Frugal Tractor Mom

Pastured Poultry

2012-02-11T18:24:00.000-05:00

My family and I are growing pastured poultry. These are chickens that are allowed to grow in the field, scratching and eating bugs and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. We have found our chickens to be much healthier and happier than the average chicken! Their flavor is much richer and vibrant than those bought in the grocery store. These are chickens that we proudly put on our own dinner

Wordless Wednesday...The Chicken Wrangler

2011-11-02T06:00:00.002-04:00

Cowboy Hamp helps gather up the hens for the evening...

3 Miles Up, 3 Miles Down

2011-10-26T06:00:00.002-04:00

Early last Wednesday morning before light, Knox and I left the warmth of our beds and drove toward town. It was raining and cool, not quite cold, but very wet. We drove through Toccoa, not meeting much traffic. People were just getting up and ready for the day. We were heading for Currahee Mountain. As mountains go, Currahee is not too tall. It's name is a Cherokee name meaning "stands alone

Wordless Wednesday...Our New Guest

2011-10-19T06:00:00.014-04:00

Our internet went out before I could get the pictures posted for Monday's post, Our New Guest. So I thought I would share them with you today... Knox petting the new piggies while they eat. Knox answering Hamp's question about the piggies. Hopefully I will be able to get better pictures later on. Stay tuned...

Our New Guests

2011-10-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

We have new pets around the house. Four new piggies have joined the farm. They have been pulling their weight since they showed up a few weeks ago! These piggies are getting to be some happy pigs! We have them in an electric fence around our garden spot. Since pigs love to root, we have them rooting up weeds and fertilizing our garden for next spring. Boy are they doing their job!

Wordless Wednesday...Sharp Shooter

2011-10-12T06:00:00.001-04:00

Sharp Shooter, Knox!

To Be or Not To Be....

2011-10-09T06:00:00.010-04:00

My regulars have noted that I have been absent for a while...well too long some are saying. But I have been trying to figure out what I'm doing here. I started as a coupon blog. I soon realized that I was WAY behind others and I was just wasting my time. I decided to start doing posts on frugal ideas and recipes. It didn't take me long to run through all my frugal idea. I also found that

The Hands

2011-10-06T06:00:00.000-04:00

October 4th was my Daddy's birthday! He would have been 69 years old. And I still miss him... It's been almost 4 years since Moma and I held his hand and he slipped away. I didn't know what to say. I just held his hand and listen to a nurse tell him how much Moma and I loved him. All I could do was kiss his hand and rub it. I didn't want to let it go... Those were the hands that I loved when

Wordless Wednesday...The First Haircut

2011-08-03T06:00:00.002-04:00

Hamp lost his curls this week... I'm starting to like it...but I miss those sweet curls and the wild Enistein hair!

Potty Training with Mr. Poopy and Mrs. Peepee

2011-08-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

Hamp is potty training.Mr. Poopy doesn't like going into the potty. Mr. Poopy can't find the potty when there are undies involved.Mrs. Peepee likes going into the potty...most of the time. Mrs. Peepee only likes the potty when undies are NOT involved.Hamp likes sitting on the potty when Moma and Daddy are not in the bathroom. Hamp puts Mr. Poppy and Mrs. Peepee in the potty 60% of the time.Mr.

Knox starring as Forrest Gump

2011-07-29T06:00:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite movies is Forrest Gump. I love the part where Forrest decides that since he was a gillizoniare that he would cut the grass for free! It is just sweet inicense watching him on that Snapper lawnmower going back and forth cutting grass. He is so content and who can forget the great posture! For the past week or so I have been watching that scene over and over. The only thing

Wordless Wednesday...My Ax Men

2011-07-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

My Hubby found his Poppa's old two man cross-cut saw the other day. Knox wanted to see how to use it... They were getting the hang of it... I don't think the blade is suppose to bend that way... But do you really think you are ready for this one...

Wordless Wednesday: Broiler Greetings

2011-07-13T06:00:00.002-04:00

This is our greeting we get every afternoon when its time to move the broilers...

Day 4: Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion

2011-07-08T06:00:00.099-04:00

Day 4 of the Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion at Denton Farm Park starts a little different than the other days. It's Sunday, which means service in the chapel. The first sound of the morning is the ringing of the chapel bell signaling the start of Sunday services. We start to go but the church is packed and the only thing to do is stand outside in the sun. We decide to head back to

Day 3: Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion

2011-07-07T06:00:00.079-04:00

Day 3 started with Bobby Franklin letting us know that it was the start of another day of the Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion at Denton Farm Park. As we got up getting breakfast ready, so did the sounds of the Old Threshers Reunion reviving up for a new day...engines popping, steam engines being fired up, and people getting their walking shoes in high gear. This is the morning of the

Wordless Wednesday...Frozen Boy

2011-07-06T06:00:00.002-04:00

The alarm on the new refrigerator went off the other day. When I went to investigate, this is what I found...

Day 2:Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion

2011-07-05T06:00:00.006-04:00

Day 2 of the Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion found us waking up with all our blankets on us. The night before was a cool one causing us to wake up in the middle of the night looking for more covers. It was a refreshing morning to wake up to a nice cool breeze in July! It was the sound of steam engines being fired up and the voice of Bobby Franklin, the announcer for the Threshers

Day 1: Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion

2011-07-04T06:00:00.008-04:00

The onset of July means only one thing at our house... It's time for the Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion and our annual pilgrimage to Denton, North Carolina. Well, after much packing and working, we made it to Denton!! We usually like to get there a day before the show starts but we got here about 10:00 am the first day of the show! Better late than never!! We pulled in

Wordless Wednesday...Playing With the Quails

2011-06-29T06:00:00.001-04:00

Hamp may have found himself a "quail house" to get into...

Our Roaming Hens

2011-06-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

Our hens got big enough to move to pasture a few weeks ago. (Read here to see what they looked like when they came in.) Hubby worked really hard at getting a pen built and it was a big one! The hens loved it! They are so happy to be out and on grass. They scratch and feed on every bug that they can find! We are putting them in this movable pen until they are big enough

The Graduate

2011-06-24T06:00:00.029-04:00

On the last day of school, Hubby and I attended a graduation. The first of many that we will be attending (we hope)... It was Knox's graduation from Big A Elementary! 5th Grade graduation with the opening by Mr. Sanders. For me, I get emotional at these type of things. I cry at every high school graduation (except for my own) I have ever been too...being a high school teacher

Wordless Wednesday...My New Friend

2011-06-22T06:00:00.001-04:00

This is what I saw the other day when I got out of the car... No...we didn't kill him! We actually watched him go all over the yard until he found a hole to go in. He is a black snake and he has a job at our house.... He keeps the rats and chipmunks in check!! Anybody else got a friend who sneaks up on you?

Lost Chickens

2011-06-20T06:00:00.001-04:00

Last week was rough. Thursday we lost fifteen hens. They were killed by two neighborhood dogs. Now I realize that having pastured poultry that we might loose some chickens to animals. I expected the loss to coyotes, fox, opposums, and hawks. But I was not expecting to loose chickens to neighbors dogs! Unlike coyotes and foxes, these dogs killed our chickens and just left them!

Our New Brood

2011-06-16T12:35:00.000-04:00

As I have said before, we are getting into raising Pastured Poultry. Our newest chicks arrived the other week. They are Jumbo Cornish X. They are nothing like our Rhode Island Reds! The heat has not helped us either. Eventhough baby chicks need to be kept warm, it's been so hot, we have had a tough time telling if they are too hot! We also had some issues with an intestinal

Wordless Wednesday...Stuck on the Tractor

2011-06-15T06:00:00.001-04:00

I heard Hamp crying one day and this is how I found him... Don't ask me how he got in this predicament but this is a normal day for him! Happy Wednesday!