Cue Crickets....

I know, I know...the silence over here is deafening!!!

Summer is so crazy busy that I am doing chores until dark (and dark doesn't come until bedtime!!).  I have a huge load of pictures and thoughts to share...like how the farm is now ACTUALLY OURS!!!  But until I get a few more hours in my days (or an assistant!) You can catch my really short at least weekly (but sometimes daily...WOW) updates on our farm Facebook page..

www.facebook.com/CackleberryHollow

2018 Produce CSA Opportunity

In 2018, Wallace Homestead/Cackleberry Hollow will offer a 20 week C.S.A. season, which will begin the week of June 1st and will run through the October. Pick ups are coordinated on Tuesday in the Polaris area.

The number of shares will be VERY limited.  We will only be taking 4 family shares and
 4 individual shares.

Individual Share ($275)--The individual share is designed for an individual or a family of two and will include approximately $17-$20 worth of fresh, seasonal local produce each week. 

Family Share ($425)--The standard share is designed for families of three or more, and will include approximately $34-$40 of fresh, seasonal local produce each week.

The dollar value examples for the weekly shares are simply meant to give you a rough idea of how much produce you get. During times of bounty in the season the shares are considerably larger than these estimates. However, in farming there are risks, and inevitably there will be a very few slim weeks. I am confident that you will find at the end of the season that your share was money well spent.

There are also planned events for the CSA/Herdshare members including an “on the farm” open house day, possible “U-Pick” opportunities, and a “really LOCAL” craft / produce market in the fall.

  You are always encouraged to come be a part of the farm and spend some time working in the sun and the dirt! The quantity and quality of food is directly impacted by the amount of support we receive--thus the phrase Community Supported Agriculture. We especially need extra help on some of our bigger, time consuming projects.  "Many hands make light work."  We are doing all we can to carefully manage farm related expenses.  One of the unfortunate realities of many of our cost saving  efforts is they become time-consuming projects.  We have plans for making inexpensive farm improvements but often just don't have the time. 

New for 2018 is WORKSHARES: You can sign up as a worker helping on the farm 5 hours a week in lieu of paying for a CSA membership. The truth is, extra help on the farm will help us provide our members with the finest foods available for the best price possible. 



Occasionally, we will utilized produce from the local Amish growers in our area (still locally grown in Morrow County).  This is only to round out produce that has been requested but we are either not growing currently or for crop failures. 

So, Is TODAY the day????

I have been waiting for Hershey to calve since CHRISTMAS.  Because she had "live cover", I have no idea when she was actually bred.  I had a guess (which apparently was REALLY wrong)  

Now, for the past two weeks her udder has been filled and there is a mess under her tail (I'm sure you don't need details!) and all opinions are that she is ready to go ANY TIME.  So I haven't had a good night sleep in over 10 days.  I go out every 2-3 hours.  I could just let nature take it's course.  I could....except last time there were two in there (as you may remember) and I had to pull the second one.  So, it makes me a bit apprehensive to just let it go.

But, tonight with the FULL MOON would be a good time!  

C'mon Hersh!  You can do it!!

The 2020 101 List is UP!

Go check out the crazy out-of-control list I am working on now!!  Be sure to leave me a comment so I know you were here!  I am going to be more consistent with blogging so maybe I can get all you readers coming back!!

Love ya!

2020: 101 in 1001

Final update on the 2nd 101 list!

Back in September, right before our 4th Annual "really Local" Farm Festival, my 2nd round of the 101 in 1001 days came due.  We were so swamped with "the getting ready" that I haven't said much about the Round Up. ( I haven't said much about anything have I??) I am about to do another "round" of 101 starting on January 1st 2018, so I figure, I better get this one "in the books".  (Wow, lots of "quotes" going on...LOL!)

As the numbers go, I worked on most everything on the list.  If it's blue it was worked on.  If it's crossed out, I finished it!!  The numbers behind the statement is times accomplished out of the goal.  Most of those I actually got really close to being done.  I've already gotten the majority of the new 101 list ready.  Some of the things I didn't even start were completely dropped of the new list, some I still want to accomplish, so they were relisted.  Some of the traveling ones, I still REALLY want to do, but there are some major changes coming up and that's going to keep us close to home, so they are being held back until the 4th list in 2020. 

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Spiritual

1. Read through the Bible again (with a pen!)
2. Journal / Draw in prayer art journal 24/33
3. Start Concordance (and Finish it!)
4. Complete 5 Bible Studies
1. Red Hot Faith
2. WOTT
5. Read 5 Books to Encourage or Enlighten (4/5)

Financial

1. Get out of debt (again)
2. Rebuild emergency fund to $2500
3. Fund Black Friday account to $450 each year
4. Complete Photo Inventory
5. Do two Month-of-Nothings per year (5/5)
6. Have our Wills Written
7. Sell $500 on Craigslist or eBay ($500/$500)

Extended Family & Friends

1. Send 5 care packages (3/5)
2. Send all birthday cards
3. Do 12 Days of Christmas for a friend (Two completed Christmas 2015, one completed 2016, two in 2017)
4. Spend one on one time with a friend each month (20/33)
5. Go to Maryland (to see 'colie) 1/29/16
6. Go to Tennessee (to see 'brina)
7. Rudolph Day each month on the 25th

Self

1. Read 1 for fun fiction each month (36/33)
2. Lose another 25 pounds (0/35)
3. Make and Keep a well woman visit
4. Have a mani/pedi
5. Do the Race to Save Face
6. Do the 30 day Water Challenge
7. Do a 30 raw milk fast
8. Use one essential oil each month

Scrapbooking

1. 143 Scrapbook Pages Done (122/143)
2. 143 Page Kits Made and Ready (95/143)
3. Do the "Tiffany" Challenge once a year (3/3)
4. Have 10 crops with a friend(s) (4/10)
5. Hold Faithbooking study crop 6x a year (0/15)
6. Do a ROY B GIV photo day
7. Refinish Scrapbook table
8. Scrap weekend with 'colie 1/29/16

Boy

1. Make t-shirt quilt
2. Go letterboxing
3. 5 field trips (5/5)
4. Go Bowling
5. Find and go to a Hot Air Balloon Festival
6. Start (and Finish) mom journal
7. Make "If I'm not Here" Scrapbook
8. Take a family train trip
9. Arizona Trip

Blogging

1. Participate in a Blog Hop each month (2/33)
2. Comment on 33 new blogs (6/33)
3. Have a Blog-versary giveaway
4. Double Readership (8/50)

House

1. Reorganize 1 room/area each month
2. Paint/Update Zachary's Room DONE!!
3. Paint a cabinet in laundry room with dry erase paint(changed to magnetic dry erase calendars
4. Revive Flower gardens by the front walk (3/3)

Food

1. Can 33 things I've never canned before (33/33)
2. Make 3 more homemade ice creams (2/3)
3. Crockpot once a month (33/33)
4. Write and use a menu plan 85% of the time (687/850)
5. Organize recipes
6. Make marshmallows
7. Hunt Morel mushrooms
8. Have a backwards dinner
9. Rotate and use long term storage (and replenish)
10. Can 500 jars(1233/500)
11. Use the pressure cooker/canner each month (0/33)
12. Go to the Shrimp Festival

Other Crafts

1. Make 3 kinds of soap (0/3)
2. Make card line for Local Farm Fair (0/5)
3. Create Page Kits to Sell and put on etsy (or eBay) (4/15)
4. Milly
5. Finish green scarf
6. Create 4 things to sell at Farm Market (3/4)
7. Do 20 pins from my Pinterest boards (24/20)

Farm

Financial

1. Find and use better production and Income Tracking
2. Look for and apply for a farm grant
3. Start a "you pick" or on the Farm Stand
4. Hold field trips for homeschool groups again

Construction /Infrastructure

1. Put in Pond
2. Work on Fence Plan
3. Build a bigger greenhouse

Plants

1. Plant Pine Trees - 10 per year (0/30)
2. Plant more fruit trees
3. Better records of tree placement
4. Plant soft fruit orchard
5. Grow a wheat plot
6. Grow a Rose garden
7. Plant a u-pick pumpkin patch for the field trips

Animals

1. Raise 2 pigs
2. Raise 2 steer
3. Rehive bees
4. Pull honey
5. Restart worm farm (rewormed on 1/17/15)
6. Raise 2 batches of chickens each year (19/60)
7. Raise a flock of Turkeys
8. Put up a Bat house
9. Have all three cows AI'd

Other

1. Consistent Blogging (104/429)
2. Increase Facebook "Likes" to 150 (198/150)
3. Create Wallace Homestead Pinterest Page and have 50 followers (0/50)
4. Hold a monthly class
5. Have the "Really Local Farm Market" 1x per year (3/3)
6. Use a chainsaw

ROY B GIV!

I've wanted to do a "photo" day finding all the colors of the rainbow (ROY B GIV)  Some colors were easy-easy, others...not so much.  All the pictures were taken either on our farm or along the route that we are traveling almost daily to take the boy to "Real School".

And if that wasn't fun enough...in the evening as I was getting ready to upload the pictures, a storm came through and from our back yard we had a full rainbow!! From end to end! 

(Of course, I couldn't get it all in one frame!)

 

And that would be One-Oh-Done!!

"The Milk Cure"

I'm sick and tired or being sick an tired!! you too?  I hear ya! I made it the whole winter, only to get sidelined on the second day of spring!

 I am on my third week now of being sick.  It started as a cold with a cough that wouldn't go away.  I started to feel better, worked extra hard around the farm for just one nice day, and bam! strep throat!  So now I'm on antibiotics  A few more days and I'll be done with that.

Meanwhile, even though I haven't had much as far as colds/flus go through the winter...my TN has been a bear.  I try not to say much about it.  It's like a toddler misbehaving for attention, if you don't acknowledge the bad behavior  and "reward" it, it'll go away...right?  Right?!? OK, so maybe I'm somewhat delusional.  HA! 

Today I have re-read many of the articles I had saved to my computer about using a Raw Milk Fast to bring about better health. I read them a few years ago and was so impressed then that I added doing a raw milk fast to my 101 in 1001 list.  

The most informative of them was an article called the "Milk Cure"  it tells of two doctors that ran a sanatorium around the 1905 and the amazing results from so many different diseases and ailments just by having their patients only drinking raw milk. https://www.realmilk.com/health/milk-cure/

Raw unpasteurized milk is a whole food with all the vitamins, minerals, enzymes that the body needs. Many of those same vitamins, minerals and enzymes are either destroyed or compromised so that the body can't absorb it. Raw milk is high in antioxidants, vitamins (including B-12), all 22 essential amino acids, natural enzymes (including lactase), natural probiotics, and good fatty acids.

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.com/raw-milk-benefits/>

I'm amazed to read (but not too much cause we have an AWESOME all-knowing God!) how the vitamins we need have to have certain minerals in order to be absorbed, and TA-DA!  Raw milk has exactly the right amount of each to make it the perfect food!

Back to 1905 doctors, they used the raw milk cure for everything from tuberculosis, the high blood pressure and renal failure to NERVOUS SYSTEM Disorders.  Also there is a mention of numerous patience with failure of the thyroid having function completely resolved!  (you should really read this article https://www.realmilk.com/health/milk-cure/ and see all the different ailments they addressed!)

The doctor even made an interesting point about milk is equal to "sweet sound blood" that the only difference is the color in the restorative properties.

I found another blog post about a lady with Lyme's disease that tried it, and though she is not cured of Lyme's, has had many of her secondary infections addressed. 

http://curingchronic.com/curing-chronic-lyme-disease-the-raw-milk-diet/

Now, I have had many "cures" suggested to me for my TN.  And have tried or at least considered most of them.  Many folks swear by essential oils.  Others with diet.  Salt caves.  Moving to Arizona...etc.  And I have used the heavy duty drugs to find relief as well (much more often than I like!)  Recently I have found myself actually considering the brain surgery that has about a 50% success rate.

I am in the perfect position to try this.  I milk my two Jersey cows every morning.  They are over producing so I have extra milk just hanging out in my fridge....I've tried most everything else.  So...As I finish my antibiotics, I am going to embark on this for a month and see if it helps.  It sure can't hurt!!

I've had various folks close to me express dismay and trepidation of me doing this. (Not my hubby tho..)  The unknown is scary!  It may be a "waste of time" but I won't know if I don't try.  And if I find that it works for me, what a huge blessing! 

What might be my stumbling blocks....1/ I am totally addicted to caffeine in the form of my favorite diet soda pop, so not having that may be tough. 2/ I love cooking (and eating!)  3/ I love the stuff my guys cook too! (Hello, homemade beef sticks and home cured Canadian Bacon...not to mention RIBS!!  Plus, my boy has made dinner every night this past week!)  

HOWEVER, I'm not giving up food forever...I'm not doing this on a whim, really. I want to see if it will help my TN.  And the other health issues that have been creeping up as I age could be arrested as well-They've seen good results with insulin resistance! 

THEREFORE, as scary as it is to put this out there...I am going to do the month milk fast. With only a few modifications.  They recommend bed rest...I unfortunately can't do that as I need to milk the cows to get the raw milk!

  

I will be starting tomorrow.