Sustained

It's been a little over a month since our home and homestead were wracked by a marauding black bear. I’ll be the first to admit, it’s been hard getting past the PTSD. And that’s not to villainize the bear. Bears gotta bear. Here’s a little update on how we got through it, how we improved our setup, and how we’re slowly rebuilding what was lost. Another Close Call I'll preface with this: barely a week after the first bear incident, I ran into a completely different bear. Smaller, but no less shocking. This one didn’t do any damage...unless you count the years shaved off my life...because I ran face to face with him. In my backyard. In broad daylight. Thank goodness for my dog. She had my back and ran that intruder halfway up a poplar. Not on her watch. Heck no. First Priority: Protect the Rabbits The first thing I did, after spending a couple hundred bucks I didn’t really have, was install a welded wire barrier on the woods side of my rabbit hoop hutch. The cages on that side ha...

I have something of a reputation for being a chaos gardener . I think it stems from how wild my garden looks. No tidy rows, no pristine mulch paths, and definitely no golf course vibes. But despite appearances, my garden tends to outperform in a lot of ways. And I’ve come to realize: weeds aren’t the enemy. I grow mostly in raised beds, which helps with soil health and drainage, but yes, I still have weeds. My approach? I intuitively clear enough space so my young plants aren’t choked out, but after that, the rest of the “mess” stays. It may look unintentional, but it serves a lot of purposes. Weeds act as natural trap crops for bugs and small animals. That doesn’t mean I don’t suffer some pest damage...I do! But it seems to be less intense when those critters have other food options nearby. Weeds also keep your soil aerated and vibrant. Many send deep taproots that pull nutrients up to the surface, where your intentional plants can actually use them. Some even form symbiotic relation...

Last year, I had an incredible bush bean harvest. We canned about 48 pints, froze several quarts, and ate green beans with dinner until we nearly got tired of them. (Nearly. It’s hard to get sick of young, crisp green beans fresh from the garden.) Even more impressive? All of this came from just two 3×6 raised beds. Here’s how I did it—and how you can, too. 1. Build Your Soil First I spent the winter prepping my beds with the help of my rabbits. Rich, balanced soil is the foundation of every successful garden, and this made all the difference. Read about that, here . 2. Companion Plant with Chamomile I swear by companion planting. It helps with pest control, attracts pollinators, improves nutrient uptake,and sometimes even enhances flavor. Beans play well with many plants because of their nitrogen-fixing ability, but in my climate, chamomile is the clear winner. It thrives alongside beans, and as a bonus, you can harvest and dry the dainty, daisy-like blooms for comforting wint...

Today held its own in my recent streak of crises here at Rabbit Tree Farm. It’s been one thing after another lately: Hailstorms right after transplanting seedlings Two back-to-back bear attacks that wiped out my chicken flock (read about them here) Two traumatic rabbit births with the loss of an entire litter Stressed rabbits needing intensive GI care A coop and pen in disrepair 2 additional bear encounters And now—this morning—I accidentally sent one of my 10-day-old ducklings into a hypothermic crash . Learning Muscovy Ducklings the Hard Way I've had Muscovy ducks for over a year now, but my original trio came to me as adults. Last summer, we raised ducklings, but the mamas did all the work. This spring, I bought a batch of 2-day-old ducklings—affectionately called the Spice Quack (they're all named after spices). Ducks are messy , so I’ve been giving them shallow baths to clean their brooder while I freshen it up. Everything was going fine—until this morni...

Part of living a sustainable life— a big part, actually —is your garden. Almost everyone can grow something . Maybe not everything you want (plants are picky about zones, weather, and timing), but something. You can cheat the seasons with a greenhouse, but let’s be real: they’re not always practical. What is practical, though, is building great dirt. And I mean really good soil —the kind with the right pH to grow food that feeds you back. Let’s Talk About pH (Without Making Your Eyes Glaze Over) Everyone knows about compost and fertilizer, but pH is often overlooked. Think of it as the fine-tuning knob of soil health. If your plants aren’t thriving, pH might be the sneaky culprit. Now, I’m chaos personified—so don’t worry if this all sounds too “science-y.” It took me way too many seasons to figure this out. But once I did, my garden took off. Let me save you the trouble. DIY Garden Soil Recipe (aka The Poop Method) 2024 "Tomato Tree" Here’s what you need to make ric...

It seems we need a follow-up—or three—on the bear attack … now attacks … on the homestead. We thought the horrendous discovery Friday morning was the worst it could get: everything in shambles, five of our 17 birds missing. We were very wrong. Saturday gave us a brief pause. A breath. But then Sunday morning, my husband—who never wakes me—did just that. Before I opened my eyes I said, “More dead?” He replied, “I'm afraid so.” The bear had returned. It killed seven more birds, including our awesome Australorp roo. RIP Larry. It undid all the hard work we had done the day before like it was nothing. We rounded up the five remaining hens—a three-year-old Australorp, a seven-year-old Barred Rock, and three seven-year-old Sapphire Gems. A little worse for wear, but alive. We tucked them into an unused rabbit tractor and moved them daily across the grass, locking them up at night in the carport with the young chicks inside the “Cape Cod House” (a cute little movable coop I found on Amaz...

Rabbit is actually easier to break down than chicken once you know where to cut. That’s because the shoulder isn’t attached by bone, but by tendons and ligaments—just like a deer. (This is what gives these animals their impressive reach and leaping ability!) The only real joints you need to break are the thigh/pelvis, and those snap and roll out pretty easily once you free the muscle around them. You will need: A good sharp filet knife. I like these from Rada because they hold their edge for a decent while, but they're not unaffordable so once I can no longer get a decent edge on it I can just replace them. I am thinking of giving KastKing a try to see how they go. If ya'll try them or have used them, drop me a comment and let me know what you think.  A pair of Poultry Shears. These have served us well for 2 years now. And these scissors also come in handy but I use them more for cleaning than piecing out. A good sterile cutting board is always a plus, I'm still using a w...