Fruits of Our Labors

Everything on our dinner plates tonight was produced on our farm.

We're at the end of the asparagus season, so I'm trying to use it up.  I managed to get a few tomatoes before the chickens (or bunny, if that is a co-destroyer) got to them.  The corn has just now become ready for harvest.  And goat chops.  Even the water is from our well, but we didn't labor for that.

I have yet to grow olives or coconuts to press them for the oil that I cooked with.

Puppy Time!

I finally bit the bullet and got another livestock guardian dog.  We've been talking about it for about a year and I've been resisting getting another dog even though we've been told and have read that livestock guardian dogs do better in pairs.  Harry does a great job, but we feel like he needs a back-up.

So...here is the new little gal.

She is a Great Pyrenees/Kangal ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangal_dog ) cross and will be eight weeks old tomorrow.  The male Kangals get bigger than Harry, but the females don't get as big, so I don't expect her to get over 90 pounds.

Unlike Harry, who is solid white, this little girl is a very light tan with white feet and a tail that looks like it was dipped in oil, then wiped off and the very tip is white.

Here she is with Harry, who is too important to be bothered by a little pipsqueak girl.

Harry is not always that filthy.  Apparently, he has been rolling in something nasty today.

Here she is meeting Kip and Sofia.  So far, she doesn't seem to be afraid of anything.

We have to come up with a fitting name.  Tom has already said he's naming her Fiona, but I said we should have a discussion in a democratic fashion before he dictates the name.

Hazards of the Goat Ranch

Ouch.  This is my leg about five days after evil goat rammed me with her head for no reason whatsoever.

This is evil goat.

Remember her?  The Kiko that was being aggressive this past summer.  She calmed down for a while, so I decided to keep her.  Now I'm beginning to think she'd made a good roast.

See that evil eye and obstinate set of the mouth?

She is a classic example of "biting the hand that feeds her", only she rams instead of bites.  Thank goodness she only used the top of her head and not the tip of her horns.  I'd get rid of her now, except that she's pregnant and I want her kids in the spring.

I can't turn my back to her while I'm feeding the goats and when she gets too close, I bang her on the horns with my metal feed scoop.  That seems to deter her until she gets busy with her food.  It doesn't hurt her, but I think the noise of metal on horn startles her.

Pumpkin Harvest

I was thinking that pumpkins were supposed to be bigger than this.

Views of the Farm

Looking out over the pasture by the barn and a view of the path from the barn to the house.

Two New Goats

Since Billy was so lonely, we decided to get him a pal as quick as possible. On Sunday afternoon Tom went to the Canton First Monday Flea Market and bought a little goat. He was told that it is a Nubian, but I'm pretty sure she is not. She's a little white goat with light tan markings similar to a Boer goat and she has some funky ears - long and pendulous like they are supposed to be, but they turn up at the ends.

I think I'll start my flower themed names with her and call her Pansy.

After Tom got that goat, I happened to check Craigslist that same evening and found a registered Nubian nanny. I went to see her this morning and bought her. I think her name should be Hyacinth.

Hyacinth is as affectionate as Billy. When I put her in the pen with Billy and Pansy, both Hyacinth and Billy were jostling for a place to stand next to me. Neither wanted the other to be near me. This resulted in a head butting contest which was hilarious to watch.

They would both stand their long ears straight up, which made them look like little donkeys, then they'd rear up on their hind legs and come crashing down, butting their heads together. After watching that scene for a while, I decided that if I left, they might be able to work out their differences. I watched them from the house and they did stop butting heads soon after I left. In a short time, they were all happily grazing together.

The building in the background is the previous owner's new barn. Ours will look similar to that. She chose the same colors as me so that our properties would kind of look like one big place and everything would go together.

Billy Goat Pics

I finally remembered the camera so I've got lots of pictures to show. These are of Billy. He's afraid of Pearlie and she fancies herself a herding dog.

And...They're Off!

Roofers are scheduled for a couple of weeks from now. I've got an appointment on Monday to finalize my kitchen plans. Hopefully, I can get the cabinets ordered this coming week. I had a contractor go out to the house and remeasure the kitchen for me because I'm not to be trusted with a tape measure. Then I have to get a few bids on getting the work done.

Our barn has grown much larger than we had orginally planned. There is a barn on the property, but it's kind of an eyesore and is not totally enclosed. However, it has some very nice, sturdy stalls and a tack room. We plan to take off the old tin that is currently on it and have it completely enclosed as part of our new barn. So, we'll have the stalls on one side and a big open area in the middle to park tractors and do barnly stuff. On the other side, we plan to put in an office for Tom and a small apartment for guests. We're going to go ahead and put the plumbing in before the concrete is poured so that we'll have it when we get around to finishing the apartment.

Luckily, the kitchen appliances are pretty new, so I can put them into the apartment's kitchenette.

Landowners

We did it! We bought the land. We signed our closing papers this week and FedExed them to the title company. The seller will be signing today or tomorrow.

I've begun to plan the kitchen remodel. Whew, there is so much to do just for that project. I signed up with Direct Buy with the expectation that they'll save me a lot of money. They have a kitchen designer on staff that is drawing up my plan on the computer. That's a big help. Now I have to pick out door styles, colors and appliances before our next meeting. I have to get a crew to tear out and install the kitchen, put in new floors, and do some drywall work for me.

I have to schedule the roofers for the new metal roof. It will be metal that is made to look like Spanish/Roman tile; plan a barn and get that started; plant a garden when Tom decides on a tractor; put in a new septic system when the seller's 30-day lease is up; and Tom has to change out the electric box.

We have to decide when to put our current home on the market, trying to schedule it so that we all have a place to live until the new house remodel is finished and Paden goes to school.

Either during or after we've finished all those projects, we need to build a henhouse, get chickens and learn how to keep them alive and producing eggs. Hopefully, they pretty much know how to do that themselves. Heh. We also need to get some milk goats, Nubians I think, from which I hope to get our milk and actually make butter! And get some Boer goats for meat. I'll have to stay away from them as much as possible lest I get attached and can't eat them later.

I'm sure there are a million things that will have to be done that I just don't know about yet. But, I just tell myself to take one day at a time and do what I can.

I Did It

Well, I did break my message board habit. I still go to the message boards and read, but I have hardly posted at all in the last several weeks. Still, haven't anything much to say on a blog.

For the past year we've been searching for some property to buy. I finally have found some and we've made an offer. It's been a long drawn out affair and we're not done yet, but getting there. 

It's been over two months, but we've finally progressed to the stage in which we got an inspection done on the house. When we rec'd the report there were three serious problems to be addressed: (1) One of the two septic systems needs to be replaced, (2) the roof has two layers of shingles on it which is too much weight and causing the rafters to separate, (3) the breaker box/wiring is dangerously substandard.

The seller has agreed to replace the breaker box; gotten an estimate to replace the septic; and is waiting on the roofer's estimate. 

If we buy the property, we'll be embarking on a whole different life...a farming life...something neither my husband nor myself knows much about. It's a scary thing and I'm very conflicted about it, but we're forging ahead. I've prayed that if it's not meant to be that God will save us from ourselves. I have to wonder if perhaps all these troubles and delays in finding a suitable property and negotiating a deal has been God's way of telling us it's a bad idea. But how does one know? How do we know if this is the wrong thing to do and we've been stubbornly insisting on our own will, or if all of these roadblocks are just trials that we're supposed to overcome and will make us stronger? I just don't know. I've prayed for guidance. What else can I do?

More About Me

You wouldn't know it to look at me, but I have a disease. It's called Celiac Disease (CD) and basically is a gluten intolerance. Gluten is in wheat, rye, and barley, so I can't eat any product that contains or has come in contact with those grains.

CD is genetic and has been handed down to me probably through my mother's father's family. I have handed it down to both of my children. It is a very well-known and common disease in Europe, but for some reason American doctors think it is extremely rare...almost non-existent in North America. They are wrong. Current estimates are that 1 in 100 Americans have CD but most just don't know it yet. Sometimes Cd is evident during childhood, even infancy, but more often than not (at least in my experience) a CD sufferer doesn't realize that anything is wrong until they reach their late 40's and 50's. It commonly takes a CD patient 10 yrs. to get a diagnosis, after several misdiagnoses and useless treatments.

A person with CD cannot tolerate gluten because the gluten causes an autoimmune response that damagees the villi in the small intestine. With those damaged villi the body cannot absorb nutrients which causes a host of problems. CD is somewhat difficult to recognize (unless you know what you are looking for) because it's symptoms are so varied. And some people (like me) have virtually no recognizable symptoms. CD's most common symptoms are digestive problems like chronic diarrhea (most common), constipation, acid reflux, nausea, bloating, etc. But the symptoms can also range from damaged tooth enamel to seizures to intestinal cancer to bone pains to insomnia and on and on.

The only treatment for CD is a gluten free diet.

To read more about CD, go to http://www.celiac.com/st_main.html