Katiegirl

MLK Weekend #3!

2012-01-26T11:43:00.005-05:00

Two weekends ago my sister and I went to our Aunt Linda's house for the 3rd annual Must Love Knitting weekend! We all get together and eat, knit, eat, talk, eat, knit more, etc. It's a good time!

We spent lots of time knitting, as I said above. Becky showed us how to knit socks using her toe knitting technique. I had a ~~temper tantrum~~ moment of frustration with learning something new. Hopefully I can remember what she taught us, since David has now agreed to "let" me knit him socks.

We visited a few great yarn shops! Aunt Linda is helping me decide what to make with the gorgeous yarn that jumped into my basket.

We visited my Grandma. It was great to see her, and even though she may not exactly remember our names, she knew she recognized us. She also does and says some of the same funny things I remembered.

Here's Becky with Grandma.

Becky knitting. I tell ya. These captions just get more and more exciting!

And Becky has a nice camera that has a mode that will soften your complexion. I must get this! We experimented with it. See how pretty we are?!

Ok, but really, look at the difference!

If you want to catch up on our previous MLK weekends, visit here and here.

To read Becky's blog post about MLK III, click here.

The Victory Garden of Tomorrow

2012-01-19T09:07:00.002-05:00

A friend sent me the link to the site, The Victory Garden of Tomorrow. They make posters, t-shirts, note cards, and other cool things. They're promoting modern homesteading by creating posters reminiscent of historical posters used to promote the same things, like victory gardening.

They've also got an Etsy shop.

I love their work and I would love that "Eat Real Food" poster in my kitchen! Or maybe the chicken hugger! Or maybe the pickle jar or...I could go on and on!

*pictures from thevictorygardenoftomorrow.com

Selective Free-Ranging

2012-01-17T20:41:00.003-05:00

My mom recently gave me some funding to use on my "farm" so I could get things done or buy things I need. One thing I desperately needed to do was re-do the chicken yard fence. When we first built our fences, we just used field fence (large holes) to fence around the pasture and chicken yard. I didn't think it would be a big deal that the chickens could squeeze through the holes. Boy, was I wrong! They have pooped on everything, scratched the mulch away from the gardens and flowerbeds, eaten all of my tomatoes, and gotten out in/near the road. They needed to be contained!

I bought 2"X4" mesh so I could have the option of fencing them in their yard during the day, and possibly letting them out in the evenings. If they're let out in the evenings, they don't range quite so far from the coop.

I started out by ripping out the old fence.

I expanded their yard since they'd be spending the majority of their time there.

I used my new tripod and camera to take this picture. I'll blog about those later.

Here's how the new pen looks. It will be SO much better once it's done.

Here's the other side of the pen. Wouldn't you know it, I ran out of fence with about 20' left to fence. I think I have enough chain link laying around to fence it, but I'm not sure it it'll be tall enough.

I did most of the work by myself. It's almost impossible to stretch the fence AND connect it to the posts, so David helped me with that part. I did all of the ripping out and putting in the new posts (which was easy because the ground was soft). It's nice to be able to do things by myself. It makes me feel useful and able! And I have to say, it was nice to be able to fence in January....in 60* weather!!

And thanks, Mom, for funding this project!

For Birds and Bird Lovers

2012-01-11T20:44:00.002-05:00

I made a few suet wreaths for Christmas gifts and forgot to blog about it. There are a few other gifts I need to blog about too, so I'll try to work those in soon.

I saw a Martha Stewart episode where she made wreaths out of birdseed and suet, and I thought my mom would like one, since she feeds the birds and really enjoys watching them.

It was fairly simple to make. I just heated up lard (you can find it in Walmart's cooking oils section), but you could also render your own lard or beef suet. Then it's mixed with birdseed. You can also mix in cranberries and peanuts like Martha suggests.

Then the mixture gets poured into a bundt pan. Mine was much larger than the one recommended. It needs to be frozen for about 24 hours to harden, then you can hang it outside with a wide ribbon. It needs to be freezing cold outside, or else the wreath will come apart, like I found out.

If it breaks, it can be sat on a table or platform feeder for the birds. I'm sure they won't mind if it's hanging or on a surface! It's easy to make and pretty to look at!

German Pancakes

2012-01-10T20:52:00.002-05:00

I love breakfast foods. Love them. One of my favorite things to eat is French toast. Yum. I was looking for something new to try, and came upon a recipe for German pancakes. I thought they looked interesting, so I gave it a try and I have to say they're great! It's sort of a cross between French toast and regular pancakes.

This is a super easy recipe, and after I'd made it once the recipe I had it ~~locked in my brain forever~~ memorized.

It puffs up a good bit while baking, but it'll collapse while it cools. We ate ours with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and some maple syrup.

German Pancake Recipe
Preheat oven to 400* F

1/4 cup butter
1 cup milk
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp sugar
pinch of salt

1. Place butter in an 8" cast iron skillet and place in the oven to heat pan and melt butter.
2. Combine milk, eggs, and vanilla in bowl and mix well.
3. Add flour, sugar, and salt and mix until smooth.
4. Remove cast iron pan from the oven (it's HOT! Even the handle!) and pour in batter.
5. Bake for ~18 minutes until browned and puffy.

Then you can wait for it to collapse/cool a tad and serve with syrup, powdered sugar, etc.

A Girl and Her Pony

2012-01-09T20:01:00.003-05:00

Santa brought Kylee a pony for Christmas. I think he knew we didn't have the ~~money~~ ~~time~~ space for a real one, so he brought her a pony tire swing instead.

I don't think Kylee minds it's not real, because she loves this thing!

She spent hours on it this weekend...swinging, spinning, just sitting.

She even named it and gave it a bath!

And she's even nice enough to let her brother ride it.

Good work, Santa!

Munch Munch

2012-01-07T19:24:00.002-05:00

June is due to kid on Feb. 14th. She's getting pretty wide! I can't wait to see what she has. I bred her earlier than normal, and since we got a cold snap a few days ago I'm wondering why I decided to do that! I'm not sure if I'd rather milk in the freezing cold or in the hot, humid summer. I'm thinking I'd rather deal with the cold. I don't deal with heat well.

I love how they all dig in and then look at me with mouthfuls of hay. Barley is the lamb looking at me head on. I love her.

And of course Ida can't stand like a normal animal and eat, she's got to make it entertaining. :-)

Once again Ida is up, because you know the best tasting hay is on the top!

I'm currently feeding a round bale since my hay people were out of small squares. It's been working pretty well so far, and I think now we have a method for unloading the bale. It's much easier feeding it out when it's standing up, since it just unrolls.

And it's cheaper than small square bales, which is a huge bonus!

Whooo!

2012-01-05T20:21:00.002-05:00

Kylee needed a new hat, so I found this really cute owl hat on Ravelry. It's a really quick and easy knit, and I love the way it turned out! I put button eyes on one of the owls, and left the others plain. I may make the eyes bigger, but I'm not sure yet.

This is the actual color of the yarn. It's Cascade Yarns 220 Quatro in pink.

Now I may make myself one, but probably in a different color. ;-)

Rabbit Boys

2012-01-04T19:14:00.005-05:00

Here are a few pictures of the rabbit boys. None of the rabbits are named, I just call them all Bun-Bun. Maybe one day I'll think up some names. This first guy is my mini-rex. He's really friendly, and loves when I let him out to explore the garage.

He loved running around Tucker.

He's usually pretty good, and will let me catch him pretty easily. I can't decide whether I want to keep him or not. He's very friendly, but he doesn't really fit into my breeding plans.

And here's the big boy, the American Chinchilla/Silver Fox cross. This big boy used to really intimidate me, because he'll growl and jump at me, but now I know to stand up to him, and I've even given him a tap on the nose to get him to straighten up. We kind of have an understanding now.

I think this big boy will make a nice breeder with my new girls, once they're old enough. I can't wait to see what the rabbits will look like.

The New Girls

2012-01-03T20:09:00.002-05:00

Some of you may know I've been wanting to raise meat rabbits for a while now. I spent lots of time debating it, planning it, thinking about it. I got a rabbit in June, and she turned out to be a he. Then I got another rabbit in September and she also turned out to be a male! Turns out after strike 2, it becomes your goal in life to be able to successfully tell a male rabbit from a female rabbit.

So, I searched Craigslist and asked around at the feedstore. Rabbits were in the back of my mind, and every day when I fed the two bucks I was reminded how I was really supposed to have female rabbits, because males don't tend to spontaneously reproduce.

I had been having trouble finding meat rabbits in the area, and the few I did find were too pricey for me. I didn't want to spend too much since I was just starting out. Since I knew we were heading down to NC after Christmas to visit Becky and Mom, I searched on the Craigslist in their area. And what luck! I found a listing for 6 week old baby New Zealand rabbits. I sent an email and left a voicemail explaining that I lived in Maryland and could they please save one female (and make sure it was a female) for me and I would come get it after Christmas pretty pretty please??? Well, the man I spoke with sounded very nice and he told me he would save me a rabbit. I didn't want to get my hopes up, because I know there are so many people who use Craigslist that say they'll show up but never do, or they'll send you an email and try to scam you, etc. I was so worried someone would want to buy all the rabbits, and honestly I wouldn't have blamed him if he'd sold them all if someone was there with cash in hand. But, lucky me, he still had a few rabbits left by the time we made it down to NC!

Becky, David, and I loaded up on Friday morning and headed a half hour up the road to get the rabbit (at that point I was thinking I was just going to get one). We got to this house and were greeted by the nicest couple. They'd gotten rabbits as a project for their teenage son, but the whole family soon got involved. They had the nicest hutches, and the rabbits were so well cared for. The rabbits were all very friendly, and that is a big plus for me! So, after chatting with them for a while, I decided to get 2 rabbits. After all, it was hard for me to find such nice rabbits here in Maryland, and I didn't want to get home and regret only getting one. I even got a lesson in rabbit sexing from the breeder, and it was a huge relief to know I wasn't getting more males. :-)

So now the rabbits are home, after spending a few days in my sister's shower, and then taking an 8 hour car trip up north.

They're in the barn in my chick pen until I can get a nice hutch built for them. Hopefully they'll be content to stay in the pen for a while.

They're really cute, and I can just barely tell them apart since one is slightly bigger.

They're really friendly. I sat with them for a while today and they came up and were very curious about me.

Finally I got my rabbits! I'll breed them to my big buck later this summer when they're old enough. Tomorrow I'll do an update on my other two rabbits.

More Christmas-Family

2012-01-02T19:44:00.003-05:00

Here are some more random pictures from the past week. Some are from Christmas at our house, and some are from NC (we just got back from a great but too-short visit).

Devin got a Red Ryder bb gun for Christmas! Target shooting is a tradition on holidays, so the guys took their guns out for some practice. David got a new Ruger pellet rifle, so he practiced with his while Devin shot his bb gun.

They had such a great father-son bonding time!

I made sure Kylee shot the bb gun too. Girls can shoot just as well as boys, ya know! ;-)

Then we all shot some more on the 26th when my Dad and Lisa came for a visit. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of Lisa or me shooting, so you'll just have to imagine us shooting. Dad is shooting the 20-gauge (shotgun) in this pic below.

Santa brought Devin the new Connect 4 game, where you have to fling the plastic discs onto the tray. I love this game! If you look closely you can see the 2 yellow discs Devin shot.

Then we went to NC. Unfortunately I didn't take very many pictures. It's hard for me to remember to take pics because I'm so busy just enjoying visiting! We went to Lexington BBQ and Evan and David thumb wrestled a few times.

Then we spent some time at Nana's house. Becky spotted this great photo op for Evan and Charlotte, so I snapped it with my camera.

David's parents (and brother and his girlfriend, not pictured) came over on Christmas evening, and I managed to get everyone to agree to take a family picture. I'm glad I did because I love the way it came out! Please note, Kylee is in the stage where she doesn't want to smile nicely. She'd rather make funny faces. I remember being the same way....

I may have a few more pictures from Christmas. I'll have to sort through all of them. I'm going to try to post every day until I get caught up with things. Wish me luck!

Wordless Wednesday-More Christmas Pics

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

Kids and Their Presents

2011-12-27T08:52:00.001-05:00

It's hard to get good pictures of kids opening presents because they don't sit still very often! These are a few of my favorite pictures from Christmas Day.

David and I got the kids a checkers set from Cracker Barrel. It has a rug as the board and it's huge. The kids love it! We've played several games so far.

Kylee can never have enough hair bands (not like 80's rock bands, but actual hair ties).

We also got Kylee a Cinderella snow globe. She loves it!

And Santa brought Devin a Red Ryder bb gun! He and David spent a few hours target shooting. He's a good shot!

Stay tuned for more Christmas posts during the next few days!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T08:08:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a great one!

Family Reunion

2011-12-20T18:14:00.003-05:00

We adopted Elmer as a puppy, from a rescue about 2 hours from us where I grew up. He was one of 13 pups total, but 12 survived. He was one of the last 2 pups to get adopted. After we brought him home, I was looking at all of the "success stories" rescues typically post, you know, with pictures of the dogs' new families. Well, I happened to be looking at pictures of his littermates' new owners, and I saw someone I knew! Turns out one of my friends from college adopted one of Elmer's sisters!

We live about 2 hours away from each other, and we've never managed to get the dogs together...until this past weekend! My friend was coming to a little get-together we had, and I told her to bring Dakodah (her dog) along!

Here is Elmer (L), Buford (middle), and Dakodah (R).

It was really neat seeing them together, but hard to get a decent picture!

They had a lot of the same mannerisms!

Dakodah is definitely more active than Elmer, but she's got the same, sweet, lapdog personality!

It's so much fun being able to keep in touch. When you adopt from rescues, you rarely get to see the littermates grow up!

The Buffet

2011-12-18T17:02:00.003-05:00

I love this thing. My mom found it at an estate auction years ago and it looked very different than it does now. It was black and didn't look like much. Mom got it for $80. She brought it home and stripped it and found beautiful wood underneath. She knew when she saw it that it had potential.

When she moved into her current house, there just wasn't room for it, so lucky me now I have it! I'm not sure if it belongs to me now or not, but honestly I feel more like it's caretaker rather than owner. I am very protective of it, and I'm always reminding the kids to be easy on the doors and drawers. I don't want anything to happen to it!

I love decorating it too. I love how it looks all decked out for Christmas. It's definitely my favorite piece of furniture we own.

Soap Winner!

2011-12-16T06:49:00.003-05:00

Thanks to random.org, the winner of the soap giveaway is Susan, from Squash Blossom Farm! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Susan, just let me know for sure which scent you would like, and I'll mail it out!

Christmas Greetings

2011-12-12T20:40:00.002-05:00

Purl & June Christmas cards, featuring Purl, are now available in the shop!

A Positive and a Negative

2011-12-11T20:15:00.002-05:00

I realize I haven't posted pictures of the sheep and goats lately, so here you go! I moved the girls' temporary fence to a section of yard where I'd been stockpiling grass (meaning I haven't let David cut it in a long time) so they could graze a bit. They really enjoyed getting out and grazing, since they've eaten their pasture down and have been getting hay lately.

Barley is on the left, Bean is on the right.

Here's Ida. She recently tested negative for CAE! I got the results in on Friday, and I'm so glad because June is positive. I separate all of June's kids right after birth and bottle feed them, and I'm glad it's worth the hassle since Ida is negative.

And check out Ms. Wide Load, aka Darla. I also got her results on Friday..she's pregnant! I figured she was, but there's always a bit of doubt with her. She'll be on a strict diet from now until she lambs, because she packed on the pounds when she was eating alfalfa hay with the ram. I swear she looks at feed and gets fat!

And speaking of wide loads... June is due February 14th and she's already looking very wide!

I love how when I talk to the sheep they look up with mouths full of grass.

A Giveaway!

2011-12-08T07:41:00.003-05:00

To celebrate the soap finally being in the Etsy shop, I'm having a giveaway!

The winner will get to choose one bar of soap and will also get a wooden soap tray to keep it on!

The available scents are:

Peony

Vanilla Lavender

Goat Milk & Honey

Berry Vanilla

Shea & Coconut

Unscented

Tropical Vacation

Lemongrass Verbena

Coffee Kitchen (for scrubbing odors like onion off of hands)

Santa's Pipe

Santa's Workshop

To enter, just leave a comment with what scent you would like! And you can get a second entry by "liking" Purl & June on Facebook (please make sure to leave a second blog comment if you do this)! You have until Thursday, December 15th to enter, and the winner will be announced on Friday, December 16th! Good luck!

New Shop Listings

2011-12-07T09:27:00.001-05:00

I listed a few things in the shop last night, so check it out! I was thisclose to adding the soap, but our internet went down just as I was about to list the first scent! Drats! Check back tonight or tomorrow, and I'll be having a giveaway!

Heck With the Malls

2011-12-04T20:50:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I participated in a craft show called Heck With the Malls, a show held by the local arts council. They do a good job trying to get people to shop locally for Christmas gifts instead of going to the big box stores.

It was a pretty steady day and I think most of us vendors did fairly well. It was a lot of fun talking to people about the stuff I made. It was also fun seeing their reactions when I told them the soap came from milk from my own goat. People seemed pretty surprised at that!

I think my favorite customers of the day were the two little girls who were about 11 years old or so. They came to my table about 5 times to look at the little felted acorns, and I heard them naming each person they'd buy an acorn for. They came back at the end of the show with enough money in hand to buy 5 of the remaining 9 acorns. I made those acorns several years ago, and each craft show I'd bring them along and sell a few. I told the girls they could have all of the remaining acorns, and one said, "Are you sure?!" They seemed tickled pink when I said I was sure. I figured any girls dedicated enough to wool acorns to visit them 5 times during the show deserved all of them!

A $2 Deal

2011-12-02T07:46:00.003-05:00

I've been looking for something to display my soaps at the craft show so I went to our local auction a few weeks ago. The auction is huge, and you can find anything there. A lady next to me had just bought a whole lot of "stuff", and I noticed this little shelf in the pile. I asked her if she'd be willing to sell it, and she sold it to me for $2. It looked a little rough, and I didn't need the mugs, but I thought it had potential.

I took it home and started cleaning it up.

I took off the door and all the hardware and cleaned it up. I figured it'd be pretty cute with a coat of paint, so I painted it the same color as my kitchen.

It's just about the perfect size, and for $2 I think it worked out perfectly! In the future I may need to move up to something bigger, but for now it's just right.

The Big Reveal

2011-11-28T08:09:00.002-05:00

Almost all of the soaps are labeled and ready to go for this weekend's craft show. It's their big debut and I'm excited and nervous! What if they don't sell? What if I don't have enough? Only time will tell! I think they look cute on that little shelf. I scored that shelf for $2 at an auction, but I'll do another post for it because it didn't look like this when I bought it!

Whatever soap doesn't sell on Saturday will be listed in my Etsy shop, hopefully by Sunday!

Stock Sunday

2011-11-16T20:22:00.002-05:00

Sunday I made stock. The pot on the left is poultry stock (chicken and turkey) and the pot on the right is lamb stock. I roasted the lamb bones first and boy, the house smelled so good! I let it simmer on low overnight and Monday morning I canned 7 quarts before I went in to work (a few hours late). I would have canned another batch, but I ran out of time so some went for that night's dinner, some went into the freezer, and some is in the fridge for tomorrow's (or Friday's) dinner.

Knitting 101

2011-11-15T20:21:00.003-05:00

Kylee has been wanting to learn how to knit for a little while now, so while I had some time this weekend I taught her. My sister posted about my niece learning to knit, and I used the same catchy rhyme Becky used to teach Charlotte. She's now working on her very own scarf! It's great to have a knitting buddy!

Feeling Froggy?

2011-11-13T18:54:00.002-05:00

Tonight I could not find my size 8 double pointed knitting needles, so I searched and searched and finally found them....in a hat I had yet to cast off. I knit this hat twice. I started it in August, and knit the hat on the size needles called for in the pattern (I think 10s?). The hat just didn't turn out like I wanted it to. The stitches were too open. I have been wanting the perfect hat for a while now, and I was hoping it would be this hat.

It's knit out of baby alpaca yarn, which is so so soft. I re-knit it on size 8 needles, and I still am not very happy with it. Perhaps it's just not the right yarn for this pattern. I'm thinking I need to frog it again and maybe make a cowl out of the yarn. After all, I can't really feel the super soft yarn through my hair, but I'm thinking my neck would appreciate a nice soft cowl come winter.

I do love the cables though. My ~~first~~ second cables (since I knit the hat twice!). I'll keep looking for the perfect yarn for the pattern.

It's Crafting Time

2011-11-10T08:29:00.002-05:00

The "big" craft show is less than a month away, so I've been busy felting things! Here are some mini sheep that may or may not get turned into Christmas tree ornaments.

And here is a little Christmas scene I just love. It will probably be sold as a set. I sort of want to keep it. I know I can make another one for myself, but I have ADD when it comes to making things. It's super hard for me to make multiples of the same thing because I get bored and want to move on to something different.

I think that little scene would look great on a mantel!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-09T08:17:00.001-05:00

Someone feels left out.

Barley

2011-11-07T13:46:00.002-05:00

I asked David to snap this picture of Barley and me yesterday. I wish she was standing a little more naturally instead of being kind of hunched up, because it makes her look slightly smaller. The little girls, Bean and Barley, have been staying in the barn pen since the ram is out in the pasture. I have never bred a ewe lamb, I've always waited to breed them as yearlings, and I was debating breeding Barley as a lamb this year. I'm leaning towards no, since I'm nervous she'll have complications and I really don't *need* her to lamb this coming spring. I'd rather wait one more year and not have any issues from her being too small.

Barley and Bean have been going outside to graze for a few hours every day. I'll put a halter on Barley and let Bean follow us. To go back in the barn, I just call the girls and they both follow right on my heels (even stepping on my heels!) and go right back in their pen. Sheep definitely go better when they're led, instead of being "pushed" from behind, like cattle.

I just love Bean and Barley and can't wait until next fall to breed them.

Soap Labels!

2011-11-06T08:34:00.003-05:00

Check out my new soap labels! My friend Jen from Home Sweet made them for me, because I ~~can't work~~ am not familiar with Photoshop. This week I'll be labeling the soap and hope to have it in the Etsy shop by the weekend!

Ida Mae

2011-11-03T20:13:00.004-04:00

Ida is almost 8 months old now and is growing up to be quite a pretty goat. I just love her and can't wait until next fall so I can breed her!

She's quite spunky too! She's figured out if she gets up on the milking stand that she'll get grain, and now she runs to the barn any chance she gets so she can hop up on the stand for a snack. I fed her up there last week so I could trim her hooves. She's a smart girl when there's food involved!

Thanks to Verde Farm for hosting Farm Friend Friday!

Until We're Together Again

2011-10-31T21:00:00.000-04:00

This post isn't easy for me to write, which is why it has taken me almost a week. On Wednesday, the 26th, I had to say goodbye to my best friend of 15 years. Scooter's body just couldn't keep up with his spirit and he was having a hard time doing basic things, like standing up and walking. So, I did what any loyal pet owner would do, even if it was hard for me. Wednesday morning David and I took Scooter to the vet's. We sat out in the car and I hugged and kissed Scooter while the vet helped Scooter ease out of this world.

It was hard to do, especially because Scooter has been with me for half of my life. I got him the summer I turned 15. Mom took me "just to look" at a puppy being fostered by a local rescue organization. Of course it was love at first sight and we brought him home with us, much to my dad's surprise. He was 7 lbs of cuteness and attitude.

I can remember spending time after school training him out in the yard. He learned to "play dead" in about 10 minutes. He was smart, which also sometimes got him in to trouble. Let's just say he did his fair share of chewing things in my room! It didn't take long before we were best buds.

Scooter loved going camping with us. He loved to swim and when we would let him out of the tent in the morning he would make a beeline for the lake!

Scooter has been with me just about every step of the way. He went to college with me, he moved to Vermont with me, and then moved back with me when that didn't work out. When I first moved to the area where I live now, I didn't know anybody. Scooter was pretty much my only (local) friend at that time. He went every single place I did. He'd sit in the passenger side of my car and look out the window. Every now and then he'd crane his head backwards to look at me. I'd scratch him on the chin and he'd turn back to the window. Sometimes I'd have to stop quickly and I'd tell him, "look out boo boo" and he'd sit down quickly so he wouldn't slide into the dashboard.

I swear he understood me when I talked to him. He knew me so well.

He loved to play ball! He'd pop rubber balls so he could carry them around more easily, and he would play any chance he got.

David loved Scooter too. He knew how important Scooter was (is) to me and he proposed to me with Scooter's help. The three of us went down to the river one day and David played fetch with Scooter. He handed me the stick to throw, and when I looked at it I saw, "Will you marry me?" written on the stick. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect proposal!

I took the picture above and below on that day. It was a perfect day.

And I knew I couldn't get married unless Scooter was in the wedding. He was an honorary bridesmaid (er, bridesdog?) and wore a flowered collar and leash.

I am so glad I have these memories and pictures of that special day.

He had been with me every step of the way up to that point, and I wanted him to be included as well.

It was hard to see him age, because I hated to think that he wouldn't be with me forever.

I never thought of Scooter as old, even when he looked old. I always saw him as the same Scooter.

This picture below is our last picture taken together. I took it on Tuesday night while we were getting some more snuggle time in.

It has been a hard week for me. It just doesn't seem real that he's not here anymore. I find myself going to look for him, or waiting for him to walk around the corner. Elmer and Buford were playing too rough last night and I got ready to tell them to settle down, since they always used to get in Scooter's way. One night I put Buford in his crate and said, "Night Scoot." Those are the hard things, because those things just come naturally and then it's a hard reminder that he's not here with us. Today Buford took a car ride with me, and as I slowed down to turn back into our driveway I said, "look out, boo boo" out of habit. It's getting a little easier every day, and I've been thinking back on all the good times and memories we had together. It helps that my family and friends have been so supportive. David has been my hero through this whole thing. I don't know how I would have done it without him. He has definitely been my rock.

I had Scooter cremated, because I just didn't want to bury him here when I know this won't be our house forever. I have a few plans for his ashes, like spreading some in a couple of our special places, and putting some under a special plant in the yard. I'm thinking it'll be a peony, since those were the flowers in my wedding bouquet. I know I'll smile and think of him every time I cut a vase of blooms.

I'm not a religious person, and I had never really put much thought into heaven, whether it existed or not. As I laid in bed on Wednesday night, I thought there must be a heaven, because how could our loved ones just cease to exist? I think he's somewhere right now, playing with all of the other dogs my family has lost over the years. He's swimming, playing ball, and bossing around other dogs this very moment. If ever there was a dog that deserved to go to heaven, he was it! I'll miss him so much. Love you, Scoot.

The Lara's Cowl

2011-10-23T20:03:00.003-04:00

With cooler weather coming, I've been wanting to knit a cowl. I saw Lara's Cowl and loved it, so I knit it. I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, but I think it was a little too thick. I also had to go down to size 13 needles, since I didn't have a 15. I think my combination of smaller needles and only 2 skeins of yarn made this skein come out different than I expected.

It's not quite wide enough for me. If I wear it like a hood it doesn't even cover the back of my head.

I found someone else who likes it though...

I told her to strike a pose.

She had fun modeling it.

Then Devin had to get in a picture with Tucker.

So it looks like Lara's Cowl will go to Kylee. Oh well, at least I didn't have to frog it!

The Yarn Harlot Was in Town!

2011-10-20T22:02:00.005-04:00

My sister, Becky, and I are both fans of the famous knitter, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. She's a hilarious lady who has a fabulous blog called The Yarn Harlot. Even if you're not a knitter, you would appreciate her humor!

She's just come out with a new book and is touring the US (she is Canadian) and she came to Baltimore for a book signing last night! We're about an hour and forty minutes from Baltimore, so I decided to go see her! I was really excited and was going to buy 2 of her books- one for me and one for Becky. I was going to get them signed, and give Becky her book as her birthday present. Since Becky couldn't come with me, I decided to take a picture of her along with me so I could show Yarn Harlot and maybe get a picture of the "three" of us.

Here I was, starting out on the trip, just me and my 2-D sister. I was happy. Full of hope and excitement.

I got about 45 minutes away from home and noticed the car was running hot. Very hot. Almost-overheating-hot. I turned on the heat full blast and managed to get it to a WaWa (gas station). I called David and he had bad news. If the car wasn't low on coolant (which it wasn't), then it was probably the thermostat and I really shouldn't drive to Baltimore unless I wanted to permanently damage the engine. AAAAUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!! I was so frustrated.

So there I sat in the Wawa parking lot, with the hood up, wondering why this crap always happens at the worst possible time. I called my brother, Chris, who happens to live in Baltimore, since we were planning on meeting up after the book signing. I told him the news, and he told me he was going to make a few calls. I decided to try to limp the car home, stopping and letting it cool down if I had to.

Chris called a few minutes later and said he cleared his schedule and offered to come pick me up and drive me to the signing! I really wanted to take him up on his offer, but I was afraid of having to drive the car back home late at night and having it break down. I figured I better head back while it was still light out.

So Chris did the next best thing! He went to the book signing for us (I say us, because Becky was going in spirit). How awesome is he?! So my non-knitting, very hip, drummer-in-a-band brother spent 2.5 hours at the signing, waiting to get the books signed for his lucky sisters! He got to meet the Yarn Harlot and he told the story of the broken down car. And she blogged about him!!!! SO EXCITING! You may be thinking it's not a big deal, but it's a huge deal! She's famous! Here is her blog post, if you'd like to read it. Becky and I owe Chris big time! We are incredibly lucky to have such a sweet brother!

Follow Us on Facebook!

2011-10-17T10:28:00.001-04:00

Purl & June is the new name of my "brand" of crafts, including felted items and NEW goat milk soap! Follow Purl & June on Facebook and see what's going on! It's in the beginning stages now, but I hope to post pictures and updates while I add new things! Hope to see you on Facebook!

Pink Hair for Hope

2011-10-13T09:04:00.002-04:00

I got my pink hair extension yesterday to support Breast Cancer Awareness! Learn more at Pink Hair for Hope. There are a ton of salons participating (even if they're not listed on the website) so call your local salon and get your pink hair extension today! They're about $10 and support a great cause! And they're cute!

Soaping

2011-10-07T08:24:00.005-04:00

Two weeks ago I went to visit my dad and go to the county fair (post on that coming soon). While I was there, I asked Dad if he could help me with a project. Dad is good at building stuff (like the goat stand) so I thought he'd be the perfect one to help me make a couple soap molds.

These soap molds run anywhere from $30-$45ish dollars online, and I knew we could build them for a fraction of that cost.

In no time at all we had 2 soap molds made! We used wood he already had in his garage, and only had to buy the bolts and wingnuts. Each mold cost about $6.00.

These are 4 pound molds, which means they hold 4 pounds of soap. There's a "track" on one side so the soap can be cut into even 1" bars. The end pieces of wood come off so the soap can be easily removed.

I've used these molds a few times already, and I love them! They need to be lined with wax paper first, so the soap doesn't stick. Then the soap gets poured in and the whole thing goes in the fridge for 24 hours so it can set.

After 24 hours the soap gets taken out of the mold, the wax paper gets removed, and the soap goes back into the mold for slicing.

I just now realized I need to keep the end on the mold while I'm slicing so I get more even bars. Doh!

And here are the bars after they've been sliced. They've still got to cure for at least 4 weeks before they can be used.

I've got some soap ready for sale, but they were made with a different mold so they're not quite as pretty as these bars. I'm debating adding them to my Etsy shop now, or waiting until my craft show in December to sell any. I'm not quite sure yet!

Are You Ready for Some Football?

2011-10-04T20:32:00.004-04:00

Pee Wee football, that is. Devin is playing in the local kids' league this year.

He said it's fun, but next year he wants to try basketball or baseball. I don't think he's an aggressive enough kid to really play football. He worries he'll hurt the other boys if he tackles them too hard. :-) If you want my opinion, I'd rather he be too nice to tackle anyways.

And Kylee is cheering in the same league. She cheers for the team of boys that's younger than Devin's group. She's had a lot of fun and met a lot of new friends. She says next year she'd like to try soccer.

And I tell ya, I really have to give my parents props for encouraging us (me, my sister, and my brother) to be so involved. We all tried sports (but none of us stuck with it), 4-H, and marching band. My parents were band parents for 12 years! 12 long years of Monday through Friday practices,Friday night football games, and Saturday competitions. Oh yeah, and sometimes we had multiple competitions in one day, and parades on Sundays! You never realize until you're the ones driving kids to practices and games that it takes up a lot of time! One thing about parenting is it makes you realize just how much your parents did for you! Thanks Mom and Dad!

USDA Fall Webinars

2011-10-04T08:29:00.002-04:00

The USDA is having several webinars this fall on some pretty great topics! Click the link here to read more about it. They're free for everyone, but you need to register.

2011 Fall Webinar Series

Wednesday, October 5
Webinar: The Basics of Home Canning with Elizabeth Andress, Ph.D., food safety specialist with Georgia Cooperative Extension and Professor in the Department of Foods and Nutrition.
Learn the basics of canning fruits and vegetables from your garden, as well as USDA recommendations for canning pickles and sweet spreads. Make sure you are safe from botulism and other risks when you preserve food, and learn best practices for high quality preserves.

Wednesday, October 12
Webinar: Introduction to Seed Saving with Shannon Carmody, public programs manager for Seed Savers Exchange
Learn about the biological and ecological needs of saving seeds. Topics will include plant reproductive structures, isolation requirements, pollination methods and taxonomy.

Wednesday, October 19
Webinar: Pollinators For Your Garden with Dr. Jeff S. Pettis, research leader with USDA-Agricultural Research Service Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland.
Pollinators are essential to any gardening endeavor. Hear about the variety of native or wild pollinators and things you can do to encourage or increase them in your area.

Wednesday, October 26
Webinar: Food Stamps Grow Gardens! Leveraging SNAP to grow gardens across America with Daniel Bowman Simon, founder of SNAP Gardens
Did you know that you can use SNAP (formerly known as Food Stamps) benefits to help plant a garden? This session will provide ideas for how garden-minded professionals and amateurs alike can spread awareness and connect SNAP recipients to resources and information that will enable productive gardening experiences for all.

Wednesday, November 2
Webinar: Extending the Growing Season Using High Tunnels and Hoop Houses with Ron Cordsiemon, Missouri Plant Materials Center Manager for USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service in Elsberry, Missouri
High tunnels and hoop houses can be used to increase the growing season of a variety of plants. This session will cover the different types of structures used and the time and expense involved for construction. This session also will look at the potential for increased production among different types of vegetables.

0-2

2011-10-02T20:10:00.002-04:00

Turns out I'm 0-2 in the "search for female rabbit" quest! This little guy turns out to be a buck! Drats. He's really cute though, and very friendly, so he may be able to stay here for a while. We'll see how it goes. I've learned my lesson though.....double check sex organs before buying any more rabbits! ;-) At least I know what to look for now...

Working Man

2011-09-29T18:35:00.000-04:00

No breeding has been done yet, but it sure isn't for lack of trying on the ram's part!

Rascally...

2011-09-27T19:37:00.002-04:00

I got this bunny over the weekend.

It is supposed to be a doe (female).

I really hope she is!

I was holding out for a meat breed rabbit, but I was having a very hard time finding on in my area, so when I saw a cage of bunnies for $9 at the farmers market I had to scoop one up. I have gotten some feedback on a forum I visit and people are saying she's a Rex, because her whiskers are curly. Hopefully she's just a young standard Rex and not a mini-Rex!

I love this picture. Something about David, who is a pretty tough and masculine guy, cuddling a bunny. So sweet!

Ramalamadingdong

2011-09-25T18:25:00.003-04:00

This is the ram I'm borrowing this year. I've only got Darla (she's in my header) to breed this year, so I didn't want to buy a ram. Luckily the breeder who sold me Darla lent me one of his ram lambs for as long as I needed him. I lucked out! This ram is a nice boy. He's a lamb, born in February or March of this year. He's big! And yes, he does have a second ear. ;-) I cannot WAIT for lambing time!!!

After seeing how big this guy is, and realizing how much easier it would be to have just one breed of sheep, I'm sort of considering selling my two crossbred ewe lambs and buying one other Southdown ewe. We'll see. I'm not in a rush to make any decisions.

Theo the Man

2011-09-21T20:04:00.002-04:00

Theo is back. Remember him? He went to live on another farm in December, but he's back for breeding. I still own him, but he lives on the other farm so he can breed their goats too.

Theo took his job very seriously, and he bred June on Saturday (Sept. 17th-jotting this down so I can remember it). If it was successful, June should kid around February 14th. We may have Valentine's kids!

One thing I forgot about was how much bucks stink. I don't really mind it, it's more of a "wow, I can smell him from here" kinda thing. I'm not sure David agrees...I'm pretty sure he thinks it stinks.

Wanda Does It Again

2011-09-20T21:09:00.002-04:00

Wanda is my perpetually broody hen. Her favorite thing to do in life is hatch babies. Every day for months I'd have to move her off the eggs to collect them, hoping she'd get the hint and stop trying to set eggs. Finally I gave up. It's easier to indulge her than it is to break her of it. Three weeks ago I gave her 10 eggs, and 9 ended up hatching yesterday!

Today when I went out to the coop, this is what I found. Wanda was sitting on the ground being broody.

But then I saw the nestbox.....she'd forgotten one important thing. Her chicks! She didn't quite figure out how to get them down.

So I decided to move her and her chicks to the barn for some privacy. In a week or so I'll move them back out to the main coop.

Our Vacation

2011-09-15T10:00:00.000-04:00

In July we took a family vacation to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. David and I went for our honeymoon 2 years ago, and we thought it would be nice to all go back. We rented a cabin to share with my sister and brother in law and their 2 kids, plus my Mom and Mark.

It was a long drive for us, about 10 hours. The kids did really well. They played a few games. Kylee colored and read.

Devin slept in some wacky positions.

The drive was nice though, right down Interstate 81. We passed lots of farms like the one below!

When we got down there we stopped by Smoky Mountain Knifeworks. They've got lots of neat things in their store, like stuffed bears.

And waterfalls...

Jon, my brother in law, loves campfires. Unfortunately there wasn't much firewood around, so they had to get creative. The guys managed to find a dead tree to use, but the hard part was cutting it up.

We all took turns and used teamwork!

David finally resorted to slamming a rock on the end that we'd partially sawed off. Look out, Jon!

The cabin was pretty nice. It had a kitchen so we all took turns cooking. I think David was multitasking by cooking while deeply involved in conversation in this picture, but I don't remember what he was pointing about.

Nana had some great ideas for entertaining the kids, including the game "mailbox." She brought boxes for each of the kids to paint, then cut a flap in the box. Then she saved up all the envelopes, stickers, and other cool things from junkmail so the kids could write letters back and forth! This was definitely a favorite activity for the week.

Kylee and Charlotte played with a glider, and Mark helped retrieve it from a few hard to reach places like in trees and on hills.

David and I got to relax a bit in the hot tub.

We went to Cades Cove, which is a must-see/must-do thing if you're ever in the Pigeon Forge area.

Just the entrance to the cove is worth the drive.

I love this tunnel picture!

If I had a million billion dollars I'd buy this part of the Cove and build my little farm.

We all decided to go on a hike to Abrams Falls. It was a five mile round trip, but we though it would be easy! Eh, proper footwear and plenty of water. Who needs that?! We were a little unprepared but we all survived. Mom and Mark were the smart ones and stayed back at the cabin. :-)

It started out great. We were all having a great time!

We were all happy and smiley.

The terrain started getting a little tougher, and we had to cross a few of these foot bridges.

We took a break about halfway there. Jon did his "Thinking Man" impression.

Luckily we had a few snacks so we re-energized.

Then we went back to hiking. This is a view from one of the highest parts of the trail. I'm not going to lie. I was thinking, "This better be worth it" on a good part of the trip to the falls. Did I tell you Becky and I wore flip flops? Not our best decision.

But finally we go there and it was worth it!

We all took our shoes off and played in the cold water. It felt so good! We made it back out alive. Looking back it was worth it, but the next time I go hiking you bet I'll be wearing hiking boots!

Then we went to Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg.

It was a lot of fun!

I loved this jellyfish tank!

And this tank was pretty awesome too.

I had to wait for a little boy to get done taking his turn in the "viewing tunnel" before I could try it. He gave me some pointers on how to get in there. It was made for little people.

The shark tunnel was pretty awesome. There were fish on 3 sides of us!

Back at the cabin we entertained the kids with things like waterballoon fights.

I love Devin's face here!

And Kylee turned 6 while we were there!

The kids played so many games!

And Aunt Becky brought all kinds of cool crafts for them. Evan made a wooden car.

And the girls made mosaics.

We did some window shopping.

The girls had fun in the jacuzzi tub.

One day we went to Ober Gatlinburg to try out some of their cool activities. They had an iceskating rink, but we just observed.

We rode the chairlift though. I thought it was pretty fun and only a teensy bit terrifying. My sister wasn't thrilled with this part, but she hid it well!

Then when we got off the chairlift, we went back down the mountain on the Alpine Slide!

It was pretty cool. We sat in these cars and went down the track. We could control the speed pretty easily, so it never felt scary or anything. In fact, I wish we could have gone faster!

Kylee rode in my car with me.

Devin got his own. He was pretty cautious. I hope that carries over to his driving years!

Jon and Charlotte shared a car.

And last but not least, what vacation is complete without good treats to eat?

We had such a blast on this vacation. I loved being able to spend a whole week with my sister (and everyone else) and the kids had a great time with their cousins!

Catch Up Week part 2: Flash Back Time

2011-09-07T20:24:00.000-04:00

Ok, so it's not too much of a flashback...only about a month. David and Devin entered the lawn tractor pull at our county fair, and I'm finally getting around to blogging about it!

Devin had lessons on the tractor and he was ready to pull! He was a little bummed that only single cylinder tractors were allowed to place, but they said we could pull with our 2-cylinder tractor just for fun. You should have seen the other tractors! We were the only people there with a bone stock tractor that you could actually use to mow the lawn. Others there had dedicated pulling tractors with special wheels and tires, engines, etc. We got a lot of comments from older men who said their sons started pulling with a JD 318 just like ours. :-)

Devin pulled 2 times and David walked along side to help out if Devin needed help. He didn't really need help since our tractor isn't all souped up. The other kids needed their dads to push the clutch pedal in when they stopped pulling.

Then David pulled. I love this picture below...love how Devin is running along with David.

And I love this picture. It was a long night but totally worth it. Devin had a blast and really wanted a trophy. It's too bad they didn't give trophies for "Best Actual Stock Tractor". Hehe.

Catch Up Week

2011-09-06T20:18:00.002-04:00

This week is catch-up week for my blog! I have been horrible at blogging lately, and I am going to ~~try~~ to turn that around!

The kids started school last week! They're growing up so fast it seems. Kylee is in 1st grade.

And Devin is in 3rd!

They both like their teachers so far.

This is going to be a great year, I can feel it!

A Little Tired...

2011-08-28T12:55:00.002-04:00

We're a little tired but no worse for wear! No damage here except a smallish tree down. Hope everyone else is Irene's path is doing ok! We only lost power for an hour. We were lucky! I'll do a post later about the outside animals.

Bring It On!

2011-08-27T13:55:00.000-04:00

I'm ready!

I Think It's Going to Rain

2011-08-26T08:25:00.006-04:00

Well, what better way to end a summer long drought than a hurricane? *giggle*

Irene is heading our way and it looks like we'll be in for a good amount of wind and rain. We're on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and we could be getting hit pretty hard. Luckily I think we're far enough north that we'll be out of the very worst spots. Ocean City, Maryland (a barrier island) is being evacuated though. They're expecting lots of damage it sounds like.

The storm will be the worst for us late Saturday night into Sunday morning. The report on the news this morning said we could get heavy rain and sustained winds for about 9 hours as the hurricane passes by. Sounds like fun! Right? Ok, maybe not exactly.

Like everyone else, we're going to be doing some prepping for the storm. Here's a list of what we're going to be doing to get ready:

For the House/Property:

- pick up all toys out of yard and make sure lawn furniture and other objects are secured or put away

-install gutter extensions (we should have done this a long time ago)...we got 10' extensions, and a 20' extension in one spot

-dig a trench to direct water away from basement door (this is what contributed to all the water in the basement during the last storm

For Us:

-make sure we have enough water - this includes:

-fill bathtubs with water for pets, toilet flushing, etc

-fill water jugs or pitchers (or any available container) for extra potable water or for washing,

brushing teeth, etc.

-make sure we have drinking water (at least 3 days worth)

-make sure to have candles and matches, and flashlights with good batteries, lanterns, etc

-fill coolers with ice in case power goes out (for emergency food storage)

-fill extra containers with water and put in freezer (these ice blocks will then help keep your

frozen foods frozen in case power goes out

-have a supply of foods that can be eaten with no cooking and little preparation

For Animals:

-for inside pets, make sure there is enough food and water available for several days' worth of

feeding

-Chickens-cover windows of coop with feed bags (to help block blowing rain), fill hanging

feeder, fill large waterer and store several extra gallons of water in the coop so I won't have to

haul water during (or after) the storm

-Sheep and Goats-fill all available buckets and troughs with water, move animals in barn Saturday evening (their shelter in the pasture is not going to be water tight with this much water, so it's easier on everyone if I just bring them in the barn. Plus, I don't want to have to go get June in torrential rains so I can milk her)

-bring the rabbit in the barn in a temporary cage

-bring Tucker, the outside cat, inside the barn for the storm

And most importantly, I'm going to make sure to have enough knitting projects and movies to keep me busy during the storm! I'm mainly worried abuot losing electricity only because I want to be able to relax and watch TV. Plus, it will be much more convenient and I'll still be able to use the water (we're on a well), oven, stove, etc. We do have a small generator that can be used to run the sump pump or freezers if needed.

For a complete list of hurricane preparations and other information, check out the Hurricane Center's Hurricane Preparedness site from NOAA.

***I apologize for the stupid spacing in this post. Apparently Blogger and IE9 are not getting along.

Red Velvet

2011-08-24T11:35:00.002-04:00

David's coworker sharpened a pair of sheep hand shears for me a few weeks ago, and David told him I would bake him something as payment. His request was red velvet cake. I'd never made (or eaten) red velvet cake before, so I went searching for recipes.

I check Bakerella's blog now and then, and I remembered she did a red velvet cake before. I decided to make cupcakes instead of a cake, since I wanted to be able to taste it and I didn't want to send in a cake with a piece missing. The cake part turned out really well. It was very moist and when we ate some after they cooled they had a nice crunchy top. The cream cheese icing was my favorite part. I didn't use the icing recipe on Bakerella, I used one out of my Good Housekeeping cook book. I believe it was 2 packages of cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of milk, a pinch of salt, and a pound of confectioner's sugar.

You want to know the funny part? David brought them to work on Monday and then found out his coworker had taken the whole week off! His other coworkers polished them off though. :)

Bear With Me

2011-08-22T09:36:00.004-04:00

The past week has been a little hectic at our house. After a summer of almost zero rainfall, it seems we're catching up now. Last Sunday we had almost 12 inches of rain. Our sump pump in our basement failed and we woke up to find 2 inches of water on the floor. It's unnerving seeing your things floating in water inside your house. Luckily it was only 2", as all our appliances were spared. The carpet had to be torn out and unfortunately our Wii was waterlogged as well. Since the computer was in the basement, it was unplugged and moved. We haven't had a chance to hook it back up yet.

We're still trying to figure out what to do about replacing the carpet. It looks like replacement costs will be about equal to what our deductible would be if we filed an insurance claim. I hope things get back to normal soon, and hopefully we'll have time to hook the computer back up in the next day or two. I have a lot of catching up to do! I need to blog about our vacation (that we took a month ago!) and I need to blog about the rest of the fair (which includes the sheep show and a tractor pull!).

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few pictures I snapped with my cell phone camera.

I took this one Friday night while David and I went to Lowe's. The storm clouds were unbelievable. I wish I had been able to take a panoramic picture of the whole sky.

I took this one last week just before I got home. That crazy big cloud system was hanging right over our house.

We have lots of big open skies in our area and I love being able to see the clouds.

Devin's First Show

2011-08-09T18:52:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the open class goat show for our county fair. The whole family went and Devin and I showed June and Ida. Devin was nervous, and I was both excited and nervous. I grew up showing sheep in 4-H, and only showed a goat one time. I just wanted everything to go smoothly.

Shortly after we got set up at the goat barn, Devin and I made sure June and Ida were clean and shiny. Devin practiced with Ida a bit in their pen.

I was hoping Devin would get to watch a class or two before he went in, but his was the first class of the morning. He was in the Junior Showmanship class with one other little girl. If I was a nail biter I would have bitten off all my nails I was so nervous for him. He did great!

The judge was really great and asked them lots of questions.

I did forget to warn them that judges will frequently ask the showmen to switch animals to see how they do with a different animal. Devin did just fine. Ida didn't do as well for her new handler though, but the little girl did a great job even with a broken wrist!

Devin got second place and had a great time.

A little later he showed Ida again in the junior doe class.

Ida got second place in that class, and ended up being reserve junior champion. I was thrilled, because I think Ida has so much potential! I can't wait to see how she turns out.

Then I showed June in the milkers 4-5 yrs class. She got second out of three, which I was happy about.

The judge did a great job and was very hands-on.

June acted like a pro.

We had a great day, and it was a great experience for Devin! He was nervous going in, but he liked it so much he was disappointed when I told him he was done showing for the morning!

The sheep show is Thursday and I can't wait!

Timmy and Tillie

2011-08-07T20:45:00.003-04:00

A few days ago I saw an ad for Royal Palm turkeys on Craigslist. The price was great, and it was for a male/female pair, so I called but the man told me they were already spoken for. The next night he called and said the person was a no-show, and if I wanted them they were mine. The next day I picked them up after work. He'd already named them Timmy and Mattie (Matilda), but I changed Mattie to Tillie since it was easier for me to remember.

They're nice looking birds and I'm so glad I was able to get them.

After a few turkey-spats with my Buffs, they all settled in nicely.

My goal is to have a breeding pair of Buffs and Royal Palms next spring so I can hatch and sell poults.

Shearing is Done

2011-08-01T19:56:00.002-04:00

I sheared Bean the other day and was tickled to see the results!

Barley is on the left, Bean is on the right.

I think Bean has even better conformation than Barley. I assumed that since Barley was the bigger lamb she'd be the better one to keep, but I decided to keep both girls and I'm glad I did. Bean has potential.

Barley is on the left, Bean on the right.

Now I just need my clipper blades to come in so I can give them their finishing touches before the show next week!

Stacking Hay

2011-07-31T21:10:00.004-04:00

Today I got more hay and wanted to do a post about stacking hay, since this is a pretty big deal to me. Yes, that's right. Stacking hay is important to me. Some people are obsessive about their woodpiles, you know. One of my favorite former coworkers actually took pictures of his woodpile and showed us because he was so proud of it. Every piece had to be stacked just so!

Back to the hay. When I was working on the campus farm when I was in college, my boss was very particular about how the hay got stacked, and for good reason. When you're stacking 600+ bales in a loft it's important the hay is stacked very neatly and tightly so it doesn't fall over. Also, it's sometimes necessary to walk/climb on the hay and you don't want to be climbing all over a wobbly hay stack.

As I was stacking my hay today, I took pictures of the steps with my cell phone since I was too ~~lazy~~ busy to go get my real camera which was in the house. The pictures came out pretty badly. See Exhibit A, below.

I decided to use a few old pictures since they turned out much better. These pictures are from 2 summers ago. I'm amazed at how green everything is! We have had such a bad drought this summer the only things still green are the tree leaves. Our grass is brown.

Ok, back to stacking. When you load hay you want to stack it so the hay bales interlock and create a solid stack. You lay out the bottom row one way. With our trailer, it works best if the bottom row of bales run lengthwise front to back. I like to do about 2 rows, then start building up. If you lay out the whole bottom of the trailer first, then you have to walk on the hay to build your stack up, and that isn't as easy as walking on the deck of the trailer. After 2 rows of hay is down, then I put the next bales on top, creating a second level. Only this time, instead of running the bales lengthwise front to back, they go the other direction. They lay lengthwise from side to side. Does that make sense? If you click the picture to enlarge it, you can see the bottom level of bales are running the opposite direction as the second level. See the third level of bales on the trailer? The right hand side is stacked correctly, the left is not. My father in law stacked these, and as much as I love him he doesn't quite stack the hay correctly. I can't really say anything though, because I was glad to have the help when we loaded hay. Pretty much the thing to remember with hay, especially when loading it in a vehicle, is to make a solid foundation. Stack each level in alternating directions so the hay locks itself in.

Now, when you get back to your barn or shed, another thing you want to remember is proper ventilation. Hay will get moldy if it does not have enough airflow. It's good to stack your hay up off the ground, and pallets work great for this. Lay down your pallets and then you're ready for your first layer. The bottom layer of hay gets stacked on it's side, cut side up. How do you know which side is the cut side? It's easy, it's the one that has been cut! It's very neat and tidy and usually the side that hurts your legs if you have shorts on. Not that I'd stack hay in shorts....that's another rule. If you see in the picture above, the second row is cut side out.

Ok, back to the bottom layer. Cut side goes up, so the hay can breathe. And also maybe so it won't wick moisture up from the floor. Or maybe it was just my boss's weird rule. All I know is cut side goes up! It's important to make sure the bales are as close to each other as possible. Then when the second row goes on, the hay goes the opposite direction. In the picture below you can see the bottom row is stacked so the butt end is facing the camera. The second row is stacked so the long side is facing the camera. Third row is butt end to the camera, fourth row is long side to the camera, etc. etc. One thing you want to remember is start working up before you get a whole level laid out. It's much easier that way!

The end goal is to have a neat, sturdy hay stack. One you can be proud of! Am I the only one who gets proud of hay stacks? I mean, look at me, I'm blogging about stacking hay. You know what I miss? Seeing the whole loft of the sheep, horse, and dairy barns full of hay from my college days. Oh, don't get me wrong...I don't miss the long hot summer days spent in a stifling loft, my eyes so swollen and itchy (I'm allergic), unloading tractor-trailers full of hay. I just miss looking at it when it was all stacked! I wish I had a few pictures of that. That was before everyone had a cell phone with a camera. Heck, that was really before most everyone had a digital camera.

Well, there you have it. My essay on stacking hay. Jordan would be proud!

And just because I'm bored and it's Sunday night, I drew a schematic on Paint to show you what I mean. I don't know if it helps, but I had fun making it. You can see the bottom row bales are stacked cut side up. Then the additional rows alternate directions.

Market Bag

2011-07-30T11:51:00.006-04:00

About a year ago I tried knitting a market bag. It looked easy enough, but it had a 4-part repeating pattern and I just could not keep it straight to save my life. That was before I knew how to tell the difference between a knit stitch and purl stitch. I wanted to find another market bag pattern, so I searched Ravelry and found this one. The pattern was very easy, but it was a tad fiddly at the beginning (the bottom of the bag) since I opted to use dpns instead of crocheting it. I frogged it once to make it as close to perfect as I could get it, since I want to enter it in the county fair next week.

I knitted it in a cotton yarn so it would be washable. Next time (oh yes, there will be a next time) I'll use something a little thicker. I'd like to do several of these in different colors.

It definitely stretches a lot. I took it to the farmers market this morning and it held a half dozen ears of corn and about the same number of tomatoes and had room for much more.

Maybe I should have filled it with something nice and light like yarn to get better pictures.

If you're looking for a nice, easy market bag, I definitely recommend this one!

Goat Clipping

2011-07-27T20:19:00.003-04:00

This evening I showed Devin how to wash Ida so he (we) could clip her to get ready for the county fair. Things started out well...

But you know how dramatic goats are. She had to throw a tantrum.

He got her settled down and finished her bath. Have I mentioned how incredibly easy it is bathing goats vs. sheep? Man, it is easy! Not that bathing sheep is hard, it's just wooly. Very wooly.

Once Ida dried, Devin started clipping her. He was pretty comfortable with it and did a really good job. She's not completely done, but we did 75% of the work.

Kylee kept her happy by feeding her leaves while Devin worked.

They make a good team!

Before and After

2011-07-26T10:25:00.003-04:00

We just got back from a week in Tennessee, and until my brain decompresses and I finally get brave enough to sort through all the pictures and blog about it, I'll do a quick post about the sheep.

Our county fair is coming up in a few weeks and I've been thinking about getting the Barley and Bean (the ewe lambs) fitted and presentable. They're Romney/ Southdown crosses, which made it a little hard for me to decide how to fit them for the show. Southdowns are shown slick shorn, which is easy to do. Shear off all the wool, do some little fitting work on the face and leg wool, and you're done. Romneys are shown in fleece, but it takes a lot of fitting to make them look nice. It's been a while since I've shown, and I don't exactly have all the equipment needed to do a really nice fitting job.

I had to use the goat stand since I don't have a sheep fitting stand. I'd like to start saving money for one though. I put Barley on the stand and started trying to fit her. I then realized it was very hot out and it was going to take a lot of time and energy to fit her and her sister. So I decided to slick shear her.

She went from this:

to this:

Girlfriend needs to work on her abs.

She still needs some finishing touches, but it's a start. I just bought a pair of Oster A5 clippers on Ebay. They were used but came with 2 sets of blades. I tried to use them yesterday and realized both pairs of blades were so dull they probably wouldn't have even cut butter. I put them in the mail to Premier this morning and I'm really hoping they get back in a jiffy!

Halter Training Begins

2011-07-14T20:03:00.000-04:00

I've got less than a month until the county fair and these girls have hardly ever even worn a halter. They've got to be halter broke and trained to stand still ASAP! Nothing like waiting until the last minute! I think Devin and Kylee will definitely be helping me out with this one, especially since one or both of them will be showing!

And the girls now have names! The little one (closest) is Bean (like Coffee Bean), and the big one is Barley!

Whoops!

2011-07-13T19:56:00.003-04:00

This is my rabbit. I've had her a little over a month now. My homesteading friend I got her from put her in with a buck so I'd hopefully getting her as a bred doe. I've been waiting and watching and haven't seen any signs of her being pregnant. Today I caught a glimpse of something for the first time, and I can't believe I didn't see it before now. What did I see?

Testicles!!

No wonder there were no babies! She is a he! I almost burst out laughing when I saw them! Not sure what I'll do now...either keep him and find a doe or sell him to buy a doe.

And now you can at least say you know what rabbit testicles look like! :-)

Is It Fall Yet?

2011-07-11T21:13:00.003-04:00

I thought I'd share a recent picture of Ida (left) and June. I have been pretty busy lately and have been neglecting my blog. Tonight I didn't get inside from my chores until 9. I was busy piddling around and getting things done that I've been putting off. I was drenched in sweat and felt so gross. It's been so hot and humid lately and tonight the low is 80*. It's nights like this I am thankful I'm not Amish. Seriously, I don't know how they do it.

I've been downsizing a bit around here and it feels pretty good. I sold my two ram lambs, gave Purl to some friends, and sold my guineas. I couldn't take their noise anymore (the guineas, that is). Plus they always chased the chickens and turkeys and I didn't want to put up with that rudeness around here. It's so quiet and peaceful now. I still have to sell Brutus, the buck kid. Hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later. Oh yeah, and I just gave 10 leftover chicks to a friend of mine. Fewer mouths to feed and less time spent outside on these miserable days.

Hopefully I'll have something interesting to talk about soon, but until then enjoy the goat picture! :-)

Fuzzy Faces

2011-07-07T22:51:00.004-04:00

The ewe lambs have been weaned for about a week now. I usually wean around 8 weeks but these girls were weaned somewhere around 10 weeks because I didn't want to put them in with my ram lambs. The ram lambs were sold on Sunday, so the pen was free. Today I vaccinated, eartagged, and dewormed them, but before I did that I took a few pictures.

I haven't named them yet, but I need to soon. I need to be able to call them something besides "the big girl" and "the little girl".

This is the big girl. She seems smart and alert and a little wary.

She is the one keeping her eye on me while her sister is busy eating.

And this adorable face belongs to the little girl. She has her mother's fluffy teddy bear-esque face. I love it.

I plan on showing them (or Devin will show them) at our county fair in August and the one drawback is that I'll have to shear them. I'll miss these adorable faces.

Big girl again.

So, any name ideas? Their mother is Darla, and their father was unnamed, so that's not much inspiration.

'Tude

2011-07-03T11:10:00.001-04:00

She's spunky!

Purl's New Home

2011-07-02T15:46:00.003-04:00

You may remember that Purl had a hard lambing this spring. She prolapsed, so she can't be bred again. As much as I loved her, I couldn't keep her because I just don't have the space on my small acreage for a ewe I can't breed. Sometimes being practical stinks, because I really like Purl and we especially bonded after this past spring.

We took a few photos together before we took her to her new home.

When she first came to live here about 2 years ago, she was pretty skittish and didn't want anything to do with me. Now she's pretty calm and loves to eat treats (her favorite is broccoli) out of my hand. She didn't mind the hugs and kisses too much. :-)

So we took Purl to her new home, where I know she'll be very happy and have a great life. How do I know? Because she went to live with the family where I got June!

She'll have a few goat buddies and another sheep. Do you recognize this ewe? If you think you see some family resemblance, you're right. She's Purl's ewe lamb from last year (see some lamb pictures here). Her name is Jane, and she has got some mega wool! Believe it or not she was sheared in August last year, so this isn't even a full year's fleece.

It didn't take long for Purl to settle in and start grazing.

The goats were not quite sure of their new friend. This wether here is Mammoth's son, born last year. He's looking for a pet home, if any readers are interested!

I'll miss Purl, but I know she's going to be well taken care of and loved. Plus, I can always go visit if I wanted. :-)

Garden Tour

2011-06-30T21:05:00.002-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T09:42:00.001-04:00

A Big Scare and Animals on Video

2011-06-22T21:21:00.003-04:00

This little lamb you see here almost died today, and it was scary. I mean really, really scary. You see, I normally feed the animals when I get home, after I let the dogs out. Today, I let the dogs out and saw that all the animals were fine so I went inside to eat the mango gelati David brought me from Rita's. After we ate our awesomely delicious Italian ices, we both fell asleep on the couch. I woke up about a half hour later and decided to feed the animals. I was getting something from the kitchen when I looked out the window and saw the electric netting fence moving. I thought it was just a chicken sneaking under or through it, but I looked closer and saw one of my ewe lambs tangled in it. Crap. Crapcrapcrap. I ran outside and hopped over the fence and knew immediately she was REALLY tangled. As in, choking and couldn't breathe tangled.

I grabbed the fence and started trying to untangle her, which wasn't easy because she was almost on her back and had one front leg wrapped around behind her head and in the fence. I was having a really hard time figuring out how to free her. I knew I couldn't yell for David because he was still sleeping and trying to wake him is like trying to wake the dead. I knew I couldn't take time to run inside and try to wake him up, so I just kept grabbing fencing and pulling. By this time the lamb had foam coming out of her mouth, along with a drop of blood. Crap. By the time I finally freed her (which was probably only 20 seconds but felt like a lifetime) she had stopped moving. I thought she was dead. I thought to myself, "Great, I just got her freed and it's too late. What are we going to do with a dead lamb? How are we going to dig a hole?" (we're having a drought) I layed her on her side and pushed on her ribcage pretty hard a few times, then shook her a little and massaged her throat. She finally started gasping for air. I sat down with her head on my lap thinking "Please, please breathe." After a few minutes she was ok enough to stand up, and then she stood panting so hard for a few more minutes.

She's ok now, but I really thought she was a goner. What if I had slept one more minute? What if I hadn't seen her in time? That was really scary. I left the sheep out grazing while I was at work today, but I definitely won't do that anymore until I'm sure the charger is working reliably.

But now that everything is ok, I wanted to share a video I made of the animals tonight. It's just a quick tour, and I apologize for anything dorky I may say. It's hard to think of what to say on camera!

In the Shop!

2011-06-21T21:10:00.002-04:00

This felted scene and some of its friends have been added to the shop, along with the purses! I still need to add lots more things and update my shop name (to Purl & June) but that is coming!

As always, the money I get from the shop goes right back into crafting/knitting supplies or the livestock! These animals need to pay for themselves...no freeloaders around here! Well, there may be a few freeloaders around here but they're of the canine and feline variety! :-)

Visit Katiegirl (and now Purl & June) on Etsy

Craft Show

2011-06-20T20:43:00.004-04:00

Saturday morning I loaded everything into the car and headed to the craft show. Thankfully David came with me and helped me set everything up. My coworker lent me her tent and it was really nice to have. I think it made my spot feel more cozy, and it shaded from the hot sun in the afternoon.

I really like how colorful everything is.

My mom gave me the two spindles (bobbins?) on the left side of the crate and I think they looked great decorating my table!

I sewed like a mad woman last week and made three new purses in addition to the one I already had.

I'm especially proud of this one!

I really like this pink one too. None of the purses sold.

It was a much smaller craft show than I expected, but I still did pretty well. I'm going to be adding what didn't sell to my etsy shop in the next few days, and I'll update the blog as I add stuff. I also need to post a picture of my new business cards designed by another one of my coworkers.

Who is that?

2011-06-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

The other day David mowed the yard. I came around the house and saw this.

He found the mask in the ditch. Who in the world is it supposed to be? Clark Gable?

Masks freak me out. And this particular mask was made in France. Who knew?

Success!

2011-06-13T20:45:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I noticed my guinea hen wasn't around anymore but the 2 guinea males (guinea roosters? LOL) were. I figured she'd gone off to set a nest somewhere. I have a love hate relationship with the guineas. They love to torment me and I pretty much hate them. Ok, well I hate them 95% of the time. The other 5% they're tolerable. Anyways, I figured I'd try to find the nest, and when that failed I figured I'd wait until she came back with keets. I'd catch the keets and sell them, and them try to catch the adults and sell them as well. I'm a little tired of being woken up at 6:30 on Saturday morning by the alarm call of a guinea who is mad because I haven't fed them yet.

Today I noticed the hen was back and she was standing next to one of the males. He was standing in an odd position. I walked over and when he moved out popped a cute little guinea keet! One little lone keet. I caught him and the hen got very upset with me, so I put him down again. I couldn't bear to take him away, plus I can't really raise a solo keet in a brooder. I know keets don't do well with their parents sometimes, because they're a little more susceptible to cold dewy conditions than chicks are. This little one is going to have to make it on his own though, I just can't catch them all. They're very wily and roost in trees instead of in the coop. I need to figure out some sort of trap.

Maybe when the keet is bigger I can sell them. Maybe.

Pup Sitting

2011-06-11T13:24:00.002-04:00

This is Kingsford. He belongs to David's friend's girlfriend but we're babysitting him for the day. He's so cute!! He's getting along really well with our other dogs, and he likes to sit in our laps. It's nice to have a small dog around. I've often though of all the small dogs out there, I'd get a pug if I got one. They're big dogs in little bodies. :-) I think it would take a while to get used to the snorting though.

The New Girl

2011-06-10T07:50:00.003-04:00

Meet our new addition! I've been wanting to get started raising meat rabbits for a while now, and yesterday I officially started! I got a year old Silver Fox/American Chinchilla doe from a fellow homesteader that I've been friends with for about a year now. We are bartering, so she gave me this doe and I will give her goods from our place, like a certain substance used in goat milk soap (that happens to be illegal to sell, but don't get me started on that).

The doe's name is Perthra, but I may change it simply because I can't seem to remember it correctly. I keep wanting to say Petra. I told Devin we were getting a rabbit and he wanted to name her Drama Queen. I'm not sure we'll go with that, but I think Queenie would be kind of cute. I have a history of being very indecisive as far as naming things goes!!

I'm excited about raising rabbits, and I think it's great that both breeds she's crossed with are on the critical list on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Well, it's not great that they're on there, but it's great that more people are raising them and trying to preserve the breeds. And it just so happens that my turkeys (Jersey Buffs) are also on the critical list.

Perthra is hopefully bred, so hopefully in a little over 4 weeks we'll have kits!

Can I make a confession? I'm a little intimidated by that little rabbit. She's really got a lot of personality. I thought she'd be pretty shy and not let me pet her. She's very outgoing and not afraid to come right up to the door of the hutch. This morning I think she got sick of me petting her and she pushed me away....which kinda freaked me out. I know it's silly because she's "just a rabbit", but I can't read her yet and I don't want her to bite me (not that she will, I'm just a little paranoid). I am comfortable with horses and cattle, but a rabbit intimidates me. How's that for silly?

Early Developers

2011-06-09T13:48:00.002-04:00

The turkeys are a few days shy of 8 weeks old and already they're practicing their displays of manliness. The other morning I heard a strange noise and realized it was one of the young turkeys gobbling. Gobbling already!! Last year my turkeys didn't gobble until they were about fully grown!

And look at this guy below....strutting his stuff!

The pictures aren't the best because they are pretty shy, but I wanted to get pictures of the display. There were 2 males showing off for each other.

The lady turkeys better look out!

Some Wooly Works

2011-06-07T07:58:00.005-04:00

The craft show I plan on attending is coming up quickly! It's June 18th, which means I have less than 2 weeks to get everything ready! I've been trying to felt stuff in my free time, which is usually in the evenings when David and I sit down to watch some TV. I've made a few things lately and wanted to share them with you.

This little sheep is made with Purl's wool (just the sheep's body).

There's a pretty big demand for primitive type decorative stuff in this area, so I wanted to make a few things with that feel.

And I love doing sunsets and sillhouettes.

I like this one a lot.

But this one (below) is my favorite. I just love the way it turned out.

I have been selling my crafts under the name "Katiegirl" for a while now, but I think it's time for a change. I'd like to start making and selling goat milk soap, and I wanted a name that could incorporate the wool/felting/knitting side of my craft stuff as well as the goat milk soap. I think I've settled on a name....Purl and June. I'm working with a friend to come up with a logo and business cards for the craft show (well, she's doing much of the work...she's really good at this stuff!). I can't wait to get it all finalized so I can share it with you!

It's Back!

2011-06-01T19:43:00.003-04:00

Remember the ram lamb we had processed? I sent his hide away to be tanned, and it came back today! I'm so thrilled to have it. I was really fond of that ram, and now even though it may sound weird, it's like I get to pet him whenever I want!

It's gorgeous! And it's pretty big.

I love the variation of color in the fleece.

This is the underside.

The leather is very soft and supple. I got a washable tan, which means it can be put in the washing machine!

I sent it to Bucks County Fur Products in Pennsylvania, and they did a great job and I'll definitely use them again. They don't have a website (I believe they're Amish) but their info is:

Bucks County Fur Products
PO Box 204
220 1/2 N Ambler Street
Quakertown, PA 18951

The Long Weekend

2011-05-30T22:08:00.002-04:00

David and I both had long weekends thanks to a furlough day on Friday and the holiday today. It was great, but of course it was just too quick. Friday we ran some errands and didn't do a whole lot else. Saturday we had a cookout with the kids, Dad and Lisa, and my brother Chris and his girlfriend, Nikki. Sunday we stayed home and relaxed and did a few little things around the house. Today I managed to water the garden and plant some herb and flower seeds. Around 7:00 this evening I decided I wanted to make something for dessert.

I had lots of little bags of frozen egg whites (from making ice cream that uses egg yolks), so I figured I'd make meringue something-or-other. I used this recipe for chocolate meringue cookies (but left out the chocolate chips). Then I decided I'd make meringue "bowls" to hold a strawberry filling using the strawberries I had in the freezer. I also had a cup of heavy cream leftover in the fridge (from something else I made, but can't remember what), so I whipped that up. The strawberry filling was just strawberries, a few tablespoons of water, and a little sugar, and a little cornstarch simmered together until it was fairly thick. After I baked the meringues I topped them with strawberries and whipped cream. It made a nice light dessert!

I'm dreading going back to work tomorrow. At least it'll be Tuesday and not the dreaded Mondays! Plus I have a riding lesson tomorrow. More on that later!

Two Wonderful Years

2011-05-23T08:46:00.002-04:00

On this day two years ago I married my best friend. It's been a wonderfu 2 years. David and I got married on a beautiful waterfront farm, and my bouquet was a bundle of peonies I picked from gardens of the farm. I called the owner of the farm a few days ago, and he said I was welcome to come pick whatever flowers I wanted.

I picked several of the same peonies I had in my bouquet. I love them. They're white with tinges of bright pink on the tips of the petals.

They smell so good! I love looking at them and remember our beautiful wedding. I told David I wanted to make it a tradition to get a new peony plant every year for our anniversary!

Morning Chores

2011-05-20T07:43:00.004-04:00

This morning I took pictures as I was doing chores so I could share my daily routine. I skipped the inside stuff, like letting the dogs out to potty, feeding them, etc. After I get the dogs fed and pottied, and I get showered and dressed, I head out to feed the outside animals.

First stop is the barn to let the 8 turkeys and 3 pullets out for the day. They've been enjoying free-ranging during the days and only go back to the barn to roost at night. They're growing pretty good, and starting to actually look like turkeys. I've seen a few strutting too....very cute to see a pint sized turkey displaying his feathers. :-)

Then I head out to see the sheep and goats. June and Ida are waiting for me. Normally Brutus is up on the gate with them, but not this morning. June looks funny because I clipped her body but not her head. Can you see the color difference? I open the gate and try to hold the baby goats back, and let June slip out so she can go to the barn to be milked.

After I milk June, I open the headstall on the milk stand so she can make her way back outside to the pasture. I take a few moments to feed the Romney lambs (still for sale, btw). I fill their haybag with hay and make sure they have water.

Then I take an armful of hay and grab June's collar to remind her she's supposed to be going back to the barn. Sometimes I'll just leave without her, and she'll come blasting out of the barn running and jumping all the way to the pasture gate. I put the hay in the feeder and watch everyone pig out. Soon I'll order some electric netting so the sheep can graze more in the yard. It would be nice to stop feeding hay.

June has to get the best hay, and everyone knows the best hay is at the top!

The goat kids follow along and think they also need to stand in the feeder to get the best hay. It's a goat thing. Notice how all the sheep are standing nicely, and all the goats have to be rebels.

Purl said, "Why are you taking pictures of us eating hay? Do you mind?"

After the small ruminants are looked after, I head to the chicken coop. I used to let the chickens out first, but I got tired of walking around and over them, so I now let them out last. As I walk to the coop, one crazy pullet flies up and hits the wire mesh over the window. She does this every morning. I think she's telling me to hurry up and open the door! So I oblige her and open the door and watch the poultry rush out in a tumble.

Then I watch the feeding frenzy for a moment before I head back inside.

On my way back inside I see the turkeys are once again trapped in the small pen, even though the gate they walked through to get in the pen is wide open. They'll figure it out, they do this at least twice a day.

Once I get back inside I strain the milk. I use a coffee filter instead of using the ones that go to the stainless funnel I have. The gold mesh coffee filter works so well and I can re-use it. It cost about $10 but will last quite a while.

June milked about a half gallon this morning. She's milking about a gallon a day now, which is way too much for us to keep up with. The kids are only here half time, and David isn't a big milk drinker. I've been making pudding and farmer cheese to try to keep up with it! I would like to expand my cheese-making abilities and try something "real" like cheddar or mozzerella, but I need to order cultures and I have been putting that off. Right now I'm on the hunt for a young piglet so I can feed it all the extra milk. Apparently nobody breeds pigs around here!

After all the chores are done and the milk is labeled and put in the fridge, I quickly pack my lunch, let the dogs out one last time, put a diaper on Scooter (more on that later), and head out the door to work.

Oh what I would give to be able to stay home!

Now head on over to Verde Farms for Farm Friend Friday to see all the great farm blogs out there!

Look Out!

2011-05-18T22:54:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I mowed the pasture. The animals had been on it for a while and had eaten down a good bit except for the tall seed heads which are too tough to eat. Mowing keeps everything nice and even, and keeps the grasses growing. Plus, it helps control weeds as well.

Oh yeah, and it looks pretty. :-)

I was zooming about on the mower when something caught my eye!

It was this little guy and about 4 of his siblings.

After I mowed carefully, I went back to make sure I didn't accidently get one before I saw them out there. This little one was fine, but he was so still I was able to pick him up. I just love baby bunnies, and in the spring our yard and pasture is like bunny central!

So cute!

I love their ears...

And how cute are these feet?

The pic below looks like I'm squeezing him, but I swear I'm not.

Then I put him right back where I found him and left so he and his siblings could re-convene in the nest. I'm sure he went back and told them all the story..."You'll never believe what happened to me!"

More Milk?

2011-05-18T08:54:00.004-04:00

I weaned Purl's lambs almost a week ago. They're in the barn and she's in the pasture. Two days later I saw Purl's big milk-filled udder thought, "I can do something with that."

I haltered her and tied her to the gate to see if I could milk her. I expected her to be mad and not stand still at all. I expected her teats to be too small to milk comfortably. What I didn't expect was for her to stand like an angel (ok, well almost like an angel) and for her to be fairly easy to milk. I got a quart in just a few minutes.

Then a day or two later I thought to myself, "Self, I wonder if I can get Purl to fit on June's milk stand?" So I lured Purl into the barn with some grain (since she is pretty smart and knew I wanted to catch her again) and haltered her and managed to get her up on the milk stand. Luckily she's recently shorn so her neck fit through the headstall.

She munched on grain while I milked her again, and she did really well on the stand! Then I rewarded her with apples and carrots. She LOVES all kinds of treats.

I milked her again yesterday and snapped these few pictures. I was trying to be quick so I could finish before she ran out of grain. She's definitely ready to get down when the grain is gone! I'm not sure how long I'll milk her, but I would love to make some yogurt with her milk. I've heard it's very good!

Felted Things

2011-05-16T21:13:00.003-04:00

There's a local craft show coming up in June and I'd like to go to it, so I've been busy making things. I decided to felt some scenes because I love doing them and they just look so cool. :-) I wanted to do something involving waterfowl hunting, because our part of Maryland is famous for the wonderful waterfowl hunting opportunities. I found a picture on this Ducks Unlimited site (look at the bottom right hand side), and decided to use that as a guide. Is that plagiarism? I hope not. Everything I do is freehand, not traced or directly copied. Besides, I don't know enough about waterfowl hunting to know how to make the gun and stuff like that. :-) I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Good Girl, Purl

2011-05-15T21:27:00.003-04:00

I snapped this picture of Purl and one of her lambs last week. The size of her lamb is impressive, and she raised 2 this size. She's not a big ewe, but she raises some nice lambs. I weaned the lambs a few days ago, and I milked her yesterday and got a quart of milk! I may try to milk her once a day and see how she does with that. I'd like to make some sheep cheese!

For Sale!

2011-05-13T17:54:00.005-04:00

Now that it's weaning time, I've got a few animals for sale.

Oberhasli Buck Kid -Brutus

Born 3/15/11, twin, disbudded and vaccinated. He was bottle fed (CAE prevention) and he is very friendly! He will be ADGA registered for use as a breeding buck, or he can be wethered for a pet.

Romney Ram Lamb (0046)- Born 3/4/11, twin, vaccinated. Purebred and can be registered. Can be sold with papers as a breeding ram, or can be wethered for a pet. Would make a lovely 4-H project animal, or a good breeder, or as a pet or for wool. Romneys are dual purpose and lambs grow fast on grass.

Seen here with his brother.

Romney Ram Lamb (0047)- Born 3/4/11, twin, vaccinated. Purebred and can be registered. Can be sold with papers as a breeding ram, or can be wethered for a pet. Would make a lovely 4-H project animal, or a good breeder, or as a pet or for wool. Romneys are dual purpose and lambs grow fast on grass.

These are nice ram lambs and have grown very well. I think they'd make good additions to a flock, or they'd make great pets if some would like pet sheep. They also have nice fleeces, and Romney wool is wonderful for spinning and felting.

Please let me know if you're interested in any of these nice boys. Also, I'm in Maryland and may also be able to deliver (or at least meet somewhere) depending on location.

Ag Day

2011-05-10T19:30:00.006-04:00

Last weekend (not this past weekend, the one before that) was Ag Day. Ag Day is a big deal at my Alma Mater, the University of Maryland. Ag Day is a spring festival the last weekend in April. There are livestock shows, horse shows, activities, and fun all around. The whole university finally caught on what a big deal Ag Day was, so they started Maryland Day. Of course we Animal Science/Ag kids from UM know it as Ag Day.

David woke up sick that Saturday, so I decided to take the kids and let him have some quiet rest time. Plus, I really wanted to go to Ag Day to see my friends and I thought the kids would really like it. The first thing we did when we got to campus was go to the farm. The University of Maryland is a land grant university, and it used to have a huge farm and be largely agriculturally based. Unfortunately, the times they are a'changin and now the farm on campus is only about 4 acres. I worked on the farm all three years I was at Maryland. It was my passion. I practically lived there sometimes, and I met a great group of friends that all had similar interests. We all keep in touch, and it's like not a day has gone by when we're together!

First we stopped by to say hello to Chai the Brown Swiss, one of the farm's fistulated* cows.

She's a sweet cow but she wouldn't quite get close enough for Kylee to pet. She was more interested in the goings-on.

Then we went to my favorite place...the sheep barn. The farm has a flock of Katahdins and Dorpers and crosses.

Kylee got up close and personal with the lambs.

Devin pretended to be bored.

You can't stop by a put-your-face-in-the-hole-mural and not put your face in the hole!

Then we went to explore some other areas of campus, like the science area where the kids got to do an archaeological dig for shark teeth.

They each found a tooth and they had to identify it with the help of some archaeological students.

We got a picture with some large fuzzy cat. Not quite sure what he was the mascot for, but it was fun anyways!

Then the kids got to take turns putting out a fire with a fire extinguisher.

And they got to try on some fire gear.

We had a blast! It's always nice going back to UM for a nice visit. Part of me misses the good old days. It sure was nice having all my friends around and only having to worry about things like exams.

*A fistulated cow is a cow that has had a "window" (called a cannula) surgically installed (that sounds weird) in her rumen, one of the four stomach compartments. It doesn't hurt the cow, and the surgery is done under local anesthetic. The cow can fully function afterwards. The lid to the cannula can be removed to access the rumen for research on all sorts of things like digestion, proper diet, etc. Many universities have fistulated cows, and even some dairies have their own fistulated cows.

This Weekend!!

2011-05-04T08:26:00.002-04:00

The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is this weekend, May 7th and 8th. My sister and mom are coming up for a visit, and we're going to have a blast at the festival. I'm so excited! The festival is a big deal and people from all over attend. I need to do some shopping there. I desperately need some new roving for felting, some clipper blade coolant (I need to shear soon!), and possibly some yarn or other cute sheep paraphanalia.

If you're in need of something to do this weekend, come to the festival!

Oh, and in my last post I mentioned a broody hen died. It wasn't Wanda, thank goodness, it was an Easter Egger hen that was a first time broody momma. I guess she didn't eat and drink enough while on the nest.

Turkey Pile

2011-05-01T19:01:00.002-04:00

The turkeys I hatched out a few weeks ago are growing fast. They're feathering out, and getting pretty cute. The eight turkey poults have 5 friends. Can you spot them? They're chicks one of my broody hens hatched out. Unfortunately the broody died the night the last chick hatched, so they had to go in with the turkeys. I was a little worried about the size difference, but they all get along just great!

I bought buff eggs and slate eggs, and it looks like 7 are buffs and 1 is a slate. It's hard to tell at this age, but they could be mixed breeds too. You just never quite know what you'll get at auction.

The one above is the slate looking one. I'm hoping I'll be able to sell a few mature pairs of these turkeys if they're true buffs. I'd like to make a little money off of them. If they turn out to be a mix, I'll probably just raise them out for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

I'm debating keeping a breeding pair of turkeys. I'm not sure it's worth the hassle to house and feed them year round just to keep from buying poults. It might make more economical sense to just buy poults each year.

Spring Garden

2011-04-28T14:20:00.004-04:00

***Note- I had to use Photobucket to upload the pictures today, and they got cropped. Click on each picture to view the un-cropped versions.***

My spring garden is coming up pretty well. I'll admit I have only watered it a few times. I'm so bad at remembering to water, but this spring has been pretty wet (the farmers are getting irritated) so my plants have done well.

Here is a bed with broccoli and spinach. The broccoli already has tiny heads on them, and I'm a little worried they'll peter out before they get nice and big. I don't have much luck growing large heads of broccoli like my mom and sister can. The spinach is doing well. It needs to be thinned, but hopefully soon I can start harvesting!

This is my cauliflower. It's doing pretty well too. Oh, and I forgot to mention all these plants got nibbled down to stems after I planted them, since I thought I wouldn't need a fence. Wrong! Now they're safely tucked behind a nice rabbit fence.

This bed is cabbage and onion sets. I really hope my cabbage does well, because I love purple cabbage in salads and cole slaw. I've also got a new appreciation for white (or green?) cabbage. I like it raw, with ham and potatoes, and I even want to try stuffed cabbage (that I did not like as a kid).

Hopefully soon it will dry out and we can work up the main garden. It is almost time to start planting the "real" garden like green beans and tomatoes!!

Grazin' in the Grass...

2011-04-24T09:28:00.004-04:00

is a gas, baby can you dig it?

The grass has really jumped up lately, so now the animals are out grazing in the yard. I'm moving their temporary fence every other day or so. They really only get to graze in the yard while I'm home, since their fence is so...temporary. :-)

Here is the little ewe lamb of Darla's. She is so sweet. I've been giving her extra attention, making sure she's nursing and doing alright. She was slow to start, but she's doing well now.

And Darla loves her.

You can really see the size difference between the two lambs here.

Purl is looking a little scraggly. I need to shear them!

Purl looks at her naughty ram lambs as they graze outside the fence.

The fence doesn't keep them contained, but they don't go far.

They're getting to be quite handsome.

Darla is Awesome

2011-04-20T19:35:00.003-04:00

So today I got home and went out to feed the animals but I didn't see Darla. I wondered if she was ok, and thought perhaps she was in the shelter trying to keep cool (it's 80* here today). I went around to look in the shelter and saw Darla with 2 lambs!

I wasn't expecting her to lamb until around the first week of May. She didn't lamb early though. I had her in with my Romney ram lamb this fall and thought he wasn't getting the job done since I saw her go into at least 2 heats. I took Darla to the neighbor's house on December 15th to be bred by her Border Leicester ram (same as last year). Well, I took one look at her lambs and knew they weren't Border Leicester crosses (they didn't have the ears like last year's lamb-check out the last picture here). They definitely looked Romney to me!! Darla must have been bred right around Thanksgiving, which is way too early to have been the Border Leicester ram.

I am so excited....she had 2 ewe lambs! And they're natural colored!! I was really hoping Purl would lamb with at least 1 natural ewe lamb this year, so I was kind of disappointed when she had 2 white rams. Darla more than made up for it! These ewe lambs should have really nice fleeces, since Romneys and Southdowns have pretty nice fleece.

One of the ewe lambs is pretty big, but the other is pretty small. The small one wouldn't stand or nurse, so I tubed her and gave her some colostrum. I'm hoping it's just the heat that's wiping her out, and hopefully later this evening she'll be able to stand and nurse.

Darla is a little overwhelmed by 2 babies though. She doesn't quite know which one to lick when. :-) I'll probably keep the big girl. She's going to be pretty special since I can't breed Purl again, and her father was the very sweet ram lamb I was fond of. Now I need to think of some names!

Jumping Beans

2011-04-15T06:45:00.001-04:00

The kids are enjoying their new "jungle gym" I built out of a hay bale and some extra boards. :-)

It's Farm Friend Friday! Head on over to Verde Farm to check out all the great Farm Friends!

Another Late Birthday Post

2011-04-14T20:57:00.002-04:00

My birthday isn't the only one I didn't blog about! I also forgot to blog about Devin's birthday! He recently turned 8 years old! I wanted to tell you a little bit about the cake. I had planned on decorating a cake for him, but then I thought of how much work that was, and how stressful it was for me to have to try to get everything just perfect. Then my coworker suggested letting him decorate his own cake. Brilliant! I asked what color icing he wanted as the base color, and he said red. Then I asked what other colors he wanted, and he said blue and black. Ok, no problemo. I mixed up the icing colors and couldn't find any piping bags. Drats. That's ok, I figured, just use ziplock bags! I've done that before with mixed results. Well, this time we had disastrous results! After blowing the seams on 2 large ziplock bags (and one of them was me, and I wasn't squeezing too hard!) we tried a small sandwich size bag. Nope. Popped.

I wasn't going to waste any more bags trying the same thing again, so I apologized to Devin and told him he'd have to use spoons and knives to spread on the icing! He didn't seem to mind too much, and the cake still tasted great!

P.S. You'll notice there are only 4 candles. That's all we could find in the 'junk' drawer. Please tell me we're not the only ones that disorganized. David told him each candle was worth 2 though. :-)
But 8 years old already? Where does the time go?

Peep Peep!

2011-04-12T19:43:00.002-04:00

This morning I had a surprise when I woke up! New new turkey poults! I have 18 turkey eggs in the incubator- 6 slates and 12 buffs. Day 28 (the incubation period for turkey eggs) is tomorrow (Wednesday). These two were running ahead of schedule, apparently. Today when I got home from work there were 2 more pips and one of those is working hard to zip out of that egg! I'm really crossing my fingers lots more will hatch!

A New Decade and 10 Pullets

2011-04-11T21:16:00.002-04:00

I have had serious bloggingphobia lately, and I'm not sure why. I know I need to blog...I know I want to blog...but I can't make myself do it! This week I'm aiming for a new post every day!

For today's post....I had a birthday on the 7th! I turned 30! I'm not really bothered by turning 30, but I am a little weirded out because I don't feel 30! And 30 sounds like such a grown up age. You know, much more mature than 29. ;-) A friend of mine told me your 30's are like your 20's but with more money. Sounds good to me!

So sort of as a birthday present to myself I bought 10 new pullets. These are Red Star pullets, approximately 17-18 weeks old. They should be laying in the next few weeks. My own hens are still laying fairly well, but the eggs are getting a little small and I really wanted to add some production birds to get my production up. I want to sell more eggs. A friend of ours bought around 100 pullets and sold me 10. He got them from a hatchery that dubs their beaks, which we both don't like, but they will be great layers.

I brought them home in the back of the car. They hardly made a peep!

Then they hung out in the coop for a few hours until they worked up the courage to venture outside.

They are still a little clueless about going back into the coop at night, but they're getting better! Tonight I only had to fetch one out her roost on a tall sapling. :-)

Oh, and I'm really proud that I raised the money for the new girls by selling eggs and knitting items. I love the challenge of trying to use money from things I produce to buy the things that I want/need. It's definitely a challenge and sometimes I don't make it, but sometimes I do!

Garden Wake-Up

2011-04-04T08:29:00.000-04:00

I meant to finish this post last week, but life just got in the way! I planted a few things in the small garden. I planted some onion sets (white and yellow onions) inbetween rows of other things to hopefully not waste any space. I planted broccoli and cauliflower seedlings, which were nibbled on by some critter (rabbit? chickens? who knows) the next day. They're fenced in now, so hopefully they'll recover. Inbetween rows of seedlings I planted some spinach seeds and green onion seeds. And more onion sets. After I got everything planted the weather turned cool and wet. I haven't seen any spinach seeds sprouting, so I may have to replant those. Hopefully this weather will warm up just enough to help everything start growing!

Buford- A Work in Progress

2011-03-31T06:00:00.000-04:00

I'll start off by showing a picture of the world's best dog. Scooter, of course. He may look a little past his prime, but he still makes sure to keep everyone in line. If you step out of line, look out, he'll give you the business. Just ask Buford. Buford is a work in progress. He's got great potential, but right now there's a little struggle going on to unlock the potential. That sounds deep, doesn't it? Buford is about 9 months old and definitely acts like a puppy. He really tries hard to obey the rules, but sometimes he just can't help himself. We've been working with him a lot more lately in order to whip him into shape. And no, we don't whip him. ;-) I am going to start walking him every day to make sure he gets enough exercise. Oh yeah, and to make sure I get enough exercise too. He has started coming outside with me every day to do chores. Milking is his favorite chore. ;-)

Wanda

2011-03-30T07:26:00.000-04:00

Wanda is a hen that was born to be a mom. She thinks it is her job to solely repopulate our yard with more cute little chicks. She went broody several months ago. Every day I'd collect all the eggs and she'd wait in the nest, ready to sit on the next day's eggs. A friend of mine ordered some Barred Rock pullets, so I asked him if I could have a couple to see if Wanda would raise them. He gave me 3 chicks, so one night I crept out to the coop to put them under Wanda. I was a little nervous to see if she'd accept them or not. I put 2 under her and set one in front of her. I waited to see what she'd do, and was relieved to see her gently tuck the third chick under her in the nest. Success! Unfortunately one chick disappeared the first day she brought them outside, and one chick had a tragic accident in a water bowl yesterday. She still has one chick left, and she's being a great mom. Hopefully this last chick will be able to survive the dangers of the big world!