It’s About All We Can Do

[@jasminaalm]

Damascus steel ? I'm an Olympic style fencer, and some of my best blades are Damascus steel. Maraged. As blades break fairly often, it's good to know sharp bits are not flying around . Heads up ! Broken blade! Halt ! says the Referee. Then we search for the broken bits and hope they missed everyone. Such fun !

[@mtak1127]

Thats the same thing I do whether its moving furniture in the house, or making flower beds. Just sit and look at it. Coffee is a must...lol In my case in the evening its wine. lol You are the man kiddo. Love the barefoot boys.

[@colliecoform4854]

Get a miniature Jersey or a Dexter or two. Great milk, cream, great temperament, they are small, easy to manage and cute!

[@marythibault9032]

We had a Jersey she made the best milk with cream 4 inches deep on top. We got a holstein to round out the bulk of our milk because my Mom liked to make cheese. We liked my Mom to make cheese too.😉

[@ciciliacurt6227]

Some goats...?

[@christinedehn3257]

check out Greg Judy for info on year round grazing. I believe he is a bit colder than you too.

[@ladycat661]

Yes I was thinking same thing with a small breed of milk cow you can have a smaller lots and it be easier .

[@riderretired5258]

Having a couple milk cows on our small farm, which I had to milk, keep in mind the time. EVERY MORNING, EVERY EVENING!, they MUST be milked. You can’t just say, I’m busy, no time, I’ll get it tomorrow. Milk cows would hate you for it. So get all your reserve milkers lined up to cover for you if you are going to miss a milk time or a weekend. Maybe 2-3 deep. A back up for the back up.

[@harpstone]

I learned and have applied this technique from permaculture: locate compost piles on higher elevations above garden areas so that nutrients can leach downward through the years.

[@PatrickPoet]

I always liked to move the compost piles after awhile and plant stuff where they were.

[@janeschmidt9611]

I love how you get your boys involved in everything you do. They’re learning so many skills and life lessons by watching and helping you two. 🥰

[@PureWhiteLilly]

I love how your boys always follow dad. Such a good father and such great parents!

[@tommaccrae9869]

We also use Premiere One fences on our ranch, we were taught by a friend to "unbraid, or unwind" the bottom two rungs of the net at each end of the net on the main posts. Once the strands are "unwound" you can cut the metal strands and leave the plastic strands intact there bye stopping the bottom 1-2 rungs of the net from shorting out on the ground, but still leaving the net structurally intact. We have been able to hit 9 to 9.5 on our Hotwire fences with this small tweak.

[@markt7663]

"I am a lineman for the county ..." Couldn't resist (but my husband stopped me from writing a really bad pun). Nice work and thanks for a great distraction during these times.

[@hanorabrennan7909]

Ben has to be the Rockstar of homesteading. Who else agrees?

[@zoeburruss677]

Need to clone this family. We need more role models like this!!!

[@iloveflowersforever8191]

I don't think it's the lazy way I think it's a smart way you guys are doing an awesome job it's good to have you back!!

[@robine916]

Exactly! Working smarter, not harder! Having the chickens "place their fertilizer" where you need it saves time! :D

[@gaylewatkins4685]

Your building memories every day. 🙂

[@batpherlangkharkrang7976]

Hi...... Meg and Ben nice to see you, thank you for sharing your video homestead 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 🎥👍👍👍

[@deblamb9510]

Talk to Art and Bri she wants to get rid of her goats... Trade help with their house for them... Good luck stay safe 🙏💕👍

[@mrmacgregorshomestead233]

And now you DO have a Cow! And your boys have grown sooo much! As well as your property builds (gardens/animal areas etc.) You guys rock! Blessings!

[@StoneKathryn]

Your kitchen shelves look very nice! I love all the mason jars with colorful stuff in them. Ben did a great job making those. That is a great way to prep your garden beds, with chickens! Pygmy goats are nice. We put ours on 20 foot chains with collars and dog tie outs. We have only male goats so they don't pee themselves. They like weeds and will eat grass. You have to keep them away from trees because they will gird them. They love to eat tree leaves too. We only have 2 goats. We do have a barn with stalls that we put them in at night. That is a great idea to have "hot spots" to run your fences off of. That's a big post hole! Nice you had that power pole! Pole planting! Cool! Your boys are so good riding that wagon! Nice set up for your fence! That is so great that you will ENJOY your property too!

[@GrowingLittleCountryhomestead]

Oh yes miss seeing you guys

[@NorthnSouthHomestead]

For sure ❤️

[@gailbrault9251]

Welcome back..no judgement your family life comes first.

[@SharonKarkara25]

So nice to see you all! Ben, did I ever tell you how genius you are? I think I may have mentioned it before. Can't wait to see everything you guys do to your homestead. Buggy is getting so big. ❤🙏

[@mommas2470]

No need to ever explain why you want to celebrate family time...we understand...love to you all!!!!

[@gretaknebel8495]

Great idea on the extension of electricity to the yard. Might suggest putting some “Flagging” on the wires so you don’t “Stung” by the wires.

[@jerrybrady9103]

Always a special treat when I see a new video from The Hollars! Can't wait to see what you have in store for 2021 !

[@lindagullage3077]

Glad to see you back the baby is growing like a weed.

[@teresaroman3348]

As a Mom I wonder how many times those Pro Cart Drivers have wiped out...as former child I am envious! Ya' all are living The Life. Keep on having a great time. Love and hugs.

[@WayToVibe]

It's cool that your kids are going to be able to look back someday and say, "Hey, I remember when dad put these posts in. We played in the wheel borrow while he ran the line."

[@HoneyHollowHomestead]

It's a good thing you insulated the floor well, otherwise you'd have some cold tootsies with no skirting around the mobile home.

[@TheFarmingLife]

Hope you and your family are doing well. Have a great evening

[@Zeke-yv3nw]

Ben I have done this before and it works great. Take an old water hose, run the electric wire through it, and you can use that to run from the first T post to the net . Just a suggestion. Glad to see yall doing well.

[@heatherk8931]

Ben you are such a wise thinker! I'm sitting here in Nor Cal, thinking how you must feel to have a whole week of no running to work, but can be creative in solving whatever thing you want to make happen on your property. It can be overwhelming, but you got the smarts and the imagination. How fun. Great idea with the poles! Hey Meg, you are looking beautiful! The littes are all growing so fast! Hugs

[@margaretbedwell58]

Good for you being able to keep the predators at bay. I am looking forward to watching yu build up your infrastructure this year. LilyAnna is growing so fast, it will be fun watching her crawl around outside this summer. Have a Blessed rest of the weekend and thankyou for the video update.

[@sandybuchanan3479]

You sure have a great driver in the wagon!

[@crazychickenlady3702]

So nice to see all of you again! Happy New Year!

[@lilystabile3594]

Happy five months old to Buggie! 😊

[@SewFrancine6120]

He Happy Hollar Homestead family ☮️✝️💟

[@victoriabishop9690]

Wow. Those two pole you cut from the larger one would make a perfect frame for a large wooden swing near the fire-pit.

[@dr.rev.lindabingham]

You are effective and efficient! It's not lazy, it's innovative! Thank you for sharing your journey. Blessings to you!

[@MrLittlelud4]

Has anyone mentioned spreading Gypsum in the winter to mediate clay .

[@albanymtnlife]

Glad to see y'all, it's been a colder winter 🥶 this yr... Thankfully in the south weather changes every few days to give you a break. Love the ingenuity!

[@denisewilson8367]

Wonderful to have you back after the holidays. Buggie is growing faster than a weed. The boys do really well steering around objects. Looked like fun to me. Yes, a main line out to your pasturing areas for the hot wire makes life a lot more easy to get chores done fast. Glad your holidays & family time went well.

[@midsouthhomestead7527]

Good to see you guys again.

[@HiddenSpringFarm]

Great video, new subscriber here. It just popped up and I thought I'd come and check it out. I'm an avid diy'er so I like that you are so hands on. I just built my custom ultimate duck house, took me two months but well worth it and I love doing it. Looking forward to getting to know you guys and what you're up to on your farm. Cheers, Chad

[@honeytreefarmnc]

"who knows what im not a grass guy" same lol

[@handiman5001]

yup, that's about all you can plant in winter (and that's only if the ground don't freeze) -- stay tuned for recipes LOVED IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@wildhopehomestead1716]

Australorps are so great! They're the best working chicken breed for a homestead in my opinion, not that I'm not biased or anything... 😉🐣 They're smart, but they're better at living within boundaries than many other breeds. And such busy little workers. And providers of good eggs and meat. Nice to see you out and about working on your inspired projects!

[@kelleymccoy7456]

It's not lazy. It's called working smarter not harder. God bless have a wonderful week

[@NorthnSouthHomestead]

Agree ❤️

[@WildflowerFarm417]

I'm homesteading in the city and your idea to run single strand hot wire and tie into poultry net just solved my aggressive neighbor dog problem!!

[@susiearviso3032]

Yay!

[@Ellabobel]

Don’t train the dog. Let him get zapped many times --/ try and teach him a REAL LESSON about going for your stock.☠️☠️👺👺☠️☠️

[@WildflowerFarm417]

@@Ellabobel believe me, if he comes over the fence there will be no mercy

[@PlowAndPantryHomestead]

I am very curious about your future fire pit idea and can't wait until you get to it! We have had the same thought. We want some structure over ours so we can have a fire in the rain, but we don't want to be inundated with smoke. Thanks for another video!

[@williamwallace176]

Wrangler Star uses an old Jeep hood (Upside Down) as a skid for heavy trees.

[@siouxgerowsays]

going vertical - tomatoes like to grow tall. I'm in a small, small space in a city and eeveything is as vertical as possible in my 2 foot wide swath of garden. The more easy ways you have to do things, the more you get to jam on your guitar and make knives! Thanks for sharing!

[@farmyourbackyard2023]

Chickens are a natural way to prep the garden area. You should look at Charles Dowding’s no tail method. Double digging maybe a lot more work than you need to do. Glad to see you guys back.

[@lorrijohnston5004]

Noticed your onions under your potatoes on your wall baskets. Switch spots, the onions give off ethylene gas that makes the potatoes sprout.

[@annescott6137]

🙋hi from Scotland great to see you all looking so well baby is getting big she is a beautiful wee girl looking forward to following you this year to see your lovely home and farm take shape you have done so well in such a short time your boys are lovely the way they all muck in and help stay safe take care untill the next time Anne Scott from Scotland ❄️❄️⛄⛄☃️☃️

[@HighDesertHomestead]

Ben a good way to run hot wire up high is to use high tensile wiring and high tensile springs they keep the wire tight and put less strain on the posts. Good plan you got there.

[@junemarie1821]

Dude what can't you do??? Your DIY skillset is incredible!

[@reannejarvis7098]

A great way to use some of those wood scraps would be some wood cutting boards for your kitchen

[@lindastrandquist2429]

Glad you took the time you needed. The wire work looks great. Big things are brewing right alongside the coffee.

[@lindas.5986]

Welcome back. Have missed your videos. Glad you had some family time.

[@lizbolick5591]

Love to see boys by your side having fun

[@ladycat661]

Hello y'all good to see y'all and as I always say family first but good to see y'all ,Ben love the compost and I had the same thing with my pumpkins make a good many hope y'all had a good harvest and that's a great idea up high with your wire and have you and Meg thought of a Dexter milk cow they're smaller they don't have to have as much space but yet you still get good milk from them just something to think about.Thank y'all for sharing and Tell those sweet children I said Hi Love y'all God Bless.

[@Letslearn-i2q]

Finding things around the property to build things is the best!! I hope to have a garden next year. So there is this Channel called Goodtime Hollar homestead. I found them from searching your name. But turns out they live in my state not to far from me. ❤️

[@marieradatsz4126]

You are so clever, Meg you are so blessed to have a husband that can do stuff xxx

[@DreamweaversHomestead]

You needed the time off! Glad to see your videos whenever they are available.

[@TheDawn0310]

Happy New Year! I can’t wait to see what you all do this year.

[@victordelacruz278]

Please give us tour of the property now. How many acres¿👨🏼‍🌾

[@chelemichele1524]

Have a good evening ❄❄❄

[@wes9451]

You're causing yourself and your soil a ton of extra work. No dig and planting into layered compost is amazing.

[@GothGoddess1]

Im glad you guys took some time off to spend with each other!!! You were NON - STOP for alot of last year. Nice to hear that your ready to get back at it & share more content!!! Have missed seeing you 3-6 times a week!! Ready for some more Holla!!!!!! LOL!!

[@jfarm8854]

Good to see a new video. Enjoy your family time. Winter is all about settling in with family.

[@lynschwabe4794]

Love what you all are doing, it's just so nice to see a happy well ajusted family with all the madness that's going on around the world.

[@klwit1980]

Nice blue sky’s down in the south, but in Michigan more snow. Good video

[@agentfrankvideos]

I may not always agree with everything you do Ben, but your sit down, shut up, and have a coffee while you look at the issue at hand is a method I have believed in for years ! I can not count the number of times it has payed off for me when the job at hand is anything but straight forward ! The coffee/7up/cold beverage in hand is an official requirement of course ! Hours saved, mind cleared, money saved, and desired results can only be a good thing !!

[@Alfa-Gdog]

Yep, it's that time of the year, again. Off to a good start 👍

[@clarelove3738]

Welcome to 2021. Glad to see you all again 🥰

[@paintedpilgrim]

If you can grow peas and beans, trellis an area between the two poles and they will grow up between them. If you keep the plants growing two feet below the wire they wont interfere and you kill two birds with one stone.

[@twistedponies7480]

You’re smart to focus on infrastructure! I am re doing fences now and it’s much more difficult with all my animals present! Focusing on a perimeter for an unfenced parcel so they can have a “spare room “ while we work on their existing space. It’s a bit complicated moving everyone around. We have a lot of horses and a couple cows and a couple sheep 🤷‍♀️

[@WildOnesHomestead]

I cant wait to follow along with everything you guys do this year! 🙂

[@joearceneaux9424]

Great watching your channel. Stay safe much kindness 🌈❤

[@unamcleod3541]

Nice you take family time nice to see you all back xxx

I like your black chickens. They seem to like their new run too. Interesting electrical run. I'd be scared to get zapped... maybe get some emergency switches or something to shut it down. Weed-whack the fence runs since the grass there is long... next time do that before setting up the new run, then you don't have to worry about grounding out. Kids are old enough to operate a battery-powered string trimmer, which is light weight compared to gas-powered. Nice to see y'all again. 💜

[@abbyhillman769]

The electric netting fences don't have as strong an electrical charge as fences for larger animals, so there's really no danger to humans or to poultry. It zaps enough to discourage predators, but it's safe. In fact, when my own kids were in their teens they'd sometimes make a human chain with their friends and the person at the front of the line would touch the fence and the charge would pass through the whole line! Shocking, but not dangerous.

@@abbyhillman769 Ok... I just have memories from when I was a kid... electric cattle wire. ⚡⚡⚡

[@pamalapeterson5352]

Thank you for sharing.......y’all are fun to be with!...love your family...May God continue to bless y’all abundantly and stay safe and healthy K

[@donlatimer5114]

If you need more treated post , talk to your power company and see if they have some old power poles that they replace with new ones , you might be able to get some of them.

[@pamelalittlechild2923]

lovely to see you all back , problem with double digging is you are bringing a lot more weed seeds up to the surface, so lots more work later to keep that clear, have a look at the no dig method it really works xx

[@caterchatter4671]

Ben u dug a couple of holes,boys took a wagon ride down the hills & got to see miss Lil Ann & we all went nuts, see it doesn’t take much to keep ur fan base happy:)

[@kelliwebb2870]

Good to hear from you! You’ve been missed!

[@reneebrown2968]

By adding compost, the first year may not be awesome but it will get better each season, just keep adding your compost.

[@erikas974]

18 second and I am already watching. 🙂🌈🙂🌈🙂🎉💐🎉💐 Fantastic job. Love the boys are helping learning and having fun.

[@narellewilliams1400]

Great thinking Ben. My year didn't finish very well, I rolled my car Christmas eve, luckily I had nothing broken. My pride has slipped a bit. I didn't even have my car for a year. My first to me(second hand car). I was starting to get really confident driving, only had license since September 2018. Australian driver education different to America. Did something stupid, went of the road, hit the breaks and swerved then rolled several times. Waiting on insurance.

[@alisonshanahan9529]

Slippery roads don't help, all the rain we've had recently means the roads are degraded, lots of potholes everywhere.

[@narellewilliams1400]

@@alisonshanahan9529 Wasn't in a rain soaked area. Driving between Serpintine and Bendigo.

[@believeliveloveandlaugh3844]

Nice to see you are back. Blessings!

[@janefromthecountry1820]

Family time....take as much as you need...Have a blessed week.❤😍

[@dianehall5345]

Good morning from our farm in New Hampshire! I really can see the difference in climate. We are under snow cover. We raise Polled Hereford, but my neighbor is trying Dexter with good results. I also prefer Jersey to Holstein if you don't need a lot of milk. I like the Jersey cream content and they are smaller. So nice to see green grass! Nigerian Dwarf goats would give you milk and clear your brush. And the cheese is gorgeous! I think that would be my choice. So many wonderful options! That farm house will be a fun project to renovate at your leisure. Gives you time to think about how you want to tackle that challenge, now that you have a comfortable home to live in.

[@Silvermoonhomestead]

I run my poultry netting the same way. I have sheep and goats so I already have wire run around my property. So I just use a strand of wire from the main fence to the poultry netting. In the future I hope to run it off of my main solar setup.

[@garysilver718]

Missed you Ben & family.

[@charlesvickers4804]

Lol the morning meeting over coffee with self. That's a tough one for me. Scratch and restart next morning ,in a week or so I'll work out the daily planning kinks budget. Day of project I always have to change one detail

[@amywoodrick647]

Happy New year! Hmmm...having a large cup of coffee watching you fix up your farm, trying to get some motivation to fix up my place, and bam...thrn you said you sit down in the morning with a nice cup of coffee and look at what you want to do next. Great words of inspiration. Be still, sit, contemplate, think, plan, then take action. I needed that. Thanks.

[@twistedponies7480]

My first garden was a double dig garden I grew celery and broccoli in central Florida lol!

[@elisabethe8055]

Good to see you back! Using your animals to prepare the soil is going back to the purpose for those animals, and make both them and you happy!

[@jonabriggs8829]

You're so so lucky to have not had predator problems , cause almost everyone usually does this time of year , keep up the good work my friend :) God Bless !!

[@albanymtnlife]

Only had two issues in 4 yrs, the first was our own dog who we rehomed, and a bear who only got into our chicken food. Thankfully our current dogs alerted us about it. After multiple attempts to drive the bear away and when it was trying to bust into our rabbit cages we were forced to put the bear down. Aside from that no other issues, not even the Arial one's. No hot fences here.

[@HomesteadinginIdaho]

Yay, the Hollars are back for 2021! I can't believe the leaps and bounds you made in 2020. I really look forward to seeing what you do this year.

[@ladyindigo9835]

great video! The property looks great and the family is wonderful!

[@robine916]

Have you thought of a "cow share" program? Sometimes neighbors share the cost of a cow, and split the milk produced. Some smaller dairy farms also do this. Kind of like a CSA for milk! :D

[@ciciliacurt6227]

The little angel is soooo great ...not little anymore.....i know I am getting old...