Last week I went shopping for some new Belgian hare breeding does. I couldn’t find any private sellers who had mature does available, so I went to the ‘konijnenmarkt’ in Mol, which is a small town on the Belgian/Dutch border. The market is over 100 years old and sells all sorts of small livestock; rabbits,…
Nature – All The Creator’s Craft…
Originally posted on Dimma's Ink:
Take a decent look at the nature surrounding me Look how perfect it is… With intent, look keenly at the scenery it creates… Tell me, what do you see? Tell you what I see? I shall! It rings in my bowels as a melodious sonnet, The art work of…
Recipe: Mango-coconut pie using duck eggs
I finally found some coconut flour for sale in my area and I immediately wanted to use it in something delicious. I stumbled on this recipe in one of my mom’s old cook books and I adapted it to work with coconut flour, not wheat flour. I also used duck eggs instead of chicken eggs….
Varroa treatment for honeybees with oxalic acid
In my previous post I mentioned one of the methods I use to get rid of varroa mites; sugar syrup with oxalic acid. I combine two kinds of treatment, both are appropriate at different times of the year. I currently don’t use any other chemical (synthetic or natural) than oxalic acid. Oxalic acid occurs in…
Carniolan queens
Last week, the weather was so nice I decided to do a hive check. I combined the hive check with the first varroa-treatment for 2019. My treatment plan to keep my hives low in varroa numbers has been taught to me by my teacher, Corneel Dewindt, who has been a beekeeper for several decades and…
Stormy weather and baby animals
The weather is still quite stormy, has been for about two weeks, and it’s keeping me from doing much outside. Despite this, granny duck, has decided to try to start a nest again. I am collecting duck eggs for her to sit on but keeping her nest clean and free from chicken eggs is proving…
Project cleanup: I got free beehives!
When it’s time to purchase new beehives for the coming year, have you ever found your mind drifting towards discovering a beehive-tree that gives you everything for free? Maybe you’d plant your crown board tree, your broodbox tree, a couple of frame bushes and plant your wax foundation tubers… Equipment is expensive! And if your…
Spring update
I knew that the gorgeous February weather would mean we’d get punished in March or April. And I was right. The winds are so strong here that it’s not possible to really do anything outside. We have greenhouses where we can work if it rains or snows, but with strong winds they feel like rattling…
Simple Tiramisu
Tiramisu is such an easy and delicious dessert. It’s easy to make in a container that’s convenient to take with you to wherever you want to eat it. So it’s great for potlucks, picknicks, anywhere you’re required to bring food to share. This recipe is a more casual version of the white chocolate tiramisu I…
Species we’d love to have living near us
To me, homesteading isn’t primarily about farming. Homesteading is about making use out of the many resources your environment offers. So, grow your vegetables, chop firewood and raise chickens. You are human and you know you feel better in a natural environment. Helping life go on, regenerating the soil, and stewarding the spot where God…
Rendering down moldy frames in spring
Spring seems to have arrived early all of a sudden. It’s mid-February and we’ve gone from normal grey, rainy weather directly onto bright, 11-16°C beautiful spring weather. I am carefully sowing frost resistant crops and getting soils ready for planting. I’ve also done the first hive-check of 2019. Normally in my area, we don’t open…
Removing dying trees
Or property is lined with Japanese cypress trees (Chamaecyparis obtusa). These were planted in 1967 by the previous owners. In the past few years, more and more of these trees have started dying, getting sick and we’ve slowly removed them to make room for other trees. The summer of 2018 was very, very dry and…
The problem with modern versions of heritage breeds
When I began focusing more on the poultry I kept, one of the first breeds I fell in love with was the Orpington. Gorgeous, big, fluffy chickens who were described to me as excellent layers of large eggs, great mother hens and they come in tons of fun colors! I’ve owned buff Orpingtons, partridge, silver-laced…
Cheesy tomato pie
An ongoing project of mine during summer, is canning tomato sauce. As soon as the plants start to yield ripe fruits, I always have more than our family can eat. Thanks to binging on home-grown tomatoes all summer my taste palate is ruined to the extent I can’t swallow any ‘impostor tomatoes’; store bought bags…
Keeping animals hydrated in winter
Last week, we finally saw our first snow. It seems as if winter has been arriving consistently later and later than it used to. I hope that trend isn’t real or at least reverses soon, because I don’t want the spring season to be any shorter than it already is. I’m looking forward to starting…
Bee-eggs on the bottom drawer
I should start this by mentioning that the type of beehives that are used in western-Europe, always come with a screened bottom board AND a drawer underneath. I follow a bunch of beepeeking groups and blogs, within and beyond my own region. Watching these, I’ve noticed beekeepers in some warmer climates, or in places with…
Plans for small livestock 2019
2018 was a great year for duck nests and raising chickens. The drought took a toll on the terrain, most of the grass hasn’t been able to regrow. I will need to make sure there are less animals to put pressure on the terrain. I have been slowly but surely butchering ducks and chickens since…
Visiting wildlife
One of the great things about having a big backyard or living on a farm-type location are the visitors you get. We live nearby a small, protected nature reserve, so we get a lot of interesting wildlife-visitors. In a densely populated setting, these deer are some of the largest wild animals that will appear. They…
Red beet and pumpkin soup
It’s almost January, but I still have lots of typical fall vegetables to cook into something edible. Pumpkins and red beets can easily be preserved well into winter, all the way on to spring if you’re careful. I have a problem though; red beets aren’t liked here in my family. This soup is great for…
New breeding rabbit!
I’ll confess something right here… I only have one group of livestock that pays for itself, plus earns me money. This money gets eaten quickly by animals I can’t sell or raise as efficiently. These fantastic animals who bring in some money for feed and vet bills are my Belgian hare rabbits. Jup, the skinny…
The Lowland Homestead 