The rush of the holidays is over. Whew! Homesteading keeps you busy, with all of the animals to care for. The feeding, milking , collecting eggs and simply being aware of what is going on in the goat coral, the Rabbitry and the hen house everyday. Then throw in decorating inside and out, gift shopping and wrapping, parties and family gatherings and life becomes a whirlwind. Don't get me wrong, Christmas is my favorite holiday but to stay ahead of the game a few things, like this blog, get put on the back burner.

I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful holiday with family and friends and that this New Year will be bring blessings beyond your wildest dreams.

The Homestead is never stagnant; change is the name of the game. At this time we need to reduce our goat milking herd. Being new to that part of homesteading we found out that we don’t need several gallons of milk a day to supply our needs. So we have two lovely does for sale. A lovely tan doe, Fawne is bred and our gorgeous black and silver, Elsie may or may not be bred at this time. If you are interested in either of these lovely animals just email us and we can talk specifics.

The Angora rabbits have decided to molt in the dead of winter, go figure. What fun…not, but the wool is incredible. I’ll be spinning for days. We will be breeding three French Angora does this spring along with the Silver Fox rabbits. I just love the kits…what excitement they bring. If you are interested, just email us.

Oh spring, where art thou? Spring will bring upon so much for us here on the Homestead, new kits and kids and planting. There is nothing so wonderful to watch those kids being born and holding them and giving them their first bottle, watching them first wobble on their new found legs and then to jump around in pure joy. And top that off with peering into a nest box and seeing a litter of kits, all pink and warm with full bellies. Then watching everyone grow and develop into the lovely animals we love so much.

Oh to be able to dig into the dirt again, planting the seeds for the summer garden. The anticipation of fresh greens and vegetables simply makes my mouth water. To see the leaves in the trees, the spring blossoms and the perennial flower gardens unfurl. Oh, I am so anxious for spring…and yet there are three months of winter still to endure.

We must remind ourselves that this is the time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of last summer and to rest for the coming spring. It is the time to plan the new garden, the new buildings and what wonderful livestock we want to add to the homestead. Will it be a new breed of chicken? Will I finally be able to start my Angora goat herd this year? A new henhouse is on the horizon for sure and the goat coral for our most fantastic Nubian buck, time he was on his own and away from all the females that will be ready to kid this spring. Will this be the year we actually are able to fence off the back forty? We can dream and plan now. That is the natural rhythm of life. This is the time of renewal, planning and anticipation. What more can you do when the temp outside is in single digits and the livestock is cared for? So I’m off to plan.

The Greenhorn Homesteader