Gracefully Grown

11/06/2022

Snapped a couple photos of the sunset tonight!

God is the Artist and we can see His canvas all around us. 🌄🥰❤🙌🏼🙏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

11/04/2022

I was so honored and felt very privileged to get to assist a dear friend in some garden and yard space decisions today. I am so eager to see all of this come together.

By far, I am not a pro and very much learning as we go; but, my head is full of knowledge and it was great to talk about what I am loving. Her and I got to talk about God, gardening, and homestead videos!

What a blessing this time was!
👩‍🌾🐓🥚🌻🌱🥔🥕🍅🌽🥬🥒🍎

11/01/2022

To some of y'all, picking up a worm may not be a big deal.

To me, it is! 😖😬🥴

Look, I love the great outdoors and all that comes with it. 🏕 I'm not a fan of dirty feet, spiders crawling on me, or touching worms. There's just something about their wiggling between my fingers that grosses me out to high heaven. 😖

BUT, I am learning to embrace more of what God created, especially if it'll benefit us in some way.

This little worm went to Spike, our only Barred Rock, who is coming out of her moult---praise the LORD!!! She gobbled up her delicious morning snack without reserve! 🐛🐤❤

Oh! And speaking of reserve---I had zero when I bent down and plucked this little baby worm from the ground. Giving thanks to God for that!!! 🥰🙌🏼👏🏼👏🏼🙏🏼❤

10/27/2022

God always provides! 💧💧💧

Our rain barrel was almost empty and in one rain the barrel was filled to overflow. 🌊

This has us adjusting some of our projects this fall and winter to include two additional rain barrels: one for overflow and the second as an initial catch point.

Have you made plans to add a rain barrel or do you already have an extra water source? What about water filtration?

10/25/2022

When the ladies give you a variety of eggs in one day like this....

10/23/2022

Last week it was cold and I made my first soup of the season: chicken and rice.

But, the star of the meal had to be this artisan dutch oven bread! It was incredibly easy and absolutely delicious!

I want to grow and make all of the things and then teach others to do the same for themselves and their family.

Next spring, with all intents and purposes, LORD willing, we will be offering produce boxes with the option to add a dozen eggs AND a loaf of homemade bread to the box. That's the goal anyway!

🍞🥐🥖 What's your favorite homemade bread?

09/12/2022

We brought home a handsome boy for the ladies Saturday afternoon. He has been the sweetest and most calm roo. We are integrating his presence with the 11 ladies---he in the small coop and run next to the much larger coop and run. He is 5 months old, near the age of 5 of our youngest hens.

Still not sure of a name for him. Maybe King Androo? Mr. Donald? We'll see. 🐓

09/10/2022

I meant to share this on Monday, 9/5/22.

Anyone else give their flock a special treat on holidays?

We give them special treats several times a week, but on holidays, they get fed very well. They LOVE fruits and veggies!

08/31/2022

Meet Titus and Phoebe. They are hound-German Shepherd mixes and are almost 5 months of age. Spunky, misbehaving, loveable, and want all of the cuddles! Titus likes to back talk and loves to greet you with a hug and wrap himself around your feet. Phoebe loves to hug and wants to go where you go.

They have loved chewing up the bark on young trees, bushes, a porch bench, a couple beanbag porch stools, and pretty much anything they can put their mouths on. No matter how many toys we get them, they find something else to chew on.

They are great at catching mice, a bunny, and opossum (so far). Definitely not putting it past them to be great guard dogs of the garden. 🐕🥕🥔🍆🥬🥒🌽

We are working on obtaining training collars to train them up with the chickens---in case one flies over the chicken yard fence, they will know better than to attack it. And, to make them more obedient to our commands, of course.

Any tips on this kind of stubborn breed for training purposes?

08/31/2022

Happy Wednesday Friends! 🥚🐥

Some reels can only be viewed on Instagram. Follow us there to see and hear more of what we're doing.

Gracefully Grown Harvest shared a post on Instagram: "Just a little coop party this morning after being let out for their morning snack. The young ones came in to check out what their older sisters were doing. Out of the four boxes in the coop (plus 2 outside on the wall of the coop), there was a li...

08/20/2022

As we have planted several apples trees in our orchard this year and adding more in the next year, I am probably most eager to make our own apple cider vinegar.

The health benefits for us and the chickens is innumerable. Plus, it's just one more way to become self sustainable.

You can do this with your apple scraps. Have you tried making ACV? Or, do you plan to try now seeing how simple it is?

We are down to our last pint of apple scrap vinegar, and you can bet that I'm making more again this apple season.

The flavor on the homemade apple cider vinegar is bright and apple-y. I use it for cooking and add it to our critter's water.

It's always nice to get a little more use out of what would otherwise end up in the compost.

Get the recipe here - https://commonsensehome.com/apple-scrap-vinegar/

08/20/2022

Went out and walked the property with my love last night to take inventory of changes happening and what things need to change.

With every egg collection the ladies are told thank you and given treats of meal worm. I threw out a couple tomatoes which they LOVE! As we walked, I just kept saying how pretty the sky is! God creates beautiful masterpieces!

I apologize for being absent and not being consistent in posting. However, I plan to change this as the goal of this page won't be to just inform y'all on our progress, but to hopefully encourage you to start taking back control of your own food supply.

We are corn fed and Iowa bred as they say. We appreciate the big farmer. BUT, if the big farmer succumbs to and sells themselves out to the big bullies of the global agenda/big corporations, where will we be if we don't take back our God given right to better quality food?

Feel free to like, share, and comment. What topics on gardening, growing, and raising livestock would you like to see us cover?

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