Life in the City having a farm

I could only dream and hope of having a farm or maybe I just think I want one but right now it is fun having a "farm" in the city!  Update on our little projects:  The garden is great although we don't see much "fruit"....so farm we have the most beautiful tomatoes on the bushes but they will not turn red!!!  We have baby green pepers and baby cucumbers coming up.  The zuchinni plants and flowers are gorgeous but we have no vegetable....I look everyday.  John planted a new bed of potatoes, onions, and strawberies that our nice County Worker gave us but it is a little late for potatoes so we shall see!  John is constantly working...and working...and working outside!  I don't think he has sat down once the past two weeks!  I love a working man!  WE HAVE CHICKS. The coop is done except for their boardwalk and the door isn't painted but we had to move fast because they were too big for the box.  I have learned sooo much about chickens!  Here are some of the things I have learned:

1.  You don't need a rooster to get eggs.  You need a rooster to get baby chics.
2.  Pullets are chickens in between chicks and hens...so I guess you could say teenage chickens.
3.  Hens will start laying eggs around 17 weeks of age.
4.  You will most likely get an egg every 24 hours per chicken
4.  There are soooo many different breeds and you can read about the moods, attitudes, personalities of the different breeds online.
5.  Chickens like to roost when they sleep. (John put them on the roost....a piece of wood he nailed across the house in the air...to show them...they remembered and now roost everynight)...its hilarious...all he had to do was show them once and now we find them roosting in their house every morning when we go to wake them up!
6.  They lay eggs in a nesting box and sometimes you have to put a golf ball in the nesting box to show them where to go until they get use to it if you don't have an older hen to mentor them.
7.  They love to eat bugs.
8.  They also can eat table scraps, pieces of old veggies, fruits, etc for a treat.....they love it when I give them diced squash!
9.  Some chickens are better fliers than others.  Sometimes you have to clip the edge of one side of their wings to keep them from flying in trees.
10.  Different breeds lay different colored eggs.
11.  Chickens stop laying eggs every 24 hours after about 1 year..then it becomes about 1 egg every other day....the jumbo eggs you get at the store are more expensive because they are from older more mature chickens that lay less frequently.
12.  chicken poop is a great fertilizer and compost additive.

Its been a wonderful learning experience!  We can't wait to get eggs and learn more.  They are the cutest little things!  I feel very motherly over them.  The kids and I go out every evening, change their water, take them out of the coop (screened part) and put them in the closed house part to sleep...They are very friendly.  Emily named her Brown Leghorn, Betsy.  John Daniel named his Brown Leghorn, Brownie.  Molly's Amberlink chick is named Penelope. 

They seem to be very happy!

A phase

So now that John and I have decided to homeschool, we have started telling people....we have told a few people at church, a few at John's job, a few at my job, etc.  It is hilarious to hear the different responses we get.  Now John has found it amusing to tell people that he is building a chicken coop for the backyard.  Those are even funnier responses!  John said to me today after he told a fire fighter that we saw in Home Depot about our chicken coop in the works..."I love the way people look at me after you tell them we are homeschooling, growing a garden and getting chickens.....We are becoming weirder by the moment."  John mentioned it to my 88 year old grandfather the other day and my grandfather's response was..."Well John (looking kind of perplexed), I guess all of us have to go through phases like that!  I had chickens once too!"  I about fell off my chair laughing...my grandfather is not the type to discourage or talk negatively but he is so sweet in his responses....even when he thinks we are going through a phase!  It was so funny and sooooo my granddad!  It may indeed be a phase but isn't life an adventure and aren't we all so blessed to live in America where we still have choices and can be different and have different ideas and go through life's "phases!"  P.S.  We have checked with the City and the County and there are no ordinances against chickens outside the city limits in which we are.  Now the homeowners association doesn't know and I don't think we are going to ask permission, maybe just forgiveness if we get in trouble!  My brother said he would be my lawyer!  And we found out today that several other Killearn residents have chickens, pet pigeons, and other strange birds....and we have been told the "girls" don't make that much noise!  We are just calling it our "RABBIT" project....I mean rabbits are allowed right!?!?

Going a little Granola

I call it granola but I guess you can call it green or natural...whatever it is...its fun learning about new things.  I guess it all started back when we finally decided to start recycling.  This decision came after I decided to quit being lazy and John got over his 10 year old grudge against the recycling man.  Then John decided he wanted to have fresh eggs.  John has a co-worker that has chickens and their fridge is overrun with eggs so he gives them to John (we've tried to pay him)....they are the prettiest, best tasting, brown eggs.  Once we started researching food and talking to people...the garden idea came up.  We don't have sun in the backyard, so the front yard seemed logical.  John built the cutest little garden with okra, cucumbers, zuchinni, and tomatoes.  I have some strawberries in a hanging contraption and some herbs in a pot.  John then decided he wanted to compost so he built a compost container using a big yard garbage can...(got that idea off the web)...we now have a list of 163 things that you can compost on the desktop of our computer.  Did you know you can compost post it notes?!?!?!  Then, he decided that the run off from the roof was going to ruin the garden so he has invented a drainage system that collects the water into another huge garbage can that we can use for watering.  He decided this would be better than buying the $100 water barrel from Home Depot.  (Do I have an unconventional farmer on my hands?) The yard and garden look so pretty!  We have done all this while remodeling the extra bathroom!  Its because we got the cable turned off you know!!!  (ha ha)  The kids and I made a "scarebaby" today to keep the squirrels out of the garden..its dressed in Molly's clothes!  We are still intrigued with the chicken coop in the backyard but that is a work in progress.  Rick and Amy (previous post) said they would sell us some chicks for laying eggs and teach John how to build a small coop!  We will see....the kids have already named the chickens...Henny Penny and Waddle.  We are interested in touring some other farms like Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville.  They milk goats and make their own cheeses.  What a great pre-homeschooling experience we are having! 

check out this list of compost materials:

http://www.plantea.com/compost-materials.htm

Phebe and Pat

I work with Phebe...she is a nurse in Urgent Care with me...I think we have worked together for 5 years now and do you know I have never asked her details about her family's business...shame on me!  Her husband is a rancher in Gadsden County.  They own about 100-200 heads of cattle (steers) that they sell to be fattened and then butchered.  I asked her after watching the Food, Inc movie what she thought about eating organic...she said it was a fad and a farse...I guess after looking at her in a perplexed manner, she decided to explain...

She said that eating organically is a fad brought on by movies like Food, Inc.  She said it is a great concept but she believes that it is impossible to do in America 100%.  She said that there isn't enough land to grass feed enough animals to feed all the people in America if Organic Eating became a #1 priority for all.  She said it all sounds wonderful but the logistics of it aren't feasible unless we can all do our own gardening etc. and it just isn't possible.  She quoted the FDA website and said there are percentages to how many people vs how much land etc in the United States and the numbers don't work...you can't produce that much grass fed, organic meat.  Americans just eat too much!  She said that their cows are fed organically up until they are weaned from their mother at about 600 lbs and then they sell them to the feed lots...where they can not control what happens.  Yes, they are fed corn there and given antibiotics because you have cows from all different parts of the country coming together in one tight place like a bunch of humans coming together for a big concert...she said cows get sick like humans...runny noses and all.  She said of course, they don't want their cows treated poorly and given food they aren't suppose to eat, etc but unless you can match one cow up with several families and know that those families are going to buy that cow's meat then it is very hard for a farmer to not sell the cows to be fattened to a feed lot because once a steer reaches a certain age, weight...if it isn't butchered for meat then it isn't good for anything...so it puts most ranchers that do this for a living in a bad place.  In the end, Phebe and Pat are looking into other farms, ways to do things, etc but Phebe said she buys her meat at Publix like the rest of us.  She also doesn't believe that when something says organic...it neccessarily mean organic...how far does that go back..she asks...the animal, the feed you give the animal, the grass its eating, the ground the grass grows in...etc.  They also every now and then give their cows antibiotics because as I wrote earlier, cows do get runny noses, and she said that doesn't mean they aren't good to eat anymore.  They do not give growth hormones though.  When talking about this with Phebe, she stated in not exactly these words.....The world is just not at that place anymore when land, organic eating, and such is possible for everyone...she said, and I agree,  it makes you think about the end times and how things may get and what all will happen with our food sources...hmmmm...very interesting!  So I loved talking to someone who is actually in the business.  She said I did spur her on to thinking about getting back into gardening herself...she said they would love to be able to produce these healthy, organic cows and sell them off to families and see where the fruits of their labor are going. I'm glad I finally asked her about her business!

Rick and Amy

Because I am going to homeschool next year, my great friend, suggested I subscribe to the Tallahassee Homeschooling Site...basically homeschooling moms share ideas, sell stuff, brainstorm, share prayer requests, ask for ideas...anything from schooling to basic medical questions to political talk.  It has been interesting but I have used it to sell some stuff, get some ideas, etc.  I get like 20 emails a day but I scan through them quickly, delete what is not interesting to me, and use what I need.  For the most part, homeschoolers are frugal people so I have found out about some great family days at different attractions that are free, family field trips to go on, etc etc.  One of the moms posted that she had two baby lambs that were rejected by their mom and if anyone wanted to come and see them, let their kids play with them, or take pictures...they welcomed it.  Well, I thought how neat!!!  So I contacted her, read her blog and realized that they had a farm in Monticello and that they sold their produce and meat to buyers...it was all natural, organic, and sustainable.  HMMMM...very cool...so I started to probe and we set a date to go visit.  This past Saturday we drove out to Monticello and visited Heavenly Homestead...

Rick and Amy have 5 boys..They live on 5 acres in the very woodsy Monticello, Fl.  They have goats, ponies, chicken, chicks, pigs, 2 steers, dogs, and rabbits.  When we drove up, we didn't see anything or anyone...a very old looking house and wooded land.  We kind of waited around and then saw movement in the barn...John yelled out...Rick came over and introduced himself...he was more or less expecting us.  Rick is the Dad/Husband.  He was a quiet type, had a cowboy hat on and work clothes...he had been under the house doing some fixin.  Amy was at the grocery store.  John being the talkative and friendly type started asking questions as we headed for the barn to see the lambs.  John said, well I guess you grew up farming and stuff huh...Rick said, No, not at all...I lived in the city.  He didn't offer much else but John kept on.  In the end I learned that Rick was a very smart and imaginative man with many well researched views but was not the type to try and lead anyone in his direction...he would never try to convince you of his kind of life....John continued asking questions...Rick basically said that he read a book by a unconventional farmer and liked what the guy had to say and decided to find some land...Rick said that he wanted a place for his kids to be able to run out of the house, and he not have to worry about them.....Wanted them to be able to fix and build things.....try new things etc.  So they found this land with a old, small house and decided to make it work.  After asking more questions...we found out he works in Tallahassee (a real job) and the farming is his expensive, time consuming hobby :)  So the goats were precious.  Rick said that he was going to go inside and make their bottles...When Rick returned, he had a baby (human that is) on his back in a sling...The baby (later we found out his name was Quin and he is 1 year old) looked as if he rides on Daddy's back a lot as Daddy continues with his farm chores.  It was like out of a Amish movie or something...very unconventional I guess.  Rick tried to let my kids feed the lambs but the lambs knew Rick as "Daddy" and they were a little shy...Rick continued to feed the lambs, give them medicine, tell us about his chickens (more than I knew there was to ever tell about chickens) all while Quin quietly watched from the sling.  So we found out that there are many different kinds of chickens...some for eating and some for laying eggs.  You can have egg laying hens in the city as long as you don't have a rooster.  All of his animals are organic.  He tried pigs for the first time and sold everyone of them to families like us.  Johnston's Meats in Monticello takes care of the butchering and prep for him.  We looked at chicken coops and talked prices of meat and learned a lot!  Rick was very hospitable.  Amy came home from the store and I found out that she is the talkative one....we talked homeschooling and then did a little more farm talk all while their 2 year old son drove J.D. around in his John Deere Motorized Truck...this 2 year old could drive and shift gears!!!!!  I asked if they could feed the family off what they have on the farm...she said they don't buy meat but their garden isn't huge.  They are looking into buying more land.  She said they had a little bit more pork left if we wanted it....and now there are two broiler hens running around their yard with our name on them...just getting fat until they are ready to be eaten...I can't wait to cook and eat my organic free range broiler chickens!  Amy said if there is anything we ever wanted to ask, they would love to talk.  They were very nice and so interesting!  It looked like a lot of work.....and it is a full time job that reaps great benefits.  Their house was certainly no dream house but they were doing what they want to do and you have to respect that!  The kids left wanting ponies, I left wanting land, John left wanting chickens and pigs, and Molly just wanted to pet their big dog!  John drove us to crump road and we sipped on Homemade Fresh Strawberry Milkshakes at Ali's Farmers Market while sitting on their porch swing as we planned our own farm!  John has googled chicken coops and how to raise chickens...yes can you believe it...!!!! 

Here is the link to their website:

http://heavenlyhomestead.com/shop/welcome

And here is what John wants our chicken coop to look like: 

And some pictures from our visit

Food Inc.

So our friends the Brewers and the Cliburns and some of my co-workers got us to watch the movie, Food Inc.  Well I must say that I believe it has an agenda but you cannot watch that movie without feeling like you want to change and do better.  I won't go into everything about the movie although, I must say, I think everyone should watch it....but here are the things that John and I came away thinking more about..

1.  We should all want to know where our food is coming from.

2.  Americans/humans eat way too much!!!

3.  Eating whole foods, non processed is best.

4.  Buying local is best.

5.  Organic eating in its rarest form is impossible in America now days....its a fad....and because there isn't enough land, Americans eat too much, its pretty much impossible to do Organic all the time, for everyone..

6.  Big Business and Government ruin it all anyway! :)  This is kind of a sarcastic comment but watch the movie!

7.  I feel like I have been poisioning my children their entire lives.

Now I just started couponing so eating organic, to me at least, and trying to save money don't coincide but I did figure out if we would actually eat the foods that we were suppose to eat and the portions that we are suppose to eat then it really might not cost all that much more.  Basically, I didn't want to be one of those people that jumps on the latest Hollywood bandwagon so I started doing my own research and talking to people that are actually in the business (farming, ranchers).  I happen to work with several people that either live in the country and farm or ranching is their lively hood.  My next posts are going to be about some of the people I have come in contact with and some of the things we have learned.  It's amusing to me that I am intersted in this....but I have sooo enjoyed learning new things and meeting new people and find it also very bizarre that I am sounding much like the more liberal persons that I know and love....I mean I am recycling, composting, and eating more green now...could it be that liberals and conservatives actually mesh in thinking when all is said and done...My brother and I are actually agreeing on some issues.... :)  I think my parents think we are about to move to the country, raise hogs and chickens, and continue to spit out babies.....I mean I did just tell them I am going to homeschool....I am chuckling as I write this because it is very funny to me! I want to add in the end though....this.....I believe that the earth is in the shape it is in because of sin...I do not believe we humans can fix this earth...It's in turmoil due to sin and will continue to be until the coming of Christ.  I just studied in Revelation 6...the earth, waves, trees, oceans, etc are in bondage and until God speaks, they will not be redeemed...the earth groans to be redeemed and we will see the turmoil, earthquakes, tsunamis, heat, cosmic disturbances,etc until the 2nd coming....

For your reading enjoyment: 

http://www.eatwild.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0F8x4i5GYE

http://www.foodincmovie.com/

p.s.  I am not an alarmist and I actually get really annoyed with people that worry about everything but on my hunt and task at trying to know where my food comes from...eating locally is really the best way to go.  Just yesterday at work...we had two separate patients walk in our door, they did not know each other, they had bizarre symptoms...vision blurry, yellow tint to their vision, low blood pressure, dizziness, and tingling in their face....upon evaluation, we found out they had both eaten lunch at the same restaurant, started having the same symptoms about one hour after lunch, and ate the exact same fish....that most likely was infected with ciguatera toxin.  A fish was being served in the restaurant that they got from a local Seafood Distributor....but the kind of fish that was eaten was not a local fish...most likely a yellow tuna type fish from the carribean...Anyways, it was all very interesting and once again made me want to send John off on fishing trips to bring back fresh grouper.

So this is my latest soapbox...wonder how long it will last :)