It's time to start thinking about the garden and starting seedlings (or at least getting seeds ordered); so I’ve created our annual 2019 seed starting and planting schedule again (see below) to keep us on track. It helps me keep focused on buying seeds, starting transplants, getting supplies, and making sure the garden beds are prepared on time.I start with my schedule from the previous year, copy it to a new spreadsheet tab, consult my notes from last year’s ... continue reading...
Bramblestone Goats Negative (2019) for Small Ruminant Diseases (Again)!
For the eighth year in a row, all the goats in the Bramblestone Farm herd have tested negative for small ruminant diseases! We test all goats to make sure they're negative for small ruminant diseases before they ever come to Bramblestone Farm (or test the babies parents if a goat kid is too young to be tested). And, we also test the entire adult herd yearly to make sure that everyone is still disease free. It makes us SO HAPPY when the herd again tests negative!It's ... continue reading...
Top Ten Most-Read Blog Posts of 2018
It's the beginning of the year and I thought it would be worthwhile to go back and take a look at your favorite posts from my blog for last year. I wanted to get a better idea of what YOU, the reader, are interested in, and give me better direction for the coming year. Last year, the most popular posts were an interesting mix of topics, so I thought I would share the top ten most-read articles with you, in case you missed any along the way! Let's start from the bottom ...at number ... continue reading...
Happy Holidays from Bramblestone Farm
Bramblestone Farm’s 2019 Kidding Schedule
2019 Kidding Schedule Details Bramblestone Farm's 2019 kidding schedule has been executed!This is the typical time of year for us to breed the Nigerian Dwarf goats, so here's our 2019 kidding schedule. Each year we strive to make the herd better, and I think we're going to have some awesome kids next year.For all the details on pricing, policy, and where the reservations for kids stand, please check out the actual reservation page here.We try to breed at the end of October or ... continue reading...
Easy, Natural Pine Cone Ornaments
These natural pine cone ornaments are not only beautiful; they're easy to make and inexpensive as well. All it takes are some pinecones (gathered for free in our case), spray paint, ribbon, and a glue gun. I chose to make them using metallic gold paint and gold ribbon, but they could be made in whatever color suited the decorating situation.Simply spray the pine cones with the paint and let dry. You can make them any color you'd prefer to match ... continue reading...
Free Garden Seed Catalogs Links for 2019
The snow started falling here today, so to me that means it's time for this post on Free 2019 Garden Seed Catalog Links.I don't want most of the catalogs we get in the mail, but the yearly free garden seed catalogs are different. I love looking through them; and spend hours studying and plotting the perfect garden (well, it is in my imagination).Unfortunately, many companies are choosing to put their catalogs on the Internet instead of making ... continue reading...
Oven Rendering Honey Beeswax
Oven rendering honey beeswax is a technique that you can use in the wintertime when beekeeping, gardening, and other outside activities have slowed down to turn your leftover beeswax cappings into useful beeswax for projects. See 3 Reasons for Homestead Honey Bees for why you might want to consider keeping honey bees on your homestead.Smart beekeepers save the beeswax that accumulates as the cappings are cut off the comb to extract honey - it can be rendered into purified ... continue reading...
