One day i noticed these eggs hanging from the underside of the porch railing. The last eggs i discovered turned out to be praying mantis and brown widow eggs. I dispatched both of the batches of eggs. Praying mantises grow up and behead my humming birds and orb weavers in order to eat their brains. …
Tag Archives: homestead
Mondays, Magical Mondays
I had saved two eggs that got cracked in the coop when the chickens were pulling all the hay out of their nesting boxes to lay eggs on the bare wood. The longer the chickens were on adult feed the thicker the shells seemed to get, but a couple of these early eggs had cracked …
Solitude
The solitude fed my soul. The sound of the wind, the changing light, the chittering of sneaky coons, the hum and buzz of the cicadas, the soft footsteps of rabbits and squirrels in the fallen leaves, the clicking and snapping flight of the ever present grasshopper, the whistling song of birds, the rustle of leaves, …
An Eventful Friday
Every Friday i received an afternoon fedex delivery of a pink box full of produce, and usually a little rice. Every friday i took great pains to make sure i was home at a reasonable time to pull the box out of the blistering sun and save some of the produce. I asked my coordinator …
Quarantine Kitchen
As time went on i began getting inventive with the limited kitchen supplies i had in stock. Items i would have bought readily before such as vegan milk and butter were marked up to a pricey amount. Pieces of produce in the health-food store in town were a dollar a piece or more. I began …
Garden Update
The potted husky red cherry tomato plant sitting on my porch behind a baby gate fashioned from wire fencing, a beaded wrap-around wire bracelet and an extra piece from Cashew’s dog crate continued to produce faithfully throughout late spring and even into summer. The outer skin of the tomatoes became tougher as the months wore …
The Emergency Weather Radio
My emergency weather radio would not ship to my PO box. I had to do what i usually did when that happened which was mail it to my friend and then leave two dollars under her welcome mat when i picked the package up off her porch. When i finally got my hands on the …
Artemis
This red wasp had come in through the hole i had made for the bees to enter and exit the mosquito net tent. It had been in the tent for about three days when i noticed it wasn’t present anymore. I scanned the mesh walls looking for it when i realized the wolf spider that …
A Book Called “Half Broke Horses”
I was reading a book about a woman homesteader called “Half-Broke Horses”. It was opening my eyes to something. The woman had wanted to be a school teacher more than anything. Her father had spent money on her brother’s education while keeping her home to help him run the ranch. Then, when it was time …
A Busted Gas Pump and a Flood under the Sink
One morning i was getting ready for work. I was on my way out the door. I opened the cabinets under the sink to throw something away in the trash bag when a smell hit me. It was that stale mildewy stench that signified the presence of sitting water. I yanked everything out from under …
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