There are signs of fall at the homestead this week. The leaves are starting to change color and are already falling off the trees. Before we know it the ground will be covered with snow
There are signs of fall at the homestead this week. The leaves are starting to change color and are already falling off the trees. Before we know it the ground will be covered with snow and we will have all of the winter challenges of homestead life to deal with. But for now we will enjoy the fall and prep for winter as much as we can.
Rabbits:
We have an escape artist on our hands. Somehow Margie’s cage keeps getting unlocked. Kori noticed this one night when doing chores and then did a triple check of all of the cages to make sure they were all were all locked before closing the barn. The next morning when Brian went down to open the barn, Margie was out of her cage and sitting under one of the other rabbit hutches. She had made a little nest for herself under one of the empty cages. He was able to grab her and get her back in her cage. A second lock has been added to her cage and she has not broken out since. Both Piper and Rose got their nesting boxes this week and should deliver the beginning of next week.
Chickens:
Not much happened with the chickens this week. The 4 Plymouth barred rocks that purchased a while back are getting to be very friendly. Everyday when we go down to do chores they come right to us now instead of running away.
Garden:
Harvested 28 cucumbers, 1 zucchini, 5 jalapenos, 16 serranos, 13 bell peppers, 3 habaneros, 2 chili de arbol, 8.5 lbs of cherry tomatoes and 10 onions. We made 3 quart sized jars of pickles this week. We cut the scallions from the onions and start freezing them. We also froze some more cherry tomatoes and tried some cherry tomatoes in the dehydrator.
Project/General:
We have been working on getting our yard cleaned up for winter. Also needed to do some repairs to the feeder in June’s cage. It was tipping out of the cage so we tied a piece of wire around it to hold it upright. Saw a rat in the barn this week and have some traps set. So far all we have caught was a chipmunk. It was Kori’s birthday this weekend so we took some time off and smoked some of the ribs and bacon that we had left from the pig we purchased in the spring. It was delicious!