This month summer really started to set in and we were busy on the homestead.
More things seemed to be behind the scenes as we anxiously wait for the time we can get our first fresh egg and start breeding our rabbits.
Let’s jump right on into what happened in June!
And if you missed last months update, here it is: Our Homesteading Journey – May 2020 Update
Don’t forget to Pin this for later!
Wood Projects
Landon has been working on making a rocking chair from scratch and I must say I am impressed! He’s doing everything with minimal tools and wood from the backyard.
He’s still working on making it function perfectly but the start of it is gorgeous already.
Stay tuned for the finished product in an upcoming homesteading update I am sure.
Chicken Feeder
Another fun wood project for Landon at the start of the month was making a mini shelter for the chicken feeder!
It stays outside all the time and we didn’t want the food getting wet, plus the feeder needed to be lifted off the ground to be at the right height for the chickens. Thanks to Pinterest, I stumbled upon this idea!
I showed Landon the picture once and he knocked out the shelter right away!
Fix Roosts
We also realized we built the roost bars too close to the walls of the coop. The chickens were wider than we expected and so Landon moved them a coupe inches further from the wall.
Now the chickens are so happy every night on their roosts!
Plant Garden
At the very start of this month, I finally got around to moving my plant starts outdoors permanently! It was fun planting the garden for the first time.
I also started planting some vegetables from seed like beans and radishes!
While some plants are thriving even now at the end of the month, several didn’t make it. And, it’s my fault.
While I did take the time to harden the plants off, I didn’t plant them at the right time and keep an eye on watering them. Between the vacation we took at the end of May and the end of June, feeling extremely tired throughout May and June, and along with trying to manage everything else on the homestead, I didn’t keep the garden a priority.
So even though we won’t be eating fresh cucumber, broccoli, or dill this harvest, we are anxiously awaiting our home-grown radishes, tomatoes, pole beans, and peppers!
Before I know it I’ll be planning the fall garden crops and giving myself a second chance.
Here’s one thing I have come to learn about gardening: it has to be a priority but you also can’t completely control it. The joy of gardening comes from the balance of letting plants do their thing while also trying to help them grow as best you can.
Flower Garden
Since we have purchased new land up north, I haven’t done much with creating a beautiful flower garden here or an area of wildflowers like I have always dreamed.
However, we both worked hard at clearing some more garden space on the side of our front walk so that we could split some hostas and make the garden a little more organized and green!
As soon as I can, next spring a cut flower garden will be planted around our new barn home up north.
Brown Herding
While Brook does an amazing job at catching the frisbee out of the air, Brown has found his niche and enjoyed herding the chickens into the coop at night.
It is quite cute to watch Brown run around and chase the birds as he nudges them into the coop. But it is also extremely humorous watching the chickens run for their lives!
He’s been slowly getting the hang of it and we are going to keep being consistent every night to get him more and more comfortable with the new task.
Brook’s Injury
We had an extremely scary moment on the homestead. When Landon was playing frisbee with Brook in the backyard, the wind took the frisbee straight towards a tree.
After Brook leaped to catch the frisbee out the air, she ran headfirst, full speed going downhill, into a tree. Landon picked her up and rushed inside calling for my help.
We gave her plenty of water to calm her down and try to examine the injury as best we could. No broken bones, but she started puking every half hour. She was clearly in a great deal of pain. Our best guess was that she had a severe concussion and there was nothing we could do but keep her laying down away from sunlight.
We’re extremely tight on money right now, owning two properties and working at making our land livable up north, so we didn’t want to take her in for x-rays, scans, or just to be told to keep her rested. We decided to see what happened overnight and re-evaluate in the morning.
When we woke up she was still puking and not eating or drinking, we called our vet and they told us to take her into an animal hospital.
There was an animal hospital nearby that was not an emergency room. The vet told us she could have severe bleeding and brain and we both broke down in tears. We didn’t have the financial means to pay for treatment so we would have to put her down if this was true.
The vet pumped her with fluids, gave us pills to help her with the pain and puking, and told us that if she eats in 24 hours it shouldn’t be anything too severe. We prayed she would eat some food soon!
After a few hours of sleep at home we could get her to eat small amounts of food. The pills were helping! Now, Brook is back to normal and we praise God!
Essential Oils – Convention
Young Living’s Convention was this month and it was virtual! Although I wasn’t able to attend, Young Living released so many fun new products!
I love the brand-new diffusers, essential oils, and skincare line! You can see all the new products here!
And, if you’re interested in learning more about essential oils are giving them a try, then send me a message or check out this blog page with everything you need to know!
Cray Fishing
Although we haven’t been fishing as much together this month (we’re so busy completing the paperwork for our new homesteading land!) we were able to go cray fishing as a family one Saturday and let’s just say it was a blast!
It was my first time ever catching crayfish. I found so much joy in the experience, especially doing it with my husband! The pups had a blast running through the water ahead of us as we walked through the streams.
Landon is the pro at catching crayfish in our family. With his experience and knowledge, we were able to catch probably close to 100 crayfish! It was fun watching them swim into the net and then drop them in our bucket.
We drove home and boiled them up for dinner. Landon taught me how to get the meat out. The meat dipped in a bit of coconut oil was so delicious! We finished them off before we knew it.
Cray fishing is a perfect way to get the whole family involved in gathering food for dinner. I hope we can find the time to go again soon!
Visting Family
Lastly, at the end of the month, we were able to visit our parents and siblings before we traveled up north for vacation for a special announcement. We had lots of fun telling them about our land and what else we are up to! Stay tuned for the announcement in one of these updates soon!
Comment below and let us know if you have any ideas for our homestead!
-The Adventuring Alberts
Kelsey at GoodPointGrandma
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