Mossaven Farmstead

11/25/2025

We’re still in the throes of changing out the old guard and reducing the mouths we have to feed over the winter. We’re taking our time with it, picking away at the stock a handful at a time and making use of furs, meat, feather, and bone.

Old hens and hatched out roos can still give you a lot of food. 8 backyard birds and two rabbits gave us 12 quarts of tender-canned meat, while a third rabbit gave us a hearty roasted stew.

11/22/2025

The calm-yet-productive life. Maybe it’s just me, but this stuff feels a lot like meditation; a quiet mind, calm and focused on a task 🧘

11/22/2025

There isn’t much like homemade bacon! Thickly sliced with a good chew, this was my first time processing a pig’s worth of bacon solo; 20lbs of it, from cure, cut, to cast iron. 🥓

11/17/2025

Dad’s got a passion for bees, and it’s always a pleasure to help him spin that sweet, sweet honey out of the combs - 🐝

11/17/2025

In spite of doing the chicken thing for…five years now? I have never culled old lady chickens. Until today.

Our very first hens, Rhode Island Reds, have the privilege of living the remainders of thier natural lives here on the farm rent free. There are only two or three left and they are fat, fluffy old ladies who we enjoy very much.

But not everyone can become a pet. I run a homestead, not a sanctuary. I don’t have the money or space to keep every single hen that we get for all time. So it was finally time to do what needed to be done; and it sucked.

I’d been putting it off for several reasons, but the most prevalent one was that I simply did not want to do it. But I’d told myself that if I was going to do (gestures to everything) *this*, then I was gonna do it for real. All of it. I made the choice to look the act of farming animals, of eating them and thier products, straight in the face and know everything that meant.

I would not sit back and let other people do the dirty work for me.

So in the twilight of dusk, I went out into the snow with a knife in my hand and went to work. The birds were already roosting and easy to grab. They didn’t put up a fight. A couple of them chattered to me as I held them and brought them to the cones. I thanked them for the eggs, for their meat, kissed thier feathered heads - and spilled thier blood on the ground.

And then I cried a whole lot.

I’ve killed many, many birds in pursuit of obtaining homegrown meat. But these hit different. We had a relationship. We’d gotten to know each other for years.

So I let myself have a good solid cry about it, because yes, this sort of thing is hard to do; and it *should* be.

Life is about giving and taking, and this is often what that looks like; staring down the gritty reality of it all with tears stinging your eyes and hot blood slicking your fingers.

It’s messy work, but it’s honest work; and it keeps you grounded as hell.

- - - - -

Thank you for your eggs.

Thank you for your meat.

Thank you for nourishing us in all ways possible.

- - - - -

🙏🏻

11/09/2025

11/01/2025

Here’s to a new chapter on the homestead. 🍻These little cuties moved into our barn today and we are super excited to get to know them! Onward to goathood ✨

10/28/2025

When you’re planning for goats in the spring of the year, but your husband finds a line on some NOW and says “please?”, you make it happen; and a big part of that is procuring and storing feed for the harshest months of the year.

A big thank you to the folks who put up extra hay for sale so people like us, who need surprise bales we didn’t plan for, can get them. You rock!

10/24/2025

Slowly but surely, we are building the life I’ve dreamed of. Thanks to my father and his generous gift of livestock panels, I am finally able to put down some secure pasture and make more use of our land.

It’s damn hard work, but it certainly keeps ya grounded. Try getting into trouble after driving four hundred thousand t-posts. 😴

10/21/2025

Turkey Love 💕

10/09/2025

Today’s accomplishment was getting the Rabbit Garden set up for next season. Here we will grow sunflowers, timothy, red clover, alfalfa, comfrey, lamb’s quarters and amaranth. 🐇🌱🌻🥬🌾🌿

10/07/2025

It’s taken several weeks of work (In breaks between outside work) to get our rabbit hutch in order, but it is finally put together and ready for use. It’s built in the style I lovingly call “Farmstead Jank”; which occurs when one recycles and reuses what is available around them. It doesn’t look beautiful, but it is useful and cost effective.

We tried a colony situation inside the barn that did not work for us - so it’s back to separate cages that we can monitor and manage more effectively. 🐇