Welcome Spring!

Life has been busy at the Samuels' Homestead! Spring is here which means a lot of things for us. One being finals. Yes, I said finals. On top of my garden, landscaping, cooking, baking, crafting, chickens and work, I am back in school to finish my Bachelors in Social Studies and Special Education. I have a lot on my plate and did not very much appreciate dreaded finals interfering with my little home and hobbies.

However, on the positive side it truly has been a beautiful Spring here in Northwestern Pennsylvania. We have had days in the 80's and 90's! Most of my garden has been planted. We have had 3 clutches of chicks since April and dear hubby has started his project of our new landscaped firepit. Next on the agenda is building my roadside stand. And we need to get a move on with this, my salad greens are starting to go crazy!

What Spring projects do you have going?

Chicken Traffic Jam!!

Spring is coming! Or so I keep telling myself... Atleast "The Girls" know something we don't. This Friday I have a clutch of eggs due under broody number 2 (suggestions for a name are welcome, lol). Hubby and I let the the hens brood in the nesting boxes so that they don't abandon their clutch if we were to move them, and then safely move momma and chicks to a brooding box in the coop. This way it is easier to transition them back into the flock.
Well, last night we had a girl get a little jealous and decided she'd like some babies too! We have 6 nesting boxes, of which our picky hens only use 4. Now 2 of the said 4 prefered boxes are occupied by future mommas! If you look in through the coop, there is a line for the nesting boxes that very much resembles the line for the ladies room at a Tom Petty concert! Thank goodness we've been using manners so far, no chick fights in the line!
But again, this helps to remind me that warmer weather is coming!!

I know, I know. I have been MIA for a bit. But it has been quite the week at the Samuels' Household! Sometimes I think we live in a horribly written novel whose author is a bit of a masochist. However, in the wake of the chaos and with my need for things to seem normal again, I took the time to come up with a new dinner that I will be posting later this afternoon, so stay tuned...

Thank Goodness for Woodstoves!

Current temps are -1˚F, real feel -5˚F! My ladies are cozying up next to the woodstove with me daydreaming of summer!

Green Cleaning

Everytime I've logged onto my Facebook for the past few months I've seen an add for The Honest Company. Mostly, I would ignore it because I only saw the add for diapers. One, I don't have babies. Two, Nick and I have been trying for awhile without success so it kind of hit a nerve. But then I saw one of their banners containing their cleaning supplies so I decided to take a look.
What I found shocked me (in a good way)! It seemed to be too good to be true. Eco-friendly products, cheaper than the harsh chemicals at your local grocery store, delivered monthly to your door! Tell me more! Honest Essentials Trial
I researched all of the products and prices and compared them to prices at Walmart. Definitely cheaper. I read all of the reviews and they were amazing. I still wasn't sure if this was something that I wanted to try so I waited a day, (I'm a bit of an over thinker) and I'm glad I did! They sent me a 50% off coupon for my first bundle and then I had no excuse not to try.
My package came yesterday and I was super excited! Unfortunately when I opened the box some of my dishwasher pouches were broken and the spray nozzle for my Multi-Purpose Spray was broken, so I gave them a call. I was litterally on hold for 1 minute tops and had the problem resolved in under 5 minutes! They replaced both items and shipped them right away, explaining that sometimes this happens when shipping during cold weather. This completely makes sense, due to the -12˚F windchills right now!
So, past that unpleasant business. This morning I got busy cleaning my kitchen top to bottom! Our home was built in 1920 and still has the original cabinets and doors throughout the house. So, with 95 years of build up I was ready for some scrubbing. But I was amazed to find the opposite! I won't lie, the handles might need some soaking but the grime that I had used everything on without success was wiping of like nothing!
My intentions for the DIY page, that has nothing yet, was to find amazing ways to naturally clean your homestead. But I happily give up that quest! If you have tried any of The Honest Company products and love them, please share! I'd love to know what to add to my next order! If you have not, check out their website through the link at the bottom of this page. It will definitely be worth your time!

Hello all!

I'd like you to know that I have not forgotten about you! I'm working on a few projects that I am excited to share with you, but I want them to be completed before I post. One of which is my new mushroom growing kit that I finally received today! This is also from www.parkseed.com and I am hoping to grow an abundance of fresh button mushrooms!
I also have an update on my 4 little feathered friends, who are doing excellent, by the way! This will be posted by this weekend on the Chicken Page and will be about the debate between raising chicks in a brooder or letting a broody do her thing.
As far as recipes go, I have to try them before I share or you could be up for a shock. Not everything I make turns out as delicious as I would hope! Ha! One request from dear friend Heather was the stir-fry I made the other night, so be looking for that!
I hope you are all having a fantastic week, and I will be back soon!

Happy New Year! You may have guessed that my resolution this year is to get my blog up and running! (As well as have a successful garden, healthy puppies, Layla and Maggie, healthy chicks and increase the size of my family!) I have quite the list. The things I'd like to accomplish and share with you are my experiences with my organic garden, free range chickens, craft and DIY projects and recipes!

Today I'm having a serious case of cabin fever and day dreaming about my garden and watching baby chicks with their momma in the yard. The winter here in the Great Lakes region has been fairly brown and rainy with a rollercoaster of temperatures, which has jumpstarted me into planning out my garden layout and the construction of my roadside stand! Well, that is finished, seeds and plants are ordered from www.parkseed.com, and my worms for the new worm farm that Nick bought me are in the mail! What else can I do to warm up? Go visit the hens and dream of sunnier days.

It has also thrown the ladies for a loop and Chickie Momma decided to sit on her first clutch of eggs and give us 4 Christmas babies! Nick and I (well probably just me) were worried with the changing temps but she's a great mom and the little yellow fluff balls are bouncing all over the place!
Last Spring, when we decided what chickens would work best for us, we chose Buff Orpingtons. A heritage breed that is used for both meat and eggs. Because of this, we highly encourage the girls to give us more babies. Besides who doesn't want to see those cuties pecking aroung the backyard?

Thanks for listening to a bit of rambling about myself! Tomorrow I promise to be a little bit more productive and share with you my recipe for the best ever chocolate chip cookies!