Home and Hearth

I've been reading my new books every chance I get in between everything else going on with the winter storms, work, getting ready for Spring gardening, etc. and one thing that sticks out to me is how I am not even close to where I want to be in terms of being self-sufficient. Some things we have been looking into for our next property:

1. Solar panels, wind, and other ways to generate power at home that are green and feasible.

2. Building more. My husband has taken an interest in woodworking and refurbishing old time furniture. I'd like some outdoor hutches, which have been put on the backburner for now until we know where we will be so there is less to try to move. Depending on the property though, we may end up converting a barn for our needs. I may just want grazing pens at that point for fresh food, sunshine, and exercise.

3. Growing more food. We are limited by the space on our current property and our inability to protect and preserve it from people and wildlife, but we are hoping to expand our next garden, have an orchard, build a root cellar, set-up a shelving unit for all of our preserved goods, etc.

4. Animals. One of our goals on our next property is to get our land and critters to where everything works in harmony as much as possible. We want a few chickens for sure, but not just for eggs. We also want them to eat bugs that may otherwise cause problems for the garden and orchard. Their waste will also help fertilize and their meat will feed something at some point. ALL of the books we read recommends pigs for their rooting the ground, eating the extras, and manure. I've always planned to have a dairy cow and she can provide more than just milk, cheese, etc.. her manure is gold for the soil, too. We are considering goats, but are on the fence if we will do straight dairy goats or fiber goats or whatever. Same with sheep. We want to start with adding one species and ensure we are doing right by them and then go slowly.. no zoo here!

5. Warm clothing, furs, etc. While my husband is interested in building and woodworking, I am interested in tanning, making things out of hides/furs, carding/spinning, sewing, and of course knitting/crochet. My grandmother taught me how to knit when I was a little girl and I keep dabbling in it year after year. One of the things I want to work on is homemade wool socks. I used to raise English Angoras and find myself disappointed every time I have to buy yarn at the store though. We might need to remedy that at some point.

6. Homebrewing. I'm particularly interested in trying to make some of the old time fruit wines that my great grandparents made after they immigrated from Germany. I also enjoy craft beer and it would be really neat to be able to use home grown grains, hops, etc. to make something like a stout to enjoy on the weekend.

We already can make our own bath and body supplies including cold-process soap. I love cooking and do it frequently. We have been de-cluttering our home and trying to simplify for a while now. We have also completed some house projects that we feel good about and are ready to move on to bigger and better things.

In other news- today and over the weekend, we will be weighing and selecting our youngsters from the first litters as they will be 10 weeks old. Keepers will get their BunnyVac booster and hopefully I'll be able to get some new pics if the weather cooperates. Right now it is still below freezing and overcast. Brrr!