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“If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” Thomas Jefferson

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Thanksgiving Update

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my darling little sis here from Maine. It is always so nice to have her home since she doesn't get home very often. The girls' have really had fun with their aunt. Yesterday they went to Chuck E'Cheese and then to the mall for some shopping. My little one came home with Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer from Build a Bear Workshop and the great thing is.....it sings. At 5:30 this morning, Rudolph started singing and a little hand patted me on the shoulder all accompanied with a little voice that said, "Don't you love this song?!" My reply was that yes I loved the Rudolph song, but she and Rudolph needed to go back to bed. She said ok and pitter pattered off to her bed. I on the other hand was wide awake so off to the coffee pot I went. The only bad thing is that my computer has now totally and completely crashed, so I will have to update the blog from my mom's house. I will update at least once a week until my computer is fixed. So this is this week's update and I will try to cover all briefly.

Sewing and Scrap Challenge
I have finished another Sunday dress and just about finished the pinafore that goes with it. I will put some embroidery on the sleeves and the peter pan collar and then it will be done. On the scrap challenge, I had some linen pieces which I made coffee filters from. I like the linen because it is unbleached and natural. It is also a loose enough weave that the water flows through easily. I took small squares, folded them across into a big triangle. Then I cut the tip to make it more flat and then sewed the seam. Easy as pie and I have new coffee filters. I have a bunch of this linen from my art days (it is used for canvases), so I was thinking of making some of these to sell at the store blog. Do you think anyone might be interested in them? They last a long time and wouldn't cost much at all. Anyway, just an idea. I am now working on a needlework piece that I picked up several years ago, started, put down and never got back to. It is a small piece and I am not really sure what I will do with it, but it is a nice change from cutting and sewing types of things. I will have it finished in a day or two and then need to work on a couple of shirts for my little one to go under her jumpers. The jumpers still fit but the shirts are too small, so I will just make a couple new ones and then we will be set. I think that is about it in the sewing area for this week.

Montessori Preschool
I completed the counting cards and ladybugs that will be a Christmas gift for my little one. The ladybugs were shells that I painted to look like ladybugs. I also got the sandpaper numbers finished so that she can trace and feel the symbols for her numbers. I painted the red rods which is beginning math concept teaching longest, shortest and everything in between. It also teaches that several can equal one. These will later become counting rods which will help her learn addition and subtraction concepts. I have the sandpapers letters written on the sandpaper, but not yet cut out and put on the cardstock. I will get that started this week. She can sing the ABC song, but this will be her first formal introduction to the symbols and have the ability to feel their shape. I am right proud of myself that I free handed the cursive so that they can be cut out and put on cardstock leaving enough of the letter to be traced. We also this week will continue with our geography by painting the flags of our state and the United States. We also plan on doing leaf rubbings of trees and then talking about the parts of the leaves, then continue with tree drawings and talking about the parts of trees. Anyway, I am sure there will be more and of course we will continue with what we have already introduced.

Food
We are getting ready to start our Christmas baking and will get the breads done and in the freezer since the candies need to be done relatively fresh. This will free us up a bit to do some other things. I have a great rabbit recipe that I tried out on everyone last week and they liked it. I thought it was really good and it is a crockpot recipe. So here it is:

Creamy Rabbit and Rice
1 rabbit cut into pieces
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package of onion soup mix
Salt and pepper to taste

Places salt and peppered rabbit pieces in crockpot. Then mix the other ingredients in a bowl and dump on top of the rabbit making sure that all of the rabbit is covered. Cook on low for about 6 hours or on high for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. When the rabbit is tender it is done. I served this over brown rice with a side of asparagus and sliced tomatoes. I also served with garlic bread. Super yummy and oh so easy.

Well, that is about all I can think of right now. Like I said I will update once a week at least until I get the computer fixed and then I will be back to normal. Hope you all have a blessed week. Kat

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I Am Thankful For.....

I have so much to be thankful for so I thought I would compose a short list. So here it is:
I am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
I am thankful for my wonderful husband
I am thankful for my precious children
I am thankful for the full life that we live
I am thankful for my family members who have always loved me even when they don't understand me.

Like I said, I could go on for a long while, but I just wanted to share my top thankful picks. I hope you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving and I thank you all for reading and commenting. Blessings, Kat

Montessori this week

Well, so far we have done pretty well at setting up our Montessori area. Here are some photos of our area so far.

This is our reading and art area. I am still working on getting our art supplies here so it is still a little bare, but she is happy to be able to get them out by herself with the exception of the paints which live on the porch for obvious reasons.

This is our sensorial area the buckets to the right have her geometric blocks and regular blocks which have been great for learning geometric figures like cylinders and pyramids. In this area we mostly have stuff that will build her fine motor skills along with presenting her with concepts that will build into math skills later.

This is our practical life table with pouring and spooning excercises. We also have a basting and funnel activity in the middle. Again these types of activities teach body control and concentration along with developing fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. We don't have a whole lot in the practical life area since so much of her practical life takes place elsewhere in the house. For instance, we washed carrots and potatoes in the kitchen and then she peeled them with a vegetable peeler (the kind that can be pulled along), then she washed windows and learned to properly dust and wipe tables. She is also setting the table for dinner and helping to fold clothes. Anyway, just a little start to our Montessori blogs to give everyone an idea of where we are going and what has been happening. Blessings, Kat

Use the Scrap Challenge-Washcloths

Yesterday, I decided that I needed some new washcloths. I don't know where all my washcloths have run off too (probably the same place as the socks), but I can never seem to find one. Instead of running off to the store to buy any, I pulled out my huge scrap fabric box. I had some great pieces of flannel and cotton just the right size to make good washcloths. So I used the flannel as an inner layer between two pieces of cotton. Like this:


Then I simply used an overlock stitch to sew the edges. I could have made a nice hem or border, but these are washcloths and I wasn't real concerned with them being pretty.


I used what fabric I had and used some thread on bobbins that are kind of odd. I also have all sorts of thread that is in colors that I rarely use so instead of white or another color that I commonly use, I used hot pink something used rarely. This was a good opportunity to use supplies that don't get used much and save what I do use a lot of. I also used up some more of my scrap material. It took me about an hour to make 8 washcloths. Less time that going to town to buy any and look at all the money I saved in gas and cost. Blessings, Kat

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Montessori Homeschooling

Our toddler is now reaching preschool age. This means it is time for a more formal educational approach. While we have taught her her colors and how to count 11-10, etc. we have not really approached these concepts in a formal way. It has taken me some time to decide what would fit her best. The final decision came when our Sunday school classes started up this fall and she moved from the toddler room to the Atrium. Let me explain what the Atrium is. We started the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd a few years ago. It is a Montessori based curriculum for churches. The atrium is a Montessori learning area in which the children are guided in their understanding that Jesus Christ is their good shepherd. He knows them and loves them. It is a place where children develop their personal communication with God. While this is just a nutshell view of the COGS, it is wonderful. The works in the room are based on the Montessori method of learning. I have seen how our little one loves this room and loves learning the new works each Sunday since I am one of the facilitators of the Atrium. Montessori is a good fit for her. Montessori is broken into 4 parts for the primary level of age 3-6. Practical life are what we would think of as homeskills, they are things that we do in everyday life such as folding clothes, baking, cooking, preparing vegetables, cleaning etc. She already does much of this around the house and loves it. Sensorial engages learning through the senses. This is something that our children do from the day they are born. The learn comfort from their mother's voice, language from those talking around them, familiarity in faces from seeing them, they smell and hear their surroundings all from day one. Montessori education takes this natural instinct to facilitate cognitive learning about spatial concepts. Then there are language and math. Montessori approaches these a little differently. Each work in the child's area builds upon skills. Montessori is a progressive step by step ladder of education with each activity building the skills needed for full "preparation for success". We have incorporated a few Montessori activites before now, but since this is the way we have decided to go with her we are transforming the playroom. Montessori stresses order, which means that everything has a place and that place is easily accessible to the child. It is a child guided education in which they choose which of the works available to them. Before the work is made available then the child is presented the work and taught how to use the work. They pick up on this a lot faster than one would think. Montessori is a self correcting type of education in which there is no need for the facilitator to correct wrong answers because the child understands that their work is not right and corrects it themselves. The main concepts of Montessori are to promote the joy of learning, self-reliance and independance. It also is something that engages the whole body in activity as the child moves from work to work, removing it from the shelf and replacing it when finished and moving on. Montessori works are tailored to the child and allow the child to move at their own pace, building skills and knowledge as they are ready. Montessori materials tend to be very expensive since they are geared toward Montessori schools. However, you can make your own or substitute less expensive things to gain the same concepts. We will be making our own and substituting quite a bit. As time goes by, I will be doing posts to show the things that I make and will be adding our materials in the sidebar on the left under our homeschool curriculum. If you are interested in learning more about Montessori here are some great websites to learn more.

Montessori Mom

Montessori at Home

Montessori Education

Montessori Primary Guide

Montessori Science

Of course, if you google Montessori education you will find tons of stuff to keep you busy for hours. Hope this helps those of you looking for a different way to educate your children. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Virus Alert

There is a computer virus out there that is particularly nasty. Still not really sure that I have completely gotten it off my computer or if it is trying to hit it again. Apparently it occurs as a popup that looks like your regular security saying that your computer has been hit and click on the button to remove. It looks like a windows security alert popup. When you click on the remove virus button, you are done for. It has taken me several days to clean my computer and like I said I am not really sure that it is back to normal. The cleaner program says it is clean but I am still getting problems with trying to be re-routed to advertising sites rather than where I am supposed to be going and with this security alert popping up. I have Mcafee antivirus and it walked right past it. So I am going to get a different AV protection. Just thought I would let everyone out there know so you can be on the look-out. A friend of mine was also hit by this virus and she says that she doesn't think that it completely is gone either even though two computer guys have said that her computer is fine. So watch out folks. I have made some progress on Christmas presents and sewing despite my computer problems so will update with posts on those later. Blessings for this morning, Kat

Friday, November 12, 2010

Fabric Dollhouse or Barn

This is an awesome gift to make and doesn't look too hard. I am soooo making one of these for my little girl. We also have little girl cousins and I think we might make these for them also. Yippeee! Another handmade gift under the tree. I think we will be making the little barn or maybe both. They would be great toys to take to grandma's house! So check it out...handmade dollhouse. She has some other great things and ideas on her blog as well. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Update on Morningland Dairy

Boy is there some stink going on around what they are doing to Morningland. Apparently, the cheese was seized in the raid on Rawesome Foods in California. However, the cheese listed on the seizure by the authorities in California was not tested and is not on the inventory sheets for Rawesome. In other words that is not what Rawesome purchased. You can read the whole story here This mess gets stranger and stranger as time goes by. Again folks keep those letters going. THEY have to right to tell us what to eat. That is our God given right. Next thing you know they will be banning home canning and canning jars will be the hottest item on the black market. Stop their idiocy now, or it will bite us all eventually. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Thanks to all our Veterans

I just wanted to say thank you to all our Veteran's out there today, especially my husband. I thank you for your sacrifices and your service to the people of this country. I also want to thank the families of these wonderful men and women for their sacrifices as well. Being the family member left behind is truly a sacrifice that many don't think about. So.....have a great Veteran's Day and take it easy. My vet is sleeping. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Added a New Category

I have added a new category for my blog. Money saving ideas will now be published under the Tightwad Tips category. I thought this would be a better place to find these specific types of posts. Don't know why I didn't do it sooner, but oh well. I will try to go back through my posts from the past to add them to that category but it might take some time so please....patience is a virtue. I hope everyone enjoys the tips and can get some good ideas from them. Blessings, Kat

The Great Scrap Challenge Update

Well, so far I have done pretty good in finding uses for my bags of fabric scraps and actually gotten rid of one whole bag (ok it was a small one, but still). Here is what I have made from nothing but scraps and leftovers:
3 potholders, 1 pretty one and two functional ones
2 hair scrunchies
several pockets to be sewn on other things
a kitchen towel
two bags to hold a game for the little one's Christmas
3 hair bows for the little one

and I have a pair of mittens cut out of some fleece scrap for the little one. All of the above items were made with the scraps from one bag. For the potholders I sewed the outer shell, or use blue jean legs and then stuffed them with bits and pieces of fleece that I had left over from last winter's fleece projects. To keep the bits and pieces of fleece from moving around too much I then sewed a + in the middle of the potholder. Like I said two are functional and not very pretty, but one of them is pretty and I even trimmed it out with a bit of white leftover corduroy. So I got some useful items with minimal effort and absolutely no cost. Blessings, Kat

It's That Time of Year Again.....Christmas

This Christmas for us is going to be really tight on money. I imagine with the state of the economy that it will be that way for many folks across America. So, I thought I would do some blogs about great Christmas gifts that can be made fairly cheaply and will still brighten someone's Christmas day. I have always hated the commercialization of the holiday anyway and always thought that gifts should be more personal. Well, the first thing that our family did several years ago that has saved a bundle is that all of the adults agreed that we would not exchange adult gifts. Meaning, the holiday is for the children. That right there saves a bundle. Of course, the children still give gifts to the adults and I of course help them make their gifts. Usually for the adults in the family we give homemade goodies. My oldest helps me can during the year so any canned jellies, pickles and other goodies are her hard work also. We usually make up a box with some canned goodies, homemade fudge, homemade bread and such. This year my oldest has decided to add some homemade goat cheese (thank goodness my girls are still milking well) and some homemade soap. The littlest one supervises and occasionally stirs and always tastes, so she is a big contributor in the handiwork. So talk to the adults in your family especially extended family and maybe everyone will agree that it is a good time to stop giving adult gifts. I mean really....how many meaningless gifts can someone shove into the guest room closet anyway! Keep an eye out for Holiday on the Cheap posts for all your holiday non-shopping needs. Blessings, Kat

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

I Really Miss My Seafood!

Growing up in the southern US and living here all my life, gulf seafood is a way of life. My Daddy would make the 4 hour journey to Apalachicola once a year to meet the oyster boats at the dock. There he would pick up several burlap sacks full of oysters straight from the gulf. He would bring those home and we would have an oyster fest. Raw oysters, oyster stew, fried oysters, oysters rockefeller......well you get the picture. Oh, they were so good back then. I really miss those oysters. I remember though that daddy would never get oysters after a storm. When Katrina disturbed so many of the beds and stirred up the gulf I laid off Apalachicola oysters for years. Just when I am thinking that it is ok to start enjoying those oysters again, BP ruins my idea. I don't care what the USDA says, I am not comfortable eating oil filled seafood. And I certainly would not chance eating oysters. I really miss my seafood. Living so close (a few hours drive) of the coast it has always been so nice to get fresh seafood that came off the boats that morning. We have a fishmonger near us who does just that. Meets the boats in the wee hours of the morning and by midmorning that days catch is in his shop. I don't like grocery store fish. It has usually been frozen and shipped miles and miles, then thawed out to place in their case to look "fresh". I remember visiting my sister in California (yep she lived there at one time) and we went to buy clams. They were so fresh and the fishmonger there made sure to show us how fresh they were by tapping on the clams shell and it would close up. If they stayed open they were dead and no good. Here, I don't know why they bother to ship in clams since they are dead as doornails. I often wonder if people here actually buy them. Now she lives on the coast of Maine and she often goes clamming for fun. I haven't had a chance to visit yet, but I hope too one summer(winter is out of the question!). With the mess that has been made in the gulf I wonder if I will ever eat fresh seafood again or if I will have to settle for seafood from somewhere else. Don't get me wrong we have plenty of freshwater fish, but I love grouper and oysters and shrimp and snook and others. We don't eat a whole lot of the larger fattier fish because of the mercury levels, but grouper is a great occasional treat. Oh well, maybe good ol' sis will take pity on me and send me some of those fabulously delicious Maine lobster! Wouldn't that be great, but I don't think I will hold my breath. Anyone else going through seafood withdrawal? Blessings from the farm, Kat

Monday, November 8, 2010

Thoughts on Preparedness

Recently there have been lots of discussions over the internet about the Fed's new QE2 move. That is quantitative easing and basically what it means is that they intend to print and distribute billions of dollars. Well, since we aren't on the gold system basically these dollars come out of thin air and what happens when you flood the "market" is that what is already out there becomes less valuable. It is the law of supply and demand. When things are in short supply they are worth more and when they are plentiful they aren't worth much at all because they can be found everywhere. That is the simplified version for folks like me that do not have a background in economics. Folks are worried and rightly so. This same exact thing is what ushered in the hyperinflation (inflation on steroids)that collapsed Zimbabwe, Argentina, and Chile in just the last decade or so. The United States is no more immune to this happening than they were. So anyway, when this topic comes up as it has often recently most people talk about stocking up on food and supplies, learning to grow gardens, maybe having some livestock, and possibly even looking to move to more rural areas so that they can do more for themselves. Very often there is someone who scoffs at these ideas. Recently I read someone's response to advice about stocking up on food and supplies. This person said that was the wrong advice to give because a person couldn't stock up without advanced knowledge of the subject and purchasing supplies already prepared to be stored long term. She also said that this advanced knowledge could not be gained until the person spent countless amounts of time studying and then purchased expensive equipment to be able to use their stored supplies. This person stated that all of this talk was just bringing in fear and panic and instead a person should just learn the skills needed to take care of themselves if the time ever came. Now, she had some good points but missed the mark. So here are my thoughts. Reading about gardening, canning, baking, livestock, etc. is great. However, and this is a big however, it will not give you the skills to actually do those things. Reading is a tool in this lifestyle but learning actually comes from doing. I have had many failures and from those failures came knowledge. There were even things that I did right, but couldn't have told you how I did it. Without stored food, what is a person to do when the garden is a failure and the country is in the midst of a hyperinflation situation like Chile was with no food in the stores even if one had the money to pay for it? Gardens do fail, livestock does get killed, winters can be brutal and long....it is the nature of this life. Just because one has read all the right books and bought all the right equipment doesn't mean they are ready to take on self-sufficiency without a safety net. That safety net is their stock of food that they have on hand. Without a stock of food to last what if things go bad in the middle of winter? You certainly can't run outside with your seeds that you might or might not have and plant a garden, especially if you live up north. My sister in Maine does good to get in and out of her driveway during the winter, I highly doubt her gardening attempts would work out in mid January. So don't you see, while a person is learning the skills and practicing they can have the peace of mind to know that they have that safety net. Food in the pantry is better than money in the bank, especially these days. Anything can go wrong in life. For instance, at the beginning of December 2008 my husband was cut to part time hours. One paycheck paid our health insurance and the other one didn't even cover the rest of the bills. At the end of January he was lucky if he worked 2 days a week. His entire months wages did not even cover health insurance, we were paying for him to work. Thank God that I had a well stocked pantry and food supply because even though he was taking whatever work he could find to try to pay the bills there was no way we could have bought food during that time. For 7 months we struggled along this way and I never set foot in a grocery store because I had been prepared for whatever might come a long. My children never missed a meal and I never had to look at their little faces and tell them there was no food. I had been gardening and trying to grow food at that point for several years and had a couple of good years and a couple of bad years and a couple of really bad years without even one single tomato. My gardens back then were practice gardens. I was learning skills that I wanted to learn to do on a bigger scale. Meanwhile, I had that safety net. During that time I purchased my first rabbit for meat. She was pregnant. She was also a first timer. She had all 10 babies on the wire and promptly kicked them all out of the cage in her enthusiasm to "clean up". All 10 babies died. Good thing I had plenty of meat because I wasn't getting any from her anytime soon. It has taken time in doing to learn the skills that we need to know or feel that we need to know. We are still learning. Currently, I am struggling with the learning curve of incubating eggs and making cheese. There are many things that I have learned to do and gotten passibly good at just so that I know how to do it. But I never would have learned all the ins and outs of something without doing it. Reading about it just isn't the same, but it is a good start. Read, read, do, read some more, try again and so on goes the game until you have sufficiently acquired skill at something. In the meantime don't forget your safety net...build up that larder. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Looking Back at the Year

I found my post from the beginning of the year in which I listed the things that I would like to get accomplished for this year. It is interesting to look back on such a busy fly by year and realize how much or how little we accomplished of our year's aspirations. However, when looking back we must remember that life has its own agenda and doesn't always go exactly as planned. So I thought it would be fun to take a look at what I wanted to get done vs. what actually was accomplished. So here is the list and those things that have been done or are in progress have been italicized in bold print.

Grow in my relationship with Jesus Christ, work to come closer to Him and what He wants for me. I work on this daily as it is the first thing that I do in the mornings.

Have more patience with my husband While I have worked on this throughout the year, I do think that as of late I have been failing a bit.

Plant a new orchard

increase the size of the garden, grow some new varieties of tomatoes, and more sunflowers We did do this to some extent with the exception of the sunflowers. Our "new tomatoes this year were Purple Cherokee and Borgo Cellano. The cherokee did not do very well, but the cellanos were great.

Spend more time sewing I truly and working on this and it has been made much easier since dictating Fridays to be sewing day.

At least build the outdoor oven, would like to have the whole summer kitchen but....

Raise ducks and turkeys for the freezer We made an attempt at this with the ducks. Our females died and left us with just the boys. Will look to add more in the spring.

Incubate more eggs to increase the size of the flock

Keep only one spring doeling! Butcher all bucklings and sell extra doelings We definitely did this as it was a banner year for boys here and only one spring doeling born.

Get one to two inches of compost spread in the goat pasture, garden, and orchard pasture Done

Increase the compost piles (both size and number) Done

Get firewood cut and stacked earlier in the year

Make time for target practice Done

spend more time with the horses

have more family game nights Each week we have a family game night, usually Thursday night when hubby is home for the evening.

rebuild the solar shower (outdoor summer shower)

plant a berry patch

thin out the pine thicket

get rid of excess clutter I am working and progressing in this area.

So all in all it hasn't been too bad of a year. I have accomplished many of the goals or at least made an attempt at it. The year of course is not over, but obviously some things will have to simply wait. Patience is really what this life is all about. Things get done and added in due time and we must have patience to wait for that time when it is right. Well, time to hit the barn. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Friday, November 5, 2010

I Really Hate This! Plague of Chronic Fatigue

I am sure I am mentioned this before, but I have chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia. The pain I am used to and can pretty much deal with most of the time. I have had it since I was 8 years old. After my parents took me to the doctor enough and each time the doctor said there was nothing wrong, I simply stopped saying anything. Growing up I rode horses and trained pretty hard. I also had some pretty nasty falls along the way and really didn't know how much pain was actually fibro or just the repercussions of the 20+ years of abuse my body took as an event rider. The pain I can live with...really I can. I don't know what life without pain on a daily basis is like. However, the chronic fatigue started about 5 years ago when I had an issue with my thyroid. I actually had to have half of it removed. The fatigue improved after surgery for awhile, but then again seemed to come back in full force. Thyroid levels are fine, adrenal function is "normal", all bloodwork is just fine. What I hate the most is that I have this awful bone weary fatigue and tiredness, terrible brain fog (can't remember from one minute to the next) and there really is no "reason for it". I have found a few things that help. Vitamin D I have found is very helpful and I have noticed that bad days are fewer since I have increased my levels. Since I am intolerant of heat (heat exhaustion one summer) I am in the house much of the day and still don't get as much sun exposure as I probably need. According to Dr. Mercola we need at least 5000 units of Vitamin D and the optimal time to get it from sunshine is between 10 am and 2 pm. Well, I can tell you that during that time this chick is in the house and out of the sun or I will wind up with a blinding migraine. Another thing that helps, is raw apple cider vinegar. I take 3 tablespoons a day. I am not really sure why it helps, but it does seem to give me a little pep in my step. Some say that it helps the body to optimally use the vitamins and minerals that it is getting through food. I try to stay away from sugar and caffeine although life without my morning cup of coffee just simply isn't worth it. I drink lots of raw milk and lots of water. If I drink a couple glasses of sweet tea, I know it. Anyway, most of the time my bad days are limited, but there are still bad days. Today I was in a lot of pain and didn't get as much done as I would have liked due to moving slower and having to take more breaks. The one thing about chronic fatigue is that while I am tired all the time and bone weary tired some of the time, I have a hard time sleeping and never get a truly good nights sleep. I rarely go into REM sleep anymore. So, here I am at 3:30 am. Been up since 2 am. Actually, I was awake earlier than that I was just laying there with my eyes closed praying that I would go back to dreamland. Not a chance. When I start the "gator death roll" in the bed it is time to get up, no sleep in sight. Tired all the time and can't sleep worth a hoot.....really is ironic don't you think. I will probably get the canner out soon since I made a bunch of chili yesterday and wanted to can up several jars of it today. Thank goodness today is sewing day as I don't think I will be good for much else. Once I get the chili in the canner then I can start on the sewing projects. At least I will accomplish that. Sorry you folks had to endure this tirade/vent of mine. Honestly, I rarely complain out loud. Sometimes though I just feel the need to whine and well......thanks for reading my whine! Blessings from the farm, Kat

Chicken and Dog Routine

Well, since we have had issues with Dakota and our young pullets we decided that it would be best to come up with a routine in which dog and pullets did not interact until they were bigger. The dog stays out all night on guard duty and of course the little pullets and their adoptive mama are in the chicken coop. In the mornings we have the milking and feeding chores, then the goats head out to the big pasture. Dakota stays close by where she can keep and eye on them and on the house. So about noon, everybody gets their lunch and the goats come into their pasture closer to the house. Dakota comes inside the house and the little pullets and Mama get to go outside. So far this routine is working quite well. Evening chores work out well and Dakota comes along even to put the little ones back in the coop. As long as I am right there with her then she won't bother the little pullets, but let me turn my back or be somewhere else on the farm and she is mischievous. I think all will be well once they get bigger since she doesn't mess with the rest of the flock and they are out all day long together. I have even seen her laying in the yard with big chickens pecking and scratching all around her. Don't know what it is about the little pullets, but I sure will be glad when they have reached maturity in a few months. Until that time we will just have to play musical critters. Other than this one issue she is still showing to be a great dog with great instincts. Blessings, Kat

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

It's Getting Cold So Let's Talk About Chimneys

We have two good sized fireplaces in our home. One has a beautiful cast iron insert and the other is old and odd sized. We mostly heat our home with wood burning in these fireplaces and so their maintenance is of great concern to us. I am sure I have posted about chimney care in the past, but as the cold weather finally starts to make its way to us I feel the need to post again. I simply cannot stress the importance of maintaining your chimneys. Hundreds of homes each winter burn because of chimney fires and hundreds more come close but don't even know it. We are diligent about maintaining our chimneys, but we never do it all by ourselves. You can purchase chimney sweep brushes and such as big box hardware stores, but they can't replace the expertise of having a true chimney sweep out to clean and INSPECT your chimneys. During the winter months our fireplaces are going daily and we do use a brush to sweep the chimney about once a month. However, our most important maintenance task is to have the professionals come out. They sweep and inspect with a camera both chimneys for 150.00 dollars. It is the best money that we spend all winter. With the cast iron fireplace we don't worry too much, but the old (100 year old) masonry fireplace we do have concern. With its age there are bound to be problems that develop from age and the last thing I want is a fire in my attic that I don't know about until too late. In fact there have been some minor problems and the repairs were made in a very timely fashion with very little additional cost to the cleaning. Each year at the end of summer we call them to come out and take care of the chimneys and so each year we feel safe knowing that our chimneys are well maintained. Folks, do yourself and your family a favor...keep your chimneys in good working order. I can't imagine anything more awful than to smell smoke on a cold winter evening only to step outside and find your entire roof engulfed in flames. The cost to call the chimney sweeps is minimal to the damage that a chimney fire can cause. Stay warm and safe this winter. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Dakota and the Chicken

Well, life with a LGD in training is certainly difficult and interesting. As I have said before this dog is going to be a great dog in the future. Right now she is a good dog that is still learning and trying to stifle her puppiness. She has this thing about my smaller pullets. The big chickens she ignores, but the little ones seem to cause her great distress or excitement (not really sure which at this point). It has been suggested to me by those in the know that she is actually using her tremendous Pyrenees "mothering" instincts. I am not sure if she feels like she needs to put these little birds in a "safe" place or what but they are a great temptation to her to do something with. As I was in the goat barn yesterday morning, I hear my 3 year old "Kota leave that chicken alone!" So, I come running out to find a very soggy little pullet and Dakota running in the other direction. I swoop up the little chicken, tackle Dakota grab her throat and growl to the best of my growling ability "Mine". Dakota was then placed in the goat pasture. The little chicken was very wet and minus a few feathers (methinks the puppy found a new game...plucking chickens). I placed the little bird back in the coop to recover. It took Mama Bird all day to circle up her scattered younguns. She had them all together and ready to go back to the coop except one. I saw the little one but couldn't get it to come down off the roof of the chicken coop. Later, while making my last rounds of the evening Dakota found the little chicken. It had come off the roof and was down on the ground trying to figure out how to get back in the coop. Dakota chased in into the old chicken coop and I followed right after her. As soon as I said her name she sat down...not touching the bird. I scooped up the little chicken and placed her in safety with the rest of the flock. Maybe Dakota is finally understanding that the little chickens are mine. Maybe she is taking her mothering instincts too far. I am hoping that once these little pullets get some size on them that she will leave them alone like she does the big chickens, which she completely ignores even when they are running all around her. I don't know, I am still trying to figure out this LGD thing. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Monday, November 1, 2010

Our first LGD

Well, we have gone and done it. We picked up our very first livestock guard dog last week. She was started with goats by an experienced breeder, sold to a man who had goats then decided to get rid of them and now she is here with us. It is obvious that this dog was started off well by her parents and her breeder. She is 6 months old, 70 lbs. (and growing fast), and extremely smart. She has been introduced to the goats and the chickens along with all of the other critters. She is really trying to learn, but she is still a puppy. The goats are terrified of her as they long ago taught the other dogs to stay out of their barn. Dakota comes right in and sits next to me while I milk. This makes the goat on the milk stand dance.....ever tried to milk a dancing goat!? It is interesting to say the least. When the goats head out to the big pasture in the mornings, Dakota faithfully goes along for awhile. She circles the goats in the pasture, placing them where she wants them while she checks things out then ......she is off to do other LGD puppy things like take a nap. She has been out and busy since 5 am you know. The chickens have been an interesting story with her. I don't think she had seen chickens. She was introduced to them on a leash because chickens are oh so very tempting to chase. We followed chickens around for several days on a leash and she was not let out alone with the chickens until we were comfortable that she no longer thought of them as "chaseable". She is still a puppy after all. Now, however she has taken on chicken guard duty a little far. Each evening she has decided that the coop must be checked out by her before the chickens are allowed to enter. There might be a boogy monster in there just waiting for her chickens! The chickens do not like this. There has never been a dog in their house before, much less one that goes in first, inspects all four walls, comes back out to sit right next to the door and watch the procession inside. I think she is counting chickens right along with me to make sure everyone makes it in, but I can't prove it. Needless to say, I have had some issues getting the chickens in at night and several of the birds have gone on strike. The chickens come when called, see Dakota and scatter to the 4 winds. 6 of them refuse to come and have decided that the goats are better nighttime companions. I am really not sure what to do about this and Dakota has not shared any wisdom on the subject. Instead she dutifully escorts me as I capture the revolutionaries after dark while they are sleeping and carry them to the chicken coop. This is getting old. The other six do eventually go in on their own with a quick burst of speed past the large white fuzzy thing with teeth. We only had one issue, so far with Dakota and the chickens. One little chicken was running scared one evening and seperated herself from the rest of the chickens. Dakota seeing the potential danger of this rushed to the little chicken's aid and swooped her up in her big wet slobbery mouth. I, of course, hollered at a bewildered LGD to leave it. She on the other hand kept running toward the other chickens (remember at this point they are still scattered trying to determine if they can run fast enough into the coop). Eventually after a few seconds of me growling at Dakota she drops the bird, very wet and very unharmed, sits down and looks at me as if I had lost my mind. I immediately push her to the ground stand over her and growl mine in as low a voice as I can muster and as growly as I can manage. She got the message and I picked up the very wet, traumatized hen and carried her to the coop. She is fine by the way and dried off again. We have not had anymore chicken carrying problems since. However, when a little chicken does go off in the evening scattering by itself, Dakota will look at me as if she is asking if I want her to go get it. As soon as I say "mine" in a deep voice she goes back to counting the others as they scurry past into the coop. I can't seem to keep her from checking out the coop first though. Maybe the chickens will get used to this, maybe she will eventually see that there is nothing in there and she can look from the door. I don't really know. I do know that this dog is doing her job even at a very young age. Even though she is still a puppy and still figuring out what all this is about she has a great start. I am not sure really who is training who at this point. She invariably has loads more experience, thanks to her parents, than I have. I can say this....she is going to be worth her weight in gold when she is grown and fully assuming her duties. So, I am sure as she grows and learns and I learn along with her we will have lots of interesting Dakota stories. Oh, Cujo our old guard dog (Rhodesian Ridgeback) is so very thankful to be able to nap in his favorite spot in the sun without having to listen for trouble. He is accepting retirement quite well although he does still do perimeter check in the mornings. He has earned his time in the sun as he has babysit many little things here on the farm and kept our family safe and sound. Until next time, Kat