Let’s talk about Soap / Fresh Farm Products

Lets talk about soap for a moment.  I’ve been making lye soap for about 10 years now and I still love it and continue to be in awe of it’s powerful purity and many uses.  It’s so nice to be in my bathroom where no bottled chemicals or detergents cover the shower floor.  There is only a bar of soap that does it all.   

 

 

Laundry has become more simple too.  The large laundry bar I call Simply Soap does such a good job in the washer.  I grate it and blend it with Borax and Washing Soda.  My clothes get clean and smell so good as I hang them on the line to dry.  I make a rinse to add to the laundry:  In a gallon bottle place 2 cups white vinegar fill the bottle half full with water before adding 1 cup baking soda.  Add the soda in small amounts as the vinegar will fizz.  Then tap off the bottle with water and add your favorite essential oil. 

One other thing I have learned is to use baking soda for all my general cleaning.  It is so good on sinks, toilets and showers.  I keep a container of soda in the shower to scrub the shower doors.  It is so easy and the hard water build up comes right off.  I had my own cleaning business years ago and used chemical cleaners.  I got so toxic that I had to find something natural or die.  Baking soda, vinegar and a little grated soap are now my first choices for cleaning.

 

Carolyn,

Love to hear from you.

Hay Season Started Early / Reid Ranch/ Small Kansas Farm

 

Hay season started early.  The weather was so much warmer then normal so we started cutting hay in early May.  Usually it’s middle of June.  The rains also were not normal as we usually get a lot of rain in April and May, not so this year.  So we started cutting our own hay and were thankful to get a second cutting off of one of our fields.  Our old equipment made it thought another season.  Brian did hay for our neighbors and they helped us put the hay in the barn.  It’s great to know and love your neighbors .  Here in the country, people try to help each other.  What a beautiful life!

 

 

Yesterday I got a lesson on how to shoot a 22 Rifle.  What fun I had!  I wanted to be confident in the use of a Rifle.  Now, I  feel sure of my abilities.   I needed to know how to load and cock a Rifle and then aim and shoot.  I believe all of us need to have that kind of knowledge especially those of us on a farm.   The farm life demands that we know how to use this tool.  A Rifle in my mind is a tool, just as important as a shovel or farm tractor and must be appreciated.

107 Degrees here in Kanas/ Reid Ranch Farm / Small Farm

107 degrees here in Kansas today. It has been in the hundreds most of the month of July and hot in June too. What’s to complain about? We can find so many reasons to be depressed and complain.” It’s, Oh so hot! “ It’s been so hot the gardens are dying.” I’ve mulched and watered and tended to the tomatoes and the tomatoes are drying up on the vine.” Squash bugs are devouring everything.” Where is the rain?” “ The cows have little to eat.” The complaining can go on and on. I right now, have made a decision with my self to not speak a word unless I can be positive and encouraging about the situation here in Kansas. Things will then look better even if not in the natural. Prayers get answered when offered with a positive, joyful spirit.

Me and My Apples

The fruit love the hot weather

Thank you for looking.
www.carolynsnaturalsoap.com

4 Nubian Goats/ Reid Ranch Farm / Small Kansas Farm

We have 4 Nubian goats. They all had their kids within 2 weeks of each other. Ten darling kids: 4 does and 6 bucks. Feeding them all with bottles was a challenge. Now that they are 2 months old we have sold 8. The last two are so beautiful and will make good additions to our small herd. Goat milk is such a blessing to the Reid Ranch.

Thank you for looking

www.carolynsnaturalsoap.com

FARMING IS NOT FOR A COUCH POTATO / Reid Ranch Farm/Small Hay Farm

Brian is such a great man. This heat has been very hard on him but he keeps going. A few weeks ago he wanted to get another cutting from one of our fields as hay will be expensive later, and we need as much as possible to get through the winter. The day he went out to work was the another 107 or 110 degrees. He started to cut and he got a flat tire on the Ford tractor. He walked to the house and the other tractor would not start. Dead Battery. Once the battery was charged he put the sickle mower on the tractor and started to cut the field. Once the field was cut he put the rake behind the tractor and started to rake and after 2 rounds the main shaft on the rake just broke off. He brought the broken rake up to the house and in this heat, he took the parts off the rake and put them onto the rake we keep for parts. With determination and a smile on his wet face he drove off to finish the job. One more thing, the tongue on the rake he was beginning to use in the field broke off. Another trip to the house to remove the tongue on the other rake and attach to the rake and finally the grasses got cut, raked and then baled. I told this complicated story for those of you who do not work or live on a farm. To be successful in farming you must be confident in your self and never give up. The farming life is not for the couch potato.

Dave Berggren & Brian Reid.

Lawrence Farmers Market / What to do, What not to do / Reid Ranch Products

Lawrence Farmers Market

Hello to all, Mom and I have decided to include me, Julie Justus and Heather Reid, my brother Brian Jrs. beautiful wife as this blogs writers. Mom, aka Carolyn, has not had the time to keep everyone informed by blogging continuously, so we thought we could help some by writing our farm adventures. Mom will still write and share and I look forward to when she does.

My first story will be about the Lawrence Farmers Market. Heather and I will be working at the market, hopefully every saturday this season to help promote the Reid Ranch and Carolyn's Natural Soap.

Sat May 5th 2012 was our very first and we learned so much. The day began with no sleep, we both were to nervous to get any sleep and we planned on getting there at 5:30 in the morning. We spent most of the night getting everything ready to go. We made sure we had a table, canopy for shade, table cloths, chairs, tape, scissors, sign cards with extra paper and markers, chalk board sign, and all the products we were selling. Heather sent most of the week making very tasty jelly from plums using her grandmother recipe. This was the hit of our stand. With many other fruit trees at the farm, I am sure we will have many other verities in the future. She also spent the week making yummy organic muffins, granola bars, granola in bags, and dog treats. I spent the evening picking organic Purple Plum Radishes and gathering Carolyn's Natural Soap products.

Saturday morning we met at the farm and headed to Lawrence. Still dark we arrive and find our spot. To our surprise our spot is smaller than we thought. It is set up at an angle and there is hardly enough room for our truck. We set up our canopy and realized it was way to big for the spot. Luckily the spot next to us was vacant so they let us get by this time. With everything set up, we were ready for the day.

Lawrence Farmers Market is more than I expected. Many wonderful vendors with awesome products. If I had my way, I would spend all I made. Many people came to enjoy farm products and the great morning weather. Can't wait to return and sell Reid Ranch Products.

Chickens On The Run

Our chickens run freely on our farm.  They are not in cages and graze in the fields with the cows and goats.  It’s a beautiful thing to see them eating bugs and getting other things from the cow dung, haha.  While they eat and move along in the fields they have many predators.  We have lost many to foxes and coyotes and Brian and I are always on the watch for those chicken hunters.  Now that we have Walter, our English Shepherd, the Coyotes have been kept at bay but at times still sneak in at nab a chicken.

Last week late in the afternoon I saw a coyote start to move in close to the fence and I knew he or she was going to kill a chicken.  Brian grabbed his rifle and quietly crept out to hide behind the pile brush and what happen next was a story to tell.  Brian had an army of chickens lined up behind him.  As he crawled across the mowed grass to hid  next to the cow trailer this army of chickens followed behind.  I laughed so hard, it was so cute to see these girls(Hens) and couple boys(Roosters) waiting for the MAN to kill their enemy.  There must have been 30 or 40 chickens following him and as soon as he lifted his rifle they ran to hid somewhere.  BOOM !  Down went the coyote and Brian stood up to see for sure if he got him.  As Brian came back to the house all the chickens ran to meet him and he was surrounded with their joyful relief .

Carolyn

 

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