New site

Well, I finally took the plunge and bought a domain name. Bout time huh? So, if you'd like to see any of the new stuff that I'll be putting up you can find the new blog at The Pagan Homesteader. I hope to see you all there!

Learn How to Give Your Goat a Shot

As some of you may know, Bell our goat FINALLY had a baby. She is beyond adorable but things have not always gone smoothly. Bell seemed to be doing well with nursing when she first had the baby but now she doesn't seem to want to stand for her to nurse for very long. This is a problem for sure but not one that can't be overcome. The other more serious issue was the fact that our latest addition was not up running around like she should. She was diagnosed with an infection in her joints so we have been giving her antibiotic injections for the last few days. 

If you are afraid of needles then you may not want to read this post but if you plan on having livestock, it may be a fear that you have to overcome. Drawing up and administering an injection really isn't difficult. The hardest part is getting past the cringe factor of poking a living thing with a sharp pointy object. 

First you must gather all of your supplies. The vet left us two pre-filled syringes of one antibiotic. Once those are done then we are to give her Penicillin for 7 days. She only left us one needle and syringe for the Penicillin but I didn't want to use the same needle over again so I picked some up at the Tractor Supply store. You can buy needles in packs of six for just a couple of dollars. The 3 ml syringes were $0.29 each.              

When you first open a bottle of medication like this, it will be covered in a thin metal cover. This simply peels off and exposes the rubber stopper underneath which is what your needle will go through. 

You can see the rubber stopper underneath.

The first time you draw up your injection you don't have to clean the stopper with alcohol. Ideally you will want to clean the top of the bottle each time with alcohol before drawing up the next dose. Next, take your syringe and pull the syringe back until you have the same amount of air to equal the same amount of medicine you need to draw up.

In our case we have to give 2 ml of Penicillin every day. Now, stick the needle through the rubber stopper and push in the air. The air will take the place of the liquid that you are about to draw out. The reason for this is prevent a vacuum from forming in the bottle over time as you draw out each dose. You don't have to do this step but is just makes it easier as you repeatedly draw medicine out of the bottle.

Now pull back on the plunger until you have the correct amount of medication in your syringe. You will always have a few air bubbles that come back into your syringe but it's not anything to worry about because you will be giving the injection into the muscle or into the subcutaneous tissue. If you want to get the air bubbles out simply pull back on the plunger once you have removed the needle from the bottle to increase the amount of air in the syringe. Slowly push the syringe forward to push the air out until you have a little medicine coming out of the needle. Recap the needle and you're ready to go!

Draw up the medication to the correct level. 

The Penicillin is given in the muscle otherwise known as an IM injection. IM just stands for intramuscular. Check with your vet to see where the best place is to give the injection for your particular livestock. Our vet said we could give the injections in her neck or butt. I was concerned about hitting the sciatic nerve however, since I'm not overly familar with goat anatomy so I have been giving them on her inner leg.

When you give the injection go in quick and at a 90 degree angle. If this is an adult animal you should be able to put the needle all the way in to the hub. If it's a smaller animal you may not be able to put the needle in all the way due to it being a smaller muscle mass. This particular needle is a 20 Gauge 1 inch needle. You will have to use your own judgement as to weather or not there is enough muscle to take the full length of the needle.

Pull back slightly on the plunger to make sure there is no blood that comes back into the syringe. If it looks ok, push the medicine in quickly and pull out the needle. Gently massage the site and you're done!

Even though these needles are being used on animals, I would still dispose of them just like I would a sharps that has been used on a person. Any plastic container will work. Take an empty soda or water bottler to dispose of your needles. When you no longer need it, you can take the bottle to your local ER or doctors office and they should be able to dispose of it for you. You might also check with your vet to see if you could bring it back to them for disposal. If you would just like to practice giving an injection go buy a syringe and needle and grab an orange. This is a great way to practice your injection technique and get more comfortable with it if you have never done anything like this before.

Giving an injection isn't hard but it can be scary if you've never done something like this before. Unfortunately this is sometimes a needed part of animal husbandry and an area that you may have to jump out of your comfort zone to learn.

Goats Gone Wild: First Aid on the Homestead

Accidents can happen at any time which is one reason why it's a good idea to know some basic first aid. When you live in a more rural area, this is especially important because you may need to deal with a situation before you can get help. Not only do we have to think about how to deal with accidents that can happen to people, but we also have to be able to handle those that happen to our four legged friends.

As you probably know, goats can be difficult to fence in. Bell is no exception. She is constantly getting out of her fence and night before last she thought it would be a good idea to break out again. Unfortunately, this time she seems to have caught her back foot in the fence and broke her leg. My husband had gone outside and found her wandering around but noticed immediately that something was wrong.

This was about 9 o'clock at night and otherwise she seemed to be fine. There was no blood and the skin wasn't broken which is a good thing. We decided the best thing we could do was make a splint but out of what? Well, craft sticks worked well when the chicken broke her leg so why not?

These are the large wood craft sticks that you can buy at any craft store. We taped four of them together to make it good and stiff and give it some bulk.

Next we wrapped duct tape from one end to the other. You know what they say, duct tape fixes everything! We tried to make sure the ends were covered well and padded so they won't rub against her.




Now we had to get it on. With flashlights in hand we traipsed back outside. The Oldest had been out there holding Bell and keeping her happy with some feed while we got everything together.

Hubby aligned her leg and held the splints in place while I wrapped them with Vet Wrap. If you don't have Vet Wrap yet I suggest you either check online, your local feed store, or your local Tractor Supply store. It's only a couple of dollars per roll and is definitely something you should have in your first aid supplies.

Ideally I would like to take her to the vet but unfortunately we just don't have the money right now. If it had broken the skin then I would suck it up and take her but in this case we are going to try and take care of it ourselves. 

Overall I think it turned out rather well. We checked on her again the next day and it seemed like it was holding up well. She was lying on it and getting around pretty well. Of course right now she doesn't want to put any weight on it and she's also not very happy about being confined to her pen.

If you've never taken a first aid class I highly suggest you take one. Not only can it be useful for you and your family but your livestock as well.

Winter Predictions

As the cooler weather moves in we always wonder what the coming season will hold for us. This has particularly been on people's minds here, as Oklahoma is not known for its calm and accommodating weather. We had an extremely mild storm season and a moderate summer. The weather has been so nice that most people think it is inevitable that the proverbial other shoe will drop this winter.

Today we rely on our local forecasters to tell us what to expect when we walk out the door but for years man has turned to nature for clues as to what to expect for the next few months. Most people do not take these practices seriously anymore but they can be fun and it's always interesting to see if they will turn out to be true.

Recently I saw a snippet on the Farmer's Almanac where a lady said she checks persimmon seeds every year to see what they foretell for the coming winter. When you cut the seed in half you will see one of three things. A fork, a knife, or a spoon. A fork means you will have a mild winter. A knife means it will be bitingly cold and a spoon means you will have a lot of snow. She said she had never had all of the seeds that she cut open show the same thing and they were all spoons!

http://farmersalmanac.com/press-releases/2014/09/30/persimmon-what-seeds-predict/

We have some persimmon trees down the road from us so we thought we would check our persimmons and see what we got. We only cut open a few but they had spoons. The Farmer's Almanac is not predicting a very snowy winter for us but the persimmon seeds are telling a different story. So what predictions are you seeing where you live?

Finally! A bathroom!

This is a momentous occasion for the homestead! Finally, after four years, we will once again have a full bathroom. I cannot even begin to express my excitement at the idea of having some privacy and a door that actually locks! When you embark on an adventure such as this, you know you will have to make some sacrifices and compromises. Some you expect and some you don't but you never truly appreciate some of the little things in life until you have to do without them for a while.

It took us a little while to get the area cleaned up where the new building would go. We decided to place it at the end of the shed so that we wouldn't have to go too far to get to it. We considered placing it behind the one we are living in or at the very end of the building with the porch facing the road but we felt that it would be too inconvenient when the weather is bad. We decided against joining the buildings because they have different roof lines and you never know if we will want to move the building at some point in the future. 

I first saw one of these buildings when I went with our new neighbor, Karin from Rancho No Dinero, to look at some buildings or her property. A building of this size is listed as a "playhouse". The outside dimensions are 8x12 but the interior is 7x7. When we first saw one of these buildings she commented that it would be perfect for a bathroom. I agreed and it set the wheels to turning in my little brain.

We wanted a painted building because the paint lasts longer than the stains put on the building. We ordered this one and had to wait two weeks for it to be built. In the pictures the paint looks gray but we had it painted a taupe color with almond trim. We also went with a metal roof to make it easier for collecting rain water. The building on the lot had a wooden door but we went with a steel door so that it will close easily and it has a lock!

As you can see from the picture above, a shed is brought in on a flat bed truck and it simply slides off into place. Once he has the building on the ground it can be leveled. We thought we might need to have some blocks to level the building but he brought some scrap wood from the plant that was used to bring the building level. 

He used a standard jack to lift the building and of course checked it with a level. As you can see the backs of the buildings are not even. We did this so we wouldn't lose the window on the larger shed by looking out and only seeing a wall. 

Of course, no sooner was the building of the truck than the kids had to go check it out. 

 Here is a picture of the inside from the doorway. As you can see, it isn't very large but it will do very nicely for a bathroom. We can put a standard size tub in it with a vanity and the composting toilet. Like so many projects on a homestead, this one will be completed a little at a time. It will take a few months before it is done 100% but hopefully we will be able to put it to use even before it is completed.

And here she is! The latest edition to the homestead. eventually we would like to build a deck between the buildings with a cover. We left about four feet between the buildings so we can get to the air conditioner and it will also give us a place to stack firewood close to the door. Stay tuned for updates. Hopefully this little project will show you how you can convert a shed into more than something for storage.

Garden fencing and spring planting

With the warming weather we are finally able to get back outside and start doing some work. Of course one of our big tasks is to get the garden started. For the last few years we have struggled with a way to fence off the garden to keep the chickens and other critters out. We may have finally figured out a way with the use of pallets.

A few months ago I finally found somewhere that we could get a lot of pallets. At first we were going to use them to build a goat pen but we decided to use them to build a fence for the garden instead. They don't look the greatest but they are functional and that's the most important thing.

This is the view from the inside of the garden. As you can see, it needs a lot of work and the pallets aren't that pretty but we think they will work well to keep the birds out. We are using T posts to secure the pallets. Hubby is screwing the pallets together and then adding a T post that is screwed into place for added stability. Oklahoma wind can be brutal so anything we can do to make it stronger is a good idea. We are also doubling the garden area this year so the entire thing will be enclosed with this fence.

You may also be wondering why we are turning the pallets so that the "good" side is on the inside of the garden instead of the outside. Well, when we decided to use the pallets for a fence an idea I saw on Pinterest popped into my head. I have seen pictures of people using pallets as planters by standing them upright and filling the slats on the bottom the pallet with dirt and planting in them. I know it will be a matter of time before the chickens figure out that they can fly up and roost on the edge of the fence and then hop over into the garden. My hope, is that if I plant the outside of the fence with things they can eat, they won't be so tempted to try and break into the garden.

This is the outside of the fence and as you can see, the open slats will make for some great planting spaces. Hopefully they won't eat everything on the outside of the fence and there will be some left over for us.

We have not gotten all of our sand plums planted but the ones that we have gotten in are already beginning to leaf out. We are so excited and we are hoping to be harvesting plums from these trees in a few years. They are native to Oklahoma and tend to form thickets so in some areas we will be using them to help create a living fence.

Sand Plum

We also planted a pear tree this year and it is finally beginning to bud out. It is a Kieffer pear and can reach heights of 15 to 30 feet with a 20 foot spread. This is, of course, a young tree but hopefully we will begin to see some fruit production in a few more years. It is also supposed to be a fast grower and may grow up to 25 inches per year.

We planted this tree downhill from the garden. We are thinking about turning this area into a small food forest area until we can do more planting further back on the property. I plan on heavily mulching this area and taking some steps to build up the soil fertility here. As we add plantings I will keep you guys posted.

As you can see in the pictures, things are slowly beginning to come to life. There is still a lot of work to do and hopefully this will be the start of many new developments.

Building an A Frame Level

Ever since we moved here I have wanted to make an A frame level. I learned about this when I took a Permaculture Design Course and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Ok, so maybe not the coolest thing but it is pretty neat. So what do you need an A frame level for? If you want hold water for as long as possible on your property and you want to direct the flow of water, you may consider building a swale. A swale is, at its simplest, a ditch. One big difference between what we think of as a ditch and a swale is that a swale is built on contour. This means that you are following the natural curves of the landscape because this forms the path of least resistance for water. The A frame level lets you find the level places along the area where you want to build a swale so that you are building on contour.

The level is actually pretty easy to make and can cost you nothing if you have some spare building materials lying around. I used two pieces of 1x2x6' pine to make the legs of the frame. You can tie or nail the pieces together but we opted to use screws and wing nuts so we can take it apart for storage.

So here is a pic showing the frame before we put on the crosspiece.

Next we added the cross piece and again used screws and wing nuts. Hubby was checking to make sure everything was level.

Before we added the plumb bob, which you can buy at your local home improvement store, hubby marked the center of the cross piece. When trying to find your center mark you should place your level somewhere that is as level as possible. Mark where the feet of your level are on the ground and then mark where the string is against the wood. Now flip the frame so the feet are in each others footprints. Mark where the string is again if it is in a different place. The center of these two marks are your level.

We were lucky and the string was in the same place both times. Here is a picture of the plum bob hanging in place.

Next we had to test it of course. It can be a little tedious but you can see in this picture how the line begins to curve. If we were preparing to dig a swale, we would continue to measure the length of the swale and then dig along the line we have marked. You want a swale to be slightly uphill from where you want to hold the water. The bottom of the swale should be level so the water will stay for as long as possible. When you dig, the dirt should be placed on the downhill side of the swale to form a berm to help with water retention.

Not many of us will ever need an A frame level but for anyone who has ever wondered how to make one, there it is! Now I just need some heavy earth moving equipment.

Batten down the hatches!

Most people, when they hear the words "Winter Storm", prepare by going to the store to buy some bread, milk, and perhaps some batteries for that long neglected flashlight lying in a drawer. They pick up some cat liter to keep in the car for emergency traction and maybe a blanket but that's about it. Well, when you live in the country you have to take winter preparedness a little more seriously especially when you are homesteading.

For the last week our weather men have been trying to nail down the forecast for the winter storm that was headed our way. We knew it was coming so we started getting ready for it last weekend. My husband chopped wood and stacked it by the house in preparation for the cold weather that was headed our way the weekend before. Since the goats are in a pen that is moved almost daily, they were moved closer to the house so we could keep an eye on them.

Since we don't have running water I brought home an extra 20 gallons of water in case we couldn't, or didn't want to, get out. I did our grocery shopping before the storm hit so we wouldn't have to do it this weekend. I also got a charger, a deep cycle marine battery, and an inverter just in case it got really bad and we lost power. With the battery and the inverter we could at least charge the cell phone, tablets, run a lamp or the wi-fi so at least the kids wouldn't be completely bored. Plus having access to the internet would let us keep up on the news and storm conditions.

I didn't get a chance to pick up some hay for the goats before the storm so we headed over to our neighbors yesterday and picked up a bale which the goats were very pleased with. I also got over to the tractor supply store and picked up a Flock Block for the chickens. Most of them have refused to leave their coop with all of this snow on the ground. The block will give them something to peck at and provide grit for them. The geese don't seem to be bothered at all by the snow.

We ended up with about 3 1/2 inches of snow and no power outages. Our little wood heater has been keeping us quite warm and we added the cast iron tea kettle to add some humidity to the air. I have said before that homesteading leads to preparedness and preparedness leads to homesteading. If you choose the homesteading country lifestyle you need to be prepared to take care of most of your needs, at least for a short time, during these severe weather events.

The nice thing about winter storms is they do add a that little something that makes our everyday world seem a little more special.

Heating the Homestead

Do you ever get tired of being cold in the winter? Don't you just love walking into a warm cozy house when it's freezing outside? One of our main goals since we moved here was to have a renewable heat source. We have used electric heaters for the most part and they worked ok but we really wanted wood heat. Last weekend we finally got a wood heater installed.

A month or so ago I bought a military tent stove called the M-1941. This stove is a Type I and II stove which means it can use liquid, coal or wood fuel. Ours only came with the parts to use liquid fuel so if we wanted to use it for wood we had to improvise. The stove came with chimney pipe but it is 4 inches in diameter. We wanted to put it through the wall and it was next to impossible to find 4 inch elbows that didn't cost a fortune. So, we got an increaser so we could go from 4 inch to 6 inch pipe. This actually worked very well and makes it a lot easier to get the pipe now that we are using a standard size.

If it had come with the parts for burning wood or coal, there would have been a ring that sits inside the heater to hold the wood. Since we did not have that piece we bought a grill that holds the charcoal in a Weber grill. This grill was thicker and sturdier than the one for holding the food. We placed a few bricks in the bottom of the heater with the grill and this worked out well for holding the wood.

It's not going to win any beauty contests but it works great! My husband splits the logs into 4 pieces so they are easier to handle in the heater. We only use two at a time and it puts off more than enough heat for this tiny place! We feel a lot better having this in place now. Not only is it more economical than using the electric heaters but if the power were to go down we would still be nice and warm.

You can see in the picture that it has a little rust on it from being stored outside for a short time. We may paint it later with some heat resistant paint just to make it look a little better. You can also see the increaser that we ordered so that we could use the 6 inch pipe which we vented through the wall.

One day when we get the house built, we will probably leave this heater in the shed. Like I said, it's functional but not very pretty and we will probably end up using the shed as a workshop, guesthouse, or whatever seems appropriate at the time. I am actually thinking of putting in rocket mass heaters to heat the house. They are very energy efficient and use very little wood to produce a lot of heat.

When you live in the country it is important that you be able to take care of yourself. This is just another step on our path to becoming more self sufficient.

The More Things Change

I watched the movie Lincoln tonight. The movie is about Lincoln's struggle to get the 13th Amendment passed. This was a time of great struggle for our country. The Civil War had torn the country apart and he was given the seemingly insurmountable task of bringing the country back together, much less setting an entire people free. There were men in Washington who truly were trying to do the right thing. Despite what we see today, it wasn't always full of deceit and treachery.

Today, we understand how important it was to abolish slavery. But then as now, it was a struggle to get anything accomplished. Most Democrats were against it. Most Republicans were for it. They yelled at and insulted each other but without the benefit of cameras everywhere and Twitter feeds. At the beginning of the movie Secretary of State Seward says to Lincoln about the House, "It is the same nest of talentless hicks and hacks". I think he was right then and it certainly applies now.

I am proud to be an American. I am proud of what our country has accomplished but I am not proud of what our country has become. Our leaders think we are here to serve them and not the other way around. They tell us what we want to hear to get elected and then carry out their own agendas and only accomplish a few of the things they promised to placate their constituency. We as a people no longer think for ourselves. To many people have developed the mind set that they are "owed" something. To many Americans don't want to work for anything. We want it now and we want it subsidized. That has become the American Way.

We are no longer a country of hard working, independent thinking people. We have become a country that expects to be taken care of. We don't know where our food comes from, nor do we care. All we care about it getting the latest and greatest phone or tablet. Freedom of speech? Who cares about that so long as I can tweet what I had for lunch. Which, by the way, was bought with food stamps.

Our liberties are being chipped away little by little. The people that we have elected to be in power are not there to serve us. They are there to put their collective boot on the throats of Americans and so many of us applaud them when they do not realizing that if we weren't the intended target today, we will be tomorrow. The current administration is doing everything possible to make us miserable. So why do we put up with it? Because we have been conditioned to think that we can no longer take care of ourselves. You don't know how to manage your own healthcare. Let us do that for you. You don't know how to teach your children. Let us do that for you. You don't have to work. There are plenty of people out there to that for you.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against people getting assistance that need it but I have seen way to many people work the system instead of getting off their duff and learning how to actually take care of themselves. Our government is broken and in serious need of repair. We cannot expect those that are in Washington to fix anything. They are part of the problem. We have to be the ones to fix it. Our politicians are not what make this country great, we are.

If we get through this latest manufactured crisis in Washington, don't think it is the last. If our economy doesn't fail now, one day it will. The Patriots of this country, the people who truly care about what we become, must be ready to pick up the pieces. We can be a great country again but not without work, community, and determination.

Forgive me for rambling and no, I'm not crazy. I'm angry. I'm concerned. And most of all, I want a better world for my family. I'm willing to work for it. Are you?

Homesteading Lessons

We have been homesteading now for 3 years and we have learned a lot. Often, the lessons learned have a good bit of humor associated with them. So, I created a list of some of the things that we have learned over the last few years and thought I would share them with you. I'm sure I will add to this list in the future but in the meantime enjoy!

1. You will never have enough money.

2. Don't quit your day job (See #1)

3. When your city friends suggest you go to the gym with them, you laugh.

4. As a female homesteader, you never grow tired of the look on a man's face as you unload 300     pounds of feed from your truck...by yourself.

5. Wildflowers are no longer a nuisance in your yard. They are a centerpiece.

6. You will never look at store bought eggs the same way again.

7. When a poultry truck passes you on the highway you have an insane desire to make the truck stop, jump on top of the truck releasing all of the chickens and yell "Freedom!"

8. The tractor supply store is now your favorite place to shop.

9. Your dress shoes are slowly being replaced by various work boots, and you like it.

10. You no longer read Cosmo or Vogue. Instead you read Countryside and various livestock magazines.

11. The sight of an antique tractor excites you.

12. You begin to wonder, do animals mimic our behavior or do we mimic theirs?

13. You begin to have more meaningful conversations with your livestock than you do with people.

14. You now look at city dwellers as "those people".

15. Openly carrying a gun on your property no longer seems odd to you.

16. Because you live on a dirt road you begin to carry a broom in your car just so you can see out the back window.

17. Your car is cleanest when you have heavy rains.

18. If you are afraid of spiders, snakes, bees, and anything creepy crawly in general, well, you'll get over it.

19. Just because it is cute and fuzzy does not mean it belongs underneath your house.

20. Mice like to travel in cars as well as live in your house. Keep mouse traps handy.

When it rains...

You get tornadoes. Sometimes you get a lot of them. I have lived in Oklahoma for a total of 11 years and I have to admit the last couple of weeks have been trying. Now don't get me wrong, I love living here and storm season can be exciting but I like it much better from a distance. We were fortunate and were not hit by any of the tornadoes but we did have some close calls. 

On Sunday the 19th a tornado was headed for our area so we packed up the bug out bags and headed down the road to our neighbor who has a storm shelter. The next day, the day Moore was hit by the EF5, we had to make a run for the shelter again. I had hoped the worst was over but unfortunately we had another week of severe weather. Friday Oklahoma City and El Reno took the brunt of those storms and to add insult to injury we had flooding after that. All we need now is an eathquake. I'd better not say anything because knowing my luck we'll have one!

After the F5 many people were asking the question, why would anyone want to live where you can have such powerful storms? Why doesn't everyone have storm shelters or basements? Why were the kids in school if we knew there was a chance for severe weather? Well, I will give you the answer to those questions as well as my own reasons for living here.

First, let's look at why more people don't have some sort of storm shelter. To put in an in ground shelter costs about $3, 000. An above ground safe room costs about $5, 000. Most homes in Oklahoma don't have basements simply because it can add considerably to the cost of a house. In many cases you need to have someone who knows how to properly build a basement so you don't have leakage problems as well as other issues. Because our frost line is only about 18 inches deep, we don't have to dig that deep to put in a foundation for a house. Because of the added cost to dig deeper to put in a basement, it just doesn't make a lot of financial sense for many people to add that to their house plan. For many people, the cost of a shelter is simply too expensive and so they have to do without.

Why were the kids in school? Because it was a school day and it's just stupid to think we are going to stop everything every time there is the threat of severe weather. If we did that then no one would leave their homes from April through May. Now I will admit that a lot of businesses closed early Friday because of the threat of severe weather but that is unusual.

Now, why do people live here? Well, why do you live where you live? Because you were born there? Because it's home? Because your family is there? You like your job? You like the climate? There are numerous reasons why we live anywhere but it usually comes down to one thing. Because you like it there. Believe it or not, most people really like living here. We have seasons, it's pretty country, and the people are nice. The tornadoes are just a part of life and you learn to deal with them.

Why do I live here? Well, I wasn't born here. I chose to live here. I love the open country, the people are great, and this is a state that believes in our rights. This state was founded by people who were looking for opportunities, who weren't afraid to take on a challenge, and knew that they couldn't count on anyone to come to their rescue except for themselves and their neighbors. After the F5 tornado we were flooded with reporters who were amazed at how strong the people were and how people were pouring out of the woodwork to help. They call it the Oklahoma Standard, we call it being a good neighbor. By the time FEMA got here and the Red Cross could get established, churches and other groups were already setting up shelters and taking donations. We don't wait on the government to come in and rescue us. When we see something needs to be done, we do it, especially in a crisis. After the Red Cross got the shelters set up the comment was made on TV that they were a little surprised that there weren't more people staying in them. I wasn't.  I had heard that same statement by a Red Cross volunteer after the May 3, 1999 tornado. People are taken in by friends, family, and sometimes even strangers. There are disasters no matter where you live so don't be so judgemental because you don't like our brand of disaster.

So why do I live here? Because I like it here. We may not be as sophisticated as folks out on the east coast, and we may not be as liberal as folks out on the west coast but you know what? We've got some pretty good folks right here and if you get scared by a little wind and rain, well maybe we don't want you anyway.  

I won't make any apologies for making anyone mad. I was more than a little irritated by all the armchair quarter backing going on after the storm by people who have never even been here. Oklahoma is a good state with good people so to all of the nay sayers I'll just tell you in the polite Southern way...kiss my grits. 

Greenhouse

One of our long awaited projects if finally done! Last weekend we finally got our greenhouse up. This isn't what I originally had in mind but it was more affordable and it will work for the short term. The greenhouse is 11'x15'. We were going to make it 12 feet wide but my husband decided he wanted more bow to the arches to allow for water runoff. It took him about a day to build the ends for the greenhouse.Overall it took about 2 days to build.

We hammered pieces of rebar into the ground to hold the ribs in place.

I helped him to stretch the plastic over the end pieces. This is 6 mm UV resistant greenhouse plastic that I ordered online. The company I ordered it from has the plastic in a couple of different widths and will cut it to whatever length you specify. The plastic we ordered was 24' wide.

This is a picture of one of the completed end pieces. Let me just say that trying to move these things into place on a windy day proved interesting.

Now that the ends were in place, all we had to do was pull the plastic over the body of the greenhouse. It wasn't too hard and the wind actually helped by picking it up so we could pull it over the top.

And here is the completed project. To anchor the sides, we rolled 2x4's in the plastic and then placed the concrete blocks on them. We used 3/4" pipe for the ribs and a 2" pipe along the top of the ribs to add stability. With the plastic simply being rolled, we can roll up the sides if needed for ventilation. If you look closely, you'll notice there are dark white spots along the first arch. Those are greenhouse clips that we used to hold the plastic to the frame.

As you can see, this is a picture of the inside of the greenhouse. We haven't built a door yet so we simply cut the plastic so we can get in and out. The plan is to cut off the plastic and use it to stretch across the door. We used 2x4's that were cut in half to brace the ribs. We used zip ties to help hold them in place and then they were screwed to the plastic pipe. On either side of the door are 8' T posts that give additional stability to the ends.

Overall we are very pleased with it. We have moved everything inside that we need to make the soil cubes. We have a small table that we will be using until my husband can build a larger one. Now we can finally get started on our seeds! This fall we will add a bed inside that we can use to grow some things in over the winter. Even though we didn't have this done as early as I would have liked, at least I know I can look forward to getting my plants started a lot earlier next year!

Firearms

Recently I talked about the 13 Skills challenge set out by Jack Spirko on The Survival Podcast. One of the Skills I set for myself was to learn about firearms. Well today I took a step toward completing that goal by taking a gun class with my husband.

He is more familiar with guns than I am but his dad never taught him how to clean a gun. He also just wanted to increase his basic knowledge. I came across a guy through our local survivalist store that teaches conceal carry classes, private instruction etc. He was kind enough to do a class with just me and my husband for about 2 1/2 hours. Overall I have to say it was really helpful. We went over gun safety and how to clean the guns as well as some other tidbits of information. Our next goal is to get our gun permits so that we can carry handguns. Oklahoma is now an open carry state so it's no longer called a conceal carry permit.

Now I just need to get to work on all of the other skills I've set for myself!

Holidays at the homestead

Well, it is that time of year again! Thanksgiving has come and gone and the shopping frenzy has started. We have been on our homestead for 2 1/2 years and although things have not progressed as fast as I would like, we are slowly making progress.

We have made do with a small tree the last couple of years and this year I decided I wanted a better tree for Yule. Micheal's ran a sale on a 4 ft pre-lit tree for $20 which is a good size for our limited space. Of course getting a new tree meant getting new ornaments. I decided I wanted to do a country theme so I ended up making most of the ornaments for the tree.

I bought these pine cones last year because they were scented but now they have a new purpose. Of course if you have access to some pine trees you can pick some up for free. For these I used a paint brush to paint the tips with Mod Podge which is a type of glue. Then I sprinkled glitter on them and hot glued a loop of red cord so they could be hung on the tree.

 As we all know, cinnamon is used in many Yule treats and in decorating. At the craft store I found cinnamon sticks that were sold in bundles. I bought some of these and put them in groups of three. I took some red raffia and wrapped it around the bundles and tied a simple bow on top and then used the ends to make the loop. I thought they turned out pretty well!

Bells are an integral part of Yule decorations and this time of year you can find them in many colors. I bought a container of the brown rustic looking bells and simply used some gold cord to tie them together. I found the red bows with all of the mini Christmas tree decorations and they were the perfect size to use with the bells.

I found the idea for the last set of decorations on Pinterest. I found the wooden spools in the wood craft section of the craft store. I found some country looking Christmas ribbon that fit the spools and cut off just enough to wrap around them. The hot glue gun came in handy for this part too. I hot glued these together and added the red cord. All of these decorations were pretty simple to make and thought the tree turned out really well.

Here is the finished product. I even made the tree topper bow thanks to a tutorial I found online. I hope you guys enjoy the pictures and have a Happy Yule!

Scrapbook of Shadows

Like many Pagans, I have always liked the idea of having a Book of Shadows but I have never been able to settle on a way of collecting information that I liked. Even though I am a major techno rat, collecting and storing info on the computer just didn't seem right. I tried using a three ring binder and that just didn't seem right either. I liked the idea of hand writing everything but I could never find a book that I liked to place this info in.

I had started scrapbooking several years ago and I had thought about using this method to create a Book of Shadows but I wasn't sure how I would like it and I had not seen examples of other BOS's using this method. Recently I saw a blog post by Mrs. B on Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom where she had created a Book of Seasons in a scrapbook. When I saw the pictures, I absolutely loved it! I thought, I have all this scrapbook stuff so why not use it?

Despite the elaborate pictures you see in magazine and online, scrapbooking can actually be very simple. I learned how to scrapbook from Creative Memories and I still hold with their philosophy of keeping things simple so you can focus on the subject and not on all the stuff around it. I have started to adapt some of the other scrapbooking techniques that are out there but I don't want the pages to become too cluttered.

I created a cover page for each holiday. Behind each page I am adding information about that holiday, poems, recipes, chants, etc. Whatever seems appropriate. Obviously this page is for Halloween.

The page on the left is about Ancestral Altars. I left the space at the bottom open so I can add a picture later of our altar. As you can see, the pages are pretty simple but I think they still look nice.There are some details on the Jack-o-Lantern page that you can't see well. These are just some swirls and spirals that I hand drew in.

I have to admit, these are two of my favorite pages so far. These are a couple of recipes that I wanted to include. As I come across more information or I think of new things I want to add, I hope to add more pages. This book is 8 1/2 by 11. I decided to go with a standard book size because it is easier to hold but one of the drawbacks is you don't have as much room per page. Most scrapbooks are 12x12 so you can place more information on each page. I had thought about adding additional sections to this one but I may get a 12x12 book for additional info and keep this one just for info about the sabbats.

I want to create a book with the natural remedies I have collected as well as info about various herbs. I might also put into this book the various recipes I have found for replacing the chemicals that we use in our homes. This will likely be a separate scrapbook from whatever I put together with more magical and spiritual information.

You can find all sorts of scrapbook papers and stickers and craft stores or if you have limited access to these stores you can order stuff from online. I'm hoping to put together a crop day for Pagans who like to scrapbook. I think it would be a lot of fun and a great way to network. I hope some of you like this idea and will give it a try for your own Book of Shadows.