State of the Homestead

Update: No post for Thursday due to mounting technical difficulties. But do stop over at the Back to Basics blog Tuesday and Wednesday. And if you're not a Facebook follower of The Frugal Way/Back to Basics, whatcha waitin' for? I post freebies and blog updates, and I have a cute goat as a mascot. So, there.


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The seasons are changing--even in Texas! It feels so nice to have cooler temps. We've had a little rain, but we could sure use some more.

I like the transition phase of each season. It gives me a chance to take stock and see what I could do better next time.

Gardens: Both gardens are pretty much done. I transplanted several pepper plants without a problem, but my tomato transplants didn't make it. Fortunately, I had a few standbys waiting in the wings. I don't want a lot of tomatoes this winter, just a few fresh-eating ones. I probably should've started them a few weeks earlier but time will tell. I've never grown tomatoes indoors before. It'll be a real test.

I started several new pots of potatoes. This was also a test, but they seem to be doing great. If I can keep them growing until they flower, we might get some fall potatoes out of this.

Loofahs in the raw

Loofahs did fine, even if I didn't get many. Next year, we plan to flood the row with water. They seemed to do better with a dump of water once a week than regular short-timed sprinklers. The important thing is we got lots of seeds for replanting next spring.

Seeds: I saved a lot of seeds this year. Aside from the loofah, I kept back some dwarf okra, pimento, and Brandywine tomato seeds.

Mangels were a huge disappointment. I got some, but not enough to feed the chickens through the winter. I'll try again next spring.

Volunteer tomatoes

Tomatoes were the prolific champions this year. They grew like crazy. There were even volunteers in the compost heap. The chickens used that as their buffet. I credit the extra crushed eggshells for that.

The asparagus survived our summer! Now if it can only survive the winter. It sent up a few shoots but I just let them grow and flower. You're not supposed to pick them until their second or third year.

I picked up a bunch of blackberries, blueberries, and small shrubs for 50 cents and a dollar at Walmart. They were getting rid of their stock and I got some great buys. I've been waiting for the weather to cool down so I can plant them. I would've done them this past week but I was burning brush and that's an all weekend affair.

Clearing Projects: Last year's drought and this year's triple digits killed several large trees. I've been clearing brush so Greg can get to them easier and cut them down. 

I got a lot done until I picked up an old log loaded with ants. You never saw someone get naked so fast. Fortunately, I only got a few stings. I'll survive.

...or so I thought. 

After clearing and burning brush, I decided to treat myself to an evening of writing. Because of my piriformis syndrome, the only place where I can sit comfortably is on a hammock. I brought my laptop out and let the dogs roam loose on my breezeway (a long, enclosed patio). I no sooner got situated when Iko jumped up on the hammock and snapped the bolt holding the hammock in place. I fall backwards and hit the back of my head on the windowsill. 

Oy. I had a headache all night. And now I don't even have a hammock. So much for best laid plans of homesteaders and giant lap dogs.

Chickens: I was a little worried about the Marans rooster. For the longest time he refused to mate with his hens. He finally made himself a stud, only now he tries to chase me out of his pen. He's a huge coward though. As soon as he realizes he can't bluff you, he takes off. (Greg must've tipped him off about me.)

It won't be long before I'll have to cull the majority of my older birds. One set has already lived a year longer than they should. They laid poorly this year and that was my fault for not dispatching them sooner. They'll have to go to chicken heaven in a few weeks.

The dogs: You know about Iko. He nearly murdered me. And Mama had her own post last week. Tank continues to worry me. He's elderly and doesn't snap back as quickly as he used to. Lately, he's been fighting allergies which is unusual for him. It's one thing to hear a dog sneeze, but Tank gags and sometimes it turns violent. Poor old guy. 

He doesn't gag a lot thanks to his meds, but I've resorted to giving him smaller, but more frequent meals so he doesn't inhale his food and restart the gagging. Once a day, I give him a little plain yogurt with honey. Nothing's too good for my boy.

And that's about it.

My only plans for the fall is to go to the State Fair this year. We haven't been in years and I miss it. Now if I can only convince Greg to fight the crowds.

Do you have a state fair near you? Have you ever been?