Cool Shade Farm

We have moved!

2009-09-17T10:18:00.000-04:00

The Cool Shade Farm blog has been moved over to the Thrifty Mom Dot Com blog here.

Come join us!

Jeez, some days ...

2009-06-19T11:56:00.000-04:00

Permit me a teensy vent?

So, we had a tremendous thunderstorm yesterday and it's moving toward 102 degrees out there this morning. It's South Carolina. It's hot and bloody humid. Working outside is like slogging through hot water.

So, of course, when I checked the barnyard just as the bubs and I were about to be scurrying into town this a.m. to try to beat the heat, what do I find?

BIG farkin tree down in the feedlot, a smashed flat fence, 6 goats in the chicken pen, and chickens gone to parts unknown.

Crap.

Bad part is this: I've NO idea how I'm getting that sucker off my fence. My chainsaw locked up a few weeks ago so I can't cut it. My tractor's in the shop so I can't lift it. And my truck won't crank so I can't drag it.

PLUS, due to some *ahem* changes by my (v. bad word here) fulfillment company for my products, my comissions for my graphic designs on those products has been effectively more than halved. Halved. Less than half of my former income.

I've no idea how I'm going to pay my bills much less get tractors and trucks fixed or replace chainsaws.

*SIGH*

Am I gonna have to get out there and try to lever that bastard off my fence myself? Have I been reduced to a mideaval peasant? Am I my own draft animal? See the violence inherent in the system! Help! Help! I'm being repressed!*

Ok, ok, it's not that bad. Could be worse. I'll try to take some pics of the Great Tree Removal ... just as soon as I, erm, figure out how I'm going to manage it.

In the meantime, if you see any of my chickens, email me.

* In case you are an uncool person or have lived like a naked, hairy, hermit who's taken a vow of silence, that's from Monty Python and the Holy Grail :

Springing!

2009-03-24T05:07:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, a post is long overdue! Sorry. I've been really busy building a new website and it's kinda consumed me.

Here's a quick update for ya. It's getting to be SPRING! Squee!

Those are my collards flowering, in case you were wondering what the heck that was. Here's my new walk and gate. I finally got around to fixing ONE of the arbours that got crunched by the storm / tree limb.

And my Wellsummers have started to lay! Yay! See how lovely and dark brown the eggs are? Nice thick shells, too. They grind up well to feed back to the birds for calcium. That's a black sexlink's egg lower left and a mixed hen's egg lower right.

Here's a shot of a Wellsummer egg and one of my gamehen's eggs. The game egg is actually off-white. The Wellsummers makes it look bright white, doesn't it?!

And I tried my hand at making my own mayonnaise. Trying to do away with nasty soy products and corn syrup in my family's diet. It was easy and turned out perfectly:

It even got Bodog's seal of approval! Yes, it has a yellowish tinge - it's made of egg yolks! I don't know what chemical they put in commercial mayo to bleach it out. Yuck!

Our first Tulip of the season:

I promise much more! As it gets warm, I'll be working on several projects that don't involve my arse in this computer chair, LOL!

Today's funny

2009-01-17T03:45:00.000-05:00

see more puppies

A small success!

2009-01-15T04:53:00.004-05:00

When we first moved here to The Burrow it was spring of 2003. My oldest, Boy, was 1 and I was hugely pregnant with my oldest girl, The Human Crash Test Dummy.

After THCTD was born (in April), I spent the summer and fall improving the house, building a door to the upstairs, taking down all the weird hooks one of the previous owners had put up everywhere and the hideous, cheap shelves another had.

Then winter arrived.

We discovered v. quickly one of the problems with owning an old house. There is NO insulation underneath the floor, and the hall, which used to be the porch connecting the house and the detatched kitchen, had gaps between the boards that you could see down into. All of the windows and doors leaked; you could stand in the parlour and feel the wind when it blew outside - which is often.

So I spent the first winter tacking up plastic on the windows, and caulking, and weatherstripping.

My average monthly gas bill for heating was $450.

In subsequent winters I put up more plastic, hung heavy blankets or drapes over little-used windows, and this last summer, I finished installing curtains in front of ALL exterior doors (in the British fashion - you draw them aside when you want to use the door.) Here's a v. fancy version:

My gas bill (and my electric bill in the summer) has dropped by over half but I didn't really realise the huge difference until this morning. It's supposed to be 21 degrees tonight and it was right at 30 this morning, but when I walked into the kitchen it didn't feel any colder. The heater no longer runs constantly (I have it set at 68) and the house is pretty comfortable all over if you have long sleeves on.

Winterizing, success! (Finally!)

Heroic mule!

2009-01-07T04:54:00.001-05:00

This was just so weird I had to blog it: Lou the mule saves Tennessee woman from fire.

"Jolene Solomon [snip] had just finished eating supper on New Year's Day when Lou's braying and acting up got her attention.

Solomon, 63, who lived alone, stepped outside, she saw her house was on fire. She called 911 and as she waited for firefighters, her home and everything in it burned to the ground.

She said her father bought Lou years ago to help her and her late sister, Blue, around the farm. It took Lou months to get over the loss of her sister.

Solomon said she has 'lost it all', but credits Lou with saving her life.

Jolene is staying with family members and plans to rebuild her home. The home was built by her grandfather and she had lived there all her life."

The mule is clearly quite elderly. I'm so sorry this woman lost her home but I'm glad she and the old mule are alright. Did you catch the name of her sister, the original owner of the mule?

"Blue"

No such thing as a sentimental farmer?

2008-12-29T01:10:00.001-05:00

Whew, it's musty in here!

*dusts off blog*

Yep, it's been a bit since I blogged over here. The farm has sort of taken a back seat to my other business: funny t-shirts over at Evil Genius Tees. I make more money for the effort with my business than with my farm, which saddens me.

So, it's 1:30 a.m., I can't sleep, and this is sort of a venting post.

With the drought causing hay shortages, biofuel production driving the grain prices up, and then the economy sagging, well, let me tell you, being a small farmer has started to get really hard.

Feed is $7= per bag, hay is a staggering $5-$6+ per bale. My truck is broken as well as my tractor and I can't afford to get either fixed. Without the tractor, I can't sow grass seed, and with out the truck I can only get hay in my small trailer - 12 bales at a time.

And so on and so forth. Whine, whine, whine.

Well, we cut all the fowl (including my beloved geese) plus the sheep flock / goat herd down to minimum (though I think I might be able to cull a few more sheep) and my latest hard decision is to get rid of the pigs.

And I'm having a surprisingly hard time with it.

Number one, I just like the pigs. Aside from being hard to keep in, they are easy to care for, breed, and sell. They're super efficient waste disposal units, making use of all the household food waste as well as any barnyard refuse (including the occasional dead chicken) and they're personable.

Is it because my baby daughter, who is autistic, who is fixated with pigs, considers them 'her' pigs? Is it because our boar, who is as gentle as a lamb, was picked out and named by her?

You can't be sentimental and be a farmer. They call those folks "hobbyists". They name all of their animals, then get all weepy and expect the calves and pigs and chickens they produce to not ever, ever be butchered. Farm animals are not pets. If they're pets, then you're not farming.

The pigs consume a huge amount of feed that we can't afford right now. The return is just not worth it. We'll just keep a feeder pig from now on to process the food waste and put him in the freezer each year. THAT will be a more efficient use of feed.

I must look at the money aspect of it. If I'm throwing money away keeping pigs, and that money would benefit my children, then the pigs need to go. Surely Bitty Girl will understand one day.

Hey, perhaps when the money situation eases, we can get our notoriously dicey pig fencing fixed, build a proper stye and get breeding stock back.

We'll see.

Suburban Sucktards

2008-08-14T12:28:00.004-04:00

Did y'all enjoy bodog's first ever post on the farm blog? I just read it and it made me lol. srsly.

But now back to business. Over on The Thriftymom Blog, I just blasted the National Letter Carrier's ASSociation for disallowing a mail man to wear a kilt.

Well, it appears that Stupid People In Charge hasn't reached it's zenith. Check it:

"HICKMAN, Neb. – Talk about your one-horse town. This burg of 1,084 residents is just that.
But some folks don't want that distinction. They want an aging horse named Peter Rabbit, who lives in a pasture in town, gone for good.
Other folks say the horse should stay, despite an ordinance that bans livestock inside city limits.
"I feel bad for the poor horse. He's probably going to die soon anyway," said Jamie Cox, who manages the town bar, Sadie's Place. "As long as he's being taken care of, they should leave him alone."
Hickman, once a sleepy farm town, has become a bedroom community for the capital city of Lincoln and is one of the fastest-growing cities in Nebraska.
With houses having sprung up around Peter Rabbit's pasture, Mayor Jim Hrouda and five of the six City Council members are determined to enforce the livestock ban. Shortly after a council meeting Tuesday, the horse's owner, 76-year-old Harley Scott, was served an eviction notice that orders the animal off the land.
Scott said he has no intention of complying with the Sept. 15 deadline. He faces the prospect of being fined up to $100 a day if he's convicted of violating the ordinance."

Narrow minded idiots and upscale gits!

Please tell me why one elderly animal can't be grandfathered in at this point?

Oh, wait ... it's because it's a yucky horse, right? Horses should only be white, flying through the air, and on telly.

Never mind that your bloody thousand dollar pedigreed dogs cover your house in dander and dog hair and poop quart-sized loads all over the yards, that horse must go! He doesn't match the suburban mailboxes that the housing committee requires being a certain colour, a certain height, a certain style, and landscaped around accordingly.

Besides, all that pasture could be covered with MORE hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars McMansions so you could have neighbours on the other side who can look right in your upstairs windows!

Gosh, wanna bet that horrible old Harley Scott has a clothesline up in his backyard?! *GASP*

Get the pitchforks and torches!

Yeah, yeah, I know that much of what I just wrote might not be true, but I'd bet you a $13 bag of feed that most of it is.

But no matter what, it's a stupid, senseless waste of time and an example of folks caring too much about appearences at the expense of personal liberty and that old horse's well being.

Jim Hrouda and the City Council members (and like-minded residents) of Hickman, Nebraska?

FAIL!

Get lives and quit meddling in the business of folks who aren't harming anything or anyone.

Farming is NOT for the Weak of Heart

2008-08-13T10:32:00.001-04:00

An old, proud house stands lookout over a gravelly road it has watched for 140 Years. A tranquility surrounds the quaint house.

A dog barks intermitently in the distance at a random squirrel, or perhaps a fox scurrying by. Birds chirp happily, diving and looping playfully over your head. Surely a simple scene of serenity.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

The scene changes instantly with a bloodcurdling scream coming from the back. You run toward the sounds conflicted with feelings of fear and concern. As you round the back, you see fencing holding in a flock of goats and sheep. In the fence around a swarm of ungulates is a man being battered to his knees by a rampaging ram.

Ok, there's some exaggeration in that tale. It wasn't a bloodcurdling scream, but I did let out a mid-level, alarmed, "Ahh!" And the ram in question wasn't rampaging. He was ravenous, I had just dumped feed, and his prodigious horns happened to snag my calf.

But if you run an animal farm, you know, and if you are thinking about it, you need to know...It can be treacherous business.

This person with the Llama Troopers knows...

and the guys behind this New Zealand movie, Black Sheep know...

And this shirt knows...

It's dangerous business...BEWARE!

Nice ride(s)!

2008-07-15T06:49:00.003-04:00

We have a new Dodge Ram Van! And a pony!

Happy dance!

Here are the pony pics (the van is still at the mechanic's getting checked out):

Izzy (our pony-in-residence) on the right, and Bucky, the new addition, on the left. Check out the punky hair-do.

They seem to be gettin on well ... after a few days of adjustment.

The first day Izzy, who is an intact stud, was hopeful that Bucky was a mare (he's not, he's a gelding), so he leaped about, singing shrill lovesongs at him, and generally being obnoxious. Bucky pretty much ignored him.

Day two, he decided that Bucky must be a stallion as well, so he leaped about, screaming challenges periodically, and generally being obnoxious.

Bucky ignored this as well.

Izzy has decided that if he wants Bucky as a friend, he'd better relax.

New van pics coming v. soon! I promise!

Abe got a pony, too:

Sink, or swim

2008-02-11T11:42:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to share our latest 'project' (read scramble-to-repair job) here at The Burrow.

So. The faucet at the kitchen sink has been leaking for a while. It leaked into the sink and only when I ran the water, so i kept putting off replacing it.

Then one day, about mid afternoon, after washing the morning dishes (after breakfast) and doing various things at the kitchen sink that involve water (all day) I step up to the sink and realise that the rug is wet.

No ... it's soaking.

I open the cupboard under the sink (which I rarely open as I have little-used things stored there) and ... EEEeeeeeEEeeeewwwww!

It's a wet, moldy quagmire under my kitchen sink. I have a leak - a BIG one - in an outgoing pipe and the plumbing under there is my age.

Great.

Well, there was nothing for it. All that old crap had to go (a lot of it was metal pipe) and the water damage had to be assessed. Here's the sink after I ripped all the plumbing out:

YUCK!

May as well replace that leaky faucet if I'm dropping a bloody great wodge of cash at the Lowe's.

Old faucet:

OoooOOOoooohh, new faucet. Shiney!

Note mixing bowls-as-temporary-dishpans and the nasty sink. Bleh! It was horrible.

We hit a snag when we realised that the actual leaking pipe was the old metal one that went down under the house. How do we get to it?

Through this:

Yes, it's as small as it looks and about an 18 foot crawl up under the house. Evil Genius Husband manfully volunteered to do the crawling. Here is the vid of him under the house:

Here he is afterwards

Teh sexxorz!!111!11!

And here is the finished plumbing and my wee assistant:

So that's why they call 'em MINIvans

2008-01-02T11:32:00.000-05:00

Well the era of the HMS Behemoth is over.

My full sized Dodge Ram Van up and died on me over the holidays - the transmission went out on xmas day.

I figure the cost of getting a new one (plus the labour involved, since I'd be getting it out of a junked van) and having it installed outweighs the actual value of the van. *sad face*

So the holidays, which are stressful enough, involved also The Dance Of Switching Cars.

I hauled my old Mercury Villager minivan out of the woods, tinkered with it, checked the fluids, refilled the flat tyres, switched the tags and insurance to it from the Dodge, and am driving it with my fingers crossed.

Blimey, but now I know why they call them minians ...

See, I'd never driven a fullsized van prior to owning the Merc. It was like driving a car.

Then I got the Dodge. It was like driving a house.

Seriously.

The entire family fit in it easily; you actually had to climb up in it and walk back to the back to get the kids in their carseats. If you wanted to turn on the heat or play a CD, you had to hold the wheel with one hand and lean way over just to reach.

Windscreen fogged up? Too bad. I actually had to pull over, unbuckle my seatbelt and stand up to clean the glass.

It would hold all of us, two weeks worth of groceries, AND 7 bags (350lbs) of feed. And everyone could still get in and out.

Needless to say, my next family vehicle will either be another full-sized van or a Suburban.

I want one of these:

Kelly blue books lists the price of a 1991 Suburban in good condition with 100k miles at about $2500.

*sigh*

Below: EGH's nigh indestructible Toyota Camry, the outgoing Dodge, the incoming Merc.

Speaking of El Chupacabra

2007-09-04T07:19:00.000-04:00

I just had to show off two more of my chupacabra t-shirts:

That second one makes me laugh every time!

I wonder if anyone has done a Squidoo lens on the Mexican goatsucker urban legend? Hmmmm.

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And I thought I had predators

2007-09-01T17:40:00.000-04:00

Ewww! Check it.

So, d'ya believe in El Chupacabra?

I vow never to complain about the stray opossum or raccoon again, LOL!

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Soppy animal post with insect murder!

2007-08-28T11:38:00.001-04:00

OK, this is totally not farm stuff, but it's animal stuff, so I'm posting it, by golly!

Did you read this?

(Yes, by the way, I AM having a super news posting thingy here of late. I think it's due to my new blog which I *whispers* haven't 'unveiled' yet, so don't tell anybody. Shhhh.)

ANYway, they got the dog back! I was terrified that those effing drug bastards who nicked him would do something horrible to him, but he must have been too valuable. I'm seriously glad that this dog I don't even know is OK. How lame is that?

Oh, and I just gotta say this somewhere (gee, Blue you have, like, TEN FREAKIN BLOGS NOW! nowhere to say it? Are you joking?!) so I'll say it here, since it's animal related (kinda) and reading Dawn's blog entry today made me think of it again ...

My oldest baby is now in kindergarten and when I go to pick him up the wee ones are all sitting quietly under the covered walkway, waiting to be picked up. So, I jump out to load up my Boy and as I take his hand, an ant cow* scuttles by between us on the sidewalk. Now, these things are big and they do sting, but my nature and my faith suggest that we not destroy a living thing just because we can, especially if it's off minding it's own business, and not out to harm us in any way.

Well, I intended to herd the ant cow safely off the walk after I helped Boy up into the van but one of the teachers, with a dramatic exclamation, rushed over and stomped on the thing. Right there in front of the line of kindergartners. Way to go, teach. Good lesson. It's non aggressive, non-poisonous, and a good 3 feet away, heading in the opposite direction, and you run it down and stamp it into goo in front of the kids.

I hope she wasn't one of the science teachers.

( This is what *I* was taught to call them and is probably a typical result of my mother's 'evolving' speech. She will hear a word or phrase, mis-repeat it, and forever pronounce/say it that way even if corrected. In fact, correcting her only makes her angry and more stubborn. Her brain manufactures Mondegreens from everyday speech and i aquired quite a few that caused me embarrasment as an adult. Her 'ant cows' are actually Velvet Ants or Cow Killer Ants [dasymutilla occidentalis] and aren't ants at all but wasps.)

Dry as a chip

2007-08-20T12:56:00.001-04:00

Just a quick update from Cool Shade!

We got back from the beach safely, it still hasen't rained here. No one has hay. The large round bales are non-existant so I'm reduced to scavenging square bales:

Unfortunately, this is 1) more expensive, 2) more labour intensive, and 3) I'm allergic to hay. If I handle it much, I break out in hives wherever it's touched me, and I get horribly congested, my eyes swell, and it triggers my asthma.

Ugh!

Worst news is that Evil Genius Husband stepped on an enormous nail and has just now been able to resume helping with the chores. Poor lamb hobbled about in pain for days and I had to open the wound up every day and drain the yuck out of it. (Ewww!)

So that means that I was solely responsible for all chores (and getting hay!)

Did I say, UGH?

Our new pup is doing great though:

He's getting huge and is quite naughty. He fits in perfectly around here.

Yes, that's my ugly foot he's licking.

The NEW post

2007-07-29T19:19:00.000-04:00

So, you say, gosh it's been a while since Blue posted ... has the farm been in stasis?

Nope. I've just been wicked busy with the family and the stores and all.

So, since you've been so patient, I'll recap in pictures:

The Ford (truck) broke. I sussed out an electrical problem after removing a large portion of said electrical system and discovering that Fords (of this type) have no solenoid on the starter! Bizarre! If a Ford-driving mate of mine hadn't told me where to find the solenoid I've been flummoxed. Here's a pic of both:

It was NOT fun removing that heavy-arsed starter in the boiling heat and bugs and humidity. *angry face*

My OTHER Ford runs like a striped ape (when it's not broken); my new tractor the 8N:

I adore this little beast. Yeah it's old. Yeah it doesn't have a whole lot of heft, but it does what i want and it cranks up every time and it has ... personality. Incidentally the dig about it not running is sincere. It ALSO had an electrical problem and the pic is of it going back to the tractor place to be looked at. (Turned out to be the coil) That's my new trailer, BTW.

Off the topic of spending money, I found this cool item in the dump (cat not included):

Not an antique or anything but a nice sturdy chair that matches my decor (and my cat).

More free new stuff ... Baby pigs!

That's Bunty with her lot. Ginger had hers a few days later. They're about 6 weeks old now. I'll update with new photos soon. They're all fat and active now.

Here's Daddy Green in his new bachelor pad (turned out to be totally unnecessary. The babies squeeze into his pen and eat right out of his dish and he doesn't mind a bit.):

More newness. Our new Farm Dog, Roy, with his adoring human sisters. He's an Aussie although I have my doubts as to his purebloodedness (is that a word?) His dad is a friend of mine's working dog and is clearly a pureblood and is a good working animal. His mum came from a 'breeder' and she has these really short legs and upright ears making me think that she has some Welsh Corgi lurking in her background.

I guess we'll see. I'm totally unconcerned with looks or breeding. I need a working dog and he's keen as mustard so far (hard to really gauge as he's only 6 weeks old). I 'll keep you informed.

Here's another new addition, our new farm sign:

How cool is that?! I got a bloke named John over at Plasma Designs in Newberry SC to do it up for me. It's laser-cut, powder-coated steel. Barring it being stolen, this sign will outlast me.

(Yeah, I know it's crooked. I was lining it up with the ground, but the whole mailbox leans and so it looks crooked as hell. I'm going to go back out and adjust it. EGH says it adds 'rustic charm'.)

PS: In case you don't read my Mommy Blog, take a look at my new site for my snarky t-shirts for women, and my new page for my Pirate stuff! Teacher tees coming soon as well as all my goat-related and rural items.

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So, yeah ... snakes.

2007-06-06T15:16:00.000-04:00

I've been out working on the turkey pen all day and clearing the area where I'm putting the horse* barn**.

I went in to check my email and popped back out to put up the gate on the cage before Evil Genius Husband had to go get the comics. As I'm passing by the pigeon pen guess what i saw?

Snake #2! A bit bigger, a bit longer, and definitely not happy about being caught.

He also had a big wide head. Handsome fellow!

No problem. Two days. Two snakes. It happens.

So I dropped him in a pillowcase (after showing him to the babies - who loved it) and toted him back up to the shed to await relocation. I stepped into my shop, part of which is the interior of the pigeon pen (where they roost and nest), and I damned near stepped on another snake!

I kid you not.

This bloke was at least a foot or so longer than #2 and v. v. unhappy about being nabbed. I had the bagged snake in one hand (hadn't tied the pillowcase yet!) and the big honker by the tail with the other. I tried dropping #3 into an empty 33 gallon trashcan. He just reached right up and slithered out.

Finally I tried holding #2's bag closed with my knee and grabbing #3 behind the head. He was bloody quick to disagree with my proposal:

Finally I just walked back down to the house and in the back door holding #3 by the tail (with my arm all the way over my head - he was that long) and yelling for another pillowcase.

Here's EGH, professional snake bagger:

So how was your day?

-----

* It's a maddening wee pony.

** It's a wee shed for a maddening wee pony.

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Speaking of snakes ...

2007-06-06T07:44:00.000-04:00

I found this wee lady (?) coiled up in a nest box in my hen house:

Isn't she lovely? Alas, we were forced to relocate her (we take them to a huge, uninhabited tract of land down the road) since she was clearly small enough to get in through chicken wire.

I had noticed my eggs going missing for a few days but wasn't thinking about it when I reached in to check the nest. I touched her right on the top of her head and she flinched and startled the crap outta me, LOL.

-----

In other news, I spoke with my fence bloke about coming up and getting the side fence done. This one will go below the pasture and will complete the 'total surround' that I'm looking for. When it's done, all the animal pens will be within a perimetre fence. (Ohh, that sounds like a real isolationist compound, eh? I'm not a Libertarian fer nuthin', ROTFL! Now to go stock up on bottled water and ammo ...)

Anyway, I'll need 2 rolls of field fencing, and I think 3 gates, which will run me about $400. (Not counting what I have to pay the bloke to actually put up the fence!)

Argh.

Ahh, well, I can take it off my taxes.

-----

Speaking of money, my latest obsession is aquiring a trailer. I've finally figured out what I'm going to do!

I originally wanted a 12-16 foot flatbed to haul hay and junk on. Every time I come across something like lumber or tin or really big rabbit cages, I'm dead in the water because I can't haul them (usually). Ditto for hay.

When my hay guy ran out this year, I was forced to buy locally and go get one bale at a time (These are the big 4x5 foot round bales. They weigh about 1200lbs.) on the back of the truck. If I had a heavy duty trailer, I could get two. If I had a long heavy duty trailer I could get three.

With petrol as high as it is now, this one-bale-at-a-time crap is for the birds!

So, I got to thinking: I need a tractor. I've been working very hard in my stores to that end. I'm hoping to be able to get one by the holidays.

If I get a tractor, I'll need a trailer to haul it on.

*Lightbulb goes on*

IF I play my cards right and get the right trailer, I'll be able to haul my tractor, a car, junk, OR hay!

So that's my latest obsession. Find. Perfect. Trailer!

Storm clouds, snakes, and eggs

2007-06-02T13:32:00.000-04:00

I think we might finally get some rain today!

Tropical storm Barry is sprinkling on Florida as we speak so maybe we'll get some of that up here. I hope so, I need hay!

My garden would sure appreciate it as well:

And here's a little souvenir we found in the rafters of the shed:

Just for comparison purposes, Boy is 42 inches tall. I have actually seen the fine fellow whose discarded attire this is (a Chicken Snake, properly called a Black Rat Snake). A VERY interesting story. I'll tell it to you sometime soon.

Apologies to any of you herpephobes (is that the correct term?), or old-timey country folks, but I don't kill snakes. I freakin' hate rats and mice. Loathe 'em. Anything that eats them is my bestest buddy! Since this bloke is too big to get in my pens and eat my biddies, then he gets to be a permanent fixture.

Speaking of dibs, my eggs in the incubator hatched! I was convinced that they had been damaged by that temp spike, but a few made it through. I got over half hatched and in the brooder. I'll get you pics later.

Chicks are so cute. I seriously need to make some shirts for us poultry lovers. I have a whole section devoted to rural living but most of it is goat stuff (with some pro dumpster diving items as well, natch!) If you're a chicken fancier, what would YOU wear on a T-shirt?

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Excesses and shortages

2007-05-23T14:55:00.001-04:00

Not much to report here. Got rid of the last of my culls (except three v. small bucklings who will go to the sale) and made a cool $200 in doing so.

I've run out of hay, found a local bloke with oat hay, and finagled a few round bales from him. He's a really nice chap but no one has any hay. Everybody in the state is desperate for hay and a few shysters are selling the oat hay for upwards of $35 a round bale.

First the frost knocked it (the coastal hay) back, then, since then, we've had no rain. It's dry as a chip and folks are having a hard time getting even the oat hay baled.

Feed is also sky high around here - a 50lb bag of whole corn is over $7 - so I've bitten the bullet and started buying our feed by the ton. I get a 10% discount when I do.

This is a small portion of the junk part of the sale.

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The guineas and turkey poults are doing well; I mysteriously lost two of the sex-links who are in with the turkeys, though.

The eggs I put in the incubator are a bust, I think. I have the incubator set up in the pump house and the temp has being staying pretty constant. Then, one day this week-end I went out and the temp was up at 105 which, I'm pretty sure, scrubbed the hatch. I'm letting them stay in for the whole 21 days, just in case, but I have no hopes of any hatchlings.

I think I am going to just have to set the thing up in the house (which I don't want to do) because it's the only place that stays a reasonably constant temp.

What I don't understand is why it jumped. It wasn't even a hot day. It's been staying even from the chilly night to the middle-of-the-day heat. It's a head scratcher, that.

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On the home front I got the dubious honour and distinct (lack of) pleasure of replacing the wax ring on our upstairs toilet. It was leaking into the subflooring and dripping into the downstairs hall. One word on the swap and the leakage:

*GAG!*

I did manage to blister myself removing and replacing all the screws with a hand screwdriver:

I need a damned cordless power screwdriver/drill BADLY.

Gratuitus picture post - Farm edition!

2007-05-11T14:42:00.000-04:00

Nothing interesting to report over here, either, so here are some pics:

The much touted rabbit cages (the three small ones):

Two medium ones - 10 footers (bonus shot of our India Blue peacock, Sam):

Aaaaand one big mutha - 16 feet long:

I paid $100 for all of them and just sold the 16 footer for $50. Wheeler-dealer, me!

My pied guinea keets arrived!

They're the ones with white bellies and throats and dark stripes on the backs of their heads. The others are chicken biddies included for warmth. I can't wait to see what that guy there in front with the racing stripes turns out to be!

A new batch of turkey poults arrived as well (sorry for the crappy pic). They're the same sort that I ordered before - Bourbon Reds (and what appears to be regular male sex-link chicks):

And here's another shot of Sam, just for giggles:

Cool stuff!

2007-04-29T22:24:00.000-04:00

Woohoo! New aquisitions!

I just got - for a cool $100 - a whole load of rabbit cages.

I know you're thinking: "Uhm, Blue, you don't keep rabbits." (right after: "$100?! What happened to Ms I'm-so-thrifty-I-dig-through-dumpsters?")

Well, Smartypants, I got SIX cages: 3 singles, 2 - 10 foot triple cages, PLUS a 16 foot six partition cage. That's - technically - fifteen cages that are made of mechanic's wire (totally predator-proof) WITH feeders and waterers, all up on stout legs so that I don't have to stoop.

Ahhh, bliss.

Seriously, I need the cages for chickens, see? Or pigeons. Or chicks/poults/keets (I get my baby Guineas soon!)

Also, if I decide I don't need 'em all, I can sell just the single cages at $30-$40 a pop, easy. the mechanics wire alone on these things would cost me over $100 if I tried to make them myself.

I'll post pics soon. I'll try to get them all set up this week so you can see Blue's House O' Poultry.

Hee, hee!

Nose to the grindstone

2007-04-28T23:01:00.000-04:00

It's refreshing and exhausting to be back out in the barnyard.

Since I've been pretty much pregnant and/or breastfeeding an infant for the last five years (plus!), my Evil Genius Husband has been doing the lion's share of the farming.

I've never been too far from the action, but understandably limited.

Since the birth of my last baby I've been back in the barnyard; piddling about, cleaning up, adjusting things. My immediate goal: making a profit. This is a farm, not a hobby, and it's been set on cruise control for too long, LOL!

I've been eyeing the flock for culls and I've ordered more chicks from the hatchery (got my second batch of Bourbon Red turkeys just Thursday!) I also plan to set up the incubators.

In other news, I've been dump diving with a vengance and have acquired some brilliant finds; tonnes of wire to make chicken cages and repair pens, scraps of wood, a lovely dip net (for catching fowl), and endless odds and ends some of which will make their way to the junk sale.

Just today I got a small wheelbarrow, a lovely bit of garden sculpture (formerly a concrete mailbox in the shape of a cottage), several planters, and non-farm; what appears to be a venerable silver chest (or silver safe):

I already have my grandmother's cherry sideboard, which has a silver drawer, so i plan to use this nice peice as a catch-all on the dresser for Evil Genius Husaband's doo-dads.

My littlest diving buddy (my middle son, the Incredible Bulk):

In other news, if you live in or love the Southeastern part of the United States or just adore the rural life (especially if you have goats or sheep!), please check out our new sections in our online stores. Check back often as I am putting up loads of new stuff all the time!

Great sheep supply company

2007-04-06T06:34:00.000-04:00

I just had to post a quick brag about this new company I found for sheep supplies!

They're called Sheepman's Supply out of Maryland and I found them through Google. I had to do some comparison shopping but I decided that they had the best price on what I was looking for (a tall crook for Evil Genius Husband and a leg hook).

Wow!

Not only were their prices good, but their shipping was lightening fast. I placed my order on Monday and received it yesterday. Super fast!

They sent me a paper catalogue at my request so expect even more enthused purchases soon.*

I'll try to get you a pic of the new crook in action. It's getting time to do some culling and I'll be taking sheep and goats to the sale soon.

*can you tell we've gotten out tax returns back?

A tale of two flowers

2007-01-27T07:39:00.000-05:00

I have always had a tiny personal garden - a flower/herb garden, sort of.

My mum was always the sort - no matter where we moved, no matter what teensy apartment or duplex or rental house - she'd scratch out a bit of a bed outside a window or around the door and plant things. (No, my dad was not military - he was a professional student - dragging us around through 3 states and a dozen houses by the time I graduated high school).

Depending on how long we were in a dwelling, mum would plant veggies, herbs, flowers. So when I set up housekeeping myself it was only natural that I'd have a door-step garden.

Since I'm now in the house I plan on living in the rest of my life (lawd willin' and the crick don't rise), I have carved out a little garden for myself.

Now, I tried to bring all the plants I could from my old house. Many of them were collected from cuttings from friends or my mother.

At the old house it was like living in a sandbox. The only native vegetation in the area are stunted scrub pines and those flat cactus we have here in South Carolina.

I could get almost nothing to grow and everything had to be mulched heavily and watered frequently. Subsequently many of the things were super hardy. Others languished and died.

Well, one of the plants I had acquired that I loved was from a very elderly lady. She called it "moonflower". It was a low, spindly plant that came back every year and had prickly round seed-pods and enormous white flowers that only bloomed at dusk.

None of my original 'moonflower' plants made it to the new house but I came across another elderly lady and her plants that she called 'angel trumpet'. These are quite similar, except they come in colours and the flowers hang down toward the ground. They are also quiet tall. I think I'll like them but I still pine for the ethereal moonflowers from my old house.

I finally decided to consult Gardener Google.

My angel trumpets are just that: some species of Brugmansia. They'll get tall, come back every year, and apparently have a wonderful fragrance.

What I was told was 'moonflower' is actually a close relative of Brugmansia called Datura (datura wrightii - jimson weed or thorn apple).

True moonflower (ipomoea alba) is a vine.

So here's my problem ...

I also found out that the plants are very poisonous. All parts contain atrophine and scopalomine. For this reason, I'll hold off on getting any more Datura ... but what about the Brugmansia? Should I leave it? My garden is where the babies play but they stay up on the lawn and know from babyhood not to mess with my plants. They are also never left out there unsupervised.

Am I being paranoid? I mean, we have pokeweed growing wild here and I have tomato plants all over. What do you think?

Of dogs and pigs

2006-12-08T15:51:00.000-05:00

First of all it's bloody cold here. It's, like, 35 or something.

Now I know those of you north of the midlands of South Carolina will chuckle indulgently at me but, there it is. Bloody cold. To me.

So I'm sitting in the house, reading to the babies and the dogs start barking. This isn't unusual. We have 6 dogs and they are, to a dog, pretty freakin' dumb. They are also spread out: one in the barnyard (Turkish), two in the yard (Jake, the daftest dog on earth, and Reggie, the psycho) and three in the house.

The outside dogs tend to egg each other on. One barks and the other join in having seen and heard NOTHING amiss, just taking their idiotic dog-brother on his word. Bark! Space aliens! With tentacles! Bark! El Chupacabra! Attack! Bark, bark, bark!

Idiots.

Reggie, the psycho dog, will bark at dirt. Or leaves. Or clouds. Or some random itch behind his left elbow.

Anyway, this results in my ignoring them for the most part. I have actually learned to distinguish their barks after a fashion, much like I can tell the babies's different cries.

So, I'm reading to the bubs, and I hear the OMIGOD, OMIGOD, AHHH! DOGORSOMETHING! bark. This one is usually reserved for actual dogs on the property (as opposed to dogs riding by in pick-up trucks and dogs running more or less in the road with their stupid white trash owner who thinks it's cool to allow them to roam people's yards whilst she 'jogs'.)

Well, strange dogs are bad so I sigh, get up, bundle up to the eyes (bloody cold, remember?) and trudge out.

I stroll out into the yard, expecting nothing, and stop, startled. Something big, fast, and very dog-like sprints down the other side of the picket fence. The dogs go mad.

Galvanized, I hurry up to the gate.

Something else - big, fast - sprints behind the chicken lot. There're feathers all over, and these weird, winding ruts in the partially frozen ground. Like Mutant Moles Gone Mad. What the HECK?

Suddenly something right at my elbow (I'm leaning over the gate) goes: "Hugph?"

Well I screamed like a girl, I can tell you.

When I recovered enough to breathe I saw Bunty, one of my girl pigs, gallop down the drive, into the road, and around the corner. About that time Green and Ginger came around the shed and bustled up to me as if to say: "Hey, momma, got food? Food? Huh? Isn't this cool? Wow, chickens! Got food, Momma?"

The pigs were out. Damn. It.

Long story short (too late) I spent the better part of an hour trying to get those blasted pigs. Cursing and waddling around a barnyard while my small children are up to who-knows-what in the house is NOT my idea of a good time. I really really really need a dog! And by that I mean a useful dog. Not something with dog DNA that just eats and sleeps and barks at the random chupacabra!

Gah!

Related Tags: south, southern, southeastern, pigs, t-shirts, tees, shirts, tshirts, south carolina, dogs, herding dogs, working dogs, pets, funny, farm, humor, humorous

Adventures in dog-catching

2006-11-27T08:34:00.000-05:00

See, this is what I love about keeping livestock: never a dull moment.

[/sarcasm]

Well, we went out at the arse-crack of dawn on Sunday to the lovely Mr M's house to get the second quail cage. First we had to unload the toolbox, then with me driving the van and Evil Genius Farmer Husband driving the truck we set off. We stopped for expensive fast food breakfast (it was a treat), then headed on to Blythewood.

Now Mr. M had told me that he would 'try to get his son-in-law to help us' since the damned cage was so huge. He was better than his word. We arrived (late - eeek!) to a crowd of hulking young men ... all dressed in orange.
Now let me backtrack a second.

Just the day before, the University of South Carolina, the second oldest university in the United States, and THE USC, had pounded the bejeezus out of our arch rival Clemson*. Clemson tigers. Big into orange. Very popular with the rural crowd (it's our state cow college and a fine one).

So I apologized for being late, the young men hefted the cage and tossed it effortlessly into the truck, and I thanked them. As we drove away I silently thanked goodness I'd removed all of my Gamecock parephenalia from my van.

Here's my quail cages:

The small one is in the back on the right - already in proper position. The long one, perched up on blocks and sticking out at an awkward angle is thus because that's as far as EGH and I could get it by ourselves! It will just have to stay there until I can figure out how to shift it. EGH says we can wait 10 years or so until the babies are big enough to help.

Real funny.

So EGH spent the better part of his last day off shifting quail cages. I'm sure he was almost eager to get back to work today.

So, of course, something had to go amiss.

Seems that our tiny dog, Turkish, decided that he'd liberate himself from the bachelor pad this morning. EGH was heading out when he spotted Turkish in the neighbours yard with his feet on a duck. Very bad.

While simultaneously attempting to ring my cell and pull off the road, he misjudged the unmarked driveway and drove into the ditch.

Ahhh, Mondays.

So then we had to 1) catch a very big dog who'd shed his collar and who did NOT want to be caught, 2) retrieve and care for a squashed duck (it was one of my Muscovies), and 3) figure out how to get our pick-up out of the ditch.

Now, we pull stuff with our truck. The other two cars are 'family vehicles' and automatics. I studied the HMS Behemoth for a second and decide that it would probably do just fine. Any drive train that moves that much metal down the road can probably shift the truck.

While I went and got the tow-chain, EGH tried to catch Turkish. As he was doing so, some jerk with his dog in his car drives up (we were blocking the road) turns around angrily in my driveway, and snorts off with Turkish chasing him (he was 'chasing' the dog in the car).

Now what would YOU do if you came upon some nicely dressed bloke whose car was in the ditch and who was obviously trying to catch his dog? Even if you didn't offer to help, would you drive off if the dog that the guy was trying to get his hands on was running beside your car?

Well this moron never even slowed down and he led Turkish all the way out to the paved (and very busy) road.

Meantime, we got the chain on and the Behemoth towed the Ford out of the ditch as easily as the Clemson boys chucked that quail cage into the truck. Easy peasy. Thank you Detroit engineering.

Happy ending: my other neighbour, Mr K, and his son brought Turkish back after he wandered into their yard to inspect his hunting dogs. Here's Turkish incarcerated:

Awww! This is my goat cage that I put on the back of the truck. Don't worry, he'll only have to be in it till the babies take their naps and I can get up to fix his fence. I promise!

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*OK, Ok, 'pounded' might be a teensy bit inaccurate. We won 31 to 28 and Clemson was within spitting distance of a touchdown when the clock ran down. They attempted a field goal and missed. But it's the first time in 10 years we've won the game so I get to exaggerate a wee bit. GO COCKS!

Chicken poor

2006-11-22T08:41:00.000-05:00

One blog post per month?

That sucks!

As usual, I feel like a farm blog without pics is just not the same. It's kind of lame to describe stuff when a pic is perfect. Then I never get out, take the pic, upload it off the camera, resize it, edit it, upload it on my website, blog about it.

*sigh* Think I'm OCD much?

Anyway, it's raining here - mixed with sleet - and I have a barnyard full of chickens. I mean FULL. So of course it would have to piss down freezing rain. *rolls eyes*

Izzy the pony is in the sick bay since the pony stall has been pressed into service as a feed room (of sorts) and the various pens, boxes, and cages scattered about the barnyard (that are housing the chicken excess) are covered with every available bit of plastic or plywood. It's chicken shanty-town.

Well, at least everyone is warm and dry.

I also was the grateful recipient of a pygmy goat wether who has since found a good home. Did a bit of trading on that one which I MUCH prefer. I'd much rather trade or barter than exchange money any day.

I AM glad I got shed of the pygmy, though. I confess to not being a 'mini' person. I don't like small dogs, or small goats, or miniature anythings. I'm into big stuff. Witness my love of draft horses.

Speaking of big, my last big acquisition is only partly retrieved but it's SO cool! I had a lovely gentleman in Blythwood SC give me not one, but TWO very nice homemade cages! He raised quail in them and they're 4 feet deep by 8feet long and 12 feet long respectively. Both are covered. I can't tell you how much I can use these cages!

I said 'partly retrieved' because we got the 8 footer, but haven't gotten the big one. I had to figure out how to get the toolbox off of the truck because the 12 foot cage just won't fit with the box on. The stupid thing leaks anyway (the toolbox, not the cage) so we've never used it. To my relief, the box had been attached with woodscrews (yes, you read that correctly - about 8 on each side) and so was easy to get off.

NOW I have to wait for the rain to stop so I can get my cage.

And, of course, take pictures. *sigh*

I'm here and we're Green

2006-10-11T07:34:00.000-04:00

Ok, so ... yeah.

I'm still here for those of you who don't read my Mommy Blog. The farm is still chugging along albeit without much of my guidence since I'm preggers.

But I just wanted to post a few pics to prove that all was well. I'll be doing more farm bloggin' soon!

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We've aquired three very nice pigs as breeding stock, two Spot / Landrace / Hampshire (supposedly) sows and a lovely Spot / Duroc boar named Green by my Bitty girl. (I have no explaination. Read the story here.)

That's Ginger, the red sow on the left; Green, center; and Bunty, the other sow on the right. See how dark red Ginger is? There has GOT to be some Duroc or something in her background. Landrace / spot cross my foot.

The pony, Izzy, looks suspiciously out from his fave drowsing spot. He keeps an eye out for unsavoury persons coming up the drive. His definition of 'unsavoury person' is anyone not bearing food.

We also have new pigeons, four peafowl (currently at large since I built their pen but never built a gate for it.*rollseyes*), and some new girl goats.

This Saturday is the sale. More pics later!

Next!

2006-06-21T07:52:00.000-04:00

Alright! My fence is up, I've put the poles in and mounted the gate (with a big assist from Evil Genius Husband *mwah!*) Here is the barn drive before:

And after (man, I need to mow!):

Here's the gate from the outside - I'll be putting up wire on the inside of both the gate and the sides so that it's goat and sheep-proof:

I do still have to run the electric fence in the pasture, but that's not particularly difficult, just time-consuming and fiddly. I'm going to do a bit every day and should have it finished by the week-end.

Now on to The Pantry and the part of construction that is the most fun:

DEstruction.

I have to remove a ramp and railing from the deck and take out the back gate that I put up between the side yard - 'the garden' in the British sense, which includes the back deck, 'my' yard (with all my plants and flowers) and the vegetable patch - and the back yard which is the domain of the dogs, the pumphouse, and the brooder pens.

I've made an investment purchase of a satisfyingly long and heavy crowbar and plan to begin smashing and prising directly.

Here is the area right now - obviously needing to be tidied up even before chaos begins:

You can tell that this out-of-the-way corner has collected the junk of the yard. Here's the view from the deck:

My first question of the project is this: that is old aluminium siding ... how do I cut it? Can I cut it in situ since everything will be hidden in the end? Should I just leave it as is and nail/screw right through it? That makes me nervous, especially for the ledger board (that the rafters attach to) and the skirt board (that the floor joists attach to). I'd like to know what I'm nailing into.

As usual, all helpful thoughts appreciated!

Fenced in

2006-06-16T15:21:00.000-04:00

Quite a few changes around here!

The turkey poults are ready to leave the baby pen and go in a regular pen, my two remaining baby geese, Dutch and Akeeyu (named after two of my fave bloggers), look like big geese now. The ewe lambs and two doelings are in their pen and ear tagged.

Ahh, spring. Busy!

I also lucked into a pair of peafowl - and India Blue cock and some off-colour hen, not sure what she is, but they're a breeding pair and I have the two other girl peafowl. I am not sure whether that male will breed all thee females (in the manner of chickens) or if they pair up like geese. We'll see.

The biggest and best news is our new fence! Since I've decided to build my pantry myself, I'm saving a ton of money, and I used a portion to get an associate to put it up our pasture fence for me!

I didn't have much to spend but after we scrounged some old t-posts, used a bit of barbed wire, and I threw in a goat in trade, I got my whole pasture (approximately a half acre) fenced PLUS a small pasture under the crepe myrtle for the pony.

It was a long and tiring day. Mr K and his crew worked steadily and I helped out while the babes were napping and after Evil Genius Husband got home. I am SO SORE today! And my knee ... well I can't describe it. I've been eating handfuls of Tylenol all day.

It looks like decent folks live here now, lol.

NOTE: I have many more pics, including a before shot but Blogger is being STUPID and won't let me upload the others.

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Now to begin the pantry. I have finally settled on how to do the foundation and the framing, I just need to decide about where I'm putting the roof (blend in with the existing roof or attach below the eave since it doesn't need to be so high?). Still pondering that one.
Speaking of pondering, I was thinking that there aught to be some funny, attitude-ful T-shirts out there for small farmers and/or folks restoring old homes by themselves. I could make some for my store. You know, for hands-on type people. What do you think? Do you guys think farming / DIY old-house-restoring T-shirts would fill a need? ("See a need, fill a need!" yes, I have watched Robots waaaaaay too many times.)

New additions, new addition?

2006-05-18T08:09:00.000-04:00

My last ewe of the season, Alice's Big Daughter (yes, that's really her name) had her lambs - a ram and a ewe:

For some reason she wasn't 'caught' by our Katahdin ram, Steve:

and is the only one to be bred by our baby ram, Domino, a Katahdin/Dorper cross. I'm using him exclusively this season and I'm really pleased by this 'preview'!

ABD is easily one of my best ewes and if this little ram of her's looks nice I'll be keeping him.

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Here's a pic of my mystery dibs that came in with my turkeys - you can see a turkey poult there at the bottom for comparison:

As you can see, they're a mixed bag mystery. Those two tiniest black ones (above and below the spotted chick on the left) are actually from my yard bantams. I discovered a nest that had been abandoned just as the eggs were hatching and these two were orphaned so they went in with these.

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gratuitous shot of Turkish:

He's made himself a nest in a pile of hay. It's right next to one of the water buckets. He is such a water dog! He'll submerge his whole snout up to his eyes in the water, and that's, like, eight inches of dog nose.

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Please don't forget that I'm seriously needing advice on the kitchen. I need your help!! Hopefully I'm getting the pantry added soon and they'll have to remove a window to make the door and make a bit of a mess. I might as well be working on the kitchen at the same time.

So ... paint the beams and trim dark? Paint the walls dark? Bright? How can I get the sheetrock walls to look like old, hand-applied plaster?

Remember, I'm going for an English country cottage look!

This lady has her house just like she wants it. A Carolina Wren (state bird of South Carolina) decided that one of my 3lb coffee can feed scoops would make an excellent nest site. She built this lovely construction in one day - right on top of a half a can of chick starter!

The kitchen ... hmmm ...

2006-05-11T12:39:00.000-04:00

OK, here's my latest idea for the kitchen. (Go here if you're not familiar with the ~~debacle~~ project in question.)

Number one, I guess it would help if I shared with you my decorating style (duh!).

Well, the house is 120-140 years old ( a Victorian) and I'm going for an English Country style (not to be confused with American Country wooden-gingham-ducks-and-rag-doll-shelf-sitters style), sometimes called English country cottage or cottage style. Basically a lot of older hand-me-down pieces, rich dark colours, some intentional clutter - a comforting and welcoming look.

I want my house to be elegant but also seem like it's alright to come through my parlour in your wellies with all the dogs in tow after a nice walk, ya know? (Yes, I want my life to be an episode of All Creatures Great and Small.)

I don't want my kitchen and dining room (those pics are really the north wall of the dining room) to be bright. I want it to be dark. It originally had huge dark beams across the ceiling and at the tops of the walls until some moron painted over them. What I really want is those dark wood accents back and deep red or evergreen or cinnamon coloured walls.

Rather like this:

But, alas, I can't get those back so I'll have to make do.

I could paint all the 'wood' dark (like dark brown) but I'm afraid that would look naff.

Bugger it. I don't know what to do!

I will tell you my idea for the walls, though. I was watching the British telly series Ballykissangel (which takes place in Ireland) and I always keep my eyes peeled for decorating ideas while watching these shows. I noticed that many of the interior walls appeared to be rough plaster painted over. I LOVE this look. That's what I want my walls to look like.

Here's an example (NOT that colour mind! holy cow! Just the texture I'm looking for.)

So what would YOU do? I don't have much cash or time (two big problems here) and it's v. hard doing any sort of work with four small curious children about. This was why I suggested the sanding-of-the-doorjambs. It'd be a quick fix.

Well. I'm gonna go be peeling wallpaper while y'all are thinking about it.

Ahh, spring!

2006-05-09T06:09:00.000-04:00

With the advent of warm weather I've now got 25 projects started - at various stages of completion - and virtually nothing finished. Just as I'm completing one, I begin two more. *sigh*

So here's what I've gotten done:

Turkey pen before:

and after:

I still have to put a door on it (opposite side), cover those gaps with wire, and that roof is not nailed down yet, that's why it looks weird. The poults won't be able to go in just yet, anyway. They're still in the brooder:

That's nine Bourbon Red turkey poults (originally ten) and ... and I don't know what. These wee fluffy biddies were in with the poults when they arrived. What are they, live padding? Were there a few leftover chicks from other hatches and the hatchery just says: "Oh, just drop a few in each box as bonus prizes!"

I'm NOT complaining, mind you. I think it's cool and can't wait to see what turns out. I know that they're bantams and I have a few Cochins in there. It's a nice mystery!

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The rest of the chicks are doing well in their new pen and the two remaining goslings are in excellent health and growing v. well. I was going to take a pic of them for you last night but they decided to bathe in their drinking water and, since they still have down they looked like those poor birds they rescue from oil slicks! Not exactly photogenic.

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My one pigeon squab is getting hard to tell from her flock-mates AND she looks as if she's solid red (and so breed standard), so that bloke was telling the truth about them breeding true.

[update] I have a NEW squab!! I think she had two or three eggs but I know at least one squab has hatched out! I'm so excited! They're almost impossible to photograph, the parents keep them well tucked under unless they're being fed. I'll try though.

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Turkish has been doing well and the whole place is refreshingly free of varmints. Despite his being in a different pen altogether, I haven't had one egg eaten or lost one fowl since his arrival.

He has got some strange thing in his head about wanting the goats and sheep to be in a certain part of the feedlot - the back bit where the hay is. He not aggressive about it, he's just determined. He patiently gets up from his position by the gate and moves them back if they come around.
This is no problem except that 1) the water is in the front part, so they're not really getting to drink freely, and 2) they ARE in a feedlot with limited space and I'd like for them to be able to move about.

I'm putting him in the bachelor pad (with the buck and the ram) temporarily until school's out and Evil Genius Husband can work with him a bit. He's an excellent dog but has clearly never been trained, which is a pity.

----

I'll try to get more pics in the next post! Plus I need to tell you about my kitchen ... (cue ominous music)

Mine! All mine!

2006-05-04T15:11:00.000-04:00

So we had the power company on our property.

The cut (right-of-way or easement) runs right along our left hand property line - on our side. They've had huge trucks with bucket arms, the Turbo Chipper and it's accompanying truck into which it spits the remains, and that cool thingy with the strange spiked scoop on the front that is hinged in the middle (v. v. cool!)
Well, I do as I always do with county, state, and federal types, I am ultra polite, friendly, really earth-mother-crossed-with-aunt-Bea sort of thing. You catch more flies with honey, and all.

So it occurred to me, about mid morning, that while most of the trees being cut were pines, a good few were hardwoods (this crossed my brain as I watched some little twit-worker-ant chainsaw down my pecan tree that I'd been nursing for 3 years which was nowhere NEAR the cut)

I pulled on my wellies, told the kids I'd be right back and marched my large self determinedly out there.

Nothing like a vast, frowning, full-bosomed, gumboot-wearing female appearing at your elbow to shake you out of your reverie.

I smiled sweetly and commenced my spiel (note: I never mentioned the pecan tree. It was gone. No use crying over chainsawed wood.) I told them that since they were cutting hardwood that I'd like any branches bigger around than my wrist tossed aside so that I could scavenge them for firewood.

The slightly stunned Twit-Worker-Ant nodded quickly and we were joined by another worker ant Nice-Worker-Ant. I restated my plea, sweetly, and NWA agreed that it would be good for me and make things easier for them - they'd just cut the wood and throw it, not having to mess with it again.

Then Crabby Old Boss Worker Ant arrived.

"We can't do that", he huffed.
"Why not?" I asked, and this convo ensued:

Crabby Old Boss Worker Ant: "We have to remove all the wood..."

Me: "... from the right-of-way."

COBWA: "We have to put it on the trucks or chip it ..."

Me: " ... normally. I'm trying to save you some work. Just leave it to the side."

COBWA: (inflating himself) "Can't do that. This wood belongs to the [name of power company]."

Me: (dangerously) "Excuse me? This wood is mine that you're cutting."

COBWA: "Lady, this cut belongs to the [name of power company] and these trees ..."

Me: "... are mine. This is MY land, sir, and the trees on it! The [name of power company] has a right-of-way through MY land, they don't own the land. They simply have the right to come this way to maintain the power lines!"

His mouth opened and closed a few times, then he gave the two worker ants an exaggerated Jeez-women-these-days shrug and eyeroll and stomped off.

The next day I went down the cut and Nice Worker Ant had carefully piled up the wood, cut into about six foot lengths, in batches all down the side of the right-of-way.

Wasn' t that sweet?

Update

2006-04-30T19:56:00.000-04:00

A stressful few days.

I examined my Jungle Shrubs Friday and decided that I would wait until the fall - or at least later in the summer - to trim them since each of the larger shrubs has several birds nesting in. I don't want to disturb any of my wild birds so I'll just live with the jungley look right now.

I'm scrambling to finish my new biddy condo as my turkeys should be shipping tomorrow. The chicks will be moving into the new digs and the baby turkeys will go in the warmer brooder pen.

I lost three of my baby geese to my own stupidity so I'm down to two timid little girl geese. I thought briefly of putting them in a cage in with the older pair but my hen is laying and I'm afraid that that would cause her to come off her nest.

Speaking of nests, one of my ducks is on hers, one of my bantams just hatched out four thumb-sized babies and another is about to hatch hers. It's a reproductive melee around here.

Excepting me, of course.

The huge old oak behind the house had to enormous dead limbs hanging out over the babies play area and the deck. Fortunately, I found a nice young man to trim them (and gained some firewood). Unfortunately it cost quite a bit of money I didn't have to spare.

Here's the after pic. You can see the size of the limbs on this tree.

Here's some of the wood. I've already cut and split about 1/3 of it and it was only two limbs!

But the really good thing that happened recently was this:

This is Turkish, a purebred Anatolian Shepherd (He's named after the bloke in Snatch. Anatolians were originally from Turkey). They're livestock guardian dogs and so his job is to live with the goats and sheep and protect them. Despite being super sweet, his appearance alone should give most predators pause. His shoulder comes up to my hip joint (I'm 5'8").

'Scuse him, here, he's having a slash. Dog can't wee around here without getting his picture taken! That's a five foot gate behind him, BTW.

Gratuitous baby pic (after almost choking and frightening his mother almost to death):

And that's it for today.

Excesses

2006-04-23T10:57:00.000-04:00

I'm not gonna apologize for the derth of posts as I have no excuse!

Seriously, I'm obsessed with the farm/house blog needing lots of pics and I just don't get around to taking/uploading/resizing/cropping, etc. I'm that lazy! It's terrible.

On to the blog.

I got my shipment of biddies (5 Rhode Island Red pullets, 20 brown Leghorn straight run) and my six Toulouse goslings. I installed them in the biddy pen and quickly realized that I'd made a mistake.

The geese, despite being shipped with the bids, are much bigger and their growth rate is greater. It didn't help that we had a cold snap the day after they arrived and they crowded under the heat lamp ...

So I had several squished chicks that next morning and the geese moved out into a dog crate.

I should have their new baby goose palace finished ~~today~~ soon and I plan to put a run on it so that I can open a door and let them out to get some sun.

----

After I finish that I HAVE GOT to do something about the Jungle Shrubs in my front yard!

The right of the porch:

The left of the porch:

The Honeysuckle From Hell!

Eee, what do I do? Chainsaw? I tried to entice a blogger I just discovered into coming over with her SawZall, but, alas, I don't think she will.

Suggestions welcomed!

The house with the blue door.

2006-03-30T15:38:00.000-05:00

It's been so gorgeous and warm I finally got to work on the front door!

I got the door painted and got the screen door put up (if you're not over here from my Mommy Blog, I detailed the two itsy bitsy misfortunes we had there.) Unfortunately I don't have a finished pic from the outside since the door was a bit sticky when I had to shut it for the night and I had to do some touch-ups to the paint this morning. I'll get that to you soon.

Meantime, here's the door drying (told you it was blue!):

Please note the authentic Victorian plastic phone cord and Cat5 data cable stretched across the wall on the right (up by the ceiling). Classy!

I have a wireless network now so that won't be there for long.

Looking at this pic I can see that the blue door does kind of clash with the green room. Hmmm. Well it won't be standing open all that much. I did intend to repaint this room a deep red - I've had the paint for ages, I hate this washed out green - but never got around to it. That would compliment the blue, don't you think?

Here's the mounted screen door (my wee assistant is there minding the screwdriver).

Isn't that a lovely view? So peaceful.

-----

My next project (on a long list) for the house is the shelves in the library. I'll try to get some before pictures.

Waste not, want not, baybee!

2006-03-28T16:27:00.000-05:00

*Alternate title: "Bwahahahahahahahahahahahah!" (accompanied by gleeful Ferengi-like hand-rubbing)*

Check out what I got:

I fished these two wooden boxes out of the dump (read my teensy diatribe on this over on my Mommyblog - those of you who just came from there have seen it - suffice to say that I'm a Dumpster Diver and proud of it!)

Anyway, both boxes had one smashed in side (no, I stupidly didn't take a 'before' pic. I'm kicking myself) - the one on the right had the lid and front splintered and the other had two sides caved in. I scavenged the lid off of the left hand one and pulled enough slats out to re-weave the front of the other one. Took me about 20 minutes (and some snapped slats and colourful cursing) and I had one like-new box. How cool is that?!

It's about 12 x 12 inches and the perfect finish to match my parlour. Score!

I found that dog crate in the background there as well and, I swear, it looks unused. I even found this for the babes:

Everything you see was there ... well, except Boy. (note: if anyone local reads this blog and these things look familiar, all I can say is: "Thanks!")

Not pictured is the Graco high chair (I'm washing the cover and donating the high chair to the Salvation Army) , and the large sheet of tin and half-dozen shelving boards destined to be incorporated into a goat/sheep run-in.

MAN, I love a good scavenge!

Itching to paint!

2006-03-23T14:39:00.000-05:00

Well since I'm stuck inside with all the cold wet weather we've been having I'll just amuse myself by blogging about what I did get done.

Here's the bottom of the doorframe on the front door:

This is after I removed the upper board (which was nailed to the grey board in the pic with these HUGE nails - 4 of 'em!). I had to take it off because the door is very short and I couldn't have cut the new screen door to fit it, so I had to remove some of the wood from the doorframe.

I unfortunately couldn't get the top board off without splintering it to bits, as you can see in the pic. All of that kindling is the board I took off. This is the view from the porch BTW.

Here's the frame cleaned up a bit. See how I had to insert pieces where the uneven porch boards didn't go all the way up to the doorframe? That's where the screen door will 'sit'.

Here's the finished door. yeah, it's a crap pic. You can just see the new board I put on (scavenged off of a pre-civil-war-era barn). Yes, the door is that uneven.

I haven't installed the new screen door yet because I'm painting the front door (bright blue!)first.

Here's the new screen door on the back. Not a handsome a setting as in the adverts, eh? Man, I need to clean my aluminium siding! It's actually been painted that pale yellow (hate!) and I'm a bit trepidacious about trying to clean it without taking off that paint.

I am positively gagging to paint my front door! I need a warm day, though since I'll have to keep the front door standing open until the paint dries. I'm not certain as to how I'll keep eight wee baby hands off of the wet paint, either.

----

And here's a quick bonus pic:

Yep! That's Brownie and her MicroDoe in the adoption pen. They both seem to be doing well and are hale and hearty (so far). Now to introduce her back out to the herd ...

Brownie is a Nubian/Alpine cross in case you're curious and MicroDoe's daddy is my LaMancha buck's baby (that's the reason she looks as if she has no ears ... she doesn't!)

Opening doors

2006-03-14T13:47:00.000-05:00

Why is it that all the restoring-old-houses blogs and websites that I find have these things: two handy, into-it spouses/partners doing the work and money. Lots and lots of money.

I mean the people seemingly have gobs of money. They talk about redoing the bathroom in their 1920s bungalow and I'm all excited and I eagerly inspect the pics: Ohh, nice new tile, replace the seal on the toilet and a bit of rotten flooring. Ahh, there they've replaced the window since they discovered the extent of the water damage. Then custom paint, and new fixtures and ...

Then they gush over how they did it all - this 'tiny' job - for under five grand and over a week-end.

Five thousand? I don't have $500. I'm trying to restore my home running to the Lowes with a $100 gift card every now and then.

I also have no help. Not ragging on Evil Genius Husband: he's busy as all hell plus he's just not the handy/crafty/fixy type.

I have no animosity towards these other folks, of course. I love to read the how-to part and see the result. I'm glad they're remodeling these old homes but howcome I can't find someone else doing it a brick at a time ... on a shoestring? It's just depressing.

I hate it because I can't relate. I can't identify with 'getting someone out' to rebrick all the chimneys or put up the 1000 square foot addition. I'm never going to be able to get all new appliances for my kitchen much less decide then that - what the heck - I'll just replace all the countertops as well!

So help me out here. If you are restoring an old home (or have come across someone who is) on a tight budget, let me know. Show me the blogs and websites! I'll love you forever!

----

Speaking of that $100 Lowes gift card ...

The babies and I went and picked up two screen doors for the front and back so that I can have the doors open in pretty weather without sharing my home with roughly 1200 flies and mosquitoes.

I wanted something really nice for the front door that would compliment the porch with it's Victorian woodwork and something sturdy for the back to hopefully save the screen from babies.

This is the front door that I got.

And the back.

They're by ScreenTight which is a South Carolina company (which is cool) and are solid white vinyl. I spent 20 minutes agonizing over which door to get and whether I should go with wood or vinyl. I loathe the thought of vinyl but decided in the end that it would wear longer and look better. The back door, especially, will get sun, rain, and baby hands on it all the time. I don't need to be wasting money having to replace these doors ... ever.

My only complaint is that the filigree on the front door looks really vinylly if that makes sense. I mean it looks like plastic. But I figure that since we come and go through the back door that the overall impression (like from the road) is of more value than any close inspection the front door will get.

Because both of these doorways are in the oldest parts of the house they are crooked and oddly shaped. I'll have to add a strip of wood to the back doorjamb and actually partially rebuild the front door opening.

I'm also going to paint the front door (not the new screen door, the actual front door itself) cobalt blue. Because I want to. Hah!

(PS: now that I look at these pics I realize that the back door came with different hardware than pictured. It has a latch and strikeplate and hydrolic door-closer. I prefer a traditional look so I'll need to save up to get handles and a doorspring. Great. Now I don't know when I'll get the danged doors up. *sigh*)

Caution: philosophical post!

2006-03-09T13:23:00.000-05:00

I just have to apologize for the spotty posts. I know that almost no one is drifting by to read, but I'm sorry on my own behalf as well, LOL!

I need to keep this record to help me see how far the farm has come as well as be able to show my children what I did.

See, this is where I intend to live for the rest of my life. Here on this farm, Cool Shade Farm, and here in this house, The Burrow. I intend to raise my children here. I want to build something not only for me, but for them - if for no other reason than to give them good memories of their childhoods.

Of course, I hope that one of my kids will want to stay here and continue on farmsteading, perhaps raise his or her own kids here.

That would be cool.

Part of my problem with posting is that I really feel like this blog should be filled with pictures. Farmsteading and restoring a house (and raising four -hopefully five - children!) is a visceral pursuit. It's really hands-on and I feel like there's only so much a person of my limited writing talents can convey with just words.

So I resolve to take more pics and get them up!

I also have searched many times for other farm/homesteading/farmsteading blogs and haven't been able to find many. I often think that I'm obliged to make this a good one so that other folks who are interested in this sort of stuff will have something to read.

----

So the news up to now is that I caught yet another opossum (after he killed my black white-crested polish rooster who'd stupidly decided to roost on the ground) and something got in and decimated my new pigeons.

I still haven't figured out what it was, but did discover how it got in: it pulled the door out at the bottom and slipped through. I've fixed the door and had no more problems but I've not caught the critter. The trap is still out there, after 3 days, empty. What the heck was it?

The Microdoe and her mum were let out into the herd yesterday and I'm keeping a cautious eye on her. Brownie is acting a lot less attentive since she's been out and I'm not certain she's feeding the Microdoe. They may have to go back in the adoption pen.

OK, I'm off to take some pics.

A loss and an acquisition

2006-02-20T10:01:00.000-05:00

Well, after 2 days of being fed via stomach tube, the MicroBuck gave up the fight. The MicroDoe, however, has gotten so strong as to resist tubing. But she won't take the bottle either. After careful observation I've concluded that Brownie is actually feeding her - at least a little bit.
So we're keeping mother and daughter in the adoption pen for now and have a light on them for warmth. Brownie is already getting used to not having to jostle for food and the MicroDoe was nibbling at hay strands yesterday so I'm cautiously optimistic.

Here's a pic of the adoption pen:

The head stanchion is on the left with a feed box, hay rack and - you can just see it there closest to the gate - a water pail. I found a flaw immediately when I put Brownie in: she's so small that she can get out of the stanchion. I'll have to work on remedying that.

----

I am now the proud owner of 22 Red Carneau pigeons:

I braved a trip through Lexington to get them from a gent in Swansea who breeds them for show. He was culling these because of the white feathers they exhibit. It's not breed standard and comes from a cross with the White Carneau. You can just see it in this pic:

He claims that they will breed true to standard and produce some correct reds. I got them simply because I wanted some pigeons but now I'm toying with the idea of actually breeding these. Anybody have any experience with this?

More work! Happy V-day! Arrgh.

2006-02-14T09:24:00.000-05:00

Well.

I guess I actually haven't posted on this blog since before my Dad's accident. That sucks. For the few of you who have wandered by, I apologize.

----

We're at about 6 lambs and 9 kids so far and I'm beginning to think that we'll be doing some culling of does and ewes who failed to produce. If the animal is a nice one, I'll give her another season (everyone deserves a second chance - I myself am failing spectacularly to get pregnant as we speak *grrrr*) but I definitely put a star next to her name in the herdbook.

I'm off to Tractor Supply today to get some whole corn to supplement the nursing ladies and milk replacer.

Yep, I said milk replacer.

Yesterday Evil Genius Husband came back from doing the chores early. I could tell something was up.

"We might have a problem," he said.

We might have a problem is my taciturn hubby's version of screaming and tearing his hair. This is as anxious as he gets - outwardly - and I was immediately gripped by dread.

"What?! What is it?"

"There's a kid," he said, "who doesn't seem to belong to anybody."

Oh crap.

So I secured my own offspring, grabbed my gumboots, and slogged up to the barn. There, wobbling in the last of the evening light was the smallest live kid I'd ever seen. He was the size of a squirrel.

"That's one of the baby goat's kids," I said. None of my older does had had that kid. It was a quarter the size of the others. So we looked at the 3 or 4 youngsters and sure enough, found our escape artist, Brownie, was the missing mom.

This doeling resisted all our efforts to keep her in the kid pen and had escaped several times in the fall and gotten back in with the herd (and the buck). She's smallish to begin with and supporting a pregnancy has kept her growth back. She might weigh as much as a bag of grain. Maybe. And she acted as if there was no kid.

So we decided to try out the new adoption pen. I ran down to the house to check on the Brood and get a bottle and EGH scooped up MicroBuck and Brownie.

We tried unsuccessfully to get some donor milk from one of the other does but everyone was milked out by their own robust kids. I gave up and went round to see if I could get the MicroBuck latched.

As I came 'round the barn I heard MicroBuck calling shrilly. He'd been keeping up a constant yell, so I wasn't surprised ... but I was startled when I realized it was coming from the woods. Had that wee thing escaped the adoption pen (he was surely tiny enough to just walk through the gate)? Had he been silly enough to walk his bite-sized self out into the dark woods? How was I going to keep him in with his mum all night?

I turned to tell EGH to run and get the MicroBuck before a 'possum did when I realized that I was looking right at him ... in the pen with Brownie.

A few moments hunting in the dark and the woods-screamer was revealed to be another kid - assumedly Brownie's and a little doe. I tried unsuccessfully to get them to latch and ended up feeding them the tiny bit of colostrum I could milk out. Two bottle kids. Great.

----

Update: both MicroKids were alive this morning, still won't latch, but had a meal of cows milk and colostrum. Tonight they'll get Very Expensive milk replacer. *sigh*

Hammers and nails and boards, oh my!

2005-11-16T13:30:00.000-05:00

Ohh, I have gotten SO many projects done! I'm really pleased. I will also be posting pics as soon as I drag my sorry arse out and take them!

I converted the run-in into two lambing jugs, and built a pen inside what is soon-to-be the ex-feedroom. This tiny pen - just big enough for my largest doe/ewe - has a built in feedbin and hay rack and a stanchion that closes on the doe's neck so she can't turn around. I have had problems in the past with yearling ewes rejecting their kids. We also had an orphan last year.

If I had had an 'adoption box', like this one, I could have stuck one of my older ewes in there and pressed her into adopting that lamb. This will also help with flighty young animals who want to reject their babies.

I'm hoping I never have to use it!

I also went ahead and did what I should have done originally and built a built-in feedbox and hay rack for the pony's stall. It's an old fashioned real stall: he stands tied in it, and he is so rarely stalled (only in nasty weather) that he tends to get bored and tosses his feed bucket about and steps on his hay. All that is in the past now. I hope, lol.

My next projects are: free standing feedroom for Evil Genius Husband so that he has room and a proper door that's big enough for him to get through without stooping, a woodshed, and a dovecote.

I'll post again with pics so that all this makes more sense!

Oh and so far we've gotten 2 racoons and 2 'possums in the trap! Where are they all coming from??

Predator and Blue, tied 2 for 2

2005-10-18T07:33:00.000-04:00

I'm beginning to think that the predators are hiring reinforcements: a sort of wildlife League Of Villains. I swear every time I try some new critter-proofing, several new critters show up to test it out.

I lost another hen, reset the trap, and got another 'coon. In the meantime I put together this for the biddies:

Yes, I know ... all my construction has a classic beauty, lol. In my own defense, almost everything is of recycled material. As a matter of fact the only thing I used here that was new was the chickenwire.

Here's the inside:

It's built onto an existing shed which was used as a workshop. Those are shelves in the pic. I just built around them and will put nest boxes up there.

Here's an exterior side view with biddies installed:

Those are Barred Rocks and black-tailed Japs. I had carefully (I thought) patched any holes bigger than 1 inch but then I went out one evening to find this lovely bloke:

He had killed one of the Rocks and was trying to swallow him when I yanked him out. I'm 5'8" and his head brushed the ground with me holding him as high as possible. The weird spots in the pic are from the rain that was pouring down at the time.

*sigh* So now I've inspected the biddy pen again (saw where the snake got in as he tried to get out the same way) and am being scrupulous about shutting up the hens at night. So far so good. Perhaps i'll actually get to write a post that doesn't include a lengthy blow-by-blow of critter warfare, LOL!

(PS: I do not kill snakes, in case you were wondering)

Got 'im!

2005-09-22T11:42:00.000-04:00

Hah! I got that little bastard who was after my chickens. And do you know it took another poaching for idiot me to finally resolve the problem? Yes, I'm dumb.

I got a pair of Dutch bantams and put them in a cage that I thought was varmint-proof.

WRONG!

My predator killed the hen and got her out out of the cage. He even ate her right there and left the feet and wings for me. Lovely.

Angry? I was ang-REE! It was Sunday and I stomped into the house and told Evil Genius Husband that I was going right then to buy a trap.

I paid $60 (that I do not have) for the damned thing, baited it and put it out. I was really torn in the store because the trap was a small one (7x7 I think) and I was afraid that a 'coon or a big possum just wouldn't fit in. But the next size up was $15 more and whatever this thing was had gotten into my coop through a hole no biggeer than 6x6. I also figured that it would take a few nights to catch him.

Wrong about that too.

The dogs kicked up a row right after it got good and dark and I checked the trap. Sure enough, a big racoon was wedged in there like a foot in a too small shoe. Huzzah!

I left the trap out, baited with catfood, just in case I had another visitor. It's been empty every night since but I noticed that last night something had pawed away the pine needles in front of the trap - obviously trying to get to the food - so tomorrow I might have a tale of a new capture.

The Burrow

2005-09-15T13:45:00.000-04:00

The farmhouse that we live in was built in 1886. It's a classic Poor Folks's Victorian. Originally two up and two down, with a detatched kitchen (typical of the time) that was beside and a bit behind the main house and connected by a long porch. It was not originally a big or grand house. It was built by a farmer for his young family.

The porch has long since been closed in as a hall and a small "grandmother's room". There's the original porch across the front (with a tiny bit of gingerbread) and, again, a part of it was closed in at some point to make a room. The house was slowly growing.

The house was built by a family named Amick, was eventually and unfortunately abandoned by them, held some squatters at one point, and was finally rediscovered in the 60s - literally falling to the ground - by a couple who set to restoring it. They (mostly she) slaved over details and brought it back to it's simple beauty. They raised their children here as they worked.

Then, after everyone was grown and gone, and the couple grew older, it inevitably got to be too much. So they sold the house.

Two families lived here between the Blessed Restorers of the house and us. Each family made some changes - some more grotesque and misguided than others.

Next time: The Family Room or did they just not care??

Blue -vs- Predator

2005-09-12T09:05:00.000-04:00

All right, operation Get That Little Bastard is underway.

I went out to the coop to let the chickens out yesterday and two -count 'em TWO - of my hens were inside, dead! I was sooooo angry. The whatever-it-was didn't even eat the second one.

So I spent the late afternoon nailing boards and stapling and cutting wire. I put up wire everywhere! I even jammed wads of old chicken wire into every teeny little hole that I thought was big enough for a rat or a snake. The largest holes I have in the coop now are right in the front, at the very top, under the eave. I had put 2x4 wire over the 6inch tall, 4 foot wide opening that I'd left for ventilation. If the whatever-it-is can clamber up there and get through a 2inch by 4 inch opening then have the strength and energy to kill an adult sex-linked hen ... well, my hat's off to it.

And I'll be out there with the nails and the wire again. *sigh*

Another sucky day on the farm

2005-08-27T23:35:00.000-04:00

Gah! What a day I had last Saturday. Some good, but mostly bloody bad (literally!).

First I went to a stock sale at 10 a.m. Well, at 10:09 ...

I got horribly lost and had to ring Evil Genius Husband and get him to get on Mapquest and find out where in the hell I was. Then I finally got to the microscopic little town and had to canvass the whole place to find the sale. Fortuantely that took about a minute.

Now I normally go to my 'regular' sale which is in Springfield SC twice a month. I love this sale but, since moving over here on the posh side of the lake, I've found it just a wee bit far away. With petrol prices over the roof, it doesn't behoove me to go anywhere in my big, ugly, gas-guzzling Ford pick-up without careful consideration.

Since I wasn't selling and I hadn't been to this new sale (oh, and the Ford suddenly seems to be missing on one cylinder *big frowny face*), I chose to forgo Springfield and check out this new one.

It was a bust. It sucked actually, no offense to the folks putting on the sale.

I arrived late (it started at 10 o' clock, I got there about 10 minutes after), and they'd all but finished selling the meagre number of chickens. They weren't even holding it in a barn - we were in a regular building in 'downtown' Buffalo SC. They trotted out one goat (a small pygmy cross tame enough to wear a collar) and a miniature horse stud. I was on the long road back home by 10:30, cursing under my breath and listening to the Ford's engine miss.

When I got home I was so frustrated at having accomplished nothing (except burning up some of my $2.50 a gallon petrol) that I optimistically decided that I'd shear my two woolly ewes. I'd just purchased a set of hand shears (I don't intend to do more than make them comfy as the weather gets hot) and was dying to try them out.

I snagged ewe #1, my Finnsheep cross, Brunswick, and clipped her. Man, if you want to get some exercise, hand shear a sheep!

After she was done, I tossed out some feed to lure the flock back and got a chance to put my hand on a little doe who'd liberated herself from the kid pen. I grabbed her, hefted her up (Oh, my back! Man, if you want to hurt your back, hand shear a sheep!) and she writhed and snapped her head back. Well, she clocked me right on the side of my fool head and I saw stars.

I staggered with her over to the kid pen, tossed her in, retrieved my shears and the next ewe: my Jacob, Iris. She had NO intention of being handled and grunted and struggled the whole time I was trying to clip her. It was bloody hot, too so I was sweating up a storm.

Now, being multi-coloured, Iris has mottled skin. Since she was throwing herself about, the shears were giving her little nicks and so as I worked tiny specks of blood would show up on her skin - hard to see since her skin is different colours. Finally I paused. Geez that's a lot of little cuts ... maybe I should stop. Then another appeared. And another. I was quite still at the time.

What the hell?

I wiped the sweat off of my chin and my hand came away bright red. DUH! It was me. The blood was dripping off of me. Apparently the little kid's equally small and sharp horns had impaled me when she head-butted me.

When I finally got done and back in the house I discovered that the errant doeling 's horn had actually pierced my left earlobe. The little creep. My left ear already had 6 holes in it (yes, I am a Punk Farmer.)

A lovely end to a lovely day.

Well, crudnuggets!

2005-08-18T12:15:00.000-04:00

Now I'm caught up in the grip of indecision!

I quizzed the readers of my Mommy Blog on whether or not I should start this new blog - I didn't tell them that I had already, in my OCD way, started the new blog (I feel like I'm cheating!). A few reasonable ladies have indicated that I should keep the farm stuff on that blog.

So this one might be disappearing into the ether.

Bleh. What to do? What to do?

I'd forgotten how this feels!

2005-08-16T09:50:00.000-04:00

I'm contemplating starting a blog just for my farmstead, but in the meantime I'm just using this space to test template changes.

Apologies ... but do check out my other blogs!

Cool Shade Farm

We have moved!

Jeez, some days ...

Springing!

Today's funny

A small success!

Heroic mule!

No such thing as a sentimental farmer?

Suburban Sucktards

Farming is NOT for the Weak of Heart

Nice ride(s)!

Sink, or swim

So that's why they call 'em MINIvans

Speaking of El Chupacabra

And I thought *I* had predators

Soppy animal post with insect murder!

Dry as a chip

The NEW post

So, yeah ... snakes.

Speaking of snakes ...

Storm clouds, snakes, and eggs

Excesses and shortages

Gratuitus picture post - Farm edition!

Cool stuff!

Nose to the grindstone

Great sheep supply company

A tale of two flowers

Of dogs and pigs

Adventures in dog-catching

Chicken poor

I'm here and we're Green

Next!

Fenced in

New additions, new addition?

The kitchen ... hmmm ...

Ahh, spring!

Mine! All mine!

Update

Excesses

The house with the blue door.

Waste not, want not, baybee!

Itching to paint!

Opening doors

Caution: philosophical post!

A loss and an acquisition

More work! Happy V-day! Arrgh.

Hammers and nails and boards, oh my!

Predator and Blue, tied 2 for 2

Got 'im!

The Burrow

Blue -vs- Predator

Another sucky day on the farm

Well, crudnuggets!

I'd forgotten how this feels!

And I thought I had predators