Homesteading and Homemaking with Bobby

Good Tasting Goat Milk: Tips

2013-03-27T12:28:00.002-07:00

Ever taste goat milk and think ewwww!? Did it taste or smell "goaty"? It's happened to me too. I am so glad that I found out in most cases, there is a reason and a fix for it. Hopefully the article below, Good Tasting Goat Milk: Tips can help you all as much as it has me.

Clean, Cool and Quick are the words to remember. You too can help the taste of your goat milk. I'd love to hear more suggestions from folks!

Good Tasting Goat Milk: Tips

Buying a milk goat? Things you should consider.

2013-01-30T12:32:00.002-08:00

Hi all. In the time that I have been gone, we acquired 2 milk goats. We had given milk goats some thought for quite a while. The opportunity arose and we couldn't be happier with them. It does take some time to get the hands used to milking~but oh boy, it's worth it.

I'm sure to write more about my milking adventures with Lucille and Peachy. For now, if you are considering getting a milk goat or two, maybe this article will help you out.

Buying a Milk Goat? Things you should consider.

Handling Squash: Cracked, Peeling Skin on Hands

2012-12-03T12:42:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone..it has been quite a while since I was on here. Life just seemed to get busy. One of the things that kept me occupied was canning some butternut squash. I love squash .. don't you? But I did have quite a surprise when I was cutting the squash up. I wrote about it in "Handling Squash: Cracked, Peeling Skin on Hands." All I can say is..I was glad that I'm not the only one that this happens too! Maybe you will get some relief by reading the article. I sure don't want to give up preserving the squash and or pumpkins!

You can use things like kitchen gloves..baggies..etc. to protect your hands. Or, you can just wait it out and they do get better!

The weather is uncommonly dry and warm here for December. Lost a doe last week from pneumonia, I think that the big temperature fluctuations were to blame. It really took her quick. She was an older doe..but we hated to see her go. Thanks for everything Sarah!

Well..guess I'll stop for now. I'll try to make it back here more often. Until then please take good care of yourselves~

Canning carrots and waiting for rain~

2012-09-19T15:11:00.003-07:00

Good afternoon everyone~hope you are having a great day. It's sunny and very windy here and "maybe" we'll get some showers tonight..keep your fingers crossed for us.

I have been busy this afternoon getting a pressure canner full of carrots ready. They are on the stove and I'm just killing time waiting for the whole canning process to start. I love carrots..love having them in the winter especially. BUT, as most of you may already know..I cannot seem to raise the darned things. There was a great buy at Hy-Vee on Blue Bunny organic carrots so I bought a dozen bags. That's how I handle canning carrots..lol..I let someone else raise them organically and I preserve them. Hey, I know my strengths and my weaknesses.

I decided to chop the carrots this time into half inch or so pieces. Sometimes I keep them in tact and have pieces about 3" long. It seems that I can go faster if I cut them up in small pieces..so that's what I did today.

Have hubby home, he had some dental work done so I know he isn't quite up to speed yet. I must say I love having him home during the week. Our insurance does NOT cover dental work..very unfortunate as we both need expensive work done. Oh well, the Lord has seen us through this far, I believe HE will continue to do so!

If you don't know how to can carrots..check with your extension office. I also have an article called How to can Carrots: My carrot canning Secret.

Enjoy your evening and I pray you are all blessed~

3 in1 Dexters for sale

2012-09-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

THEY ARE SOLD~THANKS~

These first three pics are of the heifer.

This is GH Tsunami. She is bred and she is the momma of the heifer.

Hi all..hope your week was a good one. We are trying to help some people sell a couple of their Dexter cattle. The hay shortage has hit them hard and they have to sell. The cow..GH Tsunami, was born on this homestead. She is a great cow and is bred with a heifer calf at her side. If you are interested..please comment here or go to Homesteadingtoday and read about the Dexters for sale there. You will be able to contact their owner there. Thanks for looking and thanks for trying to help. We're all in this together~

Goat Babies Came!!

2012-09-09T11:15:00.001-07:00

What can make my day and have me praising the Lord? Goat babies! These kids were born late yesterday.

This is Little Momma and her 2 new kids. One is a buckling and one is a doeling. All are doing very well! One is named Sister and one is named Brother.

Friday late..the following kid was born.

His mother is Baby and this is her first kid. She kidded with no problems at all!

The new kid is a buckling. He is going to be just like his mother..always finding a way to get into trouble~
He crawled under this building and Momma was frantic. His name is Weasel..lol.

Interestingly, Baby (the black and white momma) is last years kid from Little Momma (the red headed goat).

People always ask WHY do we homestead. WHY do we raise animals. Above are the answers. There's no way to put into words how I feel when new life comes to God's Homestead, or, when old souls pass on. They are all a blessing to us.

Count the blessings in your life today~

"Goat Milk Small Animal Feed Kit" (Google Affiliate Ad)

Make Grape Juice:Pints, Quarts, Quick!

2012-09-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

We looked at the grapes Friday and they were loaded. We had plans for the weekend, I was already tired from canning more green beans. I decided to make grape juice the EASY way. I made it in pints, it will be concentrated. It is so easy to make and only required grapes, boiling water, sugar and a water bath canner.

If you would like to know how I did it, I wrote an article called "Make Grape Juice: Pints,Quarts,Quick!" Maybe it can help you out when you are feeling crunched for time. Enjoy those grapes!

Until later~

How to freeze red and yellow tomatoes.

2012-08-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

Do you have loads of tomatoes and no time to can them? I ran in to that problem last week. I was canning tomatoes first, then I started freezing them because it is less time consuming. Freezing red and yellow tomatoes is a great option. You can always thaw the tomatoes out and make tomato juice later.

I like freezing yellow tomatoes with my red ones. They look good in soups, casseroles and the like, but they also hold their shape well through the freezing process.

If you are interested, I wrote an article for Yahoo, it's called Freezing Red and Yellow Tomatoes and it deals with freezing with or without the skins on. Hope it helps you out on your excess tomato crop and your precious time!

I do use Ziplock freezer bags, I have tried others, but I like the sturdier feel of their bags. If you've ever filled freezer bags, put them in the freezer, and gone back to find leakage, you know what I mean.

Until next time~ Keep harvesting and preserving~

Catching up on the Homestead

2012-08-20T05:52:00.001-07:00

Good morning! I'm so sorry that I got so far behind on the blog. This time of year everything gets crazy. The garden seems to come on and all the produce is ready to harvest at the same time! Praise to God, we had a lot of tomatoes and peppers. Our beans were planted late, so we are just now getting some to can. Yesterday we picked 2 buckets of tomatoes to give to the family across the road from us. Don't you love it when God blesses ya with so much bounty? Enough to share!?!

We said good-by to I Ain't Tall and Wiggles..2 Dexter calves that went to their new homes in Tennessee. We also said good-by to Terra, a bred Dexter cow that went to Missouri. All arrived safely to their new homes. It's always sad to let them go. But the recent drought made it financially hard to keep them.

We have a new little Dexter bull. Haven't named him yet..he is dun and a couple of weeks old. Mother and son doing well.

The same hen that hatched babies for us earlier...hatched again! At the moment...she has 5 chicks..I hope some of them are hens~

We have an OLD goat herd. Small in numbers. But, 2 are just starting to bag up, so there should be some new "kids" on God's Homestead before too long. Can't wait..love those little baby goats.

Trying to get some more peppers frozen today. Also going to make some grape juice. THEN..I have to pick up the paint brush and continue a couple of painting projects outside..the fence and porch.

Well, that's kinda what I've been up to. Hope you are all doing well..when things slow down I hope to catch up a bit on all of ya. Until next time..be good to yourselves..and each other~

Add Grasshoppers to Farmers Drought Woes

2012-07-27T16:54:00.001-07:00

Wow..it's been a while. The really hot temps have kept us busy with watering gardens and trying to keep livestock and chickens as comfortable as possible. Has anyone else noticed that the grasshoppers are bountiful this year? I wrote an article about it. They are incredibly destructive in the garden and can make some mighty nice holes in your screens if they are plastic!

Hoping you all have survived the tremendous heat wave and hope you are getting rain..we are still waiting~
Have a great weekend and hope you don't have TOO many "hoppers".

Add Grasshoppers to Farmers Drought Woes

What would you do?

2012-07-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ah the crop duster saga continues. We have a small piece of land..eleven acres and change. It is surrounded by farm ground. We got a call yesterday from the guy who farms south of us. The last time he hired a crop duster..the pilot literally ran our livestock with his plane. We talked to the pilot on the phone and he said he didn't know WHY he did it. He was sorry...and please PLEASE don't turn him in as it would cost him his job. We didn't turn him in.

Fast forward to yesterday. The guy who farms to the south called us to let us know that a pilot would be spraying fungicide..maybe we should "lock up our cattle". Huh? We thought about that for a bout 2 seconds. The planes are bad enough..but confining the cattle would just make them even more hyper. So we opted to just let them stay in the pasture or lot. We were thinking that the plane would just stay on the farm land and not use our homestead as a turn around like before.

It was a wee bit over 90 degrees yesterday. We have three Dexters sold awaiting a break in the heat for pick up. Another one is spoken for. The OLDEST Dexter is close to calving and ALL of our goats will kid the last of the month.

The plane arrived. LOUD and LOW and right over God's Homestead. Is there no justice or fairness for a wee homesteader? Does it always have to be the big farmer or the highway?

Here are some videos I shot with my poor little camera. I'm not good at it. I took them to illustrate how loud and low this guy is on OUR place. He could fly east and west and miss us..but no..he goes north and south.

PLEASE comment and tell us what YOU would do. There will be a minimum of two more of these events..possibly five more if they spray for an additional problem like they have in years past. Our livestock and livelihood are in jeopardy for someone elses crops. Is it fair? The three guys farming around us have thousands of acres. We are the only ones on this road that have livestock.

Thanks and have a great weekend~

Cool down before next heat wave.

2012-07-09T16:31:00.001-07:00

Well it's was magnificent this morning here on the homestead! It was in the mid 60s and climbed to 92. We missed the random showers that some were blessed with. But the breeze has finally started to stir and we are grateful for the break in the very hot and humid weather.

Next week the heat is supposed to be back in our area. Between now and then, we have a chance of rain next week. The farmers are more than a little concerned here in Iowa. We are praying for the best and preparing for the worst.

Today was laundry day at the homestead. I'd put it off because the water pump was running constantly between watering gardens and hot livestock. I took advantage of the cooler weather to get some of the laundry chores caught up.

Not much happening here today~ just enjoying the cooler, less humid temperatures.

Crop dusters, heat and cattle.

2012-07-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone. Still hot..99 on porch this morning at 10:30. Very humid too, weathermen say this will likely be so for tomorrow and change for the better tomorrow night. Even with highs in the 80s next week, it looks VERY dry for here.

Yesterday we had the unwelcome visit of the crop duster. It was a 115+ heat index and the cattle were at the back of the pasture, under the trees. A couple of years ago, we had a terrible experience with a crop duster. He was well-known and used by everyone in the area. He RAN the Dexter cattle in hot weather. We had pregnant cows at the time. It was bad because it was hard on the cattle. AND it made them scare easy from planes overhead. Yesterday, it was so hot that they didn't even bother to run. Of course they weren't being chased like before. ARTICLE ON CROP DUSTERS AND OUR DEXTER CATTLE.

I know people need their crops sprayed..wish they would go back to farming like the old days. You know, rows planted far enough apart that they could use cultivators. Oh, that's right, big conglomerate farms over a thousand acres wouldn't be able to keep up. Sometimes it seems like a little ole homesteader has no place in Iowa any more.

Well, enough of that! Here at God's Homestead, we pray for cooler weather and rain for our place and yours~

Heat Killing Livestock

2012-07-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

The thermometer read 98 degrees in the shade, on our porch, at 6:30 pm. The streak of heat is not going to break soon. Another full week of 100+ heat indexes are forecast. The heat is causing livestock losses. Up the road a couple of miles is a turkey operation. Driving by on these hot days it's apparent that the turkeys are losing their fight against the heat and humidity. No matter what the fellow does, the fat turkeys (soon to go to market) are dying.

In a phone conversation with a former boss, and now good friend, a large hog operator said the same thing was occurring in their huge hog operation. They have all the modern cooling methods in place, misters, drippers, and a wall of water on one end of the building. They also have huge fans circulating air. Still, they lost many sows/gilts and are now hand spraying all of the sows. This has curbed the death toll to some degree.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in this heat. And a special prayer for those battling the heat in their animals, whether homesteaders or big operators.

Praying for a steady breeze and a cool down~

Can Debbie Douse Drought in Midwest?

2012-06-23T21:56:00.003-07:00

Tonight we had a shower..not enough to register in the rain gauge..but I found myself very grateful for it. The drought in the Midwest is beginning to get serious. From Nebraska, through Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Pastures are drying up and fields of crops are thirsty.

As all of this is happening in the Midwest..in the Gulf of Mexico there is a storm forming called Debbie. If she had turned to the east and gone up that coast to the Atlantic, it would not have been good for the Midwest. But instead, God blessed us with her turning west. She is headed for Texas across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Some think she may become Hurricane Debbie.

If Debbie picks up strength, she may come inland and give the Midwest a chance at a good rain. Only time will tell if Debbie is the answer to our prayers for moisture.

ARTICLE: Can Debbie Douse Drought in Midwest?

Fishing with Fibromyalgia : Routine

2012-06-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

Well is it hot and dry where you are? It sure is here. There may be a chance of getting a shower this weekend..we're holding our breath. In the meantime, I wrote an article about fishing if you suffer from fibromyalgia. I gave up fishing for a few years..but I'm back with a rod and reel in my hand and I'm doing it without paying with a bunch of symptoms and flares.

Just in time for the weekend..hope someone gets some good out of the article!
Fishing with Fibromyalgia : Routine
Have a great weekend and go catch a big one!!

Freezing Peas and Ironing

2012-06-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

It's supposed to be super hot today and humid..soooooooooo..I have decided to get crackin' on my ironing. Does anyone else procrastinate on their ironing chores? I do! But just to make it interesting, I am freezing a few peas today too. The peas are coming on a few at a time. That's okay with me..we use a lot of peas and I will freeze half and can half. We plan on planting some more soon.

If you would like to freeze peas..it's really VERY easy! At the top of this blog is a blog search. Just type How to Freeze Peas or How to Can Peas and the articles will pop up for you!

Until our next chat, pick out something that you procrastinate on and try to do it today!

I'll be thinkin' of ya~

Rain, fishin' and buyin' hay!

2012-06-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

It was a great weekend here..so many blessings! We ended up with over an inch of rain!!! We could stand another inch sooner than later. Today it is supposed to be 96 degrees and humid. I just finished the biggest share of my outside work and I'm glad..it's really starting to warm up out there.

We went fishing Saturday morning and were blessed with some nice catches. What is it about fishing that is so theraputic? Fritz and Daqs (dogs) went with us and all of us had a great day.

We were blessed with an opportunity to buy some hay this weekend. It was very reasonably priced and we appreciated every new bail!

When the clouds rolled in for the storm..it was awesome. The pics I took don't do it justice. Funny how such things make a person feel so small.

Praising God for his blessings and hoping you do a little fishing and get a little rain~

Chick Play~

2012-06-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying the heck out of our newly hatched chicks. They are so fun to watch. They have had a bit of a problem making it up the ramp into the roost. One or two usually follow momma, then the other two run around like..well.."chicks with their heads cut off"..lol.

We usually go down..do a head count and round up the stragglers. When we went to the coop a couple of nights ago, momma was at the bottom of the ramp and this little chick was riding mom up the ramp! Note there is one below her at her breast.

I have hatched chicks in an incubator..but this is the first time I've been blessed with a momma hatching. I am really impressed with these heritage chickens. I will write more of my thoughts on them later.

Meanwhile, all of you have a great weekend, we will be watching these funny little chicks!

Blessings~

How to Freeze Peaches.

2012-06-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful day at God's Homestead today! Not real hot..great painting day. I am tackling the job of painting the fence out front. It will take me a while..I only do it a little at a time. But it sure pleases me how it looks after a fresh coat of paint!

I'm making out a grocery list and think I need to get some freezer bags and containers. Pretty soon everything will be ready to put up and I don't want to be caught short.

Our peach trees got "nipped" by the frost..so I am looking at the local farmers market for some to freeze. My mom gave me a recipe on freezing peaches with orange juice..it's fantastic and EASY!! If you would like to know how..the article below will take you through it. Good luck!

How to Freeze Peaches.

Dexter calves for sale!

2012-06-01T07:12:00.000-07:00

It's a good morning on the homestead. The sun is shining..it's cool and everything is grateful for the inch of rain from the day before. God is good!

We have a Dexter bull for sale. He is tiny! At six months old..he is still shorter than our goats. He is black and horned and probably a chondro carrier like his Daddy.

We also have a Dexter heifer for sale. She is a keeper..and I wish I could! She's out of the best producing cow we have on the place. . Monica. Wiggles should make someone an awfully nice cow.

We are simple homesteaders. We don't do a lot of testing and we don't feed grain (they have pasture, hay and minerals). We think the little bull is a carrier and the heifer is not.

We'd like to sell them together..they are buddies and hope that we can find another homesteading family that wants to broaden their family!

We don't make pets out of the livestock here. But, we get reports back from those who have bought our calves. Those people who want to have their cows like pets..seem to love these calves out of Sammy. They tend to be very curious and they don't take long to tame. Sammy is not a "pet", but he sure likes to help us build fence!

Hoping your day is more than you expect it to be ~

Hen hatched six chicks!

2012-05-31T13:32:00.000-07:00

We have heritage chickens right now as layers. One is an Astralop and she decided to get broody. This was her first hatch and she has six little chicks. Today .. all Praise to God .. it rained. In between showers .. momma hen had her chicks out for walk.

This hen has no patience with anything else getting close to her chicks. A young goat had this hen on her head for getting too close to the babies. She is a fierce defender and a great momma.

Hope you all had a great Thursday~

How to cool hot chickens.

2012-05-27T07:33:00.000-07:00

Hi all, sorry for the time I haven't posted. I have been feverishly working in the garden..WEEDING!! I am caught up for the minute and had to drop in and see how everyone else is doing.

It is super dry here. The rains have gone north and south of us..but we remain in critical need of some rains. The pastures are starting to wane and the hay crop is at a standstill as far as the second cutting. No rain, no growth.

The temps are supposed to hit mid 90s today..awfully early in the year for that. Just in case you are having a heat wave..remember all the livestock, pets and chickens/ducks need extra water. Our chickens also get some help cooling down when it gets really hot. For some tips on how to cool down your hot chickens..go to the below article.

I pray you have a wonderful day~and a working fan!

How to Cool Off Your Hot Chickens: 6 Ways

Fritz goes Fishing!

2012-05-18T06:04:00.001-07:00

Good morning! A beautiful morning today in Iowa. We've had a perfect week of weather..cool mornings, warming up nice by afternoon. Great for being outdoors. Now, we just need some much needed rain .. lol.

Last weekend we went fishing for the first time this year. It was also the new dog's first time fishing! Frist seemed excited to go, but had no idea what fishing even was. We had him on a leash because we didn't know what he would do..lol.

We set down and threw our lines out, Daqs (the dog who loves to go fishing) was stretched out beside the lawn chair. Fritz was wondering around smelling the ground. A fairly good sized fish jumped out of the water and made a big spash. Fritz went from twenty feet away to in my husbands lap in a flash. It scared him.

After we'd been fishing for a while, I took my chair down to the waters edge. I took Fritz' leash with me. He finally got up to the water and took a drink. He then got totally excited about bubbles and leaves floating by! We started catching fish and Fritz was beyond enjoying it. He would rush toward the fish being reeled in and then scoot away quickly, as if he wasn't sure that the whole thing was safe.

We had a great day of fishing. Just give me a rod and reel and a lovely day and I'm in heaven. If you haven't slowed down and tried fishing yet, I recommend it as the best way in the world to slow down, sort things out in your mind, drop your stress level and yes, even have fun.

Hope you and your Fritz and Daqs type pups will have a great fishing weekend!

Later~

Why 'Swamp People' Star Mitchell Guist was so Loved

2012-05-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today we are saddened by an untimely death by an unlikely star..Mitchell Guist. Mitchell was one of the alligator hunters on "Swamp People". He was always teamed with his brother Glenn. The brothers hunted much more than alligators and truly lived the swamp life. We will miss him on the show and send our condolences to his family and friends. Thanks Mitchell..

Why 'Swamp People' Star Mitchell Guist was so Loved

Pic of swamp by j.c. winkler

Swamp People. They Hook Alligators and Viewers!

Until tomorrow~ take a good look around..there's a lot of wonderful things to see in your own backyard..maybe not as grand as the swamp or alligators..but wonderful just the same. Take your camera and share with the world YOUR view of life.