Today, DH went to our friend’s farm (where we got our two steers) to pick up a truck load of hay for Kitty & Davison (our two steers).  Well…. our friend Glenn, has about 20 cows who have given birth to babies over the last week or so.  Glenn is a cattleman, he raises Angus beef. 

We have been talking to Glenn about possibly getting some younger calves this year (after Kitty & Davison are gone).  DH would like to get babies that we can bottle feed and raise instead of buying steers who are 3 months old (the age Kitty & Davison were when we got them).

One of Glenn’s moma cows had a baby a couple of days ago and she’s not “taking to it”…. so, Glenn is having to bottle feed it.  Well, he’d rather have his moma cows take care of that so, if this one particular moma doesn’t start bonding and feeding her baby by next weekend, there is a good chance that we’ll be going and picking him up and bringing him home with us!

DH saw the baby today and said that he is a little over knee high and just as cute as can be!  So, I’ll let you know if it looks like we’ll be getting him next weekend….

Everybody is getting ready to watch the Superbowl…..  Do you watch this game every year?  Well, down here in the South and close to New Orleans, it’s the thing we all are supposed to be doing since The Saints are playing.  It’s really hard to believe because I’ve been to a few Saints games maybe 25 years ago and I just have to tell you, the SuperDome was almost empty LOL   They just didn’t have a winning team for so many years.  But I’m rooting for them and I do hope that they win today.  There will be so many happy people if they do!

Today has been a “work day” around the homestead…. I’ve been busy doing a super-dooper cleaning in the breakfast and now in the pantry.  I’ve moved furniture, swept behind to get all the dust bunnies, etc.  And now, well, I’ve finally bit the bullet and I’m working on cleaning out and organizing the pantry.  I don’t know why I dread this so much every time, but I do.  After it’s all organized though, I LOVE IT!  Plus it’s going to help me better determine what food we have and what we need LOL  Also, it’s going to help me get together the meal plans for the next 2 weeks.

I have to admit…. I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to the pantry and food.  If I find items on sale that I know we will eat, I stock up like crazy!  What I’m not so good at is rotating the food storage around though.  I need to work on this more in 2010.  And starting with a well-organized pantry will be a great start.

One thing that I would rather see in my pantry than “canned goods” would be glass canning jars full of food…. especially if it were veggies from my garden.  If you want to know what my goal would be for my pantry to look like…. take a peek here at the Dervaes’ pantry:  http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/urbanhomesteadfeb-15.jpg 

Isn’t that awesome!  That is something that I would love to work toward….

OK, back to the pantry for now, got to get this chore finished up!

Today and tomorrow we will have LOTS of rain moving through our area - they are  saying 2 to 3 inches….

We really don’t need the rain right now as everything is still not completely dried up from the last down pour that we had LOL  But, as long as it comes and goes before Saturday, well… then I’m happy!

DH and I have been talking about getting started on a chicken tractor this weekend.  We’re trying to determine exactly what we need at this point.  I feel like we have enough scrap lumber and wire left over from other building projects that we shouldn’t really have to purchase anything.

Why a chicken tractor?  What is a chicken tractor?  I wondered the same things just a couple of years ago but I was totally intrigued when I saw Patti Moreno’s videos about building chicken tractors! 

Patti’s Chicken Tractor Building Videos

A chicken tractor is basically a portable “chicken run” that you can use to move your chickens around and offer them access to fresh areas to dig, scratch and graze.  Chickens of course love to scratch and dig for insects (lots of great FREE, natural protein for them!).  They also love to eat fresh green grass and weeds too.  With a chicken tractor, you have the portability to move them to places (like on top of your raised beds) where they can find eat bugs, till the soil up by scratching and do a little fertilizing in the meantime.

I would like to “graze” my chickens more around our large back yard too.  We have plenty of grassy spots where they would love to “camp out” for a while

I was looking at some photos from last year and it’s giving me a stronger case of SPRING FEVER!  Here’s a photo of part of the garden area and the chicken coop and chicken run….

Wow, what a coincidence that I posted on my blog today about the GM wheat and GM alfalfa…. guess what I just got in my email box?  I received an email from Organic Valley (a producer of organic dairy products) — check out what they have to say about GM alfalfa on their website:   Speak Out on Genetically Engineered Alfalfa

I really appreciate receiving this email from them because on their website, they have outlined exactly what everyone needs to do to fight the approval of GM alfalfa!!  Yeah!!!  Information from their website is posted below:

Your Participation is Critical! Take Action by February 16

A 60-day comment period is now open until February 16, 2010.  This is the first time the USDA has done this analysis for any GE crop, so the final decision will have broad implications for all GE crops. The failure of the agency to address the impacts of GE alfalfa will have far-reaching consequences for farmers and organic consumers. Let’s not be Monsanto’s guinea pigs!

Where to Take Action:

Submit comments via the Center for Food Safety Action Center tool.  If you have time to write an original response, you can also submit your comments directly to the USDA.

By Mail: A written letter is very powerful. Mail your comments to:

Docket No. APHIS-2007-0044
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8
4700 River Road Unit 118
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238

You can also find Organic Valley online @ Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/OrganicValley). 

Please join me and many others and send a letter TODAY objecting to the approval of GM alfalfa!   Let’s show the USDA that we are concerned and that we DO NOT want GM crops!  And please, show your support for Organic Valley (and all of the other organic producers) by purchasing their products — we can also make a statement with our purchasing power and our dollars!

Wow, I haven’t even gotten used to typing “2010″ yet…. and now, I’m typing “FEBRUARY” already….

But I’m not complaining to say the least!  I’m getting so excited that SPRING is just right around the corner!!!!  I noticed this morning that it seemed like the sun rose much earlier….  Don’t get me wrong, I do like winter (or what little of it we have down here on the Gulf Coast LOL) but I really start getting excited when I know that SPRING is right around the corner!

I have to apologize for not posting much on my blog over the last week and a half.  Things have been busy, busy, busy.  But I have so much to share with everyone — things that are SO IMPORTANT to us….   As most of you know, I am completely against GM (genetically-modified) foods.  I just do not think it is right on so many levels!   Well, here’s the latest about Monsanto and their GM foods: 

“Monsanto, the multinational agriculture giant most known for its propagation of genetically-modified (GM) crops, has decided to resurrect its pursuit of GM wheat. Abandoned in 2004 due to opposition from American growers, merchants, and consumers, Monsanto’s GM wheat program is making a comeback. “

Now wheat?  The biggest question that comes to my mind is WHY?  I haven’t heard of any severe insect or fungus problems with wheat… OH, I wasn’t thinking in the right direction — the answer doesn’t have anything to do with wheat.  It has to do with MONEY.

Let’s see, we have cotton, soybean, corn, sugar beets, rice and canola that I already know of that are in the consumer marketplace and are genetically-modified.  Now I may have to add wheat to the list?

I personally see the cotton that is grown down here in the southern part of Alabama.  They plant the cotton and then when the plants are a couple of inches tall, they spray with what I believe is RoundUp to kill any grass or weeds surrounding the cotton plants — the young cotton plants are genetically modified for resistance to glyphosate (marketed as Roundup in North America).  Also, the gene coding for BT toxin (Bacillus thuringiensis) has been inserted into cotton (just like the GM corn), causing cotton to produce this insecticide in its tissues — this is to control the larvae of moths and butterflies, beetles, and flies.  When these pests eat just one bite of the cotton plant, they are ingesting an insecticide that kills them.

When the plants are mature and are several feet in height (at the end of the long cotton-growing season), they are sprayed again and killed (with RoundUp I believe).  This forces the plants to die so that all the boles will break open and fluff out to make it easier for mechanical harvesting.

One of my biggest reasons that I am opposed to GM seeds and plants - it promotes the OVERUSE of spraying of herbicides.  What happens when the same herbicide is used year after year after year?  Well, I think the answer to that question is summed up in this Australian Agricultural News article dated Jan/12th/2010 entitled “Weed issues in United States GM cotton crops“.   The article states, “A scientific study of the United States’ genetically modified cotton crop has found out of control weeds are costing farmers in lost production…. The weed, known as Palmer’s pigweed, has developed a strong resistance to the herbicide glyphosate, which is used to control weeds….. It can grow so big it damages harvesting equipment and often has to be removed by hand.”     The article is warning Australian farmers of GM canola that this could also happen to them.

What also happens when all this spraying is done on the farm land?  Well, the herbicides are on the plants, on the soil…. it rains, then it is washed into the soil and eventually into streams, creeks and rivers…. maybe also into the drinking water?  So, how does this affect the environment –  the organisms living in the soil, the earthworms, the fish in the streams and rivers?  How does this affect us? Well, just recently I’ve seen several news articles about fish and how chemical pollution seems to be disrupting their hormones, blurring the line between male and female.  There is a great article that everyone needs to read entitled: “Chemicals in Water Alter Gender of Fish” that I found on www.cbsnews.com    Now, back to the question — how does this affect us?  Well, these same fish swim where millions of people get their drinking water.  Enough said….  To any guys out there reading this, I also read that “Man Boob” reduction plastic surgery is up 80%!!!!  Yep - Google it!  I’m telling the truth LOL!

Back to the cotton story — the cotton goes into clothing and other textile items.  The cotton seed is used to produce cotton oil (which goes into the vegetable oil that we purchase in the grocery stores!) and the remaining meal is used to make feed for livestock (such as cows).  So, we’re wearing the cotton, eating the cotton seed oil, and eating meat from animals that are fed the cotton seed meal….

And if that doesn’t make you turn your head and open your eyes, how about this?  I’m sure you realize that most of the corn you consume (including that high frutose corn syrup found in candies, cola, and even ketchup!) is made from GM corn?  Did you know that the patent listed on the GM corn has the GM seed listed as an insecticide????  Well, in the last couple of weeks the results from testing rats who were fed GM corn have been released…. and it’s not a pretty picture….

“A recent E.U. study found that rats who’s diets included different strains of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) corn experienced kidney, liver, and other organ damage.”

“The study looked at three strains of Monsanto’s GM corn: one that was “Roundup Ready” and two that were engineered to produce Bt toxin which acts as an insecticide.”

The results were evident at just 90 days along in the study… Wow!  I found this information posted at Eat. Drink. Better. dot com (www.eatdrinkbetter.com).   Here’s the link to the article: http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2010/01/12/study-links-gm-corn-consumption-to-organ-damage/

If you’d like to read the full report at the International Journal of Biological Sciences, click here –> A Comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health

Now you might wonder why I’m still worried about GM seeds and what Monsanto is doing.  Well, I found this article a couple of weeks ago entitled: “Obama USDA Poised to Take Away Our Right to GMO-Free Food“.   You’ve got to take the time and read this article over at The Huffington Post.  You’ll also find out that Monsanto is pushing again for the right to release it’s GM alfalfa…

What are your thoughts on GM seeds, Monsanto and the whole situation?  You’ve heard where I stand on the issue.  I’d like to know how you feel.

Good afternoon!  Sorry it’s almost been a week since I’ve posted last.   It has been a really nice week though.  What about yours?

Our weather has returned to a more “normal” state LOL   It’s warmed up and we’re out of the freezing nights (thank goodness!)   And, we even have had some rain in the last day or so.  It started on Friday night and rained most all yesterday and last night.  Today it’s pretty overcast and damp, but since we really needed the “watering”, I’m happy (as long as it’s not freezing!) 

Just how warm as it been?  Well, we’ve been having temps in the low 60’s!   All of the seeds that I planted in the garden (before the 2 weeks of freezing temps) are all germinating now.  Between the warm weather, a little hand watering and then the rain we’ve had this weekend, it’s actually beginning to look more like normal!

I have alot to post about and will be this evening…. so check back!

As I wake up this morning, the temperature outside is 17 degrees…. that is just amazing for the Gulf Coast!   I’ve read lots of news articles about how adversely this weather has affected the South — the citrus growers fought the toughest, coldest night last night; a tropical fish grower in Florida lost over $350,000 when his fish growing in ponds all froze and died; and farmers of strawberries and other veggies in Florida are fighting to save their crops with temp dipping into the 20’s for up to 6 hours straight.

But, hopefully, it looks like we are going back to more “normal” winter-time temperatures here.  Take a look at our 10-day forecast:

Now, that is more like it!  We’ll have to deal with maybe 2 or 3 more nights of weather dipping down below freezing, but at least the daytime temperatures will be warmer.   I looked at the Accuweather extended forecast, and they are forecasting  out through Jan 25 with highs in the 72 degree range!  It will seem like the hot summertime if we hit 72 degrees after the weather we’ve been having LOL

Here’s the latest from our local news channel regarding the weather:  “Temperatures drop into the teens once again. Freezing low temps stick around through Thursday. This will be the last night in the teens.”  Oh, they also said that we’d continue to have freezing temps during the overnight hours for the next couple of days though.  But, at least it’s supposed to be warmer than what it has been.

Well, since I’ve been waiting for it to warm up since last Thursday, all I can say is about time!  We keep hearing the weather forecasts that the cold weather is going to be past and then, the next thing you know, we have 1 more night of temps in the teens again.  Supposedly, tonight should be the last night of low temps in the teens for us.  I surely hope so.  This southern gal isn’t used to this much freezing weather!   Winter 2009/2010 is the coldest we’ve had on record in over 25 years!

This morning when I went out to feed (which I held off as long as I could - it was 10 AM before I went out) all of the water containers for the animals (dogs, cows and chickens) were frozen solid!   So I connected the water hose and tried to get everything melted so the animals would have water to drink.  I mixed some hot water with the chickens’ feed to help warm them up some.  I brought a gallon of hot water from inside.

Even the water in the chicken coop was frozen solid… and, I’ve noticed that Capri (the Barred Rock “Roo”) has a little frost bite damage to his waddles.  I am going to have to do some research and find out what I need to do about it.  Who would have ever thought I would have to worry about that here on the Gulf Coast?  Crazy winter, I tell you!

Just walking on the ground, I can tell that it’s frozen and there’s a “crunch” with each step.  I am so anxious for some Spring weather so I can get out and dig in the dirt - but then, I’m always like this during January LOL  What about you?  How’s the weather in your area?  Is it cooler or warmer than normal for this time of the year?  Are you getting a bit stir crazy inside too?

Well, to get short and to the point, I only have 2 words to describe our POWER DOWN Wednesday — GREAT and HORRIBLE. 

So, do you want the good news first or the bad news first? 

Well, I’m going with the bad news first…. might as well get it over with — kinda like that nasty medicine your mom would give you LOL   Even though some things didn’t go well, they can still be positive because it tells me what we need to work on more.  So, I guess the bad news isn’t all that “bad”…   How many of  you have teenagers?  Well, if  you have one, I’ve probably just said it all for you and you already know what I’m talking about.  If you don’t have one of these living in your  home, let me just say “Teenager Meltdown”….

Even though DD chose the day of the week that we would have our POWER DOWN, she had a melt down because it was “the worst day of the week to try and do something like this” (and that was in her own words)….   Remember that thing that I talked about in my last post?  PLANNING…. well, it seems that she didn’t do very much of it (actually, I don’t think she thought about it at all until the actual day arrived and the power was OFF…)  Our morning wasn’t as bad as our evening (inbetween we were at  school/work/etc).   But there was just something about no TV after school that sent her into orbit… you know, that’s when your teenager turns into someone you don’t even recognize…. think “Jekyl/Hyde”….

Looking back, maybe we needed to spend some more time talking and planning with her on exactly what she needed to prepare herself for.  Also, she’s thinking that she might should have chosen our POWER DOWN day for Saturday.  OK, how are we going to approach this and work on it?  Well, tonight there will be another family meeting of the minds again for an indepth discussion on how we are going to make this thing work for all of us :-)   DH and I will see what we can do to help DD plan and prepare for this one day per week without electricity.  It’s all in the PLANNING….

NOW, for the good news :-)   My morning (and DH’s) went extremely well…. We had our hot coffee from a Thermos (got to have my coffee!!)   We each had 2 cups which is alot less than what we normally have in the mornings, but that was ok…. neither of us minded and our sacrifice was “for the cause”….    Our clothes were ready, showers taken the evening before - so no problems there.  DH did the morning feeding/watering of the animals - no problem there either.  It was dark when the alarms on the cell phones went off so we had to light a few candles, but it was really quiet and relaxing.  Usually the TV is going (on the Weather Channel lately, no doubt) and I’m going around turning the lights off after everyone.  It’s usually a hussle-bussle kinda morning.  I think just with the TV being off there was a dramatic improvement in how much more calm our morning was.  Well, except for DD.

Our evening was well planned and everything flowed quite smoothly with dinner, candles for lights and no TV.  Since dinner was very well planned in advance, we had some awesome grilled food to eat (thanks to DH’s great grill cooking).   For me, looking at seed catalogs by candlelight is like being in heaven LOL

There are a few improvements that we can make to ensure that our daily lives run more smoothly on our POWER DOWN day.  And tonight, we’ll have a family meeting about it and try to figure out DD’s issues and help to find solutions with her.  She definitely wants to participate and is excited about it… I think it’s just a teenage thing with her and  an issue she’s never had to deal with before.  For me and for DH, we’ve been through this several times (sometimes for 2 weeks straight) during the aftermath of hurricanes.

I knew going into this that it wouldn’t be easy and that it would be an adjustment.  I also knew that powering down for one day a week would take some time to work all of the kinks out of - it’s a process.  And its something that we’ve made a committment to achieve.  If it were easy, then we wouldn’t be giving anything up, right?

It’s so hard to type 2010 instead of 2009… I’m just not used to it yet LOL

Sorry for the couple of days delay in posting… Did you miss me?   Well, we had our “POWER DOWN” Wednesday and then Thursday night was the Alabama/Texas game (of course, we live in Alabama and DH had to watch it).  And Friday night and Saturday were just “busy” days - you know, those days when you have all this “stuff” to do like bills, do all the “shopping” for household items, etc.   I try to keep my shopping trips down to a minimum because first of all, I just don’t enjoy going that much.  The reason is all of the people that crowd the stores…. and some of them can be so rude (I know, even down here in the South!)    The second reason I don’t enjoy going shopping is because I know that I will have to spend money LOL!   I only try to buy the items that I know that we need…. or the items I can get for free with coupons and rebates.  And before I do make a shopping trip, I have everything “lined-out” and I go to the stores in a specific order, with a list of course, and with my coupons in hand to make sure that I get the best price and best deal possible.  If I do it this way, I don’t waste gas either. 

Speaking of shopping…. I noticed yesterday (my first day grocery shopping since before Christmas) that many of the items that we normally purchase have gone UP!  For example, I sometimes like to cook with cream of mushroom soup in a can - well, it’s now $1 per can at the local WallyWorld and $1.27 per can at the local Tar-Jay (if you pronounce it with a French accent)  They have raised their prices on this one item.  And I noticed many other food items that the prices have been raised on — a certain bag of sweets that I like went up from $1.39 to $1.59, canned English peas went up from 80 something cents per can to 92 cents per can….  All of this in a matter of maybe 3 weeks.  I’m one of those who watches the prices of everything LOL

You can probably already see where I’m going with this….. food prices are going up so fast…. and it’s only getting worse.  What’s a family to do with a limited food budget?  Well, I for one definitely do the coupon thing… and if I don’t have a coupon or if it’s not on sale (for a good price), then I just don’t buy it.  I have made up my mind that we will do without.  I’ll stretch a penny until it screams LOL

You’ve probably heard before to shop the “outer” walls of the grocery store, right?  Well, this is because the fresh meats, produce and dairy products are usually located in these places.  The more “processed” foods are located on the aisles.  Now, though, we are even having to watch what we purchase on the “outer” walls - the produce has been grown with so many pesticides and in some cases has traveled thousands of miles to get to your local grocery store.  Did you know that some produce is even irradiated?    I am going to post some more information on this later… I need to do a little more research on it first.  But, it’s something that I heard about a little while back.    The meats, well…. you may have already read my post “Good Sunday Morning (again LOL) - Dec/20/2009 and “What You Need to Know About the Beef You EAT”…” — if not, please take a little while and click on the link and check it out.  It’s sickening is about the only thing I can say about the beef we purchase in the grocery stores.    Dairy products - well, there’s the antibiotics and hormones that are given to the cows… unless of course, you purchase the organic milk.

For my family, the best and cheapest way to eat is FROM SCRATCH… yes, the least processed food cost the least amount of money per serving.  For example, we haven’t purchased 1 loaf of bread since the first of January, probably even since some time in December.   I have a bread machine and can make loaf bread, rolls, etc just by making the dough in the machine.  And, all of the ingredients are organic flour, water, yeast, 2 tablespoons of organic sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt and a little bit of organic milk.

The biggest thing about cooking from scratch is that it does take some time to plan for.  It’s just one of those things that we have to make time for - planning is so very important if you want your household to function smoothly.  This is one of the items I have on my 2010 Goal List because myself and my family could definitely use some improvement in this area LOL

Well, I was going to do an update on our POWER DOWN Wednesday but got off on a ramble about other “stuff” LOL   So my next post will be about our POWER DOWN. 

Are you seeing higher prices in the grocery stores in your area since Christmas?  How often do you shop?  And, do you cook from scratch?