Happy Cows!

I LOVE this video!!

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, my Boy went to the best friend's house and got quite the treat.  They have been waiting for their Nigerian Dwarf goat to kid for weeks (She was over due for about 15 days).  She went into labor just as they were heading to their house.

 

She had twin doelings.  Boy and his best bud, J, helped out by milking the mama.

 

 

More Barn Safari Pictures

It's been a nice sunny day here (in preparation for the 8 inches of snow coming tomorrow...).  My DH and I went out this afternoon and did some "Barn Safari".  I am so tickled.  He knows my heart and goes along with my whims (and even encourages them!)

Today's pictures:

On SR 61

 

Log Cabin and Well on CR15

 

Barn on CR 15

 

 

Another on CR 15

Barn Safai

One of my 101 mid-season replacements is to do a "Barn Safari".  I love seeing the old barns that are still around (even if most of them are about to fall down.)  There are about 5 on the way to church that everytime I pass, I think I should get back here when I'm not in good clothes and get some pictures.  The goal is to take the pictures in different seasons and find a few to print and frame here at the house.

While I had to do something I always put off (I dread doing it, but don't have a good reason why.) my BFF suggested I do something I WANTED to do at the same time.  So I took the recycling up to the next town, and on the way back got some safari pictures.

Here is the BEST  of the lot:

And here are some others:

 

 

 

More new chicks....Clearance Sale!

I didn't want to go nuts with lots of chicks this year.  So I talked myself out of ordering 100 from the hatchery.  Then I just got the 21 last week and only 11 of those are potential hens, the other ten are meat birds. 
I got an email last night from one of my favorite feed store said they had 6 different breeds of chicks in.  I HAD to go look.  The one kind that I was going to get from the hatchery was more Americaunas (green layers).  They had some so I decided I'd just get 2-3.  All their birds were $2.99 each which is reasonable.  I only took $12 with me as I have a chicken problem.  I was going to get 2 Americaunas and a Buffy (Man has been asking for more Buffys!!).  But then the guy said, "They're all $2.99 except this second pen of Americaunas.  They are older (so I'm thinking they've been fed so they are more expensive---right?), they are only $1.99 each."

CHING!  So I picked up 6 Americaunas that are basically the same age as the ones I got last week.

Then I took them to homeschool gym with me, and almost every kid there held them! It was a blast.  And I didn't have my camera!  BUMMER!

Looking out my window...

Our Danny dog is quite the circus dog! He bounces off the door and "knocks" to be let in.  If you don't answer, he will come up the cellar door and look in the window to see if I'm in the kitchen so I will let him in.  If I ignore him long enough, he usually sits on one of the porch chairs to wait.

Earlier today, our son and our shop helper stacked firewood on the porch for me.

This evening my Man called me from the woodshop to tell me to grab my camera and quietly go look out the back door. 

 

He's about 4-4.5 feet off the ground...and didn't knock any of the wood off getting up there!

 

Getting down was fun to watch.

 

Happy Pi Day!

So in all this time, I have never made a fruit pie!  I have only made chicken pot pie.  So in honor of PI day (You know 3.14....) I made strawberry rhubarb pie from rhubarb that grew in our back yard!!

(Yes, I do need a new baking sheet...that is disgraceful, I know!)

AND...it was actually GOOD!

Two more bunnies looking for a home

Well, all of the Lops that were for sale have found new homes.  But I still have people asking about them...so I am going to post the other two rabbits that aren't part of our "breeding program".  When we got our last set of cages, they came with rabbits.  One was "Scottie" as he kinda looked like a Scottie Dog.  He's a full grown Polish Rabbit.  They are very small and have huge eyes.

 

Isn't he cute??

 

The other one is "Speckles".  We got "her" from the small animal auction.  She was supposed to be a Broken New Zealand Female.

 

BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ....thanks for playing...NO.

 

Male Rex.  We discovered he was a male when we put him in with Black Jack to breed and they both looked at us like "Really? Now what?"

 

He has really soft velvety (short) fur.  And a really nice personality.  Too bad he's not a she and a New Zealand.  Hopefully I can find a new home for them both really soon.

 

Yellow Cat

Yellow cat only comes around at chore time.  But he is my buddy and does love to be scratched...just not picked up!

 

 

Comings and Goings

It's been a day of coming and going here on the farm.

This morning I picked up 10 Golden Comet pullets (baby hens), 1 Barred Rock Chicken (I don't know if it's a pullet or a roo, yet). and 10 Cornish Cross Meat chickens. Praying they get through the night in the brooder in the barn.  The last set of chicks discovered that they loved the taste of styrofoam and pecked most of it off the walls of the brooder!!  They have a heat lamp and each other. (and me worrying in the house-grin)

 

UPDATE:  9:26 pm I'm too much a MOM, so they are now sleeping in the laundry room!

 

Today, the bunny, Jacob finally found a new forever home. A young man promised to love and spoil him and I feel like he went to a really great home. 

 

And Bess...is not coming or going.  She planted herself in the doorway of the barn and just spent the day enjoying the sun. 

Being organized about it...

So running around trying to do too many project, my dear cousin/bff suggested that I needed a calendar (besides the one on the fridge.)  I found a great one on clearance and can segment it out for some of the different areas in my life.  Now, if I would just get them done!  I'm great at making lists...execution..not so much.  Hopefully though, we can get going on the 101 list...only 265 days left...

 

Along with that thought....I accomplished one of my goals...

 

 

MY CAR IS PAID FOR!!!! YAY!

 

 

 

Snowy day.

Here's to hoping this is the last snow of this winter!  We had firewood dropped off yesterday because the weather people said we might get up to 9 inches of snow.  So since we now have plenty of firewood, I would expect it is going to now get warm. (Here's praying for it!!)

Anyway, the snow was that thick packing kind and was stuck to everything and making it all beautiful outside.  I thought I would share.  My clothesline cracked me up. :)

Dinner tonight!

I did a bunch of cooking today.  I cooked up 5 pounds of chicken leg quarters and 4 breasts to make shredded chicken.  Then fixed up a meal of chicken veggie noodle casserole for a friend that just had her 7th child (bless her!) and another for another friend who just had her 5th.  Then I made Chicken Potpie for us!  YUM!!  Still have about 6 cups of chicken for chimichangas and a gallon of broth for soup.

A pregnant cow....

 

Which is an insult...unless you are a

Pregnant Cow!

Starting Seeds...

Today I slept in really late!  Missed church, but maybe that is for the best today.  Puttered around the house and then got a burr in my saddle that said "You're LATE!"  So I started working on my seedlings.

I have started 4 trays of 72 plugs.  Tomorrow I'll do the two trays that do not have plugs but are just straight planted.

Here's what we have so far:

Tomatoes:  168 Plugs:

• 12 Black Krim
• 12 Mortgage Lifters
• 12 Roma
• 12 Yellow Jubilee
• 12 Gurney Orange
• 12 San Marzano
• 12 Pink Brandywine
• 12 Red Brandywine
• 12 Tigerella
• 12 Burpee's Big Boy
• 12 Yellow Pear (Cherry size)
• 12 Oregon Spring
• 12 Delicious Hybrid
• 12 Crimson Cushion

Peppers:  48 Plugs:

• 12 Poblanos
• 12 Sante Fe Grande
• 12 California Wonder
• 12 Yellow Monster

Tomatillos: 36 Plugs:

• 12 Purple Tomatillos
• 12 Green Mexican Tomatillos
• 12 Pineapple Tomatatillos (Also known as Ground Cherries-taste like Pineapple used for jams and fruit salsas.)

Brassica: 36 Plugs:

• 12 Brussel Sprouts
• 12 Cauliflower
• 6 Kohlrabi
• 6 Cabbage

OH, and I almost forgot...I started 56 "chicken seeds" in the incubator!!

Cellar Greenhouse

I haven't been posting much (which is bad for my 365 project) but the pictures and days seem so alike.  How many pictures of icicles can I post, really??  I know, right?

But today is a bit different...despite a horrible head cold, I started putting together the indoor "greenhouse" I've been imagining for the last two months.  I'll post all the steps..

First few shelves up, working on attaching lights.  Notice the old washer hook up is right there so I can easily water, plus the sump pump hole is on the other side for drainage.

 

All the shelves are up and two of the lights.  I only had two, but Man saved the day!  He had another brand new one in the shop that he gave me.

My helpers: Danny and Black Cat.

Black Cat (AKA Tom) is definitely a Tom-Cat.  Look at those raggedy ears!

 

All the lights attached and on.

Plastic attached and open.

All closed up.

 

The view with my buckets of grain and canning in front.

 

Tomorrow....starting the seeds.

Farm Stand

This is the farm stand I am wanting for at the end of my driveway....

 

It's the exact one, as it is the lot model and discontinued.  Man says we need to paint the doors brown though...I agree!

 

Now I have to get the taxes done...QUICK so I can see if we can afford it.