Long time no blog.

So my computer crashed awhile back and is still not running great.  I am able to get on the other computer now.

Our New Fire Pit

Walkway from front porch to the mailbox.

Anyways, we have been busy around here.  This past Sunday afternoon, my hubby and I went out and collected rocks, some flat and some larger ones.  We had been discussing having a fire pit in the side yard.  My kids love campfires and I thought this would be a great way to have one anytime we wanted.  So we got rocks for that purpose.  While we were getting those rocks a couple lightbulbs went off and we thought, we could use these large flat ones to line the walkway to the mail box from the front porch.  The original plan for that was just pea gravel and landscape timbers.  But the flat rocks look alot better. 

The other thing that has been going on is we got our first egg.  Although the egg was cracked, we did get an egg.  I am very happy because it has been 25 weeks and 4 days...yes I was counting.  I have some Giant chickens that are just about 8 weeks old that I am waiting for them also.  So this time I will know to wait just a bit longer than 22 weeks.  We also added white light to the coop.  Before I had just a heat lamp with a red light bulb in it.  So it was a bit darker.  So the chickens were not getting the daylight hours the needed to lay.  I am going to get a timer for the white light so that it will come on at 4am and shut off at 9pm.  That way we can maximize the daylight in the coop.

Our 1st official egg

Today I am making amish friendship bread.  I let my starter sit for a couple extra days, so I am hoping it still comes out.  Its in the over baking right now.  Smells lovely around the homestead today.

Garden in

So the seedlings I started didn't work out.  I waited til after first frost and my second cousin could come till the land.  Fortunatelly he had done it in the fall, so I was pretty quick and painless. 
Anyway this morning, I woke up with the sun and planted most of our veggies.  I have to get tomatoe starters later this week and put them in.  But so far we have potatoes, carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, radishes, squash, cucumbers, peas, beans, corn, watermelon, honeydew, strawberries and possibly pumpkins.  I will also plant three more rows of corn in a couple weeks, to keep the crop coming through the summer. 

I also was able to wash and groom the horse yesterday.  We finished the stall and goat house.  My sons cleaned up and have been helping with our front fence.  I hope to have it done sometime this week as our dogs need the excersize area. 

Awww Spring Finally

So now I am back from vacation and did a bit of work this past week.  I was finally able to get to the farm today and get more things done.

So far, we planted three trees and a blueberry bush.  The trees are peach, apple and dwarf cherry.  I hope they do well.  We have a big storm coming through but I put them in two days ago, so I hope they stay rooted.  I didn't put any tree stakes in, so keeping my fingers crossed for that one. The blueberry bush is in the front of the house in the "flowerbed" area.  I will not be putting in a flower bed anytime soon.  I actually plan on getting some more berry bushes planted in that space, but for this year we are starting with one.  Hopefully it does well also.

Yesterday I was able to pick up some bedding for the stalls and the chicken coop.  I had planned to clean the coop out today but we were working on the stall.  We got the door finally cut out and put back in.  I love it.  I also love that Ryan is so very handy.  I don't know what we would do if he wasnt.  I am way to impatient and use way to many nails, screws, boards what ever to accomplish the same thing.  So he makes it functional and very nice looking.  I tell him that he should sell some of his projects but he said that is not why he does it.

I now have three pregnant does.  Yeah, very proud of my little nubian/boer cross buck.  I was worried that he would not breed until the fall and I would have to wait til next spring for my milk.  I still have one doe in milk, she has a 12 month old doeling, who thinks she still needs to nurse.  Fine by me but I really need to get back to milking to bring her milk back in full force til a month before she has her babies.  My mission for this week, is to get her on the milk stand daily, even if it is just to feed and check her out.

Finally, my chickens are now 5 months old plus the 1 month old chicks.  I should be getting some eggs soon I think, it has been about 20 weeks and they all seem to be doing quite well.  They free range during the day and then get layer pellets at night once they are back in their coop.  I am needing to get some gravel or something brought in due to mud issues we have going on.  Apparently the water table is very high here, so you dig a hole and its already wet.  Not sure how to figure out the drainage but I will soon.  But for now my goats, horse and chickens play in the mud....the kids too.

That is all for now. 

It is hard work

No one ever promised you a rose garden.  Some famous guy quoted that about the Marine Corps.  Anyway, its been tough this week working and trying to keep up on the farm chores.  Fortunatelly Ryan handles most of the stuff during the day.  We have one goat in milk that we are milking once a day.  I am trying to figure out how to keep that in the schedule.  Ryan doesn't know how to milk yet.  He will be getting a lesson tonight around 8pm, when I get home. 

I am leaving for a womens retreat tomorrow for the next 9 days.  Whew, it was tough for me to give up and go.  Yes, I did say give up.  I have to give up alot of control over things to go on this trip.  I have to give up a week of work.  I have to give up milking and spending time with the kids, to recharge myself.  It is odd in the past 8 yrs I have only went somewhere by myself once for about 9 days.  But that was to go see my mom, so I was still with family.  It will be tough to let go for 9 days and only focus on me.  I have to set a standard of how much texting and calling I will do when on this trip.  I am always connected.  It is hard not to be connected. 

So I will leave with this picture of our little barnyard this morning. 
I will be back posting after the 28th.