The Little Things

Sometimes it's the little things.

This week we have been busy cleaning up the yard and house in preparation of a graduation party for Journee. I always say folks need to host parties a couple times a year so that the yard and house can get a good cleaning.
We actually mowed the yard with a mower and not with cows and the girls planted some flowers for me as well. It has been crazy busy here, but not so busy that we can't stop and enjoy the beauty of spring.

After milking chores yesterday I noticed a bird nest had blown out of the trees.

Now my family thinks I obsess a little too much over these little works of art, but when you look closely you can see the farm in this nest. The perfectly smooth bottom is lined with goat and cow hair...from my cows and goats.

The side of the nest has strands of wool from the sheep. Curly little sheep locks. So cool.

So I grabbed this little beauty and brought it inside to add to my ever growing collection of nests. I find one every year and every year they contain more and more of this little farm.

Speaking of spring, one cannot live down south and not smell the honeysuckle and privet blooming at the same time.

It is a smell that is simply intoxicating. The warm breezes blows the sweet smell all around. It can even drown out the smelliest of farm messes.

This brings me to one last sweet little thing.

Pigs! I bet you didn't expect that:-)
The pigs are now in the forest, held in with electric wire fencing. I must say they love it. They have lots of room to root around and lots of trees to keep them cool in these 88 degree days.
It is nice to be able to raise food in it's more natural environment and as humanely as possible.

With that, I must go  and get busy.

The vet will come out today as I have several animals needing some attention. Nothing serious, but enough so that it warranted a vet call from my real life James Herriot.

Don't forget to stop and enjoy the little things!

Happy Friday Ya'll!

Cows on a Monday

Well we had a very rainy weekend, so rainy the sheep could be sheared. Next weekend we will try again. In the meantime, the sheep are all up close to the house enjoying the grass.

I lost many meat birds to the cold weather and rain. I figured they were old enough to handle some inclement weather, however I was wrong. Poor birds. I am left with only half and last night those survivors were kept under tarps with brood lamps. Today the weather is making a turn around. It is sunny and in the 70's.  This week will be hot and humid and I expect my mucky animals lots will dry out.

We are wrapping up the school year and prepping for a little graduation party for Journee. The bees are really starting to populate and I plan to inspect hives tomorrow. Wednesday Devin will drive to Knoxville and pick up for me 2 more Russian hives.

This morning I made a wheel of cheese and then headed outside to snap a shot or two of my ladies.

  Lucy is always the easiest to photograph as she is so super friendly.

Penny is still shy but the look of my shoe had her very curious.

Now all I have to do is make a party store list, clean my house and cook some meals. If I can only drag myself from the animals, the sewing machine, and my spinning wheel.....well, I guess I can't play everyday.

Here's hoping the dreary weather is gone for a while! It's been a hectic Monday here but that's OK.
Hope you have a great day!
Happy Monday!

I Blame My Mom

I have been called eccentric. I have been called super lady. I have been called crazy.
I suppose all of these names are fitting to an extent, what with all of the kids and animals and hobbies.
I do tend to find what I like or want to do and run with it, exert all of my energy into that task.

*Mom*

 

What many might not realize is that I have my mom to blame.
Let me explain:

Dear Mom,

So you drove up to the house today and noticed a couple more baby cows and a few new pigs in the yard. You also noticed fleece and yarn hanging to dry after my morning of spinning yarn, of course that was all done after the children and I milked the cows, fed the chickens, and moved the egg mobile. Isn't my farm growing?
Yes, I realize there are some feathers still blowing across the back yard from our chicken processing event a few days ago. I promise those will all be gone before we process the next batch of pastured chickens.

I also have not forgotten that we are taking a quilt class this week and will make sure I get my fabrics cut before the day, but first I have to sew together the blocks from my current quilt project.
Excuse the mess of books on the kitchen table too, as the summer books just arrived. Homeschooling has been such a wonderful experience, even if books are always piled up.
That book? Well, that is my new cheese making book. Since I have a cheese cave now I plan to craft a cheese a week (at least) so I can fill the cave up quickly.
Would you like to sit and have some cake and tea? Yes, the children and I have been baking today and we made your famous oatmeal cake.
Speaking of children, we might adopt a child or two. What do you think? Really? Cool, I knew that you of all people would understand that  children are blessings!
In the meantime, I might buy another calf or two. Did you see my new goslings? Aren't they cute?
Tomorrow I am going to get more soil so I can plant the tomatoes and peppers in the garden. Will you help me can salsa this summer? Perhaps we can buy local strawberries and make some jam too.

Oh, Happy Mother's Day. You are awesome. You are why I do so many things. Seriously. I feel like I can do anything I put my mind to and that is all your fault.
Some kids grew up thinking maybe they just weren't good enough or smart enough. Not me. Not once were you not supportive. Not once did you make me think I couldn't accomplish my goals. Because of the incredible amount of self esteem I have, I literally think I can do anything. Most days I attempt tasks that most folks wouldn't attempt. I am ambitious to the point of no return. I am not shy. I am not an introvert. I am never bored. I do not see myself slowing down. Ever. The sky is truly my limit. Thanks.
I know it wasn't always easy raising three kids, and for a good while you raised us on your own. Single mom. Yet, you still were able to instill self worth and self esteem into an impressionable child. People think I am ambitious, yet I am only following your lead. You were ambitious in your child rearing and look what you got? Yeah, I say you were quite successful. Thanks. I love you.

Sam
(the favorite daughter)

My Senior Girl

My big girl is finished with high school. Home school high school. Actually, she has finished her last two years in dual enrollment at Chattanooga State. Her last two years were in college. BUT she is now finished with high school and starts college this summer. Confused?
This is home educating in a nut shell. No one program or plan fits every kid, so we adjust as needed and the kids are happier and better educated because we can make such changes.

Anyway, no big graduation ceremonies. No big diploma. No cap and gown. However, we WILL be throwing her a party the end of this month. We love a party around here. Party, cookout, back yard fire. We are all about having fun.

I decided to make up some announcements/invitations but needed a photo or two of my girl to put on them. We went outside and snapped some pictures of my girl...and her dog.
Here are the senior pictures of Journee (and Zelda).

Oh, and we had to take a photo or two with Yoda. He is, after all, in all of our photos. We are nerds and can't help it. Now, this looks to be more of an engagement photo with the Jedi Master....just laugh along. We all know Yoda is way too old for my girl:-)

So what's next for this girl? She will take Anatomy and Physiology II and Nutrition this summer. She plans to transfer to Dalton State College in the fall and start her way into the Bachelor Nursing Program. Yeah, I think this kid is awesome and she will go far!

Happy Monday Ya'll!

Round 1 and 2

I was awake most of the night last night. There were a few spurts of rest here and there, between loud thunder booms and the alerts beeping on my phone, warning me of tornado and storm watches.

Only 3 kids were rammed under the covers of my bed, but Devin had no room and so he crashed on the living room sofa with one ear open and listening for tornado sounds.

This is spring in the South, and unfortunately many people lost everything last night. We were spared.

I continuously imagined what the farm animals were doing through the storm. We anchored the egg mobile down, fearing high winds would blow it over, and the smallest of the bottle calves were locked up in a warm and draft free stall. The pigs had fresh hay bales to bed down under inside their shelter. Cats were secure in the garage and dogs were in the house.

The horse and cattle and sheep are all better off out in a large pasture with some tree coverage, but the pastured chickens? Oh boy! There isn't much I can do about them. They do have some shelter over half the cages but the wind is so very strong at times.

Over and over again I replay in my mind what I could have done to make the chickens more secure. Nothing. There is nothing I can do to guarantee the safety of my farm animals. This is when I remember how much of farming and agriculture is beyond a farmer's control. We can only do so much. We do our best with what resources we have and then pray that Mother Nature spares us.

This morning all of the animals were fine, with the exception of a few pasture chickens. I knew they would have the roughest night. They were all soaking wet and chilled, even with their adult feathers. The ground here is saturated and flooded in some areas.

That was round 1. Today brings round 2. Unfortunately the weather forecasters are predicting a system far worse with 2 inches of rain and tornados.

This gives me a few hours to concoct a plan for the pastured birds. I suppose bringing 90 birds into the garage is out of the question....I suppose.

Maybe another cup of coffee and some hot blueberry toast will kick start my brain. Tonight we will likely camp out in the basement so we can all get a little more sleep.

Here's hoping you are all safe today and here's to a full pot of coffee!

Kid Day

Today was rock concert day for my rock star. Chattanooga held a Kidz Expo event and Indiana's rock skool performed 2 sets.

We decided to take the youngest kids with us for a fun family outing.

The Chattanooga Fire Dept. had an old red engine the kids could see and climb inside. There were also many, many vendors giving away balloons, pens, and Frisbees to the children.

This booth was offering "pet rocks" the kids could paint and decorate. It was a nice kid friendly event.

The University of Tennessee Chattanooga had a train set up for pictures, along with their mascot. The boys were not too sure about the mascot.

Although Fletcher was too scared for a photo op, Zeb was quick to run up to SpongeBob for a hug and photo!

Fletcher did brave the big blow up slide, even though he looks like he is clinging for dear life!

           ****Rock Skool teacher, Mark Ferguson, gets the students ready.****

After the young kids had their fun, we went to the stage where Indiana and her fellow rock stars were prepping for their show.

Indiana and the rest of the students did a fantastic job today! I am so proud of how much they have improved.

They have another performance next weekend and then a big gig is scheduled at the annual Riverbend Festival!

So this is what I have been up to lately. Well, I also got new bees and goslings this week. I also have a graduation party and photos to plan for Journee. Next weekend we will be shearing the sheep too.

Spring is always busy but you know what? It's also warm!!!! WARM!!!! Good-bye winter:-)

Happy Sunday Ya'll!

Intervention

Hello, my name is Sam and I have a lamb living in my house...... and several baby chicks and dogs and cats and 7 kids.

Seriously, there are days I figure I need intervention. This little farm of mine grows every year, month, week, day and just when I think I have time to pursue one of my other many hobbies such as knitting, quilting or spinning, well...you know, life happens. Life with cows and sheep and chickens and pigs, lets not forget kids too, can be time consuming.

My new cheese cave is finished, and so far it works wonderfully. We have a storage closet in our basement that is mostly underground. Devin framed in a cave area and covered it with thick insulation board.

Now all I have to do is fill it up with cheese. I have been making a wheel a week and they are all aging nicely.

Most of the cheeses are basic tome style cheese with a few variations. If you follow me on FB then you have seen a picture here and there of my cheese making. I have discovered that a turkey roaster is a great cheese making pot. It will hold 4 gallons of milk and it also holds temperature well.

*********************

We had another cold snap this week in which the people of N Georgia frantically cover tender plants and strawberry blooms  to protect from a 20 degree freeze. I am included in this group. Just when it seems like spring is here to stay with the 80 degree days, we are forced to decorate our yards with old sheets and towels to survive the 20 degree night followed by a rainy 40 degree day.

Usually by Easter we are settled into a spring pattern and it will not be long before the hot, humid summer arrives. The tulip poplar trees are on the verge of blooming and the bees are building up super well. Spring is here for sure.

I managed to get some spring cleaning done this week, a huge task no matter how many kids you have living under your roof.
The biggest task before me now is to wrap up the school year. I think we can finish up in another month.

Here are the farm activities happening the next couple of weeks: Sheep shearing, chicken processing, hardening off seedlings, banding and tagging calves, goslings arrive, bee packages arrive, and I drive to Knoxville to pick up bee hive nucs.

Did you see that part about goslings? Yes, a new critter for me. Goslings. I am excited....at least until my family calls an intervention.

Happy Friday Ya'll!

                                               ****Me and Fletcher, my partner in crime!****