Tanning hides using traditional and more natural methods is almost always less expensive and does not really add any extra time or work to the project. Hide tanning is a process requires extensive manual labor and lots of patience. There just are not any true shortcuts, regardless of what type of method you use, when … Read more
Disclaimer: neither the author nor this website shall be held responsible for the misuse, and side effects resulting from using the info in this article. The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult your physician before putting health advice into practice. … Read more
It was a fabulous weekend on the homestead this week folks! Not only did I get three volunteers (or “volunteered”) loved ones helping me scrap and de-fur a cow hide, but a quartet of guineas arrived on the homestead! Guinea Carol was overjoyed – and vocal about the new arrivals, to say the least. We … Read more
So, you live on a homestead and raise your own meat. That’s great. You get extra self-reliance points if you butcher the meat yourself. But, your journey to a sustainable life, an existence where you always use resources wises and for optimal benefit, will not end before you learn how to tan hides. There are … Read more
Hello, fellow homesteaders! Today was an odd day on the homestead. Morning feed time made me feel more like I was on a backstage tour of the circus instead of my very own barnyard. We will get a sad bit of news out of the way first. Flock Leader Jr. appears to have lost his … Read more
My chickens are in complete and open revolt, and I have no idea why. The entire free range flock attempted a chicken coop coup three nights ago – which also happened not only to be the coldest night of 2017, but also the evening we discovered a pack of coyotes taking up residence beneath the … Read more
Does the smell of frying bacon make your mouth water? Is snacking on a deliciously cooked whole ham after Easter dinner something you look forward to every year? If so, raising pigs should be part of your homesteading plan. Pigs, or hogs as we refer to them in Appalachia – the two labels are completely … Read more
Meet the newest member of the Dodrill Hill barnyard – Rooster! Pearl FINALLY had her first kid a little after midnight. I worried and stressed over all the things that can and often do go wrong during goat births for the past month, but my sweet Nigerian Dwarf girl did it all on her own! … Read more
Hello, fellow homesteaders and folks dreaming of living on their very own homestead! This is the first installment in the occasional column about the lighter side of living off the land Dan and I thought y’all would enjoy. I will be sharing with you our great success stories, hilarious failures, and a little bit of … Read more
There is now officially less than a week to go before Christmas day, but it is still not too late to save money and warm hearts with homemade gifts straight from your prepper retreat, survival compound, or homestead. The gifts will cost you nothing or next to nothing, but look like a million bucks! If … Read more
Note: this is not medical advice. Neither the author nor www.newlifeonahomestead.com shall be held liable for any misuse of the advice given in this article. If you get hurt, call 9-1-1 or your doctor. Homesteading life is full of all kinds of joy, hard work – and accidents. Agriculture accidents can be gruesomely deadly. The majority … Read more
There are numerous uses for wood ash around the homestead. Throwing away this useful material when cleaning out the wood burner or fireplace is almost inexcusably wasteful. Wood ash is the powdery residue that is left in the wood burner collection tray or beneath the firewood grate after wood is burnt. It has been used … Read more
Weeds are good. Yep, you just read that right, weeds actually do have a purpose… at least some of them, anyway. In an era when biotech industry giants (I typically use a lot harsher term for those guys and their peers) are constantly toiling away in laboratories figuring out how to kill weeds, I am … Read more
When you are homesteading in your backyard in the suburbs or even in a small town, there is only one thing as important as egg quality when deciding what breed of chickens to raise – how much noise they make. Quiet chickens breeds do exist, and you do not have to sacrifice egg quality to … Read more