Cornerstone Farm

What have you been up to lately?

2011-10-16T20:00:00.002-05:00

I've been canning grape juice,taking care of super cute pigs,building the addition,milking, and worrying over Lucy...

Spinach

2011-05-31T15:42:00.002-05:00

The spinach has been trying to go to seed, I decided today to go ahead and harvest all we had and freeze some for later. I am sad to see it go we really love having fresh spinach and I sneak it into everything I can. With the hot humid weather we will have to do with other greens until fall.

escape artists

2011-05-27T13:29:00.002-05:00

We have had sheep here on the farm for five years without any real problems. The ewes are content to stay in the pasture and graze with treats now and again. They are usually wonderful at keeping the new lambs from wondering off. This year however the lambs have been a huge headache. They really do not want to stay in the pasture with their mothers. They have found treats in the orchard and recently the garden and now have no fears of the electric fence. I have put them back in the pasture as many as 6 times in one day! It was just too much when they discovered the garden, they topped about half of the peppers, ate about 30 cauliflower plants, trimmed the lettuce and cabbages. It didn't bother me too much when they were just eating the grass but when thy started having a salad as well we had to figure something out. We made a weaning pen up by the garden,and moved all the ram lambs there. We had a few days of crying for mama but now they seem to be content. I have been giving them black oil sunflower seeds to win them over with great success. We do not have a butcher date yet so for now I have an audience during my weeding sessions in the garden.

Missouri Storms

2011-05-26T10:34:00.002-05:00

We spent some time in the new basement yesterday, the tornado sirens were going off and the clouds above the farm were churning. It was very scary to say the least. We have a lovely root cellar but it has lots of spiders and creepies that love it as well,so we opted for the basement. Our basement is in the not quite finished addition so we have to go outside and then down a ladder to get there. It was a pain with the kiddos, I will be thrilled when the addition is finished and we can just go down stairs in the house.
The sirens in town went off so the older girls that were in school were ushered down to the basement of the school, they kept them there for about a hour. It is such a worry to have things like this happen and everyone spread all over. #1 was at work, Hunky Hubby was at work also, #3 at school in town and the rest of the family here at the farm. Hubby was in the shelter at work, sirens and tornadoes all over the metro area. I just prayed we would all be safe, I would of felt so much better if we were all together, we survived but all these storms are getting scary.

Is it time to build an Ark?

2011-05-24T14:10:00.002-05:00

We have had a wet year so far. We have averaged over one inch of rain a week for the past 7 weeks!! I love that I don't have to water and the thought of all that lovely lush green grass is awesome, but the tons of mud in the house is having me wish for dryer weather.
We have been blessed with safety during the storms, with funnel clouds popping up not 10 miles away. I have family in southern Missouri and it is heart stopping to see the damage from the recent storms.

New cow........well sort of

2011-05-23T14:02:00.002-05:00

This is Darla. She is a Normandy cow. We bought her to add some "beefyness" to our milk cows. She is a small cow and has been milking wonderfully. She came from a local farmer who had never worked with her what so ever. She had never been in a barn, never been touched, never been around a woman ..... you get the idea. She wasn't to thrilled with the idea of milking and I have the bruises to prove it. She is a kicker. I spent many hours working with her and talking to her and finally I got her to come into the stanchion and milked without kicking. YIPPEE!!!
When we bought her the farmer said he would pay for a vet visit just to make sure all was well. We made an apt. with our local large animal vet and loaded Darla in the stock trailer. We get to the vet and first thing he checks her ear for her tattoo from when she was calf vaccinated, this would tell us about how old she was. Well he found it and checked the records only to find that she was vaccinated WAY back in 98!!! UGHHH that means that she is 13 or 14 years old!! Yikes that is pretty old for a cow. I paid a pretty penny for her, top price in fact, and she is really too old for us. The farmer we got her from was with us and he ended up taking her back to his place. I was irritated, he had told me that he thought that she was about 5 or 6, big difference from 13-14. He was a chap and gave me back my money but that doesn't help us with the cow issue.

May Garden

2011-05-19T14:32:00.001-05:00

The changes of life

2011-03-27T20:34:00.005-05:00

Photo by ladybugbkt

So once again things are changing here on the farm. We have had some difficulty with #4's teachers. I have been to the school more times than I can could count and was re-teaching everything to him when he got home form school. The teacher was unkind in so many ways, it was just too much.
I took the leap and we are now homeschooling #4 and #5. It is a big step, I am still a bit shocked at our choice but I can already see a huge difference in attitude and self esteem. A poor teacher can really do quite a bit of dammage and we are working on repairing that.
I have some friends that Homeschool, (and do it well)and have gotten so much help from them. I LOVE the curriuclms that we are using and it really makes teaching my kiddos fun. I am glad for the change but terrified all the same. I love being with the kids and they have really stepped it up a notch and are doing wonderful things.

I love the ups man.........

2011-03-25T16:15:00.002-05:00

I got an amazing early birthday gift today from Hunky Hubby!!! I was so excited that #1 thought that I might be loosing my marbles.
I do a ton of canning in the summer, and love to use my pressure canner. I had one that would can 7 quarts at once, that is OK if you only do a bit of canning. Two years ago I canned over 1500 quarts all of them 7 at a time. I spent most of the summer standing at the stove.
I am so thrilled with the new canner, it will process 19 quarts at a time!!!! It is a huge thing and weighs almost 40 pounds. I think my canning will go much faster with this new addition. I think I could just scream I am so excited!! Thanks Hubby..

Baby #6 has some talent!!

2011-02-24T17:41:00.004-06:00

Baby 6 had always loved music. Just turn on some music or sing her an song and she turns from screaming to a little princess. We have a recorder that the kids use for school and she had figured out how it works. It is so sweet. She blows and moves her fingers to get it to make different sounds and them grins like a cheschire cat when it works. Babies are so wonderful in that they show pure joy at simple things. I wonder when we loose that.. it is so hard sometimes to just enjoy life. Things have been busy here and we have spent way too much time with doctors lately...but I have really been enjoying the greenhouse,sewing and my new coupon love. I guess being busy is a good thing......

Learning new things is fun!

2011-02-11T17:12:00.001-06:00

We use cloth diapers for baby #6 and a few weeks ago there was a diaper swap at our local cloth diaper store. I was able to sell off the diapers that were getting too small and in the process I met a lovely lady. We were stationed close to each other during the swap and we got to talking. She was amazing and I learned a very use full thing from her that I have always been curious about..coupons. Yep I know it is silly but there have been several times in my life when I have been at the market behind some lady with a buggy stacked with groceries and hands the checker a fist full of coupons and her total ends up being something like $4.23!! How do they do that??? I really have wondered... we don't buy much processed foods and our grocery budget is not horrid with the huge garden and animals, but you still have to buy some things, why not get them for cheap??
So anyway we went to lunch and she told me all the scoop on coupons. I came home and was really excited to get started. One major problem was getting the coupons, we live in the country and getting the Sunday paper delivered doesn't work and we do not shop on Sunday.. what's a farm girl to do?? Raid the recycling that's what and I scored big time. I came home with the coupon inserts from several weeks. I found a great website that tells you what coupons to use and where so I ventured out. Walgreens is close and they had a few things that were on sale that we use. I have to admit that I was worried... what if all this doesn't go as planned and I have this buggy full of stuff and not really wanting to pay full price for any of it. I watched as the checker rang me up....23.56..47.79...85.61...my total was getting higher and higher..till it finally reached 120.64! (OUCH!! I have NEVER spent that much at Walgreens) I was probably white as a sheet.. I handed over my coupons...OK here we go I thought this is not going to work out and Hunky Hubby is gonna kill me.... 120.64..95.25...87.23..74.00..62.29..40.99..34.75.... and finally 31.89!! 31.89?? really?? Oh my GOSH!! that was so COOL!! I also got two coupons for my next visit to Walgreen totaling $8.00. So I got $120.64 dollars of stuff for $23.89... Yep I'm hooked

Back in the groove of things........

2011-01-07T09:52:00.002-06:00

Baby #6 will be one in a few weeks, my how things change. She is a happy baby and we are so blessed to have her in our home. With her arrival I decided to take some time off from just about everything. We stopped milking,stopped the CSA and had a very small garden this past summer. With a year to just hand out with my kids at the pool and play I am really ready to be productive again.
I have started the garden plans for this year and am doing a VERY limited CSA. I love being outside and having my hands in the dirt. I am excited to get things going again and see all that lovely produce.. I have been drooling over the seed catalogs. When the weather is cold and nasty it is so fun to dream of gardens and tomatoes!

pears

2010-11-14T13:09:00.002-06:00

We have a lovely neighbor with a rather large pear tree. The poor tree was so loaded with fruit that the branches needed support. I asked if we could gather some of the fallen pears for pear butter and to my surprise she said that we could have all the pears we wanted! I love pears but they take quite a bit of time to preserve. My sweet Mother in Law came out and helped. We peeled and chopped pears for most of the day. Our efforts payed off and we have lots of canned pears for this winter. I am still working up some of the smaller pears for jams and butter. What a blessing!!

The view outside my bedroom window.....

2010-11-12T08:48:00.000-06:00

Farm life is a busy one....

2010-11-11T09:23:00.004-06:00

When we bought this farm I was sure that we would be busy, I really didn't have any clue how busy we were going to be. Hunky Hubby and I are creative people.. which means that we ALWAYS have projects in the works. Some are small and some are huge. We are currently adding an addition to our house, we have two bedrooms right now.. Yep do the math 8 people in a two bedroom house. It's crazy! With the five kids in one bedroom and hunky hubby, myself and baby#6 in the other we learn exactly how far we can push our patience.
We began the addition bits and pieces about a year after we moved in. We are building ourselves ...which equates to conversations like:
Hunky: Hey can you come out and help me lift up this wall?
Me: ummm OK let me finish feeding the baby, and I will be out
Hunky: OK well can you hurry up
Me: thinking how exactly do you get a baby to nurse faster???
OK so I go outside...
Me: I am here what do you need..
Hunky: well help me lift this 20ft wall with two window headers and sheeting up...
Me: how much does that weigh???
Hunky: oh maybe several hundred pounds
Me: and you want ME to lift that????
Hunky: ya I'll help it will be easy
Me:....thinking you gotta be kidding.. that wall weighs more than twice my body weight and with the wind that we ALWAYS have I could be smashed like a pancake in 2.6 seconds.....well OK if you think it will be OK... by the way I like the hospital that is south of here better that the one north.. just so you know

OK so with a great effort the wall goes up!!

Hunky: OK hold that there while I brace it up
Me: you want me to hold this huge wall up all by myself while you bang on it with a hammer????
Hunky: ya
Me: you know that I am NOT a construction worker right??? and this wall is huge and if it falls in me how the heck are you gonna get it off me???
Hunky: it will be OK just hold the wall......

We now have all the exterior walls and interior walls up!!(thank heavens)
now hunky says its time for the ceiling joist.....someone please call a construction worker for me.

Baby #6 is 9mths

2010-10-27T15:21:00.002-05:00

We have had some cooler weather and I am loving baby#6 and her wool longies. I purchased several pairs from some really talented knitters but they were a bit pricey. I had made some covers with up cycled wool sweaters and decided to make some longies. I found a wool/angora sweater at the thrift shop that is super soft. I brushed off the sewing machine and whipped up some super cute ruffled butt longies. They are so sweet and I love how cuddly baby is in them. Now I have to go find my stash of wool and make some more.. this is addicting

Do you see what I see??

2010-10-14T09:08:00.000-05:00

Nine little balls of fluff!!

New wool longies

2010-10-13T13:12:00.002-05:00

Baby #6 is almost 9 months old! I can't get over how fast she is growing, she is at a whopping 22 lbs. I am seeing her become more independent and trying to do things on her own. Having a baby in the house again after such a long break is really fun.

I have been very pleased with the cloth diapers. They have changed so much since I used them with #1 and #2. They are so much easier and CUTE to boot. We use fitted diapers and a wool cover at home and a all in one diaper for when we go out. The wool covers are so wonderful, they keep her warm and dry. I used plastic with my oldest two and it was awful, the covers were hot and made a yucky plastic noise when they moved. They were not snugglie at all. I have used a wool soaker that looks kinda like the pull on plastic pants but with the cooler weather I wanted something that would keep her legs warm. I ordered these longies and they are lovely. They are made from soft merino wool and hand dyed. I am so pleased with how they fit and feel. I think we will be using more wool as the weather gets colder.

Mama Duck

2010-09-28T08:47:00.002-05:00

I bought a few Muscovy hens from a good friend of mine, this mama decided right away that she was in the nesting mood. She set to work and laid 13 eggs. She has been a very diligent mother and rarely leaves the nest and usually when she does it is to shoo away the other ducks. It has been about 22 days since she started so I suspect that we will have ducklings in a week or so. I am hoping that we will have some color variations, she is brown and white the males are black and white and one is grey and white. I know that this type of duck comes in a wide range of colors. I hope we can mix things up a bit and get some of that lovely brown in the chicks. I am so pleased with the ducks and the great job they do in the garden.

Surprise!!

2010-09-22T08:58:00.002-05:00

We have a farmer friend that came to mow the pastures, he is a serious farmer...
he comes to the house after mowing for a hour or so....
ummm mam you have something growing down behind the pond and I don't know if I should now it or not....
I ask in my most farmish way..What is it?
He replies well I don't rightly know...
Well at this point I am puttin on my rubber boots to trek the field to see what is confusing this poor farmer so much. With a trail of animals behind me( all thinking that I have cookies) I walk to the lower pasture, behind the pond to gaze on a large patch of..... ( I guess the photo gives it away?) Butternut squash! WHAT?? Where the heck did that come from?? They were beautiful and not a squash bug anywhere. Now grow that same squash up closer to the house and we have a squash bug convention on our hands.
In the fall after the local orchards close I have been blessed to get truckloads of the pumpkins and winter squash that did not sell. I give the old squash and pumpkins to the sheep and cows as a treat throughout the winter. I guess that some squash seeds made it through the digestive track of someone and now I have a lovely squash patch! Who would of thought???

Gladys had a bouncing baby boy!!

2010-09-21T14:10:00.002-05:00

Here he is in all his cuteness! Oh my what a sweet face. He (Sizzler)is doing great, he is a nice strong calf and seems to be growing before my eyes. Gladys is a old pro and is doing wonderful. I am glad to have milk again, (the store stuff is horrid!) we are planning on share milking this time. I love having cows!

Number 4 and his bunnies......

2010-09-12T21:22:00.002-05:00

#4 has wanted bunnies for some time, I kept telling him he could have bunnies if he built a hutch( I really thought that would slow him down.. I was so wrong!!) so he did and now we have Hoppy and Pearl. They have been residents of the farm for six weeks or so. I am glad to say that #4 is doing a wonderful job taking care of them. I kinda thought that I would be the one that would have to take care of them but no he has kept up with them and loves it. It's fun to see a little boy growing in to a young man!

School has started...sniff

2010-09-02T15:19:00.004-05:00

We have had a busy summer, at least I think so, it went by so fast. We cut down on the garden,took a milkin break, and bought a pool pass. All of that made for a wonderful summer. We have camped and floated down rivers in canoes. We have spent the summer playing. What a blessing to be able to step back and enjoy things for a bit. I have to say that when school started this year I was sad. I have really had a wonderful summer and it has been because I have a fun family. I have to admit that teenagers can really be cool..... minus the new driving heart attack...16 year olds should NOT be behind the wheel!! The kiddos are growing and I see my sweet girls growing in to lovely young women. Well at least I will have #6 around for a bit longer! Teenagers and baby kisses...motherhood is wonderful!

Having issues..........

2010-07-28T09:31:00.001-05:00

blogging can be a pain if your computer is acting up.........more to come

6mths in 4 days........

2010-07-23T16:00:00.000-05:00

baby #6 is getting so big. She has such a happy personality, she loves her siblings and the animals. We have started her on solid foods and she thinks that so cool. She is a wonderful child and we are so blessed to be her parents.

Cuteness factor just went up....

2010-07-20T10:51:00.000-05:00

Ducklings.... ahhh they are so CUTE!!!

The canning race has began....

2010-07-10T18:02:00.000-05:00

I love to can. Well really I love to eat and cook so I suppose canning fits right in with all of that. I pulled the row of beets and pressure canned them, I love the beautiful color of beets. I will can some more with the fall crop and most likely pickle a bit also.
Today I pickled 10 pints and 6 quarts of cauliflower. The kiddos are pickle fends and I came up with the pickled cauliflower out of desperation a few years ago when I way over-planted and wound up with about 30 heads of cauliflower. I freeze some but the kids really went through the pickled.
The peaches are just about ready I will be dripping peach juice by this time next week.

WAKE UP!!!!!!!!

2010-07-01T09:41:00.000-05:00

We were doing some tidying around the house and found a box with files from our old computer. Most were boring tax files and such, but one was a trip back in time. I put the unmarked CD in the drive and was surprised to find some beautiful shots from long ago. It's hard for me to ever believe that we lived in such a gorgeous place... was the water really that blue?? There were photos of kiddos 1,2,and 3 driving the boat..they were so little. My how things can change. I love the farm but thinking of the past is dreamy..........

Yep I am still here........

2010-06-28T10:55:00.000-05:00

With the start of summer well on it's way I really thought things would calm down. With softball,construction,gardens,orchard,cows,sheep,chickens and 6 kiddos I somehow thought that summer would allow more time..HA nope we are juat as busy as ever but we are having fun at it. We have spent many hours at the pool and goofin off. We are working like mad on the house addition and it is so exciting to be planning for it.
The garden looks great we have been canning a bit and I have beets that are waiting for me to work them up.
Gladys is due with her calf in August, we are getting ready to wean the bull calves so things are going to be a bit noisy around here... the boys are very attached to Gladys and cry if she just goes around the corner of the barn so I am sure that they are going to bawl big time.
With baby #6 Mable did not get bred... I am sad about that but that's how farm life is we have her for sale and hope to replace her with a beef mama.
Lucy and Coco are HUGE.. they both just turned one and are to be bred this summer. They look great I am so pleased with how they are turning out.
Well that's just a small part of the summer goings on I suppose I need to get to theose beets.... see ya later!!

Making bread.......

2010-05-26T11:54:00.000-05:00

With 6 kiddos and hunky hubby it seems that we are always in need of bread. I bake twice a week and usually make 5 one pound loaves. One loaf is devoured hot out of the oven ( and really you can't blame them hot bread is the best!) and the other four are gone in two days and everyone is hollering for more bread.
I use a sourdough starter that came from my great Aunt. She baked like a pro and used her starter for 40 years or more. The starter has a wonderful flavor and adds a beautiful rise, the only problem is that it uses the sponge method in the process. To bake bread from start to finish it is about 18 hours. In order to have enough bread I typically have a bowl on the counter full of dough. I love to make bread luckily because I am always making bread....... what are you doing today???

coming soon........

2010-05-20T12:22:00.000-05:00

Cherry Pie!!

Grounds keepers are on strike!

2010-05-14T09:05:00.000-05:00

Our ground crew of Muscovy ducks are on strike.. I haven't seen much bug munchin' or weeding for about a week now. We started with a large crew of 12. Nine are gone, some found a better paying job at the neighbors pond and some became dinner to go for the coyotes. The three that are left are male and they do a wonderful job I am very pleased with their work.
I noticed some funny stuff going on with the boys...they started pushing each other around and going out dancing when they should be working. I wondered what was up and then spotted the problem. She came to visit. Her beautiful long neck and sleek feathers were just too much for the boys. She called to them to dance and next thing you know the garden is empty. Who's gonna keep those weeds down? What about all the juicy slugs that are setting up house in the lettuce? I was left high and dry for a pretty face!! I am not sure where she came from. The boys are VERY happy she is here and I am too. I hope with all that romance and dancing going on we will soon have a new little family. I wonder what the child labor laws say about ducklings?

New raspberry patch

2010-05-13T09:37:00.000-05:00

We have raspberries and blackberries in the orchard already but due to a huge oversight it is now overgrown with very thorny blackberries. When we started planning the farm out and ordering trees and such we found a great deal on some blackberry canes. We planted like 50. They were the wild variety come to find out and now we have a 100x60 patch of thorns. We have cut them down, we have tilled them under and it seems to have spurred the canes in to the super cane I will not die mode. Somewhere in the midst of the thorny kingdom are my lovely red raspberry canes. I can see them I just can't get to them. So now in despair and desperation to have raspberry canes (so I can make my famous raspberry chipotle jam) I planted another patch. Stark brothers was having a sale and I bought 12 new canes.. I planted them FAR away from the thorny dungeon. Here's hoping they do well!!

What do ya get when you combine hot bread with a 8 year old boy??

2010-05-07T14:51:00.000-05:00

Smooshed bread... never leave the house with bread cooling on the counter and hungry kiddos..

Someone's been workin overtime...

2010-05-06T10:22:00.000-05:00

I love collecting eggs, there is something about it that is exciting.. how many will I get, what color are they, and how big will they be. The hens must see my excitement at this and have taken to laying double yolk eggs. They are HUGE!!! At first I thought that the ducks had gotten in the nest and laid the egg. Now I see that there is no way it is a duck egg. I get a double yolk egg about every four days. I am saving them for a killer custard pie(hunky hubby's favorite!)
I love a good egg hunt!!

Violet jelly recipe

2010-05-04T11:19:00.000-05:00

VIOLET FLOWER JELLY

2 c. violet flower juice (see below)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 pkg. powdered pectin
4 c. sugar

Violet flower juice: Tightly pack 1 quart jar full of violet flowers. Fill the jar with boiling water, cover tightly and let steep overnight. Strain off juice. Discard flowers.
To 2 cups violet flower juice, add lemon juice and powdered pectin. Bring to a boil and add sugar all at once. Bring to boil again and boil hard for one minute. Skim off foam, ladle into jars and seal. Makes approximately 5 1/2 pints.

Wild violet jelly

2010-05-04T09:55:00.000-05:00

In the spring our yard is full of beautiful wild violets. I know it is spring when my lawn turns in to a sea of flowers. I love to candy the violets and use them for the tops of cakes and treats but have never done much else with them. I was cruising the net for ideas to use these beauties and came across a jelly recipe. I was not too sure how it would turn out I usually do not like floral flavors. I had #5 go out and help me pick a basket of flowers. The recipe has you make a tea from the flowers and then make the jelly. I followed along and to my surprise violet jelly is wonderful. I love the beautiful pink color, #5 says it is princess jelly. I am very pleased with the results, well worth the time

Ocean of chive blooms

2010-05-03T14:38:00.000-05:00

Coco

2010-04-09T07:47:00.000-05:00

Coco is 6 weeks younger than Lucy. She started off small and thin, I was surprised because Mable is a BIG girl. Lucy was a bully with the food and poor Coco was usually left with very little. Despite that Coco is growing up to be a beautiful cow. She is now bigger than Lucy. I see some of Mable's markings on her and am anxious for the winter fuzz to shed away and see if she is brindle. I love the coloring of Mable, I really hope Coco is the same.

Lucy

2010-04-05T11:29:00.000-05:00

Lucy is now 10 months old, we plan on breeding her this fall and then milking her. Her mother, Galdys, is a dream cow. I was hoping that Lucy would follow in her mothers hooves but I have spoiled her too much. When she was small I would touch her all over, pick up her feet and just rub her down. She really liked it, in fact she likes it so much that now you can't do anything in the pasture without her in your back pocket.
I was out collecting eggs and Lucy wanted love. I had my hands full and could not pet her... she did NOT like that I was not paying full attention to her. She figured that maybe I needed to be reminded that she was the only reason to go in the pasture and she nudged me with her head. I told her that there were other animals that needed me also. She did not like being told that the farm did not revolve around her. I turned my back to fill the water trough and she nudged me again. I did pet her for a few minutes and when I tryed to leave she rammed me in to the barn!! It was such a shock that I just stood there. She slammed me again, I guess to get her point across, this time I popped her on the nose and yelled NO LUCY!! She was devastated and ran off in a huff.
I need to work with her on who is boss. She is too big to do things like that. I was left with a huge bruise but if it had been one of the kiddos they might of gotten really hurt. I think I will be doing chores with a switch for a while.

Black is back..

2010-03-30T10:25:00.000-05:00

Our East Friesian Ram (Trace) is all black with a white star on the top of his head. We have used him in our breeding for three years and usually we get a large varitey of colors in the lambs, but not this year. Out of 7 lambs that have been born 4 look just like Trace. We have also always gotten rams this year we got ewes. I was planning on keeping the female lambs to use as milking stock, (they should get cute girlie names) but they all look the same. How the heck is this farmer supposed to tell them apart?? Got any ideas??

Got Mud??????

2010-03-24T11:01:00.000-05:00

YEP.. lots of it.

Goodbye Mrs. Snowman

2010-03-23T11:07:00.000-05:00

The kids got home from school and made a mad dash outside after dropping off coats and sneakers in the front hall. I wondered what they had planed, the weather was lovely despite the snow. The sun was shining and temps were in the high 40's. The kiddos were busy as bees making Mrs. Snowman. She came to our farm for just a short visit. Today she is mostly gone. I guess it was the perfect way to usher out old man winter and bring in spring. Thanks for the visit Mrs. Snowman.

Darn Diaper Pattern.....

2010-03-22T11:12:00.000-05:00

We are in a diaper disaster... I was very happy to have made with my own two hands about 50 cloth diapers for baby #6. I found what I thought a wonderful pattern, got the new fangled water proof fabrics, the new and improved fabric for the soaker, and a fancy snap press. I was stoked!! I sewed and sewed which for me is a trial. I envy people that can sew... I have sewing in my blood. My mother is awesome, my grandmother sewed for a profession and could make anything from a drawing...incredible women. I missed the sewing gene. I LOVE to sew when it goes right but most often the item that I have spent many a hour over ends up in the donate box or trash.
I also have issues with sewing machines.. they don't like me. I have bought NEW three sewing machines in my time, one was broke by movers, one putzed out because???? and the other that I am working with now skips stitches. I have done all I can to see why it is doing that but it is still set in missing a few stitches here and there. I got a wonderful machine form my grandmother it was computerized and did all these really cool stitches... for a while then it decided that sewing backwards was cool.. something in the computer went wonky and that was all she wrote... so you see making 50 diapers was for me a huge undertaking. I was so proud, I showed everyone who I could my cute diapers. Yes they were SO DARN CUTE!!!
The pattern said it would fit a baby tush from 8 pounds to 20. Ya right!! Baby #6 will be 7 weeks on Wednesday and weighs in at around 15 pounds. Do you see the above photos? I am on the LAST snap, and I had to squish those cute chubby thighs to get it snapped.
I am once again sewing diapers....new pattern...new and better fabrics...fold over elastic.....May the force be with my sewing machine!

What's up with the snow.....

2010-03-20T10:20:00.000-05:00

Yuck! I was so enjoying the warmer weather. I was quite shocked this morning to find several inches of snow on the ground. I was crossing my fingers that we would just get a dusting. I hate snow!

Farm Library

2010-03-15T11:35:00.000-05:00

When we were trying to decide where we were going to move on our return to the US, we felt that we wanted some property with some land. We could have a small farm. When we lived in Utah we had chickens and a goat... kinda a mini-farm in the city. We fell in love with the chickens and fresh eggs so having chickens was a given. We even had a few hens in Puerto Rico in a chicken tractor( the Gardner had to be bribed not to tell the homeowners association we had chickens!) I knew that our new farm would have much more space for bigger and better farm things. I was way excited and started doing research on what we should have. I really was not anywhere near anyone that had a farm so the next best thing was books.. I bought several books and subscribed to many of the popular farm magazines. Our goal was to be self sufficient. I wasn't too sure how we were going to do this. I did not grow up on a farm and hunky hubby is a total city boy.... we read everything we could get our hands on and when the time came we jumped in to our current farm. Now four years later I still reference back to these books and when I see a new one I just have to get it... I guess you can never have too many farm books!!

Pita Heaven

2010-03-13T14:21:00.000-06:00

Fresh hot bread right out of the oven is pure bliss.... fresh hot soft pitas come in a close second. I have made pitas using several different recipes but have found a wonderful easy one over at Farmgirl Susans blog here http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/2005/09/pita-pita-i-too-much-eata.html
The only change that I made to her recipe was that I used half fresh ground whole wheat flour. They turned out beautiful, I had to sample one right away with some local honey....Oh Ya they are so Awesome.
We had the pitas with some of our own home grown lamb, lettuce,tomatoes, cucumbers, yogurt and some mango chutney. Oh so yummy!! The family scarfed them down in short order. I made 24 pitas and they were pretty much gone. Next time I'm gonna hide some for lunch the next day!!

I want it to be warm for good!!

2010-03-10T11:55:00.000-06:00

We have finally gotten a break in the frigid weather, it has been in the 50's and 60's for the past few days. I have for the most part always lived in Missouri and know that we get these warm spells. I also know that this is just a teaser from Mother Nature, she likes to get your hopes up for warm weather and next thing you know she slaps you with anther bout of cold temps.
I was feeling optimistic and planted some spinach and lettuce Monday. I only planted one row. I HOPE I get a crop but just heard that we are supposed to get some snow tomorrow..... ick! I am tired of store bought veggies. I want some lovely garden fresh lettuce for my salad. This winter is taking FOREVER!!!!

Baby #6 is 4 WEEKS!!!

2010-02-25T09:41:00.000-06:00

Why do they have to grow so fast??

Think Garden........

2010-02-24T10:07:00.000-06:00

The past few years our gardens have been planned with the CSA and Farmers market in mind. They haven't been very pretty as far as design and have needed to be simple long rows. This makes planting, picking and weeding easier. We use plastic mulch for the rows, which is not really pretty, and things are planted to grow vegetables not to be admired.
This year we are not doing a market garden or the CSA, so I can grow what I want and not have to worry if it will sell or not. I am going to use the upper garden by the house. I have a 60x110 area,I would like to do a cottage garden look and have a few raised beds for the perennial herbs and such. I went through some of my seeds to get some started. I am not sure what tomatoes to plant, last year we had over 500 tomato plants with 200 being the colorful heirlooms. I like growing lots of different things so I think I am going to have a hard time just picking a few. What are your favorite tomato varities??

Where oh where did the spring time go?

2010-02-22T11:35:00.000-06:00

I am way too preocucpied with other things to think of a good subtitle to go with this picture. Furnace repairmen are on their way, the laundry is respawning, dishes are magically growing, children are fighting, videogames are being played, baby needs to be fed, and I NEED SPRING! There has GOT to be somewhere the kids can go to get out of my hair?!?

We hired a few boys to do the milkin'.......

2010-02-21T18:26:00.000-06:00

Introducing Frank and Larry... the new help. With baby #6 hunky husband has been doing the milking chores along with his full time job. Because of this, we needed some new help. Frank and Larry are our new additions to get rid of the excess milk, and they are doing a fantastic job. We plan on using one of these new boys for breeding, and the other is going to taste delicious on our dinner table.

Smoker

2010-02-17T13:50:00.000-06:00

I hate to get a gift that is useless. Last year for my birthday my Dad gave me this wonderful smoker for my birthday. He built it somehow, he is amazing and I love it so much!! I have a spring birthday and with last summer being so crazy I only got to use it a few times. When my parents came to see baby#6 I put my Dad to work on smoking some lamb ribs. I had collected about 8 sides of ribs and they really take up the space in the freezer. When we have a animal butchered I like to get back all I can. I feel horrid when some thing gets wasted. Lamb ribs are usually not taken and sent to the renderer. I hadn't heard of anyone cooking lamb ribs but I thought we should give it a try. They were out of this world!! They were meaty and tender and had a fabulous flavor, I don't understand why the ribs are not included when they butcher. I am glad that I had taken ours.

My new love!!

2010-02-16T13:57:00.000-06:00

Baby #6 is finally here,she is wonderful. I am grateful to see my long lost feet and be able to breathe again. The other children and hunky hubby are so awed by the new little one. I have to admit that I have forgotten how sweet a new baby is. I just love cuddling up with her in the rocking chair and just watching her sleep. What a wonderful blessing!!

Duke

2010-01-22T19:58:00.000-06:00

After we lost Reina it seemed best that we always have two livestock guarding dogs. Malibu has been with us since mid summer and we had been on the lookout for a companion for her. Just before Christmas I found some puppies for sale. We got a male in hopes that he will get HUGE!!! I want the coyotes to see him and run far away from our farm.... Duke's dad was 175 pounds and I hope that Duke will follow suite. He was a scrawny little thing when we brought him home but after a month of warm milk and food he has doubled in size. He needed some social skills and was not to sure of Malibu. The kids have been loving on him and Malibu has a blast rough-housing with him. I was hoping that Malibu would teach him all he needed to know to protect all the critters in the pasture. Well it seems that he has been teaching Malibu some VERY bad things.....
We have not had a bit of trouble with Malibu leaving the pasture until now. I found both her and Duke in the road yesterday.... today they were both COVERED with cockle burrs. They must of gone exploring in the woods across the road. Hunky hubby also found Malibu in the road with a man trying desperately to take her. I am not pleased with the lessons that have been going on in the pasture. Poor Malibu is now locked in with the calves and Duke the barn. I hate to keep them penned up but am at a loss of what to do.
Duke has also had a few chicken dinners...so not what I had in mind. He is supposed to protect them not dine on them!!! I am not so sure a puppy was a great idea, I hope he grows out of this and Malibu forgets the roaming lesson.

OOOOHHHH baby it's cold outside

2010-01-04T10:08:00.000-06:00

Winter weather has hit the farm. Nighttime temps have been in the single to negative digits and everyone is miserable. I got a bucket of warm water for the piggies and went to do a few other things outside only to come back in a hour to find ice forming on the top. Nothing works right when it is this cold the vacuum pump for the milker is sluggish even with a heat lamp, the water spigot by the milk barn is frozen and we have to haul water(what a pain) and the lights above Mable's stanchion won't come on. I don't mind the cold but the freezing cold is a whole other category...

We've been busy............

2010-01-02T17:51:00.001-06:00

8 weeks left

2009-12-16T14:24:00.000-06:00

I know bad photo I need one of the kiddos or hunky hubby to take a good belly shot but you get the idea!!

Winter in the garden

2009-12-16T13:22:00.000-06:00

We got a bit of snow the other day. I harvested a laundry basket of swiss chard and bok choi, I wanted to harvest the rest for the piggies and chickens but got too tired. I hate to waste anything so I have been giving the piggies the frozen veggies, they don't seem to mind that they are a bit crunchier tham normal. The chickens were offended that I would ever think to offer them such sub-par items. Chickens can be such snobs!!

Lucy and Coco

2009-12-15T08:10:00.000-06:00

Lucy and Coco have been moved to the weaning pen finally. They are unhappy to be away from Galdys but they were taking most of the milk and really chewing up poor Gladys. Gladys wasn't too happy about the situation she stood by the pen and cried for days. Gladys is a sweet mama.
Lucy is doing so well. She loves attention and comes running when she sees you.. she can be a bit of a pest. She knocked all the eggs out of my hands yesterday so I would pet her!! I have been working with her and getting her used to being touched all over. I pick up her feet and rub her all over she could care less. Coco on the other hand still hasn't decided that being petted is fun. You can touch the top of her head but if you reach for her chin or something she shys away. She is so much like her mother. I wasn't sure that Coco would be brindle like Mable but with her long winter coat I can see some color changes. I will be anxious for her to shed this spring to see what's hiding under that thick coat.

Naughty boys will be punished!!

2009-12-11T13:47:00.000-06:00

Trace our ram has been banished to the old chicken run. He is VERY unhappy that his ewes are not with him. He seems to have a dislike for pregnant farmers. Every time I go out to chore he thinks it is his job to knock me off my feet. He usually only does this during breeding and when I am not "heavy with child" I can just move over and he goes right past me but now lets just say snails move faster. I got to where I took a large stick out with me so I could pop him in the nose if he got feisty. He got to be such a pain that we had to do something. It was getting very worry some to me that he might hit me just right and hurt baby#6, so off to solitary confinement he goes. The ewes are bred and we expect lambs in January/ February so really there is no good reason that Trace needs to be out. I feel bad for just a fraction of a second when he gives me that "I'm so sorry mom let me out and I will be good"( see photo 2) look then we have the ears back and "I'M GONNA GET YOU"(see photo 1) look that makes me so happy that there is a fence between us. I hope he calms down once that baby is here and we can let him out until then he stays put!

update

2009-12-09T14:19:00.000-06:00

It snowed here on the farm last night, not a ton just enough to make everything white and pretty. I love the first snow and really I love snow when I can stay here in the house. We have not really had any bad winter weather yet so I suppose it was time.
I went to the "city" yesterday for my Dr's apt. I thought that I would do a bit of shopping in preparation for the holidays. We live in a small town the shopping is limited to pretty much one store. I usually can get what I need here and don't want for anything else. I thought it would help inspire me for some gift ideas at the larger stores. We are working very hard this year to only get educational items for the children. I am really sick of cheap plastic toys. I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of "stuff" these stores had. I was incredibly ill and frustrated by the time I left the stores. I was looking for basic things..art supplies...fun cooking things... games... wooden blocks I didn't think that what I wanted was odd. It seems by the look on several workers faces that yes indeed I was a oddball for wanting something like watercolor paper.
I drove the 45 minutes home with gladness in my heart that we live in a small town. I am so happy with our little farm, with the cute one stoplight town and being late to church because we were stuck behind a combine on the highway... Life is good!!

Kindergarten crafts are the best

2009-12-07T18:43:00.000-06:00

I absolutely love kindergarten. When they bring home little thing that they have made it just melts my heart.

Cheese

2009-12-04T10:33:00.000-06:00

It seems like it has been years since I have had the time to make a good hard cheese. Summer for us is so crazy and this fall I was recovering form the summer and just did not feel like making cheese. I was really missing cheese making so yesterday I dusted off the cheese pot and got to work. I had to find my cheese stuff... it had been at least a year since I made cheese. I was worried about the rennet not being good but it seemed to work just fine. I found my trusty recipe and by lunchtime I was snacking on warm cheese curd. I got the curd in the press and this morning I was anxious to see how things had gone. The cheese looks great. Now we let it air dry for a day or two. After it is nice and dry I will wax it and put in the cheese fridge to age for three months. I bought a special gadget that keeps a fridge at just the right temperature to ripen cheese perfectly.
When we first started milking I would make cheese every week I learned a ton and made some really great cheese and some that lets say should be in a 1950's horror movie called "THE CHEESE THAT WENT BAD". I can just see women running with baby buggies screaming from a giant blob of stinky moldy cheese. I hope that my return to cheese making is rewarded with a beautiful creamy yummy Gouda.. only time will tell!

R.I.P camera...sniff sniff

2009-11-19T10:06:00.000-06:00

Well it finally happened.. my camera has taken a turn for the worse. It all started with a overnight on the air conditioner outside in the rain...( thanks to hunky husband and the addition photos) then a drop on to a gravel road during the trail ride and now finally the creative juices of a 6 year old are just too much. I was quite happy with my camera and now am quite sad. With holidays and baby coming I guess I am going to have to go camera shopping.. I never know what to get there are too many choices and well as you can imagine I don't want to spend a ton of money. The last camera went MIA at the downtown Halloween fest several years ago, we seem to have a hard time keeping a hold of a camera!! What kind of camera do you use??

Illness

2009-11-14T14:49:00.000-06:00

We have or should I say I have had a stomach bug. It has made for a LONG hard week. It has been such a long time since I have been ill like that. I had forgotten how much having a temp can slow one down. I am thrilled however it was only a stomach bug, with all the creepy flu's that are out there I'll take the stomach one. I am not up to eating much yet but feel so much better. I sure am glad to be out of bed!!

Recycled wool soakers

2009-11-05T12:01:00.000-06:00

Here are the soakers for baby#6. I made them with old wool sweaters, I choose the softest wool I could find. Both are a merino/cashmere blend and they are super soft. I wish that I could find pink or white but this will work out just fine. I used another free pattern and they look big to me. I have wool left over so I think I will cut it down a bit and make another one. I like using the old sweaters. The ones we have been using for various things have come mostly from our little thrift shop in town. I got 6 lovely sweaters for 1.00 gotta love that!! This is a good way for me to get the soakers I need.. you see I am yarn impaired... I LOVE the look of knitted things and have tried on several occasions to knit or even crochet, but alas I end up frustrated. I just don't seem to get it, so for now we are having a blast with old sweaters. I have great plans in the works and have stared a bit on that rug. I am thrilled so far with my progress. I hope to get it done before the really cold weather sets in. Wood floors are awesome but a bit cold on the feet in the morning.....

Homemade diapers

2009-11-04T16:47:00.000-06:00

I have been busy sewing for baby #6. I have just about finished the newborn diapers, I have 21 done minus the touch tape. I had to order the touch tape and it has yet to come. I have two more to sew but I am out of fleece. I hope to go the the city later this week and get some more supplies.
I am very happy with how the diapers are turning out.. I had to buy some fleece and the touch tape the rest I had on hand. I made the inner absorbent layer from some old microfiber towels that my sister had. I did buy some waterproofing spray for the outer layer...but I also made some wool soakers just in case. I have never used that spray so I am not sure how well it works. I need to get going on some bigger ones these are tiny tiny for a newborn. I got a pattern free off the net and it is adjustable. I found some of the waterproof knit and I am anxious to try it out on the bigger ones. I am not too sure how many to make...It has been 6 years since we had to diaper around here and I am a bit rusty! I figured for the new born that I would change every 2 hours or so....but once they get a bit bigger they wet more but less often. I want to have enough to not have to wash every day.. I do laundry every day I just don't want to HAVE to do laundry every day.. you know what I mean???? I think about 30 of the larger ones will be ok. I like sewing again I cut out everything and then sit down and sew assembly line style and it goes really quick. I got 10 done in a little less than two hours so not too time consuming. I think that these diapers are so cute it will make diaper duty almost FUN!!

Cute rug

2009-10-26T16:39:00.000-05:00

I found this rug..... so cute!!! I wonder how many sweaters it takes. It would look great in my bedroom. NEED MORE SWEATERS!!!!

Yummy wool...

2009-10-26T16:24:00.000-05:00

I was able to hit a thrift store on my big city trip. I got a stack of sweaters to work with, I have found so many fun things to do with them that I am not sure that all of this will go for soakers. I washed them in hot water and tossed in the dryer for two cycles. They all look wonderful!!
I love the thought of using these old sweaters. I am itching to got to work on something...I did do two pair of "longies" for baby #6 so now I think I will do something fun....

Off to the city

2009-10-22T09:33:00.000-05:00

This milkmaid is off to the big city today. Dr's appts and thrift stores are my destination. I am working on lots of lovely things for baby #6 and I am needing more old wool sweaters. I used the two I had and have found inspiration for more woolly coziness. Thrift stores are such awesome places. I hope I find what I am looking for!! Wish me luck!

Something new!!

2009-10-21T07:43:00.000-05:00

I come from a long line of wonderful women who sew, not just ordinary sewing I mean AWESOME sewing. These women can make anything... from nothing, no pattern... no help just some fabric and a sewing machine. My mother has made things that should be in museums. She made the most incredible blessing dress for my girls. It is a lovely french hand sewn heirloom. It blows anything I have ever seen in a shop out of the water.
I have tried in the past to do a bit of sewing it's gotta be in my blood somewhere, only to get frustrated and shove the whole lot back in the bottom of the closet. The problem arises however is I LOVE vintage fabric and styles. I have come by some dresses and such at tag sales and thrift shops but nothing ever seems to fit well. I get out the machine and try again... somethings have been a success. My biggest frustration has been a lack of a good machine. The last one had a computer issue and would decide that sewing backwards was the only way to go. That was a real pain in the tush!! I had pretty much given up on the sewing thing......

We used cloth diapers with some of the children and I decided that baby #6 would be a cloth baby also. I had given away my stash of cloth diapers long ago so was on the hunt for the latest and greatest diaper. I found that diapers had changed a ton since I was using them last. The new diapers are really fun and cute. I was hooked. I could just see our little girl scooting about in a lovely little bubble butt. I got down to business and started looking for the best diaper. Geesh!! Cloth diapers, well the cute ones, are expensive!!! Like $15-20 EACH.. OK I need at least 20 diapers that puts me washing every other day, OK 15 x 20 is a whopping $300.
My lands what are those diapers made of??? I found a great store that sells beautiful used cloth diapers I bought 6 newborn ones. They are nice I like them BUT after looking at them there just isn't much to them..You can see where this is going.... I decided after a few internet searches that yep I think I can make those!! I break out the machine and scissors and set to work. I found a great pattern (with a online tutorial) and went through my fabric stash. I cut out 15... that seems like a lot... I got worried. I sat down and sewed one.. Hey it was REALLY cute and not too hard.. I mad another and another now I have a stack of 10 done!! YAHOO!!! I am really excited they are so cute.
The ones I am making have to have a cover on them.. Drat now what??? I got searching and wanted to use a wool soaker over the diaper.. I don't knit or crochet.... well after a bit of fun computer time I found out that you can re-purpose a old wool sweater in to a diaper soaker. I had a few sweaters that were a lovely soft wool that I didn't wear any longer. I washed them in hot and dried them twice and took the scissors to them. They turned out pretty good!!

With a small bit of sewing success I am itching to do more. I love this blog http://sewingdork.blogspot.com/ because she used old things to make new things.. and they are very CUTE!! I also love http://creativechicksatplay.blogspot.com/ because they can actually read a pattern and make such cute things. These are so inspiring... I'm gonna go sew!!!

What do you call a grumpy cow???

2009-10-20T09:13:00.000-05:00

Mooo-dy Mable

Baby love!!

2009-10-14T12:31:00.000-05:00

I have been away for a bit. It has taken me a few weeks to recover from the CSA's. I am glad we are finished for the year, it has been a difficult year for me with the pregnancy.
I am busy preparing for the arrival of a bouncing baby girl.
We are so excited to welcome a new little person in to our home. It had been 6 years since we have had a little one!! I can't believe it has been that long, can it really be? I am working on cloth diapers and other things for the baby. I brushed the dust off my sewing machine and have been hard at work. It seems like forever since I have sewn anything, luckily baby things are small.
The farm is slowing down, we have had a few cold nights and the gardens are ready to be put to sleep till next summer. I have a quite a bit of clean up out there, I like to do a little at a time during the last of summer but this year I didn't get anything done. We are still harvesting some things, lettuce, beets, turnips,Swiss chard, carrots and some herbs. I am tired of the garden... I know, I know....

Would you HURRY up and get my dinner!!!!

2009-09-27T19:19:00.000-05:00

Chickens are finally done!

2009-09-16T15:56:00.000-05:00

Well after the great summer chicken massacre I am preparing to butcher some chickens. They have been in the chicken tractor and have been safe. I tried to get a weight on one but a squirming chicken and a electric scale just don't mesh. The one I weighed several times varied by two pounds from 6 to 8 so I am not really sure how big they are. They are big enough to make wonderful roasters so to the butcher they go. We have a wonderful lady that butchers for us and is so worth the few dollars it cost. I am ready for some chicken and dumplin's!!

Piggie Kisses!!

2009-09-14T18:51:00.000-05:00

Nesting is AWESOME!!

2009-09-14T18:38:00.000-05:00

Well I am finally feeling like doing something. The first order of business was to get the canned goods organized. My sweet husband was patient at putting some new shelves together just for jars and canning "stuff". I spent two days hunting and organizing. I had stashed can goods all over the house we did not have enough shelf space for the 1500 jars of goodness from last year. I put them under the bed, in every nook and cranny. It was frustrating for me to cook because I was always hunting for that spacial jar of something. I am pleased with the new shelf it holds what was left form last year but I am already stashing this years stuff. I will be very happy when we get the addition done and I have a whole room for canned goods!! Just the thought makes me giddy!! Now to get the closets cleaned out!! Yes that is a HUGE can of hot fudge sauce..... a girl has needs!!!!

I hate squash bugs!

2009-08-25T19:55:00.000-05:00

I checked the winter squash and found a explosion of squash bugs. They are by far the biggest problem here on the farm. We did fairly well with the summer squash by planting with lots of stinky herbs. When we planted the winter squash I just did not think to plant the herbs also. I have tried to keep these in check but the rainy days kept me inside and they really blossomed. There is not much we can do to to kill these guys so I will pick what I can and then burn the field. I really hate squash bugs!

Peek-a-boo I see you!!

2009-08-21T14:10:00.000-05:00

Malibu checking every nook and cranny of the barn.....nope no raccoons here!!

Garden photos

2009-08-18T19:24:00.000-05:00

Where has the time gone????

2009-08-18T19:00:00.000-05:00

Good heavens I am so shocked when I look at the calendar and see it is AUGUST!!?? The kids go back to school Thursday, six more weeks of CSA and Coco (above) is 6 weeks old. Did you catch the Coco thing?? I bet you are wondering about HER??? Well you guessed it Mable had a GIRL!! Yahoo doin the happy farmer dance!! I am so happy that we had two girls. The girls are both doing great and growing like little weeds. We had their horns removed last week and they were a bit upset with me but seem to have made a full recovery. The farm is busy... a ton had happened. We have some new additions and we had some sad losses.
Reina our beautiful Maremma livestock dog passed away. She had horrid hips and got to the point that she could not walk. I was quite attached to her and am saddened by her leaving us. With her gone the wildlife found the all you can eat chicken buffet and have killed all but one of the chickens(we had 97) killed all the ducks,all the turkeys and got my geese as well. In all we have lost over 150 birds in a matter of weeks. I have some chickens in a tractor that are three months old so we are with out eggs. I am sick of finding dead chickens all over. I suppose with only one lonely hen I won't find many more.
Meatloaf our steer was struck by lightning. He was 30 days from butchering. We were not able to save any of the meat. That was our beef for the next year. I refuse to buy store beef so we are trying to get ribeye to gain quickly but we are careful with what we feed and weight gain is slow. He weighs about 700 lbs. I like to butcher at about 1000lbs. We will see he might have to go in sooner than that. Such a disappointment.
Good news we were blessed to find a new livestock dog and I think she will do well. We have only had her for three days. She is 15 months old and needs some manners but is a sweet girl.
Gardens are OK the weather has been so odd... it really didn't get hot and we have had quite a bit of rain. The tomatoes have suffered, this wet weather has them split and not so pretty. At least they taste good. We have been canning the worst and I have made some awesome pasta sauce. I haven't canned as much this year. I haven't felt like standing at the stove for hours at a time... wanna know why?? OK big drum roll..... we are expecting baby #6 in January!!

Farmers market in full swing

2009-06-30T22:38:00.000-05:00

OK I know I have been neglecting things here. Things are so BUSY I am running at full speed and still not getting everything done. The gardens are looking great and producing like mad. We have been going to the Saturday market and sold out every week. It is nice not to have to pack all that back in the van.
Gladys and Lucy are perfect!! Mable is gonna explode I gotta get a picture of her udder it is HUGE!!! Poor gal.
Everything else is the same...I'm just here weedin away...

Random Garden Photos

2009-06-15T13:14:00.000-05:00

We have had a ton of rain and the gardens are a muddy mess. There are a few lovely things that shine through the mud... beautiful eggplant,Chinese cabbage and a squash plant loaded with blooms...

Garlic harvest

2009-06-11T13:05:00.000-05:00

We pulled the garlic today it looks good. The bulbs will cure in the garage for a few weeks and then be included in the CSA shares. The smaller bulbs will be saved for planting in the fall. Homegrown garlic has a wonderful flavor I love to use it in my cooking it really adds so much. I think we will plant more next year we got about 200 heads from a 30 foot row. I would like to dry some and use some for the cattle. I have some spring garlic I am anxious to see how those bulbs look I think they will be ready in a few weeks.

Happy one week birthday Lucy!!

2009-06-11T13:00:00.000-05:00

Lucy is doing great and growing by leaps and bounds. She is such a cutie! I am still doing the happy farmer dance I am so happy we got a GIRL!!

Introducing...............

2009-06-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

Well it FINALLY happened. I went out Thursday morning to check Gladys and was greeted by a bouncing beautiful jersey calf. I was thinking that poor Gladys was gonna burst I have never seen a cow look so uncomfortable, she couldn't even lay down Wednesday. I was really getting worried and began to wonder if the calf was OK. I had a farmer friend come and see Gladys to get his opinion, he said " Yep she's gonna have a calf soon!" I should of known!! The old farmers around here laugh at my spoiled cows... they tell me I have a cow resort going on here.. Well you know what they say about happy cows.
OK now I know you are really reading this to find out what the baby was OK ready......... A GIRL WAHOO!!!!! I am doing the happy farmer dance. We maned her Lucy and she is a doll. I am in total heifer love. Now if Mable will have a girl our prayers will be answered!!

Basil

2009-05-20T15:53:00.000-05:00

After the mouse in the greenhouse incident I went a bit overboard with the basil. We have in the garden:
Regular Italian basil
Lettuce leaf basil
Lemon basil
Thai basil
Minette basil
Cinnamon basil
Red Rubin basil
Purple ruffles basil
Variegated basil
I love basil and it is so fun to see all the different kinds in the garden. They smell so good and boy are they pretty. I love to use fresh basil it adds so much flavor. I LOVE pesto in the summer. That is my favorite meal when I am hot and tired, it gives me the energy I need to get back out there and finish the job!

Haven't you had that baby YET??

2009-05-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

NOT YET!!! Now quit checking on me unless you are going to bring me a cookie!

Peaches

2009-05-18T10:51:00.000-05:00

I was in the orchard checking things out and was surprised to find baby peaches,cherries,apricots and apples on the trees!! I was quite worried that we would not have any fruit. We have had some spring storms that brought cold wet weather during the bloom time on the trees. I am so pleased with the progress of the orchard. We have added seven new trees this year bringing the total to 33 trees! I hope they all do well and we have loads of fruit.
We had the first delivery for the CSA this past Saturday. It is hectic and difficult to get back in the swing of things. I hired a gal to help harvest and she was rough on the lettuce.. it did not look as good as I wanted and I did not see this until we were unloading. We forgot that one of the fridges we use runs cold and froze 40 heads of beautiful romaine.. DARN!! The weather was windy and colder than predicted.. the shade canopy was not able to be put up because the wind was fierce... I know that in a few weeks things will fall in to place and get running smoothly. In the meantime I am frazzled....

Natural chicken nuggets........

2009-05-17T21:13:00.000-05:00

The first batch of meat chicks came in the mail form Iowa on Wednesday. They look really good and are now settled in the nursery. We raise enough chickens in the summer and spring for the whole year. We will put them in the chicken tractor in a few weeks so they can eat bugs,scratch around and be chickens. I love that we have the ability to raise almost all the meat we eat. I got a great book on smoking and sausage making for my birthday. I am planning on curing the hams and bacon form the piggies. I am also getting a awesome smoker. I can't wait! I have not made much sausage and such, but am anxious to learn. I found a Amish man that does great hams I am hoping to pick his brain and get some pointers.

Mary Janes Farm

2009-05-14T11:48:00.000-05:00

Here is our article in Mary Janes Farm. I am happy that we were chosen to be in the article, she has a way of making farming glamorous. I like her style and felt that it would be a good fit. This issue also has a article about milking cows! I love the recipes and am wanting to make the milkmaid apron. I hope ya all go and check out Mary Janes Farm she also has a cute site maryjanesfarm.org.

We have something to crow about!!!

2009-05-09T23:10:00.000-05:00

I am so pleased to announce that we are in the new issue of Mary Jane's Farm magazine!! It is a short article about our farm and what we do. I am happy with the article and the lady that wrote it was a doll. I will post photos and such later!!

Outside Fun

2009-05-03T12:34:00.000-05:00

I let the lambs outside for the first time. They were not sure what they were supposed to do they just stood together and cried. Reina was a good mother hen and stayed by them all day. I want them to graze and be sheep. I was hoping that the other sheep would come and hang out with the babies, but they just stood watching them cry. I did see one nibbling grass and seemed to know what to do but the other two just kinda stood at the gate and cried. It was a bit much I would think that they would have no voice left after all that bawling. I plan on letting them out during the day when I am around and putting them back in the barn at night. I am also trying to teach them to drink from a bucket. I have been giving them a bottle three times a day and now they are old enough to get milk from a bucket. Things are very busy with the gardens and orchard that I just don't have the time to feed them three times a day. I put milk in a bucket this morning and the one drank but the others just jumped around in a frenzy looking for the bottle.. I hope they get the hang of the bucket.
I have spent every moment that I can planting in the gardens. So far we have only planted a third of the gardens.. The upper garden is pretty much done I have to finish out the pepper row and then I will work in the lower garden. I bought 10 more fruit trees and they have been planted and fertilized. I have 100 red raspberry canes that need to got out I hope to get them in tomorrow. Cherry tomatoes are out and this week the big tomatoes will be in.. there are 350 tomato plants waiting... it seems like a ton of tomatoes but I sell out every week!! Things are looking good so far.

Gladys

2009-04-29T09:52:00.000-05:00

Poor Gladys has about three weeks left untilshe calves. She is quite wide and I have noticed that she is moving slower and with a big waddle! I feel for her I remember those last few weeks of pregnancy..... it's a uncomfortable time. Hopefully she will have a healthy heifer calf for us!

I GOT THE MOUSE IN THE GREENHOUSE!!!!

2009-04-28T11:19:00.000-05:00

Let there be BASIL!! Wahoooooo!!

Piggie love

2009-04-28T11:06:00.000-05:00

We were finally able to get the piggies. We have three very cute happy piggies living in the corner of the upper garden. They seem happy and are quite friendly. We got two females and one male. I am happy at the way they have settled in they got right to work at rooting up the pen they are in. Right now they are in a smaller pen so they can get to know us. They will go out in a larger pasture in a few weeks.

We have been busy in the gardens, the weather has been wet and cold. We are behind a bit on the planting from last year. I hope to get the 400 tomato plants out this weekend and follow with the peppers and warm weather stuff. We are eating lettuce and spinach from the garden and loving it!! Three weeks till first CSA shares go out!!

Growing Lambs

2009-04-19T21:17:00.000-05:00

The bummer lambs are growing like little weeds. I think tomorrow if the weather is good they will go on a field trip outside for a bit of fresh air.
We have been BUSY in the gardens. We have over 700 plants out and a few thousand more that will go out over the next few weeks. I have been fighting the mouse in the greenhouse, it ate the basil AGAIN! I am so tired of seeding basil only to have them mowed down. Tonight I put out several traps set with basil and basil seed I hope we get it tonight.
I am in the process of trying to do a website for the CSA. It is so frustrating.. I have just enough computer skills to make a mess. Hopefully we will get things straightened out by the first CSA delivery.
We are scheduled for warm weather this week YAHOO!

I see more.......Thyme in my future............

2009-04-12T19:32:00.000-05:00

I got a wonderful opportunity to take a brief vacation from farm life. I went home to visit family for three days!!! ALL BY MYSELF!! oh ya it was awesome. I love the farm and would not change a thing but it is nice to get a breather.
We are in the process of drying off Gladys and Mable. Gladys is due to have her calf mid May and Mable is mid June. We are no longer milking Gladys and we are fast approaching that with Mable. I am happy and sad for this.. I will miss the milk and the time spent in the barn but I am looking forward to sweet new calves. We are keeping our fingers crossed for heifers.
The greenhouse is overflowing with plants. This spring has been COLD and wet some plants are in a holding pattern for warmer weather. I think we are scheduled for some of that later this week. I will be working long hours to get everything in that I have waiting. The herbs in the greenhouse are really enjoying the hot humid climate and have put on tons of growth I have noticed the biggest growth in the thyme it needs a haircut!! Time to make my famous onion thyme jam... yum!!!!

I hate mice......

2009-04-07T08:13:00.000-05:00

I guess you NEVER leave your seed box in the greenhouse overnight with a mouse around. Now since it ate all the basil as a appetizer it was on the lookout for something with a bit of crunch. My seeds were on the menu. It ate ALL the squash,melons,herb,carrot, and radish seed!! I don't know where that little guy put it all but I cannot find any of the above. It shredded most of the seed packets and made a HUGE mess in my seed box.. I guess I learned a good lesson now the seed box comes in the house.