Tag Archives: chores

How To Prep for Summer Storms, Emergency Preparedness Checklist for the Homestead

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Well, we’ve passed through the first “named storm” of the season in our location. Isaias was a hurricane when it hit NC, but a tropical storm when it got up the coast to us. That’s normally the protocol for us. We focus our emergency preparedness on a hurricane, and we get a tropical storm–which is fine with me! I’ll take “only” 40-70 mph sustained winds over 79+ mph! There’s more than enough clean-up to do afterward regardless. With Isaias, we lost one porch fan, a piece of siding, and a … Continue Reading…

Um…We Have A Cow Situation

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What’s a week at The Lowe Farm without a little livestock drama? Especially with the cows. Can you see the trouble brewing out there? We pulled in the driveway the other evening and the cows came trotting over to the fence line to wait for the Cowboy to fill their water bucket, as usual. While they were milling around someone knocked over the big white sheep water-er which was also apparently empty. We headed inside to unpack backpacks before starting chores. By the time I came back outside with the … Continue Reading…

Using Paper Grocery Bags as Weed Barrier in the Garden

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Every year we plant a garden and it does great in April, May, and early June. But come late June and early July things would normally start to slip. Usually, by the time we’d get to mid-July the weeds were out of control and I’d given up on everything but our berries and any pole beans that out-raced the weeds. Mr. Fix-It would till between the rows and big spaces to help me keep up, but by the end of July our garden was a goner. It’s terrible to admit … Continue Reading…

There was this Girl Farmer…the Daily Farm Adventures {101}

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I was walking down the alley with the dogs yesterday evening and ran into this girl… She was tall, and slim, and wearing a well-worn pair of muck boots like she knew something about the business of mud. Her barn coat was a little rough around the edges and shrugged comfortably across her shoulders as she warmed her hands in her pockets. Her scarf was set just so, casual and deliberate, just so to warm and breath, and there was a rosiness to her cheeks that suggested she knew the winter evening … Continue Reading…

Spring Fence Work and Fence Maintenance Supplies for the Small Farm

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One of the things good spring weather means is that outside farm repairs can get going again. While I was moving lambs last weekend, Mr. Fix-It and Speedracer were fixing and replacing fence posts and adjusting gates. Some of our woven-wire fence is in bad shape these days. Cows and horses are tall enough to reach over and get grass on the other side. When they leannnned on it, it sagged. Running a strip of electric around the top will fix this problem, but we caught on a bit late … Continue Reading…

So, More Mud…the Daily Farm Adventures {102}

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We’ve been on a real streak of testing and trials lately. Our vehicles, our appliances, our furnace, our smoke detectors (I’m still traumatized by that one!)–even attacking wildlife! {smile} And one by one we’ve just put it back together and kept keeping-on. Mr. Fix-It has a temperament that really shines during crisis. He thrives on hands-on problem solving. He’s like the eye of a hurricane when these “big” things start happen and I start to lose my mind. I’m running around like a hamster in a wheel trying to make “an … Continue Reading…

Always Building Something…the Daily Farm Adventures {92}

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I didn’t write for a good part of the late summer, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t stuff going on around here. (I love how these pictures remind me of the green-grass days!) One of the things that happens on a farm or homestead is that you collect, well, junk. But it’s useful junk, that’s why you keep it. Because someday, one day, you’re going to need it. (I’ve talked about farm junk before.) One thing you always keep is old running gear, or axles. Or any kind of trailer … Continue Reading…

Our Kids Favorite Chores…the Daily Farm Adventures {82}

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Our kiddos do chores. Every day. Every morning and every evening, actually. And every weekend. Around here, everyone does–right down to the babysitters and the dogs. So when Speedracer came up to me last weekend and said, “can we do chores like last weekend? that was so fun!” which chores did he mean? Cleaning out the barn. But he really meant any of them What he meant was can we all go out and do the chores together?  Because that’s their favorite chores. When the kids and the parents are all … Continue Reading…

Working the Sheep…the Daily Farm Adventures {85}

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Our big accomplishment for the weekend was that we worked the whole flock through the chute, worming, trimming hooves, and checking general health. Mr. Fix-It is trying a new set up for our pens and chutes–under cover instead of out in the field. Not crazy about it–too much dust and the flies are much worse in the shade. I don’t really understand that, but it’s true. The sheep don’t seem to care one way or another and we’re able to work everyone in less than 2 hours, so they’re not … Continue Reading…

Chicken Hoop House Maintenance…the Daily Farm Adventures {88}

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For the 4th of July we went camping (and got rained out) and then spend the whole day Sunday on some farm upkeep (and catch up!). The WHOLE day. Meaning, I walked the dogs at 5:30 am, then went straight in to cook breakfast, we got dressed, and headed out. It was sopping wet, but we managed to get a lot done, before the clouds rolled in at 5:30 pm. (If you’re thinking about homesteading, might I recommend Muck Boots. There’s pretty much no other way to survive, trust me!) … Continue Reading…

The Work Doesn’t Stop…the Daily Farm Adventures {68}

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The weather is cooler, our days are fuller (soccer, school, church…), but the chores go on as usual. And we still have piles of mucky, muddy, wet laundry and dirty boots every day. {smile} We’ve gone back and forth between the kiddos doing the chores, Mr. Fix-It and I doing the chores to lighten their load with the school adjustments, and now a hybrid of Mr. Fix-It doing morning chores with them and me doing afternoon chores with them. We’re also moving into harvest season, so the chore load is … Continue Reading…

Everyone Looks Good…the Daily Farm Adventures {57}

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We were off adventuring in North Carolina the last few days, for Mr. Fix-It’s sister’s wedding. Homesteading and vacations rarely mix. It’s too much responsibility to ask just anyone to come by and manage things while we’re gone. There’s a lot more to keep track of than just watering the plants and bringing in the mail. {smile} But if we are going to go anywhere, the height of Summer is the best time. Winter is quadruple the work, with feedings twice a day (different amounts for everyone!) and frozen water … Continue Reading…

What Kind of Spring Cleaning Does a Farm Need?…the Daily Farm Adventures {46}

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The weekend was beautiful here–sunny and 75. Perfect for getting out and getting to work in the farmyard! The kiddos won their soccer and football games and then we spent the weekend spring cleaning the farm yeard. All kinds of scrubbing and scooping and stacking and shoveling. What kind of spring cleaning does a farm need? Here are some things we worked on… We moved the sheep and cows onto the big pasture the other day, so now we’re busy cleaning out the winter pastures and feed shed. The Ladybug, Speedracer … Continue Reading…

Farm Work Odds and Ends…the Daily Farm Adventures {119}

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Well, it’s pretty soggy around here. That limits what we can do outside. You can cause a lot of damage to fields and paths by driving through and rutting them up in really wet weather. You can see what I mean in those ruts in the picture below… But there’s still always something to be working on. First, there’s always housework to be done–and these soggy days can multiply that with everyone’s muddy boots and clothes! There’s a constant balancing act on the homestead between the basic housework and home … Continue Reading…