No matter if you are producing eggs, honey, milk, or meat, a well-considered animal-husbandry program is essential to the financial success of any homestead operation.…
Anyone who has started or managed a homestead knows the many hours spent trying to decide what type of livestock that they want to invest…
A croft is a smallholding (a parcel of rural land under 10 acres) that is rented from a landowner. Crofting originated in the Highlands and…
The dream of coming back to basics, down to our roots, and achieving self sufficiency is a worthy one. You put lots of time,…
Early in our farming venture, the first year we kept pigs is one that stands out in my memory. Well-read and well-intentioned, my husband and…
When we first moved to our farm, we purchased two Duroc barrows for the express purpose of putting them in the freezer. They were meat…
It’s autumn and Romeo smells like he just peed all over himself... which he has... for the umpteenth time. The usually-white hair of his…
Raising a housegoat is not for the faint of heart, nor is it normal. Truth is often stranger than fiction, and normal is not something…
Here on Ivy Hill Farm there are two epochs: BC (Before Clara) and AD (After Donkey). In the long ago days of Ivy Hill BC,…
Live births are a big deal. Whether you are the mother at the end of her pregnancy, the newborn breathing air for the first…
Half-caff. You coffee drinkers know the term. It’s not quite the "real" thing but still your favorite drink, with enough kick to enjoy. It’s something…
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Had a Very Shiny Nose”…as well as some interesting characteristics that truly distinguish this helper to Santa from other members…
