in his herd. 
  • Lamb meat from a castrated ram tastes less “gamey”. 
  • The risk of infection is lower than cutting. 
  • It’s pretty simple and hard to mess up. For a newbie, this is important (you can always have your vet castrate if you are too timid to do it yourself).
  • We aren’t using our ram lamb for breeding and want to grow him out for grass-fed meat. 

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out the tutorial below….

More resources on raising sheep: 

  • All About Jacob Sheep (the breed that we raise)
  •  Live Lamb Birth video

Filed Under: Homesteading

How to Wean a Goat

August 3, 2018 by Jackie Ritz Leave a Comment

Did y’all know that we launch a YouTube channel a few months ago and we have been vlogging every, single day for 2 months?! It has been a BLAST! I mean, it’s another thing to do and to learn about. Who would have thunk that the world of YouTube was so in depth! 

But we wanted to better connect with all of you. Social media wasn’t really doing it for us anymore so after much encouragement from many of my blogging friends, especially DaNelle at Weed em & Reap, we decided to official launch our channel and be committed to growing it. 

I’d love it if you would subscribe to our channel and watch some of our latest videos…oh and let me know what you think while you are over there. 

Our latest video was inspired by Weed em & Reap, who  shared a trick for weaning her goat. We have a 5-month old Nigerian Dwarf doeling that is drinking so much milk. I mean all…day…long she is nursing. She’s old enough to be weaned but we don’t want to fuss with separating so we are attempting this trick. 

You can watch all about it below and PURRTY PLEASE subscribe! 

Related posts and videos:

  • Raising Milk Goats YouTube Playlist 
  • My post on How to Raise Dairy Goats
  • Recycled Coffee Table Milk Stand (directions)

 

Filed Under: goats, Homesteading, YouTube

American Guinea Hogs – The Perfect Homestead Pig

April 10, 2017 by Jackie Ritz 8 Comments

Our homestead just would not be complete without our herd of American Guinea Hogs. We added them to our farm soon after we purchased a beautiful 10+ acres near the Blue Ridge Mountains. The former owners had also raised hogs, so the farm came ready-made with pasture and facilities for our hogs.

We love our heritage pig called the American Guinea Hog. It was the homestead hog of choice in southern states during the 1800s. But just ten or fifteen years ago it was almost extinct in the United States. Because homesteaders like us have been anxious to keep this breed alive, today it is enjoying renewed popularity.

I want to introduce you to the wonderful potential of adding these hogs to your own homestead. There are some very important reasons the American Guinea Hog is a perfect choice for today’s homesteaders.

Its Size and Temperament Suit the Smaller Homestead

piggie4

Adult American Guinea Hogs range in height from 22 to 27 inches tall, and 46 to 56 inches long. Fully adult hogs range from 150 to 300 pounds, depending on sex, frame, and body condition. They are really good looking with their small, upright ears, rather short snouts, and forward facing eyes. Most American Guinea Hogs have medium to long coarse, bristled black hair.

These sweet piggies have such friendly temperaments. They love the attentions their farmer people friends give to them, and really enjoy a belly rub or a back scratch. They are easy to handle and docile as long as their needs are being met. They make really excellent mothers, and even the boars tolerate the little ones well and often show affection toward their little ones.

They are prolific breeders! We began with a small herd of 3 females and 1 boar. Within a year we had a lively herd of thirteen or more, with more little piggies on the way.

American Guinea Hogs Feed and Water Requirements

American Guinea Hogs love a grassy pasture where they can forage to their heart’s content. They gobble up grass and weeds as voraciously as you and I might eat a delicious chocolate brownie! They just want a lush pasture with clover or other weeds along with grubs and insects for minerals, plus any table scraps you have for them, some quality hay in winter, and clean water to drink.

We have been blessed on our homestead by being able to partner with nearby organic farmers who will allow us to have their produce that may be unable to be sold because it’s not quite perfect, or slightly wilted, or overharvested. We also add our own table scraps, fermented vegetables, and plenty of leftover milk whey from our own raw milk after we separate the cream and make butter and cheese. In addition, especially in the winter months when their pasture lies dormant, we provide a premixed, non-GMO, soy-free feed for them. AGH eat roughly 4 percent of their weight daily, for instance, a 150-pound pig will require 5 to 6 pounds of high-calorie feed each day. Each pig needs 3 to 5 gallons of clean, fresh water daily. Lactating sows will need an additional 1 to 2 gallons each day. 

You don’t need anything fancy to throw the feed in. We just dump the feed onto the ground and they clean it up perfectly! 

The biggest challenge is weight control—they put on weight more easily than other breeds. Overly heavy pigs will have fertility issues, and eventual joint problems and lameness. Monitoring their food intake is important to keep them healthy and content.

American Guinea Hogs Space and Birthing Requirements

Our agroforestry pasture provides plenty of green grassy areas, which extend up the side of our mountain into the trees and shrubs that give added nourishment from soil minerals and grubs and insects. If you don’t have much acreage available for pigs to forage in, you will need to practice rotational grazing. 

piggie3

We provide separate areas for birthing mothers and their little piggies with a farrowing house, and another area with the boar house where big daddy can rest while mama and babies get life started well. Most of the time, the mama pigs prefer to make their own birthing nests despite the fact we have a beautiful farrowing house made for them. Our females-in-labor will wander up the side of the mountain and create a comfortable nest to give birth in. All of our females give birth unassisted and without us even knowing. We usually find them the next day or morning feeding their babies in an excluded area of our forest and we plenty of exercise getting Mama and babies moved back down the mountain into the farrowing house.

However the herd loves to be altogether whenever possible. It’s so much fun watching them interrelate and enjoy each other. Of course there is a bit of competition for top spot at the slop bucket when it is full!

Guinea hogs adapt well to both cold and hot climates. They handle cold weather well—but only if they have a place to stay dry and out of the elements. They like deep straw bedding, and will keep their bedding areas clean. They need effective fencing to keep them in their special places. We use electric fencing, which has worked well for us.

Pastured Pork, Lard, and Charcuterie Production

These AGH provide excellent pastured pork. Pastured AGH have meat with a beautiful, earthy flavor. Their meat has higher levels of omega-3 fats, which are essential for us human caretakers. Chefs and charcuterie artists prefer to cook with this breed.

Most heritage AGH breeders believe it is the genetics that make the meat taste so good. The marbling, and intramuscular fat hasn’t been bred out of these special hogs. However, the taste comes largely from the way they are raised. If raised slowly, outdoors on great free range pasture, they are getting exercise, finding minerals in the soil, and enjoying fresh air and clean water. They are living without stress, and that all adds up to wonderful, flavorful meat.

Butchering and Processing

Butchering is easiest in winter, and may influence at what age you butcher. At 6 months of age you probably have a pig weighing about 60 pounds, with a 50 percent carcass weight. By 1 year of age, your pig probably weighs about 120 pounds, with 60 pounds of carcass. AGH reach their full size at about 2 to 3 years of age, topping out at 200 to 300 pounds.

One thing that is important to know – you don’t have to do the butchering yourself if you don’t want to. We send our larger livestock (cows, pigs, sheep) off to be butchered and processed. It’s something we have decided to do for right now since we are raising so many different types of animals and we find it easier for someone else to do this job for us. 

If you do decide to do this, just talk to your meat processor and make sure they know how to work with American Guinea Hog meat. Make sure you save all the bones and organs and get all the fatback so you can make lard. AGH are considered a “lard breed” because they have an exceptional amount of lard on their bodies. 

And if you do want some charcuterie cuts, make sure you discuss that with them too. 

American Guinea Hog Resources

Our farm is just getting a good start in the growing up of American Guinea Hogs. But we hope to be able to provide others with their own AGH to raise, and with some of the delicious pastured pork we will be able to provide from our own herd.

I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.

—Winston Churchill

If you think American Guinea hogs may be a good choice for your needs, here are some great resources that we recommend for learning more about this fabulous breed. 

• The Livestock Conservancy
• American Guinea Hog Association

Books

• Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat and Pork by Adam Danforth
• Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing  
• Homegrown Pork by Sue Weaver
• Ethical Meat Handbook by Meredith Leigh
• Storey’s Guide to Raising Pigs by Kelly Klober

American Guinea Hogs

Filed Under: Homesteading, Natural Living, Nutrition

Souping – A Healthier Alternative to Juicing

October 27, 2016 by Jackie Ritz Leave a Comment

 

For years the best-known body system cleanse has been juicing. Juicing involves extracting the juice from fruits and vegetables using a cold-press juicer. The juice is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds and phytonutrients all in one easy drink. Juice cleanses have been widely used to cleanse the body and often are suggested as a sporadic fast of several days detox the body and kick start body systems into optimal function. But there have been negatives to juicing, including: the high cost of the fruits and vegetables as well as the expensive juicer you need to prepare the juices; negative symptoms like dizziness, headaches, weakness, and overwhelming hunger; and the high sugar/low fiber content of the juices after pressing.

What Is Souping?

Let’s start with this definition for souping:

It is a soup-only cleanse to heal and nourish your body with wholesome ingredients. It allows your body to detox naturally while simultaneously reducing inflammation, giving your body the nutrients it needs, and increasing circulation.[1]

Today many people have found juice cleanses to be too extreme, and are discovering that souping promises an easier detox than a juice cleanse. Just as there are many different approaches to juicing, so too there are many suggested approaches for souping. These include:

  • A 24-hour raw cleanse
  • A 3-day boost to your digestive system cleanse
  • The 5-day soup cleanse,
  • Following a prescribed program of specific soups
  • Choosing or making the soups you use for the cleanse

Each of these approaches share one common feature—you eat only soup for every meal of the day, and you follow this regimen for a chosen number of days.

I can easily see why souping is growing in popularity. There is nothing more soothing to me than a warm, tasty, homemade soup made with homemade bone broth (recipe here).  I want to take a closer look at this newer trend, and see if we can see what all the excitement is about!

What’s Healthier: Souping or Juicing?

Which is healthier is somewhat of a preference choice of the individual considering a cleanse. There are benefits and downsides to both. Take a look at some of the qualities of each in the table below: 

Souping Juicing
Offers variety Raw only product
Can be served in hot, warm or cold Served fresh (cold)
Contains fiber Almost no fiber, very high in carbohydrates and sugar
Contains proteins Enormous amounts of vitamins and minerals
Made from: fruits, vegetables, legumes, and even meat Made from vegetables and fruits only
More effective in suppressing hunger Easier to digest
More appropriate for long-term cleanses More appropriate for short-term cleanses
Lower in calories Higher in calories

Many people find that souping is more economical—if you are making your own soups. If you have tried juicing in the past, no doubt you’ve discovered that it takes a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables to get only a couple glasses of juice. Soups are really inexpensive to make, and you don’t need an expensive piece of equipment to make soup. In addition, you can store your soup in the fridge for several days, and for months in the freezer. Soups will not leave you feeling hungry, and you can use a wide variety of herbs, spices, and broth to make your soup.

How Many Days Do I Stay on the Soup Cleanse

There are a number of Soup Cleanse Programs that provide the soups you use and prescribe the number of days you stay on them, including:

  1. Splendid Spoon Soup Cleanse 
  2. Soupure 
  3. Dr. Oz’s 3-Day Souping Detox 
  4. Soupelina 
  5. Café West Express 

While these canned programs are handy to use and provide you with low calorie, low sodium, fiber-rich soups, you will find that they are pretty expensive to use. Since making soup is so easy, it is my recommendation that you take the plunge into making your own great tasting and often healthier homemade soups to use.

If you are making your own soups, and not following a Soup Cleanse Program the number of days you continue eating soups is up to you. However, like any other low-calorie plan, it is not advised that you eat only soups for more than a week or so.

What Kinds of Soup Do I Use?

Soup cleanses uses vegetables that are super low on the glycemic scale, which are also packed with fiber. Great veggies to include are: onions, beets, carrots, cauliflower, spinach, and dark, leafy greens and root vegetables. You can add fruits, legumes, and even meat, but this will raise the calorie count, so only 2-4 ounces of protein or legumes are recommended for each serving of soup.

The options are wide open for what you should include in your detox soup. You will want to use the healthiest, freshest ingredients possible. Stay away from any creamed soups, soups loaded with things like beans and beef (think chili), and soups filled with complex carbohydrates like root vegetables. Don’t add any grains (pasta, noodles) to your detox soups.

You can find many recipes for detox soups online. Note: One very important recommendation from me: Use only homemade bone broth as the base for your soups. Some of the variety of soups include:

  1. Vegetable only soup—There are dozens of good vegetable soup recipes online. One that you might want to consider can be found here. 
  2. Chicken Detox Soup—Chicken soup is loved by almost everyone, and it really doesn’t take a recipe to make. I love using my homemade bone broth, and throwing it into my slow cooker with some carrots, celery, maybe some onion, and my favorite spices (parsley, basil, rosemary, turmeric). But if you prefer to use a recipe, here is one that makes a great chicken detox soup. 
  3. Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup—Traditionally this soup is made with pork or beef. I recommend using chicken or portabello mushrooms instead. You can find a recipe here.
  4. Potassium Balancing Soup—Potassium is one nutrient that can be lacking in a diet. This detox soup pays extra attention to it, and can bring it back into balance.
  5. Detox Green Machine Soup—This soup is all vegetables and herbs blanched, then pureed into a healthy, low-cal, detoxifying soup. (Here) 
  6. Carrot, Cumin and Ginger Detox Soup—Carrots are a good source of antioxidant Vitamin A and fiber. Cumin and ginger have curative properties and act as a cleansing agent for the body. You will find the recipe here. 

Why Should I Consider a Soup Cleanse?

Are feeling lethargic and fuzzy-headed? Have you gradually slipped off the healthy eating wagon and fell into a habit of eating unhealthy “Comfort” foods? Do you want to get healthier and to live a longer, more vibrant life? Are you trying to heal a chronic condition? Then cleansing is essential to your health and longevity. There are so many benefits to cleansing, including:

  • More energy
  • Healthier hair, skin and nails
  • Less frequent colds and flu
  • Reduced risk for chronic disease
  • Mental clarity and a sense of wellbeing
  • Freedom from food cravings
  • Freedom from joint and muscle pain and headaches
  • Sound and restful sleep
  • No more digestive distress
  • Enhanced libido
  • A much younger and more energetic body[2]

My Favorite Soup Recipes

I want to help you get started by sharing three of my favorite soup recipes. These will get you started, and are inexpensive and easy to make. Try them—you will like them!

1. Homemade Bone Broth

Homemade bone broth will be the base for just about any detox soup you make. I am absolutely passionate about making bone broth, and I make it at least once a week, using the bones from our own harvested chickens, or bones I’ve begged or purchased from neighbors, farm stands, farmer’s markets, and have even been known to beg for them from restaurants. I use either my slow cooker or instant pot to make the soup, which actually makes itself—all I have to do is throw the ingredients into the pot.

Items Needed

  • Slow cooker or Instant Pot (the instant pot is my preferred method now)
  • Approximately 2-3  good quality, organic bones (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, etc)
  • 1-2 Tbsp. of raw, apple cider vinegar (like this one) 
  • Vegetable scraps: I use 1 onion, 1 celery stalk, 1 carrot, 3 cloves garlic, 1 in knob of ginger, handful of herbs, salt and pepper

Instructions for Slow Cooker: 

Turn your slow cooker to high. Add your bones and vegetable scraps. Add raw apple cider vinegar (vinegar helps to extract minerals from the bones, but can alter the taste of the broth, so go easy with it). Add water to cover the bones, leaving about 1 inch of room at the top. Let it cook for 24 hours at least—48 hours or longer is ideal.

Allow it to cool a bit, and then pour it through a strainer and allow to cool fully. If you’ve used a lot of bones, your broth will gel in the fridge, but don’t fret if it doesn’t gel.

Instructions for Instant Pot (preferred method): 

Add your bones, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, onion, ginger, and apple cider vinegar to your Instant Pot. Add water to cover the bones. Press the “soup” button and adjust the time to 90 minutes. Allow it to naturally release. Cool for a little bit and pour it through a strainer and allow to cool fully. If you used a lot of bones, your broth will gel in the fridge, but don’t fret if it doesn’t gel (mine always gels in my Instant Pot…never in my Slow cooker). 

2. Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

There is nothing better than homemade chicken soup to soothe a cold or sniffles or to gobble up on a cold, blustery day. My homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup is adapted to the combination of spices and vegetables that my family loves. You can specialize it to your own preferences for your detox soup.

Ingredients

  • 4-5 cups of homemade chicken bone broth
  • 2-3 lbs. cut up or shredded chicken (we often use leftovers)
  • 2-3 cups carrots, chopped
  • 1-2 cups celery, chopped
  • ½ cup onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp, ginger, grated (or use ½ tsp. ginger spice)
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ Tbsp. basil
  • ½ Tbsp. parsley
  • 1 tsp. turmeric
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • About 3-4 cups water

Instructions

Put your chicken broth in a crock pot and add your chopped vegetables and spices. Add water to cover your ingredients and leave an inch of water or so above the ingredients (depends on how juicy you want your soup). Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or low for 6-8 hours. Remove the chicken and shred it (if it wasn’t already shredded). Add it back to the crock pot and cook on low an additional hour. Adjust the salt and pepper before you serve it.

3. Homemade Turkey Soup

I love having enough leftover turkey after a great Thanksgiving meal to make some homemade turkey soup. My mother made sure she bought the biggest turkey available, and make turkey broth the day before Thanksgiving so she could throw the soup together right from the Thanksgiving table. I recommend my homemade turkey soup for anytime—not only during the holidays.

Ingredients

  • 1 gallon homemade turkey stock
  • 1 Tbsp. parsley
  • 1 Tbsp. pepper
  • 1 Tbsp. Himalayan sea salt
  • 1 tsp. oregano
  • 1 tsp. sage
  • 1 tsp. garlic salt
  • 1 tsp. poultry seasoning.
  • 1 lb. sliced or diced carrots
  • 1 bunch cut-up celery
  • At least 2 cups reserved turkey

Instructions

Put turkey stock in crock pot. Add spices and cut up vegetables. Mix well into stock. Cook on low 3-4 hours. Add reserved turkey pieces (cut into bite size pieces), and continue cooking 1-2 more hours. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. This makes a great detox soup, and it freezes well.

Get Started

So…is the new trend of souping something you want to try. It is a pretty flexible plan, and you can make your choices of nutritious, low-calorie soups. Research online to find some of the best recipes you can for your family. You can soup cleanse for 3-7 days, eating only soups for each meal, or you can choose to eliminate one meal and substitute soup. Be sure that you are consuming only the most nutritious, healthy soups and/or other meal items. Be sure you drink lots of water while you are on the cleanse. This will help to move the toxins out of your body. I guarantee that when you finish, the negative symptoms that made you begin will be gone! 

Try it—you will like it.

souping an alternative to juicing

[1] https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/diet-fitness/a14306/everything-you-need-to-know-about-souping/

[2] https://bodyecology.com/articles/your_body_needs_to_cleanse_pt2.php

 

Filed Under: 21 Day Sugar Detox, Budget, chickens, Grassfed Beef, Health, Homesteading, Ketogentic, Living Sustainably, My Recipes

Diary of a Farmer’s Wife – July 28

July 28, 2016 by Jackie Ritz Leave a Comment

Diary of a Farmers 28

8:51am 

I crave these mornings where I am allowed to close myself in my office and get some much needed work done. I couldn’t imagine how hard homesteading would be if both of us worked full-time away from home. I couldn’t imagine this would even be possible if I had an unsupportive spouse who didn’t help me with any of it. I thank God I have a husband who has fallen in love with the farm as much as I have. 

I left the chicken stock out on the counter all night but we are still gonna eat it. I usually remember to stick it in the fridge after it’s all cooked, but last night I fell asleep on the couch before 10 pm (which is early for me). I plan on making Black Bean Soup and Cornbread for dinner (not Paleo at all and I don’t even care right now). Speaking of eating according to a book…I got an email from a reader who took the liberty to tell me that he is unsubscribing from my blog because I purchased a dairy cow and that was not Paleo at all. 

It gave me quite a chuckle and the thought of telling him to just “MOOOOOOOOve on” did pop in my mind a few times, however I think some people just aren’t educated in the way of farming and homesteading. There are too many “meat heads” who live the SAD life of going to the gym and pumping iron, going to work, stopping for their Starbucks, and then going home and reading blogs, like mine, and passing judgement. 

It’s easier to pick up your grass-fed beef from the grocery store than to understand what it takes to raise it. 

So, I took the liberty to educate him a little bit and this was my reply:

“Well since you obviously are anti-dairy, I won’t go into all the health benefits of raw milk, cheese, cream that comes from the pastured cow…especially for growing children like mine. 

There’s countless other benefits of having a dairy cow. One, they are the most productive, efficient creature on earth. And for our sustainable farm, their benefits are numerous: 

1) she provides rich manure for my garden and land. 
2) each year she gives me a calf to raise and use for meat
3) her 4+ gallons of milk with provide my family, hogs, chickens, and other farm animals with nutritious and protein rich milk. 

Quite simply, the family that keeps a cow is a healthy family. I encourage you to do your research before passing judgment. We are homesteaders who raise 80% of our own food. 

Do what you got to do and unsubscribe though,

Jackie”

Having a milk cow for milk is one of the main factors we purchased Holly, but having a cow that gives us a calf each year to raise for grass-fed beef is another. Not to mention all the wonderful manure that Holly will bring to my garden. I’m ecstatic! 

Plus I am not one to live up to stereotypes. Sure my blog is “The Paleo Mama” but do you all really think that all us Paleo bloggers eat 100 percent Paleo (which by the way I don’t even consider myself a “paleo blogger”)? I did write an article once on why my family drinks raw milk…even though I am Paleo (my kids really aren’t). 

Anyways, I’ve learned years ago to never let the naysayers spoil my day. Moving on. 

1:41 pm

TONS more tomatos were blanched, skins removed, and then thrown into pint-sized freezer bags and into the freezer. I’m so happy we have freezer space and I don’t have to can them. I’m pretty sure we grew enough tomatoes for the whole year. I didn’t grow enough onions for the year, although I did braid them today and hang them up in the kitchen. 

I made the soup and cornbread for lunch instead and the kids gobbled down 2 pieces of cornbread and didn’t care too much for the beans in the soup. They washed it down with some southern sweet tea and now they are in their rooms for quiet time. Neither take naps anymore and haven’t for years, but I can usually get them to settle for an hour in the afternoons. Mama needs this hour! 

The hubs and his friend are building my milking area in the barn! Holly isn’t used to being in a stanchion…you simply just tie her off and give her feed. She seriously is a dream to milk…doesn’t kick, doesn’t move…just stands perfectly still! I can’t wait! 

We have a lead on someone who wants our 2 nubians! Yay…just 7 more goats to go. Selling them is taking much longer than I expected. We sold 6 of them in the spring pretty quickly. I’m just praying we get good buyers who are going to take care of them. I sure will miss them…especially Snowflake. 

I didn’t think about it before, but the 2 Livestock Guardian Dogs we have (Esme and Everest) are going to be so confused when the goats are all gone. They have bonded with the herd and I’m sure they are going to miss them too. Hopefully they can bond with the 3 sheep a little bit better once the goats are gone. 

One more month till school starts! I wish I could say I was more sad about both kids being in school at the same time. Barefoot Boy is going into Kindergarten and Dreamcatcher is going into 2nd grade. I do feel a little sad to have school-aged kids now. It seems like the infant/toddler phase of motherhood has come and gone so quickly; however, I am so happy to be entering into this next chapter of our life. 

We’ve chosen not to homeschool anymore. There’s quite a few reasons why we have come to this decision, and we know it’s the best one for our kids. They are so excited to meet some new friends in our community. We have no neighbors because we are in rural WNC so they don’t have anyone to play with this summer other than each other. 

Also, it was just too much for me to take on…I am the main breadwinner, we have a large farm, I travel for my essential oil team, and so many more reasons. 

This past year was so chaotic with traveling (thank God we have a trustworthy farm hand)…..

  • In September we went to Salt Lake City, Utah.
  • In January we went to the Dominican Republic.
  • In February we went to Orlando, Fl. 
  • In March we went to Houston, TX. 
  • In April we went to Portland, Maine. 
  • In May we went to Savannah, GA and then down to Orlando, Fl. 

We have taken the summer off from traveling and I can’t begin to describe to you how nice it is! I love being home on my farm! 

Filed Under: Homesteading Tagged With: diary of a farmers wife

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Hi, I'm Jackie Ritz and welcome to The Paleo Mama! I'm a published author, certified herbalist, and voracious researcher of natural medicine and nutrition. I'm glad you're here and I hope you stick around for awhile!

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  • When God Says Pause: Why I Took a 5-Year Break from My Online Business
  • How to Quit Facebook but Keep Your Business Profile
  • Leaving the City for the Country
  • Natural Way to Heart Health

MEAL PLANS

Biblically clean meal plans that are for those love to cook real food

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Our Blog

The Paleo Mama blog provides simple answers for healthier families through research, tutorials, recipes, and simple remedies for daily needs!

  • Health
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  • Meal Plans

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You’ll get instant access to a library of natural remedies and real, paleo food, including our ebooks and free guides we send out.

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