Farm Girl Adventures

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2010-09-10T15:16:00.002-04:00

PLEASE REDIRECT TO HTTP://BLOG.PAPAJOHNSFARM.COM

Summer on the Farm

2010-07-14T07:18:00.004-04:00

We are really enjoying our little pool. It always seems to be the right temperature to just get right in. We have some inexpensive floats (it's already summer clearance season) and I have found that about 3:30, the pool is half in shade, half in sun, so it's very comfortable and relaxing. The vacuum system is pretty much useless but we've found that if you stir it up before you get out, the filter will pick up most everything. Floating chlorine canister and away you go! Holly has a float that her cousin William grew out of, and she loves to have a toy to play with and float. Snuggles entertains her, funny how these dogs seem to be able to balance on a boat cushion. At the end of a day spent playing on the farm, Holly ends up with her end in a dishpan in the sink. She loves playing with plastic containers best.
"I'm going to be walking soon. I let go of the edge and stand by myself now!"

Playtime in the Pool

2010-06-28T16:03:00.004-04:00

We are enjoying the little pool. Wishing we had put down the bed of sand to make the bottom smooth, as it seems to be compacting all the little clay balls into rocks.

Even Rei is enjoying the pool. She learned to perch on a boat cushion.

She does not seem to mind the dunking!

Holly seems to love the water, I think she thinks she is swimming. When she's in the water she kicks like a wild critter, but in her floating, shaded island she is relaxed.

Hot Weekend Work

2010-06-28T15:55:00.002-04:00

This weekends project was to complete the flooring over the workbench-which is now done. By mistake, we got the heavier floor decking and boy, now we see we should have used the heavier stuff all throughout the loft. We can feel where the thinner stuff is giving a bit uncomfortably when walking around up there. Our plan is next spring when we run out of hay, to add another thin layer to beef up the previously laid floor. For now, the hay is going up.
Tim and Andy were on hand to help up move the hay that is left. The alfalfa went out to be stored in the pony barn.

Here you can see John's hay slide, which works incredibly well.

Here is John, cleaning up the dregs of last year's hay and pushing it down the slide.

Summer on the Farm

2010-06-18T14:38:00.004-04:00

This year we decided to put in a very small, very cute, above ground pool. It's really no more than an adult soaking pool. 15 ft x 42 inches tall. This summer has been soooo hot this year. Most of the time we are working outside, so now we can work in bathing suits and dip to cool off.

So you can see here that Papa John is raring to go to break ground for the pool. I barely had time to snap this picture. Andy was working with us to level the ground, but he got so hot he decided to soak in the horse trough.

The day we started the pool, we were outside all day. Even little Holly had her lunch Al Fresco

Followed by a romp in her little pool on the deck. Don't you love her little cabana?

A little miss sleepy girl fooled us all. We thought she was tired enough to take a little nap, but we found her up on her knees in the play pen, and proud of it!

She usually gives up when she's curled up on Papa

Nana's Cake

2010-06-11T15:23:00.004-04:00

Wednesday night I got a FANTASTIC surprise. The kids conspired to throw me an early birthday party. They got together and planned a meal, cake, and presents! I now have a fantastic new grill -- (pictures to follow) and some fancy new tools for cooking on it.

I HAVE AWESOME KIDS!

How Does My Garden Grow

2010-06-07T14:29:00.004-04:00

Well folks, I may get tomatoes and peppers and squash this year after all! When my Mom and Dad were in town, Dad helped me get the garden set up. I got everything planted and fertilized. Manure is something we definitely can find on the farm.

It's kind of hard to make this out in the picture, but I added the posts and twine to support the tomato plants this past weekend. Papa John and I were up at the extension office for a beekeepers meeting, and I noticed that the master gardener had his tomatoes staked up like this. I thought I'd give it a try, since I have absolutely no luck with tomato frames.

The Bee Hives Are Humming!

2010-05-16T21:02:00.005-04:00

I love this picture, Holly reminds me of a Cabbage Patch Kid, remember those?

Here she is sitting on her mommy's lap on the tractor. It looks like she is thinking,"how do I start this thing up?"

The farmer, (aka the beekeeper), has gotten our hive installed. With the help of some good friends, we now have our own hive. This is absolutely fascinating. This project started long ago, with the beekeeper receiving odds and ends and parts, and with help, assembling and painting the hive. Yesterday, we went to pick up our nuc. The first thing that amazed me is the sound that emanated from the nuc. The constant drone sounded like something mechanical.

We put out sugar water. It took them 24 hours to drain the pint jar dry, so we have switched to a half gallon container.

The smaller box on the top is the nuc. The can on top is full of the sugar water they are shipped with. There are tiny holes in the bottom of the can that allow the sugar water to ooze out.

We had to pull out the little Bee Queen container and remove the cork on one end of it to expose the sugar plug. By the time the sugar plug is eaten and the queen can exit her container, the workers will have built her Bee Queen Throne.

It's very interesting to watch the bees get poured from the nuc into the hive. We each got stung once during the installation, but did not mind a bit.

Looking forward to our own honey!

Too busy for Living Room Pictures

2010-04-26T15:30:00.003-04:00

More important things to do. Miss HollyAnne is enjoying cereal, cereal with applesauce, and yesterday she had squash!

Friday Escapades

2010-04-23T22:53:00.002-04:00

Well not really escapades. I was determined to get the living room under control, and be able to sit down and enjoy it before it go messed up again. It's too dark now, but I will take some pictures in the morning.

Saturday Afternoon Corvette Shopping with Tim

2010-04-19T09:43:00.003-04:00

Saturday afternoon Tim and I went Corvette shopping.
Found this sweet machine, but Tim is not quite ready for it yet. It sure is fun to look, and had a great time riding around in the country.

Back in the Saddle!

2010-04-17T21:44:00.004-04:00

So Susie has been on the farm for almost two weeks. She's had a serious scrubbing, and has been wormed. Lots of good food and steady hay has put some pounds back on her and she seems to be feeling good.

We have a practice pen that is large enough to exercise horses and ride in. Today was my first ride here on our property. It went really well. I got her a western snaffle bit with copper rollers and a curb chain for the leather headstall I had.

Here was a pleasant suprise, she responds really well to leg cues, so even though she plow reins, I still only had to wiggle the bit on one side, nudge with the opposite heel and away she went.

Great ride!

April Update

2010-04-10T22:35:00.003-04:00

The staining of the cabin is almost done. Here is view down the porch. You can see the finish, it has kind of a gloss to it. Tomorrow we can start bringing porch furniture back. Not soon enough for me. There was a garage sale on our street this weekend, and people kept pulling into the driveway and asking, "is this the garage sale?" One more coat on the side porch and the job will be finished.

We've added one more equine to the farm. This pretty little mare is a Haflinger. She is saddle trained and harness trained. I rode her last weekend and I knew she belonged on our farm.

Look how much this little one has grown. She's a tummy scooter.

Projects and other good stuff.....

2010-04-04T21:07:00.003-04:00

We are finally getting around to a major project. Our house is cedar, and was originally stained a cedar color. We were not really sure when it was done last, but the existing stain was nothing more than dust by the time this spring rolled around. So we had it pressure washed, and Monday the new stain is going on. Here is a closeup of one of the boards. It actually looks so pretty. We are going with the same cedar color. This is a big load off my mind, because there were places where the previous stain had washed off, and the exposed wood was starting to weather.

The next big project is having the a/c repaired. We are are starting to get some warm weather so this is going to be a pressing need shortly.

Here's something interesting. A good friend of ours gave us some natural loofahs. I need to find out more about them, John says she grows them? But they are absolutely fabulous. When you get them wet they are just right for use with goats milk soap. Seems like they are better than the little polyester scrubbies.

We also put up the last of the internal fencing. So we have an isolated "family" yard, that no critters can come into unless invited in. We were able to take off the swing gate at the bottom of the porch stairs. The little dogs can now go out and run down to potty without worrying about dealing with Daisy opening the gate.

Next project: back porch roof!

New Mini Whiny

2010-03-29T16:11:00.003-04:00

Another miniature horse has come to live on the farm. Her registered name is Wolfpens Mystic. We call her Misty Misty will be the perfect mini whinny for Holly to learn to ride on. And gosh, what little girl doesn't want her own little pony. She is both saddle and cart trained. Here is Tim grooming her, and Misty modeling her new purple halter. Thanks Uncle Tim!

News from the Farm

2010-03-26T08:43:00.003-04:00

Big news! Holly has found her toes! She is growing and changing so fast. The kids have two strollers. The "good" stroller is in Karol's car. The "farm" stroller lives on the porch. This is the stroller that is used almost daily now that the weather is nice. Holly loves to be outside and is especially fascinated with all the critters. Snuggles sometimes rides around with her, which she loves.

Last night we took her to visit the baby ducks and baby chicks at Tractor Supply. I think she is really going to like living on a farm!

This week when I was in Charlotte, I went and got a haircut. She took off a lot of hair, and finally, all the colored hair is gone. This is all natural, gray hairs and all, and not too bad for 50. So I'm going to go natural for a while. I do like the cut, she did a good job.

Spring is here!

2010-03-25T13:53:00.004-04:00

Spring is here and it's kidding time. That means milking time.

That also means cheesemaking time.

I also need to get my garden in, or it's not going to happen.
Check out what we were listening to on XMRadio. Aspirations, by Papa John & Daniel. I didn't even know they had a band!

Ski Day!

2010-02-20T09:22:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I took a vacation day and a friend and I drove up to Winterplace to ski for the day. Winterplace is located in Ghent, WV, and is approximately 2 & 1/2 hours away. On a day like yesterday, it is worth every minute of the drive. We left the house at 6:00am, and after a breakfast stop on the way, we were standing in line to buy a lift ticket. 10 minutes to gear up, and we were on the lift by 9:15. It was a bit cloudy, and we wondered if we would be getting the snow that was forcasted. Not too long after our first run, the wind picked up and blew the clouds away to reveal a turquoise blue sky.
Cell phone pictures do not do it justice! One thing you can see from these pictures is that they really have snow! In years past when I have been up here skiing, it was a lot of man made snow, and all the surrounding country was brown. You can see here that there is snow everywhere you look. Yesterday was possibly one of the best days for skiing I have had in a long time.
I am so glad I went!

Sledding and other snowy fun....

2010-01-31T21:00:00.008-05:00

Well, nobody could go anywhere today. So we played at home. Went out this morning to a clear blue sky and crispy dry snow. Got all the animals fed, and made a couple of snow angels. Had a lot of trouble making angels inside the fence. Every time I dropped back, Daisy had to come see what I was doing. One time she snuck up and gave me a big doggy kiss. What I ended up with was a bunch of snow angels with dog prints running across them. Karol made better snow angels!
The kids tried to get to work, but had to turn around and come back home. Most of the roads were covered by ice. They never made it off Tuttle Road - not worth the risk.

Got back in the house and the kids grabbed my snow pants and went out to play. Little Holly got all dressed up in her pink snowsuit and went out too.

It was around that time I realized that the snow started sticking together and Andy and I had a little snowball fight. Then I decided I had to build a snow-woman.

The tractor plow came back and made another try, but was having a lot of trouble on the incline. He ended up only plowing one side of the street.That ended up being ok for us, because then we spent the rest of the afternoon sledding down the hill. Papa John even got out the tractor and monster cart and gave us rides back up the hill. I played outside until my toes were tingling.

Snow Update

2010-01-30T12:54:00.004-05:00

The snow was supposed to start letting up around 1:00pm, but it looks as though it is snowing harder than ever. I'm watching big flakes drop, and have not seen a car on our street since the kids left for work a couple of hours ago. I am glad that when they get back, they can come in through Log House Lane and park behind the barn. I just looked and it's 20 degrees outside. No wonder the goats won't come out of the barn!

So this is what you do on a snowy day; First light a fire in the wood stove. Then go out and do chores, feed animals, and make sure everyone is bedded down and warm.

Next, give the baby a warm bath, and let her play in the water. Then dress her and feed her. Then give her another bath and let her sleep in the swing.

Let the big dog in to sleep by the door.

And then curl up on the couch for a nap.

Perfect!

SNOW STORM

2010-01-30T10:23:00.005-05:00

To all of my family and friends in Florida -- if you are watching the weather channel, you know we are socked in. It started snowing pretty heavy around 8:00, and we listened to people trying to make it up our hill. It has been snowing on and off all night. The snow pinging against my window is what woke me up this morning. Since we have been having such cold nights, we have had Daisy in the house every night. She seems to be happy to be inside, and sleeps on the rug by the door without a peep all night. This morning she wanted to go out and play in the snow. It's going to be a mess when she wants to come back in! The plow tractor showed up around 8:30 and started working on our street. After he was finished we walked out to the road and realized there was a layer of ice under there that the plow could do nothing about. Unfortunately both Karol and Andy had to go to work today -- definitely a job for the CRVs. We had to shovel the end of the driveway, and they've both made it to work safely. Both their stores are talking about closing early today due to the storm. Many stores and businesses are closed, and churches have canceled all activities for the weekend.Here is the view up and down our road. As I write this, the snow is still coming down. We have plenty of wood for the wood stove, and propane and generator in the motorhome if we loose power. But so far, no sign of that. I think it's time to put a pot of chili on the stove.

Barn Work - AND Check Out Our New Tack Room

2010-01-18T20:58:00.003-05:00

We've been busy cleaning out the barn in preparation for spring kidding. This means endless barrels of soiled and rotting hay. Basically the method is simple. Using a pitchfork and shovel, fill 4 barrels. Use the tractor to move the full barrels out to the pasture and dump them. Bring back the empty barrels and repeat. We started this cleanout a couple of weeks ago, and finally! We are seeing FLOOR! I don't have pictures -- it's messy, yukky work. No cameras allowed.

We did accomplish some other things this weekend. John and I spent an afternoon straightening the big barn. The motor home had been moved out for a 4 H meeting, so it was a good opportunity to sweep out the floor. We straightened one of the bays and turned it into a tack/feed room. There is a light hung. We have hooks for harnesses, headstalls, halters. leads. We have storage for treats and feed. It currently has 3 walls and we are thinking about putting in the fourth wall and a door. Have to wait and see how it goes.

Take note of the little heater!

New Critter on the Farm

2010-01-09T21:21:00.003-05:00

We have a new critter on the farm. Papa John liked Sadie so much, he decided he wanted his own little pony. He went for smaller and ended up with a Miniature Horse. We will be measuring him tomorrow for his own harness.

Today he used Sadie's harness - watch the video and note Papa John tipping his hat

I also got busy and set up my tack room. It's pretty temporary, just a 2 x 4 with some some nails sunk in it for hooks.

You can see the harnesses, and my bareback saddle. I can also easily put my hands on picks, grooming tools, Sadie's easyboots, leads, and spare halters. I put a shelf up for fly spray, shampoo, etc.

Sleepy Babies

2009-12-31T16:35:00.001-05:00

Here are two sleepy babies~ My youngest son, and baby grand-daughter.

Horseshoes - Dilemma Resolved

2009-12-31T16:11:00.004-05:00

We received Sadie's new shoes and have been working to make applying them part of the routine. When we started working with her, we noticed she was touchy when we were working with her back hooves, but with patience and practice, it's getting easier every time. I am so glad to let her be barefoot when she is in the pasture. Her hooves are easier to keep clean, and thankfully I do not have to mess with steel shoes in the really cold, wet, icy weather. She also seems to have really great traction in them. Here are some pictures of me driving her with her shoes on.

Greetings from the Farm!

2009-12-31T16:06:00.002-05:00

We wish you and yours a Happy Holiday and Joyous New Year.

Home for the Holidays

2009-12-24T22:36:00.004-05:00

Last week we headed south to attend Papa Paul's 90th birthday celebration. While we were there, we also celebrated Holly's baptism. Papa Paul officiated and the ceremony was held in the little chapel at Westminster Shores. Many of the residents attended and there was a full house. While we were away, Winston-Salem got smacked with a major storm. They actually had to get snow plows out, and this is what is currently seen in many parking lots. There is still about 4 inches on the ground, and it looks so pretty. I was hoping to make a big snowman in the front yard, but the snow had seen a little melting and refreezing, and so was a solid crust. Glad I did not plop down to try and make a snow angel. I would have injured myself!

Here is Papa Paul holding his Great-granddaughter. She was such a good girl for the entire trip. She slept in her car seat for most of the drive, and at night she slept cozy in her little moses basket.

When we got home, we noticed that she was a little bit grumpy, and now has all the signs of having a little cold. What a cute little stuffy nose! We are hoping she feels a little better tomorrow for Christmas day!

Horseshoes - The Dilemma

2009-12-02T13:32:00.003-05:00

We don't really like the fact that our horse needs steel shoes on all four hooves. And she must have some protection and traction because she is on pavement 99% of the time.

There have been a few issues with the shoes coming loose, and I am told that steel shoes in the winter are very difficult to care for. So -- not looking forward to that.

Our farrier suggested we consider hoof boots, and in fact recommended we carry at least one for when she might throw a shoe while on the road. When we started doing the research, we found they could be used as a replacement for steel shoes. We are very excited and have found a farrier/PBHT expert that came out to help us get her fitted. Our shoes are on order for our "petite" hoofed pony, and we can hardly wait until they arrive.

Check out the web site for Nature's Path - any of you farmer friends who read my blog - I have Rebecca's card to pass along if you are interested.

Thursday Post -- Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T11:06:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Real mashed potatoes and gravy. Homemade stuffing, candied yams, scalloped oysters, rolls, jellied cranberry. Pumpkin pie, peach pie, cookie pie with ice cream and/or whipped cream.

When we finished dinner, we decided pie had to wait. I hitched Sadie up to the fancy cart, and Tim and I went for a long ride. We saw very few folks on the road, so it was a very pleasant ride.

When we got back from our ride, the pie was cut and enjoyed. All the food was put away and the first load of dirty dishes washing in the dishwasher.

After that we cleared the fancy tablecloth and napkins off the table and got out the college pig and started rolling coins. Great Grandma and Grandpa brought a silver piggy bank for Holly in April and we have been putting all the loose change from the laundry area, emptying of pockets, spare change in it for the last eight months. After we finished rolling it, we put it with other money Holly received and we now have $200.00 to put in her college fund. Now we will start feeding the college pig again until next Thanksgiving.

Wednesday Post

2009-11-25T08:35:00.004-05:00

Since I am off the rest of the week for Thanksgiving, seems like a good time to do a little catching up. Mid November we went to Arigato - Andy's pick for birthday dinner. It was so good. Holly enjoyed the meal from her butterfly sling, which was made for her by her Auntie Kendra. She slept through most of the meal in cozy comfort.

We've had a bit of indian summer, but with cooler weather has come prodigious rainfall. We do need the rain, but it makes the goats miserable. Since they do not like to be wet, they have spent much of the last couple of weeks cowering inside barn. Many of our pastures where goats and pony reside are incredibly muddy. This year, instead of struggling with unlined dairy boots (not meant for any kind of terrain but cement floor) and crocs, I bit the bullet and purchased myself a pair of work boots. Of course since I am now a horse owner, I had to get something will a little cowgirl style. My Ariat FatBaby boots are probably one of my best footwear purchases ever. I did buy a half size larger than I need, so that I could wear thick socks in the winter. Since I started wearing them on the farm, and went back to my Danskos for the work day, all my foot issues have resolved themselves. They are wonderful boots and I recommend them to everyone. I am thinking down the road that I will get myself a "dress pair" for wearing off the farm.

Time to go pick up a baby Holly Anne. More later.....

Sleeping and crying........

2009-11-18T17:50:00.002-05:00

That's what babies do.

Isn't she pretty in either mode?

This post is short because I am holding her, but I bet that's no suprise to any of my readers!!!!!!!!!!!

Look Everybody - My Diaper Bag is Ready!

2009-11-01T20:22:00.004-05:00

Nana finally got busy and finished my new diaper bag. She's been working on it a long time and I thought she'd never get it done.

Sunday night she picked up the crochet needle and got to work. She had two rows left, handles and the trim. Now her wrists are tired and sore. She says she's going to put some dividers in it so Mommy can organize my stuff, but it will have to wait a while.

Mommy picked out all the colors for it after she found out I was going to be a girl.

Here I am modeling it. Nana wrapped me up in the pink flowered blanket she got me and tucked me into it for these pictures. I thought it was pretty boring, but I posed for the pictures anyway.

In two days I will be two weeks old. I am pretty much in charge around the house. I sleep whenever I want. Mommy feeds me whenever I am hungry. Nana and Papa John change my diapers whenever I make special presents in there for them. I am waiting for my Daddy to give me a real bath. Mommy and Nana have given me sponge baths, but I know he's going to give me a real bath in my tub when my belly button is all fixed up. It's going to be fun.

My room is all fixed up with lots of pink, but I am spending most of my time hanging out with Mommy on the couch. I have a cozy place to nap, and a place where everyone takes me to change my diapers. I have a bouncy seat that I sit in to watch Nana working in the kitchen.

Everybody is always kissing and hugging me--but I guess I'm just too cute to resist!

Holly Anne Leap

2009-10-22T13:48:00.003-04:00

I'd like to introduce Miss Holly Anne Leap. We've been waiting so long for you Holly! Holly, Mama Karol, and Daddy Andy are home from the hospital and everyone is recovering.(Including Papa John and Nana.)

She has reddish gold hair and it looks as though she may have blue eyes.

View From the Back of a Pony

2009-10-03T20:47:00.003-04:00

Friday afternoon when I got home from work I hitched Sadie up and went for a ride. We went all around the little neighborhoods near our house. It's a very pleasant ride. Afterwards, she really enjoys the grooming session--it must feel really good, because she practically falls asleep.

Saturday, we hitched her up again and checked out a couple of yard sales. I scored big! I got a bathtub for Holly, stacks of baby washcloths, towels, bibs, and recieving blankets. A box of baby toys, and assorted teethers. We also found a bunny step-stool, and some pegboards for John to put together to hang hats on.

After we got home, we hopped in the truck and headed for Greensboro. We had a glider rocker to pick up, and we also stopped in at the farmers market and got some fresh fruits and veggies. Tonight we had fresh mashed potatoes -- man were they good.

I also collected 24 eggs today. The Auracanas have started laying, so we have pretty blue-green eggs to go with the brown ones the Rhode Island Reds have been giving us. Egg production is up again. We have 9 dozen in the barn fridge.

T-Minus 19 days

2009-10-01T11:25:00.001-04:00

until Karol's due date!

Driving Miss Sadie

2009-09-29T21:09:00.004-04:00

Big excitement at Papa Johns Farm. We have a new addition to the menagerie. Meet Sadie the Amish cart pony.

We met Sadie in early September on a trip up to Ohio. She lived on a farm with goats, sheep, and just about every size equine, from the tiniest miniature horses to Percherons. Now those are some gigantic horses. Last weekend, we traveled back to Ohio to her farm to pick her and her rig up. Here she is hitched to her cart. She is very good on the roads, even 18 wheelers do not phase her.

Ponies are measured in inches. Horses are measured in "hands". Sadie stands 48 inches tall at the withers. In horse measurements, that makes her technically 12 hands. There are 4 inches for every "hand", for anyone who is wondering. Any equine under 14 hands is considered a pony. I've always wanted a horse. I also know I can't handle a horse. So a well trained pony is exactly what I needed.

At her farm, Sadie was in a dry lot with six other ponies. They had all the hay they wanted, water, and grain twice a day, but they were on dirt. One of the ways horses cope with flies is to roll in the dust. If your coat is thick with dust the flies can't bite you. While we were loading her, it rained, so she had a coat of mud. On the way home we had more rain. So by the time she got home, she was good and dirty. Of course as she began to feel at home, she had herself another good roll in the dirt. I've spent a lot of time in the past couple of days brushing dirt out of her hide, but today I decided it was time for a good bath. Sadie really enjoys grooming, but I was not sure how she was going to do. Turns out, once you get past the fact that it is cold water, it's all good. We used "Mane, Tail, and Body" Shampoo. Worked up a good lather, rinsed and scraped her, and she looked great. I took her out to the front yard for a little grazing, and then I spent some time combing out her mane and tail.

Here is a short video of me driving her in the front yard. We have actually had her out on back roads during the day, and we are having such a good time with her. She is so well trained it is a pleasure to have her out on the road.

The Winston-Salem Airshow - Our Helicopter Ride

2009-09-19T08:12:00.003-04:00

Last weekend we went to the Winston-Salem Airshow at the Smith-Reynolds Airport. Andy, Karol, and I got to do something we'd never done before! Ride in a HELICOPTER! We had a top notch camera crew, so movies are available for your viewing pleasure, THANKS to PAPA JOHN! While we were waiting for our flight to be called, we watched a Harrier Jet take off. Now that's an amazing aircraft. We also watched a ton of stunt pilots in little planes doing absolutely crazy stuff. At one point we watched an F-18 scream by. Karol reported that it seemed to startle Holly, because she started kicking around after that big noise. The F-18 actually went by, and then the sound caught up with it -- man they are loud!

Here we are at the briefing station. Recieving instructions for pre-flight, flight, and post-flight behavior. Pre-flight instructions -- which side of the aircraft each of us were going to sit, how to duck and hold your hat. Flight instructions --DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING! Post-flight instructions -- Wait for the flight crew to open the doors. Per the FAA, passengers are not allowed to open any door. Our briefing guy told us his son is 14 and has been flying helicopters for 2 years. So I guess they let 12 yr olds fly these things?

Takeoff -- This is the first time I have ever been in a helicopter. It's amazingly smooth, sort of like floating as you take off. We gained altitude quickly, and I could see my office and where it is in the surrounding neighborhood. The city of Winson-Salem was spread out right there in front of us. We headed for Winston Tower, the RJR Building, and the Wachovia Building, which we call the Chapstick Building, because it's rounded top makes it looks like a giant lip balm.

After skirting downtown, we circled and headed back for the airfield. I watched cars moving along Liberty Street. In a helicopter you have the opportunity to really watch what is going on down on the ground. Off in the distance we could see the runways on the airfield. We could see still more planes doing stunts. We landed around 4:00, and the airshow was over shortly after that.

2009-09-13T21:01:00.002-04:00

We need more hay to make sure we get through the winter with the additional goats we have acquired. The barn, we think, can hold 150 bales in the loft we built. This does not take into account the area Papa John built with the hay slide. So maybe now 130-140 bales. We just purchased an additional 50bales a couple of nights ago, so today we load them into the barn. We could not do this without the help of our son Andy, who mans the hay loft, stacking the bales as they are pulled up into the loft. Or with the help of Karol, our daughter-in-law, who mans the tractor, pulling the bales up into the loft. Here she is on the John Deere.

We are all in this together --Goat FARMERS ALL!

The New Feeding Trough

2009-09-11T09:18:00.004-04:00

We've been trying to find a good way to make sure all goats have equal access to their grain ration. I think in the past some goats have been slighted. The new feeding trough solves the problem.

Here's the whole gang lined up for breakfast. We sure do have some pretty goats!

I AM A ROCK STAR!

2009-09-06T17:35:00.004-04:00

One of my fall projects this year is to rework the gardens around our log cabin. The evergreens that were there were hard for me to figure out how to trim, and basically they have just gone wild. We've been selectively yanking them out and will be replacing some of them. Other areas we will be seeding with grass. I wanted to put some new borders in, instead of just cutting in with a weedeater, but wanted something very natural. What better material than rocks from our own property!

Don't they look great? The farmer and I went out on the tractor with a carry-all attached and picked up some great rocks. After I got them all placed I was really happy with the effect.

Cool Weather

2009-09-03T08:59:00.002-04:00

It's been nice and cool this week, we've even turned off the air!

ACTION!

2009-08-28T11:23:00.004-04:00

Here is some of the action we see daily on the farm

Our Alpine goat Hollyhock is very friendly and curious. It would take 2 people to take a proper picture of here, one to take the picture and one to distract and amuse her. She seems to know that you are trying to get her to pose for the camera!

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

2009-08-25T14:30:00.003-04:00

You know what they say, it's always best to let sleeping dogs lie.
Daisy is so tuned in to farm life. We can walk right up to her and she never stirs. Let a strange person or animal come onto the property and that's different story. You may be sitting right beside her in the hammock and suddenly she will erupt out of a sound sleep and gallop across the yard to investigate something that is cause for her concern. She still spends a portion of her time chasing chickens, and occasionally carrying one around in her mouth, but all critters on our farm are safe from predation.

Baby Stuff

2009-08-21T22:13:00.004-04:00

Last weekend Karol and I finished the staining and sealing the crib. It's the same crib that Tim and then Andy used.

The little pink bassinette is the perfect size for newborn Holly. The top bassinette part can be removed so that later it can be a travel crib when she's older.

There is also a stroller/car seat travel system, and bag after bag of baby clothes.!

My Sweet Ride

2009-07-19T20:20:00.005-04:00

So every week I rent a different car. Monday morning, I drop my CRV at the Smith-Reynolds Airport, and I never know what I will drive to Charlotte. Most of the time I am able to plug in my XM reciever, and have music. If not I have two NPR stations that I listen to on the way. My rental agent knows what I like and tries to get me something good every week. I pretty much have my pick of whatever fine piece of machinery is in the lot. Last week I pulled up and spotted a Ford Edge, which would have been my choice, however she offered me something even better!

Check out my 2010 Ford Mustang Sport Edition. It came loaded with Sirius radio. It also had Bluetooth and Microsoft Sync. So my car essentially became my phone when I was in it. "Dial John" dialed up John for me, and no headset or handset needed. The microphone was up by the mirror, and John's voice floated out of the speakers. Later on, as I was tooling down the road, the phone rang again. The radio automatically mutes and switches to phone mode. The display reads "Answer?" and you just hit the OK button. For the duration of the rental, my address book was resident in the car, and everytime I got in, it would sync to my blackberry phone. Totally AWESOME.

As fun as it was to drive, it's not a practical car. Miniscule backseat, trunk difficult to load and unload. Wonder what I'll be driving tomorrow!

Who's that farmhand?

2009-07-17T23:20:00.003-04:00

Hey, that's not the regular farmer? Where did this guy come from?
Hollyhock doesn't seem to mind - she's got her nose buried in the feed bucket

Summer is flying by!

2009-07-11T14:53:00.003-04:00

We've been trying to keep up with farm chores, gardening, and the house with limited success. Seems like laundry and dirty dishes multiply and I am always behind and this weekend I decided I must blog and tell you all what we have been up to on the farm. The first item of newsworthyness is a couple of new additions to the farm. We've got a couple of new barn cats. Spike on the left and Ike on the right. Spike was adopted from a friend of mine, and he's an awesome cat. He is pure white and had one blue eye and one green eye. He spends the day playing in the milk parlor and lying on the warm stones in front of the barn. The other little guy, another white cat with grey patches is Ike. Ike came from our favorite dairy farm, and also spends his day playing in the milk parlor. He loves to hang around during milking time, looking forward to that little bowl of warm goats milk.
These pictures are not very good, but you can see here John is enjoying a ride with one of his favorite farm hands. She on a Pasofino (sp?) and he on a Tennessee Walker.

He got the hang of it pretty quickly and seemed comfortable in the saddle.

While John was horsing around, I picked blueberries. We are enjoying blueberry cobbler!

The Tractor Restoration Continues

2009-06-29T16:00:00.002-04:00

John is working hard on the redbelly Ford. When my mom and dad were in town, Dad took off the fenders and put a coat of some kind of magic rust stop potion on the fenders.
Yesterday, John put a coat of paint on them, and will probably be remounting them on the tractor today

Farm Chores

2009-06-16T20:26:00.003-04:00

Today I got home from Charlotte late, delayed due to bad weather. Usually I change and run up to the barn to help with chores, but today the milking was already done and the only thing left was to round up babies and feed Thomasina. Karol was up in the big barn working on refinishing the crib. Papa John was in the barn shoveling stuff.
I came home to a pan of lasagna bubbling in the oven, and the house is in pretty good shape!

Who could ask for anything more?

In the Pink Because...

2009-05-29T10:14:00.001-04:00

Andy and Karol are expecting a little girl!

In The Pink

2009-05-28T20:41:00.002-04:00

We are in the pink today, can anyone guess why? :-)

Fruit on the Trees!

2009-05-27T21:33:00.001-04:00

Pears are growing!

And there are apples on the trees!

Goat Milk Butter!

2009-05-27T07:31:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we spun milk again, to have skim for drinking. This time I took all the cream and using my fabulous Kitchenaid stand mixer, MADE BUTTER! IN ABOUT 20 MINUTES. As you can see - the butter is white - goats convert all of the carotene in their diet to Vitamin A so their milk and cream are pure white.

When my grandkids were in town, we used a glass jar and a marble and shook it like mad. So I knew how good fresh goat milk butter was.

Using the mixer makes it easy! Warm the milk to between 61 & 65 degrees. Put it in the bowl with a paddle. Mix at high speed until the buttermilk starts to separate. Remove the bowl and squish the butter against the side of the bowl to get out as much buttermilk as you can. Mine did not have much buttermilk, Think it's because the cream separator is so efficient. Next you want ot clean out more of the buttermilk, that's what makes the butter not keep as long. Pour some icewater into the mixer(NO CUBES) and blend again for a couple of seconds, discard the liquid. Keep doing this until the liquid runs clear. At this point you can blend in flavoring. salt, or next time I might try a little honey.

It's easy!

Long Weekend!

2009-05-23T20:49:00.002-04:00

We are enjoying a long weekend!~ Memorial Day is Monday, and Tuesday I will be working from home, in an effort to catch up on an on-line class I am taking.

I also am celebrating. Thursday marked the final test in my physical, so I am officially IN GOOD HEALTH!

Pretty good since next month I also mark age 50 - bleh!

Saturday on the Farm

2009-05-17T22:19:00.006-04:00

As you can see, we are up to the usual shenanigans on the farm. This is the time of year when there are plenty of kids to play with, and we try to take time out to play.

There is also plenty of milk. We have been making chevre, riccotta, and even cottage cheese with all this milk.

This week, we received a gift of a cream separator. **Thanks Dad**. This afternoon we processed 8 gallons of goat milk and ended up with about 3 pints of cream. We have a gallon of skim milk in the fridge for drinking, and have frozen the remaining skim. It freezes very well when it is separated. We can also use the frozen milk for cheesemaking.

Since the cream is not pasteurized, it converts to sour cream very well. 1 Tablespoon of red wine vinegar, leave it out overnight, refrigerate for 4 hours, and then it is ready to eat. It is the best sour cream we have ever tasted.

The cream separator is a quality machine. The basic design is superior to our hand crank model. Runs very quiet, takes about a minute to get up to speed. Works like a champ.

Kitchen Remodel

2009-04-26T22:20:00.005-04:00

When we moved into our log cabin, the natural cherry kitchen had a hunter green tile counter. It was not aging gracefully. The grout was discolored, and practically every edge had a couple of cracked tiles. I was walking around the corner one day and ripped a pair of jeans!

We decided that the time had come to replace the counters, and we decided that granite was the way to go.

We decided to do the demo ourselves, and save a little money. In the meantime, I was still in search of a plumber, but could only find one that would come out the day after the counter install. With a big event looming -- I did not see how I could be without water, much less a sink for a whole day. While at work, I got an IM from Papa John who advised that he had located a plumber. I called to find out what he was talking about and he told me that his buddy Steve and wife Lori were planning on being in town! YAY!

So the demo began. While the tile itself popped off pretty easily, what we did not anticipate was two layers of plywood, adhesive, and copious nails. I swear someone had a nail gun and used the plywood for a little therapy session.
Here is John saying "What were we thinking?"

Once the counters were in, it was time to get the plumbing connected.

Steve and I had to make a couple of trips to Lowe's for bits and pieces

The completed kitchen is absolutely georgeous!

Phew

2009-04-25T14:36:00.003-04:00

The title says it all. "PHEW". So much has happened in the last month. I have not been keeping you up to date. I have had a lot on my plate for the last 30 days, and will have to spend a couple of blog entries to get you all up to speed. High level for now;

My secondary site in Mecklenburg county has upgraded to the latest SW release. This has been a huge undertaking. I think the high level of involvement for me is what has keep me away from the electronic world for awhile. Between email, upgrade, a bit of on-site development, and followup issue resolution, I have not felt like sitting in front of a computer for awhile. Don't get me started on emails.....

We also finished our kitchen remodel. Bye-bye cracking green tiles, hello granite!

Huge development on the personal side. My youngest son(my baby!) got married last weekend. He's chosen a wonderful girl, and they are expecting their first child in October. Looking forward to "baby days" but I keep trying to keep myself in the here and now, live in the moment is my mantra.

On hand for the wedding was my step-daughter Kendra and her family. I hate the label "step", she's SO much more to me. I got to spend time with her out-standing hubby Jeff and two magical grands, Daniel and Paul. Also on hand were my folks, who totally got into the goat farming thing, and Steve & Lori, who might as well be family. Steve got my plumbing hooked up after my new granite counters were installed, and Lori rescued me from ironing every single mens shirt for the wedding!

This weekend we are adjusting to quiet.... how nice. And adjusting to a new goat. We purchased an American Alpine goat about four months ago, and have been waiting for her to kid so we could pick her up. I milked her this morning and got almost a GALLON! Can you say cheese? As I type this I am waiting for some chevre to ripen. She is such a sweet gentle soul, is Sweet Flowers Hollyhock.

I am going to end this for now, the front porch swing chairs are calling -- and I have a good book to read. I promise to check email -- tomorrow -- and start getting you all caught up with pictures and more!

SNOW!

2009-03-06T19:29:00.005-05:00

Last Weekend we got snow! This is what I saw when I stepped out my door last Monday.
From inside the yard looking towards the barns. There is even snow piled up and drifted on the fence.
Looking up the hill from the buck pen.
The buck barn
Daisy loves the snow.
The chicken house. We noticed that the chickens were all inside. They did not seem to want to walk around in the snow.
Of course I had to make a snow angel.
Daisy never even shivers.
The well.
From the front yard.
Daisy slept in the dog house.

Puppy Fun in the Snow

2009-03-01T20:58:00.004-05:00

Daisy loves the snow. She ran and played and tried to bite it off off the ground. She rolled, and flailed and skidded around.She absolutely loves the cold weather. I invited her in the house and gave her a blanket by the door, thinking she must be miserably cold outside. She did lay down for about a minute, and then got up and stood by the door and wanted out. We rigged up a tarp A-frame on the deck, and she is under there on a piece of carpet.

Signs of Spring?

2009-02-22T16:37:00.005-05:00

This morning I sat in the living room, curled up on the couch in front of the wood fire, sipping on my tea. Karol looked out the window and said, "It's SNOWING!". For true, we had some flurries this morning. It has been cold, Papa John has to go out and break the ice in the water buckets every morning. I am not quite ready for spring, planning one more ski day this coming week, so we need it to stay cold for a while longer. Regardless of the cold, we spend most of our weekends out of doors, and I have the cherry red cheeks to prove it! I am keeping the moisturizer producers in business. John wears long underwear and overalls and flannel. We always have a humidifier running in the house, and I have my automatic plant waterers that Andy got me for Christmas that keep the English Ivy and the Airplane plants alive.

Can I say it again? I love it here.

Today, as we were playing around with the new dump shovel tractor implement I noticed some interesting things on our property. There are numerous and many dumping areas, where people have dumped metal, trash, etc., and we periodically spend time cleaning and removing this old trash. I noticed there are a ton of springs! Maybe old mattresses? Machinery? who knows? But as cold as it's been, signs of SPRING it's not!

A New Implement for the Tractor

2009-02-22T16:28:00.005-05:00

Papa John is always on the lookout for implements for his tractors. He now has a box scrape, a carryall , a boom pole, a plow, a finishing mower, and as of today, a dump shovel attachment! It looks like this may end up to be a favorite, because he can now move dirt, mulch, manure, etc, etc. quickly and easily.

Sunday Afternoon

2009-02-22T16:19:00.004-05:00

Another lazy Sunday afternoon on the farm. Goats spend the day munching. We still have a bunch of Christmas trees. After the holidays Papa John hitched up the trailer and hit some neighborhoods where people were putting out their Christmas trees. We figure why let them end up in a dump somewhere or get chipped into mulch when our goats have no forage in the winter? Funny critters -- they will not eat off the ground. So we end up going out and rolling the trees every couple of days and that seems to fool them. Between the trees and the hay that we've put up, daily grain rations stay about the same, regardless of the season. The only thing we do differently is that goats that are on milking rotation get a dairy feed instead of the medicated type. Here we see the Goat Whisperer confering with some of his kids

Happy 60th Birthday John!

2009-02-20T19:55:00.011-05:00

After the doors to the big barn were up, we got busy putting up the hayloft. It's about 8 feet wide by 24 feet long. That will store quite a bit of hay. We moved all the hay we had up there and we still had room for more. Looks like we will be able to store about 200 bales. Add the hay storage space in the buck barn, which is another maybe 50 bales -- that's a lot of hay! As you can see, we made use of the space under the hayloft for storage. A good portion of the space is storing Karol's stuff.In front of the hayloft is Papa Johns' workshop. It took a whole weekend to get it organized, but now he can find everything. In fact, a couple of weeks ago we borrowed an orbital sander from a friend, and when organizing the barn, we found we already had one!

This is the biggest egg we've ever seen. We kept watching for the chicken that was waddling funny, but could never figure out which one she was.Andy and Karol, on their way out on a date.
Sunday Tim came over to help us hang the TVAndy was the one who lifted it into place
Ken and Val came over, to help celebrate John's birthday. Hope you are all sitting down, because I told Ken and Val to come over at 3:00 and lo and behold, they arrived at 3:02!

Papa John opening cards
Even cards from Daniel and Paul

And opening presents

Birthday cake

Tim and Rei like to come visit

Only in North Carolina!

2009-02-12T20:22:00.010-05:00

Last week as I was driving back from Charlotte, we got hit with a winter storm. As I was driving into Winston-Salem, the flakes started falling. There was not enough accumulation to build up on the road, so it must have been the sheer disbelief that was causing people to drive on US-52 at five miles an hour! So we all cruised through town, foot on brake, watching the snowflakes hit the windshield. By the time I got back to Smith-Reynolds Airport to turn in my rental car, the snow had started accumulating on the ground. As I was pumping gas I noticed how big the flakes were and had to take a couple more pictures.

It sure was pretty to look at. John and I were talking about it being the best location for weather. We get just enough of the white stuff but not too much. We can drive into the mountains and find snow and we can go skiing.

Last weekend, John and I went to visit Tim at his place in North Wilkesboro. We got there after lunch on Saturday and set up camp. Tim grilled us up some burgers for dinner and we sat down to watch a movie in the den. Rei curled up to watch with us. Sunday morning John and Tim headed out to the garage to put together his yard wagon. Now he can drive his riding mower down the street to fill up his gas cans! Here he's giving John and Toby a little ride!

Then we helped Tim get his guest room TV moved from the garage to the basement.

We also transported the new desk, the chair, a sander, sandpaper, and a couple of cans of stain for him to pick from. Now he can spend some time refinishing his desk when the weather warms up a little.

Alpaca Fiber!

2009-01-27T11:44:00.002-05:00

In one of my recent posts I talked about moving on to natural fibers as opposed to synthetics. All I've ever worked with was synthetics, due to a mistaken assumption that I was allergic to wool. I am apparently not! So now in addition to weaving, crocheting, and knitting with wools, I am excited about felting! I have one project that was felted by mistake, a knit scarf. It was thrown into the washer on a normal cycle by mistake, but I love the result!

My second project with natural fiber was a happy accident. John and I were out exploring and decided to take a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Not long into our journey we happened upon an Alpaca farm! As critter crazy as we are, of course we had to stop!

Their shop is filled with the most beautiful garments and fiber. We spent a couple of hours talking to the owner, who allowed us to go out to the barn and see her amazing Alpacas.

They are the most calming creatures to be around. We kept hearing them 'hum', which is a very musical sound.

A couple of them are very tame and we were able to feed them grain from our hands.

We so much enjoyed the visit and learning about Alpacas. The fiber is so soft and wonderful to work with. I bought a skein to make a lacy scarf. Here it is, almost finished. I am planning to add some wooden or glass beads to the ends.

The site for the farm is http://www.peacefulheartalpacas.com/ if you are interested in taking a look.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

2009-01-04T18:51:00.006-05:00

Sometimes you just have to take a break to swing in a hammock!

We have worked so hard this past weekend! I guess when you get to the point where you see results, it's hard to stop! Front doors with one door completed!Here is a picture of the back of the barn with all doors closed.

John messing around.And from the inside it looks like this:Doors make the space really functional.And all the way open for the motor home to come in!Constructing a door for the front.Ready to lift it into place.Karol worked hard, of course John runs a tight ship, she had to put the screws in just so!You can see the idea - but now the little barn looks so... LITTLE!The last door goes up.

NEXT PROJECT -- HAYLOFT!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-28T18:09:00.004-05:00

Christmas 2008 was a wonderful holiday. Due to my company having a 'holiday shutdown' every year, I was off the whole week. As evidenced by the previous posts, the farmer and I have been working hard on the farm. We used the beginning of the week to get a couple of projects in full swing. The display pen has already gotten some attention. My favorite project is the barn walls and doors, stay tuned for more on that.

Here's our tree with all the presents under and around it.

Christmas eve we had Tim, with puppy Rei-Rei,

Andy, with girlfriend Karol and Karol's pup Snuggles.

We all snuggled around the beatiful fire, put up our stockings and waited for Santa.

Christmas morning we got up, took down our stockings, and then had a tasty breakfast of cinnamon rolls, orange rolls, and biscuits & sausage.

Then we all got dressed and started opening gifts. I have to say everyone in my family has a talent for choosing thoughtful and fabulous presents for each other. There were some big presents. The biggest suprise came from Tim, who decided to give me a plasma TV! Incredible picture, great sound, all the fancy inputs!

We also invested in a big family gift. We now have a Wii console, and to go along with it a Wii-fit balance board. With this we are able to do all kinds of fitness work in the living room. Yoga, strength training, aerobic training, the list is endless as to what you can do with it. It came with Wii-Sports, so we can golf, bowl, play tennis, etc. In addition, we got Rock Band, and Rock Band 2. Rock band came with a guitars, drums, and a microphone. We spent a lot of time playing with this over the remainder of the week.

We all worked on fitness this week, we are all planning on making use of this to help us get back in shape! Here you see Tim and Andy rocking out!

Another Christmas Break Project.

2008-12-28T17:54:00.003-05:00

More farm work. This week we also had a goal of getting another pen put up. This one is in the side yard. The idea being that noone really know that we have goats for sale, so now they are on display.

The day we put this up, the temps were in the freezing range. The only thing that was good about that was that all the muddy ruts were frozen solid.

Now that the leaves have all dropped, we can see our shitake mushroom logs! They are dormant for the winter, but come rainy spring, we will have mushrooms galore!

Barn Work

2008-12-28T17:39:00.004-05:00

All during the Christmas break, John and I have been working on getting the big barn finished. As of this writing, we have the back wall completed, with a solid wall and two large rolling doors. This will allow us to drive the motor home in, which is the major reason for this barn.

The first part of the job was constructing the beams, with 2 x 6 x 12 braces, and a double set of roller tracks. Once this was constructed, it needed to be lifted into place and bolted in. Huge undertaking. John ended up borrowing a block and tackle from a farmer friend, totally the right tool for the job.

In this picture it kind of looks like Farmer John was confused, was he trying to grow panels? Wrong crop! The point here was that we set up all these panels and the 2 x 4's below and prepainted them with their first coat of barn red paint. We will go back and roll them again, but we wanted to get a first coat on before they were up.

Next we constructed the doors out of 2 x 4's and panels. The first 2 doors are up, and the solid wall. In the daylight I will go out and get some more pictures.

Christmas Tree 2008

2008-12-22T13:07:00.005-05:00

Saturday, December 13th, we went out in search of a tree. Of course we headed north into Virginia to cut our own. Tim came over Friday night, and first thing in the morning, we headed out for some breakfast at Clarks. It was pretty cold out, we all had gloves and hats on.

After breakfast we hopped back into the truck and headed north. Christmas tree farm, here we come. We watched the temperature fall as we went further north. Finally at our destination, it was 23 degrees. We wandered over hill and dale until - yes - this is the one! I know you suspected it, but now you know, I'm a tree hugger. Yes, I confess to signing work email with a "please consider the environment before printing this email."I just know you are thinking, if you are a tree hugger, why are you cutting this tree down? At the close of the season, this tree will become winter foodfor all the goats. Browsers have to subsist on hay when greenery is out of season, so before the first of the year, they will be chowing on this tree!The final pick - let's take this one home!

We set it up and gave it a big drink.

And before Tim headed for home, he cut the twine and let the tree fall open.These trees always end up being bigger than I thought they would be. Couldn't wait to get the lights on this one.

Oooooo, ahhhhh, lights!You can also see (sort of) that I have lights strung outside as well. John got my Moravian star working too, and it hangs over the very front entry to the porch. Looks fantastic.

Mini-Vacation

2008-12-03T18:54:00.003-05:00

The farmer and I took a little mini-vacation. The Friday before Thanksgiving, we got in the motorhome and headed north. John wanted to take me to Amish country to see where he went for the exotic animal auction.
We had a great time. It was a very peaceful vacation, slow paced. We got a lot of sleep. Friday when I got home from work, I hopped into the motorhome and we got on the road. From that point on I was relaxed. It started snowing the evening before we went home, so I had to get a picture.
Thanksgiving dinner was really nice. We had Ken and Val, both boys, and Andy's girlfriend Karol. Just today polishing off the rest of the leftovers.

First Snowfall of the Season

2008-11-21T10:27:00.002-05:00

Last night it snowed! It's cold enough that it stayed on the ground! The whole airfield at Smith Reynolds was white.

Ski resorts are starting to open for the season!

Tinkerbelle & Daisy

2008-11-12T12:28:00.003-05:00

Daisy, the brave guardian dog is no match for mighty little Tinkerbelle. Daisy spends a lot of nap time stretched out on the back porch by the back door. Tink knows that Daisy is a big warm fuzzy and keeps trying to climb up on top of her and settle down for a snooze.
Daisy just can't seem to hold still long enough for her to get settled in, so it's a constant wiggle ballet. Eventually Tinkerbelle will go find her own spot, but if Daisy decides to get up to go investigate something, Tink is her little tagalong. So until Tink grows up, she'll be Daisy's little nosy assistant.

Loom Work

2008-11-02T21:44:00.003-05:00

Today I got a little further on my latest project. I have gotten the loom warp threads strung, and am ready to start adding the weft. For those of you non-weavers out there, the warp threads run longitudinal, while weft runs selvage to selvage. This is probably going to be one of my last projects with acrylic yarns. I've stuck with them up to now, using up stuff I have, practicing my skills. I am looking forward to working with wools, and trying patterns and felting.

Here is my looming spot, looking out the front window.
Partially knotted. You can see that I have not filled the entire headle, this piece will be narrower than the last. There is also no pattern to this piece, I thought it might be interesting to do something a little more abstract. These are all my favorite colors. Cranberry, hunter green, navy blue, celadon -- should come out really pretty.
I got to this point and the cat could no longer contain herself. All those lovely yarns hanging down, begging to be played with. I had to lock her up for half an hour, during which she was pretty vocal. You can see below where I have a pattern stick wedged in the shed. This is a rigid headle loom, and the headle is also used as a beater.

Now I am ready to load and throw my shuttle.

Work some, and then play some!

2008-10-14T12:41:00.004-04:00

Saturday October 11th was a work day on the farm. All the goats got hooves trimmed, brushed, sprayed with flea/tick spray, checked for worms. It took all morning and into the afternoon. John worked on cleaning out the baby stall. The farm keeps us pretty busy.

Once all the animal maintenance was done, we put breeding pairs together for our fall breeding. We are becoming pretty selective on breeding, not wanting to be overrun with babies to sell. We put Petunia in the honeymoon pen with Yoel. She has the blue eyes and the flashing black and white color that we love. Then Rosebud and Buttercup went down to the buck pen to visit Buddy and Rascal. That's about it for breeding. In another month we may add Cheyenne into the program and put her in the honeymoon pen with Buddy.

So that was the conclusion of the work day, then it was time to play!

Since our work was done, we wandered down to the fair to check out the Youth goat show. We seemed to have missed that, so we watched the tractor pull and split a funnel cake instead.

Sunday morning we went out to breakfast, and then went to the Dixie Classic fair again to see the Dairy Goat Show. We were able to see all kinds of goats; Oberhasli, Saanen, Alpine, LaMancha, and Nubians. The Saanens and the Alpines have tremendous udders, and some can give up to a gallon a day! Can you say cheese?

MOVIETIME!

2008-10-06T19:37:00.006-04:00

Get out the popcorn, folks, it's MOVIETIME!

Saturday afternoon we got back from the Dixie Classic fair and the barn was hopping! Vivie was down in the dirt busy having babies. Of course we were prepared with birthing kit and plenty of old towels. John snapped on the gloves and got right in there.

It did not take long before the babies were up and playing.

We sat out on the front yard Sunday and played.

Less than 24 hours after birth, they are pretty coordinated.

So we are back to having babies around the farm, which is so much fun. So glad we've pretty much finished all the buildings this summer. Now we will spend the time getting everything in proper shape so things are easier to maintain. I say we, but it's mostly John who spends every day on the farm working away.

When people visit and say, "Wow, you've accomplished so much", I have to say it's all Johns' hard work!

2008-10-05T20:43:00.004-04:00

We've been working on the last shelter this fall. Here I am putting a coat of barn paint on the structure. There are two more pieces, which will be added to the front to close it in. John will be cutting a door into it and a window in the second floor. This barn is for all the does/weathers that are not breeding. We will use the second floor for storage.

You can see also that we are putting the finishing touches on the new chicken house. It has a roof with hinges that can be opened from both sides. It is connected to the chicken aviary and the birds access it from the end using a wooden walk. It did not take them long to move in, and now production has increased. We have 16 hens and more eggs than we know what to do with.

Here is John demonstrating how easy it is to check for eggs. Check out the view inside the chicken house. You can see individual roosting boxes, which are lined with hay. Very easy to clean, just pop out the old hay and replace it with new. We can even hose it out if need be, the bottom in made up of hardware cloth.
We've started our little orchard out on the power line, operative word being "little". We're using dwarf strains of trees. We have two moonglow pears, and a golden delicious apple. There are now three blueberry bushes too. Tim was over one weekend with Rei and helped us do the planting.

John and Andy did most of the work. Andy grew impatient for the water to make it up to the end of the hose, as you can see, he started listening and looking for the water.

Yesterday John and I went to the Dixie Classic fair and volunteered in

the barn with the market goats. Had a great time, and then met up with Tim and his buddy Jason who came in and bummed around the fair for a while.

We also got a suprise when we got back from the fair. When we got back John went right up to the barn and Vivie was in labor. She had two does. One is a tri-color. The other is a black and white with lots of frosting and blue eyes

At the end of a busy weekend, John and Daisy hang out in the back yard watching over all the critters. If Daisy has a choice she will be snuggled up to John.

Fall is Coming!

2008-09-19T21:15:00.006-04:00

I can't believe almost two weeks have slipped by since my last blog. We have been so busy since there is a nip of fall in the air. 70's during the day, 50's at night, the A/C is OFF! Last week and week-end, John and I worked in the Livestock Barn at the Stokes county fair. One night we helped during the sheep show. The next night we worked the goat show, and the final night we worked the cattle show. Had a great time, talked to so many people.

Two of our good friends entered the market goat category with two of our little weathers. Here they are just worn out with excitement. (the goats, not the girls!) A little later Jack just had to have a nap, and who better to nap on than Papa John.

Here they are with the ribbons they won!

The extension agent was so happy with us, we got a nice thank-you note in the mail, and she volunteered us to work the Dixie Classic Fair. I put on my jeans and dairy boots and jumped into the ring with the critters, my clipboard, and the judge and 3-4 hours went by. John worked at lining up the groups so they were ready for their turn. It was great fun and we are looking forward to working the Dixie on the 4th of October.

Today we went to the Ag center, where the Master Gardener club put on a plant sale. We left there with three blueberry bushes and two dwarf pears. The blueberries will be in the side yard, but the pears can be on the power line with the dwarf apples. The Duke power man says dwarf trees are ok to plant out there. We have set up to get some signs to post so they will not spray defoliants on our power line property.

John has been working on a new chicken coup this week. We'd noticed that some of our chickens were roosting in trees. Seems like a lot of them are laying, since we are bringing in sometimes as many as 19 eggs at a time. Can you say egg salad, quiche, etc? Tomorrow we will be continuing to work on it, and hope to get it painted. We are trying to get the chickens into it by the end of the weekend.

Last weekend John and I also put the roof on the last barn, and painted part of it. So it looks like all the shelters we needed to have in place for the winter will be ready! That means we will be able to proceed with breeding plans. Hoping to breed 6 goats, 2 to sell as bred, and 4 to keep for milking and sell the babies. Trying to keep our herd under control.

Farming and other GEMS!

2008-09-06T22:13:00.012-04:00

We were out checking a few garage sales a couple of weeks ago, and came across a huge bargain. We've been looking for an open hauling trailer, for hauling trash to the dump, getting hay, transporting tractors, etc. So now we have one that will hold 50 bales. We are going to try and get through the winter with 150 bales.
We also took a trip over to Tim's last weekend to take him a baby gate for Rei-Rei. Quiet weekend.
More news! We added a new kitten to the menagerie. This new kitty is the only inside kitty, the rest of the boys are all outside. Meet Phoebe! She is the sweetest little girl, who needed a new home. She lived with another kitty who was mean to her and made her hide under the couch.

She is fitting in well and seems to like everyone. She gets along great with Toby and loves to play.

Also some great news to share. Andy has a new job. He is now working for Office Depot in the Tech Department. Here is what he looks like on his first day on the job.

Today we went to the Winston-Salem Air Show. We will be going back again tomorrow, so more pictures to follow, but we thought this plane was so cool. The wing tips are also floats for water landings.

There were a lot of really cool planes and an awesome rocket car.

Tim and Rei had a great time, and Rei was got a lot of attention.

Of course John found a tractor!

We also stopped at Petsmart, so Tim could get crickets for Zim and a Car safety harness for Rei. He also got a walking harness for her, which was a big help during the Air Show. Less flopping fish and more walking dog! Here is a picture of her in her car harness ready to head back to North Wilkesboro!

Wild and Crazy Guys (and Girls)

2008-08-21T21:29:00.006-04:00

Divine blueberry pie!

Nikki and Tim Rock out!

Time for the girls to take over - but wait, Andy and Tim want a turn!

Andy & Tim, Karol & Andy - wait, is there a pattern here?

We are all animal lovers on the farm!

Last week both Tim and I took some vacation time. Great time to take time off, we had great weather all week, cool in the mornings and evenings. A couple of times we turned off the AC and enjoyed nice breezes. We also had some company. Kris & Nikki Damron took a road trip to visit Brant and Sarah in Chapel Hill, and lucky for us, we are in the flight path. Tim picked Nikki up so she could visit North Wilkesboro and see his new house, and then we all met at the farm for a bit of a party. When Tim and Nikki got to the farm, Nikki put together a blueberry pie, complete with lattice top, how divine. Tim took that opportunity to grab a nap, since we've all been staying up to watch the Olympics. Shortly after that Kris arrived with Gus-Gus. We really enjoy Gus-Gus, he's a great little dog. When Andy and Karol arrived, the four big kids set up and played Guitar Hero II until dinner was on the table. We all sat down to chicken with squash casserole and corn pudding. After dinner, the guitars came out again, and Kris, John, and I spent time lollygagging on the porch.

Kris and Nikki checked into the Winnebago Hotel for the night - nice to have that extra bedroom ready to go! In the morning we had breakfast together, and then Kris, Nikki, and Gus-Gus got on the road. Nikki would be starting her new job that Monday, and we can't wait to hear all about it! We were sad to see them have to leave, but the nice thing about being where we are now is that we get visits from them more frequently!

Bathtime

2008-08-14T20:55:00.004-04:00

Bathtime for baby!

Tim climbed into the tub with her so she wouldn't be scared.

As you can tell from the pictures, she's not worried about getting a bath at all!

Cotton balls in my ears so they don't get water in them

Clean face!

Clean ears

Getting a bath totally wore her out!

But after a good brushing,

Now she's so fluffy and pretty!

I'm so sweet, how do you like me now!

Rei-Rei & Tim Visit

2008-08-14T20:24:00.005-04:00

Tim and Rei-Rei came over to visit, and Rei-Rei met some more baby goats.

We were kind of curious to find out whether she would be interested in them and how they would interact. Every time she came close, the goats would move away. Daisy the Pyr was the most surprised of all, here came this little puppy dog that walked up and jumped all over her!

Rei-Rei's First Week

2008-08-05T21:06:00.008-04:00

So after a good potty break and some exersize, it's time to lounge on the couch. Naps are definitely part of the plan, and Rei seems to like a good cuddle.

I was trying to get a good closeup and Rei-Rei noticed my camera strap was hanging down. Of course it was an opportunity for her to grab it, but I still got the picture!

After some snoozing, Rei-Rei got to meet a new friend. Annie the baby goat came over for a visit. They had fun hopping around in the play yard together.

Rei

2008-08-04T17:50:00.008-04:00

Sunday we went over to visit Tim and his new puppy Rei-Rei in North Wilkesboro. Rei seems to be settling in nicely, and is working on training her Tim. She has taken over the kitchen, where her crate is set up. When we came to visit we brought a bag of toys and her new big girl crate for when she's grown up. The toys were a hit, expecially the stuffed goat. When you squeeze it, the noise it makes gets her attention. She runs over to stand over it. Rei-Rei seems to be understanding that the toys are all hers, she does pick them up and carry them around. Rei also practiced napping with Papa John, had numerous trips out to the yard to play, and after some successful potty breaks, got to climb up on the couch and hang out with everyone. She's adorable and we definitely think Tim made the right choice.

I have more pictures to post but will have to add them later. Blogger is having trouble getting them up, so more to follow in the days to come.

News

2008-08-01T21:20:00.006-04:00

The BIGGEST news is that Tim brought home his puppy last night. So they've been bonding, and I will have more about them on Monday. Sunday, John and I are going over there to hang out and cook a pot of chili. I will be taking lots of pictures. Other news of note is that John and Andy fixed the Ferguson TO-35! This is big because I was afraid we were going to have to take it to the shop to be fixed. But after some advice from some tractor buddies and a borrowed impact wrench, John figured out the problem. Both tractors are good to go and back in service. Now Andy's pretty happy, because this means when there is work to be done in the woods, they both can drive a tractor out. Here are the two of them right after they put the TO-35 wheel back on. JOB WELL DONE!! So where am I during all this? Where else - in the laundry, but I am proud to announce that John put in my laundry chute. We've been thinking about his for awhile, and since the master bath is right above the laundry area in the basement, we knew it would be easy. So now I only have to lug the clean stuff backup! It's fabulous, and it saves my knees! Of course it seems we are reverting in other areas. There are barn rags I won't put through my washer and dryer, so we got one of these: This thing works like crazy, it's the best post agitator I've ever seen. I put the rags in, fill it with water, add soap and let it work for a half an hour. Then I put the rags through the wringer, dump the soapy water, put the rags back in and add and clean water for another cycle. Once the final wring is done, shake them good and throw them over the fence.
Here's some footage of the monster in motion. If the main washer ever broke down, this thing is definitely a terrific backup. For only $21.50 at an auction, it was worth every penny!

Puppy Update

2008-07-29T11:45:00.006-04:00

Here's some recent pictures from Tim's last visit. He's ready for her to come home NOW! Isn't she adorable?

Hummingbirds!

2008-07-27T21:24:00.005-04:00

Last weekend I had the bright idea to hang a couple of hummingbird feeders outside my kitchen window. These were just some little $.97 feeders, and I bought bottle of the red concentrate. Originally these hung on the porch, but we found they leaked when the sun heated the liquid. So now they hang over my garden and if they leak it's not a problem. I used a hanger, which I bent so that both feeders hang from little hooks. It's easy to get at them from the porch. Convenient, because the liittle birds found them pretty quick and pretty much drain them both in just a couple of days.

Seems like there are usually more than one bird wanting access to the feeder. So while one is eating, one is waiting on the fence below, and one is hovering just a foot away. I don't know why they can only eat one at a time.

I left my camera sitting by the sink and John managed to get some pretty good pictures. He even got a movie! You can see this little guy keep coming back and see the bubbles as he eats.

Tim's New Place!

2008-07-20T22:41:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, we all went over to North Wilkesboro to help Tim move into his new place. He found a very nice three bedroom two bath house. Here he is on the porch on moving day. !

He's also got a detached garage with automatic opener. At the back of the garage there is a storage/tool room. There is also a locking shed for his lawnmower. This house he has to mow his own lawn!

Here's the living room

And the dining room

And as you can see the office needs some work :-)

Once we got all the furniture moved and in the new place, the guys proceeded to set up a puppy yard so it would be ready for the new pup.

After all the work was done, we barbequed some chicken and sliced zuccini on the grill, threw together a salad and served it all up with some big fat yeast rolls. YUM!

Shortly after that we headed home and left the rest of the mess for Tim.

Tim + 1 = A PACK!

2008-07-14T18:38:00.005-04:00

Here's some big news for everyone! Tim has picked out a new puppy! He's been researching breeds for quite a while and settled on a Shetland Sheepdog, AKA a Sheltie. Once that decision was made he started looking for a dog. He started with the sheltie rescue, but those dogs are mostly much older dogs and in need of a lot of health care and maintenance. So then he started looking for breeders to see if he could find a puppy. After some searching he found a breeder that would have a puppy ready at the perfect time for him. This past Saturday he went to visit and found the right dog. So now, sometime in mid August after he's settled into his new house, he won't be living alone any more! Here are some pictures of the little sweetie, who has no idea that with Tim, she just hit the forever friend jackpot! Just wait til she figures out that at the grandparents house, she gets to herd goats when she gets bigger!

2008-07-13T15:40:00.003-04:00

Seems we always have a project going, but I guess it keeps us out of trouble. My project this weekend was to get the barn painted. A couple of weeks ago Andy and I spent a couple of hours putting stone around the base. Next comes hayrack, some hay storage so you aren't toting bales all the time, and mineral feeders. It's important for bucks to have free choice minerals, so I'm trying to get this part done this weekend. But look how pretty the barn is coming out. I love the deep red color against the green foliage. I got two coats on the front yesterday, so today after our midday meal of steak, seven layer salad, and home-made honey wheat bread, I will be putting on my painting clothes again! Once the paint is on, the barn will be considered finished until fall, when we will need to put doors on. In the summer they need the breeze!

John came up with a way to get the kids in the creep feeder fed without fighting them to get in the door. He made a wooden hopper/ramp that serves the feeder/trough, then set a PVC pipe inside that. Now he pours from his feed pitcher through the pipe, and the grain fills the trough and everyone can stick their head in to eat. The creep feeder is where all the younger goats can go to get fed without competing for food with the full grown goats. So far, goats as old as seven months can get in there. We are hoping that around eight months they will be eating with the big girls and boys. Ginger and Sky seem to be able to still squeak through. Doesn't John always comes up with nifty ideas!?!?

Saturday Chores

2008-07-12T12:29:00.005-04:00

Saturday morning I do my best to sleep in. That's the day I catch up. This morning the farmer slept later than me! I woke up, went and made my cup of tea, and then started the coffee. Then I made four bottles for the sleepy kids in the playpen. As soon as I sat down with my Red Rose, they started chittering, so I fed them one by one. About that time the farmer got up and poured his coffee, and we started planning our day.

First comes farm chores. I am the milker on the weekend, and right now we are milking Pansy and Tulip. With the new gate arrangement, the milkers are already in the barn, where they've been all night. So I no longer have to fight all the goats to get the milkers in the stall. Cats follow me as a walk to the barn, meowing all the way. They know they get the milk from stripping the goats and they love it.

Check the food and water for the cats and dogs. Feed all the goats, because everyone gets grain and hay in the morning. Feed the chickens and check their water. Look at the garden - no sign of tomatoes turning, but once they start, I will be blanching, freezing, canning, etc. I have Jalepeno peppers almost ready, so this year I will be canning salsa too! Whoops, put cilantro on the shopping list!

Later on in the morning John and I went to check out an auction we'd heard about. Over in Germanton one of the big, really old houses and contents were being auctioned off. Gigantic house. Six bedrooms, two baths, two front parlors, two kitchens, dining room, numerous outbuildings. Sometimes it's fun to go to these because you can walk all through the houses. Once in a while you get lucky. I got a bow front oak dresser for John at an auction for a sweet deal, AND it was already stripped and ready for stain.

Got back about lunch time, and the kids are ready for another feeding. Around 1:00 and we are well into the heat of the day, so it's time for inside work! This afternoon we'll be adding a hayloft to the buck barn, and then I will start painting the outside. All the outbuildings on our place will be barn red with a hunter green roof.
Always something to do on the farm!

Just for fun, here are some pictures from July 4th. We had ourselves a little barbeque and lit off some sparklers.

New Website Has Launched

2008-07-10T08:19:00.002-04:00

Hello Everyone!
I've been working on a new home page for Papa John's Farm. See it at http://www.papajohnsfarm.com. There are more pictures, music, but all the same content is there to start with. This website may not be as sophisticated as Andy's, but it's easier for me to edit and add pictures quickly.

CHECK IT OUT!

Tulip's Babies

2008-06-27T18:25:00.004-04:00

Tulip's babies are here. June 22nd we had just come in from planting corn in the garden when I noticed her lying down in a corner of the pasture. When I say down next to her I saw that she had indeed started labor. I yelled for John to bring towels and the OB kit. Shortly thereafter Rowdy popped out. He's a little white and red buckling, he kind of looks like a little paint pony. Not too long after that Tulip started pushing out another one, this time a little girl. Kiki (had to be a "K" name for Karol) looks a little like her mother, only she has three white boots and a white flash on each side. Both are heathy and staying with their mom for now. Good timing Tulip -- I got to be home for this birth!

Pansy's Babies

2008-06-24T22:40:00.006-04:00

On June 9th, Pansy delivered two bucklings, who have been named Fireball and Comet. We don't know why, but one is much bigger than the other. The larger tri-color, Fireball does indeed live up to his name. Comet is a sweet tiny boy who may already have a home. They were so cute cuddled up in the play pen. Here Tim enjoys a little Comet time. Now that they are about two weeks old, they've been moved out to the barn. They are being bottle fed because when we started Pansy out, she did not like the MaggiDan milker and I had to hand milk her out for the first couple of days. So now they are on a mixture of goat milk and kid milk replacer. They are doing very well. Fireball has already been to the vet for disbudding, but the doctor said Comet was too small, and we'll need to bring him back another time. He's just too tiny to disbud at the moment.

Happy Fathers Day!

2008-06-18T20:32:00.004-04:00

Tim and Andy took John out for breakfast on Fathers day to his favorite restaurant, PB Clarks. He was treated to a breakfast complete with eggs, sausage, biscuits, gravy, and of course grits. Later that afternoon Jill stopped by to pick up some hay, and then John and I took a ride to visit Tranquility Acres. This farm is where all of our little boys came from, and we were interested in looking at their sire to possibly add to our herd. Sharon met us on the porch with a big hug and a "Welcome to Tranquility Acres!" She has an awesome setup and gave us a tour of the place. We visited the bucks and she ntroduced us to Yoel, who is a 4 year old buck. We were very interested in purchasing him. So, lo and behold, Yoel is now part of our herd. We now have 3 production bucks. Yoel, Our very first buck, Buddy (Apache Blue) and our youngest buck Rascal. All three are getting along very well in the pen. They are all very different. Yoel, a majestic chamoisee with black legs and face, Buddy, a stunning blue eyed tri-color, and Rascal, the black and white Pajama Boy. We are really enjoying watching them in the buck pen in their new barn.

We've also been working on our garden. The power line garden got washed away before the plants got started, so this weekend we will be replanting zuccini and spaghetti squash, along with jack-o-lanterns.

The garden in the back yard however is doing fantastic! We have about 32 tomato plans, 12 pepper plants, 4 jalepenos, and a row of lettuce.

Farm Happenings

2008-06-16T18:26:00.004-04:00

Last week I didn't get a cake for my birthday. I got the mixer I've wanted for YEARS! Check this out! 9 Cups of Flour Power! Over the weekend I made a cream cheese pound cake, oatmeal cookies and I made a giant toll house cookie for Andy to take on his campout. I have been researching recipes online for healthy cookies and snacks. When I hit on the perfect Oatmeal Raisin cookie, I will post it for everyone to enjoy. For the time being it gets to sit on the counter so I can just look at it! How awesome is this mixer!

Pausing here for a moment. I have been trying to upload pictures for half an hour with no success.

Stand by....

None of my pictures are being uploaded so I will write the blog and add the pictures later. We had some new babies born last Monday. Pansy had two bucks. The first one born was a huge fella, white with black and brown spots. The second to be born was a little tiny chamoisee. Both are lively and cute.

Tim came over to see us this weekend, and Saturday he and I went out so he could get himself a suit. Darned if I didn't forget to get my camera out! Now I'll have to drive over there and get a picture of him in his new suit.

A Visit to Tim's House

2008-06-09T23:15:00.009-04:00

All pictures today, for starters, we have adopted another tiger kitty. Odin has decided he likes to watch him from above.

We parked in Tim's driveway and then hopped in his car to go get a tour of his office. Check out the pictures of his desk. His cube is quite nice, there are little windows in the partition, he gets daylight at his desk. Later that night Tim took us out for dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant. The food was amazing. After we got home, we sat around and chatted for a while and then we all packed it in. I got to sleep in late the next morning and Tim made pancakes and sausage. Later on he grilled Cheddar brauts for lunch. YUM!
All too soon it was time to roll up the cords and head for home. What a great weekend!!

Weekend Happenings

2008-05-20T08:31:00.008-04:00

We've just had another fantastic weekend on the farm. There is a new addition to the cat population, which continues to grow. A couple of Saturdays back I stopped to visit Andy at Big Lots. There was a man outside with a box of kitties and he was down to one boy cat left. He said, "You look like you need a cat." To which I replied, "Like I need a hole in the head!" But I still walked away with an adorable fuzzy gray kitty. Andy fetched me a box. Who knew you could get cats at Big Lots! When Andy got home he named the little guy "Odin" and quickly claimed him. Here he is with the little guy. Odin has learned to lounge on Andy and will snuggle up and snooze for hours. He follows Andy around like a puppy and when Andy goes to work, Odin will run up to Andy's room, find the door closed and then come halfway down the stairs and meow for him. Pretty funny to see this little tiny kitten all curled up on extra large Andy.

Andy is getting ready for a camping trip. He got himself a tent from Big Lots with his employee discount. It seems to be a pretty nice tent complete with a mesh gear storage loft.
Andy is planning on showcasing all of his boy scout campfire cooking skills. He'll make a dump cake for sure. The tent was set up in the side yard for a couple of days and got a rain test!
Ken and Val are in town for a week, and we all went out to dinner Saturday night. Sunday afternoon, we had a cookout at the farm. Karol came over and we all feasted on hamburgers with grilled peppers, onions, and mushrooms, mashed cauliflower, and coleslaw. Ken and Val brought a bottle of wine and a delicious chocolate torte. It was a very relaxing afternoon. The weather was cool and breezy, Ken and Val had to put on sweaters to stay warm. I really like being able to wear long pants comfortably in late May! We had the house all open until about 7:30 and then were actually considering a fire. Check out the grilling brothers. Who is supervising who? And I guess big brothers never stop teasing little brothers! Later on that night, we got out the milk separator and skimmed three and a half gallons of goat milk. We ended up with three gallons of skim and a quart and a half of cream. We've been able to make all our own sour cream, which is absolutely fantastic on a baked potato. I have a small container of cream that I am going to try to make butter out of. Two of the gallons of milk got frozen for future use for when the goats are dried off in the beginning of June. It thaws and tastes just like fresh. Below is a movie of Andy running the separator. Very effective separator, but sounds like a jet plane is getting ready for takeoff in the family room.

Mothers Day Project!

2008-05-12T20:35:00.012-04:00

First news to share is that for Mothers Day -- I got a new digital camera! So as a result I carried it around all day Sunday when the boys and John started constructing my new chicken coop. The chicken high rise has evolved into a whole new structure and is functional and works just fine. But in our travels, John and I saw a chicken coop that some folks put together that looks stylish, functional, and more like what we want. So the first ingredient is a satelite dish. No, not like dish TV, think Wineguard, like the 12 foot model that requires a motor to aim. Right, now flip it over so it's the dome. Use your imagination, it's going to be the roof of the new coop -- the goal being that it is more like an aviary you might see in a zoo. We were able to find eight foot T-Posts. John wanted to drill holes in the top of the T-Posts so that we could attach the top of the posts to the dome, but there where already holes at the bottoms. So the boys knocked the flanges off the posts and they put them in the ground upside down. This also means that the white painted tip of the posts is buried. Andy put every pole in the ground, since he is the one with the strength and talent to get them in quickly, and straight. As Andy pounded them all in, Tim and I tried to get them fairly level. The area we were installing this structure was not really level, so we knew we would have to do some trenching to get the wire in place. While we were working, Vivie was pretty interested in the proceedings. I'm sure she was wondering what in the world was going on, but she liked having us all outside. She especially liked Tim feeding her her favorite Poplar tree leaves. They will eat them as long as you keep on feeding them. Tim seemed to be facinated at the way she could pack them away.

Towards the end of the day, the new chicken coop really started to take shape. After Tim packed up and headed for home, Andy and John went out and put up the wire. After that, we'll need a door, some nesting boxes with ramp and the food and water. Then the birds can move right in. Once they've vacated the chicken high rise, the chicken high rise will be lowered back to its original configuration and become the new home of the 10 Rhode Island Reds we've acquired. They are outgrowing their bin in the family room and need to move outside, especially with the weather warming up.

Dog Update

2008-05-05T21:55:00.002-04:00

Daisy has reached 18 months of age, and still all puppy. Yesterday we watched her play - all by herself. She chased her tail numerous times, and caught it! We left a black plant pot, in the yard and then decided we could not take it away. She picks it up, carries it around, slaps it around with a big paw. I was wondering why her face was covered with the red clay that is North Carolina dirt. She sticks her head in the pot and then flips it up over her back about ten feet in the air. Great fun!

We've been trying to keep the goats out of the dog food. We have one little goat that has decided she will eat just about anything. We've come up with this solution.
Daisy will even share her meal with Toby!