FARM & HOMESTEAD
Life gets a little different when animals, gardens, weather, food and the land become part of your everyday routine.
Great Lakes Radio explores homesteading not as some picture-perfect lifestyle, but as something lived, learned, experimented with and occasionally laughed about.
There are successes.
There are mistakes.
There are things you swear you'll never do again.
And then there are the animals, who usually have their own plans entirely.
FARM GOSSIP
with John & Chickie
Pull up a chair. Apparently, we need to talk about what the animals have been doing.
Farm Gossip explores everyday life with animals, homesteading, animal care, behavior, communication and the fascinating process of learning how to understand the creatures who share our lives.
Animals aren't interchangeable.
They have personalities, preferences, relationships, routines, boundaries and very definite opinions about how things ought to be done.
John and Chickie talk about learning to recognize what animals are communicating through body language, vocalizations, behavior, routines and the relationships they build with the humans and animals around them.
There will also be gardens, food, projects, discoveries, mistakes and everyday stories from life around the farm.
And gossip.
Because the animals absolutely have opinions.
UNDERSTANDING ANIMALS
Animals communicate constantly.
Sometimes they use sound.
Sometimes body language.
Sometimes behavior.
And sometimes they simply stand there looking at you until you finally figure out what should have been obvious five minutes ago.
Put all of this together, and you have what some people might describe as a form of intuitive or telepathic communication with animals.
Learning to recognize vocalizations, posture, routines, preferences, relationships, boundaries and changes in behavior can help us better understand the animals in our care.
The more closely we observe, the more we begin to realize just how much they're actually telling us.
We'll share what we've learned from listening a little more carefully.
HOMESTEADING IN REAL LIFE
No perfectly staged homestead required.
Homesteading is learning how to do more for yourself with what you have around you.
Growing food.
Raising animals.
Preserving things.
Cooking.
Making things.
Repairing things.
Recycling, reusing and reupping.
Using what the land provides.
Learning from mistakes.
And becoming a little more capable every time you figure something out.
Not everything works the first time.
Sometimes the experiment is brilliant.
Sometimes you learn exactly what not to do next time.
Both count.
LIFE WITH THE LAND
Living close to the land changes how you notice the world around you.
Weather matters.
Seasons matter.
Water matters.
What grows naturally matters.
The arrival of a bird, the behavior of an animal, the condition of a garden or a change in the pond can tell you something about the larger environment you're living in.
Farm life gives us plenty of opportunities to explore nature, wildlife, growing food, sustainability, self-reliance and our relationship with the environment around us.
Sometimes the lesson comes from a book.
Sometimes it comes from experience.
And sometimes it comes from watching a chicken do something completely fascinating or ridiculous.
FROM OUR FARM TO THE RADIO
Farm Gossip isn't intended to teach anyone how to build a flawless homestead.
We don't have one.
What we do have is experience, curiosity, animals, land, experiments, stories and an endless supply of things to learn.
We'll share the things that work.
We'll talk about the things that don't.
And we'll probably tell you what the ducks and rabbits thought about the whole situation.