Brashers Homestead

How many people would join a live session if I started one? Just curious and seeing what everyone would be interested in.

Made a trip to Cackle Hatchery in Lebanon, Missouri and came home with a few new additions to Brashers Homestead.

🦃 Turkeys
🦆 Ducks
🐔 A couple of free chickens

The chickens weren’t exactly part of the plan, but they’ll help show the turkeys where the food and water are. From what we’ve learned, turkeys can be a little… challenged when it comes to figuring things out on their own. 😂

The older chicks are doing great and have graduated from the brooder to exploring the grass and hunting bugs. Watching them grow from tiny fluff balls into independent little birds never gets old.

Between the expanding flock, the growing garden, and the never-ending list of projects, there’s always something happening around here. Every season brings new lessons, a few surprises, and plenty of stories.

Welcome to the homestead, little ones. Let’s see what kind of trouble you can find. 🦃🦆🐔

🐣🌱🦃🦆🐔

The boys and I went berry picking and the animals decided to tag along. ☺️

🌱 Garden Update from the Ozarks 🌱

The garden is finally starting to look like a garden instead of a science experiment. 😂

🍓 Strawberries are producing and the new hanging basket additions are settling in.

🥔 Potatoes in the straw bales are growing like crazy.

🍅 Tomatoes are loaded with green tomatoes and getting taller every week.

🫑 Peppers are hanging in there and starting to put on growth.

🧅 Onions and herbs are doing their thing quietly in the background.

🫛 Beans and peas are climbing and filling out their corner of the garden.

Still battling weeds, still learning, and still finding things I’d do differently next year, but that’s part of the journey. Every season teaches something new.

It’s far from perfect, but it’s producing food, teaching lessons, and bringing our family one step closer to the life we’re building out here.

What’s growing best in your garden this year? 🌱👇

Caught! Dang thing ate my duck and a couple chickens now. Hate to put it down but I won’t pass the problem on.

Edit: relocation is not an option here due to local wildlife code. Since it has killed livestock I am within right as a property owner. I would let him go but he is a proven killer and racc***s are relentless. They kill just because they can. It will kill every bird I have and only partially eat it. That’s just how they are. I don’t enjoy harming any animal but I won’t let my birds be killed at night.

Homestead life isn’t always the exciting stuff. 😂

Today’s project was figuring out why the camper AC wasn’t keeping up. Ended up pulling the cover and housing apart and found the evaporator fins absolutely packed with dirt and buildup. The condensation pan was clogged too, causing water to build up inside.

Clean fins and proper airflow/drainage make a huge difference. One more thing learned out here living this way.

Every day is either fixing something, building something, or learning something. Sometimes all three.

Not glamorous work… but this kind of progress feels good. One project at a time out here. 🚜. What’s one of your favorite projects you’ve done?