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McCray Manor

@mccraymanor

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We’ve found our forever home 🏡
8A, 15 acres, 1 pond & a big house to fill ✝️
Follow along our journey of renos, gardening & all things #homestead #SC

POSTS STORIES REELS

Aiken SC Steeplechase 2022 🐎
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#steeplechase #horsecountry #aikensc #southcarolina #homestead #blackhomesteaders #backyardchickens #chickens #chickensofinstagram #gardening #farm #chickencoop #blackgardeners #blackfarmers #blackfarmersmatter #southcarolina #selfsufficient #sustainability by @mccraymanor

10 years and counting ❤️

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#blacklove #marriedlife #homestead #homesteadlife #gardening #gardeners #chickens #pondlife #southcarolinafarms #southcarolina #southcarolinaliving by @mccraymanor

Isaiah 40:31 ✨

This Christmas, God is mixing in a little extra sweetness. Our baby girl arrives May 2026. 💜🍪

Baking spirits bright and wishing you and your family a joyful new year! 🫶🏾

📸 @moments.with.melanie by @mccraymanor

Dear Pyper,

From the moment we brought you home 13 years ago, you made it clear—you weren’t just a dog. You were the queen of every room, the supervisor of every meal, the sunshine-seeker, the car-ride co-pilot, and the keeper of all our secrets. You made our house a home with your sass, your head boops, and those judgmental little side-eyes that somehow made everything feel understood.

You’ve been with us through it all—every chapter of our relationship, every decision we made with you in mind, every laugh, every tear. You were more than a pet. You were family. You are family.

Miss Pips. Pipe the Pup. Pipper Pancakes. Clean-Up Crew. So many names for one very loved soul.

Thank you for loving us back so deeply. I know you felt it—how much we adored you. I hope you’re somewhere warm, curled up in a sunbeam, watching over us the way you always have.

You were my first dog. And you left the biggest paw print on my heart.

Love always,
Your humans 💕 by @mccraymanor

When southerners get a little snow, we get creative 😉 ❄️🏂 DISCLAMIER: The pond was not hurt by our actions. 🐟😅

#snowinsouthcarolina #snowday by @mccraymanor

Weathering the Storm: Making your own charcoal!

Our community is struggling to get back to normal after hurricane Helene swept through early Friday morning. In the immediate aftermath, supplies became scarce as people rushed to stores to get essentials. With the loss of power, local supplies of gasoline, propane and charcoal quickly became unavailable. Below we show how we adjusted in light of our circumstance.

Supplies needed for our method
-Metal trash can and lid (Home Depot $30-$40)
-Scrap 1x6 planks and scrap round post ends
-Oak wood cut into about 2 foot sections. Enough to fill trashcan

⭐️⭐️Directions⭐️⭐️

1. Cut a hole into the lid of the can to allow smoke to escape.

2. I didn’t show us loading the oak wood into the trashcan but you just want to stand them up vertically and pack it in tightly. Fill it up as much as you can

3. Light a fire around the can as high up the sides as possible with the lid on. You will start to see smoke begin to rise from the hole you cut once it starts to heat up

4. Keep your fire going and add more wood to the sides as it dies down, continuing to monitor the smoke.

5. Eventually you will begin to see flames coming out of the hole you made in the lid of the trashcan. Continue to keep the fire on the sides up as much as possible.

6. When the flames from the lid stop and returns to a light smoke, place a brick on the top of the hole to shut off the flow of air.

7. Allow the fire on the sides to burn out, do not add more wood to keep the fire up at this point. Let the can cool (we let it cool overnight)

8. Remove lid and you should have your own batch of charcoal. Store in the can or any other dry container. The charcoal is ready to use.

#homestead #hurricanehelene #survival #selfsufficiency #selfsufficient #homesteadingsc #charcoal #bbq #pitmaster #homesteading #homesteadlife by @mccraymanor

Thank you, everyone, for your name recommendations! We've finally decided on 1️⃣ name 🥴…..

INTRODUCING… Sugar, ain't so sweet!!

She's our only white bird, so sugar fits! She's also the smallest, but the meanest…ain’t so sweet! Lol she takes no crap and hogs all of the watermelon 🍉 Thank you @kmodum for the name inspo!

#homesteading #homesteadingsc #southcarolina #chickens #chickensofinstagram by @mccraymanor

12 new ladies, but we need help naming them! What names do you think we should consider? 🤔 Drop your name suggestions in the comments!! #homesteading #homesteadingsc #southcarolinahomestead #layinghens #naminghelp by @mccraymanor

Beautiful Sunday Afternoon to hang out with the hens!
Tossed them some old scraps to cool off a bit.

#chickens #chickensofinstagram #hens #hensofinstagram #backyardchickens #layinghens #freerange #freerangechickens #homestead #homesteadlife #homesteadliving #permaculture #farmfresh by @mccraymanor

Let's go get chickens, 12 to be exact! Welcome to the Manor, ladies. 🐔🤗

#homesteading #homesteadingchickens #layinghens #homesteadingsc #orpington #coppermaran #leghorn #farmfresh #homestead #selfsufficientbackyard #selfsufficient #chickens #permaculture by @mccraymanor

Another new friend on the Manor. 🐍 Brown water snake in the pond, looks like he had some fish sticks 🥴😂

#homesteading #homesteadingSC by @mccraymanor

Zucchini harvest… as big as roll of paper towel 📏👩🏾‍🌾👨🏿‍🌾
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#homesteading #homestead #homesteadinglife #gardening #harvest #growingzucchini by @mccraymanor