OK, I want answeres...I wanna know...who.....

Opened the gates of HELL!?? WOW Has it been hot!! Temps in the upper 90s, humidity almost matching...real feel in the triple digits! This weather has been a nightmare on the animals. I have been working almost non stop trying to keep them alive in this heat...constant watering...fans..and every time I walk out to do a welfare check, praying I don't find one of our critters ....giving up the ghost. So far we have lost 3 of our meaties. GRRRRRRR THIS upsets me because I have put time and effort into raising meat for our freezer, only to lose it to the heat. On the plus side...the Guinea hogs like chicken. So, not a total waste...but I am not raising these chickens to feed the hogs! It is TOO HOT to even TRY to butcher chickens. Whew! Today we are supposed to get a few showers....and I believe I heard the weatherman say...temps n the 80's! Woohoo, I think I love our weatherman. So, last week..we had a kitten that had been injured...and she needed to be taken to the vet to have her little leg amputated. I named this little barn kitten... Little Foot.

She really is a sweet little girl...so sad for her. However, she didn't let it get her down. Too bad we as humans can't be more like the animals. The day of her surgery..she was still purring..hobbling up to me and cuddling...and when I picked her up she had the same upbeat attitude. What a sweetie! I was able to find her a great home after surgery....where she will be an inside spoiled baby girl. I am so happy for her. She deserves the best! The day I went to pick her up....I was gone most of the day. The vet we use is just over an hour away. Once I returned home...as I pulled in the drive, I noticed a little black "something" in the pasture with our 2 dairy goats. Now, I know they are NOT pregnant....so I brought the kitten inside to get her settled...and on the doorstep is a note...

Oh boy! I ran out to the barn...and yep, they did!! SOMEONE left this little guy in the pasture. LUCKY for me...they can't tell a Billy from a whether...and they were wrong. He is a whether! YAY....at least I didn't have to worry about "that"

I was concerned however, that he might be ill...or have worms...and could make my dairy girls sick. I had to wait until the hubby got home to get him in the barn, and corner him....I needed to do a good check over. We only chased him around the little goat cabin about 10 times before we FINALLY got him to run into the barn...GOTCHA CORNERED! HAHA! I was finally able to get my hands on him, and throw a collar on him. He looks good! Eyes are clear...gums, clear...good weight....just needs his little feet trimmed. So I am thinking now...I have to put up another small "paddock" for "drop offs" to ensure diseases are not spread. *sigh* Better safe than sorry tho.....right? So we have named this little guy...Moomoo. Once the weather breaks I will tackle the job of trimming his hooves...and finding him a forever home. I am thankful they didn't toss him in with my billy goat, Fred. I know Fred would have put a hurt on him. Speaking of "hurt" This heat is taking a toll on the animals. One of our blue butt pigs went down. She would not eat...just laid around and looked miserable. I was certain she was a gonner. I tried to get her to eat a hot dog bun with jelly...nope..she looked away. Now I KNOW she was sick. I offered her fresh warm goats milk...nope. :( All I could do was keep water on her..and hope for the best.Getting her medicated was a chore...I had to put the meds in a syringe and force it in her mouth. After about 3 days...she was up and looking for food! YAY! Yesterday when I went out, she greeted me with a "bark" and she ran up to the fence to greet me. Whew! That was close. Farm life can be so challenging some days. Today I will replant green beans..the first crop I planted is struggling to put out beans. :( Hoping now that the weather is cooling down a bit I can at least get some new beans started and will have a good crop. So, another day on the farm...it is HOT HOT HOT...I am headed out to run water hoses again...all day.

Baby, it is HOT HOT HOT!

IF you have been blessed to have AC in your home...and you are sitting inside waiting on this heat to break, don't forget, those critters outside are still HOT! By 10 am today, i was already changing into my second set of clothing. The first set was drenched in sweat. Yes, I have AC in my home..and it is WONDERFULLY cool in here. However....my animals come first. After all....THEY are who I am. Running water all morning....wetting yards...making sure the fans are positioned just right. Mowed the back yard before I could put laundry on the line....second load hanging now...third waiting to go out. Whew! The heat and humidity can be killer....so be safe...work safe....hydrate....hydrate....hydrate!!!!! Take breaks...no need to rush through those chores. For me, I am going to get my last load of wash on the line...do a welfare check on the critters...then take instruction from them..I am going to lay low for a few hours. It is too hot to be out there running around. Maybe I will get out the crock pot, and get something going for supper....something easy that will not heat up the kitchen.

Poison Ivy--Oak--Sumac....

So, remember I told you how last Monday I went out, and all by myself, I put up more fencing? The new area I fenced in for the pigs was thick brush...wild roses, wild berry's, trees....and....POISON IVY! Or, Maybe it was poison Oak...or Sumac....whatever it was....It is now covering about 75% of my body. From my knees down, 100% coverage, even in between my toes..and on the bottom of my feet! It is starting to come out on my thighs now. Both of my wrists and the back of both hands...covered...places on both of my arms, and starting up my neck, and face. Tomorrow I am going to Urgent Care...and praying they will give me a shot of SOMETHING to make this itch go away!! My legs are so swollen that my socks are tight! I am seriously wanting to skin myself!! I have swollen blotches all over...and I am miserable! I have gone through a whole bottle of Ivarest...and a whole bottle of spray on Benadryl. I have made it a point to try not to scratch...but I am not in control when I sleep! Next time you go out to "pull weeds" or put up a fence..be careful. This strange weather is apparently making this stuff grow CRAZY! I know 2 other people that have had to go get a shot to make it better....so far this year. I have been trying to stay busy, to keep my mind off of it. This weekend my brother and his daughter came to the farm to visit for a few days. My brother lives in town now and truly misses the "farm life" Every time he comes...we get a LOT done here. Saturday we spent 4 hours cleaning the barn. Moving "stuff" upstairs, moving the hay and straw...cleaning stalls, and getting the "feed and tack room" back in order. The old barn looks great, there is now room for the Tractor too! Today we spent time in the small garden. Pulled the last of the beets and peas. I canned the peas, even tho there were only 3 pints and weeded it. Once the rain stops...hubby will get in there with the tiller...and I will replant beets. We really could use a week of NO RAIN! There were so many weeds...we took armful after armful to the Guinea hogs. By the time we finished...the pigs were just laying there giving us "the look" Like.."SERIOUSLY!? We just CAN'T eat any more." I hope you all are getting a lot done out there....and if you are, be safe..look out for those poison plants.

May the 4th be with you.

Well, here we are already the 4th of July. Wow, where is this year going? Seems just a few short weeks ago we were all complaining about frozen water troughs, and the worries of...did that breeding take? Now we are settling in to pulling weeds, fighting deer flies....and soon to be canning. Jellies are flying on the shelves here. Strawberry jam...Mulberry Jelly...Blackberry / Mulberry Jelly....Oh those beautiful little jars of goodness! The blackberry's and Raspberries are just coming on ...and boy are they! With all of the rain, and then intense heat the berries are engorged! I am hoping to find some time this weekend to go pick a few gallons of wild Blackberries. By the time I finish with them, the Elderberries should be coming in...and then soon after...Grapes. Our grape harbor is loaded! I think this year I will try putting up a few quarts of grape juice. While I was pulling weeds today before the rain came in...I noticed a few tiny little tomato's. These Roma's are impressing me this year. We also have a few pinky size cucumbers. I might just pick a bucket full of the cucumbers while they are small and make sweet pickles. They are a real treat for the hubby. He just loves em! The potato's are finished flowering...so I am done with hilling. Whew! That was fast and furious. They were growing like gangbusters..I almost wasn't able to keep up with them. I did MY part, now they need to do theirs and make those wonderful potato's for us to put into storage, and can. Looks like we will not be cooking out today...the rain is already moving in. Drats! We will just have to cook inside...and celebrate the 4TH indoors! Hey, less flies and bugs to contend with, right? :) I hope you all have a wonderful 4TH, be safe...eat LOTS of good food...and remember our Military, past, present, and future....This is for THEM!

Farming and fencing go hand in hand.

So, if you have a farm, you will understand this. Fencing is a daily chore. You are either putting it up, tearing it down, or fixing it. Whether it is 3x3 "farm fence" , chain link, cattle panels or whatever you use...fencing is NOT fun! Sunday we made a special trip to a cousins house in Ohio to attend a surprise Birthday party for my Aunt. It was her 80th. She was very surprised and we all had a great time. We had a great time..so I should have known.. something would be up here at home. When we got home...I headed out to do the evening chores only to find our American Guinea hogs were in the Duck coop...and had eaten almost a full bag of chicken feed. *sigh* This meant that luring them back to their own yard with food....was not going to work. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be..but I can tell you...a 300+ pound boar can run....fast!! After getting them settled back in..and realizing they had ripped the electric fence wire, I knew that today was going to be a busy day. So, this morning after chores...and coming back in to finish my coffee...I decided maybe...just maybe...if I gave those pesky pigs a bigger yard, they would want to stay there. Sounds good, right!? So I trudged out there...started going through the pile of chain link fencing...and was able to finally untangle enough to get them a better yard. Now, I am 5 ft tall....the fence is 6 ft tall....there was a thick tangle of wild roses and wild blackberry vines...of course, right where I needed to run the fence. No matter, I was NOT going to let it stop me. It took me 4 hours, but I was able to get it finished ...by myself. (I am pretty proud right now...even IF I can barely move) After getting the electric back up...turned on..I called the pigs over to get them on the grass. Charlotte came as far as the old fence line..and stopped. It took some time to convince them there was not an electric fence there. Finally they walked over into the grassy area...and started grazing. *mission accomplished*

Oh, and when I went to the barn, after getting the pigs back in the yard last night, I heard the faint cry of a kitten. I looked around only to find a small kitten had somehow gotten her leg caught in the fence. She was hanging there, by her leg. I have no idea how long. It took me a few minutes to get her free....her leg was limp and cold, and she was shivering...in shock I am sure. Poor kitten. I held her while I did the chores...and gave her a bowl of fresh warm goats milk. She happily lapped it up and settled down in the hay. I felt confident that she would be OK. This morning she was no where to be seen. :( I looked everywhere. I am hoping she just went into a dark corner somewhere to heal and rest. I will look for her again tomorrow...and If I find her I will bring her inside. Poor baby. I just hope she is alright. Tomorrow I will be working on cleaning up the mess the pigs left me in the duck coop...and working on the ducks fence. Yep, another fence day...if the rain holds off long enough.