Thursday, February 26, 2009

Warm weather and time with the Goats

Been really nice here today, around 60 degrees and partly cloudy. This morning I could hear the birds singing their songs of spring and it really got me excited all over. I hauled several loads of sawdust to add to the garden today trying to build up the garden beds some. Most of the rest of the day has been spent with the goats. Katie just can't get enough of the goats and neither can I. I am looking forward to getting my hands in the dirt soon. I need to get some onions started and I also need to work on the greenhouse some too. The plastic that I used to cover it is pretty well gone now. Also have some ginseng roots and seeds on order and can't wait til they get here so I can get started on that project too. Just been trying to stay busy and do the things that will make my spring work a little easier. There is always something to be done here on the farm it's just trying to figure out which one to do next. Me and Katie have had a good day and we are going back outside to play. Sorry I have been so long posting but there has just not been a lot going on to post about, at least not anything anyone would want to read about. LOL




Picture of me and Katie in the goat lot. Liv took it with her phone and it's not very big. But anyway here we are enjoying the goats.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Thinking about a cash crop


Before you get too carried away I'm not planning on a pot field. (That's what closets and grow lights are for.) LOL But, from some research I've done on the Internet, one could make some pretty good money from raising ginseng. Although cultivated ginseng in no way demands the high price per pound that wild "seng" brings it is still a good investment of time, land and money to raise and harvest. From what I have read (and I will be reading much more) one can expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 to $100,000.00 from an acre of cultivated ginseng in about 5 to 7 years of growth. The idea is to plant some each year for maybe 7 years and then in the 7th year you harvest, sell and replant more in that spot. The 2nd year you do the same with your next plot of ground and on and on. This would give you an income each year after your first crop gets to harvest/market size. Now I have no plans for planting an acre but I would like to dedicate some land towards this venture. Property on a hillside under trees and out of the way would be great for my use. I'm not doing anything with this land anyway so why not put it to some use. You can plant seeds or small rootlets that you have found or dug yourself or you can order them here. There are many websites that sell these products.
My question is, do any of you raise ginseng and have you had any success with it? Is this a good idea? I would love to hear your comment or ideas on this subject, I think it would be a lot of fun. If I don't have enough to make any money at least I would have it for personal use. Below is some information that I found about Daniel Boone that I thought you my find interesting, I did.


Daniel Boone, often remembered as a pioneering woodsman in Kentucky for his fur trading prowess (among other things), made a good part of his fortune not only on furs and skins, but also on a small and unassuming plant known as ginseng that still grows throughout the forests of eastern North America.



Though Boone lost twelve tons of ginseng roots in 1788 when his boat overturned in the Ohio River on his way to market in Philadelphia, he did much better in subsequent years, amassing his fortune.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Birthday Girl

Friday, February 13th, my baby girl turned 3 years old. We had Katie a birthday party at a restaurant in town and all the kids attended a cooking class. Each child made their own pizza from scratch and had a really good time.

Here is Katie making her very own Pizza.


All the kids got their hands dirty in the process. We must have made 100 trips to the sink for them to wash their hands. If nothing else, they did learn that you must have clean hands if you're gonna cook.


Here is Olivia, Katie and Me too, lol. Katie was getting pretty tired by the time this picture was taken. Boy, I tell ya, I'm looking way too old to have a 3 year old. I guess that's what I get for having a woman that is 10 years younger than me. I'm too damn old for either one them . LOL


Saturday, February 7, 2009

Walmart Zombies

You've seen them. Hands with a death grip on their shopping cart. I fixed straight ahead. Roaming the isles and stopping systematically to put items in the cart, half zombie half robot like. Answering the subliminal messages that that big smiley face sends out to them. MUST..SPEND...ALL...OUR ...MONEY...ON...WORTHLESS...JUNK...MADE...IN...COMMUNIST CHINA. You can sometimes hear them mumbling under their breath. Walmart is a scary place to me. I hate to even step in the door of that place. I had to get my medicine today, I usually always get it filled at my local Kroger. They were out and I had to venture in to Zombie Mart to get what I had to have. While waiting for them to fill my meds, I listened to three people talk about how much they were selling their pain pills for. They seemed rather proud of the fact that they were making a good second income from their medicine that Medicare was paying for. They too were of course..Zombies. I watched and listened in amazement at the actions of the people in there. It was in one way pretty funny, in another pretty scary. Even in the parking lot they were ever present. Nearly driving over top of people to get a parking spot close to the door. I could see that I was surrounded by Zombies everywhere. I was happy when my name was called so I could get out of there. Next time, if there is one, I will take silver bullets, a wooden stake and a cross. Not sure if any of these work on Walmart Zombies but it's worth a try. If you have to go to Walmart be aware that they are everywhere they. Please be careful. To see a video of Walmart Zombies be sure to watch the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG0MEZgxczk

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Been slow here

Not much going on here on the farm so I made a little post over at Kentucky Preppers Network. Join me over there and take a read if you like, love to have ya.