Much to Catch Up On!

Has it really been since April that I posted? 

Since we got all of our mulch in place (gardens!) and started planting, things have seemed so busy! When summer FINALLY kicked in, it felt like there was so much to catch up on!

Well, things have gone pretty well overall! We just finished 4H, so I might have a bit more time for posting! 

Overall, chickens are doing great. Our layer hens started laying ( we have 5), and we are getting 5 eggs everyday. Almost everyday we get a 'double-yolker' from one of the hens, which excites the boys. They have some discussions on who will be one one to eat them!

For fair, we raised ( and sold) our 3 goats. I have always enjoyed having goats, but on our small property, we just can't keep them. Maybe someday, we can purchase land next to ours and keeps some, but for now, we can only keep them for 4H.   Our boys sold their goats at fair, so they are now gone.  We also raised meat birds for fair. We still have them (fair ended a week ago) but have a call in to a local Amish butcher to get them in soon. My husband can do the butchering but doesn't enjoy it, so we hire it out and it's not much more to have someone else do it. My husband has a more than full time job, and has gone 1-3 days a weeks helping my parents redo/ move into a 'new' home. They are both unable to do much/ any physical work, so he wants to bless them with help!  So, he is more than too busy! 

My garden has been doing great! We started off small this year to see how the mulching system would work. And honestly, it worked out great!!! Like I've posted before, we got free mulch from a local compost facility for free!! And we got a LOT! And thankful we did! It's kept me from having to do a lot of weeding! Oh, we've had some weeding but not even close to what I've done in previous gardens! And we are now pulling out produce from the garden. We've picked green beans, lettuce, and zucchini. I've also picked a few cherry type tomatoes. Next year, it will be bigger!!

I just canned some green beans also! I bought a pressure canner off of eBay several years ago, and am so glad to have it! Though it's starting to leak a bit ( seals are shrinking), it's always been a great canner.  Can't wait to get more done!

Well, besides some landscaping (from free plants and mulch!!), that's about it! I will post more soon on individual things. Until then, have a blessed and plentiful week!!