Tomatoes and chicken feet

Fall is here and things are winding down. Now is the time to pull in tomatoes from 3 plants...I either have to do up green tomato salsa, eat lots of fried green tomatoes, or find places to let them ripen....maybe all three!

I still have a few beets and lots of acorn squash to bring in. Then we need to cover the garden spot with compost. A 100 foot square spot with 12" of mulch should do!! Guess to get that we have to muck the barns first! Whew! Everything hinges on everything else... And if we have more time we will go to the fields and pick up unharvested corn for our animals this winter. Every bit helps!

I took 20 birds in the back of the van up to the processing plant yesterday. It smelled like a pig farm in the van. I was frustrated because the back windows haven't opened in a year and I couldn't remove the stink. God was so gracious in opening the windows for me!! And I didn't even pray about it...

Then after I got there and had to pay I was just hoping that I would have enough money  to pay. Every time I have gone, somehow God sells something and gives me the EXACT change. This time was no different. I had exact change. I got goosebumps and almost started crying as I looked at Matt and said," God's done it again! Why do I doubt??!"

The lesson is that if God Cates aboit the small things that I haven't prayed about, how much more the things that are big and life-changing?! Thank you, God, for being so amazing!!

I brought home all of the chicken feet. Yuk, right?! Well, washed and peeled they will make delicious and healthy soup stock! The girls, however, aren't so sure!!

Life with a two year old

I'm just going to state here...if you ever meet a stay at home mom of a two year old,whether she is young and single or middle aged or old and raising grand babies...give her a hug and tell her she is doing great. She might not be doing as well as you would like...but raising a two year old is HARD work. Now, I've raised four others. I should know. And on some level I do know. But you forget the details. Like having babies. Would any mom really do it 5+ times if they REALLY remembered?! We forget enough to make us do it again. I'm here to tell you that you might THINK you remember...but you don't!!

In a three hour period of time Z has broken a picture frame that sits on a high shelf, broken the soap dish in the bathroom, ripped books, spilled dry beans and kicked them everywhere. She has such a disorganized brain that she cannot attend to anything for more than about 30-60 seconds. I've tried oil on a plate, shaving cream, bubbles, stickers, paint with water, puzzles, therapy ball, water play...

Whereas C never ripped but one book (and stuck the pieces up her nose), Z rips every book she can, thus...no library books.

Of course her favorite thing to do is to wander around the yard and pick up "poo balls"... And yes, that is her only 2-word sentence!!

She is thinking she'll give up naps and stay up late. I'm thinking something else!! How can a woman get any school done with the others if I can't get 5 words spoken in a row?!

Her other favorite things are being two with the dog...pulling fur, twisting ears, laying on her,pushing her out of the way of the window and then saying " come!!" AND she loves picking unripe raspberries!

Blood moon

The oldest is so into photography and she picked the perfect spot in the neighbor's field behind our house to set up shop last night. She went out around 6:30, armed with bug spray and lenses. After I got baby to bed I went up and sat with her. A stayed in with Daddy and G and M played out in the semidark. It was so nice to have a few quiet moments with my oldest. Some quiet time to just reflect and some time to talk and reflect on the sermon. I held the flashlight, attracting every mosquito for miles, while she changed lenses for different shots. What a spectacularly clear night. Crickets calling and the wind barely moving dry stalks of corn...and no coyotes calling, just an owl!

Time with family

Z wants to play in the "wa-too". The goats won't appreciate it!

G passed her deep water swim test! Tread for 1 minute and swim the length of the Y pool two times! Yeah, G!!

We thought Mom would pass out, not B.

Z wants to kiss the bunny up close and personal

We are having fun with mom and dad here. We have played games and ate C's yummy cupcakes.  We decided to butcher two rabbits for dinner today. Unfortunately, B wasn't careful enough. Don't know if he was just tired and wanted to see what I was made of, or if he just wanted a nap... In any case, the bloody butcher knife stuck deep in his thumb and he pulled it out and said, " um, I may have a problem. It's pretty deep. "I ran and got a rag and the cayenne pepper. With enough pepper we were able to curtail the bleeding. He got really lightheaded and had to lay down but Mom was a trooper!! While this was going on Z was playing in the goat water and climbing in the rabbit cage.

Today we went to the Y and G passed the swim test. Only one mishap... M was trying to turn on the water toys and accidentally hit the fire alarm. Poor baby was so embarrassed when we all had to start to vacate the building!!

Now to Taco Bell for lunch and then...we'll see what mischief we can get in to. It probably includes lots of dishes, Jinga, and Chinese checkers!!

Soap making on the farm

Yesterday was a great day. I will have pictures up on Facebook with more details, but it was a lot of fun.

I organized a homeschool mother-daughter soap making-tea party. It was intended to keep up with our goals of getting our name out there as a way to impact people. God has blessed us with this property and will knowledge. We'd like to nurture others in their love of nature and each other and to learn about him


The girls worked hard to help me set up and plan. We sewed and cooked and decorated.

When all was said and done we totalled $182. However, $14 paid the girls for help. $35 went back into next times soap-making fund.

Over all it was a great time.

Harvesting

Wouldnt you think that "harvesting" at this time of year would refer to my garden?!! Well...in order to glean a harvest I have decided you must be in the garden at least once a week...

True...I didnt have to water at all this year. But weeding and picking off bugs and pruning...well, I think that would help!!

I am embarrassed to say that off 25 sweet potato plants I have thus harvested 3 small potatoes. The beans are doing well...as is the stuff I didnt plant. ( squashes mostly)

I am proud to say that I have harvested in other areas though. We started the summer running out of hay just days before haying. Our own field costs us about $2 a bale. If we went out and bought hay it would cost us $6...even more for alfalfa hay. So it is nice to finally have a second cutting in off from the field. A full garage! Bill isnt so happy, since it encroaches on HIS side of the garage (which I call the barn!)

We have harvested a great "crop" of male crickets this summer. I love the sound of crickets, as it is the sound of summer. Because of humidity and allergies, our windows are rarely open. As long as I know the crickets are not under my bed...ready to wake me at 3 am... I enjoy them. We have a glass gallon crock full of them. The Chinese use them to alert them in change of routine...it works. When they are use to your habits they keep on singing. But if something unusual happens they get quiet.

Being a wet year there are lots of crickets. We have caught many and watched garden spiders devour them and our baby chicks fight over them like a two-year old does with candy!

We have harvested several very fat field mice in our basement. Wish the cats caught them a little sooner!

Another thing we have harvested well has nothing to do with me.  Our rabbits poop day in and day out...and it is such good fertilizer. Not too hot and not weedy. You can buy it on line for about $2/#, which translates to $3-$4 per gallon freezer bag. Of course when I put it on my plants...way out away from the house...it doesnt matter if it is wet and smelly. I dont think town folks would appreciate that! So...today if you had happened by our place you would have seen a tarp in the front yard strewn with rabbit droppings (which Z calls balls and tries to play with or eat...depending on the day!) After sitting in the wind and sun all afternoon the manure is mostly dry and smell free.

I went to the neighbor's and harvested some of his butternut squash that he didnt want...and watched his German Shepherd roll and roll in an old, mushy, rotton squash. He was orange and happy! What is it about dogs and stink? The worse we find it, the more appealing they find it!

Speaking of the dog...this morning she was foaming at the mouth and smacking like she had gotten in to something yummy. But acting weird. I finally figured out that somehow she had broken a front tooth and it was imbedded in the roof of her mouth. Wish I got paid to be an after-hours weekend dentist!!

I have been getting ready for my mother daughter soap making demo-talk. I have 20 people coming to listen to a talk on the history of soap making and to watch me make soap. We are ending with a tea party. I have been making other items for sale (aprons, clothes pin bags, hot pads...) The girls are all doing their part to sell things they have made. And if someone will buy and enjoy my non-planned dozens of acorn squah...yeah!!

In the midst of all of this, B has been working a second job trying to pay bills. We are hoping to sell more eggs etc to offset expenses, thus the planned events at the farm. I am also starting school Monday. How do I have a full-time job of schooling, another one of taking care of this place and hauling girls to appointments, and then being mommy to all of these precious children?! I try to remind myself that fat souls are better than clean floors... That nothing is so important as spening time with them and leading them up to love and serve God and others.

As I have found...having a good harvest takes lots of time. You cant spend a few minutes a week and expect a bountiful harvest. Oh Lord, give me your vision...that I would truly make the kids my first priority in harvest!

 Compost drying.



Finished compost in bags...ready for sale.

umbrellas

When it rains it pours, right?! I have been feeling in my soul much like this week's weather forecast...cloudy, rainy and more rain. Rain, rain go away!  I have been feeling so overwhelmed ,just being tired with no end in sight. not just because of the list of things to accomplish ,but just the emotional strain of raising children with special needs, a young toddler, so many special food allergies, feeling isolated on the farm,  not having friends, being so financially strapped...

As I am heading out to pick up B after the weekend with his brother and his uncle, I am in the car with baby praying and crying out to God. Begging God to relieve me, asking God for an end in sight, begging God for better way of living. I'm tired of gloom, rain and clouds. It feels like a northern Michigan winter!

 I was reminded of something that I read recently and had written down, thinking that it was good. It said "then I will sing in the shadow of your wings".

So my first thought was okay, I need to sing and praise God for all the good that I have in my life, as opposed to paying attention to the hardships and trials. And then I was thinking how I feel like I'm in the shadows... like the shadows are overwhelming and it doesn't feel like God's shadow- rather the shadow from the valley of the shadow of death that I feel in my soul.

 But as I thought about the verse again I realize that for me, as a believer, when I am in the shadows it COULD be because I'm not walking as I am supposed to, and that my focus is wrong. But on the other hand, the shadows that I am under are really the shadows of His wings.

After having raised turkeys, this makes much more sense. When you see a mama bird with her baby and how closely she keeps them, or how she called to them and they hurry underneath her wings...it give rise to a better understanding.  When God calls to me I should quickly run under his wings, and his wings are always there. He's always watching over me and looking out for me and calling to me. He's not out to give me shadows and rain on purpose. He's trying to make me grow up...his way.

I need to see him as having his wings spread out for protection, as an umbrella. How often I talk to the girls about how God's protection is like an umbrella.  It only works of you stand under him. The umbrella won't keep me dry of I run ahead!  I realize that I need to spend more time relying on God for everything... he is supposed to be my everything, is supposed to be my all and all. And maybe I am at this lonely place so that I learn to need and rely on him in a way I could not otherwise do.

I was thinking about how what I really want right now is to satisfy the craving deep within me by indulging in sugar and chocolate. Its So good to get that sugar high and that feeling of calm that comes over you. I realize what an addiction that sounds like! I know the sugar and chocolate are acceptable, but not when you have used them in that way. I need to spend more time longing for Christ, rather than looking for other things to fill me up.

I think so much of our world is caught up in that same manner. I know people who fill their addictions in any number of ways and I understand that. We do what we do because we're looking for fulfillment.  I'm in the doldrums of life, just like everybody else. But I want to rise on His wings and fly above this ole' world! The Maker shows me in a thousand ways that he loves me...I will choose to sing under his wings.

When I choose obedience, even when I'm so tired and I really don't want to (like I expect of my kids even when they're tired!!)  Or when I choose to pray "Lord, teach me to treat all that comes to me with peace of soul and form conviction that Your will governs all" --it is then that I will be able to sing. Singing at not come easy, but what a pleasant thought it is to stay on the house on a dreary day and sing, even I'm the shadows.

He knows my name, he knows my needs, he has not forsaken me. I need to sing and take a step of obedience in showing that I trust his plan ( and maybe just throw MY plans out!) And pick up my umbrella and go play in the shadows. (I'll have lots of opportunities to do that this rainy week!)

This was written some time ago and I've learned something more about feeling overwhelmed. God doesn't want me to be overwhelmed. He has put what he has put in my life for a reason. Not to overwhelm me but to teach me and make me more like him. Overwhelmed is a frame ofind and it is not one of trust and surrender. I had this mental picture if trying to hold sand in my hand and it all slipping through the cracks. No matter how much I want to hold all my pieces...I just cannot. So then the picture II had was one of God filling the cracks in so that I could hold all of my pieces. And then I thought...no, that isn't even accurate. I don't want to hold the pieces. My hands are broken and worthless. I prayed,"Lord,you take all of my pieces and do whatever you want with them. I am done. It's your turn. You take over!" This has been the attitude of my mind for nearly two months. The peace that He has given and the lack of stress...until I forget and try to hold sand again...is amazing! I am so thankful to have the "peace that passes all understanding!"

Bathing a buck and other tidbits

Our house stinks so badly that no one wants to love on this big baby! In order to give him a bigger collar, trim hooves and horns we had to first bathe him. You see, fit season is coming on and he is getting ready. Scent glands near his horns are producing oil in abundance. He ribs on everything and leaves an odor that is beyond description. He also likes his brand of cologne and seems to attract the girls this way. Which way? Well, he urinates on his beard and legs and drinks it. Boy is he strong
 Guess his mama never told him that a little goes a long way! As soon as I got him rinsed he figured too much smell was gone and started the process again...sigh... At least I got his hooves and one horn done! And then took immediate abrasive showers!

These are beets and horseradish from the garden. I used the beets to make a beet cake. I decided I will have to try this with green zucchini at Christmas! As you can see, Z thought it was delicious. Now O need to come up with time to pickle and freeze the other 50 beets. Good thing most of the girls like beets!

Elderberries G and I picked from one patch. We are drying and selling them. This box was solidly filled...a 18x8 box. So far I have about 15 cups of dried berries and half of the box to go. I have made elderberry syrup and elderberry tincture. Lots of dried berries for tea and to sell. $1.50 per 1/2 cup.

FYI...when you handle a buck during rut. . . use disposable gloves. The leather one of B's are so strong even after being in the rain and sun for a week. . . I don't want them in my house or even in my washer!!

Ashley Down Farm

C is home and life is getting back to a new normal again. School is still a month away, although we keep up with math and reading all summer. OT will continue until some undetermined time.

In the meantime we are busy harvesting elderberries to use for ourselves and to sell. I have been letting A practice driving while she takes me around looking for new patches. By default we found a plum thicket at the end of our road! Amazing. I was thinking of Little House's On the Banks of Plum Creek. I know Ma made preserves and probably dried them. I tried drying some last year but the skin is sooooo sour it isnt worth it. We suck out the insides and give the skins to the chickens!

The garden has not done well this year...I guess I have to actually get out there to beat the bugs!! Actually the volunteer pumpkin and squash plants are doing well. Cukes took over. Berries are coming nicely.

We have had a name for our farm for some time, but are trying some things to bring in revenue and to give people a taste of life on a farm and to be able to expose them to good food.

Our name is Ashley Down Farm. The name came from the name of a street in England in the 1800's. A missionary, George Müeller, ran orphan homes.  (One on Ashley Down) He NEVER once asked anyone for money or supplies. Not even food when they had none. He prayed. He relied on God to provide as He saw fit. And in his autobiography he has some amazing stories of God's miraculous provisions...down to the penny. It is our desire to have that kind of faith. And living on a farm you do need faith!

Next year B and I are planning to expand the garden to double the size, although I am hoping to fill in 1/4 of it with more berries. We want to plant Goji berries and try farmer's market. We are having a soap-making mother daughter party here this fall and in the spring I have planned an heirloom plant planting party and a spring farm day party. We are hoping to get more meat birds...now that I can get organic feed, and hoping to expand our flock of egg layers. We are going to plant 8 more fruit trees. It is our hope to make some money, yes; but it is also our hope to pay the girls for their involvment, thus motivating the younger girls to learn better work ethic. Doesn't everyone want to get rewarded for their involvment?! I know I do!

So it sounds like I could use some extra hands this coming year....come on out!!

volunteers

Volunteer. Doesn't the word sound so...Nobel? It brings to mind pictures of many hands make light work. Or helping hands heal.

Don't we all want volunteers? Who wouldn't like extra help in the kitchen, or with chores (especially on a farm)?

I don't think I have ever had a thought of volunteers being anything but helpful. Now I will say that there are times...not many...where I have to force volunteer-ism on my children. Really...who wants to go get the mail in the rain or trim a INTENSELY stinky buck's hooves?!

But here is a new thought. There are volunteers that we don't exactly want. For instance... This spring I planted 3 types of melons, tomato, basil, beans, beets, potatoes and sweet potatoes, spaghetti squash and zucchini in the garden and acorn and pumpkin squash in the compost pile.

What I have growing is slightly different. I do have tomato, beet, basil and the potatoes, beans and zucchini. What I also have is acorn squash, pumpkin and cucumbers in the garden. Who knows what is at the compost! I sure hope I get some spaghetti squash (although B won't care!). I purposely didn't plant cukes because last year we had hundreds of them. They were great for chickens and ducks but...how many can you eat?!

So I have volunteer cukes. I guess a few stray seeds made it from the birds to the compost pile somehow and voilà... Plants!  Instead of yummy melons on a hot day, I discovered that there were so many cucumbers that had to be picked...and eaten or given to the poultry. For some reason the goats don't like cukes...go figure. They'd eat a tin can but not organic produce?!!

Since I had 30+ cukes I decided that we should be wise and make pickles. I had 2 jars from 2013 and 7 jars from 2014, so I suppose I did need some more.

I put all the girls to work and we canned 18 quarts worth of dills.  They will be very pale, as the cukes were so large, but still crisp and delicious come winter with a cup of soup!

So...while most volunteers are good, these volunteers gave me lots of extra work. But, true to volunteer-ism, I did reap some benefit from them as well. And after we make a few salads, the rest of them can go to the birds. ;)

are you kidding?!

I have to say...animals are wierd.! I guess God was trying to make a point that animals were not created in the image of the Great Creator.

Don't we all know about dogs that love to eat chicken poo and if she can find kitty poo...well, that's even better! How gross. And if that weren't bad enough, the second time up seems even more appealing somehow. This is why Harriet should be outside only!!

Our one rabbit doe, who has been a good mom before, started acting weird. First, she is a full week over due.. .but fat, fat. She hasn't pulled a bit of fur to line the nest, yet yesterday afternoon she had a baby. Didn't care two hoots about him. This am he was still alive but mom decided he was better than her full food bowl. So he had a few chunks missing. I had to feed him to the cats. And funniest is that now she is going crazy pulling fur and making a nest and was having her litter last time I checked. Weird.

Or how about that baby goat? We were so excited to have a doeling this spring. We figured it was easiest to let mom do it natures way. She nursed them until we seperated them at 6-7 weeks. That was back 8 weeks ago. But every chance Baby Olive gets she runs over to mama to steal MY milk. That doesn't make me happy. I tried putting peppermint on the udder to discourage her. No avail.  Momma is so good that she'll let any critter suckle. I played mom and stood on the far side of mom and knocked Olive every time she nursed. Worked great . . . for a day. So now I have to resort to paying $45 to get an udder bag that looks like a straight jacket to make the nipples impossible to get at (I hope). The weirdest is that in researching I learned that even yearling does with their own babies will still nurse on mom...or they will suck on themselves. How weird!

I think I am glad that my kids can easily see that God indeed made us a cut above the animal world. I hope they use their knowledge to further the Truth of this hierarchy and God's plan of redemption for us humans.

old worries and new worries

First let me say that in thinking about reuses for things on the farm I've thought of another...the compost pile. The compost pile is used for so many things. We put about a foot of it over a 100+ square foot area of garden this spring. I have put it all around all of my berries as weed control and to keep them fertilized, moist and cool. The great thing about the compost pile is that it never seems to shrink (or is that a bad thing?! This spring the pile was 4 feet tall,8 feet long and 4 feet wide) and it provides for us...and the animals. This year with the rain it has also produced hundreds, no, millions, of roly-polys. Going by the chickens with an empty wheel barrow, save insects, I call to them and they gobble them up with great relish. I think even if I didn't want the eggs I would still have the birds for insect control...and warning of intruding creatures.

There are so many things we ,who live as we do ,worry about. Some of these worries haven't changed much on the last hundred years. Other worries are relatively new.

For instance, for years there have been worries about the weather. Everyone knows that a farmer is never content with the weather. Well, there is a very good reason for that. Too much rain and the barns are sopping wet and you get multitudes of flies and danger of hoof rot. Too much rain and you can't cut your hay on time. Too much rain and your crops will mold. Too little rain and your crops and produce will not grow. Too little rain and hay won't grow enough to get a second or third cutting.

That is where we are at now. We are down to our last level of hay in the garage/ barn.  A lot of it is molding, and we are running very low. With all the rain that we have had, the farmer next door is not able to get to the field to cut new hay for us. Hopefully, the hay will hold out until we have fresh, green, fragrant hay stacked high in the barn. (Which, by the way, is no easy job. My carpel tunnel doesn't allow me to help much and the younger 3 are not strong enough. The oldest is gone and that leaves two...to drag and stack hopefully 200 bales. Help anyone?!)


Another  old worry still applicable to today is fox, coyote and the neighbor's dog. We have lost a few unlucky birds to all of these. Of course, it didn't use to be a problem to shoot any of them either! And most people had a decent outdoor dog that would protect their own property and livestock.  Too bad Harriet (aka Henrietta, Hudiet, Hudie, Tubman, Tubby or Harriet Tubman) isn't an outside dog. Too bad she isn't good with livestock. Good thing she is so sweet, or I might say she doesn't earn her keep-except chase rabbits out of my garden, trampling everything in the process!

A newer worry is the number of times you must change a flat tire and how many times it can be patched and wondering...will the air hold out till you get to a gas station? In the country when it rains it brings up every stray piece of metal and glass that were dropped or thrown on the road. Tractors drop big huge bolts and nails and somehow they always end up in YOUR tires. I think we have been in 4 times so far this year. Not bad, but at $20 a pop (no pun intended!) and the time to mess with bringing it in and changing it...boy! Someone should come up with country living tire insurance!

Another newer worry is when the washer just isn't working well. B took it apart the other day, sure that it was sludgy from the laundry soap I make. Instead he found sludge. Mud. Gunk from the well water at the bottom of the tub. Not sure if it's supposed to be that way, and while it is a pain I am still glad that I have a washer. I do at least a load a day to keep up with it all.  5 kids and a dog and farm life is hard on clothes. If the windows were new and didn't let in dust every time a vehicle tore down our road(the speed limit is 55 on gravel!) and if the dog didn't shed and leave piles of dust everywhere...maybe my rags would be white when I was done washing floors like a friend of mine's! Maybe our feet wouldn't have to be washed every night before bed. Maybe I wouldn't need a washer as much as I do!!

It IS a constant worry about weather and hay and crops and broken toilets (outhouse anyone?!) and pipes that are leaking and the frige that is on its last leg and running out of shaving cream (someone used the last and failed to put it on the list for last shopping trip. No way you can go to town just for THAT!)

In spite of all of that we would not live elsewhere...ok...maybe we would vacation in your basement for a week. And then we would all be stir-crazy, ready to go take on the world...one rabbit and one season at a time.

Phillipians 4:7-ff says: do not be anxious about anything. But in everything, with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.

We pray at meals, of course, but boy...when we have difficulties like stretching the hay or broken pipes and not enough money and too far to go to get parts tonight...you can be sure we are petitioning Him. The key, I am finding, is to present(give it over) the requests to God and then leave them there, knowing He is working them out in His way and timing. I am able to be thankful today because He is in control of the weather and the animals and even the pipes. It gives great peace to just rest in Him taking over...where I can do nothing anyway!

Following is pictures of our not-so-good country dog and pictures of conquering the world one rabbit at a time...for the freezer. It use to be that the thought of butchering madee I'll. Now it is so old hat that I cannot wait to dig in! Lol!

for the faint of heart

 Life on an acreage is not for the faint of heart! My aunt asked me the other day what I would do all day if I lived in a normal house and had no animals. I said, "it would be vacation!!"

 Of course I don't really do much around here. I have lots of helpers and if you looked at my garden you would realize that in comparison to real homesteaders or the old time farmers...I only play!

Nevertheless, I did get out to the garden and do a bit of weeding. I picked some of the spinach that was going to seed to give to the rabbits tomorrow morning. I also picked a mess of beets, of which I will give the greens to the rabbits and goats and use the beets as boiled beets and also will make some beet kvass.  (I go to the goat pen and pick the white clover that they won't eat--they prefer red. Who knew they can see in color?! I pick a big tote every am and supplement the meat rabbits diet. We have 15 needing butchering and they are eating me out of house and home!)

Nothing on a farm goes to waste! Even the seeds that the animals fail to eat come up in the garden. So far I have beautiful squash plants, of some kind! And several cucumber plant, which I did not plant. I thinned my strawberry plants the other day. I must have pulled about 100 plants out. I gave some to a lady that came for a kitten, offered some to another friend, transplant and about 45 plants and still have about 30 left.

Even a box and a feed bag get recycled in a million ways. Currently a box set out to burn is being used as a kitten house-playyard. It is so fun to sit and watch them bat and scratch and jump with each other! Even the mamas are getting into it!

 I just used a feed bag the other day,too, to put between two of the rabbit cages. The lid use to be flat and the divider fit perfectly. Bit the snow sat so heavy that we modified it to be at an angle. Fine except the pen of 4 rabbits each side would always have 7 on one side and no food and water. They hopped one way but never made it back. So I figured I'd put the one doe due any day(had 10 and lost 4) side by side with the ready-to-butcher babies because they wouldn't jump over there. Well, indeed they did. And I was afraid for the new tiny rabbits. So...I put the other expecting doe on the other side and moved the bigger babies. Fine. Except new mama jumped in with other doe and got all bloodied up! Twice. She, too, apparently forgot which way was home. Thus, a feed sack weighed down at the bottom with a brick and at the top on the lid with a brick. Boy, you'll never look at a disposable item again when you've lived in the country!!

Faint of heart my girls ain't... The two does got into it again...another emergency call to the vet for a house call (yes, they still make house calls). Our horned goat gored the other in the udder...again. Different spot. Much worse. This time it was not just milk running out of her bag, it was pouring blood. Of course I was alone outside and I had left the two together...so it was my fault. Anyway...I dragged her to the hose to try to wash her off and assess. There was no assessing except "don't panic!" I got her up to the garage and on the way stopped long enough to pick a wad of clean plantain leaves. I did consider, as I popped them in my mouth and started chewing, that we do have goats, kittens and free-range birds...but what's that to a bleeding goat?! So, I chewed and chewed and then crammed them into the gouge and applied pressure. To no avail. I felt like a surgeon asking for scalpel as I yelled,"more plantain leaves. How about gloves and cayenne..." The cayenne finally did the trick...as long as it was left alone. (Cayenne is a vasoconstictor, so it constricts the blood vessels, this slowing bleeding. I have used this on a puncture on my own hand. And,no, it doesn't burn or hurt...as long as its only on the injury. It does burn...like cayenne...on the rest of your skin! FYI!!) Finally the vet showed up and pulled the plantain and started the bleeding again. As it turns out, G held her tail up and out of the way while I held her collar and chest in place and M watched as he stitched her up. That was bad in its own right, but try milking bloody milk with clots that don't come down and out without some major force...THAT was a bit much for B an A. I ended up taking over for those with sensitive stomachs. I thought about offering curds and whey or strawberry milk for dinner...but decided against it in favor of compassion. However, like I said, nothing gets wasted...so the bottle babies drink koolaid milk just fine!!

When B was up at Mom's a few weeks ago he found some bows, without strings or arrows. A has been dying to buy one...B ordered strings and arrows and remade the 30+ year old bows. Boy has it been fun. They are going to have to start bow hunting for me this fall!!

Well, we would love company...but please don't come unless you have a stout composition and aren't scared off by a dead snake on the book shelf or a HUGE weird spider in a jar on the kitchen cupboard or a cricket house in the mudroom or a diapered goat jumping off your lap whole you sit on the couch enjoying a cup of...something that just spilled...or a diaper-less child pottying on the potty chair in the dining room. (Rule one of potty training before they can talk...make the potty chair assessable at all times!)

a day with C..and birthday 45

Today I turn 45. Wow. Where has the time gone?! I always say that I sure haven't spent it sleeping!

Every year in the past few C has made all of our bday cakes. What am I to do without her here for the rest of my life? So...we decided to bring birthday to her!  We are all excited, as its been 6 weeks since we've seen her. 6 weeks is only half the summer, but when its over it will be 1/6 of Z's life. Will she remember C?

We've been trying to get Z to say C's name...to no avail. She will say everyone else's name though! The other day she was in the pack and play, saying "out!" and trying to climb out. She started by calling for me. I didnt come but A walked by...calling for her didn't work either!

So up by 7 and on the road by 7:20. We got here by 10:20.

First the hugs.  M was out before the car even stopped!! Z actually went to C...just a little shy!

Next...business. We looked at all the animals and settled 5 of our baby kitties in their new home and got our mini rex into his cage. Now for the goat hooves. The hooves of all goats need to be trimmed regularly, but these have never been done. A and C played ferrier.

We shooed mama pig out and watched the baby pig wallowing in her water... Eventually heading to Taco Bell for lunch. Z took a short nap and now we are at the laundromat. C has no way of doing laundry and having done it only once after having been at camp....you can imagine how desperatly she needed this. Showers only count for so much...

While we wait for laundry to finish up B was ever the fixer...fixed a hole in C's boots and the laundromat chair. C told storiea and we pushed the girls in the roller basket and C taught them line dances. Great fun!!

We drove back to camp and while B slept we went down to the lake. The older 4 kyaked  and Z and I played in the water. When B joined us he took Z and I on a canoe while the girls followed, oarless by choice.

At 5 we gave C some home made cookies, cheese sticks and yogurts and gave her more dessert for her dinner-movie evening. She was thrilled with home made food.

What a great birthday. I can only recall 2 other birthdays...this one definitely makes the memory book!!

The pixs are of B fixing a hole in her boot, wster play, line dancing and hanging out at laundromat, and C with Z.

a day with Jay and...

Well so much goes on in a day! This morning we did chores and then went into town. We went to the chiropractor, grocery store, second hand store looking for movies, grocery store looking for compost, and feed store. We found a watermelon and a couple pieces of bread which we gave to the animals, which was a nice treat. And at the feed store I met a man who is I teresyed in any extra hay we end up with. That will be a huge blessing!

When we came home the girls watched two I love Lucy episodes and cut out some Lucy paper dolls. They cleaned the pool and swam a little bit but it was a little cold. A is mowing currently.

A week or so ago one of our mother rabbits had babies a week, but she has lost two.  There is one runt that is very little and may not make it. Every morning I give the big rabbits as much hay and clover from the goat field as they can eat, to offset feed costs until we can butcher the 15.

About 3 weeks ago the girls found a baby blue jay, laying on the ground, with no feathers and eyes closed. They took him into the garage and were able to feed him wet chicken feed and keep it alive. Yesterday was the big day. We had friends come over for the day to play with 10 baby kitties and to swim. G and her friend made whipped cream and shortcake and picked mulberries for desert. Yesterday evening then, we let Jay go. This morning we heard him screeching in the trees waiting for breakfast. Because he is a non-migratatory bird it was acceptable for us to hand feed him. Now we are trying to help him figure out how to exist on his own in the wild. But right now, he thinks we are his mamas.


 I spent a great part of yesterday evening doing research on Z's diet. She has so many foods that she cannot eat because of a protein intolerance. At this point it is looking more and more like she can have no fruit and no vegetable. Possibly blueberries and cranberries and sweet potatoes are allowable. So hopefully dairy and eggs are okay for her . . .we have lots of those! Her allergy is called latex fruit syndrome or latex protein allergy. Anything that has a similar protein to latex causes problems. At this point, thankfully, she has more constipation issues than anaphalexis or throwing up!

I have been so excited, thinking we are close to potty training. Z never wears a diaper, and rarely do we have accidents. This morning she sure showed me! We were standing at the sink doing dishes and I realized it had been a while since she had sat on the potty. I took her off the chair and said" let's go potty. "She took me literally! As I walked to the bathroom she pottied all down my legs and her legs and the floor and did save a little for the toilet! Lol! This afternoon, after potting her, I double diapered her and laid her down. Quite some time later she was still in there fussing so I went to check on her. She had wet her diaper, and decided she didn't want it on. Now she's done this in the past, and I have been proud of her for knowing that her diaper was wet! However, this time she not only wet her diaper but took off all of her clothing and then pottied in the crib, on all of her blankets and silkies, through the mattress to the foam pad and it ran all over the floor as well. I guess she's not quite as far along as I had hoped!

This afternoon also showed the girls frantically looking for J, as it had rained all night and they were worried about him. We could not find him this morning and they were concerned. We walk on the trail for 20 minutes and when we came home they heard him screeching in the trees for food. They were very excited. He came to them and perched on their finger and they fed him. But that time the cats decided they saw a free meal. The girls were screaming and very distraught. We did manage to rescue Jay and put him back in the tree. For today...

This is the site of a true farm-girl in the making!! She loves her pink boots from Oma!

And the other pix is one of Jay, learning to fledge. Too bad its not as fun watching your children try to do the same. Somehow that is much more emotional!!

painting and friends

 After seeing the pictures you might wonder what we painted... The options really are limitless around here. We could paint the house or window wells. We could paint the rabbit cages or the chicken coop or the buck and doe barns...

The spring has been so wet and it's needed to be done for some time. The out buildings--- all of them-- need their annual cover. But it's been so unpredictable as to when it's safe to get out there and get dirty. Yesterday afternoon, after driving 30 minutes to breed to one of our rabbit does, I decided we would try.

 I bet you have not painted like this though. I had to put all the goats on lines away from the paint...as last year Lizzie was licking the wet paint off from the side of the building! Then, after getting the girls going on their sectioms , I stood on a milk stool from Mom and started to reach for the high spots. Meanwhile, the two baby goats were bouncing off my back and legs (literally) and nudging the back of my knees looking for milk and eating my skirt...Yes, I did finally get done, only nearly falling off once!

The girls did a fabulous job of painting. The hardest part was trying to get beyond the fence down low. We had to put the brush through the individual squares of fencing. That was challenging.

After a very hot job on thebbuck barn they all...including A and Z...jumped in the pool to cool off. I continued to paint and got the doe barn and chicken coop done...in only 2 shades of white! I guess the goats don't care, the passersby can't see it from the road, and I can't complain about free paint!

 We ended the day by grilling chicken and having macaroni salad and cole slaw with our pastor friend. Of course as he sat on the porch visiting with B, sipping on a drink, the goats were clamoring all over him, as the bottles look the same as the ones they get milk in. Sorry, Pastor!

I guess that's a sure way to loose your enemies and know who your real friends are!

So, stop on by for some hard work, a drink, good food and some laughs...and maybe the pool! Just be sure you bring old clothes. Between the goats, mud and paint I cannot guarantee a clean departure!

1 hour disaster

 Today was a busy saturday. I took the sheets off my bed, washed down the bedroom walls to  get rid of the cobwebs, cleaned out the turkey run, helped butcher Ferdinand the turkey, and then came in to shower! (Cleaning the turkey pen consists of using a pitch fork and scooping very wet and very stinky slop. All in all a very stinky job!)

This afternoon  I cleaned  the house. I wiped down all the dog hair/dust-laden floors and wiped down the cupboard fronts. I even bathed the baby in the kitchen sink!  I did the dishes, picked strawberries and lettuce and spinach and weeded the garden.

Just before supper I strained the milk and put it in a bag for the freezer. I spilled half of the bag ...on the floor, on the salad vegetables, in all the drawers and inside the cupboards.  The dog was licking up the milk and Z came to check out what was going on. Her feet slipped from under her and she fell flat on her back with her head in the milk... so after having given her one bath today she needed her second!

 After supper I deboned the turkey and put it in a glass dish. As I poured the gravy into the container I heard a a dripping noise. Come to find out the gravy was not going in to the glass dish, rather it was going all over the cupboard and all over the inside of the cupboards and the doors and all over the floor --running down our uneven floor towards the floor vent.

 I got to clean my kitchen again for the 3rd time today... it should be clean!!

As I was ready to put Z in bed I realized that the sheets were not on my bed. They were still in the dryer, and actually they were still damp. I opted to put damp sheets on the bed so that I could put the baby to bed and go take my shower. Now at 9 o'clock, after having fed the baby goats I think I'm ready for bed myself!

this is the longest 24 hours ever!!

This morning continued the trend Of the last few days. More forest fires then I can possibly put out.

I took a benadryl last night because my allergies are bad, and I thought I would be able to sleep. I slept until 7 this morning and didn't get out of bed until 7:30. What a wonderful way to start the day! Of course, this meant that I did not get my chores done and I did not have myself ready for the day. Therefore,  I couldn't work with everyone else in an undivided mamner. Lesson learned.

In the meantime I went out to the barn to get Millie so that A could milk her. On the way out of the barn, I noticed that she had a big bloody spot on her udder. Come to find out, our other goat got nasty with her and she has a gouge that goes all the way through and it was dripping milk. Normally I will try to take care of injuries here at the house, but this was beyond my scope of ability. I do not want to try to do stitches. I have tried castrating a cat, with very poor results. I leave those sort of things for the vet! In the meantime, A is out of commission because her wisdom teeth, G was supposed to be working on chores, & M was supposed to be watching the baby and doing inside work, and Z fell out of the rockimg chair. We had floors to sweep, beds to make, laundry to fold, dishes to do, breakfast to make, baby's diaper to change, baby to get dressed and fed, all of us to feed, and chores to do.

Instead, I called the vet and got an appointment for her to come out. I was thankful to be able to get dressed and wash my hair before she showed up! We spent the next hour working on cleaning and stitching her up. In case you don't know, when a goat has a tranquilizer, she snores and falls asleep on her feet. And 125# of me trying to hold 100+# of her on a slippery milk stanchion is pretty funny. Millie was hardly standing on her own four feet and as I was holding her up, she was drooling all over my arms, and she was snoring. Her tongue was sticking out and she was weaving her head .It was quite a sight to behold! I imagine she was wonderimg "is this real life?!"

 So now I have 3 shots to give her a day for the next two weeks, & I have to keep our horned goat separate from all the rest so that she does not injure anyone else. This means moving all of the goats around and now bottle feeding the 2 babies so that we can sooner move our horns goat to a new home.

 After a quick lunch, I was able to lay the baby down, to go out to the barn to get the 2 baby goats, to bring them in, to try to nurse them, and keep the dog away from them.

Needless to say I feel like I'm losing my mind today.  trying to deal with special diets and special needs on top of normal life is most days too much! Of course anyone reading this would say my life is not normal! To which I agree. However, I don't think normal exists for me at this point in life.  I know God has placed me in this place at this time for a specific purpose for him. I just wish I knew how to do it in a manner worthy of him, and in a patient manner! If the kids and kids would just cooperate...if I would just learn a little bit quicker than s..l..o..w..!!