{"id":3716,"date":"2021-01-30T14:43:40","date_gmt":"2021-01-30T22:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/?p=3716"},"modified":"2021-01-30T14:43:40","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T22:43:40","slug":"weekly-wrap-up-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/?p=3716","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Wrap-Up #3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Uh hi… ummmmm\u2026 can I still call it a Weekly Wrap-Up if it\u2019s been nearly three weeks since the last one?\u00a0 Time is flying in 2021.\u00a0 We\u2019ve had a huge wind storm and 15-hour power outage (we were lucky\u2026 we had friends who were out for days and days), lots of sunny days, a bunny escape and retrieval, a new President, an 8th<\/sup> birthday, some garden progress and planning, an outdoor and socially distanced spinning and fiber arts fireside circle, and a whole bunch of \u201cnormal\u201d, everyday stuff, too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kid and Family News:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Shaleigh is still loving her baking club!\u00a0 She and her cousin try to bake together during the week, and then they meet on Saturdays \u2013 all on zoom \u2013 to discuss how it went and eat their creation together.\u00a0 They\u2019ve made layer cake, mug cakes, macarons, and last week was “choose-your-own-adventure blondies”!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Braden finished his slingshot and has been practicing like crazy\u2026 perhaps a little too crazy! \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    He also turned 8 on January 23!\u00a0 He got to go duck hunting to a special place with his dad and our friend Wayne on his birthday.\u00a0 He woke up at 2:30 am to go and didn\u2019t get home until about 2 in the afternoon.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Big, big awesome day for my boy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Shaleigh\u2019s one day a week class opens back up on February 2nd<\/sup> and she is thrilled that I\u2019m letting her go.  It is small classes, socially distanced and they have to wear masks all day, and it\u2019s just for 2.5 hours, but she is so excited (and a little nervous) to see her friends after nearly a year of no school days because of COVID.  I\u2019m excited for her, too.  She\u2019s always been my very social kid \u2013 since she could talk, anyway.  Every park trip or zoo trip or outing of any kind, she\u2019d say, \u201cMama can I make a new friend?\u201d and we\u2019d talk about how to introduce yourself to other kids, \u201chi, I\u2019m Shaleigh, what\u2019s your name?\u201d  It\u2019ll be so nice for her.  Braden and I will do some fun hikes and outings while she\u2019s there\u2026 things she doesn\u2019t want to do!  We\u2019re making a list!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The kids were super happy to be able to go to the playground about 15 minutes away on Camano!\u00a0 It\u2019s a great playground \u2013 really fun structure and lots to do!\u00a0 They particularly enjoyed the tire swing\u2026 they used to be able to go on it together, but they\u2019ve gotten so big that they couldn\u2019t fit!\u00a0 One at a time this time!\u00a0 It\u2019s bittersweet to see how quickly they\u2019re growing\u2026 They\u2019re only 8 and 9 years old, which is still full-on kid, but they\u2019re outgrowing most playgrounds!\u00a0 Seeing them swinging so high next to each other reminds me of the days that I had to lift them onto the baby swings next to each other \u2013 they could literally swing for hours as tiny kids, just people watching and giggling together\u2026 I remember it was a little bit of a break for me when they were tiny, they were entertained and contained, and I could breathe and not worry for a little while\u2026 until it was time to go and then there were tears and fighting and they were not happy!! Now, they push themselves, and go so high that they hop at the top, it\u2019s a competition!\u00a0 Everything\u2019s a competition!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    I learned a new homesteading skill since last update!!\u00a0 We had a big wind storm and we lost power from around midnight until about 3 pm the next day.\u00a0 We are on a well, so we didn\u2019t have water either \u2013 we have drinking water covered, but the toilet uses water to flush\u2026 and with a power outage that long and that time of day, there were definitely poopers (sorry!).\u00a0 I taught myself how to manually flush a toilet!\u00a0 In our family, when we do something like that, we call it \u201cFarm Girl Up\u201d, which means essentially \u201cput on your big girl panties and do what needs to be done\u201d.\u00a0 That works for yucky things, hard things, painful things, and so many other things here on the homestead.\u00a0 \u00a0So, I Farm Girl\u2019d Up and did what needed to be done, and got those toilets flushed with water from our rain barrels!! \ud83d\ude0a\u00a0 The kids were pretty excited for a little while to be \u201cliving like the pioneers did!\u201d\u00a0 They played Lego by candlelight in the early hours of the morning (just like the pioneers!), and Braden helped me haul water from the lower part of our yard (in gallon milk jugs\u2026again, just like the pioneers!).\u00a0 The kids and I also had some storm clean up to do\u2026 there were branches all over the front yard and under our big walnut tree, and a few in the sheep and alpaca fields.\u00a0 The kids don\u2019t mind helping with branch dragging and got to show off their big, big muscles while they helped!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Animal News:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    First, I have neglected to include our inside animals in my previous Weekly Wrap-Ups\u2026 so so sorry, Boys!\u00a0 We have a chocolate lab named Moose, a golden lab (golden retriever and lab mix) named Cotter, a long-haired dachshund named Chesney, and an old black cat named Buster (or Kitty or Kittrina).\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Not much new to report with them, but here are their introductions:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Cotter was bred (not by us) for hunting and, even though he\u2019s our most difficult (active, crazy, whiny, pesky) dog, he could be a star hunter.\u00a0 Carson has taken him to a couple of training sessions at a hunting club he knows and he really is amazing.\u00a0 He\u2019s been working with him, and they\u2019re finding a groove.\u00a0 Cotter is still very very whiny when he goes hunting and he\u2019s not much fun to have in the blind (or so I hear!), he knows what to do and he does it well (mostly!).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Moose has also had some hunting training (not by us) but he\u2019s more of a homebody, love pup \u2013 especially now that he\u2019s 8 years old!  He\u2019s the sweetest boy and he loves to take a car ride and, even as big as he is, he loves to snuggle on the couches and beds!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Chesney is our love!  Carson wanted a long-haired wiener dog for his 50th<\/sup> birthday present (who knew?!) and I questioned it a million times \u2013 \u201care you sure you don\u2019t want another lab?  A wiener dog, really?\u201d \u2013 but he was sure!  He said, \u201cthey\u2019re so smart and have tons of personality\u2026 I\u2019ve always wanted one!\u201d  And so we found Chesney\u2026 and Carson was right\u2026 he is hilarious\u2026 and lovey and smart!  We definitely love our little baby boy, and I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll have another wiener dog at some point! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And, our crazy, crazy cat Buster\u2026 I\u2019m not really a cat person \u2013 my family was allergic to cats so we never had one, and though I have loved other people\u2019s cats, I never expected to have one of my own. Buster was Carson\u2019s cat when we met 12 years ago, and Carson thought he was about 2 years old then\u2026 so now he\u2019d be 14!  (You\u2019re welcome for the math lesson\u2026 I teach homeschool, everyone!).  He was king of the neighborhood in Seattle \u2013 he was the boss of all of the other cats, and he was an excellent hunter.  When we moved to our acreage in Stanwood, he was afraid to leave the porch for at least a year!  He got into a groove, though, and found his mice and moles and good hiding spots\u2026 but now he\u2019s old, and it\u2019s really just easier and more pleasant to stay inside.  We got a litter box in hopes he\u2019d go potty there, and not all over the mud room\u2026 and it\u2019s worked okay, buuuuuut we have a litter box in the mudroom\/guest bathroom, and I am not a fan!!!!  It\u2019s a good thing we love him, and he\u2019s been around so long!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The other animals are doing fine\u2026 they managed the wind storm just fine, thankfully, and have been okay through the last\u00a0 week or so of freezing nights and cold days!\u00a0 The sheep spend their nights inside their three sided shelter and I think they stay pretty dry and warm in there\u2026 the alpacas, however, CHOOSE to stay outside in the elements most of the time.\u00a0 On the really, really cold mornings, they\u2019ll have frost on their backs.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    They, too, have a three-sided shelter where they can easily get some protection, but they don\u2019t seem to mind the cold and wind most of the time.\u00a0 They just hunker down!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The alpacas are normally pretty standoffish around us\u2026 they love kids and will come up and say hi to the kids, then go about their business of grazing.\u00a0 It\u2019s always fun when they decide to be interested in me when I\u2019m cleaning up poop\u2026 when they get within three feet of me, I get so excited and stop what I\u2019m doing and just try to enjoy it.\u00a0 This week, Zoe, the hardest one to please, actually tapped me, which is kind of like a kiss\u2026 you have to pretend you don\u2019t know it\u2019s happening, but she got right in there!!\u00a0 So fun!!!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Midori (the brown one) was known as \u201cthe spitter\u201d by passersby at her last home.\u00a0 They loved her, if course, but she did spit\u2026 I think it was just a defense mechanism\u2026 when she was nervous, she\u2019d spit.\u00a0 She\u2019s never done that to me\u2026 I try really hard to respect her space and let her come to me!\u00a0 Phoebe (on the left above) is the most friendly and most often comes to the fence to tap me, but she gets in trouble from Zoe when she\u2019s too friendly, so she has to keep track of where Zoe is!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I worried most about the bunnies in the cold weather, but they apparently adjust better to the cold than to the hot weather, from what I\u2019ve read and learned from veterinarians.  Last year, when it was going to be really cold, Carson and I covered the back of their hutch with a down alternative blanket covered by a tarp, and that made a huge difference \u2013 it just insulated the hutch where they sleep.   They don\u2019t seem to have a problem, thankfully!  I usually have to change out their water in the morning because it\u2019s frozen, but that\u2019s no biggie!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We had a bit of excitement last week when Rosie got out of her bunny run!\u00a0 The gate latch on their run is a little iffy with cold weather and apparently, I wasn\u2019t very careful that morning about making sure it was latched.\u00a0 I was throwing the ball for the big dogs and walking Chesney around the yard in the afternoon, and Chesney was pulling on the leash.\u00a0 He spotted Rosie, who was munching on grass and blackberry leaves all around the hutch\u2026 the gate was wide open.\u00a0 Ugghhh.\u00a0 Pippa, who was a house bunny before she came to the homestead, was being good girl (probably actually freaking outand worried about her friend) in the upper part of one of the hutches.\u00a0 The last time Rosie got out, it literally took three days, a fishing net, and several adults to catch her\u2026 I started to get worried, but I stayed calm and walked toward Rosie\u2026 she froze and let me pick her up!!!! MIRACLE.\u00a0 She scratched the crap out of my hand and arm when I carried her back to her home, but I got her there\u2026 another one of of those FARM GIRL UP moments!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The chickens have been playing with different sleeping scenarios.\u00a0 It used to be that six chickens (Nolan, our first rooster, and our four original hens) all crowded into a little 2.5 foot by 2.5 foot house that Carson made for just Nolan.\u00a0 And Sparkle (the second rooster) slept in a much smaller house that Carson built just for him, and our newest batch of seven hens slept in the coop, which has room for about three more chickens.\u00a0 \u00a0Now I think at least two of the original hens have migrated over to sleep in the nesting boxes of the coop \u2013 they never learned to roost like \u201cnormal\u201d chickens so they just snuggle up on each other on the floor of the coop while the other ones roost above them.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    I\u2019ve also noticed that Nolan (the first rooster) has learned how to fly up to Sparkle (the second roosters) spot and eats his food and checks out his bed \u2013 probably leaves some poop up there for him, too!\u00a0 I have to make sure that Sparkle always has food up there because I\u2019m not sure what he\u2019s actually eaten vs what\u2019s been eaten by the others who have figured out how to fly \u2013 and the wild birds take their share, too!\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    The chickens really are a constant source of entertainment and wonder for me\u2026 I love to see how they work out all of their weirdnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We also had some wild animal fun since last time.\u00a0 The kids and I had to go to the post office a couple of weeks ago and we got there just in time for it to close for lunch (gotta love small town post offices!)\u2026 we decided to take a little drive while we were waiting for it to open again, and we found swans!\u00a0 Every year, these Trumpeter Swans come to the Skagit Valley for the winter\u2026 they are huge and so pretty.\u00a0 We parked on the side of the road and listened and watched them.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    They were making this gross slurpy noise when their heads ducked in the mud\u2026 I got some good pictures with my phone\u2026 I wish I had my fancy camera with me, but these are better than nothing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We have a coyote that\u2019s been hanging around for a few months.\u00a0 We\u2019ve spotted him running up and down the alpaca fence\u2026 it makes me nervous but they can\u2019t jump or climb the fence and we haven\u2019t found any dig marks, and we\u2019d only seen him alone (not with a pack) so I think the \u2018pacas are okay.\u00a0 In fact, the girls aren\u2019t afraid of him\u2026 they run right up to him on their side of the fence, sometimes doing their alarm call.\u00a0 Eventually he gets bored or scared and runs away. In the past week or so, I\u2019ve seen him hunting in the fields next door, but he doesn\u2019t seem to care about any of our animals so it doesn\u2019t bother me! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    We have a trail cam set up in our woods and we checked it this week and discovered there are actually two coyotes traveling together\u2026 it\u2019s strange that we only see one.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    We\u2019ve also caught a beaver, racoon and opossum on the trail cam\u2026 oh, and a squirrel! \ud83d\ude0a\u00a0(ignore the dates and times on the photos… they are not accurate!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    I love that we can spy on the animals and catch them doing their normal things!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Garden News: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When I started the weekly wrap ups, I thought that it\u2019d be fun to see what happened on the homestead week to week, but it had another benefit\u2026 when I started drafting the last one \u2013 right on time, initially \u2013 I realized that I didn\u2019t have any garden news (again!) and I didn\u2019t want that to be true, so I headed outside to make some garden news!  So it works both ways\u2026 makes me feel like I accomplished something, and gives me inspiration to get something done  so I can share!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Since that last still-unpublished draft, I\u2019ve done a lot of planning and had conversations with Carson about the garden, I worked on clearing some of the blackberries INSIDE the greenhouse \u2013 yikes!\u00a0\u00a0 I missed some of last year\u2019s garlic from the garden last year and those heads were starting to grow, so I had to divide them and then cover them with straw so they had a good chance to grow even in freezing temps!\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    We will have so much garlic this year (this is just a small selection of the garlic I’ve planted!) because I\u2019d already planted a bunch of garlic in November!\u00a0 I cannot wait!!\u00a0 Hopefully I\u2019ll have some to share at the farm stand, too!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We also mapped out all of our fruit trees, and decided to buy four new Frost Peach trees, two cherry trees and two apricot trees for our lower orchard!\u00a0 We are so excited!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Product News:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Carson’s Planters: <\/span><\/strong> He finished a selection of cedar planter sizes, and they are so pretty! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Small<\/strong><\/em> – 18″ x 14″ x 11″ raw $20, stained $25; Medium<\/strong><\/em> – 21″ x 9″ x 7″ raw $25, stained $30; Large<\/strong><\/em> – 25″ x 13″ x 11″ raw $40, stained $45<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    **He’s absolutely willing to make other sizes so please send us your custom orders!!**<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dryer Balls and Great Balls:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I’ve been hard at work washing, drying, and carding fiber, and then making it into dryer balls and Great Balls of Fiber Freshness. We have a cool new dark dark dark brown alpaca fiber from a nearby farm and I love the contrast of it with our other colors… it’s been great fun making the solid dark balls and then combining it with the other colors! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Dryer Balls are $20 for a set of three ($25 shipped) and Great Balls are $5 for a set of three mini fiber balls with a sample of my favorite essential oil blend in a small organza bag for easy storage or hanging!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Salves<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Last year, I started learning about, growing and making things from medicinal herbs. Lemon balm, calendula, and plantain (which is actually a weed!) are some of my favorites, and all of them are helpful for skin conditions – dry skin, chapped lips, cold sores, insect bites and bee stings, cuts, burns, bruises… you name it! I have made two salves so far – Lemon Balm and Plantain – and I cannot tell you how much I love them! They have helped us so much in my house. I have some extra, and I’d love to share! (Better labels and photos are coming – these are our tins and you can see from the dents and fingerprints that they get used!! Ha!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    $8 per 2 oz tin!! Let me know if you’re interested!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Have you subscribed? Enter your email address below to be notified when there’s a new post on the blog. You don’t want to miss all the weekly wrap-ups and homestead news, do you? \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Weekly Wrap-Up #3 is slightly (okay, really!!) delayed, but full of photos and stories from happenings on our homestead in the past three weeks! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[55,8,9,11,12,17,18,21,22,23,27,28,30,32,33,34,35,42,45,49,50,52,54],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Weekly-Wrap-Up-of-Homestead-Happenings-banner.png","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevenshomestead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}