Category: providence (Page 20 of 24)

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: New Chick, and More Chicks

March 5, 2011 / David & Susan Sifford / 0 Comments

One of the hens we got last year went broody some time in December, and sat on eggs in our barn for weeks on end, including through the big cold front that went through in February. Well, just recently, I went to put a little food and water next to her as I would do each evening, and from underneath her I heard a “cheep-cheep”! With William, our cat, running around, we knew we had to get her into our mini-chicken tractor (see the middle of that blog post); and so we moved her and the chick in there; and here is a little video of them together in the mini-tractor. (I say in the video we first heard the chick in the mini-tractor; but that was incorrect, as we first heard it in the barn, and then moved the hen and chick into the mini-tractor from there):

We don’t know what breed the little one is, so it’ll be interesting to find that out eventually, Lord willing.

New Araucana Chicks

Also recently, a lady in a nearby town had some new pullet chicks available for purchase (she indicated that for the most part we can know they are females by the fact that they have even-length feathers on their wings; she said it may not be 100%, but has worked well for her in identifying the sex of the chick); and since we were looking for a few more female chicks (using the wing-length method, we think the hatchling is a female), and since this lady’s would be about the same age as our new hatchling, we thought we might pick them up and put them in with the mother hen and the new chick, hoping the mother hen would adopt them. Well, that didn’t work at all — the mother hen actually attacked them pretty violently; and so, since our new hatchling was at least a week and a half old, we decided to pull the mother hen out and put her back with the rest of the flock before adding the new chicks with the hatcling. This seems to have worked pretty well, as the chicks all seem to get along, although the mother hen has spent a lot of time around the mini-tractor trying to get back with her chick.

Here is a picture and a video of the new young flock. The new chicks are Araucana breed, which lay green eggs; and we picked up all 10 of them that she had:

We are grateful to the Lord for granting a dedicated broody hen, and the bringing forth of a new chick; and we pray the broody instinct was passed along to this new chick. We are also thankful to God for allowing the provisions of the other new chicks, and we pray He grant that they become productive resources here.

— David

End of the Garden Tomatoes (Red and Yellow, Green and Bright, They Are Precious in Our Sight)

February 26, 2011 / David & Susan Sifford / 3 Comments

Our 2010 Spring garden was faced with much adversity, in that, it was plagued with grasshoppers and overcome by drought. We had very few tomatoes to harvest over the entire Spring and Summer months. But thank the Lord for His graces and mercies: come Fall, the grasshoppers began to die out, cooler temperatures came, and God sent a couple of good rains. We were thrilled when we started to see flowers start to bloom and eventually grow fruit all over our six, overgrown, previously empty, tomato plants:

As Autumn progressed, we started to put blankets over the tomato plants but could tell they were probably not going to be able to ripen on the vine with the prevalent cooler weather patterns. I was able to harvest three large baskets of unripened tomatoes and put them in our summer kitchen building:

I knew they would rot if I left them as-is in the baskets, so I spread them out wherever I could find room. Here…….

Here……

And more here!

I checked on the tomatoes pretty much daily and grabbed the ripened ones to use in salads, sandwiches and other dishes. Man, there is nothing like the taste of a garden tomato! I had to keep a close eye on them because they can rot when you blink! And if they are touching in any way, it seems the rotting can be contagious. Our pigs ended up eating their share of rotten tomatoes, but at least they didn’t go to waste:

When I had a goodly amount of ripened tomatoes, I went ahead and preserved them by making some tomato-apple chutney. Yum! For anyone who is interested, here is the easy recipe from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving:

Tomato-Apple Chutney (yields about 6 pints, but you will probably yield more if you are generous with the ingredients)

2 1/2 quarts (about 12 large) chopped, peeled, cored tomatoes (I did not peel or core mine)
1 quart (about 5 medium) chopped, cored, peeled apples (I did not peel mine)
3 cups brown sugar
2 cups (about 1 large) chopped cucumber
1 1/2 cups (about 1 1/2 medium) chopped onions
1 1/2 cups (about 2 medium) chopped sweet red peppers
1 cup raisins
1 hot red pepper, finely chopped (I used a jalapeno pepper)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pot. Simmer until thick. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Ladle hot chutney into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. (Be sure to check for any time or weight adjustments based on altitude)

(Recipe variation: For a milder chutney, remove seeds from hot pepper)

(Note: When cutting or seeding hot peppers, wear rubber gloves to prevent hands from being burned)

Here are all the ingredients combined and ready to be simmered:

And here it is after simmering, ready to be poured into clean, hot canning jars.

I have found chutney is really tasty with rice dishes, as a garnish or topping to meat or anything to which you want to add a sweet/sour savory tang or “pizazz.” I am thankful to have found these chutney recipes to assist in preserving many of our garden veggies and orchard fruits:

There came a point in the Winter where the rotting was increasing and the ripening was taking a long time, so I decided to attempt lactic fermentation with the remaining green tomatoes:

I combined the green tomatoes, chopped onion, chopped garlic and chopped green peppers (I think those are all the ingredients I used). You can put most any combination of garden veggies together for lactic fermentation:

I put it raw in canning pint jars, along with two teaspoons of canning salt in alternating layers, and filled the jars to within one inch head space with water. Then I put the tops on and……..that’s it! Lastly, I placed them down in the root cellar. Over the course of days to weeks, it develops that tangy fermented taste that is sooooooo good for your gut. It actually makes a great salsa, and we also put it on our salads.

We thank God for His perfect timing in providing this late tomato harvest and for His faithful provision:

Susan

Susan’s Musin’s – Journey Out of False Security

August 25, 2010 / David & Susan Sifford / 7 Comments

I’ve always been a “what if” person. Wayyyyy back in elementary school, the sixth graders got to go to a week long science/nature camp. And when I was in the second grade, I cried to my mom, “I’ll be too scared to go and leave you for a whole week; I can’t do it!” My mom, bless her heart, had to calm me down and remind me I was only in the second grade and didn’t have to worry about it right then. Well, when I finally got to the sixth grade, I had a non-conformist teacher; and our class got to camp on the beach for a week and study the California Indians; and my mom was able to go as a chaperon. My “worst fear” never materialized. Later on as a senior in high school, I was asked to be a camp counselor to the sixth grade girls at that same science camp; so I got to go after all and made it just fine 🙂

I share that little story to tell you that I have always been that way, even into my adulthood and marriage, even more so because the “what ifs” seemed bigger when I got out on my own. The ultimate (so far) was when Dave and I decided to leave our corporate jobs and families in California and move here to Texas where there were mostly unknowns. (And Texas was one BIG science camp to me with all kinds of bugs, pests, snakes, tornadoes, etc.) Most everything was being taken out from my control, which, looking back so far, has been the best thing that could have happened to me. If you have read our early blog posts, you will know that God had been teaching us from His word about His sovereignty and lovingly growing our faith to be able to make the decision to trust Him and leave everything that we considered “secure” in order to be obedient to how He calls us to live in separation from the world as His children. (2 Cor. 6:14-18; Isaiah 52:11-12; Rev. 18)

As I have learned more about type and shadow in the Bible, I see that physical Israel in the Old Testament is the type of spiritual Israel today. I am very encouraged whenever I think of the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years and all of the miracles God performed (ie: daily manna from heaven (Exodus 16), water from rocks (Exodus 17:1-6), their clothing and shoes never wore out (Deut. 8:1-4), etc.) We’re talking hundreds of thousands of men, women and children with all of their livestock; and God provided for their needs in the desert where there was nothing but His direct provision to sustain them. He provided shade by day and a pillar of light at night (Exodus 13:21,22). God had given them faith enough to step out and leave Egypt in obedience to His command, and He took care of the rest. However, it was because of taking their eyes off of God and His direct protection and provision that they were made to wander in the desert those 40 years before being allowed to enter Canaan (a type of heaven). And only the very few of the original Israelites that had truly and consistently trusted God were permitted to enter Canaan (Numbers 14:30; 32:12). The rest perished in their sin in the desert. The Israelites complained and longed to go back to Egypt because they had grown used to looking to Egypt to supply their needs (Exodus 16:3). Even though they were in bondage to Egypt they looked to it for security and material things instead of looking to God. I believe this is the situation most professing Christians are in today when they look to the world’s systems for sustenance (food, water, protection, care, etc.), but the Bible states this is not what God has commanded for His children to do.

Over the last five years of living here, I have been very tempted to look back to Egypt for my security, but God has taught me in His long-suffering and proven time and time again that He is the one who is in control regardless of the circumstance. As most of you know, we live off grid here and are increasingly learning to look to God for His direct, and I mean direct, provisions. God provides the rain for our water, our food from the ground, and our meat. During bad thunderstorms, tornadoes and in all the seasons, God reminds me in His word that it is He who is in control of the weather patterns and every single strike of lightning (Texas T-storms put the fear of God in me every time). I have also learned that every heart beat is a gift from God and all my days are in His hand and have been foreordained (Psalms 139:16). He also promises rebuke, chastisement and persecution to His children (Hebrews 12) to grow them into maturity; and I am to be perfectly content with only food and raiment (1 Tim. 6:8); so, ultimately, my job is to be obedient and trust in God completely, knowing that He knows what is best for me as His child. So whatever comes my way, it is for my good; and I can have peace in that.

I now look back to the “Egypt” from which God has called us to separate as His children, and the “what-ifs” are much scarier to me now if I think of returning to “Egypt” and trusting in man and its systems rather than God.

Our community has been going through the book of Isaiah recently, and I have been soberly struck by the number of verses in Isaiah and Psalms that talk about trusting in Egypt (the world and its systems) vs. God:

Isaiah 30:1-3: “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit that they may add sin to sin: That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth: to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.”

Isaiah 31:1: “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!”

Isaiah 31:3: “Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is helped shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.”

Psalm 20:7-8: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.”

Psalm 118:8-9: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.”

In my firsthand experience of living in the world and depending on its systems for my security, and now living outside the world’s systems in direct dependence upon God for my sustenance, I believe it has become almost impossible in our time to stay in the world and walk hand in hand with it everyday and not be taken into its trust and look to it for security (ie: grocery stores, city water, grid electricity, health care, money, etc.) and thereby not to the God of Israel who is the same yesterday, today and forever. And if I ask myself in which situation God glorifies Himself more, and in which situation my faith is grown more, and where I am drawn closer to God, there is no question. My job is to be obedient to how God has commanded me to live, and He will handle the rest. I pray the Lord continue to turn my face towards Him alone and trust in Him completely.

Susan

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: New Kids “Desi” and “Lucy”

August 10, 2010 / David & Susan Sifford / 4 Comments

Our goat Minnie (see Minnie in the middle of this blog post when she was first born) didn’t get pregnant when she was with our buck Eastwood during the Winter (Eastwood died during that time). And so, we borrowed a buck from our neighbor Chris, a Spanish billy (see him at the top of this blog post); and lo and behold, new kids!

Please meet Desi and Lucy (we named them that because Desi Arnaz was kind of Spanish-ish 🙂 ):

Here they are just shortly after birth:

And here they are today, three weeks later:

We are grateful to the Lord for the increase of the herd.

— David

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: New Calf “Nohemi”

July 28, 2010 / David & Susan Sifford / 3 Comments

Our last cattle update mentioned our new heifer calf Celestina. Well, we recently saw all of the herd together, except for her; and we’ve come to realize that she is probably gone. We don’t know what happened to her, but the Lord in His wisdom and of course since they’re His anyway (Ps 50:10) determined He would have this one removed. But we praise the Lord for His infinite goodness!

And He continues to be gracious and merciful, and has granted us another calf, a heifer to our cow Catalina. We don’t have a story for the name on this one — we just liked the name itself: we decided to call her Nohemi, which in Spanish means “my pleasantness, my delight.”

Here are a couple of pictures:

And here’s her moving picture:

Here is a little something we thought you might like on what is apparently herd culture:

We thank the Lord again for His perfect wisdom in all things, and for granting the provisions of this new heifer calf.

— David

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: New Piglets

July 8, 2010 / David & Susan Sifford / 6 Comments

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve had some piglets born; but the Lord has graciously granted a litter to our gilt Missy. She was one of two that survived her litter, and was the smaller of the two, but was a fighter. She had a fairly large gash on her leg when she was young, but God granted her healing. Also, she got caught in a hail storm some time ago, which we believe was the cause of her ears swelling up like pillows. In researching the condition, there was basically one remedy suggested: lancing the ears.

That was fun. I took a folding disinfected razor blade knife out there with some hydrogen peroxide; and being this was the first time I had ever done something like that, I basically just poked it in. It burst, shooting out blood and fluid, which surprised me probably more than her. Sadly, that didn’t do the trick; so over time I had to go at it again a couple of times; but I modified my technique by poking it in and slicing down. That sure got it bleeding all right. Also, each time, I chased her around until I could pour that hydrogen peroxide on her ear. In the end, that worked much better; and her ears haven’t been swollen since; but they are somewhat deformed now.

Missy also took a long time to get pregnant. I believe we had her with two different boars, and several months with this last one; but after many estrus cycles, which we were able to track, they finally stopped.

Here is Missy (left) with the second boar Wilbur (right), borrowed from the Bunkers:

And here they are again, opposite sides:

And sure enough, almost to the day (which is 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days for gestation), 11 piglets were born, all alive. This is the largest litter we’ve had; and at this point, only two have died:

Here is their introduction video, taken around the time they were born:

And here they are two and a half weeks later:

We thank God again for His gracious granting of these piglets, a healthy delivery for their mother, and for granting her a good motherly instinct.

— David

Providence’s Perennial Provisions: Agarita Berries

June 29, 2010 / David & Susan Sifford / 8 Comments

In trying to live off of the land, we have learned to consider ways that God via the land already provides. There are quite a few native edibles out here, one being Agarita berries. They are small, red berries that ripen around this time, and can be fairly sweet if gathered at the right time. Even a bit tart, they’re not too bad.

And so, we decided this year to pick a few, to take advantage of the gift off of the land the Lord has granted.

This is a picture of a some Agarita berry plants with fairly ripe berries:

And here is Sue gathering the berries. The Agarita plant leaves have very sharp points, and will stick you and stick in you; and so, she is wearing gloves:

When we picked the berries, we tried different methods, including using a fork to pluck them off, but decided to try to just grab as many berries as we could, which seemed to be the quickest way. However, when it came time to clean them, Sue had to go through the lot of them pulling out those prickly leaves; and in the end, it might have taken just as long to pick and clean them as it would have to just pluck them cleanly in the first place. Thanks to Sue for her patience in somewhat painfully going through all of those. Gary marveled at her patience too 🙂 :

And here are the results!

Since it’s only Sue and I here on our homestead, we have to make a lot of priority decisions as to what we spend our time doing. Because of how long it takes to collect them, we didn’t spend much more time doing that, although I went out one other time to try the fork-plucking method. And, to save time in the processing, and to continue to practice not relying on the world’s fuels, we put them in our solar food dehydrator to dry them:

If you’re interested, here is a link to some details about the Agarita berry plant (it may take a moment to open as it is the archive page). And here is the Wikipedia entry for Agarita berries.

We are grateful to God for His provisioning of these perennial berries here growing natively off of the land.

— David

Category: providence (Page 20 of 24)

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: New Chick, and More Chicks

End of the Garden Tomatoes (Red and Yellow, Green and Bright, They Are Precious in Our Sight)

Susan’s Musin’s – Journey Out of False Security

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: New Kids “Desi” and “Lucy”

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: New Calf “Nohemi”

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: New Piglets

Providence’s Perennial Provisions: Agarita Berries

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