For the past week the maple sap flow has been on at Pure Water Hollow, and I have been boiling it down for the past 2 days, almost non-stop! We again only used 10 taps in 8 trees, just like we did two years ago. I’ve lost track of the number of gallons of sap we have harvested, but we believe it has been about 60. It has yeilded a gallon of syrup so far, with about 10 gallons of sap still on the range waiting to be finished off! If we are correct in how much sap we have had, we are hitting pretty much on that 50:1 ratio. We discovered before that our sap to syrup ratio here in Kentucky is greater than the 40:1 ratio that New England gets, but sometimes it is a bit better than 50:1. The sap flow pretty much stopped by Thursday because it stayed cold (we got more snow on Wednesday and Thursday).
The cold temps allowed me to do a trick with the sap that I have read that the Indians used to do. I was able to remove a good deal of the water content by taking the ice out of the buckets instead of just boiling it all! The unfrozen part would have a greater concentration of sugar. This helped quite a bit.
I was re-reading my maple syrup posts from the 08 season, which was the first time we attempted maple syrup. After boiling down 50 or so gallons this time around, I feel I should clear up what appeared to be a bit of misinformation. I found this statement from an old post:
"I had read in many places not to boil the sap in doors. At least one source said that all the steam would coat everything in the house with a sticky residue. After letting many gallons of sap boil on our kitchen range, I would now say the sticky residue part is a myth. After thinking about it, it doesn’t make sense that the steam would be sticky since the only thing that is boiling away in the steam is the water content. The tree sap is 98% water and only 2% sugar. About 2/3 of the water needs to be taken out. The remaining solution would be 66-67% sugar and would now be syrup. The only thing that is evaporated into the air is all that water."
Well, that year I didn’t have much trouble in the kitchen at the beginning, but after everything was said and done, Erica and Lisa did complain a bit about a sticky residue that was all over the cabinets and appliances that they had to clean up!
This year I have been doing all the boiling up at the extra house on our property that we use as a school house and storage building. Our kitchen at the house has high, 9 foot ceilings, but this kitchen has a low, 7 foot ceiling. For some reason, the condensation from the steam has been incredible this year! I was using 2 giant 21 quart canning pots, one large stock pot, and two smaller pans on all four burners on the range as well as a hot plate on the counter.
That many gallons of sap boiling all at the same time produced some amazing atmospheric changes in the room! I have had to wear a cap because of the multitude of dripping, yellowish sap droplets from the ceiling! It has been like being in the woods after a great cloud burst with water dripping sporadically all over the place from all the leaves. The walls and cabinets have been covered and discolored by the moisture as well! There are streaks of yellow running down the walls from the moisture. It has really been a mess, and when things dry, everything is sticky and icky. My shooes make a suction/sticky sound when walking across the floor! I would definitely warn folks now to never boil this much sap down in their home!
After the pots got to a roaring boil and before I opened the windows and door, a dense cloud of moisture hung in the top 4 feet of the room! It looked just like I would imagine being in a house fire would look like. The bottom three feet along the floor was clear, but above you could not hardly see your hand in front of your face! One reason for this, I guess, was that we don’t usually heat this building much above freezing, so the air was cool. With the windows and doors open, it stayed pretty cold in there, and I felt like I was in an old fashioned sugar shack that I’ve seen pictures of. The outside of the school house looked pretty cool, too, when I went out to check on the chickens once. When the wind blew the right way, great billows of steam could be seen coming out of the side window! But even with the windows and door open, it did not help the residue droplets that formed everywhere.
I still think what I wrote a couple of years ago sounds correct, in that most of what is evaporated is just H2O, and shouldn’t cause a problem. But I guess I now proved that somehow water content from maple tree sap is indeed tainted with stickiness and can in fact cause all sorts of problems!
It really hasn’t been a great problem for us, since we do not live in this building, but we will have quite a mess to clean up when everything is finished! Someday, I still hope to have a real sugar shack and use wood-burning stoves to boil the sap!
Next week, the sap may start flowing again, and we may get to produce more sugar. If we do, I suppose I will just open the windows and keep my hat on in our sugar shack/ school house/ storage building!
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7 comments
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Debbie on February 26, 2010 at 11:02 am
This makes sense because if you fry meat on the stove the same thing happens. You get sticky grease everywhere.
Sounds like fun… Do you save all your syrup or sell it?
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Purewater on February 26, 2010 at 1:55 pm
A comment from Debbie asked about selling the syrup.
We have not tried selling any syrup, but we did give several jars as gifts, with great reviews. I probably could find some folks who would buy all that we make, but since we are doing such a small amount I don't really want to do that. We have enough trees that we could probably run 3 to 4 times as many taps as we are now, but that would also be 3 to 4 times more work! Maybe we will work up to doing more in future years, but for now, this is all I can handle!
We are planning on changing most of this year's syrup into powdered sugar. The syrup we made in 08 has lasted us until now (we still have some jars). We will likely make better use of the product as sugar. I think natural maple sugar should be healthier for us compared to commercial sugar!
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Lyn on February 26, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Hi, we live in TN, and we just ordered equipment to tap our maple trees. Do you think it will be to late to get any syrup this year? We have been wanting to try this for a long time. We finally decided to go for it. Do you tap just sugar maples or all maples? Hope the rest of the season goes well for you.
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Purewater on February 27, 2010 at 12:03 am
Lyn,
I really don't know how the maple sap will be in TN. Many people around here thought we were too far south in KY for maple syrup making, but they were wrong! You will just have to give it a try.
The sap from trees in our area has less sugar content than those in New England, but I believe the syrup that results is as good and sweet as theirs is. It just takes me boiling a bit more sap than they do up north. A friend of mine vacations up in Maine frequently, and she said our syrup was as good as anything she ever gets in New England! I think the further south you go, the less sugar content you will have.
As far as timing, I would guess it may be getting too late for you this year. But if it stays cold long enough, you may still have a chance. Ours flow when we have a string of days in the 40s and nights in the 20s. I think sunshine helps a lot, too. I've read that you will get bitter sap after the trees start budding out, which should begin pretty soon. I think I will have another week or so of sugaring weather here in KY, but as we get on into the middle of March I'm counting on more spring-like weather!
We try to only tap the sugar maples on our property. The books say that all maple varieties can be tapped, but they have different sugar levels. Some day I will experiment with the other maples and see what the difference is. I think they should make good syrup, but we may need more sap to get the same results? When the leaves are on is the only way we can differentiate the sugar maple from the other maples. Two years ago we marked the trees with paint so we could find them in the winter with no leaves.
Good luck with your sugaring endeavor! I'll try to check out your blog to see if you write anything about it. If it doesn't work this year, start being on the watch next year begining in January. I made some good syrup this year in January, but it was not a very heavy sap flow.
God bless,
-Eric
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www.homesteaderbellesblog.blogspot.com on February 27, 2010 at 11:46 pm
Hi Eric,
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.
I am sorry to hear about all the sticky! It is still worth it though in my opinion.
It really cold here again, so the sap isn't really running right now. I can not wait until the sap flows! Sap collecting and syrup making is so much fun!
I hope you and your family are enjoying the sap season.
Just thought I would drop by, read your post, and wish your sap season well.
Belle @ http://www.homesteaderbellesblog.blogspot.com/
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Schatzi on March 2, 2010 at 6:48 pm
What a great post…I remember way back when my grandparents made maple syrup…for some reason I remember them doing all their boiling outside in a big pot under an open fire…this was a wonderful time for us kids to watch that..and taste the finished product LOL.
Connie
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HerbsandHoney on March 22, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Yes it can be a sticky mess We didn't get trees tapped before the first run this year Will try for a small fall run. Hope you get lots of syrup.
Blessings,
Herbs & Honey
Friday, February 26, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Winter History / Annual Snowfalls for Eastern Kentucky / Past Winters At Pure Water Hollow
Meteorologist Jim Caldwell gave this graphic concerning snowfall in our area from 1981 to present. I thought it was fairly interesting, especially since I have not been blogging about total snowfall each year here on homesteadblogger. Our current winter season has just about moved into the number 2 spot, now, and with more snow predicted, Jim thinks we could flirt with the number one spot before Spring gets here for good!
I started this blog during the fall of 2006, and I looked back at some of my posts from that winter when I was lamenting the lack of snow that year. According to Jim Eastern Ky had 12 inches of snow that year, but I’m not sure if we even had that much.
We moved to Pure Water Hollow spring of 1993 right after a 24 inch March snow! So I guess of that 36 inches during 92-93 winter we got 2 feet all at once at the end of the season! Our first official winter here was the 93-94 winter, with the 2nd place snowfall amount that will be beaten this current season!
The most memorable part of that 94 winter for us was the extremely cold temperatures. The historical data for record low temperatures show 1994 as a doozy. 4 days in January of 94 hold the record cold for each individual day. January 15th was 7 below zero, Jan 16th was 6 below zero, Jan 19th was 26 below zero, and Jan 20th was 19 below zero! I’m sure many other days was zero and below, but they didn’t break any records. There we were in a 1930s era coal camp house, with blown glass windows that were very loose in their frames (cutains would actually move by the wind with the windows closed), inadequate insulation, inadequate heat, frozen water pipes for weeks, and a 2 year old and a 4 month old baby to care for! Those were some challenging days!
I found this interesting note from the Kentucky Climate Center website. My homestead was not the only one affected in Kentucky that winter:
"As 1930 is to heat waves, 1994 is now to frigid spells. In January, a blizzard coated the landscape with about an inch of ice and topped it with 6-26 inches of snow. Mason County had the heaviest snow accumulation. All state, interstate, and federal highways were closed for two days. Behind the blizzard came the intrusion of arctic air. This one brought frigid weather to all of Kentucky. The morning of 19 January 1994 saw -31°F at Grayson, -32°F at Somerset, -33°F at Cynthiana, a record breaking -35°F at Gray Hawk, and a record smashing -37°F at Shelbyville. One hopes that this record will last a long time."
This historical data was also posted there which I found facinating. I love to imagine myself back in Daniel Boone’s time, but I’m sure I would not have lasted long. Especially considering this kind of winter:
"Cold spells may have been more memorable than hot ones to early settlers who were less well prepared than modern Kentuckians. Historians record the winter of 1779-1780 as the coldest known to that date. Although records of temperatures aren’t available for that winter, the severity is indicated at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, where snow continued on the ground from mid November to mid February. For ten days in December 1796, history records that the Ohio River was frozen over to a thickness of nine inches."
I wonder what things looked like here, where Pure Water Hollow Homestead would one day be located? I guess only the animals knew, because I doubt if the Indians would have come over here in weather like that if they didn’t have to!
Anyway, I guess I have rambled on enough. I’ve always thought that Winter is a pretty interesting time here in eastern Kentucky, but I suppose this post will probably be a bore to many who read it.
I wonder what the reamainder of this current winter will turn out to be? Could we really be in line to get another 14 inches of snow and beat the 1995/96 record? If we do, I will probably record something about it right here!
I started this blog during the fall of 2006, and I looked back at some of my posts from that winter when I was lamenting the lack of snow that year. According to Jim Eastern Ky had 12 inches of snow that year, but I’m not sure if we even had that much.
We moved to Pure Water Hollow spring of 1993 right after a 24 inch March snow! So I guess of that 36 inches during 92-93 winter we got 2 feet all at once at the end of the season! Our first official winter here was the 93-94 winter, with the 2nd place snowfall amount that will be beaten this current season!
The most memorable part of that 94 winter for us was the extremely cold temperatures. The historical data for record low temperatures show 1994 as a doozy. 4 days in January of 94 hold the record cold for each individual day. January 15th was 7 below zero, Jan 16th was 6 below zero, Jan 19th was 26 below zero, and Jan 20th was 19 below zero! I’m sure many other days was zero and below, but they didn’t break any records. There we were in a 1930s era coal camp house, with blown glass windows that were very loose in their frames (cutains would actually move by the wind with the windows closed), inadequate insulation, inadequate heat, frozen water pipes for weeks, and a 2 year old and a 4 month old baby to care for! Those were some challenging days!
I found this interesting note from the Kentucky Climate Center website. My homestead was not the only one affected in Kentucky that winter:
"As 1930 is to heat waves, 1994 is now to frigid spells. In January, a blizzard coated the landscape with about an inch of ice and topped it with 6-26 inches of snow. Mason County had the heaviest snow accumulation. All state, interstate, and federal highways were closed for two days. Behind the blizzard came the intrusion of arctic air. This one brought frigid weather to all of Kentucky. The morning of 19 January 1994 saw -31°F at Grayson, -32°F at Somerset, -33°F at Cynthiana, a record breaking -35°F at Gray Hawk, and a record smashing -37°F at Shelbyville. One hopes that this record will last a long time."
This historical data was also posted there which I found facinating. I love to imagine myself back in Daniel Boone’s time, but I’m sure I would not have lasted long. Especially considering this kind of winter:
"Cold spells may have been more memorable than hot ones to early settlers who were less well prepared than modern Kentuckians. Historians record the winter of 1779-1780 as the coldest known to that date. Although records of temperatures aren’t available for that winter, the severity is indicated at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, where snow continued on the ground from mid November to mid February. For ten days in December 1796, history records that the Ohio River was frozen over to a thickness of nine inches."
I wonder what things looked like here, where Pure Water Hollow Homestead would one day be located? I guess only the animals knew, because I doubt if the Indians would have come over here in weather like that if they didn’t have to!
Anyway, I guess I have rambled on enough. I’ve always thought that Winter is a pretty interesting time here in eastern Kentucky, but I suppose this post will probably be a bore to many who read it.
I wonder what the reamainder of this current winter will turn out to be? Could we really be in line to get another 14 inches of snow and beat the 1995/96 record? If we do, I will probably record something about it right here!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
3rd Snowiest on Record So Far
I thought this was interesting. According to the weather man in Hazard, this winter has been one for the history books! He said their data only goes back to the early 80s, but according to their records, this current winter comes in third for snowfall in Eastern Kentucky, with a good chance of moving to number 2 after the next system hits this Sunday!
These numbers are especially interesting to me considering we moved to Pure Water Hollow Spring of 93, just in time to get in on the two snowiest winters they have on record!
Here are the numbers Jim Caldwell gives:
These numbers are especially interesting to me considering we moved to Pure Water Hollow Spring of 93, just in time to get in on the two snowiest winters they have on record!
Here are the numbers Jim Caldwell gives:
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Our 4th Winter Storm of the Season: Life Goes On
Here at Pure Water Hollow we are experiencing our 4th good snow of this winter! I haven’t written anything since November, so I thought I would update a little bit about the winter of 09/10.
The first big storm hit eastern Kentucky back on December 18th and 19th when we got about 6 inches of snow and ice here at our home. During this storm we left Pure Water Hollow to visit my mother for the holidays. This was another one of those wet snows that took down trees and power lines! We were only without power for a day or so (which didn’t affect us much since we were out of town) but some of our neighbors were without power through Christmas Day! Other areas were hit even harder and there were reports of students being stranded at their school in Harlan when the snow hit so quickly and it was not possible to get out. Some of those students actually had to stay the night at school!
We got some snow on December 30th and 31st but the next big storm was on January 4th and 5th when we had 5 to 6 inches of snow. During this time was very cold, with tempertures staying below freezing for 2 consecutive weeks. We saw huge ice bergs floating in our river, so if the cold snap had lasted much longer, the river may have frozen over like it did back in 94. But the cold didn’t hold on, and the lows never got below zero like it did in 94.
During this storm, we almost got snowed in at Harlan, KY because that was where our brake line broke as we were on our way home from a fantastic vacation in the Carribean. The brake-line stranded us the night before the storm, just three hours from home! We got it fixed and drove home the next day while the snow was still accumulating! The following days saw us wind down from the trip and get things unpacked and back to normal.
We had a couple of mild, warmer weeks when the maple sap began to flow and I was able to make a couple of jars of maple syrup, but then we had a huge 6-8 inch dry snow on January 29th and 30th. I only measured 6 on the ground here, (with some 10inch drifts) but other areas of our county reported 8 inches on the ground. This was the weekend we decided to butcher one of our hogs, which was cold, but made for a pretty setting also. We did everything ourselves again in our side yard, with Matthew doing the main work. From this 360 pound pig we got several good roasts, made the tenderloin into about 62 delicious thick slices, and are curing about 50 pounds of ham. Lisa also rendered out about 30 pounds of lard which we hope to use some of to make soap. The big success this time has been the sausage, which we wanted to make a lot of if Lisa could get it tasting right. Using sage, pepper, and maple syrup she found the perfect blend! We ended up hand cranking out about 60 pounds of wonderfully delicious mild sausage for the freezer! We have already enjoyed several wonderful meals with the sausage and tenderloin! We have a couple more hogs to butcher that we may do this weekend that we hope to make into more market cuts and less sausage.
Over this past weekend of Feb. 5th – 7th a big snow had been predicted (with possible 6 – 8 inches of white for our area) but it all turned into just rain, which resulted in some minor flodding around here.
Now here we are on February 9th in the midst of our next true winter storm. So far we only have about an inch of snow/ice but the national weather service has issued a winter storm warning for us through tomorrow night with another 3 to 5 inches expected! If the temps cooperate this week, I may be able to boil down some more maple syrup. Yesterday was above freezing and today is expected to rise also as the precipitation changes to rain/freezing rain and then wind chills near zero for tonight, with another warmer day tomorrow. Will it make for a good sap flow? I love it when we can get things done in the middle of winter storms! It makes the storms so much more exciting and enjoyable! (Maybe I’m a bit strange?)
My thoughts and prayers go out to the folks in the DC area, though, who are really getting hammered. I’ve heard that they got about 3 feet of snow from that weekend system and are bracing for another 10 inches from this current system.
Here at Pure Water Hollow, God has been very good to us, and we have been enjoying our winter (more or less). God bless everyone!
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3 comments
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jrejhkids on February 9, 2010 at 8:55 am
We haven't butchered our own hogs yet. Maybe someday. We have butchered some goats and put in the freezer. It is work to do your own meat.
I enjoyed reading your entry. My son left Berea before that last big storm. He spent the week between short term and spring term with his aunt and uncle in Fort Mitchell, KY. He said when he got back that there were huge piles on snow in the parking lots.
We have been getting more snow than we usually do out here. We have had 13 1/2 inches, when we normally get 4-5 inches of snow. We have also had a lot of rain. Hopefully we get more in the mountains so that we have water to irrigate this year.
~Cheryl
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sassyfras on February 9, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Always glad to read your posts, we also have and are having snow. The good thing is around here the more snow we have in Feb. the better the mushroom hunting. I'm not sure as to why but it always happens. Hope you and your family stay well. sherry
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Schatzi on February 9, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Wow…what a crazy winter you are all having. We have had no snow this year…and it's a year for the Olympics here…just bizarre that's for sure.
Thankful you all are fine.
Blessings,
Connie
The first big storm hit eastern Kentucky back on December 18th and 19th when we got about 6 inches of snow and ice here at our home. During this storm we left Pure Water Hollow to visit my mother for the holidays. This was another one of those wet snows that took down trees and power lines! We were only without power for a day or so (which didn’t affect us much since we were out of town) but some of our neighbors were without power through Christmas Day! Other areas were hit even harder and there were reports of students being stranded at their school in Harlan when the snow hit so quickly and it was not possible to get out. Some of those students actually had to stay the night at school!
We got some snow on December 30th and 31st but the next big storm was on January 4th and 5th when we had 5 to 6 inches of snow. During this time was very cold, with tempertures staying below freezing for 2 consecutive weeks. We saw huge ice bergs floating in our river, so if the cold snap had lasted much longer, the river may have frozen over like it did back in 94. But the cold didn’t hold on, and the lows never got below zero like it did in 94.
During this storm, we almost got snowed in at Harlan, KY because that was where our brake line broke as we were on our way home from a fantastic vacation in the Carribean. The brake-line stranded us the night before the storm, just three hours from home! We got it fixed and drove home the next day while the snow was still accumulating! The following days saw us wind down from the trip and get things unpacked and back to normal.
We had a couple of mild, warmer weeks when the maple sap began to flow and I was able to make a couple of jars of maple syrup, but then we had a huge 6-8 inch dry snow on January 29th and 30th. I only measured 6 on the ground here, (with some 10inch drifts) but other areas of our county reported 8 inches on the ground. This was the weekend we decided to butcher one of our hogs, which was cold, but made for a pretty setting also. We did everything ourselves again in our side yard, with Matthew doing the main work. From this 360 pound pig we got several good roasts, made the tenderloin into about 62 delicious thick slices, and are curing about 50 pounds of ham. Lisa also rendered out about 30 pounds of lard which we hope to use some of to make soap. The big success this time has been the sausage, which we wanted to make a lot of if Lisa could get it tasting right. Using sage, pepper, and maple syrup she found the perfect blend! We ended up hand cranking out about 60 pounds of wonderfully delicious mild sausage for the freezer! We have already enjoyed several wonderful meals with the sausage and tenderloin! We have a couple more hogs to butcher that we may do this weekend that we hope to make into more market cuts and less sausage.
Over this past weekend of Feb. 5th – 7th a big snow had been predicted (with possible 6 – 8 inches of white for our area) but it all turned into just rain, which resulted in some minor flodding around here.
Now here we are on February 9th in the midst of our next true winter storm. So far we only have about an inch of snow/ice but the national weather service has issued a winter storm warning for us through tomorrow night with another 3 to 5 inches expected! If the temps cooperate this week, I may be able to boil down some more maple syrup. Yesterday was above freezing and today is expected to rise also as the precipitation changes to rain/freezing rain and then wind chills near zero for tonight, with another warmer day tomorrow. Will it make for a good sap flow? I love it when we can get things done in the middle of winter storms! It makes the storms so much more exciting and enjoyable! (Maybe I’m a bit strange?)
My thoughts and prayers go out to the folks in the DC area, though, who are really getting hammered. I’ve heard that they got about 3 feet of snow from that weekend system and are bracing for another 10 inches from this current system.
Here at Pure Water Hollow, God has been very good to us, and we have been enjoying our winter (more or less). God bless everyone!
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3 comments
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jrejhkids on February 9, 2010 at 8:55 am
We haven't butchered our own hogs yet. Maybe someday. We have butchered some goats and put in the freezer. It is work to do your own meat.
I enjoyed reading your entry. My son left Berea before that last big storm. He spent the week between short term and spring term with his aunt and uncle in Fort Mitchell, KY. He said when he got back that there were huge piles on snow in the parking lots.
We have been getting more snow than we usually do out here. We have had 13 1/2 inches, when we normally get 4-5 inches of snow. We have also had a lot of rain. Hopefully we get more in the mountains so that we have water to irrigate this year.
~Cheryl
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sassyfras on February 9, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Always glad to read your posts, we also have and are having snow. The good thing is around here the more snow we have in Feb. the better the mushroom hunting. I'm not sure as to why but it always happens. Hope you and your family stay well. sherry
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Schatzi on February 9, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Wow…what a crazy winter you are all having. We have had no snow this year…and it's a year for the Olympics here…just bizarre that's for sure.
Thankful you all are fine.
Blessings,
Connie
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thankful for the Wreck
Well, any crash you can walk away from is a crash you can learn from! I’m thankful for the lessons that we learned back on October 9th when Erica had a mishap down the road from our house while driving my car.
She and Matthew were helping our volunteer fire department deliver soup bean dinners that they had sold as a fund raiser. I was pleased that they were giving their time to contribute to a noble cause, not expecting anything unusual to happen.
Erica had the cell phone we had given her last Christmas and used it to call home. On the other end of the line Lisa heard that there had been an accident. Erica said that she and Matthew were both OK but the car was "in the ditch". We do have ditches alongside many eastern Kentucky roads, and then we have DITCHES! What Erica was talking about, however, stretched the limits of what even we hillbillies would consider a ditch!
In this next picture you can see the road and the tree. Erica was actually driving toward the tree, the opposite direction the nose of the car is now pointing. She was looking over her shoulder at a trailor she thought might be the one they were supposed to drop off a dinner to when the passenger tire fell off the side of the road. She over corrected and wound up spinning out of control and leaving the road tail-end first, narrowly missing that tree.
It’s difficult to tell how steep the incline is in these photos, but the back tire was actually off the ground with the car delicately balancing, feeling like it was about ready to over-tun onto it’s top. They safely climbed out the open window on the passagener’s side and made the phone call.
This particular "ditch" required assistance from a wrecker to get my car out:
Amazingly, the only thing that was really damaged was the muffler! That’s one tough Ford Taurus.
Why, you might ask, would I be thankful for a wreck? This week of Thanksgiving I am counting my blessings, and it is sobering to think that our soon-to-be Thanksgiving celebration could have been dramatically different from what it will be. One or both of my two oldest children could have been spending this holiday in eternity! What if the car had hit that tree, or rolled over further down the hill, or if another vehicle had been at the same spot on the road at that time? I believe that there was Divine intervention during that moment, and the grace of God allowed no one to be harmed! There have been several instances over the years when Guardian Angels were involved with the protection of my family, and this was certainly one of them! I’m sure there have been many more that we do not even know about, but when we do notice such a blessing, it is easy to be thankful.
I’m also thankful for the calmness and peace He allowed Erica and Matthew to have in the midst of this accident. I’m thankful that neither were injured at all, and I’m thankful that the repair bill to the car was so minor. I’m thankful that this incident did not create an undue fear in Erica or Matthew about driving in the future, and I’m thankful that they are both such good drivers. I’m thankful that they were wearing seatbelts. I’m thankful that we got to meet some neighbors that we had not known previously (from the trailor).
A bit more than a month later Erica had her 18th birthday. She had wanted a car all her own for some time, and if we did the wish thing while blowing out the birthday candles, she may have wished for a Pontiac Grand Am the last couple of years:
This year she did not have to make such a wish because a few days earlier, we found this for her to drive:
It’s a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am, pretty close to what she had been dreaming of.
I know what some of you may be accusing me of, but I assure you, buying this car for her is in no way related to any thought of keeping my Ford Taurus safe!
I actually just wanted to bless her with a nice gift, just like my Heavenly Father enjoys giving good gifts to me.
May each one of you reading this experience a humble and thankful heart toward Him this Thanksgiving, and always!
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3 comments
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blessedx4 on November 24, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Grace be to God for allowing them to not be injured. Yes, it seems their Angel was working over time. I know this will be on your mind this Thanksgiving. Teen drivers do wonders for your prayer life. LOL!! I'm glad your car escaped injury also. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Blessings,
Tiffany
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Schatzi on November 27, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Praising God with you…I can see from the photos that this could have been far worse…. "Thank you dear Lord for protecting these precious children. Thank you for keeping them safe and calm during this time … we thank you for all the other times that you watch over them and they didn't even know it but you do … we praise you for your mercy, grace and protection over this family … in Jesus name Amen!"
Have a blessed weekend.
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Call of the Land on January 18, 2010 at 11:52 am
I thank God that no one was injured!
Connie
She and Matthew were helping our volunteer fire department deliver soup bean dinners that they had sold as a fund raiser. I was pleased that they were giving their time to contribute to a noble cause, not expecting anything unusual to happen.
Erica had the cell phone we had given her last Christmas and used it to call home. On the other end of the line Lisa heard that there had been an accident. Erica said that she and Matthew were both OK but the car was "in the ditch". We do have ditches alongside many eastern Kentucky roads, and then we have DITCHES! What Erica was talking about, however, stretched the limits of what even we hillbillies would consider a ditch!
In this next picture you can see the road and the tree. Erica was actually driving toward the tree, the opposite direction the nose of the car is now pointing. She was looking over her shoulder at a trailor she thought might be the one they were supposed to drop off a dinner to when the passenger tire fell off the side of the road. She over corrected and wound up spinning out of control and leaving the road tail-end first, narrowly missing that tree.
It’s difficult to tell how steep the incline is in these photos, but the back tire was actually off the ground with the car delicately balancing, feeling like it was about ready to over-tun onto it’s top. They safely climbed out the open window on the passagener’s side and made the phone call.
This particular "ditch" required assistance from a wrecker to get my car out:
Amazingly, the only thing that was really damaged was the muffler! That’s one tough Ford Taurus.
Why, you might ask, would I be thankful for a wreck? This week of Thanksgiving I am counting my blessings, and it is sobering to think that our soon-to-be Thanksgiving celebration could have been dramatically different from what it will be. One or both of my two oldest children could have been spending this holiday in eternity! What if the car had hit that tree, or rolled over further down the hill, or if another vehicle had been at the same spot on the road at that time? I believe that there was Divine intervention during that moment, and the grace of God allowed no one to be harmed! There have been several instances over the years when Guardian Angels were involved with the protection of my family, and this was certainly one of them! I’m sure there have been many more that we do not even know about, but when we do notice such a blessing, it is easy to be thankful.
I’m also thankful for the calmness and peace He allowed Erica and Matthew to have in the midst of this accident. I’m thankful that neither were injured at all, and I’m thankful that the repair bill to the car was so minor. I’m thankful that this incident did not create an undue fear in Erica or Matthew about driving in the future, and I’m thankful that they are both such good drivers. I’m thankful that they were wearing seatbelts. I’m thankful that we got to meet some neighbors that we had not known previously (from the trailor).
A bit more than a month later Erica had her 18th birthday. She had wanted a car all her own for some time, and if we did the wish thing while blowing out the birthday candles, she may have wished for a Pontiac Grand Am the last couple of years:
This year she did not have to make such a wish because a few days earlier, we found this for her to drive:
It’s a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am, pretty close to what she had been dreaming of.
I know what some of you may be accusing me of, but I assure you, buying this car for her is in no way related to any thought of keeping my Ford Taurus safe!
I actually just wanted to bless her with a nice gift, just like my Heavenly Father enjoys giving good gifts to me.
May each one of you reading this experience a humble and thankful heart toward Him this Thanksgiving, and always!
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3 comments
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blessedx4 on November 24, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Grace be to God for allowing them to not be injured. Yes, it seems their Angel was working over time. I know this will be on your mind this Thanksgiving. Teen drivers do wonders for your prayer life. LOL!! I'm glad your car escaped injury also. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Blessings,
Tiffany
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Schatzi on November 27, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Praising God with you…I can see from the photos that this could have been far worse…. "Thank you dear Lord for protecting these precious children. Thank you for keeping them safe and calm during this time … we thank you for all the other times that you watch over them and they didn't even know it but you do … we praise you for your mercy, grace and protection over this family … in Jesus name Amen!"
Have a blessed weekend.
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Call of the Land on January 18, 2010 at 11:52 am
I thank God that no one was injured!
Connie
Thankful For the Hunt
The day began just as most Sundays do around our house. I woke with the dawn to open up the chicken coop while everyone else slept in a bit longer. It was a cold November morning and there was a thin sheet of ice on the lid of the garbage can I use to hold the cracked corn we feed the chickens. I felt good this morning and I enjoyed watching our growing flock of 32 birds as they each aroused in turn and made their appearance from the coop. Some hens jumped out immediately and went for those golden specks of grain that they so enjoy, while the roosters chased them around and did everything in their power to make them temporarily forget about their breakfast.
When my fingers and toes began to feel numb from the cold I headed to the house. Sometimes I nod off back to sleep in my recliner at this point, but I am always more pleased when I spend some time in God’s Word. I was blessed with about an hour of quiet prayer and Bible reading before my growing family of blessings began to arouse from their warm beds. Things tend to begin moving pretty quickly on Sunday mornings after everyone gets going; breakfasts, showers, baths, find matching socks, “where’s my shoes”, get the diaper bag together and Timothy ready, move the car that is blocking the van, warm up the van, and off to church.
We had a nice worship service and a nice long visit afterwards with the folks who lingered. It was almost 2:00 by the time we got home so our Sunday dinner wasn’t finished until about 3:30. It was time to feed the pigs and it had become a pretty nice afternoon. Matthew and I had a thought about this being the last weekend for modern gun deer season. Maybe we would take our guns with us to the barn and then keep on going up the mountain after chores? Would there be any use to try one more time?
Personally, I did not grow up hunting and my only hunting knowledge comes from books and videos. The last few years the idea of deer hunting has really grown on me and I have tried unsuccessfully several times. I never had a “real” rifle before; just a muzzle-loader and a .410 shotgun shooting a rifled slug. I had seen deer, and even fired at them once, but to no avail.
I set out several months ago determining that this year was going to be different! For one thing, we now know how to dress a deer and fix it all up for the freezer. Previous years we would have had to call for help, but we successfully butchered a deer last month that we traded a feeder pig for. This year we would also have better tools to dispatch a deer with. I had traded some goats for a nice Marlin 30-30 rifle, which is a good deer rifle for our kind of terrain and brush. My other ace in the hole was that Matthew was now more interested in getting a deer and he knows how to shoot!
So we expected to get a deer the first morning of modern gun season last Saturday. And we expected it that evening. And again the next evening. As well as several more times through the week. I’m not sure how many times we went up in our hollow between the two of us. Sometimes I went by myself, and sometimes Matthew went by himself, and a few times we were both in the mountains at the same time, but at separate locations. With our expectations so high, each successive unfruitful outing felt like a sledge-hammer blow to our hopeful, but fragile, dream of shooting our first deer.
I saw two deer at the clearing one night, but it was too dark to see them except for their white tails bounding along the trail. I also startled a deer behind the school house one evening as I was heading to feed the chickens down in the ravine. Matthew saw three deer one evening and one was a nice sized buck, but he wasn’t able to get a shot off at them. One morning he did get a shot off at one and drew blood, but it ran up the mountain. Matt tracked it up the mountain all the way to the top of the ridge and from there he could see the deer going up and over the next ridge. We had started to wonder if that would be the closest thing to bagging our first deer either one of us would get this year.
Going up in the hollow to hunt one more time this particular ordinary Sunday afternoon was almost an after-thought. Our hopes had been all but shattered by this time. Still, it would be an enjoyable way to spend the last hours of daylight on this nice Sunday evening, I thought. One thing I’ve re-learned this week is that it is easy to feel close to God sitting in the peaceful woods, still and quiet, listening to a multitude of forest sounds as unseen birds and small woodland creatures scurry and scamper through the crisp, crunchy fallen leaves. The darkening scarlet sky and the setting sun which changes the colors and shadows of the forest hues points toward a Master artist! A cool gentle breeze in my face whispers to me that God is real; He is here. Experiencing God’s nature allows one to recognize the beauty and majesty of God’s creation. Not getting the hoped for deer was disappointing, but spending these hours in the woods this week have not been wasted.
Still and quiet I sat under a half-fallen pine tree waiting and watching for the elusive deer to move into my view. I must admit that I had dozed off to sleep in this peaceful wonderland that I call home on this early Sunday evening. My ill-timed slumber was shattered with the crack of a gunshot not more than 150 yards further up the hollow where Matthew was staked out!
As I arrived past the clearing on the fern trail, this was the scene:
He had pulled off an expert shot from the hill above the clearing to the hill on the other side of the gully leading to the fern trail. The deer had stumbled down the hill and fallen near the creek. Since it was trying to get up Matthew decided to put one more bullet through the neck to be sure that it would not run off like the deer a week earlier had done.
We used his 4-wheeler and a rope to pull the carcass up to the level fern trail. We loaded it on the back of the 4-wheeler and then joyfully transported it down to the house to gut and hang.
We were primarily interested in the meat this animal would provide for our family, but the fact that it was a trophy buck was an extra blessing! It was a 9 point with the inside rack measuring 12 3/4 inches!
Hanging the carcass on the swingset and going through the gutting process was a memorable family experience:
Admiring his work:
The triumphant hunter, Mathew the Mighty, with our 9 point buck hanging to cool:
Needless to say, we are very proud of Matthew and of this accomplishment. I am pleased that he recorded our first deer kill at Pure Water Hollow. I’m sure there will be many more to come in the future.
Both Simon and Christina are waiting in the wings for the year when they will have a chance to bring in some venison for the family table, and one of these days I’m sure I will get one, too. We will give God the glory for providing both the wild game as well as the domestic animals for our sustinance and well-being. It all comes from Him, and I am thankful that He is allowing us to benefit from such abundant blessings!
Every day we are thankful for so many things at Pure Water Hollow Homestead, but this past week I was especially thankful for the hunt!
God bless, and may everyone have a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday this week!
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3 comments
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jrejhkids on November 24, 2009 at 11:09 am
I enjoyed reading your entry. I can picture some of the area now as I have been back to Kentucky. I took my son back to Berea for college in August.
He has also seen different areas of Kentucky and sent us pictures. He went to Stinking Creek for a field trip. The pictures he sent are beautiful.
It is wonderful how God provides more than we need. I love seeing the beauty of God's handiwork.
Have a great week with your family.
~jrejhkids
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Purewater on November 24, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Hey jrejhkids – Good hearing from you again.
If it was the Stinking Creek in Knox County, that was the country my father-in-law was born and raised.
Small world!
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Schatzi on November 24, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Wow, now that is excitement around your place…say congratulations to your son..and next time it WILL be you!!!
Have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Connie
When my fingers and toes began to feel numb from the cold I headed to the house. Sometimes I nod off back to sleep in my recliner at this point, but I am always more pleased when I spend some time in God’s Word. I was blessed with about an hour of quiet prayer and Bible reading before my growing family of blessings began to arouse from their warm beds. Things tend to begin moving pretty quickly on Sunday mornings after everyone gets going; breakfasts, showers, baths, find matching socks, “where’s my shoes”, get the diaper bag together and Timothy ready, move the car that is blocking the van, warm up the van, and off to church.
We had a nice worship service and a nice long visit afterwards with the folks who lingered. It was almost 2:00 by the time we got home so our Sunday dinner wasn’t finished until about 3:30. It was time to feed the pigs and it had become a pretty nice afternoon. Matthew and I had a thought about this being the last weekend for modern gun deer season. Maybe we would take our guns with us to the barn and then keep on going up the mountain after chores? Would there be any use to try one more time?
Personally, I did not grow up hunting and my only hunting knowledge comes from books and videos. The last few years the idea of deer hunting has really grown on me and I have tried unsuccessfully several times. I never had a “real” rifle before; just a muzzle-loader and a .410 shotgun shooting a rifled slug. I had seen deer, and even fired at them once, but to no avail.
I set out several months ago determining that this year was going to be different! For one thing, we now know how to dress a deer and fix it all up for the freezer. Previous years we would have had to call for help, but we successfully butchered a deer last month that we traded a feeder pig for. This year we would also have better tools to dispatch a deer with. I had traded some goats for a nice Marlin 30-30 rifle, which is a good deer rifle for our kind of terrain and brush. My other ace in the hole was that Matthew was now more interested in getting a deer and he knows how to shoot!
So we expected to get a deer the first morning of modern gun season last Saturday. And we expected it that evening. And again the next evening. As well as several more times through the week. I’m not sure how many times we went up in our hollow between the two of us. Sometimes I went by myself, and sometimes Matthew went by himself, and a few times we were both in the mountains at the same time, but at separate locations. With our expectations so high, each successive unfruitful outing felt like a sledge-hammer blow to our hopeful, but fragile, dream of shooting our first deer.
I saw two deer at the clearing one night, but it was too dark to see them except for their white tails bounding along the trail. I also startled a deer behind the school house one evening as I was heading to feed the chickens down in the ravine. Matthew saw three deer one evening and one was a nice sized buck, but he wasn’t able to get a shot off at them. One morning he did get a shot off at one and drew blood, but it ran up the mountain. Matt tracked it up the mountain all the way to the top of the ridge and from there he could see the deer going up and over the next ridge. We had started to wonder if that would be the closest thing to bagging our first deer either one of us would get this year.
Going up in the hollow to hunt one more time this particular ordinary Sunday afternoon was almost an after-thought. Our hopes had been all but shattered by this time. Still, it would be an enjoyable way to spend the last hours of daylight on this nice Sunday evening, I thought. One thing I’ve re-learned this week is that it is easy to feel close to God sitting in the peaceful woods, still and quiet, listening to a multitude of forest sounds as unseen birds and small woodland creatures scurry and scamper through the crisp, crunchy fallen leaves. The darkening scarlet sky and the setting sun which changes the colors and shadows of the forest hues points toward a Master artist! A cool gentle breeze in my face whispers to me that God is real; He is here. Experiencing God’s nature allows one to recognize the beauty and majesty of God’s creation. Not getting the hoped for deer was disappointing, but spending these hours in the woods this week have not been wasted.
Still and quiet I sat under a half-fallen pine tree waiting and watching for the elusive deer to move into my view. I must admit that I had dozed off to sleep in this peaceful wonderland that I call home on this early Sunday evening. My ill-timed slumber was shattered with the crack of a gunshot not more than 150 yards further up the hollow where Matthew was staked out!
As I arrived past the clearing on the fern trail, this was the scene:
He had pulled off an expert shot from the hill above the clearing to the hill on the other side of the gully leading to the fern trail. The deer had stumbled down the hill and fallen near the creek. Since it was trying to get up Matthew decided to put one more bullet through the neck to be sure that it would not run off like the deer a week earlier had done.
We used his 4-wheeler and a rope to pull the carcass up to the level fern trail. We loaded it on the back of the 4-wheeler and then joyfully transported it down to the house to gut and hang.
We were primarily interested in the meat this animal would provide for our family, but the fact that it was a trophy buck was an extra blessing! It was a 9 point with the inside rack measuring 12 3/4 inches!
Hanging the carcass on the swingset and going through the gutting process was a memorable family experience:
Admiring his work:
The triumphant hunter, Mathew the Mighty, with our 9 point buck hanging to cool:
Needless to say, we are very proud of Matthew and of this accomplishment. I am pleased that he recorded our first deer kill at Pure Water Hollow. I’m sure there will be many more to come in the future.
Both Simon and Christina are waiting in the wings for the year when they will have a chance to bring in some venison for the family table, and one of these days I’m sure I will get one, too. We will give God the glory for providing both the wild game as well as the domestic animals for our sustinance and well-being. It all comes from Him, and I am thankful that He is allowing us to benefit from such abundant blessings!
Every day we are thankful for so many things at Pure Water Hollow Homestead, but this past week I was especially thankful for the hunt!
God bless, and may everyone have a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday this week!
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3 comments
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jrejhkids on November 24, 2009 at 11:09 am
I enjoyed reading your entry. I can picture some of the area now as I have been back to Kentucky. I took my son back to Berea for college in August.
He has also seen different areas of Kentucky and sent us pictures. He went to Stinking Creek for a field trip. The pictures he sent are beautiful.
It is wonderful how God provides more than we need. I love seeing the beauty of God's handiwork.
Have a great week with your family.
~jrejhkids
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purewater on November 24, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Hey jrejhkids – Good hearing from you again.
If it was the Stinking Creek in Knox County, that was the country my father-in-law was born and raised.
Small world!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schatzi on November 24, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Wow, now that is excitement around your place…say congratulations to your son..and next time it WILL be you!!!
Have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Connie
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
All is well
This is just a quick note to say that all is well at Pure Water Hollow Homestead.
Fall is such a beautiful time of the year here, but there are also so many things to accomplish before the snow starts flying. We have been hard at work in many areas, and we have also been enjoying some quiet, peaceful moments as well.
I don’t have time right now to update all that has been going on, but you should know that the Lord has been taking care of us and blessing us everyday. Perhaps next month I will get a chance to do some deep, contemplative writings about some Pure Water Hollow happenings. I do so enjoy writing; I just wish I had the time to put into it what I would like to.
Until then, may God continue to bless!
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2 comments
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hopefulheart77 on October 28, 2009 at 7:29 pm
God bless you too!
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sassyfras on October 30, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Be looking for your updates. I always love reading about your homestead.
Fall is such a beautiful time of the year here, but there are also so many things to accomplish before the snow starts flying. We have been hard at work in many areas, and we have also been enjoying some quiet, peaceful moments as well.
I don’t have time right now to update all that has been going on, but you should know that the Lord has been taking care of us and blessing us everyday. Perhaps next month I will get a chance to do some deep, contemplative writings about some Pure Water Hollow happenings. I do so enjoy writing; I just wish I had the time to put into it what I would like to.
Until then, may God continue to bless!
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2 comments
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hopefulheart77 on October 28, 2009 at 7:29 pm
God bless you too!
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sassyfras on October 30, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Be looking for your updates. I always love reading about your homestead.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
An Update – or – Some Random Thoughts On A Rainy Fall Day
The last two months of summer passed in a blur for me, and now I look around and fall is here! I do enjoy the fall weather, even though sometimes my allergies do not. Today is a very rainy day with a flash flood watch in effect, so there won’t be much happening around Pure Water Hollow outside today. I am amazed at how dark it is outside as I sit in front of this bright glow of the computer monitor! Every now and then I hear a deep rumble of thunder. Days like this always seem to put me into a reflective mood, and sometimes I feel like writing.
I did go out to open up the chicken coop this morning, getting rather damp in the process. I waited later than usual, giving the rain a chance to slack up a bit, which it did. When it is pouring out, there is no use in opening up the coop since they tend to stay put in the dry coop anyway. But they do prefer to get out of the coop if it is not raining too hard. The coop is up on cement block pillars, so when they exit they can still stay dry and scratch around in the dirt under the coop.
I threw some corn out in the yard and some under the coop. It is interesting to see which chickens prefer to eat out in the yard, and which ones want to stay dry. The Light Brahmas all stayed under the coop in the dry with King Arthur, but Abe Lincoln and the hens that follow him around didn’t seem to mind eating out in the drizzle. Some of the hens stayed in the coop and others came out, went back in, and came out again. I guess they couldn’t decide what was best. They liked the protection the dry coop afforded, but they also wanted those golden grains of corn that was without.
Sometimes I’m like those hens that can’t make up their minds as to what is the best course of action. I just passed through such a time, concerning buying some land down the road. It just about drove me crazy, going back and forth about the benefits of having the property compared to the sacrifices we would need to make to purchase it. Plus it was going to be auctioned off at the courthouse, so I went through days of waffling in my mind concerning how much my high bid would be, if indeed we wanted to bid on it.
The land was just a mile from our homestead and consisted of two tracts of land, one for 56 acres and one for 73 acres, more or less. Unlike our homestead, much of this land was flat enough that we would have been able to clear it and have some wonderful corn fields and hay fields. It would be some major work, but I could definitely see the wide open corn fields! This property also contained much saleable timber that could be logged and sold.
I wish I had counted up the hours we spent in researching the deeds and the possible liens against the property, hiking over the property, and talking to various county officials at the offices of the circuit clerk, PVA, and county attourney as well as to neighbors who knew more about the property in question, and to a couple of other attorneys who knew about the case.
The day of the auction, there were still some troubling aspects about one of the tracts of land that we could not resolve; we could not find anywhere in the records about three of the heirs, two who each owned a 1/10th share and the other who owned a 1/5th share of the land. If they have retained their interests in the land it would mean that this tract of land would only contain a 3/5th ownership at the sale.
After much prayer for wisdom and guidance, I came to the conclusion that the land would be a valuable asset, at the right price, even with the questions about the one tract of land. We went back and forth in our minds about the amount to bid, similar to the chickens going in and out of the coop. We came up with a figure that we could afford, but we hoped the price would not even go that high.
To make a long story a bit shorter, we did not get the property. We did not even place a bid. The bidding started out at $5,000 and there were several folks bidding against each other at those low bids. Most folks we had spoken to speculated that it might go for $20,000, but before too long the bidding had risen above $30,000 and before much longer the amount was more than we were willing to bid.
It was interesting to see the serious bidders gradually fall away as the amount continued to raise. It finally came down between two older gentlemen. One was a fellow who had already bought 10 years of the delinquent tax bills on the property. He stopped at $68,000 and the other fellow got it for $69,000.
After the auction, we spoke to the gentleman who was out bid. He had done much more research on the property than we had done, and he said that there is $200,000 worth of timber on that property, but if they can’t find who owns that 2/5th share of the ownership (that we had also discovered) they will never be able to log it. He also told us that the access road into the property is not a public road, and if they can’t make a deal with someone, the property is really landlocked. He seemed to think there would need to be more legal actions filed and thousands of more dollars spent, and still might not ever be completely figured out.
We are satisfied that the Lord kept us out of a big mess we could have made for ourselves. Nonetheless, it was a fascinating learning experience, concerning not only the legal workings, but also in the spiritual realm. God allowed us to stay in His "coop" of protection and at the same time gave us enough sense to keep out of the rain. How easy it is to over-rule His best plans for us and go our own way, following our own wants and desires. Sometimes those golden grains of corn are not worth getting soaked over!
Now we can re-focus our attention back to the things that we need to do right here on our own property at Pure Water Hollow. There is much I would like to do before winter.
I could catch up on so many things that have gone on these past two months, but since I am not planning on spending all day here on the computer, I will limit my thoughts to just a bit about the hogs.
Our hog lots need to be adjusted some before winter. We already put down concrete in the pig sty in lot number two in an effort to give the pigs a dry place to sleep. The previous occupants of that lot had dug such a hole in the sty that it had become a constant pond of soupy mud. We need to put the self-feeder under a roof in that lot and also fix up a waterer. We also need to tighten everything on the feeder and make sure it is in sound condition. I then plan on moving the feeder pigs in that lot by themselves, so they can have access to all the feed they want as they grow to butchering size. Currently they are all in lot number one together with Nellie and Sally. Nellie and Sally tend to eat all the food and I’m concerned that our feeder pigs won’t be as big as they should be come December.
In the front lot will be our two future mama sows and the new boar. We don’t want them to get too big, too quickly, so we will have them in the lot where we can feed them rationed amounts. Right now the new girls are in the barn, but they will enjoy being in a lot with more dirt.
We purchased the two new girl pigs on August 12th for $50 a piece from a friend. They were born on April 8th, so they were already 4 months old when we got them. We have named them Crimson and Scarlett. The boar we are going to keep with them was born June 5th. I think the children have named him Boris, but I’m not sure if it will stick. We plan on letting them breed and see if they give us a couple new batches of piglets this spring.
We are keeping Sally and Nellie just until we are sure that Nellie is not bred. If she doesn’t have any sign of milk by the end of October, we will know that she was not bred.
There is much more to do before winter, and there is much more that I could catch up on that has happened these past two months since I last recorded anything here. But alas, my desire to reflect and write at this moment has begun to wane.
It is still raining outside, but there is much to do inside the house today and everyone else is now working on various chores. It is time for me to leave this computer and see what I can do to help.
Hopefully I will be back here to update again before another two months blur by me.
God bless,
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2 comments
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Schatzi on October 1, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Just checking in to see how everyone is doing at Pure Water Hallow Homestead? Hope you have all had a blessed summer.
Connie
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MRS C on October 28, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Ah yes, there is nothing like a rainy day to motivate us to slow down and ponder over things… I greatly enjoyed your blog entry and would like to encourage you to update us more. You have a talent for writing (second career??) and I loved reading about your homesteading efforts! A great motivator for those of us who are new to this… We hope to see you blogging more… Happy homesteading!
I did go out to open up the chicken coop this morning, getting rather damp in the process. I waited later than usual, giving the rain a chance to slack up a bit, which it did. When it is pouring out, there is no use in opening up the coop since they tend to stay put in the dry coop anyway. But they do prefer to get out of the coop if it is not raining too hard. The coop is up on cement block pillars, so when they exit they can still stay dry and scratch around in the dirt under the coop.
I threw some corn out in the yard and some under the coop. It is interesting to see which chickens prefer to eat out in the yard, and which ones want to stay dry. The Light Brahmas all stayed under the coop in the dry with King Arthur, but Abe Lincoln and the hens that follow him around didn’t seem to mind eating out in the drizzle. Some of the hens stayed in the coop and others came out, went back in, and came out again. I guess they couldn’t decide what was best. They liked the protection the dry coop afforded, but they also wanted those golden grains of corn that was without.
Sometimes I’m like those hens that can’t make up their minds as to what is the best course of action. I just passed through such a time, concerning buying some land down the road. It just about drove me crazy, going back and forth about the benefits of having the property compared to the sacrifices we would need to make to purchase it. Plus it was going to be auctioned off at the courthouse, so I went through days of waffling in my mind concerning how much my high bid would be, if indeed we wanted to bid on it.
The land was just a mile from our homestead and consisted of two tracts of land, one for 56 acres and one for 73 acres, more or less. Unlike our homestead, much of this land was flat enough that we would have been able to clear it and have some wonderful corn fields and hay fields. It would be some major work, but I could definitely see the wide open corn fields! This property also contained much saleable timber that could be logged and sold.
I wish I had counted up the hours we spent in researching the deeds and the possible liens against the property, hiking over the property, and talking to various county officials at the offices of the circuit clerk, PVA, and county attourney as well as to neighbors who knew more about the property in question, and to a couple of other attorneys who knew about the case.
The day of the auction, there were still some troubling aspects about one of the tracts of land that we could not resolve; we could not find anywhere in the records about three of the heirs, two who each owned a 1/10th share and the other who owned a 1/5th share of the land. If they have retained their interests in the land it would mean that this tract of land would only contain a 3/5th ownership at the sale.
After much prayer for wisdom and guidance, I came to the conclusion that the land would be a valuable asset, at the right price, even with the questions about the one tract of land. We went back and forth in our minds about the amount to bid, similar to the chickens going in and out of the coop. We came up with a figure that we could afford, but we hoped the price would not even go that high.
To make a long story a bit shorter, we did not get the property. We did not even place a bid. The bidding started out at $5,000 and there were several folks bidding against each other at those low bids. Most folks we had spoken to speculated that it might go for $20,000, but before too long the bidding had risen above $30,000 and before much longer the amount was more than we were willing to bid.
It was interesting to see the serious bidders gradually fall away as the amount continued to raise. It finally came down between two older gentlemen. One was a fellow who had already bought 10 years of the delinquent tax bills on the property. He stopped at $68,000 and the other fellow got it for $69,000.
After the auction, we spoke to the gentleman who was out bid. He had done much more research on the property than we had done, and he said that there is $200,000 worth of timber on that property, but if they can’t find who owns that 2/5th share of the ownership (that we had also discovered) they will never be able to log it. He also told us that the access road into the property is not a public road, and if they can’t make a deal with someone, the property is really landlocked. He seemed to think there would need to be more legal actions filed and thousands of more dollars spent, and still might not ever be completely figured out.
We are satisfied that the Lord kept us out of a big mess we could have made for ourselves. Nonetheless, it was a fascinating learning experience, concerning not only the legal workings, but also in the spiritual realm. God allowed us to stay in His "coop" of protection and at the same time gave us enough sense to keep out of the rain. How easy it is to over-rule His best plans for us and go our own way, following our own wants and desires. Sometimes those golden grains of corn are not worth getting soaked over!
Now we can re-focus our attention back to the things that we need to do right here on our own property at Pure Water Hollow. There is much I would like to do before winter.
I could catch up on so many things that have gone on these past two months, but since I am not planning on spending all day here on the computer, I will limit my thoughts to just a bit about the hogs.
Our hog lots need to be adjusted some before winter. We already put down concrete in the pig sty in lot number two in an effort to give the pigs a dry place to sleep. The previous occupants of that lot had dug such a hole in the sty that it had become a constant pond of soupy mud. We need to put the self-feeder under a roof in that lot and also fix up a waterer. We also need to tighten everything on the feeder and make sure it is in sound condition. I then plan on moving the feeder pigs in that lot by themselves, so they can have access to all the feed they want as they grow to butchering size. Currently they are all in lot number one together with Nellie and Sally. Nellie and Sally tend to eat all the food and I’m concerned that our feeder pigs won’t be as big as they should be come December.
In the front lot will be our two future mama sows and the new boar. We don’t want them to get too big, too quickly, so we will have them in the lot where we can feed them rationed amounts. Right now the new girls are in the barn, but they will enjoy being in a lot with more dirt.
We purchased the two new girl pigs on August 12th for $50 a piece from a friend. They were born on April 8th, so they were already 4 months old when we got them. We have named them Crimson and Scarlett. The boar we are going to keep with them was born June 5th. I think the children have named him Boris, but I’m not sure if it will stick. We plan on letting them breed and see if they give us a couple new batches of piglets this spring.
We are keeping Sally and Nellie just until we are sure that Nellie is not bred. If she doesn’t have any sign of milk by the end of October, we will know that she was not bred.
There is much more to do before winter, and there is much more that I could catch up on that has happened these past two months since I last recorded anything here. But alas, my desire to reflect and write at this moment has begun to wane.
It is still raining outside, but there is much to do inside the house today and everyone else is now working on various chores. It is time for me to leave this computer and see what I can do to help.
Hopefully I will be back here to update again before another two months blur by me.
God bless,
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2 comments
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Schatzi on October 1, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Just checking in to see how everyone is doing at Pure Water Hallow Homestead? Hope you have all had a blessed summer.
Connie
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MRS C on October 28, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Ah yes, there is nothing like a rainy day to motivate us to slow down and ponder over things… I greatly enjoyed your blog entry and would like to encourage you to update us more. You have a talent for writing (second career??) and I loved reading about your homesteading efforts! A great motivator for those of us who are new to this… We hope to see you blogging more… Happy homesteading!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
2009 Peach Harvest
We picked three 5-gallon bucketfuls of peaches today from the one Elberta Peach tree in our front yard, and have another bucket of recently fallen ones! Until today, we have just been picking a few to eat and collecting the fallen ones that were good. Lisa made a wonderful peach cobler earlier this week. I think it is my favorite dessert, especially when it is with our own peaches! (My favorite dessert is usually the one that is in front of me at the moment.)
Now we need to get working on the job of peeling, slicing and canning these peaches. Last year we had many more peaches because we had 2 trees that had bumper crops, but this is a good many in it’s own right.
We were able to can so many last year that Lisa was still making peach coblers in late spring, and we still have a few jars left now! The other tree in our front yard, closest to the road, had so many peaches that every limb on it broke by the time they were ripe! That tree had no peaches this year, of course.
Down on the riverbank we have 4 other peach trees that have produced peaches for several years now. This year the Mother’s Day flood ruined most of the peaches and the ones that survived got taken by the wild. We had ripe peaches on the tops of the trees (the parts that were not submerged in the flood), but the last time we checked on them they were all gone! All that were left were some gnawed on seeds beneath the trees!
We are thankful for the abundant crop of healthy peaches the Lord gave us on this one tree. It is really a wonderful blessing to have such sweet, delicious fruit from our own land!
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2 comments
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jlgoinggreen on July 25, 2009 at 7:53 am
I love peach cobbler! Bummer about your other trees, but like you stated, at least the Lord provided if only from one tree. I pray you are able to make these last at least till the winter this year.
God Bless,
JEN
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CedarCityMom on July 28, 2009 at 9:07 am
Hello, been awhile since I've stopped by…. looks as God is still sending emence blessings your way!
May God send many more!
Jessica~CedarCityMom~
Now we need to get working on the job of peeling, slicing and canning these peaches. Last year we had many more peaches because we had 2 trees that had bumper crops, but this is a good many in it’s own right.
We were able to can so many last year that Lisa was still making peach coblers in late spring, and we still have a few jars left now! The other tree in our front yard, closest to the road, had so many peaches that every limb on it broke by the time they were ripe! That tree had no peaches this year, of course.
Down on the riverbank we have 4 other peach trees that have produced peaches for several years now. This year the Mother’s Day flood ruined most of the peaches and the ones that survived got taken by the wild. We had ripe peaches on the tops of the trees (the parts that were not submerged in the flood), but the last time we checked on them they were all gone! All that were left were some gnawed on seeds beneath the trees!
We are thankful for the abundant crop of healthy peaches the Lord gave us on this one tree. It is really a wonderful blessing to have such sweet, delicious fruit from our own land!
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2 comments
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jlgoinggreen on July 25, 2009 at 7:53 am
I love peach cobbler! Bummer about your other trees, but like you stated, at least the Lord provided if only from one tree. I pray you are able to make these last at least till the winter this year.
God Bless,
JEN
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CedarCityMom on July 28, 2009 at 9:07 am
Hello, been awhile since I've stopped by…. looks as God is still sending emence blessings your way!
May God send many more!
Jessica~CedarCityMom~
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Pure Water Hollow Chicken Operation Limping Along
I tell you, I am getting frustrated with our chicken losses! The coons are not bothering us as much now, after catching and taking 3 of them off, but we are still losing chickens from both feathered predators as well as metal ones! Most of our predator problem is now coming from the sky, but it really saddens me when we loose a hen by getting hit on the road. During the past 33 days we have lost 5 of our good McMurray laying hens, 3 to hawks most likely, and 2 to the road. A Partridge Rock hen and a beautiful Light Brahma hen have been hit on the road in front of our house! Two Black Giant hens and our largest, most beautiful Buff Orpington hen have turned up missing during the day, and we are constantly spotting hawks flying around. This morning a Blue Jay flew over the lot and all the chickens made the alert sound and disappeared under cover, so I think they know what is going on. Just yesterday (the 21st) was when I lost the last Black Giant and we lost the Buff Orpington on Sunday (the 19th). The other Black Giant hen was lost back in June, but I am furious to loose 2 good hens in just 3 days!
If the hen losses are sad, then our chick losses are downright chilling. I hate to even admit these numbers. In the past, we have had chicks hatch off and we let the mamas free range with them all day long and we close them up in a cage at night. They usually loose one or two chicks that way, but the vast majority survive. We have never before had crows that would come and steal the chicks away, but that is what is happening this summer! Unlike the hawks, they can go down to a lower branch and just drop right down and snatch a chick before the mama can do anything. Ok, here is the disgusting number: we have lost 14 chicks this summer during these past 33 days. And I’m afraid we will loose more! Right now we still have 17 chicks that we are trying to keep safe.
As a result of all this carnage, I am keeping most of the chicks caged (but they have a way of getting out somehow), and I am keeping the hens in their lot later into the evening now. I really like letting them all free range starting sometime in the afternoon, but between the road and the sky, it seems to be too dangerous. This means I will have to feed them a bit more.
One of the reasons to free range is how much it cuts down on the feed bill. (I also think they are happier and healthier and lay more eggs when they free range, but not if they don’t survive.)
Cost Analysis:
We have quite a few chickens, but I can make a 100 pound sack of cracked corn last for almost a month feeding just the 2 dozen or so coop chickens. The cost for that bag has been about $11.30 for the past year now. (I remember when it was just $7.30, as well as when it skyrocketed to $15). That comes down to about 38 cents a day to feed the coop chickens.
Unfortunately, our numbers of layers have gone down by 5 now, but we are still getting between 6 and 10 eggs a day, even with some of them in molt. We are down to just 12 mature laying hens in the coop now, with 2 others raising chicks. We also have the 7 pullets in the coop that are not yet laying and 2 roosters. So, for less than 40 cents a day we are getting enough eggs for a family of 7 with enough left over to sell or feed to the hogs. I figure it is coming out to about 4 cents per egg right now. or 48 cents a dozen, but in the spring we were getting many more eggs for the same feed money.
Where we are probably not making much money sense is feeding our "meat flock". We need to have several more serious butchering days like we did earlier in the summer when we butchered those 7 roosters. We have a flock of 11 birds still in the ravine lot, 8 waiting to be butchered, and we are still raising 9 roosters in the duplex lot for meat, as well as 2 Light Brahma roosters that are ready. Those in the duplex are not yet full grown, but they will be to a good butchering size by fall. Those in the ravine lot are just costing us money in corn. The meat will be valuable, but I don’t know if it will be much of a bargin if we keep feeding them! So between them and the chicks, I go through another 100 pound sack of cracked corn pretty easily.
Keeping all the chickens shut up most of the day, I will probably need at least 3 sacks of corn in a month, feeding them twice.
Current Count:
So even after our recent losses of those 5 hens and all those chicks, here is the tally of the birds God has entrusted us to care for. I already mentioned the 19 birds for meat, and the 17 chicks that are still alive. In the hen department, we still have 4 Light Brahma hens, 3 Black Giant hens, 3 Partridge Rock hens, 2 Buff Orpington hens, 1 Black Australorp hen and 1 Game hen, for a total of 14 hens. Our pullets are 3 Rhode Island Reds (still not sure if these might be cockerals), 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Black Giant, and one Buff Orpington/Black for the total of 7 pullets. In the rooster department I am still keeping 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Black Giant, and 1 Light Brahma, a total of 4 roosters. So if I add all that up right, we still have 25 chickens that we are caring for as well as 17 chicks. We also still have 3 geese and 2 ducks (having lost 1 goose and 2 ducks earlier).
In conclusion, I know I need to keep better watch on our poultry. We also need to get the butchering done so we can save on feed and also open up some more cages to keep the chicks better. We are thinking about putting a scarecrow by the chickens to fool the hawks and crows and I am planning on sitting back there with a shotgun to see how many crows I can kill. I am thankful for the poultry we still have and want to take good care of them!
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2 comments
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Glory Farm on July 22, 2009 at 9:18 am
Crows took out all 24 of my friend's ducklings. I didn't realize they were so nasty.
Rhonda
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jlgoinggreen on July 22, 2009 at 10:38 am
Thanks for posting all this (very useful to a newbie) information. These are things that the books I've read do not mention. "Real" life on a farm. Things I really need to prepare for. My dh (after a lot of explaining) has finally convinced me to allow my son to get an air rifle. After reading this, everything he told me makes sense. I guess my son will be making good use of his air rifle.
I will be praying for your family and your chickens safety.
God Bless you and yours,
JEN
PS- Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving your very helpful thoughts.
If the hen losses are sad, then our chick losses are downright chilling. I hate to even admit these numbers. In the past, we have had chicks hatch off and we let the mamas free range with them all day long and we close them up in a cage at night. They usually loose one or two chicks that way, but the vast majority survive. We have never before had crows that would come and steal the chicks away, but that is what is happening this summer! Unlike the hawks, they can go down to a lower branch and just drop right down and snatch a chick before the mama can do anything. Ok, here is the disgusting number: we have lost 14 chicks this summer during these past 33 days. And I’m afraid we will loose more! Right now we still have 17 chicks that we are trying to keep safe.
As a result of all this carnage, I am keeping most of the chicks caged (but they have a way of getting out somehow), and I am keeping the hens in their lot later into the evening now. I really like letting them all free range starting sometime in the afternoon, but between the road and the sky, it seems to be too dangerous. This means I will have to feed them a bit more.
One of the reasons to free range is how much it cuts down on the feed bill. (I also think they are happier and healthier and lay more eggs when they free range, but not if they don’t survive.)
Cost Analysis:
We have quite a few chickens, but I can make a 100 pound sack of cracked corn last for almost a month feeding just the 2 dozen or so coop chickens. The cost for that bag has been about $11.30 for the past year now. (I remember when it was just $7.30, as well as when it skyrocketed to $15). That comes down to about 38 cents a day to feed the coop chickens.
Unfortunately, our numbers of layers have gone down by 5 now, but we are still getting between 6 and 10 eggs a day, even with some of them in molt. We are down to just 12 mature laying hens in the coop now, with 2 others raising chicks. We also have the 7 pullets in the coop that are not yet laying and 2 roosters. So, for less than 40 cents a day we are getting enough eggs for a family of 7 with enough left over to sell or feed to the hogs. I figure it is coming out to about 4 cents per egg right now. or 48 cents a dozen, but in the spring we were getting many more eggs for the same feed money.
Where we are probably not making much money sense is feeding our "meat flock". We need to have several more serious butchering days like we did earlier in the summer when we butchered those 7 roosters. We have a flock of 11 birds still in the ravine lot, 8 waiting to be butchered, and we are still raising 9 roosters in the duplex lot for meat, as well as 2 Light Brahma roosters that are ready. Those in the duplex are not yet full grown, but they will be to a good butchering size by fall. Those in the ravine lot are just costing us money in corn. The meat will be valuable, but I don’t know if it will be much of a bargin if we keep feeding them! So between them and the chicks, I go through another 100 pound sack of cracked corn pretty easily.
Keeping all the chickens shut up most of the day, I will probably need at least 3 sacks of corn in a month, feeding them twice.
Current Count:
So even after our recent losses of those 5 hens and all those chicks, here is the tally of the birds God has entrusted us to care for. I already mentioned the 19 birds for meat, and the 17 chicks that are still alive. In the hen department, we still have 4 Light Brahma hens, 3 Black Giant hens, 3 Partridge Rock hens, 2 Buff Orpington hens, 1 Black Australorp hen and 1 Game hen, for a total of 14 hens. Our pullets are 3 Rhode Island Reds (still not sure if these might be cockerals), 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Black Giant, and one Buff Orpington/Black for the total of 7 pullets. In the rooster department I am still keeping 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Black Giant, and 1 Light Brahma, a total of 4 roosters. So if I add all that up right, we still have 25 chickens that we are caring for as well as 17 chicks. We also still have 3 geese and 2 ducks (having lost 1 goose and 2 ducks earlier).
In conclusion, I know I need to keep better watch on our poultry. We also need to get the butchering done so we can save on feed and also open up some more cages to keep the chicks better. We are thinking about putting a scarecrow by the chickens to fool the hawks and crows and I am planning on sitting back there with a shotgun to see how many crows I can kill. I am thankful for the poultry we still have and want to take good care of them!
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2 comments
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Glory Farm on July 22, 2009 at 9:18 am
Crows took out all 24 of my friend's ducklings. I didn't realize they were so nasty.
Rhonda
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jlgoinggreen on July 22, 2009 at 10:38 am
Thanks for posting all this (very useful to a newbie) information. These are things that the books I've read do not mention. "Real" life on a farm. Things I really need to prepare for. My dh (after a lot of explaining) has finally convinced me to allow my son to get an air rifle. After reading this, everything he told me makes sense. I guess my son will be making good use of his air rifle.
I will be praying for your family and your chickens safety.
God Bless you and yours,
JEN
PS- Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving your very helpful thoughts.
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