Gardening with Chickens
Last week, we harvested our garlic. We succession-plant bush beans, which was one of this weekend's tasks. The variety we plant mature in...
top of page
The Land
Our partner in this endeavor is the land we occupy. We cannot call it our silent partner, as the land definitely has a voice and a language, that we are working hard to learn.
Ed
- Jun 23
- 2 min
Rainy June
The average precipitation for Richland County is about 5 inches. Last summer, we were lucky to have gotten an inch of rain in June, and...
4 views0 comments
Maggie
- Jun 23
- 1 min
Last Year's Drought & This Year's Black Cap Harvest...
I walked all the way around the hay field and checked out all of the tried and true black cap plants near our house. This is all that I...
3 views0 comments
Ed
- Jun 2
- 2 min
Collections
Ever since I was a kid, I loved to collect things. Bottle caps, rocks, beer cans, were all fair game. As an adult, my collecting became...
6 views0 comments
Maggie
- May 28
- 1 min
Morel Mushrooms Found When Not Looking
We have an area no larger than an acre near our house and the road. The soil in this area is very sandy and there are "lots" of pine...
8 views0 comments
Ed
- Apr 22
- 2 min
Wool Mill Field Trip
We are always on the hunt for local open houses and events, to learn more about small-scale agriculture in the Driftless Area. I recently...
11 views0 comments
Maggie
- Feb 5
- 1 min
Sparkly Snow
Walking our front pasture this past Saturday afternoon with Ed was glorious. The weather was almost spring like, it was bright and...
7 views0 comments
Ed
- Dec 31, 2023
- 3 min
2024 will be the Year of....
Since we first started our homesteading adventure, we have given each year a theme. While work overlaps from year to year, we find that...
8 views0 comments
Ed
- Dec 3, 2023
- 2 min
2023 in Review
With the year winding down, it is time to take stock and review. I enjoy thinking back on each year. I find my memory is not as good as...
17 views0 comments
Ed
- Dec 2, 2023
- 1 min
Snow Comes Early
Every year, it seems like a race to complete projects before winter settles in. Despite a couple of cold spells, our autumn was mild....
8 views0 comments
Ed
- Jul 30, 2023
- 2 min
Kittens Becoming Cats
Our two new barn cats, Smudge and Maple, were released from their training crate a couple of months ago, and they have quickly found...
11 views0 comments
Ed
- Jul 29, 2023
- 2 min
Preparing for Honey
As we approach August, we are starting to count the days until we try and extract honey from our hives. I opened each of our three hives...
12 views0 comments
Ed
- May 14, 2023
- 3 min
Old Trees and New Plant
This weekend, I was finally able to find time to clear the trees that had fallen across the trails in our woods. I had wanted to get this...
8 views0 comments
Ed
- Apr 6, 2023
- 2 min
Coop Update
With maple syrup season finally in the rear-view mirror, it's time to turn our attention to our chicken project. Maggie has assembled a...
10 views0 comments
Ed
- Feb 26, 2023
- 3 min
Rest Time is Over
The past couple of weeks, Maggie and I have been enjoying some relaxation and continuing education. Two weeks ago we made our annual...
10 views0 comments
Ed
- Jan 29, 2023
- 3 min
Winter's Rest
When winter comes to the country, things slow down. In the city, a lot of effort and money are spent in overcoming the roadblocks the...
10 views0 comments
Maggie
- Oct 1, 2022
- 1 min
Red Bud "Tree" Survives it's Second Summer
Two summers ago, I dug up a little tiny baby red bud plant from our Milwaukee area home to bring to the property. Our Milwaukee neighbor...
6 views0 comments
Maggie
- Oct 1, 2022
- 1 min
Meet "Johnny Oaky" - Our Newly Planted Oak Tree
About three weeks ago, Ed planted "Johnny Oaky" in our front yard by the road. Johnny Oaky is a new oak tree that was a gift from Ed's...
8 views0 comments
Maggie
- Sep 15, 2022
- 2 min
How 2 Full Crates of Apples were Ultimately Preserved
Pint of Apple Butter (left) and Pint of Apple Sauce
7 views0 comments
Maggie
- Sep 4, 2022
- 1 min
Our First Batch of 2022 Apples
One benefit of apples is that they can last for a while un-processed. When the weather cools off a bit more, I look forward to pressure...
13 views0 comments
Maggie
- Jul 13, 2022
- 1 min
Who Knew? The Entire Wild Daylily Plant is Edible!
Last summer, I did learn that the common / wild / invasive Daylily plant is entirely edible (not the more modern and engineered version...
7 views0 comments
Maggie
- Jul 10, 2022
- 1 min
Steamer Canning Wild Raspberry Jam - So Easy!
I've been doing a bit of pressure canning lately; however, today, I steam canned 12 pints of wild raspberry jam (no pectin). It was...
7 views0 comments
Maggie
- Jul 3, 2022
- 1 min
Wild Raspberry Time of Year
Ever since Thursday, I've been harvesting our wild raspberries. The bushes are scattered throughout our property (mainly along the hedge...
9 views0 comments
Maggie
- Jun 8, 2022
- 2 min
Not a Paid Advertisement - HLRBO
This is not a paid advertisement - at all. But I did list our land on HLRBO about a week ago. I listed it as a Bow Season Only Hunting...
13 views0 comments
Maggie
- May 30, 2022
- 2 min
No "English Country Flower Garden" for Me
For fifteen years or more in our city house, I would plant flowers galore in our back yard and in attractive large pots on our patio. ...
9 views0 comments
Maggie
- May 29, 2022
- 4 min
Who Let the Cows Out???
Five-thirty Friday morning brought some unexpected "excitement" to Blackhammer Acres. About a week ago, our neighboring farmer said he'd...
8 views0 comments
Ed
- Mar 28, 2022
- 2 min
2022 Maple Syrup Roundup
It has been a cold spring, even by Wisconsin standards. We have not even had 'fool's spring' yet. The cold weather has not been kind to...
17 views0 comments
Ed
- Mar 12, 2022
- 1 min
A Cold Syrup Season
Picking a date to tap maple trees for syrup is tricky. The sap runs on days when the temperature is above freezing but the nighttime...
16 views0 comments
Ed
- Dec 28, 2021
- 3 min
2022 is the Year of the 'B'
Writing '2022 feels odd', but time marches on. Come March, we will be entering the fourth year of working on our property. It is hard to...
10 views0 comments
Ed
- Dec 19, 2021
- 2 min
Weather Station
I am closing in on completing what has been a decades-long project. Many years ago, I thought it would be fun to build a weather station....
21 views0 comments
bottom of page