State of the Homestead: June 2011

As you probably already know, I don’t talk a whole lot about our day to day life here on the blog. My goal is to keep The Prairie Homestead as a resource for those already homesteading or interested in homesteading, rather than simply a journal of my every day life.

However, recently when of my readers (thanks Holly! 🙂 ) mentioned that she was curious as to how our goats were faring, I got to thinking that perhaps I should start giving monthly updates of our homestead’s progress. I know I always enjoy getting a peek into other homesteaders’ lives!

So, here is a quick walk through of our homestead, as of June 2011.

One of my most favorite times of year is the short period when I can stop and smell the lilac bush on my way to and from the barn. It’s done blooming now, but I definitely enjoyed it this year. I am so thankful to whoever planted this old lilac, so many decades ago!

Even though I was in such a tizzy about not getting the garden in as soon as I had hoped, I finally got it planted on May 31st. The very wet weather prevented me from any earlier endeavors! But everything is coming up wonderfully (even more since this photo was taken!) This photo is of the main garden. I have an additional, smaller garden on the north side of our house, as well as numerous veggies scattered throughout the yard!

I’m pleased with my rhubarb plant this year. I planted it last year as a tiny seedling and it has really thrived. Now just to make sure that hubby doesn’t “accidentally” mow over it…

Our 14 chickens are growing like weeds. We won’t have eggs for a few months yet, but I can hardly wait! This is one of our New Hampshire Reds. Such a noble pose. 😉

Oakley, our soon-to-be milk cow, gets friendlier every day. I’m now able to catch her out of the pasture with a halter just like one of the horses. She lets me touch her all over, even her udder! Not bad for never having been handled before we got her. We were told that she should calve sometime in July, so we are hoping that the information was accurate!

The goats are still as onery as ever. We are currently down to 4 does and 4 babies and I plan to keep downsizing the herd over the summer. I am currently milking 2 does every morning and getting around 3/4 of a gallon per day. I made a lot of cheese in May, and hope to pick it back up in July. June was just too crazy!

The pastures are growing like crazy. It was dry for several weeks, but we are now into our summer thunderstorm season. I just love it. I really appreciate a cozy, rainy afternoon once and a while! This is the view facing south, looking at our lower pasture. The animals can barely keep up with the growth of the grass. Green makes me so happy. 🙂

Hopefully, this will be one of the last pictures taken of a yellow barn and chicken coop! We’ve been working hard on painting/repairing our shop all spring, and now it’s the barn’s turn. We plan to rebuild the doors, address some much needed repairs, and give everything a fresh coat of tan paint. Goodbye faded yellow!

And I guess that is all the big news of the month. I was able to get a decent amount of horse riding squeezed in here and there, which definitely keeps me sane and happy! 🙂

What were the big happenings on your homestead for June?