5 Tips for Planning an On-Farm Event Pt. 2

Whew, what a whirlwind the past few weeks have been! I am pleased to say that the Mid-South Homesteading Conference and Festival was a wonderful success! And now, back to your scheduled programming...

In my previous post, I promised that I would make a second blog with tips about hosting an on-farm event, which would be written post-event rather than pre-event. While my previous points stand, I also have three new points from a post-event perspective. This can also be taken as a list of things I will do differently next year. 

1. Have vendors pre-pay and fill out a form/contract. This time around, I sort of gave vendors the "option" of prepaying but didn't strictly require it. I suppose I was a bit naive for thinking that every vendor that said they were coming would actually come. Thankfully, many of them did come, but there were a handful that never showed. To make matters worse, I didn't think to get the phone numbers of vendors who emailed me, which made it more difficult to touch base with them. In the future, I will be requiring vendors to send payment along with a form listing all of their contact information and explaining that fees are not refundable after a certain date if they do not show. I am told by an experienced vendor that this is the norm, and it will definitely help with three things:

1. I will have multiple means of contacting vendors pre-event.
2. Vendors will have a greater incentive to show up and I will not lose money from no-shows. 

3. I will be able to avoid awkward end-of-day, "you need to pay me" conversations. Yes, that happened. No, it was not fun. But organizing and hosting events like this takes literally hundreds of dollars and if you don't get paid, you don't make it out of the red.

2. Pre-make food and freeze it. In Tennessee, it is illegal to serve or sell homemade "high risk" foods (mostly things that need to be kept at a certain temperature) to the public without an inspected facility. However, the serving and selling of cottage foods generally considered safe (like jams, jellies, and breads) is legal. With this in mind, I decided to make the desserts for our conference lunch. Legally I had to have the actual meal catered, but I still wanted to have that nice homey touch. We're pretty darn good bakers in my family, and our desserts were a hit. 

However, staying up until midnight the day before the conference was not so much fun. I wanted the desserts to be freshly made, but I was not thinking about how difficult it would be to finish all the last minute touches to both the venue and the classes I was preparing and then bake three different flavors of dessert the day before the event. Why it never occurred to me to make them ahead of time, freeze them, and thaw them for the event I do not know.

3. Add extra time between classes. I schedule each class for a 1 hour period. The plan was to allow each speaker 45 minutes of lecture and 15 minutes for a Q&A session. This didn't really work out, however, because speakers -- including myself -- talked over 45 minutes, and time ran out before all questions could be answered. This wasn't a huge problem all in all, but next time I will plan a bit more padding into class times to give plenty of time for the next speakers to prepare in between classes, questions to be answered, and people and their belongings to be shuffled around to the next class.

4. Schedule the shortest classes before lunch. A couple of the classes were shorter than others. There just isn't as much information for some subjects as there is for others. Next time I want to place the shortest classes right before lunch and save the longest classes for after lunch. Lunch, because it is delivered at a certain time, really needs to happen on schedule so that the food stays fresh. That's a little bit easier to do with the shorter classes scheduled ahead of the lunch hour.

5. Don't forget to take pictures! I was so caught up in what was going on that I completely forgot to take pictures during the conference and only took a few during the festival. I was certainly kicking myself for that afterward! 

Bonus! 6. Schedule a relatively short festival. I learned this through experience and through sage advice from an experienced vendor. Not many people come to a festival very early in the morning and few come in the late afternoon. Our festival rush was between roughly 9 am and noon, with a few stragglers after noon and literally no one earlier than 9 am. We decided by three that anyone who was going to come already had and let all the vendors pack up and head out. Afterward I spoke with one of our vendors (who was also a speaker) and among the many great tips she gave me was to schedule festivals for roughly 9am-3pm. Especially for people with children, getting out early in the morning or staying into the dinner hours is difficult, and only very large events like state fairs (which have a ton of hearty food offerings as well as nighttime entertainment) can pull off longer hours. 

I hope this is helpful!

Cheers

Meet Lady

Or Ladybird, as I have taken to calling her. First, the back story.

I don't believe that I ever blogged about the death of my mother's Quarter Horse gelding, Sam. Sam was older than I am -- almost thirty -- and had been in our family for as long as I can remember. We knew his time was drawing near. We had struggled to keep his weight on every winter for a few years, but last year he wouldn't gain even when spring dawned. Despite teeth floating, vet visits, and pouring senior feed down him, his body just couldn't keep up. He seemed to be getting worse rather than better, and finally one day we found him in the back pasture. He had gone off the path and fallen into the ditch. Thankfully, it didn't appear that he had suffered. We buried him in the pasture and said our goodbyes. 

Since then, my mare, Krystal, has been an only horse. She moped for a long time after Sam's passing. She would just stand by the barn and not venture into the back pasture. It was clear that she was depressed, and though she is no longer in a depression, I know that she is lonely for another horse. We've debated back and forth about trying to find her companionship, and almost did twice, but were both times had to back out when we realized the animals we were told about were far too old. We had just been down the old-equine road, and needed a break from those challenges for a few years.

And here, more than a year after Sam's death, is when Lady made her grand entrance. 

We have spent a lot of time at my grandfather's farm this summer, because he generously allowed us to plant our pumpkin patch and a watermelon patch there, as well as plan our homesteading conference and festival (more about that here, here, and here) there. My grandfather was once big into Tennessee Walking Horses. We bought my mare Krystal from him several years. He no longer rides, shows, or breeds TWH, but he still had three mares leftover from those days. Being over there and watching them, I immediately took a liking to a gray and white Tobiano mare. After suffering horse envy for a while, I finally gave in and decided to find out what exactly his plans were for the horses. Lo and behold, all the mares were for sale for very reasonable prices. To which I promptly replied, "I want Lady!"

I am so glad that we waited and didn't jump into getting a new horse right away. I have always loved Tennessee Walkers. They have such a smooth gait and typically wonderful personalities, and I know in hindsight that I would have been disappointed to get anything other than a TWH. Lady is also young, about 10 years old (I'll find out the exact age when I get her papers), so she fit that requirement as well. To top it all off, my mare Krystal is Lady's mother, and her sire is the famous world champion stallion Ironworks. I could not have gotten an equivalent horse anywhere else without selling a kidney or two. I also love that Lady continues the legacy of Krystal, the mare I learned to ride on as a young teen. It just goes to show that God's timing is always best.

Lady is a really beautiful mare. Photos just don't do her justice; you really have to see her in person to fully appreciate her. She is a flea bitten gray and white Tobiano, which is not a color you see very often. She has the typical smooth gait that makes TWH famous and a lovely refined face. She is also smart and a quick learner. I have recently begun working with the Parelli method, and Lady picks up on it surprisingly quickly.

Lady hasn't been worked with in a few years, so we are truly learning together. I love Krystal very much, but it is exciting to have my first "project horse," so to speak. Krystal was fully trained when I began to ride her, so even though I haven't ridden in a few years myself, it won't take much to get her back up to speed. Lady on the other hand -- though trained to ride, lead, have hooves trimmed, etc -- has not had much human interaction over the last couple of years. Lady let us ride her and work with her without any big problems, but she has some kinks that need to be worked out. She is what Parelli calls a Right Brained Extrovert, meaning she likes to move her feet (Extroverted) and tends to lack confidence (Right Brained). I am currently working with her to not get anxious when walking away from her horse buddies and to have more confidence in general. She is very willing to do what I ask (when I ask clearly -- I am still learning myself), and I see improvement almost every time I work with her. I can't wait to get her home so that I can at least interact with her every day, even on days when I am too busy to really work with her. I love learning her personality, and I know there is a confident, trusting, and curious partner underneath her timidity. 

I am also thrilled that I should be able to trail ride this fall. I have always wanted to do this, but have never had the chance. I did do a few short trail rides as a teen before we brought Krystal home, but after that I didn't have a chance to go riding trails much. Then after starting college, I really didn't have time to ride at all. I even lost most of my tack, but I have thankfully been finding bits and pieces as we go through the barn and the attic. I found my mom's old saddle, which is still in working condition despite being 30+ years old (I really didn't think it would even be safe to use!). I also found a couple of cinches, a chest collar, and a bridle. My friend, who has been helping me learn to use Parelli training methods, also gave me a nice synthetic saddle, which was so nice of her and worked out perfectly, because it makes it possible for both mares to be ridden at once, which in turn makes trail riding possible (because who wants to trail ride by themselves all the time?). She also let me borrow her Parelli rope halter and 12' lead rope until mine finally get here (they are supposed to be delivered this week!).

I should probably end this post now before it gets any longer. I could go on all day, but I think I have adequately conveyed just how excited I am to back in the saddle again!

Cheers

5 Tips for Hosting an On-Farm Event

For those who don't know, I have been planning the first annual Midsouth Homesteading Conference and Festival to take place on September 19th (conference) and 20th (festival) of this year. I mentioned this briefly in a previous post as well as on the farm Facebook page and the Facebook page of the event.

This is my first time planning something like this, and I have learned a lot along the way. I suppose when I first had this grand idea, I thought that it would be easy-peasy and fall together effortlessly. Not! It really takes a tremendous amount of time, effort, and patience to plan a farm event. It takes more money than I expected, too. The good thing is that in the end, it will have been worth it...I hope! 

If you have ever thought about planning any kind of farm or homestead event, be it a class, conference, festival, farm tour, or something else, I have a few tips for you based on what I have learned from this experience thus-far.

1. Start planning early. I had about four months to plan this event when I started. In hindsight, this really was not enough time. Don't get me wrong, things have come together, but I do wish I had either started earlier or planned the event for later. Why? Well, I missed out on some speakers and demonstrators I had hoped to land, because they were already booked for the dates of the events. One demonstrator even said that I should contact him in January of next year if I wanted to book him for September! 

2. Be realistic with your budget. Money has been a challenge for me to deal with for this event. I really didn't think it would cost much at all because I didn't have to actually rent a locale (instead, a portion of any profit above the red will be given to my grandparents for letting me use their land), but it adds up quickly. Here are some of the expenses:

• Some speakers (though not all) charge speaking and/or travel fees. Typically the further away they are, and the more well-known, the more they cost. 
•  Advertising is a surprisingly big expense, too. Word of mouth and free advertisements don't cut it, especially for a first-time event. Between the cost of printing flyers, paying for online and paper advertisements, and the banners and signs I will be purchasing, it adds up.
• I also chose to provide food and drink for the conference attendees and conference speakers. Because we do not have a certified kitchen or the means to cater ourselves, I will not only be paying for the food itself but also the preparation of it. Don't forget little things like cups, drinks, plates, silverware, etc.
• For the festival, I wanted to set up a kid's play area. This required the purchase of material (plywood and paint, mostly) to make fun games and face-in-hole paintings, game prizes, face painting material, and straw bales.
• There are also expenses for readying the locale. Port-a-potty rentals, caution tape to keep people away from farm equipment, and the cost of small things required for a general clean up (because, as you know, farms can be messy places!)

I am just hoping that this year, the income will cover expenses. Sure, profit would be really nice, but not necessarily realistic for this first year.

What I really hate is the feeling that people think I am just raking in the dough from this and gouging people. A couple of people have said they thought the cost of the conference was high, and that was a huge blow to my morale. I wanted to explain just how much time, money, and hard work it takes to do something like this so that they would understand, but I chose to simply be polite. 

3. Prepare to deal with naysayers. I mentioned above about how some people will not think your prices and policies are fair, and may try to make you feel guilty about it. Try to remember that their negative opinions don't stem from a dislike for you or any hateful place, but simply from a lack of understanding what goes into hosting an event.

There will also be naysayers on other subjects, too. I have received comments from people unhappy with the dates, unhappy with the schedule, or unhappy with the classes offered. A couple of my own family members have even had negative things to say. I won't name names, but one didn't want me to hold the event at all and tried to have it called off behind my back.

At the end of the day, you can't please everyone. The quicker you realize that and let the negativity slide off your back, the better your event (and even your life!) will be.

4. Don't forget about liability issues. Part of the reason my family and I can't cater the event ourselves (even though we are pretty darn good cooks!) is because of liability. If someone were to get ill -- from the food or not -- we could get in big trouble for violating food safety laws, which require a certified kitchen. There are also areas of the farm, including a pond, that will have to be roped off and labeled "do not enter." I certainly don't expect tragedy to strike, but if it does, being able to prove that we took appropriate safety measures will help protect us in case of a lawsuit. Farm Commons has some really great webinars on the liability of on-farm events. 

5. People have a tendency to not call you back. I think the single most difficult thing I've had to deal with is people not answering attempts at contact. This is another reason to start planning early. Some people just have to be reminded (like me!), but others simply will not respond to you. They will not email, call, or message you back. After dealing with this a few times, I changed my philosophy: If a person didn't respond to two attempted contacts, I gave up and moved to the next person. If a person is not willing to respond to me, they are obviously either not interested or not reliable. Either way, they are not someone I want involved in my event, because I want everyone involved to be as enthusiastic as I am!

Bonus! 6. Don't forget to have fun. It is way too easy to get stressed about stuff like this. The best thing to do, at least in my experience, is to set aside specific periods of time to work on the event, and let it "slip my mind" for the rest of my time. That way I can dive in head first, really hit the planning hard, and then simply not worry about it when my work time is up. Thinking and worrying about it constantly will take away all of the fun!

I hope these tips are at least a little bit helpful. I'm sure there will be a part 2 to this post after the even takes place (we certainly learn best in hindsight), so stay tuned!

Cheers

A Rough Day and Saying Goodbye to Georgie

For the past few weeks, I have been attempting to keep up a blogging schedule that includes two posts a week, one on Monday and one on Friday. Typically I accomplish this by taking a chunk of my Sunday and devoting it to writing and editing blog posts, which I then schedule to automatically post. You may have noticed that I didn't make my goal this week, and Monday was left without a blog post. Here is why:

Sunday was actually a pretty great day. We spent most of the afternoon working with my mare, Krystal. It wasn't really work, though; it was fun! A friend who is currently studying to be a vet and horse trainer (using the amazing Parelli method) came over and taught us how to do a lot of ground work. (After just a few days of learning ground work games from Katelyn, I am sold on the idea that a relationship on the ground leads to a better relationship in the saddle.) 

I was planning to write this week's blog posts after working with Krystal, but it didn't work out that way. Instead, we came inside to find that our new dog Georgie, who you may remember from my previous post, and my Pomeranian Lucky had gotten into a fight. Although we didn't witness it, I am almost certain that Lucky, aka Queen Bee, started the fight. What we think probably happened is that Georgie went to the kitchen to drink water, Lucky growled at her, and Georgie decided she wasn't going to be low dog on the totem pole anymore. As my mom said, Lucky wrote a check her body couldn't cash. Even though they weigh almost the same, Georgie is a Boston Terrier mix and has a bigger jaw and more muscular build than Lucky. Thankfully Lucky did indeed have some luck on her side. We took her to the emergency vet and found out that all of her wounds were superficial. She has been very sore, but nothing was damaged internally and no bones were dislocated or broken. She is on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine and will eventually be back to normal.

Unfortunately, we now have to find Georgie a new home. We have all grown attached to her, but after this fight it is not worth the risk of keeping her. Lucky is far too stupid...I mean, stubborn...to learn her lesson and stop trying to be the boss. That means that Georgie is having to spend way too much time in her kennel. I'm afraid to even leave the room with both of them out in the house, much less go outside or anything else. And Georgie is such a quiet dog that it would be too easy to forget to put her back in the kennel when we leave. Although it will be sad for us to say goodbye, Georgie has to move on. The current situation is not fair to Georgie or safe for Lucky. Below is Georgie's info:

Georgie, pictured above, is approximately 2-4 years old, probably closer to 2. She has been fully vetted and is spayed. She is also housebroken and kennel trained. She is a Boston Terrier mix. The story of how she came to live with us is here. She weighs about 11 lbs and is not much bigger than our Pomeranians, but is more muscular and lithe. She is very quiet, and I have never actually heard her bark. 

Georgie is extremely shy and timid. She is terrified of thunderstorms and afraid of men. When she is anxious, she chews and licks at her skin, particularly her paws and under her legs/stomach. We believe she may have been abused by a man at some point. It took weeks for her to become trusting of my mother and I, and she still does not trust my dad, so do not expect an immediate bond. However, when she does become comfortable with you, she is incredibly sweet. She will greet you at the door with love and excitement. When she is feeling insecure, she will hide in a corner or under furniture. When it storms, she will be trying to bury herself under your arm. She also will not eat or drink when feeling anxious, so it is best to provide her with a private space for meals and water.

Georgie needs a home with no children, and a home with an older woman would be ideal. She is a runner, which is how we found her, so she must be walked on a leash or in a securely fenced area. She gets along with cats and other dogs, however, she needs a home without a domineering dog. If you have a dominant female dog that feels the need to boss others around, Georgie would not be a good fit. 

Please contact me if you or someone you know could give a loving, permanent home for Georgie. With patience and kindness, she will be a wonderful little dog for someone. There is no re-homing fee, but we will be conducting interviews to be sure the new home is a good fit. Georgie is a quirky dog and needs a particular type of home to do well. Even if you don't live locally, we may be able to work out transport for the right furever home.

Cheers

Safety on a Farm

I honestly thought that when I sat down to write this, it would be with a heavy heart. My decision to write a post about farm safety came after reading about a 7 year old Amish boy getting caught in a hay mower. I didn't know anything at the time other than that he was caught, a helicopter had been called, and his neighbor was asking for serious prayers. I truly thought the next update would be that he had passed, but thank God that was not the case! He lost his leg, but he is alive. And so, my heart is not heavy for this post.

But farm safety is a huge issue, and this little boy was one of the lucky ones. According to Cultivate Safety, a child dies from a farm-related injury every 3 days and 38 children a day are injured on farms. Most of these kids are not working, either. I know first hand how dangerous farming can be, because my dad's family farms. My dad also farmed when I was child, and one day I even became part of the statics. I was also one of the very lucky ones, however. As I was climbing out of a tractor (facing the wrong way), the hydraulic door swung back and hit me in the face, busting my mouth and moving my front teeth. I was fortunate to not lose my teeth from that accident, and knowing what I know now about farm safety, I know I could have had it much worse. 

Every farm family has stories to tell about injuries. My dad stabbed himself in the leg trying to cut baling twine out of a hay baler. My grandfather has been gored by a boar hog. My cousin just recently broke his fingers when they got caught in a hay auger. And recently I have seen way too many posts on social media about kids getting hurt on farms: the Amish boy who lost his leg, a child who died after getting kicked in the chest by a horse, and another child who developed infection after being kicked in the eye by a horse. Farming is a wonderful lifestyle, but trust me when I tell you farming is dangerous. 

Unfortunately, children are very susceptible to farm accidents, whether they're helping out or just hanging around. They lack the experience and mental development to react quickly to danger. And there is plenty of danger on a farm! Equipment, even in experienced hands, is dangerous. Whether it is in use or being repaired, it can quickly injure a person. There are often medications or chemicals (even organic ones) on a farm that are harmful if inhaled, swallowed, or touched. And animals, no matter how well behaved, are always a risk. Your most beloved horse or sweetest pig can have a bad day and easily injure or kill you. When you're looking at livestock that can weigh anywhere from a 200 lb sheep to a 2,000 lb bull...there's no way you can control them if they decide they don't want to be controlled. They are faster and stronger than the fittest  adult man, much less a small child.

One thing that also really concerns me regarding safety is how many people with no farming background are now starting farms or homesteads. I think that is really wonderful, because we need more small farms and more involvement with our food. But the darker side to this is that farming often has a steep learning curve. People who have no first-hand experience or knowledge, and sadly often don't have a resource nearby so they can learn and gain experience before being on their own, can be blissfully unaware of how dangerous a farm is at times. And in that moment when something happens and you're suddenly faced with a scary situation and no clue what to do, it's hard to react quickly. I know because I've been there with my own animals! When a horse 5x your size decides to crowd your space and get spooky, it's frightening...and I have been around horses my whole life. Take someone who hasn't been around horses (or whatever other animal or piece of equipment) their whole lives, and it can be even scarier.

But I really don't want people to be discouraged from farming or homesteading. I just want them to be aware of the risks. So I wanted to compile a few tips for being as safe as possible in a farm setting. This is what I came up with:

1. Always supervise children on a farm. Always. I don't care how obedient, responsible, or smart your child is. Do. Not. Leave. Them. Unsupervised.
   
2. Wear closed-toed shoes. I have a really bad habit of wearing flip flops around the barnyard, and have regretted it more than once.
   
3. Turn off all equipment before working to repair it. No matter how quick or simple the repair will be, shut it off.
   
4. Wear protective clothing and gear when needed. Don't neglect this, especially eye protection, gloves, and face masks. I know it's a hassle, but it's not worth the risk.
   
5. Don't let children be alone with animals, no matter how trusted. Even your sweetest goat can suddenly go rogue, and animals also don't understand that they can hurt humans without meaning to. I was knocked out by a Lamancha as a child. It wasn't being malicious, it was just being a goat.
   
6. Don't let children operate machinery. Just because they physically can run it, doesn't mean they are mentally mature enough to run it.
   
7. Don't let children run and play in the barnyard or near farming equipment.
   
8. Always be alert when working with equipment or animals. Not just for your own safety, but to watch for others who might be coming to get you for lunch, tell you someone called, etc.
   
9. Know the proper techniques and safety procedures for whatever tool you are using. If you've never operated it before, have someone teach you.
   
10. Don't try to work in dangerous weather. If there is lightning, flooding, dangerously strong winds, or tornadoes, just go inside and wait it out.
    
11. Don't play loud music while running machinery of any kind. You might miss hearing someone yelling at you.
    
12. Don't wear jewelry while working on the farm, especially rings. Flat, post earrings are safe -- not hoops or dangles. If you have long hair, pull it back as well. It can also get caught in machinery.
    
13. Never turn your back on an intact male animal, or any unfamiliar animal, especially during breeding season or when a female in heat is nearby.
    
14. Don't keep dangerous or aggressive animals around. If you know a particular animal is dangerous, it needs to be put down or, in some cases, neutered. If you are waiting to put an aggressive animal down or alter it until after the breeding season, never tend to it alone and never let children tend to it. Put signs on its enclosure that it is dangerous. Keep the gate locked (not just latched).
    
15. Clearly mark "off limits" areas to visitors or children. Any area which stores dangerous machinery or tools needs to be locked up so kids can't have access.
    
16. Avoid barbed wire. It's really not worth it. Just spend a little more for a better quality fencing material. If you don't, the first time you, an animal, or a child gets wrapped in it, you will regret it. If you do have barbed wire, never electrify it.
    
17. If you're working alone, let people know when to expect you. Sometimes farmers will work well past dark, so if you plan to be home by a certain time tell someone so they know to look for you if you aren't back.
    
18. Never do farm work while intoxicated in any way. This includes being sleep-deprived. And never smoke in a barn or a dry field. (Or at all, if you value your lungs.)
    
19. Don't leave jugs of chemicals or medications where children can reach them.
    
20. Use common sense. If it seems like a bad idea, don't do it.
    
21. Bonus: Accidents will happen no matter how careful you are, so just be prepared by staying calm, knowing how to do basic first aid, and having an emergency first aid kit.

There are many ways for children to be safely involved in farming, and many ways to prevent injury. There's no need to take excess risks. Be safe out there!

Cheers

When Prepping Goes too Far

I am not a prepper. I'm not interested in becoming one. However, homesteading and prepping tend to go hand in hand...at least to some extent. The homesteading and prepping communities are certainly close and a lot of cross-over happens. Many homesteaders are preppers, and many preppers are homesteaders. Not all, but many. Perhaps a venn diagram is the best way to visualize the two lifestyles:

As you can see from my highly sophisticated diagram, not all who homestead prep, and not all who prep homestead. Yet there is some overlap, and from a homesteading perspective overlap into prepping is almost unavoidable.

One of the very basic practices at the heart of homesteading is the act of growing and raising your own food. This results in having more food at time than one can possibly eat during harvest season. What we (homesteaders) do with the excess varies -- we might give some away, feed some to pigs or chickens, or sell some -- but some inevitably gets canned or frozen for our own future use. Preserving our own food is healthy, thrifty, fun, and wise.

Another core value of homesteading is self-sufficiency. We become more self-sufficient intentionally and also as a byproduct of the lifestyle. We can't let our hard work be ruined by various problems, and we can't afford to hire help every time we turn around, so we learn to take care of problems ourselves. Our animals produce milk, meat, fiber, and eggs, so we learn to make dairy products, butcher, process fiber, and eat lots of eggs. Many of us also hunt and gather wild edibles. We provide as much as we can for ourselves, by our own effort.

Homesteaders also need and want to be economically and environmentally responsible. So we cook mostly from scratch and learn to make things for ourselves -- soap, cleaning supplies, structures, fabric items, etc. Oftentimes money is tight, so we learn to get by on less. Most of us can't run to town every time we need something, so we learn to keep things on hand. We almost never throw anything away, because we almost always need it later. We live by the mantra, "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

And all of these are good things. This is part of the reason homesteaders homestead -- to take part in the making and doing of all these things for ourselves. We gather joy, satisfaction, and a sense of pride from this. In turn, our ever-growing knowledge and skill base make us more prepared than the average family for any number of circumstances.

This is good.

And if homesteader or non-homesteaders want to intentionally increase their preparedness, that is good, too. I do believe in being prepared. I believe in being able to take care of yourself without outside help. What if your power goes out for a month? What if your main water source suddenly becomes unsafe, like it did for people in Ohio earlier this week? What if there is a natural or man-made disaster?

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. Proverbs 6:6-8

Being prepared is wise. But sometimes...prepping goes too far.

I see the side-effects of over-prepping all the time. Fear mongering by those who wish to profit from the prepping movement. Living in fear by those who want to be prepared. Forgetting to live in the present. Constantly needing more, more, more preps. And maybe it's true that you can never be over-prepared, but there has to be a line.

There is a huge difference between being prepared and being consumed by a need to prep.

We can only do what we can do, folks.

At some point we have to have a little faith. Faith in our ability to keep a clear head and use those skills we've honed if it ever becomes necessary. Faith that things really do work out for the best. Faith in God, who has our best interests at heart.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? [...] So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matt 6:26-27;31-34

I do not say this as someone who is naturally free from worry. Oh, no. Worry is one of the things I struggle with the most. I am a worrier. I am speaking to myself here as well. We don't control the universe. He does.

So when you're putting away the fruits of your labor, enjoy it. Be proud of what you have done. Rest easy knowing that you'll have food put up by your own hand to eat in the winter. Know that is is wise to work hard and be prepared, but also remember that Your heavenly Father knows what you need.

Don't forget to enjoy the good as it happens, or you may look back one day and realize that you were so focused on the winter that you missed the joyful harvest of fall.

Cheers.

The Best Darn Cobbler You Will Ever Eat

Okay, perhaps that is an exaggeration. Or perhaps "the best" is just determined by personal taste. Either way, this is a really great cobbler.

Doesn't that look amazing?

Now, I can't claim this recipe as my own. I'm not sure who deserves the credit, either. My mom found the recipe but did not write down the source. Whoever came up with has something better than the credit, though. They have cobbler.

Cobbler is one of my all time favorite desserts. In fact, it is in my top five: Cheesecake, Fruit Pies (especially peach and apple), fried fruit pies (especially peach or apricot), fruit cobbler, and ice cream (not necessarily in that order). As you can see, I love desserts that highlight fruits. Therefore, pies and cobblers dominate my favorite sweets. (I also love all things dairy, so of course cheesecake and ice cream make the list!)

We have made this cobbler several times now. The first time we actually devoured the entire pan in a single day. We also tried a couple of different sized pans. Using a 13 x 9 pan results in a thinner crust that has more crispness around the edges. Using a smaller pan, such as a 9 x 9, gives a thicker crust with more of a cakey texture. Experiment with pans and find your favorite. We personally prefer the 13 x 9. 

My favorite thing about this recipe is how buttery it is. Fruity + buttery + the texture contrasts of the crispy edges, softer centers, and delicate fruit make this recipe a winner.  It's also versatile, as are most cobbler recipes. Make it with whatever fruit you want and adjust the seasonings to compliment the fruit. Peach goes wonderfully with the addition of cinnamon. 

Also, while it's definitely a treat food, it's not that unhealthy either. When made with real-food ingredients like raw pastured dairy and fresh fruit it's a much better choice than many desserts. Be sure to use organic natural sugar, or at least pure cane sugar. I'm not sure that the sugar could be substituted for honey or another natural sweetener, because it is used to draw moisture out of the fruit as well as sweeten. I may have to experiment with that.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the perfect recipe to use up your over abundance of spring and summer fruits:

Fruit Cobbler

2.5 cups fresh fruit, such as blackberries

1 cup sugar 

1 cup flour 

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt 

1 cup milk 

1 stick butter, melted 

Add sugar to berries and let sit for 25-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375.

Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and milk with a wooden spoon. Stir in the melted butter and hand mix until well incorporated and there are few clumps left. Pour into a baking dish (9 x 13 for thinner crust, smaller for thicker). Add fruit mixture evenly over batter. Bake for 45 minutes or slightly less in a 13 x 9 pan. 

Let sit for 15 minutes (if you can!) and serve warm with fresh homemade ice cream.

Enjoy!

P.S. I secretly want to try this with apples when they're ripe this fall. I'm thinking apples will require a pre-cobbler saute to soften them. I will share my results when the time comes!