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

Spring fever is in full force around here. We won't have any babies this year but we're sure enjoying watching everyone elses.

Yesterday when filling the water troughs I noticed a, ever so slight, green hue in our pastures. This made my day! The cows and Mo also seem to be enjoying this new green as well. They all seemed to graze along the ditch, it must be greening up quicker.

Update on Casino:

We took him in on Monday morning, the vet examined him, once he was asleep, and found no broken bone, bad teeth or even torn muscles. At best I felt as if she made a diagnosis on a guess, that diagnosis being, mandibular muscle malitosis( deterioration of his jaw muscles) This is an auto immune disease. Treatment is anti inflammatory meds., soft foods and time. He goes for a follow up visit this Sat. I'm apprehensive as to the cost of this follow up exam, as the running total is now well over $200. It seems as though the veterinarians feel as if you need to spend a small fortune on your beloved pets. If this flares up again we'll be treating Casino with homeopathics and herbs. We're all glad he's feeling better and the meds seem to be making that happen.

We've mixed our potting soil in a big tote, tub. Our mix consists of one bag( organic topsoil), some of our own compost, composted manure, kelp, natural calcium,and 1/2 c. lime( sweeten the soil)

The pots have been soaked in a light solution of bleach water and dried. All we need is the time to fill the pots and begin planting our seeds. First will be some of the annual herbs we know take longer to germinate. Then onto the peppers, cabbage, tomatoes and such. At this time we also like to start a few planter pots of lettuce mix, spinach and radishes. Since we eat seasonally, we begin craving new salad greens in mid March. I'd do sprouting during the winter months, but Mike and Cortney won't eat them. Toward the end of March is usually the time we set up our coldframes, nothing fancy, just old hay bales and old glass windows facing south. This year I've found an inexpensive greenhouse 6x6, $129, and plan to use it as our coldframe. Cortney wants to plant some melons, carrots, and pumpkins early, so this greenhouse will provide a great experiment for her( aka Scientific theory)

We need to make a quick trip into the city to pay our CPA for taxes. PTL! we're getting a nice return, even though we lost our child tax credit on Cortney. This money is already spent, on having a well drilled and the pump and electrical run out to the well. This is for irrigation, as well as water for animals and if need be for our use too. We've been irrigating our property with a gas powered pump, pumping water from the river. When the gas prices skyrocketed last summer, it about broke us to keep our pastures green. So... began the discussion to put in a well big enough to irrigate from. Hay prices have skyrocketed, so even the high cost of this set up will pay for itself in one to two seasons. We also now crop share 10 acres of hay ground. We pray this will cover our needs for hay in the coming winter. The least tons of hay we have to buy the better!

This has turned into a ramble of sorts. May the Lord bless you and keep you in these trying times .

Feb.4, 2009

It's hard to believe it's February, our temps. are well into the mid to high 50's F. Today our plan is to finish pruning our fruit trees and cut the old canes back in the raspberry bed. There is also laundry to hang outside in the fresh air. Nothing smells as good as laundry hung outdoors.

This afternoon we need to run into the city( 60+ miles away) to pick up our side pork( bacon) and a ham we had smoked. We only had one ham smoked because it is a special process, not nitrates used and weren't sure we'd like it enough to risk several hams. We avoid as much of the chemicals additives as possible in our foods. When in the city we'll make a few errand stops.

Before leaving we'll put a pot of Taco Soup on the back of the wood cook stove to simmer. We need something ready for a quick supper, as my Dh is teaching a class in our local EMT training seminar tonight.

We are currently pushing back our chore times, as the daylight lengthens, so evening chores are now done around 4:30pm. It's pretty simple at this point, we don't have any cows to milk, so it's a matter of getting them into their stalls, everyone fed and watered for the night.

Blessings to all