Big K Citystead

05/08/2024

I have so many things left to do but I am chipping away. Moving this thing by myself so much trying to figure out the best spot for it has caused a gap between the floor and the sidewall but I can't seem to get back down. So I will just have to wrap it with weatherproofing tape before painting.

I have new permanent water and feeder coming. I will need to brace the outer wall with wood bracing to hold the water and feeder and nest boxes before installing them.

I intend to paint the chicken coop classic black and white. I am waiting on an automatic solar coop door & solar exhaust fans as this double corrugated plastic shed house gets really hot.

I plan to brick in the wood pallet for an aesthetically pleasing little porch, simply to make my heart Happy. I have cute artwork and vintage solar lights that I'm waiting to put up when everything else is finished. I absolutely cannot wait.

And I am keeping my eye open for some small windows that I can place in here for the summer time.

Due to living in a neighborhood in which none of this privacy fencing belongs to our property and recent tornadoes have taken down some of that fencing temporarily, I am putting up my own permanent fencing so that if that happens again my animals will still be safe.

This is just what I still have left for the chicken coop and run lmbo🤣🤣🤦🏻‍♀️ then I will be proceeding to the rabbit pen and playard and then on to the goats. All while working on the children's playground equipment as well. I need the no rain season of The Summer but I need the cool air of the 🍂 fall 🤗🤗

29/05/2024

Why would anyone ever need to put a bulking agent in potatoes!?!

So if you ever have to p**p after eating the rectangular hash browns from Walmart now you know.
They fill it with laxatives as a filler, a bulking agent, to use less potatoes.
Which makes no sense because potatoes are so darn cheap. They're hash browns are literally oil and this bulking gel like agent.

⚠️ 🛑 But it's also a carcinogen and in the amounts used in processed foods, it can contribute to colorectal cancer!!

20/05/2024

"The first fruit of the garden is family. Then knowledge. Then vegetables. In a literal and even surprising way, self-sufficient gardening is rooted in understanding our link to the ancestors who came before us. Turning the hearts of the children to the fathers has a direct impact on the family garden that is rarely talked about anymore." ~Caleb Warnock

My current reads. I love these books they have a lot of insight but I just also love his take and outlook on the subject.

HAVE YOU READ THESE BOOKS? 📚

16/05/2024

Coduroy is getting big.
Cumin is now called Lefty, as he's going on to a new farm since Gabriella gave us a boy.
Gabbie and the other girls, Umami & Pepper are being very respectful of each other's space. For the most part🤣

29/04/2024

ARE YOU A RESTAURANT STYLE RANCH OR MORE OF A BOTTLE BRAND SUPERMARKET RANCH?

Homemade Ranch Seasoning
1/3 C powdered milk ( I used goat's milk but you can use regular milk or buttermilk or a mix of the options)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 and 1/2 tsp dried dill
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons dried chives
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 a teaspoon of sugar
1/2 a teaspoon of dried tarragon (optional)
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp mustard powder

I doubled this recipe that's why it's so much in the jar.
Add two tablespoons of this mixture with 1/2 C mayonnaise and a 1/2 C of sour cream. Whisk until blended very thoroughly or shake in a blender cup. This is where I will add milk until it's the consistency that I like my Ranch. I will also squeeze in a little bit of lemon juice.

14/04/2024

Trying to finish up my berry patch.
I didn't like the towers, no matter what I couldn't get them level and that was unsafe for me running a farmhouse preschool program here.

I opted for unstacking and creating a front yard berry 🍓 patch.
This is just half. The other half behind me will be wood raised beds, still building to spec, and 🫐 blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, currants and gooseberries.

I woke up sore head to toe, so today has been slow, moving all the rock but I'm still going.

13/04/2024

The house smells so good right now. I just fixed local smoked ham and bacon jowl for my dogs.
Normally I give them the meat raw but this meat was from a freezer that had been left open and the meat had gotten down to right at 40°.
Where I wouldn't trust it for my family, dog stomachs are much stronger and I went ahead and cooked it for them. But they have been eating off of this pig and cow for the last year.

I mixed in some raw backyard eggs, sea kelp, nutritional yeast, flaxseed, fish protein powder, and an organic nutritional supplement multivitamin for dogs.
To say they are loved is an understatement 🤣🩵💙💕

11/04/2024

🪻 This post is for Kelley . Here is the infamous blue legged beauty from tractor supply lol.

Second photo of an adult I pulled off Internet.

According to TS they are to lay lightly blue tinted eggs. We shall see🤭

06/04/2024

Turned some kids garden beds I bought on clearance last year for $25 into temporary brooders.
I now have 6 Cornish cross. Never raised these and wanted to try my hand at it before buying bulk. In 8+ weeks I'll process them.
I got 3 Blue legged beauties & 3 California whites to round out my daily 🥚 🧺.
😊

21/03/2024

🩵Meet Cumin.👋
He will be my herd sire come summer to Pepper, Umami & Gabbie.🩵
Can't wait to start getting milk! One less thing to buy.
Can't wait to try making butter, yogurt and cheeses.
If the babies don't sell, they'll just be used to feed my family.

15/03/2024

Well... so far over 216 cells filled and flowers already sprouting 😍
I have 216 cells left and I feel the need to use them all🤣🤣🤣😬
THIS COULD GET BAD🤪

13/03/2024

Cotton has been stuck twice now. She's very inquisitive lol.
Here the bunnies are enjoying the sun and fresh grass.

Aren't they the cutest!?
I hope they stay sweet as they grow.
In order of appearance; Cotton, Flax, Coir, Jute.

11/03/2024

🎉FINALLY🎉
Getting seeds started. A tad bit late on some things but still cheaper than buying plants later on.
Herbs
Medicinal plants
Vegetables
Fruit
Now to decide how many of each. Guess I can sell the extras🤔🤷🏻‍♀️

11/03/2024

Grooming bunnies is not fun. But at least it's done and I can move on with life. 4 bunnies and only 3 claw marks, that's pretty good🤣

10/03/2024

📚Build your homesteading, gardening & farming How-to home library NOW!

Use this link so we BOTH get a free book!🥳

Get a FREE book!

10/03/2024

I usually make sweet Dutch babies, but this morning, I had a craving for savory.

So I cut up an onion left in slab- like pieces and lined the bottom of my cast iron pan loaded with butter. I placed into the oven on broil until the onions were slightly caramelized.

Chopped up some sautéed button mushrooms and generously covered the onions. Sprinkled on Celtic salt, pepper, garlic powder, & crushed rosemary. Placed back into the broiler to finish off caramelization.

Made my Dutch baby batter; 3 room temp eggs, ¹/²C milk, ¹/² C flour, dash of nutmeg(omit sugar). But since I was doing savory, I added coriander to my batter.

Put oven at 375 pulled out pan, poured batter in, and placed into oven for about 20 minutes.

I flipped one upside down in photo shop you could see onions. Soooooo yummy!

**WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE DUTCH BABY VERSION?

21/02/2024

Got myself another Janet Garman book.
This one is just what I needed to add to my library after buying a pregnant Angora Goat & 4 Angora rabbits!
Can't wait to dive into this, it looks beautiful and well put together!
thanks for sharing your knowledge!
thanks for reminding me where to look for fiber information!

19/02/2024

You're not seeing a double post, lol. I know my earlier post was to welcome 2 new angora rabbits to my citystead, Cotton & Flax, but they multiplied at pickup into 2 additional rabbits.

So now I'd like to also introduce Coir(coy-yer)& Jute! These 2 are pedigreed English Angoras.
Unfortunately, the breeder fell ill and no longer had time or energy to care for or try to sell remaining litter mates. So, I took advantage of helping out and took two more than I intended.

One more possible income avenue to sell pedigree fiber rabbits in my local area. A lot of people were asking if I'd breed and sell when I posted about my other 2, so I know the market is there.

WHO ELSE HAS FIBER RABBITS?

15/02/2024

Yay!
The chickens are laying again!
There were 4 but one of the goats stepped on it just before I grabbed it😖
No crying over spilled milk or cracked eggs here😭
Now we can go back to eating eggs. Well one of us can 🤣

07/02/2024

Just hanging around. The animals watching while the littles play outside its a nice 66° today but only for an hour.
We'll take it though! Lil' chill when the wind blows.
I go pick up the new bunnies in 3 days to join our funny farm.
What are you doing today?

22/01/2024

🐇Meet my new fiber Angora rabbits: Cotton & Flax
They'll make their debut to my home, February 10th.

Everything on my Citystead has an herb/ plant/ seasoning name lol.
🐐 The goats, Pepper & Umami, named for coloring.
🐤 Chickens are unnamed at the moment. Will name them in the spring when the new additions come.
🐐The Angora goat, Gabbie, came pre-registered & named, but there is an indoor plant called philodendrun Gabbie, so she fits🤗🤭

Can't wait to start adding fiber working to my skills and mohair & angora wool sales to my citystead income.

So many excited things planned for 2024.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW THIS YEAR?

01/12/2023

These words couldn't be more true.

This lifestyle is not a cakewalk. Most of us know this, we do it for the self-fulfilling feeling of achievements, satisfaction of "I did that", providing for our loved ones with our own hands and the new knowledge we gain.

Will power is a depleting resource and I'm starting over after a season of doubt & fatigue. I owe it to my animals and myself as well.

I've been trying to make real-life friends whom I can not only talk to about this life but meetup with in person. I need physical contact, eye to eye support and understanding. But I need to keep moving forward during that process.

I'm so very grateful for the friendship on IG in this community and the conversations I get to have. Truly, I appreciate those who take time from their own busy life to put forth effort to have those conversations not only with me but with others as.

I would love to tag you all but afraid to miss someone and hurt feelings🤣
You talk to me, you know who you are💛🤍💛
Lots of love ❤️,
Marla

28/11/2023

Say hello to my little friends!
The Pig, The Skull, and Mr & Mrs Montana
Why so many sour dough starters?

Well, my starter wasn't producing enough discard for everything I wanted to cook, lol(but I was also giving a lot away)
So, instead of discarding, I split to make more.

My mother will get some starter from this, and all but one will be used for baking tonight and tomorrow.

We love the thumbprint discard cookies and pancakes so far.

🤔WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE DISCARD RECIPE?🧐

08/11/2023

Got a dort bike for his birthday lol
This is some of his first lessons badges! Lol

05/11/2023

Another year around the sun, son! 💚

I love you and I miss not having you at my beck & call lol.

HAPPY 24TH! I HOPE I GET TO SEE YOU TODAY!💙🩵

13/09/2023

Was time to refill my brown sugar as I'm trying to make pumpkin whoopie pies and was out. Here's a simple recipe reminder I placed on my container with a reminder of how much it holds.
I use organic unbleached sugar.

04/09/2023

Made a big breakfast of reg sausage, spicy sausage, bacon, ham steaks, fried eggs and scrambled, and sourdough toast.
Started the cinnamon roll dough and cleaned up.
Realized I forgot to eat🤣 so while I wait on the rise I'll be eating some toast with homemade applebutter, drinking coffee and reading ......DO NOT DISTURB ME🤗

10/07/2023

Working like a dog in this heat for hours a day called for me to cut half my length of and thin out my crazy thick hair with layers!
I'm in ❤️
Thanks Bethany

10/07/2023

My newest(new to me) additions to my library!
HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THESE?
ARE YOU BUILDING UP YOUR OWN LIBRARY OF INFORMATION?