I have been busy these last few days painting the porch. Yesterday I cut the mouldings and today I painted them and attempted to put them up, but I cannot hammer for the life of me. I plan to go get some tiny screws instead. My son was listening to me bend the nails and hammered in a little of the quarter round, but the nails were too short. Tomorrow I hope the porch can be finished and the things that are in my house can go back there. I have had to move around 'stuff' for two months, first while the contractor tore open the walls where the porch was leaking and the then the floor and insulated it. The first contractor should have been hung by his toenails for such a poor job, but now at last it is almost done.
I need to clean up the little farm house before the kids arrive around the 20th of August to celebrate my 60th birthday. They will be staying at the Inn, but hanging out at my place too. I am hoping I can get the girls to go through my bathroom and take whatever they want from the drawers and cupboards. Then the rest of the make up can be trashed and the extra linens, well I am just not sure. I am also hoping I can get the boys to help build the fence feeders for the sheep and goats, but I am not sure how long my youngest is staying, so there may not be time. We do want to just visit too, of course.
The kittens are now old enough to find new homes. There are six beautiful bright orange babies and they are bold, coming out onto the driveway and playing on the porch. They are not afraid of the big dogs and love to be picked up and cuddled, just like Mamma cat. I think she is the only cat left on the farm though since Smokey disappeared. She was last seen when she had her babies in an abandoned car OUTSIDE of the fenced area. There is a fox there and that was not a good choice for her.
The bottle baby Nubian goats are so sweet. They are affectionate now, and love a little cuddle after their bottle. Anna is in the yard beside them, my little lamb, but Anna is still struggling with diahrrea. She needs to go to the vet's again because although her problem is intermittent, she should not have it all anymore. He did a stool sample and she has no worms or coccidia so it must be something else. Next is a blood test to be sent to Edmonton. Poor little Anna. She does not identify with goats or sheep and far prefers the dogs, but she is banned from the farmhouse now. Sheep just are not house trainable!
It is time to separate the lambs and kids too, so that will be the next major task after the porch is completed. I tried to put on a door knob and got it together, but it wouldn't turn, drat. I need some help with that task and I also need to find two storm doors to put on before winter to help block some of the wind. I bought a beautiful hand made wooden screen door, took the moulding off and the screen apart because it was torn. I need to sand it and replace the screen and moulding and paint it, but that might be a project for next year. The priority now will be to clean the yard in preparation for winter and get the feeders finished and the fences repaired. Many of the sheep and goats will go the auction and the birds will go to the processor so there will be half of the animals to care for in winter. Next year too, I will only breed selectively, not everyone! That way I won't have to worry about too many animals. This was a good year and there were mostly twins and some triplets and even a set of quads, though that means that where there was just one animal before, the population is at least two more if not three or four per mother.
Farming is hard work and although some is common sense, there is also trial and error. Unfortunately, trial and error sometimes results in something you did not plan for, but at least the lessons are being learned. The cow still has not had her baby. She was due on the 6th. I am trying to keep her in so she does not calf in the pasture. Then I would have to get the calf in some how, if she would let me and that might not be too easy. Hopefully she will have that baby real soon. Then I can milk her and share her with her baby. I can't wait for fresh cream and cheeses. Yum. I do need to find some pigs to help with the excess milk though, real fast. I have been looking.
And that is the day. I am tired tonight. It has been a long day, starting with the bottle babies and ending with them too. In a week there will be two more that can come off the bottle leaving five, but five is plenty. Whew. Good night and sweetest of dreams. Thank you Creator for this day and the bounty and beauty within it. Namaste.
I need to clean up the little farm house before the kids arrive around the 20th of August to celebrate my 60th birthday. They will be staying at the Inn, but hanging out at my place too. I am hoping I can get the girls to go through my bathroom and take whatever they want from the drawers and cupboards. Then the rest of the make up can be trashed and the extra linens, well I am just not sure. I am also hoping I can get the boys to help build the fence feeders for the sheep and goats, but I am not sure how long my youngest is staying, so there may not be time. We do want to just visit too, of course.
The kittens are now old enough to find new homes. There are six beautiful bright orange babies and they are bold, coming out onto the driveway and playing on the porch. They are not afraid of the big dogs and love to be picked up and cuddled, just like Mamma cat. I think she is the only cat left on the farm though since Smokey disappeared. She was last seen when she had her babies in an abandoned car OUTSIDE of the fenced area. There is a fox there and that was not a good choice for her.
The bottle baby Nubian goats are so sweet. They are affectionate now, and love a little cuddle after their bottle. Anna is in the yard beside them, my little lamb, but Anna is still struggling with diahrrea. She needs to go to the vet's again because although her problem is intermittent, she should not have it all anymore. He did a stool sample and she has no worms or coccidia so it must be something else. Next is a blood test to be sent to Edmonton. Poor little Anna. She does not identify with goats or sheep and far prefers the dogs, but she is banned from the farmhouse now. Sheep just are not house trainable!
It is time to separate the lambs and kids too, so that will be the next major task after the porch is completed. I tried to put on a door knob and got it together, but it wouldn't turn, drat. I need some help with that task and I also need to find two storm doors to put on before winter to help block some of the wind. I bought a beautiful hand made wooden screen door, took the moulding off and the screen apart because it was torn. I need to sand it and replace the screen and moulding and paint it, but that might be a project for next year. The priority now will be to clean the yard in preparation for winter and get the feeders finished and the fences repaired. Many of the sheep and goats will go the auction and the birds will go to the processor so there will be half of the animals to care for in winter. Next year too, I will only breed selectively, not everyone! That way I won't have to worry about too many animals. This was a good year and there were mostly twins and some triplets and even a set of quads, though that means that where there was just one animal before, the population is at least two more if not three or four per mother.
Farming is hard work and although some is common sense, there is also trial and error. Unfortunately, trial and error sometimes results in something you did not plan for, but at least the lessons are being learned. The cow still has not had her baby. She was due on the 6th. I am trying to keep her in so she does not calf in the pasture. Then I would have to get the calf in some how, if she would let me and that might not be too easy. Hopefully she will have that baby real soon. Then I can milk her and share her with her baby. I can't wait for fresh cream and cheeses. Yum. I do need to find some pigs to help with the excess milk though, real fast. I have been looking.
And that is the day. I am tired tonight. It has been a long day, starting with the bottle babies and ending with them too. In a week there will be two more that can come off the bottle leaving five, but five is plenty. Whew. Good night and sweetest of dreams. Thank you Creator for this day and the bounty and beauty within it. Namaste.
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