Homestead Matters

08/26/2026

Apparently, I Have Chosen Produce Over Sanity. 🌽🍑😂

I should probably be cleaning my house.

I am, in fact, not cleaning my house.

I am stressed.
There are things that need to be done.
Laundry exists in several distinct geological layers.
There is a suspicious amount of stuff on every horizontal surface.

And yet…

When someone says, “Hey, do you want some produce?”

My brain goes:

YES. ABSOLUTELY. BRING IT TO ME.

Because apparently I don't have enough going on.

So while my house continues its slow descent into chaos, I've been washing, chopping, blanching, boiling, peeling, slicing, dehydrating, pressure canning, water-bath canning, freezing, and generally finding increasingly creative ways to make food stop being perishable.

At this point, I have accepted that I am not the woman who keeps a spotless house during harvest season.

I am the woman who looks around at the mess and says,

“Well… at least there are 28 quarts of corn.”

And honestly?

That's something. 😂

The 2026 Preservation Tally So Far:

🌽 CANNED:
161 jars of various fruits, vegetables, jams, jellies, fillings, syrups, and preserves

🍑 DEHYDRATED / DRIED:
About 36 pint-equivalents of dried produce, including corn, peaches, peach skins, plums, bell peppers, onions, herbs, and more

6 trays of blackberry fruit leather

❄️ FROZEN:
Berries (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries) currently taking up residence in the freezer, because apparently even the freezer gets to participate in this madness.

📦 STORED:
Enough jars, bags, trays, and miscellaneous containers of preserved food to make Future Me feel extremely smug.

And the funniest part?

I'm still taking produce.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but apparently the answer to
“Are you stressed?”
is not always “Do less.”

Sometimes it's:

“Yes. But is that a box of peaches?” 😂

My house may be a mess.

My stress level may be questionable.

But come winter?

I'm going to be VERY glad I was apparently incapable of saying no to produce. 🌽🍑🫐

08/26/2026

Okay, but why did nobody tell me that corn silk is basically strawberry blonde?

Because I just spent the day pulling this stuff off hundreds of ears of corn…

…and then I looked at it in my hand and realized:

Oh.

That's my hair.

Apparently I've been genetically compatible with corn this entire time.

08/24/2026

Holy Corn, Batman! We had an opportunity to go on a corn glean, meaning weekend plans changed a bit. Littles did great at the glean (minus a quick temper tantrum at the beginning) helped in the sorting and processing, as well as being certified taste tester. Nothing like corn picked right off the stalk!!
28 quarts of pressure canned corn, 20 trays of dehydrated blanched corn, 2 trays of frozen blanched corn, a whole fridge shelf stuffed with fresh corn, silks to dry, and husks for tamales. We may look into cob jelly, but happy with what we've accomplished

08/06/2026

This week we have canned Fig jam, Plum jam, and canned peaches. On deck is processing out 60vpounds of peaches into shelf stable jars, dehydrated slices and who know what else!

08/06/2026

Pure rex and rex/tamuk composites looking for new homes in the Veneta area, open to travel within reason. Please feel free to message.

08/06/2026

Huge thanks to Jake's Woodworking for the most amazing pizza cutter I've ever seen in my life! This will be an heirloom to the kids because ain't nothing breaking this baby! Shhh no one tell the better half I finally settled on an anniversary weeks early! It's a miracle! (Hoping he doesn't see this one )
I cannot wait to find a place to put this Kitchen measurement board up, add this keychain to my purse keys and looking for the next opportunity on stripping herbs. I'm over the moon with this awesome package! Thank you again Jake's Woodworking!!!

08/04/2026

Babies!!! We're testing our new rent a hatch program before public testing. Lockdown yesterday, babies today. We'll see how many hatch with this first round of the maticoopx 20. Also first time trying hatching upright (pointy side down) thanks to Bryant’s Roost suggestion. Doing well so far!

08/04/2026

Rubber boas! Spotted by the little, caught by the adults, admired, and released in their habitat. They were so calm!

07/31/2026

Every year we wage war on weeds... and I just spent the last three months turning them into one of my favorite homestead remedies. 😂🌿
This batch started as dandelion, sow thistle, wild lettuce, lavender, and Irish moss, slowly infusing in olive and avocado oils before becoming salve. It's funny how some of the plants we work so hard to pull out of our gardens have been appreciated for generations. The more I learn about the "weeds" growing around us, the more amazed I am by what nature has been quietly offering all along. 💚

07/30/2026

The pathway to self sufficiency has opened our eyes to so many aspects of life and livestock, what it takes to raise your own meat responsibly, and why that cost is so high for small scale farming. This post nails it!

A CONVERSATION ABOUT PERCEIVED VALUE:

A customer asked me how much it would cost for a pasture raised chicken.

I gave them a price of $4/ lb.

The customer responded: That’s seems really high.

I asked: What do you think is a reasonable price for this?

The customer answered: $2 maximum

I responded: Ok, then I invite you to grow it yourself.

The customer answered: I don't know how to.

I responded: Alright, then how about for $2 /lb, I'll teach you how to. So besides saving you $2 / lb, you'll learn valuable skills that will benefit you in the future.

The customer answered: Sounds good! Let’s do it!

I responded: Great! To get started, you are going to need some things. You will need a day old broiler chicken, 12 lb. of quality feed, feeders, waterers, an area inside to raise this bird for the first 3 weeks, electricity for this indoor area, a quality pasture area for this bird to live on for its remaining 4 weeks, an outdoor shelter, countless gallons of water, electric poultry fencing to protect this bird, etc. Not to mention, there is a very real possibility that your single chicken, doesnt survive the 8 weeks it takes to grow. Injury, illness, and unexpected weather conditions are always present. Now, you are back to square 1.

The customer answered: But I don't have any of those things and I can't justify buying all of these for one chicken.

I responded: Ok. Well then for an additional $1.50 / lb, I can rent my supplies, building, and pasture to you to use to grow this little chick.

The customer answered: Okay. That’s fair.

I responded: Great! We will start the project on Monday.

The customer answered: I work Monday through Friday. I’m only available on the weekends.

I responded: If you want to learn from me then you will need to work when I work. This project will take 8 weeks, so you will need to be here at least an hour every day for the next 56 days.

The customer answered: That means I’m going to have to sacrifice my time for 56 days.

I responded: That’s true. Remember, when you do a job yourself you need to account for unproductive factors.

The customer answered: What do you mean by that?

I responded: Raising a chicken completely from start to finish includes time spent to plan the project, pick up materials, travel time, gas, set up time, clean up, and waste disposal amongst other things. That’s all in addition to the actual project itself. And speaking of materials, that’s where we will start on Monday so I need you to meet me at the feed at 6:00am.

The customer answered: At 6am?!! My work day doesn’t usually start until 8am!

I responded: Well then you’re in luck! The Chick shipment will arrive at 8am. We'll start then, but to do so we have to start at 6am to get materials picked up, loaded and delivered to the farm. Then I need you back here after you've worked all day to move your bird to fresh pasture every day. Saturday and Sunday included. No days off here.

The customer answered: You know, I’m realizing that a lot more goes in to quality food than what a customer sees in the finished project. Your proposal of $4 / pound is very reasonable. I would like you to grow my chicken.

CONCLUSION:

When you pay for a job, especially a custom job, (whether it’s a physical project or digital project or GROWING AND RAISING FOOD) you pay not only for the material and the work to be completed. You also pay for:

✔️ Knowledge
✔️ Experience
✔️ Custom Skills
✔️ Tools
✔️ Time to plan
✔️ Time to prepare
✔️ Professionalism
✔️ Work Ethic
✔️ Excellence
✔️ Discipline
✔️ Commitment
✔️ Integrity
✔️ Taxes
✔️ Licenses
✔️ Sacrifices
✔️ Liabilities
✔️ Insurance

If you desire fresh, healthy, locally grown food, please don’t disrespect a farmer by trying to get them to lower their prices.

If their proposal exceeds your budget, there’s nothing wrong with going elsewhere.

Just remember.. you get what you pay for.

👉🏼 FARMERS: Know your worth and be confident in it.

👉🏼 CONSUMERS: Recognize their worth and be respectful of it.

Sharing this to support all my friends, family and clients who are Farmers, Entrepreneurs, Business Owners and Tradesman.
-Unknown