Friday, November 22, 2013

Simple DIY Toothpaste

My homemade recipe for toothpaste has 3 ingredients. Super easy peasy..
In a small container with a lid (I use 4 oz) measure out about 2 ounces of coconut oil. 


Next, measure out about 1 tablespoon of baking soda. In addition to that, about 10 drops of peppermint essential oil. Mix well. I say "about" but I really mean exactly ;)

             Mixing Mixing Mixing

I dip my toothbrush into it and get a good ole glob on there:

          Brushing Brushing Brushing



Grab good old peroxide and add a few drops of peppermint straight to the bottle and use as a rinse. -whitening + antibacterial. Can't beat that Jack!  Thereya go! 

My dentist recommended the peroxide and commended me for using the baking soda as well. I was glad I was already using them!

You can adjust the amount of baking soda to your preference. More baking soda = more abrasive + more salty. 


Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Around the Farm- Fall 2013 Photo Collection TFF

                      "Cow Pasture"



               "Persimmon Over Pond"



                   "Cedar Berries"



                  "Down the Fence"



                    "Leaning Tree"



                 "Surrounding Color"



                   "Old Fence Line"



           "Blue Copper Maran Rooster"



          "Splash Copper Maran Rooster"



            "Jasmine- Irish Dexter Heifer"



                           "Kiddos"



                "Shepherd On Guard"



              "Brother n Sister LGD"



                         "Goats!"



               "Dun Dexter Trio"



             "Trinity FF Hosanna"



                 "Watering Hole"



             "Bright Sunshiny Morning"



                   "Goat Pasture"



                   "Goat Pasture"



                  "The Round Oak"



                "Midget White Hen"



       "Duck Pond in the Chicken Yard"



                      "Hammock"



                    "Big Pasture"



                  "Window View"



                "Window View 2"







Sunday, September 22, 2013

Woven Wire Fence

I am the Queen of fence clips. Yes I am. I have conquered hundreds of feet of new woven wire fencing for our goats/Dexter cattle. 

What are fence clips? They are triangular little pieces of wire designed specifically to hold the fence to the t-post. See them on every strand? Yep. Every strand. 10 strands. 10 clips per post. 1 post every 10 feet. At least, that's how we do it. 

When we first started, I put a clip every other wire thinking that would surely be sufficient. It wasn't. The unclipped wires inevitably sagged. Don't skimp. Every wire. 

We also strung 1 electric wire up to keep the goats off the fence. They really like to use the fence for scratching. This causes the fence to bend and puff out on the bottom half. We do not want a puffed out fence. Plus, the electric just keeps everybody including the dogs very respectful of boundaries. Boundaries are good. 
This fence here by the road goes all the way to the crest of the hill... and some back the other way. Now that this section is done we can open another 4 acres or so up to the goats for foraging. I can't tell you how satisfying it is to watch your goats happily munching on brush and weeds that you have been fighting.. well.. since, forever. Ok, from the beginning of the farm. 
This section has woods. They seem to enjoy the edge where saplings and buck brush grow. These are goat favorites. 

This is a group of mostly doelings that we bred. This guy in front is in charge of romancing these girls. This is a very exciting time of year. Especially for him. Our goats generally come into heat during the fall and have a 5 month gestation, very similar to deer. 

So glad and thankful to have this year's fencing project completed. Yes, there will be more next year..and the year after..and probably every year. But let's not talk about that. This project is 
D O N E