It's a new year after all, so it should work.
No resolutions for me this year, my new year is starting off with pain, tooth pain, not fun....I'm so not in the mood for any type of resolution, so I'm just going to call this the things I want to try to change for our family.
An awesome link for those wanting to try to be more frugal, and I like her way of thinking when it comes to food storage.
We really need to work on this, well, not me, my other half. He tend to purchase items because they are on sale, not because they are needed.
Hoping this is the beginning of regular posts from me, an update on things happening at our homestead on a regular basis would be great, right? I'm going to try to do that this year, promise.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Monday, October 24, 2011
An FYI
I know I haven't posted much lately, life has pretty much taken over, and with the holiday's just around the corner, I wanted to let all of you know that, you can still keep up with all the comings and goings in our life by checking out my husbands blog when I'm too busy to blog.
www.heirloomhomestead.com
www.heirloomhomestead.com
Friday, October 14, 2011
Things Have Not Been Pleasant
As I write this, I think back to the past few weeks and all we have encountered on our little homestead here in Wescosville. I think a part of me has been hesitant to really think about what has happend, one reason being, I could have avoided it, second reason being, it hurts to much to think about it.
We said goodbye to our girls, and Pat a few weeks ago, and it's been hard not having them around. Every time I'm at my kitchen sink I look over to see them in their pen, and they are not there.
When the hurricanes his earlier this summer, about six weeks ago, our lower yard became the resting spot for the deluge of rain. Honestly, it doesn't bother me that much, not as much as it bothers others. We haven't been inconvenienced by the water sitting in the yard, but our neighbor certainly doesn't appreciate the new pond outside his window as he's trying to sell his house. That being the main issue. Ever since the lower macungie deluge of development, our yard has become the spot where the water sits. The developer who built the homes behind us gave no concern to where the rainwater would go, if it rained really good, hence the pond.
This past rain, from these two hurricanes, has been the most rainfall in 100 years.....our home is 102 years old. We actually had the kids in a raft boating around the water, because there is that much water.
I was home one day with a sick kid when the letter came in the mail from the township, telling us we were not aloud to have the chickens. The letter was vague, it was hard to tell if they meant the amount of chickens or just chickens overall. We had 6, are only suppose to have 4 per acre, but I misunderstood and thought it was 5, Tractor supply only sold in sets of 6 so it's all I could do to buy six, with the thought that one might not make it....well, they all survived....lol.
Now back to the letter. When we got the letter, we urgently put feelers out to see who would be willing to take our one Roo and a hen, luckily we found a great woman named Dawn who took them both, they are now free ranging. We supplied the township with a letter telling them that we are now down to 4 and all should be ok, but no, all is not ok, we couldn't have them at all because we are 10,000 sq feet short of an acre. Even though our pen is in the center of our property, more than 100 feet on all sides away from any neighbor, we could not keep our girls without a fight that would hurt us financially.
So I checked with Dawn, and she was willing to take the other 4 to free range with the other two. It was very hard, and still is, to let them go. They were my girls, they sat on my lap, they ate from my hands and they were always anxious to let me know when they left something in the coop for me.
It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I was able to figure out what really went down with our chickens. Turns out, instead of our neighbor coming to us first, about figuring out what to do with this water, he went right to the township, who spent the past six weeks in my yard, back and forth, watching the water situation. See, our township won't lift a finger to help dispose of the water, they tell us they are broke, but they are worried about a west nile outbreak, so they keep checking to see where the level is at. That's why my chickens had to go, not that they disturbed anyone (although the Roo might have) but because they were in my yard and saw them, I had to get rid of them.
I can fight this, I can pay probably over $1000 to hire an attorney and file the proper paperwork and see what can be done, which I may still do, but what I am also doing is making the situation know to all who will listen. Homesteading is a way of life, it's what people do now more than ever with the skyrocketing price of food. We grow our food, can it, share it, it's the way things use to be! We need to make homesteading the new way of life, we need to communicate more with our neighbors, share what we have, have an understanding about each other to make it through one of the worst economic times in history. People, things are not getting better, they are going to get much worse before they even make an attempt to turn around.
In the mean time, I have a new pond to boat in, possibly an ice skating rink this winter and I have the prospects of two new pets in our house, my son has been putting together a big guinea pig cage for a while now......I'm sure there is more news to come.
If you would like to follow our story, I've created a facebook page about our chickens, it's called "Bring our chickens back" and you can follow all the updates on what's going on in our township of lower macungie, pa and how we intend to get our girls back.
We said goodbye to our girls, and Pat a few weeks ago, and it's been hard not having them around. Every time I'm at my kitchen sink I look over to see them in their pen, and they are not there.
When the hurricanes his earlier this summer, about six weeks ago, our lower yard became the resting spot for the deluge of rain. Honestly, it doesn't bother me that much, not as much as it bothers others. We haven't been inconvenienced by the water sitting in the yard, but our neighbor certainly doesn't appreciate the new pond outside his window as he's trying to sell his house. That being the main issue. Ever since the lower macungie deluge of development, our yard has become the spot where the water sits. The developer who built the homes behind us gave no concern to where the rainwater would go, if it rained really good, hence the pond.
This past rain, from these two hurricanes, has been the most rainfall in 100 years.....our home is 102 years old. We actually had the kids in a raft boating around the water, because there is that much water.
I was home one day with a sick kid when the letter came in the mail from the township, telling us we were not aloud to have the chickens. The letter was vague, it was hard to tell if they meant the amount of chickens or just chickens overall. We had 6, are only suppose to have 4 per acre, but I misunderstood and thought it was 5, Tractor supply only sold in sets of 6 so it's all I could do to buy six, with the thought that one might not make it....well, they all survived....lol.
Now back to the letter. When we got the letter, we urgently put feelers out to see who would be willing to take our one Roo and a hen, luckily we found a great woman named Dawn who took them both, they are now free ranging. We supplied the township with a letter telling them that we are now down to 4 and all should be ok, but no, all is not ok, we couldn't have them at all because we are 10,000 sq feet short of an acre. Even though our pen is in the center of our property, more than 100 feet on all sides away from any neighbor, we could not keep our girls without a fight that would hurt us financially.
So I checked with Dawn, and she was willing to take the other 4 to free range with the other two. It was very hard, and still is, to let them go. They were my girls, they sat on my lap, they ate from my hands and they were always anxious to let me know when they left something in the coop for me.
It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I was able to figure out what really went down with our chickens. Turns out, instead of our neighbor coming to us first, about figuring out what to do with this water, he went right to the township, who spent the past six weeks in my yard, back and forth, watching the water situation. See, our township won't lift a finger to help dispose of the water, they tell us they are broke, but they are worried about a west nile outbreak, so they keep checking to see where the level is at. That's why my chickens had to go, not that they disturbed anyone (although the Roo might have) but because they were in my yard and saw them, I had to get rid of them.
I can fight this, I can pay probably over $1000 to hire an attorney and file the proper paperwork and see what can be done, which I may still do, but what I am also doing is making the situation know to all who will listen. Homesteading is a way of life, it's what people do now more than ever with the skyrocketing price of food. We grow our food, can it, share it, it's the way things use to be! We need to make homesteading the new way of life, we need to communicate more with our neighbors, share what we have, have an understanding about each other to make it through one of the worst economic times in history. People, things are not getting better, they are going to get much worse before they even make an attempt to turn around.
In the mean time, I have a new pond to boat in, possibly an ice skating rink this winter and I have the prospects of two new pets in our house, my son has been putting together a big guinea pig cage for a while now......I'm sure there is more news to come.
If you would like to follow our story, I've created a facebook page about our chickens, it's called "Bring our chickens back" and you can follow all the updates on what's going on in our township of lower macungie, pa and how we intend to get our girls back.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
It's Time For Eggs!
The time has finally come where our girls are starting to lay eggs. I went out this morning and found evidence of three possible eggs that were laid, most likely overnight, but the eggs are still not strong enough to form an egg. One of the photos you can obviously see that there was an egg but it was paper thin, the other photo is totally scrambled.....just wish it was scrambled in my frying pan.....
The girls were so proud of what they tried to do, when I took the lid off the coop they all hopped in, were talking up a storm and crowding around me as if to say "Mom, did you see what we did?"
It's an exciting time here on our homestead!
The girls were so proud of what they tried to do, when I took the lid off the coop they all hopped in, were talking up a storm and crowding around me as if to say "Mom, did you see what we did?"
It's an exciting time here on our homestead!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Where do I start?
It's almost the end of July, and I feel like I need at least two more months so I can feel like I've got something accomplished. I don't forsee any canning in my future this year, I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the other tasks I have to accomplish. Wishing I was Laura Ingalls and could spend the days, the 70 degree days, on my little farm getting everything just the way I like it.
The Chicken Coop is done, for the most part, with many kudos to my Dad for lending his expertise and tools, and my nephew Noah and my son Jake, they helped on Saturday's to get this job done and we are so happy it's done.
The kids love to play with the chickens, and the rooster, yeah, we have Pat, the unknown bird that is now known...we will fatten pat up and then....say goodbye...I don't want to upset my neighbors with a rooster.
We also have spent some time at our local baseball games, the Iron Pigs, last week we were given tickets to some VIP seats that we just loved, here is Jake enjoying the game.
We also have one summer birthday under our belt , Emma turned 10 in July and we celebrated by giving her a surprise Luau at her grandparents pool. We all had a great time and beautiful weather. Here is a photo of Emma celebrating in Sunday School.
I will try to update again soon, when I find time......anyone willing to give some of their time, I'll forward my address...lol
The Chicken Coop is done, for the most part, with many kudos to my Dad for lending his expertise and tools, and my nephew Noah and my son Jake, they helped on Saturday's to get this job done and we are so happy it's done.
The kids love to play with the chickens, and the rooster, yeah, we have Pat, the unknown bird that is now known...we will fatten pat up and then....say goodbye...I don't want to upset my neighbors with a rooster.
We also have spent some time at our local baseball games, the Iron Pigs, last week we were given tickets to some VIP seats that we just loved, here is Jake enjoying the game.
We also have one summer birthday under our belt , Emma turned 10 in July and we celebrated by giving her a surprise Luau at her grandparents pool. We all had a great time and beautiful weather. Here is a photo of Emma celebrating in Sunday School.
I will try to update again soon, when I find time......anyone willing to give some of their time, I'll forward my address...lol
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
The Work Keeps Coming
On the homestead that is. My girls (and one boy) need their run finished. We have the area somewhat fenced in now, have to put the top boards up and move the coop in to the spot so they can run around. It's been fun and motivating for me to get this done, I can't wait to sit and watch my girls run around and make noises....quiet noises...lol
The garden is growing, potatoes are really tall, tomatoes are in and the bunnies are everywhere.
I wish it was cooler out so I could spend more time in my yard, I'm not a fan of the heat, Scott isn't iether, so this isn't always fun but it has to get done.
The garden is growing, potatoes are really tall, tomatoes are in and the bunnies are everywhere.
I wish it was cooler out so I could spend more time in my yard, I'm not a fan of the heat, Scott isn't iether, so this isn't always fun but it has to get done.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Specialized For Children? Not Exactly
Everything started out fine, we knew she wasn't "critical" so we had no issues with those who seemed more urgent moving in quicker...we were doing our best to help her breath through her pain and encouraging her with our words and hugs, she seemed to get through the intial part pretty well.
I would say we spent about 15-20 minutes out in the waiting area total. Once we were taken back to the Children's ER, which means you walk through the normal ER, we were seen by a nurse pretty quickly, changed into an ADULT gown and were told by the nurse that the Dr. would be in shortly, that she didn't want to really poke around too much because the Dr. would do just that.
We sat in that room for an hour and a half, possibly a bit longer, before we saw the Dr., never once had a Dr. pop in to do a quick check, nothing.........I had to initially ask if she was aloud to use the bathroom because she had to pee, where they then place the cup in the toilet so she could give them a urine sample. That was probably half way through our stay.
We didn't get a Dr. into the room until I went out and voiced my opinion to the insane wait we had to endure, in a Children's ER that was not busy, all while we listend to nurses and whoever else was around discuss weekend plans, play with the other children in the ER, I think we counted 3.
Now, by the time the Dr. did come in, of course the pain was gone. The nurse mentioned twice while she was in and out telling us the Dr. would be in, that her white cell counts were elevated and she probably had a UTI, but that was it.
She did get some water and animal crackers to eat after the Dr. did finally see her, I think they wanted to see if the pain would come back with eating, since we were discharged after she ate they were not around to see that the pain did in fact come back after she ate, but they could have seen that if they would have stopped in the room earlier than 1 1/2 hours after we got there.
I guess you can tell my thoughts on this new ER are not good, and I probably won't be back in there any time soon with an emergency. I really should have used my gut instinct and gone to St. Lukes, but, I was thinking more about how quick I thought they could help my little girl, and I was wrong.
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