I spent the last 24 hours hanging out with my 'besties' (i.e., best friends since grade school.) It was fun to be in a much more urban setting. A nice change of pace. Lots of good food, laughs and shopping at chic recycled (i.e., used) clothing boutiques. Farmer J stayed home with the children and seemed to have quite a good time but the state of our house once I had returned! A few hours of picking up and cleaning are definitely worth some girl time away.
Today Farmer J and the boys planted seeds in the garden and transplanted some of our plants from last year's garden (that survived the move) into our new garden. J said the project is taking longer than expected. His muscles are sore but he is quite in his element and very happy. They also had a lot of fun searching for edible mushrooms in the woods! The kids cooled off with a run threw the sprinkler (in APRIL!)
Our chicks are doing great. Farmer J transferred them into a bigger home (i.e., box.) I missed the sounds of my baby chicks when I was away and am glad to be back home and hearing their "peep peep peeps" in the background.
We still feel we have won some kind of happiness lottery and cannot believe we live along side all this beauty. God has surely blessed us. Tomorrow we are going to try another church in town, hoping to find a nice fit for our family. The church we tried last week on Easter Sunday was very lovely and I could easily stop searching---- but those that know me, know that is just not my style!
Gotta go, I hear the munchkins approaching the house. They always find their way back home when their belly's start growling!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Old Farmhouse
Living in an old farmhouse is very interesting. The floors are quiet creaky and there are numerous odd noises the house makes. Once, when home alone, I swear I heard knocking within a wall. I was freaked. Later, when J was home alone, he heard the noise too. He said it was the shutters hitting the house. Another fun thing about living in a very old house is how uneven the floors are. Most of our furniture wobbles or is set at an angle. We need to get lots of shims to level out dressers, bed, and the like. Our dining room is so slanted, you can roll from the kitchen to the living room.
Chicks are doing great. Still all accounted for. Even though they really don't like the sound my Kindle makes when I get a word on "Words with Friends."
Better go. Jay took the children to Menards to get a new rake. He's been busy working in the garden most of the day. He also decided to move part of the garden to allow for more hours of sun and keep our nice few of the barn/pasture un-obstructed. More work tomorrow... for J!
Chicks are doing great. Still all accounted for. Even though they really don't like the sound my Kindle makes when I get a word on "Words with Friends."
Better go. Jay took the children to Menards to get a new rake. He's been busy working in the garden most of the day. He also decided to move part of the garden to allow for more hours of sun and keep our nice few of the barn/pasture un-obstructed. More work tomorrow... for J!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Over 48 hrs and still chirping!
Day 3 for our chicks. 28 going strong. We (and I mean, Farmer J) are still helping 2-3 chicks with their "sticky butt" but all appear healthy and happy. I give morale support. Our youngest even wants to help ("I check their no poop?!") We assure him that Dada can handle the job all by himself. The chicks are still divided in two boxes, 14 per box. They are much bigger than when they first arrived. Most, to all, now have their flight feathers and a few (mainly the bigger meat bird breeds) are flapping their wings and taking flight (which is more like a slight hop). Chicks are very messy. They are always pecking away and flicking wood chips into their food and water dish. And they poop everywhere. Thank goodness for wood chips. These chicks get lots of love- many kisses and enduring words
Today was fun because my parents came for a visit. J worked hard (with the help of my dad and "helper" children) today building the nesting boxes. My parents, my children and I also went on "a nature walk" (i.e., walking the path through the woods on the property.) On an earlier nature walk with my dad, JJ found a very old deer skull near the grass by one of the farm's back gardens. Another farmwife/mama observation: never be surprised what your children will bring in from outside to show you (i.e., deer skull). I stayed busy with unpacking/organizing the mud room. JJ and pickle have 6 pairs of mud boots between the two of them. Plenty for visiting friends and family! My mom helped out by mending this last season's hats, mittens and pants. All ready for next winter :) My parents also treated us to a lunch out. We went to a very fun restaurant downtown. Our first sit down restaurant dining experience since we moved here. The place was very charming and had a healthy children's menu. And an amazing veggie burger! We will definitely go back. On the way home we hit our first garage sale of the season. My big score- an old rocking chair for our front porch. Only $10 dollars!!!! Thank goodness for the mini van for those last minute rocking chair buying situations!
Tomorrow will be our first day on the farm without any anticipated visitors. Another farmwife observation: When you live in the country, expect many "stop ins" by random people (i.e., people interested in hunting on the farm, people interesting in conservation of the land, people interested in saying "hi" or welcoming you to the area.)
Cold tonight- Farmer J bringing most of the plants in for a sleepover!
God speed-sweet dreams!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
24 hours later!
24 hours later and all 28 chicks are still going strong.
We learned a few things about baby chicks.
1.) Do not tip them upside down (i.e., to check for "sticky butt") because they puke all over you (it looks like clear saliva). At first we thought it was poop, but then realized different.
2.) Do not keep all 28 chicks in one box (the bigger ones pick on the little ones and it's pure chaos). All the chicks settled down once we separated them. Much more peaceful living environments!
3.) Do not think you will get much sleep if you keep the chicks in your bedroom (they did quiet down but the glow of the heat lamp and the here and there "chirp" kept us up most of the night.
4.) Do not let them walk on your bed (a very close call with having chick poop on my duvet cover)
5.) Do not let them walk around in a low box top- they can jump out and almost fall off the bed and onto the floor!!
So far, it is very fun having the "babies" in our house. They are chirping away as I write this. We now have 14 chicks in each brooder box. We tried to separate them by males versus females (i.e., meat birds versus egg laying hens.) We've already told the children they can't name the meat birds. We have named two of the egg laying hens. So far, we have Primrose and Magnolia. I'm hoping to give all my "girls" beautiful, flower based names but JJ thinks otherwise. He has fallen in love with the two, little Bantam chicks and wants to name them himself. Currently, they look so similar we have to wait until they get a little bigger to name them.
Yesterday was a very productive day. We got the chicks and their happy/growing. Farmer J worked on constructing the boxes the hens will lay their eggs in within the chicken coop. I went to Fleet/Farm (for the first time as a Farmer's wife) and got J and I some shit kicking boots (mine were only $20!!!) Finally, we got our garbage set up (first pick-up next Monday!!!)
Today, Mima (Farmer J's mama), J's sister and two of our nieces are coming over to see the farm and the baby chicks. J may have to go buy another lawn mower as he ran over a rock with our current lawn mower (he has a history of bad luck with small motor machines.) I'm going to work on unpacking the mud room and maybe hanging a few pictures here and there to make the house feel more like our home. Lastly.... I need to figure out how to post pictures on this blog! I have one last week before I have to go back to work so I need to make the most of my time.
Happy Tuesday!
We learned a few things about baby chicks.
1.) Do not tip them upside down (i.e., to check for "sticky butt") because they puke all over you (it looks like clear saliva). At first we thought it was poop, but then realized different.
2.) Do not keep all 28 chicks in one box (the bigger ones pick on the little ones and it's pure chaos). All the chicks settled down once we separated them. Much more peaceful living environments!
3.) Do not think you will get much sleep if you keep the chicks in your bedroom (they did quiet down but the glow of the heat lamp and the here and there "chirp" kept us up most of the night.
4.) Do not let them walk on your bed (a very close call with having chick poop on my duvet cover)
5.) Do not let them walk around in a low box top- they can jump out and almost fall off the bed and onto the floor!!
So far, it is very fun having the "babies" in our house. They are chirping away as I write this. We now have 14 chicks in each brooder box. We tried to separate them by males versus females (i.e., meat birds versus egg laying hens.) We've already told the children they can't name the meat birds. We have named two of the egg laying hens. So far, we have Primrose and Magnolia. I'm hoping to give all my "girls" beautiful, flower based names but JJ thinks otherwise. He has fallen in love with the two, little Bantam chicks and wants to name them himself. Currently, they look so similar we have to wait until they get a little bigger to name them.
Yesterday was a very productive day. We got the chicks and their happy/growing. Farmer J worked on constructing the boxes the hens will lay their eggs in within the chicken coop. I went to Fleet/Farm (for the first time as a Farmer's wife) and got J and I some shit kicking boots (mine were only $20!!!) Finally, we got our garbage set up (first pick-up next Monday!!!)
Today, Mima (Farmer J's mama), J's sister and two of our nieces are coming over to see the farm and the baby chicks. J may have to go buy another lawn mower as he ran over a rock with our current lawn mower (he has a history of bad luck with small motor machines.) I'm going to work on unpacking the mud room and maybe hanging a few pictures here and there to make the house feel more like our home. Lastly.... I need to figure out how to post pictures on this blog! I have one last week before I have to go back to work so I need to make the most of my time.
Happy Tuesday!
Monday, April 9, 2012
28 new babies!!!
Farmer J got an email on Easter Sunday saying that our chicks should arrive on Monday. J got a call this morning at 6:30 AM from our local post office saying- "Come and get this very noisy package!"
Around 7:30 this morning, J and Pickle (my youngest son) woke me up with a box of peeping chicks! A very sweet way to be woken up. We then took the box of peepers to our oldest son's room (JJ). He was in a deep sleep (luckily- one of my children is a good morning sleeper). Once he woke up and realized what was in the box- a huge smile came over his face.
We got the chicks to a larger box than the one they shipped in and put them under the heat lamp. We spent many minutes holding baby chicks. They all liked to huddle together and step on top of each other! We got them some sugar water and organic chicken feed. Farmer J said the sugar water helps "perk them up" and increase their blood sugar after their long journey (All the way from Iowa!) Finally, we decided to count the chicks. We ordered 25 and we have TWENTY EIGHT chicks. And- we have no idea which chicks are baby girls or baby boys. We ordered specific breeds and ordered ones that were pretty and cute. I guess we made a rookie mistake and ordered our hens and meat birds at the same time. Next time, Farmer J said he will make two separate orders.
Next on the agenda is checking for "Sticky butt" (per Farmer J). He has been reading numerous books on raising chickens so he was well prepared for this journey. Thank goodness. 3/28 chicks had "sticky butt" or a "dehydrated vent" per Farmer J (i.e., poo poo hole stuck shut so they cannot go poo poo- can you tell I'm a mama). "Sticky butt" can lead to death within 24 hours. Hopefully, all our chicks will make it.
Some farmer's housewife observations:
-I need to add Purell to the grocery list to try and keep all our hands clean around the chicks
-I need to get more Tubberware. Farmer J wanted to clean the chicks "sticky butt" in one of my nice bowls we got from our wedding.
-I might need ear plugs tonight (the chicks are going to sleep in our bedroom so Farmer J can keep an eye on them).
-My husband is full of love- he is a great caregivers to these chicks- very gentle and talks to them so sweetly!
Pictures to come! Once I figure out how to get pictures up on the blog.
Gotta go- Trip to the store to get milk (was suppose to get it last night but got lost on my way home-- one problem with living in the country where I swear there are numerous country roads labeled the same!) and Purell.
-The Wary Farmwife
Around 7:30 this morning, J and Pickle (my youngest son) woke me up with a box of peeping chicks! A very sweet way to be woken up. We then took the box of peepers to our oldest son's room (JJ). He was in a deep sleep (luckily- one of my children is a good morning sleeper). Once he woke up and realized what was in the box- a huge smile came over his face.
We got the chicks to a larger box than the one they shipped in and put them under the heat lamp. We spent many minutes holding baby chicks. They all liked to huddle together and step on top of each other! We got them some sugar water and organic chicken feed. Farmer J said the sugar water helps "perk them up" and increase their blood sugar after their long journey (All the way from Iowa!) Finally, we decided to count the chicks. We ordered 25 and we have TWENTY EIGHT chicks. And- we have no idea which chicks are baby girls or baby boys. We ordered specific breeds and ordered ones that were pretty and cute. I guess we made a rookie mistake and ordered our hens and meat birds at the same time. Next time, Farmer J said he will make two separate orders.
Next on the agenda is checking for "Sticky butt" (per Farmer J). He has been reading numerous books on raising chickens so he was well prepared for this journey. Thank goodness. 3/28 chicks had "sticky butt" or a "dehydrated vent" per Farmer J (i.e., poo poo hole stuck shut so they cannot go poo poo- can you tell I'm a mama). "Sticky butt" can lead to death within 24 hours. Hopefully, all our chicks will make it.
Some farmer's housewife observations:
-I need to add Purell to the grocery list to try and keep all our hands clean around the chicks
-I need to get more Tubberware. Farmer J wanted to clean the chicks "sticky butt" in one of my nice bowls we got from our wedding.
-I might need ear plugs tonight (the chicks are going to sleep in our bedroom so Farmer J can keep an eye on them).
-My husband is full of love- he is a great caregivers to these chicks- very gentle and talks to them so sweetly!
Pictures to come! Once I figure out how to get pictures up on the blog.
Gotta go- Trip to the store to get milk (was suppose to get it last night but got lost on my way home-- one problem with living in the country where I swear there are numerous country roads labeled the same!) and Purell.
-The Wary Farmwife
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Back from a quick trip to the South (Charleston/Savannah). Turns out I love southern food and hospitality. I already miss the sweet tea and the 80 degree weather. But it does feel like home to be back in the Midwest (and it didn't hurt that it was beautiful and sunny today.)
Jay was quite busy at home on the farm while I (and the children) were gone. He painted and added to the chicken coop (Thanks also to Ben S.) The coop now has a bright, red door and a little fenced in area where the chickens can roam free without fear of being someone's lunch. We are quite ready for the chicks arrival. They will stay in our mud room until they are old enough to go into the coop.
Jay also started the garden. He chose a sunny spot on the land and is starting a lasagna garden there. Lots of fresh, organic dirt is now in a large rectangle on a spot that was previously lawn. As I'm not pretending to be a farmer or a gardener, I'll stop there.
Hopefully the chicks arrive by Tuesday, when some family members are coming over to continue to help with unpacking and getting the garden ready!
We also hope to figure out how to get garbage pick-up figured out this week, now that we live out of city limits. We decided we are definitely not interested in hauling our garbage (via mini-van and children) to the dump so we are going to pay a private garbage contractor.
Jay was quite busy at home on the farm while I (and the children) were gone. He painted and added to the chicken coop (Thanks also to Ben S.) The coop now has a bright, red door and a little fenced in area where the chickens can roam free without fear of being someone's lunch. We are quite ready for the chicks arrival. They will stay in our mud room until they are old enough to go into the coop.
Jay also started the garden. He chose a sunny spot on the land and is starting a lasagna garden there. Lots of fresh, organic dirt is now in a large rectangle on a spot that was previously lawn. As I'm not pretending to be a farmer or a gardener, I'll stop there.
Hopefully the chicks arrive by Tuesday, when some family members are coming over to continue to help with unpacking and getting the garden ready!
We also hope to figure out how to get garbage pick-up figured out this week, now that we live out of city limits. We decided we are definitely not interested in hauling our garbage (via mini-van and children) to the dump so we are going to pay a private garbage contractor.
Monday, April 2, 2012
We are moved in! Thank you to ALL our movers and helpers! Besides a little rain and some mud on Friday, the weather was great for the move. We had a little debacle with the moving truck (i.e., reserved a 26' truck and at one time, ended up with THREE 14' trucks) but it worked out in the end- and added a little humor to the situation.
We LOVE our new home. We keep thinking a camera crew will run in and tell us we've been punked and this is all a big joke! So far, so good. Los ninos are very happy with their new surroundings and have been outside more than in- so that allowed Mama to unpack more!
Overall, a very successful move-only a few bulldog teeth shared between Jay and I- so that was good too!
A few early observations/comments on country living:
Watch out for the bats that fly at night
I'm already losing the battle of trying to transport all living Japanese Beetles out of my house
We love the taste of our well water
I already miss our garbage disposal
Jay and I need some shit kicker boots from Farm and Fleet
It's very quiet, especially at night
The smoke alarm goes off if the fire isn't just right in fireplace
The chicks come next week... stay tuned!
We LOVE our new home. We keep thinking a camera crew will run in and tell us we've been punked and this is all a big joke! So far, so good. Los ninos are very happy with their new surroundings and have been outside more than in- so that allowed Mama to unpack more!
Overall, a very successful move-only a few bulldog teeth shared between Jay and I- so that was good too!
A few early observations/comments on country living:
Watch out for the bats that fly at night
I'm already losing the battle of trying to transport all living Japanese Beetles out of my house
We love the taste of our well water
I already miss our garbage disposal
Jay and I need some shit kicker boots from Farm and Fleet
It's very quiet, especially at night
The smoke alarm goes off if the fire isn't just right in fireplace
The chicks come next week... stay tuned!
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