Stocking Up, Chickens,Thrifting, Independence Day Challenge, and Food Storage Questions

   

Rosie on patrol

Stocking Up-
2 Bags Of Pine, 2 Bags of Feed and Some Chickies Coming Home Soon- Just sing it to the 12 Days Of Christmas! I went shopping yesterday and got the first two items at our local feed/garden place. I stocked up on extra feed and pine shavings, since fuel is getting so high. I also bought organic veggie seeds to start, oh boy!

Today was coop cleaning day, oh joy!!! I deep cleaned the coop and sun room, all clean and tidy now. Spring break just started today for me, and I knew it would be mild- 62 degrees. The deep litter method works so well, no odor, I just deep clean it every 3 months or so. I do, however, clean the "condo" and nest boxes daily. All the pine shavings went out into the veggie garden and the girls are tilling it in already!

Ellie looking up- "what do you want now!"

Lots of good stuff for the berry vines-

They has some new little chicks for sale, but I like to go to the big local hatchery, Dunlap's, outside town, as they have such a huge selection of pullet chicks for sale. I will probably pick up 2 new babies this week, just trying to decide on which breed- something I don't have. Rosie is a Rhode Island Red, and Ellie is a barred rock. Rosie is such a trouper though, I may get another R.I.R., but I also like these as a possibility-

Brown Leghorns-

New Hampshire Reds-

Since we lost Buffy, our Orpington, recently, and I'm not ready for another one, and she was almost too big for our space.

Thrifting- Last night I bought some jeans, shorts and a summer blouse. On eBay I bought some Dansko like clogs, used Irish Cooking cookbooks (dang missed St. Pat's Day!), a like-new parka from a big name American company (think Maine) for 25% of the full retail. Another homestead blog showed a similar one of these, so I bought one!

It's a magnetic dishwasher cover that I thought would go well with our color scheme and protect the front, cute! And kind of camouflages the occasional drips, etc :)

Independence Days- See some of the above: stocking up on feed, clothing/shoes, getting more chicks. We bought some small crates last night for me to organize our new freezer. Our attic fan died last summer (unknown to us then), so Dave installed a new, bigger/better one today. It will keep the house much cooler in the summer, and cut down on the AC, which we're lucky to have. We did join a voluntary AC program that reduces the  use during peak time and saves us some $$$. we'll be expanding our veggie area soon, and I hope we can afford a tree person to come in and create more sunny area for us to grow in. I'm looking for another food dehydrator, to dry more.

Food Storage Questions- I thought these were excellent questions out of my spring Foods Preservation and Storage class I'm taking:
 

What am I storing food for? 

What are my concerns? 

What kinds of situations are likely in my region? 

How much food do I want to store? 

For how many people/pets? 

How much water do I want to store? 

Am I likely to have people outside my immediate household who are with us in a crisis? 

Are there other things I want to store – clothing, medical supplies, tools?  What are they?

How much time and energy do I have to devote to this? 

How much space do I realistically think I have to devote to this?

How much money can I spend each week/month on this project. 

Where will my stored food come from? 

How much of it will I grow/produce? 

What are my goals for food preservation? 

How much of my food will I buy, and from where? 

What can I get locally, and what do I have to get through the industrial food system? 

What’s the best and most ethical source for my food? 

What do I imagine doing with my food storage? 

Do I want it mostly to provide a hedge against a crisis, or for day to day use? 

Do I imagine myself eating regularly out of it and replacing it? 

Do I want to be able to share with others, or is my first priority protecting my own? 

How will I prevent loss of food to age, insects, mold?

Very thought-provoking, and better to answer now, than later. I'm feeling a real need to stock up now, with fuel prices being uncertain in the future, than kick myself later. I am able to purchase things easily, and who knows what the next few months/Fall could look like? What if our fruit trees fail this year, etc.? (sorry for the font change, sometimes blogger drives me up a tree!!!)