i needed a wheelbarrow.

generally when i clean the pens I commandeer the kids plastic play wagon( i actually use it for everything). i fit about 3 five gallon buckets in it, fill them up and pull it to the compost pile.

well- i owe the boys a new wagon to say the least.lol
but today i decided to make myself a wheelbarrow so i'm less dependant on their wagon. i used only items i already had laying around but if i'd had to purchase them it would have cost about 8 dollars.

the best part? because its a small managable size my kids can use it to dump manure onto the compost heap!

DIY incubators

knowing that campbells arent known for being particularly motherly, i decided to try my hand and building an incubator. I pretty much followed the directions on stormthecastle.com. I used a coleman ice chest rather than the foam chest because i already had an extra one!

at first it was getting way too hot dispite my use of a 40watt bulb. so i drill three large holes across the top and shoved wine corks into the holes. That way i can remove a cork when I need to drop the temp.

duckies??

One of my khaki campbells has been sitting on a nest for about 6days! this is very rare....and she may change her mind soon. i dont know if they are fertile so i brought in a few to give candling an attempt...

egg number one was empty...
egg number 2 however it was nice and healthy looking! i dont have an incubator so i hope she doesnt change her broody mind!

playing catch up!

Long time no post. Sorry!!! i was contemplating deleting this blog. i felt i wasnt accomplishing enough of my goals to call our family and way of life a homestead and thus, did not make for interesting reading.

i have since changed my mind however. after all, "Rome wasnt built in a day" right?

And progress has been being made. its just been a rather slow process. we now have interior walls in our house! and they are being mudded and textured by yours truely.

ive fenced in a small garden. its designation is a medicinal garden. its made from shipping pallets and culled lumber.

ive also got a small patch built for the chickens and ducks. this has one long bed which will contain barious goodies for the livestock as well as a boarder on edible cactus varieties.

I promise to make this blog more informative about some things im learning a long the way. ive discovered its quote difficult to find decent info about homesteading in the high deserts!

i will end this post with a few crappy pics of what im working on!