Just in the nick of time...

Just in the nick of time as most would say, the lambs left for their new home on the sheep farm yesterday*sigh* and this morning while Cortney was doing her morning chores, she discovered a peeping sound in the turkey pen. Yes, that's right, " The turkey's are here, the turkey's are here!" ( think back to 100 Dalmatians, and then you'll have the voice in your head to go with this proclamation, LOL!) One egg had been pushed from the nest, with a half hatched babe, sadly it was dead. Upon searching for the peep, Cortney spied another egg pipping, thus the location of the peeping was found. We counted the days(26) and the eggs should start on Sat., but early is better than never. We're praying for a good clutch, as this will be one of Cortney's cash crops, added to her egg sales and helping with selling extra garden produce. We currently have 5 toms and 5 hens( as soon as they're done setting) to sell. Today the sun is peeking through the clouds and the outside temp. is already warmer than yesterday's high, YEAH. After cleaning the barns and school work, we'll head outdoors to clean the little barn/ coop that the lambs were in, in preparation of the turkey poults. Now to see just how many hatch and survive( they don't have a strong will to survive), if we end up blessed with more than our oldest mama hen( she's a wonderful mother) could raise we'll have to see which of the young hens has the stronger motherly instinct and let two mamas raise the poults. Sometimes, in the past, this has caused problems; as they often fight over the babies and in the process end up killing some*sigh* Maybe we can separate them by running wire down the middle of the building. For now we'll just have to play it by ear. Do you ever get stuck in the rut of thinking of things to fix for meals? I'm there right now, it seems we end up eating the same meals week after week. So.... I drug out the recipe cards and did a search and came up with some of our family favorites such as; Venison pepper steak over brown rice, Enchiladas with homemade whole wheat tortilla shells, Cheeseburger soup, Lentils and sausage casserole, etc.... I'm also taking stock of what remains in the root cellar; dozens of carrots( PTL! still firm,crisp and especially sweet), 1 head of cabbage, 24 onions, and 50+ lbs of potatoes(excluding the seed taters). I also came across my recipe for "Pasties" and will include cabbage, onion, carrot and potatoes in the meat filling. The head of cabbage is quite large, so I'm sure will have enough to make fresh slaw for Mike's B-day supper on Sat. We'll be BBQ-ing steak, making a crock pot of baked beans, homemade french fries and add to this slaw and apple pie for dessert( Mike's request instead of cake for his special day). Okay, we're off to enjoy some sunshine while cleaning the barns, getting the girls out to pasture and checking the greenhouse. Blessings to you and may you be a blessing today, Kelle