Homesteading: A Three Ring Circus
Water, water everywhere but none to drink!
Life here on the farm is a three-ring circus!
We got back from Palm Springs last week, and I immediately had to scoot off to DC to film an Epoch Times episode of FallOut. Then, I headed back up to the farm to try to cram a week’s worth of work into a few days, as Jill had a horse event in DC that she was participating in over the Memorial Day weekend, and I wanted to attend in support. That all went fine - a little chaotic perhaps, but fine. I did a lot of writing for Substack, some sleeping in the barn aisle in a lounge chair, and we had a great dinner with the riders and VIP guests. All and all, a good trip.
As we were finishing up with the event yesterday morning, we got a phone call from our farm manager, Olivia that a huge storm with rain, wind, and lightning had crashed through the farm, causing many large trees to fall.
A sycamore had come down in one of the stallions’ pastures, which had evidently frightened the four-year-old enough that he (Quartz) had jumped his fence. Furthermore, although the house had power, the well wasn’t working… On further exploration, it turns out that the county of Madison had power outages throughout - some people had already been without power since the night before, and the power to the barn was out, which means power to the well pump was out.
So, we rushed home. We have numerous meters on the property, so after a walk about, we discovered that there were downed power lines in the swampy hollow of the farm (what one might call the “back-forty” - a no man’s land of swamp, cliff, rocks, poison ivy, shallow water, brambles, and snapping turtles. Basically, it is the bit of land that we all avoid - like the plague. I got hold of the power company, who prioritized this due to lines on the ground. It turns out that a tree had crushed a power pole in half, and that pole and associated power lines had to be replaced right in the middle of our very own bad lands. No easy task!
Rappahannock power, hearing our plight of eighteen horses - rigged up a temporary line for us. Whew! Our old gas generator had lived a full life, had been taken to the recycling center six months ago and hadn’t been replaced. The lack of power to the well pump could have gone very ugly very quickly. Another thing to buy. The power company has been here all day trying to get the new pole installed and the lines back up and running. Good news is that now we have two halves of a fairly new power pole for use in some future project, courtesy of the power company.
However, spring is moving on, the rain has been abundant, and the various fruits and vegetables keep on growing! Our struggle with leaf-cutter ants is real this year. They managed to denude a number of branches and damage a lot of stone fruit. So, today, I spent the morning spreading tangle-foot, which is basically a sticky glue like that used on fly traps, around the base of a number of trees.
But the pears, peaches and persimmons are all hanging in there. Apples - still lots left, but as usual, the rust from the native cedar trees will affect our harvest.
The chickens from an earlier gathering of fertile eggs followed by incubator hatching are growing up, and we are finally able to pick out the young roosters.
Jill has been researching how to grow our own protein and yep - chicken is on the menu! We will be raising chickens for our own use on a regular basis. To do it right means buying the right breed and right tools, and I will be writing more about this in the future.
There are many videos on how to kill humanely, and we spent time speaking to Paul and Carolyn Aijian (who often post comments on this Substack) when we met up with them in Palm Springs for breakfast last week. The Aijian’s have a homestead in the Santa Barbara area and raise their own meat. After this set of birds (roosters) hits the freezer, we will begin researching what meat chickens to buy next, and maybe even a few turkeys. Most likely, we will be buying eggs - and then keeping the cycle going. This is all about self-sufficiency!
We won’t be raising geese for food, though! Gonzo the goose has installed himself firmly as one of the beloved animals on the farm.
The peepers (frogs) have come out in force now, but due to the wet spring, the fireflies are a bit slow. We find that fireflies really do prefer dry weather. That said, the benefits of not using sprays and chemicals abound. The bird life is incredibly varied here, with bluebirds, buntings, jays, mockingbirds, warblers, and cardinals everywhere this spring. The bird life is just so abundant here. The black snakes, skinks, and butterflies are also pretty incredible.
Our vegetable, flower, and herb gardens are now really getting going.
Of note:
The dragon fruit cactus were grown from fruit bought at the grocery store last fall. We dried a few seeds and cultivated them in the aero garden. Jill then transplanted into pots. We now have four beautiful plants that should fruit in about two years from now.
The banana plants were over-wintered in the office trailer but now are in the new greenhouse.
Daylily blooms are edible!
Shallots are great because they store well!
Shallots, thyme, oregano, carrots, mint, and rosemary double as excellent ornamentals.
We grow lemons and limes - and over winter them in the house. We have been doing this for years. The extra fruit is sliced and frozen for later use.
Jill has now saved some mandarin orange seeds. They will go into the aero garden next. Let’s see if they sprout!
We like containers and raised beds because it is easier to keep the weeds under control.
For those that haven’t seen a mature dragon fruit plant, well they are something to behold! We had not realized that they are a cactus, as in they do have thorns! If you grow them, handle with care!
There are mulberry trees everywhere on this property. Which feed the birds, insects, and produce lots of pollen for the bees.
The elderberry flowers are in full bloom. Lots of bumble and honey bees!
We did plant a pawpaw tree or two a couple of years back (only one survived). But this year, Jill has convinced herself that she has found a number of wild pawpaws in the forest. But she has yet to find any fruit or flowers…
The wild wine berries (a variety of the raspberry), are starting to mature. They should be ready to pick early July.
Finally, last week, four baby peafowl hatched, and this week four more are in the process of hatching!
This handsome dude just gets to wander free on the farm and dream of making babies.
Below is a little video I took of Jill and various animals in the barn - when she wasn’t looking.
In less than 24 hours, we head off to the airport for a rally in Geneva, Switzerland, against the Globalists and protesting the WHO Pandemic treaty. Due to the failure of the treaty's agreement, this all might turn into a celebration of sorts. Then we come home again on Sunday.
The video is great. The flock is drawn to Mama. How adorable is that?
Not enough good words in my word box to express my appreciation for all that you do and share. May your Geneva trip be the celebration you and your precious colleagues have worked so hard to achieve and the rest of us plan to cheer on with great gusto. THANK YOU, Drs. Malone!