We rely on our livestock to provide us with nutrient-dense food, so giving them the best nutrition possible is high on our priority list. Enter fermentation. If you know us at all, you know how highly we esteem the health benefits of traditionally Lacto-fermented vegetables and bread! Those health benefits can be translated directly across [...]
It’s time to update you on how the chickens have been doing! As chicks, they were brooded with zero electricity. Instead, we used a cold brooder and a Mother Hen box (you can read that blog post here). It has yielded some interesting anecdotal results, most notably: The Delaware and Blue Australorp started laying eggs [...]
This is Miss Kitty Mae, our new Ranch cat! And is she ever a sweetie pie. I have never known a cat that loves dogs the way she does either! Can't really call her a barn cat because we don't have a proper barn, but rodent control and feline friendship are her duties all the [...]
In 2021, we needed to start a new laying flock. Living off-grid with only a small amount of solar power, we needed to learn how to brood chicks with very little- or preferably zero- electricity. We saw kerosene set-ups to provide heat. In pondering over it though, for one thing, Krystal is highly sensitive to [...]
Vultures have been visiting the Ranch recently. On this particular morning, these two alighted upon the 100' tall lightning strike pine tree behind the cabin to sun and preen themselves. Needless to say, the Sheppies did not appreciate their presence! I'm not sure how I feel about them myself. On one hand, they are nature's [...]
The melodic songs of the mountain bluebird and larks have returned as the voice of spring in our highland mountain home. And last week, we spotted the first Swallowtail, Spring Azure, and Mourning Cloak butterflies. There are lots of baby animals on the Ranch: Alpine goat kids, Shetland lambs, Delaware and Australorp chicks; with Satin [...]
Here are just a few of the adorable new Shetland lambies. It is so much fun to watch them play- we call it Lamb Olympics!
We are back in green this year with the kitchen garden! We can hardly wait to reap the benefits on the dinner plate. For the past few years, we have not had a vegetable garden- the raised beds weren’t finished, not enough water, other projects became a priority, etc. Over the winter, Krystal was introduced [...]
On March 20, 2021, a batch of new chicks arrived on the ranch! Being that we have yet to find a breed that fits what we’re looking for in a sustainable homestead flock, we decided to try two new heritage breeds: Delaware and Australorp (the blue variety.) We are also using some techniques to brood [...]
We live with three "senior" dogs now- Fahey, Ailagh, and Niamh. Time sure flies by. To look in their face or watch them run, you'd never know it! That is the power of Natural Rearing. Here is a great article with tips for living with a senior dog- https://twohunnyz.wixsite.com/rawnaturopathy/post/keeping-your-senior-dog-fit
