Rural Gardening: Getting colourful on the October Homestead, 1 by CajuninKy

CajuninKy wrote:
I sure am behind on this thread.

Really cute goat kid. I play with my kids all the time. It's good to keep them tame in case you need to doctor them. Are you milking the doe? Yo can start latching the kid ( penning it up at night) at two weeks so you can have the milk in the morning then let the kid nurse during the day. That's what I did. It worked out fine. That way if I have a day that I can't or don't want to milk I just leave the kids with the does and no harm done.

I would love to have been able to make that conference. I looked at it on line but it was too far to drive for me. Sounds like a lot of great subjects too. I have wanted to try ramps since I first heard of them. Thanks for that link. I imagine they would do really well along side my creek.

Lots of people "sanging" around here right now but the season is winding down. They have been pretty successful by all accounts. It's a tradition here handed down through the families. The gatherers here always plant the berries they find on the bushes so the stands of ginseng never run out. I'd like to have been able to get out in the woods and see what it looks like. But it's akin to snake hunting in these parts. Lots of copperheads out right now but the cooler temps should run them into their dens soon.

I heard about Morels about the same time as I did ramps and always wanted to find them. I was never successful but last Spring the husband of a friend at church sent me some. They were the best mushrooms I have ever had and he said he would take me next spring to find some more. He hunts a lot and is always prowling the hills. I can hardly wait.

I feel your pain on the price of chicken feed and you have more birds than I do. Right now I have a pen of 14 mixed layers that have not layed in over a month. I have them seperated because as soon as I get the time I am going to butcher them. I have 6 RSLs and 4 EE layers I am going to keep. The EEs are not laying yet but I get 2 to 5 eggs a day from the RSLs. I also have 1 GC hen and 1 game hen I am keeping. I have a bantam roo and a bantam hen I am keeping and an Ancona duck hen I am keeping. I have 2 EE roos I am keeping and 2 roos I need to butcher. That will leave me with 17 fowl and that is plenty. Feed just keeps going up. I was feeding $30 of feed a week when they were laying heavy but nobody was buying eggs. I have cut them back now and only the active layers get laying pellets. The others just get scratch.

I did not know you were working at an orchard. That sounds interesting. Lots of apple trees around here but no business with them. Just folks who have them planted in their yards. Most folks don't spray them so lots of apples fall with worms. The road is covered in places when they are falling. One lady who buys eggs from me has about 5 different kinds in her yard. She tried to spray them but her DH passed a few years ago and he was the apple farmer. She gives me apples and I am always glad to get them even though I have to cut out bad spots. They are delicious. I dearly love apple cider but only the clear kind. There is a place in OH that has a fabulous cider but it's a long drive from here. There was a couple at our last church that used to drive up there every year and get gallons of it. They would bring me 2 gallons and it sure was good.

What is punk wood? Is it a type of wood or rather a condition of wood?

That's funny about the duct tape. Hope your finger is better. Around here the end all is black electrical tape. It's the great healer. LOL They tell a funny story about a guy from here who went to one of the mines to hire on. When he found out they didn't have a single roll of black tape on the site, he refused to work for them. Said the place was too dangerous. LOL You always see people with black tape around their nuckles. I use it myself now and it really does work. Every winter I always get a split in the left side of my right index finger first nuckle. (say that 3 times fast) It always hurt like the dickens and nothing would help it. Somebody gave me a roll of black tape and said to put that on it. I did and in 3 days it was closed up. Bandaids never helped at all and no medicine or lotion I ever tried would help. Now whenever it opens up I just put a piece of black tape on it and it's closed in 3 days. Whoda thunk it?

Hope your niece and nephew are settling in well. We kept my DH's nephew for a year. It was hard because of his home situation. Nearly lost our own son for a while Finally got the nephew straightened out and on the honor roll. He went home for the summer and went right back to his old ways. Wanted to come back to us for the next school year and we couldn't let him. It was hopeless because of his parents. He is a drug addict and a thief now. Very sad. I pray your niece and nephew have a life changing time with you. I'd not give my kids up for anybody. Is her husband their father?

Gotta quit bending you all's ears. I have sink full of deer meat to get in the freezer and a pot of whey to turn into ricotta cheese.