So over night we find ourselves full into homesteading! We have goat kids (both bottle kids) living in the front hall. We felt the loss of piglets (to coyotes) a few days before we were to pick them up.
We are a homestead, to me that means that most things we bring onto the homestead needs to have a purpose, needs to add to our life, needs to have a job.
We have chicks coming end of the month…they will contribute through eggs and meat, as well as keeping insects down around the outside of the garden and will help out as they range eating pests that others will not.
Goats can provide meat, dairy, and cashmere. They also will browse through the brush rather than graze (so this may be a good introduction into what may become a staple animal here on the homestead).The two we have are both castrated so one will become meat or go to the sale barn to offset cost of the other. The other has a job to do which will be a long term job of keeping our newest addition company.
That’s right we have added a new member to our homestead! We picked up over the weekend a large miniature horse. I laugh myself at the sound of that. I never intended on owning a mini. However we have one. He is a good boy. He is about 5 years of age and has been loved greatly by the place he called home until this past weekend.
His name is Blaze.
Now I never intended to own a mini because what do you do with a mini? They are small you might even say they are mini…however cute they are I don’t intend to feed a hat burner for nothing. So this mini horse has a job once he is broke to drive (he is broke to ground drive he just hasn’t been hitched yet).
His job will be two fold.
First he will teach our kids how to drive, as well as horsemanship. This is a good job for a mini. They read body language just like a larger horse. They respond the same. They are less intimidating for smaller children to get their experience with leading and picking feet up and the basics of horse care.
His second job will be to haul out firewood from the bush. Firewood that will heat our home in the winters…firewood that will be used to boil sap in the sugar bush…and firewood for sale and for camp fires around home when we visit with company.
I look forward to seeing what he can do and to the enjoyment he will bring to our family.
SPLITROCK HERITAGE HOMESTEAD 