What's been happening on our homestead

I haven't written in my blog for a long time.  I have started many posts, they remain drafts that I never completed and all start with that same sentence "I haven't written for a long time".  It's interesting to read over them, everything from my journey of weight loss, deciding to give up farming and gardening (which we have not done and probably won't)....  I have thought about writing often, obviously since I at least started new posts.  Reading back over my posts I'm reminded of the frustrations of the time.  I suppose that's one reason I didn't post them, they appear a bit too negative and full of emotion but I'm sure at the time it was a great way to release those feelings.  Perhaps I should start writing in my journal again.  Writing your thoughts down is a great release, seems to clear the mind and heart of negative and also helps remind you of the positive things.  And it's often sobering to read back over those words to see how far you have come and how things have changed.

I find myself engulfed in Christmas preparations these days.  Shopping, wrapping and baking goodies.  Trying to slow down and enjoy the moment.

We purchased skates for the family to keep us from hibernating this winter.  My husband and I are a bit rusty but impressed that we can still stay on the blades, our Son is just learning.....

We enjoyed a wonderful family holiday outing compliments of my employer.....

Christmas Baking under way.....

We turned our swimming pool platform into a fire pit area.  Bringing one of our favourite parts of camping home.....

We raised 6 pigs this year.  Seeing them "go" is very difficult for me.  I try to be tough and not think about it but the feeling of loss is one major reason I consider giving up farming as I wrote in one of my drafts.  My garden was also a huge flop this year which was very frustrating.....

That's a little update on what's happening on our little homestead.

Mary Mary Quite Contrary How Does Your Garden Grow?........

Well now the answer to that question depends on which plant you're focused on.  My cucumbers had a rough start with the ant population taking too many samples but they pulled through and I've picked enough to make a batch of relish, some for salads and some for our piggies.  The green peppers are doing great, sadly I only got to use 3 of the green peppers in my relish, the others were fed to the piggies by my Son without my consent.

My lettuce and spinach flourished until the pigs got out of their pasture, I may have left the fence turned off, and they ate all the lettuce and spinach.  And that brings me to the tomatoes.  If there is one particular item I look forward to and enjoy the most from my garden that would be my prized tomatoes.  Well, this year my prized tomatoes are in horrible condition.  The plants are dying from the bottom up, the fruit are rotting before they ripen.  I am not going to get one single ripe tomato from my garden this year.  I am very disappointed and discouraged.  I've done some research and the best thing I can come up with is Fusarium Crown Rot.   I try to rotate my crops but my garden is so small I don't have a ton of room to move things around. The plants are not in the exact area I planted last year but perhaps with tilling the soil it moved it around enough to cause problems.  I had the pigs working on an extension for my garden, they didn't quite get it all turned over before I had to fence them out and plant the garden.  Once my garden is finished growing this year I will release the pigs to turn it over again.  I've had a horrible problem with grass this year as well.  I originally blamed the grass for the tomato plants dying from the bottom but it's spreading right to the top, slowly but surely the plants are dying.

As you can see they grew tall and were healthy but something horrible has taken over and it's not good.

On a positive note we have a lovely sunflower growing in the garden......

I also had a nice harvest of garlic this year.  So it's not a total loss but the tomatoes are a big disappointment.  I am considering skipping a veggie garden next year and leave the soil rest.  Or move the garden but that's more time to invest that we really don't have.  I have all winter to figure out what I'm going to do.  

A Healthier Me.....A Work In Progress.... (a post I've worked on for a few months!!!)

It has been a long cold winter here in Nova Scotia.  It's pretty safe to say we're ready for Spring!  And I am sick of being sick.  Our household has been hit by way too many cold viruses.  It seems like we've been sick all winter.  My initial reaction has always been to swing by the pharmacy for some cold medications.  A surprise phone call from a friend who mentioned she could hear it in my voice gave me some advice.  She had done some research on how to boost your immune system to actually avoid getting the cold.  I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of that before.  I guess I sort of had, like adding more exercise and eating more vegetables.  I hadn't thought of adding herbs and juices to my diet to boost my immune system.  She gave me some recommendations from the research she has done.  The next day I headed to the grocery store for Elderberry Juice.  It's not cheap but if it helped me kick the cold virus it's worth every penny.  I can honestly say the next morning I felt better and progressively got better quicker than ever before.

I've spent the past few days searching Pinterest for ideas and advice on how to naturally boost my immune system and fight viruses.  Here's a bit of what I found:

*Mushrooms, even the basic white button kind, help to boost the immune system.
*Elderberry Juice appears to be a miracle elixir helping boost the immune system, fight viruses, fight inflammation, lower cholesterol, thin mucus.......Google it, it really is amazing stuff
*Lemon Balm Tea helps fight viruses
*Garlic helps boost the immune system and make your body an unpleasant environment for viruses
*Ginger helps boost the immune system and fight inflammation
*Carrots boost the immune system, lower cholesterol......  There are many juicing recipes for drinks containing garlic, carrot, ginger and apple

It's easy to do the research, there's lots of advice.  I went with my friends advice and pulled the most common items from the articles.

I recently purchased a juicer.  I've been making lots of carrot juice with various other veggies added to it.  I haven't acquired a taste for it yet, I drink it because I know it's good for me not because I enjoy it.  I think one of my problems with the juice is the same problem I have with eating whole vegetables, the quality of the taste.  I'm hoping when I have my own fresh produce and access to fresh produce from farmers markets the juice will taste way better.  I am not a fan of store bought carrots, I buy organic for eating.  To buy organic produce during the winter for juicing is just too expensive.

I've been trying to get more exercise into my life routine.  We have a chubby Beagle who can also use a walk so she motivates me to get my chub moving too.  The fresh air is so good for the brain too, it's great medicine.

Avoiding take out is still a struggle for us at times.  Crazy work hours make it difficult to prepare home cooked meals but we are working hard at it, trying to avoid take out as much as possible.  I am to the point now that if I eat take out I can feel it attacking my body, the high salt content really affects how I feel the next day.  And it really tastes horrible, a total waste of money.

So, the juicer is packed away on the counter collecting dust for now.  I will try making my own V8 Juice when I have delicious ripe tomatoes from my own garden.  I have, however, decided to give smoothies another try.  Fresh Strawberries will soon be available, they will make some delicious smoothies!  I've been researching some new recipes and ideas on Pinterest ;)

So, that's the update on my quest for healthier living from the past few months.  There will be another update on our Farm happenings soon, we have some new additions that I'm anxious to tell you about!  And there will be some new camping adventures to share!  And of course the weather will soon be warm enough to plant my vegetable garden, I hope!!

'til next time!!