Bee~ Journal of then...

[freemotion]

The landscaper idea is a good one, just keep in mind that they usually deal with lawns that are very chemical-ized. If you can deal with that idea for a year (might be a necessary compromise) it will be a great source of free compost. Another idea is to get the fall clean-up leaves dumped, if that is something that is done a lot in your area. Here, the landscape guys do that, too, using pick-ups enclosed with big plywood boxes with a round hole cut high up, and a big vacuum. I was thinking of that when I lost my horse, who was great at turning cash into compost!

But the goats create a lot of compostable material, too, in the winter, with their hay waste.

Any big horse farms nearby? They often have the manure piles hauled off in dump trucks periodically, if they don't have lots of hay fields. You might get a load or two for the cost of the hauling, or free if you get those boys each a shovel!

Boy-oh-boy, could I use a couple of boys right now, with a couple of shovels!!!

 

[Beekissed]

The "landscapers" around here probably won't be gleaning any chemicalized lawns, free! This is rural lawn care.....mow, bag clippings, repeat when necessary. Heck, very few people even have flowers and such in their lawns. Noone really cares enough about curb appeal around here to actually buy chemicals.....dandelions abound and I think they are lovely!

I hope to have them dump the leaves in the fall also, but they don't have any fancy machines for sucking up leaves. Maybe a few leaf blowers and rakes, though.

I am going to haul a mountain of horse and sheep poo this spring, so I will have more resources this year than last. It seems like God is providing everything each step of the way.....

Today I found a man with bees who will show me the ins and outs! AND sell me a nucleus!

Also just have to tell you guys.....the seeds I planted on Sun. are coming up today!

My future pig was born yesterday to a litter of 10, 2 of which died. My sis.....wait for it.....you will love this........set up a cot and sleeping bag in her pen and slept out there all night (NOT in a barn or shed), in the snow and wind, to protect the babies from getting squashed and to keep them warm. This gal reeeeeeaaaalllly loves animals, folks!

 

[TTs Chicks]

My future pig was born yesterday to a litter of 10, 2 of which died. My sis.....wait for it.....you will love this........set up a cot and sleeping bag in her pen and slept out there all night (NOT in a barn or shed), in the snow and wind, to protect the babies from getting squashed and to keep them warm. This gal reeeeeeaaaalllly loves animals, folks!

wow not many folks would do that. She must be something'

 

[Beekissed]

She's something alright! She's a half bubble off plumb.... Give ya the shirt off her back but she's got some issues in the tissues, if ya know what I mean!

 

[freemotion]

Wow, I am beyond envious now. When I lived in a rural area where no one used chemicals and the lawns were half grass and half weeds, lawn services were just about unheard of. Everyone mowed their own, and the very few who paid someone paid a neighborhood kid to do it. Of course, in Northern Maine, there is not much of a lawn season, anyways, and I moved from there almost 20 years ago.

Man, if I had that available here, I would make sure those guys had a mountain of baked goods and nice cool drinks for each delivery of compostable and mulchable materials!

I would like to have a load of horse poo delivered, but everyone de-worms like crazy here and I worry about what it would do to my earthworm population.

As for your sis, why didn't she just bring 'em all into the house???

 

[Beekissed]

She did.

Then she started worrying that the sow would reject them if she continued this, as she did the same thing with a lamb earlier this week and the ewe wouldn't have anything to do with it when she brought it back.

Ya see, my sis knows absolutely nothing about farming and animals and she just goes with her feelings. She refuses to read up on things or do a Google...she just blunders along. She's had numerous animals die over her methods but she won't change. There is no talking to her about it or trying to help her....she is very stubborn.

Free, I am lucky to have this type of lawn care biz in town, if I can convince them to deliver it here. We have a very big elderly population whose kids no longer live here or they are too busy to help them with their lawns. These old folks are also sitting on some money, so they can afford to hire it done.

One lady told me she pays $120 per mo. to get her lawn mown every other week....and she lives on a postage stamp! These are also no-frills, old time mountain folk, so no real caring for perfect lawns....just neat ones.

 

[freemotion]

 

[Farmfresh]

Look in the paper for folks offering horseback riding lessons. They are a good source for horse poo as well.

We used to apply fresh poo in the fall after the harvest was done and leave it on the surface all winter. By spring it was ready to till in and any "lost nitrogen" was lost into the garden soil. We never had problems with burn with this method either.

 

[Beekissed]

Yep, FF, tried that last year. The only riding stables in the area wasn't letting go of any sugar.

This year, if everything goes right, I should have a good plenty. If not, I'm trying a little experiment with urine fertilizer for side-dressing my corn and such.

 

[Beekissed]

News flash~ Have found a source for a bee nuc and possibly some mentoring! God is so very good!

Getting bees will complete my homestead in a big way. I needed a source of sweetener, wax, pollinators and income from the sale of the honey. Not to mention that honey is part of my health regimen. I don't think there is anything more SS than keeping bees, as the bees themselves are a perfect model of SS. It also evokes images of the age-old practice of being a steward of the land by tending to the hard-working, beneficial bees.