More kids scheduled to drop this weekend! Miss Moo is a week out so it’s time to move her into the kidding pen and move Dulce, Truffle & their mama Petunia back to the main pen with the rest of the crew. Babies can come a few days early or a few days late so planning about a week out is usually a good time to move my expecting doe’s and yep, mine are extremely food motivated too, so I find the easiest way to move them is by bribing them with some good ol’ tasty pellets.
Goats are such herd animals and need to be able to socialize with other goats, so I keep the kidding pen right next to the doe pen, sharing a small fence, so that my expecting mothers can birth in a peaceful area but still be able to see and socialize with their sisters. This gives them the space to birth with minimal disturbance, to bond well with their babies, and to keep their babies safe from the other doe’s until they are big/fast enough to get away from their ornery behaviors.
Miss Moo’s ligaments are softening (meaning she’s starting to open up and ready herself for birthing), her udder is filling more each day and summer kidding season is well on its way, with 5 more doe’s due at various times over August and September, including Ruth, Periwinkle, Pixie, Espirit and Kami. 💙 Here we go!
#kiddingseason #summerkidding #farmlife
Farm life can be challenging enough but finding someone willing to watch your farm when you go on vacation can be so tough. Especially when you have a farm like ours, with chicks damn near constantly in a million different cages, goat kids being born all throughout the year, doe’s that have to be miked daily, over 25 goats and over 100 chickens to feed everyday… Its a lot to take on and we are extremely fortunate to have such wonderful friends here in town who have a similar farm as ours. They watch our place and we watch theirs and it’s a wonderful symbiotic relationship!
How does it all work? Well, there are specific things we do to make their life easier while we are gone, like lots of automatic waterers for nearly all the animals, large feeders that don’t need to be filled daily, etc. And even though they have their own farm, we also don’t expect our farm sitters to just guess on how to care for all our animals either and we will either go over each animal in detail together or we will leave a detailed “job aid” to go over each animals care, where to find their food, any special care notes etc. so that they are completely set up for success while we are gone.
Many people have the idea in mind that if you have a farm you can’t ever leave it… but I’m a “have your cake and eat it too” type of gal and I really want my raw milk and homegrown veggies but I also really want to see the world too and I don’t think they have to be mutually exclusive, I think they both can exist in the same lifetime!
What are your thoughts??
#farmlife #goingonvacation #farmsitters #farmhelp
We’ve got 20+# birds y’all! From shell to full blown dinosaur in less than 2 months! 😂 I can’t even imagine how big these birds are going to be at full-grown! Ducklings always shock me with how fast they grow compared to chicks, but I have to say, these geese have surprised me even more! I have to say though, for both being waterfowl, geese are so wildly different than ducks! Geese are so friendly, watchful, calm. Ducks are so incredibly skiddish and unless you work with the them daily (hand raising them) they will hardly let you pet them willingly. They certainly don’t follow you around like your shadow, how geese do. These goslings seem so protective towards Kylin, biting and pinching at Poppie if she gets too rowdy, while my ducks could care less about protecting their human companions! I’ve really enjoyed watching these 3 grow & blend right into our life here on the farm! It’s almost like they have always been here! 😍🪿🌼#goslings
Part 1 | Companionship with your animals… There’s nothing like it and there’s only a few things better in this world for your heart than this! Time spent with our animals brings our blood pressure down and our endorphins and dopamine up. That’s because we are experiencing unconditional love, something that’s so hard for some humans to give, is all some animals know how to live. It is not lost on me how blessed I am that I get to care for these animals every single day and that they love and trust me enough to form the most beautiful bond. Who else absolutely needs to spend quality time with their pets every single day? It could be the dogs, cats, goats, birds or bees… they all make this mamas heart happy! #farmlife
True story, some of my closest farm friends I’ve met through social media… I could wish all day for the fanciest home and barn but in the end of the day, that’s not what fills my cup. I crave human connection far more than I crave materialistic things. Connecting with friends from across the globe and especially with other farmers and homesteaders through daily conversations and especially when sh*t hits the fan and I just need a friend who simply, “gets it” to talk to.. and vise versa, to be able to help a friend in need when a problem arises. THATS what fills my cup yall! Real connections with like-minded people is what has kept me inspired and motivated to continue to show up on an ever changing platform for nearly ten years now. Nearly everyday I forge new friendships and learn something new from another farmer friend and that is why I choose to keep sharing!I’ll take the comradery over 100’s of 1000’s of followers anyday, followers come and go… but friends, they actually stay. So if you’ve been here since the beginning (when we had a 2000 sqft backyard homestead), cheering us on, when it was just myself and a handful of other homestead accounts, before it was the “hip” thing to do…, well I know who you are and I’m so grateful for our friendship! ❤️And if you are new here, hi, welcome to our farm life through my eyes. I hope you choose to stick around! #farmfriendships #reallife #uglyfarm
I see you boo, because I am you… 😅And in all fairness, he knew what kind of crazy he was marrying.. I’ve had about 100 irons in the fire since day 1! 😂#habitualprojectstarter #farmlife #icanthelpit #adhdbrain
Teaser of our 1st trip to Nevada to House/Property Hunt! Subscribe to our Instagram for access to the full video and all the Behind The Scenes of moving our entire farm from California to Nevada! ❤️ #moving #movingthefarm #nevadabound #instagramsubscriptions
Today is the last day to order from our website with shipping for delivery before Christmas! FLASH SALE TODAY ONLY!! Use code XMAS15 at checkout for 15% off your entire order! LOCALS, you can order all the way until until Christmas Eve to pick up before Christmas! www.theurbanladybug.com/shop
Phew, only a brief moment of clarity before my crazy farm mom thoughts take back over 😆… all jokes aside, this is the life we so lovingly built, and although it’s messy, cluttered and so very busy, it is so very beautiful and now that we have a little farm kid to share it all with and hand it all down to, it only makes this life even more special and full of wonder!! How insanely blessed are we that we get to teach all that we love about farm life with our kin and that they get to grow up running with baby goats, grabbing eggs from the backyard for breakfast every morning, walking though rows of flowers every summer and picking their own food they got to grow at home, in their front yard! 🌱#farmlife #farmkids #simplelife
First off, thank you all so much for your support for our small business sales this weekend!! We are so grateful for all of your orders and are busy packaging them all up! 🫶🏻Second, there’s still time to lock in savings and our cyber Monday free gift! Use code ULBSMALLB20 at checkout for 20% off your entire order and a Free Organic Honey, Orange, Peppermint Lip Balm, only valid until 11/27/23 @ midnight PST! www.theurbanladybug.com #ulbboutique
BACK in my ✨Sourdough Era✨ after taking a loonnnng break while I created my little human ❤️I’m so enjoying experimenting with sourdough again and also making some of my old tried and true favorite recipes! This one being at the very tip top of the list! You know it’s a good recipe when you can’t even wait to video before you eat some! 😋There’s just something magical about warm pumpkin bread with a hot cup of coffee on a chilly holiday morning! Pure coziness!! Recipe below! Happy holidays! Ingredients: • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour• 1 cup pumpkin puree• ¾ cup granulated sugar• ¾ cup light brown sugar• ¾ cup sourdough starter, unfed/discard• ½ cup olive or coconut oil• ⅓ cup water• 2 large eggs• 1 teaspoon baking soda• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg• ½ teaspoon kosher saltDirections: •Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. • Fold in any extra like chocolate chips or walnuts. • Bake on 350 for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted into center of bread comes out clean. Enjoy!! 😋❤️#sourdough #sourdoughrecipes #pumpkinbread
Come dressed up in your costumes for a Spooktacular day at our last Murphys Farmers Market of the season, this Sunday October 29th from 9-1pm! ✨👻We will be decked out in our costumes and ready to help you shop for all your holiday gifts! We will have so many yummy goats milk soaps, lotions, lip balms, bath soaks, beard balms, muscle salves, botanical sugar scrubs and more! We hope to see you there!!✨Shop local. Eat local. Spend local. Enjoy local.✨ Support the local businesses who support the area you live, work and play! For every $1 spent at a local business about $0.80 STAYS in their community! And by shopping local you are:-Helping local families put food on their tables and keep the lights on in their homes! -Keeping money in your local Economy!-Investing in entrepreneurship! -Nurturing a sense of community!-Supporting the environment by reducing waste and conserving energy!A HUGE THANK YOU FROM THIS SMALL BIZ MAMA FOR SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS AND ECONOMY!! ❤️✨Not local but still want to support our small business? Shop our products at anytime at www.theurbanladybug.com/shop #shopsmall #shoplocal #smallbizmama #lastfarmersmarket
We are at the end of stone fruit season here in California and I am not ready to let it go… peaches and nectarines are my absolute favorite fruit to eat & grow and this easy stone fruit, blueberry and old fashioned oat crisp perfectly combines my love for this fruit and my love for fall! Recipe below, Enjoy!! 🍑😋 Peach and blueberry filling:* 4 peaches or nectarines cored, unpeeled, sliced into wedges* 12 oz blueberries* 4 tablespoons salted butter melted* ½ fresh lemon squeezed* ⅓ cup brown sugar* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract* 1 tablespoon cornstarchCrisp topping:* ¼ cup all-purpose flour* ¾ cup old-fashioned oats* ½ cup brown sugar* 5 tablespoons salted butter softened not meltedInstructions: 1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.2. Use a 10 x 7 or 9 x13 inch high-sided, rectangular baking dish.3. In a large bowl, combine melted butter, sliced peaches, blueberries, freshly squeezed lemon juice, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and cornstarch. Mix really well with the spoon, being careful not to break the fruit.4. Transfer the fruit mixture to a butter-greased baking dish.5. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and oats. Add the softened (not melted) butter and use a fork to work the butter into the dry ingredients until everything is moist and clumps together, topping will be crumbly.6. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit mixture in a baking dish.7. Transfer the peach and blueberry crisp to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 40 or 45 minutes or until the top is golden and the fruit is bubbling.8. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly#stonefruit #crisprecipe #farmgrownrecipes #katishomecookedrecipes
We in full on feather bomb mode over here! 🐓💣 A lot of our birds are half bald by now and for a newer chicken keeper this can be a little startling, especially when your egg count goes from 10 to 2, over night! Shoot it still startles me sometimes too- thinking “did a predator get into the coop?!” 😳Over the many years of having chickens & ducks we have developed a routine to get them through molting time and a few years ago I put together a handy little article over on our blog to also help you and your flock as there are many things you can feed & do to help them along! Some of those include:-Extra Protein Rich Snax-Limited touching/rooster exposure -Supplements-Specialized molting feed and more that I go over in article! -I also touch-base on how often chickens molt, common molting characteristics, common behaviors/attitude, their drop in egg production/adding light to the coop, raising your own mealworms for eggs-tra protein and more!! 🐓For convenience, head to link in bio to our blog and scroll down to the BLOG ARTICLE section and the “MOLTING 101” article! Comment any additional questions you may have! 🤔Linked here too: https://www.theurbanladybug.com/molting-101#moltingseason #backyardeggs #farmfresheggs #chickenkeepingtips #fallonthefarm
Protein bites and Pajamas!
Protein bites and Pajamas! My little side kick and I are sharing our favorite protein bite recipe with you today in our favorite matching pjs from Kindthing!
Not only are these bites so delicious and packed full of protein and other nutrients but they also contain two ingredients that they say can specifically aid in lactation! 🍼
-Brewers yeast contains important nutrients that are believed to stimulate milk production, especially the Vitamin B, Iron, Protein, Selenium and Chromium which are involved in hormone production and milk synthesis.
-Flaxseed meal naturally contains Phytoestrogens which contain estrogenic properties that can help promote breast milk production.
Protein bite recipe below!
Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoon debittered brewers yeast
2/3 cup flaxseed meal
2 teaspoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
Chocolate chips or you can substitute with raisins (measure w/ your heart)
Optional: Add 2 tablespoon hemp hearts if you got ‘em!
-Add peanut butter, honey & vanilla to a bowl and mix together until smooth and creamy.
-Add brewers yeast, flaxseed meal, chia seeds, cinnamon, old fashioned oats. Mix all ingredients until fully combined then roll in chocolate chips.
-Form mixture into bite size balls, refrigerate for 30 minutes before eating, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 2 weeks! So good!
Our favorite Moonlight Botanical pajamas are made by @kindthing.co! We were customers first and proud affiliates second and want to share the love for one of our favorite sustainable kid clothing brands! Use code ULBFARM10 at checkout to enjoy 10% off your entire purchase at anytime! (As affiliates we do earn a small commission when you use our code but at no additional cost to you, thank you so much for supporting our farm and affiliate brands!) 🧡
#proteinbites #lactationbites #healthysnacks
Subscribe to our Instagram to join our Homestead Mentorship and join tonight’s Goat Milk Soap Making Class starting at 8pm PST!! And if you can’t tune in for the entire class, don’t worry, all Subscriber content is saved to our subscriber section for future viewing/reference!#ulbsubscribersonly
Yesterday was the 63rd heavenly birthday of my very first best friend, my sweet momma!
It’s been 11 years since she left us but her joyful heart has finally found its way back to me… Kylin Jewels is her legacy! I can’t help but see so much of her love, joy for life and infectious smile shine through her granddaughter, who shares her namesake. My moms name is Julie and her nick-name in high school was Jewels. ✨💎
We miss her more and more with each day, especially now that we have another little soul in the family that never got to meet her but will miss her all the same! How magical to think though for 9 months, while my momma carried me, the 3 of us were 1! ❤️ We love you with all our hearts mom, we are thinking of you and remembering you always!
Kyle and I often fantasize about what you would think of all that we’ve done in our lives since you left us. We were so young still and so unsure of life… gosh how much we have grown… I know you would also say that none of this surprises you in the least, because you knew better than anyone how deep my love for animals runs in my blood! I know you’d say I was destined to be a farmer… and to be a mother too! Losing you made my heart turn away from longing to be a mother. Oh, if I only knew that very thing would be the thing to heal my broken heart! ❤️
But alas… time is such a thief… if I’m not reminded by the fact that just yesterday I felt like I was a little girl in my mommas arms, I’m reminded by the fact that this video of Kylin was taken 5 months ago already when she started to lose her birth hair… look at her little duck-tail! 😅 Oh sweet memories, im so thankful for every one of them and I hope they never fade!!!
#kylinjewelscearley #julieannhancock #missingyou #happyheavenlybirthday #healingfromgrief
We want to wish a Happy 1/2 birthday to our sweet little peachy girl! 🥹❤️
It’s so hard to wrap my brain around the fact that she is 6 months old already but gosh has the time just flown by for all of us! The days are long but the months are so short! She has grown so much in these 6 months, it’s so tearful to look back and see how tiny she was not that long ago! She’s now sitting up unassisted, rolling over from front to back and back to front, she’s pulling herself more and more, she’s about to get her first couple of teeth, she’s eating a little bit of solids each day, she’s the happiest little girl in the world- always so smiley and we have made it to 6 months exclusively breast feeding which is a huge accomplishment in itself!
I can only describe the whirlwind these last 6 months have been as the hardest, most glorious, joyous, exciting, self-discovering, anchoring, mentally draining and physically exhausting but rewarding times of my life, but it is all worth it every second of every day and would I or will I do it all over again? You bet your ass I would!! Being a mama is the greatest gift in this world!
#kylinjewelscearley #futurefarmbaby #6monthsold #happyhalfbirthday
