Just Checking In

Hi everyone!!!!  WOW! We've had a whirlwind of a year here on and off the farm!  We have been VERY busy!!. (I also am trying to see how many exclamation points I can use!!!!!  hehehe)

Anyway, I've been wanting to get back on here and start posting more. Many things going on. The nail business has been steadily growing so that has kept me very busy. Hubby has been working his job and just hoping he won't get laid off.  If only one person would get laid off, he would be that person.   Of course, I think everyone who works an off the farm job, is hoping not to get laid off right now.

The dogs are doing great.  I wish I had more time to spend with them. I hate leaving them by themselves throughout the day.  Luckily it's not too long after I leave that Hubby is home and he spends time with them.  Australian Shepherds who are left alone for too long usually find "something" to do.  In fact, we were gone a little extra yesterday, and they found where I keep my potatoes and chewed one up and scattered it all over the house.  Lovely.  It's a good thing we have a concrete floor.  It's little easier to clean up than if it were a rug.  But, ya gotta love the little faces that look at you as if they want you to be proud of the "art" that they'd made.

To help with their energy levels, I take the dogs for a run.  And when I say run, I mean they run and I ride the four wheeler.  This body doesn't run. hehehehe.  I've been running them around the back fields and around the pond.  They love these times of days.  Somehow, they always seem to find the ONE cockle burr bush and get those little prickly burrs all over them.  We have to have a "deburring party" at least once a day.

I'm just rambling on here. So many things have changed, but so many things have stayed the same around here.  Every once in a while I'll check in and tell you all a few things happening around the farm.  Like, we are putting in an outdoor wood furnace, I'm going to be putting in raised beds soon, and I'm also getting ready to make some deer jerky.  See, little things ARE happening around the farm.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, Checking In.

A Possible Return!

Hey everyone!
I missed writing on here and I'm hoping to be able to write some more as time goes on.  So many things are happening here! Exciting things!!!!  I'm opening my own nail salon!  I know, I know, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to go back to work.  Now, I'm jumping in with both feet and I'm up to my eyeballs with getting it up and running.  I'm sooo excited about this.  I just feels right for this moment.  I KNOW it's going to be a success.  I'm hoping to have it up and running within a month.  Big changes, right?

Here on the farm things haven't really changed much. But, with me going to work, I'm more motivated to get things done here in the small amount of time that I do have to work on them.  I don't know, maybe this is what I needed.  Just a little kick in the pant. lol

The garden has been cut back to half of it's size than what we usually have it.  But, it's being taken care of a lot better.  It's one of the prettiest gardens that we have ever had.  I'll go and get some pictures a little later.  Right now, it's raining outside and we really needed it.  Although our neighbor has about 3 acres of hay down in his field.  At least he got most of it up before it rained on it.

The dogs are doing great.  As they have gotten older, they are slowly getting more lazy.  It works out better for us especially now that I'm at work part of the day.  It doesn't bother them to sleep most of the day away until I come home to let them out to play.

I feel like there is so much to tell you all and not really enough space (or time) to do it.  So I figured if I keep you all up to date a little as a time, it will be easier for all of us.  I just hit the high spots right now.  Maybe in later post,(and there WILL be later posts. yay!) I'll give more details about how things are going.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl,  I'm really back!!!!

Not Really A Good Bye.

I had a big plan for our farm. A big plan.  I even got a professional logo made.  Don't ya love it?  Anyway, life happens and this big plan has to be put on hold. I have to go back to work full time.  We are very afraid that Hubby will be losing his job soon and I need to take up some slack.  I want to concentrate on my job and to give a lot of energy into making money for our family.  The big plan will just have to wait.

What was the big plan?  Well, does it really matter now?  No, not really.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not down, or even sad that this happened.  That's life.  It must not have been what we were suppose to do.  That's okay.  I know we are moving in the right direction and we are doing what we are suppose to do.

Now, with that being said.  I AM going to have to slow down on doing blog posts.  I know it's been a long time since my last post.  Once again, Life happens.  Since I haven't written on here for a while, I have felt guilty EVERY SINGLE DAY.  I have to stop that.  So I'm not going to put any pressure on myself to write on here.  You can follow me on Facebook.  Just look up Small Farm Girl.  I'll be there.  I do check in there more.  It's easier when I'm at work. You can see how the dogs are growing or how the farm is doing.  I still plan on writing on here every once in a while.  I just don't want to make myself feel guilty if I don't.  So, I'm giving myself permission to RELAX! lol.

So don't look at this as a good bye.  I will still be here.  Just not as much as I feel I need to be to keep this blog up and going full time.

So until next time, (and there will be a next time)

Small Farm Girl, full time worker.

Once Again. Chickens!

We finally got more CHICKENS!!!!  YAY!!!

Hubby found a great deal on some young pullets and hens.  They are just starting to lay eggs.  It is cheaper for us to buy them at this age than it would would be to raise them from little babies.  Although, they aren't as cute as little balls of fluff.

Our 5 roosters that we have, are very happy to have their own little harem.  I'm sure the one single hen that we had was happy to share all the men. lol.  This young rooster was strutting his stuff for the girls.  The wind was really whipping that day as you can tell by his feathers.

Since the weather is starting to turn warmer, I've been feeling a little better, mood wise, and I'm wanting to get out and start on things outside.  I bought a few asparagus plants and I've scoped out a spot in the yard to make an asparagus bed.  It's going to be close to the Shack (which is still under construction).

 I plan on making an announcement about the new things going on here at the farm in the near future.  There are just a few things that need to be taken care of first.  I promise I won't forget you all. lol.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, egg eater.

Homesteading Videos

It's a hundred degrees below zero here on the farm.  Okay, that may or may not be an exaggeration.  Either way, it's cold!  I keep telling myself that it can't last too much longer.  According to the weather that I check on the Internet, today will be the last REALLY cold day for a while.  It's also telling me that we are suppose to get 3 to 6 inches of snow tonight.  Ugh.  So what does a person do when it's this cold outside? (Other than break ice out of watering bowls for the rabbits and chickens)  I'm watching homesteading videos on YouTube.

If you have the time, and you want a good laugh, I highly recommend watching these videos.  PLEASE REMEMBER, just because these people have a YouTube channel about homesteading DOES NOT make them experts.  In fact, some of these videos are down right entertaining on how BAD they are.  I'm not saying they are ALL wrong.  There are some good ones on there.  But, you have to be selective.  Make sure you do your homework. lol

I really find these videos entertaining, especially the ones that try to be funny and informative at the same time.  Or, the videos where people try to "act" for the camera.  You'll just have to watch some of them.  So the next time you are stuck inside, check some of the homesteading videos out.

I DID find some that I thought were pretty informative.  Come to find out, I know more than I thought. Ha HA! I guess I just think a lot of this stuff as common knowledge. But, that's because I live in the Appalachian area and people still kind of homestead here.  We just call that normal living. 

What I did like about these videos were that they really motivated me into to figuring out our game plan for this coming year.  I started looking into what to plant in our garden. Like I said last year, I don't plan on it being a huge garden.  I'm wanting something that I can maintain.  And with me being down in my back and knees and Hubby working full time, we shall see just how big that will be.  I keep telling myself not to do what I do every year, which is plan this HUGE garden because THIS year I'm going to work in it really hard and pull every weed, and mulch around every plant, and can every veggie that comes out of there.  Ya, that is the lie I tell myself every year.  Then "things" just happen and the garden gets neglected.  We may still get a few things out of the garden every year, but we don't do it justice.  

Well, as I'm typing this, I see the snow is starting to fall.  They have upped the total snow fall amounts just a little.  Oh well, back to watching homesteading videos. lol

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, What's YOUR favorite homesteading information center?

Pups in the Holler (Picture Heavy)

Here are the pictures of the pups in the holler. (Can they still be called pups if they are over a year old?)  You can tell they really liked the fresh spring water.

Chassis watching Holley across the holler.  Can ya see her?  She's beside the old, fallen tree.

Holley looking up the holler.  Hard telling what she sees.  We've got a nickname for her, it's Hurricane Holley.  In the next few pictures, you'll understand why.

Chassis' nickname is Chubby Chassis.  She weighs probably 15 pounds more than Holley.  She's taller too.  It's hard to believe they're from the same litter.

"Let's gooooooo!"

She's always wanting to play.  Even if Chassis' not so sure if she wants to play.

Notice Holley's goofy expression on her face.  It seems to be there a lot.

Chassis has to stay on her toes if she's going to keep up with Holley.

This goes on All. Day. Long.

You can tell the dogs really enjoyed their time exploring the holler.  We have snow on and it's kind of cold, so I haven't been down in there lately.   Can you imagine the energy the dogs have right now?

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, dog referee. 

The Holler (picture heavy)

With the warm weather around here, I decided to take the dogs down into the holler. I don't have good hiking boots yet, so I just pulled on the old Muck Boots and took the four wheeler out for a little ride.

The dogs loved it! I took many pictures of them, but I figured I would leave those pictures for another post.  There were a lot of pictures of the dogs. lol

I hate that there was an old tires down in the holler.  I'm not sure where it came from, but I'm sure it's been there for a REALLY long time. 

This is our house from the back side and the beginning of the holler.

The holler is pretty deep in some places.  I couldn't walk down the hill, let alone ride the four wheeler down there.  In some places, it's straight up and down.  When the kids were smaller, we use to get plastic garbage bags and "sled" down the hill in the leaves.

Here is where a spring comes out of the ground right under this tree.  It always has water here.  Plus, it never has frozen. (yet)

It's deeper than it looks in this picture.

This is our fire ring that we used only a few times.  I LOVE it here in the summer.  It's cooler than on top of the hill.  I would sleep down here, but it's very rocky and I'm very wimpy. lol

The squirrels love it down here too. There's a bunch of nuts.

I noticed a bunch of different types of mushrooms down here too.  I'm gonna have to get a mushroom identification book for the Appalachian Mountains.  I could have a holler full of gourmet food. 

There are many different types of moss too.  The rocks are soooooo beautiful.

I'm just happy to see some signs of green.

The walk/ride did me some good.  I'm the type of person that can recharge in the woods.  I always have been. I just have to remind myself that every once in a while.  I have to reconnect to nature, especially in the winter when the world is dark and gray.  Today was sunny, warm, and wonderful.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, get out to your holler.

Spring?

It's 66 degrees right now. 66!!!! And, it's the end of January. WOW!  I walked out this morning to feed animals and I smelled Spring.  All we need now is to hear the peeps a peeping.  I don't know if I should be happy or scared of what's coming this Summer.  Well, for right now, I'll just enjoy.

I'm starting out this time of year just like all the other years that I've been homesteading.  I'm looking at the seed porn magazines and wanting a big garden.  The problem with that is I promised myself that I would downsize the garden this year.  I want something that won't overwhelm us.  I'm just going to have a few different things and not the gigantic garden we normally have.  I plan on having my normal tomatoes and beans and corn.  I'm just not going to plant as much.  I also want to try different types of veggies.  We need to mix up the things we eat. Do you have anything that you just HAVE to have in your garden?

As I type this though, I begin to think of the possibility of Hubby losing his job.  The "War on Coal" has really put a hurtin to the Appalachia region.  Not just with the coal mines themselves, but with the steel mills and the rail roads also.  So many people I know are going to, or have already lost their jobs.  Many have had to move away from this beautiful area just because of jobs.

I would be lying if I say we won't be hurting if Hubby loses his job.  We will.  But, we don't owe anything on our house.  At least they can't come for that.  Our vehicles and hay roller may be another story.  Yes, Hubby will get unemployment, but the railroad has it's own unemployment and it's a VERY small amount.  It's getting real around here folks.  The garden may be more of a life saver than just something for fun.

Right now, I'm trying not to worry to much about it.  It hasn't happened just yet.  Only thing we can do is plan for the worst and hope for the best.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, 66 degrees!!!!!  Woooo  Hoooo!

Technology Auuuuuuggggghhhhh!!!!!

I have a love/hate relationship with technology.  IF it works, it can be very useful.  But, for some odd reason, when it comes to ME and technology, it NEVER wants to work.  Our Internet has been almost non-existent now for at least 3 weeks.  I haven't forgotten you all, I've just not been able to post on here.

In those three (or so) weeks, Hubby's boy had a baby.  She is over 2 weeks old now.  Soon, she will be going to collage. lol.

We also had a pretty significant amount of snow.  I'm thinking they said it was around 11 inches.  Not as dramatic as the 50 inches they had in Washington DC, but enough that it was hard to do the feeding for a few days.  Luckily, it's almost all melted off now.  I'm not a huge fan of snow.  Sure, I like at least one snow in the winter time.  Hopefully around Christmas.  Now, we've had the snow and I'm done with it.  I'm ready for 50 degree weather! I'm not picky or anything. hehehe

So until next time, (or whenever the Internet decides I can get on)

Small Farm Girl, techno hater.

500 Million Dollars

It's 9:00 pm Wednesday evening.  We've just got back from the gas station to get fuel and a dream ticket.  You know, a lottery ticket.  The jackpot is suppose to be over 500 million.  That's a half a BILLION dollars. Do I expect to win? No.  It's just fun to dream.  I DO know a few people who have won the lottery.  One of them won a big one of a few million dollars. The others I know, have won on scratch-offs and other types of lotteries and they won a few thousand dollars.  So, I know that the lotto can be won.

For me, I just want a chance to dream.  I know I probably won't win, but why not give it a try?  The money does go to a lot of different schools plus, I REALLY like to dream about winning it.  On the way back, Hubby and I were spending the 300 million dollar pay-off that we were "going to win." Of course we would have the house finished. We would have a garage built. I would have a barn built. We would have fencing done. We would buy a new tractor. Oh, and give 10% to our church before all of that. And then, I'm not really sure WHAT we would do.  Would we travel, or would we stay put? I do know that I would still live a self sustaining lifestyle.  Grow our own food and such.  I think the money would just make it a little easier. lol.

Oh well, I guess, when I win, I'll be able to figure it out then.  hehehe

Until next time,

Small Farm Girl, the next millionaire.

Running The Dogs

If you've ever had Australian Shepherds, you know how much energy they have. If you've never had them, well, just trust me.  They have A LOT!  So, ever since Jack went to his new home, I've been running the dogs with the four wheeler.  I'll run around the yard and they'll run in front of me.  Well, more like Holly trying to take Chassis' legs out from under her. (Holly's a little trouble maker sometimes.)  We do this until the dogs' tongues are hanging out and they aren't trying to "attack" each other any more. I usually do this twice a day.  Mostly after I do the morning and evening chores.

Since we've had a few days of rain and the ground has gotten a little soft, I've noticed I was making some pretty noticeable tracks in the yard.  So, I decided to run the dogs around the parameters of our fields.  I could kill two birds with one stone.  Check fencing, while the dogs played. The thing is, I think I've enjoyed these runs/rides as much, if not more, than the dogs have.  I forgotten how much I love nature.

Our farm had a lot of open pasture and hay fields.  But, tucked down in the holler and in a couple corners, there are a few acres of woods. These acres are new to me and I haven't explored them.  I didn't realize how much acres of woods we actually had.  That was, until I started doing the runs with the dogs.  I'm thinking about getting some really good hiking boots and see if I can walk a little down in the holler for some exercises.  I haven't tried it yet so I'm not sure how well my legs and back will be able to handle it.  But, I figured it would be better to explore now while the leaves are off the trees, than when it starts to get hotter and the ticks and snakes start coming out. A good walking stick will be useful for me also.  I'm sure there are many things to explore out there. While I was riding, I saw old outcrops of rocks and small waterfalls.  I also saw mushrooms on logs.  Sure, I saw these things from a distance, but that makes me want to get a closer look.  I'll make sure I bring the camera with me so I can post some pictures on here.

 I'll also make sure I bring the dogs, my cell phone, and yes, my pistol.  You never know what I could come across back there. I mean, they HAVE spotted a bear just a mile from here.  The coyotes are horrible around here too.  But, the many times that I've went hunting with my dad and the times I've went by myself, have gotten me prepared for stuff like that. It'll be like finding and exploring a whole new world right in my back yard.  I can't wait!

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, explorer.

Why I Love The New Year

I know it's been a while since I last posted. I've been in some kind of funk. I plan to remedy that.  This year is the year of doing things I want to do! I truly LOVE the new year.  It's one of my favorite times.  For one thing, the craziness of the holidays is over.  And when I say holidays, I mean Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  I feel they all mix together now anyway.   I have my mind on all of them and not on other things that I want to do.  Once again, that's going to change.

Another thing I like about the New Year, is feeling that I get a clean slate to start anew.  I know, I know, I can do that ANY day, but there's just something about January 1st.  I also LOVE to give each year a theme. This year it's the year of fun and stepping out of the box. Doesn't always mean I'm going to do what I say, but that's okay too.  I do it just for fun anyway.  This year I've already made a small "bucket list" of the things I'm going to do. Some are deep and thoughtful, others are just goofy.  Once again, that's okay.

Here's my list, so far....

1. I'm going to write on here MORE!!!
        I love the interaction with you guys! It keeps me grounded.  I have a tendency of thinking of all           kinds of things to do, but this blog keeps me more focused.  So, you can just imagine how                   scatter brained I've been since I've not been posting for a while.

2. I'm going to try different types of teas.
         See, I told you some of these are going to be goofy. lol

3. I'm going to finally buckle down and get my back and knees back to better health.                                       I've been putting off going to specialists about my back and knees, hoping that I would lose                   weight and all  would be well in the world.  Well, when you can barely move, the quality of                 life just isn't as good as it could be.  Time to get something done.  I haven't really put anything              about my health on here because I feel that you guys don't really want to hear about the                        " Whoa is me" type of stuff. I know I don't. lol

4.The all familiar "Lose Weight" resolution.
          I have to put it on here.  It's almost like a friend.

5. I'm going to paint more.
          Plain and simple.

6. Practice my fiddle more.
         Just do it.

7. I'm going to finish the Sherri Shack.
        Since the holidays are over, I'll have time to focus on it more.  Hopefully I'll have more money           to put into it.  Since one of the dogs ended up having Parvo, that took a chunk of change                       from the Shack's pocket.  Priorities though. These little ones come first.

8.I want to cook and eat different types of food.
       As good as southern food is, I'm looking for new and exciting foods. (Ironic that this resolution          came after "lose weight".  lol)

9. Take more risks.
       I'm not a risk taker by nature.  I tend to think and rethink about ANY decision that I have to                make.  ANY decision.  Believe it or not, this is going to be the hardest resolution for me. We will        see how it goes.  I'll keep you all updated.

10. I'm going to learn to make a good pie crust.
          I've had this one on my list before.  Might as well put it back.  If I don't, I'll never learn!!

11. Read more.
          I really like to read.  I use to read all the time.  Now I feel like I don't have time.  I also feel                 guilty when I do read because of all the things that I have to do.  That's going to stop.  Reading           is important too.

12. And last but not least, don't watch tv as much.
           I think I'm addicted to it.  Right now, I have it turned off.  I usually have it on just for the                    noise.  But then, I'll catch myself glancing at it. Then the next thing I know, I'm watching a                  whole episode of something that I don't even care about.  Yep, TV is like a black hole.  It                    sucks you in.  Facebook is the same way.

So these are a few of the things I want to accomplish this year.  That, and a LOT of other things for the farm.  We won't even get into THAT list just yet.  That can be for another post.  I know this list is long, but I can already think of other things that I want to put on here, and I will!  I want to keep doing things and not get stagnate.  That's what had happened to me last year.  Although, health issues can do that to people.

Here's to a more healthier and happier New Year!!!!

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, Back.