Our Farm Page

We now have a website up and running for our homestead. It can be found here Hearts Haven Heritage Farm. Also if you would like to visit our facebook or google+ page please click the links below.


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Composting toilets & Humanure

     On the subject of our earthship house in the works, I have decided to write a little about composting toilets and the use of humanure.

     We are currently using a composting toilet at the cabin since there is no running water to it. Of course being on the frugal side our current composting toilet is a homemade one. I cannot see spending close to $1000 on a toilet of any kind especially one I can make myself for less than $20.

Angora wool... I Think So

     Okay so hubby and I have decided that one more thing we would like to add to the homestead are angora rabbits. I have been reading up on their care, how to collect and spin the wool, the different breeds of angoras. Then came the fun part... trying to find some close enough that we didn't have to invest a small fortune in gas to get them. That being one of the downfalls of having a Suburban.

Sophie's Second Rescue

     Okay so on the last post about Sophie we talked about her being our first rescue here on the homestead, she had been abused and was not trusting at all. In fact she was down right terrified of everyone. Well she has come around greatly, she likes everyone now even Jerry and loves to be petted and loved on. She sleeps at the foot of my children's bed by the baby crib every night. Every morning she wakes me up to go outside for the day, and beats me to her chain that she is on during the day. She sits down so very nicely for you to put her on or off the leash and chain. She is just a joy to have here. 

Tanning Hides The Old fashioned Way

     Okay, so as part of our ongoing effort for sustainability and prepping I got to thinking there has to be a way to tan animal hides like they did years and years ago. So, I started researching it and guess what I found it. You use the animals own Brains, yes I said brains. So I acquired the information from the farm's website that I found it on and will share it here for you. If you have anything to add please let me know. 

Seed Swapping, Saving, Stocking

      I was just wondering if there might be anyone out there that would be interested in swapping some seeds? I am trying to build up my supply as a prepping measure. I am going to list all the types I have on here. If you see something you would like let me know and I will let you know which varieties I have. We can work out something.
    

Meat Rabbits

So thanks to a lady in Huntsville, AR we have started our meat herd. We now have four Chocolate Satins, 2 does and 2 bucks. 

Welcome Sophie!!!!

     So over the weekend we brought home our first real rescue to the homestead. Her name is Sophie, she is 4 1/2 years old. I am not 100% sure what breeds she is but looks to have some Doberman or Coon Hound in her, she is very sweet and extremely intelligent. 

Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 24 Hours

Cook Time: 14 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 8 servings (16 pieces)

Ingredients:

3 eggs
2/3 cup water
About 2 cups hot red pepper sauce
4 cups self-rising flour
2 teaspoon pepper
2 (2 to 3 1/2-pound) chickens, cut into pieces

Lard for frying

Directions
In a medium size bowl, beat the eggs with the water. Add the hot sauce and mix so the egg mixture is bright orange. Add chicken pieces to egg mixture, cover and refrigerate over night.

The next day in another bowl, combine the flour and pepper. Remove the chicken from the egg, and then coat well in the flour mixture.

Heat the lard to 350 degrees F in a deep pot. Do not fill the pot more than 1/2 full with lard. Fry the chicken in the lard until brown and crisp. Dark meat takes longer then white meat. It should take dark meat about 13 to 14 minutes, white meat around 8 to 10 minutes.

100 Items you might want to stock up on

Found this on another blog and thought  I would share. Something to think about in today's society.


Top 100 Items to Disappear First During a National Emergency

Our Earthship: Floor Plans

     Well we have finally decided on and finished the floor plans for our earthship home. These floor plans are a two part system. We are working on a budget so we are building the original house first then adding the rest from the other plans on at a later date. 

     The original house will have the living room area, the kitchen and dinning area, cold pantry, the laundry and mechanical room, the kids room, the master bedroom, the guest bath, mudroom/ woodshed, and then the master bath room. Along with the front hall/greenhouse and the two airlocks on either end. We will be adding later on the other five bedrooms, two rain storage cisterns, and another air lock. The original house footprint is going to be approximately 112' by 35' not counting the earth-berming of course.