small farm girl

I Did It!

2012-02-11T13:38:00.000-05:00

Well, I did it! My official last day at work was Friday. AAAAUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! I have such mixed emotions about that. I am scared to death, for one. I have done that job for sooooo long. This is a big change for me! The auction that I'm helping get off the ground wont take up all of my time. So now what? Yes, I know I will be working on the farm more. I know that I'll do a lot of the things that I've been putting off because of not having the time. I know that technically I have a LOT of things to keep me busy...... but will I do them? Will I get bored? Will I sit around the house all day eating bon bons and getting fat(er)? Will I start going out of my mind because I can't remember what day it is? Will I start nagging at the husband because HE's was at work and I had no one to talk too? Ok, ok,.....breath in, breath out......

As you can tell, I'm a little freaked out. And to make matters worse, it just turned frigid outside, so I can't do much outside. Weeeeelllllll, I guess, I could do dishes. I guess I could wash clothes. I guess I could clean the litter box, drywall the house, make some bread, sweep and wash the floors, dust, knock down spider webs........ Hey, how did I have time to work? hehehehehe

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, unemployed. (yea :o) )

Ok, Enough Teasing

2012-02-05T12:14:00.000-05:00

Ok, I've given you enough time to ponder what's been going on around here.(Like you don't have anything else to think about.) Anyway, this is our new purchase.

My beautiful, wood cook stove! I'm in love! I've already tried it out. Like a million times!!!! Pizza, biscuits, eggs and bacon. MMMMMMMM! I think I'm hungry again.

Another thing that I've done since I've talked to you all? I've put in my notice at work. That's right folk! I've finally got up the nerve to do it! I'm freaking out here!!!!!!!!! I've done nails for 10 years! This is a big step for me. What am I going to do with myself you ask? Wellllll.......

Me and hubby have went in with a few of our friends to start a small animal and produce auction. I know!!!!! I can't believe it myself! (Ok, it's getting a little out of with the exclamation points. ! I just had to. heheheh) We are working really hard on getting a place ready for small farmers to bring in their small animals (goats, chickens, rabbits) and extra produce to sell at auction. That way, the farmers will always have an outlet to sell their goods. It's going to be a VERY humane auction. The animals will be treated very well as they are at the auction. We are also hoping that bigger grocery stores will come to the auction to get local produce for their stores. The closest auction like this is many hours away. Hopefully ours will take off and really help the local farmers and the local economy.

So as you can tell, I HAVE been busy!

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, !

Teaser

2012-01-30T21:53:00.002-05:00

I promise that I have not forgotten you. I'm in the middle of a million things. But, when I'm done, boy do I have some things to tell you guys! heheheheh. How's that for a tease? hehehehe

So until next time,
SFG, teaser.

Statement of the Day

2012-01-20T22:41:00.001-05:00

Rain + 29 degrees = not good. (That would be freezing rain for all of you that didn't get that. hehehe)

SFG, queen of the "I'm not going to fall" ice dance.

A Bit Ticked

2012-01-16T11:59:00.000-05:00

Hubby had to finally break down and get a new pair of boots for work. He can go through a good pair of boots in a year. He works on rail cars, so he's really putting them to the test. So, us being Americans, went looking for American made boots. We looked, and we looked, and we looked. We FINALLY found a couple pairs. Did we buy them? No. We wanted to buy American. We REALLY did. But, I couldn't bring myself to pay $256 for a pair of work boots that Hubby would have for only a year.

That's right folks. The cheapest boots that we could find that were made in America were over $250. That's ridiculous! What's the deal?! (or should I say NO deal) The other boots were around $100. We did end up paying a little over that, we didn't mind that. But, I just couldn't see paying double that. I even thought maybe the American made boots were built better. No, no better. Actually, they weren't made as good.

So what are we suppose to do? Buy an inferior boot for a lot more just because it was made in the U.S? We would have bought the American boots if they were closer to the price range of the other boots. We would have bought them even if they weren't as good. We are supporters here. But, when they were soooo much more. I don't think so.

So my question is, how are we suppose to support the U.S when we can't afford to?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, confused

P.S. The boots we bought were from the Dominican Republic. That's close.

Get Ready For It......

2012-01-11T20:33:00.000-05:00

BAM!!!!! Pure cuteness!

SFG, lovin it!

And His Name Is.........

2012-01-10T12:01:00.000-05:00

Drum roll please......
George. We named him George.
We hugged him and squeezed him and called him George. (Anyone know where that saying came from?)

George is a playful dog.

A little goofy at times.

But, we love him.

He likes to play with Skeeter.

They are becoming close.

Sometimes a little too close.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, and George.

Things I Wasn't Told

2012-01-09T12:59:00.000-05:00

There are a few things I wasn't told about having a cat. I believe I wasn't told these things on the grounds that it could have changed my mind on getting one. So for all of those people out there in blog land who are thinking about getting a cat, let me tell you a few secrets that "cat people" are keeping to themselves.

Secret #1: Not all cats are clean.

My cat is the messiest eater. It will come to me after it has eaten and it will have food ALL over it's mouth. Then of course, it wants to rub on you with it's dirty mouth.

Secret #2

Cats aren't always quiet. My cat is noisy!!!!!! Every morning when we all get up. He has to inform me about everything that went on in the night. He meows for at least 10 mins straight. Non stop! It's like he's carrying on a conversation.

Secret #3

Cats will play with some of the dumbest things! My cat snubs his nose at all of the cat toys that my sister gave him. He would rather play with the rock that was brought into the house on someones shoe. Therefore leaving it in just the right place to step on it bare foot during your nightly visit to the restroom. His other favorite toy is puppy pee pads. My sister gave them to me to put in front of his litter box so he won't leave a mess. Which leads me to secret #4.

Secret #4

Cats poop A LOT! I won't go into detail, but you can just imagine.

Secret # 5

Cats chase their tails. My cat will spend hours stalking his tail. He will spin, flip, and roll so that he can capture that annoying little thing that is constantly following him.

Secret # 6

Cats can get on your bed. And. They. Will.

The last secret (for now)......

Secret #7

Cats will sit on your head when YOU are sleeping. Enough said.

So until next time....

Small Farm Girl, secret teller.

Directions

2012-01-03T13:19:00.000-05:00

Whew! What a last few weeks! We have been soooo busy around here at the farm. Many decisions have been made on the direction of which we wanted to take this farm. Now, we just have to work at getting there. So many decisions, I don't even know which one to tell you first.

First off, I'm quitting my job in just a few weeks.(yea!) We decided that I could save us more money by staying home. It will be the best thing for us. More home cooked meals, animals getting more attention, and things actually getting done around the house.

Next, we have decided to go deeper into the goat business. Meat and dairy goats are what we are going to have. We want to specialize in Tennessee Myotonics. (Fainting Goats) We just love them! Very hardy little buggers. We've actually just had our first pair of twins. I have some really cute pictures. I just can't find my camera. hehehe. I post them as soon as I find it. We had a buckling and a doeling. I think that's a good start. Sell one and keep one. We have a good friend who is helping us get our farm up and going. She makes her living off of her goats so she knows what she is talking about. It's good to have someone like that in your corner.

Another thing that we have decided is to work harder on being more self sufficient. As you all already know, the world is suppose to come to an end this year. (insert giggle here.) But then we got to thinking. Wouldn't the Dec. 21, 2012 date be a good date to work towards being self sufficient? If something drastic DOES happen then,(insert another giggle) then we will be ready for it. If not, we will still have met our goals to become self sufficient. Win, win situation. We are going to can more things instead of freezing them. Our freezer is full right now. It would be a shame to lose it all if the electric would go out.

Speaking of electric, we need to be as electric free as possible. Turning off the t.v. (my addiction). Drying more clothes on the line. Using oil lamps instead of all the lights. (stocking up on the oil for the lamps. Then learning how to make it myself or the equivalent.)

So as you can see, many things are changing around the farm. Sure, we have kicked the ideas around and around. But, this time these are stead fast goals.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, on a mission.

P.S. We still haven't decided on a name for the puppy. Now, we are trying to come up with a name for the farm too! I am the worst namer ever!

The Ups and Downs of the Holidays

2011-12-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

Our beloved St. Bernard Luke is no longer with us. He hadn't been feeling well since Thanksgiving. We haven't seen him since this last Thursday morning. We have a feeling he has gone up to the big dog house in the sky. He lived a long life. He was 12.

He will be missed.

Now I don't want to bring you all down. We did have a good Christmas around here. Friends and family galore! Oh, and all the food! (burp)

Hubby got me a Kindle. I think I'm in love.(with the Kindle.) Just kidding Honey! I've already downloaded a book that I just can't put down. I would recommend it to anyone. It's called Once Second After. Very interesting! It's about what would happen if the U.S.A lost all of it's ability to have electric or electrical devices. It's fiction, but it makes one think. And, you know me, I'm a thinker. lol

I hope you all had a great Christmas. And if I don't get back on here until next year, every one have a Happy New Year! Oh, I'm going to have an announcement coming soon about my job too. hehehehe

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, teaser

2011-12-20T11:31:00.000-05:00

Once again, we have a new addition. You guys did such a good job naming Cash, The Kitty in Black, I thought you guys would give this little feller a name too.

He already protects the goats. Don't even think about going out there at night without letting him know you are a friend, not a foe. lol

Oh, and after a little getting use to us, he's a hugger. lol. Hes going to be a big guy! He's only three months old here!

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, LGD owner. YAY!!!!!

One of Those Days

2011-12-13T13:06:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had one of those days? Well, mine all started when Hubby went down to help with our nephew's bridge. It needed some repairs. Anyway, he had been gone for a while when I noticed that we needed some wood brought down from the wood shed. So I get all bundled up to go out and as I'm going out, I noticed we had a cow in the pasture standing by herself licking on, what looked like, the ground. I thought that looked kind of weird because that's not something cows do, I took our binoculars and the four wheeler around to the road to see if I could get a closer look. Sure enough, she had had her calf. And, it was stuck in a mud hole. Great.

I speed back to the house to to get the keys to the gates.(Yes, we have to lock our gates. People used to steal cattle and horses here.) I don't really know which keys will fit, so I bring all three that I have. I race back to the gate and try to open it. No such luck. None of the keys fit. So I race back to the house,(By this time, I'm soooo glad we have a four wheeler.The gate is a long way away from our house.) call down to where Hubby is. No answer. Of course not, he is outside! So I call his dad. Finally someone answers the phone. I tell them the situation and they said they will be right out. So I go back to wait on them. I don't see any movement from the calf. The momma cow is just standing over it.

They finally get there and unlock the gate. Me and Hubby's dad take the four wheeler over to the calf and momma. We figured we would just back up to it, grab the calf and get it out of the mud. As we get closer, we realize there is mud all over. Deep, deep mud. As we back up to get the calf, Momma doesn't like the idea. She starts to get mad and come toward us. Hubby's dad says for me to GO! Can't, WE ARE STUCK! I rock the four wheeler hoping to get traction. Luckily right at the last minute, we get traction and we get out of her way. Whew! We did find out that the calf was still alive though.

Now what? Hubby has our tractor down to his nephew's house. So I go and see about the neighbor. He has a four wheel drive tractor. Of course, he is not there, but his wife told us to take the tractor. Still, we needed someone who could lift the calf. So Hubby's dad goes down to get Hubby. More waiting.

They finally get back with help. Hubby driving the tractor, Hubby's dad and his nephew in the bucket of the tractor. They get to the calf and picked it up into the bucket. By this time the bull, who is the babysitter, didn't want them getting the calf so they had to watch him too. He could do some MAJOR damage to the tractor.

They brought the calf to the house because it wasn't doing too good. Plus, at this time, Mommy cow was interested in getting her something to eat. Poor thing.

As we got it to the house, I had gotten blankets and towels all ready. Good thing our floor is still concrete in our house because that wasn't just mud that that calf had been laying in. Peeeeeeee Yeeeewwwwwww!!!! We rub and rub all over the calf trying to get some circulation going and trying to dry him off. He finally starts shivering. Good sign.

We work on him for a few hours. He still wouldn't stand up. He didn't have any strength. He wouldn't eat either so we had to force some milk replacer down him. He took quite a bit. That gave us hope also.

During all of this we hadn't been paying attention to Skeeter. She had to gooooooooo. And she did, under the pool table. I couldn't get mad at her, she tried to get our attention. And while I was trying to get wood in, the cat ran outside. Great. Now I have to catch him. He can't be outside with his leukemia. I finally got him back in. That was an experience in itself. Then we had to feed all the animals. By this time it was dark outside. I hate feeding in the dark.

Anyway, after all that we did for the little feller, he died around 3:30 in the morning. It was probably for the best. He was so weak after being in the mud. The cow probably wouldn't have took him back after we had been rubbing on him for so long. It's sad, but that's what you get for living on a farm.

Now to clean up all of this mud (poop) that's all over my floor.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, poop cleaner upper.

Statement of the Day

2011-12-06T12:59:00.000-05:00

His name is Cash, The Kitty in Black.

Wishes

2011-11-30T18:44:00.000-05:00

With me being a nail tech,(That's right folks, I put on fake nails. Insert laugh here. lol) I have some clients who have a boat load of money. Folks that drive Lexus', Cadillacs, BMWs, etc..... I even had a client drive a Lamborghini. They come in with their fancy suits and expensive dresses just so that I can make their nails look good.

I have to admit there have been times that I wished I was one of these people. Driving nice cars, wearing fancy clothes, and buying "toys" left and right. I talk to these people about how they are going to have big fancy parties this time of year. Men wearing their tuxes. Women wearing their evening gowns, diamonds,pearls, and gold. Dancing to a orchestra all through the night. Sounds like something out of movie.

They talk about spending hours upon hours looking for and buying expensive gifts for loved ones. They buy cars, and many video games. They talk about shelling out hundreds of dollars for that perfect purse that they have been looking for ever since they had seen it on a trip to New York.

As I'm setting there listening to some of my clients talk about going on a cruise for the holidays, and all of the fancy gifts that they have bought for people they know, I notice that I have something on the tip of my shoe. I look a little closer and laugh. It's chicken poop.

I love my simple life.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, simple.

New Addition, Again.

2011-11-29T12:46:00.000-05:00

Yep, a cat. We got a cat. I didn't think of myself as a cat person. I mean, I like peoples cats. But, I like them at THEIR house. But this little cutie just NEEDED me.

You see, he has feline lukimia so he can't be with other cats without infecting them. He also can get sick from other cats because his imune system is weak. So, me being a softy, decided he could stay with us. (I'm so weak.) It has been a couple weeks now and he has settled in. The only problem is, we really don't have a name for him. I mean, I call him Kitty all the time, but I don't want that to be his name. I WAS going to call him Mr. Meow-gi, (get it, from Karate Kid fame?) but Hubby didn't like it. So I am going to ask my creative followers to help me come up with a name for him. Any suggestions?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, sucker.

Thanksgiving Ramble

2011-11-25T09:14:00.000-05:00

It's times like these that I am really thankful that I live on a farm. This Thanksgiving we decided to make our Thanksgiving dinner a farm raised or local foods feast. I know, I know, a lot of you out there already do this. A lot of you do this on a daily bases. We don't. We want to, we just don't. So this Thanksgiving we decided to try it. It was WONDERFUL! We didn't raise turkeys, and no one shot a wild turkey this year, so the extra rooster got the bad end of that deal. LOL. But, he sure tasted good! We also had deer roast to make up for no turkey. heheheehe.Now, out of our garden we had mashed potatoes, green beans, and corn. I made a butternut squash pie.(Better than pumpkin pie!) We had blueberry crisp,apple pie, and cheese cake(made out of goat cheese). I also made some good sweet rolls from a recipe that my grandma used.

I didn't write this post just to give you a menu of what we had to eat. I wrote this because I wanted everyone to know how blessed I felt this year. I couldn't ask for a better life. My family, pretty much, is healthy. We all get along. And, the farm just keeps growing. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to see if this is all real or just a dream. Sometimes I feel guilty for being this happy when there are a lot of people out there suffering. I wished everyone could experience this feeling of pure happiness.

I think though, being happy also comes with age. Ten years ago, I would have looked at the things that I didn't have, not at the things I do have. And when I say "things", I don't mean just material "things." As I have gotten older I realize the things that really matter are things that you can't buy. A mind at peace is priceless.
If this feeling comes as we age, I can't wait to see what the rest of my life has in store for me.

I also want to say how thankful I am to have my blogger friends. You guys are awesome! We may never see each other but, I feel like I know you. If I haven't said it before, "Thank you for following my blog!" I know sometimes I don't blog very often, but I always know you are all here for me.

Ok, enough of my rambling. So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, thankful

Question of the Day

2011-11-15T15:09:00.000-05:00

I, like many of you out there, would like to make money off of our farm. That has always been my dream. But, there really isn't many forums or things like that that can tell you how. So, what better way to learn about making a little extra money on the farm then to ask people that do it? So leave a comment on how you may make a little extra money on your farm, or just out of your back yard. Or, if you know of a place to get some info, leave a comment. Maybe by leaving your comment, you just might help someone out there become the next Donald Trump. lol. So my question is, How do YOU make some money off of your farm.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, question askerer.

Oh, The Horror!!!!!

2011-11-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

It's what nightmares are made of. It makes women faint and young men weep. Children should never be exposed to the horror. I think if Steven King knew about it, he would write a whole series on it's evilness. Oh how freighting, oh the horror, oh the heart stopping evil. What is it you ask?.............

Wait for it......

The Evil Ninja Rabbit.

The dreaded Ninja Rabbit looks all nice and innocent. All sweet, soft and fluffy. That's how it gets it's prey. It draws you in thinking that it's just a normal rabbit. But when you open it's cage to feed it, you pull back a bloody stub.

It has attack Hubby every time that he has opened it's cage to feed it. Jumping, attacking and scratching before he even knew he are being attacked. He has had scratches all down his hand. I'm surprised that there are not fang marks.

Go ahead,laugh and scoff. I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes. EVIL! I say! And to make things worse, last night as we went to feed the rabbits. It. Was. Gone! Somehow, it has escaped it's cage. I think it has special, evil powers that no normal cage can hold. We see The Evil Ninja Rabbit every night when we go up and feed all of the other normal animals. It's hiding in the shadows ready to attack at any minute. Waiting until our back are turn so that it can jump and scratch all of our skin off of our backs. Just evil, I say!

Now at night before we go to sleep, we make sure all our doors and windows are locked. (Like that would stop it.) Make sure the guns and knives are withing arms reach. Sleep with one eye open at all times. Because at any time during the dark of the night, the Evil Ninja Rabbit can make it's evil plans reality.

So until next time, if there is a next time.

Small Farm Girl, scared.

A Dream

2011-11-01T22:06:00.000-04:00

Ok, I have a dream. I don't know if it will ever come about but, it would be worth a try. I was thinking, how awesome it would be to have a get-together with "homesteady" people? Yep, nothing fancy, but just a nice bonfire, some good home cooked food, and maybe a little questions and answers from everybody.

If you can do something, be it spin wool into yarn, or pluck a chicken, or just know how to can. I would want you to come. And then, when we are all setting around the fire, just start talking and asking questions. If you think you know the answer to someones questions, speak up. If you have a question, speak up. If you have a demonstration, demonstrate it. It would be really casual and all. And I guess, if ya want, you could bring a tent. Spend the night. You can fish in our pond! Or, you could just stay for a few hours. It would be up to you. Very informal.

Like I said, I'm just kicking this around, but I thought that if anyone would be interested in coming, maybe having something like that around spring time. Anyone interested? Or, any suggestions?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, dreamer

For Your Viewing Pleasure

2011-11-01T17:41:00.000-04:00

Pictures! Pictures! Everyone wants pictures! Well just for you, I have some pictures. Here is the picture of what we have left of the goats. My friend wanted me to sell 3 of them for her. These are the ones she wanted to keep. As you can tell, they are still in their temporary place.

These are some of the chickens that she gave me. I can have fresh, free range eggs again! Yea!!!!!

And then we have the rabbits.

And more rabbits.

And, more rabbits.

And, more rabbits. They are in a temporary place also. At least until we get their permanent shelter up. They have that tarp put over them usually.

And for your viewing pleasure. Here is a picture of the Soup Truck. Doesn't it look like a Cambell's soup can? But, with rust.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, picture taker.

Just For A Quickie

2011-10-31T12:18:00.000-04:00

I stopped just for a minute to tell you all what has been going on around here. A few days ago, one of my friends called and told me she was going to go to AZ for the winter and wondered if I could watch her animals for her until she comes back. Since she lives 2 hrs away, I wasn't going to go down there twice a day to feed, so she brought her goats, chickens, and rabbits up here. The only problem was, we really didn't have things set up for more animals.

So what do we do? We MAKE room for more animals. lol. Hubby makes 10 rabbit cages, and one pretty good size goat house. All of this happened this weekend! We were running around like chickens with their heads chopped off. And, we still aren't done! The rabbits are under a tarp. The goats are in small dog pens. And the chickens, well, they're doing fine. We were all set up for them. hehehe.

So in the next few days, we have to finish the goat house. We also have to clean out Hubby's "garage" so we can transform it into rabbit central. (That's going to be a JOB!) Oh, and the chickens? They're going to be okay. : )

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, very busy!

A Decision (for now)

2011-10-25T19:54:00.000-04:00

The decision is made. Actually, it was made for me. As of just a few hours ago, I was going to quit my job and stay home and work. Well, the way I was going to make money at home kinda fell through. Well, it actually was put on hold. So as of now, I'm going to have to stay at that horrible place, I mean work, for just a while longer. Hopefully things will come together and I'll be able to get to work from home very soon. It all depends on how much money I can make to put toward my home adventure. We shall see.

Thanks for all the comments. They really did help. I know what I want now. I just need to get there.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, slave.

Just To Make Things Clear

2011-10-19T10:34:00.000-04:00

I had many great comments on my last post about quiting my job. I guess I didn't tell all of the details. I will be making money here at home too. It probably won't be as much as what I make right now, but it will be close.(So don't worry MDR.lol) At work righ now, I have to make $520 a month just to clear rent and gas. Plus, work is REALLY getting "not fun" anymore. (If you have a dozen women working in the same place, there usually is some drama.)

The main thing I worry about is if I stay home, will I be bored and eat bon bons all day and become as big as a mountain. And, will I miss the socialization? (Even though, sometimes I HATE it.)

Those are some of the things I'm worrying about.

SFG, just so you would know.

p.s. Keep the comments comming!!!!!!

Do I REALLY Want To Be A Hermit?

2011-10-18T15:37:00.000-04:00

Okay. The time has come. After going through the figures again and again, I have the option of staying home or keep on working. Now, it's time for a hard decision. I'm not sure what I want to do. So I'm going to blog about the pros and cons of working outside of the house. Bare with me.

A BIG part of me wants to stay home and be a farm wife. I could make homemade meals for Hubby everyday when he gets home. I'll have all the house work done.(Ok, maybe most of the house work. Who are we kidding here?) In the summer, working in the garden would be easier. Working around the farm would not be so rushed. I would have more time to do things. Granted, I only work away from the house 3 days a week right now, but those three days can make a big difference.

BUT.......Another part of me wonders if I will go crazy staying home. I don't have children so it's just me here all day. Would I sit on the couch all day and think," Aww, I'll just do it tomorrow."? Will I miss the people that I see at work? Will I get depressed? Can I really do it?

Now, I understand that all of this is my decision, but I would like some feed back from you all. So my question is, " If you had the chance, would you quit your job and stay at home?"

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, just wondering.

The Soup Truck,It's On The List

2011-10-11T13:50:00.000-04:00

Hi there! How you all been? It's been busy around here getting things ready for the winter months. One of the things that we do for the winter is cut wood. Well, Hubby cuts it. If I do anything, it's load it in the truck or help stack it in our wood shed.(The front porch of our old house.lol)

Well, since it's that time of year, we loaded up our things and went to Mom and Dad's place to cut some wood. (Hubby and Dad cut and load. Me and Mom set in the house and visit with each other. I know, it's a hard life.) Hubby doesn't like using his good truck for hauling firewood. When I help, I have a tendency of not tossing the wood high enough over the sides of the truck. That usually causes a dent or scratch at least once a year. So instead, Hubby uses, what we call, our Soup Truck.

Now don't go laughing at us. It's not a truck that used to haul soup back and forth from farm to store. It's a one ton, rusty, Chevy dually. We call it the Soup Truck because it looks like a Cambell's Soup can. It's red with a stripe. We also call it the Soup Truck because Hubby used to call it The One Ton Truck. I, with my wild imagination, turned that into Won Ton Truck. Therefore, The Won Ton Soup Truck.(Ok, it's a stretch, but it stuck.)

Anyway, Hubby and I took the Soup Truck over to Mom and Dad's. Now, this truck is NOT in the best of shape, but it does it's purpose. We hardly take it off the farm. If we do, it's not more than a couple miles down the road. If you drive it and it hits a bump, the whole front end will start shaking so bad that Hubby has to almost stop in the road, and then start back up. Yep, front end needs some work done to it. It's on the list.

The brakes leave something to be desired too. Most of the time Hubby uses the emergency brake to slow us down. It DOES have breaks but, the break lines are sooooo bad, they could go at any minute. As many hills and things that are around here. You don't want that to happen. It's a stick shift, so that helps on saving the breaks some. The breaks are on the list of things to fix too.

And like most of the farm vehicles that I know, the passenger side floor board is so full of junk(chains, truck parts, tool boxes, water bottles, etc....).that it's hard for me to actually get in and sit. After I finally moved everything so that I can get in and sit, Hubby informed me that he chased a mouse out of all of the junk just a few minutes ago. Great.So not only am I going to have to worry about breaks going out, and the front end falling off the truck, I'm stuck in this truck with possible mice that will go up my pants leg, travel up to my shirt, and eat my innards out. That's just what I wanted.

Well, we got to Mom and Dad's just fine. No big incidents. Me and Mom had a nice visit, and Dad and Hubby loaded the truck bed with a good amount of wood to keep us warm in the winter. It was dark as we were leaving Mom and Dad's place. When Hubby turned on the lights (they all worked!) to the truck, I saw a mouse run away from the truck. Looks like it just escaped. Nice, we just left Mom and Dad a little visitor. Oh well, that's one less that's going to be in this truck.

As we were going down their driveway. Hubby let out a yell. "Something just jumped on my foot!" He quickly turned the interior lights on. And low and behold an ugly, ratty, old water bottle had rolled down from all of the junk that he had piled up and on to his foot. I laughed the whole way home. Even when the truck's front end stated to shake so bad that I thought we were going to wreck. So cleaning out the truck........It's on the list.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, hehehehehehehe

The New Addition, Again

2011-10-05T10:49:00.000-04:00

Ok, enough of the teasing. Here is the new addition. I got my horse back,again.

Don't get me wrong, I liked my horse .But, I gave her away TWO TIMES! I gave her away because she was chasing the baby calves and we don't have a way to separate them. The people I give her to keep bringing her back. The first couple that I gave her to, decided they were going to drive a truck over the road and they wouldn't be home to take care of her.

The last couple that I gave her to, was an older couple. They said they were just going to watch her eat in their pasture. They were going to make a pet out of her. Well, they brought her back. The lady decided that she was going to ride her. Now, remember, these people are "city" people. They know NOTHING about riding horses. Well,the lady wanted to make my horse go faster so that she would my horse up into her smooth gate. So, she swarped her with the ends of the reigns. Foxy(yes, that's my horse's name.) stepped up a bit. As she was getting closer to the fence, Foxy turned instead of stopped. So the lady fell off of the side. The lady didn't know that you pull back on the reigns to make a horse stop. She said she just thought you said,"Whoa." Seriously? It was hard for me to keep a straight face. Anyway, we got her back, again. Anyone want a horse? lol

While we were messing with the horses, the cattle came up to see if we had any goodies. And, since I hadn't taken pictures of them lately, I thought I would get some pics just for you all. hehehehe

This is what Blue looks like now. He has grown up.

He's a big one, isn't he?

Here is some of his "babies." Not so baby like any more.

He would make someone a good bull too. But, he will probably end up at the sale.

So, now you had a small glimpse of our big animals. Plus, the new, old one,again.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, horse owner, again.

Don't Hate Me

2011-10-04T13:29:00.000-04:00

I had some really nice pictures of us squeezing our sorghum plants into juice, cooking the juice down, and what the end product looked like. Well, Hubby accidentally erased them off of my phone. After I acted like it was a big deal,(it really wasn't. lol) we went back down and took some more pictures the next day with my camera. I mean, NO BODY erases from my camera.

Well, as I was getting the pictures put onto the computer to "fix" them a little, I hit the wrong button. And yes, I erased the pictures of us making sorghum. AGAIN. The only problem is now, they aren't making anymore sorghum this year. RATS!!!!!!

Oh well, if it helps you any, the sorghum turned out really good. I think we plan on getting us our own mill and pan so we can do our own sorghum next year. (Hey, if anyone out there has a mill or pan for sale contact me. lol)

And just to tease you a bit, we have another addition to our farm. (again)

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, eraser

Things I Haven't Done In A Long Time

2011-09-26T11:28:00.000-04:00

Ok, I did it. I HAD to go to the grocery store. I haven't been to the grocery store in a VERY long time, other than just to get lunch meat and things for Hubby's lunch for work. But, I was running out of my staples. I was down to my last bag of flour! I don't ever like my pantry to be that low.

Anyway, I went to the grocery store. I was shocked! The prices were up soooooo much! Some things I thought that I was going to get wasn't put in my shopping cart because of price. I'm soooo glad I had a garden this year. And, I'm glad I have my own beef and chickens. WOW! I started all of this self sufficiency stuff just for fun. Now, it's more like a necessity. I sure would hate to live where I couldn't have my garden and animals. I feel blessed.

Another thing that I did this weekend that I haven't done in years is, ride a motorcycle. Yep, I got up the nerve to ride a motorcycle with Hubby. At first, I was trying to come up with excuses for me to never ride with him again. But, by the end of the ride I was more relaxed and kind of enjoying it. I could possible do it again. hehehehe. (And don't worry Mom, we wore helmets.)

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, motorcycle momma

Clueless in Medicine

2011-09-20T18:04:00.000-04:00

With the weather starting to cool down, people usually start thinking about winter. And, with winter comes winter colds and flues. That's when I start thinking about the medicinal herb garden that I didn't get to start. Darn it! I say it every year. I have good intentions but,..... well, you know.

So this winter, I've decided to plan my herb garden. Figure out which herbs I want to get and plant in this all important garden. Now, the problem...I have no idea! I am natural medicine illiterate! I know nothing! I don't know the difference between a salve and a rub. (Is there a difference?) How do I make a medicinal tea? What if I mistake one plant for something else? I'm soooo confused!

Sure I could look on the Internet. But, I would rather have something that I could hold in my hand. I would prefer a book that actually has pictures and not just drawings. Any suggestions?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, clueless.

Question of the Day

2011-09-14T19:26:00.000-04:00

We are selling our hay for $12.00 a round bale. Now, it's not the BEST of hay, but it's very good hay for cattle and our goats. So, the question of the day is........How much is hay where YOU live?

SFG, question asker.

Back to Prepping

2011-09-13T22:41:00.000-04:00

In my line of work, I have to make casual conversation with people. And me, being me, sometimes direct the conversation to the economy, the state of the country, and what could happen in the future. More and more people are starting to get a little antsy. They are thinking that it's going to get worse before it gets better. So me, being a prepper and liking to talk about things like that, egg them on a little bit. I ask them what they think.

So far some of the answers are interesting. They range from," I don't think we have anything to worry about." to " I'm getting ready for Armageddon." Either way that you look at it, you can tell that the US isn't in the best of shape right now. Prices of gas is going up. Prices of food is going up. Extreme weather all over the place. Plus, government parties are fighting more than WWE wrestlers. (I'm just getting ready for them to start putting up the ring. Now THAT will make the debates a little more interesting.)

Anyway, over the last few months I have kind of lost my focus on prepping for whatever comes our way. I haven't been buying extras and putting them in my pantry. I haven't been making sure that I get the most of our garden. (Yes folks, I actually let some beans rot. I know, the SHAME!!!!!!head hangs low) I haven't been learning new skills on how to survive in case of an emergency. I think I have been drawn into thinking that everything is just fine.

So as of right now, I'm back on track. I'm going to start buying extras when I go to the store. I'm going to start canning dried goods like flour. (Yes, it can be done folks. Look it up!) And, I'm going to start looking into alternative and natural medicines.

But some people ask me why I prep. My answer, "Why not?" If I'm wrong and nothing changes in the world, we don't end up being snowed in for weeks, or we will always have jobs, I just have a bunch of extra things. lol.

But if I'm right, I'll be ready. Or at least more ready than some people. And, when I say I'm going to be prepping. I don't necessarily mean for WW3. I'm talking for things like ice storms, electric going out, loss of jobs. But, if something big does happen, I'm going to try and be ready for it too.

So, what do you think? And, what are you doing about it?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, back on track.

Confused.

2011-09-06T12:06:00.000-04:00

These cool days are WONDERFUL!!!!!! I want to get outside and do everything! I want to work in the garden.(Too bad it's all done.) I want to milk the goat 5 times a day. (Too bad I'm drying her up.) I want to gather the eggs.(Too bad we moved our chickens down to Hubby's dad's house.) I want to play with baby goats.(Too bad we won't have any for a few more months.) I want to pick blackberries. (Too bad they are all gone.) I want to plant flowers. (Too bad it's too late.)

Why is it that I want to do summer things in the fall? I guess I'll just go and make some soup.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, confused yet energized.

Times they are a Changin

2011-09-05T12:04:00.000-04:00

Do you remember the old saying," If you don't like the weather, just stick around, it will change."? Well, that's the way our weather has been this year. Cold, hot, muggy, dry, and sometimes, windy. Well, to be honest, I'm glad. I like the change of the weather. By the time that I'm tired of winter, Spring arrives. When I'm tired of Summer, Fall arrives. I just don't think I could live where there is no change of seasons. So what does that mean? I'm ready for Fall!

I'm ready for the cool nights where we can sit around a camp fire. I'm ready for the leaves to change their colors. I'm ready for the smell of smoke from the fire in our wood stove. Yes, I'm ready for Fall. I'm having dreams of warm, wool sweaters. Hopefully, when I learn to knit, ones that I make from wool that I have spun myself. (I know, dream big. :))

Speaking of wool, I just got word from my friend who sells meat goats, that she will have a load of sheep going to the butcher around Thanksgiving. That means 25 bags of fleece for free! Yea!!!!! I don't know what color or how good they will be, but, who cares!!!!! I just love the opportunity to go through the wool and see if it's any good to process. This could be interesting. Hopefully, I'll remember to take pictures of it when it comes in.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, season lover.

I'm Back and Additons

2011-08-28T10:34:00.000-04:00

I'm back! I took off a couple of weeks just because we were getting overwhelmed here. The garden was really taking off. And I was trying to keep up. I wasn't doing a very good job. Then I was still trying to keep on riding for one of my uncles. Then I got talked (wrangled) into being the Quarter Horse judge at the fun shows that we have been going to at our local fair grounds. THEN on top of all that, my uncle, who I look at as my second dad, had a health scare. Whew! I'm tired just typing all of this.

Anyways, because of my uncles health scare he thought he couldn't take care of his goats so he gave them to me. (Thanks Uncle Bob!) So we had to find a place for the extra goats.

So, without further ado, I introduce to you the newest members of our farm.

Not sure what their name's are, but I'm going to find out. If they even have names. They are a little skinning for my taste, so we are hoping to fatten them up a little too.

This lady is twice the size of the other ones. We are thinking she might be going to have a kid or two sometime soon. Or, she just run all of the little goats off so that she could eat their food. lol. Which would explain why they are a little skinny. LOL

Then here is the pride and joy of my uncle. Meet Fuzz Nuts. Yep, that's his name. He was named before my uncle got him. I'm actually thinking that's his name on his papers. I thought it was funny so I kept it.

Check out those horns! Good thing he doesn't use them on humans. He's as docile as can be. But, I'm not going to take my eye off of him. hehehe

Another addition to the farm is this....Can you tell what it is?

It's a small ball of cuteness is what it is!

Louise, our brown rabbit, gave birth to two babies. One of them didn't live. It was twice the size of this one when it was born. It didn't even live an hour. I think that maybe something was wrong with it.

We don't even know what it is. It's too young to tell. It's either going to live on the farm as a breeder if it's a girl, or be sold if it's a boy. I'm hoping for a girl. hehehehe

Here's one more shot of cuteness.

So as you can tell, we have been very busy around here. I'm thinking that I might see the light at the end of the tunnel. So maybe I can start blogging more regularly. I just hope that the light at the end of that tunnel isn't a train. hehehehe

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, back in business.

Bat Girl

2011-08-16T12:45:00.000-04:00

This last Sunday me and Hubby went to my family reunion. It was a good 3 hrs drive from our house. We had a good time laughing and joking and of course eating with loved family members. So as you could probably tell we were really tired when we got home that night.

We crashed into the bed and was watching the evening news when a flash of wings was seen by the light coming from the t.v. I, being the brave soul that I am, screamed and flung the covers over my head. "Bat!!!!" I screamed. "Get it out! Get it out!" Hubby, being the real brave soul of the family, got a bad mitten racket and went after the flying, fanged, beast.

I coward, I mean bravely took up post underneath the covers. That way the bat could not hide in our bed. See, I was quick thinking. But, the bat decided that he wanted to come into our bed room and seek shelter. He flew up to the plastic that is our ceiling. Crawled into a small hole, and hid. Now, we couldn't just take down our whole ceiling just to find a bat. (At least that's what Hubby told me.) So Hubby said that it would probably just go between the floor boards and go upstairs. So he went upstairs and opened our upstairs door. (Remember we live in the basement of our house, Kind of puts a whole new meaning on "Bat Cave.") So, Hubby craws back into bed and resumes snoring.

What!!!!!! I can't sleep with a bat in my house. What happens if I have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I might get attacked. It might bite me and turn me into a vampire! (Ok, I've watched too much t.v. But, hey, it could happen) So, I covered my head and hoped like crazy that I wouldn't have to pee.

So finally, the alarm went off that morning and I had to get up and get Hubby off to work. I sneak a peek out from under the covers. No bat. Then I sneak out of our bed room. So far, so good. I turn the corner and......The bat was in our window!!!!!!!!!! I screamed and ran back into our bedroom and did a dive underneath the covers that football player would be proud of.

Hubby, being awaken from my scream and the fact that I about bounced him out of our bed with my swan dive, went out to see if there was anything that he could do. He opened the basement door. Then after a few minutes of him chasing the bat and me "manning" the bed covers, he said he didn't see it anymore and that it must have went outside.

Big sigh of relief. So I got up and give him a hug and fixed him breakfast and his lunch for that day. After I sent him on his way, I went back to sleep. 4:30 am is not my favorite time of day.

So I spent all day Monday cleaning around the house and canning tomato juice. It was such a pretty day. After Hubby got home from work we had to go to a family members house. I went into the bed room to get something and started back out and out of the blue that bat swooped down and flew right in front of my face. IT HAD BEEN IN THE HOUSE ALL DAY LONG!!!!!! Once again back to the bedroom and under the covers screaming, I mean informing, Hubby. "The bat is still in the house!!!!!" It had been in the house ALL DAY LONG!!!!!

Hubby opens the door and it flies right outside. He saw it go. At least that's what he says.......

So until next time, if there IS a next time,

Small Farm Girl, bat girl

Busy Weekend!

2011-08-09T19:21:00.000-04:00

Me and Hubby had a busy weekend. We went to graduation parties, worked in the garden, froze some corn, and went to a horse show.

Isn't he the cutest thing ever? This was the first time he had ever been in a ring. He won FIRST PLACE!!!!!! Good job!!!!!

Look at that concentration!

This is my friend on a nice palomino stallion. The stallion is only 2 yrs old! He's going to be a big feller.(Sorry these pictures are so bad. I think it's time to buy a new one. Wink,wink. Oh Honey!!!!! hehehehe)

Watching this show got me wanting to be back in the ring again. The last time I was in the ring, I was 17 yrs younger and a million pounds lighter. So, I'm taking riding lessons! Yep, you heard me right. Those poor horses. heehehe. I went to my uncle who has gaited show horses. I asked him to teach me to ride these kind of horses. I always rode quarter horses. I even had a barrel horse at one time. But like I said, that was a million years ago and a million pounds ago. I'm hoping these lessons can get me to get my confidence in riding back. Plus, it's good exercise. Hopefully I'll lose some weight in the process. Wish me luck.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, horse rider.

The Blahs

2011-08-01T11:58:00.000-04:00

That's right, I have the blahs. No motivation what so ever. I think it's the heat. I don't want to do anything. I have no energy. I have to force myself to get up off the couch. Is this what they call the " Dog Days of Summer?" Well, if it is, I don't like it.

We got our electric bill this weekend. It MORE than DOUBLED! I about fainted. I can understand going up in the summer because of the air conditioner. But, doubling? No way!!!! Something has to be done. We put up blinds on the windows hoping they would keep out some of the sun and heat. I miss the view outside thought.

I am longing for Fall. The crisp mornings, the frost covered grass, leaves starting to change. I can hardly wait. I know, don't wish my life away. But, I'm getting really tired of this heat.

Now, for some news around the farm. Me and Hubby have decided to move our chickens down to his dad's house. The chickens have been eating our tomatoes as soon as they start turning. We were going to put them in with the goats but with this heat we haven't been able to build them a new chicken house. We can't use their old coop, because a cow got out and went through the fence of the coop. Oh well, it was either move them or butcher them. Once again, too hot to butcher. Oh well.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, hot

P.s. Wow, I didn't realize how much a "Debbie Downer" I am right now. :o)

The Good and The Bad

2011-07-26T12:08:00.000-04:00

To steal a line from the show Sex and the City,"Hello lover."

That is exactly the way I felt when I saw all of this goodness. These tomatoes are our first. At least the first that I got to before the chickens did. (Anyone want chicken soup? It will happen if they don't stay out of my garden!)

And of course here is a picture of my new obsecion. I want to spin all of this wool. But, I think it's so beautiful. I just want to keep it like this.

The good news is, the person who I got my goats off of, takes sheep to the butcher.( Well, I guess that's not good news for the sheep. lol) Anyway,before she takes them off, she has to shear them. Guess who gets all of the wool? ME!!!!!!!! I now have an endless supply of wool without haveing more mouths to feed. It's a win, win, situation!! So I can get a boat load of these beauties laying around the house. I guess sooner of later I will get to spinning them. But, I'm in no big hurry. I love the look of them now. hehehe

Now on a sadder note, one of our registered Limosine cows died yesterday. She was getting a little old and last winter she started to lose weight. She didn't shed all of her winter coat this summer either, so we knew it wouldn't be long. I found her dead under an old locust tree. That's where she was buried. She gave us many,many years of pretty little calves. She will be missed.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, a little saddened.

Days Like This

2011-07-21T21:11:00.000-04:00

On days like this, I wonder if I am doing the right thing. When the heat index is around 115, I wonder about how much easier it would be to just buy my milk from the store instead of feeding and milking a goat twice a day.

On days like this, I wonder about how much easier it would be to just buy my produce from the grocery store and stay in the nice air conditioner. I realize how much I hate picking beans when sweat is running down into your eyes. Or, how much I hate swatting at flies that know just where to bite when my hands are covered in mud.

On days like this, I wonder about not having animals that I have to feed and water several times a day so that they can stay cool too.

On days like this, I wonder is it all worth it...................

Yeaaaaaa. It is.

Small Farm Girl, farmer.

Loom pictures

2011-07-13T20:23:00.000-04:00

Well, as you can see, our corn got hit pretty hard with one of the storms that went through here two days ago. It has already set back up. I am so glad that it takes care of it's self. lol

Ok now, I will tell you all that I know nothing about looms. I would love to LEARN more things about them though. But, Mom and Dad found this at a flea market and thought of me. So, they bought it. Don't you just love them for it? I do. lol. Anyway, I promised pictures of it, so here it is. I am hoping someone out there know something about it. I don't care if it's useless. I love the looks of it. I'll use it for decoration if nothing else.

Don't you just love the inlay? I think it's beautiful!
Well, if anyone knows anything about it, I would appreciate some input.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, just wondering.

Going Ons

2011-07-11T18:55:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I really don't have much to say again. (Although Hubby would disagree.) I feel a little like a broken record(Wow, I just dated myself there) saying the same things over and over. We get up every morning and feed and milk the goats. I haven't gotten to sleep in since March. Oh what I wouldn't give to sleep in for one day. But, I know if I would have someone go and milk Hanna, I would still get up. I'm use to getting up at that time now. lol.

Anyway, after I milk and feed the goats, I check the rabbits and see if they need anything. Then after the rabbits, I go and let the chickens out of their house. This happens EVERY DAY.

One thing that is a little different around here is Hubby made me a trail around our pond so that I can walk it. It's just like a little track. I love it! The pond always has something interesting going on in or around it. So, watching the pond gets my mind off of all of the little ups and downs that I have to walk when I walk around it. Great exercise!!!!! I've got to start taking my camera with me though. There are sooooo many beautiful things to take pictures of. Water lillys and dragon flys of all different shapes and sizes and colors. Oh, and when I get to one side of the pond, there are HUGE blackberries. (Would I be defeating the purpose of exercising if I eat them every time I pass them? lol.)

Another thing that I have been doing A LOT of is spinning wool. I forgot how much I LOVE to do things with wool! Now, if only I would learn how to knit. I am beginning to really get into it. I love the feel of wool. I love the look of wool. I love the smell of wool! It is soooooo relaxing. I'm hooked. (Get it, hooked. heheheheh. I amuse myself sometimes.) Now, to just learn more about it. How it's carded, how it's cleaned, how it's.....etc,etc,etc.... I want to be like a sponge and learn all I can.

My Mom and Dad bought me a loom at a flea market. I don't know if it's operational, but, it's BEAUTIFUL! It's got inlay and carvings all over it. Even if it doesn't work, I'll keep it for decorative purposes. It's so pretty. I was going to get some pictures of it to put on here. But, my house is too dark to get a really good picture. And it's raining outside right now or I would have taken it outside. So, maybe on my next post. hehehe.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, addict

Statement of The Day

2011-07-02T10:57:00.000-04:00

I'm not fat, I'm just prepping for a food shortage.
SFG, prepper

Sing It!!!!

2011-06-27T12:57:00.000-04:00

You picked a fine time to leave me Loose Wheel.....(heehehehe. I always wanted to sing that.) Yep, that's what happened to the tractor this weekend. Not good.

Luckily, the neighbor was there to help.

Yep, snapped it right off. Believe it or not, this is the fourth time that this has happened. Don't ask me why. I leave that stuff up to Hubby.

Hubby was mowing around our pond when it happened. Hey, does anyone know how to get rid of lilly pads? We have a "few." lol

We have new additions to the farm. Can you guess?

Yep, rabbits! We have two does and one buck. Which will equal five million rabbits! LOL! We have no names for them yet. Here is the white doe.

Here is the brown doe. Any name suggestions?

We haven't gotten the buck home yet, but he is grey. Rabbit stew anyone?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, rabbit owner.

Happenings

2011-06-14T12:24:00.000-04:00

Gracie is fitting in really good. Hanna is acting like a little kid with a new friend. Jumping and playing. Trying to get Gracie to play right along with her. Gracie does sometimes. Other times she just looks at her and you can just tell she is saying,"Really?" LOL

The last few days have been beautiful around here. Cool days and nights. Now if God would only keep it like this for the rest of the year, I would be happy. lol. Anyway, we have been getting the yard cleaned up. We are trying to make it look a little less like a construction zone. I think our state flower should be a rock. There are so many that we need to pick up. I'm thinking of making a fire ring with all of them. I always wanted a fire ring. I'll post pictures when we get it done.

Another thing that has been happening around here is, we have been trying to keep bugs off of our potatoes and tomatoes. There are potato bugs on the potatoes. Then there are these little soft shelled bugs on our tomatoes. I've never seen any like them. Well anyway, they are going to be dead bugs. lol. I go through the garden every other day and squish them. Don't be eating my veggies plants!!!!!!

So as you can tell, nothing really exciting happening around here. Just your everyday life stuff.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, bug squisher.

In The Beginning

2011-06-11T17:27:00.001-04:00

In the beginning,(of the garden) God created pickle. And it was good. Hopefully he will create more. hehehehehe

And then there was Hanna. He saw Hanna and was pleased with her. But, she needed a companion. Yes, she had the "Little Ones." But, she needed a companion more her size and temperament.

So he took from her(with our help) the "Little Ones" and gave her Gracie. And she was good. She is a registered Nubian. (Don't you just love the spots? I think we have decided to breed for spots and attitude. Although, that can change anytime. If you knew us, you would understand. We change our minds like people change underwear.)

As you can tell, Hanna was pleased.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, new goat owner.

Searching.

2011-06-07T13:45:00.002-04:00

Do you ever just not have anything to say. Well, that's me. A lot of things are going on, I just don't know what to say about them. I love blogging so I figured I would just sit down and start typing, thinking maybe something will come out of my ramblings.

Well, first off, it has been HOT around here. Miserably hot. So, what do me and Hubby do this last weekend in all of this heat? We go to a festival. There was an art festival just a little ways down the road from us(1 hr drive) so we thought we would go see it. Hubby, being a redneck and all, actually liked it. Would that make him a cultured redneck? lol. Anyway, going to the art festival got me wanting to start painting again. I use to paint all the time. Oh, and draw. I LOVE to draw!!!!Things just took my time away from me. So I got to thinking. Do we do things because we love them, or because we think we HAVE to do them?

So pondering that thought one morning this weekend as I was sipping a glass of ice tea on my "patio" over looking my pond, I got to wondering,"What is it that I love to do?" Have you ever asked yourself that question? I was getting into some deep thought. And this is how it went.

I don't like to mess with the cattle. They scare me. Oh sure, I like to watch them in the field. I like to feed them across the fence. But, when it comes to actually doing something with them, I don't like it. They are BIG and SCARY. Hubby likes them. So being the nice wife that I am, I let him have all the cattle responsibility. Sure, I'll cook a steak every now and then.lol. But, you get the idea.

Another thing I'm not really wild about is gardening. Now, let me rephrase that, I don't like gardening in the heat. It makes me sick. I kinda like picking the veggies and I like preparing the food. I don't like planting and watering and weeding. But, I like eating the fresh veggies more than I hate gardening so there has to be sacrifices. LOL.

I've come to the conclusion that although I love my three goats, I don't think I want a large herd. Sure, I could make money off of them. Probably some good money. But, money isn't everything. So I'm sticking with a small herd of goats. (I have to have at least some goats in my life. hehehhe)

Next, I have been waiting on getting my house completely done before I "decorate" it. No more. I'm going to start getting containers so that I can have flowers outside my door. I miss flowers. I'm going to start making this house a home. Even though we don't have drywall up on all the walls, I can still hang a picture(or painting) up. I like to make things look good.

Another thing that we did this weekend is go and visit a fellow blogger, Sara at Pumpkin's Patch. She is such a nice lady! I just loved sitting in her wool house and just talking about everything. (Watch out Sara, you may see more of me than you want. lol.) Her little bottle feeder sheep Lila, is adorable. Oh, and the pictures that Sara can take, are breath taking. She is a woman after my own heart. She is the one that got me addicted to spinning wool. (Another thing that I have put on the back burner because I HAD to do other things first.)

So now that I rambled on and on, the topic of this blog, I guess, is to do things you love. REALLY take a look at the things you do in your everyday life, and see if you REALLY love to do them. I have, and I'm getting to know myself better. (Hi self, how are you?....I'm great! And you?......Oh just trying to find myself.....Well, I've been right here all the time.............I know, that was cheesy. But hey.)

So as I close this post, I ask a question. What is it that YOU truly love to do?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, Self finder.

OUCH!!!!!!

2011-05-31T16:15:00.000-04:00

Nothing really exciting happening around here. Just me being sick. Not just sick, we are talking SICK!!!! Ok, I'm a little over dramatizing it a bit. But, I've had this "funk" for over a week now. Hubby finally made me go to urgent care Saturday. I, of course, didn't want to go. But he won out. He's stubborn that way. lol

Well, I went in having a small fever and a cough. I came out having the worst pain ever and wanting a divorce. lol. They gave me TWO shots in the butt! Antibiotics and steroids. The antibiotics were no problem. The steroids were another story. It felt like they were shooting molten lava into my hip. What made it worse was the snickers that were coming from the corner of the room. Yep, Hubby. He thought it was funny that I was getting a shot in the butt. He's lucky that I didn't have something heavy within reach to through at him.

Anyway, now the fever is gone and I'm still fighting the cough. Hubby is still here. LOL!

Oh, we did kill a big snapping turtle out of our pond this weekend. They can really put a hurting on a fish pond. Since our pond isn't really big to begin with, we had to get him out. We did. All is well with the fish world.

So see, nothing going on here this Memorial Weekend. Just coughing. Oh, by the way, Hubby felt bad for laughing at me, so he milked the goat that night. He's slowly getting out of the dog house.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, cougher.

When I Was Young

2011-05-28T11:43:00.002-04:00

You know, when I was young I looked forward to sneezing. It was fun! It felt good! It was a release! Now, when I sneeze, I just hope I don't pee my pants.

SMF, older.

Help!!!!

2011-05-24T11:23:00.000-04:00

It's been a really busy weekend. We FINALLY got to plant our garden. It had quit raining for a total of 3 days! We tilled and planted all in one day. The back of my legs are so sore!!!!!! lol. As I was bending over and planting the onions,(I know, a little late) Hubby started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked
.
He told me that if you are ever lost in the wood, and you come upon a woman planting the garden, you can always tell where the road is. Her butt will always be pointing towards it. WHAT?

I thought he just made that up since my, "cough", plumb bottom was pointing towards the road. That was until we had to go into town and I noticed that EVERY time there was a lady planting the garden her bottom was pointed towards the road! What the heck!!!!!! LOL!!! Ladies, next time you plant your garden, notice which way you point your bottom. Hubby was right! (Don't tell him I said that.)

Anyway, yesterday I went to my parents house to wash my "good clothes." Our water is not real good at getting clothes clean. It comes out red. I don't know if it's iron or clay. Either way, it doesn't work really good on our clothes. So, as I am washing my clothes, me and Mom will usually sit on her porch and swing. It was great. The sun was out. The breeze was blowing. It was just perfect. As we were sitting there, I took my shoes off to let them have a little sun. Well, a little sun turned into a lot of sun. So now I have sun poisoning on the top of my feet. THEY ITCH LIKE CRAZY!!!!!!!!! I have had poison ivy not itch this bad. If I didn't need my feet to walk, I would scratch them off. If truth be told, I'm still thinking about it.

So I am asking, no, begging you for home remedies to help stop the itching. Please blogger buddies! Please help a poor friend out!!

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, miserable.

It Never Fails

2011-05-18T19:07:00.000-04:00

I had an extra day off of work this week. And since it was raining outside( imagine that), I decided to clean my house. So I cleaned, and I cleaned, and I cleaned. It looks so nice and CLEAN! And do you know what happened? Nobody came to see me. NOBODY! I wanted at least someone to see that it was clean. Every time I get company my house is a total disaster. EVEY TIME! There will be every glass that I own in the sink. Dirty pots and pans on the counter. Mail falling off of the table. And clean, folded clothes, that I haven't put away yet, on the pool table.( At least they are folded.)

And, it's usually not just one person that sees it dirty. It's like someone decided to start a parade outside and didn't tell me that my house was on the route. People that I haven't seen in years will some how decide that THAT is the time to come and see me.

So I have decided, if I want to be left alone, I should keep my house clean. If I want company. Mess it up. It makes since.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, visitorless.

Window Licker

2011-05-16T15:33:00.000-04:00

As you all probably know, this is Mud. We all love Mud. She has a.....well..... personality all her own. Around here we call it the "Window Licker" personaity.

Remember that kid, in school, that would lick the frost off the windows in the bus? Very cute, but just not "all there." That would discribe Mud's personality. We are going to put up electric fence inside our woven fence. Not for all of the other goats. No, they get that they are not suppose to stick their heads through the fence. They will get caught. Not Mud. She was too busy licking the windows to listen to the lesson on not sticking your head through the fence. I have to go out at LEAST once a day and get her head back in the fence. Once her head is back in, she just goes on and acts like nothing happend.

I just hope she doesn't try to lick the metal fence posts this winter.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, Mudd wrangler.

Question of the Day

2011-05-15T19:28:00.001-04:00

Should 9/11 be made into a holiday?

SFG, just asking.

No Excuses

2011-05-14T19:28:00.000-04:00

I didn't realize how long it had been since I had last posted. Wow! I could use the excuse of Blogger being down, but that would be lying. hehehe. We have been diving into the worlds of goats. We are talking to goat farmers and extension agents. We are visiting web sites, and we are making plans on top of plans.

First off, I'm going to have to keep working for a little while longer. I'm going to work as many hours and do as many nails as I can. We are going to need that money starting out. As the farm/business grows, then I'll have to quit and work just on the farm. It can't be too soon for me. lol.

We have joined a co-op for goats. A bunch of small farmers get together and sell their goats to a butcher in Columbus. That way we don't have to worry about the market as much. We have also decided to sell breeding stock for replacement goats. We are thinking about Nubians, since people are crossing them with Boar bucks to produce meat goats. The Nubians make good moms. They have such a high amount of butterfat in their milks, the babies grow faster. But of course, we are still up for suggestions on what kinds of goats to raise. lol.

The next time we are out to the house of the lady that has started this co-op, I'll take some pictures. She has a really NICE setup. And, you can tell she cares for her goats.

So that is some of the things that have been happening around her. I'll try and keep you up updated more often. That is, if blogger doesn't go down again. lol

So unil next time,

Small Farm Girl, soon to be goat farmer.

Got Goats?

2011-05-02T19:01:00.000-04:00

Me and Hubby have been kicking around the idea of getting into the goat business. We had an "issue" with the bull and him wanting to kill the four wheeler about a week ago. Don't ask. So, we got to thinking, a 200 lbs billy would probably be easier to handle than a 2000 lbs bull. Don't get me wrong, we still want to keep a couple cows for our own calves to eat. But, we would just "borrow" the neighbor's bull. lol.

Before we just jumped into getting a million goats,(okay maybe an exaggeration.) we are looking into what kind of goat business we want to get into. Do we want to go for meat goats or, do we want to go for dairy, or, maybe a mixer of both? Anyway, we are studying the markets. We are asking people their opinions. We are learning about different products that goats can be used for. You know, just checking on if it would be worth the money invested to get into the goat business any deeper.

One of the things I did was call the extension agent here in our county. I heard she was very knowledgeable about goats. But guess what, she was on maternity leave. The nerve of her! lol. So I called 3 more extension agents from 3 different counties. All were busy and would have to call me back.

Skip forward 2 weeks. I finally got a phone call today from the secretary of one of the extension agents. She said that the extension agent that I wanted to talk to would be going out of the town and wouldn't be back until next week. Would I like to talk to the extension agent's assistance? I told her I would. Someone is better than no one. At least that's what I thought.

When he got on the line he was nice enough. He, at first, was trying to act like he knew what he was talking about. That was until I started asking him questions. He kept back peddling on his answers. Then after a few minutes he declared that he was more knowledgeable about plants instead of animals and that I should call back next week and talk to the extension agent. Well, that's what I wanted to do! Thanks for wasting my time. I understand if the man didn't know anything about animals. But, don't tell me you do when you don't. Oh well.

Now I'm going to ask all my blogger friends out there who have goats or whoever wants to put their two cents worth in. Would a goat farm be worth investing money in?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, goat farmer?

I Did It!

2011-05-01T21:29:00.000-04:00

I did it!!!! I made butter! I'm soooo excited! It's hard to separate the cream from the milk in goat's milk without a separator. But, if you let the milk set for a while in the fridge, some cream rises to the top. And, with that cream, I made butter. A whole cup! LOL! But hey, it beats paying for it in the store. Next on the list, cheese and soap. Anyone have recipes for anything else that involves goat milk? hehehehe

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, butter maker.

p.s. I would have had pictures, but I made homemade dinner rolls this evening. Well, we had to put butter on them. Now the butter is not that pretty. hehehehe

Question of the Day

2011-04-29T22:24:00.002-04:00

Is it just me, or could anyone else care less about the Royal Wedding?

SFG, stick in the mud.

Happy Goats

2011-04-25T22:20:00.000-04:00

Do you know how to make a goat happy? Give them this....

Mud says,"Hey, where's mine?"

"Oh, okay, thanks!"

Pure bliss.

Hanna wouldn't even come out for her picture.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, goat's best friend.

Go for a Visit.

2011-04-22T23:35:00.000-04:00

Hi guys! My MIL has started a blog! So go on over and give her a visit and tell her I sent you.
www.lifeencripted.blogspot.com

SFG, promoter

Statement of The Day

2011-04-20T20:52:00.000-04:00

Those that say goats will eat anything have never owned a goat.

SFG, goat owner.

Chicken Dog

2011-04-19T16:10:00.000-04:00

As you all know by now, we have a St. Bernard named Luke. He weights around 150 pounds. He protects the family with all of his might. He can scare off anyone that wants to deliver a package, or read our electric meter. He is forocious.........Until it thunders.He is such a big CHICKEN!

So early this morning we had a storm. Nothing that would shake the house or blow over a small goat, just your run of the mill thunder storm. This big baby stratched at the door and whined until I let him in the house. Hubby had already left for work so I though, "What can it hurt?"
He acts really good inside. He just lays around like a rug. You have to watch sometimes, you could easily step on him.

Well, I went back to bed. He just came in and layed down in the bedroom. No problem. Then the smell hit me. Have you ever smelled a wet dog. It's not a good smell. My whole bedroom started to smell like wet dog. YUCK! So I thought I will just go to sleep and not notice the smell. We have a concrete floor, so I don't have to worry about him getting anything dirty.

I was just starting to doze off to sleep when the heavy breathing started. You all know what I mean. The unmistakeable sound of a dog who is hot, panting. It went on and on. I looked up and at the foot of my bed, Luke was setting there watching me sleep.

"Luke? What are you doing?"

Tail wagged, panting stopped.

I laid back down. Started to go back to sleep again. Pant,pant,pant. I looked back at the foot of the bed. Luke stared back at me. Panting. "Stop it!" Head went down, and panting stopped.

I just start to go to sleep. Then the worst sound came from the end of the bed. The sound of LICKING! AAAAUUUUGGGGGG!!!!!!! That's it! The rain had stopped the dog went back outside!

So unil next time,

Small Farm Girl, sleep deprived.

Really?!

2011-04-18T18:12:00.000-04:00

People are just NOW seeing that prices are going to go up? Gas going up=Everything else going up. For all of the people out there that laughed at me for getting chickens, a milk goat, and growing my own food.....Who looks like the smart one now?

That may have sounded mean, but people who have thought I was crazy before, are NOW the ones asking ME questions about gardens and chickens. Are they just now getting it? I guess, better late than never.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, prepper.

New Addition

2011-04-05T11:35:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know. It's been a while since I posted on here. Very,very, busy!!!!I'm trying to get my ducks in a row so that I can quit my job. Now,if I had any ducks, it would be easier. lol. I haven't actually told anyone at work that I am quiting. That scares me to death! Hard telling what will happen. I don't know if it will be a good experiance or a bad one. Oh well, it's going to be done. Hopefully soon.

But anyway, enough about that. He and Hubby were out driving around the other day. (That's what we do for a date. Although if gas keeps going up, that might have to quit too.) This is something that we saw. This is a firebrick furnace. You can find these all over this part of the country. Although you can't tell it in this picture, this thing is over 30 feet tall. It is GIGANTIC!!!!! I'm not sure how they used them, but I'm going to check into it. You can go walking out in the woods and come upon one of these things. They are everywhere and they are amazing.

Although we have been saving out money, I couldn't resist this. Meet the new member of our family. This is Hannah

She is a nubian. Which of course equals MILK!!!!!!She is already milking! And, of course, we are already drinking it! YUMMMMMMM!!!!! She is the sweetest thing in the world. She will lay her head on you and just look up into your eyes like she is in love. I know she is a little small for a nubian, but, I just love her.

She come from a farm that I found around here. This lady has over 140 goats! Could you imagine? 140! They all are just as sweet as Hannah. Her farm is set up just wonderfully. I wished I had gotten pictures of all of her little barns and pens. It was so organized.

I did get a picture of these little fellers though. The one furthest away is Hannah's little buckling. He wanted to climb all over me whenever we sat down. I could have played with thoses babies forever!!!! When I was talking about finding something that I really wanted to do to bring in money. Well, I think I found it. I'm not going to get rich, but with things like these to play with, who cares?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, goat lover.

OMG!!

2011-03-29T15:08:00.000-04:00

I did it. I just told some of my clients that I am going to be quiting work. That was a big step. It's a scary step. Hubby wants me to quit sooner than later. We keep going in the hole if I keep working where I'm working. So I have to come up with some way to make some money. I would like to make the money from home. I'm thinking something like selling produce or goat products(cheese, soap, fudge). Maybe do some flea marketing But, I would like some input from you all. Any ideas?

So until next time,

SFG, just askin.

Just to say "Hi!" ( picture heavy)

2011-03-27T10:07:00.000-04:00

This is the view I get to look at once we get our upstairs done in our house. The goats get to look at it all day long.

This is the view from the other side of our house. The cattle get to look at THIS all day long.

Tipper says,"Hi!"

She wanted everyone to know that she looks good in anything she eats.

Mudd says,"Whatever."

Luke didn't want to be left out either, so he says "Hi" also!

What I don't like that wants to say "Hi" is these flies!

Whenever it gets warmer out, they are on ANY surface that is a little warm.
Now these I'm not happy about. But, once it gets a lot warmer, they go away. I can't wait.

So there you go. Just a little jaunt around the farm.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, HI!

The Scary Truth

2011-03-22T14:02:00.000-04:00

We have been busy around here getting ready for the spring planting season. Since we have moved from our old house, we decided to move our garden spot too. We wanted a bigger garden so we can try to grow all of our food that we will need for the year. So we have been sectioning off our yard for where we are going to put it. Nothing really exciting going on here. lol. We did plant some fruit trees. Now, if we can just keep the deer from getting them. We are finding deer prints in our yard. Our dog must be inviting them in. I know for sure he is not scaring them away.

Anyway, another thing that me and Hubby have done, is our taxes. We will not get any money to play with. We got behind on his child support (just a little) so all of the tax refund will go to that. Not that there was much to begin with. lol.

Since I am self employed as a nail tech, I didn't really know how much I made last year. So I added it all up. Minus rent for where I work.( I rent a space to do nails) Minus supplies. Minus all the other things that go along with your own business and...... I went in the hole over $500. Not good. That wasn't even counting gas,food, and clothing. Things I can't take off my taxes, but still have to buy if I'm going to work. That was a wake up call. Why am I working anyway? I thought work was so you can get money. Not here, I guess. lol

So that got me and Hubby thinking. It would SAVE us money if I didn't keep my job. Now, before I up and quit, I'm going to get a few things done. I have to pay off our credit cards. They are not much, so that shouldn't take too long. By skimping on supplies and such, I'm going to try and get a little money ahead. I can skimp on supplies if I know that I won't have to restock. That's the second thing I'm going to do. The third thing I'm going to do is find a "social group." The girls at work are the only people that I actually talk to that aren't my family. Wether it be I join the farmers market, or go to the extension agent meetings, or join in on church activity. Just something to where I can talk to live, breathing people. I don't want to be a total hermit. Although, there are days that I wish I were. So I'm going to be exploring a few avenues that I can go down. But, that's what makes life exciting.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, explorer.

Untitled

2011-03-16T19:06:00.000-04:00

Ok, so in my last post I talked about not procrastinating anymore. I talked about getting things done around the farm....... I didn't realize how much stuff needed done around the farm.

SMF, swamped

Birthday Thoughts

2011-03-15T15:25:00.000-04:00

March 13 was my 38 birthday. 38 is not a significant number. It doesn't have a 5 or a 0 after it. But, this birthday has got me to thinking. If I live to see 80,(if) my life is almost half-way over. Now, I'm not one to worry about getting old, or having wrinkles, or lossing my young girlish figure,(...hahahahahahahaha, breath,breath, hahahahahahahahaha, gasp, gasp, hahahahahaha, Ok, sorry, I couldn't help myself.) I started to look and see if I wanted to live the second half of my life, like I lived my first half. The answer.....no! I don't want my second half to be like the first.

I looked back at the first part of my life. What kind of life did I live? First off, I didn't really appreciate my life. I thought that it would always be there. I started to procrastinate. Things I wanted to do or needed to do, I would just do tomorrow. Well, tomorrows are limited.

Another thing that I would do was just excist. I didn't direct my life. I just let things happen. Now, I know you can only do what you can do. But, I wasn't even doing what I could do. I was just being. I had no drive. I look back at all the things that COULD have been done.

Now, I'm not living with regrets here. I realize I was blessed with many things in my life. What I am saying is, I am done procrastinating with my life. I'm going to LIVE my life. I'm not taking a trip to Paris, or going sky diving, but what I am going to do is the things I keep "putting off". Like, lose this weight to where I can move better. Forget the looking better. I don't care about that. I just want to get healthy. You never know when I might need to be physical. I couldn't do anything physical right now.

I want to really get into this homesteading. I have found a passion. I have found something that will actually "drive" me. It is something that I can learn new things every day with. I have to stop "putting off" doing it. Get the seeds sown. Get the goat barn built. Start fixing fence. There are so many things that I want to do with our farm. If I keep doing all the things that need to be done, my weight wont be a problem much longer. lol.

I hope you don't get the feeling like I'm going through a mid-life crisses. Well, maybe I am. But, it's a get my butt in gear, mid-life crises. One other thing that I want to do is blog more. I really enjoy having the "family" of bloggers out there. You guys help keep me motivated! I'm really looking forward to the next part of my life! Bring it on!!!!!!

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, revamped!

Question of the Day

2011-03-06T12:45:00.000-05:00

When you make a comment on someones blog, do you go back and see if they say anything back to you?

SMF, just wondering.

Statement of the Day

2011-03-05T14:37:00.002-05:00

He's home!!!!!!!!!

SFG, happy.

Oh NO!!!!!

2011-03-01T12:14:00.000-05:00

I let Skeeter,my mini wiener dog, outside this morning. It was nice out, the sun was shining, I figured that I would let her play outside for a while. I did dishes, talked on the phone, a lot of things actually. I thought it was time for her to come inside.

I went outside, in my slippers and no coat, and yelled for her. Nothing. I looked around. Nothing. A small bit of worry started to creep up on me. She had been in heat last week. Did I misunderstand her signs. Was she still in heat? My male St. Bernard wasn't paying her any attention anymore. Did she go to the neighbors? They have a smaller male dog over there. Great. Am I going to have to get her fixed at 11 yrs of age? I hope not.

What if she went down into the holler behind the house. Coyotes live down there. They would love to have a wiener snack. They have been bad lately. My worry-o-meter just went up a bit. I started to yell, SKEETER!!!!!!! I started to walk around looking for her. Cold water and mud was seeping into my slippers. My arms had goosebumps on them. But I was still going to find my dog! SKEETER!!!! Still nothing.

Now my worry-o-meter was registering panic. What happened to her?! I yelled and yelled and looked around our yard. I just couldn't find her! I had to get my boots and coat on. I was going on a MAJOR search and rescue mission. SKEETER!!!!! Nothing again.

I walked back to the house in my sopping wet slippers to get my boots and coat. As I opened the door to go back in.........there sat Skeeter looking at me like, "What?"

I forgot that I had let her back in earlier. She had been sleeping under a blanket on the couch. She had been in the house this whole time.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, losing it.

Question of the Day

2011-02-27T17:10:00.000-05:00

Does anyone have a good home remedy for achy hands and wrists?

SFG, hurtin.

Rant

2011-02-22T14:38:00.000-05:00

Is it just me, or does anybody else get the heebie jeebies watching the news lately? What is going on out there!!!!! Fights and protests. Prices going up on everything!!! Natural disasters. How could anyone say that our world is doing fine. It's not people! It's time to get prepared!

We have a friend who owns a grocery store. He said it is "unreal" how much the prices have gone up. In one day the cost of coffee went from $6.99 to $13.99. Sugar is no longer just $1.25 for 5 lbs. Wheat and corn costs are going through the roof. Don't even get me started on butter. Another reason for getting a milk cow. lol.

The price of gas is really skyrocketing to prices that we haven't seen in a while. Will people stop doing their normal running when prices get to $5 a gallon? Truthfully? Probably not. They will pay it and keep going on. They will cut back on other things, like buying the $.75 mac and cheese instead of buying the bag of apples.Then our health will take a downturn. Then we will have to pay for health care. It just keeps going and going. Yet people don't want to admit that they can't live the life that they have been. Will that change if we see gas prices at $10 a gallon?

Another thing is, the government is broke people. WE are broke. People don't want to see the U.S. in debt but they are not willing to sacrifice anything. Well, something's got to give. People aren't going to be able to live the life they are use to. Sacrifices have to be made. This is coming from a person who puts fake fingernails on people. And you want to hear something funny? My business is growing! I mean, come on people! Are fake fingernails a necessity? Don't get me wrong, I'll take your money. It won't hurt my feelings. But please don't make me sit and listen to you complain about not being about to afford gas or food or electric. Your nails cost you anywhere from $25 to $50. That could buy a bunch of apples and oranges. A few gallons of gas. And it could take a chunk out of your electric bill. We can't keep living like this! When are people going to realize? Oh, I know, when THEY are actually asked to sacrifice something. It either has to be higher taxes on everyone, including the poor, or sacrifices like jobs and food stamps or the like.

The only thing that I can do right now is just prepare. Something has got to give in this pressure cooker situation. There is going to be a change that will be forced on us all. Some how some way. Me? I'm trying to live a sustainable life. I'm not as close to self sufficiency as I want to be, but I keep trying. I try to learn new things all the time. Whether it be gardening, saving seeds, making my own bread, taking care of animals that will provide food for me and my family, growing herbs for medicine or just plain old how to be content with what we have. It's a journey that I'm on. I still buy bread at the store, but as soon as I get REAL comfortable with making my own bread that will stop. I still buy milk. As soon as my goats have babies, I'll have milk. I'll learn how to make cheese, soap, and a whole lot of other things. But buy learning how to do these things, I depend on other people for things less and less. It's a good feeling.

So if you are starting to get the heebie jeebies like me, you might want to start seeing where you can change your life into becoming a little more self sufficient. Maybe not a HUGE plunge into the self sufficient pool, but maybe a little toe.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, still learning.

I Need Some Input

2011-02-21T10:35:00.000-05:00

You all remember Luke. Luke is our lovable family/farm dog. But, Luke is getting old. He is 11 yrs old. That's old for a St. Bernard. He doesn't get around like he use to. I feel sorry for the feller because he thinks he's still the guard dog around here. We love him to pieces but, we also know that he won't be with us much longer. (I'm talking years here people, not days.) Now the input that I need from you guys is this.....

We want to get another dog. We want to get one that will be protective of farm and family. Any suggestions?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, dog shopper.

Signs of Spring

2011-02-15T10:52:00.000-05:00

As I go about my day, I have been noticing signs of spring. I'm so excited! I know there will also still be signs of winter, but I'm not going to think about that right now. lol. I notice that the birds are starting to sing again. Before, when you would go outside, all you could hear was the wind. Now, it's like the birds are saying,"Hey guys, it's just around the corner!"

Another sign of spring, my rooster is crowing more. I wander sometimes if he even takes a breath in between his crows. Maybe is realized I'm planning on getting another rooster this year. lol. The girls(hens) are wanted out of the chicken house as soon as I open the door. They want to go out and stretch their wings and hunt for bugs that are coming out of the frozen ground.

I also noticed that the winter coats of the animals are starting to shed. The goats' under coats are starting to work their way up to the top so that it can be shed. It must be itchy, they are rubbing themselves on everything! lol. I'm getting ready for my St. Bernard's coat to start floating in the air. It's worse than pollen. It's everywhere!

Our pond, FINALLY has thawed out. It has been frozen since the first day of December. Yesterday, it had no ice on it. Yea!

Another sign of spring doesn't show up until night time. No, it's not the wonderful sound of peepers coming from the pond. OOOOHHHHH NOOOOOOO! It's the pungent smell of skunks. Spring is their time for breeding. For some reason, skunks must love that nasty smell. So, I think, they go around and spray everything in the world hoping that their "Prince Smelly" will come and sweep them off their feet. I'm just afraid that I'm going to be out putting up the animals one night and encounter one of those little stinkers. That would not be good.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, on lookout.

Life

2011-02-13T17:39:00.000-05:00

The sun is shining.
The breeze is blowing.
The birds are sing.
The thermometer is rising.

Life is good.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl,happy.

Prepared?

2011-02-08T22:49:00.000-05:00

No, I mean REALLY prepared? Some of us like to think we are prepared for many things. It's not until you actually have to use your prepper skills that you learn, in what areas, you lack. Well, guess what? I am not as prepared as I thought I was.

Last night at 8:30 pm our electric went out. Ok, now what? Well, I stumbled around and found a flashlight. I lit some candles and some oil lamps. Let there be light. And it was good. Hehe. Next I realized that I didn't have a phone in the house that would work if the electric went out. Great. Now I have to go up to the old house and get the land line phone. Bundle up, start four wheeler, and ride up to old house in the cold wind. As I'm up at the old house, I get another oil lamp and some more candles. I finally get back down to the new house and hook up the phone. I called around and found out the electric was out to a whole lot of people. This could take a while. I was already bored, might as well get ready for bed. No bath tonight for me. No water. We have a well and an electric pump.

Now, we heat with a wood stove so heat wasn't a problem. Well, almost not a problem. We have a fan that runs on the stove to circulate the hot air. With no electric, it didn't work either. With no air circulating, the house gets really cold. We don't have much insulation,(yet) so heat just goes up and out. It was going to get cold and my electric blanket wasn't working either. They were predicting lows in the 20's. I went and got another comforter and put it on the bed. There were so many heavy blankets, I needed a jack to jack up the blankets just so I could turn over. lol. I put on fuzzy pants and a warm shirt. I snuggled down in the blankets and tried to sleep. "Tried" being the word here. It was too quiet and too dark. No night lights. When you live in a basement it can get REALLY dark. I couldn't tell if I had my eyes open or not. lol.

I decided to read. I took a flashlight and read a little. A little turned into 2 hrs. I just couldn't sleep! Finally I dozed off. 2 hrs later I wake up sweating. I was HOT!!!!! I checked our thermometer. It was only down to 59 degrees. It is normally that at night anyways,even with the fan running. I got up, put more wood in the stove and went back to bed, minus the fuzzy pants. Still couldn't sleep. At 3:45 am, the electric came back on. I then went through the house and turned off all the lights that I had left on. Got back into bed and slept like a baby. I could hear the refrigerator running, the fan on the stove, and I could see the small night light in the hallway. All was back to normal.

Now the moral of the story is.....Could I live without electric? Yes. But, I have a lot of work to do before I do. lol

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, electric lover.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

2011-02-07T11:51:00.000-05:00

Well, the good part is....the snow has melted.

The bad part is... all of the ground is a muddy mess.

The ugly part is.......there is dog poo EVERYWHERE!!!!!!

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, boot scraper.

Not Much

2011-02-01T12:52:00.000-05:00

Not much has been going on around here since Hubby is in Atlanta. The weather is taking a breather waiting for the next snow storm. So the cows are taking a breather too.

The chickens are just out scratching around, hoping to find a bug or two. If they do find a bug, it will be a frozen dinner.

And of course the REAL lazy one around here.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, kinda bored.

Sunny Day

2011-01-29T19:47:00.000-05:00

The sun was actually out from behind clouds today. Can I get a double YEA?!!!!! We haven't seen it around these parts of the country in a long while. It actually brought the temps up to 50 degrees! HEAT WAVE! It almost melted all of the snow. I even heard birds singing today. If you closed your eyes and pointed your face into the sun, you could almost get the whiff of spring in the air. Almost.

The sun and warmer temps did get me into thinking about the garden and such. I started looking through the seeds that I have and thinking about the ones I need. I do start some of my garden with seeds, but we have so many local green houses around here,(5 if you don't count Wal-mart and Lowes) and they sell open pollinated plants, it's hard not to pick up a lot of our starters from them. I can't wait! lol. That's one thing that is good about Hubby going to Ga in the winter. He will at least be here for garden season. That's a job for two people. At least, the size of our garden, makes it a job for two people.

When I was down at the feed store today,(the one that didn't burn down.) I noticed how much grain has gone up. It's outrageous!!!! I'm thinking about growing our own corn for the chickens. Hubby's dad has a corn crib at his house where we can store it. We have a local place around here that shells it and cracks it for us for a small price. I might give it a try. Any suggestions on what kind to grow?

On another topic, the coyotes are getting really bad around here. I hear them day and night. Howling and yipping at each other. I'm even going to start carrying a gun when I go out to feed the animals. Can't be to careful. I'm going to start thinning out the pack. hehehehe

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, rambler.

Goat Chops

2011-01-23T21:26:00.000-05:00

This weekend was cold. I mean COLD! And on one of those cold nights, when the wind was still, I got up in the middle of the night to put wood in the stove. As I stood there waiting for the fire to catch up, I heard the most awful sound coming from outside. Coyotes!!!!

I looked out the door. Standing on our pond dam were two HUGE coyotes! Howling and yipping and making all kinds of sounds. Some people might say,"So?" Well, our pond dam is not more than 25 yards from our house! And with it being that close to the house, they were even closer to the goat pen. They were less then 5 yards from the goat pen!

Since it was so still outside and the wind was not blowing at all, I left the goats' door, to their house, open. That way they could move all night if they wanted. And now, there were two big coyotes standing really close to them.

I opened the door and yelled. They didn't do anything. I went outside and waved my hands and yelled. They looked at me and still nothing. It was like I wasn't even there. You know that saying about them being more afraid of you....? Well, someone lied! They were not a bit afraid of me. After a few minutes of yelling and waving and jumping up and down, they finally just trotted off down over the hill. It was like they were saying, "Well okay, I guess we will move."

I saw the goats were watching them with a LOT of interest. I don't blame them. I was watching them with interest too.

So at 3:00 a.m. in the morning I went out and closed up the goats in their little goat house. No goat food for you coyotes!

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, coyote scarerer.

Pictures?

2011-01-21T15:43:00.000-05:00

People have asked, and asked, and asked about the pictures I took of my big lips. Well, to tell the truth, I don't know how to get them from my phone to the computer. hehhehee. I haven't had regular pictures on here because Hubby has the camera down in Ga. But, He will be back this weekend for a visit. Yea!!!!!!!!!

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, clueless. ( That's my story and I'm stickin to it.)

Things That Just Happen

2011-01-20T10:13:00.000-05:00

I got home from work yesterday. I was tired. I didn't want much to eat.(diet) So I decided to eat the fresh pineapple that I got from Kroger's for $1. Woo Hoo!!!! My mouth was watering as I cut into the nice juicy pineapple. I cut it like a watermelon so that I could just eat it off the rind. I took the pineapple(just half of it) to the couch and sat back to watch American Idol.

I was really getting into the show. But, half way though, I noticed that my lips were starting to sting. I looked down at the pineapple and noticed that there was blood on it. What!!!! I run to the bathroom. My lips were bleeding. The pineapple was making my lips bleed! Ouch!!!!! I stopped the bleeding and put Vaseline on them to stop the stinging. I then went back to watch the show. Steven Tyler was on the show. Priorities!

A few minutes later my lips started to feel funny. Now what? I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My lips had ballooned up to to twice the size they normally were!!!! Wow!!! My tongue wasn't swelling or my throat wasn't closing up, so I knew I wasn't allergic to the fruit. My lips just swelled because of the irritation from the pineapple.

So what would a person like me do? Use ice? Use more Vaseline? Put on some lip balm? Heck no! I put on lipstick, took some pictures on my phone, and sent the pictures to all of my friends. Hey, people pay big money for this look. hehehee

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl Jolie

What?!

2011-01-16T15:52:00.000-05:00

My dad is, what we call around here, "The Almighty Hunter." And he IS! He can track, shoot, and prepare any kind of animal. His hunting has fed our family for as long as I can remember. We never had beef when we were growing up. We had deer, rabbit, and squirrel. (SQUIRREL!!!!!! Sorry, inside joke.Had to be done. If you have seen the movie UP you would understand. hehehehe.) My dad has even got to the point that he doesn't like gun hunting. Oh, he will gun hunt, but he says it's just too easy. lol. He bow hunts. He even bow hunts fish. Would that be called bow hunts or bow fishing?

Anyway, Dad has a bunch of land that he lives and hunts on. And one day, he was at the farthest point from his house, and from everybody else, when he sees something moving in the distance. He tries to see what it is. He keeps watching it, and watching it. It keeps getting closer and closer. He said he wondered if it was a dog. He hates when dogs chase deer. I do to. The dog will run a deer to death. Ok,ok, back to the mystery animal.

He's peering through the woods, and what does he see..........(wait for it.........) a GOAT! Yep, a brown and white goat. It was wondering through the woods just nibbling on honeysuckle vines. Now, where did that goat come from? There were no houses around for some distance.

Well, Dad didn't shoot it. I don't think there is a goat season in Ky. lol. He did come back and check his game tracker. (A game tracker is a camera that is put up in the woods and it takes pictures. It is motion sensor activated.) He brought the game tracker back to the house to see if he seen any pictures of the goat on them. He did. Plus, he seen pictures of ANOTHER goat on there! What is really bad is, he had the game tracker set up kind of close to the house. And what is at the house? His young, tender, and tasty apple trees......

Anyone up for goat chops?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, goat eater?

Bird is The Word

2011-01-12T18:06:00.000-05:00

There was a bird in my house. How it got in, I don't know. We just have plastic up and floor boards for a barrier between the upstairs of the house and the down stairs.I can hear everything that goes on upstairs. I started to hear it upstairs a couple days ago. Tweeting away. Just singing his little birdie lungs out. It must have been happy being in a much warmer place than outside in the wind.

Well, today I woke up and heard something in the plastic. Great, the bird somehow got in between the floor boards and the plastic. I kept my eye on it so that I could catch it in the plastic and just get it out. Simple as that. Ahhh......no. The little bugger found a hole in the plastic and was loose downstairs with me. It was setting on the top of the wall looking at me. Our walls don't go all the way to the ceiling because we have 9 foot ceilings and 8 foot walls. We are going to put in drop ceiling tiles. That way Hubby can have easy access to the water pipes.

Anyway, the little birdie was looking at me from the top of the wall. "Oh how cute," I thought. I went most of the day wondering how the little birdie could get out. It wasn't bothering me. Maybe I should put out some water and food for it. If it had been in the house for a few days, it wouldn't have had anything to eat or drink. I would go through the day and every once in a while the cute little birdie would flitter around from one wall to the other. Every once in a while, it would sit looking out the window. Such a sweet and cute little birdie.....

Then the birdie pooped on my bed and pillow. NOT CUTE!!!!!! BAD BIRDIE!!!!!! The little birdie went from a cute little birdie to a terrorist in about 3 seconds flat. The bird had to DIE!!!!!!! Okay maybe not die, but it did have to get out of my house. NOW!!!!

I chased that terrorist, I mean birdie, all around the house with a broom. I was not giving up. It hadn't had food or water for at least 3 days. I could ware it down. So I walked. And, I walked. And, I walked. With broom in hand, I walked for about a half an hour. I was not giving up. The birdie went back and forth. From one room to the other. Me, with broom in hand, following it. I could see it was getting tired. I was winning. At one point I think it tried to dive bomb me. Nope, I was not going to give in.

Finally, I thought, even though it might be negative 1000 outside, I had to open the door. So that's what I did. The terrorist, I mean little birdie, flew right out. But on it's way, it left me another little "present" on the floor as it went past me. Bye,bye birdie!!!!

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, birdie wrangler.

Thoughts

2011-01-11T17:15:00.000-05:00

With Hubby being gone for 8 weeks for training, I find myself being bored. Not just "I don't have anything to do" bored. No, the "I have things to do but don't want to do them" bored. I could clean the house. I could do laundry. I could do the dishes. I could........ You get the idea. But, I don't want to do any of it.

I want to go outside and not freeze. I want to start planting seeds. I want to go fishing in our pond. (Which is just outside our door now.) I want to sit in a chair and feel the sun on my neck. This winter is driving me CRAZY!!!!!!!It's cold inside our house. I'm tired of getting wood in for the stove. I want to open up the windows and hear peepers. I want SPRING! I know, I know, don't wish your life away. I'm not. I'm just wishing the cold weather away! hehehe

Now on another note, I found out today that one of my good friend's father died today. I called to console her and to say all the things friends are suppose to say. Well, I came away with a new look at life. She was raised the complete opposite of me. But, the spirit that she has is wonderful! She will try anything! No fear! She said that she didn't want to get older and have a long list of "should haves." She wanted to move from Arizona. She did. She moved to Alaska! Talk about a big move. She went from the desert to the tundra. lol! I have always been the "careful" one. I always looked before I leaped. Then I looked again. Not her. She bought her house that she lives in now, off of the Internet. Sight unseen! Now some people might think of that as unwise. It might be. The point is she didn't talk about it. She did it! Oh, to have that kind of spunk.

So a big question is, has there ever been anything that you wanted to do but didn't have the guts to do it?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, guts wanter.

Cleaning The Goat House

2011-01-09T20:06:00.000-05:00

I went out this weekend to clean out the goat house/dog house. The goats were kind of surprised to see me out there with a pitch fork.(That's our old house in the background. That is how far our new house is from our old house. The goats are right next to the new house.)

"Your going to clean out our house?"

As you can see, I had plenty of help. That is my pitchfork that she is standing on.

Tipper had to check things out.

And again.

She wanted to get a close up.

Mudd wanted to see too.

Finally I got it cleaned out. Once it was clean, the girls decided to fight over who got to sleep in it first.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, goat house cleaner outer.

The Beginning, Again

2011-01-04T10:21:00.000-05:00

Well, yesterday was the beginning of living a more homesteady life. I didn't start it Sunday because, well, we went out to eat with friends TWICE! YIKES!!! Anyway, I started yesterday. I made breakfast from the eggs from out chickens. Good start! hehehe Then for dinner I made meatloaf from our own cattle, frozen corn from our garden two years ago, and blackberry crisp from the blackberries that we picked last year off of our land.

As we were eating it dawned on me. This food tastes better than anything that we could have gotten from a restaurant! Hubby said so too! Why would we want to go out to eat and spend $20 or more, when we can eat our own food for pennies? Hubby even took leftovers with him to work. Now we're talkin! hehehehe

Another thing I done was turn the tv off and do more things around the house. It's amazing what you can do when your eyes are not glued to the tv. Today I plan on cleaning out the goat barn/doghouse. I'll try to get some pictures of the little cuties. I have to get as many pics on here as I can. Hubby says he's going to take the camera with him to Atlanta when he leaves for his training.

He will be gone for 8 weeks. The weather man(the guesser) is saying that we are going to have the coldest and snowiest winters on record. Of course! I'm going to be freezing my butt off up here in the Tundra and Hubby will be all nice and warm in Georgia. Although, Georgia had their first white Christmas in 120 years! Ironic huh?

Well, this post has rambled enough.
So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, rambler.

Changes

2011-01-02T10:27:00.000-05:00

This time of year people start making new years resolutions. I don't really want to say I'm making a "resolutions," but I have been thinking about what I would like to do this year. What path will I be going down? Where will I be (figuratively) this time next year? And I quot Aerosmith," If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got." Makes since, huh?

Then I got to thinking about the people I read about in my homesteading magazines. They all talk about getting out into the country. Raise some animals, grow a garden, "live" off the land. If only they could get some land! Well, me and Hubby HAVE land. We grow a garden, and we raise animals. But, I want to do more.I want to USE our land more. I want to get to where most of our food comes from our farm. Milk from goats, meat from cattle,chickens,and fish from our pond, and all the veggies we can stuff our faces with from our garden. I would like to eat out less, go to the grocery store less, and just stay home more. I enjoy my home! So why do I always feel like I have to be going somewhere, eating out, or have to have the newest gadget?

Well, I've had enough. Enough, I say! No more eating out every time we have to go into town. No more going and getting the latest gadget. No more running to the grocery store every other day. It's time I live the life that I want to live. The life that has line dried clothes, and homemade breads, and free range chickens in it's future. The life that I love! Time to get off my butt and not make excuses on why the chicken pen is not cleaned out or why I haven't made dinner, so we can go out to eat. I don't like fast food anyway. Why do I feel like I have to have it? I don't want the mainstream lifestyle. So once again," If I always do what I've always done, I'll always get what I've always got." Time for me to make that change.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, ch,ch,ch, changin....hehehehe

Question of the Night

2010-12-31T22:54:00.000-05:00

Does it mean I'm old if I want to sleep in the new year instead of party it in?

SFG, sleepy.

Statement of the Day

2010-12-29T22:12:00.000-05:00

They ruled the fire was arson. Grrrrrrr!!!!!!!

Sfg, MAD!

Sad Day

2010-12-27T22:33:00.000-05:00

It's a sad day here in South Shore Ky. This picture was what happened this morning. The local feed store caught on fire. Five fire departments were called for this huge fire. Good thing no one was hurt. This building use to be a landmark in our little community. It was built back in the 1920's. It has been a furniture store, a restaurant, and a craft store. But, it was known the most, as the farm store. It was a total lost. It just looks weird now. I'm so use to seeing the big building on the corner. It is there no more.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, sad.

Statement of the Day

2010-12-25T21:21:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!!!

Small Farm Girl, blessed.

Little Gems

2010-12-20T12:52:00.000-05:00

I received a little gem in the mail today. I received a Christmas card. (Thanks Kelle!) When I saw it, it gave me warm, fuzzy feelings inside. Why? I don't really know. Maybe it's the thought that someone thought of me. Maybe it's the thought that someone went out of their way to send me a card. Maybe it's the thought that someone spent money(Come on! It's just a little sticky piece of paper! Not gold!) to send me the card. Whatever the reason, I loved it!!!!

Each year I keep telling myself that I will send out Christmas cards. I've had the same cards for 12 years! They are beautiful! But, somehow, they never get mailed out. One year it was because I couldn't find them. One year it was because I honestly didn't have the money to buy stamps. One year, I simply forgot. That was until it was too late. This year it is a mixer of I couldn't find them after the move to our new house and we really didn't have the money for the stamps.

So I have decided that after Hubby has been working for a little bit and all of out bills are actually caught up, I will send out Christmas cards! So don't be surprised if you receive a card with a snowy scene on the cover, in the middle of July. Hey, maybe it will cool you off. lol

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, happy receiver of Christmas cards.

Mushy

2010-12-14T11:43:00.000-05:00

Since Hubby is out of town training, I thought I would write something very mushy. So here it goes....

At first I didn't want you. At first I thought I didn't need you. I fought it. Now I crave your warmth. I love your soft touch. I love when you wrap around me in bed. I hope you will be there when I need you. Now that I fell in love with you, I don't know if I can live without you. But, I do know that if anything happens to you, I will get another.

I love my electric blanket.hehehe

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, poet.

Picture of the Day

2010-12-13T17:30:00.001-05:00

Look at what I see outside my door.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, Brrrrrrrrrrr!

Fashion Vs. Function

2010-12-09T08:47:00.000-05:00

I work in the beauty industry. Ok, I put fake nails on people. Close enough. lol. I am suppose to know about fashion and I'm suppose to dress in the latest fashions. At least that is how it's SUPPOSE to be. hehehee. Most of the time I try to be in fashion.(T-shirts are in fashion, right?) But right now, I'm dressing for function.

Our house is cold. COLD, I say! Since we are living in the basement of the new house, a lot of the heat that we have from our wood stove goes up into the uninsulated part of the house. We have tried putting plastic up on the basement's ceiling hoping it would keep some of the warm air down here. It has....some. Most days it stays around 60 degrees in here. When it's windy out, it will dip down to the low 50's. We have the wood stove, kerosene heater, and the clothes dryer trying to make it warmer in here. Needless to say, fashion goes out the window. hehehehe.

Right now I am wearing a Harley Davidson t-shirt, a Christmas sweater, old jeans, work boots, a carhart winter hat, and a scarf. All of which are all different colors. Not one piece of clothing matches. I don't care. It helps me stay warm. A girl has to do, what a girl has to do. If only the girls I work with could see me now. lol.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, fashionista.

Busy!!!!!

2010-12-06T11:01:00.000-05:00

Things have been very busy around here. We are trying to get things all set up for when Hubby goes down to Georgia for training for his new job. One week. That's right, we have only one week to get a lot done. Good news is, he will only be down there for one week. Then, after the holidays, he will be going back down there for around 7 to 11 more weeks.

I will be holding down the fort. I don't mind the one week, but I'm not looking forward to the 7 to 11 weeks. I guess winter would be the best time for him to go though. The only thing I have to do during the winter is take care of the animals and feed the stove some wood. Hopefully he will be able to cut enough wood to last the winter. It's been cold!Since it has been this cold so soon in the season, we are really going though wood.

I was going to take some pictures of the little goaties in the snow, but my camera froze up. Yep, it wouldn't do anything! I don't blame it, I didn't want to do anything in the cold either. When I brought it back in, it finally thawed out. hehehehe.

Well, today I'm going to have a Christmas type of day. I'm putting up the Christmas tree and making Christmas cookies. Since I can take pictures inside, I'll get some pictures of the tree and cookies and maybe give out some recipes.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, Busy.

Oh No, Not Again!

2010-11-29T10:07:00.000-05:00

This holiday weekend was a very busy one. Me and Hubby had 3, stuff your face, dinners to attend. So not wanting to disappoint anyone, that's exactly what I did. I stuffed my face. Three times. hehehe.

Now that Thanksgiving is over with and Christmas and New Years is just around the corner, I'm starting to think about spring. Yes, spring. We haven't even had our first snow yet! But, I'm starting to think about Spring. When will I get to start in the garden? What will I plant in the garden? Where will I plant my new fruit trees? ( I don't even know what kind of fruit trees. Oh wait, something else to think about!) What am I going to plant in my herb garden?(I have decided to put my herbs in raised beds this year. Beds that I haven't even made yet. Great, something else to think about.) I'm getting the spring bug. The spring bug at the beginning of WINTER!!!!

I know I am pumping myself up for a big let down. I will never get everything done that I have planned for this spring. It will be too wet, or too cold, or too dry, or too hot. There is always be an excuse for me not to get everything done. And then, I'll be disappointed and feel like a lazy bum. lol.

I'm going to have to reign myself in. Maybe start smaller. Something like moving the garden closer to the new house this year. I think I can do that. (Well, I can supervise while Hubby does it with the tractor. hehehe) Or maybe I'll plant one or two trees. I think I can do that. I've got all winter to think about what I want to do when warmer weather gets here. Now, if only my body will agree with me when it's time to actually DO it this spring.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, big dreamer.

Statement of the Day

2010-11-24T20:57:00.002-05:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!

SMF, turkey eater.

Goat Updates

2010-11-21T19:01:00.001-05:00

Remember when I wrote about how the little goats were wild as bucks? And remember when I said they were hard to get close to?

Well......... not anymore.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, goat whisperer.