Road Trip Date and Photos

Saturday the weather was absolutely beautiful here in Northern California. The temperature was in the 60's, sun shining, and I had cabin fever. My husband for the first time in six years heard me say "I'm bored." He took my cue and out on a date we went.

My husband and I don't have a lot of time alone. We have a 17 year old son and 12 animals to care for. Our usual outings are to run errands. Many times we end up taking our son and dogs with us. This doesn't provide for a chance to nurture our own relationship.

God designed marriage because He saw, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Genesis 2:18 (NIV). God has set priorities in our lives about relationships you can read here. Marriage is a high priority only second to our relationship with God. To have healthy relationships with God and our spouse we have to put time and effort into them.

Our outing began with lunch at a small local restaurant. We ate and visited with the owner. In this town everyone knows everyone.

After lunch we stopped by the kennel where we train and board our dogs. The owner has become a good friend of ours. I thought it would be a nice surprise if I took her some chicken eggs and one of my re-potted spider plants. You can read about my surplus of eggs and spider plants here.

After our visit with the dog trainer, off we drove farther north making various stops and taking photos along the way. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Windy Rest Stop.—Ravendale, CA

High Desert Pond (With Fresh Water Springs)—Ravendale, CA

High Desert (Fresh Water Springs From A Distance)

Not uncommon, Cougar tracks on a side dirt road. 

Shoe Tree.—Ravendale, CA

Cows get to run free here.—Ravendale, CA

Cows free ranging next to paved road.—Termo, CA

Horses at local horse sanctuary.—Dry Valley, CA

Some of the horses are domestic, others wild mustangs

'Eagle Lake' In California. Frozen along the shores.

'Eagle Lake' photo taken from 'Stone's Landing'

'Eagle Lake' frozen at dusk

Frugal Tips-Laundry

Friday's Frugal Tips—Related to laundry.  It may sound crazy, but laundry is one of my favorite housekeeping activities. Not sure why, but it may have to do with having clean clothes, using my frugal tips and also being outside to hang clothes. Tips I use consist of:

• Hang dry clothes either outside on a clothesline or inside on clothes racks. 
• Use 1/4 cup of vinegar in rinse water for fabric softener; Brightens clothes and gets rid of static cling. 
• Use cold water instead of warm or hot water; Clothes get just as clean.
• If you use a dryer, use a gas dryer. Gas is cheaper than electric (In many areas of the country).
• At the end of a wash-cycle, turn the knob back to spin (to wring out the extra water.) Clothes will dry quicker this way.
• After hanging clothes to dry, if wrinkled either dry in dryer for 10 minutes or hang up on a shower curtain to expose the clothes to steam (gets rid of wrinkles.)
• Use a little less laundry detergent than what the package recommends. I usually use 2/3 to 1/2 of what is recommended.
• Make your own laundry detergent (To help save more). Recipes here.
• If laundry wash water is not too dirty, dip out some of the water, before it drains out, to mop with. 
• Never buy dry-clean only items. 
• To preserve clothes, make sure you zip up zippers and button buttons to decrease friction on fabric.
• Use dryer lint to make fire starters in your wood stove. Find out how to make fire starters http://chickensintheroad.com/crafts/homemade-fire-starters/
• A little dish soap is a great stain remover. 
• Wash only full loads.  
• Reuse jeans and bath towels more than once to decrease laundry.
• Wash comforters in commercial washers only. A comforter is too big for a standard washer and can actually damage your machine. 
• If using dryer sheets, cut them in halves or even thirds. 

Accident, Illness and "Homey" Activities

The last week and a half has been a little hectic. Last week on Monday my son went for a bike ride and had an accident. He attempted to apply the back brakes which failed (on a brand new bike), then proceeded to put on the front breaks. He went flying over the handle bars. When he used his arm to shield his face, he fell on his right elbow fracturing it.

Off to the urgent care clinic we went. At the clinic Chris underwent an assessment, an X-ray was ordered, a splint applied and an orthopedic referral made. Of course, there is only one orthopedic doctor in town and he happens to be my doctor too. He was a little surprised to see us in his office. I'm sure having two family members, different accidents, three months apart who are patients is not the norm for him. He ordered an MRI. On our follow-up visit he told us the right elbow joint was fractured. It will take four to six months to heal. Some gentle bending and flexing of the elbow in the shower is needed and physical therapy will begin in three to four weeks. The next visit for Chris's elbow is in two weeks.

Oh, before I forget we went to our family doctor on Tuesday, and my son is also being treated for strep throat.

All the running to doctor appointments, x-rays and pharmacies hasn't left much time for my daily homey activities which I enjoy. That is, until today.

Today, with my son feeling better, I was able to do some things on my to-do list. One thing I have been slowly working at is de-cluttering. On my back porch I have an old refrigerator and a freezer which I use for storage.  I put items in there I don't use every day but use frequently enough I want them nearby. The fridges also serve as storage units for sales items and additional pantry stock.

Refrigerator storage

More stuff for refrigerator storage

Another task on my to-do list is splitting and replanting my spider plant. The task doesn't take long but I haven't been in the mood to do it. The original plant had been split and replanted more than a year ago.  From the first plant I made five cuttings. I kept three and gave two away. My three have now turned into seven. They grow so fast. Now I'm making plans on who to give those to. I also decided to plant one of my peach seeds. We will see it if grows into a tree or not.

Spider Plants

Pot with planted peach seed

Last I did a little baking. Not my typical frugal recipe of making things from scratch. Wait!  Let me explain. My husband found a really good sale on loss leaders at our local IGA. I believe he got the cake mix around 39 cents. Something outrageously cheap. In an inexpensive case like this I can go along with it not being made from scratch. However, I did use frugal, homegrown eggs.

Baking cupcakes and mini-cakes for sharing

Baked and Cooling 

Frosted. Ready to eat and share

At least my chickens have kept up on the homey activities of laying eggs. I've had almost six dozen eggs recently. Now, I'm down to four dozen. I used some for baking and cooking and gave a dozen away to my Christian Mentor when she visited on Monday.

Product of six busy chickens

 five of my busy girls (Sixth Not Pictured)

Things are getting back to normal. I feel complete again.

Frugal Food

Frugal food tips is one of the best ways to save money. I'm always on the lookout on how to save on groceries. I have gathered a list of my most used frugal food tips:

•   Don't purchase soda
•   Dilute canned frozen juice, (if purchased at all)
•   Save juice from canned fruit, to freeze into popsicles
•  Don’t buy eggs, raise chickens
•   Buy meat on sale or clearance only
•    Buy bananas which are turning brown, to make breads, muffins and pancakes.
•  Hot cereal is cheaper than cold cereal
•   Use coupons for food you will actually eat.
•  Use powdered milk for cooking
•  Make your own sweet tea, using as few tea bags and sugar as possible
•   Limit eating out. When eating out don’t order drinks, eat lunch instead of dinner, or just go out for dessert
•  Stock pile food items on sale which you will use
• Use a freezer for frozen sale items
•  Cook from scratch
•  Shop discount grocery stores
• Eat less meat
•  Bake from scratch, items for breakfast and snacks
• No packaged convenience foods
• Eat only when hungry
•  Grow your own food
•  Use a root cellar for surplus garden foods (still on my on to do list)
• Can fruit from fruit trees, your own or your neighbors (with permission of course)

What tips do you use? 

Cold Weather and Animal Care

PLEASE NOTE ADDENDUM here.

Wintertime means extra care for our animals. Measures need to be taken to ensure their health and  safety.

Our littlest and most independent animal is our Dwarf  Rabbit, Knuckles. She is easy to care for. We give her the needed tools and she cares for herself. My husband built her a new hutch prior to winter. He added a small, screened in dirt box. This allows her to dig tunnels where she can escape the cold and keep warm. The screen keeps her from digging out or eating the wood to escape. Hay was placed in the upper levels for insulation and tunneling. Twice a day, food and water are checked and replenished as needed.

Hutch with dirt box in right bottom corner.

Rabbit tunnel

Our cat, Prince, lives on the back porch. He comes and goes through his own pet door. Food is put out for him each morning. At dusk, the food is put up, out of reach of wandering wildlife: foxes, raccoons, and skunks. Many times during periods of lower temperatures Prince can be found snuggled up to a chicken in a nest box. Unfortunately, the chicken is usually not too happy about this.

Totally content cat. 

'House Security', Max and Princess live inside. If the temperature rises to 30-35 degrees we usually let them out for a few hours. If it snows, rains or drops in temperature, they have a dog house filled with hay to keep them warm.  To keep them healthy and burn energy, we train or play tug indoors or take them for long hikes weather permitting.

Princess on left. Max on Right.

Dog run

The chickens and the ducks need the most care during cold weather. In the past we have lost fowl due to lower temperatures. This summer my husband built a new coop, insulated the walls and wired it for electricity.  We did not have time to get the power line buried so we have a heavy duty outdoor extension cord, to run electricity to the coop for the heat lamps. Hay is placed in nesting boxes, on the coop floor, chicken yard ground and under their favorite evergreen tree. This serves as insulation to keep their feet from freezing. Extra food is provided for energy. Powdered vitamins, especially prepared for fowl is added to their drinking water. Water is given once daily at a minimum.  As weather permits, a plastic tub is filled to allow the ducks to bathe. Ducks have to have water to bathe their faces and heads to prevent eye infections.

Keeping warm.

No frozen feet here

"Dirty duck, too cold for a bath today."

Hooray! Snow!

We received two more inches of beautiful snow today. I enjoy the snow. The animals have their own opinions though...

Perfect weather to wear a thick fur. 

The Ducks don't know about the snow yet. 

"Ugh! Snow!"

"Let's roll in the snow, Duck!"

"Cold! Get me some boots!"

 "There isn't any snow under the tree! Let's go!"

"We made it to the tree! Hooray!"

Projects, Projects, Projects

It seems it is never ending, no matter what size farm; there is always a project to complete. My husband loves to build things and is always working on some project. He has built several amazing things on our 50 ft. x 150 ft. city lot. Examples include:

Garden Area

First Rabbit Hutch.

Second Rabbit Hutch. 

Chicken Coop, complete with insulation, electricity and pipes for water. 

Dog Kennel

Fencing with pipes along it to supply water to all animals

Small benches to sit on outside and watch the garden grow—in summer of course.

Wall pantry—complete with fish tank, left of refrigerator. 

What projects are you working on to complete your dream farm?