We love living in the country, on our little homestead, living as close to the land as our ancestors did. Sure, we have electricity, running water and most modern conveniences but we still work the land, tend to our livestock and grow most of our own food. Homesteading can be much work, but when it comes to the end of the day and you are bone tired you feel good knowing you have put in a good wholesome days work.
Here is a peek into a day in our lives as homesteaders. We started our day at Morelliville Farms around 445am when our Rooster HeiHei began crowing, not like a rooster, but like a zombie screaming, dying out at the end of each ‘scream’. He came to us as a pullet, so we thought he was a hen until the horrific screams began to drown out the crow of our other Rooster, Chester. So anyway, we know when the chickens are hungry because HeiHei and Chester begin the alarm early in the morning to ensure the girls do not starve. By the way they also free range on 10+ acres of farmland, but we accommodate their breakfast schedule. Theodore, our 3 foot tall turkey is spoiled and gets his own breakfast from Nikki, whose dream is to take him to Starbuck for a pup cup one day.
Once the animals were all fed and watered, we gave the goats and cows a little love because we want them to get as used to being touched and handled as possible so visitors to the farm don’t spook them.
This is Sir Lance A Lot our Highland Coo, he was born Easter weekend 2025
That’s when we noticed that Daisy, our pregnant goat had given birth to her kid. The baby was out and looked fine and he was the cutest little fourth of July baby ever!
Once we figured out he was a boy, we named him Patriot, it’s such a fitting name for a little guy born on Independence Day.
That’s nosey Mabel checking out the situation in the goat pen. She’s our Cornish Cross who managed to escape the butcher last Fall. At that time, she was approximately 6-7 pounds.
By the time we found out she was hiding to escape certain death, we decided to let her live out her life on the farm as a type of mascot. Little did we know that she would live eternally.
We let her free-range and try to keep her away from the chicken food. We watch her for any quality-of-life issues but as of now she’s still living the good life.
We know that she won’t live much longer, and we have grown attached to her after her tricky maneuvers to get out of butcher day, but we are prepared to let her go when she no longer seems happy, mobile or she becomes ill. That’s just part of being a farmer.
After shooing Mable away from the newest addition to Morelliville Farms. Daisy reluctantly let us take the baby to a well-baby check.
Then we bumped mama to make sure there wasn’t another baby, assessed her and got her cleaned up. Gave her some backstrap molasses water.
Then finally it was time for our breakfast and mushroom coffee!
After breakfast us girls took off to start painting the chicken coop and the fellows and kids went to give the goat house a good cleaning out.
Once the ladies were done making the chicken coop beautiful, the guys and kids were finishing up their farm chores in the goat pen just in time for the ladies to make sure little Patriot was latching on to mama and getting that important colostrum he needed to stay healthy.
This is where our experience as moms and nurses came in handy as we stepped in as lactation coaches for Daisy and little Patriot, who wasn’t wanting to nurse.
We milked Daisy to give her some relief from engorgement, which she was very appreciative of. Then we fed little Patriot his mama’s colostrum. It was very important that he got the colostrum within four hours, and a lot of benefits of the colostrum is lost to the baby after 24 hours.
We did try really hard to get Patriot to take to his mama naturally, but the colostrum is so important, it was necessary to get it into him.
Then, because it was the fourth of July, we had plans with family, and they began showing up. They were super excited to meet the newest member of the family.
And then, because we are a farm family, they began chipping in with the farm work that still had to be done.
And we paid them for their help in home made all natural farm products. Avery’s favorite, the lotion bar!
A walk through the crops to find dinner, remove weeds, and anything else unwanted. Seedlings started to replace some we lost due to cold weather in May.
I waved at Jeff while he finished shoring up the livestock fencing. That man never stops working.
I took some time to stop and enjoy the butterflies that were taking advantage of some summer flowers.
Checked on the bee hives and was happy to see them bringing pollen back to the hives.
Trimmed old stocks out of the berry patches.
A couple loads of laundry made it to the line to dry in the bright sunshine, that was my husband.
And a batch of strawberry jam was made by one of the grandkids.
Then for dinner we tried some of the new infusions that we will be releasing soon at Morelliville Farms. I love infusions! They have been passed down for generations.
We were so excited about these oils and vinegars! Not only because of the health benefits but because they tasted so delicious and have so many fun uses!
These are all natural, heart healthy extra virgin olive oil from my husband’s Italian heritage.
The first time I tasted real Italian Olive Oil I didn’t even believe it was Oil! I have 2 Olive trees but I cannot recreate this oil here. It ships fresh from an organic farm in Italy.
Olive oil is the natural oil extracted from olives, the fruit of the olive tree.
About 13.8% of the oil is saturated fat, whereas 10.5% is polyunsaturated, such as omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.
Olive oil’s predominant fatty acid is oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that makes up 71% of the total oil content.
Oleic acid reduces inflammation and oxidative stress and even has beneficial effects on genes linked to cancer.
Monounsaturated fats are also quite resistant to high heat, making extra virgin olive oil a healthy choice for cooking.
Extra virgin olive oil contains modest vitamins.
For example, 1 tablespoon (tbsp) contains 13% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin E and 7% of the DV for vitamin K.
Olive oil is also loaded with powerful antioxidants that are biologically active. These reduce your risk of chronic diseases that affect your cardiovascular and central nervous system.
Antioxidants also fight inflammation and help protect blood cholesterol from oxidation — two benefits that may lower your risk of heart disease.
Chronic inflammation is thought to be a leading driver of diseases, such as:
cancer
heart disease
metabolic syndrome
type 2 diabetes
Alzheimer’s disease
arthritis
obesity
Extra-virgin olive oil helps reduce inflammation, which may be one of the main reasons for its health benefits.
Olive oil is not associated with weight gain and obesity!
These are just a few benefits of these delicious products and why we decided to go with Italian Olive Oil for our infusions!
The Truffle Olive Oil is my favorite and can be used in salads, risotto, roasted potatoes, or pasta, really its delicious just with bread! Use your imagination!
The Strawberry Rhubarb Pulp Vinegar is everyone else’s favorite and can be used over salads as a dressing; it can be mixed in Prosecco as a cocktail or even served over yogurt or ice cream. We have literally turned vinegar into a dessert!
The Strawberry Rhubarb Pulp Vinegar is everyone else’s favorite and can be used over salads as a dressing; it can be mixed in Prosecco as a cocktail or even served over yogurt or ice cream. We have literally turned vinegar into a dessert!
Cooking with vinegar has been shown to have health benefits. Because of its acid content, vinegar can brighten the flavor of many foods, so it can serve as a substitute for salt (vinegar is sodium-free). Vinegar has zero calories except for balsamic, which has about 5 to 27 calories per tablespoon.
Studies in lab animals hinted at potentially greater benefits, here’s what we know about some of the more common health effects attributed to vinegar.
Weight loss and detoxing: Vinegar helped volunteers in a Japanese study shed weight, but if they stopped using vinegar in their diet, they eventually gained it back.
Detox’ is a trendy notion these days. The body is designed to detoxify itself, especially through normal digestion and the functions of the liver and kidneys. What vinegar does is support our bodies to do this better.
Vinegar may improve insulin sensitivity in people with type 2 diabetes and slow the digestion of carbohydrates.
In one study, gourmet-quality balsamic vinegars improved the function of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas in rats and slowed atherosclerosis-promoting damage to LDL cholesterol.
In a 2015 study of people with diabetes, those who had an ounce of vinegar and then consumed a high carb, high sugar meal, had lower blood sugar and insulin levels afterward than those who drank water instead of vinegar.
Vinegar has the potential to kill parasites in the human body. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 1.5 billion people around the world are infected by soil-transmitted helminths.
Intestinal parasite infections may be quite hard to detect, and you may not even know if you are harboring them. Although most of the time, there are no symptoms, infected individuals may develop mild symptoms.
To prevent intestinal parasites, wash your hands thoroughly before and after meals and avoid eating raw fish or meat.
Ok, well that was dinner. Salad from the garden. Taste testing the infusions. Fresh baked bread and dessert.
My kids helped me pull in the laundry, check for eggs and we sat down to watch the fireworks display around Canandaigua Lake.
Exhausted sipping on a cold glass of iced tea. I watched with my family, from my deck, reflecting on all my blessings, as the night skies lit up beautifully celebrating a holiday 250 years in the making.
Remembering what the holiday celebrates. The Second Continental Congress’ unanimous adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, a document announcing the colonies’ separation from Great Britain, giving us the Independence and freedom we enjoy, and often take for granted, as American’s today.
From our homestead to yours… God Bless America, and God Bless your life wherever you chose to live it.