I don't usually set goals on Jan 1st - instead, I update as I go. However, now that I'm in Homesteading mode, I think that setting goals now will make the process smoother during the year.
Our chicken coop is the perfect example. We bought the chickens knowing we'd have to build a coop. It took us weeks to figure out how to build it and where to find cheap/no cost materials. Then several more weeks to make it while the chicks spent time in the chicken tractor. Today, Jerry is outside STILL working on the coop. Sigh. Luckily, the chickens don't seem to mind the work in progress. Hopefully, the nesting boxes will be done today! Lesson learned ~ most large building projects can't be completed in a weekend by us.
- Remove overgrown Cottonwood trees to make way for peach trees.
- Start seeds indoors for the garden.
- Purchase & plant Raspberry bushes and more peach trees.
- Paint shed & chicken coop.
- Rain barrels installed on house, chicken coop & shed. (Need gutters on shed & coop.)
- Plan the garden based on consumption needs (fresh eating & canning) instead of wileyniley.
- Wash the 400 canning jars bought off Craigslist ~ a few at a time.
- Continue our Dave Ramsey inspired financial plan.
- Spackle the kitchen & laundry room walls where I attempted to remove wallpaper 3 years ago. Paint both rooms.
- Put trim back up in the kitchen ~ removed 3 years ago when new floor was installed.
- Remove overgrown bushes by back patio for a small kitchen garden.
- Relocate large, overgrown flower bed as it's spot is better suited for veggies.
- Expand my canning recipes. We love the salsa, spaghetti sauce, chicken stock, peaches, apple & pear recipes. But, there's a lot more we could do.
- Learn to make cheese ~ and find a local source for fresh milk.
- Go in on a bulk meat purchase - pig & cow. Jerry is talking about building a smoke house. Hmmmmm Is that a LARGE project, honey?! We better start it now.
- Help Cole finish building his bee hives to be installed on a friends farm.
I think that's about as grand as I can imagine for 2009. How about you?
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5 comments:
You might want to hit up @jgoerzen or @ravenx99 on Twitter. They have a co-worker with a dairy farm in/around Hesston... not sure of the details, but she could probably point you in the right direction.
We're greatly amused by the fact that she's perfectly happy drinking raw milk, but is freaked out by duck eggs.
Sounds like a pretty good list to me? Have your seed catalogs started to arrive? Mine have and do they look yummy and makes me so hungry for spring!
Have a Happy New Year!
I too am gonna have to look at my garden and my canning better and come up with things that will work. I spent too much time on pickles that neither of us is eating because I hate pickles and she used to be a pickle eater but now isn't so much...so that was a waste of time, effort, and resources...so I've got to make everything work better too.
I can give you info on a few of those goals. Have you purchased your bees yet? We bought ours from the guy in Udal on craigslist. They are good people.
Raw milk laws are interesting here in Kansas. And there are many dairies in the local area. If you can find someone to tell you, because you need to ask them (advertising laws prohibit them from saying it without asking off property) you should be able to find a few close to wichita.
I just thought I would stop by and say thanks for visiting and following my blog. I am glad I did, you have a great blog. We are raising our own meat for the freezer too, but since a steer is way more meat than we have room for we will be raising a meat wether. (goat) Maybe someday when we have more freezer space we can raise a steer too.
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