With dogs, chickens, and worms depending on our care, there is a lot to have in order before we leave for vacation in Massachusetts today. To complicate matters, a friend may stay at our house while we are away. Fortunately, our neighbor and my sister are experienced with the particulars of our creatures and we trust them with the care of the homestead. Animals aside, I am most concerned about two things: my seedlings in the basement and the fruit tree blossoms, like the peach pictured at left. My sister will check on the seedlings and I am fairly confident they will stay alive even if she doesn't share my love for monitoring soil temperature and moisture. We unfortunately have no control over whether a late frost will wipe out our fruit for the whole season.

I thought that some other homesteaders or vacationers might want to read the instructions we left for house guests/caretakers. If you do, feel free to download our Homestead Care Instructions. Edit and use them for your own trips if you wish.

To follow along on our trip to Buzzard's Bay, Ipswich, Dr. Seuss Memorial Garden, Graycliff Estate, Mike's studio, and more, find me on twitter, facebook, or foursquare.

Through the magic of scheduled posting, readers will still see fresh content on Hounds in the Kitchen too. Easter is coming up and I couldn't leave you without some fun egg posts!

Added to Simple Lives Thursdays 39th Edition