Category Archive: farming
Today, I finished processing the first 60 of 100 pounds of apples. This afternoon, I did rearranging in the barn to get ready for a load of hay, which is supposed to be delivered in the morning. This is not too exciting for most of you. However, having enough hay to get through the winter will be exciting for me.Applesauce, raisins and darts
All the 40 of these have the darts cut now and are sitting at the machine ready to sew.
40# of apples are now applesauce with another 60# in the wings. I’d like to finish before Thanksgiving, but that won’t happen.
The crockpot is full as DH really enjoys the apple butter and that’s what much of this applesauce will become.
And then the raisins! I have had my dehydrators about 35 years and they have been very busy during those years. One quit heating and the other got way to hot, so I now need to replace both of the heaters. However the company has gone out of business, so I’m looking at other options.
For your enjoyment: There are times the hay ends up on someone’s back because they move just as I toss it. As you can see, the one on top really didn’t care where the hay was as long as it was accessible. She was quite willing to jump up on a back.
Sheep help us live better longer
I told DH, we need the sheep to help us live better and longer. They will help us because we will have to go outside each day and take care of them. 
That is true, we do have to get fresh air each day while we do the minimum maintenance. But one can’t always do the minimum and today, was cold and sunny and this stall was really calling my name as the hay was getting too deep to easily open the door.
So 3 hours and 18 full wheelbarrow loads later, the stall is clean of hay and ready to start over. This photo was of the half way point. Tonight, I’m not sure if the sheep will help us go to the grave earlier or help us live longer. They certainly give me exercise. There was a lot of twisting involved in getting the pitchfork loaded and into the wheelbarrow and then I dumped the contents in mole town which gave me balance exercise. But I do love the sheep.
Tomorrow, I will do a walk through on the rental and go to the farm store for a few supplies. The sheep will get fed and watered, but I have no plans for stall cleaning, though there are still 3 to go. The body changes over the years – have you noticed – and it resents doing what it could easily do just a very few years ago. I should have kept up instead of taking a vacation from physical work.
Work: Dump, Broccoli Soup, Kiwi
Work: We managed to get two loads to the dump today even though it snowed. Construction seems to leave extra unusable pieces around as well as the fact that we don’t have garbage service here. So a load of each was removed today.
And the tanks are now in the ground, waiting for the lids to get finished and the dirt to be put back over the top of them. Progress is progress, even when slow.
And because it snowed, it seemed appropriate to have a thick broccoli soup
Kiwi, the parrot, is enjoying extra special attention, of which he never seems to get enough.
This quilt with the hummingbirds was a 90th birthday gift made for a neighbor, who never had the opportunity to use it. She went into the hospital on her birthday and sadly did not recover. So I took the original label off and now it can go to someone in need.
So this weekend included a bit of this and that which is now done. However removing the quilt label is the only one that was on my check list.
End of October projects
It has been a good month, a very good month.
I finished the end of October projects by getting these socks done and
embroidering these guest towels with cute little Hatched in Africa ladybugs. They were a free download several years ago and I needed something quick and easy to gift.
I did get 19 of the 28 items done that I had on a list for the month plus much more work outside that wasn’t on the list. So I’m a happy person. The items that didn’t get finished will go onto the next month’s list. I finished a quilt and some embroidery that was gifted. I took care of paper messes and finished some wall hangings and I took a short vacation – all in one month.
Today was beautiful and I spent it using muscles that I didn’t even know existed. But hay is coming this week and I needed to have areas cleaned for it. Hopefully I will finish that tomorrow. What is left, I need help doing.
Autumn, are you tired of sheep?
Autumn: These lovely ears of corn are turning into these kernels. I had thought they might be popcorn, but they are not. So they will be ground as needed in recipes. Aren’t they pretty?
We woke up to piles and piles of dead leaves. They are so crunchy as we walk through them.
Are you tired of sheep yet? I hope not.
He’s beautiful! In fact, they both are, but here is why they are called rams.
They quit fighting each other just long enough to do some barn damage. They were inside this stall, and the girls were outside. What is the fastest way to get to the girls? Right through the wall! Ram! Ram! Ram! and he almost made it. I called the neighbor who has an electric cattle prod which did get their attention. They are now across the driveway from the ewes and still contending to see who is the dominant ram. The prod only gives them a bit of shock to get their attention and to keep the person behind it safe. If it really hurt them, they wouldn’t need it several times in the space of a few minutes.
Here come the mellow ladies for dinner. We only had two get stuck in the electronet today. I’m hoping tomorrow to get the power back up, so they will stay away from it.
I’m not tired of sheep talk yet and I hope you aren’t either. Oh, there is another beautiful thing about sheep. They keep me going fast enough, that I don’t have time to get older, which is another wonderful reason to love them?
Moving sheep and playing with a design
Today we moved sheep. A bucket of grain seems to encourage most of the ewes to follow me, which makes life easier. They will all be together in a smaller pasture for the winter, since we have to feed hay. That allows the pastures to rest and grow as well. These two boys lost their harems as all the ewes are now together. So these two are reunited and deciding who is top ram.
This is John, who grabs a ram by the horns and leads here where we want them to be. He is showing me the new pitchfork he picked up while out getting other items we needed for construction.
I have been following a BlogSpot “object of design” where she has been playing around with different designs. This one looked like fun, so I played with it this afternoon. But before I make it up in other than scraps of fabric pasted to pieces of paper, it needs more work.
Life is improving
Life is improving here as help was available today. The tree is cut and the fence is back up and hot. No one can run away now.
Unless you’re a chicken and want to pay possum and make others think you’ve runaway.
We’ve come to the end of a hectic week on this farm. It is time to rest in the awesomeness of our God and the beauty He has given us. It is also a time to thank Him for the trials of the week and the blessings He has given us. Shabbat Shalom May each of you see your special blessings.
Dog and pony show; omg
It seems like a dog and pony show around here. Today, the dogs realized the fence isn’t hot because of the tree across it. In addition to that, it has pulled the fence down and the gate has a big gap in it. I had company when they learned this. I didn’t know where Beau was, but I had to catch Lacey or she would have gone out with the company and met up with Beau and it would have been a very long trip for the two of them. I did catch Lacey and brought her into the house. Then I started the car and Beau was close enough to hear the engine. He likes going, so when I got to the bottom of our hill, he was waiting to come in through the gate. Big relief!. So I put these two dogs in “doggie jail” which is 8′ x 20′. Then I gave each a bone. A big fight ensued. But these dog fights are more noise than any thing else. I just have to stay out of the way while they are deciding who is in charge. When that settled down, I gave them dinner, which started the whole thing all over again. That done, I went off to feed and water all the other animals that call this place home. The two little goats decided they would like to see the inside of the house and did their best to get in. We nipped that one in the bud. But they did get in about 2 feet before they were turned around. Then while I was feeding the others, Daisy decided it was time to chase chickens, which is a big NO and she knows that, but it is also fun and she is a 5 month old puppy. I finished all that, and put the two young ewes and the two goats in a horse stall for the night so they wouldn’t get into trouble until tomorrow. After that we blocked the gate so no one can get through. Then because Daisy was being a puppy, we let her trade places with Lacey. So tonight Lacey is guarding the pastures by herself, with backup barking if needed from Daisy and Beau in jail.
Everyone was fed and I need a halter for Daisy, so I went to Explorer, typed in Amazon and clicked the first one that came on. It was a virus, then I was able to contact the Geeksquad, who frequently saves me from such disasters. (Believe me this has been very inexpensive insurance) Now who would have thought that clicking the first Amazon entry would do that? Computer is all repaired now and I’m ready to drop
Oh, what did I accomplish today? I changed the light bulb on the stairway and went to the butchers and bought dog bones. I made some meals and did some dishes. But perhaps I should have sold tickets to my “dog and pony sheep show. Bored? Not a chance! I am thankful I can sit back and laugh at all this.
And so I don’t forget, here is my OMG = One monthly goal with Elm Street Quilts. I am happy to sign up for their challenge to get one thing done. It gives me the extra push I need. This month isn’t over yet, and I am so hoping to get another 2-3 things checked off the list I made early this month.
Welcoming continued plus vet visit
The welcoming continued today with the wind and rain blowing the top off this feeding station. Those 4 x 8 sheets of plywood were rain soaked and heavy to put back up. But we want to keep the rain dry, so hopefully they will stay there until we get time for something more permanent.
He shaved her down and found that the skin had been pulled off, but the flesh was unharmed, so some fly spray, an antibiotic and she can go out with the others in a couple days. He thought this actually happened 4-5 days ago. And a certain new little puppy will be fitted for a harness and we will tether a bouncy ball to her to give her something to play with other than sheep. No boredom on this farm.