Conspiracy and Self-sufficiency

    When a world with a million messages presses down on you, what is to be believed? Where is the truth behind the social media lies? When will the news networks stop putting up fronts and one sided stories so we can see what’s really going on beyond our own back door? Maybe never. Times are bad, and it’s hard to ignore. 

    We do have one truth to stand on and that is Jesus Christ, and the written Word of God we have today. Based on what I’ve read, of course there will be liars, mockers, and every other ounce of mischief in this world. Conspiracy theories? I can’t be for sure all is legit. I mean, one moment I hear this nation was started on a Christian foundation, the next tells me its all a lie, and it was built around secret societies and the Masonic group. Unfortunately, I don’t have straight up facts to say it was definitely one or the other. I believe it was a little of both. But choose what you will concerning the discernment of conspiracy theories.

   We also here of those who have been having dreams, and those saying America WILL BE destroyed. Joel 2:28 says “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:”. There will be no doubt that dreams and prophesies will come to pass. Which to believe is the question, since there will be many that share twisted, false stories.

    Peace through these raging storms comes only from God. However, we too must be diligent and prepared. Why? Because at some point and time money will not matter. Homes and cars will not matter. Your survival skills will. I believe it’s very possible for this generation and those to come will see much disaster. Those who know how to support themselves within the means of the land will be better off than grocery store relying people. I’m not saying totally stop buying groceries at the moment. No, I’m just saying that if we run into disastrous conditions (when push comes to shove), there will be the diligent few that decide to become independent and stable. 

    This isn’t just about conspiracy. This is about any disaster that could possibly wipe out ‘normal’ means of living. Natural causes or war – think about it. 

    

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The Beetle that’s Useful

     Yes, I am talking about the darkling beetle. However, we know this creature more commonly in its beginning stage, known as a meal worm. As a homesteader, if you raise chickens or ducks, this would be a great bug to raise. Meal Worms are a delightful treat to these fowl. It’s not a ‘necessary’ treat, but it’s icing on the cake, if you know what I mean.

    Meal worms are not difficult to raise. In fact, their up keep is minimal. I keep mine in a quart sterilite container in about 2″ of layer crumble and some oats…yes, my duck food. That crumble doesn’t have to be changed out, unless the texture becomes sandy. I like to put zucchini slices in as a food source. In no time, they will eat through that veggie. I suggest removing that in one or two days before the smell or rot starts overwhelming the container. My beetles are kept in a separate container until their eggs hatch, then I will be removing and transferring them to another bin.

     They are also used for reptile food, great bait while fishing, and I’m sure there are other sources listing ways to use meal worms. Here’s my setup, originally started and portioned to me by my grandparents. Their production center is MUCH larger than mine.

 

Eco Friendly Shopping

    You’re not simply saving the amount of production of plastic bags when buying stable, permanent hemp bags to shop with. Here’s a look at a few ways this is profitable to you! 

1. The plastic woes – Yes, with those heavier items, we start doing that ‘ah, my can is about to fall out the bottom of this bag’ dance while trying to get as close to the car as we can before it breaks away. Of course, on a sloped driveway, our chase will be almost back to where we started as the can reluctantly rolls away!

2. $0.03 per bag? – It is true! Some stores will actually give you a bag credit when using your own bags. In terms, each bag they pack is a certain amount of money off your bill. I am not sure if this is a national practice or not, but Redner’s and Weiss are absolute supporters of this!

3. Waste  – After using these bags, simply store them until next time instead of having a trash bag full of bags. Not only is it convenient, it’s quite fashionable. You know what your bags look like!

Want A good start to shopping ECO-Friendly??

Check out the link to my eBay store for these two bags!

 

http://www.ebay.com/cln/angelfishbooks/ECO/115606483017?roken=cUgayN via @eBay

 

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The Little and Big of It (Pros and Cons with Ages of Ducks)

My Husband and I slightly differ on our view of the homestead. I found this out during our first month of starting our little home stead, beginning with the ducks. While we BOTH fell in love with daffy and daisy at their young, weak, helpless age, Matt wasn’t such a huge fan on David and Carmen who are already full grown. I never knew he loved baby animals. To me, an animal is an animal. Yes, cuter with downy and baby features.

     So, I made a list of pros and cons when deciding on adult or baby animals to add to our future homestead.

 

     PROS OF YOUNG

     – Better connection and understanding

     – Tame

     – Will imprint easier

     – Can be temporary house pets

     – Easy to control and handle

     CONS OF YOUNG

• Aren’t productive until almost a year of age
• Fragile, and can catch disease and sickness quick
• Not able to easily battle harsh weather
• Easy Prey to Predators

 

PROS OF AGED

• Are Productive Immediately
• Able to be outside
• Less maintenance

CONS OF AGED

• Tendency to be wild
• Stubborn to change
• Loss of ‘cuteness’
• Requires more space

 

 

 

Profitable Homemaker

     The man goes off to work, stays for many hours, and comes home to a house that may or may not look much different than when he first left. We stereotype this with the comment to the wife ‘what do you do all day?’.

      Actually, we do A LOT more than what you think! Did you notice the dust on the toilet? No? Well, thats cleaned up. I made three meals, washed the dishes, took care of the homestead, dusted the living room, washed the floors, folded laundry, and YOU ASK…”what do you do all day”?!

     DISCLAIMER: I am not talking about my husband here. He knows all of what I do, and he appreciates not having to do housework.

     Yet, in some ways, as women, we feel valueless. Like what we are doing isn’t enough. It’s an inner desire to help the man ‘bring in the dough’ and earn money. Maybe a little, maybe a large sum. Yet some women are bound to their home duties and children, not able to get a job outside of the house. That’s where our internet technology comes in. Anyone is able to sell anything online, such as through etsy, eBay, Amazon, or other seller feeds. 

    For example, I make a decent income through Ebay with my own account. I sell anything from discounted books on various subjects, to designer scarves and massage chairs. You can jump over to “our roadside shop” page as I will be updating it today with products and links I have on eBay. 

 

A New Day, A Fresh Garden

     When it comes to the know-how, I pretty much observe the garden of my grandparents. About every other friday, I like to go down and assist them with whatever chores need to be done. Most of the time, I come home with fresh treats from the garden. Beans, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, blueberries. You name it, they probably grow it. If I need a project done, I run to them for assistance. It always has been that way.

           

    Upon arrival home, I found that every single one of my cucumber seeds have sprouted. Seems like they grew an inch overnight. I soon will have to be transplanting some of them. The lettuce is sprouting nicely, and a few trees that I have uprooted and transplanted seem to be doing well! Maples are especially difficult once you disturb their root system. It seems like they totally die off before regeneration. The two baby pines are pretty stable. What a nice surprise to come home to! A self-sufficient home in progress!

Keep on Keeping on

1. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish and he will eat steak.

   -Jay Leno
2. Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.   – H. Jackson Brown Jr.

3.  “There is no better time than now. The time to live is now. The time to dream is now. The time to imagine and forget the past is now. The time to shine is now. The time to bleed, sweat, and determine yourself for the things you want most is now.”

   -Anonymous

Fun in a Flashback

   Two years ago, I had the privilege of volunteering for a wonderful lady, Laura who runs Triangle Therapeutic Riding Center in Reinholds, Pa. Running solely as a non-profit organization, helping children who are mentally or physically disabled, she seeks for grants and volunteers. She has recently opened a few paid positions, and quite often runs fundraisers. The latest event was July 22nd (Which I missed). Every so often, I will be posting upcoming events in which we can aid in helping her continue the Riding center!

              

 

    Before I was dating Matthew, who is now my husband, horses were my passion, but as many of us learned, you need to have a great respect for these beautiful creatures. I’ve had friends paralyzed from falls, kicks, tumbles, and other forms of unexpected danger. I don’t know if I’d venture to add horses to my little homestead in the future. Its very possible that I would entertain the idea. 

Weeds

     As I’ve probably mentioned earlier, we live in a weed infested community. It seems that some of us struggle with taming down nature more than others. I suppose it all has to do with what we have around our home. It doesn’t matter if we pull up every last root, shovel out old soil, insert matting, and layer it with stone. These buggers are a nightmare! I’ve even done a full natural de-weeding treatment. To no avail, they march right back into existence within days. 

    It wasn’t until a while ago that I began talking to my father about a friend we have whose words backed up some research I had done regarding weeds. When I was planning on turning a grassed area into a raised garden bed, I read about covering the ground with layers of newspaper. Perfect, I had my answer to not growing a raised grass bed! It didn’t cross my mind that it would indeed work on weeds as well.

    5-6 layers is a pretty sure amount when smothering out any unwanted greens. As we all know, newspaper sheets can be pretty expansive. Though we do not get a daily paper, we do happen to get a weekly one. Going at this rate, it will take months to cover our two infested flower beds. By asking family and friends for unwanted newspaper this process can be sped up. A full newspaper can cover a 2 ft by 3 1/2 ft area. Hence, it takes a lot of newspaper!

   The best part of this project is, you can either leave it on from late fall to early spring, or simply cover the newspapers with fresh compost and soil. 

Meet David and Carmen

    The clouds were holding back tears and my car was guzzling gas, but my journey through rural Pa to pick up our two new members was more than anticipated! My husband went along for the ride so he could go to the hobby shop. We also got to meet the awesome family who owned these two beauties. David and Carmen had quite the privacy except for a few chickens that seemed to mind their own business.

 

 

 

 

 

However, once situated between my home and a very kind family next to us, David and Carmen hit celebrity status with our neighbor’s kids. When the little girl saw the ducks she says, “They better not swim in our pool, it has chlorine and they might get sick!”

    I told her not to worry, as they will have their own little plastic pond! The next day she drew me two cute ‘stick’ ducks and I hung it on my fridge next to My husband’s little sisters drawing of our other ducks. 

    Our neighbor’s kids affectionately nicknamed the ducks Swimming Pool and Bumblebee.    Gotta love young minds!

 

 

David and Carmen spying on Daffy and Daisy.