A New Homestead Endeavor: Breeding Pigs
On January 8, 2023 by MaryI mentioned in my last post that one of our projects for 2023 is learning the ins and outs of breeding pigs. We are new to it, but we are fortunate to have extended family with experience, so we have some helpful resources just a phone call away. Our last four pigs were raised for
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Hello 2023: New Year, New Goals
On January 1, 2023 by MaryHappy New Year, everyone! What a wild ride 2022 was for our little homestead. We had so many ups and downs, and the last few months of the year were difficult and stressful. (If you didn’t catch the last update, you can find it here.) 2022 Recap Last January, Calvin and I came up with
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For Better Or Worse, In Sickness and In Health
On December 5, 2022 by MaryIt has been a long time since I posted anything here on the blog or on Iveyshire’s social media pages! I never intended to take a three month break, but life has been an absolute roller coaster for our family since September. Updating the blog didn’t really have a place in survival mode. The main
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Purslane: My Unexpected New Favorite Plant
On August 25, 2022 by MaryHave you ever heard of purslane? I didn’t know anything about it until this spring, but now I can’t get enough of it. I first came across it while weeding in our veggie garden. Every once in a while I’d see a tiny plant that looked like a succulent. I had a feeling it wasn’t
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Welcome to the Homestead, Little Chickies
On August 9, 2022 by MaryThe first flock of chickens we raised here at Iveyshire made quite a dramatic exit. Something was getting into the coop, and some of the hens turned into cannibals. It was a messy and gruesome ordeal, and we went from 24 birds to 0 real quick. But we aren’t quitters, so this past week we
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Figuring Out Gardening on the Cumberland Plateau
On August 2, 2022 by MaryMany, many hours of this summer have been devoted to gardening. Living on the Cumberland Plateau means dealing with wild summer thunderstorms, and temperatures that differ from the surrounding areas of Tennessee. It’s been interesting to see what grows well here, what does okay, and what was a total bust. Here’s an update on how
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The Unhappy Tale of the Iveyshire Chickens
On July 8, 2022 by MaryTo cut right to the chase: there isn’t a single chicken left here on our little homestead. In my last post, I mentioned that the poultry situation here had turned a bit chaotic. Unfortunately, the craziness continued until just a few days ago, when our very last chicken bit the dust. They were dying inside
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Time Flies When You’re Homesteading
On June 22, 2022 by MaryThe majority of this past month has been spent gardening and tackling other outside projects. My current favorite days are the ones where the kids and I head outside early, and come inside late. Between all the outside time- and a family vacation thrown in the mix- I haven’t been posting much. Time for a
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“I Could Never Do That!” [Part 1]
On May 25, 2022 by MaryA response my husband and I often get from people when we share our homesteading journey with them is an immediate, “I could never do that!” People are interested in what we’re doing, and many even wish they could try it themselves. But instead of pursuing it, they automatically focus on all the reasons why
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Gardening Mistakes, Lessons, and More
On May 13, 2022 by MaryThe last couple weeks here at Iveyshire have been packed full. Between the usual mom-of-three duties, working on the garden, spring cleaning inside and out, and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life, I’ve been pretty consistently exhausted. Maybe it’s my personality, or anxiety, or the combination of too much coffee and too
