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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

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Happenings around the farm

Well, now that the rain and cold seems to have settled down some I might actually get the garden planted and growing. We have run out of time for spring (cool weather) crops to come up from seed so I bought some plants the other day. Maybe I will get a small crop of these things before the heat of summer gets here. I am planting twice what I normally plant because I just have a feeling that this year will not be a good garden year. This spring has been crazy weather and already put me way behind and I have had to replant several times already. Ok, some of the replanting is due to the chickens, but the drenching rains we have had have had a role too. I planted strawberries this year, 36 plants all total and I am thinking of buying a few more. I will try to get some more things in the ground today and tomorrow. I am hoping to be done with planting for the most part within the next week. We still have no goat babies and all of the pigs are heading to the freezer. These little pigs are just too much trouble. I will stick with feeder pigs each year for awhile. Keeping pigs year round is rough on fences and on the feed bill, especially when neither of the females gave us viable babies. At least we will have pork and I will start looking for a couple of feeders soon. The chickens are back to laying like crazy and we now have egg customers again so they will be earning their keep. The dogs and cats will be sad that their egg supply will be going elsewhere though. They have been enjoying the extra eggs. Titan is doing well with his obedience lessons and starting to come into his adult temperament. He notices when things are different and takes serious offense to that. The other night my husband laid down on the big couch and Titan noticed something was different and let out two big growls. Then yesterday the studio door was open because I was in there doing some cleaning up. Titan noticed it and barked and growled until I stepped to the door to tell him it was just me. Both are good signs that he will make a good property guard. Dakota killed a possum the other night in the big barn. She is such a good dog. I don't know what we would do without her. And Valentine is being her usual old lady grumpy self. I guess we need an old lady dog to keep the others in line. The rabbits were doing really well and having babies like gangbusters, but they seem to have gone on vacation these days. I haven't had a litter in over 6 weeks. I keep telling them that summer is coming and they need to get busy as I need to get some serious rabbit meat in the freezer. They aren't listening. I guess they will ramp up here soon. maybe the crazy weather has them thrown off. I can't milk rabbits though and so I really wish my goat girls would get on the ball with some baby action. My neighbor down the road has already had her babies and I am having serious baby goat withdrawals! However, the good news is that the little buckling she had is coming to live with us when he is ready to leave his mama. We have already named him Moonshine and he is beautiful. He has some excellent bloodlines (Kastdemur) and his mama has a beautiful udder. I am excited to see what he does with improving my herd. Not that Buck is not a good boy, but it will be nice to have some different and lets face it better blood in the herd. We have lots of spring projects that have been on hold because of the rain and so now is the time to get busy before the heat of summer gets here. Two things that I really want to get done are the outdoor solar shower and a second rabbit colony. The second colony will help in meat production so that we don't feel like we are short when we feed rabbit to the dogs. Now that we are feeding raw we really need the extra production. The outdoor shower is great especially for those times that the little one gets muddy from head to toe and when I get filthy and dirty from being in the garden. I loved having one before in the summer and it sure does help on the power bill. I will post instructions when we get started on it. Petunia is turning 15 this weekend and she is studying for her learner's permit. It really makes me feel old. I found it hard to believe that she had become a teenager and now she is a teenager that drives (or will soon). Look out world here she comes! She is also learning how to cook and has already fixed a couple of simple suppers for the family. I have to admit having a teen in the house is nice. She may not want to do outside chores, but I hate inside chores and she is more than happy to fold laundry, vacuum and clean the kitchen. We make a good team. Little britches on the other hand is good at making messes and really is having a difficult time understanding the cleaning up and chore part of the deal. She would much rather be outside all the time in any kind of weather doing what country kids do....getting dirty....really dirty. Well, other than just normal everyday things that is about all that is happening here. Busy with the garden, busy trying to get time to work on other projects, busy with spring in general. Hope your days are happy and busy as well. Blessings, Kat

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We've been trying to get the ground ready to plant here in WV but this new farm we've moved to has clay soil and we're getting just enough rain to keep it wet. I finally got 2 50' rows of peas in the ground this evening. It's a start! I think we're going to butcher our rabbits as hubby is tired of feeding them and the last time we bred them I had one large kit that didn't make it. Maybe in the future we can do a colony like you have. I really like the idea if we can fix a place for it. Happy Spring and saying a prayer for your family. This life we've chosen can be tough but God can strengthen us to thrive in it!