So It Begins Again

It's Planting Season! Ya!!! Yippee!!!! Yes, it's that time of year again. Busy, busy, hurry up, and wait. The anticipation leading up to the next few weeks has been building all winter. We've actually had a few days of warm (almost 80 degree) weather. So we've gotten a lot done for planting the garden previously. I'm still trying to dig all the compost out of the bunny/chicken hoop barn. It's slow going with a garden rake and shovel.

During the waiting period while things grow in the garden and indoor seed starts, we'll be dismantling the bunny/chicken hoop barn and eventually the chicken coop and run by the food storage out building. We're realigning them better and rotating them 90 degrees so there's less muddy areas. I don't know why Mel didn't think of it when she first built them.  In their current position, they run against the downhill slope so rain water gets trapped.

Meanwhile, we went to Tractor Supply and bought some Rhode Island Reds and Americana chicks to increase our flock of egg layers. They were straight run so we'll have to see how many hens to roos we get. We did try wing feather sexing them, but they are far from day old chicks so we'll have to wait and see. If we end up with more than 2 roos in a bunch they'll be destined for freezer camp. We could sure use the meat, but egg layers is what we want. The roos are nice for producing fertilized eggs for hatching but that's about it in our enclosed pens. Right now, Mel is saying "no" to hatching eggs, but we'll see. She also says "no" to butchering our own chicken. Again, we'll see. You do what you have to when facing the possibility of going hungry and Mel's a huge carnivore.

The latest stay at home dates is the end of April, but honestly, it could be longer. I'm not a fear monger. I'm just looking at the numbers of new cases each day. Eggs are in short supply in the grocery stores now. You'd be hard pressed to find raw meat in our grocery stores. Most of it is processed with all that breading and chemicals. Yuck!. With our stores building running low in meats and vegetables, I'm just praying we have enough to see us through this SHTF scenario until we can restock our pantry.

The longer America in general stays out of work, the harder it will be for the little guys (businesses) to survive and the shortages will get worse. Fresh foods will be harder and harder to come by.  People will be sourcing food wherever they can, even from us lowly homesteaders. I have no problem feeding others once our own needs are taken care of.

There are church based or community food banks that have almost bare pantry shelves now with this virus. Some food banks have even closed which makes matters worse. Desperate people do desperate things when faced with hungry children at home. Making it dangerous for everyone. I've seen it happen before and didn't expect to see it happen in the US, but it very easily could. Yes, I partially bought into the 'land of plenty line.'

I just ordered a pound of yeast from Amazon and more powdered whole milk while they still have it. I was running low on both. Have you noticed how many "Not Available" postings there are on Amazon! I never thought I'd see the day. There's more available listing for brewer's yeast than baking yeast. Now that's scary keynote to the times. More people are interested in their daily bread than drinking. Usually it's the other way around.

*Note to self- make a sourdough Herman. I let the old one die. Bad Jo, bad! In my defense, I did spend more time in the hospital and recovering last year than I have in almost a decade.

Now, if you are truly desperate, there's Ebay. Ebay used to be the place to find cheaper things. Now, it's home to price gougers. A friend of mine bought two mega rolls of toilet paper for three times the store prices. Yes, she was that desperate. Here's a woman who washed her husband's diapers and pads, but won't use personal cloths for herself. It sort of boggles the mind, but to each their own. I offered to send her some, but she'd already bought it.

Back to the topic of this post. The quail cages are built and awaiting quail. While I'd planned to do this in March, too many other income eating things occurred. So now, I'm calling a local breeder for adult quail and hatching eggs next week.  I'll buy two dozen birds and two dozen hatching to begins with. This way I can cull unneeded males immediately for freezer camp. In 18 days, I'll have a dozen chicks or more given a 50% hatch rate. In six to eight weeks, these will start laying eggs and they extra males will go to freezer camp or be sold. I can incubate more eggs, but Mel can also sell the eggs too. Three or four quail eggs equal a chicken egg. So it will take more of them to make anything with them. At $6 for a dozen eggs, or breeding quads for $30, this will add up to quick income for homestead expenses and expansion plans. It will provide income while Mel's chicks age up to lay eggs (6 months). That's a nice chunk of change in the interim.

Now, honestly, what good is money? Other than paying bills with if you can't buy groceries? Everyone has to eat. My Momma used to say when people asked why she gardened, "You can't eat money?" You see, my Momma had experienced the food shortages in WWII Japan. Her father was wealthy, but they couldn't buy food. So he bought out a bombed out air field and offered a place for farmers a safe place to farm. The American wouldn't bomb an air strip that had been destroyed already. In those days, most air strips had their own water supply and ponds. So with no electricity, farmers came to farm the land. My grandfather built huts for their families out of recycled bits and pieces. They paid my grandfather a portion of their crops. Food was used to eat and to barter with for other essential needs.

My Momma also said, "There will always be an again." She prepared us for living without and how to survive. My grandmother did the same thing having raised a family of ten during the Great Depression. I never forgot their teachings. So ask me now, why I homestead and try for a more self sufficient lifestyle. While this virus may only create hardships for a few months, it's a wake up call to the US just when everyone was forgetting 9/11. Get ready. There will be an again. So, the busyness of spring time begins again on our little homestead.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo