a plan

Well here's what I started to do:

1. write a very opinionated, offensive piece - couldn't post it - didn't want certain people to read it, so I didn't feel I should post it.

2. find time during my 24 hour website building experience to post on the night, and other things - didn't have a spare moment.

3. write a lovely Easter piece, or anything because post 1 was sitting in the back of my mind, still undecided... really don't feel comfortable posting it. I think I will polish it up a bit, and leave it here.

So here we are almost 2 months after my last post, and I will try to come up with something interesting for you to read.

Spring is lovely. Rebirth, renewal, and life everywhere you look. The gardens starting to come in, the grass and trees starting to turn green. The babies being born.

This spring we decided to order 50 chicks from McMurray Hatchery. We order their super assorted bargain, which means they can send me 50 of any chicks they have, plus they always offer 1 free "exotic" chick. This year's batch looks like it will be so pretty. We ended up with almost half of them being feather footed! I'm so excited to see what they'll grow to be. Our plan is to keep most of the hens, 1 or 2 roosters, and then let them make their own babies next year! We did lose 8 of them the first 48 hours, and McMurray allows you to be refunded for those loses. I was very disappointed, because they seemed to be all of one breed - I wish I had separated them from the rest. But we now have 43 active 4-week-old chickies in our basement! We even had them vaccinated this year to avoid what happened last year, and they'll stay separated from everyone else until they're 6 or 7 weeks old.

Our cat princess had 3 kittens this week. A gray, an orange, and a cream. Cute little ones.

Then there's Mary. Hubby brought her home when she was 4-weeks-old. She is the cutest little pygmy goat, and is being bottle fed until she is 6-weeks-old. We are hoping this will make her more docile when milking season starts for her. We have plans to use Jimmy our male as her husband, since our other female, Annie seems to be oblivious to his charms.

Then there's Betsy. I stopped milking her in March because her milk was decreasing again, and I knew I had several engagements that would take me away during milking. She didn't seem to mind at all, and actually because quite willing to let us pet her (through the fence, when she was in a pen by herself). We moved her down to the "fields" to help us start clearing it out. She happily munched away at the grass and cattails. We moved her further down, and added in Annie and Jimmy. She was so happy to see Jimmy again. She would cuddle up next to him, so content. She died this week. We don't know why. It was almost as though she died of a heart attack, mid chew. It prompted us to get the goats all dewormed and vaccinated. The vet didn't have any ideas of why. It puts a big dent in your confidence as a farmer when your animals keep dieing.

My 5 adult chickens are doing great. Pip my tom turkey has decided it is his job to keep them all in line, he follows them around, proudly on display, making faces at anyone who thinks they can talk to his girls. And the girls don't seem to mind either. Molly, my old lady - we got her when we lived in Minneapolis. She, is just as sweet and docile as ever. She is still the easiest to catch, and everyone's favorite as she's a bantam cochin (small feather footed - black puffball). Clara is a cream colored English game hen - if I remember correctly. Chicken-Licken is the same size as Clara, but is a mixture of a smaller version of Clara with a Red Star rooster we had, so she has pretty golden feathers and cream accents. Henny-Penny is of the same mixture but more standard sized. Chicken-licken and Henny-penny were both hatched on our farm last year. Then there's Peeves. Peeves was named from the morning I though I heard juvenile crowing down in the chicken pen. I figured we had a rooster on our hands until the morning I discovered the most beautiful green egg in the egg basket! Green, yes truly a lovely, pale green. Easter eggs without the dye. Peeves started laying faithfully last fall, but then stopped as they often do in the winter. I didn't think anything of it until this spring when everyone else was laying, and I still wasn't getting any green eggs. The kids & I had several of our very own "easter egg" hunts trying to figure out where she was laying - I still don't know. But finally I gave up, and put her in the hay shed with Mary, and "forced" her to use the egg basket in there and have successfully begun collecting green eggs again! Yippee. I hope I get more green layers in this batch of chicks... or maybe even some with blue tints!

More to come soon.

Me vs. Sleep

I love sleep. Given the opportunity to choose between doing something exciting and a uninterrupted nap, the nap will win most of the time. I also am a night owl. I feel like I can get so much done after 9 or 10pm. Even now as I type, I want nothing more than to crawl back into bed even though I have been up doing farm chores for the last 30 - 60 minutes and am clearly awake. My natural rhythm is to stay up late and sleep in. My life has forced me away from that schedule.

My husband is a drivers ed instructor. He is partially disabled and by our choice, stays home with the kids during the day and works in the evenings. When we moved out here to the country, I had to change my schedule in such a way as to allow him enough time to get to his job. What this has meant is I work 7am - 3pm 5 days per week, and he works 5:30pm - 9:30pm 4 days per week. I have a 1 hour commute, his is 30 minutes. I have to leave my house by 6am to get to the office on time.

I resist life in the mornings. I am not a jump out of bed in the morning kind of girl. I am a hit snooze for at least a half hour every morning, cuddle up next to my warm husband, ignore real life kind of girl. If it were possible to turn off the alarm and just wake up when I'm ready (and not risk the wrath of my boss) I would be the first to sign up! Once out of bed I rush about and run out the door. There has been the occasional morning where I do that in 5 minutes!

Have I mentioned before that we have a little hobby farm?

I have been able to get away with doing farm chores only once per day in the afternoon, usually with my children joining me. My animals have been very obliging and have not seemed to mind only one appearance by me. I bring them fresh water, fill their food dish, bring them table scraps, and check for eggs.

When winter hit it meant a change - I have to stoke the wood stove before leaving for work, and start my car earlier. When we moved our mama dog to the basement with her puppies it meant another change. I had to let her out to potty because if I did not she would whine and bark when I stoked the stove and leave for work. And now I milk a goat...

...to be continued - if I crawl into bed now I can get an hour in before we have to get up to get ready for church.

Christmas Tree

If you had been outside my house last night you would have seen the following:

The taking down of the pitiful Christmas Tree. The poor thing was chopped down sometime this last year and left in our yard until we got around to completing the cutting of logs, and piling of branches several months later. It was already 1/2 dead, needles falling off, lopsided, curved trunk. Lately there was a solid carpet beneath it of fallen needles - the husband was done - "out today or else". It was decorated with just what was deemed unbreakable due to cat & dogs & children running next to it's instability. Pitiful, yet lovely in an almost Charlie Brown kind of way!

You would have heard the sadness in children's voices at the ending of the Christmas Tree, and a Mama who agreed that it was too early to be without - after all, more family was coming over on the 2nd for a Christmas Party.

You would have then witnessed the comedy of the Box Elder Branch, followed closely by the comedy of the Willow Branch.

I figured I had found the perfect solution - a branch wouldn't shed like the pine does, it would still hold our ornaments, still fit in our tree stand, still look pretty at night with the lights on it...

The first branch was brought in, and I easily put it up. The kids & I set to work decorating, it was 95% done when Vin decided to put the "necklaces" on - bead garland. He threw it at the tree, and it toppled on top of him. He was fine, no ornaments broke, so I hoisted it back up into place, warning him that we couldn't pull on the tree. I spent the next hour trying everything i could think of to get it to stand up again. I tried just putting it back up, but it kept leaning, and toppling. I tried putting playdough under it, cutting the bottom (3 different times), putting it in a pot of dirt - nothing would keep it up. I broke 2 ornaments, started dinner, sister showed up with my niece to stay the week, got part of dinner on the table, sister got ready to go, finally decided that I needed a different branch. Yes, I know, I should have just given up at this point, and been contented with our "yule log" that was decorated on our dining room table - but I just couldn't! I even undecorated it in case it was unbalanced from the preschool decorating (5 ornaments on one branch). So as my sister left, I went out and found another branch. This one a much lighter willow with what appeared to be a straighter stem.

Well, it had longer branches, and I nearly broke several valuable items trying to pull it from the kitchen to the dining room. I finally pulled it in and started pruning, then sawed down the trunk, and set it in the stand... twice. FINALLY! It was up. Unfortunately at that point I was so frustrated that I wouldn't let the kids help, and warned them repeatedly that they couldn't go anywhere near it.

And as I lay on the sofa, having put the children to bed, stretched out and enjoying the Christmas lights and silence, my husband returns from his work day and I show him proudly how the Christmas tree is gone, and the needles all clean up, and how lovely the new "tree" is, and he says "Why?" ppppbbbbbtttttt! I'm sorry, you're overruled, we want Christmas to last longer!

I love holiday lights & ornaments. Every year it is my one "splurge" to buy myself a fancy ornament. I used to keep them out all year, hanging in my windows, but they were getting in the way of the opening & closing of said windows so I've had to stop except for a few. I even used to have a red, fiber optic tree that I would keep out as my Valentine's tree - but that got "forgotten" in storage when we moved.

I don't like the urgency with which the holiday is packed away until next year - and yes, I am someone who keeps the pretty painted eggs out on display all year as well!

Plans

Katie & Henry. Our pretty black lab mix dogs. Mother & (we think) father of our 7 cute puppies.

We were originally thinking we might keep one puppy, however, with money where it is, we are planning on sending off all 7 to new homes. We have two people coming Saturday to pick which ones will be theirs. Yippee. At four weeks old, the puppies are playful and starting to try out soft puppy food. I'm also working on beginning potty training. I'm hoping to get the porch rearranged soon so that the puppies have more space to play and also to get them some fun chew toys.

Husband & I spent quite a bit of time last night talking about plans. Daughter's birthday party plans, and money matters. I'm getting very excited to put on a Tea Party for my little girl. She's turning three and declares that anytime she or I wear a skirt or dress we're princesses. She loves butterflies, flowers, kitties, and puppies!

One of those days

Ever have one of those days where you just
want to go back to bed and start over?

I made the mistake of stepping onto the scale this morning out of curiosity. I haven't been on the scale for months, and I knew I had gained a little. It's just so horrible how much those numbers can change the flavour of the day. I try so hard to not let my size, my weight, affect me. I don't want my kids growing up taking on my skewed perspectives on myself. I want them to love themselves for themselves. So the scale is officially being banished from my home! We can weigh in at the doctor's annual visit.

After the lovely numbers this morning, I was faced with a day of more numbers. Accounting. Piles of numbers that just make less and less sense as I try to sort them out. It's the conference wrap up stuff. Numbers that have been taking way too much time to go through. Things that seem like they went so smoothly every other year for the usual accounting staff. grumble. I've tried so hard to keep things in order, only when requested of me, I feel like I have to start back at the beginning.

And then, to my joy, this is the evening I promised my husband I would get our budget in place. Great timing on my part. Although, right now I'm pretending that it isn't on the to do list. Internet diversions abound!

I have been reading several blogs all having to do with budgeting, money, and living simply. It is my goal. I'll post the links once I figure out how. I'm also seeking out alternative income sources. I can add adverts to this blog, and get paid every time you click on it. I am trying to take occasional survey's that are supposed to make me money. And finally, there is the sale of things in my home, as in, puppies, eggs, clothes, candles, arts stuffs.

About the puppies. Weighed one of them today - 4.5lbs. 7 cute little bundles of wiggles, tongues, and mini barks. Adorable all. It's going to be so hard to let them go. I'm really hoping to have them all spoken for in the next couple weeks, so that it's easier to give them up! They're almost 4 weeks old now.

May 8, 2009 - Puppy Love

On May 6th, 2009 our dog Katie gave birth to 7 puppies. 3 girls, 4 boys. The two most distinctive ones are shown in the foreground of this photo. After telling our 13 year old about their birth, he said we should name them: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. These are of course temporary names :). Monday, also known as Panda is at the bottom of the pile here. Also in the foreground is Sunday, who looks like a St. Bernard. She has cycled through several names including: Bailey, Bernie, Lucy... She's the current favorite of many puppy-gazers. The current plan is to keep them until they are 8-10 weeks old and then send them to their new homes (small rehoming fee applies). They are black lab mix. 5 of them have only small amounts of white. If you know of someone looking for a puppy, let us know asap, we'd like to assign them homes before the kids get too attached.

A week of multiplication

I have been sitting anxiously this week awaiting the arrival of 8. I don't know how that 8 will arrive, but I've assumed it will happen.

At the beginning of August we closed on our new home. A beautiful house built in 1924 with all the original woodwork, built in hutch, leaded windows, crystal chandelier - plus it's on almost 10 acres of land! (My husband and I have always dreamed of a hobby farm and bed and breakfast and artist retreat.)

Being in a proactive mood I decided I better start investing in building our farm. We have 4 chickens from our city chicken flock and wanted more so I looked at Murray McMurray to see what was inexpensive. They have a minimum order of 25 chickens and then they offer a free exotic chick in addition. So I ordered 26 of whatever they had available. It is one of the least expensive groups and makes for a fun guessing game of what breed will you grow up to be. Obviously it was slightly compulsive of me since we live in central Minnesota and it gets cold! So on September 26th our 26 babies arrived. They spent their first week in the house in a large cardboard box with a heat lamp. If you've never seen or held baby chicks in their first week, you are missing out. They are soooo cute, cuddly, and curious. Well, I guess that started the multiplication although I figgured that one silly purchase of farm animals was enough until spring.

Before we purchased it, our home had sat empty for a year and before that it had had renters off and on since 2003. Because of its past, we have had to fight hard against a damp basement, occasional bats, an infestation (mostly outdoors) of wasps, asian ladybug beetles (unfortunately indoors), boxelder bugs, and mice. My understanding is that the best defense against mice is a cat. Despite my slight allergy to cat fur, I agreed when my husband called to tell me a friend of ours was bringing an abandoned cat to us.

I am a big fan of craigslist and frequently search their farm animal section to see if we can get sheep or goats or other things we need. My husband is fond of pulling up listings of things he likes such as vehicles, farm equipment, etc. On the day we had been told once again that the cat would be coming out, he was showing me listings for dogs in the area, free to a good home or with low rehoming fees. I didn't think anything of it, because we often spoke of things we might want to get from craigslist. An hour or so later, he informs me that Midnight is coming to the house to meet us. I assume that must be the name of the cat. I don't question further.