What Does Quarantine Mean to Us on The Homestead

Where to start? A lot has changed! Some really exciting, some really sad, and some bittersweet news.

Physically, I think we are handling the quarantine on the homestead about like we handle almost every other year at this time. We. Are. Busy.

The animals need food and water. It’s spring, plant are sprouting and babies are hatching— we have over 75 fowl in the upstairs loft in brooders and about 100 eggs rotating around the incubators. We are managing 28 rabbits and one litter on the way, two geese running amok, the quail about to starting laying, and the pigs are rotating through pasture with a small small group of chickens is following them on our rotational grazing system.

The garden beds have perennials popping up, and we are adding rabbit droppings and straw into all the beds to add some natural fertilizer before spring and summer planting (yep, spring plants just got planted, I will get the why of that later). The house is full of not just chickens but plants too. We have over 1,500 seedlings sitting in windows under lights.

The Meat Man has been busy working on building a new chicken run, a greenhouse, a new garden entrance arbor, enlarging the raised bed garden area and fixing up rabbit hutches. The boys are helping wherever we need them and I am so grateful for all my men around here.

Emotionally? It’s been rough. I have been traveling back and forth across the state to be with my grandparents in Las Cruces, NM. We had to make one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made in my life, we put my grandmother in Hospital Hospice. We are not able to see her and knowing that any day chould be her last and no one is there to hold her hand is devastating. Even more difficult is leaving my grandpa alone because I just can’t leave Starson alone with the homestead and his absolutely crazy full-time job.

I am sure many of you have read in the news, meat plants are shutting down while simultaneously, meat shortages are occurring right and left in retail locations. Starson’s company, Shamrock Foods Inc., was really smart and pivoted to fill the retail gap since restaurants are closed, but now with shortages and restaurants starting to reopen- they have a problem. We are praying for both our food system and the producers and workers putting their lives on the line to keep food on our table. This is not an easy position for anyone to be in.

I have been using what little downtime I have to help local ranchers. They, along with not being able to move their cattle through the markets, are seeing about a $300 less per cow when they sell. To combat this issue, New Mexico State Representative Rebecca Dow has been working tirelessly to connect consumers and producers together while also working through a long time problem of New Mexico not having enough meat processors. I am happy to be helping her collect consumer and producer information as well as facilitate deals between the two. I wish it wasn’t planting season so I could dedicate more time, these people need our help and beleicve is our duty to keep our local food system intact. We are also working together to get local meat into our state’s food banks and, so far, over 40,000 pounds of local meat have been accessed.

What’s new on the homestead?

Some of ya’ll watched my Plant/Garden Tour yesterday we released on YouTube and you can tell, a lot is changing. Since postponing classes (and will continue to do so through May at least), we have been working on the property. We are bringing in huge loads of mulch to create pathways (because no one likes to do chores in the mud) and fill dirt to make the water flow off of our house property correctly. Starson also made me a greenhouse, I think because he is tired of the 1,500 seedlings, shelves, and lights we have in the house.

How are the animals? As many of you know we added rabbits to the homestead and we are enjoying them so much. We have a registered pair of Rex rabbits, one purebred New Zealand buck, and the rest are a mix we will use for meat rabbit program. In total, for adults, we have 6 does (females) and 2 bucks (males). We also have two litters of kits (baby rabbits) one litter is 8 weeks old and weaned, the other is 3 weeks old, and lastly we have a litter due today from our unproven buck Alps (the white Rex). We were planning on putting our weaned kits in rabbit tractors (similar to chicken tractors) and putting them on pasture to help fertilize the ground. BUT BAD NEWS. A disease called RHDV2 has hit both domestic and wild rabbits in our area. One, that until recently, had only been in Washington state. It is spreading across the southwest like wildfire and the mortality rate is really high, so we have upped our bio security measures big time. We are no longer going to have our rabbits on pasture in tractors and we are so sad. We don’t like having animals in cages or small enclosures. We really try to mimic nature as much as possible so this is pretty devastating to our homestead.

We also sold almost 20 adult birds, all our bantam flock, two weeks ago. I was planning on keeping them and breeding them through the summer but we are afraid two things are going to happen: 1) people who get into chickens now are going to see how much work chickens are and will flood the market at the end of summer bringing down the value of chickens all together, and/or 2) people are going to only be looking for laying and meat chickens. It was a hard decision to make, I really miss seeing our silkies and our game chickens, but this homestead is also a business.

How are we making money on the homestead? Well, sigh…. What a turn of events. I know God had me start the classes and change direction for a reason, so am I stressing about my classes being canceled? No. We are so blessed Starson is still working. He did take a pay cut but we are making it. We recently paid off a car so that lack of payment makes up the gap. I am selling eggs, and hatching out chicks. Runa is due with puppies in June and that will also help keep us afloat. We are fermenting chicken feed which cuts down our feed bill by almost 30%. We are doing a plant sale and my mom helped me to grow many of my plants for the garden this year. I am also doing consulting work on the side. I have done virtual landscape consulting, plant photo consulting and will also be building some gardens and teaching private homesteading lessons when the quarantine is over.

What does this mean for the rest of 2020? We aren’t sure what the future holds, and, like many people, are in a holding pattern. But we are sure of one thing, God is in control and our job is take it day by day. For now, our classes and events are postponed or canceled. We really value the health of our community members and, with my fibromyalgia, think its important to keep my health in perspective as well.

We are thinking about offering private farm tours followed by an intimate farm-to-table dinner under our outdoor pergola, as well as small one-on-one homestead lessons or consulting. This will keep the number of people limited and space between us and others at an optimal level.

We hope you all are save and well. We pray all of you are all in a position to overcome and are taking this time to build beautiful relationships and projects. May God bring you peace and prosperity.

New On The Homestead

This past week has welcomed a lot of “new” to the homestead, from our first classes to brand new farm animal babies making their first appearances into the world.

Locally sourced coffee roaster, New Mexico Pinon Coffee and Rasband Dairy kept our guest warm and toasty after a February homestead tour.

Our first classes were taught on Saturday as we received 10 people onto the homestead to learn about Companion Planting and Planning Your Garden. We took a quick tour around the homestead before settling next to the fire in the living room of the farmhouse for a presentation, all while enjoying some local coffee from New Mexico Pinion Coffee Company or herbal organic teas, with creamer from Rasband Dairy in Albuquerque. After the presentation, participants headed back out to the gardens to let their newly found knowledge stretch it’s legs as they walked around the gardens asking questions about the layout and formation of our homestead, talk about being able to directly apply your knowledge.

Homestead class participants sit fireside in the farmhouse as they wait for the classroom section of the homestead course to begin

Sydney Tia Eusepia and Sheila Rason of Flygirl Trees dig up one of South Mountain Homestead’s Mexican Plum trees and discover it was buried too deep.

A very informative Tree Pruning and Care class taught by Sydney Tia Eusepia and Sheila Rason of Flygirl Trees followed the morning class. So informative in fact, I found out, I bit off more than I can chew with my fruit trees we planted in the fall. It turns out we will need to dig them up and check their roots.

The gals from Flygirl Trees literally got down on their hands and knees to teach us and in the process figured out my trees were planted to deep and some of the roots were circling each other- a death wish for any tree. Shoot! All I can say is, I am glad our participants learned from our mistakes as well, and as we learned in class- gardening is a constant experiment full of failures and wins alike.  

Starson Roy, aka The Meat Man behind Backyard Butcher, and his wife Erin Roy, prepared guests a FREE farm-to-table lunch between their homestead classes.

Farm-to-table menus are seasonal and use as many locally sourced New Mexico ingredients as possible.

 In-between classes, Starson, The Meat Man, and I, were able to serve our attendees of both classes a FREE Farm-to-Table lunch made from many locally sourced ingredients and even decorated the table with a locally made flower arrangement.  We prepared for our guests, turkey salad sandwiches (Chef Hubby’s mom’s recipe) with bread I made using flour from Valenica Flour Mill and turkey we sourced from a fellow East Mountain Grower, Lotus Farms. We served the sandwiches with a fresh spring salad using greens from Camino De Paz, a Montessori Secondary School and Farm currently serving grades 7-12 in Santa Cruz, New Mexico. Dessert was a chocolate drop cookie also made using Valencia Flour and Pecans from the well-known Salopeck family in Las Cruces New Mexico. Our table would not have been complete without a beautiful flower arrangement made by Floriography’s owner, 4th generation farmer-florist, Emily Calhoun. Emily and her crew specialize in bespoke experiences and have a direct hand in the growing of the items used to make their one-of-a-kind arrangements.  

Springtime on the homestead, and most places as we know it, brings about a time for renewal. After many months of rest the earth beings to come to life. Trees begin to bud, the mud beings to clear (my entryway could not be more thankful) as the soil beings to come to life, and a new crop of farm animal babies are starting to be born.  Shortly after our guests left the homestead we noticed our New Zealand doe (female) rabbit Monkey (please don’t be confused- as you can probably tell children named her and her mate as well- Bobcat) begin to show signs of preparing for kits (baby rabbits) in a process called kindling. Just on time, seven new babes were born on Sunday afternoon. One day early, we have chicks pushing their way out of eggs in the loft of the farmhouse filling the house with the sounds of happy cheeps and pecking. In our line of work, there is no better sound than the success of bringing around another generation of animals to continue the sustainable practices of having a homestead and being connected to our food.

South Mountain Homestead is welcoming new farm animal babies into 2020. Follow along with us a we teach, harvest and taste.

If you are interested in being connected to your food by visiting one of our classes or learning how to grow at home check out a few of our upcoming classes. We hope you too can come and enjoy the newness of life on our homestead.

March 7th:
Seed Starting →
Propagation →

March 14th
Regenerative Agriculture →

April 4th
How to Make Jerky →

“Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.”

— Romans 6:4

Learning Patience Through Broken Bones

On Sunday night, Starson and I were talking about what was coming up over the next couple of weeks and I was asking him about doing yet another project. He graciously informed me that two months ago I said no more projects until spring. Ha! We still haven’t stopped. I was telling my mom about it the next day and she reminded me that, yes, in fact, I had said exactly that. She reminded me my husband needs a break too. I decided they were right and set off to tackle a couple projects we had around the house by myself so that Starson would not feel so overwhelmed.

The puppies royal whelping box. A 6’x6’ box. It looks more like a kids fort with the tarp over it now.

Instead of waiting for help like I should have or letting the boys do this by themselves, I decided to move the puppy whelping box into the chicken coop so the pups could go outside. I’m not joking, this thing probably weighs 200 pounds. It’s a 6’x6’ wood box made from plywood and 2x4s. Two grown men moved it from the garage into my house right before Runa had the puppies and said this must be the royal suite of all whelping boxes. I decided to put on my own cross fit class and move it end over end from the pergola into the chicken coop. I was super proud of myself because I got it all the way into the coop and all I had to do was turn it 90° and then lay it down.

As I was laying it down, one of the hinges came loose. I’m sure it came loose because I was moving it inappropriately end over end and that’s not the way it’s meant to be moved. As the hinge came loose, the entire weight of the whelping box fell on my thumb snapping it and bending it all the way back towards my wrist. Luckily, I caught it before it hit the rest of my body. I saw the entire thing happen because I happened to be looking up, I was focusing on where I could place the whelping box as I set it down and watched as my thumb bend all the way back towards my wrist, it was pretty gross. However, it did make me think that maybe I didn’t break it and the immediate intense pain I felt was from the soft tissue damage that occurred in the over-extension. In addition, I have fibromyalgia, and my nerves like to freak out when sometimes there’s really not much to freak out about, so I decided to keep working. I moved the box into position on the floor, then brought down everything I needed to get the puppies moved over— fence, food, water, straw, a blanket,--then tarped the top whelping box. Finally, I brought the puppies themselves from upstairs to downstairs taking a couple trips to get them settled in.

Every time I stopped the pain was pretty intense. I decided that maybe I should take a shower and think about how it felt after I was done. I also took some medicine to see if that would help dissipate the pain as well. I hopped in a hot shower grateful for the time to rest. Alas the rest was short-lived because out of everything I had done over the last hour, the thing that hurt the most with my thumb and hand was trying to wash my hair. It almost brought me to tears. I decided I had better drive into town and have a doctor take a look. I called into the urgent care and got an apt. I saw a provider who took an x-ray and said there was no fracture. He said it would probably take 4 to 6 weeks before I felt completely released from the soft tissue damage that incurred with my thumb going backwards. He also said he’s not a radiographer and that radiology was going to take a look at the x-ray and would give me a call if they found anything. They tried to fit me with a splint, but it hurt more then helped so I told them to keep it.

I decided to head to the store to buy some groceries for dinner, because pain or not you don’t waste a trip to town. In the meantime, I got a call from the urgent care. Radiology had indeed found a fracture in my thumb. They wanted me to head to an orthopedic doctor--I called immediately and got an appointment for the next day.

This is me, right before I stepped into the OR as a rep for the first time.

I don’t know how many of you guys know this about me but I used to work for Stryker Trauma Orthopedics. Stryker has many different devices that are available in the hospital--most of you guys have probably seen things like their lights or their beds. However, they also offer surgical implants. I worked in the OR along side doctors as the inserted plates, nails, and screws to fix broken bones. I loved the job but it was incredibly taxing and I had no life. All of the rest of the people in my office were married and I didn’t even have time to date, I don’t know how they did it. There were many nights when I had fallen asleep in my scrubs only to wake up the next morning at 6 AM to call the hospitals to start it all again. I learned a lot but it definitely was not the life for me. I do have some friendships that I made during my time working in the hospital and one of those is with the orthopedic doctors and staff at New Mexico Orthopaedics. And funny thing, my family and I have been there four times in the last five months. The nurse that was checking us in made me feel better about it and said well at least you guys are in active family!

It all started with Starson back in August, he tore his ACL playing basketball. Next up was her 15-year-old kiddo who broke his hand when his fingers got caught between another lineman‘s pads for football. Next up I took a friend into the clinic who had a broken ankle. Finally, we get to my stop in the orthopedic office. I called a friend of mine in the clinic and he was able to take my quick care clinic appointment. He’s a PA who works for a sports med doc. He’s been there for a long time and I knew him before I worked for Stryker. We had mutual friends and formed our friendship talking about agriculture. His family owns a ranch about 2.5 hours outside of Albuquerque and he spends all his free time and vacation on the working cows. We’ve been friends for over 10 years and he’s worked me in for other appointments a couple times. He understands that it’s hard coming in from out of town and has worked with me to see the doctors when I’ve needed to. I was really glad I was going to see a familiar face whenever I went into the clinic.

My friend took a look at my hand and read the x-ray. My pain and the fracture were not matching up. Fortunately, the hand orthopedic doctor was in clinic that day too, right next to us. He was able to confer with the hand surgeon about my fracture, my soft tissue injury, and how to proceed. He also thought it was odd that I had no pain where the fracture was but because of the soft tissue damage was not surprised.

So here we are, my hand is cast and now we play the waiting game to see what it looks like in a few weeks. I’ll be in a cast until the end of the year and then go back to the orthopedic hand surgeon to make sure that the soft tissue damage is doing OK healing in a cast. I had a choice between a cast and splint until they found out how much work I do outside, then they said it was not an option to choose. Cast it is, and I’m glad they decided to cast it because immediately upon getting home I had to head out to feed eight hungry puppies and get some help watering and feeding 75 fowl.

I’m pretty sure as long as it took the boys to help me feed and water the animals is exactly how long it would’ve taken to get help to move that stupid puppy box with their help!

I should take a lesson from these precious sleeping puppies.

At the end of the day I’ve learned that it’s always better to ask for help. Nothing is worth our health, and most of all giving someone a big huge “thank you” is better than feeling guilty about asking for help to begin with. Winter is a good time to take a break, rest in the Christmas season, and enjoy my home and family before I start working hard on my garden next year. There will always be things to do, now I just need to learn to relax.

How to Make Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar

Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar is incredibly easy to make using only three ingredients and a little bit of time. The health benefits are vast for both animals and humans alike.

Making apple cider vinegar from scratch

I know, you can buy a gallon of apple cider vinegar for pretty cheap at almost every big box stores and grocery store around. So why make your own? You might already know this, but good QUALITY apple cider vinegar with the “mother” can be pricey, like my favorite brand Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. This means making it yourself does actually save you money if you want the best health benefits.

Watch this video to see how we made apple cider vinegar at home or read below for health benefits and recipe.

What are the health benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar is the most popular type of vinegar in the natural health community. It is claimed to lead to all sorts of benefits, many of which are supported by science or are in the process of being studied. These benefits include weight loss, reduced cholesterol, lower blood sugar levels and improved symptoms of diabetes in humans and is thought to keep diseases away in chickens and other livestock but this has not YET been scientifically proven.

The main substance in vinegar, acetic acid, which can kill harmful bacteria or prevent bacteria from multiplying. Apple cider vinegar has a history of use as a disinfectant and natural preservative.

Apple cider vinegar studies:
1. Diabetes and blood sugar levels hen taking Apple cider vinegar.
2. Weight loss benefits of apple cider vinegar.

How is apple cider vinegar made?

The science behind apple cider vinegar is similar to making alcohol. The first step exposes crushed apples (or apple cider) to yeast, which ferment the sugars and turn them into alcohol. In the second step, bacteria are added to the alcohol solution, which further ferments the alcohol and turns it into acetic acid — the main active compound in vinegar.

Loving this antique Apple peeler and corer we picked up in a small New Mexico mountain town.

Fun Fact: the French word "vinegar" actually means "sour wine."

The finished apple cider vinegar product contains a "mother” (similar to your kombucha), containing strands of proteins, enzymes, and friendly bacteria that give the product a murky appearance and protect it from unhealthy molds.

Learn how to make apple cider vinegar using local organic apples and two other ingredients. 

We used local apples we found at Philmont Scout Ranch. I have no idea how old these trees are but I would venture to say over 20 years old. The ranch probably has over 50-75 trees planted around the grounds. Every year staff take some and the deer get the rest. Chef Hubby happens to cook for their ranch committee every year around the same time the apples are ripe. This year we decided to take enough for both Thanksgiving apples pies and homemade apple cider vinegar. The only ingredients we needed to purchase was organic sugar. I don’t use organic products all the time, but I feel like if you are going to make a homemade product for health benefits why not? We also picked up a bottle of Bragg’s organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar and added some to help get the process going, this is not necessary if you are on a budget as it only helps the process get started a little quicker.

To make a batch of apple cider vinegar you need three ingredients: apples, purified water, and sugar -bonus if you get organic products and can find someone to give you an apple cider vinegar starter.

Directions for Apple Cider Vinegar:

Starting with clean containers and tools will ensure you keep our unwanted bacteria and mold.

• Add Apples to a jar, enough apples to fill a little less than 3/4 of your clean glass container.

• Cover the apples with water, use purified water if possible and don’t use water from a softener, as the salt can stall the process. Don’t fill the container all the way up. You will need room for the gas bubbles that will form.

• Add Sugar, use the following ratios as a measure: 1½ pounds apples + 4 tablespoons sugar + 1 liter water.

• Cover and store. Cover your jar with cheese cloth , do not close the jar as this part of the process needs oxygen and will let off gas. Make sure and store the mixture in a temperate environment (pantry or the top of the fridge will work).

• Strain apple bits after two weeks and replace liquid into glass container. Feed apple bits to chickens.

• Let sit for another 2-4 weeks. (Longer won’t hurt).

• Use it. You can move you finished apple cider vinegar to smaller containers or put a lid on the finished product and store.

How much Apple Cider Vinegar Should Be Taken A Day?

• Apple cider vinegar to water ratio for chickens:
  1 tablespoon ACV per gallon of water. 

• Recommend apple cider vinegar amounts for human consumption:
  1-2 tablespoons taken before meals. 

You don’t need perfect apples to make this recipe. Ask around for friends that might be willing to share some apple bounty with you. In exchange you can take them a jar for homemade apple cider vinegar.

Refocusing & centering God on our Homestead

This last year I have struggled to find my breath. 

I struggled to find peace, calmness and my center. Two weeks ago The Meat Man and I sat down and reflected on the last year together, and I was surprised to find we were so closely on the same page. 

We both feel the last year was filled with many triumphs on the homestead. We are almost finished turning an abandoned 2 acres farmhouse into a working homestead. We lived in an RV while the contractors did the bulk of the inside of the house. We worked really hard with the boys to put down drip irrigation across two acres, we built and inclosed 4 pens to hold over 75 chickens, geese, turkeys, ducks, and peafowl, planted over 50 shrubs and trees, plus started a food garden.

However that labor came at a cost, the cost of our bodies, stillness, family time, and, most precious of all, our time with Christ.

In that reflection, we have renewed in each other the desire to reconnect more firmly with our God and to share more of our Godly walk with you. 

Our relationship with Christ is more than religion and we want to show you what that means. Our purpose on the homestead will be to share more than food because Jesus told us;

“It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’.” Matthew 4:4,

and we follow our church’s motto which is to “follow Christ and make Christ known”.

 God doesn’t ask for much, so don’t be afraid to start with baby steps. “He can never love more and he can never love you less”, says my grandmother, Grace Barnett, (she has a fitting name for this saying, doesn’t she?). 

This morning I took time to hit the reset button before beginning some work on marketing our homestead. I took 6 minutes and I completed a guided Christian meditation with Caroline Williams. It was so calming and easy. This is my baby step, will you join me?