My Stuff

Round Pen

2012-02-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited about this. I've needed a round pen to work Henry, Kip, and Pony in. I plan to use Monty Robert's methods ( http://www.montyroberts.com/ ) with the pony and the donkeys. Pony has been a pet for the past few years and has developed some bad habits, like crowding me when I lead her, or her trying to lead me, and being too greedy for treats. I want her to be as safe as possible for little children, so she's going to need to break those bad habits. I haven't seen Monty Roberts work with a mini or with an older horse (Pony is almost 11), but I'm assuming that the same techniques work on all horses.

Donkeys are different from horses in several ways, so all of the techniques might not work, but I'm going to give it a try. Monty Robert's philosophy is pretty much the same as mine and from what I've seen, a lot of the things he does, I do naturally anyway. Now, mind you, I have never in my life "trained" an equine. Every horse I've ever had came to me already trained and I never gave it much thought. But, hey, until we bought this farm I'd never milked a goat, never halter broke a donkey, never grew a garden, never built a fence, never trained a livestock guardian dog, etc. etc. My list of "never dones" is pretty long, so why stop now?

Anyway, I've been searching for either livestock panels or portable dog kennel panels to make a round pen with. In his TV programs, Monty Roberts uses what looks like dog kennel panels. You can buy a 50 foot round pen from his website for about 4,500.00. Many ranchers around here use the livestock panels that you can hook together in whatever shape you need. I could get a cheap round pen new for 750.00. Looking on craigslist, I could buy up every dog kennel I could find for about 150.00-250.00 for a 10x10 pen.

But, I found this guy on craigslist that was selling all of his dog kennel panels - 15 6' panels and 6 10' panels for 400.00! That makes up a round pen that is just a little short of 50 feet.

Tom and I drove over on Tuesday morning to get them, then he and our nephew, Jordan, put them together for me.

Now I have to get serious. No more excuses for not training the donkeys. Ack!

Winter Gardening

2012-02-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't done much in the garden this winter. In fact, I only just got the old asparagus and tomato plants pulled out of there. Winter weeds love the garden and I'm barely keeping them from taking over.

I planted some broccoli, but only three seeds germinated. They are just now starting to produce.

And my lettuce in the greenhouse is coming up. So far the winter has been so mild that freezing hasn't been a big issue. I put that little heater in there on a timer so that it comes on if the temperature gets below 65 at night. I don't think it would keep the whole greenhouse warm if we had a big freeze, but it's working for just this small area so far.

An old man with a green thumb and an amazing garden told me this weekend that it's time to put onions in the ground, so I'm trying to get that done this week.

Rest In Peace, Hilde

2012-01-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

We had a sad death at the farm today.

At full gallop, Hilde ran head first into the fence and broke her neck. She did not die, but couldn't get up, could not breathe and had to be shot. It was horrible to watch and makes me very sad.

All of the donkeys have turned out to be good guardians and have done their jobs well.

Pony!

2012-01-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

I've been searching for a gentle pony for the grandkids to ride when they come visit. Finally found this little one. She's very gentle and I'm hoping she'll be a good horse for little ones. I'm going to work with her a while to get a feel for how she'll be. She's cute as she can be and when I go out there she comes running to me and follows me around. She's wet in this picture because It rained all night and she's been standing out in it even though she has a shelter. I hope she didn't stand out there all night, although rain doesn't really seem to bother horses. She's very interested in the goats and donkeys and the neighbor's horses so she's standing out there looking at them all. She even found the hole that we cut in the fencing for the goats to get through and eat the grass in the alley between the pastures. That's where she was this morning when I went out to make my feed rounds.

She's actually a miniature horse rather than a pony, but who wants to tell the grandkids, "I got you a miniature horse!"?Sounds so much more fun to say "pony".

Now I just need to talk Tom into building me a round pen to work her in. He thinks she's cute, so maybe he won't be hard to persuade.

Heat...Sort Of

2012-01-08T16:18:00.000-08:00

We finally got the furnace hooked up. It took the guys about four hours to run the pipes up through the ceiling. hook them up to our existing ducting, and install the return air vent box. Tom lit a fire in it right away even though the temperatures have been in the 60's and 70's this week.

I guess this week is not a real test of the furnace's ability since it's been so warm outside, but it does heat the house adequately so far. The reviews that Tom read said we should be able to keep the house warm enough by burning just three pieces of wood a day. I don't know how that is possible because right now, we're burning at least that much every few hours. Supposedly, we'll learn to regulate it just right so that it burns hot, but not fast. I don't know. Seems impossible to me. And we're having to get up at night to add wood or we'll wake up to a cold house. That is not fun.

One thing I was extremely disappointed about is that it is NOISY. One of the reasons I thought this furnace was a good idea is that our regular heater, installed in an inside closet, is very loud. I thought having the furnace outside with little fans would be very quiet. Wrong. It's horrible. Another thing one of the reviewers said was that you don't even need to install the fans. I think that's wrong, too. If there were no fans blowing, the heat would barely come out of the vents. The way to get optimum heating is to run the furnace and the inside heater fan, which I really, really don't want to do because that's a double-whammy loud.

My opinion of this thing so far is...not worth it except for the savings in propane costs. Maybe I'm just a whiner and need to get over the noise aspect and be grateful that we have heat.

Wood Burning Furnace

2011-12-24T14:24:00.000-08:00

This is supposed to be our future heat source for the house. It is a wood burning furnace that is made to be hooked up into the existing HVAC ducting of a home.

Our regular gas heater is inside the house in a closet that is right on the other side of the wall to the left of this furnace, which is sitting on the back porch. The furnace has a chimney pipe that goes up through the ceiling of the porch and through the roof. There are two pipes that come out the top that will be hooked up to the ducting that is above our current heater and there are two blowers attached to the back of the furnace that will force the air into the ducts and out the vents in the house.

The reviews that Tom read said they didn't need the blowers. We'll try it with and without to see what works best. This should end our dependence on propane heat and it's supposed to burn far less wood than our fireplace does, although I do like using our fireplace because it feels so cozy.

We're waiting on the AC guy to come hook it up. Tom could do it himself, but our home insurance company insists on a professional install or they won't insure us. It's a pain waiting on the AC guy because he's the same guy that did the barn apartment HVAC system and he is notorious for not showing up when he says he's going to. We've already wasted weeks on him, not to mention having to run our heater.

Bah.

Like Black Friday at Walmart

2011-12-22T12:52:00.000-08:00

I sold some goats today, listing them on craigslist.com last night.

I listed our four girls born this spring, 50 bucks each or 160 for all and within ten minutes some guy texted me (at midnight) that he wanted them. After a string of texts, we agreed that he'd pick them up at 10:00 this morning.

Then, this morning I had e-mails and phone calls galore. When I told the responders that the goats were supposed to be picked up at 10, they each made me promise that I'd call them if the buyer didn't show up. One woman even got a bit miffed at me telling me that she emailed me last night and "didn't you get an email from Ruby?" like I purposely ignored her email so I could sell the goats to someone else.

I guess I priced the goats too low. Tom told me after the fact that female goats are going for 90+ at the sale barn. Oh well, the guy, who was willing to drive an hour to pick them up, got a great deal and I probably made his day. I didn't make a profit, but I just wanted to shrink the herd and not have to feed them all through the winter. I really would like to have polled the responders to find out exactly why they were so anxious to buy my unregistered goats. Was it the price? Was it because they were Boer/Nubian crosses? Did they want them for resale or for their own use?

We're down to two Boers, two Kikos, and two Nubians. All are pregnant except for the Kikos because they're too young still. And we just had the three boys butchered, so our freezer if full. I definitely am going to have to start cooking more.

At Long Last...Wedding Pics!

2011-12-03T15:46:00.001-08:00

Been waiting to get my copy of the CD from the photographer.

All flowers by Meagan. Her beautiful bouquet.

We put tea lights in mason jars and hung them from the rafters.

We made this flag bunting to section off this area of the chapel and we also strung it up in different areas.

Beverages...

...served in mason jars.

We froze berries in star-shaped ice cube trays for the drinks.

And this is what we did with that old farm sink that Tom made the stand for. There were outhouses on the grounds, so we made the signs, "Ladies" and "Gents", made a skirt for the sink, provided soap and hand towels, and used a watering can for hand washing.

Meagan and I went to the flea market and found these vintage lapel pins. We pinned them in a cluster for her hair ornament.

Meagan used huge round balloons as part of her decorations and to take photographs with.

Afterwards, the kids had fun playing with them and whoever could convince their parents to fit them in their cars could take them home.

Blue checkered tableclothes with burlap runners and loads of flowers in old crates, milk glass vases and mason jars adorned the food tables.

We had THE greatest band. They played the processional, then all through the reception.

Part of the tables with burlap runners.

Dreamy.

Goings Ons

2011-12-03T14:05:00.001-08:00

I moved these mandevilla and bougainvillea into the greenhouse last week because there was supposed to be a freeze. I was under the impression that a greenhouse would protect plants from freezes. Apparently, that is not the case. The plants are now completely dead. Somewhere I read that I should put a barrel of water in the greenhouse. Theoretically, the water would heat up during the day and then the heat would dissipate during the night and help, at least a little, to keep some warmth in the greenhouse. Also, not true. The water in the barrel remains cold at all times.

I wanted to grow some veggies in the greenhouse this winter...maybe some lettuce or tomatoes. So, the question is, what is the trade off in cost? Is it cheaper just to buy lettuce and tomatoes at the grocery store or to heat the greenhouse during the night with heat lamps or a space heater?

This is our new propane tank. Think it's big enough? After we get it taken off of the trailer, Tom is going to hook it up to a generator so that if we lose power, the propane will run the generator, which will power the house.

Our Family Cheesecake

2011-11-26T11:26:00.001-08:00

I started making this cheesecake at Thanksgiving many years ago when my siblings and I could still all get together for the holidays because our kids were young and didn't have their own lives. It became a tradition for us that continues still. This is the one that I made earlier this week and took to our partial family gathering in Oklahoma.

Here's the recipe. It's somewhat labor intensive (in my opinion), but well worth it because it tastes wonderful. The notes in my recipe book say it originated from Good Housekeeping and was called "Chocolate Zebra Cheesecake". I've changed it somewhat to fit our gluten free needs and I call it:

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups gluten free ginger snap cookie crumbs

(if you don't like ginger snaps, you can use any other cookie crumbs, Oreos are especially desireable)

3 Tbs. butter, melted

3/4 cup chocolate chips

4 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 Tbs. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

5 large eggs

8 oz. sour cream

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup heavy or whipping cream

8 1-oz. squares semi-sweet baking chocolate

Early in the day or a day ahead, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" x 3" springform pan. In bowl, mix the cookie crumbs and melted butter; firmly press onto bottom of springform pan for crust. Bake crust 12-15 minutes. Remove crust from oven; sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let stand several minutes until the chips soften, then spread evenly over crust. (Note: this does not work with old chocolate chips so make sure yours are fairly fresh...trust me on this) Refrigerate.

With mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. In small bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt; gradually beat mixture into cream cheese until blended. With mixer at low speed, gradually beat in eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and cream until blended and smooth.

Divide batter evenly into two containers with pouring spouts. In small saucepan over low heat, melt the baking chocolate. Stir chocolate into one of the bowls of batter.

To create the swirl design, pour half of the light batter into the springform pan. Holding the dark batter about two feet above the pan pour about half of it directly into the center of the light batter. Pouring from this height will cause batter in center of cake to be pushed toward edge of pan, forming a bull's eye design. Repeat procedure three times, decreasing the amounts of batter each time and pouring from high above the pan only into the center. Top of cake should look like a series of concentric circles.

Bake cake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn the oven control down to 225 and bake for one hour and 45 minutes or until center is set. Turn oven off and let cake remain in the oven for one hour. Remove cheesecake from oven; run a thin-bladed spatula or knife around the edge of cake to loosen from side of pan. Cool cake in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate cake at least six hours or until well chilled.

NOTES:

For extra decadence make this chocolate glaze/shell to coat cake with (I've done this a few times and it is very good, but extra rich). In saucepan over medium heat, heat 1/2 cup of heavy cream until bubbles form around edge of pan. Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in four 1-oz. squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate until melted and smooth. Cool glaze for 10 minutes. Meanwhile carefully remove cake from pan to cake plate; with spatula, spread the glaze over the top and side. Refrigerate 30-45 minutes until glaze is set.

To prevent your cheesecake from cracking, place a ramekin filled with water in the oven while baking the cake.

My light batter is extra yellow because I use free range organic eggs from our own chickens. Expect your cake to be a lighter color if you are using store bought eggs.

The Big Dig

2011-11-22T12:46:00.001-08:00

Wow, it's been about a month since I've added to my blog. All I can say is that we've been crazy busy. The pond is finally finished and we're awaiting floods of rain to fill it up. So far, we've gotten a few inches, but the pond really can't tell.

The front part is the the main part of the original pond with the water that made it through the summer. The spot of water beyond that is water from an underground spring that started bubbling up while the digging was going on.

Second Cousins

2011-10-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

All four second cousins made it to the wedding. Four boys in 18 months makes four great grandsons for Mom.

What are the odds of getting them all together for a picture and all happy at the same time?

Naked Cake

2011-10-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

The wedding was wonderful and fun. I think it was everything that Meagan had hoped for and envisioned. I didn't take any pictures and am waiting for ours from the professional photographer, Alisha Hurt, http://alishahurt.com/ .

In the meantime, friends have been posting their personal snapshots on facebook, so I copied this one for my own use.

The cake went together with absolutely no problems, despite the fact that my heart was pounding and my hands were shaking as I very carefully transported them to the site and stacked the tiers. Our wedding day coordinator artfully arranged the berries at the last minute so they wouldn't get soggy and Meagan made the silhouette cake topper.

The cake is sitting on a framed mirror that I had found at an antique shop a couple of weeks ago. It was the perfect size and perfect style. It will be hanging in our barn apartment soon.

Do I Have Time for This?

2011-10-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

Why yes, yes I do.

We had everything that could be set up done by around noon. With great friends and family to help, I turned the reins over to the wedding coordinator, Alicia, and she's doing a great job. We're all very relaxed. The weather is beautiful, but the wind is blowing harder than necessary.

This is the sky that we woke up to this morning. It looks like we live at the base of a snow covered mountain, but we don't. That is a bank of clouds or fog, I don't know which, but it was very disorienting to see that out there this morning.

This is from a little bit of a different angle. It was a far as the eye could see.

It looks like we're TPing the pavillion, but we really aren't. We're battling the wind trying to get the drapes hung. Of course, Harry had to come down to the chapel to see what's going on. The guys really did a great job getting them hung according to our specifications. Patient guys.

It's time to deliver the cake.

Wish me luck.

Tomorrow Is THE Day

2011-10-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

OK, tomorrow is the day that we've been working towards for two months now. Wow, it went fast.

My biggest anxiety has been the cake.

It is frosted and safely stowed away in the refrigerator. Everything turned out straight and I managed to put them together without breaking any layers. Whew! Big and scary. I didn't go grocery shopping or feed Tom all week because I knew I had to make room for this behemoth.

Tomorrow I'll take them to the site and put them together.

Everything else is ready and waiting to be set up.

Rehearsal dinner tonight at our favorite restaurant...Indian food. Yay!

Hardscape Done

2011-10-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

We've finished the hardscape in our front yard landscaping project and it's ready for planting.

Here's one side of the walkway viewed from the front door. I used the rest of that old saltillo tile that we took out of the house to line the top of the retaining wall so that nothing would grow in there, but I ran out. Will have to figure out how to get some more or get some other kind of tile. I already found some on craigslist, but haven't heard back from the seller yet.

The view walking up to the front door. I planted a low growing Lime Thyme in that flagstone patio area. Theoretically, the thyme will spread to all the cracks between the stones and will be nicely aromatic when walked on. It's also supposed to be evergreen and hold up well to foot traffic, not that we walk around in that area much.

This is the other side viewed from the front door. I already planted two white plumbagos and some lavender trailing lantana about halfway down to the corner of the house. The lantana in the back yard is growing fantastically, so hopefully these will, too.

Wedding Sneak Peak

2011-10-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

Tom has been working on building a stand for the old farm sink that I bought at the flea market last year. There was no small disagreement as to how it should be built. I gave up and left him to it and this is what he came up with. I think he did a fantastic job. It's intended purpose is for cleaning veggies out by the garden, but before that, we've found a use for it at the wedding.

And here are a few of the decorative items that will be used.

Wedding Nightmare Number Two

2011-09-30T21:17:00.001-07:00

I know that listening to someone else's dream can be a bore, but I've had two nightmares about the upcoming wedding that I thought were somewhat remarkable because of the way that my mind resolved them in the end to make everything allright.

My first dream was a couple of weeks ago. In it we had gone all the way through the wedding and reception when I realized that I had forgotten something major. I don't remember now what it was, but I was aghast, "I forgot the (whatever)! Oh no, what a disaster!". Then I realized, "oh, this was just a trial run, so it's ok."

Second dream was a couple of nights ago. We were all dressed, Meagan in her wedding dress, me in a dress that was like a tube top that I couldn't pull down long enough to cover my hiney no matter how hard I tried, heading out the door on our way to the chapel. I suddenly gasped, "I forgot to bake the wedding cake! Oh no, what are we going to do!?". Then I remembered, "oh yeah, this is just a trial run, so it's ok."

What's with all the trial run weddings?

Tonka Trucks...Supersized

2011-09-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

Tom: "Charles is going to teach me how to drive his dump truck. He'll fill it up, then I'll go dump it."

Me (with renting or leasing in mind): "It sure would be nice to have two dump trucks so that while you're taking one to be emptied, Charles can be filling the other one up. That way, he wouldn't be having to just sit around and wait for you to come back."

So...he bought one. The next time I have some sort of time saving tips that might involve big machines. I will keep my mouth shut. Anyone who farms knows that big equipment breaks down. A lot. Yes, this truck has already had its moments. But, overall, the men who have come to check it out have assured Tom that this is a most excellent dump truck and will accomplish all manner of wondrous feats.

"Oooh and aaah!"

Recipe for Happiness

2011-09-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

I heard a song on the radio the other day and the lyrics went like this:

Blow up your TV
Throw out your papers
Move to the country
Build a home
Plan a party
Eat a lot of peaches
Find Jesus
On your own.

Spanish Pipedream by the Avett Brothers

We Don't Homestead for Monetary Gain

2011-09-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

I was at the feed store the other day choosing some garden plants from their rack outside. When I walked in, there was a discussion about the red BMW in the parking lot.

Woman: "Look at that Beemer!"

Man: "Where?"

Woman: "Parked outside. That red one. Ahhh, I'd love to have that."

Sighs of approval all around.

Man: "Wonder who it belongs to?"

Woman: "I don't know."

Man: "Probably some insurance man." Said with a slight sneer.

Me (because I couldn't let everyone think that only insurance men drive little red sports cars): "No, that's my car and I'm not in insurance."

Woman: **gasp** "What do you do?"

Me: "Well, I farm now."

Woman: "Ah, are you new?"

Me (hoping for a useful tidbit): "Yes. And I don't know anything. I need lots of help and advice."

Woman: "Just do it until the money is all gone."

Me: "Thanks"

That car was bought back in 2006, long before we took on farming. It's not the most practical car for this lifestyle, but...it's paid for and I like driving it. We have trucks and Tom's diesel VW wagon for the heavy work. So, I haven't yet figured out how anyone makes a living on a farm. So far, all we've done is spend money. We don't have to buy eggs anymore and I sell just enough to pay for the little bit of chicken scratch that we use, so eggs are free. For periods of time during the year, we don't have to buy milk or veggies and I can see us getting to the point where we can stop buying them almost altogether - when I can store up enough milk to last through the winter and when I figure out the veggie preserving processes.

Just a Couple of Pictures

2011-09-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

Birds over the water.

Charles, the digger (also the one who helped Tom build the apartment), and Reid, our teenage laborer, taking a YooHoo break. I used to like YooHoo, but now all I can think of is that it must taste like chocolate water, which sounds really awful.

Trivia for the Prepared

2011-09-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

A 2.3 oz. deoderant stick, when used once a day, will last for seven months.

A large tube of toothpaste, when used an average of three times a day, will last for three months.

Goats and Goatweed

2011-09-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

When pastures are left empty around here, the goatweed takes over. If you're smart, you will not plow a field and then leave it empty. We've seen some people do it and in just a few months, they have a beautifully cultivated stand of goatweed that looks like it was meant to be there.

Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find out what goatweed is good for or why it is called goatweed.

Goats don't eat it. These are our does amid the goatweed that has sprung up along the barren side of the dam. They are eating everything BUT goatweed.

We're told that quail love it. That must be true because quail and dove season just started and there has been lots of shooting around here in the fields where the hay and grass has died off and the goatweed has taken over.

Pansy thinks she owns the place. It took me and Tom both quite a while to get her out of the golf cart.

Disappearing Pond

2011-09-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Because of the drought, many ponds in the area are drying up. Ours is not gone yet, but it is very low.

It's a little round watering hole now.

In a normal rainfall year, this tree sits right at the water's edge and it's branches dip over nearly into the water.

All of this used to be covered by water. Since the pond is so low, we decided to take this opportunity to have it cleaned out and dug it deeper. I've noticed that a lot of people around us are doing the same thing.

The locals call this "sugar sand". It's very fine and white and most of our property is covered with it. Our neighbor, who originally dug the pond, told us that when he dug the pond, he dug down to clay and none of this sand was in it. Over the years, all of this sand has washed down into the pond from the neighboring fields. I'm a little bummed that they are digging it out because it was nice to have a sandy beach around the pond. When it's a clay bottom it gets slimy and slippery and if you step in it, your feet can slide right out from under you before you know it.

Within the first couple of days, they dug out over 200 tons. The dirt guy expects to dig for about a month.

It's "Be Mean to Your Kid" Week

2011-09-12T21:06:00.001-07:00

Well, not really, but from what I have observed, apparently some parents think so. A few nights ago, Tom and I went out to eat with some friends. A young woman came in with two children and sat in the booth behind us. She put the baby in a high chair and her other child, approximately five years old, sat across from her and was misbehaving. She proceeded to hiss loudly at him about how awful he was and, through gritted teeth, hatefully proclaimed how terribly he was acting. i can't imagine why, but he wanted to sit by her and she rudely told him she didn't want him to because he crowded her, blah, blah, blah. It really was pitiful to witness. Oh, how that woman will pay for her hatefulness.

Then, overheard in Walgreens tonight:

Little girl, about eight years old, wearing flip flops, following her dad to the back of the store, "slap, slap, slap" went her shoes.

Father, glancing back and with a hateful tone of voice, "Stop walking like that with those shoes, that slapping is driving me crazy!"

Little girl quietly adjusts her walking so that there is no slapping sound, "squeak, squeak, squeak" went her shoes.

Father, again with a hateful voice, "now I hear that awful squeaking!"

Hello, what should your little girl do, crawl through the store so she doesn't annoy you with any footsteps?

Landscaping Update

2011-09-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

This is the progress made as of Saturday.

Back when I did the flagstone patio in the back yard, I told myself that I absolutely was never going to do anything like that again...too much crawling around on my knees and heavy lifting. Well, never say never. To build this wall, the first layer of bricks had to be level all the way across. Tom helped get the first bricks at the walkway level, then I did the rest. Each spot has to be either dug out or built up with sand, which requires placing the brick to check to see if it's high or low, removing the brick, adding or subtracting dirt, putting the brick back on, checking the level, removing the brick and adjusting the dirt, etc. Sometimes four or five times are required.

I suppose that professionals level out the whole area first so they don't have to do it that way, but this is the only way I know how.

After the first row is done, the rest is a piece of cake. I had Tom and Reid (the teenager that we hire to help us sometimes) fill the brick holes with sand, then we stacked the second row and filled those with sand. Tom wants to stop with two rows. I think it needs three.

Tom has to do some more grading of the soil so that the water flows down to the brick, then we'll put the river rock along the edge of the brick so that it will (hopefully) be like a dry creek and when it rains, the water will flow away from the foundation, into the creek, and out to the side yard.

When the grading is done to Tom's satisfaction, I'll be able to put some plants in along the foundation. But, guess what I want to do now? Well, actually it's been in my head all along, but I didn't want to admit it. I want to extend that skinny front porch (on the right edge of the above picture) out to the retaining wall with flagstone. Somebody stop me. Quick.

New Landscaping Project

2011-09-07T06:31:00.000-07:00

The soil along the front of our house has always been too high up on the foundation and we've been concerned about rain water (if it ever rains again) flooding into the house like it did in the living room the year we moved in. We asked our neighbor to dig it out and regrade it for us with his Bobcat, which he has done.

Since we have it all dug up, we (well, really *I*) decided that now is the time to do the landscaping that I've been wanting to do in the front yard. Who wants a big ugly trench in their front yard? So, while Meagan and I were shopping for wedding stuff in Dallas, Tom went through and pulled out a truckload of grass and old tree roots and smoothed out the whole area.

Then I laid out the line for the short retaining wall that we're going to build. The ground slopes very slightly away from the house and away from the front walkway so that the water will drain away from the house and down the driveway. I had envisioned a sharper slope, but that was not to be.

This is the other side of the walkway. The water should drain out to the side yard and around back.

Next step is to level the ground where the bricks are so that we will have a nice level wall.

New Vacuum Cleaner

2011-09-06T16:48:00.000-07:00

Remember back in August of 2009 when I said, "Don't buy a Hoover Windtunnel vacuum cleaner...it's the worst thing ever."? Well, I've been hating on that Hoover ever since and finally got rid of it. I gave it to the future son-in-law so he can hate on it for a while. And Tom bought me a new vacuum. Yay!

Riccar...the only vacuum cleaner still made in America!

I decided on a cannister since all of my floors are wood and I only have area rugs scattered about.

Retractable cord.

Onboard attachments and full bag indicator.

The brush has its own place right on the height adjustable handle.

The big attachment does hard floors and carpet, but these extra hard floor attachments come with it, too.

I love it... as much as anyone can love a non-central vacuum system.

Rain!

2011-08-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

Wonderful, marvelous, beautiful rain.

The clouds came. The thunder rumbled.

The wind blew and kicked up a dust storm.

Then it rained. It wasn't much...more like a drop of water on a dying man's tongue, but it was something.

Then, unexpectedly, it rained later in the night. We need a whole bunch more, but it rained enough to soak the ground and leave a little water in the livestock feed troughs.

We are grateful.

I'm Back, Cyberfriends

2011-08-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought I was going to coast through the rest of the summer painting and napping, my daughter went and got herself engaged and set the date for October. So, there will be no napping for the next two months.

The mother-in-law needed a picture to put in their city's newspaper, so I was elected to do some quick snapshots. Now, I've never claimed to be a photographer, but I have a really nice camera with lots of fancy features that I don't know how to use, so I gave it the old college try.

I took about 20-25 pictures, then transferred them to the computer and told Meagan to go through them and delete the ones she didn't like and send the one she wanted to her mother-in-law to be. When I came back to check on her progress, she had deleted all but one. Well, I didn't think I was THAT bad of a photographer.

Luckily, I hadn't deleted them from the camera and was able to load them back on my computer for my own use.

It was my wacky idea to stand by the tree. Somebody shoot me before I get any more ideas.

It was only about 103 degrees and poor Drew has a suitcoat on, but he was a trooper. I think turnabout is fair play, don't you? Women have to freeze in most public places and formal events with cold air blowing up and around their sleeveless dresses so men can be comfortable with their jackets on.

"Look natural," I say.

Now we're getting somewhere.

"Um...hot."

What a guy will do for love.

Touchdown!

**Click on pics to get a better look and especially to see the ring**

Slow Season

2011-08-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

It's the slow part of the year for me right now, especially with the drought going on.

With all the goats and donkeys foraging in the hayfields and pastures, I don't have regular feeding time. I've let the milk goats dry out because (1) I was tired of milking and it really ties me down; (2) I was concerned that the heat was stressing the goats who were producing; and (3) they'll be bred again in September or October and I wanted all babies weaned and all the mothers to have time to rebuild their strength before then.

The only thing producing in the garden is peppers, so all that is necessary right now is pulling up the few weeds that can survive the heat. I started planting my fall garden last week, but so far the only thing that has come up is one winter squash and one pumpkin. It's a little soon to expect much, but I don't know if anything will make it since as soon as it comes up it will be blow torch scorched with this heat. I'm watering every evening to give the seedlings a fighting chance.

Tom has still found plenty to do even though he has finished goat fencing the perimeter of the entire property. He cut down the worst one of those maples in the front yard that really didn't come back after the Arbor Barber pruned it severely. That's OK. It was ugly anyway. We put a red oak in its place and we're hoping it will survive. He spends the day fixing things, mowing, cleaning the chicken coop and taking frequent breaks in his office drinking gatorade and trying to cool down.

I think the heat is stressing the chickens because we're getting an average of three eggs a day, whereas we were getting over a dozen a day before the heat got so severe. They could be hiding their eggs or a snake could be getting them, but I mostly think that they just aren't laying.

So, I actually have a lot of free time right now and have started on a project.

I've made much progress on it since taking this picture, but it's a gift and I don't want to reveal too much until it's done. Then I'll explain what it is and why.

Bag Boy Liam

2011-08-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

Who needs toys?

Look at this great bag I found!

Hmm, what can I do with it?

Oh, I know!

The very definition of LOL!

That was so much fun!

I Love Buttercream Frosting

2011-08-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

I'm not much of a fancy baker and am not one to make up new recipes or experiment with food. Pretty much I just plain ol' don't like to cook. But I like to eat and since there's nobody else around that's going to cook for me, I do what I can. I'm a good cook and what I do cook tastes good, I just don't enjoy the process.

Anyway, the past couple of months with it's events and occasions have presented the "opportunity" for me to frost a lot of cakes and cupcakes. I used to just buy Betty Crocker or Pillsbury frostings and be done with it, but I wanted different colors and decided the best way to do that was to make it myself.

For the first couple of batches, I used a recipe that Meagan found for me on some woman's cake decorating blog. As her base, she uses shortening. It's good, but it's a little to greasy tasting to me. So, I found another recipe and tweaked it a bit and I think it is wonderful. I could (and have) eaten it by the spoonfuls.

This recipe will generously frost about 30 cupcakes.

1 cup of unsalted butter (two sticks), about room temperature
1 cup of shortening
8 cups of confectioners sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp. table salt
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
Up to 8 Tbs. milk or heavy cream

Beat butter and shortening together with mixer on medium for a few minutes. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and with your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere), mix until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. Add the rest of the sugar while mixing. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 1 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If the frosting is too stiff, add milk/cream one tablespoon at a time until you reach the consistency that you want.

I'm sure this could be made without the salt, but I wouldn't recommend it. That little bit of salt adds just the right touch so that while you're eating it, you get that little hint of salty/sweet that makes this so enjoyable to savor. Yum!

Hmm, Feed Trough?

2011-07-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

We've only had one rain this summer and the paddocks are pretty near eaten bare, so it looks like we might have to start supplementing with hay soon. The vet told us that the goats get worms from eating stuff off of the ground because when it gets so dry and the grass isn't growing, instead of grazing off the tips of the grass, they have to graze down to the ground. We're supposed to keep their feed up off the dirt to minimize the ingestion of worms. The problem is, we have no feeders to put hay in out in the fields.

The above picture is one of Tom's solutions. I know it used to be a feed trough. It's one of the things that Tom found abandoned out in one of the pastures, but the plastic liner is long gone.

Tom has a vision for it and, to be fair, it is not finished, but I'm not seeing it.

Fail

2011-07-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Well, our foray into raising Boer goats was pretty much a fail. We were warned in the beginning that goats have a problem with intestinal parasites in east Texas. I think what we are finding out it that BOER goats have a problem with intestinal parasites in east Texas. I don't know why they are so popular here - Boers and Boer crosses everywhere. They can be seen out in numerous fields as one drives along and that is the goat of choice for FFA students to show.

We bought three fullblood Boers last year and we traded our spring Nubian doeling for a fullblood boer doeling this spring. So we had four fullbloods and three of them died from worms. Buttercup, the only surviving fullblood, is doing well. I'm not sure why she has survived unless it's because she kidded back in December so her system wasn't stressed this spring and summer.

Someone told us the other day that if you cross a Boer with just about any other goat, they will have a much better chance of resisting death by worms. So far, we have found that to be true (knock on wood). Pansy is a Boer cross (we don't know what with) and she has been fine. All of the babies that are either fullblood Nubians or Nubian/Boer crosses are also thriving. Our fullblood Nubians, Hyacinth and Daisy, seem to be unaffected by worms so far.

Even though our intention was to raise Boer/Nubian crosses, we can't keep our Boer nannies alive, so we are officially out of the Boer business. We're going to try Kikos, which are a meat goat from New Zealand. They are supposed to be very hardy and parasite resistant.

We went to see some yesterday. They look rather scrawny compared to the Boer.

But we bought two doelings, brought them home, and are hoping for the best.

We put them in with Buttercup, the surviving Boer, and her little herd of orphaned girls.

Indulge Me for a Grandmotherly Moment, Please

2011-07-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

Birthday Boy Liam.

I mean, really, how could I resist showing off that sweet face?

Intent on birthday presents with his daddy.

Something is hilarious in his one year old world.

Peeking mischievously over my shoulder at Pops.

Shuffling Livestock

2011-07-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

The drought is bad in east Texas. The only rain we've had this season is on June 21st when we got about four inches in 24 hours. That is long gone now, the fields are drying up and the pond is lower than I've ever seen it. So, we're trying to manage our livestock in a way that we don't have to supplement their grazing (other than the little bit of sweetfeed I give them each morning just to keep them in a routine and tame).

We let a friend whose fields are grazed down to nubs, bring over three of his cows to graze the pasture around our pond. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm wondering if we're going to need that area for our own livestock. When I went to look at it, I found it eaten nearly bare except for some tall weeds the cows won't eat.

In addition to the exceptionally dry conditions and suffering grass/hay, we have at least one paddock that is infested with worms that have killed three of our Boer goats. The vet told us not to put any other animals in that paddock for six weeks.

So, the time has seriously come to try to get the goats out into our small woodland areas to browse. After wracking my brain for days on a way to position them so that they'd have protection from predators and protection for the donkeys that are supposed to be protecting them, I finally came up with a plan, which Tom and I implemented today.

I decided that we needed to divide and conquer. Separating Kip and Henry was necessary to keep them from forming an alliance and attacking our spring crop of wethers that we wanted to put in the pasture with Billy. Because Henry has a milder dispostion, we decided that he would stay in the pasture with the little boys and Kip would move. Kip was a good boy when I slipped the halter on him and led him over to the pasture with Buffy and Hilde. Hilde is his mother, but she's acting like she never met him.

Then I led the boys to Billy and Henry's pasture with Tom herding from behind. Billy seems glad for the company. Henry did a little chasing, but seems to have settled down. Billy did some grunting and huffing, so maybe he was telling Henry that chasing wasn't allowed. This is the pasture with access to the hay field and woodlands. Billy hasn't ventured into the woods even after weeks of having access to it. I'm hoping that he'll start wandering over there now that he has some pals to go with him.

We moved Buttercup and all the orphaned babies into Buffy and Hilde's pasture after moving the donkeys over one. Buttercup had to be drug by the horns and eventually all the babies followed.

The Nubians and Pansy are in the smallest pasture drying out. I can't believe that after a week their udders are still fat with milk. But they can't stay there for much longer because the grass is being eaten up fast.

Experimenting With Beets

2011-07-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

I grew beets in the garden this year. I don't really like beets, but they were included in the bucket of heirloom seeds that I ordered and I had room in the garden, so I planted them. They grew well and no pests bothered them.

So, what to do with beets that I don't care for? I searched the internet for recipes and came across a soup on http://www.allrecipes.com/ that sounded decent. I like soup and it looked easy, so here it is, altered a bit to fit my taste:

The recipe called for six medium beets. I'm not exactly sure what "medium" is, but I figured that my assortment of different sizes would add up to six medium ones, so I peeled them all.

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

6 medium beets, peeled and chopped

2 cups (or more) beef bullion

salt and ground pepper

heavy cream

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in onions and garlic; cook until soft but not browned, about five minutes.

Stir in beets and cook for one minute.

Stir in beef bullion; season with salt and pepper; bring to a boil; cover; and simmer until beets are tender. It took about 35 minutes for the beets to become tender.

Puree beet mixture in a blender or food processor and return to pot. At this point, I thought the mixture was too thick to be called soup, so I added about one and a half cups more of beef bullion. Correct the seasonings and heat thoroughly.

Serve in bowl with a swirl of heavy cream.

This actually was pretty good. It kind of tasted like a cauliflower/leek soup that I make and love except that the beets added a bit of sweet flavor to it.

And it's lovely to look at.

Racoon Ragdolls

2011-07-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

I heard Harry barking out back the other night. Then that morning, while walking the path to the barn, I noticed Harry looking up in a tree, so I looked, too. There were four or five baby racoons sleeping in the branches.

This isn't a good picture, but that's really what they looked like - a hairy wad. I never would have seen them if I hadn't looked really hard. I thought at first that it was one large racoon and one baby up on a higher branch, but when I came back and looked later, they had spread out. There was no mother, so these are probably the babies of the racoon that was killed a few days ago.

This is the baby that was in a higher branch. After they all spread out, their little heads and limbs were just dangling from the branches and it looked like someone had tossed a handful of rag dolls up into the tree, snagging them on the branches.

So cute, but probably future trouble.

They were gone by 10:30 that morning, but they must have climbed from branch to branch to other trees. I know they didn't come down because Harry stood guard at the base of the tree all morning.

Voodoo Doctor

2011-07-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know Tom, know that he has always suffered from allergies. Sneezing, nose blowing, and throat clearing is a way of life for him, in addition to waking up in the middle of the night with an earache due to plugged up sinuses. He had been tested for allergies in our early years of marriage and found to be allergic mainly to molds, so he went through a regimen of allergy shots (which I administered, much to my chagrin). His allergist pronounced him "cured", but I didn't see any change in the nose-blowing category. Then he had surgery for a "deviated septum" in his nose. The doctor claimed that he'd be able to breath much easier after that. Still, no change as far as I could detect.

So, we have these friends, sisters, that are into holistic medicine. They have a doctor that they've gone to for years, but their husbands are skeptics. Both husbands have allergy problems, so, out of desperation, one of the husbands decided to go to this doctor. She did her thing, whatever that was, then stuck what he described as a bundle of dirt into his sock against his leg. He was to wear it for at least three hours, then he could take it out. And he did that. And he says he is cured.

It was cheap, so Tom decided that if it worked for our friend, it was worth a try. So he went yesterday.

The doctor put some sort of hood over his head so that he could breath something in to try to dry out his sinuses. She touched some sort of electrodes to his skin and pronounced him to be allergic to molds and some grasses. She said that he was much more inflamed than our friend, so it would take longer for him to get better.

Then she put the "dirt pack" in his sock...on both legs, told him to wear it for at least three hours, and gave him a bottle of slippery elm herbal supplement to be put into his water and drank.

I was expecting at least a tidy little surgical looking pack of dirt strapped or taped to Tom's legs, but this is what it looked like when he took his sock off...a wadded up Kleenex.

And this is what was inside that wadded up tissue. You might have to click on the picture to see it better, but there were bits and pieces of various plants and what appeared to be some mold. Hilarious.

So, in a couple of weeks, we'll see if voodoo medicine really works.

Orphaned

2011-06-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

I really....really....hate this.

When Tom went to pick muscadine grapes on Monday, he decided to also pull some of the vines out of the tree with the idea in mind that he could trim the vines and pick the grapes off of the vines that he pulls out. Before they got started, Tom and our teenage helper, Reid, saw a racoon up in the tree. For some reason, they decided that the racoon must die. When I later asked him "why?", he said that if they left it there, it would have been bothering them or trying to get them while they worked in the tree. My thought was that the racoon didn't want to be anywhere near them and would stay as high in the tree as it could. Nevertheless, Tom came in and got his gun. I heard two shots.

When I went out to help pick, I commented, "I hope that racoon didn't have babies somewhere that it was taking care of."

Lo and behold...baby. In tree. Beside dead mother hanging in tree.

I'd rather not have even known this, but Tom took a picture and loaded it on my computer. So now I know and am haunted by it. And now you know. I hope it doesn't affect you the way it affects me.

I am not the kind of person that would join PETA or think that animals should never be killed for any reason. Obviously, I am not a vegetarian and I do think that animals are here for us to make use of. I eat meat, I wear leather and furs and I have no problem with that. It's just that...I don't want them to suffer. And it makes me so very sad thinking about that baby racoon seeing it's mother killed right beside it and not knowing what to do and not understanding why it's mother is not responding to it.

As far as I know, that racoon hadn't done anything to us. Yeah, that one summer we had a racoon fishing our goldfish out of the water buckets and I didn't like it and I wanted that racoon out of here. Maybe it was the same racoon. I don't know. But this just doesn't seem like a fair exchange somehow.

Boyz In Da 'Hood

2011-06-26T19:10:00.000-07:00

Billy the Goat

Harry the Dog

Edward the Cat

The vet says Eddie Cat is going to be a big fella...'bout 17 pounds. He'll fit right in.

Crummy Trees

2011-06-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

Remember Ewell Love the Arbor Barber (Dec. 17, 2010)? And the extreme trimming that he did on the ugly maple trees in the front yard? And how they were supposed to come back all beautiful in the Spring? Well, this is what they look like now.

This one is kind of OK. Better than last year.

And the one on the left is OK, too. Not great, but it is an improvement. But, the one on the right is pitiful. The problem with all of them is that the new branches keep falling off. They just...drop off. And if a big wind blows, the yard is littered with them. That terrible one on the right has got to go. I'm going to replace it with either an oak or a magnolia.

So, the Arbor Barber was sort of right. They do come back with a better shape, but what comes back seems to be very weak.

Rain! Rain!

2011-06-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

We got some rain this morning and it was wonderful.

Catfight

2011-06-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

Ever since Edward came to live with us, Alice and Jasper have decided that they hate each other. I don't mean a mild dislike, either. Alice has driven Jasper out of the barn. Everytime Jasper tried to come in, or was put in, Alice would growl and they would both hiss and spit and Alice would chase Jasper up into the attic or into a corner and then stand guard to see that she stayed there. Otherwise, there would be a hairflying, rolling on the floor catfight.

Jasper has finally moved out for good. For a while she lived with the outside goats and slept in their shed, but she has now decided to live on the back porch. I don't really want her living on the back porch. Her job is in the barn. But I finally felt sorry for her and put her food out there. I was wondering why the flock of blue birds weren't hanging out at the birdbaths anymore. I guess I have my answer. It is very frustrating because I really enjoyed watching the birds. Also, Pearlie is now obsessed with going outside and bugs me all day, acting like she needs to potty, but I know she only wants to go out and mess with Jasper.

Who knew that two sister cats who grew up together would all of the sudden hate each other with a passion. It probably has something to do with Edward, but I haven't figured it out. Jasper hates Edward and Alice merely tolerates him.

Any cat people out there have any ideas?

Gardenia Tree

2011-06-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

I finally got these gardenia trees that Meagan got for me on Mother's Day repotted so that they aren't falling over and drying out. I thought they weren't going to survive the waiting.

But they have fully recovered, are blooming, and smell heavenly.

The Gate

2011-06-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

We finally got that old gate that I bought months ago installed across our driveway entrance. Our welder friend, Charles, took it home with him for a month or so and repaired all the rusted out spots. I wasn't expecting to get a power opener on it so soon, but Tom got right on it, ordered it and installed it, so the gate is up and running and Harry is no longer running amok every morning down the driveway, across the road and into the neighbor's fields. The only way he can get out now is down around the pond and through the barbed wire. That avenue of escape will be closed off ASAP.

I'll be painting it soon - probably black, but I have to think on it a while. I'm wanting to stay with our red/tan farm colors, but, as you can see the tan that it is now just blends in and is pretty yucky. I'm going to test a rusty red color, but I'm planning on not liking it.

Decorative insert in the center. We added this because of a measuring snafu.

Cottage Curtains

2011-06-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

In the midst of all the goat drama, I've been working on curtains for the bedrooms in the apartment. Tom and Meagan have been very insistent that our guests want some sort of window covering, but I just hadn't gotten around to it. So, with Tom threatening to go buy some mini-blinds, I decided to use that vintage tablecloth (that I was going to make a bedspread out of) as a curtain. It wasn't big enough to do both or small enough to do just one, so I cut it in half and added a white panel to the top of each and made a curtain for both rooms. I'd like to add some sort of decorative trim to the seam in the middle of the curtain, but I had to get these made and hung fast because we're having guests again starting Sunday. Maybe I'll get around to adding the trim some time down the road.

They're pretty much a flat panel with hardly any fullness at all. I lined them, put button holes along the top, and hung them on hooks that I screwed in to the window facing.

And they can be pulled back, like so, and hooked on the drapery tie-back hook thing (can't remember what those things are called).

**Rain and thunder threatening today, but so far, nothing more than a smattering of sprinkles and it's blowing on by.**

What a Contrast!

2011-06-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

I was noticing my front page picture of the driveway taken a couple of years ago in constrast to the Funeral Procession post's pictures of the driveway. We're having a drought this year and what little grass there is is brown and crispy...except for the lawn around the house, of course, because I keep it watered.

If we don't get rain soon, our pastures are going to dry up and blow away.

The Funeral Procession

2011-06-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

Tom was trying to find someone by phone to come over and bury the goat, but when I saw buzzards circling our property, I knew it was time to take matters into my own hands. Meagan came along just in time and went with me down the drive to the goat pasture. I rigged up some ropes around the goat's head and horns and Meagan and I, with all our might, managed to drag her through the pasture and out the gate.

I wish I'd had a free hand to take a picture of the other goat's expressions, which said something like, "That is just so wrong!"

Then I tied her to the back of my riding mower.

And started off down the driveway.

Along the path to the barn, with a glance back to make sure she hadn't snagged on something and come loose.

Past the chicken coop that they share with the snakes.

And into the woods. I had to drag her into the woods by myself (no mean feat) because Meagan was bringing up the rear of the procession in the golf cart, taking pictures, tending gates and keeping Harry out.

And because the mower got stuck in the sand and there it remains.

Text conversation with Absent Husband:

Me: The buzzards were circling, so I drug her down to the woods with the mower, which is now stuck in the sand.

Me again: Taking a shower now after dragging dead body.

Absent Husband: I'm sorry, but I am laughing.

Me: That's OK, yuck it up now because when u get home, u get to bury Beetlejuice and it will be my turn to laugh.

She's Dead

2011-06-14T05:51:00.000-07:00

Well, my morning started with a dead momma goat and two orphaned kids.

I knew when I saw the kids with the rest of the herd that she must have died during the night. Otherwise, they wouldn't have left her. I took them to the barn and tried to bottle feed them. They weren't interested in that, so I put them in a stall with the milk in a bowl, sweet feed in a bowl and a block of hay.

I am second guessing myself, though. They didn't look gaunt like I expected them to after not having nursed sufficiently for 24 hours. I'm beginning to wonder if either they are eating enough solid food to survive or if one of the other goats let them nurse. Normally, the momma goats knock babies away that don't belong to them. Is it possible that some kind of other instinct kicks in if a herd member dies?

So, now I have to figure out what to do with the goat body laying out in the pasture. She did manage to get herself outside of the shed at some point during the night and there she lays.

What Are They Thinking?

2011-06-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

I've observed some interesting behavior from the other goats during this episode. Buttercup, the head honcho of the Boer herd, has shown little interest in the sick goat. She came over and checked her out once, but the number three goat has shown much interest.

While I was out there, she hovered a little bit and sniffed the sick goat. After a while, she gently nudged her with her head, first just kind of rubbing heads, then nudging down her neck to just behind her shoulder blades. She pushed and nudged until the sick goat got up and walked towards the shed. She made it about halfway and let the kids nurse for just a couple of seconds, then she laid back down.

The way it looked to me was that #3 was trying to get sick goat up on her feet to feed her kids. But she could have just as easily been telling her, "Go off and die somewhere else, we don't want your dead body in our shade."

I'm at a Loss

2011-06-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

Each time I checked on the goat today she seemed worse. She's not feeding her kids and only lays on the ground moaning. She did at least move into the shed. I've done all I can do for her, but expect to find her dead in the morning.

So, what does one do with a dead goat? I guess if Tom was here he'd go dig a hole out in the pasture and bury her. But I can't dig a hole that big and even if I could, I couldn't move her to it.

And if I can't get the kids to eat, they'll probably die, too. They are eating some solid food. Baby goats start eating at a very young age, but at less than a month old, they still rely heavily on their mother's milk. I don't think they are drinking any water at all.

I think I'll take the kids tomorrow and see if Pansy will nurse them. I fully expect her to reject them, but I have to at least try it. If she won't take them, I'll put them in the barn and try to force feed them. I just don't know what else to do because it looks like even if the mother recovers, she won't have any milk.

It's times like these when I really don't like farming. I have a constant "dread" feeling in the pit of my stomach when one of the animals is sick.

It's Gonna Be a Bumpy Ride

2011-06-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

Today is not a good day on the farm.

Tom had to leave for a business trip, which automatically means that something must go wrong.

I was feeding the goats before he left and noticed that one of the Boers wouldn't get up to eat. It is never a good sign if they don't come running and knocking each other out of the way to get their fair share of sweet feed.

She will only lay on the ground and moan. I couldn't prod her or pull her up.

Thank goodness Tom was still here at this point so he was able to hook up the livestock trailer and with the help of a friend, drag her by the horns into the trailer and take her to the vet. My guess was that she had worms and the vet confirmed it. Worms can kill a goat quickly. This goat's babies are less than a month old and she wouldn't get up to nurse them even though they were clamouring all over her.

So, the vet gave her a nutritional supplement and gave Tom instructions to worm her and all the other goats today and again next week. Of course, Tom won't be here and had to come straight home and get ready to catch his flight right away, so the worming and supplement chore is all mine. Normally, that is not a problem. I worm the Nubians by myself by locking their head between my knees and squirting the medicine into their mouths. But the Nubians don't have horns and they are tame and used to me handling them. The Boers have big long horns and, although they are not aggressive, they won't tolerate me locking their head between my legs and those horns hurt when they hit you. They are too strong for me to handle myself.

I was able to worm the sick one because she won't get up, but all I could do for the healthy ones is to put the wormer on their food. They don't like the taste and didn't want to eat it. When I went back later to check, they had reluctantly eaten it, but I don't know who ate it or if any of them got a full dose.

Another issue is that this momma looks like her milk is drying up and she won't let the kids nurse. I tried bottle feeding them, but knew it was futile to begin with. When they are used to nursing, they won't switch to a bottle. All they did was yell while I was holding them and forcing the bottle in their mouth.

At least Tom killed the snakes that were eating the eggs in the chicken coop last night so that's not something I'm going to have to deal with on my own.

Oh yeah, and if you live near me, come get some eggs. We are so overrun with eggs that I didn't half mind sharing them with the snakes...creepy as they are.

Buttah

2011-06-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

Today I accomplished one of my goals and it's sort of like a milestone for me. I made goat milk butter.

For about a week I've been saving cream. Each day after milking the goats, I poured the milk into a casserole dish and put it in the refrigerator,

leaving it undisturbed for 24 hours so the cream would rise to the top. In this picture, you can see how the cream is separated around the edges.

Then I skimmed the cream off with a spoon

and stored it in a pint jar. I did this each day until my jar was full. If I had a cream separator, I wouldn't have to go through these steps and would be able to get more cream out of the milk. Supposedly, the milk is still just as good after the cream is skimmed off because there is enough cream left in it to not make a difference in the taste. I poured the leftover milk out, but could have kept it and used it if I had chosen to.

About an hour before I was ready to start the butter making process, I put a mixing bowl, the beaters, and two cups of water into the freezer to cool.

Then I set the cream out on the counter with a thermometer in it and waited for the cream to reach 52 degrees.

When the cream reached 52 degrees, I poured it into my cold mixing bowl and whipped it at high speed until it was stiff and beyond.

The cream formed "grains" surrounded by the milky liquid (buttermilk).

As soon as the "grains" started to clump together, I poured the buttermilk off and into a jar. Supposedly, this buttermilk can be used in other recipes calling for buttermilk. Next, I poured in the same amount of water as the buttermilk I poured off and mixed the butter at low speed. This is a "rinse" which I did three times, the last time with ice water.

After the rinse, the liquid has to be squeezed out of the butter by mashing it against the sides of the mixing bowl again and again, pouring off the water as you go. I like my butter a little salty, so I added some salt during this the squeezing stage.

And that was all! It was quick and easy.

Yum. I can't wait for breakfast time so I can have it on my waffles.

I followed instructions for making goat butter without a cream separator on Mother Earth News on-line. For more detailed instructions, click on the link below:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/1978-07-01/Yes-You-Can-Make-Goat-Butter-Without-a-Separator.aspx?page=2

Hellooo Radish

2011-06-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

I picked half the radishes when they were little, but they were so hot I doubted we'd eat them so I left the rest in the ground. I didn't know radishes would get so big.

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet

2011-06-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

During his week with Pops, Shelly, and Aunt Meagan, Liam learned lots of things. He perfected his stair climbing technique, always with a little leg flailing at the top of the stair while he looks around for his target.

"There she is!"

"Ack!" she says.

Then commences the zombie crawl, which is accomplished on the belly.

Reach...

...and drag.

Reach...

...and drag.

And with a bit of big toe action, he can go so fast that he's a little blur.

Four Generations

2011-06-05T17:16:00.000-07:00

Cresting the Hill

2011-06-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

More on Tom's birthday. With 50 people in attendance, I decided not to cook everything and had it catered by a BBQ place. All I made was desserts.

Rather than making a birthday cake, I opted for a cupcake tree. I was so happy to find this pretty stand at Costco a couple of weeks before. I made chocolate, coffee/pecan, and vanilla cupcakes with white buttercream icing. Meagan decorated the cupcakes for me.

The birthday boy with his handy bifocal safety glasses and friend, Ken, that he hadn't seen in years.

Tom and some family.

More family.

Nieces from California, wishing they lived in Texas. :-)

Local pals, hanging out in a patch of shade.

The weather was reasonably cool until the day of the party then it was just about the hottest day of the year so far, but at least the wind was blowing at nearly gale force to blow our sweat away and create the illusion of a little coolness.

Candles on the cupcakes were pretty much a bust since they blew out the minute I started walking out the door with them.

Boots Continued

2011-06-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

Voila! Flowers courtesy of Meagan, the florist.

We had a big 50th birthday party for Tom on Memorial Day weekend. These were the centerpieces for the two of the tables.

And Then There Were Twenty-Three

2011-05-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Tom hit a chicken with the golf cart and killed it.

And you think *I* drive wild.

Cowboy Liam

2011-05-29T16:17:00.000-07:00

...or Superman.

We Forgot...Goats Like To Climb

2011-05-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

Tom finished the new fence, with two lovely gates, so the whole eastern side of our property with the main hayfield and small woodland is fenced with goat fence. Goat proof...or so we thought. But, we forgot about this.

This is a small nook between our nearly chicken-proofed back yard and the vegetable garden pasture; the place that the chickens have almost completely dug up because of the bugs that are attracted to the night light; the place where the woodshed and the well house are, along with stacks of wood that won't fit in the woodshed.

I let the Nubians out in the new field this morning. Rather, I forced them into the new field. They didn't want to go. They like their routine and their little fenced pasture even though they've nearly eaten it bare. The new pasture is, well...new. Nubians don't do "new" very well.

Anyway, I thought they'd either hang around the gate where I put them in or make a beeline for the woodland where all those juicy trees, shrubs, and woody weeds are. I mean, what goat wouldn't want to be out there with such a smorgasbord of goodies?

But, no, the neighbor's dogs barked and the goats ran directly for the little nook with the bare ground (because the chickens have dug everything up). The nook that is right next to the very places I do not want the goats to be...my landscaped back yard and my vegetable garden.

And what did they do when they got there? They hopped right up on this stack of wood to eat the leaves off the tree. One little hop, skip, and a jump and they would be over that fence and into the garden.

They didn't try this, but another hop, skip and a jump onto this tarp covered wood pile and they'd be over the fence and eating my hydrangeas.

So, back into their little pasture they went. And they were very happy to go, I might add.

Completely unrelated to this story is this pile of rocks. These are the rocks that were in beds across the front of the house; the ones that contained the rock that flew up from my mower, found Meagan's finger, and crushed it this time last year. I hired our handy-dandy teenager to dig them all out and pile them there.

Next up, a bit of front yard landscaping. Not just because I want to, but because it is necessary to keep rain from flooding into the house.

Rocking M

2011-05-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

Tom's building the fence that will close off the corner hayfield and woodland so that we can turn the goats out there. We're hoping that they will eventually clear out the woodland so we can sort of see through it.

It's amazing what ranchers and farmers leave laying around for future generations to find. We're trying to use as many found objects as we can - to save money and to just get junk up off the ground. Tom found this gate with the "Rocking M" emblem on it out in the pasture. It's rusted, but good and sound, so he used it as a big equipment entrance to the hayfield.

And I wanted a smaller walk through gate for when I take the goats back and forth. This one was lying around somewhere.

In the chicken yard, the chickens, with all their scratching and digging, have unearthed what appears to be the edge of an old gate and occasionally, they'll dig up other pieces of junk - old pipes, cans, pieces of tools. I'm waiting for them to dig some more to see if it's an entire gate or just a piece. Wish they'd dig up some old rancher's Mason jar full of gold coins.

These Boots Were Made for...Walkin'

2011-05-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

These are my beloved, old, retired, cowboy boots.

I've glued them to a couple of boards sort of like stuffing the family pet.

But I have a plan.

The Last Babies

2011-05-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

That hugely fat goat finally had her babies Saturday morning. They're the last of the season.

Picture perfect toadstool.

Enjoying the Garden

2011-05-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

This Hydrangea gave us something rather unexpected.

A green bloom!

These were supposed to be Nikko Blues. I guess I'll have to look into amending the soil to make them blue.

And, even though I was determined to, I never took the time to thin out these cannas before they started growing. I imagine they will have completely taken over this bed by the end of the summer if I don't do something about it.

Blog Statistics

2011-05-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

Blogger offers a feature that keeps track of how many page views and other stats about your blog.

I like to look at it sometimes just to see how many page views I've had for the day or the week, etc. One of the things I've noticed is the all time most popular post is the one about coyote scat. It appears that most of the people viewing the page were doing a search for images of coyote poop and my blog popped up.

And I don't even have a picture of the coyote scat!

What was I thinking?

Bah, I wouldn't even come back to my blog without pictures of coyote scat.

My deepest apologies to the seekers of coyote scat images.

Come, Sit, Stay a While

2011-05-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

I've finally furnished all surfaces. So...come visit, sit and stay a while. We'll sit on the patio and have coffee and a gluten free muffin, that is...until the Texas broiling hot summer sets in.

Got this old deep seating loveseat and chair at the flea market, the little table, also. I couldn't find any ready made cushions to fit, so as a temporary measure, I'm putting these big pillows on them to sit on. It looks a little goofy, but it's better than sitting on the bare metal slats.

And this great little vintage dining set, I found on Craigslist. One of the arms was broken, so Tom was able to practice his welding skills on it and repaired it quite nicely.

All pieces will be painted in the future. I'm still thinking about a color. White or black would be classic, but pink or periwinkle would be fun.

New to the Farm

2011-05-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

Heeeere's Eddie* (name may be changed in the future to protect the innocent)!

We needed another cat like we needed another hole in our heads, but...he's sort of a rescue. He came complete, loaded with fleas, worms, and a ringworm patch right in the middle of his forehead. So, we treated him for the fleas and the worms and put Lotrimin on his head for the ringworm. He had his vet check a couple of days ago and we got an oral med for the ringworm. He seriously does not like taking that medicine.

He marches around the barn like a little soldier.

To...

...and fro.

And look at that belly. Its like he swallowed a tennis ball.

The chickens have already told him, "Don't mess with me, Bud, if you know what's good for you."

"What manner of giant is this?"

Harry just sniffs him carefully and watches him stalking around the barn like he owns the place. Perhaps Harry is waiting for him to grow up so that he will be a worthy opponent.

*Meagan sort of wanted a name in keeping with our Twilight cat theme, Alice and Jasper. So, it might be Edward (and, of course, it will be shortened to Eddie), but my niece just named her newborn son Edward. Is it bad form to knowingly name your animal the same name as a family member?

Why We Don't Burn Our Pastures

2011-05-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

This blog post is the fault of Meagan and the Pioneer Woman.

Meagan sent me a link to the Pioneer Woman's blog, written by her husband and it was entitled, "Why we burn our pastures".

If you have a burning desire for that information, you can go to the link below and read about it:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2011/05/why-we-burn-our-pastures/

Apparently, everyone on earth should be reading the Pioneer Woman's blog. I don't always do what I should, otherwise, I'd be regularly reading the Pioneer Woman's blog and burning pastures.

Anyway, while perusing the topics offered on the blog, I checked out the "10 Things I've Learned About Blogging" (or something like that). She says you should blog every day even if you have nothing to say; even if what you say might seem boring.

So, this is me, taking her advice.

We know we should burn our fields. We know it would be a good thing. We don't do it because (1) we're too lazy; (2) we're afraid we'll catch the county on fire.

Headboard

2011-05-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

Finished.

And installed by most excellent husband.

I love it.

Crafty Stuff

2011-05-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

One of the vendors at the flea market was selling these things. I was tempted to buy one because it was so cottagy looking, but thought I could make it myself.

So I did.

While I was at the market, I came upon a vendor with these trim pieces off of old houses. I'm not sure what they're called, cornice boards? Then when I went past the vendor they call Doorknob Bob, I bought a few old doorknobs from him. I washed everything real good and got Tom to cut the knob stems in half. Then I marked where I wanted each doorknob and drilled holes the size of the stems. Because the stems are square and the holes I drilled were round, the stems wedged in there pretty tight. I think they're tight enough so that they won't get pulled out, but if they do, I'll go back and glue them in.

Hung up in the barn apartment, ready to hang things on.

Next up...this fireplace surround/mantel that I bought a couple of months ago. I've painted it black and as soon as I find some suitable fabric, I'll make it into a padded headboard for one of the guestrooms in the house.

Hmmm. So, What Does a Baby Possum Eat?

2011-05-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

I saw Harry messing with something and looked over to see what he was doing. At first, I thought he had a mole and I started to pass on by. Then I thought, "Wow, that's a big RAT!" But then I realized it was a baby possum. So, my dilema was...let Harry torture it to death or save it. Of course, I had to save it. Now I have no idea what to do. It's a baby!

Figures

2011-05-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, the coldest morning of the season (41 degrees), one of the fat goats decided to pop.

Two little girls. The only resemblance they bear to Billy is his signature frosted ears. I was sure there were triplets in there.

Fat Goats

2011-04-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

I was sure these goats were going to kid at the first of April, but they've managed to make it nearly a month longer than I expected.

If they get any bigger, they are going to explode. Really, this is ridiculous! They are getting so big that their bellies are starting to expand UP.

New (Old) Gate

2011-04-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

I got this gate at the flea market. Apparently, these old gates are popular these days. Tom installed it for me right away. The chickens are going around to the other side of the house to enter the back yard now. At least they are mostly staying over there under the light pole and only digging up that side.

Hunter Gatherer Liam

2011-04-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

It's Easter today and my daddy brought me to Pops and Shelly's farm to hunt for eggs. I'm not really sure why we have to hunt for eggs, but I think I'm going to like it, especially with my daddy helping me. This my daddy. His name is Paden, but I just call him "da-da".

Here we are, hunting for the eggs that Shelly and Auntie M dyed for me. I'm walking on Da-da's feet.

Look! There's an egg in the birdbath. I wonder how it got there. Da-da told me to pick it up, but I didn't know what that meant, so he helped me.

There's another one. I wonder why the chicken put that one up there?

Da-da is showing me how to pick the egg up out of the plants.

And then we're supposed to put it in the basket. See my nice outfit? Shelly got it for me.

Don't tell me Da-da, I know how to do it.

That's the last one. We had to count them to make sure none of the eggs were left out because they might stink and Harry would eat them. Harry likes to eat rotten eggs.

That was fun. Next time, I'll be a big boy and I can carry my own basket and find lots of eggs.

Easter Eggs!

2011-04-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

Listen up all of you Easter egg dyers. You, too, can have Easter eggs like this...assuming you want Easter eggs like this.

Meagan found this dying procedure on the internet and brought it to my attention. Quick and easy and no mess.

Of course, I had to use brown eggs. With all the eggs produced around here, it would be a crime for me to go and buy eggs. So, I sorted through our vast collection of eggs and selected 18 of the lightest of the brown eggs.

Earlier today, I ran to the Goodwill store and bought several ugly old silk ties. They must be silk, not polyester, so make sure you check the label and don't buy any that aren't marked. When I got them home, I cut the seams out so that we could use the wide ends flattened out.

Wrap each egg tightly with the back side of the silk fabric facing out. Tie the tops tightly with string or wire. Twist ties were recommended, but we didn't have any, so we just used thin wire.

Then wrap each bundle with some other fabric. An old pillowcase cut into small squares was recommended. I didn't have any, so I used a piece of drapery liner.

Here's one of the eggs, double wrapped.

Put them all in a pot with enough water to cover, then add 1/4 cup of vinegar. Bring to boil on medium high heat. When the water starts to boil, remove from heat and let set for 20 minutes.

You can unwrap them as soon as they are cool enough to handle.

I lifted ours out of the water with tongs and set them on a plate, then put them in the freezer for a few minutesto cool.

How cute are these?

I'm sure the brown of the eggs muted the colors a bit, so the results will be different with white eggs.

The dyes that transfer onto the eggs from the silk are not food grade, so do not eat these eggs after your Easter egg hunt...assuming you'd even want to after they've been unrefrigerated for several hours while being hidden and hunted several times by the kiddos.

Oh, don't eat them before your Easter egg hunt, either. Eggshells are porous and whatever gets on the outside of the egg permeates the shell.

I've Been a Bore

2011-04-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

Everything has been pretty routine around here lately. One can only write so much about growing a garden and milking goats before it gets old.

This is one of the irise that I planted last fall. I can't remember what it's called, but it's a unique color - not quite yellow, not quite tan, not quite rust. Very pretty.

And this is a bit of wild flowers growing amongst the farm implements.

This corner of the yard is coming along nicely. The hydrangeas should be blooming soon.

A momma Cardinal was enjoying her bath.

We still have two Boers that are expecting. I thought they were due at the beginning April and they both look they are going to pop.

This is what chickens can do to an area. We have two large lights on telephone poles that attract bugs at night. The chickens have discovered this and spend a good part of the day scratching around under these poles. This one is near the house and well house.

Same area, on the inside of the fence. This whole area used to be covered with grass. Now it is a desert wasteland and is one of the reasons why I wanted to fence the back yard. I'm hoping that when I get the gates up, the chickens will stay on the outside of this fence and leave the yard alone.

The other light pole is next to the mower shed. The soil used to be mounded up over the edge of this tin siding and thickly covered with grass. The chickens have completely scratched it away and we're wondering if the they are going to completely burrow away the foundation of this shed and the mowers are going to fall out the bottom.

Weekend Warriors

2011-04-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

ain't got nothin' on us, baby.

We're having a terrible time keeping the chickens out of my back yard flower beds. They're scratching up everything, throwing the mulch and soil all over the place, and tearing up my plants. I can't put any seeds in the ground because they'll be tossed out or eaten before having a chance to germinate. Also, I wanted the rest of the back yard fenced so Pearlie would have a safe place to be outside without me watching her every moment.

So, in hopes that a fence will deter the chickens just enough that they will just scratch elsewhere, Tom and I (mostly Tom) built this fence in two days. Our backyard was already fenced across the back and up one side with the same rail fencing that runs down the drive and can be seen in this blog's opening picture. We just had to fence from the corner of the house out to the existing fence on both sides of the house.

It was a surprisingly simple process...hard work, but simple. Tom had dug the holes for the poles a couple of weeks ago and then found out the creosote wood that we needed had to be ordered. But we finally did get it and got started on the building of the fence yesterday. The soil on this side of the house was deep sand, so the holes were fairly easy for him to dig with a post hole digger.

Then he set the poles, banged them in a little deeper with the bucket of his tractor, (I'm worthless at digging, so I didn't get involved until this step) leveled them, then just pushed the sandy soil back into the holes. No cement needed.

We made a jig with some pieces of wood to measure five inches from the ground and attached our first 14 foot horizontal rails at that height. Tom put one screw in each pole.

For each subsequent row, we used a piece of the rail to measure the width between the rails, just resting the length of board on the smaller pieces of board.

I wish I had thought to take a picture of each step, but I was busy holding rails and measuring, so it didn't cross my mind. After we measured for the top rail, Tom cut of the tops of the upright poles with a chainsaw to make them all even, then we put the last rail across. On top of that, we put a top rail that sits flat and makes sort of a shelf on top. That will keep the water from getting on the top of the poles and seeping into the uncreosoted centers. This fence should last about 50 years.

Today we did it all over again on the other side of the house, with one difference. The soil on this side was mostly red clay, which was much harder for Tom to dig, so it took a little longer. I'm going to line the fence with chicken wire so that chickens and smaller animals can't go through it. I'll also be shopping for an old gate for each side.

Note: Weekend Warriors is a show on the HGTV channel.

http://www.hgtv.com/weekend-warriors/show/index.html

Preacher Liam

2011-04-04T14:52:00.000-07:00

"Somebody get my dress shoes!"

Oratin' will wear a fella out.

Family

2011-04-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

The aunts, Mom, and me.

Room at the Inn

2011-04-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

The apartment is done...well, not done done, but inhabitable. We have a few small things to do but my family stayed there this weekend and worked out the kinks for us.

At the last minute last week, the granite installers finished up with the countertops and then the plumber came and hooked everythng up.

For the past several weeks while we were finishing up, I had a piece of the butcher block sitting on this spot on the butcher block counter tops. Imagine my dismay when I lifted up that piece of wood to discover this huge split. For some reason the block is warping (bowing up in the middle) and splitting. We haven't decided yet if we're going to try to get IKEA to replace it or if we should just fill it with wood filler and pretend it's an old cottage with lot of wear and tear. It was such a big project for Tom to install, that I'm inclined to just fill it, but I'm afraid it's going to split all the way to the end and then stick up.

Closer Still

2011-03-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

I found this silver plate flatware set on Craigslist. Bought it, cleaned the tarnish off; it's good as new and has a new home in the barn.

Stocked the linen cabinet with white towels from Costco - hotel pack. :)

I've been shopping for mirrors for the bathroom, but realized that I had these in storage.

The shower is tiled. I decided to keep it super simple - 6x8 white ceramic on the walls, pebbles on the floor with brown grout to match the stained concrete. I put a window film on the window so our guests won't be giving us a peep show.

I finally decided on a color for the peninsula. I tried pink, but didn't like it. Then I painted the whole thing orange; liked the color, but it blended in too much with the floor and the butcher block. OK, so...blue. That's what I envisioned all along anyway. I know I've got blue everywhere, but I just couldn't get the blue out of my head and nothing else would do. Tom cut the legs down and put them on today. I think I should paint that white toe kick brown to match the floor, but that's a project for a rainy day. That yellow step stool was a flea market find. Every time I see one of those I'm reminded of visiting Aunt Imogean when I was a little girl.

Surfacing!

2011-03-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

Finally, I feel like I can breathe again, like I've been swimming up, up, up from deep under water and my face finally broke the surface.

The apartment is on the verge of being completed. Tom and I have done just about all that we can do on it. The tile guy is working on the shower now and the granite guys have the granite and are working on it. Hopefully, it will be installed some time this week. Anything left to do is small and cosmetic and I can work on it at my leisure.

I've planted everything in the garden that needs to be planted to date and have my plan all worked out on where everything else needs to be planted and on what days according to the almanac. I've got the greenhouse in order and my flower seeds have begun to sprout.

We're back to routine and I like routine. Tom is working on chipping the tree branches that we had trimmed this winter so that we can mulch the garden.

I started milking Daisy goat this morning. She has been a stinker about getting on the milking stand, so I've been working with her this past week. I thought she was going to kick and thrash and make my life miserable when I started milking, but she didn't. What a huge relief. I only got half a quart for two reasons (1) I didn't separate her from her kid for the night like I usually do when I start milking, and (2) she started getting antsy before I got the second side emptied and I didn't want to push my luck. I probably could have gotten a whole quart if I had persisted and who knows how much if her kid hadn't been nursing through the night.

I can't start milking Hyacinth yet because her udder is still hard. I'd probably only get a few ounces out of her and it's just not worth the hassle until her udder softens up.

I have a request of my friends and neighbors who read this blog...if you buy any bedding plants from your local nurseries, please save your trays and plastic pots for me. I have many more flower seeds to get started, but not enough pots. I would appreciate it so much!

Blogger Buzz: What’s New With Blogger

2011-03-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

Blogger Buzz: What’s New With Blogger

Businessman Liam

2011-03-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

Liam and his daddy loving Pearlie.

New Gardening Plan

2011-03-15T16:47:00.000-07:00

Since my gardening success has gone downhill each year, I decided to change things up a bit this year. First of all, I'm planting on the Farmer's Almanac schedule. I've been told that it really makes a difference. Unfortunately, I got started too late to get some of my own seeds started and will have to buy things like tomatoes and pepper plants again this year, but next year since my greenhouse is up, I hope to be able to start my own veggie seeds early and have them ready to go in the ground when it's time. I'm using the Farmer's Almanac website for dates. You can just plug in your zip code and the site will come up with the suggested planting dates for your area.

http://www.almanac.com/gardening

I'm also starting a four year crop rotation plan. I'll already was rotating crops pretty much by accident just because I was so haphazard, but now I actually have a plan. I found a website for crop rotation, too, and have made my plan according to that.

http://www.allotment.org.uk/vegetable/crop-rotation/index.php

So, I have a few things in the ground.

And a few things in the greenhouse. These are all flowers. The big pots hold cannas that I had Tom dig up and I divided them. I'll give most of these away or maybe I can sell some. I have a lot more to plant but am running out of pots.

This is crazy chicken. She started out a couple of weeks ago acting crazy and running around really fast. Since then, she refuses to come in with the other chickens and she hangs out in and around the barn most of the time. Usually, she'll show up at the coop around dark and we'll let her in, but on the nights that we don't see her out there, she gets left out all night. I suppose she'll be dinner for a coyote one of these days, but I'm not going to spend my time chasing a crazy chicken around.

Tom finished the repairs on the pie safe linen cabinet for the bathroom. He put the new screen in and built shelves for it.

I covered the shelves with fabric and it's ready for new fluffy white towels.

Stylin' Onesies

2011-03-12T15:57:00.000-08:00

Aunt Meagan made these fat-tie-from-the-seventies onesies for her nephew, Farmer Liam. Won't he be stylin' while we milk the goats?

Spring Is Almost Here

2011-03-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

A huge thank you to my sister-in-law, Tina, for sending me these daffodil bulbs. What a welcomed sight at the end of winter.

The Plumbing White Knight

2011-03-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

So, the plumber finally came back today to address our issues. He was looking under the sink, hemming and hawing, and he and Tom were discussing which was the better way to rip into the wall to move the drain pipes and the plumber was saying he didn't know where to cut the holes because he wasn't the one who put the pipes in and he didn't know which way they ran.

I stuck my nose in (because I was mad) and said, "Why isn't the original plumber here doing this?" The plumber said he didn't know and his assistant, who I think might have taken some sort of communication course in which he learned to repeat back to you what you just said..you know, so you feel like you've been heard and understood, said, "So, you'd feel more comfortable if the original plumber were here doing this?" And I said, "Yes, I would feel more comfortable if the original plumber were here doing this."

They went out to their van and made a phone call, then came back and said, "Larry (the original plumber) will be out here in a little while."

When Larry arrived and took a look, he said, "I don't know what they were talking about, this will work just fine!"

Larry and his assistant hooked everything up, determined the cause of the leaking valves and fixed them, and we all lived happily ever after.

This is the drain pipe that caused me much distress...all for nothing. And that cutout is Tom's handiwork. Is it any wonder that I didn't want him cutting into the wall? I know things like this that won't be seen don't really matter, but it is my nature, as much as I fight it, to want things to be perfect. It's a wonder that I don't have ulcers, because this world is anything but perfect.

Here is the vanity, completed. The faucet handle that the other plumber said was manufactured wrong and leaked and he couldn't fix it, was fixed by Tom. I guess the new faucet in route to us might come in handy some day for parts.

Here is the toilet that arrived late, but is now installed and working. The shower is scheduled to be tiled at the end of next week. Let's keep our fingers crossed because I'm having a mini-family reunion in two weeks and I think my guests will appreciate being able to take a shower.

The green room has two sets of bunk beds. We're picking up the last mattress tomorrow, so my guests will at least will have a place to sleep. It was Tom's idea to arrange the beds this way. The way I planned just wasn't working and this is much, much better. It allows for plenty of floor space in the middle. One has to watch one's head while climbing up the ladder, though. The fan is dangerously close. I was going to paint the beds black, but I'm running out of steam. They look OK the way they are.

The blue room has a queen bed. There won't be any rugs for a while, so everyone bring socks or house shoes because those concrete floors are cold.

Plumbing Setbacks. Grrr.

2011-03-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

Way back when we had the apartment plumbed, the plumbers orginally put the bathroom sink plumbing in the wrong place. Well, generally in the right place, but because of the way the vanity is made, the drain pipes were installed too low so they came back and raised them. By then, we had the vanity so they were able to measure it to make sure they put the pipes in the right place.

The plumber was scheduled to come on Monday to hook up the toilet, the bathroom sinks, put in the valves under the kitchen sink, and install the shower pan (rubber liner), but called to tell us he was sick and would send some other plumber on Tuesday. Other plumber came around 10:00 in the morning, left at 11:30 for lunch, came back at 1:00 and worked till about 3:30.

As he was leaving, he informed me that he could not install the bathroom sink drains because the pipes that come out of the wall are too high. I said, "That can't be right. The plumber had the vanity there and measured it to make sure everything would fit." He insisted and the guy with him (who was the helper when the pipes were moved the first time) claimed that they installed them to OUR specs. Uh, no. The plumber measured it himself and the plumber installed the pipes to HIS specs. So, it appears that the only fix to this is to pull the vanity out, saw holes in my newly installed, caulked, and painted bead board and through the dry wall so that the pipes can be lowered. Yay. I get to have gaping holes in the wall that will be seen through the back of the vanity. And who knows what else. Possibly remove the bead board altogether and then replace it? I feel like crying.

And who will pay for this mistake?

In addition, everything the plumber installed yesterday leaks. This morning, there was a puddle of water standing in each vanity cabinet and in the kitchen cabinet.

In addition to that, one of the lavatory faucet handles had a manufacturer's defect (or so says the plumber, but I'm wondering what he knows). I called them yesterday and they said they would ship me a whole new faucet today. At least one thing is going our way.

Oh, and the toilet that was supposed to arrive on Monday via Federal Express did not arrive until yesterday evening, so it did not get installed. FedEx refunded our shipping charges for that.

Question

2011-03-09T08:41:00.001-08:00

Is it difficult to pull a roman shade up without making it into a wad of fabric at the top of the window?

New Babies

2011-03-08T08:20:00.000-08:00

Hyacinth had twins, a boy and a girl (finally!) on Saturday afternoon. The boy was significantly smaller than the girl. He died yesterday morning.

It was cold Saturday, so I had left the goats in the barn. I was glad of that because Hyacinth at least didn't have them out in the pasture in the cold. They were born healthy and I made sure both of them were nursing. By Sunday, though, the littlest one was suffering.

I could tell he wasn't getting enough to eat, but I wasn't sure why other than while watching them, I could see that the larger girl would shove him out of the way, much like the case of her first twins, Cosmos and Rose. So that night I removed the girl to let the boy nurse as long as he wanted, then I went to bed, resolved to milk Hyacinth in the morning and bottle feed the little one.

When I got out there Monday morning, he was sprawled out and cold. I thought he was dead, but when I picked him up, he roused and cried. I got Meagan to hold him to keep him warm while I went to milk Hyacinth. Her udder was as hard as a basketball and I only got a couple of squirts of milk out of her. So I quickly got Daisy out and milked her. I got a bottle ready and tried to feed the baby. He swallowed a little bit after much effort, but he never did warm up and after about 15 minutes he slowly passed away.

I went back to read about what I did for Hyacinth's udder last year because I had completely forgotten that it was congested last year as well. If I had remembered that, I would have started the bottle feeding right away because she obviously doesn't produce enough milk to feed two until after her udder softens up.

So, out of seven babies born this year, three have died. That's not a very good track record. I only have two Nubians to sell this year, but at least one of them is a girl.

Every one of Hyacinth's kids have been the spitting image of Billy.

Soda Jerk Humor

2011-03-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

Tom and I went to eat at the Soda Jerk for dinner last night. It's a little vintage diner on the square in a nearby town. The owner bought old authentic furnishings and serves typical soda fountain food - burgers, fries, milkshakes, etc. Not very good food and worst fries every, but we were in a hurry and the place we went to first was closed.

Anyway, there was a vintage metal sign on the wall that we got a kick out of. It said:

Drink Coffee

Do stupid things faster

with more energy

Goats and Greenhouse

2011-03-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

I thought for sure that Hyacinth was in labor on Tuesday. She laid on the ground sprawled out like this and moaning. I thought I was going to get to witness the birth, so I watched and waited. After about 20 minutes, she got up and mosied on out to graze.

Daisy has finally gotten into the groove of our goat walk to and from the barn each day. Up until now, I had to coax, herd, push and shove, and use the baby as bait to get her to walk with us. Today, she came out of the stall willingly and walked along with us without hesitation.

We're missing Pansy on the goat walk this year. I decided that she should stay in the pasture full time. It's so difficult to clean up the stalls each day when there are so many goats in the barn. So, unless we have really bad weather when babies are born, I plan to bring just the Nubians into the barn. The downside to that is that Pansy's kids are very skittish and not used to being handled.

Tom finished the greenhouse. The frame was given to us, we used the old dining room doors for the entry, and the front and back walls were made using some old siding we took off of the house during the remodel. We butted it up against the garden shed, so that I can walk directly from one to the other, but I'm wondering if that was such a good idea because of the heat. I guess I'll find out this summer.

I laid the black landscaping cloth, finishing it up yesterday except for a spot right in front of the door that needs to be scraped down. We had those three mats that we used to use so that our office chairs would roll on the carpet. I thought they might be useful to protect the landscaping cloth from tears. I don't know if that is a concern or not, but I guess it can't hurt. I hope to get some seeds started soon, although it's almost warm enough to go ahead and plant them in the ground now.

Flea Market Cottage Things

2011-03-04T16:36:00.000-08:00

I went to the flea market yesterday and found these quilts for the cottage apartment. One queen and two twin size.

Also, got some pillowcases. Meagan and I found the motherload of old linens. I hope to go back next month to get more old linens - maybe some old chenille bedspreads.

We have all the furniture in the cottage and bought mattresses for all the beds. I'm very excited about how it looks. It almost makes me want to live there myself!

Goat Troubles and Back to Farming

2011-03-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

So, I think Daisy, the one who had triplets, might not have expelled all of the afterbirth. She is still seeping lots of icky goo and blood. It's normal for goats to have a bloody discharge for a couple of weeks after the birth of their kids, so I'm used to that. But Daisy's is different and yesterday it started to stink. In my mind, stink means infection.

So I called the vet today to ask him about it. Our vet is great, by the way, he is always happy to give advice over the phone and tries to accommodate my silly notions about animals and their feelings.

As a side note, yesterday I took Buttercup's baby to the vet to get castrated. It was the worst day of his life, I'm sure, and it might take him a while to trust me again since I'm the one who took him away from his mother (they both screamed bloody murder) and delivered him to that horrible place to be tortured. Anyway, when I went to pick him up, I was reminded of what a brutal place the large animal clinic is. As my luck would have it (and it has happened before), someone had a whole truckload of cows there being branded, and their horns cut off, pulled out, or whatever it is they do...it is truly ghastly. So while I was waiting for someone to take a break and go get my little goat for me, I had to witness all of that and was nearly in tears and sick to my stomach.

Soo, I knew I did not want to take Daisy there. When the vet suggested I bring her in so he could flush out her womb with an antibiotic wash, I told him that I really had hoped to avoid bringing her in because she is kind of a nervous goat and it would be too traumatic for her. Without hesitation and without derision, he suggested another way to treat her...a shot of antibiotics that I could give myself and if I would come by the clinic and pick it up, he would show me what to do.

So, that's what I did. And he was great and he gave me a pep talk, "You can do it!" because I was a bit hesitant having never given an animal a shot before. And, I did do it and it was a piece of cake. The hardest part was getting Daisy on the milking stand. She's not trained to get up there like the other goats are (I'm working on that), so I had to put her front feet up then push and shove and lift her hind end up there. Turns out it wasn't even necessary because she didn't even flinch.

If the antibiotic doesn't work, I will have to bite the bullet and take her to the clinic, so let's keep our fingers crossed.

On another note, her kid is slowly learning to nurse by himself. He thinks I am the source of the food since I have been "helping" by holding the teat so that he could get it in his mouth. Because of that, whenever he sees me, he runs to me expecting milk and he tries to suck on my fingers. Just today he has been able to get the teat in his mouth without help, but I don't know if he is nursing in between the times that I'm there to see to it.

So, we have a bit of good news mixed in with the bad.

I laid the landscaping cloth on the floor of the greenhouse today, so it is ready for me to get some plants started. I'll probably get started on that on Monday since we have guests coming this weekend and I am so behind on my house cleaning. Also, had our teenage handyman come help me spread mulch on the flower beds. It looks so nice, but I know the chickens are going to get in there and toss it all around and make a mess and I'm going to be mad.