Hey friends! Welcome back to another proper edition of Field Notes! If you recall last week I had a conflict with the Coffee and Pie Chat release date so we did a shorter version of the field notes. It’s not a bad conflict to have overall. I’ve been very busy here on the farmstead, even while waiting for news of the TV show. Anna Lee and I are settling into a nice routine here where I work, she keeps house, and then we work on projects together in the mornings and evenings.

Speaking of projects, I have a long list of things that I’d like to do and some projects that we’ve actually finished! This month is all about gearing up for a big yard sale. I’ve been stockpiling things for said yard sale and now it’s time to go through them all, sort, and price. We’ll have the sale here on the farmstead Labor Day weekend. Then I should have room to convert the garage space back into a big workspace for me and Chicken Librarian, and maybe even film some TV segments there too!

Other projects that I have planned over the course of the next few months-chickens! Yes! I am adding chickens back to the farmstead. My brother has been busy helping me figure out where to house them and what supplies we already have here on hand. We actually have a lot here on the farmstead that we can repurpose, so I am thankful and excited for that. The way things look right now is that we will build out the chicken facility and then we will build out some raised garden beds around the perimeter. I also want to add a little self-serve farmstand nearby to the chickens so people can stop by and grab some eggs, sourdough starter, flower bundles, etc.

I really want to focus on heritage breed birds for the farmstead. I’ve always had them and don’t see any reason to stray from that now. I’m thinking of incubating the eggs. I am on the lookout for said eggs. I’d like to start them in October so they’ll hit the chicken coop right around January/February. It’s a little early for them to be in the coop and be so little but it does warm up here earlier than up north. I’ll think about that timeline and then decide. It might take me that long to decide what breeds I want. I will definitely be adding a rooster to the flock. I even talked to my closest neighbors about it since the chickens will be located on their side of the property. They were totally fine with it, but I’ll give them some eggs just to make sure they aren’t thrown off by the roosters early morning antics.

I’m also gearing up for a lot more making from scratch here on the farmstead. I’ve been so busy with life that I just haven’t had a chance to sit down and plan it out. But now I have and you should see a lot more from me. I bought some mushroom plugs so I can inoculate some logs soon. I also passed by a store called Everything Mushrooms the other day (after I’d already ordered the plugs). I will need to stop in there for more plugs as I move forward with my mushroom project. I had an Amazon gift card and purchased the plugs via there on a whim. I have made a lot of food lately too. I defrosted the big freezer and am working on a video for you all on my latest grocery store haul. But back to the food. I’ve made, and shared, my Farmstead Granola recipe. I’ve made pickled red onions, my Farmstead Provisions No Bake Energy Bites (if you are a newsletter subscriber you will receive that recipe today). I also updated my Mac & Cheese recipe with the latest version of how I make my own here on the farmstead. Whew. I know there’s more but I can’t think of what else. Like I said, I’ve been busy making up for lost time.

I have other exciting news to share with you: I am blogging for a local event company and I am so excited to now call myself a freelance blogger! I’ll give you details just as soon as everything comes together. Our first foray involves me visiting some local coffee shops. That shouldn’t be a big surprise to any of you who know me! LOL.

I also want to move some flowers around this fall. Like I said above, my main priority is to get the yard sale done and then I can focus on these other, smaller tasks. I want to move the coneflowers to in front of the big garage, along with the zinnias. I picture this cute flower garden with a white picket fence around it. I can have cut flowers all the time. But that is also the area where people run through the ditch and through my yard, so i’m not sure this is a well thought out plan at this point.

I am going to start some more herbs though. Somehow I don’t have any basil. The other herbs that I planted are doing fairly well. I lost a couple but that’s not bad considering I brought home about 40 plants!

My latest update from the TV show is that edits are done and now we’re just waiting to see if the TV show gets the final green light. I sure hope so. I have big plans for that show. I’m moving forward with planning and all things Life on the Farmstead until I hear otherwise. I don’t want to lose any momentum if they do give it the green light.

Did you see the latest pie from the pie along? It is so good and so, so easy to make! I had some with my brother and the nephews after I finished taking photos last week. I was a little worried about it not being as good as it looked. I use a very natural peanut butter and it has a lot more oil in it. When I was mixing it with the cream cheese and powdered sugar it never mixed really well. I thought at the least it might be a little gritty, but it wasn’t. My only complaint, if you can call it that, is that the crust was too thick and hard to cut. I would scale those graham crackers back and make it again using way less than the 14 whole crackers it calls for!

I think I am going to treat myself to a weekend to Chattanooga to attend the Bluegrass Music Association Awards. Steve Martin is co-hosting and I can’t imagine anything more Southern Appalachian than that. As you may, or may not know I grew up in Chattanooga, at least for high school and a couple of years after. I’ve been walking down memory lane with someone I knew in high school. I've been trying to figure out what is still there (like my favorite old haunt, the Pickle Barrel) and what’s gone. I am making my list of places to visit and get some thrifting done.

Oh! How could I forget to tell you—I’ve started working out again. This past year was hard and I dropped the ball on working out. But I knew I’d get back to it eventually. I feel better when I work out, I look better, and I know it’s something that I really enjoy. I think to live the life that I do and not work out is a mistake. But fitting it in by going to a gym that takes up at least 1.5 hours of my day has been an impossible task. So. I set up a gym in my garage. I might have mentioned this before but the nephews had a weight bench and accouterments in their barn and I asked if I could borrow it (months ago), with the intention of working out in my garage. I am happy to report that I have finally started putting that gym to use. I cleaned up the garage on Monday and then got right to it. It won’t take long to make this a routine for me. I’ve missed it. A lot.

I mentioned last week that I was a brand ambassador for the Statemint West Knoxville sale. It went really well and I got some really great finds! You can see my full try on video here.

And one final thought. I am volunteering with Knox Heritage for two of their events. One is next weekend-Bubbly at the Bijou. I am really excited. I will bring you more details once I have them. For now, if you are interested in more info, head to their website!

I think we’ll end here for this week friends. I’m sure I’ve forgotten something or other. I’m trying to get better about making notes throughout the week so I don’t forget. But such is life. We’re moving forward fast over here. And I’m really excited and looking forward to sharing this journey with you all.

what have you been up to lately? Is there anything in particular you’d like to learn about or know about here on the farmstead?

‘til next time
-k
xoxo

Featured