Hinkle Homestead

10/15/2026

I’m still learning, but sometimes the only clue you get to finding your self chin, is a sublet eye color change around that 4 week mark. And then it fades away to normal looking eyes, so extra detective work it is!

Here’s an example from the same litter, both on black SF. Now, it’s not to say that both aren’t carriers, but this last one is a bit more of a give away.

To some this is an instant cull, but for me, it could be a very interesting lead in our Arctic Fox program, only time will tell!

Nevertheless, learning & improving never stops!

10/13/2026

Girl what are you doing?!
There are so many eggs here.. in October. 🤦‍♀️

10/12/2026

Anyone enjoy science experiments like I do?

I cut down some hardwood elderberry after the goats cleared a space in our yard. They’re sitting in buckets of water right now, but the plan is to literally shove these in the ground at and see what happens.

These just keep growing and thriving with no effort so that’s the energy I’m keeping. No watering, no mulching, 100% pure neglect. We’ll see what happens come spring next year, with the ultimate goal being an edible hedge row.

And tbh, if it totally fails, I still thinned it from my yard- don’t worry it’ll be back 🙃😅

10/10/2026

DUCK SALE 🦆
4 hens & a drake (all goes together!)
The 3 pekins are laying daily, the black hen should start anytime. Drake (left) bonded.
$50 Speer IL no holds, pick up only.

10/09/2026

Use the reactions to show which Silver Fox Tort you like best!
👍 Black Tort
❤️ Blue Tort
🤗 Chocolate Tort
😮 Lilac Tort

They do look super similar, but wait til you see them in a couple weeks 🤩 These cuties are only about 2 weeks old right now. Eyes are open, and jumping out of the nest box.

10/07/2026

It’s gotta be done 💪

Cows kinda wrecked the hay cradle, and the sheep and goats are about ready for some hay soon. Should have cleaned it out over the summer, but you know how that goes 🤪 Could not imagine doing this all by hand… should we bring in the pigs to clean up the compost pile? 👀 🐽

10/06/2026

I bet 5 years ago, if you talked to Jake about sheep, he would have said what a useless, stupid thing to have.

Now, I *know* they’re his favorite 😆
🐑 🐑🐏🐑🐑

10/05/2026

UPDATE: ALL SOLD
Laying Hen sale! 🐓
$5 each no holds. 30-40ish available?
Some are 1-3+ years old.
Mixed breeds, pure breeds, etc.
White eggs, brown eggs, blue and green.
Pick up only, Speer IL.

10/05/2026

🍁 🧡 🫶

All month, the advice was the same. Do less.
Leave the cutting. Leave the bagging. Leave what doesn't need rescuing. Flip one switch off.

Here's who showed up.

🌾 You left the seed heads standing.
Goldfinches found them. They cling to the dry coneflowers and work the seeds loose, and the seeds they drop will feed sparrows and juncos on the ground later in the fall. The stems you didn't cut became a feeder nobody has to fill.

🪵 You left the brush pile in the back corner.
Rabbits and toads slipped underneath. When the juncos show up, it's their cover from hawks and storms too.

🍂 You let the first fallen leaves lie.
Bumble bee queens spend the winter just under that layer. Luna moth cocoons ride it out wrapped in the leaves themselves.

🦋 You left the asters blooming.
Monarchs fueled up. The ones passing through are the long-lived fall generation, many of them bound for the mountains of Mexico, and each late flower is a fuel stop on the way.

🐢 You found a hatchling turtle and let it keep its heading.
If it was on the road, you set it down on the far side, still facing forward. It walked on toward water it had never seen.

💡 You turned the porch light off on migration nights.
The birds traveling in the dark passed over an unlit yard and kept going.

None of it took a trip to the store. Most of it was less work than the chore it replaced.

October comes next. In much of the North the leaves come down in earnest and the first frosts arrive, and all of this matters more, not less. Keep the stems up till spring. Let the leaves lie where they land. Leave the pile where it is.

The messy yard won September. 🌿

10/03/2026

Please try not to be jealous of my popcorn harvest 🥲🤣