Homestead Haying

May is the month we get our first cutting of hay. If you were to ask me what kind of hay it is, I honestly couldn't say. Hay is roughly classified as grass or legume, sometimes a mix. Likely I'd tell you ours is "weedy". It's just what grows here, but it's what we've got, so it's what we use.

We cut our first hay three years ago, in May of 2010. We'd just gotten goats and had about an acre of then unfenced field that we didn't want to go to waste. Dan bought his first scythe and had at it.

Dan cutting hay with a scythe. These 1st two photos are from 3
years ago. I didn't take new ones 'cuz they'd look just the same. :)

After he cut it, we let it dry on the ground, raked it up, hauled it, piled it up, and covered it with a tarp. I worried about that "hay." It certainly wasn't as pretty as the hay we could buy already baled. In fact, we bought some of that pretty baled hay, just to make sure I wasn't cheating my goats out of the good stuff. Imagine my surprise when they turned up their noses at the boughten hay in favor of our weedy homegrown hay. I later learned this is because the weeds are richer in minerals than grass. Goats have high mineral needs and so preferred the weedy hay.

We learned quite a bit about storing hay too. Or should I say, how not to store it. We thought the tarp would keep the rain off, but discovered that most of the hay became moldy under that tarp. From that lesson we learned several things.

1. The hay must be thoroughly dried. If it's still green when stacked, it will generate heat as it decomposes and will work its way into compost. This can also result in spontaneous combustion, so that the hay actually catches fire.
2. It must have air circulation, both on top and underneath.

Eventually we decided to turn the coal barn's carport into our hay storage, or hay "mow". This carport had a concrete slab, which we hoped would keep it off the damp ground.

Our carport hay mow. Dan put up welded wire fence to  hold the hay.
We later had to put up tarps too, to protect it from rain.

What we learned, is that when the air temperature and humidity are just right, the concrete will sweat. Not good for hay.

There are any number of ways to keep hay off the ground. Pallets would be good if available. Even free, however, pallets would require driving to go them pick up, which is time and fuel. Free would still be better than buying, but if we can, we look about for a homestead solution. I learned through research that, back in the day, farmers would pile branches as a base on which to put hay. Branches are something of which we have plenty.

Remains of last year's hay on right, the stick bed for this year's on left

Currently we have two pastures we can cut for hay. The goats eat what they want and we scythe the rest. The grasses and legumes keep growing, the goats keep eating, and we get a second and third cutting as well. There is a difference in these cuttings, and, in fact, hay is classified by which cut it is: first, second, or third (maybe even fourth depending on where it's grown).

1. First cutting hay is made in the late spring and typically has more stems. It will have a higher percentage of grasses than legumes, which grow more slowly. Some say it also has more weeds, which goats love. It's usually richer in fiber and carbohydrates.
2. Second cutting is the summer cut. It is usually leafier with fewer stems, and supposedly fewer weeds (unless we grew it. :)  It is said to be lower in sugars because of faster growth, but rich in other nutrients.
3. Third cutting is the the last summer of fall cut. It usually contains more of the slow growing legumes and is rich in nutrients. Sometimes it is considered too rich for horses, but there is no problem for goats.

With all cuttings, I like to get them before the plants go to seed. This isn't always possible when one hays by hand, but nutrients decrease at flowering, when the plant begins to put all its energy into the flower and seed.

Alphie helps as a taste tester.

We had rain just this past weekend, which meant a shift of gears back to working on the hallway. I managed to rake up the dry stuff before that, and as long as the rest of it has a chance to dry, it should be okay. If it begins to get moldy or mildewed, it goes into the compost.

I don't mind saying that I sometimes wish we had a sickle mower. It would certainly make the job faster and less tiring! But at least we have two scythes and plenty of grass to cut. I can't complain about that.

Homestead Haying © May 2013 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

New Kid on the Block

Or perhaps I should say new kid on the homestead. This is, .....well, he doesn't have a name yet.

White or cream with gold markings is common coloring
for Kikos. although they can be other colors as well.

We bought him several days ago. He's a spring born, mostly Kiko buckling, advertised as having a Kiko dam and 97% Kiko sire. I put him in with Alphie first. There has been a little head butting, but not much, since both of these little guys are missing their mamas.

Same age and height, but Alphie is a little chunkier.

They are the same age and size. Being young, I have a better chance of taming him than Elvis, who was older when we bought him. He needs to accept enough handling so that we can trim his hooves, give him his vaccinations, and tend to other needs should they arise.

I had hoped to let Alphie stay with Surprise for at least another month. Unfortunately, little bucks reach breeding maturity around two months of age. Alphie would nurse and then run around behind Surprise attempting to mount her with his breeding apparatus at the ready. Then he'd go after Lily. Neither doe was happy about this, so poor little Alphie now has to face the sad reality of Mama on the other side of the fence.

Surprise is less concerned about weaning than Alphie, but she obliges him by
hanging out with him by the fence. She's giving me a gallon of milk per day.

My plan has been to breed Surprise and Lily to one Kiko buck one year, and to another the next. I had hoped to find another full Kiko, like Elvis, but even unregistered they were out of my price range at this time. The offspring from these different matings will hopefully give me enough genetic diversity to experiment with the Nubian/Kiko cross over the next few years. What I'm hoping for, is a goat with the good milking qualities of the Nubian, and the stamina of the Kiko along with it's ability to thrive on forage alone. This is a concern for me because Surprise, in particular, puts everything into making milk so that it's hard to keep her in a healthy weight when she's in milk.

Gruffy and Elvis were curious about the newcomer.

Introductions to the "Big Boys" went smoothly. Elvis stands over the little guys and pushes them around a little, to demonstrate his dominance. They're all getting along pretty well, though Elvis tends to get a little rough at times. Even so, the new kid tends to gravitate toward Elvis, I reckon because Elvis's common Kiko coloring looks familiar. Will I keep Elvis?  No. He's currently listed on Craigslist.

The worst part is the screaming. Both little guys miss their mothers and will stand and bawl for hours, Alphie especially, since his mother is still in sight. They sound like a couple of little girls screaming bloody murder. I keep waiting for a police car to pull up and two officers to step out and ask me, "Ma'am, are you torturing children over here?"

And how about a few parting shots of the babies.

We've about decided on names: Rosie for the dark twin, Daisy for the other

Only Mama puts up with this.

Chickens are still a curiosity.

Lastly, the Ziggster.

Poor Ziggy, tired of being pregnant

No, she still hasn't delivered! Besides now, my last potential due date is June 7th.

New Kid on the Block © May 2013 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Hallway: So, What Are We Planning To Do?

When I showed you the laying of the new hardwood floor at the end of the hallway a couple weeks ago, I mentioned an intended purpose for this area. Some of you were curious about that, so here's the scoop.

What we're doing, is reallocating space. Our house isn't terribly large, not counting porches, it's about 1500 square feet. This is more than adequate for two people (and their pets and hobbies), but we felt that the space wasn't utlilzed well, particularly the wide hallway which is just a few inches short of 5 feet.

A section of the original floor plan. The
bathroom is the one we're working on.

It did very well to accommodate bookshelves, but when Dan lamented not having a master bathroom, my mental wheels started turning. What we decided to do is use part of the hallway to create a master suite.

The proposed plan for a master suite. 

We'll wall off the back of the hallway with a bookshelf. Behind it, (where we just put down the hardwood floor) will become a study for Dan. The spare room will become the master bedroom and a second doorway will be created to give access to the bathroom, Dan's new study, and even the back porch for a "private" suite of rooms.

The bathroom is almost done, and it won't take much to finish Dan's room. He never felt that he needed a lot of space, just enough for his desk, drafting table, and some shelves. After that, we can start clearing out the spare bedroom, which is currently used for storage.

That bedroom will be the biggest part of this project. Here's the to-do list so far:

• Make a new doorway to connect the bedroom, bathroom, and Dan's study
• Rebuild the closet. The bedroom closets in this house are long and shallow with short narrow doors so that they are difficult to access. We plan to put the two adjacent bedroom closets together to make one bigger, deeper, ceiling to floor closet plus storage.
• Replace the original old windows with energy efficient ones
• Properly insulate the outer wall
• Ceiling? Dan doesn't care for the tongue and groove ceiling. This one has a slope, so that's a consideration. I may install styrofoam ceiling panels like I did in the bathroom
• Walls? Likely just paint.
• Floor? Is pine tongue and groove. There are no subfloors in this house. We've been adding vapor barriers as we've addressed the floors, and either put down hardwood or porcelain tile in the bathrooms. This room may get a carpet!
• New door. We'll use the old one from the hall bathroom because a 32 inch door is too wide for that tiny room. (We'll replace that one with a bi-fold).

It's likely we won't even get started on this phase until next fall. Summer is outdoor project time, and we have quite a few outdoor projects. Unless, of course, it keeps on raining the way it has been. In that case, we'll make quite a bit of progress in the house. 

Hallway: So, What Are We Planning To Do? © May 2013 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

The Age of Exploration (Being Two Days Old)

The Age of Exploration (Being Two Days Old) © May 2013 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Living with Living Foods

There are quite a few ways to classify foods. There are breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods, finger foods, picnic foods, and snacks. There are fruits, vegetables, starches, dairy, beverages, etc., even protein, fats, and carbohydrates. But also, I tend to think of them in a broader and more philosophical sense, in reference to their state of being. My bottom line categories for foods are: real, artificial, live, dead, and living.

Real foods, to me, are pure and unadulterated. They are foods in their natural state, or with all natural ingredients. They are foods made with ingredients that an average person could grow or make for themselves, if they chose. Real foods do not contain ingredients that require a complicated chemical process or patent to make.

Artificial foods are the opposite. The ingredients are things one can't grow for themselves, and probably can't even be pronounced if read off the label. These are things that have been developed by science, through chemistry or other processes, like powdered coffee creamer or high fructose corn syrup. The lines between real and artificial can get a little fuzzy because some things can be found naturally that are altered considerably when they become food or food ingredients. Carrageenan comes to mind. It is often listed as natural and does in fact, come from a natural substance, seaweed. It requires a process to extract, however, that is not do-it-yourself.

Live foods might also be called raw foods. They have not been cooked or processed in any way, such as raw fruits and vegetables. Milk too, if we're fortunate. These still have the vitamins and enzymes which are otherwise destroyed by heat, light, or irradiation.

Dead foods. Artificial foods can come under this category, but I think more of real, raw foods than have been sterilized, irradiated, bombarded with microwaves, or chemically treated to kill every living thing in them including the vitamins and enzymes our bodies need to function properly. This is done for the sake of so called food safety, and it does increase shelf life in the grocery store.

Living foods are not only real and live, they are alive. And growing. If not properly cared for they will die. They must be given an environment conducive for growth and they must be fed if they are to be kept alive.

Milk kefir grains

I have three such foods living in my kitchen: milk kefir grains, water kefir grains, and sourdough starter.  Keeping them alive seems simple enough, just feed them, or maybe it's just remembering to feed them. Even so, each has its own challenges.

As do all living things, living foods respond to their environment, particularly temperature. They do their job and grow faster in warmer temperatures than cool ones. Refrigeration, for example, will slow them down. It's also why time frames for making these products are given in ranges. If one's kitchen remains at a steady temperature, one can fairly well anticipate when one batch is ready and it's time to start another.

The biggest challenge for me is that my kitchen is never a consistent temperature. During winter, it is often in the 50s F (teens C), especially at night or when I'm not at home to keep the wood cookstove going. In summer, my kitchen is usually in the low 80s F (27° C). My living foods are continually responding to these. As the temperatures rise, I find the various batches mature more quickly. I have to keep an eye on them, looking for clues to tell me they've reached that point. With milk kefir, the milk eventually separates. With water kefir, I'm less sure. The water tastes less sweet and bubbles arise when I wiggle the jar, but I'm still trying to find the balance between done and overdone.

Sourdough starter

I've written about my sourdough starter a couple of times ("Accidental Sourdough" and "Problems With My Sourdough"). Also milk kefir awhile back, "Sustainable Cultured Milk", but I haven't mentioned my water kefir so far. Kris, at Melissa Majora and I traded kefir grains several months ago. I sent her milk kefir grains in exchange for water kefir grains. She dove right in and got a handle on milk kefir, while I'm still puzzling over my water kefir.

The real attraction to me with the water kefir, is being able to make "soda": a deliciously fizzy and not too sweet substitute for commercial soda pop. Because of the chilly spring temperatures (including my kitchen), it's been pretty hit-and-miss in the fizzy department.

Water kefir grains

All of this points back to living with them and gaining knowledge through experience. It's like having a relationship; I need to respond to what they tell me if I want them to thrive and grow. It's a learning process, one that I'm still deeply involved int. I figure that as long as I don't kill them off, I'm making progress.

Living with Living Foods © May 2013 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/