A new journey into homesteading "pic heavy"

[Chic Rustler]

ya know I seem to remember spreading sulfur last year and we never saw a snake. This year I forgot to do that and we have already seen 2. One of them was a copperhead in the chicken coop. The other was a 5 foot long black snake hiding under my butternut squash vines. I think it's time to spread some more sulfur.


The dang squash bugs are tuff this year! The cucumbers aren't making because of lack of pollination. And for the life of me I can't grow a dang legume. The rabbits are ready for new cages and a fence that i needed to build a year ago. There's grass growing in the orchard that's unfinished and the yard needs mowed again.

Every now and then I look around and see all the good things I have accomplished and it's great! Like all these trees. The chicken coop that feeds us 20 eggs a day, the garden that even if not producing what i hoped yet is large and beautiful! But most of the time i get stuck on the short comings. Focus so hard on the imperfections and unfinished work that I just stay angry. Like those fricken squash bugs....they already killed a zuchinni! I hate em bad.....i mean not bad enough to poison my garden with pesticide but pretty bad.


Right now I'm focused on bees pretty hard. But I have a few unfinished projects as well and still suck at gardening. Think my be bees are as easy as cbickens and rabbits? Lol

 

[Mini Horses]

Try some soapy water on those bugs.

Yeah, it is often overwhelming to read/see the "to do" list. Some things just won't get done. I have come to accept that because I work alone on this farm and have outside job -- as you. If I have a day off and feel like I need a break, I take it. Guilt or not, there are days you do the feeding and little else -- it's OK when you've worked yourself into the ground.

Then there are days I really get with it and wow! Go with the flow, it usually balances out. With all that you do and need to do, you just added fb & videos.... ….uh, why?

 

[milkmansdaughter]

Same here, @Chic Rustler! We've accomplished a LOT! BUT! lol.
Now I broke both of our mowers, and am trying to weed eat an overgrown creek bed with a little battery powered weedeater. I get about 3 feet done before the battery is done and needs to be recharged. More brush that needs to be burned, more to plant, more to cover. Have you tried the Palmolive on the squash bugs like @CrealCritter uses? I found it works great, and the way your vines are climbing it shoud be easy. The kids might have fun with this if you have several spray bottles.

Have you and your family taken a day off recently? It might be time... Sometimes just getting away from it all, even for an afternoon, can help hit that "reset" button.

I haven't used sulfur before. What do you use it for?

 

[NH Homesteader]

Bees are really easy until they're not... Lol

Ew on the snakes, so glad I live up here in the land of few snakes! Actually I like our snakes, no venom and harmless!

 

[baymule]

Paris, our female Great Pyrenees, HATES snakes. She has killed several copperheads and a lot of rat snakes. She killed a rat snake last week. Our male GP could care less. Paris shakes them to pieces, then kills each piece again and again and again. I dunno what finally satisfies her that they are really, really dead.

Don't beat up on yourself for what isn't done, what isn't perfect, what you still need to do...... Be proud of what you have accomplished. You have come a long ways and done a LOT to make your place a homestead.

We moved here February 14, 2015, our 19th anniversary. LOL We have come a long way, but we still have lots to do. So I can feel some of what you are thinking. Just know that there are only so many hours in a day, you are doing the best you can and you will be able to get all those things done. When you feel overwhelmed, take the family for a day trip or overnight and just go have some fun.

 

[Chic Rustler]

thanks guys. I'm gonna try the soap spray. Couldn't hurt.

We have a mini vacation planted end of this month. It's gonna be nice. Just hanging with family at the lake.

 

[CrealCritter]

thanks guys. I'm gonna try the soap spray. Couldn't hurt.

We have a mini vacation planted end of this month. It's gonna be nice. Just hanging with family at the lake.

Bro remember if your going to try Palmolive get the orginal it's green colored and says Orginal on the label. The other kinds of Palmolive don't work. I don't know about any other brands. I tried Dawn once and it didn't work either. Something about plam and olive oil in the orginal Palmolive that does the trick. I read several years ago that Palmolive orginal is non-toxic but I wouldn't want to eat it

"Johnson Soap Company in 1898 introduced "Palmolive" soap made of palm oil and olive oil, the formula of which was developed by the company." <--- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmolive_(brand)

BTW it also works on wasps and other bugs also, it may take a couple of sprayings over the course of a few days but they will die and leave for another place.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Bro remember if your going to try Palmolive get the orginal it's green colored and says Orginal on the label. The other kinds of Palmolive don't work. I don't know about any other brands. I tried Dawn once and it didn't work either. Something about plam and olive oil in the orginal Palmolive that does the trick. I read several years ago that Palmolive orginal is non-toxic but I wouldn't want to eat it

View attachment 7607

How much soap per quart of water?

 

[Chic Rustler]

Same here, @Chic Rustler! We've accomplished a LOT! BUT! lol.
Now I broke both of our mowers, and am trying to weed eat an overgrown creek bed with a little battery powered weedeater. I get about 3 feet done before the battery is done and needs to be recharged. More brush that needs to be burned, more to plant, more to cover. Have you tried the Palmolive on the squash bugs like @CrealCritter uses? I found it works great, and the way your vines are climbing it shoud be easy. The kids might have fun with this if you have several spray bottles.

Have you and your family taken a day off recently? It might be time... Sometimes just getting away from it all, even for an afternoon, can help hit that "reset" button.

I haven't used sulfur before. What do you use it for?

They say sulfur repels snakes. It may be an old wives tell. But we saw less last year when we used it.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Try some soapy water on those bugs.

Yeah, it is often overwhelming to read/see the "to do" list. Some things just won't get done. I have come to accept that because I work alone on this farm and have outside job -- as you. If I have a day off and feel like I need a break, I take it. Guilt or not, there are days you do the feeding and little else -- it's OK when you've worked yourself into the ground.

Then there are days I really get with it and wow! Go with the flow, it usually balances out. With all that you do and need to do, you just added fb & videos.... ….uh, why?

Heck I don't know. Seemed like a fun idea.