nicholasj

The weather here has been up and down for the last month. We had a stretch of cold for a few weeks and now has but quite warm for the last week and now my raspberries are coming back. I don't mind but

Something that was always normal for me until I got married and was informed it wasn't was I could just be alone, not speak for days, and have no issue with it. When I was first married my wife had to

This blog has been a place for me to place stuff related to my small homestead and some things about some tools I find useful but after the chicken culling and garden not doing well there hasn't been much

View from Sugarloaf Mountain in Marquette, MI. Everyone tells me I need to see the ocean because it is amazing, I live near the Great Lakes. I don't think I'm missing anything when I can visit Lake Superior.

Quick and easy killing cone, safety cone with the tip cut off to make the opening larger. Utility sink with bucket under, used for rinsing birds. Repurposed bathroom vanity used for gutting birds. Placed

Tomorrow is the big day. I have the chickens all moved to a fenced in area and have setup up some of the area for the culling. I built a quick gallows to hang the birds upside down by their feet for plucking.

There hasn't beenuch going on around the house but in 6 days I will be processing my chickens. Needed a wash basin and flat surface for butchering day and driving around one day I found what I needed in

The first spring after I bought my house I planted three raspberry bushes but one survived. My goal is to plant as much food on my property as I can. The next summer at the end of raspberry season I found

These ratchets are my go-to ratchet at work, they are compact and have a movable handle so it can be used as a speed crank. These are 3/8 drive in a 1/4 drive ratchet. I have 2 from Snap-on and 1 from

Today I butchered the four roosters I was given and was my first time processing a chicken. All went smoothly but did not get much meat, knew that going in because they were not meat birds. I was going

The chicks and my hens got along fine for weeks until yesterday when I opened the coop and the chicks we're all bloody. The hens pecked all the skin off their backs from mid back to tail. I had to cull

When I purchased my property there were so many trees in the backyard that I had no grass and land covered in moss. The trees were placed close together so they were fighting for sun so they were really

Working with pnuematics and hydrolics you will at some point need to place a 45° or 90° fitting in a hard to reach place and these sockets have been a tremendous time saver for me. The ones I have are

This is a good resource to get a understanding of public Key Cryptography and crypto-currency. Having a understanding of the technology will help you understand the importance of protecting your private

Over the past week I have been bringing my new laying chicks outside and putting them into the run with my two year old hens. They were not happy about having them around but overall left them alone. After

A friend of my wife had gotten a straight run of chicks about 2.5 months ago and ended up with more roosters than expected, so they were given to me since they can't bring themselves to butchering a chicken.

This is my completed chicken tractor and home to my 20 Cornish Rocks for the next 8-10 weeks. Once they reach the desired weight they will be butchered for meat.

All that is left to do it sheet the exterior, chicken wire the front, and install hinge on door.

The chickens were outside all day today and they are worn out. Brought them in and 15 minutes later they look like this, laying down sleeping.

I put spaghetti squash, pumpkin, and cantaloupe seedlings in the ground last week and two days later had a dip in temperature and lost all the cantaloupe but the squash and pumpkin are looking good. I