There are so many new additions to the homestead this month – it is so exciting!! I have so much to share it’s hard to know where to begin…
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Clothesline & Fencing
Let’s start here! We picked up a free metal clothesline from someone in town. Something we both loved at our old house was having our clothes drying in the sun…you can’t beat the clean, fresh, smell it creates!
The clothesline was so deep into the ground that Landon actually had to cut the thick metal bars out. We got it home and Landon dug some holes, poured some concrete, and now we have been enjoying using it!
We also bought some fence posts from our pastor who used to have horses. It’s sitting in our barn now but we hope to get it set up later this summer if there is time so we can be ready to purchase sheep next year, Lord-willing!
Bunnies Escaping & New Rabbits
We had two new litters of baby bunnies born but they were sneaky ones! They found a way to escape by crawling up through the hay holder…those stinkers!
When I went to feed them they were running all over their room in the barn, and boy are they fast. We were able to round them up together and come up with a solution to keep them in their cages.
We also sold quite a few of them to some locals here. If our three remaining males do not sell, we will be processing them in June or July.
Two new females have entered the rabbitry this month – Melrose and Germanium! We picked them up when we traveled south one weekend. It is nice to have two new bloodlines to keep expanding and producing more rabbits. They are also New Zealand and Californian breeds.
Farm Stand & Etsy Shop
We set up a farm stand on the corner of our property this month to sell our extra eggs. It has been so fun and it has been doing so well!
The corner that it sits on is the main road turn where people have to slow down anyway. We set out one or two dozen each day and have sold out almost every single day.
We also opened an Etsy shop just as another option for revenue. No sales have generated yet, so we’ll see when the first sale happens. If you want to check it out, click here or search BethsaidaHomestead.
We plan on adding more rabbit fibers and products and now Landon is selling custom mini discs for disc golf too!
Cloth Diapers & Pack n Play
Harmony went through some transitions at the beginning of the month. We ran out of all the disposables diapers that we were gifted and so it was time to make the switch to cloth diapers.
The first few days were rough with trial-and-error on the different brands I have. However, now we have the swing of things and they are working wonderfully! It’s only one extra load of laundry a week, making it totally worth it. I love it!
I want to start E.C. (elimination communication/potty training) very soon but I have found it quite difficult the times I have tried to start. I need to start working on this as my goal is to have Harmony using the toilet by the time she walks or one-year-old.
She also moved from co-sleeping next to us in the SnuggleMe because she was starting to roll over and night feedings were beginning to be eliminated.
We moved her to the corner of our bedroom in the pack and play. We hung room darkening curtains around it to keep it dark and put the sound machine near her on a ledge. At first, it was a bit of a hard transition for her and she was waking in the night around 4 am.
However, now she sleeps through the night again and has been doing 12 hours of sleep consistently for over a couple of weeks. We follow Babywise for sleep training if that is something you are interested in.
Designing Vegetable & Cottage Garden
I’m so anxious to put a garden in now that we’ve had some very beautiful spring days. But, this year we agreed to not jump into that quite yet. With building the addition on to the tiny house this summer, it doesn’t make sense anyways.
The ground is being torn up for construction so I wouldn’t be able to plant the cottage garden around the house. Plus, we haven’t prepared the plot for the vegetable garden either.
I’ve still been reading lots of gardening books and taking the time to plan some of my garden dreams for next year…I can’t wait!
Food From Scratch & Wood Burning Oven And Pellet Stove
This month I was on a mission to learn how to make more of our food from scratch. We want to rely less and less on the grocery store and more on what we can produce ourselves.
Some of the things I have been making each week include dandelion jelly, almond milk, bread, pickled eggs, sauerkraut, mayo, chocolate cake, and homemade dog food!
We picked up an old wood-burning stove on Facebook marketplace so that I can cook bread regularly. I tried to find a way to use the instant pot or other measures, but really an oven is just what we need.
Our neighbors also offered us their old pellet stove for free, which was so kind! We are going to put that into the addition when it is done. It will be our main source of heat this next winter.
Boat Running
Landon got our 1960s boat up and running! It’s been so fun shooting down to the lake after work on the weekend. We’ve had some gorgeous weather recently and there is a sandbar near the edge of the local lake that is a perfect picnic spot.
Unfortunately, there was no way to get the motor working again. Landon worked on it for weeks and tried everything. Finally, we brought it into a shop and it was so vintage it wasn’t even worth trying to get parts for it.
We were able to purchase a used motor pretty cheaply and it was completely worth it. Now Landon’s headed on his first fishing trip of the year before construction on the house begins!
Cut Front Pasture
One Saturday, I spent the day cutting our whole front pasture. It was very overgrown and needed to be cut so that the grass could grow back fuller this year.
We have a brush mower that we purchased with money from our house sale. It gave us lots of problems during the cut and was very annoying, but we were able to get the task done. Landon has also been using it cut trails on our land.
The pasture is now ready for sheep and horses in the future!
Turkeys / Rooster / Incubating
Our neighbors were also so kind to give us their pair of turkeys – one male and one female! We’ve never had turkeys before, so it was all so new to us.
They also let us borrow their rooster and incubator so we could try out incubating the turkey eggs and some chicken eggs too.
We put the turkeys in the coop with our chickens and it was hilarious, to say the least. Our chickens were scared out of their mind and then the turkeys were just as scared, if not more. There were birds flying everywhere.
After a couple of nights of locking them all in the coop together, now with the rooster as well, everyone seemed to settle down.
But, we ran into a problem. We collected one turkey egg the first day they were with us, but after that, we never saw another. One day when I was collecting chicken eggs, I accidentally dropped one. The chickens dove for it and ate it up so fast. I had never seen them do that before.
That’s when I knew that they were eating the turkey eggs. So, we had another random falling over small building left on our land from the previous owners. We put up some random fencing pretty quickly and brought the turkeys to their new home.
However, still no turkey eggs! I’m not sure if the female is just not laying them anymore or if the turkeys are eating the eggs too. Either way, we’ll be having turkey for dinner coming up next month.
As for the incubating, it didn’t work sadly. Our house just fluctuates in temperature too much. It causes the humidity to be all over the place and as a result, the chicks are unable to develop. Maybe we’ll try next year when we have a constant heat source running in the house.
Supplies For Addition
June is all about building on the addition to the tiny house. If you don’t know yet, we are adding another room with a door that can close. This way, Landon can work during the day without hearing Harmony cry or play.
It will also give us some more room for a growing family, as we hope to have a few more kids in the future Lord-willing! The addition will turn into Landon’s office, our bedroom, and house the washer and dryer and wood pellet stove.
Landon is also adding on a small sunroom, so we can sit outside without bugs coming at us! I’m so excited.
But, there is a lot of work ahead. The supplies have been ordered and we have a short summer, but I know Landon will get it done.
Mackinaw City
One Saturday this month we drove to Mackinaw City to meet up halfway with my two youngest sisters and parents. Brinley and Avery haven’t met Harmony yet so it was so fun hanging out with them!
Plus we accidentally walked through the most bug-infested area I have ever seen in my life…. “thick as flies” …and have a memory we will never forget lol!
Church Softball & Volleyball
Landon has been playing in the church softball league and it has been so fun to watch from the sidelines! We also played volleyball at church one night! We’re so thankful for this community and competitive outlet.
Phew, that’s everything! See ya next month and feel free to leave a comment below!
Kelsey at GoodPointGrandma
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I used to love it when my mom dried ours clothes on a line. Sadly, I cannot have one in our HOA run community!
Aw so sad:( I love it!
You are always so busy! Church softball is so fun, my dad and my brother have been playing for years and I used to go cheer and sometimes keep score for their games when I still lived in the area. Also I think the switch to cloth diapers is great! It’s so much better for the environment so I’m glad to hear it’s going smoothly!
Yes, it really is…that’s so fun! Thank you, I am loving cloth diapering. There are so many positive aspects to it, I wish more people did it!
This truly is one of the most fascinating posts I’ve ever read! I love the idea of the farmstand!!!!!!!!
Thanks Laura!!
So many eggs! It’s great that you were able to set up a farmstand to sell some of the extras. I am always stopping at local roadside stands around here to pick up farm fresh foods. It sounds like your family has been up to a lot with your home. Good luck with the expansion and sunroom. We love our sunroom!
Ah, I am so glad you do that Kait! And thank you so much, we are very excited…full steam ahead!