Well, here it is almost May and my crops are still not in the ground. It turned off a bit cool, but also had a few rainy days here that prevented me from re-plowing my garden to get it ready to plant. I finally got it done over this past weekend, but didn't have enough time to plant. I will be planting this week in the evenings, so I will post a few things about that when I do.
On a completely different note, I finished my new quail cage, so when the 20 eggs get out of the incubator, they will have a new home to move into. I started raising couternix quail last year, but wanted to keep my brood small until I decided if I wanted to move forward with them or stick with chickens.
I have decided to increase production on the quail due to the lighter requirements (foodwise, they eat less than the chickens) plus the much faster turnaround time (after hatching, they are either ready to lay eggs or butcher in about 8 weeks).
My plan is the increase production to the point where I can harvest about 4 - 6 quail per week to supplement my families diet.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Keep your friends close and your food closer!
Something is reassuring about being able to walk out of my back door and see food. Whether it is my chickens, quail, eggs, cherries, grapes, or food that is growing in my garden. The closer that you are to your food source, the better off you are.
Here are a few pics of some of the food that I have been working on. Some of it doesn't take much because I have already put in the work to get it started such as my grape vineyard, cherry tree's, blackberry patch, or my grove of wild plums.
You may not be able to make out the tiny green cherries in the crappy picture above, but my cherry tree's are loaded.
Above is a picture of some of my grapes. Should yield plentiful abundance to make a ton of grape juice and raisins.
However my garden is my main local food source and something that takes time and energy to get it to yield.
In the past 3 years I have had about 3500 square feet of garden space, but I cut that down to about half this year because my job really cuts into my day and I plan on doing a few more projects this year that will eat more of my time. I will highlight those additional projects in the coming months.
Above is a picture of my garden space this year. I have plowed it once, but want to go through a few more times before I plant, but rain has kept me from doing that yet.
Because of the reduction of space, I have to cut down on what I will be planting, so here is the list:
Okra (I ADORE FRIED OKRA)
Tomatoes
Yellow Squash
Zucchini Squash
Acorn Squash (after the Yellow and Zucchini are done)
Cucumbers
Peppers (Bell, Banana, Jalapeno)
Sunflowers (my kids love the huge flowers, plus they are great to keep the birds away from the other things and to keep the bee's coming in)
Due to the much warmer than normal weather, this time next week I should have my garden planted which is about a full month earlier than normal.
I will keep things posted.
Here are a few pics of some of the food that I have been working on. Some of it doesn't take much because I have already put in the work to get it started such as my grape vineyard, cherry tree's, blackberry patch, or my grove of wild plums.
Above is a picture of some of my grapes. Should yield plentiful abundance to make a ton of grape juice and raisins.
However my garden is my main local food source and something that takes time and energy to get it to yield.
In the past 3 years I have had about 3500 square feet of garden space, but I cut that down to about half this year because my job really cuts into my day and I plan on doing a few more projects this year that will eat more of my time. I will highlight those additional projects in the coming months.
Above is a picture of my garden space this year. I have plowed it once, but want to go through a few more times before I plant, but rain has kept me from doing that yet.
Because of the reduction of space, I have to cut down on what I will be planting, so here is the list:
Okra (I ADORE FRIED OKRA)
Tomatoes
Yellow Squash
Zucchini Squash
Acorn Squash (after the Yellow and Zucchini are done)
Cucumbers
Peppers (Bell, Banana, Jalapeno)
Sunflowers (my kids love the huge flowers, plus they are great to keep the birds away from the other things and to keep the bee's coming in)
Due to the much warmer than normal weather, this time next week I should have my garden planted which is about a full month earlier than normal.
I will keep things posted.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The Normalcy Bias or "It can't happen to me"
I survived a catastrophic hard drive failure of my computer. It went to the point where I had to replace the hard drive and start over. Even though I backed up my data, it had been a while since I had, so I lost some of my data.
As I looked back at it, I had developed a normalcy bias. This is a fancy term for the wrong-minded thinking that because something has never happened, it will never happen, or to put it more succinctly, "it can't happen to me!"
Now the data that I lost is easy to replace; I had some ballistic charts that I had found and copied from the internet. I had some downloaded PDF manuals and books etc. But in the grand scheme of things, I didn't suffer any long term loss.
However, I think that it was more beneficial than harmful because it really caused me to step back and look at the way that I had been thinking and frankly, it startled and scared me a bit. If it was so easy for me to ignore this simple thing, what else might I be overlooking?
As I looked back at it, I had developed a normalcy bias. This is a fancy term for the wrong-minded thinking that because something has never happened, it will never happen, or to put it more succinctly, "it can't happen to me!"
Now the data that I lost is easy to replace; I had some ballistic charts that I had found and copied from the internet. I had some downloaded PDF manuals and books etc. But in the grand scheme of things, I didn't suffer any long term loss.
However, I think that it was more beneficial than harmful because it really caused me to step back and look at the way that I had been thinking and frankly, it startled and scared me a bit. If it was so easy for me to ignore this simple thing, what else might I be overlooking?
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
My favorite time of the year is here!
I am not talking about Spring (which is amazing and makes me feel like a kid again every time it rolls around). I am referring to my local gun show. It is here this coming weekend and I love it.
My friends and I have a tradition where we meet at Bob Evans for breakfast, hang out and shoot the breeze. Then we go to the gun show and hang out with all the other freedom loving Americans. I usually don't buy much, sometimes a scope or a grip or something, but mainly I just like being there.
My friends and I have a tradition where we meet at Bob Evans for breakfast, hang out and shoot the breeze. Then we go to the gun show and hang out with all the other freedom loving Americans. I usually don't buy much, sometimes a scope or a grip or something, but mainly I just like being there.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Busy February and tapping Maple Tree's
Whew, February has been quite busy. It has been so warm in my AO that I have actually started my March and April "To Do list" already.
One task that I had to do in early March was to tap my maple tree's, but with the very warm weather, I figured that if I didn't do it now, I might not get a chance to do it before it got too warm.
I have never done this before, but after reading pretty extensively and it doesn't seem to be much to it. Drill a hole, get the spile, tap the tree, get the liquidy goodness.
I only have 2 tap-able tree's, so I won't get a ton of usable sap, but I mainly just want enough to know that I can do it and develop the tools and the skills needed to consistently repeat it.
One task that I had to do in early March was to tap my maple tree's, but with the very warm weather, I figured that if I didn't do it now, I might not get a chance to do it before it got too warm.
I have never done this before, but after reading pretty extensively and it doesn't seem to be much to it. Drill a hole, get the spile, tap the tree, get the liquidy goodness.
I only have 2 tap-able tree's, so I won't get a ton of usable sap, but I mainly just want enough to know that I can do it and develop the tools and the skills needed to consistently repeat it.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
DoomsDay Preppers
Overall, I was basically, Meh.
The first episode set the stage for those expecting it the show to be about whack-o's and weirdo's. I sat through it mainly for its entertainment factor.
The second episode (aired right after the first) made me sit up and pay attention. I really liked the "gourmet prepper" folks. They seemed like they were living well, prepping well, and overall had a pretty level head on their shoulders. They weren't giving up living to secure their life. They had some serious food prep items, but the best part to me was the fact that she knew how to use it. It wasn't all about beans and rice (I feel ashamed) but about real actual good food. Plus I will certainly be implementing the process that she showed on how to long term store fresh eggs. When I saw this, my chickens took on a whole new aspect to me.
To me, the jury is still out on whether this show is worth spending time on, but for now, I will continue watching.
The first episode set the stage for those expecting it the show to be about whack-o's and weirdo's. I sat through it mainly for its entertainment factor.
The second episode (aired right after the first) made me sit up and pay attention. I really liked the "gourmet prepper" folks. They seemed like they were living well, prepping well, and overall had a pretty level head on their shoulders. They weren't giving up living to secure their life. They had some serious food prep items, but the best part to me was the fact that she knew how to use it. It wasn't all about beans and rice (I feel ashamed) but about real actual good food. Plus I will certainly be implementing the process that she showed on how to long term store fresh eggs. When I saw this, my chickens took on a whole new aspect to me.
To me, the jury is still out on whether this show is worth spending time on, but for now, I will continue watching.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
New show coming on, could be pretty good.
Just wanted to post a quick message about a new NatGeo show that is coming on called "Doomsday Preppers". Will probably show a good portion of the nuts out there (wonder when they will give me a call?), but might actually show some good stuff too. Might be worth watching. Here is a link.
Doomsday Preppers
Doomsday Preppers
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