tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29040473510124673882024-03-14T01:10:10.443-07:00My Precious PeasOur humble journey on our One Blessed Acre, filled with faith, family and fun!Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-20240221999380141792017-09-29T03:30:00.000-07:002017-09-29T03:30:29.162-07:00Fall updates to shop . . .09.26.2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yippee! One Blessed Acre Farm is headed to <a href="https://www.figtwigmarket.com/">Fig Twig Market</a> this year on November 3 - 4th. <span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The Fig Twig Market began in 2012 with a vision to bring a hand-crafted, vintage, up-cycled shabby chic holiday market to Humboldt County. The market showcases home, holiday decor and handmade one-of-a-kind finds.</b></span> They showcase over 55 vendors at this market covering 3 buildings at our local fairgrounds. It's well worth the time to come out and enjoy an evening or afternoon of shopping.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Production is in full force at our house. Nothing says fall like Pumpkin Pie, Spiced Apple Cider, Orange Clove and Vanilla Fig. Let me just tantalize your sense of smell for a moment. . . .</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hints of pumpkin pie spice, </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">cinnamon, brown sugar and amber;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Warm citrus-y scent of orange </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">combined with </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">fall scents of clove;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sweet vanilla musk scent wrapped in hints of rum and dark amber </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">candied </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">in ripe fig, bergamot, fresh peach</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In addition to our great goat milk soap and lotions, a lovely selection of handmade linens in burlap will adorn the booth. I will be showcasing a selection of my best selling table runners. Our pleated runner in a natural burlap is just the addition that your fall dinner table needs to dress it up. Burlap pillows with fabulous fall designs stenciled onto the fabric will complete our linen line-up. These are top secret designs, so I highly recommend stopping by the booth to check them out!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The farm kids are going to be producing some great goat milk products. Our one of a kind goat milk lip balm with goat milk, honey and silky smooth oils is just what your dry lips will need this winter. Or, how slipping one into a Christmas stocking this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How about a sugar scrub or bath bomb with the healing, soothing benefits of goat milk? It can't get much better than Unicorn Farts or Electric Lemonade. Our littlest farm hand has crafted a Tub Tea with Lavender Essential Oil by <a href="http://doterra./">doTERRA.</a><span id="goog_1607005166"></span><span id="goog_1607005167"></span> Just place two or three tea bags in a warm bath and you'll be relaxing with luxurious goat milk, dried lavender buds, and calendula petals scented with therapeutic grade essential oil.</span></div>
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We can't wait to see you there!</h2>
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Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-80595888618526105512017-09-22T06:00:00.000-07:002017-09-22T06:00:08.350-07:00Getting Ready for Baby Goats. . . 09.19.2017<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's been a long time coming, but we are anticipating the birth of baby goats within a month's time. This road to breeding goats and successful kidding has been a struggle and it's not exactly the struggle I want to share as a blogger and homesteader, but maybe my experience will help another goat newbie. I feel like it's worth sharing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Two years ago I bought our Nubian, Luna, who was already in milk. She was a two year old freshner, meaning that she had just given birth. All went well that first year with milking and her health. But last year came and we spent the entire breeding season running her back and forth to the breeders home (thankfully, they were only 5 minutes down the road) trying to catch her cycle so that his buck would breed with her. It was a very frustrating time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">First, breeding animals is not as easy as just putting them into a pen together. The doe needs to begin cycling, which for Nubians happens around August and lasts until January. This doesn't give much of a window of time. Each time we thought we had a successful breed, the next month she would show signs of heat again and the final time I actually administered a blood test thinking we had won victory, only to get a negative pregnancy test. Second, I found out goats need to be up on their minerals to actually go into a full cycle. I was at my wits end and didn't know where to turn. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I needed answers and quickly. So, I began researching websites of goat owners that had been raising goats longer than I. Two sites kept coming up with lots of information; <a href="https://www.fiascofarm.com/">Fiasco Farms</a> and <a href="http://landofhavilahfarm.com/loh/natural-raising/land-of-havilah-herd-health-practices/">Land of Havilah</a>. Plus, an excellent book to read is <a href="http://amzn.to/2ypDjvE">Pat Colby's Natural Goat Care</a>. The overall consensus of information I read lead me to realize that my goats were not only copper deficient but selenium deficient.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The only way to boost copper is to copper bolus - which is where you stick a gigantic pill down the goat's throat for them to swallow. I bit the bullet, bought the bolus gun and tried the pill. YouTube is a great resource for information, but even after watching the videos over and over again, I still didn't get the pill all the way past the back of the throat where goats have some serious molars. Each of the goats had a nice tasty chomping of a copper capsule. Uggh! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Right after this first blousing, I</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> also began administering 1 teaspoon of <a href="http://amzn.to/2fm1K8A">selenium powder</a> every night. I was in shock; within weeks this is what I saw. Mocha went from a dull, dreary rust color to a vibrant chocolate brown, her coat was once coarse and fried feeling was beginning to have a smooth and shiny character to it and she went into a raging heat within two months (I knew this because Doug was going nuts trying to get into the pen with her).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Deborah Niemann of the <a href="http://thriftyhomesteader.com/">Thrifty Homesteader</a> top dresses her <a href="http://thriftyhomesteader.com/">copper</a>. Most sites recommend copper blousing every 6 months, but I did find several recommendations that if the goats are in an area where there is much sulfur in the water to copper bolus every 3 months because sulfur inhibits copper intake. This led me to try three months later top dressing the copper. This worked well, but some of the copper remained at the bottom of the feed pan. I think that I will continue to top dress the copper only because it was less stress on this owner and all goats participating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Fast forward to August and I actually witnessed Luna go into her first heat. It was a very quick one of only several hours, but it was a start. I can now see that the health of my animals is on the right track. Here's hoping she'll be pregnant by the end of the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Mocha was actually bred in May to our little Nigerian buck, Doug. I was worried that she wouldn't be in top health for her pregnancy so I did a few things to help her put as much energy into growing healthy babies as she could.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I dried her up from milking as soon as we got the pregnancy results. Goats can actually be milked up to two months before kidding, according to Fiasco Farms, but like I said, I wanted her putting energy into growing healthy babies, not making milk for me.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I began administering an herbal supplement that included nettle, spirulina, alfalfa, dandelion and marshmallow leaves.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I began giving her Diamond V Yeast Culture -<span style="color: black;"> It improves digestion, muscle weight gain, litter weights, milk production, conditioning, and even survivability in all the various animals it's been tried on.</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My girl, Mocha, is getting bigger everyday. My birthing kit is almost ready. All that's left is to clean out her stall about a week before her due date.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I've seen slight movements on her right side which I'm hoping is those precious babies getting closer to coming out to meet us. The farm kids are so excited to hold some baby goats.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I realize this post went rather long, but if it's helped please let me know by leaving a comment. I would also appreciate hearing any comments on anything else that I need to do to prepare for goat babies.</span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-40934536743573411782017-09-15T07:23:00.000-07:002017-09-15T07:24:43.077-07:00Canning Tomatoes. . . . 09.14.2017<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Oh my! I just looked at my calender and realized it's really halfway into September. Has anyone else had that "Awh Ha" moment? School is in full swing in our house; I have 4 still participating in our Bibby Christian Academy; one in 9th, 7th, 5th and 3rd this year. The excitement for beginning a new school year lasted all of . . . 30 minutes. No, I'm really kidding. . . it was more like 3 days! Lest you think that after 16 years of homeschooling I have it all together, pssshhh - Homeschooling is an ever evolving learning process for not only the students but for momma. We always begin the new year with an annual "let's burn last year's papers" fire in the fire pit. That coupled with some really dry pallets made for a very enjoyable evening with delicious smores.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Tomatoes, tomatoes everywhere. That has been the motto of my kitchen part of August and into September. When the tomatoes ripen, one must can tomatoes, make salsa (green and red) and spaghetti sauce. Have I ever mentioned that <strike>my hubby</strike> my family really likes tomato based recipes? So, hop in the car with us as we travel to our favorite spot to get THE BEST organic tomatoes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's only a 20 minute drive from our home, southbound on the 101. If you haven't taken the time to travel through the Avenue of the Giants. . AKA - the Northcoast Redwoods. . .you need to! There is something magical about driving through these towering giants looming over the top of you. Gene and Ginger Sarvinski are the proud owners of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/famsarvinski/">the Corn Crib</a><u>.</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sunflowers greeted us a we pulled up to the stand. My children were more enamored with the sweet dog that needed some attention (which I am absolutely sure, she gets an abundance of all day long!) Our first trip out there we loaded 80 pounds of tomatoes into the back of the van. While that seems like a lot, it's really only 4 big boxes. Since, then we've been back for 4 more boxes. Yes, I am that crazy tomato canning lady!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The girls helped me immensely one day. . . it was homemaking skill learning day. I'm not sure if they will can food for their family one day, but I sure think it's a skill worth passing along. It is frustrating knowing that we can buy already processed food so much cheaper than canning our own. . BUT . . I'm committed to teaching these children of mine a different way of life. The time went by so much faster this way and it's a memory I will treasure for years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Every good canner needs good products. My <a href="http://amzn.to/2y3oz4v">water bath canner</a> is on the verge of springing a hole in the bottom of it, so off to a flower planter it goes. I'm<strike> due</strike> ready for another one anyway. You will also need a <a href="http://amzn.to/2wupHNx">set of tools</a>. George's favorite tool is the magnetized lid picker-upper - he calls it a "fishing pole," and always asks if he can go fishing with me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the end, after a lot of hard work and energy, you CAN(no pun intended) end up with a pantry looking full and stocked for the winter. Plus, you will have the satisfaction knowing that you put it up with your own hands. The Lord intended us to work hard. . </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. <a href="http://www.biblestudytools.com/exodus/20-9.html" target="_blank">Exodus 20:9</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. <a href="http://www.biblestudytools.com/nkjv/job/passage/?q=job+1:10-11" target="_blank">Job 1:10-11</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I said in my heart,<br /> "God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,<br /> For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work." <a href="http://www.biblestudytools.com/nkjv/ecclesiastes/3-17.html" target="_blank">Eccl 3:17</a></span></div>
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<br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-62021330506336877922017-08-31T16:19:00.000-07:002017-08-31T16:25:47.833-07:00August 2017. . . . Farm Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">August has come and gone. While everyone else in the nation has been enjoying unbelievably warm temperatures, the Pacific Northwest has struggled with slightly foggy, and much colder days. This is due to the extreme heat inland in Redding and to the south of us in Garberville. But that hasn't stopped the Preciouspeas from having a great summer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Blue skies and slight breezes make for the perfect getaway to Samoa Beach in Eureka. It has become a new favorite spot for the littles. The inlet is just the right depth for swimming. Sand squishing between the toes, sand castle building and maybe even a few gymnastic back flips and cartwheels have been know to happen while we enjoy our days relaxing here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My mom lives in Sebastopol, so one weekend we decided to hop in the car, drive 4 hours to a hotel for more swimming fun and a chance to view Grammie's collage artwork displayed at a local community center.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Just a few blocks from her apartment was a beautiful community park, complete with a rather large pond (green as it may be). What fun we had when we found an abundance of ducks, even several momma hens and ducklings. It just so happens that it helps to have a huge bag of rice cakes in the car to pull out to feed all of these <strike>starving</strike> hungry said ducks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Wait a minute? "Did you say that you just fed the snacks mom had planned for the ride home to the ducks? " Hmmm.. . . good thing mom was planning on stopping at "In and Out" on the way home for a late afternoon treat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One Blessed Acre Farm is going to be featured as one of the vendors at <a href="https://www.figtwigmarket.com/">the Fig Twig Market</a> again this year. If you are local, please put this great event on your calendar, November 3 and 4 at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, therefore, soap making is in full swing at our house. HELP! I'm running out of curing space. Making over 200 bars of soap takes quite a bit of space to house while it's going through the four week curing process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Being helpful to friends in need always brings joy to my heart. Heather had butchered her two turkeys and they needed to be canned. I have never canned meat before, so not only was it a learning experience for me, it was a time saver for her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Have you ever canned raw meat before? While the process isn't difficult, the actual canning time was long.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My 30th high school reunion happened this month also. It was an amazing night out with my wonderful hubby. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We attended a beautiful wedding first. Just imagine 300 guests sitting on hay bales overlooking our valley with a little breeze blowing, watching and awaiting the bride who ascends up stairs cut into the side of the hill by her hubby-to-be. The reception was held in the bride's family barn and it was an image straight out of Pinterest or Instagram. White twinkling lights, white linens with white china and crystal goblets..... appetizers galore, a donut/chocolate bar and so much good food. We actually left our kids with friends of ours while Mike and I headed off to the reunion. The kids described their evening to us later the next morning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">High school reunions are interesting. . . . . I loved seeing that the same old antics that happened when we were young, still happen when we are old. Every class has that same funny guy who cracks everyone up in the room and in our case we had two! The biggest lesson I learned over the weekend was how selfish I was during high school. I feel like I didn't take the time to invest time into getting to know my classmates on a more personal level. I was too focused on my own goals and desires. . . . I should have taken time to get my eyes off of myself and onto others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The Lord has been leading me on a new path. . . one of selflessness. I have been pondering how to invest more time into others needs instead of my own. I have recently started using <a href="https://www.doterra.com/">doTerra Essential Oils</a>. I am absolutely loving the energy I'm experiencing and the kids are enjoying the benefit of the oils at night to help them sleep better. This company also is doing great things for the communities around the world where they source the plants from to create the essential oils. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I want to share this new information and company with anyone who is interested in improving their health, vitality, energy levels, stress levels and detoxifying their life. As soon as I get my website up and running, I will get a link up on the side so I can share this with everyone I can. My goal is to also incorporate these great oils into my existing lotions and soaps. So stay tuned. . . </span></div>
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<br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-76188226110044261622017-07-31T05:00:00.000-07:002017-07-31T05:00:29.714-07:00Crater Lake - Day 5 and 6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vz86m1iDtXw/WXFBFfoSfRI/AAAAAAAAG5M/0Dt6bUMtS9EuhAfT8K0bXwcNOZtHd8EcQCLcBGAs/s1600/0703171032_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vz86m1iDtXw/WXFBFfoSfRI/AAAAAAAAG5M/0Dt6bUMtS9EuhAfT8K0bXwcNOZtHd8EcQCLcBGAs/s400/0703171032_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One more exploration day at Crater Lake. I just couldn't resist showing some more amazing shots of the lake. And, well, my cute kids posing in the snow and at all the lookout spots. The highest lookout spot is called Watchtower outlook, at 8100 feet. It was enough to send my vertigo into a rage. There was no way that a minivan should have ever been allowed on the road, or what they deemed a road made of gravel and a very steep drop off to never - never land.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Final destination before leaving Crater Lake - the gift shop of course.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Dad made all the kids a deal - he gave them $100 to shop with on the vacation. The object was to control their spending. He wasn't buying snacks or souvenirs - no begging allowed. Here was the catch. . . whoever came back with the most money won an additional $100. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Everyone was very careful to only spend their money on those items they deemed absolutely essential and by the last day each of them had most of their money still remaining. Abby quickly realized she had already spent more than the others had so she wouldn't be winning the additional $100, so what's a girl to do. . . well, she bought monster feet. I think she got the best deal of all. What 9 1/2 year old wouldn't want monster feet - and pink for that matter!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So, who won you might ask? It happened to be a certain teenage girl - Hannah. She was followed by a close second to Lindsay.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our last day led us on an early morning hike on two different trails. The Natural Bridge trail took us right along the Rogue River Gorge. Beautiful, breath-taking boulders with thousands of gallons of water flowing over the top, snaking here and there, getting trapped in caves which were old lava tubes. If I was a betting girl, Disneyland took their inspiration for their log rides from this gorge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Mill Creek Falls trail took us 2.5 miles round trip to two waterfalls jutting out of the mountainside; water flowing right underneath the tree tops. Then back up to the top of the river where giant boulders created a series of falls and rapids for the river to twist it's way downward.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Later that evening, the highlight of my day was taking these two littles up to the bridge near our cabin. There was shallow water in which they could actually play in. Mind you this water had to be 40 degrees. George laid down, plugged his nose and dipped back into the water. His face coming out of the water was contorted due to the extreme cold. It was quite the sight. Abby tried to imitate him, but she just couldn't muster up enough guts to dunk her whole head into the water. It was pure joy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Another glorious vacation. We all can't wait to see where Dad takes us next year!</span><br />
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<br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-67904367818354773662017-07-24T08:00:00.000-07:002017-07-24T08:00:00.164-07:00Crater Lake - Day 3 and 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Diamond Lake was on our agenda for today. When every last kid is whining to go swimming, what's a dad to do, but find a lake. He found one, situated about 40 minutes from our campsite. We could not swim in the river behind our campsite because the current was way too strong - I had visions of children being sucked into the twisting, turning, rushing Rogue River.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The sun was shining, glorious and warm without a cloud in the sky to be seen. The water was blue, not as vibrant as Crater Lake, but none the less beautiful. George was the first brave soul to jump in and wade out as far as he could stand on his tip toes. The girls followed - skittishly, squealing as their bodies hit the 40 something-ish degree water.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We drove over to the other side of the lake, where we found Diamond Lake Resort. After lunch Dad took the kids on a paddle boat ride around the lake for about 45 minutes and gave momma the last 15 minutes. That was all that my legs could take. Feel the burn baby!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When a morning of fishing with Dad led to no fish caught, but lots of mosquito bites, dinner was turned into beer can chicken instead of fried fish. The rest of the day was spent relaxing. Grandma and Poppa enjoyed an afternoon of watching downloaded movies from Netflix, while Dad taught the three littler kids to whittle. Several knives were crafted and I did see the makings of a gun at one point. It was just like clock work every afternoon - like a bunch of baby ducklings following momma- Grandma, Poppa and five children exited the cabin and proceeded to the ice cream shop next to us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Three of the kids participated in the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/kids/jrRangers.cfm">Junior Ranger program through the National Parks</a> . This is an absolute must to do if you ever visit a National Park. Each child gets a workbook to seek and find the answers to word searches, mazes, puzzles and short answers. Once the workbooks are completed they get turned back in to a ranger.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This time the kids actually got questioned about their answers. I overheard the ranger ask what their favorite spot at Crater Lake was and to describe the things they had learned while there. After all the questions were answered, they each got a badge and the ranger officially introduced them as the newest Junior Rangers. </span></div>
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<br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-13447589054355459852017-07-20T08:37:00.003-07:002017-07-20T08:37:46.539-07:00Crater Lake. . . Day 1 and 2<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We left early on a Friday morning, headed for <a href="http://www.unioncreekoregon.com/">Union Creek Campgrounds in Prospect, Oregon</a> for a six day vacation which was probably long overdue for several people in our family. Our first stop was <a href="http://taylorsausage.com/">Taylor's Sausage in Cave Junction</a>. My friend <a href="http://www.mountainhomequilts.blogspot.com/">Heather</a>, has been telling me for years how good their sausage and meat were. Even the General Manager prefers their curing style for bacon above all other local meat processing. We may or may not have overloaded the slightly smallish cooler we brought. There was sausage, organic free range chicken, bacon, more bacon and hamburger to feed us on our stay. Windows down, sunshine streaming in the car and a warm breeze blowing had everyone enjoying the drive up to the cabin. We pulled in five minutes before my in-laws, Bob and Peg arrived.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The cabin was a two-storied, brown shingled quaint cabin, complete with wood framed windows. There was a porch with a BBQ grill sitting on it ready for our dinner plans. Can you smell the sausage grilling? Everyone was early to bed that night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Up early the next morning, we headed to Crater Lake. Our cabin was at 3000 feet, the entrance to the park was around 5200 feet and by the time we got to the top of the rim at 7100 feet, we quickly learned about altitude sickness. Lindsay and Anne had begun feeling the effects of it the night before, but we quickly had them drink a ton of water, but Abby slipped through the cracks of water drinking. By the time we drove up to the rim of the crater, Abby was vomiting and lethargic. Dad had to stay in the car and trade off with momma while Abby slept the morning away. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The lake was absolutely magnificent. <i>Genesis 7:11 (In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.)</i><span class="p"></span> came to my mind the moment I saw the lake. Around 7700 years ago the mountain/volcano erupted and the top of the mountain fell in on itself, causing the base of the lake to be created. Over years the snow has melted and filled in the basin. I would also venture to say that the remains of the great flood waters stayed trapped inside the basin, but scientists won't admit to that. I couldn't believe that a lake could be so blue and so high up in altitude. There are no rivers feeding the basin either, it's strictly filled each year with the snow falling and melting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We didn't leave without George getting some snow playing time. Believe it or not, there was actually up to 6 feet of snow still in some places. Since Abby wasn't feeling good, we called it day and went back to the cabin so she could sleep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-85021106182389014662017-06-29T16:57:00.001-07:002017-06-29T16:58:04.926-07:00June Farm Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Have you ever wished that during summer
you could transport yourself back to the slower days of winter? My
days seem to be longer and the list of things to get done seems to
grow bigger. Our kid’s crazy schedule just keeps on getting
crazier. Someone once told me years ago to cherish the years my
children were young because one day life would be completely chaotic. Wow! Were they ever right! Having older children has added a new dimension to our schedule;
running from this activity to the next, more so than when they were
little, because then we could stay home. So, tired mommas with
littles, my advice to you is to enjoy these days before chauffeuring,
scheduling and activities consume your day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our garden was finally planted after
what seemed like an eternity of waiting. It happened so quickly. It began as one day of planting and the next the sprouts were
sprouting. It feels incredibly satisfactory to know that we are
eating from the garden now, even if it is only strawberries, lettuce,
chard, and radishes. I can almost imagine my ancestors biting into
that first bite of fresh produce after a long winter of canned goods
and dried meat. How good it must have tasted. How thrilled they
must have been to have choices in what to eat. How satisfying to
know they had grown it themselves? How did we get so far from the
natural way of eating? But then I think, would I really want to
remove the convenience of the grocery store, Azure drop or late-night
Friday pizza night? Probably not, if I was to be truly honest.
These things have a place in our life today for better or worse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I love that the General Manager just
posted on his <a href="http://www.instagram.com/fbteco">Instagram</a>
about how he was enjoying the view of the colorful flowers off our
front porch. He may or may not have been enjoying a cigar and a
glass of scotch in the Adirondack chairs that my Dad built for us.
Those chairs are supposed to go around our fire pit, but I just
couldn’t bring myself to see them get weathered in the rain, so
they found a new home on our covered porch. They just seem to fit
there, like they’ve always been there. I tried sitting in them one
day and I fell asleep with the sunshine streaming in on the porch. I
was brought back into reality when one of the kids found me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the
early spring, I took some time to plant a variety of bulbs in and
around a good majority of my perennials and herbs. Last year hubby
had gently informed me that he really wanted to see more color in our
front flower beds. I am so in awe of all my lavender blooms this
year. Trimming lavender each season really is the ticket to better
and bigger blooms the following year. My goal this year was to
incorporate more edible plants in this landscape; mostly to just
grow more food. I’m trying parsley, lovage and strawberries, in
addition to our two blueberry bushes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The children finished this year of
schooling. Well it actually went down more like this, “momma just
said put the books away.” I told myself and my best friend to
remind me in future years to stop homeschooling in June. I’ve
always been interested in following a more agrarian schedule because
of the planting of our garden, weeding, barn chores, and milking
schedule. These tend to be time consuming activities that need to
be done during daylight/schooling hours. One of these days I hope to
figure out how to get more schooling done during the rainy, dreary,
wet winters we have here in Northern California. I like to give
myself the month of June off and then begin planning for the next
year in July and August. I hope to get schooling started again in
September but our county fair is later this year and goes all the way
until Labor Day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The highlight of June was the girl’s dance
recital. <a href="http://www.ferndaledance.com/">The Ferndale Dance Academy</a> put on a slightly twisted version of Cinderella.
Abby and Hannah were fabulous and the show was a huge success.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How are the farm animals you ask? The
goats are doing well. I have been spending months trying to figure
out what deficiencies they are suffering from and I have narrowed it
down to copper and selenium. We are on a strict mineral
supplementation for each of them. In the last two weeks, I’ve
noticed a big difference in both does’ coat colors. Now, I’m
just waiting to see when each of them begins to show signs of heat.
All last year I dealt with silent heats, which makes it impossible to
bred a goat this way. My Nigerian buck is also over one year old
now, so I’m really hoping he’s up for the task of breeding this
year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our chickens have been laying an enormous amount of eggs. One
month they laid over 525 eggs – we do have 28 hens. That’s a lot
of clucking! Did you know that chickens love to cluck (more like
squawk) and let you know they laid an egg? Kevin, our LGD is working
better with the chickens and goats – we’ve only had a few
instances of chicken licking – yes, I said that correctly. He
likes to lick the chickens until they are squeaky clean. Great if
you are Kevin, not so great if you are the chicken being licked by a
big white scary dog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.oneblessedacre.etsy.com/">One
Blessed Acre soaps and lotions</a> were débuted at a new local craft
fair this month – <a href="http://www.facebook.com/humboldtjunkies">Humboldt
Junkies</a>. The kids have been adding their own products to our
normal line-up of goat milk soaps and lotions. We now have lip balm
by Abby, tub teas by George, bath bombs by Lindsay and sugar scrubs
by Hannah. Did I mention that every one of these products has goat
milk in them? Because goat milk is good for you and, never
Bah-a-ha-a-ha-a-a-d. I added four new scented scrubby soaps and 3
new scented liquid soaps to our etsy shop. Who doesn’t love
smelling like chocolate cake batter? If local, you will still be
able to find our products at the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/goldengaitmercantile">Golden
Gait Mercantile</a> in Ferndale.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">We are off on vacation to Crater Lake, Oregon this week. I cannot wait to see what adventures we get into while we are there. How is your summer shaping up? Leave me a comment.</span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-73909526389919656932017-06-22T16:45:00.000-07:002017-06-22T16:45:53.497-07:00How to Be Successful At Craft Fairs<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Whether you are brand new to the world of selling goods at fairs and craft shows, or if you are a seasoned expert, today’s economy dictates that just a bit more legwork is required in order for crafting to be profitable. Here in our neck of the woods we have our share of craft fairs, which seem to be growing in popularity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This last weekend the kids and I jumped both feet in the water with a relatively new craft fair and vintage flea market called Humboldt Junkies. <a href="http://www.oneblessedacre.etsy.com/">One Blessed Acre</a> joined forces with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bluebirdmom/">Bluebird Mom - Chalk Couture</a>. So, in addition to all of our great goat milk bath and body products, we had custom chalked signs on rustic wood boards and vintage windows.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In order to properly prepare for our booth, a couple weeks ahead of time we got together and ran through a trial set up of the booth. This is a must if you want to be prepared on set-up day at the actual fair. While it still took us three hours to completely set up the booth, it would have taken us several more hours if we hadn't done this pre-preparation. When we got to the fair, we found out we had the front booth, the very first booth everyone would see as they were walking in. As soon as we saw this we realized we needed to adjust our layout to allow for the side entrance for customers to walk right into our booth. Being flexible was essential to our success.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Tables are a must for craft displays. Think outside of the box for <a href="http://amzn.to/2tzmfRu">display tables</a>; not only functional ones but unique pieces. Risers and displays need to be creative, varying heights and textures. This allows a customer's eyes to wander and observe your entire booth. We also combined products to show our customers possible gift giving ideas or ways to display their bath products at home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Did you know you have 3 minutes or less to impress upon someone to walk into your booth and actually engage with your product? This is not a big window of time, so make sure your displays are sharp and easy to view. The "Rule of Seven" applies here; The Rule of Seven is an old marketing adage. It says that a prospect needs to see or hear your marketing message at least seven times before they take action and buy from you. So, a</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">bove all have great signage. We had not only two large banners, but individual signs telling price, sizes, scents and product names. It's important to have your business name and website displayed so customers will see it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The day of the fair everyone was in a good mood. Make sure you are thoroughly rested and have a smile on your face. You only get one chance at a first impression and you want it to be a good one. How could you resist this adorable face asking you to try our goat milk lotion? Trust me, NO ONE did! Be sure to wear comfortable clothing and comfortable shoes! Standing on your feet all day can be quite painful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Creating a theme for your booth is another way to be successful at craft fairs. This was the first year we attended this craft fair so we wanted to make a lasting impression upon our customers. A coherent stall with strong branding is helpful in getting our customers to remember our booth. If you can, carry your branding into your packaging so that when a customer buys something they will be taking it home in one of your paper bags with a business card included. Think about who your target market is and tailor your booth to this clientele.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">At the end of the day, a successful craft fair means that you had a great time at the craft fair. It also means that contacts were made with people that you'd never met before. These can lead to potential sales at future craft fairs. The learning experiences that our children were exposed to over the weekend are innumerable and invaluable. Just a quick few to mention; making change, writing receipts, product merchandising, customer service, product knowledge and sales. Never underestimate these skills and how important they can be to learn. When I evaluated our results for this craft fair, we came right in at successful!</span></div>
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<b></b>Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-17137191666977942182017-06-13T19:41:00.001-07:002017-06-13T19:41:58.334-07:00Home For the Ducks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Almost a month ago we gained two Blue Swedish ducks to add to our farm. They are growing up so quickly. One of the first orders of business after having them stay in our chicken tractor for several weeks was to construct them a permanent home. It was decided that they would stay in the side yard to help control the slugs and snails that inhabit <strike>destroy </strike>the perennial plants I have growing there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I spent time online trying to find a coop suitable for two ducks. It had to be quick and easy to assemble, something this construction challenged momma could handle. It had to fit the size restrictions for our small space. It had to be predator proof. It needed to be somewhat pretty too as it's next to the house. And finally, it had to be somewhat inexpensive; I wasn't buying the Taj Mahal of duck houses. Amazon had this <a href="http://amzn.to/2roYxKn">Advantek coop</a> to house 2 - 3 chickens. Voila! Perfect. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I completely forgot to take some pictures while we were putting it together. The instructions were not awful, but they were not entirely helpful either. At least the coop layout was straight forward enough to be able to figure out. It took my friend, <a href="http://www.mountainhomequilts.blogspot.com/">Heather </a>and I about two hours to put it together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The closing latch came cracked, which Amazon graciously credited $30 towards the purchase cost since I had already put it together and was NOT taking it apart to return. I needed to attach another safety predator latch on the door anyway because anyone who has animals knows that little wooden latch would not keep out a raccoon or skunk looking for dinner. We also had to line the bottom with hardwire cloth because the floor was simply wooden slats, which I felt either the ducks would fall through or a predator would push up into.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, Do I love our new duck house? Absolutely! For the money and ease of putting together it's a sturdy coop. Could I have built one for less? Absolutely! But, how long would it have taken me? Maybe several months. Do I think it will last the test of time, probably not. But, it will allow us a few years to figure out whether we want to house them in the side yard, in the garden or in the big chicken coop. That's the nice thing about smaller animals - they are very flexible and forgiving; allowing for their owners to make several mistakes along the way. What do you think of our new duck house?</span></div>
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<br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-9878236908591892912017-06-08T16:29:00.002-07:002017-06-08T16:29:33.406-07:00Planting Has Begun 06.05.17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">From the left to the right around the back of the garden; we planted peas, jalapeños, lettuce, parsley, celery, spinach, radishes, chard, kale, more lettuce, carrots, chamomile, volunteer calendula. Through the center rows I have planted broccoli, Brussel sprouts, kohlrabi, cabbage, more carrots, lettuce and spinach, dill, chamomile. Off to the far right is bush beans, cucumbers, zucchini, and pumpkins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The beds are slightly larger this year to allow for the larger crops to be in the center and the faster growing crops to the outside. Is anyone else as garden fickle as I am?? Each year I always try some new layout and then journal the results in my garden log to refer to later. Some things work really well and others are an epic fail. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This year the General Manager is trying something new in the garden. I think he secretly enjoys getting his fingers dirty in the dirt, even if he won't admit it to anyone else. . . According to <a href="http://modernfarmer.com/2013/07/straw-bale-gardening/">Modern Farmer</a> straw bale gardening is great for those gardeners who are faced with the start up expense of raised beds or want an ideal growing container for vegetables. We have this stubborn spot behind our pea trellis that just isn't big enough to plant anything - last year it grew potatoes, but it was <strike>extremely hard to keep weeded</strike> a weed magnet and the soil is very poor in this area. Needless to say our potato harvest was low.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">So, when you are dealt tricky problems in your garden, you have to be creative. To get started he wet the bales down - more like soaked them! Then he covered the tops with composted manure, bone meal and <a href="http://amzn.to/2sJ1nqo">fertilizer</a>. Two weeks waiting time is necessary to start the breakdown phase of the hay and then he's going to plant the potatoes into the bales.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">When the harvest season ends, the bales will be soft, saggy and gray — but that’s exactly what we want. Because piling the straw together and leaving it to compost over winter, will give us a mound of beautiful compost to fill all of our pots and planters next spring.</span><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=oneblessedacr-20&l=li2&o=1&a=B001B2W85Q" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Has anyone else tried straw bale gardening? If so, leave me a comment and let me know if the bales were successful at growing whatever you planted in them.</span></div>
<u></u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><u></u><br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-37244072401644458912017-05-30T16:24:00.000-07:002017-05-30T16:27:34.056-07:00Growing Comfrey For Strawberry Beds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KUwIdzACk4c/WS32S7fCaII/AAAAAAAAF98/oUholVLIA24IA9lGJ8XE-stC2y5gS2u9QCLcB/s1600/0530171343a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KUwIdzACk4c/WS32S7fCaII/AAAAAAAAF98/oUholVLIA24IA9lGJ8XE-stC2y5gS2u9QCLcB/s640/0530171343a.jpg" width="360" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Comfrey is a powerful perennial herb - that means it usually dies off in the winter, only to bloom back to life in the spring. It is amazing in the garden–attracting pollinators and beneficial insects, providing medicinal value, and enriching soil with nutrients. About 3 years ago, a friend dug up part of her comfrey plant and sent it home with me. We transplanted it in our side garden bed and there it has grown abundantly. Here is how I use comfrey to improve my soil and enhance my strawberry beds.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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S<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">trawberries have vast nutrient needs, which include nitrogen, potassium, calcium, and magnesium, and a few other trace elements. Most of these essential nutrients can be found in comfrey. The roots of the herb comfrey reach deep down and absorb essential nutrients, which then accumulate in its leaves. Comfrey leaves make a great fertilizing mulch when chopped, transferring the nutrients to the soil. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><a href="http://amzn.to/2rSsxNQ">Comfrey plants</a> are easy to obtain at most local nurseries or garden stores and now they can even be found online. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To create this mulch, simply chop the leaves and use them as mulch throughout the strawberry bed. I collected a bucket full and then distributed it through the strawberry beds around our different garden areas. We grow strawberries in a couple places around the home; main garden, front edible area, and individual containers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Strawberry beds have to be beautiful! One of our beds is just starting to sprout flowers. We remodeled our bathroom, taking out the claw foot tub, and upcycling it into the garden. Doesn't it make an adorable strawberry bed?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Strawberries are a favorite in our gardens. We could have a whole field of them and still probably not have enough. I hope this simple suggestion of adding comfrey mulch to your strawberry beds helps you to grow your best strawberries.</span><br />
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Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-77166488694097837422017-05-23T16:31:00.000-07:002017-05-24T08:11:06.864-07:00Slow Garden Progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dcvssm_Wl50/WSS-62S8mUI/AAAAAAAAFy4/O5WaVm00F5M1KJ88j5x5dYPUzNoxyJfLQCLcB/s1600/SAM_1267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dcvssm_Wl50/WSS-62S8mUI/AAAAAAAAFy4/O5WaVm00F5M1KJ88j5x5dYPUzNoxyJfLQCLcB/s640/SAM_1267.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> (this was our garden two years ago)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our homestead garden is coming along so slowly this year. We have two areas where we plant in our yard; the gated area right off our front porch and then our larger plot to the side of the house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In our front yard I have a majority of our perennials, herbs, our pear tree and blueberry bushes. It's become a hodge podge of plants, but it works nicely as an herb garden when cooking and usually the kids pick the blueberries or the pears when they need a snack. One day I hope to remove the grass and put in some more raised beds for flowers, more herbs and perhaps a kitchen garden. Honey, when you read this, please don't roll your eyes, I know you love your precious lawn. . it's just one smallish area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Sunday, after church was spent planting 25 new strawberry plants, some of which went into the front garden. When these strawberries are ripe, they don't stand a chance to five strawberry lovin' children's fingers . The remainder went into a new bed in the main garden in hopes of having some left over for strawberry jam later this summer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">In our larger plot we have our actual garden vegetables; onions, carrots, lettuce, chard, kale, jalapeno peppers, broccoli, peas, beans, cabbage, garlic, cucumbers and of course pumpkins. I have realized with this last winter being so wet, that I must put on patience. Memorial Weekend has usually signified our "official" gardening season for our family, but the last weeks have been sunny and warm and my fingers are dying to get outside and plant. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">When we first got into gardening about 9 years ago, I bought this book. This book was designed to help gardeners with small spaces make the most of planting and growing. You've probably heard of it, <a href="http://amzn.to/2qdTsQs">Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew</a>. We took our two 4 by 4 foot boxes and grew a couple of tomato plants, some lettuce, carrots and spinach and thought we were on top of the world. While that meager beginning may not seem like much, it spurred a desire inside of the General Manager and I to grow more of our food. By spacing out each of our crops systematically, it allowed us to actually grow more vegetables that first year in our new home in California.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Tomatoes are a work in progress in our coastal climate. We had a greenhouse for the last several years, but a couple of windstorms and one 14 year old teenager not looking where the back of the lawn mower bagger was destroyed what was left of the rickety plastic house this winter. We were going to try to erect a hoop house out of cattle panels this year. BUT, do you ever have time and supplies become obstacles. So, thank heavens for grow pots. I found this amazing deal on Amazon the other day. My only problem with this solution is the cost of the dirt to fill all of the pots. I may as well have just bought organic tomatoes from Costco at this rate. I keep reminding myself, "grow your own. . . it's healthier. . .it's teaching the kids to be more self- sufficient. . there's nothing like the taste of a fresh grown tomato." Have I convinced you yet because I'm still trying to convince myself!</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How is your garden growing this year?</span>Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-27997960966142137652017-05-18T16:52:00.000-07:002017-05-18T16:52:39.142-07:00Ducks For Our Farm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm not sure who came first. . . the crazy momma who adds more animals to her farm without thinking, without having housing or even a little bit of knowledge on how to take care of them, or the animal loving, protecting child who pleaded to get ducks when her father wouldn't acquiesce to a new cat. She's also the same child who once placed a note up on the refrigerator that said "This is a NO KILLING Chicken Zone," and made her parents sign thus said note.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Either way, we are now the proud owner of two Blue Swedish ducks and they are approximately 5 weeks old. Meet Carl and Ellie, but alas, I don't even know at this point whether we have a drake (aka boy) or a hen (aka girl). It will only make a difference if we end up with two boys because that means NO eggs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our children didn't come with a manual (other than the Bible) to help the General Manager and I raise them, so, what was I expecting when these ducks arrived one morning. What's a girl to do; how do I quickly leap over the vast learning curve of raising baby ducks. Turn to my favorite author, Lisa Steele. Her first book <a href="http://fresheggsdaily.com/" target="_blank">Fresh Eggs Daily</a> helped me to learn about raising chickens and thank heavens she's published a similar book on raising ducks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The book came in the mail and I absorbed it like a sponge in 3 days. First things first, ducks need lots of protein when they are ducklings. Be sure to get the highest protein chicken feed if you cannot find duck feed at your local feed store. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> We went with </span></div>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UN3LB02/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00UN3LB02&linkCode=as2&tag=oneblessedacr-20&linkId=5c0ceda64f4cbf0df1da1529ba65e5f4" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">NATURES BEST ORGANIC FEED Chick Starter & Grower Crumbles</span></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=oneblessedacr-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B00UN3LB02" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. Since I couldn't find higher than 18%, several websites recommended adding brewer's yeast top dress to the duck feed. Water is the next essential element for successful duck raising. Simple mason jar waterers don't work. Ducklings need to get their entire beak into the water to help swallow their food and prevent choking. They also need to keep their nostrils moist and clear of debris.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Ducklings are messy creatures. There was only two of them, but they managed to drench their brooder box every day with spilled water. This continued even though we went with a larger chicken waterer. Lesson learned - next time use a ceramic bowl that they can't tip over. They took great delight in emptying their feeders all over the bottom of the box and I could have sworn I heard them laughing at us. Because, basically, if they can play in something, they will.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They quickly outgrew their brooder box, so outside they went into our chicken tractor. As long as it wasn't raining too hard, they were very happy. We bought a medium sized rubber feeder bowl that could be used as a swimming pool, but they have not stepped foot in it - perhaps they don't like the cold, wet Northern California weather like this momma.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">These ducks are funny, smart and inquisitive, quirky, fascinating creatures. I really am enjoying watching them. I have witnessed the "head bobbing" which is a sign of dominance and also flirting. My favorite though is "head tilting." A duck can see two to three times farther than a human. Because their eyes are on the side of their head and fitted into the socket, they have to tilt their heads to see in a different direction. The cuteness factor was displayed when they were babies and the girls brought them inside one afternoon to play in the tub. Hannah and Abby threw lettuce leaves into the tub and the gobbling began.</span><br />
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Stay tuned for our next adventure - building a duck coop!</div>
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<br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-35349297993825832892017-05-09T22:47:00.003-07:002017-05-13T12:40:02.883-07:00Mother's Day Market<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I just can't contain myself any longer. I just have to share the fun we had at our first craft fair this year. It was called the Mother's Day Market and it was held in Fortuna at the Rohner Grange.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But first I feel I need to back up because I'm not sure I've shared this new hobby/business with all of our readers. Moving back closer to family seven years ago has enabled our children to be raised </span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">in the country with fresh </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">air, animals and has </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">provided them a </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">slower paced lifestyle.</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> “One Blessed Acre” comes from our abundant family blessings </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">by God </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">through</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">out</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> the years. As well as, we are currently living on exactly one acre of land. W</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">e </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">took the plunge</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> a couple of years ago</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> and added</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">goats to our farm with the intent of drinking the milk, wanting to be more self-sufficient with our homesteading lifestyle. </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Out of that milking came lots of excess milk for soaps and lotions. </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Once I began looking at the labels on beauty products I quickly realized the need to have more natural products for my family to use. </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Through trial and error, gleaning information from those who had experience in soap making and reading countless websites, I found a passion for making soap and natural beauty products from ingredients that I could actually pronounce.</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX18467750" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX18467750" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> The goal of our business is to serve and give back to our community as a family, providing wholesome goat milk products that will bless local families and businesses that partner with us to promote and sell our products.</span></span></span><span class="EOP SCX18467750" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="EOP SCX18467750" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span><span class="EOP SCX18467750" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One of the best questions I always receive is "Why Goat Milk." </span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So here's the answer to </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Goat Milk; why you should drink it, make kefir, yogurt, and cheese and add it</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> to handmade soap. . </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Why? </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Because goat</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> milk is very good and never </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b><i>ba</i></b></span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b><i>-ha-ha-ha-had</i></b></span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b><i>.</i></b></span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Goat's milk has a pH level that's well balanced for healthy human hair and skin, while commercial soap can dry out the skin to the point at which it feels taut and itchy</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">. </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The alpha hydroxy</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> acid of goat’s milk attack the “glue” that binds dead skin cells together. </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">With these bonds broken those dry, lifeless cells slough off to reveal that young, healthy skin that is hidden beneath. Goat milk is loaded with vitamins and minerals which</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> rejuvenate and nourish your skin</span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">. </span></span></span><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span><br /><span class="EOP SCX18467750" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;"><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span> <span class="EOP SCX18467750" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;"><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now that you've been taught why you should use goat milk, let me convince you why you should support </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/oneblessedacre" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One Blessed Acre Farm</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> and buy our </span><a href="http://www.oneblessedacre.etsy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">handcrafted soap</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">. You will absolutely love your skin and will thank us for replacing your dry, itchy, irritable skin with soft, smooth and supple skin that doesn't feel dry or cracking.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our most popular line is our goat milk lotion. We have such a variety of scents that I couldn't name them all. I use fragrance oils and also have created an essential oil scent in geranium. We also carry a unscented soap and lotion for those who are severely bothered by fragrance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This year the kids and I have been busy creating new products which include a form of goat milk, whether it be fresh or dried. First, is my new liquid soap line. It is so soft and gentle on your skin and it cleans excellently while leaving your skin feeling supple. I've even tested it on greasy pans in the kitchen and it works there too! I'm also hearing great reviews about our luxury exfoliating line of soap. Four different scents with four different exfoliates: Coconut Island with loofah, Coffee House with ground coffee, Oatmeal Cookie with colloidal oatmeal and Herb Garden with ground walnut shells, pumice and poppy seeds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hannah has created the richest, most decadent goat milk fudge. People were raving about her samples. For the time being this will be a local craft fair item.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
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<span class="EOP SCX18467750" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;"><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span class="EOP SCX18467750" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;"><span class="TextRun SCX164923415" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX164923415" style="background-color: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The day began beautifully, with the sun peaking through the clouds and the wind was just beginning to blow, while we were in line at Starbucks getting everyone a Frappuccino. Set up went smoothly for us. Our table was sandwiched right in the middle of the room. This worked out perfectly for us to be able to sample our lotions on passers-by. The kids are always a little shy when we first get started, but by the end of the show they are pros at squirting lotion and talking about the products. Even George made sure to let everyone know about his Tub Teas. Lindsay spent many months perfecting her bath bombs. They smell heavenly. She made Lavender Lush, Electric Lemonade and Cinnamon Stick. So delicious!</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One of my favorite places to shop is Amazon and we, One Blessed Acre is now available through Amazon. Isn't that great?? All you have to do is click the link and order. You can also find us on Etsy at </span><a href="http://www.oneblessedacre.etsy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One Blessed Acre</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I love that we are local too. All of our soaps and lotions can be found in the Golden Gait Mercantile in downtown Ferndale, California. </span><br />
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The day went by too quickly and soon it was time for us to pack up and head home. We are really looking forward to our next fair in June called </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/humboldtjunkies/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Humboldt Junkies</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Vintage Market and Trailer Rally.</span></span></div>
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Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-60457441321490408382017-05-05T11:09:00.000-07:002017-05-05T11:09:08.638-07:00Raising Chickens with Lisa Steele for Inspiration<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Chickens have been our life since 2010 when we moved to One Blessed Acre. On my quest for self-sufficiency, I got a crazy notion in my brain that we could raise chickens . Neither the General Manager nor I had ever had experience raising chickens. We took on our backyard flock, with a box arriving at the post office at 1 AM one morning, in stride. The kids were overly excited to participate and help raise these 25 little fluff balls that began our introduction into chickens.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Flash forward seven years and we are still raising chickens. Some may call us crazy, but I believe we still have one of our precious firsts, her name is Daisy. She is perfectly healthy, but doesn't lay one egg for us, but she brings us such joy. Our chickens not only became our livelihood, but a part of our family. It's been tough learning that farm animals do have their place in the order of life, but, while they are in our care, we make sure they have the best life possible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">One of my favorite authors is Lisa Steele, of <a href="http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/" target="_blank">Fresh Eggs Daily</a>. I have been re-reading her book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0985562250/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0985562250&linkCode=as2&tag=oneblessedacr-20&linkId=50442dcd9934a1e1db653435f5031232" target="_blank">Fresh Eggs Daily: Raising Happy, Healthy Chickens Naturally</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=oneblessedacr-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0985562250" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. Lisa has this ability to break down raising chickens into the simplest form ever. I mean really, she basically tells us that if you can grow herbs and use essential oils, your flock will be happy, healthy and growing. And if you haven't seen her new coop on her homestead in Maine, it's beautiful!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">So, this last week, I've incorporated her Breakfast of Champion Layers Feed recipe into our normal rations. I've added mint leaves to the coop to help repel rodents and insects. Our overly abundant lemon balm this year is next to go into the coop. This will look pretty, but also benefit the chickens with overcoming the chicken poo smell and as a laying stimulant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Have you seen Lisa's new book; Gardening with Chickens? It keeps staring at me when I pass by it at Tractor Supply. Am I the only one who has books call out to her? Please tell me NO!</span>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My other favorite blog to follow is </span><a href="http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">the Chicken Chick</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">. Have you checked out Kathy's site? She has the most incredible story of how she overcame her neighborhood's discrimination in keeping a backyard flock of chickens. This week I decided to make a batch of her <a href="http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/10/flock-block-substitute-recipe-healthy.html" target="_blank">Flock Block</a>. Our chickens are free-ranged for most of the day, but for several hours they are enclosed in our chicken run which is strictly dirt. They needed and deserved an extra treat. I had to substitute a few ingredients from Kathy's recipe, but for the most part I followed what she recommended. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">First the wet ingredients:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Then the dry ingredients, along with a jar of last year's canned apples.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Mix it altogether. Spread out into several baking pans - mine made 3 large and 2 small cake pans. Bake for two hours at 300, which was slightly too long. Next time I will only bake for 1 1/2 hours. They did come out a teeny bit burnt, but the birds didn't mind. My daughter, Abby and I even put holes in the middle of each pan, but the chickens ate them too fast to even make that worth while. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Will I notice greater egg production from this, probably not. But, will I gain the satisfaction that I'm giving my birds healthy foods and supplements - ABSOLUTELY! Those who stop by our farm stand and buy our eggs will be able to see by the health and vitality of our girls. We cherish the fact that we have hand raised each bird, giving each one extra special attention and the best food possible. And I always say if you stand in our yard long enough, one of the girls will probably come by and say "hello."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Raising chickens will be such a rewarding experience for you and your family. I guarantee you'll fall in love with them as our family has.</span></div>
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</span>Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-79976701638352446132017-05-01T10:28:00.000-07:002017-05-02T08:12:35.092-07:00Garden Beginnings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The winter doldrums' are about to be over. I look forward to this season every year, but it really is the kick start to our busiest time of the year. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Gardening season is knocking at my back door here in the Pacific Northwest. Our family is just waiting patiently for the sun to come out for more than one day a month. I say that tongue and cheek, but really I think we have had rain solid for the last 4 months. Once the sun returns, Mr. Sunshine will warm up the soil enough to begin planting. I have learned over the years that being patient while gardening is just one of the many character traits every gardener learns.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">This year was a treat for us, because my friend Heather at <a href="http://mountainhomequilts.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mountain Home Quilts</a> invited the girls and I up to Crescent City to a little farm called the <a href="http://www.dutchgardener.com/" target="_blank">Dutch Gardener</a>. We piled into the car and drove the two hours over several patches of roads that quite literally scare the living daylights out of me to drive upon. I happened to catch one selfie while stopped at a traffic light of course, and the girls were both engrossed in their reading.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That just meant that I got to listen to my 80's jam a little bit longer!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our haul home included two rhubarb plants, because for some unknown reason, I killed off my gigantic rhubarb plant that I've had for 4 years, 5 marigolds, 7 tomato plants, 2 jalapeno pepper plants, basil, lettuce, celery, parsley, and a couple of assorted flowers and herbs. There were thirty - 4 inch pots in the back of my van. Somehow I managed to forget buying zucchini starts, to which my kids will be ecstatic! They absolutely hate zucchini and all of the many ways that I try to hide it in their foods.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I had already ordered my seeds from <a href="http://www.territorialseed.com/" target="_blank">Territorial Seed Company</a> back in March. We have had the best germination rate with seeds from Territorial. It is most likely due to the fact that they are an Oregon based company with their seeds already acclimated to our wet, rainy and cold weather.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Back in March, the General Manager had 50 tons of manure dumped onto our front lawn. This is what said manure pile looks like after it is hauled in the garden. You'll probably notice the deep, deep ruts left in the lawn by the tractor. These ruts caused said General Manager to kick himself for days. Have no fear dear, it's growing back in nicely. Soon we won't even remember how wet, rainy, dreary and overly saturated our front lawn really was!</span></div>
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HAPPY GARDENING!</h2>
<br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0Ferndale, CA 95536, USA40.5762406 -124.2639441999999740.5521211 -124.30428469999997 40.600360099999996 -124.22360369999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-49812213096195188922017-04-26T09:46:00.000-07:002017-04-26T09:46:13.744-07:00How to Weigh Your Goat<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Weighing a goat needs to be done for several reasons. Body condition and weight are important measurements for assessing the health of your goats. Knowing your goat’s approximate weight is necessary for proper dosing of medications and supplements.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Last year was a difficult year for me in raising my goat, Luna. We tried to breed her three separate times and each time it was unsuccessful. Our breeder even went above and beyond and assisted in providing additional hormones to increase her heat. Even this didn't work. This led me to begin researching problems that might be causing this. COPPER deficiency kept coming back as the number one cause. I have been feeding a livestock loose mineral ever since getting the goats for our farm. But after reading the label (we need to read labels on our animal feed as well as human feed!) I saw that the copper amount was not high enough. Many of the websites I looked at were mentioning adding an additional copper supplement in the form of a copper bolus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Fast forward to a few weeks ago when we introduced a new goat, Mocha, </span><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sWYa9Ry2d58/WPoyjDhJFpI/AAAAAAAAFUE/wR2SZ08W-U4ue4oRGsPSByrnVD51-1bKACLcB/s1600/weighdoug2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sWYa9Ry2d58/WPoyjDhJFpI/AAAAAAAAFUE/wR2SZ08W-U4ue4oRGsPSByrnVD51-1bKACLcB/s400/weighdoug2.jpg" width="317" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">onto our farm and within a couple of weeks I noticed her coat color changed from a chocolate brown to a rust brown. Another symptom is "fish tail" where the fur isn't growing on the tail so that it resembles a fish tail. These are both symptoms of copper deficiency. In order to administer the copper bolus I was going to need to figure out how much each goat weighed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Using a soft, pliable tape measurer, measure the heart girth and the length of the goat. Heart girth is measured by wrapping the tape around the goat starting just behind the withers on top and just behind the elbow on the bottom. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Length is measured from the point of the shoulder to the pin bone on one side of the goat. The pin bone is the bone right under the tail. Using Doug as my model in the picture below, you can see where to place the tape measurer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Using these measurements in inches, put them into this calculation:</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1KZ6DQQWJ48/WPoygdvSNLI/AAAAAAAAFUA/ytzyWPZDtmwQpFvbqW8IrsyK8cgRb6vDwCLcB/s1600/weighdoug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1KZ6DQQWJ48/WPoygdvSNLI/AAAAAAAAFUA/ytzyWPZDtmwQpFvbqW8IrsyK8cgRb6vDwCLcB/s400/weighdoug.jpg" width="366" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1KZ6DQQWJ48/WPoygdvSNLI/AAAAAAAAFUA/ytzyWPZDtmwQpFvbqW8IrsyK8cgRb6vDwCLcB/s1600/weighdoug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></a><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(Heart girth X Hearth girth X Length) / 300 = Weight (lbs)</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Using Doug as the example, his HG or heart girth was 25, his Length was 22, so my calculation was:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">(25 x 25 x 22 /300) = 45 lbs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Once you have calculated their weight be sure to record that amount in your homestead journal. </span></div>
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Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-59852451622067899062017-04-21T16:49:00.000-07:002017-04-21T16:49:05.519-07:00My "I ams"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rdGC_DhQfSo/WPk4OtDmGyI/AAAAAAAAFTU/9j6YUkntHtA9_3v6Qmiu6S65I2ngX9lngCLcB/s1600/momabby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rdGC_DhQfSo/WPk4OtDmGyI/AAAAAAAAFTU/9j6YUkntHtA9_3v6Qmiu6S65I2ngX9lngCLcB/s400/momabby.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Being 48 this year doesn't seem so young anymore. In the eyes of many, I'm still not old, but my days of being able to remember who I am seem to be a bit more foggy. So, I write this for my children and my grandchildren to know my "I ams." This is more than a journal, a simple written recount of my days. It's who I am and who I've become and possibly who I want to be in the days to come.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'll go first and then I want you to go. Find a piece of paper, a notebook or a journal and a pencil and begin to write it down. You don't need to be a writer to tell who you are, because only you really know. Only you can say what God has placed in your heart.</span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-49O8nKZ7UuQ/WPk4OotP9MI/AAAAAAAAFTQ/z5KCdRyacM0z7PuVMyuGEkJA0tpa4BvJQCLcB/s1600/momanne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zmDj0t-gAc8/WPk4QpnUUJI/AAAAAAAAFTY/w8VLTNBgGEMUwcFm-10hydViVjY5IKYPwCLcB/s1600/bridgewithkids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-49O8nKZ7UuQ/WPk4OotP9MI/AAAAAAAAFTQ/z5KCdRyacM0z7PuVMyuGEkJA0tpa4BvJQCLcB/s1600/momanne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-49O8nKZ7UuQ/WPk4OotP9MI/AAAAAAAAFTQ/z5KCdRyacM0z7PuVMyuGEkJA0tpa4BvJQCLcB/s400/momanne.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So here goes. Me - I am from Hawaii, Honolulu to be exact. Everyone is always amazed to meet someone who was actually born in Hawaii. I am from a family of 4 - just me and my sister and our parents. I am from a sister who loves animals more than herself. I am from a mother who is a creative spirit whom I know I get my creative persuasion from. I am from a father who told me that to be successful in life I had to work at it and always strive to be the best I could be. Most days I feel confident saying that I've done that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We moved to Northern California when I was 7, a second grader. I am a girl from a small town, countryside cow-raising community. But, we never owned any farm animals when I was growing up. I was an outsider looking in on families who had lived in my community for generation after generation. I am from a rural town, small house off of main street, girl who left for college just shortly after high school graduation; and never looked back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Until. . . . </span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zmDj0t-gAc8/WPk4QpnUUJI/AAAAAAAAFTY/w8VLTNBgGEMUwcFm-10hydViVjY5IKYPwCLcB/s1600/bridgewithkids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zmDj0t-gAc8/WPk4QpnUUJI/AAAAAAAAFTY/w8VLTNBgGEMUwcFm-10hydViVjY5IKYPwCLcB/s400/bridgewithkids.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Fast forward to today. I am married to my best friend, a man whom I could not live without. I am mother to five, step mother to two, absolutely in love with all of my children. I am a woman who stepped away from a 9 to 5, college educated, accounting degree career to be just a mom. I am a woman who if you had told me in high school I would have seven children, I would have laughed! I am in love with the privilege to raise these blessings from God. I am the holder of tiny hands and sweet smiles that greet me every morning. I am the listener to many late night teen discussions. I am a grandmother to 5 beautiful little ones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I am a homeschooling, unit studying, somewhat structured schooling mom. I have been homeschooling for 14 years. I am an avid collector (hoarder) of books and homeschool curriculum. I love the freedom that homeschooling has allowed our family. I am enjoying watching the fruits of my instruction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am one of God's children. I am in awe of my relationship with Jesus. I am in constant surrender of my life to the one who chose me out of the depths of sin that I was wallowing in. I am in Scripture daily to rule my life and give me hope and guidance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am an avid seamstress, but I don't love to sew clothing. I am into sewing quilts and things of burlap and occasionally mending something that has been ripped, torn or holey. I am living on a one acre homestead which is back in my home town. I am living the dream life that I had prayed for many years. Home to a big wild garden with an abundance of green beans and pumpkins every year, especially zucchini. But don't ask my children if that is a good thing! I am a lover of digging in dirt and squishing it between my fingers. I am a lover of animals, especially chickens and goats and maybe just maybe ducks. I am a crazy chicken lady to some, others just love our eggs. I am from a kitchen full of cast iron and a fear of cooking. I am from a precise recipe following, by the book kind of cooking. I am better at doing dishes than cooking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I am from a family run, tractor loving, tractor selling, John Deere business, but I'll be the first to admit that I don't know how to exactly drive a tractor. I am not a fan of green, as most would think, but rather red has always been my favorite color.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am from a giant pile of journals that are stashed in my nightstand table. I am from a blog called "My Precious Peas" which is all about our family. I am from several book shelves of informational educational books - and yes, even the collection of Love Comes Softly series. I am a youtube watching, Hallmark movies, Justin Rhodes and Weed 'Em and Reap farming vlogs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I am embarking on a new adventure - hobby business. I love "repurposing" my extra goat milk into soaps and lotions to bless those who suffer from really dry skin or just want really, really good soap. I am into selling our eggs by our roadside stand and am okay having that stand be a landmark that people use to figure out where we live. I am looking forward to the next leg of my journey, older homeschooled children, extra hands to help with the daily tasks of farm living, never anymore quiet time, but more connecting time with teens and tweens and lastly more date nights with my hubby.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Your turn! Take some time today to record your "I ams" for your family.</span><br />
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<br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-58942593964465699202017-04-17T21:58:00.000-07:002017-04-20T16:12:49.552-07:0004.17.2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W8ZzR1fUO5g/WOo-0pLyuQI/AAAAAAAAFMw/rc5odSlrh9ot45nsKfGBLDgRb5-XC4ZgwCLcB/s1600/doug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W8ZzR1fUO5g/WOo-0pLyuQI/AAAAAAAAFMw/rc5odSlrh9ot45nsKfGBLDgRb5-XC4ZgwCLcB/s400/doug.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-btUFh0_wrYw/WOo-2ydPk4I/AAAAAAAAFM0/yprdUgENYj0F6tD0BhtfOZDgNBEZQ6lYgCLcB/s1600/doug2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-btUFh0_wrYw/WOo-2ydPk4I/AAAAAAAAFM0/yprdUgENYj0F6tD0BhtfOZDgNBEZQ6lYgCLcB/s400/doug2.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-btUFh0_wrYw/WOo-2ydPk4I/AAAAAAAAFM0/yprdUgENYj0F6tD0BhtfOZDgNBEZQ6lYgCLcB/s1600/doug2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sometimes life on a farm isn't all glamor and glitz. Goat drama can occur just as easily as human drama and it can be as emotionally stressful. I am no expert on goats and am still learning on a daily basis. You just never know when you turn that corner of learning and something new is thrown into your hat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Last week our little Nigerian buck, Doug, broke off his horn. Night fell, the normal routine followed. All animals are taken care of and then the kids brought in our dog, Kevin, who was out in the field with our buck, Doug. Hannah exclaimed that Kevin was covered in blood but it wasn't coming from him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, George and I rushed back out to the goat shed to check out the goats. Down the row George and I walked. Luna check, Mocha check, and then George said, "Mom look at Doug's head." There was blood everywhere, all over his head and dripping down his cheek. If I hadn't known better, it was an image straight out of a horror movie, one which I didn't want to watch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our shed does not typically have power running to it, unless I run an extension cord out there. It just so happened that the power cord was still hooked up so I did have a little light to assess the bleeding. I did the best I could to clean him up and put pressure on the bleeding to stop it. I sprayed his head with antiseptic spray and left the rest in God's hand to stop the bleeding by morning. Once inside the house, I consulted Webveterinarian and it was not comforting. While he probably just broke off his spur that had grown in since he was a kid, the article said he actually could have fractured his skull. To which he needed immediate vet care. I said another prayer, and again left my animal's health in the hands of the Lord. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The next morning Doug was still a little bloody, so we kept him inside in his stall for a couple of days. He got a round of antibiotics and a tetanus shot and by day three he was back to normal head butting his BFF, Kevin our Great Pyrenees dog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Crisis averted. A win</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> for this ever learning goat enthusiast.</span></div>
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Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com1One Blessed Acre33.1753271 -84.10674437.6532925999999968 -125.4153383 58.697361599999994 -42.7981503tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-87092558758030688542016-12-31T23:22:00.000-08:002016-12-31T23:23:33.119-08:00Happy New Year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Happy New Year! Our year was full of faith, family, friends and fun. Thank you for following One Blessed Acre and all of our preciouspeas over the last year. May God bless each of your lives in 2017.</span></div>
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<span class="passage-display-bcv"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Colossians 3:17</span></span><sup></sup><span class="text Col-3-17" id="en-ESV-29518"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, <sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-29518B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-29518B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"></sup>giving thanks to God the Father through him.</span></span><br />
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<span class="text Col-3-17"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">#995 - spending Christmas Day with friends and having a great dinner</span></span><br />
<span class="text Col-3-17"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">#996 - meeting new neighbors and enjoying afternoons talking</span></span><br />
<span class="text Col-3-17"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">#997 - Christmas cookie decorating with best friends</span></span><br />
<span class="text Col-3-17"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">#998 - spending a morning getting pedicures with the girls and my friend Fran</span></span><br />
<span class="text Col-3-17"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">#999 - 22 years with my best friend</span></span><br />
<span class="text Col-3-17"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">#1000 - ringing in the new year with family and friends</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-57085705456638157282016-11-30T21:18:00.000-08:002016-11-30T21:24:26.606-08:00Handmade Seller Magazine - the best option for those wanting to start an Etsy Shop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Over a year ago, </span><a href="http://www.oneblessedacre.etsy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One Blessed Acre</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> was born out of my blog Preciouspeas and it became a creative outlet for me to design table runners in burlap and denim and now to showcase my love for raising goats and using their milk to make lotion and soap that women or men can indulge themselves with and improve the quality of their skin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Setting up my Etsy shop during this time has been a real learning experience. One to which I wish I would have been introduced to </span><a href="http://www.handmadeseller.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Handmade Seller's Magazine</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> awhile ago. The Handmade Seller magazine was made to help creative entrepreneurs build a business around their talents. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For years I heard that I was an extremely talented seamstress and should use my talents to sell my creations. So, I began to sew my creations and took some pictures to post. I figured that once I set up my Etsy shop, sales would come in by the dozens and it would be that easy. Wow! Was I wrong. The</span><a href="http://www.handmadeseller.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> "how to start an etsy shop"</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> was not that easy. I had absolutely no clue what to do next, how to generate leads and sales and how to get organized to take my sales to the next level. And to top it off, I didn't sell anything those first few months.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The magazine really helps you to learn and grow. My favorite spot on their website is the Diagnosis Center where you can trouble shoot your shop's problem areas. It helped me to understand conversion rates (basically how you turn views and likes into sales and at what rate this should happen at). It also suggested what to do if your shop isn't getting any views or has low views. There is so much more to online shopping than one brain can even fathom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Take advantage of their handmade seller courses, where you can learn everything from branding, blogging, customer service, photography and marketing. Often times we are great at crafting but lack the skills necessary to become an entrepreneur. The Handmade Seller's Magazine is a great tool to make your shop profitable, operate smoothly, and best of all, enjoy every moment of it. Be sure to check out their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thehandmadeseller/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf" target="_blank">facebook page.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And how am I doing with my shop, you ask? Well, I've been officially on Etsy since 2010, but just recently began selling my creations with a goal to turn it into a business. I have a total of 974 sales. Last year I ended the year with 259 orders and $8000 in sales. I'm really looking forward to expanding my business this next year and I plan on using the Handmade Seller's Magazine to help me do just that!</span><br />
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Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-72733799323587368672016-11-19T07:01:00.002-08:002016-11-19T07:01:42.642-08:00November happenings on the farm<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I did it again. . . I blinked and the year is almost over. Has anyone else ever done that before? It seems like just yesterday it was January and we winding down from the holiday festivities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We are 10 weeks into our school year this year and have been enjoying our morning school time. Some of the resources we are using this year are really starting to shine in the way of results for each of the kids. I always have my doubts when I begin something new, but I believe the key to trying something new is to keep at it for awhile. Unless of course you hate it yourself and find yourself dreading teaching it - that's the time to let it go.</span><br />
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<a href="https://xtramath.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Xtramath</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> is a fabulous online drill practice for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The lessons are short each day - maybe 10 minutes and the teacher, Mr. C, is not my children's favorite, but now it has just become a joke about how he hates the kids when he doesn't move them up a level.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.hodgepodge.me/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hodgepodge</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> has become our favorite art curriculum. The kids love coloring with chalk pastels. We have used their Spring Chalk, Fall Chalk, American Landscapes and Sharks curriculum. Tricia Hodges shares her love of art, that she received from her mother, in an easy to use PDF step-by-step tutorial. One of my favorite things about the curriculum is that she walks us through each step of the drawing so that even George, our 7 year old, can master the drawing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">People always ask me how do you homeschool? Most of the time I believe they are asking, "How do you have all the skills necessary to teach each of the required subjects, because one person just can't possibly be equipped to teach everything - right?" I truly believe that God has equipped each parent with the necessary skills to teach their children, regardless of their own educational background. BUT, if even that scares the strongest of parents, you can relax in the comfort of knowing that so many other talented educators are available to help each of us in our weak areas with excellent curriculum. There are online curriculums, workbooks, E-books and numerous websites and blogs ready to assist even the feable hearted homeschool mom or dad. This is our 14th year of homeschooling and we have already graduated two students. Both of which are doing very well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Homeschooling isn't about producing the smartest, brightest or most intelligent student. It's about equipping our children with the skills and knowledge to be productive adult citizens in our ever unproductive society. Any child, homeschooled or public schooled should be equipped with the ability to further their own education by having the tools to seek out knowledge and learn new things. Okay, enough of my soapbox.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Happy Fall Everyone! And a BIG THANK YOU to all of our followers. You are so special to us.</span>Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-77934695559414170832016-09-29T13:49:00.000-07:002016-09-29T13:49:43.235-07:00Fall Happenings on the Homestead<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Fall is my favorite time of the year. This year it seems that it has arrived a little sooner than usual, or maybe it was that we were extremely busy this summer and the days have just flown by. The weather still may be warmer here, but the leaves are changing and the days are getting shorter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The kids and I started in on our 14th year of homeschooling (for me that is!). I currently have my preciouspeas's in 8th, 6th, 4th and 2nd grade. The General Manager and I graduated our third child in June. We couldn't be prouder of Anne! She is going to glorify God with her life, I just know it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We planted another </span><a href="http://mypreciouspeas.blogspot.com/2016/08/when-ive-run-out-of-excuses.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">big garden</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> this year, so now is the time to harvest. This morning we were studying about "diligence" and we read Proverbs 6:6 "Go to the ant, you sluggard (lazy person), Learn from their ways and be wise." Harvesting is hard work, but whoever said that homesteading was easy? Zucchini was dehydrating in my dehydrator until it overheated. I have resorted to canning it to save for chicken feed during the winter months as my freezer is too full to store it there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Some of our pumpkins are ready for harvest and they will be adorning our farm stand for sale soon. They make for the best pumpkin pies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Soaps are curing for upcoming holiday sales. Who needs candles, just have an assortment of soap curing in your house and your home will smell heavenly. Be sure to check out my etsy shop www.oneblessedacre.etsy.com. If you happen to be local you can also find my soaps and lotions at the Golden Gait Mercantile in Ferndale. I have some really great scents for the holidays coming out next month: Vermont Maple Syrup, Spiced Cranberry, Peppermint Stick, Cinnamon Sugar (now a soap to go with the lotion) and Victorian Christmas. The biggest news is that I changed the name of my shop from Preciouspeas to One Blessed Acre. I had a friend redesign my labels and she felt that it was a more "grown up" name and much more professional. But, no worries, my blog will still remain "Preciouspeas."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I brought back goats to our farm. After injuring my foot last year, I was disheartened when I had to sell our two Nubian does. They were part of the family and the beginnings of our farm. This summer I purchased a 2 year old Nubian already in milk and a 2 month old Nigerian Dwarf buckling. They have been officially named Luna and Doug. The kids are totally enamored with Doug and love coming out to snuggle with him while Luna is being milked. I am looking forward to seeing the babies that are produced from these two. Both are papered with the American Dairy Goat Association which will help in finding homes for the babies that we can't keep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Happy Fall! </span></div>
<br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904047351012467388.post-51154576304514813722016-08-09T08:10:00.002-07:002016-08-09T08:10:31.585-07:00Raising Chickens and Gardens<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Have you ever felt like what you are doing on your homestead could be done more efficiently. . . . . as if you could get all of the components of your homestead to work together simultaneously. A couple of months ago I stumbled across Justin Rhodes from </span><a href="http://www.abundantpermaculture.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Abundant Permaculture</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">. I bought his course on Permaculture Chickens, taking a leap of faith when I really didn't have enough money to buy the course.</span><br />
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After watching the entire course over a couple of days I could see how inefficient our static coop of chickens were to our farm. I also began to see why the General Manager's complaints of the amount of straw and shavings we were using in the coop was contributing to the slowness and somewhat nutrient deprivation of our compost pile. So, what's a girl to do, but ask her father to cut some lumber out of his excessive pile and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BF7grPpPoQ4/?taken-by=toby0131" target="_blank">build a chicken tractor with her good friend</a>. I have used it so far to house a batch of growing chicks but am looking forward to putting it in the garden this fall for them to clear it out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now Justin is taking his teachings to a new level with his new course called, Growing Your Own Food On Less Than 10 Hours a Week. For years Justin has been working on a couple of food growing systems where the chicken and garden work together to mutually benefit each other for more abundance with less work for the homesteader. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Today, he’s offering you a brief tour of two of the systems that help him grow most of his food (chicken and vegetables) on less than 10 hours a week. </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.idevaffiliate.com/33090/idevaffiliate.php?id=35_4" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">CLICK HERE to see how Justin grows most of his own food on less than 10 hours a week.</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Some great insights inside the video:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Exclusive tour of two Justin’s Chicken Gardens systems</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Use Chickens in the front garden for continual assistance throughout the season. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hear how you can easily grow a 1,200 sq/ft chicken crop garden w/o much work. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Get a glimpse of how the chicken and the garden can work together with little effort. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">See a garden system that you can literally walk away from till harvest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Be sure to check this out. It will be well worth your time. Happy gardening!</span><br />
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<br />Preciouspeashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14040083279341888516noreply@blogger.com0