Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The Ups and Downs of the Holidays

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

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

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!!!!!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

One of Those Days

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.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Statement of the Day

His name is Cash, The Kitty in Black.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Wishes

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.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

New Addition, Again.

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.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Thanksgiving Ramble

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

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Question of the Day

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.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Oh, The Horror!!!!!

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.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

A Dream

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

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.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Just For A Quickie

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!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

A Decision (for now)

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.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Just To Make Things Clear

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!!!!!!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Do I REALLY Want To Be A Hermit?

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.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Soup Truck,It's On The List

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

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The New Addition, Again

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.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Don't Hate Me

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

Monday, September 26, 2011

Things I Haven't Done In A Long Time

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

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Clueless in Medicine

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.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Question of the Day

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.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Back to Prepping

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.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Confused.

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.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Times they are a Changin

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.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

I'm Back and Additons

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.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Bat Girl

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

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Busy Weekend!

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.

Monday, August 1, 2011

The Blahs

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)

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The Good and The Bad

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.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Days Like This

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.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Loom pictures

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.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Going Ons

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

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Statement of The Day

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

Monday, June 27, 2011

Sing It!!!!

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.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Happenings

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.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

In The Beginning

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.