The Curious Homesteader

What color is your barn? Ours is red. We went with tradition also years ago.

Alot of fogs in August, our persimmons are showing shovels, now this! We're seeing black here! What color wooly worm are you finding??

What are you finding? Get ready Kentucky! Spoons!

He spent his day preparing his nest with several trips and branches.

~Moon Watchers
The Sturgeon Moon
August 11, 2022
Named by the Algonquin Tribe after the large sturgeon fish that were easily caught that time of year. 🐟. It's a beauty tonight!

Wow! I was ok with food price increase, gas..etc. but it really hit me standing in the Tractor Supply yesterday. My chicken feed the Pride bag there. What started out at $11ish, then 12.99, rose to $13, last week $15.39 and seven days later $17.99 for 40 lbs! Om gosh! Smart thinking by placing the 50 # Purina right beside it. First time ever my girls are eating Purina for $2 more dollars for 10 more lbs. I did price check at Rural King they are still around $13.00 but we have a 45 min drive to get there. I see a Rural King trip in the near future. Cluck cluck my eggs are still a buck. $1.

*Note Pad Alert* —-> August 1, 2022
~ Curious about the folklore of counting fogs thru the month of August? Here in Kentucky we see our fair share of fogs thru out August. As far back as granddaddy we have been counting the fogs to learn how many snows we may have come winter.
Now granted..... It’s a very hot month, with a lot of contributing factors that could make it foggy. But then again, it’s a folklore granddaddy shared with us, and we have been looking for Aug fogs for over a half century. We continue to count them to this day to see how many we get. Even the Old Farmers Almanac gets in on this one.
~ A little fun folklore, get your note pads out and write down each day to see how many snows are coming this winter!

Who’s vay’ca’d in Gatlinburg Tenn? 🙋‍♀️. Did you know you can trout fish right downtown! The city of Gatlinburg own their own trout farm and stock the city streams every Thursday. Were talking keepers n eaters. ( Thursday is the only day you cannot fish).
No guide needed. No special equipment just your ole rod n reel, worms 🪱 or fake salmon eggs, of course a Tennessee fishing license ( 1 day, 10 day or Yearly) with all species, a 1 day Gatlinburg trout permit ($3.50), bobber and your good to go. Be sure to check your dates, Dec 1, thru March 31 is catch n release only.
Where to go? River road! One street behind the main drag. The river runs parallel with the whole street. The street/river is also lined with motels. You can fish from the sidewalk, a bridge, under bridges, take the stairs down to the river. Every picture here is steps from the street.
A great spot with a concrete pier is Herbert Holt Park. They pull some bigg’ens out there. This is also their trout farm location. Only children and handicapped are allowed to fish here so far down the stream.
If you’ve ever been curious about trout fishing and you are in the area this is a great way to try it out. 🎣

A order of three dozen unwashed eggs today going out. The buyer is going to preserve them in lime water. I've seen others do it but I just don't think (mind over matter) I could eat them. 😂. The girls 🐔 charge $1 a dozen but rack in a lot of generous tips. "Cluck cluck...Only a Buck"
Do you preserve in lime water?

Raccoon 2 - The Curious Homesteader 1. He’s up’d his game y’all. Now that the feeder is “coon” proof, Davey said “that raccoon has been sitting on the end of the porch at 6 am”. I said uh oh. So I moved the feed time to 6:30. Yesterday he ate from 6:30 to 6:45! He figured out when it feeds and is letting it feed him. 🤦‍♀️

A preview of what’s in store for us Wednesday night! The full moon of July, also known as the Buck Moon. The third super moon of 2022 will be the biggest & brightest of the year. It gets its name “buck moon” because in July, antlers of male deer ( bucks) are in full growth mode at this time. Be sure to do some moon gazing with family & friends!

The Timber Rattlesnake. A large venomous snake found here in Kentucky! We are all stepping a little more careful around here tonight. Have you ever seen one in the wild? This was my first! 🐍

~ What’s your most unique/fav piece of cast iron?
Anytime we go near Pigeon Forge Tenn. we head to the Lodge store. (They have 2 there!) Ask for Carol. Carol knows her cast iron. Right now they are offering 20% off everything, even online and free ship over $75! Ya know that stuff ain’t light! Some items are 50% off in store ( overstock) like my pie plate —> $12 👊, here’s our haul. Skillets (seconds) were $4.99 w coupons 😲. We ❤️ Lodge

🌟 HEADS UP FOR A RARE EVENT! ✨
For the first time in 18 years, a planetary party like few others will "peak" this Thursday and Friday morning! It will look in order just like this graphic I put together for you to aid in viewing.

While the visibility of all 5 planets will be visible through the end of June, the viewing will be best and most apparent to the bare eyes these next two days!

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will all be clearly visible in this orientation before sunrise! Best time to see is 4AM through sunup. Last time they all were visible was 2004 at the same time, and this won't happen again until 2040.

Look in the southeast horizon! The crescent moon will also fall perfectly in line. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will still be visible most mornings throughout July, however the planets will spread out farther as the month goes on.

Finally! We have won! We have beat the raccoons. 🦝 I almost feel bad for them. We have made a raccoon proof cat feeder. It's taken years and countless lbs of catfood but we figured it out.... Wired to the house in 3 different spots, the plate is screwed to the porch, the lid is wired & taped on, a bucket rests over the lid, but we've out smarted him. A 2x4 in front of the hole making his grubby paw to short to reach up in and turn the feeder to feed himself, and the bucket is now bungy corded and screwed to the porch so he will quit taking it!. Yes he takes it.... Oh there's some MAD raccoons down here in western KY. He's puzzled for sure. So funny watching him. He comes back every 15 mins to try. (It's only going to take 20 mins to fill it.) 🤣.

Our power provider hit two all time records for power demand this week. Curious if you are trying to conserve power this summer? Have you experienced black outs?
Here are a few tips from Tennessee Valley Authority https://energyright.com/residential/education-advice/

Energy Saving Tips & Tricks - TVA EnergyRight Get energy-saving advice, easy weekend projects, and upgrades to make your home more energy efficient. Check out videos, checklists and free resources today!

It's another scorcher in Western Kentucky today! 🥵
Stay safe ~n~ cool out there.

Tuesday June 14th
Tomorrow morning, at 7:52AM, the Full Strawberry Moon will be full in the southeastern sky! Though you will have to wait until after sunset for the best view.
June's Full Moon is named after the wild strawberries that start to ripen during this month. According to some sources, a European name for this early summer month was Rose Moon, and another was Hot Moon, for the beginning of the summer heat. Other sources quote Mead Moon as the Anglo-Saxon name because this was the time for mowing the meads, or meadows.

Did you get down & look? I did... and it wasn’t pretty! Limescale....Had I been somewhere would I have gladly taken a glass of water from a faucet like this? Nope! I would have said Ewww. The sprayer was a quick fix, 15 mins, the faucet didn’t want to let go...45 mins to dissolve but all I had to do was walk away no scrubbing. Do you have a faucet selfie? Good or bad?

Have you noticed what's lurking on your shower head? It can range from different bacteria's, limescale, to black mold. Sometimes the limescale will even reroute the flow of the water. We had one stream going sideways! A simple trick I use. A baggie, apple cider vinegar, & a hefty rubber band. I position the head into the vinegar and rubber band it on. Today it sat 15 mins then wiped with a rag. Looks like new again.

How much is gasoline in your neck of the woods? With the rising gas prices are you thinking of alternative means of travel? Locally, our community have Amish and Mennonite families that do use horse & buggy, you wouldn't be out of place if you did. Some of our stores have horse tie ups and its not uncommon to be parked by one on any given day. If you ask me, battery power golf cart would be my choice to run to town. (I'm 3 miles from town) In one town near us, it is legal to operate on the streets, but not here. It's time to be allowed to travel to town on our golf carts, 4 wheelers, Polaris, Gators etc. Do you agree? What are your gas saving tips? Gas Price?

Heads up y'all! It's going down tonight so look up!!
11pm to 1 am central

Thought it would be cute to line the chicken run with marigolds. They lasted about 4 hours....

My love for apple cider vinegar ❤️
Such a simple & cheap product that has so many uses. Did you know it’s great for hard water stains? It blast hard water scale AND you can use it in foods! Here I let it sit on the refrigerator water plate. Drips had set into hard water scale and would not come off. 20 mins later...gone
I use it anywhere I find hard water scale including toilets, sinks, shower heads, faucets, drains & sprayers.

Jelly is now blooming in a yard near you! Grab those jelly jars & get to picking. Find a recipe online, (they are super simple). Bake the biscuits, invite a friend and wow them by how you picked that jelly out of the yard. 🤣

We’ve probably all done it. The old wives’ tail that goes back centuries. I can remember mama putting butter on my fingers as a child. In the days of Neosporin the thought hasn’t crossed my mind in years until last week. Someone mentioned they put butter on their burned hand. It brought back a lot of memories!
~Curious if this old wives’ tail is true?
Butter does not have any of the properties to treat a minor burn. It doesn’t fight infection, it’s not a cleanser, and it does not provide pain relief. Lathing up in butter on your burn can actually cause an infection and prolong the healing process. So we are going to call this a Myth! Save it for the frying pan. Honey is a more suitable option from the pantry for a minor burn.

Everyone loves fried green tomatoes but have you tried eggplant? Don’t count the 🍆 out until you give it a try. I air fry mine but I have deep fried also. Use a dipping sauce to kick it up a notch, I like horseradish. A easy n tasty appetizer, meal side or snack.

We recently learned our neighbor raises rabbits for meat. While Davey has eaten rabbit all his life, this was my first try! He seasoned & smoked them. So good! 225 degrees for 2 hrs, then wrap in tinfoil for another hour. Very tender with a great Smokey flavor.

No matter the reason the water source has gone dry, did you know you can still flush the toilet? I call it —> The Emergency Flush. Simply grab a bucket of water from a creek, stream, rain barrel or lidded cat litter bucket holding water. 🤣. Simply pour it into the toilet bowl. Not to hard but with enough pressure it knows it’s coming in. The pressure of the water will force the other water & contents on down. We’ve down this during an ice storm when we lost water and I do it in abandoned houses we work on. I’m amazed so many people do not know this and think no water coming in, no flush. Have you used this method? Yes you can put it in the tank, but that’s extra effort and higher lifting!

~ Curious about the honey 🐝? Each bee only makes 1 twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. Unlike the queen that lives 2 to 4 years, the drones avg 55 days and workers 6 weeks to 6 months depending on when they are born. They can use their front feet, tongue, jaw and antenna to taste with. The tips of the antenna have over 300 taste sensors and still SO tiny. The honey 🐝 is the only insect that produces food eaten by man, and it's a tasty food at that.

~Curious about that yellow bush in bloom?
FORSYTHIA named after the 18th century horticulturist William Forsyth. Forsythia stands for “spring sun & anticipation”. Aka... Golden Bell. Have you tasted one? I wouldn’t, but it is said the petals are non toxic and can be added raw over salads, but do have a bitter taste.
It is also used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat bacterial & viral infections, even been studied in treating cancer. Lastly, if Forsythia is in bloom- time to plant your peas, lettuce, and onion sets. Because the shrub blooms early (late March here) and those veggies can tolerate the cooler temps more so than later summer when it gets really hot.
~ Here I thought it was just the yellow bush that has been growing crazy on the creek bank for 25 plus years. It can even grow to 10 foot tall! There’s a whole world of Forsythia out there.