Years ago when I was a kid, my parents installed a wood stove in our house. We always had a fireplace but this was just a bit different. For one, it actually heated the house. I’m sure it offset our heating bill in some way, but I was too young to care about that. What I cared about was
Read more
getting started A few years ago we decided to add honey bees to our homestead. We had noticed that they were absent from our garden and small orchard. And after a few years of poor apple crops we decided to take matters into our own hands. After months of research we took the plunge and ordered our first package of
Read more
Pruning Grape Vines One of my favorite things to do on the homestead is pruning the grape vines in our small vineyard. We have 50 vines of Marquette grapes that we use to make delicious homemade wine. We also have two Niagara grape vines for jelly. Pruning is done once the vines are dormant. We usually prune on a warm
Read more
One of the most delicious and well received additions to any of our meals are homemade garlic knots. The smell that fills the house when we are making these fills your head with thoughts of your favorite Italian restaurant. They are soft and fluffy in the center and just a little crisp in the bottom and when combined with butter,
Read more
Little wing is our resident rooster. For several years we have maintained a flock of laying hens. We had no desire to have a rooster and were quite happy with our little flock. But as is often the case in homesteading, opportunity knocks and an adventure begins. These are my favorite times. Research is done, plans are put in place,
Read more
two branches homestead 