Just another Day on the Farm

The reason’s came be many, going from a two income household to a single one, reduced hours, reduced wages, reduced or no overtime, or seasonal work or seasonal income.

Any of the above and more can mean a drop in your income, and means you will be living with less income. That can be very scary indeed..

As Homesteaders in a northern climate on a small scale  we face this very issue each year when winter hits..  The new year is a time for hopes and dreams, its also a time for belt tightening..

While I am not wiling to give hard numbers having been raise in a time when you did not give that info out but percents that’s just fine with me..  We lose about a 3rd of our basic monthly income on our lean months, now I am sure that most of you thought.. that’s not so bad, and you are right.. but the trick on that one is simple.. that’s very close to the amount of our “open” amount.. by that I mean after we pay all the bills, feed the critters and tuck a little away each month.. that 3rd is what the rest comes out of.. the extras like new boots, seeds for the garden, a new halter for the horse, a small fix on the truck.. while if needed, you can hit the saving for truck repairs etc. but ideally, we live our extra’s out of that “open” amount..

My friends reading this are nodding heads, as they have been shopping with me as I say.. nope, can’t do this or that, nope not in the current budget, that means normally, that I think is worth adding but its not worth adding enough that I am willing to touch anything but the “open” fund. Its a rare time indeed, that I find something on my “find it list” at a price that it can tempt me to buy with “savings”

Assuming that you know its coming (and for all your new to homesteading, farming, working towards being more able to grow your own food, making your land help create second, third and fourth tiny streams of income) its coming..

It one of the harder things to do when just starting out, but for those that are going to be around for a good long while, they are going to go into winter lean mode..

a) Lean mode- Lower carry rates for critters, you carry your cream of the crop, your expecting momma’s, your best breeders, your proven girls and if you are really hard core, if they miss and miss again.. most will not carry a barren female.. (I have done so twice because I wanted to and did not regret it)

b) Lean mode – Eat the extra’s.. Got a wether be it  and heading into winter, perfect time to butcher him out and have fresh meat for the next couple months.. Got a hen that just will not lay, she is good for the stew pot.

C) Lean Mode- Eat what you put up.. you grew it, you worked hard to freeze, dry, pickle and can it..  Now is the time to eat it! Lower your store shopping to the things you can not grow.. Winter time means lambing or kidding, so you have fresh milk coming, home sprouting means you can have regular steady fresh greens to add to the meal plans, if you timed your flock right, you will have young layers bringing in winter eggs, and if you are making winter type meals, and put up or stored in the cellar.. then you are down to needing to buy.. basic fruit (if you want) which would be apples but ideally, you got local apples in the fall, and you canned up lots, and same with the rest of the fruit.. canned, or dried will get the job done..

Plan those trips, gas is money folks. If you live on a homestead, then it means that every time you want something folks are hoping in the truck and off they go. In summer, typically if you need it, often you need that part now.

However in winter, most likely it can wait, you might need to change the meal plan, you might need to do without for a day or two, you might have to think outside the box to hold you over till the proper fix but save the gas when you can.

Now we have a second choice. Amazon. I live close enough to the shipping center that even at free shipping, I can normally get something to the farm in 3 to 5 days, with planning head, that is as fast or faster then doing it on  my once a week town trip and often I can get things even better priced, but not always.. watch those price points.

Order online but delivery to the local store, often the prices online are much lower then the in store carry of same item. It makes more sense to order it, and have the store hold it till you get in on regular day

Buy in bulk where you can be it feed or by case lots, buying in bigger amounts almost always saves you money, and for many things, be willing to take the time to see if you can find a second hand source at a better price.

Todays example, folks are looking for 55 gallon drums as water barrel, local stores.. around a hundred dollars plus tax at 15 percent (and that be crazy) but second hand local shop with food grade stamp on them (used to hold olives, cherries or corn oil) 11 to 17 per depending on type. That is a big difference!

Do not be afraid to keep your friends in the loop, if they like and support you and your life style, they are going to understand when you say.. dinner and movie out, sorry, how about dinner in and a board or card game, you want to bring salad or dessert?

Keep a list of things that break or wear out during this time that have not been replaced, evaluate when your income goes back up.. did you miss it? Do you need to replace it? Do they now have a better item on the market that will do this job and more? When will it go on sale?

It amazed me how much not being able to just replace something has been able to show me, can do without, NEED to have and a replacement on the farm to boot or this can do it even better.. As homesteaders we can fall into a rut, this is how we are doing it.. so it must be good right?

So give me your favorite tip to tighten your belt?

Good Day,

I had decided to do a post on living with really old Elder Pets, and when I got the outline of the post done, I realized quickly that I had enough key speaking points to go from a VERY long post and make it a 2016 Series.

We have all seen the comments, the posts on facebook.. A pet is for a lifetime. I agree, but while I see so many folks talking about how to raise a baby kitten or puppy, how to make it though the teenage years, not nearly as much is talked about when it comes to Elder pet care.

For this series, Puppy is 8 weeks to 1 year, Teen 1-3 years of age, adult 3 to 9 years of age, 9 to 12, older hound, Old Timer 12-14, Elder 15 and up..

So Today we are going to talk about Deafness. Currently I am living with a deaf Elder purrpot(she is 19 years) and a now deaf Elder Hound, one mostly deaf Elder Hound and one old going deaf Old Timer.

When it comes to the deaf Purrpot, there are really only three things to keep in mind..

a) She does not know that she is yelling, as she got deaf, she got louder, I honestly believe that she does not know that is now the yelling kitty.. She thinks she is talking at a normal volume  The truth is, there is nothing you can do about it.. other then try an meet her needs on a routine.. If you know that she is going to yell at you for her fresh water.. maybe for that last year or two.. getting that fresh water started might need to happen before you get to sit down in the bathroom in the morning..

b) She will not hear you coming, if she is sleeping, please watch for her, do not sit or step or even lift things assuming that she will know you are about.. she is going to sleep hard and she will no longer get out of your way.. Now maybe you are one of those pet owners that always moves around your pet, in which case.. you are golden.. but I am not.. I believe in pack or pride ranking and that means that means as the top ranking, they move for me..  but that changes for elders.. (when it comes to the hounds, the younger ones will also give gracefully to the elders) but watch out in the purrpots, that is just not the case.. they will push them to the side if you let them.  I have big feeding stations for the house and farm cats, they are never without food, but as my purrpots become elders, they are taken to their own feeding area twice a day and get wet food or kitten kibble.

c) they lose the ability to with draw their claws, so you need to trim them so walking is comfy, just little finger nail clippers will do the job well and take the tips off, they also start to fail on their grooming, which means more matts if of a longer hair, so careful grooming is required and helpful.

When it comes to the Elder Hound and Deafness

A) Safety First, just as you puppy proofed your home, now you need to elder proof your home and yard, for years my old gent could go into the yard and just be called back, but combine a tottering carefree older mind with deafness and we had better keep a sharp eye on him. In most case if I can not be with him at all times, even when I am out, he goes to the side fenced dog yard for safety reasons now

b) Train them while they can hear to your hand signals, never forget that when training  voice to train them their whole life with the basic hand signals, so that they lose their hearing you have a solid line of communication  still open with them.

C) if you can give them a hearing buddy, they will buddy up and their hearing hound will baby and help them, its very helpful indeed. ideally do not get a puppy at the same time as you are giving extra care and help to you elder, try and plan that you will have a young to adult dog that is mature and fully trained while living with your elder dog

d) At a certain point in age, keeping them at a good weight becomes harder, keeping their tummies healthy and happy takes more work, I have found that in the last few years of old timer to elder care, that I have needed to take my dogs to smaller homemade food and back to the puppy 3 to 4 times a day meals.  The process tends to go like this, they start having more trouble with the regular kibble, so they go on a new kind, soaked, its for elder hounds and its more costly then our regular.. then I end up moving to higher end puppy as the senor foods rarely help them hold their weights, but it becomes clear at a certain point that regardless of the kind, soaking and smaller meals given more often that farm style homemade does them better, soon their are dancing waiting for their farm fresh eggs in the morning, their ground meat and mashed winter squash with barley or oatmeal, and they know that warm bowls of bone broth soups and stews are coming their way, in summer, I like to can up a week or two worth of food as there are days we eat salads and clearly, my elder dog needs a different meal..   Yes, its extra work, and yes, I raise rabbits to help keep meat costs down and yes I plant extra in the garden planning on feeding it to the hounds, I carry a few extra chickens for eggs for them but its worth it! They are worth it

Bathroom Duty’s, its as hard on your trained house dog to start to have issues as it is for you, but its just a fact of life with a elder dog, they can not hold like a adult.. its been years now that we have not needed at least one if not two extra wakes in the night, quick I need to goes, and if you are home during the day, its like having a puppy again, after each drink, eating, playing and nap.. they need to be offered a trip out. Add in the deafness and you can no longer ask.. outside? or bathroom? and if you open the door, of course they would like fresh air.. where the adult hound who can hear, knows the verbal cue between do you need to go pee vs. outside fun time.. So if not home, doggy door to a safe yard is your best friend, second to that coming home at lunch, someone stopping in at lunch to let them out, dog walker, or place their bed in a area that also has a go spot that you can clean up, again, like you would a pup in training.

Stairs and beds are both worth noting, in every case at some point in care, your elder dog will no longer safely be able to do stairs, if small enough, (ha, we carried our 90 pound lab up and down till her last night but bot everyone can) you can carry them, please teach them to carry safely when younger so they know to be still in your arms. and if possible get them a heat an padded bed, if they normally sleep with you, do make a half step for the end or side of the bed, whatever works but they will need help up an down.  in our case they are bed sleepers so the padded and heated bed is upstairs where we are during the day, the heat makes them sleep better and hurt less, also even for those that have never needed them before, do consider a winter coat in the hard cold part if you live in the north like I do.. they chill faster and take longer to recover..

What would be your elder care tip of the day? look forward to hearing about it in the comments?

Well, I let the hounds out that bounded with energy, I was in my huge warm flannel  gown wrapped in my homemade blanket shrug with my amazing hot socks..

Farmgal Tip of the Day, Marks Work Wear House T-Hot Sock are the best! I love these thick, heavy and so warm socks, I have tried wool ones, hand knitted and so forth, I like the homemade ones, but for farm work, and for warmth, I have a week supply (ok more then a weeks) of hot socks,  Like all socks, if you have worked hard enough to sweat in them, when you get in the house change into a dry pair.

I have made my hubby sick, sorry to my big guy, he almost never gets sick but when it hits, he is down and out, so I started morning chores, no one was really hungry, no knickers, no baaaing, the goats refused to get out of their warm bed etc. They let me get lots done before strolling up for their morning feeding.

So I checked feeders, checked water (I love that we have a water tank heater, makes such a difference to know that the pasture critters all have ice free water, the two horses drink enough that with the sheep, and goats that we needed to move from our warm from the house water x times a day to being able to keep the tough filled.. we still haul to the barn, and when they start lambing, it will add much more to the work load

The morning started out very pretty indeed and lighted up into this amazing frost and snow filled world.. I will enjoy it while I can, as they say, freezing rain is on its way.