Thursday, January 31, 2013

Today

Well, the wind has hit us with a vengeance. Or, should I say the COLD wind.  Now, nothing has been blown away, (yet) so I'm thankful for that. But, BOY is it cold!!!!! I want to go back to the temps in the 60's. I got spoiled!

Still waiting on the goat babies. I figure it's suppose to be down in the teens tonight so that's when it's gonna happen. They ALWAYS pick the best time to have them. Ya, right.  I was hoping that I miscalculated when they were due and they would be born in a week when it's suppose to be warm again. Here's to hoping!!!!

I loved writing on my blog so much yesterday that I have made a decision to (get ready for this!) actually take time out of my day and write! I even rearranged a bedroom just so that it's my "writing room."  It's just for me. I'm gonna put all of my inspirational stuff in it along with my spinning things. I'll take a picture when it's done. It's my wo-man cave.

Another thing I've done today, and I'm thinking about keeping this going, is NOT turning on the t.v.  I usually turn it on first thing in the morning to see if I've missed anything over night. Most times, I haven't. So today I just thought, "Nope, not gonna do it." And I LIVED!!!!! LOL!  Actually, I kind of like it. So no more t.v. for me.(Well, I've got to watch Duck Dynasty. I mean, come on! Priorities! :)  )

Since I haven't had the t.v.on today, I made a giant batch of veggie soup. We will be able to eat on this forever!  Which will be fine with me. I love veggie soup.  It's funny how you can get things done if you aren't "Just stopping to watch this".

Well, I'm gonna go and check the goats and see if we have any babies yet.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, wo-man cave owner.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Around the Farm

Ok, I know it's been a while since I've posted anything on here. I hate when I do that. I love writing! I just wish that I wouldn't feel so guilty taking time out of my busy day and sitting and spending the time writing. I'm going to have to just set a time and do it. Guilt and all. :)

We had a small, let's just say, incident here on the farm. Jack, the St. Bernard, attacked the chickens....again.  He killed 2, wounded one, and I can't find our rooster that we was going to keep.  It was my fault. Usually we keep him at the house when we let the chickens loose to free range. This time I didn't. I wanted to see if he had gotten any better than the last time.  He. Did. Not.  So it's back to keeping him at the house when the chickens are let out. At least until we get the chicken coop completed. (Yep, still not done.) 

Now to put a better spin on this. I wanted to get different types of chicken anyway. (Did ya like that spin?) We were gave Speckled Sussexes by friends of ours.  They are beautiful chickens, they just don't lay big enough eggs for my liking. I want BIG eggs like my Barred Rocks and Silver Laced Wyandotts laid.  I want blue and green eggs again like my Aurracanas laid.  So now I have an excuse to go and get some. hehehee. (And no, I didn't make Jack go up and kill the chickens! How dare you think that! :)  )  So now I'm looking on the agricultural pages on Face Book and looking on Craigslist for chickens. That's my kind of shopping!!! Our local feed store will soon have chicks in. But, I don't want to have to wait until March to get chicks. Plus, I want eggs NOW!  I'm impatient. 

Speaking of impatient, I'm waiting on baby goats to be born. It should be any day now. I figure it would be when the temps drop. Of course they couldn't be born when it was in the 60's.  I think they are waiting until it's going to be in the teens before they decide to come out into the world. I just hope that I catch them in time so they don't freeze. We don't have a barn that we can put them in. YET.  It's on the list. lol. We have goat huts. They are small buildings that are just perfect for goats.

 This will be the last year that we breed to have babies this early in the year.  I don't have market goats actually. We have Myotonics. Myotonics are Fainting Goats to some.  We raise the very muscular ones that people want to cross with their Boer Goats so that they have more meat and are more hardy. The Fainters have more meat to bone ratio than Boers, but the Boer goats are taller. If you cross them, you get a more hardy goat with better hoofs. They usually get their height from the Boers. Very good goats! And no, the 50/50 crosses don't faint. lol

Well, that's what's been going on around the farm. Just waiting for this weather to get better. It's been warm but wet. Next week we are suppose to be in the 50's and sunny. I hope so. I could REALLY get some things done outside!

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, guilty writer.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Question of the Day

This question has been on my mind for some time now. 

What is YOUR definition of homesteading?

SFG, question askerer.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

It's That Time Of Year Again

It's that time of year again!!!!! Time to think about gardening!!! YAY!!!!!  I love this time of year. I think it's a time for dreamers. And I, my friends, am a dreamer. So that, is where I have a problem. I dream bigger than what my butt can deliver. I promised myself that this year I would not over do it. And when I say "over do it", I mean "don't plant a huge garden and not take care of it because I'm over whelmed".  This year I'm actually going smaller. But, by going smaller, I plan on getting a bigger yielding garden.I would plant so many tomato plants that I would get over whelmed watering them and weeding them every day. So this year I plan on cutting the number of tomato plants in half. That way, I can concentrate on growing them right. More, isn't always better. I also plan on putting fence around the garden this year. That way I won't have to worry about Jack digging in the soft ground like George did last year. Plus, I won't have to worry about deer snacking on my corn. And when I say "snacking," I'm really saying "Eating the whole crop!!!!" Now, if I can only stop the crows from getting to them. sigh.....

One good thing good about living where we do is we have at least seven greenhouses around us that grow starter plants. Some, even grow heirloom plants. We are good friends with a couple that own one of these greenhouses. We get GREAT deals on our plants. If there are certain kinds of plants that we want, we just tell them. They will grow it for us.  Now I could start these seeds, but I'm supporting a local business plus, they do a REALLY good job a starting seeds. Since they have the greenhouses and they are all temperature controlled, they can start earlier. Another good thing is they are only 3 miles from our house. It's nice to have friends in "green" places. lol

So in the next few weeks, I'm going to try and figure out what kind of veggies that I want to grow in our garden. I do this by thinking of things that I want to preserve through the summer. I'm thinking tomatoes, of course, cucumbers for pickles, onions and corn.  Those are the basics. We still have tons of green beans from last year so I think I'm not going to plant them. That is unless I want to sell them. A half a bushel of beans sold for $37.50  last year. That was the lowest price that we could find. Cha Ching!!!!Haha! I'm sure I'll be planting other things too, just not sure what yet.

I also want to plant some herbs. But, these will be planted in either containers or my herb garden that I'm planning on having started. That is, if I can get a fence put around it. Jack is beginning to be a pain. lol. Well, I was wanting to do it anyway.

So, I'm going to dream away about my busy spring coming up. I just hope I'm not dreaming too big again. lol. What are you planning on planting in YOUR garden?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, once again, dreaming.




Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Homesteading Books

We were in Tractor Supply the other day getting cat litter, when I noticed that they had a $5 book bin. Now when I go to TSC, the books are one of the first place that I go to. So imagine my surprise when some of the books that I wanted were in the $5 bin! These books were $29 originally! What a bargain! So what did I do? I bought 3 books! One was about food preserving. One was about 200 recipes for cheese.(Did I mention that I'm going to be making cheese sometime this year?) Another one was about Homesteading.

I started reading the one about homesteading first. Like EVERY book that I get about homesteading, I'm kind of disappointed. I guess it's because I'm expecting more.  More info about, well, homesteading. I guess they are, but not about things that I want to learn about.  Most homesteading magazines and books seem to be written for people that live in the city!  They don't write them so that people in the country who have a little bit of experience with homesteading, can learn something.

  I was reading one the other day about chickens and some of the diseases that they could catch. I thought,"Great! Everyone can learn something about different diseases." I mean, I have chickens, but don't really know much about diseases that they can catch. So I read the article. Do you know what they said to do about chickens that were sick? They said to take it to the vet. THE VET!!!! I'm not going to take a chicken to a vet!  I know some people might get mad at me for this but, I kind of consider chickens as a disposable livestock.  We don't pet our chickens, we don't name our chickens, we don't really pay attention to our chickens. That is, unless they get into my garden, and then I REALLY pay attention to my chickens.I mean, I LIKE my chickens but, I will not take a chicken to the vet! A vet visit will cost more than the chicken is worth! So in my opinion, the book about chickens was useless.

Then I got another homesteading book. 60% of the book was about how to buy land. I already HAVE land. I understand that some of you don't. But, I believe you would know what to look for when and if you ever decided to get some. It's not real hard people. So why would a really big book dedicate that much space about buying land? I don't know, maybe I'm looking into it too much. I just wish that I could find something that I could learn from. I find the homesteading topic very interesting. I just wish there were more books or magazines about it. Hey, maybe I should write one!!!! hehehehe

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, future writer?


Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Question of the Day

I woke up this morning thinking of all the things that I have to do. So......I got on the Internet. hehehhe.. I like to get up when the sun comes up but, I like to start doing my work early afternoon. Most of my good work is done later on in the day. I like having breakfast and a cup of tea. I might watch a little bit of t.v. (I know, I'm trying to stop) I'll check my email and then Facebook.  Then, around noon, I feel like actually doing something.  So, my question is.........

Are you a morning, afternoon, or evening worker? Or,(gulp) an all day worker?

SFG, question asker..er

 

Monday, January 7, 2013

Dreaming of Tattoos

Remember when I said I was going to start staying up after hubby goes to work in the morning? Well......that didn't work. Maybe it will work in the summer, but in the winter, that nice warm bed keeps calling my name. Especially when it is dark outside. I do believe I am solar powered. Sun up, me up. Sun down, me down. LOL!

Anyway, I told you that so that I could tell you about my dream I had the other morning. I dreamed that I got a tattoo. Not just ANY tattoo, a BIG tattoo across my back and on both upper arms. Now, I don't have any tattoos but I don't see anything wrong with them. My problem with ME getting one is I change my mind so often.  I'm afraid I would get something that I wouldn't like in a week. I'm surprised I still have the same husband! lol.  This tattoo in my dream was colorful. It had flowers and birds. It looked like I had a shaw on. It was really pretty! Made me wonder if I would like to actually get one. (Not on that big!) But, once again, I  would be afraid of me changing my mind probably half way through it. lol

I remember, in my dream, that I just laid on the table and told them to give me a tattoo. I wasn't expecting something that big. And when I looked into the mirror, I was shocked. What was REALLY funny was that it had some words in it that where spelled wrong. hehehe.  I remember thinking, "Well, I guess I'll just have to live with it."  Also in my dream, I remember feeling them putting the tattoo on. I could feel the needles going in my back. I was thinking,"This is uncomfortable, but not unbearable."

Well, I was awaken from my dream by my mom calling me on the phone. I was laying on my stomach and reached for the phone. I was talking to her and telling her about my dream when she asked," Is the cat laying on your back?"

I wiggled around and realize the cat IS sleeping on my back. That little booger must have got on my back and started to kneed me as he made him a place to sleep. I bet his little, needle like claws were going into my back and had me dreaming that it was the needles of the tattoo gun. I don't think I laughed that hard in a long time.  The things that we dream about! : )

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, You know I'm a dreamer......(extra points if you can tell me what song that's from and who sings it. :)  )

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Gag.

Remember how much I loved my chicken's eggs? All nice and orange and rich. I was excited when I found out where the chicks were laying their eggs. I thought I hit the jackpot.

Now, I have 2 1/2 doz in my fridge. Why? Because a little while back I was making bacon and eggs, a staple here on the farm.  As I cracked the egg into the skillet, I dropped a piece of shell into the skillet with the eggs. I just scooped out the piece with another piece of shell. No big deal. At least that's what I thought.

As I was savoring the taste of the delicious eggs, I bit down onto something crunchy. At first I thought that it may be just where I had the skillet up a little to high and it made the sides of the eggs crispy. I chewed some more. No........This wasn't the same kind of crunch. I chewed some more. It started to feel a little weird. Like I was chewing sand. Then I remembered the shell.

Instantly my stomach turned. I ran to the bath room and spit the contents of my mouth in the toilet. I closed my mouth, CRUNCH. AUGH!!!!!! Spit! Spit!! Still couldn't get it out of my mouth! By this time I'm gagging.   
I grab some water from the sink swish it around my mouth. Spit! Crunch. More gagging!!!!! No folks, I don't have a weak stomach. I can gut an animal and them fix it to eat that same day. I can go fishing and eat a bologna sandwich with fish worm guts on my hands. I can even find a hair on my plate as I'm getting ready to eat and think, "Hmm, hair."  But, I GAGGED when I couldn't get this egg shell out of my mouth! Even now as I type this, my stomach is turning. 

I brushed my teeth 3 times before I felt like I had gotten all of the bits of shell out of my mouth. Whew! Then I looked down into the sink. I saw a small brown speck. It may or may not have been a piece of shell. I don't know, it was soooo small I couldn't really tell. But, my stomach lurched again.

So as of right now, I can't even think about eating an egg. Hopefully this will not last long. I LIKE my eggs. I just don't like the shells.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, gag