The broilers are still here. I guess that would be the 'frog' in my life right now---that, and calling the electric company to fix the outside light... :)
But, this morning, in all of it's sogginess was very wonderful. The cherry tree is ready!!!--and I, in my store-bought life seem to have acquired a taste for the not-quite-ripe-yet. I have 8 cups of cherries we picked last week, and this week, they are finally all ripe. Whoopse. So, in the heat of today--it's supposed to get up to 82 degrees, and with the rain...
The mulberries are ripe, too, and oh, so yummy!! They are also chicken treats, that are free!! If you want to see something just delightful, give some chickens fruits for the first time. Or a worm, or a cricket. They are so funny!!! One will grab it, and run, making this noise... the 'I've got something' chicken noise that attracts all the others. :) They also like cherries. :) The hens pick off the fruit, but Penguin (our rooster) just swallows it whole. :)
Since it was soggy, the goats were still in their hut at 6:00! The sun rises around 4:30, and they are usually out and engorged by the time I get there around 6. They don't like the damp so much. :) I let the chicks get their first peek at the goats. They seemed to like each other. Okay, not really, but the goats didn't try to butt them, and no kamikaze chick tried to take out a goat. *shrug* so I'm good. :) :) :)
The goal for this weekend is to have all 7 broilers in the freezer, well, just their meat. Harass me if I don't. (and you'll know--I'll type all about this new method!!!)
Friday, June 27, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Saturday
The broilers are still here. But, if you have ever even considered butchering, I recommend you go here. 20 minute butcher. No guts, no singe, no feathers, no boiling water. I'll let you know how it goes!
Our dogs are kind of a proof of lack of leadership here. They come when they're called, sit and well, that's about it. They will lay down, and heel on occasion. On walks, they will turn around and head back when we yell "HOME!" so I guess, it could be worse.
This whole farm is kind of that way. Yes, we are learning as we go, but I can't help but wonder if maybe we're in remedial farming. I can't remember the last time I researched something we actually have. So, today, we spent time with every animal group we have. The day went by waaaay too fast, and I have never seen Ben more engaged/engaging for the whole day. He never once mentioned the television. Amazing.
We have also plotted a path to Grandma's house. It's 4.5 miles away. We walked down to the dirt road and back (.3 miles x 2!) on Tuesday and then we've walked another .2 for sure--or more, I don't have anything to measure it by for the past few days--- (you know where I take people up the dirt road on the 4-wheeler, and point out our house--that hill? Yea, we walk almost to the top of that and back.) It's 2.3 miles to Hwy 169 and back, so once we can do that, we'll head to Grandma's house (and grab a ride back ;)
The cherry tree is almost ready--I'm guessing less than 2 days!!!! (we still ate a bunch of them--they are pie cherries, and oh, so deliciously tart!!!) AND, we discovered some strawberries in some grass (in the garden--I haven't been out there since before the storm... :) two were ready, and by far the best strawberries I have had in a long time!!! I love the summer. And it's not hard at all to go to sleep at 8, when you've had such a full day!!!
It's such, a beautiful night...
Our dogs are kind of a proof of lack of leadership here. They come when they're called, sit and well, that's about it. They will lay down, and heel on occasion. On walks, they will turn around and head back when we yell "HOME!" so I guess, it could be worse.
This whole farm is kind of that way. Yes, we are learning as we go, but I can't help but wonder if maybe we're in remedial farming. I can't remember the last time I researched something we actually have. So, today, we spent time with every animal group we have. The day went by waaaay too fast, and I have never seen Ben more engaged/engaging for the whole day. He never once mentioned the television. Amazing.
We have also plotted a path to Grandma's house. It's 4.5 miles away. We walked down to the dirt road and back (.3 miles x 2!) on Tuesday and then we've walked another .2 for sure--or more, I don't have anything to measure it by for the past few days--- (you know where I take people up the dirt road on the 4-wheeler, and point out our house--that hill? Yea, we walk almost to the top of that and back.) It's 2.3 miles to Hwy 169 and back, so once we can do that, we'll head to Grandma's house (and grab a ride back ;)
The cherry tree is almost ready--I'm guessing less than 2 days!!!! (we still ate a bunch of them--they are pie cherries, and oh, so deliciously tart!!!) AND, we discovered some strawberries in some grass (in the garden--I haven't been out there since before the storm... :) two were ready, and by far the best strawberries I have had in a long time!!! I love the summer. And it's not hard at all to go to sleep at 8, when you've had such a full day!!!
It's such, a beautiful night...
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Tornado pictures
The captions are above the pictures. :) The inside pics are coming--they are in the process of moving, and let's face it, it's really kind of awful all over Iowa right now! (and WI, and KS, and NE, and IL, and MN--all over the Midwest...)
This is my favorite--if you look through the doorway, you can see outside! The thing on the ground is the roof--that was peeled off; about 10 feet from where we were. :)
In this one, you can see the side of the trailer was ripped up a bit. There were a few broken windows in the trailer, but luckily, they had plastic over them, so it was more contained than the ones from the house!! The electrical line was torn off, too, but it's hard to see. (there should be wires coming from the house... and they're on the ground.) This is facing west. We (Ben and I) were in the bathtub in the NW corner of the house. yea.
This is the Oliver shed. The wall that is over by the bins was sling-shot there by my clothes line! That did NOT break!!! YEA!!!!
We're 0-2 on the trampolines now, and will not be replacing this. :( But the coop is just fine (the building on the left) and the clear spot in the middle, behind the tree?? that was the Oliver shed.
If I had had more sleep in the past week, I would have found you pictures for before/after, but I didn't, and I'm not going to. :) Look at earlier posts, to see how things were! :) Ooo... I could link... maybe later. :) :) :) Oh, we also lost one of the hog huts, but no one took pictures of that... there's really not much to see--just where it was.
The thing is that sitting in the bathtub, I prayed and prayed, that we and the animals would be okay. Before that, while doing dishes, I prayed for the people in the path of the storm, so they would stay calm and do what needed to be done. (I didn't mean US!) Still, prayers answered! Not only were we protected from the worst of it, so were all of our animals. The huts that the ducks/chicks and goats are in are fine. Better than fine--the tree that was broken above it still had enough of a hold on the limbs that it didn't smash in the roof(s). To the east, to the west, destruction, but the huts themselves---just fine--in fact, one window was blown out--OUT, not in. Out. The coop, our house, we are very blessed. And grateful. Very grateful!!!
This is my favorite--if you look through the doorway, you can see outside! The thing on the ground is the roof--that was peeled off; about 10 feet from where we were. :)
In this one, you can see the side of the trailer was ripped up a bit. There were a few broken windows in the trailer, but luckily, they had plastic over them, so it was more contained than the ones from the house!! The electrical line was torn off, too, but it's hard to see. (there should be wires coming from the house... and they're on the ground.) This is facing west. We (Ben and I) were in the bathtub in the NW corner of the house. yea.This is the Oliver shed. The wall that is over by the bins was sling-shot there by my clothes line! That did NOT break!!! YEA!!!!The corn crib is down. The goats are very happy. :) It's kind of cool, in that it gives the animals shade, but it sucks, since the main wind-blocker is now gone. 
This was the Shed-on-the-concrete. We'll miss this one. But now we have a nice slab of concrete. I don't think you can see it, but the poles were pulled out of the ground, and the concrete around it was flipped over--one of them onto a window, that didn't break!!
You can see the barn has some extra opening in it as well. The tin on the W side was taken off--and over to our neighbor's house.This was the Shed-on-the-concrete. We'll miss this one. But now we have a nice slab of concrete. I don't think you can see it, but the poles were pulled out of the ground, and the concrete around it was flipped over--one of them onto a window, that didn't break!!We're 0-2 on the trampolines now, and will not be replacing this. :( But the coop is just fine (the building on the left) and the clear spot in the middle, behind the tree?? that was the Oliver shed.If I had had more sleep in the past week, I would have found you pictures for before/after, but I didn't, and I'm not going to. :) Look at earlier posts, to see how things were! :) Ooo... I could link... maybe later. :) :) :) Oh, we also lost one of the hog huts, but no one took pictures of that... there's really not much to see--just where it was.
The thing is that sitting in the bathtub, I prayed and prayed, that we and the animals would be okay. Before that, while doing dishes, I prayed for the people in the path of the storm, so they would stay calm and do what needed to be done. (I didn't mean US!) Still, prayers answered! Not only were we protected from the worst of it, so were all of our animals. The huts that the ducks/chicks and goats are in are fine. Better than fine--the tree that was broken above it still had enough of a hold on the limbs that it didn't smash in the roof(s). To the east, to the west, destruction, but the huts themselves---just fine--in fact, one window was blown out--OUT, not in. Out. The coop, our house, we are very blessed. And grateful. Very grateful!!!
Hello, and thank you for your patience
Well, we have been busy. The farm is going... I haven't written because I have to tell you, we really don't know what we're doing. :) The duck pond (out of a cattle-water-er) is very disgusting, but they really love it.
The goats are LOVING the corn crib. It was one of the building that got knocked down when we got hit by the tornado. They climb all the way to the tippy-top, it's crazy. When I find my camera, I'll show you!
The baby chicks are doing fine. They are out of the kennel, and survived not only the storm, but we do not have electricity down there, so they are roughing it, I guess. They seem to be fine.
The chickens are doing great--we lost one of the crested breeds, Bernice, but we don't know why. Rat? Maybe.
The broilers are still alive. I know, I know, but they are huge!!!
The garden was soaked very thoroughly, and now is overgrown with weeds, but is still very soppy, so that's a fun time.
One of these days, I'll not make a list, and you can know the ins and outs a little better, but the thing is, it's not glamorous, or even fun, sometimes... Guess I'll be working on kamikaze-ing the farm, eh? :) :) :)
The goats are LOVING the corn crib. It was one of the building that got knocked down when we got hit by the tornado. They climb all the way to the tippy-top, it's crazy. When I find my camera, I'll show you!
The baby chicks are doing fine. They are out of the kennel, and survived not only the storm, but we do not have electricity down there, so they are roughing it, I guess. They seem to be fine.
The chickens are doing great--we lost one of the crested breeds, Bernice, but we don't know why. Rat? Maybe.
The broilers are still alive. I know, I know, but they are huge!!!
The garden was soaked very thoroughly, and now is overgrown with weeds, but is still very soppy, so that's a fun time.
One of these days, I'll not make a list, and you can know the ins and outs a little better, but the thing is, it's not glamorous, or even fun, sometimes... Guess I'll be working on kamikaze-ing the farm, eh? :) :) :)
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