March Madness

We have a pair of turkeys that keep coming back to our farm. They love to eat the bird seed that falls

on the ground.  They are quite huge and fun to watch. 



This is a barn cat from the same farm we will be getting our goats from.  Doesn't she look a little thick around the waist???? We are getting two baby kittens the same weekend as our "kids."



This picture is hard to figure out.   This is a shot of a dead mouse.  His final resting place was the back of our fridge.  We knew it was there as the smell of death was in the air.

Who would think that such a small creature could create such a stench? And who would think it was ok to remove the dead mouse with one of our forks?

Here is an apple pie that I made! If you have ever struggled with your pie crust, try Julia Child's recipe! The crust rolled out beautifully!



Here is the finished product.  The pie was gone in less than 24 hours!

Mittens, hats... I hope we won't need these soon! Today feels like spring!



The mudroom! Ugggggg. Can't wait to put away the snow boots!



Baby goats

JJ is in Tai Kwon Do.  Another "Little Dragon" in his class lives on a hobby farm as well.  So class after class, our family got to know their family. We have chickens, they have chickens.  They have goats...

I'm sure you can see where this is going. The Little Dragon's mom let us know that the farm where they got their goats last year had baby goats again this year again.  

I was at work when I listened to my voice mail.  I heard a tiny but excited voice (Pickle) telling me all about how he and Dada were going to go see some goats.  Later I got an email titled the "4-1-1 on Goats" with some amazing pictures (see below.)  

A few days later, JJ and I got to see the baby goats as well.  We fell in love with them quite instantly.  I really loved the smokey/grey colored baby goat.  He nuzzled up to my face and let me snuggle him-- until he got too fidgety and wanted down. The goat farmer told me that baby goats get to know their human "parents" by the human "mama" blowing air gently in their face.  Kinda weird but I did it! The funniest thing I saw that day...  the baby goats jump on their mama's back.  They are definitely climbers.  The goats were in and out of the water trough (luckily empty) and up and down off their mama's back as well as on and off some wooden blocks within their pen.  The outside goats (not the mamas or newborn babies) were enjoying climbing up and down the picnic table (a goat 'must have' per the goat farmer.)  

We can pick up our two boy "kids" the first weekend of May.  Until then, they will stay with their goat mama and get big and strong off 'mama milk'. Farmer J and JJ's spring break will be busily spent preparing the barn for our two new arrivals.  We are very excited.  

We have yet to come up with names for the little guys.  Some options:  Duncan and Declan, Smokey and Bandit, Phineas and Ferb, Thor and Loki or Frodo and Samwise.  There were also many Star Wars themed names as well as other Superheros.  

 The white/black "smokey" little boy is ours!! 

This little white/brown guy is our other baby goat! 

The last day of winter...

Tomorrow is spring. ...according to the calendar hung up in our kitchen.   Earlier this month,  I wrote "spring", boldly in blue Magic Marker, with a line underneath it, followed by numerous exclamation points (obviously in some attempt to wish it true) on the 20th of March,.  Today, I see that my wish was not granted,  as I  look out the kitchen window and clearly see that winter is still going strong.   A week ago, after a few warmer days, I could see some of the bricks from the patio peeking through the snow. Snowfalls earlier this week have covered up those bricks, and my hopes of springs arrival, in another blanket of cold and white.  There are other outdoor signs that spring is not just around the bend.  I have yet to hear any robins.  Our "babies" (hens) are still 'cooped' up as they so dislike walking on snow and ice.  And I was wondering if Mr. Chuck would be by to plow out our driveway as the recent, here and there, small snowfalls were starting to add up.  

Inside the farmhouse, there are more signs of cold season weather.  The down comforters are still on the beds, the wet snowpants, mittens, hats and boots are still drying in the mudroom, the bean pack is still being warmed up in the microwave to keep my toes toasty warm upon first getting into a cold bed and the fireplace shows signs of recent use. 

J assures me that spring is coming and tells me that one day..."pop", it will be spring.  When he says that, I reminded of a Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) book.  A caterpillar "pops" into a beautiful butterfly.  Soon, my winter blues will "pop" away with springs long anticipated arrival.

And there are some obvious signs that spring is coming.  The seed catalogs continue to come in the mail, there is potting soil in the mudroom, I found a bag from Farm and Fleet full of seed packets, and I'm finding lots of other misc. garden supplies throughout the house.  J is starting some garden plants from seed so the kitchen has a few trays full of soil and seeds.  JJ is most excited about the "snake" gourd seeds that he picked out!

My favorite sign that spring is coming happened 10 days ago.  On March 10th, 2013, a mama gave birth to her "kids".  Our farm family continues to grow with two more "kids" arriving in eight weeks... and guess what, they are both boys!!!!!  J and pickle got to meet them today.  I'll share the pictures tommorow....when it's spring!

I'm sick...

of winter
of winter with no garage
of frozen mini-van doors, especially when we are running late for the morning school run
of finding alive and dead Japanese Beetles, Box Elder bugs and now... ants
of paying our winter utility bills
of limited hot water
of no garbage disposal
of waiting to get plowed out
of praying we don't get stuck in our driveway
of praying that my VW will start in the freezing cold
of being dived bombed in bed by flies, that should not still be alive, when they are drawn to my bright   computer screen
of the constant slush and wetness in the mudroom
of getting 'wet sock' from the aforementioned mudroom
of trying to open and close very cold, outdoor latches with my bare fingers
of wet mail from the snow leaking into our mailbox
of long (weather related) commutes

I love...

living with my family in the country despite my moments of weakness (see above).  Just today, we ate scrambled eggs from day old eggs, the children were able to play with their cousins out in the snow (I LOVE seeing sled marks outside my kitchen window), and I am toasty warm while writing! In a few months, spring will be here as well as our 1 year anniversary of living on the farm.  I'm looking forward to both!


 

Spring planning...early spring cleaning

So it's not spring yet and we still have a few months to go but...the famous groundhog from my hometown stated spring will come early this year so that's enough to get me thinking about warmer weather and more sunshine!

Today, it's frigidly cold and the ground is covered with snow or ice.  Regardless of the freezing weather, J and the boys cleaned out the chicken coop and stacked some wood. One by one, they would come into the house, rosy cheeks and all, and warm up by the roaring fire.  Later in the day, a trip to the local farm supply store yielded wood chips for the coop (straw was too expensive) and some seed packets.  Our oldest picked out the dragon gourd and snake gourd seed packets.  Farmer J thought the chickens would like some cat grass.  (Maybe our future barn cats will like the cat grass too).

J continues to make plans for our future bees.  The blueprints and bee hive kits arrived in the mail earlier this week.  I wonder if the bees arrive through the US postal mail like the chicks did??

We also need to start planning on which chickens breeds we will order as well.  We are certain that we want only hens but have yet to decide if we are going to have only egg laying birds or some designated meat birds.

Lots to think about and plan.  Luckily, we recently found out J's teaching contract and our lease will extend AT LEAST through June, 2014.  It's nice to know that we are going to be staying put for the next fifteen months.

I'll leave you with one last sweet story.  My parents were visiting us a few weeks back.  My mom was helping Pickle get on his jacket and she noticed one of his pockets felt a little heavy.  As a mother and grandmother of boys, she was fully expecting to find a matchbox car, rock or even a chunk of ice but instead she found... an egg!  And it was still in one piece.  Now more than ever, I'll have to be good at checking pockets before doing laundry!  We don't need scrambled eggs in the dryer!

A storms a coming!!!!

I just checked the weather and a 'winter storm warning' is already in effect for late tonight and all day tomorrow.  The forecast includes 6-8 inches of snow with some sprinklings of freezing rain and sleet.  JJ is banking on a snow day and really hoping he gets to stay at home with J and Pickle.  I, on the other hand, am dreading this storm.  I recently started a new position, which includes a one hour commute (one-way, on a good weather day), and I don't want to miss a day of work.  But my work in healthcare, especially within a level one trauma hospital, has taught me not to mess with Mother Nature.

Today was a busy day on the farm.  I kept the home fire burning, loaded up on fire wood and did my chicken chores.  We had two cords of wood delivered this last weekend.  J loaded 1/2 of it in the barn, with the 'help' from some little 'helpers.'  There is still a pile of wood outside the barn, that will likely be covered by inches of snow by the end of tomorrow...unless J is motivated to move firewood in the moonlight (after a 12 hour work day).  Not likely.

Farmer J has been doing a lot of research on bees.  We will be splitting the bee costs with the farm's owners (J and M.)  Farmer J and M are busy figuring out where we will get out bees from, how to construct the best bee boxes and where the bees will be located on the farm.  J is very excited and the boys are already dreaming of fresh honey for breakfast!  I have a slight bee phobia, as I've never been stung.  But, from what I have read, honey bees are very calm and not at all aggressive.

I have started some, very preliminary, research on sheep. I love the look of "Babydoll" sheep (a bread of sheep that are more 'miniature' in size.)  It appears that cuteness comes at a cost.  $500 for a Babydoll lamb. As sheep need a flock, the farmers that sell lambs will not sell to anyone that does not purchase at least two sheep or already have sheep on their farm.  One grand for a pair of sheep... that seems crazy.  However, if there is a market for Babydoll sheep, think of the profit a farmer would get after a typical lambing season. I think the 'run of the mill' lambs will work for us.  The good news is... owner M has already offered to buy our wool and knows of a reputable person that can come sheer the sheep, when the time has come. Look at me, I'm already thinking of sheering sheep that are not even born yet.  It must be February and I must be sick of winter and looking forward to spring.

Here's a link to learn more about Babydoll sheep, or at least see the cute little buggers...

http://nabssar.org/

Stay warm and drive safe!

Baby it's cold outside...

One word.  Burrrrrrrr!!!!! It's odd to see so many shivering related goose bumps covering my golden tanned skin (the last physical remnant from our trip to Key West.)  Below zero temperatures for the last few days. But the sun is holding tight until past 5 o' clock.  I'll take the cold over the dark any day!  And the best news, we made it through the long, cold and dark month of January!

Living without a garage is proving difficult in this cold weather.  This morning, even with the benefit of J going out to warm the van before our departure time, the vehicle was frozen shut.  I couldn't get either back sliding doors or the rear hatch to open.  Frozen, like everything else outside.  So... the children had to crawl through the front, drivers door to get to their car seats.  Once we got to school (a 15 minute car ride), I was certain we could all get out.  I was wrong.  Now, I couldn't even open my driver's side door.  So... we all crawled out of the van via the front, passenger door.  We looked like a bunch of clowns.  I parked the van in a sunny spot in our driveway in hopes of thawing out the doors.  We will see if my plan is successful when we go to pick up JJ from school this afternoon.

We came home to a warm home with the wood burning stove hot from J keeping it going through the night. But the fire was not as hot as it needed to be to keep the upstairs warm and toasty.  Only three logs left in the house.  I peeked out onto the mudroom porch to find no wood stacked out there or in the wheelbarrow.  Bad news for me.  This meant a cold trip to the barn.  I bundled up and made my trek to the barn.  Armed with J's warm gloves, his big lumberjack- like hat and my down coat, I pushed the empty wheelbarrow through the 3-4 inches of snow.  I filled up the wheelbarrow, after noticing we are running dangerously low on cut wood.  After saying a little prayer (to assist me in pushing this precious wood back to the house without dumping it on the frozen ground), I stared to push.  I made it.  It only took four trips (from mudroom porch to inside the house) to stack my load by the wood burning stove.  I am set for the day.  I let J do the next trip later tonight, in the dark :)  We are going to need to have another cord of wood delivered this weekend.  Warming this farm house is pretty easy but not cheap!  The combination of warmth via a wood burning stove, electric baseboard heaters and gas propane is working but expensive.  Here's looking to summer and very cheap utility bills.

The chickens are doing OK.  When they hear us walking towards the coop, via the sounds of crunching snow beneath our winter boots, they start clucking away.  Once we get in the coop, they are already at the inner coop screen door, madly trying to push their way through.  We have to gently push them away as we try to get into their area to collect eggs, feed them and fill their water.  When they are really thirsty, they peck at the snow covering our boots.  The chickens are definitely feeling 'cooped up.  I feel for them but know they would not be willing to walk on the snow.  Sorry ladies but we have to wait for a bit of a warm spell.

I leave you with some pictures from a recent "Downton Abbey" party (thank you Miss Inga for hosting). I was asked to bring a tart.  Like most British food I've had, the tart looked better than it tasted.  The last picture is my attempt to look pre- WWII (it was a costume party).