Score-Card of What to look for in a Homestead

I've adapted this from the classic book written in the 1940's "Have More" Plan by Ed and Carolyn Robinson.

I LOCATION Sellers' or Real Estate Broker's Name and Phone Number   Distance to your job __________________________________ Commuting Expense __________________________________ Time to Commute ___________ Commute Expense ________ Condition of Roads in winter ___________________________ Distance to Schools or Bus Stop _________________________ Distance to Church _______ to Shopping _________________ Telephone Available ___ Electricity ____  Mail ____________ II WATER SUPPLY City Water ___  Private Well ___  Community well ___ If other than large community well or city water, have the water tested by a state certified lab doing a water  bacteriological analysis.  On Whidbey Island the cost is $20 Pond or stream? _____________  Any wetlands? ______ III ELECTRICITY Is electricity to the property?  Living off the grid (on solar power or other) is difficult and expensive.  If buying raw land, what is the  distance to the power source?  Contact the local provider to  determine the cost to bring power to your building site. IV SEWAGE DISPOSAL Municipal ____ Septic Tank ____  Raw Land Perc ___ Don't purchase raw land without having the soils tested for a  septic perc (the ability for the soils to qualify for a state or  county approved septic system).  If purchasing a property with a septic system, have the tanks pumped and inspected prior to  closing on the property.  This cost is usually paid by the seller. V LAND Total Land Available ____________ Should be at least 3/4 acre of good, level land.  Total of 2 to 5  acres to include orchard, pasture, hay field, and land to grow some stock feed. VI OUT BUILDINGS Garage ____ Tool House ____ Workroom ____ Barn ____  Poultry House and/or Barn ____ Barn for dairy, rabits and poultry ideally should contain a minimum of 500 square ft. floor area. VII ORCHARD Apple ____  Peach ____  Cherry ____ Plum ____  Grape ____ Rhaspberries ____  Strawberries ____  Blackberries ____ Blueberries ____  Asparagus ____  Rhubarb ____ An established orchard in good condition is worth money.  For a family of 4 this should contain: 5 apple, 3 pear, 1 peach,  2 cherry, 2 plum trees, 10 grape vines.  Small fruits: 50 raspberries, 100 strawberries, 6 blueberry shrubs. VIII OTHER Shade trees ________________________________________________ Fencing _____________________________________________________ Good fencing is worth considerable) Length of growing season _______ What is the micro-climate of the property?  Is it in a hole that will frost early?  Ask the neighbors. Kind of Neighbors _____________________________________ Meet the neighbors, talk to them and ask about the neighborhood Is extra land adjoing the property available? What is the property tax on this property? ________________ Any restrictions against raising livestock, etc. Are there any CC&Rs? (Coventants, Conditions, and Restrictions that run with the land) Assessed Value of the Property _________________________ Down Payment needed ________________________________ Estimated cost to repair ________________________________ IX HOUSE List out your ideal want list for a house

Twas the night before Christmas... - by Juli Fisher

… fog lay over our land.

All was quiet and calm, like a sweet little lamb.

The chickens were tucked in, their heads out of sight.The cats were all in the house, in their beds for the night

I was wrapping a few gifts, some last minute buys.

Bob was already in bed, he’s so healthy and wise.

As I put on the last tape, tied my last piece of yarn.

I heard some noises outside, they came from the barn I thought of that old poem, wondered if it could be 

Old St Nick himself came to pay a visit to me I donned my jacket and mittens, a hat on my head 

And braved the cold night instead of heading to bed

The air was so crisp, the stars shown so bright

I could see all the trees outlined in moonlight

I heard some voices I thought, but how could that be 

There were goats and some coyotes, otherwise only me

Inside the warm barn the goats seemed to be sleeping

But all came alive when they caught me a-peeping

There was Lily and Lilac and Poppy a-pile

Velvet all by herself, which is really her style 

 Rocky grunted and butted his way through the herd

But the voices I’d heard, well, not a word

Then the littlest one, Willow, stood up and said “Mom!”

In English! In words! It hit me like a bomb!

I looked about at the goats, and they all looked to me

I said “I can understand you? How can this be?”

Then Amelia came forward, the wise and sweet one

And said “We’ve always been speaking, it’s what we’ve always done.

But it took a Christmas miracle for you to really hear

To understand what we say when you’re with us out here

We each have our thoughts on our lives here with you

Now you can understand what we want you to do

Annie wants you to feed her, just peanuts all day

Cypress wants you to hug her in your own special way

Filbert wants you to stop shoving meds down his throat

Fiona wants you to tend and to brush her fine coat 

Willow knows she’s your sweetheart, your favorite pet

It’s ok, we all know she’s the cutest goat yet

Lilac’s a good doe, just frozen by fright She’s frightened of darkness, oh, and of light

Now Poppy we know is one special doe She’s very Zen, introverted, or maybe just slow The new babes are happy, we love them all well And we love you and Papa, in case you couldn’t tell

Now we must stop, you’ll no longer understand

When we call out and holler and make a demand

But you know what you know now about your goat herd

But you can’t tell a soul, no you can’t breathe a word

This is our little secret, so go back to your bed

And in the morning you’ll think this was all in your head.

Juli and I use to work together 15 years ago for a crazy person and became good friends.  She and her husband Bob have been raising goats and making cheese for many years.

Our Holidays Wishes Letter

Greetings Friends & Family!

This has been another wonderful year in our family.  We are keeping busy with our farm, family, friends and work.

Gary balances his farm work, landscaping work and real estate.  His hand finally healed in July after his surgery last November.  A bone stimulator helped his hand to heal.  Thank God for technology!

Pam still enjoys teaching her lovely preschoolers and kindergartners.  She recently joined a Threshold Choir whose goal is singing at bedsides of those who are nearing their transition.  It is fun for her to sing with other women instead of just her school children.

Pam and Gary’s family keeps growing.  In February, Nick and Mel welcomed twin girls, Evelyn Rose and Claire Elizabeth into this world.  They join cousins ,Olive,  who is now 2 ½ and Chloe , who is now almost 22 months old.  In April, Gabe and Jen, Chloe’s parents, will be having another girl.  Needless to say, Pam and Gary are just thrilled and family gatherings are jubilant and fun.  One of Olive’s favorite farm chores ,when she comes to visit, is collecting chicken eggs. “Goat” was one of her first words since she and her mom, Eleni, were present right after the birth of two of our goats. 

In August, Alex and her long time partner, Alex May,  married at a lovely farm wedding in Poulsbo.  They are still living and working in Seattle.

Gary and Pam's Family

Gary A. returned from graduate school in New York in May to re-enter the work force.  He returned to working at a  gun shop in Lakewood and enjoying the city life in Tacoma.

Dark Days and Long Nights

Yes, the dark days and long nights are fully entrenched upon us - one of my favorite times of the year.  One of my loves is to set on the couch by the wood stove in the morning and read a good mystery and drink my coffee. I usually have a couple of free hours each morning before going up to the barn.  Even then at the barn I don't have much to do.  We have only one goat in milk, and I'm only milking her in the evening.  I refresh everyone's water, give some of the ducks food, feed the bucks, and I am back to the house in 30 minutes.

Our buck Snowshoe in the newly cleaned goat area

Pam has the next two weeks off for winter break so I don't even have to cook dinner!  Oh, lazy times for me.  I'm taking these two weeks off from real estate work, having a business partner that will cover for me for most of the work, all but what I call the "non-negotiable" things, like writing up or reviewing an offer for property.  Not much of that during this time of year, but I do have a couple of projects I'm working on.  I'm going to take this time off to work on a new shelter for the bucks, plan next year's vegetable garden, and design the new chicken coop. 

Last night we had our Yule gathering, celebrating the dark nights, at a friends house in Oak Harbor.  It felt good not having to run home before dark to deal with all of the animals as they are all tucked away before 5 pm.

We continue to mulch our orchard and berry areas with soiled bedding from the goat area - it looks so nice.  Our winter garden survived the deep freeze last month, probably due to the 3 inches of snow covering everything.  Nights have been in the low 30's with days near 40 for the past few weeks, so with the light row covers our winter vegetables continue to live, giving us fresh greens for our salads.  Our birds continue to thrive, and the two little chicks are growing, starting to get their feathers.

 

Camelina Seed for our Goats and Chickens

We purchase our animal feed in 300 lb barrels from a local farmer (Jordan Coe) that makes a monthly trip up to the Canadian border.  It is an organic mix of grains that contains soy as the major protein source.  Studies have shown that soy in animal feed have high levels of phytic acid that reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Jordan found a local (Bellingham) suppler that uses only Washington State grown grains in his mix, and has replaced soy with Camelina meal, which as the same amount of protein but is 35-40% linolenic acid (omega-3) compared to canola (8%) and soy (1%). Additionally, camelina oil contains high amounts of vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant.

Omega-3 Rich Eggs and Goat Milk from our Farm

Camelina meal was analyzed as an ingredient for production of omega-3 rich eggs. This study was done in collaboration with Nick Dale at the University of Georgia.  The content of omega-3 in the egg increased with increasing camelina content in the feed.  Camelina meal has also been evaluated for production of omega-3 enriched goat milk. Similar to poultry, milk from camelina-fed goats contained increased concentrations of omega-3.

Omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential fatty acids: They are necessary for human health but the body can not make them -- you have to get them through food. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish, such as salmon, tuna, and halibut, other seafood including algae and krill, some plants, and nut oils. Also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), omega-3 fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development. They have also become popular because they may reduce the risk of heart disease.

I have always believed our chicken eggs and goat milk is of a much superior quality to anything we can purchase in the store - now we have enhanced Omega-3 chicken eggs and milk!  The added plus is that we are buying local.

Sad Day for the Chickens

I was getting ready to go up to the barn area yesterday evening when I saw a Bald Eagle fly low over the house toward the State Park land behind our property and had a bad feeling.  I went up to the chicken yard and found our new mama, Falcon-ette, the Buff Orpington that a friend gave us, was dead.  Nothing left but feathers and some bones.  Two of her baby chicks were still alive (one disappeared a couple of days ago), I caught them and put them in the little coop with food and water.  I have to figure out how to keep them warm without their mother around.  If they made it through the night I will set something up in the barn.  Pam wanted to bring them in the house but I drew the line at that.  No way.  Really sadden me last night.  She was so cute with her babies.  One time I saw her scratch and find a large seed and she took it to one of her chicks.  Oh well...life on the farm.

Falcon-ette, eaten by an Eagle yesterday afternoon

Three years ago we had problems with an eagle that ate one of our ducks three days in a row.  The third day I was standing in the garden when the eagle came out of the park, flying low toward the bird yard, saw me and took off.  That gave me the idea of building a Scarecrow, which I did, and we never had a problem again until yesterday.  I'm thinking I will change it's clothes this morning - I'm really worried that it will return for another good meal.

This morning I prepared one of the ducklings I butchered last month for tonight's dinner.  Cut up potatoes, onions, carrots (all from our garden), added a package of dry onion dip with a half of cup of water, all into the crock pot for dinner tonight.  This will give us about eight servings.

An easy dinner that will cook all day - duckling from our farm

Breding our Goats - continued

Nettle was in heat last weekend and again went into heat six days latter.  What happened?

Our Goat Herd with their Protector (sleeping)

Goats are seasonal breeders and in our region the breeding season GENERALLY extends from September to February, although exceptions occur.  The duration of estrus (heat) varies from 12 to as long as 48 hours. Within that duration standing heat (the period the doe stands firmly when a buck attempts to mount) lasts approximately 24 hours.  Ovulation usually occurs 12 to 36 hours from the onset of standing heat.

What all of this means is that a goat typically goes into heat just before ovulation, or the release of the eggs from the ovary.  The buck's sperm then fertilizes the egg.  If the egg falls too soon or too late she won't "take".  I noticed that Nettle had some vaginal discharge with a little blood mixed in prior to her going into heat, so my guess is that the eggs dropped early.  In humans, if no conception occurs, the uterine lining as well as blood will be shed. The shedding of an unfertilized egg and the uterine wall is the time of menstruation.

On Friday when Nettle was in standing heat I locked her in the pasture with EV, our Boer buck.  I put Snowshoe (our Nubian buck) and Stewie (our wethered buck that will be butchered next spring) in an adjoining pasture.  When I returned home from the office, Stewie and Snowshoe both broke out and joined Nettle and EV, so if Nettle takes this time the kids will be either full blood Nubian or half Nubian and Boer.  It is also possible to have one of each.  Typically a goat gives birth to two kids, sometimes one and sometimes three, but when multiple kids are born they are not twins, just multiple eggs that have been individually fertilized. Yesterday I fixed the fence but will have to replace that section before next breeding season.