the goat shui farm

rufus and station

2008-08-08T08:21:00.006-04:00

So here's Rufus now. He's pretty big. I love that he's pretty much afraid of the hens. I was hoping he was a gay rooster, but no such luck, as it turns out. Hopefully he'll just be a gentle creature who isn't needing to attack the hens every minute. The other rooster who hid during butchering days is quite aggressive, and he'll be in the oven soon. I'm so much less inclined to put up with roosters sneaking up behind me to attack me then previously. That gets a bit tiring. Like I can't even be comfortable in my own yard because this bird that weighs 8 lbs can freak me out? Seriously.

And the little chicks are finally starting to lay! They are all in the big barn now, which is really so much easier for us. The turkey hens will get moved this weekend after I have cleaned their coop out. That will make it even easier, I think. We'll put Lizzy in there with them, and perhaps one male as well. She tends to chase the chickens around and is a bit rough on them. That's no good for laying purposes. We'll see how the mr. turkeys get along with the young boys, which will give them more room to roam. If they don't, I'm not sure what I'll do about them. Wouldn't another barn be great?

Oh, so I counted like 67 hens the other day and I have only been getting 6-8 eggs a day. I'm thinking this doesn't make sense, but then again, what do I know? Maybe it's the heat. Maybe they are eating the eggs, maybe they are still hiding them. I can't find new nests anywhere, so I've no clue. I'm starting to go out there to collect eggs every few hours. Yesterday I got a dozen eggs, and at least half of them were from the new chicks. Pretty small and cute. Hopefully they'll all start laying soon.

(Looks like I'll have to upload pix later. For whatever reason, they are refusing to load.)

on electric fencing

2008-08-08T07:45:00.005-04:00

Finally! It is up and running. Jarvie came over to help me hook it all up earlier this week. And it wasn't that I couldn't do it myself, just that I was freaked out about doing it and needed moral support. And someone to touch it when it was all finished so we could test it and see if it worked! Of course, she refused, so I let everything sit for a few days until yesterday I decided to just go for it and let the girls out. The worse that could have happened was that it didn't work and they would have broken through it, and the best was that it worked fine.

It worked fine!

Here's the thing about electric fencing: it isn't a physical barrier but a psychological one. These girls weigh at least 200#, and at 135#, I get dragged along behind them whenever I try to lead them anywhere. They flip me like a rag doll unless I am really digging in my heels. And even then.

So here are these big girls with these little wires. A touch of the nose here, and then over there, and again over there was enough to give them a healthy fear of the fence. It was so awesome. Once they figured out the boundary, they just ran and ran. At first, they'd run right for me and I was sure they'd simply fly into the fence, but they'd turn at the last minute to run the other way. They were SO happy to get out of their pen. I can't quite figure out how they can run so fast being so fat, but they managed.

I wonder how much the world around me is like an electric fence. A shock here, a shock there, and suddenly I have this psychological barrier that keeps me from doing and being all that I can do and be. What limits me, really, save for a few strands of wire? A story about some events that happened in the past?

Ooops. As I was writing so philosophically about the electric fence, Hershey got out! Dammit! See, I don't want an electric fence to limit me, but I certainly want it to limit her! It's possible that the 5 strands being hot are making it not so shocking. I'm not really sure. It's got a 50 mile radius, so that should be enough. What do I know about these things anyway? I put her nose to the fence a few times, and maybe that will work. But she was actually standing on the wire and I'm betting she wasn't feeling the shock through her hooves. Well, we shall just have to see. I'll make sure nothing is touching it, perhaps put another ground halfway around, and see what happens.

Seriously, goats are the most stubborn, strong, annoying, delightful creatures that one can take care of. If this doesn't work, I really have no idea what I'll do, other than keeping them in a very limited area. That would be a bummer for them, but then again, at least they'd be safe there. As would my gardens, the ducks, the chickens, the turkeys, the house, the barns, and anything else they could get their paws on. Seriously, who in their right mind would possibly think of taking care of adolescent children who weight over 200#? I'm a freaking nut case!

richard

2008-08-01T22:06:00.002-04:00

Well, I haven't written much these last few days, mostly because I really haven't done anything. I did get the wire for the electric fence up, but still need to tag it so people don't run into it, and also put the unit up. I found a copper pipe by the little chicken coop that had a ground wire attached to it, and think it might have been for the phone line that had been there. Or it does look like there was an electric fence that had been attached to the coop at one point, so maybe it was for that. Regardless, figuring that part out has been taken care of. Now it's just a matter of attaching the wires to the unit and plugging the thing in. Gulp.

On to Richard: there has been an interesting development in the fate of Richard. Amlan is concerned that there will be too much of Richard to consume without any of him going to waste. It is so interesting how the way we think about these things changes when we are connected to our food sources. There is way more to think about, actually. We are taking a life, and in that taking, one of the ways we show our respect is by making sure there is no waste. I love this.

If Amlan can't get any partners, he has committed to adopting Richard. This is awesomely cool. I have found myself growing increasingly fond of Richard now that Flower has her own pen and he isn't taking nibbles off her wool or harassing her for her food. He's turning into a kinder, more gentler, Richard. This afternoon I went outside and found the 2 little chicks sitting on his back roosting. He was just looking at them, and didn't move a bit. I think he really liked them there. I tried to get a picture, but by the time I got back with the camera, they had jumped off. But it made me like him even more.

So I'm hoping that Richard stays. And if the girls truly are pregnant (Amlan told me I can give them a regular pregnancy test to find out), then this means he can continue to be the farm stud and Isaac can become a wether. I like this idea. Flower will have an ideal companion, and we can love on Isaac when he gets older without smelling like a billy goat. Hate the thought of the process, but I think it will be worth it. I'll hunt up a pregnancy test this weekend to make sure, and then I'll call the vet to get Isaac taken care of. I'm thinking the sooner the better.

Well, I didn't get much work of any kind done today, and it was supposed to be one of those days! So goes it. Now I'm heading for bed with the fan on so Vanna can't hear the coyotes. It's the only way to get any sleep these days.

Oh, and the guys come home from their vacation with Tim on Sunday. Woohoo! I've sure missed them, as have all the animals.

I have to remember to take a picture of Rufus. (Remember him? He's the little chick that got his beak ripped off who fell in love with Dan. He's been hanging around the house these days. I really like him. Except I forgot how we spelled his name, originally.)

Anyway! Goodnight!

our white bantam

2008-07-29T12:25:00.004-04:00

She's pretty cute, isn't she? When she was in the little coop, she always hid. Now that she is in the big barn, she is starting to get brave. I love to see her out running around.

As of yesterday, I am not letting the chickens run in the front yard, and am forcing them to play out back behind the barn where the new fencing will keep them safe. I have to say that I am a bit saddened by this. I loved going outside and seeing them everywhere. Now when I come in, it's all quiet out front and seems kind of lonely. But they are safer, and I guess that's a good thing. Yes, how great it would be do have this whole place fenced in so they can run wherever they feel like it.

A good reason for controlling their running room is that this way I will be able to find their eggs. I hope, anyway. Who knows where they are laying now? I have no clue. I only know that sometimes I am lucky if I get 8 eggs. And this from 25 laying hens. I'm going to have babies spring up everywhere. Cool! I hope so.

goat barn continued

2008-07-29T12:15:00.003-04:00

I am really getting there on the goat barn. Boy, what a long drawn out process. I have to say that if I didn't have goats or I didn't care too much about them being able to graze, I would never complete this project. I've kind of forgotten how long it takes to do these kinds of things. Since the main part of the house was done, I could work on things little by little and it didn't take forever to see some real change. This seems to be taking a very long time. The good news is that Flower's pen is pretty much completed, although I still have some more stuff to do. She slept in there last night, at least. The problem is that it left poor Richard on his own, and he did a bit of crying over that. Flower cried a bit, too, but at least she could hear the other goats. I've been putting Isaac in with her during the day so they can graze together. We'll see how this system works. So far, I really like it. And Flower will be able to get outside in the winter, too, which she'll love. I don't think she minds the cold at all.

WOohoo! We are getting there. And since I'm not so afraid of electricity, it will be easier to put the fence up. Still not quite sure how to get around the gate. That's my hang up. But what usually happens is I just decide to do something and it ends up working fine. Even if it takes a few tries. Such is life.

Anyway, here's a picture of the right side almost done. I'll take another one today, hopefully, so you can see what it looks like with a door on it.

Where the electric fence will go for the girl goats:

Where the electric fence will go for Flower and Isaac:

Speaking of girl goats:

Junk from the barn I have to find a place for. Man!

we die right on time

2008-07-29T11:46:00.003-04:00

It's now my new belief. For real. I could say it was a new religious belief, but what does religion have to do with it? Seems like we either think we die perfectly on time, or we don't. And I've always kind of said this, but I can see that I never was really quite sure about it. Until now.

See, I almost electrocuted myself this past weekend. I'm scared of electricity, and it's the one thing I've never done on my own. Not even have I attempted to put in a light fixture. Yep, I'm chicken about electricity. So I find it pretty ironic that I cut the main power cords to the house using bolt cutters. Yep, bolt cutters.

And I didn't die. But only because I'm going to die right on time, and this weekend wasn't right on time. I'm pretty happy about that, really.

It's not like I would have cared, as I'd be dead, but think of the boys! They would have to tell people that their mom died when they were 15 because she cut the power lines to the house with bolt cutters. How embarrassing.

When I had someone out here working on the house in the early days, we talked about those wires sticking up all over the place by the barn. Probably old wires, because if they were the new wires, they wouldn't be sticking out of the ground like that. Well, they weren't old and they had plenty of juice.

What's crazy about the whole thing is that I never felt a thing, and then proceeded to work the rest of the day on the barn--moving and dragging fencing and who knows what else all across those cut wires. See? Right on time.

The cool thing is that now I'm not so afraid of electricity, and I think I am not so afraid of dying. And it might even be easier to accept if someone I don't want to die does. Of course, I'm hoping I don't have to find that out. But I'm 41 and haven't really had to deal with that up close and in person, so it is bound to happen sooner or later.

Unless, of course, my time comes first. It probably won't be due to bolt cutters.

Here's the wires:

Here's the barn cleaned up--well, besides the mountain of manure:

Where I'm putting the Mr. Turkeys until I figure something else out. I think they were scaring the hens in the barn and creating chaos in general. I might have to talk to the boys about 40 lb tough turkey dinner. I'm not sure yet.

The little turkeys not quite so little:

on the new goat barn!

2008-07-20T08:57:00.003-04:00

The horse barn is slowly and steadily being converted to the goat barn. I would like to have the whole thing finished already, but I reckon that these things take time and finish when they are ready to be finished. The girls have a new stall in there, as does Isaac. Isaac seems pretty happy in his, but the girls are totally freaking out. They truly are like 4 year old humans. As long as they can see me, they stop crying. The minute I go out of view, they start bawling again. All day long. It will take them a while to get used to their new home, and I know that once they do, they will be way happier there. Or maybe it's me that will be happier!

Anyway, yesterday I bought the fixings for the electric fence I want to put up, and started working on it a bit. I am going to divide the pasture into 2 sections, one for the girls and their babies (if they ever have them, that is!) and the other for Flower and Isaac, until Isaac starts getting horny and then I'll have to move him farther away from the girls. Richard, in the meantime, will have his own little section in the barn, and will pasture to the side where he won't actually be too close to the girls, yet will be able to see them. So many people isolate the bucks from the rest of the herd and they just die of loneliness. I'm not willing for that to happen. Flower and Isaac will be in the pen next to him, so they'll have contact with each other. Isaac is less of a butt than Richard, and hopefully he won't like the taste of wool. I think it gets a little old for Flower to have Richard tasting her whenever he gets bored or hungry! What a nuthead.

Once the fencing is finished, I'll start working on the chicken house that the girls have totally destroyed. What a mess that place is! I think I'll open most of it up and build a lot of nests for the hens that want to set. The new girls will be laying soon, so we'll have plenty of eggs for selling.

I'm going to get rid of the fencing in the front of the barn, and put in some new deer fencing in the back. They can forage in the trees without us having to worry about the fox and coyotes getting them. It will make things SO MUCH nicer. It's very exciting to think about!

The turkey hens will go in the now chicken coop, and I'll build nests for them to set as well. The male turkeys will stay where they are for the moment, as they are going to be Thanksgiving dinners. (Not looking forward to that!)

Then, once that is all done, I'll be able to reconvert Flower and Richard's house to the wood shed, and start working on the wood supply. Ok, now I'm freaking myself out with all the work that needs to be done. And this isn't even counting my dissertation work that I haven't been doing! AHhhhhhhh!

It's so great to know that everything gets done when it needs to get done. And anything that does get done makes life around here that much sweeter!

Here are some other pictures that Benj took:

Station:

Isaac chilling:

Ted:

Which reminds me, the ducks have a new nest that I can't find. All those eggs sitting there, infertile, that could be in my frying pan. Bummer! They are SO sneaky!

flower...

2008-07-20T08:45:00.002-04:00

finally got her haircut! It was pretty amazing to see. A woman by the name of Colleen came to shear her, and Colleen is not a big woman. By sticking her fingers in Flower's mouth and turning her head toward her rump, Colleen got Flower on her back and starting snipping away. It took a good hour. Flower, at one point, looked like she was taking a nap, but then started to get uncomfortable. Flower is the biggest sheep that Colleen has ever sheared, and said that she should really be bred as she is a fine looking animal and would make for a great mama.Colleen estimates that she weighs over 200#. That makes sense, as I can barely stop Flower when she decides she wants to go anywhere. She throws me around a bit, and I'm pretty strong! I hadn't really thought about getting into the sheep business, but who knows? I do, really. I can't imagine having to butcher sheep.

Next year, I'll be able to do this myself, now that I've seen it done.

Here are some shots that Benj took. Benj and Rio just cracked up the first time they saw her. "She's so skinny!" was the statement of the day.

Oh, and Richard was a total butt. He kept stealing the wool out of the bag and eating it (gross!!!), and then he would nibble at Colleen as she was working on Flower, and then he would bite Flower's head as she was laying on the ground. He just wanted attention, and wouldn't take no for an answer. It really is a shame he didn't get handled as a youngster. He has a great personality and would make a great friend. It's so awesome that we've got the chance to work with Isaac. They certainly have come from great stock!

mama chick

2008-07-20T08:34:00.002-04:00

I had forgotten to mention that shortly after I came back from Miami, I found out one of our chickens had been hiding some eggs and had a few of them hatch! I would never have known about it except that I followed the sounds of her screeching and came across a showdown between her and Shady. Of course Shady promptly showed me his belly as if that would make me forget I had heard anything, (how could anyone that darn cute be so bad?), and to my surprise, a little chick took the reprieve to run out of his hiding place to the mama chick. Turns out there were 3 of them. I'm really hoping that there were only 3 of them and that Shady didn't get one of them. There was a really small one that didn't make it. We aren't sure if he/she got attacked by a rooster or what. The boys buried her in the flower garden.

The other 2 are doing well, and are cute as hell. I love watching them in the yard. It was amazing to see how she taught them to eat and drink, and what a great protector she has been. They are living in the sauna at the moment because it is the only place I can think of where they can be protected from predators AND the other hens and roosters that harass them. I would love a whole yard of hens and chicks running around. As of yesterday, there are 4 more hens nesting, with about a dozen total eggs. In a couple of weeks, we should have more babies! Very exciting.

Here is how they sleep at night! When it's warmer out, I guess the back serves as a fine roost!

on butchering chickens

2008-07-13T10:52:00.002-04:00

So I'm not going to do it anymore. I don't think. It's hard to take the life of an animal, any animal, and it becomes more so when it is done for a profit. I LOVE the idea of providing the opportunity for people to be connected to their food source, and it goes along with my belief that if we eat meat, we should be the ones to kill it.

We finished butchering all the roosters but 3 this week, and 2 of those were intentionally saved. One was hiding and didn't come out until we were done. If he doesn't turn mean or aggressive, we'll keep him. If he does, then I won't have a problem taking care of him.

So the idea now is that if people want me to raise chickens for them, I will, but they have to take care of all the butchering that needs to be done themselves. We'll see what happens.

Another thought that came was holding some kind of workshop for people who really wanted to be a part of their food source. This goes against my previous statement of not wanting to butcher for a profit, which is interesting, but the idea was that I could provide the opportunity for people to learn how to butcher and process a chicken. They would get to take their dressed chicken home. In this way, they can experience what it feels like and how we treat the animals here. WHo knows, maybe some of them would become vegetarians.

So I don't know about that. What I do know is that I don't want to raise a mess of roosters with the purpose of butchering them all for a profit.

flower

2008-07-13T10:45:00.001-04:00

is getting sheared again this Monday by someone who actually knows what she's doing. I'm looking forward to that, as the poor girl is still really suffering from the heat. What took me an hour to do will probably only take this woman 15 minutes or so. I guess she even flips Flower over to get her belly. It will be good to see how she manages that, since I can barely get Flower to move!

I love the feel of a sheared sheep!

and again...

2008-07-13T09:28:00.002-04:00

The sauna with the garden starting to grow a bit:

Another visitor in the house. Not sure who this fellow is....

I'm starting to convert the horse barn into the new goat barn. I've got one side cleaned out here, and have built 3 stalls since. I still have 2 doors to build, and need to finish cleaning out the other side. Not sure what to do with all the stuff in there, though. Yikes. So much moving around. I think it means I'm also going to have to do some more cleaning in the road house to make room for some of this stuff. I don't want it sitting out and getting ruined! We'll see what we come up with. Haven't had much energy this week for working on the barn, but hopefully this coming week will find me with a bit more. It would be really great to get this finished this week. My goal, at least! This will free up so many other projects, like moving all the chickens to where the goats are now, and getting Lizzy and the other turkey hens into the little chicken coop. It also means being able to move Flower and Richard, which will mean the wood shed will become the wood shed again. I need to start making wood for next year or we'll find ourselves a bit on the cold side this winter! We'll just have see what I can get done. I'm thinking cleaning up my diet will really help me out in this regard. You know, it's all pretty interesting!

more randomness

2008-07-13T09:23:00.002-04:00

We lost one of the ducks to coyotes the other night. She was sitting on her nest, and although we put a fence around her, I'm betting she got a bit freaked about all the coyotes in the yard and tried to run. Chances are she left the fence area and got taken. It was such a bummer. Now that they got a taste of fresh meat, the coyotes have been continually making their rounds here. They come right in the yard and howl. I put some xmas lights around the barn, and have been leaving the porch light on. No visitors for the last couple of nights. I know there are a lot of hens on nests behind the barn, though, and I'm not too happy thinking they can be taken just like that. I just ordered some special dog fencing that I plan on putting up on the backside of the barn, hoping that it will keep the coyotes away. We'll see. Poor Duck, as Rio called her.

The plant stand outside:

Matt and Marika gave me some cedar posts from Judy's old horse corral she had up, so I built a fence and gate in front of the barn. I'm hoping it will work to keep the chickens away from the garden areas as we start to develop them a bit. We'll see....

some random pix

2008-07-11T08:10:00.003-04:00

Here are a few random pix.

This was taken by Doug. Anyone know what it is?

Cecil, the goat shui farm toad:

Benj and Issac:

going away party for amalia

2008-07-11T08:03:00.002-04:00

It seems like a life time ago, but Amalia had a going away for the summer party at the farm. It was fun, as always. Met some new people and kept the neighbors up, I'm sure. Dale says he might be moving next year. Oh boy, we might be too loud over here. It's a shame the house is built so close to the property line. If he does move, I'll be putting up a fence immediately, for sure.

Anyway, here's some pix!

Dan:

Amalia:

Joe, Amalia, Dan:

Aaron playing the guitar:

And, of course, wonderful Doug:

new garden area

2008-07-11T07:59:00.002-04:00

Here's the gate to the new garden area, although I'll probably change it. I'm thinking a gate with some space between the boards will look better. I'm feeling low energy at the moment, though, and am not feeling too motivated to work on it. Maybe this weekend....

been ages!

2008-07-10T16:24:00.001-04:00

I have a camera again, and lots of pictures and info to put on here. Boy, it seems hard to catch up when one is behind! Guess I'll start and see how far I actually get.

My trip to Miami was absolutely amazing. The School of the Work of Byron Katie was life-changing, to say the least. I'm still feeling the affects, and probably will for a very long time.

Anyway, here are a couple of pix that I took before I left for the school. Elise and Kevin came out and helped a bit. I put in a new garden area and Kevin worked to get that ready. They also helped me get the table moved, although I still don't like where it is and will probably move it again. Not sure where to, but it will be ok wherever it ends up.

Can't even remember taking this one:

isaac!

2008-05-30T17:21:00.006-04:00

So we finally picked up our new billy goat on Sunday. Man, is he cute! He was born on May 4th, and looks super healthy and happy. Well, mostly happy. Already he is stubborn as all get out, but also very loving and affectionate. Because he was so young and was still nursing, we needed to train him to drink from a bottle. I don't think it's a good idea for babies to be taken from their moms so early because it's pretty stressful on them, but because he is going to be living with us for a long time as a stud, we also need him to think that we are his moms. He is going to get really big and horny, and if he isn't friendly, he's going to be a problem! So...we are feeding him from a bottle, holding him whenever we can, and letting him take naps with us. I slept with him in the barn the first night, and I'm really glad I did. He was totally scared by all the new noises. The following day he was so frantic to get out of his pen that he hung himself by his back hoof. Suddenly, he became a house goat. Erin gave us a huge dog kennel, and he sleeps in there. He is, for the most part, house trained! I think it was a bit of an accident, but whatever, it works. He cries when he needs out, goes in the exact same spot, and seems pretty much ok with everything. Still, I hope he isn't missing his mom too much. The goat girls will be giving birth any day, and when that happens, the little ones can spend some time together. He'll have some new friends to hang out with.

I have been trying to let the girls and Flower graze everyday, but it is quite the pain. The girls are completely destroying their fencing, and I have to really keep an eye on them. Flower got her head stuck in the fence the other day and pretty much had a heart attack. She was so hot I was really quite worried about her. I ended up shearing her with scissors! That took a while. A pro takes about 10 minutes, and it took me well over an hour. But she is cooler now, I think, and looks quite fancy. My camera broke so Diane came in the middle of the shearing and took some pix. When I get a new camera, I'll make sure I post one of the completed Flower. She was pretty sweet about it. Of course Little Richard was a complete asshole and kept trying to eat her wool. What a nuthead. Whenever he wants her food, he pulls her wool, which hurts, and so he gets what he wants. Yep, did I mention he's a bit of an ass?

snow yesterday..

2008-05-19T11:35:00.001-04:00

Forgot to mention that yesterday at 11 am we had snow come down in Hancock. Yep, lots of it. Only for a minute or two, but it really doesn't matter, right? The point is that there was snow coming down and it is the middle of May. Worked outside without a jacket just a few hours later. So bizarre!

hugical outside table

2008-05-19T06:43:00.003-04:00

So I was doing my business in the bathroom the other day looking at the new summer Sundance catalogue, and came across this magnificent outdoor table. It was made from these huge logs. Totally beautiful. I had the realization that I have all the wood I would need to build such a table for the farm, so I decided that building it was the most important thing I could possibly be doing at the moment.

Here's the main log I found from the homestead foundation. In this picture, I have already cut it in half via the chainsaw, which has really been having a rough go of it. It is not doing well at all and the guys at the shop aren't sure why. Bummer. Plus they keep giving me the wrong length chain. What up with that? Anyway, the halves were still so heavy that it was struggle to drag them to the deck! Amazing pcs of hand hewn wood. I'm so happy to be making use of them.

It's hard to see, but the legs of the table are leaning against the cement blogs. They're huge, too!

Starting to put it together:

Here it is, half finished. The dimensions end up being 13 ft by 57 inches. Way too big for the deck, as it turns out. So I'm clearing the area next to the house and will put it there. Was planning on doing that anyway, although not this summer, but, you know, one must go with the flow. It ends up that there is a lot of nice soil over there so I'll plant lots of the tomatoes and peppers there, and make a really cool dining area!

Here's the dining area so far. Rio and I pulled a huge rock out yesterday. Man, it was big, and I could barely move it myself. Between the 2 of us, we at least got it out of the hole. I'll put a few tires to stop erosion right under the little tree and plant some vine veggies in them. That should work out ok. We'll see what it ends up looking like. The wood will all be in the wood shed, so it should look pretty in that area! Sweet!

the turkeys are out and other little things

2008-05-19T06:33:00.002-04:00

So we've been working, but I haven't been too great on the taking pictures part. I keep forgetting.

Anyway, Jarvie came out last weekend to help me put the greenhouse up. Except that I can't find the instructions. Yep, that's right. A greenhouse in pieces with no instructions. Yep, I did cuss. And yep, I got over it. So we decided to put in a little garden instead, which you can see below. We put the cabbage and broccoli in. Yep, the geese and ducks ate all the leaves off, and yep, I cussed again. Just a little bit, though. We will be lucky if they make it. But still, it was great fun putting it all together. I totally appreciated the help.

We also finally got the turkey run open yesterday. I've been careful with them as they are sensitive to the cold and wind and I don't want them getting sick. The goats are being butts and trying to eat them and mess up the run fencing, but that's goats for you. Always in everyone else's business, always trying to get to the other side of the fence. Always loving the drama. They are so like humans I can't believe it sometimes. When I look at their "buttness" I can see my own, so I guess that's a good thing!

Benj took these pictures of some of the hens running around. We had a fox come into the yard last night at dusk, right in view of the front door. Vanna chased him away, but I'm thinking it's going to be tricky to keep everyone alive if they are out running around. I'd sure like to have this whole property fenced in so that everyone can run in peace. Wouldn't that be great???

more pix....

2008-05-09T22:13:00.004-04:00

Amalia and Doug's friends stopped by for a visit as well, just in time to eat! Doug impressed us with the best gravy ever, and I impressed everyone with my lack of carving ability. Amalia really impressed everyone by eating some meat. We then impressed each other with our applesauce making. It was delicious, as usual, and only took 3 hours. We had that baby cooking!

Doug, May, and Aaron:

At dinner-- Aaron, Amalia, Me, Dan, Doug:

Aaron and Amalia getting the fire going:

Doug and Aaron getting the kettle situated:

Me adding the apples, Newspaper Dan looking goofy as heck!:

May stirring:

Me and Doug hypnotized by the fire:

Pagan ritual?:

the most amazing days...

2008-05-09T07:47:00.006-04:00

are always the most unexpected. But boy, do they end up being memorable. Such was yesterday. For many reasons.

Originally, yesterday was going to be an ice cream day, as friend Mike Robertson signed me up to receive all the new varieties of Haagan- Dazs coming out this year. Unfortunately, or fortunately, as it turned out, the shipment was delayed. But Amalia and Doug biked out anyway to do some studying. Right. It's quite hopeless to attempt that out here, as I know!

Doug at least was working away until I finally caught the big rooster who has been starting to turn a bit mean. The female chickens are losing feathers on their backs and heads from him always jumping on them, and he went after me the other day. I have known that life would be a bit more peaceful out here without him, but me and butchering aren't great pals, so I've been dreading it. But once I caught him, it had to be then, to the surprise of all of us. Especially Doug and Amalia, who are both vegetarians.

But we all participated, all had our own experiences and interpretations, and it was quite amazing. I would think that it must have been especially crazy for Amalia, who hasn't eaten meat in 6 years, and Doug, who has pretty much been a vegetarian for a year now.

What is really interesting is that, because she participated, Amalia felt like she HAD to eat some of the rooster, like it wasn't really an option. And she did. As did Doug.

Their friends Kim and Aaron stopped by as we were finishing cooking him, and so did Newspaper Dan, who brought ice cream. Doug made an amazing gravy, we had brown rice and cucumbers, and it was just fabulous!

Amalia:

Doug and I trying to look like we know what we're doing with the chicken:

pix from amalia

2008-05-08T11:00:00.001-04:00

So here are a couple of pix from Amalia.

Shady:

Vanna checking out the little chicks when they arrived:

doug's family!

2008-05-08T10:42:00.002-04:00

Hey!

So I haven't been on here much, nor have I taken many pictures. Part of that is because I think my camera might be shot, and then I've been so freaking busy I just haven't thought about taking pictures.

But everything is fine here. The turkeys are now out of the house (yay!!), and are currently in an isolated area in the little chick house. I'll be moving them to their own place in the bigger barn soon. I'm just a bit worried about it still being too cold for them. Maybe later this week? The weather is looking like it will stay in the 50s. Right. That means it might snow!

What else...Lizzy is sitting on 15 eggs now! This morning I went out there and both she and a duck were sitting on the nest! At first I couldn't find the duck and was worried that something had gotten into the barn to have a snack, but nope, there she was, sitting with Lizzy. Lizzy didn't seem too upset, which is pretty awesome. Actually, I think the ducks are sitting on the nest at night, so that's kind of cool. I would really like to see the turkey babies make it. How awesome that would be!

And I think that Hershey might actually be pregnant, too! That's pretty exciting. So if they are pregnant, their due date falls at the same time that I will be leaving to go to a class in Miami! Yikes! Doug and friends might be having a very exciting farm stay! Fingers crossed the girls have their babies before I leave. Just for Doug's sake. On the other hand, how great will it be for me not to have to worry about it and to let Doug take care of it when it happens! That seems wrong somehow, but I'll take if it happens that way!!

So I finally got to meet Doug's family!

Here's a picture of Deb with her new boyfriend, Shady:

And the rest of the family! Michael, Amalia (family, too!), Deb, Doug, and Susan:

the turkeys are getting lots of company!

2008-04-27T08:32:00.002-04:00

So Doug stopped by yesterday to visit the turkeys. They are certainly getting spoiled. By the time he left, Doug had to agree with me--they are pretty awesome creatures. They are getting big, too. Maybe when it gets warm again, (will it get warm again?) we can move them to the barn. They are definitely needing some more room. Let's hope they'll be ready to go by next week.....

sigh......

2008-04-27T08:25:00.002-04:00

Big sigh....and happening as I write this....

.

winter in spring

2008-04-26T07:35:00.005-04:00

It's snowing at the moment. Hmmm. Not really much else one can say about snow at the end of April, other than Hmmmm...

But I've got some peas in, both bush and pole, some onions, and I transplanted some flowers--moving some stuff around that didn't work too well last year. We'll see how it goes. Still more than can be done as far as that goes, and, of course, I need to start working some of the ground. That has to wait till the ground is drier, though. Very exciting. Plus I've got 250 tomatoes and peppers started in the house. Just found out a local restaurant is looking for locally produced veggies. Considering it's a Mexican restaurant, I'm thinking I'll be able to sell them some of those tomatoes and peppers! Cool! Lots of hot peppers, too!

Let's see, Lizzy has 7 eggs in the barn. I'm hoping she'll start sitting soon. I feel bad because she really wants to travel in the yard, and I don't want her making her nest outside of a fenced in area. Too dangerous. And she was working on making one by the old homestead the other day. Shucks. Once she starts sitting, she can come and go as she pleases, i think.

Waddlesworth, Station and the ducks are in their summer home. She is happily sitting on her nest of about 5 eggs. We'll see how that goes.

The little chicks can come and go outside the chicken coop, but they're still afraid to. I might have to lower the door. I build a ladder of sorts for them to go in and out and it's a bit steep. When it gets warmer I might kick them out. They'll love the bugs.

Newspaper Dan stopped over last night. He found a tick already! Yikes. Those birds need to get out there and start eating!!

Here are some great pictures of him with a turkey love, and also a little chick who is missing part of her beak. Not sure what happened, but she is sure loving the attention!

blizzard and then summer....

2008-04-16T10:43:00.002-04:00

all in the same week. You just have to love life in the Keweenaw!!

Last Friday we had a blizzard with 14.5 inches of snow, and yesterday and today the temperature is almost hitting 70 degrees! Woohoo!!! Life is good.

The snow is leaving, Lizzy laid her first egg (after the male turkeys demolished Waddlesworth's nest of 6 goose eggs), and everyone is pretty damn happy to have it so warm.

Lots of work to do this weekend--move the geese and ducks, keep cleaning out barns, cleaning up the yard, planting stuff outside--already, peas, lettuce and spinach. Cool, eh?--tomatoes inside, clean the house, and then write, write, write.

Yep, Neely's got a busy weekend. But it is supposed to be sunny the whole time, and how can I not have energy? Plus, I'm drinking lots of carrot and veggie juice. That always helps.

Oh, only one week of school left for me, so after that, I'll try to do more biking into town. That will take care of triathlon training, save on gas, and then give me the normal work out time to work on my writing or on projects.

Cool! Yay for summer!!

it might be the middle of april...

2008-04-09T10:23:00.003-04:00

but we are still getting the snow. It's kind of hard to complain about it when it is so beautiful! Did I mention the garlic are coming up? Now they are covered with snow again. Well, hopefully they'll still make it!

The little chicks are doing great in the chicken coop, and our turkeys seem to be doing well. One jumped out of the cage this am but seems to be ok. Stinkers.

chick brooder

2008-04-07T09:51:00.005-04:00

So here's a kinda lousy picture of the chick brooder I built on Saturday. I can't say that it is a really sturdy deal, but it works. I just built the frame, put a big pc of foam insulation on top of it, and then have heat lamps underneath. Hopefully, by the time the chicks figure out that they can jump on top of it, they won't need the lamps anymore. The first night most of them slept outside it, but last night, they were all snuggled underneath. I'm so happy they seem healthy. They are growing more already--maybe they are like fish--will grow as much as they have space for. It's an interesting concept, isn't it? In that case, why aren't humans getting smaller??

The farm in April: I pulled away some of the manure from the window planters and see that the garlic is starting to grow! Yay!!! I can't wait to see how quickly it grows. Also planted a mess of peppers inside yesterday. Lots of different varieties. Very exciting!!

more spring-ness

2008-04-07T09:48:00.002-04:00

Yay!!! A flower! It is as miraculous as Eckhart Tolle says flowers are. Pretty shocking, actually, after seeing nothing but snow and then a bit of dirty ground. Shady seems pretty happy to be getting his feet dirty!!

The Mr. Turkeys doing their usual strutting. What a riot they are. And they move in such unison. They must practice for absolutely hours!!

The Mr. Turkeys making sure Rio is doing a good job cleaning out one of the chick cages. I was able to move most of the chicks to the little chicken coop on Saturday. What a freaking job that was! But so far everyone is alive and well. They like the space after being in the house for 4 weeks. And I'm just thrilled they aren't in the house anymore!!!

Station and Waddlesworth, also doing their stuff. Waddlesworth has 3 eggs so far, and sits on them at night. We'll see what happens! I love to eat her eggs, but I think she is going to get really depressed if she can't be a mother this year. Someone out there in need of a watchdog? Geese for sale!! And if you get them when they are small, they will totally love you!

chicks and turkeys and melting snow!

2008-04-07T09:44:00.001-04:00

So, it is getting to be spring time. Of course, the bare ground in some of these pictures might disappear under snow again if we get the snowstorm they are predicting for tomorrow. At least we missed the 22 inches that Marquette got last week. Woohoo, and a big one at that!!

The snow barometer one day, and then the next. It does go fast when it decides to go, doesn't it?

Rio and a little chick:

The turkeys came in Thursday morning. Man, they are so cute. Everyone looked like they were in pretty good shape, and they ate and drank right away. Unfortunately, we lost one on Friday night, and then another yesterday. No idea why, really. They seemed fine one minute, and the next, bam, they were gone.

It's hard enough when they're so cute, but I also can't help thinking that at $10 a pc., that's even more of a loss. Of course, Cinnamon and Paco ate a dozen of Lizzie's almost hatched eggs last summer, and that was quite the loss, too. But this time, we got to see them first. Always makes it harder.

Hopefully Lizzy will want to sit again this year. I'll keep her protected for sure. Try to, at least!

so which did come first--the chicks or the eggs?

2008-03-29T09:42:00.003-04:00

Waddlesworth laid her first egg of the season last week. Did I already mention that? Anyway, the ducks have been laying daily as well. This is good news, as I've been questioning why I am feeding creatures who poop too much, eat too much, and make way too much noise. Now I remember! Delicious eggs, with a lot more nutrients than chicken eggs.

Here is a picture of a goose egg compared to a duck egg and then a chicken egg. It's always hard to gauge size, and maybe this will help. All I know is the goose egg fills the small skillet, and has the sweetest taste. Very cool.

I wish this would have turned out better. The chicks are so curious--always wanting out and attention. You know, I really do like chickens. They are pretty cool creatures.

Growing seedlings:

Vanna chilling:

oh my god! i see land!!!!

2008-03-29T09:33:00.003-04:00

It is miraculous, to be sure. Land. Finally. It has been SO cold here in the mornings, still. Pretty amazing. But slowly and surely, land is finally showing herself. I took these pix this am, and am assuming that there will be a whole lot more showing by the end of this week. Weather forecasts temps in the upper 30s for the coming week, and this is a very nice thing.

Here's Vanna on the future herb garden. I've already got a few herbs that have sprouted from seeds in the house, and am looking forward to planting more. Today I'll plant a couple more flats of an assortment.

Here's the manure pile from the chicken house. I'm going to have to build an insulated little brooder pen inside the chicken house this weekend for the growing chicks. They don't have all their feathers yet, and I certainly don't want to kick them out before that happens, but I think they'll be ready to go in a couple of weeks. They are getting crowded already, and turkeys are due to arrive this week. What a zoo!!

pi night [3.14]

2008-03-15T10:44:00.004-04:00

So Diane, [or Watkins, the debate continues,] came up with pi(e) night which can only occur on March 14th. Pi night means that one only eats pie for dinner! What a fabulous idea! And eat pie we did! We had a chili pie, a vegan pasty pie, a potatoe/apple pie (that wasn't quite up to snuff with the other pies, but hey, I have never claimed to be a pie baker), and a pilaf pie. These were the main courses. Desert pies were a chocolate pie and an Amlan and Travis pie. Needless to say, we ate a lot.

Beforehand, though, Dan came out and we hunted for a bit more wood. Actually found quite a bit under the snow that had been frozen to the ground, so now we have a decent little pile to go through. Plus we cut up a tree by the goat barn that looked like it had been down for a couple of years. Regardless, the wood situation doesn't seem quite as dire as it had been. For sure, I will be enjoying the wood shed this next winter. What will be nice is that I'll be able to collect wood all summer and have a place to put it. I think that's the goal--to be working on it whenever there is time. Or making time to work on it.

Anyway, here are some pix from last night, although I didn't get one of Newspaper Dan.

Amlan and Shady bonding (?):

Travis:

Coop and Doug:

finished desk

2008-03-15T10:30:00.002-04:00

Here is the finished desk. I love it and think it turned out so cool. I bought a quart of resin, which didn't end up being enough to finish the top well, but it was $30 and I'm reluctant to buy more at the moment. I know that I have a small kit sitting around somewhere, but I just can't find it. Once I do, I can finish out the rough spots. The bench doesn't quite fit aesthetically, but it sure is comfortable, and will do just fine. Maybe I'll beat it up a little so it looks more like the table! Dissertation, here I come!!

chicks...

2008-03-15T09:40:00.003-04:00

Well....we've had some weird stuff going on with the chicks this year, and we've lost a total of 7. That seems like a lot to me, but I have to remember that we were actually sent 130, which is 100 more than we have ever gotten before. I can't remember how many we lost last year, if any, so this seems pretty disturbing. First, 2 were lost right off the bat, probably due to the cold weather. One chick got stuck in between the feeder and the wall of the cage, and I think he broke his neck, poor fellow. The other 4 died because, well, because their poop got stuck. In a bit of a panic, I ran to the feedstore to see if there was anything I could do. Grit was the answer! I had no idea I was supposed to feed grit to chicks! Geez!!!! So I'm grinding their grain in the coffee grinder and adding grit to it. So far, no more losses. I am SO glad. We'll see what happens.

I have been thinking a lot about how upset I get when things like this occur, and I see that it is because I feel totally responsible for keeping these little dudes alive, and, indeed, I am. But I also have to remember that there is also this learning curve, a steep one, it seems to me, and I must be ok with that. Getting freaked out isn't helping the situation any and there is absolutely nothing that I can do to change the loss that has already happened. I can only change what I know now, and then hope for the best. But seriously, it is really hard for me not to let it all get to me.

Here is what I've learned so far from this year's chick experience:

1) Ordering chicks so early in the year will probably mean more losses, regardless of any other conditions here. It was a freaking cold weekend when the came-- 15 below on the day they were shipped out, 6 below on the morning I picked them up.
2) Ordering so many at once isn't too smart, considering that once I receive them, it is imperative that they each be taught how to drink and then put in their cages. Fortunately, Amalia was here to help me. Not sure how I would have managed without her. It was pretty intense.
3) I didn't have all the lights set up in their cages. The lights should have been turned on hours before to warm the cages up. Definitely not smart on my part. But I don't think I really understood the number 130!
4) I do not want to have to order chicks through the mail again. Seriously, unless it is for a particular breeding stock. I have an incubator, and am going to learn how to use it. Even if I can only do batches of 20 chicks at a time, it would be well worth the time and the money. I'm sure that there will be losses with this method as well, but that's ok. I do have some chickens that I think would make great setters, and am thinking of building them some separate nests and letting them hatch some babies, too. I haven't figured that all out yet, but am thinking about it and I'm sure I'll come up with some good ideas. They need a warm area...Man, maybe I just don't have enough room. I think I could use a really nice size barn. The greenhouse next year will be an excellent option. Just not sure about this year.
5) At $2 and $3 a chick, any loss is pretty expensive. And the cost of those chicks really raises the prices I have to charge people at butchering time. So raising my own will either allow me to lower the prices per pound, or, better yet, can be money I earn for labor.

Which brings me to something else...I found out about this book called "The Farmers Ladder." It is amazing! 2 brothers, barely in their 20s, started a farm in England with 50 pounds. The book details their experience. While other farms were going under, they were always turning a profit, even if it was just pennies. I'm seeing how I have really been mismanaging a lot of things here, and need to make some major changes. In some ways, I think I've been a bit skeptical on the idea that I can actually make the farm pay for itself, but that's changing. The other thing is that I'm very reluctant to charge for my services. I know that everyone else is also struggling to make ends meet, and I end up losing money on a lot of things. I've got to stop doing that. So one of the new goals of the year is to keep track of every penny I put into everything, including the electricity for warming lights for the chicks, and even for starting seeds. It will be interesting to see what the results are going to be.

Oh, the book also mentions that even if there was a financial loss on poultry, they would have chickens anyway just for the benefit to the land. So for sure an investment this summer will be making portable fencing and housing so the chicks can fertilize the ground. That should pay for itself many times over in produce quality.

Here is a picture of the insulated chick cages and the seedling plant stand I built this week. Coop says I need to lower the lights. Makes sense. I would certainly have more room to put a couple more shelves on the unit, which would be a great thing! Broccoli, cayenne peppers, and some other hot peppers are up, plus some eucalyptus trees. Cool!! Didn't really expect them to sprout, so it's kind of exciting. I'll be planting some more cabbage and broccoli this weekend so they'll be nice and big for outside transplanting come summer!

2008-03-11T21:59:00.002-04:00

Little Guy and Vanna enjoying the sun:

Hey! Happy spring! Woohoo!

We are on spring break, and I am trying to get too much done, I think. So much to do!!! At least it is lovely and warm outside, which makes everything so much easier! I had planned on moving fencing for the turkeys and geese, but when I started to dig it out, I realized that the fencing is buried over a foot deep. That would take me forever. Yikes. So I'll see what else I can come up with. Perhaps even buy some fencing from the feed store, depending on what they have. I'd have to dig out a run for both groups of creatures, but that's the way it goes.

Let's see....Amalia just left today after spending the weekend. It was great having her here! She was so great with all the chicks that came in. I think it was a rough ride for them. It was below zero for one thing, and they seemed pretty packed in their boxes. 2 were dead by the time they got here, and 5 were on death's door. Literally, I can't believe they made it. Amalia held them and did Reiki on them, and sure enough, they have completely recovered. It was nothing short of miraculous, because usually, once the chicks start down a bad path, they don't recover. It was pretty amazing. We did lose a chick tonight, but it was because he got stuck in between the feeder and the edge of the cage. I'm betting he got jumped on. Poor fellow. Rio had a hard time with it. Hopefully the rest will make it through their second night. They are active and making lots of noise, so that's a good thing. Just hoping that they are warm enough in all their kennels with light bulbs shining on them. It sure is warmer in the house with the bulbs on all the time!

Amalia saving the sick chicks:

Vanna, Amalia, Shady:

I decided that I needed my own desk for my writing, as I'll be doing quite a bit of that now. It only took me a few hours, and all that I need to do next is to coat it with resin. Because the wood is pretty rough, resin makes the most sense. The first board on top is over 17 inches wide. Isn't that amazing???

New bedroom desk:

Had a massage today and think I'm already hurting again. Man, between lifting feed bags and building the desk, I'm feeling a bit beat up!

So, time to take Ricoeur and hit the bath! WOohoo, again!!!

Hope you all are well!

summer fever!

2008-02-29T11:58:00.001-05:00

It might be time again!!!!

finally, a picture of me....

2008-02-28T22:13:00.005-05:00

I seldom have any pictures of me on here--hard to do that when I'm the one always taking them, but I found this one of me and Doug on Amalia's facebook page. So I stole it! We had been snowshoeing, I think, and then decided to make sweet potatoes.

It was a beautiful sunny day today. I sat outside for at least a half hour sunbathing. Face sunbathing. What a glorious day. One of the great things about never having sun is that when it does decide to show itself, it is heavenly. Totally heavenly. Still on a bit of a high from it.

I think spring is on the way! This after stepping off the path and losing my leg. But still, it's on the way!! Woohoo!!!!

and more....

2008-02-25T12:47:00.001-05:00

Amlan, Newspaper Dan, Rhiannon, Chris, Justin--just listening:

Amlan, Rhiannon, Chris:

The day after! Amalia, Vanna, and Doug:

more pix....

2008-02-25T12:45:00.002-05:00

Doug, Shady, and Justin:

Doug, Julie, Anton:

Chris, Newspaper Dan, Justin:

Scott and Erin:

Travis, digging the tunes!:

bday at the goat shui!

2008-02-25T12:35:00.003-05:00

Doug and I had a great party at the Goat Shui, if I might say so myself! Lots of great friends, fabulous music, and a nighttime snowshoe. Who could ask for more? Seriously, the 40's just keep getting better and better! Hopefully Doug is enjoying his 20's just as much!!

Speaking of Doug:

Chris, Justin, Scott, Erin, Amlan and Travis. Julie and Anton are in the kitchen:

Erin, Rhiannon, Travis, Amlan, Justin, Chris:

Erin, Little Guy, Rhiannon:

Little Guy and Rhiannon. I love this picture!:

snow!

2008-02-25T12:30:00.001-05:00

We've had some amazing snow last week, so I took a few shots. I think this was Friday morning. I got up early (6ish) to snowshoe, and it was like being in a snowglobe. It was incredible. No wind, big fluffy flakes, and there must have been a couple of inches on all the branches and trees. Just beautiful. I'm into snowshoeing early these days. It wakes me up, and it's quiet. Pretty cool!

Station and Waddlesworth:

Lizzy and the Mr. Turkeys:

Isaiah Tree:

forgot a few things....

2008-02-19T10:19:00.002-05:00

I'm going to reconvert the wood shed back into the wood shed this summer. The goats and Flower will have enough room in the old horse barn.

Richard is most probably shooting blanks, as the girls have come into heat again. Maybe that's the best thing for this year. If they do get pregnant, they won't deliver till the middle of summer, and I'm ok with that. More time would be good, and they will probably be healthier if it is warm out.

The geese and ducks are going to be permanently residing off the side of the horse barn where we kept the male turkeys last summer. It will need a little fixing up, but should do fine. They love winter, so I won't have to worry about them at all. Maybe Waddlesworth will actually have some babies this year. Hopefully we could sell them, although her eggs sure do taste great!

Think that's all.....

the middle of february, already!

2008-02-19T09:44:00.002-05:00

Our snow barometer:

Hey! We might actually be past the halfway point of winter, although this is the Keweenaw, so who can really say? I hope so, because when Benj and I went to get wood yesterday, I realized that we are on the very last row of our wood pile. How did that happen? Of course there is some wood scattered here and there, along with a pile that needs a chainsaw, but still....bummer! I guess now we can pretend that we are real homesteaders who have to keep cutting their wood all through the winter. I WON'T be pretending too much and cutting it by hand. Like I would even know where to start. Yes, we are very spoiled, I'd say!

Not all that much to report on. I did order a ton of seeds last week. I can't wait to get that box!! I have a schedule of exactly when I need to start what seeds in the house etc., and the first batch, which is basically the cabbage family, will need to get started in 2 weeks. Wow! Isn't that exciting? I bought a box of 1000 jiffy-7's, which should be a breeze to plant in. We'll see. Chances are, I'll be using all of those 1000, and maybe even have some left over plants to sell. That could be fun.

I bought some really interesting varieties this year. Chocolate and purple peppers, along with some red and yellow little stuffing peppers. A ton of different hot peppers. Broccoli that grows all winter long, chard, lots of different kinds of tomatoes, some gourds to grow over the deck. (I'll need to do a little work on the deck area so that they can grow towards the house. That should be pretty cool having big gourds hanging over our heads. Hopefully not too dangerous!) What else...I can't really remember at the moment. But lots, for sure. Oh, some really cool long red beans, as well as peas. I tried to order things that had multiple uses...like I didn't realize that some of the beans could be eaten fresh, or would be just as good if they were left to dry out. This way, if I get behind on things, nothing will go to waste. There are some people who grow fields of beans, dry them out, and use it for hay in the winter. Who knew? I just realized that I forgot to buy some sunflower seeds. For sure, we need a lot of those. The goats and Flower get a cup and a half a day, and their coats are nice and shiny. It would be good to be able to grow enough to last them the winter. It'll be a fight with the squirrels, though. They tried to eat through my big plastic container in the barn that houses the sunflower seeds. Little bastards.

I've also realized that a lot of things will need changing around this summer due to the fact that the chickens aren't doing well in their new house, and the turkeys and geese aren't the best of friends. Besides, I'm going to be starting my own turkey and chicken breeding program, so things will have to be different.

Here's the new plan at the moment:

The horse barn is currently filled up with old goat barn and homestead wood. That will need to come out of there. Because the road house is going to eventually be the new workshop, I will clean that out and put the wood in the attic. Of course, this means that the upstairs floor of the roadhouse will need some new supports. No problem.

Once the horse barn is cleaned out, I am going to convert it to a goat barn. Build individual stalls, a milking area, a place for feed etc. Diane gave me this great little book for my bday that has some ideas for how to organize a goat/cow barn. I'll follow that.

Once the goats are out of their current barn, I will reconvert that into the chicken barn, which is what it was originally. Unfortunately, the goats have all but destroyed it, but that's ok. I'll fix it up again. The current chicken house will become the turkey house for next year. They don't mind the cold like the chickens do, (they go outside all the time where they are at now,) so they should do ok there. I'll have a run outside for them so they can come in and out all winter, build some breeding areas inside so the girls could start laying whenever they are ready to. I'll also keep a couple of male turkeys, but only one will go with the turkey girls. The others can go with the chickens so they can protect them if something should get in there. They are excellent watch dogs. Turkey chicks are over 8 bucks a piece, and if I raise my own, that will save a ton of money. I've got orders for like 50 if I had the room. Next year I will.

What else...I'm also considering breeding my own pigs, and have decided to build a pig house off the back of the wood shed. Their fence can go up the hill a bit and they will have shade, as well as clear out that entire area for me.

Another thing that will happen, but probably slowly, is that I want to start building a mess of little chicken, turkey and pig houses, and develop a system so that I can move them all over the property so they can fertilize and eat all the bugs. They will all be healthier, the ground will benefit, and everyone will be happy. This will be a ton of work, and will require a lot of organization. But it can happen if I don't overwhelm myself. Getting everyone in their new places will have to come first. But I'm pretty motivated, so it will happen. I just read a terrible article on the 35 million pounds of beef recall and the way the animals were treated. Darn it! I will do whatever I have to so that people don't need to purchase meat from the grocery stores. Any little bit I can do is going to help. If we have to move to selling farm shares we'll do it.

Well, that was a bit more than I thought I'd be writing. But pretty exciting, so it's hard to stop! The guys are home from school sick today, and because I have no classes today, we are all staying home. I've lots of my own school work to do so I best get at it!

Here's a few shots of Vanna as she tries to talk me into going for a snowshoe. I tried to get a picture of her jumping but she's too fast!

february!

2008-02-03T08:04:00.000-05:00

It's February already! I have to say that I haven't really done that much lately. Feeling a little bit like Vanna here!

Maybe it's just that time of year, although it is starting to get lighter earlier now. But still, not motivated would be the polite way to describe how I'm feeling these days. I did get a little excited yesterday when I realized that I'll have to start planting seeds in a few weeks. I just ordered my little Jiffy-7 peat pots, and need to think about building my plant frames soon. Maybe over winter carnival, although I really should be spending that time doing some reading. AHHHH! At least the laundry is finished for a few days and I can get in and out of the driveway, so I am pretty happy about that!

Amalia and her sister Elynn came over yesterday to snowshoe. I've pretty much packed down the trails where I usually go, but it was still a pretty good workout. I don't think I went out Friday, so it looked pretty with the trails covered over a bit. Elynn and Amalia have the same laugh, it was pretty cool hanging with the both of them. Plus Amalia did the dishes. Woohoo!!! How'd I get out of that one??

It's been a bit warmer which is really nice for the animals, too. I'm realizing that Lizzy is probably going to want to start laying her eggs pretty soon. I should probably consider moving the geese and ducks out of the barn, and letting Lizzy and the Mr. Turkeys have the front part to themselves. Maybe she would feel more comfortable that way and can find a hidden place to lay her eggs. I'm hoping we have chicks fairly early this year.If I leave the Mr. Turkeys in with Lizzy, they will protect her and the eggs. It will be a good thing. Pretty stressful last year with her eggs getting eaten by neighborhood dogs. What a bummer that was!I definitely need to start our own breeding program. I have enough orders for Thanksgiving turkeys to place an order through McMurray, but each chick is over $8 to begin with, not to mention shipping, then there is all the feed etc.

I also will need to build the moveable pens for the turkeys as well as for the chickens. Ok, now I'm feeling excited about doing something!! Woohoo. It is going to be an adventure.

Well, time to take care of all the beasts and do some paper grading. It could be a busy one, if I actually end up doing something! Maybe like vanna on our snowshoe, here! Sigh..... :-)

P.S. Just came back from feeding the animals and had a few interesting ideas....Maybe the new chicken house should be the new turkey house, especially if we are going to be starting our own breeding program. They don't seem to mind the cold, and it is warmer in the big barn so maybe the chickens will actually lay more eggs in the winter. I can build an extension on the duck/goose summer home, so that they can live there all winter long. We will probably have to make the fence a bit higher so that no wolves or coyotes can jump the fence with the snow on the ground, but I think it would work. Basically, keeping them all separate would be a good thing. We could get a bit more fencing for the goats summer area so that Little Richard and Flower could live out there all winter, and that would keep things nicer in the big barn for the girls. They don't treat Flower that well anyway. If we end up having a few whethers, if the girls get pregnant at all, then they can keep her company.

Don't think I mentioned that the girls were in heat again this weekend. Is it possible that Richard is shooting blanks? On the positive side, if they do have their babies in the summer, we'll be better prepared for them! Really looking forward to that.

Anyway, time to get some school work done!

bucket lid

2008-01-20T09:53:00.001-05:00

Forgot to tell you about this gamma lid I found! It has 2 parts--a ring that fits onto a 5 gallon bucket, and then the lid, which is screwed onto the ring. It's quite brilliant, actually. So I've been going to the local wal-mart and buying buckets for a buck, and using them to store my whole grain berries so they stay nice and fresh.

They are around $9 each, but I think they are totally worth the money!

-7!

2008-01-20T08:49:00.000-05:00

It's really cold out there this morning! Probably the coldest we've had all year, and yet when I woke up this morning, the house was still relatively warm! I just have to do a little house praising thing here. I filled the wood stove before I went to bed, but certainly could have put more wood in there than what I did. I shut everything down as tight as possible so that it would burn fairly slowly, and there were a few coals left in it this morning. By 8:30 I had a wee fire going, and it is starting to warm up more now.

But really, without the wood stove, or my rock wall, I think this place would be absolutely freezing. When I've run the propane furnace before, it would be cold in here within a few minutes of it turning off. Of course, the fact that it has to blow cold air out at the end of each cycle doesn't help any. What are those people thinking? I know, safety and all that.....burning wood for fuel is terrible on the environment, but I have to say, there is nothing like it. And I can keep the house a bit colder because it feels warmer in here--it's a different kind of heat. The "to your bones" kind of heat.

Anyway, eventually, I'd like to get a third insulating layer put in the front windows. That would really make a difference in here.

In the meantime, here's a few pictures from this morning and of all the new snow we've gotten! Even though it's cold, I think I'll have to take Vanna for a snowshoe sometime today!

more pix....

2008-01-19T23:02:00.001-05:00

Amalia:

Newspaper Dan:

Travis and Vanna:

Justin, 2-fisting it--at least I think that's what they call it! A beer and other hard liqueur! (Did I spell that right?) And I just noticed that Newspaper Dan is doing the same thing!:

I guess this is what happens when you do too much 2-fisting!:

At the end of the evening, Justin started receiving calls from drunk roommates, meaning that not much sleep would be had at his pad for him and the grasshopper. So they crashed on the floor here, although I'm pretty sure that Grasshopper didn't get much sleep since Justin decided to snore most of the night. Sigh....thank goodness for my ipod! But I totally loved it that they stayed since I was able to have breakfast with them. Very nice.

And then Grasshopper was off to school again. Way too short of a visit, but seeing that it had been a year since he had been here, I was more than happy to see him period!!! Definitely wish he was around more. But such is life. At least the rest of the gang is around!

goat pix continued...

2008-01-19T22:58:00.000-05:00

Grasshopper:

Justin:

Nancy and Diane and Travis:

Amalia and Vanna:

pix from the goat..

2008-01-19T22:23:00.000-05:00

It seems that I totally missed taking pictures at Judy's house. Bummer! Rhiannon and I walked to the goat to check on the food, and I forgot to take my camera to Judy's. Great soup and salad to be had there! But here are some pictures from the meal at the goat!

Diane, Julie, Amlan, Justin, Rhiannon:

Justin, Dan, Amlan:

Amlan, Rhiannon, Chris, Grasshopper, Diane:

Travis and Anton:

progressive dinner pictures: at diane's

2008-01-19T22:10:00.000-05:00

Rhiannon, Chris, Alex, Justin:

Chris and Rhiannon:

Alex, Bo, Justin, Grasshopper, and Doug:

progressive dinner in liminga

2008-01-19T21:57:00.000-05:00

So it's been a couple of weeks again! Not too much going on. School has started, and time is once again taken up with academic pursuits. Well, you know, as many as can be fit into everything else going on! As usual, I find it difficult to balance everything, but that's ok. It's all part of the game, I reckon. At least I am reading the stuff I enjoy reading--this weekend it is about writing, though. My proposal needs to get finished, and soon! It's all interesting, for sure.

It's cold here--below 0, although I just looked at the temp and it's actually reached 0. At least 3 degrees warmer than this morning. We're expecting 0 degree temperatures through Thursday. I'm not all that happy with weather this cold--the animals' water is always freezing, and they aren't too happy, either. Even so, we're getting at least 8 eggs a day, sometimes a dozen. It's nice to start being able to sell the eggs to pay for their feed. Woohoo!!!

Ok, here's some pictures from the progressive dinner. It was quite the blast. A few adventures mixed in the deal, along with great company and great food, and you know, you have the typical Liminga neighborhood snowshoe!

Here's Vanna running back from welcoming Diane and Nancy!

Doug and Amalia:

Doug:

Doug on top of the mountain!:

dough bowl!

2008-01-04T21:41:00.001-05:00

So I finished the dough bowl! It turned out ok, I think, although there is a soft spot that I am a bit worried about. It's the thing with using wood from the property and not really knowing what I'm doing! But it looks cool, and hopefully it will dry without cracking. It is, of course, uneven and square. Sigh....

And what a mess!!! Holy smokes. Not sure what possessed me to do this in the entry way, because now I've got some major cleaning to do. Sometimes I wonder about me. The good news is that I will be able to use the sawdust for the floor in the house. Jessica mentioned I should mix some with glue and press it in between each board. After it's dry, I'll be able to poly the floor. It might actually look clean and we won't get splinters in our bare feet! Woohoo!

And the shavings are really beautiful. Some are even red. Very interesting.

Here's a before and after picture. It was actually easier to carve then the smaller bowls.

bread

2008-01-04T09:31:00.000-05:00

I forgot to mention that I have been experimenting with different grains for bread making. The guy I bought this place from had left a grain grinder for the champion juicer, and I ground some rye berries and oat groats for bread. I used about 4 cups of rye berries that were pretty chunky, and cut them with regular wheat flour. Then I substituted the corn syrup for agave nectar. There is very little oil in the bread now, too, because I am using lecithin granules. It is seriously tasty stuff, and very healthy. I just ordered some bulk spelt berries, rye and oat groats from the co-op, and will use the spelt instead of whole wheat flour. I'll grind those myself, making them a bit finer. (I think I'm also going to start adding protein powder!) The bread is so filling and so filled with fiber this way! And a loaf goes a really long way, unless you are me and can eat a whole loaf directly out of the oven! Warm bread with butter and honey. I can't think of many things that are better than that!

Going to cut a huge log in half this morning so that I can start working on my dough bowls. These will be long and shallow, and I can mix and let the bread rise in them. It's hard to use a chainsaw to cut with the grain, but I'm hoping that if I go slow and am careful, it will work out ok. We'll see!! If I break this project up with my reading, I'm betting I get a lot done!

more wooden bowls

2008-01-04T08:20:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to figure out the best way to secure the wood for the bowls to a bench of some sort so the thing doesn't go flying around when I'm working on it. The tools are dangerous, and I don't want to be cutting off any fingers since this is really about having fun! I came up with this idea for the bench in the entry way after Adam showed me a picture of the way another guy secured his wood. If the pcs of wood are big, I think it will work great. Each support can actually fit on the top of the wood pc and hold it in place. It means I'll be moving the pc around a bit, but that's ok. For the smaller pcs of wood, like this one, I tightened the frame to the bench and kind of squashed the wood in between it. This kind of worked, but not well enough, especially once I trimmed off the sides a bit and made them more round. I'm thinking I need to have another pc of wider wood pushed up against the bowl, kind of like having it sit in some sort of box. Otherwise, I have no idea what else might work. If you have suggestions, please let me know! I've wrapped the bowl in plastic and will drain the water off every few days. Hopefully this will eliminate the cracking that happened in my other bowl.

But regardless, I really like it! I can't seem to get it round like "normal" bowls and they are really crooked, but maybe it will come to me with practice. That, or I have just developed a unique line of bowls that are shaped more like squares on the outside! That might look kind of cool! And why not, really? Hmmm.

Another great picture of Vanna!

And now it is time to be thinking about school! I've got lots of great stuff to read and a couple of classes to prepare for. Just so many things I want to do! All a matter of being smart with my time, is what I'm thinking!!!

happy new year!

2008-01-04T07:56:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year!!

It's been a while since I've been on here. Not too much going on, really, and it's already the 4th! What's up with that? How time flies. Most of my time this break so far has been spent researching and planning the garden for summer. I've got some seeds ordered and will be ordering more soon. I've decided to plant in jiffy 7's this year, and think it will save an enormous amount of time and space, not to mention mess. I've got designs for plant benches that will sit in front of the south windows, and those will probably go up at the end of the month. I was going to make them this week, but we'll be having a progressive snowshoe before school starts, and figure that there will be more room without them. And I probably won't start planting until February anyway, so it only makes sense. Hopefully I'll have time to build them then.

I've decided to do a lot of raised beds, implementing the square-foot gardening techniques and combination planting together. In planning the gardens for this year, it was pretty interesting to read about the plants that don't do well near each other. I hadn't followed this last year, and sure enough, the crops that were next to each other that shouldn't have been didn't do well at all. THe ones that thrived were by the plants that aided them. Pretty interesting stuff. I'll actually grow quite a lot of plants this year to see how it goes for starting a CSA officially next year. There are a few people who are interested in fresh veggies, so I should be able to sell them regularly. It's pretty exciting!

Oh, I also sent out an email asking if people were interested in having me raise meat chickens for them this next year. I am so not into butchering, but have been reading all this info on eating locally and supporting sustainable farming. I've realized that I can be a part of this by offering pasture-raised meat. So far, the support has been overwhelming. Orders are in for 150 meat birds, and about 50 layers. That's a lot of eggs if I plan this right! At least a dozen turkeys and a few pigs, too! I've decided to build small shelters with moveable fencing for the chickens. They can be spread out all over the place and still be safe from the coyotes and wolves that got so many of our chicks in the past. I'll probably space out the ordering of the meat chickens as well, so that most of them can spend the majority of their lives in the pastures. It will be too cold for them to be out much earlier than May, which means being inside for a while. We'll see how it all goes. I think people will be patient with me knowing that we'll be learning as we're going.

Here's a few xmas pictures. The guys loved the Drunken Goat Shenanigans book, so that's excellent. I think it's been the best gift I've ever given them!

Little Guy xmas day:

I ended up redoing some of the chimney--I just didn't like how it was looking on the sides. Here's what it looks like so far. I'm hoping to finish most of it this weekend:

It's hard to see, but there are cup handles that are glued into this side for coat hooks...

woohoo!

2007-12-22T22:58:00.001-05:00

Happy holidays, everyone!!!

chimney

2007-12-21T20:56:00.000-05:00

I made it to the tile store in town yesterday, and had a blast going through boxes and boxes of tiles that were left over from past jobs. It was pretty cool. I found a couple of boxes of patterned tile that I know would have cost a fortune otherwise. One big banana box of tile cost $7. I went back for another box today.

I'm not liking what I did yesterday on the sides of the chimney, so I will probably remove those tiles, but I really like how the front is looking. Here's a before picture and a picture of what I have done so far. It will be a bit of a pain to grout, but I might actually do little sections at a time. I know I have gray grout leftover from the kitchen, so I guess I'll use that. It will be good to use it up!

It's a bit hard to see unless you enlarge the picture, but I used some very old little pitcher thingys that I have had since I was a little girl. They used to be one of my favorite possessions ever. I stuck the bottom of the pitchers to the chimney, and I think they will be strong enough to hang gloves or hats on them. Not sure about hanging coats there, but I'm planning on using old mug handles on the other side of the chimney for coats. I think it will be pretty cool!

snowshoeing for stress relief!

2007-12-20T10:25:00.000-05:00

Doug, Amalia, and Justin made it out for an excellent night snowshoe hike after their last day of finals. It was so much fun. There is really nothing like snowshoeing at night; it's beautiful, a bit creepy at times, and of course one falls far more often than during the day. Amalia took some classic dumps that were quite impressive. I thought one time she was running for the heck of it and landed on her face, but it turned out that she had just tripped and was trying to catch herself. But really, most impressive!

(On a side note, should you decide to go snowshoeing with Kirsti, make sure you take lots of vitamin C before hand. She scared the living daylights out of me a few times, screaming because the shadows from the headlamp looked like little beasts running up to attack us. Then there was the time we were on the road and she thought a car was right behind us. She hollered, we threw ourselves into a ditch, and ended up with a face full of snow. I don't think my heart has ever jumped so many times in one night. (Did you know every time you get scared you lose vitamin C?) Plus it was like negative 8 outside, so it was quite the rush!)

Anyway, it was great having everyone here last night--thanks, guys, for coming!

Justin and Shady:

I just spent the last half hour trying to get the first row of stitches onto my knitting needles. This might take a while, especially because I barely got 50 on there. At this rate, I'll be happy if I get half a scarf done by the time the kids arrive, let alone kid sweaters! My hands feel like bulls in a china shop--it's a strange feeling. I am far more comfortable holding a hammer than I am a couple of skinny needles, but I can't help but think that knitting is one of the most useful skills ever. I found out Amalia is also a good knitter, so maybe there is hope for me. At least I have some people I can get help from.

Meanwhile, I've had enough of the knitting, and will start figuring out what I'll do this break. I'm thinking that tiling the chimney would be a good project to get out of the way. Next time I run to town I'll see if the local tile shops have any broken pcs. they want to get rid of. It should be fun!

Think I'll snowshoe, first, though!

ha!!!

2007-12-19T17:03:00.000-05:00

I learned how to knit today! I'm pretty happy about it. Rhiannon spent a few hours this afternoon very patiently teaching me how to do the knit stitch (I thought that's what the whole thing was called), and...oh boy, I already forgot the names of all the other stitches! Anyway, my reasons for learning to knit has to do with kid goats, because I've read that they often need little sweaters when they are first born to get them nice and toasty. Some babies can be lost if it is too cold. Here is a picture of a kid in a sweater that neely hopes to knit one day:

In the meantime, this is what neely IS knitting these days! I know, it doesn't look like much at all, but it took a really long time to do, and I'm totally pleased with it. Rhiannon could make those in 5 minutes with her eyes closed, so I'm thinking that if I actually spend some time working on developing some skills, I just might pull off a sweater by the time the kids arrive. About 4.5 months. That seems doable to me!!

My friend Mark sent me a Xmas card that he painted, and I thought it was one of the nicest cards I've ever received. And one of the nicest cards I've ever seen~ I think that he could have quite a business going if he really felt like it. Mark was the one who did most of the foundational work on this place: electrical, plumbing, jury rigging everything that needed rigging, and then teaching me while he was at it. I learned a whole lot from him, and am very grateful that he was willing to work with me. He's since left the area, but his memory always lives on at the goat shui farm!

Doug, Justin, and Amalia are on their way to snowshoe in order to relieve some tension after what I hear were brutal finals. They'll be heading home for the holidays, and we won't see them again until January. We are tentatively planning our annual neighborhood snowshoe progressive dinner for the weekend before school starts. I think we'll have more than one this year. I'm really looking forward to it!

the essence of the thing

2007-12-18T18:04:00.000-05:00

Wow, the semester is over! Already! And what a great one it has been for me. I have totally loved the Communication and Culture class that I taught, and am completely impressed with the thinking my students did. I definitely learned a whole lot from them.

This semester we looked at narrative and McDonaldization as ways to better understand how our culture communicates and functions. It was fascinating. For their final papers, they wrote about areas of our culture that are McDonaldized and explored whether or not they thought it was beneficial for our society. For example, a few looked at the McDonaldization of the music industry, recycling, the educational system, and even the McDonaldization of murder and the porn industry. It was fascinating. But what was most fascinating to me was that for many of these areas, McDonaldization actually has led to de-mcdonaldization! People are starting to look around and realize that with the efficiency, calculability, predictability and control that is McDonaldizaion, there is something that is being lost. The "essence" of the thing, if you will. The spirit , the "being" behind the thinking that has created a more efficient and predictable way of life is gone from us.

In between reading the students' essays, I've also picked up Barbara Kingsolver's book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," Eckhart Tolle's book, "The essence of now," and an interview with Wendell Berry. Reading all of these things together has been really interesting. Both Kingsolver and Berry are writing about the absolute importance of farming and community, and the ways in which these things counteract the loss of essence in our society. (That's a bit paraphrased, but I think quite valid.) Tolle's writing seems to focus on the essence that exists behind our thoughts, if we would only stop thinking long enough to recognize it. Regardless, in reading all of these things, I am feeling, more than ever, the importance of being on this farm, (even though it is such a small farm), both for the sake of our family and for the community. This is all good timing, because every so often, like this morning, I feel a bit scared about being here. Like, What the heck am I thinking? kind of thinking. I don't know what to do in certain situations, and it frightens me. It would be totally ok if I were the only one involved, but there are other living things that I am responsible for! And if I don't do the right thing, they will suffer.

I'm reminded of Watkins the goose who died this summer. There were a few days when she kept getting out of the goose pen and heading to the barn. I assumed she was looking to nest, and I wanted her to nest with Waddlesworth. I don't think that's how the goose family works. There was one day when I was working on the deck, busily pounding on something, and I turned around and there she was, just looking at me. She didn't say a word. She just stood there quietly and looked at me. WIthin a week she was dead. What was she trying to tell me, I wonder now? What if I had really stopped and listened to her? Maybe I wouldn't have understood, but the point is I didn't take the time to listen. I wonder now, in hindsight, if she stopped eating because the others wouldn't let her nest. Even so, when she died, Station wrapped his neck around her body and cried like I have never heard any animal cry before. He loved her, and he grieved for her. And if I think too long about it, I feel responsible. And sick to my stomach.

This morning, when I went out to feed the animals, I noticed that Nutmeg wasn't her usual pushy self. She really hasn't been the same since Richard came to live with us, and I've been a bit worried about her, but I just don't know what to do about it. Maybe it's being pregnant. Maybe she's having a hard time carrying the baby. Who really knows? In a few years, with a few goats behind me, maybe I'd be able to tell instantly. But for right now, I have no clue, and that's frustrating.

So I've needed to be reminded of the importance of what we are doing here, as small as it might be. I need to remember that, in the past, people lived on farms for generations, making it seem as if they had some innate sense of what to do to keep their livestock and gardens healthy and strong. I grew up on a farm, but that was 20 some years ago, and the memories I have are somewhat fleeting. Then there is the fact that I really didn't have anything to do with the raising of the animals -- my dad did most of that. So I am in new territory here, floundering here and there, and probably, no, for sure, not looking too suave.

But I'm here, and I think the folks whose work I'm reading would be happy with that, and would be telling me that regardless of how ridiculous I look at times, the here is most important. And maybe that is the essence of the whole thing.

2007-12-14T12:26:00.000-05:00

During Thanksgiving break, Doug came over and helped me get started on the living room ceiling. We're using old wood from the goat barn, and it's kind of a pain to handle. Boy, does it look really cool, though. We finished with one section, and have 3 and a half to go. Here's a few shots of what we started doing:

The furnace under the stairs has been left open because I haven't quite been sure what to do with it. Between talking with Doug and Pete, I came up with some ideas. Then it was just a matter of finding some wood that I could use. I was able to convert part of the walls from the boys' potential clubhouse (that Newspaper Dan was going to fix up and live in this summer, only to find out that fixing up really meant building an entirely new building. He scratched that idea, and now some of those wall are living in the house. They like it here.), and I think it looks really good. Some old draft horse harnesses also work to keep it in place. Now when I want to use the furnace, I just have to lift the sections up and away from the furnace. I think it has been on only once this year, so it won't be something that I'll have to do very often. Even so, it isn't that much of a pain. It makes a really big difference in how this place feels!

a few random animal pix

2007-12-14T10:22:00.000-05:00

Our rooster completely bent on getting into the hen house.....

Benj and Shady's butt:

Our sweet Lizzy:

old homestead find

2007-12-14T10:10:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd show you what I found in the old homestead when I started digging in there to take it down. It is so awesome. I'm currently having it refinished. It's a big investment, but one that I am hoping we'll be happy about. It should be finished by xmas time, so I'm looking forward to apple cider (for the guys) and Irish coffee (for me and guests) and board games. Going to be awesome!

little richard!

2007-12-14T09:58:00.000-05:00

Well, it finally happened! We got ourselves a billy goat to breed with the girls. We didn't really mean to buy him, except that it woul have cost the same to use him as a stud service or to buy him, and since we liked his blood line (his grandmother gave 13# of milk a day and his mother gave 10#), we decided it was the way to go. Now if the girls don't actually give birth, that would be a bummer, but hey, one must just roll with it. He came to us with the name of Midnight, an we have changed it to Little Richard. It's a mouthful, but he just looks too much like Little Richard to have it any other way.

Here's the thing about billy goats: they stink. A lot. The whole barn smelled like him in about 1 hour. It's kind of disgusting.

One of the reasons they smell is that they stick their heads in between their legs and pee on their face. Then they parade around the girls, doing this grinning thing, thinking they are pretty hot. Little Richard, smelling pretty!

Like any female would do under those circumstances, our girls pretty much look away in disgust, then look at me, asking me what the heck could I possibly be thinking. But he looks like Little Richard, I tell them. The hair, I continue. Just look at that hair!

I get the distinct impression they don't care. But I'm betting their babies are going to be super cute!!! Come April, we should have 2-6 little kids running around. How sweet that is going to be!

thanksgiving at the goat!

2007-12-13T20:41:00.000-05:00

We had a great Thanksgiving dinner here at the goat. Lots of people came, and a ton of food. Ginny cooked an organic turkey for us, and I can't even begin to remember everything that was there. It was pretty awesome.

Here are some shots that Paterson took...

new chicks

2007-12-13T20:14:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures of our new chicks, who aren't so little any more. They aren't really laying too much, which is a bit of a bummer, and I think a few of them are eating the eggs. Benj and Rio were right when they told me that I should crush the empty egg shells before we give them back to them. They are so high in calcium, and it really adds to the nutritional value of their food. So I think they have gotten to the point where they see an egg and go for it, whether it is an empty shell or not!
Once they start this habit, it is really hard to break. We'll see what happens. Maybe it's just the cold weather. They are in the little coop now, and it definitely isn't as warm as I think they'd like it. We'll be doing some moving around again next year. We just keep trying, and one of these days we'll get it right!!!

And here's a picture of the finished coop from the outside. I think there are still a few things left to do, but we finished just before it got too cold to be up on that roof! Many thanks to Ash who helped out with it!

A random picture of Doug and Amalia who stopped over one of those days!

wooden bowls

2007-12-13T19:36:00.000-05:00

I've been on a bit of a wooden bowl kick--I'm blaming Adam because he is always talking bread. The cool thing about wooden bowls, according to Adam, is that if you don't wash your bowl, but simply wipe it out after your dough has risen, the yeast will actually begin to work on its own if you just put flour and water in it. It's a pretty fascinating process.

Because wooden bowls are so expensive, I decided to start making my own. Here is a picture of the first one I've made, and I know there will be more this xmas break. I just haven't taken the time to make more. This one dried too fast and cracked, and now it is only good for holding big items. What I will do with the next bowls I make is wrap them up in a plastic bag and drain the water out every few days. This way they dry slowly and won't crack. We'll see how it goes.

I really enjoyed making this, though, and am looking forward to more. I need a good set up for it. The wood needs to be secured to a table so it isn't moving around so much. I think I have an idea about how to do it, it's just a matter of getting it up and running. That's what xmas break is for!!!

apple butter kettle

2007-12-13T19:32:00.000-05:00

We finally got our copper kettle for making applesauce and apple butter. It is really beautiful! The week we got the kettle, Diane had a bonfire at her place and so we decided we'd give it a whirl. It was awesome. Newspaper Dan was there, as were some other Tech grad students, and we had a really great time. The applesauce took about 4 hours to cook, and had the most incredible smokey aftertaste. It really was amazing.

Newspaper Dan:

Jim taking his turn at the kettle:

we have a sheep!!

2007-12-13T19:06:00.000-05:00

Because it has been months since I've written, I can't remember exactly when we got Flower the sheep, but we now have a sheep! (I think it was in October.) She's so sweet, and we love her immensely. Unfortunately, the girls don't, and they are constantly beating up on her, even after a few months. It's pretty aggravating, and I feel so bad for her. This afternoon I built a feeding thing for them all, hoping that it will cut down on the fighting that goes on during feeding time. I'm not sure it will work, but we'll see. They really should all be tied up just while they eat so that I can make sure they are each getting their minerals etc., and I think it will just make for a peaceful time period.

Here's a picture of Ash taking the girls for a walk:

like months!!

2007-12-13T18:44:00.000-05:00

It has seriously been a long time since I worked on the blog, and it's because I forgot the password to the old blog. I'm not exactly sure I told the truth, the whole truth, when I signed up for blogger (I still have a bit of a suspicious mind when it comes to giving information over the web. I'm not a Luddite like Newspaper Dan, just a bit suspicious!!...), and they refuse to give me access to my blog!!! This is a bummer, but ok, I reckon. I'll just start this new one and add links to the old one. Hopefully they'll keep the old one up for a while. I'd really rather not have to type in EVERYTHING from the old site. That would be a bit much!

There's been so much that has gone on since I've last posted that I have no idea where to start. Maybe I'll just hunt for pictures and go from there!

It's nice to be back, and I hope that everyone has been well!

Neely