Fall Farm News & Update

About that news I wanted to share the other day....

I finally have slowed down enough to have time to share it! I've soooo many outside chores, things to do ASAP, and Winter preparation, that I've been very much over whelmed. Add to that the house (inside) is a DISASTER; and hubby now has a couple more sores on the foot that is going through the bone disintergration and amputations, I had to do something and it had to make a difference. So, it was time and I did know and acknowledge it.

First, my problem was the size of the goat herd was paramount. I was milking 6 does a day and was feeding most of that to the kids (old enough to be weaned) and poultry. I was only saving enough for my morning milk and anything else planned that needed some of that lovely milk.

My 2nd problem, and a huge one for me, was who goes! I had a few I knew were going but I was ready to cull the herd much deeper and into my favorites and upcoming doelings I REALLY would like to have kept another year to see how they develop. One of the reasons is a doe normally has aprox. 6 kiddings in her life time. (I sure hope I have the above average who can go 10 or more!) That's not a lot.

So to breed with good goals and ethics, I feel responsible to know what my doe is going to produce and how that udder will develop! There's a lot to be determined in breeding well. I don't want to just breed, I want to breed well and do the very best I can for the goats involved and especially the offspring! I want them to be the type of goats that one insists on keeping when they down-size their herd! I want them to be favorites and have enjoyable personalities too.

That being, I don't have a lot of kiddings to use and to learn what they will produce so I need to keep a few kids for a while to know. I did learn a lot about what Kendra and Claire now produce by having Raquel, Danika, and Cinnamon on my milkstand. The similarities were interesting and distinguishable. They were sired by Arthur, a Nubian, with an outstanding personality. I didn't know what he did for his offspring in the udder department and wasn't pleased with what I got. The 3 DID get the production and also good personalities from their dams. There were similarities to their dam's in udder conformation but enough of a backwards step to know that Arthur wasn't a buck to be considered an "udder buck"! I also learned my 2 does will produce producers but need help in the udder attachments! The capacity came along, but I want better attachment for an udder that is producing 3+ quarts of milk a day the first kidding! That udder needs to stay suspended on their 6th lactation (6 being the average # of kiddings for a doe)! If not, the teats will be dragging on the ground and stepped on! NOT good at all. I did also learn that my does will put good teats and orifices on a kid and all 3 FF's (first fresheners) had GREAT teats that were easy to hold and milked out quickly and easily due to good orifices. I sure learned alot!

The only problem with not keeping any of this year's doelings (and they were NICE) from Nipper (ND buck/first kid crop) is I won't know what he adds to the kids in udder development, production, etc. His kids were NICE. I REALLY wanted to keep at least one, with that being Jolene! But, I HAD to make some decisions and I had to lighten my work load significantly. So I decided I had to "grin and bear it"!

My decisions ended up being I put 15 of them up for sale on Craigslist. Some were my dairy kids and the 3 FF does, and some from my Boers. I cut into the herd DEEPLY! I also decided to part with Daisy. She had a difficult kidding last year as far as engorging, dropping tooo much weight (she had trips so not surprising), foundered (I blame myself), didn't regain good weight upon weaning, and I just plain don't know enough about dealing with foundered goat feet. Hubby had been doing her trimmings and I missed noticing the laminitis flare-up quickly enough. Daisy has always been a lazy gal and she has always taken over her feed tub and laid down to enjoy her dinner! It's hard to see feet in a herd and then when they settle down if one is going to lay down to eat. (Macy & Monique do the same and are her 3/4 sisters.) She developed those "elf feet" and I kept trimming on her weekly but was get down to very near to bloody without getting them short enough. I was told by a few seasoned goat folks not to make them bleed, just trim and "let them be". I'm not happy with the outcome at all. My decision was to find someone who knew more than I, and I would give her away (which I did). (She didn't go on the Craigslist ad as I wanted to do the best I could for her.)

I ended up with a great opportunity for Daisy (who is a sweet gal)! The guy who bought the 15 I had for sale seemed to know more about feet than I do (he's a cattleman) and thought he might be able to turn her around over time. He also has a young guy near him who was wanting to learn to trim goats, etc. as income. So this seemed to be an ideal situation for Daisy. She'll be a pet and have a couple people working on her feet who should be able to do much better for her than I can. I've learned a whole lot about triming feet but I've learned to trim healthy and "good" feet. Daisy never has had "good feet" from the time we got her. I do find it much easier to trim horse feet as they don't have the 2 "claws". You balance THE foot and only have one to work on at a time which is 4 parts and not 8 plus balancing them together! The angles are also quite different for goats! So Daisy is in a better place for her well-being. The 16 went together so had "moral" support and their buddies to keep them less stressed.

I also enjoyed meeting the guy who bought them. He's just getting into goats, still has cattle and horses. He seems VERY nice and I feel they have a great home.

There was a down side in this though and I have been very upset over that! Danika had a teary eye the day he came to see them. I checked her eye and saw nothing but it was tearing. I started her on othalmic antibiotics and thought she probably had gotten a bit of a poke from a weed. Goats love the browsing in weeds and brush and she had come in with several cockle burs/burdocks that afternoon. I kept her on the eye drops to make sure she was doing ok. Her eye did get a blue hazy look but the eye drops seemed to be clearing it up well. I did show it to the guy and had pointed it out when he came to see them. Unfortunately, Danika has lost her eye. I was very upset to learn that upon buying them that the guy had a vet bill. She will be fine, but I was upset that it looked to be improving and there was a piece of burr that had entered her eye and gotten in deeper than my eyes could see. She's now doing great but I'm still embarrassed and upset with the situation evolving during a sale from me.

That being, I'm now down to less than half my herd!

I have a new home for Lady Bug's 2 doelings. These are also Nipper kids. Lady Bug, June Bug and Nipper are staying. They were a gift I GREATLY cherish and all 3 are such nice goaties to have and be around. They are sweet natured and just plain well-put-together. Lady was VERY easy to milk when she kidded and continues to have a very well conformed and attached udder. Her doelings are adorable as kids and NICE.

Kendra and Claire are staying of course! Spirit and Becca are staying. Those are my Alpine milkers.

Nipper and Bandit are staying. They are Nigerian Dwarf and Alpines.

Macey and Mo'Nique are still here. They are 75 or 88% Boer and the other 25/12% are Alpine. I really like these 2 does a lot. A goal hasn't been set for them but if all else fails, I can milk them. I have milked Macey. Hubby isn't sure he wants to part with all the Boers so these 2 will stay while he's debating. The only thing I don't care for about them is that Macey is a screamer and Mo'Nique a "bawler" when they see me step out the door. As soon as they get fed, they are quiet again. They are very personable and cooperative. Macey's twin boys are really nice. Mo'Nique never kidded. She'll get another chance as Bandit broke into the barn and their pen when they were in heat. Those chaos moments were just that - CHAOTIC! He sure got a lot of "on-the-practice" in his several escapades! I guess I named him right! That boy can jump from standing still onto a 5+' ledge to break into the barn without blinking!

That will leave me with only 10 for the Winter. I'm now only milking only 2, Kendra and Claire.

Spirit is drying up. Becca is the only 2010 doeling I have kept back. She's Spirit's daughter and from a buck at Udder Paradice. Becca's a BEAUTIFUL doeling and her twin, Bandit, is a very handsome buckling. I changed my direction slightly for mini Alpines. Spirit and Becca will be Nipper's does and Bandit will have Kendra and Claire. Becca has spent the night in the buck pen with Nipper. I'm afraid Bandit may have "done the deed" with his dam, but I'm hoping with low odds that she didn't settle. I won't hold my breath on this chaotic, bad-boy moment!

So, it's been a very difficult decision to make and difficult re-evaluation of my goals and breeding plans. I said good bye to a few goats who I'm going to miss greatly. That being, in the decision making, I did a head count and realized that if Bandit has bred all the does he broke into pens with, I will probably have 16 kids coming the middle of March! I highly suspect almost all the does will kid within a week of each other in cold, wet weather unless my "wishes" come through and he wasn't able to settle them all! I have NO doubt that he'll have brought a lot of really good genetics to my breeding program (thank heavens) so it may get chaotic again, but at least he's a high quality buck! (I would really like to take Nipper and Bandit to a goat show as I think they both have the potential to do well. I'll have to see how things are going in the spring and IF the shows will have buck classes for them with enough entries to make it worthwhile.

I'm still going to miss Latte, Coffee Bean, Jolene, Justin, Burglar, Mason, Clifford, Chelsea, CarrieAnne, Daisy, Buttons, PattyCake, Raquel, Danika, Cinnamon..... and just maybe that rascally Buckley a bit! I wish them well and hope that their new owner enjoys them half as much as I did. I hope they do well for him with his plans. He said he's keeping them all and they will be pets. He has someone who is milking the 3 does and wanted some goat milk. And, yes, I told him that Bandit managed to break into their pens also and have a romp with them as they came in heat.... He laughed.

I Voted!

I hope you will too! It's a big election and especially so here for our governor position as well as the national level. The competition for our senator has been a huge one as well and not very nice. Politics seems to have become a very competitive and nasty affair. I find it disheartening that these people who are wanting the political positions side with their party rather than serve from their heart for what is best for all of us instead of half of us. I also find it scary that so many who are new to the country believe all the ads which have so much distorted info. I've noticed they believe what they hear instead of researching where something came from and past history. I'm also disheartened that the media has so much potential to sway voters' opinions and decisions. In spite of that I feel it's important to vote. I also find it appalling to hear what a politician spends to campaign. That money could be better spent creating jobs, funding food banks, etc instead of fancy, slick trash in my mail box. So I make sure to vote.

You're welcome to take a copy of the graphic. Click it to get the full size and copy away.

Tomorrow I hope to have some good farm news!

Newest Cast Iron Finds

Yesterday I found 2 pieces of cast iron at Good Will! This "makes my day" of course! I love checking out Good Will and the store has a "last chance" store next door that has everything marked down to VERY small amounts.

The small round 6" skillet looks to have been used well. It's not too often one sees CI that has been seasoned and cared for so well. It was as smooth as silk to run my fingers over it. I went ahead and paid the $4.99 for it because it's in remarkable condition. The odd spots in the pic aren't there visually. I had to go back and run my fingers over it again!

The griddle was $5.99, which is more than I usually pay at Good Will, but sometimes I get stuff marked so darn low that I don't mind the occassional "off" price for something. Cast iron is one of those occassional somethings as it's RARE to find it there.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a guy on the Today show for the cooking segment who had a brand new cast iron skillet. The theme for the cooking segment was cooking in cast iron. He had commented CI can be bought anywhere these days and cheaply. Then he said it needed seasoning before use and to rub the inside with oil and then heat it. I suspected that the guy learned his seasoning-the-inside-only method from the inter net without questioning what he reads as being the best or proper way. Maybe I'm wrong on my suspicion, but I had immediately got the idea he didn't know much about CI when I watched it. ;) One wouldn't have a well seasoned pan like this (my new find) that was only seasoned inside IMHO. No offense to him as we ALL are on a lifelong learning curve and hopefully we don't close our minds to it before the end! However my new piece clinches my questioning of his method on seasoning the inside only or both inside and outside. This pan I just got is as well seasoned outside as inside and has the same "sheen" outside as inside. So my 2 cents is season both as I have always done. There would have to be some difference in feel and look if only seasoned inside.

I'll need to season the small oval griddle, as it's not done. It looks like it's just sat in a cupboard for some years. I'll do it with another pan I recently found, as soon as I get the wood stove fired up for a good heating.

I also want to look up what the proper name for this oval griddle is from the CI manufacturers.

I think I have recently become a CI collector! I'm tired of teflon pans that loose their teflon so easily so we are eating flecks of it. I guess the big problem is that my cookware is getting tooooo old - just like me (aged with a few flaws)!

Do you like CI? Do you season yours inside and outside the piece or just on the inside?

(PS - The griddle is actually a fajitta pan and would have come with a wooden serving tray. No fear, I'll not tell it and will keep it busy. It now has a real job!)

Quote of the Day

"Today it is fashionable to talk about the poor. Unfortunately, it is not fashionable to talk with them." --Mother Teresa

Woolly Bears

Yes, you read that right! Are you intrigued? I just read about woolly bears, woolly worms and forecasting Winter from the amount of black and orange. I also read they are called woolly worms in the South, so we all know it's the same "critter". Some might spell them wooly bears or wooly worms but I'm going to side with The Old Farmers' Almanac (The Truth About Woolly Bears), which is where I was reading.

I don't know if the predictions for winter is really true or not. There have been some studies done but it's more for fun to try to predict the weather from the amount of brown/black on them. I've noticed more black on the ones here lately. Rumor has it more black is a more harsh Winter.

If you'd like to read up on them some, there is a group which had formed due to a study of them with a website. You can check it out here: http://www.ecostudies.org/FTFG/FTFG-11-17-03.html I found it by googling them, Woolly Bear Mountain.

For reference, I was reading from the 1998 Almanac as I got one CHEAP at GoodWill (25 cents). The current issues are EXPENSIVE these days so I no longer buy the new editions. I had to get this one as they always have a few good, old-time recipes I like to check out. They also contain the info on the length of daylight which I like to reference in the Winter. For some reason knowing that we'll acquire a minute and so-many seconds per day or so many minutes per week helps me get through the cabin fever months.

Back to trying to find that chart that is simple and easy to track that has the day of each month with sunrise, sunset and the amount of minutes more daylight is accrued by the day..... I can't remember where I had seen that.

Maybe I'd better just to visit the website. After all, there IS a website for EVERYTHING!

Chaos on the Farm

I am so not into the drama and all but some days it seems all I can do is pull my hair, roll my eyes, mutter and dive in! What could cause all that? It's simple.... so very very simple! The does are in heat, RAGING HEAT, and the boys are in rut, stinky, bickering and ready to serve the farm and does in "need"!

Oh, you better grab a cup of coffee, ice tea, pop or what ever and sit back to enjoy your visual observation!

It all started one morning.....

Buckley was being a baaaaad boy and he and Nipper no longer can stand the looks of each other, let alone that the other exists and ESPECIALLY here with the girls they each claim as "ALL MINE"!! Nipper is smaller so I left him in the buck pen (dog kennel) and Buckley is tied out. Buckley also had less of a problem being tied out.

Buckley is no dummy! That rascal figured out how to untie his rope! He's also STRONG and broke a couple collars. Well, he untied himself and went to the barn to say hubba hubba to the does of course. Then he turned his attention to Nipper and the boys and decided they needed out of the kennel and he'd convince them that he's "the man" and they aren't welcome around his "women". That bugger busted up a kennel panel so fast it was jaw dropping. He also had to tangle his horns into the chain link so he was stuck and had nothing better to do than ram it and try to get released. Released is what happened to the boys in the kennel and all the chickens too. :(

Tip of the day:
IF you use dog kennel panels with your goats, don't expect those wire clips they use to hold the chain link to the frame! They are soft wire and they'll pop right off as clean as a whistle on the first good head butting. Reinforce them before they get rammed.

I really was smart about putting that pen together. I made sure the cross pieces were inside the pen to support the chain link against the frame for any rubbin on, etc. I have a couple fence posts outside to help with support. I didn't account for a loose buck on the outside ramming into it, not to mention a loose buck who was ramming into Buckley wanting a good fight over the ladies!

You know, you can't confine the loose critters (6 bucks from the pen and 20 or so pullets with a couple roos) until you get the culprit untangled, retied where he belongs, and the fence fixed. (I should have been milking, a nice quiet job that gives me time to "relax" and ponder my goat plans.) So it didn't help with all the loose critters, that someone went and managed to open the gate leading to the barn aisle where there were about 7 or 8 does with some in heat! Just so you can enjoy the whole visual, ALL the boys found their voice! So Buckley is back to his tie out area hollering, and the other boys are chasing the girls doing their hubba hubba and trying to mount any girl they can catch up with. Meanwhile, Nipper is trying to tend the girls in heat and he knew exactly which those were. The other boys, being 2010 boys are still needing to inspect and hope they are "lucky". So the boys are yelling or whispering goatie mating talk and the adult does in the barn are now screaming "LET US OUT with the boys"! We WANT them!

I got the doelings rounded up and back in the barn, made sure I didn't have any boys rounded up in the fray as they were determined to be the "man of her dreams" and tied a couple boys. PHEW! They all wanted to run from me so they could continue with their own agenda. No one was coming for my calling and clapping which usually brings some of them running to the barn. WOW! CHAOTIC!

I eventually got things under control, repaired, and chores done. Boy was I tired! The boys weren't interested in dinner either. They were chasing each other around the pen yapping. There were pauses for some head butting and power strugles of who could push the other off his pose by their heads.

Then yesterday I was doing chores and all of a sudden I realize the commotion in the pen while I was pounding in a couple more fence posts to better secure it wasn't Nipper keeing the boys away from me being he's top buck. WHIZZING BETWEEN my legs goes a black goat.....Yes, there are 2 black boys in that pen, Nipper and Justin. Again a black goat whizzes between my legs (hay, I'm pounding a fence post into rocky land and have my legs a bit separated bracing myself).... and a 2nd whizzes by my legs, followed by Nipper who is yelling at them! Low and behold, JOLENE is in the buck pen and, yes, she is in heat!!! I had just seen Burglar humping "Justin". HA that must have been Jolene, not Justin. So I hurry and grab Jolene who wants caught but is being chased by all the boys.... Out of the pen she goes. I had let the 6-8 from the barn aisle out into the yard while I was working on the fence. I stand back up and start to go back into the buck pen and notice a couple "brown" goats "going at it" and ACKKKKKK.... That wasn't Buttons and Cinnamon sparing! Bandit was out of the buck pen and he LOVES Buttons and the feeling is mutual. I highly suspect the deed was done! DARN... she's not very big (mini Alpine) and he's a full-fledged Alpine. I'm not one to want to breed a larger buck to a smaller doe or any other species. I prefer the buck be the same size or smaller and the expected kids to be small enough in the head to kid out easily for the doe and kid. Now I have to take care of this!

My next problem is I don't know how Bandit got out of the buck pen. There is an old commercial dishwasher out by the barn in the buck pen (great for the hens to lay in) and Bandit has been getting up on top of that (a good 5'+ high). He has busted the fiberglass "window" panel on the barn which goes into the asile of the barn. I had put some woven wire up there but it's now mashed down! Did that boy get into the barn and when I let the goats in the aisle out he was with them? It's possible!

If so, a couple in that aisle are in heat and it includes his "love", Buttons! Do I have a couple doelings serviced? Remember the theme of this post, CHAOS? Ohhh boy!

I'm almost afraid to face today's chaos! Why did I think I'd wait til next weekend to start matching up the breeding groups? Maybe because I'm also trying to get a new shelter in the buck pen for winter first and because I don't want kids born during the worst weather being our winters are severe. Of course I didn't want to breed any who would be first fresheners until December and then I wanted to spread them out a week or 2 apart.

What's that line about the "best laid plans"?

Chicken In The Road - Cheese Making

I belong to a forum called Chickens In The Road. I love the group, it's grown considerably and gotten better and better. Suzanne McMinn owns and runs it. She's an author and it shows in her wonderful writing and blog posts. I'm sure you'd like it also.

Suzanne McMinn announced today that New England Cheesemaking Supply Company had spoken with her and she will now be doing more on cheese making in conjunction with them. Suzanne will be making a type of cheese each month. (She started with a couple dairy goats and now has a Jersey cow also.) There will also be give-aways of NECSC products! You can join both at these links and then you'll have 2 more EXCELLENT and RELIABLE resources. I highly recommend both!

Chickens In The Road
http://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/behold-the-cheese/#comments

Sign up for NECSC's newsletter here but be sure to check the group out too! http://www.cheesemaking.com/cheesemakingnewsletters.html

I hope you'll check it out and find it as interesting and helpful as I have. Even if you aren't going to be making cheese, you'll still enjoy the group as there is a LOT there. Then come back and let me know what you thinkl!

Washing Clothes

This is an old article I've read in the past but saw it again and thought you might enjoy it if you've not seen it.

Years ago an Alabama grandmother gave the new bride the following recipe: this is an exact copy as written and found in an old scrapbook - with spelling errors and all.

WARSHING CLOTHES

Build fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water. Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes if wind is pert. Shave one hole cake of lie soap in boilin water.

Sort things, make 3 piles 1 pile white, 1 pile colored, 1 pile work britches and rags.

To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with boiling water.

Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and boil, then rub colored don't boil just wrench and starch. Take things out of kettle with broom stick handle, then wrench, and starch.

Hang old rags on fence. Spread tea towels on grass. Pore wrench water in flower bed. Scrub porch with hot soapy water. Turn tubs upside down.

Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs.. Brew cup of tea, sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.

***
I do enjoy that and surprisingly to some, it's really not all THAT long ago that a lot of laundry was done that way or close to it! I remember using a scrub board and scrubbing laundry as a kid! We did have big "laundry tubs" in the basement so were inside but still hung them outside. I still prefer to hang my clothes outside to this day. Winter gets rough though as the clothes freeze faster than one can hang them and it's even worse on the hands!

National Face Your Fears Day

I've sat here thinking of what I'm fearful of and came to the realization that I only have what I'd term "normal" fears. My fears are of getting hurt falling, getting in an accident, etc. I stress over money, health and such but again, think that's "normal" too. I do have panic attacks at times but they aren't severe and I'm aware it's happening. I do have a bit of "fear" over my van breaking down with hubby with me due to his status post stroke and limited mobility. I'd consider that more common sense than actual fear though. Maybe I'm wrong too.

I don't have anything much to post on this topic but I've analyzed my fears for the day and now I have another year to not worry over facing them! I think I've got it in check!

How about you?

Stroke Indentification

S * Ask the individual to SMILE.
T * Ask the individual to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE. (Coherently - i.e. It is sunny out today.)
R * Ask the individual to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

New Sign of a Stroke - - Stick out Your Tongue
Ask the individual to 'stick' out his tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.
If the individual has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

A cardiologist supposedly said for every 10 people who get this info, you can bet that at least one life will be saved. I don't know how true that is, but it's important info to know so we might be able to save a relative from a horrible situation or death.

I hope you don't mind reading this info! I didn't know to do these things when hubby had his stroke a few years ago. I wish I had as we may have made it to the hospital in time for the diagnosis within the 3 hour window for best treatment results. He was in his early 50's at the time. I also had a co-worker who found when her son was born that he'd had a stroke inutero prior to 4 months gestation!

Strokes can and do happen at all ages, but are more common the older we get. So, knowing the signs is very important!

Something Fun

Have you ever done any online jigsaw puzzles? I love puzzles and do some occassionally. Today I had to do this one as it's bales of hay in a hay field.

You can find it here if you'd like to do it:
http://www.jigzone.com/puzzles/2010-10-05-BC250550FC73

Enjoy!

Good Bye September!

Where did it go? It just seemed to have flown thru and I couldn't "turn around" fast enough to keep up with it!

Hello October! I hope October can go a bit slower! I have tons to do outside preparing for Winter. We're ready to make our annual trip up North in a few days to bring home a Winter's supply of apples, squash, potatoes, onions, etc from 2 orchards we frequent.

I'll be surprised if we don't have a frost tomorrow night that will be followed by a Monday am heavy freeze. That will finish off the growing season! I have the rest of my ripe and almost ripe tomatoes picked. I need to pick the better green ones tomorrow and can the ripe ones. I HOPE that the tomatoes that managed to rot before picking will sprout lots of tomato plants in the Spring. They were really nice tomatoes and produced lots! Volunteer plants have done well for me in the past.

I have brussel sprouts that aren't as developed as I had hoped. I hope covering them will keep them safe.

Deer season started today for the bow hunters. I hope that several are taken from the herd that is around here. They cause a lot of damage and we have a very high number of car/deer accidents around here.

The trees are turning color fast and a lot of leaves are dropping. The ride North and back should be very pretty!

Another sign of the seasons changing.... I've drug out my "long johns" and sweat pants! Chalk it up to "a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do"!

Decorating Tip to Save Money

Do you have kids who LOVE iCarly? Today on "Nate" was a segment on a teen girl who adores her and wanted to decorate her bedroom like the iCarly bedroom. The "Nate" show decorated a bedroom on the set for the gal to customize it for her but with the iCarly influence. I about fell out of my chair when he suggested buying a large letter M for the gal's name for $24+ and painting it to match the decor.

If you're decorating with your kids, don't go to a "department" store for a letter in the craft or decorating area! Use cardboard or the poster board to make the letter or the full set of letters for a name! It would be so much cheaper and your child could help with the decorating of it!

If you are a bit crafty, you could even cut the letters out of corrigated cardboard and make it a "sandwhich" to make it thicker and cover with wrapping paper or material. It would be soooo much cheaper and still be cute and affordable!

Sunday Silence

Fall

Bahhhh humbug! Some one please tell me it isn't so! It's "that" time of the year and I'm sure not ready for it!

For some reason I'm NEVER ready for Fall! It's just getting too close to Winter and means a lot of tidy up time and preparation time for several months of nasty, cold and well below freezing. It means snow, and more snow and even more snow before I can get it dealt with and throw in a whole lot of ice too! It means closed up windows, and only a couple days of sunshine but a few months of cloudy and dreary skies with limited daylight. It also means floundering around outside doing chores in tons of clothes and snow above my knees. That's HARD trudging and rough on the legs and back.

Then there is the issue of ICY roads and add to them the fools who don't slow down and cause more of a hazard in the Winter then they manage to be in good weather!

Fall is really quite a pretty month and does have a lot going for it such as better sleeping weather, less bugs, but..... it isn't my favorite as it's too short. Winter weather arrives in only a month or thereabouts.

Maybe I need a banner up top for the number of days until Spring! ;)

There's my annual "whine" and now it's time to suck it up and deal with it again!

Interestingly, I wonder if the folks who like Fall the best mostly live in the Southern part of the US. I'm sure if I lived in the South I'd like it a WHOLE lot better and Summer a WHOLE lot less. Is our favorite season a geographical thing?

What region are you in and what is your favorite season?

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September is "Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month". It's a good time to make sure we know the symptoms and IF we had any we hadn't tended too, we really ought to get an appointment made with our gynocologist and get it checked out!

I know we hear the reminders alot, but sometimes we need to hear some a few extra times to get us in motion.

Breast cancer has the pink ribbon for their logo but I've not heard of one for Ovarian Cancer. Does any one know of one? I'd like to get a ribbon graphic if so. ;)

Canning Addiction

If one is going to be addicted to anything, this is the best addiction!

Most addictions are bad for one's health and/or well-being and leads one to destitution and/or major heartbreak.

With canning we come out ahead, and it helps us eat healthy. It also gives us more exercise and personal satisfaction which is good for our well-being!
Do you can?

I need a room added on to the house just for all my canning supplies and the filled jars!

September 11, 2001

I heard on the news we now refer to 9/11 as National Service Day. I prefer 9/11 as National Service Day can include many types of service. I feel that the historically sad day is best not combined with other events in honor of the significant number of deaths, the families and friends of the deceased and our many many people who assisted in so many ways and some for so long. Now some of the firemen/cops and others are having lung issues from the inhaled dust. So for me, I'd prefer 9/11.

That being, my thoughts and prayers are with all who passed in such horrendous ways, the families and friends, and the many many heros who helps and still do. My prayers are also with my friends and family who had losses on that tragic day. My prayers are with all the countries who have come together in these years past to protect freedom.

I so wish there could be much more peace in the world and more understand of other cultures and such to help spread it further.

September is National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month; and the purpose is to:
encourage individuals to have an emergency supply kit,
make a family emergency plan,
get involved in preparing their communities for emergencies.

http://answers.usa.gov/cgi-bin/gsa_ict.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=7525

Another project I need to accomplish. I need to get my vehicle back into winter mode. This is the time to get the homestead/farm organized for winter, and time to get the house prepared to burn wood for our winter heat. The vehicle is the easy part as I have new tires.

The outside work is the harder part and yet I hate house cleaning.....If I start now, maybe I'll be ready come the end of winter!

Sewing

Do you sew? I have sewn all my life but have had times where I did a lot and other times I did little to none other than mending. I would hate to think of not being able to mend and operate a sewing machine! It has to be expensive to either pay to have mending done or throw clothes out for not being able to mend.

One of the most memorable sewing projects I have done over the years was to make my 3 daughters matching tops with skirts. They got to choose their color and all had lots of lace and ribbons on them. Then I took them to get a free pic at a photographic studio.

I recently came up with a craft idea that will take a bit of sewing. I've been drying homegrown catnip and am going to sew some catnip mice. I hope to be able to sell a few as I have a few people who expressed interest. I've thought of doing an Etsy shop but it needs enough crafts in it to make it worth while. This should be a good one - I hope. Too bad there isn't "dog nip" too!

Then yesterday I read that September is National Sewing Month. Coincidence maybe? I guess I better get my sewing machine in gear! Fortunately I don't have a lot of mending needing done. I can just get to the sewing.

Update on LadyBug (injured goatie)

I think I asked for those who can to please pray LadyBug heals from her injuries. Due to the severity of her injuries, I've been afraid to get my hopes up for her to be able to heal and survive. She still has a ways to to, but the prayers are working from what I can see. Her hoof and leg appear to be healing pretty good. After hubby's bone infections, being septic and such, I didn't have a lot of hope for LadyBug. But now I feel I can take a deeper breath and feel she may have this beat if we don't end up with something else going wrong!

I know I haven't given much at all in details and hope to write that up in the future and include pics.

LadyBug has really become "spoiled"! She LOVES treats and has a lot of expectations of how she thinks things should be going. Being in the house, she's now paper trained for piddling but those berries are another story. Thank heavens they are easy to clean up! We go through a ton of papers with her and the 2 doelings. She does out side a bit now into the doggy yard for a bit of fresh air and for the doelings to frisk around. Today she actually ran a few steps a few times! This was a first and sure had me holding my breath and smiling at the same time. I can no longer bandaging her leg/hoof without her being held. I think she's tired of it being "messed with". Maybe she's afraid it's going to hurt. I know it did for some time. It can't be bad now because she'll put her front legs up on the side of the playyard and stand on her back legs even though she bears most of the weight on her good leg.

Please keep up the prayers for her complete healing. They are working!

A Bit of Trivia

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second,

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

A snail can sleep for three years.

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

The cruise liner, QE 2 moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

All the ants in Africa weigh more than ALL the Elephants!

There you go! More useless trivia that you probably needed to know but if you're like me, you had a couple that made you "humm"! Now we know why no one has trick trained goldfish!

If that wasn't enough, you might like to know that today, September 1st is National Onion Day! I have some cheapy beef that I cut for steaks so I think I'll cut the steak into strips and fry some onions with it. I'll add some garlic, pepper flakes and a can of mushrooms with liquid so the liquid can loosen the flavorful goodies from the pan. Hubby's been asking for some brown rice so I'll make it to use for the "bed" for the onions and beef.

Country Lessons

Potatoes

Yes, potatoes. What could one say about the lowly potato which is a valuable food for so many meals?

We recently ran out of our winter supply and had to buy some from the store 2 weeks ago. I'm about ready for our annual winter stocking up. These huge potatoes in the photo show them with my dehydrator behind them. You can see the 2 potatoes are as long as the dehydrator is wide. Last year was a good year for potatoes.

I just read the following stats regarding the top 10 potato raising states on a group this morning. The 2007 figures are in hundredweight.

1) Idaho 117,000

2) Washington 95,000

3) Wisconsin 29,000

4) Colorado 24,000

5) Oregon 22,000

6) North Dakota 21,000

7) Minnesota 18,000

8) Maine 16,000

9) California 15,000

10) Michigan 14,000

What is your favorite way to eat potatoes? I'm tied between a good baked potato and french fries (steak fries or crinkle cut).

Egg Recall Equals....

... a GREAT appreciation of having my own eggs and those hard working girls who supply them!

I had to go to the store today and walking by the eggs gave me a great sense of appreciation and satisfaction in having my own farm fresh eggs!

Aren't they nice?

I really enjoy looking at the various shades and even the differences in shape. Did you know that some off the darker eggs only have their color on the outside and not clear thru the shell?

I also enjoy photographing eggs for some odd reason. I have no idea why but I enjoy it. I enjoy seeing the photos of others' eggs too!

Too bad the hens can't understand how much we appreciate the eggs they supply us!

Where's the Sign?

There must be a huge HUGE sign out for the predators to come to my barn for chicken dinner. I've lost a LOT of hens and a few roos over the last few weeks and I've tended to 4 big coons and 2 possums and I'm STILL losing my hens. Only I'm losing some of my pullets I've hatched out too! The black cochin roo that I was hoping would be my back up was gotten.

I've also lost one of my Brahma pullets that I hatched (leaving me 3). The Brahma pullets and a golden + blue hen who was Orpington x Americauna (25x25%) and x Cochin (50%) have been very friendly and out going girls while in the trailer growing up. They had still been quite friendly and happy to follow me around since they moved out with the adult chickens. The golden blue hen was dead yesterday. That really upset me as she was the most friendly of all and seemed to enjoy being pet, hand fed some treats and even be picked up and carried around. She was GORGEOUS! She was gold with some blue wing and tail feathers, some black ticking around her neck feathers and darker red for the skin around her eyes and comb. She also had gold leg feathers due to her Cochin sire. She was the only one I know that was from my blue roo I lost last winter. Her mother was taken in the last month too. What a disappointment as I'd like to have had more of her even if she was mixed breed. That was a dispostion to have and she'd have done just fine providing me table eggs. I'll miss her sitting on my foot looking up at me expecting me to have something to feed her!

I have 2 live traps going and I've dispatched the varmits I caught. I JUST bought chicken wire to put over the top of the pen. I'm trying to get the pen straightened back up so I can start covering it. We had the tree in the pen struck by lightening a week ago and I've got most of that half of the tree cut off with the remaining piece at the tree to take down. I don't have help so this isn't going to fast or well.

Then to top it all off, I came in for a couple hours so I could rest and clean the goat pen here in the house with Lady Bug 'n twins. I just went back out to feed and get the goats in order to eat and then milk at 6 and went into the buck/hen pen to feed. I had another cochin pullet I hatched DEAD! This had to be a hawk. Coons and possums aren't active in the middle of the afternoon.

I am so bummed! How do I find the chicken dinner sign that must be out there for the wild life?

My Plans for the Day

There was a post on a group today asking what our plans are for the day! I thought I'd post here with my elaborated "plans" for your "enjoyment"! Personally, I think I'm rather a "boring" type person at times and that moment is here! So, enjoy my little writing about what I plan on doing today!

I don't have much planned today which simply means I'll be working on the usual borning and mundane tasks such as laundry, garden, tending house critters (cats, dogs, goatie n her 2 girls, chicklets & chicks), farm work (chores & milking), house work, yard work, cooking, and taking numerous breaks as I go from thing-to-thing putzin' along. ;) I need to have hubby hold my goatie girl today so I can start her back on antiobiotics. Her pastern is abcessing again and rupturing open again. It's not looking good at all. This is from the fireworks incident over a month ago.

I also need to get the chick brooders cleaned and the chicklets (and Keith the noisy guinea keet) in the big brooder need to move to the horse trailer for growing time, the little brooder chicks to the big brooder and the 8 new chicks in the incubator into the new chick brooder. I have 10 new hatchlings but 2 haven't made it. That's the worst part about incubating - the weak chicks that get hatched but don't survive....

I guess I can stay busy with a day of no plans! I can have no plans and still put in a whole day's work! Interestingly, if someone asked me if I'm busy today, I'd probably say, "Not really." Now, why would I say that? Habit?

Cats

Hubby's kitten, Bobbi, is growing well and nice and sleek. She's quite personable and quite a character! She does a LOT of hilarious things. We've both decided that we have gone too long without having a komical kitten to make us laugh and provide some entertainment! I'm not so sure the other 4 who consider themselves house cats in the winter and move out side to live their feline lives in the summer. I've gone to feeding them just outside the back door as they aren't too thrilled with Bobbi. Of course her favorite thing is to charge out the back door and jump them to surprise them. They are just lazy enough to not appreciate her jumping to disturb their peace and quiet.

I have a sheet on my office chair for the summer because it's more comfy than the fabric abraiding my exposed skin over the summer. I have a lot of allergies so a lot of itching too. Bobbi likes the fitted corner that sometimes falls low in the front! She climbs in her little make-shift "hammock" and takes a nap. I think she actually enjoys all my moving around so her "hammock" swings a bit to rock her. What a cat!


She's also become the chief laundry assistant and about as much help doing laundry as a gal can use when it comes to taking over the basket and attaching my hands if I try to add another item to the basket.

I often wonder what the 4 adults who come in the house for the winter are going to think come cold weather. Bitty, Fuzzy, Rascal and their momma, Miranda may not be the happy campers they usually are. Bobbi MIGHT find out she doesn't really rule the roost as she is currently thinking she does. The others might stand up to her which will be a major surprise for her. She terrorizes the dogs and chases and attacks them! They have put up with A LOT of kitten antics!

This is Miranda, with the dark face, and Fuzzy with the LONG hair and marked face. I need to find pics of Rascal and Bitty to share with you. The 3 girls are from the same litter. Another 2 from the litter live with 2 of our daughters.

Bobbi also enjoys trying to play with the 2 goatie doelings in the goat pen here in the house. Lady Bug is still 3 legged lame so still here inside. She and the kids do go out the front door into the dog yard some but she prefers to just lay here and be spoiled and waited on. She doesn't enjoy Bobbi's antics but it's sure funny watching the doelings tell Bobbi she's not as tuff as they are with their head butt shoves and rearing up on their hind legs.

So, being it's a cat topic today and I've exhausted it, here's a cute cat joke. There's a few lines that I think could have been funnier but I'm not sure I should rewrite someone else's joke!

Signs Your Cat is Too Fat

9. Instead of "meow," she says "moo".
8. Takes 3 days to lick himself.
7. She has nine lives and ten chins.
6. He has had more heart attacks than Dick Cheney.
5. Have to get special extra-large flea collars from "Big & Tall Feline".
4. Instead of a yarn ball, she plays with a meatball.
3. Only thing he's curious about is when Domino's stops delivering.
2. When he goes outside, people say, "Can I get your autograph, Mr. Gore?".
... and the #1 Sign Your Cat Is Too Fat ...

1. Next month, he's doing a full hour with Dr. Phil.

Have a good day.

A Sunday Silly

Nothing better than a farm joke, right? This is one I never heard before so thought I'd share it. Now I'll probably hear from you all that you all have heard it and I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Anyway....


What kind of car does a cow drive?





A Cadillac of course!

No wonder my herding dogs always think they should get to drive our DOG Caravan, errrr Dodge if you want to be specific.

I hope you're all having a good weekend!

Burnt Pan - Kitchen Tip

This topic came up on a group and I thought it might be a good one to share! I've found that putting a good sized amount of baking soda and water in the pan works for me. I heat it and then put a lid on and let it sit over night. Some times I have to do a second soak. Usually 1 does it as it's usually a few spots in the bottom of my stock pot from cheese making.

I just read a couple new tricks to try!

One is to pour coke in a pan and boil for about 10 minutes. And the other is to cover the burnt area with warm water and then lay a fabric softener sheet over the top, cover and let set over night.

I will have to give these 2 new ideas a try! I do hope I don't have to try them too soon though! Burning pans is something I rather avoid it at all possible!

Spice Mixes and All That Sugar

No more sugar for me! Now that I've been diagnosed as diabetic (hubby has been for YEARS) I need to find a way to have the spice blends I like without the sugar. I also need to find some fulfilling recipes for candy that is sugar free which won't be easy as the sugar is crucial in some recipes to help set the candy up! And, I need one of the red circles with the slash that means "NO" to add to this sugar jar!

So, I'm on the lookout for DIY mixes that resemble the commercial spice blends and sweets. I'd been using what he likes for his and my preferences for mine when possible as a while back I was surprised at how many spice blends have sugar or corn syrup added. With hubby already diabetic, my diet changes have had to be those hidden sugars in things I eat that he can't. Yes, I knew they were there. The good news is it's working because I've managed to loose 15# without starving myself. I'm busy with the homestead, but with my disability I have to sit down a LOT and have little energy. Truthfully, I think I lost that weight in the candy aisles as I get no more 3 Musketeers, Snickers, etc. I now get to visit the dietary section with sugar free candies. They are EXPENSIVE too. So I'm on a new search to make my own spice blends and sugar free chocolates!

In the meantime, I had stopped at the health food store which I do a few times a year. I found the Pamona Pectin I wanted to try for sugar free jams/jellies and they had carob covered pleanuts on sale! In the check out line I snipped open the carob peanuts as I was wondering if I wanted one bag or more being there'd be 2 of us consuming them. (It pays to have finger nail clippers on my key chain!) Boy was that a GOOD move! I really REALLY liked it so ran to the aisle and got 2 more bags. I was nice and left 1 bag for someone else of course! ;) So I ended up with 3 - 3 1/2 # bags of them for $7.99 each bag. That's a far cry cheaper than 3 oz of sugar free chocolate at the store for $1.48 - 1.69! We'll have these for a long time as I've put 2 bags and 2 quart jars of them in the freezer. With the way the heat melts chocolate these days they'll keep nicely there and I have a few out for snacks. I also decided I need to stop by the health food store more often as I'd LOVE to find the carob covered cashews and almonds on sale too!

A kind person posted this DIY copycat spice mix that resembles Lawry's on a recipe group. I thought you might like it also. I'm going to start with eliminating the sugar altogether and if it really needs it, I'll try a packet of Truvia or Slenda sweetner. Hopefully we will enjoy it without any sweetner. It looks to be a good one and I had quit using so much Lawry's due to the sugar.

Copycat Lawry's Seasoned Salt

2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
Pour the blend into an empty spice bottle to store.
Be sure to label the bottle!

I hope you all have a good day! I'm finally back on line and getting caught back up so hope to be here regularly again! I've missed blogging!

Lady Bug Kidded!

The last few weeks have been rough ones as far as things go for Lady Bug. We have some not-so-nice neighbors who are city-minded and do-as-I-please-regardless types. They built their house and now a "play barn" next to our barn which has always housed livestock. The 26th of June they had a wedding reception in their barn for a son and after dark set of illegal fireworks NEXT TO MY BARN! There was a major goat stampede and escape. Lady, late-term pregnant, managed to end up wedged down between 2 50-gallon feed barrels and the wall and was injured. She has a break in her leg and a broken tail, possible back injuries, and a lot of soft tissue injuries so is 3-legged lame. She was extremely (severely) swollen from the ribs back when I found her Sunday morning and you could no longer distinguish her udder. I really thought I was losing the pregnancy and possibly Lady Bug, it was that bad.

After a couple LONG discussions with an experienced goat vet, I was given instructions. He really felt she needed kept under 24/7 watch due to the pregnancy and some time for swelling to subside. So I went with his game plan as it made lots of sense. He was available if I had questions, etc. Just call and he'd give the info to the next vet on call so they could pass along what was going on and actions taken.

Lady became a house goat and she's more than happy to serve the position! She was only a couple days old when we got her and she started here in the house and has always enjoyed coming in for a visit and felt she belonged inside! So she's quite content to have her home back. I was worried about her being stressed from separation from the herd but she shows no concern over that. She just wants to be with me and I'm to stay in her sight. Treats are expected and she LOVES fruit flavored cheap pop tarts! She also took right to using papers at the door for piddles and a lot of berry "downloads".

On the 2nd, following Friday, Lady Bug was stable enough to transport to the vet and she needed to be seen as far as my gut feeling was directing. The decisions amongst the vets was they prefered tonot stress her at all so the kids had ample time to develop their lungs and important last-minute pregnancy development such as suck reflex, etc. She did get a magnetic treatment for the soft tissue of her leg/thigh and he felt she had a broken tail and pastern.

Lady had moved to the house and now needed watched so she could have assistance kidding due to the muscle damage and her lameness. Her pain level did go down except in the one leg. There was concern over her being able to push the kids out and concern over the kids.

Yesterday I had a doctors appointment and shortly after we got home Lady kidded successfully. She was able to push the first out fine and then she and Candi, mini Aussie, immediately went to work cleaning up the black doeling. What a cutie she is with white marks on both sides, a spot on her withers and a star on her forehead. She also has frosted ears, muzzle and tail with a white tip on her tail. Her sides have random frosted hairs that are most concentrated on her shoulders.

The 2nd doeling is a buckskin which means she's tan on the back half of her body and black to the front. She also has a star and tan eye bars and a few frosted hairs on her ears and muzzle. She's much smaller than the firstborn. I have concerns over her as she's not doing near as well. Her sack was full of greenish-yellowish fluid with some dark specks. This isn't normal and isn't good! She's at high risk of pneumonia and becoming septic. I took her right to the bathroom and bathed her off well as I suspect it's body waste in the sack. At this point she's progressing much slower than the first born. I'm giving her colostrum frequently and monitoring her closely. She's had a large drop of corn syrup to help get her sugar level up as she was doing a bit of trembling. She's very tiny and light weight. In the photo, she's laying by Lady's udder and Lady is looking at her.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed the tiny doeling can make it. I'm also glad Lady has kidded so the hormonal change can revert back to non pregnant so we can further determine if she needs more medical care or what the next goal will be for her. I keep wanting her to get better faster, but reality is that breaks take time to heal.

I also had to make a decision as to whether to splint Lady's tail straight down. She can no longer lift it but can flag it hanging down. My thoughts were that being it's broken and not going to be completely functional that it might just be better if it's slightly to the side. Then she can pee and poop without hitting her tail. Then IF she's to be rebred that process might be easier for her. As it is, the hairs partially fall over just enough to do some protecting of the perineal area.

So, we have a healing and yet lame doe who is a wonderful momma to her twin doelings who are CUTE CUTE CUTE! And I'll be continuing to cut a jungle and bring Lady browse to eat. She prefers the maple and grape leaves over the "salad". I'm surprised how much a Nigerian Dwarf can consume in a day's time!

Everyone needs a house goat, don't they?!

Some Special Days for July

Today, July 13th, is National French Fries Day! I'm all for this one! I like the steak fries best for white potatoes but I also love the sweet potato fries. I didn't have very good luck making polenta fries but the flavor was good. How do you like your fries best?

I've missed several great celebrations, but there are still plenty more left to enjoy for the month! I shall get into the swing and enjoy some! I better get some more ice cream made too!

July Daily Celebrations
July 1: Creative Ice Cream Flavour Day, National Gingersnap Day
July 2: National Anisette Day
July 3: National Chocolate Wafer Day, Eat Beans Day
July 4: National Barbequed Spareribs Day
July 5: National Apple Turnover Day
July 6: National Fried chicken Day
July 7: National Strawberry Sundae Day
July 8: National Chocolate with Almonds Day
July 9: National Sugar Cookie Day
July 10: National Pina Colada Day, Pick blueberries Day
July 11: National Blueberry Muffin Day
July 12: National Pecan Day
July 13: National French Fries Day, Beans ‘n’ Franks Day
July 14: National Grand Marnier Day, Macaroni Day
July 15: National Tapioca Pudding Day
July 16: National Corn Fritters Day
July 17: National Peach Ice Cream Day
July 18: National Caviar Day
July 19: National Daiquiri Day
July 20: National Lollipop Day, National Hot Dog Day, National Ice Cream Soda Day, Fortune Cookie Day
July 21: National Ice Cream Day, National Junk Food Day
July 22: National Penuche Fudge Day
July 23: National Vanilla Ice Cream Day
July 24: National Tequila Day
July 25: National Hot Fudge Sundae Day
July 26: National Coffee Milkshake Day
July 27: National Crème Brulee Day, National Scotch Day
July 28: National Milk Chocolate
July 29: Cheese Sacrifice Day
July 30: National Cheesecake Day
July 31: National Raspberry Cake Day, Cotton Candy Day, Jump for Jelly Beans Days

July Weekly Celebrations
1st Week: National Canned Luncheon Meat Week

July Monthly Celebrations
National Baked Beans Month
National Bison Month
National Culinary Arts Moth
National Grilling Month
National Hot Dog Month
National Ice Cream Month
National July Belongs to Blueberries Month

Trigger (Roy Roger's Horse)

Such memories..... This was a tv show that I didn't miss if I could help it. I HAD to watch the show for Trigger and Buttermilk (Dale's light buckskin)! When they died, they were stuffed and in the Roy Roger's Museum, which closed in 2009. Now Trigger, Buttermilk and a few other things are being auctioned off in Manhattan in a week. They expect Trigger to bring in some fancy change to say the least! Buttermilk, who was my fav, will be much cheaper and is expected to bring only about $30,000! Anyone have any spare change laying around that they could send me?

You can read the article at: http://www.popeater.com/2010/07/09/trigger-auction-roy-rogers-buttermilk-bullet/?icid=mainhtmlws-main-ndl2link6http%3A%2F%2Fwww.popeater.com%2F2010%2F07%2F09%2Ftrigger-auction-roy-rogers-buttermilk-bullet%2F

I'm Back!

FINALLY!

A storm took out my modem and damaged my AOL software. I've not been a happy computer "geek"! Or would that be a computerista? Computer addict?

Whatever I am, I'm more broke as it ended up being expensive and highly frustrating. I have a new modem, new software, new phone, new cords and splicer, and a "new used" computer. The used computer I got to get me through also couldn't get me on line successfully!

I can be really patient most of the time, but my computer time isn't something to be messed with at all, ever!

I'm glad to be back and have most of the settings worked out, etc. I'll be back with a homestead update REAL soon. Thanks for sticking with me! I appreciate you all lots and missed computing!

Turkey Trot!

The 5 turkey poults "trotted" out to the "trailer park" to join the chicklets who are doing great and growing well. The turkey youngsters just seem too big to be poults any more and yet they aren't old enough to be hens and toms either. Does that make them turklets? Like I've been calling the juvenile chicks chicklets? What ever I call them, being I don't know the correct term yet, they seem to be happy to be able to stretch upwards and ruffle their feathers while flapping their wings a bit. They are growing well and are larger than the younger chicklets out there so shouldn't have trouble adjusting to new friends. There's also a young cockeral from the brooder with them who is quite feathered who has since joined them. As soon as they were out of the way in the brooder, the young cockeral decided to take on all the chicks in the brooder.

Now I need to clean the brooder out GOOD and then I can add some other young chicks to it and the current inhabitants back in until they finish feathering on their backs. The newly hatching and 2 keets need the smaller brooder (which also needs cleaning). The new hatchlings will be here soon and the first has pipped. One keet is doing great and the other not as well. I'm hoping that they both make it as I'd hate for them to not have each other being I don't have any others for them to buddy up with in a flock. I'll be BUSY tomorrow!

I have twice today wanted my camera and not had it handy. I miss too many photo moments. I would loved to have had pics of Bobbi (kitten) who has decided hub's foot would be a great scratching post when she was done napping on it. She sure has a lot of "powers" too. She kept hub's confined to his recliner until she was done napping. Cats do that kind of thing! The other missed moment was of Patty, the smallest goat kid. After helping milk her mother and adopted mothers, she jumped up onto a grain barrel that's lid had been knocked off and settled in for a lazy time of cud chewing while watching the milking proceedings and other eating or chewing cud in their stalls. She sure looked cute laying on that white mesh grain bag surveying her domain.

Oh to have another dig camera! Summer could be more fun with camera close at hand!

Have a great summer!

Happy Father's Day!

I hope any of you reading this who are dads have had a great day!

Success!

Raquel's scab on her teat had come off since last night! The teat is still dark on the front where the cut was and there is still a thickness where the cut was. However, it sure looks GREAT and what a relief to get it healed up so quickly. Lesson learned thru this is that betadine is wonderful BUT betadine ointment isn't the best on a doe's udder and teat, especially if they self milk! Boy, that went thru her badly so was a one time thing and never on a teat/udder again.

Cinnamon stood quite well considering and I got to milk her most of the way with both hands tonight! Last night I had to tie one foot to the stand and today was a big improvement. She also only thought of laying down 1 x and was on her knees briefly and gave up. When she does that I've been jamming the coffee container up under her at her belly button front udder area and pressing my other fist (still holding on to that teat) up into her gut firmly. She doesn't like that and stands right back up. :)

I've changed my routine for chores, feeding, and milking. I've been feeding their grain early so they have taken the edge off their hunger or are done eating in their pen before milking. Then when I bring them out to milk there's a bit to nibble on but they aren't really hungry and are willing to stand and chew their cud or at least not be in such a "panic" to gobble their feed and my milking being secondary importance to them. It's really working well. Plus, Cinnamon is the lowest in the pecking order of the 6 milkers in that pen so she doesn't get all her eating done before milking but at least gets some and then has time to finish up on the milk stand. She's coming to the stand calmer and not ravenous and not having been pushed around while waiting for her turn. I've switched their order around so the 3 yearlings/FF's get milked first and can go back in their pen and have some peace and quiet for a bit while I bottle feed and milking the older does who are the top of the heirachy. This way the 3 get a better chance to enjoy their grain and some hay quietly. It seems to be working much better.

I suspect I have an unintended breeding done. Daisy (Boer X and dam of the triplets who are all well into weaning) came in heat. She's having some problems with her feet again and the kids really drug her down so she's pretty gaunt looking (more like a dairy doe and she is 1/4 Alpine). She's been hanging in the the barn aisle and my milk area (I only milk for us and don't sell, give away or do shares with my milk as it's illegal here.). Buckley, yearling buck managed to break out and break in to the barn. There's a chainlink gate at the barn door with an ornamental piece that has a vertical piece in the center that seems it would have got him but he managed to clear it! Also, his horns splay out to the sides and IF he's fertile (being it's summer and not his rut time as he's 100% dairy) then she'll be due mid November. I hadn't intended on her being bred until Spring. She has time to get her weight back up and I'll take back over her hoof trimming as hubby has been doing hers as she's his favorite of the goats.

I'm am really bummed that my feed store is going out of business the end of this month. I got another load of goatie granola mixed and brought home today and will get another order next weekend. That will have me ahead for a while and with a few other items I'll get, I will only need cracked corn and some shell corn for the rest of the summer. I hate the thought of driving so far to get feed. That being, I'm going to cut back on my Boer goats. I know hubby will want to keep Daisy and I'm not sure how many does we REALLY need to have. I hate making this decision but it's time. I've sure enjoyed the convenience of having my goat feed mixed and bagged for me. It definitely improved milk production and the molasses has made it much easier for the amonium chloride stick better for the bucks' UC prevention and extra vits or such I wanted to feed anyone too. It also made it harder for the does to sift out what they prefer. Daisy, for one, will pick out the grains and ignore the protein pellets. I can't get good alfalfa hay for the dairy does and Boers with kids nursing so alfalfa gets added to the granola to keep their calcium balance in line. I'm really going to miss the owners too.

I had banded Becca's little horns and the 2nd fell off tonight. There was a small amount of blood so I doused it with some baking soda and it did the trick. Unfortunately her horns grew some from the time I banded them so she has some nubs sticking up. This is my first attempt at banding and I don't know if they'll continue to grow (scurs can grow for the life of the goat) or what will be. I need to "catch up" with the people who have done this more and see what they say. I had also banded Raquel, Danika and Cinnamon. Raquel has lost her bands over the last few days. I'll have to do a better job of super gluing and re-do them. I'll add a 2nd band below the first next time. I've heard and read good and bad about this procedure and have decided research is what helps medicine progress so I'd only know by trying it myself. There's definitely pros and cons of banding and there are also pros and cons to disbudding. So far I don't have a problem with it but need to improve my method or technique.

I'm due for another hatching in the incubator and the young turkeys are about to move out to the horse trailer with the "chicklets" out there. We've had a few days of low night temps and some storms so I wanted to wait to make the move after we are back up to higher night temps so they transition easier. Then I need to clean the brooder out to put the chicks currently in it back in and the chicks from the other brooder in with them. I'm also going to change the top to make it easier to get a water jar in and out without slopping so much in doing so. The wet can cause mold that is bad for the young chicks. One wouldn't think there would be so many details to putting some eggs in an incubator and then chicks in a brooder and tending them! There's more too it than I had expected! And, being addicted to this, I've got more eggs saved to go into the incubator as soon as this hatch completes!

I'm "addicted", but I could stop and just don't want too! I'm having fun with these little chicks and watching them develop their little feathers and wondering their adult color, pattern, etc. Most are Cochins which I'm REALLY liking, some are the Salmon Favorelles, and a few other breeds. The Jersey Giant and black Sex Linked are doing great also. They are really cute and quite a few are really inquisitive and friendly. The chicklets in the horse trailer are quite friendly also and I decided I need a stool out there so I can go in and sit down and observe them more. I've had a few jump out the door on me but have been lucky enough to get them back. I think it would be safer to just go in and sit with them. It's time for the silver laced Cochin trio to go to the barn now and then the chicklets and turkey poults can have the whole trailer to exercise in. Their tag games with pieces of grass and clover will be easier to run with more room too!

I hope you all have a great weekend and have time with family and friends!

This, That and the Other Thing

This.....

Cinnamon is FINALLY getting herself into the milking routine. She's sure a stomper though! She's doing much better and I'm having to hobble her much less. Some days I haven't had to hobble or tie 1 foot at all!

That.....

Raquel's cuts on her udder are healed and the scabs gone. That nasty cut on her teat all of a sudden started healing FAST. I'm back to able to milk that side out. Her production on that side dropped horribly but I couldn't milk the teat due to her pain and I ended up with a bloody hand after a couple squirts. I'm hoping that her production will increase some on that side and that her udder isn't permanently unequal. I'm wondering if she's going to have a bit of a scar lump or not. It would almost be to her "benefit" to have a bit of a scar visible on the outside so she can be sold and a seller believed. But she's healing and didn't infect and that was the most important thing to me. Not even any stringy bits when I was checking her teat and milk functioning.

The Other Thing....

Bad news and I hate when bad things happen, especially if there's not a clear-cut cause. Tonight when I walked into the barn to do chores, I found one of Macey's twin boys, Mutt, dead. No bloating, nothing to tell me why. The only thing I can surmise is someone head-butted him in just the wrong spot and the injury killed him. What a cutie he was. I was so hoping all those black spots on his gray head were going to be moon spots. I loved his mismatched ears too. Now I'll never know. RIP in peace Mutt.

Meet Bobbi

Doesn't she look like one of those fluffy animal slippers? She actually lays by choice on hubby's foot like this!

No, she's not near as innocent as she looks either. Don't be fooled by a baby face!
Yes, she does have an opinion as you can see. In fact, she has an opinion about everything! She's a VERY independant little kitten!

Bobbi is a Manx. She's not 100% but she's 100% cat!

Bobbi was also born in a barn on at a goat dairy. She's now a house kitty and she took right to the litter pan. She does love her goat milk too!

She is a calico but is that marbled like calico with yellow and white on her tummy and face, along with interspersed in her body hair.

Hopefully she's going to grow up to be a lap cat! Hubby likes a lap cat and since his stroke, he enjoys the company of the cats more. The adult cats have their adult agenda and don't like to spend a lot of lap time in the summer. Hopefully she'll be a good mouser too!

Animal Crackers

Yes, animal crackers! I've had a long long history with animal crackers thru the years!

Those simple little goodies we loved as children and could be entertained for hours with, while we examined each and every animal and compared it to the others! We could play with them for hours, especially in the car on a long drive! The circus decoration of the box added to the enjoyment and play. I use to love them and they bring back childhood memories. Now, however, they taste like soap or something not so yummy!

Then when my children were young, we bought them and they played with them. Then we took to making magnets with them for their drawings which proudly hung on the refrigerator and freezers. Then they made it to a craft for girl scouts. It was determined a non toxic paint was best as occassionally one was low enough on the frig for a dog to reach and consume, leaving the tell-tale bit of magnet hanging without it's attached critter.

Now-a-days, I feed my goats (and dogs) animal crackers for treats. The LOVE them! The goats especially like the pink frosted ones. Today, I ran across this info of what animals are in a small box of animal crackers. Should I tell the goats and dogs what they are so enthusastically gobbling up or leave them uninformed?

1 lion
1 buffalo
2 sheep
2 monkeys
2 tigers
3 rhinos
5 bears
6 gorillas
(Supposedly the combination in a small box.)

I don't know why they would have sheep and them be the only domestic animal amongst the exotics! From memory, my bags have horses or maybe zebras in them and I don't remember seeing buffalo. So last night, when I was handing out treats and milking, I had to take a better look at what I was feeding my milkers (along with their fig newtons)! That meant I had to take a pic of them, of course, and share it with you!

I guess all animal crackers aren't the same! My dollar store variety combine domestic and exotics. Now my memories of animal crackers have been taken to a new level!

Who would have thought from back when I was a child that I'd someday be painting and then later writing about and photographing animal crackers?

Around the Farm Update

BUSY BUSY BUSY is a good description!

I had a doctor appt. Monday and have been told I'm pre-diabetic. Yet on tv the doctor on a talk show said there is no pre-diabetic. Either one is or one isn't. That being, I guess being my blood sugar in the dr. office was 128 and the fasting blood sugar level prior to that was high, "I am". When I had the fasting test done, I had decided that I need to really cut back even more on sugars and carbs. So when I got some candy, I got sugar free. The chocolate syrup for my morning milk is sugar-free now too. I have more tests to get done and hopefully this new doctor will decide what she thinks. Either way, bah humbug. Both of my parents are diabetic so I figured at some point I'd become so too. I'm just glad it decided to wait til I'm 60 and didn't kick in when I was 20 - 30.

Raquel, the FF milkstand bronco, had FINALLY gotten to the point she was easier to get milked and with much less drama has injured herself! She got 2 cuts on her udder and a horrible inverted "V" on her teat. It's on the teat that she was letting me milk the easiest too, darn it! The cuts are where the teat and udder are attached on the other side. All is healing well but it's extremely painful. I can't milk it without causing her a LOT of pain and tearing it open so I'm only milking a bit to check the milk, get a feel of the teat, etc. She's drying up on that side which I hate, but I know it hurts like the dickens. She had been self-nursing and on that side. She sure quit that, which actually might have been better for her udder. We can't undo what's done! We can only fix things the best we can and deal with it. FORTUNATELY, she didn't cut deep enough in any of the 3 spots to leak milk. That's a huge blessing and much better for her of course. She does like milk so I'm also offering her her milk with hopes it is innoculating her system to hel avoid mastitis. Some folks do believe this helps with mastitis and I'm willing to give it a try with hopes it does and it helps her heal and not have problems for life from it. She's too nice a doe and with her nice-sized teats and great orifices, she milks really easy. I'm getting almost 2 quarts a day from her good side. Her dam is a GOOD and easy milker too.
I've been trying to get some good goat pics. They don't cooperate much! They are too busy trying to get me to give them treats so we are all working different agendas!

I did get this cute pic of the last kid, PattyCake. She's tiny, cute cute cute and just a sweetie! She's also been a pest when I'm milking. She decided if I'm milking that who ever is on the stand is her next snack producer! Personally, I think she had a hidden agenda. I think she decided to find out who's milk she likes best. She has given her mother up and adopted a new one - another FF no less! Her newly adopted momma likes her too and couldn't stand being on the stand the other night when her new daughter was outside and got out of sight! What a tizzy until Patty came running back to the barn door in response to the yelling! Danika had a buckling and I pulled him at birth! So this surprises me that she's decided she wanted a daughter! Patty's dam is a "NuPine" and Nipper, the ND buck, is her sire. She has a ND looking head and she's small. She also got all the frosting on her ear, muzzle and tail. Her "star" looks like a pair of wings.

The chicks are still hatching and drying off. There are around 25 chicks and 2 have died. One who is living has large eyes that bulge a bit. I have no idea why so am trying to find out. It looks like I'll have a nice bunch of chicks though. I'll have maybe 5 blue Cochins and a few blacks.

While cleaning out the other brooder, one of the little turkey poults flew out and before I could react, the 2 dogs close by grabbed him. Unfortunately, he died. The 2 dogs are still on my "bad dog list". I don't think they meant to hurt him but they did. They shouldn't have put their mouths on him at all. They should know better as they don't get allowed to do things like that ever.

I also lost my "Orpicauna" hen. She had gotten caught by the leg. I rescued her, but her induries were bad enough she didn't make it. I had her protected in the pen in one of the laying spots (hers) and was giving her milk, feed and water but she didn't eat that I saw. She's the one who laid the drab, olive greenish color I was enjoying. I have a daughter of hers from my first egg hatch who is also gold. I so hate loosing a layer!

Between being so busy and lots of rain, I've not been able to do much gardening. Everything is growing well except those raspberry plants. There was one with sufficient roots and it's doing well. I'm still hoping that some of the others can root and pull through. Unfortunately, the weeds are also trying to get ahead of me!

I also was told by my local feed mill that they are going out of business. This is VERY bad news. It means that I'll need to do 34-mile round trips to get feed. I have the goatie granola custom mixed and it's so nice and convenient to have it done locally and only a couple miles from home. I'm also going to miss the couple who own and operate it. Unfortunately it's another sign of the economy as several of their customers have gotten rid of their critters due to the rises in grain prices, economy and all. So they've had only 1 month in this year that they've been in the black. This will affect my decisions I'm looking at for the coming year and especially for winter care and numbers.

So, there's the update, as long as it is. And to think it's only the "highlights" of the last 4 days!

A Surprise!

It was time to tend my incubators and I almost ignored the one on lockdown but changed my mind. After all, maybe there just might be an egg starting to pip. Of course I'm telling myself that is expecting too much as they aren't due to hatch until the 7th!

SURPRISE!

I shine my light in and cheep cheep cheep.... No, not a pipped egg, but a dry and fluffy chick is already hatched and waiting for it's little life to get moving along! What a surprise!

And, no, no pipped eggs yet! It's still a bit early. If it weren't raining I might have to go find this early bird a worm!

Goat Trauma Awareness Month - June

Sometimes there are things that one can read and be waiting the whole time for the punch line and it never comes! This is one of those situations!

http://www.goat-trauma.org/news/awareness.shtml

You'll have to let me know what you think after reading this.

National Days for June 4th

Today is National Frozen Yogurt Day, Cheese Day and National Donut Day!

"Friday, June 4th's sugary celebration is actually a real holiday. In fact, since 1938, the first Friday in June has been celebrated as National Donut Day. Its beginnings were sweet and meaningful...and its modern-day meaning is pretty sweet too.... The holiday was initiated by the Salvation Army as a nod to the women who served donuts to soldiers during the first World War." Source unknown. I think this is a neat history lesson!

June is also:

National Candy Month

National Dairy Month

National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month

National Iced Tea Month

National Papaya Month

National Seafood Month

National Turkey Lover’s Month

We can't hardly go wrong can we? Plus these are just the one's I've run across now and I know there has to be more! So find something that suits you to celebrate and have a family doing enjoying it! If there's a little fun history with it, all the better.

Reuseable Grocery Tote Bags

Do you use these? I sure do and they've gotten pretty handy other than just shopping too.

So far, my favs have been the blue and black WalMart bags and the green Spartan Stores bags. The Walmart bags are great for most all things. I like the Spartan bags better for canned goods though. The Walmart bags have a bit longer straps which are handy. The Spartan bags are a perfect design and sturdy for canned goods. The cans stay standing nicely instead of tipping and "spilling" onto their sides. So they are easier to carry without cans jabbing me.

Today I got one of the new TSC "green" tote bags.

It's a pretty tan on the front and back, black straps and black side gussets. A really NICE bag and I'm going to use it for my personal tote bag instead of just using it as a shopping bag. It's really sturdy looking and I like the size and shape. It has their advertising but it's note something I don't want to be seen carrying, etc.

This one is definitely going to be some tuff competition.

It's a bit taller than the Walmart bags (which I see are now even smaller) and the Spartan bags.

As you can see, it's passing an inspection! It seems it would also suffice for a kitten scratching bag. Enuff, Bobbi! I do think I better be careful. I may find I'm leaving home with more than I intended!

If you like tote bags, you might want to check this new one out at your local TSC or other farm store!

So Little Will Power!

I took hubby to the dr. today and had to also make a quick run out to TSC while in town. That was to be a FAST trip in and out of TSC. I alllllllmost made it fast! BUT....they stopped me in my tracks!

I sure wish those chicks would quit calling me to their tubs! I have done so good all season with just looking I was getting proud of myself for having such restraint.

Alas, TSC had a new shipment of chicks today. They were VERY nice looking chicks! They were very alert, active and just had that "doing great" look to them (ALL of them). I could also tell they really wanted me to bring them all home - especially that tub of the black sex links. They are all pullets of course! I was talking to them (yes, I do stand in stores and talk to the live critters) and they were just begging to be rescued of course! Ok ok, you don't believe that... but at least I don't stand in the stores and talk to the stuffed animals! lol

Needless to say, that dire need of a new brooder lamp and red bulb also included 6 black sex links who captivated me and I'd like to have some experience with. Plus, it's the end of the chick season for them and even though they just came in this am, they are already a reduced price! I got them for $2 each. And, yes, I need more egg layers. I got 0 (yes, ZERO) eggs again yesterday.

After all, what's 6 more chicks? Just because I have an incubator due to hatch Monday? I'm addicted to fluffly little chicks, young feathering out chicks and my chickens!

There are a couple good coupons on the chick box too! One is for $2 on chick grit which I'll need more of at some point!

Plus, just think..... next spring I can have another hatching experiment! I can see what these 6 produce when I hatch some of their eggs from my current roos. Will they produce black sex links or loose the "link" all together?