YouTube

Today I posted an introductory video on YouTube.  I have many channels I enjoy watching and thought I would create my own.

It is a little nerve-wracking talking to the camera. I think I recorded the video 7 or 8 times before I was happy with the way it came out. 

I watched a tutorial of how to edit the video and learned how to add text to the video and music in the background. Until I get the hang of it the videos will be pretty simplistic visually.

The segments I will have will include gardening, cooking/baking, homesteading, crafting and what is a good read.

I'm thinking of having a few homemaking tips as well.

If you would like to watch My videos please search Wyld Dream Farm on YouTube!!

Farm activities in the works for 2022

I spent over half of the day figuring out what permits/licenses I need for our farm to earn income.

By Feb 1st I should have my permit for the farm store!!! We can be a part of Agritourism and have a petting farm!! Dept of Agriculture will be sending me free signs to post here at the farm for human safety as well as animal safety!

I also found out today that I have relatively been buying illegal goats. I had no idea all sheep and goats must have tags if you sell them. So I am starting the steps to comply with that as it is a federal regulation through the USDA. They need it to combat Scrapie. Cows and pigs do not need the rags unless state lines are crossed.

Here is a pic of all 3 piggies. They are fattening up nicely!

This water pump has to be one of my favorite accessories here on the farm. No matter how cold it gets I always am amble to get fresh water near the barn instead of using the kitchen faucet. I'm hoping to eventually get one like this near the other barn. I use the faucet on the side of the house but if it is in the teens or below the know tends to freeze. 

Penelope is doing really well with her momma Ariel. She's starting to bounce around and head butting her mom to play.

 I am keeping an eye on Cecilia to see when she will be going into labor with hers. I have a feeling she may be having twins this year. 

Time to get the puppies to settle down for the night. 

Farm pics

Ariel had a girl!

Finally figured it out today.

Coming in 2022...

I will have a YouTube channel in 2022!!

It will feature all aspects of the homestead. Crafting, cooking, baking, gardening, and of course our animals.

New baby

Ariel had a kid sometime in the night night before last. We separated her and they both seem to be doing really well.

Hopefully with them separated this kid makes it. I still haven't determined if she had a boy or a girl yet.

The pigs are getting really big. Today I will call and set up an appointment for them to be slaughtered in the spring.

Oakley enjoyed the fresh snow this morning. He always loves running around when it is snowy.

We are trying to housebreak the puppies but they seem more interested in what Oakley is up to. 

Today I will be baking holiday treats to get ready for Christmas dinner. We may end up going to Vermont for Christmas with our oldest son over New Year's Eve and New Year's day.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to do the Christmas light walk in Orono and to see the Hathaway Light show in Veazie.

My favorite Christmas decor goes to the Dorman's Farm here in town. I love their Rudolph Tractor.

This past Saturday we had our animal Christmas party at my Grandmother's. I always enjoy getting to see her right before Christmas as well as my mom's siblings.

My cousin made the beautiful leather purse for my grandmother. She sews so well!! Hopefully with a little more practice I can sew as well as her someday!!

Time to get baking have a great day!

Homesteading Plans 2022

Winter is a time to slow down (other than kids sports activities). I usually take time to plan my garden. Think of animals I want to add to the farm. I ask myself what do I want for my homestead?

I love snow for Christmas and New Year's. I absolutely HATE driving in the bad weather but do drive when the boys need to go somewhere. Hard to believe when I've lived in Maine almost my whole life. (A little exception was when we lived in North Carolina while my dad was in the Marines. )  Seeing snow and Christmas decorations is magical in its own way.

We have our tree decorated. It is filled with ornaments the boys have picked out over the years. It is also filled with ornaments my mom has made for us. Homemade gifts are my absolute favorite.

We left the bottom of the tree a little bare due to the puppies wanting to steal them.

We had a scary moment yesterday. We had a fire in the pellet stove pipe. I'm thankful we had a fire extinguisher in the kitchen so I was able to put the fire out rather quickly so there wasn't any damage to the house. I was able to stay calm so my mind didn't panick. The boys grabbed the dogs and went out by the car. My husband had brought one of our boys to work. When he got home we cleaned the pipe so there wasn't any build up of soot.

This week I plan on doing some holiday baking. First on the list is Rocky Road then we will be baking Candy Cane Cookies. Mom always had holiday treats for us during the Christmas season. It was her labor of love for our family.

Some of my favorite winter memories.

There was one Christmas all 5 of us went to my Great Grandparents land and cut our own Christmas tree. Everytime we decorated the tree we had Christmas music playing. 

We would watch holiday specials as a family every year. Our favorite beverage was hot cocoa with fluff on top. My brothers and I would end up with fluff mustaches.

When I was younger we would go to several different Christmas parties. We would gather at dad's Aunt Jo's. Dad's parents used to have all of us get together as well. Once mom's parents moved back to Maine we always get together the Saturday before Christmas for that side of the family.  Gift giving there has changed over the years. Yhr family always donates money to a new charity/organization every year.

I'm hoping as my boys get older and have families if their own thar we will have our own Christmas get together so at least once a year we will be altogether. 

I enjoy making different soups and stews through the winter.  I am starting to meal plan and like to use typical recipes we always enjoy eating as well as trying new ones. Meal planning is helping me not to be stuck with hum drum meals constantly.  I have many cookbooks I get inspiration from as well as Pinterest.

Time for me to get back to my homesteading research. I really want to start my homestead business in 2022. My friend Kenzie and I would like to partner our homesteads. If you ever need some tips Himesteaders of America has compiled a list of 145 different ideas to make money for the homestead. 

Christmas is only 13 days away!!! Hope you are all ready.🎄

Ugh

This year had been hard homesteading in many ways. Some of them are due to my negligence and some completely out of my hands.

For awhile I felt like the black widow of homesteading.  We lost baby goats this year. We lost a pig. The most heartbreaking loss was Babe the cow. 

Clarabelle was lost without her twin brother. I was concerned I would end up losing her too but thankfully she has Hamberguesas to keep her company. She is mooing again letting me know when she wants more hay.

We have 2 big battles going on right now. A weasel has killed 80% of the chicken flock. The other battle is my Chiweenie has an infection and has not been using her back legs at all for almost 2 weeks until today.

To combat the weasel issue I bought some Rat Magic and between my geese and this it seems to be working.

The photo is a little blurry but you can see the geese do not like rodents either. 

I did not accomplish my goals this year for homesteading other than buttoning up the barn where the chickens are.

The top will be closed in more hopefully next summer. Since I took this photo we have added 2 solar lights to illuminate the door and we have electricity inside the barn now so I have lights. The water outside of the barn has been working great to fill buckets of water for the animals. 

I have a new notebook and am studying how to homestead for profit. The planning is in the early stages but at least writing it down helps me focus and break up goals into achievable steps. 

I'm looking forward to the new year to start fresh. I'm already thinking of gardening.  I did plant during flowers in my whiskey barrels. They will be beautiful when they pop up. I have a planner to help me keep track besides my phone.

We will have baby goats in the early spring. After Christmas we will be building a nursery for the goats to see if separation helps. 

The pigs are steadily growing. I love they eat all of the leftovers.

2022 will bring changes but they will be well worth it!