My Work Today: 11/16/13

So, here in Ohio, our weather is being typically sporadic.  I have leftover patches of snow in the yard, but the weather forecast says that it is going to be about 60 today.  Oh, and don't forget the incoming cold front with "severe weather" possible... i.e. tornadoes, thunderstorms and what-not.  But that is tomorrow, so I will do what I can today!!

I never cut back or mulch my strawberries until after the ground has frozen.  Well, it has, but now it's thawing, so heck with it.  I'm mulching today. LOL  Same with my garlic.  Mulching today.  And then I'm putting up the hoses until next spring.

I'm hoping (since I have no trees of my own) that there was enough leaves blown into my yard to make a decent cover for both beds.  There are tons of them out for the city to pick up, so I may just take my wheelbarrow out and go "borrow" them from the neighbors.  Yes, they think I'm nuts, but technically once they are in the street they are community property.  Besides, my neighbors love me because when I got my load of fill dirt for the raised beds, I shared with them for some of their projects.  Hey, I had extra and they needed some things done.  I'm all about sharing.... because then they share with me.

I've got a lot of indoor projects to get moving on too, but I'm hoping to focus outside and then come indoors for the rest.  Even if we get the severe weather tomorrow, I can do things indoors.

I'm also going to start my garden planning for next spring, hopefully I can get my half hoop house underway after I finish a few other projects, plus my seed starting shelf for indoors, and then next year go nuts.  I need a couple more beds put in, and I want to get a plot tilled for sweet potatoes.  I also want to put in a grape arbor.  But, I have to prioritize, and the pressing issues are the seed starting shelf and garden plan.  The rest will get underway as it does.

I'm off to get the beef jerky marinating for the next batch!!  

Have a great & productive day!!

External Blog Find: Home Remedies for Earaches at Common Sense Home

Cold and flu season is upon us, and I adamantly refuse to get a flu shot this year (even if my insurance actually pays me to get it) after all the icky-ness that I have found that is it them.  I'm still seriously annoyed that our insurance pushes for us to get them universally- even though according to the CDC, those with a compromised immune system are NOT recommended to get it.  Uhm, hello?? My DH has Crohn's disease, and is on Remicade to keep it in remission.  That medication itself compromises the immune system, not to mention the chronic illness he has.  Leave it to insurance companies to lump us into one big group.  "What's good for the masses" mentality at it's finest.

So, I was reading through my email this morning, and came across this article about home remedies for earaches.  I like this kind of medicine way better than pumping my body full of chemicals when I have no idea what the long term effects with be.

Make sure you check out the Home Remedies for Earaches post at Common Sense Home and take a few minutes to investigate more of the site.  It's a great one!!

Have a GREAT day!!

Why I Want A Homestead...

 Why do I want a homestead??

There are so many reasons that I do!! :)

I want to be more self-sufficient for starters.  I want to grow food and help the community be able to gain access to it at a reasonable cost.

I want to be able to help families feed themselves better, even when they do not have the means, by teaching them to garden; by allowing them to help out on my homestead in trade for food; and by giving them more hope and skills to better depend upon themselves rather than big business for their food supply.

I want to be able to teach others to preserve their harvests.  I would love to have the ability to teach others to can and dehydrate their foods in order to better preserve it even in a time of emergency.  So many people freeze all of their foods, only to lose it when the power fails.  Teaching them alternative means helps them to better prepare in case of such an event.

I want to be able to start a CSA program to help out my community.

I want enough land that I can build other housing and be able to share all that I have with others.  I would love to have enough land to build some off-the-grid cabins so that others can experience the lifestyle that I so long to have, but without the commitment that I want to put forth.

I want to raise chickens for eggs.

I want to raise a few dairy cows.

I want to raise dairy goats.

I want to raise alpacas or sheep and learn how to spin their wool into fiber.

There is so much that I want to do and that I want to be able to share with my community.

Welcome to My Little Lyon Farm

Welcome to My Little Lyon Farm.  

Obviously, the above picture is not of my property, but of the property that I dream to have someday.  Currently, my little "farm" is a suburban lawn nestled in a typical suburbanite community.  Due to the constraints of zoning and other factors, my little "farm" cannot continue to grow as I do. 

I'm in the process of creating my own version of perfection here, but also saving and planning for the future.  Next spring/summer, my goal is to make 90% of our food intake from things that have been grown in our own garden.  Obviously, that may prove more difficult than I envision, but setting goals is just the kind of person I am.