by Texas Homesteader ~
As the sun sinks low in the sky, I breathe deeply – fully appreciating the peace & beauty after a hard day’s work.
~TxH~
C’mon by & sit a spell! Come hang out at our Facebook Page . It’s like sitting in a front porch rocker with a glass of cold iced tea. There are lots of good folks sharing! And you can also follow along on Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram
by Texas Homesteader ~
Spring is almost here in NE Texas! How glorious to see things turning green, colorful flowers popping up and the temps warming. RancherMan & I have been busy building new chicken runs and preparing the garden for planting. We’re in Planting Zone 8 so I’m safe to drop the veggie seedlings into the ground around Easter and I. Can’t. WAIT! But I digress… (eh hemm…)
Today’s topic is saving money, and saving money is important to RancherMan & me – being self-employed means we’re always keeping a watchful eye on our dollars. Thankfully there are ample opportunities to save some cold hard cash. C’mon and see what we did this week to save money.
by Texas Homesteader~
As I glanced out my window I see this sight! BEAUTIFUL!
~TxH~
by Texas Homesteader~
I’ve been asked before what it’s like to live and work on a NE Texas Homestead. It’s wonderful, it speaks to my heart, and it’s hard work.
When I had a job in the city my working environment was climate controlled – cool in the summer and comfy warm in the winter. There was no mud or weeds in my city job. No ticks or snakes. And I didn’t have to report to work until 8:00 a.m., and any time after 5:00 p.m. was my own to do as I wished. Oh, and weekends. And HOLIDAYS!
All of that has changed… for the better! Yes now I may be up before dawn to move some cows or out after dark mowing pastures by tractor headlight but DANG I love my life here! Why don’t you come along and see what a typical day on the Homestead is like?
by Texas Homesteader
Recently we had a cow give birth to a calf. Although she gave us a fine, healthy heifer calf, she was having a difficult time with her calf emptying one of her teats.
Each day that one teat grew bigger and we’d hoped that the calf would eventually latch onto it like she was the others. (we’ve had that circumstance in the past and it’s always worked out fine)
But the teat began to get so full it was large & tight and too difficult for the calf to attempt to nurse it. So she just didn’t.
I was worried about the cow developing mastitis so I knew I needed to take action. I’ve never milked a cow before. Ever. Until now. Ain’t nothin’ to it, y’all! I feel like an official country woman now!
by Texas Homesteader~
Summer is officially here and WHEW it’s really heating up lately. We’ve already endured one the the wettest springs in history around here so many of the routine tasks we typically stay on top of have been pushed back for drier weather.
Although there are still plenty of muddy areas around the Homestead, we’ve got lots to do today. So we’ll do whatever we need to do to get the job done. Did you ever wonder what a typical day at our NE Texas Homestead really looks like? C’mon with me for A Day At The Homestead…
by Texas Homesteader~
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We adopted our sweet mini-Schnauzer Bailey from a local no-kill shelter a year ago and we adore her. But oh she needed some obedience training!
She didn’t sit/come/stay at all, she lunged & growled at the cows & chased the chickens. And oh my goodness any time the door was opened she skirted around our legs & busted outside, running as fast as she could for the highway with no turning back.
Now these are all bad behaviors that needed to be corrected, but out here on the ranch it’s super important to have immediate obedience from her.
Life can be dangerous for her out here. For instance in the very recent past we’ve had to call her in from the back yard as a coyote was trotting toward the house. If not for her immediate unquestioning obedience she could have easily gotten injured.
Or what about her curiosity about a copperhead snake? Or potentially rabid skunk? Immediate obedience from her is non negotiable out here. It’s a MUST.
by Texas Homesteader~
We utilize bovine artificial Insemination on our ranch when we want to mix up our herd pedigrees, blend breeds, or perhaps have a special cow deliver an extra-high-quality calf, etc. I’ve written before about various ways AI is very beneficial to the rancher, especially for smaller ranches where it’s often more difficult to buy & maintain a high-quality bull for just a few cows.
RancherMan is a certified A.I. technician. And we also have all our own AI equipment including medications, nitrogen tank, bull semen straws, etc. So we sometimes perform A.I. jobs for local ranches from time to time. We recently received an email asking for help with a local man’s heifers. After a few emails & phone calls the schedule was set to begin in a few weeks. We prefer to use a 10-day timed synchronization program & we wanted to follow the heifer protocol to offer the highest possibility for successful breeding.
