Category: Farm

Farm . Home

How To Render Pork Fat Into Lard

On November 18, 2023 by

Have you ever rendered your own lard? It can seem a little daunting if you’ve never done it before, but I’m here to tell you it’s super easy and totally worth the effort. “Rendering” is the process of melting solid animal fat to remove impurities, tissue, and extra water content. You start off with big Read More

Farm . Home

A [Great] Day In the Life of Us

On November 10, 2023 by

Most days here at Iveyshire are pretty uneventful. We take care of our animals. My husband goes to work. I do homeschooling lessons with the kids. I do laundry and fit in cooking, a million snacks, and the subsequent dishes somewhere in between. But the other day was jam-packed with bona fide homesteading awesomeness. None Read More

Farm

Giving Up Is the Only Sure Way to Fail

On November 7, 2023 by

“Giving up is the only sure way to fail.” Gena Showalter wrote that. I don’t really know who she is, because I live under a rock. But she has a point, and that idea is what’s been getting us through the past few months. As a whole, this year has been rough for our little Read More

Farm

Say Hello to the Piglets

On October 13, 2023 by

I’m so happy to report that Ethel’s two piglets are alive and well. They’re over three weeks old now, and growing like crazy. Since we’re fairly certain that genetics caused all the issues with our piglets, we decided it would be safer not to use these two for breeding. So once they’re weaned, they’ll go Read More

Farm

A Little Letter to Someone Special

On October 5, 2023 by

Dear Grandpa Carl, Homesteading has been pretty rough this summer. Some days I question why your grandson and I are trying to make a life out of farming. When I get frustrated, I can hear you in my head matter-of-factly saying, “That’s farming.” Over the past couple months I’ve recalled so many of your stories Read More

Farm

Ethel’s Farrowing: The Final Chapter of the Piglet Saga

On September 23, 2023 by

The last of our three sows, Ethel, had her piglets this week. And thank goodness for that, because the past few weeks have been tiring and disappointing. In my last post, I wrote about Dottie and her two little piglets. Sadly, neither piglet made it through their first week. Ethel’s Piglets Good ol’ Ethel went Read More

Farm

Dottie’s Farrowing: New Girls On the Block

On September 17, 2023 by

In the last piggy post, I wrote about our pig Karen’s farrowing. Unfortunately, she didn’t deliver any live piglets, but since then she’s been doing just fine. Well, our pig Dottie was next in line, and she finally had her piglets this weekend. Story Time She went into labor just as Calvin had to leave Read More

Farm

A Brand New Homesteading Adventure Begins

On September 10, 2023 by

Because we don’t have enough going on with 4 kids, homeschooling, 31 chickens, 2 feeder pigs, 4 breeder pigs, and hopefully piglets any day now… we added another endeavor to our homestead. A couple days ago we brought home… meat chickens! A lot of meat chickens. We’ve had laying hens for a while, but now Read More

Farm . Home

Getting Back in the Saddle- With a Baby in Tow

On June 1, 2023 by

The beautiful, sunny month of May brought lots of new beginnings and fresh opportunities to our little homestead. Life since last September has been so difficult, but as I sit here typing with a swaddled newborn sleeping right next to me, I’m ready to keep moving forward. Here’s a few highlights of what’s been happening Read More

Farm

A New Homestead Endeavor: Breeding Pigs

On January 8, 2023 by

I 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 Read More

1 2 3 4