Nichole

Thanks guys!

Cute! I can't wait till my doe kids! This will be the first time in several years we've had babies on the farm.

I made sauerkraut for the first time last year and it was amazing! I'm addicted to sauerkraut now. It tastes so much better than store bought. Now I need to make some...

Hey all! I don't know if anyone remembers me or not but it's been a long time since I've been on here! I think May was my last login. Kept busy with my garden, finishing up college and work last year and just didn't have a lot of time to get on here. To top it off, we're expecting our first baby in August! Looking forward to catching up with you all! Nichole

I decided the same thing after making tomato sauce for the first time last year. Now like most of you it seems, just canning them for stewed tomatoes in soups, etc. I really have to factor in the time it takes to do the sauce too. Trying to fit in long periods of time to allow tomatoes to simmer is nearly impossible for me because of my work schedule. For now I will enjoy them fresh and stewed!

I was wondering if it was effective or not after I ordered it... Oh well, it's already being shipped, I'll use it for external parasites anyway. Where do you get the copper sulfate? Looking for it right now but I'm not sure which one is right. I'm curious about it for the dogs too! Thanks!

Background Story: So about two weeks ago, a friend's shed burned down, with their dogs inside. The side of the shed also served as a wall for their coop. So with their dogs gone and chickens homeless (they lost one from the fire) my dad offered to keep them with ours. My gut said NOO!!! biosecurity and all, but it was too late by the time I found out about all of this. They were moved in by the time I got home. Plus, they just had to bury their charred dogs and were extremely upset. I felt I had no choice but to be a good friend and let them stay. So, last night I went in the coop and found one of my Buff roos dead, and a friend's banty roo dead. My roo hadn't been sick, but the banty had been sitting off on his own (I thought he was cold since he was used to having a heat lamp, so I didn't think much of it. I had been meaning to set one up for him that day) After investigating the bodies, I couldn't find anything wrong with them. My roo was found dead under a ladder they use to perch on, and the banty was in his normal sleeping spot. So I assume they both died in their sleep. My first thought was my friends chickens were sick and had spread it, which in theory could have been true. Most diseases have an incubation period of 10-14 days or so. But, they weren't showing any symptoms, except for the banty huddling in the coop on his own. So far, the only thing I can find wrong is that they have worms. I have never dewormed any of my chickens for the last 15 years of owning birds. I don't regularly take apart the fecal matter and investigate, but try to note how it looks. (normal or not) This morning I went out and found a couple spots of runny poop and after online research, threadworms. So, I guess what I'm saying is has anyone treated their birds for threadworms? From research on backyard chickens, I have found that you can treat their water for three day with fenbendazole (safeguard) and that is my plan for now. I also have ordered some food grade DE to add to their feed, and some Bragg's ACV to add to their water. (I'm thinking about trying it for myself after researching it all morning!) Also, do you regularly treat them? I don't want to develop resistance to anything, so I think I am going to treat them with the safeguard, eliminate the worms and begin the DE and ACV on a regular basis. I'm really just curious to hear other people's way of doing things, and if this sounds like a good plan of action. Thanks guys

The blue is pretty cool! Thanks for all your hard work guys

Necie - You must have had some of those terrible winds we had yesterday! I jokingly asked DH if he wanted to go for a walk in the woods! The trampoline flipped over and as we were taking it down, a huge tree fell in the woods, right next to the woodline. My dad would always say not to go in the woods during or after storms/winds because of the "widow makers". I think it is really odd to be afraid of the woods! That is where I go if I want to have peace and quiet or just enjoy the beauty of the woods. DH and I are looking at putting our house pretty far into the woodline. And it is definitely not out of the ordinary for someone to have their house in the woods, around here at least. I am another one of those that is more scared to be in the city than in the woods!

So glad you were able to at least cover expenses. A friend of mine said in one of their fields they yielded 1 bushel an acre in Southern IL.

If you do have a fence stretcher, we used the truck to stretch off of the hitch. I like the 5 fence post quota. We need to have a fence post quota for buying them. Were switching from electric to solid fencing and need to start buying fence posts.

Nope, its working for me. Although I have had it do that to me before. Never figured out why

Thanks guys We found out yesterday the brain scan came back normal! We did have a scare though. Dad went to her appt with her, and all of a sudden they're talking about how it's worse in her left lung (biopsy was on right) and how it's gone into her collar bone and into the muscle and lymph nodes. This was all a shock, because the same dr. didn't say this before. Well, Grandma gets a call last night from the dr. saying that he read the wrong scans!!! Although the diagnosis is still the same, it isn't as bad as this other woman's scan he was looking at. Talk about some confusion! It's still the same, with spots in each lung, one in liver, and (i just found out one near her trachea). But hearing someone else's worse diagnosis oddly enough can comfort you knowing that it's not as bad as it could be... Scary thing is, she starts chemo Wednesday. What if he didn't catch it before then? He said he is changing some of the medicines and she won't get as sick on these as the ones he originally prescribed (for the other woman's cancer) It's been a crazy last couple weeks! Ok, Well, I gotta finish getting ready for work. lol

Been MIA from here for the last week, it has been crazy. Results came back as stage 4, two spots in one lung, one in the other, and a spot on her liver. Results from the brain scan come back Monday. With chemo, they're giving her anywhere from 6mo-18mo. I just started working on days and I work with my aunt, so emotions have been on a roller coaster. Work is no longer an escape, it's an escalation of all of the worries. My aunt is probably taking it the hardest. Grandma was in shock when they said stage 4, we all didn't think it would be that far along. Apparently she has had it for about 1.5 years. She is still staying very positive, although she knows what the diagnosis means. She says she isn't afraid of dying, she has God with her. I almost started crying when she said that last night. Thank you guys so much for your prayers and thoughts.

Congrats!

My sister just informed us that her and her boyfriend are getting married in December. No offense to anyone out there that had a Christmas-time wedding, but I have always had the opinion that if you schedule it around that time, you may not want a whole lot of people coming, simply because of the cost and time limitations. To put it in perspective, we announced ours 1 year ahead of time. I'm a planner and I need time! Don't get me wrong, I am so happy for her. They have had a long-distance (IN-AK) relationship for the last year and she is depressed everytime he leaves. But they have to realize, that is not a great time of year for many people, especially when you have to drive 9 hrs to get there. Not to mention, I work in retail and those weeks are blacked out and the same for DH, except he works in insurance. So, I now have to go beg my boss to make an exception (which won't happen) and when that doesn't work out we will have to leave as soon as I get off on the 29th, drive 9 hrs, go to the wedding on my day off, drive back so I can be home in time to go to work on the 31st. She is trying to schedule it around my work schedule, which is nice, but I still can't get past the frustration. Because in her fiance's words, "Everyone has Christmas time off" Ugh. Not retail or insurance businesses! Oh yeah, and Grandma may, or may not be going through radiation, so there's that too. To top it all off, this means we will be skipping the annual visits to DH's side of the family (Grandparents), of which I have constantly received guilt trips because of my last work schedule! I am SO trying to brush it off and just be happy for her, which is a huge step for me because I never really liked the guy... I'm getting better now though. lol Thanks for reading, I just had to vent! LOL Gonna come up with a big GHB list, since it's a LONG drive (which means lots of opportunity for actually needing one)

Preliminary results are positive it is cancer The good news is she is home now, she wasn't able to get any rest in that hospital. I suppose all the other tests that follow (PET scan, etc) will be this week or next.

Thank you guys The biopsy was rescheduled twice... They finally did it this afternoon and all went well. We won't find out results until this weekend. I was there when the Oncologist talked to her and he seems to think it is, but if it is only the 2cm they think it is, then they can remove it. For now were just waiting.

Saturday night my Grandma starting coughing up a little blood, so on Sunday she was admitted to the hospital. They said she has double pneumonia and they did a cat scan. Last night she called me and said they think she has lung cancer. They are going to do a needle biopsy this morning and figure out if it is or not. My mom told me that the doc said it looks like scar tissue, so I am really praying that that is all it is, although I am not getting my hopes up. I just lost a close co-worker a couple weeks ago to lung cancer and it was horrible watching him go through all of it. My Grandma has lived either with us, or nearby since my Grandpa passed in 2002, so we are all very close to her. (Even though she can be a handful! Ask anyone and they'll agree! lol) I am going to go visit her this afternoon and I am really hoping to hear some good news.

Something that I heard recently on the Survival Podcast, is that the handwarmers that hunters use are basically giant o2 absorbers. Anyone have experience with that? If you got them on clearance, I think they might be cheaper! I usually go the mylar/bucket/02 absorber route. I am planning on changing my bucket system though, to where I have several ingredients when I open a bucket. Instead of a large quantity of one.

Yay! Mt.Rider is getting a BigPuppy! lol I want to come so bad, I think it would be so fun to meet everyone. I'm running out of vacation days though

I have finally had it with the chemical based flea and tick drops not working I have used Frontline before and my vet didn't recommend it since it hasn't been working very well. So, we switched to another brand (can't remember the name atm) and that one isn't working either. I pull 2-3 ticks off each dog (3 dogs) every few days. And on top of that, find gross bloated ticks on the floor! This was 2 weeks after applying what is supposed to be a monthly treatment. Not to mention I'm paying at least $45 a mo for this stuff, (and don't really care to put chemicals on my babies!). Soo, does anyone have any recipes that have worked for them? So far I have found some that include cedarwood, lavender, lemongrass, and citronella. It seems that geranium or rose is the most popular, but also the priciest. If it really works though, it's worth it.

I'm not offended at all. I have only been trying it since Monday, so not a lot of experience just yet. lol It's one of those things that I want it to work out, but I SOO love my carbs! lol Personally, I think it sounds a lot like the Atkins (low-carb) diet, except with the Atkins, you are allotted so many carbs a day. This page explains what you can/can't eat, way better than I could. http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/ And here are example meals. http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/meal-plans-shopping-guides/ For me, the pros are that they encourage you to eat until you are full. Since you are consuming mostly healthy proteins and lots of nutrient rich veggies, you should stay full longer. My problem has always been that I might be full after a plate full of pasta, but two hours later I'm starving and ransack the kitchen. Or end up buying something to eat at work. I also like the fact that contrary to the Atkins diet, they differentiate between IMO "empty" carbs (sugar, pasta, etc) and carbs that come from fruits, etc. For weight loss they recommend 1-2 servings of fruit a day, so as to limit the amount of sugars you intake. It hasn't been long enough to tell if I feel better or not, although I do feel full longer. It does sorta stress me out to follow it. For example, my cat knocked over my lunch that I had made for work. It was right before I had to leave and didn't have time to make something else. I work 3rds at a groc store and can't leave the store at night (and I can't buy anything after the store is closed), so I was running all around the store trying to find something that would follow the guidelines. I ended up eating half a whole jar of peanuts (not-paleo) and a $3.50 bag of beef jerky. I suppose I could of gotten some sandwich meat and wrapped it in lettuce or something. I searched Mrs.S and found a few mentions of paleo, but nothing very recent. Honestly I don't know if it will work for me. That's why I wanted to know ya'lls opinions, not from a paleo forum that is obviously going to say it works. lol

I just started learning about paleo, and decided I would try it. I haven't any of the books, I figured most of the info was on Robb Wolf's site anyway. How do you afford it? I have been doing this for a week now, and I don't know if I can continue! lol Don't get me wrong, I really want to. I've gotten up to almost 160, after being at 140 a year ago. I tried counting calories while exercising, which worked before. That is how I went from 190 down to 140 before (except I was only eating 900cals, bad I know...) I felt like I was hungry all the time staying under 1500cals. So the paleo thing appealed to me because basically you eat meat and veggies until you're full (the way I understand it). I haven't adhered 100% to it this week, I had a couple times where the cat ate my dinner right before work, so I bought peanuts, been using sugar still, and some dairy. DH isn't on board. He'll eat the meals I make, and likes them, but doesn't think I'll last This makes me want to do it even more... The thing that's keeping me on it, is it does make sense to me. Probably the majority of meals I made pre-paleo were carbs. A lot of pasta (cause its cheap) with probably the gov recommended serving of meat. But I would crave carbs ALL the time. Now that I haven't really had a whole lot of carbs I don't feel like I'm craving them so much. I know it would be a lot easier if my garden was producing well, right now all I have are tomatoes coming out of my ears. Every meal has tomatoes! lol I am planting a fall garden, so that should help if it turns out good. If anyone eats paleo (or used to) I would love some advice, opinions, or recipes! Thanks!

Oh I agree with buying single potatoes, but I just think it's funny how they have them wrapped so you can microwave them in the plastic wrap. lol DH and I don't eat very many potatoes either, so unless I make a point to do something with them, the last few always end up in the compost pile...