Yes. We. CAN! (Lauren)

Howdy, everybody (or possibly those three people who occasionally check this blog to see if we've posted anything new).

It's been a long while since I've written to you guys and I'm sorry. I was gone all summer for an internship in Pennsylvania! It was fun and I learned so much! But I also didn't have Internet where I was staying. If there is interest in what I was doing over the summer, just make a comment or two and I'll maybe make a post about it! (**Spoiler alert: it has to do with bio-fuel crops and science**)

But that is not what I came here to write to you about...

New Term For a New Calling (Austin)

As Lauren and I have been endeavoring to homestead and look into shaping our vision, we've done a lot of adapting and growing of what we want to build. But lately it's become much more than just being sustainable in our own right. The best way I can think to say it is that God is not leading us to build a mere homestead; rather, He is revealing to us a vision of what I call a farmstead.

Farmstead Vision: Mob Stocking? (Austin)

This video is a gem to me. It didn't take very long into researching sustainable livestock management to run into the concept of Holistic Mob Stocking. I understood basic concepts of it and was aware of some benefits as well as some of the most noted names in the field, but I didn't have much understanding of what the finer points were to this system. Well yesterday I found it, and to boot it's by one of the most successful Mob Stocking employers in the country and in the world.
His name is Greg Judy and his primary operation is beef cattle in Columbia, Missouri. If you're at all interested in livestock management, environmental restoration, quality food, or sustainable agriculture then I strongly recommend you spend the 75 minutes to watch this video. This stuff is amazing.

New Internet! (Austin)

I'm back! Finally moved back into town a week.5 ago and am finally getting settled in with enough time to start updating y'all on my experiences on the orchard this last month of June. Lauren continues to miss out on the fun while on internship in Pennsylvania for the summer, so it'll just me be for the next month or so until she can get back. But there's plenty to tell about so I'm gonna get started on it with some back-dated videos I took at the farm that will mostly end up on the Facebook page. There's about six of 'em total, most are less than a minute so check Facebook to find them. Don't worry, I'll have a few that you can easily find here too :) Starting with this one! Just a little knowledge and a trivia for your afternoon. Y'all have a great weekend!

Guest Post for the Sustainable Couple

Last week I was featured as a guest blogger for The Sustainable couple, a couple that also lives in Iowa and has a much more impressive blog and following. They are interested specifically in our rabbiting endeavors as it is a unique topic to their readership, so here is the post I shared with them. You can read it by following this link. Hopefully if enough people show interest in the subject (wink wink, nudge nudge) they'll continue wanting to hear from us and we can share our passion for stewarding Creation with more than just our personal friends and family :)

http://www.thesustainablecouple.com/2014/05/video-exploration-of-urban-meat-rabbit.html

I Finally Got It Right! (Austin)

Remember how the rabbit tractor was long, cumbersome, and incomplete? Well I decided to follow a hunch and am very glad with how it turned out. Here is a video update for you on the rabbits, the kits, and the new facility that I've been building the last two days. Between the fact that I actually measured and marked my cuts, drilled lead holes before placing my screws, and used uniform lumber I think the difference shows and I am extremely proud of how it turned out. It is lighter, it looks better (not a necessity, but it is a nice change of pace), and I like the box setup more than what I built for Fabio and Appa. I put the box on the side of the tractor but kept it raised off the ground to avoid too much condensation and frost. Without double-tapping a dead horse, here is the video so you can see it for yourself. As I said, I am very please and proud of how it turned out :)

Couscous, Peppers, Chicken, and Gravy? OH MY! (Lauren)

Look! I'm writing posts about food! Soooo, anyone who likes food (which should be everyone) should read this post. It might note be everyone's cup of tea but, it's an easy recipe to modify and make into a delicious dish of your own!