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Safe Ways to Spoil Your Pet Over the Holidays

Safe ways to spoil your pets over the holidays
If your household is anything like ours, making sure your pets are part of the winter celebrations is a must. After all, they’re family too, right? Fortunately there are many simple and safe ways to spoil your pet over the holidays, it just requires some special focus.

Pet Stockings

Animals like to open stockings too! There are plenty of ways to go about doing something like this without breaking the bank too. Whether you have a cat, dog, bunny or even a hamster- you can fill their stockings with bedding, treats and general supplies your furry friend uses year round. Not only will you be stocking up on stuff you’d need to purchase one way or another, but both the family and your pets will get to enjoy the joy of receiving a gift!
We always give our dog a new holiday themed toy- some specialty dog bones, and a dog bed to replace the one she wears out every year. Our kitty gets cat nip (she loves our barn mouse toy), crunchy treats and even her own cat grass plant!

Holiday Sweaters

This isn’t something we do but I see folks do it all the time. If you have a smaller dog who may get cold easily, it could be really fun for you (and warm for them) to be put in a holiday sweater! It probably can go without saying but not all animals are going to feel comfortable in these. Make sure not to force them into anything if they show you any signs of resistance- the point is to treat them not harass them 🙂

Special Snacks

Your pets probably will take just about any food you’re willing to give them- but maybe this is the time of year you can opt for the more expensive treats! Assuming your pet doesn’t have any strict dietary restrictions, consider new and interesting organic/all natural options you don’t normally purchase. They will love the change in consistency and may manage to find even MORE love for you! Always make sure the treats you regularly feed them have nutritional value- that way you can worry less about splurging a little around the Holidays.

Home Cooked Meal

Now as a rule we do not endorse feeding pets ‘people food’ but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t cook them a proper meal from items you eat! Something as simple as boiled chicken or turkey, rice and some frozen veggies will make your dog go wild with excitement! Cats may enjoy some cooked ground turkey (pate style) or tuna patties. Don’t feel like setting their digestive track into a tailspin? Maybe bake them some special pet cookies instead!

There are tons of great, healthy recipes online you can search for. Get the whole family involved and make it a new tradition! This is one of many great safe ways to spoil your pet over the holidays!

Protection

You may find this boring in comparison to the rest of what is on our list here but it is easily the most important way to take care of your furry friends. Make sure to keep ribbon, tinsel and general holiday decor safe and away from possible consumption. Avoid feeding them people food like sugary treats or breads as they are not necessarily safe and definitely not ‘good’ for them.
Also be sure to inspect any and all new toys- both ones that are intended for your pets AND children. Small pieces may become choking hazards for more than one member of the family!

All in all we have just scratched the surface when it comes to finding safe ways to spoil your pets this Holiday season, but we hope you’ve got a few new ideas to run with!

Winter Water Conservation Tips

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Winter Water Conservation Tips

Over the coming weeks we will have many tips and tricks to conserving water. We wanted to start the series by mentioning some important ways to save water specifically during the cold winter months. Below are a few assorted winter water conservation tips- in no order of importance!

If your home tends to run cold no matter how much you try to keep it warm, or you have outdoor buildings- you may want to drip your faucets where pipes may freeze. Doing so can help prevent a pipe from bursting. To get the most of your efforts stick a bucket underneath the pipe as to collect the water to use for house plants.
Do you notice your shower takes longer to heat up in the winter than other times of the year? That’s because the pipes are cold. Instead of running the water much longer than normal waiting for warm water- call a plumber to price out the cost of getting your pipes insulated. You can be saving gallons of water!
Alternatively you could consider a new, more efficient water heater if yours has been around a long time.
A more general note toward shower water conservation, low-flow showerheads are ‘old school’, yes- but they’re the hero of this story. Save those 3,000 gallons by making the switch!
Keep up with the temperatures. As you likely already know, the changes in temperate from day to night can wreak havoc on your plumbing. The pipes will expand and contract depending on what temperatures they are exposed to. Leaks are far more likely to develop during the winter.
Be sure to have a plumber inspect the lines as soon as you suspect a problem, or when the cold is coming to a close.
You can purchase water leak detection systems if that’s your thing.
The winter season usually means a massive increase in dinner parties, get togethers and baking. Try to avoid the massive pile of dishes in the sink by utilizing dishwasher safe dishes, mixing bowls and cutlery.
Know where your water shut off is. In the event of any severe, catastrophic leaks you’ll want to be able to stop water flow immediately. Don’t be in a position where you waste tons of time (and water) while searching for it.

Winter Bird Feeding – A Few Tips

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Winter Bird Feeding Tips

If you’re in New England like we are (or anywhere that gets cold in the winter) you may consider feeding the wild birds if you aren’t already. Ice and layers of snow over the course of one large (or many small) storm has the potential to cut off many of the natural resources birds rely on for survival. The last thing we want is to see hundreds or even thousands of birds starve to death, right?

To ensure a healthy, successful winter bird feeding season check out our tips below.

Use big capacity feeders

If you don’t have any large bird feeders consider putting out multiple medium sized ones. This is important during major storms so there is plenty of food to go around to all the birds in your immediate surroundings. Visit your local hardware stores or wild bird stores- they are bound to have excellent options for feeders.

Offer nutritious seed & plenty of fat

This is a very important winter bird feeding tip! Ideal seed mixes consist of black oil sunflower seed, hulled peanuts, white millet seed and niger seed. Be careful of “filler” seed mixes, where there is more mixed grains with little nutrition than anything else. It pays to read the bags before you buy them.
Also keep in mind that birds burn more calories in the winter as to stay warm. Providing suet is a good way to ensure you’re providing them access to quick energy. Woodpeckers and insect-eating birds will give you special thanks for thinking of them!

Be consistent & feed all Winter

Believe it or not, the birds who find your feeders will likely stick around. Don’t let them down! If you begin feeding on November 1st, keep your feeders full until mid-March or early April. As long as there’s snow and ice, there will be birds relying on your kindness & feeders. Try to pay attention to the food supply and aim to avoid any length of time where they are empty. It only takes one huge storm to negatively affect the bird population if they can’t find enough food to survive.

Don’t forget water

It may seem counterintuitive, but birds can still become dehydrated in the winter even when surrounded by ice/snow. Filling your bird bath or simply leaving a pan of water on the warmer winter days could make all the difference!

Remember the ground feeders!

Do your ground-feeding birds a favor by stamping down the snow underneath your feeders so they can have easy access to the seed that falls. Too much snow will deter the doves, and other birds from hanging around trying to eat the droppings.

Keep your feeders clean

Every so often head on out with some warm water and clean the feeders. Chances are they’ll get a little grimy as the season goes on. Give them a good clean, let them dry- and fill ’em right back up again.

Stock up on seed

I didn’t know this until recently- but go seed shopping over the Fall this year. Places will often discount the bigger bags because they’re making room for their winter merchandise. Buy several bags and never run out, especially in the dead of winter!

Eco-friendly Holiday Practices: Be More Green

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Easy Eco-friendly Holiday Practices

A motto around this farm? Waste not, want not. There are so many easy eco-friendly holiday practices you can adopt this holiday season. Taking care of our environment isn’t hard to do but every bit of effort can help make a difference on a massive scale!

Here are some of the ways we aspire to keep our Christmas as green as the tree in our living room!

Shop Locally-owned Businesses

There are almost too many reasons to shop local mom & pop stores to count. From one of a kind items to directly contributing to your community’s economy – nothing feels better than putting your money where your home is. Not only are you more likely to score unique, high quality gifts but you are also cutting out the need for expensive and wasteful shipping methods.

Recycled wrapping paper

We’ve already outlined the many gift wrap alternatives to consider this year- but it’s worth re-enforcing. Whether you make use of old newspapers, calendars, maps or even fabric- avoiding traditional wrapping paper will bring more joy to the holidays (and the planet). There are many companies that now offer recycled gift paper but we’re partial to the concept of making use of materials you already have lying around. Take advantage of these easy eco-friendly holiday practices – especially when wrapping presents which is arguably the worst part!

Less will be more

How many years do you look at your living room after opening presents and realize you not only spent too much money, but you bought too much junk? Less really can be more- especially when every gift has a little more thought put into it. Consider cutting back on useless spending this year. A helpful tip? Ask yourself if the recipient of your gift will in fact, still be using or loving it in a year’s time before sealing the deal. Sometimes tiny useless trinkets help fill the space under the tree, but don’t last long before meeting the trash can.

Give money to charity or a good cause

A good rule of thumb for every Christmas is to set a budget. What if this year, you took a fraction of that amount and decided to donate it to a charity or organization that could really benefit from your support? Take a moment to consider what you value in life and see who is out there working for it. Whether it’s environmental conservation or sick & terminally ill children– people are out there every day trying to make a difference. Imagine how good you’ll feel when you’ve helped them continue their mission!

All-natural decorations

This one should be obvious but based on what I see everytime I go to the store I’m not sure most people think about this! There are so many ways to decorate your home for the holidays without buying that plastic crap! Wood, burlap, natural pine, poinsettas are just a few of the many natural options available to you.

Use Timers for your holiday lights & decor

Light timers have to be one of my most favorite inventions of the last 10 years or so. Quite frankly I use these year-round, but they’re especially helpful during the winter seasons! This is such a smart way to ensure you still have your lights and decorations lit during the optimal times. No more will you forget to turn them off before bed- wasting all that energy! Set the timer to come on during the most popular hours of the evening so everyone can enjoy your displays and to shut off after a few hours. This will not only help the planet but it will keep your energy bill down 🙂 This is one of my favorite eco-friendly holiday practices because it only requires your attention for 5 minutes and then you’re set for a good month (or however long you’re set up for the season!)

Make the most of your shopping trips

I’m the first to admit I am not always the smartest when it comes to time management. A few years ago I finally made the most of every single time I got in my car to go somewhere. Christmas shopping is no longer an exception. If you are headed out in search of a single gift- perhaps you could take a moment to consider the other stops you could include on your way so you reduce the number of times you’re buzzing around town? It may add a few moments to the intial outing, but it will save you gas, energy and time down the line!

Recycle all your wrapping paper & filling

If you decide to go with traditional gift wrap, be it paper or plastic- please please please recycle it. Ideally you are actively recycling all of your trash one way or another. Even if you use the wrapping paper to help build fires in your fireplace- at least you’re getting more than one use out of it!

Unique Stocking Stuffer Ideas

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Check out this list of unique stocking stuffer ideas

Year after year it can be hard to keep the originality up when it comes to unique stocking stuffer ideas. Certain items like festive candy are staples. However it isn’t always easy to find the knick knacks that will have the desired wow factor.

Check out our take on some unique stocking stuffer ideas below!

Mason Jar Tumbler

Now this is something I know I would love to see in my stocking! Designed to look like an authentic canning jar, these Mason Jar Tumblers are not only cheap but also so charming! What better way is there than to show off your love for all things country with this? Available on Amazon, ~$10 & free shipping!
Unique Stocking Stuffer Ideas via Amazon.com

Touchscreen Friendly Winter Gloves

As a rule here on the farm we don’t necessarily like to encourage device use- but even personal experience shows these gloves would be handy. Nobody likes to need to take their gloves off in the cold weather just to text someone back or make a call. We’ve linked to one option but there are many different kinds to choose from out there!

Cable Keychains

Along the lines of device use and convenience, another handy trinket to consider are these cute cable keychains! Nobody likes being stuck somewhere without the proper cables to charge your phone or tablet! Even better, never again will your friends confuse their chargers for yours! Spice up the style of your keychain with this practical option.

Stress Doll

Widely known as the Dammit Doll- these are all the range among adults these days! These handmade, high quality & clearly very durable dolls are there for you when nobody else is. If yoga or daily exercise isn’t doing the trick, maybe these will. Comes with a complimentary, hilarious poem: “Whenever things don’t go so well, And you want to hit the wall and yell, Here’s a little Dammit doll, That you can’t do without. Just grasp it firmly by the legs And find a place to slam it. And as you whack the stuffing out Yell “Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!”

Bacon Flavored Candy Canes

Whether or not I can explain the phenomena, I think we all know bacon is all the rage. In fact, it never seems to go out of style. You could opt for the bacon cooker alarm clock, but we feel these candy canes get the point across while still endorsing the ultimate love for bacon. I haven’t tried them myself, but they’ve been well-reviewed! Treat a fellow bacon lover to something sweet and unique. The reaction is bound to be entertaining at the very least.

Headphone Ear Warmers

I think this is one of the better unique stocking stuffer ideas on this list. For friends and family who are often walking the cold city streets, riding the rails or outdoors a lot in all kinds of weather- I’m sure their ears get mighty cold. Why not give them the option to entertain themselves as the battle the elements? The link will take you to a women’s fashionable style on Amazon but there are many different varieties available out there.

Unique Stocking Stuffer ideas via Amazon

Good luck!