The struggles of farm life in the winter!

What a fun few weeks we've had here. I can't believe it's already the middle of January. I hate the winter. I hate the cold, and yet somehow I managed to find a way to have to be out in it all winter long! Feeding, visiting, cleaning, and playing with these animals in this cold, snowy weather! It's all okay though. I keep myself bundled up and it's so much fun being greeted by all our girls each day! I've been bringing them extra treats and goodies to keep them a little happier while stuck inside so much! I did buy heated water buckets from Tractor Supply to keep the water warm. Although I've already had to return one for freezing over and the new one is doing the same thing! The first one I've bought hasn't froze in even -25 temps!

Every morning as I get my daughter ready for school the sun comes up. I get her on the bus and walk over to the barn. I let the goats out so that I can feed the turkeys without the goats getting into the feed. After they are done, I open the chicken coop up and the girls line up for their morning walk from the coop, to the barn. I'm really happy we have the barn for them so they aren't all stuck in the coop all winter. They still walk back to it to lay their eggs, but walk right back into the barn for more room and scratching! Here's one of the videos I have made of the girls!

Last week It warmed up enough that I cleaned out the barn and the coop. I have been using the deep litter method and so it was dirty under all the fresh hay and pine that I've been laying down. It took me 4 hours, but everything was looking so much better. By the next morning all the snow was melting and the girls got to enjoy a day outside which was much needed on our little homestead!

By the next morning, the snow was back as if it had never left us, and the girls were not so happy to see all the white stuff in the morning! 

So I woke up and got to shovel a new path to the barn for the girls! Here is another video of their line up to the barn while it was snowing! 

Anyway, I hope you're all staying warm! I have been doing more research on ducks to figure out what breed we will be bringing home this spring! Wish us luck and if you're in a cold climate like Michigan, let me know what you're favorite cold hardy breed is! 

Thanks for reading! ~The Vela Homestead

New year's Reminders page Freebie!

To ring in the new year I created a daily reminders page to look at and be positive! I'm offering this page here free for all of you to download, share and reflect on this year!
I hope it helps some of you stay positive this year!

Many blessings! ~The Vela Homestead

It's 2018! How did that happen?!

I just cannot believe how fast 2017 has flown by for me! It was a year of dreams coming true! Life can be really hard, and yet I was incredibly blessed with a few good years at work to help move me into my little homestead. While things have gotten really tight this year, I'm really so grateful for this years many blessings. God has always provided for my family! A happy,  healthy home, Food in our bellies, a roof over our head and our new little herd that brings us so much joy! Animals are my dream to be around. I'm not much of a people person and a self professed introvert, but these animals make me feel so relaxed and like I'm doing exactly what I was called to do!
I mean look at her, my queen hen, Queeny, what's not to love about that face!

To help think back on a joyous 2017, i want to first thank our merciful God who has blessed my heart with more than I have ever dreamed of. A simple life, in the country, with my small, yet amazing circle of friends and family to enjoy it all with! My husband who has put up with my many, many requests. Like building everything we needed for the homestead and my garden this spring! He really worked so hard and I appreciate him more than he knows! I've been letting go of the superficialities that once controlled my life, to live a more simple, retrospective existence filled with so much more happiness and joy! Truly I feel so blessed, and want to continue 2018 with positive thoughts, and actions.

As I was eating breakfast I noticed the sun was shining and there were iridescent, colorful clouds in the sky! It's a great reminder of new beginnings and just the perfect day to see it! I look forward to 2018 with the promise of it's many new beginnings. Growth. A new outlook on life, new goals, and new ambitions. I love making new goals each year and seeing which ones come to fruition and which ones I need to try again! My life is always a work in motion! I pray I can go through this year with the confidence I need to reinvent myself. Humble myself, and grow into the person I'm called to be. Stress, anxiety, negativity, and all the like, has no place in my life if I want to succeed and be the best wife, mother and me! I'm going to work to find balance, establish boundaries, and find acceptance in the fact that things can change, no matter how hard you work to succeed, and life can take us on unexpected paths that teach us, and shape us into who we are supposed to be! This is the plan God has for my life. I'm going to embrace it and hopefully follow the path he has for me un-reluctantly!

Happy New Year 2018 to you this year readers! May your year be filled with joyous moments making new memories and finding yourself! I pray you have peace that surpasses understanding,

Many blessings for 2018! ~The Vela Homestead