Future plans

Since we built our chicken coop we have raised some ducks. Our cow Hershey has had a calf, It's a female. We have some chicks but we need much more. For the production of eggs we would like to have 15 chickens. Right now we are getting duck eggs which are great but higher in cholesterol. We still want rabbits but we need to build housing for them. We recently discussed getting guinea pigs. I read that they keep rats at bay. That is vital to our poultry upkeep. We will soon be working on fencing in and sectioning off all our animals. Then we can start to plant on a wider scale. We have had some of our animals eat fruit trees and herbs that we were growing in the past. We are learning as we go and since we are both from the suburbs and really don't know except from books what to do; we will be learning a lot from trial and error. If anyone reading our blog learns from our mistakes then writing this blog is worth it. We recently. Herd about WWOOFERS this is an organization that sends volunteers to help with your organic farm. They come from all over the world and work for room and board. So we will be registering for that online.  I will be posting pics soon. In the meantime have a great summer.

Wow it has been a long time! You all must be wondering, "what's new with us?"
We have fully furnished our new house and started our wood shop over at the farmhouse. We had family visited us last summer (my sister and kids, and Jeff's sister and son. and we had a great time. It's nice when family comes. My mother in law stayed with us through the holidays and left to Haiti just before Easter. Now we are preparing to start our permaculture plan around the new house. We will be starting a food forest in the existing banana grove on the east side of the property. We will making grow beds and a water catchment system. We will build a pergola for a shaded sitting area. We will also create a fire pit for summer nights. I can't wait to see it all come together. Keep going forward amen.

Ranching

We built a stable for our horse Lady this past January. The horse is very happy in her new home. I am teaching the kids about ranching. http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/ranch-life/ranch-hands3.htm The stable is the first of many. We plan to dig trails on the property for riding. We hope to have our guests ride when they are here.

Our February project was building a large chicken coop for layers near to the house. We have two turkeys in there right now but we will be buying our chickens soon. We purchased a carver for wood and metals so we can turn our old house into a shop. We will be building all kinds of things like tables and benches, hope chests and art. This farm has come a long way this year. I love 2016 so far.

Harvesting

In the past 9 months we have harvested white beans, calabaza, most recently Achiote seeds, and Gandules. I Love it! Our plantains are coming in and we are excited waiting to harvest them. We do a lot of waiting here on the farm, but it sure is worth it.

The ground seeds are widely used in traditional dishes inSouth and Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico; such as cochinita pibil, chicken in achiote and caldo de olla. Annatto and its extracts are also used as an industrial food coloring to add yellow or orange color to many products such as butter, cheese,sausages, cakes, and popcorn.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bixa_orellana

Hand Salve

http://www.motherearthliving.com/health-and-wellness/natural-beauty/gardeners-hand-salve-recipe-zmez15mazhou.aspx

Perfect for guestrooms.

http://www.housetohome.co.uk/room-idea/picture/cosy-country-bedrooms-10-of-the-best/1

How to feel cozy in a small livingroom.

http://www.housetohome.co.uk/room-idea/picture/small-living-room-design-ideas-10-of-the-best-1?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=chi-ideassmallcountrylivingrooms-150415-1500&utm_campaign=socialtest