christmas

Christmas has come and gone.  we are enjoying the wait for a new year.  plans are being drawn for new year projects and we await the next set of workawayers scheduled for march.  the work away program has been such a joy for us this year.  so many young people from so many countries,  so many different foods and customs and slang sayings.  its been a real joy for us to host these people and give them a chance to see southern Arizona.

the aquaponics are still on hold in our living room until the fish can be relocated to warming tanks.  the temperature here has been crazy for winter.  very little fall just straight to teens at night.  not good for tilapia, they require above 48 degrees, so we have large aquariums that we are enjoying in the house.  the fish love playing in the air bubblers, we made them some tubes to go back and forth in and that seems to be fun for them.  they are still growing and should have several pairs ready for breeding in the spring.

some of the workawayers  have stayed on for the winter but are doing their own thing for the holidays.  some are in Prescott playing in the snow, and one went to Mississippi for a month, and we are home minding the farm.  we think we will have lambs soon,  the sheep are so big they must be pregnant.  time will tell.  the bunnies were bred again this week, and we have dogs everywhere.  the new chickens are laying well,  what a surprise,  we keep them well fed to push up production and its working.

as for me I'm waiting on warm sunshine so my feet will thaw out.  i don't like cold.  I'm ever thankful its a short winter season here.  my big project this week is putting this leather sewing room in some kind of order so i can get busy.  have some things i want to make and no space.  when you live in a small house room is at a premium.

hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will enjoy great plans for their new year.

busy week

we have six work away people out here at the moment.  everyone is so busy but the to do list is getting checked off really fast.  one of the couples have decided to stay for awhile but the rest move on with their lives next week.  its been crazy nuts around here with the strange weather.   we couldn't get the tilapia moved fast enough from the big pond and the weather got a large amount of those,  the rest are in very large aquariums in the house for a few months.  the grow tanks got scrubbed down and four large grow beds for the veggies got installed.  its almost replanting time.  everyone has been excited to help with the aquaponic system,  most came here just to learn that system,  they also got good info on expanding one of these system and how to clean, prep, and build from scratch one of these system for themselves.  most of our help is from France and Germany right now and they intend to set up systems back home.

 the weather here is about a month and a half ahead of schedule.  we are in the teens at night.  this is the stuff we don't usually see until January.  leaves the question what will we get then.  right now at night lots of blankets are your best friend.   and of course the wood stove.  still beautiful thru the day.  we shed coats and jackets about eleven then go find them again when the sun starts fading into the mountain about five o'clock.

all of the workers have had a large range of skill.  the garden is planted.  one built a new bunny hut. we have newly  built gates.  the hay is getting cut and stored for the sheep and we are still expecting lambs soon.  the plan  is new chickens and a couple goats for milking and maybe a feed calf.  i'm pretty sure that is the only way we will ever see beef out here again.  the price at the store is crazy out here for beef.  we cleaned out the freezer this week,  time for butchering.  the drive got trimmed up and the holes from monsoon filled in and even some pretty landscaping was done at the drive entrance.  will be pretty in the spring when we can add some flowers to it.  and maybe best of all some one organized all the tools.  now we can find a screwdriver when we need it.  they even found the missing hammers.  be still my heart.

hope everyone has a great winter and its what you hope it will be.


 

nov 2 2015

wow been a busy fall season.  we have had many work away helpers and a lot of things got finished that we have been working on for quite a while.  we even had one guy that stayed on for awhile so we could take a vacation to Indiana to see family.  that was a bonus for us.  not easy to do  with our schedules, especially considering he had to handle both of our jobs each day.  i think now he knows why i never get caught up.  thank you Dave.  fall plants are starting to produce,  winter crop is coming up and i brought back lots of new seeds to try.  gonna be a busy greenhouse.  new aquaponics grow trays made and to be installed in the next week so i'll be ready for winter growing inside.   the fish are growing and still increasing in quantity.  we might need to do a pond clean out before winter and that will give us a better count on the number of fish still in the big pond.  signs of late fall setting in and winter isn't too far off.  i have a new set of lists for the winter months and a change of season for the to do list.  living off grid produces its own set of changes out here, we will be bringing in wood for the wood stove, and the solar panels have already been adjusted for the change of placement of the sun.  we will have rough winter winds and everything will need to be stashed or anchored.  the days will be shorter and the jobs are many.  we still have help coming and that will help us prepare for spring, our busiest time.  most of our winter jobs will depend on daily weather, rain, wind, cold, and darkness. weather can change up the schedule on any given day.  the hunters are moving into the area for fall hunting.  seems odd to see travel trailer parked on the blm land but its a short season, wish them luck.  the coyotes getting noisier at night and the dogs are busy keeping them away from the homestead.  we have a new ram, pretty boy is his name.  he is snow white and the girls seem to like him.  the other ram jumped the fence twice while we were gone and he has been sentenced to the old goat pen.  he hasn't figured how to get out of that yet.  much to catch up on today, starting with emptying the car and restocking groceries.  wishing everyone a great week.

changes

such big changes here at the homestead.  we have had many visitors and a great deal of help getting the fish and grow beds under roof.  the baby fish have been sorted for growth size and put in tanks to correspond with growth rate.  the mature breeding pairs are busy doing what they do.  and summer is winding into fall.  fall planting in the garden is in full swing, and winter areas are getting prepped for  winter crops.  last week i replanted the lettuce, chard, spinach, kale and green beans to the aquaponics.  trying green beans for first time due to crop failure in the garden.  we had a very bad summer season.  no one knows why but wide spread out here in the desert.  i even added some fresh sweet peas to the ponics and they are blooming.  the greens will help supplement the house late into fall and by then we will be enjoying the fall plants.  the weather has been crazy.  august heated up like June out here and took us back to 100 degree range, not a happy occurrence for the garden, however it set off a new round of monsoon.  trade off i guess.  the rain has helped the plants but hurt the solar.  like everywhere, you deal with what you are given.  the greenhouse is busy starting plants for new grow beds for the fish system and for the garden.  once again I'm running out of greenhouse room.  this last round of high heat has made everyone eager for some cooler temps.   fall will be a welcomed change this year.  we have landscaping about to begin and some new fencing for the sheep.  turns out they never get full of grass, so we just move them around.  and lucky for me the ram is locked in the pen for future duration,  its not nice to put the hand that feeds you on the ground, again. hope summer treated you well and fall is even better.  deb

this week in august

still waiting on new baby lambs.  due anytime.  we are due for multiples this time.  the big bad ram got sent to the pen.  he was very bad this week and put me on the ground again, and literally butted everyone on the property.  so he can wait out fatherhood from behind the fence.
 
we had great help this week and the aguaponics are completely installed and the plants from the greenhouse moved into the grow beds.  we have two grow beds and a nice raft system in place.  i had some plants in the garden struggling with the unusual heat we are having so i pulled them and relocated them to the grow bed and by noon they looked like totally different plants.  the small fry fish are growing fast and many have been moved to the fingerling tank.  tomorrow we will probably move the rest of the tiny minnows to their first big tank instead of the aquarium.  and so it begins.

i caught a very large bird in the pond a couple days ago.  i startled it and it took off.  I'm pretty sure it was a great heron.  haven't seen it since but we are watching out for it.  i think it was fishing.

we have had a guest here from New Zealand for a couple weeks.  his help has been fantastic.  we are so far ahead of schedule with the fish system we might actually get the garden planted for the fall and winter crops on time.  our guest is heading off to a road trip,  his last before heading home.  we have a new guest coming the first of September to help with the garden prepping and planting.  we also have some good friends that live down the road and they just got back from Iowa, visiting family for a couple months.  we had several people here this week to visit.  it was wonderful.

goodnight. deb

aguaponic

yeah new building is up and roofed and ready to be plumbed.  finally all those baby tilopia will have a place to call home.  we have hundreds and so many more we are still trying to catch in the pond... very busy fish summer and new babies every day.  will expect new minnows until weather cools down.  i have been reading some articles about large fish farming and the poor containment and feeding of tilopia for general  consumption to the public. i even read a post on my facebook site.  i didn't like the way the articles imply that all tilopia are raised the same.  they absolutely are not all raised the same.. i recommend that you buy your fish from a farm that you have the option of inspecting.  know what they are fed, look at the breeding tanks. ask about the crazy hormones that turn all the fish to larger males.  do your research and know your grower.  in the meantime we will get ours ready for the markets and do it the right way.  done with my rant for the day.  happy fishing.

ps sheep are ready to deliver babies this week.  i cant wait.  nothing cuter that baby sheep learning about their new world and how to survive in it.  and lets face it nothing is cuter than babies running and playing on unsteady legs.  we should have multiples this time around and that will be fun,  as long as we don't have to bottle feed them.  they all have good mamas  so i'm hoping for the best.

a new growing season

the little aquaponic system is scheduled to go big..  we are drawing up plans and supplies to have the system up and planted by fall.  the big pond is full of babies to help that happen and they need a place to grow.  and if they need to grow they may as well grow my green house too.  some of the winter plants will still grow in the garden but i will be able to grow greens and tomatoes and numerous other plants in the green house at the same time.  a solar water heater will help with the temperature problems and the sun will help do its job as well.  many of the longer term plants can be grown in tubs that i will water from the fish tanks.  this will lower the water level and make room for fresh water when it needs replenished.  its a great system and where else can you grow vegetables and fish and root plants all at the same time.  we have many visitors coming over the next few months to help with the installation of all the plumbing and tanks,  it will be a great learning experience for all of us.  and these are skills they will take back with them when they return to their own countries or states.  the tilopia have exceeded our estimations and we are still looking at catfish too.  fresh fish is unheard of in southern Arizona and the market seems to be there.  our Switzerland visitor has gone home and she got to see everything in the southern part of the state she wanted to see.  she came to us from the Navajo reservation and she learned  many things in both places.  she also spent some time in SoCal too on a horse ranch.  she has horses at home and i think she enjoyed her time in the states.

as for me I'm laid up until the nail puncture in my foot heals up.  hopefully it wont be long.  the antibiotics are kicking in and the big bad shot helped too.

i promise we are trying to fix the comment link.  in the mean time send email to deb@homesteadbarnyard.com.  if you have questions or info@homesteadbarnyard.com.  you all have a happy happy day.