Busy as a bee in spring!

Today's weather was just outstanding. Sunny and warm...with a cool breeze. Perfect for outside work, that has been put off  for too long. Started my morning outside at 8 am...feeding and milking. On my way back from the barn, I stretched the 200 ft of water hose out to the half way point...then once to the drive, I unrolled the other hoses and connected the 4 together...then connected to the water tap. Brought in the milk...and got it put up, and settled in for my second cup of coffee. Once finished, I headed out to scrub and fill the 3 troughs at the barn, and fill the 2 inside buckets. This took about an hour..or so...then drug the hoses to the other side of the property..to start on the ducks. Sunday a friend and her family came to visit, and pick up a few chickens and a Turkey. She brought me a Fawn and white Runner Duck hen. Now my boy has 2 hens, and is very happy! I had to move them into a private pen this morning..with a clean pool. Dumped and cleaned 4 duck pools....moved 3 pens of ducks to outside pens, where the ground is NOT soupy! They were so happy to be on semi-dry land. Another hour gone...getting everyone settled and with clean water. Put the hoses up, and headed to the garden for a bit. Turned a few rows with a shovel....we are supposed to get rain and I want it to be able to dry out...almost time for beets! Back inside by 11 am. Had to get diner started. Fried chicken, potato salad, pork and beans, and deviled eggs. Hubby was happy!
After supper was finished, hubby's packed for work, and get him out the door...back to the garden for a bit. My son came out with his family and we visited for a bit.....he helped in the garden for a few minutes...then decided it was too much like work. He worked up a blister, and quit! 5 pm, got all the animals tucked away for the evening...and back inside. Shower, coffee, and a fire....life is good..and sore.

What a ride!

Today I woke up it was dark..well...it is always dark when you get up before the sun...but it was REALLY dark, clouds, rain...yukky weather. Started a fire, let the pups out, made coffee, packed hubbys lunch, let the pups in, poked at the fire...got coffee and sat down to wake up. By 08:30, it was still trying to rain some...so I bundled up and headed out to feed the critters. The winds were blowing pretty good so I was happy to be able to take refuge in the barn with the animals. Out of the wind and rain...once my eyes adjusted to the darkness..I set to my chores. Feeding, throwing hay, hauling water and milking. Good old KiKi, my tom cat was there with me, patiently waiting his few squirts of fresh warm milk. He always gets the first few squirts in a small dish. This lets me check the milk for oddities, and releases the little waxy plug built up from overnight. Everyone gets their morning scratches..and it is off to the coops. By this time the sun was out, but dark clouds threatened. The rain came....then the sun came again..then more rain and winds...now sun. Whew! What a ride!
 We have a new Tom Turkey....he just "flew in" the other day, and decided to stay. He belongs to a guy down the road...who wanted to give him to me a few months back. I declined to take him because I have 2 toms already with 4 hens. Looks like this Tom changed my mind for me. I have a home for him already....come this weekend a dear friend and her family will come out to get him, and a few chickens. The ducks and chickens are all out loving this warmer weather. In the 50's today! Once the rain moves out later today, it should end up being pretty nice.
On my way back from the coops this morning, I stopped and picked about a dozen Brussels Sprouts from the garden. They have been growing all winter long since the winter didn't really hit hard this year. I am thinking roasted chicken, mashed sweet potato's and Brussels Sprouts for supper. Sounds good.

Busy with pups!

So, I have not posted here for a while because we have been fairly busy lately. A while back I had posted about the pup we were going to get from the rescue. Well..we took 2. They are so bonded...I just HAD to!
Gunner is the tan/red one...and Magnum is the black and tan. Both have those hound dog ears, and are so well behaved. They are quickly learning the routine....now if they could only learn their names. They don't come when I call their names....yet. A little whistle gets them running tho. They follow me around the yard, fenced yard. I have yet to be brave enough to take them out of the fence.
I have been trying to work with the little donkey as well. Can we say....stubborn!??? Jeesh!!! He will NOT be led...anywhere...no matter what. So, for now, we are doing circles...and I am getting dizzy. I just hope I am doing it right...sure don't want to mess him up...and not be able to train him properly. I have visions of him pulling a little cart, me sitting in the drivers seat..the sun warm on my face...we are moving along. What will PROBABLY be...is a cute little donkey in the pasture..forever. I Might just have to hire someone to come help us.
Spring fever is setting in. This crazy weather is making me want to get in the garden..and NOW! I know, I know, it is way too early...but I want to get some beets in the ground soon!
So, nothing much going on...well, other than working with the animals...I hope spring fever is cured soon!

Poor poor Mother Nautre.

I say that because.....it is obvious to me, she is suffering from some sort of dementia. 60's one day, snow and ice the next. Someone please get her some HELP! STAT!!!
In other "news" The red tailed hawks are setting up house....in my woods....right in perfect view of my chicken coop. drats!!!!

OK, so it's not a great picture...but you can definitely see the Red Tail Hawk. Guess we will have to be on watch more once there are hatch-lings. I DO love to watch them tho...*sigh*
Today, is a cold snow day...next break in weather we get, I am putting in the beets. Yummy, red, round balls of pickled love! Oh how we love us some beets!
I tried to sit down the other night and get some of the wool spun out. I just love working with "dirty wool" By this I mean, the Lanolin is still in it, and my hands get covered in lanolin. My hands have never felt better.
I didn't get much done....but it was a start.

This is from my little cinnamon colored ewe, April.
Here she is in all her glory. She has a great personality too!

She came to us with a broken jaw, so she has issues with feed getting stuck in her jaw. I have to clean it out every few days. But, I love her!!
On the rescue front...I was asked to take in 2 micro pot belly pigs. Male and female, both "fixed" Luckily I have a home set up for them already! Whew! Pictures to come, when they get here.
Time to get to work on the house......anyone else starting their spring cleaning? I am hauling a LOT of "stuff" out! Some will get burned, some will get tossed, and some will get donated. As long as it is out of here, I will be happy!

Popcorn anyone?

So the last few days, the weather has been ( dare I say it?) Beautiful. Mornings cool enough to have a fire to take the chill off, then open a few windows later to air out the house. I have kept myself busy trying to get a few things caught up outside. Cleaned the barn out....put the soiled bedding on the chicken yards. They love scratching around in the straw and it helps with the mud in there. Moved the Pot Belly pig, Tulip, back to the barn. She now shares a stall with Suzie. Tulip is very happy, Suzie, not so much. The stall is big enough for them both, so, little miss Suzie needs to learn to share! I need to get the last of the pumpkins and gourds out of the barn. They have frozen and turned mushy. This will be a messy job...I dread! The chickens will benefit tho, and I am sure be happy. I had taken the small potato spade into the coops and turned the bedding in there, and added fresh to it. While turning the old, I noticed how dark and beautiful it was underneath...composting perfectly!! The chickens are staying a bit warmer and I will have plenty compost for the garden. Win win!

Last Christmas, our son and his wife bought me the most interesting thing. Popcorn, on the cob. It came with a bag, and you microwave it. So this evening, I figured I would give it a try.

It worked! I was surprised. It wasn't the buttery stuff you can buy in the bags...but it was OK. I had planned to try and grow my own this year, maybe. We are some popcorn eating people here. LOVE it!
We are coming up on Superbowl Weekend. Tomorrow I will plan out the menu of snacks. I am going to bake bread, and cut it into bite size pieces, melt cheese on them, and serve. Also there will be mini pies, fresh veggies and dips, home made mini pizza's and of course, beer for the hubby. I might splurge, and have a soda, but will probably stick with water and coffee.
So, with rain coming in tomorrow, I will have plenty time to get my baking done, and get ready for Sunday. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

I AM rich.

So, now that I have your attention..no, I am not independently wealthy..Heck, we struggle from week to week just to keep our heads above water...like most Americans now day.s But, I AM rich.....I was out at the barn this morning...doing my chores...and as I settled in to milk...I started thinking. ( I know, dangerous for me )  I AM rich.....We have a home, to shelter us from storms, and to welcome friends and family to share and make memories.....we have land...when worked properly will produce food for us to eat...we have animals...that with proper care and management will provide us with eggs, milk and meat for years to come. But...most of all...I am rich with friends. Friends who help me when I need them, even if it is just listening to my woes. Friends who will help me bring in a harvest...or tend to the garden..or carry loads of firewood to help heat my home. I am rich in knowledge, to do these things that help us to survive. I can manage animals...grow food....put food by for winter months...and...I have a man that stands with me during these times. See, I AM rich...with knowledge...friends..and family. As I sit here, eating a slice of home made bread, toasted and covered in the jelly I made from last years berries...I thank God....for all we have, even tho some may look at us with pity in their eyes...we work hard, worry about things like weather, composting, and animal health...while some friends and family worry about bank accounts, social events, and which restaurant to eat at. I ask for NO pity.....I ask for understanding. Understand...that I LOVE my way of life...the healthy foods I can prepare for us, and them when they come...understand that even tho at any given time you might find me with an injured hen in my lap, tears running down my face knowing I must end her life to save her from suffering......understand that when I am delivering a new goat kid into this world, or a lamb...my tears are of joy and wonder. And, understand, that at the days end, when you are sleeping soundly in your bed, I may be the one out there on watch, foregoing sleep, with a rifle in my hands to protect our farm from predators, be it two legged or four. Because I get my milk fresh from a teet, and you get yours from a florescent lit store, it is I who pity you. You do not know they joy of holding a bawling wet lamb in your arms...or a fuzzy peeping chick.....or know the taste of TRUE vine ripe vegetables. I hold my head high even tho I may be covered in dirt from time to time...my back aching from hard work..my hands sore and blistered from working a garden. I AM rich.

Slip Sliding away!

This morning there was a nice layer of ice on everything. About 1/4 inch. Just enough to make it treacherous walking to the barn. I hesitated, not really wanting to go out there...however, Freedom was sure to voice HIS opinion. HEE HAW he screams to me, translation....GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE! SO, I walk through the grass, knowing I will not be able to navigate the icy sidewalk. Once to the gate, I have to beat the ice off of the chain holding the gate closed. This little pause in my forward motion further irritated the barn animals. And, they let me know it. Everyone seemed to be very opinionated this morning....and they were fixin to get a bit of my own!  "Hold on" I hollered, as if they can understand me. Finally in the pasture I make my way across to the barn, slipping and sliding the whole way. Finally in the barn, my fingers are burning from the cold...I dish out everyone's feed and hay. Little Suzie had a bit of an attitude, head butting the sheep before getting into the stanchion.....throwing her head at me...so, payback time. After washing her teet's, I grab on with icy fingers. Take THAT! HA! Well, she didn't take to it very well, and she stomped her feet at me, and threw her head into my side.  She settled down, and I was able to finish milking in short order. Everyone settled in for the morning, I head back to the house. I watch the kittens running across the icy sidewalk, and think to myself...." sure footed as a cat" just about that time...down he goes...sliding across the sidewalk! I laughed out loud as he comes to a stop, looking perplexed. I made my way to the porch and stood there looking at the icy covered poultry pens, hoping the fence on the top holds up to the weight of the ice. I watched as one of the ducks navigates the icy yard..and giggled to myself at the way it waddled across the ice....knowing I must have looked just as funny as I walked from the barn. Back inside, milk is put up, and the fire is going. Looks like a good day to do some inside cleaning...organizing...and maybe some baking. After I make some bread, I think I will make some chocolate chip cookies...yup, sounds like a plan.