Search results

We have been discovering the joy of FaceTime lately. We never really used it before the coronavirus, but now, we are using it to have chats with family and friends, and our kids love calling their friends on it.

I have a pretty bad reaction to poison ivy. I got it a few times when I was a kid, and my reaction was so bad that I had to go on steroids for a week at a time each time. I do not know if my kids are allergic to it yet. I hope they are lucky enough to not be.

We have some hardy hibiscus in our garden, and it's a lovely flower. It requires decent soil and full sunlight. It is pretty easy to care for. We really like these flowers because they attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

We don't have any here, but I always thought Japanese flowering cherry trees looked nice. They have a mix of pastel pink and white blooms that resemble pink dogwoods. They don't grow very tall - about 10 feet in height.

My mom used to make us pizza, but it wasn't completely from scratch. We cheated a little and bought pizza crust and tomato sauce from the store. We loved to use vegetables we grew in the garden for toppings, though!

Heat lamps are a good idea. You can also provide them with livestock bedding. You can use hay, straw, or leaves for bedding. I like the idea of using leaves. You can save them up from your Fall raking and put them to good use.

I'm not sure if you can use a multi-meter. You should probably use a voltmeter to be safe. Voltmeters are designed to test electric fences. Your readings should all be over 5,000 volts for a properly working fence.

My tractor's loader isn't working. It was working fine before I took it off and then put it back on my tractor. Is there anything I can check and/or fix before I call someone else to come out and look at it?

We have bought some used household items from Craigslist, but that was several years ago already. Now, we like to browse Facebook's marketplace to see what's near us for sale. I wonder how Craigslist is doing in light of all the other free places to post ads these days.

We haven't thought about that. We do use social media, like Facebook and Twitter, though. We try to post photos and updates about what's going on at the farm. I'd be interested in reading a blog about farm life. I think it would teach people a lot about what we do and how it all comes together.

I don't have any experience, but it sounds like a very cool idea! What animals do you have on the farm that the kids could interact with? I think it would be cool to have a cow or a pig tame enough to let kids touch it since these aren't often included in your traditional petting zoos.

Does anyone here use electronic ear tags on their cows? The tags contain RFID chips that communicate with antenna you place on the feeding troughs to monitor how much food each cow is eating. The idea is that you'll be able to see when something is off with your cow sooner so that you can...

I love shrimp as well. I love the shrimp alfredo Olive Garden makes. We make it at home, but it isn't quite as tasty. It's probably healthier than the restaurant version, though. Shrimp is also really good in tacos!

It is pretty mild here right now but I see that it is supposed to get cooler later this week. I don't know if it's just me or what, but it seems the older I get, the less tolerant of the cold I am.

Our cow doesn't kick very often, but she does kick occasionally. I take an extra bucket with me when I milk her. I pour the milk from one bucket into the other occasionally so that if she does kick, I don't lose all the milk I've gathered.

We are thinking about getting some quail to raise on the farm, but we've never had any. I hear that quail start laying eggs at just six weeks of age, and that they generally lay one egg a day for most of the year. We would love to not have to buy eggs at the store anymore! Is there anything I...

Picante sauce is spicier than salsa. It's usually made with chili peppers whereas salsa is usually made from tomatillos, peppers, and tomatoes. Sometimes picante sauce is added to salsa to make it spicier.

Cottonwood is safe to burn in a fireplace or woodstove, but it is not a good wood for keeping your home warm. If you just want to burn a type of wood to create a cozy atmosphere, this one would be fine, but I would go with a different type of wood if your goal is to create warmth.

You can either get a self-feeder or feed the piglets twice a day. I prefer to hand-feed our livestock because it allows me to observe how much they are eating. If you hand-feed, you'll want to feed about every 12 hours. So, for instance, feed around 7AM and 7PM each day.

This year's winner of the National Corn Yield Contest is Drew Haines who lives in Maryland. He produced an astounding 422 bushels of corn per acre! We did not enter the contest as we are nowhere near that amount, but it is really inspiring to see someone do. It makes me want to learn more, tweak...